The Unscented Kalman Filter estimates the plasma insulin from glucose measurement

Understanding the simultaneous interaction within the glucose and insulin homeostasis in real-time is very important for clinical treatment as well as for research issues. Until now only plasma glucose concentrations can be measured in real-time. To support a secure, effective and rapid treatment e.g. of diabetes a real-time estimation of plasma insulin would be of great value. A novel approach using an Unscented Kalman Filter that provides an estimate of the current plasma insulin concentration is presented, which operates on the measurement of the plasma glucose and Bergman's Minimal Model of the glucose insulin homeostasis. We can prove that process observability is obtained in this case. Hence, a successful estimator design is possible. Since the process is nonlinear we have to consider estimates that are not normally distributed. The symmetric Unscented Kalman Filter (UKF) will perform best compared to other estimator approaches as the Extended Kalman Filter (EKF), the simplex Unscented Kalman Filter (UKF), and the Particle Filter (PF). The symmetric UKF algorithm is applied to the plasma insulin estimation. It shows better results compared to the direct (open loop) estimation that uses a model of the insulin subsystem.     

木质纤维素分解复合菌系WSD-5组成菌株的分离及其产酶特性

复合菌系WSD-5具有高效的分解能力和产酶能力,以探明WSD-5的协同分解机理和优化高效组合为目的,通过纯培养分离手段,获得了11株细菌和3株真菌。16S rDNA比对结果表明,细菌分别为Pseudomonas sp.、Pseudomonas aeruginosa、Achromobacter sp.、Stenotrophomonas sp.、Bacillus fusiformis、Bacillus cereus、Brevundimonas sp.、Ochrobactrum sp.、Cytophaga sp.、Benzo(a)pyrene-degrading bacter、Flavobacterium sp.的近缘种;26S rDNA比对结果表明3株真菌分别为Pseudallescheria boydii、Coprinus cinereus的近缘种。分离菌株中有4株细菌和3株真菌能在CMC平板上产生透明圈,但以糖化力法测定酶活结果只有3株真菌具有产酶能力。3株真菌的酶活动态测定结果,酶活的高峰均出现在7?14 d,并且呈现多峰变化;3株真菌的酶活种类表现为,滤纸酶活性、纤维素内切酶活性和外切酶活性均以菌株F1最高,分别达到了1.05、5.53和0.56 U/mL,β-葡萄糖甘酶活性和木聚糖酶活性以菌株FC最高,分别达到0.44和58.95 U/mL,其木聚糖酶活为F1最高值的6倍。     

Additive and non-additive responses of seedlings to simulated herbivory and drought

Drought is a global threat, increasing in severity and frequency throughout tropical ecosystems. Although plants often face drought in conjunction with biotic stressors, such as herbivory or disease, experimental studies infrequently test the simultaneous effects of drought and biotic stress. Because multiple simultaneous stressors may have non-additive and complex effects on plant performance, it is difficult to predict plant responses to multiple threats from research examining one stress at a time. Using an experimental approach in the greenhouse, we investigated potential non-additivity in seedling growth and survival to simulated drought and herbivory across a phylogenetically diverse pool of ten Hawaiian plant species. Overall, seedlings showed limited tolerance, defined as similar growth and survival in stressed compared with control (non-stressed) plants, to simulated herbivory and drought, with the combined effects of both stressors to be generally additive and negative across species. Significant variation in stress tolerance was detected among species, and species variation was explained, at least in part, by functional traits such that species with larger root/shoot ratios and smaller seeds, tended to demonstrate greater herbivory and drought tolerance. Future research incorporating additional trait analysis and different stressors could shed light on mechanisms underlying seedling stress tolerance and clarify whether additivity, as detected in this study, extends across other combinations of stressors. Such work will provide needed insights into the regeneration of seedlings in tropical forests under threats of herbivory and climate change.     

Not only for males: the pleon‐holding mechanism in female calappids (Crustacea: Decapoda: Brachyura)

Adult female Calappidae were examined with light microscopy and microcomputed tomography for the presence of a pleon‐holding mechanism. A typical press‐button consisting of a protrusion on the fifth thoracic sternite and a socket on the sixth pleon segment was found in species of the genera Calappa, Calappula, Cycloes, Mursia, and Paracyclois. Within the genus Calappa, 15 of 17 species showed a complete press‐button mechanism, whereas in two species only a sternal button or none of the holding structures could be observed. The functionality of the mechanism was assessed by manually flexing and opening the pleon. This revealed a lack of function in species with fully developed holding structures, while others exhibited full function. Additionally, signs of abrasive wear could be identified with scanning electron microscopy on the surface of the holding structures of Calappa hepatica. The documentation of pleon‐holding structures of varying degrees of functionality in adult female eubrachyurans provides new insight into a morphological characteristic known exclusively from Brachyura.     

