Epidemics spreading in predator–prey systems

In this paper, we consider an ecosystem in which two disease-affected populations thrive and in which the epidemics can spread from one species to the other one by contact. The feasibility and stability conditions of the equilibria of the system are investigated analytically. The model does not possess Hopf bifurcations. Numerical simulations are performed to investigate the role of the main epidemiological and demographic parameters in the model, thus discovering that the predation of healthy or diseased predators on an infected prey allows some kind of control of the prey, if the latter, for instance, represents a pest.     

Individual Discrimination by Odors in Sibling Prairie Voles (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Microtus ochrogaster</Emphasis>)

The habituation–discrimination paradigm has been used widely to demonstrate that animals can detect individually distinctive odors of unfamiliar conspecifics. By using a modification of the habituation–discrimination technique, Todrank et al. (Anim Behav 55:377–386, 1998) found that golden hamsters discriminate between the individual odors of their own familiar brothers but cannot discriminate between the odors of two siblings that are unrelated and unfamiliar to the subject. This suggested that previous evidence showing that animals could discriminate between the odors of individuals actually may have demonstrated the ability to discriminate between genetically unrelated conspecifics (i.e., members of different families). To test this possibility, we conducted habituation–discrimination experiments with prairie voles, Microtus ochrogaster. Voles were tested under three conditions: subject and both targets were unrelated and unfamiliar; subject and both targets were brothers and familiar; subject was unrelated and unfamiliar to targets, but targets were brothers. In all cases, voles discriminated between the two individual odors. Thus, prairie voles can discriminate individual differences between the odors of brothers and they do not have to have previous experience with the conspecifics in order for discrimination to occur. The theoretical importance of these results is discussed.     

Stimulus control of maternal responsiveness to Norway rat ( Rattus norvegicus) pup ultrasonic vocalizations.

Mother rats (Rattus norvegicus; 6 to 8 days postpartum) approach and maintain proximal orientation to a pup that is emitting ultrasonic vocalizations (USVs) far more than do virgin females (W. J. Farrell & J. R. Alberts, 2002). We used a playback regimen to examine the roles of acoustic and nonacoustic cues in regulating maternal proximal orientation toward vocalizing pups. When presented with recorded USVs, mothers of 6- to 8-day-old pups and nulliparous virgin females exhibited equivalent levels of proximal orientation toward the playback speaker. Mothers did show enhanced proximal orientation toward recorded USVs, however, if a silent pup was positioned below the speaker. Pup odors appear to be crucial for the maternal response to vocalizing pups, as peripherally induced anosmia attenuated maternal proximal orientation toward a vocalizing pup. Furthermore, spatial contiguity between olfactory and auditory stimuli was required for a maximal maternal response. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Immobility and supination in garter snakes (Thamnophis elegans) following handling by human predators.

A common response of animals to physical restraint is tonic immobility. The authors observed the behavior of garter snakes, Thamnophis elegans, in the field to determine the frequency of immobility as a response to handling. Most snakes fled after release, but the remainder remained immobile, sometimes on their backs (supination), for up to 10 min. Immobility was seen most often in pregnant snakes, which also were more likely than other snakes not to have moved before capture. Failure to move, either before or after capture, might be a consequence of the limited locomotory ability of gravid snakes. However, the lack of observations of interactions between snakes and their natural predators impedes researchers' understanding of the antipredator value, if any, of tonic immobility. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effect of vomeronasal organ removal from male mice on their preference for and neural Fos responses to female urinary odors.

Four experiments were conducted to determine whether vomeronasal organ (VNO) inputs in male mice mediate the rewarding properties of estrous female urinary odors. Sexually naive male mice with either an intact (VNOi) or lesioned (VNOx) VNO preferred to investigate female urine over water in Y-maze tests. Subsequently, VNOi males ran significantly more quickly and remained in nasal contact longer with estrous female urine than with male urine, whereas VNOx males investigated these odors equally. In home-cage habituation-dishabituation tests, VNOi males also investigated female urine significantly longer than did VNOx males, although both groups investigated female urine longer than other non-body odors. Finally, female urinary odors induced Fos in the nucleus accumbens core of VNOi males but not of VNOx males. Our results suggest that female urinary odors retain some incentive value in VNOx males. However, once direct nasal contact is made with female urine, VNO inputs further activate forebrain mechanisms that amplify the reward salience of this stimulus for the male mouse. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

一类具有恐惧效应的食饵- 捕食者系统的研究

研究一类具有恐惧效应的食饵-捕食者系统.首先通过分析系统的平衡点性态,得出了系统存在正平衡点的条件; 其次利用Dulac判别法得出了系统在正平衡点附近不存在极限环的结论; 最后利用数据仿真验证了所得结论的正确性.     

