Daily rainfall along the United States Pacific Coast appears to conform to a square-root normal probability distribution

EXTRACT (SEE PDF FOR FULL ABSTRACT): As part of a study of climatic influences on landslide initiation, a statistical analysis of long-term (>40 years) records of daily rainfall from 24 Pacific coastal stations, from San Diego to Cape Flattery, disclosed an unexpected result - the square root of the daily rainfall closely approximates a normal distribution function. ... This paper illustrates the use of the square-root-normal distribution to analyze variations in precipitation along the mainland United States Pacific Coast with examples of orographic enhancement, rain shadows, and increase in precipitation frequency with geographic latitude.

Quantifying global terrestrial carbon influx and storage as stimulated by an increase in atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration

EXTRACT (SEE PDF FOR FULL ABSTRACT): Measurements of spatial and temporal distributions of carbon dioxide concentration and carbon-13/carbon-12 ratio in the atmosphere suggest a strong biospheric carbon sink in terrestrial ecosystems. Quantifying the sink, however, has become an enormous challenge for Earth system scientists because of great uncertainties associated with biological variation and environmental heterogeneity in the ecosystems. This paper presents an approach that uses two driving parameters to bound terrestrial carbon sequestration associated with an increase in carbon dioxide concentration.

The near-AD 1600 multi-proxy puzzle

EXTRACT (SEE PDF FOR FULL ABSTRACT): A varve chronology with annual resolution (AD 1117-1992) has been developed recently for Santa Barbara Basin. Varve thickness and water content show an exponential trend consistent with expected patterns in the presence of sediment compaction over time. Annual varve thickness was decomposed into orthogonal components using singular spectrum analysis (SSA) to identify and retrieve inter-decadal oscillations. ... This suggests a connection with global-scale decadal cycles identified in the subtropical Pacific gyre circulation and, possibly, with solar-driven phenomena. The near-1600 AD event coincides with (a) a similarly sudden change of state in nearby Santa Monica Basin that triggered the onset of anoxic conditions and the preservation of laminated sediments, (b) an extreme drought over the American Southwest, (c) a transformation of the age structure in a number of forest populations throughout Arizona and New Mexico. Total organic carbon burial flux in Santa Barbara Basin varves also shows a marked change after AD 1600. A possible climatic link is proposed that involves pathways for moisture transport in the Southwest at decadal and longer time scales.

Proceedings of the Thirteenth Annual Pacific Climate (PACLIM) Workshop, Asilomar, California - April 14-17, 1996 [abstracts]

Abstracts of 24 oral presentations and 25 poster presentations.

Proceedings of the Thirteenth Annual Pacific Climate (PACLIM) Workshop, Asilomar, California - April 14-17, 1996 [appendices]

The appendices include the workshop agenda, a list of poster presentations, and a list of attendees.

放牧对内蒙古草原植物C:N:P化学计量特征和资源分配的影响

C、N、P是生物地球化学循环中的重要元素，其可利用性和各元素之间的平衡关系将生态系统的物质循环有机统一为一个整体。化学计量生态学为研究这几种基本元素间的平衡提供了一个有力的理论框架。许多研究表明，过度放牧会改变生态系统的结构和功能，而放牧如何影响植物的C:N:P化学计量关系的却少见报道。本研究以内蒙古锡林河流域沿水分梯度分布的草甸、草甸草原、典型草原和沙地四种植被类型中的灰脉苔草（Carex appendiculata）、贝加尔针茅(Stipa baicalensis)、羊草(Leymus chinensis)、大针茅(Stipa grandis)、小叶锦鸡儿(Caragana microphylla)、冷蒿(Artemisia frigid)、克氏针茅(S. krylovii)和榆树(Ulmus Pumila)疏林沙地8个草地群落为研究对象，对长期禁牧样地和自由放牧样地中273种植物，其中禁牧与放牧样地中的共有植物种为144个，测定了植物叶片C: N: P化学计量特征以及植株高度、丛幅面积、茎、叶和株（丛）生物量、茎叶比等功能性状，系统地研究了放牧对植物C:N:P化学计量特征和资源分配的影响。取得了如下主要研究结果和结论： 1. 放牧降低了植物叶片的C:N比，但增加了N:P比和C:P比。C:N:P 化学计量比的变化主要受叶片N和P含量变化的影响； 2. 植物C:N:P化学计量特征对放牧的响应同时受水分条件的制约。沿水分梯度分布的不同植被类型中，植物叶片C:N:P化学计量特征对放牧的响应不同。草甸群落中，植物叶片C含量显著降低，N和P含量显著增加；在草甸草原群落中，植物叶片C、P含量减少，N含量显著增加；而在典型草原群落中，植物叶片C、N和P含量均显著降低； 3. 在物种水平上，C、N、P含量对放牧的响应分为：显著增加、显著降低和没有显著变化三种类型。放牧影响下，植物叶片N含量和N:P比在显著升高的物种多于显著降低的，而叶片C含量、C:N和C:P显著降低的物种占的比例很小，表明植物对放牧适应策略与物种本身的生物学特性有着密切的关系。 4. 过度放牧使植物的植株高度、丛幅大小、株丛数、茎叶比和单株生物量均显著降低，即植物整体呈现小型化现象，进而导致群落初级生产力、茎和叶生物量下降。轻度放牧对物种的资源分配没有显著影响，单株（丛）生物量和群落茎、叶及总生物量均呈增加趋势，这与过度放牧的影响正好相反。 5. 过度放牧显著改变了物种的资源分配策略，使生物量向叶的分配比例增加，向茎的分配比例减少。资源优先向同化器官分配可能是草地植物对长期放牧干扰的一种重要适应对策。

