Studies of Soil Physical Properties and Community Characteristics of Different Abandoned Lands in the Minqin Oasis,Downstream of the Shiyang River

[Objective] The aim was to explore physical properties and community characteristics of abandoned lands in different years in Minqin Oasis, downstream of the Shiyang River, [Method] The evolution of environment and plant community characteristics in different abandoned lands were analyzed after abandonment for 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 8, 15, 24 and 31 years, and the plant community characteristics, water content, bulk density, porosity and mechanical composition of soil in the different a- bandoned lands were also researched in the Minqin Oasis, downstream of the Shiyang River. [Result] Plant of 32 species spread over 14 family live through fifty years appeared in abandoned lands in the study area. Shrubs was 6 species, herbs was 26 species among them, which were 18.75%, 81.25% respectively. The goose- foot family （6 species）, the composite family（4 species）,the grass family（4 species）, caltrop family（3 species） were 53.13% among them. Within the range of 0-40 cm of different abandoned Land, the soil moisture content showed a trend of first increase and then decrease with the increase of soil depth changes in soil bulk density and porosity of less obvious. In the range of 0-40 cm soil depth, the largest proportion of fine sand, followed by silt and clay and the smallest proportion of coarse sand in every plot, but the proportion of the each silt size varies little with the years aban- doned. [Conclusion] The research provides references for vegetation reconstruction and eco-environment construction in abandoned lands in downstream of Shiyang River.

Strengthening of polysulfone membranes using hybrid mixtures of micro- and nano-scale modifiers

Polysulfone （PSf） membranes were modified by either a new organic modifier （sulfonated poly（ether sulfide sulfone）, SPESS） or a traditional modifier （rice hulk）. These membranes were further reinforced with either multi-walled carbon nanotubes （MWCNTs） or silica nanoparticles. Having a dye rejection of 98.46%, the reinforced membranes increased more than 50% in strength but no change in solution flux was observed. The morphological and roughness studies were conducted using scanning electron microscopy and atomic force microscopy. Moreover, the PSF membranes were also characterized by differential scanning calorimetry. Modifying the membranes with organic modifier or nanofiller increases the glass transition temperature （Tg）. The highest Tg and strength were observed for the PSf-SPESS- MWCNT membrane. SPESS decreases surface roughness but MWCNT increases roughness on the nanoscale. All membranes show a bimodal pore size distribution, whereas the PSf-SPESS-MWCNT membrane exhibits a relatively uniform distribution of macroscopic and microscopic pores.

Synthesis and characterization of bulk composite Fe-Si-B alloys with small concentration of Nb and Mo

The preparation and some mechanical, thermal and magnetic properties of the as cast bulk composite Fe72B19.2Sin.sM4 （M=Nb, Mo） alloys obtained by suction casting are presented and discussed. The microstructrural results showed the existence of a crystalline a-Fe（Si） phase embedded in a glassy matrix. The values of microhardness （/Iv） and yield strength （ay） for the Nb-containing alloy are exceptionally high, i.e. （12.65~0.3） GPa and （4.22~0.10） GPa, respectively. The saturation polarization values are found to be as high as 1.24 T for both composite ~11oys. It is thought that the interplay between the secondary crystalline phases and amorphous matrix could be responsible for the mechanical and magnetic behaviour of these alloys.