基于BP人工神经网络的长江口外海生态综合评价及其成因分析

以长江口外海域为研究区域,基于2008年秋季该海域2个峰面断面的海洋环境调查走航数据,以海水水质指标、浮游植物多样性指数及叶绿素a浓度为评价指标,运用BP人工神经网络的方法评价该海域生态环境质量状况,结合该海区的地形及水动力情况分析,结果表明:2008年秋季长江口外海域生态状况总体处于亚健康状态;31°N断面受长江冲淡水影响,生态状况近海劣于远海,但20号站位逆趋势好转,据监测,夏季其附近海域为赤潮高发区;30°N断面近岸受浙江沿岸上升流影响,生态状况好于31°N,但5号站位逆趋势恶化;5号和20号站位反映了上升流与长江口冲淡水的交汇区域的生态状况。BP人工神经网络用于生态环境评价,具有一定的客观性和通用性。     

基于排队论的城市垃圾箱最佳间距研究

针对城市垃圾箱最佳间距的研究不够精细的现状,本文通过建立排队论模型得到了可供不同城市参考的城市垃圾箱最佳间距参数表。通过对部分城市街道的垃圾箱摆放间距情况进行实地调查,运用层次分析法将影响垃圾箱间距分布的多重因素转化为单因素;建立了基于指数分布的教学模型,利用排队论分析单因素状态下的垃圾箱间距分布,得到了求解城市垃圾箱最佳间距的一般方法。     

高径比对猪场废水脱氮与沼气脱硫耦联反应器的影响

采用填料鼓泡塔反应器研究其高径比对猪场废水脱氮与沼气脱硫耦联过程的影响,比较了3种不同高径比(8∶1、3∶1、2∶1)反应器的废水脱氮与沼气脱硫效能.在温度30～32℃、空塔停留时间6.70 min、水力停留时间3.35 d、沼气中H2 S浓度1 414～1 838 mg.m-3、进水NO x--N浓度114～243 mg.L-1的条件下,高径比2∶1反应器的运行较稳定,且处理效果较好,硫化氢去除率平均值为96.7%,NO x--N去除率平均值达到88.7%;而高径比8∶1和3∶1反应器的运行不太稳定,硫化氢去除率的平均值分别为68.0%、80.4%,NO x--N的去除率平均值分别为89.7%、90.2%.主要是因为高径比2∶1反应器的实际气速(3.12×10-2 m.s-1)比高径比3∶1、8∶1反应器的实际气速(分别为3.62×10-2 m.s-1和6.64×10-2 m.s-1)更慢,其气液传质系数(1.79×10-5 s-1)比高径比3∶1、8∶1反应器的气液传质系数(分别为1.64×10-5 s-1和1.55×10-5 s-1)更大,传质效果更好.处理效能试验结果以及反应器流体力学特征参数均表明,高径比2∶1反应器为最适合的反应器.     

氮磷肥料对HB-5菌株降解莠去津的促进作用及去毒效应的影响

以莠去津降解细菌HB-5为研究对象,进行了氮、磷肥单一及复合施肥对HB-5细菌降解土壤中莠去津的促进作用的研究,探讨了莠去津降解率与土壤中速效氮、速效磷含量之间的关系及莠去津降解过程中生态毒性的变化情况.莠去津在土壤中的残留采用高效液相色谱法进行测定;土壤中速效氮和速效磷分别采用碱解扩散法及0.5mol/L-NaHCO3浸提-钼锑抗比色法测定;土壤的生态毒性采用蚕豆根尖微核法进行测定.结果表明,在实验的前5d,不论氮、磷肥单一或复合施肥均能够明显促进HB-5对莠去津的降解,不同施肥条件下莠去津的降解速率依次为:氮、磷肥复合单施磷肥单施氮肥不施肥料对照;实验5d后,各处理中莠去津降解率没有显著差异(p0.05),均达到了95%以上.土壤中速效氮和速效磷含量随着莠去津的降解而呈现逐渐减少的趋势.土壤的生态毒性试验结果表明,莠去津经HB-5菌株降解后,土壤的生态毒性显著降低;各施肥处理土壤中莠去津的生态毒性均低于不施肥处理的土壤;实验的前5d,各处理土壤中生态毒性的大小依次为:氮、磷肥复合单施磷肥单施氮肥不施肥料对照.实验7d时,各处理土壤中莠去津的生态毒性均恢复到空白对照水平.氮磷肥料的施用不仅能促进HB-5菌株对土壤中莠去津的降解,而且能加速降低土壤的生态毒性,为莠去津污染土壤的快速修复提供了理论依据.     

硫化矿床自燃发火实验研究

金属矿山特别是硫化矿山,在开采过程中曾多次发生过矿石自燃火灾事故,给国家造成了巨大的经济损失.我国矿山企业中,有许多硫化矿山.本文综述了国内外在硫化矿床自燃发火实验研究方面的研究进展,指出我国至今还没有出台一套完整成熟的硫化矿床自燃倾向性实验室鉴定标准.     

