A review of myrmecophily in ant nest beetles (Coleoptera: Carabidae: Paussinae): linking early observations with recent findings

Myrmecophily provides various examples of how social structures can be overcome to exploit vast and well-protected resources. Ant nest beetles (Paussinae) are particularly well suited for ecological and evolutionary considerations in the context of association with ants because life habits within the subfamily range from free-living and predatory in basal taxa to obligatory myrmecophily in derived Paussini. Adult Paussini are accepted in the ant society, although parasitising the colony by preying on ant brood. Host species mainly belong to the ant families Myrmicinae and Formicinae, but at least several paussine genera are not host-specific. Morphological adaptations, such as special glands and associated tufts of hair (trichomes), characterise Paussini as typical myrmecophiles and lead to two different strategical types of body shape: while certain Paussini rely on the protective type with less exposed extremities, other genera access ant colonies using glandular secretions and trichomes (symphile type). We compare these adaptations with other taxonomic groups of insects by joining contemporary research and early sources and discuss the possibility of an attracting or appeasing effect of the secretion. Species that are ignored by their host ants might use chemical mimicry instead. Furthermore, vibrational signals may contribute to ant–beetle communication, and chemical signals have proven to play a role in host finding. The powerful defense chemistry of paussines as “bombardier beetles” is not used in contact with host ants. We attempt to trace the evolution of myrmecophily in paussines by reviewing important aspects of the association between paussine beetles and ants, i.e. morphological and potential chemical adaptations, life cycle, host specificity, alimentation, parasitism and sound production.

Establishment of facultative sexuals

The existence of sex is one of the major unsolved problems in biology. We use computer simulations to model conditions in which sex may first become established. We develop an individual-based population model and show that a hypothetical facultative sex gene can fix, provided that the initial cost is low. It is demonstrated that the equilibrium fitness in the population increases with increasing population size and decreasing mutation rate. The probability of the establishment of the sex gene is found not to be directly related to the fitness difference between the asexual and sexual populations. This change in fitness on changing the parameters of the model is investigated.     

嫩江水体溶解氧变化规律的混沌研究

针对目前溶解氧研究主要是从生物、化学等方面开展,而对溶解氧自身变化规律的研究很少的特点,以嫩江干流浏园水文站测得的溶解氧质量浓度序列为例,首先进行相空间重构,应用自相关函数法确定出延迟时间、伪邻近点法确定出嵌入维数;然后应用主分量分析(PCA)方法对序列进行分析,表明该序列不是噪声序列而可能是混沌序列,通过计算Kolmogorov熵得出溶解氧质量浓度序列具有混沌特性的结论;最后应用基于关联度的局域加权线性回归预测法对该序列进行了混沌预测研究,得到了比较理想的预测结果,这为应用混沌理论进行溶解氧变化规律的研究提供了依据.     

石羊河流域水资源及生态环境变化特征分析

针对石羊河流域水环境持续恶化的态势,调查分析了流域内水文和水化学环境变化的特征以及滥用水资源对生态环境的影响,表明石羊河流域水环境恶化的主要原因是水资源滥用.各类人工输水工程的建设改变了流域内水循环格局,导致下游河道断流,地下水补给量和泉水量减少;地下水持续超采,水位大幅度下降,矿化度升高,土地盐碱化面积迅速扩大,下游地区生态环境严重恶化.所以石羊河佑流域的综合治理必须以"水"为核心,地表水资源统一调度.并向下游倾斜;严格限制地下水开采量,使其逐年恢复到生态水位;发展节水农业,使大量水资源用于生态恢复;采取生物措施治碱,达到改良盐碱土、提高植被覆盖率和减少沙尘的功效;科学管理和调度水资源,建立人水和谐关系,保证区域内生态恢复和社会经济可持续发展.     

平朔安太堡矿区复垦地土壤微生物与土壤性质关系的研究

调查安太堡大型露天矿区西排土场植被恢复与土壤微生物的关系.结果表明,土壤中微生物量与土壤中的水分、速效磷、土壤有机质、有效性氮和海拔高度有明显的关系.麦地、林地、草地的土壤中呈现出:细菌》放线菌》固氮菌》霉菌;撂荒地呈现为:细菌》放线菌》霉菌》固氮菌;裸地呈现出:细菌》放线菌》霉菌.细菌、放线菌和霉菌呈现麦地最高,裸地最低,固氮菌为林地高于其他样地.在撂荒地和裸地中,细菌占微生物总量的一半以上.麦地、林地、草地、撂荒地中的各种菌、速效磷、土壤有机质、有效性氮含量明显高于裸地中的含量.微生物总量和样地的海拔、样地土壤的含水率有明显的关系,土壤中的含水量直接影响微生物总量.微生物总量与速效磷含量和有机质含量成正比,有机质含量与有效性氮含量成正比.细菌与海拔呈极显著负相关,与其他几种养分指标呈极显著正相关,放线菌与海拔和速效磷呈极显著相关,与其他指标相关性不显著,固氮菌与几种养分指标相关性均不显著.按全国土壤养分划分标准,安太堡大型露天矿区复垦地等级不高,还需要用科学的方法加快复垦区土壤的恢复.     

