RAD-seq data reveals robust phylogeny and morphological evolutionary history of Rhododendron

Rhododendron is famous for its high ornamental value.However,the genus is taxonomically difficult and the relationships within Rhododendron remain unresolved.In addition,the origin of key morphological characters with high horticulture value need to be explored.Both problems largely hinder utilization of germplasm resources.Most studies attempted to disentangle the phylogeny of Rhododendron,but only used a few genomic markers and lacked large-scale sampling,resulting in low clade support and contradictory phylogenetic signals.Here,we used restriction-site associated DNA sequencing(RAD-seq)data and morphological traits for 144 species of Rhododendron,representing all subgenera and most sections and subsections of this species-rich genus,to decipher its intricate evolutionary history and reconstruct ancestral state.Our results revealed high resolutions at subgenera and section levels of Rhododendron based on RAD-seq data.Both optimal phylogenetic tree and split tree recovered five lineages among Rhododendron.Subg.Therorhodion(cladeⅠ)formed the basal lineage.Subg.Tsutsusi and Azaleastrum formed cladeⅡand had sister relationships.CladeⅢincluded all scaly rhododendron species.Subg.Pentanthera(cladeⅣ)formed a sister group to Subg.Hymenanthes(cladeⅤ).The results of ancestral state reconstruction showed that Rhododendron ancestor was a deciduous woody plant with terminal inflorescence,ten stamens,leaf blade without scales and broadly funnelform corolla with pink or purple color.This study shows significant distinguishability to resolve the evolutionary history of Rhododendron based on high clade support of phylogenetic tree constructed by RAD-seq data.It also provides an example to resolve discordant signals in phylogenetic trees and demonstrates the application feasibility of RAD-seq with large amounts of missing data in deciphering intricate evolutionary relationships.Additionally,the reconstructed ancestral state of six important characters provides insights into the innovation of key characters in Rhododendron.

Guiding magnetic liquid metal for flexible circuit

Liquid metal(LM) has potential applications in flexible electronics due to its high electrical conductivity and high flexibility. However, common methods of printing LM circuits on soft substrates lack controllability, precision, and the ability to repair a damaged circuit. In this paper, we propose a method that uses a magnetic field to guide a magnetic LM(MLM) droplet to print and repair a flexible LM circuit on a femtosecond(fs) laser-patterned silicone surface.After mixing magnetic iron(Fe) particles into LM, the movement of the resultant MLM droplet could be controlled by a magnetic field. A patterned structure composed of the untreated flat domain and the LM-repellent rough microstructure produced by fs laser ablation was prepared on the silicone substrate. As an MLM droplet was guided onto the designed pattern, a soft LM circuit with smooth, uniform, and high-precision LM lines was obtained. Interestingly, the MLM droplet could also be guided to repair the circuit broken LM lines, and the repaired circuit maintained its original electrical properties. A flexible tensile sensor was prepared based on the printed LM circuit, which detected the bending degree of a finger.

Rapid evolution of T2/S-RNase genes in Fragaria linked to multiple transitions from self-incompatibility to self-compatibility

The T2/RNase gene family is widespread in eukaryotes,and particular members of this family play critical roles in the gametophytic self-incompatibility(GSI) system in plants.Wild diploid strawberry(Fragaria)species have diversified their sexual systems via self-incompatible and self-compatible traits,yet how these traits evolved in Fragaria remains elusive.By integrating the published and de novo assembled genomes and the newly generated RNA-seq data,members of the RNase T2 gene family were systematically identified in six Fragaria species,including three self-incompatible species(Fragaria nipponica,Fragaria nubicola,and Fragaria viridis) and three self-compatible species(Fragaria nilgerrensis,Fragaria vesca,and Fragaria iinumae).In total,115 RNase T2 genes were identified in the six Fragaria genomes and can be classified into three classes(Ⅰ-Ⅲ) according to phylogenetic analysis.The identified RNase T2 genes could be divided into 22 homologous gene sets according to amino acid sequence similarity and phylogenetic and syntenic relationships.We found that extensive gene loss and pseudogenization coupled with small-scale duplications mainly accounted for variations in the RNase T2 gene numbers in Fragaria.Multiple copies of homologous genes were mainly generated from tandem and segmental duplication events.Furthermore,we newly identified five S-RNase genes in three self-incompatible Fragaria genomes,including two in F.nipponica,two in F.viridis,and one in F.nubicola,which fit for typical features of a pistil determinant,including highly pistil-specific expression,highly polymorphic proteins and alkaline isoelectric point(pI),while no S-RNase genes were found in all three selfcompatible Fragaria species.Surprisingly,these T2/S-RNase genes contain at least one large intron(>10 kb).This study revealed that the rapid evolution of T2/S-RNase genes within the Fragaria genus could be associated with its sexual mode,and repeated evolution of the self-compatible traits in Fragaria was convergent via losses of S-RNase.

