Novel degraded polycyclic polyprenylated acylphloroglucinol and new polyprenylated benzophenone from Hypericum sampsonii

Norhypersampsone A (1), a novel degraded polycyclic polyprenylated acylphloroglucinol (PPAP) derivative, 3-(2-hydroxy-7-methyl-3-methyleneoct-6-enyl)-5-isoprenyl-2,4,6-trihydroxybenzophenone (2), a new polyprenylated benzophenone derivative, and nine known compounds (3–11) were isolated from Hypericum sampsonii. Their structures were elucidated by comprehensive spectroscopic techniques. Compound 1 represents a novel cyclohexenone monocyclic-PPAP formed by losing the fragment of C-2–C-4 and the side chains at C-3 and C-5 in the phloroglucinol ring. The results of the inhibitory effects of compounds 1–11 on the nitric oxide (NO) production induced by lipopolysaccharide (LPS) in RAW 264.7 macrophages showed that compounds 1, 6–8, and 10 exhibited weak activities with IC₅₀ values in the range of 20.3–37.1 μM.     

Behavioral signatures of structured feature detection during courtship in Drosophila

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On Model-Choice in Discrimination with Categorical Variables

An algorithm for model selection in discrimination with categorical variables is presented. It is based on four models applied hierarchically and linked with a build-up procedure of feature-selection. The choice of models and features is ensured by a consequent cross-validation. Results of an application in medical diagnostics are described.     

环青海湖地区天然草地时序光谱特征参量分析

获取了环青海湖地区4类主要天然草地2003年5~10月共16个时相的地面高分辨率光谱数据,并利用植被指数技术、导数光谱技术、植被光谱维特征提取模型及包络线归一化技术提取了多个光谱特征参量,通过对各参量在生育期内分布规律的分析,给出了能较好地表征草地生长发育规律时序特征参量的具体分布;最后计算了4类天然草地各时序特征参量的平均散度,结果表明黄边位置λY、红边位置λV、红边斜率SV、绿峰半高宽wλG、红谷半高宽wλR、去包络红谷净面积AR'和归一化植被指数NDV I对于天然草地分类更有效。     

Pattern classification of kinematic and kinetic running data to distinguish gender,shod/barefoot and injury groups with feature ranking

The identification of differences between groups is often important in biomechanics. This paper presents group classification tasks using kinetic and kinematic data from a prospective running injury study. Groups composed of gender, of shod/barefoot running and of runners who developed patellofemoral pain syndrome (PFPS) during the study, and asymptotic runners were classified.

The features computed from the biomechanical data were deliberately chosen to be generic. Therefore, they were suited for different biomechanical measurements and classification tasks without adaptation to the input signals. Feature ranking was applied to reveal the relevance of each feature to the classification task.

Data from 80 runners were analysed for gender and shod/barefoot classification, while 12 runners were investigated in the injury classification task. Gender groups could be differentiated with 84.7%, shod/barefoot running with 98.3%, and PFPS with 100% classification rate. For the latter group, one single variable could be identified that alone allowed discrimination.     

Automated analysis of courtship suppression learning and memory in Drosophila melanogaster

Study of the fruit fly, Drosophila melanogaster, has yielded important insights into the underlying molecular mechanisms of learning and memory. Courtship conditioning is a well-established behavioral assay used to study Drosophila learning and memory. Here, we describe the development of software to analyze courtship suppression assay data that correctly identifies normal or abnormal learning and memory traits of individual flies. Development of this automated analysis software will significantly enhance our ability to use this assay in large-scale genetic screens and disease modeling. The software increases the consistency, objectivity, and types of data generated.     

