ALBERT

Description: Vegetative filter strips (VFS) can effectively trap sediment in overland flow, but little information is available on its performance in controlling high-concentration sediment and the runoff hydraulics in VFS. Flume experiments were conducted to investigate the sediment deposition, hydraulics of overland flow and their relationships in simulating VFS under a great range of sediment concentrations with four levels of vegetation cover (bare slope and 4, 11 and 17%) and two flow rates (15 and 30 L min −1 ). Sediment concentrations varied from 30 to 400 kg m −3 and slope gradient was 9°. Both the deposited sediment load and deposition efficiency in VFS increased as the vegetation cover increased. Sediment concentration had a positive effect on the deposited load but no effect on deposition efficiency. A lower flow rate corresponded to greater deposition efficiency but had little effect on deposited load. Flow velocities decreased as vegetation cover increased. Sediment concentration had a negative effect on the mean velocity but no effect on surface velocity. Hydraulic resistance increased as the vegetation cover and sediment concentration increased. Sediment deposition efficiency had a much more pronounced relationship with overland flow hydraulics compared with deposited load, especially with the mean flow velocity, and there was a power relationship between them. Flow regime also affected the sediment deposition efficiency, and the efficiency was much higher under subcritical than supercritical flow. The results will be useful for the design of VFS and the control of sediment flowing into rivers in areas with serious soil erosion.

Description: A chiral helical coordination polymer [Ag(pmta)] n ( 1 ) was prepared by the reaction of the asymmetric organic spacer 2-pyrimidylthioacetic acid (Hpmta) with silver(I) acetate. Complex 1 has a hetero-chiral coaxial helical structure, which is further extended into a 2D network structure by various supramolecular interactions. Furthermore, complex 1 exhibits strong fluorescence emission in the solid state and modest power second-harmonic-generation (SHG) efficiency at room temperature.

Description: Fine particles (PM2.5) were collected using filter-based high-volume samplers during summer-winter 2008 at a rural site in the central Pearl River Delta (PRD), south China, to determine typical secondary organic aerosol (SOA) tracers from significant biogenic (isoprene, monoterpenes, and sesquiterpenes) and anthropogenic (aromatics) precursors. Average isoprene SOA tracers were significantly higher during summer (126 ng m−3) than during fall-winter (25.1 ng m−3), owing largely to the higher isoprene emission and reaction rates in summer. Average monoterpene SOA tracers during summer (11.6 ng m−3) and fall-winter (16.4 ng m−3) showed much less difference compared to isoprene SOA tracers, probably resulting from the counteracting effects of temperature on the precursor emission/tracer formation and on gas/particle partitioning. The concentrations of the aromatics' SOA tracer (2,3-dihydroxy-4-oxopentanoic acid) ranged from 1.70 to 52.0 ng m−3 with an average of 15.1 ng m−3, which was the highest reported in ambient air. The secondary organic carbon (SOC) estimated by the SOA-tracer method averaged 3.07 μg C m−3 in summer and 2.00 μg C m−3 in fall-winter, contributing 38.4% and 8.7% to OC, respectively. During summer, aromatics-SOC and isoprene-SOC reached 2.25 ± 1.5 μg C m−3 and 0.64 ± 0.7 μg C m−3 and accounted for 76% and 18% of the estimated SOC, respectively, while during fall-winter, aromatics-SOC (1.64 ± 1.4 μg C m−3) was dominant with a share of 79% in total estimated SOC. These results indicated that anthropogenic aromatics were dominant SOC precursors in the highly industrialized and urbanized PRD region. During summer, SOC levels estimated by elemental carbon (EC) tracer method were not only consistent with but also correlated well with those by SOA-tracer method. During fall-winter, however, SOC by SOA-tracer method was only about one third of that by EC-tracer method. Their gaps were significantly correlated with the biomass burning tracer levoglucosan, indicating that input from biomass burning emission with very high ratios of OC/EC during fall-winter would result in an overestimate of SOC by EC-tracer method. Therefore cautions should be taken when estimating SOC by EC-tracer method, especially when biomass burning exhibits significant influences.

