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The ForMAX beamline at the MAX IV Laboratory provides multiscale and multimodal structural characterization of hierarchical materials in the nanometre to millimetre range by combining small- and wide-angle X-ray scattering with full-field microtomography. The modular design of the beamline is optimized for easy switching between different experimental modalities. The beamline has a special focus on the development of novel fibrous materials from forest resources, but it is also well suited for studies within, for example, food science and biomedical research.

The Mo carbide has been widely studied as a promising catalyst system for reverse water-gas shift reaction (RWGS). In this study, a novel Cu-doped Mo carbide, denoted as Cu/αβ-MoxC, was synthesized through a resin-based carbothermal reduction method, and its structure was characterized using XRD, BET, SEM and TEM techniques. The catalyst’s Mo carbide component consisted of α-MoC1–x and β-Mo2C phases, and the Cu/Mo molar ratios of 1/36, 1/22, 1/13, and 1/9 were considered. Among these catalysts, Cu/αβ-MoxC with a 1:22 Cu:Mo molar ratio exhibited the highest RWGS performance. It is worth noting that this catalyst also demonstrated significantly higher CO selectivity compared to previously reported Cu/β-Mo2C (97.6 % vs. 89.4 %) at lower temperatures (e.g., 250 °C), attributable to its reduced affinity with CO.

Water-induced erosion and associated particulate carbon (PC), particulate nitrogen (PN) and particulate phosphorus (PP) nutrient losses are vital parts of biogeochemical cycling. Identifying their intensity and distribution characteristics is of great significance for the control of soil and water loss and nitrogen/phosphorus nonpoint source pollution. This study incorporated modules of physical soil erosion and associated PC, PN and PP losses into a process-oriented hydro-biogeochemical model (Catchment Nutrients Management Model coupled with DeNitrification–DeComposition, CNMM-DNDC) to enable it to predict soil and water loss. The results indicated that the upgraded CNMM-DNDC (i) performed well in simulating the observed temporal dynamics and magnitudes of surface runoff, sediment and PN/PP yields in the lysimetric plot of the Jieliu catchment in Sichuan Province and (ii) successfully predicted the observed monthly dynamics and magnitudes of stream flow, sediment yield and PN yields at the catchment outlet, with significant univariate linear regressions and acceptable Nash–Sutcliffe indices higher than 0.74. The upgraded CNMM-DNDC demonstrated that a greater proportion of PN to total nitrogen (TN) during the period with large precipitation events and amounts than that during the drought period (16.2 %–26.6 % versus 2.3 %–12.4 %). The intensities of soil erosion and particulate nutrient yields in the Jieliu catchment were closely related to land use type in the following order: sloping cultivated upland (SU) > residential areas (RA) > forest land (FL). The scenario analysis demonstrated that high greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions scenarios provided a greater risk of soil erosion than did low GHG emissions scenarios and that land use change (i.e., from SU to FL) could help to mitigate soil and water loss accelerated by climate change in the future. The upgraded model was demonstrated to have the ability of predicting ecosystem productivity, hydrologic nitrogen loads, emissions of GHGs and pollutant gases, soil erosion and particulate nutrient yields, which renders it a potential decision support tool for soil erosion and nonpoint source pollution control coordinated with increasing production and reducing GHG and pollutant gases emissions in a catchment.

Mid-T heat treatments in the range from 250°C to 400°C on superconducting radio-frequency (SRF) cavities have been shown to provide high quality factors that rise with applied rf field strength in high frequency, electro-polished (EP), elliptical cavities operating at 2 K, similar to nitrogen doped cavities. The rise in quality factor is attributed to a decrease in the temperature dependent part of the surface resistance RBCS. Until now, no results have been reported for these new treatments on quarter-wave resonators (QWR) and half-wave resonators (HWR). The TRIUMF multi-mode coaxial cavities are dedicated test cavities that allow frequency and temperature resolved performance characterization of treatments without changing environments, therefore providing an excellent test vehicle to test these new treatments with rf frequencies ranging from 200 to 1,200 MHz. In this paper, performance measurements from both QWR and HWR cavities are reported and their performance compared with four different treatments: baseline, a conventional 120°C low temperature bake for 48 h, and two mid-T bakes at 300°C and 400°C for 3 h. In addition, sample analysis using SEM, EDX and SIMS of witness samples is also shown. It is found that the mid-T bakes are not directly transferable to low frequency cavities. In the fundamental modes of the two test cavities, no performance gain over the baseline treatment nor a decreasing temperature dependent component with rising rf amplitude was observed. At frequencies above 1 GHz and low temperatures, the mid-T bakes show a reduced field dependence of RBCS compared to both the baseline and 120°C treatments.

