COMPONENT ALLEE EFFECTS AND STAGE‐SPECIFIC PREDATION: A BRIEF INSIGHT INTO CONSERVATION AND BIOLOGICAL CONTROL ISSUES

In this paper, we propose a two‐stage structured population model subject to component Allee effects in fecundity and maturation, and with two disturbances (predation only and harvest and predation) acting on both stages. It is shown that this combination leads to a demographic Allee effect—a characteristic that could be exploited in pest biological control, but on the other hand, it represents a bane in conservation biology. The analysis is performed for disturbances with functional responses type 2 and 3, and the models show that they yield qualitatively similar results. This characteristic is discussed from the species conservation and biological control point of view, together with possible extensions of this work.     

基于多分辨分析的沪深股市相关性分析

为了有效地揭示沪深股市不同交易周期股票交易的相关性,本文采用极大重叠离散小波变换,将上证指数和深圳成指高频收益率分解在不同的交易周期上,对各个周期的收益率采用semi-GPD模型作为其边缘分布分别进行拟合,在此基础上采用Copula函数方法建立同周期收益率的联合分布,度量了沪深两市同周期交易的相关性.实证表明,不同交易周期所表现出的相关性存在明显差异,并且随着交易期的增长,沪深两市非对称结构逐步明显。     

Disruption of protein-protein interactions using nanoparticles: inhibition of cytochrome c peroxidase

Functionalized gold nanoparticles bind selectively to cytochrome c or cytochrome c peroxidase and inhibit enzyme turnover.     

Plastic microchip liquid chromatography-matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization mass spectrometry using monolithic columns

A prototype array of monolithic liquid chromatography (LC) columns was prepared in a plastic microfluidic device for the off-line interface with matrix assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF-MS). The microfluidic channels were fabricated on a cyclic olefin copolymer (COC) plate by hot embossing. An array of methacrylate monolithic columns was prepared in the microfluidic channels by UV-initiated polymerization. The deposition system employed a pulsed electric field to transfer the effluents from multiple columns directly onto MALDI targets with a non-contact deposition method reported by Ericson et al. [C. Ericson, Q.T. Phung, D.M. Horn, E.C. Peters, J.R. Fitchett, S.B. Ficarro, A.R. Salmon, L.M. Brill, A. Brock, Anal. Chem. 75 (2003) 2309]. To characterize the off-line interface of the multiple-channel microchip LC and the MALDI-MS for the analysis of peptide mixtures, the separation efficiency and reproducibility tests in each column were carried out by separating a peptide mixture from tryptic digested proteins and depositing the multiple effluents simultaneously on the MALDI target plate. Using a MALDI-TOF mass spectrometer with a mass accuracy of +/-1 Da for peptide assignments of digested bovine serum albumin (BSA), amino acid sequence coverage of around 59% was obtained for the microchip LC-MALDI-MS compared to 23% obtained by the MALDI-MS method without LC separation. In sensitivity tests for the detection of low abundance proteins in the presence of high concentration protein mixtures, as low as 10 fmol/mul (S/N = 10) of a spiked peptide in 1 microg of digested BSA could be detected. In the analysis of a mixture of three digested proteins (BSA, myoglobin, and cytochrome c), more than twice the amino acid sequence coverage was obtained for the microchip LC-MALDI-MS compared to MALDI-MS alone.     

New glycomimetics: anomeric sulfonates, sulfenamides, and sulfonamides

The synthesis of a variety of new 1-thio-D-glucopyranose derivatives oxidized at the sulfur atom is described, including seven 1-C-sulfonic acids, three sulfonate esters, three sulfinate esters, an S,S'-diglycosyl thiolsulfonate and thiolsulfinate, four S-glycosyl sulfenamides, an S-glycosyl sulfinamide, and two S-glycosyl sulfonamides. These compounds possess unusual anomeric functionality that might be resistant or even inhibitory to normal enzymatic carbohydrate processing, and therefore, they may be of future use in studies of enzyme inhibition, structure, mechanism, and function.     

Short synthesis of octosyl nucleosides

[reaction: see text] Commercial 1,2:5,6-di-O-isopropylidene-alpha-d-allofuranose was converted to a protected bicyclic octosyl acid thioglycoside donor by a 10-step sequence that features an intramolecular ester enolate alkylation. Glycosylation of N-benzoyladenine and methyl uridine-5-carboxylate followed by deprotection gave the respective nucleosides "octosyl adenine" and octosyl acid A.     

Evaluation of sample preparation methods for elastomer digestion for further halogens determination

In this work, three sample preparation methods were evaluated for further halogen determination in elastomers containing high concentrations of carbon black. Samples of nitrile-butadiene rubber, styrene-butadiene rubber, and ethylene-propylene-diene monomer elastomers were decomposed using oxygen flask combustion and microwave-induced combustion (MIC) for further Br and Cl determination by ion chromatography (IC), inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP OES), and inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). Extraction assisted by microwave radiation in closed vessels was also evaluated using water or alkaline solution. Digestion by MIC was carried out using 50 mmol l⁻¹ (NH₄)₂CO₃ as the absorbing solution. The effect of the reflux step was also evaluated. Accuracy was evaluated using certified reference materials with polymeric matrix composition and by comparison of results using neutron activation analysis. Agreement for Br and Cl was better than 95% by MIC using 5 min of reflux, and no statistical difference was found using IC, ICP OES, and ICP-MS for determination of both analytes. For MIC, the relative standard deviation (RSD) was lower than 5%. Using extraction in closed vessels, a high amount of residues was observed, and recoveries were lower than 45% for both analytes. For oxygen flask combustion, the agreement was similar using MIC but RSD was higher (20%). The residual carbon content, an important parameter used to evaluate the digestion efficiency, was always below 1% for MIC. Using MIC, it was possible to digest elastomers with high efficiency, resulting in a single solution suitable for halogen determination by different techniques.     

High-resolution soft X-ray photoelectron spectroscopic studies and scanning auger microscopy studies of the air oxidation of alkylated silicon(111) surfaces

High-resolution soft X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy was used to investigate the oxidation of alkylated silicon(111) surfaces under ambient conditions. Silicon(111) surfaces were functionalized through a two-step route involving radical chlorination of the H-terminated surface followed by alkylation with alkylmagnesium halide reagents. After 24 h in air, surface species representing Si(+), Si(2+), Si(3+), and Si(4+) were detected on the Cl-terminated surface, with the highest oxidation state (Si(4+)) oxide signal appearing at +3.79 eV higher in energy than the bulk Si 2p(3/2) peak. The growth of silicon oxide was accompanied by a reduction in the surface-bound Cl signal. After 48 h of exposure to air, the Cl-terminated Si(111) surface exhibited 3.63 equivalent monoleyers (ML) of silicon oxides. In contrast, after exposure to air for 48 h, CH(3)-, C(2)H(5)-, or C(6)H(5)CH(2)-terminated Si surfaces displayed <0.4 ML of surface oxide, and in most cases only displayed approximately 0.20 ML of oxide. This oxide was principally composed of Si(+) and Si(3+) species with peaks centered at +0.8 and +3.2 eV above the bulk Si 2p(3/2) peak, respectively. The silicon 2p SXPS peaks that have previously been assigned to surface Si-C bonds did not change significantly, either in binding energy or in relative intensity, during such air exposure. Use of a high miscut-angle surface (7 degrees vs < or =0.5 degrees off of the (111) surface orientation) yielded no increase in the rate of oxidation nor change in binding energy of the resultant oxide that formed on the alkylated Si surfaces. Scanning Auger microscopy indicated that the alkylated surfaces formed oxide in isolated, inhomogeneous patches on the surface.