Analysis of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in airborne particles by direct sample introduction thermal desorption GC/MS

The technique of thermal desorption (TD)–GC/MS was evaluated for measuring airborne, 4–6 ring polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) collected onto quartz filters. TD provides a more readily automated and sensitive alternative to traditional solvent extraction, decreasing the time/cost of analysis and reducing the risk of analyte loss or sample contamination. The developed method was successfully applied to the analysis of PAH standard solutions loaded on sorbent tubes packed with quartz wool and the graphitized carbon black sorbent Carbograph2. The optimized method showed high desorption efficiency over the whole range of target PAHs with good precision, linearity and sensitivity. The proposed method was verified on an urban dust Standard Reference Material (SRM 1649a); the experimentally determined concentrations agreed with the certified ranges (95% confidence limit) for all target compounds except benzo[a]anthracene, which fell just outside the narrow certified range. The desorption efficiency and the reproducibility of the method was evaluated by analysing pieces of real sample filters sampled from urban air for a period of 24 h. The results confirmed the homogeneity of the filter and showed high recovery efficiencies for all target PAHs.     

Disappearance of bromopropylate residues in artichokes, strawberries and beans

Residues of Bromopropylate were determine in artichokes, strawberries and beans after foliar spray of acaricide at two rates. The rates used were 1 g/l formulated product (normal recommended) and 1.5 g/l. The residue levels of bromopropylate in the three crops after 14 days were lower than 0.7 ppm and did not exceed the Maximum Residual Level (MRL) recommended by FAO. In the artichokes and strawberries, the total concentration of residues decreased by 50% of the initial level after 2-3 days. Only trace levels of the bromopropylate residues (less than 0.01 ppm) were detected in the "hearts" of the artichokes. Bromopropylate residues in the green beans were also less than 0.8 ppm after the first day of foliar spraying. The kinetic of degradation occurred in two different steps. In the first step (4-6 days) the dissipation of bromopropylate was faster whereas in the second step (7-14 days) the loss of residues was much slower.     

The modern theory of biological evolution: an expanded synthesis

In 1858, two naturalists, Charles Darwin and Alfred Russel Wallace, independently proposed natural selection as the basic mechanism responsible for the origin of new phenotypic variants and, ultimately, new species. A large body of evidence for this hypothesis was published in Darwins Origin of Species one year later, the appearance of which provoked other leading scientists like August Weismann to adopt and amplify Darwins perspective. Weismanns neo-Darwinian theory of evolution was further elaborated, most notably in a series of books by Theodosius Dobzhansky, Ernst Mayr, Julian Huxley and others. In this article we first summarize the history of life on Earth and provide recent evidence demonstrating that Darwins dilemma (the apparent missing Precambrian record of life) has been resolved. Next, the historical development and structure of the modern synthesis is described within the context of the following topics: paleobiology and rates of evolution, mass extinctions and species selection, macroevolution and punctuated equilibrium, sexual reproduction and recombination, sexual selection and altruism, endosymbiosis and eukaryotic cell evolution, evolutionary developmental biology, phenotypic plasticity, epigenetic inheritance and molecular evolution, experimental bacterial evolution, and computer simulations (in silico evolution of digital organisms). In addition, we discuss the expansion of the modern synthesis, embracing all branches of scientific disciplines. It is concluded that the basic tenets of the synthetic theory have survived, but in modified form. These sub-theories require continued elaboration, particularly in light of molecular biology, to answer open-ended questions concerning the mechanisms of evolution in all five kingdoms of life.Dedicated to Prof. Dr. Dr. hc mult. Ernst Mayr on the occasion of his 100th birthdayThis revised version was published online in March 2004, with corrections to the caption of Figure 6.     

Food caching in orb-web spiders (Araneae: Araneoidea)

Caching or storing surplus prey may reduce the risk of starvation during periods of food deprivation. While this behaviour occurs in a variety of birds and mammals, it is infrequent among invertebrates. However, golden orb-web spiders, Nephila edulis, incorporate a prey cache in their relatively permanent web, which they feed on during periods of food shortage. Heavier spiders significantly reduced weight loss if they were able to access a cache, but lost weight if the cache was removed. The presence or absence of stored prey had no effect on the weight loss of lighter spiders. Furthermore, N. edulis always attacked new prey, irrespective of the number of unprocessed prey in the web. In contrast, females of Argiope keyserlingi, who build a new web every day and do not cache prey, attacked fewer new prey items if some had already been caught. Thus, a necessary preadaptation to the evolution of prey caching in orb-web spiders may be a durable or permanent web, such as that constructed by Nephila.     

GIS支持下的秦岭植被景观梯度分析

秦岭植被景观类型丰富,具有过渡性和复杂性特点,植被垂直分带明显. 在分析了大尺度秦岭植被景观空间水平分布格局的基础上,利用基于GIS梯度分析方法,分析秦岭的植被与海拔梯度的关系,得到秦岭不同植被景观类型的斑块数、分布范围、植被分布的海拨高度平均值和标准差,并以太白山为例,对太白山植物种进行了梯度分析. 结果表明,随着海拔高度的增加,太白山依次出现7种植被景观类型:温带草丛→温带落叶灌丛→温带落叶阔叶林→亚热带针叶林→亚热带和热带山地针叶林→草甸→高寒草甸等植被类型,植物种亦发生相应的变化.      

河道藻源胞内有机质光化学-生物降解机制

藻细胞破裂后会向水体释放大量的胞内有机质 (intracellular dissolved organic matter, I-DOM) 。I-DOM在河道中将经历复杂的光降解和生物降解过程,影响其在河道中的迁移转化和环境效应。为了探明光照和微生物对I-DOM的降解机制,开展了光降解、生物降解和光-生物降解实验。结果表明,I-DOM经7 d光降解和生物降解后,溶解性有机碳 (dissolved organic carbon, DOC) 的去除率分别为70%和81%;虽然光照1 d能去除38%的DOC,但后续生物降解 (光-生物降解) 与无光照生物降解对DOC的去除效率一致。进一步的研究表明,生物降解过程中的呼吸商 (respiratory quotient, RQ) 低于光-生物降解过程,说明相比于生物降解过程,光-生物降解过程中经光照后生物呼吸时所利用I-DOM的性质发生了改变,进而影响了生物呼吸时O₂的消耗和CO₂的产生。生物降解过程中微生物主要利用原始的I-DOM分子;而在光-生物降解过程中,生物降解过程的微生物主要利用经光降解转化后的I-DOM分子。光-生物降解过程中,光照消耗了I-DOM中可生物降解的脂质、蛋白质和木质素类组分,导致I-DOM的生物降解效率降低;同时,光照将I-DOM中的大分子物质分解成高O/C的小分子物质,使微生物代谢需要的O₂减少,小分子物质则更易被生物降解矿化生成CO₂,导致RQ升高。本研究结果可为河道水质调控提供参考。     

摩托车后轮毂压铸模设计

摩托车后轮毂压铸模具精度要求高 ,且结构复杂。为满足铸件的技术要求 ,要合理选用压铸设备 ,合理地设计模具结构。分析了摩托车后轮毂的结构特点 ,介绍了摩托车后轮毂压铸模的结构 ,并详细说明了模具浇注系统、溢流系统、冷却系统、推出机构的设计。