Weaning and Field Survival Responses of Propagules to Propagating Structures and Seedling Types in Sheanut Production in Tropical Africa

The Shea is an economic tree found in West and Central Africa with huge industrial uses in the confectionery, pharmaceutical and cosmetic sectors worldwide. Its rapid multiplication has been hampered by its slow growth and long gestation period. Successes in cutting propagation have been achieved (between 60% - 80%), however weaning of the rooted cuttings for establishment has been a major challenge. Two factorial experiments were carried out in a study in 2012. The objective of this study was to determine the effects of propagating structures and seedling types on the weaning and subsequent field establishment of propagules of Shea tree for plantation establishment. A randomized complete block design with three replications was used. Survival of the rooted cuttings in the mist propagator was very high (93.3%) and comparable to that of the seedlings (100%). The rooted cuttings in mist propagator produced the highest number of leaves, 11 times greater than the least number of leaves produced by seedlings in the lath house. Comparing the seedling types, the rooted cuttings produced significantly greater number of leaves, 4.8 times than the normal seedlings. Rooted cuttings in the mist propagator produced the biggest stem girth significantly greater than the seedlings kept in all the structures. The rooted cuttings in the mist propagator produced 4.4 times bigger stem girths than the seedlings in the lath house which had the smallest stem girth. The rooted cuttings in the mist propagator produced the tallest plants, 1.4 times and 1.9 times significantly taller than the seedlings in the propagating pit and lath house, respectively, which produced the shortest plants. There was a significant relationship between field survival of propagules and the month of establishment expressed as Y (percent survival) = -2844 + 0.070 × (month);P < 0.001;R2 = 0.68;n = 90. Rooted cuttings transplanted in a hole depth of 52.0 cm produced the biggest stem girth, 5.6 times bigger than the stem girth of the seedlings transplanted into any of the three hole depths. Rooted cuttings transplanted into a hole depth of 52.0 cm produced the highest number of leaves, three times more than the seedlings in 26 cm hole depth, which produced the least number of leaves. The study concluded that the mist propagator was the most suitable propagating structure for weaning rooted cuttings of sheanut tree since it resulted in higher survival of the rooted cuttings as well as promoted the growth of the rooted cuttings. For field establishment, rooted cuttings transplanted into hole depth of 52 cm resulted in higher survival rates and performed better in terms of growth than the seedlings. Furthermore, the month of establishment was very critical for the rate of survival of the transplanted propagules of Shea tree.

Sub-stand diameter distribution types vary along an old-growth Douglas-fir chronosequence into the horizontal diversification development stage

Managing mature Douglas-fir[Pseudotsuga menziesii(Mirb.)Franco]stands to emulate the structural complexity of natural old-growth forest requires identifying structural targets at the sub-stand level at which neighborhood dynamics and patchy disturbance shape structure.We therefore sought to describe the archetypal shapes of predominant sub-stand diameter distribution types(DDTs)observed in natural tree neighborhoods in stands comprising a chronosequence(ca.120-450+yrs)encompassing mature,vertical diversification,and horizontal diversification development stages.The ten 1.0 ha stands are located in the southcentral Oregon Cascades,USA.Building on the known spatial position of each tree,natural tree neighborhoods were identified using the floating neighborhood approach based on spatial tessellation connecting neighboring trees at the first-(mean 61 m2)through fifth-(mean 2058 m2)order scales.Cluster analysis was then used to objectively identify the most predominant DDTs among the relative tree size distributions observed in the trans-scale neighborhoods within each stand.Repeated measures regression was used to classify each DDT to one of six observed archetypal shapes:negative exponential,unimodal,rotated sigmoid,bimodal,concave,or multi-modal.Only three of the 81 observed DDTs deviated by<10%from the stand average,while every stand had at least one DDT that deviated by>50%(maximum 83%).Within each stand,five to ten predominant DDTs were observed,which deviated from the stand average by 30-48%and were characterized by two to five different archetypal shapes.Consequently,in some stands the majority of tree neighborhoods were best characterized by a different shape from that assigned at the stand level.Deviation from the stand average increased from the youngest stand in the mature development stage through the middle stands in the vertical diversification stage to the oldest stands in the horizontal diversification stage.The complexity of DDT shapes tended to increase along the chronosequence(from negative exponential and uniform toward concave and multi-modal),with shape richness highest mid-sequence and evenness peaking in the oldest stands.The high diversity of sub-stand structural complexity reduces the utility of standlevel diameter distributions as old-growth restoration targets.However,the presence in early-sequence stands of sub-stand diameter distributions common to later-sequence stands may facilitate active management at the neighborhood level to promote future old-growth condition.Restoration of substand diameter structures would likely require combining spatial perspectives,such as by augmenting tree-level croptree management with diameter distribution targets for the resulting tree neighborhoods.

