Quinquelaophonte Aurantius sp. nov., a new harpacticoid species (Copepoda: Harpacticoida: Laophontidae: Quinquelaophonte) from New Zealand

The new species Quinquelaophonte aurantius sp.nov. is described, based on specimens collected in Portobello Bay, New Zealand. The species is distinguishable for having long fine setules in the anal operculum distal edge, a breadth ratio of caudal rami length above 3.5, and a rudimentary antenna abexopodal spine. This new species differentiates from Q. parasigmoides and Q. wellsi on the following autapomorphs; short spine-like outer seta in segment 2 of females P3 endopod and the partial reduction of setae in spines from male P3 and P4, longer V-shaped caudal rami, an almost non-existent terminal portion of the antenna exopod with short lateral setae. Phylogenetic analyses demonstrate the position of Quinquelaophonte within the family Laophontidae.

Publication LSID: urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:D5E5EB23-8348-446D-9606-EA8B27EC0EDC

LSID for Q. aurantius: urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:834C4218-209B-4B70-8AD5-35512B5FCB29     

Host specificity of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Anagrus epos</Emphasis>: a potential biological control agent of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Homalodisca vitripennis</Emphasis>

Anagrus epos Girault (Hymenoptera: Mymaridae) is a candidate for a classical biological control program targeting the glassy-winged sharpshooter (GWSS), Homalodisca vitripennis (Germar) (Hemiptera: Cicadellidae), in California. Because mass production of GWSS is expensive and labor-intensive, a factitious host that is more economical to produce is desirable to mass produce A. epos for colonization and augmentation efforts. Here, we report the results of host specificity tests and potential rearing techniques for A. epos under laboratory conditions. Females discriminated and oviposited into eggs of seven cicadellid species: H. vitripennis, Circulifer tenellus (Baker), Erythroneura variabilis Beamer, Amblysellus grex (Oman), Graphocephala atropunctata (Signoret), Macrosteles severini Hamilton, and H. liturata Ball, and two cerambycid species: Phoracantha recurva Newman and P. semipunctata (F.). Anagrus epos successfully completed development in the eggs of H. vitripennis, C. tenellus, E. variabilis, A. grex, G. atropunctata, M. severini, and H. liturata. The use of a factitious host and potential nontarget effects of this generalist parasitoid are discussed.     

Establishment of paternity testing system using microsatellite markers in Chinese Holstein

To estimate the efficiency of microsatellite markers in paternity testing among Chinese Holstein, 30 microsatellite loci were used to differentiate 330 Chinese Holstein genotypes, according to the calculation of the allele frequency, number of alleles, effective number of alleles, genetic heterozygosity, polymorphic information content (PIC), and the exclusion probability in this cattle population. The results demonstrated that the exclusion probability ranged from 0.620 in locus BM1818 to 0.265 in locus INRA005 with the average of 0.472 and 11 microsatellite markers exceeding 0.5. The combined exclusion probability of nine microsatellite markers was over 0.99. The result showed that paternity testing of Chinese Holstein was basically resolved using the nine microsatellite markers selected.     

Assessment of PLSDA cross validation

Classifying groups of individuals based on their metabolic profile is one of the main topics in metabolomics research. Due to the low number of individuals compared to the large number of variables, this is not an easy task. PLSDA is one of the data analysis methods used for the classification. Unfortunately this method eagerly overfits the data and rigorous validation is necessary. The validation however is far from straightforward. Is this paper we will discuss a strategy based on cross model validation and permutation testing to validate the classification models. It is also shown that too optimistic results are obtained when the validation is not done properly. Furthermore, we advocate against the use of PLSDA score plots for inference of class differences.     

微生物能力验证样品均匀性试验的研究

目的：对人工制备的微生物能力验证样品进行均匀性试验,验证是否符合能力验证的要求。方法：随机抽取能力验证样品,采用AOAC990.12测试方法,菌落总数的结果经单因素方差分析评价其均匀性。结果：样品D均匀性试验结果为样品间变异较小,样品足够均匀;样品C均匀性试验统计学结果显示样品间差异存在显著性,通过借鉴方法的重复性和再现性的标准差对能力验证总体标准差进行评估,计算Sσ,该值小于能力验证的推荐值,该样品的均匀性可能满足能力验证的对样品要求。     

