Seasonality and microhabitat selection in a forest-dwelling salamander

Many small terrestrial vertebrates exhibit limited spatial movement and are considerably exposed to changes in local environmental variables. Among such vertebrates, amphibians at present experience a dramatic decline due to their limited resilience to environmental change. Since the local survival and abundance of amphibians is intrinsically related to the availability of shelters, conservation plans need to take microhabitat requirements into account. In order to gain insight into the terrestrial ecology of the spectacled salamander Salamandrina perspicillata and to identify appropriate forest management strategies, we investigated the salamander’s seasonal variability in habitat use of trees as shelters in relation to tree features (size, buttresses, basal holes) and environmental variables in a beech forest in Italy. We used the occupancy approach to assess tree suitability on a non-conventional spatial scale. Our approach provides fine-grained parameters of microhabitat suitability and elucidates many aspects of the salamander’s terrestrial ecology. Occupancy changed with the annual life cycle and was higher in autumn than in spring, when females were found closer to the stream in the study area. Salamanders showed a seasonal pattern regarding the trees they occupied and a clear preference for trees with a larger diameter and more burrows. With respect to forest management, we suggest maintaining a suitable number of trees with a trunk diameter exceeding 30 cm. A practice of selective logging along the banks of streams could help maintain an adequate quantity of the appropriate microhabitat. Furthermore, in areas with a presence of salamanders, a good forest management plan requires leaving an adequate buffer zone around streams, which should be wider in autumn than in spring.     

翻边工艺与模具的拓补

指出了传统的翻边工艺与模具在实际应用中的局限性，并在此基础上给出了新的小孔翻边模具结构，拓宽了翻边工艺的应用范围。     

改革开放以来中国粮食生产空间重构

粮食生产空间重构不仅事关我国粮食安全,而且深刻影响着区域经济发展与生态保护。从数量、生产潜力和空间格局三个维度出发,采用GAEZ模型、景观格局指数与重心迁移模型探讨了1980—2018年中国粮食生产空间重构。研究表明：（1）就数量来看,南减北增,总量基本持衡,但其内部转换频繁。粮食生产空间转出面积约达6458万hm²,其中退耕还林还草与建设用地扩张占到90%左右;粮食生产空间转入面积为6680万hm²,毁林垦草占到75%。（2）从生产潜力上看,其总量整体呈下降趋势,同时表现出由东向西降低的梯度差异。生产潜力总量减少主要是由退耕还林还草与城市扩张所导致,使得中低潜力、中潜力与中高潜力等级的粮食生产空间减少。而增加的主要原因是毁林垦草,使得中潜力与中高潜力等级的粮食生产空间大量增加。（3）由于人类活动的加剧,空间格局发生了显著变化。粮食生产空间的规模逐渐变小,形状趋于复杂,相隔距离逐渐变远。同时,粮食生产空间的数量重心整体向南运动,但迁移距离不大。而生产潜力重心不断向东北移动,迁移幅度相对较大。研究结果丰富了土地系统研究体系,为保障粮食安全及实现粮食生产空间的可持续集约化发展提供依据。     

开源节流”的童话世界

<正>工业革命以来,近代社会的工业生产体系和模式造成了诸多能源和环境问题。一方面,工业发展大肆使用煤、石油等不可再生能源,造成能源资源过度消耗,并濒临耗竭;另一方面,在生产的同时向环境释放了很多有害物质,造成水体、大气和土壤的污染,影响着人类健康,威胁着人类赖以生存的地球。20世纪70年代的丹麦,是一个能源93%依靠进口的国家。1973年和1979年的两次中东石油危机使石油价格猛涨,丹麦出现了能源危机。丹麦开始调整能源结构,改变以往对传统能源的过度依赖,实现能源     

Counselling following a diagnosis of congenital heart disease

Counselling the parents following a diagnosis of fetal congenital heart disease (CHD) is as important a task for the fetal cardiologist, as the skill involved in achieving an accurate diagnosis. The counsellor will base prognosis not only on the diagnosis itself but also on the security of diagnosis, the stage in gestation and potential for change, the association with extracardiac malformations and the known results of treatment. Depending on the gestational age and legal situation the counsellor is operating in, termination of pregnancy may be one of the options to consider and one that should always be raised in discussion. Thus, the parents may be in the position of making a crucial decision concerning the management of the pregnancy on the basis of the information received, so it is vital that the counsellor is truly able to communicate with them, whatever be their level of understanding. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The nuchal translucency and the fetal heart: a literature review

In this overview the current knowledge of the relationship between an increased nuchal translucency (NT) measurement and fetal heart structure and function in chromosomally normal fetuses is reviewed. Relevant pathophysiological theories behind the increased NT are discussed. Fetuses with an increased NT have an increased risk for congenital heart disease (CHD) with no particular bias for one form of CHD over another. This risk increases with increasing NT measurement. Although the NT measurement is only a modestly effective screening tool for all CHD when used alone, it may indeed be effective in identifying specific CHD “likely to benefit” from prenatal diagnosis. The combination of an increased NT, tricuspid regurgitation and an abnormal ductus venosus (DV) Doppler flow profile, is a strong marker for CHD. A fetal echocardiogram should be performed at 20 weeks' gestation in fetuses with an NT ≥ 95th percentile but < 99th percentile. When the NT measurement is ≥ 99th percentile, or when tricuspid regurgitation and/or an abnormal DV flow pattern is found along with the increased NT, an earlier echocardiogram is indicated, followed by a repeat scan at around 20 weeks' gestation. The resultant increased demand for early fetal echocardiography and sonographers with this special expertise needs to be planned and provided for. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

