Challenges Brought about by Rapid Changes in Chinese Diets: Comparison with Developed Countries and Implications for Further Improvement

Given developments in urbanization, agricultural, and technological practices, the diet and lifestyle of developed countries has changed dramatically over the course of the last century[1].

Editorial: Moving Forward to Respond to Rapid Changes of Computer Science and Technology

Since its inaugural issue in 1986,the Journal of Computer Science and Technology(JCST)has been the premier English journal of China Computer Federation(CCF),serving international readers and authors by disseminating scholarly and technical papers under a rigorous review process.

The Effects of Rapid Temperature Changes on HK,PK and HSP70 of Litopenaeus vannamei in Different Seasons

Activities of hexokinase(HK),pyruvate kinase(PK) and levels of HSP70 were measured to evaluate the response of Litopenaeus vannamei to rapid temperature changes under controlled laboratory conditions.Shrimps were subjected to a quick temperature change from 27℃ to 17℃ for the summer case(Cold temperature treatment),or from 17℃ to 27℃ for the winter case(Warm temperature treatment).After 0.5,1,3,6,12,24,48,and 72 h of exposure time,shrimps were sampled and prepared for further analysis.The results showed that the effect of acute temperature changes on activities of HK was significant.Patterns of variations of the two glycolytic enzymes suggested that enzymes in the glycolysis cycle could adjust their activities to meet the acute temperature change.The HSP70 level increased in both cold and warm temperature treatments,suggesting that the rapid temperature changes activated the process of body's self-protection.But the difference in expression peak of HSP70 might be related to the different body size and the higher thermal sensitivity to temperature increase than to temperature decrease of L.vannamei.

Rapid Climatic Change during Past 60 ka Recorded in NE Indian Ocean and Its Correspondence from South China Land

According to the marine records from the Bay of Bengal, northeastern Indian Ocean, and the continental records from the South China, the authors make a detailed discussion in this paper about the correlation between them and their implication of rapid climatic change. The marine records show its good response to the high latitudes both for cold events and for warm ones while the continental records mainly mirror those cold Heinrich events corresponding to the North Atlantic but bear strongly a local color in reflecting warm events. The authors assume that the heat transmission style may cause the unbalanced coupling relationship.

The rapid climate change-caused dichotomy on subtropical evergreen broad-leaved forest in Yunnan： Reduction in habitat diversity and increase in species diversity

Yunnan's biodiversity is under considerable pressure and subtropical evergreen broad-leaved forests in this area have become increasingly fragmented through agriculture,logging,planting of economic plants,mining activities and changing environment.The aims of the study are to investigate climate changeinduced changes of subtropical evergreen broad-leaved forests in Yunnan and identify areas of current species richness centers for conservation preparation.Stacked species distribution models were created to generate ensemble forecasting of species distributions,alpha diversity and beta diversity for Yunnan's subtropical evergreen broad-leaved forests in both current and future climate scenarios.Under stacked species distribution models in rapid climate changes scenarios,changes of water-energy dynamics may possibly reduce beta diversity and increase alpha diversity.This point provides insight for future conservation of evergreen broad-leaved forest in Yunnan,highlighting the need to fully consider the problem of vegetation homogenization caused by transformation of water-energy dynamics.

NUMERICAL SIMULATION STUDY ON THE RAPID INTENSIFICATION OF TYPHOON HAIKUI(1211) OFF THE SHORE OF CHINA

Forecasting the rapid intensification of tropical cyclones over offshore areas remains difficult. In this article,the Weather Research and Forecast(WRF) model was used to study the rapid intensification of Typhoon Haikui(1211)off the shore of China. After successful simulation of the intensity change and track of the typhoon, the model output was further analyzed to determine the mechanism of the rapid change in intensity. The results indicated that a remarkable increase in low-level moisture transportation toward the inner core, favorable large-scale background field with low-level convergence, and high-level divergence played key roles in the rapid intensification of Typhoon Haikui in which high-level divergence could be used as an indicator for the rapid intensity change of Typhoon Haikui approximately 6 h in advance. An analysis of the typhoon structure revealed that Typhoon Haikui was structurally symmetric during the rapid intensification and the range of the eyewall was small in the low level but extended outward in the high level. In addition, the vertically ascending motion, the radial and tangential along wind speeds increased with increasing typhoon intensity, especially during the process of rapid intensification. Furthermore, the intensity of the warm core of the typhoon increased during the intensification process with the warm core extending outward and toward the lower layer. All of the above structural changes contributed to the maintenance and development of typhoon intensity.

