A Scooter Inquiry: An Integrated Science,Mathematics, and Technology Activity

The authors illustrate an effective lessonplanning technique known as unpacking for the broad topic of water. Interconnections among science disciplines are shown for numerous possible subtopics. Two lesson sets are included, the first dealing with properties of water and the second dealing with water as a resource.     

Ocean Tracking and Marine Species Protection in Australia and Canada: Science,Technology, and Knowledge Brokering

This article examines the promise and challenge of marine biotelemetry technologies, comparing the case of the Canadian Ocean Tracking Network (OTN) and the Australian Animal Tagging and Monitoring System (AATAMS). These technologies provide increased understanding of the marine environment and promise major advances in knowledge of species at risk. However, that utilization of marine biotelemetry raises challenges, including ensuring that knowledge obtained is translated into forms useful to and usable by decision makers. Knowledge brokering is a key to ensure that the advances seen in marine biotelemetry technologies lead to improved gover-nance of species at risk.     

Using Amphibians and Reptiles to learn the Process of Science

The National Research Council's document, Inquiry and the National Science Education Standards (2000) describes an elementary science classroom as one that is composed of learners who are engaged in scientific processes. In such a setting, children ask real-world questions and seek real-world solutions. As students pursue their inquiries, they often move away from science textbooks, and they implement mathematical skills, read literature, conduct research in electronic databases, write stories, and so forth in a larger context. What was originally a regular science lesson becomes an opportunity for integration across the curriculum. This article describes an integrated unit on bats and specifically addresses the National Science Education Standards.     

The Pleasures and the Pitfalls of Plant Science Activities

The topic of wetlands provides a rich context for curriculum integration. This unit contains seven activities that integrate environmental science with math, technology, social studies, language arts, and other disciplines. In this series, students will identify plants and animals found in wetlands, understand the function of wetlands through the use of models, learn some of the effects of human behavior on wetland preservation, and use problem-solving skills to develop solutions to wetland loss.     

Pest management services through conservation of biological control agents: review,case studies and field experiences

ABSTRACT

Conservation biological control is an approach to enhance the efficacy of natural enemies by ensuring their availability in an agro-ecosystem on a long temporal scale. An increased survival often leads to better fecundity and improved behaviour of the natural enemies, which in turn ensures sustainable pest management. This paper, apart from being a concise review of conservation biological control, deals with selected India-specific case studies and field experiences on habitat manipulation and refugia. Results from a Bengaluru-based study during 2012–2015 on conservation biological control in an organic mango ecosystem are also presented. It also dwells briefly on conservation of insectivorous birds and touches upon conservation biocontrol with respect to entomopathogenic microorganisms and plant disease antagonists.     

Niche construction through phenological plasticity: life history dynamics and ecological consequences

The ability of an organism to alter the environment that it experiences has been termed 'niche construction'. Plants have several ways whereby they can determine the environment to which they are exposed at different life stages. This paper discusses three of these: plasticity in dispersal, flowering timing and germination timing. It reviews pathways through which niche construction alters evolutionary and ecological trajectories by altering the selective environment to which organisms are exposed, the phenotypic expression of plastic characters, and the expression of genetic variation. It provides examples whereby niche construction creates positive or negative feedbacks between phenotypes and environments, which in turn cause novel evolutionary constraints and novel life-history expression.     

Mien through sports and culture: Mobilizing minority identity in Thailand

The recent importance of sports competitions and cultural displays among highland ethnic minorities in Thailand suggests a growing resonance of national forms of sociability and presentability. A national contact zone simultaneously provides a context for unprecedented ethnic mobilization and identification among the country's minorities. Taking the case of Thailand's Mien (Yao), I explore the restructuring of social life that emerges with this ethnic mobilization for sports and culture. These activities produce an identity effect that defines Mien in national terms. The ability and need to organize in relation to the nation facilitates the position of a select few Mien villages as the bearers of social life and cultural traditions, and imports new forms of inequality into local life.     

