Monitoring Multiple Cropping Index of Henan Province, China Based on MODIS-EVI Time Series Data and Savitzky-Golay Filtering Algorithm

Multiple cropping index(MCI)is a very important indicator in crop production and agricultural intensification,which represents the utilizing degree of agriculture resources at time scale and the effective utilization situation of arable land.The objective of this paper is monitoring multiple cropping index of Henan province of China according to the time series of MODIS(Moderate-Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer)EVI(Enhanced Vegetation Index)after Savitzky-Golay filter processing from the year 2006 to 2011.The results revealed that this method could provide an effective way to monitor multiple cropping index,and the method of no additional authentication data is independent and reliable.The result was accurate and stable,the slope of linear regression of the multiple cropping index between the statistical results and the remote sensing results was 1.0136(R2=0.779).The precision of sample areas validation was 97.91%.Suggesting that the time series MODIS-EVI which after Savitzky-Golay filtering processed,could provide an effective way to extract spatial information of multiple cropping index for management department of agriculture.

Topography and soil content contribute to plant community composition and structure in subtropical evergreen-deciduous broadleaved mixed forests

Topography and soil factors are known to play crucial roles in the species composition of plant communities in subtropical evergreen-deciduous broadleaved mixed forests.In this study,we used a systematic quantitative approach to classify plant community types in the subtropical forests of Hubei Province(central China),and then quantified the relative contribution of drivers responsible for variation in species composition and diversity.We classified the subtropical forests in the study area into 12 community types.Of these,species diversity indices of three communities were significantly higher than those of others.In each community type,species richness,abundance,basal area and importance values of evergreen and deciduous species were different.In most community types,deciduous species richness was higher than that of evergreen species.Linear regression analysis showed that the dominant factors that affect species composition in each community type are elevation,slope,aspect,soil nitrogen content,and soil phosphorus content.Furthermore,structural equation modeling analysis showed that the majority of variance in species composition of plant communities can be explained by elevation,aspect,soil water content,litterfall,total nitrogen,and total phosphorus.Thus,the major factors that affect evergreen and deciduous species distribution across the 12 community types in subtropical evergreendeciduous broadleaved mixed forests include elevation,slope and aspect,soil total nitrogen content,soil total phosphorus content,soil available nitrogen content and soil available phosphorus content.

Methods for Shale Gas Play Assessment: A Comparison between Silurian Longmaxi Shale and Mississippian Barnett Shale

Based on field work, organic geochemical analyses and experimental testing, a six-property assessment method for shale gas is proposed. These six properties include organic matter properies, lithofacies, petrophysical properties, gas content, brittleness and local stress field. Due to the features of continuous distribution over a large area and low resource abundance in shale plays, a sweet spot should have these following properties： （a） TOC〉2%; （b） brittle minerals content （〉40%） and clay minerals （〈30%）; （c） Ro （〉1.1%）; （d） porosity （〉2%） and permeability （〉0.000 1 mD）, and （e） effective thickness （30-50 m）. Applying these criteria in the Sichuan Basin, the Silurian Longmaxi shale consists of four prospecting sweet spots, including blocks of Changning, Weiyuan, Zhaotong and Fushnn-Yongchuan. Although these four blocks have some similarities, different features were usually observed. After comprehensive analyses using the six-property assessment method, the Fushun-Yongan Block ranks the most favorable sweet spot, followed by the Weiyuan Block. For the other two blocks, the Changning Block is better than the Zbaotong Block. By comparing with the Mississippian Barnett shale, characteristics that are crucial for a high-yielding in the Sichuan Basin include a high content of organic matter （TOC〉2.5%）, a moderate thermal maturity （Ro=0.4%-2%）, a high content of brittle minerals （quartz： 30%-45%）, a high gas content （〉2.5 m^3·t^-1）, and types I and II1 kerogen.

Antimicrobial effect of sodium houttuyfonate on Staphylococcus epidermidis and Candida albicans biofilms

OBJECTIVE: To study antimicrobial effect of Sodium houttuyfonate(SH) on Staphylococcus epidermidis(SE) and Candida albicans(CA). METHODS: The prepared strain broths(OD600 =0.05) containing SE and CA were firstly used to test the minimal inhibitory concentrations(MICs) of SH, azithromycin(AZM) and fluconazole(FLU) by micro-dilution method. Then the biofilms of SE and CA were matured in 96-well plates, and co-cultured with SH, AZM and FLU for 1, 2 and 3 days to assess the antibiofilm efficacies of the agents with different concentrations by crystal violet staining method. At last, the treated biofilms of SE and CA by 2× MIC agents were observed by scanning electronic microscope. RESULTS: The MICs of SE and CA were 256 and 1024 μg/mL, respectively. After the 1st, 2nd and 3rd day of medications, the suppressions of biofilm were about 60%(P<0.01), 76%(P=0.000) and 75%(P=0.000) by 2×MIC SH, the suppressions of biofilm were about 90%(P=0.000), 88%(P=0.000) and 90%(P=0.000) by 2×MIC SH, which could be testified by scanning electron microscope results. However, the inhibitions of biofilm attachment had no significant difference for SE by SH and azithromycin and CA by SH and fluconazole. CONCLUSION: SH had widely anti-pathogenic effect on pathogenic biofilm formation of either bacteria or fungus, had more influence on enclosed cells of SE and CA than the traditional antibiotics, revealing its target might be the extracellular polymeric substances, and was more active to inhibit the growth of CA than SE.

