The origin of remnant forest stands of Pinus tabulaeformis in southeastern Inner Mongolia

Pinus tabulaeformis is an endemic species in northern China. The northern edge of its distribution corresponds to the northern margin of the monsoon climate. Several stands of Pinus tabulaeformis beyond its major range of distribution were found on the southeastern edge of the Inner Mongolia Plateau. Phytosociological analysis shows that the community structure, species composition and regeneration ability of Pinus trees in these stands are quite different from those within its continuous range of distribution. This paper presents palynological evidence to explain how and when these remnant communities were formed. Pinus tabulaeformis entered the study area in the mid-Holocene as the summer monsoon intensified, and declined when the summer monsoon weakened. Climatic change was the driving factor for the migration of Pinus tabulaeformis. It might be supposed that the competition between pine and oak forest during the mid-Holocene warm period also affected the immigration of pine. The remnant stands of Pinus tabulaeformis were apparently favored by the microhabitat of the sandy soils in valleys when the climate became drier. The remnant stands of Pinus tabulaeformis help stabilize the stand dunes. The protection of these stands is an important task of natural conservation in the study area.     

Adjusting for reporting delay in cancer incidence when combining different sets of cancer registries

Cancer registries collect cancer incidence data that can be used to calculate incidence rates in a population and track changes over time. For incidence rates to be accurate, it is critical that diagnosed cases be reported in a timely manner. Registries typically allow a fixed amount of time (e.g. two years) for diagnosed cases to be reported before releasing the initial case counts for a particular diagnosis year. Inevitably, however, additional cases are reported after the initial counts are released; these extra cases are included in subsequent releases that become more complete over time, while incidence rates based on earlier releases will underestimate the true rates. Statistical methods have been developed to estimate the distribution of reporting delay (the amount of time until a diagnosed case is reported) and to correct incidence rates for underestimation due to reporting delay. Since the observed reporting delays must be less than the length of time the registry has been collecting data, most methods estimate a truncated delay distribution. These methods can be applied to a group of registries that began collecting data in the same diagnosis year. In this paper, we extend the methods to two groups of registries that began collecting data in two different diagnosis years (so that the delay distributions are truncated at different times). We apply the proposed method to data from the National Cancer Institute's Surveillance Epidemiology and End Results (SEER) program, a consortium of U.S. cancer registries that includes nine registries with data collection beginning in 1981 and four registries with data collection beginning in 1992. We use the method to obtain delay‐adjusted incidence rates for melanoma, liver cancer, and Hodgkin lymphoma.     

Extended standard curve stability on the CCD magic lite immunoassay system using a two-point adjustment

Ciba Corning Diagnostics has developed a two-point adjustment algorithm for use with the Magic Lite System which allows for extended stability of a full 7–10 point calibration curve over the life of a kit. This adjustment is accomplished by using a master calibration curve established during manufacturing along with two calibrators for each assay. Most conventional non-automated immunoassays contain anywhere from 6 to 10 calibrators which are included with each run of an assay. Eliminating the need to run full standard curves and using the two-point adjustment algorithm results in significant savings in both labour and reagent usage.     

Catastrophic disturbance, logging and the ecology of mahogany (Swietenia macrophylla King): grounds for listing a major tropical timber species in CITES

Recent debate on whether or not mahogany ( Swietenia macrophylla King) is threatened by the international timber trade has focused on the breadth of its range and estimates of the remaining stock of mahogany trees. These data are inadequate to reveal the status of mahogany populations, both because they are incomplete in areal extent and because they do not reveal population parameters such as the existence or density of young trees smaller than commercial size. However, there is sufficient information on the regeneration ecology of mahogany to indicate that under natural conditions this species regenerates in essentially even-aged stands after catastrophic disturbances destroy many or most trees, and, in the case of fires and flooding, saplings and seedlings as well. Adult mahoganies tend to survive these events, and regenerate by shedding seed onto the resulting gaps or clearings. This ecological strategy makes mahogany vulnerable to logging, first because juvenile mahoganies are not found in the understorey, and secondly because logging operations shortcircuit mahogany regeneration processes by selectively removing almost all mahogany seed sources while leaving standing competing vegetation of other species. Listing of mahogany in CITES Appendix II could provide both a mechanism to fill in gaps in information and an incentive to change current practices in favour of silvicultural management to provide for regeneration of this valuable timber species in forests subjected to logging.     

How locomotion sub-functions can control walking at different speeds?