组学技术及其在食品科学中应用的研究进展

后基因组时代的主要研究任务即是组学(转录组学、蛋白质组学及代谢组学)研究,其发展迅速,有望成为解决生命科学领域诸如食品品质与安全等科学问题的有力工具.组学研究为食品科学相关研究提供了新的思路和技术,在食品加工、贮藏、营养素检测、食品安全以及食品鉴伪等领域中已有广泛的应用.综述转录组学、蛋白质组学及代谢组学研究的核心技术,以及组学技术在食品科学研究中的研究进展,并对其应用前景进行展望.     

现代科学技术中的生态研究问题

环境污染、生态问题是当今世界所面临的主要问题,研究环境的保护与改善,首先必须解决生态失调问题。生态问题已成为众多学科涉足研究的课题。生态学的基本理论和方法就客观成为各学科处理生态问题所依据的准则,     

‘台农1号’芒果果实发育过程中的糖分积累与相关酶活性研究

以‘台农1号’芒果为材料,测定了果实生长发育过程中淀粉、蔗糖、葡萄糖和果糖含量以及淀粉酶、蔗糖代谢相关酶———酸性转化酶(AI)、中性转化酶(NI)、蔗糖合成酶(SS)和蔗糖磷酸合成酶(SPS)的活性,并对果实中糖组分与酶活性的关系进行了分析.结果显示,(1)台农1号芒果果实属于单S型生长曲线,发育前期主要积累淀粉、葡萄糖和果糖,果实成熟软化时,淀粉酶活性降至最低,淀粉水解,蔗糖快速积累.(2)酸性转化酶活性在果实整个发育过程中维持最高,完熟时略有降低;蔗糖磷酸合成酶在果实发育前期略有降低,完熟时升至最高;蔗糖合成酶和中性转化酶活性在整个发育期一直很低且较稳定.(3)淀粉含量与淀粉酶活性呈显著正相关,与SPS活性呈极显著负相关,蔗糖、葡萄糖含量均与SPS、SS呈显著、极显著的正相关;果糖含量与SS呈极显著的正相关.研究表明,芒果成熟时淀粉分解、酸性转化酶活性的降低,且蔗糖合成酶和蔗糖磷酸合成酶活性的增加是引起果实蔗糖积累的主要因子.     

不同类型玉米发育籽粒中淀粉合成及相关酶活性比较

以普通玉米、爆裂玉米、甜玉米和糯玉米为试材,分析和比较不同类型的玉米品种之间籽粒发育过程中淀粉合成及相关酶活性的变化。结果表明,淀粉合成速率和蔗糖合成酶(SS)、可溶性淀粉合成酶(SSS)、束缚态淀粉合成酶(GBSS)、淀粉分支酶(SBE)、去分支酶(DBE)活性都呈单峰曲线变化。30～40 DAP,普通玉米的SS活性显著高于其他3种类型;类型间平均和最大SSS活性水平的顺序为普通玉米>糯玉米>爆裂玉米>甜玉米;30～40 DAP,普通玉米GBSS活性最高,糯玉米GBSS活性最低;20～40 DAP,糯玉米SBE活性最高;甜玉米的DBE活性很低,并且在40 DAP完全丧失。淀粉合成速率与SS、SSS、GBSS和SBE活性相关程度比较高,与腺苷二磷酸葡萄糖焦磷酸化酶(AGP酶)和DBE活性相关不显著。推测AGP酶虽然为淀粉合成提供直接前体ADPG,但可能SS活性过低致使其限速作用比AGP酶的还强,AGP酶潜在的限速作用无法表现,SS成为玉米籽粒淀粉合成的限速因子。GBSS对直链淀粉积累起重要的促进作用;SSS和SBE对支链淀粉积累起重要的促进作用。     

Crosscurrents: Social Movements and the Anthropology of Science and Technology

Along with growth and acceptance of the anthropology of science and technology has come a narrowing of focus both topically and methodologically. An alternative topic of inquiry (social movements) and an alternative method (a limited return to nomothetic inquiry) offer potential for research that is relevant to both social change actors and social scientists such as sociologists and political scientists. A comparative analysis of existing anthropological research on science, technology, and social movements provides the basis for limited generalizations regarding the types and circumstances of charged cultural repertoires that both social movements and elites invoke.     

