Simulation of Precipitation in Monsoon Regions of China by CMIP3 Models

The output of 25 models used in the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project phase 3 (CMIP3) were evaluated,with a focus on summer precipitation in eastern China for the last 40 years of the 20th century.Most mod-els failed to reproduce rainfall associated with the East Asian summer monsoon (EASM),and hence the seasonal cycle in eastern China,but provided reasonable results in Southwest (SW) and Northeast China (NE).The simula-tions produced reasonable results for the Yangtze-Huai (YH) Basin area,although the Meiyu phenomenon was underestimated in general.One typical regional phe-nomenon,a seasonal northward shift in the rain belt from early to late summer,was completely missed by most models.The long-term climate trends in rainfall over eastern China were largely underestimated,and the ob-served geographical pattern of rainfall changes was not reproduced by most models.Precipitation extremes were evaluated via parameters of fitted GEV (Generalized Ex-treme Values) distributions.The annual extremes were grossly underestimated in the monsoon-dominated YH and SW regions,but reasonable values were calculated for the North China (NC) and NE regions.These results suggest a general failure to capture the dynamics of the EASM in current coupled climate models.Nonetheless,models with higher resolution tend to reproduce larger decadal trends and annual extremes of precipitation in the regions studied.

A well-supported nuclear phylogeny of Poaceae and implications for the evolution of C4 photosynthesis

Poaceae(the grasses)includes rice,maize,wheat,and other crops,and is the most economically important angiosperm family.Poaceae is also one of the largest plant families,consisting of over 11000 species with a global distribution that contributes to diverse ecosystems.Poaceae species are classified into 12 subfamilies,with generally strong phylogenetic support for their monophyly.However,many relationships within subfamilies,among tribes and/or subtribes,remain uncertain.To better resolve the Poaceae phylogeny,we generated 342 transcriptomic and seven genomic datasets;these were combined with other genomic and transcriptomic datasets to provide sequences for 357 Poaceae species in 231 genera,representing 45 tribes and all 12 subfamilies.Over 1200 low-copy nuclear genes were retrieved from these datasets,with several subsets obtained using additional criteria,and used for coalescent analyses to reconstruct a Poaceae phylogeny.Our results strongly support the monophyly of 11 subfamilies;however,the subfamily Puelioideae was separated into two non-sister clades,one for each of the two previously defined tribes,supporting a hypothesis that places each tribe in a separate subfamily.Molecular clock analyses estimated the crown age of Poaceae to be101 million years old.Ancestral character reconstruction of C3/C4 photosynthesis supports the hypothesis of multiple independent origins of C4 photosynthesis.These origins are further supported by phylogenetic analysis of the ppc gene family that encodes the phosphoenolpyruvate carboxylase,which suggests that members of three paralogous subclades(ppc-aL1a,ppc-aL1b,and ppcB2)were recruited as functional C4 ppc genes.This study provides valuable resources and a robust phylogenetic framework for evolutionary analyses of the grass family.

Optimal Parameters of Response Surface Methodology for Preparation of Magnesium Hydroxide Flame Retardant

The yield of magnesium hydroxide was investigated via response surface methodology using bischofite and aqueous ammonia as raw materials. The experimental results indicated that the effects of reaction temperature,magnesium ion and aqueous ammonia concentrations on the yield of magnesium hydroxide gradually decreased. In particular,reaction temperature and magnesium ion concentration had a significant influence on the yield. After the regression and fitting of the response value and each factor,the regression equation was obtained. As proven by experiments,the predicted value and actual value showed a good fit. The products of the center experiment were characterized by particle size analysis,scanning electron microscopy,and X-ray diffraction. The results show that the morphology is irregular and shows a lamellar structure. The particles have a narrow size distribution ranging from 0.64 to 0.68 μm of D50 size. The difference in particle size of D10 and D90 is less than 0.91 μm,and the purity very high.