Oreohelices of Utah, II. Extant status of the Brian Head mountainsnail, Oreohelix parawanensis Gregg, 1941 (Stylommatophora: Oreohelicidae)

The Brian Head mountainsnail, Oreohelix parawanensis , is reported for the 1st time as a living species, and for the 1st time its habitat is described. Preliminary determination of the very limited distribution of this species (≤ 2.3 ha inhabited in ～ 11 ha overall area) is presented. Morphometric data previously had been reported only for the holotype and for 1 topotype; measurements from 37 new specimens as well as 20 paratypes are provided here, and these data show that the lost holotype was not typical of the species. Sizes of reproductive snails and of embryos are also reported.     

Algae of Devils Hole, Nevada, Death Valley National Park

We examined algal flora in the aquatic system of Devils Hole, Nevada. The water is seasonally warm, near neutral in pH, and rich in dissolved carbonate, indicative of deeply circulating groundwater flowing through carbonate rock. Most algae were benthic, with only a few planktonic representatives. Eighty-four terminal identifications in 44 genera were recorded, with diatoms and blue-green algae the most speciose groups. Diatoms were major contributors to the grazing food web. Large, mat-forming filamentous algae have an important influence on the physicochemical and general structure of the benthic substrates in Devils Hole.     

A forecasting comparison of classical and Bayesian methods for modelling logistic diffusion

A Bayesian procedure for forecasting S‐shaped growth is introduced and compared to classical methods of estimation and prediction using three variants of the logistic functional form and annual times series of the diffusion of music compact discs in twelve countries. The Bayesian procedure was found not only to improve forecast accuracy, using the medians of the predictive densities as point forecasts, but also to produce intervals with a width and asymmetry more in accord with the outcomes than intervals from the classical alternative. While the analysis in this paper focuses on logistic growth, the problem is set up so that the methods are transportable to other characterizations of the growth process. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

反式激活HIV-1 LTR的HHV-6基因片段B701的缺失研究

ＨＨＶ－６在体外可以激活ＨＩＶＬＴＲ引导的基因表达［１］，其基因组中一基因片段Ｂ７０１已被证明与这种激活作用有关［２］．Ｂ７０１编码１４３个氨基酸的蛋白质，可与ＨＨＶ－６基因组中其它基因片段协同作用提高对ＨＩＶＬＴＲ的激活效力．对Ｂ７０１进行缺失突变，得到突变体ＲＳＶ－Ｂ７０１－ｄ１（３′端缺失１８１个ｂｐ）、ＲＳＶ－Ｂ７０１－ｄ６（３′端缺失３５３个ｂｐ），将这两个缺失突变体分别与ＨＩＶ－Ｌｕｃ共转染受体细胞，通过ＬＵＣ活性分析发现，缺失突变体ｄ１、ｄ６不但仍具有激活能力，而且ｄ６的激活能力要远远大于ｄ１．二级结构预测初步揭示了Ｂ７０１对ＨＩＶ－ＬＴＲ的反式激活作用机制，为阐明ＨＨＶ－６基因产物与ＡＩＤＳ的病理关系提供了依据．     

代价敏感属性约简的自适应分治算法

代价敏感属性约简问题作为经典属性约简问题的自然扩展,将代价引入数据,使得属性约简问题更加具有现实意义。文章基于分治思想,先按列将数据集拆分为若干个互不相交的子数据集,然后对各子数据集进行约简,并把约简后的子数据集多路合并。依次继续执行约简和合并操作,最终得到最小测试代价约简。每个子数据集的大小及子数据集的总个数自适应于各个数据集的规模而非固定不变。为验证算法的有效性,选择四个UCI标准数据集进行实验,并与其他算法进行结果对比。实验结果表明,该算法能在较短时间内获得可接受的结果,更适应实际问题的需要。     

