Sampling in aerobiology. Differences between traverses along the length of the slide in Hirst sporetraps

Two years of data from four longitudinal traverses along each day's slide prepared from a continuously running Burkard sporetrap have been analyzed statistically. Using the Friedman test, a statistically significant difference was found between the four traverses, with a greater than 7% loss of pollen grains in the two outer traverses in relation to the inner. Four slides were then selected for more detailed analysis, using 18 longitudinal traverses with a 1-mm separation from the upper to the lower edge of the Melinex tape. There was found to be a progressive decline from the centre to the outside, and more than 4% of pollen grains were found outside the typical 14 mm width of the impaction orifice. There was no correlation between pollen grain size and the decline in counts from the centre to the outside. For the complete data set, there was a general rise in the diversity of bollen types with increasing sample counts, but above about 1000 pollen grains per sample there were no more than 27 pollen types found, often even fewer. A discussion is presented of whether four traverses really should be a fixing sample size, or whether it might be better to fix the total pollen count beginning with a traverse in the middle of the slide and ending with a variable number of traverses when that count is reached.     

Sampling in aerobiology. Differences between traverses along the length of the slide in Hirst sporetraps

Two years of data from four longitudinal traverses along each day's slide prepared from a continuously running Burkard sporetrap have been analyzed statistically. Using the Friedman test, a statistically significant difference was found between the four traverses, with a greater than 7% loss of pollen grains in the two outer traverses in relation to the inner. Four slides were then selected for more detailed analysis, using 18 longitudinal traverses with a 1-mm separation from the upper to the lower edge of the Melinex tape. There was found to be a progressive decline from the centre to the outside, and more than 4% of pollen grains were found outside the typical 14 mm width of the impaction orifice. There was no correlation between pollen grain size and the decline in counts from the centre to the outside. For the complete data set, there was a general rise in the diversity of pollen types with increasing sample counts, but above about 1000 pollen grains per sample there were no more than 27 pollen types found, often even fewer. A discussion is presented of whether four traverses really should be a fixing sample size, or whether it might be better to fix the total pollen count beginning with a traverse in the middle of the slide and ending with a variable number of traverses when that count is reached.     

Gonorrhea modeling: a comparison of control methods

A population dynamics model for a heterogeneous population is used to compare the effectiveness of six prevention methods for gonorrhea involving population screening and contact tracing of selected groups. The population is subdivided according to sex, sexual activity, and symptomatic or asymptomatic infection. For this model contact tracing of certain groups is more effective than general population screening.     

Predictive models in aerobiology: data transformation

This paper attempts to evaluate the effect of mathematical transformations of pollen and meteorogical data used in aerobiological forecasting models. Stepwise multiple regression equations were developed in order to facilitate short term forecasts during the pre-peak period. The daily mean pollen data (x _i) expressed as number of pollen grains per cubic metre of air were used directly and transformed into different scales: log(x _i + 1), ln((x ₁1000/Σp) + 1) and √x _i, where Σp is the sum of the daily mean values throughout the season. Thirteen meteorological parameters and the variable time were used as forecasting variables. The most reliable forecasts were obtained with data transformed by ‘square root’ and with untransformed data. Based on the results obtained, we recommend that the data be transformed by means of the square root if they do not show a normal distribution and that non-linear statistics be used in this kind of study.     

Estimation of air-borne fungus spores; a comparison of slide and culture methods

Summary A survey of the atmospheric incidence of fungus spores in Sydney was carried out by daily exposure of both plates and slides. The predominating fungi on the plates were in order of frequency,Cladosporium, Alternaria, Epicoccum, Pleospora, Penicillium, Pullularia. A total of 3663 colonies were counted.On the slides, the total number of the fungus spores found for the year was 2043. The predominating fungi wereAlternaria, Cladosporium and rusts and smuts.Working under a grant from the National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia.     

