Extractive separation of penicillin G by facilitated transport via carrier supported liquid membranes

The facilitated transport of penicillin G (Pen G), through a supported liquid membrane with Amberlite LA-2 dissolved in 1-decanol, supported on a microporous polypropylene membrane, were studied. The distribution coefficient was obtained from a batch extraction experiment. The effects of flow rate, carrier concentration, initial concentration of Pen G, and the pH of feed and stripping phases on the transport rate of Pen G through the supported liquid membrane were also investigated. The results are in agreement with theoretical predictions, and it is demonstrated that the transport of Pen G through the supported liquid membrane is controlled simultaneously by mass transfer across both aqueous and liquid membranes. (c) 1993 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

On the probability of loss of new mutations in the presence of linkage disequilibrium

A new selectively neutral mutation occurs in a multilocus genetic background that has achieved a stable equilibrium at which there is a linkage disequilibrium. Perturbation techniques are applied to an extension of the branching process formulation of Fisher in order to address the question of extinction probabilities. We show that under appropriate conditions the probability of extinction of the new mutant is increased by the existence of linkage disequilibrium in the genetic background.Research supported in part by NIH grant GM 28016     

Rates of decay for the survival probability of a mutant gene II The multitype case

This paper extends the results of [1] to the multitype case. For a multitype branching process that is slightly supercritical, approximations for the survival probability in terms of the maximal eigenvalue of the mean matrix and a generalized variance ² are developed. Our results improve upon those of Hoppe [5] and Eshel [3] that seek to validate a conjecture of Ewens [4].Research supported in part by NSF grant DMS 9007182     

Experimental evidence of size-selective harvest and environmental stochasticity effects on population demography,fluctuations and non-linearity

Theory and analyses of fisheries data sets indicate that harvesting can alter population structure and destabilise non-linear processes, which increases population fluctuations. We conducted a factorial experiment on the population dynamics of Daphnia magna in relation to size-selective harvesting and stochasticity of food supply. Harvesting and stochasticity treatments both increased population fluctuations. Timeseries analysis indicated that fluctuations in control populations were non-linear, and non-linearity increased substantially in response to harvesting. Both harvesting and stochasticity induced population juvenescence, but harvesting did so via the depletion of adults, whereas stochasticity increased the abundance of juveniles. A fitted fisheries model indicated that harvesting shifted populations towards higher reproductive rates and larger-magnitude damped oscillations that amplify demographic noise. These findings provide experimental evidence that harvesting increases the non-linearity of population fluctuations and that both harvesting and stochasticity increase population variability and juvenescence.     

Conformity in mate choice,the overlooked social component of animal and human culture

Although conformity as a major driver for human cultural evolution is a well-accepted and intensely studied phenomenon, its importance for non-human animal culture has been largely overlooked until recently. This limited for decades the possibility of studying the roots of human culture. Here, we provide a historical review of the study of conformity in both humans and non-human animals. We identify gaps in knowledge and propose an evolutionary route towards the sophisticated cultural processes that characterize humanity. A landmark in the study of conformity is Solomon Asch's famous experiment on humans in 1955. By contrast, interest in conformity among evolutionary biologists has only become salient since the turn of the new millennium. A striking result of our review is that, although studies of conformity have examined many biological contexts, only one looked at mate choice. This is surprising because mate choice is probably the only context in which conformity has self-reinforcing advantages across generations. Within a metapopulation, i.e. a group of subpopulations connected by dispersing individuals, dispersers able to conform to the local preference for a given type of mate have a strong and multigenerational fitness advantage. This is because once females within one subpopulation locally show a bias for one type of males, immigrant females who do not conform to the local trend have sons, grandsons, etc. of the non-preferred phenotype, which negatively and cumulatively affects fitness over generations in a process reminiscent of the Fisher runaway process. This led us to suggest a sex-driven origin of conformity, indicating a possible evolutionary route towards animal and human culture that is rooted in the basic, and thus ancient, social constraints acting on mating preferences within a metapopulation. In a generic model, we show that dispersal among subpopulations within a metapopulation can effectively maintain independent Fisher runaway processes within subpopulations, while favouring the evolution of social learning and conformity at the metapopulation scale; both being essential for the evolution of long-lasting local traditions. The proposed evolutionary route to social learning and conformity casts surprising light on one of the major processes that much later participated in making us human. We further highlight several research avenues to define the spectrum of conformity better, and to account for its complexity. Future studies of conformity should incorporate experimental manipulation of group majority. We also encourage the study of potential links between conformity and mate copying, animal aggregations, and collective actions. Moreover, validation of the sex-driven origin of conformity will rest on the capacity of human and evolutionary sciences to investigate jointly the origin of social learning and conformity. This constitutes a stimulating common agenda and militates for a rapprochement between these two currently largely independent research areas.     