Optimization Strategies for Two-Mode Partitioning

Two-mode partitioning is a relatively new form of clustering that clusters both rows and columns of a data matrix. In this paper, we consider deterministic two-mode partitioning methods in which a criterion similar to k-means is optimized. A variety of optimization methods have been proposed for this type of problem. However, it is still unclear which method should be used, as various methods may lead to non-global optima. This paper reviews and compares several optimization methods for two-mode partitioning. Several known methods are discussed, and a new fuzzy steps method is introduced. The fuzzy steps method is based on the fuzzy c-means algorithm of Bezdek (1981) and the fuzzy steps approach of Heiser and Groenen (1997) and Groenen and Jajuga (2001). The performances of all methods are compared in a large simulation study. In our simulations, a two-mode k-means optimization method most often gives the best results. Finally, an empirical data set is used to give a practical example of two-mode partitioning. We would like to thank two anonymous referees whose comments have improved the quality of this paper. We are also grateful to Peter Verhoef for providing the data set used in this paper.     

Molecular verification of the integration ofTripsacum dactyloides DNA into wheat genome through wide hybridization

RAPD and RFLP analyses of double haploid lines which derived from hybridization between hexaploid wheat (Triticum aestivum L. 2n=42) and eastern gamagrass (Tripsacum dactyloides L. 2n=4x=72) are reported. Two of the 340 Operon primers have been screened, which stably amplified 处留情 (male parent) specific bands in the double haploid lines. These results confirm the fact that Tripsacum dactyloides DNA has been integrated into wheat genome by sexual hybridization at molecular level. This idea has been further testified by RFLP analysis. Application and potentials of transferring Tripsacum dactyloides DNA into wheat genome by sexual hybridization in wheat breeding are discussed.     

Sleep in Drosophila is regulated by adult mushroom bodies

Sleep is one of the few major whole-organ phenomena for which no function and no underlying mechanism have been conclusively demonstrated. Sleep could result from global changes in the brain during wakefulness or it could be regulated by specific loci that recruit the rest of the brain into the electrical and metabolic states characteristic of sleep. Here we address this issue by exploiting the genetic tractability of the fruitfly, Drosophila melanogaster, which exhibits the hallmarks of vertebrate sleep. We show that large changes in sleep are achieved by spatial and temporal enhancement of cyclic-AMP-dependent protein kinase (PKA) activity specifically in the adult mushroom bodies of Drosophila. Other manipulations of the mushroom bodies, such as electrical silencing, increasing excitation or ablation, also alter sleep. These results link sleep regulation to an anatomical locus known to be involved in learning and memory.     

The redox state of arc mantle using Zn/Fe systematics

Many arc lavas are more oxidized than mid-ocean-ridge basalts and subduction introduces oxidized components into the mantle. As a consequence, the sub-arc mantle wedge is widely believed to be oxidized. The Fe oxidation state of sub-arc mantle is, however, difficult to determine directly, and debate persists as to whether this oxidation is intrinsic to the mantle source. Here we show that Zn/Fe(T) (where Fe(T) = Fe(2+)?+?Fe(3+)) is redox-sensitive and retains a memory of the valence state of Fe in primary arc basalts and their mantle sources. During melting of mantle peridotite, Fe(2+) and Zn behave similarly, but because Fe(3+) is more incompatible than Fe(2+), melts generated in oxidized environments have low Zn/Fe(T). Primitive arc magmas have identical Zn/Fe(T) to mid-ocean-ridge basalts, suggesting that primary mantle melts in arcs and ridges have similar Fe oxidation states. The constancy of Zn/Fe(T) during early differentiation involving olivine requires that Fe(3+)/Fe(T) remains low in the magma. Only after progressive fractionation does Fe(3+)/Fe(T) increase and stabilize magnetite as a fractionating phase. These results suggest that subduction of oxidized crustal material may not significantly alter the redox state of the mantle wedge. Thus, the higher oxidation states of arc lavas must be in part a consequence of shallow-level differentiation processes, though such processes remain poorly understood.