生产工艺条件对菌粉爆炸特征参数的影响

利用扫描电镜及激光粒度分析仪,探究了不同生产工艺条件下医药中间体菌粉A和菌粉B的表面形状及粒径分布,并进行了热解分析,证实上述特征参数存在一定差别。在此基础上进行了爆炸特性参数研究。研究结果表明,上述两种菌粉爆炸下限处于70~90 g/m3,最大爆炸压力峰值0.4~0.5 MPa之间,爆炸性相对较弱,但也必须引起足够的重视。与菌粉B相比,菌粉A相对安全,因此条件许可时优先采用菌粉A生产工艺流程。     

When is female leadership an advantage? Coordination requirements,team cohesion,and team interaction norms

This study seeks to understand to what extent and in what contexts women leaders may be advantageous for teams. More specifically, this study examines how team leader gender relates to team cohesion, cooperative learning, and participative communication. Furthermore, the study argues that advantages derived from female leadership may be contingent on teams' coordination requirements. I propose that as teams' coordination requirements increase (i.e., with functional diversity, size, and geographic dispersion), teams with women leaders report more cohesion and more cooperative and participative interaction norms than those with men leaders. I aggregated survey responses from the members of 82 teams in 29 organizations at the team level. Findings from hierarchical linear modeling analyses suggest that female leadership is more positively associated with cohesion on larger and more functionally diverse teams and more positively associated with cooperative learning and participative communication on larger and geographically dispersed teams. These results call for more research on boundary conditions on the relationship between leader gender and team outcomes, on the role of relational leadership on complex and diverse teams and, ultimately, on the potential mediating role of cohesion and team interaction norms on the relationship between leader gender and team performance. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Study of the explosion parameters of vapor–liquid diethyl ether/air mixtures

The knowledge of the vapor–liquid two-phase diethyl ether (DEE)/air mixtures (mist) on the explosion parameters was an important basis of accident prevention. Two sets of vapor–liquid two-phase DEE/air mixtures of various concentrations were obtained with Sauter mean diameters of 12.89 and 22.90 μm. Experiments were conducted on vapor–liquid two-phase DEE/air mixtures of various concentrations at an ignition energy of 40.32 J and at an initial room temperature and pressure of 21 °C and 0.10 MPa, respectively. The effects of the concentration and particle size of DEE on the explosion pressure, the explosion temperature, and the lower and upper flammability limits were analyzed. Finally, a series of experiments was conducted on vapor–liquid two-phase DEE/air mixtures of various concentrations at various ignition energies. The minimum ignition energies were determined, and the results were discussed. The results were also compared against our previous work on the explosion characteristics of vapor–liquid two-phase n-hexane/air mixtures.     

大清河水系河流表层沉积物重金属污染特征

沉积物中重金属污染是影响河流水生态系统健康的重要因素.本文采集大清河水系河流表层沉积物,分析了沉积物粒径分布、沉积物中有机质及6种重金属的含量,并采用富集系数法和生态危害指数法进行了重金属的来源解析和风险评价.结果表明:大清河水系河流表层沉积物粒径分布以粉砂为主,占51.27%,砂、黏土所占比例较低,分别为38.56%和10.17%;沉积物中有机质平均含量达到3.94%,且平原/滨海段含量较高;6种重金属Cd、Cr、Cu、Ni、Pb和Zn的含量均值分别为0.68、110.28、73.91、34.74、32.01和227.88 mg·kg-1,均超出背景值.Cd、Cu和Zn的富集系数分别为5.90、2.69和2.15,以人为来源为主;潜在生态危害指数大小顺序为Cd(217.38)Cu(16.05)Pb(7.45)Ni(5.64)Cr(3.23)Zn(2.91),其中Cd呈很强生态危害;重金属综合潜在生态危害表明,大清河水系河流表层沉积物整体处于中度生态危害(RI=253.56).此外,随沉积物中有机质含量增加,Cu和Zn含量增加;随沉积物粒径中值增大,Cd含量增加.     

Pollution levels and characteristics of phthalate esters in indoor air of offices

The pollution status and characteristics of PAEs (phthalate esters) were investigated in indoor air of offices, and PAEs of both gas-phase and particulate-phase were detected in all the samples. The concentration (sum of the gas phase and the particulate phase) was 4748.24 ng/m³, ranging between 3070.09 and 6700.14 ng/m³. Diethyl phthalate, dibutyl phthalate, and di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate were the most abundant compounds, together accounting for 70% of the ∑ 6PAEs. Dividing the particulate-phase PAEs into four size ranges (< 2.5, 2.5–5, 5–10, > 10 μm), the result indicated that PAEs in PM_2.5 were the most abundant, with the proportion of 72.64%. In addition, the PAE concentration in PM_2.5 correlated significantly with the total particulate-phase PAEs (R² = 0.85). Thus, the amount of PAEs in PM_2.5 can be estimated from the total amount of particulate-phase PAEs using this proportion. In a comparison between the offices and a newly decorated study room, it was found that pollution characteristics were similar between these two places. Thus, it is implied that the PAE concentration decreased by 50% 2 yr after decorating.     

