Microwave Drying of Scots Pine Lumber:Structure Changes,Its Effect on Liquid Permeability

Microwave(MW)drying method was adopted to enhance the liquid permeability of Scots pine lumber.Structure changes were characterized by stereoscope microscope,scanned electron microscope(SEM)and transmission electron microscope(TEM)examination.Pore parameters before and after MW treatment were detected by mercury intrusion porosimetry(MIP)method,and the effect of structure changes on liquid permeability were analyzed.As stereoscope microscope,SEM and TEM examination results showed,macro and micro checks mainly developed at intercellcular of tracheids,intercellular of ray parenchyma and tracheid,while these checks extend main along the radial-longitudinal plane.Pit border destruction,aspirated pits’orus translocation and micro-checks in tracheid cell wall were also observed.MIP test shown that pore volume and pore area increased as macro and micro checks generated to form new cavities.Microstructure changes would increase the quantity of pores or enlarge the pore diameter.Liquid flow pathways increased as macro and micro checks generated,aspirated pits reopened to form new pathways;liquid flow efficiency improved as porosity,pore volume and pore diameter increased which facilitated the liquid flow.

Simulation and Analysis of Land System Structure Changes in Huang-Huai-Hai Plain Area

The dynamic changes of land system in Huang - Huai - Hai Plain between 1988 and 2000 were researched in this paper. Spatial dominance econometric model was estabilished on 1 km cell to quantificafionally analyze the driving-force for the dynamic change mechanism of land system, such as natural, social and economic factors. The future dynamic changes of land system in Huang - Huai - Hai Plain on each 1 km cell during 2000 to 2020 were stimulated by combining the dynamic changes of land system on each 1 km cell with different situations. The research indicated that the dynamic changes of land system structure changed mainly from the cultivated areas to building areas and industrial areas, and forest areas increased during this period. Although the revolutions of land system structure were different during 2000 to 2020 with the different referrence standard, ecological protection and economic development, the primary dynamic changes of land system structure were that the increase of building land areas with the decline cuhivaled land areas and the increase of woodlands.

Drivers of spatial structure in thinned forests

Background:As is widely known,an increasing number of forest areas were managed to preserve and enhance the health of forest ecosystems.However,previous research on forest management has often overlooked the importance of structure-based.Aims:Our objectives were to define the direction of structure-based forest management.Subsequently,we investigated the relationships between forest structure and the regeneration,growth,and mortality of trees under different thinning treatments.Ultimately,the drivers of forest structural change were explored.Methods:On the basis of 92 sites selected from northeastern China,with different recovery time (from 1 to 15years) and different thinning intensities (0–59.9%) since the last thinning.Principal component analysis (PCA)identified relationships among factors determining forest spatial structure.The structural equation model (SEM)was used to analyze the driving factors behind the changes in forest spatial structure after thinning.Results:Light thinning (0–20%trees removed) promoted forest regeneration,and heavy thinning (over 35% of trees removed) facilitated forest growth.However,only moderate thinning (20%–35%trees removed) created a reasonable spatial structure.While dead trees were clustered,and they were hardly affected by thinning intensity.Additionally,thinning intensity,recovery time,and altitude indirectly improve the spatial structure of the forest by influencing diameter at breast height (DBH) and canopy area.Conclusion:Creating larger DBH and canopy area through thinning will promote the formation of complex forest structures,which cultivates healthy and stable forests.

The multiple roles of crop structural change in productivity,nutrition and environment in China:A decomposition analysis

China's crop structure has undergone significant changes in the last two decades since 2000,with an increase in the share of cereals,vegetables,and fruit,squeezing out other crops.As a result,land productivity,nutrient supply,and carbon emissions have changed.How to reallocate limited farmland among crops to achieve the multiple goals of agrifood systems becomes an important issue.This study explores the sources of land productivity and nutrition supply growth and carbon emissions reduction,and identifies the multiple roles of crop structural change from 2003 to 2020 based on a decomposition analysis.The results reveal that the growth within crops is still the primary driver in land productivity and nutrition supply and the reduction in carbon emissions.However,structural change also plays various roles at different periods.From 2003 to 2010,crop structural change increased the total calorie supply but lowered land productivity and contributed at least 70%of the total growth of carbon emissions.The crop structure was relatively stable,and their effects were modest from 2010 to 2015.From 2015 to 2020,the crop structural change began to play a greater role and generate synergistic effects in improving land productivity,micronutrient supply,and reducing carbon emissions,contributing to approximately a quarter of the growth of land productivity and 30%of total carbon emissions reduction.These results suggest that strategies for crop structural change should comprehensively consider its multiple impacts,aiming to achieve co-benefits while minimizing trade-offs.

