Solar influenced late Holocene temperature changes on the northern Tibetan Plateau

Considerable efforts have been made to extend temperature records beyond the instrumental period through proxy reconstructions,in order to further understand the mechanisms of past climate variability.Yet,the global coverage of existing temperature records is still limited,especially for some key regions like the Tibetan Plateau and for earlier times including the Medieval Warm Period(MWP).Here we present decadally-resolved,alkenone-based,temperature records from two lakes on the northern Tibetan Plateau.Characterized by marked temperature variability,our records provide evidence that temperatures during the MWP were slightly higher than the modern period in this region.Further,our temperature reconstructions,within age uncertainty,can be well correlated with solar irradiance changes,suggesting a possible link between solar forcing and natural climate variability,at least on the northern Tibetan Plateau.     

Large scale patterns of forage yield and quality across Chinese grasslands

Understanding the patterns of forage quantity and quality and investigating the factors influencing these patterns are essential for the development of animal husbandry.However,there is very little field evidence focused on these issues at a large spatial scale.In the current study,we analyzed forage quantity and quality at 177 sites distributed in all the major grassland types across China,and explored the relationship between forage quantity and quality based on consistent sampling protocols.We also investigated potential factors influencing forage quality patterns across China.Our study indicates the Tibetan grasslands had both higher quantity and quality forage than the Inner Mongolian grasslands,and alpine meadow had the best quantity and quality forage because of the meadow’s high productivity and the crude protein and nitrogen free extract content of the meadow forage.For the main vegetation formations,Kobresia tibetica meadows and Achnatherum splendens steppes had the highest quantity,while Kobresia pygmaea meadows and Kobresia humilis meadows had the best quality.We also found that although environmental factors,such as temperature and soil fertility,could affect physiological processes and so influence forage quality,the large scale patterns of change were mainly a result of the differences in vegetation types.Finally,we reported a negative relationship between forage quantity and quality:higher forage quantity means more crude fiber but less ether extract and crude protein.These findings improve our understanding on the spatial patterns of forage quantity and quality,and provide solid evidence related to the future development of animal husbandry.     

Bayesian mixed models and divergence time estimation of Chinese cavefishes （Cyprinidae： Sinocyclocheilus）

The genus Sinocyclocheilus is distributed in Yun-Gui Plateau and its surrounding region only, within more than 10 cave species showing different degrees of degeneration of eyes and pigmentaUon with wonderful adaptations. To present, published morphological and molecular phylogenetic hypotheses of Slnocyclocheilus from prior works are very different and the relationships within the genus are still far from clear. We obtained the sequences of cytochrome b （cyt b） and NADH dehydrogenase subunlt 4 （ND4） of 34 species within Sinocyclocheilus, which represent the most dense taxon sampling to date. We performed Bayesian mixed models analyses with this data set. Under this phylogenetic framework, we estimated the divergence times of recovered clades using different methods under relaxed molecular clock. Our phyloegentic results supported the monophyly of Sinocyclocheilus and showed that this genus could be subdivided into 6 major clades. In addition, an earlier finding demonstrating the polyphyletlc of cave species and the most basal position of S. jii was corroborated. Relaxed divergence-time estimation suggested that Sinocyclocheilus originated at the late Miocene, about 11 million years ago （Ma）, which is older than what have been assumed.     

Preparation and performance of LiNi0. 8Co0.2O2 cathode material based on Co-substituted α-Ni（OH）2 precursor

Co-substituted α-Ni（OH）2 was synthesized by a novel microwave homogeneous precipitation method in the presence of urea. LiNi0.8Co0.2O2 cathode material was synthesized by calcining Co-substituted α-Ni（OH）2 precursor and LiOH·H2O at 900℃for 10 h in flowing oxygen. XRD, FTIR, FESEM and electrochemical tests were used to study the physical and the electrochemical performances of the materials. The results show that the prepared LiNi0.8Co0.2O2 compound has a good layered hexagonal structure. Moreover, the LiNi0.8Co0.2O2cathode material demonstrates stable cyclability with a high initial specific discharge capacity of 183.9 mAh/g. The good electrochemical performance could be attributed to the uniform distribution of Ni^2＋ and Co^2＋ ions in the crystal structure and a minimal cation mixing in LiNi0.8Co0.2O2 host structure.     

