Low host specificity of herbivorous insects in a tropical forest

Two decades of research have not established whether tropical insect herbivores are dominated by specialists or generalists. This impedes our understanding of species coexistence in diverse rainforest communities. Host specificity and species richness of tropical insects are also key parameters in mapping global patterns of biodiversity. Here we analyse data for over 900 herbivorous species feeding on 51 plant species in New Guinea and show that most herbivorous species feed on several closely related plant species. Because species-rich genera are dominant in tropical floras, monophagous herbivores are probably rare in tropical forests. Furthermore, even between phylogenetically distant hosts, herbivore communities typically shared a third of their species. These results do not support the classical view that the coexistence of herbivorous species in the tropics is a consequence of finely divided plant resources; non-equilibrium models of tropical diversity should instead be considered. Low host specificity of tropical herbivores reduces global estimates of arthropod diversity from 31 million (ref. 1) to 4 6 million species. This finding agrees with estimates based on taxonomic collections, reconciling an order of magnitude discrepancy between extrapolations of global diversity based on ecological samples of tropical communities with those based on sampling regional faunas.     

GdP3 O9:Dy0.01的同步辐射真空紫外光谱研究

研究了YxGd（1-x）P3O9：Dy0．01（x=1，0．95，0．5，0）的真空紫外激发和发射光谱．直接观测到了Dy^3＋在真空紫外波段的5d→4f发射，发现随着Gd^3＋含量的增加，Dy^3＋的5d→4f发射迅速减弱，这表明Gd^3＋的存在分流了Dy^3＋ 5d HS激发态的能量．基于实验结果，提出了一个量子剪裁模型．     

Ammonia borane at high pressures

Ammonia borane has received tremendous research attention in the past decade because of its potential for chemical hydrogen storage. This paper reviews recent studies about the behavior of ammonia borane at high pressures. While much work is still needed to comprehensively understand the pressure influence on this molecular crystal, a phase diagram based on the available experimental and theoretical data is constructed. Raman spectroscopy studies indicate five transitions upon compression up to 65 GPa at ambient temperature. Diffraction experiments and theoretical studies demonstrate that three of these transitions are first-order phase transformations in the sequence of I4mm-Cmc21-P21-（different） P21, and two are iso-structural. A low-temperature phase（Pmn21） and a high-temperature high-pressure phase（Pmna） are also recognized.     

GdP_3O_9:Dy_(0.01)的同步辐射真空紫外光谱研究

研究了YxGd1-xP3O9:Dy0.01(x=1,0.95,0.5,0)的真空紫外激发和发射光谱.直接观测到了Dy3 在真空紫外波段的5d→4f发射,发现随着Gd3 含量的增加,Dy3 的5d→4f发射迅速减弱,这表明Gd3 的存在分流了Dy3 5d HS激发态的能量.基于实验结果,提出了一个量子剪裁模型.     

Lung cancer: intragenic ERBB2 kinase mutations in tumours

The protein-kinase family is the most frequently mutated gene family found in human cancer and faulty kinase enzymes are being investigated as promising targets for the design of antitumour therapies. We have sequenced the gene encoding the transmembrane protein tyrosine kinase ERBB2 (also known as HER2 or Neu) from 120 primary lung tumours and identified 4% that have mutations within the kinase domain; in the adenocarcinoma subtype of lung cancer, 10% of cases had mutations. ERBB2 inhibitors, which have so far proved to be ineffective in treating lung cancer, should now be clinically re-evaluated in the specific subset of patients with lung cancer whose tumours carry ERBB2 mutations.