Process Optimization of Acetic Acid Fermentation of Hawthorn Vinegar

[Objective] Fermentation process of hawthorn vinegar was investigated in order to explore the effect of process andobtain superior process of hawthorn vine- gar. [Method] Fermentation process of hawthorn vinegar was firstly optimized using Box-Behnken methodologyof 3-factor and 3-level, and the effect of process was an- alyzed. Secondly, it was also finished to build secondary multivariate regression model related to yield of acetic acid. [Results] The optimal fermentation process ob- tained by response surface methodology was as follows： inoculum size of 10%, or- iginal alcohol content of 7.0% and temperature of 30 ^（3. In optimal condition, yield of acetic acid was 51.76 g/L which was close to predicted value （51.77 g/L）. In the model, interaction of inoculum size and original alcohol content was extremely signif- icant. In contrast, interaction of others was non-significant. [Conclusion] Response surface methodology is advisable to be used for process optimization of hawthorn vinegar.

The features of soil aggregation and its eco-environmental effects under different subalpine forests on the east slope of Gongga Mountain, China

Structural properties of forest soils have important hydro-ecological function and can influence the soil water-physical characters and soil erosion. The experimental soil samples were obtained in surface horizon (0-10 cm) from different subalpine forest types on east slope of Gongga Mountain in the upriver area of Yangtze River China in May 2002. The soil bulk density, porosity, stable infiltration rate, aggregate distribution and particle-size distribution were analyzed by the routine methods in room, and the features and effects on eco-environment of soil aggregation were studied. The results showed that the structure of soil under mixed mature forest is in the best condition and can clearly enhance the eco-environmental function of soil, and the soil structure under the clear-cutting forest is the worst, the others are ranked between them. The study results can offer a basic guidance for the eco-environmental construction in the upper reaches of Yangtze River.

Effects of Geographic and Topographic Factors on First Frost in Shanxi Province from 1961 to 2010

Based on day-to-day minimal ground temperatures in 1961-2010 from 62 meteorological stations in Shanxi province,the variation characteristics of Shanxi＇s first frost were analyzed.The results show：Shanxi＇s average first frost date was October 7,and the first frost date of the north was generally earlier than the south; the average first frost date had obvious negative correlations with altitude and latitude,and the correlation coefficients were respectively-0.85 and-0.82.M-K mutation test shows that the first frost date of most meteorological stations had mutations from 1961 to 2010,mainly in the years from 1981 to 2000,and the mutation year of the central area was generally later than the north and the south; the mutation year had negative correlations with altitude and latitude,and the correlation coefficients were respectively-0.45 and-0.51.The first frost dates of most stations had a delaying trend.Specifically,the large delaying scope region was located in the north and the mid-east,and the large advancing scope region was located in the south and the south central.The changing trend had negative correlations with altitude and latitude,and the correlation coefficients were respectively-0.30 and-0.37.Probabilities of the mild,the moderate and the severe first frost were 62％-82％,6％-26％ and 4％-22％,respectively,and the maximum probabilities appeared in the south central ＆ northeast,the central ＆ north central and the west ＆ north central.Correlation of altitude with first frost tends to be volatile upon frost grade and latitude has bigger impacts on first frost probabilities.

Optimization of Ultrasound-assisted Enzymatic Polysaccharide Extraction from Turpiniae Folium Based on Response Surface Methodology

Objective To optimize the extraction procedure and obtain the maximum total polysaccharide yield from Turpiniae Folium.Methods Response surface methodology(RSM),combining Plackett–Burman design(PBD),steepest ascent method,and Box–Behnken design(BBD),was employed.The significant factors contributing to polysaccharide production were determined by PBD.The path of steepest ascent method was performed to rapidly reach the neighborhood of the optimum region.BBD and RSM were applied to further investigate the mutual interaction between the variables and to define the optimal values.Results The significant factors contributing to polysaccharide production were enzyme concentration,extraction time,and liquid-to-solid ratio.The optimal conditions for maximal TFP were:enzyme concentration of2.8%,extraction time of41min,and liquid-to-solid ratio of27mL/g.The experimental yield of3.08%was in good agreement with the model-predicted yield of3.1%under the optimized conditions.Conclusion This study was successfully applied to optimize the extraction conditions of Turpiniae Folium polysaccharide,which can contribute to its further production and application.