Diverse flowering responses subjecting to ambient high temperature in soybean under short-day conditions

Flowering time is one of important agronomic traits determining the crop yield and affected by high temperature. When facing high ambient temperature, plants often initiate early flowering as an adaptive strategy to escape the stress and ensure successful reproduction. However, here we find opposing ways in the short-day crop soybean to respond to different levels of high temperatures, in which flowering accelerates when temperature changes from 25 to 30 °C, but delays when temperature reaches 35 °C under short day. phyA-E1, possibly photoperiodic pathway, is crucial for 35 °C-mediated late flowering, however, does not contribute to promoting flowering at 30 °C. 30 °C-induced up-regulation of FT2a and FT5a leads to early flowering, independent of E1. Therefore, distinct responsive mechanisms are adopted by soybean when facing different levels of high temperatures for successful flowering and reproduction.     

2010-2019年不同海湾迁徙水鸟栖息地适宜性变化对比研究

滨海湿地是迁徙水鸟的重要迁飞通道和主要栖息地,评估沿海迁徙水鸟栖息地适宜性及变化态势能为栖息地的合理规划与管理提供科学参考,对迁徙水鸟的保护有重要意义。选择紧邻城市和乡村的深圳湾和雷州湾为研究区,在水鸟栖息地生态系统类型分类的基础上,通过层次分析法确定水鸟栖息地适宜性评价因子,设计栖息地、食物、水分、人类干扰条件及其子类的权重,对栖息地适宜性进行等级划分,分析比较2010-2019年迁徙水鸟栖息地适宜性的时空分布差异,探索适宜性变化差异的原因并给出合理化建议。结果表明：（1）2010-2019年深圳湾有193.4 hm²强干扰区域转变化为中等及弱干扰;雷州湾有16.36 hm²的中等干扰转化为弱、无干扰;（2）深圳湾栖息地适宜性以中等适宜类型为主,2010年和2019年面积占比分别为83.74%和88.71%;雷州湾栖息地适宜性主要以较适宜和中等适宜类型为主,2010年面积占比为86.72%,2010-2019年面积占比基本不变,总体适宜性高于深圳湾。（3）2010-2019年,深圳湾不适宜和较适宜面积分别减少245.54 hm²和26.37 hm²,均转化为中等适宜类型;雷州湾有24.31 hm²的中等和较适宜栖息地转化为适宜类型。     