Basic Types and Structural Characteristics of Uplifts:An Overview of Sedimentary Basins in China

The uplift is a positive structural unit of the crust. It is an important window for continental dynamics owing to its abundant structural phenomena, such as fault, fold, unconformity and denudation of strata. Meanwhile, it is the very place to store important minerals like oil, natural gas, coal and uranium. Giant and large-scale oil and gas fields in China, such as the Daqing Oilfield, Lunnan-Tahe Oilfield, Penglai 19-3 Oilfield, Puguang Gas Field and Jingbian Gas Field, are developed mainly on uplifts. Therefore, it is the main target both for oil and gas exploration and for geological study. The uplift can be either a basement uplift, or one developed only in the sedimentary cover. Extension, compression and wrench or their combined forces may give rise to uplifts. The development process of uplifting, such as formation, development, dwindling and destruction, can be taken as the uplifting cycle. The uplifts on the giant Precambrian cratons are large in scale with less extensive structural deformation. The uplifts on the medium- and small-sized cratons or neo-cratons are formed in various shapes with strong structural deformation and complicated geological structure. Owing to changes in the geodynamic environment, uplift experiences a multi-stage or multi-cycle development process. Its geological structure is characterized in superposition of multi-structural layers. Based on the basement properties, mechanical stratigraphy and development sequence, uplifts can be divided into three basic types-the succession, superposition and destruction ones. The succession type is subdivided into the maintaining type and the lasting type. The superposition type can be subdivided into the composite anticlinal type, the buried-hill draped type, the faulted uplift type and the migration type according to the different scales and superimposed styles of uplifts in different cycles. The destruction type is subdivided into the tilting type and the negative inverted type. The development history of uplifts and their controlling effects on sedimentation and fluids are quite different from one another, although the uplifts with different structural types store important minerals. Uplifts and their slopes are the main areas for oil and gas accumulation. They usually become the composite oil and gas accumulation zones （belts） with multiple productive formations and various types of oil and gas reservoirs.

Structural patterns of land types and optimal allocation of land use in Qinling Mountains

The case study based on Qinling Mountains in Shaanxi Province of China, in virtue of the information from TM image, classifies the land types and analyzes their spatial and temporal differential law, and puts forward three structural patterns of land types in mountainous areas, namely, spatial, quantitative and qualitative structures of mountainous land types. Furthermore, it has been noticed that the analysis of structural patterns can disclose the heterogeneity and orderliness of combination of land types, which can lay the theoretic foundation for comprehensively recognizing ecological characteristics and succession law of structure and function of land types. After the all-around comparative analysis, an optimal allocation of land use in Qinling Mountains has been put forward according to the principle of sustainable development and landscape ecology, which can lay the scientific foundation in practice for the structural adjustment and distribution optimization from the macro level to micro level.

