Research and design of the main equipments and structure of Xiangjiaba shiplift

The type of pinion and rack vertical shiplifts has been developed in recent a couple of years in the construction of dams. But the design methods and methodologies have rarely been discussed in literature. The Xiangjiaba shiplift is the second shiplift of this type following the Three Gorges shiplift. Being aimed at the technological rationality of the design in synthetically considering security, economy and applicability, this paper presents the research results of some vital issues relating the design of the Xiangjiaba shiplift, including the determination of design water depth of ship chamber based on fluid numeral computation and physical model test, the optimum design of general layout of main equipments and the civil structure of the Xiangjiaba shiplift, the finite element method （FEM） analysis of stress, vibration modes and the buckling of ship chamber, antiseismic research and the design of structures and mechanisms of the shiplift and the optimum design of driving mechanisms. This research provides the theoretical basis for the design of the Xiangjiaba shiplift. The design principles and research methods are valuable for the design of the same type of shiplifts.     

On the Functions of Euphemism in Social Communication

In the process of social linguistic communication, due to the different circumstances and conditions, people can not express certain things clearly in a direct way when they come across something painful, unpleasant, disgusted and even embarrassing. Instead, they have to use some vague, implicit, mild and euphemistic expressions, so as to achieve the purpose of expressing feelings and exchanging ideas and thoughts in an appropriate and light atmosphere. This paper tries to deal with the application of euphemisms in various fields, thereby reveal some main functions of euphemism, i.e. avoidance function, politeness function, gloss-over function and disguise function.     

Anomalous top-quark coupling effects in rare B and K decays

The Large Hadron Collider at CERN is performing direct searches for top-quark anomalous flavor-changing neutral current （FCNC） processes. However, these processes may be correlated closely with the low-energy rare B and K meson decays. In this paper, we review the anomalous top-quark coupling effects in these low-energy flavor transitions, summarize the flavor constraints and discuss their implications for direct detection of top-FCNC processes at the Large Hadron Collider.     

Challenges and Innovations in the Sutong Bridge Foundation Project

This article introduces three outstanding innovations, i.e. utilization of the steel casing for the piles to estab- lish a construction platform for Sutong Bridge＇ s large and deep-pile groups; 5000 ton steel cofferdam lowered as a whole and used as a protective structure against impact from ship collision; Permanent scour protection. This article also pres- ents economical and reasonable design method for large bridge foundation and explains the significance of innovation and technical integration to large and complicated project construction based on the above theory.     

Kinetics of blue-green light-induced state transition and fluorescence quenching in the wild-type cyanobacterium Synechocystis PCC 6803 and apcD − and apcF − mutants

State transition and blue-green light-induced fluorescence quenching are two short-term processes in cyanobacteria. The details of their kinetics and the relationship between these processes have not been elucidated. In this work, these two processes were studied in the wildtype cyanobacterium Synechocystis PCC 6803 cells as well as in apcD^- and apcF^- mutants by monitoring their time- dependent 77 K fluorescence responses to blue-green light （430-540 nm） at a series of intensities ranging from 20-800 μE m^-2 s^-1. The lowest light intensity to induce fluorescence quenching in wild-type cells was 160 μE m^-2 s^-1 under the selected experimental conditions, while state transition took place at the intensities lower than 160 μE m^-2 s^-1 at a conservative level, but at variable rates. The quenching level increased at intensities higher than 160 μE m^-2 s^-1, reaching the maximum level at intensities equal to or higher than 200 μEm^-2 s^-1. Fluorescence kinetics indicated that both the length of the induction period and time required to reach the maximum level were functions of light intensity. State transitions as well as fluorescence quenching took place in both wildtype and mutant cells, but might involve different mechanisms.     

Equilibrium between titanium ions and high-purity titanium electrorefining in a NaCl-KCl melt

TiCl_x (x = 2.17) was prepared by using titanium sponge to reduce the concentration of TiCl₄ in a NaCl-KCl melt under negative pressure. The as-prepared NaCl-KCl-TiCl_x melt was employed as the electrolyte, and two parallel crude titanium plates and one high-purity titanium plate were used as the anode and cathode, respectively. A series of electrochemical tests were performed to investigate the influence of electrolytic parameters on the current efficiency and quality of cathodic products. The results indicated that the quality of cathodic products was related to the current efficiency, which is significantly dependent on the current density and the initial concentration of titanium ions. The significance of this study is the attainment of high-purity titanium with a low oxygen content of 30×10-6.     

