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Sample records for china diversity succession

  1. Genetic diversity for sustainable rice blast management in China: adoption and impact

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Revilla-Molina, I.M.

    2009-01-01

    Keywords: Disease management, genetic diversity, rice interplanting, competition, resource complementarity, technical efficiency, production function, Magnaporthe grisea

    The experience on rice blast in Yunnan Province, China, is one of the most successful and widely publicized examples

  2. Sustainability of mega water diversion projects: Experience and lessons from China.

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    Yu, Min; Wang, Chaoran; Liu, Yi; Olsson, Gustaf; Wang, Chunyan

    2018-04-01

    Water availability and water demand are not evenly distributed in time and space. Many mega water diversion projects have been launched to alleviate water shortages in China. This paper analyzes the temporal and spatial features of 59 mega water diversion projects in China using statistical analysis. The relationship between nine major basins is measured using a network analysis method, and the associated economic, environmental and social impacts are explored using an impact analysis method. The study finds the development of water diversion has experienced four stages in China, from a starting period through to a period of high-speed development. Both the length of water diversion channels and the amount of transferred water have increased significantly in the past 50years. As of 2015, over 100billionm 3 of water was transferred in China through 16,000km in channels. These projects reached over half of China's provinces. The Yangtze River Basin is now the largest source of transferred water. Through inter-basin water diversion, China gains the opportunity to increase Gross Domestic Product by 4%. However, the construction costs exceed 150 billion US dollars, larger than in any other country. The average cost per unit of transferred water has increased with time and scale but decreased from western to eastern China. Furthermore, annual total energy consumption for pumping exceeded 50billionkilowatt-hours and the related greenhouse gas emissions are estimated to be 48milliontons. It is worth noting that ecological problems caused by water diversion affect the Han River and Yellow River Basins. Over 500 thousand people have been relocated away from their homes due to water diversion. To improve the sustainability of water diversion, four kinds of innovative measures have been provided for decision makers: national diversion guidelines, integrated water basin management, economic incentives and ex-post evaluation. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  3. A Comparison of the Policy Response to Cultural Diversity in China and India

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    宋丽娜

    2015-01-01

    This essay attempts to explore the current cultural diversity in China and India with the comparison of policy responses, especially the multiculturalism and language policies, as well as the policies on the workplace. Results show that India enriched and deepened its multiculturalism through the recognition of languages diversity, while China weakened its cultural diversity by popularizing one official language, Mandarin. However, both China and India should do more in practice to make different ethnic groups live and participant as equal partners in the social life.

  4. Genomic diversity and phylogeography of norovirus in China.

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    Qiao, Niu; Ren, He; Liu, Lei

    2017-10-03

    Little is known about the phylogeography of norovirus (NoV) in China. In norovirus, a clear understanding for the characteristics of tree topology, migration patterns and its demographic dynamics in viral circulation are needed to identify its prevalence trends, which can help us better prepare for its epidemics as well as develop useful control strategies. The aim of this study was to explore the genetic diversity, temporal distribution, demographic dynamics and migration patterns of NoV that circulated in China. Our analysis showed that two major genogroups, GI and GII, were identified in China, in which GII.3, GII.4 and GII.17 accounted for the majority with a total proportion around 70%. Our demography inference suggested that during the long-term migration process, NoV evolved into multiple lineages and then experienced a selective sweep, which reduced its genetic diversity. The phylogeography results suggested that the norovirus may have originated form the South China (Hong Kong and Guangdong), followed by multicenter direction outbreaks across the country. From these analyses, we indicate that domestic poultry trade and frequent communications of people from different regions have all contributed to the spread of the NoV in China. Together with recent advances in phylogeographic inference, our researches also provide powerful illustrations of how coalescent-based methods can extract adequate information in molecular epidemiology.

  5. Functional roles affect diversity-succession relationships for boreal beetles.

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    Heloise Gibb

    Full Text Available Species diversity commonly increases with succession and this relationship is an important justification for conserving large areas of old-growth habitats. However, species with different ecological roles respond differently to succession. We examined the relationship between a range of diversity measures and time since disturbance for boreal forest beetles collected over a 285 year forest chronosequence. We compared responses of "functional" groups related to threat status, dependence on dead wood habitats, diet and the type of trap in which they were collected (indicative of the breadth of ecologies of species. We examined fits of commonly used rank-abundance models for each age class and traditional and derived diversity indices. Rank abundance distributions were closest to the Zipf-Mandelbrot distribution, suggesting little role for competition in structuring most assemblages. Diversity measures for most functional groups increased with succession, but differences in slopes were common. Evenness declined with succession; more so for red-listed species than common species. Saproxylic species increased in diversity with succession while non-saproxylic species did not. Slopes for fungivores were steeper than other diet groups, while detritivores were not strongly affected by succession. Species trapped using emergence traps (log specialists responded more weakly to succession than those trapped using flight intercept traps (representing a broader set of ecologies. Species associated with microhabitats that accumulate with succession (fungi and dead wood thus showed the strongest diversity responses to succession. These clear differences between functional group responses to forest succession should be considered in planning landscapes for optimum conservation value, particularly functional resilience.

  6. Density and diversity of OpenStreetMap road networks in China

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    Yingjia Zhang

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available OpenStreetMap is a geographic information platform designed to provide real-time updates and user-generated content related to its freely available global map, and it is one of the most widely used examples of volunteered geographic information, a technique associated with so-called neogeography. This paper, based on the data from China’s OpenStreetMap road network in May 2014, taking 340 prefecture-level cities in China as its study area, presents the geometric-related (road density and attribute-related (type diversity spatial patterns of the OpenStreetMap road network, and explores their relationship. The results are as follows. (1 The distribution of OpenStreetMap road density in Shenzhen, Shanghai, Hong Kong, and Macao predominantly obeys a “positive skewness distribution”. OpenStreetMap data for eastern China shows a higher overall and circular structure. In central China, there are noticeable discrepancies in the road density, whereas in western China, the road density is low. (2 The OpenStreetMap road diversity shows a normal distribution. The spatial pattern for the so-called “Hu Huanyong line” was broken by the effect of diplomatic and strategic factors, showing a high diversity along the peripheral border, coastal cities, and core inland cites. (3 China’s OpenStreetMap is partitioned into four parts according to road density and diversity: high density and high diversity; low density and low diversity; high density and low diversity; and low density high diversity. (4 The OpenStreetMap geographical information-collection process and mechanism were analyzed, demonstrating that the road density reflects the preponderance of traffic in the real world. OpenStreetMap road diversity reflects the road-related geographic information demand and value, and it also reflects the interests of users toward to OpenStreetMap geographical information.

  7. Soil invertebrate fauna enhances grassland succession and diversity.

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    De Deyn, Gerlinde B; Raaijmakers, Ciska E; Zoomer, H Rik; Berg, Matty P; de Ruiter, Peter C; Verhoef, Herman A; Bezemer, T Martijn; van der Putten, Wim H

    2003-04-17

    One of the most important areas in ecology is to elucidate the factors that drive succession in ecosystems and thus influence the diversity of species in natural vegetation. Significant mechanisms in this process are known to be resource limitation and the effects of aboveground vertebrate herbivores. More recently, symbiotic and pathogenic soil microbes have been shown to exert a profound effect on the composition of vegetation and changes therein. However, the influence of invertebrate soil fauna on succession has so far received little attention. Here we report that invertebrate soil fauna might enhance both secondary succession and local plant species diversity. Soil fauna from a series of secondary grassland succession stages selectively suppress early successional dominant plant species, thereby enhancing the relative abundance of subordinate species and also that of species from later succession stages. Soil fauna from the mid-succession stage had the strongest effect. Our results clearly show that soil fauna strongly affects the composition of natural vegetation and we suggest that this knowledge might improve the restoration and conservation of plant species diversity.

  8. Soil Diversity as Affected by Land Use in China: Consequences for Soil Protection

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    Wei Shangguan

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available Rapid land-use change in recent decades in China and its impact on terrestrial biodiversity have been widely studied, particularly at local and regional scales. However, the effect of land-use change on the diversity of soils that support the terrestrial biological system has rarely been studied. Here, we report the first effort to assess the impact of land-use change on soil diversity for the entire nation of China. Soil diversity and land-use effects were analyzed spatially in grids and provinces. The land-use effects on different soils were uneven. Anthropogenic soils occupied approximately 12% of the total soil area, which had already replaced the original natural soils. About 7.5% of the natural soil classes in China were in danger of substantial loss, due to the disturbance of agriculture and construction. More than 80% of the endangered soils were unprotected due to the overlook of soil diversity. The protection of soil diversity should be integrated into future conservation activities.

  9. Soil Diversity as Affected by Land Use in China: Consequences for Soil Protection

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    Shangguan, Wei; Gong, Peng; Liang, Lu; Dai, YongJiu; Zhang, Keli

    2014-01-01

    Rapid land-use change in recent decades in China and its impact on terrestrial biodiversity have been widely studied, particularly at local and regional scales. However, the effect of land-use change on the diversity of soils that support the terrestrial biological system has rarely been studied. Here, we report the first effort to assess the impact of land-use change on soil diversity for the entire nation of China. Soil diversity and land-use effects were analyzed spatially in grids and provinces. The land-use effects on different soils were uneven. Anthropogenic soils occupied approximately 12% of the total soil area, which had already replaced the original natural soils. About 7.5% of the natural soil classes in China were in danger of substantial loss, due to the disturbance of agriculture and construction. More than 80% of the endangered soils were unprotected due to the overlook of soil diversity. The protection of soil diversity should be integrated into future conservation activities. PMID:25250394

  10. Plant diversity and conservation in China: planning a strategic bioresource for a sustainable future.

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    Huang, Hongwen

    2011-01-01

    China is one of the richest countries for plant diversity with approximately 33 000 vascular plant species, ranking second in the world. However, the plant diversity in China is increasingly threatened, with an estimated 4000–5000 plant species being threatened or on the verge of extinction, making China, proportionally, one of the highest priorities for global plant biodiversity conservation. Coming in the face of the current ecological crisis, it is timely that China has launched China's Strategy for Plant Conservation (CSPC). China has increasingly recognized the importance of plant diversity in efforts to conserve and sustainably use its plant diversity. More than 3000 nature reserves have been established, covering approximately 16% of the land surface of China. These natural reserves play important roles in plant conservation, covering more than 85% of types of terrestrial natural ecosystems, 40% of types of natural wetlands, 20% of native forests and 65% of natural communities of vascular plants. Meanwhile, the flora conserved in botanical gardens is also extensive. A recent survey shows that the 10 largest botanical gardens have living collections of 43 502 taxa, with a total of 24 667 species in ex situ conservation. These provide an important reserve of plant resources for sustainable economic and social development in China. Plant diversity is the basis for bioresources and sustainable utilization. The 21st century is predicted to be an era of bio-economy driven by advances of bioscience and biotechnology. Bio-economy may become the fourth economy form after agricultural, industrial, and information and information technology economies, having far-reaching impacts on sustainable development in agriculture, forestry, environmental protection, light industry, food supply and health care and other micro-economy aspects. Thus, a strategic and forward vision for conservation of plant diversity and sustainable use of plant resources in the 21st century is of

  11. Geographical patterns in the beta diversity of China's woody plants

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Wang, Zhiheng; Fang, Jingyun; Tang, Zhiyao

    2012-01-01

    Beta diversity (i.e. species turnover rate across space) is fundamental for understanding mechanisms controlling large-scale species richness patterns. However, the influences on beta diversity are still a matter of debate. In particular, the relative role of environmental and spatial processes (e.......g. environmental niche versus dispersal limitation of species) remains elusive, and the influence of species range size has been poorly tested. Here, using distribution maps of 11 405 woody species in China (ca 9.6 ¿ 106 km2), we investigated 1) the geographical and directional patterns of beta diversity for all...... with their environmental niches due to dispersal limitation induced by China’s topography and/or their low dispersal ability. The projected rapid climatic changes will likely endanger such species. Species dispersal processes should be taken into account in future conservation strategies in China....

