Bushcricket song structure and predation by the acoustically orienting parasitoid fly Therobia leonidei (Diptera: Tachinidae: Ormiini)

Males of most bushcricket species produce acoustic advertisement signals to attract females for mating. These signals can also increase conspicuousness to predators. In the genus Poecilimon (Orthoptera: Phaneropterinae) males are attacked by the parasitoid fly Therobia leonidei (Diptera: Tachinidae: Ormiini) which locates males by their calls. In Greece T.leonidei parasitizes several Poecilimon species with different song structures: we examined whether host choice is related to song structure by comparing parasitism rates in two closely related Poecilimon species. One of these species produces monosyllabic songs, the songs of the other species being polysyllabic. The tachinid fly parasitized the polysyllabic species to a greater extent. We demonstrate in a field-experiment that this preference for the polysyllabic species does not depend on local adaptations of the fly. The most probable explanation for the preference of the fly for the polysyllabic singing species seems to be better detection of longer songs. This result is discussed in the context of male song evolution. Received: 4 November 1997 / Accepted after revision: 22 March 1998     

黄土高原人工刺槐林土壤团聚体中不同活性有机碳从南到北的变化特征

不同粒径团聚体中的不同活性有机碳对人工林土壤质量改善及碳库动态平衡有重要的作用.本研究在黄土高原地区,从南向北沿着降雨和温度降低梯度选择淳化、安塞、绥德和神木共4个地区,比较研究了人工刺槐林土壤团聚体不同的活性有机碳含量变化及其影响因素.通过湿筛法将土壤团聚体分级为粉黏粒（<0.053 mm）、微团聚体（0.25~0.053 mm）和大团聚体（>0.25 mm）,用Leffory法测定3种粒径土壤团聚体低、中、高活性有机碳含量.结果表明：①4个样区大团聚体（>0.25 mm）含量由南至北呈先降低后增加趋势,微团聚体（0.25~0.053 mm）含量逐渐增加,粉黏粒（<0.053 mm）含量则先增后减.②4个样区中土壤团聚体3种活性有机碳含量大小顺序为低活性 > 中活性 > 高活性,其中,粉黏粒（<0.053 mm）低活性有机碳含量为1.02~1.52 g·kg^-1,中活性有机碳含量为0.53~0.91 g·kg^-1,高活性有机碳含量为0.28~0.43 g·kg^-1;而微团聚体（0.25~0.053 mm）低活性有机碳含量为1.02~2.02 g·kg^-1,中活性有机碳含量为0.46~1.20 g·kg^-1,高活性有机碳含量为0.31~0.85 g·kg^-1;大团聚体（>0.25 mm）低活性有机碳含量为1.08~3.07 g·kg^-1,中活性有机碳含量为0.70~1.96 g·kg^-1,高活性有机碳含量为0.48~1.24 g·kg^-1.③黄土高原人工刺槐林3种粒径团聚体的低、中、高活性有机碳含量主要与年均气温（MAT）、年均降雨量（MAP）、土壤SOC、TN和含水率显著相关（p<0.05）,且在同一活性下,活性有机碳含量与MAT、MAP、土壤TN、SOC、含水率的相关性随着土壤团聚体粒径的增大而越显著.研究结果对理解黄土高原土壤团聚体活性有机碳含量在空间尺度上的变化特征和影响因素具有重要意义.     

燃放烟花爆竹对声环境评价的影响

噪声自动监测系统可以对噪声进行长期连续监测。通过对连续两年的北京市自动噪声监测数据进行分析表明,烟花爆竹燃放噪声能够对声功能区环境评价参数昼间等效声级、夜间等效声级及其达标率产生较大影响。尤其是1、2类声功能区影响可使等效声级提高10dB,达标率降低3%。提示有必要把节日的燃放噪声与其他噪声分开,单独分析。     

高架复合道路噪声声场分布研究

高架复合道路有效地缓解了交通拥挤的问题，但随之也带来了严重的噪声污染，以几何声学和衍射声学为理论基础，利用声级叠加原理，建立了高架复合道路噪声对临街建筑立面影响的预测模式。预测值与实测值基本相符，可直接应用于城市噪声预测。为城市发展规划尤其是城市高架复合道路的发展提供了科学依据。     

