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The Tibetan Plateau (TP) is the highest plateau in the world and has complex topography. On the TP, seasonal snow cover is widespread in different topographic areas, but the influence of topography on snow cover simulations is often ignored in most land surface models. In this study, the relationships among the snow cover fraction (SCF) and complex topography are investigated over the TP based on satellite observations. The standard deviation of topography is used as an index to describe the topographic complexity. We conduct 12 numerical experiments using the Simplified Simple Biosphere Model version 3 (SSiB3) to investigate the influence of topography on the snow cover simulations. Our results show that ignoring topography leads to significant SCF simulation biases. By adding a topographic factor to the original scheme, the SCF simulations are greatly improved. Compared with the simulation results of the default SCF scheme, the annual mean SCF bias at location at CMA stations is reduced from 3.833% to -0.097% by adding a topographic factor. The improved SCF simulations further lead to reduced biases in winter surface albedo and land surface temperature simulations. Compared with in situ observations, the winter surface albedo bias over the TP is reduced from 0.02 to 0.007 compared with GLASS albedo data, and the winter land surface temperature bias is reduced from -3.43 K to -3.04 K. This study highlights the importance of the topographic effect in simulating snow and energy exchanges between the land and atmosphere over the TP, and it can contribute to reducing the “cold bias” in winter climate simulations over the TP.

Environmental health incidents have occurred frequently in recent years; in China, however, litigation has not been effective in protecting the rights and interests of victims due to their heavy burden of proof. In order to mitigate the burden of proof for victims, the environmental judicature in China introduced the rule of inversion of burden of proof; this means that the victim only assumes the preliminary burden of proof, but in practice it has not been sufficient. Victims in environmental health litigation still face many difficulties in proving causality. Based on the statistical analysis of judicial big data, this paper demonstrates three dilemmas faced by victims. First, the preliminary burden of proof of causality has a high standard. Second, the victim's ability to produce evidence is low. Third, the casual relationship between pollution behaviors and health damage is difficult to identify. When examining the possible legal instruments, there are three aspects to the causes of these dilemmas: theory, judicial practice, and society. The theoretical aspect manifests as the differences between the rule of inversion of burden of proof and the presumption of causality; the practical aspect manifests as the lack of an identification system for personal injury; and the social aspect manifests as the victim's lack of economic, scientific, technological, and information resources, as well as the absence of assistance from government sectors and social organizations. Combining Chinese law with judicial practice, this paper proposes a solution to the dilemma of victims needing to prove causality in environmental health litigation. On the basis of clarifying the theoretical differences between the inversion of burden of proof and the presumption of causality, China should adhere to the rule of inversion of burden of proof, establish an identification system for personal injuries caused by environmental pollution, and use methods such as epidemiological causality, indirect counterevidence, and prima facie bewies. Furthermore, the full functions of the government and social organizations must be brought into play. This will not only help victims demonstrate causality, it can also help victims achieve equitable relief.

Background: Lower limb sensory disturbance presentation can be a false localizing cervical cord compressive myelopathy (CSM). It may lead to delayed or missed diagnosis, resulting in the wrong management plan, especially in the presence of concurrent lumbar lesions.Case presentation:Three Asian patients with lower limb sensory disturbances presentation were treated ineffectively in the lumbar. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) showed cervical disc herniation and cervical level spinal cord compression. Anterior cervical discectomy surgery and zero-p interbody fusion were performed. After operations, imagings showed that the spinal cord compression were relieved, and the lower limbs sensory disturbances were also relieved. Three-months follow-up after operation showed good recovery.Conclusions:These three cervical cord compression cases of lower limb sensory disturbance presentation were easily misdiagnosed with lumbar spondylosis. Anterior cervical discectomy and fusion operation had a good therapeutic effect. Therefore, cases that present with lower limb sensory disturbance, but in a non-radicular classical pattern, should always alert a suspicion of a possible cord compression cause at a higher level.

Objective Synovitis is a joint disease that seriously affects patient quality of life, but there are currently no diagnostic markers. The albumin to fibrinogen ratio (AFR) and monocyte to lymphocyte ratio (MLR) are non-invasive and cost-effective markers for various systemic inflammatory diseases. However, these markers have not yet been investigated for synovitis. This cross-sectional study evaluated the predictive ability of AFR and MLR in patients with non-specific knee synovitis. Methods One hundred fifty-five patients with knee synovitis and 108 healthy control patients were enrolled. Patient characteristics, blood parameters, AFRs, and MLRs were assessed, and the diagnostic value of these factors was determined. Results Among 125 patients included, patients with synovitis had a lower AFR and higher MLR than control subjects. The diagnostic values of AFR and MLR were 0.86 and 0.84, respectively, and higher compared with other parameters by receiver operating characteristic curve assessments. Additionally, MLR was negatively correlated with AFR. Late-stage patients showed significantly lower AFRs and significantly higher MLRs than early-stage patients. Binary logistic regression analyses indicated that AFR was an independent predictor for synovitis severity. Conclusions The AFR and MLR had high diagnostic value for knee synovitis. The AFR was an independent predictor for synovitis severity.

Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), such as Huanglian-Jie-Du-Tang, a heat-clearing and detoxifying decoction is beneficial for alleviation of inflammation-related diseases. The objective of the present study is to uncover the effect and mechanism of heat-clearing, detoxifying and blood stasis removing decoction (HDBD) on the treatment of acute soft tissue injury (STI) which is characterized with excessive inflammatory cascade at the onset. Male Sprague–Dawley (SD) rats with hammer beating served as the in vivo models of acute STI. Hematoxylin–Eosin (HE) staining was used for histopathology assessment. The levels of inflammatory factors, including prostaglandin E2 (PGE2), tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), interleukin (IL)-1t and IL-6 were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Human dermal microvascular endothelium cell line HMEC-1 and rat vascular endothelium cell line RAOEC were used to explore the mechanism in vitro. Luciferase gene reporter assay was applied to determine the relationship between miR-26b-5p and Cyclo-oxygenase 2 (COX2). The results showed that HDBD intervention significantly reduced the temperature difference between the healthy side and affected side of rats with hammer beating, together with the decreased levels of COX2, PGE2, TNF-α, IL-6 and IL-1β, and the increased level of miR-26b-5p. In mechanism, miR-26b-5p targeted COX2 and decreased its expression, leading to significant decreases in the levels of PGE2, TNF-α and IL-6 in RAOEC and HMEC-1 cells. In addition, miR-26b-5p inhibition impaired the effects of HDBD on the suppression of PGE2, TNF-α, IL-6 and IL-1β in vitro. In conclusion, the present study revealed that HDBD relieved acute STI via modulating miR-26b-5p/COX2 axis to inhibit inflammation.

To evaluate an effectiveness of a single intra-articular injection of a new cross-linked hyaluronic acid by measuring thickness of the quadriceps muscle and femoral intercondylar cartilage in addition to subjective assessment.There were 49 patients with gonarthrosis (Kellgren-Lawrence grade II-III) who underwent a single intra-articular injection of Flexotron Cross into the knee joint with higher grade of arthrosis. The scores were assessed at baseline, after 1, 3 and 6 months using: 1) visual analogue scale (VAS) of pain syndrome, 2) Western Ontario and McMaster University Osteoarthritis Index (WOMAC), 3) Lequesne Index, 4) duration of standing on one leg, 5) thigh circumference, 6) thickness of quadriceps muscle and femoral intercondylar cartilage according to ultrasound data.A 6-month follow-up comprised 46 patients. HA administration significantly improved all parameters (Flexotron Cross is effective subjectively and objectively for at least 6 months and safe for the treatment of gonarthrosis.В большинстве имеющихся на сегодняшний день исследований использовался препарат гиалуроновой кислоты (ГК), требующий 3—5 внутрисуставных инъекций для лечения остеоартроза коленного сустава (гонартроза).Оценить эффективность однократной внутрисуставной инъекции нового препарата ГК путем измерения толщины четырехглавой мышцы и хряща межмыщелковой борозды бедренной кости путем ультразвукового исследования (УЗИ) в дополнение к субъективным оценкам пациентов.У 49 пациентов с гонартрозом (стадия по Келлгрену—Лоуренсу II—III) проведено введение внутрисуставно по одной инъекции препарата Флексотрон Кросс в коленный сустав с более высокой степенью ОА. Показатели оценивались в начале исследования, через 1, 3 и 6 мес после инъекции с помощью: 1) визуальной аналоговой шкалы боли (ВАШ), 2) индекса остеоартрита университетов Западного Онтарио и МакМастера (WOMAC), 3) индекса Лекена, 4) результатов — продолжительности стойки на одной ноге, 5) замеров окружности бедра, 6) толщины четырехглавой мышцы и хряща межмыщелковой борозды бедренной кости по данным УЗИ.Результаты. Завершили 6-месячное исследование 46 пациентов. Все показатели продемонстрировали достоверное улучшение после введения ГК (Препарат Флексотрон Кросс эффективен как субъективно, так и объективно как минимум в течение 6 мес и безопасен для терапии гонартроза.

