Total Sums Research Articles

Vertex Coloring of Graphs by Total 2-Weightings

An assignment of weights to the edges and the vertices of a graph is a vertex-coloring total weighting if adjacent vertices have different total weight sums. Of interest in this paper are vertex-coloring total weightings with weight set of cardinality two, a problem motivated by the conjecture that every graph has such a weighting using the weights 1 and 2. Here we prove the existence of such weightings for certain families of graphs using any two different real weights. A related problem where all vertices have unique weight sums is also discussed.

The algorithm for Alzheimer risk assessment based on APOE promoter polymorphisms.

BackgroundOver the past two decades, the APOE gene and its polymorphisms have been among the most studied risk factors of Alzheimer disease (AD) development; yet, there are discrepancies between various studies regarding their impact. For this reason, the evaluation of the APOE genotype has not been included in the current European Federation of Neurological Societies guidelines for AD diagnosis and management. This aim of this study was to add to this discussion by assessing the possible influence of multiple polymorphisms in the promoter region of the APOE gene and genotypes of its allele E on the risk for dementia.MethodsWe performed a comprehensive analysis of APOE gene polymorphisms, assessed the detected genotypes and correlated molecular findings with serum apolipoprotein E concentrations. The study comprised 110 patients with AD and 110 age-matched healthy individuals from the Polish population.ResultsFour polymorphisms of the APOE gene had minor allele frequency exceeding 5 % and were included in the analysis: −491A/T (rs449647), −427T/C (rs769446), −219T/G (rs405509) in the promoter region and +113G/C (rs440446) in intron 1. A protective effect of the −219G allele on AD development was observed. Also, the −491T and −219G alleles were found to be underrepresented in the carriers of the APOE E4 variant. On the basis of the genotype and linkage disequilibrium studies, a relative score was attributed to given genotypes with respect to the estimated probability of their protective effects against AD, giving rise to the ‘preventive score’. This ‘preventive score’, based on the total sums of the relative scores, expresses the protective effect deriving from the synergistic action of individual single-nucleotide polymorphisms. The ‘preventive score’ was identified as an independent predictive factor.ConclusionsWe propose a novel, more complex approach to AD risk assessment based on the additive effect of multiple polymorphic loci within the APOE promoter region, which on their own may have too weak an impact to reach the level of significance. This has potentially practical implications, as it may help to improve the informative potential of APOE testing in a clinical setting. Subsequent studies of the proposed system in large, multi-ethnic cohorts are necessary for its validation and to assess its potential practical value for clinical applications.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s13195-016-0187-9) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Pollen profile of propolis produced on the eastern edge of the Sonoran Desert in central Sonora, Mexico

Se colectaron ocho muestras de propóleos de la región oriental del Desierto Sonorense en dos sitios (Pueblo de Álamos y Rancho Viejo, ubicados en Ures, Sonora, México) durante dos épocas del año (invierno y verano, 2012 y 2013) y fueron analizadas utilizando métodos palinológicos con el fin de determinar qué plantas fueron visitadas por las abejas para recolectar materia prima (resina, cera y polen) para formar los propóleos. El análisis polínico identificó un total de 42 tipos de polen. Seis muestras de propóleos fueron biflorales (muestras de verano e invierno) y dos multiflorales (muestras de invierno). Mimosa distachya var. laxiflora y Prosopis velutina fueron considerados los tipos polínicos característicos, con 15 a 45% de los conjuntos polínicos totales.