Geographical Differences and Influencing Factors of Rural Energy Consumption in Southwest Mountain Areas in China:A Case Study of Zhaotong City

China is a mountainous country,and Southwest mountain areas cover the most mountain areas in China and have the most serious problems.Taking Zhaotong city as the study area,based on 902 rural household questionnaires of 11 villages in 2 counties and Tobit model,this paper analyzes the geographical differences and influencing factors of energy consumption for non-production purposes of rural households living in different terrain conditions.This research finds that:(1) Coal takes up the main part of energy consumption in valley areas and coal consumption is mainly affected by per capita cultivated land area,household income,proportion of rural household energy expenditure in total expenditure,coal price,and family population size.Firewood takes up the main part of energy consumption in high mountain areas and firewood consumption is mainly affected by per capita firewood forest area,distance to purchase coal,household income,electricity price,and coal price.(2) Only when the distance is greater than 20 kilometers,that is the average distance of rural households living in middle mountain areas(1,600m^1,800m) to purchase coal,the transportation condition has a significant impact on coal consumption.(3) In high mountain areas,prices of coal and electricity are the main factors influencing energy consumption choice of rural households.Too high prices of coal and electricity would to some extent lead rural households to choose firewood as the main energy consumption type.Compared to coal,rural households prefer to choose electricity.

Episodes of volcanic activity and their environmental effects in the Okinawa Trough during the last 150 ka

A piston core Z14-6 was used in this study. The core, 896 cm long, was collected from eastern slope of the Okinawa Trough （27°07＇N, 127°27＇E, water depth 739m）. The δ^18O and δ^13C values of the sediment bearing planktonic foraminifera G. sacculifer and N. dutertrei were determined; and the abundance of volcanic glass was analyzed. The volcanic glass content high occurred in early stage of polar ice-sheet growth period, or the beginning of cold climate periods corresponding to Milankovitch cycles （Peak Ⅰ, Ⅱ and V are corresponding to the beginnings of oxygen isotopic stages 2, 4 and 6, and Peak Ⅲ and Ⅳ are matching oxygen isotopic stage 5b-5d.）. It might be possible that volcanic episodes and climate changes were responding to orbital forcing in the Okinawa Trough in late Quaternary. The δ^18O difference between N. dutertrei and G. sacculifer shows no clear correlation to the volcanic glass content high, which suggests that the volcanic eruptions did not influence the structure of upper water column. However, the low δ^13C difference between G. sacculifer and N. dutertrei is coeval with the volcanic glass high or sub-high content. This fact suggests that volcanic eruptions might influence the reduction in vertical nutritional gradient and carbon cycle process in upper water column. A possible mechanism is that huge quantity of ash and dust had weakened the light intensity, resulting in photosynthesis reduction, productivity decrease, and biological pumping.

Seismic damage of mountain tunnels during the 5.12 Wenchuan earthquake

A number of mountain tunnels suffered significant damage to various extent during the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake in China.Damage ranging from small to heavy cracking was observed both at the portal and inside the tunnels,while some sections close to the faults completely collapsed.A summary of qualitative data collected from reports and papers is presented regarding the behavior of the 55 mountain tunnels near the epicenter during the earthquake.Based on the seismic investigation and data collection of mountain tunnels,the tunnel damage is classified into six most common damage models involving cracking,spalling,shear failure,dislocation,pavement uplift and collapse.Detailed study and discussion are then carried out on the damage models.In order to examine the influencing factors of the damage magnitude of the mountain tunnels,the correlations between epicentral distance,earthquake intensity,overburden depth,geological condition and damage levels are analyzed.The relationships between earthquake parameters and different damagemodels are developed and discussed.Also,suggestions are provided to improve the seismic resistance of mountain tunnels.

Prediction of the maximum water inflow in Pingdingshan No.8 mine based on grey system theory

In order to prevent and control the water inflow of mines, this paper built a new initial GM（1, 1） model to torecast the maximum water inflow according to the principle of new information. The effect of the new initial GM（1, 1） model is not ideal by the concrete example. Then according to the principle of making the sum of the squares of the difference between the calculated sequences and the original sequences, an optimized GM（1, I） model was established. The result shows that this method is a new prediction method which can predict the maximum water inflow accurately. It not only conforms to the guide- line of prevention primarily, but also provides reference standards to managers on making prevention measures.

