Evidence from carbon isotope measurements for diverse origins of sedimentary hydrocarbons

The organic matter found in sedimentary rocks must derive from many sources; not only from ancient primary producers but also from consumers and secondary producers. In all of these organisms, isotope effects can affect the abundance and distribution of 13C in metabolites. Here, by using an improved form of a previously described technique in which the effluent of a gas chromatograph is continuously analysed isotopically, we report evidence of the diverse origins of sedimentary organic matter. The record of 13C abundances in sedimentary carbonate and total organic carbon can be interpreted in terms of variations in the global carbon cycle. Our results demonstrate, however, that isotope variations within sedimentary organic mixtures substantially exceed those observed between samples of total organic carbon. Resolution of isotope variations at the molecular level offers a new and convenient means of refining views both of localized palaeoenvironments and of control mechanisms within the global carbon cycle.     

灌区淋洗水量优化计算

在灌区水资源优化调度的基础上,考虑了土壤临界含盐量、土壤和地下水水盐动态等因素,提出了灌区淋洗水量优化计算方法,并给出了算例。     

A massive phytoplankton bloom induced by an ecosystem-scale iron fertilization experiment in the equatorial Pacific Ocean

The seeding of an expanse of surface waters in the equatorial Pacific Ocean with low concentrations of dissolved iron triggered a massive phytoplankton bloom which consumed large quantities of carbon dioxide and nitrate that these microscopic plants cannot fully utilize under natural conditions. These and other observations provide unequivocal support for the hypothesis that phytoplankton growth in this oceanic region is limited by iron bioavailability.     

Illmensee inquiry: fraud charge unproven, researcher resumes duties

A summary is provided of the report of an international commission set up by the University of Geneva to investigate allegations of fraud against a leading embryologist, Professor Karl Illmensee. Illmensee is being allowed to resume his faculty duties because the report, while highly critical of the researcher's experimental records, found no compelling evidence that he fabricated his data.     

A new interstellar molecule: tricarbon monoxide

The cold dark interstellar Taurus Molecular Cloud One (TMC-1) is a rich source of acetylenic and polyacetylenic molecular species. As well as linear closed-shell molecules (H(C triple bond C)nCN) and symmetric rotors (CH3C triple bond CH, CH3C triple bond CCN), several radicals (C triple bond CH, C triple bond CCN, (C triple bond C2H) have also been identified, many of which had not been studied previously in the laboratory. Whether the observed abundances can be understood in terms of purely gas-phase ion-molecule chemical schemes, which produce reasonable agreement for the simplest polyatomic species, is unclear; alternative models involving the particulate interstellar grains as catalysts or sources have also been suggested. We now report the detection in TMC-1 of a new molecule, tricarbon monoxide (C3O), whose pure rotational spectrum has only very recently been studied in the laboratory. As C3O is the first known interstellar carbon chain molecule to contain oxygen, its existence places an important new constraint on chemical schemes for cold interstellar clouds. In fact, the observed abundance of tricarbon monoxide fits quite well into our model of galactochemistry.     

U.S. agrigenetics: suit filed against NIH

Three environmental groups have filed suit against the National Institutes of Health in an attempt to block an experiment approved in April by the NIH Recombinant DNA Advisory Committee. The experiment, designed by researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, to enhance the frost resistance of crops, would release genetically engineered organisms into the general environment for the first time. The suit, filed in a federal court in the District of Columbia, claims that releasing frost-resistant bacteria into the environment could have damaging ecological consequences, that NIH should have issued an environmental impact assessment before approving any experiment involving the release of genetically engineered organisms, and that the Recombinant DNA Advisory Committee lacks the expertise to assess environmental risks.     

嗜盐菌的研究新进展

嗜盐菌作为一种新型微生物资源,已经在很多方面得到应用.如：为微生物生理、分类,系统发育学和生命科学研究提供新的课题,因此,嗜盐菌已引起人们的广泛关注.文章主要讨论了嗜盐菌的嗜盐机理和应用方面的研究新进展.     

卷积积分的几种方法

卷积积分是信号与线性系统课程中的重要运算工具。本介绍卷积积分的图解法和性质法以外，又讨论了卷积积分的定义法和数值计算法。     

渭干河-库车河绿洲生态环境变化特征与防治对策

近50年来，渭干河-库车河三角洲绿洲地区在人类不合理活动的作用下，水与生态环境发生了一系列变化。因此,进行水资源统筹利用规划与管理，统筹兼顾各县的经济发展与生态环境建设对水的需求，以生态系统健康发展为原则，遵循生态规律来进行土地资源的开发利用，开展整个绿洲为单元的生态功能保护与建设是绿洲可持续发展能力的根本途径。