Study of the distribution of elements between a cyanobacterial community and a carbonate body of a hot spring via synchrotron XRF analysis

The contents of many elements in a microbial community and various associations of a carbonate body from the Garga hot spring (Barguzin Valley, Baikal Rift Zone) were analyzed with a synchrotron X-ray fluorescence analysis. The coefficients of biological accumulation have been determined. The contents of practically all elements, except for Sr, in the microbial community are higher than in the carbonate body, and the Ge and Zn contents are higher by an 2 order of magnitude. The vertical cross section of the carbonate body contains three associations two of which formed as a result of microbial activity. The contents of elements in all associations are similar. The Ge content in the microbial community is 270 ppm, on average, whereas in the carbonate body it is less than 2 ppm. The elevated Ge contents could serve as a diagnostic indicator of the microbial community??s development around the sulfide-less alkaline hot springs in the presence of increased contents of radium isotopes. A sample of the carbonate body with layers formed as a result of the microbial community activity was continuously scanned with a step of 0.5 mm. No Ge-rich areas were determined, which indicates its removal by solutions during the destruction of organic matter.     

Respiratory adaptations to the deep-sea hydrothermal vent environment: the case of Segonzacia mesatlantica, a crab from the Mid-Atlantic Ridge

Segonzacia mesatlantica (Crustacea; Decapoda; Brachyura) is the only endemic crab species known from the Mid-Atlantic Ridge (MAR) hydrothermal vents. Known from all explored sites in the Atlantic, its wide distribution makes this species a model to study physiological adaptation, and specifically respiratory strategies. Native haemocyanin (Hc) comprises four non-covalent associations in equilibrium formed by monomers, hexamers, dodecamers and octadecamers made up of approximately 75 kDa polypeptide chains. Four different amino acid chains are observed with a molecular mass ranging from 75,234 to 75,972 Da. Experiments carried-out under pressure suggested that the percentage of monomer increased in the haemolymph under hypoxic condition. We have also observed a shift of the proportion of the two dodecamer series, suggesting a rapid modification of the Hc phenotype between hypoxic and hyperoxic conditions. Native Hc possesses a high oxygen affinity ( P50 = 2.2 Torr at 15 degrees C and pH 7.5), a large Bohr effect (Deltalog P50 / DeltapH approximately -2.7) and a slightly reverse temperature effect (DeltaH = +17.19 kJ mol(-1). The composition of Segonzacia haemolymph is similar to that of other littoral species except for the large enrichment in free copper and zinc. As for other species from hydrothermal vent sites, Segonzacia haemolymph possesses a higher buffer capacity than littoral species. Moreover, species from the hydrothermal vent decapods from Pacific hydrothermal vent that encounter higher CO2 content in their environment have a higher buffer capacity than Atlantic vent species. The results presented are discussed in relation with the physico-chemical characteristics of the hydrothermal vent environment.     

Proton spin-lattice relaxation in binary liquid mixtures: determination of the mixed translational contributions

Proton spin-lattice relaxation measurements in some binary liquid mixtures suggest a method for determining, with the BPP translational model, the relaxation contributions related to the coupling of protons belonging to molecules of different types. These mixed translational contributions can be evaluated when the experimental values of the apparent relaxation time and those corresponding to ideal behaviour are not very different. When the translational relaxation times corresponding to the mixed contributions are shorter than the translational relaxation times related to molecules of the same type, a decrease in the reciprocal mobility occurs which involves interaction phenomena such as molecular associations and structure-breaking processes. The opposite case refers to the existence of rather stable structures.     

A Complex Network Model for Analyzing Railway Accidents Based on the Maximal Information Coefficient

It is an important issue to identify important influencing factors in railway accident analysis. In this paper, employing the good measure of dependence for two-variable relationships, the maximal information coefficient (MIC), which can capture a wide range of associations, a complex network model for railway accident analysis is designed in which nodes denote factors of railway accidents and edges are generated between two factors of which MIC values are larger than or equal to the dependent criterion. The variety of network structure is studied. As the increasing of the dependent criterion, the network becomes to an approximate scale-free network. Moreover, employing the proposed network, important influencing factors are identified. And we find that the annual track density-gross tonnage factor is an important factor which is a cut vertex when the dependent criterion is equal to 0.3. From the network, it is found that the railway development is unbalanced for different states which is consistent with the fact.     

