Nest-building by crested tit Parus cristatus males: an analysis of costs and benefits

In a population of crested tits in Belgium, one out of three breeding males participated in nest-building. Since variation in the amount of nest-building among 11 building males was low, analysis of male nest-building allowed a logistic regression design. The probability of building increased with male condition and for late nests. The effect of male condition decreased with date, and date was the only factor predicting nest-building for repeat broods. The effect of male condition on nest-building suggests that building entails important costs for males. Based on correlative data, we argue that building by males shortens the interval between the start of nest-building and the onset of egg-laying by about 5 days. Since clutch size, incubation and nestling time did not differ between early and late broods, male nest-building apparently affects fledging date. Since early fledgers (early dispersers) are more likely to settle in future winter flocks, building behaviour by crested tit males should be favoured by natural selection. So far, male nest-building in hole-breeding birds might have been overlooked due to the widespread use of artificial nest-boxes in behavioural studies.     

Attitudes towards sex selection for non-medical reasons: a review

Early non-invasive fetal sexing is widely available over the Internet, leading to concerns about its possible use for sex selection. The aim of this review is to summarise the results of surveys describing lay attitudes towards sex selection for non-medical reasons to help address or inform such concerns. A search of electronic databases and key journals was supplemented by an Internet search and citation-tracking. Twenty-one quantitative studies were identified. Most were conducted in the US, with five recent studies in the UK and Germany. Most studies found that, overall, people were not in favour of sex selection. However, this varied from 94 to 18%. People may hold more negative attitudes when the method of sex selection is specified, particularly if this involves termination of pregnancy (TOP). Attitudes towards the general availability of sex selection are less negative than those towards personal use. Attitudes were consistently negative in German surveys. Little is known of such attitudes outside the US, the UK and Germany, and how such attitudes may change as new sex selection technologies become available. Studies of use of early non-invasive fetal sexing for sex selection for non-medical reasons are needed to assess the extent to which concerns about usage are justified and to assist in debates on how these might be most appropriately addressed. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Morphology-dependent interfacial interactions of Fe2O3 with Ag nanoparticles for determining the catalytic reduction of p-nitrophenol

In this work,we fabricated three kinds of Ag/Fe_2O_3 model catalysts with different morphologies to study the interfacial interactions between Ag and Fe_2O_3,and how they affected the catalytic activity in hydrogenation of p-nitrophenol was explored.The hydrothermal method was used to synthesize the metal oxide supported silver catalyst,with various morphologies including nanoplates(NPs),nanospheres(NSs),and nanocubes(NCs).The crystal structure,morphology and surface elements of the composite were investigated by various measurements,such as X-ray diffraction(XRD),scanning electron microscopy(SEM),transmission electron microscopy(TEM) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy(XPS).The catalytic activity was also evaluated by the reduction of p-nitrophenol to p-aminophenol.It was found that the activities of the above catalysts varied with the morphology of the support.Among them,Ag/Fe_2O_3 NPs promoted the highest performance,Ag/Fe_2O_3 NSs were slightly inferior,and Ag/Fe_2O_3 NCs were the worst.At last,we ascribed the remarkable activity of Ag/Fe_2O_3 NPs to the strong metal-support interactions between Ag and Fe_2O_3.     

密切值法在污染源治理方案优选中的应用

本文采用密切值法进行污染源多个治理方案的优化决策研究，并通过实例分析获得了与实际状况相符合的优化结果。     

高温嗜粪菌的选育和猪粪发酵研究

筛选得到了８株嗜高温（５５℃）嗜粪细菌，均具有较强的发酵猪粪能力。加入所选育菌株进行的猪粪高温（５５℃）固体好氧发酵实验发明，２４ｈ内可将猪粪发酵成无臭味、深褐色的稳定和无害化产物，常温下长时间放置也不会产生腐败和臭味。此发酵产物的氮试验法结果显示，猪粪已发酵至表观成熟和稳定化，可作为进一步制取优质有机复合肥料的良好前体物。     

赋权相关分析与环境设施优化选择

在环境质量评价及环境设施优化选择过程中，客观地设计分析模型，并合理地选择权系数是问题的关键和难点。如果处理不当，将会得出与客观实际完全相反的结果。从而影响决策的准确性，造成不应有的损失。本文以灰色系统理论和层次分析法为基础，提出利用二步层次分析法确定权系数的多指标相关分析方法，并将其应用于烟气处理设施的综合性能评价之中。实例分析表明，该方法具有赋权合理、计算简便、一致性程度高、受决策者主观臆断影响小，评价结果可靠等特点。因此，该方法用于环境设施优化选择过程是可行的。     

袋式除尘器在立窑烟气除尘中的应用

对立窑烟尘排放特点与立窑除尘工艺中的问题及对策进行了讨论。分析了立窑烟尘排放特征,对几种常见的立窑除尘的设备和工艺进行了比较,指出袋式除尘器可成功地用于立窑烟气除尘。并且从滤料选择、清灰方式、烟温控制、灰斗的气密性等方面详细地完善了袋式除尘器在立窑烟气除尘中的应用。     

利川市生活垃圾卫生填埋场场址的比选

选址是卫生填埋场建设和运行的关键。以利川市实际情况为前提和依据，筐选出7个预选场址，经实地踏勘和从填坦容量、运输距离、搬迁户数量等方面分析，遴选出其中3个；分别从工程学、环境学、经济学、社会与法律等方面中如交通状况、服务年限、占地面积、基岩类型、渗透系数、地下水位、覆盖土来源等13项具体条件上对3个备选场址进行了详细的分析比较，确定杨柳村大天井为最终选定场址。利川垃圾填埋场的选址工作也可以为同类型的城市或地区提供参考和借鉴。     

BP网络应用于大气环境监测点的优选

为了对大气环境监测点进行优化选择 ,以大气质量分级标准为训练样本 ,构造BP网络进行训练 ,用训练好的BP网络对某地的大气环境监测采样点进行了优选 ,并与物元分析法优选结果进行比较。结果表明 ,BP网络用于环境测点优选具有较好的客观性和应用性     

草履虫──针杆藻群落对混合印染废水净化作用的条件实验

本文对混合印染废水的静态净化过程，进行了生物群落观察和条件实验。发现废水净化初期以大量细菌和草履虫（以 Ｐ． Ｃａｕｄａｔｕｍ为主）繁殖为特征，同时伴生着少量浮游藻类。随着净化过程的进行，细菌和草履虫数量下降，以针杆藻（以 Ｓ． ａｕｃｓ为主）为建群种的浮游藻类群落占优势。化学分析表明，净化作用与温度、光照条件及废水起始浓度有关。