Effect of Different Vegetation Types on the Rhizosphere Soil Microbial Community Structure in the Loess Plateau of China

The Loess Plateau in China is one of the most eroded areas in the world. Accordingly, vegetation restoration has been implemented in this area over the past two decades to remedy the soil degradation problem. Understanding the microbial community structure is essential for the sustainability of ecosystems and for the reclamation of degraded arable land. This study aimed to determine the effect of different vegetation types on microbial processes and community structure in rhizosphere soils in the Loess Plateau. The six vegetation types were as follows：two natural grassland （Artemisia capillaries and Heteropappus altaicus）, two artificial grassland （Astragalus adsurgens and Panicum virgatum）, and two artificial shrubland （Caragana korshinskii and Hippophae rhamnoides） species. The microbial community structure and functional diversity were examined by analyzing the phospholipid fatty acids （PLFAs） and community-level physiological profiles. The results showed that rhizosphere soil sampled from the H. altaicus and A. capillaries plots had the highest values of microbial biomass C, average well color development of carbon resources, Gram-negative （G-） bacterial PLFA, bacterial PLFA, total PLFA, Shannon richness, and Shannon evenness, as well as the lowest metabolic quotient. Soil sampled from the H. rhamnoides plots had the highest metabolic quotient and Gram-positive （G＋） bacterial PLFA, and soil sampled from the A. adsurgens and A. capillaries plots had the highest fungal PLFA and fungal：bacterial PLFA ratio. Correlation analysis indicated a signiifcant positive relationship among the microbial biomass C, G- bacterial PLFA, bacterial PLFA, and total PLFA. In conclusion, plant species under arid climatic conditions signiifcantly affected the microbial community structure in rhizosphere soil. Among the studied plants, natural grassland species generated the most favorable microbial conditions.

Tree species diversity and stand structure along major community types in lowland primary and secondary moist deciduous forests in Tripura,Northeast India

Tree species diversity and population structure at different community types were described and analyzed for primary and secondary lowland moist deciduous forests in Tripura. Overall 10,957 individual trees belonging to 46 family, 103 genera and 144 species were counted at ≥30 cm DBH （diameter at breast height） using 28 permanent belt transects with a size of 1 ha （10 m × 1000 m）. Four different tree communities were identified. The primary forests was dominated by Shorea robusta （mean density 464.77 trees.ha^-1, 105 species） and Schima wallichii （336.25 trees.ha^-1, 82 species）, while the secondary forests was dominated by Tectona grandis （333.88 trees.ha^-1, 105 species） and Hevea brasiliensis （299.67 trees.ha^-1, 82 species）. Overall mean basal area in this study was 18.01m2.ha^-1; the maximum value was recorded in primary Shorea forest （26.21 m2.ha^-1）. Mean density and diversity indices were differed significantly within four different communities. No significant differences were observed in number of species, genera, family and tree basal cover area. Significant relationships were found between the species richness and different tree population groups across the communities. Results revealed that species diversity and density were increased in those forests due to past disturbances which resulted in slow accumu- lation of native oligarchic small tree species. Seventeen species were recorded with 〈2 individuals of which Saraca asoka （Roxb.） de Wilde and Entada phaseoloides （L.） Men＇. etc. extensively used in local ethnomedicinal formulations. The present S. robusta Gaertn dominated forest was recorded richer （105 species） than other reported studies. Moraceae was found more speciose family instead of Papilionaceae and Euphorbiaceae than other Indian moist deciduous forests. Seasonal phenological gap in such moist deciduous forests influenced the population of Trachypithecus pileatus and capped langur. The analysis of FIV suggested a slow trend of shifting the population of Lamiaceae group by Moraceae species in secondary T. grandis L. dominated community.

Effects of Different Woodland Types on Soil Properties and Soil Nematode Community Structure

Upland red soil has strong acidity and low fertility, different woodland types produce varying impacts on soil properties and nematode communities. To explore the response of soil, 2 different types of woodland were selected to investigate the changes of soil properties and nematode communities compared to wasteland. The results showed that the content of soil organic carbon and total nitrogen in chestnut forest soil were the highest, 16.41 g/kg and 0.46 g/kg respectively; while the highest contents of soil microbial biomass carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus appeared in wasteland soil, and basal respiration of wasteland soil was 28.36 mg CO_2/kg·d, significantly higher than that of the other 2 soils(p <0.05). The nematode abundance also reached the peak in wasteland soil. Three types of soil exhibited a completely different nematode community structure: the dominant trophic group in wasteland soil was herbivores,while omnivores/predators and bacterivores in forest from farmland and chestnut forest soil, respectively.The influence of different types of woodland on ecological indices of nematode communities was not consistent. Degradation trends of soil properties and nematode communities were presented in the 2woodland types compared with wasteland soil. These results are instructive for the local woodland planning.

