Testing the precision and sensitivity of density estimates obtained with a camera‐trap method revealed limitations and opportunities

The use of camera traps in ecology helps affordably address questions about the distribution and density of cryptic and mobile species. The random encounter model (REM) is a camera‐trap method that has been developed to estimate population densities using unmarked individuals. However, few studies have evaluated its reliability in the field, especially considering that this method relies on parameters obtained from collared animals (i.e., average speed, in km/h), which can be difficult to acquire at low cost and effort. Our objectives were to (1) assess the reliability of this camera‐trap method and (2) evaluate the influence of parameters coming from different populations on density estimates. We estimated a reference density of black bears (Ursus americanus) in Forillon National Park (Québec, Canada) using a spatial capture–recapture estimator based on hair‐snag stations. We calculated average speed using telemetry data acquired from four different bear populations located outside our study area and estimated densities using the REM. The reference density, determined with a Bayesian spatial capture–recapture model, was 2.87 individuals/10km² [95% CI: 2.41–3.45], which was slightly lower (although not significatively different) than the different densities estimated using REM (ranging from 4.06–5.38 bears/10km² depending on the average speed value used). Average speed values obtained from different populations had minor impacts on REM estimates when the difference in average speed between populations was low. Bias in speed values for slow‐moving species had more influence on REM density estimates than for fast‐moving species. We pointed out that a potential overestimation of density occurs when average speed is underestimated, that is, using GPS telemetry locations with large fix‐rate intervals. Our study suggests that REM could be an affordable alternative to conventional spatial capture–recapture, but highlights the need for further research to control for potential bias associated with speed values determined using GPS telemetry data.     

基于生理发育时间的日光温室茄子发育模拟模型

本研究将温度对茄子发育速率影响效应的大小用相对热效应(RTE)来衡量,通过研究Beta函数的性质提出基于幂函数的模型来描述RTE与温度之间的关系.采用生理发育时间(Physiological Development'Time,PDT)作为定量发育进程的尺度,建立了温室茄子发育模拟模型.利用模型对日光温室2年3茬茄子生长发育期资料进行检验的结果表明:模型能较好地预测各个发育期(发芽、苗期、开花座果、结果和采收期)的出现时间和持续时间,各生育期模拟值与观测值的回归估计标准误差(RMSE)分别为1.0d,1.73d,0.82d,1.41d,2.38d,显著优于以有效积温模拟模型的预测精度(其生育期模拟的RMSE分别为2.38d,7.14d,1.73d,5.07d,8.25d).     

Human apolipoprotein A-II associates with triglyceride-rich lipoproteins in plasma and impairs their catabolism

Postprandial hypertriglyceridemia and low plasma HDL levels, which are principal features of the metabolic syndrome, are displayed by transgenic mice expressing human apolipoprotein A-II (hapoA-II). In these mice, hypertriglyceridemia results from the inhibition of lipoprotein lipase and hepatic lipase activities by hapoA-II carried on VLDL. This study aimed to determine whether the association of hapoA-II with triglyceride-rich lipoproteins (TRLs) is sufficient to impair their catabolism. To measure plasma TRL residence time, intestinal TRL production was induced by a radioactive oral lipid bolus. Radioactive and total triglyceride (TG) were rapidly cleared in control mice but accumulated in plasma of transgenic mice, in relation to hapoA-II concentration. Similar plasma TG accumulations were measured in transgenic mice with or without endogenous apoA-II expression. HapoA-II (synthesized in liver) was detected in chylomicrons (produced by intestine). The association of hapoA-II with TRL in plasma was further confirmed by the absence of hapoA-II in chylomicrons and VLDL of transgenic mice injected with Triton WR 1339, which prevents apolipoprotein exchanges. We show that the association of hapoA-II with TRL occurs in the circulation and induces postprandial hypertriglyceridemia.     

