Crack spacing of unsaturated soils in the critical state

The cracking mechanism of unsaturated soils due to evaporation is poorly understood, and the magnitude of crack spacing is usually hard to estimate. In this work, cracks were postulated to occur succedently rather than simultaneously, that is, secondary cracks appear after primary cracks as evaporation continues. Formulae of the secondary crack spacing and secondary trend crack spacing were then derived after stress analysis. The calculated spacing values were consistent with the published experimental data. Meanwhile, the effect of the Poisson ratio on the crack spacing was analyzed, which showed that the magnitude of crack spacing was proportional to the Poisson ratio in the range of [0.30, 0.35].     

Utilizing Chinese high-resolution satellite images for inspection of unauthorized constructions in Beijing

After Beijing wins the bit to host the 29th Olympic Games, in order to manifest the technical support advantages and capabilities of the autonomously-developed RS and GIS based change detection techniques in 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, and from the standpoints of executing new city planning, relieving the traffic congestion as well as maintaining the historic features, an automatic satellite monitoring system has been studied and established to accomplish the mission of unauthorized construction inspection within the Sixth Ring Road of Beijing city quarterly, by adopting the CBERS-2 satellite images and combining technologies of GIS, GPS, etc. This article discusses the applicable procedures and key issues when utilizing such Chinese satellite images and relevant techniques to discover the illegal constructions, and introduces the monitoring system from both the design and implementation aspects; additionally, some typical application cases in the practice of the system are also illustrated. The monitoring system can timely supply abundant information to facilitate the policy-making of relevant planning departments, thus providing consolidate technical support to eliminate the illegal constructing behaviors in the blossom. During the five years＇ excellent performance, it has helped China save large amounts of expenditures for processing of unauthorized constructed buildings.     

Influence of location-dependent protuberance damage on cell viability

The influence of femtosecond laser-induced damages on viability of olfactory ensheathing cells (OECs) is investigated. Several cytokinetic processes including cellular damage, recovery and death are discussed. Using femtosecond laser with the power of 100 μW and cutting speed of 2 μm/s, we cut the cellular protuberance with smaller diameter twice in different locations, and then observe the viability of the damaged cells. Under the same conditions, the root of protuberance with larger diameter is cut six times to observe changes of cellular shape. Whether the damage is located in the end, middle or root of protuberance with smaller diameter, the cell viability can recover within 3 h. When the damage is located in the root of protuberance with larger diameter, the damaged cell will die in the way of oncosis. Cytokinetic phenomena including intracellular high Ca²⁺ concentration, cellular morphologic change, recovery and oncosis are discussed. Meanwhile, high Ca²⁺ concentration is observed after femtosecond laser surgery. Therefore, femtosecond laser surgery is an important tool for establishing cell damage model and studying cytokinetics. Supported by National High Technology Research & Development Program of China (Grant No. 2006AA04Z307), Author of National Excellent Doctoral Dissertation of PR China (Grant No. 2006039), National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 50775104), Natural Science Foundation of Jiangsu Province (Grant No. BK2006507) and Jiangsu Provincial Research Innovation Program for College Graduates (Grant No. CX07B_086z)     

Self-organized criticality of power system faults and its application in adaptation to extreme climate

This paper analyzes the statistics of faults in a transmission and distribution networks in central China, unveils long-term autocorrelation and power law distribution of power system faults, which indicates that power system fault has self-organized criticality (SOC) feature. The conclusion is consistent with the power systems data in 2008 with ice storm present. Since power systems cover large areas, climate is the key factor to its safety and stability. In-depth analysis shows that the SOC of atmosphere system contributes much to that of power system faults. Extreme climate will be more intense and frequent with global warming, it will have more and more impact upon power systems. The SOC feature of power system faults is utilized to develop approaches to facilitate power systems adaptation to climate variation in an economical and efficient way. Supported by the National Basic Research Program of China (Grant No. 2009CB219701), National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 50595414), and Youth Scientific & Technological Innovation Project of CSEE     

Coexistence of normal, super-, and hyper-deformation in nuclei: A study with angular momentum projection method

Angular-momentum-projected energy surface calculations for A ≈ 110 nuclei indicate three distinct energy minima occurring at different angular-momenta. These correspond to normal, super-, and hy- per-deformed shapes coexisting in one nucleus. 110Pd is studied in detail, with a quantitative prediction on super- and hyper-deformed spectra by the Projected Shell Model calculation. It is found that several other neighboring nuclei in the A-110 mass region, with the neutron number around 64, also exhibit clear s...     

