Direct and indirect effects of climate on richness drive the latitudinal diversity gradient in forest trees

Data accessibility statement: Full census data are available upon reasonable request from the ForestGEO data portal, http://ctfs.si.edu/datarequest/ We thank Margie Mayfield, three anonymous reviewers and Jacob Weiner for constructive comments on the manuscript. This study was financially supported by the National Key R&D Program of China (2017YFC0506100), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (31622014 and 31570426), and the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (17lgzd24) to CC. XW was supported by the Strategic Priority Research Program of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (XDB3103). DS was supported by the Czech Science Foundation (grant no. 16-26369S). Yves Rosseel provided us valuable suggestions on using the lavaan package conducting SEM analyses. Funding and citation information for each forest plot is available in the Supplementary Information Text 1.Peer reviewedPostprin

Numerical Investigation on Aerodynamic Characteristics of an Active Jets-Matrix Serving as Pitch Control Surface

To facilitate future Hypersonic Flight Vehicle (HFV) implementation with high maneuverability throughout its reentry trajectory, an Active Jets-Matrix (AJM) is designed to serve as the flapless pitch control surface. The AJM consists of four control groups composed in total of 48 supersonic nozzles. The AJM aims to utilize the jet flow-interaction-induced additional control moment to improve the control efficiency during atmospheric entry. A comparative research method is employed to study the eight simulation cases for three different HFV configurations (baseline, mechanical control surface with 30° deflection, and the AJM configuration) and two AJM control moment adjustment strategies (nozzle chamber pressure regulation and discretized nozzle group on–off control). A conventional in-house computational fluid dynamics (CFD) solver with the two-equation SST turbulence model is employed to undertake the simulation tasks. Simulation results indicate that: (a) only the AJM configuration is capable of trimming the HFV in pitch channel; (b) nonlinearity exists between the augmentation moment and the specific control variable from respective adjustment strategies; (c) the chamber pressure regulation strategy bears higher overall efficiency, while the discretized control strategy induces more intense local jet-flow interaction. With a maximum control moment augmentation of 1.58, the AJM presents itself as a competitive candidate for future HFV flapless control methods

The transition patterns of rural household carbon footprint in China

The carbon footprint of rural household consumption in China has a substantial scale and unique characteristics compared to urban areas. However, there remains a lack of studies that clarify the sources and potential of rural household carbon footprint in China. In this study, we estimated the rural household carbon footprint of 30 provinces in China’s mainland in 2007, 2012, and 2017 based on the Multi-Regional Input-Output model, and investigated the transition patterns with a consideration of the trends, regional differences, driving forces, and structural changes. Results revealed that the carbon footprint of rural household consumption in China grew by 83% from 2007 to 2017 and displayed a weak decoupling from income growth. The transition patterns were observed from three perspectives: Firstly, the primary driving force behind the growth was income increase, while the decrease in carbon footprint intensity slowed down the growth significantly. Secondly, housing and direct emission contributed to 62% of the growth in rural household carbon footprint, while health care, transportation, and other services showed increasing contributions. Lastly, there were notable “higher in the north, lower in the south” regional differences in the per capita rural household carbon footprint, and the gap tended to increase. The main reasons for the regional differences were intensity change, income increase, housing consumption, and direct emission. Our findings can offer decision-making support to guide rural household consumption towards achieving carbon peaking and carbon neutrality goals

Preparation of Ag/TiO₂/ITO UV Detector and Its Photoelectronic Properties

TiO2-based UV detectors with Ag antidot/TiO2/ITO sandwich structure were prepared by RF magnetron sputtering and colloidal crystal template technology. The microstructure and photoelectronic properties of the UV detectors were investigated by SEM, XRD, four point probe and semiconductor parameter instrument. The experimental results show that pore size of Ag antidot has an obvious effect on the photoelectronic properties of the detectors. With the increase of pore size, the dark current increases and the response time is prolonged, while the photocurrent is increased at first, then is decreased. Meanwhile, it is found that photoelectronic properties are optimum when the pore size is 4.2 μm. Antidot array electrodes with large pore size possess higher electrical conductivity, lower ultraviolet transmittance and higher recombination probability of electron-hole pair. Therefore, the pore size variation exhibits significant effluence on the photoelectronic properties of the UV detector

Structural and functional characterization of CATH_BRALE, the defense molecule in the ancient salmonoid, Brachymystax lenok