Changes of growth-climate relationships of Smith fir forests along an altitudinal gradient

Temporal changes in the relationship between tree growth and climate have been observed in numerous forests across the world.The patterns and the possible regu-lators(e.g.,forest community structure)of such changes are,however,not well understood.A vegetation survey and analyses of growth-climate relationships for Abies georgei var.Smithii(Smith fir)forests were carried along an altitudi-nal gradient from 3600 to 4200 m on Meili Snow Mountain,southeastern Tibetan Plateau.The results showed that the associations between growth and temperature have declined since the 1970s over the whole transect,while response to standardized precipitation-evapotranspiration indices(SPEI)strengthened in the mid-and lower-transect.Comparison between growth and vegetation data showed that tree growth was more sensitive to drought in stands with higher species richness and greater shrub cover.Drought stress on growth may be increased by heavy competition from shrub and herb layers.These results show the non-stationary nature of tree growth-climate associations and the linkage to for-est community structures.Vegetation components should be considered in future modeling and forecasting of forest dynamics in relation to climate changes.

DAMAGE DETECTION FOR COMPOSITE STRUCTURE UNDER TEMPERATURE CHANGES USING LAMB WAVES

A two-step method is proposed for detection and identification of invisible impact damage in composite structure under temperature changes using Lamb waves.First,a statistical outlier analysis is employed to distinguish whether the changes of Lamb wave signals are induced by damage within a monitoring area or are only affected by temperature changes.Damage indices are defined after the Lamb wave signals are processed by Fourier transform,and a Monte Carlo procedure is used to obtain the damage threshold value for the damage indices at the undamaged state.If the damage indices in the operation state exceed the threshold value,the presence of damage is determined.Then,a probabilistic damage imaging algorithm displaying probabilities of the presence of damage within the monitoring area is adopted to fuse information collected from multiple actuator-sensor paths to identify the location of damage.Damage indices under damaged state are used to generate the diagnostic image.Experimental study on a stiffened composite panel with random temperature changes is performed to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method.

A Discussion on Possible Indicators Related to Genetic Structure Changes in Plant Germplasm Conservation

The purpose of the present paper is to study and develop indicators and procedures for the evaluation of genetic structure changes in germplasm conservation due to social and natural environment reasons. Some basic concepts in germplasm study were introduced at first. Then, six kinds of indicators for genetic diversity as a measure of genetic potential of a germplasm collection were presented, i.e., numbers of different entities at certain level, evenness of the entity distribution, genetic similarity and genetic distance, genetic variance and genetic coefficient of variation, multivariate genetic variation indices, and coefficient of parentage. It was pointed out that genetic dispersion did not provide a complete concept of genetic diversity if without any information from genetic richness. Based on the above, the indicators for genetic erosion as the genetic structure changes of germplasm conservation due to social reasons, the indicators of genetic vulnerability as the genetic structure changes of germplasm conservation due to environmental stresses, the measurement of genetic drift and genetic shift as the genetic structure changes of germplasm collection during reproduction or seed increase were reviewed and developed. Furthermore, the estimation procedures of the indicators by using molecular markers were suggested. Finally, the case studies on suitable conservation sample size of self-pollinated and open-pollinated populations were given for reference.

Analysis on Genomic Structure Changes and Diversity of Introgression Lines in Dongxiang Wild Rice(Oryza rufipogon Griff.)

[Objective] The aim of the study was to make research on genomic struc- ture variation and variety analysis of Dongxiang wild rice. [Method] Introgression groups of BC1F6 were based on donor of Oryza rufipogon Griff. and receptor of O. sativa sp. indica Kate. Strains of 239 in the group were analyzed on Polymor- phism with the help of 25 couples of SSR primers distributed in 12 pairs of chromo- somes. [Result] Gene fragments of O. rufipogon Griff. were found penetrated in the 25 microsatellite sites and most of the groups kept the parents of Xieqinzao B or DNA sequence of O. rufipogon Griff. The average rate of recurrent homozygous bands was 78.13% in the ILs, but the highest was 94.98% （amplified by primer RM131） and the lowest was 60.25% （RM171）. The average rate of donor homozy- gous bands was 13.37%, but the highest was 32.64% （RM171） and the lowest was 2.93% （RM1095）. There were numerous heterozygous sites in the population and the average heterozygosis rate was 5.62%, while the highest was 10.04%（RM401）. Moreover, we found some parental fragments were lost and some novel fragments were not detected in either parent in BC1F6 population. The average rate of lost bands was 2.88%, while the highest was 13.39% （RM311） and the lowest was 0 （RM401）. The average rate of new bands was 1%. The average of Nei＇s gene di- versity （He） and Shannon＇s Information index （I） were 0.276 and 0.457 respectively in high generation of introgression lines. [Conclusion] The study demonstrated that distant hybridization led to extensive genetic and epigenetic variations in high gener- ation of introgression lines, which expanded the base of genetic variation and laid an important foundation for rice improvement and germplasm innovation.

