A Step toward Molecular Evolution of RNA: Ribose Binds to Prebiotic Fatty Acid Membranes,and Nucleosides Bind Better than Individual Bases Do

A major challenge in understanding how biological cells arose on the early Earth is explaining how RNA and membranes originally colocalized. We propose that the building blocks of RNA (nucleobases and ribose) bound to self-assembled prebiotic membranes. We have previously demonstrated that the bases bind to membranes composed of a prebiotic fatty acid, but evidence for the binding of sugars has remained a technical challenge. Here, we used pulsed-field gradient NMR spectroscopy to demonstrate that ribose and other sugars bind to membranes of decanoic acid. Moreover, the binding of some bases is strongly enhanced when they are linked to ribose to form a nucleoside or – with the addition of phosphate – a nucleotide. This enhanced binding could have played a role in the molecular evolution leading to the production of RNA.     

2020年国内外宏观经济形势分析及预判

2020年,预计全球贸易进展局势出现缓和,世界经济增长小幅回升至2.6%左右,主要经济体面临的贸易政策、货币政策和地缘政治局势等不确定性因素仍较多,世界经济增长面临的下行风险仍较大。2019年中国经济总体平稳,GDP增长6.1%。2020年我国经济将继续保持增长稳健、结构优化、动能转换的发展态势,预计将实现6.0%的增长。     

Social licence: power imbalances and levels of consciousness – two case studies

ABSTRACT

Social licence to operate (SLO) is a term that is finding increasing acceptance in a number of industries. Like all new terms, its precise meaning and implications are still being investigated. Using data from previous studies, this paper offers an analysis of the SLO of two case studies with each study being viewed separately through the grid of a distinct theoretical framework. Case study 1 looks at the development of differential social licence negotiated in the Hamlet of Cambridge Bay, Nunavut, as a result of an impact and benefit agreement negotiated between Tahera Diamond Corp. and the Kitikmeot Inuit Organisation in 2004. The study demonstrates that general acceptance of resource development can be uneven and reflect an unequal distribution of decision-making power. In case study 2, stakeholders of a failed mineral development project were queried across time about the specifics of the proposed mine development and were queried about resource development across different levels of consciousness. Perhaps, SLO is variable across different levels of consciousness. The paper concludes with observations about the variable nature of SLO acceptance across populations and across levels of consciousness within individuals. Perhaps, the concept of SLO is, in fact, complex, difficult to define and measure and, at this point, of limited utility as a measure of resource development acceptance.     

Self‐similarity analysis of vehicle driver's electrodermal activity

This paper characterizes stress levels via a self‐similarity analysis of the electrodermal activity (EDA) collected in a real‐world driving context. To characterize the EDA richness over scales, the fractional Brownian motion (FBM) process and its corresponding exponent H, estimated via a wavelet‐based approach, are used. Specifically, an automatic scale range selection is proposed in order to detect the linearity in a log scale diagram. The procedure is applied to the EDA signals, from the open database drivedb, originally captured on the foot and the hand of the drivers during a real‐world driving experiment, designed to evoke different levels of arousal and stress. The estimated Hurst exponent H offers a distinction in stress levels when driving in highway versus city, with a reference to restful state of minimal stress level. Specifically, the estimated H values tend to decrease when the driving environmental complexity increases. In addition, the estimated H values on the foot EDA signals allow a better characterization of the driving task than that of hand EDA. The self‐similarity analysis was applied to various physiological signals in literature but not to the EDA so far, a signal which was found to correlate most with human affect. The proposed analysis could be useful in real‐time monitoring of stress levels in urban driving spaces, among other applications.     

澳门融入粤港澳大湾区世界机场群路向研究

粤港澳大湾区世界城市群与世界机场群相伴而生、联动发展.建设世界级机场群，需要5大机场错位发展和良性互动.澳门国际机场是澳门融入粤港澳大湾区重要一极，但机场发展存在与澳门定位、香港珠海空域空运矛盾、澳门土地和环境现状等相关的问题.因此，澳门国际机场今后发展需在葡语国家航线、珠澳密切合作、公务机产业方面努力实现跨越式发展.然而，澳门国际机场改扩建问题争议不断，本文就原址扩建、填海区新建、飞地黄茅岛新建3种模式进行比较分析，探索符合澳门长远利益之方案.     

ORDER视角下的西方建筑设计

"ORDER"一般常解释为柱式,并称其为西方古典建筑的标志。自工业革命以来,柱式似乎渐已退出历史舞台,代之以放映工业时代精神的新建筑艺术形式。然而,ORDER不仅指柱式,她还蕴含了秩序、等级、层次、序列、法则、关系等诸多意义,并直指现代建筑之精髓。试从对ORDER的解读入手,阐明西方建筑发展的内在关联性,以及古典与现代建筑间的精神传承。     

小中见大-谈南京市29中教学综合楼建筑设计

通过对南京市29中教学综合楼工程的介绍,分析在尺地寸金的地块中,合理布置功能复杂建筑,巧妙结合异形地块优化设计,充分利用秦淮河风光带,重视整体环境的和谐;塑造具有独特性、省地性、文化性的校园建筑.     

世界领先技术与重庆地域因素的结合——重庆南山植物园展览温室方案设计

当代建筑文化的总趋势是全球性的科学技术与地域性文化因素的结合。本文论述了借助国际合作的方式,采用世界领先技术,整体地解决重庆南山植物园展览温室设计所面临的问题与挑战,同时体现了建筑师自己的创作理念,呈现出独有的特色。     

The house as an expression of social worlds: Irbid's elite and their architecture

This paper shows howarchitecture can be explained through the ideaof the Social World. The social world isan abstract concept defined as a cultural area,the boundaries of which are defined by thelimit of effective communication. Within thesocial world there are special norms and valuesand a common outlook towards life. Itencompasses factors like identity, culture,social communication and economic and politicalconditions without being limited to one singlefactor. The paper establishes a link betweenthe contemporary villas of Irbid, the secondlargest city in Jordan, and the social worldsof their inhabitants. The paper focuses onIrbid's University District (UD)differentiating between two groups of socialworlds, the old elite and the new elite. Itshows how the meaning of the house is differentamong the two groups. While the villa among theold elite is treated as a functional object forliving, it is now dealt with as a statusobject – an object for displaying theself – among the new elite.     

发展中国家巨型城市现状、成因、挑战与对策

本文从世界人口的发展趋势和地域差异入手 ,探讨了发展中国家巨型城市发展的状况 ,包括其数量和分布、成因以及面临的管治和可持续性等挑战 ,最后给出了巨型城市区的发展战略和若干具体对策