Rationale Diffuse idiopathic skeletal hyperostosis (DISH) is a skeletal disease characterized by calcification of anterolateral ligaments of the spine and the rest of the body. DISH combined with disc herniation induces complex symptoms and is more difficult to treat. Here, we describe a complicated case of a patient diagnosed with DISH as well as cervical disc herniation that was successfully treated using anterior cervical surgery. Patients concern A 69-year-old Asian male experienced dysphagia and weakness in his left limbs. He also experienced a stiff neck and right slant over a 6-month period. Diagnosis An X-ray revealed calcification of the C4-7 vertebral front edge and a narrowed intervertebral space between C5/6. Coronal and sagittal computerized tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) both showed compression of the spinal cord at the cervical 5/6. Esophagography revealed that osteophytes in the anterior margin of vertebral body (C4-C7) oppressed the esophagus. Interventions An operation focused on anterior cervical C5/6 disc fusion and anterior vertebral C4-7 osteophyte removal was performed. Outcomes After the operation, X-ray and CT showed that most osteophytes were removed and spinal cord compression was relieved. One day following the operation, both dysphagia and numbness in limbs were improved. Strong recovery was observed at the three-month follow-up exam. Lessons This complex DISH combined with disc herniation case is rarely observed in patients. Anterior cervical disc fusion and anterior vertebral osteophyte removal were effective treatment measures. This case study provides insight into treating cases presented with cervical spine complications associated with DISH combined with other ailments.

Solar radiation in the visible spectrum can penetrate through snowpack to a considerable depth, which is named as the euphotic depth in snow. If the snow depth is no greater than the euphotic depth, the surface albedo is greatly affected by the underlying surface. This study defines the euphotic depth as the depth where the residual solar radiation in snow began to be less than 1.0 W m−2 and provides a convenient approach to estimate it. A two-stream, multilayer radiation penetration model (SNow, ICe, and Aerosol Radiation) was applied to predict the vertical profiles of solar radiation based on regular measurements of snow pits and downward solar radiation at Col de Porte (CDP), France from 1993 to 2011. The euphotic depth in snow at CDP exhibits clear seasonal variations, with median values in winter months of 6.8, 8.8, and 10.5 cm, and those in spring remaining nearly on the same level (24.4 and 24.2 cm). The maximum euphotic depth at CDP reached as deep as 78 cm. Further analyses demonstrated that the euphotic depth in snow is related to not only the external initial solar irradiance but also the interior snow extinction coefficient. Stronger illumination and smaller snow extinction coefficients may correspond to greater euphotic depths in snowpack.

The presence of light-absorbing aerosols (LAA) in snow profoundly influence the surface energy balance and water budget. However, most snow-process schemes in land-surface and climate models currently do not take this into consideration. To better represent the snow process and to evaluate the impacts of LAA on snow, this study presents an improved snow albedo parameterization in the Snow–Atmosphere–Soil Transfer (SAST) model, which includes the impacts of LAA on snow. Specifically, the Snow, Ice and Aerosol Radiation (SNICAR) model is incorporated into the SAST model with an LAA mass stratigraphy scheme. The new coupled model is validated against in-situ measurements at the Swamp Angel Study Plot (SASP), Colorado, USA. Results show that the snow albedo and snow depth are better reproduced than those in the original SAST, particularly during the period of snow ablation. Furthermore, the impacts of LAA on snow are estimated in the coupled model through case comparisons of the snowpack, with or without LAA. The LAA particles directly absorb extra solar radiation, which accelerates the growth rate of the snow grain size. Meanwhile, these larger snow particles favor more radiative absorption. The average total radiative forcing of the LAA at the SASP is 47.5 W m−2. This extra radiative absorption enhances the snowmelt rate. As a result, the peak runoff time and “snow all gone” day have shifted 18 and 19.5 days earlier, respectively, which could further impose substantial impacts on the hydrologic cycle and atmospheric processes.

Improving the energy efficiency of emerging economies is the core of achieving efficient global development. This paper innovatively applies the slack based DEA to analyze the energy structure and energy-saving potential of BRICS countries in the past three decades. The results of empirical analysis show that, first, Brazil and Russia ranked first and last with the average efficiency of 0.5941 and 0.0921 respectively in the 30-year observation period. Second, the slack variable of each country is very large. For example, in 2018, India needs to reduce 436.17 Mtoe coal consumption, 105.65 Mtoe oil consumption, 25.39 Mtoe natural gas consumption, and 2038.05 million tons of carbon emissions to reach an effective state. Third, the reasons for inefficiency vary from country to country. Brazil, Russia, and India have low levels of energy management and lack of advanced key technologies. China and South Africa are faced with the problems of scale diseconomy and unreasonable resource allocation structure. The research results are helpful to understand the changing trend of energy efficiency and the reasons for low efficiency in BRICS, and can provide a reference for the formulation of scientific development strategy, which has important practical significance.

