Impact of dissolved humic acid on the bioavailability of acenaphthene and chrysene assessed by membrane-based passive samplers

Dissolved organic carbon (DOC) is known to reduce the bioavailability of hydrophobic organic compounds (HOCs) in aqueous environments. This reduction occurs as a result of adsorption to DOC, apparently reducing the freely dissolved concentration of HOCs. In the present study, triolein-embedded cellulose acetate membrane (TECAM) and Japanese medaka (Oryzias latipes) were used to measure the uptake of acenaphthene and chrysene in the presence of commercial humic acid (HA) at different concentrations (0―15 mg C·L-1) under controlled laboratory conditions. Apparent uptake rate constants for PAHs in TECAM and medaka were compared and DOC-water partition coefficients (KDOCs) of two PAHs were calculated with different sampling methods by model fit. Results showed that HA present in water significantly reduced the uptake of PAHs in TECAM and medaka. The obtained values of log KDOC of acenaphthene and chrysene measured by TECAM were 4.63 and 5.83, respectively, whereas biologically determined values were 4.52 and 5.76, respectively. These log KDOC values were comparable to earlier published KDOCs toward commercial HA, thereby indicating that TECAM accumulated only the freely dissolved fraction of chemicals and uptake PAHs in a manner similar to that of fish. All these results suggested that the TECAM method can provide a good means for assessing the impact of DOC on bioavailability of PAHs in the aqueous environment.     

Scanning for sisnatures of geosraphically restricted selection based on population genomics analysis

Natural selection, as the driving force of human evolution, has direct impact on population differentiation. However, it is still unclear to what extent the genetic differentiation has been caused by natural selection. To explore this question, we performed a genome-wide scan with single nucleotide polymorphism （SNP） data from the International HapMap Project. Single locus FsTanalysis was applied to assess the frequency difference among populations in autosomes. Based on the empirical distribution of FsT, we identified 12669 SNPs correlating to population differentiation and 1853 candidate genes subjected to geographic restricted natural selection. Further interpretation of gene ontogeny revealed 121 categories of biological process with the enrichments of candidate genes. Our results suggest that natural selection may play an important role in human population differentiation. In addition, our analysis provides new clues as well as research methods for our understanding of population differentiation and natural selection.     

Impacts of climate warming on heating energy consumption and southern boundaries of severe cold and cold regions in China

Impacts of climate warming on heating energy consumption and southern boundaries of severe cold and cold regions of China in the past 20 years are analyzed by using daily and monthly average tem- perature data from 590 weather stations in China and based on regulations of Heating Ventilation and Air Conditioning Design Rules (GB50019-2003) and Thermal Design Rules for Civil Building (GB50175-93) (China National Standard). The contribution of climate warming to coal saving for heating during cold seasons in major cities is calculated according to indices of coal consumption for heating in major cities during cold seasons defined in Energy Conservation Design Standard for New Heating Residential Buildings (JCJ26-95). Comparing with the period before 1980, southern boundaries of se- vere cold and cold regions shift toward north up to 2 degrees in latitude since the mid-1980s. Theo- retically, climate warming could contribute to 5%―10% coal savings for heating since the mid-1980s in major cities, and even more since the mid-1990s.     

Dialdehyde starch nanoparticles： Preparation and application in drub carrier

Dialdehyde starch nanoparticles (DASNP) were prepared by the redox reaction of NaIO4 and starch in water-in-oil microemulsion. IR spectrum showed that DASNP had aldehyde groups, and quantitative alkali consumption showed that its dialdehyde content was about (50±5)%. The average diameter of DASNP determined by SEM was about 100 nm. TGA-DTA showed that its thermal stability was better than starch nanoparticle (StNP) and dialdehyde starch (DAS). Its low biological toxicity was detected by cell experiment. Also the best mass ratio of doxorubicin (DOX) to combined DASNP detected by UV-VIS was 15 : 1, and the product was effective for controlled release of DOX. The cell experiment showed that the drug-carrier particle (DOX-DASNP) can release DOX for a long time and strengthened the effect of the anticancer drug. This work demonstrates that the DASNP, which has good thermal stability, small particle size, low biological toxicity, and slowly anticancer drug-releasing to strengthen drug effect, is a potentially useful carrier for anticancer drug.     

