The soft triangle revisited

Five cadaveric adult human noses were examined to further elucidate the region of the soft triangle of the nose. Three distinct zones were found. Zone 1, just caudad to the lower lateral cartilages, consists of the fibers of the dilator nares anterior as it inserts into the dermis. Zone 2 is the dermal layer. Zone 3 is at the nostril rim and consists of muscle fibers interdigitating within the dermis; laterally, these fibers are continuations of the nasalis muscle, whereas medially they are extensions of the depressor septii muscle. Perpendicular incisions through any of these zones may cause notching and tip deformity. Incisions in zone 1 may, in addition, alter external nasal valve function by interrupting the fibers of the dilator naris anterior.     

The triangle inequality in balanced genetical polymorphisms

A simplified derivation of the "triangle inequality," first obtained by Lewontin, Ginzburg and Tuljapurkar (1978), is presented.     

The disease triangle: pathogens, the environment and society

The primary means to define any disease is by naming a pathogen or agent that negatively affects the health of the host organism. Another assumed, but often overlooked, determinant of disease is the environment, which includes deleterious physical and social effects on mankind. The disease triangle is a conceptual model that shows the interactions between the environment, the host and an infectious (or abiotic) agent. This model can be used to predict epidemiological outcomes in plant health and public health, both in local and global communities. Here, the Irish potato famine of the mid-nineteenth century is used as an example to show how the disease triangle, originally devised to interpret plant disease outcomes, can be applied to public health. In parallel, malaria is used to discuss the role of the environment in disease transmission and control. In both examples, the disease triangle is used as a tool to discuss parameters that influence socioeconomic outcomes as a result of host-pathogen interactions involving plants and humans.     

The characterization of complete mitochondrial genome and phylogenetic relationship within Rattus genus (Rodentia: Muridae)

The genus Rattus is one of the main pest genus of rodent. Most species of the genus carry all kinds of pathogenic bacteria to human being. They are traditionally considered to be a least understood group. The complete mitochondrial genome of the White-Footed Indochinese Rat, Rattus nitidus was determined in this study. The characterization of mitochondrial genomes of Rattus genus was also analyzed based on comprehensive comparison. The result of evolutionary patterns of protein-coding genes (PCGs) suggested purifying selection was the predominant evolutionary forces in the mitochondrial genomes of Rattus genus. The NADH dehydrogenase 4 gene (ND4) showed a highly elevated Ka/Ks ratio compared to the other protein-coding genes, which indicated ND4 was most likely under relaxed selection pressure. Phylogenetic analysis provided a well-supported outline of Rattus genus, and revealed two groups in the genus. R. nitidus had a sister relationship with R. norvegicus.     

The visual functions of the complete colorblind

1. The visual functions of a completely colorblind individual are compared with those of the normal. The sensibility distribution in the spectrum has a maximum at 520 mmicro at all brightnesses and thus corresponds to rod vision alone. This is confirmed by studies of dark adaptation which show final thresholds like those usually found for rod vision. Dark adaptation, measured both centrally and peripherally in the retina, is a single continuous function, and regardless of the brightness of the preceding light adaptation, is of the rapid type only, such as that found for the normal following low light adaptation. Visual acuity also shows a single continuous function like that for rod vision. 2. Both critical fusion frequency and intensity discrimination show two sections, one at low and the other at high intensities with a sharp transition from one to the other. Intensity discrimination is as good as for the normal eye, and covers much the same range. The maximal critical fusion frequency is only about 20 cycles per second as compared to 55 cycles for the normal. 3. The two sections shown by the colorblind eye for intensity discrimination and fusion frequency possess the spectral sensitivity of rod vision since the relative positions on the intensity scale are not influenced by using different parts of the spectrum.     

