Deep carbon export from a Southern Ocean iron-fertilized diatom bloom

Fertilization of the ocean by adding iron compounds has induced diatom-dominated phytoplankton blooms accompanied by considerable carbon dioxide drawdown in the ocean surface layer. However, because the fate of bloom biomass could not be adequately resolved in these experiments, the timescales of carbon sequestration from the atmosphere are uncertain. Here we report the results of a five-week experiment carried out in the closed core of a vertically coherent, mesoscale eddy of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current, during which we tracked sinking particles from the surface to the deep-sea floor. A large diatom bloom peaked in the fourth week after fertilization. This was followed by mass mortality of several diatom species that formed rapidly sinking, mucilaginous aggregates of entangled cells and chains. Taken together, multiple lines of evidence-although each with important uncertainties-lead us to conclude that at least half the bloom biomass sank far below a depth of 1,000 metres and that a substantial portion is likely to have reached the sea floor. Thus, iron-fertilized diatom blooms may sequester carbon for timescales of centuries in ocean bottom water and for longer in the sediments.     

Recent decline in the global land evapotranspiration trend due to limited moisture supply

More than half of the solar energy absorbed by land surfaces is currently used to evaporate water. Climate change is expected to intensify the hydrological cycle and to alter evapotranspiration, with implications for ecosystem services and feedback to regional and global climate. Evapotranspiration changes may already be under way, but direct observational constraints are lacking at the global scale. Until such evidence is available, changes in the water cycle on land?a key diagnostic criterion of the effects of climate change and variability?remain uncertain. Here we provide a data-driven estimate of global land evapotranspiration from 1982 to 2008, compiled using a global monitoring network, meteorological and remote-sensing observations, and a machine-learning algorithm. In addition, we have assessed evapotranspiration variations over the same time period using an ensemble of process-based land-surface models. Our results suggest that global annual evapotranspiration increased on average by 7.1?±?1.0?millimetres per year per decade from 1982 to 1997. After that, coincident with the last major El Ni?o event in 1998, the global evapotranspiration increase seems to have ceased until 2008. This change was driven primarily by moisture limitation in the Southern Hemisphere, particularly Africa and Australia. In these regions, microwave satellite observations indicate that soil moisture decreased from 1998 to 2008. Hence, increasing soil-moisture limitations on evapotranspiration largely explain the recent decline of the global land-evapotranspiration trend. Whether the changing behaviour of evapotranspiration is representative of natural climate variability or reflects a more permanent reorganization of the land water cycle is a key question for earth system science.     

Systems thinking,systems practice,and practical philosophy: A program of research

IfSystems Practice is to serve the cause of socially rational decision making, its understanding of systems approach must open itself up to the communicative dimension of rational practice uncovered by contemporary practical philosophy. This programmatic paper argues that building the bridge between the two traditions of systems thinking and practical philosophy is a key challenge to be faced by the systems community. A three-level framework of rational systems practice is suggested as a point of departure for a program of research.     

双束电子束焊接温度场的数值模拟

结合数值模拟和实验,研究了双束电子束焊接过程的温度场.根据对电子束的能量分布的测试数据,考虑电子束焊接的小孔效应和电子的散射和反射,得到了电子束焊接过程真实的能量输入.将该能量输入通过有限元软件的子程序实现加载,得到双移动热源,同时考虑到焊接材料的非线性,得到有限元数值模型,进行了数值模拟,并在相同条件下进行了多组实验.数值模拟和实验表明: 焊缝特征和温度场都与2个热输入的比例有关, 2个温度场是相互影响的;在小热源的焊接路径上,会出现2个热循环峰值.     

Genome-wide association analysis identifies three psoriasis susceptibility loci

We carried out a meta-analysis of two recent psoriasis genome-wide association studies with a combined discovery sample of 1,831 affected individuals (cases) and 2,546 controls. One hundred and two loci selected based on P value rankings were followed up in a three-stage replication study including 4,064 cases and 4,685 controls from Michigan, Toronto, Newfoundland and Germany. In the combined meta-analysis, we identified three new susceptibility loci, including one at NOS2 (rs4795067, combined P = 4 × 10?11), one at FBXL19 (rs10782001, combined P = 9 × 10?1?) and one near PSMA6-NFKBIA (rs12586317, combined P = 2 × 10??). All three loci were also associated with psoriatic arthritis (rs4795067, combined P = 1 × 10??; rs10782001, combined P = 4 × 10??; and rs12586317, combined P = 6 × 1??) and purely cutaneous psoriasis (rs4795067, combined P = 1 × 10??; rs10782001, combined P = 2 × 10??; and rs12586317, combined P = 1 × 10??). We also replicated a recently identified association signal near RNF114 (rs495337, combined P = 2 × 10??).     

Impulse Capacitor Discharge Welding of Hollow Structure Made of Nickel-Base Alloy

Future steam turbines will use hollow structures so that the turbine inlet temperature can be in- creased to improve the thermal efficiency. These hollow structures are made of the nickel-base alloy Nicro- fer 6025 HT and consist of a wire mesh between two cover sheets. The cover sheets can be joined to the wire mesh by capacitor discharge welding due to its extremely short welding duration. The goal of this re- search is to investigate suitable welding parameters so that the weld spots form in an optimum way to in- crease the tensile shear strength and reduce spattering. Tensile shear tests, three-point bending tests, and micrographs were used to judge the joint quality of structures made with various welding parameters. The results show that the best welds are obtained with a transmission ratio of 1:200, welding energy of 70% to 95%, and electrode force of 7 to 9 MPa.     

中国火井历史新证

半个世纪来，中国火井历史研究取得了丰硕成果，也因史料缺略和理解差异而产生了若干争议。新发现的５种火井史料揭示了１６－１８世纪火井开发和天然气煮盐的实况，证实了汉晋临邛火井到清代自流井气水田之间火井技术的演进过程。当时试图对这一自然奇观作出诠释的中外学者，未能摆脱中国和欧洲传统科学思想的束缚，因此也难以克服理论与实践背离的积弊。     

Functional mapping of single spines in cortical neurons in vivo

The individual functional properties and spatial arrangement of afferent synaptic inputs on dendrites have a critical role in the processing of information by neurons in the mammalian brain. Although recent work has identified visually-evoked local dendritic calcium signals in the rodent visual cortex, sensory-evoked signalling on the level of dendritic spines, corresponding to individual afferent excitatory synapses, remains unexplored. Here we used a new variant of high-resolution two-photon imaging to detect sensory-evoked calcium transients in single dendritic spines of mouse cortical neurons in vivo. Calcium signals evoked by sound stimulation required the activation of NMDA (N-methyl-D-aspartate) receptors. Active spines are widely distributed on basal and apical dendrites and pure-tone stimulation at different frequencies revealed both narrowly and widely tuned spines. Notably, spines tuned for different frequencies were highly interspersed on the same dendrites: even neighbouring spines were mostly tuned to different frequencies. Thus, our results demonstrate that NMDA-receptor-dependent single-spine synaptic inputs to the same dendrite are highly heterogeneous. Furthermore, our study opens the way for in vivo mapping of functionally defined afferent sensory inputs with single-synapse resolution.