Extreme sexual dimorphism in a Miocene hominoid

Some Miocene hominoids may have been extremely sexually dimorphic for body size, inferred from the apparent dimorphism of dental and gnathic remains. But this has never been demonstrated convincingly for any fossil species because of small sample sizes, uncertainties about the number of species in most fossil samples, and the inability to reliably sex individual specimens. Here we demonstrate a case of extreme dental dimorphism, and presumed body-size dimorphism, in a Miocene hominoid sample in which these limitations have been overcome. Lufengpithecus lufengensis from the late Miocene site of Lufeng, China, was more dimorphic than the most dimorphic living hominoid, the orangutan, and may have been more dimorphic than any living anthropoid.     

IF 钢铸坯厚度方向洁净度演变

采用夹杂物原貌分析、扫描电镜和能谱分析、氧氮分析等手段系统分析了 IF 钢铸坯全厚度方向的洁净度变化及夹杂物分布规律.铸坯厚度方向全氧(T. O)和 N 质量分数平均值均为17×10-6.内、外弧表层1/16内 T. O、N 均高于平均值5%~10%,存在夹杂物聚集带;内弧1/4至外弧1/4区域 T. O、N 水平低于平均值5%~10%;表层1/16至1/4区域接近平均水平.共统计夹杂物963个,夹杂物平均粒径5.7μm,<5μm 占60%, < 10μm 占90%;Al2 O3夹杂主要存在表层5 mm 内,尺寸在2~10μm;TiN- Al2 O3和 TiN 粒子主要在距离表层5 ~ 80 mm,尺寸随深度增加而增大;TiN- TiS 和 TiS 夹杂主要在距离表面80~130 mm,尺寸1~5μm.从铸坯表层到中心主要夹杂物的分布依次是 Al2 O3、Al2 O3- TiN、TiN、TiN- TiS、TiS 和 MnS.     

Juvenile hominoid cranium from the terminal Miocene of Yunnan, China

Fossil apes are known from several late Miocene localities in Yunnan Province, southwestern China, principally from Shihuiba (Lufeng) and the Yuanmou Basin, and represent three species of Lufengpithecus. They mostly comprise large samples of isolated teeth, but there are also several partial or complete adult crania from Shihuiba and a single juvenile cranium from Yuanmou. Here we describe a new, relatively complete and largely undistorted juvenile cranium from the terminal Miocene locality of Shuitangba, also in Yunnan. It is only the second ape juvenile cranium recovered from the Miocene of Eurasia and it is provisionally assigned to the species present at Shihuiba, Lufengpithecus lufengensis. Lufengpithecus has most often been linked to the extant orangutan, Pongo pygmaeus, but recent studies of the crania from Shihuiba and Yuanmou have demonstrated that this is unlikely. The new cranium reinforces the view that Lufengpithecus represents a distinct, late surviving lineage of large apes in the late Miocene of East Asia that does not appear to be closely affiliated with any extant ape lineage. It substantially increases knowledge of cranial morphology in Lufengpithecus and demonstrates that species of this genus represent a morphologically diverse radiation of apes, which is consistent with the dynamic tectonic and biotic milieu of southwestern China in the late Miocene.     

QCM对牙釉基质蛋白在牙釉质表面的吸附行为

目的:通过石英晶体微天平技术在牙釉质表面吸附牙釉基质蛋白,进而研究牙釉质表面对不同质量浓度蛋白吸附性能的影响。方法:在石英晶片上制备牙釉质膜,将其分别浸入10、20、40μg/mL质量浓度的牙釉基质蛋白溶液;通过共振频率、耗散因子、吸附量随质量浓度的变化关系,得出牙釉基质蛋白吸附的规律。结果:共振频率随质量浓度的提高而降低;吸附量随质量浓度的提高稳定的增长;结论:在20μg/mL的蛋白溶液中,牙釉质表面吸附蛋白的成膜刚性较好。石英晶体微天平技术对牙釉基质蛋白吸附机理的研究显得更直观,是研究蛋白吸附行为的有效工具。     

闽南地区汉族成人皮褶厚度的研究

采用随机整群取样调查法,在福建漳州调查了679例汉族成人的6项皮褶(面颊、二头肌、三头肌、肩胛下、髂前上棘、腓肠肌皮褶)厚度,分析成人皮褶厚度值随年龄变化的特征.结果表明:(1)女性各项皮褶厚度值均比男性高,性别差异具有统计学意义;(2)城市男性皮褶厚度值高于乡村男性,城乡差异具有统计学意义;(3)城市女性与乡村女性皮褶厚度之间的差异不具有统计学意义;(4)6项皮褶厚度值随年龄增长均有不同程度的增加,其中面颊、肩胛下皮褶厚度随年龄增加极显著;(5)与少数民族族群的聚类表明闽南地区汉族的皮褶发育具有北亚类型族群特点,与汉族族群的聚类表明男性接近北方汉族男性,女性则更接近南方汉族女性.     

