Stabilization of telomeres in nonlinear models of proliferating cell lines

We analyse an age-structured model of telomere loss in a proliferating cell population. The cell population is divided into telomere classes, which shorten each round of division. The model consists of a nonlinear system of partial differential equations for the telomere classes. We prove that if the highest telomere class is exempted from mortality, then all the classes stabilize to a nontrivial equilibrium dependent on the initial state of cells in the highest telomere class.     

Comparison of dwarf bamboos (Indocalamus sp.) leaf parameters to determine relationship between spatial density of plants and total leaf area per plant

The relationship between spatial density and size of plants is an important topic in plant ecology. The self‐thinning rule suggests a ?3/2 power between average biomass and density or a ?1/2 power between stand yield and density. However, the self‐thinning rule based on total leaf area per plant and density of plants has been neglected presumably because of the lack of a method that can accurately estimate the total leaf area per plant. We aimed to find the relationship between spatial density of plants and total leaf area per plant. We also attempted to provide a novel model for accurately describing the leaf shape of bamboos. We proposed a simplified Gielis equation with only two parameters to describe the leaf shape of bamboos one model parameter represented the overall ratio of leaf width to leaf length. Using this method, we compared some leaf parameters (leaf shape, number of leaves per plant, ratio of total leaf weight to aboveground weight per plant, and total leaf area per plant) of four bamboo species of genus Indocalamus Nakai (I. pedalis (Keng) P.C. Keng, I. pumilus Q.H. Dai and C.F. Keng, I. barbatus McClure, and I. victorialis P.C. Keng). We also explored the possible correlation between spatial density and total leaf area per plant using log‐linear regression. We found that the simplified Gielis equation fit the leaf shape of four bamboo species very well. Although all these four species belonged to the same genus, there were still significant differences in leaf shape. Significant differences also existed in leaf area per plant, ratio of leaf weight to aboveground weight per plant, and leaf length. In addition, we found that the total leaf area per plant decreased with increased spatial density. Therefore, we directly demonstrated the self‐thinning rule to improve light interception.     

Validation of the Boussinesq equation for use in traction field determination

Cell traction force plays an important role in many biological processes. Several traction force microscopy methods have been developed to determine cell traction forces based on the Boussinesq solution. This approach, however, is rooted in a half-space assumption. The purpose of this study was to determine the error induced in the half-space assumption using a finite element method (FEM). It demonstrates that displacement error between the FEM and the Boussinesq equation can be used to measure the accuracy of the Boussinesq equation, although singularity exists in the loading point. For one concentrated force, significant difference between the FEM and the Boussinesq equation occurs in the whole field; this difference decreases with an increase in the plate thickness. However, in the case of the balanced forces, the offset of the balanced forces decreases the errors in the middle area. Overall, this study demonstrates that increasing the thickness of the polyacrylamide gel is important for reducing the error of the Boussinesq equation when determining the displacement field of the gel under loads.     

林隙干扰和升温对小兴安岭红松和臭冷杉径向生长的影响

通过建立小兴安岭阔叶红松(Pinus koraiensis)林内林隙与非林隙红松、臭冷杉(Abies nephrolepis)轮宽年表,分析林隙干扰(微环境差异)和1980年后显著升温对树木径向生长的影响。结果表明:升温减缓了非林隙红松生长,却加快了林隙红松生长;升温后,非林隙红松受温度影响减弱,而林隙红松则增强,林隙和非林隙红松径向生长与帕默尔干旱指数(Palmer drought severity index,PDSI)均由负相关变为正相关;林隙干扰导致臭冷杉径向生长减缓,升温导致林隙与非林隙臭冷杉年生长量均下降了约50%,非林隙木对温度的负响应要高于林隙木;升温后,5—10月温度对非林隙木抑制作用明显,非生长季(1—5月)降水对非林隙臭冷杉的抑制作用加强,而对林隙臭冷杉则由抑制变为促进;PDSI与非林隙臭冷杉由升温前的负相关变为升温后的正相关,而林隙臭冷杉则负相关更显著;林隙干扰减少耐荫喜湿树木径向生长,而对阳性树种影响不大或略有增加;林隙木比非林隙木更易受外界环境变化的影响,林隙干扰可使喜湿耐荫树种提前适应暖干环境,以提高了对升温适应性;升温导致林隙木与非林隙木年轮气候响应差异变大。     

