Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE) – Infectious,Contagious, Zoonotic or Production Disease?

The aim of the work was to collect, evaluate, summarize and compare heat resistance data reported for Campylobacter, Enterococcus, Escherichia, Listeria, Salmonella and Yersinia spp. The work was limited to resistance in liquids with pH values 6–8. Results obtained under similar experimental conditions were sought. Thermal destruction lines for the various bacterial groups studied were constructed using log₁₀ D values and treatment temperatures. There was a good linear relationship between log₁₀ D and temperature with Escherichia coli, listerias and salmonellas. For campylobacters, enterococci and yersinias the relationships were weaker but, nevertheless, present. Using the slopes of the lines and their 95% confidence limits, z values and their 95% confidence limits were calculated. z values were compared with z values obtained from reports. The equations for the lines were also used for calculation of predicted means of D values at various treatment temperatures. 95% confidence limits on predicted means of D values and on predicted individual D values were also calculated. Lines and values are shown in figures and tables. Differences in heat resistance noted between and within the bacterial groups studied are discussed.     

Explaining geographical variation in the isotope composition of mouse lemurs (Microcebus)

Aim We sought to quantify geographical variation in the stable isotope values of mouse lemurs (Microcebus) and to determine whether this variation reflects trophic differences among populations or baseline isotopic differences among habitats. If the latter pattern is demonstrated, then Microcebus can become a proxy for tracking baseline habitat isotopic variability. Establishing such a baseline is crucial for identifying niche partitioning in modern and ancient communities. Location We studied five species of Microcebus from eight distinct habitats across Madagascar. Methods We compared isotopic variation in C₃ plants and Microcebus fur within and among localities. We predicted that carbon and nitrogen isotope values of Microcebus should: (1) vary as a function of abiotic variables such as rainfall and temperature, and (2) covary with isotopic values in plants. We checked for trophic differences among Microcebus populations by comparing the average difference between mouse lemur and plant isotope values for each locality. We then used multiple regression models to explain spatial isotope variation in mouse lemurs, testing a suite of explanatory abiotic variables. Results We found substantial isotopic variation geographically. Ranges for mean isotope values were similar for both Microcebus and plants across localities (carbon 3.5–4.0‰; nitrogen 10.5–11.0‰). Mean mouse lemur and plant isotope values were lowest in cool, moist localities and highest in hot, dry localities. Rainfall explained 58% of the variation in Microcebus carbon isotope values, and mean plant nitrogen isotope values explained 99.7% of the variation in Microcebus nitrogen isotope values. Average differences between mouse lemur and plant isotope values (carbon 5.0‰; nitrogen 5.9‰) were similar across localities. Main conclusions Isotopic data suggest that trophic differences among Microcebus populations were small. Carbon isotope values in mouse lemurs were negatively correlated with rainfall. Nitrogen isotope values in Microcebus and plants covaried. Such findings suggest that nitrogen isotope values for Microcebus are a particularly good proxy for tracking baseline isotopic differences among habitats. Our results will facilitate future comparative research on modern mouse lemur communities, and ecological interpretations of extinct Holocene communities.     

USLE/RUSLE模型中植被因子变化特征及其影响因素

植被因子是USLE/RUSLE模型中最重要的影响因子,其数值变化特征及其影响因素广受关注。以广东省五华县源坑水小流域2011—2013年的径流小区次降雨水沙观测数据为基础,分析了径流小区C值在不同时间尺度的变化特征及其受降雨、植被类型的影响。研究表明:(1)不同时段间C值存在一定波动,其中旱季的C值均大于雨季,夏秋两季的C值较大,且较为接近。各径流小区的C值普遍存在11、8、7月较大,6、5、1月较小的现象,且草本植物C值受植被覆盖度影响较大。(2)降雨量与径流小区C值呈正相关关系,桉树、松树、糖蜜草径流小区C值与次降雨量、各降雨量区间平均值的相关系数分别为0.360**、0.349**、0.291**,0.912*、0.909*、0.822,相较于草本植物,木本植物的C值受降雨影响更大,仅以植被盖度衡量C值有待商榷。(3)相较裸土小区,桉树、松树、糖蜜草小区2011—2013年的土壤流失减幅分别为14.2%、21.5%、23.2%,其C值分别为0.814、0.748、0.772,3种植物中糖蜜草与松树均具有相对较好的水保效益,桉树的水保效益稍逊。     

