Pollen morphology of selected tundra plants from the high Arctic of Ny-Ålesund, Svalbard

Documenting morphological features of modern pollen is fundamental for the identification of fossil pollen, which will assist researchers to reconstruct the vegetation and climate of a particular geologic period. This paper presents the pollen morphology of 20 species of tundra plants from the high Arctic of Ny-Ålesund, Svalbard, using light and scanning electron microscopy. The plants used in this study belong to 12 families: Brassicaceae, Caryophyllaceae, Cyperaceae, Ericaceae, Juncaceae, Papaveraceae, Poaceae, Polygonaceae, Ranunculaceae, Rosaceae, Salicaceae, and Scrophulariaceae. Pollen grain shapes included: spheroidal, subprolate, and prolate. Variable apertural patterns ranged from 2-syncolpate, 3-colpate, 3-(-4)-colpate, 3-(-5)-colpate, 3-colporate, 5-poroid, ulcerate, ulcus to pantoporate. Exine ornamentations comprised psilate, striate-perforate, reticulate, microechinate, microechinate-perforate, scabrate, granulate, and granulate-perforate. This study provided a useful reference for comparative studies of fossil pollen and for the reconstruction of paleovegetation and paleoclimate in Svalbard region of Arctic

A network for long-term monitoring of vegetation in the area of Fildes Peninsula, King George Island

Climate warming has become evident in the maritime Antarctic over the past decades, and has already influenced the growing season and the population size of two native vascular plants in Antarctica, Deschampsia antarctica and Colobanthus quitensis. Both vascular plant species are therefore regarded as good bioindicators of regional warming in west Antarctica. To carry out long-term monitoring of vegetation (mainly using D. antarctica) and build a comprehensive research platform for multi-disciplinary study (including botany, microbiology, ecology, and environmental science) for Chinese scientists, 13 permanent plots were established in January and February of 2013–2015 in the area of Fildes Peninsula (King George Island). Here we present the benchmark data of the first observations from these plots, including site characteristics, and the population and associates of D. antarctica in each plot. The basic data are important to understand the vegetation change, distribution range, and expansion of D. antarctica in Antarctica under future climate change scenarios

Functioning styles of personality disorders and five-factor normal personality traits: a correlation study in Chinese students

BACKGROUND: Previous studies show that both the categorical and dimensional descriptors of personality disorders are correlated with normal personality traits. Recently, a 92-item inventory, the Parker Personality Measure (PERM) was designed as a more efficient and precise first-level assessment of personality disorders. Whether the PERM constructs are correlated with those of the five-factor models of personality needs to be clarified. METHODS: We therefore invited 913 students from poly-technical schools and colleges in China to answer the PERM, the Five-Factor Nonverbal Personality Questionnaire (FFNPQ), and the Zuckerman-Kuhlman Personality Questionnaire (ZKPQ). RESULTS: Most personality constructs had satisfactory internal alphas. PERM constructs were loaded with FFNPQ and ZKPQ traits clearly on four factors, which can be labelled as Dissocial, Emotional Dysregulation, Inhibition and Compulsivity, as reported previously. FFNPQ Openness to Experience, Conscientiousness and Extraversion formed another Factor, named Experience Hunting, which was not clearly covered by PERM or ZKPQ. CONCLUSION: The PERM constructs were loaded in a predictable way on the disordered super-traits, suggesting the PERM might offer assistance measuring personality function in clinical practice

Triptolide Inhibits the Proliferation of Prostate Cancer Cells and Down-Regulates SUMO-Specific Protease 1 Expression

