Grain-size characteristics of linear dunes on the northern margin of Qarhan Salt Lake, northwestern China

In order to clarify the formation mechanism of linear dunes on the northern margin of Qarhan Salt Lake, northwestern China, we analyzed the grain-size and sorting parameters of the dune and interdune sands. The surface sands （0-30 ram） from the dune base to the crest of both flanks and interdune corridors were sampled along transects from upwind to downwind through the dune field. The results indicated that the grain-size distribution differed at different positions between and within the dunes. The frequency curve for dune sands mainly showed a bimodal distribution, while the interdune sediments showed a trimodal distribution. The grain size distribution of the linear dunes showed a finer crest pattern, i.e. the crests were composed of sands that were generally finer, better sorted than those of base sands. In addition, at the dune field scale, the dune crest sands were tending to become much finer but sorting became worse along the downwind transects. However, the grain-size parameters of sediments in the interdune corridors showed no clear pattern. The results demonstrated that the grain size and sorting parameters exhibited a systematic change not only at the individual scale but also at the dune field scale. Our results quantitatively estimate the limited role of cohesive sediments on the formation of linear dune under unidirectional wind regime. More attention should be paid to a long-term wind regime observation, internal sedimentary structures and their formation ages.

Grain-size Characteristics of Sediment in Daniugou Peatland in Changbai Mountains,Northeast China:Implications for Atmospheric Dust Deposition

The grain-size distribution characteristics and grain-size parameters of sediment in two vertical sections of Daniugou peatland in the Changbai Mountains were systematically investigated.A comparative analysis of the sediment granularity using a discriminative function with Hongyuan peat,red clay,loess-paleosol,fluvial deposit as well as lacustrine deposit was also conducted.It turns out that the vertical section of Daniugou peat ash is primarily constituted by clay and silt particles,and the content of sand is relatively small.Grain-size frequency curves generally show a single-peak modality while a bimodal pattern is detected in the upper layer.The grain-size component and peak pattern of grain-size frequency curves also illustrate that peat ash materials were transported to the peatland by long-range aeolian dust during the deposition process,while there existed short-distance dust influence in peat deposition of the upper layer.Comparisons of grain-size parameters and the discriminative Y-value of Daniugou peat ash with those of typical aeolian sediments show close similarities,suggesting the possibility that atmospheric dust transport processes were involved in the accumulation of peat again.Moreover,the variations of grain-size distribution suggest the local environmental deterioration which is just the driving force of local dust elevation.Grain-size analysis of peatland sediment is demonstrated to be one effective method to extract information about regional and global environmental evolution,and more attention should be paid to current local ecological environment and to seeking a balance between economic development and environmental protection in Northeast China.

Instance Segmentation of Characters Recognized in Palmyrene Aramaic Inscriptions

This study presents a single-class and multi-class instance segmentation approach applied to ancient Palmyrene inscriptions,employing two state-of-the-art deep learning algorithms,namely YOLOv8 and Roboflow 3.0.The goal is to contribute to the preservation and understanding of historical texts,showcasing the potential of modern deep learning methods in archaeological research.Our research culminates in several key findings and scientific contributions.We comprehensively compare the performance of YOLOv8 and Roboflow 3.0 in the context of Palmyrene character segmentation—this comparative analysis mainly focuses on the strengths and weaknesses of each algorithm in this context.We also created and annotated an extensive dataset of Palmyrene inscriptions,a crucial resource for further research in the field.The dataset serves for training and evaluating the segmentation models.We employ comparative evaluation metrics to quantitatively assess the segmentation results,ensuring the reliability and reproducibility of our findings and we present custom visualization tools for predicted segmentation masks.Our study advances the state of the art in semi-automatic reading of Palmyrene inscriptions and establishes a benchmark for future research.The availability of the Palmyrene dataset and the insights into algorithm performance contribute to the broader understanding of historical text analysis.