微量液基稀释法测定中药活性成分的体外抗曲霉菌活性*

通过测定中药活性成分肉桂醛和柠檬醛对常见深部条件致病性真菌黄曲霉、烟曲霉的抗菌活性,为建立中药抗曲霉菌药敏试验标准提供参考依据。参照美国国家临床试验标准化委员会(National Committee for Clinical Laboratory Standards,NCCLS)提出的标准,用微量液基稀释法分别测定肉桂醛和柠檬醛对黄曲霉、烟曲霉的抗菌活性。肉桂醛对黄曲霉、烟曲霉最低抑菌浓度(Minimal inhibitory concentration,MIC)分别为：0.100μg/mL,0.050μg/mL,柠檬醛对黄曲霉、烟曲霉的MIC分别为：2．600μg/mL、0．650μg/mL。中药活性成分肉桂醛和柠檬醛具有高效抗曲霉作用。该研究可为制定中药抗曲霉作用评价标准提供参考依据。     

Adaptive Inference for Distinguishing Credible from Incredible Patterns in Nature

Strong inference is a powerful and rapid tool that can be used to identify and explain patterns in molecular biology, cell biology, and physiology. It is effective where causes are single and separable and where discrimination between pairwise alternative hypotheses can be determined experimentally by a simple yes or no answer. But causes in ecological systems are multiple and overlapping and are not entirely separable. Frequently, competing hypotheses cannot be distinguished by a single unambiguous test, but only by a suite of tests of different kinds, that produce a body of evidence to support one line of argument and not others. We call this process “adaptive inference”. Instead of pitting each member of a pair of hypotheses against each other, adaptive inference relies on the exuberant invention of multiple, competing hypotheses, after which carefully structured comparative data are used to explore the logical consequences of each. Herein we present an example that demonstrates the attributes of adaptive inference that have developed out of a 30-year study of the resilience of ecosystems. Received 14 November 2000; accepted 15 June 2001.     

The role of bivalve molluscs as tools in estuarine sediment toxicity testing: a review

Estuarine sediments frequently are repositories and therefore potential sources of anthropogenic contaminants. Many organic and metallic chemical compounds released into aquatic systems bind to particulates and so accumulate in the sediments, thus, sediments become repositories of contaminants in estuaries. These may also cause contamination through diffusion of porewater, resuspension of particulates and dispersal of benthic fauna. There is a need to assess the biological affects of these anthropogenic contaminants because they may be toxic to infauna and bottomfish. Sediment toxicity bioassays are a means for carrying out such an assessment and primarily provide data on toxicity by measuring the effects on the test organism. Existing sediment toxicity bioassays rely on a battery of aquatic toxicity tests, which are based on the extraction of pore water, and elutriate from sediments and then subjecting these sediment phases to toxicity testing regimes. Two estuarine bivalve molluscs, Scrobicularia plana and Tapes semidecussatus were used to assess the ecotoxicity of field-collected sediments from estuarine and coastal areas around the Irish and English Coast over a 3-year study period. A variety of endpoints were measured during the study including survival in air, behaviour, animal condition, biochemistry, soft tissue metal concentrations, lysosomal membrane integrity and histopathology. Of these endpoints, the most sensitive were survival, survival in air, lysosomal membrane integrity, behaviour and histopathology.     

Imaging genetics --- towards discovery neuroscience

Imaging genetics is an emerging field aimed at identifying and characterizing genetic variants that influence measures derived from anatomical or functional brain images, which are in turn related to brain-related illnesses or fundamental cognitive, emotional and behavioral processes, and are affected by environmental factors. Here we review the recent evolution of statistical approaches and outstanding challenges in imaging genetics, with a focus on population-based imaging genetic association studies. We show the trend in imaging genetics from candidate approaches to pure discovery science, and from univariate to multivariate analyses. We also discuss future directions and prospects of imaging genetics for ultimately helping understand the genetic and environmental underpinnings of various neuropsychiatric disorders and turning basic science into clinical strategies.     

心肺运动指导个体化心衰患者康复的初步总结报告*

目的: 慢性心力衰竭患者（CHF）康复治疗和二级预防已经是临床共识,但用心肺运动试验（CPET）指导制定个体化运动处方国内尚少。方法: 选择10例CHF完成CPET评估,随机分为两组（n=5）：对照组进行没有运动;运动组增加△50%W功率运动30 min/d,每周5 d,共12周。在治疗前和3个月后分别进行评估。结果: 两组患者没有显著差异（P>0.05）。运动组12周后,运动持续时间从8 min显著提高到23 min（P<0.001）; 6分钟步行距离从394 m显著提高到470 m（P<0.05）;生活质量评分从25分显著降低至3分（P<0.01）。而对照组治疗前后均没有显著改变（P>0.05）;治疗前后的改变均显著小于运动组（P<0.01）。结论: 在CPET客观定量功能评估指导制定个体化高强度运动康复安全有效,值得大力推广应用。