Observation of Arctic surface currents using data from a surface drifting buoy

During the 10th Chinese Arctic scientific expedition carried out in the summer of 2019,the surface current in the high-latitude areas of the Arctic Ocean was observed using a self-developed surface drifting buoy,which was initially deployed in the Chukchi Sea.The buoy traversed the Chukchi Sea,Chukchi Abyssal Plain,Mendeleev Ridge,Makarov Basin,and Canada Basin over a period of 632 d.After returning to the Mendeleev Ridge,it continued to drift toward the pole.Overall,the track of the buoy reflected the characteristics of the transpolar drift and Chukchi Slope Current,as well as the inertial flow,cross-ridge surface flow,and even the surface disorganized flow for some time intervals.The results showed that:(1)the transpolar drift mainly occurs in the Chukchi Abyssal Plain,Mendeleev Ridge,and western Canada Basin to the east of the ridge where sea ice concentration is high,and the average northward flow velocity in the region between 79.41°N and 86.32°N was 5.1 cm/s;(2)the average surface velocity of the Chukchi Slope Current was 13.5 cm/s,and while this current moves westward along the continental slope,it also extends northwestward across the continental slope and flows to the deep sea;and(3)when sea ice concentration was less than 50%,the inertial flow was more significant(the maximum observed inertial flow was 26 cm/s,and the radius of the inertia circle was 3.6 km).

Chinese herbal medicine decreases incidence of hepatocellular carcinoma in diabetes mellitus patients with regular insulin management

BACKGROUND Type 2 diabetes mellitus(DM)is an independent risk factor for hepatocellular carcinoma(HCC),while insulin is a potent mitogen.Identifying a new therapeutic modality for preventing insulin users from developing HCC is a critical goal for researchers.AIM To investigate whether regular herbal medicine use can decrease HCC risk in DM patients with regular insulin control.METHODS We used data acquired from the Taiwan,Chinaese National Health Insurance research database between 2000 and 2017.We identified patients with DM who were prescribed insulin for>3 months.The herb user group was further defined as patients prescribed herbal medication for DM for>3 months per annum during RESULTS We initially enrolled 657144 DM patients with regular insulin use from 2000 to 2017.Among these,46849 patients had used a herbal treatment for DM,and 140547 patients were included as the matched control group.The baseline variables were similar between the herb users and nonusers.DM patients with regular herb use had a 12%decreased risk of HCC compared with the control group[adjusted hazard ratio(aHR)=0.88,95%CI=0.80–0.97].The cumulative incidence of HCC in the herb users was significantly lower than that of the nonusers.Patients with a herb use of>5 years cumulatively exhibited a protective effect against development of HCC(aHR=0.82,P<0.05).Of patients who developed HCC,herb users exhibited a longer survival time than nonusers(aHR=0.78,P=0.0001).Additionally,we report the top 10 herbs and formulas in prescriptions and summarize the potential pharmacological effects of the constituents.Our analysis indicated that Astragalus propinquus(Huang Qi)plus Salvia miltiorrhiza Bunge(Dan Shen),and Astragalus propinquus(Huang Qi)plus Trichosanthes kirilowii Maxim.(Tian Hua Fen)were the most frequent combination of single herbs.Meanwhile,Ji Sheng Shen Qi Wan plus Dan Shen was the most frequent combination of herbs and formulas.CONCLUSION This large-scale retrospective cohort study reveals that herbal medicine may decrease HCC risk by 12%in DM patients with regular insulin use.

Overview of the 9th Chinese National Arctic Research Expedition

The 9th Chinese National Arctic Research Expedition was carried out from 20 July to 26 September 2018. The expedition was successful in undertaking multidisciplinary comprehensive surveys in the fields of physical oceanography, marine meteorology, sea ice, marine chemistry,marine biology, marine ecology, geology, and geophysics in the Bering Sea, Chukchi Sea, Chukchi Plateau, Mendeleev Ridge, and Canada Basin. This paper gives an overview of the main achievements of this expedition and highlights the scientific achievements.

National Basic Research Program of China (973 Program) Indo-Pacific Oceanic Channel Project Special Issue

1 INTRODUCTION The tropical Indo-Pacific Oceans span over twothirds of the global tropical oceans.A major warm pool with the highest large-scale sea surface temperature of the global oceans is located in the western Pacific and eastern Indian Oceans.The climate systems over the tropical Pacific and Indian Oceans are subject to strong ocean-atmosphere coupling at multiple scales from intraseasonal to interannual,and to centennial.The

A Novel Metric for Assessing National Strength in Scientific Research:Understanding China’s Research Output in Quantum Technology through Collaboration

