Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) constitute a large class of functional non-coding RNAs that play important roles in many biological processes. Thousands of lncRNAs have been identified in mammals. Pig is an important farm animal and biomedical model. It is essential to create a Sus scrofa lncRNA database to enable further study of the function and evolution of lncRNAs. In this study, we built a systematic S. scrofa lncRNA database named lncRNAnet that contains 53 468 S. scrofa lncRNAs with their sequence characteristics, genomic locations, conservation, overlapping SNPs and QTLs, and transcript abundance across nine tissues in pigs. We also integrated 212 922 human and mouse lncRNAs sequences into lncRNAnet. This database will provide for a systematic S. scrofa lncRNA classification and help investigators browse, search for and analyze lncRNAs as well as do BLAST searches among human, mouse and pig lncRNAs. Thus, lncRNAnet should improve the understanding of the biological functions of lncRNA. The database is freely accessible at http://lnc.rnanet.org/.

Ichthyophthiriasis (white spot disease) is an economically important protozoosis caused by Ichthyophthirius multifiliis in freshwater fish. Medication prevention and curation are the main methods to control this disease with vaccines in laboratory, but the efficacy of drugs practically acts on the freeliving (nonparasitic) stage of I. multifiliis and can be easily impaired by a variety of environmental factors. Thus, study on the biological properties of I. multifiliis and the complicated ecological relationships between I. multifiliis and other biotic or abiotic factors that influence epidemicity of ichthyophthiriasis will contribute to integrated control of ichthyophthiriasis. In this article, some I. multifiliis biological properties, such as systematic position and life cycle of I. multifiliis, are briefly reviewed, and the seemingly abnormal phenomenon associated with in vitro cultures is specially discussed; then, the epizootiology of ichthyophthiriasis is emphasized, which involves various biotic or abiotic factors that impact the life and action of I. multifiliis. The susceptibility and stress reaction of fish to I. multifiliis infection are stated. Also, the pathogenicity and diagnosis of ichthyophthiriasis were covered, and an overall assessment is finally made on ichthyophthiriasis control.

Western Hainan Island is the only tropic region in China that is experiencing desertification. In this paper, we hope to reconstruct the evolution of desertification from 1959 to 2003 and identify the driving force during this process. Using remote sensing, mapping, GIS analysis and statistical analysis with climatic factors and human factors, we found five phases of desertification in the western part of Hainan Island between the late-1950s and the early-2000s. Desertification first developed rapidly, then reversed, and is now fluctuating, due to natural and human driving forces. Human activities interact with climatic factors. INTRODUCTIONHainan Island off the south coast of China, ranging from 108837 0 to 111803 0 E, and from 18810 0 to 20810 0 N, contains the only tropical savanna in China (Figure 1). Under the influence of continental rain shadow, the climate in this region is semi-arid (Zeng and Zeng, 1989;, with a mean annual temperature of 24Á5-25Á28C, and a mean annual precipitation of less than 1000 mm (Table I). Precipitation varies greatly, with distinct dry and wet seasons; 90 percent of the rain falls from May to October, and little rain from November to April. The ratio of potential annual evaporation to average annual precipitation varies between 1Á97 and 4Á00. In addition, the windy season is long and the winds are strong. From winter to summer, the direction of wind varies greatly. In winter, cool and wet NNE to NE winds are prevalent in the western Part of Hainan Island, with a monthly mean maximum wind velocity of 6Á7 m s À1 . In spring, hot and dry SSW to S winds prevail, with a monthly mean maximum wind velocity of 6Á8 m s À1 , and in summer, NE winds prevail. Each summer and autumn, an annual average of about 6Á8 typhoons affect the western part of the Island; on average, there are 27Á2 gale days (defined as days with sustained winds faster than 17Á5 m s À1 ) per year, and the aeolian climatic erosivity (Dong and Kang, 1994) is 15Á7, approximately equal to that of the Sahelian region at the same latitude (Manguet, 1986;Li et al., 2000). The tropical semi-arid climate is responsible for the region's savanna environment, and the floristic composition is dominated by drought-tolerant herbs, shrubs and sparse trees, such as Tridax procumbens, Fimbristylis sericea, Opuntia dillenii, Pandanus tectorius, Eucalyptus exserta, with a vegetation cover of 5-50 per cent. In autumn, herbs gradually become dormant and die back, leaving a large area of the ground surface bare.The sand-mantled coastal plain and mesa of western Hainan Island are mostly covered by a Q 3 Basuo Formation and Q 4 Holocene paleoeolian sand , marine sand transported by offshore/onshore current, fluvial land degradation & development Land Degrad. Develop. 18: 473-485 DESERTIFICATION IN WESTERN HAINAN ISLAND, CHINA The degree of dynamism (Wang et al., 2001;Yan et al., 2002;Zhang et al., 2002.) is defined as follows:where U a is the area of desertification in the initial year of the period, U b is the area of desertification in the f...

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