Accurate simulation of ammonia (NH3) volatilization from fertilized croplands is crucial to enhancing fertilizer-use efficiency and alleviating environmental pollution. In this study, a process-oriented model, CNMM–DNDC (Catchment Nutrient Management Model–DeNitrification–DeComposition), was evaluated and modified using NH3 volatilization observations from 44 and 19 fertilizer application events in cultivated uplands and paddy rice fields in China, respectively. The major modifications for simulating NH3 volatilization from cultivated uplands were primarily derived from a peer-reviewed and published study. NH3 volatilization from cultivated uplands was jointly regulated by wind speed, soil depth, clay fraction, soil temperature, soil moisture, vegetation canopy, and rainfall-induced canopy wetting. Moreover, three principle modifications were made to simulate NH3 volatilization from paddy rice fields. First, the simulation of the floodwater layer and its pH were added. Second, the effect of algal growth on the diurnal fluctuation in floodwater pH was introduced. Finally, the Jayaweera–Mikkelsen model was introduced to simulate NH3 volatilization. The results indicated that the original CNMM–DNDC not only performed poorly in simulating NH3 volatilization from cultivated uplands but also failed to simulate NH3 volatilization from paddy rice fields. The modified model showed remarkable performances in simulating the cumulative NH3 volatilization of the calibrated and validated cases, with drastically significant zero-intercept linear regression of slopes of 0.94 (R2 = 0.76, n = 40) and 0.98 (R2 = 0.71, n = 23), respectively. The simulated NH3 volatilization from cultivated uplands was primarily regulated by the dose and type of the nitrogen fertilizer and the irrigation implementation, while the simulated NH3 volatilization from rice paddy fields was sensitive to soil pH; the dose and depth of nitrogen fertilizer application; and flooding management strategies, such as floodwater pH and depth. The modified model is acceptable to compile regional or national NH3 emission inventories and develop strategies to alleviate environmental pollution.

Organosulfur compounds are found to be ubiquitous in atmospheric aerosols – a majority of which are expected to be organosulfates (OSs). Given the atmospheric abundance of OSs, and their potential to form a variety of reaction products upon aging, it is imperative to study the transformation kinetics and chemistry of OSs to better elucidate their atmospheric fates and impacts. In this work, we investigated the chemical transformation of an α-pinene-derived organosulfate (C10H17O5SNa, αpOS-249) through heterogeneous OH oxidation at a relative humidity of 50 % in an oxidation flow reactor (OFR). The aerosol-phase reaction products were characterized using high-performance liquid chromatography–electrospray ionization–high-resolution mass spectrometry and ion chromatography. By monitoring the decay rates of αpOS-249, the effective heterogeneous OH reaction rate was measured to be (6.72±0.55)×10-13 cm3 molecule−1 s−1. This infers an atmospheric lifetime of about 2 weeks at an average OH concentration of 1.5×106 molecules cm−3. Product analysis shows that OH oxidation of αpOS-249 can yield more oxygenated OSs with a nominal mass-to-charge ratio (m/z) at 247 (C10H15O5S−), 263 (C10H15O6S−), 265 (C10H17O6S−), 277 (C10H13O7S−), 279 (C10H15O7S−), and 281 (C10H17O7S−). The formation of fragmentation products, including both small OSs (C ) and inorganic sulfates, is found to be insignificant. These observations suggest that functionalization reactions are likely the dominant processes and that multigenerational oxidation possibly leads to formation of products with one or two hydroxyl and carbonyl functional groups adding to αpOS-249. Furthermore, all product ions except m/z=277 have been detected in laboratory-generated α-pinene-derived secondary organic aerosols as well as in atmospheric aerosols. Our results reveal that OSs freshly formed from the photochemical oxidation of α-pinene could react further to form OSs commonly detected in atmospheric aerosols through heterogeneous OH oxidation. Overall, this study provides more insights into the sources, transformation, and fate of atmospheric OSs.

