Are Lévy flight patterns derived from the Weber–Fechner law in distance estimation?

Honeybees (Apis mellifera) are regularly faced with the task of navigating back to their hives from remote food sources. They have evolved several methods to do this, including compass-directed “vector” flights and the use of landmarks. If these hive-centered mechanisms are disrupted, bees revert to searching for the hive, using an optimal Lévy flight searching strategy. The same strategy is adopted when a food source at a known location ceases to be available. Here, we show that the programming for this Lévy strategy does not need to be very sophisticated or clever on the bee’s part, as Lévy flight patterns can be derived from the Weber–Fechner law in a bee’s odometer. Odometry errors of a different kind occur in desert ants (Cataglyphis spp., Melophorus bagoti). The searching behaviors of these ants are very similar in overall structure to that of honeybees but do not display any Lévy flight characteristics. We suggest that errors in the estimation of distance can be implicitly involved in shaping the structure of systematic search behavior and should not be regarded as merely deficiencies in the odometer.     

Entomotoxic effect of silicon dioxide nanoparticles on Plutella xylostella (L.) (Lepidoptera: Plutellidae) under laboratory conditions

The use of higher dosage and repeated applications of conventional pesticides have led to the rapid development of insect resistance to pesticide and adverse effects on human health and environment. Accordingly, researchers are prompted to identify an alternative entomotoxic agent for crop protection. Nanocides are being considered as alternatives to conventional insecticides because they are expected to lessen the application rate and reduce the chances of resistance development in pests. In this study, we evaluated the entomotoxic effects of nanosilica on larvae of Plutella xylostella, in a laboratory by using dust spray, larva dipping, leaf dipping, and solution spray methods. Dust treatment showed a more highly significant effect than the other three treatments. The mortality percentage increased up to 58% and 85% at 24 and 72 h after treatment, respectively, when nanosilica was applied at a rate of 1 mg cm^?2. In all four bioassays, mortality rate increased with both increased time after nanosilica exposure and increased concentration. Light microscopy and scanning electron microscopy images showed that larval death was due to desiccation, body wall abrasion, and spiracle blockage. These results suggested that nanosilica can be an alternative to conventional pesticides if dust formulation would be properly used.     

促进氰钴胺素转化为腺苷钴胺素的基因表达与鉴定

辅酶B12作为甘油脱水酶(GDHt)的辅酶参与到Klebsiella pneumoniae代谢甘油生成1,3-丙二醇(1,3-PD)和3-羟基丙酸(3-HP)的途径中.前期研究表明底物甘油可以导致辅酶B12分子中Co—C键的断裂,进而引起GDHt的失活.为进一步研究非活性的维生素B12(CNCbI)转化为具有活性的辅酶B12(AdoCbI)的过程,从K.pneumoniae中克隆得到了ATP:钴(I)胺素腺苷转移酶(ACA)基因btuR和还原酶基因yciK,并成功构建了双启动子表达质粒pUC18-tac-btuR-tac-yciK,将表达质粒转化Escherichia coli JM109获得了一株重组菌.利用改进的分析方法,结果表明:1)重组蛋白具有腺苷转移酶的活性;2)重组菌可以很好地将非活性的钴胺素,如维生素B12,转化生成具有活性的辅酶B12.     

链霉菌FX645对偶氮染料红AR30的降解机制研究

从印染厂污泥中筛选到1株对偶氮染料红30(AR30)具有较强脱色降解作用的菌株Streptomyces sp.FX645.通过降解产物的紫外-可见吸收光谱、LC-MS分析及各降解产物在发酵体系中浓度随时间变化的规律,探讨了菌株FX645对AR30的可能降解途径,首先在偶氮还原酶的作用下AR30发生偶氮键的裂解,生成4-硝基-2,6-二氯苯胺与2-[(4-胺苯基)-(2-氰乙基)-氨基]乙酸乙酯,然后分别发生硝基还原、氨基酰化、氰基水解作用,生成一系列的苯胺类化合物.     

耐高温酵母高浓度发酵生产燃料乙醇工艺优化

采用两水平部分因子设计(23Fractional Factorial),选取发酵温度、接种量、初始糖浓度为自变量考察因素,以最终发酵乙醇浓度和9 h生物量浓度为响应值,考察耐高温高浓度酵母的燃料乙醇发酵能力,并对实验数据进行二次模型变异分析(Ahalysis of variance,ANOVA),建立了三元二次方程数学...     

多层递阶方法在变化环境下非一致性水文序列分析中的应用

由于受人类活动、气候等外界变化环境的影响,用于水资源评价计算的天然年径流量序列失去了一致性。为了适应变化环境对水文预报的要求,提出了基于时变参数的非一致性年径流序列的多层递阶预报方法。该方法不同于传统带固定参数的模型,它是将预报对象看作为随机动态时变系统,首先进行动态系统的时变参数预报,进而在参数预报基础之上对系统状态预报,从而提高了预测结果的可靠性。以闽江竹岐水文站为例,进行年径流量的中长期预报,为区域水资源的优化管理提供科学的依据。