底栖生物影响下的潮滩微地貌演化数值模拟

潮滩是海岸带湿地的主要类型之一,其中分布的底栖生物对生态环境具有重要的调节作用。潮滩底栖微藻、泥沙与水动力之间存在相互作用,影响潮滩微地貌形态,明晰底栖生物对潮滩微地貌的演化机制至关重要。以黄河三角洲潮滩湿地为研究区,通过构建潮滩微地貌动力模型,探究底栖生物对微地貌格局演化的作用机制,分析底栖生物对微地貌系统稳定性的影响。结果表明(1)底栖微藻生长与泥沙扩散、水流再分配过程交互作用驱动下,潮滩上可形成底栖微藻覆盖的高丘与积水洼地交替分布的规则性微地貌斑图;(2)微地貌斑图的形成提高了潮滩生态系统初级生产力和泥沙淤积高度;(3)底栖微藻与泥沙、水流的交互作用使得潮滩微地貌系统对侵蚀扰动呈现非线性响应行为,系统存在临界点,且在一定侵蚀率范围内存在双稳态;(4)黄河口泥螺入侵使得微地貌系统抵抗侵蚀扰动能力减小,且系统稳定性随泥螺生物量的增加而降低。     

Seasonality in the equatorial tropics: Flower,fruit, and leaf phenology of montane trees in the highlands of Southwest Uganda

Phenology influences many forest functions and can inform forest conservation and management, yet representative phenological data for most common tropical forest tree species remain sparse or absent. Between June 2011 and December 2013, we investigated flowering, fruiting, and leafing patterns in the Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, a montane forest located near the equator in Uganda, drawing on 16,410 observations of 530 trees of 54 species located between 2066 and 2527 m in elevation. The park's climate is equatorial with two wet and dry seasons each year. Flowering and fruiting were strongly seasonal while patterns in leafing were less pronounced. Flower occurrence peaked at the beginning of the short dry season followed by a pronounced trough during the beginning and the middle of the short wet season. Fruit occurrence had a pronounced peak during high rainfall months in March through April with most fruits ripening during drier months in May through July. Fruit scarcity was observed for a 4-month period spanning September to December and most flushing of leaves noted at the end of the wet season in November and December. Our binomial generalized linear mixed models indicated that flowering and fruiting were negatively associated with temperature and that leafing activity was positively associated with rainfall and temperature. These findings are consistent with the insolation- and water-limitation hypotheses suggesting that the seasonally varying availability of resources such as light, water, and nutrients determines these phenological patterns. Ideally, prolonged, multi-year community-level studies would be supported so as to better characterize the influence of climate and of climate variability.     

Reaction intensification for biocatalytic production of polyphenolic natural product di-C-β-glucosides

Polyphenolic aglycones featuring two sugars individually attached via C-glycosidic linkage (di-C-glycosides) represent a rare class of plant natural products with unique physicochemical properties and biological activities. Natural scarcity of such di-C-glycosides limits their use-inspired exploration as pharmaceutical ingredients. Here, we show a biocatalytic process technology for reaction-intensified production of the di-C-β-glucosides of two representative phenol substrates, phloretin (a natural flavonoid) and phenyl-trihydroxyacetophenone (a phenolic synthon for synthesis), from sucrose. The synthesis proceeds via an iterative two-fold C-glycosylation of the respective aglycone, supplied as inclusion complex with 2-hydroxypropyl β-cyclodextrin for enhanced water solubility of up to 50 mmol/L, catalyzed by a kumquat di-C-glycosyltransferase (di-CGT), and it uses UDP-Glc provided in situ from sucrose by a soybean sucrose synthase, with catalytic amounts (≤3 mol%) of UDP added. Time course analysis reveals the second C-glycosylation as rate-limiting (0.4–0.5 mmol/L/min) for the di-C-glucoside production. With internal supply from sucrose keeping the UDP-Glc at a constant steady-state concentration (≥50% of the UDP added) during the reaction, the di-C-glycosylation is driven to completion (≥95% yield). Contrary to the mono-C-glucoside intermediate which is stable, the di-C-glucoside requires the addition of reducing agent (10 mmol/L 2-mercaptoethanol) to prevent its decomposition during the synthesis. Both di-C-glucosides are isolated from the reaction mixtures in excellent purity (≥95%), and their expected structures are confirmed by NMR. Collectively, this study demonstrates efficient glycosyltransferase cascade reaction for flexible use in natural product di-C-β-glucoside synthesis from expedient substrates.