Population biology of bryozoans: correlates of sessile,colonial life histories in freshwater habitats

Bryozoans are common, often abundant, sessile, colonial invertebrates of freshwaters. By reviewing what is known of their general ecology and considering in further detail the population biology of specific groups, we provide evidence that 1) populations are locally ephemeral and regional persistence is attained via a dynamic equilibrium between dispersal and colonization, and 2) sex may often be infrequent and a high degree of clonality obtains at both local and regional scales. On the basis of these characteristics we discuss how the group offers exceptional opportunities for investigating a number of fundamentally important ecological and evolutionary questions.The highly curious modification of the Molluscan type which the Polyzoa [=Bryozoa] present... the great beauty of their forms, and the facility with which they can in general be observed in a living state, cannot but render them special favorites for every lover of Nature; and for the more profound student must confer on them a peculiar significance, and invest their study with a scientific interest which is scarcely surpassed by that of any other group of animals.... (Allman 1856)     

Presence of hsp65 in bacterial extracts (OM-89): A possible mediator of orally-induced tolerance?

Heat shock proteins (HSP) have been implicated in rodent models of autoimmunity, particularly arthritis, and there is suggestive though inconclusive evidence that they may also play a role in human autoimmune disease. The simplest hypothesis is based on molecular mimicry due to the amino-acid sequence homology between mammalian and microbial HSP. Recently OM-89, an extract of several strains ofEscherichia coli, has shown some efficacy in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) when taken orally. Using species-specific antibodies, we show here that OM-89 contains the 65 kDa HSP (hsp65), while hsp65 was not detected in another bacterial extract containing other microorganisms, includingStaphylococcus aureus (OM-85). We suggest that if the human homologue of hsp65 is a relevant target antigen in the human disease, the efficacy of the preparation could be due to induction of oral tolerance or to switching the Th1 response towards Th2. Alternatively, even if the human hsp65 is not a target molecule in RA joints, OM-89 may evoke bystander suppression of joint inflammation via induction of TGF-secreting effector cells. These hypotheses should be tested in further studies.     

Energy flow and community structure in freshwater ecosystems

The goal of this article is twofold: 1) It aims at providing an overview on some major results obtained from energy flow studies in individuals, populations, and communities, and 2) it will also focus on major mechanisms explaining community structures. The basis for any biological community to survive and establish a certain population density is on the one hand energy fixation by primary producers together with adequate nutrient supply and the transfer of energy between trophic levels (bottom-up effect). On the other hand, predator pressures may strongly control prey population densities one or more trophic levels below (top-down effect). Other interpopulation effects include competition, chemical interactions and evolutionary genetic processes, which further interact and result in the specific structuring of any community with respect to species composition and population sizes.     

Sex pheromone of the pine sawflyDiprion pini (Hymenoptera: Diprionidae): Chemical identification,synthesis and biological activity

The main component of the sex pheromone secretion of femaleDiprion pini L. (Hymenoptera: Diprionidae) from insects collected both in Finland and in France has been identified as athreo-3,7-dimethyl-2-tridecanol (8 ng per female) stereoisomer by GC-MS and synthesis. The secretion also contains lower and higher homologues in small amounts (1–4% of the main component). Combined gas chromatographic-electroantennographic detection showed activity in both natural and esterified extracts (acetates and propionates); the esters of the main component gave the largest responses. The acetates and propionates of the eight stereoisomers of 3,7-dimethyl-2-tridecanol were synthesized from enantiomerically highly enriched (>99% ee) building blocks. The stereochemistry of the main component was established to be (2S,3R,7R)-3,7-dimethyl-2-tridecanol by GC analysis of the natural material. It was purified by liquid chromatography prior to the GC analysis of both its pentafluorobenzoates and its isopropylcarbamates on a non-chiral polar column (ECD) and a chiral column (NPD), respectively. Field tests demonstrated that both the acetate and propionate of the main component (100 g of each applied on cotton roll dispensers) were active in attracting males, with or without the presence of several of the minor compounds. Experiments with smaller amounts of the acetate and the propionate (1 g in France and 50 g in Finland) demonstrated that the propionate was more active than the acetate, and that it also caught more males than a blend of the two compounds.     

