Testing the influence of gravity on flower symmetry in five <Emphasis Type="Italic">Saxifraga</Emphasis> species

Flower symmetry is considered a species-specific trait and is categorized in asymmetry, actinomorphic symmetry, bisymmetry and zygomorphic symmetry. Here we report on the intra-individual variation of flower symmetry in the genus Saxifraga and the influence of light, gravity and intrinsic factors on the development of flower symmetry. We tested five species—Saxifraga cuneifolia, Saxifraga imparilis, Saxifraga rotundifolia, Saxifraga stolonifera and Saxifraga umbrosa—concerning six flower parameters—angles between petals, petal length, petal pigmentation, angular position of carpels, movement of stamens and (only for S. imparilis and S. stolonifera) the length of the two lower elongated petals in regard to their position towards the stem. Specimens of all species were tested on a vertical clinostat as a gravity compensator, on a horizontal clinostat as a light incidence compensator and on a stationary control. The results show that the angle of incident light has no apparent impact on flower symmetry, whereas gravity affects the angular position of petals in S. cuneifolia and S. umbrosa and the petal colouration in S. rotundifolia. In S. cuneifolia and S. umbrosa, the absence of directional gravity resulted in the development of actinomorphic flowers, whereas the corresponding control flowers were zygomorphic. The development of flowers in S. rotundifolia was not altered by this treatment. The length of the two elongated petals in S. stolonifera and S. imparilis was not affected by gravity, but rather was determined by position of the flower within the inflorescence and resulted in asymmetrical flowers.     

Differential timing and latitudinal variation in sex ratio of Aquatic Warblers during the autumn migration

Differential migration has been extensively reported in spring, but less so in autumn, particularly in relation to sex in monomorphic bird species. Here, we analysed the autumn passage of a monomorphic, globally threatened passerine, the Aquatic Warbler Acrocephalus paludicola throughout Western Europe, with regard to age and sex. We showed that, overall, adults migrated earlier than first-year birds, and males migrated earlier than females during the autumn migration. This may be caused by an overall social dominance of adults over immatures, and differentiated migration strategy of males and females. In addition, we found male-skewed sex proportions, with a tendency to an equalised ratio in more southern stopover sites. This may indicate a male bias in the global population or different migration strategies of the sexes. Differential migration may cause the age and sex classes to be exposed differently to various threats affecting demographic structure of the species.     

Unusually high-pitched neonate distress calls of the open-habitat Mongolian gazelle (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Procapra gutturosa</Emphasis>) and their anatomical and hormonal predictors

In neonate ruminants, the acoustic structure of vocalizations may depend on sex, vocal anatomy, hormonal profiles and body mass and on environmental factors. In neonate wild-living Mongolian gazelles Procapra gutturosa, hand-captured during biomedical monitoring in the Daurian steppes at the Russian-Mongolian border, we spectrographically analysed distress calls and measured body mass of 22 individuals (6 males, 16 females). For 20 (5 male, 15 female) of these individuals, serum testosterone levels were also analysed. In addition, we measured relevant dimensions of the vocal apparatus (larynx, vocal folds, vocal tract) in one stillborn male Mongolian gazelle specimen. Neonate distress calls of either sex were high in maximum fundamental frequency (800–900 Hz), but the beginning and minimum fundamental frequencies were significantly lower in males than in females. Body mass was larger in males than in females. The levels of serum testosterone were marginally higher in males. No correlations were found between either body mass or serum testosterone values and any acoustic variable for males and females analysed together or separately. We discuss that the high-frequency calls of neonate Mongolian gazelles are more typical for closed-habitat neonate ruminants, whereas other open-habitat neonate ruminants (goitred gazelle Gazella subgutturosa, saiga antelope Saiga tatarica and reindeer Rangifer tarandus) produce low-frequency (<200 Hz) distress calls. Proximate cause for the high fundamental frequency of distress calls of neonate Mongolian gazelles is their very short, atypical vocal folds (4 mm) compared to the 7-mm vocal folds of neonate goitred gazelles, producing distress calls as low as 120 Hz.     

Three-year lifecycle,large body,and very high threshold temperature in the cricket <Emphasis Type="Italic">Gryllus argenteus</Emphasis> for special adaptation to desiccation cycle in Malawi

