On the edge of the Tengger Desert in northern China,revegetation has changed the landscape from moving dunes to stabilized dunes covered by shrubs,which further modifies the pattern of rainfall redistribution.To study...On the edge of the Tengger Desert in northern China,revegetation has changed the landscape from moving dunes to stabilized dunes covered by shrubs,which further modifies the pattern of rainfall redistribution.To study rainfall interception loss by shrubs and its relationship to rainfall properties and crown structure,throughfalls passing through crowns of Artemisia ordosica Krash.and Caragana korshinskii Kom.were measured using nine PVC cups under the canopy of each of the two shrubs during 73 rain events over a three-year period,with total rainfall of 260.9 mm.Interception losses of gross rainfall by A.ordosica and C.korshinskii account for 15% and 27% of the total on a crown area basis,and 6% and 11% on a ground area basis,respectively.Individual throughfall(T) and interception(I) were significantly related to rainfall amount(Pg),duration(D),and intensity(R).Ratios of throughfall to rainfall(T/Pg) and interception to rainfall(I/Pg) were not only significantly related to Pg,D,and R,but also to shrub species,and interactions of species with crown volume(CV) and leaf area index(LAI).Under most rain events,interceptions by C.korshinskii with greater CV and LAI were significantly higher than those by A.ordosica,and more rainfall interception occurred at locations closer to the stems of the two shrubs.For C.korshinskii,I/Pg had a significant positive linear relation with CV and LAI,while T/Pg had a significant negative linear relation with them.CV has a greater influence on T/Pg and I/Pg than does LAI.Using a regression method,canopy water storage capacities are estimated to be 0.52 and 0.68 mm,and free throughfall coefficient to be 0.62 and 0.47 for A.ordosica and C.korshinskii,respectively.展开更多
In order to investigate the impacts of fertilization on population density and productivity on herbaceous plants in desert steppe, nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), and N-P addition experiments were performed. Each fe...In order to investigate the impacts of fertilization on population density and productivity on herbaceous plants in desert steppe, nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), and N-P addition experiments were performed. Each fertilizer treatment included four addition levels, i.e., 0, 5, 10, and 20 g/m2. The results indicated that population density decreased as fertilization levels increased regardless of the sort of fertilizer. More specifically, total density as well as density ofArtemisia capillaris, Allium polyrhizum, and Enneapogon brachystachyus decreased significantly in 20 g/m2 treated plots, as compared with the control plots. Fertilization effects on aboveground and root biomasses were extremely similar to that found in population density; that is, both total aboveground biomass and aboveground biomasses for A. capillaris, A. polyrhizum, and E. brachystachyus were negatively correlated with increasing fertilization levels, with all determination coefficients (R2) greater than 0.80. Therefore, in the case of desert regions (annual precipitation 〈180 mm), fertilization would inhibit population density and productivity of herbaceous plants.展开更多
Objective: Bererine has been used to treat type 2 diabetes mellitus in Chinese traditional medicine because of its hypoglycemic effect. In this report, we compared the intrinsic tyrosine kinase activities of erythroc...Objective: Bererine has been used to treat type 2 diabetes mellitus in Chinese traditional medicine because of its hypoglycemic effect. In this report, we compared the intrinsic tyrosine kinase activities of erythrocyte insulin receptors from type 2 diabetes mellitus with or without stimulation by berberine in vitro. Methods- Preparations containing insulin receptors were obtained from soluble human erythrocytes, and the insulin receptors were partially purified by affinity chromatography. The tyrosine kinase activity was measured by the exogenous substrate phosphorylation. Results: Both the membrane tyrosine kinase activity and the purified receptor tyrosine kinase activity from diabetics decreased significantly compared with those of normal individuals (reduced by 67.4% and 47.2%, respectively). After incubation with berbefine, there is a statistical difference in the activity of membrane tyrosine kinase for diabetic patients ( a 150% increase). Berefine had no effect on the tyrosine kinase activity of purified insulin receptors. Conclusion: We concluded from these results that berbefine was able to improve the insulin sensitivity by increasing the protein tyrosine kinase activity of membrane-bound insulin receptors from type 2 diabetes mellitus.展开更多
In plant cells the plasma membrane is a highly elaborated structure that functions as the point of exchange with adjoining cells, cell walls and the external environment. In this study, we investigated the structure a...In plant cells the plasma membrane is a highly elaborated structure that functions as the point of exchange with adjoining cells, cell walls and the external environment. In this study, we investigated the structure and function characteristic of wheat root plasma membrane (PM) as affected by H2O2 and Fe by using fluorescence spectroscopic and attenuated total reflectance infrared (ATR-IR) techniques. The results showed that these oxidant damaged induced an obviously reduced membrane fluidity were observed in the roots PM treated with the 200 μM H2O2, FeSO4, and FeCl3. Computer-aided software analyses of the FTIR spectrum indicated that the content of the α-helices decreased and β-sheet increased in the secondary structures of proteins after exposure to the oxidants of 200 μM H2O2, FeSO4, and FeCl3. The number of P=O and C=C bonds area declined rapidly in the lipids of the membrane under the oxidants stress. These structural alterations might explain the reason of the roots PM instability under most of the abiotic stress.展开更多
