Modeling leaf CO2 assimilation and Photosystem II photochemistry from chlorophyll fluorescence and the photochemical reflectance index

We present a simple model to assess the quantum yield of photochemistry (Φ_P) and CO₂ assimilation rate from two parameters that are detectable by remote sensing: chlorophyll (chl) fluorescence and the photochemical reflectance index (PRI). Φ_P is expressed as a simple function of the chl fluorescence yield (Φ_F) and nonphotochemical quenching (NPQ): Φ_P = 1–bΦ_F(1 + NPQ). Because NPQ is known to be related with PRI, Φ_P can be remotely assessed from solar‐induced fluorescence and the PRI. The CO₂ assimilation rate can be assessed from the estimated Φ_P value with either the maximum carboxylation rate (V_cmax), the intercellular CO₂ concentration (C_i), or parameters of the stomatal conductance model. The model was applied to experimental data obtained for Chenopodium album leaves under various environmental conditions and was able to successfully predict Φ_F values and the CO₂ assimilation rate. The present model will improve the accuracy of assessments of gas exchange rates and primary productivity by remote sensing.     

Disparity vs. diversity in Stegosauria (Dinosauria,Ornithischia): cranial and post-cranial sub-dataset provide different signals

The Stegosauria represents an iconic group of ornithischian dinosaurs, with a fossil record spanning the Middle Jurassic to the Late Cretaceous. In this contribution I present the first detailed analysis of the relationship between disparity and diversity through the evolutionary history of the group. The analysis has been performed on a recently published cladistic dataset, allowing the separate study of the signals deriving from discrete characters and from continuous morphometric characters. Whereas the disparity as sum of variance is decoupled with respect to diversity, the sum of ranges provides a signal fairly consistent with the trend in the number of taxa. Both sub-data sets show that evolution of stegosaurs can be considered essentially as symmetrical, i.e. the maximum exploration of the possible morphospace takes place about half way through the history of the group, with subsequent significant decline until extinction in the Upper Cretaceous. An interesting result is a decoupling of the tempo and mode of evolution of the cranium and postcranium in stegosaurs. Specifically, the evolutionary radiation with maximum saturation of morphospace is anticipated in the cranial skeleton, with maximum peak in the Oxfordian; in contrast, the postcranium explores the largest number of morphotypes subsequently during the Kimmeridgian.     

Selenium as an adjuvant for modification of radiation response

Ionizing radiation plays a central role in several medical and industrial purposes. In spite of the beneficial effects of ionizing radiation, there are some concerns related to accidental exposure that could pose a threat to the lives of exposed people. This issue is also very critical for triage of injured people in a possible terror event or nuclear disaster. The most common side effects of ionizing radiation are experienced in cancer patients who had undergone radiotherapy. For complete eradication of tumors, there is a need for high doses of ionizing radiation. However, these high doses lead to severe toxicities in adjacent organs. Management of normal tissue toxicity may be achieved via modulation of radiation responses in both normal and malignant cells. It has been suggested that treatment of patients with some adjuvant agents may be useful for amelioration of radiation toxicity or sensitization of tumor cells. However, there are always some concerns for possible severe toxicities and protection of tumor cells, which in turn affect radiotherapy outcomes. Selenium is a trace element in the body that has shown potent antioxidant and radioprotective effects for many years. Selenium can potently stimulate antioxidant defense of cells, especially via upregulation of glutathione (GSH) level and glutathione peroxidase activity. Some studies in recent years have shown that selenium is able to mitigate radiation toxicity when administered after exposure. These studies suggest that selenium may be a useful radiomitigator for an accidental radiation event. Molecular and cellular studies have revealed that selenium protects different normal cells against radiation, while it may sensitize tumor cells. These differential effects of selenium have also been revealed in some clinical studies. In the present study, we aimed to review the radiomitigative and radioprotective effects of selenium on normal cells/tissues, as well as its radiosensitive effect on cancer cells.     