Progress in the growth and research of crystals for wide-gap semiconducting materials

The feasibility of a sublimation sandwich method for controlled growth of single crystals and epitaxial layers of different SiC and GaN polytypes is demonstrated. The controlled production of pure (n _i <10¹⁶ cm⁻³) and heavily-doped crystals and epitaxial layers of these materials has made it possible to study their semiconducting parameters in detail and to identify the nature of a number of the most important impurity centers. It is shown for the example of SiC that the typically high chemical-binding energy of atoms in these compounds is the reason for the formation of stable metastable compounds, among them associations and clusters that include intrinsic defects which have a significant effect on the properties of the material. Clusters formed on the surface can serve as seeds for different polytypes during crystal growth. Fiz. Tverd. Tela (St. Petersburg) 41, 822–825 (May 1999)     

非掺杂半绝缘LECGaAs的光电流谱

研究了非掺杂半绝缘ＬＥＣＧａＡｓ的非本征室温（３００Ｋ）光电流谱,在０．４－０．７０９ｅＶ范围发现了一个光响应响应宽带Ｍ１。Ｍ１带在０．４６、０．４９、０．５６、０．６５和０．６９ｅＶ处出现五个峰,其中０．４６、０．４９、０．５６和０．６９ｅＶ峰的起始阈值分别为０．４４、０．４７、０．５１和０．６７ｅＶ。本文讨论了Ｍ１带的起源,提出了０．４４、０．４７和０．５１ｅＶ光电阈值与铜受主,ＥＬ３和氧施主     

Molecular and supramolecular structures in biological fluids and their homochiral models

The structures of homochiral solutions that simulate biological fluids were studied. Dynamic light scattering revealed three structural groups in them, viz., (1?C10) nm (molecular associations); 10 ??m (strings), and 1 ??m (isometric grains). IR spectroscopy and chirotropical measurements confirmed the presence of associations. We considered a statistical model for the formation of molecular association and the formation of strings in the average field of associations.     

Mineral associations in coal and their transformation during gasification

The principle aim of this investigation was to determine the effect that minerals and mineral associations in dense medium coal fractions have on the ash fusion temperature (AFT) of coal, where the mineral matter associated with coal undergoes transformations during gasification. Samples from three coal sources used by Sasol for gasification were acquired and a comprehensive characterisation on all dense medium fractions was conducted, including proximate analyses, AFT, ash oxide analyses, XRD and Mössbauer spectroscopy. From the proximate analyses, the ash content was the highest for the higher density fractions, with an accompanying decrease in fixed carbon content, consistent with the XRD and Mössbauer analyses. From the ash oxide analyses, it was evident that at higher relative densities more Fe₂O₃ and SiO₂ were present than in the lower density samples. From XRD analyses, the low density fractions contained calcite and dolomite. Pyrite and quartz were found in the higher density fractions whereas kaolinite occurred in all density separated fractions. From the different techniques it follows that with the Fe-content high in high density fractions, the AFT was low. When Ca and other basic oxide levels were abundant in low density fractions, the AFT was low and when the SiO₂/Al₂O₃ ratio was high in high density fractions the AFT increased.     

Where the ocean influences the impulse response and its effect on synchronous changes of acoustic travel time

In 1983, sounds at 133 Hz, 0.06 s resolution were transmitted in the Pacific for five days at 2 min intervals over 3709 km between bottom-mounted instruments maintained with atomic clocks. In 1989, a technique was developed to measure changes in acoustic travel time with an accuracy of 135 microseconds at 2 min intervals for selected windows of travel time within the impulse response. The data have short-lived 1 to 10 ms oscillations of travel time with periods less than a few days. Excluding tidal effects, different windows exhibited significant synchronized changes in travel time for periods shorter than 10 h. In the 1980s, this phenomenon was not understood because internal waves have correlation lengths of a few kilometers which are smaller than the way sound was thought to sample the ocean along well-separated and distinct rays corresponding to different windows. The paradox's resolution comes from modern theories that replace the ray-picture with finite wavelength representations that predict sound can be influenced in the upper ocean over horizontal scales such as 20 km or more. Thus, different windows are influenced by the same short-scale fluctuations of sound speed. This conclusion is supported by the data and numerical simulations of the impulse response.     

Democracy versus dictatorship in self-organized models of financial markets

Models to mimic the transmission of information in financial markets are introduced. As an attempt to generate the demand process, we distinguish between dictatorship associations, where groups of agents rely on one of them to make decision, and democratic associations, where each agent takes part in the group decision. In the dictatorship model, agents segregate into two distinct populations, while the democratic model is driven towards a critical state where groups of agents of all sizes exist. Hence, both models display a level of organization, but only the democratic model is self-organized. We show that the dictatorship model generates less-volatile markets than the democratic model.     

