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.     

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.     

Activation of stress signalling pathways enhances tolerance of fungi to chemical fungicides and antifungal proteins

Fungal disease is an increasing problem in both agriculture and human health. Treatment of human fungal disease involves the use of chemical fungicides, which generally target the integrity of the fungal plasma membrane or cell wall. Chemical fungicides used for the treatment of plant disease, have more diverse mechanisms of action including inhibition of sterol biosynthesis, microtubule assembly and the mitochondrial respiratory chain. However, these treatments have limitations, including toxicity and the emergence of resistance. This has led to increased interest in the use of antimicrobial peptides for the treatment of fungal disease in both plants and humans. Antimicrobial peptides are a diverse group of molecules with differing mechanisms of action, many of which remain poorly understood. Furthermore, it is becoming increasingly apparent that stress response pathways are involved in the tolerance of fungi to both chemical fungicides and antimicrobial peptides. These signalling pathways such as the cell wall integrity and high-osmolarity glycerol pathway are triggered by stimuli, such as cell wall instability, changes in osmolarity and production of reactive oxygen species. Here we review stress signalling induced by treatment of fungi with chemical fungicides and antifungal peptides. Study of these pathways gives insight into how these molecules exert their antifungal effect and also into the mechanisms used by fungi to tolerate sub-lethal treatment by these molecules. Inactivation of stress response pathways represents a potential method of increasing the efficacy of antifungal molecules.     

基于SVD的通信信号背景下脉冲波形和初相估计

雷达侦察接收机往往侦察到的是通信和雷达脉冲的混合信号，如何从通信信号背景中有效提取出雷达脉冲波形，是现代雷达信号处理领域中的重要内容。针对这一问题，提出了一种基于奇异值分解的通信与雷达混合信号中脉冲波形估计算法。该算法通过对信号观测矩阵的奇异值分析和协方差矩阵的特征值分析，证明了观测矩阵的奇异值分解具有稳定性，并且奇异值分解能够最佳近似观测信号的线性特征，给出了一种利用左右奇异向量估计脉冲波形及其相对初相的方法。本文的算法适用于任意脉冲波形，并且能够在较低信噪比环境下估计脉冲信号波形和相对相位，仿真结果证明了算法的有效性。