The Case Study on Soil Fauna Diversity in Different Ecological System in Shilin NationalPark, Yunnan, China

Predhodno sta bili preučevani razporeditev in raznovrstnost talne favne v vrsti degradiranih ekosistemov v narodnem parku Shilin. Ti ekosistemi vključujejo pet tipov rastlinskega pokrova: 1. naravno grmišče, 2. umetno nasajen cipresov gozd, 3. naravni travnik, 4. drugotni travnik, 5. golo rdečo prst. Na vsakem izmed njih je bila talna favna nabrana s kvadrata velikosti 1 krat 1 m. Živali so bile nabrane ročno ali pa izločene s pomočjo segrevanja. V talni favni so prevladovale acarina, collembola, nematoda, coleoptera in opistopora. Toda razmeroma pogoste so bile tudi skupine enchytraeidae, araneida, lepidoptera in diptera. Indeks raznovrstnosti H je manjši od 1,5 in se močno znižuje vzporedno z degradacijo rastlinstva. V kraških prsteh so med najpogostejšimi parholaspidae. Biomasa trhypochthoniidae in ologamasidae je najbolj zgoščena v naravnem grmišču in kaže veliko občutljivost teh skupin na degradacijo rastlinstva. Razmerje biomase acarina v primerjavi s collembola je v razponu 0.7 do 1.5, kar je veliko odstopanje od podatkov za naravne prsti podobnih geografskih širin, znanih iz literature. Majhna biomasa talne favne in manjša raznovrstnost kažeta, da se habitati v preučevanih prsteh slabšajo in se torej slabša tudi zdravje celega ekosistema. Izsledki tudi kažejo na ranljivost talne favne v prsteh z vidika sonaravnega razvoja parka Shilin.A preliminary study of the distribution and diversity of soil fauna in a sequence of ecosystem degradation in the Shilin National Park, Yunnan, China has been made. The degraded ecologic system includes 5 types of vegetation cover: (1) natural bush; (2) human planted cypress forest; (3)natural grass; (4)secondary grass and (5) bared red earth. A quadrate of 1m×1m in each eco-tessera was sampled for soil fauna collection. The animals were obtained either by picking up or by heat-removing. The soil fauna were dominated by Acarina, Collembola, Nematode, Coleoptera,and Opistopora in these soils. However, Erchytraeidae, Araneida, Lepidoptera and Diptera were also common groups. The diversity index H turned to be less than 1.5, drastically decreasing with the vegetation degradation trend. In the karst soils, Parholaspidae was one of the most populous among the mites. The biomass of Trhypochthoniidae and Ologamasidae was very concentrated in the natural bush ecosystem, showing high sensitivity of mites to vegetation degradation. The biomass ratio of Acarina to Collembola in the studied soils ranged from 0.70 to 1.50, which was in great discrepancy to the results reported of the natural soils at similar latitude. The small soil fauna biomass and less diversity indicated that the studied soil was in a state of deterioration of soil fauna habitats and, in turn, the soil ecosystem health. The results also evidenced that the soil fauna in the karst soil was definitely vulnerable as regarded to the sustainable development of the Shilin Park

Energy-balanced multi-hop-aware cooperative geographic routing for wireless ad hoc networks

Since the cooperative communication can reduce the transmitted power and extend the transmission coverage, minimum energy routing protocols are considered to reduce the total energy consumption in a multi-hop wireless Ad Hoc network. In this paper, an Energy-balanced Multi-hop-aware Cooperative Geographic Routing (EMCGR) algorithm is proposed. We firstly formulate the outage probability and construct the minimum power route in Multi-hop-aware Cooperative Transmission (MCT) mode. The MCT mode can fully exploit the merit of the relay broadcasting characteristics to achieve the aim of saving the total transmitted power. Then an improved Energy-Balanced Geographic Routing (EBGR) algorithm is designed. The EBGR algorithm selects the next hop forwarding node by combining the geographic position information and energy information. The goal of this strategy is to balance the energy consumption among nodes so that the lifetime of the whole network can be prolonged. The route of the proposed EMCGR algorithm is based on EBGR algorithm. Simulation results show that in the same computer simulation scene, the power saving of the EMCGR algorithm with respect to the MPCR algorithm and EBGR algorithm can achieve 15.2% and 67.1%, respectively. Besides, the EMCGR algorithm does well in balancing the energy consumption among nodes in the wireless Ad Hoc network

Fast Fourier transport analysis of surface structures fabricated by laser interference lithography

This paper presents an FFT (fast Fourier transform) analytical method for the study of surface structures fabricated by laser interference lithography (LIL). In the work, the FFT analytical method combined with Gaussian fitting is used to determine the periods and pattern distributions of surface structures from frequency spectra. For LIL, the processing parameters of incident and azimuth angles can be obtained corresponding to the period and pattern distribution. This work facilitates the detection of micro- and nano-structures, the analysis of pattern distribution in engineering, and the processing error analysis of LIL

ATP Synthase β

HDL cholesterol is known to be inversely correlated with cardiovascular disease due to its diverse antiatherogenic functions. SR-BI mediates the selective uptake of HDL-C. SR-BI knockout diminishes but does not completely block the transport of HDL; other receptors may be involved. Ectopic ATP synthase β-chain in hepatocytes has been previously characterized as an apoA-I receptor, triggering HDL internalization. This study was undertaken to identify the overexpression of ectopic ATP synthase β-chain on DIL-HDL uptake in primary hepatocytes in vitro and on plasma HDL levels in SR-BI knockout mice. Human ATP synthase β-chain cDNA was delivered to the mouse liver by adenovirus and GFP adenovirus as control. The adenovirus-mediated overexpression of β-chain was identified at both mRNA and protein levels on mice liver and validated by its increasing of DiL-HDL uptake in primary hepatocytes. In response to hepatic overexpression of β-chain, plasma HDL-C levels and cholesterol were reduced in SR-BI knockout mice, compared with the control. The present data suggest that ATP synthase β-chain can serve as the endocytic receptor of HDL, and its overexpression can reduce plasma HDL-C

Reduced arsenic clearance and increased toxicity in aquaglyceroporin-9-null mice

Expressed in liver, aquaglyceroporin-9 (AQP9) is permeated by glycerol, arsenite, and other small, neutral solutes. To evaluate a possible protective role, AQP9-null mice were evaluated for in vivo arsenic toxicity. After injection with NaAsO(2), AQP9-null mice suffer reduced survival rates (LD(50), 12 mg/kg) compared with WT mice (LD(50), 15 mg/kg). The highest tissue level of arsenic is in heart, with AQP9-null mice accumulating 10-20 times more arsenic than WT mice. Within hours after NaAsO(2) injection, AQP9-null mice sustain profound bradycardia, despite normal serum electrolytes. Increased arsenic levels are also present in liver, lung, spleen, and testis of AQP9-null mice. Arsenic levels in the feces and urine of AQP9-null mice are only approximately 10% of the WT levels, and reduced clearance of multiple arsenic species by the AQP9-null mice suggests that AQP9 is involved in the export of multiple forms of arsenic. Immunohistochemical staining of liver sections revealed that AQP9 is most abundant in basolateral membrane of hepatocytes adjacent to the sinusoids. AQP9 is not detected in heart or kidney by PCR or immunohistochemistry. We propose that AQP9 provides a route for excretion of arsenic by the liver, thereby providing partial protection of the whole animal from arsenic toxicity