Linking macrotrends and microrates: Re‐evaluating microevolutionary support for Cope's rule

Cope's rule, wherein a lineage increases in body size through time, was originally motivated by macroevolutionary patterns observed in the fossil record. More recently, some authors have argued that evidence exists for generally positive selection on individual body size in contemporary populations, providing a microevolutionary mechanism for Cope's rule. If larger body size confers individual fitness advantages as the selection estimates suggest, thereby explaining Cope's rule, then body size should increase over microevolutionary time scales. We test this corollary by assembling a large database of studies reporting changes in phenotypic body size through time in contemporary populations, as well as studies reporting average breeding values for body size through time. Trends in body size were quite variable with an absence of any general trend, and many populations trended toward smaller body sizes. Although selection estimates can be interpreted to support Cope's rule, our results suggest that actual rates of phenotypic change for body size cannot. We discuss potential reasons for this discrepancy and its implications for the understanding of Cope's rule.     

Enantioseparation of the Six Important Intermediates of Homoharringtonine With Immobilized Cellulose Chiral Stationary Phase

A new liquid chromatographic method has been developed for the chiral separation of the enantiomers of intermediates in the preparation of the ester side‐chain of homoharringtonine. The enantiomers were separated by a Chiralpak IC (250 × 4.6 mm, 5 µm) in normal phase high‐performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Four compounds were baseline resolved. By comparing the chromatographs of racemates and single enantiomers of the six intermediates, the enantiomeric excess values of the single enantiomers were evaluated, and the elution orders of the enantiomers were established. Chirality 27:538–542, 2015. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

贵州野生小檗科木本植物的园林观赏特性及用途

通过调查及查阅有关资料,对贵州省野生小檗科木本植物45种1变种的观赏生物学特性进行了研究,并叙述了这些观赏植物的园林用途。     

Alternative statistical approaches to the use of data as evidence for hypotheses in human behavioral ecology

In their ambitious Evolutionary Anthropology paper, Winterhalder and Smith 1 review the history, theory, and methods of human behavioral ecology (HBE). In establishing how HBE differs from traditional approaches within sociocultural anthropology, they and others laud its hypothetical‐deductive research method. 1 - 3 Our aim is to critically examine how human behavioral ecologists conduct their research, specifically how they analyze and interpret data as evidence for scientific hypotheses. Through computer simulations and a review of empirical studies of human sex ratios, we consider some limitations of the status quo and present alternatives that could strengthen the field. In particular, we suggest that because human behavioral ecologists often consider multiple hypotheses, they should use statistical approaches that can quantify the evidence in empirical data for competing hypotheses. Although we focus on HBE, the principles of this paper apply broadly within biological anthropology.     

Estimates of measurement uncertainty from proficiency testing schemes, internal laboratory quality monitoring and during routine enforcement examination of foods

AIMS: To determine the levels of measurement uncertainty (MU) obtained in proficiency testing and routine microbiological analyses of foods and to compare these with estimates of MU obtained for results of analyses obtained in collaborative interlaboratory studies of microbiological methods. METHODS AND RESULTS: Raw data submitted by participants in the Food Examination Proficiency Assessment Scheme were obtained from the Central Science Laboratory (York). Internal quality monitoring data were obtained from Health Protection Agency (HPA) laboratories, together with data from routine food examinations undertaken in HPA laboratories. The data sets were analysed to determine the relative standard deviations of reproducibility (RSD(R)), based on log(10) colony count values, and thence the relative measures of expanded uncertainty. Analysis of proficiency test data showed extreme values of RSD(R) up to +/-30% depending upon the organism, the laboratory and the method of examination. RSD(R) values on routine samples averaged around +/-12% but ranged up to +/-41% in a few instances. Internal quality assessments for different organisms ranged up to +/-27%, depending upon the particular organism and examination procedure. The results show little difference in uncertainty for counts obtained using different plating systems (e.g. pour plates, spread plates or spiral plating) on the same dilutions of the same food samples. The data are compared with estimates of microbiological uncertainty derived in interlaboratory studies. CONCLUSIONS: The estimates of uncertainty ranged widely, both within and between laboratories, and appeared to bear little relationship to the foodstuff under examination. The extent of MU associated with many routine microbiological examinations is generally no worse than those produced in inter-laboratory trials, although notable exceptions were seen. SIGNIFICANCE AND IMPACT OF THE STUDY: Knowledge of the levels of MU may have wide impact on the establishment of international standard methods for microbiological examination of foods and the ability to set realistic microbiological criteria.     

