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The regulation mechanism of wetland plants in response to consecutive drought (D) and re-flooding (RT) events can be identified via nutrient responses. Nutrient responses of Carex schmidtii were tested using a simulation experiment with five treatments: D, wetting (W) and RT resulted in C. schmidtii being re-flooded after 30, 40 and 60 days of drought. D and RT treatments partly affected nutrient stoichiometry of C. schmidtii. Plant nutrient stoichiometry experienced a shift of adaption from drought to flooding and making part or full recoveries after RT with reference to D and W treatments. Plant P concentration had a negative relationship with N:K ratio. D and RT effects on plant trade-offs and scaling exponents of C. schmidtii were profound; the scaling exponent of P~N increased with initial re-flooding time, while that of K~N decreased. Although nutrient trade-offs in D gradually differed from W and RT over time, the nutrient trade-offs of RT recovered with reference to W. The D and RT were recorded to contribute to nutrient flexibility of C. schmidtii; however, strong internal stability of stoichiometric relationships effectively relieved changes in plant nutrient stoichiometry. The findings aid our understanding of nutrient responses of C. schmidtii to D and RT. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Author(s): B. Q. Lv [1, 2]; Z.-L. Feng [1, 2]; Q.-N. Xu [1, 2]; X. Gao [1, 2]; J.-Z. Ma [1, 2]; L.-Y. Kong [1, 2]; P. Richard [1, 2, [...]

Binary blends composed of 1,3-bis (3,4-dicyanophenoxy) benzene (3BOCN) and ionic liquids (ILs) with different molecular structures were prepared. The curing behavior of these 3BOCN/ILs blends were studied by thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and rheological analysis. The study suggested that the blends possessed a wide processing window and the structures of ILs (anion, cation and alkyl chain length at cation) had an effect on curing behavior. The 3BOCN/[EPy]BF4 resins were prepared at elevated temperature. IR spectra of the resins showed that there were triazine and isoindoline formed in curing process. The TGA and dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA) revealed that the resins have excellent thermal stability together with high storage modulus and high glass transition temperature (Tg). Dielectric properties, long term oxidative aging and water uptake measurements of the resins suggested the IL brought some unique properties to the resins. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 1929, H. Weyl proposed that the massless solution of the Dirac equation represents a pair of a new type of particles, the so-called Weyl fermions. However, their existence in particle physics remains elusive after more than eight decades. Recently, significant advances in both topological insulators and topological semimetals have provided an alternative way to realize Weyl fermions in condensed matter, as an emergent phenomenon: when two non-degenerate bands in the three-dimensional momentum space cross in the vicinity of the Fermi energy (called Weyl nodes), the low-energy excitations behave exactly as Weyl fermions. Here we report the direct observation in TaAs of the long-sought-after Weyl nodes by performing bulk-sensitive soft X-ray angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy measurements. The projected locations at the nodes on the (001) surface match well to the Fermi arcs, providing undisputable experimental evidence for the existence of Weyl fermionic quasiparticles in TaAs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

(1) Sphagnum is an important genus of bryophytes holding 10-15 % of the terrestrial carbon stock. With climate change a drier surface may increase the abundance of vascular plants on peatlands, so shading of Sphagnum may increase. Here we describe growth cabinet experiments to reveal the effects of shading on interactions among mixtures of three species: S. capillifolium, S. palustre (hummock species), and S. fallax (a hollow species). We measured the six traits: growth in length, growth as increase in dry mass, side-shoot production, nitrogen and carbon proportion of the capitulum dry mass, and C:N ratio in the capitulum. (2) Shading had no effect on biomass production or side-shoot production but increased height increment in all three species. It also increased the C and N proportions of total dry mass but decreased C:N ratio in the capitula. (3) Neighbours of a different species reduced biomass and side-shoot production in the two hummock species but had no effect on the hollow species. (4) All three species showed interaction between shading and neighbour in two or more plant traits. S. fallax showed competitive advantage over S. palustre in no-shading treatments and over S. capillifolium in moderate shading treatments. In addition, under deep shading, S. fallax showed a competitive advantage over both hummock species. A clear competitive hierarchy S. fallax>S. capillifolium>S. palustre emerged which was consistent with the hierarchy of side-shoot production. (5) The results suggest that all the species appear to tolerate deep shade (for a few months at least). In a shaded environment, especially under deeply shaded conditions, S. fallax retains its dominance in hollow habitats (if water availability is guaranteed) by virtue of its advantage in side-shoot production. (6) If shading increases then the abundance of different Sphagnum species is likely to change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article has been retracted by the publisher.

