Elevated CO2 facilitates C and N accumulation in a rice paddy ecosystem

Elevated CO2 can stimulate wetland carbon(C) and nitrogen(N) exports through gaseous and dissolved pathways, however, the consequent influences on the C and N pools are still not fully known. Therefore, we set up a free-air CO2 enrichment experiment in a paddy field in Eastern China. After five year fumigation, we studied C and N in the plant–water–soil system. The results showed:(1) elevated CO2 stimulated rice aboveground biomass and N accumulations by 19.1% and 12.5%, respectively.(2) Elevated CO2 significantly increased paddy soil TOC and TN contents by 12.5% and 15.5%, respectively in the 0–15 cm layer, and22.7% and 26.0% in the 15–30 cm soil layer.(3) Averaged across the rice growing period,elevated CO2 greatly increased TOC and TN contents in the surface water by 7.6% and 11.4%,respectively.(4) The TOC/TN ratio and natural δ15N value in the surface soil showed a decreasing trend under elevated CO2. The above results indicate that elevated CO2 can benefit C and N accumulation in paddy fields. Given the similarity between the paddies and natural wetlands, our results also suggest a great potential for long-term C and N accumulation in natural wetlands under future climate patterns.     

Contrasting responses of seed yield to elevated carbon dioxide under field conditions within Phaseolus vulgaris

The rising concentration of carbon dioxide [CO₂] in the atmosphere represents an increase in a growth-limiting resource for C₃ crop species. Identification of lines or characteristics of lines which have superior yield at elevated [CO₂] could aid in adaptation to this global change. While intraspecific variation in responses to elevated [CO₂] has been found in several species, intraspecific differences in crop yield responses to elevated [CO₂] under field conditions have seldom been documented. In this 4-year study, the responses of photosynthesis, growth, pod number, seed number and size, and seed yield to the elevation of [CO₂] to 180 μmol mol⁻¹ above the current ambient concentration were examined in four varieties of Phaseolus vulgaris in the field, using open-top chambers. There was a significant variety by [CO₂] interaction for seed yield, with seed yield at elevated [CO₂] ranging from 0.89 to 1.39 times that at ambient [CO₂] (mean 1.17×) in the different varieties, when averaged over 4 years. The highest yielding variety at elevated [CO₂] was not the highest yielding variety at ambient [CO₂]. The varieties with the largest and smallest yield responses both had an indeterminate growth habit. Down-regulation of photosynthesis at elevated [CO₂] only occurred in the two indeterminate varieties, and there was no significant correlation between the response of single leaf photosynthetic rate and the response of seed yield to elevated [CO₂] among varieties, nor between the responses of stem mass and seed yield. The change in the number of pods at elevated [CO₂] was the primary determinant of the response of seed yield. These results indicate that significant variation in the response of seed yield to elevated [CO₂] under field conditions does exist among varieties of P. vulgaris, and that variation in the response of pod and seed number may be more important than variation in photosynthetic response.     

Prenatal diagnosis of de novo (7;19)(q11.2;q13.3) translocation associated with a thick corpus callosum and Wilms tumor of the kidneys

We present a case of prenatal diagnosis of a de novo (7;19)(q11.2;q13.3) translocation associated with ultrasound features, including enlarged cisterna magna, normal vermis, thick corpus callosum, micrognathia, small and low-set ears and right hyperechogenic kidney. Karyotyping was performed at 24 weeks of gestation. Termination of pregnancy was accepted at the parents' request. Postmortem examination confirmed the prenatal findings, but revealed bilateral Wilms tumors of the kidneys. Parental karyotype was normal. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

草酸对Cr胁迫下李氏禾解毒性能的影响

结合因子分析方法分析了草酸对Cr胁迫下李氏禾解毒性能的影响。研究过氧化氢酶(CAT)、可溶性糖、生长指标的变化情况,并运用因子分析方法筛选出最能表征李氏禾生长特性的指标,进而较科学的研究外源草酸对Cr胁迫下李氏禾解毒性能的影响。Cr质量浓度为0、200、400 mg/kg的土壤中,适当浓度草酸对李氏禾CAT影响表现出极显著差异(P0.01);当土壤中Cr质量浓度200 mg/kg,草酸质量浓度为80、120 mg/kg时,可溶性糖浓度分别比本组对照降低了23.59%、32.65%;株高可作为关键因子的关键变量。外源草酸可以增强李氏禾对Cr的解毒性能且与草酸浓度有关,因子分析方法可以应用于李氏禾研究中。     