The revegetation protection system(VPS)on the edge of the Tengger Desert can be referred to as a successful model of sand control technology in China and even the world,and there has been a substantial amount of resea...The revegetation protection system(VPS)on the edge of the Tengger Desert can be referred to as a successful model of sand control technology in China and even the world,and there has been a substantial amount of research on revegetation stability.However,it is unclear how meso-and micro-scale revegetation activity has responded to climatic change over the past decades.To evaluate the relative influence of climatic variables on revegetation activities in a restored desert ecosystem,we analysed the trend of revegetation change from 2002 to 2015 using a satellite-derived normalized difference vegetation index(NDVI)dataset.The time series of the NDVI data were decomposed into trend,seasonal,and random components using a segmented regression method.The results of the segmented regression model indicate a changing trend in the NDVI in the VPS,changing from a decrease(−7×10−3/month)before 2005 to an increase(0.3×10−3/month)after 2005.We found that precipitation was the most important climatic factor influencing the growing season NDVI(P<0.05),while vegetation growth sensitivity to water and heat varied significantly in different seasons.In the case of precipitation reduction and warming in the study area,the NDVI of the VPS could still maintain an overall slow upward trend(0.04×10−3/month),indicating that the ecosystem is sustainable.Our findings suggest that the VPS has been successful in maintaining stability and sustainability under current climate change conditions and that it is possible to introduce the VPS in similar areas as a template for resistance to sand and drought hazards.展开更多
With a view of studying programmed cell death (PCD) in a halophytic plant at the molecular level, we report here that apop-totic-like changes are induced by NaCl stress in Thellungiella halophila. The dose of 300 mM...With a view of studying programmed cell death (PCD) in a halophytic plant at the molecular level, we report here that apop-totic-like changes are induced by NaCl stress in Thellungiella halophila. The dose of 300 mM NaCl induced some apoptotic-like features in Thellungiella halophila cells, including the retraction of the plasma membrane from the cell wall, nuclear condensation, DNA laddering and the release of cytochrome c accompanying the increase of caspase 3-like protease activity. This process re-sulted in ultrastructural changes of mitochondria and Golgi bodies, and the appearance of autophagic vacuoles. This suggests that T. halophila suspension cell culture is an ideal system for studying severe salt stress-induced plant PCD. The results indicate that 300 mM NaCl stress-induced programmed cell death in T. halophila cells is similar to apoptosis and mitochondria play an impor-tant role in the early stage of plant PCD.展开更多
The control of the pseudospin of sound wave has attracted increasing attention in recent years.Utilizing the finite-size effect of topological acoustics,we successfully construct an H-shaped acoustic topological pseud...The control of the pseudospin of sound wave has attracted increasing attention in recent years.Utilizing the finite-size effect of topological acoustics,we successfully construct an H-shaped acoustic topological pseudospin switcher that sound wave energy can be easily switched through different passages.The interesting phenomenon of pseudospin flipping is numerically and experimentally demonstrated.A quantitative interference theory is proposed that the constructive and destructive interference of pseudospin states leads to pseudospin flipping and preserving in multiple frequencies.We verify the key parameters of the design,including the length of the passage and its interface state dispersion,and the theory can be extended to other topology acoustics and photonics systems.Moreover,the tunable topological sonic crystal we use provides adjustable convenience to pseudospin switcher design.The pseudospin switching behavior offers an efficient method to control the acoustic topological edge state transport,which has great potential in versatile applications,such as integrated acoustics,acoustic security,and information processing.展开更多
37 μm × 37 μm array of metamaterial-based microbolometers was designed and successfully fa-bricated by conventional MEMS technology. FTIR measurements reveal that the as-designed mi-crobolometers exhibit a high...37 μm × 37 μm array of metamaterial-based microbolometers was designed and successfully fa-bricated by conventional MEMS technology. FTIR measurements reveal that the as-designed mi-crobolometers exhibit a high absorption of ~31.5% at 3.93 THz. In contrast, no response can be detected from those microbolometers without metamaterials. The experimental results have been confirmed by simulations.展开更多
Abstract: Soil water repellency (WR) is an important physical characteristic of soil surface. It is capable of largely influencing the hydrological and geomorphological processes of soil, as well as affecting the e...Abstract: Soil water repellency (WR) is an important physical characteristic of soil surface. It is capable of largely influencing the hydrological and geomorphological processes of soil, as well as affecting the ecological processes of plants, such as growth and seed germination, and has thus been a hot topic in recent research around the world. In this paper, the capillary rise method was used to study the soil WR characteristics of Nitraria tangutorun nebkhas. Soil water repellencies at different succession stages of Nitraria tangutorun were investigated, and the relationships between soil WR and soil organic matter, total N, and total P, soil texture, pH, and concentrations of CO32, HCO3-, CI, SO42-, Na~, K~, Ca2~ and Mg2+ were discussed. Soil WR may be demonstrated at the following nebkhas dune evolvement stages: extremely