Seminal fluid enhances sperm viability in the leafcutter ant Atta colombica

The seminal fluid that accompanies sperm in ejaculates has been shown or suggested to affect sperm competition and paternity success of insects by preventing female remating, inducing oviposition, and forming mating plugs. In Atta leafcutter ants, queens have multiple mates but never remate later in life, although they may live and produce fertilized eggs for several decades. The mating biology and life history of these ants therefore suggests that the major function of seminal fluid is to maximize sperm viability during copulation, sperm transfer, and initial sperm storage. We tested this hypothesis by comparing the viability of testis sperm and ejaculated sperm (mixed with seminal fluid) and found a significant positive effect of seminal fluid on sperm viability. We further quantified this positive effect by adding accessory gland secretion (a major component of seminal fluid) in a dilution series, to show that minute quantities of accessory gland secretion achieve significant increases in sperm viability. Sperm stored by queens for 1 year benefited in a similar way from being exposed to accessory gland compounds after dissection in control saline solution. Our results provide the first empirical evidence that seminal fluid is important for the production of viable ejaculates and that the accessory glands of Atta males—despite their small size—are functional and produce a very potent secretion.     

Stochastic Transfer Function Model and Neural Networks to Estimate Soil Moisture1

Abstract: A practical methodology is proposed to estimate the three‐dimensional variability of soil moisture based on a stochastic transfer function model, which is an approximation of the Richard’s equation. Satellite, radar and in situ observations are the major sources of information to develop a model that represents the dynamic water content in the soil. The soil‐moisture observations were collected from 17 stations located in Puerto Rico (PR), and a sequential quadratic programming algorithm was used to estimate the parameters of the transfer function (TF) at each station. Soil texture information, terrain elevation, vegetation index, surface temperature, and accumulated rainfall for every grid cell were input into a self‐organized artificial neural network to identify similarities on terrain spatial variability and to determine the TF that best resembles the properties of a particular grid point. Soil moisture observed at 20 cm depth, soil texture, and cumulative rainfall were also used to train a feedforward artificial neural network to estimate soil moisture at 5, 10, 50, and 100 cm depth. A validation procedure was implemented to measure the horizontal and vertical estimation accuracy of soil moisture. Validation results from spatial and temporal variation of volumetric water content (vwc) showed that the proposed algorithm estimated soil moisture with a root mean squared error (RMSE) of 2.31% vwc, and the vertical profile shows a RMSE of 2.50% vwc. The algorithm estimates soil moisture in an hourly basis at 1 km spatial resolution, and up to 1 m depth, and was successfully applied under PR climate conditions.     

确定岩体斜坡滑动面抗剪强度的动态反分析方法

滑动结构面的抗剪强度在岩体滑坡的稳定性计算中是最重要的参数,也是最难以确定的。基于岩体抗剪强度是多种因素影响下的随机变量这一认识前提下,本文以西柏坡“中共中央解放军总部”旧址滑坡为例提出了确定岩体斜坡滑动面抗剪强度的动态反分析方法,并对该方法获得的抗剪强度的实用性进行了分析。结果表明,反分析方法是获得岩体斜坡滑动面抗剪强度的最经济、合理的途径。     

Individual adaptive performance in organizations: A review

Modern work is frequently characterized by jobs where adaptive performance (AP) is crucial for employees to succeed in light of new or altered task demands. This recognition has fueled growing interest in AP as a dimension of workplace performance. To this point, however, research on AP has evolved from disparate perspectives and methods, resulting in fragmentation and a less than coherent knowledge base. This paper presents a comprehensive review of research studies regarding the nomological network of individual AP. In doing so, we synthesize the current knowledge base surrounding correlates of AP, elucidate current ambiguities, and suggest directions for future research efforts. We conclude that although the extant AP literature has amassed a critical body of studies linking various predictors to successful AP outcomes, much remains unknown, most critically regarding the implications of different methods of assessing AP, the effects of different types of changes in the task environment, the process of AP, and the steps organizations can take to foster AP among their employees. We hope that our synthesis and analysis paves the way for efforts to address these important questions. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

