The failure of conservation strategies in tropical regions and the need to challenge the “Western World Paradigm”

Conservation strategies for tropical species and habitats are decided largely on the basis of studies and examples made in the temperate regions, especially in North America and Europe. Conservation strategies for tropical species are often thought to fail due to a plethora of «human dimension» reasons. These reasons are external to the natural history and ecology of the target species, being due shortage of funds, education and awareness limits, and institutional corruption in several countries, particularly in the developing countries of Africa and Asia. Although these reasons are certainly important in determining the outcome of the conservation projects, herein we stress that there is a scientific ecological reason behind such failures in tropical ecosystems. Indeed, the ecological «entropy» of the species-rich and niche-packed tropical ecosystems is so much higher than that of North America and Europe that adopting a decision-making process based on relatively simplified (temperate) ecosystems, where a given species typically interacts with a few others, makes the eventual solution very simplistic or even «naive», thus enhancing its chances of failure. We urge that, for the future, conservation policies for tropical regions should be based on experiences designed from more realistic «highly-entropic» species-rich systems, also in the case of those species apparently sharing similar ecological roles as in the temperate regions.     

A Partial View of Contemporary Anthropology

This address considers ethnographically a range of sites and practices central to sustaining the intellectual, pedagogical, professional, and public life of anthropology and related disciplines: research funding, human subjects review, scholarly publishing, program and personnel assessment, and intellectual property among them. The talk points to current practices of knowledge production and circulation in the United States and to the increasingly complex intersections among scholarly knowledge, managerialist language and practice, and private capital, intellectual and otherwise. It is meant to encourage serious ethnographic examination of the contexts within which anthropologists work, consideration of the potential consequences of these contemporary changes, and creative thought about the kinds of collegial and collective action that might be pursued to help sustain what we find to be of real value in the discipline and in our professional practice.     

Diverging Understandings of Forest Management in Matsutake Science

Diverging Understandings of Forest Management in Matsutake Science. As high-value gourmet mushrooms, the matsutake complex of the genus Tricholoma has been the subject of extensive research. This article reviews two trajectories of matsutake research, showing how distinctive regional nodes may develop within a cosmopolitan modern science. The global center of matsutake research is in Japan, where problems of artificial cultivation and the “orchard-style” enhancement of production under forest conditions stimulate basic research. U.S. Pacific Northwest research forms a contrasting regional node, with a focus on sustainable yields in the context of timber production. Regional differences in research design and results point to the importance of distinctive scientific legacies, in this case formed in relation to divergent histories of forest management. Attention to regional distinctions in the framing of scientific problems is particularly important as scientific frameworks are exported to new places; for example, both Japanese and American forms of matsutake science have been extended to China. 高価なグルメきのこであるマツタケとその近縁種群のTricholoma属は広範囲に渡る科学的研究の対象となってきた。本論では二つの地域特徴的なマツタケ研究の軌跡を概観し、文化的差異を超えて世界的に通用する近代科学においても地域固有の関心に応じて特徴のある知識が結節し発展することを示す。マツタケ研究の世界的な中心地である日本では人工増殖やマツタケを殖やすための「果樹園的」な山林作りへの関心が基礎研究の方向性に刺激を与えてきた。一方日本とは対照的に、米国北西岸州では木材の持続的産出に主眼をおいた山林管理の流れの中で研究が進んできた。こうした研究計画や結果的に得られる知識の違いは、地域ごとに特徴のある科学的遺産 - 本件の場合は森林管理の歴史が多様に枝分かれしていること - に注目することが重要であることを知らせてくれる。近年日本や米国で発展したマツタケ研究の方法や成果が中国での研究にも影響を与えているが、特に新しい研究の場を広げる場合には科学的な関心、問題がどのような枠組で組み立てられるか地域によって多様であることを考慮することが重要である。     

Microbiological studies in the deepwater area of the Southern Caspian Sea

For the first time, microbiological monitoring was performed in the deepwater area of the Southern Caspian Sea. It revealed seasonal and interannual variations in total microbial content and concentrations of saprophytes and other physiological groups of bacteria in water and bottom sediments. The biomass, generation time, and bacterial production were determined. The most profound variations in microbial content, biomass, and production were found to occur in the water column and in bottom sediments at depths to 200–250 m.     

Beyond expertise: Ecological science and the making of socially robust restoration strategies

A distinctive feature of ecological restoration is that the human presence in the natural landscape can be perceived as beneficial and not necessarily as harmful. Consequently, negotiations between heterogeneous actors involved and reactions to developments in different ecosystems become part of the scientific practice of restoration. This paper discusses some implications of restoration practice for the science of ecology in connection with recent debates about a new mode of knowledge production in science. I illustrate how different types of expertise from several backgrounds can be fed into each step of restoration implementation via alternate phases of selection and of corroboration by use to expose it to further observation in order to develop more scientifically and socially robust restoration strategies.     

