A new eutriconodont mammal from the early Cretaceous Jehol Biota of Liaoning,China

A new genus and species of eutriconodont mammal, Chaoyangodens lii gen. et sp. nov., from the Dawangzhangzi bed of Yixian Formation, Lingyuan, Lia- oning, is reported. The new species has a tooth formula I5- C1-P1-M3/i4-cl-pl-m4, unique among eutriconodonts in having only one premolar in lower and upper jaws, respectively, and a distinctive diastema between the canine and the premolar. Its simple incisors and reduced premolars show a mosaic combination of primitive and derived fea- tures. This new taxon adds to the diverse group of Jehol eutriconodonts. Among the known species from at least three horizons, there seems no evolutionary trend in mor- phology that is recognizable, except for that larger species are all from the Lujiatun bed of the Yixian Fro. A thorough and systematic analysis involving all the Jehol eu- triconodonts is needed to understand their phylogenetic relationships.     

Obtaining the best possible predictions of habitat selection for wintering Great Bustards in Cangzhou,Hebei Province with rapid machine learning analysis

Great Bustards （Otis tarda dybowskii） are one of the world＇s heaviest flying birds, occupying grassland hab- itats in Eastern Asia. Our study is located at the most eastern Chinese wintering site in Cangzhou, Hebei Province, where approximately 100 individuals are concentrated in a small area （17.53 km2）. Solid information is still lacking about the wintering areas for this subspecies in its eastern range and specifically for China. The study area consists of intensely used farmland in proximity to humans and is lacking con- servation areas and wild, open fields. Here, we present our results from two years of field data collection on habitat selection. We choose a machine learning model approach based on a rapid assessment methodology for the winter habitat of the Great Bustard. It is based on a spatial analysis of the best available environmental data, which were col- lected relatively quickly. These relatively new methods in ecology are based on an ensemble of decision trees and include algorithms such as TreeNet, Random Forest and CART used in parallel. In this study, we collected bustard droppings （presence only） from 48 locations between December 2011 and January 2012 and used the sites as training data. Droppings from 23 locations were collected in November 2012, and those sites were used as test data. We used eight environmental variables as predictor layers for the response variable of bustard presence/availability. We employed a Geographic Information System （ArcGIS 10.1and Geospatial Modelling Environment） and Google Earth. Compared with the other three models, we found that pre- dictions from Random Forest obtained a significant differ- ence between presence and absence. According to this model, the three most important factors for wintering Great Bustards are distance to residential area, distance to water pools, and farmland area. Our model shows that wintering Great Bustards prefer locations that are over 400 m away from residential areas, within 900 m of water pools and on areas o     

A new implementation of image-processing engine for 3D visualization and stereo video stream display

This paper presents a new implementation of a high-definition image-processing engine, which mainly tar- gets the 3-dimensional （3D） visualization and stereo video stream display of binocular display equipment. The engine is compatible with the mainstream analog and digital stereo videos in component format and is able to receive stereo composite video broadcast signals using an integrated analog stereo video decoder. The four modules include a spatio- temporal scaling transform engine, a 2D-3D converter, an image animating engine, and a 2D scalar operating in pipe- line architecture to implement the video format conversion and the stereo effect enhancement. Furthermore, the data access, hardware structure, and system-level configurations are optimized. Finally, the proposed architecture is realized by 0.18 pm CMOS technology. The application-specific integrated circuit verification results show that the engine can generate a strong feeling of 3D immersion and high- definition image quality with minimal flicker. The chip has wide compatibility and an uppermost 1080P-processing capacity, which has approximately 3.5 million gates with about 43 mm2 die size.     

Effects of livestock exclusion and climate change on aboveground biomass accumulation in alpine pastures across the Northern Tibetan Plateau