散射颗粒分布对二维随机激光器腔内各模式的影响

采用时域有限差分法数值求解Maxwell方程组,分析了二维随机激光器中光波模式的频谱特性.计算表明,处于不同分布区域的散射颗粒对腔内不同模式的影响有很大差异,处于该模式空间分布区域的散射颗粒比区域外的颗粒对模式有更大的影响.这个特性是随机激光器所独有,并可以用来进行随机激光器的模式选择.     

Preferential interactions in the formamide/ tetrahydrofuran/dioxane system: a study by Raman spectroscopy

Significant changes observed in the Raman spectra of formamide (FA)–tetrahydrofuran (THF)–dioxane (DX) mixtures have been interpreted in terms of preferential interactions. The Gutmann's donor (DN) and acceptor (AN) number values of these solvents give a good interpretation for the differences observed. In the ternary system, THF behaves as a stronger base than DX and the band at ∼442 cm⁻¹, recently assigned to the FA–DX adduct is only observed at the highest FA concentration. Quantitative analyses performed at the C (FA) and C O (THF) stretching regions show that the extent of the association for the [FA]_n adduct is significantly larger than for the FA THF adduct. Electrostatic parameters, such as dipole moment and dielectric constant, are also regarded as a better interpretation of these associations. The good correlation between DN and electrostatic parameters indicates that the basic strength increases in the order DX < THF < FA. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Time and frequency parameters of bottlenose dolphin whistles as predictors of surface behavior in the Mississippi Sound

In this study, an algorithm previously developed for estimating the total ultrasonic attenuation along the propagation path from the surface of the transducer to a region of interest (ROI) in tissue, was modified to make it more practical for use in clinical settings. Specifically, the algorithm was re-derived for when a tissue mimicking phantom rather than a planar reflector is used to obtain the reference power spectrum. The reference power spectrum is needed to compensate for the transfer function of the transmitted pulse, the transfer function of transducer, and the diffraction effects that result from focusing/beam forming. The modified algorithm was tested on simulated radio frequency (RF) echo lines obtained from two samples that have different scatterer sizes and different attenuation coefficient slopes, one of which was used as a reference. The mean and standard deviation of the percent errors in the attenuation coefficient estimates (ACEs) were less than 5% and 10%, respectively, for ROIs that contain more than 10 pulse lengths and more than 25 independent echo lines. The proposed algorithm was also tested on two tissue mimicking phantoms that have attenuation coefficient slopes of 0.7 dB/cm-MHz and 0.5 dB/cm-MHz respectively, the latter being the reference phantom. When a single element spherically focused source was used, the mean and standard deviation of the percent errors in the ACEs were less than 5% and 10% respectively for windows that contain more than 10 pulse lengths and more than 17 independent echo lines. When a clinical array transducer was used, the mean and standard deviation of the percent errors in the ACEs were less than 5% and 25%, respectively, for windows that contain more than 12 pulse lengths and more than 45 independent echo lines.     

表面改性医用橡胶的光谱研究

本文用衰减全反射傅里叶红外光谱和Ｘ射线光电子能谱对两种表面改性的耐药性能优良的医用橡胶样品进行了研究,结果表明两种样品表面层和体相组成完全不同,其表面层为氟化聚合物,体相为丁基橡胶。样品Ⅱ表面层氟的相对含量高于样品Ⅰ表面,县以ＣＦ２为主;在相同条件下进行氩离子刻蚀,样品Ⅱ表面层样品Ⅰ表面层不同深度的Ｆ／Ｃ原子比的变化相对小。     

山东蒙阴金刚石多晶的显微红外光谱研究及其成因意义

山东蒙阴金刚石多晶可划分为多角刻面状和浑圆状金刚石多晶两大类,它们的显微红外光谱研究结果表明,金刚石多晶中的氮含量较低,介于16.69～72.81μg.g-1之间,且同一金刚石多晶的不同金刚石晶粒(或部位)中的氮含量不相同;刻面状金刚石多晶均为ⅠaAB型,且A心的浓度大于B心的浓度。浑圆状金刚石多晶也多为ⅠaAB型,但具有更高浓度的B心,且存在少数同时包含单替代氮、A心和B心的浑圆状金刚石多晶;金刚石多晶不是在金刚石颗粒的成核阶段所形成的,而是在金刚石长大期间或金刚石颗粒形成后的某个特殊条件下聚集而成;山东蒙阴金刚石多晶可能形成于氮浓度较低的较深部地幔。同时,多角刻面状金刚石多晶的形成时间稍晚于金刚石单晶体,浑圆状金刚石多晶的形成时间明显早于金刚石单晶体。     

