Relationship between age, size, fecundity and climatic factors in Panax wangianus an endangered medicinal plant in the sacred grove forest of North-East India

Panax wangianus （Syn. Panax pseudoginseng） S. C. Sun （Araliaceae） is a critically endangered, medicinal plant of North-East India. The objective of this study was to determine how plant size affects flowering phenology and to evaluate the effect of climatic factors on flowering, fruiting and seed production. Data on vegetative and repro- ductive characters were monitored from 2016 individuals of Panax wangianus population in Law Lyngdoh, Smit sacred grove in Nongkrem, Shillong, India. Leaflet area was measured by a planimeter. Size variables of both vegetative and reproductive traits in different age classes were measured. Climatic factors were recorded from 2007 to 2009. Age was recorded by counting the number of bud scale scars on the rhizome. Light intensity and relative humidity were measured using a photometer, LiCor Model LI-189 and thermohygrometer respectively. Different climatic variables are correlated with vegetative and reproductive phenological events. Statistical analysis revealed that a strong positive correlation was observed between the age versus vegetative and reproductive characters, except 1%–2% plants showed neoteny. Morphological variations were observed in natural conditions on the basis of the number of prong and carpellate conditions. Phenological status revealed that most of the individuals of the age class 35–50 years and above 50 years contributed the most to flowering, fruiting and seed production. Age class was significant to predict the size of the plant and its reproductive capacity. Climatic factors such as temperature, precipitation and relative humidity show synergistic effect on both the vegetative and reproductive phases in Panax wangianus in the undisturbed Nongkrem sacred grove. The color of flowers of P. wangianus also varied depending upon the sunlight intensity. Therefore, in the view of conservationand management, the age class of 35–50 years and above 50 years is the most important for population sustainability.

U.PhyloMaker: An R package that can generate large phylogenetic trees for plants and animals

The previously released packages of the PhyloMaker series(i.e.S.PhyloMaker,V.PhyloMaker,and V.PhyloMaker2) have been broadly used to generate phylogenetic trees for ecological and biogeographical studies.Although these packages can be used to generate phylogenetic trees for any groups of plants and animals for which megatrees are available,they focus on generating phylogenetic trees for plants based on the megatrees provided by the packages.How to use these packages to generate phylogenetic trees based on other megatrees is not straightforward.Here,we present a new tool,which is called ‘U.PhyloMaker’,and a simple R script that can be used to easily generate large phylogenetic trees for both plants and animals at a relatively fast speed.

An Evaluation on the Ratio of Plant to Animal Protein in the Diet of Juvenile Sea Cucumber(Apostichopus japonicus):Growth,Nutrient Digestibility and Nonspecific Immunity

This study was conducted to evaluate the effects of plant/animal(P/A) protein ratios(viz.1:4, 1:3, 1:2, 1:1,2:1, 3:1, 4:1) on growth performance, body composition, apparent digestibility of diets, and nonspecific immunity of juvenile sea cucumber(Apostichopus japonicus). Sea cucumbers were divided into 21 plastic tanks, and each tank was stocked with 15 individuals(initial weight: about 23.73 g). Each feed was allocated to three replicates of sea cucumbers. The feeding experiment lasted for 50 days. Results indicated that weight gain rate(WGR) and body wall weight(BWW) significantly increased as dietary ratio of P/A increased from 1:4 to 3:1, and then decreased significantly with further increase of this ratio(P < 0.05). The body wall coefficient(BWC) showed a similar tendency to WGR and BWW, but no significance was detected among dietary treatments(P > 0.05). The apparent digestibility of dry matter, protein and lipid increased with ratio of P/A increasing from 1:4 to 2:1(P < 0.05), and then decreased with further increase of this ratio. Correspondingly, activities of trypsin and amylase were significantly increased as P/A increased from 1:4 to 2:1(P < 0.05). The activities of SOD and CAT showed a similar trend with WGR, with the highest value observed in the ratio of 1:2 and 1:1, respectively. Results above showed that moderate or relatively higher ratio of P/A protein(1:1-3:1) significantly increased the growth performance, apparent digestibility, and nonspecific immunity of sea cucumber. This will contribute to improving the feed formulation for juvenile cucumbers.