The hydro-biogeochemical model Catchment Nutrient Management Model – DeNitrification-DeComposition (CNMM-DNDC) was established to simultaneously quantify ecosystem productivity and losses of nitrogen and carbon at the site or catchment scale. As a process-oriented model, this model is expected to be universally applied to different climate zones, soils, land uses and field management practices. This study is one of many efforts to fulfill such an expectation, which was performed to improve the CNMM-DNDC by incorporating a physically based soil thermal module to simulate the soil thermal regime in the presence of freeze–thaw cycles. The modified model was validated with simultaneous field observations in three typical alpine ecosystems (wetlands, meadows and forests) within a catchment located in seasonally frozen regions of the eastern Tibetan Plateau, including observations of soil profile temperature, topsoil moisture, and fluxes of methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O). The validation showed that the modified CNMM-DNDC was able to simulate the observed seasonal dynamics and magnitudes of the variables in the three typical alpine ecosystems, with index-of-agreement values of 0.91–1.00, 0.49–0.83, 0.57–0.88 and 0.26–0.47, respectively. Consistent with the emissions determined from the field observations, the simulated aggregate emissions of CH4 and N2O were highest for the wetland among three alpine ecosystems, which were dominated by the CH4 emissions. This study indicates the possibility for utilizing the process-oriented model CNMM-DNDC to predict hydro-biogeochemical processes, as well as related gas emissions, in seasonally frozen regions. As the original CNMM-DNDC was previously validated in some unfrozen regions, the modified CNMM-DNDC could be potentially applied to estimate the emissions of CH4 and N2O from various ecosystems under different climate zones at the site or catchment scale.

Storm surge is one of the most destructive marine disasters to life and property for Chinese coastal regions, especially for Guangdong Province. In Huizhou city, Guangdong Province, due to the high concentrations of chemical and petroleum industries and the high population density, the low-lying coastal area is susceptible to the storm surge. Therefore, a comprehensive risk assessment of storm surge over the coastal area of Huizhou can delimit zones that could be affected to reduce disaster losses. In this paper, typhoon intensity for the minimum central pressure of 880, 910, 920, 930, and 940 hPa (corresponding to a 1000-, 100-, 50-, 20-, and 10-year return period) scenarios was designed to cover possible situations. The Jelesnianski method and the Advanced Circulation (ADCIRC) model coupled with the Simulating Waves Nearshore (SWAN) model were utilized to simulate inundation extents and depths of storm surge over the computational domain under these representative scenarios. Subsequently, the output data from the coupled simulation model (ADCIRC–SWAN) were imported to the geographic information system (GIS) software to conduct the hazard assessment for each of the designed scenarios. Then, the vulnerability assessment was made based on the dataset of land cover types in the coastal region. Consequently, the potential storm surge risk maps for the designed scenarios were produced by combining hazard assessment and vulnerability assessment with the risk matrix approach. The risk maps indicate that due to the protection given by storm surge barriers, only a small proportion of the petrochemical industrial zone and the densely populated communities in the coastal areas were at risk of storm surge for the scenarios of 10- and 20-year return period typhoon intensity. Moreover, some parts of the exposed zone and densely populated communities were subject to high and very high risk when typhoon intensities were set to a 50- or a 100-year return period. Besides, the scenario with the most intense typhoon (1000-year return period) induced a very high risk to the coastal area of Huizhou. Accordingly, the risk maps can help decision-makers to develop risk response plans and evacuation strategies in coastal communities with a high population density to minimize civilian casualties. The risk analysis can also be utilized to identify the risk zones with the high concentration of chemical and petroleum industries to reduce economic losses and prevent environmental damage caused by the chemical pollutants and oil spills from petroleum facilities and infrastructures that could be affected by storm surge.

To meet increasing demands, tea plantations are rapidly expanding in China. Although the emissions of nitrous oxide (N2O) and nitric oxide (NO) from tea plantations may be substantially influenced by soil pH reduction and intensive nitrogen fertilization, process model-based studies on this issue are still rare. In this study, the process-oriented biogeochemical model, Catchment Nutrient Management Model – DeNitrification-DeComposition (CNMM-DNDC), was modified by adding tea-growth-related processes that may induce a soil pH reduction. Using a dataset for intensively managed tea plantations at a subtropical site, the performances of the original and modified models for simulating the emissions of both gases subject to different fertilization alternatives and stand ages were evaluated. Compared with the observations in the early stage of a tea plantation, the original and modified models showed comparable performances for simulating the daily gas fluxes (with a Nash–Sutcliffe index (NSI) of 0.10 versus 0.18 for N2O and 0.32 versus 0.33 for NO), annual emissions (with an NSI of 0.81 versus 0.94 for N2O and 0.92 versus 0.94 for NO) and annual direct emission factors (EFds). For the modified model, the observations and simulations demonstrated that the short-term replacement of urea with oil cake stimulated N2O emissions by ∼62 % and ∼36 % and mitigated NO emissions by ∼25 % and ∼14 %, respectively. The model simulations resulted in a positive dependence of EFds of either gas on nitrogen doses, implicating the importance of model-based quantification of this key parameter for inventory purposes. In addition, the modified model with pH-related scientific processes showed overall inhibitory effects on the gases' emissions in the middle to late stages during a full tea plant lifetime. In conclusion, the modified CNMM-DNDC exhibits the potential for quantifying N2O and NO emissions from tea plantations under various conditions. Nevertheless, wider validation is still required for simulation of long-term soil pH variations and emissions of both gases from tea plantations.