Estimating divergence times among subfamilies in Nymphalidae

The mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase subunit Ⅰ （COⅠ） gene and the nuclear elongation factor 1α （EF-1α） gene were sequenced from 13 species of Nymphalidae. Phylogenetic trees of Nymphalidae, which is the largest family in butterflies, were constructed based on the sequences determined from 13 species sequenced in our laboratory and an additional 43 species obtained from GenBank using the maximum likelihood （ML） and Bayesian methods. Relative-rate tests between lineages in these phylogenetic trees were performed. On the basis of the results of the relative-rate tests and fossil information of Satyrinae, Nymphalinae and Biblidinae, the average divergence times among the subfamilies are estimated as 44.2-87.1 million years ago （Ma）. These results will be helpful for better understanding of the origin and evolution of this family, as well as the divergence time of butterflies and other complex taxa.     

Study on elastic modulus of individual ferritin

The mechanical property of individual ferritin was measured with force-volume mapping (FV) under contact mode of atomic force microscopy (AFM) in this work. The elastic modulus of individual ferritin was estimated by the Hertz mode. The estimated value of the elastic modulus of individual ferritin was about 250－800 MPa under a small deformation. In addition, the elastic modulus of individual ferritin was compared with that of the colloid gold nanoparticle.     

Arctic dipole anomaly and summer rainfall in Northeast China

A dipole structure anomaly in summer Arctic atmospheric variability is identified in this study, which is characterized by the second mode of empirical orthogonal function （EOF） analysis of summer monthly mean sea level pressure （SLP） north of 70°N, accounting for 12.94% of the variance. The dipole anomaly shows a quasi-barotropic structure with opposite anomalous centers over the Canadian Arctic and the Beaufort Sea and between the Kara Sea and the Laptev Sea. The dipole anomaly reflects alternating variations in location of the polar vortex between the western and eastern Arctic regions. The positive phase of the dipole anomaly corresponds to the center of the polar vortex over the western Arctic, leading to an increase in summer mean rainfall in Northeast China. The dipole anomaly has a predominant 6-year periodicity, and shows interdecadal variations in recent decades.     

Pulping performance of transgenic poplar with depressed Caffeoyl-CoA O-methyltransferase

This paper evaluated pulping performance of 3-year-old field-grown transgenic poplar （Populus tremula × Populus alba）. The transgenic poplar with anti-sense CCoAOMT had an about 13% decreased lignin content, in which a slight increment was found in S/G ratio. Chemical analysis showed that the transgenic poplar had significantly less benezene-ethanol extractive than that of control wood, but no significant differences were found in contents of ash, cold water extractive, hot water extractive, 1% NaOH extractive, holocellulose, pentosans and cellulose. Fiber assay demonstrated that down-regulation of CCoAOMT expression improved the fiber quality in transgenic poplar. Kraft pulping showed that lower lignin in transgenic poplar led to remarkable improved pulp quality and increased pulp yield.     

Stable dislocation configuration in the surface layer of metals

The stable dislocation configuration in the surface layer of metals was calculated according to dislo-cation energy theory. It was shown that the stable dislocation configuration was only influenced by Burger's vector, while dislocation line could fluctuate closely around the direction vertical to free sur-face in a limited range.     