To improve the understanding of the CO2 exchange and the cycling of energy and water between the land surface and atmosphere over a typical hilly forest in southeastern China, a long-term field experimental observatory was established in Huainan, Anhui Province. Here, the authors briefly describe the three parts of ongoing research activities: the environmental monitoring at the site, the meteorological observations on a high tower, and particularly the intensive measurement of soil–vegetation–atmosphere interaction on a lower tower. Specifically, the diurnal variation of basic meteorological variables on a typical clear day (13 July 2018), and their temporal variation in the first three months of the low tower's operation (4 June to 31 August 2018), and in combination with simultaneous data from the high tower, are analyzed. Results show that the data demonstrate reasonable variabilities, and the variables exhibit significant diurnal variation, characteristics of summer values, and considerable differences in summer months. The daily and monthly average albedos above the forest canopy were both 0.13. The daily average soil CO2 concentration was 1726 and 4481 ppm at 2 and 10 cm, respectively. The soil CO2 concentration changed with soil volumetric moisture contents, but showed a weak correlation with soil temperature in summer 2018. As the observatory continues to run and data continue to be collated, further investigation of the long-term variation of monsoon characteristics should be performed in the future. The experiment is useful in ecosystem and atmosphere interaction research, as well as for the development and evaluation of climate models, in the transitional climate zone of the Huaihe River basin. 摘要 本文简要介绍了包括三部分观测的安徽淮南长期野外试验观测站, 特别是土壤-植被-大气的集中观测, 对小塔运行前三个月 (2018年6月至8月) 的数据, 并结合同一时段大塔获得的数据, 进行了初步分析.结果表明这些资料有合理的变化特征, 日变化和夏季值特征显著, 各月份间气象变化有明显差异.土壤水分和温度受降雨影响, 在不同的下垫面条件下表现出不同的变化.土壤CO2日平均浓度在2 cm和10 cm处分别为1726和4481 ppm.2018年夏季土壤CO2浓度随土壤体积含水量的变化而变化, 但与土壤温度呈弱相关.

In order to expand the application range of the classic Topographic Index model (TOPMODEL) and develop a more appropriate submodel of hydrological processes for use in the land surface model, two types of TOPMODEL are investigated, one with saturated hydraulic conductivity change with depth obeying exponential law (classical e-TOPMODEL or e-TOPMODEL for short) and the other obeying general power law (general p-TOPMODEL or p-TOPMODEL for short). Using observation date in the Suomo River catchment located in the upper reaches of the Yangtze River, the sensitivity study of the p-TOPMODEL was conducted and the simulated results from the model were examined and evaluated first, and then the results were compared with the results from the e-TOPMODEL to find the similarities and differences between the two types of models. The main conclusions obtained from the above studies are (1) topographic index and its distribution derived from the p-TOPPMODEL for the Suomo Basin are sensitive to changes of parameter n and m; (2) changes of n and m have impacts on the simulation results of various hydrological components (such as daily runoff, monthly averaged runoff, monthly averaged surface runoff and subsurface runoff), but have the weaker impacts on forty-year averaged total runoff; and (3) for the same value of m, the simulated results of e-TOPMODEL display higher surface runoff and lower subsurface runoff than the general p-TOPMODEL does but multi-year averaged total runoffs produced from the two types of TOPMODEL show insignificant difference. The differences between the two types of models indicate that it is necessary to pay close attention to correct selection from different hydrological models for use in land surface model development. The result mentioned above is useful to provide some referential information for the model selection.

The paper introduced the basic concepts of emotion focused therapy, emotion coaching, four major empirically supported principles of emotion awareness, emotion regulation, and emotion reflecting and emotion transformation. And make analysis and assessment through a typical case, integrating emotion focused therapy with the Satir model, discuss the techniques and values in the clinical application in China.

With the development of economic in our country, process of urbanization continuiously pushing and the pace of people life is gradually accelerating. Emotional problems caused by factors such as life, learning, emotion and so on, often puzzled people in the city. According to statistics, students of vocational college in Shanghai, there are about 34% suffered problems or long-term psychological and need to reform the current situation of mental health education immediately. Based on the results of research in Shanghai. This paper analyzes the current situation of mental health education in Higher Vocational College Students in Shanghai with related working experience and puts forward some practical suggestions for reform.

