Revealing life‐history traits by contrasting genetic estimations with predictions of effective population size

Effective population size, a central concept in conservation biology, is now routinely estimated from genetic surveys and can also be theoretically predicted from demographic, life‐history, and mating‐system data. By evaluating the consistency of theoretical predictions with empirically estimated effective size, insights can be gained regarding life‐history characteristics and the relative impact of different life‐history traits on genetic drift. These insights can be used to design and inform management strategies aimed at increasing effective population size. We demonstrated this approach by addressing the conservation of a reintroduced population of Asiatic wild ass (Equus hemionus). We estimated the variance effective size (N_ev) from genetic data () and formulated predictions for the impacts on N_ev of demography, polygyny, female variance in lifetime reproductive success (RS), and heritability of female RS. By contrasting the genetic estimation with theoretical predictions, we found that polygyny was the strongest factor affecting genetic drift because only when accounting for polygyny were predictions consistent with the genetically measured N_ev. The comparison of effective‐size estimation and predictions indicated that 10.6% of the males mated per generation when heritability of female RS was unaccounted for (polygyny responsible for 81% decrease in N_ev) and 19.5% mated when female RS was accounted for (polygyny responsible for 67% decrease in N_ev). Heritability of female RS also affected N_ev; (heritability responsible for 41% decrease in N_ev). The low effective size is of concern, and we suggest that management actions focus on factors identified as strongly affecting , namely, increasing the availability of artificial water sources to increase number of dominant males contributing to the gene pool. This approach, evaluating life‐history hypotheses in light of their impact on effective population size, and contrasting predictions with genetic measurements, is a general, applicable strategy that can be used to inform conservation practice.     

Porous silica synthesis out of coal fly ash with no residue generation and complete silicon separation

● Both amorphous and crystalline silicon are completely separated from coal fly ash. ● Porous silica is synthesized out of coal fly ash. ● No residues is produced during the whole synthesis process. ● The one-step method to synthesize silica don’t need long-time reaction and aging. Ordered mesoporous silica materials exhibit enormous potential in industrial production. Since coal fly ash (CFA) is abundant in Si, it has become a green and promising way to utilize CFA by synthesizing porous silica materials. However, the stable crystalline structure of CFA limits the extraction of Si, and the residue is generated during the process of extracting Si. In this work, we proposed a no-residue method to synthesize ordered mesoporous silica out of CFA. Sodium carbonate (Na₂CO₃) was used to reconstruct the crystals of the CFA, and the calcined mixture then directly reacted with the precipitators. This method combined the process of Si extraction and porous material synthesis. In this method, no residue was generated and the silicon in both amorphous and crystalline phases of CFA was fully utilized. By this method, the extraction efficiency of Si was increased from 31.75% to nearly 100%. The as-synthesized mesoporous silica had a highly-ordered pore structure with a space group of la-3d, a surface area of 663.87 m²/g, a pore volume of 0.41 cm³/g, and an average pore diameter of 2.73 nm. The mechanism of crystalline transformation and material structure formation were systematically studied. This method provides a new idea to dispose of CFA and synthesize porous silica materials.     

MCM-41介孔分子筛的合成及其对铜离子的吸附性能

以微硅粉为硅源,CTAB和PEG-6000为模板剂,合成MCM-41介孔分子筛。采用XRD、N2吸附-脱附曲线、FT—IR以及TEM表征了其结构、比表面积、孔径分布及晶体形貌,并且以该样品为吸附剂,对含Cu2＋的溶液进行了静态吸附实验。结果表明,以微硅粉为硅源成功合成了具有典型六方排列孔道结构的MCM-41,其比表面积为869．5m。／g,孔容为0．97cm3／g,平均孔径为3．3nm;溶液pH为5—6时,MCM-41对Cu2＋的去除效果最好;MCM-41对Cu3＋的最大吸附吸附容量36．3mg／g;MCM-41对Cu2＋的吸附性能符合Langmuir吸附方程的特征。动力学研究表明,该过程符合准二级动力学模型。     

