Breeding preferences in the treefrogs Dryophytes japonicus (Hylidae) in Mongolia

ABSTRACT

When a species occurs over a broad range of climates and landscapes, the breeding ecology of that species is expected to vary locally. Additionally, a basic knowledge of breeding ecology is required before other types of studies may be conducted, such as physiology or conservation. In North East Asia, Dryophytes japonicus is distributed from Japan to Mongolia, where its breeding ecology is unknown. The objectives of this study were to understand the breeding requirements of D. japonicus in this part of its range. We collected data for Dryophytes japonicus at 56 sites located within 23 independent localities in Northern Mongolia during the breeding season 2017. The data collected included habitat type and co-occurring amphibian, fishes and bird species. Our results show that the species prefers circa 70 m long oxbow lakes for breeding, while habitat characteristics, water quality and co-occurring species were not significantly associated with the occurrence of the species. We therefore conclude that D. japonicus is behaviourally plastic in Mongolia, as it is in other portions of its range, and that the species can use several types of environments and co-occur with different species at its breeding sites. Corvus dauuricus was the only bird species significant predicting the occurrence of D. japonicus, likely because of overlapping ecological preferences.     

Fabrication and characterization of 3D scaffold using 3D plotting system

In this paper, we design and fabricate a 3D scaffold using rapid prototyping (RP) technology for tissue engineering. The scaffold should have a three-dimensional interconnected pore network. We fabricate a polycaprolactone (PCL) scaffold with interconnecting pores and uniform porosity for cell ingrowth using a 3D plotting system. In order to keep the three dimensional shape under mechanical loading while implanted, we design an oscillating nozzle system to increase elastic modulus and yield strength of PCL ...     

MCHOKeM algorithm with assured bandwidth allocation in DiffServ networks

An active queue management (AQM) algorithm called MCHOKeM is presented, which is borrowed from CHOKeW that draws multi-packets at random from the buffer, the multi-packets are compared with an arriving packet and abandoned if they are from the same flow. But MCHOKeM uses multiple virtual queues for different priority packets and enhances the drawing function by adjusting the maximum number of draws based on the current status of virtual queue length. The number of parameters that MCHOKeM needs to maintain is determined by the number of priority levels being supported by the router, which usually has a small limited value. In order to explain the features of MCHOKeM, an analytical model is used. A series of simulation tests to evaluate the performance are given.     

利用杀菌剂防治松萎蔫病

松萎蔫病是一种非常复杂的病害。据报道,松材线虫(Bursaphelenchus xylophilus)及其携带的细菌诱导了该病,但是对于细菌的的作用尚存争议。笔者筛选出杀细菌剂进行了温室和林间防治松萎蔫病的实验。利用每株3年生赤松(Pinus densiflora)注射3 mg的恶喹酸,松萎蔫病防效达到71 %。利用恶喹酸或阿维菌素及两者混合物对大约20年生赤松的试验表明,3种处理均显示了很高的防效。以上结果证明伴生细菌是诱导松萎蔫病的必要因素,对松萎蔫病可利用杀细菌剂或杀细菌剂与杀线剂混合物进行防控。     

An Approach to Share Architectural Drawing Information and Document Information for Automated Code Checking System

The purpose of this study is to suggest a way of optimized managing and sharing information between standard architectural drawings and construction documents in Korea architectural industry for automated code checking system by linked STEP and XML. To archive this purpose, the authors have analyzed current research and technical development for STEP and XML link and developed a prototype system for sharing information between model based drawings and XML based construction documents. Finally, the authors have suggested practical use scenario of sharing information through linked STEP and XML using test case of automatic code checking. In the paper, the possibility of constructing integrated architectural computing environment through exchange and sharing of drawing information and external data for the whole building life-cycle, from the conceptual design stage to the construction and maintenance stage has been examined. Automated code checking through linked STEP and XML could be enhanced through col-laboration business, more completed code, improved building performance, and reduced construction costs.     