In order to examine and analyze the effects of integration of land surface models with TOPMODEL and different approaches for the integration on the model simulation of water and energy balances, the coupled models have been developed, which incorporate TOPMODEL into the Simplified Biosphere Model (SSiB) with different approaches(one divides a basin into a number of zones according to the distribution of topographic index, and the other only divides the basin into saturated and unsaturated zones). The coupled models are able to (but SSiB is not able to) take into account the impacts of topography variation and vertical heterogeneity of soil saturated hydraulic conductivity on horizontal distribution of soil moisture and in turn on water and energy balances within the basin(or a grid cell). By using the coupled models and SSiB model itself, the daily hydrological components such as runoffs are simulated and final results are analyzed carefully. Simulated daily results of hydrological components produced by both SSiB and coupled models show that (i) There is significant difference between results of soil wetness, its vertical distribution and seasonal variation, water and energy balance, and daily runoff in the basin predicted by SSiB and by the coupled models. The land surface model currently used such as SSiB is likely to misrepresent real feature of water and energy balances in the basin. (ii) Compared with the results for the basin predicted by SSiB, the coupled models predict more strong vertical and seasonal changes in soil wetness, higher evaporation and lower runoff, and improve the base flow simulation obviously. (iii) Comparing the results for the basin predicted by two coupled models with different integration approach and SSiB one by one, the results of daily runoffs and soil wetness predicted by the two coupled models are quite similar. It means, for the coupled models, the approach by dividing a region being considered into more subzones may have limited effects on improving runoff simulation results. The scheme only to divide the region into saturated and unsaturated zones may be a convenient and effective scheme. But then, if the results from the two coupled models for the basin are carefully compared, the simulated results by the coupled model with dividing the basin into more subzones will show higher evaporation and surface runoff but lower subsurface flow, lower total runoff, and lower ground water level averaged for five years.

On the basis of a simple snow-atmosphere-soil transfer (SAST) model previously developed, this paper presents an improved snow-atmosphere-soil transfer (ISAST) model that has a new numerical scheme and an improved method of layering the snowpack. The new model takes the snow cover temperature and ice content in the snow cover as prognostic variables. This approach, which effectively solves the snow cover temperature distribution when the snow cover is melting or freezing, lessens the iteration time and computation time, which is important for GCM simulation. In this model, the snow cover is divided into three layers (ISAST3) or seven layers (ISAST7). The simulation results obtained using the ISAST7 model agree well with observations in terms of snow depth, snow equivalent water and snow cover lifetime at five Russian sites. The new ISAST model has better simulation capacity for snow cover than the previous SAST model. When the snow cover is deep, the simulation of the ISAST7 model is better than that of the ISAST3 model. Testing shows that our ISAST model is approximately 20% faster than the SAST model.

A frozen soil parameterization coupling of thermal and hydrological processes is used to investigate how frozen soil processes affect water and energy balances in seasonal frozen soil. Simulation results of soil liquid water content and temperature using soil model with and without the inclusion of freezing and thawing processes are evaluated against observations at the Rosemount field station. By comparing the simulated water and heat fluxes of the two cases, the role of phase change processes in the water and energy balances is analyzed. Soil freezing induces upward water flow towards the freezing front and increases soil water content in the upper soil layer. In particular, soil ice obviously prevents and delays the infiltration during rain at Rosemount. In addition, soil freezing/thawing processes alter the partitioning of surface energy fluxes and lead the soil to release more sensible heat into the atmosphere during freezing periods.

A vertical one-dimensional numerical model for heat transferring within the near-surface snow layer of the Antarctic Ice Sheet was developed based on simplified parameterizations of associated physical processes for the atmosphere, radiation, and snow/ice systems. Using the meteorological data of an automatic weather station (AWS) at Dome A (80°22′S, 70°22′E), we applied the model to simulate the seasonal temperature variation within a depth of 20 m. Comparison of modeled results with observed snow temperatures at 4 measurement depths (0.1, 1, 3, 10 m) shows good agreement and consistent seasonal variations. The model results reveal the vertical temperature structure within the near-surface snow layer and its seasonal variance with more details than those by limited measurements. Analyses on the model outputs of the surface energy fluxes show that: 1) the surface energy balance at Dome A is characterized by the compensation between negative net radiation and the positive sensible fluxes, and 2) the sensible heat is on average transported from the atmosphere to the snow, and has an evident increase in spring. The results are considered well representative for the highest interior Antarctic Plateau.