Experience with using Ellenberg’s <Emphasis Type="Italic">R</Emphasis> indicator values in Slovakia: Oligotrophic and mesotrophic submontane broad-leaved forests

Ellenberg’s indicator values have been suggested as useful method of estimating site conditions using plants. We examined whether Ellenberg’s R values are suitable for indicating soil reaction and if calibration to physical pH measurements can improve bioindication in oligotrophic and mesotrophic submontane broad-leaved forests in Slovakia. Vegetation relevés and pH-H₂O and pH-CaCl₂ soil reaction were recorded for this purpose. Ellenberg’s R values (R _e) were compared to Jurko’s indicator values (R _j) and a set of species R values and tolerances (T), which were calibrated with physical pH data using the weighted averaging (R _w, T _w) and Huisman-Olff-Fresco modelling (R _h, T _h). Original R _e values were then recalibrated with measured pH data to establish new, adjusted set of scores (R _c, T _c) at Ellenberg’s scale. The Re values are significantly correlated with the other R values, and they demonstrate similar frequency distribution to R _j and R _w values for the studied species pool. The frequency distribution becomes similar across all the R values when indifferent species were excluded. The performance of all the indicator values in terms of bioindication was tested. Relevé means of the R values were regressed on the field pH measurements. The performance of bioindication varied from 36% to 49% of the explained variance for pH-CaCl₂, with the R _e and R _c values yielding 46% and 49% respectively. The bioindication slightly improved for all calibrated methods (R _w, R _h and R _c) when species were weighted inversely with their tolerances — the performance varied from 42% to 51%, and the R _c values performed most effectively. We concluded that Ellenberg’s R values represent a powerful system for bioindicating soil acidity when compared to the other alternatives, with pH-CaCl₂ showing better results than pH-H₂O. Recalibration of Ellenberg’s values to the measured data improved the indicator system.     

Analysis of nucleotide substitutions and amino acid conservation in theDrosophila Adh genomic region

The homologous genomic region that contains two paralogous genes,Adh andAdh-dup, was compared in severalDrosophila species. Sequences were analyzed as follows: a) At the nucleotide level, Ka and Ks values were determined for each pair of species. Ka-Adh and Ka-Adh-dup are not significantly different. However, Ks-Adh values are significantly lower than Ks-Adh-dup, which are more variable. In agreement with other reports, lower Ks values forAdh correlate with a high level of gene expression and relatively high percentage of G+C content in the third codon position, while the opposite applies toAdh-dup. b) At the protein level, amino acid comparisons reveal conserved regions shared by ADH and ADH-DUP, which have been assigned to known functional domains. Key residues for dehydrogenasic function are also found in ADH-DUP, thus pointing to a dehydrogenase activity for ADH-DUP, albeit very different from that of ADH.     

Cytophotometrical measurement of nuclear DNA content in some coniferous and deciduous trees

Summary The DNA content of nuclei from meristematic root tip cells of five coniferous and one deciduous tree species and, for comparison, ofVicia faba was cytophotometrically determined. The DNA values of diploid nuclei fromGinkgo biloba are approximately a quarter lower than those fromVicia faba. The nuclear DNA values of the other tree species are merely a third to a ninth part of those ofVicia faba. In three tree species, as well as diploid, we have found nuclei of different polyploid level.The reliability of different cytochemical methods, which are used for determination of the nuclear DNA content, is critically analyzed. The DNA values of the investigated tree species are discussed in connection with the evolution of the DNA content in higher plants.Dedicated to Professor Dr. F. Mechelke in honour of his 60th birthday     

Efficiency of the Sample Variance for the Lognormal Distribution

Two unbiased estimators T and ?? of the variance ? = var (Y) of a lognormal distribution are considered. Here T is the sample variance and ?? is the minimum variance unbiased estimator of ?. The values of the ratio E = 100 var (??)/var (T) are tabulated for some values of the sample size n and of the coefficient of variation δ.     

