Personal desires of patients and social obligations of geneticists: applying preimplantation genetic diagnosis for non-medical sex selection

The arguments against the use of preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) for non-medical sex selection are analysed. It is concluded that the distinction between medical and non-medical reasons is difficult to maintain, that the disproportionality of means and end is not a decisive counterargument and that the fear of damage to the reputation of PGD does not justify the refusal of controversial applications. Moreover, since non-medical sex selection does not belong to basic health care, it should not be equally accessible to all. The position defended in this article is founded on two basic principles: (1) medical reasons have priority on non-medical reasons, and (2) personal reasons do not qualify for public funding. In order to respect both principles, it is proposed that restrictions should be installed to control the number of requests for social sexing and that a tax should be imposed on these elective services. The tax should compensate the society for the investment it made in the training and education of the physician. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Paternal expenditure is related to brood sex ratio in polygynous great reed warblers

In many polygynous animals, parents invest more heavily in individual sons than in daughters. However, it is unclear if these differences in investment are a consequence of sex differences in the demand of offspring related to sexual size dimorphism or a consequence of parental manipulation. Here, we report on parental food delivery frequency in relation to brood size and brood sex ratio in a wild population of polygynous great reed warblers Acrocephalus arundinaceus. We used the polymorphic microsatellite loci on the Z chromosome to sex chicks. We found that paternal feeding frequency (times/h per nest) increased not with brood size, but with the proportion of males in the brood, although the demand per nest was more closely related to brood size than to brood sex ratio. Additionally, the increase in rate of paternal feeding frequency in relation to the brood sex ratio was much higher than the increase in rate of nestling food demands. Maternal feeding frequency was independent of both brood size and brood sex ratio. These results strongly suggest that fathers preferentially invest in their sons. We propose that parents can afford sex-biased parental care in animals in which food provisioning is enough for all offspring to survive. Received: 22 January 1996/Accepted after revision: 30 June 1996     

Female sex pheromone of Ostrinia orientalis – throwing a light on the relationship between O. orientalis and the European corn borer, O. nubilalis

Summary. The sex pheromone of Ostrinia orientalis (Lepidoptera: Crambidae) was analyzed by gas chromatography–electroantennographic detection (GC–EAD), GC–mass spectrometry and a series of bioassays. Three EAD-active compounds were detected in the female sex pheromone gland extract, and identified as tetradecyl acetate (14:OAc), (Z)-11-tetradecenyl acetate (Z11-14:OAc) and (E)-11-tetradecenyl acetate (E11-14:OAc). The titers (ratio) of 14:OAc, Z11-14:OAc and E11-14:OAc in 3-day-old virgin females were 0.49 ng (10), 4.86 ng (98) and 0.10 ng (2), respectively. In a wind-tunnel bioassay, the 98:2 blend of Z11- and E11-14:OAc, but not Z11-14:OAc alone, elicited the same male behavioral responses as virgin females and crude gland extracts. 14:OAc was inactive by itself, and did not show any synergistic effect on the binary blend. Field trapping experiments also confirmed the attractiveness of the binary blend to O. orientalis males. Based on these results, we concluded that the sex pheromone of O. orientalis is a 98:2 mixture of Z11-14:OAc and E11-14:OAc. This sex pheromone is very similar to that of the Z-type European corn borer, O. nubilalis. The present finding raises the question of whether O. orientalis , which is indistinguishable from O. nubilalis based on external morphology, is a biologically distinct species independent from O. nubilalis.     

建设资源节约型农业的途径与模式

建设资源节约型农业的根本途径是提高农业生产力。其中主要的措施有:科学利用气候资源,充分发挥气候生产潜力;十分珍惜每寸土地,努力提高土地生产率;大力推行节水措施,扩大农田灌溉面积;科学合理施肥,持续提高单产;提高能源利用率,解决农村能源短缺;实现人畜分粮,缓解人地关系;促进农产品商品流通,提高农业经济效益等。立体农业是发展资源节约型农业的最佳模式,也是中国式的高效益资源节约型农业的重要模式之一。     

F/M对活性污泥微生物生态网络的影响

为深入理解有机负荷率(F/M)对活性污泥(AS)微生物群落的影响,以F/M(以BOD/MLVSS计,下同)设计建议范围0.2～0.5 kg·(kg·d)-1为依据,将采集的AS样品分为3组,运用基于随机矩阵理论(RMT)的网络分析方法,解析了不同F/M条件下的AS微生物生态网络拓扑性质及结构特征.结果表明,较低的F/M...     

电解浮选用于活性污泥固液分离的研究

在装有Ti/RuO₂-IrO₂-TiO₂阳极、Ti阴极的电解浮选槽中进行了活性污泥固液分离的研究.考察了影响电解浮选性能的操作参数,这些参数包括水力停留时间、电流密度、进水SS浓度和进水pH值.研究表明,电解浮选是高效的固液分离单元,水力停留时间和电流密度是主要的影响因素.SS的去除率随着水力停留时间和电流密度的增加而增大;污泥负荷增加,SS的去除率下降;pH值影响电解产生微气泡的尺寸和污泥性质,但对SS的去除影响不大,实际应用中可以不调节pH值.进水SS约1 000mg/L时,当水力停留时间为20min,接触室电流密度为5 mA/cm²,分离区电流密度为2.5 mA/cm²,SS的去除率可达97%以上,此时的能耗为0.4～0.5(kW.h)/m³废水.电解浮选产生的浮渣含水率为95.9%,低于溶气气浮和二沉池的污泥含水率,对污泥减量化及其最终处置有较大的意义.     

基于电磁辐射峰谷比值法的煤与瓦斯突出预警

为了提高电磁辐射预警煤与瓦斯突出危险的准确性,减少误报现象,在分析大量电磁辐射现场数据基础上,基于电磁辐射预警煤与瓦斯突出危险原理,提出了电磁辐射峰谷比值法,利用正态分布统计特征计算每个班次的电磁辐射瞬时强度峰值均值和谷值均值,并将其比值作为煤与瓦斯突出危险性的预警值。最后,将该方法应用于义忠煤矿11112风巷掘进工作面,研究结果表明:与临界值系数和动态变化趋势系数法相比,峰谷比值法误报较低,预警准确性高,能够很大程度上减少误报对生产的影响。     

南京及邻近地区新近沉积土的动剪切模量和阻尼比的试验研究

通过对南京及其邻近地区漫滩相成因的粘土、粉质粘土、淤泥质粉质粘土、粉质粘土与粉砂互层土、粉土、粉细砂等 6类新近沉积土的自振柱试验 ,详细探讨了围压大小、剪应变水平、土的颗粒组成和结构性对这 6类新近沉积土的剪切模量G及阻尼比λ的影响。通过与Seed和Idriss建议的砂土G/Gmax～γ和λ～γ曲线变化范围的对比 ,结果表明 ,不能将粉质粘土与粉砂互层土简单地当作砂土或粉质粘土对待。通过试验和理论分析 ,给出了南京及其邻近地区 6类新近沉积土动剪切模量和阻尼比随剪应变变化的平均曲线的拟合曲线、包络线及其参数的推荐值 ,对实际工程具有一定的借鉴作用