To improve the land surface simulation in the arid and semi-arid areas of northern China, the observational data from two field experiments in Dunhuang and Tongyu are used to optimize the parameters in the land surface model, BATS, through calibration with the multicriteria method. Sensitivity analysis to the parameters in Dunhuang and Tongyu indicates that different parameters need to be calibrated in two sites with different environmental and climate regimes. Comparison of observed sensible heat flux, latent heat flux, and ground surface temperature with the simulated ones shows the simulations with the optimized parameters have been substantially improved. Especially, the holistic simulations with the calibration of the parameter values are much closer to the observations in the arid region (Dunhuang), and the energy partition with the calibrated parameters can also be simulated well in the semi-arid region (Tongyu). Whole results demonstrate that the parameter calibration of the land surface model is important when the model is to be used to investigate the land-air interaction.

The annual cycle and variabilities of the spring river runoff in East China (EC) at the continental scale and their relationship with precipitation, sea surface temperature (SST), and El Nino-Southern Oscillation(ENSO) are investigated. Monthly mean data from 72 runoff stations and 160 precipitation stations in EC, covering a period between 1951 and 1983, are used for this study. The seasonal evolution of runoff depth is generally consistent with that of the rainfall but has more regional characteristics. The dominant spatial patterns and temporal variations of spring runoff and precipitation are studied with the empirical orthogonal function (EOF) analysis. The leading EOFs of spring runoff and precipitation show the intensity of runoff and precipitation in South China and are highly correlated with each other, indicating a direct response of runoff to precipitation, which is different from the summer situation. Statistic analysis suggests that the evolution of ENSO event may exert a strong influence on these two modes. The second EOFs of runoff and precipitation present a north-south oscillation in EC with Nanling Mountain as the boundary and are also well correlated. These modes are highly related to the distribution of topography and may not be influenced by the ENSO. The third EOFs exhibit east–west oscillations in EC in both runoff and precipitation. The interdecadal relationship between spring precipitation/runoff and SST is further studied by singular value decomposition (SVD) analysis. The results indicate that the first coupled mode is dominant with the associated SST anomalies as an ENSO-like interdecadal SST signal and indicates pronounced warming (SST) and wetting (runoff) trends in North China after the mid-1970s, consistent with the observed trends of SST and runoff. The second coupled mode links the subtropical SST to the main spring runoff EOF mode in South China. Copyright © 2008 Royal Meteorological Society

Snow albedo is an important factor influencing the snow surface energy budget and snow melting, yet uncertainties remain in the calculation of spectrally resolved snow surface albedo because the spectral composition (visible versus near infrared) of the incident solar radiation is seldom available. The influence of the spectral composition of the incoming solar radiation on the snow surface albedo, snow surface energy budget, and final snow ablation is investigated through sensitivity experiments of four snow seasons at two open sites in the Alps by using a multi-layer Snow-Atmosphere-Soil-Transfer scheme (SAST). Since the snow albedo in the near infrared (NIR) spectral band is significantly lower than that in the visible (VIS) band, and almost the entire NIR part of the solar radiation is absorbed in the top layer of the snow pack, given a fixed amount of incoming solar radiation, a lower VIS/NIR ratio implies that more NIR radiation is reaching the ground surface and more is absorbed by the top layer of the snow pack, therefore, speeding up the snow melting and increasing the surface runoff, although a lesser part of the solar radiation in the visible band is transmitted into and trapped by the sub-layer of the snow pack. The above VIS/NIR ratio effect of the incoming solar radiation can result in a couple of days difference in the timing of snow ablation and it becomes more significant in late spring when the total solar radiation is intensified with seasonal evolution. Snow aging also slightly intensifies this VIS/NIR ratio effect.

Based on a one-dimensional eddy diffusion model, a model to study the water mass and energy exchange between the water body (such as lake and wetland) and the atmosphere is developed, which takes the phase change process due to the seasonal melting and freezing of water and the convection mixing process of energy caused by temperature stratification into consideration. The model uses enthalpy instead of temperature as predictive variable, which will help to deal with the phase change process and to design an efficient numerical scheme for obtaining the solution more easily. The performance of the model and the rationality of taking convection mixing into the consideration are validated by using observed data of Kinneret Lake in Israel and Lower Two Medicine Lake in Montana State in America. The comparison of model results with observed data indicates that the model presented here is capable of describing the physical process of water mass and energy between the water body (lake and wetland) and atmosphere. Comparison of the result from wetland with shallow and deep lakes under the same forcing conditions shows that the evaporation from wetland is much greater than that from lakes, which accords with the real observation fact and physical mechanism.