二氧化硫对大鼠离体心脏功能影响的机制研究

为了探讨二氧化硫(SO2)对心脏功能影响的机制,分别用10、300和1000μmol·L-1的SO2灌流大鼠离体心脏后,测定心脏组织中一氧化氮(NO)、超氧化物歧化酶(SOD)、丙二醛(MDA)和谷胱甘肽(GSH)含量以及心脏灌流液中肌酸激酶(CK)和乳酸脱氢酶(LDH)活性.结果表明,10、300和1000μmol·L-1的SO2均可使心脏组织中NO和MDA含量以及心脏灌流液中CK和LDH活性明显增加,而使SOD和GSH含量明显减少.较高浓度(300和1000μmol·L-1)的SO2可使心脏组织中Na+K+-ATP酶和Ca2+Mg2+-ATP酶活性明显下降.结论:SO2对大鼠离体心脏功能影响的作用机制与SO2对心脏组织的氧化损伤作用、心肌细胞膜Na+K+-ATP酶和Ca2+Mg2+-ATP酶活性降低及NO-cGMP信号转导通路有关.     

Fetal heart scanning in the first trimester

The detailed study of the fetal cardiac anatomy in the first trimester of pregnancy by means of ultrasound, transvaginally or transabdominally, is feasible and remains a safe procedure provided thermal and mechanical indices are taken into account. Optimal time for successful imaging of the four chambers and great arteries in early gestation appears to be between 13 to 14 weeks. In experienced hands, first-trimester fetal echocardiography is accurate in detecting major structural cardiac abnormalities and yields a high negative predictive value. Thus, in a clinical setting, it can be offered to families considered to be ‘at risk’ of cardiac defects (e.g. those with previous family history or when fetal nuchal translucency is increased) and can be a powerful tool to reassure families regarding normality of major cardiac structures and connections. However, the early detection of an important structural abnormality (chromosomally normal or not) may be associated with a high termination rate if this is an acceptable option. The high prevalence of associated chromosomal and extracardiac abnormalities for many of the high-risk families, who may benefit from this approach, cannot be ignored. Therefore, fetal heart scanning in the first trimester should be performed in conjunction with detailed first-trimester obstetric scanning. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Population dynamics and regulation in the cave salamander <Emphasis Type="Italic">Speleomantes strinatii</Emphasis>

Time series analysis has been used to evaluate the mechanisms regulating population dynamics of mammals and insects, but has been rarely applied to amphibian populations. In this study, the influence of endogenous (density-dependent) and exogenous (density-independent) factors regulating population dynamics of the terrestrial plethodontid salamander Speleomantes strinatii was analysed by means of time series and multiple regression analyses. During the period 1993–2005, S. strinatii population abundance, estimated by a standardised temporary removal method, displayed relatively low fluctuations, and the autocorrelation function (ACF) analysis showed that the time series had a noncyclic structure. The partial rate correlation function (PRCF) indicated that a strong first-order negative feedback dominated the endogenous dynamics. Stepwise multiple regression analysis showed that the only climatic factor influencing population growth rate was the minimum winter temperature. Thus, at least during the study period, endogenous, density-dependent negative feedback was the main factor affecting the growth rate of the salamander population, whereas stochastic environmental variables, such as temperature and rainfall, seemed to play a minor role in regulation. These results stress the importance of considering both exogenous and endogenous factors when analysing amphibian long-term population dynamics.     

“地中海的心脏”瓦莱塔

<正>瓦莱塔是南欧岛国马耳他的首都,座落在马耳他岛东北部,是全国政治、文化和商业的中心,也是欧、亚、非海运交通的枢纽,战略地位十分重要,更是闻名世界的旅游城市,素有"地中海的心脏"、"海上花园"之称。瓦莱塔依山傍水,环境优雅,气候宜人,加上得天独厚的地理位置,这里安静恬适,听不到大城市的喧嚣,也没有大工业的烟尘,污染程度低,交通便利,市场繁荣,社会秩序良好,人与自然和谐相处。这里春天来得特别早,当欧洲还处在千里冰封的严冬季节时,瓦莱塔就已春暖     

Uniparental isodisomy for chromosome 16 in a growth-retarded infant with congenital heart disease

We report a growth-retarded infant with congenital heart disease and maternal isodisomy for chromosome 16. Non-mosaic trisomy 16 was detected at mid-trimester chorionic villus sampling, performed because biochemical screening indicated an increased Down's syndrome risk. Further karyotyping analysis of the placenta, after delivery, showed a 50 per cent mosaic trisomy 16. The infant had an atrioventricular (A-V) canal defect, scoliosis, and several minor dysmorphic features. Although uniparental disomy for chromosome 16 has been reported previously, to our knowledge this is the first case of uniparental isodisomy for chromosome 16 which has been investigated with multiple DNA probes.