Purpose:The 5th Plenary Session of the 19th Communist Party of China(CPC)Central Committee clearly states that developing science and technology through self-reliance and self-strengthening provides the strategic underpinning for China’s development.Based on this background,this paper explores a metric model for assessing national scientific research strength through collaboration on research papers.Design/methodology/approach:We propose a novel metric model for assessing national scientific research strength,which sets two indicators,national scientific self-reliance(SR)and national academic contribution(CT),to reflect“self-reliance”and“self-strengthening”respectively.Taking the research papers in quantum technology as an example,this study analyzes the scientific research strength of various countries around the world,especially China in quantum technology.Findings:The results show that the research of quantum technology in China has always been relatively independent with fewer international collaboration papers and located in a more marginal position in cooperation networks.China’s academic contribution(CT)to global quantum technology research is increasing and has been greater than that of the United States in 2020.Combining the two indicators,CT and SR,China’s research strength in the quantum field closely follows the United States,and the United States is the most powerful with high research autonomy.Research limitations:This paper only reflects China’s scientific research strength in quantum technology from collaboration on research papers and doesn’t consider the segmentation of quantum technology and the industrial upstream and downstream aspects,which need further study.Practical implications:The model is helpful to better understand the national scientific research strength in a certain field from“self-reliance”and“self-strengthening”.ScienceOriginality/value:We propose a novel metric model to measure the national scientific research strength from the perspective of“self-reliance”and“self-strengthening”,which provides a solid basis for the assessment of the strength level of scientific research in countries/regions and institutions.

Chemical composition of marine aerosols of the 26th Chinese National Antarctic Research Expedition

The ionic compositions of aerosol samples collected during the 26th Chinese National Antarctic Research Expedition were analyzed and the sources of ions were distinguished. Cl-, Na＋, SO2-, NO3-, and Mg2＋ were the most abundant ionic components in the marine aerosols. Cl- and Na＋ contributed over 70% in the total ionic composition, indicating the sea salt is still the primary composition in marine aerosols, followed by the sulfate as the secondary ionic component existed as NH4N03, NH4HSO4, （NH4）2S04. The maximal sea salt concentrations were found at around 40~S and could be attributed to greater winds. The concentrations of methane sulfonic acid （MSA） appeared increasing trend from the low to high latitudes, possibly caused by lower temperature in air and higher marine biological processes in the marginal waters in Antarctica. The correlation and factor analyzes were used to investigate possible sources of these ions. Cl-, Br-, Na＋, K＋, Mg2＋ and Ca2＋ had predominantly marine sources; while F-, NO3 and NH＋ had mostly anthropogenic sources; MSA had marine biogenic sources. The concentrations of SO42- were influenced by both marine and anthropogenic sources.

National Engineering Research Center for Refractories Got “Excellent Achievement Prize” from National Development and Reform Commission

In 2012, on the occasion of 20th anniversary, National Engineering Research Center for Refractories, registered in Sinosteel LIRR, got ＂ Excellent Achievement Prize＂ from National Development and Reform Commission for its demonstration function and outstanding achievments.

Potential Economic Pitfalls Call for Removal of Institutional Drawbacks——An Interview with Mr. FAN Gang (樊纲), Ph.D. of Economics, Doctoral Advisor, Director of National Research Institute of Economics

The continuous rise of consumer price index (CPI) has increased concern over China's macroeconomic situation. Will inflation have a disastrous impact on the Chinese economy? What risks are brewing behind the booming real estate and stock markets? Have bubbles already occurred in the Chinese economy? From his office in Guohong Building, Beijing, Dr. Fan Gang gave his views on these questions in an exclusive interview with China Economist.

The National Health and Medical Research Council

Introduction The National Health and Medical Research Council （NHMRC） is Australia＇s leading expert body promoting the development and maintenance of public and individual health standards. NHMRC brings together within a single national organisation the functions of research funding and development of advice. One of its strengths is that it draws upon the resources of all components of the health system, including governments, medical practitioners, nurses and allied health professionals, researchers, teaching and research institutions, public and private program managers service administrators, community health organisations, social health researchers and consumers.

China National Research Center of Intelligent Equipment for Agriculture

China National Research Center of Intelligent Equipment for Agriculture （NRCIEA） was established in 2009 on the basis of Beijing Research Center of Intelligent Equipment for Agriculture. According to the development trend of world Intelligent Equipment for Agriculture （lEA） and China＇s needs of modern agriculture, NRCIEA is engaged in solving the key, fundamental and common technical problems in lEA.