Recently, traditional Chinese medicine and medicinal herbs have attracted more attentions worldwide for its anti-tumor efficacy. Celastrol and Triptolide, two active components extracted from the Chinese herb Tripterygium wilfordii Hook F (known as Lei Gong Teng or Thunder of God Vine), have shown anti-tumor effects. Celastrol was identified as a natural 26 s proteasome inhibitor which promotes cell apoptosis and inhibits tumor growth. The effect and mechanism of Triptolide on prostate cancer (PCa) is not well studied. Here we demonstrated that Triptolide, more potent than Celastrol, inhibited cell growth and induced cell death in LNCaP and PC-3 cell lines. Triptolide also significantly inhibited the xenografted PC-3 tumor growth in nude mice. Moreover, Triptolide induced PCa cell apoptosis through caspases activation and PARP cleavage. Unbalance between SUMOylation and deSUMOylation was reported to play an important role in PCa progression. SUMO-specific protease 1 (SENP1) was thought to be a potential marker and therapeutical target of PCa. Importantly, we observed that Triptolide down-regulated SENP1 expression in both mRNA and protein levels in dose-dependent and time-dependent manners, resulting in an enhanced cellular SUMOylation in PCa cells. Meanwhile, Triptolide decreased AR and c-Jun expression at similar manners, and suppressed AR and c-Jun transcription activity. Furthermore, knockdown or ectopic SENP1, c-Jun and AR expression in PCa cells inhibited the Triptolide anti-PCa effects. Taken together, our data suggest that Triptolide is a natural compound with potential therapeutic value for PCa. Its anti-tumor activity may be attributed to mechanisms involving down-regulation of SENP1 that restores SUMOylation and deSUMOyaltion balance and negative regulation of AR and c-Jun expression that inhibits the AR and c-Jun mediated transcription in PCa

A Review on the Taxonomic, Evolutionary and Phytogeographic Studies of the Lotus Plant (Nelumbonaceae: Nelumbo)

Nelumbo Adans. (Nelumbonaceae) is an important member of the early-diverging eudicots. It contains two extant species: N. nucifera Gaertn. (the Sacred lotus), distributed in Asia and Australia and N. lutea Willd. (the American lotus), occurring in North America. This paper reviews the taxonomic, evolutionary and phytogeographic studies of the genus Nelumbo, and also raises scientific questions about it in further paleobotanic research. There are about 30 fossil species of Nelumbo established since the Early Cretaceous. Based on fossil studies, the ancestors of the extant N. nucifera and N. lutea are respectively considered to be N. protospeciosa from the Eocene to Miocene of Eurasia, and N. protolutea from the Eocene of North American. However, molecular systematic studies indicate that N. nucifera and N. lutea are probably split from a common ancestor during the Late Miocene to Early Pliocene, or even the Pleistocene, rather than separate relicts from extinct species on different continents. The characters of lotus stomatal development, seedling morphology as well as its flowering, pollination and fertilization in air reveal that it evolves from the land plants. Fossil data of Nelumbo indicates that the genus first occurs in mid-latitude area of Laurasia in the Early Cretaceous, then becomes widespread in North America and Eurasia and expands into Africa and South America during the Late Cretaceous; the genus probably colonizes the Indian Subcontinent from Asia during the Early Eocene after the collision of India and the Asian plates; the genus becomes extinct in Europe, but survives in Asia and North America during the Quaternary Ice Age, and later forms the present East Asia and North Australia-North America disjunctive distribution

Pollen morphology in Saxifraga (Saxifragaceae) from Ny-Alesund, Svalbard, Arctic, and its taxonomic significance.

Pollen morphology of eight species of Saxifraga, i.e. S. cespitosa, S. oppositifolia, S. cernua, S. nivalis, S. aizoides, S. rivularis, S. hieraciifolia, and S. hirculus, collected from Ny-Ǻlesund, Svalbard, Arctic was examined using light and scanning electron microscopy. Pollen grains of Saxifraga species are subprolate or prolate, 3-colpate, 15.4–44.4 μm in the polar axis, 11.4–34.6 μm in the equatorial axis, and show a P/E ratio 1.19–1.40. On the basis of exine ornamentation, four pollen types, viz., the S. oppositifolia type (striate without scabrae on the muri), S. cernua type (striate with scabrae on the muri), S. nivalis type (microreticulate and operculum absent), and S. cespitosa type (microechinate and operculum present), were recognized. Hierarchical cluster analysis of the pollen morphological characters indicated that pollen morphology supports the infrageneric classification of the genus Saxifraga

Early Miocene Mosses from Weichang, North China, and their Environmental Significance

Twenty-seven moss specimens collected from the Guangfayong section (Early Miocene, 22.1 Ma) of the Weichang District, North China were investigated in the present study. Based on the morphological and anatomical features of gametophytes, all specimens were found to belong to three species: Leptodictyum riparium, Drepanocladus subtrichophyllus sp. nov., and Amblystegium varium, all of which belong to the family Amblystegiaceae. The microhabitats and living environments of fossil mosses were also investigated based on comparison with living mosses. The results suggest that these mosses grew primarily at the edges of rivers, streams, and lakes and favored being submerged in streams or lakes in the Weichang District in the Early Miocene