流动搅动法研究针铁矿对亚砷酸盐的吸附特征

采用流动搅动法,在溶液p H、浓度和温度影响条件下,研究针铁矿对亚砷酸盐吸附的特征.结果表明,在不同条件下,亚砷酸盐的吸附过程分为快反应和慢反应这2个阶段.随溶液p H的升高,砷的吸附量逐渐降低,表观吸附速率常数(k')逐渐增大,半反应时间(t1/2)也就越小,砷的吸附反应达到平衡时间就越短,且砷的扩散速率常数b值也逐渐降低.溶液p H 3.0和p H7.0时,砷最大吸附量分别为246.9 mg·kg~(-1)和99.8 mg·kg~(-1).随着砷浓度的升高,针铁矿对砷的吸附量增加,表观吸附速率常数(k')逐渐增大;砷浓度为0.10 mg·L~(-1)和1.00 mg·L~(-1)时,砷的最大吸附量分别为96.5 mg·kg~(-1)和249.1 mg·kg~(-1).Freundlich方程中吸附常数Kf值随着时间的延长逐渐降低,其吸附能力是逐渐减弱的.Langmuir方程分配因子RL在0~1之间,表现为针铁矿上砷的吸附为优惠吸附.随着温度的升高,针铁矿对砷的吸附量增加,表观吸附速率常数k'值也逐渐升高.温度为298K和313 K时,砷最大吸附量分别为241.1 mg·kg~(-1)和315.6 mg·kg~(-1).用抛物线扩散方程b值来计算扩散过程的伪热力学常数,砷吸附反应的活化能(E*a)为14.60 k J·mol~(-1).砷扩散活化焓变(ΔHθ)随着温度的升高有所降低,ΔHθ均为正值,扩散过程为吸热反应,升高温度有利于砷的吸附;活化自由能变(ΔGθ)随着温度的上升而升高,升高温度有利于加快扩散过程;ΔSθ值均为负,说明吸附反应使体系有序度增加.     

上海崇明地区大气分形态汞污染特征

2014年3月~2015年2月对上海崇明东滩湿地公园的气态零价汞(GEM)、活性气态汞(RGM)和颗粒态汞(PBM)分别进行了为期1a的连续监测.GEM、RGM和PBM的年平均浓度分别为(2.75±1.13)ng·m~(-3)、(13.39±15.95)pg·m~(-3)和(21.89±40.42)pg·m~(-3),明显高于对应北半球背景值浓度.GEM浓度在夏季最高(3.65 ng·m~(-3)),受自然源排放影响较大,秋冬季较低,受人为源排放影响较大;RGM浓度在春季最高,冬季最低,主要受风速风向的影响;PBM浓度在秋冬季节明显高于其他季节,受秋冬季节较多的细颗粒物重污染过程的影响.GEM和PBM浓度均夜间较高,白天较低,主要受空气气团混合作用影响.RGM浓度在下午较高,主要是由于GEM在下午的光氧化作用加强,利于RGM的生成.GEM和PBM浓度在偏西风向上浓度较高,受上海、江苏等地人为源排放影响较大.RGM浓度在东南风向上浓度明显高于其他方向,这是因为RGM主要来源为人为排放,其浓度受风速影响较大,东南风向上平均风速较小,持续的弱风及停滞的空气不利于RGM的扩散.     

Sexual differences in food preferences in the white stork: an experimental study

Sex differences in the foraging ecology of monomorphic species are poorly understood, due to problems with gender identification in field studies. In the current study, we used experimental conditions to investigate the food preferences of the white stork Ciconia ciconia, an opportunistic species in terms of food, but characterised by a low level of sexual dimorphism. During a 10-day experiment, 29 individuals (20 females and 9 males) were studied by means of a ‘cafeteria test’ in which the storks’ diet consisted of mammals, birds, fish, amphibians, insects and earthworms. The storks preferred food characterised by high calorific and protein values such as mammals, birds and fish. Sexes differed strongly in their preferences; males preferred mammals, whereas females preferred birds. Moreover, females consumed insects and earthworms less often than males. Interestingly, males spent significantly less time foraging than females. We have demonstrated that the white stork exhibits clear sexual differences in food preferences which are mostly attributable to differences in parental duties, physiology and anatomy.     

