Disparities in tree mortality among plant functional types(PFTs)in a temperate forest:Insights into size-dependent and PFT-specific patterns

Tree mortality significantly influences forest structure and function,yet our understanding of its dynamic patterns among a range of tree sizes and among different plant functional types(PFTs)remains incomplete.This study analysed size-dependent tree mortality in a temperate forest,encompassing 46 tree species and 32,565 individuals across different PFTs(i.e.,evergreen conifer vs.deciduous broadleaf species,shade-tolerant vs.shade-intolerant species).By employing all-subset regression procedures and logistic generalized linear mixed-effects models,we identified distinct mortality patterns influenced by biotic and abiotic factors.Our results showed a stable mortality patte rn in eve rgreen conifer species,contrasted by a declining pattern in deciduous broadleaf and shadetolerant,as well as shade-intolerant species,across size classes.The contribution to tree mortality of evergreen conifer species shifted from abiotic to biotic factors with increasing size,while the mortality of deciduous broadleaf species was mainly influenced by biotic factors,such as initial diameter at breast height(DBH)and conspecific negative density.For shade-tolerant species,the mortality of small individuals was mainly determined by initial DBH and conspecific negative density dependence,whereas the mortality of large individuals was subjected to the combined effect of biotic(competition from neighbours)and abiotic factors(i.e.,convexity and pH).As for shade-intolerant species,competition from neighbours was found to be the main driver of tree mortality throughout their growth stages.Thus,these insights enhance our understanding of forest dynamics by revealing the size-dependent and PFT-specific tree mortality patterns,which may inform strategies for maintaining forest diversity and resilience in temperate forest ecosystems.

CO_(2)methanation boosted by support-size-dependent strong metal-support interaction and B-O-Ti component

Strong metal-support interaction(SMSI)has a great impact on the activity and selectivity of heterogeneous catalysts,which was usually adjusted by changing reduction temperature or processing catalyst in different atmosphere.However,few researches concentrate on modulating SMSI through regulating the structure of the support.Herein,we show how changing the surface environment of the anatase TiO_(2)(B–TiO_(2))can be used to modulate the SMSI.The moderate TiOx overlayer makes the Ni metal highly dispersed on the high specific surface area of support,resulting in a substantially enhanced CO_(2)methanation rate.Besides,a novel phenomenon was observed that boron dopants promote the for-mation of the B–O–Ti interface site,enhancing the catalytic performance of CO_(2)hydrogenation.DFT calculations confirm that the B–O–Ti structure facilitates the activation of CO_(2)and further hydrogenation to methane.

Observation of size-dependent boundary effects in non-Hermitian electric circuits

The non-Hermitian systems with the non-Hermitian skin effect(NHSE)are very sensitive to the imposed boundary conditions and lattice sizes,which lead to size-dependent non-Hermitian skin effects.Here,we report the experimental observation of NHSE with different boundary conditions and different lattice sizes in the unidirectional hopping model based on a circuit platform.The circuit admittance spectra and corresponding eigenstates are very sensitive to the presence of the boundary.Meanwhile,our experimental results show how the lattice sizes and boundary terms together affect the strength of NHSE.Therefore,our electric circuit provides a good platform to observe size-dependent boundary effects in non-Hermitian systems.

Size-Dependent Oxidation-Induced Phase Engineering for MOFs Derivatives Via Spatial Confinement Strategy Toward Enhanced Microwave Absorption

