Heritable variation in circulating glucocorticoids and endocrine flexibility in a free‐living songbird

Phenotypic flexibility is a central way that organisms cope with challenging and changing environments. As endocrine signals mediate many phenotypic traits, heritable variation in hormone levels, or their context‐dependent flexibility, could present an important target for selection. Several studies have estimated the heritability of circulating glucocorticoid levels under acute stress conditions, but little is known about the potential for either baseline hormone levels or rapid endocrine flexibility to evolve. Here, we assessed the potential for selection to operate on the elevation (circulating hormone levels) and flexibility of glucocorticoid reaction norms to acute restraint stress. Multivariate animal models revealed low but significant heritability in baseline (h² = 0.13–0.14) and stress‐induced glucocorticoids (h² = 0.18), and moderate heritability in glucocorticoid flexibility in response to acute stress (h² = 0.38) in free‐living juvenile tree swallows (Tachycineta bicolor; n = 408). Baseline glucocorticoids were not genetically correlated with either stress‐induced glucocorticoids or glucocorticoid flexibility. These findings indicate that baseline glucocorticoids and the acute stress response are distinct traits that can be independently shaped by selection. Microevolutionary changes that influence the expression or flexibility of these endocrine mediators of phenotype may be an important way that populations adapt to changing environments and novel threats.     

我国公立医院与社区卫生服务中心合作模式的比较与分析

通过文献评阅、专家访谈和现场调研等方法,对我国公立医院和社区卫生服务中心目前的合作模式进行了归纳,并对每种模式的成效、优缺点进行了分析。

     

Habitat suitability and nest survival of white-headed woodpeckers in unburned forests of Oregon

We evaluated habitat suitability and nest survival of breeding white-headed woodpeckers (Picoides albolarvatus) in unburned forests of central Oregon, USA. Daily nest-survival rate was positively related to maximum daily temperature during the nest interval and to density of large-diameter trees surrounding the nest tree. We developed a niche-based habitat suitability model (partitioned Mahalanobis distance) for nesting white-headed woodpeckers using remotely sensed data. Along with low elevation, high density of large trees, and low slope, our habitat suitability model suggested that interspersion–juxtaposition of low- and high-canopy cover ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa) patches was important for nest-site suitability. Cross-validation suggested the model performed adequately for management planning at a scale >1 ha. Evaluation of mapped habitat suitability index (HSI) suggested that the maximum predictive gain (HSI = 0.36), where the number of nest locations are maximized in the smallest proportion of the modeled landscape, provided an objective initial threshold for identification of suitable habitat. However, managers can choose the threshold HSI most appropriate for their purposes (e.g., locating regions of low–moderate suitability that have potential for habitat restoration). Consequently, our habitat suitability model may be useful for managing dry coniferous forests for white-headed woodpeckers in central Oregon; however, model validation is necessary before our model could be applied to other locations. © 2011 The Wildlife Society.     

基于随机效应的兴安落叶松材积生长模拟

基于黑龙江省带岭林业局大青川林场80株人工兴安落叶松解析木数据和Logistic生长模型,分别考虑单木效应和样地效应,利用S-PLUS软件中的NLME过程拟合非线性材积生长模型,采用赤池信息准则(AIC)、贝叶斯信息准则(BIC)、对数似然值和似然比检验等模型评价指标对不同模型的精度进行比较.结果表明：当考虑单木效应影响时,b₁、b₂、b₃（分别代表Logistic模型中的渐进、尺度和形状的随机参数）同时作为随机参数时模型拟合效果最好; 当考虑样地效应影响时,b₁作为随机参数时模型拟合效果最好.基于单木效应和样地效应的混合模型的拟合精度高于基本模型（Logistic生长模型）,考虑单木效应影响的混合模型的精度高于考虑样地效应影响的模型.模型检验结果表明,随机效应模型不但能反映单木材积的总体平均变化趋势,还能反映个体之间的差异;随机效应模型通过校正随机参数值能提高模型的预测精度.     

糖尿病肾病动物模型的研究进展

糖尿病肾病是糖尿病的主要并发症之一,也是终末期肾衰的元凶,其发病机制至今尚未阐明。因此,建立理想的实验动物模型是研究糖尿病肾病发病机制、疾病防治、新药开发的关键环节。本文回顾并分析了有关该疾病模型的国内外文献,从造模方法、发病机制、病理改变、适用条件、模型的优缺点等方面进行比较分析,为选择合适的动物模型应用于糖尿病肾病的研究提供参考。     

Energy determines broad pattern of plant distribution in Western Himalaya

Several factors describe the broad pattern of diversity in plant species distribution. We explore these determinants of species richness in Western Himalayas using high‐resolution species data available for the area to energy, water, physiography and anthropogenic disturbance. The floral data involves 1279 species from 1178 spatial locations and 738 sample plots of a national database. We evaluated their correlation with 8‐environmental variables, selected on the basis of correlation coefficients and principal component loadings, using both linear (structural equation model) and nonlinear (generalised additive model) techniques. There were 645 genera and 176 families including 815 herbs, 213 shrubs, 190 trees, and 61 lianas. The nonlinear model explained the maximum deviance of 67.4% and showed the dominant contribution of climate on species richness with a 59% share. Energy variables (potential evapotranspiration and temperature seasonality) explained the deviance better than did water variables (aridity index and precipitation of the driest quarter). Temperature seasonality had the maximum impact on the species richness. The structural equation model confirmed the results of the nonlinear model but less efficiently. The mutual influences of the climatic variables were found to affect the predictions of the model significantly. To our knowledge, the 67.4% deviance found in the species richness pattern is one of the highest values reported in mountain studies. Broadly, climate described by water–energy dynamics provides the best explanation for the species richness pattern. Both modeling approaches supported the same conclusion that energy is the best predictor of species richness. The dry and cold conditions of the region account for the dominant contribution of energy on species richness.     

