Understorey plant community and light availability in conifer plantations and natural hardwood forests in Taiwan

Questions: What are the effects of replacing mixed species natural forests with Cryptomeria japonica plantations on understorey plant functional and species diversity? What is the role of the understorey light environment in determining understorey diversity and community in the two types of forest? Location: Subtropical northeast Taiwan. Methods: We examined light environments using hemispherical photography, and diversity and composition of understorey plants of a 35‐yr C. japonica plantation and an adjacent natural hardwood forest. Results: Understorey plant species richness was similar in the two forests, but the communities were different; only 18 of the 91 recorded understorey plant species occurred in both forests. Relative abundance of plants among different functional groups differed between the two forests. Relative numbers of shade‐tolerant and shade‐intolerant seedling individuals were also different between the two forest types with only one shade‐intolerant seedling in the plantation compared to 23 seedlings belonging to two species in the natural forest. In the natural forest 11 species of tree seedling were found, while in the plantation only five were found, and the seedling density was only one third of that in the natural forest. Across plots in both forests, understorey plant richness and diversity were negatively correlated with direct sunlight but not indirect sunlight, possibly because direct light plays a more important role in understorey plant growth. Conclusions: We report lower species and functional diversity and higher light availability in a natural hardwood forest than an adjacent 30‐yr C. japonica plantation, possibly due to the increased dominance of shade‐intolerant species associated with higher light availability. To maintain plant diversity, management efforts must be made to prevent localized losses of shade‐adapted understorey plants

High performance Beowulf computer for lattice QCD

We describe the construction of a high performance parallel computer composed of PC components, as well as the performance test in lattice QCD.Comment: Lattice 2001 (Algorithms and Machines) 3 page

Constitutive Modeling for Al–Cu–Mg Alloy in Creep Aging Process

The aim of this paper is to develop a set of creep aging constitutive equations for Al–Cu–Mg alloys containing plate- or rod-like precipitates. Average length, aspect ratio and relative volume fraction are introduced to quantitatively analyze precipitates evaluation of such alloy in creep aging process. The strong interaction between creep deformation and aging treatment is considered by the intermediate state variables of dislocation density and precipitate characteristic dimension. A unified creep aging constitutive equation is derived, in which the correlations between microscopic characteristics and macroperformances of material are linked by the yield strength of the material. Using AA2124 as subject, a series of uniaxial tensile creep tests are carried out at 185°C for 12 h under different stresses. The material constants within constitutive models are determined with the experimental data. A good agreement between experimental and computed values confirms that the established constitutive equations can well characterize the creep behaviors

Whole genome sequencing of a banana wild relative Musa itinerans provides insights into lineage-specific diversification of the Musa genus

Crop wild relatives are valuable resources for future genetic improvement. Here, we report the de novo genome assembly of Musa itinerans, a disease-resistant wild banana relative in subtropical China. The assembled genome size was 462.1 Mb, covering 75.2% of the genome (615.2Mb) and containing 32, 456 predicted protein-coding genes. Since the approximate divergence around 5.8 million years ago, the genomes of Musa itinerans and Musa acuminata have shown conserved collinearity. Gene family expansions and contractions enrichment analysis revealed that some pathways were associated with phenotypic or physiological innovations. These include a transition from wood to herbaceous in the ancestral Musaceae, intensification of cold and drought tolerances, and reduced diseases resistance genes for subtropical marginally distributed Musa species. Prevalent purifying selection and transposed duplications were found to facilitate the diversification of NBS-encoding gene families for two Musa species. The population genome history analysis of M. itinerans revealed that the fluctuated population sizes were caused by the Pleistocene climate oscillations, and that the formation of Qiongzhou Strait might facilitate the population downsizing on the isolated Hainan Island about 10.3 Kya. The qualified assembly of the M. itinerans genome provides deep insights into the lineage-specific diversification and also valuable resources for future banana breeding

