钢厂热锯机噪声控制方案

某钢厂热锯机的工作噪声问题严重影响附近居民的日常生活，急需解决。根据其发声机理，通过采取对圆盘锯边缘开槽，安装吸隔声罩，对锯片增加阻尼材料，夹紧工件等措施取得了较好的降噪效果。     

Baboon loud calls advertise male quality: acoustic features and their relation to rank,age, and exhaustion

Free-ranging adult male baboons give loud two-syllable wahoo calls during dawn choruses, interactions between groups, when chasing females, and in aggressive interactions with other males. Previous research has shown that the rate and duration of these contest wahoos are correlated with a males competitive ability: high-ranking males call more often, call at faster rates, and call for longer bouts than do low-ranking males. Here we report that acoustic features of wahoos also reveal information about male competitive ability. High-ranking males give wahoos with higher fundamental frequencies (F0) and longer hoo syllables. Within-subject analyses revealed that, as males fall in rank, the hoo syllables tend to shorten within a period of months. As males age and continue to fall in rank, F0 declines, hoo syllables shorten, and formant dispersion decreases. Independent of age and rank, within bouts of calling F0 declines and hoo syllables become shorter. Because wahoos are often given while males are running or leaping through trees, variation in these acoustic features may function as an indicator of a males stamina. The acoustic features of contest wahoos thus potentially allow listeners to assess a males competitive ability.Communicated by C. Nunn     

不同强度岩石中开挖圆形巷道的局部化过程模拟

利用FLAC模拟了不同粘聚力条件下圆形巷道的局部化过程。为了模拟巷道开挖,利用编写的F ISH函数删除巷道内部的单元。岩石服从莫尔库仑剪破坏与拉破坏复合的破坏准则,破坏之后呈现应变软化-理想塑性行为。文中模拟分为3步:首先,将静水压力施加在模型上,直到达到静力平衡状态;然后,利用编写的F ISH函数开挖巷道;最后,计算重新开始,直到达到静力平衡状态或者塑性流动状态。模拟结果表明,随着粘聚力的降低,巷道围岩的破坏模式首先由孔壁附近零星单元的破坏向4个对称的小V形坑式剪切破坏转变,然后由包含若干小V形坑的大V形坑式剪切破坏向巷道全断面的破坏转变。前三者破坏发生后,巷道围岩仍然能保持稳定。与最大塑性拉伸应变相比,最大剪切应变增量、最大塑性剪切应变要高得多;最大剪切应变增量、最大塑性剪切应变相差不大;随着粘聚力的增加,三者均越来越小。     

Territorial counter-singing in male sac-winged bats (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Saccopteryx bilineata</Emphasis>): low-frequency songs trigger a stronger response

In many animal species, individuals compete for resources but avoid escalated conflicts by threat displays, i.e. a mutual signalling behaviour that enables the opponents to predict the outcome of the conflict without the necessity of actual fighting. For example, territory holders may use acoustic signals to communicate not only their own identity and the borders of their territory but also their competitive quality, fighting ability and motivation. Here, we show that male sac-winged bats, Saccopteryx bilineata, adjust their vocal territorial displays according to the fundamental frequency of territorial songs of their opponents. In playback experiments with territorial males, low-frequency stimuli elicited a higher territorial song rate and length than high-frequency stimuli. Male S. bilineata that sing more often and with lower fundamental frequencies have been shown to sire more offspring than their competitors. Fundamental frequency of territorial songs, hence, may reveal male quality and, consequently, the resulting threat posed to competing males. We argue that this is reflected in the increased response of competitors to low-frequency territorial songs shown here. Such competitive signalling behaviour has been shown in a few mammal species like red deer and baboons but, thus far, not in bats. Electronic supplementary material  The online version of this article (doi:) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.     

Interactions of forests with secondary air pollutants: some challenges for future research

The effects of ozone and other photochemical oxidants on individual trees have been studied for several decades, but there has been much less research on the potential effects on entire forest ecosystems. Given that ozone and other oxidants affect the production and subsequent fate of biogenic volatile organic compounds that act as signalling molecules, there is a need for more detailed study of the role of oxidants in modifying trophic interactions in forests. Deposition of fine particulates to forests may act as a source of nutrients, but also changes leaf surface properties, increasing the duration of surface wetness and modifying the habitat for epiphytic organisms, leading to increased risks from pathogens. Even where this pathway contributes a relatively small input of nutrients to forests, the indirect effects on canopy processes and subsequent deposition to the forest floor in throughfall and litter may play a more important role that has yet to be fully investigated.     