石油化工行业可接受风险水平研究

石油化工行业存在着巨大的潜在风险,为了明确该行业的风险可接受水平,制定一个合理可行的可接受风险准则极为必要.本文在对国内外风险可接受水平研究的基础上,系统分析了国内外有关标准,对生命风险水平、经济风险水平和环境风险水平确定的基本思想进行了详尽阐述,分别给出了3种风险的可接受水平公式,提出了确定石化行业可接受风险水平的方法,需同时满足可接受生命风险、经济风险和环境风险.     

Choice of teenagers' vehicles and views on vehicle safety: survey of parents of novice teenage drivers

Objective

To examine parental decisions about vehicles driven by teenagers and parental knowledge of vehicle safety.

Methods

About 300 parents were interviewed during spring 2006 in Minnesota, North Carolina, and Rhode Island while teenagers took their first on-road driving tests.

Results

Fewer than half of parents surveyed said teenagers would be the primary drivers of the chosen vehicles. Parents most often cited safety, existing family vehicle, and reliability when explaining the choices for their teenagers’ vehicles. About half of the vehicles intended for teenagers were small/mini/sports cars, pickups, or SUVs — vehicles considered less safe for teenagers than midsize/large cars or minivans. A large majority of vehicles were 2001 models or earlier. Vehicles purchased in anticipation of adding a new driver to the family were more likely to be the sizes/types considered less safe than vehicles already owned. Few parents insisted on side airbags or electronic stability control, despite strong evidence of their safety benefits. Even when asked to identify ideal vehicles for their teenagers to drive, about half of parents identified less safe vehicle sizes/types. Most parents knew that midsize/large vehicles are safer than small vehicles, and at least half of parents said SUVs and pickups are not safe for teenage drivers, citing instability.

Conclusions

The majority of parents understood some of the important criteria for choosing safe vehicles for their teenagers. However, parents actually selected many vehicles for teenagers that provide inferior crash protection.

Impact on industry

Vehicle safety varies substantially by vehicle size, type, and safety features. Many teenagers are driving inferior vehicles in terms of crashworthiness and crash avoidance.     

Secondary analysis of time of day on simulated driving performance

PROBLEM: Age and gender are frequently controlled for in studies of driving performance, but the effects of time of day or circadian cycles on performance are often not considered. Previous research on time of day effects of simulated driving is contradictory and provides little guidance for understanding the impact of these variables on results. METHODS: Using driving simulator data from 79 subjects ages 18 to 65, this paper focuses on the impact of age, gender, and time of day on the simulated driving performance of subjects who self-selected the time of participation. RESULTS: Time of day effects were consistently evident for drivers' speed overall and across different simulated environments. Drivers in the late afternoon period consistently drove significantly slower than drivers in other time periods. Age and gender affected speed such that women and those participants 50 and older tended to drive more slowly. Time of day also had an effect on reaction time and on speed variability measures. Gender did not have significant effects on reaction time or variability measures, but age effects were present. SUMMARY: Taken together, the results suggest that time of day effects should be considered as part of simulated driving performance, and that interactions between time of day and other variables, notably age, should be controlled for as part of future research. IMPACT ON INDUSTRY: Implications of these findings on current efforts for older driver testing are discussed.     

利用PUF被动采样技术监测珠江三角洲地区大气中多氯联苯分布

研究了珠江三角洲地区大气中多氯联苯的含量与分布.利用大气被动采样装置,共设立了包括香港在内的珠江三角洲21个大气被动采样点,样品采样时间为2005-08-15～2005-10-14.结果表明,珠三角内地的佛山(2000pg·m-3)是PCBs的高污染地区,内地采样点PCBs含量范围260～2000pg·m-3,平均值670pg·m-3.香港PCBs含量范围170～470pg·m-3,平均值300pg·m-3.香港每个采样点的PCBs含量都接近平均值,含量比较低.珠三角大气中PCBs含量与世界其它地区相比属中度污染区域.结果也表明,PUF大气被动采样器可很好地运用于区域大气PCBs污染分布与特征的对比研究.     

第二松花江中下游沉积物汞的时空变化规律

将1973、1976、1983、1991年和本次的研究结果进行对比分析,得出了第二松花江中下游表层沉积物汞含量的时间变化规律.1976年以前汞含量处于增加趋势;1976～1982年汞含量有所下降;1982年汞污染源被切断,汞含量骤降;随后,汞污染浓度处于缓慢净化时期.将本次采集的沉积物样品分为3个粒度等级,最后以63 μm粒级的沉积物汞含量为代表分析了汞的水平变化规律,总体趋势是,排污口处汞含量最高;哨口至朝阳桥断面汞含量增加;朝阳桥至五家站断面,汞含量骤降,在五家站断面汞含量达到最小值;五家站至泔水缸断面汞含量又略有增加.并给出了本次研究中各断面沉积物汞的垂直变化规律.