Structures and Spectroscopy Properties of One Novel Keggin Type Polyoxomolybdate Compound

In this paper,One novel Keggin type polyoxomolybdate compounds have been hydrothermal synthesized:{[(CH3)2NH2]4(SiMo12O40)}[(CH3)2NH]·(DMF)0.5(1).The compound 1have been characterized by infrared spectrum,and the two-dimensional infrared correlation spectroscopy.

Community structure and regeneration types of Betula dahurica forest in Badaling forest center of Beijing

Using plant community analysis methods, we analyzed the floristic characteristics, species composition, community structure, population structure, and spatial distribution patterns of a Betula dahurica forest on the ＂1238＂ mountain of Badaling in Beijing, China. The results show that： 1） There are 33 plant species in the B. dahurica community, including 18 woody plant species. The B. dahurica forest is a monodominant community with 75.9% dominance. 2） Based on diameter at breast height （DBH） size class distribution, the population structure of B. dahurica and Acer mono--two heliophyllous and pioneer tree species-is cascade-type, with both in an increasing stage. The population structure of Ella mandshurica and T. mongolica, two shade-tolerant tree species, is inverse-J type, and they have more young seedling individuals and regenerate more stably. They are associated species of the pioneer tree species. The population structure of Quercus mongolica, as the associated species of climax species in the community, is sporadic, and its regeneration is fluctuating and random. Fraxinus rhynchophylla is a shade-tolerant tree species which has a unibar population structure and climax characteristics of pioneer tree species. The relative frequency of young seedlings reached 0.4. 3） The dominant species B. dahurica is still in an increasing stage, and the regeneration of other species is steady or partly influences the community, putting the community in the pioneer species stage. From the population structure and distribution frequency ofF. rhynchophylla, the B. dahurica forest will approach to a climax state in the future.

Structural Types of Sea Embankment and Their Stability Analysis

In this paper based on investigation on the structural types of sea embankments in the southeast coastal area of China, as well as the related tidal stages, waves and strength of marine soils, the finite element method (FEM) calculations for seepage flow stability, including the overall stability against sliding and local stability of sloping surface under the action of tidal stage and waves are carried out. A comparison of the computational results of FEM for single circular slip, composite circular slip and geogrid reinforcement against sliding shows that for calculation of stability against sliding of marine soft soil foundation it is even more reasonable to use the composite circular slip. The stability of sloping type sea embankment against sliding is slightly better than that of the vertical face type; for the combination of three defences (wave, scour and seepage defences) the sea embankment structural type of a composite cross section with a platform should be a good one, but it still should be suitable to local conditions. For the local stability of riprap slope blocks and wall face loose masonry blocks, according to the analyses of wave-induced seepage flow fields, calculating formulas are given and they are verified by model test on block stability of breakwaters.

AN ANALYSIS ON THE STRUCTURE TYPES AND BENEFITS OFSLOPELAND AGROFORESTRY SYSTEMS-Taking the Three Gorge Reservoir Area As An Example

The modem term 'agroforestry system' is derived from agricultural practices. It is an organic combination of agriculture and forestry, ecology and economy, product variation and scientific management. On the basis of analyzing the types and structure of agroforestry system in the Three Gorges Reservoir area,the paper poins out that agroforestry system can be divided into diffend structutal levds. Taking some typical cases as examples, it compares the benefits of four kinds of structures. The result illustrates that the hedge row agroforestry system on slopeland is an effective way to realize coordinate development of ecology and economy.