液化四氟乙烷小孔泄漏试验研究

采用高速摄影技术,考察了液化四氟乙烷发生小孔泄漏时,其水平泄漏和垂直泄漏的初始云团演化行为、泄漏的质量流率、喷射速度和喷射角,并与理论计算公式进行了对比。结果表明:水平喷射两相云团尾部出现涡流,涡流大幅加快了云团向空气中扩散的速率;垂直喷射的两相云团在地面形成液池,液池大幅增加了液化气体向空气中蒸发的速率。水平泄漏试验的喷射角与容器内超压变化规律相似,泄放初期喷射角逐渐增大,经历一段平坦期,到泄放末期喷射角减小。水平泄漏和垂直泄漏的初始喷射速度分别为25 m/s和20 m/s,与理论值26.6 m/s基本吻合。水平泄漏的质量流率的试验值和理论值分别为0.0598 kg/s和0.0684 kg/s,垂直泄漏的分别为0.0472 kg/s和0.059 6 kg/s,结果对比基本吻合,推荐的泄漏质量流率和小孔喷射速度公式可以用于液化四氟乙烷小孔泄漏。     

天津市夏季PM10浓度及组成元素垂直分布特征

通过天津市气象局大气边界层观测站高255 m的气象铁塔,获得了10m、40m、120m和220 m 4个高度共80个PM10样品,分析了PM10的日均质量浓度及其元素的垂直分布特征.结果表明,4个高度处PM10质量浓度时序变化基本一致;PM10质量浓度及其组成元素总量随高度增加递减;10 m、40m和120m3个高度处的PM10质量浓度时间序列分布的相关性较好,组分分歧系数较小,而220 m处的PM10质量浓度时间序列分布与其他3个高度处的相关性较差,组分分歧系数较大.样品中元素质量浓度由高到低依次是Si、Al、Ca、Fe、Na、Mg、K、Zn、Ti、Cu、Mn、Pb、Cr、Ni、Co、V、As、Cd和Hg.其中,Si、Al、Na、K质量分数随高度变化不大;Ca、Fe、Mg质量分数随高度增加递减明显;Zn、Cu、Mn、Pb、Cr在10m、40m和120 m3个高度处质量分数接近,而在220m处明显降低;Ti元素在4个高度处的质量浓度接近,质量分数总体上随高度增加递增;Ni、Co、V、As、Cd、Hg质量分数随高度的变化不同,其中与燃煤有密切关系的Hg在120 m处质量分数明显高于其他高度处,而在220m处最低.Al、Fe、Na、K等元素相对富集因子小于或接近1,其质量浓度与PM10质量浓度时序分布的相关性较好,其中Al、Na相关系数随高度增加显著递减;Zn,Cu、Pb、Cr、As、Ni的相对富集因子显著大于1,其质量浓度与PM10质量浓度时序分布的相关性较差,相关系数随高度增加变化不大.     

Development of a Computationally Efficient Full Human Body Finite Element Model

Introduction: A simplified and computationally efficient human body finite element model is presented. The model complements the Global Human Body Models Consortium (GHBMC) detailed 50th percentile occupant (M50-O) by providing kinematic and kinetic data with a significantly reduced run time using the same body habitus.

Methods: The simplified occupant model (M50-OS) was developed using the same source geometry as the M50-O. Though some meshed components were preserved, the total element count was reduced by remeshing, homogenizing, or in some cases omitting structures that are explicitly contained in the M50-O. Bones are included as rigid bodies, with the exception of the ribs, which are deformable but were remeshed to a coarser element density than the M50-O. Material models for all deformable components were drawn from the biomechanics literature. Kinematic joints were implemented at major articulations (shoulder, elbow, wrist, hip, knee, and ankle) with moment vs. angle relationships from the literature included for the knee and ankle. The brain of the detailed model was inserted within the skull of the simplified model, and kinematics and strain patterns are compared.