Analyzing allele specific RNA expression using mixture models

BackgroundMeasuring allele-specific RNA expression provides valuable insights into cis-acting genetic and epigenetic regulation of gene expression. Widespread adoption of high-throughput sequencing technologies for studying RNA expression (RNA-Seq) permits measurement of allelic RNA expression imbalance (AEI) at heterozygous single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) across the entire transcriptome, and this approach has become especially popular with the emergence of large databases, such as GTEx. However, the existing binomial-type methods used to model allelic expression from RNA-seq assume a strong negative correlation between reference and variant allele reads, which may not be reasonable biologically.ResultsHere we propose a new strategy for AEI analysis using RNA-seq data. Under the null hypothesis of no AEI, a group of SNPs (possibly across multiple genes) is considered comparable if their respective total sums of the allelic reads are of similar magnitude. Within each group of “comparable” SNPs, we identify SNPs with AEI signal by fitting a mixture of folded Skellam distributions to the absolute values of read differences. By applying this methodology to RNA-Seq data from human autopsy brain tissues, we identified numerous instances of moderate to strong imbalanced allelic RNA expression at heterozygous SNPs. Findings with SLC1A3 mRNA exhibiting known expression differences are discussed as examples.ConclusionThe folded Skellam mixture model searches for SNPs with significant difference between reference and variant allele reads (adjusted for different library sizes), using information from a group of “comparable” SNPs across multiple genes. This model is particularly suitable for performing AEI analysis on genes with few heterozygous SNPs available from RNA-seq, and it can fit over-dispersed read counts without specifying the direction of the correlation between reference and variant alleles.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12864-015-1749-0) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Comparison of the content of crude protein and amino acids in the whole bodies of cocks and hens of Ross 308 and Cobb 500 hybrids at the end of fattening

Dry matter (DM), crude protein (CP), and the content of individual amino acids (AA) were deter - mined in the bodies of Ross 308 and Cobb 500 hybrids including feathers after 40 days of fattening. Percentages for the content of individual AA were then calculated from the total sums of AA. The level of CP, irrespective of sex, was 453.16 ± 5.916 g/kg of DM for the Ross and 470.94 ± 5.404 g/kg of DM for the Cobb hybrid ( P ≤ higher values were found in cocks. Of the total sums of AA in DM of Ross broilers, the largest presence (here and after in %) was that of Glu (14.92), followed by Leu (8.80), Asp (8.73), Gly (8.71), Arg (7.21), Val (6.33), and Pro (6.09). The lowest contents were those of Met (2.41) and His (3.28). For the Cobb hybrid, the AA were Glu (13.90), Asp (9.12), Gly (8.48), Leu (8.43), Arg (7.48), Lys (6.44), and Pro (6.09). The AA lowest contents were those of Met (2.30) and His (3.16).

GGE Biplot Analysis of Multi-environment Yield Trials of Durum Wheat (Triticum turgidum Desf.) Genotypes in North Western Ethiopia

This experiment was done to identify the most stable durum wheat genotype(s) as well as desirable environment(s) for durum wheat ( Triticum turgidum var. durum Desf.) research in north western Ethiopia. Grain yield performance of the tested genotypes were evaluated at four locations (Adet, Debretabor, Gaint and Simada) using randomized complete block design with three replication for two consecutive years (2010 and 2011). Combined analysis of variance showed that grain yield was significantly affected by environments (E), genotypes (G) and GE interactions. The first two principal components (PC1 and PC2) were used to create a two - dimensional GGE biplot and explained 45.67% and 32.71 % of the total sums of squares of GE interaction, respectively. The ‘which - won where’ feature of the GGE biplot suggested that the existence of three durum wheat mega

Theoretical and experimental study on line intensities of CO2 and CO transitions near 1.5 μm at high temperatures

Accurate spectroscopic parameters of probed species, especially the line strengths at high temperatures, are important for combustion diagnosis based on tunable diode laser absorption spectroscopy (TDLAS). However, most of the line strengths in databases are measured at normal atmospheric temperature and calculated at high temperatures. For example, the mostly used HITRAN database focuses on atmospheric conditions where the temperature ranging from 200-350 K. The high-temperature parameters in HITRAN database are obtained by calculation and the temperatures are limited to 3000 K. In this paper the line strengths of 30012-00001 transition band of CO2 and 3-0 transition band of CO at normal temperature (300 K) and some high temperatures (400-6000 K) are calculated using our calculated partition function and experimental transition moment squared and Herman-Waills factor coefficients. The total internal partition sums (TIPS) are calculated for CO2 and CO with the product approximation of the vibrational and the rotational partition functions. The vibrational partition function is calculated in harmonic oscillator approximation. For rotational partition sums, the centrifugal distortion corrections are taken into consideration. In order to validate the calculation, a high-temperature measurement system based on TDLAS is developed using a DFB diode laser near 1.573 μm. High-resolution absorption spectra of CO2 and CO can be recorded in a heated cell as a function of temperature and pressure. The 9 lines of CO2 30012-00001 band and 2 lines of CO 3-0 band have been measured by means of direct absorption spectroscopy in the temperature range of 300-800 K. The corresponding line strengths are inferred from the measured direct absorption spectrum. The calculated result and experimental data are compared with the HITRAN values. The calculated and measured data agree well with the existing databases (HITRAN 2012), the discrepancies being less than 3% for most of the probed transitions. All the results confirm the validity of the calculation of total partition function and the line strengths calculated. The variation of the line strength as a function of temperature for a certain transition is also discussed. While the lower state energy determines the equilibrium molecular population in the unabsorbing state as a function of temperature, how the line strength of a particular transition varies with temperature can also be controlled.