  12. Genetic diversity and reproductive success in mandrills (Mandrillus sphinx).

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    Charpentier, M; Setchell, J M; Prugnolle, F; Knapp, L A; Wickings, E J; Peignot, P; Hossaert-McKey, M

    2005-11-15

    Recent studies of wild animal populations have shown that estimators of neutral genetic diversity, such as mean heterozygosity, are often correlated with various fitness traits, such as survival, disease susceptibility, or reproductive success. We used two estimators of genetic diversity to explore the relationship between heterozygosity and reproductive success in male and female mandrills (Mandrillus sphinx) living in a semifree ranging setting in Gabon. Because social rank is known to influence reproductive success in both sexes, we also examined the correlation between genetic diversity and social rank in females, and acquisition of alpha status in males, as well as length of alpha male tenure. We found that heterozygous individuals showed greater reproductive success, with both females and males producing more offspring. However, heterozygosity influenced reproductive success only in dominant males, not in subordinates. Neither the acquisition of alpha status in males, nor social rank in females, was significantly correlated with heterozygosity, although more heterozygous alpha males showed longer tenure than homozygous ones. We also tested whether the benefits of greater genetic diversity were due mainly to a genome-wide effect of inbreeding depression or to heterosis at one or a few loci. Multilocus effects best explained the correlation between heterozygosity and reproductive success and tenure, indicating the occurrence of inbreeding depression in this mandrill colony.

  13. Loss of heterozygosity drives clonal diversity of Phytophthora capsici in China.

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    Jian Hu

    Full Text Available Phytophthora capsici causes significant loss to pepper (Capsicum annum in China and our goal was to develop single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP markers for P. capsici and characterize genetic diversity nationwide. Eighteen isolates of P. capsici from locations worldwide were re-sequenced and candidate nuclear and mitochondrial SNPs identified. From 2006 to 2012, 276 isolates of P. capsici were recovered from 136 locations in 27 provinces and genotyped using 45 nuclear and 2 mitochondrial SNPs. There were two main mitochondrial haplotypes and 95 multi-locus genotypes (MLGs identified. Genetic diversity was geographically structured with a high level of genotypic diversity in the north and on Hainan Island in the south, suggesting outcrossing contributes to diversity in these areas. The remaining areas of China are dominated by four clonal lineages that share mitochondrial haplotypes, are almost exclusively the A1 or A2 mating type and appear to exhibit extensive diversity based on loss of heterozygosity (LOH. Analysis of SNPs directly from infected peppers confirmed LOH in field populations. One clonal lineage is dominant throughout much of the country. The overall implications for long-lived genetically diverse clonal lineages amidst a widely dispersed sexual population are discussed.

  14. The distribution, diversity, and conservation status of Cycas in China.

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    Zheng, Ying; Liu, Jian; Feng, Xiuyan; Gong, Xun

    2017-05-01

    As ancient gymnosperm and woody plants, cycads have survived through dramatic tectonic activities, climate fluctuation, and environmental variations making them of great significance in studying the origin and evolution of flora biodiversity. However, they are among the most threatened plant groups in the world. The principal aim of this review is to outline the distribution, diversity, and conservation status of Cycas in China and provide suggestions for conservation practices. In this review, we describe the taxonomy, distribution, and conservation status of Cycas in China. By comparing Chinese Cycas species with its relatives worldwide, we then discuss the current genetic diversity, genetic differentiation of Cycas, and try to disentangle the potential effects of Quaternary climate changes and topographical events on Cycas . We review conservation practices from both researchers and practitioners for these rare and endangered species. High genetic diversity at the species level and strong genetic differentiation within Cycas have been observed. Most Cycas species in southwest China have experienced population retreats in contrast to the coastal Cycas 's expansion during the Quaternary glaciation. Additionally, human activities and habitat fragmentation have pushed these endangered taxa to the brink of extinction. Although numerous efforts have been made to mitigate threats to Cycas survival, implementation and compliance monitoring in protection zones are currently inadequate. We outline six proposals to strengthen conservation measures for Cycas in China and anticipate that these measures will provide guidelines for further research on population genetics as well as conservation biology of not only cycads but also other endangered species worldwide.

  15. Evaluating the impacts of slope aspect on forest dynamic succession in Northwest China based on FAREAST model

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    Hu, Shanshan; Ma, Jianyong; Shugart, Herman H.; Yan, Xiaodong

    2018-03-01

    Mountain forests provide the main water resources and lumber for Northwest China. The understanding of the differences in forests growing among individual slope aspects in mountainous regions is of great significance to the wise management and planning of these natural systems. The aim of this study was to investigate the impacts of slope aspect on forest dynamic succession in Northwest China by using the dynamic forest succession model (FAREAST). First, the simulated forest composition and vertical forest zonation produced by the model were compared against recorded data in three sub-regions of the Altai Mountains. The FAREAST model accurately reproduced the vertical zonation, forest composition, growth curves of the dominant species (Larix sibirica), and forest biomass in the Altai Mountains. Transitions along the forest zones of the Altai Mountains averaged about a 400 m difference between the northern and southern sites. Biomass for forests on north-facing slopes were 11.0, 15.3 and 55.9 t C ha-1 higher than for south-facing slopes in the Northeast, Central and Southeast sub-regions, respectively. Second, our analyses showed that the FAREAST model can be used to predict dynamic forest succession in Northwest China under the influence of slope and aspect. In the Altai Mountains, the north-facing slopes supported the best forest growth, followed by the west- and east-facing slopes. South-facing slopes consistently exhibited the lowest growth, biomass storage and forest diversity.

  16. Comparison study of genetic diversity between rice varieties from northeast China and Japan

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Li Hongyu; Wang Haize; Zhang Longhai; Liu Menghong; Xu Zhengjin; Zhao Minghui; Xu Hai; Wang Jiayu; Si Yang

    2011-01-01

    The genetic diversity of 18 rice varieties from northeast China and 13 rice varieties from Japan were investigated by 20 phenotypic traits and SSR assay with 40 pairs of primers. The results showed that 82 phenotypic variation and 108 alleles were detected. With an average of 2.54 alleles on every locus the phenotypic variation and alleles in northeast China were 72 and 103, respectively, and 63 and 94 were respectively with an average of 2.32 alleles on every locus in Japanese varieties. Genetic variation among different varieties varied greatly and among different groups varied slightly. Genetic diversity of varieties in northeast China was much higher than those in Japan, and 94.7% of the alleles from Japanese varieties were included in the varieties from northeast China. The available specific alleles were already very limited in the varieties from Japan and can not meet the rice breeding requirements for northeastern China. (authors)

  17. Prevalence and correlates of successful ageing: a comparative study between China and South Korea.

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    Feng, Qiush; Son, Joonmo; Zeng, Yi

    2015-06-01

    Successful ageing is often defined as a later life with less disease and disease-related disability, high level of cognitive and physical functions, and an active life style. Few studies have compared successful ageing across different societies in a non-Western social context. This study aims to compare prevalence and correlates of successful ageing between China and South Korea. The data come from the Chinese Longitudinal Healthy Longevity Survey (CLHLS) and the Korean Longitudinal Study of Ageing (KLoSA). A total of 19,346 community-dwelling elders over 65 years were included, 15,191 from China and 4,155 from Korea. A multidimensional construct of successful ageing was used, with the criteria of no major comorbidity, being free of disability, good mental health, engaging in social or productive activity, and satisfaction on life. Correlates of successful ageing included demographics (gender, age, and rural/urban residence), socioeconomic features (financial status, education, and spouse accompany), and health behaviours (smoking, alcohol-drinking, and exercising). The results showed that 18.6 % of the older adults in China was successful agers, which was less than 25.2 % in Korea. When gender and age were adjusted, older adults were 51 % less likely to be successful agers in China than Korea ( p  Korea. However, before the socioeconomic variables are under control, rural residence was negatively related to successful ageing in China, whereas this is not the case in Korea. And the gender gap of successful ageing was mostly explained by socioeconomic features and health behaviours in Korea, but not in China. In both countries, good financial condition was highly associated with successful ageing. The study suggests that advancement of public health system could better control progression of non-communicable diseases among old people and thus promote successful ageing.

  18. Diversity dynamics of silurian-early carboniferous land plants in South china.

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    Conghui Xiong

    Full Text Available New megafossil and microfossil data indicate four episodes in the diversification of Silurian-Early Carboniferous land plants of South China, a relatively continuous regional record. Plant diversity increased throughout, but the rising curve was punctuated by three major falls. There were peaks of origination in the Ludlow-Pragian, Givetian, late Famennian and Visean and peaks of extinction in the Pragian-Emsian, Givetian and early Tournaisian. Speciation and extinction rates were highest in the Lochkovian-Pragian and became progressively lower in subsequent stages. High correlation coefficients indicate that these events are associated with the availability of land habitat contingent on eustatic variations and increasing numbers of cosmopolitan genera. Meanwhile, proportions of endemic genera declined gradually. Due to less endemism and more migrations, both speciation and species extinction rates reduced. The changes of diversity and the timing of the three extinctions of land plants in South China are similar to those known already from Laurussia. However, the largest events in the Lochkovian-Pragian and subsequent smaller ones have not been seen in the global pattern of plant evolution. These land plant events do not correspond well temporally with those affecting land vertebrates or marine invertebrates. In South China, the diversity curve of land plants is generally opposite to that of marine faunas, showing a strong effect of eustatic variations. The increasing diversity of both land vertebrates and plants was punctuated above the Devonian-Carboniferous boundary, known as Romer's Gap, implying common underlying constraints on macroevolution of land animals and plants.

  19. Distribution and Diversity of Microbial Eukaryotes in Bathypelagic Waters of the South China Sea.

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    Xu, Dapeng; Jiao, Nianzhi; Ren, Rui; Warren, Alan

    2017-05-01

    Little is known about the biodiversity of microbial eukaryotes in the South China Sea, especially in waters at bathyal depths. Here, we employed SSU rDNA gene sequencing to reveal the diversity and community structure across depth and distance gradients in the South China Sea. Vertically, the highest alpha diversity was found at 75-m depth. The communities of microbial eukaryotes were clustered into shallow-, middle-, and deep-water groups according to the depth from which they were collected, indicating a depth-related diversity and distribution pattern. Rhizaria sequences dominated the microeukaryote community and occurred in all samples except those from less than 50-m deep, being most abundant near the sea floor where they contributed ca. 64-97% and 40-74% of the total sequences and OTUs recovered, respectively. A large portion of rhizarian OTUs has neither a nearest named neighbor nor a nearest neighbor in the GenBank database which indicated the presence of new phylotypes in the South China Sea. Given their overwhelming abundance and richness, further phylogenetic analysis of rhizarians were performed and three new genetic clusters were revealed containing sequences retrieved from the deep waters of the South China Sea. Our results shed light on the diversity and community structure of microbial eukaryotes in this not yet fully explored area. © 2016 The Author(s) Journal of Eukaryotic Microbiology © 2016 International Society of Protistologists.

  20. Diversity begets diversity? The effects of board composition on the appointment and success of women CEOs.

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    Cook, Alison; Glass, Christy

    2015-09-01

    Previous research on the effects of leadership diversity on firm outcomes has produced inconsistent and inconclusive findings. While some scholars argue that diversity increases organizational equity and enhances performance, others argue that diversity increases conflict, reduces cooperation and harms performance. This study tests the impact of a variety of compositional factors on firm outcomes. Specifically, we analyze whether and how board composition affects the advancement and mobility of women CEOs and firm performance. Our analysis relies on a unique data set of all Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) and Board of Directors (BODs) in Fortune 500 companies over a ten-year period. We find a marginally significant positive relationship between board diversity and the likelihood of a woman being appointed CEO. We further find that board diversity significantly and positively influences the post-promotion success of women CEOs. Our findings suggest that board composition is critical for the appointment and success of women CEOs, and increasing board diversity should be central to any organizational diversity efforts. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  1. Population diversity of Diaphorina citri (Hemiptera: Liviidae) in China based on whole mitochondrial genome sequences.

