Effects of Government Spending on Research Workforce Development: Evidence from Biomedical Postdoctoral Researchers

We examine effects of government spending on postdoctoral researchers’ (postdocs) productivity in biomedical sciences, the largest population of postdocs in the US. We analyze changes in the productivity of postdocs before and after the US government’s 1997 decision to increase NIH funding. In the first round of analysis, we find that more government spending has resulted in longer postdoc careers. We see no significant changes in researchers’ productivity in terms of publication and conference presentations. However, when the population is segmented by citizenship, we find that the effects are heterogeneous; US citizens stay longer in postdoc positions with no change in publications and, in contrast, international permanent residents (green card holders) produce more conference papers and publications without significant changes in postdoc duration. Possible explanations and policy implications of the analysis are discussed.     

麻醉蒸发器输出浓度的影响因素与蒸发器校准研究进展

麻醉蒸发器是麻醉呼吸机的核心部件。它能够体现麻醉呼吸机的品质水平,直接影响吸入麻醉的临床效果,并进而关乎接受麻醉的患者的安全。随着现今临床患者周转率提高、手术量增大,应用到全麻手术中的吸入麻醉技术也占了更大比重,蒸发器临床使用频率也因此不断提高,蒸发器本身使用年限也在逐年增大--这些因素皆可能会引起蒸发器实际输出浓度的偏差,继而或对临床麻醉的实施和患者麻醉效果造成影响。本文立足于对麻醉蒸发器结构及相关原理的综述,着眼于不同条件对挥发效率的影响和输出浓度的检测校准的最新标准与进展;为指导临床麻醉过程中蒸发器更为科学精准的应用提供科学理论依据。     

Reproductive Decisions in Female European Ground Squirrels: Factors Affecting Reproductive Output and Maternal Investment

Physiological and behavioural parameters associated with reproductive effort and success were investigated in female European ground squirrels Spermophilus citellus . The proportion of reproductive (lactating) females in the study population was over 90% and was not related to age. Timing of oestrus and ovulation was found to be affected by the female's emergence date and condition. Females with low emergence mass showed delayed oestrus. Differences in ovulation dates were shown to affect reproductive output in terms of litter size and sex ratio. Early litters were larger and male biased. X-ray techniques were used to determine intrauterine litter size in individual females. The results indicated that litter size and sex ratio were fixed prenatally. Lactation costs were reflected in the intensity of mass loss and duration of lactation. Mass loss varied with litter size, in that females with large litters showed a more rapid loss than others. The second parental investment parameter, lactation duration, varied among individual females and was dependent on the timing of reproduction and litter size (except yearlings). Early born litters, which were, in most cases, larger than later ones, were nursed longer. Prolonged lactation periods affected female condition in that they started prehibernation fattening later and entered hibernation with a lower mass than individuals that had shorter lactation periods. Yearling females probably could not afford the energetic costs of long lactation, independent of their offspring number. These results indicated that females with higher reproductive output and higher investment were unable to compensate these costs before hibernation. Consequences for these individuals could therefore be lower over-winter survival or a delayed oestrus in the following season.     

Factors Affecting the Secretion of Staphylococcal Enterotoxin A

The biosynthesis of enterotoxin A by replicating and nonreplicating cells was investigated. Unlike enterotoxin B, a secondary metabolite, enterotoxin A secretion resembled that of a primary metabolite by being secreted during the exponential phase of growth. The amount of toxin produced per unit of growth was not influenced by NaCl, NaNO(2), or NaNO(3). Several surfactants increased toxin secretion. Toxin secretion by nonreplicating cells was inhibited by chloramphenicol and 2, 4-dinitrophenol but not by streptomycin or penicillin G. The optimal pH for enterotoxin A production was 6.5 to 7.0. The findings suggest a number of possible reasons for the higher incidence of food poisonings caused by enterotoxin A as compared to enterotoxin B.     

Factors Affecting Unhappiness at School among Japanese Adolescents: An Epidemiological Study

Background

Unhappiness at school is one of the main reasons for truancy among adolescents. In order to assess this problem more thoroughly in the context of Japanese adolescents, the present study examined the associations between feelings of unhappiness at school and lifestyle habits, school life realities, and mental health status.

Method

This study was designed as a cross-sectional survey. A self-administered questionnaire was provided to students enrolled in randomly selected junior and senior high schools throughout Japan. We calculated the percentages of both junior and senior high school students who felt unhappy at school based on factors related to school life, lifestyle habits, and mental health status. Multiple logistic regression analyses were performed in order to examine the associations between those factors and students'' feelings of unhappiness at school.

