Sex-specific facilitation and reproduction of the gynodioecious cushion plant Arenaria polytrichoides on the Himalaya-Hengduan mountains,SW China

When benefiting other beneficiaries,cushion plants may reciprocally receive feedback effects.The feedback effects on different sex morphs,however,remains unclear.In this study,taking the gynodioecious Arenaria polytrichiodes as a model species,we aimed to assess the sex-specific facilitation intensity of cushion plant by measuring the beneficiary cover ratio,and to assess the potential costs in cushion reproductive functions by measuring the flower and fruit cover ratios.The total beneficiary cover ratio was similar between females and hermaphrodites.Females produced much less flowers but more fruits than hermaphrodites.These results suggested that females and hermaphrodites possess similar facilitation intensity,and female cushion A.polytrichoides may allocate more resources saved from pollen production to seed production,while hermaphrodites possibly allocate more resources to pollen production hence reducing seed production.The surface areas covered by beneficiaries produced less flowers and fruits than areas without beneficiaries.In addition,strong negative correlations between beneficiary cover and flower cover were detected for both females and hermaphrodites,but the correlation strength were similar for these two sex morphs.However,the correlation between beneficiary cover and fruit cover was only significantly negative for females,suggesting that beneficiary plants negatively affect fruit reproduction of females while have neutral effects on hermaphrodites.All the results suggest that to facilitate other beneficiaries can induce reproductive costs on cushion A.polytrichoides,with females possibly suffering greater cost than hermaphrodites.Such differentiation in reproductive costs between sex morphs,in long-term perspective,may imply sex imbalance in population dynamics.

Review of artificial intelligence applications in astronomical data processing

Artificial Intelligence(AI)is an interdisciplinary research field with widespread applications.It aims at developing theoretical,methodological,technological,and applied systems that simulate,enhance,and assist human intelligence.Recently,notable accomplishments of artificial intelligence technology have been achieved in astronomical data processing,establishing this technology as central to numerous astronomical research areas such as radio astronomy,stellar and galactic(Milky Way)studies,exoplanets surveys,cosmology,and solar physics.This article systematically reviews representative applications of artificial intelligence technology to astronomical data processing,with comprehensive description of specific cases:pulsar candidate identification,fast radio burst detection,gravitational wave detection,spectral classification,and radio frequency interference mitigation.Furthermore,it discusses possible future applications to provide perspectives for astronomical research in the artificial intelligence era.

Design of a Technology Verification Platform for Space Electromagnetic Interference Signal Testing and Analysis

This paper designs a space electromagnetic interference signal test and analysis technology verification platform.The article firstly introduces the general scheme of the technical verification platform and then describes each component unit of the hardware and the overall structure of the software in detail.The platform can achieve a 10 MHz~50 GHz working frequency band,1.2 GHz acquisition and real-time recording bandwidth,6 GB/s recording rate,and 12 TB recording capacity.

Fine mapping and transcriptome sequencing reveal candidate genes conferring all-stage resistance to stripe rust on chromosome arm 1AL in Chinese wheat landrace AS1676

