Theoretical evidence for a c60 "window" mechanism

On the basis of semiempirical and high-level ab initio calculations, theoretical evidence is presented of a "window" mechanism operable on the surface of C(60) and other fullerenes. Through this mechanism, large holes may be formed in fullerenes excited to their triplet state, openings through which atoms and small molecules can pass. This work provides a theoretical foundation for experiments that have prepared endohedral noble gas compounds of C(60) under thermal excitation. A method is proposed that could increase the efficiency of the process of noble gas insertion into C(60) and provide a more general means to create endohedral fullerene compounds.     

Comment on "Retrieval practice produces more learning than elaborative studying with concept mapping"

Karpicke and Blunt (Reports, 11 February 2011, p. 772) reported that retrieval practice produces greater gains in learning than elaborative studying with concept mapping and concluded that this strategy is a powerful way to promote meaningful learning of complex concepts commonly found in science education. We question their findings on methodological and epistemological grounds.     

Genetic evidence for an East Asian origin of domestic dogs

The origin of the domestic dog from wolves has been established, but the number of founding events, as well as where and when these occurred, is not known. To address these questions, we examined the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) sequence variation among 654 domestic dogs representing all major dog populations worldwide. Although our data indicate several maternal origins from wolf, >95% of all sequences belonged to three phylogenetic groups universally represented at similar frequencies, suggesting a common origin from a single gene pool for all dog populations. A larger genetic variation in East Asia than in other regions and the pattern of phylogeographic variation suggest an East Asian origin for the domestic dog, approximately 15,000 years ago.     

Escape and avoidance learning in newly hatched domestic chicks

Under the conditions specified, chicks fail to learn either to escape or to avoid shock on the day of hatching. Chicks trained for the first time on the day after hatching quickly learn to escape but do not learn to avoid shock. Avoidance learning first appears on the third day of life, and from that time the number of chicks learning to avoid increases with age, so that by the fifth day of life the majority are able to do so.     

基于机器学习的数字土壤制图研究进展

通过数字土壤制图可以高效、精准地获取土壤信息。近年来,随着计算机学科的快速发展和土壤-景观模型被广泛认同,采用机器学习方法进行数字土壤建模已成为数字土壤制图的主流思路,这为土壤空间分布的定量解释提供了一种不同于地统计学、专家知识和个体代表性等传统制图技术的新模式。本文综述了国内外数字土壤制图领域的研究成果,从利用机器学习技术进行土壤制图的基本理论、制图方法、展望三个方面完整系统地阐述了数字土壤制图领域的主要进展,其中数字土壤制图方法包括特征信息的选择、制图模型的选择和土壤图的精度验证。研究结果为全面、实时和精确获取土壤信息空间分布提供参考。     

Sea-level lowering during the illinoian glaciation: evidence from a bahama "blue hole"

Stalagmites have been recovered from 45 meters below sea level in an underwater karstic cave ("blue hole") near Andros Island in the Bahamas. Uranium series ages, corrected for contamination of the sample by young marine carbonate replacements, show that the speleothem was deposited between 160,000 and 139,000 years before the present. This period corresponds to the Illinoian glacial event and demonstrates that sea level must have been lowered by at least 42 meters (allowing for subsidence) from its present position during this time.     

借鉴国内外经验,探索本科职业教育

阐述了美国、德国、日本等国家本科职业教育的发展历史、办学模式和形式;介绍了国内本科应用型人才培养的基本情况,国家对应用型人才的需求,高职院校培养职业技术型人才的经验。从职业规划课程的设置,实施新的人才培养模式,加强"双师型"教师培养,建立实践实训基地等方面介绍了西昌学院探索本科职业教育的作法。     

Science centers: a potential for learning

The past decade has witnessed a proliferation of science-technology centers, or public places for informal learning about science and technology. Science centers are the only institutions that can provide the general public with participatory exhibits and experiences, together with an accurate scientific interpretation of the materials that are involved. The dramatic rise in attendance and the enthusiasm of repeat visitors to science centers reflect a strong public demand for exhibits designed to help the visitor develop a better understanding of the contemporary scientific issues of society.     

Insulin biosynthesis: evidence for a precursor

Human islet cell tumor tissue and isolated islets of Langerhans from rats incorporated radioactive amino acids in vitro into insulin and a larger acid-alcohol soluble protein which could be separated from insulin by gel filtration. The amino acids were incorporated into the larger protein earlier than into insulin; only after incubation of islets for approximately 30 minutes did radioactivity begin to appear in insulin. The transfer of about 70 percent of the radioactivity of the larger protein to insulin was demonstrated in the absence of new peptide bond synthesis (cycloheximide), or during incubation with unlabeled amino acid (chase). The results indicate that the larger protein is a precursor in the biosynthesis of insulin. The name "proinsulin" is suggested for this protein.     

Thyrocalcitonin: evidence for release in a spontaneous hypocalcemic disorder

Thyrocalcitonin content of thyroid gland extracts from normal postparturient cows was 3.9 times greater than in cows with postparturient paresis. The parafollicular cells in diseased cows were less numerous and appeared to have discharged their secretory products. An abrupt release of thyrocalcitonin near parturition may be related to the development of the hypocalcemia and hypophosphatemia in this disorder.     

