The potential significance of microbial activity in radioactive waste disposal

Summary Active microorganisms can exist in any proposed environment if the basic requirements for life are satisfied, i.e. a suitable temperature and pH, the presence of the necessary nutrients and water. If conditions are not favourable microbes may survive in a dormant state until a change will allow activity. In local pockets microenvironments may become established where microbial activity may increase leading to altered environmental conditions and to changes in the near-field, e.g. degradation and breakdown of barriers, gas generation and/or uptake and transport of nuclides.     

Maternal regulation of wing polymorphism inPyrrhocoris apterus: Effect of cold activation

Summary In a macropterous strain ofPyrrhocoris apterus the offspring of females kept under long-day conditions are invariably mostly macropterous, whereas the offspring of females from short-day conditions become macropters under long-day and brachypters under short-day conditions. The brachypterizing effect of short days was removed by the chilling of mothers for 70 days.     

Physiological state of submitochondrial particles and their susceptibility to Triton X-100

The solubilizing effect of Triton X-100 on beef heart submitochondrial particles (ETPH) has been studied under various physiological conditions. Coupled, uncoupled and azide-inhibited ETPH particles have been studied. Quantitative and qualitative differences are found in the proteins solubilized by the detergent from ETPH particles under the various conditions tested.     

Vegetative Entwicklung und Fertilität einiger annueller Pflanzenarten unter dem Einfluss verschiedener konstanter Temperaturen

Summary The influence of a series of constant temperatures on some annual plant species was studied in otherwise constant conditions. There are big differences in the behaviour of the species. But also within a species the properties studied can have different optimal temperatures. These differences are especially characteristic in some cases for the properties of fertility and of the vegetative growth. One species, for instance, can under certain conditions be very high and can even have numerous big flowers, but the plants can be simultaneously entirely sterile.     

Meteorotropy and medical-meteorological forecasts

The meteorotropic reaction of the human organism is a function of different factors, such as the type and intensity of the effects of the physical environment as well as individual conditions like adaptive capacity and state of health. Many medical-meteorological studies show causal correlations between conditions in the lower atmosphere and reactions of the human organism, but also combined or synergistic effects of different weather situations, which can only be proved stochastically. These effects are described and the methodology of the investigations, as well as the results, critically discussed. Furthermore, application of the results in the areas of medical-meteorological consultation, with the goal of improving living conditions, is considered.     

基于WAsP的不同风资源下风力机的选择

提出了一种确定适合于不同地区的风力机的方法。首先利用WAsP软件对当地风能资源评估,分析计算得到风谱图,建立模拟风力机站;然后拟合4种类型的400W风力机的输出功率特性曲线;最后计算不同风力机在不同地区风资源下的单位面积月发电量及其变动率。在保证满足供电负荷的条件下,单位面积月发电量的变动率最小的风力机确定为该地区风力机。     

Defining the resistance to oxygen transfer in tissue hypoxia

Studies of O2 supply in freshly isolated adult mammalian cells provide new insight into the factors that limit mitochondrial oxygenation in vivo. Of particular importance, mitochondria are present at high densities and often in apparent clusters, both of which contribute to local O2 gradients under hypoxic conditions. Current evidence indicates that the mitochondrial distribution is a component of the differentiated phenotype of adult mammalian cells and that specific motors and anchoring mechanisms are present to allow redistribution in response to developmental, physiological and pathological challenges. To compare the importance of resistance to O2 transfer under different conditions and at different sites along the supply path in vivo, a simple mathematical expression of relative resistance to O2 supply is introduced. Under various pathophysiological conditions, this resistance increases in specific regions of the pulmonary, circulatory or cellular supply path and results in O2 deficiency in the mitochondria. Regardless of cause, the relative resistance increases dramatically in the vicinity of mitochondrial clusters during hypoxia.     

基于系统动力学的价格振荡系统收敛条件

从离散动力系统的角度建立动态价格振荡系统模型。描述了中间产品价格振荡的动态过程,利用系统动力学中不动点的稳定性理论,给出了价格振荡系统收敛的一般性条件。并结合具体例子对最优产量反应函数为线性和非线性的情况进行分析,验证了振荡过程的收敛性,得出在一定条件下供应链能通过价格振荡过程达到均衡,并实现供应链总体利益最大。     

