Scarcity, growth and R&D

The limits to economic growth due to resource scarcity can be alleviated only by the development of backstop substitutes. This paper combines resource-based economic growth with R&D to reduce the cost of backstop technologies. Characterizing the entire dynamics of optimal growth and R&D processes, we find that an economy's growth prospects depend on its type, as determined by its production technology and learning ability, and by its knowledge–capital endowment. A wide variety of growth patterns emerges, ranging from cases in which an economy that without R&D eventually stagnates (converges to a steady state) is diverted by R&D onto a path of sustained growth, to cases in which R&D is not warranted. Resource scarcity is shown to encourage R&D due to the increased reliance on the backstop technology.     

穿龙薯蓣、黄山药和盾叶薯蓣psbA-trnH片段序列分析

为研究薯蓣叶绿体psbA-trnH片段遗传多样性,探讨该片段用于中药穿龙薯蓣、黄山药和盾叶薯蓣种间分子鉴别和系统学研究中的意义,我们对不同类群薯蓣种的叶绿体psbA-trnH基因间区进行PCR扩增并测序,获得了该区间的完整序列,所得序列用软件MEGA3.0进行相关分析.穿龙薯蓣的psbA-trnH片段全长274bp,黄山药全长279bp,盾叶薯蓣植物个体内的叶绿体DNA则有两种psbA-trnH片段,长度分别为241bp和503bp.经MEGA3.0软件分析,3种薯蓣种间psbA-trnH片段序列的遗传距离(p-distance)为0.00350~0.04545,各个薯蓣种内的不同类群该序列无差异.用UPGMA法根据psbA-trnH序列的遗传距离建立系统发生树,聚类结果和形态分类相符.所得结果显示,psbA-trnH片段序列在所研究的3种薯蓣种内保守,在种间具有明显的较大差异,而3种薯蓣及薯蓣属的系统发生关系尚须进一步研究.图3表2参6     

识别黄山药、穿龙薯蓣和盾叶薯蓣的分子标记建立

在对黄山药、穿龙薯蓣和盾叶薯蓣的psbA-trnH片段序列分析的基础上,根据3种薯蓣在该片段上的特征序列位点设计了用于识别3种薯蓣的寡核苷酸片段,并作为PCR反应的引物,将3种薯蓣的特征标记引物与psbAf-trn-Hr配合使用建立了识别3种薯蓣的显性和共显性两种检测方式,辅以NaOH碱法快速提取薯蓣干燥根茎总DNA,为3种薯蓣相互间快速、准确的鉴别创造了条件.图3表2参9     

Stability,resonance and role of turbulent stresses in 1D alluvial flows

Environmental Fluid Mechanics - Linear stability analysis is used to investigate the behavior of small perturbations of a uniform flow in a straight channel with an erodible bed composed by a...     

Mitochondrial DNA analysis of the genetic relationships among populations of scad mackerel (Decapterus macarellus, D. macrosoma, and D. russelli) in South-East Asia

The genetic relationships among South-East Asian populations of the scad mackerels Decapterus macarellus, D. macrosoma and D. russelli (Pisces: Carangidae) were investigated. In 1995 and 1996, 216 fish were sampled in seven localities spanning the seas of Indonesia and were examined for restriction-site polymorphisms using ten restriction enzymes for the mitochondrial (mt) DNA control region, amplified by the polymerase chain-reaction. The inferred phylogeny of haplotypes led to the recognition of three distinct mitochondrial lineages or phylads consistent with the distinctions of current taxonomy. All 15 mtDNA haplotypes found in D. macarellus and all 9 haplotypes found in D. macrosoma were arranged as star-like clusters, suggesting recent evolutionary history. In contrast, the phylad formed by 6 haplotypes in D. russelli from the Sulawesi Sea exhibited diffuse topology, suggesting that ancestral lineages of this species have been retained to the present. Average nucleotide-divergence estimates between haplotypes of different phylads were between 0.042 and 0.135, suggesting ancient separation, in consistency with published allozyme data. High levels of haplotype diversity, but no geographical heterogeneity, was detected within D. macarellus from the Molucca Sea and the Banda Sea. Populations of D. macrosoma exhibited both significant differences between adjacent regions (Sunda Strait and Java Sea), and broadscale genetic homogeneity from the South China Sea to the Sulawesi Sea via the Java Sea and Makassar Strait. The geographic isolation of the D. macrosoma population sampled in the Sunda Strait suggests that this region constitute a sharp transition zone between the Indian Ocean and the Sunda Shelf. Near-monomorphism of haplotypes and low nucleotide diversity (d _X) were observed in the samples of D. macrosoma from the continental shelf (haplotype-diversity estimates, h, = 0.00 to 0.25 ± 0.08 and d _X = 0.000 to 0.002). This was in contrast to the comparatively high haplotype and nucleotide diversities observed in other pelagic fish species including D. macarellus (h = 0.82 ± 0.05, d _X = 0.012 to 0.015) and D. russelli (h = 0.63 ± 0.12, d _X = 0.016), and in the oceanic D. macrosoma population sampled in the Sunda Strait (h = 0.67 ± 0.31, d _X = 0.005). We hypothesise that this may be the consequence of recent and perhaps repeated bottleneck events that have affected the D. macrosoma population sampled on the continental shelf. Received: 29 September 1997 / Accepted: 3 September 1999     