An observational study of snow aging and the seasonal variation of snow albedo by using data from Col de Porte,France

An 18-year long （1993-2011） comprehensive dataset of snow and meteorological variables from Col de Porte, France is used to analyze the variation of shortwave broadband albedo with elapsed time after snowfalls （snow aging） during each snow season. The effects of air temperature, snow surface temperature and snow depth on snow albedo are investigated. An index based on the accumulation of air temperature over several consecutive days with daily mean higher than 2.5 ℃ is proposed to divide each snow-covered period into a dry and the following wet snow season when this index reaches 18 ℃. The results indicate that snow surface albedo decreases exponentially with time in both dry and wet snow seasons. Snow albedo reduction with snow aging is small at low surface temperature and the reduction rate increases with the rise of surface temperature. However, the reduction rate is widely scattered within the observed range of temperature, implying a loose relationship between snow albedo and snow surface temperature. Snow albedo in wet snow season is generally smaller and decreases faster than in dry snow season. For Col de Porte site, snow depths to effectively mask the underlying surface are 21 and 33 cm in dry and wet snow season respectively.     

Effect of strain rate on the compressive deformation behaviors of lotus-type porous copper

Lotus-type porous copper was fabricated by unidirectional solidification, and compressive experiments were subsequently conducted in the strain rate range of 10-3–2400 s-1 with the compressive direction parallel to the pores. A GLEEBLE-1500 thermal-mechanical simulation system and a split Hopkinson pressure bar (SHPB) were used to investigate the effect of strain rate on the compressive deformation behaviors of lotus-type porous copper. The influence mechanism of strain rate was also analyzed by the strain-controlling method and by high-speed photography. The results indicated that the stress-strain curves of lotus-typed porous copper consist of a linear elastic stage, a plateau stage, and a densification stage at various strain rates. At low strain rate (< 1.0 s-1), the strain rate had little influence on the stress-strain curves; but when the strain rate exceeded 1.0 s-1, it was observed to strongly affect the plateau stage, showing obvious strain-rate-hardening characteristics. Strain rate also influenced the densification initial strain. The densification initial strain at high strain rate was less than that at low strain rate. No visible inhomogeneous deformation caused by shockwaves was observed in lotus-type porous copper during high-strain-rate deformation. However, at high strain rate, the bending deformation characteristics of the pore walls obviously differed from those at low strain rate, which was the main mechanism by which the plateau stress exhibited strain-rate sensitivity when the strain rate exceeded a certain value and exhibited less densification initial strain at high strain rate.     

Distribution and origin of high magnetic anomalies at Luobusa Ophiolite in Southern Tibet

The Luobusa Ophiolite,Southern Tibet,lies in the eastern portion of Indus–Yarlung Zangbo suture zone that separates Eurasia from the Indian continent.An aeromagnetic reconnaissance survey has revealed an EWtrending Yarlung Zangbo River aeromagnetic anomaly zone,and it is considered to be caused mainly by the Indus–Yarlung Zangbo Ophiolite.The Luobusa Ophiolite reflects the eastern portion of the Yarlung Zangbo River aeromagnetic anomaly zone.Conventionally,the ultramafic rock in the Luobusa Ophiolite is considered as the origin of the high magnetic anomalies.However,results from the surface magnetic survey and the magnetic susceptibility measurements from drill cores indicate that the high magnetic anomalies are distributed inhomogeneously in the Luobusa Ophiolite.In some cases,the susceptibility exhibits more than 30 times difference between two sides of the same sample.A fact emerged that the susceptibility of dunite with serpentinization is higher than that of fresh dunite,harzburgite and chromite when we analyzed the measurement results.In order to understand the origin of the high magnetic anomalies,we measured the density and susceptibility of 17 samples,microscopic and electron probe analyses have been performed as well.The result indicates the presence of dunite with serpentinization containing an abundant of micro-fissures filled with magnetite.Olivine has a susceptibility of about 2.7–351(910-5SI),pyroxene about 16–320,and chromite about200–800.All these units feature relatively low susceptibility in ultramafic rock,and only the magnetite is characterized by a high susceptibility of about 200,000(910-5SI).Based on these observations,we conclude that the precipitation of magnetite in the process of serpentinization of the olivine caused by the geological process in the Luobusa Ophiolite is the origin of high magnetic anomalies.     