植物根系、根区微生物对大气CO2浓度倍增的反应及其生态学意

预测下世纪中叶，大气CO_2浓度将高到目前的两倍（即达到700μ1•1~(-1)）。CO_2倍增对植物地上部的影响已经有了较多的研究，胆是由于方法学上的困难，至今关于倍增CO_2对植物根及根区微生物的研究仍是非常匮乏。本文应用国际上最新的根研究方法，以根系为中心，研究开顶式CO_2C熏蒸培养室中，CO_2倍增条件下根系与地上部，根系与根区微生物[共生的泡囊－丛枝菌根（VAM）真菌，非共生的土壤微生物]的关系。 1. CO_2倍增对根系的影响目前CO_2倍增对根系影响的研究多集中在根生物量的测定，或根／冠比值的测定，而善于其它参数如根长度则很少涉及，而根表面的反应目前还未见文献报道。本实验以幼苗期小麦“青323”（Triticum aestivum）、水稻“中作 29”(Oryza sativa)、大豆“科农4号”（Glycine max）、玉米“农大3138”（Zea mays）、甜高粱“M－81E”（Sorghum saccharatum）为材料，研究CO_2倍增对植物生物量的影响，发现CO_2倍增使C_3植物水稻、大豆的地上部、根系干重均显著增加，使小麦的根系干重显著增加，地上部无显著差异;C_4植物玉米和甜高粱的地上部和根系均没有显著反应。植物干重反应资料表明在光合产物的分配方面，C_3和C_4植物之间存在巨大的差异。 为了解根系获取土壤资源的能力的变化，我们对根系总长度和总表面积进行了分析。用样格交叉法研究根系长度的变化，结果显示，幼苗期的小麦、大豆的根系长度均被显著促进，尤其值得注意的是，尽管玉米根系干重没有显著改变，但是根长度已发生显著变化。同时应用研究根系表面积的最新方法－Na NO_2吸附法，研究发现幼苗期小麦、水稻和大豆的根系表面积在CO_2倍增条件下均显著增加，C_4植物玉米的根表面积亦有显著增加，但甜高粱的根表面积却没有显著反应，这说明即使在C_4植物类型中，根系表面积的反应在不同物种间仍存在很大差异。由于根长度和根表面积增幅大于根干重的增幅，所以推断在CO_2倍增条件下，植物根系细根比例增加，这有利于植物获取更多的养分。由于不同植物之间根系的反应不同，这将改变群落中原有的根系竞争关系，从而影响群落中物种的组成。 2. CO_2倍增对VAM真菌侵染强度和活力的影响本文应用NBT染色法，并结合浸染强度等级和活力等级标准，首次对CO_2倍增条件下，植物VAM真菌的侵染强度和活力的变化进行了检测。对比常规的酸性品红乳酸甘油法和NBT法，发现两者在显示侵染强度时元显著差异，但后者能同时用于侵染活力等级的研究。对幼苗期大豆以及不同生长期的小麦和玉米根系VAM真菌的侵染强度和活力进行观测，结果显示，倍增CO_2对大豆的侵染强度和活力均没有显著效应;使幼苗期玉米的侵染强度显著增加，但侵染活力无显著差异，但随生长期的推移，侵染强度所受的CO_2倍增效应逐渐减小，与14天苗龄（DAP）和35DAP相比，侵染活力在22DAP时所受效应最大;使10DAP小麦的VAM侵染强度和活力均显著增加，而且这种效应在30DAP小麦中的表现与10DAP小麦的相同。说明C_3、C_4植物中，菌根真菌对CO_2倍增反应不同，这也许是C_3、C_4植物对CO_2倍增反应不同的原因之一。倍增CO_2改善了VAM真菌的发育，所以较之于非菌根侵染植物，菌根侵染植物将因为CO_2倍增而获益更多，另一方面不同种植物中，VAM真菌的发育反应不同，这将使植物群落中，根系获取无机营养的竞争能力发生变化，最终影响植物群落的物种丰度和生物多样性以及群落的演替。 3. CO_2倍增对非共生土壤微生物的影响CO_2倍增使生长70天的小麦、垂柳（Salix babylonica）、藜(Chenopodium album)、繁穗苋（Amaranthus cruentus）品种“红苋K112”的地上部和根系的生物量增加。以这些植物所在土壤为材料，用氯仿熏蒸直接提取法研究土壤微生物生物量C（C_(mic)）和生物量N（N_(mic)）的变化，发现CO_2倍增尽管使各类型植物的C_4植物）土壤中C_(mic)的变化趋势不完全相同（小麦和藜所在土壤的C_(mic)下降，垂柳中C_(mic)升高，而在繁穗苋中无显著差异），但N_(mic)在各物种所在土壤中均有不同程度的上升，在繁穗苋中增幅最大。C_(mic):N_(mic)比值在4个物种所在土壤中均明显下降，这意味着CO_2倍增后在植物生长后期，土壤微生物活性提高，分解植物凋落物和土壤中其它有机质的能力加强，从而改善贫瘠土壤中有机质质量。 