The modern theory of biological evolution: an expanded synthesis

In 1858, two naturalists, Charles Darwin and Alfred Russel Wallace, independently proposed natural selection as the basic mechanism responsible for the origin of new phenotypic variants and, ultimately, new species. A large body of evidence for this hypothesis was published in Darwins Origin of Species one year later, the appearance of which provoked other leading scientists like August Weismann to adopt and amplify Darwins perspective. Weismanns neo-Darwinian theory of evolution was further elaborated, most notably in a series of books by Theodosius Dobzhansky, Ernst Mayr, Julian Huxley and others. In this article we first summarize the history of life on Earth and provide recent evidence demonstrating that Darwins dilemma (the apparent missing Precambrian record of life) has been resolved. Next, the historical development and structure of the modern synthesis is described within the context of the following topics: paleobiology and rates of evolution, mass extinctions and species selection, macroevolution and punctuated equilibrium, sexual reproduction and recombination, sexual selection and altruism, endosymbiosis and eukaryotic cell evolution, evolutionary developmental biology, phenotypic plasticity, epigenetic inheritance and molecular evolution, experimental bacterial evolution, and computer simulations (in silico evolution of digital organisms). In addition, we discuss the expansion of the modern synthesis, embracing all branches of scientific disciplines. It is concluded that the basic tenets of the synthetic theory have survived, but in modified form. These sub-theories require continued elaboration, particularly in light of molecular biology, to answer open-ended questions concerning the mechanisms of evolution in all five kingdoms of life.Dedicated to Prof. Dr. Dr. hc mult. Ernst Mayr on the occasion of his 100th birthdayThis revised version was published online in March 2004, with corrections to the caption of Figure 6.     

高浓度印染废水处理工程工艺条件与实例分析

研究以三相生物流化床作为工程化反应器处理印染废水的工程工艺条件及操作特性，分别测定流化床内的气相含率，兴体循环速度及体积氧传质系数。     

大顶子山航电枢纽工程建库后上游水质总量控制研究

松花江大顶子山枢纽工程建设后,库区内水体流线及扩散规律的变化将影响库区内水质,受沿江排污影响,其规划目标的水环境容量将发生改变,因此对建库后上游水质总量控制进行研究很有意义.     

浅谈水泥生产中回转窑窑尾SO_2监测

窑尾监测SO_2时,有时会出现其浓度低于仪器最低检出限的情况,应根据窖尾类型、煤中硫含量大小,有无脱硫工艺等情况,认真对比、计算分析,以保证监测数据真实可靠。     

氯化处理船舶压载水对外来生物存活的影响

初步研究了氯化处理船舶压载水对外业生物存活的影响。结果表明，氯化自理对杀灭中的细菌最为有效；对单细胞灌类则依种类需要不同浓度的有效氯，有的种类在４０ｍｇ／Ｌ有效氯作用下依然能存活。     

聚合物材料在快速原型制造技术中的应用

介绍聚合物材料作为成形原料在主要的快速原型制造(RPM)工艺中的应用情况。具体按照立体印刷成形(SLA)、层合实体制造(LOM)、选域激光烧结(SLS)及熔融沉积造型(FDM)这4种工艺的不同,阐述与各工艺对应的聚合物材料的种类、聚合物材料成形过程中可能出现的问题及解决方案。总结了聚合物材料原型的应用情况和聚合物材料在RPM技术应用中存在的问题。     

Overestimates of black carbon in soils and sediments

Several recent reports suggest that black carbon (BC), which broadly encompasses charcoal, soot, and other forms of pyrogenic carbon, may constitute a significant proportion of the refractory carbon in soil and sedimentary organic matter. BC is a sink for biospheric and atmospheric carbon dioxide, and is intimately tied to the biogeochemical cycling of both carbon and oxygen through its role in organic matter cycling. Additionally, BC may represent a large fraction of the missing carbon sink in global carbon accounting. Here, we demonstrate that documented measurements of BC may be the result of methodological artifacts, which inadvertently overestimate the amount of BC. We found that a widely used thermal oxidative method can create a residue that falls under the operational definition of BC in samples that are relatively BC-free. Moreover, during this procedure, labile organic matter constituents are condensed into pyrogenic carbon, implying that the labile components are present in lesser quantities. These methodological deficiencies are promoting overestimates in the amount of refractory carbon in soil and sedimentary organic matter and may endorse inaccuracies in the rates of carbon fluxes, the mean residence times of terrestrial carbon, and organic matter burial rates in oceanic environments.     

餐厨垃圾处理方式的探讨

餐厨垃圾污染日益严重,对环境和人类健康构成巨大威胁.如何对餐厨垃圾进行资源化、减量化、无害化处理,是摆在环保工作者面前的一个课题,本文通过对国内外餐厨余物的产生情况、处理现状以及处理工艺进行分析,探讨适合哈尔滨市餐厨垃圾的处理方式.     

The effect of octopamine on behavioral responses of free-foraging bumblebees to a change in food source profitability

The invertebrate neuromodulator octopamine is known to be involved in bees' associative learning, enhancing the responsiveness of a bee to a conditioned stimulus. In this study, we tested the effect of octopamine on the choice behavior of free-flying bumblebees using a two-phase experiment in an array of artificial flowers. During the first phase of the experiment, the bee was allowed to collect octopamine-laden sugar water from two types of equally rewarding flowers (yellow versus blue). In the second phase, one type of flower was set to be unrewarding. The behavior of the bee (proportion of visits to the unrewarding flowers) over the two phases was fitted to a sigmoid regression model. Our results show that octopamine had no significant effect on the bees' equilibrium choice or on the overall rate of the behavioral change in response to the change in reward. Rather, octopamine significantly affected the time interval between the change in reward status and the initiation of behavioral change in the bee.     

The Value Of Public Participation During a Hazard,Impact, Risk And Vulnerability (HIRV) Analysis

The first part of this paper discusses the links between hazard, risk and vulnerability (HRV) analysis and the development of mitigative strategies. The second part discusses the need to include public participation when completing an HRV analysis. Two current HRV models are used to illustrate the general failure of HRV analysis to include public participation. The third part of this paper provides a brief overview of the Hazard, Impact, Risk and Vulnerability (HIRV) model and its use of public participation. The paper concludes by offering a synopsis of a case study in the town and regional area surrounding Barriere, British Columbia, Canada. This case study demonstrates a positive outcome when public participation is incorporated into an HIRV analysis.