Soil Properties and their Spatial Pattern in a Degraded Sandy Grassland under Post-grazing Restoration, Inner Mongolia, Northern China

In this study, we use classical and geostatistical methods to identify characteristics of some selected soil properties including soil particle size distribution, soil organic carbon, total nitrogen, pH and electrical conductivity and their spatial variation in a 5-year recovery degraded sandy grassland after two different grazing intensity disturbance: post-heavy-grazing restoration grassland (HGR) and post-moderately grazing restoration grassland (MGR), respectively, in Horqin steppe, Inner Mongolia, northern China. The objective was to examine effect of grazing intensity on spatial heterogeneity of soil properties. One hundred soil samples were taken from the soil layer 0–15 cm in depth of a grid of 10 m×10 m under each treatment. The results showed that soil fine fractions (very fine sand, 0.1–0.05 mm and silt + clay, <0.05 mm), soil organic carbon and total nitrogen concentrations were significant lower and their coefficients of variation significant higher under the HGR than under the MGR. Geostatistical analysis of soil heterogeneity revealed that soil particle size fractions, organic carbon and total nitrogen showed different degree of spatial dependence with exponential or spherical semivariograms on the scale measured under HGR and MGR. The spatial structured variance account for a large proportion of the sample variance in HGR plot ranging from 88% to 97% for soil particle fractions, organic C and total N, however, except for organic C (88.8%), the structured variance only account for 50% of the sample variance for soil particle fractions and total N in the MGR plot. The ranges of spatial autocorrelation for coarse-fine sand, very fine sand, silt + clay, organic C and total N were 13.7 m, 15.8 m, 15.2 m, 22.2 m and 21.9 m in HGR plot, respectively, and was smaller than in MGR plot with the corresponding distance of 350 m, 144.6 m, 45.7 m, 27.3 m and 30.3 m, respectively. This suggested that overgrazing resulted in an increase in soil heterogeneity. Soil organic C and total N were associated closely with soil particle fractions, and the kriging-interpolated maps showed that the spatial distribution of soil organic C and total N corresponded to the distribution patterns of soil particle fractions, indicating that high degree of spatial heterogeneity in soil properties was linked to the distribution of vegetative and bare sand patches. The results suggested that the degree of soil heterogeneity at field scale can be used as an index for indicating the extent of grassland desertification. Also, the changes in soil heterogeneity may in turn influence vegetative succession and restoration process of degraded sandy grassland ecosystem.     

峨眉髭蟾精子形态结构及分类学意义

应用透射电镜、扫描电镜和光学显微镜对峨眉髭蟾(Vibrissaphoraboringii)精子的形态和超微结构研究的结果表明:峨眉髭蟾的精子具角蟾科物种精子基本的形态和结构特征,即精子头部呈螺旋状,尾部呈弯曲状;精子具锥形的顶体、纤维束构成的穿孔器、平行排列的中心粒和双轴丝;线粒体位于尾部;精子核窝不明显、无轴纤维和波动膜等特征。此外,对已有报道的角蟾科和无尾类物种精子的特征进行分析比较表明:(1)角蟾科精子细胞核呈螺旋状,中心粒平行排列,尾部具双轴丝等结构不同于无尾类其他科精子的结构,具有明显的科间差别;(2)角蟾科精子各部的量度,尾部线粒体的分布和数量,以及轴丝的排列等特征在属间和种间表现出明显的差异;(3)峨眉髭蟾和东南亚拟髭蟾指名亚种精子的形态和超微结构存在明显的差异。     

细菌DeoR家族转录调控因子的研究进展

细菌基因组中存在大量的转录调控家族,这些转录调控家族在细菌的生长、代谢、外界信号感知与传递等方面发挥着至关重要的作用。DeoR家族是一类广泛分布于原核生物中的转录调控因子,主要参与调控细胞中多个生理过程,包括核苷酸类代谢、糖类代谢、致病菌的毒力以及链霉菌的次级代谢等。DeoR蛋白C末端的配体结合结构域,通常能够以相关代谢途径的磷酸化中间体作为配体。本文综述了细菌中DeoR家族转录调控因子的结构特征、调控功能以及响应的配体分子,以期为深入研究DeoR家族蛋白的分子调控机制提供参考。