Comparing the diurnal variations in the SuperMAG auroral electrojet indices SML and SMU

Diurnal variations of the SuperMAG auroral electrojet indices （SML and SMU） were examined for the period of 1980-2010, and the differences between SML and SMU were especially analyzed. The diurnal variation of SML with a maximum at around 1100 UT has a prenoon- postnoon asymmetry. At solstices, the diurnal variation of SML is much stronger than that at equinoxes. For the SMU, two maxima are recorded in the diurnal variation with the bigger one at 1700 UT and the smaller one at 0400 UT. The seasonal variations are not obvious in the UT variation characteristics of SMU although the intensity of SMU is changed remarkably season by season. For both SML and SMU, the contributing stations are located at higher geomagnetic latitude around 1600 UT and at lower geomagnetic latitude around 0400 UT. These results indicate that：（1） the SML is mostly controlled by the convection electric field. Its diurnal variation is mainly correlated with the equinoctial and R-M hypothesis; （2） the SMU is largely controlled by the ionospheric conductance. Its diurnal variation is tightly correlated with the solar radiation.     

Influence of the Indonesian Throughflow on the upwelling off the east coast of South Java

A wave-tide-circulation coupled model is used to simulate upwelling off the south coast of Java, Indone- sia. The results show that the vertical velocity off East Java is stronger than other parts in this area. The strongest vertical velocity is located approximately at 80 m depth. The annual averaged values of upwelling are 2.3 × 10-6 and 1.06 × 10-5 m/s for south of West Java and south of East Java, respectively. The vertical velocity from the model shows that upwelling off West Java has seasonal variability, while it is quite steady and strong off East Java. Additional numerical experiments show that the wind is not the dominant factor for the steady upwelling off the southern part of East Java. It is then hypothesized that the Indonesian Throughflow （ITF） may be responsible for the upwelling. To test this hypothesis, two scenarios are implemented, both of which block the outflow of the ITF. Sensitive study shows that the ITF plays a key role in the formation of East Java upwelling. The effect of the ITF can account for about 55 %-65 % of the upwelling.     

Spatiotemporal characteristics of freezing and thawing of the active layer in the source areas of the Yellow River （SAYR）

Based on the analysis of data on temperatures and moisture of soils in the active layer at four different permafrost sites in the source areas of the Yellow River(SAYR)in 2010–2012,the freeze–thaw processes of soils in the active layer were compared and contrasted for understanding the spatiotemporal variations.At the four studied sites,the thickness and mean annual temperature of permafrost are different.The temperatures at the top of permafrost(TTOP),i.e.,the maximum depth(s)of seasonal frost and/or thaw penetration,are-1.9°C at the Chalaping site(CLP),-0.9°C at the site on the southern bank of the Zhaling Lake(ZLH),-0.4°C at the Maduo Town site(MDX),and 1.1°C at the site on the northern bank of the Eling Lake(ELH).Differences in the mean annual ground temperature of permafrost and TTOPs may be responsible for the differentiations in the freeze–thaw processes of soils in the active layer.With rising TTOPs,the ground thawing started earlier:CLP in early June,ZLH in late May,MDX in early May,and ELH in mid-April,while the freezing began later:CLP in early October,ZLH in early to midOctober,MDX in mid-October,and ELH in the mid-to late October.With increasing TTOPs,the freeze-up periods for permafrost sites were shortened:202 days at CLP,130 days at ZLH,100 days at MDX,and the period of complete thaw was 89 days at ELH.At the CLP and ZLH sites,the two-directional ground freezing(downwards from ground surfaces and upwards from the permafrost table)and thawing finished in the same year,but the ground freezing at the MDX continued to the end of the nextJanuary,with very slow freezing rates in the end.At the ELH site,ground freezing kept on until early May when thawing began on the surface,and upward and downward thawing became increasingly stable in late June to early July.At each site,with rising TTOPs,the downward freezing accelerated in comparison with the upward freezing,and with an increasing proportion of downward frozen depth,and with the larger ratios of freezing to thawing duration.In summary,the patterns of thawing and freezing processes in the active layer in the SAYR differ from those in other parts of the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau to a noticeable extent.     