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    Wu, Fengnian; Jiang, Hongyan; Beattie, G Andrew C; Holford, Paul; Chen, Jianchi; Wallis, Christopher M; Zheng, Zheng; Deng, Xiaoling; Cen, Yijing

    2018-04-24

    Diaphorina citri (Asian citrus psyllid; ACP) transmits 'Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus' associated with citrus Huanglongbing (HLB). ACP has been reported in 11 provinces/regions in China, yet its population diversity remains unclear. In this study, we evaluated ACP population diversity in China using representative whole mitochondrial genome (mitogenome) sequences. Additional mitogenome sequences outside China were also acquired and evaluated. The sizes of the 27 ACP mitogenome sequences ranged from 14 986 to 15 030 bp. Along with three previously published mitogenome sequences, the 30 sequences formed three major mitochondrial groups (MGs): MG1, present in southwestern China and occurring at elevations above 1000 m; MG2, present in southeastern China and Southeast Asia (Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Vietnam) and occurring at elevations below 180 m; and MG3, present in the USA and Pakistan. Single nucleotide polymorphisms in five genes (cox2, atp8, nad3, nad1 and rrnL) contributed mostly in the ACP diversity. Among these genes, rrnL had the most variation. Mitogenome sequences analyses revealed two major phylogenetic groups of ACP present in China as well as a possible unique group present currently in Pakistan and the USA. The information could have significant implications for current ACP control and HLB management. © 2018 Society of Chemical Industry. © 2018 Society of Chemical Industry.

  2. Population genetic structure and genetic diversity of Chinese pomfret at the coast of the East China Sea and the South China Sea.

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    Sun, Peng; Tang, Baojun; Yin, Fei

    2018-05-01

    The Chinese pomfret Pampus chinensis is one of the most economic and ecological important marine fish species in China. In the present study, the population genetic structure and genetic diversity of P. chinensis were evaluated from a total sample size of 180 individuals representing six populations from the East China Sea and the South China Sea using mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI) gene. A total of 24 variable sites (including 3 singleton sites and 21 parsimony information sites) were observed, and 18 haplotypes were defined. The haplotype diversity (Hd) of the populations ranged from 0.559 to 0.775, and the nucleotide diversity (π) ranged from 0.330 to 1.090%. Analysis of molecular variance (AMOVA) reveals that the main variation (66.02%) was among individuals within populations. The average pairwise differences and ϕ ST values indicated significant genetic differentiation between Dongxing population and the other populations. The results of the present study are helpful for the sustainable management and utilization of this species.

  3. Discovery of a diverse cave flora in China

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    Wen, Fang

    2018-01-01

    Few studies document plants in caves. Our field observations of a widespread and seemingly angiosperm-rich cave flora in SW China lead us to test the following hypotheses, 1) SW China caves contain a diverse vascular plant flora, 2) that this is a relic of a largely absent forest type lacking endemic species, and 3) that the light environment plants occupy in caves is not distinct from non-cave habitats. To do so we surveyed 61 caves and used species accumulation curves (SAC) to estimate the total diversity of this flora and used a subsample of 14 caves to characterise the light environment. We used regional floras and existing conservation assessments to evaluate the conservation value of this flora. We used observations on human disturbance within caves to evaluate anthropogenic activities. Four-hundred-and-eighteen vascular plant species were documented with SACs predicting a total diversity of 529–846. Ninety-three percent of the species documented are known karst forest species, 7% are endemic to caves and 81% of the species are angiosperms. We demonstrate that the light environment in caves is distinct to that of terrestrial habitats and that a subset of the flora likely grow in the lowest light levels documented for vascularised plants. Our results suggest that the proportion of species threatened with extinction is like that for the terrestrial habitat and that almost half of the entrance caverns sampled showed signs of human disturbance. We believe that this is the first time that such an extensive sample of cave flora has been undertaken and that such a diverse vascular plant flora has been observed in caves which we predict occurs elsewhere in SE Asia. We argue that the cave flora is an extension of the karst forest understory present prior to catastrophic deforestation in the 20thC. We suggest that within SW China caves serve as both refuges and a valuable source of germplasm for the restoration of karst forest. We also propose that caves represent a

  4. Discovery of a diverse cave flora in China.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Monro, Alexandre K; Bystriakova, Nadia; Fu, Longfei; Wen, Fang; Wei, Yigang

    2018-01-01

    Few studies document plants in caves. Our field observations of a widespread and seemingly angiosperm-rich cave flora in SW China lead us to test the following hypotheses, 1) SW China caves contain a diverse vascular plant flora, 2) that this is a relic of a largely absent forest type lacking endemic species, and 3) that the light environment plants occupy in caves is not distinct from non-cave habitats. To do so we surveyed 61 caves and used species accumulation curves (SAC) to estimate the total diversity of this flora and used a subsample of 14 caves to characterise the light environment. We used regional floras and existing conservation assessments to evaluate the conservation value of this flora. We used observations on human disturbance within caves to evaluate anthropogenic activities. Four-hundred-and-eighteen vascular plant species were documented with SACs predicting a total diversity of 529-846. Ninety-three percent of the species documented are known karst forest species, 7% are endemic to caves and 81% of the species are angiosperms. We demonstrate that the light environment in caves is distinct to that of terrestrial habitats and that a subset of the flora likely grow in the lowest light levels documented for vascularised plants. Our results suggest that the proportion of species threatened with extinction is like that for the terrestrial habitat and that almost half of the entrance caverns sampled showed signs of human disturbance. We believe that this is the first time that such an extensive sample of cave flora has been undertaken and that such a diverse vascular plant flora has been observed in caves which we predict occurs elsewhere in SE Asia. We argue that the cave flora is an extension of the karst forest understory present prior to catastrophic deforestation in the 20thC. We suggest that within SW China caves serve as both refuges and a valuable source of germplasm for the restoration of karst forest. We also propose that caves represent a

  5. Genetic diversity and population structure of Sitodiplosis mosellana in Northern China.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yun Duan

    Full Text Available The wheat midge, Sitodiplosis mosellana, is an important pest in Northern China. We tested the hypothesis that the population structure of this species arises during a range expansion over the past 30 years. This study used microsatellite and mitochondrial loci to conduct population genetic analysis of S. mosellana across its distribution range in China. We found strong genetic structure among the 16 studied populations, including two genetically distinct groups (the eastern and western groups, broadly consistent with the geography and habitat fragmentation. These results underline the importance of natural barriers in impeding dispersal and gene flow of S. mosellana populations. Low to moderate genetic diversity among the populations and moderate genetic differentiation (F ST = 0.117 between the two groups were also found. The populations in the western group had lower genetic diversity, higher genetic differentiation and lower gene flow (F ST = 0.116, Nm = 1.89 than those in the eastern group (F ST = 0.049, Nm = 4.91. Genetic distance between populations was positively and significantly correlated with geographic distance (r = 0.56, P<0.001. The population history of this species provided no evidence for population expansion or bottlenecks in any of these populations. Our data suggest that the distribution of genetic diversity, genetic differentiation and population structure of S. mosellana have resulted from a historical event, reflecting its adaptation to diverse habitats and forming two different gene pools. These results may be the outcome of a combination of restricted gene flow due to geographical and environmental factors, population history, random processes of genetic drift and individual dispersal patterns. Given the current risk status of this species in China, this study can offer useful information for forecasting outbreaks and designing effective pest management programs.

  6. Patterns of plant species diversity during succession under different disturbance regimes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Denslow, Julie Sloan

    1980-07-01

    I suggest that between-community variations in diversity patterns during succession in plant communities are due to the effects of selection on life history strategies under different disturbance regimes. Natural disturbances to plant communities are simultaneously a source of mortality for some individuals and a source of establishment sites for others. The plant community consists of a mosaic of disturbance patches (gaps) of different environmental conditions. The composition of the mosaic is described by the size-frequency distribution of the gaps and is dependent on the rates and scales of disturbance. The life-history strategies of plant species dependent on some form of disturbance for establishment of propagules should reflect this size-frequency distribution of disturbance patches. An extension of island biogeographic theory to encompass relative habitat area predicts that a community should be most rich in species adapted to growth and establishment in the spatially most common patch types. Changes in species diversity during succession following large scale disturbance reflect the prevalent life history patterns under historically common disturbance regimes. Communities in which the greatest patch area is in large-scale clearings (e.g. following fire) are most diverse in species establishing seedlings in xeric, high light conditions. Species diversity decreases during succession. Communities in which such large patches are rare are characterized by a large number of species that reach the canopy through small gaps and realtively few which regenerate in the large clearings. Diversity increases during succession following a large scale disturbance.Evidence from communities characterized by different disturbance regimes is summarized from the literature. This hypothesis provides an evolutionary mechanism with which to examine the changes in plant community structure during succession. Diversity peaks occurring at "intermediate levels" of disturbance as

  7. Technical and economic assessments commercial success for IGCC technology in China

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Xiong, T.

    1998-01-01

    The experiences gained from several Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle (IGCC) demonstration plants operating in the US and Europe facilitate commercial success of this advanced coal-based power generation technology. However, commercialization of coal-based IGCC technology in the West, particularly in the US, is restricted due to the low price of natural gas. On the contrary, in China--the largest coal producer and consumer in the world--a lack of natural gas supply, strong demand for air pollution control and relatively low costs of manufacturing and construction provide tremendous opportunities for IGCC applications. The first Chinese IGCC demonstration project was initiated in 1994, and other potential IGCC projects are in planning. IGCC applications in re-powering, fuel switching and multi-generation also show a great market potential in China. However, questions for IGCC development in China remain; where are realistic opportunities for IGCC projects and how can these opportunities be converted into commercial success? The answers to these questions should focus on the Chinese market needs and emphasize economic benefits, not just clean, or power. High price of imported equipment, high financing costs, and the technical risk of first-of-a-kind installation barricade IGCC development in China. This paper presents preliminary technical and economic assessments for four typical IGCC applications in the Chinese marketplace: central power station, fuel switching, re-powering, and multi-generation. The major factors affecting project economics--such as plant cost, financing, prices of fuel and electricity and operating capacity factor--are analyzed. The results indicate that well-proven technology for versatile applications, preferred financing, reduction of the plant cost, environmental superiority and appropriate project structure are the key for commercial success of IGCC in China

  8. Adverse environments and children's creativity development: transforming the notion of "success in adversity" in China.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cheng, Li; Tan, Mei; Liu, Zhengkui

    2015-01-01

    China has been undergoing great social change due to its new focus on urbanization and globalization. Such change has had a tremendous adverse impact on the living conditions of millions of young children, simultaneously generating new interest in children's creativity development. The intersection of these two issues has important implications for China's future as it brings together one of China's core cultural values-"success in adversity"-the importance of creativity, and very real social and economic needs. "Success in adversity" reflects the strongly held belief that individuals who suffer adverse environments can rise to excellence and success through persistence, effort, and creativity. In this article, we briefly explore the historical sources of this belief and how it is closely related to the Chinese conception of creativity. We then present some studies on the creativity of some of China's migrant children. Findings show that while migrant children as a group may not generally exhibit higher creativity than their urban peers as hypothesized, indications of resilience and creative potential suggest that the notion of success in adversity may contribute to the positive development of China's migrant children more substantially when it is informed by research and augmented by research-supported policy. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  9. Multifractal spatial patterns and diversity in an ecological succession.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Leonardo Ariel Saravia

    Full Text Available We analyzed the relationship between biodiversity and spatial biomass heterogeneity along an ecological succession developed in the laboratory. Periphyton (attached microalgae biomass spatial patterns at several successional stages were obtained using digital image analysis and at the same time we estimated the species composition and abundance. We show that the spatial pattern was self-similar and as the community developed in an homogeneous environment the pattern is self-organized. To characterize it we estimated the multifractal spectrum of generalized dimensions D(q. Using D(q we analyze the existence of cycles of heterogeneity during succession and the use of the information dimension D(1 as an index of successional stage. We did not find cycles but the values of D(1 showed an increasing trend as the succession developed and the biomass was higher. D(1 was also negatively correlated with Shannon's diversity. Several studies have found this relationship in different ecosystems but here we prove that the community self-organizes and generates its own spatial heterogeneity influencing diversity. If this is confirmed with more experimental and theoretical evidence D(1 could be used as an index, easily calculated from remote sensing data, to detect high or low diversity areas.