Inspired from template models explaining biological locomotory systems and Raibert׳s pioneering legged robots, locomotion can be realized by basic sub-functions: elastic axial leg function, leg swinging and balancing. Combinations of these three can generate different gaits with diverse properties. In this paper we investigate how locomotion sub-functions contribute to stabilize walking at different speeds. Based on this trilogy, we introduce a conceptual model to quantify human locomotion sub-functions in walking. This model can produce stable walking and also predict human locomotion sub-function control during swing phase of walking. Analyzing experimental data based on this modeling shows different control strategies which are employed to increase speed from slow to moderate and moderate to fast gaits.     

Structure and species richness in wetland continua on sandy soils in subtropical and tropical Australia

Net photosynthetic fixation of wetland plant communities is confined to the period of the year when the surface soil is not waterlogged and is thus well aerated. In the open‐structured vegetation continuum across freshwater wetlands on sandy soils in subtropical and tropical Australia, the sum of the foliage projective covers (FPCs) of the overstorey and understorey strata remains constant, while that of the overstorey decreases to zero as seasonal waterlogging (and anaerobic conditions) in the surface root systems increases. Density and height of the overstorey trees – of only one or two species – and species richness (number of species per hectare) in the understorey decreases along this waterlogging gradient. Melaleuca paperbark trees, possessing surface roots with cortical aerenchyma, may form a closed‐forest at the edge of the wetland continuum wherever there is a continuous flow of aerated water. As global warming progresses, an increase in air temperature in the atmosphere flowing over and through the wetland continuum during the short period of annual foliage‐growth will affect the combined FPCs of overstorey and understorey strata, as well as the leaf‐specific weights of all leaves throughout the plant community. With a reduction in net photosynthetic fixation, species richness of the plant community will slowly decline.     

Effects of drought stress on the osmotic adjustment and active oxygen metabolism of Phoebe zhennan seedlings and its alleviation by nitrogen application北大核心CSCD

Aims Two-year-old seedlings of Phoebe zhennan were used in this study to explore the responses of osmotic adjustment and active oxygen metabolism to drought stress and the mitigation effect of nitrogen application. Methods The soil water content was firstly adjusted to four treatment levels, i.e. 80% of field water holding capacity (80% FC), 50% FC, 30% FC and 15% FC, respectively. The physiological variables of plants were measured after one week, and then three nitrogen application rates, control (N0), medium nitrogen (MN) and high nitrogen (HN) were performed at an interval of 7 days for four times (7 d, 14 d, 21 d and 28 d, respectively). The same physiological variables were determined again one month after the accomplishment of nitrogen application. Important findings 1) The free proline (Pro) and soluble sugar (SS) contents in the leaves increased significantly with the aggravation of drought stress after 7 days of drought, but the content of soluble protein (SP) was firstly increased and then declined. The increase of Pro content was especially obvious under severe drought (15% FC). After nitrogen application, the content of Pro raise further, but the values varied in drought treatment. The SS contents under sufficient water supply (80% FC) and mild drought (50% FC) were decreased by MN, but it did not change significantly when supplied with HN despite the soil water content. After nitrogen application, the SP contents under 80% FC and 50% FC were lower than those of no exogenous N, while they were opposite response under 30% FC and 15% FC. 2) Before nitrogen application, with the aggravation of drought stress, the hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) content, superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity, catalase (CAT) activity increased significantly, and the peroxidase (POD) activity showed an up-down trend. After nitrogen application, the content of H2O2 was generally deceased at each water condition, with the maximum decrease at MN, while the HN treatment was not conducive to reduce the content of H2O2. The activities of three kinds of enzymes responded differently to the severity of drought and the level of nitrogen application. 3) Before nitrogen application, the content of malondial-dehyde (MDA) in leaves increased significantly when the soil water content declined to and below 50% FC. The relative electrical conductivity (REC) was decreased at first, and followed by significant increase. Except severe drought (15% FC) stress, the MDA content showed a decreasing trend at MN, but a rebound at HN. As regards severe drought stress, however, the content of MDA increased at both MN and HN, indicating that nitrogen application is not a good choice to alleviate the damage caused by severe drought stress. 4)Two-factor ANOVA revealed an obvious interaction between nitrogen application and drought stress. In conclusion, a proper amount of nitrogen (1.35 g·a–1 for each sapling) could somewhat alleviate drought stress no severer than 15% FC on seedlings of Phoebe zhennan, but excessive nitrogen at rate of or more than 2.70 g·a–1 per sapling is not recommended. © 2018 Editorial Office of Chinese Journal of Plant Ecology. All rights reserved.