Study on the specific interaction between angiogenin and aptamer by atomic force microscopy （AFM）

The specific interaction between angiogenin and aptamer has been investigated by using AFM. The specificity of the interaction is revealed by comparing the binding probability of aptamer to other elements in a series of control experiments. The results have shown that there is specific interaction force between angiogenin and aptamer. Moreover, the single molecular pull-off force between angiogenin and aptamer has also been determined using the Poisson statistical method to be 133.7±11.7 pN. These findings obtained are helpful to the better revelation of recognition mechanism between angiogenin and aptamer, which provided basis for further understanding the inhibition of the aptamer to angiogenic activity.     

Adhesive contact of a rigid sphere to finitely stretched substrates

Exemplified by adhesive contact of a rigid sphere with equiaxially stretched elastomeric substrates, the effect of finite pre-strain on adhesion behavior is studied based on the JKR model. The analysis indi- cates that the pre-strain reduces the contact area between the sphere and the substrate, but does not alter the adhesion strength.     

Field emission characteristics of ZnO nanotetrapods and the effect of thermal annealing in hydrogen

Large-scale tetrapod-like ZnO nanostructures have been synthesized using a thermal chemical vapor deposition method on a silicon substrate. The high-purity nanotetrapods show sharp tips geometry with a wurtzite structure. The field emission properties of the uniform ZnO nanostructural material are investigated at different anode-cathode distances. The turn-on field for the ZnO nanotetrapods is found to be about 3.7 V/μm at a current density of 1 μA/cm^2. The field emission behavior obeys Fowler-Nordheim relationship. More importantly, the field emission properties are improved after annearing in hydrogen, and therefore high emission current and low turn-on field are obtained. These results indicate that tetrapod-like ZnO nanostructures are a promising candidate for cold cathode emitters.     

Divisional and hierarchical innervations of G. gecko’s toes to motion and reception

As a member of robot families, climbing robots have become one of the research hot-spots in the robotic field recently and Gekko gecko （G. gecko） has been broadly seen as an ideal model for climbing robot development. But for gecko-mimic robots, one of the key problems is how to design the robot＇s foot. In this paper, （1） high-speed camera recording and electrophysiological method are used to observe motion patterns of G. gecko＇s foot when it climbs on different oriented surfaces; （2） nerve innervations of gecko＇s toes to motion and reception are studied. It is found that the five toes of the G. gecko can be divided into two motion and reception divisions, and also its motion and reception are modulated and controlled hierarchically. The results provide important information and exclusive ideas for the foot design and control algorithm of gecko-mimic robots.     

IL-8-induced L-selectin shedding regulates its binding kinetics to PSGL-1

L-selectin plays a crucial role in inflammation cascade by initiating the tethering and rolling of leukocytes on endothelium wall. While many L-selectin molecules are rapidly shed from the cell surface upon activation, the remaining membrane-anchored L-selectin may still play an important role in regulating leukocyte rolling and adhesion with different binding kinetics. Here we developed an in vitro model to activate Jurkat cells via interlukin-8 （IL-8） and quantified the two-dimensional （2D） binding kinetics, using a micropipette aspiration assay, of membrane-anchored L-selectin to P-selectin glycoprotein ligand 1 （PSGL-1） ligand coupled onto human red blood cells （RBCs）. The data indicated that L-selectin shedding reduced the amount of membrane-anchored L-selectin and lowered both its reverse and forward rates. These results suggested that the rolling dynamics of activated leukocytes was determined by two opposite impacts： reducing the surface presentation would enhance the rolling but lowering the kinetic rates would decrease the rolling. This finding provides a new insight into understanding how L-selectin shedding regulates leukocyte rolling and adhesion.     