Variability of seed quality traits in wild and semi-wild accessions of castor collected in Spain

The Mediterranean Basin is an important center of diversity for castor (Ricinus communis L.). We conducted seed collections from 121 wild and semi-wild (feral) populations growing in southern and eastern provinces of Spain. The objective of this research was to evaluate seed weight, oil content, fatty acid profile, and tocopherol and phytosterol contents and profiles in this germplasm collection at different environments. The seeds collected in the source locations as well as those produced in seed increases conducted in Córdoba (southern Spain) and Murcia (southeastern Spain) were analyzed. Analysis of variance considering three locations (source location, Córdoba, Murcia) and the genotypes was conducted. The contribution of genotype to total variation was particularly high for hundred-seed weight (89.8% of total sums of squares) and concentrations of Δ5-avenasterol (85.4%) and β-sitosterol (79.2%). Large variability was identified for most of the traits. The ranges of variation, averaged from data of at least two environments, were 11.6–59.1g for hundred-seed weight, 44.6–54.8% for oil content, 99.6–282.0mgkg−1 seed kernel for tocopherol content, 27.4–50.5% for the concentration of δ-tocopherol, 1090–2865mgkg−1 seed for phytosterol content, and 15.1–54.1% for the concentration of Δ5-avenasterol. Little variation was found for fatty acid profile. One accession (ALM-2011-37) showed exceptionally high phytosterol content and three accessions from the same locality (CAD-2010-26 through 28) had high levels of Δ5-avenasterol. The results emphasized the potential of wild and semi-wild germplasm for improving seed and oil quality in castor.

Annual sums of carbon dioxide exchange over a heterogeneous urban landscape through machine learning based gap-filling

A small, but growing, number of flux towers in urban environments measure surface–atmospheric exchanges of carbon dioxide by the eddy covariance method. As in all eddy covariance studies, obtaining annual sums of urban CO2 exchange requires imputation of data gaps due to low turbulence and non-stationary conditions, adverse weather, and instrument failures. Gap-filling approaches that are widely used for measurements from towers in natural vegetation are based on light and temperature response models. However, they do not account for key features of the urban environment including tower footprint heterogeneity and localized CO2 sources. Here, we present a novel gap-filling modeling framework that uses machine learning to select explanatory variables, such as continuous traffic counts and temporal variables, and then constrains models separately for spatially classified subsets of the data. We applied the modeling framework to a three year time series of measurements from a tall broadcast tower in a suburban neighborhood of Minneapolis-Saint Paul, Minnesota, USA. The gap-filling performance was similar to that reported for natural measurement sites, explaining 64% to 88% of the variability in the fluxes. Simulated carbon budgets were in good agreement with an ecophysiological bottom-up study at the same site. Total annual carbon dioxide flux sums for the tower site ranged from 1064 to 1382 g C m−2 yr−1, across different years and different gap-filling methods. Bias errors of annual sums resulting from gap-filling did not exceed 18 g C m−2 yr−1 and random uncertainties did not exceed ±44 g C m−2 yr−1 (or ±3.8% of the annual flux). Regardless of the gap-filling method used, the year-to-year differences in carbon exchange at this site were small. In contrast, the modeled annual sums of CO2 exchange differed by a factor of two depending on wind direction. This indicated that the modeled time series captured the spatial variability in both the biogenic and anthropogenic CO2 sources and sinks in a reproducible way. The gap-filling approach developed here may also be useful for inhomogeneous sites other than urban areas, such as logged forests or ecosystems under disturbance from fire or pests.