VoroMQA: Assessment of protein structure quality using interatomic contact areas

In the absence of experimentally determined protein structure many biological questions can be addressed using computational structural models. However, the utility of protein structural models depends on their quality. Therefore, the estimation of the quality of predicted structures is an important problem. One of the approaches to this problem is the use of knowledge‐based statistical potentials. Such methods typically rely on the statistics of distances and angles of residue‐residue or atom‐atom interactions collected from experimentally determined structures. Here, we present VoroMQA (Voronoi tessellation‐based Model Quality Assessment), a new method for the estimation of protein structure quality. Our method combines the idea of statistical potentials with the use of interatomic contact areas instead of distances. Contact areas, derived using Voronoi tessellation of protein structure, are used to describe and seamlessly integrate both explicit interactions between protein atoms and implicit interactions of protein atoms with solvent. VoroMQA produces scores at atomic, residue, and global levels, all in the fixed range from 0 to 1. The method was tested on the CASP data and compared to several other single‐model quality assessment methods. VoroMQA showed strong performance in the recognition of the native structure and in the structural model selection tests, thus demonstrating the efficacy of interatomic contact areas in estimating protein structure quality. The software implementation of VoroMQA is freely available as a standalone application and as a web server at http://bioinformatics.lt/software/voromqa . Proteins 2017; 85:1131–1145. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Changes in temperature sensitivity of spring phenology with recent climate warming in Switzerland are related to shifts of the preseason

The spring phenology of plants in temperate regions strongly responds to spring temperatures. Climate warming has caused substantial phenological advances in the past, but trends to be expected in the future are uncertain. A simple indicator is temperature sensitivity, the phenological advance statistically associated with a 1°C warmer mean temperature during the “preseason”, defined as the most temperature‐sensitive period preceding the phenological event. Recent analyses of phenological records have shown a decline in temperature sensitivity of leaf unfolding, but underlying mechanisms were not clear. Here, we propose that climate warming can reduce temperature sensitivity simply by reducing the length of the preseason due to faster bud development during this time period, unless the entire preseason shifts forward so that its temperature does not change. We derive these predictions theoretically from the widely used “thermal time model” for bud development and test them using data for 19 phenological events recorded in 1970–2012 at 108 stations spanning a 1600 m altitudinal range in Switzerland. We consider how temperature sensitivity, preseason start, preseason length and preseason temperature change (i) with altitude, (ii) between the periods 1970–1987 and 1995–2012, which differed mainly in spring temperatures, and (iii) between two non‐consecutive sets of 18 years that differed mainly in winter temperatures. On average, temperature sensitivity increased with altitude (colder climate) and was reduced in years with warmer springs, but not in years with warmer winters. These trends also varied among species. Decreasing temperature sensitivity in warmer springs was associated with a limited forward shift of preseason start, higher temperatures during the preseason and reduced preseason length, but not with reduced winter chilling. Our results imply that declining temperature sensitivity can result directly from spring warming and does not necessarily indicate altered physiological responses or stronger constraints such as reduced winter chilling.     

真光层深度的遥感反演及其在富营养化评价中的应用

真光层深度直接影响水体中浮游植物的分布和初级生产力以及水体生态环境,是水生态研究的一个重要参数.利用2006年10月24日～11月2日太湖水下实测光谱数据和光合有效辐射(PAR)数据,通过数据的处理和分析,尝试建立真光层深度与水面以下遥感反射率的关系模型,并利用真光层深度与透明度的关系,建立水体富营养化真光层深度评价模型.研究结果表明:真光层深度与归一化遥感反射率具有很好的相关性;选用特定波段的归一化反射率作为变量,建立两者的关系模型能较好的反演真光层深度,所建立的模型算法中,指数模型拟合方程的综合效果好于其他模型,波段比值算法反演精度要好于单波段算法;利用利用真光层深度进行富营养化评价具有一定的应用价值,利用该模型对太湖水体进行富营养化评价,得出太湖西部湖区大部分已富营养化,东部湖区处于中营养化和轻度富营养化状态.     

兔眼增殖性玻璃体视网膜病变模型的建立

目的探讨兔眼增殖性玻璃体视网膜病变模型的建立方法。方法①体外培养兔眼视网膜色素上皮细胞;②兔眼3组,每组6只,分别在玻璃体内注射0.1 mL的生理盐水、1×106细胞及2×106细胞,在不同时间段进行裂隙灯显微镜、间接检眼镜、眼底照像和B超检查,观察成模情况。结果注射后28 d,生理盐水组成模0眼;1×106细胞组成模5眼,其中Ⅰ级眼1只,Ⅱ级眼3只,Ⅲ级眼1只;2×106细胞组成模6眼,其中Ⅱ级眼2只,Ⅲ级眼4只。结论兔眼玻璃体内注射2×106同种视网膜色素上皮细胞建立增殖性玻璃体视网膜病变模型,符合病变发展规律,而且稳定可靠,成模较快,简单易行。