Content analysis of newspaper coverage of the Florida panther

Populations of large carnivores are declining globally, and analysis of public discourse about carnivores is useful for understanding public opinion and influences on management and policy. Portrayal of carnivores in the media affects public perceptions and support for their conservation. We conducted a content analysis of 513 articles about Florida panthers (Puma concolor coryi) published from 2003 to 2006 in newspapers with local circulation in core panther habitat in southwest Florida and papers with statewide circulation to compare the differences in the amount of coverage and portrayals of panther risks to people and property on the basis of proximity of human communities to panthers. Local papers published significantly more news articles and significantly longer news articles primarily about panthers. Articles in local and statewide papers used both episodic frames, which focus on specific occurrences (e.g., a panther sighting or predation) and thematic frames, which focus on general trends (e.g., abundance of panthers over time). Local articles more often emphasized risks that panthers might harm people, pets, or livestock than statewide papers. Our results are consistent with theory that proximity to human-carnivore conflict influences perceptions and salience of risks posed by large carnivores. Most articles mentioned panthers as a secondary topic, which we believe was a result of the relevance an endangered carnivore has in discussions of public land management, development, and regulations in Florida. Claims made by sources quoted in each article had a neutral to positive depiction of panthers, and most quotations were from federal and state agency scientists. We suggest continued use by the media of agency sources provides the opportunity for clear, concordant messages about panther management. Content analysis provides a way to monitor media portrayal of carnivores for consistency with agency outreach goals.     

Assessing the effectiveness of marine reserves on unsustainably harvested long-lived sessile invertebrates

Although the rapid recovery of fishes after establishment of a marine reserve is well known, much less is known about the response of long-lived, sessile, benthic organisms to establishment of such reserves. Since antiquity, Mediterranean red coral (Corallium rubrum) has been harvested intensively for use in jewelry, and its distribution is currently smaller than its historical size throughout the Mediterranean Sea. To assess whether establishment of marine reserves is associated with a change in the size and number of red coral colonies that historically were not harvested sustainably, we analyzed temporal changes in mean colony diameter and density from 1992 to 2005 within red coral populations at different study sites in the Medes Islands Marine Reserve (established in 1992) and in adjacent unprotected areas. Moreover, we compared colony size in the Medes Islands Marine Reserve, where recreational diving is allowed and poaching has been observed after reserve establishment, with colony size in three other marine protected areas (Banyuls, Carry-le-Rouet, and Scandola) with the enforced prohibition of fishing and diving. At the end of the study, the size of red coral colonies at all sampling sites in the Medes Islands was significantly smaller than predicted by growth models and smaller than those in marine protected areas without fishing and diving. The annual number of recreational dives and the percent change in the basal diameter of red coral colonies were negatively correlated, which suggests that abrasion by divers may increase the mortality rates of the largest red coral colonies within this reserve . Our study is the first quantitative assessment of a poaching event, which was detected during our monitoring in 2002, inside the marine reserve. Poaching was associated with a loss of approximately 60% of the biomass of red coral colonies.     

渔业资源动态的综合时序模型

渔业资源的变动是一个随机过程,它既有确定性趋势,又有随机波动的特性。论文把灰色系统方法和时序分析相结合,用灰色GM(1,1)模型提取渔业资源变动中的确定性趋势,用时序模型描写它的随机波动,从而建立渔业资源动态的灰色时序模型。考虑到渔业资源的变化受到捕捞强度的影响,同时建立渔获量和单位捕捞努力量的渔获量(CPUE)关于捕捞努力量的二元时序模型。利用灰色时序模型和多元时序模型,对舟山渔场渔业资源的动态变化进行分析和预测,结果表明灰色时序模型和多元时序模型能很好地拟合渔业资源的变动过程,精确地预测渔业资源未来的状况。     

AMSR-E观测资料干扰对反演地表参数的影响

针对星载微波成像仪低频窗区通道观测数据中存在大范围无线电频率干扰(简称RFI)的情况,以微波扫描辐射计(AMSR-E)为例,首先用改进的主成分分析方法对RFI进行识别;进而探讨RFI存在对反演地表参数的影响.然后,利用经过线性拟合RFI订正后的AMSR-E观测资料,采用一维变分1D-Var方法进行地表参数反演,通过对美国地区陆地RFI订正前、后地表反演产品(地表温度及降水率)的比较,发现RFI干扰使得受影响区域反演的地表温度及降水率异常偏高,存在较大误差.因此,在使用星载微波成像仪低频窗区通道观测进行地表参数反演和资料同化前必须进行有效地RFI识别和订正,改进的主成分分析识别方法和线性拟合的RFI订正算法对陆地上观测是有效的.     