Upper temperature tolerances of some European molluscs II. Donax vittatus,D. semistriatus and D. trunculus

The upper temperature tolerances of 3 European species of Donax [D. vittatus (da Costa), D. semistriatus Poli, D. trunculus L.] are compared by means of median lethal temperatures (LT₅₀) and median burial temperature (BT₅₀) determinations for periods of exposure up to 96 h. The influence of previous acclimation temperatures on these determinations is also considered. D. trunculus shows the greatest thermal tolerance, reflecting its distribution in shallower water; D. vittatus and D. semistriatus display much closer thermal tolerances, although D. semistriatus which has a more southerly geographical distribution has a slightly higher thermal tolerance. All 3 species exhibit a significant effect of previous acclimation temperature, the effect on the burrowing responses being greater than that on LT₅₀.     

Sex in the beach: spermatophores, dermal insemination and 3D sperm ultrastructure of the aphallic mesopsammic Pontohedyle milaschewitchii (Acochlidia, Opisthobranchia, Gastropoda)

Sperm transfer via spermatophores is common among organisms living in mesopsammic environments, and is generally considered to be an evolutionary adaptation to reproductive constraints in this habitat. However, conclusions about adaptations and trends in insemination across all interstitial taxa cannot be certain as differences in mode of insemination via spermatophores do exist, details of insemination are lacking for many species, and evolutionary relationships in many cases are poorly known. Opisthobranch gastropods typically transfer sperm via reciprocal copulation, but many mesopsammic Acochlidia are aphallic and transfer sperm via spermatophores, supposedly combined with dermal fertilisation. The present study investigates structural and functional aspects of sperm transfer in the Mediterranean microhedylacean acochlid Pontohedyle milaschewitchii. We show that spermatophore attachment is imprecise. We describe the histology and ultrastructure of the two-layered spermatophore and discuss possible functions. Using DAPI staining of the (sperm-) nuclei, we document true dermal insemination in situ under the fluorescence microscope. Ultrastructural investigation and computer-based 3D reconstruction from TEM sections visualise the entire spermatozoon including the exceptionally elongate, screw-like keeled sperm nucleus. An acrosomal complex was not detected. From their special structure and behaviour we conclude that sperm penetrate epithelia, tissues and cells mechanically by drilling rather than lysis. Among opisthobranchs, dermal insemination is limited to mesopsammic acochlidian species. In this spatially limited environment, a rapid though imprecise and potentially harmful dermal insemination is discussed as a key evolutionary innovation that could have enabled the species diversification of microhedylacean acochlidians.     

香港地区大气降水的D和18O同位素研究

研究了香港地区近20 a(1986-2002)大气降水的氢、氧同位素组成,提出了大气降水线方程为6D=8.13δ18O+11.392,并与全国及全球降水线方程进行对比,揭示了该方程的特征.对全年氘盈余及降水线特征的研究表明.香港地区全年降水来源较为单一,主要为海洋性气团,夏季大气降水同位素组成主要受夏季风或夏季台风的影响,加权平均月降水6值与月降水、月气温均呈负相关关系;降水中δD与δ18O的降水量效应明显.且该影响远远掩盖了温度效应.     