Precisely reducing the size of metal-organic frameworks(MOFs)derivatives is an effective strategy to manipulate their phase engineering owing to size-dependent oxidation;however,the underlying relationship between the size of derivatives and phase engineering has not been clarified so far.Herein,a spatial confined growth strategy is proposed to encapsulate small-size MOFs derivatives into hollow carbon nanocages.It realizes that the hollow cavity shows a significant spatial confinement effect on the size of confined MOFs crystals and subsequently affects the dielectric polarization due to the phase hybridization with tunable coherent interfaces and heterojunctions owing to size-dependent oxidation motion,yielding to satisfied microwave attenuation with an optimal reflection loss of-50.6 d B and effective bandwidth of 6.6 GHz.Meanwhile,the effect of phase hybridization on dielectric polarization is deeply visualized,and the simulated calculation and electron holograms demonstrate that dielectric polarization is shown to be dominant dissipation mechanism in determining microwave absorption.This spatial confined growth strategy provides a versatile methodology for manipulating the size of MOFs derivatives and the understanding of size-dependent oxidation-induced phase hybridization offers a precise inspiration in optimizing dielectric polarization and microwave attenuation in theory.

Function of male and hermaphroditic flowers and size-dependent gender diphasy of Lloydia oxycarpa (Liliaceae) from Hengduan Mountains

Although hermaphroditism is common in flowering plants, unisexual flowers occur in many plant taxa,forming various sexual systems. However, the sexual system of some plants is difficult to determine morphologically, given that their sex expression may be influenced by both genetic and environmental factors. Specifically, androdioecy(the coexistence of both male and hermaphroditic individuals in the same population) has often been confused with the gender diphasy, a gender strategy in which plants change their sex expression between seasons. We studied the reproductive function of male and hermaphroditic flowers of Lloydia oxycarpa(Liliaceae), in order to investigate its sexual system and determine whether it is a gender-diphasic species. We found that although male flowers occur in a considerable number of plants, relative to hermaphrodites, they did not exhibit any significant reproductive advantage in terms of flower size, pollen quantity, attractiveness to visitors or siring success. In addition, this plant has spontaneous self-pollination and showed no inbreeding depression. These results render the maintenance of male individuals almost impossible. Furthermore, a considerable number of individuals changed their sex in successive years. The sex expression was found to be related to bulb size and dry weight, with larger individuals producing hermaphroditic flowers and smaller individuals producing male flowers. These results suggest that L. oxycarpa is not an androdioecious plant but represents a rare case of size-dependent gender diphasy.

Modeling size-dependent thermo-mechanical behaviors of shape memory polymer Bernoulli-Euler microbeam

The objective of this paper is to model the size-dependent thermo-mechanical behaviors of a shape memory polymer (SMP) microbeam.Size-dependent constitutive equations,which can capture the size effect of the SMP,are proposed based on the modified couple stress theory (MCST).The deformation energy expression of the SMP microbeam is obtained by employing the proposed size-dependent constitutive equation and Bernoulli-Euler beam theory.An SMP microbeam model,which includes the formulations of deflection,strain,curvature,stress and couple stress,is developed by using the principle of minimum potential energy and the separation of variables together.The sizedependent thermo-mechanical and shape memory behaviors of the SMP microbeam and the influence of the Poisson ratio are numerically investigated according to the developed SMP microbeam model.Results show that the size effects of the SMP microbeam are significant when the dimensionless height is small enough.However,they are too slight to be necessarily considered when the dimensionless height is large enough.The bending flexibility and stress level of the SMP microbeam rise with the increasing dimensionless height,while the couple stress level declines with the increasing dimensionless height.The larger the dimensionless height is,the more obvious the viscous property and shape memory effect of the SMP microbeam are.The Poisson ratio has obvious influence on the size-dependent behaviors of the SMP microbeam.The paper provides a theoretical basis and a quantitatively analyzing tool for the design and analysis of SMP micro-structures in the field of biological medicine,microelectronic devices and micro-electro-mechanical system (MEMS) self-assembling.

