An approach to prediction of the South China Sea summer monsoon onset

In the present paper, correlation between the South China Sea summer monsoon （SCSSM） onset and heat content in the upper layer of the warm pool in the western Pacific Ocean is examined using the Scripps Institution of Oceanography dataset for the period of 1955-1998 and an approach to prediction the SCSSM onset is proposed. Correlation showes that there exists interdecadal variability of the SCSSM onset demarcated by 1970 with the largest correlation coefficient in the area west of the center of the warm pool rather than near its centers, implying certain effect from other factors involved besides ENSO. As the correlation is poor for the period before 1970, the heat content anomaly of the warm pool after 1970 is used to indicate early or late onset of the SCSSM beforehand. An ideal representative area （1°×1°） for the warm pool heat content was determined with its center at 3°N/138°E. The nearest TAO （TAO-Tropical Atmosphere Ocean-array） mooring to the center is at 2°N/137°E, and chosen to calculate the heat content for prediction. It is suggested that the TAO mooring at 2°N/137°E could be used to predict the SCSSM onset with the heat content in the upper layer, if the correlation between the SCSSM onset and the heat content of the warm pool runs like that of after 1970. On the other hand, if the situation does like the one before 1970, the representative station is determined at 13°S/74°E with relatively poor correlation, meaning that the warm pool in the western Pacific Ocean plays more important role in the SCSSM onset than the Indian Ocean.

Study of the crosstalk evaluation for cavity BPM

In order to pursue high-precision beam position measurements for free-electron laser facilities, a cavity beam position monitor(CBPM) is employed to measure the transverse position that can meet the requirement of position resolution at a sub-micrometer or even nanometer scale. However, for the pill-box cavity BPM, crosstalk between the cavities will have an effect on the accurate measurement of beam position. To reduce the effect of crosstalk on CBPM performance and ease the measurement of the isolation between the cavities, the cavities with a slight difference in resonant frequency were designed and applied in the Dalian coherent light source and Shanghai soft X-ray free-electron laser facilities. Furthermore, two methods, the principal component analysis method and the method of harmonic analysis, are proposed in this paper to evaluate the crosstalk. The results demonstrate that the two methods are feasible in evaluating the crosstalk between the cavities.

Direct extraction of Mo(VI) from acidic leach solution of molybdenite ore by ion exchange resin:Batch and column adsorption studies

The adsorption behavior of ion exchange resin D301 in the extraction of hexavalent molybdenum from high acidic leach solution was investigated. SEM, EDS and Raman spectra analyses were applied to studying the adsorption capacity, reaction kinetics and possible adsorption mechanism in detail. Results showed that the adsorption capacity of D301 resin for molybdenum from high acidic leach solution was up to 463.63 mg/g. Results of the kinetic analysis indicated that the adsorption process was controlled by the particle diffusion with the activation energy 25.47 k J/mol（0.9-1.2 mm） and 20.38 k J/mol（0.6-0.9 mm）. Furthermore, the molybdenum loaded on the resin could be eluted by using 2 mol/L ammonia hydroxide solution. Besides, dynamic continuous column experiments verified direct extraction of molybdenum from acidic leach solutions by ion exchange resin D301 and the upstream flow improved dynamic continuous absorption.

Development of readout electronics for bunch arrival-time monitor system at SXFEL

A bunch arrival-time monitor(BAM) system,based on electro-optical intensity modulation scheme, is under study at Shanghai Soft X-ray Free Electron Laser.The aim of the study is to achieve high-precision time measurement for minimizing bunch fluctuations. A readout electronics is developed to fulfill the requirements of the BAM system. The readout electronics is mainly composed of a signal conditioning circuit, field-programmable gate array(FPGA), mezzanine card(FMC150), and powerful FPGA carrier board. The signal conditioning circuit converts the laser pulses into electrical pulse signals using a photodiode. Thereafter, it performs splitting and low-noise amplification to achieve the best voltage sampling performance of the dual-channel analog-to-digital converter(ADC) in FMC150. The FMC150 ADC daughter card includes a 14-bit 250 Msps dual-channel high-speed ADC,a clock configuration, and a management module. The powerful FPGA carrier board is a commercial high-performance Xilinx Kintex-7 FPGA evaluation board. To achieve clock and data alignment for ADC data capture at a high sampling rate, we used ISERDES, IDELAY, and dedicated carry-in resources in the Kintex-7 FPGA. This paper presents a detailed development of the readout electronics in the BAM system and its performance.