Stripe rust, caused by Puccinia striiformis f. sp. tritici(Pst), threatens wheat production worldwide, and resistant varieties tend to become susceptible after a period of cultivation owing to the variation of pathogen races. In this study, a new resistance gene against Pst race CYR34 was identified and predicted using the descendants of a cross between AS1676, a highly resistant Chinese landrace, and Avocet S, a susceptible cultivar. From a heterozygous plant from a F7recombinant inbred line(RIL) population lacking the Yr18 gene, a near-isogenic line(NIL) population was developed to map the resistance gene. An allstage resistance gene, YrAS1676, was identified on chromosome arm 1AL via bulked-segregant exomecapture sequencing. By analyzing a large NIL population consisting of 6537 plants, the gene was further mapped to the marker interval between KA1A_485.36 and KA1A_490.13, spanning 485.36–490.13 Mb on1AL. A total of 66 annotated genes have been reported in this region. To characterize and predict the candidate gene(s), an RNA-seq was performed using NIL-R and NIL-S seedlings 3 days after CYR34 inoculation. Compared to NIL-S plants, NIL-R plants showed stronger immune reaction and higher expression levels of genes encoding pathogenesis-associated proteins. These differences may help to explain why NIL-R plants were more resistant to Pst race CYR34 than NIL-S plants. By combining fine-mapping and transcriptome sequencing, a calcium-dependent protein kinase gene was finally predicted as the potential candidate gene of YrAS1676. This gene contained a single-nucleotide polymorphism. The candidate gene was more highly expressed in NIL-R than in NIL-S plants. In field experiments with Pst challenge,the YrAS1676 genotype showed mitigation of disease damage and yield loss without adverse effects on tested agronomic traits. These results suggest that YrAS1676 has potential use in wheat stripe rust resistance breeding.

Metaverse virtual social center for elderly communication in time of social distancing

Background The lack of social activities among the elderly due to physical limitations can result in loneliness and depression. The spread of COVID-19 has made it difficult for the elderly to conduct stable social activities, increasing feelings of loneliness. The metaverse is a virtual world that mirrors reality. This allows the elderly to overcome the constraints of reality and perform social activities stably and continuously, providing new ideas for alleviating loneliness. Methods By analyzing their needs, a virtual social center framework for the elderly was proposed in this study. In addition, a prototype system was designed according to this framework. The elderly can socialize in virtual reality with metaverse-related technologies and human–computer interaction tools. Additionally, a test was conducted jointly with the chief physician of the geriatric rehabilitation department of a tertiary hospital. Results The results demonstrated that the mental state of the elderly who had used the virtual social center was significantly better than that of those who had not used it. Conclusions Thus, virtual social centers can help relieve loneliness and depression among the elderly with increasing global epidemics and an aging society. Hence,they have promotional value.

Spatial phylogenetics of two topographic extremes of the Hengduan Mountains in southwestern China and its implications for biodiversity conservation

Previous attempts to elucidate the drivers of speciation mechanisms and spatial distribution patterns of biodiversity in mountain regions have treated different floras within a single geological region as one flora,ignoring the potential contributions of high habitat/ecosystem heterogeneity.Furthermore,current conservation strategies largely focus on forest ecosystems and/or specific flagship species,ignoring marginal ecosystems,leaving species in these ecosystems at risk.Here,we compared the spatial patterns of biodiversity and the potential drivers of these patterns in the river valley and subnival ecosystems of the Hengduan Mountains region(HDM)in southwestern China.Specifically,we compared spatial patterns of diversity,endemism,and threatened species in these ecosystems based on both traditional measurements and recent phylogenetic approaches.We then examined how those patterns were related to environmental factors and human activity in these same regions.We found that the middle-southern HDM supports the highest diversity and endemism for the river valley and subnival ecosystems;however,the distribution patterns of neo-and paleo-endemism in these two ecosystems differ.Regression models indicate that habitat diversity and paleo-climatic fluctuation are important drivers of diversity and endemism for these two ecosystems.Temperature and precipitation,however,showed different influences on the spatial patterns in different ecosystems.Categorical analysis of neo-and paleoendemism(CANAPE)indicated that most endemism centers are not covered by current nature reserves.Moreover,the intensity of human activity is highest in the southern and southeastern HDM,which coincides with the distribution patterns of diversity,mixed-endemism and high-priority(and threatened)species.These findings suggest that different floras within a single geographic/floristic region respond differently to environmental factors and show different spatial phylogenetic patterns.We,therefore,recommend that future research into the drivers of biodiversity consider the contributions of various ecosystem types within a single geological region.This study also provides a theoretical basis for protecting habitat diversity.Our work confirms that current conservation efforts are insufficient to protect ecosystem diversity in the river valley and subnival ecosystems of the Hengduan Mountains.Therefore,we recommend the establishment of nature reserves in the regions identified in this study;furthermore,we strongly recommend improving current and establishing new management policies for biodiversity conservation in this region.