  10. The strategic decisions and success factors of the global integration-local responsiveness of Japanese MNCs in China

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    MAO Yunshi; WANG Jiancheng

    2007-01-01

    This article applies Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) theories to the strategic management analysis of the global integration-local responsiveness of multinational corporations (MNCs) in China, from the perspective of company characteristics (ownership advantages and internalization advantages) and environmental dynamics (locational factors) in order to analyze the success factors influencing the sales activities of Japanese MNCs in China. Based on the analysis of a survey conducted on 230 Japanese parent companies with investments in China, the empirical research findings include: Japanese MNCs in China favor global integration strategies; the more significant the ownership advantages and internalization advantages are, the greater the global integration is; the success factors of their operations in China due to global integration are present in manufacturing know-how, procurement of parts and supplies, financial power, previous investment experience in China as well as sales networks and technologies; locational advantages mainly lie in labor cost among other things; internalization factors do not have any significant correlation with the success and performance of the subsidiary company.

  11. Soil invertebrate fauna enhances grassland succession and diversity

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Deyn, de G.B.; Raaijmakers, C.E.; Zoomer, H.R.; Berg, M.P.; Ruiter, de P.C.; Verhoef, H.A.; Bezemer, T.M.; Putten, van der W.H.

    2003-01-01

    One of the most important areas in ecology is to elucidate the factors that drive succession in ecosystems and thus influence the diversity of species in natural vegetation. Significant mechanisms in this process are known to be resource limitation(1-3) and the effects of aboveground vertebrate

  12. Nature, diversity of deposit types and metallogenic relations of South China

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zaw, K.; Peters, S.G.; Cromie, P.; Burrett, C.; Hou, Z.

    2007-01-01

    The South China Region is rich in mineral resources and has a wide diversity of deposit types. The region has undergone multiple tectonic and magmatic events and related metallogenic processes throughout the earth history. These tectonic and metallogenic processes were responsible for the formation of the diverse styles of base and precious metal deposits in South China making it one of the resource-rich regions in the world. During the Proterozoic, the South China Craton was characterised by rifting of continental margin before eruption of submarine volcanics and development of platform carbonate rocks, and the formation of VHMS, stratabound copper and MVT deposits. The Phanerozoic metallogeny of South China was related to opening and closing of the Tethyan Ocean involving multiple orogenies by subduction, back-arc rifting, arc-continent collision and post-collisional extension during the Indosinian (Triassic), Yanshanian (Jurassic to Cretaceous) and Himalayan (Tertiary) Orogenies. The Late Palaeozoic was a productive metallogenic period for South China resulting from break-up and rifting of Gondwana. Significant stratabound base and precious metal deposits were formed during the Devonian and Carboniferous (e.g., Fankou and Dabaoshan deposits). These Late Palaeozoic SEDEX-style deposits have been often overprinted by skarn systems associated with Yanshanian magmatism (e.g., Chengmenshan, Dongguashan and Qixiashan). A number of Late Palaeozoic to Early Mesozoic VHMS deposits also developed in the Sanjiang fold belt in the western part of South China (e.g., Laochang and Gacun). South China has significant sedimentary rock-hosted Carlin-like deposits, which occur in the Devonian- to Triassic-aged accretionary wedge or rift basins at the margin of the South China Craton. They are present in a region at the junction of Yunnan, Guizhou, and Guangxi Provinces called the 'Southern Golden Triangle', and are also present in NW Sichuan, Gansu and Shaanxi, in an area known as

  13. Noninvasive genetics provides insights into the population size and genetic diversity of an Amur tiger population in China.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Dan; Hu, Yibo; Ma, Tianxiao; Nie, Yonggang; Xie, Yan; Wei, Fuwen

    2016-01-01

    Understanding population size and genetic diversity is critical for effective conservation of endangered species. The Amur tiger (Panthera tigris altaica) is the largest felid and a flagship species for wildlife conservation. Due to habitat loss and human activities, available habitat and population size are continuously shrinking. However, little is known about the true population size and genetic diversity of wild tiger populations in China. In this study, we collected 55 fecal samples and 1 hair sample to investigate the population size and genetic diversity of wild Amur tigers in Hunchun National Nature Reserve, Jilin Province, China. From the samples, we determined that 23 fecal samples and 1 hair sample were from 7 Amur tigers: 2 males, 4 females and 1 individual of unknown sex. Interestingly, 2 fecal samples that were presumed to be from tigers were from Amur leopards, highlighting the significant advantages of noninvasive genetics over traditional methods in studying rare and elusive animals. Analyses from this sample suggested that the genetic diversity of wild Amur tigers is much lower than that of Bengal tigers, consistent with previous findings. Furthermore, the genetic diversity of this Hunchun population in China was lower than that of the adjoining subpopulation in southwest Primorye Russia, likely due to sampling bias. Considering the small population size and relatively low genetic diversity, it is urgent to protect this endangered local subpopulation in China. © 2015 International Society of Zoological Sciences, Institute of Zoology/Chinese Academy of Sciences and John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd.

  14. Chinese villages and their sustainable future: the European Union-China-Research Project "SUCCESS".

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dumreicher, Heidi

    2008-04-01

    from European Union and China, agreed upon as a common result for the SUCCESS project, is as follows: "China is composed of a rich diversity of villages with many attractive qualities and essential resources for the future growth of the whole country; we recommend that policy makers cherish the human and natural potential of the rural economy and environment so that villages provide the foundation for sustainable development of this progressive nation" [Dumreicher, H., 2006. SUCCESS-a sustainable future for Chinese villages. International Symposium "Chinese Villages and their Sustainable Future", University of Natural Resources and Applied Life Sciences, Vienna, January 16]. This sentence was used in papers that where sent to different Chinese authorities by the Chinese partners and found its way, as a sort of "unofficial Charta", towards governmental agencies at national and provincial levels. The team carried out a 5-year-research study in rural China, aiming at establishing future images under the premises of sustainability. But the basic topic that needed to be tackled with was the question whether at all those villages could persist in the coming decades of rapid development. Therefore, the first aim of the study was to establish the importance of the rural environment and living space as a basis for the future of China.

  15. Analysis of genetic diversity of Piper spp. in Hainan Island (China ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Inter-simple sequence repeat (ISSR) analysis was used to evaluate the genetic variation of Piper spp. from Hainan, China. 247 polymorphic bands out of a total of 248 (99.60%) were generated from 74 individual plants of Piper spp. The overall level of genetic diversity among Piper spp. in Hainan was high, with the mean ...

  16. Diverse deep-sea fungi from the South China Sea and their antimicrobial activity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Xiao-Yong; Zhang, Yun; Xu, Xin-Ya; Qi, Shu-Hua

    2013-11-01

    We investigated the diversity of fungal communities in nine different deep-sea sediment samples of the South China Sea by culture-dependent methods followed by analysis of fungal internal transcribed spacer (ITS) sequences. Although 14 out of 27 identified species were reported in a previous study, 13 species were isolated from sediments of deep-sea environments for the first report. Moreover, these ITS sequences of six isolates shared 84-92 % similarity with their closest matches in GenBank, which suggested that they might be novel phylotypes of genera Ajellomyces, Podosordaria, Torula, and Xylaria. The antimicrobial activities of these fungal isolates were explored using a double-layer technique. A relatively high proportion (56 %) of fungal isolates exhibited antimicrobial activity against at least one pathogenic bacterium or fungus among four marine pathogenic microbes (Micrococcus luteus, Pseudoaltermonas piscida, Aspergerillus versicolor, and A. sydowii). Out of these antimicrobial fungi, the genera Arthrinium, Aspergillus, and Penicillium exhibited antibacterial and antifungal activities, while genus Aureobasidium displayed only antibacterial activity, and genera Acremonium, Cladosporium, Geomyces, and Phaeosphaeriopsis displayed only antifungal activity. To our knowledge, this is the first report to investigate the diversity and antimicrobial activity of culturable deep-sea-derived fungi in the South China Sea. These results suggest that diverse deep-sea fungi from the South China Sea are a potential source for antibiotics' discovery and further increase the pool of fungi available for natural bioactive product screening.

  17. Molecular analysis and genetic diversity of Aedes albopictus (Diptera, Culicidae) from China.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ruiling, Zhang; Peien, Leng; Xuejun, Wang; Zhong, Zhang

    2018-05-01

    Aedes albopictus is one of the most invasive species, which can carry Dengue virus, Yellow fever virus and more than twenty arboviruses. Based on mitochondrial gene cytochrome c oxidase I (COI) and samples collected from 17 populations, we investigated the molecular character and genetic diversity of Ae. albopictus from China. Altogether, 25 haplotypes were detected, including 10 shared haplotypes and 15 private haplotypes. H1 was the dominant haplotype, which is widely distributed in 13 populations. Tajima'D value of most populations was significantly negative, demonstrating that populations experienced rapid range expansion recently. Most haplotypes clustered together both in phylogenetic and median-joining network analysis without clear phylogeographic patterns. However, neutrality tests revealed shallow divergences among Hainan and Guangxi with other populations (0.15599 ≤ F ST ≤ 0.75858), which probably due to interrupted gene flow, caused by geographical isolations. In conclusion, Ae. albopictus populations showed low genetic diversity in China.

  18. [Ichthyofauna and its community diversity in volcanic barrier lakes of Northeast China].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yang, Fu-Yi; Lü, Xian-Guo; Lou, Yan-Jing; Lou, Xiao-Nan; Xue, Bin; Yao, Shu-Chun; Xiao, Hai-Feng

    2012-12-01

    Based on the investigations of fish resources in Jingpo Lake and Wudalianchi Lakes in 2008-2011 and the historical data, this paper analyzed the characteristics of ichthyofauna and its community diversity in volcanic barrier lakes of Northeast China. The ichthyofauna in the volcanic barrier lakes of Northeast China was consisted of 64 native species, belonging to 47 genera, 16 families, and 9 orders, among which, one species was the second class National protected wild animal, four species were Chinese endemic species, and five species were Chinese vulnerable species. In the 64 recorded species, there were 44 species of Cypriniformes order and 37 species of Cyprinidae family dominated, respectively. The ichthyofauna in the volcanic barrier lakes of Northeast China was formed by 7 fauna complexes, among which, the eastern plain fauna complex was dominant, the common species from the South and the North occupied 53.1%, and the northern endemic species took up 46.9%. The Shannon, Fisher-alpha, Pielou, Margalef, and Simpson indices of the ichthyofauna were 2.078, 4.536, 0.575, 3.723, and 0.269, respectively, and the abundance distribution pattern of native species accorded with lognormal model. The Bray-Curtis, Morisita-Horn, Ochiai, Sørensen, and Whittaker indices between the communities of ichthyofauna in the volcanic barrier lakes of Northeast China and the Jingpo Lake were 0.820, 0.992, 0.870, 0.862 and 0.138, respectively, and those between the communities of ichthyofauna in the volcanic barrier lakes and the Wudalianchi Lakes were 0.210, 0.516, 0.838, 0.825, and 0.175, respectively. The ichthyofauna in volcanic barrier lakes of Northeast China was characterized by the mutual infiltration between the South and the North, and the overlap and transition between the Palaeoarctic realm and the Oricetal realm. It was suggested that the ichthyofauna community species diversity in the volcanic barrier lakes of Northeast China was higher, the species structure was more

  19. Evaluation of successful aging among older people in China: Results from China health and retirement longitudinal study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Huaqing; Byles, Julie E; Xu, Xiaoyue; Zhang, Min; Wu, Xuesen; Hall, John J

    2017-08-01

    China faces a "time-bomb" of the aging population. Successful aging has long been a goal in the field of gerontology. The present study aimed to evaluate successful aging among Chinese older adults. Data on a total of 7102 people in the China Health and Retirement Study aged ≥60 years were analyzed in the present study. Successful aging is defined by the model of Rowe and Kahn including the following five indicators: "no major diseases," "no disability," "high cognitive functioning," "high physical functioning" and "active engagement with life." Using logistic regression analysis, crude and adjusted odds ratios with 95% confidence intervals were calculated to evaluate the relationship between sociodemographic parameters and successful aging. The prevalence of successful aging was 13.2% among Chinese older people. The percentage of older people with the five indicators, "no major diseases," "no disability," "high cognitive functioning," "high physical functioning," and "active engagement with life" was 41.7%, 92.1%, 54.2%, 70.2% and 46.0%, respectively. Multiple logistic regression showed people who had received education of high/vocational school or above had significantly greater odds of successful aging compared with those with less than primary school education (P aging than those from an agricultural Hukou. Older people living in the central, northeast or western regions had lower odds of successful aging relative to those living in the east coast region (0.72, 0.72 and 0.56, respectively). The prevalence of successful aging is low among Chinese older people, and is affected by sociodemographic factors, such as education, Hukou and regions. Geriatr Gerontol Int 2017; 17: 1183-1190. © 2016 Japan Geriatrics Society.