Analysis of electro-optical intensity modulator for bunch arrival-time monitor at SXFEL

A bunch arrival-time monitor(BAM) based on an electro-optical intensity modulation scheme is currently under development at Shanghai Soft X-ray Free-Electron Laser to meet the high-resolution requirements for bunch stability. The BAM uses a radio frequency signal generated by a pickup cavity to modulate the reference laser pulses in an electro-optical intensity modulator(EOM), and the bunch arrival-time information is derived from the amplitude change of the laser pulse after laser pulse modulation.EOM is a key optical component in the BAM system.Through the basic principle analysis of BAM, many parameters of the EOM are observed to affect the measurement resolution of the BAM system. Therefore, a systematic analysis of the EOM is crucial. In this paper, we present two schemes to compare and analyze an EOM and provide a reference for selecting a new version of the EOM.

A Double-Phase High-Frequency Traveling Magnetic Field Developed for Contactless Stirring of Low-Conducting Liquid Materials

The use of low electrically conducting liquids is more and more widespread.This is the case for molten glass,salt or slag processing,ionic liquids used in biotechnology,batteries in energy storage and metallurgy.The present paper deals with the design of a new electromagnetic induction device that can heat and stir low electricallyconducting liquids.It consists of a resistance-capacity-inductance circuit coupled with a low-conducting liquid load.The device is supplied by a unique electric power source delivering a single-phase high frequency electric current.The main working principle of the circuit is based on a double oscillating circuit inductor connected to the solid-state transistor generator.This technique,which yields a set of coupled oscillating circuits,consists of coupling a forced phase and an induced phase,neglecting the influence of the electric parameters of the loading part(i.e.,the low-conductivity liquid).It is shown that such an inductor is capable to provide a two-phase AC traveling magnetic field at high frequency.To better understand the working principle,the present work improves a previous existing simplified theory by taking into account a complex electrical equivalent diagram due to the different mutual couplings between the two inductors and the two corresponding induced current sets.A more detailed theoretical model is provided,and the key and sensitive elements are elaborated.Based on this theory,equipment is designed to provide a stirring effect on sodium chloride-salted water at 40 S/m.It is shown that such a device fed by several hundred kiloHertz electric currents is able to mimic a linear motor.A set of optimized operating parameters are proposed to guide the experiment.A pure electromagnetic numerical model is presented.Numerical modelling of the load is performed in order to assess the efficiency of the stirrer with a salt water load.Such a device can generate a significant liquid motion with both controlled flow patterns and adjustable amplitude.Based on the magnetohydrodynamic theory,numerical modeling of the salt water flow generated by the stirrer confirms its feasibility.

Is Model Parameter Error Related to a Significant Spring Predictability Barrier for El Nio events? Results from a Theoretical Model

Within a theoretical ENSO model, the authors investigated whether or not the errors superimposed on model parameters could cause a significant ＂spring predictability barrier＂ （SPB） for El Nio events. First, sensitivity experiments were respectively performed to the air-sea coupling parameter, α and the thermocline effect coefficient μ. The results showed that the uncertainties superimposed on each of the two parameters did not exhibit an obvious season-dependent evolution; furthermore, the uncertainties caused a very small prediction error and consequently failed to yield a significant SPB. Subsequently, the conditional nonlinear optimal perturbation （CNOP） approach was used to study the effect of the optimal mode （CNOP-P） of the uncertainties of the two parameters on the SPB and to demonstrate that the CNOP-P errors neither presented a unified season-dependent evolution for different El Nio events nor caused a large prediction error, and therefore did not cause a significant SPB. The parameter errors played only a trivial role in yielding a significant SPB. To further validate this conclusion, the authors investigated the effect of the optimal combined mode （i.e. CNOP error） of initial and model errors on SPB. The results illustrated that the CNOP errors tended to have a significant season-dependent evolution, with the largest error growth rate in the spring, and yielded a large prediction error, inducing a significant SPB. The inference, therefore, is that initial errors, rather than model parameter errors, may be the dominant source of uncertainties that cause a significant SPB for El Nio events. These results indicate that the ability to forecast ENSO could be greatly increased by improving the initialization of the forecast model.