Ti-MCM-41分子筛对Cr（Ⅵ）的吸附性能

以发烟硅胶为硅源、钛酸四丁酯为钛源,采用水热合成法制备了一系列不同n（Si）∶n（Ti）的Ti-MCM-41分子筛,采用XRD、UV-Vis、BET及ICP技术对其进行了表征,考察了其对溶液中Cr（Ⅵ）的吸附性能及重复使用性能。结果表明：制备的Ti-MCM-41分子筛保持了MCM-41的介孔结构,但随着Ti含量的增加分子筛的比表面积、孔径和总孔体积均降低;在初始Cr（Ⅵ）质量浓度为100 mg/L、Ti-MCM-41分子筛（投料n（Si）∶n（Ti）为40）投加量为1 g/L、吸附时间为60 min、吸附温度为323 K、溶液pH为6的条件下,Cr（Ⅵ）吸附率可达96.3%;Ti-MCM-41分子筛对Cr（Ⅵ）的吸附符合Langmuir等温吸附模型;Ti-MCM-41分子筛的重复使用性能良好。     

Regional economic conditions and crash fatality rates--a cross-county analysis

INTRODUCTION: Most studies that evaluate the relationship between economic conditions and traffic fatalities focus on the time-series relationship between the two factors. This analysis considers the cross-sectional perspective by estimating the cross-county correlation between per capita income and fatalities per vehicle mile traveled (VMT) in Ohio. METHOD: The empirical model employed in this analysis allows for interaction effects between per capita income and highway usage, in the determination of fatality rates. RESULTS: The resultant least squares estimates indicate that a significant interaction effect exists between per capita income and the percentage of highway VMT, indicating a nonlinear correlation between per capita income and fatality rates. This correlation rises as the proportion of VMT on highways rises, such that there is an inverse relationship with fatality rates when the highway share of county VMT is low and a direct relationship with fatality rates when the highway share of county VMT is high. Additionally, population density, the presence of interstate highways in rural counties, the prior prevalence of severe alcohol abuse, and the proportion of teen drivers all proved to be significant correlates with county fatality rates. CONCLUSIONS: These observations suggest factors that state and federal policy makers should consider when allocating resources that impact (whether directly or indirectly) traffic fatalities.     

Strategic implications of counter-geoengineering: Clash or cooperation?

Solar geoengineering has received increasing attention as an option to temporarily stabilize global temperatures. A key concern is that heterogeneous preferences over the optimal amount of cooling combined with low deployment costs may allow the country with the strongest incentive for cooling, the so-called free-driver, to impose a substantial externality on the rest of the world. We analyze whether the threat of counter-geoengineering technologies capable of negating the climatic effects of solar geoengineering can overcome the free-driver problem and tilt the game in favour of international cooperation. Our game-theoretical model of countries with asymmetric preferences allows for a rigorous analysis of the strategic interaction surrounding solar geoengineering and counter-geoengineering. We find that counter-geoengineering prevents the free-driver outcome, but not always with benign effects. The presence of counter-geoengineering leads to either a climate clash where countries engage in a non-cooperative escalation of opposing climate interventions (negative welfare effect), a moratorium treaty where countries commit to abstain from either type of climate intervention (indeterminate welfare effect), or cooperative deployment of solar geoengineering (positive welfare effect). We show that the outcome depends crucially on the degree of asymmetry in temperature preferences between countries.     

