Some inequalities for the expectation of a product of functions of a random variable and for the multivariate distribution function at a random point

Under certain assumptions the expectation of a product of functions of a random variable is greater (smaller) than the product of expectations. The multivariate distribution function of m independent random variables at a random point is greater than the product of the distribution functions of the m variables.     

Discrimination with a Mixture Population

The regions of classification when one of the populations is a mixture of two or more multivariate normal populations are found to be defined by the functions of the linear discriminant functions used for discriminating between the components of the mixture population and the other multivariate normal population.     

《生物信息学》课程教学模式探讨

在教学实践的基础上,结合生物信息学课程的学科特点,以及现代教育技术,就开设生物信息学课程的必要性及构建最合适的复合型教育模式展开了初步的探讨,为我国生物信息学课程的教学实施提供指导。随着时代的不断进步和发展,生物信息学的内涵也在不断扩大,包括生物信息学所涉及到的计算机基础知识、生物学基础知识、生物信息学研究领域、生物信息学应用领域等等。在生物信息学的教学实施过程中,将多个基础学科交叉融合是必备的,这不仅有助于增强学生对生物信息学科的了解,也对于学生在后续的生物信息学研究中起到了基石的作用。因此,如何将这些涉及范围广、涉及内容深的生物信息学基础课程恰当的传授给学生是教师们最需要考虑的问题,从而形成一套独特的教学体系,使生物信息学的教学工作更顺利,完整的进行下去。     

Empirical regression as a conditional expected value of a special distribution-mixture for a modelfree quantitative recording of stochastical relations

An “empirical” distribution function F?(x, y) is estimated from measured points (xi, yi), i =1(1)n, of a continuous two-dimensional random variable (X, Y) with unknown continuous density function f(x, y). The density function F?(x, y) of F?(x, y) is a mixture of n two-dimensional normal densities. The first order moments of F?(x, y) are the sample means x and y, whilst the second order moments are only proportional to the sample variances and the sample covariance. This “empirical” distribution F?(x, y) is used for evaluation of an empirical regression curve where a free parameter has to be fixed by an optimality criterion. The procedure is demonstrated by an example from morphometrical research.     

Nano-intentionality: a defense of intrinsic intentionality

I suggest that most discussions of intentional systems have overlooked an important aspect of living organisms: the intrinsic goal-directedness inherent in the behaviour of living eukaryotic cells. This goal directedness is nicely displayed by a normal cell’s ability to rearrange its own local material structure in response to damage, nutrient distribution or other aspects of its individual experience. While at a vastly simpler level than intentionality at the human cognitive level, I propose that this basic capacity of living things provides a necessary building block for cognition and high-order intentionality, because the neurons that make up vertebrate brains, like most cells in our body, embody such capacities. I provisionally dub the capacities in question “nano-intentionality”: a microscopic form of “aboutness”. The form of intrinsic intentionality I propose is thoroughly materialistic, fully compatible with known biological facts, and derived non-mysteriously through evolution. Crucially, these capacities are not shared by any existing computers or computer components, and thus provide a clear, empirically-based distinction between brains and currently existing artificial information processing systems. I suggest that an appreciation of this aspect of living matter provides a potential route out of what may otherwise appear to be a hopeless philosophical quagmire confronting information-processing models of the mind.

Persistent propensities: Portrait of a familiar controversy

Susan Mills and John Beatty's propensity interpretation of fitness encountered very different philosophical criticisms by Alexander Rosenberg and Kenneth Waters. These criticisms and the rejoinders to them are both predictable and important. They are predictable as raisingkinds of issues typically associated with disposition concepts (this is established through a systematic review of the problems generated by Carnap's dispositional interpretation of all scientific terms). They are important as referring the resolution of these issues to the development of evolutionary biology. This historical approach to the propensity interpretation of fitness draws attention to the precarious relation between philosophical clarification of scientific concepts and any given state of the empirical arts.     