degraded〉degraded〉stabilized〉well developed〉newly developed〉quick sand. Apart from some soil at the bottom, the WR of other soils (crest and slope of dune) was found to be largest at the topsoil, and decreased as the soil depth increased. The results showed that multiple factors affected soil WR characteristics e.g. WR increased significantly as the contents of soil organic matter and total N increased, but did not change as the total P content increased. Soil texture was a key factor affecting soil WR; soil WR increased significantly as clay content increased, and decreased significantly as sand content increased. Low pH was shown to be more suitable for the occurrence of soil WR. Four cations (Ca2+, Mg2+, K+ and Na+) and two anions (CI and SO42) enhanced soil WR, while CO32-decreased it. HCO3- did not show any observable effect. Finally, we established a best-fit general linear model (GLM) between soil-air-water contact angle (CA) and influencing factors (CA=5.606 sand+6.496 (clay and silt)-2.353 pH+470.089 CQ2+11.346 Na+-407.707 Cl--14.245 SO42-+0.734 total N-519.521 ). It was concluded that all soils contain subcritical WR (0°〈CA〈90°). The development and succession of Nitraria tangutorun nebkhas may improve the formation of soil subcritical WR. There exist significant relationships between soils subcritical WR and soil physical or chemical properties.展开更多
Biological soil crusts (BSCs) are an important type of land cover in arid desert landscapes and play an important role in the carbon source-sink exchange within a desert system. In this study, two typical BSCs, moss...Biological soil crusts (BSCs) are an important type of land cover in arid desert landscapes and play an important role in the carbon source-sink exchange within a desert system. In this study, two typical BSCs, moss crusts and algae crusts, were selected from a revegetated sandy area of the Tengger Desert in northern China, and the experiment was carried out over a 3-year period from January 2010 to November 2012. We obtained the effec- tive active wetting time to maintain the physiological activity of BSCs basing on continuous field measurements and previous laboratory studies on BSCs photosynthesis and respiration rates. And then we developed a BSCs carbon fixation model that is driven by soil moisture. The results indicated that moss crusts and algae crusts had significant effects on soil moisture and temperature dynamics by decreasing rainfall infiltration. The mean carbon fixation rates of moss and algae crusts were 0.21 and 0.13 g C/(m2.d), respectively. The annual carbon fixations of moss crusts and algae crusts were 64.9 and 38.6 g C/(m2.a), respectively, and the carbon fixation of non-rainfall water reached 11.6 g C/(m2.a) (30.2% of the total) and 8.8 g C/(m2.a) (43.6% of the total), respectively. Finally, the model was tested and verified with continuous field observations. The data of the modeled and measured CO2 fluxes matched notably well. In desert regions, the carbon fixation is higher with high-frequency rainfall even the total amount of seasonal rainfall was the same.展开更多
The norepinephrine transporter plays an important role in the pathophysiology and pharmacological treatment of major depressive disorder. Consequently, the norepinephrine transporter gene is an attractive candidate in...The norepinephrine transporter plays an important role in the pathophysiology and pharmacological treatment of major depressive disorder. Consequently, the norepinephrine transporter gene is an attractive candidate in major depressive disorder research. In the present study, we evaluated the depression symptoms of subjects with major depressive disorder, who were all from the North of China and of Hart Chinese origin, using the Hamilton Depression Scale. We examined the relationship between two single nucleotide polymorphisms in the norepinephrine transporter, rs2242446 and rs5569, and the retardation symptoms of major depressive disorder using quantitative trait testing with the UNPHASED program, rs5569 was associated with depressed mood, and the GG genotype may be a risk factor for this; rs2242446 was associated with work and interest, and the TT genotype may be a risk factor for loss of interest. Our findings suggest that rs2242446 and rs5569 in the norepinephrine transporter gene are associated with the retardation symptoms of depression in the Hart Chinese population.展开更多
In May to August of 2011, we assessed the effects of extreme rainfall (quantity and intensity) events on the carbon release from soils covered by different types of biological soil crusts (BSCs) in fixed sand dune...In May to August of 2011, we assessed the effects of extreme rainfall (quantity and intensity) events on the carbon release from soils covered by different types of biological soil crusts (BSCs) in fixed sand dunes in the Tengger Desert, northern China. A Li-6400-09 Soil Chamber was used to measure the respiration rates of the BSCs immediately after the rainfall stopped, and continued until the respiration rates of the BSCs returned to the pre-rainfall basal rate. Our results showed that almost immediately after extreme rainfall events the respiration rates of algae crust and mixed crust were significantly inhibited, but moss crust was not significantly affected. The respiration rates of algae crust, mixed crust, and moss crust in extreme rainfall quantity and intensity events were, respectively, 0.12 and 0.41 μmolCO2/(m2.s), 0.10 and 0.45 gmolCO2/(m2·s), 0.83 and 1.69 gmolCO2/(m2.s). Our study indicated that moss crust in the advanced succession stage can well adaot to extreme rainfall events in the short term.展开更多
