The origin and early evolution of birds: discoveries,disputes, and perspectives from fossil evidence

The study of the origin and early evolution of birds has never produced as much excitement and public attention as in the past decade. Well preserved and abundant new fossils of birds and dinosaurs have provided unprecedented new evidence on the dinosaurian origin of birds, the arboreal origin of avian flight, and the origin of feathers prior to flapping flight. The Mesozoic avian assemblage mainly comprises two major lineages: the prevalent extinct group Enantiornithes, and the Ornithurae, which gave rise to all modern birds, as well as several more basal taxa. Cretaceous birds radiated into various paleoecological niches that included fish- and seed-eating. Significant size and morphological differences and variation in flight capabilities, ranging from gliding to powerful flight among early birds, highlight the diversification of birds in the Early Cretaceous. There is little evidence, however, to support a Mesozoic origin of modern avian groups. Controversy and debate, nevertheless, surround many of these findings, and more details are needed to give a better appreciation of the significance of these new discoveries.     

<Emphasis Type="Italic">Jeholornis</Emphasis> compared to<Emphasis Type="Italic"> Archaeopteryx</Emphasis>, with a new understanding of the earliest avian evolution

The recently reported Jeholornis represents the only known bird with a complete long skeletal tail except for Archaeopteryx. Two newly discovered specimens referable to Jeholornis provide some important new information about its anatomy. The tail of Jeholornis is much longer than that of Archaeopteryx and comprises a maximum of 27 caudal vertebrae compared with only 23 in Archaeopteryx. More interestingly, the tail feathers are shaped more like those of dromaeosaurs than those of Archaeopteryx. We conclude that the common ancestor of birds must have a more primitive tail than that in Archaeopteryx, confirming the side branch position of Archaeopteryx in the early avian evolution. The synsacrum is composed of six sacrals, representing a transitional stage between Archaeopteryx and more advanced birds. The scapula of Jeholornis has a dorso-laterally exposed glenoid facet, and the coracoid has a supracoracoid foramen. The presence of a pair of fenestrae in the sternum of Jeholornis has further implications for the air-sac system in early birds. Electronic Supplementary Material  The online version of this article (doi: contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.     

<Emphasis Type="Italic">Bonitasaura salgadoi</Emphasis> gen. et sp. nov.: a beaked sauropod from the Late Cretaceous of Patagonia

Ornithischian and theropod dinosaurs were morphologically diverse during the Cretaceous. In contrast, sauropods were relatively more conservative. The anatomy of Bonitasaura salgadoi, a new 9-m titanosaurian sauropod from Upper Cretaceous beds of Patagonia, suggests that sauropod anatomical diversity would have included unexpected items. Its unusual, rectangular lower jaw possesses narrow, anteriorly restricted teeth and shows evidence of a sharp keratinous sheath over the non-dentigerous region that probably worked to guillotine plant material. This discovery definitely demonstrates that titanosaurs acquired a mandibular configuration similar to that of some basal diplodocoids, as had already been suggested by the lower jaw of the controversial genus Antarctosaurus. This oral configuration, plus the beak-like structure and the skull shape, resemble some traits more commonly seen in Laurasian ornithischians, mostly unexpressed in southern continents. A high sauropod morphological diversity seems to be in agreement with the poorly represented ornithischian clades of the southern hemisphere.Communicated by G. Mayr     

丝状菌污泥膨胀的微生物学理论与控制对策

在活性污泥系统中，由丝状菌过度繁殖引起的污泥膨胀是最难解决的问题之一。文章对与丝状菌污泥膨胀相关的微生物学和丝状菌生理生态学进行了讨论；介绍了现有的解释污泥膨胀的基本理论，并对丝状菌膨胀的控制措施进行了探讨。     

To see or not to see: does previewing a future opponent affect the contest behavior of green swordtail males (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Xiphophorus helleri</Emphasis>)?

Animals assess the fighting ability of conspecifics either by engaging in aggressive interactions or observing contests between others. However, whether individuals assess physical prowess outside the context of aggressive interactions remains unknown. We examined whether male green swordtails (Xiphophorus helleri) extract information about the fighting ability of solitary individuals via observation and whether acquiring such information elicits behavioral modifications. Contests preceded by mutual visual assessment were significantly shorter than fights where only one or neither of the two individuals was informed in advance. Focal animals initiated aggressive behavior more often against larger opponents only after previewing their adversary, indicating that swordtails can extract information about relative body size from watching solitary conspecifics. When a fighting disadvantage is perceived, observers adopt tactics that increase their probability of winning the contest.     

土壤石油生物降解影响因子正交实验分析

石油污染物进入土壤之后，多种因素同时制约着污染物的生物降解，为了定量化各因素对彼此的影响，探求促进正向作用，抑制负向作用的途径，为各因素制定适宜的施用时间顺序以及施用量，以最大限度地加快降解速度，笔者设计了本文中的复合生物降解实验，结果表明，使用多因素复合处理方法可以在土壤石油处理中收到很好的效果，在土壤石油含量为64g/kg水平下，三周内的降解率可以高达48％，在实验初期，表面活性剂和氧化剂的投加是影响降解速率的重要因素，它们的最优水平均为各受试水平中的最大值，到了实验的中后期，污染强度上升为降解的首要影响因子，并且在受试样品范围内，污染度越大降解率越高。     

Trihalomethane formation in ozonated and chlorinated surface water

The relatively recent discovery of disinfection by-products has driven the main regulatory organisms to set maximum contaminant levels for certain substances in drinking water. Trihalomethanes can be deemed as the most important group of by-products in chlorinated surface waters. The present work has focused on trihalomethane formation in a full-scale water treatment plant. We studied the effect of several factors, including ozonation, on trihalomethane levels in chlorinated treated water. The treatment scheme also includes an ozonation step. Electronic Publication     

不同取样方式对煤层瓦斯含量测定的研究分析

快速实现原位取样是准确测定煤层瓦斯含量的基础,为研究不同取样方式对瓦斯含量测定的影响,以淮南潘二煤矿11223工作面为例,对比深孔定点取样与孔口接粉取样方式下取样效果,并对采取的煤样利用直接法进行瓦斯含量测定对比分析。结果表明:深孔定点取样装置满足现场取样要求,且采用深孔定点方式取样可提高瓦斯含量测定准确性。     

带压注浆封孔技术在汪家寨煤矿的应用

为改进汪家寨煤矿的瓦斯抽采钻孔封孔技术,提高封孔质量,针对目前封孔工艺存在的问题,提出以新型无机封孔材料、封孔器为一体的"两堵一注"带压注浆封孔技术。现场的应用试验表明,考察期内试验钻孔平均瓦斯体积分数达到了60%以上,有效提高试验钻孔的封孔质量,为下一步的封孔工艺优化改进提供了参考及建议。