A Comparison Between a Parametric and a Non-Parametric Method of Estimating the Percentiles of a Difference

A parametric and a nonparametric method of estimating the percentiles of a difference are compared. The parametric method assumes an underlying normal distribution and the nonparametric method estimates the distribution from the residuals. Applications to immunology are discussed.     

Superposition of modes in a caricature of a model for morphogenesis

In a model proposed for cell pattern formation by Nagorcka et al. (J. Theor. Biol. 1987) linear analysis revealed the possibility of an initially spatially uniform cell density going unstable to perturbations of two distinct spatial modes. Here we examine a simple one-dimensional caricature of their model which exhibits similar linear behaviour and present a nonlinear analysis which shows the possibility of superposition of modes subject to appropriate parameter values and initial conditions.     

Estimation of the Number of Classes in a Population

The problem of estimating M, the number of classes in a population, is formulated as an occupancy problem in which N items are drawn from M urns. Under the assumption of a uniform distribution for the number of classes in the population, the sufficient statistic for M, which is the number of distinct classes observed, does not depend upon the number of repetitions in the sample. Point and interval estimates of M are developed using maximum likelihood and the method of moments. Both techniques give rise to the same basic equation which requires a simple iterative solution. These same techniques are used in the more general situation in which the classes can be further subdivided according to type.     

Four Applications of a Bivariate Pareto Distribution

The following model, of “latent structure” type, is considered: in each subpopulation, X and Y are random variables drawn independently from the same exponential distribution, and the parameter of the exponential distribution varies between subpopulations with a Gamma density. Over the whole population, X and Y are then positively correlated, and jointly have a bivariate PARETO distribution. Four examples show how this distribution is useful in analysing ordered contingency tables in which the two dimensions can be regarded as alternative measures of the same thing: the injuries to the two drivers in a road accident, or the severity of a lesion present in a patient as assessed by two physicians, for instance. Two extensions are considered: (a) allowing X and Y to have Gamma distributions, with each subpopulation having the same shape parameter but different scale parameters; (b) allowing the scale parameter for Y to be correlated with the scale parameter for X, rather than being identical to it. A new bivariate distribution with three shape parameters is derived, expressed in terms of a generalised hypergeometric function.     

一种多基因串联共表达载体的构建

为了构建一种可用于串联共表达多个基因的原核表达载体,通过PCR引入点突变,对商业载体pET-22b的酶切位点进行定向改造,设计独特的XbaⅠ/SpeⅠ模块。获得改造成功的载体pET-m22b,测序结果显示启动子、核糖体结合位点、多克隆位点及终止子均位于XbaⅠ和SpeⅠ两酶切位点间。选取不同来源的基因进行串联组合及表达鉴定,四个基因成功组合于同一载体中,表达效果良好,各基因表达效率不受明显影响。研究构建的载体pET-m22b,使多基因的共表达更加便捷,为蛋白复合物的表达与纯化、代谢通路的异源重建及其优化等研究奠定了良好的基础。     

Production of Bacillus thuringiensis subsp. israelensis and Bacillus sphaericus strain 1593 on media using a byproduct from a monosodium glutamate factory

Two newly developed media, H4 and H7, were found to be highly suitable for culturing Bacillus thuringiensis subsp. israelensis and B. sphaericus, respectively. These media contained 0.05% K₂HPO₄ and 4% HDL (H4 medium) or 0.05% K₂HPO₄ and 7% HDL (H7 medium); HDL is the by-product from a monosodium glutamate factory. Tests to compare endospore formation and toxicity values of B. thuringiensis subsp. israelensis in H4 medium and nutrient broth supplemented with salts and glucose (NBSG) medium were carried out in a 3-liter fermentor. The viable cell count and LC₅₀ value of B. thuringiensis subsp. israelensis in H4 medium at 48 hr were 2.5 × 10⁸ cells/ml and 10^?7.2 (dilution), respectively, while those in NBSG medium were 1.6 × 10⁸ cells/ml and 10^?6.5, respectively. In the case of B. sphaericus grown in H7 medium, the number of cells and LC₅₀ value were found to be 1.4 × 10⁹ cells/ml and 10^?7.8, respectively. B. sphaericus grown in nutrient broth supplemented with salt and yeast extract (NBSY) were found to produce 6.4 × 10⁸ cells/ml and an LC₅₀ value of 10^?6.8. The toxicity of B. thuringiensis subsp. israelensis was tested against Aedes aegypti larvae, while that of B. sphaericus was tested against Culex quinquefasciatus. The cost of 10 liters of medium for production of B. thuringiensis subsp. israelensis and in B. sphaericus and H4 and H7 was $0.02 and $0.03, respectively. The cost of these newly developed media was much less than that of NBSG medium ($7.05 per 10 liters) for cultivation of B. thuringiensis subsp. israelensis and NBSY medium ($11.67 per 10 liters) for cultivation of B. sphaericus.     

