Water Resource Development in the Quaternary Ryukyu Limestone Regions of Japan:Application of the GIS to the Site Selection of Underground Dams

Based on the natural and social conditions as well as hydrogeological characteristics of the Ryukyu limestone, a major aquifer in the Ryukyu Islands, a conception of underground dam, was proposed in the early 1970s in order to develop ground water resources in the Quaternary Ryukyu limestone regions of Japan. The practice of nearly thirty years has shown that the underground dam is an environment-friendly and effective way for developing ground water in these regions.

In-Situ Observation of Fluid Mud in the North Passage of Yangtze Estuary, China

Observations of fluid mud were made in the lower North Passage of the Yangtze Estuary in February 2000, on 10～11 August 2000, on 30～31 August 2000 (after two strong typhoons), on 21～24 August 2000 (neap tide) and on 3～6 September 2000 (mean tide) respectively. In situ data show that the fluid mud in this area consists of fine cohesive sediment (median size 7.23 μm). The formation and movement of fluid mud varied during the neap-spring and flood-ebb tidal cycle. Observations suggest that fluid mud phenomena in this area may be categorised in a three-fold manner as slack water, storm and saltwedge features. The thickness of the fluid mud layer of slack water during the neap tide ranged from 0.2 to 0.96 m, whereas during the mean tide, the thickness ranged from 0.17 to 0.73 m, and the thickness of the fluid mud layer was larger during slack water than at the flood peak. Shoals cover an area of 800 km2 with a water depth smaller than 5 m. Erosion of these extensive intertidal mudflats due to storm action provides an abundant sediment source. This is particularly significant in this estuary when the tidal level is lower than 5 m. The lower North Passage is a typical zone of saltwater wedging, so the saltwedge fluid mud has the most extensive spatial range in the estuary.

The carbon fluxes in different successional stages:modelling the dynamics of tropical montane forests in South Ecuador

Background： Tropical forests play an important role in the global carbon（C） cycle.However, tropical montane forests have been studied less than tropical lowland forests, and their role in carbon storage is not well understood.Montane forests are highly endangered due to logging, land-use and climate change.Our objective was to analyse how the carbon balance changes during forest succession.Methods： In this study, we used a method to estimate local carbon balances that combined forest inventory data with process-based forest models.We utilised such a forest model to study the carbon balance of a tropical montane forest in South Ecuador, comparing two topographical slope positions（ravines and lower slopes vs upper slopes and ridges）.Results： The simulation results showed that the forest acts as a carbon sink with a maximum net ecosystem exchange（NEE） of 9.3 Mg C？（ha？yr）-1during its early successional stage（0–100 years）.In the late successional stage, the simulated NEE fluctuated around zero and had a variation of 0.77 Mg C？（ha？yr）–1.The simulated variability of the NEE was within the range of the field data.We discovered several forest attributes（e.g., basal area or the relative amount of pioneer trees） that can serve as predictors for NEE for young forest stands（0–100 years） but not for those in the late successional stage（500–1,000 years）.In case of young forest stands these correlations are high, especially between stand basal area and NEE.Conclusion： In this study, we used an Ecuadorian study site as an example of how to successfully link a forest model with forest inventory data, for estimating stem-diameter distributions, biomass and aboveground net primary productivity.To conclude, this study shows that process-based forest models can be used to investigate the carbon balance of tropical montane forests.With this model it is possible to find hidden relationships between forest attributes and forest carbon fluxes.These relationships promote a better understanding of the role of tropical montane forests in the context of global carbon cycle, which in future will become more relevant to a society under global change.

Effects of Space Flight on Expression of Key Proteins in Rice Leaves

As a unique form of abiotic stress, the environmental conditions of outer space are expected to induce changes in plant genomes, proteomes and metabolic pathways. However, the effect of outer space conditions on the overall physiology of plants at the protein level has yet to be reported. To investigate the effects of outer space conditions on the growth-and development-related physiological processes and metabolic pathways of rice different stages, the seeds of rice variety DN423 were sent into orbit for 12.5 d aboard the SJ-10 Returning Satellite, and then the seedlings of both treated and control rice were compared at the three-leaf stage(TLS) and tillering stage(TS). In addition to comparing plant growth and reactive oxygen species(ROS) levels, seedling proteomes were also compared using isobaric tags for relative and absolute quantitation(i TRAQ). Space flight increased TLS plant height by 20%, reduced and increased ROS levels of the TLS and TS seedlings, respectively, and affected the expression of 36 and 323 proteins in TLS and TS leaves, respectively. Furthermore, the functions of the differentially abundant proteins were mainly associated with metabolism, energy, and protein synthesis and degradation. These results suggested that the exposure of seeds to outer space conditions affects the subsequent abundance of key signaling proteins, gene expression, and the processes of protein synthesis and degradation, thereby affecting metabolic processes and promoting adaptation to the abiotic stress of outer space. As such, the present study sheds light on the effects of space flight on plants and contributes to a more comprehensive understanding of extraterrestrial biology.

