Coexistence between Cyphomyrmex ants and dominant populations of Wasmannia auropunctata

The little fire ant Wasmannia auropunctata is able to develop highly dominant populations in disturbed areas of its native range, with a resulting negative impact on ant diversity. We report here on the tolerance of such populations towards several fungus-growing ants of the genus Cyphomyrmex (rimosus complex) in French Guiana. This tolerance is surprising given the usually high interspecific aggressiveness of W. auropunctata when dominant. In order to understand the mechanisms behind such proximity, aggressiveness tests were performed between workers of the different species. These behavioural assays revealed a great passivity in Cyphomyrmex workers during confrontations with W. auropunctata workers. We also found that the aggressiveness between W. auropunctata and two Cyphomyrmex species was more intense between distant nests than between adjacent ones. This dear-enemy phenomenon may result from a process of habituation contributing to the ants' ability to coexist over the long term.     

Female large odorous frogs (Odorrana graminea) prefer males with higher nonlinear vocal components

In anurans, the complexity of courtship calls may affect female mate choice. The current study suggests that nonlinear phenomena (NLP) components can contribute to increasing complexity in courtship calls and attracting female attention. The results of a recent study showed that calls of large odorous frog (Odorrana graminea) contained NLP components. However, whether the nonlinear components of courtship calls in O. graminea improve male attractiveness remains unknown. We hypothesized that female O. graminea would prefer males producing calls with a higher proportion of NLP components (P‐NLP‐C). To test this hypothesis, we recorded the advertisement calls of 28 males and confirmed that the P‐NLP‐C was significantly positively related to body size. We also measured the body size of natural amplectant males and non‐amplectant males in the field and found that amplectant males had larger body sizes than non‐amplectant males, and the results of two‐choice amplexus experiments similarly revealed a female preference for males with larger body sizes. Additionally, phonotaxis experiments also revealed that females preferred male calls with a high P‐NLP‐C. The results suggest that a higher P‐NLP‐C in calls can enhance male attractiveness, and the P‐NLP‐C may provide key information about male body conditions for female O. graminea. Our study provides a new insight for better understanding the role of NLP in anuran mate selection.     

升温突变对川西马尔康树木生长的影响

以采自川西马尔康林区的岷江冷杉(Abies faxoniana)和岷江柏(Cupressus chengiana)树轮为研究对象,对树轮指数与气候要素进行相关分析,研究1995年升温突变前后该区主要针叶树种的树轮响应变化。结果显示:1955—1994年时段,高、中海拔岷江冷杉径向生长对温度正响应,年轮指数呈缓慢的上升趋势,低海拔岷江柏受温度影响不大,年轮指数上升较快;1995—2012年时段,随着温度升高,3样点树木年轮指数并未上升,甚至呈下降趋势,表现出"响应分异现象"。对月气候要素的响应,树种间存在差异:高海拔岷江冷杉在前一时段主要表现为与冬季温度的正相关,后一阶段则转变为与4月温度的显著负相关及与4月份降水的显著正相关,受到显著的4月干旱胁迫影响;中海拔岷江冷杉后一时段温度敏感性消失,5月干旱胁迫加剧;低海拔岷江柏主要受降水影响,后一时段4月份干旱胁迫加剧。升温突变后,川西马尔康林区岷江冷杉和岷江柏均表现出"响应分异现象",在今后的气候重建及碳循环模拟中应加以考虑。     

超声心动图评价冠状动脉慢血流现象的应用进展

摘要：冠状动脉慢血流现象(coronary slow flow phenomenon, CSFP)是通过冠状动脉血管造影(coronary angiography, CAG)发现的以冠状动脉内径正常或接近正常的血管远端造影剂显像延迟为特征的冠状动脉血管病变。多数患者心脏无器质性病变,但反复出现各种不同形式的心肌缺血症状,CSFP也可能引发如恶性心律失常、急性心肌梗死等严重的心脏不良事件,因此早期评估CSFP尤为重要。既往多种影像学检查手段价格昂贵、检查时间过长,并且后期随访及疗效评估困难,限制了这类检查在临床上的应用。传统的超声心动图指标难以反映早期心肌损伤,近年来各种超声心动图新技术检查在CSFP的定性、定量研究中都发挥了重要作用,其中斑点追踪成像技术(speckle tracking imaging,STI)更是在安全无创的基础上具有更高的准确性和敏感性。     

血红蛋白A_2现象发生机制的研究——“红细胞HbA_2”为HbA_2与HbA的结合产物

为了弄清血红蛋白A_2现象的发生机制,我们对“红细胞HbA_2”的化学组成进行了分析。“红细胞HbA_2”的双向电泳结果表明,它含有两种血红蛋白成分:一种相当于HbA,另一种很可能是溶血液HbA_2。其单向二次电泳结果也证明,它是由溶血液HbA_2和HbA所组成。结果初步说明,盘红细胞中HbA_2可能与HbA结合存在。两者可能有相互作用,也许这是产生血红蛋白A_2现象的原因。     

植物叶片的消荧光现象

实验观察表明,非生物体有消荧光现象,生物体也有消荧光现象.它是激光与物体表面非线性相互作用的结果.植物叶片的消荧光现象是一个多光子过程,并且荧光消失过程伴随二次谐波产生.荧光消失过程中,荧光能量部分地转换为二次谐波信号,经粗略计算,转换效率大约为2.2％.     

Understanding the Emergence of Cellular Organization

More than one researcher is currently proposing that the notion of information become an important element for defining living systems as well as for explaining conditions that make their origins possible. During the pre-biotic era, the type of compounds encountered would mainly have been very simple in nature and might have been immersed in the natural dynamic of the physical world and in processes of self-organization. It is furthermore quite possible that they formed a relationship between and among certain types of processes that here we are specifically proposing as central for the emergence of cell organization. Consequently, an important initial step towards constructing a theory of biological information is to ask ourselves the question: how do biological systems process information? In this way, we will be contributing to the proposals of this paper where we seek to identify general principles that govern biological computing and that deal with biosemiotic approaches as they are defended in naturalistic normative terms.     

Sexual selection in mushroom-forming basidiomycetes

We expect that sexual selection may play an important role in the evolution of mushroom-forming basidiomycete fungi. Although these fungi do not have separate sexes, they do play female and male roles: the acceptance and the donation of a nucleus, respectively. The primary mycelium (monokaryon) of basidiomycete fungi, growing from a germinating sexual spore, is hermaphroditic, but it loses female function upon the acceptance of a second nucleus. The resulting dikaryon with two different nuclei in each cell retains a male potential as both nuclei can fertilize receptive mycelia. We tested the occurrence of sexual selection in the model species of mushroom-forming basidiomycetes, Schizophyllum commune, by pairing monokaryons with fully compatible dikaryons. In most pairings, we found a strong bias for one of the two nuclei although both were compatible with the monokaryon when paired alone. This shows that sexual selection can occur in mushroom-forming basidiomycetes. Since the winning nucleus of a dikaryon occasionally varied depending on the receiving monokaryon, we infer that sexual selection can operate through choosiness of the receiving individual (analogous to female choice). However, in other cases the same nucleus won, irrespective of the receiving monokaryon, suggesting that competition between the two nuclei of the donating mycelium (analogous to male–male competition) might also play a role.