Asymmetry of Motor Behavior of the Goldfish in a Narrow Channel

We studied swimming of goldfish fries about 3 cm long in a narrow channel by calculating the numbers of spontaneous turns on different sides. The ratio of fishes preferring to turn to the right vs to the left was 1.5:1.0, respectively; two-thirds of the fishes demonstrated an ambilateral behavior. Experiments with compulsory 10-min-long rotation of the fishes (clockwise around the longitudinal body axis for fishes preferring right-side turns and anticlockwise for fishes preferring left-side turns) showed that the behavioral asymmetry smoothed somewhat after such a procedure, and a greater number of the fishes became ambilateral in their preference to turn to one side or another. After a one- or two-day-long test, the initial asymmetry of motor behavior completely recovered. Compulsory rotation of similar fishes in the opposite direction exerted no influence on the asymmetry in the choice of the turning direction. Adaptation-induced training of the fishes (using fatiguing long-lasting vestibular stimulation) resulted in some smoothing of motor asymmetry but did not change its general pattern. Thus, our findings allow us to believe that a noticeable proportion of the goldfish individuals (similarly to other animals and humans) is characterized by an innate asymmetry of the motor function with a clear preference for either right- or left-side turnings. These relations can be smoothed under experimental influences but are recovered later on, i.e., they are stable and are not fundamentally transformed. We assume that the asymmetry of motor behavior of fishes in a narrow channel can be an adequate pre-requisite for further examination of the asymmetry of the brain and motor centers controlling changes in locomotion (body turnings)Neirofiziologiya/Neurophysiology, Vol. 37, No. 1, pp. 52–60, January–February, 2005.     

2-Bromoacetamidopyridine: a new chemical probe of the active site of histidine decarboxylase from Lactobacillus 30a

In rats fasted for 24–30 hours, albumin mRNA sequences are released from membrane-bound polysomes to enter the free cytosol fraction. A significant portion of these sequences are present in albumin mRNPs, distinguished from free albumin mRNA and 40S subunit complexes by Cs₂SO₄ equilibrium density centrifugation. Refeeding a mixture of 20 amino acids restores albumin mRNA to membrane-bound polysomes, demonstrating the importance of amino acid supply in the mRNP-polysome equilibrium and in regulation of albumin synthesis.     

The trajectory of a stiff rod in a curved potential energy trough

The equilibrium trajectory of the axis of a rod subject to an externally imposed curved potential energy trough tends to conform to the shape of the curved trough, but also tends to be straight because of elastic resistance to bending. The actual path of the axis is a balance between the two extremes. We consider a potential energy trough centered along a circular arc of radiusR. For a rod of small length compared toR, we show that the axis at equilibrium forms an arc of a circle of radius greater thanR. The value of the radius of the axial path depends on the relative values of the Hooke’s Law bending constant for the rod and the depth and width of the trough. Motivation for the calculation is provided by nucleosomal DNA, which conforms to the surface of a roughtly cylindrical histone core at physiological ionic strength, but is observed to unwind into a partially extended conformation at very low ionic strength. We suggest that the rigidity to bending of short DNA segments becomes sufficiently great at low ionic strength to overcome attractive interactions with the histone surface. Alternately, of course, if during the cell cycle mutually attractive forces between DNA and histone core are weakened at constant ionic strength, the same type of unfolding would be expected to occur as the strength of the DNA-histone contacts drops below the level required to overcome elastic resistance to bending of the DNA rod.     

