Composition of fish species in the Bering and Chukchi Seas and their responses to changes in the ecological environment

Based on trawl surveys in the Bering Sea and Chukchi Sea during the 2010 Chinese National Arctic Research Expedition, fish biodiversity characteristics, such as fish composition, dominant species, biodiversity, and faunal characteristics were conducted. We also discussed the responses of fishes to the quick changes in Arctic climate. The results showed that a total of 41 species in 14 families were recorded in these waters. The dominant species were Hippoglossoides robustus, Boreogadus saida, Myoxocephalus scorpius, Lumpenus fabricii, and Artediellus scaber. There were 35 coldwater species, accounting for 85.37%, and six cold temperate species, occupying 14.63%. The habitat types of fish could be grouped as follows： 35 species of demersal fishes, five benthopelagic fishes, and one pelagic fish. The Shannon-Wiener diversity index （H＇） （range between 0 and 2.18, 1.21 on average） was not high, and descended from south to north. Climate change has caused some fishes to shift along their latitudinal and longitudinal distribution around the Arctic and Subarctic areas, and this could lead to the decline of Arctic fishery resources.

Identification of Light-Harvesting Chlorophyll a/b-Binding Protein Genes of Zostera marina L.and Their Expression Under Different Environmental Conditions

Photosynthesis includes the collection of light and a/b-binding （LHC） proteins. In high plants, the LHC gene family constituting the light-harvesting complex ofphotosystems I and II. the transfer of solar energy using light-harvesting chlorophyll includes LHCA and LHCB sub-families, which encode proteins Zostera marina L. is a monocotyledonous angiosperm and inhab- its submerged marine environments rather than land environments. We characterized the Lhca and Lhcb gene families of Z. marina from the expressed sequence tags （EST） database. In total, 13 unigenes were annotated as ZmLhc, 6 in Lhca family and 7 in ZmLhcb family. ZmLHCA and ZmLHCB contained the conservative LHC motifs and amino acid residues binding chlorophyll. The average similarity among mature ZmLHCA and ZmLHCB was 48.91% and 48.66%, respectively, which indicated a high degree of diver- gence within ZmLHChc gene family. The reconstructed phylogenetic tree showed that the tree topology and phylogenetic relation- ship were similar to those reported in other high plants, suggesting that the Lhc genes were highly conservative and the classification of ZmLhc genes was consistent with the evolutionary position of Z. marina. Real-time reverse transcription （RT） PCR analysis showed that different members of ZmLhca and ZmLhcb responded to a stress in different expression patterns. Salinity, temperature, light intensity and light quality may affect the expression of most ZmLhca and ZmLhcb genes. Inorganic carbon concentration and acidity had no obvious effect on ZmLhca and ZmLhcb gene expression, except for ZmLhca6.

The Effects of the Enriched Environment on Sympathetic Skin Response in Pentylenetetrazol-Kindled Rats

Epilepsy is a neurodegenerative disease that interrupts the normal electrical activity of the brain and promotes abnormal wiring in this organ.Epileptic seizures are often associated with significant changes in the functioning of the autonomic nervous system(ANS).

Special Issue on "Response of Polar Organisms and Natural Environment to Global Changes"

High altitude and high latitude regions on Earth are experiencing rapid changes in climate, with impacts on polar organisms and the environment. The persistent cold and sometimes inhospitable conditions create unique ecosystems and habitats for polar organisms.

The dynamic analysis of natural environment change of nuclear test field in Lop Nur region of China

Using earth satellite observation means, remote sensing information distilled technique and regional research production, we have roundly analyzed and made an integrated evaluation about the Lop Nur nuclear test field in western China. This product reveals the rarely-known nuke explosion effect and response events of geology conditions. It also offers us legible and practical first-hand materials about human extreme effects, important engineering environment and intimidating influence process. By excavating and appraising the materials gradually on the natural environment factors changing in the test field through macroscopic elimination and typical filtration, it can supply basic scientific data for security of national nuclear usage, appraising the nuclear environment synthetically and developing nuclear strategy expediently.

Inviting Contributions to a Special Issue on "Response of Polar Organisms and Natural Environment to Global Changes"

Dear Colleagues, We would like to invite you to submit manuscripts to a special issue of the journal Advances in Polar Science （APS） on ＂Response of Polar Organisms and Natural Environment to Global Changes＂.

Weakness in Economic Development of China

China has made the miracle of rapid development in GDP in recent 20 years. However, the economic development is at the cost of environment and resources, which will decrease the speed of economic development in return. China should gradually change the guideline from simply pursuing GDP growth to harmonious development, and establish a new set of performance-evaluating system, the resource-saving responsibility system as soon as possible.

