镁合金表面热喷涂WC-10Co-4Cr粒子沉积及分布特性

为了探究高速空气燃料热喷涂(activated combustion-high velocity air fuel,AC-HVAF)过程中喷涂粒子撞击基材后的沉积特性。采用AC-HVAF热喷涂技术在AZ80镁合金基体上沉积WC-10Co-4Cr硬质涂层。通过离散沉积实验获得薄层沉积粒子,探讨各种沉积形貌的种类、形成原因、结合机制及射流中粒子的径向和轴向分布。结果表明:在AC-HVAF粒子沉积过程中,嵌入型沉积为主要的沉积形貌,同时包含少量的破碎型与空腔型沉积粒子。在涂层的形成过程中,嵌入型沉积对涂层/基体结合性能起重要作用;空腔型沉积的小颗粒及破碎型沉积的大颗粒是造成沉积效率下降的主要原因。喷涂粒子主要集中在射流中心,越靠近射流边缘,空腔型沉积粒子越多,最终导致AC-HVAF粒子射流呈现出空间分布特征。

平菇^(60)Co-γ诱变孢子杂交新种质的创制及其遗传多样性分析

为了探究不同平菇品种对辐射的敏感性及适宜辐射剂量,以便快速准确地鉴别平菇的杂交后代,创制新平菇种质,从而加快育种进程,本研究利用10个^(60)Co-γ射线剂量分别辐射4种不同平菇的孢子悬浮液,对致死率进行统计,并获得了诱变菌株的孢子单核体。随后配制杂交组合,开展了^(60)Co-γ诱变和杂交育种研究。基于简单序列重复(SSR)标记,对诱变后材料和杂交后代共39份材料进行了遗传多样性分析。结果表明,品种5178的适宜辐射剂量为500 Gy,时间为200 min;9408的适宜辐射剂量为600 Gy,时间为240 min;灰美2号的适宜辐射剂量为700 Gy,时间为280 min;榆黄菇T2的适宜辐射剂量为400 Gy,时间为160 min。筛选获得的35个长势良好的杂交子中,经SSR分子标记验证,这些菌株在8对引物扩增下呈现出不同的特异性条带。综上,本研究可快速、准确地鉴别杂交子,为平菇的辐射诱变和杂交育种提供了技术依据和理论参考。

^(60)Co-γ射线对不同无花果品种一年生枝条的辐射效应分析

【目的】研究^(60)Co-γ射线对不同无花果品种一年生枝条死亡率、抗氧化酶活性等相关理化指标的影响,确定最佳辐射诱变剂量,为利用^(60)Co-γ射线辐射诱变技术提高无花果遗传多样性、创造新种质、培育优良新品种提供科学依据。【方法】以无花果品种布兰瑞克和中华紫果一年生休眠枝为试材,采用^(60)Co-γ射线为辐照源,设置不同剂量0、30、45、60、75 Gy的辐射处理,分析辐照引起枝叶死亡率、酶活性等变化。【结果】随着辐射剂量的增加,2个无花果品种扦插苗成活率呈下降趋势,株高、茎粗、节间长度、叶片长度、叶片宽度和分枝数指标呈下降趋势,叶片长宽比差异不显著。中华紫果品种的SOD、POD、CAT等酶活性均呈现先增后减的趋势,分别在45、60 Gy剂量时达到峰值,MDA含量呈现一直上升趋势,H_(2)O_(2)含量呈现先增后降趋势。布兰瑞克品种的SOD、POD、CAT酶活性,随着辐射剂量的增加均呈现先降后增趋势。MDA、H_(2)O_(2)含量基本保持上升趋势。【结论】辐射导致无花果扦插苗幼苗生长缓慢、株高矮化、茎粗变细、叶片变小、分枝减少。中华紫果的半致死辐射剂量为56 Gy,布兰瑞克为70 Gy,布兰瑞克对辐射的耐受性高于中华紫果。