In vivo total antioxidant capacity: comparison of different analytical methods

Several methods have been developed to measure the total antioxidant capacity of a biological sample. The use of peroxyl or hydroxyl radicals as pro-oxidants in the oxygen radical absorbance capacity (ORAC) assay makes it different and unique from the assays that involve oxidants that are not necessarily pro-oxidants. An improvement in quantitation is achieved in the ORAC assay by taking the reaction between substrate and free radicals to completion and using an area-under-curve technique for quantitation compared to the assays that measure a lag phase. The interpretation of the changes in plasma or serum antioxidant capacity becomes complicated by the different methods used in detecting these changes. The interpretation also depends upon the conditions under which the antioxidant capacity is determined because the measurement reflects outcomes in a dynamic system. An increased antioxidant capacity in plasma or serum may not necessarily be a desirable condition if it reflects a response to increased oxidative stress. Similarly, a decrease in plasma or serum antioxidant capacity may not necessarily be an undesirable condition if the measurement reflects decreased production of reactive species. Because of these complications, no single measurement of antioxidant status is going to be sufficient, but a "battery" of measurements, many of which will be described in Forum articles, will be necessary to adequately assess oxidative stress in biological systems.     

不同方法计算湿地松林生物量的比较

利用实测值建模法、估计值建模法和平均标准木法计算中国科学院千烟洲试验站湿地松(Pi-nus elliotii)人工林各器官生物量和总地上生物量,并与利用文献中的湿地松相对生长方程计算的结果进行比较。结果表明,枝条基径与该枝条叶生物量及总生物量之间存在显著的相关关系;不同方法计算的总地上生物量存在一定的差别,其中实测值建模法和估计值建模法的计算结果最接近,分别为7.9×104和8.0×104kg.hm-2,利用平均标准木法得到的生物量偏低,为7.41×104kg.hm-2;3种方法得到的各器官生物量差别较大,尤其是叶生物量,利用实测值建模法的计算结果为8450 kg.hm-2,估计值建模法和平均标准木法的计算结果分别为6 580和1.0×104kg.hm-2,其中平均标准木法的计算结果因取样的不同而有所差异;直接利用他人建立的相对生长方程计算的生物量与以上3种方法计算结果相比差异较大,使用时须谨慎。计算总地上生物量时,实测值建模法是最可靠的方法,估计值建模法在一定程度上可以代替实测值建模法。     

A comparison of different methods of half-diallel analysis

Summary A comparison among various forms of half-diallel analysis was made. The different half-diallel techniques used were: Griffing's model I, method 2 and 4, Morley-Jones' model; Walters and Morton's model, and Gardner and Eberhart's model. All these methods of diallel analysis were found to be interrelated. However, as the Gardner and Eberhart's model partitioned heterosis into different components as well as gave information about combining ability, this method had certainly some advantages over the others. The results further indicated the possibility of dominance variance being confounded with the additive variance of general combining ability.     

两种诱集方式对田间金龟甲诱集效果的比较研究

为了明确灯诱和引诱剂对田间金龟害虫的诱捕效果,利用自动虫情测报灯和2种引诱剂诱捕器对同一块花生田发生的金龟甲的诱集效果进行了对比试验。结果表明,两种方式对金龟甲的诱集效果差异明显。诱虫灯对东北大黑鳃金龟Holotrichia diomphalia和铜绿丽金龟Anomala corpulenta的日均诱虫量分别为3.30头和1.27头,引诱剂诱捕器对两种金龟甲的日均诱虫量分别为1.25头和0.34头。自动虫情测报灯的诱虫总量和持效性较好,均明显优于引诱剂诱捕器的诱捕效果。引诱剂诱捕器对雌性东北大黑鳃金龟的特异诱集效果优于自动虫情测报灯。尽管两种诱捕方式全年诱虫量存在较大差异,但两者所监测得到的金龟甲发生动态趋势基本一致,且特殊气象条件诱集数据可相互补充,并提出大面积防治工作中应以虫情测报灯为主,引诱剂诱捕器可作为重要辅助手段。     

Clonal structure of Rubus chamaemorus populations: comparison of different molecular methods

The clonal structure of Rubus chamaemorus populations was investigated using DNA fingerprinting. The PCR-based methods included the use of 10-base RAPD primers and 16-base simple sequence repeat primers. In the hybridization method variation was studied using hypervariable multilocus probes, one derived from the M13 bacteriophage and the other a synthetic (AC)/(TG) polynucleotide. Although R. chamaemorus expresses clear variation in morphology, the level of genetic differentiation appears to be fairly low. The observed numbers of clones in the three populations examined in Finland varied from 2 to 4. The total number of genotypes across populations was 5, of which one was unique. The results obtained using the two fingerprinting methods were comparable but lead to a slightly different grouping of clones.     

