DEVELOPMENT OF MICROSATELLITE LOCI FOR PINUS KORAIENSIS (PINACEAE)

Premise of the study: Microsatellite markers were developed for Pinus koraiensis to characterize its genetic diversity and understand its population structure. Methods and Results: Using the Fast Isolation by AFLP of Sequences COntaining (FIASCO) Repeats protocol, 20 primer sets were developed in Chinese populations of P. koraiensis. Three of the markers showed polymorphism with two alleles per locus when assessed in a sample of two populations of P. koraiensis from the Changbai Mountain in the Jilin Province of China. Five and three loci were successfully amplified in P. taiwanensis and P. massoniana, respectively. The amplification size of these loci matches those in P. koraiensis. Conclusions: These markers may be useful for further investigation of population genetics of P. koraiensis.

A multi-locus phylogeny of Nectogalini shrews and influences of the paleoclimate on speciation and evolution

Nectogaline shrews are a major component of the small mammalian fauna of Europe and Asia, and are notable for their diverse ecology, including utilization of aquatic habitats. So far, molecular phylogenetic analyses including nectogaline species have been unable to infer a well-resolved, well-supported phylogeny, thus limiting the power of comparative evolutionary and ecological analyses of the group. Here, we employ Bayesian phylogenetic analyses of eight mitochondrial and three nuclear genes to infer the phylogenetic relationships of nectogaline shrews. We subsequently use this phylogeny to assess the genetic diversity within the genus Episoriculus, and determine whether adaptation to aquatic habitats evolved independently multiple times. Moreover, we both analyze the fossil record and employ Bayesian relaxed clock divergence dating analyses of DNA to assess the impact of historical global climate change on the biogeography of Nectogalini. We infer strong support for the polyphyly of the genus Episoriculus. We also find strong evidence that the ability to heavily utilize aquatic habitats evolved independently in both Neomys and Chimarrogale + Nectogale lineages. Our Bayesian molecular divergence analysis suggests that the early history of Nectogalini is characterized by a rapid radiation at the Miocene/Pliocene boundary, thus potentially explaining the lack of resolution at the base of the tree. Finally, we find evidence that nectogalines once inhabited northern latitudes, but the global cooling and desiccating events at the Miocene/Pliocene and Pliocene/Pleistocene boundaries and Pleistocene glaciation resulted in the migration of most Nectogalini lineages to their present day southern distribution. (C) 2010 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Prevalent positive epistasis in Escherichia coli and Saccharomyces cerevisiae metabolic networks

Epistasis refers to the interaction between genes. Although high-throughput epistasis data from model organisms are being generated and used to construct genetic networks(1-3), the extent to which genetic epistasis reflects biologically meaningful interactions remains unclear(4-6). We have addressed this question through in silico mapping of positive and negative epistatic interactions amongst biochemical reactions within the metabolic networks of Escherichia coli and Saccharomyces cerevisiae using flux balance analysis. We found that negative epistasis occurs mainly between nonessential reactions with overlapping functions, whereas positive epistasis usually involves essential reactions, is highly abundant and, unexpectedly, often occurs between reactions without overlapping functions. We offer mechanistic explanations of these findings and experimentally validate them for 61 S. cerevisiae gene pairs.

Chemical Constituents from the Leaves and Stems of Schisandra lancifolia

A new nortriterpenoid, 20-hydroxymicrandilactone D (1) and a novel lignan glycoside, lancilignanside A (2) were isolated from leaves and stems of Schisandra lancifolia, together with three known nortriterpenoids (3-5) and nine known phenolics (6-14). The structures of new compounds 1 and 2 were determined by detailed analysis of their 1D and 2D NMR spectra, and chemical evidences. In addition, compounds 1-2, 6-7, and 9-11 showed anti-human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-1 activities with 50% effective concentration (EC50) in the range of 3.0-99.0 mu g/ml. Compound 12 was not bioactive in this assay with EC50 more than 200 mu g/ml.