Results

A total of 98,867 valid responses were analysed, 7.9% (Boys: 8.4%, Girls: 7.4%) of which came from students who responded that they felt unhappy at school. For both junior and senior high school students, the percentages of those who felt unhappy at school were significantly higher among those who had not yet decided on their future life course, who did not participate in extracurricular activities, did not eat breakfast every day, went to bed late, had used tobacco or alcohol in the previous 30 days, and had poor mental health compared with others. The results of multiple logistic regression analyses indicated that the adjusted odds ratios for feeling unhappy at school with regard to the above-mentioned factors were significantly high for both junior and senior high school students.

Conclusions

The present results suggest that school employees and administrators must provide health guidance to students, considering that irregular lifestyle habits, lower school engagement, smoking, drinking alcohol, and poor mental health status are all associated with maladaptation to school among adolescents.     

森林土壤氮素可利用性的影响因素研究综述

近几十年来 ,人类对木材、纤维和其他森林资源需求的急剧增加 ,对森林的集约化经营管理成为必然趋势。由于大部分森林生态系统缺乏Ｎ素 ,因此施肥成为经济有效的途径。但是 ,由于森林中的Ｎ肥利用效率低于农业系统 ,且Ｎ肥生产成本较高 ,易造成环境中多余Ｎ素的污染 ,所以需要更有效的经营管理方法。要改进这类方法 ,则必须很好地理解全球各种森林生态系统的Ｎ素循环和Ｎ素可利用性[3 1] 。可利用性养分 (ａｖａｉｌａｂｌｅｎｕｔｒｉｅｎｔ)是指土壤中易被植物吸收同化的养分元素或化合物的数量[4 0 ] ,可以理解为植物利用土壤中易吸收和…     

Early Childhood Music Education in Australia: A Snapshot

Policy for early childhood music education (birth to eight years of age) in Australia covers a complex and diverse range of curriculum guidelines and legislation relating to the contexts of day care, preschool, and the early years of school. Australian models and policies vary from state to state and according to setting. Furthermore, early childhood education is constantly changing and evolving, responding to new practices, altered government priorities and funding, and community needs. In this article, the author aims to provide a snapshot of the situation by reviewing and analyzing educational policies, teacher training, and providers of early childhood music programs as well as suggesting some future directions.     

A Snapshot of CNVs in the Pig Genome

Recent studies of mammalian genomes have uncovered the extent of copy number variation (CNV) that contributes to phenotypic diversity, including health and disease status. Here we report a first account of CNVs in the pig genome covering part of the chromosomes 4, 7, 14, and 17 already sequenced and assembled. A custom tiling oligonucleotide array was used with a median probe spacing of 409 bp for screening 12 unrelated Duroc boars that are founders of a large family material. After a strict CNV calling pipeline, 37 copy number variable regions (CNVRs) across all four chromosomes were identified, with five CNVRs overlapping segmental duplications, three overlapping pig unigenes and one overlapping a RefSeq pig mRNA. This CNV snapshot analysis is the first of its kind in the porcine genome and constitutes the basis for a better understanding of porcine phenotypes and genotypes with the prospect of identifying important economic traits.     

Establishment of Hairy Root Cultures of Astragalus membranaceus and the Extrinsic Factors Affecting Their Growt

Hairy root cultures were established from the leaf explant of Astragalus membranaceus (Fisch.) Bge. infected with Agrobacterium rhizogenes and factors that affect their growth were investigated. It was found that the hairy roots grew best in a phytohonnone-free MS medium at pH 6, in which the most optimal concentration of sucrose was 3 % and NH4NO3 was omitted because of its inhibitory effect to the hairy roots. Light was also inhibitory to them but the effect of low temperature was not apparent. Moreover, there were more crude saponin and soluble polysuccharide contents in the hairy roots than in the natural dry roots. Finally, a discussion on the application and the potenrial of the hairy root technique in the production of the plant roots as an effection Chinese traditional medicine was also involved.     

Partial EMT in Squamous Cell Carcinoma: A Snapshot

In the process of cancer EMT, some subgroups of cancer cells simultaneously exhibit both mesenchymal and epithelial characteristics, a phenomenon termed partial EMT (pEMT). pEMT is a plastic state in which cells coexpress epithelial and mesenchymal markers. In squamous cell carcinoma (SCC), pEMT is regulated, and the phenotype is maintained via the HIPPO pathway, NOTCH pathway and TGF-β pathways and by microRNAs, lncRNAs and the cancer microenvironment (CME); thus, SCC exhibits aggressive tumorigenic properties and high stemness, which leads collective migration and therapy resistance. Few studies have reported therapeutic interventions to address cells that have undergone pEMT, and this approach may be an effective way to inhibit the plasticity, drug resistance and metastatic potential of SCC.     