4.CO_2倍增对植物呼吸和光合作用及C素积累的影响 1）CO_2倍增对植物暗呼吸的影响：以杜仲（Eucommia ulmoides）、紫花苜蓿(Medicago sativa)和玉米等10种植物的离体成熟叶片或整株为材料，研究不同测定温度（15～35 ℃）下，CO_2倍增对植物暗呼吸的影响。结果表明：在较低温度（15 ℃、20 ℃）下，CO_2倍增对植物暗呼吸没有显著效应;在较高温度（30 ℃、35 ℃）时，多数被测植物的暗呼吸显著增强。由于植物在不同温度时它们的暗咱吸受CO_2倍增的促进幅度不同，这将导致不同地区（环境温度不同）的植物暗呼吸反应有差异，而且由于不同物种的暗呼吸增幅不同，综合光合效应，它们的生物量的反应也会不同。 2）CO_2倍增对整株植物的CO_2气体交换及植物C素积累的影响：利用自行设计的一套CO_2气体测定装置，首次尝试同步测定CO_2倍增条件下幼苗期小麦地下部和地上部的气体交换在昼夜24小时内的变化及C素的积累。发现CO_2倍增不仅使小麦地上部C素的积累增加，也使地下部释放的C素增加，但整株植物的C素收入仍高于对照两倍多，这从植物与环境的CO_2气体交换角度为CO_2倍增促进植物生物量的增加提供了依据。并首次提出：植物的整体性及植物所在的环境条件（主要是温度和光照强度）决定着植物暗呼吸对CO_2倍增的响应方式：被抑制或无效应。

Purification and cloning of a novel C-type lectin-like protein with platelet aggregation activity from Trimeresurus mucrosquamatus venom

TMVA, a novel C-type lectin-like protein that induces platelet aggregation in a dose-dependent manner, was purified from the venom of Trimeresurus mucrosquamatus. It consists of two subunits, alpha (15,536 Da) and beta (14,873 Da). The mature amino acid sequences of the a (135 amino acids) and beta subunits (123 amino acids) were deduced from cloned cDNAs. Both of the sequences show great similarity to C-type lectin-like venom proteins, including a carbohydrate recognition domain. The cysteine residues of TMVA are conserved at positions corresponding to those of flavocetin-A and convulxin, including the additional Cys135 in the alpha subunit and Cys3 in the beta subunit. SDS-PAGE, mass spectrometry analysis and amino acid sequence showed that native TMVA exists as two convertible multimers Of (alphabeta)(2) and (alphabeta)(4) with molecular weights of 63,680 and 128,518 Da, respectively. The (alphabeta)(2) complex is stabilized by an interchain disulfide bridge between the two alphabeta-heterodimers, whereas the stabilization of the (alphabeta)(4) complex seems to involve non-covalent interactions between the (alphabeta)(2) complexes. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.