A study was conducted to compare growth and survival of Hucho taimen larvae from 21 to 76 days after hatch ( DAH) fed one of three diets: formulated feed alone (group F); a co-feeding diet of water fleas, tubifex and formulated feed (group C); or live food of water fleas and tubifex (group L), and to investigate the potential use of dietary L-alanyl-L-glutamine (L- AG) in larval taimen for a more nutritious starter diet. Triplicate groups of 5000 fish were randomly assigned to each aquarium provided with water from a flow-through system, and fed to apparent satiation. The results show that larvae can feed efficiently on floating crumbled particles of formulated feed. Weight gain of larvae fed only formulated feed was significantly lower than other groups at 34 DAH (P < 0.05). At the end of the experiment, weight gain reached the highest value in group F and was lowest in group L (P < 0.05). Condition factor reached the highest values in group F and lowest in group C (P < 0.05). Specific growth rate was in accordance with weight gain at 76 DAH. Survival showed no differences among the groups (P > 0.05). In conclusion, H. taimen larvae can be fed formulated feed alone and L- AG may be used as a feeding attractant during the weaning process, which should lead to a better understanding in the rearing improvement in the feeding of larvae. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The electronic structure of the iron-based superconductor Ba2Ti2Fe2As4O (Tonsetc = 23.5 K) has been investigated by using angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy and combined local density approximation and dynamical mean field theory calculations. The electronic states near the Fermi level are dominated by both the Fe 3d and Ti 3d orbitals, indicating that the spacer layers separating different FeAs layers are also metallic. By counting the enclosed volumes of the Fermi surface sheets, we observe a large self-doping effect; i.e., 0.25 electrons per unit cell are transferred from the FeAs layer to the Ti2As2O layer, leaving the FeAs layer in a hole-doped state. This exotic behavior is successfully reproduced by our dynamical mean field calculations, in which the self-doping effect is attributed to the electronic correlations in the 3d shells. Our work provides an alternative route of effective doping without element substitution for iron-based superconductors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on direct measurements of half-hourly canopy evapotranspiration (ET; Wm-2) using the eddy covariance (EC) system and daily soil evaporation (E; mmday-1) using microlysimeters over a crop ecosystem in arid northwestern China from 27 May to 14 September in 2013, a Bayesian method was used to simultaneously parameterize the soil surface and canopy resistances in the Shuttleworth-Wallace (S-W) model. Four of the six parameters showed relatively larger uncertainty reductions (> 50 %), and their posterior distributions became approximately symmetric with distinctive modes. There was a moderately good agreement between measured and simulated values of halfhourly ET and daily E with a linear regression being y = 0.84x +0.18(R² = 0.83) and y = 1.01x +0.01(R² = 0.82), respectively. The causes of underestimations of ET by the S-W model was possibly attributed to the microscale advection, which can contribute an added energy in the form of downward sensible heat fluxes to the ET process. Therefore, the advection process should be taken into account in simulating ET in heterogeneous land surfaces. Also, underestimations were observed on or shortly after rainy days, which may be due to direct evaporation of liquid water intercepted in the canopy. Thus, the canopy interception model should be coupled to the S-W model in the long-term ET simulation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ground-based Multi-Axis Differential Optical Absorption Spectroscopy (MAX-DOAS) measurements of nitrous acid (HONO) and its precursor NO2 (nitrogen dioxide) as well as aerosols have been performed daily in Beijing city centre (39.98° N, 116.38° E) from July 2008 to April 2009 and at the suburban site of Xianghe (39.75° N, 116.96° E) located ~60 