The complex circadian system of Gonyaulax polyedra

Circadian oscillations are a fundamental biological property from bacteria to humans. The molecular mechanisms which produce a ca 24-h rhythmicity are still unknown but it has become clear that they are part of the biochemical machinery of the single cell. The cellular circadian system can be favorably studied in single-cell organisms such as the dinoflagellate Gonyaulax polyedra . The complexity of this circadian model system, which consists of at least two circadian oscillators, receives light via two input systems with different spectral sensitivities, and has several feed–back loops between the central oscillator(s) and the environment, is described here.     

根际中硅、铁、锰和铝的状况与水稻生长

本文以根盒试验与盆栽试验相结合的方法,研究了红壤性水稻土、淀浆白土、第四纪红土和赤红壤植稻后根际微生态系统中Si、Fe、Mn和Al等元素的状况及其与水稻生长的关系。结果表明,新垦红壤植稻后根际中活性Fe和Al富集;活性Mn量降低,但亏缺率小;活性Si则亏缺不明显,有时甚至富集。而熟化水稻土植稻后根际中活性Fe和Al则出现亏缺;Mn的亏缺较大,且差值明显;活性Si的亏缺现象更为显著。由于新垦红壤植稻后Fe和Al在根际微生态系统中富集,根茎叶中累积量较高,从而使Si、P和Mn等元素的吸收受阻,导致新垦红壤上水稻生长明显比熟化水稻土上的水稻要差。     

Coral fossil: A potential adsorbent of natural source for cadmium removal in broilers

Cadmium (Cd) is a pollutant that poses a health risk for humans and animals. Coral fossil (CF) acts as an adsorbent, yet limited knowledge is available on impacts of CF on Cd toxicities. The work was performed to figure out the effects of CF on hematobiochemical details and specific organs in Cd exposed broilers. The experiment was carried out with 45 broilers and were divided into three groups (15 in each). Group A was served as control. The birds in group B received Cd (75 mg /kg b. w.) orally. Whereas group C was orally supplemented with Cd (75 mg /kg b. w.) and CF (1 gm/kg b. w.). The trial was lasted for 30 days. For hematobiochemical analysis, blood samples were drawn, and sera were separated. Liver, kidney and muscle were collected to assess accumulation concentration. Brain, liver and kidney samples were also collected for histopathological study. The results showed that hematological parameters (TEC, Hb, PCV, MCV, MCH, MCHC and DLC) were altered by Cd but restored with CF supplementation. Liver (AST, ALT and ALP) and kidney (total protein and creatinine) biomarkers were increased significantly in Cd treated broilers while decreased significantly after CF supplementation. CF reduced accumulation concentration of Cd in liver, kidney and muscle. Cd intoxicated broilers showed degenerative changes in brain, hyperplastic bile duct and proliferation of renal tubular epithelium with focal degeneration and necrosis; and these were improved after CF supplementation. Therefore, it can be concluded that CF is a potential adsorbent against Cd toxicities.     

光响应曲线的指数改进模型与常用模型比较

光响应曲线的参数是研究植物生理状态的重要指标, 常用的光响应曲线模型无法准确地计算出光饱和点和最大净光合速率。该文利用光响应曲线新模型——指数改进模型、直角双曲线模型、直角双曲线修正模型、非直角双曲线模型和指数模型, 拟合高粱(Sorghum bicolor)、苋(Amaranthus tricolor)、大麦(Hordeum vulgare)和半夏(Pinellia ternata)的光响应曲线, 并随机选取部分数据进行检验, 得到了各模型计算出的主要生理参数, 并对这些数据进行了比较分析, 讨论了各模型之间的优缺点和准确性, 描述了C₃、C₄植物光响应的适宜性。结果表明, 基于C₃植物得到的指数改进模型和直角双曲线修正模型能较准确地计算出C₃、C₄植物饱和光强和最大净光合速率, 并在描述光响应曲线时比另外3个模型具有更高的精确性和适宜性。实验结果可为光响应曲线模型在C₃和C₄光合途径植物中的应用提供参考。     

Bicuculline对小鼠中脑下丘听神经元

采用微电泳技术考察了GABAA受体拮抗剂荷包牡丹碱（bicuculline）,对小鼠中脑下丘听神经元强度-放电率曲线、频率调谐曲线和听空间反应域的影响。结果表明,微电泳bicuculline使听神经元的放电率显著提高,多数神经元的强度-放电率曲线变为单调型;听神经元频率调谐曲线加宽,并且对曲线上部的作用更加明显;听神经元的听空间反应域增大,方向敏感性降低。实验结果提示了GABA能抑制在下丘听信息处理中的重要作用。     

On the use of partial area under the ROC curve for comparison of two diagnostic tests

