The analysis of groundwater recharge in Mongolia using vadose zone modeling

Knowledge of groundwater recharge (GR) is vital for optimal water resources management under an arid continental climate. However, in vast territories such as Mongolia, direct measurements of GR are unfeasible because they mandate excessive costs, stemming from time-consuming and labor-demanding efforts. A valid alternative to direct measurements is numerical models based on the monitoring of precipitation (P) and evapotranspiration (ET) for simulating GR. While direct measurements of ET are logistically problematic and unpractical for large-scale applications, a reliable prediction may be derived from crop reference evapotranspiration (ET0) which is calculable from limited data and will feed numerical models to evaluate a (pseudo) realistic GR as output. The crop reference evapotranspiration (ET0) was calculated employing the Hargreaves (Har) temperature-based ET0 method that closely simulated the internationally recognized standard FAO Penman-Monteith (FAO-56 PM) method (calculated with available data at limited locations). The set of weather data required for FAO-56 PM is still mostly unavailable or not easily accessible in data-limited countries such as Mongolia. The Har temperature-based method showed good potential to replace FAO-56 PM in the region according to our analysis. A time-variable and spatially-variable crop coefficient (Kc) was used to convert Har ET0 into a biome-specific potential evapotranspiration (ETp) for 41 study locations. However, there were no readily available estimates of Kc in natural vegetation specific to Mongolia. A dynamic (time-variable) radiation-dependent (in Gobi Desert) or LAI-dependent (in steppe) Kc was adopted from the literature and used for the first time in Mongolia. The LAI dependent Kc was also adjusted due to the climate features of the region. The developed Kc values are important to convert ET0 to ETp with consideration of region’s climate and any factors affecting the vegetation. The mean annual ET0 ranged from 685 mm to 1129 mm, while the ETp ranged from 147 mm to 695 mm. The GR rates were calculated using the estimated ETp as input in the HYDRUS-1D numerical vadose zone model for 41 study locations across Mongolia. The mean annual GR rates were smaller than 12 mm in study locations and the GR tends to decrease when vegetation cover increases. Advisors: Vitaly A.Zlotnik and Erin Haacke

Observation of Ω Contribution in the c1(3872) → Π+π−j/ψ Decays

Resonant structure in the dipion mass spectrum produced via \decay{\Bu}{\X\Kp}, \decay{\X}{\jpsi \pip \pim}, with \decay{\jpsi}{\mu^+\mu^-} is analyzed using Run 1 and Run 2 data samples from the LHCb experiment. The spectrum is dominated by \rhoz\to\pi^+\pi^-, but cannot be described by this contribution alone. A significant $\omega\to\pi^+\pi^-$ contribution, interfering with \rhoz, is observed for the first time. This is a more significant observation ($\u3e7.1\sigma$) of \X\to\omega\jpsi decays, than previously achieved with $\omega\to\pi^+\pi^-\pi^0$ decays. The relative contribution of $\omega$ to the total \X\to\pi^+\pi^-\jpsi rate is at the level expected from the measured \X\to(\omega\to\pi^+\pi^-\pi^0)\jpsi rate, if the interference between the $\rho^0$ and $\omega$ amplitudes is neglected, $(1.9\pm0.4\pm0.3)\%$. The interference enhances the importance of $\omega$ contribution by an order of magnitude to $(21.4\pm2.3\pm2.0)\%$. The results support interpretations of the \X state as an exotic hadron, since its isospin violating \rhoz\jpsi decay rate, relative to isospin conserving \omega\jpsi decay, is an order of magnitude larger than expected for an ordinary charmonium state

Germplasm Collection and Dry Matter Production of Mongolian Forage Plants

Mongolian rangelands harbour 564 genera, 128 families and 2,823 species of plants (Gubanov, 1996). Approximately 600 species can be used as forage plants (Yunatov, 1968). There are 5 to 6 species of perennial forage plants that are unique to Mongolia and the country has a domestic cultivar Burgaltai of lucerne. This paper provides the results of a study on vegetative and seed yield of germplasm collected from naturally occurring forage plants during 1976-2003. To date, seeds have been collected and are involved in the experimental work from approximately 70 percent of forage plants available at the forage plant seed bank of the Animal Husbandry Research Institute where there are over 2000 samples available