Surimi: status and prospects

The paper discusses the current situation of surimi industry. It is a minced fish meat that is used as a raw material for a wide array of convenient food. Japan remains the world’s leader in consumption and production of surimi. The total supply for 1992 is expected to be 120000-130000 tons of pollock and 30000 tons of others such as Alaska mackerel and fall salmon. USA is the major on-board supplier for Japan while, USSR is another source of pollock surimi. There is a decrease production of hoki surimi from New Zealand due to declining resources and a growing demand for fillets.

Molecular and morphological analysis of endangered species Gymnodiptychus integrigymnatus (Teleostei: Cyprinidae)

Gymnodiptychus integrigymnatus is a critically endangered species endemic to the Gaoligongshan Mountains. It was thought to be only distributed in several headwater-streams of the Longchuanjiang River (west slope of the Gaoligongshan Mountains, belonging to the Irrawaddy River drainage). In recent years, dozens of G. integrigymnatus specimens have been collected in some streams on the east slope of the Gaoligongshan Mountains (the Salween drainage). We performed a morphological and genetic analyses (based on cytochrome b and D-loop) of the newly discovered populations of G. integrigymnatus to determine whether the degree of separation of these populations warrants species status. Our analysis from the cytochrome b gene revealed that nine individuals from the Irrawaddy drainage area and seven individuals from the Salween drainage area each have only one unique haplotype. The genetic distance between the two haplotypes is 1.97%. Our phylogenetic analysis revealed that G. integrigymnatus is closely related to highly specialized schizothoracine fishes. Analysis from the mitochondrial control region revealed that G. integrigymnatus has relatively high genetic diversity (pi was 0.00891 and h was 0.8714), and individuals from different river drainages do not share the same haplotypes. The AMOVA results indicated 87.27% genetic variability between the Salween and Irrawaddy populations. Phylogenetic trees show two major geographic groups corresponding to the river systems. We recommend that G. integrigymnatus should be considered as a high priority for protected species status in the Gaoligongshan Mountains National Nature Reserve, and that the area of the Gaoligongshan Mountains National Nature Reserve should be expanded to cover the entire distribution of G. integrigymnatus. Populations of G. integrigymnatus from different river systems should be treated as evolutionarily significant units.

Autonomous rigid body attitude synchronization

This paper studies some extensions to the decentralized attitude synchronization of identical rigid bodies. Considering fully actuated Euler equations, the communication links between the rigid bodies are limited and the available information is restricted to relative orientations and angular velocities. In particular, no leader nor external reference dictates the swarm's behavior. The control laws are derived using two classical approaches of nonlinear control - tracking and energy shaping. This leads to a comparison of two corresponding methods which are currently considered for distributed synchronization - consensus and stabilization of mechanical systems with symmetries. © 2007 IEEE.

Cooperative attitude synchronization in satellite swarms: A consensus approach

The present paper considers the problem of autonomous synchronization of attitudes in a swarm of spacecraft. Building upon our recent results on consensus on manifolds, we model the spacecraft as particles on SO(3) and drive these particles to a common point in SO(3). Unlike the Euler angle or quaternion descriptions, this model suffers no singularities nor double-points. Our approach is fully cooperative and autonomous: we use no leader nor external reference. We present two types of control laws, in terms of applied control torques, that globally drive the swarm towards attitude synchronization: one that requires tree-like or all-to-all inter-satellite communication (most efficient) and one that works with nearly arbitrary communication (most robust).

