Analysis of Non-stationary Data for Heart-rate Fluctuations in Terms of Drift and Diffusion Coefficients

We describe a method for analyzing the stochasticity in non-stationary data for the beat-to-beat fluctuations in the heart rates of healthy subjects, as well as those with congestive heart failure. The method analyzes the return time series of the data as a Markov process, and computes the Markov time scale, i.e., the time scale over which the data are a Markov process. We also construct an effective stochastic continuum equation for the return series. We show that the drift and diffusion coefficients, as well as the amplitude of the return time series for healthy subjects are distinct from those with CHF. Thus, the method may potentially provide a diagnostic tool for distinguishing healthy subjects from those with congestive heart failure, as it can distinguish small differences between the data for the two classes of subjects in terms of well-defined and physically-motivated quantities. PACS: 05.10.Gg 05.40.-a, 05.45.Tp, 87.19.Hh     

Analysis of cedar pollen time series: no evidence of low-dimensional chaotic behavior

Much of the current interest in pollen time series analysis is motivated by the possibility that pollen series arise from low-dimensional chaotic systems. If this is the case, short-range prediction using nonlinear modeling is justified and would produce high-quality forecasts that could be useful in providing pollen alerts to allergy sufferers. To date, contradictory reports about the characterization of the dynamics of pollen series can be found in the literature. Pollen series have been alternatively described as featuring and not featuring deterministic chaotic behavior. We showed that the choice of test for detection of deterministic chaos in pollen series is difficult because pollen series exhibit power spectra. This is a characteristic that is also produced by colored noise series, which mimic deterministic chaos in most tests. We proposed to apply the Ikeguchi–Aihara test to properly detect the presence of deterministic chaos in pollen series. We examined the dynamics of cedar (Cryptomeria japonica) hourly pollen series by means of the Ikeguchi–Aihara test and concluded that these pollen series cannot be described as low-dimensional deterministic chaos. Therefore, the application of low-dimensional chaotic deterministic models to the prediction of short-range pollen concentration will not result in high-accuracy pollen forecasts even though these models may provide useful forecasts for certain applications. We believe that our conclusion can be generalized to pollen series from other wind-pollinated plant species, as wind speed, the forcing parameter of the pollen emission and transport, is best described as a nondeterministic series that originates in the high dimensionality of the atmosphere.     

Pathotypes of Plasmodiophora brassicae, the cause of clubroot, in Australia

Variation in pathogenicity of Plasmodiophora brassicae in Australia was studied using the European Clubroot Differential series of brassica hosts. From 41 collections of P. brassicae originating from important vegetable brassica production regions in Victoria, Western Australia, Tasmania, Queensland and New South Wales, 23 triplet codes were generated. These were more similar to populations of P. brassicae reported from the USA than those from Europe. The most common Australian pathotypes had triplet codes of 16/3/12 and 16/3/31 and were each assigned seven times to pathogen collections originating from three states of Australia. Other codes that occurred more than once were 16/2/31, which was assigned to six collections from four states of Australia, and 16/19/31, which was assigned twice to collections originating from Western Australia.     

温度胁迫对二化螟滞育幼虫生理指标的影响

为从生理生化水平上探讨二化螟滞育幼虫应对温度胁迫的生理机制,分别对系列温度胁迫(STS)和梯度温度胁迫(GTS)处理后的幼虫水、脂质、总糖、小分子碳水化合物含量及超氧化物歧化酶(SOD)、过氧化物酶(POD)、过氧化氢酶(CAT)活性进行了测定.结果表明:随着温度的降低,两种处理二化螟滞育幼虫虫体含水量趋于减少,且0℃以下时GTS处理下降幅度较STS处理显著;两种处理脂质含量均逐步下降且二者间无显著差异;两种处理总糖含量分别先减后增和持续下降,均检测出4种小分子碳水化合物,其中STS处理葡萄糖、甘油和果糖含量先增后减,海藻糖含量变化与此相反,而GTS处理海藻糖含量先减后增,葡萄糖和甘油含量呈相反变化,果糖含量无变化;14～-14℃范围内STS处理SOD和POD活性较GTS处理低,CAT活性相反.二化螟滞育幼虫生理指标的变化反映了其应对不同温度胁迫的生理响应.     