Mammalian mitochondrial RNAs are degraded in the mitochondrial intermembrane space by RNASET2

Mammalian mitochondrial genome encodes a small set of tRNAs, rRNAs, and mRNAs. The RNA synthesis process has been well characterized. How the RNAs are degraded, however, is poorly understood. It was long assumed that the degradation happens in the matrix where transcription and translation machineries reside. Here we show that contrary to the assumption, mammalian mitochondrial RNA degradation occurs in the mitochondrial intermembrane space （IMS） and the IMS- localized RNASET2 is the enzyme that degrades the RNAs. This provides a new paradigm for understanding mitochondrial RNA metabolism and transport.

Control division of agricultural non-point source pollution at medium-sized watershed scale in Southeast China

This paper presents the study carried out for controlling agricultural non-point source pollution(NSP)in a medium-sized watershed covering 1.47×10^(4) km^(2) in Southeast China using quantitative analysis coupled with geographic information system(GIS),universal soil loss equation(USLE),soil conservation service-curve number(SCS-CN),nutrient loss equations,and annualized agricultural nonpoint source model(AnnAGNPS).Based on the quantitative results derived from GIS and environmental models,five control division units were generated for NSP control in Jiulong River watershed,namely,controlling unit for soil losses,controlling unit for livestock breeding and soil losses,controlling unit for excessive fertilizer use and livestock breeding,controlling unit for soil losses and fertilizer use,and controlling unit for excessive fertilizer use and soil losses.This study proved that integrating GIS with environmental models can be adopted to efficiently evaluate major sources and contributors of NSP,and identify the critical source areas of NSP,which enables adjusting measures to local conditions by further control division units developed through such study for control and management of water quality degradation induced by NSP in the Jiulong River watershed.

Mitochondrion-processed TERC regulates senescence without affecting telomerase activities

Mitochondrial dysfunctions play major roles in ageing.How mitochondrial stresses invoke downstream responses and how specificity of the signaling is achieved, however, remains unclear. We have previously discovered that the RNA component of Telomerase TERC is imported into mitochondria, processed to a shorter form TERC-53, and then exported back to the cytosol. Cytosolic TERC-53 levels respond to mitochondrial functions, but have no direct effect on these functions, suggesting that cytosolic TERC-53 functions downstream of mitochondria as a signal of mitochondrial functions. Here, we show that cytosolic TERC-53 plays a regulatory role on cellular senescence and is involved in cognition decline in 10 months old mice, independent of its telomerase function. Manipulation of cytosolic TERC-53 levels affects cellular senescence and cognition decline in 10 months old mouse hippocampi without affecting telomerase activity, and most importantly, affects cellular senescence in terc^-/- cells. These findings uncover a senescence-related regulatory pathway with a non-coding RNA as the signal in mammals.

Analysis of rainfall runoff characteristics from a subtropical urban lawn catchment in South-east China

Characteristics of rainfall runoff from a 3.26 hm^2 urban catchment with predominant land-use as lawn in Xiamen City, South-east China were investigated and analyzed. Water quality and quantity measurements of rainfall runoff were conducted for ten rainfall events over the period March, 2008 to April, 2009. The results indicated that chemical oxygen demand （COD） and total phosphorus （TP） were the major pollutants with event mean concentrations of 56.09 and 0.44mg.L^-1. From hydrograph and pollutograph analysis of two typical rainfall events, it was clear that the peak rainfall preceded the peak flowrate by about 15-20 min. Meanwhile, concentrations of major pollutants showed multiple peaks and these peaks usually preceded peak flowrate. There were no distinctive first-flush effects except for the rainfall events with the longest rainfall duration and largest runoff volume, which was verified by the fact that the first 30% runoff volume （FF30） carried 39.36% of the total suspended solids （TSS） load, 35.17% of the COD load, 28.13% of the TP load and 39.03% of the nitrate nitrogen load. Multivariate regression analysis further demonstrated that the total runoffvolume had a positive correlation with the FF30 of TSS and COD.

A modeling system for drinking water sources and its application to Jiangdong Reservoir in Xiamen city

Drinking water sources are highly valued by authorities for safeguarding the life of a city. Models are widely applied as important and effective tools in the management of water sources. However, it is difficult to apply models in water source management because water managers are often not equipped with the professional knowledge and operational skills necessary for making use of the models. This paper introduces a drinking water source simulation and prediction system that consists of a watershed model, a hydrological model and a water quality model. This system provides methods and technical guidance for the conventional management of water sources and emergency water event response. In this study, the sub-models of the system were developed based on the data of the Jiangdong Reservoir in Xiamen, and the model validation was based on local monitoring data. The hydrological model and water quality model were integrated by computer programming, and the watershed model was indirectly integrated into the system through a network platform. Furthermore, three applications for Jiangdong Reservoir water protection utilizing the system were introduced in this paper, including a conventional simulation, an emergency simulation, and an emergency measures evaluation.