Impact of simulated drought on ecosystem biomass production: an experimental test in stream mesocosms

Climate models predict widespread shifts in precipitation patterns and increases in the frequency of extreme events such as droughts, but consequences for key processes in affected ecosystems remains poorly understood. A 2‐year manipulative experiment used a series of stream mesocosms to test the effect of recurrent drought disturbance on the composition and secondary production of macroinvertebrate consumer assemblages and functional groups. On average, secondary production in drought‐disturbed communities (mean 4.5 g m^?2 yr^?1) was less than half of that that in controls (mean 10.4 g m^?2 yr^?1). The effects of the drought differed among functional feeding groups, with substantial declines for detritivore shredders (by 69%) and engulfing predators (by 94%). Contrasting responses were evident among taxa within most functional feeding groups, ranging from extirpation to irruptions in the case of several small midge larvae, but production of most species was suppressed. Taxon‐specific responses were related to body mass and voltinism. The ratio of production to biomass (community P/B) increased under drought, reflecting a shift in production from large long‐lived taxa to smaller taxa with faster life cycles. This research provides some of the first experimental evidence of the profound effects that droughts can have on both the structure and functioning of aquatic ecosystems.     

On the Application of Ordinate Characterizing of Approximately Periodical Functions in Analyzing Biological Records

As a possible alternative to spectral analysis of biological processes the method of thresholding the recorded function is reconsidered. The frequencies of the section length for a finite set of levels form the frequency surface which is the starting point for inference and reasoning. The paper presents ideas and examples to stimulate the development and use of a suitable electronic equipment.     

Minimum entropy production in photosynthesis

In this paper a flux-coupling model of photosynthesis is presented. By requiring minimum entropy production, it is found that the photosynthetic efficiency is essentially given by the square root of D/λ. D and λ are the diffusion coefficient and thermal conductivity of the rate-limiting processes in the chloroplast, respectively. For experimental values of D and λ, the efficiency is found to be 2.4–7.5%, with a likely value of 6.1%, whereas C4-plants are known to have an efficiency of 6.2%. We conclude that the process of photosynthesis is in quantitative agreement with the principle of minimum entropy production.     

材料的重要性

《材料的重要性》是《景观设计理论》的一段节选。《景观设计理论》旨在不使用专业术语或其他领域假说的前提下,结合景观设计过程向学生介绍内在理论思想。《材料的重要性》是本书的五章之一。每一章针对特定理论,解释了其基础和来源,探讨了它对设计的重要性,列举了20—21世纪与其相关的设计案例,整理了该理论的辩论(尤其是有关现代和后现代思想),最后还有相关阅读材料清单和需要学生们思考的问题。本文分为如下3个部分：第一部分,物质性,介绍“辩证唯物主义”“媒介即信息”“物质实践”和“编码”等理论及其在设计中的运用;第二部分,通过“建构表达”“地貌代理人策略”“石材的面层”“材料的暗示”“人造,但不是伪造”等理论,介绍材料的真实性及其在设计中的运用;第三部分,复写理论及应用,包括“剩余物”“复写的展示性”“未来的复写”和“虚构的复写”等内容。     

Fortress Holland? Support for ethnocentric policies among the 1994‐electorate of The Netherlands

Abstract

The Dutch have a long tradition of hospitality towards ethnic immigrants. In the nineties, however, quite dramatic changes have taken place among the Dutch. The central question addressed in this contribution is: to what extent do specific categories within the electorate favour ethnocentric policies? This question is answered by deducing hypotheses that are tested using recent data polled within the framework of the Dutch National Election Studies. Our crucial conclusion is that a rather widespread support for ethnocentric policies is present in contemporary Dutch society, especially among manual labourers, self‐employed and lowly educated people, but also among young cohorts and among modal income categories.     

《生物信息学》课程教学模式探讨

在教学实践的基础上,结合生物信息学课程的学科特点,以及现代教育技术,就开设生物信息学课程的必要性及构建最合适的复合型教育模式展开了初步的探讨,为我国生物信息学课程的教学实施提供指导。随着时代的不断进步和发展,生物信息学的内涵也在不断扩大,包括生物信息学所涉及到的计算机基础知识、生物学基础知识、生物信息学研究领域、生物信息学应用领域等等。在生物信息学的教学实施过程中,将多个基础学科交叉融合是必备的,这不仅有助于增强学生对生物信息学科的了解,也对于学生在后续的生物信息学研究中起到了基石的作用。因此,如何将这些涉及范围广、涉及内容深的生物信息学基础课程恰当的传授给学生是教师们最需要考虑的问题,从而形成一套独特的教学体系,使生物信息学的教学工作更顺利,完整的进行下去。     

国外生物技术产业发展政策研究

全球生物技术产业尚处于发展时期,政府的政策对技术的进步和产业的发展有明显的导向和促进作用。对美国、欧洲等国家和地区的产业政策进行综合研究,发现这些生物技术产业相对发达的国家和地区,尤其是美国,其产业政策已成体系,而且可操作性强,对产业的推动作用明显,具有相当的可借鉴意义。从组织管理结构、科研投入机制、鼓励研发创新、财税支持方式、资本市场培育、产业基地建设、中介服务网络构建、人才培养与引进、以及国际合作等方面对国际上行之有效的生物技术产业政策进行了归纳分析 。