Evaluation of Animal and Plant Resources Status Quo after the Reservoir Construction in Turks River and Protection Measures

[Objective] The aim was to assess the status quo of animal and plant resources in Turks River after the construction of the reservoir.[Method] Through field investigation,document check and sample identification,the distribution of animal and plants resources in Turks River after the construction of the reservoir was studied and corresponding protection measures were proposed.[Result] Under the influence of reservoir,there were fifteen types of rare animals,one species of national primary protected animals,seven species of national secondary protected animals,one species of provincial primary protected animals,six species of provincial secondary protected animals;there were twenty one species of rare plants,including two species of national secondary plant,five species of national tertiary protected animals,six types of Xinjiang primary protected plants,two species of Xinjiang secondary protected plants and six types of tertiary protected plants in Xinjiang.Protective policies for the land ecological environment were proposed,including corresponding compensation according to the rules and policies of government,plans being formulated for rare species protection,construction of natural reserves and artificial breeding base,usage of the environment in the reservoir and changes of ecological situation etc.[Conclusion] The study provided basis for the protection of animal and plants resources in Turks.

Summary of Animal and Plant Quarantine Objects in the Imported Parcels and X-ray Pattern Identification

The quantity of the imported parcels in China has increased rapidly,becoming an important means for criminals to hide the prohibited animal and plant quarantine objects.The x-ray applied to the port of post inspection can speed up inspection and better protect the ecological safety of China by mastering its method of judging animal and plant quarantine objects.

The Translation of Idioms of Animals and Plants in Different Cultures

We all know that idioms which contain plants and animals play an essential role in our daily life, an idiom full of cultural connotation can polish one's words and make it more lively. There are a large number of animals and plants both in Chinese and English idioms, and the similarities and dissimilarities of figurative images between English and Chinese idioms containing with animals and plants can reflect different characteristics of Chinese and Western cultures. This thesis introduces the relation between culture and translation, and then gives some examples to illustrate the same animals and plants' similarity and dissimilarity in idioms between Chinese and English. The thesis also enumerates a lot of idioms of animals and plants which gives reader a deeper understanding to idioms and have a clear definition about the connotation of animals and plants in different culture and introduces the main methods of translation.

Statistical Analysis of the Relationship between Macroscopic Anomalies and Earthquakes

Macroscopic anomalies from"Earthquake Cases in China"are statistically analyzed in this paper. The conclusion is as follows: The probability of occurrence of macroscopic anomalies before earthquakes increases with magnitude. The larger the earthquake magnitude, the more macroscopic anomalies appear. The temporal distribution of macroscopic anomalies is as follows: There are few macroscopic anomalies at beginning; as time goes on,the number of macroscopic anomalies increases; the increase of macroscopic anomaly quantity accelerates with the impending earthquake and reaches a climax when the earthquake breaks out. The spatial distribution pattern of macroscopic anomalies is as follows: macroscopic anomalies appear at the epicenter at the beginning,then spread out,and finally arise explosively at the epicenter area.

Analysis of genetic relationships between grain milling quality traits and plant agronomic traits of rice

Since seed and maternal plant are in different generations,the grain milling traits and plant agronomic traits of rice are based on differentgenetic models.Using the genetic modelswhich could estimate covariance componentsbetween two traits with unequal design matri-ces,we analyzed the gentic relationships be-

A Contrastive Study on Folk Custom Semantics of Chinese and English Words of Plants and Animals

This paper attempts to make a comparison of folk custom semantics on Chinese and English words of plants and animals.

Determination of Indoxacarb Residue in Foodstuffs of Plant and Animal Origin by GC-ECD and LC-MS/MS

An effective method for the trace analysis of indoxacarb residue in foodstuffs of plant and animal origin [grapefruit, ginger, fresh soybean, bamboo shoot, qing-gen-cai （cruciferous vegetable）, chicken, fish, and pork] was developed using gas chromatography （GC-ECD） and liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry （LC-MS/MS）. Samples were extracted using acetone and n-hexane mixed solvent （1：2, v/v） and then purified using solid-phase extraction （SPE） columns. The extracts were analyzed using GC-ECD and LC-MS/MS. The multiple reaction monitoring （MRM） scheme used involved transitions of the precursor ions to selected two product ions in which one pair for identification was m/z 529 → 293 and another pair for quantification was m/z 529 → 249. The detection limits （LODs） of the method were 0.0015 and 0.0006 mg kg^-1, and the quantification limits （LOQs） were 0.005 and 0.002 mg kg^-1 for GC-ECD and LC-MS/MS, respectively. The relative standard deviations （RSDs） of recovery for indoxacarb were lower than 15% in 10 types of agro-products. Ten repetitive determinations of recovery achieved good reproducibility for indoxacarb and the recovery ranged from 72.08 to 113.74%. The proposed procedure was applied to the analysis of several real samples of different origin from Fujian Province, China, and 299 samples were screened for indoxacarb residue, of which 5 positive samples were found.