km east of Beijing from March 2010 to December 2012. This extensive dataset allowed for the first time the investigation of the seasonal cycle of HONO as well as its diurnal variation in and in the vicinity of a megacity. Our study was focused on the HONO and NO2 near-surface concentrations (0-200m layer) and total vertical column densities (VCDs) and also aerosol optical depths (AODs) and extinction coefficients retrieved by applying the Optimal Estimation Method to the MAX-DOAS observations. Monthly averaged HONO near-surface concentrations at local noon display a strong seasonal cycle with a maximum in late fall/winter (~0.8 and 0.7 ppb at Beijing and Xianghe, respectively) and a minimum in summer (~0.1 ppb at Beijing and 0.03 ppb at Xianghe). The seasonal cycles of HONO and NO2 appear to be highly correlated, with correlation coefficients in the 0.7-0.9 and 0.5-0.8 ranges at Beijing and Xianghe, respectively. The stronger correlation of HONO with NO2 and also with aerosols observed in Beijing suggests possibly larger role of NO2 conversion into HONO in the Beijing city center than at Xianghe. The observed diurnal cycle of HONO near-surface concentration shows a maximum in the early morning (about 1 ppb at both sites) likely resulting from night-time accumulation, followed by a decrease to values of about 0.1-0.4 ppb around local noon. The HONO/NO2 ratio shows a similar pattern with a maximum in the early morning (values up to 0.08) and a decrease to ~0.01-0.02 around local noon. The seasonal and diurnal cycles of the HONO near-surface concentration are found to be similar in shape and in relative amplitude to the corresponding cycles of the HONO total VCD and are therefore likely driven mainly by the balance between HONO sources and the photolytic sink, whereas dilution effects appear to play only a minor role. The estimation of OH radical production from HONO and O3 photolysis based on retrieved HONO near-surface concentrations and calculated photolysis rates indicate that in the 0-200m altitude range, HONO is by far the largest source of OH radicals in winter as well as in the early morning at all seasons, while the contribution of O3 dominates in summer from mid-morning until mid-afternoon. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As part of the Tibet Ozone, Aerosol and Radiation (TOAR) project, a micropulse lidar was operated in Naqu (31.5°N, 92.1°E; 4508 m MSL) on the Tibetan Plateau to observe cirrus clouds continuously from 19 July to 26 August 2011. During the experiment, the time coverage of ice clouds only was 15% in the upper troposphere (above 9.5 km MSL). The cirrus top/bottom altitudes (mean values of 15.6/14.7 km) are comparable to those measured previously at tropical sites but relatively higher than those measured at midlatitude sites. The majority of the cloud layers yielded a lidar ratio between 10 and 40 sr, with a mean value of 28 ± 15 sr, characterized by a bimodal frequency distribution. Subvisible, thin, and opaque cirrus formation was observed in 16%, 34%, and 50% of all cirrus cases, respectively. A mean cirrus optical depth of 0.33 was observed over the Tibetan Plateau, slightly higher than those in the subtropics and tropics. With decreasing temperature, the lidar ratio increased slightly, whereas the mean extinction coefficient decreased significantly. The occurrence of clouds is highly correlated with the outgoing longwave radiation and the strong cold perturbations in the upper troposphere. Deep convective activity and Rossby waves are important dynamical processes that control cirrus variations over the Tibetan Plateau, where both anvil cirrus outflowing from convective cumulonimbus clouds and large-scale strong cold perturbations in the upper troposphere should play an important role in cirrus formation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ground-based measurements of scattered sunlight by the Multi Axis Differential Optical Absorption Spectroscopy (MAX-DOAS) have been carried out at an urban site (39.95° N, 116.32° E) in Beijing megacity since 6 August 2008. In this study, we retrieved the tropospheric NO2 vertical column densities (VCDs) over Beijing from these MAX-DOAS