The Art and Science of Environment and Business in the 21 st Century

Business is a trade or transaction that takes place between two individuals or groups, to achieve a goal or objective The aim of this paper is to explore the art and science of environment and business in the 21 st century, which has an impact on perceptions in a changing business environment. The qualitative method of research is employed and the findings indicate that there is constant innovation to change business

Thermodynamic Characteristics of Tropical Cyclones with Rapid Intensity Change over the Coastal Waters of China

In order to investigate the different thermodynamic mechanisms between rapid intensifying （RI） and rapid weakening （RW） tropical cyclones （TCs）, the thermodynamic structures of two sets of composite TCs are analyzed based on the complete-form vertical vorticity tendency equation and the NCEP/NCAR reanalysis data. Each composite is composed of five TCs, whose intensities change rapidly over the coastal waters of China. The results show that the maximum apparent heating source Q1 exists in both the upper and lower troposphere near the RI TC center, and Q1 gets stronger at the lower level during the TC intensification period. But for the RW TC, the maximum Q1 exists at the middle level near the TC center, and Q1 gets weaker while the TC weakens. The maximum apparent moisture sink Q2 lies in the mid troposphere. Q2 becomes stronger and its peak-value height rises while TC intensifies, and vice versa. The increase of diabatic heating with height near the TC center in the mid-upper troposphere and the increase of vertical inhomogeneous heating near the TC center in the lower troposphere are both favorable to the TCs＇ rapid intensification; otherwise, the intensity of the TC decreases rapidly.

Rapid climate change-induced collapse of hunter-gatherer societies in the lower Mississippi River valley between ca. 3300 and 2780 cal yr BP

Hunter-gatherer communities in the American Southeast reached an apogee of social and political complexity in the period between ca. 4200 and 3000 cal yr BP. In the lower Mississippi Valley(LMV) the Poverty Point culture defined this period of socio-political elaboration. However, following a significant period of climate change that led to exceptional flooding and a major reorganization of the course of the Mississippi River, this culture collapsed beginning ca. 3300–3200 cal yr BP and the LMV was abandoned for the subsequent 500 years. In this study, we use data from the Jaketown site in the Yazoo Basin of west-central Mississippi to refine the chronology of the climate event that caused the collapse of the Poverty Point culture. A large flood buried Poverty Point-era occupation deposits at Jaketown around 3310 cal yr BP. Lateral migration of the Mississippi River during flooding led to inundation of the Yazoo Basin and re-occupation of ancient river courses. A coarse sand stratum topped by a more than a meter-thick fining upward sediment package marks a crevasse deposit caused by a rupture of the natural levee at Jaketown. This levee breach was part of a larger pattern of erratic flooding throughout the LMV and is associated with major landscape evolution and the abandonment of Poverty Point sites within the valley. Early Woodland peoples re-colonized the crevasse surface after ca. 2780 cal yr BP. Following this event, the Jaketown site and the eastern Yazoo Basin witnessed a period of landscape stability that lasts to this day. These archaeological data demonstrate how climate change and natural disasters can lead to socio-political dissolution and reorganization even in relatively small-scale hunter-gatherer populations.

The Kalahari Impacts Hypothesis for the Birth of the Moon： Did Morokweng Meteorite Impact （145 Ma） Break up the Gondwanaland and Ignite Volcanic Explosion to Form the Moon？

When gigantic meteorite impact sites in Southern Africa are plotted on the geological map of the region, they overlap with the SW-NE fault lines and it indicates that meteorite impacts have contributed to the geological structure of the region. The Morokweng Meteorite Impact of 145 Ma （Million years ago）, at the J/K （Jurassic/Cretaceous） boundary, seems to have broken up the Gondwanaland. It is plausible that, at the time of continental break-up, seawater poured into Morokweng crater and ignited a gigantic volcanic eruption which delivered low viscose magma into the outer space to form the Moon. An extremely flat surface of the Megakalahari extending 3,800,000 sq. km at 800-1,200 m above sea level in the central and southern Africa seems to be the terrestrial residue of fluid magma at the end of the volcanic event.

Dramatic thinning of Alaskan river ice and its climatic controls

River ice thickness(RIT)directly influences human activities,such as rural transportation and subsistence activities,in addition to ecosystem and hydrology processes in the Arctic.Knowledge of RIT response to the rapid Arctic warming is very limited or essentially lacking.The scientific objective of this study is to investigate changes and variations in RIT and their response to rapid Arctic warming.We used ground-based measurements of 45 river gauge sites from 1961 through 2015 spanning 12 river basins across Alaska.The results indicate that the long-term mean maximum river ice thickness(MRIT)ranged from 40.3±12.7 cm in the southeast to 187.3±31.9 cm in northwest Alaska.MRIT decreased dramatically from 1961 to 2015,on average,at a rate of−0.26±0.17 cm per year,and RIT declined significantly in all months from October through March,and more rapidly in winter than in autumn and spring.The impacts of air temperature and snowfall on MRIT change were analysed,and their relative influences were 74%and 26%,respectively.Specifically,an increase in air temperature was the primary factor contributing to MRIT decrease,while increasing snowfall,and snow on river ice enhanced MRIT decline.Seasonally,snowfall was the primary regulator for thickness change and higher air temperature resulted in RIT declining in autumn,while ice thickness decrease was mostly driven by warming in spring.However,neither air temperature nor snowfall is the primary control factor for declining RIT in winter,and further work needs to be done to detect the reason.