Salt-induced enhancement of antifreeze protein activity: a salting-out effect

Antifreeze proteins are a structurally diverse group of proteins characterized by their unique ability to cause a separation of the melting- and growth-temperatures of ice. These proteins have evolved independently in different kinds of cold-adapted ectothermic animals, including insects and fish, where they protect against lethal freezing of the body fluids. There is a great variability in the capacity of different kinds of antifreeze proteins to evoke the antifreeze effect, but the basis of these differences is not well understood. This study reports on salt-induced enhancement of the antifreeze activity of an antifreeze protein from the longhorn beetle Rhagium inquisitor (L.). The results imply that antifreeze activity is predetermined by a steady-state distribution of the antifreeze protein between the solution and the ice surface region. The observed salt-induced enhancement of the antifreeze activity compares qualitatively and quantitatively with salt-induced lowering of protein solubility. Thus, salts apparently enhance antifreeze activity by evoking a solubility-induced shift in the distribution pattern of the antifreeze proteins in favour of the ice. These results indicate that the solubility of antifreeze proteins in the solution surrounding the ice crystal is a fundamental physiochemical property in relation to their antifreeze potency.     

Modelling multiple time series via common factors

We propose a new method for estimating common factors of multipletime series. One distinctive feature of the new approach isthat it is applicable to some nonstationary time series. Theunobservable, nonstationary factors are identified by expandingthe white noise space step by step, thereby solving a high-dimensionaloptimization problem by several low-dimensional sub-problems.Asymptotic properties of the estimation are investigated. Theproposed methodology is illustrated with both simulated andreal datasets.     

Role of cations in stability of acidic protein Desulfovibrio desulfuricans apoflavodoxin

Apoflavodoxin from the sulfate reducing bacteria Desulfovibrio desulfuricans is a small, acidic protein with a net charge of -19 at neutral pH. Here, we show that monovalent cations in biologically relevant amounts have dramatic effects on apoflavodoxin stability. The effect is largest for Gdm(+) and decreases as a function of increased cation charge density (Gdm(+)>NH(4)(+)K(+) approximately Cs(+) approximately Na(+)>Li(+)). A linear correlation of stabilizing effects with cation hydration properties suggests an important role of dehydration in efficient cation interaction with the protein. The effects on stability are due to preferential binding of one cation to native apoflavodoxin and results in an increase in thermal midpoint of 20 degrees C and the free energy of unfolding (at 20 degrees C) increases fivefold. Tuning of biophysical properties (such as folding and ligand/cofactor binding) of acidic proteins by cation binding may be important in vivo.     

Atmospheric Deposition to the Turkey Lakes Watershed: Temporal Variations and Characteristics

We investigated the atmospheric concentrations and deposition fluxes of major ions to the Turkey Lakes Watershed (TLW) between 1980 and 1996. During that time, daily SO₄ ²⁻ concentrations in precipitation decreased markedly, while NO₃ ⁻, NH₄ ⁺, and H⁺ concentrations remained roughly constant. It appears that precipitation acidity did not decrease in spite of declining SO₄ ²⁻ concentrations due to a concurrent and counterbalancing decrease in the concentrations of Ca²⁺, Mg²⁺, and K⁺ in precipitation. The reasons for the decline in base cations are unknown, but this decline is probably related to decreasing emissions of soil-derived particles from agricultural, industrial, and road sources. A similar situation was seen during the same period in other parts of Canada, the eastern United States, and Europe. Wet, dry, and total (wet + dry) deposition fluxes of sulphur (S) and nitrogen (N) were estimated annually for the years 1980–96. The 17-year mean annual total (wet + dry) deposition of S to the watershed was estimated at 38.5 mmol m⁻² y⁻¹ (range 24.3–50.3). Total S deposition decreased by 35% from the early 1980s (1982–84) to the mid-1990s (1994–96), a decline consistent with the 23% decline in annual SO₂ emissions in eastern North America during the same period. In contrast, the annual total (wet + dry) deposition of oxidized N ranged from 39.8 to 60.4 mmol m⁻² y⁻¹, with a 15-year mean of 50.1 mmol m⁻² y⁻¹ and a net increase of 10% between the early 1980s (1983–85) and the mid-1990s (1994–96). This is in keeping with a 10% increase in NO_x emissions in eastern North America during the same period. For both S and N (oxidized), wet deposition dominated over dry deposition as the major mechanism for atmospheric input to the watershed. Annually, wet deposition accounted for approximately two-thirds of the total atmospheric deposition of both S and N. Dry S deposition was due more to gaseous SO₂ deposition (two-thirds of dry S deposition) than to particulate SO₄ ²⁻ deposition (one-third of dry S deposition). Dry deposition of oxidized N, however, was dominated (95%) by gaseous HNO₃ deposition, with minimal input from particulate NO₃ ⁻ deposition. Compared to several selected watershed/forest sites in Canada, the United States, and Europe, the estimated total deposition of S and N at the TLW was relatively high during the measurement period. Received 5 October 1999; accepted 1 March 2001.