Fireworks Optimization with Deep Learning-Based Arabic Handwritten Characters Recognition Model

Handwritten character recognition becomes one of the challenging research matters.More studies were presented for recognizing letters of various languages.The availability of Arabic handwritten characters databases was confined.Almost a quarter of a billion people worldwide write and speak Arabic.More historical books and files indicate a vital data set for many Arab nationswritten in Arabic.Recently,Arabic handwritten character recognition(AHCR)has grabbed the attention and has become a difficult topic for pattern recognition and computer vision(CV).Therefore,this study develops fireworks optimizationwith the deep learning-based AHCR(FWODL-AHCR)technique.Themajor intention of the FWODL-AHCR technique is to recognize the distinct handwritten characters in the Arabic language.It initially pre-processes the handwritten images to improve their quality of them.Then,the RetinaNet-based deep convolutional neural network is applied as a feature extractor to produce feature vectors.Next,the deep echo state network(DESN)model is utilized to classify handwritten characters.Finally,the FWO algorithm is exploited as a hyperparameter tuning strategy to boost recognition performance.Various simulations in series were performed to exhibit the enhanced performance of the FWODL-AHCR technique.The comparison study portrayed the supremacy of the FWODL-AHCR technique over other approaches,with 99.91%and 98.94%on Hijja and AHCD datasets,respectively.

Grain-size Characteristics and Climate Variability in TMS5e Sequence of Tumen Section in Southern Tengger Desert,Northwestern China

The TMS5e sequence from the Tumen section, at the southern edge of Tengger Desert in the northwestern China, is synchronous with Marine Isotope Stage 5e （MIS5e）. It consists of 16 layers of aeolian dune sands, 11 layers of lacustrine loess-like facies, and 5 layers of lacustrine facies. The results of grain-size analysis shows that the pa- laeo-mobile dune sands, palaeo-fixed to semi-fixed dune sands and loess-like sandy loams are mainly composed of sands, ranging from 70% to 96%; their silt contents ranged from 4% to 20%, and their clay contents ranged from 1% to 5%; the climate under which the aeolian dune sands were deposited is similar to that under which modern mobile dune sands form, which is caused by the dominance of the cold, dry East Asian winter monsoon. In contrast, the lacustrine loess-like facies and lacustrine facies had a lower sand contents than those of the three aeolian dune sands, but have higher silt and clay contents, most of their sand content ranged from 30% to 60%, their silt contents ranged from 35% to 55%, and their clay contents ranged from 6% to 20%. The lacustrine loess-like facies and lacustrine facies formed under the influence of the warm, humid East Asian summer monsoon based on their similarity with modern sediments. The grain-size indicator Mz （mean grain diameter） and the SC/D value in the TMS5e sequence indicate climatic insta- bility at the southern edge of the Tengger Desert during MIS5e, with at least 14 fluctuations between a warm, humid climate and a cold, dry climate, divided into five stages： TMS5e5 （139 kyr to 129.3 kyr B.P.）, TMS5e4 （129.3 kyr to 124 kyr B.P.）, TMS5e3 （124 kyr to 119.5 kyr B.P.）, TMS5e2 （119.5 kyr to 116.5 kyr B.P.）, and TMS5el （116.5 kyr to 113.7 kyr B.P.）. These correspond roughly to MIS5e5, MIS5e4, MIS5e3, MIS5e2, and MIS5el, respectively, in the GRIP ice core data.

Grain-size distribution characteristics of red sandy sediments in Dongjiang River valley,southern Nanling Mountains,during the MIS2 stage

Layer LJ3 of Linjiang stratigraphic section in Dongjiang River valley in the south of the Nanling Mountains is a set of red sandy sediments.Measured by thermoluminescence(TL) dating,it was found to be formed in MIS2-9,500 ± 800 yr to 19,600 ± 1,800 yr B.P.After analy-sis of the grain sizes of the 16 samples(LJ3-100 to LJ3-85) in this layer,it was discovered that(1) The contents of each grain group in dif-ferent samples are similar.(2) The values of Md,Mz,,Sk,and Kg vary from LJ3-100 to LJ3-85 in a narrow range.(3) The segments of each sample in the accumulative curves extend parallel with similar slopes.All the three aspects reveal the Aeolian characteristics of Layer LJ3.Therefore,it is thought that Layer LJ3 consists of red sandy sediments formed in MIS2 in the south of Nanling Mountain,which reflects the arid climate at that time.

