Ecological studies ofRoparidia fasciata in Okinawa island I. Distribution of single- and multiple-foundress colonies

To compare between a single-foundress colony and a multiple-foundress colony at the pre-emergence state of a social wasp, R. fasciata, nest distributions and colony terminations were investigated in 8 sites with different environmental conditions. Marking experiments were also conducted in two sites at high wasp density.

1. Foundress populations were composed of single-foundress colonies in sites C, D and E, new environments where have recently suited for inhaviting, at low wasp density. In sites like A and B which were used year after year, at high wasp density, coexistence of multiple-and single-foundress colonies was observed.
2. From the marking experiment, nests initiated by a single foundress were more distant away from the nest where the original foundress emerged the fall before, compared to multiple-foundress nests which were initiated by multiple foundress.
3. Greater percentage of colony termination was observed in single-foundress nests than in multiple-foundress nests, and the colony termination in single-foundress colonies increased with the nest density.
4. Ant predation was the key factor causing the variation of the percentage of colony termination.

     

Distribution of Polymorphus minutus among its intermediate hosts

Hirsch R. P. 1979. Distribution of Polymorphus minutus among its intermediate hosts. International journal for Parasitology10: 243–248. In 1971, Crofton investigated patterns of distribution of Polymorphus minutus in the intermediate host, Gammarus pulex. Among his conclusions were: (1) P. minutus populations occur in patterns similar to negative binomial distributions, and (2) parasite-induced host mortality results in patterns similar to truncated (high end) negative binomial distributions. Those conclusions, however, were not tested by statistical analyses. To test Crofton's observations, Chi-square goodness of fit tests were applied to data used by Crofton and an additional two stations sampled by Hynes & Nicholas in 1963. Analyses were expanded to include five theoretical distributions, four patterns of host mortality and various rates of host mortality. Truncated forms of negative binomial, positive binomial and Poisson distributions were also investigated where nontruncated distributions failed to fit observed distributions. It was found that negative binomial distributions most frequently describe patterns of P. minutus distribution with the exception of one population described by Poisson and another by positive binomial distributions. Crofton's assumption that truncated distributions result from parasite-induced host mortality seems unlikely in light of those analyses.     

Ecological studies of collembolan populations in a pine forest soil IV. Comparison of distribution patterns

The distribution pattern of ten species of Collembola was studied during the four years period from July 1971 to May 1975 in a pine forest soil. The distribution patterns were analysed for two scales of distribution, i. e., the distribution over the plot of 10×10 m² and the micro-distribution within a block sample consisting of 36 contigious units each 2×2 cm² in area, by applying the -m regression method. The fundamental pattern which appeared was quite similar for the species examined and individuals were aggregated in response to the heterogeneity of habitat conditions. The causes of aggregations were discussed with regard to some environmental factors. The relative abundances of 10 species within the collembolan community was examined in relation to the habitat utilization and the relative abundance was not related to the degree of aggregation but rather to the area occupied by individuals. This suggests that the more numerically abundant species tend to occupy broader micro-habitat. Biological meaning of aggregation was discussed in connection with the population biology and community organization of collembola.     

The estimation of a bivariate fitness function from two samples taken from a population

Summary The fitness of animals subjected to natural selection can be defined as the probability of surviving selection for a given interval of time, or some convenient multiple of this. If the fitness is related to some measurable variablesX, Y, Z,… then the relationship is expressed mathematically in the fitness functionw(x, y, z,…) and this function can be estimated by comparing the joint distribution ofX, Y, Z,… in samples taken before and after selection. In an earlier paper (Manly, 1975) the problems involved in estimating a fitness function of one variable were discussed. In the present paper various methods for estimating a bivariate fitness function are proposed and compared on some semiartificial sample data. It is concluded that either a generalized version ofO’Donald’s (1968) method of moments or a weighted multiple regression method will be most satisfactory. Alternative methods involving assumptions of normality will need to be used with great care.     

Muscle endurance time estimation during isometric training using electromyogram and supervised learning

Constant-force isometric muscle training is useful for increasing the maximal strength , rehabilitation and work-fatigue assessment. Earlier studies have shown that muscle fatigue characteristics can be used for evaluating muscle endurance limit. Study Objective: To predict muscle endurance time during isometric task using frequency spectrum characteristics of surface electromyography signals along with analysis of frequency spectrum shape and scale during fatigue accumulation. Method: Thirteen subjects performed isometric lateral raise at 60% MVC of deltoid (lateral) till endurance limit. Time windowed sEMG frequency spectrum was modelled using 2-parameter distributions namely Gamma and Weibull for spectrum analysis and endurance prediction. Results: Gamma distribution provided better spectrum fitting (P < 0.001) than Weibull distribution. Spectrum Distribution demonstrated no change in shape but shifted towards lower frequency with increase of magnitude at characteristic mode frequency. Support Vector Regression based algorithm was developed for endurance time estimation using features derived from fitted frequency spectrum. Time taken till endurance limit for acquired dataset 38.53 ± 17.33 s (Mean ± Standard Deviation) was predicted with error of 0.029 ± 4.19 s . R-square: 0.956, training and test sets RMSE was calculated as 3.96 and 4.29 s respectively. The application of the algorithm suggested that model required 70% of sEMG signal from maximum time of endurance for high prediction accuracy. Conclusion: Endurance Limit prediction algorithm was developed for quantification of endurance time for optimizing isometric training and rehabilitation. Our method could help personalize and change conventional training method of same weight and duration for all subjects with optimized training parameters, based upon individual sEMG activity.     

