Comparing earthquake insurance programmes: how would Japan and California have fared after the 2010–11 earthquakes in New Zealand?

Earthquakes are insured in high-risk high-income countries only if the public sector is involved. Prototypical examples are the insurance schemes in California (United States), Japan, and New Zealand, but each is structured differently. This paper examines these variations using a concrete case study: the sequence of earthquakes in Christchurch, New Zealand, in 2010–11—the most heavily insured seismic event in history. It assesses what would have been the outcome had the Christchurch insurance system been different, focusing on the California Earthquake Authority (CEA) programme and Japan Earthquake Reinsurance (JER). Overall, the aggregate cost of the earthquake to the New Zealand public insurer (Earthquake Commission) was USD 6.2 billion. If a similar-sized disaster had occurred in Japan and California, homeowners would have received around USD 1.6 billion and USD 0.7 billion, respectively. This paper describes the distributive and spatial patterns of these scenarios and discusses some key policy questions that emerge from this comparison.     

大鼠类Alu重复序列的克隆及其在染色体DNA突变分析中的应用

从大鼠低Ｃｏｔ值ＤＮＡ文库分离到一种类Ａｌｕ的重复序列,命名为ＲＡＬＲＳ－１。对ＲＡＬＲＳ－１克隆并进行了测序,长度为２８３ｂｐ,发现其中含有单一的微卫星（ｍｉｃｒｏｓａｔｅｌｌｉｔｅ）序列ＡＧ,ＡＧＧ和ＡＧＧＧ。ＲＡＬＲＳ－１ＤＮＡ序列在大鼠单倍体基因组中的拷贝数为１５００００～３３００００。依ＲＡＬＲＳ－１中的一段序列合成了一２８寡核苷酸探针（ＡＧＧＧ）７,对大鼠正常组织和肿瘤组织ＤＮＡ指数谱     

短小芽孢杆菌A—30耐碱性木聚糖酶基因的分子生物学研究

采用PCR方法对短小芽孢杆菌A－30菌株的耐碱性木聚糖酶基因进行克隆。在木聚糖选择平板上用刚果红染色法筛选出阳性克隆,提取阳性克隆的重组质粒进行酶切鉴定和测序。该基因在大肠杆菌中表达,过夜培养物胞外、胞内和周质空间的木聚糖酶酶活分别为0．159IUmL^-1、0.322IUmL^-1和0.007IUmL^-1。此木聚糖酶表现出较宽的pH作用范围,最适作用pH7左右,在pH9时仍有60％以上的酶活性。图4参14     

Multi-decadal changes in tundra environments and ecosystems: synthesis of the International Polar Year-Back to the Future project (IPY-BTF)

Understanding the responses of tundra systems to global change has global implications. Most tundra regions lack sustained environmental monitoring and one of the only ways to document multi-decadal change is to resample historic research sites. The International Polar Year (IPY) provided a unique opportunity for such research through the Back to the Future (BTF) project (IPY project #512). This article synthesizes the results from 13 papers within this Ambio Special Issue. Abiotic changes include glacial recession in the Altai Mountains, Russia; increased snow depth and hardness, permafrost warming, and increased growing season length in sub-arctic Sweden; drying of ponds in Greenland; increased nutrient availability in Alaskan tundra ponds, and warming at most locations studied. Biotic changes ranged from relatively minor plant community change at two sites in Greenland to moderate change in the Yukon, and to dramatic increases in shrub and tree density on Herschel Island, and in subarctic Sweden. The population of geese tripled at one site in northeast Greenland where biomass in non-grazed plots doubled. A model parameterized using results from a BTF study forecasts substantial declines in all snowbeds and increases in shrub tundra on Niwot Ridge, Colorado over the next century. In general, results support and provide improved capacities for validating experimental manipulation, remote sensing, and modeling studies.     

