Three-dimensional barricading of a predatory trap reduces predation and enhances prey capture

Animal structures come at material, energetic, time, and expression costs. Some orb-web spiders add three-dimensional barrier structures to their webs, but many do not. Predator protection is considered to be the principal benefit of adding these structures. Accordingly, it remains paradoxical why some orb-web spiders might construct the barriers while others do not. Here, we experimentally determined whether the barrier structure added to the horizontal orb web of the spider Cyrtophora moluccensis deters predators at the cost of reducing the amount of prey captured in the field. We conducted experiments by day and night to assess whether the effects vary with the time of day. We found that the three-dimensional barriers not only offered protection from predatory wasps by day but also enhanced the amount of prey captured by day and night. Moreover, the barrier structure appears particularly useful at catching moths, the largest and most energetically profitable prey that it encounters. We, therefore, concluded that reducing the energetic and time costs associated with producing and depositing extra silk threads is the principal reason why barrier structures are used intermittently among orb-web spiders.     

Distribution pattern of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in particle-size fractions of coking plant soils from different depth

The concentrations of 16 priority polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in four size fractions (<2, 2–20, 20–200, >200 μm) in soils at different depth from a heavily contaminated crude benzol production facility of a coking plant were determined using GC–MS. Vertically, elevated total PAHs concentrations were observed in the soils at 3.0–4.5 m (layer B) and 6.0–7.5 m (layer C), relatively lower at 1.5–3.0 m (layer A) and 10.5–12.0 m (layer D). At all sampling sites, the silt (2–20 μm) contained the highest PAHs concentration (ranged from 726 to 2,711 mg/kg). Despite the substantial change in PAHs concentrations in soils with different particle sizes and lithologies, PAHs composition was similarly dominated by 2–3 ring species (86.5–98.3 %), including acenaphthene, fluorene, and phenanthrene. For the contribution of PAHs mass in each fraction to the bulk soil, the 20–200 μm size fraction had the greatest accumulation of PAHs in loamy sand layers at 1.0–7.5 m, increasing with depth; while in deeper sand layer at 10.5–12.0 m, the >200 μm size fraction showed highest percentages and contributed 81 % of total PAHs mass. For individual PAH distribution, the 2–3 ring PAHs were highly concentrated in the small size fraction (<2 and 2–20 μm); the 4–6 ring PAHs showed the highest concentrations in the 2–20 μm size fraction, increasing with depth. The distribution of PAHs was primarily determined by the sorption on soil organic matter and the characteristics of PAHs. This research should have significant contribution to PAH migration study and remediation design for PAHs-contaminated sites.     

兽药抗生素对土壤微生物群落的影响

兽药抗生素广泛应用于畜禽养殖业,用于预防、治疗动物疾病及促进动物生长。然而,养殖过程中使用的抗生素不能被动物完全吸收,其中40%～90%以母体或其代谢物的形式排出动物体外并随畜禽粪便进入土壤环境,对土壤微生物群落结构和功能产生影响。在汇总了畜禽粪便和土壤中兽药抗生素的残留特征之后,概述了抗生素对土壤微生物群落结构和功能的影响以及微生物产生的污染诱导群落耐性。重点探讨了抗生素微生物毒性的影响因素和近年来对微生物共耐性方面的研究,并对未来的研究方向及目标提出了建议。     

兼氧型MBR工艺对污泥自消化效果的研究

研究了兼氧型MBR工艺中,当溶解氧控制在0.1～3.0 mg/L时,兼性厌氧菌和厌氧菌所占比例达80%。实验进水COD浓度为60～600 mg/L,COD去除率平均达93%;MLVSS浓度一直保持稳定,平均值为11 090 mg/L,而无机灰分浓度逐渐积累,实验开始时为3 107 mg/L,实验结束时达5 830 mg/L。结果表明,兼氧型MBR工艺可实现污泥自消化,不排放有机性污泥。兼氧型MBR工艺还对膜组件有一定自清洁作用,运行周期可达4个月。实验证明,兼氧型MBR工艺具有处理效率高、不排放有机污泥以及减轻膜污染的特点,是一种创新性的污水处理技术。     

Maternal serum levels of total activin-A in first-trimester trisomy 21 pregnancies

Maternal serum total activin-A concentration was measured in 45 pregnancies affected by trisomy 21 and 493 control unaffected pregnancies at 10–14 weeks of gestation. In the trisomy 21 pregnancies total activin-A concentration was significantly higher (1.36 MoM of the unaffected pregnancies) and in 16% of cases the level was above the 95th centile of normal. The log₁₀ SD for the control group and the trisomy 21 group were 0.17 and 0.22, respectively. The median pregnancy associated plasma protein-A (PAPP-A) in this trisomy 21 series was 0.49 and for free β-hCG was 2.05. In the trisomy group there were significant positive associations between total activin-A and PAPP-A (0.6071) and free β-hCG (0.4255). The low median difference and the high overlap in values between trisomic and unaffected pregnancies make total activin-A of little practical use in first-trimester screening for trisomy 21. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Adsorption of phenol on inorganic-organic pillared montmorillonite in polluted water

Both inorganic- and organic-pillared montmorillonites (PMts) were used to adsorb phenol to study suitable conditions for adsorption and adsorption isotherms. The adsorbing capacity of modified clays depends not only surface area, but mainly on micropore structure and surface components. After incandescing at 500 degrees C, the pillar structure and the basal interlayer spacing (1.83 nm) remained stable. Using modified PMt with surfactant can improve adsorbing capacity greatly. The PMt can be recycled, and it is a potential substance for adsorption of environmental pollutants.     

湖北省桑树种质资源考察,鉴定与利用研究

通过对罗田等２８个县（市）和神农架林区桑树种质资源的调查，共收集桑树种质资源５６１份，经鉴定有９个桑种和１个变种。介绍了湖北省桑树资源的分布、生态型、桑属中种的检索、桑种的染色体倍数、应用价值的评估和资源利用等方面研究的情况。     

试论我国有机无机肥料的配合施用

有机肥是我国肥料结构中的重要组成部分，是我国肥料中磷钾和微量元素的主要来源．有机无机肥料配合施用对于提高作物产量和农业持续发展具有重要意义．传统有机肥的生产和投入方式难以适应现代农业的需求．商品有机无机复肥是有机无机肥料配合施用的有力措施，它将推进有机农业现代化的发展．本文还讨论了有机无机肥料配合施用的一些基本原理．     

从三峡库区土地容量论移民外迁的必要性——以重庆市云阳县为例

三峡库区农村移民安置是三峡工程系统中的一项重要工程,它直接关系到三峡工程的成败。对于如何解决库区５０多万农村移民的安置出路,三峡工程移民安置可行性研究和库区众多的关于农村移民安置工作报告中早有定论。     

基于GIS的中国城市水环境管理研究现状与趋势分析

随着中国城市规模迅速扩大、人口急剧增加,给城市水环境造成了巨大压力.由于绝大多数水环境信息是与空间位置关系密不可分的,在使用传统管理信息系统以及数据统计方式处理大量的水环境数据时,并不能很好地利用与呈现空间特征,因此,具有地理空间分析功能的地理信息系统（GIS）逐渐受到重视.然而,目前GIS在城市水环境管理中仍存在需要思考和改善的地方,以形成完整的城市水环境决策系统,提出可用的环境改善建议.