Pollen-inferred Holocene vegetation and climate histories in Taro Co,southwestern Tibetan Plateau

A 310-cm-long sediment core, covering the last 10,200 years, was collected from Taro Co on the south- western Tibetan Plateau and analyzed for pollen, grain size and total inorganic carbon content. The pollen data showed that vegetation changed from alpine steppe to alpine meadow during 10,200-8,900 cal a BP, to alpine steppe dominated by Artemisia during 8,900-7,400 cal a BP, to alpine meadow during 7,400-3,300 cal a BP and to alpine steppe after 3,300 cal a BP. Correspondingly, the pollen, grain size and total inorganic carbon content results revealed climatic change in this area over four stages. The initial stage was from 10,200 to 8,900 cal a BP, during which the climate changed from cold-dry to warm-humid. The second stage （8,900-7,400 cal a BP） was characterized by a warm and dry climate. However, at approximately 7,400 cal a BP, the climate began to become cold andhumid, which continued until 3,300 cal a BP. The last stage, from 3,300 cal a BP to present, was characterized as cold and increasingly arid. Climatic events of the early and mid-late Holocene showed that the area was significantly affected by the westerlies. However, the mid-Holocene climate in Taro Co was controlled by the Indian monsoon. The mid-late Holocene depositional environment record of Taro Co was very important to further elaborate the degree of influence by the westerlies or Indian monsoon.     

The two-body hadronic decays of Bc meson in the perturbative QCD approach： a short review

Along with the running of Large Hadron Collider （LHC） located at CERN in November 2009, a large number of data samples of Bc meson have been collected and some hadronic Bc decay modes have been measured by the LHC experiments. In view of the special and important roles of Bc meson decays playing in the heavy flavor sector, we here give a short review on the status of two body hadronic decays Bc→M1M2 at both experimental and theoretical aspects. For the theoretical progresses, specifically, we will show lots of theoretical studies on two body hadronic Bc decays involving pseudoscalar, vector, scalar, axial-vector, even tensor meson（s） in the final states by employing the perturbative QCD （pQCD） factorization approach. We will present a general analysis about the two- body hadronic decays of the heavy Bc meson and also provide some expectations for the future developments.     

Research and Practice of Dynamic Network Security Architecture for IaaS Platforms

Network security requirements based on virtual network technologies in IaaS platforms and corresponding solutions were reviewed.A dynamic network security architecture was proposed,which was built on the technologies of software defined networking,Virtual Machine(VM)traffic redirection,network policy unified management,software defined isolation networks,vulnerability scanning,and software updates.The proposed architecture was able to obtain the capacity for detection and access control for VM traffic by redirecting it to configurable security appliances,and ensured the effectiveness of network policies in the total life cycle of the VM by configuring the policies to the right place at the appropriate time,according to the impacts of VM state transitions.The virtual isolation domains for tenants’VMs could be built flexibly based on VLAN policies or Netfilter/Iptables firewall appliances,and vulnerability scanning as a service and software update as a service were both provided as security supports.Through cooperation with IDS appliances and automatic alarm mechanisms,the proposed architecture could dynamically mitigate a wide range of network-based attacks.The experimental results demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed architecture.     

Key technologies of precision demolition blasting of ultra-long urban viaduct in complicated surroundings

The key technologies of precision blasting were put forward based on the characteristics of urban via- duct blasting demolition in complicated surroundings. Initial bending instability mechanics model of reinforcing steel bar frame of blasting fragmented pier and sequenced collapsed dynamic model were established for quanti- tative blasting design. Technologies of water pressure blasting were applied in multi-cell box girder fragmenta- tion. The detonating network of non-electric duplication crossover was adopted for the safety and reliability of ultra-long delay. The rationality of blasting scheme and parameters were validated by physical model test. Harm- ful effects were forecasted and controlled by integrated protective technologies. Specialization, cooperation, pre- cision, execution （SCPE） project management method was put forward for precision management. The key tech- nologies of precision demolition blasting can provide reference for similar proiects.     