呼吸机相关性肺炎患者病原菌分布及血清sTREM 1和HMGB1的变化

目的探讨呼吸机相关性肺炎患者病原菌分布及血清高迁移率族蛋白1(HMGB1)和可溶性髓系细胞触发受体-1(sTREM-1)的变化。方法选取我院2016年3月至2019年5月收治的131例呼吸机相关性肺炎患者进行研究,检测入选患者病原菌感染情况,同时根据患者病情分为重症组与非重症组。另选取60例同期体检对象作为对照组,比较各组患者血清sTREM-1、HMGB1水平及临床肺部感染评分(CPIS),分析血清sTREM-1、HMGB1对呼吸机相关性肺炎的预测价值。结果 131例患者共检出病原菌415株,病原菌以革兰阴性菌为主,其次是革兰阳性菌,真菌的占比最低。革兰阴性菌中以铜绿假单胞菌和肺炎克雷伯菌为主,革兰阳性菌中以金黄色葡萄球菌为主。重症组、非重症组及对照组患者血清sTREM-1、HMGB1水平及CPIS评分依次递减,组间比较差异均有统计学意义(均P0.05)。Cochran Armitage趋势检验发现,血清sTREM-1、HMGB1水平及CPIS评分与呼吸机相关性肺炎严重程度呈线性增加趋势(Z=5.056、3.127、3.811,均P0.05)。诊断呼吸机相关性肺炎病情严重程度时,血清sTREM-1的AUC及敏感性、特异性最高,其次是CPIS和血清HMGB1,3个指标均对呼吸机相关性肺炎有一定诊断价值。结论革兰阴性菌是呼吸机相关性肺炎的主要致病菌,血清sTREM-1、HMGB1水平对呼吸机相关性肺炎的病情有一定诊断价值。     

An African bat in Europe,Plecotus gaisleri: Biogeographic and ecological insights from molecular taxonomy and Species Distribution Models

Because of the high risk of going unnoticed, cryptic species represent a major challenge to biodiversity assessments, and this is particularly true for taxa that include many such species, for example, bats. Long‐eared bats from the genus Plecotus comprise numerous cryptic species occurring in the Mediterranean Region and present complex phylogenetic relationships and often unclear distributions, particularly at the edge of their known ranges and on islands. Here, we combine Species Distribution Models (SDMs), field surveys and molecular analyses to shed light on the presence of a cryptic long‐eared bat species from North Africa, Plecotus gaisleri, on the islands of the Sicily Channel, providing strong evidence that this species also occurs in Europe, at least on the islands of the Western Mediterranean Sea that act as a crossroad between the Old Continent and Africa. Species Distribution Models built using African records of P. gaisleri and projected to the Sicily Channel Islands showed that all these islands are potentially suitable for the species. Molecular identification of Plecotus captured on Pantelleria, and recent data from Malta and Gozo, confirmed the species' presence on two of the islands in question. Besides confirming that P. gaisleri occurs on Pantelleria, haplotype network reconstructions highlighted moderate structuring between insular and continental populations of this species. Our results remark the role of Italy as a bat diversity hotspot in the Mediterranean and also highlight the need to include P. gaisleri in European faunal checklists and conservation directives, confirming the usefulness of combining different approaches to explore the presence of cryptic species outside their known ranges—a fundamental step to informing conservation.     

中国巢鼠属分类与分布的讨论

巢鼠属（Micromys Dehne,1841）隶属于啮齿目（Rodentia）鼠科（Muridae）,是最小的啮齿动物之一。此前的研究显示该属包含巢鼠（M.minutus）和红耳巢鼠（M.erythrotis）两个物种,但由于数据缺乏,红耳巢鼠的有效种地位仍存争议,且两个物种在中国的地理分布也不确定。本研究在安徽清凉峰国家级自然保护区采集到一批巢鼠属标本,经形态与分子学鉴定发现其包含巢鼠和红耳巢鼠两个物种,它们在清凉峰海拔1 600 m处同域分布,支持红耳巢鼠的有效种地位。基于安徽清凉峰巢鼠和红耳巢鼠的外形特点,本文对国家动物标本资源库的巢鼠属照片进行了分析,并结合相关文献资料,对中国巢鼠属的地理分布进行了整理,同时绘制了地理分布图。结果显示：在我国巢鼠主要分布在黑龙江、吉林、辽宁、内蒙古、河北、陕西、甘肃、新疆、江苏、安徽、浙江、湖南、江西、广东、福建、台湾;红耳巢鼠主要分布在云南、四川、陕西、湖北、西藏、贵州、重庆、安徽、福建、广西;两者在安徽清凉峰和陕西镇巴县、城固县皆有分布。此外,分子系统学分析显示,我国巢鼠属多样性仍被低估,极有可能存在未知的分类单元,巢鼠属的分类研究工作仍需加强。