Shallow groundwater dynamics in North China Plain

The groundwater level of 39 observation wells including 35 unconfined wells and 4 confined wells from 2004 to 2006 in North China Plain(NCP) was monitored using automatic groundwater monitoring data loggers KADEC-MIZU II of Japan.The automatic groundwater sensors were installed for the corporation project between China and Japan.Combined with the monitoring results from 2004 to 2006 with the major factors affecting the dynamic patterns of groundwater, such as topography and landform, depth of groundwater level, exploitation or discharge extent, rivers and lakes, the dynamic regions of NCP groundwater were gotten.According to the dynamic features of groundwater in NCP, six dynamic patterns of groundwater level were identified, including discharge pattern in the piedmont plain, lateral recharge-runoff-discharge pattern in the piedmont plain, recharge-discharge pattern in the central channel zone, precipitation infiltration-evaporation pattern in the shallow groundwater region of the central plain, lateral recharge-evaporation pattern in the recharge-affected area along the Yellow River and infiltration-discharge-evaporation pattern in the littoral plain.Based on this, the groundwater fluctuation features of various dynamic patterns were interpreted and the influencing factors of different dynamic patterns were compared.

Extreme Weather Related Disasters： A Case Study of Two Flashfloods Hit Areas of Badrinath and Kedarnath Valleys, Uttarakhand Himalaya, India

Climate induced disasters such as cloudburst triggered flash floods, debris-flow, mass movements and landslides are very common phenomenon in the Himalaya. There are many instances in the recent past when these catastrophes caused heavy losses to lives and tremendous damage to property. One of the important characteristics of the Himalaya during the monsoon season is heavy downpour （cloudburst） which is due to extreme weather condition. Further, the landscape is very fragile and the human settlements are located either along the perennial streams of big rivers or on the unstable slopes. These perennial streams and big rivers are highly violent during the monsoon and whenever, the water level of these streams rises, it causes heavy loss to property and lives through destruction of the human settlements located along these courses. During the recent past, extreme changes in the climatic conditions have been seen largely due to the anthropogenic activities, i.e., population growth and large-scale deforestation. It has not only affected the climatic conditions but also affected the daily life of the inhabitants. This article examines the extreme weather related disasters in the Himalaya and gives a description of two deadly cloudburst triggered flashfloods that occurred in the Kedarnath and Badrinath valleys, which left the entire landscape devastated. This was followed by devastation of the settlements, agricultural fields, and thousands of lives were wiped out during this catastrophe. Rainfall data were collected to know about the changes in the climatic conditions and their impacts on the disaster in this part of the Himalaya.

Sedimentary response to volcanic activity in the Okinawa Trough since the last deglaciation

To investigate the relationship between volcanic activity and sediment record on regional and temporal scales,158 surface sediment samples were collected from the East China Sea Shelf to the northern Okinawa Trough (OT),and two cores recovered in the northern and southern OT,respectively.Mineralogy,grain-size,and geochemical analyses of those samples show that:1) volcanic glass,volcanic-type pyroxene,hypersthenes,and magnetite increase in sediment influenced by volcanic activity;2) sediment grain sizes (and also silt content) increase in ash layers;and 3) the contents of Na2O and Zr are higher,while terrigenous elements,e.g.,TFe2O3 and K2O,and biogenous compositions,e.g.,CaO and Sr,are relatively lower in ash layers than those of non-ash layers.The distribution of volcanic ash has three distinguishing characteristics:1) volcanic ash is more abundant in the northern and central OT than the southern OT;2) volcanic ash increases from continental shelf to the trough;3) the sediment during the last 12 000 a suggests stronger volcanic events than during 15 000-12 000 a.The eruptive locations,frequency,and volume of calderas are among the most important factors controlling the distributions of volcanic ash.In addition,the main Kuroshio warm current that extends northward probably impeded the diffusion of volcanic ash to the west and south in the OT.However,a southward current probably carried some volcanic ash toward southern OT.

Assessing the Effect of Farmers＇ Supplementation Strategy on Feed Intake and Liveweight of Goats Grazing Natural Range and Crop Fields of Zamfara Reserve in Semi-Arid Nigeria

This on-farm study was conducted in Zamfara reserve of north western Nigeria between July, 2002 and June, 2003 to assess feed intake and liveweight of 12 indigenous Red Sokoto castrated bucks, separated into two groups of six, supplemented and nonsupplemented respectively. The nonsupplemented group grazed natural pasture and crop stubble of crop fields, whereas the supplemented group grazed natural pasture, crop stubbles and received concentrate supplementation. Concentrate supplement （wheat offal） was fed at 1% of the metabolic weight of the animals which corresponds to the mean of the farmers offer. The total faecal collection method and grab samples of feed were used to estimate total intake of dry matter （DM）, organic matter （OM）, crude protein （CP） and metabolizable energy （ME）. Liveweight of the animal was recorded at five weekly intervals. Results of the study indicated that nutrients intake of supplemented animals were generally higher than those of the nonsupplemented group, but not significantly different （P 〉 0.05）. However, it was observed that supplementation significantly （P 〈 0.05） affected the liveweight of the supplemented bucks during early dry season in December, During this period feed became more available to the grazing animals from crop residues. It was therefore concluded that supplementation with wheat offal at 1% metabolic weight may not be enough to counteract weight loss of grazing goats during the other periods of dry season in this environment.