The grain-size characteristics of Quaternary deposits at Xingshan near Siping in Jilin province, China

This research paper analyses the grain-size characteristics of the Quaternary deposits at Xingshan near Siping, Jilin province in China by employing graphic measures to study the grain size distribution and its mode of transport and deposition. The Quaternary deposits at Xingshan lie unconformable on Cretaceous rocks made of siltstone, mudstone and sandstone. The average grain size is between 8.06 to 8.55Φ (0.002 6 ～0.003 7 mm). The Quaternary deposits at Xingshan mainly compose of very fine silt to clay. The compositions of the grade are clay 63% and silt 37%. The clay size components are weathered debris transported and deposited by flowing water from the SE highlands or hills to the low lying NW Xingshan plains whereas the silty components accumulated by aoelian process. The Quaternary deposits at Xingshan accumulated in the middle and late Pleistocene interglacial periods from (459.12～39.03) ka to (88.92～7.56) ka. The standard deviation ranged from 0.96 to 1.36Φ, indicating that the sediments are moderately to poorly sorted, Coefficient of skewness ranged from 0.16～0.31 with an average skewness of 0.218, (Positively skewed towards fine). Kurtosis values (0.84～1.05) from the grain size distribution and visual inspection of the frequency curves indicate platykurtic to mesokurtic curves and unimodal to bimodal grain-size distribution. The type of deposit formation is sand dune and the source is at a distal from its provenance.

Genetic and Correlation Analysis of Grain Characters in Three-line Hybrid Rice

Abst[Objective] This study was to understand the genetic dynamics of three-line hybrid rice, and explore the respective effect of sterile line and restoring line on grain characters of hybrid rica. [Method] Four three-line stedle lines and 27 restoring lines（cultivars） commonly culti- vated in Central China region were regarded as expadmental materials to conduct 4 x27NCII cross design, and the grain characters of three-line hybrid rico were analyzed at genetic and correlation levels. [ Result] Four characters of grain length, grain width, 1 000-grain weight and length- width ratio play the leading role in additive gene effect; these four characters were simultaneously influenced by male parent and female parent, but the effect from male parent was relatively larger. The grain length, grain width, 1 000-grain weight and length-width ratio all have high brood hedtabUities（ respectively 99.65%, 98.31%, 95.27% and 98.81% ）. Correlation analysis showed that grain length was positively correlated with 1 000-grain weight and length-width ratio at extremely significant level; 1 000-grain weight was positively correlated with grain length and length- width ratio at extremely significant level, and was insignificantly correlated with grain width; grain width was negatively correlated with grain length and length-width ratio at extremely significant level. Path analysis showed that the direct path coefficients of grain length, grain width and 1 0（30- grain weight to length-width ratio were 0.624 6, -0.555 9 and -0.015 8, respectively. [ Conclusion] This study systematically analyzed the effects of stedle line and restoring line on grain characters of hybrid rice, which provided theoretical basis for breeding high quality and yield hy- brid dce.

Main Agronomic Characters and Grain Quality of Rice Blast Resistance Gene Pi-d2 Transgenic Rice

[Objective] The aim of this study was to provide metabolic evidence for the analysis of the ecological and safety assessment of Pi-d2-transgenic rice.[Method] The main agronomic characters of Pi-d2-transgenic rice were observed in field experiment and the grain chemical characters and amino acid content were measured.[Results] Introduction of foreign gene Pi-d2 resulted in stably hereditable variation in agronomic characteristics in the descents.Most of the transgenic lines grew normally and orderly.Compared with the control（wild type plants）,about half of transgenic plants showed an increased or reduced plant height.There was no observable difference between transgenic plants and controls in tiller number,length of panicle,panicles per plant,seed-setting rate and 1 000-grain weight.Total amino acid content in transgenic rice was reduced,while the starch content,GC and GT were not altered in comparison with the control.[Conclusion] Introduction of foreign gene Pi-d2 has remarkable influence on plant height,while little on grain chemical characters.