Microbial energetics applied to waste repositories

Summary Through their catalytic abilities microbes can increase rates of chemical reactions which would take a very long time to reach equilibrium under abiotic conditions. Microbes also alter the concentration and composition of chemicals in the environment, thereby creating new conditions for further biological and chemical reactions. Rates of degradation and possible indirect consequences on leaching rates in waste repositories are a function of the presence or absence of microbes and of the conditions which allow them to become catalytically active.Microbially mediated reactions are no exception to the rule that all chemical processes are basically governed by thermodynamic laws. Naturally occurring processes proceed in the direction that leads to the minimal potential energy level attained when equilibrium is reached. A continuous supply of energy to an ecosystem in the form of biochemically unstable compounds maintains non-equilibrium conditions, a prerequisite for all chemotrophic life. Energy is released as a chemical reaction progresses towards equilibrium. Microbes scavenge that portion of the free energy of reaction (G_r) which can be converted into biochemically usable forms during the chemical oxidation processes. As electrontransfer catalysts, the microorganisms mediate reactions which are thermodynamically possible thereby stimulating reaction rates. Decomposition and mineralization in systems without a continuous supply of substrates and oxidants will lead to equilibria with minimal free energy levels at which point further microbial action would cease. The differences in the free energy levels of reactions (G_r), represent the maximal energy which is available to microorganisms for maintenance and growth. How much of the released free energy will be conserved in energy-rich bonds, compounds (e.g. ATP), and chemical potentials (e.g. emf) useful for biosynthesis and biological work is characteristic for the microbes involved and the processes and metabolic routes employed.Materials whose elements are not present in the most oxidized form attainable in the oxic environment of our planet are potentially reactive. Microbial activities are associated only with chemical reactions whose free energy changes are exergonic. This should be kept in mind for all investigations related to the role of microbes in repositories or in the layout of proper waste storage conditions. Rigorous application of thermodynamic concepts to environmental microbiology allows one to develop models and design experiments which are often difficult to conceive of in complex natural systems from physiological information alone. Thermodynamic considerations also aid in selecting proper deposition conditions and in carrying out thoughtful experiments in areas related to microbial ecology of waste repositories.     

Structure,scale and emergence

In this paper I consider the structures that chemists and physicists attribute at the molecular scale to substances and materials of various kinds, and how they relate to structures and processes at other scales. I argue that the structure of a substance is the set of properties and relations which are preserved across all the conditions in which it can be said to exist. In short, structure is abstraction. On the basis of this view, and using concrete examples, I argue that structures, and therefore the chemical substances and other materials to which they are essential, are emergent. Firstly, structures themselves are scale-dependent because they can only exist within certain physical conditions, and a single substance may have different structures at different scales (of length, time and energy). Secondly, the distinctness of both substances and structures is a scale-dependent relationship: above a certain point, two distinct possibilities may become one. Thirdly, the necessary conditions for composition, for both substances and molecular species, are scale-dependent. To know whether a group of nuclei and electrons form a molecule it is not enough to consider energy alone: one also has to know about their environment and the lifetime over which the group robustly hangs together.     

晓明矿4—1#煤层上行开采研究

针对晓明矿地质条件,综合运用关键层理论、围岩平衡法、“三带”法、数值分析及巷道探查等方法分析了7#煤层回采后上覆围岩活动规律,确定了上部4—1#煤层的底板下沉量、煤体破坏程度及煤层应力状态以及煤层的连续性和完整性。综合理论分析、数值分析及现场探查结果,判定4—1#煤层上行开采是可行的,并提出回采设计方案,为晓明矿及类似条件矿井进行上行开采提供了参考。     

Toxicity of some insecticides for crowded and isolated nymphs ofGryllodes sigillatus Wlk. (Orthoptera: Gryllidae)

Summary 6 insecticides; chlordane, malathion, fenitrothion, pyrethrum, rotenone and sevin, were screened againstGryllodes sigillatus Wlk. reared under crowded and isolated conditions. Chlordane was found to be most toxic, followed by malation, fenitrothion, pyrethrum, rotenone and sevin. Insects reared under crowded conditions were more susceptible to insecticides than insects reared under isolated conditions.Acknowledgments. The authors are grateful to Dr S. C. Saxena for providing all facilities.     

三维正压非线性潮汐潮流伴随同化模型开边界反演研究

在数学物理反问题的框架下,基于渤海、黄海M2分潮波的数值模拟,本文设计孪生实验研究了三维正压非线性潮汐潮流模型中开边界条件的伴随法反演问题,以验证所建立的伴随模型的有效性和正确性。本文同时讨论了开边界条件的空间分布、初值、观测误差以及观测数量对开边界反演的影响,对此参数估计反问题的适定性进行了初步研究.     