Atomistic simulations of liquid–liquid coexistence in confinement: comparison of thermodynamics and kinetics with bulk

We review a few simulation methods and results related to the structure and non-equilibrium dynamics in the coexistence region of immiscible symmetric binary fluids, in bulk as well as under confinement, with special emphasis on the latter. Monte Carlo methods to estimate interfacial tensions for flat and curved interfaces have been discussed. The latter, combined with a thermodynamic integration technique, provides contact angles for coexisting fluids attached to the wall. For such three-phase coexistence, results for the line tension are also presented. For the kinetics of phase separation, various mechanisms and corresponding theoretical expectations have been discussed. A comparative picture between the domain growth in bulk and confinement (including thin-film and semi-infinite geometry) has been presented from molecular dynamics simulations. Applications of finite-size scaling technique have been discussed in both equilibrium and non-equilibrium contexts.     

Competition limits adaptation and productivity in a photosynthetic alga at elevated CO2

When competitive exclusion between lineages and genetic adaptation within lineages occur on the same timescale, the two processes have the potential to interact. I use experimental microbial evolution where strains of a photosynthetic microbe that differ in their physiological response to CO₂ enrichment are grown either alone or in communities for hundreds of generations under CO₂ enrichment. After about 300 generations of growth, strains that experienced competition while adapting to environmental change are both less productive and less fit than corresponding strains that adapted to that same environmental change in the absence of competitors. In addition, I find that excluding competitors not only limits that strain''s adaptive response to abiotic change, but also decreases community productivity; I quantify this effect using the Price equation. Finally, these data allow me to empirically test the common hypothesis that phytoplankton that are most able to take advantage of carbon enrichment in single-strain populations over the short term will increase in frequency within multi-strain communities over longer timescales.     

Statistical Inference in a Two-Compartment Model for Hematopoiesis

We present a method for parameter estimation in a two-compartment hidden Markov model of the first two stages of hematopoiesis. Hematopoiesis is the specialization of stem cells into mature blood cells. As stem cells are not distinguishable in bone marrow, little is known about their behavior, although it is known that they have the ability to self-renew or to differentiate to more specialized (progenitor) cells. We observe progenitor cells in samples of bone marrow taken from hybrid cats whose cells contain a natural binary marker. With data consisting of the changing proportions of this binary marker over time from several cats, estimates for stem cell self-renewal and differentiation parameters are obtained using an estimating equations approach.     

Reconciling empirical interactions and species coexistence

Coexistence in ecological communities is governed largely by the nature and intensity of species interactions. Countless studies have proposed methods to infer these interactions from empirical data, yet models parameterised using such data often fail to recover observed coexistence patterns. Here, we propose a method to reconcile empirical parameterisations of community dynamics with species‐abundance data, ensuring that the predicted equilibrium is consistent with the observed abundance distribution. To illustrate the approach, we explore two case studies: an experimental freshwater algal community and a long‐term time series of displacement in an intertidal community. We demonstrate how our method helps recover observed coexistence patterns, capture the core dynamics of the system, and, in the latter case, predict the impacts of experimental extinctions. Collectively, these results demonstrate an intuitive approach for reconciling observed and empirical data, improving our ability to explore the links between species interactions and coexistence in natural systems.     

红壤丘陵区林下灌木生物量估算模型的建立及其应用

以中国科学院千烟洲生态试验站林下常见的16种物种作为研究对象,构建了单一物种以植冠面积(Ac)为变量的二次方程和以植冠投影体积(Vc)为变量的乘幂方程来估算物种生物量,以及16种物种的混合模型来估算其生物量,并将最佳生物量估算模型应用于不同森林内灌木层生物量的估计.不同森林的灌木层生物量组成存在较大差异.以物种单一模型计算的落叶阔叶林、次生林、人工针叶林灌木层的生物量分别为4773、3175和733kg.hm-2;以物种混合模型估算的结果略低于单一模型,分别为3946、2772和840kg.hm-2.混合模型在未能对所有物种建立单一模型的情况下估算灌木层生物量时,具有简便、实用性的特点.