聚甲基丙烯酸甲酯和聚碳酸酯各向异性光学性质理论研究

作为重要的光学薄膜材料,聚甲基丙烯酸甲酯(PMMA)和聚碳酸酯(PC)在诸多工业领域已得到广泛应用.本文利用密度泛函理论结合分子动力学方法深入系统地研究了这两种聚合物的各向异性光学性质,并对比分析了不同分子链长度和微观结构对其各向异性光学性质的影响.计算结果表明PMMA和PC都具有较高的本征双折射率,且分子链长度对本征折射率的影响显著.在可见光范围内,单体单元PMMA本征双折射率在10%以上,而三单元结构本征折射率则不到4%.对于体相结构多聚体,从立方结构拉伸到厚度仅有6?的过程中,PC不同方向折射率最大差异高达6%,而同样情况下PMMA不同方向折射率差异仅有1.3%.此项研究有助于理解PMMA和PC聚合物各向异性光学特征产生的原因和影响因素,从而进一步指导和促进其在更多领域的发展与应用.     

比较法测试不同颜色匹配函数的性能

为了测试不同颜色匹配函数的预测性能,基于灰色、棕色、紫色和蓝色4个目标色,共制作了16对近同色异谱色样对(围绕每个目标色分别制作了4个待比较色),组织14名年龄不同的色觉正常观察者基于心理物理实验方法中的比较法,开展了色差大小比较实验。结果表明,实验组织的老年观察者的锥细胞响应较年轻观察者有所下降,CIE1931的预测性能优于CIE1964。不同颜色区域,各颜色匹配函数的表现各异,在进行某些颜色(如灰色,紫色和蓝色)区域的色度值表征和色差评估时,即便观察视场角大于4°,CIE1931的计算性能仍然优于CIE1964。现有CIE2006匹配函数考虑到晶状体光谱透光率和中央凹的锥细胞光谱响应,下一步可继续强化中央凹锥细胞光谱响应,优化其计算性能。     

An algorithm for the localization of multiple interfering sperm whales using multi-sensor time difference of arrival

In this paper an algorithm is described for the localization of individual sperm whales in situations where several near-by animals are simultaneously vocalizing. The algorithm operates on time-difference of arrival (TDOA) measurements observed at sensor pairs and assumes no prior knowledge of the TDOA-whale associations. In other words, it solves the problem of associating TDOAs to whales. The algorithm is able to resolve association disputes where a given TDOA measurement may fit to more than one position estimate and can handle spurious TDOAs. The algorithm also provides estimates of Cramer-Rao lower bound for the position estimates. The algorithm was tested with real data using TDOA estimates obtained by cross-correlating click-trains. The click-trains were generated by a separate algorithm that operated independently on each sensor to produce click-trains corresponding to a given whale and to reject click-trains from reflected propagation paths.     

不同水底介质对有限域中装药沉底爆炸特性的影响

通过开展装药沉底爆炸原理性实验研究,得到了不同水底条件对装药沉底爆炸气泡运动和冲击波压力的影响规律:沉底装药水下爆炸气泡通常呈半球形,依附在水底并同时急剧膨胀达到最大半径,随后气泡做收缩运动并连带水底介质颗粒迅速上浮,同时形状发生显著变化,如在石底和泥底时气泡在水底射流的作用下呈蘑菇状上浮,砂底时气泡则呈现出柱状上浮、未出现明显脉动运动即已坍塌破裂;沉底爆炸与水底介质发生强烈耦合作用而形成不同程度的反射波,通常水下石底的反射冲击波较泥底和砂底更强烈,且一般迭加后的冲击波峰值压力高于入射波阵面压力;不同水底介质条件下,装药与水底发生的强烈耦合作用均对水底造成强冲击破坏。     

Hippocampal lesions facilitate instrumental learning with delayed reinforcement but induce impulsive choice in rats

Background  

Animals must frequently act to influence the world even when the reinforcing outcomes of their actions are delayed. Learning with action-outcome delays is a complex problem, and little is known of the neural mechanisms that bridge such delays. When outcomes are delayed, they may be attributed to (or associated with) the action that caused them, or mistakenly attributed to other stimuli, such as the environmental context. Consequently, animals that are poor at forming context-outcome associations might learn action-outcome associations better with delayed reinforcement than normal animals. The hippocampus contributes to the representation of environmental context, being required for aspects of contextual conditioning. We therefore hypothesized that animals with hippocampal lesions would be better than normal animals at learning to act on the basis of delayed reinforcement. We tested the ability of hippocampal-lesioned rats to learn a free-operant instrumental response using delayed reinforcement, and what is potentially a related ability – the ability to exhibit self-controlled choice, or to sacrifice an immediate, small reward in order to obtain a delayed but larger reward.