^(60)Co-γ辐射对2种锦带幼苗生长及生理指标的影响

为了探究辐射诱变对“白花锦带花”和“锦带花”形态及生理特性的影响,采用不同剂量(0~300 Gy)的^(60)Co-γ射线辐射“白花锦带花”与“锦带花”休眠期种子,观测辐射对锦带花生长的影响,测定其生长量及幼苗叶片的叶绿素含量、叶绿素荧光指标、光合作用参数、SOD、POD、MDA和可溶性蛋白含量。研究结果显示,由于辐射剂量的增大,苗高、叶长、叶宽、节间距、叶绿素荧光、光合作用参数、SOD活性、POD活性出现了明显的先升高后降低的趋势,在50 Gy时到达了峰值。同时,随着辐射剂量的增加,叶绿素含量和可溶性蛋白含量呈现出下降的趋势,MDA含量明显升高。综上所述,在(2 Gy/min)剂量率的辐射条件下“白花锦带花”种子较适宜的诱变剂量为50 Gy,而“锦带花”以50~100 Gy最合适。

不同剂量^(60)Co-γ射线辐照藜麦种子的效应研究

为了研究^(60)Co-γ射线辐照在藜麦育种中的应用,探讨^(60)Co-γ射线辐射诱变藜麦的适宜剂量,本研究利用4种剂量^(60)Co-γ辐射4个不同藜麦品种,对辐射后的种子进行室内发芽试验和田间种植试验,并对M1代的生育过程、畸变率、突变率进行了调查和分析。结果表明,经过150~450 Gy的辐照剂量处理后,藜麦的形态特征和生长表现出显著变化;发芽率呈先上升后下降的趋势,150 Gy剂量可促进种胚活力,250 Gy以上剂量显著降低发芽率;辐射导致出苗延迟,高剂量下甚至无法正常出苗,出苗率也显著降低,表明辐射对幼苗生长产生负面影响;成株率随辐射剂量增加而下降,幼苗自然枯死增多,说明辐射对发芽种子胚芽的继续发育抑制显著;辐射导致遗传变异,包括早熟、矮化、穗颜色等方面,突变频率随剂量增加而增加。综上可知,藜麦的生长、发芽、出苗、成株等受到辐射剂量影响,适度辐射可促进发芽,但高剂量对生长和遗传特性产生负面效应。本研究对于辐射育种的可行性和作物改良意义重大,但需深入研究其机制和应用潜力。

^(60)Co-γ射线辐照对雪茄烟叶发酵微生物和代谢物变化及烟叶质量的影响

【目的】通过^(60)Co-γ射线辐照灭菌,明确微生物在雪茄烟叶发酵过程中的重要作用。【方法】以四川雪茄烟品种德雪1号为试验材料,以剂量10 kGy的^(60)Co-γ射线对发酵前烟叶进行辐照处理,测定分析发酵过程中烟叶微生物多样性、代谢组学、中性香气成分和常规化学成分含量。【结果】(1)辐照组烟叶发酵28 d样本经传统分离培养和Illumina MiSeq高通量测序均未发现细菌群落。(2)非靶向代谢组学结果显示,辐照组烟叶发酵28 d后芸香苷、根皮苷和山奈酚等多酚类物质,山奈酚-3-O-芸香糖苷等多酚糖苷类物质,二肽等含量高于未辐照组烟叶,而亮氨酸、L-丝氨酸和脯氨酸等氨基酸含量低于未辐照烟叶。KEGG富集差异显著的代谢通路是黄酮和黄酮醇生物合成通路与花生四烯酸代谢通路。(3)发酵28 d后,两组烟叶的生物碱、还原糖、总糖、淀粉和蛋白质含量均显著降低,辐照组烟叶发酵前后各指标的降幅小于未辐照烟叶。辐照组烟叶发酵28 d后中性香气成分总量显著低于未辐照烟叶,而棕色化反应产物总量显著增加,烟叶劲头、杂气、刺激性更大。【结论】对发酵前烟叶进行10 kGy^(60)Co-γ射线辐照可有效杀灭烟叶细菌,发酵28 d后大分子物质降解转化低于未辐照烟叶,感官质量增加幅度减小,但相比于发酵前仍有一定程度的改善。