Pneumocystis carinii in corticosteroid-treated voles: a comparison of three different staining methods.

Pneumocystis carinii (PC) is an opportunistic pathogen which causes clinical disease in immunocompromised hosts. Three different staining protocols were employed to detect this organism in lung samples of corticosteroid treated voles in order to discover a suitable method for large-scale screening. The procedures employed were: Grocotts methenamine silver (GMS)-stained paraffin sections, toluidine blue O-stained impression smears, and methenamine-silver-stained frozen sections. GMS-stained paraffin sections were relatively easy to interpret and gave more positive results than the other methods. It seemed to be the satisfactory method for large-scale population analyses. An unexpected result was that methylprednisolone treatment did not induce in voles a similarly fatal pneumocystosis infection as occurred in rats. All infections found in voles were mild. This might be due to species-dependent differences in metabolizing methylprednisolone.     

农田节肢动物不同取样方法的综合比较

农田节肢动物多样性具有病虫害控制、传粉等价值, 选择一种或多种适宜、准确且高效的取样方法和指示类群来衡量农田节肢动物多样性是一项基础性工作。本文通过地表陷阱法、挂盆陷阱法、扫网法、目测计数法和吸虫器法在有机管理和常规管理农田区的不同农业生境类型中取样, 比较不同方法对不同生物类群的捕获效率、经济成本、响应敏感性等。研究发现在捕获效率方面, 地陷法和挂盆法最高, 其次是扫网法, 而吸虫器法和目测计数法较差。挂盆法对步甲、蜘蛛、蜂类和瓢虫类群的捕获效率较佳。陷阱法主要适用于蜘蛛和步甲的取样, 扫网法也可用于蜘蛛和瓢虫的取样。在经济成本方面, 地陷法的成本最低, 扫网法的总成本最高。每种取样方法下仅有个别类群个体数量具有较好的响应敏感性, 如地陷法的蜘蛛目个体数和步甲科个体数、挂盆法的总个体数、蜂类个体数和瓢虫科个体数、扫网法的直翅目个体数和半翅目个体数等。在此基础上, 综合类群经济价值, 操作难易, 类群鉴定难度, 被动取样程度, 是否受取样人影响等比较发现: 地陷法对步甲和蜘蛛的取样的综合效果最佳, 而不同取样方法下多种类群的组合能更好地监测和评价农田节肢动物多样性的整体情况。地陷法捕获步甲或/和蜘蛛以及挂盆法调查蜂类的组合是基于本研究得出的调查农田节肢动物多样性的最佳组合。     

A comparison between methods used to control nutrient supply

Experimental methods to supply nutrients to culture solutionsin order quantitatively to control plant nutrition are compared.In experiments with tomato and birch plants, for which the dataare available in databases (Ingestad et al., 1994a, b), thenutrients were supplied at constant relative addition rates(R_A over sufficiently long periods of time to achieve acclimatedplants and reliable measurements of plant responses. The plantswere maintained under steady-state conditions, i.e. the internalnutrient concentrations (c₁) remained constant, as a resultof a numerical equality between the relative uptake rate (R_U)and the relative growth rate (R_G). These results are comparedto experiments with pea plants (Macduff et al., 1993). In oneseries (a), R_A was applied, but without strict control of internalsteady-state, and in the other series (b), the external concentration(c_e) was maintained constant. With limiting nitrogen, in bothseries, there was a substantial deviation from equality betweenR_U and R_G. In (a), c_I changed during the experimental periodand the purpose of the R_A approach was lost. In (b), a constantc_e had little effect on nitrogen uptake and plant growth. Atthe three highest concentrations, steady-states were obtainedat non-limiting uptake rates. At the lowest concentration, theuptake rate of nitrogen was about the same, but there was adecrease of R_a, which apparently was not caused by reduced uptake.Clear-cut relationships can not therefore be established betweentreatment variables and plant responses and the conclusionsreached by Macduff et al. (1993) have little support in theirexperimental results. This indicates an urgent need to updateboth theories and experimental methods together: in particular,it is important to identify the system under investigation andto distinguish between control of the medium and control ofthe plant. Key words: Experimental control, external nutrient concentration, non-limiting and limiting nutrient supply, relative addition rate, relative uptake rate, relative growth rate, steady-state     

Neural control: closed-loop human brain reading

Closed-loop experimental testing of single medial temporal lobe neurons in?humans reveals top-down effects, opening new possibilities for describing neural representations at the highest level.     