Efficient conversion of benzene and syngas to toluene and xylene over ZnO-ZrO_(2)&H-ZSM-5 bifunctional catalysts

A series of ZnO-ZrO_(2) solid solutions with different Zn contents were synthesized by the urea coprecipitation method,which were coupled with H-ZSM-5 zeolite to form bifunctional catalysts.As a new benzene alkylation reagent,syngas was used instead of methanol to realize the efficient conversion of syngas and benzene into toluene and xylene.A suitable ratio of ZnO-ZrO_(2) led to the significant improvement in the catalytic performance,and a suitable amount of acid helped to increase the selectivity of toluene/xylene and reduce the selectivity of the by-products ethylbenzene and C^(9+) aromatics.The highest benzene conversion of 89.2%and toluene/xylene selectivity of 88.7%were achieved over 10%ZnO-ZrO_(2)&H-ZSM-5(Si/Al=23)at a pressure of 3 MPa and a temperature of 450℃.In addition,the effect of the zeolite framework structure on product distribution was examined.Similar to the molecular dynamics of aromatic hydrocarbons,H-ZSM-5 zeolites comprise 10-membered-ring pores,which are beneficial to the activation of benzene;hence,the conversion of benzene is higher.H-ZSM-35 and HMOR zeolites exhibited small eight-membered-ring channels,which were not conducive to the passage of benzene;hence,the by-product ethylbenzene exhibits a higher selectivity.The distance between the active centers of the bifunctional catalysts was the main factor affecting the catalytic performance,and the powder mixing method was more conducive to the conversion of syngas and benzene.

Characteristics of the Asian–Pacific Oscillation in Boreal Summer Simulated by BCC_CSM with Different Horizontal Resolutions

The summer Asian-Pacific Oscillation （APO） is a major teleconnection pattern that reflects the zonal thermal contrast between East Asia and the North Pacific in the upper troposphere. The performance of Beijing Climate Center Climate System Models （BCC_CSMs） with different horizontal resolutions, i.e., BCC_CSM1.1 and BCC_CSM1.1 （m）, in reproducing APO interannual variability, APO-related precipitation anomalies, and associated atmospheric circulation anomalies, is evaluated. The results show that BCC_CSMI.I（m） can successfully capture the interannual variability of the summer APO index. It is also more capable in reproducing the APO＇s spatial pattern, compared to BCC_CSMI.1, due to its higher horizontal resolution. Associated with a positive APO index, the northward-shifted and intensified South Asian high, strengthened extratropical westerly jet, and tropical easterly jet in the upper troposphere, as well as the southwesterly monsoonal flow over North Africa and the Indian Ocean in the lower troposphere, are realistically represented by BCC_CSM1.1 （m）, leading to an improvement in reproducing the increased precipitation over tropical North Africa, South Asia, and East Asia, as well as the decreased precipitation over subtropical North Africa, Japan, and North America. In contrast, these features are less consistent with observations when simulated by BCC_CSM1.1. Regression analysis further indicates that surface temperature anomalies over the North Pacific and the southern and western flanks of the Tibetan Plateau are reasonably reproduced by BCC_CSM 1.1 （m）, which contributes to the substantial improvement in the simulation of the characteristics of summer APO compared to that of BCC_CSM1.1.