Size-dependent Biological Effects on Vascular Endothelial Cells Induced by Different Particulate Matters

Summary： The contribution of particles to cardiovascular mortality and morbidity has been enlightened by epidemiologic and experimental studies. However, adverse biological effects of the particles with different sizes on cardiovascular cells have not been well recognized. In this study, sub-cultured human umbilical vein endothelial cells （HUVECs） were exposed to increasing concentrations of pure quartz particles （DQ） of three sizes （DQPM1, 〈1 μm; DQPM3-5, 3-5 μm; DQPM5, 5 μm） and carbon black particles of two sizes （CB0.1, 〈0.1 μm; CB 1, 〈 1 μm） for 24 h. Cytotoxicity was estimated by measuring the activity of lactate dehydrogenase （LDH） and cell viability. Nitric oxide （NO） generation and cyto- kines （TNF-α and IL-1β） releases were analyzed by using NO assay and enzyme-linked immunoabsorbent assay （ELISA）, respectively. It was found that both particles induced adverse biological effects on HUVECs in a dose-dependent manner. The size of particle directly influenced the biological activity. For quartz, the smaller particles induced stronger cytotoxicity and higher levels of cytokine responses than those particles of big size. For carbon black particles, CB0.1 was more capable of inducing adverse responses on HUVECs than CB 1 only at lower particle concentrations, in contrast to those at higher concentrations. Meanwhile, our data also revealed that quartz particles performed stronger cell damage and produced higher levels of TNF-α than carbon black particles, even if particles size was similar. In conclusion, particle size as well as particle composition should be both considered in assessing vascular endothelial cells injury and inflammation responses induced by particles.

Size-dependent melting properties of Sn nanoparticles by chemical reduction synthesis

Tin nanoparticles with different size distribution were synthesized using chemical reduction method by applying NaBH4 as reduction agent.The Sn nanoparticles smaller than 100 nm were less agglomerated and no obviously oxidized.The melting properties of these synthesized nanoparticles were studied by differential scanning calorimetry.The melting temperatures of Sn nanoparticles in diameter of 81,40,36 and 34 nm were 226.1,221.8,221.1 and 219.5？欲espectively.The size-dependent melting temperature and size-dependent latent heat of fusion have been observed.The size-dependent melting properties of tin nanoparticles in this study were also comparatively analyzed by employing different size-dependent theoretical melting models and the differences between these models were discussed.The results show that the experimental data are in accordance with the LSM model and SPI model,and the LSM model gives the better understanding for the melting property of the Sn nanoparticles.

Precise large deviations for sums of random vectors in a multidimensional size-dependent renewal risk model

Consider a multidimensional renewal risk model, in which the claim sizes {Xk, k ≥1} form a sequence of independent and identically distributed random vectors with nonnegative components that are allowed to be dependent on each other. The univariate marginal distributions of these vectors have consistently varying tails and finite means. Suppose that the claim sizes and inter-arrival times correspondingly form a sequence of independent and identically distributed random pairs, with each pair obeying a dependence structure. A precise large deviation for the multidimensional renewal risk model is obtained.

Size-dependent behaviors of viscoelastic axially functionally graded Timoshenko micro-beam considering Poisson effects

A size-dependent continuum-based model is developed for the functionally graded(FG)Timoshenko micro-beams with viscoelastic properties,in which material parameters vary according to the power law along its axial direction.The size effect is incorporated by employing the modified couple stress theory and Kelvin-Voigt viscoelastic model,so that viscous components are included in the stress and the deviatoric segments of the symmetric couple stress tensors.The components of strain,curvature,stress and couple stress are formulated by combining them with the Timoshenko beam theory.Based on the Hamilton principle,the governing differential equations and boundary conditions for the micro-beam are expressed with arbitrary beam section shape and arbitrary type of loads.The size effect,FG effect,Poisson effect,and the influence of the beam section shape on the mechanical behaviors of viscoelastic FG micro-beams are investigated by taking the simply supported micro-beam subjected to point load as an example.Results show that the size effect on deflection,normal stress and couple stress are obvious when the size of the micro-beam is small enough,and the FG effects are obvious when the size of the micro-beam is large enough.Moreover,the Poisson ratio influences the size effect significantly and the beam section shape is also an important factor influencing the mechanical behavior of the micro-beam.

