Correlation Relation for the Membrane Transport ParametersLp, σ, and ω

We derive a formula for the correlation of the three practical transportparameters L_p, , and appearing in Kedem-Katchalskyequations. It has a form = KL_p/v_s(1-), where K = 0.0306 is a universal constant independent ofthe choice of a membrane and a solute. It can be used to calculate the valueof any of these parameters, provided the other two and the molar volume of the solute are known. The formula couldbe very useful, in particular when measurements of the parameters aredifficult or even impossible.     

Evaluation of tomato genotypes for resistance to whitefly (Bemisia tabaci Gennadius) and tomato leaf curl virus in eastern India

Tomato production in the tropics is threatened by whitefly infestation and tomato leaf curl virus (ToLCV) causing severe economic losses. No stable resistance to these biotic challenges has been identified in eastern India. Therefore, initial screening of 19 advance breeding lines of tomato was carried out during the year 2016–17. Based on the whitefly population per leaf and tomato leaf curl disease severity, eight tomato genotypes were selected for final screening during the year 2017–18. Morphological leaf traits and biochemical parameters in tomato leaf were assessed in selected genotypes and considered as potential mediators of resistance. Significant variation was observed for whitefly infestation and ToLCV disease severity among the tomato genotypes tested. Higher leaf trichome density with narrow and thinner leaves and higher total phenol content in leaf emerged as reliable morphological and biochemical markers for early selection of tomato genotype resistant to whitefly and ToLCV disease. The resistance of tomato genotypes 2016/Res-1, 2015/Res-5, 2014/Res-1 and 2014/Res-4 to both whitefly and ToLCV disease is based on antixenotic properties and they could be utilized in future breeding to enhance stable resistance against these biotic challenges.     

Canonical correlation between groups of acarine,fungal and environmental variables in bulk grain ecosystems

Interrelations among acarine, fungal, and environmental components of bulk grain ecosystems were determined by canonical correlation analyses. Twenty-seven variables were measured monthly in samples collected from 2 identical grain bulks in a granary in Winnipeg during the years 1959–67. The relationships between 9 kinds of arthropods and 6 environ mental variables, and between the same arthropods and 12 kinds of actinomycetes and fungi were examined. The maximum canonical correlation between arthropods and environmental factors was 0.35, and between arthropods and microorganisms was 0.28; both are highly significant (p<0.001). In the first analysis correlations of the variables with the canonical variates revealed that correlations of the variables with the canonical variates revealed that sampling location, depth, and temperature are the primary environmental antecedents involved, and the criterion is primarily composed of mites Tarsonemus spp.,Tydeus interruptus and the psocid, Lepinotus reticulatus. In the second analysis the fungi Nigrospora sphaerica, Aspergillus spp., and Cochliobolus sativus are involved with the mites Cheyletus eruditus and Acarus siro. Generally, the results of these analyses complement the findings of factor and regression analyses of the same data reported earlier.     

亚临床甲状腺功能减退与动脉粥样硬化的相关性研究

目的:探讨亚临床甲状腺功能减退与动脉粥样硬化的相关性.方法:选择2010年3月至2012年3月我院收治的46例亚临床甲状腺功能减退患者为亚临床甲减组,另选取46例甲状腺功能正常的同期门诊老年体检者为对照组,分析亚临床甲状腺功能减退与动脉粥样硬化的相关性.结果:亚临床甲减组患者的甘油三酯(TC)、低密度脂蛋白胆固醇(LDL-C)水平和颈动脉粥样斑块的发生率均显著高于对照组,差异有统计学意义(P＜0.05).多元线性逐步回归分析结果显示颈动脉内膜中层厚度(IMT)与TC、LDL-C及促甲状腺激素(TSH)水平独立相关;FT3、FT4与血脂水平均存在不同程度的负相关,TSH与血脂水平均存在不同程度的正相关(P＜0.05).结论:亚临床甲状腺功能减退时动脉粥样硬化的发生可能与脂代谢异常有关.     

Genetic variance and covariance patterns of larval development in the small white butterflyPieris rapae crucivora Boisduval

Quantitative genetic theory indicates that genetic covariance patterns among life history characters should have played an important role as genetic constraint in life history evolution. Highly positve (and negative) genetic correlations between larval development time (or larval growth rate) and adult size characters were detected by means of sib analysis for the small white butterfly Pieris rapae crucivora. The genetic associations suggested that evolution of developmental characteristics and adult phenotypic traits were constrained by pleiotropy. The positive genetic correlations between development time and adult body size may be compatible with the trade-off between them, but the negative genetic correlations between larval growth rate and adult body size are not predicted from theories of optimal energy allocation. That phenotypic correlations drastically differed from the genetic correlations indicates limitations of evolutionary inferences based only on phenotypic variation.     