Simulation Study of Network Reconfiguration and Load-balancing Method for the Xinjiang Astronomical Observatory Data Center

The Xinjiang Astronomical Observatory Data Center faces issues related to delay-affected services. As a result, these services cannot be implemented in a timely manner due to the overloading of transmission links. In this paper, the software-defined network technology is applied to the Xinjiang Astronomical Observatory Data Center Network(XAODCN). Specifically, a novel reconfiguration method is proposed to realise the software-defined Xinjiang Astronomical Observatory Data Center Network(SDXAO-DCN), and a network model is constructed. To overcome the congestion problem, a traffic load-balancing algorithm is designed for fast transmission of the service traffic by combining three factors: network structure, congestion level and transmission service. The proposed algorithm is compared with current commonly load-balancing algorithms which are used in data center to verify its efficiency. Simulation experiments show that the algorithm improved transmission performance and transmission quality for the SDXAO-DCN.

Degeneration of foundation cushion species induced by ecological constraints can cause massive changes in alpine plant communities

Foundational cushion plants can re-organize community structures and sustain a prominent proportion of alpine biodiversity,but they are sensitive to climate change.The loss of cushion species can have broad consequences for associated biota.The potential plant community changes with the population dynamics of cushion plants remain,however,unclear.Using eight plant communities along a climatic and community successional gradient,we assessed cushion population dynamics,the underlying ecological constraints and hence associated plant community changes in alpine communities dominated by the foundational cushion plant Arenaria polytrichoides.The population dynamics of Arenaria are attributed to ecological constraints at a series of life history stages.Reproductive functions are constrained by increasing associated beneficiary plants;subsequent seedling establishment is constrained by temperature,water and light availability,extreme climate events,and interspecific competition;strong competitive exclusion may accelerate mortality and degeneration of cushion populations.Along with cushion dynamics,species composition,abundance and community structure gradually change.Once cushion plants completely degenerate,previously cushion-dominated communities shift to relatively stable communities that are overwhelmingly dominated by sedges.Climate warming may accelerate the degeneration process of A.polytrichoides.Degeneration of this foundational cushion plant will possibly induce massive changes in alpine plant communities and hence ecosystem functions in alpine ecosystems.The assessment of the population dynamics of foundation species is critical for an effective conservation of alpine biodiversity.

Identification of human microRNA-disease association via low-rank approximation-based link propagation and multiple kernel learning

Numerous studies have demonstrated that human microRNAs(miRNAs)and diseases are associated and studies on the microRNA-disease association(MDA)have been conducted.We developed a model using a low-rank approximation-based link propagation algorithm with Hilbert–Schmidt independence criterion-based multiple kernel learning(HSIC-MKL)to solve the problem of the large time commitment and cost of traditional biological experiments involving miRNAs and diseases,and improve the model effect.We constructed three kernels in miRNA and disease space and conducted kernel fusion using HSIC-MKL.Link propagation uses matrix factorization and matrix approximation to effectively reduce computation and time costs.The results of the experiment show that the approach we proposed has a good effect,and,in some respects,exceeds what existing models can do.

Interfacial oxidized Pd species dominate catalytic hydrogenation of polar unsaturated bonds

The determination of catalytically active sites is crucial for the design of efficient and stable catalysts toward desired reactions.However,the complexity of supported noble metal catalysts has led to controversy over the locations of catalytically active sites(e.g.,metal,support,and metal/support interface).Here we develop a structurally controllable catalyst system(Pd/SBA-15)to reveal the catalytic active sites for the selective hydrogenation of ketones to alcohol using acetophenone hydrogenation as model reaction.Systematic investigations demonstrated that unsupported Pd nanocrystals have no catalytic activity for acetophenone hydrogenation.However,oxidized Pd species were catalytically highly active for acetophenone hydrogenation.The catalytic activity decreased with the decreased oxidation state of Pd.This work provides insights into the hydrogenation mechanism of ketones but also other unsaturated compounds containing polar bonds,e.g.,nitrobenzene,N-benzylidene-benzylamine,and carbon dioxide.