Size-dependent Amplified Spontaneous Emission from Organic Crystal Slabs

The authors investigated size-dependent amplified spontaneous emission（ASE） from organic crystals. Specifically, N-（4-{4-[4-（diphenylamino）styryl]styryl}phenyl）-N-phenylbenzene amine（Ph-TPA2） organic crystals were used in the experiment. The ASE threshold was decreased with the decrease of the width of the crystal at the same gain length, which reflects that total internal reflection plays an important role on the ASE properties in these slab organic crystals. The ASE properties pumped by one- and two-photon were also comparatively studied. We found that the thresholds of ASE in two-photon pumping condition are less size-dependent than those in singlephoton condition because of the nonlinear light generation processes in two-photon absorption processes.

A New BEM Modeling Algorithm for Size-Dependent Thermopiezoelectric Problems in Smart Nanostructures

The main objective of this paper is to introduce a new theory called size-dependent thermopiezoelectricity for smart nanostructures.The proposed theory includes the combination of thermoelastic and piezoelectric influences which enable us to describe the deformation and mechanical behaviors of smart nanostructures subjected to thermal,and piezoelectric loadings.Because of difficulty of experimental research problems associated with the proposed theory.Therefore,we propose a new boundary element method(BEM)formulation and algorithm for the solution of such problems,which involve temperatures,normal heat fluxes,displacements,couple-tractions,rotations,force-tractions,electric displacement,and normal electric displacement as primary variables within the BEM formulation.The computational performance of the proposed methodology has been demonstrated by using the generalized modified shift-splitting(GMSS)iteration method to solve the linear systems resulting from the BEM discretization.GMSS advantages are investigated and compared with other iterative methods.The numerical results are depicted graphically to show the size-dependent effects of thermopiezoelectricity,thermoelasticity,piezoelectricity,and elasticity theories of nanostructures.The numerical results also show the effects of the sizedependent and piezoelectric on the displacement components.The validity,efficiency and accuracy of the proposed BEM formulation and algorithm have been demonstrated.The findings of the current study contribute to the further development of technological and industrial applications of smart nanostructures.

A QUANTUM CHEMISTRY STUDY ON THE SIZE-DEPENDENCE OF THE CHEMISORPTION OF AMMONIA AND CARBON MONOXIDE ON ALUMINUM CLUSTERS

The chemisorption intensities of NH_3 and CO on aluminum clusters A1_n(n=l-13) have been theoretically predicted by using CNDO/2 method and properly selecting the clusters' geometries.The results show that the chemisorptions of NH_3 and GO on Al_2,Al_6 and Al_12 are magically stable and thus are in good agreement with the experimental results.In addition,an electronic structure analysis is made to expound the nature of such a size effect.

Modeling size-dependent behaviors of axially functionally graded Bernoulli-Euler micro-beam

This work focus on the mechanical behaviors,which are related to the size effect,functionally graded(FG)effect and Poisson effect,of an axially functionally graded(AFG)micro-beam whose elastic modulus varies according to sinusoidal law along its axial direction.The displacement field of the AFG micro-beam is set according to the Bernoulli-Euler beam theory.Employing the modified couple stress theory(MCST),the components of strain,curvature,stress and couple stress are expressed by the second derivative of the deflection of the AFG micro-beam.A size-dependent model related to FG effect and Poisson effect,which includes the formulations of bending stiffness,deflection,normal stress and couple stress,is developed to predict the mechanical behaviors of the AFG microbeam by employing the principle of minimum potential energy.The mechanical behaviors of a simply supported AFG micro-beam are numerically investigated using the developed model for demonstrating the size effects,FG effects and Poisson effects of the AFG micro-beam.Results show that the mechanical behaviors of AFG micro-beams are distinctly size-dependent only when the ratio of micro-beam height to material length-scale parameter is small enough.The FG parameter is an important factor that determines and regulates the size-dependent behaviors of AFG micro-beams.The influences of Poisson’s ratio on the mechanical behaviors of AFG micro-beams are not negligible,and should be also considered in the design and analysis of an AFG micro-beam.This work supplies a theoretical basis and a technical reference for the design and analysis of AFG micro-beams in the related regions.