Gardening for Homonyms: Integrating Science and Language Arts to Support Children's Creative Use of Multiple Meaning Words

Curriculum integration can increase the presence of science at the elementary level. The purpose of this article is to share how two second-grade teachers have integrated language arts content as a part of science-language arts instruction in a garden-based learning context. One application was a teacher-designed Gardening for Homonyms lesson, which supported new ways of thinking about words and wordplay while developing science vocabulary related to structure and function, diversity of life, and interdependent relationships in ecosystems. This article provides the lesson and discusses its implementation in two second-grade classrooms. Examples of student work illustrate children's creative thought around and application of multiple meaning words. Pre-, post-, and extended posttest measures of students' ability to generate and to use homonyms demonstrate that this science-language arts integrated lesson can result in both short- and long-term learning. Applications and follow-up from the lesson over two subsequent years have engaged second and third grade students in study/inquiry about plant growth and life cycles while utilizing many facets of language arts, which have ranged from labeling an experimental design and writing predictions and results to conversing about digital “GigaPan” images on growing strawberries.     

Means, Advantages and Limits of Merging Biology with Technology

The natural world spent billions of years in solution-finding during evolution, which could benefit Technology. How do we put that in a nutshell? Biological systems are more complex than the most complex current technology. Any given functiofi and effect are simultaneously coordinated and linked with others at many levels of biological organisation-from cell organelle to organism, to population and ecosystem. Technology does not have tools to deal with the complexity and “goalintendedness“ of living systems. But limits for interaction exist on both sides-Biological science itself is also too empirical and not mature enough to provide a solid base for correlating living with technical systems. Moving towards a synthesis, where engineers can utilize the vast amount of available biological data, we suggest using a tool called “Theory of Inventive Problem Solving“ (TRIZ) and clarifying some important methodological issues, which have not previously been recognised in bionic engineering: 1) Requirement for more appropriate definitions of “system“, “effect“, “function“, “law“ and “rule“. 2) Requirement for understanding or even measuring the degree of contradiction or analogy between functions in biological and artificial and/or non-living engineering system-there is no simple direct correlation between what engineers find useful and what biology does.     

Making Technology Familiar: Orthodox Jews and Infertility SUPPORT, Advice, and Inspiration

This paper examines how orthodox Jews use traditional strategies and new media simultaneously to cope with infertility in the age of new reproductive technologies. Not only have they used the Internet to establish support, information, and educational networks, but also they have created frameworks for unique professional collaborations among rabbis, doctors, and clinic personnel in order to ensure that their fertility treatments are conducted with strict attention to Jewish legal concerns, particularly with regard to incest, adultery, and traditional practices regarding bodily emissions. Throughout these processes, they have innovated a hybrid language for describing and explaining infertility treatments that blends Hebrew prayers, Yiddish aphorisms, English slang, Gematria (numerology), and biomedical terminology. By using idiomatic language and folk practice, orthodox Jews construct a unique terrain that shapes and makes familiar their experience and understanding of fertility treatment. Biomedicine in this context is understood as a set of tools and strategies that can be readily appropriated and harnessed to a particular set of individual and collective goals.     