Dosimetric accuracy of three dose calculation algorithms for radiation therapy of in situ non-small cell lung carcinoma

BackgroundStudy determines differences in calculated dose distributions for non-small cell lung carcinoma (NSC LC) patients. NSC LC cases were investigated, being the most common lung cancer treated by radiotherapy in our clinical practice.Materials and methodsA retrospective study of 15 NSCLC patient dose distributions originally calculated using standard superposition (SS) and recalculated using collapsed cone (CC ) and Monte Carlo (MC) based algorithm expressed as dose to medium in medium (MCD_m) and dose to water in medium (MCD_w,) was performed so that prescribed dose covers at least 99% of the gross target volume (GTV). Statistical analysis was performed for differences of conformity index (CI), heterogeneity index (HI), gradient index (GI), dose delivered to 2% of the volume (D_2%), mean dose (D_mean) and percentage of volumes covered by prescribed dose (V_70Gy). For organs at risk (OARs), D_mean and percentage of volume receiving 20 Gy and 5Gy (V_20Gy, V_5Gy) were analysed.ResultsStatistically significant difference for GTVs was observed between MCD_w and SS algorithm in mean dose only. For planning target volumes (PTVs), statistically significant differences were observed in prescribed dose coverage for CC, MCD_m and MCD_w. The differences in mean CI value for the CC algorithm and mean HI value for MCD_m and MCD_w were statistically significant. There is a statistically significant difference in the number of MUs for MCD_m and MCD_w compared to SS.ConclusionAll investigated algorithms succeed in managing the restrictive conditions of the clinical goals. This study shows the drawbacks of the CC algorithm compared to other algorithms used.     

A software tool for organ-specific second cancer risk assessment from exposure to therapeutic doses

The aim of this study was the development of a software tool (SCRcalc) for the automatic estimation of the patient- and organ-specific cancer risk due to radiotherapy. SCRcalc was developed using the Python 3.8.7 programming language. It incorporates equations and parameters of mechanistic models for the calculation of the organ equivalent dose (OED), the excess absolute risk (EA R) and the lifetime attributable risk (LA R) of carcinogenesis for various organs due to radiotherapy. Data from differential dose-volume histograms, as defined by a treatment planning system, could be automatically inserted into the program. Eighteen different cancer risk estimates for various organs were performed of patients subjected to radiation therapy with conventional and modulated techniques. These software estimates were compared with manual calculations. SCRcalc was developed as a standalone executable program without any dependencies. It enables direct estimations of the OED and LAR for various organs at risk. An important aspect of the software is that it does not require pre-processing of the DVH data. No differences were found between the SCRcalc results and those derived from manual calculations. The newly developed software offers the possibility to medical physicists and radiation oncologists to directly estimate the probability of radiotherapy-induced secondary malignancies for various organs at risk.     

适度紫外辐射增强对白鲜光合特性和药用活性成分的影响

次生代谢成分环境调控是药用植物优质栽培的理论和实践基础。然而,迄今为止,短期紫外光诱导对药用活性成分积累效应方面的研究仍然比较薄弱。该文以光环境敏感植物白鲜(Dictamnus dasycarpus)为研究对象,探索短期不同强度(低剂量和中剂量)紫外(UV)辐射增强对其根、茎和叶中黄柏酮、梣酮、白鲜碱和柠檬苦素4种有效成分的诱导效应。结果表明：(1)无论是低剂量还是中剂量UV-A和UV-B辐射条件下,白鲜叶片光系统Ⅱ(PSⅡ)最大光化学量子产量(F_v/F_m)均大于0.76;PSⅡ实际光合量子产量Y(Ⅱ)、调节性能量耗散的量子产量Y(NPQ)、基于“湖泊模型”光化学淬灭系数(qL)和非光化学淬灭系数(NPQ)与对照(未经紫外辐射处理)相比均没有显著差异;低剂量与中剂量UV-B辐射均显著增加白鲜PSⅡ的非调节性能量耗散的量子产量Y(NO)。(2)适度短期紫外辐射增强能够诱导白鲜药用活性成分快速积累,根中4种有效成分最高可提升51%,主要在白鲜根中积累。其中,中剂量UV-A辐射和低剂量UV-B辐射效果最明显,不仅根中黄柏酮、梣酮、白鲜碱和柠檬苦素4...     