^(60)Co-γ射线辐照灭菌对牡丹皮质量影响的多元评价研究

为考察^(60)Co-γ射线辐照灭菌对牡丹皮质量的影响,本研究采用不同吸收剂量(0、5、10、20、30 kGy)^(60)Co-γ射线辐照处理试验样品,比较辐照前后样品微生物负载变化、高效液相色谱(HPLC)指纹图谱相似度、水提物抑菌活性的变化,并建立牡丹皮近红外光谱一致性评价模型。结果表明,当吸收剂量为5 kGy时即可让微生物负载超标样品中的需氧菌总数、霉菌和酵母菌总数及耐胆盐革兰阴性菌数量降至标准规定(《美国药典》USP-NF2023)以下;随着吸收剂量的增加,牡丹皮样品指纹图谱相似度呈下降趋势;辐照后样品水提物对金黄色葡萄球菌的抑菌圈直径与未辐照相比无显著差异(P>0.05);采用近红外光谱一致性评价模型能够较好地区分辐照与未辐照样品。鉴于不适宜的^(60)Co-γ射线辐照剂量可能会对牡丹皮质量造成一定影响,建议牡丹皮的辐照吸收剂量不超过5 kGy。本研究结果可为牡丹皮辐照灭菌吸收剂量的选取提供参考依据。

Economic Dispatch of Electrical Power System Based on the Multi-objective Co-evolutionary Algorithm

It is important to distribute the load efficiently to minimize the cost of the economic dispatch of electrical power system. The uncertainty and volatility of wind energy make the economic dispatch much more complex when the general power systems are combined with wind farms. The short term wind power prediction method was discussed in this paper. The method was based on the empirical mode decomposition (EMD) and ensemble empirical mode decomposition (EEMD). Furthermore,the effect of wind farms on the traditional economic dispatch of electrical power system was analyzed. The mathematical model of the economic dispatch was established considering the environmental factors and extra spinning reserve cost. The multi-objective co-evolutionary algorithm was used to figure out the model. And the results were compared with the NSGA-Ⅱ(non-dominated sorting genetic algorithm-Ⅱ) to verify its feasibility.

^(60)Co-γ射线辐照预处理聚乳酸改善厌氧发酵性能

聚乳酸(PLA)塑料垃圾沼气生产潜力大,但降解速率低,对其进行预处理可以提高其厌氧发酵效率,促进资源化。本文采用^(60)Co-γ射线对聚乳酸塑料杯样品进行辐照预处理,研究吸收剂量为0 kGy、20 kGy、40 kGy和60 kGy的照射下PLA分子结构及可溶性物质含量变化,并通过蛋白酶酶解实验和厌氧发酵产气量的变化研究电离辐照对其厌氧发酵性能的影响。结果表明:PLA样品经^(60)Co-γ射线辐照,PLA样品上清液中乳酸含量在0~60 kGy范围内随吸收剂量增加略微上升,样品的分子结构未发生明显改变,但辐照后其分子量和结晶度明显下降;辐照后样品在酶解过程中乳酸浓度和质量损失较未辐照样品有明显提升,其中吸收剂量为60 kGy的PLA样品在第4天的乳酸浓度达到最大值并比未辐照样品高17.4%,其质量损失随时间增加,在第7天比未辐照样品提升68.7%;辐照后的样品厌氧发酵达到产气平衡的时间明显缩短,总产气量提升3.0%。研究结果表明,γ射线辐照作为PLA塑料的预处理技术具有潜在的应用价值,本研究可为PLA塑料的资源化处置提供理论参考。

^(60)Co-γ射线辐照对紫云英生长及利用的影响

为探究^(60)Co-γ射线对紫云英(Astragalus sinicus)种子的诱变效应,明确适合紫云英翻压利用及生长的辐照剂量,本研究以紫云英种子为试验材料,采用不同^(60)Co-γ射线辐照剂量[0(CK)、300、500、700 Gy]处理种子,观察比较紫云英的养分吸收特性、发芽率和田间生长状况。结果表明,辐射处理可提高紫云英盛花期的氮(N)含量,500 Gy处理盛花期N含量最高。在等N投入量下,与CK相比,500 Gy处理的翻压量可减少2063 kg·hm^(−2),便于机械翻压操作。与CK相比,辐照处理的出苗数、株高等多项指标均呈降低趋势,高辐照剂量700 Gy处理的鲜草产量和种子产量均显著降低(P<0.05),500 Gy处理的各项指标与CK最为接近,且相差较小。综上,用500 Gy的^(60)Co-γ射线辐照紫云英种子,提高了单位质量的氮素含量,便于盛花期轻简翻压利用。