Investigation of Fiber Reinforced Composite Using Multi-Material 3D Printing

Fiber reinforced composite materials have been commonly fabricated by laying and curing the stiff and high strength fibers within tough matrix to enhance the elastic modulus. The strength and elasticity of the fiber reinforced polymers are dependent on the intrinsic mechanical properties of matrix and fiber, the fiber layup pattern as well as the volume percentage of the matrix and fiber. In this paper, the effects of these factors on the 3D printed fiber reinforced composite materials were investigated. The fiber reinforced polymers were fabricated using multi-material inkjet printer with rubbery material as matrix and rigid strong polymer as the fiber reinforcement. Two types of fiber layup configurations and fiber/matrix volume ratios were designed for this study. The experimental result shows that both tensile strength and elastic modulus of the fiber reinforced polymers could be largely enhanced by varying the fiber/matrix ratio and layup pattern.Mechanical Engineerin

Charmless Bs→PP,PV,VVB_s\to PP, PV, VV Decays Based on the six-quark Effective Hamiltonian with Strong Phase Effects II

We provide a systematic study of charmless $B_s \to PP, PV, VV$ decays ($P$ and $V$ denote pseudoscalar and vector mesons, respectively) based on an approximate six-quark operator effective Hamiltonian from QCD. The calculation of the relevant hard-scattering kernels is carried out, the resulting transition form factors are consistent with the results of QCD sum rule calculations. By taking into account important classes of power corrections involving "chirally-enhanced" terms and the vertex corrections as well as weak annihilation contributions with non-trivial strong phase, we present predictions for the branching ratios and CP asymmetries of $B_s$ decays into PP, PV and VV final states, and also for the corresponding polarization observables in VV final states. It is found that the weak annihilation contributions with non-trivial strong phase have remarkable effects on the observables in the color-suppressed and penguin-dominated decay modes. In addition, we discuss the SU(3) flavor symmetry and show that the symmetry relations are generally respected

Expression of anion exchanger 2 in human gastric cancer

Anion exchanger 2 (AE2), which mediates exchange of Cl-/HCO3- across the plasma membrane, is widely expressed in body tissues. It is most abundantly expressed in stomach and is responsible for the uptake of Cl- ions that are destined to become HCl molecules. Aim: To determine whether AE2 expression was altered in gastric tumors. Methods: We have studied AE2 expression in normal human gastric tissues (n =16) and in gastric tumors (n = 33) using immunohistochemistry and immunofluorescent labeling. Results: In normal gastric tissue positive staining was observed in gastric fundus gland, suggesting parietal cell-related expression of AE2, and AE2 expression was localized in the nuclear membrane and even in cell nuclei. For assay of cancerous gastric tissues, specimens of human gastric cancer arising from the region of the fundus (2 cases), the body (14 cases) and the antrum (17 cases) were randomly selected. Immunohistochemical staining has showed that AE2 was down-regulated in all 14 cancerous gastric body specimens, whereas staining for AE2 in cancerous antrum was less intense and had a diffuse profile. Conclusions: The data suggest that AE2 might be associated with gastric carcinogenesis and the achlorhydria experienced by gastric cancer patients.Анионный обменник 2 (АЕ2), который опосредует перенос Cl- /HCO3 - через плазматическую мембрану, экспрессируется клетками разных тканей. Самый высокий уровень экспрессии АЕ2 в желудке, поскольку этот белок отвечает за поглощение ионов Cl- , которые впоследствии используются для секреции HCl. Цель: Изучить изменения в экспрессии АЕ2 при раке желудка. Методы: исследована экспрессия АЕ2 в нормальных тканях (n = 16) и опухолях желудка (n = 33) с применением методов иммуногистохимии и иммунофлуоресценции. Результаты: в нетрансформированной ткани желудка в фундальной железе выявляли сильную положительную реакцию, что свидетельствует об экспрессии АЕ2 париетальными клетками, причем экспрессия АЕ2 была локализирована в ядерной мембране и в ядре. В опухолях желудка (фундального отдела (n = 2), тела (n = 14) и антрального отдела (n = 17)), отобранных случайным образом, был проведен анализ экспрессии АЕ2. Иммуногистохимическое исследование показало снижение экспрессии АЕ2 во всех 14 случаях рака тела желудка. Окрашивание АЕ2 в образцах рака антрального отдела желудка было менее интенсивным и диффузным. Выводы: полученные данные позволяют предположить наличие связи между экспрессией АЕ2 и развитием рака желудка, а также ахлоргидрией, отмечаемой у больных раком желудка

Crystal structure of (La, Ca) MnO 3 ultrathin films deposited on SrTiO 3 substrates

Quantum Matter and Optic