小兴安岭针叶树种在不同尺度上对环境因子的敏感性分析

 小兴安岭地区是我国重要的林区之一,预测该地区针叶树种的分布,在不同尺度上查找针叶树种分布最敏感的环境因子,是不同层次的林业部 门制定森林恢复和植树造林方针的重要科学依据。该文以坡度、坡向、综合地形指数、海拔、坡位指数、年平均温度和年平均降水量作为环境 因子,利用Logistic回归模型对红松（Pinus koraiensis）、兴安落叶松（Larix gmelinii）、冷杉（Abies nephrolepis）、红皮云杉 （Picea koraiensis)、鱼鳞云杉(P. jezoensis)和樟子松（Pinus sylvestris var. mo ngolica）的分布进行了预测。并且采用相对运行特征 (Relative operating characteristic, ROC）,对模型进行了精度评价。其取值范围为0～1, 如果ROC小于0.7,认为模型具有低精度;如 果大于0.7且小于0.9,则模型具有较好的模拟精度;如果大于0.9,认为模型具有很高的预测精度。对每个树种的模型验证表明只有冷杉的ROC 大于 80%,红松、兴安落叶松和云杉的ROC在70%～80%之间,而樟子松的为67.9%。之后,把预测模型应用到丰林保护区,揭示局域尺度上树种 分布最敏感的环境因子。经过树种分布预测图与环境因子之间的相关分析发现,在区域尺度（整个研究区）上,红松、冷杉、云杉和樟子松对 年降水量最为敏感,而兴安落叶松对坡度最敏感。在局域尺度（丰林保护区）上,红松分布对坡度最敏感,冷杉和云杉对海拔最敏感,兴安落 叶松对坡位最敏感。在不同尺度上,树种最敏感的环境因子的转移,引起了在不同尺度上树种分布类型的变化。红松在区域尺度上聚集分布 （ROC=78.6%）,而在局域尺度上其聚集程度有所减弱（ROC=74.4%）,红松的分布范围增加。在区域尺度上,云杉和冷杉聚集分布,但在局域 尺度上,它们的分布接近随机分布类型（ROC<60%）,它们在丰林保护区内分布面积较大。与以上3个树种相反,兴安落叶松的ROC从71.7%增加 到了82.0%,在区域尺度上聚集分布的兴安落叶松,在局域尺度上更加聚集,其分布范围局限于某个特定环境（谷底）。总的来说,在区域尺度 上,多数树种分布对气候因子最为敏感,在局域尺度上,对地理因子最为敏感。不同树种对不同环境因子的敏感性,揭示了树种空间分布格局 和分异规律。     

Comparative lca of industrial objects part 1: lca data quality assurance — sensitivity analysis and pedigree matrix

Goal, Scope and Background  The main aim of this paper is to present some methodological considerations concerning existing methods used to assess quality of the LCA study. It relates mainly to the quality of data and the uncertainty of the LCA results. The first paper is strictly devoted to methodological aspects whereas, the second is presented in a separate article (Part II) and devoted mainly to a case study. Methods  The presented analysis is based on two well-known concepts: the Data Quality Indicators (DQIs) and the Pedigree Matrix. In the first phase, the Sensitivity Indicators are created on the basis of the sensitivity analysis and then linked with the DQIs and the Quality Classes. These parameters indicate the relative importance of input data and their theoretical quality levels. Next, the Weidema’s Pedigree Matrix (slightly modified) is used to establish the values of the new parameter called the Data Quality Distance (DQD) and to link them with the DQIs and Quality Classes. This way the information about the “real” quality levels is provided. Further analysis is performed using the probabilistic distributions and Monte Carlo simulations. Results and Discussion  Thanks to this approach it is possible to make a comparison between two types of the quality factors. On the one hand, the sensitivity analysis allows one to check the importance of input data and to determine their required quality. It is done according to the following relation: the higher the sensitivity indicator, the higher the importance of input data and the higher quality should be demanded. On the other hand the data have a certain real quality, not always in accord with the demanded one. To make possible a comparison between these two types of quality, it is necessary to find and develop a common denominator for them. Here, for this purpose the DQIs and Quality Classes are used. Conclusions  In the further stage of the assessment the DQIs are used to perform the uncertainty analysis of the LCA results. The results could be additionally analysed by using other techniques of interpretation: the sensitivity-, the contribution-, the comparative-, the discernability- and the uncertainty analysis. Recommendations and Outlook  The presented approach is put into practice to conduct the comparative LCA study for the industrial pumps by using the Ecoindicator99 method. Thanks to this, complex analysis of the credibility of the results is carried out. As a consequence, uncertainty ranges for the LCA results of every product system can be determined [1].     