Genetic sex determination in <Emphasis Type="Italic">Astatotilapia calliptera</Emphasis>, a prototype species for the Lake Malawi cichlid radiation

East African cichlids display extensive variation in sex determination systems. The species Astatotilapia calliptera is one of the few cichlids that reside both in Lake Malawi and in surrounding waterways. A. calliptera is of interest in evolutionary studies as a putative immediate outgroup species for the Lake Malawi species flock and possibly as a prototype ancestor-like species for the radiation. Here, we use linkage mapping to test association of sex in A. calliptera with loci that have been previously associated with genetic sex determination in East African cichlid species. We identify a male heterogametic XY system segregating at linkage group (LG) 7 in an A. calliptera line that originated from Lake Malawi, at a locus previously shown to act as an XY sex determination system in multiple species of Lake Malawi cichlids. Significant association of genetic markers and sex produce a broad genetic interval of approximately 26 megabases (Mb) using the Nile tilapia genome to orient markers; however, we note that the marker with the strongest association with sex is near a gene that acts as a master sex determiner in other fish species. We demonstrate that alleles of the marker are perfectly associated with sex in Metriaclima mbenjii, a species from the rock-dwelling clade of Lake Malawi. While we do not rule out the possibility of other sex determination loci in A. calliptera, this study provides a foundation for fine mapping of the cichlid sex determination gene on LG7 and evolutionary context regarding the origin and persistence of the LG7 XY across diverse, rapidly evolving lineages.     

Sexual selection on receptor organ traits: younger females attract males with longer antennae

Sexual selection theory predicts that female choice may favour the evolution of elaborate male signals. Darwin also suggested that sexual selection can favour elaborate receiver structures in order to better detect sexual signals, an idea that has been largely ignored. We evaluated this unorthodox perspective by documenting the antennal lengths of male Uraba lugens Walker (Lepidoptera: Nolidae) moths that were attracted to experimentally manipulated emissions of female sex pheromone. Either one or two females were placed in field traps for the duration of their adult lives in order to create differences in the quantity of pheromone emissions from the traps. The mean antennal length of males attracted to field traps baited with a single female was longer than that of males attracted to traps baited with two females, a pattern consistent with Darwin’s prediction assuming the latter emits higher pheromone concentrations. Furthermore, younger females attracted males with longer antennae, which may reflect age-specific changes in pheromone emission. These field experiments provide the first direct evidence of an unappreciated role for sexual selection in the evolution of sexual dimorphism in moth antennae and raise the intriguing possibility that females select males with longer antennae through strategic emission of pheromones.     

Females’ sampling strategy to comparatively evaluate prospective mates in the peacock blenny <Emphasis Type="Italic">Salaria pavo</Emphasis>

Emerging evidence suggests the occurrence of comparative decision-making processes in mate choice, questioning the traditional idea of female choice based on rules of absolute preference. In such a scenario, females are expected to use a typical best-of-n sampling strategy, being able to recall previous sampled males based on memory of their quality and location. Accordingly, the quality of preferred mate is expected to be unrelated to both the number and the sequence of female visits. We found support for these predictions in the peacock blenny, Salaria pavo, a fish where females have the opportunity to evaluate the attractiveness of many males in a short time period and in a restricted spatial range. Indeed, even considering the variability in preference among females, most of them returned to previous sampled males for further evaluations; thus, the preferred male did not represent the last one in the sequence of visited males. Moreover, there was no relationship between the attractiveness of the preferred male and the number of further visits assigned to the other males. Our results suggest the occurrence of a best-of-n mate sampling strategy in the peacock blenny.     

The mystery of a missing bone: revealing the orbitosphenoid in basal Epicynodontia (Cynodontia,Therapsida) through computed tomography

The basal non-mammaliaform cynodonts from the late Permian (Lopingian) and Early Triassic are a major source of information for the understanding of the evolutionary origin of mammals. Detailed knowledge of their anatomy is critical for understanding the phylogenetic transition toward mammalness and the paleobiological reconstruction of mammalian precursors. Using micro-computed tomography (μCT), we describe the internal morphology of the interorbital region that includes the rarely fossilized orbitosphenoid elements in four basal cynodonts. These paired bones, which are positioned relatively dorsally in the skull, contribute to the wall of the anterior part of the braincase and form the floor for the olfactory lobes. Unlike procynosuchids and the more basal therapsids in which the orbitosphenoids are well developed, dense, and bear a ventral keel, the basal epicynodonts Cynosaurus, Galesaurus, and Thrinaxodon display cancellous, reduced, and loosely articulated orbitosphenoids, a condition shared with many eucynodonts. The hemi-cylindrical orbitosphenoid from which the mammalian condition is derived re-evolved convergently in traversodontid and some probainognathian cynodonts.     