CityGML is an international standard issued by the Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC) for representing and exchanging Semantic 3D City Models. Due to their large scale and deeply nested structures, the management and visualization of CityGML based models require sophisticated solutions such as the 3D City Database (3DCityDB). The research work presented in this article proposes a high level architecture for extending the 3D City Database to store and manage dynamic properties encoded within a new Application Domain Extension (ADE) of CityGML called Dynamizer ADE. The implementation employs the 3DCityDB 4.2 ADE Plugin Manager, which provides an automatic way for dynamically extending the 3DCityDB to support the storage and management of CityGML models with ADEs. The paper introduces a relational database model for storing and managing the Dynamizer ADE within the 3DCityDB. Further, the research work includes the extension of the 3DCityDB Importer/Exporter in order to import and export CityGML documents including Dynamizer ADE data. 3DCityDB already comes with a Web Feature Service (WFS) interface allowing CityGML features to be requested in standardized ways. The proposed framework enables CityGML Viewers to access static data (using OGC WFS interface) and dynamic data (using the OGC SWE interfaces) in an integrated fashion.

It is still a severe challenge to optimize the field management practices for a multi-crop system when simultaneously aiming at yield sustainability and minimum negative impacts on climate as well as atmosphere and water quality. This site-scale case study was devoted to developing a biogeochemical process model-based approach as a solution to this challenge. The best management practices (BMPs) of a three-crop system growing cotton and winter wheat–summer maize (W–M) in rotation, which is widely adopted in northern China, were identified. The BMPs referred to the management alternatives with the lowest negative impact potentials (NIPs) among the scenarios satisfying all given constraints. The independent variables used to determine the NIPs and those utilized as constrained criteria were simulated by the DeNitrification-DeComposition model, which was modified in this study. Due to the unsatisfactory performance of the model in daily simulations of nitric oxide (NO) emission and net ecosystem exchange of carbon dioxide (NEE), the model was modified to (i) newly parameterize the soil moisture effects on NO production during nitrification, and (ii) replace the original NEE calculation approach with an algorithm based on gross primary production. Validation of the modified model showed statistically meaningful agreements between the simulations and observations in the cotton and W–M fields. Three BMP alternatives with overlapping uncertainties of simulated NIPs were screened from 6000 management scenarios randomly generated by Latin hypercube sampling. All of these BMP alternatives adopted the baseline (currently applied) practices of crop rotation (3 consecutive years of cotton rotating with 3 years of W–M in each 6-year cycle), the fraction of crop residue incorporation (100 %), and deep tillage (30 cm) for cotton. At the same time, these BMP alternatives would use 18 % less fertilizer nitrogen and sprinkle or flood-irrigate ∼23 % less water than the baseline while adopting reduced tillage (5 cm) for W–M. Compared with the baseline practices, these BMP alternatives could simultaneously sustain crop yields, annually enlarge the soil organic carbon stock by 4 ‰ or more, mitigate the aggregate emission of greenhouse gases, NO release, ammonia volatilization, and nitrate leaching by ∼7 %, ∼25 %, ∼2 %, and ∼43 %, respectively, despite a ∼5 % increase in N2O emission. However, further study is still necessary for field confirmation of these BMP alternatives. Nevertheless, this case study proposed a practical approach to optimize multi-crop system management to simultaneously achieve multiple United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

Abstract Surface emissivity has a significant impact on atmospheric parameter retrievals from microwave sounding instruments. To reduce the dependence of retrievals on surface emissivity, a double channel differences equation is deduced, and a corresponding retrieval scheme is constructed. Retrieval experiments are performed using Advanced Microwave Sounding Unit‐A (AMSU‐A) and Microwave Humidity Sounder (MHS) simulations and global measurements. Simulation experiments show that the double channel differences scheme can reduce the root mean square errors (RMSE) of the temperature and humidity profiles in the middle and lower atmosphere. Retrieval experiments based on AMSU‐A and MHS global measurements show that the proposed scheme can significantly reduce the RMSE of temperature profiles in the lower atmosphere and humidity profiles in the middle and lower atmosphere for cloudy and cloudless conditions, different surface types, and different scan angles, with maximum reduction values of 0.64 K and 9.03%, respectively. Regarding RMSE improvement, that of the cloudy condition is greater than that of the cloudless condition, that of the land is greater than that of the coast and the sea, and there is no significant dependence on the scan angles. The double channel differences scheme is very sensitive to initial near‐surface temperatures. Reducing the initial near‐surface temperature error can significantly improve the temperature retrieval accuracy below 900 hPa, with maximum reduction value of 3.25 K.