搪瓷烧成温度计算方法

搪瓷釉的烧成过程是一种“液相烧结”过程，其传质有赖于熔体的粘性流动。根据玻璃态物质化学组成-结构-粘度-温度的一般关系，推导出计算瓷釉烧成温度(T烧)的经验公式。     

Chromosomal evolution in Saccharomyces

The chromosomal speciation model invokes chromosomal rearrangements as the primary cause of reproductive isolation. In a heterozygous carrier, chromosomes bearing reciprocal translocations mis-segregate at meiosis, resulting in reduced fertility or complete sterility. Thus, chromosomal rearrangements act as a post-zygotic isolating mechanism. Reproductive isolation in yeast is due to post-zygotic barriers, as many species mate successfully but the hybrids are sterile. Reciprocal translocations are thought to be the main form of large-scale rearrangement since the hypothesized duplication of the whole yeast genome 10(8) years ago. To test the chromosomal speciation model in yeast, we have characterized chromosomal translocations among the genomes of six closely related species in the Saccharomyces 'sensu stricto' complex. Here we show that rearrangements have occurred between closely related species, whereas more distant ones have colinear genomes. Thus, chromosomal rearrangements are not a prerequisite for speciation in yeast and the rate of formation of translocations is not constant. These rearrangements appear to result from ectopic recombination between Ty elements or other repeated sequences.     

Clonal evolution in cancer

Cancers evolve by a reiterative process of clonal expansion, genetic diversification and clonal selection within the adaptive landscapes of tissue ecosystems. The dynamics are complex, with highly variable patterns of genetic diversity and resulting clonal architecture. Therapeutic intervention may destroy cancer clones and erode their habitats, but it can also inadvertently provide a potent selective pressure for the expansion of resistant variants. The inherently Darwinian character of cancer is the primary reason for this therapeutic failure, but it may also hold the key to more effective control.     

搪瓷烧成温度计算方法

搪瓷釉的烧成过程是一种"液相烧结"过程,其传质有赖于熔体的粘性流动.根据玻璃态物质化学组成-结构-粘度-温度的一般关系,推导出计算瓷釉烧成温度(T烧)的经验公式.     

Inclusive fitness in evolution

Arising from M. A. Nowak, C. E. Tarnita & E. O. Wilson 466, 1057-1062 (2010); Nowak et al. reply. For over fifty years, the evolution of social behaviour has been guided by the concept of inclusive fitness as a measure of evolutionary success. Nowak et al. argue that inclusive fitness should be abandoned. In so doing, however, they misrepresent the role that inclusive fitness has played in the theory of social evolution by which understanding social behaviour in a variety of disciplines has developed and flourished. By discarding inclusive fitness on the basis of its limitations, they create a conceptual tension which, we argue, is unnecessary, and potentially dangerous for evolutionary biology.     

Critical thickness for ferroelectricity in perovskite ultrathin films

The integration of ferroelectric oxide films into microelectronic devices, combined with the size reduction constraints imposed by the semiconductor industry, have revived interest in the old question concerning the possible existence of a critical thickness for ferroelectricity. Current experimental techniques have allowed the detection of ferroelectricity in perovskite films down to a thickness of 40 A (ten unit cells), ref. 3. Recent atomistic simulations have confirmed the possibility of retaining the ferroelectric ground state at ultralow thicknesses, and suggest the absence of a critical size. Here we report first-principles calculations on a realistic ferroelectric-electrode interface. We show that, contrary to current thought, BaTiO3 thin films between two metallic SrRuO3 electrodes in short circuit lose their ferroelectric properties below a critical thickness of about six unit cells (approximately 24 A). A depolarizing electrostatic field, caused by dipoles at the ferroelectric-metal interfaces, is the reason for the disappearance of the ferroelectric instability. Our results suggest the existence of a lower limit for the thickness of useful ferroelectric layers in electronic devices.     

Patterns and rates of enamel growth in the molar teeth of early hominids

A recent study of the surface manifestation of incremental lines associated with enamel formation suggested that the crowns of early hominid incisor teeth were formed more rapidly than those of modern humans. In the absence of comparative data, the authors were forced to assume that enamel increments in fossil teeth were similar to those in modern humans. We have used evidence from the fractured surfaces of molar teeth to deduce estimates for both long- and short-period incremental growth markers within enamel in east African 'robust' australopithecine and early Homo teeth. We conclude that in these early hominids, crown formation times in posterior teeth, particularly in the large thick enamelled molar teeth of the east African 'robust' australopithecines, were shorter than those of modern humans. This evidence, considered together with data on crown and root formation times in modern apes, suggests that the posterior teeth in these hominids both formed and erupted more rapidly than those of modern man. These results have implications for attempts to assess dental and skeletal maturity in hominids.     

聚苯胺薄膜厚度的表征及原位生长

以石英基片为衬底,分别在常压0.1MPa和500MPa高压条件下采用原位聚合法制备聚苯胺(PANI)薄膜.通过对PANI薄膜的厚度进行原子力显微镜的直接测量和光谱的间接表征,建立了薄膜厚度df (nm) 与薄膜UV-Vis吸收光谱中400 nm处吸收强度A400间的关系: df = 548A400(0.1MPa)及df=341A400(500MPa).根据这一关系进一步测量了薄膜的生长曲线,并通过扫描电镜(SEM)形貌观测和电导率测试,研究了原位聚合PANI薄膜在不同合成压力下的生长及导电特性.