  20. Diversity in research projects - A key to success?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Henkel, Daniela; Eisenhauer, Anton; Taubner, Isabelle

    2017-04-01

    According to demographers, psychologists, sociologists and economists diverse groups, which are groups of different race, ethnicity, gender and sexual orientation, are more innovative than homogeneous groups. This is also true for groups working together in research collaborations and international cooperation involving a culturally and functionally diverse mix of individuals who have to be integrated into an effective unit - a project team. If the goal is scientific excellence, diversity should be an essential ingredient to conduct science on high level productivity, quality and innovation. Effective teamwork is a key to project success and prime responsibilities of the project manager. Therefore, the project manager has to take into consideration different characteristics such as cultures, languages, and different values related to individual project partners. Here we show how diversity can affect the performance of a research project. Furthermore, the presentation indicates skills and abilities which are required for the management in order to deal also with the challenges of diversity in research projects. The presentation is based on insights experienced in the context of an Innovative Training Network (ITN) project within Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions of the European HORIZON 2020 program and TRION a Collaborative Research Project in the Framework of the Trilateral Program of the German Research Foundation.

  1. Religious diversity and patrimonialization A case study of the Nianli Festival in Leizhou Peninsula, China

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Shanshan Zheng

    2017-04-01

    Full Text Available With the emergence of the neologism ‘intangible cultural heritage’ in 2003 and the adoption of the Intangible Cultural Heritage Law of the People’sRepublic of China in 2011 various popular religious practices in China which used to be considered as feudal superstitions started to be recognized as examples of cultural heritage worthy of protection. If we examine the concept of religious diversity at a local level in contemporary China, the process of a ‘patrimonialization’ of popular religious practices that reflect the dynamic relationships which can be detected across diverse discourses, multiple stakeholders and cultural policies in different arenas could offer us a new perspective on religious practices to explore. In this article I offer an analysis, based on fieldwork conducted between 2013 and 2016 on the Leizhou Peninsula in southern China’s Guangdong Province, of the varying degrees of acceptance, accommodation and resistance prompted by the actualization of popular religious practices in this era of patrimonialization.

  2. Plant species diversity as a driver of early succession in abandoned fields: a multi-site approach.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Van der Putten, W H; Mortimer, S R; Hedlund, K; Van Dijk, C; Brown, V K; Lepä, J; Rodriguez-Barrueco, C; Roy, J; Diaz Len, T A; Gormsen, D; Korthals, G W; Lavorel, S; Regina, I Santa; Smilauer, P

    2000-07-01

    Succession is one of the most studied processes in ecology and succession theory provides strong predictability. However, few attempts have been made to influence the course of succession thereby testing the hypothesis that passing through one stage is essential before entering the next one. At each stage of succession ecosystem processes may be affected by the diversity of species present, but there is little empirical evidence showing that plant species diversity may affect succession. On ex-arable land, a major constraint of vegetation succession is the dominance of perennial early-successional (arable weed) species. Our aim was to change the initial vegetation succession by the direct sowing of later-successional plant species. The hypothesis was tested that a diverse plant species mixture would be more successful in weed suppression than species-poor mixtures. In order to provide a robust test including a wide range of environmental conditions and plant species, experiments were carried out at five sites across Europe. At each site, an identical experiment was set up, albeit that the plant species composition of the sown mixtures differed from site to site. Results of the 2-year study showed that diverse plant species mixtures were more effective at reducing the number of natural colonisers (mainly weeds from the seed bank) than the average low-diversity treatment. However, the effect of the low-diversity treatment depended on the composition of the species mixture. Thus, the effect of enhanced species diversity strongly depended on the species composition of the low-diversity treatments used for comparison. The effects of high-diversity plant species mixtures on weed suppression differed between sites. Low-productivity sites gave the weakest response to the diversity treatments. These differences among sites did not change the general pattern. The present results have implications for understanding biological invasions. It has been hypothesised that alien

  3. Relative role of contemporary environment versus history in shaping diversity patterns of China's woody plants

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Wang, Zhiheng; Fang, Jingyun; Tang, Zhiyao

    2012-01-01

    What determines large-scale patterns of species diversity is a central and controversial topic in biogeography and ecology. In this study, we compared the effects of contemporary environment and historical contingencies on species richness patterns of woody plants in China, using fine-resolution ......-plant species richness across China, while historical contingencies generate regional deviations from this trend. Our findings imply that both species diversity and regional evolutionary and ecological histories should be taken into account for future nature conservation......., and the Tibetan Plateau, perhaps reflecting their special geological features and history. Nevertheless, partial regression indicated that historical effects were less important relative to contemporary environment. In conclusion, contemporary environment (notably climate) determines the general trend in woody...

  4. Genetic diversity and population structure of elite foxtail millet [Setaria italica (L.) P. Beauv.] germplasm in China

    Science.gov (United States)

    China is among the countries that have the most severe water deficiency. Due to its excellent drought tolerance, foxtail millet [Setaria italica (L.) P. Beauv.] has become one of the important cereal crops in China. Information on genetic diversity and population structure of foxtail millet may faci...

  5. Universal health insurance coverage for 1.3 billion people: What accounts for China's success?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yu, Hao

    2015-09-01

    China successfully achieved universal health insurance coverage in 2011, representing the largest expansion of insurance coverage in human history. While the achievement is widely recognized, it is still largely unexplored why China was able to attain it within a short period. This study aims to fill the gap. Through a systematic political and socio-economic analysis, it identifies seven major drivers for China's success, including (1) the SARS outbreak as a wake-up call, (2) strong public support for government intervention in health care, (3) renewed political commitment from top leaders, (4) heavy government subsidies, (5) fiscal capacity backed by China's economic power, (6) financial and political responsibilities delegated to local governments and (7) programmatic implementation strategy. Three of the factors seem to be unique to China (i.e., the SARS outbreak, the delegation, and the programmatic strategy.) while the other factors are commonly found in other countries' insurance expansion experiences. This study also discusses challenges and recommendations for China's health financing, such as reducing financial risk as an immediate task, equalizing benefit across insurance programs as a long-term goal, improving quality by tying provider payment to performance, and controlling costs through coordinated reform initiatives. Finally, it draws lessons for other developing countries. Copyright © 2015 The Author. Published by Elsevier Ireland Ltd.. All rights reserved.

  6. Genetic diversity of Dahongjun, the commercially important "Big Red Mushroom" from southern China.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mochan Li

    Full Text Available BACKGROUND: In southern China, a wild ectomycorrhizal mushroom commonly called "Dahongjun" or "Big Red Mushroom" by the local residents, has been harvested, consumed, and/or exported as an exotic food for many years. Although ecologically and economically important, very little is known about this mushroom, including its diversity and population structure. METHODOLOGY AND PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: In this study, we analyzed 122 samples from five local populations representing the known distribution ranges of this mushroom in southern China. We investigated the genetic diversity and geographic structure of this mushroom using sequences from four DNA fragments. Our analyses identified that this mushroom contained at least three divergent lineages: one corresponds to a recently described species Russula griseocarnosa from southern China and the remaining two likely represent two novel species. While these lineages were prominently structured geographically based on ITS sequences, evidence for ancient and/or recent gene flow was also identified within individual lineages. In addition, a local population from Ailaoshan in central Yunnan Province where 85 of our 122 specimens came from showed clear evidence of recombination. CONCLUSION AND SIGNIFICANCE: The ectomycorrhizal mushroom "Dahongjun" from southern China is a species complex with at least three divergent lineages. These lineages are largely geographically structured and there is evidence for recombination in nature. Our results indicate mature Dahongjun mushrooms with abundant basidiospores are important for the reproduction of this mushroom in nature and that individual populations of this species should be managed separately.

  7. Environmental determinants of woody plant diversity at a regional scale in China.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hong Qian

    Full Text Available Understanding what drives the geographic variation of species richness across the globe is a fundamental goal of ecology and biogeography. Environmental variables have been considered as drivers of global diversity patterns but there is no consensus among ecologists on what environmental variables are primary drivers of the geographic variation of species richness. Here, I examine the relationship of woody plant species richness at a regional scale in China with sixteen environmental variables representing energy availability, water availability, energy-water balance, seasonality, and habitat heterogeneity. I found that temperature seasonality is the best predictor of woody species richness in China. Other important environmental variables include annual precipitation, mean temperature of the coldest month, and potential evapotranspiration. The best model explains 85% of the variation in woody plant species richness at the regional scale in China.

  8. Energy-efficient appliance labeling in China: Lessons for successful labeling programs in varied markets

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lin, Jiang; Townend, Jeanne; Fridley, David; McNeil, Gary; Silva, Tony; Clark, Robin

    2002-08-20

    Appliance ownership and production has increased dramatically in China in the past two decades. From extremely low levels in 1980, China's appliance industry has become one of the largest in the world, with sales topping U.S. $14.4 billion in 2000. In 1981, less than 1 percent of urban Chinese households owned a refrigerator; by 1998, that number had increased to over 75 percent. This dramatic increase in sales and ownership leads to an excellent opportunity to impact energy consumption in China by affecting the energy efficiency of appliances being bought and sold. In general, Chinese consumers value energy efficiency and are knowledgeable about the operating costs of major appliances. However, the Chinese marketplace does not provide information that consumers trust about the energy consumption of specific products. Thus, several interdependent organizations have emerged in China to provide information and market supports for energy efficiency. This paper describes the appliance market in China and the evolution of its standards and labeling programs and the agencies that implement them. It discusses the authors' work with these organizations in developing energy efficiency criteria and supporting an energy efficiency endorsement labeling program in China. It describes how the authors have used their experience with ENERGY STAR{reg_sign} and other programs in the U.S. to work with China to develop a successful program specific to Chinese conditions, with a particular emphasis on refrigerators. It then gives the author's market assessment of the Chinese refrigerator market and recommendations for a successful labeling program and transferable lessons for developing energy efficiency labeling programs in varied markets. This paper is based on the authors' market research, their support in setting energy efficiency criteria in China, interviews with Chinese manufacturers, retailers, and sales staff, and the development and implementation of

  9. Genetic diversity of the Plasmodium falciparum apical membrane antigen I gene in parasite population from the China-Myanmar border area.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhu, Xiaotong; Zhao, Zhenjun; Feng, Yonghui; Li, Peipei; Liu, Fei; Liu, Jun; Yang, Zhaoqing; Yan, Guiyun; Fan, Qi; Cao, Yaming; Cui, Liwang

    2016-04-01

    To investigate the genetic diversity of the Plasmodium falciparum apical membrane antigen 1 (PfAMA1) gene in Southeast Asia, we determined PfAMA1 sequences from 135 field isolates collected from the China-Myanmar border area and compared them with 956 publically available PfAMA1 sequences from seven global P. falciparum populations. This analysis revealed high genetic diversity of PfAMA1 in global P. falciparum populations with a total of 229 haplotypes identified. The genetic diversity of PfAMA1 gene from the China-Myanmar border is not evenly distributed in the different domains of this gene. Sequence diversity in PfAMA1 from the China-Myanmar border is lower than that observed in Thai, African and Oceanian populations, but higher than that in the South American population. This appeared to correlate well with the levels of endemicity of different malaria-endemic regions, where hyperendemic regions favor genetic cross of the parasite isolates and generation of higher genetic diversity. Neutrality tests show significant departure from neutrality in the entire ectodomain and Domain I of PfAMA1 in the China-Myanmar border parasite population. We found evidence supporting a substantial continent-wise genetic structure among P. falciparum populations, with the highest genetic differentiation detected between the China-Myanmar border and the South American populations. Whereas no alleles were unique to a specific region, there were considerable geographical differences in major alleles and their frequencies, highlighting further necessity to include more PfAMA1 alleles in vaccine designs. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  10. Successive Interference Cancellation for DS-CDMA Systems with Transmit Diversity

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Li Wei

    2004-01-01

    Full Text Available We introduce a new successive interference cancellation (SIC technique for direct sequence code division multiple access (DS-CDMA systems with transmit diversity. The transmit diversity is achieved with a space-time block code (STBC. In our work we first consider hard decision SIC with an STBC, and then investigate the performance of soft decision SIC with an STBC. System performance over a Rayleigh fading channel is investigated and the analysis is confirmed by simulation.