Sperm immobilization activity of Allium sativum L. and other plant extracts

<abstract>Aim: To identify possible spermicidal agents through screening a number of edible medicinal plants with antimicrobial activity. Methods: Initial screening was made on the basis of ram cauda epididymal sperm immobilization immediately after addition of extracts. The most potent extract was selected and was evaluated on both ram and human spermatozoa. To unravel its mode of action several sperm functional tests were carried out, namely viability of cells, hypo-osmotic swelling test for membrane integrity and assays of membrane-bound enzyme 5'-nucleotidase and acrosomal marker enzyme acrosin. Results: The crude aqueous extract of the bulb of Allium sativum L. showed the most promising results by instant immobilization of the ram epididymal sperm at 0.25 g/mL and human ejaculated sperm at 0.5 g/mL. Sperm immobilizing effects were irreversible and the factor of the extract responsible for immobilization was thermostable up to 90 癈. On boiling at 100 癈 for 10 minutes, this activity was markedly reduced. Moreover, this extract was able to cause aggregation of ram sperms into small clusters after 30 minutes of incubation at 37 癈. However this property was not found in human spermatozoa. More than 50 % reduction in sperm viability and hypo-osmotic swelling occurred in treated sperm as compared with the controls, indicating the possibility of plasma membrane disintegration which was further supported by the significant reduction in the activity of membrane bound 5'-nucleotidase and acrosomal acrosin. Conclusion: The crude aqueous extract of A. sativum bulb possesses spermicidal activity in vitro.

Oxidative Stress and Role of Natural Plant Derived Antioxidants in Animal Reproduction

The experimental knowledge on the role of oxidative stress,and beneficial and detrimental effects of plant derived antioxidants in male and female animal reproduction are reviewed in this article.Free radical-induced oxidative stress in animal reproduction causes great loss to livestock industry.Antioxidant therapy has been implicated to be effective in preventing diseases resulted from oxidative stress.Considering the advantages of lower side effects of natural antioxidants than those of synthetic antioxidants,plants or their extracts have been extensively utilized in animals.Although many advances have been gained on application of plant derived antioxidants in alleviating oxidative stress,debatable issues still exist.Because many opposite effects were observed even using plant extracts containing similar bioactive substances in the same animal species.Therefore,plant derived antioxidants,like free radicals,are ＂double-edged swords＂ in animal reproduction,representing that they may exhibit beneficial or detrimental effects in animal reproduction,including spermatogenesis,semen functions,estrous cycles,ovulation,ovary functions,endometrium,embryo development,and pregnancy.Besides dose-dependent manner as an explanation of plant extracts＇ dual function,future studies are needed to investigate the mechanism of double-edged actions of plant derived antioxidants in different animal reproduction systems.

Different mechanisms underlie similar species-area relationships in two tropical archipelagoes

Despite much research in the field of island biogeography,mechanisms regulating insular diversity remain elusive.Here,we aim to explore mechanisms underlying plant species-area relationships in two tropical archipelagoes in the South China Sea.We found positive plant species-area relationships for both coral and continental archipelagoes.However,our results showed that different mechanisms contributed to similar plant species-area relationships between the two archipelagoes.For coral islands,soil nutrients and spatial distance among communities played major roles in shaping plant community structure and species diversity.By contrast,the direct effect of island area,and to a lesser extent,soil nutrients determined plant species richness on continental islands.Intriguingly,increasing soil nutrients availability(N,P,K)had opposite effects on plant diversity between the two archipelagoes.In summary,the habitat quality effect and dispersal limitation are important for regulating plant diversity on coral islands,whereas the passive sampling effect,and to a lesser extent,the habitat quality effect are important for regulating plant diversity on continental islands.More generally,our findings indicate that island plant species-area relationships are outcomes of the interplay of both niche and neutral processes,but the driving mechanisms behind these relationships depends on the type of islands.

The Experiment Study of the Influence on Plant Seeds and Aquatic Biological Survival in High Altitude Environment

There is A certain foundation in this experiment. It was the second time we did this experiment. The purposes are three parts, first, explore the 30000~40000 meters high sky with two cameras recording the scene. The Second, find out whether the high sky condition(temperature, air pressure, cosmic ray) make influence on plants seeds. The third, text whether normal aquatic animal is able to survive in high sky. The conclusions are also three parts. It is important to set a deadline for my group member to finish the assignment, and also check their process, or they might delay their own part of work or they are not in charge of the work. As the leader, I should be thoughtful. Not only about members’ assignment, but also the details of their work, previously. Discuss about each task with group to ensure the correctness. Last but not least, every part of the experiment needs to be tested carefully. Only if we try our best to prevent accidents that might happen, then the experiment is able to success.

