Exoautometabolic regulation of transgenes in microorganisms

Data on the existence of a specific system regulating the growth, size, and structure of enterobacterial populations are first summarized in terms of the chemical ecology concept formulated by S.S. Shvarts. The role of this system in transgene functioning is described using the example of the lux operon integrated into Escherichia coli. A relatively simple test for estimating such interactions is proposed.Translated from Ekologiya, No. 2, 2005, pp. 91–96.Original Russian Text Copyright © 2005 by Pshenichnov, Maslennikova, Nikitina.     

纤维增强气凝胶复合材料高温结构转变及热稳定性研究

目的研究高温受热条件下纳米复合隔热材料的结构转变特征及热稳定性。方法采用扫描电镜、X射线衍射仪、红外光谱仪及热重仪等检测方法。结果纤维增强气凝胶材料从室温到650℃存在连续的质量损失,从室温到放热前,质量损失为1.66%;365℃开始出现放热,温度升至398℃时达到峰值,整个放热过程对应质量损失约为1.3%;从435℃放热结束开始到650℃的质量损失为1.46%。经过400℃热处理后,试样比表面积从268m~2/g增加到437m~2/g;当试样热处理温度达到600℃时,试样的比表面积明显随之降低至198m~2/g。结论 SiO_2气凝胶复合材料以无定形结构为主,存在少量的二氧化钛晶体。在400℃左右,SiO_2气凝胶结构中硅甲基Si—CH_3发生氧化,产生明显的放热峰,之后硅羟基Si—OH之间发生缩聚反应,使600℃热处理后气凝胶中Si—O—Si网络骨架强度有所提高。未处理的纤维增强气凝胶材料试样上气凝胶纳米颗粒构成的块体较为良好地包裹在玻璃纤维表面,而经过600℃的高温热处理1 h后,块体气凝胶脱离了光滑的纤维表面,气凝胶纳米粒子发生收缩,致使材料比表面积下降。     

A Parallel Study of SAR Levels in Head Tissues for Three Antennas Used in Cellular Telephones: Monopole, Helix and Patch

Summary This paper is a comparative study of several antennas commonly used in cellular telephones. These include a monopole, a helix-monopole and a patch antenna. Each one of these structures is modeled and numerically tested using finite-difference time-domain simulation and human models based on magnetic-resonance images, which allow for inclusion of details of the human body in the simulation. The testing procedure involves antenna simulation in the proximity of the human head. The behavior of each antenna is evaluated for variable distances from the head geometry (0, 1, 2, 4, 8 and 16 mm). Continuous waveform, representative of the sources used in mobile telephones, (250 mW, 1.8 GHz) is used as the form of the antenna excitation. The simulation outputs used as measures for this comparative study include transmitting and receiving antenna characteristics and the specific absorption rate (SAR). The SAR levels for the head tissues are calculated for and with accordance to the two currently accepted standards: Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection (ICNIRP). The computed SAR levels within each of the considered tissues vary for the three antennas under investigation and are within the determined health safety standards. Results suggest that the patch antenna may be the structure of choice when considering safety standards, as its radiation yields the lowest local SAR in the head tissues.     

Trait space of rare plants in a fire‐dependent ecosystem

The causes of species rarity are of critical concern because of the high extinction risk associated with rarity. Studies examining individual rare species have limited generality, whereas trait‐based approaches offer a means to identify functional causes of rarity that can be applied to communities with disparate species pools. Differences in functional traits between rare and common species may be indicative of the functional causes of species rarity and may therefore be useful in crafting species conservation strategies. However, there is a conspicuous lack of studies comparing the functional traits of rare species and co‐occurring common species. We measured 18 important functional traits for 19 rare and 134 common understory plant species from North Carolina's Sandhills region and compared their trait distributions to determine whether there are significant functional differences that may explain species rarity. Flowering, fire, and tissue‐chemistry traits differed significantly between rare and common, co‐occurring species. Differences in specific traits suggest that fire suppression has driven rarity in this system and that changes to the timing and severity of prescribed fire may improve conservation success. Our method provides a useful tool to prioritize conservation efforts in other systems based on the likelihood that rare species are functionally capable of persisting.     