受精卵反义寡核苷酸显微注射影响因素的研究

以金鱼受精卵为材料,通过胚胎培养探讨反义寡核苷酸显微注射剂量、受精卵质量、胰酶消化浓度等对受精卵反义寡核苷酸显微注射的影响．研究表明,反义寡核苷酸注射剂量在4．6nL、胰酶消化浓度在0.4％的情况下,选用质量较好的受精卵注射,显微注射效果较好,可为之后的基因功能研究提供材料保障．利用显微注射法导入反义寡核苷酸来研究基因的功能．是研究基因功能的有效途径．     

图说 塔河上的管水人(二)

来到塔河中游,河床依然是干的,大片新开的棉田靠的是井水灌溉.据我们了解,中游打井也只是近三四年才开始的.随着塔河水愈来愈紧张,井的规模和数量也急剧增加.     

图说 塔河上的管水人(三)

西太桥引水枢纽是阿克苏河上的重要的闸门之一.一条十几米宽的河被五条宽窄不同的渠道把水引向不同的灌玉,有地方的有兵团的,另有一个通向天然河道的闸门."生产要先够了,才能下泄生态水."水管站负责人说.     

图说 塔河上的管水人(一)

何自举,今可58岁,是农二师35团16连的职工,看泵珀已经6年了这个泵珀就足兵团人现在的"活命水"的通道.水从30公里外的新北山上通过管道直接引下来,供应34.35团地区饮用.见到他的那天,别的地方天气好好的,一走进35团的地界风开始嗷嗷叫着卷起沙子抽打过来,一条砂石路上横拦着大大小小的沙包.     

Factors Affecting Distribution of Earthworms in Kashmir Valley: A Multivariate Statistical Approach

Soil characteristics influence earthworm population dynamics, species distribution and community structure. According in the present study an attempt was made to determine the soil physiochemical factors influencing earthworms of Kashmir valley with a view to improve the soil productivity by enhancing earthworm diversity under different pedoecosystems. Data collection on 15 soil parameters from 20 earthworm inhabiting sites revealed significant variation within and among the sites in soil temperature (F_{23, 19} = 148.83, 9.71; P < 0.05), moisture (F_{23, 19} = 16.91, 46.20; P < 0.05), pH (F₁₉ = 47.21; P < 0.05), electrical conductivity (F_{23, 19} = 11.67, 87.13; P < 0.05), sodium (F_{23, 19} = 2.46, 211.25; P < 0.05), potassium (F₁₉ = 22.91; P < 0.05), calcium (F₁₉ = 15.90; P < 0.05), magnesium (F_{23, 19} = 1.76, 104.51; P < 0.05), organic carbon (F_{23, 19} = 64.60, 222.50; P < 0.05), organic nitrogen (F_{23, 19} = 4.59, 3.81; P < 0.05) and phosphorous (F_{23, 19} = 5.11, 137.87; P < 0.05). Aporrectodea caliginosa trapezoides and A. rosea rosea exhibited wide range of distribution whereas Octolasion cyaneum, A. c. trapezoides and A. parva showed restricted distribution. Hierarchical cluster analysis grouped 20 earthworm collection sites into three clusters—earthworm absent sites, low earthworm diversity sites and moderate earthworm diversity sites. Principal component analysis assisted from the data set of 20 sites, resulting into four latent factors accounting for 77.95 % of total variance, identified the factors affecting earthworm communities are mainly related to physical habitat factor, chemical factor, soil texture factor and growth factor, each accounting for 26.41, 20.16, 18.25 and 13.13 % of total variance respectively.     

植物细胞悬浮培养影响因子研究

植物细胞悬浮培养已广泛应用于育种和生产次生代谢产物,在生物工程中发挥着重要作用。本文综述了愈伤组织继代改良的措施,影响胚性悬浮细胞系建立的几个因素,存在问题及前景展望。     

准噶尔盆地荒漠区短命植物光合蒸腾特性及影响因素研究

运用LI-6400便携式光合测定系统,研究了准噶尔盆地荒漠区2种典型短命植物———狭果鹤虱(Lappulasemiglabra)和四齿芥(Tetracme quadricornis)的净光合速率、蒸腾速率和水分利用效率特征。结果表明:狭果鹤虱和四齿芥的光合能力分别为44.92、34.57μmol.m-2.s-1;狭果鹤虱和四齿芥的净光合速率日均值分别为29.72、23.0μmol.m-2.s-1,蒸腾速率日均值分别17.23、12.84 mmol.m-2.s-1,狭果鹤虱均高于四齿芥,属于高光合、高蒸腾类型;二者的净光合速率和水分利用效率日变化均呈双峰曲线,而蒸腾速率日变化呈单峰曲线;二者的光合“午休”现象主要是由气孔因素引起的;通过对2种植物光合和蒸腾速率与环境因子的相关分析显示,辐射强度是影响2种植物光合速率最主要的环境因子。