Digit ratio (2D:4D) and dominance rank in female rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta)

Female rhesus macaques exhibit matrilineal dominance structures, and high dominance rank confers fitness benefits across a lifetime and across generations. Rank effects are “inherited” through social processes that are well understood; however, biological mechanisms that might impact these processes are not well known. Recently, it has been shown that prenatal androgens appear to be implicated in supporting dominance rank hierarchies in some mammals. In humans, interindividual differences in the second (index) to fourth (ring) digit ratio (2D:4D) have been linked indirectly to variation in prenatal androgens, with low 2D:4D in both sexes associated with higher inferred prenatal androgen effects. 2D:4D has also been related to dominant social behavior and has been shown to co-vary with social systems across nonhuman primate species. Here, we investigate how 2D:4D co-varies with socially inherited dominance rank in female rhesus macaques. Low 2D:4D was associated with higher-ranking females, while higher 2D:4D was associated with lower-ranking females. Similar relationships were also shown between ranked families within matrilines. This is the first study to show such a relationship between 2D:4D and dominance rank in a nonhuman primate and suggests that prenatal androgen effects could be involved in the maintenance of dominance rank in female cercopithecine primates.     

Energetics,moult cycle and ecdysteroid titers in spider crab (Hyas araneus) larvae starved after the D0 threshold

Zoea I larvae of Hyas araneus L. (Decapoda: Brachyura: Majidae) were dredged in January 1986 from the German Bight and reared in the laboratory at constant 12°C, until they reached the transition of stages C/D₀ of the moult cycle (4 d after hatching). This developmental stage had previously been found to correspond with the point of reserve saturation (PRS) which allows autonomous (food-independent) development through the rest of the moult cycle and hence, was termed the D₀ threshold. One part of the larvae was continually fed (control), another group was starved from the D₀ threshold until moulting to the zoea II instar. In these two experimental groups, as well as in the two groups of zoea II larvae obtained from the different feeding conditions, the course of the moult cycle, biomass (dry weight, W; carbon, C; nitrogen, N; hydrogen, H; energy, E; the latter estimated from C), and ecdysteroid titers (measured with a radio-immuno-assay as ecdysone equivalents) were investigated. When the larvae reached the PRS, they had gained 90% in W, 72% in C, 32% in N, 53% in H, and 65% in E, since hatching, corresponding to an accumulation of 87% of final W and 62 to 69% of C, N, and H reached later, at the end of the mould cycle in the control. The period of starvation caused a 2.5-d delay of the moult cycle, mainly in late premoult, and significant losses of biomass and energy. Starved and fed larvae secreted similar amounts of moulting hormone per individual, but with a reduced rate in the starved group, thus causing developmental delay. Zoea II larvae moulting after starvation contained less than half of the control biomass and energy, and even less than a freshly hatched zoea I. Growth rate was only slightly enhanced in these zoea II larvae as compared to the fed control, but losses of biomass, mainly of lipids, were partly compensated by a 4-d prolongation of their moult cycle, chiefly (3 d) in stage C. Biomass curves were almost parallel in the two experimental groups of zoea II larvae, with significantly higher values in the control during all stages of the moult cycle. However, similar relative proportions (74 to 89%) of late premoult biomass and energy were reached at the D₀ threshold, regardless of different feeding history and initial or final values in a given group. The ecdysteroid titer curve of the zoea II which had moulted from starved zoea I was very similar to that in control larvae, but with a 3-d delay in the occurrence of premoult peak concentration (in both groups in stage D₁). Regulation and coordination of moult cycle, ecdysteroid titers, and growth in the larval development of decapod crustaceans are discussed, with special reference to the D₀ threshold.     

Porphyrobacter sp.D22F的降解特性及其在石油降解菌群中的生态位

为揭示多环芳烃(Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons,PAHs)降解微生物资源的多样性和石油降解菌群的优势菌,研究了从南海沉积物中分离得到的一株PAHs降解菌D22F的降解特性及其在石油降解菌群D22-1中的生态位.对菌株D22F进行16S rRNA基因同源性分析及透射电镜观察以初步确定其种属,通过培养法、气相色谱质谱联用(GC-MS)测定其多环芳烃降解范围和降解率,通过简并引物PCR扩增其PAHs双加氧酶大亚基基因片段并进行系统发育分析,采用变性梯度凝胶电泳(DGGE)监测石油降解菌群中的优势菌.结果表明,与菌株D22F的16S rRNA基因相似度最高的模式株为产卟啉杆菌属Porphyrobacter tepidarius DSM 10594T(AF465839;98.55%).该菌株能降解萘、甲基萘、苊、硫芴、菲、蒽等;对初始浓度为0.2 g/L菲10 d后的降解率可达90%以上.从其基因组DNA中克隆到的PAHs起始双加氧酶大亚基基因phnAc与Novosphingobium aromaticivorans DSM 12444中的质粒pNL1(CP000676)上的bphA1f基因相似度最高,达到99.41%.DGGE谱图显示,菌株D22F是石油降解菌群中的3种优势菌之一,在传代菌群中可稳定存在.Porphyrobacter sp.D22F为产卟啉杆菌属(Porphyrobacter)中首株以低分子量PAHs为唯一碳源和能源的菌株,是石油降解菌群的优势菌.     