To better understand the ecological and eco- nomic benefits of short-term grazing exclusion on the aboveground net primary productivity （ANPP） of alpine pastures, we conducted annual multi-site transect surveys in the summers from 2009 to 2011 and calculated the aboveground biomass discrepancy （ABD） between grazed and ungrazed pastures at plant community and economic group levels for three zonal alpine grassland types--mea- dow, steppe, and desert-steppe--across the northern Tibetan Plateau. Our results indicated that aboveground biomass （AGB） significantly differed among grassland types and declined northwesterly from 64.07 to 11.44 g m-2 with decreasing precipitation and increasing temperature. The mean ABD exhibited considerable community dependency, with meadow （12.47 g m-2） 〉 steppe （6.91 g m-2） 〉 desert steppe （2.54 g m-2）, and it declined from 25.42 to 1.29 g m-2 with decreasing precipitation and increasing temperature. ＇Good forage＇, i.e. grasses and sedges, benefited most from grazing exclusion, followed by edible forbs. With longer grazing exclusion durations （GEDs）, the aboveground biomass of poisonous locoweeds initially decreased and then increased compared with the adjacent grazed sites. In the nested analysis of co-variances with a general linear model, growing season precipitation （GSP, from May to September） accounted for 52.67% ofthe observed variation in AGB, followed by AGT （9.77 %） and pasture management systems （PMSs; grazing or grazing-excluded, 5.31%）. The variation in ABD was explained primarily by AGT （16.52 %）, GED （20.25 %）, and the interaction of AGT x GED （19.58 %）. Our results confirm that precipitation is the primary factor controlling the ANPP of alpine grasslands on the Northern Tibetan Plateau and that the ecological benefits arising from grazing exclusion are also partly dependent on grassland type and exclusion duration. Therefore, spatial and temporal variations in growing season precipitation and plant functional tr     

Single Cu nanowire assembled by microdroplet dielectrophoresis on ultrahigh tensible microelectrodes

At present, study on dynamic tensile properties and atomic chain fabrication of single nanowire, for understanding its dynamic tensile properties and unique physical properties of atomic chain to fabricate atom scale devices, is one of frontier research issues in nanoscale science. However, how to assemble single nanowire on a tensible microstructure becomes one of the most difficult problems, which severely restricts the develop- ment of this research field. In this paper, after the ultrahigh tensible microelectrode chip is fabricated by MEMS technology, hexamethyldisilazane is utilized to improve hydrophobicity of the chip, and then a microdroplet dielectrophoresis experimental platform and technology is developed to assemble single nano- wire on the sensible microelectrode. Experimental results show that accurate and efficient assembly of single Cu nanowire is realized, which contribute greatly to the further research of dynamic tensile properties and atomic chain fabrication. And for guiding the assembly experiments, finite element technology is also utilized to analyze the local microelectro field around the microelectrodes during dieletrophoresis experiments.     

Comparison of the accuracy of powder and single-crystal X-ray diffraction techniques in determining organic crystal structure

This study demonstrates the accuracy of pow- der X-ray diffraction （PXRD） in determining the crystal structures of four organic molecules by comparing the structural information obtained from both single-crystal X-ray diffraction （SXRD） and PXRD techniques. Results showed that the PXRD technique had approximately the same precision as the SXRD technique. The majority of the relative deviations from PXRD-derived lattice parameters were within 4-0.2 % of the correct values （average of the SXRD data）, whereas the relative deviations in bond lengths and angles are within 4-1,0 %, All of the relative deviations were subjected to normal statistical distributions （# = 0） and coincided with the SXRD data. As an auxiliary implement of SXRD, PXRD is clearly an effective and powerful technique in establishing an accurate character- ization of organic molecules.     

Excited-state solvation dynamics of meso-tetrakis （4-sulfonatophenyl） porphyrin in solid imidazolium-sulfonate-based ionic liquids

The steady-state absorption and fluorescence emission positions of diprotonated meso-tetrakis（4-sulf- onatophenyl） porphyrin （H4TPPS2 ） are dependent on the polarity of the selected two solid ionic liquids （ILs） and are red-shifted with the increase of cation size. The solvation dynamics process of H4TPPS2- in these ILs occurs on two well-separated time scales. The short components with 121.2-128.6 ps arise from the local motion of the ion-pairs in close proximity to the porphine core, and the long components with 1056.6-1261.8 ps are due to the collec- tive translation motions of the ion-pairs. The dynamic Stokes shifts and the relaxation times increase with the increasing cation size of the ILs.     