小角X射线散射实验中蛋白质溶液的辐照损伤及防护方法

随着同步辐射光源（尤其是目前快速发展的第四代同步辐射光源）技术的进步,可用于实验的辐射通量越来越高,实验样品（特别是蛋白质等生物大分子样品）受到的辐照损伤也越来越严重。在全球现有的同步辐射装置上,蛋白质等生物大分子溶液专用小角X射线散射（SAXS）实验站的光子通量基本上都在1013cps量级。在如此高的通量下,蛋白质等生物大分子溶液样品在实验测量中受到的辐照损伤极其严重。如果没有有效的辐照防护措施,蛋白质溶液样品在毫秒级辐照时间内便会辐照损伤,导致不能获取有效的实验数据。辐照损伤严重制约了SAXS实验技术在蛋白质溶液样品方面的应用。因而,认识蛋白质溶液样品辐照损伤的产生机理、影响因素、判断标准,以及有效降低辐照损伤程度、延缓辐照损伤产生时间的方法,对于蛋白质等生物大分子溶液的散射实验具有重要的指导意义。本文在简要概述生物大分子溶液样品辐照损伤产生机理、影响因素、辐照剂量等基本概念的基础上,重点综述了同步辐射SAXS实验中辐照损伤的判断标准和防护措施。此外,本文还对比了各种防护措施的优缺点,讨论了在建HEPS新光源中SAXS束线可用的散射数据采集时间,指出辐照损伤防护剂是有价值的研究方向...     

A natural experiment identifies an impending ecological trap for a neotropical amphibian in response to extreme weather events

Extreme weather events are predicted to increase as a result of climate change, yet amphibian responses to extreme disturbance events remain understudied, especially in the Neotropics. Recently, an unprecedented windstorm within a protected Costa Rican rainforest opened large light gaps in sites where we have studied behavioral responses of diurnal strawberry poison frogs (Oophaga pumilio) to ultraviolet radiation for nearly two decades. Previous studies demonstrate that O. pumilio selects and defends perches where ultraviolet radiation (UV‐B) is relatively low, likely because of the lethal and sublethal effects of UV‐B. In this natural experiment, we quantified disturbance to O. pumilio habitat, surveyed for the presence of O. pumilio in both high‐disturbance and low‐disturbance areas of the forest, and assessed UV‐B levels and perch selection behavior in both disturbance levels. Fewer frogs were detected in high‐disturbance habitat than in low‐disturbance habitat. In general, frogs were found vocalizing at perches in both disturbance levels, and in both cases, in significantly lower UV‐B levels relative to ambient adjacent surroundings. However, frogs at perches in high‐disturbance areas were exposed to UV‐B levels nearly 10 times greater than males at perches in low‐disturbance areas. Thus, behavioral avoidance of UV‐B may not reduce the risks associated with elevated exposure under these novel conditions, and similarly, if future climate and human‐driven land‐use change lead to sustained analogous environments.     

Climate alters the movement ecology of a non‐migratory bird

Global climate change is causing increased climate extremes threatening biodiversity and altering ecosystems. Climate is comprised of many variables including air temperature, barometric pressure, solar radiation, wind, relative humidity, and precipitation that interact with each other. As movement connects various aspects of an animal''s life, understanding how climate influences movement at a fine‐temporal scale will be critical to the long‐term conservation of species impacted by climate change. The sedentary nature of non‐migratory species could increase some species risk of extirpation caused by climate change. We used Northern Bobwhite (Colinus virginianus; hereafter bobwhite) as a model to better understand the relationship between climate and the movement ecology of a non‐migratory species at a fine‐temporal scale. We collected movement data on bobwhite from across western Oklahoma during 2019–2020 and paired these data with meteorological data. We analyzed movement in three different ways (probability of movement, hourly distance moved, and sinuosity) using two calculated movement metrics: hourly movement (displacement between two consecutive fixes an hour apart) and sinuosity (a form of tortuosity that determines the amount of curvature of a random search path). We used generalized linear‐mixed models to analyze probability of movement and hourly distance moved, and used linear‐mixed models to analyze sinuosity. The interaction between air temperature and solar radiation affected probability of movement and hourly distance moved. Bobwhite movement increased as air temperature increased beyond 10°C during low solar radiation. During medium and high solar radiation, bobwhite moved farther as air temperature increased until 25–30°C when hourly distance moved plateaued. Bobwhite sinuosity increased as solar radiation increased. Our results show that specific climate variables alter the fine‐scale movement of a non‐migratory species. Understanding the link between climate and movement is important to determining how climate change may impact a species’ space use and fitness now and in the future.