Honeybees have Hydrophobic Wings that Enable Them to Fly through Fog and Dew

Honeybees have received public attention for their remarkable performance in low-altitude flying and their outstanding airborne hovering capability.However,minimal attention has been given to their capability to fly through the harshest climatic conditions.In this study,we used a high-speed camera and recorded an interesting phenomenon in which honeybees (Apis mellifera ligustica) flew effortlessly through mists or drizzling rain.To identify the mechanism behind honeybees flying through mists,the microstructure of their wings was examined via atomic force microscopy and scanning electron microscopy.Experimental results showed that the surface of a honeybee wing was rough,with bristles distributed on both the dorsal and ventral sides.The measurement results of the contact angle proved that the surface of honeybee wings was hydrophobic.Furthermore,hydrophobic proteins,which contained at least one hydrophobic tetra-peptide (i.e.,AAPA/V),were obtained.The rugged surface and hydrophobic proteins caused the hydrophobicity of honeybee wings.These results identify the hydrophobic mechanism of honeybee wings,which will be useful in designing hydrophobic structures.     

新的农业科技革命与农业生态学研究

阐述了以“双重绿芭革命”为主要特征的世界农业科技革命的趋势,指出中国新的农业科技革命是超出世界农业科技革命目标的多重绿色革命。农业生态学是实现多重以革命目标的两大关键技术之一。为了能使生态学家研究在新的农业科技革命中发挥应用的作用,必须进行生态研究的革命,即强化对农业生态学基本生态学过程听研究,面向农产品产量与品质提高的需求,加强产量生态学和品质生态学的研究,针对薄弱环节和社会发展急而开展促进中国     

Developing oligodendrocytes express functional GABA(B) receptors that stimulate cell proliferation and migration

GABA(B) receptors (GABA(B)Rs) are involved in early events during neuronal development. The presence of GABA(B)Rs in developing oligodendrocytes has not been established. Using immunofluorescent co-localization, we have identified GABA(B)R proteins in O4 marker-positive oligodendrocyte precursor cells (OPCs) in 4-day-old mouse brain periventricular white matter. In culture, OPCs, differentiated oligodendrocytes (DOs) and type 2 astrocytes (ASTs) express both the GABA(B1abcdf) and GABA(B2) subunits of the GABA(B)R. Using semiquantitative PCR analysis with GABA(B)R isoform-selective primers we found that the expression level of GABA(B1abd) was substantially higher in OPCs or ASTs than in DOs. In contrast, the GABA(B2) isoform showed a similar level of expression in OPCs and DOs, and a significantly higher level in ASTs. This indicates that the expression of GABA(B1) and GABA(B2) subunits are under independent control during oligodendroglial development. Activation of GABA(B)Rs using the selective agonist baclofen demonstrated that these receptors are functionally active and negatively coupled to adenylyl cyclase. Manipulation of GABA(B)R activity had no effect on OPC migration in a conventional agarose drop assay, whereas baclofen significantly increased OPC migration in a more sensitive transwell microchamber-based assay. Exposure of cultured OPCs to baclofen increased their proliferation, providing evidence for a functional role of GABA(B)Rs in oligodendrocyte development. The presence of GABA(B)Rs in developing oligodendrocytes provides a new mechanism for neuronal-glial interactions during development and may offer a novel target for promoting remyelination following white matter injury.     

人工蝉花孢梗束粗多糖的提取工艺和活性

通过单因素试验和正交试验研究了人工蝉花孢梗束粗多糖的提取工艺,并通过粗多糖对果蝇寿命、果蝇体内SOD活性及MDA含量的影响研究了粗多糖的活性。试验结果表明:人工蝉花孢梗束粗多糖的最佳提取工艺为液料比20∶1、时间2 h、温度90℃、浸提2次、醇沉乙醇浓度70%、醇沉时间为24 h;在该条件下的粗多糖得率为8.65%。孢梗束粗多糖能明显延长雌雄果蝇的寿命,延长率分别为18.78%和26.23%;孢梗束粗多糖能显著提高雌雄果蝇的SOD活性,并明显降低了雄性果蝇体内MDA含量,说明人工蝉花孢梗束粗多糖具有抗氧化活性和延长果蝇寿命的作用。