Recent advances in polysaccharide bio-based flocculants

Natural polysaccharides, derived from biomass feedstocks, marine resources, and microorganisms, have been attracting considerable attention as benign and environmentally friendly substitutes for synthetic polymeric products. Besides many other applications, these biopolymers are rapidly emerging as viable alternatives to harmful synthetic flocculating agents for the removal of contaminants from water and wastewater. In recent years, a great deal of effort has been devoted to improve the production and performance of polysaccharide bio-based flocculants. In this review, current trends in preparation and chemical modification of polysaccharide bio-based flocculants and their flocculation performance are discussed. Aspects including mechanisms of flocculation, biosynthesis, classification, purification and characterization, chemical modification, the effect of physicochemical factors on flocculating activity, and recent applications of polysaccharide bio-based flocculants are summarized and presented.     

一种保藏小单孢菌的简便方法─滤纸保藏法

用滤纸法保藏７２株小单孢菌在冰箱１０℃无干燥条件下,保藏７年５个月后检查其存活率、抗菌活力,观察其形态特征、培养特征和生化特征。结果表明,所保藏的菌种全部存活,且抗菌活力、生理特征等保持原有菌株的特征水平。我们认为,用滤纸法保藏小单孢菌效果好,方法简便,适用于在临床上、工业生产上和科研中有实用价值的庆大霉素、小诺霉素、西梭霉素、小单孢菌的保藏。     

Leishmania donovani: effect of temperature on RNA metabolism

The present study concerns RNA metabolism of Leishmania donovani and its changes during exposure to higher temperatures. The incorporation of labeled precursors into RNA was found to be greatly decreased during incubation at 37 °C in comparison with that at the optimum temperature of growth (22 °C). The decreased incorporation was shown to be mainly due to augmented template RNA degradation. The RNA-polymerase activity remained unaffected at the elevated temperature, but the uptake of labeled uracil was markedly inhibited.     

Constraining response output on conjunctive fixed-ratio 1 fixed-time reinforcement schedules: Effects on the postreinforcement pause

Two experiments used response-restriction procedures in order to test the independence of the factors determining response rate and the factors determining the size of the postreinforcement pause on interval schedules. Responding was restricted by response-produced blackout or by retracting the lever. In Experiment 1 with a Conjunctive FR 1 FT schedule, the blackout procedure reduced the postreinforcement pause more than the lever-retraction procedure did, and both procedures produced shorter pauses than did the schedule without response restriction. In Experiment 2 the interreinforcement interval was also manipulated, and the size of the pause was an increasing function of the interreinforcement interval, but the rate of increase was lower than that produced by fixed interval schedules of comparable interval durations. The assumption of functional independence of the postreinforcement pause and terminal rate in fixed interval schedules is questioned since data suggest that pause reductions resulted from constraining variation in response number compared to equivalent periodic schedules in which response number was allowed to vary.     

Protein identification and quantification from riverbank grape,Vitis riparia: Comparing SDS‐PAGE and FASP‐GPF techniques for shotgun proteomic analysis

Protein sample preparation optimisation is critical for establishing reproducible high throughput proteomic analysis. In this study, two different fractionation sample preparation techniques (in‐gel digestion and in‐solution digestion) for shotgun proteomics were used to quantitatively compare proteins identified in Vitis riparia leaf samples. The total number of proteins and peptides identified were compared between filter aided sample preparation (FASP) coupled with gas phase fractionation (GPF) and SDS‐PAGE methods. There was a 24% increase in the total number of reproducibly identified proteins when FASP‐GPF was used. FASP‐GPF is more reproducible, less expensive and a better method than SDS‐PAGE for shotgun proteomics of grapevine samples as it significantly increases protein identification across biological replicates. Total peptide and protein information from the two fractionation techniques is available in PRIDE with the identifier PXD001399 ( http://proteomecentral.proteomexchange.org/dataset/PXD001399 ).