Density gradient proportionality constants,density distributions,and pressure effects for three salt solutions

Earlier determinations of density gradient proportionality constants β⁰, density distributions ρ(r), and the effect of pressure on density gradients in the analytical ultracentrifuge have been of limited precision and usefulness in the study of proteins and polypeptides. Reasons for these difficulties are that numerous intermediate relationships were required in the calculations, and the density ranges studied were generally above 1.2 g/ml. Relations are derived in the present paper to directly compute β⁰(ρ) values and β⁰′(ρ) values from the original data without any intermediate expansions or approximations. Data are presented for CsCl, CsBr, and Cs₂SO₄ and compared with literature values. Density distributions are computed for all three salts under a wide variety of experimental conditions of density, column length, and angular velocity. These values of ρ(r) and r_e are obtained by a numerical iterative technique. Values obtained by this new method are compared with values obtained using closed-form expressions. The effects of pressure on the composition density gradient for the three salts given above are calculated and found to be significant for Cs₂SO₄ solutions.     

Quantitative estimation and forecast of biomasses of hydrobionts’ ecological groups with use of determination analysis

By means of determination analysis, optimum values of phytoplankton biomass and its divisions are calculated. These values provide development of high biomass of such primary consumers as zooplankters. It is shown that representatives of Rotatoria have higher levels of optimum biomass than Crustacea. In the Kara region it is possible to ascertain the increase of such levels for Cladocera in comparison with Copepoda. The prediction of zooplankton communities’ development is carried out using values of optimum biomass of phytoplankton. Accuracy of the forecast in the Azov area is highest, i.e., quantitative requirements of zooplankton for fodder phytoplankton here are poorly subject to variability in time.     

Energy content,storage substances,and construction and maintenance costs of Mediterranean deciduous leaves

Summary At monthly intervals water content, crude fibre, total and protein nitrogen, sugars, starch, total lipids, ash content and calorific total energy were measured throughout the lifespan of the leaves of the deciduous mediterranean shrubs Pistacia terebinthus L. and Cotinus coggygria Scop. From these data the construction costs and maintenance costs, as well as the construction costs of non-storage compounds and energy expenditure values were calculated. The latter values were also calculated for the evergreen stemmed shrub Ephedra distachya for reasons of comparison with an evergreen mediterranean species. The water status in the deciduous leaves is stable for a long time during the drought period until the beginning of senescence in August/September. In Cotinus an early and considerable increase of storage compounds is found, whilst in Pistacia terebinthus the accumulation is more uniform until August. The N-content is rather low compared with other deciduous leaves, the calorific energy is in the lower range of the values reported for similar species. The construction costs of the leaves of both deciduous species are significantly lower than those calculated by Williams et al. (1987) for two drought deciduous chaparral species but are in agreement with the data reported by other authors on deciduous leaves. Contrary to the findings of Williams et al. they are lower than those of evergreen species; this is also true when the construction cost of the non-storage compounds alone is considered. The values found for Ephedra are similar to the maintenance costs do not show a significant variation in the deciduous leaves. They are higher than those known for evergreen leaves but somewhat lower than the values calculated for deciduous chaparral leaves.     

Tables and Procedures for the Determination of Power and Sample Sizes in Univariate and Multivariate Analyses of Variance and Regression

The available power tables for use in experimental design only serve for limited practical purposes, since they are restricted to very few levels of significance such as .01, .05, and .10. With these values, however, usually no correction for cumulating error probabilities, for example, by the Dunn-Bonferroni method, can be achieved, because (very) low values of a and sometimes even of α are necessary. Therefore, power tables are presented that encompass a wide range of different values for a (.0005 to .40), for power (.50 to .9995), and for 45 different values of the degrees of freedom for the numerator of the F ratio (u = 1 to 150). Four of the 16 tables are printed. Their use is demonstrated for some paradigmatic problems in univariate and multivariate analyses of variance and regression.     