丙二酸二(2-(2,3-二羟基苯甲酰胺)乙基)酯的合成与螯合性能研究

用2,3-二羟基苯甲酸经羟基保护、酰胺化、酯化和去保护4步反应,生成一种新型的四齿丙二酸二(2-(2,3-二羟基苯甲酰胺)乙基)酯配体.采用傅里叶变换红外光谱(FT-IR)、紫外-可见光谱(UV-Vis)、核磁共振氢谱(1H NMR)、核磁共振碳谱(13C NMR)和质谱(MS)对其结构进行了表征.在中性pH值条件下,研究了这种配体对铀酰离子的络合能力.结果表明,丙二酸二(2-(2,3-二羟基苯甲酰胺)乙基)酯配体与铀酰离子的螯合常数为23.2.     

长株潭城市环境空气中PM2.5和O3质量浓度的相关性研究

PM2.5与O3均为导致城市环境空气质量恶化的主要污染物,采用自动设备监测湖南省长沙、株洲、湘潭3市商业区和郊区空气中的PM2.5和O3质量浓度,并对数据进行相关性分析.结果表明:PM2.5和O3质量浓度的季节性变化大,其中O3质量浓度夏、秋2季高,春、冬2季低;PM2.5则秋、冬2季高,春、夏2季低;O3质量浓度峰值一般出现在当天午后,PM2.5质量浓度峰值一般出现在上午;空间分布上,O3质量浓度在郊区站点相对较高,而PM2.5质量浓度在商业区站点较高.PM2.5与O3质量浓度变化以负相关为主,即PM2.5质量浓度高时,O3质量浓度则低,反之亦然,二者一般不产生叠加污染.总体上,夏、秋季节应主要防O3污染,春、冬季节则主要防PM25污染.     

NaOH溶液吸收CO2的试验研究

为了满足国际海事组织对船舶CO2排放的要求,建立了一种针对船舶尾气CO2的循环吸收系统,利用NaOH溶液吸收CO2.NaOH溶液完成第一步吸收反应后在第二步反应中被还原,从而可以循环利用.分析了初始反应温度、NaOH浓度及溶液中的Na2CO3对CO2吸收率的影响,并计算了循环反应中NaOH的再生率和CaO的过量系数.结果表明,CaO过量系数为1.2时对CO2固化效果最佳,此时NaOH溶液再生率达79.31％.研究表明,NaOH溶液吸收船舶尾气中CO2的循环系统效率高、成本低.     

The Real-World Safety Potential of Connected Vehicle Technology

Objective: This article estimates the safety potential of a current commercially available connected vehicle technology in real-world crashes.

Method: Data from the Centre for Automotive Safety Research's at-scene in-depth crash investigations in South Australia were used to simulate the circumstances of real-world crashes. A total of 89 crashes were selected for inclusion in the study. The crashes were selected as representative of the most prevalent crash types for injury or fatal crashes and had potential to be mitigated by connected vehicle technology. The trajectory, speeds, braking, and impact configuration of the selected in-depth cases were replicated in a software package and converted to a file format allowing “replay” of the scenario in real time as input to 2 Cohda Wireless MK2 onboard units. The Cohda Wireless onboard units are a mature connected vehicle technology that has been used in both the German simTD field trial and the U.S. Department of Transport's Safety Pilot project and have been tuned for low false alarm rates when used in the real world. The crash replay was achieved by replacing each of the onboard unit Global Positioning System (GPS) inputs with the simulated data of each of the involved vehicles. The time at which the Cohda Wireless threat detection software issued an elevated warning was used to calculate a new impact speed using 3 different reaction scenarios and 2 levels of braking.

Results: It was found that between 37 and 86% of the simulated crashes could be avoided, with highest percentage due a fully autonomous system braking at 0.7 g. The same system also reduced the impact speed relative to the actual crash in all cases. Even when a human reaction time of 1.2 s and moderate braking of 0.4 g was assumed, the impact speed was reduced in 78% of the crashes. Crash types that proved difficult for the threat detection engine were head-on crashes where the approach angle was low and right turn–opposite crashes.

Conclusions: These results indicate that connected vehicle technology can be greatly beneficial in real-world crash scenarios and that this benefit would be maximized by having the vehicle intervene autonomously with heavy braking. The crash types that proved difficult for the connected vehicle technology could be better addressed if controller area network (CAN) information is available, such as steering wheel angle, so that driver intent can be inferred sooner. More accurate positioning in the real world (e.g., combining satellite positioning and accelerometer data) would allow the technology to be more effective for near-collinear head-on and rear-end crashes, because the low approach angles that are common in such crashes are currently ignored in order to minimize false alarms due to positioning uncertainty.