  11. Genetic diversity of Trichomonas vaginalis clinical isolates from Henan province in central China.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mao, Meng; Liu, Hui Li

    2015-07-01

    Trichomonas vaginalis is a flagellated protozoan parasite that infects the human urogenital tract, causing the most common non-viral, sexually transmitted disease worldwide. In this study, genetic variants of T. vaginalis were identified in Henan Province, China. Fragments of the small subunit of nuclear ribosomal RNA (18S rRNA) were amplified from 32 T. vaginalis isolates obtained from seven regions of Henan Province. Overall, 18 haplotypes were determined from the 18S rRNA sequences. Each sampled population and the total population displayed high haplotype diversity (Hd), accompanied by very low nucleotide diversity (Pi). In these molecular genetic variants, 91.58% genetic variation was derived from intra-regions. Phylogenetic analysis revealed no correlation between phylogeny and geographic distribution. Demographic analysis supported population expansion of T. vaginalis isolates from central China. Our findings showing moderate-to-high genetic variations in the 32 isolates of T. vaginalis provide useful knowledge for monitoring changes in parasite populations for the development of future control strategies.

  12. [Genetic diversity analysis of Andrographis paniculata in China based on SRAP and SNP].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Rong; Wang, Xiao-Yun; Song, Yu-Ning; Zhu, Yun-feng; Wang, Peng-liang; Li, Min; Zhong, Guo-Yue

    2014-12-01

    In order to reveal genetic diversity of domestic Andrographis paniculata and its impact on quality, genetic backgrounds of 103 samples from 7 provinces in China were analyzed using SRAP marker and SNP marker. Genetic structures of the A. paniculata populations were estimated with Powermarker V 3.25 and Mega 6.0 software, and polymorphic SNPs were identified with CodonCode Aligner software. The results showed that the genetic distances of domestic A. paniculata germplasm ranged from 0. 01 to 0.09, and no polymorphic SNPs were discovered in coding sequence fragments of ent-copalyl diphosphate synthase. A. paniculata germplasm from various regions in China had poor genetic diversity. This phenomenon was closely related to strict self-fertilization and earlier introduction from the same origin. Therefore, genetic background had little impact on variable qualities of A. paniculata in domestic market. Mutation breeding, polyploid breeding and molecular breeding were proposed as promising strategies in germplasm innovation.

  13. Temporal and Spatial Diversity of Bacterial Communities in Coastal Waters of the South China Sea

    Science.gov (United States)

    Du, Jikun; Xiao, Kai; Li, Li; Ding, Xian; Liu, Helu; Lu, Yongjun; Zhou, Shining

    2013-01-01

    Bacteria are recognized as important drivers of biogeochemical processes in all aquatic ecosystems. Temporal and geographical patterns in ocean bacterial communities have been observed in many studies, but the temporal and spatial patterns in the bacterial communities from the South China Sea remained unexplored. To determine the spatiotemporal patterns, we generated 16S rRNA datasets for 15 samples collected from the five regularly distributed sites of the South China Sea in three seasons (spring, summer, winter). A total of 491 representative sequences were analyzed by MOTHUR, yielding 282 operational taxonomic units (OTUs) grouped at 97% stringency. Significant temporal variations of bacterial diversity were observed. Richness and diversity indices indicated that summer samples were the most diverse. The main bacterial group in spring and summer samples was Alphaproteobacteria, followed by Cyanobacteria and Gammaproteobacteria, whereas Cyanobacteria dominated the winter samples. Spatial patterns in the samples were observed that samples collected from the coastal (D151, D221) waters and offshore (D157, D1512, D224) waters clustered separately, the coastal samples harbored more diverse bacterial communities. However, the temporal pattern of the coastal site D151 was contrary to that of the coastal site D221. The LIBSHUFF statistics revealed noticeable differences among the spring, summer and winter libraries collected at five sites. The UPGMA tree showed there were temporal and spatial heterogeneity of bacterial community composition in coastal waters of the South China Sea. The water salinity (P=0.001) contributed significantly to the bacteria-environment relationship. Our results revealed that bacterial community structures were influenced by environmental factors and community-level changes in 16S-based diversity were better explained by spatial patterns than by temporal patterns. PMID:23785512

  14. Characteristics of phylogenetic diversity in airborne bacterial populations in China

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chaudhry, Zahra; Santarpia, Joshua L.; Martins, J. V.

    2011-05-01

    Considering their potential implications for human health, agricultural productivity, and ecosystem stability, surprisingly little is known about the composition or dynamics of the atmosphere's biological aerosols. The few studies that have examined phylogenetic diversity in China focused on a single sampling period, whereas this study spans 3 months and includes over 300 samples. The 300+ samples were categorized by month and direction of their back-trajectory. DNA extraction was carried out on the pooled samples in a quantitative manner to allow for comparison between the amount of extracted material and the amount of initial total aerosol mass. Within an individual month, samples originating from similar land types and approximately equidistant to the sampling location exhibited similar diversity, whereas samples originating from much greater distances and from different land types included phyla unique to that location. Phyla from the same origin also varied from one month to the next. The biological diversity found from the Phylochips reinforces the hypothesis that air samples carry a biological record of their history.

  15. Genetic diversity assessment of sesame core collection in China by phenotype and molecular markers and extraction of a mini-core collection

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Zhang Yanxin

    2012-11-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Sesame (Sesamum indicum L. is one of the four major oil crops in China. A sesame core collection (CC was established in China in 2000, but no complete study on its genetic diversity has been carried out at either the phenotypic or molecular level. To provide technical guidance, a theoretical basis for further collection, effective protection, reasonable application, and a complete analysis of sesame genetic resources, a genetic diversity assessment of the sesame CC in China was conducted using phenotypic and molecular data and by extracting a sesame mini-core collection (MC. Results Results from a genetic diversity assessment of sesame CC in China were significantly inconsistent at the phenotypic and molecular levels. A Mantel test revealed the insignificant correlation between phenotype and molecular marker information (r = 0.0043, t = 0.1320, P = 0.5525. The Shannon-Weaver diversity index (I and Nei genetic diversity index (h were higher (I = 0.9537, h = 0.5490 when calculated using phenotypic data from the CC than when using molecular data (I = 0.3467, h = 0.2218. A mini-core collection (MC containing 184 accessions was extracted based on both phenotypic and molecular data, with a low mean difference percentage (MD, 1.64%, low variance difference percentage (VD, 22.58%, large variable rate of coefficient of variance (VR, 114.86%, and large coincidence rate of range (CR, 95.76%. For molecular data, the diversity indices and the polymorphism information content (PIC for the MC were significantly higher than for the CC. Compared to an alternative random sampling strategy, the advantages of capturing genetic diversity and validation by extracting a MC using an advanced maximization strategy were proven. Conclusions This study provides a comprehensive characterization of the phenotypic and molecular genetic diversities of the sesame CC in China. A MC was extracted using both phenotypic and molecular data. Low MD% and VD%, and

  16. Genetic diversity assessment of sesame core collection in China by phenotype and molecular markers and extraction of a mini-core collection

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-01-01

    Background Sesame (Sesamum indicum L.) is one of the four major oil crops in China. A sesame core collection (CC) was established in China in 2000, but no complete study on its genetic diversity has been carried out at either the phenotypic or molecular level. To provide technical guidance, a theoretical basis for further collection, effective protection, reasonable application, and a complete analysis of sesame genetic resources, a genetic diversity assessment of the sesame CC in China was conducted using phenotypic and molecular data and by extracting a sesame mini-core collection (MC). Results Results from a genetic diversity assessment of sesame CC in China were significantly inconsistent at the phenotypic and molecular levels. A Mantel test revealed the insignificant correlation between phenotype and molecular marker information (r = 0.0043, t = 0.1320, P = 0.5525). The Shannon-Weaver diversity index (I) and Nei genetic diversity index (h) were higher (I = 0.9537, h = 0.5490) when calculated using phenotypic data from the CC than when using molecular data (I = 0.3467, h = 0.2218). A mini-core collection (MC) containing 184 accessions was extracted based on both phenotypic and molecular data, with a low mean difference percentage (MD, 1.64%), low variance difference percentage (VD, 22.58%), large variable rate of coefficient of variance (VR, 114.86%), and large coincidence rate of range (CR, 95.76%). For molecular data, the diversity indices and the polymorphism information content (PIC) for the MC were significantly higher than for the CC. Compared to an alternative random sampling strategy, the advantages of capturing genetic diversity and validation by extracting a MC using an advanced maximization strategy were proven. Conclusions This study provides a comprehensive characterization of the phenotypic and molecular genetic diversities of the sesame CC in China. A MC was extracted using both phenotypic and molecular data. Low MD% and VD%, and large VR% and CR

  17. Networking for Successful Diversity Recruiting: Creating a Highly Diverse Research Experiences for Undergraduates Program by Networking with Mentors, Faculty, and Students.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dalbotten, D. M.; Berthelote, A.; Watts, N. B.

    2017-12-01

    Successfully recruiting for diversity begins as you plan your program and make sure that all elements of the program support diverse participation. The REU on Sustainable Land and Water Resources continues to be one of the most diverse NSF-funded Research Experience for Undergraduate Programs in the geosciences. Every aspect of the program, from recruiting, the application process, selecting participants, and the methods developed to support participant success have been scrutinized and tailored towards broadening participation. While the focus of the research has been on collaboration with Native American reservations to create community-based participatory research projects and improving access for Native American students, the PIs strive for ethnic and cultural diversity of the participants. Emphasis on networking and building relationships with minority-serving institutions has led to increasing numbers of underrepresented students applying to the REU. In 2017, a full 30% of our applications were from underrepresented groups. The authors will discuss methods for improved diversity recruiting, as well as ways to make every aspect of your program support diversity in the geosciences.

  18. Molecular diversity and population structure of the forage grass Hemarthria compressa (Poaceae) in south China based on SRAP markers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Huang, L-K; Zhang, X-Q; Xie, W-G; Zhang, J; Cheng, L; Yan, H D

    2012-08-16

    Hemarthria compressa is one of the most important and widely utilized forage crops in south China, owing to its high forage yield and capability of adaptation to hot and humid conditions. We examined the population structure and genetic variation within and among 12 populations of H. compressa in south China using sequence-related amplified polymorphism (SRAP) markers. High genetic diversity was found in these samples [percentage polymorphic bands (PPB) = 82.21%, Shannon's diversity index (I) = 0.352]. However, there was relatively low level of genetic diversity at the population level (PPB = 29.17%, I = 0.155). A high degree of genetic differentiation among populations was detected based on other measures and molecular markers (Nei's genetic diversity analysis: G(ST) = 54.19%; AMOVA analysis: F(ST) = 53.35%). The SRAP markers were found to be more efficient than ISSR markers for evaluating population diversity. Based on these findings, we propose changes in sampling strategies for appraising and utilizing the genetic resources of this species.

