Diffusion of individual birds in starling flocks

Flocking is a paradigmatic example of collective animal behaviour, where global order emerges out of self-organization. Each individual has a tendency to align its flight direction with those of neighbours, and such a simple form of interaction produces a state of collective motion of the group. When compared with other cases of collective ordering, a crucial feature of animal groups is that the interaction network is not fixed in time, as each individual moves and continuously changes its neighbours. The possibility to exchange neighbours strongly enhances the stability of global ordering and the way information is propagated through the group. Here, we assess the relevance of this mechanism in large flocks of starlings (Sturnus vulgaris). We find that birds move faster than Brownian walkers both with respect to the centre of mass of the flock, and with respect to each other. Moreover, this behaviour is strongly anisotropic with respect to the direction of motion of the flock. We also measure the amount of neighbours reshuffling and find that neighbours change in time exclusively as a consequence of the random fluctuations in the individual motion, so that no specific mechanism to keep one''s neighbours seems to be enforced. On the contrary, our findings suggest that a more complex dynamical process occurs at the border of the flock.     

The in vitro effect of gossypol and its interaction with salts on conidial germination and viability of Fusarium oxysporum sp. vasinfectum isolates

AIMS: To assess the effect of different concentrations of gossypol (0, 2, 4, 10 and 20 mg l(-1)) in combination with NaCl and Na(2)SO(4) (20 mS cm(-1)) on the conidial germination and viability of Fusarium oxysporum f.sp. vasinfectum (Fov). METHODS AND RESULTS: A multinomial logistic model was developed to estimate the germination probability of Fov. The inhibitory effect was markedly evident at the two highest concentrations of gossypol; it varied among the isolates tested and with time, and it was attenuated by the presence of sodium salts. The inhibition was temporary as the germination probability increased after 8 h. Fluorescent staining revealed that gossypol either killed the conidia or retarded the elongation of the germ tubes. CONCLUSION: Fov showed the ability to overcome gossypol inhibition over time, and the inhibitory effect is reduced under saline conditions. Differential responses among Fov isolates to the presence of gossypol suggest that gossypol tolerance is genetically determined in the pathogen. SIGNIFICANCE AND IMPACT OF THE STUDY: This study suggests that selecting for high plant gossypol cultivars would have minimal effect on the overall Fov resistance of cotton. A new statistical model was developed to explore the statistical significance of plant-pathogen interactions.     

中国黑龙江水系茴鱼属一新纪录种(鲑形目,茴鱼科)

2006年10～11月,在黑龙江水系(中国境内)的乌苏里江、呼玛河、额木尔河等河流采集到茴鱼属鱼类标本,经鉴定为中国1新纪录种--下游黑龙江茴鱼Thymallus tugarinae.下游黑龙江茴鱼体色鲜艳,背部无或具少量黑色斑点,体侧具鲜艳橙色条纹,明显区别于属内其它物种.与同分布于黑龙江水系的黑龙江茴鱼T.grubii相比,两者在以下性状上存在明显区别:1)新纪录种体侧背部无或仅具少数黑色斑点,后者体侧具有大量黑色斑点;2)新纪录种背鳍鳍条数为23～26,后者为19～22;3)新纪录种体侧具多行间断开的鲜艳橙色条纹,后者无;4)新纪录种背鳍边缘红色带纹宽阔,后者狭窄;5)分布区不同,新纪录种仅分布于黑龙江中下游,后者仅分布于黑龙江中上游.     

Effects of general,specific and combined warm-up on explosive muscular performance

The purpose of this study was to compare the acute effects of general, specific and combined warm-up (WU) on explosive performance. Healthy male (n = 10) subjects participated in six WU protocols in a crossover randomized study design. Protocols were: passive rest (PR; 15 min of passive rest), running (Run; 5 min of running at 70% of maximum heart rate), stretching (STR; 5 min of static stretching exercise), jumping [Jump; 5 min of jumping exercises – 3x8 countermovement jumps (CMJ) and 3x8 drop jumps from 60 cm (DJ60)], and combined (COM; protocols Run+STR+Jump combined). Immediately before and after each WU, subjects were assessed for explosive concentric-only (i.e. squat jump – SJ), slow stretch-shortening cycle (i.e. CMJ), fast stretch-shortening cycle (i.e. DJ60) and contact time (CT) muscle performance. PR significantly reduced SJ performance (p =0.007). Run increased SJ (p =0.0001) and CMJ (p =0.002). STR increased CMJ (p =0.048). Specific WU (i.e. Jump) increased SJ (p =0.001), CMJ (p =0.028) and DJ60 (p =0.006) performance. COM increased CMJ performance (p =0.006). Jump was superior in SJ performance vs. PR (p =0.001). Jump reduced (p =0.03) CT in DJ60. In conclusion, general, specific and combined WU increase slow stretch-shortening cycle (SSC) muscle performance, but only specific WU increases fast SSC muscle performance. Therefore, to increase fast SSC performance, specific fast SSC muscle actions must be included during the WU.     