分子生物学技术在水处理中的应用研究进展

利用现代分子生物学技术对微生物进行分析和研究,以解决传统微生物分析成本高、速度慢、准确度较低和灵敏度较差等缺点。介绍分子生物学技术在水处理中的应用现状,并对未来发展方向提出建议。目前分子生物学技术在供水工程中主要用于水中细菌、病毒、原生动物、蠕虫等病原微生物的快速检测以及管网微生物种群的分析,在污水处理中主要用于脱氮除磷过程菌群数量和空间分布的剖析、污泥膨胀成因分析以及监测微生物种群多样性来优化处理工艺。分子生物学技术的深入研究将进一步促进水行业的发展。     

基于ES-VSP分布的交通状态对公交车动态排放的影响

为评估不同交通状态下公交车运行特征和排放水平的差异,现场采集广州市B9、226线路公交车的逐秒GPS数据,以ES-VSP（发动机负荷-机动车比功率）分布表征畅通、轻度拥堵和中度拥堵下的公交车运行特征,结合IVE（international vehicle emission）模型求得公交车平均排放因子并分析其差异.结果表明:①所测公交车的发动机低负荷区中bin11（-1.6 < ES ≤ 3.1,-2.9 kW/t ≤ VSP < 1.2 kW/t）频率范围为50.55%~83.39%,中度拥堵时bin 11频率是畅通时的1.1~1.3倍;② 3种交通状态下公交车的CO、VOC（运行产生的挥发性有机物）、VOC_evap（蒸发产生的挥发性有机物）、NO_x（氮氧化物）和PM（颗粒物）平均排放因子范围分别为7.63~11.40、0.26~0.46、0.68~1.56、0.32~0.51和0.72×10-2~1.28×10-2 g/km;③同种交通状态下,主干路公交车专用道和BRT车道的公交车的大部分污染物平均排放因子低于次干路混行车道、主干路混行车道,中度拥堵时主干路BRT车道的CO、VOC、VOC_evap、NO_x和PM平均排放因子相对其他道路最低,分别为7.66、0.27、0.87、0.32和0.75×10-2 g/km;④次干路混行车道、主干路混行车道的公交车污染物平均排放因子随交通状态愈加拥堵而增大,但畅通时主干路BRT车道的公交车行驶速度、加速度较高,导致CO平均排放因子较高,对应3种交通状态其比例为1.0:0.9:0.8.研究显示,交通状态对公交车运行和排放具有显著影响.      

Genotoxicity removal of reclaimed water during ozonation

Genotoxicity in wastewater and reclaimed water now is gaining increased attention because of genotoxins' potential damage to the ecosystem and human health. The effect of ozonation on genotoxicity in reclaimed water was investigated. It was found that ozonation decreased the genotoxicy dramatically in three tertiary treatment plants. In the further batch ozonation experiment in laboratory,secondary effluent sample used exhibited the genotoxicity of(41.1 ± 4.1) μg 4NQO/L. Ozonation with a dose of 10 mg O3/L completely removed the genotoxicity in secondary effluent. However,after ozonation, the dissolved organic carbonvalue of the sample didn't change much but the specific ultraviolet absorbance(SUVA) value dropped sharply. With the help of Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, ozonation was found to change chemical aliphatic carbon and C–O of the dissolved arganic matter, which might be the reason of the significant decreases of SUVA and genotoxicity.     

超声波联合PAM对污泥脱水性能的影响

以污泥脱水性能与沉降性能为指标,研究了超声波调理联合PAM对污泥脱水性能的影响。实验结果表明,单独使用超声波调理的最佳调理时间为20 s,此时污泥比阻为0.68×109s2/g;采用PAM对污泥进行调理时,在浓度为0.1%,投加量为100 mg/L时污泥比阻最小,为0.32×109s2/g;采用超声波与PAM联合调理时,利用正交试验得到最适合的组合条件为:调理时间20s、PAM投加量100 mg/L、浓度0.15%。     

Near Real-Time Monitoring and Mapping of Specific Conductivity Levels Across Lake Texoma, USA

A submersible sonde equipped with a specific conductivity probe, linked with a global positioning satellite receiver was developed, deployed on a small boat, and used to map spatial and temporal variations in specific conductivity in a large reservoir. 7,695 sample points were recorded during 8 sampling trips. Specific conductivity ranged from 442,uS/cm to 3,378,uS/cm over the nine-month study. The data showed five statistically different zones in the reservoir: 2 different riverine zones, 2 different riverine transition zones, and a lacustrine zone (the main lake zone). These data were imported to a geographic information system where they were spatially interpolated to generate 8 maps showing specific conductivity levels across the entire surface of the lake. The highly dynamic nature of water quality, due to the widely differing nature of the rivers that flow into the reservoir and the effect of large inflows of fresh water during winter storms is easily captured and visualized using this approach.