Cytological Effects of Space Environment on Different Genotype of Rice

For exploring the biological effect of space environment on different genotype of rice seeds, the cytological effects of M1 generation after space flight were studied. Twelve different genotypes of rice seeds which belong to different climate ecotype （early, medium and late） of indica and japonica were onboard ＂Shenzhou 4＂ spaceship for 162 h. After recovered the total number of mitosis cells and chromosomal aberration were observed. In all the lines the mitotic index （MIs） of space flight are much higher than control, which indicates the stimulate effect of space environment. The cell rate of chromosomal aberration （CRCA） of space flight is also much higher than control, but varies from line to line. It indicates that biological effect of space environment on rice seed dependents not only on flight duration but also on rice genotype. The radiosensitivities of different lines were also discussed according to CRCAs.

长江口南岸边滩沉积物重金属污染记录的磁诊断方法

根据长江口南岸边滩南区排污口附近采集的柱样的磁性测量和重金属含量分析 ,探讨了磁性测量方法在沉积物重金属污染记录信息提取方面的应用价值。结果表明 ,磁性参数χARM、χfd% 、χARM/χ和 χARM/SIRM与重金属Cu、Zn、Pb、Cr具有极为相似的垂向变化特征 ,反映了细晶粒亚铁磁性矿物对重金属的吸附作用 ,以及沉积物粒度组成对重金属含量的影响。根据上述相关性 ,建立了利用磁性参数推断重金属含量的线性回归模型。不同柱样基于磁性参数 χARM的层位对比表明 ,不同部位沉积物中的重金属记录可以对比 ,但其含量却存在较大的差异 ,反映了重金属空间分布的复杂性。本项研究表明 ,作为一种辅助手段 ,磁性测量可以在高分辨率的重金属污染研究中发挥重要作用。

山西耕作土壤样品磁性空间分异及其环境意义

本文分析了山西高原土壤耕作层(0-20cm)25个样品的磁性,用GIS空间分析方法,得出土壤磁化率平面分布等值线图和空间三维模型。磁化率空间分布机理如下:首先,强烈的人为影响使土壤中磁性矿物人为来源占有重要地位。第二,土壤磁性矿物以亚铁磁性的磁铁矿和磁赤铁矿为主导。第三,土壤磁化率极值差及其与母质之间的差异均受广泛而较均一的黄土母质的影响。第四,晋西北和晋中等区域出现土壤磁化率高值区域。第五,人为作用强烈影响掩盖了气温、降水等气候因子对土壤磁化率的作用。

日本第四纪琉球灰岩地区的水资源开发:GIS系统在地下水坝选址中的应用

基于日本第四纪琉球灰岩(琉球群岛的一个主要含水层)地区的自然和社会环境,70年代早期提出地下水坝的概念,以开发该地区的地下水资源。

Systematic biomedical research of the NASA Twins Study facilitates the hazard risk assessment of long-term spaceflight missions

With the extension of the deep space exploration program, the boundaries of human exploration will be pushed forward to the surface of Mars. Over the past nearly 60 years manned spaceflight and experimental fin dings dem on strated that spaceflight induced bone loss, muscle atrophy, cardiovascular remodeling and space-related medical problems (Durante and Cucinotta, 2008).

Unraveling the skatole biodegradation process in an enrichment consortium using integrated omics and culture-dependent strategies

3-Methylindole(skatole)is regarded as one of the most offensive compounds in odor emission.Biodegradation is feasible for skatole removal but the functional species and genes responsible for skatole degradation remain enigmatic.In this study,an efficient aerobic skatole-degrading consortium was obtained.Rhodococcus and Pseudomonas were identified as the two major and active populations by integrated metagenomic and metatranscriptomic analyses.Bioinformatic analyses indicated that the skatole downstream degradation wasmainly via the catechol pathway,and upstream degradation was likely catalyzed by the aromatic ring-hydroxylating oxygenase and flavin monooxygenase.Genome binning and gene analyses indicated that Pseudomonas,Pseudoclavibacter,and Raineyella should cooperate with Rhodococcus for the skatole degradation process.Moreover,a pure strain Rhodococcus sp.DMU1 was successfully obtained which could utilize skatole as the sole carbon source.Complete genome sequencing showed that strain DMU1 was the predominant population in the consortium.Further crude enzyme and RT-qPCR assays indicated that strain DMU1 degraded skatole through the catechol ortho-cleavage pathway.Collectively,our results suggested that synergistic degradation of skatole in the consortium should be performed by diverse bacteria with Rhodococcus as the primary degrader,and the degradation mainly proceeded via the catechol pathway.

Diversity and Stability Study on Rice Mutants Induced in Space Environment

To further study the characteristics of changes on the molecular level of rice mutants induced in space environment, we analyzed proteins in leaves and seeds of four rice mutants （two high-tillering and two low-tillering） in the 8th and 9th generations after a 15-day spaceflight, and compared with their ground controls by two-dimentional polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and reverse phase liquid chromatography （RPLC）. In addition, the albumin, globulin, prolamine, glutelin, and amylose of the mutant seeds were analyzed by RPLC and ultra-violet spectrometry. The results showed that the low-abundance proteins of leaves in the peak tillering stage are more likely to he induced compared with their corresponding controls. The albumin, globulin, and prolamine of the mutant seeds revealed changes when compared with their controls, and the characteristics of changes in different mu- tants were stably inherited in the 8th and 9th generations, suggesting that they can be used as biomarkers to identity the mutants induced by spaceflight. Moreover, two proteins （SSP9111 and SSP6302） were found to be expressed with high intensity （two-fold change） in different mutants, which were both correlated with photosystem according to mass spectrometry and database searching.