observations from August 2008 to September 2011. Over this period, the daytime (08:00-17:00 Beijing Time (BJT, which equals UTC+8)) mean tropospheric NO2 VCDs varied from 0.5 to 13.3 with an average of 3.6 during summertime, and from 0.2 to 16.8 with an average of 5.8 during wintertime, all in units of 1016 molecules cm-2. The average diurnal variation patterns of tropospheric NO2 over Beijing appeared to be rather different from one season to another, indicating differences in the emission strength and atmospheric lifetime. In contrast to previous studies, we find a small weekly cycle of the tropospheric NO2 VCD over Beijing. The NO2 VCD in the late afternoon was the largest on Saturday and the lowest on Sunday, and in the morning it reached a clear maximum onWednesday.We also find a post-Olympic Games effect, with 39-54% decrease in the tropospheric NO2 VCD over Beijing estimated for August of 2008, compared to the following years. The tropospheric NO2 VCDs derived by our ground MAX-DOAS measurements show a good correlation with SCIAMACHY and OMI satellite data. However, compared with the MAXDOAS measurements, the satellite observations underestimate the tropospheric NO2 VCDs over Beijing systematically, by 43% for SCIAMACHY and 26-38% for OMI (DOMINO v2.0 and DOMINO v1.02). Based on radiative transfer simulations, we show that the aerosol shielding effect can explain this underestimation, while the gradient smoothing effect caused by the coarse spatial resolution of the satellite observations could play an additional role. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ground-based measurements of scattered sunlight by the Multi Axis Differential Optical Absorption Spectroscopy (MAX-DOAS) have been carried out at an urban site (39.95° N, 116.32° E) in Beijing megacity since 6 August 2008. In this study, we retrieved the tropospheric NO2 vertical column densities (VCDs) over Beijing from these MAX-DOAS observations from August 2008 to September 2011. Over such period, the daytime (08:00-17:00 h Beijing Time) mean tropospheric NO2 VCDs varied from 0.5 to 13.3 with an average of 3.6 during summertime, and from 0.2 to 16.8 with an average of 5.8 during wintertime, all in units of 1016 moleculescm-2 . The average diurnal variation patterns of tropospheric NO2 over Beijing appeared to be rather different from one season to another, indicating differences in the mixing layer height, the atmospheric lifetime and the emission patterns. In contrast to previous studies, we find a small weekly cycle of the tropospheric NO2 VCD over Beijing. The NO2 VCD in the late afternoon was the largest on Saturday and the lowest on Sunday, and in the morning it reached a clear maximum on Wednesday. We also find a post Olympic Games effect, with 39-54% decrease in the tropospheric NO2 VCD over Beijing estimated for August of 2008, compared to the following years. The tropospheric NO2 VCDs derived by our ground MAX-DOAS measurements show a good correlation with SCIAMACHY and OMI satellite data. However, compared with the MAX-DOAS measurements, the satellite observations underestimate the tropospheric NO2 VCDs over Beijing systematically, by 43% for SCIAMACHY and 26-38% for OMI (DOMINO v2.0 and DOMINO v1.02). Based on radiative transfer simulations, we show that the aerosol shielding effect can explain this underestimation, while the gradient smoothing effect caused by the coarse spatial resolution of the satellite observations could play an additional role. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the past decades, regional air pollution characterized by photochemical smog and grey haze-fog has become a severe environmental problem in China. To investigate this, a field measurement campaign was performed in the Huabei region, located between 32-42° N latitude in eastern China, during the period 2 April-16 May 2006 as part of the project "Influence of Pollution on Aerosols and Cloud Microphysics in North China" (IPAC-NC). It appeared that strong pollution emissions from urban and industrial centers tend to accumulate in the lower atmosphere over the central area of Huabei. We observed widespread, very high SO2 mixing ratios, about 20-40 