Induction of corneal epithelial prosenitors from bone-marrow mesenchymal stem cells of rhesus monkeys in vitro

Bioengineered corneas are substitutes for human donor tissue that are designed to treat severe disease affecting ocular surfaces. However, a shortage of candidate seed cells for bioengineering corneas is still a problem. Bone-marrow mesenchymal stem cells （MSCs） are capable of multilineage differentiation. Therefore, we determined whether MSCs differentiate into corneal epithelial cells （ECs）. We applied three exoteric-microenvironmental systems to induce MSCs to become ECs. Induced MSC were identified by means of morphologic examination, immunocytochemical analysis, and flow cytometry. MSCs grown in one microenvironment had characteristics similar to those of corneal epithelial progenitors. Induced MSCs expressed markers for EC, including integrin 61, Cx43, Pax6, and P63. MSCs were successfully induced to become corneal epithelial progenitors. Therefore, the use of MSCs may hold substantial promise for reconstructing the ocular surface after corneal injury.[第一段]     

Evidence of fire use of late Pleistocene humans from the Huanglong Cave, Hubei Province, China

Since 2004, three excavations have been carried out at a late Pleistocene human fossil site of Huanglong Cave in Yunxi County, Hubei Province of China, which unearthed seven human teeth, dozens of stone tools, mammal fossils and other evidence indicating human activities. During the third excavation in 2006, in the same layer as the human teeth, we found some patches of black materials embedded in the deposit. We doubted that this black deposit layer is the remains of burning or even human use of fire at the cave. To further explore the possibility of human fire use at the Huanglong Cave, we examined samples directly taken from the black deposit layer and compared them with samples taken from several places in the cave using three methods: micromorphology, element content determination and deposit temperature analysis. Our results indicate that the contents of carbon element in the black deposit reach 64.59%―73.29%. In contrast, contents of carbon element of the comparative samples from other parts in the cave are only 5.82%―9.49%. The micromorphology analysis of the black deposit samples reveals a plant structure like axial parenchyma, fibrocyte, uniseriate ray and vessel. High-temperature magnetic susceptibility measurements suggest that the stratum possibly underwent a high temperature in the nature. Based on these lab analyses, we are sure that the black layer in the Huanglong Cave is the remains of fire and combustion did occur in the cave 100000 years ago. Taking other evidence of human activities found in the Huanglong Cave into consideration, we believe that the evidence of fire from the Huanglong Cave was caused by the human activities of controlled use of fire.     

TM polarization characteristics on thermal radiation of a negative refractive index thin film

Thermal radiation TM polarization characteristics of a negative refractive index thin film was studied based on the transmit matrix method and Kirchhoff radiation law. The influence of the thin film parameters on the thermal radiation directional characteristics and spectral property were discussed. And the influence of the evanescent waves was also discussed. The results show that two factors play important roles in the thermal radiation of negative index thin film: one is the interference effect of the thin film structure to the electromagnetic waves; the other is the photon tunneling effect of the negative refractive index material, which was caused by the amplifying evanescent wave. These indicate that spectral and directional characteristics of the thermal emissivity can be modulated by modifying the structure and the physics parameters of the negative refraction index thin film. Supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 50606003) and Aeronautic Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 2007ZA51006)     

Active optical clock

This article presents the principles and techniques of active optical clock, a special laser combining the laser physics of one-atom laser, bad-cavity gas laser, super-cavity stabilized laser and optical atomic clock together. As a simple example, an active optical clock based on thermal strontium atomic beam shows a quantum-limited linewidth of 0.51 Hz, which is insensitive to laser cavity-length noise, and may surpass the recorded narrowest 6.7 Hz of Hg ion optical clock and 1.5 Hz of very recent optical lattice clock. The estimated 0.1 Hz one-second instability and 0.27 Hz uncertainty are limited only by the relativistic Doppler effect, and can be improved by cold atoms. Supported by the National Basic Research Program of China (Grant No. 2005CB724500) and National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 10874009     

Measuring radial Young’s modulus of DNA by tapping mode AFM

Based on tapping mode AFM imaging, a method was demonstrated to evaluate compression elasticity of single double-stranded DNA （dsDNA） molecules in the force region. With images under ambient conditions, Young＇s moduli of dsDNA in compression were calculated. Results demonstrated that Young＇s moduli of dsDNA can be simply deduced according to the proposed model. The method can also be used to evaluate the compression elasticity of similar soft nanomaterials.