Randomized controlled trial evaluating rapid pre-screen of cervical cytology specimens.

A randomized controlled trial of 75,355 cervical cytology specimens was performed comparing rapid pre-screen with no pre-screen. While the percentage of cases receiving a final report of definite high-grade abnormality was higher in the no pre-screen arm (no pre-screen = 0.70%, pre-screen = 0.65%), the percentage of cases receiving a final report of possible or definite high-grade abnormality was essentially identical in the two arms of the trial (no pre-screen = 1.22%, pre-screen = 1.21%). In the randomized trial, one extra cytology report of definite high-grade abnormality was made for every 12,568 slides pre-screened. This level of benefit was reduced by about half when rapid pre-screen was adopted as a routine laboratory practice.     

黑翅土白蚁乙酰胆碱酯酶最佳反应体系的建立及药剂敏感度比较

用正交试验方法研究了酶浓度、底物浓度、反应体系pH值、反应温度、反应时间5个因素对黑翅土白蚁Odontotermes formosanus (Shiraki)乙酰胆碱酯酶(AChE)活性测定的影响。通过对正交试验结果进行极差和方差分析,明确了测定黑翅土白蚁AChE活性的最适反应条件是酶浓度为12.5 g/L,底物浓度为8 mmol/L,pH值8.0,反应温度40℃,反应时间5 min。此外,研究了6种药剂对黑翅土白蚁体内AChE活性的影响。结果表明：灭多威、辛硫磷、三唑磷、丙溴磷、马拉硫磷和氧化乐果6种药剂对黑翅土白蚁AChE抑制中浓度(IC₅₀)分别为3.52×10^-4,1.86×10^-3,5.13×10^-3,9.55×10^-4,8.81×10^-3,和1.39×10^-2 mol/L。在3.3×10^-7～5×10^-3 mol/L的浓度范围内,上述6种药剂对黑翅土白蚁体内AChE活性的抑制作用都具有明显的剂量效应关系。     

Properties of Bacillus anthracis spores prepared under various environmental conditions

Bacillus anthracis makes highly stable, heat-resistant spores which remain viable for decades. Effect of various stress conditions on sporulation in B. anthracis was studied in nutrient-deprived and sporulation medium adjusted to various pH and temperatures. The results revealed that sporulation efficiency was dependent on conditions prevailing during sporulation. Sporulation occurred earlier in culture sporulating at alkaline pH or in PBS than control. Spores formed in PBS were highly sensitive towards spore denaturants whereas, those formed at 45°C were highly resistant. The decimal reduction time (D-10 time) of the spores formed at 45°C by wet heat, 2 M HCl, 2 M NaOH and 2 M H₂O₂ was higher than the respective D-10 time for the spores formed in PBS. The dipicolinic acid (DPA) content and germination efficiency was highest in spores formed at 45°C. Since DPA is related to spore sensitivity towards heat and chemicals, the increased DPA content of spores prepared at 45°C may be responsible for increased resistance to wet heat and other denaturants. The size of spores formed at 45°C was smallest amongst all. The study reveals that temperature, pH and nutrient availability during sporulation affect properties of B. anthracis spores.     

Do house mice use UV cues when foraging?

Research on the behavioural ecology of ultraviolet (UV-A, wavelengths of 320–400 nm, hereafter: UV) sensitivity in terrestrial vertebrates has mainly focused on sexual signalling and foraging in birds and reptiles, whereas the fact that some rodents are also sensitive to UV light has been somewhat ignored. Here, we present the results of two behavioural experiments, which tested whether rodents use UV cues in foraging. In the first experiment we asked whether the colour contrast in the UV waveband is used as a foraging cue. House mice were offered UV-reflecting and UV-absorbing artificial food items in two different illuminations where UV light was either present or absent. The food items were offered to two groups of mice, one group on a UV-reflecting and the other on a UV-absorbing background. The second experiment investigated more specifically whether UV cues are especially important in dawn and dusk when short wavelengths are high in the proportion of available light. House mice showed no preference between the food items regardless of illumination or background. Therefore, our results indicate that house mice do not use UV cues in foraging.     