Dynamic responses of K-type and inverted-K-type jacket support structures for offshore wind-turbines

The jacket structure has become more popular as the offshore wind-turbine support structure. K-type and inverted-K-type jacket support structures have superior potential due to their fewer joints and lower cost of manufacture and installation. A numerical study was presented on the dynamic responses of K-type and inverted-K-type jacket support structures subjected to different kinds of dynamic load. The results show that the inverted-K-type jacket structure has higher natural frequencies than the K-type. The wave force spectrum response shows that the maximum displacement of the K-type jacket structure is larger than that of the inverted-K-type. The time-history responses under wind and wave-current load indicate that the inverted-K-type jacket structure shows smaller displacement and stress compared with the K-type, and presents different stress concentration phenomena. The dynamic responses reveal that the inverted-K-type of jacket support structure has greater stiffness and superior mechanical properties, and thus is more applicable in the offshore area with relatively deep water.

Peptoids with aliphatic sidechains as helical structures without hydrogen bonds and collagen/ inverse-collagen type structures

Aliphatic homo-polypeptoids of NAla, NVal, NIle and NLeu both in the presence and absence of protecting groups adopt helical structures without hydrogen bonds with Φ, Ψ values of ~ 0, ± 90° with trans amide bonds. These structures are stabilized by carbonyl-carbonyl interactions and characterized by ~ 3.16 residues per turn with a pitch of ~ 6.13 ?. It has been shown that like polyvaline and polyleucine peptides, poly-peptoids can also be exploited for the construction of potential surfactant like molecules by incorporating charged amino acid residues at the N terminal. A single-handed template with Φ, Ψ values of ~ 0, 90° can be attained by incorporating L-leu or L-val at the C-terminal of poly-NIle. Analysis of the simulation results in water as a function of time reveals that the opening of helical structures without hydrogen bonds takes place at sub-picosecond time scale starting from the N-terminal. This leads to the formation of collagen or inverse-collagen type structures (Φ, Ψ ~ -60, 145° and 60, -145° respectively) stabilized by interactions of water molecules with the backbone carbonyl groups.

Structures and Magnetic Properties of Europium-Transition Metal-Gallium Ternary Intermetallic Compounds with 1:3 Type

The crystal structures and magnetic properties of novel Eu TrGa3-r （T=Pd, It, Rh） in termetallic compounds are investigated by using powder x-ray diffraction and magnetic measurements. EuTrGa3-r crystallizes in orthorhombic structure with space group of Cmcm and Z = 4. There are four kinds of nonequivalent 4c crystal positions in EuTrGaa-r unit cell, which are occupied by 4Eu, 4GaⅠ, 4（GaⅡ, T） and 4GaⅢ, respectively. EuTrGa3-r ex- hibits the complex magnetic states in low-temperature regime, with the three-, two- and one-antiferromagnetic transitions occurring for T=Ir, T=Rh and T=Pd, respectively. It might be due to the Kondo effect： a localized antiferromagnetic interaction of the isolated impurity spins with the surrounding conduction electrons at low-temperature regime.

A Study of Plume Rise from Multi-tube Chimney and Types of Chimney Structure

This paper tries to determine the economical type of reinforced concrete chimney structure based on the same effective height of chimney. The simulated experiments of wind tunnel are performed for the study, which compare multi-tube chimney with single tube chimney based on the same buoyancy flux of plume. According to the comparison among the experiment results and the previous study of plume rise, the paper defines some final plume rise models. Finally, the paper gives the cost-benefit analysis after making cost estimation for different types of chimney structure and recommends the economical and reasonable type of chimney structure in light of the same environmental benefits.