Social environmental effects on gene regulation

Social environmental conditions, particularly the experience of social adversity, have long been connected with health and mortality in humans and other social mammals. Efforts to identify the physiological basis for these effects have historically focused on their neurological, endocrinological, and immunological consequences. Recently, this search has been extended to understanding the role of gene regulation in sensing, mediating, and determining susceptibility to social environmental variation. Studies in laboratory rodents, captive primates, and human populations have revealed correlations between social conditions and the regulation of a large number of genes, some of which are likely causal. Gene expression responses to the social environment are, in turn, mediated by a set of underlying regulatory mechanisms, of which epigenetic marks are the best studied to date. Importantly, a number of genes involved in the response to the social environment are also associated with susceptibility to other external stressors, as well as certain diseases. Hence, gene regulatory studies are a promising avenue for understanding, and potentially developing strategies to address, the effects of social adversity on health.     

Erythropoietin modulates the neural control of hypoxic ventilation

Numerous factors involved in general homeostasis are able to modulate ventilation. Classically, this comprises several kind of molecules, including neurotransmitters and steroids that are necessary for fine tuning ventilation under different conditions such as sleep, exercise, and acclimatization to high altitude. Recently, however, we have found that erythropoietin (Epo), the main regulator of red blood cell production, influences both central (brainstem) and peripheral (carotid bodies) respiratory centers when the organism is exposed to hypoxic conditions. Here, we summarize the effect of Epo on the respiratory control in mammals and highlight the potential implication of Epo in the ventilatory acclimatization to high altitude, as well as in the several respiratory sickness and syndromes occurring at low and high altitude. (Part of a multi-author review.)     

车辆转弯制动ABS模糊控制及稳定性仿真分析

在Matlab／Simlink下建立了八自由度车辆系统的仿真模型。采用模糊控制方法,设计了基于滑移率的ABS控制算法。针对车辆转弯制动工况,对15m／s、20m／s、25m／s三种车速进行了仿真分析。仿真结果表明所建立的ABS控制器能有效提高车辆的制动性能以及中低车速下的稳定性,但定性分析表明车辆在高速工况下出现不稳定现象。为此利用稳定性判定式,对车辆转弯制动ABS控制下的稳定性做了定量判定。判定结果表明,高速时车辆仅有ABS控制并不能达到稳定性控制的要求。     

Enzymes and receptors in the leukotriene cascade

Leukotrienes are a family of paracrine hormones derived from the oxidative metabolism of arachidonic acid. These lipid mediators are recognized as important signal molecules in a variety of inflammatory and allergic conditions affecting the skin, joints, gastrointestinal and respiratory systems, in particular asthma. Such conditions are typified by local pain, tissue edema, hyperemia and functional losses. In the tissues, immunocompetent cells accumulate at the site of injury which contribute to tissue damage and perpetuation of the disease process. Leukotrienes can elicit most, if not all, of these signs and symptoms. Thus, leukotriene B₄ is one of the most powerful chemotactic agents known to date and participates in the recruitment of leukocytes. The cysteinyl leukotrienes, on the other hand, contract smooth muscles, particularly in the peripheral airways and microcirculation. Recently, drugs which block the formation and action of leukotrienes have been introduced as novel antiasthmatic medications. This chapter reviews the biochemistry, molecular biology and cell biology of the key enzymes and cognate receptors in the leukotriene cascade.     

Persistence of orientation-selective cells of the primary visual cortex in kittens enucleated unilaterally at birth and reared in darkness]

In kittens dark reared (6 weeks old) orientation selective cells are no longer recorded in the primary visual cortex, while in kittens of same age, enucleated at birth unilaterally and reared in identical conditions, 30% of visual cortical cells are shown to be orientation selective and in addition respond preferentially to horizontal and vertical orientations.     

Toward an understanding of cell growth and the cell division cycle of unicellular photoautotrophic cyanobacteria

The cell division cycle of Synechococcus sp. strain PCC 6301 in light is characterized by the sequential and orderly appearance of macromolecular synthesis periods. In the dark, macromolecular synthesis and cell division are severely curtailed. When dark-incubated cultures are reexposed to light, a new cell cycle is initiated. The pattern of the cell events displayed by Synechococcus in light and the absence of sustained growth in dark incubation conditions suggests that light-activated regulatory molecules control macromolecular synthesis and the cell division cycle. For example, ribosomal RNA synthesis is stimulated by a light-activated DNA binding factor in light but not in the dark. Light/dark conditions induce cell synchrony in Prochlorococcus. Distinct G1, S and G2 phases characterize cell cycles of marine Synechococcus and Prochlorococcus. Cell division in Synechococcus elongatus PCC 7942 and marine Synechococcus is controlled by circadian oscillators.