An “orientation sphere” visualization for examining animal head movements

1. Animal behavior is elicited, in part, in response to external conditions, but understanding how animals perceive the environment and make the decisions that bring about these behavioral responses is challenging.
2. Animal heads often move during specific behaviors and, additionally, typically have sensory systems (notably vision, smell, and hearing) sampling in defined arcs (normally to the front of their heads). As such, head‐mounted electronic sensors consisting of accelerometers and magnetometers, which can be used to determine the movement and directionality of animal heads (where head “movement” is defined here as changes in heading [azimuth] and/or pitch [elevation angle]), can potentially provide information both on behaviors in general and also clarify which parts of the environment the animals might be prioritizing (“environmental framing”).
3. We propose a new approach to visualize the data of such head‐mounted tags that combines the instantaneous outputs of head heading and pitch in a single intuitive spherical plot. This sphere has magnetic heading denoted by “longitude” position and head pitch by “latitude” on this “orientation sphere” (O‐sphere).
4. We construct the O‐sphere for the head rotations of a number of vertebrates with contrasting body shape and ecology (oryx, sheep, tortoises, and turtles), illustrating various behaviors, including foraging, walking, and environmental scanning. We also propose correcting head orientations for body orientations to highlight specific heading‐independent head rotation, and propose the derivation of O‐sphere‐metrics, such as angular speed across the sphere. This should help identify the functions of various head behaviors.
5. Visualizations of the O‐sphere provide an intuitive representation of animal behavior manifest via head orientation and rotation. This has ramifications for quantifying and understanding behaviors ranging from navigation through vigilance to feeding and, when used in tandem with body movement, should provide an important link between perception of the environment and response to it in free‐ranging animals.

     

Intermediate stages in the disassembly of synaptic ribbons in cone photoreceptors of the crucian carp,Carassius carassius

Synaptic ribbons are trilaminated plate-shaped presynaptic densities of certain types of receptor cells and neurons. In cone photoreceptors, these structures dissassemble and reassemble in response to light and to a variety of other stimuli. We used the lithium-ionenhanced disassembly and reassembly of synaptic ribbons to characterize structural intermediates in these cyclic changes. A few minutes after exposure of isolated retinas from the crucian carp (Carassius carassius) to lithium, ribbons fragmented into 50-nm-sized dense globular structures. These small spheres were concentrically surrounded by synaptic vesicles attached to them by stalk-like fine bridging filaments. Disassembly always started at the free cytoplasmic edges of the ribbons and proceeded toward the membrane-associated edges. As the disassembly process never started at the membraneanchored site, synaptic ribbons appeared to be polarized structures with functionally different ends. Spheres were subjected to further depolymerization. They disintegrated into clusters of small granular material and disappeared after ca. 45 min of lithium treatment. Spheres were not observed during the reassembly of synaptic ribbons, indicating that the assembly of synaptic ribbons proceeds via smaller subunits.     

Comparison of dispersal ability between the green leafhoppers,Nephotettix virescens andN. cincticeps (hemiptera: Cicadellidae) by tethered flight

Dispersal propensity of green leafhoppers was compared between a tropical species, Nephotettix virescens, and a temperate species, N. cincticeps. The flight ability was measured with tethered flight technique under laboratory conditions (25°C, 16L-8D). The pre-flight period was shorter and the flight duration was longer in N. virescens than in N. cincticeps in both sexes. No significant correlations were found between the flight activity and morphometric characters for either of the two species. The results suggested that dispersal propensity of N. virescens is higher than that of N. cincticeps.     

Time-correlated flights of juvenile and mature locusts: A comparison between free and tethered animals

The flights of free and tethered Locusta migratoria were followed from initiation with a high-speed film camera. A longer sequence of wing-beat cycles can thus be correlated unequivocally with the animals's movement in time and space. In both flight situations the locusts start with approximately the same instantaneous wing-beat frequency. During the early flight phase free-flying animals increase their wing-beat frequency, whereas for tethered locusts this parameter remains constant or even decreases. The general flight pattern is similar in juvenile and mature locusts; the juveniles however, fly with alower wing-beat frequency and flight speed. The differences in the wing-beat frequencies for both flight performances are discussed with respect to differences in the sensory inputs to the flight motor centre.     

Effect of inhibitors and uncouplers on light-induced potential changes triggering photophobic responses

Light-energy absorption by Microcystis aeruginosa with and without gas vacuoles was observed, respectively by using an integrating sphere photometer. As far as the concentration of cell suspension of the order of 10⁶⁷ cells/ml in this work was concerned, the performance of gas vacuoles to shield incident light was most unlikely. Referring to a correlation secured by the integrating sphere photometer between light absorption and cell concentration of the suspension, a turbidostat culture of the blue-green alga demonstrated that the growth efficiency, Y _kJ defined as g cells harvested per kJ of light energy absorbed by the cells was nearly 0.004. This value of Y _kJ was almost the same as that of Spirulina platensis.Abbreviation vvm volume of air per volume of medium per min     

