Genetic Improvement in <i>Juglans mandshurica</i> and Its Uses in China: Current Status and Future Prospects

Juglans mandshurica is an economically and ecologically valuable species that is used for various construction purposes, making luxurious furniture, as food and sources of medicinal substances and landscaping because of its excellent wood, edible fruits and rich in various types of chemical compounds. In the past few decades, several genetic improvements of J. mandshurica were made, with a focus on the selection of improved varieties and on breeding technology. Many elite provenances and families were selected based on growth traits or wood properties. In recent years, with the increasing demand for high-quality seedlings in Chinese forestry production, the breeding goals of genetic improvement for J. mandshurica were redefined to include other traits, such as fruit yield and contents of medicinal component. However, the improvement processes were still slow due to the long breeding cycle and the limited use of advanced breeding technologies, resulting in the selection of fewer improved varieties. In this review, we summarized the research progresses on genetic improvements of J. mandshurica and other related works, and discussed research gaps and suggested future directions for genetic improvement of the species. The review provides valuable insight for the selection of improved varieties and production of excellent germplasms.     

Race,Community and Conflict fifty years on

This review focuses on John Rex and Robert Moore's study of migrant settlement and community relations in the Sparkbrook area of Birmingham, UK in the early 1960s. The review argues that this study, now almost fifty years old, anticipated a number of the key themes that characterize and preoccupy the current debates on migration and complex urban communities such as migrant networks and social capital, super-diversity, patterns of residence and transnationlism. The review suggests that the study has enduring value not only as a historical sociological text but in terms of the ways in which its findings resonate with contemporary urban environments and theoretical concerns.     

The Value of Artificial Stimuli in Behavioral Research: Making the Case for Egg Rejection Studies in Avian Brood Parasitism

Experimentation is at the heart of classical and modern behavioral ecology research. The manipulation of natural cues allows us to establish causation between aspects of the environment, both internal and external to organisms, and their effects on animals' behaviors. In recognition systems research, including the quest to understand the coevolution of sensory cues and decision rules underlying the rejection of foreign eggs by hosts of avian brood parasites, artificial stimuli have been used extensively, but not without controversy. In response to repeated criticism about the value of artificial stimuli, we describe four potential benefits of using them in egg recognition research, two each at the proximate and ultimate levels of analysis: (1) the standardization of stimuli for developmental studies and (2) the disassociation of correlated traits of egg phenotypes used for sensory discrimination, as well as (3) the estimation of the strength of selection on parasitic egg mimicry and (4) the establishment of the evolved limits of sensory and cognitive plasticity. We also highlight constraints of the artificial stimulus approach and provide a specific test of whether responses to artificial cues can accurately predict responses to natural cues. Artificial stimuli have a general value in ethological research beyond research in brood parasitism and may be especially critical in field studies involving the manipulation of a single parameter, where other, confounding variables are difficult or impossible to control experimentally or statistically.     

医学院校附属医院临床医生科研能力影响因素分析

目的 分析筛选医学院校附属医院临床医生科研的影响因素,为采取干预措施提供依据。方法 选取由38位资深专家采用德尔菲法确定科研产出指标并进行赋值。采用随机抽样的方法对某附属医院的四所附属医院200名临床医生进行问卷调查,采用多因素Logistic回归分析临床医生科研的影响因素。 结果 最终确定了科研能力绩效评价指标体系28个,结果显示国外学习经历、团队情况、科研经费、科研管理规范性4个因素对临床医生的科研绩效影响作用显著。 结论 为进一步提高医学院校附属医院临床医生的科研能力,应该加强临床医生国际交流机会、培养科研团队、增加科研经费的投入以及加强科研管理的规范性。     

Oil Spill Response Risk Judgments,Decisions, and Mental Models: Findings from Surveying U.S. Stakeholders and Coastal Residents

This study applies a mental models survey approach to assess public thinking about oil spills and oil spill response. Based on prior interdisciplinary oil spill response research, the study first applies qualitative interview results and a response risk decision model to the design of a survey instrument. The decision model considers controlled burning, public health, and seafood safety. Surveying U.S. coastal residents (36,978 pairs of responses) through Google Insights identifies beliefs and gaps in understanding as well as related values and preferences about oil spills, and oil spill responses. A majority of respondents are concerned about economic impacts of major oil spills, and tend to see ocean ecosystems as fragile. They tend to see information about chemical dispersants as more important than ecological baseline information, and dispersants as toxic, persistent, and less effective than other response options. Although respondents regard laboratory studies as predictive of the effects of oil and of controlled burning, they are less confident that scientists agree on the toxicity and effectiveness of dispersants. The results illustrate opportunities to reframe discussions of oil spill response in terms of tradeoffs between response options, and new possibilities for assessing public opinions and beliefs during events.