A model for studying the heat and mass exchange between the atmosphere and a water body is developed, in which the phase change process of water freezing in winter and melting in summer and the function of the convective mixing process are taken into consideration. The model uses enthalpy rather than temperature as the predictive variable. It helps to set up governing equations more concisely, to deal with the phase change process more easily, and make the numerical scheme simpler. The model is verified by observed data from Lake Kinneret for a non-frozen lake in summer time, and Lake Lower Two Medicine for a frozen lake in winter time. Reasonably good agreements between the model simulations and observed data indicate that the model can serve as a component for a water body in a land surface model. In order to more efficiently apply the scheme in a climate system model, a sensitivity study of various division schemes with less layers in the vertical direction in the water body is conducted. The results of the study show that the division with around 10 vertical layers could produce a prediction accuracy that is comparable to the fine division with around 40 layers.

Fossils of macroscopic eukaryotes are rarely older than the Ediacaran Period (635–541 million years (Myr)), and their interpretation remains controversial. Here, we report the discovery of macroscopic fossils from the 1,560-Myr-old Gaoyuzhuang Formation, Yanshan area, North China, that exhibit both large size and regular morphology. Preserved as carbonaceous compressions, the Gaoyuzhuang fossils have statistically regular linear to lanceolate shapes up to 30 cm long and nearly 8 cm wide, suggesting that the Gaoyuzhuang fossils record benthic multicellular eukaryotes of unprecedentedly large size. Syngenetic fragments showing closely packed ∼10 μm cells arranged in a thick sheet further reinforce the interpretation. Comparisons with living thalloid organisms suggest that these organisms were photosynthetic, although their phylogenetic placement within the Eukarya remains uncertain. The new fossils provide the strongest evidence yet that multicellular eukaryotes with decimetric dimensions and a regular developmental program populated the marine biosphere at least a billion years before the Cambrian Explosion., Macroscopic organisms are rare in the fossil record until the Ediacaran Period, beginning 635 million years ago. Here, Zhu et al. report the discovery of 1.56-billion-year-old carbonaceous compression fossils that provide evidence of the evolution of macroscopic, multicellular eukaryotes long before the Ediacaran Period.

This is an exploratory study to investigate the spatial and temporal characteristics of east China’s (EC) river runoff and their relationship with precipitation and sea surface temperature (SST) at the continental scale. Monthly mean data from 72 runoff stations and 160 precipitation stations in EC, covering a period between 1951 and 1983, are used for this study. The station river runoff data have been spatially interpolated onto 1° grid boxes as runoff depth based on an extracted drainage network. Comparing runoff depth with precipitation shows that seasonal variation in runoff is consistent with the development of the summer monsoon, including the delayed response of runoff in several subregions. The dominant spatial scales and temporal patterns of summer runoff and precipitation are studied with empirical orthogonal function (EOF) analysis and wavelet analyses. The analyses show interannual, biennial, and longer-term variations in the EOF modes. South–north dipole anomaly patterns for the first two runoff EOF’s spatial distributions have been identified. The first/second runoff principal components (PCs) are highly correlated with the second/first precipitation PCs, respectively. The summer runoff’s EOF PCs also show significant correlations with the multivariate El Niño–Southern Oscillation index (MEI) of the summer and winter months, while the summer precipitation PCs do not. Statistic analysis shows that EOF1 of runoff and EOF2 of precipitation are related to El Niño, while EOF2 of runoff and EOF1 of precipitation are related to a dipole SST anomaly over the northwestern Pacific. The interdecadal relationship between summer runoff, precipitation, and SST variability is further studied by singular value decomposition (SVD) analysis. Pronounced warming (SST) and drying (runoff) trends in first SVD PCs have been identified. These SVDs are used to reconstruct a decadal anomaly pattern, which produces flooding in part of the Chang Jiang River basin and dryness in the northern EC, consistent with observations.

The simplicity of Topography-based hydrological model (TOPMODEL), as a way of reflecting the topographic controls on soil water storage and runoff generation, has become more attractive and more popular for land surface process study since digital elevation models (DEMs) have become widely available. In this paper, the effect of the topography index on soil water storage distribution, which is the key to TOPMODEL, is explained. Then a simple water cycle model for estimating other components of the surface water cycle is developed, which is implemented into the TOPMODEL to integrate the water cycle of the catchment. Using the output of a DEM from 100 m X 100 m resolution data and a single flow direction algorithm, the index distribution function is calculated for a catchment (around 2500 km2)in the upper reaches of the Yangtze River under different channel initiation thresholds. Finally, the daily and monthly rainfall-runoff response from 1960 to 1987 for the catchment is simulated with the TOPMODEL coupled with the simple water cycle model.