Recent progress in studies layer in rock on the nano-sized particle shear planes

Since the 1990s, an ultramicro-particle texture in nano- or micron-sized scale has been continually found in shear planes of various rocks, and recently further progress was made in generic physical mechanisms. In this article, the characteristics of the nano-sized particle layer in rock shear planes （including widespread distribution, layering texture, non-linear genetic mechanism, and multiple functions） on an ultra micro-scale were briefly introduced and more information was obtained by analyzing cases from home and abroad. Our findings suggest that （1） there is a paragenetic relationship between the development of shear frictional- viscous and the formation of nano-sized particles, and （2） in the shear movement, partitioning, segregating, and layering in rocks are initiated by the sliding motion of the nano-sized particle layer. Moreover, the plastic rheology of rocks is essentially the movement of ultra-micro-sized particles （nano-size and micro-size）, and the nano-sized particle layer in rock shear planes is characterized by some particular physical and chemical effects.     

Higher sea surface temperature in the northern South China Sea during the natural warm periods of late Holocene than recent decades

The large-scale syntheses of global mean temperatures in IPCC fourth report suggested that the Northern Hemisphere temperature in the second half of the 20th century was likely the highest in at least the past 1,300 years and the 1990s was likely the warmest decade. However, this remains debated and the controversy is centered on whether temperatures during the recent half century were higher than those during the Medieval Cli- mate Anomaly （MCA, AD 800-1300） and the Roman Warm Period （RWP, BC 200-AD 400）, the most recent two natural warm periods of the late Holocene. Here the high resolution sea surface temperatures （SSTs） of two time windows around AD 990 （±40） and AD 50 （±40）, which located in the MCA and RWP respectively, were reconstructed by the Sr/Ca ratio and 6180 of Tradacna gigas shells from the northern South China Sea. The resultssuggested that the mean SSTs around AD 990 （±40） and AD 50 （＋40） were 28.1 ℃ and 28.7 ℃, 0.8 ℃ and 1.4 ℃ higher than that during AD 199±2005, respectively. These records, together with the tree ring, lake sediment and literature records from the eastern China and northwest China, imply that the temperatures in recent decades do not seem to exceed the natural changes in MCA, at least in eastern Asia from northwest China to northern SCS.     

Thermodynamic analysis of the compositional control of inclusions in cutting-wire steel

Data from a thermodynamic database and the calculation software FactSage were used to investigate the phase diagrams of the MnO-CaO-SiO₂-Al₂O₃ system in cutting-wire steel and the effects of oxide components on the low-melting-point (LMP) zone in the corresponding phase diagrams. Furthermore, the activities of oxide components in the quaternary system at an Al₂O₃ content of 25wt% were calculated. The contents of dissolved [Al] and [O] in liquid steel in equilibrium with LMP inclusions in the MnO-CaO-SiO₂-Al₂O₃ system were optimized. The results show that the MnO-CaO-SiO₂-Al₂O₃ system possesses the largest LMP zone (below 1400°C) at an Al₂O₃ content of 25wt% and that the CaO content should be simultaneously controlled in the range of 40wt% to 45wt%. The activities of the oxide components CaO, MnO, and SiO₂ should be restricted in the ranges of 0 to 0.05, 0.01 to 0.6, and 0.001 to 0.8, respectively. To obtain LMP inclusions, the [Al] and [O] contents in cutting-wire steel must be controlled within the ranges of 0.5×10-6 to 1.0×10-5 and 3.0×10-6 to 5.0×10-5, respectively.     

Observations of thermospheric vector wind over Yellow River Station during auroral substorm events

Strong disturbances associated with auroral substorms originate from the ionosphere-magnetosphere owing to the effects of the solar wind, and the wind field in the ionosphere is related to such substorm activity. Here, we describe the analysis of four auroral substorm events, for which we employed an all-sky Fabry-Perot interferometer to observe the two-dimensional horizontal wind field and combined the results with data from an all-sky charge-coupled device imager, a fluxgate magnetometer installed at Yellow River Station, and the Super Dual Auroral Radar Network. The results demonstrate that, during auroral substorms, the vector wind field is related closely to variations in the ion drift and geomagnetic field. Moreover, we observed a changing wind field of approximately 300 rn/s in response to variations in the electric and magnetic fields （likely caused by ion drag） and a disturbance of about 200 m/s that we attribute to the interaction of Joule heating and ion drag.