Correlation Analysis of Characters of Indica Hybrid Rice with High Content of Amylose

[Objective] The aim was to research and analyze characters and related correlation of indica hybrid rice containing high amylose. [Method] In the research, major characters of 16 species of groups of {ndica hybrid rice and the correlation were explored in rice belts in Sichuan in 2011. [Result] The variation of chalkiness degree was the highest at 26.8%, followed by rate of head rice at 22.89%; varia- tions of head rice rate and chalkiness degree were lower at 0.72% and 2.61%. In addition, rate of unpolished rice was of significantly negative correlation with chalki- ness degree; rate of chalky rice was of extremely positive correlation with chalkiness degree and gel consistency; chalkiness degree was of significantly positive correla- tion with gel consistency; gel consistency was of significantly negative correlation with protein content; amylose content was of insignificant correlation with gel consis- tency （r=0.166 9） of the 16 hybrid groups. These indicated that gel consistency would be still high as the content of amylose grows （AC≥25%）. For example, when the content of anylose in Chuanxiang 29A/Luhui 37, Kangfeng AJ6684, and Lefeng A/SR536 exceeded 27%, the gel consistency was over 80 mm in the research. [Conclusion] The research provides references for improvement of amylose content in breeding hybrid rice.

Effects of Plastic Film Mulching on Physical Characters of Soil and Yield and Yield Components of Sweet Potato

Field experiments were carried out to study the effects of plastic film mulching on soil physical characters, including soil temperature, soil moisture content and soil bulk density, and yield and yield components of sweet potato. The results showed that plastic filming mulching increased soil temperature. Considering the soil temperature-increasing effect, the treatments ranked as black plastic film treatment 〉 white plastic film treatment 〉 control. However, with the deepening of soil layer, the warming effect of plastic film mulching was weakened. Black or white plastic film mulching was conducive to low T/R value, especially in the early growth stage of sweet potato. Plastic film mulching significantly improved the storage root yield of sweet potato. In terms of yield-improving effect, the treatments ranked as black plastic film treatment 〉 white plastic film treatment 〉 control. The storage root num- ber per plant showed a downward trend, but the weight of single storage root was increased.

Variation and Cluster Analysis on Leaf Characters from Different Provenance Sources of Polygonum multiflorum Thunb

[Objective] The aim was to study the variation of leaf characters from different provenance sources of Polygonum multiflorum Thunb,as well as to carry out cluster analysis on P.multiflorum from different provenance sources to provide basis for the classification,identification,breeding and improved variety selection of P.multiflorum.[Method] Leaf shape characters of 31 copies of germplasm resources in the major distribution region of the whole country were determined,and the genetic variation of P.multiflorum leaves from different producing areas was analyzed.[Result] The leaf characters of single plant of the same experimental provenance source of P.multiflorum were relatively stable,the variation was mainly found on the single leaf area,1/2 leaf width,leaf width and other indicators;the variation of each leaf character among different provenance sources was obvious,and the variation was mainly found on the single leaf weight,leaf area,1/2 leaf width,leaf length and other indicators.The correlation analysis of each leaf character in P.multiflorum suggested that the single leaf area and single leaf weight showed extremely significant positive correlation with leaf length,1/2 leaf width,leaf width,leaf thickness and leaf stem length,while the single leaf area and single leaf weight showed significant negative correlation with WWR（leaf width/1/2 leaf width）and LWR（leaf length/1/2 leaf length）,in addition,several macroscopic leaf characters such as leaf length,1/2 leaf width,leaf width,leaf stem length showed extremely positive correlation.The main component analysis result suggested that the contribution rate of accumulation variance of the front three main components was up to 97.4%,which could better reflect the comprehensive performance of leaf characters of different provenance sources of P.multiflorum.The cluster analysis showed that the experimental 31 copies of P.multiflorum provenance sources should be divided into three classes,the first class was distributed in the Middle,Western of Guizhou,northwestern of Guangxi and western areas with higher altitude;the second class was distributed in Hunan,Hubei,Sichuan,Guangdong and the most area of Guangxi;the third class was distributed in Anhui,Jiangsu and Henan and Shandong.[Conclusion] Cluster analysis of leaf characters indicated that the kinds of provenance sources which the geographical position was closer could be got together.The study had provided a certain basis for the classification of P.multiflorum.