Metagenomic studies have demonstrated the existence of ammonia-oxidizing archaea(AOA) and revealed they are responsible for ammoxidation in some extreme environments. However, the changes in compositional structure an...Metagenomic studies have demonstrated the existence of ammonia-oxidizing archaea(AOA) and revealed they are responsible for ammoxidation in some extreme environments. However, the changes in compositional structure and ammonia-oxidation capacity of AOA communities in biological soil crusts(BSCs) of desert ecosystems remain poorly understood.Here, we utilized Illumina MiSeq sequencing and microbial functional gene array(GeoChip 5.0) to assess the above changes along a 51-year revegetation chronosequence in the Tengger Desert, China. The results showed a significant difference in AOA-community richness between 5-year-old BSCs and older ones. The most dominant phylum during BSC development was Crenarchaeota, and the corresponding species were ammonia-oxidizing_Crenarchaeote and environmental_samples_Crenarchaeota. Network analysis revealed that the positive correlations among dominant taxa increased, and their cooperation was reinforced in AOA communities during BSC succession. Redundancy analysis showed that the dominant factor influencing the change in AOA-community structure was soil texture. GeoChip 5.0 indicated that the amoA gene abundances of AOA and ammonia-oxidizing bacteria(AOB) were basically the same, demonstrating that AOA and AOB played an equally important role during BSCs development. Our study of the long-term succession of BSC demonstrated a persistent response of AOA communities to revegetation development in desert ecosystems.展开更多
Ultraviolet(UV) radiation has significant effects on ecosystems, environments, and human health, as well as atmospheric processes and climate change. Two ultraviolet radiation datasets are described in this paper. O...Ultraviolet(UV) radiation has significant effects on ecosystems, environments, and human health, as well as atmospheric processes and climate change. Two ultraviolet radiation datasets are described in this paper. One contains hourly observations of UV radiation measured at 40 Chinese Ecosystem Research Network stations from 2005 to 2015. CUV3 broadband radiometers were used to observe the UV radiation, with an accuracy of 5%, which meets the World Meteorology Organization's measurement standards. The extremum method was used to control the quality of the measured datasets. The other dataset contains daily cumulative UV radiation estimates that were calculated using an all-sky estimation model combined with a hybrid model. The reconstructed daily UV radiation data span from 1961 to 2014. The mean absolute bias error and root-mean-square error are smaller than 30% at most stations, and most of the mean bias error values are negative, which indicates underestimation of the UV radiation intensity. These datasets can improve our basic knowledge of the spatial and temporal variations in UV radiation. Additionally, these datasets can be used in studies of potential ozone formation and atmospheric oxidation, as well as simulations of ecological processes.展开更多
Reeds are widely distributed in drought and high salt conditions of northwestern China. Leaf epidermal micromorphology, anatomy, chloroplast ultrastructure and physio-chemical characteristics due to long-term adaptati...Reeds are widely distributed in drought and high salt conditions of northwestern China. Leaf epidermal micromorphology, anatomy, chloroplast ultrastructure and physio-chemical characteristics due to long-term adaptation in the natural habitats of common reed (Phragmites communis Trin.) contrasted considerably among three different ecotypes: dune reed (DR), Gobi salt reed (GSR) and swamp reed (SR). The main objective of the present study is to determine the adapting characteristics of morphology, anatomy and physiological responses of thin roots in DR, GSR and SR. The results show that root length density was higher in SR and few root hairs were observed in DR. Cross-section anatomical features show that each ecotype has an endodermis and exodermis, while cortex thickness and proportion of root cortical aerenchyma and stele in root structure varied among the three ecotypes. The stele and xylem share a larger area in DR compared to GSR and SR. GSR has a large proportion of the cortex with radialized distribution of aerenchyma cells spacing, and the cortex has a peripheral, mechanically stiff ring in the exodermis. SEM and TEM microscope images show that GSR has a scle- renchyma ring with high lignification in the exodermis. The physio-chemical parameters show that GSR had a higher level of stress tolerance than DR. These findings indicate that developed water-absorbing tissues were largely distributed in the root structure of DR, and a main framework with supporting function spacing with aerenchyma was dominant in GSR in the long term adaptation to their natural habitats, respectively.展开更多
Shrub species are considered the dominant plants in arid desert ecosystems,unlike in semiarid steppe zones or in grassland ecosystems.On the Alxa Plateau,northern China,sparse vegetation with cover ranging from 15% to...Shrub species are considered the dominant plants in arid desert ecosystems,unlike in semiarid steppe zones or in grassland ecosystems.On the Alxa Plateau,northern China,sparse vegetation with cover ranging from 15% to 30% is characterized mainly by multifarious shrubs because herbaceous species are strongly restricted by the extreme drought climate,wind erosion,overgrazing and sand burial.Patterns in shrub species richness and species abundance in relation to environmental conditions were examined by DCA(detrended correspondence analysis) and interpreted by a biplot.The rela-tionships between species diversity and environmental factors were examined using regression analyses.Our results show that the distributions of the shrub species in response to environmental conditions can be grouped into four ecological types,corresponding with the biological traits of the shrubs and their responses to the gradients of soil texture and soil water content.Patterns in species richness and species abundance were mainly determined by the deeper soil water content,instead of the soil texture as hypothesized by numerous studies in semiarid grasslands.With exception of the deeper soil water content,soil organic matter and total N content were positively correlated with species abundance,while pH was negatively correlated with it.These findings imply that it is vital for cur-rent shrub diversity conservation to reduce agricultural water use in the middle reaches of the Heihe River,which supplies water for the lower reaches in the western parts of the plateau,and to reduce the amount of groundwater exploitation and urban and oasis water use,to increase the water supply from Helan Mountain to the eastern desert of the Alxa Plateau.展开更多