Biologische Detektionsverfahren in der Dünnschichtchromatographie

The goal of this work is to make ecotoxicologically-relevant substance bands visible on thin-layer chromatographic plates. Bacteria (Bacillus subtilis, Vibrio fischeri, Salmonella typhimurium), fungi (Aspergillus niger), algi (Pseudokirchneriella subcapitata) and pollen (Impatiens walleriana) were used as test organisms. With the aid of these organisms, it has been possible to identify bactericide, fungicide, algicide, phytotoxic and genotoxic bands.     

Ein Moosbiomonitoring zur Ermittlung atmosphärischer Elementeinträge in die Euroregion Neiße (D, PL, CZ)

This article describes a biomonitoring using mosses in order to determine the amount and distribution of the atmospheric deposition of 37 elements in the European region of the Neisse river following the political and economic changes. These results are compared with the findings in other regions. Additionally, the accumulation characteristics ofPleurozium schreberi andPolytrichum formosum, the two moss species used in the study, were compared with one another. Until the beginning of the 1990s, this region was part of the socalled “black triangle”, an area characterised by extremely high atmospheric dust pollution. Through the closing of numerous factories, the equipment of power plants with filters, and the decreasing importance of brown coal as a source of household heating, the situation has changed considerably. Today, the pollution levels in the European region of the Neisse river are comparable with those in the western part of Germany. Higher levels were only determined for Fe and Ti, which can be attributed to the broader usage of brown coal as a source of energy. In the area around Katowice, Poland, the levels of certain elements were found to be more than ten times higher than in the European region of the Neisse. These highly elevated levels of atmospheric contamination in the industrial district of Upper Silesia indicate that action is urgently needed.     

Recent advances in 2D nanopores for desalination

Water shortage is a major problem facing the world today, although 70% of the earth is covered with water. With 95% of this water in seas and oceans, man has to find the most energy-efficient way of desalination for sustainable freshwater supply. Conventional desalination technologies such as reverse osmosis and thermal distillation involve large amounts of energy, especially for high salt rejection. In comparison, the discovery of two-dimensional materials such as graphene and its structural analogs boron nitride and molybdenum disulphide (MoS₂) has fostered been tremendous progress for energy-saving desalination using nanopores of these materials. This article reviews the recent developments in this technology with experimental and molecular simulation literature survey over the past few years. It explains the role of nanopores in desalination in terms of structure, energy, cost-effectiveness and process efficiency.     

三维人脸建模中面部特征点的提取

根据人脸结构、人脸特征的提取方法、人脸建模中特征轮廓线的提取步骤.提出一种基于彩色Snake模型和人脸先验知识的面部特征轮廓线提取算法,并将其用于真实感的三维人脸建模过程中.图3,参5.     

3D类器官模型的研究进展及其在化学品毒理学评价中的应用展望

化学品毒理学评价主要采用2D细胞培养体系和动物实验模型,但2种模型均存在一定的局限性.2D细胞培养常用特定细胞系,与体内多细胞组织及其生理功能差异较大.动物实验耗时、昂贵,并受伦理学限制,且存在种属差异问题.3D类器官模型可模拟组织器官的复杂结构和功能,产生细胞间和细胞-基质相互作用,与体内生理反应更为相似,因此能更准确地反映毒性效应和机理.类器官模型在化学品毒理学评价领域具有良好的应用前景,将显著提升毒理学基础研究能力以及对化学品风险评价和管理的支撑作用,但相关研究尚处于起步阶段.本文从类器官的生理学特性、构建方法及组织类型等方面,重点讨论了类器官模型在化学品毒理学研究中的适用性,并提出了存在的挑战和对策.