纳米δ-Bi2O3负载多孔沸石球填料对水体中Cr（Ⅵ）的吸附特征及其影响因素

在水热条件下合成纳米δ-Bi2O3负载多孔沸石球填料(Bi-PZSF),研究其对水体中Cr(Ⅵ)的吸附性能(包括等温吸附、吸附动力学和吸附稳定性)以及溶解氧、pH等因素对吸附过程的影响及其吸附机理。结果表明:朗格缪尔模型和准二级动力学模型对实验结果具有良好的拟合度,在中性条件下,水体中的溶解氧含量对吸附速率影响较小,Bi-PZSF的最大吸附量为955.69 mg·kg^-1,比天然沸石的吸附量提升了近120倍;Bi-PZSF在NO3^-和SO4^2-的溶液中呈现出较强的选择吸收Cr(Ⅵ)能力,Cr(Ⅵ)去除率均在97%以上;同时,Bi-PZSF在吸附Cr(Ⅵ)后表现出高稳定性。Cr(Ⅵ)的去除主要是通过与附着在Bi-PZSF上的纳米δ-Bi2O3的表面羟基交换完成的。     

Switching from blue to yellow: altering the spectral properties of a high redox potential laccase by directed evolution

Abstract

During directed evolution to functionally express the high redox potential laccase from the PM1 basidiomycete in Saccharomyces cerevisiae, the characteristic maximum absorption at the T1 copper site (Abs₆₁₀T1Cu) was quenched, switching the typical blue colour of the enzyme to yellow. To determine the molecular basis of this colour change, we characterized the original wild-type laccase and its evolved mutant. Peptide printing and MALDI-TOF analysis confirmed the absence of contaminating protein traces that could mask the Abs₆₁₀T1Cu, while conservation of the redox potential at the T1 site was demonstrated by spectroelectrochemical redox titrations. Both wild-type and evolved laccases were capable of oxidizing a broad range of substrates (ABTS, guaiacol, DMP, synapic acid) and they displayed similar catalytic efficiencies. The laccase mutant could only oxidize high redox potential dyes (Poly R-478, Reactive Black 5, Azure B) in the presence of exogenous mediators, indicating that the yellow enzyme behaves like a blue laccase. The main consequence of over-expressing the mutant laccase was the generation of a six-residue N-terminal acidic extension, which was associated with the failure of the STE13 protease in the Golgi compartment giving rise to alternative processing. Removal of the N-terminal tail had a negative effect on laccase stability, secretion and its kinetics, although the truncated mutant remained yellow. The results of CD spectra analysis suggested that polyproline helixes were formed during the directed evolution altering spectral properties. Moreover, introducing the A461T and S426N mutations in the T1 environment during the first cycles of laboratory evolution appeared to mediate the alterations to Abs₆₁₀T1Cu by affecting its coordinating sphere. This laccase mutant is a valuable departure point for further protein engineering towards different fates.     

Effect of outer sphere anions on the structure and color of nitrosylpentaamminechromium complex

Three kinds of crystalline compounds containing the nitrosylpentaamminechromium complexes [Cr(NO)(NH₃)₅]²⁺(A) were obtained: chloride ACl₂ (red-orange), chloride perchlorate ACl(ClO₄) (brown), and perchlorate A(ClO₄)₂ (green). The cause of the color change of the complex A with the change of outer sphere anions was sought using X-ray structural data of ACl₂, ACl(ClO₄), and A(ClO₄)₂. Crystal data: ACl₂, orthorhombic, space group Cmcm, a=10.0236 (9) Å, b=9.098 (3) Å, c=10.357(1) Å, V=944.5 (5) ų, Z=4; ACl(ClO₄), tetragonal, space group P4/nmm, a=7.6986 (8) Å, c=9.9566(8) Å, V=590.1 (1) Å^3,Z=2; A(ClO₄)₂, orthorhombic, space group Pnma, a=15.760 (2) Å, b=11.480(2) Å, c=7.920 (2) Å, V=1432.9 (4) ų, Z=4. The complex cation in ACl₂ has a distorted octahedral structure with a linear CrNO moiety. The short CrN (nitrosyl) distance of 1.692 (7) Å indicates the presence of multiple bonding between the chromium atom and the nitrogen atom in the nitrosyl group. The interatomic distances and angles within the complex cations hardly change with the change of the counter anions, while the distances between the complex cations in each crystal increase in the order ACl₂<ACl(ClO₄)<A(ClO₄)₂. The bulky perchlorate anions seems to separate the complex cations, while smaller chloride anions are not large enough to separate them. The distance (3.213(5) Å) between O(NO) and N(NH₃ in the adjacent complex cation) is rather short in the crystal of ACl₂, and there are six hydrogen bonds, where the NO group is surrounded by four NH₃ ligands. The distance (4.002(5) Å) between O(NO) and N(NH₃) is much longer in the crystal of A(ClO₄)₂, indicating the presence of no hydrogen bonding. In the crystal of ACl(ClO₄) the distance (3.452(4) Å) between O(NO) and N(NH₃) is in between those of ACl₂ and A(ClO₄)₂. The presence of hydrogen bonding between O(NO) and N(NH₃ in the adjacent complex cation) seems to cause the color change with the change of outer sphere anions.     

Exact solutions for chemical bond orientations from residual dipolar couplings

New methods for determining chemical structures from residual dipolar couplings are presented. The fundamental dipolar coupling equation is converted to an elliptical equation in the principal alignment frame. This elliptical equation is then combined with other angular or dipolar coupling constraints to form simple polynomial equations that define discrete solutions for the unit vector(s). The methods are illustrated with residual dipolar coupling data on ubiquitin taken in a single anisotropic medium. The protein backbone is divided into its rigid groups (namely, its peptide planes and C frames), which may be solved for independently. A simple procedure for recombining these independent solutions results in backbone dihedral angles and that resemble those of the known native structure. Subsequent refinement of these - angles by the ROSETTA program produces a structure of ubiquitin that agrees with the known native structure to 1.1 Å C rmsd.