Global static stability and its relation to gravity waves in the middle atmosphere

The global atmospheric static stability(N2)in the middle atmosphere and its relation to gravity waves(GWs)were investigated by using the temperature profiles measured by the Sounding of the Atmosphere using Broadband Emission Radiometry(SABER)instrument from 2002 to 2018.At low latitudes,a layer with enhanced N2 occurs at an altitude of^20 km and exhibits annual oscillations caused by tropopause inversion layers.Above an altitude of^70 km,enhanced N2 exhibits semiannual oscillations at low latitudes caused by the mesosphere inversion layers and annual oscillations at high latitudes resulting from the downward shift of the summer mesopause.The correlation coefficients between N2 and GW amplitudes can be larger than 0.8 at latitudes poleward of^40°N/S.This observation provides factual evidence that a large N2 supports large-amplitude GWs and indicates that N2 plays a dominant role in maintaining GWs at least at high latitudes of the middle atmosphere.This evidence also partially explains the previous results regarding the phase changes of annual oscillations of GWs at high latitudes.

Bankruptcy Prediction for Chinese Firms： Comparing Data Mining Tools With Logit Analysis

China＇s capital market is different from that of the US in economic, political, and socio-cultural ways. China＇s dynamic and fast growing economy for the past decade entails some structural changes and weaknesses and as a consequence, there are some business failures. We propose bankruptcy prediction models using Chinese firm data via several data mining tools and traditional logit analysis. We used Chinese firm data one year prior to bankruptcy and our results suggest that the financial variables developed by Altman （1968） and Ohlson （1980） perform reasonably well in determining business failures of Chinese firms, but the overall prediction rate is low compared with those of the US or other countries＇ studies. The reasons for this low prediction rate may be structural weaknesses resulting from China＇s fast growth and immature capital market.

Recent area and ice volume change of Kangwure Glacier in the middle of Himalayas

This paper calculated and evaluated the area and ice volume changes of Kangwure Glacier in Mt.Xixiabangma,middle of Himalayas in the past 3 decades,based on the field survey of glacier boundary position by differential GPS and glacier depth by Ground Penetrating Radar(GPR),together with the topographic map and remote sense data.The studied data showed that the Kangwure Glacier has experienced significant mass deficit since the 1970s,with 34.2%of area loss,48.2%ofice volume loss and 7.5 m of average thickness decrease.This result revealed that the ice volume loss of Himalayan glaciers was more serious than expected.Analysis of meteorological data from two weather stations in the region of Mt.Xixiabangma,shows that the air temperature of this region has risen from the middle of the 20th century to the beginning of the 21st century.Significant retreat of Himalayas glacier driven by climatic warming will have a remarkable impact on hydrology and ecosystem.

Historical trends of heavy metal contamination and their sources in lacustrine sediment from Xijiu Lake,Taihu Lake Catchment,China

Concentrations of Cd, Cr, Cu, Pb, Zn and Hg in Xijiu Lake sediment from the Taihu Lake catchment, China, were analyzed. Their contamination state was investigated based on the geoaccumulation index and enrichment factors. Statistical analysis was used to differentiate the anthropogenic versus natural sources of heavy metals （HMs）, and the anthropogenic accumulation fluxes were calculated to quantify anthropogenic contribution to HMs. The results indicated that the lake sediment had been heavily contaminated by Cd, enrichment of Zn and Hg was at a relatively high level, while that of Cu and Pb was in the lower-to-moderate level and Cr was in the low enrichment level. Sources of Cr in the sediment were mainly from natural inputs, while other metals, especially Cd, were predominantly derived from anthropogenic sources. In the past century, anthropogenic accumulation fluxes of Pb, Zn and Hg increased by 0.147.3 mg/（cm2-yr）, 2.4-398.1 mg/（cm2.yr）, and 3.7-110.3 ng/（m2.yr）, respectively, accounting for most inputs of HMs entering the sediment. The contamination state of HMs varied with industrial development of the catchment, which demonstrated that contamination started in the early 20th century, reached the maximal level between the mid-1970s and mid-1990s, and decreased a little after the implementation of constraints on high contamination industries, although the contamination of some HMs, such as Cd, Zn and Hg, is still at high levels.