A laminated tufa carbonate from the mid Holocene of the Qilian Mountains and its potential for palaeoclimate inferences

A mid-Holocene tufa section at 3,815 m altitude in the Qilian Mountains at the northeastern margin of the Tibetan Plateau was tested as a possibly important new climate archive. The tufa carbonate displays a distinct alternation of white and dark layers most probably representing annually deposited sparry and microgranular calcite which is formed during the warm and relatively wet summer and the drier and cooler spring and autumn season with an interruption of tufa formation during the freezing period. The δ^18O record of the tufa site comprises probably 357 years of annually deposited car-bonate-about 4, 000 years bejCore present, which indicates the prevalence of wetter climatic con- ditions in comparison to the present-day situation. This inference is confirmed by palynological data and lake-level reconstructions from a number of sites in the northern foreland of the Qilian Mountains, highlighting the large potential of longer tufa sequences for high-resolution palaeoclimate studies in the future.

Groundwater Nitrate Contamination and Driving Forces from Intensive Cropland in the North China Plain

High nitrate in groundwater is a serious problem especially in highly active agricultural areas.In this paper,the concentration and spatial distribution of groundwater nitrate in cropland area in the North China Plain were assessed by statistical and geostatistical techniques.Nitrate concentration in groundwater reached a maximum of 526.58 mg/L,and 47.2%,21.33%and 11.13%of samples had levels in excess of nitrate safety threshold concentration(50 mg/L)in shallow,middle-deep and deep groundwater,respectively.And NO-3 content significantly decreased with groundwater depth.Groundwater nitrate concentrations under vegetable area are significantly higher than ones under grain and orchard.And there are great differences in spatial distribution of nitrate in the North China Plain and pollution hotspot areas are mainly in Shandong Province.Based on both multiple regressions combined with principal component analysis(PCA),significant variables for nitrate variation in three types of ground water were found:population per unit area,percentage of vegetable area,percentage of grain crop area,livestock per unit area,annual precipitation and annual mean temperature for shallow groundwater;population per unit area and percentage of vegetable area for middle-deep groundwater;percentage of vegetable area,percentage of grain crop area and livestock per unit area for deep groundwater.

The mechanism of hot crack formation in Ti-6Al-4V during cold crucible continuous casting

Hot crack is one of common defects in castings, which often results in failure of castings. This work studies the formation of hot crack during cold crucible continuous casting by means of experiments and theoretical analysis. The results show that hot crack occurs on the surface and in the circumference of ingots, where the solidified shell and the solidification front meet each other. The tendency of hot cracking decreases with the increase of withdrawal velocities in some extent. The hot crack is caused mainly by the friction force between the shell and the crucible inner wall, and it takes place when the stress resulting from friction exceeds the tensile strength of the shell. The factors of μ_m, η_t, η_s and η_m, affecting hot cracks are analyzed and verified. In order to decrease the tendency of hot cracks, technical parameters should be optimized by decreasing μ_m, η_t, η_s and η_m.