Current Near‐to‐Nature Forest Management Effects on Functional Trait Composition of Saproxylic Beetles in Beech Forests

With the aim of wood production with negligible negative effects on biodiversity and ecosystem processes, a silvicultural practice of selective logging with natural regeneration has been implemented in European beech forests (Fagus sylvatica) during the last decades. Despite this near‐to‐nature strategy, species richness of various taxa is lower in these forests than in unmanaged forests. To develop guidelines to minimize the fundamental weaknesses in the current practice, we linked functional traits of saproxylic beetle species to ecosystem characteristics. We used continental‐scale data from 8 European countries and regional‐scale data from a large forest in southern Germany and forest‐stand variables that represented a gradient of intensity of forest use to evaluate the effect of current near‐to‐nature management strategies on the functional diversity of saproxylic beetles. Forest‐stand variables did not have a statistically significant effect on overall functional diversity, but they did significantly affect community mean and diversity of single functional traits. As the amount of dead wood increased the composition of assemblages shifted toward dominance of larger species and species preferring dead wood of large diameter and in advanced stages of decay. The mean amount of dead wood across plots in which most species occurred was from 20 to 60 m³/ha. Species occurring in plots with mean dead wood >60 m³/ha were consistently those inhabiting dead wood of large diameter and in advanced stages of decay. On the basis of our results, to make current wood‐production practices in beech forests throughout Europe more conservation oriented (i.e., promoting biodiversity and ecosystem functioning), we recommend increasing the amount of dead wood to >20 m³/ha; not removing dead wood of large diameter (50 cm) and allowing more dead wood in advanced stages of decomposition to develop; and designating strict forest reserves, with their exceptionally high amounts of dead wood, that would serve as refuges for and sources of saproxylic habitat specialists. Efectos Actuales del Manejo Casi Natural de Bosques sobre la Composición de Atributos Funcionales de Escarabajos Saproxílicos en Bosques de Haya     

Non-invasive prenatal detection of achondroplasia in size-fractionated cell-free DNA by MALDI-TOF MS assay

Achondroplasia is the most common form of short-limbed dwarfism in humans and is caused by mutations in the FGFR3 gene. Currently, prenatal diagnosis of this disorder relies on invasive procedures. Recent studies have shown that fetal single gene point mutations could be detected in cell-free DNA (cf-DNA) from maternal plasma by either the matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) assay with single allele base extension reaction (SABER) approach or the size fractionation of cf-DNA in maternal plasma. Here, we combined the two approaches to non-invasively examine the fetal G1138A mutation in maternal plasma. cf-DNA was extracted from maternal plasma samples obtained from two pregnant women at risk for achondroplasia. The fetal G1138A mutation was determined by the analysis of size-fractionated cf-DNA in maternal plasma using MALDI-TOF MS with SABER approach and homogenous MassEXTEND (hME) assay, respectively. The fetal G1138A mutation was detectable in the two achondroplasia-affected pregnancies by the analysis of cf-DNA in maternal plasma using MALDI-TOF MS. However, the size-fractionation approach led to a more precise detection of the fetal mutation in both analyses. This analysis would be suitable for non-invasive prenatal diagnosis of diseases caused by fetal single gene point mutations. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Evaluation of municipal solid waste composting kinetics

Most modern municipal solid waste (MSW) composting operations have emphasized the enhancement of decomposition of the organic fraction of the waste to comply with strict environmental regulations. This can be achieved once the composting process kinetics are well understood. This study examined process kinetics through experimentation with bench-scale reactors under controlled composting conditions to show the interdependence between biological, chemical and physical factors during composting of MSW. The effects of temperature, moisture content, waste particle size and carbon to nitrogen (C/N) ratio on process kinetics were evaluated. The results obtained revealed that these factors should be carefully controlled in order to achieve optimum process performance. It has been found that the organic matter degradation during composting follows a first-order kinetic model.     

河套平原湖泊陈普海子沉积物粒度与元素分析

通过对河套地区不同类型沉积物进行粒度和元素分析，根据区域陈普海子沉积岩芯的年代和环境代用指标结果，借助于判别分析技术，结合历史文献资料，揭示区域近300a来两个典型时段的环境变化.结果表明，约1850a受黄河河道变迁引起的洪水活动影响，陈普海子岩芯55~50cm（CP1）沉积物表现为灰黄色黏土层，其粒度参数、分布曲线与黄河岸边缓流沉积物相似，两者的中值粒径和众数数值分别为3.8，7.7μm和4.4，5.0μm，元素及其比值K/Ti、Al/Ti和K/Sr（数值分别为7.1、21.5、102.7和6.2、20.7、87.8）的得分散点分布在判别得分散点图的同一区域，与其它类型沉积物的分布区域明显分离，元素比值K/Ti、Al/Ti和K/Sr可作为湖泊沉积指示洪水活动的环境代用指标；自1995年以来，由于区域人类活动，沙荒土地大规模开垦，致使风沙活动增强，岩芯15cm以上（CP2）沉积物粒度参数、分布曲线与风积物相似，两者的中值粒径和众数数值分别为20.1，19.6 μm和41.6，45.7 μm，元素的得分散点分布在判别得分散点图的同一区域，研究结果与文献记录具有较好的一致性.     

Shouting the odds: vocalization signals status in a lizard

Many species possess multiple sexually dimorphic traits, which incorporate different sensory modalities (e.g., acoustic, olfactory and visual), although their relative roles in sexual selection and in determining reproductive success are still poorly understood for most taxa. We assessed the role of multiple male traits, including one acoustic (dominant call frequency) and one visual (yellow throat patch) trait, in residency advertisement, contest behavior, and breeding success in barking geckos (Ptenopus garrulus garrulus). We show that male barking geckos maintain largely exclusive home ranges, with a trend for larger males to maintain larger home ranges. We also show that larger males have a lower dominant calling frequency. When aggressive behavior was elicited in the field using a recorded call of average frequency, resident males with low frequency calls were more likely to respond aggressively and charge the speaker compared to males with high frequency calls. However, body size and small relative throat patch size, rather than call frequency, were the best predictors of overall aggressiveness. Body size was also the best predictor of whether males bred. We suggest that call frequency in this crepuscular species constitutes an effective long-range signal of body size, used by males for remote rival assessment and to advertise home range boundaries in low-light environments.