Porous hydroxyapatite (HAp) composite fibers functionalized with up-conversion (UC) luminescent and magnetic Na(Y/Gd)F4:Yb(3+),Er(3+) nanocrystals (NCs) have been fabricated via electrospinning. After transferring hydrophobic oleic acid-capped Na(Y/Gd)F4:Yb(3+),Er(3+) NCs into aqueous solution, these water-dispersible NCs were dispersed into precursor electrospun solution containing CTAB. Na(Y/Gd)F4:Yb(3+),Er(3+)@HAp composite fibers were fabricated by the high temperature treatment of the electrospun Na(Y/Gd)F4:Yb(3+),Er(3+) NCs decorated precursor fibers. The biocompatibility test on MC 3T3-E1 cells using MTT assay shows that the HAp composite fibers have negligible cytotoxity, which reveals the HAp composite fibers could be a drug carrier for drug delivery. Because the contrast brightening is enhanced at increased concentrations of Gd(3+), the HAp composite fibers can serve as T1 magnetic resonance imaging contrast agents. In addition, the composites uptaken by MC 3T3-E1 cells present the UC luminescent emission of Er(3+) under the excitation of a 980 nm near-infrared laser. The above findings reveal Na(Y/Gd)F4:Yb(3+),Er(3+)@HAp composite fibers have potential applications in drug storage/release and magnetic resonance/UC luminescence imaging.

In 1997 and 1998, hundreds of specimens of megascopic carbonaceous compressions or algal fossils were found from ∼ 1800-million-year old Changzhougou Formation, which is the lowermost unit of the latest Palaeoproterozoic Changcheng Group (∼1 600–1 800 Ma) in the Xinglong-Kuancheng areas at the middle Yanshan Range, North China. They are discoid, ellipsoid and sausage-like, namely shaped likeChuaria Shouhsiennia (Ellipsophyta) andTawuia. By adopting HF acid-resistant maceration coupled with scanning electron microscope and petrologic section, the authors made a preliminary research on the histology for some circular and ellipsoid carbonaceous compressions, namelyChuaria- andShouhsienia-like forms, in addition to their morphology. The following three types of multicellular tissues have been found in the fragments of them: colony-like, pseudoparenchyma-like and parenchyma-like. All of the new data about multicelluar tissues not only supply a very important basis in histology to determine the biological affinity of multicellular algal remains for the Changzhougou carbonaceous compressions newly found, but also provide reliable fossil evidence to prove that metaphytes originated at least 1 800 million years ago.

We developed and evaluated a three-layer snow model for application in general circulation models. This one-dimensional snow model has many features of the detailed physically based model SNTHERM, yet is computationally much simpler. We have also extended the point model to vegetated areas using the parameter-ization concepts of the Biosphere-Atmosphere Transfer Scheme (BATS). Results of model applications for two types of vegetated fields - a short grassland in the French Alps and an old aspen forest in the southern study area of BOREAS - were presented. The results, on one hand, indicate the suitability of the model structure and parameter setting; on the other hand, the results explore the limitation of using 'point' field observations to evaluate an area model.

The morphology of low-latitude ionosphere is greatly affected by the zonal electric field, especially at disturbance time. In this study, historical data from two low-latitude ionosondes located at Haikou and Chongqing, China, are used to study the disturbance vertical drift properties of ionospheric F layer during the initial and main phases of 50 intense storms. The disturbance drift from an empirical model is used as an indicator to denote the E x B disturbance magnitude. It is found that the drifts both at the base and at the peak height are increased in magnitude when the disturbance becomes stronger. For the same disturbance, ionospheric vertical drifts at the base height are comparable with those at the peak height over Haikou, but they are larger than the latter over Chongqing, both drifts being smaller than those at the magnetic equator. The drifts are larger in daytime than in nighttime, but no rule is found on their seasonal dependence. This indicates that low-latitude storm time ionospheric vertical drift of the ionospheric layer exhibits both consistent and individual properties at different locations.

It is important of fundamental statistical information to the development of general aviation industry. Statistics of U.S. general aviation industry have such information as activities of general aviation, aircraft, airports, pilots, security and so on. In contrast, China's general aviation industry is not developed, and statistical information is not perfect. Based on U.S. statistical experience in general aviation industry and China's lack, it gives the ideas and suggestions to improve the statistical information of China's general aviation industry.

The paper makes an empirical study of financial efficiency and its contribution to economic growth in Hebei Province, China. The factor analysis results show that since 1995 financial efficiency of Hebei province has been changing first from strong to weak and then from weak to strong, financial reform of Hebei Province has made remarkable achievements and financial efficiency has improved a lot In recent years. On the contribution to economic growth, regression model results show that savings transferring into investment is high, use of funds is relatively good, and savings mobilization capacity is poor. Overall, financial efficiency of Hebei Province is not high, need to further deepen financial reform, increase its contributions to economic growth.