Physicochemical Characters of rPoIFN-α and Its Antiviral Activity in vitro

[Objective]The research aimed to test and identify the physicochemical characters and antiviral activity in vitro of semi-finished product of the recombinant porcine rPoIFN-α. [Method]HEp-2/VSV system was used to test the antiviral activity of three batches of rPoIFN-α. Using recombinant human IFN-α as reference,the titer of interferon was measured. The semi-finished product of rPoIFN-α with the known titer were treated with 0.25% trypsin,HCl and mouse anti-porcine IFN-α monoclonal antibody. And the anti-viral activity of each batch of rPoIFN-α was detected. The physicochemical characters of rPoIFN-α were evaluated. The inhibition of induced cytopathic effect of rPoIFN-α on PPV （Porcine parvovirus） and PRV （Porcine pseudorabies） on swine kidney cell （PK-15） was determined. And the antiviral activity of rPoIFN-α in vitro was observed. [Result]The titers of semi-finished products of rPoIFN-α titrated by HEp-2/VSV system could reach 1.5×105 IU/ml,with the specific activity of 1.1×106 IU/mg. The residual rate of the tier of rPoIFN-α treated by 0.25% trypsin at 37 ℃ for 1 h was less than 1%. And that treated with HCl （pH of 2.0） for 72 h was up to 95%. And that treated at 56 ℃ for 30 min and that treated by mouse anti-porcine IFN-α monoclonal antibody at 37 ℃ for 1 h were higher than 47% and about 1% respectively. The antiviral test in vitro showed that 50 and 500 IU/ml rPoIFN-α could inhibit the induced cytopathic effect of PRV and PPV on PK-15 cell lines. [Conclusion]rPoIFN-α had the basic physicochemical characters of IFN-α. And it could inhibit the induced cytopathic effect of PRV and PPV on PK-15 cell lines,but there was dosage difference.

Vertical root distribution characters of Robinia pseudoacacia on the Loess Plateau in China

On the Loess Plateau, water is the main limiting factors for vegetation growth. Root distribution characters have special ecological meaning as it reflected the utilizations of trees to the environments. Even-aged stands ofRobinia pseudoacacia on slope lands facing south and north were selected as sampling plots for root distribution investigation. Investigatiing results showed that indicated that on all sites, root biomass decreased with depth, and the distribution depth of fine root was deeper than that of coarser root. The results of variance analysis indicated that there were great differences in root biomass among different diameter classes, and coarser root was the main sources of variance, and the root biomass, especially fine root (?<3mm) biomass on northern exposition sites was bigger than that on southern exposition sites. Analysis of the vertical root distribution parameters, root extinction coefficient, β indicated that the value of β on northern exposition was more than 0.982, while the value of β on southern exposition was less than 0.982, which indicated that the vertical root distribution depth ofRobinia pseudoacacia on southern exposition was deeper than that on southern exposition. And the distribution depth of fine roots (Φ<1mm) was deeper than that of thicker roots(Φ<3mm), which was in favor of the uptake of water and nutrients from deeper layers, helped the trees to adapt the arid environment, and promoted the growth of the upper parts of the tree. Keywords Root diameter classes - Variance analysis - Root extinction coefficient - Vertical distribution characters - Site conditions - Loess Plateau CLC number S792.27.01 Document code A Foundation Item: This research was supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China (30371150 and 40371075).Biography: LI Peng (1974-) male, post: Ph. D. in Northwest Scientific & Technological University of Agriculture and Forestry, Yangling 712100, Shaanxi Province, P. R. China. Tel: 029-82312651.Responsible editor: Chai Ruihal

Effects of Vermicompost on Agronomic Characters and Yield and Quality of Flue-cured Tobacco

The effects of vermicompost on the agronomic characters and yield and quality of flue-cured tobacco were investigated. The results showed that, the field growth periods of various treatments were 117-118 d, 1-2 days longer than that of the CK. The numbers of effective leaves of the treatments applied with vermicompost were 0.1-0.3 leaf more than the CK. The highest yield and the highest proportion of high-grade tobacco occurred in treatment 3 as 2 095.5 kg/m^2 and 49%, respectively, which were higher than those in the CK by 6.58 kg and 5.3%. In conclusion, the treatment with the application of vermicompost at 7 500-10 500 kg/hm^2 was the best.