Determination of beta-defensin genomic copy number in different populations: a comparison of three methods

Background

There have been conflicting reports in the literature on association of gene copy number with disease, including CCL3L1 and HIV susceptibility, and β-defensins and Crohn''s disease. Quantification of precise gene copy numbers is important in order to define any association of gene copy number with disease. At present, real-time quantitative PCR (QPCR) is the most commonly used method to determine gene copy number, however the Paralogue Ratio Test (PRT) is being used in more and more laboratories.

Findings

In this study we compare a Pyrosequencing-based Paralogue Ratio Test (PPRT) for determining beta-defensin gene copy number with two currently used methods for gene copy number determination, QPCR and triplex PRT by typing five different cohorts (UK, Danish, Portuguese, Ghanaian and Czech) of DNA from a total of 576 healthy individuals. We found a systematic measurement bias between DNA cohorts revealed by QPCR, but not by the PRT-based methods. Using PRT, copy number ranged from 2 to 9 copies, with a modal copy number of 4 in all populations.

Conclusions

QPCR is very sensitive to quality of the template DNA, generating systematic biases that could produce false-positive or negative disease associations. Both triplex PRT and PPRT do not show this systematic bias, and type copy number within the correct range, although triplex PRT appears to be a more precise and accurate method to type beta-defensin copy number.     

Quality assessment of confocal microscopy slide based systems: performance.

BACKGROUND: All fluorescence slide-based cytometry detections systems basically include the following components: (1) an excitation light source, (2) intermediate optics, and (3) a detection device consisting of a CCD camera or a PMT. The optical principles employed is slide-based systems are similar to those of confocal microscopes (CLSM). METHODS: The following tests evaluated confocal equipment performance: dichroic reflectivity, field illumination, lens performance, laser power output, spectral registration, axial resolution, PMT reliability, and system noise. RESULTS: Quality assurance tests provide a basis to determine if the equipment is operating correctly. Laser power, PMTs function, dichroic reflection, spectral registration, axial registration, system noise and sensitivity, lens performance and laser stability were tested colocalization of UV and visible peaks of a bead should be less than 210 nm. Interference contrast optics decrease fluorescence resolution. CONCLUSIONS: QA tests that assess CLSM system performance are also applicable to other slide-based systems. By utilization this type of testing approach, the subjective nature of assessing the CLSM may be eliminated. These tests serve as guidelines for other investigators to ensure that their machines are providing data that is accurate with the necessary resolution, sensitivity and precision.     

Analyses and comparison of accuracy of different genotype imputation methods

The power of genetic association analyses is often compromised by missing genotypic data which contributes to lack of significant findings, e.g., in in silico replication studies. One solution is to impute untyped SNPs from typed flanking markers, based on known linkage disequilibrium (LD) relationships. Several imputation methods are available and their usefulness in association studies has been demonstrated, but factors affecting their relative performance in accuracy have not been systematically investigated. Therefore, we investigated and compared the performance of five popular genotype imputation methods, MACH, IMPUTE, fastPHASE, PLINK and Beagle, to assess and compare the effects of factors that affect imputation accuracy rates (ARs). Our results showed that a stronger LD and a lower MAF for an untyped marker produced better ARs for all the five methods. We also observed that a greater number of haplotypes in the reference sample resulted in higher ARs for MACH, IMPUTE, PLINK and Beagle, but had little influence on the ARs for fastPHASE. In general, MACH and IMPUTE produced similar results and these two methods consistently outperformed fastPHASE, PLINK and Beagle. Our study is helpful in guiding application of imputation methods in association analyses when genotype data are missing.