Dynamic stability analysis of porous functionally graded beams under hygro-thermal loading using nonlocal strain gradient integral model

We present a study on the dynamic stability of porous functionally graded(PFG)beams under hygro-thermal loading.The variations of the properties of the beams across the beam thicknesses are described by the power-law model.Unlike most studies on this topic,we consider both the bending deformation of the beams and the hygro-thermal load as size-dependent,simultaneously,by adopting the equivalent differential forms of the well-posed nonlocal strain gradient integral theory(NSGIT)which are strictly equipped with a set of constitutive boundary conditions(CBCs),and through which both the stiffness-hardening and stiffness-softening effects of the structures can be observed with the length-scale parameters changed.All the variables presented in the differential problem formulation are discretized.The numerical solution of the dynamic instability region(DIR)of various bounded beams is then developed via the generalized differential quadrature method(GDQM).After verifying the present formulation and results,we examine the effects of different parameters such as the nonlocal/gradient length-scale parameters,the static force factor,the functionally graded(FG)parameter,and the porosity parameter on the DIR.Furthermore,the influence of considering the size-dependent hygro-thermal load is also presented.

Size-dependent activity of Fe-N-doped mesoporous carbon nanoparticles towards oxygen reduction reaction

The rational design of Fe–N–C catalysts that possess easily accessible active sites and favorable mass transfer,which are usually determined by the structure of catalyst supports,is crucial for the oxygen reduction reaction(ORR).In this study,an oleic acid-assisted soft-templating approach is developed to synthesize size-controlled nitrogen-doped carbon nanoparticles(ranging from 130 nm to 60 nm and 35 nm,respectively)that feature spiral mesopores on their surface(SMCs).Next,atomically dispersed Fe–Nx sites are fabricated on the size-tunable SMCs(Fe1/SMC-x,where x represents the SMC size)and the size-dependent activity toward ORR is investigated.It is found that the catalytic performance of Fe1/SMCs is significantly influenced by the size of SMCs,where the Fe1/SMC-60 catalyst shows the highest ORR activity with a half-wave potential of 0.90 V vs.RHE in KOH electrolyte,indicating that the gas-liquid-solid three-phase interface on the Fe1/SMC-60 enhances the accessibility of Fe–Nx sites.In addition,when using Fe1/SMC-60 as the cathode catalyst in aqueous zinc-air batteries(ZABs),it delivers a higher open-circuit voltage(1.514 V),a greater power density(223 mW cm^(−2)),and a larger specific capacity/energy than Pt/C-based counterparts.These results further highlight the potential of Fe1/SMC60 for practical energy devices associated with ORR and the importance of size-controlled synthesis of SMCs.

Kinetics of Reaction-Crystallization of Struvite in the Continuous Draft Tube Magma Type CrystallizersmInfluence of Different Internal Hydrodynamics

A laboratory-scale reaction-crystallization process of struvite synthesis from diluted water solution of Mg^2＋, NH^＋ 4 and PO3- ions was studied. The research covered the tests of two original constructions of continuous jet-pump Draft Tube Magma （DTM）-type crystallizers with internal circulation of suspension （upward/downward）. Interactions between constructional, hydrodynamic and kinetic factors were established and discussed. Nucleation and linear growth rates of struvite crystals were calculated on the basis of population density distribution. Kinetic model of idealized Mixed Suspension Mixed Product Removal （MSMPR） crystallizer considering the size-dependent growth mechanism was applied （Rojkowski hyperbolic equation）. For comparison purposes the kinetic data corre- sponded to a simpler, continuous draft tube-type crystallizer equipped with propeller agitator were analyzed. It was concluded that crystal product of larger size was withdrawn from the jet-pump DTM crystallizer of the descending flow of suspension in a mixing chamber.

