Kinetics of cometabolic degradation of 2-chlorophenol and phenol by Pseudomonas putida

In order to address the complex cometabolic degradation of toxic compounds, batch experiments on the biodegradation of 2-chlorophenol （2-CP） and phenol by Pseudomonas putida were carried out. The experimental results show that 2-CP has an inhibitory effect on cell growth and phenol degradation, which demonstrates that the interaction between substrates affects cell growth and substrate degradation. A kinetic model of cell growth and substrate transformation was also developed. The square of the correlation coefficient from the experiment was 0.97, indicating that this model properly simulates the cometabolic degradation of 2-CP and phenol.

Parallel Multicore CSB Format and Its Sparse Matrix Vector Multiplication

Sparse Matrix Vector Multiplication (SpMV) is one of the most basic problems in scientific and engineering computations. It is the basic operation in many realms, such as solving linear systems or eigenvalue problems. Nowadays, more than 90 percent of the world’s highest performance parallel computers in the top 500 use multicore architecture. So it is important practically to design the efficient methods of computing SpMV on multicore parallel computers. Usually, algorithms based on compressed sparse row (CSR) format suffer from a number of nonzero elements on each row so hardly as to use the multicore structure efficiently. Compressed Sparse Block (CSB) format is an effective storage format which can compute SpMV efficiently in a multicore computer. This paper presents a parallel multicore CSB format and SpMV based on it. We carried out numerical experiments on a parallel multicore computer. The results show that our parallel multicore CSB format and SpMV algorithm can reach high speedup, and they are highly scalable for banded matrices.

Effect of combined scalp and body acupuncture on Parkinson’s disease:A randomized clinical trial

Objective:To observe the therapeutic effect of combined scalp and body acupuncture on the motor symptoms in Parkinson’s disease(PD),and on the score of levodopa equivalent dose(LED).Methods:This is a randomized,single blind trial.Sixty-six patients with PD were randomized into an acupuncture+medication group(33 patients)and a medication group(33 patients).The patients were aware of allocation and the assessors were blinded to group assignment and therapeutic regimen.AntiPD drugs were administered in both groups.In the acupuncture+medication group,scalp and body acupuncture therapy was added.Treatments were applied for 8 weeks.In scalp acupuncture,the anterior oblique line of the vertex-temporal(MS6),lateral line 1 of the vertex(MS8),lateral line 2 of the vertex(MS9),and lower-lateral line of the occiput(MS14)were selected.In the body acupuncture,the acupoints included Bǎihuì(百会GV20),Sìshéncōng(四神聪EX-HN1),and Dàzhuī(大椎GV14),as well as the bilateral Fēngchí(风池GB20),Nèiguān(内关PC6),Hégǔ(合谷LI4),Gānshū(肝俞BL18),Shènshū(肾俞BL23),Yánglíngquán(阳陵泉GB34),Zúsānlǐ(足三里ST36),Fēnglóng(丰隆ST40),Sānyīnjiāo(三阴交SP6),Tàixī(太溪KI3),and Tàichōng(太冲LR3).Before and after treatments,the unified Parkinson’s disease rating scale(UPDRS),3section of the UPDRS(UPDRS-Ⅲ),and motor dysfunction rating scale for Parkinson’s disease(MDRSPD)were scored in the patients.The therapeutic effect of traditional Chinese medicine(TCM)and LED score were compared between both groups.Results:Thirty-three cases were included in data analysis in each group.After treatment,UPDRS scores were(28.77±8.85)and(36.58±10.16)points,UPDRS-Ⅲscores were(12.16±1.97)and(17.47±2.93)points and MDRSPD scores were(15.56±3.31)and(19.13±4.87)points in the acupuncture+medication and medication groups respectively.The UPDRS,UPDRS-Ⅲ,and MDRSPD scores all reduced after treatments in both groups(all P<0.05).All three scores were lower in the acupuncture+medication group than in the medication group(all P<0.05).When examining the therapeutic effects of TCM,the total effective rate was 87.88%in the acupuncture+medication group and 75.76%in the medication group(P<0.05).After treatment,the LED scores were(387.55±146.24)points and(437.42±183.16)points in the acupuncture+medication and medication groups,respectively.The LED dose differences before and after treatment for the acupuncture+medication and medication groups were(40.36±16.33)points and(95.88±35.79)points,respectively.The LED scores in both groups were higher than the pre-treatment scores(P<0.05).However,the post-treatment LED score was lower in the acupuncture+medication group than in the medication group(P<0.05),as was the dose difference before and after treatment(P<0.05).No relevant adverse reaction was found in each group.Conclusion:In addition to anti-PD medication,the scalp and body acupuncture may effectively relieve the motor symptoms of PD and improve the control of LED score.

The influence of female age on male mating preference and reproductive success in cabbage beetle, Colaphellus bowringi

The influence of female age on male mating preference and reproductive success has been studied using a promiscuous cabbage beetle, Colaphellus bowringi Baly （Coleoptera： Chrysomelidae）. In a simultaneous choice test, middle-aged females had significantly greater mating success than young and old females. In single pair trials, when paired with middle-aged virgin males, middle-aged females mated faster, copulated longer, and had greater fecundity and fertility than young or old females, while the longevity of males was not significantly affected by female age. This study on C. bowringi suggests that middle-aged females are more receptive to mating, which can result in the highest male reproductive success.

Comparison of sexual compatibility in crosses between the southern and northern populations of the cabbage beetle Colaphellus bowringi

It is widely accepted that the genetic divergence and reproductive incompat- ibility between closely related species and/or populations is often viewed as an important step toward speciation. In this study, sexual compatibility in crosses between the southern XS population and the northern TA population of the polyandrous cabbage beetle Co- laphellus bowringi was investigated by testing their mating preferences, mating latency, copulation duration, and reproductive performances of post-mating. In choice mating ex- periments, the percentages ofmatings were significantly higher in intra-population crosses than in inter-population crosses. Both isolation index （/） and index of pair sexual isolation （/PSi） indicated partial mating incompatibility or assortative mating in crosses between the two different geographical populations. In single pair mating experiments, XS females in inter-population crosses mated significantly later and copulated significantly shorter than those in intra-population crosses. However, TA females in inter-population crosses mated significantly earlier and copulated longer than those in intra-population crosses, suggesting that larger XS males may enhance heterotypic mating. The lifetime fecundity was highest in XS homotypic matings, lowest in TA homotypic matings, and intermedi- ate in heterotypic rnatings between their parents. The inter-population crosses resulted in significantly lower egg hatching rate and shorter female longevity than intra-population crosses. These results demonstrated that there exist some incompatibilities in premating, postmating-prezygotic, and postzygotic stages between the southern XS population and northern TA population of the cabbage beetle Colaphellus bowringi.