The Evaluation of Mesoporous Materials as Catalyst in Fast Pyrolysis of Wheat Straw

In this study, wheat straw was chosen as a biomass sample and the fast pyrolysis of this sample was carried out with or without catalyst at different conditions in a well-swept fixed-bed reactor. Experiments were carried out in a well-swept tubular fixed-bed reactor with a heating rate of 300°C/min, between pyrolysis temperature ranges 300–800°C in the nitrogen atmosphere. The results indicated that a maximum oil yield of 31.9% was obtained at a pyrolysis temperature of 500°C in non-catalytic procedure. Siliceous and Al-MCM-41 materials were evaluated as potential catalysts in the pyrolysis experiments. Mesoporous materials have large pore dimensions with strong acid sites. These acidic sites catalyze some reactions in pyrolysis. The product yields and the quality of bio-oil were influenced with using MCM-41 materials. The bio-oil yield was reduced, whereas the gas yield increased with using a catalyst in the experiments. An increase in the fractions of pure phenol, alkyl phenols, alkenes+alkanes, carbonyls, aromatic, and cyclic compounds and a decrease in the fractions of methoxy phenols, acids+esters, furans, and alcohols were observed in the presence of Al-MCM-41 material. According to all results, the use of Al-MCM-41 materials as catalyst in the pyrolysis can be suggested to obtain both quality fuels and valuable chemicals.     

Ba/TiO_2/MCM-41光催化降解对硝基苯甲酸

以钛酸丁酯为钛源、MCM-41分子筛为载体,采用溶胶-凝胶法制备了掺杂与负载相结合的光催化剂Ba/TiO2/MCM-41。结果表明：Ba/TiO2/MCM-41是一种比表面积高达341.2 m2/g的介孔材料,主要晶相为锐钛矿相,比P25有更强的紫外光吸收。将Ba/TiO2/MCM-41用于光催化氧化水中的对硝基苯甲酸,当催化剂投加量为0.5 g/L,对硝基苯甲酸初始pH为4、浓度为2×10-4mol/L时,紫外光照30 min后,对硝基苯甲酸降解率达到96.0%。用紫外光谱、红外光谱和高效液相色谱分析对硝基苯甲酸降解前后的变化,发现随着光照时间延长,苯环上的硝基、羧基吸收峰逐渐减弱;对硝基苯甲酸首先被降解为一些中间小分子产物,随着反应进行,小分子物质也逐渐被降解。     

巯基修饰MCM-41分子筛的制备及其对Cr(Ⅵ)的吸附动力学

以微硅粉为硅源,CTAB和PEG-6000为模板剂,制备得到MCM-41介孔分子筛,采用后接枝法将巯丙基三甲氧基硅烷引入到MCM-41的表面和孔道内,合成了巯基功能化的MCM-41介孔分子筛(SH-MCM-41)。采用TEM、N2吸附-脱附曲线、TG分析和XPS对样品进行了表征。以巯基功能化的样品为吸附剂,对含Cr(VI)的溶液进行了静态吸附实验,探讨了吸附过程的动力学。结果表明,SH-MCM-41对水中Cr(Ⅵ)的吸附经240 min可基本达到平衡,其理论吸附量为21.3 mg/g;利用准一级、准二级、Elovich方程、粒内扩散模型和班厄姆孔道扩散模型对吸附过程进行模拟,模拟结果表明,吸附过程符合准二级动力学模型,其拟合度R2为0.991,Elovich方程模拟相关系数R2大于0.95,表明吸附过程包含了多种反应机制。结果显示,吸附过程由液膜扩散、颗粒扩散和孔道扩散共同控制。     

MCM-41介孔分子筛水热结构稳定性对介质阻挡放电脱除甲苯的影响

采用介质阻挡放电(DBD)和MCM-41介孔分子筛结合脱除甲苯,考察了MCM-41介孔分子筛水热结构稳定性与甲苯脱除的关系.XRD表征显示,通过水热合成制备的纯硅MCM-41(Si- MCM-41)和含铝MCM-41(Al-MCM-41)介孔分子筛都具有典型的六方介孔结构,结晶度良好.水热结构稳定性实验显示纯硅MCM-41介孔分子筛的结构最稳定,结晶保留度最高,而含铝MCM-41介孔分子筛则随铝含量的上升结构稳定性下降.介质阻挡放电脱除甲苯实验结果显示,甲苯转化率与MCM-41介孔分子筛水热结构的稳定性保持一致,纯硅MCM-41介孔分子筛脱除甲苯的效率最高.