An Anomeric Base-Tolerant Ester of 8-Alkynyl-1-naphthoate for Gold(I)-Catalyzed Glycosylation Reaction

Given the extreme complexity and diversity of carbohydrates,efficient approaches to the homogeneous oligosaccharide remain limited.Chemical synthesis represents one of the most reliable methods to access homogeneous samples,which mainly relies on the key glycosylation reaction.Consistent with enormous efforts to develop leaving groups for establishing robust glycosylation protocols,we herein disclose a structurally novel leaving group of 8-phenylethynyl-1-naphthoate that is able to enable efficient glycosylation reactions under the extremely mild condition of gold(I)-catalysis.Notably,the anomeric naphthoate possesses the unprecedent character of base-stability in sharp contrast to the conventional ester groups at anomeric position of carbohydrates,which endows high compatibility with a variety of chemical transformations.Furthermore,the present glycosylation protocol with 8-phenylethynyl-1-naphthoate as leaving group is able to realize minimally protected glycosylation processes.Mechanistic studies reveal a unique structure of 8-phenylethynyl-1-naphthoate that accounts for the reason for these characteristics.

Photocatalytic water splitting on BiVO_(4):Balanced charge-carrier consumption and selective redox reaction

Surficial redox reactions play an essential role in photocatalytic water splitting,and are closely related to the surface properties of a specific photocatalyst.In this work,using monoclinic BiVO_(4)decahedral single crystals as a model photocatalyst,we report on the interrelationship between the photocatalytic activity and the surficial reaction sites for charge-carrier consumption.By controlled hydrothermal synthesis,the ratio of{010}to{110}facets on BiVO_(4),which respectively serve as reductive and oxidative sites,is carefully tailored.Our results show that superior photocatalytic water oxidation could be obtained on BiVO_(4)decahedrons with a medium ratio of reductive/oxidative sites and that efficient overall water splitting could be achieved via further modification of appropriate cocatalysts in Z-scheme system.The excellent photocatalytic performance is attributed to the accelerated selective redox reactions by realizing balanced charge-carrier consumption,which provides insightful guidance for prospering photocatalytic reactions in energy conversion.

Accelerating electron transport in Eosin Y by bidentately bridging on BaSnO_(3)for noble-metal-free photocatalytic H 2 production

The separation and transport of photogenerated carriers is regarded as a curial factor in photocatalytic H_(2)pro-duction.As known in solar cells and photoelectron-chemistry,to strengthen the electron conduction for effective utilization of carriers,the electron transport material(ETM)is widely applied.Herein,inspired by the function of ETM,we adopted barium stannate(BaSnO_(3),labeled as BSO)as an excellent ETM which had the merits of high electron mobility,suitable conduction band position and simple preparation,to adjust the carrier kinetics of dye Eosin Y(EY)-sensitized photocatalytic system.Detailly,the photocatalytic system with the spatial sepa-ration sites of photogenerated carriers excitation and water reduction reaction was elaborately constructed,that was,dye EY-sensitized BSO(EY/BSO)for photocatalytic H_(2)production.The photocatalytic H_(2)-production rate of EY/BSO(257𝜇mol·h^(−1)·g EY^(−1))in the absence of noble metals was 28.6 times higher than that of single EY(∼9𝜇mol·h^(−1)·g EY^(−1))under visible-light irradiation.With systematic and comprehensive characterizations,the formed electron transport channel by the bidentate bridging of EY on BSO could accelerate the transfer of photogenerated electrons from EY to BSO,promoting the effective separation of photogenerated carriers for the enhanced pho-tocatalytic performance.Moreover,the water reduction reaction for H_(2)production proceeded on the surface of BSO that acted as the H_(2)-evolution cocatalyst,avoiding the use of high-cost noble metals.Furthermore,based on the well-proved ETM-based concept in the EY/BSO system,La-doped BaSnO_(3)(LBSO)with better electron trans-port ability was adopted to construct EY/LBSO system(344𝜇mol·h^(−1)·g EY^(−1))which showed better photocatalytic activity than EY/BSO.