不同^(60)Co-γ辐射剂量对月季仙境、北京红、金凤凰生长和开花的影响

为研究物理辐射对3个月季品种扦插苗的影响,利用0、10、20、40、60、80 Gy剂量的^(60)Co-γ对仙境、北京红、金凤凰月季扦插苗进行辐射处理,测定和分析处理后月季苗的形态指标、突变率、死亡率和半致死率等。结果表明,随着辐射剂量增加,3个月季品种的扦插苗的株高、冠幅、侧枝数、侧枝长度、复叶长、复叶宽随之降低,其中仙境和北京红在10 Gy辐射剂量下生长势最好,而金凤凰在20 Gy生长势最好。供试植株的死亡率随着辐射剂量增加而增加,仙境在10和20 Gy处理下死亡率较低且花色变异较多。仙境、北京红、金凤凰的半致死剂量分别为53、132、19.87 Gy。仙境在10 Gy辐射剂量下突变率最高达31.67%,产生了白色、水粉色、嫩粉色、粉白相间等多种花色突变;金凤凰在10 Gy剂量下花瓣边缘有缺裂,在20 Gy辐射剂量下花瓣边缘深裂、反卷;北京红在10 Gy剂量下有花瓣数量明显增加,花型为千重瓣。综上所述,^(60)Co-γ辐射剂量10和20 Gy有利于促进供试植株的生长,同时产生新的变异花色和新花型。本研究结果为月季的良种选育和新品系培育提供了参考。

^(60)Co-γ辐照对卵清蛋白糖基化体系结构和糖基化产物的影响

为探究^(60)Co-γ辐照对糖基化体系结构和糖基化产物的影响,以卵清蛋白(OVA)-葡萄糖体系为研究对象,经0,25,50,75,100 kGy的^(60)Co-γ辐照后,采用SDS-PAGE、荧光光谱、圆二色谱测定其分子质量、三级结构及二级结构的变化。借助高效液相色谱法、紫外光谱法测定其体系内产生的有害糖基化产物(果糖胺、丙烯酰胺、荧光性AGEs、戊糖素、类黑精)的含量。OVA分子质量和表面疏水性的增加、内源荧光强度和α-螺旋含量的降低、β-结构(β-折叠和β-转角)含量的增加表明,^(60)Co-γ辐照呈剂量依赖性,促进了OVA与葡萄糖的糖基化反应。此外,^(60)Co-γ辐照后体系内产生的果糖胺、丙烯酰胺的含量呈现先上升后下降的趋势,在辐照剂量为50 kGy时达到最大值。荧光性AGEs、戊糖素、类黑精的含量以剂量依赖性方式增加。综合来看,为了减少辐照加工过程中蛋制品内有害糖基化产物的含量,提高其安全性,需将^(60)Co-γ辐照的剂量控制在25 kGy以内。本研究结果为未来扩展食品辐照技术在蛋制品方面的应用提供一定的科学依据。

Spatial snowdrift game in heterogeneous agent systems with co-evolutionary strategies and updating rules

We propose an evolutionary snowdrift game model for heterogeneous systems with two types of agents, in which the inner-directed agents adopt the memory-based updating rule while the copycat-like ones take the unconditional imitation rule; moreover, each＇agent can change his type to adopt another updating rule once the number he sequentially loses the game at is beyond his upper limit of tolerance. The cooperative behaviors of such heterogeneous systems are then investigated by Monte Carlo simulations. The numerical results show the equilibrium cooperation frequency and composition as functions of the cost-to-benefit ratio r are both of plateau structures with discontinuous steplike jumps, and the number of plateaux varies non-monotonically with the upper limit of tolerance VT as well as the initial composition of agents faO. Besides, the quantities of the cooperation frequency and composition are dependent crucially on the system parameters including VT, faO, and r. One intriguing observation is that when the upper limit of tolerance is small, the cooperation frequency will be abnormally enhanced with the increase of the cost-to-benefit ratio in the range of 0 〈 r 〈 1/4. We then probe into the relative cooperation frequencies of either type of agents, which are also of plateau structures dependent on the system parameters. Our results may be helpful to understand the cooperative behaviors of heterogenous agent systems.