Roads,Interrupted Dispersal,and Genetic Diversity in Timber Rattlesnakes

Abstract: Anthropogenic habitat modification often creates barriers to animal movement, transforming formerly contiguous habitat into a patchwork of habitat islands with low connectivity. Roadways are a feature of most landscapes that can act as barriers or filters to migration among local populations. Even small and recently constructed roads can have a significant impact on population genetic structure of some species, but not others. We developed a research approach that combines fine‐scale molecular genetics with behavioral and ecological data to understand the impacts of roads on population structure and connectivity. We used microsatellite markers to characterize genetic variation within and among populations of timber rattlesnakes (Crotalus horridus) occupying communal hibernacula (dens) in regions bisected by roadways. We examined the impact of roads on seasonal migration, genetic diversity, and gene flow among populations. Snakes in hibernacula isolated by roads had significantly lower genetic diversity and higher genetic differentiation than snakes in hibernacula in contiguous habitat. Genetic‐assignment analyses revealed that interruption to seasonal migration was the mechanism underlying these patterns. Our results underscore the sizeable impact of roads on this species, despite their relatively recent construction at our study sites (7 to 10 generations of rattlesnakes), the utility of population genetics for studies of road ecology, and the need for mitigating effects of roads.     

几种改性磷肥的X射线衍射特征初报

运用X射线衍射技术对改性磷肥的结构进行研究,发现其晶体结构发生了较大的变化;这种晶体结构的变化减少了改性磷肥中有效磷在土壤中的固定,从而大大提高了其生物有效性,是生物量增加的主要原因。     

杀菌剂叶青双在水中的降解特性研究

提出了一种检测水中叶青双及其降解物２－氨基－５－巯基－１,３,４－噻二唑的反相高效液相色谱分析法,进行了叶青双的水解、光解以及池塘水中自然降解的模拟试验。研究表明：叶青双在水中降解非常快,光解是其降解的主要方式,同时水解也对叶青双的降解有很大贡献。从叶青双的主要降解产物在水中的光解以及叶青双在自然池塘中模拟试验来看,叶青双的降解产物在水中也不稳定。由此得出叶青双在稻区正常使用情况下,不会对水环境及鱼类构成威胁的结论。     

Photo-Induced OH reactions of naphthalene and its oxidation products on SiO2

The photo-induced degradation of naphthalene, 1,4-naphthoquinone, 1-naphthol and 1-NO₂ naphthalene, adsorbed on silica gel, and with the addition of nitrogenous air pollutants e.g. NO₂ (as KNO₂) was investigated. Results indicate that compounds adsorbed onto a solid carrier are degraded when irradiated with UV light (λ > 290 nm) in the presence of nitrites. The key species initiating the naphthalene degradation is the OH-radical which is generated through the photolysis of NO₂. Reaction products identified were 2-formyl-cinnamaldehyde, 1,4-naphthoquinone, nitronaphthol, o-phthaldialdehyde, phthalide and nitronaphthalene. A mass balance between 40–50% was achieved. Under the same irradiation conditions, 1-NO₂ naphthalene is mainly degraded by direct photolysis while degradation of 1-naphthol and 1,4-naphthoquinone proceeds via the reaction with OH-radicals. Identified products were hydroxy-nitro-nitroso- and quinones compounds.     

O(~1D)与CF_2CIBr的反应研究

本文研究了CF_2ClBr-O_3体系在253.7nm紫外光照下所引发的O(~1D)与CF_2ClBr的反应.O(~1D)与CF_2ClBr反应的最终产物为CF_2O,Cl_2,Br_2;实验中得到O(~1D)与CF_2ClBr的反应速率常数为1.01×10~(-10)cm~3·molecule~(-1)·s~(-1),并且对O(~3P)与CF_2ClBr的反应可能性以及 O(~1D)与CF_2ClBr的反应机理进行了讨论.     

Evaluation of 1,4-naphthoquinone derivatives as antibacterial agents: activity and mechanistic studies

● All 1,4-naphthoquinone hybrids exhibited significant antimicrobial activity. ● Presence of a hydroxyl group on aromatic B-ring of juglone was crucial for activity. ● Juglone can cause DNA damage by producing ROS and downregulation of RecA. ● Juglone has the potential to become a disinfectant. The diverse and large-scale application of disinfectants posed potential health risks and caused ecological damage during the 2019-nCoV pandemic, thereby increasing the demands for the development of disinfectants based on natural products, with low health risks and low aquatic toxicity. In the present study, a few natural naphthoquinones and their derivatives bearing the 1,4-naphthoquinone skeleton were synthesized, and their antibacterial activity against selected bacterial strains was evaluated. In vitro antibacterial activities of the compounds were investigated against Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus. Under the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of ≤ 0.125 μmol/L for juglone (1a), 5,8-dimethoxy-1,4-naphthoquinone (1f), and 7-methyl-5-acetoxy-1,4-naphthoquinone (3c), a strong antibacterial activity against S. aureus was observed. All 1,4-naphthoquinone derivatives exhibited a strong antibacterial activity, with MIC values ranging between 15.625 and 500 μmol/L and EC₅₀ values ranging between 10.56 and 248.42 μmol/L. Most of the synthesized compounds exhibited strong antibacterial activities against S. aureus. Among these compounds, juglone (1a) showed the strongest antibacterial activity. The results from mechanistic investigations indicated that juglone, a natural naphthoquinone, caused cell death by inducing reactive oxygen species production in bacterial cells, leading to DNA damage. In addition, juglone could reduce the self-repair ability of bacterial DNA by inhibiting RecA expression. In addition to having a potent antibacterial activity, juglone exhibited low cytotoxicity in cell-based investigations. In conclusion, juglone is a strong antibacterial agent with low toxicity, indicating that its application as a bactericidal agent may be associated with low health risks and aquatic toxicity.