NIR-Ⅱ-absorbing conjugated polymer-based theranostic agent for NIR-Ⅱfluorescence imaging-guided photothermal therapy acting synergistically with tumor microenvironment-responsive nitric oxide therapy

Despite tremendous advances in gas therapy,there are major concerns about the inevitable concentration of toxicity and the ability to perform real-time tracking of drug delivery.Second near-infrared(NIR-Ⅱ)window absorbing nanoplatforms hold great promise for precision medicine because of their excellent tissue penetration of light and non-invasive nature.In this study,we engineered an NIR-Ⅱlaser-activated theranostic agent(named CP-bF@PEG)that was composed of amphiphilic polymers(Pluronic F127,with polyethylene glycol,PEG,moieties)coated with an NIR-Ⅱ-absorbing conjugated polymer(PTTBBT,CP)and nitric oxide(NO)donor(benzofuroxan,bF),which served as an NIR-Ⅱphotothermal inducer and NO nanogenerator.Under deep tissue penetration of NIR-Ⅱlaser irradiation,CP-bF@PEG was found to possess fluorescence imaging ability to accurately identify tumor and excellent photothermal effect.Moreover,CP-bF@PEG could generate NO via glutathione activation in the tumor microenvironment in a controllable manner.This NIR-Ⅱ-absorbing polymer for high-contrast NIR-Ⅱfluorescence imaging-guided precision photothermal therapy achieved synergistic effects with NO therapy,as evidenced by pronounced tumor therapeutic efficacy and few side effects.This nanotheranostic agent is a highly promising candidate for high-contrast NIR-Ⅱimaging-guided precision photothermal therapy combined with gas therapy against cancer.

Multifunctional nano-herb based on tumor microenvironment for enhanced tumor therapy of gambogic acid

Multifunctional drug delivery systems(DDSs)have shown great prospects in overcoming the heterogeneous barrier of delivery drugs to the complex tumor microenvironment(TME).In this study,multifunctional AS/Ge-pNAB microgels with dual-active targeting,triple environment responsiveness,and fluorescence imaging capability were prepared through a straightforward procedure.This was aimed to improve the antitumor therapeutic application of gambogic acid(GA)based on the biological characteristics of TME.The microgels have a uniform double-layer structure with aptamer in the outer layer which helps in recognizing receptors on the tumor cells.The GA loaded nano-herb exhibited environment-responsive drug release profiles under acidic pH,reductant and high temperature.The nano-herb significantly improved the accumulation of GA in tumor sites through the synergistic combination of the enhanced permeability and retention effect and dual-ligand mediated internalization.Then,it accelerated intracellular drug release and killed tumor cells.Therefore,the nano-herb had specific therapeutic effects on the tumor in vitro and in vivo as they remarkably inhibited tumor growth while depicting optimal biosafety and lower levels of off-target toxicity.Overall,these findings demonstrate the great potential of the multifunctional AS/Ge-pNAB microgels for precisely targeted GA delivery and open a new avenue for the facile preparation of multifunctional DDSs.

Recent advances in engineering iron oxide nanoparticles for effective magnetic resonance imaging

Iron oxide nanoparticle(IONP)with unique magnetic property and high biocompatibility have been widely used as magnetic resonance imaging(MRI)contrast agent(CA)for long time.However,a review which comprehensively summarizes the recent development of IONP as traditional T_(2) CA and its new application for different modality of MRI,such as T_(1) imaging,simultaneous T_(2)/T_(1) or MRI/other imaging modality,and as environment responsive CA is rare.This review starts with an investigation of direction on the development of high-performance MRI CA in both T_(2) and T_(1) modal based on quantum mechanical outer sphere and Solomon-Bloembergen-Morgan(SBM)theory.Recent rational attempts to increase the MRI contrast of IONP by adjusting the key parameters,including magnetization,size,effective radius,inhomogeneity of surrounding generated magnetic field,crystal phase,coordination number of water,electronic relaxation time,and surface modification are summarized.Besides the strategies to improve r2 or r1 values,strategies to increase the in vivo contrast efficiency of IONP have been reviewed from three different aspects,those are introducing second imaging modality to increase the imaging accuracy,endowing IONP with environment response capacity to elevate the signal difference between lesion and normal tissue,and optimizing the interface structure to improve the accumulation amount of IONP in lesion.This detailed review provides a deep understanding of recent researches on the development of high-performance IONP based MRI CAs.It is hoped to trigger deep thinking for design of next generation MRI CAs for early and accurate diagnosis.