First scanning Fabry-Perot interferometer developed in China

A scanning Fabry-Perot interferometer （SFPI） was first developed and deployed at the Langfang near Space Environment Field Scientific Observation Station （39.38°N, 116.65°E） of the National Space Science Center, CAS. The instrument is designed to measure the mesospheric and ther- mospheric wind velocities using the atomic oxygen 557.7-nm and 630.0-nm emissions. Data from February 28 to March 3 and February 28 to March 15 in 2011 were chosen for case study and mean value study, respectively. The errors of the meridional and zonal winds are 6.5 and 7.5 m/s at 557.7-nm and at 630.0-nm, they are 7.1 and 6.6 m/s, respectively. During the whole experiment, the instrument has performed in good condition and provided high-quality data. The mean neutral wind data were consistent with that predicted by HWM07. Good agreement has been found in between the SFPI and a neighbor Meridian Project Fabry-Perot interferometer （MP FPI）, with a corresponding coefficient （re） larger than 80 %. In general, the scanning FPI meets the design goal, and it is a useful ground-based instrument for measuring mesospheric and thermospheric winds at middle latitudes and is able to provide high-quality data for future scientific studies.     

Degradation of 2,4-dichlorophenol catalyzed by the immobilized laccase with the carrier of FeaO4@MSS-NH2

With the Fe304@MSS （magnetic mesoporous silica spheres）-NH2 as the carrier and the glutaraldehyde as crosslinking agent, the immobilized laccase has been pre- pared and characterized by XRD, IR, SEM and BET etc. Under the optimal conditions, the removal efficiency of 2,4-DCP reached 88 % and the removal efficiency still remained 61.5 % after five cycles of operations. In virtue of GC-MS analysis, 2,5-dimethoxyl-l,4-quinone, 2-chlo- rine-l,4-dimethoxyl benzene, 3,3＇-dichlorine-4,4＇-dimeth- oxyl biphenyl, maleic acid phenol ester, and three kinds of maleic acid, alcohol ester, and para-hydroxyl phenol ester compounds have been identified as intermediate and final degradation products of 2,4-DCP, respectively. Besides, the degradation products of 2,4-DCP have been confirmed by performing the 1H-NMR and 13C-NMR experiments, further demonstrating the degradation mechanism of 2,4- DCP by the immobilized laccase.     

Hesperomyces virescens （Fungi,Ascomycota, Laboulbeniales） attacking Harmonia axyridis （Coleoptera,Coccinellidae） in its native range

This study intended to find data on obligate ec- toparasitic Laboulbeniales （Fungi, Ascomycota） on Chinese Harmonia axyridis （Coleoptera, Coccinellidae）. After having screened over four thousand dried specimens of H. axyridis and close relatives, we present the first （historical） record of Chinese H. axyridis infected with Hesperomyces virescens. We suggest that H. t, irescens is a historically globally dis- tributed species and hypothesize that （native） infection was lost when H. a~a;ridis was introduced in North America.     

Label-free selective sensing of Pb2＋ lead（II） sensors based on the aggregation of a pyrene fluorescent probe

In the present work, we report a label-free fluo- rescence turn-on approach for the sensitive and selective sensing of Pb2＋. Pyrene with one positive charge was used as the fluorescent probe, and thrombin aptamer （TBA）, which was a G-rich oligonucleotide, was employed to form G-quadruplex with lead（II）. When TBA and Pb2＋ were mixed with lead（II） in an aqueous solution, it was folded into a stable G-quadruplex. Subsequently, a single-stranded nucleic acid-specific nuclease S1 was added. The G-quad- ruplex stabilized by Pb2＋ lead（II） had markedly a significant resistant ability to nuclease S1 digestion. However, in the absence of Pb2＋ lead（II）, no quadruplex or less stable quadruplex was formed and TBA was digested by nuclease S1 in 3 min under the optimized experimental conditions. Finally, pyrene probe was Pb2＋ lead（II）. Electrostatic mixed with oligonucleotide in interactions between oligonu- cleotide （a polyanion） and the probe induced the aggregation of the probe, which in turn produced strong emission of the strong pyrene excimer emission. The intensity of the induced excimer emission was directly proportional to the amount of Pb2＋ added. Our approach shows good selectivity and sen- sitivity for the detection of Pb2＋ with a limit of detection limit as low as 800 nmol/L.     

