Further evidence of nuclear reactions in the Pd/D lattice: emission of charged particles

Almost two decades ago, Fleischmann and Pons reported excess enthalpy generation in the negatively polarized Pd/D-D₂O system, which they attributed to nuclear reactions. In the months and years that followed, other manifestations of nuclear activities in this system were observed, viz. tritium and helium production and transmutation of elements. In this report, we present additional evidence, namely, the emission of highly energetic charged particles emitted from the Pd/D electrode when this system is placed in either an external electrostatic or magnetostatic field. The density of tracks registered by a CR-39 detector was found to be of a magnitude that provides undisputable evidence of their nuclear origin. The experiments were reproducible. A model based upon electron capture is proposed to explain the reaction products observed in the Pd/D-D₂O system.

Male satin bowerbirds (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Ptilonorhynchus violaceus</Emphasis>) compensate for sexual signal loss by enhancing multiple display features

Numerous studies have focussed on the relationship between female choice and the multiple exaggerated sexual traits of males. However, little is known about the ability of males to actively enhance specific components of their display in response to the loss of one component. We investigated the capacity of male satin bowerbirds (Ptilonorhynchus violaceus) to respond to the loss of one of their sexual signals by performing an experiment in which we removed decorations at their bowers. We found that males compensated for decoration loss by increasing bower construction behaviour and decreasing their latency to bower painting. These results are novel because they suggest that males can assess the quality of their own display and make decisions about how to augment their displays. We discuss these results in the context of previous studies of mate choice in satin bowerbirds, as both of the supplementary behaviours we observed are known correlates of male mating success.     

Prenatal cannibalism in an insect

Host selection and infection strategies of parasitoids often correlate with high parental investment and low numbers of progeny. In this study, we investigate how additional internal mechanisms might shape brood size and fitness of the offspring. Emblemasoma auditrix is a parasitoid fly in which about 38 larvae hatch simultaneously in utero. After host location, a single larva is deposited into the host, where it rapidly develops and pupates after about 5 days. The search for hosts can take several weeks, and during that time, the larvae arrest their development and remain in the first larval instar. Nevertheless, the larvae increase in weight within the uterus, and this growth correlates to a decrease in the number of larvae, although no larvae are deposited. Thus, our data indicate a first case of prenatal cannibalism in an invertebrate with larvae feeding on each other within the uterus of the adult.     

Experience,but not distance,influences the recruitment precision in the stingless bee <Emphasis Type="Italic">Scaptotrigona mexicana</Emphasis>

Recruitment precision, i.e. the proportion of recruits that reach an advertised food source, is a crucial adaptation of social bees to their environment. Studies with honeybees showed that recruitment precision is not a fixed feature, but it may be enhanced by factors like experience and distance. However, little is known regarding the recruitment precision of stingless bees. Hence, in this study, we examined the effects of experience and spatial distance on the precision of the food communication system of the stingless bee Scaptotrigona mexicana. We conducted the experiments by training bees to a three-dimensional artificial patch at several distances from the colony. We recorded the choices of individual recruited foragers, either being newcomers (foragers without experience with the advertised food source) or experienced (foragers that had previously visited the feeder). We found that the average precision of newcomers (95.6 ± 2.61%) was significantly higher than that of experienced bees (80.2 ± 1.12%). While this might seem counter-intuitive on first sight, this “loss” of precision can be explained by the tendency of experienced recruits to explore nearby areas to find new rewarding food sources after they had initially learned the exact location of the food source. Increasing the distance from the colony had no significant effect on the precision of the foraging bees. Thus, our data show that experience, but not the distance of the food source, affected the patch precision of S. mexicana foragers.     

一株微生物絮凝剂产生菌的培养基优化研究

利用单因子实验和部分因子实验对实验室保藏的产絮凝剂菌种C3的培养基进行优化,以提高C3菌所产生的微生物絮凝剂MBFC3的絮凝效果.实验结果表明,C3菌产MBFC3的最适培养基为: 蔗糖1.0 g,(NH4)2SO4 0.24 g,FeSO4 0.10 g,KH2PO4 0.40 g,MgSO4 0.01 g,NaCl 0.02 g,蒸馏水100 mL,pH值自然.在此培养条件下,C3菌所产生的微生物絮凝剂MBFC3对高岭土悬浮液的絮凝率可达到99.1%.实验中还发现,培养基中(NH4)2SO4和NaCl的用量是影响MBFC3絮凝效果的显著因素.     

