Role of locust <Emphasis Type="Italic">Locusta migratoria manilensis</Emphasis> claws and pads in attaching to substrates

The present study attempts to investigate the role of rigid claws and smooth adhesive pads in the locust Locusta migratoria manilensis,when attaching to various substrates.We measured the attachment forces on sandpaper and silicate glass plate of locusts with intact attachment system,and those with either the pretarsal claws or the tarsal pads having been entirely destroyed,to explore the role of pads and claws when a locust is walking on various substrates.To obtain information about morphological characteristics and material properties of the claws,we examined the intact and fractured claws by scanning electron microscopy,and tested the fractural force in a fracture experiment.We proposed a mechanical model for locust climbing on a slanting surface to analyze the conduction and final result of the attachment forces generated by the attachment organs on the fore-,mid-and hindlegs.Attachment forces generated by locusts with destroyed pads were similar to those generated by locusts with intact attachment system on both substrates,which presumably indicated that the claws have a significantly important role when attaching to various substrates.The result of the fracture experiment demonstrated that the claws are made of relatively stiff material,and their shear strength ranged between 39-45 MPa.Mechanical analysis of locust climbing on slanting surface showed that the force generated by the hindlegs suspended the whole body of locust up from the surface and pushed the body forward,while the midlegs steadily suspended the centre of gravity and the forelegs pulled the suspended body forward.The results obtained contribute to the further interpretation of the interaction mechanisms between insect attachment system and substrates,and supply information for designing and manufacturing slippery plates for trapping plague locusts.     

Emission inventories of primary particles and pollutant gases for China

Detailed high-resolution emission inventories of primary particles(PM2.5,BC and OC) and pollutant gases(SO2,NOx,NH3,CO and VOCs) for China in 2007 were constructed on the basis of the latest fuel consumption data,mostly at the county level,and from socio-economic statistics and data on fossil and biomass fuels obtained from government agencies.New emission factors reflecting local features were also used.The calculated emissions were 13.212 Mt PM2.5,1.4 Mt BC,2.946 Mt OC,31.584 Mt SO2,23.248 Mt NOx,16.017 Mt NH3,164.856 Mt CO and 35.464 Mt VOCs.The national and regional emissions were gridded with 0.5°× 0.5° resolution for use in air quality models.Larger emissions were found in eastern and central China than in western China.The emissions estimated here are roughly equal to those obtained in previous studies,but with different contributions from because of seasonal changes in residential heating and biomass combustion.Finally,uncertainties in inventories were analyzed.     

Operational properties and matrix representations of quantum measures

Denoted by M(A), QM(A) and SQM(A) the sets of all measures, quantum measures and subadditive quantum measures on a σ-algebra A, respectively. We observe that these sets are all positive cones in the real vector space F(A) of all real-valued functions on A and prove that M(A) is a face of SQM(A). It is proved that the product of m grade-1 measures is a grade-m measure. By combining a matrix M _μ to a quantum measure μ on the power set A _n of an n-element set X, it is proved that μ ≪ ν (resp. μ ⊥ ν) if and only if M _μ ≪ M _ν (resp. M _μ M _ν =0). Also, it is shown that two nontrivial measures μ and ν are mutually absolutely continuous if and only if μ·ν∈QM(A _n ). Moreover, the matrices corresponding to quantum measures are characterized. Finally, convergence of a sequence of quantum measures on A _n is introduced and discussed; especially, the Vitali-Hahn-Saks theorem for quantum measures is proved.     

Potential influence of water level changes on energy flows in a lake food web

Large seasonal water-level fluctuations may influence isotopic signatures of primary producers and the types and amounts of these potential food sources accessible to aquatic fauna of Poyang Lake,the largest freshwater lake in China.In this study,the isotopic signatures of primary producers and consumers were determined,stable carbon and nitrogen isotope analysis and mixing models were combined to investigate the influence of water levels on the diet and isotopic composition of Poyang Lake fish and inverteb...     