From Avicennia to Zizania: seed recalcitrance in perspective

BACKGROUND: Considered only in terms of tolerance of, or sensitivity to, desiccation (which is an oversimplification), orthodox seeds are those which tolerate dehydration and are storable in this condition, while highly recalcitrant seeds are damaged by loss of only a small proportion of water and are unstorable for practical purposes. Between these extremes, however, there may be a gradation of the responses to dehydration--and also to other factors--suggesting perhaps that seed behaviour might be best considered as constituting a continuum subtended by extreme orthodoxy and the highest degree of recalcitrance. As the characteristics of seeds of an increasing number of species are elucidated, non-orthodox seed behaviour is emerging as considerably more commonplace--and its basis far more complex--than previously suspected. SCOPE: Whatever the post-harvest responses of seeds of individual species may be, they are the outcome of the properties of pre-shedding development, and a full understanding of the subtleties of various degrees of non-orthodox behaviour must await the identification of, and interaction among, all the factors conferring extreme orthodoxy. Appreciation of the phenomenon of recalcitrance is confounded by intra- and interseasonal variability across species, as well as within individual species. However, recent evidence suggests that provenance is a pivotal factor in determining the degree of recalcitrant behaviour exhibited by seeds of individual species. Non-orthodox--and, in particular, recalcitrant--seed behaviour is not merely a matter of desiccation sensitivity: the primary basis is that the seeds are actively metabolic when they are shed, in contrast to orthodox types which are quiescent. This affects all aspects of the handling and storage of recalcitrant seeds. In the short to medium term, recalcitrant seeds should be stored in as hydrated a condition as when they are shed, and at the lowest temperature not diminishing vigour or viability. Such hydrated storage has attendant problems of fungal proliferation which, unless minimized, will inevitably and significantly affect seed quality. The life span of seeds in hydrated storage even under the best conditions is variable among species, but is curtailed (days to months), and various approaches attempting to extend non-orthodox seed longevity are discussed. Conservation of the genetic resources by means other than seed storage is then briefly considered, with detail on the potential for, and difficulties with, cryostorage highlighted. CONCLUSIONS: There appears to be little taxonomic relationship among species exhibiting the phenomenon of seed recalcitrance, suggesting that it is a derived trait, with tolerance having been lost a number of times. Although recalcitrant seededness is best represented in the mesic tropics, particularly among rainforest climax species, it does occur in cooler, drier and markedly seasonal habitats. The selective advantages of the trait are considered.     

Effects of creatine supplementation on glucose tolerance and insulin sensitivity in sedentary healthy males undergoing aerobic training

Recent findings have indicated that creatine supplementation may affect glucose metabolism. This study aimed to examine the effects of creatine supplementation, combined with aerobic training, on glucose tolerance in sedentary healthy male. Subjects (n = 22) were randomly divided in two groups and were allocated to receive treatment with either creatine (CT) ( approximately 10 g . day over three months) or placebo (PT) (dextrose). Administration of treatments was double blind. Both groups underwent moderate aerobic training. An oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) was performed and both fasting plasma insulin and the homeostasis model assessment (HOMA) index were assessed at the start, and after four, eight and twelve weeks. CT demonstrated significant decrease in OGTT area under the curve compared to PT (P = 0.034). There were no differences between groups or over time in fasting insulin or HOMA. The results suggest that creatine supplementation, combined with aerobic training, can improve glucose tolerance but does not affect insulin sensitivity, and may warrant further investigation with diabetic subjects.     