Molecular cloning and characterization analysis of immunoglobulin M heavy chain gene in European eel (Anguilla anguilla)

In this study, the immunoglobulin M heavy chain gene of European eel (Anguilla anguilla) was cloned and analyzed. The full-length cDNA of the IgM heavy chain gene (GenBank accession no. EF062515) has 2089 nucleotides encoding a putative protein of 581 amino acids. The IgM heavy chain was composed of leader peptide (L), variable domain (VH), CH1, CH2. Hinge, CH3, CH4, and C-terminus and two novel continuous putative N-glycosylation sites were found close to the second cysteine of CH3 in A. anguilla-H1 and A. anguilla-H2. The deduced amino acid sequence of the European eel IgM heavy chain constant region shared similarities to that of the Ladyfish (Elops saurus). Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar), rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss), Grass carp (Ctenopharingodon idella), Common carp (Cyprinus carpio), Channel catfish (Ictalurus punctatus), and the orange-spotted grouper (Epinephelus coioides) with the identity of 46.1%, 39.7%, 38.9%, 32.4%, 32.3%, 31.7%, and 30.7%, respectively. The highest level of IgM gene expression was observed in the kidney, followed by the spleen, gills, liver, muscle and heart in the apparently healthy European eels. (C) 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Genomic sequence of mandarin fish rhabdovirus with an unusual small non-transcriptional ORF

The complete genome of mandarin fish Siniperca chuatsi rhabdovirus (SCRV) was cloned and sequenced. It comprises 11,545 nucleotides and contains five genes encoding the nucleoprotein N, the phosphoprotein P, the matrix protein M, the glycoprotein G, and the RNA-dependent RNA polymerase protein L. At the 3' and 5' termini of SCRV genome, leader and trailer sequences show inverse complementarity. The N, P, M and G proteins share the highest sequence identities (ranging from 14.8 to 41.5%) with the respective proteins of rhabdovirus 903/87, the L protein has the highest identity with those of vesiculoviruses, especially with Chandipura virus (44.7%). Phylogenetic analysis of L proteins showed that SCRV clustered with spring vireamia of carp virus (SVCV) and was most closely related to viruses in the genus Vesiculovirus. In addition, an overlapping open reading frame (ORF) predicted to encode a protein similar to vesicular stomatitis virus C protein is present within the P gene of SCRV. Furthermore, an unoverlapping small ORF downstream of M ORF within M gene is predicted (tentatively called orf4). Therefore, the genomic organization of SCRV can be proposed as 3' leader-N-P/C-M-(orf4)-G-L-trailer 5'. Orf4 transcription or translation products could not be detected by northern or Western blot, respectively, though one similar mRNA band to M mRNA was found. This is the first report on one small unoverlapping ORF in M gene of a fish rhabdovirus. (c) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

两种线程池的实现和性能评价

线程池被广泛地应用在中间件如Web应用服务器、事务监控器等的实现中。实现线程池的方法主要有半同步/半异步(Half-Sync/Half-Asyn)模式和领导者/跟随者(Leader/Follower)模式。实现了这两种线程池,从理论上分析了它们的性能,并进行了性能实验。实验数据表明Leader/Follower模式具有较高的性能优势。

多对一供应链零售商驱动型收入共享契约下的生产决策

针对多对一供应链结构中零售商具有较强议价能力的特点,建立了零售商为主方、制造商为从方的Stackelberg主从对策模型;给出在零售商提供契约条款的对称博弈中,制造商生产产品策略存在唯一最优解的证明;分析了零售商契约参数变量的决策问题;讨论了收入共享契约下分散供应链同集中供应链决策的关系.通过仿真实验,分析验证了契约参数及产品的可替代性对供应链绩效的影响。

星球探测系统的多机器人组内协作研究

建立了子机器人的控制模型,提出了分散式控制与集中式控制相结合的复合控制体系。采用动态分配ID号和由ID号确定机器人组中领导者的机制,建立了有领导者的机器人组的协作方法。其中,领导者与监控平台之间采用无线通讯,机器人组内采用CAN(control area network)总线传递控制信号。同时采用组内基于状态表匹配的控制方式。两个机器人组合利用以上机制,通过相互协调完成差速转弯的实验验证了该控制方法的可行性。