Numerical simulation for mold-filling of thin-walled aluminum alloy castings in traveling magnetic field

The numerical simulation for mold-filling of thin-walled aluminum alloy castings in horizontal traveling magnetic field is performed. A force model of Al alloy melt in the traveling magnetic field is founded by analyzing traveling magnetic field carefully. Numerical model of Al alloy mold-filling is founded based on N-S equation, which was suitable for traveling magnetic field. By using acryl glass mold with indium as alloy melt, the experiment testified the filling state of alloy in traveling magnetic field. The results of numerical simulation indicate that the mold-filling ability of gallium melt increases continually with the increase of the input ampere turns.

Temporal regulation of alternative splicing events in rice memory under drought stress

Plant adaptation to drought stress is essential for plant survival and crop yield.Recently,harnessing drought memory,which is induced by repeated stress and recovery cycles,was suggested as a means to improve drought resistance at the transcriptional level.However,the genetic mechanism underlying drought memory is unclear.Here,we carried out a quantitative analysis of alternative splicing(AS)events in rice memory under drought stress,generating 12 transcriptome datasets.Notably,we identified exon skipping(ES)as the predominant AS type(>80%)in differential alternative splicing(DAS)in response to drought stress.Applying our analysis pipeline to investigate DAS events following drought stress in six other plant species revealed variable ES frequencies ranging from 9.94%to 60.70%depending on the species,suggesting that the relative frequency of DAS types in plants is likely to be speciesspecific.The dinucleotide sequence at AS splice sites in rice following drought stress was preferentially GC-AG and AT-AC.Since U12-type splicing uses the AFAC site,this suggests that drought stress may increase U12-type splicing,and thus increase ES frequency.We hypothesize that multiple isofbrms derived from exon skipping may be induced by drought stress in rice.We also identified 20 transcription factors and three highly connected hub genes with potential roles in drought memory that may be good targets for plant breeding.

Problems and Recommendations for Rural Statistics and Survey Methods

With constant deepening of the reform and opening-up,national economic system has changed from planned economy to market economy,and rural survey and statistics remain in a difficult transition period. In this period,China needs transforming original statistical mode according to market economic system. All levels of government should report and submit a lot and increasing statistical information. Besides,in this period,townships,villages and counties are faced with old and new conflicts. These conflicts perplex implementation of rural statistics and survey and development of rural statistical undertaking,and also cause researches and thinking of reform of rural statistical and survey methods.

Historical Reflection on Deviation in Transfer Policy of Agricultural Surplus Labor at Early Stage of China

This paper firstly made an analysis on transfer of agricultural surplus labor in the end of the 20 th century. On this basis,it made reflection on policy of agricultural surplus labor. Then,it stated that there is a great deviation of transfer of agricultural surplus labor from practical requirement and pointed out basic internationally recognized ideas of agricultural surplus labor transfer. Finally,it came up with recommendations for formulating agricultural surplus labor transfer.

Influence Factors and Improvement Recommendations for Core Competency of Township Enterprises

Core competency of township enterprises may be influenced from the property right,technology,scale operation,financial management and talent. In view of these influence factors,township enterprises should conduct technological innovation,bring into full play functions of talents,promote corporate culture of township enterprises,attach great importance to development of core products and innovation of relevant systems,and establish market information platform for township enterprises.

How to Develop Low-carbon Agriculture in China?

With the advent of low-carbon economy nowadays,the development of agriculture is necessary to adapt to the situation of global economic development,and transform the agricultural development models. This paper firstly gives an overview of low-carbon economy and lowcarbon agriculture,and then points out the possibility of developing the low-carbon agricultural economy in China,and describes the ways to develop the low-carbon agricultural economy. Finally,this paper puts forth the corresponding recommendations for the development of the lowcarbon agricultural economy.

