Male mating opportunities affect sex allocation in a protrandric-simultaneous hermaphroditic shrimp

Sex allocation theory predicts phenotypic adjustments by individuals in their investments into the male and female reproductive function in response to environmental conditions. I tested for phenotypically plastic shifts in sex allocation in a protandric simultaneous hermaphrodite, in which individuals mature and reproduce as males first, and later in life, as simultaneous hermaphrodites. I predicted that initially maturing males should adjust the timing of maturation as hermaphrodites according to male mating opportunities mediated by population size of hermaphrodites. In a first experiment, males maintained with only one hermaphrodite reduced the time they spent as males in comparison to males maintained with no conspecifics, presumably because total reproductive output is maximized by two individuals being simultaneous hermaphrodites when the mating system is a pair. Conversely, males maintained in groups with two or more hermaphrodites increased the time they spent as males in comparison to single males. This delay in maturation was not an effect of resource depletion with increasing shrimp density because the growth rate of males did not differ among most of the experimental treatments. One hypothesis to explain this social mediation of sex allocation is that the smaller males are more successful in mating as males than are the larger hermaphrodites: it will pay reproductively for males to delay maturation as hermaphrodites in large but not in small groups. In agreement with this notion, a second experiment demonstrated that smaller males were four times more successful than were larger hermaphrodites in inseminating shrimps reproducing as females. The informative cue that males may use to perceive different group sizes deserves further attention.     

COMPUTER ASSISTED NEGOTIATION OF MULTIOBJECTIVE WATER RESOURCES CONFLICTS1

ABSTRACT: Since the early 1970s, a large volume of literature has accumulated related to multiobjective water resources management problems. A relatively small portion of this specifically addresses the negotiation process required when there are multiple decision makers with conflicting objectives. This paper focuses on that process and describes a computer program designed to assist such negotiation processes. This interactive computer assisted negotiation support system is called ICANS. ICANS is designed for dynamic, multi-issue, multi-party negotiation problems. Based on information provided in confidence by each party via an interactive graphical interface, the program can help determine if there exist any possible alternatives that are equivalent or even preferred to each party's decision in the absence of a negotiated agreement. If such alternatives exist, through a series of iterations in which each party's input data, assumptions, and preferences may change, ICANS can assist the parties in their search for a mutually acceptable and preferred agreement. A simple example illustrates the data requirements and the use of ICANS in negotiation experiments.     

环境调解“二一分流”模式的探究

面对纷繁复杂的环境纠纷,学者们普遍倾向行政调解,但实践中行政调解存在概念不清、程序不完备、政府信誉危机等无法逾越的障碍。为了应对复杂的环境纠纷,应当因应地选择解决方式,确立“二一分流”的方法并创设“双调解”模式,将不同类型的问题划入不同处理模式,综合运用三大调解方式,从而真正实现“大调解”从司法到全社会的全面贯通,提高环境纠纷处理效率。     

非生物胁迫对盐生杜氏藻DsMPK转录、翻译和磷酸化修饰的影响

促有丝分裂活化蛋白激酶(Mitogen-activated protein kinase,MAPK或MPK)途径是在真核生物中广泛存在的调控多种生理过程的信号途径,在细胞增殖、分化、凋亡、生物和非生物胁迫等生理过程的调控中起着关键的作用.盐生杜氏藻(Dunaliella salina,盐藻)是目前世界上最耐盐的真核光合生物之一.在前期实验中,已发现盐藻MAPK(DsMPK)的表达受到低温和高盐胁迫的抑制.分析DsMPK在高温、低盐、氧化、紫外胁迫中的表达变化,发现DsMPK还受到氧化胁迫的抑制.进而分析DsMPK在高温、低盐、氧化、低温、高盐和紫外胁迫中翻译和磷酸化修饰的变化,发现除低盐胁迫外,在磷酸化修饰水平DsMPK同样受到各种非生物胁迫的抑制.在对不同生长阶段盐藻DsMPK磷酸化变化的分析中还发现,DsMPK的磷酸化水平与生长速率有一致性.各方面DsMPK的变化趋势说明其为一调控生长相关的MAPK.     

Regulatory focus as a mediator in goal orientation and performance relationships

Chosen goals influence the outcomes a person achieves as well as the behaviors performed to achieve those outcomes. In this study, we propose that three forms of goal orientation: learning, performance‐prove, and performance‐avoid, (VandeWalle, 1997 ) relate to performance, with learning and performance‐prove relating to performance through regulatory foci of prevention and promotion, respectively. Regulatory focus, a type of self‐regulation, entails the implementation of specific strategies in pursuit of goals and thus gives us insight to how a person pursues a chosen goal. In a combination of laboratory and field studies, we examine the role of regulatory focus as a mediator between goal orientation and task performance. We find evidence that regulatory focus strategies differentially mediate the goal orientation/task performance relationship. Theoretical ramifications for these relationships, as well as practical implications, are discussed. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.