Galactokinase: evidence for a new racial polymorphism

Activities of galactokinase and galactose-1-phosphate uridyltransferase in red cells were assayed in a mixed racial population of 645 pregnant women. The distribution of individual transferase activities for black subjects was the same as that for whites. In contrast, the distributions of individual galactokinase activities differed significantly in blacks and whites, the mean for the black population being 30 percent lower than the mean for the white population. The same racial difference was found when red cell galactokinase activity was examined in males and in newborns. Because low-, intermediate-, and high-galactokinase activities appear to segregate within several black families, this observed difference suggests a new, racially determined enzyme polymorphism.     

Policies designed for self-interested citizens may undermine "the moral sentiments": evidence from economic experiments

High-performance organizations and economies work on the basis not only of material interests but also of Adam Smith's "moral sentiments." Well-designed laws and public policies can harness self-interest for the common good. However, incentives that appeal to self-interest may fail when they undermine the moral values that lead people to act altruistically or in other public-spirited ways. Behavioral experiments reviewed here suggest that economic incentives may be counterproductive when they signal that selfishness is an appropriate response; constitute a learning environment through which over time people come to adopt more self-interested motivations; compromise the individual's sense of self-determination and thereby degrade intrinsic motivations; or convey a message of distrust, disrespect, and unfair intent. Many of these unintended effects of incentives occur because people act not only to acquire economic goods and services but also to constitute themselves as dignified, autonomous, and moral individuals. Good organizational and institutional design can channel the material interests for the achievement of social goals while also enhancing the contribution of the moral sentiments to the same ends.     

Comparison of machine learning algorithms for mapping mango plantations based on Gaofen-1 imagery

Mango is a commercial crop on Hainan Island, China, that is cultivated to develop the tropical rural economy. The development of accurate and up-to-date maps of the spatial distribution of mango plantations is necessary for agricultural monitoring and decision management by the local government. Pixel-based and object-oriented image analysis methods for mapping mango plantations were compared using two machine learning algorithms (support vector machine (SVM) and Random Forest (RF)) based on Chinese high-resolution Gaofen-1 (GF-1) imagery in parts of Hainan Island. To assess the importance of different features on classification accuracy, a combined layer of four original bands, 32 gray-level co-occurrence (GLCM) texture indices, and 10 vegetation indices were used as input features. Then five different sets of variables (5, 10, 20, and 30 input variables and all 46 variables) were classified with the two machine learning algorithms at object-based level. Results of the feature optimization suggested that homogeneity and variance were very important variables for distinguishing mango plantations patches. The object-based classifiers could significantly improve overall accuracy between 2–7% when compared to pixel-based classifiers. When there were 5 and 10 input variables, SVM showed higher classification accuracy than RF, and when the input variables exceeded 20, RF showed better performances. After the accuracy achieved saturation points, there were only slightly classification accuracy improvements along with the numbers of feature increases for both of SVM and RF classifiers. The results indicated that GF-1 imagery can be successfully applied to mango plantation mapping in tropical regions, which would provide a useful framework for accurate tropical agriculture land management.     

Beryllium-10 in australasian tektites: evidence for a sedimentary precursor

Each of seven Australasian tektites contains about 1 x l0(8) atoms of beryllium-10 (half-life, 1.53 x 10(6) years) per gram. Cosmic-ray bombardment of the australites cannot have produced the measured amounts of beryllium-10 either at the earth's surface or in space. The beryllium-10 contents of these australites are consistent with a sedimentary precursor that adsorbed from precipitation beryllium-10 produced in the atmosphere. The sediments must have spent several thousand years at the earth's surface within a few million years of the tektite-producing event.     

Phosphoglucomutase: evidence for a new locus expressed in human milk

Electrophoretic study of phosphoglucomutase (PGM) in human milk revealed different patterns that can be explained by the existence of a locus distinct from the common PGM1, PGM2, and PGM3. One hundred and forty samples were tested and the results showed four different alleles of PGM4 whose frequencies were under Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium.     

基于机器学习的江汉平原土壤有机碳预测及制图

土壤有机碳（SOC）不仅显著响应于表层,而且随深度的变化呈现不同的响应。江汉平原作为长江经济带农田生态系统的重要组成部分,其SOC垂向分布状况仍有待考察。本研究收集了2009—2012年湖北省土系调查的66个剖面数据,基于9个环境因子为协变量使用随机森林法构建 0~30、>30~60、>60~100 cm土层深度的 SOC含量预测模型,绘制了 30 m空间分辨率的 SOC含量分布图,并估算了 SOC 储量。结果表明,SOC 含量随土层深度的增加而减少,总体呈中东部高、西部低的特征。模型对表层（0~30 cm）SOC的预测精度最高（R²=0.45,RMSE=3.28 g·kg^-1）,温度、黏粒含量和降水对模型重要性居前三。江汉平原 1 m深 SOC储量为 183.75 Tg,>30~100 cm土层 SOC储量约占 1 m深度总储量的 59%。因此,土壤碳库估算及固碳潜力评估时需着重考虑深层土壤。本研究可为掌握SOC空间分布及垂直分异的响应规律提供参考。     

Yellowstone: seismic evidence for a chemical mantle plume

Arrivals of P waves from a recent event at the Nevada Test Site, recorded at a distance of 15.3 degrees , passed beneath the Yellowstone caldera at depths of 200 and 400 kilometers. The travel time anomalies are modeled by a vertical cylindrical structure with a high-velocity core and a low-velocity collar as compared with the more normal mantle. The velocity structure and vertical extent of this feature are consistent with a chemical mantle plume beneath the Yellowstone caldera.