Postnatal nutrition influences male attractiveness and promotes plasticity in male mating preferences

Poor early-life nutrition could reduce adult reproductive success by negatively affecting traits linked to sexual attractiveness such as song complexity. If so, this might favor strategic mate choice, allowing males with less complex songs to tailor their mating tactics to maximize the reproductive benefits. However, this possibility has been ignored in theoretical and empirical studies. By manipulating the micronutrient content of the diet (e.g., low or high) during the postnatal period of male zebra finches, we show for the first time (1) that males reared on a poor (low) micronutrient diet had less complex songs as adults; (2) that these males, in contrast to the high micronutrient diet group, were more selective in their mating strategies, discriminating against those females most likely to reduce their clutch size when paired with males having less complex songs; and (3) that by following different mating strategies, males reared on the contrasting diets obtained similar reproductive benefits. These results suggest that early-life dietary conditions can induce multiple and long-lasting effects on male and female reproductive traits. Moreover, the results seem to reflect a previously unreported case of adaptive plasticity in mate choice in response to a nutritionally mediated reduction in sexual attractiveness.     

2015年干季佛山一次重空气污染过程形成机理研究

2015年12月21-23日,广东珠三角佛山地区出现了一次PM_2.5重污染过程.利用佛山地区顺德、禅城、三水3个站点风廓线雷达、激光雷达和微波辐射计观测资料,结合地面气象观测数据和污染物浓度数据,分析研究了这次重污染过程的形成机理.结果表明：1形成这次污染过程的主要原因是近地层偏南风和偏北风对峙导致水平风速减小,大气水平输送能力变差;持续时间长且强度达到3℃·km^-1的强逆温抑制了污染物的垂直扩散;800 m以下超过90%的高相对湿度造成气溶胶粒子吸湿增长显著.2持续时间长且比较深厚的小风层是造成这次污染过程的直接原因,小风层厚度是预报空气质量变化的较好工具.与地面风速相比,PM_2.5浓度与小风层厚度的相关系数最多能提高0.36,且具有较长的预报时效.佛山地区小风层的风速阈值为3.8 m·s^-1.3这次污染过程存在两种不同的污染形成机制,污染前期（21-23日中午）主要以本地污染物累积为主,污染后期（23日下午）下风向地区（三水）的污染主要是受上风向地区（顺德和禅城）的污染输送影响.     

餐厨垃圾固态发酵过程中挥发性脂肪酸与产气的变化关系研究

为了研究餐厨垃圾固态发酵过程中挥发性脂肪酸(VFAs)与产气的变化关系,采用中温(37.0±0.2)℃连续式发酵,在完全混合CSTR反应器中连续运行100 d,分析餐厨垃圾固态发酵过程的启动、运行、失衡、失衡后恢复及实现固态发酵全过程各参数的变化趋势,重点研究VFAs各成分与产气、pH等的关系.结果表明,餐厨垃圾固态发酵实验过程可划分为4个时期:适应期(0~13 d)、启动期(14~30 d)、抑制期(31~50d)、恢复及稳定期(51~100 d).不同时期的容积产气率、VFAs及各参数均表现出不同的阶段性变化.在餐厨垃圾固态发酵全过程中,pH保持在5~7之间,正丁酸比例一直处于较高水平;VFAs与pH和容积产气率在初期基本保持反比关系,最终在稳定期达到平衡,均稳定在一定范围内波动.在恢复及稳定阶段以NaOH稀碱液调节当日回流渗滤液的pH值,在第63 d时pH值上升至6.76,VFAs含量稳定在20~22 g·L~(-1)之间,产气量明显提高;在81 d时TS达到20%以上,系统容积产气量和生物降解率均保持相对稳定.