Single-dose Pharmacokinetics of Nestorone, a potential female-contraceptive

A synthetic progestin Nestorone^® is being developed for female-contraception. This study was conducted to determine the distribution, metabolism, and excretion of tritium-labeled Nestorone (³H Nestorone) in adult female rats. Rats were injected subcutaneously (S.C.) with a single dose of 400 μCi ³H Nestorone/kg BW. Its distribution and concentrations in blood, plasma and other tissues were determined at defined times. The excreta were examined for elimination of ³H Nestorone. Radioactivity in all samples was analyzed by liquid scintillation counter. Metabolite profiling was performed by HPLC and LC/MS analysis of the plasma, urine, and feces samples. Following subcutaneous injection of ³H Nestorone, the mean peak concentrations of radioactivity (C_max) in the blood and plasma were 58.1 and 95.5 ng equiv. ³H Nestorone/g, respectively, at 2-h postdose (T_max). Thereafter, the concentration of drug steadily declined through 96-h postdose with a terminal elimination half-life (t_1/2) of 15.6 h. ³H Nestorone-derived radioactivity was widely distributed in most tissues by 0.5 h and attained a mean maximal concentration by 2-h postdose. Approximately, 81.4% and 7.62% of the administered dose was excreted via feces and urine, respectively. In vivo metabolism of ³H Nestorone resulted into a total of 19 metabolites. Among them, two metabolites viz., 17α-deacetyl-Nestorone (M9) and 4,5-dihydro-17α-deacetyl-Nestorone (M19) were identified by HPLC and LC/MS analysis. Metabolite profiling of plasma samples showed that most of the circulating radioactivity was associated with unchanged parent drug, and M19. The M19 was a major metabolite in the profiled urine and feces samples. Presence of large proportion of drug/drug-related material in feces suggested that the biliary excretion is a main elimination route of ³H Nestorone. The distribution, metabolism, and excretion profiles of ³H Nestorone obtained in this study provide a fairly good insight about its fate in women.     

The detection of salivary enzymes of phytophagous Hemiptera: a compilation of methods

The role of Hemipteran saliva and salivary enzymes is central to an understanding of the etiology of damage that these insects cause to plants. The dilute nature of the salivary secretions and the minute quantities in which they are often obtainable have made analysis and detection of salivary components very difficult. Such investigations in this laboratory have led us to formalise the techniques involved and we believe that the compilation of these methods presented herein may be useful to other research workers in this area. Methods are described for acid and alkaline phosphatase, esterase, /S-glucosidase, carbohydrases, invertase, amylase, proteinase, pectinase, cellulase, catalase, peroxidase, catechol oxidase, superoxide dismutase and ascorbic oxidase.     

Absorption of cadmium after a long-term oral administration of cadmium to dogs

A long-term experiment using beagle dogs to investigate the absorption of cadmium was conducted. The dogs in the experimental groups were given a commercial diet and pelleted food containing 1, 3, 10, 50, and 100 mg of cadmium per day. The cadmium concentration in the blood increased continuously, gradually reaching a steady state following the administration of cadmium. The cadmium excreted daily in urine increased continuously. The cumulative excreted amount of cadmium in urine was calculated by using the trapezoidal rule based on the data of excretion of cadmium in urine. Then the absorbed fraction of administered cadmium was estimated on the basis of the relationship between the cumulative excreted amount of cadmium in urine and the cumulative administered dose of cadmium after the cadmium concentration in blood reached a steady state. The absorbed fraction of cadmium decreased with an increase in the administered dose of cadmium. A dose-dependent increase between the absorbed amount and the administered dose was observed.