基金supported by the National Natural Scientific Foundation of China (40825001 and 30870401)
文摘On the edge of the Tengger Desert in northern China,revegetation has changed the landscape from moving dunes to stabilized dunes covered by shrubs,which further modifies the pattern of rainfall redistribution.To study rainfall interception loss by shrubs and its relationship to rainfall properties and crown structure,throughfalls passing through crowns of Artemisia ordosica Krash.and Caragana korshinskii Kom.were measured using nine PVC cups under the canopy of each of the two shrubs during 73 rain events over a three-year period,with total rainfall of 260.9 mm.Interception losses of gross rainfall by A.ordosica and C.korshinskii account for 15% and 27% of the total on a crown area basis,and 6% and 11% on a ground area basis,respectively.Individual throughfall(T) and interception(I) were significantly related to rainfall amount(Pg),duration(D),and intensity(R).Ratios of throughfall to rainfall(T/Pg) and interception to rainfall(I/Pg) were not only significantly related to Pg,D,and R,but also to shrub species,and interactions of species with crown volume(CV) and leaf area index(LAI).Under most rain events,interceptions by C.korshinskii with greater CV and LAI were significantly higher than those by A.ordosica,and more rainfall interception occurred at locations closer to the stems of the two shrubs.For C.korshinskii,I/Pg had a significant positive linear relation with CV and LAI,while T/Pg had a significant negative linear relation with them.CV has a greater influence on T/Pg and I/Pg than does LAI.Using a regression method,canopy water storage capacities are estimated to be 0.52 and 0.68 mm,and free throughfall coefficient to be 0.62 and 0.47 for A.ordosica and C.korshinskii,respectively.
基金supported by the Major State Basic Research Development Program of China (973 Program, Grant No. 2013CB429901-2)the Foundation for Excellent Youth Scholars of Cold and Arid Regions Environmental and Engineering Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Sciences (Y451121001)
文摘In order to investigate the impacts of fertilization on population density and productivity on herbaceous plants in desert steppe, nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), and N-P addition experiments were performed. Each fertilizer treatment included four addition levels, i.e., 0, 5, 10, and 20 g/m2. The results indicated that population density decreased as fertilization levels increased regardless of the sort of fertilizer. More specifically, total density as well as density ofArtemisia capillaris, Allium polyrhizum, and Enneapogon brachystachyus decreased significantly in 20 g/m2 treated plots, as compared with the control plots. Fertilization effects on aboveground and root biomasses were extremely similar to that found in population density; that is, both total aboveground biomass and aboveground biomasses for A. capillaris, A. polyrhizum, and E. brachystachyus were negatively correlated with increasing fertilization levels, with all determination coefficients (R2) greater than 0.80. Therefore, in the case of desert regions (annual precipitation 〈180 mm), fertilization would inhibit population density and productivity of herbaceous plants.
文摘Objective: Bererine has been used to treat type 2 diabetes mellitus in Chinese traditional medicine because of its hypoglycemic effect. In this report, we compared the intrinsic tyrosine kinase activities of erythrocyte insulin receptors from type 2 diabetes mellitus with or without stimulation by berberine in vitro. Methods- Preparations containing insulin receptors were obtained from soluble human erythrocytes, and the insulin receptors were partially purified by affinity chromatography. The tyrosine kinase activity was measured by the exogenous substrate phosphorylation. Results: Both the membrane tyrosine kinase activity and the purified receptor tyrosine kinase activity from diabetics decreased significantly compared with those of normal individuals (reduced by 67.4% and 47.2%, respectively). After incubation with berbefine, there is a statistical difference in the activity of membrane tyrosine kinase for diabetic patients ( a 150% increase). Berefine had no effect on the tyrosine kinase activity of purified insulin receptors. Conclusion: We concluded from these results that berbefine was able to improve the insulin sensitivity by increasing the protein tyrosine kinase activity of membrane-bound insulin receptors from type 2 diabetes mellitus.
文摘In plant cells the plasma membrane is a highly elaborated structure that functions as the point of exchange with adjoining cells, cell walls and the external environment. In this study, we investigated the structure and function characteristic of wheat root plasma membrane (PM) as affected by H2O2 and Fe by using fluorescence spectroscopic and attenuated total reflectance infrared (ATR-IR) techniques. The results showed that these oxidant damaged induced an obviously reduced membrane fluidity were observed in the roots PM treated with the 200 μM H2O2, FeSO4, and FeCl3. Computer-aided software analyses of the FTIR spectrum indicated that the content of the α-helices decreased and β-sheet increased in the secondary structures of proteins after exposure to the oxidants of 200 μM H2O2, FeSO4, and FeCl3. The number of P=O and C=C bonds area declined rapidly in the lipids of the membrane under the oxidants stress. These structural alterations might explain the reason of the roots PM instability under most of the abiotic stress.