Abstract 3478: Differential level of L-homocysteic acid and lysophosphatidylcholine (16:0) in sera of patients with ovarian cancer

Abstract Ovarian cancer (OVC) is one of the most difficult cancers to detection in the early periods of its development. Therefore there have been numerous attempts to find a biomarker for OVC, but an accurate diagnostic marker is yet to be discovered. In this study, we profiled OVC candidate metabolites from serum to find potential diagnostic marker for OVC. Information of low-mass-ions (LMIs) in serum was obtained by using MALDI-TOF. MALDI-MS analysis of each serum sample was repeated six times in order to reduce experimental errors. Intensity of LMI mass peak was normalized using total peak area sums. Normalized intensity of LMI was used in principal component analysis-discriminant analysis (PCA-DA) to discriminate 142 OVC from 100 controls. LC-MS/MS was used to identify the selected LMIs. Extracted ion chromatogram (EIC) analysis was used to measure the relative quantity of candidate metabolite from the LMI mass peak areas. The concentration of common metabolite in serum was determined by ELISA. Top 20 LMI mass peaks with weigh factor over 0.05 were selected to separate OVC from controls. Among them two LMIs with 184.05 m/z and 496.30 m/z were identified as L-homocysteic acid (HCA) and lysophosphatidylcholine (LPC) (16:0), respectively. Relative quantity of LPC (16:0) was decreased in OVC serum (P=0.05), whereas the amount of HCA was significantly higher in OVC serum (P<0.001). HCA was not detected in 59 cases out of 63 controls, but most cases of OVC (16 out of 25) showed significantly higher amount of HCA. When the cutoff was 10 nmol/ml, sensitivity and specificity of HCA were 64.0% and 96.9%, respectively. Level of LPC (16:0) was significantly correlated with tumor grade (P=0.045). Both HCA and LPC (16:0) showed correlation with stage and tumor histology, but limited sample number could not assign the statistical significance. HCA alone showed a potential power of biomarker for OVC. Even the stratified screening including LPC (16:0) did not significantly increase the power for OVC screening, our present study showed that a good example of profiling of LMIs in serum can be useful to select and identify candidate metabolites for OVC screening. Citation Format: Yun Hwan Kim, Woong Ju, Seung Cheol Kim, Byong Chul Yoo. Differential level of L-homocysteic acid and lysophosphatidylcholine (16:0) in sera of patients with ovarian cancer. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 105th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2014 Apr 5-9; San Diego, CA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2014;74(19 Suppl):Abstract nr 3478. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2014-3478

Differential levels of L-homocysteic acid and lysophosphatidylcholine (16:0) in sera of patients with ovarian cancer.

Ovarian cancer (OVC) is one of the most difficult types of cancer to detect in the early stages of its development. There have been numerous attempts to identify a biomarker for OVC; however, an accurate diagnostic marker has yet to be identified. The present study profiled OVC candidate metabolites from the serum to identify potential diagnostic markers for OVC. Data regarding low-mass ions (LMIs) in the serum were obtained using matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization (MALDI)-time-of-flight analysis. MALDI-mass spectrometry (MS) analysis of each serum sample was repeated six times in order to reduce the likelihood of experimental errors. The intensity of the LMI mass peaks were normalized using total peak area sums. The normalized intensity of LMI was used in principal component analysis-discriminant analysis to differentiate between 142 patients with OVC and 100 healthy control participants. Liquid chromatography-MS/MS was used to identify the selected LMIs. Extracted ion chromatogram analysis was used to measure the relative quantity of candidate metabolites from the LMI mass peak areas. The concentration of common metabolites in the serum was determined using ELISA. The top 20 LMI mass peaks with a weigh factor over 0.05 were selected to distinguish between the patients with OVC and the controls. Among the LMIs, two with 184.05 and 496.30 m/z were identified as L-homocysteic acid (HCA) and lysophosphatidylcholine (LPC) (16:0), respectively. The relative quantity of LPC (16:0) was found to be decreased in the OVC serum (P=0.05), while the quantity of HCA was observed to be significantly higher in the OVC serum (P<0.001). HCA was not detected in 59 cases out of the 63 control participants; however, the majority of the cases of OVC (16/25) exhibited significantly higher quantities of HCA. When the cutoff was 10 nmol/ml, the sensitivity and specificity of HCA were 64.0 and 96.9%, respectively. The level of LPC (16:0) was significantly correlated with tumor grade (P=0.045). HCA and LPC (16:0) showed correlation with stage and tumor histology, but the limited sample size resulted in a lack of statistical significance. The findings of the present study suggest that HCA may have potential to be a biomarker for OVC. The stratified screening including LPC (16:0) did not significantly increase the power for OVC screening; however, the present study showed that profiling LMIs in serum may be useful for identifying candidate metabolites for OVC screening.