Sustainable Development of Agriculture from the Perspective of Rural Urbanization

In recent years,China's economic construction enters into a new development period.The buyer's market appears,structural demand of agricultural products becomes excessive,and the demand market becomes depressed.In the process of seeking approaches for expanding domestic demands,accelerating construction of small towns is a breakthrough point of rural population urbanization,and also an optimal approach for realizing transfer of rural surplus labor.Besides,accelerating construction of small towns is an inevitable path for intensive management of rural land implementing ecological agriculture,and also an optimal path for improving farmers' quality and improving living conditions.In addition,it is an essential strategy for increasing consumption,expanding domestic demand,pulling rural economic and social development,and also a powerful measure for realizing sustainable development of agriculture.In the process of construction of rural urbanization,it is required to attach importance to strategy of sustainable development of agriculture.This is beneficial for the present generation and for descendants.Therefore,how to build small towns and how to solve many problems in sustainable development of agriculture have received much concern.

On Development of Rural Tourism Economy in China

Constantly ascendant rural tourism provides great opportunity for exploration and development of small scenic spots and scenic sites.For this new opportunity,it is required to provide correct guidance and encouragement. Then,it will become a new growth point of rural local economy. In this study,it came up with several recommendations for expanding the development space of rural tourism.

Fusion of Internal Similarity to Improve the Accuracy of Recommendation Algorithm

Collaborative filtering algorithms(CF)and mass diffusion(MD)algorithms have been successfully applied to recommender systems for years and can solve the problem of information overload.However,both algorithms suffer from data sparsity,and both tend to recommend popular products,which have poor diversity and are not suitable for real life.In this paper,we propose a user internal similarity-based recommendation algorithm(UISRC).UISRC first calculates the item-item similarity matrix and calculates the average similarity between items purchased by each user as the user’s internal similarity.The internal similarity of users is combined to modify the recommendation score to make score predictions and suggestions.Simulation experiments on RYM and Last.FM datasets,the results show that UISRC can obtain better recommendation accuracy and a variety of recommendations than traditional CF and MD algorithms.

以氦-4为唯一工质的1.8 K复合制冷机及其应用验证

量子信息技术和深空探测等领域的蓬勃发展,对2 K以下温区高可靠、长寿命、小型轻量化、高制冷效率低温制冷机的需求日益迫切,高频脉冲管耦合Joule-Thomson(JT)的复合制冷循环是实现这一目标的重要手段.目前国际上以该循环获得2 K以下温区的成功实践,均是在脉冲管分系统使用氦-4而JT分系统使用氦-3作为循环工质的情况下获得的.氦-3在地球上存量稀少、价格高昂,是阻碍这一循环在更广范围内实用化的关键瓶颈.本文对以氦-4为唯一工质的四级高频脉冲管耦合JT的复合制冷循环开展了理论与实验研究,分析了基于该循环获取2 K以下温度的关键难点和可行性,从采用间隙密封的直流线性压缩机的低压压力和多级间壁式回热器的低压侧压降损失入手,理论预测出在40 kPa系统充气压力下可实现1.1 kPa的压缩机吸气压力和438.6 Pa的低压侧总压降,从而能获得1.54 kPa的饱和蒸气压,此时采用氦-4节流可实现1.78 K的制冷温度.同时,在氦-4超流态工况下,分析了小界面温差的Kapitza热导对冷头蒸发器内超流氦热传递的影响,并给出了在此基础上JT循环参数优化的限制条件.设计出的制冷机的无负荷温度经过16.5 h从300 K降至1.8 K,且在360 h连续运行时间内温度波动不超过±6 mK,验证了理论的正确性和工质在超流状态下制冷温度的稳定性.随后开展了与实际超导纳米线单光子探测器(superconducting nanowire single-photon detector,SNSPD)的耦合联试,对SNSPD器件的系统探测效率和暗计数率的实际测试表明,所研制复合制冷机在采用氦-4为唯一工质条件下,依然可以为SNSPD提供1.84 K的工作温度以及良好的电环境,使其保持稳定可靠的工作状态.上述理论和实验突破不但将为SNSPD的未来空间应用提供可靠保障,而且也将为彻底打破该类复合制冷循环在更广领域内的实用化瓶颈铺平道路.

