China's energy consumption in the building sector: A Statistical Yearbook-Energy Balance Sheet based splitting method

China's energy consumption in the building sector (BEC) is not counted as a separate type of energy consumption, but divided and mixed in other sectors in China's statistical system. This led to the lack of historical data on China's BEC. Moreover, previous researches' shortages such as unsystematic research on BEC, various estimation methods with complex calculation process, and difficulties in data acquisition resulted in “heterogeneous” of current BEC in China. Aiming to these deficiencies, this study proposes a set of China building energy consumption calculation method (CBECM) by splitting out the building related energy consumption mixed in other sectors in the composition of China Statistical Yearbook-Energy Balance Sheet. Then, China's BEC from 2000 to 2014 are estimated using CBECM and compared with other studies. Results show that, from 2000 to 2014, China's BEC increased 1.7 times, rising from 301 to 814 million tons of standard coal consumed, with the BEC percentage of total energy consumption stayed relatively stable between 17.7% and 20.3%. By comparison, we find that our results are reliable and the CBECM has the following advantages over other methods: data source is authoritative, calculation process is concise, and it is easy to obtain time series data on BEC etc. The CBECM is particularly suitable for the provincial government to calculate the local BEC, even in the circumstance with statistical yearbook available only

A rapid staining-assisted wood sampling method for PCR-based detection of pine wood nematode Bursaphelenchus xylophilus in Pinus massoniana wood tissue

For reasons of unequal distribution of more than one nematode species in wood, and limited availability of wood samples required for the PCR-based method for detecting pinewood nematodes in wood tissue of Pinus massoniana, a rapid staining-assisted wood sampling method aiding PCR-based detection of the pine wood nematode Bursaphelenchus xylophilus (Bx) in small wood samples of P. massoniana was developed in this study. This comprised a series of new techniques: sampling, mass estimations of nematodes using staining techniques, and lowest limit Bx nematode mass determination for PCR detection. The procedure was undertaken on three adjoining 5-mg wood cross-sections, of 0.5 · 0.5 · 0.015 cm dimension, that were cut from a wood sample of 0.5 · 0.5 · 0.5 cm initially, then the larger wood sample was stained by acid fuchsin, from which two 5-mg wood cross-sections (that adjoined the three 5-mg wood cross-sections, mentioned above) were cut. Nematode-staining-spots (NSSs) in each of the two stained sections were counted under a microscope at 100· magnification. If there were eight or more NSSs present, the adjoining three sections were used for PCR assays. The B. xylophilus – specific amplicon of 403 bp (DQ855275) was generated by PCR assay from 100.00% of 5-mg wood cross-sections that contained more than eight Bx NSSs by the PCR assay. The entire sampling procedure took only 10 min indicating that it is suitable for the fast estimation of nematode numbers in the wood of P. massonina as the prelimary sample selections for other more expensive Bx-detection methods such as PCR assay

Modified equation of state, scalar field, and bulk viscosity in Friedmann universe

A generalized dynamical equation for the scale factor of the universe is proposed to describe the cosmological evolution, of which the $\Lambda$CDM model is a special case. It also provides a general example to show the equivalence of the modified equation of state (EOS) and a scalar field model. In the mathematical aspect, the EOS, the scalar field potential $V(\phi)$, and the scale factor $a(t)$ all have possessed analytical solutions. Such features are due to a simple form invariance of the equation inherited which determines the Hubble parameter. From the physical point of view, this dynamical equation can be regarded as the $\Lambda$CDM model with bulk viscosity, an existence content in the universe. We employ the SNe Ia data with the parameter $\mathcal{A}$ measured from the SDSS data and the shift parameter $\mathcal{R}$ measured from WMAP data to constrain the parameters in our model. The result is that the contribution of the bulk viscosity, accumulated as an effective dark energy responsible for the current cosmic accelerating expansion, is made approximately ten percent to that of the cosmological constant.Comment: 4 figs, pl

Octet baryon masses in next-to-next-to-next-to-leading order covariant baryon chiral perturbation theory

We study the ground-state octet baryon masses and sigma terms using the covariant baryon chiral perturbation theory (ChPT) with the extended-on-mass-shell (EOMS) renormalization scheme up to next-to-next-to-next-to-leading order (N$^3$LO). By adjusting the available 19 low-energy constants (LECs), a reasonable fit of the $n_f=2+1$ lattice quantum chromodynamics (LQCD) results from the PACS-CS, LHPC, HSC, QCDSF-UKQCD and NPLQCD collaborations is achieved. Finite-volume corrections to the lattice data are calculated self-consistently. Our study shows that N$^3$LO BChPT describes better the light quark mass evolution of the lattice data than the NNLO BChPT does and the various lattice simulations seem to be consistent with each other. We also predict the pion and strangeness sigma terms of the octet baryons using the LECs determined in the fit of their masses. The predicted pion- and strangeness-nucleon sigma terms are $\sigma_{\pi N}=43(1)(6)$ MeV and $\sigma_{s N}=126(24)(54)$ MeV, respectively.Comment: 28 pages, 6 figures, minor revisions, typos corrected, version to appear in JHE