Pollution Tolerance Values for Predicting the Spread of Black Flies (Diptera: Simuliidae) in New Jersey,with Implications for Control

Black flies are a perennial pest problem in New Jersey, and paramount among them are the S. jenningsi group species. Pollution tolerance values are reported for the 39 species of black flies known in New Jersey. Morphologically similar species were identified chromosomally to ensure accurate identification. Species of the same genus varied markedly in tolerance values, questioning the accuracy of generic-level tolerance values for the Simuliidae. An index for predicting the colonization and spread in New Jersey of the Simulium jenningsi group, which includes the major pest species of black flies in the eastern United States, is proposed, with implications for control programs worldwide.     

Transformation of cover‐abundance values for appropriate numerical treatment ‐ Alternatives to the proposals by Podani

Abstract. Two alternatives are offered to Podani's proposals, based on the claim that Braun‐Blanquet cover‐abundance estimates cannot be properly analysed by conventional mul‐tivariate methods. 1. The ordinal transform scale, based on an extended Braun‐Blanquet cover‐abundance scale, comes close to a metric cover percentage scale after (1) the abundance values r (very few individuals), + (few ind.), 1 (abundant) and 2m (very abundant, cover < 5%) are replaced by cover percentage estimates and (2) the higher Braun‐Blanquet values, notably 4 and 5, with cover intervals 50‐75% and 75‐100%, respectively, are interpreted as estimates of considerably higher cover values than the usual visual projection on the ground (because of the position of stems and leaves in several layers). I propose the equation ln C= (OTV ?2) /a, where C= Cover%, OTV is the 1 to 9 Ordinal Transfer Value and a is a factor weighting the cover values. With this equation cover values in a geometric series are achieved for the nine values in the extended Braun‐Blanquet scale from 0.5 % (OTV 1) to 140% (OTV 9) for a= 1.415, and for a= 1.380 from 0.6 % to 160%. 2. This makes use of an earlier developed ‘optimum‐transformation’ of cover‐abundance values. For each species a frequency distribution of cover‐abundance values is determined for a large data set, i.e. of dune slack vegetation. Tiny species have low values (OTVs 1–3) with high frequencies and hardly occur with higher OTV values; here all scores are considered ‘optimal’. In dominant species OTVs 7 to 9 have the highest frequencies and only these values are considered optimal. Species with intermediate OTV ranges have optimum ranges with low‐bound OTV = 2, 3, 4 and 5, respectively. No species were found in the dune slack data set with a frequency distribution justifying an optimum range with low‐bound OTV = 6. For mathematically correct numerical treatments’ optimum scores’ can be converted to 1 and sub‐optimal scores to 0 in order to approach a presence/absence situation. Both alternatives are suggested to be acceptable approximations to a metric basis for numerical analyses.     

A summary of the measured pK values of the ionizable groups in folded proteins

We tabulated 541 measured pK values reported in the literature for the Asp, Glu, His, Cys, Tyr, and Lys side chains, and the C and N termini of 78 folded proteins. The majority of these values are for the Asp, Glu, and His side chains. The average pK values are Asp 3.5 ± 1.2 (139); Glu 4.2 ± 0.9 (153); His 6.6 ± 1.0 (131); Cys 6.8 ± 2.7 (25); Tyr 10.3 ± 1.2 (20); Lys 10.5 ± 1.1 (35); C‐terminus 3.3 ± 0.8 (22) and N‐terminus 7.7 ± 0.5 (16). We compare these results with the measured pK values of these groups in alanine pentapeptides, and comment on our overall findings.     

Study of genetic variation in Yakutian cattle (Bos taurus L.) using the prolactin bPRL, growth hormone bGH, and transcription factor bPit-1 genes

The genetic structure of the Yakutian cattle breed was studied using the following genes: bPRL (RsaI site in exon 3), bGH (AluI site in exon 5), and bPit-1 (HinfI site in exon 6). The values of observed heterozygosity were 0.37 for bPRL, 0.29 for bGH, and 0.16 for bPit-1. These values are within the range of values for this parameter established for a number of Bos taurus breeds. The results obtained show that genetic variation is preserved in this aboriginal Russian breed, despite a catastrophic reduction of the number of animals.     

