Damage by wind-blown sand and its control measures along the Taklimakan Desert Highway in China

Desertification is one of the most serious environmental problems in the world,especially in the arid desert regions.Combating desertification,therefore,is an urgent task on a regional or even global scale.The Taklimakan Desert in China is the second largest mobile desert in the world and has been called the''Dead Sea''due to few organisms can exist in such a harsh environment.The Taklimakan Desert Highway,the longest desert highway(a total length of 446 km)across the mobile desert in the world,was built in the 1990s within the Taklimakan Desert.It has an important strategic significance regarding oil and gas resources exploration and plays a vital role in the socio-economic development of southern Xinjiang,China.However,wind-blow sand seriously damages the smoothness of the desert highway and,in this case,mechanical sand control system(including sand barrier fences and straw checkerboards)was used early in the life of the desert highway to protect the road.Unfortunately,more than 70%of the sand barrier fences and straw checkerboards have lost their functions,and the desert highway has often been buried and frequently blocked since 1999.To solve this problem,a long artificial shelterbelt with the length of 437 km was built along the desert highway since 2000.However,some potential problems still exist for the sustainable development of the desert highway,such as water shortage,strong sandstorms,extreme environmental characteristics and large maintenance costs.The study aims to provide an overview of the damages caused by wind-blown sand and the effects of sand control measures along the Taklimakan Desert Highway.Ultimately,we provide some suggestions for the biological sand control system to ensure the sustainable development of the Taklimakan Desert Highway,such as screening drought-resistant species to reduce the irrigation requirement and ensure the sound development of groundwater,screening halophytes to restore vegetation in the case of soil salinization,and planting cash crops,such as Cistanche,Wolfberry,Apocynum and other cash crops to decrease the high cost of maintenance on highways and shelterbelts.

Measurement of the Elasticity of Biological Soft Tissue of Finite Thickness

Elasticity is of profound significance to evaluating the function of a biological soft tissue. When the elasticity of a tissue is macroscopically changed, it means that the biological function of the tissue is abnormal and some disease or injury may occur. In the present work, an elastometer is developed to measure the elasticity of biological soft tissues. The measurement is based on the indentation method and the force is measured by the bending of the cantilever. The force-indentation data of the soft tissue is experimentally measured by this elastometer and Young＇s modulus of the tissue is calculated using the Hertz-Sneddon model. For comparison, a numerical model for the indentation method is established using the finite element method. The difference between the actual modulus and the measured modulus is discussed. The effect of the thickness of the specimen on the measurement is investigated. Young＇s moduli of beef, porcine liver and porcine kidney are experimentally measured. The results indicate that our elastometer is effective in measuring Young＇s modulus of a soft tissue quantitatively.

Inhibiting soil loss and runoff from small plots induced by an individual freeze-thaw cycle using three rangeland species

This study investigated the role of three rangeland species viz.Agropyron trichophorum,Medicago sativa,and Lolium prenne on mitigating of effects of a freeze-thaw(FT)cycle on runoff generation and soil loss from small experimental plots.Small plots(0.5×0.5m)were prepared in three replicates for control(i.e.,under a FT cycle only)and treatments(i.e.,individually planted with the study species and subject to a FT cycle).The treated plots were then placed at a slope of 20%and subjected to simulated rainfall with intensity of 70 mm h-1 and 30 min duration.The results of the study showed a significant effect(P<0.05)of the plants on controlling runoff and soil loss after a FT cycle.Also,the detrimental effects of the FT cycle due to performance of ice lenses and formation of an active melting layer in the soil surface were ameliorated by the presence of litter on the soil and root-binding effect of the plants.Time to runoff increased by 54,111 and 10%,runoff volume decreased by 27,68 and 0.4%and soil loss changed by-34,-62,and+6.5%in the plots planted with A.trichophorum,L.prenne and M.sativa,respectively.The results of the current study indicated that L.prenne had the maximum benefit on reducing runoff and soil loss from the plots undergoing a FT cycle.

Zebrafish:A Renewed Model System For Functional Genomics

In the post genome era, a major goal in molecular biology is to determine the function of the many thousands of genes present in the vertebrate genome. The zebrafish （ Danio redo） provides an almost ideal genetic model to identify the biological roles of these novel genes, in part because their embryos are transparent and develop rapidly, The zebrafish has many advantages over mouse for genome-wide mutagenesis studies, allowing for easier, cheaper and faster functional characterization of novel genes in the vertebrate genome. Many molecular research tools such as chemical mutagenesis, transgenesis , gene trapping, gene knockdown,