The interplay of interactions and strong disorder can lead to an exotic quantum many-body localized (MBL) phase of matter. Beyond the absence of transport, the MBL phase has distinctive signatures, such as slow dephasing and logarithmic entanglement growth; they commonly result in slow and subtle modifications of the dynamics, rendering their measurement challenging. Here, we experimentally characterize these properties of the MBL phase in a system of coupled superconducting qubits. By implementing phase sensitive techniques, we map out the structure of local integrals of motion in the MBL phase. Tomographic reconstruction of single and two-qubit density matrices allows us to determine the spatial and temporal entanglement growth between the localized sites. In addition, we study the preservation of entanglement in the MBL phase. The interferometric protocols implemented here detect affirmative quantum correlations and exclude artifacts due to the imperfect isolation of the system. By measuring elusive MBL quantities, our work highlights the advantages of phase sensitive measurements in studying novel phases of matter.

Abstract International Ocean Discovery Program (IODP) Expedition 359 cored sediments from eight borehole locations in the carbonate platform of the Maldives in the Indian Ocean. The expedition set out to unravel the timing of Neogene climate changes, in particular the evolution of the South Asian monsoon and fluctuations of the sea level. The timing of these changes are assessed by dating resultant sedimentary alterations that mark stratigraphic turning points in the Neogene Maldives platform system. The first four turning points during the early and middle Miocene are related to sea-level changes. These are reliably recorded in the stratigraphy of the carbonate sequences in which sequence boundaries provide the ages of the sea-level lowstand. Phases of aggradational platform growth give precise age brackets of long-term sea-level high stands during the early Miocene and the early to middle Miocene Climate Optimum that is dated here between 17 to 15.1 Ma. The subsequent middle Miocene cooling coincident with the eastern Antarctic ice sheet expansion resulted in a long-term lowering of sea level that is reflected by a progradational platform growth. The change in platform architecture from aggradation to progradation marks this turning point at 15.1 Ma. An abrupt change in sedimentation pattern is recognized across the entire archipelago at a sequence boundary dated as 12.9–13 Ma. At this turning point, the platform sedimentation switched to a current-controlled mode when the monsoon-wind-driven circulation started in the Indian Ocean. The similar age of the onset of drift deposition from monsoon-wind-driven circulation across the entire archipelago indicates an abrupt onset of monsoon winds in the Indian Ocean. Ten unconformities dissect the drift sequences, attesting changes in current strength or direction that are likely caused by the combined product of changes in the monsoon-wind intensity and sea level fluctuations in the last 13 Ma. A major shift in the drift packages is dated with 3.8 Ma that coincides with the end of stepwise platform drowning and a reduction of the oxygen minimum zone in the Inner Sea. The strata of the Maldives platform provides a detailed record of the extrinsic controlling factors on carbonate platform growth through time. This potential of carbonate platforms for dating the Neogene climate and current changes has been exploited in other platforms drilled by the Ocean Drilling Program. For example, Great Bahama Bank, the Queensland Plateau, and the platforms on the Marion Plateau show similar histories with sediment architectures driven by sea level in their early history (early to middle Miocene) replaced by current-driven drowning or partial drowning during their later history (Late Miocene). In all three platform systems, the influence of currents on sedimentations is reported between 11 and 13 Ma.

A city may have multiple CityGML documents recorded at different times or surveyed by different users. To analyse the city’s evolution over a given period of time, as well as to update or edit the city model without negating modifications made by other users, it is of utmost importance to first compare, detect and locate spatio-semantic changes between CityGML datasets. This is however difficult due to the fact that CityGML elements belong to a complex hierarchical structure containing multi-level deep associations, which can basically be considered as a graph. Moreover, CityGML allows multiple syntactic ways to define an object leading to syntactic ambiguities in the exchange format. Furthermore, CityGML is capable of including not only 3D urban objects’ graphical appearances but also their semantic properties. Since to date, no known algorithm is capable of detecting spatio-semantic changes in CityGML documents, a frequent approach is to replace the older models completely with the newer ones, which not only costs computational resources, but also loses track of collaborative and chronological changes. Thus, this research proposes an approach capable of comparing two arbitrarily large-sized CityGML documents on both semantic and geometric level. Detected deviations are then attached to their respective sources and can easily be retrieved on demand. As a result, updating a 3D city model using this approach is much more efficient as only real changes are committed. To achieve this, the research employs a graph database as the main data structure for storing and processing CityGML datasets in three major steps: mapping, matching and updating. The mapping process transforms input CityGML documents into respective graph representations. The matching process compares these graphs and attaches edit operations on the fly. Found changes can then be executed using the Web Feature Service (WFS), the standard interface for updating geographical features across the web.