External air pollution costs of telework

Background, Aims and Scope  Telework is associated with a number of costs and benefits, including reduced company overhead costs, need for office and parking space, office energy consumption, increased productivity, reduced absenteeism, retention of specialized employees, reduction in transportation-related fuel consumption and air pollution, and many others. This paper applies a systems model to telework and nontelework scenarios to quantify direct energy and fuel costs and external costs related to air emissions from transportation, heating, cooling, lighting, and electronic and electrical equipment use both at the company and the home office, including rebound effects. Methods  E-COMMUTair, a scalable web-based tool created by the authors and designed to assess the air pollution effects of individual or company telework programs versus nontelework is employed along with Monte Carlo simulation and sensitivity analysis. E-COMMUTair is using the latest available U.S. energy use and air emission factors. The external costs of air emissions are estimated. The role of telecommuting frequency is emphasized, and differences between various states are explored. The paper identifies the drivers of external costs, and presents an example breakeven analysis focused on CO₂ and key model parameters. Results and Discussion  Nontelework’s external costs are equal to or higher than telework’s costs for every model component, demonstrating that telework programs could provide benefits, including monetary benefits, to society. Transportation is the major contributor to the total costs, with home heating and cooling, and office cooling following. Most of the monetary costs associated with transportation are borne by individuals rather than society. Teleworking employees increase their home-related expenses but reduce their travel-related expenses, ending up with smaller total costs. Energy and fuel costs get reduced in the office space when telework programs are applied, resulting in benefits to companies. Energy and external costs decrease as telework frequency increases. When compared to not teleworking, 5-day telework scenarios on cooling days in California can have about 50–70% lower total costs. The probabilistic analysis confirms the results of the deterministic analysis. The sensitivity analysis reveals that for the nontelework scenario, transportation-related variables such as commuting distance and average number of passengers affect CO₂, CO, and NO_x emissions, while for the telework part, frequency and the number of roundtrips are the most relevant. Conclusions  Both analyses show that telework programs have the potential to lower both energy and external costs creating a favorable bottom line for society, employees, and companies by decreasing tailpipe emissions, lowering transportation costs, and decreasing energy costs at the company office. However, important parameters such as telecommuting frequency, characteristics of the office and home space, climate patterns, and rebound effects that determine external costs along with the price of gasoline, electricity and natural gas in the state where the program is implemented can greatly influence the final results, and should be carefully examined. Recommendations and Perspectives  The effects of telework programs on people’s daily lives are complex and difficult to predict and quantify. The current analysis showed that significant financial benefits can be expected from telework programs, but as seen often in environmental policy-making, the details of implementation will make or break the success of a program. formerly Postdoctoral Researcher, University of California, Berkeley ESS-Submission Editor: Dr. Gerald Rebitzer (Gerald.Rebitzer@alcan.com)     

Metabolomics as a tool to evaluate exercise-induced improvements in insulin sensitivity

Exercise affects substrate utilisation and insulin sensitivity, which in turn improve blood glucose and lipid levels in subjects with type 2 diabetes (T2D). However, making long-lasting lifestyle-changes might be more realistic if the results were easier to record. Screening for biomarkers reflecting metabolic fitness could thus serve as a tool for maintained motivation. The aim of this study was to test the possibility that metabolomics can be used to identify individuals with improved insulin sensitivity as a result of increased physical activity. Healthy and diabetic subjects were investigated before and after 3 months of exercise to determine various metabolic parameters. Insulin sensitivity was determined by hyperinsulinemic euglycemic clamps and found to be improved in the diabetic men. Plasma was collected during the clamp and analyzed through GC/TOFMS. Healthy subjects could be distinguished from diabetics by means of low molecular-weight compounds (LMC) in plasma independently of gender or exercise, and exercise induced differences in LMC patterns both for healthy and T2D subjects. Forty-four significant metabolites were found to explain differences between LMC patterns obtained from trained and non-trained diabetics. Among these compounds, 17 could be annotated and 5 classified. Inositol-1-phosphate showed the highest correlation to insulin sensitivity in diabetic men, whereas an as yet unknown fatty acid correlated best with insulin sensitivity in women. Both metabolites were better correlated to insulin sensitivity than glucose. Finally, the finding that inostitol-1-phosphate negatively correlates with insulin sensitivity in diabetic men, was validated using samples obtained from a similar training study on diabetic men. Jeanette Kuhl and Thomas Moritz contributed equally to this study.