基金The authors gratefully acknowledge the editor and two anonymous reviewers for valuable comments on the manuscript.We also acknowledge DingHai Zhang for their help in the data analysis.This work was supported by the Funds for Creative Research Groups of China(Grant No.41621001)the National Natural Science Foundation of China(Grant Nos.41530746+1 种基金41901064)the Foundation for Excellent Youth Scholars of NIEER,CAS.
文摘The revegetation protection system(VPS)on the edge of the Tengger Desert can be referred to as a successful model of sand control technology in China and even the world,and there has been a substantial amount of research on revegetation stability.However,it is unclear how meso-and micro-scale revegetation activity has responded to climatic change over the past decades.To evaluate the relative influence of climatic variables on revegetation activities in a restored desert ecosystem,we analysed the trend of revegetation change from 2002 to 2015 using a satellite-derived normalized difference vegetation index(NDVI)dataset.The time series of the NDVI data were decomposed into trend,seasonal,and random components using a segmented regression method.The results of the segmented regression model indicate a changing trend in the NDVI in the VPS,changing from a decrease(−7×10−3/month)before 2005 to an increase(0.3×10−3/month)after 2005.We found that precipitation was the most important climatic factor influencing the growing season NDVI(P<0.05),while vegetation growth sensitivity to water and heat varied significantly in different seasons.In the case of precipitation reduction and warming in the study area,the NDVI of the VPS could still maintain an overall slow upward trend(0.04×10−3/month),indicating that the ecosystem is sustainable.Our findings suggest that the VPS has been successful in maintaining stability and sustainability under current climate change conditions and that it is possible to introduce the VPS in similar areas as a template for resistance to sand and drought hazards.
基金supported by grants from National Natural Science Foundation of China (30870425)
文摘With a view of studying programmed cell death (PCD) in a halophytic plant at the molecular level, we report here that apop-totic-like changes are induced by NaCl stress in Thellungiella halophila. The dose of 300 mM NaCl induced some apoptotic-like features in Thellungiella halophila cells, including the retraction of the plasma membrane from the cell wall, nuclear condensation, DNA laddering and the release of cytochrome c accompanying the increase of caspase 3-like protease activity. This process re-sulted in ultrastructural changes of mitochondria and Golgi bodies, and the appearance of autophagic vacuoles. This suggests that T. halophila suspension cell culture is an ideal system for studying severe salt stress-induced plant PCD. The results indicate that 300 mM NaCl stress-induced programmed cell death in T. halophila cells is similar to apoptosis and mitochondria play an impor-tant role in the early stage of plant PCD.
基金supported by the National Key R&D Program of China(Grant No.2022YFA1404400)the National Natural Science Foundation of China(Grant No.12274315)+1 种基金a Project funded by the Priority Academic Program Development of Jiangsu Higher Education Institutions(PAPD)the Postgraduate Research and Practice Innovation Program of Jiangsu Province(Grant No.KYCX23_3228)。
文摘The control of the pseudospin of sound wave has attracted increasing attention in recent years.Utilizing the finite-size effect of topological acoustics,we successfully construct an H-shaped acoustic topological pseudospin switcher that sound wave energy can be easily switched through different passages.The interesting phenomenon of pseudospin flipping is numerically and experimentally demonstrated.A quantitative interference theory is proposed that the constructive and destructive interference of pseudospin states leads to pseudospin flipping and preserving in multiple frequencies.We verify the key parameters of the design,including the length of the passage and its interface state dispersion,and the theory can be extended to other topology acoustics and photonics systems.Moreover,the tunable topological sonic crystal we use provides adjustable convenience to pseudospin switcher design.The pseudospin switching behavior offers an efficient method to control the acoustic topological edge state transport,which has great potential in versatile applications,such as integrated acoustics,acoustic security,and information processing.
文摘37 μm × 37 μm array of metamaterial-based microbolometers was designed and successfully fa-bricated by conventional MEMS technology. FTIR measurements reveal that the as-designed mi-crobolometers exhibit a high absorption of ~31.5% at 3.93 THz. In contrast, no response can be detected from those microbolometers without metamaterials. The experimental results have been confirmed by simulations.
