Compositions of aliphatic des-A-triterpenes in the Hani peat deposit,Northeast China and its biological significance

Aliphatic des-A-triterpenes, the degradation products of pentacyclic triterpenes have been tentatively assigned in samples taken from a 963-cm-thick peat sequence from the Hani region of Northeast China using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) in order to understand and identify these des-A-triterpenes response to climate and ecology. The study indicates that aliphatic des-A-triterpenes are abundant in the Hani peat bog. The high relative abundance of the total des-A-triterpenes mainly occurs at the Holocene periods and is corresponding to the low sedimentation rate. The mechanism of des-A-triterpenes accumulation is not consistent with the previous studies. It is proposed that the biological community is also one influence factor. The obvious stage variations of the total des-A-triterpenes in the whole sequence reveal the different biological (microbes and plants) processes and responses, possibly revealing the four large replacements of biological community and functional composition in the swamp environment over the 16000 cal a BP. The low total des-A-triterpenes values occur at about 10200, 8700, 7700, 6600, 4480–3940 and 3040 cal a BP, reflecting the multiple millennial micro-environment oscillations under the macro-environment of the swamp during the Holocene. The ratios of diene and monoene des-A-triterpenes (DT/MT), des-A-lupane and diene and monoene des-A-triterpenes (DL/(DT+MT)), ratios of individual compounds exhibit vertical opposite to the total des-A-triterpenes. Namely, these ratios are high during the last deglaciation and late Holocene whereas they are low at other periods, indicating different compounds have different responses to micro-environment and microbial activities. This study discusses the diversity of biological community and biological functional composition response to micro-environment, which not only provides the complement in Northeast China, but also bears important fundamental information for the implication to ecological environment in the future.     

A model of calcium signaling and degranulation dynamics induced by laser irradiation in mast cells

Recent experiments show that calcium signaling and degranulation dynamics induced by low power laser irradiation in mast cells must rely on extracellular Ca^2＋ influx. An analytical expression of Ca^2＋ flux through TRPV4 cation channel in response to interaction of laser photon energy and extracellular Ca^2＋ is deduced, and a model characterizing dynamics of calcium signaling and degranulation activated by laser irradiation in mast cells is established. The model indicates that the characteristics of calcium signaling and degranulation dynamics are determined by interaction between laser photon energy and Ca^2＋ influx. Extracellular Ca^2＋ concentration is so high that even small photon energy can activate mast cells, thus avoiding the possible injury caused by laser irradiation with shorter wavelengths. The model predicts that there exists a narrow parameter domain of photon energy and extracellular Ca^2＋ concentration of which results in cytosolic Ca^2＋ limit cycle oscillations, and shows that PKC activity is in direct proportion to the frequency of Ca^2＋ oscillations. With the model it is found that sustained and stable maximum plateau of cytosolic Ca^2＋ concentration can get optimal degranulation rate. Furthermore, the idea of introducing the realistic physical energy into model is applicable to modeling other physical signal transduction systems.     

Magnetostratigraphy of the Zanda basin in southwest Tibet Plateau and its tectonic implications

The Zanda basin is one of the very important basins at the north slope of the Himalaya Range. Thus the study of the basin strata will provide critical information about the tectonic evolution of the Himalayan Orogenic Belt. 268 oriented block samples were collected in the 750-m-thick sections of the Zanda basin. The characteristic remanent magnetization （ChRM） was isolated that decays linearly to the origin between 500℃ and 690℃for most studied samples. An age range of 9.5-2.6 Ma was estimated from the correlation between our observed polarity column and the Geomagnetic Polarity Time Scale （GPTS）. The age of the Zanda basin does not support the models that the South Tibetan Detach system （STDS） is one of the basin controlling faults. Given the sedimentological features in the basin and the tectonic features at the north edge of the basin, the Zanda basin was a half graben that was possibly controlled by the Karakorum fault on the northeast.     

Magnetic properties of surface soils across the southern Tarim Basin and their relationship with climate and source materials

The magnetic susceptibility (χ) of surface soils on the Chinese Loess Plateau (CLP) has strong positive correlation with mean annual precipitation.It is widely accepted that ultrafine magnetite/maghemite grains produced during pedogenesis are responsible for the enhancement of χ,and loess χ on the CLP has been widely used as a proxy for the intensity of the East Asian summer monsoon.However,few works have investigated mechanisms for the enhancement of χ in the case of surface aeolian sediments in westerly-dominated inland China,north of the Tibetan Plateau.Here detailed rock magnetism and grain size studies of 49 surface samples taken across the southern Tarim Basin for different rainfall/temperature/altitude conditions are presented.The results show that samples taken from desert have the lowest χ values and that χ of loessic sand and loess samples decreases with increasing altitude.In addition,the rock magnetism studies suggest that the magnetic properties of surface soils across the southern Tarim Basin are mainly controlled by the concentration of coarse aeolian ferrimagnetic minerals.The contribution of ultrafine pedogenically produced magnetic grains to χ is very limited.     