Results: The M50-OS model has 11 contacts and 354,000 elements; in contrast, the M50-O model has 447 contacts and 2.2 million elements. The model can be repositioned without requiring simulation. Thirteen validation and robustness simulations were completed. This included denuded rib compression at 7 discrete sites, 5 rigid body impacts, and one sled simulation. Denuded tests showed a good match to the experimental data of force vs. deflection slopes. The frontal rigid chest impact simulation produced a peak force and deflection within the corridor of 4.63 kN and 31.2%, respectively. Similar results vs. experimental data (peak forces of 5.19 and 8.71 kN) were found for an abdominal bar impact and lateral sled test, respectively. A lateral plate impact at 12 m/s exhibited a peak of roughly 20 kN (due to stiff foam used around the shoulder) but a more biofidelic response immediately afterward, plateauing at 9 kN at 12 ms. Results from a frontal sled simulation showed that reaction forces and kinematic trends matched experimental results well. The robustness test demonstrated that peak femur loads were nearly identical to the M50-O model. Use of the detailed model brain within the simplified model demonstrated a paradigm for using the M50-OS to leverage aspects of the M50-O. Strain patterns for the 2 models showed consistent patterns but greater strains in the detailed model, with deviations thought to be the result of slightly different kinematics between models. The M50-OS with the deformable skull and brain exhibited a run time 4.75 faster than the M50-O on the same hardware.

Conclusions: The simplified GHBMC model is intended to complement rather than replace the detailed M50-O model. It exhibited, on average, a 35-fold reduction in run time for a set of rigid impacts. The model can be used in a modular fashion with the M50-O and more broadly can be used as a platform for parametric studies or studies focused on specific body regions.     

Effect of Aging on Brain Injury Prediction in Rotational Head Trauma—A Parameter Study with a Rat Finite Element Model

Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate the possible effects of age-related intracranial changes on the potential outcome of diffuse axonal injuries and acute subdural hematoma under rotational head loading.

Methods: A simulation-based parametric study was conducted using an updated and validated finite element model of a rat head. The validation included a comparison of predicted brain cortex sliding with respect to the skull. Further, model material properties were modified to account for aging; predicted tissue strains were compared with experimental data in which groups of rats in 2 different lifecycle stages, young adult and mature adult, were subjected to rotational trauma. For the parameter study, 2 age-dependent factors—brain volume and region-specific brain material properties—were implemented into the model. The models young adult and old age were subjected to several injurious and subinjurious sagittal plane rotational acceleration levels.

Results: Sequential analysis of the simulated trauma progression indicates that an increase in acute subdural hematoma injury risk indicator occurs at an early stage of the trauma, whereas an increase in diffuse axonal injury risk indicators occurs at a later stage. Tissue stiffening from young adult to mature adult rats produced an increase in strain-based thresholds accompanied by a wider spread of strain distribution toward the rear part of the brain, consistent with rotational trauma experiments with young adult and mature adult rats. Young adult to old age brain tissue softening and brain atrophy resulted in an increase in diffuse axonal injuries and acute subdural hematoma injury risk indicators, respectively.

Conclusions: The findings presented in this study suggest that age-specific injury thresholds should be developed to enable the development of superior restraint systems for the elderly. The findings also motivate other further studies on age-dependency of head trauma.     

三维点云基础上排土场垮塌影响范围研究

高台阶排土场下游常分布有居民区、厂房等,一旦垮塌,后果严重,因此完善的防治与应急准备工作十分关键,而排土场垮塌影响范围的预测是这些工作的重要前提依据。为提升高台阶排土场垮塌影响范围的预测准确性,需要获取准确的地形边界基础数据。通过利用三维激光扫描仪对新建排土场及其下游地形精细扫描,对获取的三维点云数据去噪、拼接、建模等处理,生成精度更高的数字高程模型与三维实体模型。在此基础上,结合新建高台阶排土场地质勘查与设计资料,建立颗粒离散元数值模型,利用PFC3D计算高台阶排土场垮塌影响范围,并与经验公式法计算结果对比分析,结果表明排土场颗粒离散元数值模型精度符合要求,可快速、准确地计算影响范围,从而为相关部门提供科学决策依据。