The change of gaseous carbon fluxes following the switch of dominant producers from macrophytes to algae in a shallow subtropical lake of China

Successions of lake ecosystems from clear-water, macrophyte-rich conditions into turbid states with abundant phytoplankton have taken place in many shallow lakes in China. However, little is know about the change of carbon fluxes in lakes during such processes. We conducted a case study in Lake Biandantang to investigate the change of carbon fluxes during such a regime shift. Dissolved aquatic carbon and gaseous carbon (methane (CH4) and carbon dioxide (CO2)) across air-water interface in three sites with different vegetation covers and compositions were studied and compared. CH4 emissions from three sites were 0.62 +/- 0.36, 0.70 +/- 0.36, and 1.31 +/- 0.57 mg m(-2) h(-1), respectively. Correlation analysis showed that macrophytes, rather than phytoplankton, directly positively affected CH4 emission. CO2 fluxes of three sites in Lake Biandantang were significantly different, and the average values were 77.8 +/- 20.4, 52.2 +/- 14.1 and 3.6 +/- 26.8 mg m(-2) h(-1), respectively. There were an evident trend that the larger macrophyte biomass, the lower CO2 emissions. Correlation analysis showed that in different sites, dominant plant controlled CO2 flux across air-water interface. In a year cycle, the percents of gaseous carbon release from lake accounting for net primary production were significantly different (from 39.3% to 2.8%), indicating that with the decline of macrophytes and regime shift, the lake will be a larger carbon source to the atmosphere. (c) 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Molecular cloning and expression pattern of 14 kDa apolipoprotein in orange-spotted grouper, Epinephelus coioides

A novel fish-specific apolipoprotein (apo-14 kDa) has been recently cloned from eel and pufferfish. However, its expression pattern has not been elucidated. in this study, EcApo-14 has been screened from hypothalamic cDNA library of male orange-spotted grouper, which shows 62.9%, 51%, 46.9%, 43.2%, and 31.9% identities to Apo-14 of European flounder, pufferfish, Japanese eel, gibel carp, and grass carp, respectively. RT-PCR analysis reveals that this gene is first transcribed in neurula embryos and maintains a relatively stable expression level during the following embryogenesis. EcApo-14 transcripts are at a very high level during embryonic and early larval development in the yolk syncytial layer (YSL), and decrease in YSL and form intense staining in liver at 3 days after hatching. In adult tissues, EcApo-14 is predominantly expressed in liver and brain. The data suggested that EcApo-14 might play an important role in liver and brain morphogenesis and growth. (c) 2005 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Rickettsia-like organism infection in a freshwater cultured fish Ophiocephalus argus C. in China

From 2001 to 2002, a new and emergent infectious disease of Ophiocephalus argus occurred in a fishery in Hubei Province, China, with an incidence of 60% similar to 70% and a mortality as high as 100 %. The diseased fish showed an enlarged abdomen, the millet-like nodules in internal organs, and the swollen kidney which was composed of 5 similar to 10 sarcoma-like bodies in cream or gray-white colour or ulcerated into beandregs-like substance. Light microscopic observation revealed the basophilic or acidphilic inclusions in cytoplasm of the cells and the granulomas, a diffusive chronic inflammation in internal organs. Further analysis under an electron microscope indicated that the intracytoplasmic inclusions were rickettsia-like organisms (RLOs) that are either spherical or coccoid, with variable size, ranging from 0.5 similar to 1.5 mum in diameter, and enclosed within membrane-bound cytoplasmic vacuoles. RLO had a central nucleoid region with some fine filamentous structures and an electron-dense granule. Its cytoplasm contained abundant ribosomal bodies. Occasionally, RLO appeared to be divided by binary fission. RLOs were also observed in the homogenized tissue of infected fish. The results suggested that the death of cultured O. argus was caused by RLO infection.