A review of myrmecophily in ant nest beetles (Coleoptera: Carabidae: Paussinae): linking early observations with recent findings

Myrmecophily provides various examples of how social structures can be overcome to exploit vast and well-protected resources. Ant nest beetles (Paussinae) are particularly well suited for ecological and evolutionary considerations in the context of association with ants because life habits within the subfamily range from free-living and predatory in basal taxa to obligatory myrmecophily in derived Paussini. Adult Paussini are accepted in the ant society, although parasitising the colony by preying on ant brood. Host species mainly belong to the ant families Myrmicinae and Formicinae, but at least several paussine genera are not host-specific. Morphological adaptations, such as special glands and associated tufts of hair (trichomes), characterise Paussini as typical myrmecophiles and lead to two different strategical types of body shape: while certain Paussini rely on the protective type with less exposed extremities, other genera access ant colonies using glandular secretions and trichomes (symphile type). We compare these adaptations with other taxonomic groups of insects by joining contemporary research and early sources and discuss the possibility of an attracting or appeasing effect of the secretion. Species that are ignored by their host ants might use chemical mimicry instead. Furthermore, vibrational signals may contribute to ant–beetle communication, and chemical signals have proven to play a role in host finding. The powerful defense chemistry of paussines as “bombardier beetles” is not used in contact with host ants. We attempt to trace the evolution of myrmecophily in paussines by reviewing important aspects of the association between paussine beetles and ants, i.e. morphological and potential chemical adaptations, life cycle, host specificity, alimentation, parasitism and sound production.

Evidence for a male-produced pheromone in <Emphasis Type="Italic">Tetropium fuscum</Emphasis> (F.) and <Emphasis Type="Italic">Tetropium cinnamopterum</Emphasis> (Kirby) (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae)

(E)-6,10-dimethyl-5,9-undecadien-2-ol (geranyl acetol), termed here fuscol, was identified as a male-produced pheromone emitted by Tetropium fuscum (F.) and Tetropium cinnamopterum Kirby. In field experiments, traps baited with synthetic fuscol alone were not significantly attractive, but the combination of fuscol plus host volatiles (a synthetic blend of monoterpenes plus ethanol) attracted significantly more male and female T. fuscum and female T. cinnamopterum than did host volatiles alone. This is the first homoterpenoid alcohol to be described in the Cerambycidae, and the first pheromone reported from the sub-family Spondylidinae.     

Settlement decisions in blue tits: difference in the use of social information according to age and individual success

Dispersers are expected to assess breeding habitat quality before settlement. Although cues reflecting habitat quality are well studied, social cues have not been as well evaluated. In this paper, we studied breeding habitat selection during 3 years in a natural population of blue tits, Cyanistes caeruleus, breeding in nest-boxes. Our aim was to investigate if this species used conspecific density and/or reproductive success of con- and heterospecifics (i.e., social cues) in settlement decisions. The patterns observed were consistent with the idea that juveniles, when dispersing from their natal patches, did not react to any of the cues that we tested. In contrast, breeders that dispersed seemed to respond to both conspecific mean patch reproductive success (PRS) and breeding density of the settlement patch in the year of dispersal, their response differing according to their own reproductive success. Indeed, failed breeders moved to areas with high PRS and low density relative to source patches, while successful breeders behaved the opposite. The comparison between juveniles and adults might be modulated by the limited time available to juveniles to gather information on PRS and density at the end of the dispersing year. Adults lacking these time constraints, however, seemed to rely on these conspecific cues although limited by their own quality. Additionally, breeders were more likely to be immigrants in patches with relatively low breeding success and density the previous year, suggesting that settlement is influenced by multiple cues, which may reveal information on different aspects of habitat and be available at different moments. Collectively, our results support the importance of social cues for blue tits’ settlement.     

Artiodactyls from the Pondaung Formation (Myanmar): new data and reevaluation of the South Asian Faunal Province during the Middle Eocene

Although Asia is thought to have played a critical role in the radiation of artiodactyls, the fossil record of stem selenodonts (“dichobunoids”) remains dramatically poor in tropical Asian regions. In this study, we report a new dichobunid genus and species Cadutherium kyaukmagyii and a new basal ruminant genus and species Irrawadymeryx pondaungi, from the late Middle Eocene Pondaung Formation, Central Myanmar. Although the scarcity of the present material prevents any attempts to investigate the phylogenetic relationships of Cadutherium with contemporaneous forms from other Holarctic landmasses, this new form shed new light on the diversity of these small rabbit-like ungulates during a key period of their evolutionary history. Reexamination of the small-bodied artiodactyls from Pondaung leads us to propose new identifications of certain published specimens and, in turn, to investigate the temporal and geographic distribution of taxa recognized in the Pondaung Formation. Although fragmentary, these potential new taxa reveal an unsuspected diversity of small forms among artiodactyls of Pondaung. This addition to the Eocene record of dichobunoids and early ruminants provides further insight in the diversity of dental patterns among small artiodactyls from the Pondaung Formation and attests to the antiquity of these groups in Southeast Asia.     

Power matters in closing the phenotyping gap

Much of our understanding of physiology and metabolism is derived from investigating mouse mutants and transgenic mice, and open-access platforms for standardized mouse phenotyping such as the German Mouse Clinic (GMC) are currently viewed as one powerful tool for identifying novel gene-function relationships. Phenotyping or phenotypic screening involves the comparison of wild-type control mice with their mutant or transgenic littermates. In our study, we explored the extent to which standardized phenotyping will succeed in detecting biologically relevant phenotypic differences in mice generated and provided by different collaborators. We analyzed quantitative metabolic data (body mass, energy intake, and energy metabolized) collected at the GMC under the current workflow, and used them for statistical power considerations. Our results demonstrate that there is substantial variability in these parameters among lines of wild-type C57BL/6 (B6) mice from different sources. Given this variable background noise in mice that serve as controls, subtle phenotypes in mutant or transgenic littermates may be overlooked. Furthermore, a phenotype observed in one cohort of a mutant line may not be reproducible (to the same extent) in mice coming from a different environment or supplier. In the light of these constraints, we encourage researchers to incorporate information on intrastrain variability into future study planning, or to perform advanced hierarchical analyses. Both will ultimately improve the detectability of novel phenotypes by phenotypic screening. Carola W. Meyer and Ralf Elvert contributed equally to this work.