Heliothis virescens: Response characteristics of receptor neurons in Sensilla Trichodea type 1 and type 2

Partial electroantennograms (EAGs) and single cell recordings fromHeliothis virescens males have demonstrated the presence of pheromones receptor neurons in sensilla trichodea type 2 as well as in type 1. This is supported by cobalt tracing experiments, showing that primary axons from the distal flagellum, containing only s. trichodea type 2, project into the macrogiomerulus complex in the male antennal lobes. Four types of finely tuned pheromone receptor neurons were found in males, whereas in females the corresponding neurons responded mainly to host odors. In males the majority (75 and 18%, respectively) were tuned to the majorHeliothis virescens pheromone components (Z)-11-hexadecenal (Z11-16A1) and (Z)-9-tetradecenal (Z9-14A1). The others (5 and 2%, respectively) responded specifically to (Z)-1 1-hexadecen-1-ol (Z1 1-16OH) and (Z)-1 1-hexadecen-1-ol acetate (Z1 1-16Ac). No neurons responding selectively to the minor pheromone components were found. The Z11-16A1 neurons of both sensilla types possessed similar specificity. However, the sensitivity decreased toward the medial and distal part of the flagellum, where s. trichodea type 2 are located. This suggests that the pheromone concentrations can be detected peripherally by a spatial as well as a temporal mechanism. Differences in temporal response patterns (pronounced phasic vs. tonic component) were found within the same type of neurons, suggesting different ability to encode intermittency of the pheromone plume as well as to mediate maintenance of flight.     

Quantitative Variation in Chemical Defense Within and Among Subgenera of Cicindela

The pygidial secretions of more than 40 species of adult Cicindela were quantitatively assayed by gas chromatography and mass spectrometry for the presence of benzaldehyde, the major defensive compound of cicindelids. All species showed evidence of benzaldehyde secretion, with the range in benzaldehyde spanning three orders of magnitude. Subgenera, species, and subspecies all accounted for a significant portion of the total variation in benzaldehyde secretion, while populations within subspecies sampled at different localities did not vary significantly; thus phylogenetic analyses of benzaldehyde secretion within and among both species and subgenera would be appropriate. The evidence suggests that a single origin of the pathway producing benzaldehyde occurred in the ancestors of Cicindela spp. and that differences among taxa in the amount of benzaldehyde secreted are the result of changes in that pathway's regulation.     

基于改进SMOTE不均衡样本处理和IHPO-DBN的变压器故障诊断方法研究

针对由于变压器故障样本不均衡和故障模型陷入局部最优而导致的分类准确率低的问题,提出了基于改进的合成少数类过采样技术和优化深度置信网络(deep belief network, DBN)的变压器故障诊断方法。首先采用聚类融合的K-means算法,通过分簇和匹配的方式筛选出不稳定的少数类样本用以改进中心点合成少数类过采样技术(center point synthetic minority oversampling technique, CP-SMOTE)算法,并对少数类样本进行扩增,解决了变压器故障数据分布不均衡的问题。其次,通过加入随机逆向学习和自适应惯性权重技术对猎食者优化算法进行改进,并用改进后的算法对DBN的内部参数进行优化调整,提高了模型精度。最后,将不同数据预处理情况下以及不同数据规模下的变压器故障模型进行仿真对比。结果表明,经过数据预处理和模型优化后的变压器故障识别准确率能够提高到98%,有效地解决了故障数据不平衡导致的分类精度低的问题。     

Structural Characterization of Daunomycin-Peptide Conjugates by Various Tandem Mass Spectrometric Techniques

The use of peptide-drug conjugates has generated wide interest as targeted antitumor therapeutics. The anthracycline antibiotic, daunomycin, is a widely used anticancer agent and it is often conjugated to different tumor homing peptides. However, comprehensive analytical characterization of these conjugates via tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS) is challenging due to the lability of the O-glycosidic bond and the appearance of MS/MS fragment ions with little structural information. Therefore, we aimed to investigate the optimal fragmentation conditions that suppress the prevalent dissociation of the anthracycline drug and provide good sequence coverage. In this study, we comprehensively compared the performance of common fragmentation techniques, such as higher energy collisional dissociation (HCD), electron transfer dissociation (ETD), electron-transfer higher energy collisional dissociation (EThcD) and matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization–tandem time-of-flight (MALDI-TOF/TOF) activation methods for the structural identification of synthetic daunomycin-peptide conjugates by high-resolution tandem mass spectrometry. Our results showed that peptide backbone fragmentation was inhibited by applying electron-based dissociation methods to conjugates, most possibly due to the “electron predator” effect of the daunomycin. We found that efficient HCD fragmentation was largely influenced by several factors, such as amino acid sequences, charge states and HCD energy. High energy HCD and MALDI-TOF/TOF combined with collision induced dissociation (CID) mode are the methods of choice to unambiguously assign the sequence, localize different conjugation sites and differentiate conjugate isomers.