ppbv at 0.5-1.5 km altitude and 10-30 ppbv at 1.5-3.0 km altitude. Average CO mixing ratios were 0.65-0.7 ppmv at 0.5-1.5 km altitude, and very high CO around 1 ppmv was observed during some flights, and even higher levels at the surface. We find the high pollution concentrations to be associated with enhanced levels of OH and HO2 radicals, calculated with a chemical box model constrained by the measurements. In the upper part of the boundary layer and in the lower free troposphere, high CO and SO2 compete with relatively less NO2 in reacting with OH, being efficiently recycled through HO2, preventing a net loss of HOx radicals. In addition to reactive hydrocarbons and CO, the oxidation of SO2 causes significant ozone production over Huabei (up to ∼13% or 2.0 ppbv h-1 at 0.8 km altitude). Our results indicate that the lower atmosphere over Huabei is not only strongly polluted but also acts as an oxidation pool, with pollutants undergoing very active photochemistry over this part of China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Huabei, located between 32° N and 42° N, is part of eastern China and includes administratively the Beijing and Tianjin Municipalities, Hebei and Shanxi Provinces, and Inner-Mongolia Autonomous Region. Over the past decades, the region has experienced dramatic changes in air quality and climate, and has become a major focus of environmental research in China. Here we present a new inventory of air pollutant emissions in Huabei for the year 2003 developed as part of the project Influence of Pollution on Aerosols and Cloud Microphysics in North China (IPAC-NC). Our estimates are based on data from the statistical yearbooks of the state, provinces and local districts, including major sectors and activities of power generation, industrial energy consumption, industrial processing, civil energy consumption, crop straw burning, oil and solvent evaporation, manure, and motor vehicles. The emission factors are selected from a variety of literature and those from local measurements in China are used whenever available. The estimated total emissions in the Huabei administrative region in 2003 are 4.73 Tg SO2, 2.72 Tg NOx (in equivalent NO2), 1.77 Tg VOC, 24.14 Tg CO, 2.03 Tg NH3, 4.57 Tg PM10, 2.42 Tg PM2.5, 0.21 Tg EC, and 0.46 Tg OC. For model convenience, we consider a larger Huabei region with Shandong, Henan and Liaoning Provinces included in our inventory. The estimated total emissions in the larger Huabei region in 2003 are: 9.55 Tg SO2, 5.27 Tg NOx (in equivalent NO2), 3.82 Tg VOC, 46.59 Tg CO, 5.36 Tg NH3, 10.74 Tg PM10, 5.62 Tg PM2.5, 0.41 Tg EC, and 0.99 Tg OC. The estimated emission rates are projected into grid cells at a horizontal resolution of 0.1° latitude by 0.1° longitude. Our gridded emission inventory consists of area sources, which are classified into industrial, civil, traffic, and straw burning sectors, and large industrial point sources, which include 345 sets of power plants, iron and steel plants, cement plants, and chemical plants. The estimated regional NO2 emissions are about 2-3% (administrative Huabei region) or 5% (larger Huabei region) of the global anthropogenic NO2 emissions. We compare our inventory (IPAC-NC) with the global emission inventory EDGAR-CIRCE and the Asian emission inventory INTEXB. Except for a factor of 3 lower EC emission rate in comparison with INTEX-B, the biases of the total emissions of most primary air pollutants in Huabei estimated in our inventory, with respect to EDGAR-CIRCE and INTEX-B, generally range from -30% to +40 %. Large differences up to a factor of 2-3 for local emissions in some areas (e.g. Beijing and Tianjin) are found. It is recommended that the inventories based on the activity rates and emission factors for each specific year should be applied in future modeling work related to the changes in air quality and atmospheric chemistry over this region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sea-land and mount-valley circulations are the dominant mesoscale synoptic systems affecting the Beijing area during summertime. Under the influence of these two circulations, the prevailing wind is southwesterly from afternoon to