The stress response factor RpoS is required for the natural transformation of Escherichia coli

The natural transformation of Escherichia coli is a novel and recently developed system that has signifi- cance for genetic studies and the biological safety of genetic engineering. However, the mechanisms of transformation, including development of competence and DNA uptake, are not thoroughly understood. In this study, we demonstrated the effect of the general stress response regulator RpoS, which has been associated with E. coli transformation, on natural transformation performed in an ＂open system＂. We find that RpoS is required for natural transformation but not to artificial transformation and RpoS mainly affect trans- formation in the liquid culture prior to plating. In the liquid culture, RpoS over-expression promotes natural transfor- mation in early exponential phase and static incubation accumulates RpoS and promotes transformation to a limited extent. These findings provide detailed understanding of RpoS function on natural transformation.     

Experimental studies on overall property of thermoelectric modules with sandwiched structures

Based on direct-current transient Harman method, an integrated characterization system of thermo- electric device＇s performance is established. The overall properties of thermoelectric modules with sandwiched structures are experimentally investigated, including See- beck coefficients, figures of merit （ZT）, electrical and thermal conductivities. Experiment results reveal that ZT values of thermoelectric modules are smaller than those of commercial bismuth telluride （BizTe3） modules. In con- trast, Seebeck coefficients are significantly larger than traditional thermoelectric device＇s values. Meanwhile, both electrical and thermal conductivities are greater compared with literature data. Our results have proposed a feasible and economical way that can potentially increase Seebeck coefficients as to bulk BiaTe3 materials without significant deterioration to the nature of Peltier effect.     

Quadratic Yukawa coupling and matrix Yukawa coupling in the large N expansion

In this article, we study three types of new Yukawa couplings （the boson field is coupled to the fermion field）. Two of them are quadratic Yukawa couplings （the boson field is in the form of a vector）, and the other one is the matrix Yukawa coupling （the boson field is in the form of a matrix）. Based on the above three couplings, we introduce the Higgs mechanism, and find out the properties of the generated mass for the fermions with multiple flavors. For the matrix boson, we introduce its coupling with non-Abe- lian~,,au,,e~, field. It turns out that the generated mass of the gauge field through the Higgs mechanism is unique. In the large N limit, using the method of auxiliary field, we study the dynamical behaviors of the quadratic Yukawa couplings, including the poles of some dressed propagators.     

Urban structure and the risk of influenza A （H1N1） outbreaks in municipal districts

Changsha was one of the most affected areas during the 2009 A （H 1N 1） influenza pandemic in China. Here, we analyze the spatial-temporal dynamics of the 2009 pan- demic across Changsha municipal districts, evaluate the relationship between case incidence and the local urban spatial structure and predict high-risk areas of influenza A （H1NI）. We obtained epidemiological data on all cases of influenza A （H1NI） reported across municipal districts in Changsha dur- ing period May 2009-December 2010 and data on population density and basic geographic characteristics for 239 primary schools, 97 middle schools, 347 universities, 96 mails and markets, 674 business districts and 121 hospitals. Spatial- temporal K functions, proximity models and logistic regres- sion were used to analyze the spatial distribution pattern of influenza A （H1N1） incidence and the association between influenza A （HINI） cases and spatial risk factors and predict the infection risks. We found that the 2009 influenza A （H 1N 1 ） was driven by a transmission wave from the center of the study area to surrounding areas and reported cases increased significantly after September 2009. We also found that the distribution of influenza A （H 1N1） cases was associ- ated with population density and the presence of nearest public places, especially universities （OR = 10.166）. The final pre- dictive risk map based on the multivariate logistic analysis showed high-risk areas concentrated in the center areas of the study area associated with high population density. Our find- ings support the identification of spatial risk factors and high- risk areas to guide the prioritization of preventive and miti- gation efforts against future influenza pandemics.     

Association of cystatin C level and cardiovascular prognosis for patients with preexisting coronary heart disease： a meta-analysis

