Lightning activity on the central Tibetan Plateau and its response to convective available potential energy

Lightning flash activities on the central Tibetan Plateau have been studied by using the satellite-based Lightning Imaging Sensor(LIS)database from January 1998 to July 2002.The lightning activity shows a clear diurnal variation on the central Plateau.The peak lightning activity appears at about 17:00 which is 3 h earlier than that in Jingxhou,Hubei in the same latitude belt nearby,indicating that the lightning activity is a sensitive indicator of solar heating on the Plateau.The lightning discharge is weaker on the Plateau than Jingzhou.Hubei and other low-altitude continental regions because of the lower convective available potential energy(CAPE)on the Plateau.The CAPE on the Plateau is 12 times lower than that in Jingzhou,Hubei,and 20 times lower than that in the sea-level region,such as Guangzhou and Florida.However,the sensitivity of lightning activity to CAPE changes on the Plateau is up to 30 times more sensitive than other prominent low-altitude regions.     

Inhibitory effect of the adenovirus type 5 E1A protein expressed in the yeast system

The human adenovirus type 5 E1A, a tumor- suppressor gene[1], codes for two major related proteins of 243 amino acids (12S) and 289 amino acids (13S) by al-ternative splicing in two exons[2]. Studies have been shown that E1A can regulate expression of many genes and cell cycle[3]. Both in vitro and in vivo experiments indicated that E1A could induce tumor cells differentia-tion, convert tumor cells into an epithelial phenotype, in-hibit tumor cell growth and metastasis and strongly en-ha…     

Efficient expression of human factor Ⅸ cDNA in liver mediated by hydrodynamics-based plasmid administration

The transfection of plasmid DNA into mammalian cells is an indispensable tool in the study of gene transfer and gene function. Since the original report in 1990 on the successful expression of a reporter gene in muscle[1], plasmid DNA injection has been widely used to mediate gene transfer study. As a gene transfer vector, naked DNA has many obvious advantages. It is easy and cheap to be prepared and more safe after transfection. But the plasmid mediated gene expression is low because of t…     

^210Pbex depth distribution in soil and calibration models for assessment of soil erosion rates from ^210Pbex measurements

Throughout the past decade, the potential for using nuclear weapon-produced 137Cs ( half-life 30.2 a) fallout to quantify soil erosion rates on both cultivated and uncul- tivated lands for medium-term timescales (≈ 40 a) has been successfully demonstrated in a wide range of envi- ronments in different regions of the world[1—6]. Because in difficulties of distinguishing Chernobyl-derived compo- nent from total 137Cs input in many parts of Europe, and in measuring low activity samples of…     

Cryptomelane（KxMn8-xO16）： Natural active octahedral molecular sieve（OMS-2）

The Xiangtan manganese deposit (XTM) used to be considered a supergene oxide manganese ore in South China. We reported a new identification of the naturally outcropping cryptomelane by examining the physical, chemical and structural features of the XTM supergene oxide manganese ore. The MnO2 content was over 90%, K2O more than 3%, and water from 2.2%-3.1% which is similar to one in zeolite. The cell parameters of the cryptomelane were given as a0 = 0.9974 nm, b0 = 0.2863 nm, c0 = 0.9693 nm and β= 91.47°. There was a larger pseduotetragonal tunnel in the natural cryptomelane that was formed by [MnO6] octahedral double chains with aperture of 0.462×0.466 nm2, filled with K cations resulting in some Mn3+ substituting for Mn4+ to balance the negative charges of structure. The finding is important not only for prospecting manganese resources in South China, but also in application of octahedral molecular sieve of natural cryptomelane as that developed in the tetragonal molecular sieve of natural zeolite o     

Discovery of the granulite xenoliths in Cenozoic volcanic rocks from Hoh Xil,Tibetan plateau

Two-pyroxene granulite and clinopyroxene granulite xenoliths have been recently discovered in the Late Paleogene toNeogene volcanic rocks (with ages in the range of 4.27～44.60 Ma) that outcropped in Hoh Xil, central Tibetan plateau. Based on theelectron microprobe analysis data, the xenoliths provide constraints for the formation equilibrium temperatures of the two-pyroxene gran-ulite being about 783 to 818℃ as determined by two-pyroxene thermometry and the forming pressure of the clinopyroxene granulite beingabout 0.845 to 0.858 GPa that is equivalent to 27.9～28.3 km depth respectively. It indicates that these granulite xenoliths represent thesamples from the middle part of the thickened Tibetan crust. This discovery is important and significant to making further discussion onthe component and thermal regime of the deep crust of the Tibetan plateau.     

Design and application of 60mer oligonucleotide microarray in SARS coronavirus detection

In April 2003, a novel coronavirus[1,2] which was associated with cases of Severe Acute Respiratory Syn-drome (SARS) was first isolated and sequenced in Canada. The genome of SARS coronavirus (SARS-CoV) is 29727[3] nucleotides in length and has 11 known open reading frames (ORFs). Although the genome organiza-tion of this virus is similar to that of other coronaviruses, phylogenetic analyses and sequence alignment show that SARS-CoV is not closely related to any of the previously ch…     

Do multiple cycles of aeolian deposit-pedogenesis exist in the reticulate red clay sections in southern China?

Since the Quaternary scientists successfully dis-closed the paleoclimatic significance of the loess-paleo- sol sequence in the Loess Plateau, Northwest China, the loess-paleosol sequence has become well-known terres-trial materials revealing the multiple cyclic changes of Quaternary climates. As a carrier of paleoenvironmental information, it could compare beauty with the deep ocean deposit[8]. In recent years, however, the researchers began to put their sights to southern China. They try t…     

The age of formation of the mirabilite and sand wedges in the Hexi Corridor and their paleoclimatic interpretation

The Hexi Corridor is located at the transition zone of the Asian summer monsoon and westerly airflow, and lies in an important position in terms of its ecological fragility and climatic sensitivity. During a recent field expedition to this region, we found a sedimentary mirabilite layer in a number of localities including Suwushan, Yanchi, Baitujing, Yanchi Gaotai, Huahai, Yumen, Halanuo扙r, and Dunhuang (Fig. 1), which have the potential to provide important information about environmenta…     

Temperature variations on the Tibetan Plateau over the last two millennia

The paleoclimate data recovered from ice cores,tree rings and lake sediments indicate regional features of cfimatic change on the Tibeta n Plateau (TP) during the last 2000 years. The composite temperature reconstructions in-dicate that several main climatic episodes, such as the “LittleIce Age“ between 1400 and 1900, the “Medieval Warm Pe-riod“ in 1150-1400, a less warm period in 800-1100, and an earlier cold period between the 3rd and 5th centuries,occurred in the TP. In addition, temperature varied from region to region. The period from AD 800 to 1100, which waswarm in northeastern TP, was contemporaneous with cool-ing in the western and southern TP. The southern TP ex-perienced warming between 1150 and 1400. For western TP,the δ^18O records of the Guliya ice core indicate that the pe-Hod 1250-1500 witnessed a clear warming. Large-scaletrends in the temperature history from northeastern TP aremore similar to those in eastern China than are the trendsfrom the Guliya ice cap far to the west and southern TP. The most prominent similarities between the temperature varia-tions of the TP and eastern China are such cold phases as 1100-1150, 1500-1550, 1650-1700 and 1800-1850, andthe latter three cold events match with three widespreadg lacial advances which occurred on the TP during the Little Ice A2e.