轨道交通信号系统安全评估方法研究

轨道交通系统作为大容量公共交通工具,其安全性直接关系到广大乘客的生命安全,信号系统作为保证列车安全、正点、快捷、舒适、高密度不间断运行的重要技术装备在轨道交通系统中有着举足轻重的地位。为了保证轨道交通系统的安全运营,应当在信号系统投入使用之前,对其安全性进行评估和认证。国外已有比较成熟的信号系统安全标准和评估体系,应当吸收其先进经验,结合国内信号系统应用的环境,积极探索适合我国国情的轨道交通信号系统安全评估方法和体系。系统的安全评估并不是一味强调绝对的安全,而更为重要的是把安全意识和新理念体现在系统设计开发全过程中。首先根据系统总体的安全要求,确定各个子系统可以容忍的故障率,进而采用相应的安全技术和方法来达到预计的故障率目标,最后通过系统安全评估来保证系统达到安全性要求。笔者就信号系统安全评估提出了相应的方案,重点介绍了编写安全证明文件的要点,最后,以哥本哈根地铁信号系统的安全评估为例,说明国外进行信号系统安全设计与评估的基本内容和步骤。     

不同围压条件下的圆形巷道岩爆过程模拟

利用FLAC模拟了不同围压条件下圆形巷道的岩爆过程。为了模拟巷道开挖,利用编写的FISH函数删除巷道内部的单元。岩石服从摩尔库仑剪破坏与拉破坏复合的破坏准则,破坏之后呈现应变软化-理想塑性行为。模拟结果表明:当围压较低时,剪切应变集中区域呈圆环状,围岩能保持稳定,不出现剪切带;当围压增加到一定程度时,围岩中出现了"狗耳"形的V形坑,发生岩爆,但围岩也还能保持稳定;当围压进一步增加时,围岩中出现了多条狭长的剪切带,巷道的整个断面均遭到了破坏,发生强烈的岩爆。随着围压的增加,V形岩爆坑变大、变深,剪切带花样的对称性变差;在高围压时,剪切带花样与塑性力学中的滑移线网有类似之处。     

Testosterone is involved in acquisition and maintenance of sexually selected male plumage in superb fairy-wrens, Malurus cyaneus

Testosterone has been proposed as a physiological link between the level of sexual signalling and male condition. Bright plumage is one of the most noticeable sexual signals and is often used by females as a basis for mate choice. Yet bright male plumage is not necessarily testosterone dependent. We investigated the role of testosterone in the moult into seasonal nuptial plumage in male superb fairy-wrens. Early pre-nuptial moult is under intense intersexual selection and males can acquire the bright plumage any time between autumn and the next spring. Testosterone was always undetectable or very low in males in dull eclipse plumage. During the pre-nuptial moult, both the number of males with detectable testosterone and average testosterone levels increased sharply. High testosterone was more correlated with nuptial plumage than with presence of the cloacal protuberance (indicative of sperm storage). Subcutaneous testosterone implants always induced the pre-nuptial moult within 2–3 weeks after implantation, even well outside the natural time range of moulting. Moreover, removal of the implants before the nuptial plumage was completed, arrested the moult process. The evidence suggests that development of the nuptial plumage is testosterone dependent, although we cannot exclude that testosterone exerts its action after conversion to a metabolite such as oestrogen. Once the nuptial plumage was completed, all males maintained substantially elevated testosterone, sometimes months before the onset of breeding. These high levels could be necessary to maintain the plumage, and/or are involved in courtship displays. The results are discussed with respect to potential costs involved in acquiring and maintaining the nuptial plumage. Received: 17 January 2000 / Received in revised form: 24 February 2000 / Accepted: 25 February 2000     

Song amplitude and body size in birds

Bird song is a sexually selected multidimensional signal. A fundamental question regarding the evolution of sexually selected signals is what information they convey and how their honesty is maintained. Song amplitude is a performance-related signal trait that varies considerably between individuals, but this signal dimension has been neglected in past studies. I found that median song amplitude in male nightingales (Luscinia megarhynchos) and zebra finches (Taeniopygia guttata) did not vary significantly with body size or residual body mass. In contrast, I found a significant negative correlation between body size (and also residual mass) and the maximum song amplitude during interactive singing in nightingales. However, the function of these more subtle differences in song amplitude remains to be investigated. By and large, the results of this study suggest that mean song amplitude is unlikely to indicate a bird’s body size or current condition (measured as residual mass).     

Molecular genetic prenatal diagnosis for a case of autosomal recessive spondylocostal dysostosis

Autosomal recessive spondylocostal dysostosis type 1 (ARSCD1) is a member of the heterogeneous group of disorders termed the spondylocostal dysostoses that are characterized by multiple vertebral segmentation defects and rib anomalies. In these patients, the entire vertebral column is malformed and is replaced by multiple hemivertebrae giving rise to truncal shortening, abdominal protrusion and non-progressive spinal curvature. Genetic studies have shown that some cases of ARSCD are due to mutations in the somitogenesis gene, Delta-like 3 (DLL3), that encodes a ligand for the Notch signalling pathway—ARSCD type 1. To date, 17 different DLL3 gene mutations have been reported. A consanguineous family of Turkish origin with ARSCD type 1 due to a homozygous DLL3 mutation requested genetic prenatal diagnosis. Using DNA from a chorionic villus sample, both linkage analysis of the DLL3/19q region and direct sequencing for the familial mutation demonstrated that the unborn fetus was an unaffected carrier. This is the first case of molecular genetic prenatal diagnosis in any form of SCD. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.