Wolves in sheep’s clothing: three new cases of aggressive mimicry in Red Sea coral reef fishes

ABSTRACT

Here we document three cases of mimicry in coral reef fishes not previously reported in the literature involving two groupers (Epinephelus leucogrammicus and Plectropomus marisrubri) and a soapfish (Diploprion drachi) as mimics, and two wrasses (Larabicus quadrilineatus and Cheilinus quinquecinctus) and a blenny (Meiacanthus nigrolineatus) as models. All three cases are of aggressive mimicry, with a predatory species mimicking a harmless one, and in one of the cases, the mimicry is also Müllerian, where both the predator and harmless species are unpalatable.     

Baronia brevicornis caterpillars build shelters to avoid predation

In at least 18 Lepidoptera families, caterpillars build shelters that mainly serve to regulate microclimate (humidity, temperature) and/or to avoid predation. We aimed to explore the function of the tubular structures built with the leaves of the host plant, Acacia cochliacantha Humboldt and Bonpland ex Willdenow (Fabaceae), by a lepidopteran endemic to Mexico, Baronia brevicornis Salvin. We experimentally evaluated whether tubular structure building behaviour is induced by high temperature or predator odour, and if shelters reduce or enhance predation of B. brevicornis caterpillars. We used Calosoma angulatum as predator. Our analyses showed that caterpillars did not make the tubular structures in response to high temperature. We also found no difference in predators’ visual recognition of sheltered versus unsheltered caterpillars. Caterpillars did not build shelters but they moved more often when exposed to predator odour. Unsheltered caterpillars were more frequently consumed when predators were allowed to interact with sheltered and unsheltered caterpillars. Hence, the tubular structures built by B. brevicornis are most likely a strategy for reducing predation, for example by C. angulatum.     

Erratum to: Hesperomyces virescens (Fungi,Ascomycota, Laboulbeniales) attacking Harmonia axyridis (Coleoptera,Coccinellidae) in its native range

正Published online:14 March 2014óScience China Press and Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2014Erratum to:Chin.Sci.Bull.(2014)59(5–6):528–532DOI 10.1007/s11434-013-0060-1In the original publication of this paper,the first name and the last name of the first author has been documented     

The stoichiometry of peptide-heparan sulfate binding as a determinant of uptake efficiency of cell-penetrating peptides

Binding to negatively charged heparan sulfates (HS) at the cell surface is considered the first step in the internalization of cationic cell-penetrating peptides (CPPs). However, little is known about the relation of the characteristics of the HS-CPP interaction such as affinity, stoichiometry, and clustering with uptake. In this study, we investigated a collection of mutants of a cyclic CPP derived from human lactoferrin with respect to HS binding and uptake. The thermodynamic parameters of HS binding were determined by isothermal titration calorimetry, clustering of HS was investigated by dynamic light scattering, and cellular uptake by flow cytometry and confocal microscopy. Whereas mutations of non-arginine amino acids that are conserved across lactoferrins of different mammalia only had a minor effect on uptake efficiency, changes in the number of arginine residues influenced the uptake significantly. In general, introduction of arginine residues and cyclization improved the HS affinity and the ability to cluster HS. In particular, there was a strong negative correlation between stoichiometry and uptake, indicating that crosslinking of HS is the driving force for the uptake of arginine-rich CPPs. Using glycan microarrays presenting a collection of synthetic HS, we show that a minimal chain length of HS is required for peptide binding.     

Numerical Simulation of the COVID-19 Herd Immunity Based on Complex Network Modeling北大核心CSCD

鉴于构建流行病动力学模型、探索流行病传播规律对疫情防控具有十分重要的理论意义和实际应用价值,在已有的均匀混合模型基础上,针对个体接触关系异质化越发明显,且每个个体都处在不同的接触关系中,建立了兼顾个体状态与接触追踪的动态小世界网络模型。模拟了新冠病毒在社会中的传播过程。通过对比仿真结果,说明了所建模型的合理性。在此基础上,仿真计算了网络拓扑结构与接种免疫人数占比共同作用下对新冠病毒传播的影响,分析得到群体免疫临界值。说明所建传播模型合理,接种疫苗实现群体免疫可行。     

Phospholipid flippases attenuate LPS-induced TLR4 signaling by mediating endocytic retrieval of Toll-like receptor 4

P4-ATPases are lipid flippases that catalyze the transport of phospholipids to create membrane phospholipid asymmetry and to initiate the biogenesis of transport vesicles. Here we show, for the first time, that lipid flippases are essential to dampen the inflammatory response and to mediate the endotoxin-induced endocytic retrieval of Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) in human macrophages. Depletion of CDC50A, the β-subunit that is crucial for the activity of multiple P4-ATPases, resulted in endotoxin-induced hypersecretion of proinflammatory cytokines, enhanced MAP kinase signaling and constitutive NF-κB activation. In addition, CDC50A-depleted THP-1 macrophages displayed reduced tolerance to endotoxin. Moreover, endotoxin-induced internalization of TLR4 was strongly reduced and coincided with impaired endosomal MyD88-independent signaling. The phenotype of CDC50A-depleted cells was also induced by separate knockdown of two P4-ATPases, namely ATP8B1 and ATP11A. We conclude that lipid flippases are novel elements of the innate immune response that are essential to attenuate the inflammatory response, possibly by mediating endotoxin-induced internalization of TLR4.     

问答社区问句中多字词表达提取

基于互动问答社区问句中多字词表达和问句理解的关系,提出针对互动问答社区问句进行多字词表达抽取,并基于互动问答社区问句中多字词表达的特点,提出适用于互动问答社区的多字词表达提取方法.该方法在利用互信息和停用词表的方法从问句中抽取候选多字词表达的基础上,将候选多字词表达分为正确串、残缺串、冗余串和错误串4类,借助搜索引擎对查询串的优化和候选多字词表达在互联网上的检索结果,设计候选多字词表达校正方法,实现对多字词表达的提取.以新浪爱问知识人问题库中的问句进行实验,结果表明,多字词表达抽取的准确率、召回率和F值分别达到84%,52%和0.64,验证了该方法的有效性.