青藏高原药用植物分布格局及保护优先区

青藏高原拥有丰富的药用植物资源,但目前人们缺乏对其多样性分布格局的清晰认识以及人类活动对药用植物资源影响的评估。本研究收集整理了青藏高原地区254种药用植物分布及人类活动的数据,分析了当前青藏高原地区药用植物分布格局及其面临的威胁,并划定出当前需要保护的优先区域。研究结果显示,青藏高原药用植物的多样性和特有性主要集中在东部和东南部地区,且较强的人类活动影响力与较高的药用植物多样性和特有性重叠,这表明人类活动对药用植物多样性和特有性有着显著的影响。进一步结合生物和人类活动两方面因素的算法,划定了保护优先区,包括云南西北部、四川西南部和西部、青海东部及西藏中部,这表明青藏高原现有的保护区存在大量保护空缺。基于此,本研究提出了包括完善法律法规及政策监管,增设保护区,补充和完善保护植物名录,加强科普宣传,加强药用植物种质资源的收集、保存与开发的保护青藏高原药用植物资源的建议,为今后保护政策的制定和保护区划定提供依据,也借此宣传青藏高原生态保护问题,唤起民众的保护关注。

Design and physical model experiment of an attitude adjustment device for a crawler tractor in hilly and mountainous regions

To address the problems of difficult leveling and poor stability of hill crawler tractors,an attitude adjustment device based on a parallel four-bar mechanism was designed,and the mechanical reasons for the sideslip instability of hill crawler tractors were analyzed.On this basis,a posture adjustment mechanism based on a parallel four-bar mechanism was proposed,and the structure of the complete attitude adjustment device was designed.To ensure that this device meets the strength requirements during operation,a mechanical analysis of the key components(active rocker and slave rocker)was carried out to accommodate the load during leveling.Based on ANSYS software,a finite element simulation analysis was used to determine the maximum stress position of the active and slave rockers.Finally,to verify the accuracy of the above simulation analysis results and determine the influence rules of the lateral slope angle,longitudinal slope angle and loading quality on the abovementioned maximum stress,a physical model test bench of the attitude adjustment device was built.An orthogonal regression experiment was carried out with the maximum stresses of the active and slave rockers as the test indices.The experimental data were analyzed by Design-Expert 10 software,and the results show that the order of the primary and secondary factors influencing the maximum stress of the active rocker was the loading mass,lateral slope angle and longitudinal slope angle.The order of the factors influencing the maximum stress of the slave rocker was the longitudinal slope angle,lateral slope angle and loading mass.The active and slave rockers meet the strength requirements.This work provides technical support for the production of hill crawler tractor physical prototypes.

Microstructure of Electrodeposited Cu Micro-cylinders in High-Aspect-Ratio Blind Holes and Crystallographic Texture of the Cu Overburden Film

Microstructure and texture of electrodeposited Cu micro-cylinders in the blind hole play a vitally im- portant role in the electrical and mechanical properties of the three-dimensional （3-D） IC （integrated circuit）/Si integrations. In this paper, a new commercial additive system, which is specifically devel- oped for the high-aspect-ratio through-silicon-via （TSV） filling, was used to electrodeposit Cu in the blind holes. The microstructure of electrodeposited Cu micro-cylinder in the blind hole with a diameter of 40 μm and a depth of 140 μm was investigated by electron back-scattered diffraction （EBSD） technique. Grain size distribution of the Cu micro-cylinder in the blind hole differed from the bottom to the top. The grain boundaries contained a high fraction of Z3 CSL （coincident site lattice） boundaries. It has been reported that the Cu overburden film on the surface of the blind hole influenced the crystallographic orientation of Cu grains inside the damascene trench. So the effects of the current density and additive concentra- tion on the crystal structure of the overburden Cu film were also studied in this study. The experimental results indicated that the preferred orientation of the Cu overburden film changed from {111} to {220} when the current density increased from 2 to 80 mA cm-2. However, the effect of additives on the crystal structure of the Cu overburden film was dependent on the crystal structure of the seed layer.