基于量子化学计算的乙烷、乙烯、乙炔水合物主客体间相互作用特性研究

天然气水合物是一种特殊的笼状化合物,水合物中的客体分子不同,主客体间的相互作用存在差异。为了分析烃类水合物中主客体间相互作用的特征,利用量子化学方法,对乙烷、乙烯、乙炔这3种客体分子占据Ⅰ型水合物T笼时的结构、相互作用能及C—C键伸缩振动频率进行研究,讨论了客体分子在水笼中的赋存形态,揭示了主客体间的相互作用机制。结果表明：客体分子占据T笼后,与占据前相比,T笼会发生微小的膨胀或收缩,客体分子的原子间距减小;通过能量分析,发现主客体间相互作用能(ΔE_host-guest)的大小顺序为：ΔE_T笼-乙烯<ΔE_T笼-乙烷<ΔE_T笼-乙炔,色散矫正的加入使主客体间的相互作用能增大;能量分解结果显示C原子的杂化方式对水合物的主客体间相互作用影响较大,随着客体分子中C原子的杂化方式由sp³→sp²→sp杂化,客体分子与水笼间的相互作用中静电作用先略微减弱、然后增强,色散作用逐渐减弱;与未占据T笼相比,乙烷分子占据T笼后C—C键伸缩振动频率增加了6.79 cm^-1,乙烯和乙炔分子占据T笼后C—C键伸缩振动频率分别减小了5.86 cm^-1和15.87 cm^-1。     

Moisture variations over the past millennium characterized by Qaidam Basin tree-ring δ 18O

High-resolution tree-ring δ ¹⁸O chronologies covering the last millennium, although scarce, are essential in understanding patterns of climatic changes in the northeastern region of the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau. For this study, a tree-ring δ ¹⁸O chronology with a temporal resolution of 3-years was developed from the long-lived Qilian juniper (Sabina przewalskii Kom.), extending back in time to AD 991. This long δ ¹⁸O chronology was significantly correlated with the yearly δ ¹⁸O in tree rings during the common period from 1800 to 2006, and was an effective proxy for relative humidity during the growing season. A low-frequency moisture pattern signified the occurrence of a slight drought during the Medieval Climate Anomaly, a marked occurrence of a wet period during the Little Ice Age, and a trend in increasing moisture levels, although lower than average, alongside the Twentieth Century warming trend. Comparisons to other hydroclimatic reconstructions indicate that this tree-ring δ ¹⁸O chronology serves as a reliable paleo-humidity proxy for the Qaidam Basin as well as documenting details of past humidity levels in the region.     

Interactively interfacial reaction of iron-reducing bacterium and goethite for reductive dechlorination of chlorinated organic compounds

The interactively interfacial reactions between the iron-reducing bacterium （Shewanella decolorationis, S12） and iron oxide （α-FeOOH） were investigated to determine reductive dechlorination transformation of chlorinated organic compounds （chloroform and pentachlorophenol）. The results showed that the interactive system of S12＋ α-FeOOH exhibited relatively high dechlorination rate. By comparison, the S12 biotic system alone had no obvious dechlorination, and the α-FeOOH abiotic system showed low dechlorination rate. The enhanced dechlorination of chloroform and pentachlorophenol in the interactive system of S12＋α-FeOOH was derived from the promoted generation of adsorbed Fe（Ⅱ） by S12. A decrease in redox potential of the Fe （Ⅲ）/Fe （Ⅱ） couple in the interactive reaction system was determined by cyclic voltammetry. Our results will give new insight into interactively interfacial reaction between iron-reducing bacterium and iron oxides for degradation of chlorinated organic compounds under anaerobic condition.     

Numerical studies on flow and thermal fields in MOCVD reactor

A systematic study has been performed to investigate the flow and thermal patterns of vertical rotating Thomas Swan MOCVD reactor at low pressure,using 2-D dynamic modeling.By varying and calculating the several important process parameters of the reactor,the optimized conditions of the uniform distributions of velocity and temperature profiles in steady state have been obtained.Then,time-dependent models with the step response perturbation of the total gas rate can help identify the visual transient behavi...     

Environmental indicators from comparison of sporopollen in early Pleistocene lacustrine sediments from different climatic zones

Two lacustrine sporopollen records obtained from the Qaidam Basin (in the non-monsoonal region) and the Linxia Basin (in the monsoonal transition zone) indicate that during the early Pleistocene open forest-steppe/steppe vegetation developed in the Qaidam Basin, while in the Linxia Basin an open cypress forest-steppe shifted to a conifer/conifer-steppe and then to open forest-steppe vegetation. Existing sporopollen records from the Chinese Loess Plateau (CLP) (in the monsoonal region) indicate that around the Sanmen Paleolake open forest-steppe shifted to pine/conifer-broadleaved mixed forest. The conifer cover then changed to a subtropical evergreen broadleaved forest distributed around the Nihewan Paleolake. These changes suggest that wetter conditions progressed from western China to the east, and the climate became more humid than that of today indicating a stronger Asian summer monsoon during the early Pleistocene.     

Influence of PrP 106―126 on expression of laminin and fibronectin in astrocyte

Astrogliosis is a hallmark of prion disease, but the metabolic alterations of astrocytes remain poorly documented. A synthetic peptide corresponding to amino acid 106-126 of the human prion protein （PrP） has been shown to be toxic to neurons. In this study, the effects of PrP 106-126 on astrocytes were investigated in vitro. The proliferation of astrocytes was significantly （P 〈 0.05） increased when grown in media conditioned with PrP 106-126 （80 μmol/L） from microglia. The expression of laminin （LN） and fibronectin （FN） was examined at both mRNA and protein levels. The results showed that exposure of astrocytes to PrP 106-126 enhanced the expression of LN and FN. The increase of FN in astrocyte cultures required cytokines previously released by activated microglia. This study reveals the expression of LN and FN affected by PrP106-126.