Identification of various laccases induced by anthracene and contribution to its degradation in a Mediterranean coastal pine litter

Mediterranean coastal ecosystems are known to be highly subject to natural and anthropic environmental stress. In this study, we examine the effects of anthracene as a common pollutant on the total microbial communities from a Pinus halepensis litter of a typical Mediterranean coastal site (Les Calanques, Marseille). The main objective was to identify the microbial factors leading the resilience of this ecosystem. Two questions were addressed: (i) how lignin-degrading enzymes (Laccase, Lignin-peroxidase and Mn-peroxidase) are affected by the presence of this molecule, (ii) whether the indigenous consortia are involved in its degradation in mesocosms under favorable incubation conditions (25 °C, 60% WHC) and after different time intervals (1 and 3 month(s)). We found a strong increase in laccase production in the presence of anthracene after 3 months, together with anthracene degradation (28% ± 5). Moreover 9,10-anthraquinone is detected as the product of anthracene oxidation after 3 months. However neither lignin-peroxidase activity nor Mn-peroxidase activity is detected. Laccase proteins directly extracted from litter were sequenced via Nano-LC-MS/MS and reveal twelve different peptide sequences induced by the presence of anthracene in the mesocoms. Our study confirms the major detoxification role of this enzymatic system and highlights the high degradation potential of fungal species inhabiting P. halepensis litter, a factor in the resilience of Mediterranean ecosystems.     

旅游资源竞争力与旅游收入关系实证分析——以安徽省17地市为例

在构建旅游资源竞争力评价指标体系的基础上,运用位序得分法对安徽省17个地市的旅游资源竞争力进行了评价,同时借助两轴折线图、散点图及拟合曲线等工具对17个地市旅游资源竞争力与旅游收入关系进行了实证分析。结果表明,安徽省绝大多数地市旅游业发展仍依赖于旅游资源;少数地市旅游资源竞争力与旅游收入出现偏离,成为非旅游资源依赖性城市。从资源属性来看,综合类旅游资源与旅游收入的相关性最大,其次为自然类旅游资源,人文类的相关性最小。     

一种基于混沌和魔方的数字图像置乱算法

在现有数字图像置乱算法的基础上,分别分析了这些算法存在的不足,详细介绍了混沌序列及其优点。在介绍魔方玩法的基础上,指出可以把对魔方的初始置乱理解成加密过程,并分析魔方的加密原理在数字图像置乱中应用的可能性。并设计了一种结合混沌和魔方优点的数字图像置乱算法。该方法将图像的行列和对角线定义成魔方变换的旋转面,将对魔方的旋转定义成旋转面的循环移动。置乱过程先根据密钥产生混沌序列,再由混沌序列控制魔方变换进行图像置乱。通过与其他算法的实验对比,表明该算法有较好的图像置乱效果,达到了对图像进行置乱的目的。分析表明,该算法的时间复杂度较低,安全性较高,满足实际的应用需要。     

Fetal akinesia/hypokinesia sequence: Prenatal diagnosis and intra-familial variability

Intrauterine fetal movement plays a key role in normal embryonic and fetal development (Moessinger, 1983). When movement is absent or decreased, abnormal development takes place which can be appreciated in newborns and/or fetuses with the fetal akinesia/ hypokinesia sequence. This sequence is caused by a number of heterogeneous entities which result in decreased fetal movements by the action of intrinsic or extrinsic factors. Prenatal diagnosis of the akinesia/hypokinesia sequence may be possible during the second trimester through the use of real-time ultrasonographic evaluation of fetal movement. We report a family with three consecutive affected pregnancies in which the prenatal presentation of this sequence varied. Based on the phenotypic findings of the three affected fetuses, we believe that although they superficially resemble those features found in the New–Laxova syndrome, they are probably affected with a distinctly different lethal form of akinesia/ hypokinesia transmitted in an autosomal recessive fashion.     

张八岭岩群的地质特征及其划分建议

本文从中晚元古代张八岭岩群的原岩、变形变质、岩石化学、同位素年龄，沉积一火山喷发旋回（韵律），岩石能干性差异及与上覆、下伏层位接触关系等方面讨论了其地质特征、并在与现有文献资料对比的基础上，根据1／5万张八岭幅、珠龙幅区域地质调查路线和剖面资料．提出了对张八岭岩群重新划分建组的建议。     

Oligohydramnios sequence in a live-born infant following chorionic villus sampling

We describe an infant born at 29 weeks' gestation with oligohydramnios sequence due to amniotic fluid leakage following chorionic villus sampling at 12 weeks. To our knowledge, this is the first such report.