Analysis on the Main Botanical Characters of 41 Cucurbita moschata Varieties

In order to scientifically evaluate the values of Cucurbita moschata cultivars, main botanical characters including the initial flowering date, the first fruiting node, fruit length, fruit stem length, stem diameter, internode length, the transverse and longitudinal diameters of the largest leaf, single fruit weight, flesh thickness and soluble solid content of 41 cultivars were measured for conducting diversity, correlation and cluster analysis. The results revealed that the pumpkin cultivars showed large variations in fruit stem length, single fruit weight, fruit length and flesh thickness, but small variations in initial flowering date. Significant, even highly significant correlations were found among the tested traits. Cluster analysis demonstrated that the 41 old Cucurbita moschata cultivars were divided into three groups, of which multiple traits of Group 1 were better than those in the other two groups. High similarities existed in three groups and the cultivars in each group. This research provided basis for selecting excellent traits and parents for the breeding of hybrids.

Effects of Nitrogen Quantity on Grain-filling Characters of Two-line Hybrid Rice with Large Ear

[Objective] The aim was to research effects of N quantity on grain-filling characters of two-line hybrid rice cultivars with large ears. [Method] Peiza 67 and 88, two-line hybridized rice with large ears, were made use of to study on effects of N fertilizer in different quantities （LN： 90 kg/hm2;MN： 180 kg/hm2;HN： 270 kg/hm2） on plumpness and grain-filling characters. [Result] When N fertilizers were excessive, for inferior grains, grain-filling rate decreased and grain-filling time extended, resulting in plumpness decline after degradation of leaves＇ function. When N fertilizers were inadequate, maximal and average grain-filling rates decreased and the differences between superior and inferior grains in grain-filling rate increased, leading to decline of grain＇s weight and plumpness degree. On the other hand, quantity of N fertilizers had little effect on superior grains in plumpness. [Conclusion] The research provided references for reasonable use of N fertilizer and improvement of rice yield and N use.

Supply-demand Evolution about Main Characters of Wheat Varieties in China

Using the data of wheat varieties with year-sown area of 6 666.7 hm^2 or more from 1982 to 2006 in China, the evolution of wheat varieties was studied from both supply and demand. Results showed that although various characters of wheat varieties grown by peasants in production were improved obviously in China, the demand for variety yield was still the main demand by peasants; there was no significant difference between the supply and demand of crude protein content by peasants; the demand for disease resistance has been lower than the supply recently; the demand for full growth stage at every stage was less than the supply; and while there was a larger demand for plant height by peasants.

Economic Characters of Thirty-three Chinese Rice Cultivars in Angola

[Objective] The aim was to research economic characters of thirty-three Chinese rice cultivars in Angola.[Method] In the research,twenty-eight hybrid mid-indica rice cultivars and five conventional Japonica rice cultivars were classified into three groups and then grown in Luanda to analyze adaptability,fertility and major economic characters of the rice in rainy season.[Result] The research showed that of twenty-eight hybrid mid-indica rice cultivars,ten cultivars were of better adaptability and fertility,which are suitable to be grown in Luanda in Angola;productive ear number,total grain per ear,thousand-seed weight and ratio of grain to straw of the rice cultivars performed normally,but the whole developmental period shortened and seedling setting rate improved significantly.In addition,hybrid indica Teyou 721,Quanxiangyou 512,II you 128 and 102S/4HZ021 were of fertility potential at 11.5 t/hm2,which were all proved excellent in related characters in rainy season in Luanda of Angola.For conventional mid-season rice indica cultivars,Wandao 51 and Huanghuazhan were of better adaptability and fertility.In contrast,5 Japonica rice cultivars were of poor adaptability.[Conclusion] The research provided technical references for Chinese rice growing in Angola.

Comprehensive Evaluation of Yield Characters and Quality Characters of New Cotton Varieties in Mid-south Area of Hebei

The yield characters and quality characters of several new cotton varieties in the mid-south area of Hebei Province were comprehensively evaluated in this pa- per. In different ecological environments, the single-boll weight of tested cotton vari- eties had the biggest variation coefficient among yield characters and micronaire value had the biggest variation coefficient among fiber quality characters. Path analy- sis indicated that the direct path coefficients of various characters had the flowing order, lint percentage〉 number of bolls per plant〉 single-boll weight〉 seed index among yield components and uniformity index 〉 fiber specific strength〉 micronaire value〉 elongation rate〉 upper half staple length among fiber quality characters. Principal component analysis indicated that the top three principal components contributed 8.263% of accumulated variance, basically reflecting the vast majority of informations of 10 main characters in tested cotton varieties.