Study on Changes of Industrial Structure and Its Ecological Environment Benefit in Shaanxi Province

[Objective] To reduce influences of adjustment of regional industrial structure on ecological environment,promote coordinated development of regional economy and ecological environment,and improve the relationship between human beings and natural environment. [Method]Based on the statistical data of Shaanxi Province during 1978- 2013,the ecological environmental impact index and effect index of industrial structure in Shaanxi Province were calculated,and then the ecological environment benefit of changes in industrial structure in Shaanxi Province from1978 to 2013 was assessed quantitatively. [Result]The impact of changes in industrial structure on ecological environment in Shaanxi Province was moderate,but later changes in industrial structure had greater influences on ecological environment than before. [Conclusion]Industrial structure in Shaanxi Province should be optimized further to ensure the healthy development of ecological environment.

Temperature-induced anomalous structural changes of Al-12wt.%Sn-4wt.%Si melt and its influence on as-cast structure

The temperature dependence of the viscosity of liquid Al-12wt.%Sn-4wt.%Si was studied with a hightemperature viscosity apparatus.Anomalous changes of viscosity of the melt were found at 1,103 K and 968 K in the cooling process,which indicates anomalous structural changes of the melt.It is calculated that the anomalous structural change is associated with an abrupt decrease of atomic clusters'size and activation energy in the melt.According to the temperature of the anomalous structural changes,melt heat treatment process(quenching from superheat to pouring temperature) was performed on Al-12wt.%Sn-4wt.%Si melt prior to pouring,aimed to keep the small atomic clusters from higher temperature to lower pouring temperature.The results suggest that relatively small atomic clusters at the pouring temperature in the melt could generate a deep under-cooling of nucleation in the subsequent solidification process,and refine the as-cast structure.After being quenched from superheating to pouring temperature,the relatively small atomic clusters,especially the Si-Si clusters in the melt will grow to equilibrium state(relatively big atomic clusters) with holding time,resulting in the prominent coarsening of the Si morphology in the as-cast structure.

Structure and seasonal changes in atmospheric boundary layer on coast of the east Antarctic continent

The temperature, humidity, and vertical distribution of ozone in the Antarctic atmospheric boundary layer（ABL） and their seasonal changes are analyzed, by using the high-resolution profile data obtained during the International Polar Year 2008 to 2009 at Zhongshan Station, to further the understanding of the structure and processes of the ABL. The results show that the fre- quency of the convective boundary layer in the warm season accounts for 84% of its annual occurrence frequency. The frequency of the stable boundary layer in the cold season accounts for 71% of its annual occurrence frequency. A neutral boundary layer ap- pears rarely. The average altitude of the convective boundary layer determined by the parcel method is 600 m; this is 200 to 300 m higher than that over inland Antarctica. The average altitude of the top of the boundary layer determined by the potential tempera- ture gradient and humidity gradient is 1 200 m in the warm season and 1 500 m in the cold season. The vertical structures of ozone and specific humidity in the ABL exhibit obvious seasonal changes. The specific humidity is very high with greater vertical gradi- ent in the warm season and very low with a lesser gradient in the cold season under 2 000 m. The atmospheric ozone in the ABL is consumed by photochemical processes in the warm season, which results in a slight difference in altitude. The sub-highest ozone center is located in the boundary layer, indicating that the ozone transferred from the stratosphere to the troposphere reaches the low boundary layer during October and November in Antarctica.

China's Economic Structure:Changes and Challenges

This paper elaborates the changes in key aspects of China's economic structure including industrial structure, demand structure, regional structure, income distribution and foreign trade, discusses the challenges confronting China's economic structure, and proposes policy recommendations on addressing these challenges.

Development versus conservation: evaluation of landscape structure changes in Dem?novská Valley, Slovakia

This paper presents the changes of landscape structure in the Demanovská Valley which ranks among the most valuable protected areas of Slovakia. The area was selected on the basis of changes associated with the rapidly growing tourism industry and the rise of an important destination in the center of Low Tatras National Park, Slovakia. To document any changes, we visually interpreted data from aerial and satellite images in three periods（1949, 2007 and 2013） and for predicting future changes we used land use planning documentation. Interpreted data were analyzed using overlay analysis and landscape metrics. Results showed extensive changes in the landscape structure mainly connected with the development of tourism infrastructure. We also identified long-term changes whose causes stem from the transformation of society and forest management in the past. The dynamics and extent of these changes may increase in the future. We propose to stop future development of ski slopes and expansion of related infrastructure, to focus on sustainability and environmentally friendly operation of the existing ski resort and to invest a substantial portion of profits to support projects aimed to preserve surrounding lands and wildlife.