Stroke is a serious worldwide medical condition that causes neurological function disability. Diffusional kurtosis imaging, which measures the non-Gaussianity of water diffusion, has been demonstrated to be a sensitive biomarker in many neuro-pathologies. This study explores the relationship between neural function recovery and transformation of the ischemic lesion and/or corticospinal tract during the sub-acute phase after stroke by using diffusional kurtosis imaging. We performed a prospective study of function recovery and K metrics of 43 patients with sub-acute ischemic stroke in the middle cerebral artery territory. The effect of rehabilitation treatment was evaluated using both the Fugl-Meyer motor function score and modified Barthel index score at post-treatment compared with admission, and patients were allocated to two groups: good and poor rehabilitation effect (GRE and PRE). Metrics of diffusional kurtosis imaging within ischemic lesion and along the corticospinal tract were acquired, respectively. All three relative axial diffusional kurtoses (rKas) along the corticospinal tract in the GRE group ( n = 21) were significantly larger than those of the PRE group ( n = 22), including rKa in the posterior limb of internal capsule, rKa in the cerebral peduncle, and rKa in the basal part of the pons ( p = 0.014, 0.005, and 0.021, respectively). This multi-parametric magnetic resonance imaging study showed that diffusional kurtosis imaging has the potential to complement existing stroke imaging techniques and revealed its own advantages in elucidating the possible biophysical mechanism of functional restoration underlying ischemic stroke.

Recent developments in superconducting radio-frequency (SRF) research have resulted in significant increases of cavity performance. Advances have been made in both reducing rf surface resistance and pushing the readily achievable accelerating gradient by using novel SRF cavity treatments including surface processing, custom heat treatments, and flux expulsion. These developments have been largely driven by specific tests on single-cell elliptical cavities, while TEM cavities have typically been designed and developed as specific to a project application and not as standard test articles that could be replicated across various labs. To address this, two purpose-built research cavities, one quarter-wave and one half-wave resonator, have been designed and built to allow characterization of TEM-mode cavities with standard and novel surface treatments. The cavities are intended as the TEM-mode equivalent to the 1.3 GHz single-cell cavity, which is the essential tool for high-frequency cavity research. Given their coaxial structure, the cavities allow testing at the fundamental mode and higher harmonics, giving unique insight into the role of rf frequency on fundamental loss mechanisms from intrinsic and extrinsic sources. In this paper, the cavities and testing infrastructure are described, and the first performance measurements of both cavities are presented. Temperature-dependent surface resistance data are analyzed to extract both the temperature-dependent and temperature-independent components and their dependence on the rf field and frequency. In particular, the temperature-dependent component was found to be at low fields ∝ω^{1.8(1)} at 4.2 K and ∝ω^{1.7(2)} at 2 K, agreeing fairly well with the theoretical model. The growth of the temperature-dependent surface resistance with increasing field amplitude matches both exponential and quadratic growth models fairly well in the examined range. The independent component is determined to be ∝ω^{0.7(1)}, matching roughly with anomalous losses, while no clear field dependence was determined. In addition, first measurements of a 120 °C baking treatment and of the external magnetic field sensitivity are presented.

Tea plantations are rapidly expanding in China and other countries in the tropical and subtropical zones, but so far there are very few studies including direct measurements of nitrogenous gas fluxes from tea plantations. On the basis of 2-year field measurements from 2012 to 2014, we provided an insight into the assessment of annual nitrous oxide (N2O) and nitric oxide (NO) fluxes from Chinese subtropical tea plantations under three practices of conventional urea application, alternative oilcake incorporation and no nitrogen fertilization. Clearly, the N2O and NO fluxes exhibited large intra- and inter-annual variations, and furthermore, their temporal variability could be well described by a combination of soil environmental factors including soil mineral N, water-filled pore space and temperature, based on a revised "hole-in-the-pipe" model. Averaged over a 2-year study, annual background N2O and NO emissions were approximately 4.0 and 1.6 kg N ha−1 yr−1, respectively. Compared to no nitrogen fertilization, both urea and oilcake application significantly stimulated annual N2O and NO emissions, amounting to 14.4–32.7 kg N2O–N ha−1 yr−1 and at least 12.3–19.4 kg NO–N ha−1 yr−1, respectively. In comparison with conventional urea treatment, on average, the application of organic fertilizer significantly increased N2O emission by 71 % but decreased NO emission by 22 %. Although the magnitude of N2O and NO fluxes was substantially influenced by the source of N, the annual direct emission factors of N fertilizer were estimated to be 2.8–5.9, 2.7–4.0 and 6.8–9.1 % for N2O, NO and N2O+NO, respectively, which are significantly higher than those defaults for global upland croplands. This indicated that the rarely determined N2O and NO formation appeared to be a significant pathway in the nitrogen cycle of tea plantations, which are a potential source of national nitrogenous gases inventory.