Integer quantum Hall effect and topological phase transitions in silicene

We numerically investigate the effects of disorder on the quantum Hall effect (QHE) and the quantum phase transitions in silicene based on a lattice model. It is shown that for a clean sample, silicene exhibits an unconventional QHE near the band center, with plateaus developing at $\nu=0,\pm2,\pm6,\ldots,$ and a conventional QHE near the band edges. In the presence of disorder, the Hall plateaus can be destroyed through the float-up of extended levels toward the band center, in which higher plateaus disappear first. However, the center $\nu=0$ Hall plateau is more sensitive to disorder and disappears at a relatively weak disorder strength. Moreover, the combination of an electric field and the intrinsic spin-orbit interaction (SOI) can lead to quantum phase transitions from a topological insulator to a band insulator at the charge neutrality point (CNP), accompanied by additional quantum Hall conductivity plateaus.Comment: 7 pages, 4 figure

Patrones de distribución de individuos longevos de plantas relictas en los alrededores de la montana Fanjingshan en China: implicaciones para su conservación in situ

The mountain areas in south-central China are widely recognized as refugia of relict plants during the late Neogene and Quaternary periods. In this paper, we try to explore the distribution patterns of natural habitats and to exactly locate the refugia of relict species around Fanjingshan Mountain using dendrological data of long-lived individuals (≥ 100 years old). Six typical relict plants were found around the mountain, i.e. Cyclocarya paliurus, Ginkgo biloba, Liriodendron chinense, Pinus massoniana, Podocarpus macrophyllus, and Taxus chinensis. The long-lived individuals were divided into three classes according to their ages: Class-I (≥ 500 years), Class-II (300–499 years), and Class-III (100–299 years). Our results showed that the south-west region to the mountain was the main distribution area of Class-I trees of G. biloba and T. chinensis, most of which occurring in the same small village (Yangliu Village of Yinjiang County). The north-east region harboured all the six relict species. Floristic analyses also indicated these two regions were very similar in tree growth as measured by DBH (diameter at breast height of 1.3 m). Thus, these two areas would have provided long-term suitable habitats for relict species. The south-west region, especially the small village Yangliu, should be given highest priority for in situ conservation of relict species and other rare and endangered plants. Attention should also be paid to the north-east region for its very high species diversity of relict species.Las áreas montañosas de la región centro-sur de China están ampliamente reconocidas por su papel como refugio de plantas relictas durante la última etapa del Neógeno y el Cuaternario. En el presente trabajo se intentan explorar los patrones de distribución de los hábitats naturales y la localización exacta de los refugios para especies vegetales relictas en los alrededores de la montaña Fanjinshan, mediante el empleo de datos dendrológicos de individuos longevos (≥ 100 años). En el área de estudio se encontraron seis especies vegetales típicamente relictas: Cyclocarya paliurus, Ginkgo biloba, Liriodendron chinense, Pinus massoniana, Podocarpus macrophyllus y Taxus chinensis. Los individuos longevos se dividieron en tres categorías de acuerdo con su edad estimada: individuos de Clase I (≥ 500 años), de Clase II (300–499 años) y de Clase III (100–299 años). Nuestros resultados muestran que la región situada al suroeste de la montaña se corresponde con la principal área de distribución de los árboles de Clase I de G. biloba y T. chinensis, localizándose la mayor parte de éstos en los alrededores de una pequeña aldea (Yangliu, en el condado de Yinjiang). La región situada al noreste de Fanjinshan alberga, por su parte, las seis especies relictas, y los análisis florísticos muestran una elevada similaridad entre ambas regiones por lo que respecta al crecimiento arbóreo medido como DBH [diámetro a la altura del pecho (1,3 m)]. Por consiguiente, estas dos regiones habrían proporcionado hábitats adecuados para la supervivencia de especies relictas. La región suroeste, y en especial la aldea de Yangliu, deben recibir la máxima prioridad para la conservación in situ de especies relictas (y otras especies raras y amenazadas). La región noreste también debe priorizarse dada su elevada diversidad de especies relictas