多移动机器人主—从编队控制研究

多机器人编队控制是多移动机器人自主协调控制领域中的关键技术。这篇论文在基于局部测量和局部控制的框架下，研究具有主—从跟踪结构的移动机器人编队系统的建模和控制问题。论文的主要研究内容可分为如下三个方面：针对一阶运动学和二阶运动学模型的编队控制器设计；将基于运动学的编队控制器与基于从机器人动力学的载体控制器相结合；将队形反馈信息融入主机器人的轨迹跟踪控制器，给出了主机器人的协调编队控制器的设计。具体内容可概括为如下几个方面：（1）以主—从机器人编队中从机器人的固联视觉传感器的观察角度出发，用视觉等效相对速度建立了主—从机器人编队系统的运动学模型。同时，在该模型中考虑了由视觉传感器时间延迟所导致的模型误差对编队系统的影响。在基于该运动学模型的编队控制器的设计过程中结合了基于从机器人载体的动力学的速度控制器。这种基于编队运动学和机器人本体动力学相结合的控制方法，避免了以往文献中速度跟踪响应无限快的假设。使得对编队控制系统的分析和设计更趋于实际。用Lyapunov稳定性理论证明了主—从机器人之间的编队跟踪误差和从机器人载体的速度跟踪误差都可以收敛到零--整体系统的渐进稳定性。（2）结合上述编队控制律，提出了一种编队系统中从机器人主动避障的方法，该方法能够令从机器人在避开动态障碍物的同时，与主机器人保持期望的相对距离或相对方位。这种方法的实质是由主机器人来引导从机器人的避障过程，主—从机器人之间通过相互协作来完成避障任务。这就使得从机器人即使在避障的过程中也能够与主机器人保持部分的协作。这样，当避障过程结束之后，主—从机器人之间可以迅速的恢复队形。（3）导出了一种新的基于相对运动学的主—从跟踪系统的二阶运动学模型。利用这个运动学模型，我们设计了一个由反馈线性化控制器和一个滑模控制器组成的复合控制器，来实现机器人主—从跟踪系统的控制。运用Lyapunov理论证明了所设计的队形控制器能够镇定包括内部动力学系统在内的整个主—从跟踪系统。同时，该控制器使得队形跟踪系统对主机器人的绝对加速度具有鲁棒性。此外，在前述控制器的基础上，我们设计了一个自适应队形控制器来处理主—从跟踪系统中存在的参数不确定性。（4）将上述基于二阶运动学的编队控制方法与从机器人的载体动力学控制系统相结合，给出了将编队运动学与载体动力学相结合的编队控制器设计方法。同时，针对载体动力学模型中含有参数不确定性的情况，设计了基于自适应控制方法的编队控制器。同时，利用Lyapunov理论给出了保证整体系统稳定性的条件。（5）基于主—从编队系统的二阶运动学模型，将队形反馈信息引入主机器人的轨迹跟踪控制器中，形成了主—从机器人协调编队的辅助控制律。该辅助控制律所对应的虚拟协调力通过主机器人的动力学系统形成了真实的协作控制力。该控制器与前一章中的从机器人的鲁棒编队跟踪控制器共同形成了主—从编队系统的协调控制器。应用Lyapunov理论给出了在主—从机器人分别采用协调编队控制器的作用下所形成的闭环系统的稳定性条件。进一步地，我们将主机器人的面向轨迹跟踪任务的协调控制器转换为面向路径跟踪任务的协调控制器。分别利用了基于MATLAB的仿真平台和实际的多移动机器人系统，验证了以上各方法的有效性。

基于时延Petri网的多UUV系统的任务分配策略

针对多水下机器人(unmanned underwater vehicle,UUV)系统动态任务分配问题展开研究,在对系统的体系结构和任务分配机制进行分析的基础上,利用时延 Petri 网理论对系统的任务分配进行建模,提出了一种新的任务分配策略:群体协调层采用集中式任务分配策略,由主 UUV 将任务实时下达给各从 UUV;监控规划层采用基于适应度的分布式任务分配方式,充分发挥各异构 UUV 自身的智能。仿真结果验证了模型的合理性和任务分配策略的有效性。