Geothermal Explorations on the Slate Formation of Taiwan

Currently, over 90% operated geothermal power plants are distributed in the volcanic- or magmatic intrusion-related geological systems. Only a few cases are done in metamorphic terranes, especially on the slate formation. Taiwan is located at the ring of fire and is famous for the young orogenic belt, which has wide distributions of rapid uplifting terranes with few active volcanoes. The metamorphic rocks, for example, schist and slate formations with high geothermal gradients, are occurring in the major mountain range. This chapter introduces the techniques or methods we used for geothermal exploration in the slate formation of the Chingshui geothermal field of Taiwan, where a 3-MW pilot geothermal power plant had been installed in 1983 and operated for 12 years

New Optimal Weight Combination Model for Forecasting Precipitation

In order to overcome the inaccuracy of the forecast of a single model, a new optimal weight combination model is established to increase accuracies in precipitation forecasting, in which three forecast submodels based on rank set pair analysis (R-SPA) model, radical basis function (RBF) model and autoregressive model (AR) and one weight optimization model based on improved real-code genetic algorithm (IRGA) are introduced. The new model for forecasting precipitation time series is tested using the annual precipitation data of Beijing, China, from 1978 to 2008. Results indicate the optimal weights were obtained by using genetic algorithm in the new optimal weight combination model. Compared with the results of R-SPA, RBF, and AR models, the new model can improve the forecast accuracy of precipitation in terms of the error sum of squares. The amount of improved precision is 22.6%, 47.4%, 40.6%, respectively. This new forecast method is an extension to the combination prediction method

Topological surface electronic states in candidate nodal-line semimetal CaAgAs

We investigate systematically the bulk and surface electronic structure of the candidate nodal-line semimetal CaAgAs by angle resolved photoemission spectroscopy and density functional calculations. We observed a metallic, linear, non-$k_z$-dispersive surface band that coincides with the high-binding-energy part of the theoretical topological surface state, proving the topological nontriviality of the system. An overall downshift of the experimental Fermi level points to a rigid-band-like $p$-doping of the samples, due possibly to Ag vacancies in the as-grown crystals.Comment: 6 pages, 5 figure

Tracing blastomere fate choices of early embryos in single cell culture

Blastomeres of early vertebrate embryos undergo numerous fate choices for division, motility, pluripotency maintenance and restriction culminating in various cell lineages. Tracing blastomere fate choices at the single cell level in vitro has not been possible because of the inability to isolate and cultivate early blastomeres as single cells. Here we report the establishment of single cell culture system in the fish medaka, enabling the isolation and cultivation of individual blastomeres from 16- to 64-cell embryos for fate tracing at the single cell level in vitro. Interestingly, these blastomeres immediately upon isolation exhibit motility, lose synchronous divisions and even stop dividing in ≥50% cases, suggesting that the widely accepted nucleocytoplasmic ratio controlling synchronous divisions in entire embryos does not operate on individual blastomeres. We even observed abortive division, endomitosis and cell fusion. Strikingly, ~5% of blastomeres in single cell culture generated extraembryonic yolk syncytial cells, embryonic stem cells and neural crest-derived pigment cells with timings mimicking their appearance in embryos. We revealed the maternal inheritance of key lineage regulators and their differential expression in cleavage embryos. Therefore, medaka blastomeres possess the accessibility for single cell culture, previously unidentified heterogeneity in motility, division, gene expression and intrinsic ability to generate major extraembryonic and embryonic lineages without positioning cues. Our data demonstrate the fidelity and potential of the single cell culture system for tracking blastomere fate decisions under defined conditions in vitro

A tetra­silver(I)ditungsten(VI) cluster with sulfide and bis­(diphenyl­phosphino)methane ligands

The asymmetric unit of the title complex, [Ag4W2S8(C25H22P2)3]·2C3H7NO, tris­[μ2-bis­(diphenyl­phosphino)meth­ane]-3:6κ2 P:P′;4:5κ2 P:P′;5:6κ2 P:P′-μ5-sulfido-2:3:4:5:6κ5 S-μ3-sulfido-1:3:4κ3 S-tetra-μ2-sulfido-1:3κ2 S;1:4κ2 S;2:5κ2 S;2:6κ2 S-disulfido-1κS,2κS-tetra­silver(I)ditungsten(VI) N,N-dimethyl­formamide disolvate, contains two [WS4]2− anions, four silver cations, three bidentate–bridging bis­(diphenyl­phosphino)methane (dppm) ligands and two N,N-dimethyl­formamide (DMF) solvent mol­ecules. The coordination geometry of each Ag atom is distorted tetra­hedral. Two Ag ions are coordinated by μ2-S and μ5-S atoms, and by two P atoms from two dppm ligands, while the other two Ag atoms are coordinated by μ2-S, μ3-S and μ5-S atoms, and by one P atom from a dppm ligand

Experimental Equilibrium Moisture Content of Wood Under Vacuum

Wood equilibrium moisture content (EMC) was measured under vacuum by an electronic method. A wafer was used to measure EMC using an in-house designed vacuum instrument. EMC at 4 to 100 kPa and temperature from 30 to 90°C were measured. The relationships among temperature, pressure, and EMC were determined, and a diagram of wood EMC was produced. The results showed there are obvious differences between experimental EMC values obtained and theoretical EMC values of other researchers. It is suggested that corrections should be introduced into theoretical models or a new model for the vacuum condition developed