No evidence for acoustic mate-guarding in duetting buff-breasted wrens (Thryothorus leucotis)

There are few empirical tests of the acoustic mate-guarding hypothesis for the function of duetting in birds. This hypothesis states that when females are fertile, males initiate many songs or answer most of their mates solo songs to form duets and repel rival males seeking extra-pair copulations. We tested the hypothesis by comparing song initiation and answer rates of males and females in socially monogamous buff-breasted wrens (Throthorus leucotis) during pre-fertile and fertile periods. During pre-fertile periods, males often sang for short periods before being answered by their mates, yet first duets were formed earlier relative to dawn and more duets were given during the dawn chorus on pre-fertile than fertile mornings. Males initiated more songs during pre-fertile than fertile periods, whereas there was no difference between stages in female song initiation rates. The proportion of songs answered by individuals of both sexes did not differ between breeding stages. Other mate-guarding behaviours, such as frequent copulation and maintaining close proximity to mates when fertile, did not appear to be important in this species, as no copulations were observed and there was no difference in the time pairs spent in close proximity when females were fertile or not. Parentage analysis revealed that only 3% of 31 broods had young that were likely the result of extra-pair paternity. These findings do not support the acoustic mate-guarding hypothesis, and suggest that the low rate of extra-pair paternity in buff-breasted wrens was maintained without the use of acoustic or traditional paternity guards.Communicated by R. Gibson     

Thermal runaway reaction for highly exothermic material in safe storage temperature

Highly exothermic materials have caused many serious accidents involving storage and transportation, due to being thermally reactive. The safe storage and management of these materials is still a critical problem in many countries. Our aim was to study the thermal hazard of thermal reactive materials, such as a propellant, by employing differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) non-isothermal tests and isothermal tests, and then comparing the kinetic parameters by isothermal and non-isothermal of kinetics. The chosen approach was to obtain reliable thermal decomposition by a safe and effective method, which acquired the kinetic and safety parameters of storage conditions that could be applied as highly exothermic materials' reduction of loss prevention and energy potential for safer design during storage transport and processing operations.     

高温环境下薄壁结构声疲劳失效验证技术研究

目的针对高温环境下薄壁结构声疲劳失效问题,研究分析薄壁结构在高温环境下的声疲劳失效特征,验证薄壁结构热声响应计算方法与疲劳寿命预估模型的有效性。方法较系统地阐述高温环境下薄壁结构声疲劳失效试验验证技术,重点总结热声疲劳试验环境建立与加载、高温环境下噪声测试、高温环境下动态响应测试和疲劳破坏寿命测试方法,并通过具体案例说明工程中试验验证方法的有效性。结果试验件在仿真计算与试验中的破坏位置一致,响应频率吻合较好,应力水平一致,疲劳寿命量级相当。结论薄壁结构热声响应计算方法与疲劳寿命预估模型的有效性高。     

基于时差收敛算法的声发射源定位方法研究

本文针对传统基于时差的声发射定位方法精度及稳定性不足且易受检测环境影响的问题,提出了一种基于收敛算法的声发射源定位方法,经过循环迭代不断优化声发射信号的到达时刻计算方式,使得定位计算重构的定位源稳定收敛在近似同一区域,从而提高声发射源的定位准确度。     

Towards an inherently safer bioprocessing industry: A review

The bioprocessing industry is regarded as one of the fastest growing sectors with an estimated compound annual growth rate of 8.6%. The global market for biopharmaceuticals is projected to rise to a market value of USD 727.1 billion by 2025. Due to the unique nature of bioprocessing industries wherein micro-organisms are employed to manufacture the desired products, these processes are prone to additional hazards such as biological hazards and dust explosion amongst others. This necessitates the need to review the existing research in the fields of biotechnology and bioprocessing to reduce/eliminate these hazards and pave the path towards a safer bioprocessing industry. The study involves developing a framework comprising of studying the recent technologies that reduce/eliminate these hazards involved in the bioprocessing industries that include dust explosions, loss of containment of toxic chemicals, loss of containment of biohazard/active product ingredient, fire, and explosion and mapping these technologies with respect to inherent safety principles that include substitution, minimization, moderation and simplification with an overall objective of minimizing the risk associated with bioprocesses and moving towards an inherently safer bioprocessing industry.