Heterojunction solar cells with n-type nanocrystalline silicon emitters on p-type c-Si wafers

Hydrogenated nanocrystalline silicon (nc-Si:H) n-layers have been used to prepare heterojunction solar cells on flat p-type crystalline silicon (c-Si) wafers. The nc-Si:H n-layers were deposited by radio-frequency (RF) plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD), and characterized using Raman spectroscopy, optical transmittance and activation energy of dark-conductivity. The nc-Si:H n-layers obtained comprise fine grained nanocrystallites embedded in amorphous matrix, which have a wider bandgap and a smaller activation energy. Heterojunction solar cells incorporated with the nc-Si n-layer were fabricated using configuration of Ag (100 nm)/1T0 (80 nm)/n-nc-Si:H (15 nm)/buffer a-Si:H/p-c-Si (300 mu m)/Al (200 nm), where a very thin intrinsic a-Si:H buffer layer was used to passivate the p-c-Si surface, followed by a hydrogen plasma treatment prior to the deposition of the thin nanocrystalline layer. The results show that heterojunction solar cells subjected to these surface treatments exhibit a remarkable increase in the efficiency, up to 14.1% on an area of 2.43 cm(2). (c) 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

First charge collection and position-precision data on the medium-resistivity silicon strip detectors before and after neutron irradiation up to 2x10(14) n/cm(2)

Test strip detectors of 125 mu m, 500 mu m, and 1 mm pitches with about 1 cm(2) areas have been made on medium-resistivity silicon wafers (1.3 and 2.7 k Ohm cm). Detectors of 500 mu m pitch have been tested for charge collection and position precision before and after neutron irradiation (up to 2 x 10(14) n/cm(2)) using 820 and 1030 nm laser lights with different beam-spot sizes. It has been found that for a bias of 250 V a strip detector made of 1.3 k Ohm cm (300 mu m thick) can be fully depleted before and after an irradiation of 2 x 10(14) n/cm(2). For a 500 mu m pitch strip detector made of 2.7 k Ohm cm tested with an 1030 nm laser light with 200 mu m spot size, the position reconstruction error is about 14 mu m before irradiation, and 17 mu m after about 1.7 x 10(13) n/cm(2) irradiation. We demonstrated in this work that medium resistivity silicon strip detectors can work just as well as the traditional high-resistivity ones, but with higher radiation tolerance. We also tested charge sharing and position reconstruction using a 1030 nm wavelength (300 mu m absorption length in Si at RT) laser, which provides a simulation of MIP particles in high-physics experiments in terms of charge collection and position reconstruction, (C) 1999 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.

Heterojunction solar cells with n-type nanocrystalline silicon emitters on p-type c-Si wafers

Hydrogenated nanocrystalline silicon (nc-Si:H) n-layers have been used to prepare heterojunction solar cells on flat p-type crystalline silicon (c-Si) wafers. The nc-Si:H n-layers were deposited by radio-frequency (RF) plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD), and characterized using Raman spectroscopy, optical transmittance and activation energy of dark-conductivity. The nc-Si:H n-layers obtained comprise fine grained nanocrystallites embedded in amorphous matrix, which have a wider bandgap and a smaller activation energy. Heterojunction solar cells incorporated with the nc-Si n-layer were fabricated using configuration of Ag (100 nm)/1T0 (80 nm)/n-nc-Si:H (15 nm)/buffer a-Si:H/p-c-Si (300 mu m)/Al (200 nm), where a very thin intrinsic a-Si:H buffer layer was used to passivate the p-c-Si surface, followed by a hydrogen plasma treatment prior to the deposition of the thin nanocrystalline layer. The results show that heterojunction solar cells subjected to these surface treatments exhibit a remarkable increase in the efficiency, up to 14.1% on an area of 2.43 cm(2). (c) 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

黄土丘陵区草地土壤微生物C、N及呼吸熵对植被恢复的响应

以野外样地调查和室内分析法研究了黄土丘陵区不同植被恢复年限下草地土壤微生物C、N及土壤呼吸熵的变化。结果表明,土壤微生物量碳明显地随着植被恢复年限的增加而增加。在恢复前23a,土壤微生物量碳在0～20cm土层年增加率为24.1%;20～40cm为104.4%。植被恢复23a后,0～20cm土层增长率为0.83%,20～40cm为0.19%。土壤微生物量N表现为在植被恢复的初期略有下降,3a后,开始出现明显增加。0～20cm土层年增长率为20.14%,20～40cm为15.11%。在植被恢复23a后,0～20cm土层的年增长率为0.14%,20～40cm变化不大。土壤微生物呼吸强度随着恢复年限的增加逐渐加强;土壤呼吸熵随植被封育时间的增加而呈对数降低趋势。土壤呼吸熵(qCO2)在反映土壤的生物质量变化时,显得更加稳定,受植物生长状况影响较小。相关分析表明,土壤微生物量和土壤微生物活性与土壤有机质、碱解氮和粘粒含量显著正相关;与土壤粉粒含量明显负相关;表层土壤pH值对其也有明显影响。草地植被自然恢复过程可增加土壤微生物活性,有利于土壤质量的提高。