Physico-chemical quality of Bactrian camel milk

Present study was carried out to investigate the quality of camel milk. A wide variation was observed in the quality of raw camel milk. Specific gravity ranged between 1.014 and 1.017 (1.015±0.001), pH 6.53 and 6.77. Total solids, fat, protein, casein, lactose, ash and minerals contents ranged between 14.23 and 12.13, 5.56 and 8.29, 1.8 and 5.0, 1.8 and 3.2, 0.78 and 2.76, 2.9 and 4.12, 0.85 to 1.00 0.20 and 0.28 g per 100 g, respectively.DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5564/mjc.v12i0.171 Mongolian Journal of Chemistry Vol.12 2011: 50-5

Identification and characterization of FAM124B as a novel component of a CHD7 and CHD8 containing complex

BACKGROUND: Mutations in the chromodomain helicase DNA binding protein 7 gene (CHD7) lead to CHARGE syndrome, an autosomal dominant multiple malformation disorder. Proteins involved in chromatin remodeling typically act in multiprotein complexes. We previously demonstrated that a part of human CHD7 interacts with a part of human CHD8, another chromodomain helicase DNA binding protein presumably being involved in the pathogenesis of neurodevelopmental (NDD) and autism spectrum disorders (ASD). Because identification of novel CHD7 and CHD8 interacting partners will provide further insights into the pathogenesis of CHARGE syndrome and ASD/NDD, we searched for additional associated polypeptides using the method of stable isotope labeling by amino acids in cell culture (SILAC) in combination with mass spectrometry. PRINCIPLE FINDINGS: The hitherto uncharacterized FAM124B (Family with sequence similarity 124B) was identified as a potential interaction partner of both CHD7 and CHD8. We confirmed the result by co-immunoprecipitation studies and showed a direct binding to the CHD8 part by direct yeast two hybrid experiments. Furthermore, we characterized FAM124B as a mainly nuclear localized protein with a widespread expression in embryonic and adult mouse tissues. CONCLUSION: Our results demonstrate that FAM124B is a potential interacting partner of a CHD7 and CHD8 containing complex. From the overlapping expression pattern between Chd7 and Fam124B at murine embryonic day E12.5 and the high expression of Fam124B in the developing mouse brain, we conclude that Fam124B is a novel protein possibly involved in the pathogenesis of CHARGE syndrome and neurodevelopmental disorders

Analysis of Groundwater Recharge in Mongolian Drylands Using Composite Vadose Zone Modeling

Knowledge of groundwater recharge (GR) is important for the effective management of water resources under semi-arid continental climates. Unfortunately, studies and data in Mongolia are limited due to the constraints in funding and lack of research infrastructures. Currently, the wide accessibility of freely available global-scale digital datasets of physical and chemical soil properties, weather data, vegetation characteristics, and depths to the water table offers new tools and basic information that can support low-cost physically based and process-oriented models. Estimates of GR over 41 study sites in Mongolia were obtained using HYDRUS-1D in a 2-m-thick soil profile with root depths of either 0.30 or 0.97m by exploiting the daily precipitation and biome-specific potential evapotranspiration values. The GR simulated by HYDRUS-1D arrives at the water table and becomes the actual GR with a lag time that has been calculated using a simplified form of the Richards equation and a traveling wave model. The mean annual precipitation ranges from 57 to 316mm year−1, and on average about 95% of it is lost by mean annual actual evapotranspiration. In the steppe region, the vegetation cover induces higher-than-normal actual transpiration losses and consequently lower GR. The mean annual GR rates span between 0.3 and 12.0mm year−1, while travel times range between 4 and 558 years. Model prediction uncertainty was quantified by comparing actual evapotranspiration and GR with available maps and by a sensitivity assessment of lag time to the soil moisture in the deep vadose zone. The partial least squares regression (PLSR) was used to evaluate the impact of available environmental properties in explaining the 47.1 and 59.1%variability of the spatially averaged mean annual GR and travel time, respectively. The most relevant contributors are clay content, aridity index, and leaf area index for GR, and depth to the water table and silt content for the lag time. In data-poor, arid, and semi-arid regions such as Mongolia, where the mean annual GR rates are low and poorly correlated to precipitation, the ever-increasing availability of world databases and remote sensing products offers promise in estimating GR