In temperate climates, the initiation and termination of diapause synchronize the stress-tolerant stage with the stressful season and reproduction with the non-stressful season in many insects. Synchronization is often regulated by photoperiodism.Voltinism and the ultimate size of adults are also important determinants for their lifecycle, and different diapause stages and voltinism patterns are known in crickets.Here, we investigated the life history of the African cricket Gryllus argenteus from Malawi, which is a typical arid tropical highland. The climate is characterized by alternating arid and wet seasons, each of which lasts for half a year, and where the available heat mass is much less than lowlands at the same latitude. We first measured the nymphal duration at each rearing temperature and calculated the lower developmental threshold (t ₀) to be 20.19 °C based on Ikemoto and Takai (2000) and 19.38 °C based on a conventional line-fitting method. These values are very high relative to many other insects. The local temperature in winter does not fall below 15 °C, but this is much higher than the lethal limit. This suggested that critical stress in this locality was not coldness but low precipitation in winter. We estimated, based both on local temperature change and the Ikemoto and Takai’s t ₀, that G. argenteus required 3 years to complete its lifecycle unlike wet lowland species, where univoltinism or multi-voltinism are commonplace. Photoperiodism was observed in this species, but due to a lag between annual cycles in photoperiod, temperature, and humidity, photoperiodism alone cannot atune their lifecycle with local conditions.Synchronization in this species was achieved by three different adaptations: photoperiodism, high t ₀, and large body size, which give it a long lifecycle. Although the species cannot achieve a univoltine lifecycle because of its high t₀ value, it can escape from dry season by entering diapause at moderate temperatures, probably thereby achieving adaptive synchrony of lifecycle with both favorable and unfavorable seasons. A comparison between a conventional photothermogram and a newly formulated photohydrogram or photohygrogram demonstrates that even though sufficient heat is available, scarcity of water and thus scarcity of foliage should force the cricket to maintain diapause at intermediate temperature. The results suggested that high t ₀, large body size, and multi-ennial lifecycle mutually affect each other and formulate a unique adaptation under such an extreme environment.     

FTA和FMECA综合法对常压炉的风险分析

首先对炼油厂的常压炉系统进行了火灾爆炸事故的FTA分析,在此基础上进行了深入的FMECA分析,绘制出分析表格,并提出将这两种方法结合起来应用的优点以及一般步骤.综合两种分析方法深入分析了引起火灾爆炸事故的原因,指出系统运行的潜在危险因素,根据分析结果提出综合性的安全改进和预防措施.     

长江经济带经济与环境协调发展的时空格局及问题区域识别

长江经济带是当前中国经济发展与环境保护矛盾最为尖锐的地区之一,实现区域经济与环境系统间的动态协调,是该区域未来可持续发展过程中亟需解决的关键问题。分别构建经济“规模-结构-效率”以及环境“压力-状态-响应”的分析框架,采用熵值法、GIS、耦合协调度评价模型等方法系统考察2007~2016年长江经济带经济与环境动态协调发展的时空格局,并对协调发展的问题区域进行分类和识别。结果表明：(1)2007~2016年长江经济带经济水平几乎实现了翻倍增长,验证了将其作为中国经济发展主支撑带的合理性。同时,经济水平“东高西低”的格局稳固且路径依赖特性明显。(2)2007~2016年长江经济带环境水平及其提升速率仍相对较低,验证了长江环境保护的重要性。同时,环境水平在空间分布上未呈现明显的规律而是具有“随机”性特征。(3)2007~2016年长江经济带经济与环境间的协调发展程度呈稳步上升态势,协调发展指数由0.446 8上升至0.602 3,由濒临失调阶段进入初级协调阶段,并在空间上呈现出东部地区>中部地区>西部地区的整体格局。(4）基于经济、环境、耦合协调度3类数据间的组合情况,将协调发展问题区域划分为6种基本类型并进行识别,发现各研究年份均有超过30个问题区域,并且与经济滞后相关的问题区域数量占据绝对比重。     

基于可编辑VR实验平台的突发事件下跟随效应研究

建立了可编辑VR疏散动力学实验平台,并招募100名大学生开展地铁车厢内的虚拟实验,探究突发事件下的跟随效应。每次实验有一名实验人员和20名虚拟乘客(NPC)参与,共设置5个场景探究不同比例的运动NPC对参与者预动作行为和运动行为的影响。通过分析问卷、预动作时间、出门选择、运动距离等数据,发现在实验中存在跟随等待人群和跟随运动人群两种跟随效应,而人群的运动是更为强烈的信息,当等待和运动NPC占比从0%提升至50%,等待和运动参与者占比分别提高10%和60%。因此,在突发事件场景中,应及时对局部人群施加有效的同向引导,以提升整体疏散效率。     

Sustainable method towards magnetic ordered mesoporous polymers for efficient Methylene Blue removal

The difficulty in achieving high removal efficiency for contaminants in textile wastewater over a wide range of pH impedes the progress of its treatment technique greatly. Herein, a facile and sustainable strategy was adopted for constructing magnetic ordered mesoporous polymers (M-OMPs) without the assistance of organic solvent and catalyst. The prepared M-OMPs were endowed with high special surface area and good superparamagnetism simultaneously, and exhibited high removal efficiency (>99%) for Methylene Blue (MB) within a short time (10 min) at a concentration of 50 mg/L. What's more, high removal efficiency was achieved over a wide range of pH 2-12 and the adsorption capacity for MB on M-OMPs was substantially retained even after 5 adsorption-desorption cycles, further demonstrating the application potential of M-OMPs in the decontamination of textile wastewater.     

自吸过滤式呼吸器对人体呼吸模式的影响

测定了在中等（100W）和高等（155W）劳动强度下,8名受试者佩戴5种自吸过滤式呼吸器（呼吸阻力及死腔不同）从事踏车运动时的呼吸模式变化。结果表明：口腔压力波动和外呼吸功因呼吸器而显著增加;随着呼吸负荷的增加,呼气压及吸气压相应增大;在呼吸负荷较大的情况下,呼气压及吸气压的增大更加显著;随运动负荷的增加,呼吸负荷对呼吸压的影响更加明显。