Holocene lake deposits of Bosten Lake, southern Xinjiang, China

A 9.25-m-long sediment core from Bosten Lake,Xinjiang, provides detailed information about changes in the water budget and biological acticity over the last 8400 cal-endar years. The chronology is constructed from six AMS radiocarbon dates on the terrestrial plant remains. Based onanalyses of TOC, CO3, detrital compounds and biogenic SiO2,lake level fluctuations and periods of remarkably-negative water budget appeared at 8.4-8.2 cal ka, 7.38-7.25 cal ka,5.7-5.5 cal ka, 3.7-3.4 cal ka and 3.3-2.9 cal ka, respec-tively. As they are in-phase with low lake levels at Sumxl Co and Bangong Co in western Tibet Plateau and with paleo-lakes in Inner Mongolia, a climate-induced change to some-what drier and warmer conditions is inferred. A further drop in lake level after 1320 AD of about 200 yr duration may heattributed to a negative water balance prior to the main phase of the Little Ice Age. Deep and stable lake phases of 1500 yr and 1800 yr duration at 7.2-5.7 cal ka and 5.5-3.7cal ka coincide with maximum moisture during the Holocene Megathermai in China. The long term trend towards aridity since about 4.3 cal ka can dearly be recognised. The reduced water budget of Bosten Lake from 640-1200 AD may be attributed to local effects.     

海南岛万泉河口沉积环境演变

根据对柱样沉积物²¹⁰Pb定年及有机碳、硫和有机碳同位素含量分析, 研究万泉河口沉积环境演变. 硫和δ¹³C均自19世纪初期开始持续减少, 硫从1.92%逐渐减少到0.36%, δ¹³C从−20.63‰减少到−23.64‰. C/S比在20世纪之前一直很稳定, 处于0.47~0.80之间, 有机碳与硫呈正相关; 在此之后, C/S比急剧增加, 至表层为3.94, 硫的含量与有机碳的增加没有相关关系. 结果表明在19世纪之前万泉河口尚为开阔的海湾, 处于正常海洋环境,未形成被沙坝围封的泻湖, 海水能够直接出入. 19世纪初期开始, 随着玉带滩沙坝向北发育, 河口逐渐被围拦成泻湖型, 进入的海水量逐渐减少; 在19与20世纪之交, 水体已开始明显淡化, 发展成为今天近乎淡水的泻湖.     

Induction of autotomy in the American bird grasshopperSchistocerca americana (Drury) by the ecdysone agonist RH-5849 and investigation of its mode of action

The non-steroidal ecdysone agonist RH-5849 (1,2-dibenzoyl-l-tert-butylhydrazine) was found to be an effective neurotoxicant on injection into the American bird grasshopper,Schistocerca americana (Drury). Treated grasshoppers became immediately hyperactive, followed by loss of coordination, paralysis and eventually death. We also discovered that this compound induced bilateral autotomy of the metathoracic legs during the early stages of intoxication. However, no evidence of ecdysonergic or morphogenetic activities was observed. Synergism studies with neurotoxins of known mode of action suggested that RH-5849 has a mechanism of action similar to that of 4-amino pyridine, which blocks potassium channels.     

用子波变换分析方法实时监测视觉诱发电位的潜伏期

诱发电位的实时监测在临床中有重要意义。本文提出利用多分辨率子波分析技术来实时监测视觉诱发电位的潜伏期。为克服随机噪声的影响，我们引入相邻响应的相关系数来修正所检测得的潜伏期的偏移，并应用前一次响应的波峰位置来决定当前的搜寻范围。实验表明，本方法能实时监测视觉诱发电位的潜伏期。     

A Theoretical Approach for Estimating Fracture Toughness of Ductile Metals

Fracture toughness is very important when applying Damage Tolerance Design and Assessment Techniques. The traditional testing approach for obtaining fracture toughness values is costly and time consuming. In order to estimate the fracture toughness of ductile metals, the fracture mechanics theory, materials plastic deformation theory and materials constructive relationships are employed here. A series of formulae and a theoretical approach are presented to calculate fracture toughness values of different materials in the plane stress and plane strain conditions. Compared with test results, evaluated values have a good agreement.     

Molecular cloning and polymorphism of major histocompatibility complex class I genes from grass carp (Ctenophayngodon idellus)

In order to clarify the molecular sequences,allelic polymorphism and the tertiary structure of grass carp (Ctenophayngodon idellus) MHC class I,and to further study their relationship with disease resistances,grass carp MHC class I gene (Ctid-MHC I) was cloned from a cDNA library and the allelic polymorphism in the population was investigated.The results showed that most of the variations exist in the peptide-binding domain (PBD) and high polymorphism was identified in the Ctid-MHC I allelic genes from 12 individuals.Based on the genetic distance,Ctid-MHC class I can be classified into 6 types (from Ctid-MHC I-UA to Ctid-MHC I-UF) which were subdivided into 9 lineages (from A to I).Comparison of the Ctid-MHC I among animals and humans showed that the key amino acids of the peptide binding sites are conserved.Analysis of the tertiary structure of the PBD between Grass carp and human crystallographic data of HLA-A2,the variation with insertion or deletion was found in eight regions (A～H).The phylogenetic tree of MHC class I indicates the evolution of MHC class I among grass carp,fish,amphibian,birds,higher vertebrates and humans.     

Swimming and bipedal bottom-running in the pig-nosed turtle Carettochelys insculpta Ramsay, 1886

The pig-nosed freshwater turtle Carettochelys insculpta Ramsay, 1886 has paddle-shaped foreflippers that resemble those of sea turtles. These turtles exhibit a wide range of swimming capabilities. As well as swimming by the action of synchronized foreflippers alone, they sometimes used alternate hindlimb action at the same time. They could swim by ipsilaterally synchronized action of all four limbs, or by hindlimb action alone (combined with stabilizer/lift function of the foreflippers). The turtles also showed flexibility in bottom-walking. Besides the ipsilaterally synchronized quadrupedal action characteristic of other freshwater turtles, they exhibited a bipedal walking mechanism never previously described. Propelled by alternate action of the hindlimbs, the animals held the head and plastron above the substratum, with the large foreflippers acting to provide anterior lift and stability against roll and yaw. Because both hindlimbs were sometimes off the substratum simultaneously during bipedal locomotion, their duty factors were < 0.5, implying a bipedal run.     

Enhanced performance of nano-sized SiC reinforced Al metal matrix nanocomposites synthesized through microwave sintering and hot extrusion techniques

In the present study, nano-sized SiC (0, 0.3, 0.5, 1.0 and 1.5 vol%) reinforced aluminum (Al) metal matrix composites were fabricated by microwave sintering and hot extrusion techniques. The structural (XRD, SEM), mechanical (nanoindentation, compression, tensile) and thermal properties (co-efficient of thermal expansion- CTE) of the developed Al-SiC nanocomposites were studied. The SEM/EDS mapping images show a homogeneous distribution of SiC nanoparticles into the Al matrix. A significant increase in the strength (compressive and tensile) of the Al-SiC nanocomposites with the addition of SiC content is observed. However, it is noticed that the ductility of Al-SiC nanocomposites decreases with increasing volume fraction of SiC. The thermal analysis indicates that CTE of Al-SiC nanocomposites decreases with the progressive addition of hard SiC nanoparticles. Overall, hot extruded Al 1.5 vol% SiC nanocomposites exhibited the best mechanical and thermal performance as compared to the other developed Al-SiC nanocomposites.