Rice production is increasingly limited by water scarcity. Covering paddy rice soils with films (so-called ground cover rice production system: GCRPS) can significantly reduce water demand as well as overcome temperature limitations at the beginning of the growing season, which results in greater grain yields in relatively cold regions and also in those suffering from seasonal water shortages. However, it has been speculated that both increased soil aeration and temperature under GCRPS result in lower soil organic carbon and nitrogen stocks. Here we report on a regional-scale experiment conducted in Shiyan, a typical rice-producing mountainous area of China. We sampled paired adjacent paddy and GCRPS fields at 49 representative sites. Measured parameters included soil carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) stocks (to 1 m depth), soil physical and chemical properties, δ15N composition of plants and soils, potential C mineralization rates, and soil organic carbon (SOC) fractions at all sampling sites. Root biomass was also quantified at one intensively monitored site. The study showed that: (1) GCRPS increased SOC and N stocks 5–20 years following conversion from traditional paddy systems; (2) there were no differences between GCRPS and paddy systems in soil physical and chemical properties for the various soil depths, with the exception of soil bulk density; (3) GCRPS increased above-ground and root biomass in all soil layers down to a 40 cm depth; (4) δ15N values were lower in soils and plant leaves indicating lower NH3 volatilization losses from GCRPS than in paddy systems; and (5) GCRPS had lower C mineralization potential than that observed in paddy systems over a 200-day incubation period. Our results suggest that GCRPS is an innovative production technique that not only increases rice yields using less irrigation water, but that it also increases SOC and N stocks.

The photosynthetic characteristics of Abies holophylla seedlings from six provenances under four artificial light intensities in a greenhouse (full light, 75.08%, 55.42%, and 30.38% of full light) were studied to explore the underlying genetic differences in foliar photosynthesis. Varying light intensities significantly affected the foliar photosynthetic parameters of A. holophylla seedlings from six provenances. As the light intensity dropped, the foliar CO2 assimilation capacity of A. holophylla seedlings sharply decreased, and the foliar light utilization capacity significantly increased. Analysis of genetic variation showed highly significant differences in terms of CO2 assimilation capacity, light utilization capacity, and respiration depletion of A. holophylla seedlings among different provenances under different light intensities. The variations were mainly controlled by the genetic factors of the provenance itself. The obtained results revealed that different sensitivities of A. holophylla seedlings from different provenances in response to changed light intensities elicited significant differences in foliar photosynthesis among different provenances. The relationships between sensitivities and annual temperature difference, mean temperature in January, and mean annual evaporation of provenance were found to be the most closely related, which indicated that temperature range and effective precipitation of provenance were the main factors that affected photosynthetic plasticity of A. holophylla seedlings.

To safeguard food security and preserve precious water resources, the technology of water-saving ground cover rice production system (GCRPS) is being increasingly adopted for rice cultivation. However, changes in soil water status and temperature under GCRPS may affect soil biogeochemical processes that control the biosphere–atmosphere exchanges of methane (CH4), nitrous oxide (N2O) and carbon dioxide (CO2). The overall goal of this study is to better understand how net ecosystem greenhouse gas exchanges (NEGE) and grain yields are affected by GCRPS in an annual rice-based cropping system. Our evaluation was based on measurements of the CH4 and N2O fluxes and soil heterotrophic respiration (CO2 emissions) over a complete year, and the estimated soil carbon sequestration intensity for six different fertilizer treatments for conventional paddy and GCRPS. The fertilizer treatments included urea application and no N fertilization for both conventional paddy (CUN and CNN) and GCRPS (GUN and GNN), and solely chicken manure (GCM) and combined urea and chicken manure applications (GUM) for GCRPS. Averaging across all the fertilizer treatments, GCRPS increased annual N2O emission and grain yield by 40 and 9%, respectively, and decreased annual CH4 emission by 69%, while GCRPS did not affect soil CO2 emissions relative to the conventional paddy. The annual direct emission factors of N2O were 4.01, 0.09 and 0.50% for GUN, GCM and GUM, respectively, and 1.52% for the conventional paddy (CUN). The annual soil carbon sequestration intensity under GCRPS was estimated to be an average of −1.33 Mg C ha−1 yr−1, which is approximately 44% higher than the conventional paddy. The annual NEGE were 10.80–11.02 Mg CO2-eq ha−1 yr−1 for the conventional paddy and 3.05–9.37 Mg CO2-eq ha−1 yr−1 for the GCRPS, suggesting the potential feasibility of GCRPS in reducing net greenhouse effects from rice cultivation. Using organic fertilizers for GCRPS considerably reduced annual emissions of CH4 and N2O and increased soil carbon sequestration, resulting in the lowest NEGE (3.05–5.00 Mg CO2-eq ha−1 yr−1). Accordingly, water-saving GCRPS with organic fertilizer amendments was considered the most promising management regime for simultaneously achieving relatively high grain yield and reduced net greenhouse gas emission.

