Clutch size in birds: outcome of opposing predator and prey adaptations

A model is proposed to explain clutch size in birds as the outcome of the interaction between predatory adaptations of birds to increase their feeding efficiency and adaptations of their food resources to avoid predation. Variations in clutch size are consistent with the model. A modification that incorporates the seasonality of food resources is also discussed.     

Reduction of a larval herring population by jellyfish predator

The scyphomedusa Aurelia aurita consumes large amounts of yolk-sac herring larvae in Kiel Fjord. The decline of the larval herring population in late spring coincides with a major population growth of the jellyfish. The size of the larval herring population seems to be more significantly affected by the size of the predator stock than by the size of the parental herring stock.     

Recruitment in a sea anemone population: juvenile substrate becomes adult prey

Populations of the sea anemone Anthopleura xanthogrammica (Brandt) occur in tide pools and surge channels below intertidal mussel beds where they capture mussels dislodged by wave action and by sea star foraging. Dense concentrations of small juvenile anemones occur only within mussel beds and are probably the result of larval settlement or differential survival in that habitat. Areas experimentally cleared of anemones showed that recruitment was primarily by migrating juveniles and that the rate of immigration over a 2-year period was much higher in experimental removal areas near mussel beds than in those further away. Mussel beds thus function as an important juvenile habitat (refuge and nursery); juveniles later migrate downward and are then in a position to capture dislodged mussels and grow to adult size.     

Solifluction: a model experiment

Laboratory experiments that subjected soil to repeated freeze-thaw cycles in an inclined container revealed every process of solifluction, especially of frost creep. Multiple slope-angle effects on the amount of particle movement on the soil surface in every cycle are interpreted by several characteristic processes of frost creep. Gelifluction was found to occur in thicker layers of soil, owing to the excess water retained in soil after thawing. For further development of the problem, a similarity law for the model experiment was derived from thermal considerations.     

Including predator presence in a refined model for assessing resistance of alfalfa cultivar to aphids

The aphid quantity ratio(AQR) is defined as the number of aphids on each cultivar divided by the number of aphids on all cultivars. AQR is based on the correlation between aphid populations and their host plants and is an important tool that has been utilized in evaluating Medicago sativa(alfalfa) cultivar resistance to aphids. However, assessment of alfalfa resistance to aphids can be confused by the presence of aphid predators, causing the assessment of plant resistance to aphids to be based on incorrect aphid population data. To refine the AQR and account for the effect of predators on aphid population assessments, we introduced a parameter ‘α', corresponding to the predator quantity ratio, and used αAQR as the ratio to quantify aphid populations. Populations of both aphids(4 species) and their predators(12 species) occurring in 28 M. sativa cultivars were sampled over two years at a research station near Cangzhou, Hebei Province, China. Results showed that the most suitable evaluation period was from May to June, as the aphid population was stable during this period. Compared with the AQR method, the predator population numbers based on the αAQR had a significant inverse relationship with aphid population numbers and the 28 cultivars were clustered into three classes: the resistant class, tolerant class, and susceptible class. In addition, 17 cultivars were reassigned when evaluated using αAQR. All numerical values calculated by αAQR were displayed as a Gaussian distribution, which showed that the 28 cultivars could be clustered into nine groups using a median value(±SE) of 1±0.1. Hence, ongoing alfalfa breeding trials will be assessed using the αAQR to establish a robust system that includes agronomic performance parameters in order to generalize the new method for further studies.     

Global patterns of predator diversity in the open oceans

The open oceans comprise most of the biosphere, yet patterns and trends of species diversity there are enigmatic. Here, we derive worldwide patterns of tuna and billfish diversity over the past 50 years, revealing distinct subtropical "hotspots" that appeared to hold generally for other predators and zooplankton. Diversity was positively correlated with thermal fronts and dissolved oxygen and a nonlinear function of temperature (approximately 25 degrees C optimum). Diversity declined between 10 and 50% in all oceans, a trend that coincided with increased fishing pressure, superimposed on strong El Ni?o-Southern Oscillation-driven variability across the Pacific. We conclude that predator diversity shows a predictable yet eroding pattern signaling ecosystem-wide changes linked to climate and fishing.     