Translation, adaptation and validation of a Portuguese version of the Moorehead-Ardelt Quality of Life Questionnaire II.

The prevalence of obesity has increased worldwide. An assessment of the impact of obesity on health-related quality of life (HRQoL) requires specific instruments. The Moorehead-Ardelt Quality of Life Questionnaire II (MA-II) is a widely used instrument to assess HRQoL in morbidly obese patients. The objective of this study was to translate and validate a Portuguese version of the MA-II.The study included forward and backward translations of the original MA-II. The reliability of the Portuguese MA-II was estimated using the internal consistency and test-retest methods. For validation purposes, the Spearman's rank correlation coefficient was used to evaluate the correlation between the Portuguese MA-II and the Portuguese versions of two other questionnaires, the 36-item Short Form Health Survey (SF-36) and the Impact of Weight on Quality of Life-Lite (IWQOL-Lite).One hundred and fifty morbidly obese patients were randomly assigned to test the reliability and validity of the Portuguese MA-II. Good internal consistency was demonstrated by a Cronbach's alpha coefficient of 0.80, and a very good agreement in terms of test-retest reliability was recorded, with an overall intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) of 0.88. The total sums of MA-II scores and each item of MA-II were significantly correlated with all domains of SF-36 and IWQOL-Lite. A statistically significant negative correlation was found between the MA-II total score and BMI. Moreover, age, gender and surgical status were independent predictors of MA-II total score.A reliable and valid Portuguese version of the MA-II was produced, thus enabling the routine use of MA-II in the morbidly obese Portuguese population.

A step forward using QuEChERS (Quick, Easy, Cheap, Effective, Rugged, and Safe) based extraction and gas chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry—levels of priority polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in wild and commercial mussels

A new and fully validated QuEChERS (Quick, Easy, Cheap, Effective, Rugged, and Safe) extraction and gas chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry methodology was developed and subsequently implemented for the quantification of 16 polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in wild (from Matosinhos Beach, Portugal) and commercial (from Ria de Arousa, Spain) mussels. The method proved to be robust, precise, and accurate, with recoveries ranging from 89.2 to 111.8%. Total sums of 16 PAHs were 52.91 and 37.58ng/g of wet weight for wild and commercial specimens, respectively. The three- to four-ring PAHs were the most abundant, and a mixture of petrogenic and pyrolytic sources were suspected to occur in both origin areas. Although the contamination levels were below the European regulated limits, specifically for commercial mussels (this despite wild specimens are also consumed), care should be taken in terms of human health, since we are still not aware of the low-dose versus long-term effects, even more in high-risk population groups.