CHANGES OF STRUCTURE AND PROPERTIES OF POLY (ETHYLENE TEREPHTHALATE) CAUSED BY IN-SITU POLYMERIZATION OF PYRROLE

Conductive polymer composites based on crystalline polymer matrix have been prepared by using an in-situ polymerization process of pyrrole in amorphous poly （ethylene terephthalate） （PET） film. The DSC and WAXD measurement and SEM observation show that liquid-induced crystallization of PET matrix has occurred during the preparation of composite films. Depending upon the equilibrium degree of swelling and crystallinity, the limited depth of penetration of pyrrole molecules results in a skin-core structure of the composite film. The skin layer containing charge transfer intercalated polypyrrole has a surface resistance of 3.5×10;Ω. Rigid and heat-resistant polypyrrole molecules formed in PET film increase the tensile modulus and, especially, the rigidity of PET at elevated temperatures. However, they decrease the tensile strength and elongation at break, and impair the thermal ductility of PET.

The Influences of Population Age Structure＇s Changes on the Export Commodity Structure

For a long time, China has large population, so the labor-intensive products become the comparative advantage.This paper analyzes the influences of population age structure＇s changes on the export commodity structure of our country and draws conclusions.

Changes in Household Size and Structure in China

ased on the most recent data from the 1990 census, this paper analyses the trend of the changing household size and structure, and the socioeconomic causes beginning in the 1950s. The relationship between the household size and structure and China's population policy is also analyzed in the paper. Two different categories of socioeconomic factors have been identified which operate in opposition to each other, influencing the increase and decrease in the desirability of co-residence of domestic groups. The future household size and structure is determined by both of them.

Structure of melt-spun Al-2.5Ti-2.5Fe-2.5V alloy and structural changes during annealing

Rapidly solidified Al 2.5Ti 2.5Fe 2.5V alloy was prepared by melt spinning. As spun and as annealed microstructures were studied by TEM, HREM, XRD and EDS analysis. The microhardness of the alloy at different annealing temperature was measured. The results show that the as spun microstructure of the alloy includes four kinds of primary phases: Al 11 (V,Ti), AlTi 3, Al 80 (V,Ti) 20 and Al 82 (Fe,Ti,V) 18 phase. After annealing at 300 ℃ for 10 h, metastable phase Al 82 (Fe,Ti,V) 18 transforms to the stable phase Al 13 Fe 4. After annealing at 400 ℃ for 10 h, the primary phases Al 11 (V,Ti) and AlTi 3 has completely transformed to Al 80 (V,Ti) 20 and Al 23 Ti 9 phase, respectively. The addition of element V increases the microhardness of melt spun Al 2.5Ti 2.5Fe alloy at elevated temperatures.

Cointegration analysis with structural changes between consumption and economic growth in China

In order to investigate the existence of a stable long-run equilibrium relationship between economic growth and consumption in China, the relationship between the gross domestic product （GDP） and consumption in China was investigated by the cointegration analysis method. Using the Engle-Granger （EG） test and considering the possibility of structural changes, the impact of external economic shocks on the long-run equilibrium relationship between economic growth and consumption in China was analyzed. Analysis results show that without considering structural changes, the EG test cannot detect cointegration in the series subjected to structural changes; in considering structural changes, cointegration is successfully detected by specifying the dummy variable. In addition, the error correction models were constructed in different periods. This study verifies the existence of a long-run equilibrium relationship between economic growth and consumption in China, and this relationship has significantly changed in 1989 and 1997, respectively.

Structural changes and volatility correlation in nonferrous metal market

The GARCH and DCC-GARCH models are used to study the volatility aggregation and dynamic relevance of China’s three kinds of nonferrous metals （copper, aluminum and zinc） pricesincorporating structural changes. The results show that copper, aluminum and zinc returns have many structure breaks points, and nonferrous metals have the greatvolatilityrisk during financial crisis. From the resultsof GARCH with and without structural changes,it isfoundthat the volatility clustering of single nonferrous metal is overvalued when ignoring the structural mutation, and the return of aluminum isthe most overvalued, indicating that aluminum market is more susceptible to external shock.Furthermore,it is also foundthatdynamic volatility correlation exists in the three prices of nonferrous metals, and the structural changes have no significant effect on the volatility correlation of thethree nonferrous metals.