深埋岛式地铁车站突发事件时人员疏散模拟研究

在地铁安全性分析中,人员安全疏散是一个关键的考核指标。笔者首先介绍基于规范的人员疏散设计、基于火灾工程学的性能化人员疏散设计思路及计算方法;以某市轨道交通S号线深埋车站为系统原型,通过人员疏散动力学模型对深埋车站的人员疏散过程(1 200人)进行计算机模拟;研究突发事件时,深埋站点内人员能否安全疏散。     

TiO2光催化降解水中内分泌干扰物17β-雌二醇

以低压汞灯为光源,采用间歇式光氧化反应器,研究了17β-雌二醇(E2)在纳米TiO₂(Degussa P-25)悬浆体系中的光催化降解.考察了溶液pH、E2初始浓度、TiO₂光催化剂投加量、UV光强、H₂O₂、O₂对E2光催化降解的影响.结果表明,TiO₂光催化工艺可以有效地去除水中的E2,E2的光降解过程符合一级反应动力学模型;TiO₂投加量为200　mg/L时,在14 W低压汞灯照射下,初始浓度为400 μg/L 的E2在自来水中的光降解一级反应速率常数为0.018 min^-1,E2的光催化降解速率常数与其初始浓度、TiO₂光催化剂的用量、溶液的pH值、UV光强等因素有关;外加H₂O₂、O₂可以影响催化剂的光降解效率.     

西藏拉萨市土壤气中氡、汞环境地球化学特征

研究了拉萨市及其附近土壤气中的氡、汞地球化学特征,利用地质累计指数法评价了其环境质量.1?579个测点的测量结果表明,土壤气中氡、汞的背景值分别是7?634.9 Bq/m³、41.5 ng/m³,标准偏差分别为2.7 Bq/m³、2.2 ng/m³.土壤气氡环境质量在研究区东部和西部比较好,在中部从南向北有逐渐加重的趋势,最高达到中度污染;氡的主要污染源是山间盆地沉积物中局部富集的放射性铀元素.从拉萨郊区向市中心,土壤气汞污染程度逐渐增加,最高达到严重污染;污染源主要是废气中的汞、宗教活动中使用的汞以及含汞的垃圾和废水.     

土壤中多环芳烃的SPMD辅助解吸行为研究

为了开发一种表征土壤中憎水性有机污染物解吸及生物有效性的新方法,建立了半透膜被动采样装置（SPMD）研究土壤中有机污染物解吸行为的方法,利用SPMD分析了多环芳烃菲、芘和苯并［a］芘在3种不同性质土壤中的辅助解吸行为.结果表明,SPMD是一种很好地表征土壤中憎水性有机污染物解吸及生物有效性的手段. SPMD辅助解吸多环芳烃的效率与土壤有机质及多环芳烃性质有关.随着土壤有机质含量的降低,土壤中菲和芘的SPMD解吸率逐渐升高,对于10 mg/kg染毒水平,当土壤有机质含量由18.68%降低到0.3%时,2种化合物的解吸率分别由56.45%和48.28%上升到接近100%;但是对于苯并［a］芘,粘土表现出明显的滞留能力,在有机质含量（0.3%）很低、粘土含量（39.05%）较高的3号土壤中,苯并［a］芘的解吸率仅有66.97%.不同多环芳烃SPMD辅助解吸率差别很大,随着土壤有机质含量的降低,以及污染物浓度的提高,菲和芘的解吸差异逐渐缩小,而苯并［a］芘与上述2种多环芳烃的差异很大,主要是由于苯并［a］芘具有高度亲脂性,并且分子较大,造成其容易滞留在粘土的微孔及有机质的致密结构中.     

Land use change and forestry climate project regional baselines: a review

Climate change programs have largely used the project-specific approach for estimating baseline emissions of climate mitigation projects. This approach is subjective, lacks transparency, can generate inconsistent baselines for similar projects, and is likely to have high transaction costs. The use of regional baselines, which partially addresses these issues, has been reported in the literature on forestry and agriculture projects, and in greenhouse gas (GHG) mitigation program guidance for them (e.g., WRI/WBCSD GHG Project Protocol, USDOE’s 1605(b) registry, UNFCCC’s Clean Development Mechanism). This paper provides an assessment of project-specific and regional baselines approaches for key baseline tasks, using project and program examples. The regional experience to date is then synthesized into generic steps that are referred to as Stratified Regional Baselines (SRB). Regional approaches generally, and SRB in particular explicitly acknowledge the heterogeneity of carbon density, land use change, and other key baseline driver variables across a landscape. SRB focuses on providing guidance on how to stratify lands into parcels with relatively homogeneous characteristics to estimate conservative baselines within a GHG assessment boundary, by applying systematic methods to determine the boundary and time period for input data.