The Kuroshio, a western boundary current in the northwestern Pacific, plays a key role in regulating ocean and climate in East Asia. The evolution of the Kuroshio and its branches has been the focus of paleoceanographic studies. In this study, we applied a multiproxy (grain size, planktonic foraminiferal species, δ18O, alkenone sea surface temperature (SST) and salinity) reconstruction from sediment core CSH1, which is located at the main axis of the Tsushima Warm Current, a branch of the Kuroshio, in the northern Okinawa Trough (OT). This study, extended the paleoceanographic record of the Kuroshio to Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 5.1 (∼88 ka) from the far northern site in the OT. Planktonic foraminiferal species identified from this core contain warm-water species related to the Kuroshio and cold-water species related to subarctic water mass. The relative abundances of the warm-water species are high during MIS 1 and MIS 5.1, while cold-water species are high during MIS 2. An organic biomarker proxy, alkenone SST measured from core CSH1 ranges between 21 and 25 °C, with higher values during interglacials (MIS 1, 3.3, 5.1) and interstadials and lower values during glacials and Heinrich (H)/stadial events. Sea surface salinity (SSS) and the depth of the thermocline (DOT), reconstructed based on foraminifera isotopes and faunas, indicate dominant Kuroshio responses to an abrupt climate change event recorded in Greenland ice cores and in stalagmites in East China since ∼88 ka. The CSH1 SSS appears to be mainly controlled by the local river runoff and the Kuroshio, while the DOT change seems to be closely related to the strength of the Kuroshio and the latitudinal shift of the subarctic frontal zone. Our records suggest that, during MIS 1 and MIS 5.1, while global sea level was high, the Kuroshio was dominant; while during MIS 2, MIS 3 and MIS 4, with a low sea level, stronger winter Asian Monsoon (AM) and a more southerly subarctic front played important roles in governing the hydrographic characteristics in the OT. Spectral analysis of our multiproxy hydrographic records shows a dominant precessional period at ∼24 ka. Our hydrographic records, such as SST, SSS and DOT, from a site near the modern Tsushima Warm Current show regional responses corresponding mainly to the global sea level, the Kuroshio, AM and subarctic front, factors which are consistently invoked in the interpretations of other regional records from the OT.

We aimed to assess and compare the expression of Dickkopf homolog 3 (DKK3), a possible tumor suppressor gene (TSG), in oral leukoplakia (OLK) and oral submucous fibrosis (OSF) using immunohistochemistry. Seventy-five cases of normal oral mucosa (NOM), OLK, OSF, and squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) were studied. DKK3 was expressed in all cases of NOM, OLK and OSCC. There was steady increases in the percentage of the positive cells progressing toward OSCC. The expression was localized in the cytoplasm and cell membrane of cell affected by OLK with mild dysplasia and OLK with severe dysplasia. No significant association was observed between DKK3 expression and dysplastic status of OLK. Loss of DKK3 expression was observed in 15 of 30 cases in the OSF group, which was significantly associated with histological grade of OSF (P

This research explores the rainfall-El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) and runoff-ENSO relationships and examines the potential for water resource forecasting using these relationships. The Southern Oscillation Index (SOI), Niño1.2, Niño3, Niño4, and Niño3.4 were selected as ENSO indicators for cross-correlation analyses of precipitation and runoff. There was a significant correlation (95% confidence level) between precipitation and ENSO indicators during three periods: January, March, and from September to November. In addition, monthly streamflow and monthly ENSO indictors were significantly correlated during three periods: from January to March, June, and from October to December (OND), with lag periods between one and twelve months. Because ENSO events can be accurately predicted one to two years in advance using physical modeling of the coupled ocean-atmosphere system, the lead time for forecasting runoff using ENSO indicators in the Headwaters Region of the Yellow River could extend from one to 36 months. Therefore, ENSO may have potential as a powerful forecasting tool for water resources in the headwater regions of Yellow River.