Multi-proxy evidence for late Pleistocene-Holocene environ-mental change in arid Central Asia: An overview of the RACHAD 2001 symposium

This special issue of Chinese Science Bulletin arose from a symposium entitled 揂brupt EnvironmentalChanges in Arid Asia——History and Mechanisms?RACHAD 2001) held at Lanzhou University in October 2001. This international event was attended by over 70 scientists from Australia, China, Germany, India,Mongolia, Russia, the UK and the USA. More than fifty papers were given over a three-day period on all aspects of the mechanisms and history of environmental change in Asia抯 drylands.…     

Interdecadal change of summer precipitation over Eastern China around the late-1990s and associated circulation anomalies, internal dynamical causes

Observational study indicated that the summer precipitation over Eastern China experienced a notable interdecadal change around the late-1990s. Accompanying this interdecadal change, the dominant mode of anomalous precipitation switched from a meridional triple pattern to a dipole pattern, showing a "south-flood-north-drought" structure (with the exception of the Yangtze River Valley). This interdecadal change of summer precipitation over Eastern China was associated with circulation anomalies in the middle/upper troposphere over East Asia, such as changes in winds and corresponding divergence, vertical motion and moisture transportation (divergence), which all exhibit remarkable meridional dipole structures. Furthermore, on the internal dynamic and thermodynamic aspects, the present study investigated the influence of the midtroposphere zonal and meridional flow changes over East Asia on the interdecadal change around the late-1990s. Results suggested that, during 1999-2010, the East Asia subtropical westerly jet weakened and shifted poleward, forming a meridional dipole feature in anomalous zonal flow. This anomalous zonal flow, on one hand, induced changes in three teleconnection patterns over the Eurasian continent, namely the "Silk Road" pattern along the subtropical upper troposphere westerly jet, the East Asia/Pacific (EAP) pattern along the East Asian coast, and the Eurasia (EU) pattern along the polar jet; on the other hand, it brought about cold advection over Northern China, and warm advection over Southern China in the mid-troposphere. Through these two ways, the changes in the zonal flow induced descent over Northern China and ascent over Southern China, which resulted in the anomalous "south-flood-north-drought" feature of the summer precipitation over Eastern China during 1999-2010.     

Quality vs. quantity of publications in nanotechnology field from the People’s Republic of China

This study evaluates trends in quality of nanotechnology and nanoscience papers produced by au- thors from the People’s Republic of China (PRC). The metric used to gauge quality is ratio of highly cited nanotechnology papers to total nanotechnology papers produced in sequential time frames. The USA is both the most prolific nanotechnology publishing country and most represented country on highly cited nanotechnology papers (both in absolute numbers of highly cited papers and highly cited papers relative to total publications) over the 1998―2003 time frame, based on the SCI/SSCI databases. Some of the smaller hi-tech countries have relatively high ratios (~2) of highly cited papers to total publications (e.g. Denmark, Netherlands, Switzerland). Countries that have exhibited rapid growth in SCI/SSCI nanotechnology paper production in recent years (e.g. PRC, South Korea) had ratios an order of magnitude less than that of the USA for 1998, but by 2003 had increased to about 20% that of the USA (~2.5). PRC and South Korea have climbed in the publications rankings from 6th and 9th in 1998, re- spectively, to 2nd and 6th in 2005, respectively. PRC’s ratio monotonically increased from 0.16 to 0.45 over the 1998―2003 period, and South Korea’s ratio increased from 0.11 to about 0.6 over that same period, indicating their papers are getting more and more citations proportionately. Thus, under rapid growth conditions, PRC and South Korea have been able to increase their share of participation in highly cited papers. As of 2003, PRC and South Korea have ratios comparable to nations like Japan, France, Italy, and Australia but not yet approaching those of the highly cited countries. None of the top ten publications producing institutions are from the USA, while all of the top ten highly cited publica- tions producers are from the USA. Over the 1998―2003 time period, the top six total publications pro- ducing institutions (globally) remained the same, with Chinese Academy of Sciences (which consists of many research institutes) wresting the lead from Russian Academy of Sciences in 1999, and thereafter increasing the gap. Over this same time period, the USA institutions constituted about 90% of the top ten most cited papers list. For Chinese institutions specifically in the period 1998―2003, the nanotech- nology publication leading Chinese Academy of Sciences has maintained an average of about 30% of nanotechnology publications over that time frame. The second tier (in terms of quantity) for the last few years has consisted of Tsinghua University, Nanjing University, University of Science and Technology of China, Peking University, Jilin University, Zhejiang University, Shandong University, and Fudan University. Hong Kong institutions have, on average, been strong in ratio, especially City University Hong Kong, and Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, indicating significant citations.     