Description: A chiral helical coordination polymer [Ag(pmta)] n ( 1 ) was prepared by the reaction of the asymmetric organic spacer 2-pyrimidylthioacetic acid (Hpmta) with silver(I) acetate. Complex 1 has a hetero-chiral coaxial helical structure, which is further extended into a 2D network structure by various supramolecular interactions. Furthermore, complex 1 exhibits strong fluorescence emission in the solid state and modest power second-harmonic-generation (SHG) efficiency at room temperature.

Description: There is a broad consensus that the Solonker Suture Zone marks the final closure of the Paleo-Asian Ocean, which led to the formation of the eastern segment of the Central Asian Orogenic Belt. However, when and how the final closure occurred still remains controversial. To address this issue, provenance analysis of Permian sedimentary rocks of arc basins along the Xar Moron River was carried out. Geochemical analysis revealed a close relationship between the sedimentary and volcanic rock suite in the study region suggesting short transport distances and a complex convergent arc setting. Detrital zircon U-Pb analysis identified two major age provenances: (1) the Precambrian basement of the North China Craton (~2497 Ma and ~1844 Ma), and (2) the Paleozoic Southern Accretionary Orogen along the northern margin of North China (~436 Ma and ~269 Ma). The present locations of identified age provenances indicate southward subduction beneath the northern margin of North China. A comparison of the youngest age population in the sedimentary rocks with U-Pb ages obtained for subduction-related volcanic rocks implies that the Solonker Suture Zone formed from the Late Permian to Early Triassic. The results of our study advocate a complex Permian arc system which was probably similar to present-day Southeast Asia.

Description: Abstract The ethanolaminic salt of citric acid (commercial name Dolapix CE 64) has commonly been used as a dispersant for colloidal based ceramic forming process. In this paper, a surprise was presented that MgAl2O4 spinel slurries consisting of MgAl2O4 spinel nanoparticles and Dolapix CE 64 gelled in air at room temperature spontaneously. The MgAl2O4 spinel slurries with high solid loading (54 vol%) were prepared with Dolapix CE 64 and the green body with up to 57% relative density was obtained. MgAl2O4 transparent ceramics with small grain size (0.92 μm) and high transmittance (81.7% at 600 nm) were fabricated after pre‐sintering at 1500°C and hot‐isostatic sintering at 1550°C.

Description: A series of novel green emission Whitlockite-type Ca 8 ZnLa(PO 4 ) 7 :Eu 2+ and color tunable Ca 8 ZnLa(PO 4 ) 7 :Eu 2+ ,Mn 2+ phosphors were prepared by the solid-state reaction method in a reducing atmosphere. Its crystal structure and phase composition were identified by high-resolution transmission electron microscopy, selected area electronic diffraction, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and X-ray powder diffraction Rietveld refinement, and it was found to be trigonal, belonging to R -3 c (161) space group. The luminescence properties of Eu 2+ singly doped and Eu 2+ /Mn 2+ codoped Ca 8 ZnLa(PO 4 ) 7 phosphors were revealed in detail. Ca 8 ZnLa(PO 4 ) 7 :Eu 2+ is excitable over a broad range from 200 to 450 nm with a prominent green emitting. With varied Eu 2+ /Mn 2+ ratios, fine-tune emission under 365 nm excitation can be achieved from green (0.221, 0.468) to magenta (0.391, 0.276), especially the warm white light (0.392, 0.352), and CCT 3500 K can be obtained by the process of energy transfer between Eu 2+ and Mn 2+ . The ET mechanism in this system is managed via the dipole-dipole interaction with the maximum energy-transfer efficiency 82.8% based on the decay lifetime data. These results suggest that as-prepared phosphors can serve as promising candidates of UV-pumped w- LEDs.