Ycf12 is a core subunit in the photosystem II complex

The latest crystallographic model of the cyanobacterial photosystem II (PS II) core complex added one transmembrane low molecular weight (LMW) component to the previous model, suggesting the presence of an unknown transmembrane LMW component in PS II. We have investigated the polypeptide composition in highly purified intact PS II core complexes from Thermosynechococcus elongatus, the species which yielded the PS II crystallographic models described above, to identify the unknown component. Using an electrophoresis system specialized for separation of LMW hydrophobic proteins, a novel protein of ∼ 5 kDa was identified as a PS II component. Its N-terminal amino acid sequence was identical to that of Ycf12. The corresponding gene is known as one of the ycf (hypothetical chloroplast reading frame) genes, ycf12, and is widely conserved in chloroplast and cyanobacterial genomes. Nonetheless, the localization and function of the gene product have never been assigned. Our finding shows, for the first time, that ycf12 is actually expressed as a component of the PS II complex in the cell, revealing that a previously unidentified transmembrane protein exists in the PS II core complex.     

Effects of intraperitoneally‐administered vitamin E and selenium on the blood biochemical and haematological parameters in rats

The aim of this work was to determine the role of intraperitoneally‐administered vitamin E and selenium on the biochemical and haematological parameters in the blood of rats. Thirty‐two adult male Wistar rats were used in this study. All rats were randomly divided into four groups. The first group was used as the control. The second group was intraperitoneally administered with vitamin E (±‐α‐tocopheroryl acetate, 10 mg day⁻¹), the third group with Se (Na₂SeO₃ 0·2 mg over a day), and the fourth group with vitamin E and Se (vitamin E 10 mg + Na₂SeO₃ 0·2 mg over a day). This administration was done for 5 weeks. Blood samples were taken from animals at the end of the dosage period and biochemical parameters in serum samples and haematological parameters in total blood were determined. The levels of total cholesterol (p<0·01) and number of white blood cells (p<0·001) in blood were significantly higher in the vitamin E group than in the control group. The levels of ALP, total cholesterol (p<0·01) and number of white blood cells (p<0·01) in blood were significantly higher in the selenium group than in the controls. The levels of glucose (p<0·05), ALP (p<0·01), total cholesterol (p<0·001) and number of white blood cells (p<0·01) were higher in the vitamin E and selenium combined group than in the controls. Other parameters considered within this trial (ALT, LDH, creatinine, albumin, total protein, amylase, creatine kinase, HDL, triglycerides, total lipid, sodium, chloride, uric acids, red blood cell, haemoglobin, packed cell volume, MCV, MCH, MCHC) did not show statistically significant differences between the control and injected groups. The results indicated that blood glucose and total cholesterol levels, ALP activity and white blood cell counts were significantly increased by intraperitoneal administration of vitamin E and selenium in rats. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Using social values in the prioritization of research: Quantitative examples and generalizations

1. Identifying critical uncertainties about ecological systems can help prioritize research efforts intended to inform management decisions. However, exclusively focusing on the ecological system neglects the objectives of natural resource managers and the associated social values tied to risks and rewards of actions.
2. I demonstrate how to prioritize research efforts for a harvested population by applying expected value of perfect information (EVPI) to harvest decisions made with a density‐independent matrix population model. Research priorities identified by EVPI diverge from priorities identified by matrix elasticity analyses that ignore social utility.
3. Using a density‐dependent harvest model, the value of information about the intrinsic productivity of a population is shown to be sensitive to the socially determined penalty for implementing a harvest rate that deviates from the goal because of imperfection in estimation.
4. Synthesis and applications. The effect of including social values into harvest decision‐making depends on the assumed population model, uncertainty in population vital rates, and the particular form of the utility function used to represent risk/reward of harvest. EVPI analyses that include perceived utility of different outcomes can be used by managers seeking to optimize monitoring and research spending. Collaboration between applied ecologists and social scientists that quantitatively measure peoples'' values is needed in many structured decision‐making processes.

     

Information-Theoretic Model Selection and Model Averaging for Closed-Population Capture-Recapture Studies

Specification of an appropriate model is critical to valid statistical inference. Given the “true model” for the data is unknown, the goal of model selection is to select a plausible approximating model that balances model bias and sampling variance. Model selection based on information criteria such as AIC or its variant AIC_c, or criteria like CAIC, has proven useful in a variety of contexts including the analysis of open-population capture-recapture data. These criteria have not been intensively evaluated for closed-population capture-recapture models, which are integer parameter models used to estimate population size (N), and there is concern that they will not perform well. To address this concern, we evaluated AIC, AIC_c, and CAIC model selection for closed-population capture-recapture models by empirically assessing the quality of inference for the population size parameter N. We found that AIC-, AIC_c-, and CAIC-selected models had smaller relative mean squared errors than randomly selected models, but that confidence interval coverage on N was poor unless unconditional variance estimates (which incorporate model uncertainty) were used to compute confidence intervals. Overall, AIC and AIC_c outperformed CAIC, and are preferred to CAIC for selection among the closed-population capture-recapture models we investigated. A model averaging approach to estimation, using AIC, AIC_c, or CAIC to estimate weights, was also investigated and proved superior to estimation using AIC-, AIC_c-, or CAIC-selected models. Our results suggested that, for model averaging, AIC or AIC_c should be favored over CAIC for estimating weights.