Multi-scale Spatial Patterns and Influencing Factors of Rural Poverty:A Case Study in the Liupan Mountain Region, Gansu Province, China

The important role of spatial scale in exploring the geography of poverty as well as its policy implications has been noticed but with limited knowledge. To improve such limited understanding, we mainly investigated the spatial patterns and influencing factors of rural poverty(indicated by poor population and poverty incidence) at three different administrative levels in the Liupan Mountain Region, one of the fourteen poorest regions in China. Our results show that from a global perspective, poor areas are clustered significantly at the county-, township-, and village-level, and more greatly at a lower level. Locally, there is spatial mismatch among poverty hotspots detected not only by the same indicator at different levels but also by different indicators at the same level. A scale effect can be found in the influencing factors of rural poverty. That is, the number of significant factors increases, but the degree of their association with poverty incidence decreases at a lower level. Such scale effect indicates that poverty incidence at lower levels may be affected by more complex factors, including not only the new local ones but also the already appeared non-local ones at higher levels. However, the natural conditions tend to play a scale-independent role to poverty incidence. In response to such scale-dependent patterns and factors, anti-poverty policies can be 1) a multilevel monitoring system to reduce incomplete or even misleading single-level information and understanding; 2) the village-based targeting strategy to increase the targeting efficiency and alleviate the mentioned spatial mismatch; 3) more flexible strategies responding to the local impoverishing factors, and 4) different task emphasises for multilevel policymakers to achieve the common goal of poverty reduction.

A study of environmental impact on manufacturing products trade in Shandong,China

Based on the situation that the trade of manufactured goods takes the main position in Shandong Province,this paper identifies Shandong industrial pollutant discharge by three indices,which are industrial effluent discharge,industrial SO2 emission,and solid waste disposal.Furthermore,it conducts an empirical analysis of the trade terms of pollution content transfer on nine identified industrial sectors.The conclusion is that the increase in industrial effluent discharge,industrial SO2 emission,and solid waste disposal has paralleled the growth of the GDP in Shandong.The rapid economic growth brings obvious negative impact on the environment.Compared with that in 1998,the increase in the pollution content of exports in 2007 indicated that more environmental costs were generated with the economic development in Shandong.There is a need for optimization of foreign trade structure in Shandong,especially the need for increasing import of the pollution intensive products and decreasing the export of the pollution intensive products.The research on the relationship between manufactured goods trade and the environmental impact will make a contribution to the adjustment of foreign trade and environmental policies.

THE EFFECTS OF GENERAL CIRCULATION ANOMALIES ON PRECIPITATION IN THE RAINING SEASON OF SHANDONG

Using the monthly mean reanalysis data of height, wind and vertical velocity of NCEP/NCAR from 1958 to 2003, the characteristics of 500hPa height anomalies in the Northern Hemisphere, convergence and divergence on the levels of 200hPa and 925hPa and vertical stream over the Shandong province were studied and compared with that over North China. The study shows that the teleconnection pattern called East Asia-Pacific pattern (EAP) plays important roles in the summer rainfall of Shandong. Weaker Okhotsk sea high, stronger upward stream over tropical areas and Shandong and northward location of subtropical high and stronger Indian low, are likely to lead to more rain in Shandong province in summer, but there are some flood (drought) years in which these characteristics such as the location and intensity of subtropical high change with the least extent. The difference between Shandong and North China in 500hPa height is that there is a teleconnection pattern called Europe / Asia pattern in North China, while there is a negative East Asia Pattern in Shandong during drought years. There is a teleconnection relation between Shandong summer rainfall and convective activities happening in tropical areas in spring and summer accomplished by the Rossby waves. During the flood years in Shandong, the convective activities happening in tropical India Ocean and tropical west Pacific and Walker circulation are much stronger than that during the drought years, but the convective activities happening in tropical east Pacific are weaker than those during the drought years.