Description: Long-term simulations with regional climate models (RCMs) show biases over East Asia that result partly from fix-in-time land use data (EX2001). Using four satellite-based land use images (EX8901) from the past 30 years instead of default values, 34-year integrations were performed to make comparisons (EX8901 minus EX2001) over East Asian land areas. The decreased albedo (−0.019) resulted in weakened upward short-wave flux, contributing to positive surface radiative forcing (2.89 W m −2 ), which then induced enhanced sensible heat fluxes. The near-surface wind speed was weakened (−0.15 m s −1 ) in relation to the increased roughness length (0.042 m) and weakened pressure gradient, and induced a decreased precipitation bias of 0.0095 mm day −1 . The increased ground temperature and enhanced soil water content promoted strengthened sensible and latent heat fluxes, which induced a decreased surface air temperature bias (−0.24 °C). Results show that by including land use changes, model simulations can be improved.

Description: Based on satellite-derived land surface data, the impact of land use and land cover (LULC) changes between the 1980s and 2010s on the monsoon-related circulation and precipitation over East Asia was explored using the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) regional climate model with the mosaic approach, which could consider subgrid-scale LULC characteristics and the corresponding changes. Simulated results using the satellite-based LULC data show that the monsoon-related precipitation and rain belt movement could be well reproduced, whereas the precipitation was generally overestimated. In terms of the general effect of LULC changes between the 1980s and 2010s, the precipitation decreased in the north and increased in the south. Significant subregional characteristics are apparent in China, especially with respect to East Asian summer monsoon (EASM)-related precipitation. The increased roughness induced weakened near-surface wind speeds in the southern part of the EASM region, while the decreased roughness resulted in intensified values in the northern part. Meanwhile, the impacted EASM-related circulation and moisture flux, which could be well explained by the LULC changes induced, influenced the pressure gradient and temperature gradient at low to middle latitudes, resulting in a weakened moisture flux from the southwest and the southeast, whereas it intensified from the South China Sea and at middle to high latitudes. In general, with weakened moisture flux at low to high latitudes, the EASM-related rain belt's northward movement was restrained. Although the enhanced westerly currents contributed to the increased moisture flux at middle to high latitudes, the precipitation there decreased due to the stronger weakened northward moisture flux. Latitude-month cross sections of monthly mean precipitation from ((a), units: mm day −1 ) GPCC, ((b), units: mm day −1 ) LU80, and the corresponding differences from ((c), relative values, units: %) LU10-LU80 during SEA.

Description: ABSTRACT This network meta-analysis was conducted to compare effects of different placebo-controlled insulin-sensitizing drugs, including metformin, pioglitazone, rosiglitazone and troglitazone on hormonal parameters in polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) patients . We searched PubMed, EMBASE and Cochrane Library databases from their inception to July 2017. Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) met our inclusion criteria were included. We combined direct and indirect evidences to evaluate weighted mean difference (WMD) value and draw surface under the cumulative ranking curve (SUCRA). Totally 28 eligible RCTs were enrolled. The network meta-analysis results indicated that: Compared with placebo, patients treated with pioglitazone had relatively higher sex-hormone-binding globulin (SHBG) (nmol/L) level (WMD = 6.65, 95%CI = 0.57 ∼ 12.98), patients treated with metformin had comparatively lower total testosterone (TT) (ng/mL) level (WMD = -0.20, 95%CI = -0.39 ∼ -0.02); Compared with rosiglitazone, patients treated with metformin had relatively higher estradiol (E 2 ) (pg/mL) level (WMD = 47.91, 95% CI = 11.44 ∼ 85.55). However, there were no statistical significance among the placebo-controlled insulin-sensitizing drugs in follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) (IU/L), luteinizing hormone (LH) (IU/L), dehydroepiandrostrone-sulphate (DHEAS) (µg/dL), free testosterone (FT) (pg/mL) and androstenedione (ng/mL). The results of cluster analysis showed that rosiglitazone may be the best drug for PCOS patients regarding to DHEAS, TT, FSH and LH, metformin may be the best drug for PCOS patients as for E 2 , FT and androstenedione. Rosiglitazone had the best effect on PCOS patients in terms of DHEAS, TT, FSH and LH, metformin had the best effect on PCOS patients for E 2 , FT and androstenedione. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved