A water-energy nexus analysis to a sustainable transition path for Ji-shaped bend of the Yellow River,China

The temporal and spatial dynamic change of energy water footprint reflects the use of water resources in the process of supplying energy. The spatio-temporal mismatch between energy and water resources in the Ji-shaped bend of the Yellow River has seriously restricted its development. In this paper, spatio-temporal variation in the water footprint of energy in the Ji-shaped bend of the Yellow River from 2000 to 2019 was characterized using the energy water footprint evaluation model. The spatial relationship between energy water footprint and regional water resources was analyzed using the standard deviation ellipse. Finally, the energy-water constraints in the study area were evaluated based on the water footprint stress index. The results were as follows. (1) The energy water footprint increased rapidly, and the energy structure has become more equitable. (2) The spatial distribution of energy water footprint is unbalanced, and the water footprint of fossil energy was higher in the east, but electricity was higher in the west. (3) Due to the growth of hydropower, electricity matches the available water resources to a greater extent than fossil energy. (4) The energy-water nexus is tense in the Ji-shaped bend of the Yellow River, so it is urgent to explore a sustainable transition path. Therefore, improving energy and water efficiency, optimizing the energy structure, and promoting low energy and water resource consumption patterns will be essential for facilitating sustainable development in the Ji-shaped bend of the Yellow River.     

Benthic primary producers in exceptionally preserved Cambrian biotas of North China

Strata situated within the South China Craton host several key Cambrian macroalgal assemblages, including those of the Chengjiang, Kaili, and Tsinghsutung Lagerstätte. In this report, Cambrian macroalgae are described for the first time from the North China Craton, an area that, during the early Paleozoic, was not contiguous with the South China Craton. The material collected from the Mantou Formation and overlying Zhangxia Formation (Miaolingian Series) in Shandong Province is preserved as carbonaceous compressions and includes abundant simple tubular forms. These fall into two groupings on the basis of size and have characteristics broadly comparable to Fuxianospira gyrata and Sinocylindra yunnanensis, both of which are well-known from the Chengjiang biota and may represent simple siphonous green algae. Additional material includes irregular circular to oval films referable to Morania fragmenta and a tuft-like form superficially similar to Marpolia spissa, taxa with possible cyanophyte affinities described initially on the basis of material from the Burgess Shale but also known from the Cambrian of South China. The material is typical of the “Cambrian Flora” and provides further support for the cosmopolitan distribution of this noncalcified macroalgal flora at low latitude settings during the Cambrian.     

Seed populations of a harmful unarmored dinoflagellate Cochlodinium polykrikoides Margalef in the East China Sea

An unarmored dinoflagellate Cochlodinium polykrikoides has formed red tides responsible for fish mass mortalities especially in coastal areas of western Japan and southern Korea almost every summer to autumn. In laboratory culture, the optimum temperature for growth of the species is ca. 27 °C. Since the species cannot survive in water of temperatures of less than 10 °C, it was considered to over-winter in some certain regions as a motile form or resting cyst, and expand its distribution after the temperature increases to a level tolerable for growth. To determine the over-wintering regions and migration pattern of C. polykrikoides, occurrences of the motile cells were surveyed in the coastal and offshore areas of western Kyushu, Japan and south coast of the Korean Peninsula from April 2006 to August 2008. Cells of C. polykrikoides were found at 14 sites during the investigated period. Motile cells occurred throughout the year in Usuka Bay, Hirado of West Japan. From offshore regions of the Goto Islands and off Shin-Nagasaki Fishing Port, motile cells of C. polykrikoides were first detected from late May, and continuously occurred until February in Nama Bay of the Kami-Goto Islands. This first appearance was before red tides of C. polykrikoides reported at coastal areas in western Kyushu. In Korea, this species was first observed in May and disappeared after October in 2007. These occurrence patterns imply that Usuka Bay in Hirado is one of the over-wintering regions in western Kyushu, and also this species is possibly transported into the northern part of the East China Sea by the Tsushima Warm Current every year.     

Belowground rhizomes and roots in waterlogged paleosols: Examples from the Middle Jurassic of Beijing,China

Plant rhizomes and roots occur in terrestrial ecosystems since at least the Devonian, but the documentation of belowground plant tissues is sparse in the fossil record. In this study, fossils representing belowground rhizomes and roots are described from the top of the Upper Yaopo Formation (Middle Jurassic), at the Yuejiapo section, Mentougou District, Beijing, China. Morphological studies of the plant fossils, together with lithofacies analyses, provide new information on plant–soil interactions during the Jurassic period. Three types of rooting systems are recognized from two fossiliferous beds. The Bed-1 Flora is interpreted as representing a Cladophlebis-dominated community, where abundant foliage remains mainly of Cladophlebis cf. scariosa and Cladophlebis delicatula are associated with Type-A rooting system. The Bed-2 Flora includes Type-B and Type-C rooting systems, although the floristic composition is unknown due to the absence of identifiable foliage remains. The Type-A and Type-B rooting systems consist of abundant in situ vertical rhizomes, fine shoot-borne roots and lateral roots, and are consistent with those of some extant ferns. The Type-C rooting system shows a thick central taproot and at least three orders of lateral roots, an architecture typical of various gymnosperms. The in situ rooting systems, as well as sedimentary evidence, contribute to the recognition of stacked, reworked Entisols in a dynamic waterlogged environment.     

溶藻菌R1的分离鉴定以及对栅藻共处代谢的影响

【目的】分离并鉴定溶藻菌和栅藻,并对溶藻菌抑制栅藻的机理进行分析。【方法】溶藻菌分离采用高氏一号培养基,经多次划线纯化而得;溶藻菌鉴定采用生理生化性质判定;栅藻分离和鉴定主要采用镜检和《中国常见淡水浮游藻类图谱》完成;溶藻菌对栅藻的影响分析测定包括:测定栅藻叶绿素a变化、水体中溶解氧变化、藻细胞数目变化、藻蛋白表达变化、抑藻特殊物质测定等。【结果】共分离出4株溶藻菌(R1-R4),通过对其理化性质测定初步判定均属于芽孢杆菌属(Bacillus sp.),其中溶藻菌R1对栅藻生长的影响最明显,其对栅藻叶绿素a的抑制率为65%、溶解氧最低达6.5 mg/L,远低于栅藻单独培养下的10.4 mg/L;栅藻单独培养条件下的蛋白质表达为0.845 7 mg/L,与溶藻菌R1共培养时栅藻蛋白表达仅有0.192 6 mg/L;傅里叶红外光谱(FTIR)测定表明溶藻菌对栅藻细胞结构产生影响;相差显微镜对溶藻菌R1-栅藻共培养动态观察图可以看出,溶藻菌R1对栅藻的生长具有明显的抑制作用。【结论】从影响栅藻细胞结构、栅藻蛋白表达、栅藻光合作用等方面进行了分析,为揭示溶藻菌对栅藻抑制的机理提供了一定的理论基础。     

Embracing asymmetry in nature: How to account for skewness in ecological data

Asymmetric regression is an alternative to conventional linear regression that allows us to model the relationship between predictor variables and the response variable while accommodating skewness. Advantages of asymmetric regression include incorporating realistic ecological patterns observed in data, robustness to model misspecification and less sensitivity to outliers. Bayesian asymmetric regression relies on asymmetric distributions such as the asymmetric Laplace (ALD) or asymmetric normal (AND) in place of the normal distribution used in classic linear regression models. Asymmetric regression concepts can be used for process and parameter components of hierarchical Bayesian models and have a wide range of applications in data analyses. In particular, asymmetric regression allows us to fit more realistic statistical models to skewed data and pairs well with Bayesian inference. We first describe asymmetric regression using the ALD and AND. Second, we show how the ALD and AND can be used for Bayesian quantile and expectile regression for continuous response data. Third, we consider an extension to generalize Bayesian asymmetric regression to survey data consisting of counts of objects. Fourth, we describe a regression model using the ALD, and show that it can be applied to add needed flexibility, resulting in better predictive models compared to Poisson or negative binomial regression. We demonstrate concepts by analyzing a data set consisting of counts of Henslow’s sparrows following prescribed fire and provide annotated computer code to facilitate implementation. Our results suggest Bayesian asymmetric regression is an essential component of a scientist’s statistical toolbox.     

Limb articulation in caridoid crustaceans revisited - new evidence from Euphausiacea (Malacostraca)

The propodial articulation of thoracopods in Malacostraca is revisited. Two major joints at the base of the limb, a thorax-coxa joint and a coxa-basis joint permit promotion-remotion and abduction-adduction, respectively. In representatives of Decapoda, Anaspidacea and Euphausiacea, the coxa forms proximally a dicondylic articulation with the thorax, permitting promotion-remotion, and distally another dicondylic joint with the basis, permitting abduction-adduction. In Lophogastrida and Mysida, the thorax-coxa hinge line is antero-posteriorly oriented, as is the coxa-basis hinge line. Promotion-remotion in Mysida and Lophogastrida is possible because of the presence of an intrabasal joint which is also present in Euphausiacea and Anaspidacea. In Mysida, Lophogastrida and Euphausiacea, the intrabasal joint is only present anteriorly, just distally of the anterior coxa-basis joint between a small, triangular proximal part of the basis and a larger distal part. In Anaspidacea, the intrabasal joint is also present posteriorly and permits abduction-adduction. Homology with the intrabasal joint of the other taxa seems doubtful. Limb articulation in Anaspidacea shows, nevertheless, correspondences with that in Euphausiacea, Lophogastrida and Mysida: the coxa is posteriorly invaginated and has an open ring-like structure very different from the solid coxa in decapods. Despite the high level of structural correspondence between the intrabasal joint in Euphausiacea and that in Lophogastrida and Mysida, their different functional roles make homology implausible. In Lophogastrida and Mysida the intrabasal joint is thought to replace the promotion-remotion movement of the thorax-coxa articulation, which in these taxa permits abduction-adduction only, probably in connection with the evolution of the marsupium. In Euphausiacea, the intrabasal joint might play a role in feeding mechanisms. Neither the feeding basket nor a marsupium can reasonably be suggested for any common ancestor of Euphausiacea and Mysidacea (or Peracarida).     

Review of the Genus Myrmica in Korea (Hymenptera: Formicidae)

The paper contains a taxonomie review of 12 species of the genus Myrmica occurring in Korea. The following species are under discussion: M. angulinodis Ruzsky, M. carinata Kupyanskaya, M. hyungokae Elmes, M. jessensis Forel, M. kasczenkoi Ruzsky, M. kotokui Forel, M. koreana Elmes, M kurokii Forel, M. lobicornis Nylander, M. ruginodis Nylander, M silvestrii Wheeler, M. sulcinodis Nylander. Twelve species of the genus Myrmica are recognized from Korea, these are revised and a key to their identification is provided. Five species, M. cadusa, M. incurvata, M. saphoshikovi, M. scabrinodis, and M. yoshiokai are questionable to be distributed in Korea, as I have not found any specimens preserved in Korea. The SEM photo and illustrations of the worker of each species are provided.     

DNA damage induced by resveratrol and its synthetic analogues in the presence of Cu (II) ions: Mechanism and structure-activity relationship

The prooxidant effect of resveratrol (3,5,4′-trihydroxy-trans-stibene) and its synthetic analogues (ArOH), that is, 3,4,4′-trihydroxy-trans-stibene (3,4,4′-THS), 3,4,5-trihydroxy-trans-stibene (3,4,5-THS), 3,4-dihydroxy-trans-stibene (3,4-DHS), 4,4′-dihydroxy-trans-stibene (4,4′-DHS), 2,4-dihydroxy-trans-stilbene (2,4-DHS), 3,5-dihydroxy-trans-stilbene (3,5-DHS) and 3,5,4′-trimethoxy-trans-stibene (3,5,4′-TMS), on supercoiled pBR322 plasmid DNA strand breakage and calf thymus DNA damage in the presence of Cu (II) ions has been studied. It was found that the compounds bearing ortho-dihydroxyl groups (3,4-DHS, 3,4,4′-THS, and 3,4,5-THS) or bearing 4-hydroxyl groups (2,4-DHS, 4,4′-DHS, and resveratrol) exhibit remarkably higher activity in the DNA damage than the ones bearing no such functionalities. Kinetic analysis by UV-visible spectra demonstrates that the formation of ArOH-Cu (II) complexes, the stabilization of oxidative intermediate derived from ArOH and Cu (II)/Cu (I) redox cycles, might be responsible for the DNA damage. This study also reveals a good correlation between antioxidant and prooxidant activity, as well as cytotoxicity against human leukemia (HL-60 and Jurkat) cell lines. The mechanisms and implications of these observations are discussed.