Thick-lipped lenok, Brachymystax lenok is one of the ancient fish species in China and northeast Asia countries. Due to the overfishing, the population of lenok has been declined significantly. Cathelicidins are innate immune effectors that possess both bactericidal activities and immunomodulatory functions. This report identifies and characterizes the salmonoid cathelicidin (CATH_BRALE) from this ancient fish. It consists of open reading frame (ORF) of 886 bp encoding the putative peptide of 199 amino acids. Sequence alignment with other representative salmonid cathelicidins displayed two distinctive features of current lenok cathelicidin: high level of arginine, resulting in high positive charge and glycine residues, which is significantly different from most acknowledged types of cathelicidins; and the six-amino-acid tandem repeated sequence of RPGGGS detected in a variable number of copies among fish cathelicidins, suggesting the existence of a genetically unstable region similar to that found in some mammalian cathelicidins. Expression of CATH_BRALE is predominantly found in gill, with lower levels in the gastrointestinal tract and spleen. The homology modeled structure of CATH_BRALE exhibits structural features of antiparallel beta-sheets flanked by alpha-helices that are representative of small cationic cathelicidin family peptides. CATH_BRALE possesses much stronger antimicrobial activity against gram-negative bacteria than that of the human ortholog, LL-37. The growth of two typical fish bacterial pathogens, gram-negative bacterium of Aeromonas salmonicida and Aeromonas hydrophila was substantially inhibited by synthetic CATH_BRALE, with both MICs as low as 9.38 mu M. (c) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.Thick-lipped lenok, Brachymystax lenok is one of the ancient fish species in China and northeast Asia countries. Due to the overfishing, the population of lenok has been declined significantly. Cathelicidins are innate immune effectors that possess both bactericidal activities and immunomodulatory functions. This report identifies and characterizes the salmonoid cathelicidin (CATH_BRALE) from this ancient fish. It consists of open reading frame (ORF) of 886 bp encoding the putative peptide of 199 amino acids. Sequence alignment with other representative salmonid cathelicidins displayed two distinctive features of current lenok cathelicidin: high level of arginine, resulting in high positive charge and glycine residues, which is significantly different from most acknowledged types of cathelicidins; and the six-amino-acid tandem repeated sequence of RPGGGS detected in a variable number of copies among fish cathelicidins, suggesting the existence of a genetically unstable region similar to that found in some mammalian cathelicidins. Expression of CATH_BRALE is predominantly found in gill, with lower levels in the gastrointestinal tract and spleen. The homology modeled structure of CATH_BRALE exhibits structural features of antiparallel beta-sheets flanked by alpha-helices that are representative of small cationic cathelicidin family peptides. CATH_BRALE possesses much stronger antimicrobial activity against gram-negative bacteria than that of the human ortholog, LL-37. The growth of two typical fish bacterial pathogens, gram-negative bacterium of Aeromonas salmonicida and Aeromonas hydrophila was substantially inhibited by synthetic CATH_BRALE, with both MICs as low as 9.38 mu M. (c) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved

The potential for using rare, native species in reforestation- A case study of yews (Taxaceae) in China

Ecosystem restoration is regarded as one of the most cost-effective ways of mitigating the effects of the ongoing climate- and anthropogenic changes and slow or revert the loss of biodiversity. Forest restoration has much potential to conserve forest specialist species and ecosystem services, by using multiple, native tree species to promote a high local diversity of trees, with likely positive effects on overall biodiversity and on ecosystem resilience. In this study, we assessed the potential of using two rare, native species of the yew family (Taxaceae) in forest restoration in China. Species of this family are only rarely used in reforestation despite their potential contribution to tree functional diversity as long-lived, shade-tolerant, evergreen understory trees with fleshy seed cones of value to frugivorous animals. By using species distribution modelling methods, we analysed national and local scale occurrence data for Taxus cuspidata and Torreya grandis to determine the climate-based potential ranges as well as important factors for growth on a local scale. The analyses showed that both species have large potential ranges driven mainly by precipitation and by comparing these ranges with the areas that have potential for sustaining forests, we found large areas available for forest restoration where these species could be included. On the local scale, we found that low light levels and low competition from co-occurring trees are more important for the growth of seedlings compared to the adult individuals of both species. If the ecological requirements for seedlings are ensured, i.e. by creating moderately shaded environments in which seedlings can escape competition, both Taxaceae species have high potential for reforestation in China and will increase the ecological qualities of a restored forest, and at the same time, the conservation of rare tree-species in their native ranges is ensured. Conclusively, both Ta. cuspidata and To. grandis are shade-tolerant, slow-growing trees that, by creating an evergreen scrubby layer, add to forest structural complexity and stability, thereby helping support ecosystem services and biodiversity, e.g. microhabitat and resources for birds and other animals

Interaction between Surfactants and SiO₂ Nanoparticles in Multiphase Foam and Its Plugging Ability

To improve the stability of foam fluids, SiO₂ nanoparticles and trace amount of Gemini cationic surfactant were combined with the main foaming agent, nonionic surfactant, to form a tricomponent multiphase foam. The stability of the multiphase foam was assessed through two parameters of half-life time and dilational modulus. The interaction between surfactants and nanoparticles were studied though surface tension, adsorption amount, and ζ potential measurement. The effects of saline ions and temperature on foam stability were also investigated. The plugging ability of the tricomponent multiphase foam was assessed using a sandpack model. The optimized tricomponent multiphase foam was 10 times more stable than corresponding foam without nanoparticles in terms of half-life time and also resisted to saline and temperature to a certain degree because the adsorption of nanoparticles at the interface improved the mechanic strength of foam film. The tricomponent multiphase foam showed more excellent plugging ability in porous media than foam without nanoparticles during flooding. The adsorption of cationic surfactant not only changed the surface hydrophobicity of the SiO₂ nanoparticles, but also promoted the adsorption of APG molecules. Combined the results of Gemini C₁₂C₃C₁₂Br₂ replaced by CTAB or SDS, and C₁₂C₃C₁₂Br₂/SiO₂ replaced by pretreated partially hydrophobic SiO₂ nanoparticle (H15), it is deduced that the in situ surface modification by cationic adsorption to a suitable hydrophobicity was a key step in multiphase stability. Compared with the pretreated partially hydrophobic SiO₂ nanoparticle, more SiO₂ nanoparticles were distributed at the air/liquid interface and utilized effectively in the tricomponent multiphase foam