基金supported by the National Basic Research Program of China (2009CB421303)the Strategic Priority Re- search Program–Climate Change: Carbon Budget and Relevant Issues of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (XDA05050406-1)the National Natural Science Foundation of China (40930636, 41240003, 41271061)
文摘Abstract: Soil water repellency (WR) is an important physical characteristic of soil surface. It is capable of largely influencing the hydrological and geomorphological processes of soil, as well as affecting the ecological processes of plants, such as growth and seed germination, and has thus been a hot topic in recent research around the world. In this paper, the capillary rise method was used to study the soil WR characteristics of Nitraria tangutorun nebkhas. Soil water repellencies at different succession stages of Nitraria tangutorun were investigated, and the relationships between soil WR and soil organic matter, total N, and total P, soil texture, pH, and concentrations of CO32, HCO3-, CI, SO42-, Na~, K~, Ca2~ and Mg2+ were discussed. Soil WR may be demonstrated at the following nebkhas dune evolvement stages: extremely degraded〉degraded〉stabilized〉well developed〉newly developed〉quick sand. Apart from some soil at the bottom, the WR of other soils (crest and slope of dune) was found to be largest at the topsoil, and decreased as the soil depth increased. The results showed that multiple factors affected soil WR characteristics e.g. WR increased significantly as the contents of soil organic matter and total N increased, but did not change as the total P content increased. Soil texture was a key factor affecting soil WR; soil WR increased significantly as clay content increased, and decreased significantly as sand content increased. Low pH was shown to be more suitable for the occurrence of soil WR. Four cations (Ca2+, Mg2+, K+ and Na+) and two anions (CI and SO42) enhanced soil WR, while CO32-decreased it. HCO3- did not show any observable effect. Finally, we established a best-fit general linear model (GLM) between soil-air-water contact angle (CA) and influencing factors (CA=5.606 sand+6.496 (clay and silt)-2.353 pH+470.089 CQ2+11.346 Na+-407.707 Cl--14.245 SO42-+0.734 total N-519.521 ). It was concluded that all soils contain subcritical WR (0°〈CA〈90°). The development and succession of Nitraria tangutorun nebkhas may improve the formation of soil subcritical WR. There exist significant relationships between soils subcritical WR and soil physical or chemical properties.
基金supported by the Knowledge Innovation Project of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (KZCX2-EW-301-3)the National Program on Key Basic Research Project (2013CB429905)+1 种基金the National Natural Scientific Foundation of China (41201084 31170385)
文摘Biological soil crusts (BSCs) are an important type of land cover in arid desert landscapes and play an important role in the carbon source-sink exchange within a desert system. In this study, two typical BSCs, moss crusts and algae crusts, were selected from a revegetated sandy area of the Tengger Desert in northern China, and the experiment was carried out over a 3-year period from January 2010 to November 2012. We obtained the effec- tive active wetting time to maintain the physiological activity of BSCs basing on continuous field measurements and previous laboratory studies on BSCs photosynthesis and respiration rates. And then we developed a BSCs carbon fixation model that is driven by soil moisture. The results indicated that moss crusts and algae crusts had significant effects on soil moisture and temperature dynamics by decreasing rainfall infiltration. The mean carbon fixation rates of moss and algae crusts were 0.21 and 0.13 g C/(m2.d), respectively. The annual carbon fixations of moss crusts and algae crusts were 64.9 and 38.6 g C/(m2.a), respectively, and the carbon fixation of non-rainfall water reached 11.6 g C/(m2.a) (30.2% of the total) and 8.8 g C/(m2.a) (43.6% of the total), respectively. Finally, the model was tested and verified with continuous field observations. The data of the modeled and measured CO2 fluxes matched notably well. In desert regions, the carbon fixation is higher with high-frequency rainfall even the total amount of seasonal rainfall was the same.
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China,No. 30770770,30971054,and81171290Science Foundation for the Youth of Shanxi,No.2011021036-1
文摘The norepinephrine transporter plays an important role in the pathophysiology and pharmacological treatment of major depressive disorder. Consequently, the norepinephrine transporter gene is an attractive candidate in major depressive disorder research. In the present study, we evaluated the depression symptoms of subjects with major depressive disorder, who were all from the North of China and of Hart Chinese origin, using the Hamilton Depression Scale. We examined the relationship between two single nucleotide polymorphisms in the norepinephrine transporter, rs2242446 and rs5569, and the retardation symptoms of major depressive disorder using quantitative trait testing with the UNPHASED program, rs5569 was associated with depressed mood, and the GG genotype may be a risk factor for this; rs2242446 was associated with work and interest, and the TT genotype may be a risk factor for loss of interest. Our findings suggest that rs2242446 and rs5569 in the norepinephrine transporter gene are associated with the retardation symptoms of depression in the Hart Chinese population.
基金supported by the Innovation Project of the Chinese Academy of Sciences(Grant No.KZCX2-EW-301-3)the National Natural Science Foundation of China(Grant Nos.41271061,41101081and40971033)
文摘In May to August of 2011, we assessed the effects of extreme rainfall (quantity and intensity) events on the carbon release from soils covered by different types of biological soil crusts (BSCs) in fixed sand dunes in the Tengger Desert, northern China. A Li-6400-09 Soil Chamber was used to measure the respiration rates of the BSCs immediately after the rainfall stopped, and continued until the respiration rates of the BSCs returned to the pre-rainfall basal rate. Our results showed that almost immediately after extreme rainfall events the respiration rates of algae crust and mixed crust were significantly inhibited, but moss crust was not significantly affected. The respiration rates of algae crust, mixed crust, and moss crust in extreme rainfall quantity and intensity events were, respectively, 0.12 and 0.41 μmolCO2/(m2.s), 0.10 and 0.45 gmolCO2/(m2·s), 0.83 and 1.69 gmolCO2/(m2.s). Our study indicated that moss crust in the advanced succession stage can well adaot to extreme rainfall events in the short term.