New physicians: a natural experiment in market organization

The National Resident Matching Program is a centralized clearinghouse through which new medical graduates in the United States obtain their first positions. The history of this market, from the market failures that the centralized system was designed to address, to the present, is discussed, and a hypothesis about the behavior of such markets is presented. New evidence is then presented from a set of similar centralized markets in the United Kingdom. Because some of these latter markets have failed, while others have succeeded, they provide a natural experiment that permits the hypothesis to be tested. The new evidence also suggests directions in which modifications of existing procedures might be considered.     

Norwegian remote sensing experiment in a marginal ice zone

The Norwegian Remote Sensing Experiment in the marginal ice zone north of Svalbard took place in fall 1979. Coordinated passive and active microwave measurements were obtained from shipborne, airborne, and satellite instruments together with in situ observations. The obtained spectra of emissivity (frequency range, 5 to 100 gigahertz) should improve identification of ice types and estimates of ice concentration. Mesoscale features along the ice edge were revealed by a 1.215-gigahertz synthetic aperture radar. Ice edge location by the Nimbus 7 scanning multichannel microwave radiometer was shown to be accurate to within 10 kilometers.     

Magnetic flux-trapping experiment with a moving conductor

An aluminum conductor moving into and out of a magnetic field of 75 gauss traps within itself for varying lengths of time a detectable fraction of the encountered flux, which subsequently decays. A time constant of about 0.005 second, which is the order of magnitude predicted by classical electrodynamics, is measured. The result is of interest in connection with the "frozen-in field" concept of Babcock's sunspot model.     

Laboratory plate tectonics: a new experiment

A "continent" made of a layer of hexagonally packed black polyethylene spheres floating in clear silicon oil breaks into subcontinents when illuminated by an ordinary incandescent light bulb. This experiment may be a useful model of plate tectonics driven by horizontal temperature gradients. Measurements of the spreading rate are made to establish the feasibility of this model.     

Antagonists induce a conformational change in cIAP1 that promotes autoubiquitination

Inhibitor of apoptosis (IAP) proteins are negative regulators of cell death. IAP family members contain RING domains that impart E3 ubiquitin ligase activity. Binding of endogenous or small-molecule antagonists to select baculovirus IAP repeat (BIR) domains within cellular IAP (cIAP) proteins promotes autoubiquitination and proteasomal degradation and so releases inhibition of apoptosis mediated by cIAP. Although the molecular details of antagonist-BIR domain interactions are well understood, it is not clear how this binding event influences the activity of the RING domain. Here biochemical and structural studies reveal that the unliganded, multidomain cIAP1 sequesters the RING domain within a compact, monomeric structure that prevents RING dimerization. Antagonist binding induces conformational rearrangements that enable RING dimerization and formation of the active E3 ligase.     

科研模式化兽医药理学实验教学改革初探

兽医药理学实验是动物医学专业的专业基础实验课,是理论知识转化为实践知识连接的桥梁。传统的兽医药理学实验教学模式中,学生缺乏主观能动性和实验设计能力,不利于创新型人才的培养。如何通过改进兽医药理学实验的教学思维和模式,促进学生对实验原理的理解、提高动手能力和创新意识,学以致用是该内容教学面临的主要问题。本文将科研思维和模式应用于兽医药理学的实验教学中,通过教师对学生讨论过程的评价、应用能力评价和学生满意度调查3个方面评价教学效果,以达到改善教学质量,提高实践技能,为培养合格的兽医人才提供保障。     

Acid catalysis in basic solution: a supramolecular host promotes orthoformate hydrolysis

Although many enzymes can promote chemical reactions by tuning substrate properties purely through the electrostatic environment of a docking cavity, this strategy has proven challenging to mimic in synthetic host-guest systems. Here, we report a highly charged, water-soluble, metal-ligand assembly with a hydrophobic interior cavity that thermodynamically stabilizes protonated substrates and consequently catalyzes the normally acidic hydrolysis of orthoformates in basic solution, with rate accelerations of up to 890-fold. The catalysis reaction obeys Michaelis-Menten kinetics and exhibits competitive inhibition, and the substrate scope displays size selectivity, consistent with the constrained binding environment of the molecular host.