Fibronectin peptide DRVPHSRNSIT and fibronectin receptor peptide DLYYLMDL arrest gastrulation ofRana pipiens

Gastrulation is characterized by dramatic cell migration which is thought to require the interaction of cell adhesion molecules with extracellular molecules. We have tested two novel peptides, a fibronectin peptide and a fibronectin receptor peptide, for their effects on gastrulation of the leopard frogRana pipiens. The fibronectin peptide DRVPHSRNSIT corresponds to residues 1373–1383 of the cell-binding domain of fibronectin; the receptor peptide DLYYLMDL corresponds to residues 124–131 of 1 subunit of a variety of integrins including 51. Either of these peptides significantly inhibited gastrulation after being microinjected into mid-blastulae. These results indicate that these sequences may correspond to the ligand/receptor interaction sites of fibronectin and its receptor(s).     

改进位姿估计环节的ORB-SLAM稠密建图算法

为了提高ORB-SLAM2系统的位姿估计精度并解决仅能生成稀疏地图的问题,提出了一种融合ICP算法与曼哈顿世界假说的位姿估计策略并在ORB-SLAM2系统中加入稠密建图线程来实现稠密建图。首先通过ORB特征点法、LSD算法和AHC方法进行点、线、面特征的提取,其中点、线特征跟上一帧匹配,面特征在全局地图中匹配。然后采用基于surfel的稠密建图策略将图像划分为非平面与平面区域,非平面采用ICP算法计算位姿,平面则通过面与面的正交关系确定曼哈顿世界从而使用不同的位姿估计策略,其中曼哈顿世界场景通过位姿解耦实现基于曼哈顿帧观测的无漂移旋转估计,而曼哈顿世界场景下的平移以及非曼哈顿世界场景位姿采用追踪的点、线、面特征进行估计和优化;最后根据关键帧和相应位姿实现稠密建图。采用TUM数据集对所提建图方法进行验证,实验结果与ORB-SLAM2算法比较,最终均方根误差RMSE平均减少0.24cm,平均定位精度提高7.17%,验证了所提方法进行稠密建图的可行性和有效性。     

高锰酸钾引发下淀粉／丙烯腈的接枝共聚反应

以高锰酸钾为引发剂,系统研究了在淀粉与丙烯腈接枝反应过程中各种反应对数如反应温度,单体浓度,引发剂浓度,催化剂浓度,淀粉的预处理温度对淀粉接枝反应及共聚物组成的影响,探讨了不同来源的淀粉和不同玉米变性淀粉接枝反应的能力,并分析了在反应过程中锰离子价态的变化,为进一步搞清锰离子引发淀粉接枝反历程提供了依据。     

灰胸竹鸡人工繁殖的研究

１９９５年１０月至１９９７年１０月对野生灰胸竹鸡（Ｂａｍｂｕｓｉｃｏｌａｔｈｏｒａｃｉｃａ）进行了人工繁殖的研究,结果为：产卵期４月下旬至７月下旬;卵的平均质量在（１５±２）ｇ之间;最佳孵化温度、相对湿度：１～１４ｄ内,温度为３８℃,相对湿度６５％～７０％;１５～１８ｄ内,温度降到３７℃,相对湿度７５％;雏鸟的生长模型为：ｍ＝２６２／（１＋ｅ２．６１－０．０３７ｔ）．     

淀粉应用的大发展

扼要地介绍了淀粉在变性淀粉、淀粉糖、淀粉塑料和燃料酒精等方面的应用和发展．     

Symmetry perception in an insect

Symmetrical visual patterns have a salient status in human perception, as evinced by their prevalent occurrence in art, and also in animal perception, where they may be an indicator of phenotypic and genotypic quality. Symmetry perception has been demonstrated in humans, birds, dolphins and apes. Here we show that bees trained to discriminate bilaterally symmetrical from non-symmetrical patterns learn the task and transfer it appropriately to novel stimuli, thus demonstrating a capacity to detect and generalize symmetry or asymmetry. We conclude that bees, and possibly flower-visiting insects in general, can acquire a generalized preference towards symmetrical or, alternatively, asymmetrical patterns depending on experience, and that symmetry detection is preformed or can be learned as perceptual category by insects, because it can be extracted as an independent visual pattern feature. Bees show a predisposition for learning and generalized symmetry because, if trained to it, they choose it more frequently, come closer to and hover longer in front of the novel symmetrical stimuli than the bees trained for asymmetry do for the novel asymmetrical stimuli. Thus, even organisms with comparatively small nervous systems can generalize about symmetry, and favour symmetrical over asymmetrical patterns.