A DNA sequence alignment algorithm using quality information and a fuzzy inference method

DNA sequence alignment algorithms in computational molecular biology have been improved by diverse methods. In this paper, we propose a DNA sequence alignment that uses quality information and a fuzzy inference method developed based on characteristics of DNA fragments and a fuzzy logic system in order to improve conventional DNA sequence alignment methods that uses DNA sequence quality information. In conventional algorithms, DNA sequence alignment scores are calculated by the global sequence alignment algorithm proposed by Needleman-Wunsch, which is established by using quality information of each DNA fragment. However, there may be errors in the process of calculating DNA sequence alignment scores when the quality of DNA fragment tips is low, because only overall DNA sequence quality information are used. In our proposed method, an exact DNA sequence alignment can be achieved in spite of low quality of DNA fragment tips by improvement of conventional algorithms using quality information. Mapping score parameters used to calculate DNA sequence alignment scores are dynamically adjusted by the fuzzy logic system utilizing lengths of DNA fragments and frequencies of low quality DNA bases in the fragments. From the experiments by applying real genome data of National Center for Biotechnology Information, we could see that the proposed method is more efficient than conventional algorithms.     

Seismic identification of along-axis hydrothermal flow on the East Pacific Rise

Hydrothermal circulation at the axis of mid-ocean ridges affects the chemistry of the lithosphere and overlying ocean, supports chemosynthetic biological communities and is responsible for significant heat transfer from the lithosphere to the ocean. It is commonly thought that flow in these systems is oriented across the ridge axis, with recharge occurring along off-axis faults, but the structure and scale of hydrothermal systems are usually inferred from thermal and geochemical models constrained by the geophysical setting, rather than direct observations. The presence of microearthquakes may shed light on hydrothermal pathways by revealing zones of thermal cracking where cold sea water extracts heat from hot crustal rocks, as well as regions where magmatic and tectonic stresses create fractures that increase porosity and permeability. Here we show that hypocentres beneath a well-studied hydrothermal vent field on the East Pacific Rise cluster in a vertical pipe-like zone near a small axial discontinuity, and in a band that lies directly above the axial magma chamber. The location of the shallow pipe-like cluster relative to the distribution and temperature of hydrothermal vents along this section of the ridge suggests that hydrothermal recharge may be concentrated there as a consequence of the permeability generated by tectonic fracturing. Furthermore, we interpret the band of seismicity above the magma chamber as a zone of hydrothermal cracking, which suggests that hydrothermal circulation may be strongly aligned along the ridge axis. We conclude that models that suggest that hydrothermal cells are oriented across-axis, with diffuse off-axis recharge zones, may not apply to the fast-spreading East Pacific Rise.     

Control of plant germline proliferation by SCF(FBL17) degradation of cell cycle inhibitors

Flowering plants possess a unique reproductive strategy, involving double fertilization by twin sperm cells. Unlike animal germ lines, the male germ cell lineage in plants only forms after meiosis and involves asymmetric division of haploid microspores, to produce a large, non-germline vegetative cell and a germ cell that undergoes one further division to produce the twin sperm cells. Although this switch in cell cycle control is critical for sperm cell production and delivery, the underlying molecular mechanisms are unknown. Here we identify a novel F-box protein of Arabidopsis thaliana, designated FBL17 (F-box-like 17), that enables this switch by targeting the degradation of cyclin-dependent kinase A;1 inhibitors specifically in male germ cells. We show that FBL17 is transiently expressed in the male germ line after asymmetric division and forms an SKP1-Cullin1-F-box protein (SCF) E3 ubiquitin ligase complex (SCF(FBL17)) that targets the cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitors KRP6 and KRP7 for proteasome-dependent degradation. Accordingly, the loss of FBL17 function leads to the stabilization of KRP6 and inhibition of germ cell cycle progression. Our results identify SCF(FBL17) as an essential male germ cell proliferation complex that promotes twin sperm cell production and double fertilization in flowering plants.     

Simple nanofabrication of a superhydrophobic and transparent biomimetic surface

This paper describes a simple fabrication method for creating superhydrophobic and transparent glass surfaces that mimic natural surfaces such as lotus leaves, moth eyes or cicada wings. Nanostructured glass surfaces were created by a combination of colloidal lithography and plasma etching. A colloidal mask was formed simply by the spin coating of the polystyrene beads and with modification of the interparticle distance between the beads. The etching of the glasses was conducted by CF4 plasma. Tower-shaped nanostructures at an aspect ratio of 1：4 were treated using fluoroalkylsilane selfassembled monolayers （SAMs） to obtain the hydrophobic surfaces. The treated glass surfaces showed superhydrophobicity with a water contact angle of around 150° and a hexadecane contact angle of around 110° Furthermore, the nanostructured glass was transparent to visible light.