Statistical quality control of variety trial data

I propose detection criteria for identifying an abnormal or erroneous data vector provided by a single variety trial in a longer series of variety trials. The test criteria are based on the linear effects estimated separately for each studied trial using global variance components estimated from the whole series of variety trials. The criteria comprise three mutually independent test statistics. The first one is a quadratic form in the estimated fixed effects, the second one is a quadratic form in the estimated realized linear random effects not including the residual effects, and the third one is a quadratic form in the estimated realized residual effects. Under the null hypothesis defining a valid data vector, the three quadratics have independent chi2 distributions. Under natural alternative hypotheses, they have noncentral chi2 distributions. Decomposing the total variation of the data vector studied into quadratic forms due to different types of the realized linear effects intuitively justifies the resulting test criteria. The decomposition may also be used to show that the resulting tests are likelihood ratio tests. I further present computational procedures that allow us to dispense with the need for prior estimation of the linear effects.     

关于物种濒危等级标准之探讨--对IUCN物种濒危等级的思考

为了保存地球上的生物多样性,我们需要根据物种的种群数量与分布、种群数量波动与分布区下降速率来评定濒危物种的濒危等级,并针对物种的濒危等级提出具体的保护措施。1994年11月,IUCN第40次理事会会议正式通过了经过修订的Mace-Lande物种濒危等级标准作为IUCN物种濒危等级标准。IUCN濒危物种红色名录虽然不是国际法和国家法律,但是对于政府间组织、非政府组织的保护决策以及各国的自然法律法规的制定有着深远的影响,在保护生物学理论研究中也发挥了一定作用。我们在研究制定中国水生野生生物濒危等级标准时发现,如果直接应用IUCN物种濒危等级标准评定水生野生生物濒危等级将存在一些问题。如：(1)如何区别对待那些本来就数量稀少、分布区狭窄的物种和那些由于人类活动而导致其种群数量与生境面积急剧下降的物种?(2)不同的动物类群能否应用同一濒危标准尺度?(3)如何区别对待物种边缘分布区和核心分布区的种群数量与密度的差异?(4)如何处理种群的局部灭绝、局部濒危?(5)一些濒危物种在野生环境中濒危,但是这些物种可以人工繁殖,如何处理可以人工繁殖的濒危物种?(6)如果没有种群与栖息地的精确历史资料和统计数据,怎样应用物种的濒危标准评估其濒危等级?在实践中,我们针对这些问题提出了解决方案。考虑与国际流行的IUCN物种濒危等级标准接轨,我们提出来一个由“无危”、“值得关注”、“受胁”、“濒危”和“灭绝”等5个级构成的濒危等级系统,其中“值得关注”、“受胁”、“濒危”又分为“一般”与“高度”两个亚等级。我们提出应区分“生态濒危物种”、“进化濒危物种”;对于不同生物类群,应区分物种的生活史对策,制定不同生活史物种的濒危标准。对于r-对策物种,引入“经济灭绝”这一等级,将这一等级对应于“受胁”等级,以解决缺少物种数量的统计数据和历史数据这一难题;区别对待特有物种,将其濒危等级提升一等;引进集合种群(metapopulation)概念,将集合种群的局域种群(local population)作为“个体”对待。     

Aid for aggregating the impacts in Life Cycle assessment

Background and Objectives  Multiple Criteria Decision Aid (MCDA) methods may be employed in a great number of fields. Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is a specific method among the MCDA Methods. A stage of MCDA methods to be respected in LCA is the comparative evaluation of the environmental impacts. This stage is the most difficult to implement because it is a question of estimating the global environmental impact of the life cycles studied. To achieve this purpose, it is necessary to model the environmental impacts and to apply a Multicriteria Analysis (MCA) method. The problem is to choose the most suitable among the available MCA methods. The objective of this paper is to help the LCA practitioner to make this choice. Methodology  The MCA methods are compared according to their non-compensatory degree, their sensitivity to thresholds, their practicability and their workability. Results and Conclusion  The protocol presented in this paper allows to choose the most appropriate MCA method for a given LCA according to the four previous criteria. This choice will depend on the priorities of the decision maker with concern to the comparison criteria.     

Premature refutation of a human-mediated marine species introduction: the case history of the marine snail <Emphasis Type="Italic">Littorina littorea</Emphasis> in the Northwestern Atlantic

The closely documented spread of the European periwinkle snail, Littorina littorea from Pictou, Nova Scotia in 1840 to New Jersey by 1870, its near absence in pre-European fossil deposits, and its close association with human mechanisms of transport from Europe, are among the clearest evidence of a human-mediated marine introduction ever reported. Genetic data were recently proposed as evidence that North American L. littorea predate European contact and thus, are not introduced. Review of these genetic data and all other data reveals that the simplest explanation of the modern occurrence of this snail in North America is by human introduction.     