Testing and estimation of time-varying cause-specific hazard ratios with covariate adjustment

SUMMARY: In the evaluation of efficacy of a vaccine to protect against disease caused by a genetically diverse infectious pathogen, it is often important to assess whether vaccine protection depends on variations of the exposing pathogen. This problem can be viewed within the framework of a K-competing risks model where the endpoint event is pathogen-specific infection and the cause of failure is the strain type determined after the infection is diagnosed. The Cox model with time-dependent coefficients is used to relate the cause-specific outcomes to explanatory variables to allow for time-varying treatment effects. The strain-specific vaccine efficacy can be defined in terms of one minus the cause-specific hazard ratios. We develop inferential methods for testing whether the vaccine affords some protection against at least one pathogen strain, and for testing equal vaccine protection against the strains, adjusting for covariate effects. We also consider estimation of covariate-adjusted time-varying strain-specific vaccine efficacy. The methods are applied to a dataset from an oral cholera vaccine trial and the performances of the proposed tests are studied through simulations. These techniques apply more generally for testing and estimation of time-varying cause-specific hazard ratios.     

Human paraoxonases (PON1, PON2, and PON3) are lactonases with overlapping and distinct substrate specificities

The paraoxonase (PON) gene family in humans has three members, PON1, PON2, and PON3. Their physiological role(s) and natural substrates are uncertain. We developed a baculovirus-mediated expression system, suitable for all three human PONs, and optimized procedures for their purification. The recombinant PONs are glycosylated with high-mannose-type sugars, which are important for protein stability but are not essential for their enzymatic activities. Enzymatic characterization of the purified PONs has revealed them to be lactonases/lactonizing enzymes, with some overlapping substrates (e.g., aromatic lactones), but also to have distinctive substrate specificities. All three PONs metabolized very efficiently 5-hydroxy-eicosatetraenoic acid 1,5-lactone and 4-hydroxy-docosahexaenoic acid, which are products of both enzymatic and nonenzymatic oxidation of arachidonic acid and docosahexaenoic acid, respectively, and may represent the PONs' endogenous substrates. Organophosphates are hydrolyzed almost exclusively by PON1, whereas bulky drug substrates such as lovastatin and spironolactone are hydrolyzed only by PON3. Of special interest is the ability of the human PONs, especially PON2, to hydrolyze and thereby inactivate N-acyl-homoserine lactones, which are quorum-sensing signals of pathogenic bacteria. None of the recombinant PONs protected low density lipoprotein against copper-induced oxidation in vitro.     

Patch Time Allocation by the Parasitoid <Emphasis Type="Italic">Diadegma semiclausum</Emphasis> (Hymenoptera: Ichneumonidae). II. Effects of Host Density and Distribution

This study investigated the effects of host density and distribution on the patch-leaving behavior of Diadegma semiclausum (Hymenoptera: Ichneumonidae), a solitary endoparasitoid of larval Plutella xylostella (Lepidoptera: Plutellidae). Individual female wasps were released onto an experimental plant infested with host larvae at different densities and distributions, and were allowed to freely leave for an alternative host plant placed upwind of the experimental plant in a wind tunnel. The influence of host density and distribution, as well as within-patch foraging experience, on the parasitoids patch-leaving tendency was analyzed by means of the proportional hazards model. This study aimed to test the predictions of a number of patch-leaving models, including the Marginal Value Theorem, rules of thumb, and incremental or countdown mechanisms. The parasitoids patch-leaving tendency decreased with increased host density, more clustered host distribution, and unsuccessful host encounter as a result of host defense, but increased with successful oviposition. None of the simple rules of thumb such as fixed time, fixed number of hosts parasitized, or fixed giving-up time was employed by this parasitoid. The results agreed with the general predictions of the Marginal Value Theorem that patch residence time and numbers of ovipositions by the parasitoid increased with increasing host density. The decreasing influence of oviposition on the parasitoids patch-leaving tendency, regardless of host density or distribution, was consistent with the prediction of a countdown mechanism.     

A Human iPSC Double-Reporter System Enables Purification of Cardiac Lineage Subpopulations with Distinct Function and Drug Response Profiles

1. Download : Download high-res image (138KB)
2. Download : Download full-size image