Fruit characteristics and fatty acid composition in advanced olive breeding selections along the ripening period

Changes in olive growing techniques in the last years have shown the need for new bred cultivars able to replace the traditional ones today cultivated. In this work, seven new advanced selections recently obtained in the olive breeding program of Córdoba, Spain, and coming from crosses between ‘Arbequina’ and ‘Picual’ were evaluated for fruit traits and oil quality parameters. Fruit weight, oil and moisture content, ripening index, fruit removal force and fatty acid composition were analyzed once a month over the ripening season from September to December over two consecutive years. Analysis of variance showed that the genotype effect was the main contributor to the total sums of squares for most of the traits evaluated. However, high influence of year, harvest date and interactions was also observed in some cases. Significant differences between cultivars were observed for all the evaluated characters. Ranking correlations indicate that the evaluation in a single common harvest date could be a reliable indicator for a correct classification of advanced olive selections for the traits considered. This would avoid the need for repeated measurements throughout the season or for collection of samples at a common ripening index for comparison. The correlations observed among fruit characteristics and fatty acids could be of interest in future breeding programs for those traits and some of them confirm previous results with seedling progenies and other breeding selections. Among all the selections evaluated, UC-I-42-48 seems promising for its good fruit size, oil content and low fruit removal force. Additionally UC-I-2-35 could be highlighted for its high oleic acid content, although further evaluation will be carried out in the future to obtain a complete commercial evaluation under different environmental conditions.

The Efficacy of Extracorporeal Magnetic Stimulation for Treatment of Chronic Prostatitis/Chronic Pelvic Pain Syndrome Patients Who Do Not Respond to Pharmacotherapy

To investigate the effect of extracorporeal magnetic stimulation (EMS) on symptoms of chronic prostatitis/chronic pelvic pain syndrome (CP/CPPS) in men who did not respond to pharmacotherapy. Patients with chronic pelvic pain and/or voiding symptoms in the absence of urinary tract infection for at least 3 months in spite of medication were included in this study. All patients underwent EMS for 6 weeks for a total of 12 sessions. The primary endpoint was the changes in total and pain scores of the National Institutes of Health Chronic Prostatitis Symptom Index (NIH-CPSI) at 24 weeks after treatment. Patients were also evaluated by International Prostate Symptom Score (IPSS), voiding diary, Benefit Satisfaction and Willingness (BSW) questionnaire, and patient perception of symptom improvement (PPSI). A total of 46 men were included, and data from 37 patients who completed this study were analyzed. The baseline vs 24 weeks mean NIH-CPSI score was total score 25.0 ± 6.9 vs 15.6 ± 7.7, pain score 11.8 ± 3.7 vs 6.9 ± 4.7 (all P<.05). Total and subdomain sums of IPSS improved significantly after treatment, and the improvements were maintained until 24 weeks. Patient voiding diaries demonstrated a tendency toward a decrease in all subdomains after treatment. In BSW, >70% of patients reported positive answers to each domain at 24 weeks after treatment. PPSI measured by the visual analog scale was maintained from immediately after treatment until 24 weeks. EMS offers a new treatment option for patients with CP/CPPS who do not respond to pharmacotherapy.

Precision Timing of the ATLAS Level-1 Calorimeter Trigger: From Beam Splashes to High Luminosity Proton–Proton Collisions

The ATLAS Level-1 Calorimeter Trigger uses trigger tower signals from the ATLAS calorimeter as input. In real-time, it identifes high-pT objects, determines total and missing transverse energy sums and assigns bunch-crossing identification. Reliable operation requires collision signals to be synchronised at the nanosecond level. This timing was first established through the analysis of beam splash events and subsequently refined with data from LHC proton–proton collisions. In this contribution, details of the timing synchronization method as well as selected results from the timing adjustments are presented.

Note Light as a factor affecting the concentration of simple organics in the traps of aquatic carnivorous Utricularia species