Antimony speciation in the environment:Recent advances in understanding the biogeochemical processes and ecological effects

Antimony(Sb) is a toxic metalloid, and its pollution has become a global environmental problem as a result of its extensive use and corresponding Sb-mining activities. The toxicity and mobility of Sb strongly depend on its chemical speciation. In this review, we summarize the current knowledge on the biogeochemical processes(including emission, distribution,speciation, redox, metabolism and toxicity) that trigger the mobilization and transformation of Sb from pollution sources to the surrounding environment. Natural phenomena such as weathering, biological activity and volcanic activity, together with anthropogenic inputs, are responsible for the emission of Sb into the environment. Sb emitted in the environment can adsorb and undergo redox reactions on organic or inorganic environmental media, thus changing its existing form and exerting toxic effects on the ecosystem. This review is based on a careful and systematic collection of the latest papers during 2010–2017 and our research results, and it illustrates the fate and ecological effects of Sb in the environment.

Pb, Sr isotopes in organic matter of Lower Tertiary hydrocarbon source rocks in Liaohe Fault Depression

The Pb, Sr isotopic compositions in organic matters (kerogen and soluble organic matter) of Lower Tertiary hydrocarbon source rock in Liaohe Fault Depression is first reported. There is a great variable rang of Pb isotopic compositions in kerogen, 206Pb/204Pb = 17.488-18.656, 207Pb/204Pb= 15.388-15.692, 208Pb/204Pb = 37.656-37.484. And soluble

Photon-counting distributed free-space spectroscopy

Spectroscopy is a well-established nonintrusive tool that has played an important role in identifying and quantifying substances,from quantum descriptions to chemical and biomedical diagnostics.Challenges exist in accurate spectrum analysis in free space,which hinders us from understanding the composition of multiple gases and the chemical processes in the atmosphere.A photon-counting distributed free-space spectroscopy is proposed and demonstrated using lidar technique,incorporating a comb-referenced frequency-scanning laser and a superconducting nanowire single-photon detector.It is suitable for remote spectrum analysis with a range resolution over a wide band.As an example,a continuous field experiment is carried out over 72 h to obtain the spectra of carbon dioxide(CO_(2))and semi-heavy water(HDO,isotopic water vapor)in 6 km,with a range resolution of 60 m and a time resolution of 10 min.Compared to the methods that obtain only column-integrated spectra over kilometer-scale,the range resolution is improved by 2-3 orders of magnitude in this work.The CO_(2)and HDO concentrations are retrieved from the spectra acquired with uncertainties as low as±1.2%and±14.3%,respectively.This method holds much promise for increasing knowledge of atmospheric environment and chemistry researches,especially in terms of the evolution of complex molecular spectra in open areas.

The new chimeric chiron genes evolved essential roles in zebrafish embryonic development by regulating NAD+ levels

The origination of new genes is important for generating genetic novelties for adaptive evolution and biological diversity.However, their potential roles in embryonic development, evolutionary processes into ancient networks, and contributions to adaptive evolution remain poorly investigated. Here, we identified a novel chimeric gene family, the chiron family, and explored its genetic basis and functional evolution underlying the adaptive evolution of Danioninae fishes. The ancestral chiron gene originated through retroposition of nampt in Danioninae 48–54 million years ago(Mya) and expanded into five duplicates(chiron1–5) in zebrafish 1–4 Mya. The chiron genes(chirons) likely originated in embryonic development and gradually extended their expression in the testis. Functional experiments showed that chirons were essential for zebrafish embryo development. By integrating into the NAD^(+) synthesis pathway, chirons could directly catalyze the NAD^(+) rate-limiting reaction and probably impact two energy metabolism genes(nmnat 1 and naprt) to be under positive selection in Danioninae fishes. Together,these results mainly demonstrated that the origin of new chimeric chiron genes may be involved in adaptive evolution by integrating and impacting the NAD^(+) biosynthetic pathway. This coevolution may contribute to the physiological adaptation of Danioninae fishes to widespread and varied biomes in Southeast Asian.