Interannual variability of Mascarene high and Australian high and their influences on summer rainfall over East Asia

Based on the reanalysis data from NCEP/NCAR and other observational data,interannual variability of Mascarene high(MH) and Australian high(AH) from 1970 to 1999 is examined.It is shown that interannual variability of MH is dominated by the Antarctic oscillation(AAO),when the circumpolar low in the high southern latitudes deepens,the intensity of MH will be intensified.On the other hand,AH is correlated by AAO as well as EI Nino and South Oscillation(ENSO),the intensity of AH will be intensified when EI Nino occurs.Both correlation analysis and case study demonstrate that summer rainfall over East Asia is closely related to MH and AH.When MH intensifies from boreal spring to summer (i.e.from austral autumn to winter),there is more rainfall over regions from the Yangtze River valley to Japan,in contrast,less rainfall is found over southern China and western Pacific to the east of Taiwan,and most of regions in mid-latitudes of East Asia.Compared with MH,the effect of AH on summer rainfall in East Asia is limited to localized regions,there is more rainfall over southern China with the intensification of AH.The results in this study show that AAO is a strong signal on interannual timescale,which plays an important role in summer rainfall over East Asia.This discovery is of real importance to revealingt the physical mechanism of interannual variability of East Asian summer monsoon and prediction of summer precipitation in China.     

Analysis of Top Chinese Contractors’ Developmental Tracks and Evaluation of Their Strategic Selection of International Construction Markets

The past decade has witnessed a rapid development of the international construction market. This research aims to investigate top Chinese contractors＇ developmental tracks and evaluate their strategic selection of international construction markets over the period from 2001 to 2006, based on the modified Boston Consulting Group Matrix （BCG）. Results from 2001 to 2005 indicate that Asia and Africa, which were ＂question marks＂ markets for top Chinese contractors （abbreviated as TCCs） , have the most potential to become ＂stars＂ markets; other question marks markets such as the Middle East and Europe are found not to be of potential; ＂dogs＂ markets such as the U. S. , Canada and Latin America should be relinquished progressively unless there is renewed growth opportunity over the next two years. Compared to developmental tracks of top contractors from some advanced countries, TCCs＇ investment and development strategy in Africa seems to be sustainable and intensive ; TCCs＇ exit strategy for the Middle East appears deter- mined and swift, while their strategy in Asia seems to be lacking in persistence. Furthermore, the data of 2006 indicates that TCCs improve their performance in Asia and Africa, and Africa has become a ＂stars＂ market for TCCs. This research sheds important lights and insights into the prevailing process of internationalization of TCCs and provides a strategic direction for their selection of international construction market. What is more, this research is also valuable to other Chinese contractors who are seeking the opportunity to enter the international construction markets.     

Multiscale characteristics of the rainy season rainfall and interdecadal decaying of summer monsoon in North China

This paper focuses on the rainfall spectrum and its evolution of North China in rainy season with summer monsoon decaying in interdecadal time scale. The interannual component of the rainfall is the dominant part, accounting for 85% of the total variance, and has been changed significantly during the last 30 years. According to wavelet analysis its 5a periodic spectrum suddenly disappeared in the late 1960s, and its biennial oscillation gradually become weaker and weaker since 1970, accompanied by the summer monsoon decaying. Contrarily, the interdecadal component is principal in the summer monsoon over North China and is very similar to the counterpart of the rainfall. Their interdecadal parts are significantly correlated, and the correlation coefficient is nearly equal to the one of the original sequences.Besides, the dry and wet climate alternated with the monsoon abrupt changes in the 1960s and the 1970s over East Asia, apart from North China, climate drifted from a light drought to a severe drought during the past 30 years.     

Quality vs. quantity of publications in nanotechnology field from the People’s Republic of China

This study evaluates trends in quality of nanotechnology and nanoscience papers produced by authors from the People＇s Republic of China （PRC）. The metric used to gauge quality is ratio of highly cited nanotechnology papers to total nanotechnology papers produced in sequential time frames. The USA is both the most prolific nanotechnology publishing country and most represented country on highly cited nanotechnology papers （both in absolute numbers of highly cited papers and highly cited papers relative to total publications） over the 1998-2003 time frame, based on the SCl/SSCl databases. Some of the smaller hi-tech countries have relatively high ratios （-2） of highly cited papers to total publications （e.g. Denmark, Netherlands, Switzerland）. Countries that have exhibited rapid growth in SCl/SSCl nanotechnology paper production in recent years （e.g. PRC, South Korea） had ratios an order of magnitude less than that of the USA for 1998, but by 2003 had increased to about 20% that of the USA （-2.5）. PRC and South Korea have climbed in the publications rankings from 6th and 9th in 1998, respectively, to 2nd and 6th in 2005, respectively. PRC＇s ratio monotonically increased from 0.16 to 0.45 over the 1998-2003 period, and South Korea＇s ratio increased from 0.11 to about 0.6 over that same period, indicating their papers are getting more and more citations proportionately. Thus, under rapid growth conditions, PRC and South Korea have been able to increase their share of participation in highly cited papers. As of 2003, PRC and South Korea have ratios comparable to nations like Japan, France, Italy, and Australia but not yet approaching those of the highly cited countries. None of the top ten publications producing institutions are from the USA, while all of the top ten highly cited publications producers are from the USA. Over the 1998-2003 time period, the top six total publications producing institutions （globally） remained the same, with Chinese Academy of Sciences （which consists     