The complete phosphotransferase system in Escherichia coli

We here tabulate and describe all currently recognized proteins of the phosphoenolpyruvate:sugar phosphotransferase system (PTS) and their homologues encoded within the genomes of sequenced E. coli strains. There are five recognized Enzyme I homologues and six recognized HPr homologues. A nitrogen-metabolic PTS phosphoryl transfer chain encoded within the rpoN and ptsP operons and a tri-domain regulatory PTS protein encoded within the dha (dihydroxyacetone catabolic) operon, probably serve regulatory roles exclusively. In addition to several additional putative regulatory proteins, there are 21 (and possibly 22) recognized Enzyme II complexes. Of the 21 Enzyme II complexes, 7 belong to the fructose (Fru) family, 7 belong to the glucose (Glc) family, and 7 belong to the other PTS permease families. All of these proteins are briefly described, and phylogenetic data for the major families are presented.     

基于线粒体COI基因全序列的直翅目部分类群系统发育关系分析

该研究基于直翅目56种昆虫的COI基因全序列构建了该目部分类群间的系统发育关系,同时也分析了COI基因编码的氨基酸序列构建直翅目系统发育关系的可靠性。将COI序列按照密码子一、二、三位点划分,分别计算PBS(partioned Bremer support)值,评估蛋白质编码基因密码子不同位点的系统发生信号强度。分析结果支持螽亚目和蝗亚目的单系性;剑角蝗科、斑腿蝗科、斑翅蝗科、网翅蝗科和槌角蝗科5科均不是单系群,科间的遗传距离在0.107~0.153之间变化,与其他科相比遗传距离较小,符合将这5科合并为一科(即蝗科)的分类系统,瘤锥蝗科和锥头蝗科归为锥头蝗总科,癞蝗科单独成为一科,这也与Otte(1997)系统的划分一致。根据PBS值的大小推断密码子第三、第一位点对系统树分支的贡献比第二位点大,并且较长的序列含有较多的信息位点。研究也证实将各物种COI基因之间的遗传距离作为直翅目划分科级阶元的工具是可行的。     

The complete mitochondrial genome of the yeast Pichia sorbitophila

Here, we report the complete nucleotide sequence of the 39 107-bp mitochondrial genome of the yeast Pichia sorbitophila . This genome is closely related to those of Candida parapsilosis and Debaryomyces hansenii , as judged from sequence similarities and synteny conservation. It encodes three subunits of cytochrome oxidase ( COX1, COX2 and COX3 ), three subunits of ATP synthase ( ATP6, ATP8 and ATP9 ), the seven subunits of NADH dehydrogenase ( NAD1-6 and NAD4L ), the apocytochrome b ( COB ), the large and small rRNAs and a complete set of tRNAs. Although the mitochondrial genome of P. sorbitophila contains the same core of mitochondrial genes observed in the ascomycetous yeasts, those coding for the RNAse P and the ribosomal protein VAR1p are missing. Moreover, the mtDNA of P. sorbitophila contains several introns in its genes and has the particularity of possessing an intron, which is not linked to any upstream exon.     

The complete sequence of sheep beta-endorphin

Automatic sequencing of an isothiocyano naphthalene sulfonic acid derivative of sheep beta-endorphin, allowed the positioning of 24 out of 31 residues. Peptide mapping of a tryptic digest of the native molecule permitted the filling of remaining gaps. The complete sequence of this pituitary peptide was found to be identical to that of the portion 61–91 of sheep-beta-lipotropin.     

The complete peptide dictionary--a meta-proteomics resource

Recent developments in MS-based proteomics have increased the emphasis on peptides as a primary observable. While peptides are identified by tandem mass spectra, the link between peptide and protein remains implicit given the bottom-up nature of the experiment in which proteins are enzymatically digested prior to sequencing. It is therefore useful to provide a fast lookup from peptide to protein in order to systematically establish the broadest possible protein basis for the observed peptides. Here, we describe Pep2Pro, a fast web-service providing protein lookup by peptides covering the entire protein space comprising ～10 million UniRef100 sequences. We demonstrate the usefulness of the service by reanalyzing peptides from two recent meta-proteomic data sets and identifying taxon-specific peptides, thereby implicating individual species as being present in these complex samples. The Pep2Pro web service can be accessed at http://www.pep2pro.org.