Relation between mRNA expression and sequence information in Desulfovibrio vulgaris: combinatorial contributions of upstream regulatory motifs and coding sequence features to variations in mRNA abundance

The context-dependent expression of genes is the core for biological activities, and significant attention has been given to identification of various factors contributing to gene expression at genomic scale. However, so far this type of analysis has been focused either on relation between mRNA expression and non-coding sequence features such as upstream regulatory motifs or on correlation between mRNA abundance and non-random features in coding sequences (e.g., codon usage and amino acid usage). In this study multiple regression analyses of the mRNA abundance and all sequence information in Desulfovibrio vulgaris were performed, with the goal to investigate how much coding and non-coding sequence features contribute to the variations in mRNA expression, and in what manner they act together. Using the AlignACE program, 442 over-represented motifs were identified from the upstream 100bp region of 293 genes located in the known regulons. Regression of mRNA expression data against the measures of coding and non-coding sequence features indicated that 54.1% of the variations in mRNA abundance can be explained by the presence of upstream motifs, while coding sequences alone contribute to 29.7% of the variations in mRNA abundance. Interestingly, most of contribution from coding sequences is overlapping with that from upstream motifs; thereby a total of 60.3% of the variations in mRNA abundance can be explained when coding and non-coding information was included. This result demonstrates that upstream regulatory motifs and coding sequence information contribute to the overall mRNA expression in a combinatorial rather than an additive manner.     

饮食和生活习惯与胃癌的相关性研究进展

胃癌是起源于胃粘膜上皮细胞的恶性肿瘤。近年来,虽然大部分国家胃癌发生率呈下降趋势,但我国胃癌的发病率和死亡率仍居高不下。胃癌的发生是多因素共同参与的复杂过程,如与种族、遗传、年龄、性别、幽门螺旋杆菌感染、饮食等因素相关,其中饮食及生活习惯被认为与胃癌的发生关系密切。而且早期胃癌的预后相对良好,降低发生率是防治胃癌的一项关键措施。因此,通过了解饮食及生活习惯因素与胃癌之间的关系,可以加强胃癌的一级预防,从而改善胃癌患者预后。本文就高盐、高脂饮食,蛋白质、蔬菜水果摄入以及吸烟、饮酒等因素与胃癌关系的研究进展进行综述,以期对胃癌的预防奠定一定基础。     

Dynamics of bacterial community structure during blooms of Cochlodinium polykrikoides (Gymnodiniales,Dinophyceae) in Korean coastal waters

Recent studies of dinoflagellates have reported that blooms can be closely related to the characteristics of the associated bacteria, but studies of the correlation between the toxic dinoflagellate, Cochlodinium polykrikoides and their associated bacterial community composition has not been explored. To understand this correlation, changes in bacterial community structure through the evolution of a C. polykrikoides bloom in Korean coastal waters via clone library analysis were investigated. Although there were no apparent changes in physio-chemical factors during the onset of the C. polykrikoides bloom, the abundance of bacteria bourgeoned in parallel with C. polykrikoides densities. Alpha-, gamma-proteobacteria and Flavobacteria were found to be dominant phyletic groups during C. polykrikoides blooms. The proportion of gamma-proteobacteria was lower (11.8%) during peak of the bloom period compared to the post-bloom period (26.2%). In contrast, alpha-proteobacteria increased in dominance during blooms. Among the alpha-proteobacteria, members of Rhodobacterales abruptly increased from 38% of the alpha-proteobacteria before the bloom to 74% and 56% during the early bloom and peak bloom stages, respectively. Moreover, multiple sites concurrently hosting C. polykrikoides blooms also contained high portions of Rhodobacterales and principal component analysis (PCA) demonstrated that Rhodobacterales had a positive, significant correlation with C. polykrikoides abundances (p ≤ 0.01, Pearson correlation coefficients). Collectively, this study reveals the specific clades of bacteria that increase (Rhodobacterales) and decrease (gamma-proteobacteria) in abundance C. polykrikoides during blooms.