The continuing misuse of null hypothesis significance testing in biological anthropology

There is over 60 years of discussion in the statistical literature concerning the misuse and limitations of null hypothesis significance tests (NHST). Based on the prevalence of NHST in biological anthropology research, it appears that the discipline generally is unaware of these concerns. The p values used in NHST usually are interpreted incorrectly. A p value indicates the probability of the data given the null hypothesis. It should not be interpreted as the probability that the null hypothesis is true or as evidence for or against any specific alternative to the null hypothesis. P values are a function of both the sample size and the effect size, and therefore do not indicate whether the effect observed in the study is important, large, or small. P values have poor replicability in repeated experiments. The distribution of p values is continuous and varies from 0 to 1.0. The use of a cut‐off, generally p ≤ 0.05, to separate significant from nonsignificant results, is an arbitrary dichotomization of continuous variation. In 2016, the American Statistical Association issued a statement of principles regarding the misinterpretation of NHST, the first time it has done so regarding a specific statistical procedure in its 180‐year history. Effect sizes and confidence intervals, which can be calculated for any data used to calculate p values, provide more and better information about tested hypotheses than p values and NHST.     

Calculations of population differentiation based on GST and D: forget GST but not all of statistics!

G _ST‐values and its relatives (F_ST) belong to the most used parameters to define genetic differences between populations. Originally, they were developed for allozymes with very low number of alleles. Using highly polymorphic microsatellite markers it was often puzzling that G_ST‐values were very low but statistically significant. In their papers, Jost (2008) and Hedrick (2005) explained that G_ST‐values do not show genetic differentiation, and Jost suggested calculating D‐values instead. Theoretical mathematical considerations are often difficult to follow; therefore, we chose an applied approach comparing two artificial populations with different number of alleles at equal frequencies and known genetic divergence. Our results show that even for more than one allele per population G_ST‐values do not calculate population differentiation correctly; in contrast, D‐values do reflect the genetic differentiation indicating that data based on G_ST‐values need to be re‐evaluated. In our approach, statistical evaluations remained similar. We provide information about the impact of different sample sizes on D‐values in relation to number of alleles and genetic divergence.     

DNA values in somatic tissues of Dermestes (Dermestidae: Coleoptera)

The distribution of DNA values in some somatic tissues of seven Dermestes species has been investigated. In all cases the DNA values are distributed as members of a doubling series. Distributions are found to be similar between species and sexes for the same tissue but different between tissues in the same species. Species DNA values derived from somatic tissues agree with DNA values previously determined for spermatids. These data are discussed in relation to the range of species DNA values (2.7 x) and the process of differentiation.     

Length–weight and length–length relationships of fishes from the Ouémé River in Bénin (West Africa)

The relationships between total (TL) and standard (SL) lengths for 50 fish species and between TL and wet weight for 52 fish species caught in the Ouémé River are presented. Relationships between TL and SL are linear. Between TL and weight, the relationships are of the form TW = aTL^b. The b values range from 2.3307 to 3.5185. Student's t‐test revealed that 38.5% of the species have b values significantly different from 3.     

Excluded volume of hard cylinders of variable aspect ratio

In this article, we report expressions for the excluded volume, v _ex and second virial coefficient, B ₂, of hard cylinders as a function of their aspect ratio (𝒜 = L/D), where L and D are the length and diameter of the cylinder, respectively. These expressions are valid for aspect ratio values within the interval 0.001 < 𝒜 < 100, that covers from thin plates to long rods and reproduce Monte Carlo (MC) simulation values. We compare these results with Onsager's predictions and with reported values of hard bodies of similar geometry, as cut spheres (CS), hard spherocylinders (HSC) and linear tangent hard sphere chains (LTHSC). Simulation values for v _ex were obtained with an overlap algorithm that is also presented in detail. The obtained results can be applied in theoretical and computer simulation studies of discotic liquid crystals.