Maternal intake restriction programs the energy metabolism, clock circadian regulator and m TOR signals in the skeletal muscles of goat offspring probably via the protein kinase A-cAMP-responsive element-binding proteins pathway

The biological mechanism by which maternal undernutrition increases the metabolic disorder risk of skeletal muscles in offspring is not fully understood.We hypothesize that maternal intake restriction influences metabolic signals in the skeletal muscles of offspring via a glucagon-mediated pathway.Twentyfour pregnant goats were assigned to the control group(100%of the nutrients requirement,n=12)and restricted group(60%of the control feed allowance from pregnant days 45 to 100,n=12).Blood and Longissimus thoracis muscle were sampled from dams(100 d of gestation),fetuses(100 d of gestation),and kids(90 d after birth)in each group.The data were analyzed using the linear MIXED model,with the multiple comparison method of SIDAK applied.Intake restriction reduced(P<0.05)the total blood protein of dams and fetuses.Maternal restriction decreased(P<0.05)the cAMP-responsive element-binding protein 1(CREB1),CREB-binding protein(CREBBP),protein kinase A(PKA),aryl hydrocarbon receptor nuclear translocator-like protein 1(BMAL1),protein kinase B(AKT1),mammalian target of rapamycin(mTOR),and regulatory-associated protein of mTOR(RPTOR)mRNA expression in the fetuses,and reduced(P<0.05)the CREBBP,nuclear receptor subfamily 1 group H member 3(NR1 H3),D-box binding PAR bZIP transcription factor(DBP)and PKA mRNA levels in the kids,but increased(P<0.05)the peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma coactivator 1 alpha(PGC1 A)and tuberous sclerosis 2(TSC2)mRNA levels in the fetuses.The mRNA expression of clock circadian regulator(CLOCK)and TSC2 genes was increased(P<0.05)in the restricted kids.The protein expression of total PKA and phosphorylated PKA in the restricted fetuses and kids were downregulated(P<0.05),and the protein expression of total mTOR and phosphorylated mTOR were reduced(P<0.05)in the restricted fetuses and kids.Maternal intake restriction regulated fat oxidation,protein synthesis,and circadian clock expression in the muscles of the offspring probably via the glucagon-mediated PKA-CREB pathway,which reveals a noteworthy molecular pathway that maternal undernutrition leads to metabolic adaptation of skeletal muscle in offspring.

The Enhancement of Selectivity and Activity for Two-Electron Oxygen Reduction Reaction by Tuned Oxygen Defects on Amorphous Hydroxide Catalysts

Amorphous catalysts,thanks to their uniquely coordinated unsaturated properties and abundance of defect sites,tend to possess higher activity and selectivity than their crystalline counterparts.In this work,we report a facile and general solventcontrolled precipitation method to prepare hybrids of graphene oxide(GO)supporting amorphous metal hydroxide[A-M(OH)_(x)/GO,M=Cu,Co,and Mn],which provides us with tangible materials to study the structure–performance relationship of various amorphous oxides.The systematic investigation of A-Cu(OH)_(2)/GO by coupling ex situ/in situ characteristic techniques with electrochemical studies reveals that electrocatalytic activity and selectivity toward a two-electron oxygen reduction reaction(ORR)is highly dependent on the coordinated Cu catalytic sites and the disordered structure of A-Cu(OH)_(2).In situ X-ray absorption near-edge structure(XANES)and density functional theory(DFT)calculation verify that the degree of OH*poisoning(ΔG0 OH*)tuned by three-OH-coordinated Cu sites in amorphous structures plays a crucial role in selective catalysis of ORR for H_(2)O_(2) production.The optimized A-Cu(OH)_(2)/GO shows superior activity and high selectivity(~95%)toward H_(2)O_(2),as demonstrated by a zinc–air battery capable of on-site H_(2)O_(2) production with a rate as high as 3401.5 mmol h^(−1) g^(−1).