The association of circulating levels of cystatin C （CysC） and risk of recurrent cardiovascular events in patients with preexisting coronary heart disease are uncertain. To qualitatively and quantitatively address this issue, we performed a random meta-analysis of results from prospective studies on the topic. We searched elec- tronic and printed sources （up to 16 October 2011） using keywords and retrieved articles for seven prospective studies according to the selection criteria. Data were abstracted and meta-analysis was performed using the random-effects model （RevMan 5.0.23 software）. The cohorts involved 4,576 patients with preexisting coronary heart disease （CHD） and normal or mild chronic kidney disease, and follow-up ranged from 5.6 to 40.6 months. Highest versus lowest baseline CysC level was signifi- cantly associated with increased risk of cardiovascular events （OR 2.30, 95 % CI 1.80-2.94）, all-cause mortality （OR 5.69, 95 % CI 3.70-8.74）, but not with recurrent MI （OR 1.75, 95 % CI 0.77-4.00）. In heterogeneity testing for studies reporting cardiovascular events and all-cause mor- tality, no significant heterogeneity was found, and exclu- sion of any single study did not alter the overall finding. For risk of recurrent MI, significant heterogeneity was found among the five trials （Z2= 13.16, P=0.01, 12 = 70 %） and exclusion of the Taglieri et al. [12] study from the analysis resulted in a rise in relative risk （OR 2.36, 95 % CI 1.09-5.15）. In conclusion, for patients with established CHD, high baseline level of CysC is associated with increased risk of cardiovascular events and all-cause death during long-term follow-up.     

Enhanced conversion efficiency of Yb2＋-Yb3＋-codoped glass as spectral converter for photovoltaic application

We propose a kind of Yb2＋-Yb3＋-codoped glass, which is used as spectral converter layer to adjust AM1.5 solar spectrum for a better match with silicon bandgap. The energy-level rate equations and power transmission equations are established to analyze the down-conversional effect of the codoped glass on solar spectrum. The numerical results show that with proper doping concentration and thickness the glass layer may improve conversion efficiency by about 12 %. Moreover, we also apply the modified spectrum as excitation source of solar cell in a simulation platform, and reveal that there is about 15 % improvement in practical cells.     

Distribution and risk factors of hand,foot, and mouth disease in Changchun,northeastern China

Hand, foot, and mouth disease （HFMD） is a public health problem, and there have been increasing numbers of outbreaks in mainland China since 2008. Over 17,000 HFMD cases have been reported in Changchun between 2008 and 2011. This study characterized the temporal and spatial distribution of the disease and iden- tified the risk factors for HFMD. The main findings were as follows： （i） there were significant differences in HFMD incidence among age groups, with 86.8 % of reported cases in children younger than 5 years old, and boys showed a higher incidence than girls （〈6 years）; （ii） The disease affected the whole region and spanned a large geographic area, but there was a higher incidence in urban areas （median = 242 per 10,000 persons） and urban-rural border areas （median = 135 per 10,000 persons）, compared with rural areas （median = 75 per 10,000 persons）; and （iii） the incidence of HFMD in Changchun was significantly asso- ciated with the distance to the nearest freeway, GDP per capita, and the type of township.     

Precipitation of rutile needles in garnet from sillimanite-bearing pelitic granulite from the Khondalite Belt,North China Craton

Pelitic granulite from the Khondalite Belt, North China Craton, is composed of garnet, sillimanite, perthite, biotite and quartz. Oriented rutile needles in gar- net are reported for the first time from the granulite. The rutile needles have been identified by optical microscopy and confirmed by in situ Raman spectroscopy, where they show the characteristic bands at 446-448 and 610 cm-1. Because of their very strong shape preferred orientation in 3-4 easily observable directions, these futile needles are interpreted to have formed by precipitation during exhu- mation and cooling following peak metamorphism. The ternary feldspar geothermometer gives a peak metamorphic temperature of ,- 980 ℃ at 10 kbar. The presence of oriented rutile needles in garnet is suggested to be a valuable indicator of ultrahigh-temperature （UHT） metamorphism in the Khondalite Belt and therefore likely in other UHT terrains.     

New insights into the activation mechanism of store-operated calcium channels： roles of STIM and Orai

The activation of Ca^2＋ entry through store-operated channels by agonists that deplete Ca^2＋ from the endoplasmic reticulum （ER） is a ubiquitous signaling mechanism, the molecular basis of which has remained elusive for the past two decades. Store-operated Ca^2＋-release-activated Ca^2＋ （CRAC） channels constitute the sole pathway for Ca^2＋ entry following antigen-receptor engagement. In a set of breakthrough studies over the past two years, stromal interaction molecule 1 （STIM 1, the ER Ca^2＋ sensor） and Orai 1 （a pore-forming subunit of the CRAC channel） have been identified. Here we review these recent studies and the insights they provide into the mechanism of store-operated Ca^2＋ channels （SOCCs）.