透水模板布的孔径分布表征方法

为区别透水模板布(CPFL)过滤层与结构层的孔结构特征,针对其过滤层表面孔径与结构层等效孔径进行了理论试验研究.首先,采用负压吸力法测试分析了不同试验条件下CPFL等效孔径分布差别;其次,基于Poisson Polyhedron理论与Hagen-Poisseuille定律,探讨过滤层表面孔径特征长度取值方法,推导CPFL过滤层表面理论孔径分布并试验验证.结果表明:标准试验条件是负压吸力法准确获取CPFL等效孔径曲线的关键;基于垂直渗透系数求解过滤层孔径分布方法可行,过滤层孔径相比等效孔径,前者分布范围更窄、特征孔径更小.最后,提出了过滤层表面理论孔径分布表征方法.     

Magnetic fields at the solar wind termination shock

A transition between the supersonic solar wind and the subsonic heliosheath was observed by Voyager 1, but the expected termination shock was not seen owing to a gap in the telemetry. Here we report observations of the magnetic field structure and dynamics of the termination shock, made by Voyager 2 on 31 August-1 September 2007 at a distance of 83.7 au from the Sun (1 au is the Earth-Sun distance). A single crossing of the shock was expected, with a boundary that was stable on a timescale of several days. But the data reveal a complex, rippled, quasi-perpendicular supercritical magnetohydrodynamic shock of moderate strength undergoing reformation on a scale of a few hours. The observed structure suggests the importance of ionized interstellar atoms ('pickup protons') at the shock.     

The first hominin of Europe

The earliest hominin occupation of Europe is one of the most debated topics in palaeoanthropology. However, the purportedly oldest of the Early Pleistocene sites in Eurasia lack precise age control and contain stone tools rather than human fossil remains. Here we report the discovery of a human mandible associated with an assemblage of Mode 1 lithic tools and faunal remains bearing traces of hominin processing, in stratigraphic level TE9 at the site of the Sima del Elefante, Atapuerca, Spain. Level TE9 has been dated to the Early Pleistocene (approximately 1.2-1.1 Myr), based on a combination of palaeomagnetism, cosmogenic nuclides and biostratigraphy. The Sima del Elefante site thus emerges as the oldest, most accurately dated record of human occupation in Europe, to our knowledge. The study of the human mandible suggests that the first settlement of Western Europe could be related to an early demographic expansion out of Africa. The new evidence, with previous findings in other Atapuerca sites (level TD6 from Gran Dolina), also suggests that a speciation event occurred in this extreme area of the Eurasian continent during the Early Pleistocene, initiating the hominin lineage represented by the TE9 and TD6 hominins.     

A Cretaceous terrestrial snake with robust hindlimbs and a sacrum

It has commonly been thought that snakes underwent progressive loss of their limbs by gradual diminution of their use. However, recent developmental and palaeontological discoveries suggest a more complex scenario of limb reduction, still poorly documented in the fossil record. Here we report a fossil snake with a sacrum supporting a pelvic girdle and robust, functional legs outside the ribcage. The new fossil, from the Upper Cretaceous period of Patagonia, fills an important gap in the evolutionary progression towards limblessness because other known fossil snakes with developed hindlimbs, the marine Haasiophis, Pachyrhachis and Eupodophis, lack a sacral region. Phylogenetic analysis shows that the new fossil is the most primitive (basal) snake known and that all other limbed fossil snakes are closer to the more advanced macrostomatan snakes, a group including boas, pythons and colubroids. The new fossil retains several features associated with a subterranean or surface dwelling life that are also present in primitive extant snake lineages, supporting the hypothesis of a terrestrial rather than marine origin of snakes.     

Assembly of the inner rod determines needle length in the type III secretion injectisome

Assembly of multi-component supramolecular machines is fundamental to biology, yet in most cases, assembly pathways and their control are poorly understood. An example is the type III secretion machine, which mediates the transfer of bacterial virulence proteins into host cells. A central component of this nanomachine is the needle complex or injectisome, an organelle associated with the bacterial envelope that is composed of a multi-ring base, an inner rod, and a protruding needle. Assembly of this organelle proceeds in sequential steps that require the reprogramming of the secretion machine. Here we provide evidence that, in Salmonella typhimurium, completion of the assembly of the inner rod determines the size of the needle substructure. Assembly of the inner rod, which is regulated by the InvJ protein, triggers conformational changes on the cytoplasmic side of the injectisome, reprogramming the secretion apparatus to stop secretion of the needle protein.     

海洋环境下硅灰混凝土的抗冻性与氯离子扩散性

针对海洋环境条件,重点研究了硅灰混凝土的抗冻性和氯离子扩散性能的关系.试验分析了水胶比、硅灰等量替代水泥掺量大小、引气剂掺量等因素对混凝土抗冻性和氯离子扩散性能的影响,并与普通混凝土进行了对比.结果表明,掺加硅灰不能提高混凝土的抗冻性但可提高混凝土的抗氯离子渗透性;硅灰只有与引气剂共同使用,才能同时提高混凝土的抗冻性和抗氯离子渗透性能;硅灰掺量在10%左右对混凝土的抗冻和抗氯离子渗透综合性能影响存在一个最佳值.为评估混凝土的抗冻性和抗氯离子渗透性的综合性能,提出了新的评价方法--冻渗比(R值方法),并进行了试验验证.