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Aims To investigate the effects of long-term acid mine drainage ( AMD) irrigation on the change in bacterial community and sulphate-reducing bacteria ( SRB) in a paddy soil. Methods and Results The bacterial community structures were investigated using 454 pyrosequencing, and 98 931 effective sequences were selected for the bacterial diversity analysis. The known dominant phyla in the paddy soil were Acidobacteria (33·5%), Proteobacteria (19·7%), Nitrospira (2·8%) and Actinobacteria (2·7%). Higher percentage of Acidobacteria than Proteobacteria was detected. The relative abundances of the dominant bacterial lineages were more significantly correlated with the soil pH, the organic matter and the sulphate than the heavy metals. The diversity of the SRB in the surface paddy soil showed that the uncultured SRB groups might play important roles in paddy soils. The other OTUs mainly belonged to six phylogenetic divisions: Desulfobacca, Desulfovibrio, Syntrophobacter, Desulforhopalus, Desulfarculus and Desulfobulbus. The distribution of the absolute abundance and the relative contribution of the SRB along the vertical soil profile were investigated by RT- PCR assays based on the dsrB gene. The abundance of the dsrB gene copy numbers was up to 1·92 × 109 copies g−1 dry soil, which is slightly higher than the other non- AMD-affected paddy soil. Conclusions This study demonstrated that the abundance of SRB is increased by the AMD irrigation while changing the composition and diversity of the bacterial community in the paddy soil. Significance and Impact of the Study This is, to our knowledge, the first attempt to characterize and quantify changes in the diversity and distribution of the microbial community and SRB in the long-term AMD-irrigated paddy soil, which will further increase our understanding of the impact of AMD on sulphur biogeochemical cycling in the paddy soil. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Coupling remote sensing data with crop models is an important way to predict crop yield on a regional scale. Here, we developed a method for wheat yield forecasting based on integrating a wheat growth model (WheatGrow) with a radiative transfer model (PROSAIL). Based on the assimilation algorithm, the PROSAIL model was joined to the coupling model, integrating the remote sensing (RS) and growth models. Wheat VIs (vegetation indices) from different growth periods, which were obtained by fusing high spatial resolution and high temporal resolution images, were used for coupling parameters. Moreover, a LUT (look-up table) was developed between VIs and the measured management parameters (sowing date, sowing rate and nitrogen rate) based on the coupling model. Management parameters including sowing date, sowing rate and nitrogen rate, which are difficult to accurately obtain, were then inverted at the regional scale. Reducing the uncertainty from the input parameters of the WheatGrow model, such as management parameters, improved the accuracy of regional-scale yield prediction. We also used measured data from different years and different ecological sites to determine the optimum coupling VI and coupling frequency based on the integration of RS and crop models. The results show that (1) the three-band VI R Nir /(R Red + R Green ) and the two-band VI SAVI (R Nir ,R Red ) are the best coupling VIs; (2) the heading or anthesis stage is the best coupling stage if only one RS image is available; (3) good prediction accuracy can be achieved if three to four high spatial and temporal resolution images from the late jointing to initial filling stages are assimilated. In the study areas, the spatial and temporal distribution of winter wheat growth and productivity parameters were well simulated. The RRMSE of leaf area index and leaf nitrogen accumulation between predicted and measured values were 17.8% and 20.3%, respectively, and the RRMSE of grain yield were less than 10%. The results of this study provide an important theoretical and technical foundation for monitoring and estimating winter wheat growth status on a regional scale and can be extended to other types of crops from varied ecological regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The universal function of proximity potential model is systematically studied from the double folding model with density-dependent nucleon–nucleon interaction (CDM3Y6) by analyzing several hundreds of fusion reaction systems with mass numbers from light nuclei to heavy nuclei. The analytical formula of universal function is obtained at by fitting all of the calculated values. Using this formula we calculate the Coulomb barrier heights for fusion reactions in comparison with the values of the experimental data and Prox77. It is shown that presently obtained universal function in proximity potential model can reproduce the Coulomb barrier heights. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Measures the photoluminescence spectra (PL) of coupled quantum wells at room temperature. Linear correlation of PL to the square of the laser intensity; Determination of the transition intensity, nonradiative decay time of the carriers, and PL quantum efficiency; Factors attributed to the linear dependence of PL on the laser intensity.

Measures the continuous-wave photoluminescence (PL) excitation spectra of multiple narrow-stepped quantum wells at room temperature. Comparison between PL and laser intensities; Factor attributing for the PL intensity; Derivation of the intensity-dependent trapping efficiency.

Examines the large blue shift of the heavy-hole photocurrent peak and optical bistability in narrow asymmetric coupled quantum wells. Measurement of the peak position maximum upward shift; Changes in the inhomogeneous linewidth of the heavy-hole peak; Occurrence of optical bistability with the external feedback.

A letter to the editor is presented regarding a medical case of a 36-year-old Chinese female with regional lymphomatoid papulosis (LyP) associated with pseudoepitheliomatous hyperplasia (PEH).

The angular distribution of 12 C + 12 C scattering at an incident energy of 100 A MeV has been measured. The elastic and inelastic scatterings in 12 C to the excitation energies of up to ∼ 45 MeV were measured simultaneously for the first time with the high-resolution Grand Raiden spectrometer at the Research Center for Nuclear Physics (RCNP). The angular distributions of the elastic scattering to the ground state ( 0 1 + ) and inelastic scattering to the 4.44 MeV ( 2 1 + ) excited state were precisely obtained in the angular range of 1.0°–7.5° with a step of 0.1°. Additionally, the angular distribution was obtained for the sum of the cross sections for excitation energies above the 4.44 MeV state up to 11 MeV, which includes the 7.65 MeV ( 0 2 + ), 9.64 MeV ( 3 1 − ), and 10.30 MeV ( 2 2 + ) states, in addition to probably the simultaneous excitation of the 4.44 MeV state in the projectile and the target nuclei. Those combined data provide a means to study the effects of channel coupling on the elastic cross section. The observed angular distributions are compared with theoretical calculations based on three double-folding models with complex G-matrix interactions, the CEG07b, MPa, and ESC models. The importance of three-body repulsive forces included in the CEG07b and MPa models will be discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Four oil component-degrading bacteria and one oil-tolerant microalgae, Scenedesmus obliquus GH2, were used to construct an artificial microalgal-bacterial consortium for crude-oil degradation. The bacterial strains included Sphingomonas GY2B and Burkholderia cepacia GS3C, along with a mixed culture, named GP3, containing Pseudomonas GP3A and Pandoraea pnomenusa GP3B. GY2B could only degrade polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, GS3C was able to degrade aliphatic chain hydrocarbons, and GP3 could utilize both saturated and aromatic hydrocarbons. In combination with unialgal or axenic algae, the bacteria showed different effects on oil degradation. Unialgal GH2 was not suitable for the consortium construction, as it could not cooperate well with GS3C and GP3. The axenic GH2 exhibited no oil-degrading ability; however, it significantly promoted the degradation ability of the oil component-degrading bacteria, especially for degrading biorefractory polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. Axenic S. obliquus GH2, combined with the four bacteria mentioned above, formed an optimal algal-bacterial consortium. The artificial consortium demonstrated an elevated efficiency in degrading both aliphatic and aromatic hydrocarbons of crude oil. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]