Hydrothermal synthesis and characterization of NiS flower-like architectures

Under the influence of thiocyanate anions （SCN-） and cetyltrimethyl ammonium bromide （CTAB）, NiS flower-like architectures were successfully synthesized by a one-step hydrothermal method. The syn-thesized flower-like architectures, with a multilayered and highly ordered texture, have diameters of several micrometers. X-ray powder diffraction （XRD） shows that the NiS flower-like architectures are rhombohedral crystalline. On the basis of condition-dependent experiments, the diffusion-limited aggregation （DLA） model and cage effect were used to explain the growth process of rhombohedral crystalline NiS flower-like architectures. Magnetic measurements showed that the coercivity （He） of the as-obtained NiS flower-like architectures was 102.14 Oe.

Evaluating the biotoxicity of surface water in a grassy lake in North China

The biological toxicity of aquatic ecosystems should be considered when assessing the effects of toxicity on the water environment.The aim of this study was to identify the main pollutants in the Baiyangdian(BYD)and the factors that contribute to biological toxicity.We determined various physical and chemical indicators in the surface water of the BYD,including nutrients and heavy metals,and the biological toxicity.We also explored the sources of the main pollutants and how the pollutants contributed to toxicity in the lake,using correlation analysis and an index of the biological toxicity.The results showed that total nitrogen(TN),ammoniacal nitrogen(NH4^(+)-N),chromium(Cr),and zinc(Zn)were the main pollutants in the BYD surface water.The average concentration of Cr was 2.3 times greater than the Class V threshold,and the concentrations at about 65%of the sampling points,mainly those in the southern part of the BYD,exceeded the threshold standard.The average concentration of Zn was 1.25 times higher than the Class V threshold,with the concentrations of about 35%of the samples greater than the threshold concentration.The integrated toxicity of the surface water to luminescent bacteria ranged from 0.51%to 58%,and averaged 24.07%,which was within the range of moderate toxicity.The inhibition rates were high near Diantou(59%)and Duan(51.6%).The pollutant levels in the BYD tend to be related to the population density,with pollution mainly caused by sewage and domestic garbage,with little influence from local industries.Cr and TN were strongly correlated,but the biological toxicity was not correlated with any of the individual environmental indicators,which suggests that the toxicity in the surface water of the BYD reflected the combined effects of the environmental factors,rather than a single factor.The information from this study,about the main pollutants and the relationships between the physical and chemical properties of the surface water in the BYD,can be used to support plans for restoring the BYD.

Spatial distribution and pollution assessment of heavy metals in urban soils from southwest China

To identify the concentrations and sources of heavy metals, and to assess soil environmental quality, 63 soil samples were collected in Yibin City, Sichuan Province, China. Mean concentrations of As, Pb, Zn, and Cu were 10.55, 61.23, 138.88 and 56.35 mg/kg, respectively. As concentrations were comparable to background values, while Pb, Zn, and Cu concentrations were higher than their corresponding background values. Industrial areas exhibited the highest concentrations of As, Pb, Zn, and Cu, while the lowest concentrations occurred in parks. Statistical analysis was performed and two cluster groups of metals were identified with Pb, Zn, and Cu in one group and As in the other. Spatial distribution maps indicated that Pb, Zn, and Cu were mainly controlled by anthropogenic activities, whereas As could be mainly accounted for by soil parent materials. Pollution index values of As, Pb, Zn, and Cu varied in the range of 0.24-1.93, 0.66-7.24, 0.42-4.19, and 0.62-5.25, with mean values of 0.86, 1.98, 1.61, and 1.78, respectively. The integrated pollution index （IPI） values of these metals varied from 0.82 to 3.54, with a mean of 1.6 and more than 90% of soil samples were moderately or highly contaminated with heavy metals. The spatial distribution of IPI showed that newer urban areas displayed relatively lower heavy metal contamination in comparison with older urban areas.