Response of a Submersed Macrophyte Hydrilla verticillata （L.f） Royle,to Sodium Dodecylbenzene Sulfonate Stress

The acute toxicity of Sodium dodecylbenzene sulfonate （SDBS） to subcamersed macrophyte Hydrilla verticillata （L.f） Royle was studied. Chlorophyll contents and the activities of 3 antioxidant enzymes： superoxide dismutase （SOD, EC 1.15.1.1）, catalase （CAT, EC 1.11.1.6）, peroxidase （POD, EC 1.11.1.7） in the leaves were investigated under different concentrations of SDBS, The chlorophyll contents in leaves of experimental plants decreased gradually, while the electrical conductivity of culture solution increased gradually with the increased dose of SDBS. Under higher concentrations of SDBS （32 mg/L and 128 mg/L） treatment, SOD lost its activities completely after 24 h. The native PAGE analysis indicated the diversity of POD isoenzymes was obvious under different concentrations of SDBS stress.     

内蒙古民族大学医学生膳食结构与营养状况调查

目的：了解医学院大学生膳食结构与营养状况,为医学生合理营养提供科学依据．方法：采用膳食记录法连续调查学生5天膳食,与《中国居民膳食营养素参考摄入量（DRIs）》及《中国居民平衡膳食宝塔》比较评价膳食营养．结果：学生平均每人每日膳食营养素摄入量与DRIs比较,男女生蛋白质、烟酸、铁、锌摄入充足,热能营养素来源比例合理,蛋白质质量较好;但维生素A、维生素B2、维生素C摄入不足,钙摄入严重不足;另外,女生还有能量、维生素B1摄入不足．结论：学生膳食结构不够合理,需对医学生加强合理营养知识的宣传教育．     

Rainfall-runoff modeling for storm events in a coastal forest catchment using neural networks

1 Introduction Rainfall-runoff models play an i mportant role in water resource management , and different types of models with various degrees of complexity have been developed. These models , regardless of structural diversity , generally fall into thre…     

Do female hyaenas choose mates based on tenure?

In their investigation into whether female mate-choice drives male dispersal, H?ner et al. argue that female spotted hyaenas (Crocuta crocuta) prefer mates whose tenure in the social group is less than the females' age, to avoid paternal incest, and suggest that male dispersal reflects this preference. However, we are not persuaded that females choose mates on the basis of tenure because H?ner et al. overlook the alternative hypothesis that dispersal status itself is important in female mate-choice, such that females prefer immigrants over natal males. Like mate-choice based on tenure, choice based on dispersal status reduces the risk of incest.     

Internal relative humidity and creep of concrete with modified admixtures

The creep characteristics and internal relative humidity(IRH) of concrete with shrinkage reducing admixtures(SRA),poly vinyl alcohol fiber(PVAF) and a mixture of fly ash and slag(MFS) were investigated by the self-made loading device.The pore structure was tested,and the relationship of creep and IRH of concrete was discussed.The results indicate that MFS and SRA reduce the total creep and delay the change of IRH.However,the effect of PVAF is contrary,relative to MFS and SRA.The total creep depends large...     

Flux-Bridgman growth and characterization of Mn-doped ZnO single crystals

Mn-doped ZnO single crystals have been grown by the flux-Bridgman method from a high temperature solution of 24% ZnO-76%PbF_2(molar fraction).A fast nucleation was induced by the gas-cooling system at the bottom of the Pt crucible.A red Mn.ZnO crystal up to 13 mm×15 mm×(3-4) mm was obtained.Powder XRD patterns showed that the as-grown crystals were in wurtzite structure.Electron Probe Microanalyser(EPMA) revealed that some PbF_2 inclusions formed due to fast nucleation.The additional Raman mode at 524 cm ' ...