Animal and Plant Species in Antagonistic and Mutualistic Networks, a Multispecies Mean Field Model

We construct a dynamic system model of a web of NA?animal species interacting with NP plant species using a system of coupled differential equations. The model has a parameter which represents the effect of animal on plant species that can be positive (mutualistic interaction) or negative (antagonistic interaction). We work a Multispecies Mean Field Model MMFM in which the full set of NA and NP variables are reduced to a couple of an average animal and plant species. We study the conditions for existence of the MMFM and relate the result to the difference between animal and plant species in the network. We compare our results with empirical data from pollinators (mutualistic) and herbivorous insect (antagonistic) networks. We conclude by combining analytical and empirical work that antagonistic networks present fewer animal species in relation to plant species than mutualistic ones.

人类“绿色基因”假说(Human"Green-Gene"Hypothesis):核心内容、科学佐证与实践意义

首先,对人类“绿色基因”的形成进行探讨,包括人类(动物)与植物共同维持大气中碳氧平衡、人类(动物)与植物互为食物链关系、人体功能中存在植物性功能、绿色是人类眼睛最易看到的颜色、人类血红蛋白的结构相似于叶绿素结构、作为人体呼吸器官的肺部相似于树木地上部形状(树形)、人类肠道绒毛相似于植物根系毛细根等方面。进而对支持早期人类生活的植物类型与栽培植物诞生进行研究。在此基础上,提出人类“绿色基因”假说及其核心内容,归纳该假说的科学佐证。人类“绿色基因”假说从整体的、发展的思维解释人类与植物关系,奠定了园艺疗法、园林康养、森林康养的坚实基础,并指出接触植物、进行园艺操作与田园劳作是人们实现接地、激发触觉潜在功能的途径。

Desert vegetation distribution and species-environment relationships in an oasis-desert ecotone of northwestern China

Environmental heterogeneity significantly affects the structure of ecological communities.Exploring vegetation distribution and its relationship with environmental factors is essential to understanding the abiotic mechanism(s)driving vegetation succession,especially in the ecologically fragile areas.In this study,based on the quantitative analysis of plant community and environmental factors in 68 plots at 10 different transects in the Minqin oasis-desert ecotone(ODE)of northwestern China,we investigated desert vegetation distribution and species-environment relationships using multivariate analysis.Two-way indicator species analysis(TWINSPAN),detrended correspondence analysis(DCA),and canonical correspondence analysis(CCA)methods were used.A total of 28 species,belonging to 27 genera in 8 families,were identified.Chenopodiaceae,Zygophyllaceae,Gramineae,and Leguminosae were the largest families.Annual and perennial herbs accounted for 28.60%of the total number of plants,while shrubs(42.90%)were the most dominant.Nitraria tangutorum was the constructive species of the desert plant community.We divided the 68 plots surveyed in this study into 7 community types,according to the results of TWINSPAN.The distribution of these 7 communities in the DCA ordination graph showed that species with a similar ecotype were clustered together.Results of CCA indicated that groundwater was the dominant factor influencing vegetation distribution,while distance between plot and oasis(Dis)and soil electrical conductivity(EC)were the local second-order factors.Our study suggests that optimizing the utilization of groundwater in oases is key to controlling the degradation of desert vegetation.The favorable topographic conditions of sand dunes should be fully utilized for vegetal dune stabilization,and the influence of soil salinity on the selection of afforestation tree species should be considered.

Differential Genotoxicity of the Crude Leaf Extract of a Medicinal Plant, Casearia tomentosa

The genotoxic potentiality of the crude leaf extract of Casearia tomentosa, a medicinal preparation, has been evaluated in Swiss albino mice. The extract significantly induced the division_disruptive chromosomal changes in bone marrow cells as well as in primary spermatocytes; the latter also exhibited marked increase in synaptic disruptions. A significant decrease in sperm count was noted. The incidence of structural damages in chromosomes, however, remained within the range of control level frequency. This herbal preparation, therefore, appears to be primarily spindle_poisoning in its action, but not clastogenic. The probable mechanism of this differential genotoxicity is discussed.