Evaluation of diagnostic performance is typically based on the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve and the area under the curve (AUC) as its summary index. The partial area under the curve (pAUC) is an alternative index focusing on the range of practical/clinical relevance. One of the problems preventing more frequent use of the pAUC is the perceived loss of efficiency in cases of noncrossing ROC curves. In this paper, we investigated statistical properties of comparisons of two correlated pAUCs. We demonstrated that outside of the classic model there are practically reasonable ROC types for which comparisons of noncrossing concave curves would be more powerful when based on a part of the curve rather than the entire curve. We argue that this phenomenon stems in part from the exclusion of noninformative parts of the ROC curves that resemble straight‐lines. We conducted extensive simulation studies in families of binormal, straight‐line, and bigamma ROC curves. We demonstrated that comparison of pAUCs is statistically more powerful than comparison of full AUCs when ROC curves are close to a “straight line”. For less flat binormal ROC curves an increase in the integration range often leads to a disproportional increase in pAUCs’ difference, thereby contributing to an increase in statistical power. Thus, efficiency of differences in pAUCs of noncrossing ROC curves depends on the shape of the curves, and for families of ROC curves that are nearly straight‐line shaped, such as bigamma ROC curves, there are multiple practical scenarios in which comparisons of pAUCs are preferable.     

Incorporating physiology into species distribution models moderates the projected impact of warming on selected Mediterranean marine species

Species distribution models (SDMs) correlate species occurrences with environmental predictors, and can be used to forecast distributions under future climates. SDMs have been criticized for not explicitly including the physiological processes underlying the species response to the environment. Recently, new methods have been suggested to combine SDMs with physiological estimates of performance (physiology-SDMs). In this study, we compare SDM and physiology-SDM predictions for select marine species in the Mediterranean Sea, a region subjected to exceptionally rapid climate change. We focused on six species and created physiology-SDMs that incorporate physiological thermal performance curves from experimental data with species occurrence records. We then contrasted projections of SDMs and physiology-SDMs under future climate (year 2100) for the entire Mediterranean Sea, and particularly the ‘warm’ trailing edge in the Levant region. Across the Mediterranean, we found cross-validation model performance to be similar for regular SDMs and physiology-SDMs. However, we also show that for around half the species the physiology-SDMs substantially outperform regular SDM in the warm Levant. Moreover, for all species the uncertainty associated with the coefficients estimated from the physiology-SDMs were much lower than in the regular SDMs. Under future climate, we find that both SDMs and physiology-SDMs showed similar patterns, with species predicted to shift their distribution north-west in accordance with warming sea temperatures. However, for the physiology-SDMs predicted distributional changes are more moderate than those predicted by regular SDMs. We conclude, that while physiology-SDM predictions generally agree with the regular SDMs, incorporation of the physiological data led to less extreme range shift forecasts. The results suggest that climate-induced range shifts may be less drastic than previously predicted, and thus most species are unlikely to completely disappear with warming climate. Taken together, the findings emphasize that physiological experimental data can provide valuable supplemental information to predict range shifts of marine species.     

Spatial and temporal variations in species occurrence rate affect the accuracy of occurrence models

Aim Predictive models of species occurrence have potential for prioritizing areas for competing land uses. Before widespread application, however, it is necessary to evaluate performance using independent data and effective accuracy measures. The objectives of this study were to (1) compare the effects of species occurrence rate on model accuracy, (2) assess the effects of spatial and temporal variation in occurrence rate on model accuracy, and (3) determine if the number of predictor variables affected model accuracy. Location We predicted the distributions of breeding birds in three adjacent mountain ranges in the Great Basin (Nevada, USA). Methods For each of 18 species, we developed separate models using five different data sets — one set for each of 2 years (to address the effects of temporal variation), and one set for each of three possible pairs of mountain ranges (to address the effects of spatial variation). We evaluated each model with an independent data set using four accuracy measures: discrimination ability [area under a receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC)], correct classification rate (CCR), proportion of presences correctly classified (sensitivity), and proportion of absences correctly classified (specificity). Results Discrimination ability was not affected by occurrence rate, whereas the other three accuracy measures were significantly affected. CCR, sensitivity and specificity were affected by species occurrence rate in the evaluation data sets to a greater extent than in the model‐building data sets. Discrimination ability was the only accuracy measure affected by the number of variables in a model. Main conclusions Temporal variation in species occurrence appeared to have a greater impact than did spatial variation. When temporal variation in species distributions is great, the relative costs of omission and commission errors should be assessed and long‐term census data should be examined before using predictive models of occurrence in a management setting.     

小叶章种群地上生物量生长量及其时间序列分析

本文通过对三江平原典型草甸、沼泽化草甸及沼泽群落的优势种群-小叶章种群地上生物量生长量及其时间序列的分析表明:典型草甸小叶章种群地上生物量生长量季节动态呈"W"型。另两个类型呈双峰型。其累积生长量均呈单峰型,且在整个生长季,干物质均有一定程度的积累,时间序列分析也验证了上述变化趋势。     

地衣对放射性物质吸收和积累的初步研究

地衣植物对放射性物质具有富集作用,在国内有关这方面的研究工作尚未见有报道。本文作者对采自不同地区的22种地衣进行了低本底α,β射线总放射性的测定和NaI(TL)γ能谱的分析,结果表明:地衣中长寿命放射性核素有明显的积累现象,并呈现出一定的空间分布趋势。因而,了解地衣体中放射性含量水平、核素性质及分布状况,进而为研究环境放射学、地衣污染生态学等学科提供科学依据和基础资料。