基金supported financially by the Strategic Priority Research Program of Chinese Academy of Sciences (Grant No. XDA2003010301)the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 41621001)
文摘Metagenomic studies have demonstrated the existence of ammonia-oxidizing archaea(AOA) and revealed they are responsible for ammoxidation in some extreme environments. However, the changes in compositional structure and ammonia-oxidation capacity of AOA communities in biological soil crusts(BSCs) of desert ecosystems remain poorly understood.Here, we utilized Illumina MiSeq sequencing and microbial functional gene array(GeoChip 5.0) to assess the above changes along a 51-year revegetation chronosequence in the Tengger Desert, China. The results showed a significant difference in AOA-community richness between 5-year-old BSCs and older ones. The most dominant phylum during BSC development was Crenarchaeota, and the corresponding species were ammonia-oxidizing_Crenarchaeote and environmental_samples_Crenarchaeota. Network analysis revealed that the positive correlations among dominant taxa increased, and their cooperation was reinforced in AOA communities during BSC succession. Redundancy analysis showed that the dominant factor influencing the change in AOA-community structure was soil texture. GeoChip 5.0 indicated that the amoA gene abundances of AOA and ammonia-oxidizing bacteria(AOB) were basically the same, demonstrating that AOA and AOB played an equally important role during BSCs development. Our study of the long-term succession of BSC demonstrated a persistent response of AOA communities to revegetation development in desert ecosystems.
文摘Ultraviolet(UV) radiation has significant effects on ecosystems, environments, and human health, as well as atmospheric processes and climate change. Two ultraviolet radiation datasets are described in this paper. One contains hourly observations of UV radiation measured at 40 Chinese Ecosystem Research Network stations from 2005 to 2015. CUV3 broadband radiometers were used to observe the UV radiation, with an accuracy of 5%, which meets the World Meteorology Organization's measurement standards. The extremum method was used to control the quality of the measured datasets. The other dataset contains daily cumulative UV radiation estimates that were calculated using an all-sky estimation model combined with a hybrid model. The reconstructed daily UV radiation data span from 1961 to 2014. The mean absolute bias error and root-mean-square error are smaller than 30% at most stations, and most of the mean bias error values are negative, which indicates underestimation of the UV radiation intensity. These datasets can improve our basic knowledge of the spatial and temporal variations in UV radiation. Additionally, these datasets can be used in studies of potential ozone formation and atmospheric oxidation, as well as simulations of ecological processes.
基金financially supported by the State Key Development Program for Basic Research of China(973 Program,Grant No.2013CB429904)the National Natural Science Foundation of China(Grant No.91125029)
文摘Reeds are widely distributed in drought and high salt conditions of northwestern China. Leaf epidermal micromorphology, anatomy, chloroplast ultrastructure and physio-chemical characteristics due to long-term adaptation in the natural habitats of common reed (Phragmites communis Trin.) contrasted considerably among three different ecotypes: dune reed (DR), Gobi salt reed (GSR) and swamp reed (SR). The main objective of the present study is to determine the adapting characteristics of morphology, anatomy and physiological responses of thin roots in DR, GSR and SR. The results show that root length density was higher in SR and few root hairs were observed in DR. Cross-section anatomical features show that each ecotype has an endodermis and exodermis, while cortex thickness and proportion of root cortical aerenchyma and stele in root structure varied among the three ecotypes. The stele and xylem share a larger area in DR compared to GSR and SR. GSR has a large proportion of the cortex with radialized distribution of aerenchyma cells spacing, and the cortex has a peripheral, mechanically stiff ring in the exodermis. SEM and TEM microscope images show that GSR has a scle- renchyma ring with high lignification in the exodermis. The physio-chemical parameters show that GSR had a higher level of stress tolerance than DR. These findings indicate that developed water-absorbing tissues were largely distributed in the root structure of DR, and a main framework with supporting function spacing with aerenchyma was dominant in GSR in the long term adaptation to their natural habitats, respectively.
基金Supported by National Key Technology R & D Program (Grant Nos. 2007BAD46B03, 2006BAD26B0201)National Natural Science Foundation of China (Gant No. 40825001)
文摘Shrub species are considered the dominant plants in arid desert ecosystems,unlike in semiarid steppe zones or in grassland ecosystems.On the Alxa Plateau,northern China,sparse vegetation with cover ranging from 15% to 30% is characterized mainly by multifarious shrubs because herbaceous species are strongly restricted by the extreme drought climate,wind erosion,overgrazing and sand burial.Patterns in shrub species richness and species abundance in relation to environmental conditions were examined by DCA(detrended correspondence analysis) and interpreted by a biplot.The rela-tionships between species diversity and environmental factors were examined using regression analyses.Our results show that the distributions of the shrub species in response to environmental conditions can be grouped into four ecological types,corresponding with the biological traits of the shrubs and their responses to the gradients of soil texture and soil water content.Patterns in species richness and species abundance were mainly determined by the deeper soil water content,instead of the soil texture as hypothesized by numerous studies in semiarid grasslands.With exception of the deeper soil water content,soil organic matter and total N content were positively correlated with species abundance,while pH was negatively correlated with it.These findings imply that it is vital for cur-rent shrub diversity conservation to reduce agricultural water use in the middle reaches of the Heihe River,which supplies water for the lower reaches in the western parts of the plateau,and to reduce the amount of groundwater exploitation and urban and oasis water use,to increase the water supply from Helan Mountain to the eastern desert of the Alxa Plateau.