A phenological scale for the development of Gladiolus

A staging system for development of gladiola (Gladiolus × grandiflorus) that relies on simple, visual, non‐destructive criteria is proposed. Four field trials were conducted during the spring 2010, autumn/winter 2011 and winter 2011 at Santa Maria, RS, Brazil, with different gladiola cultivars, in order to observe the developmental stages of the above‐ground parts and their dry matter. The developmental cycle, which starts at dormant corm and ends with plant senescence, is divided into four developmental phases: dormancy phase, sprouting phase (from filiform roots appearance to sheaths appearance), vegetative phase (from emergence of the first leaf tip to emergence of the final leaf tip on the stem) and reproductive phase (from heading to plant senescence). The developmental stages that were identified during the dormancy phase and during the sprouting phases are coded as S stages: S0 = dormant corm, S1 = appearance of roots, S2.1 = first sheath, S2.2 = second sheath and S2.3 = third sheath. Vegetative phase is coded as V stages: VE = emergence of the sheaths above ground, V1 = first leaf, V2 = second leaf, Vn = nth leaf and VF = flag leaf. Leaf tip is the marker for V1–VF. The developmental stages during the reproductive phases are coded as R stages: R1 = heading, R2 = blooming, R3 = onset of flowering, R4 = end of anthesis, R5 = end of florets senescence and R6 = plant senescence (leaves and floret axis are brown). Sub‐stages have also been assigned between R1 and R2 and between R3 and R4. Illustrations (photographs) of each developmental stage taken from field pot‐grown plants are provided and the proposed scale was tested with field observations. These criteria are straight forward and allow for quick determination of development stage. This system can be used by both farmers and for experimental trials.     

Predicting kinetic constants of protein-protein interactions based on structural properties

Elucidating kinetic processes of protein–protein interactions (PPI) helps to understand how basic building blocks affect overall behavior of living systems. In this study, we used structure‐based properties to build predictive models for kinetic constants of PPI. A highly diverse PPI dataset, protein–protein kinetic interaction data and structures (PPKIDS), was built. PPKIDS contains 62 PPI with complex structures and kinetic constants measured experimentally. The influence of structural properties on kinetics of PPI was studied using 35 structure‐based features, describing different aspects of complex structures. Linear models for the prediction of kinetic constants were built by fitting with selected subsets of structure‐based features. The models gave correlation coefficients of 0.801, 0.732, and 0.770 for k_off, k_on, and K_d, respectively, in leave‐one‐out cross validations. The predictive models reported here use only protein complex structures as input and can be generally applied in PPI studies as well as systems biology modeling. Our study confirmed that different properties play different roles in the kinetic process of PPI. For example, k_on was affected by overall structural features of complexes, such as the composition of secondary structures, the change of translational and rotational entropy, and the electrostatic interaction; while k_off was determined by interfacial properties, such as number of contacted atom pairs per 100 Ų. This information provides useful hints for PPI design. Proteins 2010;79:720–734. © 2010 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.     

BTEX的环境质量标准研究进展

苯系物(BTEX)是苯(benzene)、甲苯(toluene)、乙苯(ethylbenzen)和二甲苯的3种同分异构体(o-,m-,p-xylene)的统称。由于其广泛存在于大气、水和土壤等环境介质中,并对相应的生态系统和人类健康造成威胁,引起了有关部门的高度重视。本文综述了BTEX的环境质量标准研究,通过介绍美国环保局、澳大利亚和加拿大等发达国家以及世界卫生组织、欧盟等国际组织关于BTEX的室内空气、地表水和土壤环境质量标准,并与我国对应标准进行比较,指出我国环境质量标准中存在的一些问题和不足。最后,对今后我国BTEX环境基准的系统研究提出建议。     

RIFLE标准在高容量血液滤过治疗MODS患者疗效的评价

目的：探讨不同肾功能损害时期行高容量血液滤过（HVHF）治疗对多器官功能障碍综合征（MODS）疗效的影响。方法：采用RIFLE标准,将入选的MODS患者按急性肾损伤（AKI）分为AKIⅠ期（A组）、AKIⅡ期（B组）、AKIⅢ期（C组）,以不同AKl分期作为HYI-IF治疗的时机,对比分析不同时期行HVHF治疗MODS患者的死亡率、平均重症监护病房0CU）住院时间（T1）、平均机械通气时间（T2）、平均连续血液滤过治疗时间（T3）,并将HVHF治疗前和治疗24h后的APACHEⅡ评分、SOFA评分、血浆白介素-6（IL-6）、氧合指数、血浆肌酐（Cr）、平均动脉压-（MAP）等结果进行比较。结果：1、AKIⅢ期患者死亡率显著高于AKIⅠ期和AKIⅡ期患者（P〈0．01）;AKIⅡ期患者T1、T2和T3显著高于AKIⅠ期患者（P〈0．01）;2、与AKIⅠ期和AKIⅡ期患者比较,AKIⅢ期患者HVHF治疗前APACHEⅡ评分、SOFA评分、IL-6和Cr均显著增高（P〈0．05）;AKIⅡ期患者HVHF治疗前血浆IL-6显著高于AKIⅠ期患者（P〈0．01）;3、与HVHF治疗前比较,三组患者HVHF治疗24h后IL-6、氧合指数、cr和MAP均显著改善（P〈0．01）：AKIⅢ期患者治疗后的IL-6仍显著高于AKIⅠ期和AKIⅡ期患者;AKIⅠ期和AKIⅡ期患者HVHF治疗24h后APACHEⅡ评分SOFA评分显著降低（P〈0．01）,AKIⅢ期患者治疗前后APACHEⅡ评分和SOFA评分变化无显著统计学差异。结论：RIFLE标准及IL-6对判断预后有指导意义;AKIⅠ期和Ⅱ期行HVHF可明显改善MODS的预后,而AKIⅠ期行HVHF的疗效更好。