  19. Genetic diversity in two Japanese flounder populations from China seas inferred using microsatellite markers and COI sequences

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xu, Dongdong; Li, Sanlei; Lou, Bao; Zhang, Yurong; Zhan, Wei; Shi, Huilai

    2012-07-01

    Japanese flounder is one of the most important commercial species in China; however, information on the genetic background of natural populations in China seas is scarce. The lack of genetic data has hampered fishery management and aquaculture development programs for this species. In the present study, we have analyzed the genetic diversity in natural populations of Japanese flounder sampled from the Yellow Sea (Qingdao population, QD) and East China Sea (Zhoushan population, ZS) using 10 polymorphic microsatellite loci and cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI) sequencing data. A total of 68 different alleles were observed over 10 microsatellite loci. The total number of alleles per locus ranged from 2 to 9, and the number of genotypes per locus ranged from 3 to 45. The observed heterozygosity and expected heterozygosity in QD were 0.733 and 0.779, respectively, and in ZS the heterozygosity values were 0.708 and 0.783, respectively. Significant departures from Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium were observed in 7 of the 10 microsatellite loci in each of the two populations. The COI sequencing analysis revealed 25 polymorphic sites and 15 haplotypes in the two populations. The haplotype diversity and nucleotide diversity in the QD population were 0.746±0.072 8 and 0.003 34±0.001 03 respectively, and in ZS population the genetic diversity values were 0.712±0.047 0 and 0.003 18±0.000 49, respectively. The microsatellite data ( F st =0.048 7, P <0.001) and mitochondrial DNA data ( F st =0.128, P <0.001) both revealed significant genetic differentiation between the two populations. The information on the genetic variation and differentiation in Japanese flounder obtained in this study could be used to set up suitable guidelines for the management and conservation of this species, as well as for managing artificial selection programs. In future studies, more geographically diverse stocks should be used to obtain a deeper understanding of the population structure of Japanese

  20. Mangrove succession enriches the sediment microbial community in South China.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Quan; Zhao, Qian; Li, Jing; Jian, Shuguang; Ren, Hai

    2016-06-06

    Sediment microorganisms help create and maintain mangrove ecosystems. Although the changes in vegetation during mangrove forest succession have been well studied, the changes in the sediment microbial community during mangrove succession are poorly understood. To investigate the changes in the sediment microbial community during succession of mangroves at Zhanjiang, South China, we used phospholipid fatty acid (PLFA) analysis and the following chronosequence from primary to climax community: unvegetated shoal; Avicennia marina community; Aegiceras corniculatum community; and Bruguiera gymnorrhiza + Rhizophora stylosa community. The PLFA concentrations of all sediment microbial groups (total microorganisms, fungi, gram-positive bacteria, gram-negative bacteria, and actinomycetes) increased significantly with each stage of mangrove succession. Microbial PLFA concentrations in the sediment were significantly lower in the wet season than in the dry season. Regression and ordination analyses indicated that the changes in the microbial community with mangrove succession were mainly associated with properties of the aboveground vegetation (mainly plant height) and the sediment (mainly sediment organic matter and total nitrogen). The changes in the sediment microbial community can probably be explained by increases in nutrients and microhabitat heterogeneity during mangrove succession.

  1. A Contrastive Study of Cultural Diversity of Learning Styles between China and the United States

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jian, Hong

    2009-01-01

    This paper makes a contrastive study of learning styles between China and the U.S. from five aspects and recognizes that the differences are due to the influence of cultural diversity such as individualism and collectivism, Confucianism, utilitarianism and pragmatism etc.

  2. Population diversity of Diaphorina citri (Hemiptera: Liviidae) in China based on whole mitochondrial genome sequences

    Science.gov (United States)

    BACKGROUND: Diaphorina citri (Asian citrus psyllid, ACP) transmits “Candidatus Liberibacter asiaticus”, an unculturable alpha-proteobacterium associated with citrus Huanglongbing (HLB). ACP has been reported in 11 provinces/regions in China, yet its population diversity remains unclear. In this stud...

  3. Recruitment strategies should not be randomly selected: empirically improving recruitment success and diversity in developmental psychology research

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sugden, Nicole A.; Moulson, Margaret C.

    2015-01-01

    Psychological and developmental research have been critiqued for the lack of diversity of research samples. Because differences in culture, race, and ethnicity can influence participant behavior, limited diversity limits the generalizability of the findings. These differences may also impact how participants behave in response to recruitment attempts, which suggests that recruitment itself may be leveraged to increase sample diversity. The goal of the current study was to determine what factors, within a recruitment interaction, could be leveraged to increase success and diversity when recruiting families with children for developmental research. Study 1 found three factors influenced success: (1) recruitment was more successful when other potential participants were also interested (i.e., recruiters were busy), (2) recruiters of particular races were more successful than recruiters of other races, and (3) differences in success were related to what the recruiter said to engage the potential participant (i.e., the script). The latter two factors interacted, suggesting some recruiters were using less optimal scripts. To improve success rates, study 2 randomly assigned scripts to recruiters and encouraged them to recruit more vigorously during busy periods. Study 2 found that two factors influenced success: (1) some scripts were more successful than others and (2) we were more successful at recruiting non-White potential participants than White participants. These two interacted, with some scripts being more successful with White and other scripts being more successful with non-White families. This intervention significantly increased recruitment success rate by 8.1% and the overall number of families recruited by 15.3%. These findings reveal that empirically evaluating and tailoring recruitment efforts based on the most successful strategies is effective in boosting diversity through increased participation of children from non-White families. PMID:25972829

  4. Genetic Diversity of Wild Rice Species in Yunnan Province of China

    OpenAIRE

    Zai-quan CHENG; Fu-you YING; Ding-qing LI; Teng-qiong YU; Jian FU; Hui-jun YAN; Qiao-fang ZHONG; Dun-yu ZHANG; Wei-jiao LI; Xing-qi HUANG

    2012-01-01

    Yunnan Province of China is one of the important centers for origin and evolution of cultivated rice worldwide. Wild rice is the ancestor of the cultivated rice. Many elite traits of wild rice have widened the genetic basis in cultivated rice. However, many populations of wild rice species have disappeared in the past few years. Therefore, the current status of wild rice resources should be updated and the genetic diversity of wild rice species should be examined for further germplasm preserv...

  5. Variation of Synechococcus Pigment Genetic Diversity Along Two Turbidity Gradients in the China Seas.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xia, Xiaomin; Liu, Hongbin; Choi, Donghan; Noh, Jae Hoon

    2018-01-01

    Synechococcus are important and widely distributed picocyanobacteria that encompass a high pigment diversity. In this study, we developed a primer set (peBF/peAR) for amplifying the cpeBA operon sequence from Synechococcus genomic DNA to study Synechococcus pigment diversity along two turbidity gradients in the China seas. Our data revealed that all previously reported pigment types occurred in the South (SCS) and East (ECS) China Seas. In addition, a novel pigment genetic type (type 3f), represented by the high phycourobilin Synechococcus sp. strain KORDI-100 (Exc495:545 = 2.35), was detected. This pigment genetic type differs from the 3c/3d types not only for a very high PUB/PEB ratio but also for a different intergenic spacer sequence and gene organization of the phycobilisome. Synechococcus of different pigment types exhibited clear niche differentiation. Type 2 dominated in the coastal waters, whereas type 3c/3d and 3f were predominant in oceanic waters of the SCS in summer. In the ECS, however, type 3a was the major pigment type throughout the transect. We suggest that in marine environment, various pigment types often co-occur but with one type dominant and PUB/PEB ratio is related to geographic distribution of Synechococcus pigment types. The two marginal seas of China have markedly different Synechococcus pigment compositions.

  6. Innovation practices success in China: the use of innovation mechanisms in Chinese SOEs

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Brouwers-Ren, Liqin; Krabbendam, Johannes Jacobus; de Weerd-Nederhof, Petronella C.

    2006-01-01

    Purpose: The climate for technical innovation has been improving in the past few years in China. This paper describes a case research concerning technical innovation practices success in three Chinese state-owned enterprises (SOEs) in the manufacturing industry. This is executed by applying a

  7. Characterizing the population structure and genetic diversity of maize breeding germplasm in Southwest China using genome-wide SNP markers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Xiao; Zhang, Hua; Li, Lujiang; Lan, Hai; Ren, Zhiyong; Liu, Dan; Wu, Ling; Liu, Hailan; Jaqueth, Jennifer; Li, Bailin; Pan, Guangtang; Gao, Shibin

    2016-08-31

    Maize breeding germplasm used in Southwest China has high complexity because of the diverse ecological features of this area. In this study, the population structure, genetic diversity, and linkage disequilibrium decay distance of 362 important inbred lines collected from the breeding program of Southwest China were characterized using the MaizeSNP50 BeadChip with 56,110 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). With respect to population structure, two (Tropical and Temperate), three (Tropical, Stiff Stalk and non-Stiff Stalk), four [Tropical, group A germplasm derived from modern U.S. hybrids (PA), group B germplasm derived from modern U.S. hybrids (PB) and Reid] and six (Tropical, PB, Reid, Iowa Stiff Stalk Synthetic, PA and North) subgroups were identified. With increasing K value, the Temperate group showed pronounced hierarchical structure with division into further subgroups. The Genetic Diversity of each group was also estimated, and the Tropical group was more diverse than the Temperate group. Seven low-genetic-diversity and one high-genetic-diversity regions were collectively identified in the Temperate, Tropical groups, and the entire panel. SNPs with significant variation in allele frequency between the Tropical and Temperate groups were also evaluated. Among them, a region located at 130 Mb on Chromosome 2 showed the highest genetic diversity, including both number of SNPs with significant variation and the ratio of significant SNPs to total SNPs. Linkage disequilibrium decay distance in the Temperate group was greater (2.5-3 Mb) than that in the entire panel (0.5-0.75 Mb) and the Tropical group (0.25-0.5 Mb). A large region at 30-120 Mb of Chromosome 7 was concluded to be a region conserved during the breeding process by comparison between S37, which was considered a representative tropical line in Southwest China, and its 30 most similar derived lines. For the panel covered most of widely used inbred lines in Southwest China, this work

  8. Extensive diversity and evolution of hepadnaviruses in bats in China.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nie, Fang-Yuan; Lin, Xian-Dan; Hao, Zong-Yu; Chen, Xiao-Nan; Wang, Zhao-Xiao; Wang, Miao-Ruo; Wu, Jun; Wang, Hong-Wei; Zhao, Guoqiang; Ma, Runlin Z; Holmes, Edward C; Zhang, Yong-Zhen

    2018-01-15

    To better understand the evolution of hepadnaviruses, we sampled bats from Guizhou, Henan and Zhejiang provinces, China, and rodents from Zhejiang province. Genetically diverse hepadnaviruses were identified in a broad range of bat species, with an overall prevalence of 13.3%. In contrast, no rodent hepadnaviruses were identified. The newly discovered bat hepadnaviruses fell into two distinct phylogenetic groups. The viruses within the first group exhibited high diversity, with some closely related to viruses previously identified in Yunnan province. Strikingly, the newly discovered viruses sampled from Jiyuan city in the second phylogenetic group were most closely related to those found in bats from West Africa, suggestive of a long-term association between bats and hepadnaviruses. A co-phylogenetic analysis revealed frequent cross-species transmission among bats from different species, genera, and families. Overall, these data suggest that there are likely few barriers to the cross-species transmission of bat hepadnaviruses. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier Inc.

  9. Distribution and diversity of twelve Curcuma species in China.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Lanyue; Wei, Jingwen; Yang, Zhiwen; Chen, Feng; Xian, Qiqiu; Su, Ping; Pan, Wanyi; Zhang, Kun; Zheng, Xi; Du, Zhiyun

    2018-02-01

    Genus Curcuma a wild species presents an important source of valuable characters for improving the cultivated Curcuma varieties. Based on the collected germplasms, herbariums, field surveys and other literatures, the ecogeographical diversity of Genus Curcuma and its potential distributions under the present and future climate are analysed by DIVA-GIS. The results indicate Genus Curcuma is distributed over 17 provinces in China, and particularly abundant in Guangxi and Guangdong provinces. The simulated current distributions are close to the actual distribution regions. In the future climate, the suitable areas for four Curcuma species will be extended, while for other three species the regions will be significantly decreased, and thus these valuable resources need protecting.

  10. Characterization of bacterial diversity associated with deep sea ferromanganese nodules from the South China Sea.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, De-Chao; Liu, Yan-Xia; Li, Xin-Zheng

    2015-09-01

    Deep sea ferromanganese (FeMn) nodules contain metallic mineral resources and have great economic potential. In this study, a combination of culture-dependent and culture-independent (16S rRNA genes clone library and pyrosequencing) methods was used to investigate the bacterial diversity in FeMn nodules from Jiaolong Seamount, the South China Sea. Eleven bacterial strains including some moderate thermophiles were isolated. The majority of strains belonged to the phylum Proteobacteria; one isolate belonged to the phylum Firmicutes. A total of 259 near full-length bacterial 16S rRNA gene sequences in a clone library and 67,079 valid reads obtained using pyrosequencing indicated that members of the Gammaproteobacteria dominated, with the most abundant bacterial genera being Pseudomonas and Alteromonas. Sequence analysis indicated the presence of many organisms whose closest relatives are known manganese oxidizers, iron reducers, hydrogen-oxidizing bacteria and methylotrophs. This is the first reported investigation of bacterial diversity associated with deep sea FeMn nodules from the South China Sea.