Identification of Chinese populations of Bemisia tabaci (Gennadius) by analyzing ribosomal ITS1 sequence

Spreading of Bemisia tabaci B biotype has had a large impact on the production of vegetables, ornamental and fiber crops in many countries of the world since the 1990s. This study analyzes the ribosomal ITS1 sequence (～520 bp) to distinguish genetic difference of B. tabaci from representative different geographical populations in China. Phylogenetic analysis shows that populations of B.tabaci from Beijing and Shandong Province are of biotype B, and populations of B.tabaci from sweet potato in Fujian Province and pumpkin in Guangxi, China, belong to two different non-B biotypes and have a geographical origin of Asia.     

Spatial and temporal variations of light rain events over China and the mid-high latitudes of the Northern Hemisphere

Based on observed daily precipitation data, monthly gridded radiosonde upper air temperature and sea surface temperature data from the UK Met Office Hadley Centre, monthly surface air temperature from the Climatic Research Unit at the University of East Anglia and the NCEP/NCAR monthly reanalysis data, this study investigates the spatial and temporal variations of light rain events over China and the mid-high latitudes of the Northern Hemisphere during 1961-2010, and discusses the relationship between the change of light rain events and atmospheric stability, sea surface temperature and atmospheric circulation. The light rain events over East China display a decreasing trend of 3.0%/10 a in summer and winter half years. Over Northwest China, an increasing trend of 4.1%/10 a is found in winter half years, but there is no trend in summer half years. Using empirical orthogonal function (EOF) analysis, it is found that the first two principal components of light rain events over the mid-high latitudes of the Northern Hemisphere show long time scale variations in summer and winter half years. The first EOF modes (EOF1s) for summer and winter half years both depict a long-term increase in light rain events over North America and Southern Europe as well as Northwest China (except in summer half years), and a long-term decrease over most of the Eurasia (Central Europe, Eastern Europe, North Asia and East China). The second EOF mode (EOF2) for summer half year shows that light rain events increase over North America, Southern Europe and South China, but decrease over Eurasia north of 45°N from 1961 to early 1980s, while the trends reverse from late 1980s to 2010. The second EOF mode (EOF2) for winter half years indicates that light rain events increase over North America and South and North China, but decrease over Eurasia north of 40°N from 1961 to early 1980s, while the trends reverse from late 1980s to 2009. Correlation analysis and linear regression analysis suggest that EOF1s may be related to the change in atmospheric static stability associated with global warming, and EOF2s are possibly linked to the AMO.     

Asian origin for Polystichum （Dryopteridaceae） based on rbcL sequences

Chloroplast rbcL sequences of 60 species of Polystichum sensu lato (s.l.), including 23 new sequences from southwest China, were used to assess the phylogenetic relationships within the genus. On the basis of estimated evolution rate of rbcL gene and the genetic distance data that passed relative-rate tests, we further estimated the divergence times between some clades of the genus. The phylogenetic relationships were inferred using the neighbor-joining and maximum-parsimony methods, both methods producing trees with completely congruent topology. These trees reveal that all species of Polystichum s.l. in this study (including Cyrtomium and Cyrtomidictyum) form a monophyletic group. The basal split in Polystichum s.l. separates a clade with all Asian members from a clade containing other species from all over the world. The phylogenetic and divergence time estimation results lead us to suggest that Polystichum s.l. originated in Asia in the late Late Cretacous (≈76 Ma) and migrated into other places in the world in early Eocene(≈46 Ma).     

Evolutionary status of<Emphasis Type="Italic">Entamoeba</Emphasis>

In addition to its medical importance as parasitic pathogen, Entamoeba has aroused people‘s interest in its evolutionary status for a long time. Lacking mitochondrion and other intracellular organelles common to typical eukaryotes, Entamoeba and several other amitochondrial protozoans have been recognized as ancient pre-mitochondriate eukaryotes and named “archezoa“, the most primitive extant eukaryotes. It was suggested that they might be living fossils that remained in a primitive stage of evolution before acquisition of organelles, lying close to the transition between prokaryotes and eukaryotes. However, recent studies revealed that Entamoeba contained an organelle, “crypton“ or “mitosome“, which was regarded as specialized or reductive mitochondrion. Relative molecular phylogenetic analyses also indicated the existence or the probable existence of mitochondrion in Entamoeba. Our phylogenetic analysis based on DNA topoisomerase Ⅱ strongly suggested its divergence after some mitchondriate enkaryotes. Here, all these recent researches are reviewed and the evolutionary status of Entamoeba is discussed.     