Influencing Factors of Seed Long-distance Dispersal on a Fragmented Forest Landscape on Changbai Mountains,China

Seed long-distance dispersal(LDD) events are typically rare, but are important in the population processes that determine large-scale forest changes and the persistence of species in fragmented landscapes. However, previous studies focused on species dispersed via animal-mediated LDD, and ignored those dispersed by wind. The aim of this study was to assess the effects of canopy openness, edge, seed source, and patch tree density on the LDD of seeds by wind in forest. We collected birch seeds, a typical wind-dispersed species, throughout a larch plantation. We then assessed the relationship between birch LDD and each factor that may influence LDD of seeds by wind including distance to edge, canopy openness size, distance to mature forest, and the tree density of the larch plantation. We used univariate linear regression analysis to assess the influence of those factors on birch LDD, and partial correlations to calculate the contribution of each factor to LDD. The results showed that both canopy openness and edge had significant influences on birch LDD. Specifically, a negative relationship was observed between distance to edge and birch LDD, whereas there was a positive correlation between canopy openness size and LDD. In contrast, the distance to the mature forest was not correlated with birch LDD. Our results suggest that patch tree density could potently affect the probability of LDD by wind vectors, which provides novel and revealing insights regarding the effect of fragmentation on wind dynamics. The data also provide compelling evidence for the previously undocumented effect of habitat fragmentation on wind-dispersed organisms. As such, these observations will facilitate reasonable conservation planning, which requires a detailed understanding of the mechanisms by which patch properties hamper the delivery of seeds of wind-dispersed plants to fragmented areas.

Factors Impacting Water Quality of a Small Stream in a Mountain Forest

Recent improvements to sewerage systems have meant that the relative contribution of point sources of pollution to the overall pollutant loads of streams has decreased markedly. Consequently, the potential increase in non-point source pollution means that it may be necessary to focus more on pollution loads from non-point sources in the future. This study examined pollution loads from non-point sources in streams flowing through forested areas. In addition, the relationship between runoff and pollution loads was also clarified. The small streams in the Tohoku University Botanical Gardens, in Sendai city, Japan, were sampled during a dry weather period and their water quality parameters were characterized. Chemical Oxygen Demand （COD） concentration increased with distance downstream, possibly because the soils in downstream areas contained high amounts of organic matter. Conversely, the concentration of nitrate nitrogen （NO3-N） decreased with distance downstream, probably because upstream soils were generally in an oxidized state while those further downstream were reduced. COD concentration increased with air temperature, while NO3-N levels decreased with an increase in air temperatures.

Spatial distribution rules and affecting factors of BIF in Anshan-Benxi area

A detailed investigation on 3D spatial distribution rules of Banded Iron-bearing Formation(BIF) with methods of gravity-magnetic inversion and 3D modeling of iron mine is presented based on the former analysis in the Anshan-Benxi area.Three dimension spatial distribution types of BIF are concluded as hook-like,tabularlike and "W"-like.BIF was mainly developed in three types of space including(1) the syncline cores,(2)cover coverage area,and(3) the deeper buried area where the range of tectonic uplift is small.The influences of tectonism,magmatic intrusion and uplift-erosion on the spatial distribution shapes of BIF are clarified.

Characteristics of Far-field Precursory Anomalies Before the M_S8.1 Earthquake in the West of Kunlun Mountains Pass

In this study, a number of typical precursory anomalies recorded by stations in Qinghai, Gansu, Sichuan, Xinjiang, Ningxia, Hebei and Shaanxi provinces and autonomous regions before the Ms8.1 earthquake in the west of Kunlun Mountains Pass are collected and checked. According to the standards of earthquake cases in China, the criteria of the precursory anomalies are determined, and 53 distinguished. The characteristics of these anomalies before the Ms S. 1 earthquake are analyzed, with results showing a very large earthquake affected area. The precursory anomalies recorded by instruments were 2900 km away from the epicenter, and according to the study in this paper, reached 2100 km away. The results also show that the anomalies present characteristics of long duration, multi-measurement items and large-amplitude variation. The authors believe that in large earthquake monitoring, attention should be paid to the variation of data over a large area, ranging up to thousands kilometers, with much denser earthquake observation networks.

Hygrothermal Response of Coconut Fiber Reinforced Composites

The effects of moist and temperature response of coconut fibre reinforced composite have been studied. Tensile and compression tests for samples immersed in 12.5 g/dm3 sodium hydroxide solution and without sodium hydroxide solution were performed using a universal testing machine （Monsanto tensometer）. The results from the tensile test indicate that stress is fairly proportional to strain. However, the tensile strength increases （reduction in strain）, as the soaking time increases for the treated composites. The untreated samples demonstrate reduced tensile strength compared to the treated composites under hygrothermal conditions. The conditioned samples in each case show better tensile and compressive strength compared to the untreated samples. The plant coconut fibres investigated demonstrate acceptable mechanical properties similar to the synthetic counterparts.