With the rapid development of network science, Turing pattern on complex networks has attracted extensive attention from researchers. In this paper, we focus on spatial patterns in multiplex ER (Erdös-Rényi) random networks, taking the predator-prey model with Allee effect and hyperbolic mortality as an example. In theory, the threshold condition for generating Turing pattern is given using the Turing instability theory of multiplex networks. Numerically, we design relevant experiments to explore the impact of network topology on Turing pattern. The factors considered include model parameters, diffusion rate, average degree of the network, and differences in the average degree of different layers. The results indicate that the importance of diffusion rate and network average degree for Turing pattern is affirmed on the single-layer network. For multiplex networks, the differentiation of average degrees in different layers controls the generation of Turing pattern, which is not affected by the diffusion rates of the two populations. More interestingly, we observe the switching of Turing pattern and spatiotemporal pattern. We believe that these findings contribute to a better understanding of self-organization on complex networks.

Due to the influence of bio-geographical and environmental factors, as well as anthropogenic landscape features, organism shows different reproductive strategies among different populations. There is lack of detailed information on the reproductive biology of Kentish plover Charadrius al-exandrinus in arid lands in Central Asia. In this study, we summarized the characteristics of the reproductive biology of three geographically distinct plover populations in Aibi Lake in the Northwestern Xinjiang, Taitema Lake in the Southern Xinjiang and artificial reservoirs around Urumqi City in Northern Xinjiang respectively, based on 440 eggs of 158 nests observed and ana-lyzed from April to July of 2019 and 2020. We find that there is no significant difference in clutch size among the three populations. However, the egg size of Taitema Lake population is signifi-cantly larger than those of the other two populations, whilst egg volume and clutch volume of ar-tificial reservoirs population are significantly larger than that of Aibi Lake. With the postpone-ment of laying date, the northern and northwestern populations respectively show the character-istics of small clutch size and relatively small egg size, and decrease of reproductive outputs. The heavier female plovers in Taitema Lake lays eggs earlier, and there was significantly positive cor-relation between the female body mass and the clutch size and egg size. The tarsometatarsus length of the female plovers was significantly positively correlated with the reproductive output in all three populations. The model selection results show that female body size and ambient tem-perature restrict the egg size and reproductive output of Kentish plovers, which is consistent with the upper limit hypothesis of the maternal condition and the maternal constraint. Our data sup-port that Kentish plover show distinct flexibility in breeding strategies to cope with the harsh nat-ural environment in arid lands of Xinjiang, China. The results of relatively high average clutch size and average egg size imply that saline wetlands in Western China are important breeding habitats for Kentish plover.

The origin of the nucleus remains a great mystery in life science, although nearly two centuries have passed since the discovery of nuclei. To date, studies of eukaryogenesis have focused largely on micro-evolutionary explanations. Here, we examined macro-patterns of C-values (the total amount of DNA within the haploid chromosome set of an organism) for over 110,000 species and the chromosome numbers for over 11,000 species and their potential links with the state of atmospheric oxidation over geological time. Eukaryogenesis was in sync with an over 2.5 order-of-magnitude increase in genome size from prokaryote to eukaryote, and also with a rapid rise of atmospheric oxidation, suggesting that eukaryogenesis would have resulted from a regime shift of genomes driven by the oxidation-driven complexification and structuralization (e.g. chromatin packing).

Thymus is an herbaceous perennials or subshrubs of the Lamiaceae family and is widely distributed worldwide. Essential oils extracted from thymus have attracted much attention owing to their potential biological functions. Here, we evaluated the chemical compositions of eight thyme essential oils (TEOs) using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry and assessed their antioxidant activity and in potential role in antibacterial and tumor therapy. The results showed that (1) the main components in eight TEOs were monoterpene hydrocarbons and oxygenated monoterpenes, and the chemical compositions of TEOs were affected by the specie factor; (2) eight TEOs could be divided into 3 groups (thymol-, geraniol-and nerol acetate-type), and thymol was main type; (3) eight TEOs had some common compounds, such as thymol and p-cymene, which were the main components in seven TEOs; (4) eight TEOs had antioxidant activit, and thymol-type EOs had strong antioxidant activity, while geraniol-type EOs had relatively weak antioxidant activity. In addition, it was found thymol had strong antibacterial activity against the growth of Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus, and antimigratory activity of A549 cell. Overall, our results can provide theoretical basis for further exploring the function of natural products from thyme essential oils.