The repayment hypothesis posits that primary sex ratios in cooperative species should be biased towards the helping sex because
these offspring “repay” a portion of their cost through helping behavior and therefore are less expensive to produce. However,
many cooperatively breeding birds and mammals do not show the predicted bias in the primary sex ratio. Recent theoretical
work has suggested that the repayment hypothesis should only hold when females gain a large fitness advantage from the presence
of auxiliary adults in the group. When auxiliaries provide little or no fitness advantage, competition between relatives should
lead to sex ratios biased towards the dispersing (non-helping) sex. We examined the benefits auxiliaries provide to females
and corresponding offspring sex ratios in the red-backed fairy-wren (Malurus melanocephalus), a cooperatively breeding Australian bird with male auxiliary helpers. We found that auxiliaries provide little or no benefit
to female reproductive success or survival. As predicted, the population primary sex ratio was biased towards daughters, the
dispersing sex, and females with auxiliaries produced female-biased broods whereas females without auxiliaries produced unbiased
broods. Moreover, offspring sex ratios were more strongly biased toward females in years when auxiliaries were more common
in the population. These results suggest that offspring sex ratios are associated with competition among the non-dispersing
sex in this species, and also that females may use cues to assess local breeding opportunities for their offspring. 相似文献
Polylactic acid (PLA) and thermoplastic starch (TPS) are biodegradable polymers of biological origin, and the mixture of these polymers has been studied due to the desirable mechanical properties of PLA and the low processing cost of TPS. However, the TPS/PLA combination is thermodynamically immiscible due to the poor interfacial interaction between the hydrophilic starch granules and the hydrophobic PLA. To overcome these limitations, researchers studied the modification, processing, and properties of the mixtures as a strategy to increase the compatibility between phases. This review highlights recent developments, current results, and trends in the field of TPS/PLA-based compounds during the last two decades, with the main focus of improving the adhesion between the two components. The TPS/PLA blends were classified as plasticized, compatible, reinforced and with nanocomposites. This article presents, based on published research, TPS/PLA combinations, considering different methods with significant improvements in mechanical properties, with promising developments for applications in food packaging and biomedicine.
Managing Construction and demolition waste (CDW) is a severe and growing urban challenge, particularly in post-conflict countries. Though Kosovo has significantly rebuilt and developed after the Liberation War, these initiatives have accompanied suboptimal waste management. This research evaluates CDW management in Kosovo by assessing current practices and operations vis-a-vis the legal framework and EU requirements. It identifies instruments and policies capable of ameliorating gaps and proposes a more sustainable and circular CDW management system for Kosovo. Information was primarily collected during on-site visits to Pristina and the surroundings by a cohort of Urban Management Students from the Technische Universität Berlin, students from Kosovo, and the local office of the Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit, GIZ. The analysis identified gaps in Kosovo's CDW management and its observance and enforcement of existing CDW legislation, including an ambiguous licensing system impeding sustainable demolition, storage, and transport; the absence of approved CDW storage options leading to uncontrolled disposal; and an underdeveloped market for recycling and reuse, deterring stakeholders from further pursuit of circular practices. These gaps were compounded by poor recordkeeping, obscuring precise information on CDW streams. Possible instruments and incentives to support Kosovo's transition to a more sustainable CDW management system were then identified.
Assessing groundwater resources in the arid and semiarid borderlands of the United States and Mexico represents a challenge for land and water managers, particularly in the Transboundary Santa Cruz Aquifer (TSCA). Population growth, residential construction, and industrial activities have increased groundwater demand in the TSCA, in addition to wastewater treatment and sanitation demands. These activities, coupled with climate variability, influence the hydrology of the TSCA and emphasize the need for groundwater assessment tools for decision‐making purposes. This study assesses the impacts of changes in groundwater demand, effluent discharge, and climate uncertainties within the TSCA from downstream of the Nogales International Wastewater Treatment Plant to the northern boundary of the Santa Cruz Active Management Area. We use a conceptual water budget model to analyze the long‐term impact of the different components of potential recharge and water losses within the aquifer. Modeling results project a future that ranges from severe long‐term drying to positive wetting. This research improves the understanding of the impact of natural and anthropogenic variables on water sustainability, with an accessible methodology that can be globally applied. 相似文献
Methacrylates are α, β-unsaturated esters that are widely used in the polymer plastics and resins production. Kinetic information
of NO3 radical reactions is especially scarce and a good understanding of all the atmospheric oxidation processes of these compounds
is necessary in order to determine lifetimes in the atmosphere and to evaluate the impact of these reactions on the formation
of ozone and other photooxidants. 相似文献
In this work, a series of reactive copolymers of glycidyl methacrylate (G), styrene (S) and acrylonitrile (AN), were synthesized through reversible addition-fragmentation chain transfer polymerization and evaluated as macromolecular chain extenders in reactive extrusion of recycled poly(ethylene terephthalate) (rPET). The results obtained indicate that the addition of the reactive copolymers as chain extenders modifies the chain conformation in rPET causing low crystallization rate and low crystallinity. The physical and rheological properties (melt flow and intrinsic viscosity) of chain-extended rPET improved, rendering better processability. rPET modified with polymeric chain extenders shows improved rheological properties (complex viscosity, storage and loss modulus) and also displays higher elongation at break and impact properties as the GMA content in the chain extenders increase. 相似文献