^(60)Co-γ辐照提升苦荞黄酮提取效率研究

为探究^(60)Co-γ辐照对苦荞麸皮中黄酮类物质提取效率的影响,本研究采用不同剂量(0、6、12、18、24、30 k Gy)的^(60)Co-γ对苦荞麸皮进行辐照预处理,通过热回流法提取苦荞黄酮,比较^(60)Co-γ辐照对苦荞黄酮提取得率、主要黄酮类物质单体含量和总含量、抑菌活性及苦荞麸皮微观结构的影响。结果表明,6~30 k Gy剂量的^(60)Co-γ辐照预处理可提高苦荞黄酮提取得率,其中12 k Gy组提取得率最高,为6.97%,较对照组的3.27%提高3.70个百分点;6~30 k Gy剂量的^(60)Co-γ辐照预处理可提高提取物中芦丁含量,12、18、30 k Gy剂量的预处理可提高提取物中烟花苷含量,其中12 k Gy组含量最高,芦丁和烟花苷含量分别为84.52、3.92 mg·g^(-1),较对照组的53.12、3.54 mg·g^(-1)分别提高59.11%与10.73%;6~24 k Gy剂量的^(60)Co-γ辐照预处理可提高苦荞主要黄酮总含量,其中12 k Gy组最高,为89.40 mg·g^(-1),较对照组的57.95 mg·g^(-1)提高54.27%。此外,^(60)Co-γ辐照可有效破坏苦荞麸皮组织结构,有助于苦荞黄酮的溶出;6~18 k Gy剂量的^(60)Co-γ辐照预处理增强了提取物对大肠杆菌的抑菌活性,其中18 k Gy剂量组的抑菌活性最强,抑菌圈直径达9.93 mm;12~24 k Gy剂量的^(60)Co-γ辐照预处理增强了提取物对金黄色葡萄球菌的抑菌活性,其中12 k Gy剂量组的抑菌活性最强,抑菌圈直径达10.30 mm。本研究可为苦荞黄酮的高效提取提供研究基础与技术参考。

^(60)Co-γ射线辐照对真空包装火腿肠低温贮藏品质的影响

为探究^(60)Co-γ射线辐照对真空包装的火腿肠品质的影响并确定较优辐照剂量,分别采用0,1,3,6,9 kGy的^(60)Co-γ射线辐照处理真空包装的火腿肠,于4℃下冷藏60 d。检测储藏期内火腿肠菌落总数、质构、色差、pH值、TBARS值、TVB-N值和感官品质的变化。结果表明,经辐照处理的火腿肠在储藏期内菌落总数均未超过国家标准,辐照剂量越高,抑菌效果越显著;随着储藏时间的延长,火腿肠的硬度值总体呈下降趋势,其中3~6 kGy辐照处理的火腿肠的硬度值最稳定;辐照后各试验组火腿肠的L^(*)初始值无显著变化,a^(*)初始值显著下降,在整个储藏期内3~6 kGy辐照处理的火腿肠的色泽保持最稳定。随着储藏期的延长,pH值逐渐下降,辐照剂量越高,pH值下降速率越小;辐照后火腿肠的TBARS初始值均高于对照组,但储藏结束时3~6 kGy辐照剂量组TBARS值显著低于其他试验组(P<0.05)。储藏过程中,6~9 kGy辐照组能显著抑制TVB-N值上升(P<0.05);辐照后火腿肠产生辐照味,导致感官评价的风味指标评分初始值下降,但能在储藏过程中延缓感官品质的下降。综上,3~6 kGy能最大程度保持火腿肠储藏期内品质稳定。

Multi-step-prediction of chaotic time series based on co-evolutionary recurrent neural network

This paper proposes a co-evolutionary recurrent neural network （CERNN） for the multi-step-prediction of chaotic time series, it estimates the proper parameters of phase space reconstruction and optimizes the structure of recurrent neural networks by coevolutionary strategy. The searching space was separated into two subspaces and the individuals are trained in a parallel computational procedure. It can dynamically combine the embedding method with the capability of recurrent neural network to incorporate past experience due to internal recurrence. The effectiveness of CERNN is evaluated by using three benchmark chaotic time series data sets： the Lorenz series, Mackey-Glass series and real-world sun spot series. The simulation results show that CERNN improves the performances of multi-step-prediction of chaotic time series.