以《秒速五厘米》论动画电影中的叙事留白艺术

《秒速五厘米》是一部非常优秀的长篇动画电影，曾获亚洲太平洋电影奖最佳长篇电影奖，自播出以来，深受观众的喜爱和称赞。影片艺术生命力的获得，在很大程度上得益于作品在叙事上的留白艺术。影片的留白艺术不仅为观众提供了无限的想象空间，而且也增加了影片的艺术含量和审美价值。     

“一带一路”背景下大连面向东亚地区汉语国际推广的新思路

立足大连的区位优势,通过历史的、比较的方法分析了大连与东亚发展的契合点,认为大连面向东亚地区进行汉语国际推广应与“一带一路”战略相融合,大连高校应结合自身优势,充分发展并创新汉语国际推广模式。提出了扩宽国际化办学方向、充分利用大连的国际“品牌”等发展思路。     

也论恩格斯与马克思哲学思想的差异——读《提纲》、《终结》和俞吾金的《差异》

俞吾金先生的《论恩格斯与马克思哲学思想的差异—从<终结>和<提纲>的比较看》一文实际上将马恩的哲学思想对立起来,该文认为这种对立有待商榷。由于所要解决的问题等的不同,《提纲》和《终结》在形式和内容等方面有差异是理所当然的,二者的根本观点是一致的。     

从新世纪女性影视作品看中国女性主体意识的觉醒与建构——以《我的前半生》和《七月与安生》为例

运用西方女性主义文论语境下“他者”思想和拉康的镜像理论,以时下关注度颇高的两部女性影视作品——《我的前半生》和《七月与安生》为例,深入解读了女主人公的命运,明确阐释了女性主体意识的内涵和“他者”理论,探讨了新世纪中国女性主体意识的觉醒及建构进程,并提出了理想的女性自我构建理论。     

东亚季风经向环流数值模拟及结果分析Ⅱ．模式性能检测及个例分析

局地径向环流诊断模式性能检验及对1994年5月1日世界时12时东亚季风区局地平均经向环流的模拟分析,分析所用的是经中科院大气物理研究所处理过的NCEP／NCAR再分析逐日资料,结果表明,在现行资料条件下模拟达到了预期的效果,证明该模式对局地经圆环流模拟性能良好,在此基础上,根据线性方程的叠加原理,进一步诊断分析方程中强迫项对向环流所起的作用。对1994年5月1日世界时12时东亚季风区局地平均径向环流而言,模拟出的各项的作用与对天气实况进行理论上的定性分析结果是相吻合的,在东亚季风区的经向环流形成过程,温度平流及绝热加热的作用相当显著,非绝热加热的作用在本文中没有作确切地比较,因其计算受到水汽资料精度和各层辐射资料缺乏的限制,另外,对流中的云物理过程也暂时未加以考虑。     

钓鱼岛归属中国的历史事实探析

2012年9月10日,由于日本政府的“购岛（钓鱼岛）国有化”行为,使得钓鱼岛的主权问题为世人关注。主权概念和中日等国有关钓鱼岛的历史记载,都能证明钓鱼岛归属中国的历史事实,处理好钓鱼岛的归属问题,不仅对中日双方、对东亚太平洋地区的和平稳定带来积极影响,而且也有利于捍卫和维护第二次世界大战反法西斯的胜利果实。     

“CAM-Brain” ATR's artificial brain project

This paper reports on progress made in the first 3 years of ATR's “CAM-Brain” Project, which aims to use “evolutionary engineering” techniques to build/grow/evolve a RAM-and-cellular-automata based artificial brain consisting of thousands of interconnected neural network modules inside special hardware such as MIT's Cellular Automata Machine “CAM-8”, or NTT's Content Addressable Memory System “CAM-System”. The states of a billion (later a trillion) 3D cellular automata cells, and millions of cellular automata rules which govern their state changes, can be stored relatively cheaply in giga(tera)bytes of RAM. After 3 years work, the CA rules are almost ready. MIT's “CAM-8” (essentially a serial device) can update 200,000,000 CA cells a second. It is possible that NTT's “CAM-System” (essentially a massively parallel device) may be able to update a trillion CA cells a second. Hence all the ingredients will soon be ready to create a revolutionary new technology which will allow thousands of evolved neural network modules to be assembled into artificial brains. This in turn will probably create not only a new research field, but hopefully a whole new industry, namely “brain building”. Building artificial brains with a billion neurons is the aim of ATR's 8 year “CAM-Brain” research project, ending in 2001.