Finite Element Model Updating of Complicated Beam-Type Structures Based on Reduced Super Beam Model

A finite element model updating technique for complicated beam-type structures is presented in this study.Firstly, a complicated beam-type structure is reduced to a reduced super beam model with a much smaller degree of freedom by using the reduced super beam method, which is based on the classic plane cross-section assumption and displacement interpolation function of beam theory.Then based on the reduced super beam, the analysis of eigensolutions and eigensensitivities from the reduced eigenequation are processed for model updating, which will greatly reduce the computational effort when compared to the traditional model updating methods performed on the global model.Optimization techniques are adopted for updating the difference of modal dynamic properties, resulting in optimal values of the structural parameters.Finally, a complicated stiffened cylindrical shell model and a practical missile structure, served as the illustrative examples, are employed for model updating application, which demonstrate that the reduced super beam-based method is both effective and highly efficient.

A Study on Hydroelastic Response of Box-Type Very Large Floating Structures

The application of very large floating structure (VLFS) to the utilization of ocean space and exploitation of ocean resources has become one of the issues of great interest in international ocean engineering field. Owing to the advantage of simplicity in structure and low cost of construction and maintenance, box-type VLFS can be used in the calm water area near the coast as the structure configuration of floating airport. In this paper, a 3D linear hydroelastic theory is used to study the dynamic response of box-type VLFS in sinusoidal regular waves. A beam model and a 3D FEM model are respectively employed to describe the dynamic characteristics of the box-type Structure in vacuum. A hydrodynamic model (3D potential theory of flexible body) is applied to investigate the effect of different dry models on the hydroelastic response of box-type structure. Based on the calculation of hydroelastic response in regular waves, the rigid body motion displacement, flexible deflection, and the short term and long term wave induced bending moments are also predicted.

Improved ultrasonic differentiation model for structural coal types based on neural network

In order to solve the difficulty of detailed recognition of subdivisions of structural coal types,a differentiation model that combines BP neural network with an ultrasonic reflection method is proposed.Structural coal types are recognized based on a suitable consideration of ultrasonic speed,an ultrasonic attenuation coefficient,characteristics of ultrasonic transmission and other parameters relating to structural coal types.We have focused on a computational model of ultrasonic speed,attenuation coefficient in coal and differentiation algorithm of structural coal types based on a BP neural network.Experiments demonstrate that the model can distinguish structural coal types effectively.It is important for the improved ultrasonic differentiation model to predict coal and gas outbursts.

Numerical Simulation of Stress-Strain State for Nonhomogeneous Shell-Type Structures Based on the Finite Element Method

Projective-iterative version of finite element method has developed for numerical simulation of the stress-strain state of nonhomogeneous shell-type structures (shells with openings). Plastic deformation of the material is taken into account when using the method of elastic solutions that reduce the solution of elastoplastic problems to solution of elastic problems. Developed PIV’s significant savings of computer calculation has been compared with the calculation on a fine mesh of traditional FEM. Designed scheme allows analysis of the mutual influence of openings. Analysis of the transformation zone of plastic deformation is developed. For definiteness, the cylindrical shell structures with several rectangular openings are considered.

Unconventional Hamilton-type variational principles for nonlinear elastodynamics of orthogonal cable-net structures

According to the basic idea of classical yin-yang complementarity and modem dual-complementarity, in a simple and unified new way proposed by Luo, the unconventional Hamilton-type variational principles for geometrically nonlinear elastodynamics of orthogonal cable-net structures are established systematically, which can fully characterize the initial-boundary-value problem of this kind of dynamics. An ifnportant integral relation is made, which can be considered as the generalized principle of virtual work for geometrically nonlinear dynamics of orthogonal cable-net structures in mechanics. Based on such relationship, it is possible not only to obtain the principle of virtual work for geometrically nonlinear dynamics of orthogonal cable-net structures, but also to derive systematically the complementary functionals for five-field, four-field, three-field and two-field unconventional Hamilton-type variational principles, and the functional for the unconventional Hamilton-type variational principle in phase space and the potential energy functional for one-field unconventional Hamilton-type variational principle for geometrically nonlinear elastodynamics of orthogonal cable-net structures by the generalized Legendre transformation given in this paper, Furthermore, the intrinsic relationship among various principles can be explained clearly with this approach.