Changes in physical features of Glacier No. 1 of the Tianshan Mountains in response to climate change

This study analyzes the changes in glacier zones and snow composition of Glacier No.1 in the Tianshan Mountains of China since 1961,and their possible relations with climate.It is found that precipitation dominated the snow composition and that air temperature and precipitation controlled the distribution of glacier zones,but interannual change in precipitation had a relatively large effect on glacier zones and snow composition during 1963–1981 (P10) and 1963–1989 (P11).However,during 1982–2007 (P20) and 19...     

Preparation of three-dimensionally ordered macroporous perovskite materials

In this paper,we use La0.8Sr0.2MnO3 and La0.7Ca0.2Sr0.1MnO3 as examples to demonstrate a preparation method for threedimensionally ordered macroporous(3DOM) perovskite thermochromic materials.Polystyrene spheres with an average diameter of 220 nm were self-assembled into a three-dimensionally ordered colloidal crystal template.A mixed metal nitrate solution prepared using La(NO3) 3·6H2O,Ca(NO3) 2·4H2O,Sr(NO3) 2,Mn(CH3COO) 2·4H2O and an ethanol precursor was used to fill the interstitial voids of the polystyrene colloidal crystal templates.3DOM La0.8Sr0.2MnO3 and La0.7Ca0.2Sr0.1MnO3 materials were then obtained after the sphere templates were removed via drying and calcination.The results show that the framework of the 3DOM materials can have different thicknesses and pore shrinkage rates by varying the filling times.In addition,the Curie temperatures of the 3DOM and bulk La0.8Sr0.2MnO3 materials can be varied by altering the preparation method.     

Mineralogical and geochemical features of sulfide chimneys from the 49°39′E hydrothermal field on the Southwest Indian Ridge and their geological inferences

During January–May in 2007,the Chinese research cruise DY115-19 discovered an active hydrothermal field at 49°39′E/37°47′S on the ultraslow spreading Southwest Indian Ridge (SWIR).This was also the first active hydrothermal field found along an ultraslow-spreading ridge.We analyzed mineralogical,textural and geochemical compositions of the sulfide chimneys obtained from the 49°39′E field.Chimney samples show a concentric mineral zone around the fluid channel.The mineral assemblages of the interiors consist ...     

Optimization model of a structural simulation design for a CICC

The engineering design of a Cable-In-Conduit Conductor (CICC) is complicated. A model for the optimal design of a CICC based on conductor stability, AC loss and strain is proposed. The model considers the critical current density as a function of applied strain. A mathematical programming method that minimizes the AC loss of the CICC is established to yield an optimal design for the CICC structure. The optimized structure and related performance agree well with the engineering design values used for the KSTAR project.     

Constitutive modeling for unsaturated soils considering gas hardening effect

The influence of gases on unsaturated soils is discussed in the paper.First,the selection of stress state variables is discussed.It is shown that gas pressure as well as generalized effective stress and modified suction are required to construct a constitutive model of an unsaturated soil.The deformation mechanisms of solid,liquid and gas phases in soils are then investigated.It is realized that the deformation of gas phase interacts with the deformations of the other two phases in soils.Gas laws are used to describe the gas behavior.Similar to the other two phases in soil,the change of gas volume can be divided into an elastic part and a plastic part, and the latter part is then introduced to the soil hardening equation to reflect the impact of the gas on the soil.Then,a simple elasto-plastic model considering the gas effect for isotropic states is developed.Finally,the model predictions are given and compared with existing experimental data.A good agreement between them is found.Comparisons of the predictions between our model and Wheeler’s model are also performed.     

Tight lower bound of consecutive lengths for QC-LDPC codes with girth at least ten

For an arbitrary (3,L) quasi-cyclic(QC) low-density parity-check (LDPC) code with girth at least ten, a tight lower bound of the consecutive lengths is presented. For an arbitrary length above the bound the corresponding LDPC code necessarily has a girth at least ten, and for the length equal to the bound, the resultant code inevitably has a girth smaller than ten. This new conclusion can be well applied to some important issues, such as the proofs of the existence of large girth QC-LDPC codes, the construction of large girth QC-LDPC codes based on the Chinese remainder theorem, as well as the construction of LDPC codes with the guaranteed error correction capability.