2002年至2007年太原地区儿童细菌性腹泻病原菌分布及耐药分析

目的了解太原地区近6年儿童细菌性腹泻病原菌分布及耐药情况。方法对临床诊断细菌性腹泻病,便培养已分离到病原菌1080例作回顾性分析,分析其病原菌的分布及耐药情况。结果埃希菌属486株（45％）,居于首位,前5位的病原菌依次为埃希菌属、肠球菌属、酵母样真菌、志贺菌属、假单胞菌属。各年均以大肠埃希菌为主要检出菌,志贺菌逐年减少。年龄分布中,婴儿的构成比最高（44．4％）。埃希菌属、志贺菌属、假单胞菌属、沙门菌属、气单胞菌属此5种杆菌对13种抗生素的平均耐药率依次为舒普深、痢特灵、头孢他啶、庆大霉素、环丙沙星、头孢哌酮、头孢曲松、丁胺卡那、头孢噻肟、诺氟沙星、头孢呋辛、哌拉西林、头孢唑啉。从埃希菌属近6年的耐药性变迁资料可以看出,对13种抗生素的耐药率均有不同程度上升。结论传统的致病菌志贺菌属、沙门菌属较少,而肠球菌属、假单胞菌属、枸橼酸杆菌属、克雷伯杆菌属、肠杆菌属、酵母样真菌等条件致病菌肠炎占有相当比例。各种致病菌的耐药性增加,第三代头孢除头孢他啶的耐药率较低外,其余都较高。提示应严格掌握抗生素用药指证,合理选用抗生素。     

Dynamic changes in microbiota and mycobiota during spontaneous ‘Vino Santo Trentino’ fermentation

Vino Santo is a sweet wine produced from late harvesting and pressing of Nosiola grapes in a small, well‐defined geographical area in the Italian Alps. We used metagenomics to characterize the dynamics of microbial communities in the products of three wineries, resulting from spontaneous fermentation with almost the same timing and procedure. Comparing fermentation dynamics and grape microbial composition, we show a rapid increase in a small number of wine yeast species, with a parallel decrease in complexity. Despite the application of similar protocols, slight changes in the procedures led to significant differences in the microbiota in the three cases of fermentation: (i) fungal content of the must varied significantly in the different wineries, (ii) Pichia membranifaciens persisted in only one of the wineries, (iii) one fermentation was characterized by the balanced presence of Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Hanseniaspora osmophila during the later phases. We suggest the existence of a highly winery‐specific ‘microbial‐terroir’ contributing significantly to the final product rather than a regional ‘terroir’. Analysis of changes in abundance during fermentation showed evident correlations between different species, suggesting that fermentation is the result of a continuum of interaction between different species and physical–chemical parameters.     

抗冻蛋白特征、作用机理与预测新进展

抗冻蛋白（antifreezeproteins,AFPs）可以通过抑制冰晶生长保护生物体免受低温冻害,具有重要的生物学意义和应用价值。现在在鱼类、节肢动物、植物及微生物中均发现有AFPs的存在。基于对已有研究文献和相关网络数据的系统调查统计,详细描述了AFPs数据的类别特征,并对其作用机理的研究历史和最新取得的突破性进展作了较为系统的阐述,并对AFPs预测所取得的成果作了介绍,还对AFPs研究的现状和未来研究方向作了讨论和展望。     

籼粳稻杂交衍生RIL系的苗期抗旱性评价

为鉴定籼粳稻杂交衍生系的苗期抗旱性,以课题组自育的高代抗逆品系ZD15为母本、籼稻品种IR29为父本,以及杂交衍生的重组自交系群体120份为试验材料,利用PEG-6000对各材料苗期进行干旱胁迫处理,测定根长、根冠比、地上部鲜重、地下部鲜重、地上部干重和地下部干重;利用PEG-6000对各材料芽期进行干旱胁迫处理,测定芽鞘长和芽长。采用主成分分析和隶属函数法对各材料的抗旱性进行综合评价,根据综合抗旱D值可将122份材料分成3类,D值在0.201～0.400之间的有33份,属于不抗旱材料;D值在0.401～0.600之间的有79份,属于中等抗旱材料;D值在0.601～0.800之间的有10份,属于抗旱材料。利用D值进行逐步回归分析,结果表明根长、根冠比、地上部鲜重、地下部鲜重、地上部干重、地下部干重、芽鞘长和芽长8个性状均可作为水稻苗期抗旱性的评价指标。本研究筛选出的抗旱材料,可作为育种中间材料进一步培育,或作为育种资源加以利用,以丰富本区水稻育种的资源库。