midnight, and then changes to northeasterly till forenoon. In this study, surface ozone (O3), carbon monoxide (CO), nitric oxide (NO), nitrogen dioxide (NO2), nitrogen oxide (NOx) and non-methane hydrocarbons (NMHCs) were measured at four sites located along the route of prevailing wind, including two upwind urban sites (Fengtai "FT" and Baolian "BL"), an upwind suburban site (Shunyi "SY") and a downwind rural site (Shangdianzi "SDZ") during 20 June--16 September 2007. The purpose is to improve our understanding of ozone photochemistry in urban and rural areas of Beijing and the influence of urban plumes on ozone pollution in downwind rural areas. It is found that ozone pollution was synchronism in the urban and rural areas of Beijing, coinciding with the regional-scale synoptic processes. Due to the high traffic density and local emissions, the average levels of reactive gases NOx and NMHCs at the non-rural sites were much higher than those at SDZ. The level of long-lived gas CO at SDZ was comparable to, though slightly lower than, at the urban sites. We estimate the photochemical reactivity (LOH) and the ozone formation potential (OFP) in the urban (BL) and rural (SDZ) areas using measured CO and NMHCs. The OH loss rate coefficient (LOH) by total NMHCs at the BL and SDZ sites are estimated to be 50.7 s-1 and 15.8 s-1, respectively. While alkenes make a major contribution to the LOH, aromatics dominate OFP at both urban and rural sites. With respect to the individual species, CO has the largest ozone formation potential at the rural site, and at the urban site aromatic species are the leading contributors. While the O3 diurnal variations at the four sites are typical for polluted areas, the ozone peak values are found to lag behind one site after another along the route of prevailing wind from SW to NE. Intersection analyses of trace gases reveal that polluted air masses arriving at SDZ were more aged with both higher O3 and Ox concentrations than those at BL. The results indicate that urban plume can transport not only O3 but its precursors, the latter leading more photochemical O3 production when being mixed with background atmosphere in the downwind rural area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the past decades, regional air pollution characterized by photochemical smog and grey haze-fog has become a severe environmental problem in China. To investigate this, a field measurement campaign was performed in the Huabei region, located between 32° -42° N latitude in Eastern China, during the period 2 April-16 May 2006 as part of the project "Influence of Pollution on Aerosols and Cloud Microphysics in North China" (IPAC-NC). It was found that strong pollution emissions from urban and industrial centers accumulate in the lower atmosphere over the core area of Huabei. We observed widespread, very high SO2 mixing ratios, about 20-40 ppbv at 0.5-1.5 km altitude and 10-30 ppbv at 1.5-3.0 km altitude. Average CO mixing ratios were 0.65-0.7 ppmv at 0.5-1.5 km altitude, and very high CO around 1 ppmv was observed during some flights, and even higher levels at the surface. The high pollution concentrations were associated with enhanced levels of OH and HO2 radicals, calculated with a chemical box model constrained by the measurements. The maximum OH concentration was 6.9 x 106 molecules cm-3 (~0.29 pptv) at an altitude of ~1 km, remarkably higher than 5.4 x 106 molecules cm-3 (~0.22 pptv) at the surface. In the upper part of the boundary layer and in the lower free troposphere, high CO and SO2 competed with relatively less NO2 in reacting with OH, being efficiently recycled through HO2, preventing a net loss of HOx radicals. In addition to reactive hydrocarbons and CO, the oxidation of SO2 caused significant ozone production over Huabei (up to ~13% or 2.0 ppbv h-1 at ~0.8 km). The enhanced OH increased the formation of condensable species by the oxidation of volatile precursor gases, adding to the high loadings of mineral dust particles. Our results indicate that the lower atmosphere over Huabei is not only strongly polluted but also acts as an oxidation pool over Eastern China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]