Local dispersal promotes biodiversity in a real-life game of rock-paper-scissors

One of the central aims of ecology is to identify mechanisms that maintain biodiversity. Numerous theoretical models have shown that competing species can coexist if ecological processes such as dispersal, movement, and interaction occur over small spatial scales. In particular, this may be the case for non-transitive communities, that is, those without strict competitive hierarchies. The classic non-transitive system involves a community of three competing species satisfying a relationship similar to the children's game rock-paper-scissors, where rock crushes scissors, scissors cuts paper, and paper covers rock. Such relationships have been demonstrated in several natural systems. Some models predict that local interaction and dispersal are sufficient to ensure coexistence of all three species in such a community, whereas diversity is lost when ecological processes occur over larger scales. Here, we test these predictions empirically using a non-transitive model community containing three populations of Escherichia coli. We find that diversity is rapidly lost in our experimental community when dispersal and interaction occur over relatively large spatial scales, whereas all populations coexist when ecological processes are localized.     

'Inverse' melting of a vortex lattice

Inverse melting is the process in which a crystal reversibly transforms into a liquid or amorphous phase when its temperature is decreased. Such a process is considered to be very rare, and the search for it is often hampered by the formation of non-equilibrium states or intermediate phases. Here we report the discovery of first-order inverse melting of the lattice formed by magnetic flux lines in a high-temperature superconductor. At low temperatures, disorder in the material pins the vortices, preventing the observation of their equilibrium properties and therefore the determination of whether a phase transition occurs. But by using a technique to 'dither' the vortices, we were able to equilibrate the lattice, which enabled us to obtain direct thermodynamic evidence of inverse melting of the ordered lattice into a disordered vortex phase as the temperature is decreased. The ordered lattice has larger entropy than the low-temperature disordered phase. The mechanism of the first-order phase transition changes gradually from thermally induced melting at high temperatures to a disorder-induced transition at low temperatures.     

中国古代文学学习的困惑及反思

高等院校中国古代文学课程已经形成了一个比较完善的学科体系,其所传授的知识内容、教学的模式也已相对固定.但由于高校中国古代文学教学课时数相对较少、教学内容庞杂、学生学习方法不当等诸多原因,学生在学习时面临不少的困惑.     

Decreased serum responsiveness by primary monolayer cultures of preneoplastic and neoplastic mammary epithelial cells

Monolayer cultures of normal, preneoplastic and neoplastic murine mammary epithelial cells were exposed to various types of mammalian serum. A progressive decline in levels of thymidine incorporation together with a change in the ordering of sera which stimulates optimal incorporation was observed in the transformed cells.     

藏药波棱瓜花质量标准的初步研究

对藏药波棱瓜花药材的质量标准进行初步研究.根据2010年版《中国药典》附录IX相关方法,对波棱瓜花药材的水分、总灰分、酸不溶性灰分、醇溶性浸出物进行测定;并对该药材的性状、显微特征进行描述;采用薄层色谱(TLC)法进行定性鉴别.初步明确了波棱瓜花药材性状、显微和薄层鉴别方法,并确立了波棱瓜花药材水分、总灰分、酸不溶性灰分、浸出物的限量.本研究为波棱瓜花的质量标准的的制定提供参考依据.