Nonlocal thermoelastic analysis of a functionally graded material microbeam

In extreme heat transfer environments, functionally graded materials(FGMs)have aroused great concern due to the excellent thermal shock resistance. With the development of micro-scale devices, the size-dependent effect has become an important issue. However, the classical continuum mechanical model fails on the micro-scale due to the influence of the size-dependent effect. Meanwhile, for thermoelastic behaviors limited to small-scale problems, Fourier's heat conduction law cannot explain the thermal wave effect. In order to capture the size-dependent effect and the thermal wave effect, the nonlocal generalized thermoelastic theory for the formulation of an FGM microbeam is adopted in the present work. For numerical validation, the transient responses for a simply supported FGM microbeam heated by the ramp-type heating are considered.The governing equations are formulated and solved by employing the Laplace transform techniques. In the numerical results, the effects of the ramp-heating time parameter, the nonlocal parameter, and the power-law index on the considered physical quantities are presented and discussed in detail.

Both small and large plants are likely to produce staminate(male)flowers in a hermaphrodite lily

Resource allocation to female and male function may vary among individual plants in species with variable sex expression.Size-dependent sex allocation has been proposed in hermaphrodites,in which female-biased allocation may increase with plant size.In many hermaphrodites with large floral displays,however,later-produced flowers tend to be functionally male.This paradoxical relationship between female and male function and plant size remains poorly understood.The subalpine lily Lilium lankongense has individuals of three sexual types:males with only staminate flowers,hermaphrodites with only perfect flowers,and andromonoecious plants with both perfect and staminate flowers.Here we tested theoretical predictions of size-dependent sex allocation in L.lankongense by measuring plant height and flower number of individuals of each sex at five field sites in the mountainous region of Shangri-La,southwestern China.To investigate variation in phenotypic gender,we identified sex expression of 457 individuals one year later.Our investigation showed that male plants,which usually produced one flower,were significantly smaller than and ro monoecious and hermaphrodite plants.In addition,the total flower numbers of andromonoecious and hermaphrodite plants increased significantly with plant size.Large individuals were more likely to produce terminal staminate flowers,as there were more flowers in andromonoecious than in hermaphrodite individuals.Non-flowered plants were significantly smaller than flowering ones.Perfect flowers had significantly larger petals and pistils than staminate flowers,but they did not differ in dry weight of stamens.Our findings indicate that when plants are small,the less costly sex is favored,consistent with the‘size-advantage hypothesis’.When plants are large,both female and male investments change isometrically,as later-produced flowers tend to be functionally male.

Effects of amygdale heterogeneity and sample size on the mechanical properties of basalt

Due to the complex diagenesis process,basalt usually contains defects in the form of amygdales formed by diagenetic bubbles,which affect its mechanical properties.In this study,a synthetic rock mass method(SRM)based on the combination of discrete fracture network(DFN)and finite-discrete element method(FDEM)is applied to characterizing the amygdaloidal basalt,and to systematically exploring the effects of the development characteristics of amygdales and sample sizes on the mechanical properties of basalt.The results show that with increasing amygdale content,the elastic modulus(E)increases linearly,while the uniaxial compressive strength(UCS)shows an exponential or logarithmic decay.When the orientation of amygdales is between 0°and 90°,basalt shows a relatively pronounced strength and stiffness anisotropy.Based on the analysis of the geometric and mechanical properties,the representative element volume(REV)size of amygdaloidal basalt blocks is determined to be 200 mm,and the mechanical properties obtained on this scale can be regarded as the properties of the equivalent continuum.The results of this research are of value to the understanding of the mechanical properties of amygdaloidal basalt,so as to guide the formulation of engineering design schemes more accurately.