Comparing the biological coherence of network clusters identified by different detection algorithms

Protein-protein interaction networks serve to carry out basic molecular activity in the cell. Detecting the modular structures from the protein-protein interaction network is important for understanding the organization, function and dynamics of a biological system. In order to identify functional neighbor- hoods based on network topology, many network cluster identification algorithms have been devel- oped. However, each algorithm might dissect a network from a different aspect and may provide dif- ferent insight on the network partition. In order to objectively evaluate the performance of four com- monly used cluster detection algorithms: molecular complex detection (MCODE), NetworkBlast, shortest-distance clustering (SDC) and Girvan-Newman (G-N) algorithm, we compared the biological coherence of the network clusters found by these algorithms through a uniform evaluation framework. Each algorithm was utilized to find network clusters in two different protein-protein interaction net- works with various parameters. Comparison of the resulting network clusters indicates that clusters found by MCODE and SDC are of higher biological coherence than those by NetworkBlast and G-N algorithm.     

From deep basin gas to diagenetic trap—An example from the Yulin Gas Field in the Ordos Basin

In the updip portion of the Yulin Gas Field in the Ordos Basin, there are no any structural, stratigraphic and sedimentary lithologic seals. Using thin-section petrography, ultraviolet fluorescence microscopy, micro-thermometry and Raman microspectrometry, this paper finds out the diagenetic trap and studies the diagenetic history of this field. It was revealed that three phases of diagenesis and hydrocarbon charging happened in late Triassic, late Jurassic and the end of early Cretaceous respectively. In the first two phases, acid geofluid entered the reservoir and caused dissolution and cementation. Although the porosities had been increased, further compaction accompanying re-subsidence resulted in tight sandstone and conglomerates. Till the end of the early Cretaceous, bulk of gas migrated into the tight reservoir. Cementation, however, kept on in the updip portion of this field due to low gas saturation and formed the diagenetic trap. The mechanism for gas accumulation was changed from deep basin gas to diagenetic trap, which offers a sealing condition that can retain gas for much longer time.     

Phylogenetic position of sponges in early metazoan evolution and bionic applications of siliceous sponge spicules

Sponges are the oldest and the simplest but not primitive multicellular animals. They represent the earliest evolutionary metazoan phylum still extant. It was a long and painful scientific process to posi-tion the most enigmatic and mysterious metazoan,the Porifera,into their correct phylogenetic place among the eukaryotes in general and multicellular animals in particular. As living fossils,sponges provide the best evidence for the early evolution of Metazoa. More recently,interest has been focused on the bionic applications of sponges' siliceous spicules,after the discovery of their unique structure and high fiber performance. In this review,the emergence of sponges,evolutionary novelties found in sponges,and the phylogenetic position of sponges in early metazoan evolution are highlighted. In ad-dition,the present state of knowledge on silicatein-mediated "biosilica" formation in marine sponges,including the involvement of other molecules in silica metabolism and their potential application in nanobiotechnology and medicine,is given.     

Control of group velocity in an annular chain of microring coupled-resonator optical waveguides

In order to control group velocity,an annular chain of microring coupled-resonator optical waveguides was analyzed,and its transmission spectra were obtained using the transfer matrix method. The result showed that the curvature of the chain caused the dispersion curves to shift and the resonance fre-quency got fixed. It is therefore concluded that the group velocity of light in the annular chain of mi-croring coupled-resonator optical waveguides can be controlled by adjusting the curvature of the chain. We believe that such an annular chain can be used as an optical buffer or signal retarder for optical communication.     

A Large Deviation Principle for the Risk Process with Varying Premium

Let u ∈ R ,for any ω 〉 0, the processes X^ε = {X^ε（t）; 0 ≤ t≤ 1} are governed by the following random evolution equations dX^ε（t）= b（X^ε（t）,v（t））dt-εdSt/ε, where S={St; 0≤t≤1} is a compound Poisson process, the process v={v（t）; 0≤t≤1} is independent of S and takes values in R^m. We derive the large deviation principle for{（X^ε,v（.））; ε〉0} when ε↓0 by approximation method and contraction principle, which will be meaningful for us to find out the path property for the risk process of this type.     

Wavelet Numerical Solutions for Weakly Singular Fredholm Integral Equations of the Second Kind

Daubechies interval wavelet is used to solve numerically weakly singular Fredholm integral equations of the second kind. Utilizing the orthogonality of the wavelet basis,the integral equation is reduced into a linear system of equations. The vanishing moments of the wavelet make the wavelet coefficient matrices sparse,while the continuity of the derivative functions of basis overcomes naturally the singular problem of the integral solution. The uniform convergence of the approximate solution by the wavelet method is proved and the error bound is given. Finally,numerical example is presented to show the application of the wavelet method.