芒果^(60)Co-γ、EMS诱变及SC-SSR分子标记遗传多样性分析

诱变育种是短时间内增加物种遗传多样性和表型变异的最有效方法之一。为探明诱变创制芒果突变体基因库可行性,本研究以凯特芒果为试验材料,通过^(60)Co-γ射线辐射枝条和EMS溶液浸泡种子创制诱变群体材料,利用SC-SSR分子标记进行遗传多样性分析。结果表明:^(60)Co-γ射线辐射半致死剂量为31.37 Gy,0.2%EMS溶液浸泡半致死时间为5.9 h;利用16对SC-SSR引物分析100份诱变材料和1份凯特材料的遗传多样性,共检测出117个多态性位点,引物多态性条带百分比、多态性信息含量(PIC)、观测等位基因数(Na)、有效等位基因数(Ne)、Nei’s基因多样性指数(H)和Shannon’s信息指数(I)平均值分别为93.18%、0.610、1.923、1.583、0.334和0.493;试验材料间遗传相似系数在0.373~0.984之间,平均为0.779。诱变增加了芒果遗传信息,其中EMS诱变种子变异更大,本研究结果为芒果诱变育种提供了理论依据。

On the evolutionary trail of MagRs

Magnetic sense,or termed magnetoreception,has evolved in a broad range of taxa within the animal kingdom to facilitate orientation and navigation.MagRs,highly conserved A-type iron-sulfur proteins,are widely distributed across all phyla and play essential roles in both magnetoreception and iron-sulfur cluster biogenesis.However,the evolutionary origins and functional diversification of MagRs from their prokaryotic ancestor remain unclear.In this study,MagR sequences from 131 species,ranging from bacteria to humans,were selected for analysis,with 23 representative sequences covering species from prokaryotes to Mollusca,Arthropoda,Osteichthyes,Reptilia,Aves,and mammals chosen for protein expression and purification.Biochemical studies revealed a gradual increase in total iron content in MagRs during evolution.Three types of MagRs were identified,each with distinct iron and/or iron-sulfur cluster binding capacity and protein stability,indicating continuous expansion of the functional roles of MagRs during speciation and evolution.This evolutionary biochemical study provides valuable insights into how evolution shapes the physical and chemical properties of biological molecules such as MagRs and how these properties influence the evolutionary trajectories of MagRs.

MINIMUM ATTRIBUTE CO-REDUCTION ALGORITHM BASED ON MULTILEVEL EVOLUTIONARY TREE WITH SELF-ADAPTIVE SUBPOPULATIONS

Attribute reduction is an important process in rough set theory.Finding minimum attribute reduction has been proven to help the user-oriented make better knowledge discovery in some cases.In this paper,an efficient minimum attribute reduction algorithm is proposed based on the multilevel evolutionary tree with self-adaptive subpopulations.A model of multilevel evolutionary tree with self-adaptive subpopulations is constructed,and interacting attribute sets are better decomposed into subsets by the self-adaptive mechanism of elitist populations.Moreover it can self-adapt the subpopulation sizes according to the historical performance record so that interacting attribute decision variables are captured into the same grouped subpopulation,which will be extended to better performance in both quality of solution and competitive computation complexity for minimum attribute reduction.The conducted experiments show the proposed algorithm is better on both efficiency and accuracy of minimum attribute reduction than some representative algorithms.Finally the proposed algorithm is applied to magnetic resonance image(MRI)segmentation,and its stronger applicability is further demonstrated by the effective and robust segmentation results.

Historical biogeography and evolutionary diversification of Lilium(Liliaceae): New insights from plastome phylogenomics

Here, we infer the historical biogeography and evolutionary diversification of the genus Lilium. For this purpose, we used the complete plastomes of 64 currently accepted species in the genus Lilium(14plastomes were newly sequenced) to recover the phylogenetic backbone of the genus and a timecalibrated phylogenetic framework to estimate biogeographical history scenarios and evolutionary diversification rates of Lilium. Our results suggest that ancient climatic changes and geological tectonic activities jointly shaped the distribution range and drove evolutionary radiation of Lilium, including the Middle Miocene Climate Optimum(MMCO), the late Miocene global cooling, as well as the successive uplift of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau(QTP) and the strengthening of the monsoon climate in East Asia during the late Miocene and the Pliocene. This case study suggests that the unique geological and climatic events in the Neogene of East Asia, in particular the uplift of QTP and the enhancement of monsoonal climate, may have played an essential role in formation of uneven distribution of plant diversity in the Northern Hemisphere.