Effects of annealing on luminescence efficiency of large-size YAG:Ce crystal grown by temperature gradient techniques

YAG：Ce crystal with a diameter of 110 mm is successfully grown by the temperature gradient technique （TGT）. The effects of annealing on the luminescence efficiency of YAG：Ce crystal are investigated, and the optimal annealing temperature and atmosphere are obtained. The mechanism of variation behavior of the luminescence efficiency of YAG：Ce under different annealing conditions is discussed and some details on the luminescence associated with color centers are analyzed.

A multicenter prospective study of next-generation sequencing-based newborn screening for monogenic genetic diseases in China

Background Newborn screening(NBS)is an important and successful public health program that helps improve the long-term clinical outcomes of newborns by providing early diagnosis and treatment of certain inborn diseases.The develop-ment of next-generation sequencing(NGS)technology provides new opportunities to expand current newborn screening methodologies.Methods We designed a a newborn genetic screening(NBGS)panel targeting 135 genes associated with 75 inborn disorders by multiplex PCR combined with NGS.With this panel,a large-scale,multicenter,prospective multidisease analysis was conducted on dried blood spot(DBS)profiles from 21,442 neonates nationwide.Results We presented the positive detection rate and carrier frequency of diseases and related variants in different regions;and 168(0.78%)positive cases were detected.Glucose-6-Phosphate Dehydrogenase deficiency(G6PDD)and phenylketonuria(PKU)had higher prevalence rates,which were significantly different in different regions.The positive detection of G6PD variants was quite common in south China,whereas PAH variants were most commonly identified in north China.In addi-tion,NBGS identified 3 cases with DUOX2 variants and one with SLC25A13 variants,which were normal in conventional NBS,but were confirmed later as abnormal in repeated biochemical testing after recall.Eighty percent of high-frequency gene carriers and 60%of high-frequency variant carriers had obvious regional differences.On the premise that there was no significant difference in birth weight and gestational age,the biochemical indicators of SLC22A5 c.1400C>G and ACADSB c.1165A>G carriers were significantly different from those of non-carriers.Conclusions We demonstrated that NBGS is an effective strategy to identify neonates affected with treatable diseases as a supplement to current NBS methods.Our data also showed that the prevalence of diseases has significant regional charac-teristics,which provides a theoretical basis for screening diseases in different regions.

Distribution of shrublands in relation to soil and climate in mid-subtropical China

Aims Understanding relationships between vegetation and environments is of importance for ecosystem restoration and management.However,information on how environments influence the floristic patterns of shrublands is lack,especially in the subtropical China.In this study,we explored how environments regulate species composition of shrublands at landscape scale in mid-subtropical China.Methods We investigated species composition and measured the climate and soil environments for 207 shrubland plots in mid-subtropical China(24°39′-30°08′N,108°47′-114°15′E).We applied a hierarchical cluster analysis and indicator species analysis based on the Bray-Curtis similarity index to identify the main shrubland types and employed principal coordinate analysis(PCoA)to explore the relationship between floristic composition and environment.Important Findings We identified four shrubland types occurring in different environmental conditions.Montane shrubland,dominated by species suitable for cool climates(e.g.Rhododendron simsii),were distributed in steep areas at comparatively high altitudes;foothill shrubland,dominated by mesophilous species(e.g.Loropetalum chinense),were distributed in low mountains and hills;pioneer shrubland,dominated by fast grow and short-life cycles species(e.g.Rhus chinensis),were distributed at low altitudes with dense population;and finally,limestone shrubland,dominated by calcicole plants(e.g.Coriaria nepalensis),were distributed in the extensive karst areas.Communities occurring in high pH soils were completely separated from those in low pH soils according to the hierarchical cluster analysis.PCoA ordination associated the four types with distinct edaphic and climatic gradients.Soil pH explained 63.3%of variation in PCoA,followed by soil depth and soil bulk density.

Unconditional secure two-way quantum dense key distribution

In this paper, we present a two-way quantum dense key distribution protocol. With double check modes, our scheme is secure regardless of the presence of noises. And with a quantum teleportation process, secret message can be encoded deterministically even if the quantum channel is highly lossy. Therefore, our scheme can be used in a realistic quantum channel regardless of the presence of noises and channel losses.