China National Engineering Research Center for Information Technology in Agriculture

China National Engineering Research Center for Information Technology in Agriculture （NERCITA） was established in 2001 with the approval of the Ministry of Science and Technology of China. As a national research institution, it mainly engages in research and development of agricultural and rural informatization engineering technology. Based on the requirements of agricultural and rural development of China, the major mission of NERCITA is to make key technology innovation, establish technical platform and develop significant products for agriculture, which focus on five aspects： intelligent information processing technology, remote sensing and geographic information system, precision agriculture, biological environment control engineering and automation technology as well as fast detection techniques of agricultural product security and the monitoring technology of farmland environmental quality. The ultimate goal is to provide a powerful technological support for agricultural modernization and rural development.

National Conference on Basic Research Held in Beijing

Under the joint sponsorship ofthe Ministry of Science and Tech-nology, Ministry of Education, theChinese Academy of Science(CAS), the Chinese Academy ofEngineering (CAE) and the Na-tional Natural Science Foundationof China (NSFC), a national con-ference on basic research was heldfron March 27-29 in Beijing.

Foreign Scientists Join National Research Program for the First Time

Aproposal to carry out research into the chemistry of molecular agglomerate, jointly made by Tong Zhenhe with CAS Institute of Physical and Chemical Technologies, Jiang Xikui with Shanghai Institute of Organic Chemistry, Shen Jiaocong of Jilin University, and two German and

CAS research is honored with National S&T Awards

The National Supreme Science and Technology Award in 2006 goes to Prof. LI Zhensheng, a geneticist from the CAS Institute of Genetics & Developmental Biology. At the Awarding Ceremony held on 27 February in Beijing, Prof. Li, also a CAS member, received the certificate for the prestigious award, which comes with a five million yuan (about $650,000) prize, from Chinese President HU Jintao. Nationwide, 326 research projects were honored with the 2006 national S&T awards, including 29 with the National Award for Natural Sciences (two first prizes and 27 second ones); 56 with the National Award for Technological Invention (one first prize and 55 second ones) and 241 with the National Award for Science and Technology Progress (one special prize, 20 first prizes and 220 second ones). Among the 326 projects, 30 were headed by CAS scientists. They include 12 winning the second prize of the National Award for Natural Sciences, five winning the second prize of the National Award for Technological Invention and 13 winning the National Award for Science and Technology Progress (two first prizes and 11 second ones).

CAS ACHIEVEMENTS IN BASIC RESEARCH DURING THE NATIONAL 8TH FIVE-YEAR PLAN

Since its founding in 1949,the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) has committed itself to gaining honor for our nation by successfully scaling heights of contemporary science.To this end.Chinese scientists have striven to exert themselves from generation to generation in a courageous and unflagging way. During the period of the national Eighth Five-year Plan(1991—1995), the scientists with the CAS went on working at the frontiers of international science.According to statistics,there were 205 key R&D projects

Marine Research Accomplishments by CAS under National 863 Program

This article gives a systematic and comprehensive summary of the marine research results ac complished by the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS) with the support of the National High-tech Research and Development Program during the period of the Ninth Five-year Plan (1996 - 2000). It includes achievements in the exploitation of marine resources, protection of the marine environment, reduction of marine disasters and the safeguarding of national marine sovereignty.

STRESSING THE PILOT RESEARCH FOR THE NATIONAL S&T DEVELOPMENTAL STRATEGY

How to put forward advisory suggestions regarded as feasible, workable and acceptable by the State leaders through the integration of the goodwill cherished by our scientists with the blueprint masterminded by the hosts of various R&D projects? It seems to me a problem worthy of our serious consideration. Here I would like to suggest that under the leading group of national S&T affairs, a new organ functionally similar to the State R&D Center be set up. Acting as a counselling team to the group, it must be small in payroll and include by strategists spe-

Academic Research in China on National Human Rights Institutions

I. Symposium on National Human Rights Institutions and Research Topics Academic research in the Chinese mainland on national human rights institutions started in February 2003. From October 16-17, 2004, the China University of Political Science and Law organized an international sympo- sium in Qingdao, Shandong Province, on research about national human rights protection institutions, inviting experts from Australia, South Africa and Canada to brief the symposium on related information concerning the Asia-Pacific region and South Africa as well as to provide information about Canada＇s National Human Rights Commission. Chinese participants also discussed the possibility of establishing a national human rights organization in China.

Empirical Human Rights Studies Contribute to Building a Society Under the Rule of Law——Summary of the Fifth National Meeting for the Exchange of Work Experience Among Human Rights Research Institutions

From Nov. 5 to 6, 2013, the China Society for Human Rights Studies （CSHRS）held the Fifth National Meeting for the Exchange of Work Experience Among Human Rights Research Institutions at Wuhan University. More than 100 experts and scholars, focusing on empirical human rights studies and their contribution to building a society based on the rule of law, shared their work experience and discussed effective strategies. CSHRS President Luo Haocai, who served as vice chairman of the 10th National Committee of the Chinese People＇s Political Consultative Conference,