Rootless aquatic carnivorous Utricularia plants exude significant amounts of photosynthates into the trap fluid, where they have been shown to support complex microbial commensal communities. Using ion chro- matography, the composition of four groups of easily metabolised, carbon-rich organic compounds (sugars, sugar alcohols, amino acids and organic acids) was investigated in trap fluid collected from three aquatic Utricularia spe- cies, U. vulgaris, U. reflexa and U. stygia, for different trap ages, irradiance levels during plant growth and for expo- sure to periods of darkness. The total sum of the concentrations of the four groups of organic compounds in the trap fluid ranged within 14 - 42 mg l -1 in greenhouse-grown U. vulgaris, compared to 9.0 -14 mg l -1 in U. reflexa . The concentrations of organic compounds were significantly higher in younger traps than in the older traps of U. vulgar- is grown at high irradiance. Within the same trap age categories in U. vulgaris, the group concentrations of sugars, organic acids, and total sums of analysed compounds were significantly higher in plants growing at high irradiance when compared with those grown in the shade. Dark exposure of cut traps for 1- 2 d significantly decreased the concentrations of sugars and organic acids in the fluid. The total sum of organic compounds in traps of U. stygia grown outdoors (78.3 ± 19.2 mg l -1 ) was much higher than that in 'middle aged' traps of U. vulgaris (49.2 ± 4.2 mg l -1 ), grown under the same conditions. It may be concluded that the concentrations of organic compounds in the trap fluid of aquatic Utricularia are species specific, subject to rapid turnover and depend significantly on various endogenous (trap age) or exogenous factors (water chemistry, irradiance).

How the Order of Response Options in a Running Tally Can Affect Online Survey Estimates

In the design of online surveys, running tallies or constant sums are used to help respondents sum up the allocation of amounts so that the total sums to 100%. We hypothesized that for time allocation, the order of the presentation of the time categories could make a difference in the distribution of reported time spent. We expected primacy effects, with the first-presented time category having a higher allocation of time than the later-presented options. An experiment was conducted with a general population adult sample from KnowledgePanel®. In the experiment, respondents were asked to provide running tallies of the percentage of television they typically watch during the morning, afternoon, and evening (separately for weekdays and weekends). The order of the categories was rotated. Primacy effects were detected, however differences by position were small and not statistically significant. Because time spent watching TV is a regular activity, viewing patterns are more likely to be encoded or ingrained in memory, and more likely to be reported reliably, with responses less susceptible to order effects.

The costs of phenotypic adaptation to repeatedly fluctuating temperatures in a soil arthropod

Costs of phenotypic adaptation to changing environments have often been studied in morphological structures. Such structures typically are irreversible for at least some stage in the organism's life. In this study we investigated whether recurrent and reversible adaptation to changes in the thermal environment incurs a cost in terms of some key life-history traits in the collembolan Orchesella cincta. We exposed juvenile O. cincta to two treatments differing in the frequency of temperature fluctuation but with equal total temperature sums. In the high frequency treatment temperature fluctuated daily between 10 and 20 °C, while in the low frequency treatment temperature fluctuated on a weekly schedule. During the treatments we measured juvenile growth rate and juvenile mortality, and after six weeks the animals were transferred to constant 15 °C and adult starvation resistance was assessed. We found no significant differences between the treatments in juvenile growth rate or juvenile survival. Also, adults that had grown up under high frequency temperature fluctuations did not suffer from reduced starvation resistance compared to animals growing under low frequency temperature fluctuations. This finding supports the hypothesis that selection minimizes the production costs of inducible phenotypes and suggests that the development of optimal phenotypes and evolution of temperature reaction norms are not constrained by such costs.

Grain concentrations of protein and mineral nutrients in a large collection of spelt wheat grown under different environments

A large number of spelt wheat genotypes (ranging from 373 to 772) were evaluated for grain concentrations of protein and mineral nutrients under 6 different environments. There was a substantial genotypic variation for the concentration of mineral nutrients in grain and also for the total amount of nutrients per grain (e.g., content). Zinc (Zn) showed the largest genotypic variation both in concentration (ranging from 19 to 145 mg kg −1) and content (ranging from 0.4 to 4.1 μg per grain). The environment effect was the most important source of variation for grain protein concentration (GPC) and for many mineral nutrients, explaining between 37 and 69% of the total sums of squares. Genotype by environment (G × E) interaction accounted for between 17 and 58% of the total variation across the minerals. GPC and sulfur correlated very significantly with iron (Fe) and Zn. Various spelt genotypes have been identified containing very high grain concentrations of Zn (up to 70 mg kg −1), Fe (up to 60 mg kg −1) and protein (up to 30%) and showing high stability across various environments. The results indicated that spelt is a highly promising source of genetic diversity for grain protein and mineral nutrients, particularly for Zn and Fe.