  11. Genetic Diversity of Hibiscus tiliaceus (Malvaceae) in China Assessed using AFLP Markers

    Science.gov (United States)

    TANG, TIAN; ZHONG, YANG; JIAN, SHUGUANG; SHI, SUHUA

    2003-01-01

    Amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) markers were used to investigate the genetic variations within and among nine natural populations of Hibiscus tiliaceus in China. DNA from 145 individuals was amplified with eight primer pairs. No polymorphisms were found among the 20 samples of a marginal population of recent origin probably due to a founder effect. Across the other 125 individuals, 501 of 566 bands (88·5 %) were polymorphic, and 125 unique AFLP phenotypes were observed. Estimates of genetic diversity agreed with life history traits of H. tiliaceus and geographical distribution. AMOVA analysis revealed that most genetic diversity resided within populations (84·8 %), which corresponded to results reported for outcrossing plants. The indirect estimate of gene flow based on ϕST was moderate (Nm = 1·395). Long-distance dispersal of floating seeds and local environments may play an important role in shaping the genetic diversity of the population and the genetic structure of this species. PMID:12930729

  12. Estimating the Population Size and Genetic Diversity of Amur Tigers in Northeast China.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dou, Hailong; Yang, Haitao; Feng, Limin; Mou, Pu; Wang, Tianming; Ge, Jianping

    2016-01-01

    Over the past century, the endangered Amur tiger (Panthera tigris altaica) has experienced a severe contraction in demography and geographic range because of habitat loss, poaching, and prey depletion. In its historical home in Northeast China, there appears to be a single tiger population that includes tigers in Southwest Primorye and Northeast China; however, the current demographic status of this population is uncertain. Information on the abundance, distribution and genetic diversity of this population for assessing the efficacy of conservation interventions are scarce. We used noninvasive genetic detection data from scats, capture-recapture models and an accumulation curve method to estimate the abundance of Amur tigers in Northeast China. We identified 11 individual tigers (6 females and 5 males) using 10 microsatellite loci in three nature reserves between April 2013 and May 2015. These tigers are confined primarily to a Hunchun Nature Reserve along the border with Russia, with an estimated population abundance of 9-11 tigers during the winter of 2014-2015. They showed a low level of genetic diversity. The mean number of alleles per locus was 2.60 and expected and observed heterozygosity were 0.42 and 0.49, respectively. We also documented long-distance dispersal (~270 km) of a male Amur tiger to Huangnihe Nature Reserve from the border, suggesting that the expansion of neighboring Russian populations may eventually help sustain Chinese populations. However, the small and isolated population recorded by this study demonstrate that there is an urgent need for more intensive regional management to create a tiger-permeable landscape and increased genetic connectivity with other populations.

  13. Distinct genetic diversity of Oncomelania hupensis, intermediate host of Schistosoma japonicum in mainland China as revealed by ITS sequences.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Qin Ping Zhao

    Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Oncomelania hupensis is the unique intermediate host of Schistosoma japonicum, which causes schistosomiasis endemic in the Far East, and especially in mainland China. O. hupensis largely determines the parasite's geographical range. How O. hupensis's genetic diversity is distributed geographically in mainland China has never been well examined with DNA sequence data. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: In this study we investigate the genetic variation among O. hupensis from different geographical origins using the combined complete internal transcribed spacer 1 (ITS1 and ITS2 regions of nuclear ribosomal DNA. 165 O. hupensis isolates were obtained in 29 localities from 7 provinces across mainland China: lake/marshland and hill regions in Anhui, Hubei, Hunan, Jiangxi and Jiangsu provinces, located along the middle and lower reaches of Yangtze River, and mountainous regions in Sichuan and Yunnan provinces. Phylogenetic and haplotype network analyses showed distinct genetic diversity and no shared haplotypes between populations from lake/marshland regions of the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River and populations from mountainous regions of Sichuan and Yunnan provinces. The genetic distance between these two groups is up to 0.81 based on Fst, and branch time was estimated as 2-6 Ma. As revealed in the phylogenetic tree, snails from Sichuan and Yunnan provinces were also clustered separately. Geographical separation appears to be an important factor accounting for the diversification of the two groups of O. hupensis in mainland China, and probably for the separate clades between snails from Sichuan and Yunnan provinces. In lake/marshland and hill regions along the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River, three clades were identified in the phylogenetic tree, but without any obvious clustering of snails from different provinces. CONCLUSIONS: O. hupensis in mainland China may have considerable genetic diversity, and a more

  14. Success factors of energy performance contracting (EPC) for sustainable building energy efficiency retrofit (BEER) of hotel buildings in China

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Xu Pengpeng; Chan, Edwin Hon-Wan; Queena Kun Qian

    2011-01-01

    Hotel building is a type of high-energy-consuming building and most existing hotel buildings need energy efficiency improvement in China. Energy performance contracting (EPC) is considered a win-win mechanism to organize building energy efficiency retrofit (BEER) project. However, EPC mechanism has been introduced into China relatively recently and many EPCs have not been successful in building energy efficiency retrofit projects. This research aims to develop a set of critical success factors (CSFs) of EPC for sustainable energy efficiency retrofit (BEER) of hotel buildings in China. Semi-structured interviews and a questionnaire survey with practitioners and other professionals were conducted. The findings reveal the relative importance of the 21 number of identified success factors. In order to explore the underlying relationship among the identified critical success factors (CSFs), factor analysis method was adopted for further investigation, which leads to grouping the 21 identified CSFs into six clusters. These are (1) project organization process, (2) EPC project financing for hotel retrofit, (3) knowledge and innovation of EPC, sustainable development (SD), and M and V, (4) implementation of sustainable development strategy, (5) contractual arrangement, and (6) external economic environment. Finally, several relevant policies were proposed to implement EPC successfully in sustainable BEER in hotel buildings. - Highlights: → EPC is a win-win mechanism to organize building energy efficiency retrofit project. → CSFs of EPC mechanism for sustainable BEER of hotel building in China are examined. → Six clusters are extracted from 21 identified CSFs based on factor analysis.

  15. Multiple maternal origins of native modern and ancient horse populations in China.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lei, C Z; Su, R; Bower, M A; Edwards, C J; Wang, X B; Weining, S; Liu, L; Xie, W M; Li, F; Liu, R Y; Zhang, Y S; Zhang, C M; Chen, H

    2009-12-01

    To obtain more knowledge of the origin and genetic diversity of domestic horses in China, this study provides a comprehensive analysis of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) D-loop sequence diversity from nine horse breeds in China in conjunction with ancient DNA data and evidence from archaeological and historical records. A 247-bp mitochondrial D-loop sequence from 182 modern samples revealed a total of 70 haplotypes with a high level of genetic diversity. Seven major mtDNA haplogroups (A-G) and 16 clusters were identified for the 182 Chinese modern horses. In the present study, nine 247-bp mitochondrial D-loop sequences of ancient remains of Bronze Age horse from the Chifeng region of Inner Mongolia in China (c. 4000-2000a bp) were used to explore the origin and diversity of Chinese modern horses and the phylogenetic relationship between ancient and modern horses. The nine ancient horses carried seven haplotypes with rich genetic diversity, which were clustered together with modern individuals among haplogroups A, E and F. Modern domestic horse and ancient horse data support the multiple origins of domestic horses in China. This study supports the argument that multiple successful events of horse domestication, including separate introductions of wild mares into the domestic herds, may have occurred in antiquity, and that China cannot be excluded from these events. Indeed, the association of Far Eastern mtDNA types to haplogroup F was highly significant using Fisher's exact test of independence (P = 0.00002), lending support for Chinese domestication of this haplogroup. High diversity and all seven mtDNA haplogroups (A-G) with 16 clusters also suggest that further work is necessary to shed more light on horse domestication in China.

  16. Principal determinants of species and functional diversity of carabid beetle assemblages during succession at post-industrial sites.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sipos, J; Hodecek, J; Kuras, T; Dolny, A

    2017-08-01

    Although ecological succession is one of the principal focuses of recent restoration ecology research, it is still unclear which factors drive this process and positively influence species richness and functional diversity. In this study we sought to elucidate how species traits and functional diversity change during forest succession, and to identify important factors that determine the species in the observed assemblages. We analyzed species richness and functional diversity of ground beetle assemblages in relation to succession on post-industrial localities after habitat deterioration caused by spoil deposition. We selected ground beetles as they are known to be sensitive to landscape changes (with a large range of responses), and their taxonomy and ecology are generally well-known. Ground beetles were sampled on the spoil heaps during the last 30 years when spontaneous succession occurred. To calculate functional diversity, we used traits related to habitat and trophic niche, i.e. food specialization, wing morphology, trophic level, and bio-indication value. Ground beetle species were found to be distributed non-randomly in the assemblages in the late phase of succession. Ordination analyses revealed that the ground beetle assemblage was significantly associated with the proportion of forested area. Environmental heterogeneity generated assemblages that contained over-dispersed species traits. Our findings indicated that environmental conditions at late successional stages supported less mobile carnivorous species. Overall, we conclude that the decline in species richness and functional diversity in the middle of the studied succession gradient indicated that the assemblages of open habitats had been replaced by species typical of forest ecosystems.

  17. Population genetic diversity and genetic structure of Spodoptera exigua around the Bohai Gulf area of China based on mitochondrial DNA signatures.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhou, L-H; Wang, X-Y; Lei, J-J

    2016-09-30

    The beet armyworm, Spodoptera exigua (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae), is an economically important pest that causes major losses in some main crop-producing areas of China. To control this pest effectively, it is necessary to investigate its population genetic diversity and genetic structure around the Bohai Gulf area of China. In this study, we used two mitochondrial genes, COI (578 bp) and Cytb (724 bp), to investigate its genetic diversity. We obtained 622 COI sequences and 462 Cytb sequences from 23 populations, and 28 and 73 haplotypes, respectively, were identified. Low to moderate levels of genetic diversity (COI: Hd = 0.267 ± 0.023, Pi = 0.00082 ± 0.00010; Cytb: Hd = 0.689 ± 0.018, Pi = 0.00255 ± 0.00029) for the total populations were observed. Phylogenetic and median-joining network analyses indicated no distinct geographical distribution pattern among the haplotypes. Overall, this study revealed that there was significant differentiation among the populations (COI: F ST = 0.158, P neutrality test results, showed a recent population expansion of the beet armyworm around the Bohai Gulf area of China.

  18. Estimating the Population Size and Genetic Diversity of Amur Tigers in Northeast China.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hailong Dou

    Full Text Available Over the past century, the endangered Amur tiger (Panthera tigris altaica has experienced a severe contraction in demography and geographic range because of habitat loss, poaching, and prey depletion. In its historical home in Northeast China, there appears to be a single tiger population that includes tigers in Southwest Primorye and Northeast China; however, the current demographic status of this population is uncertain. Information on the abundance, distribution and genetic diversity of this population for assessing the efficacy of conservation interventions are scarce. We used noninvasive genetic detection data from scats, capture-recapture models and an accumulation curve method to estimate the abundance of Amur tigers in Northeast China. We identified 11 individual tigers (6 females and 5 males using 10 microsatellite loci in three nature reserves between April 2013 and May 2015. These tigers are confined primarily to a Hunchun Nature Reserve along the border with Russia, with an estimated population abundance of 9-11 tigers during the winter of 2014-2015. They showed a low level of genetic diversity. The mean number of alleles per locus was 2.60 and expected and observed heterozygosity were 0.42 and 0.49, respectively. We also documented long-distance dispersal (~270 km of a male Amur tiger to Huangnihe Nature Reserve from the border, suggesting that the expansion of neighboring Russian populations may eventually help sustain Chinese populations. However, the small and isolated population recorded by this study demonstrate that there is an urgent need for more intensive regional management to create a tiger-permeable landscape and increased genetic connectivity with other populations.

  19. SPECIES DIVERSITY AND COMMUNITY STRUCTURE OF SUCKING LICE IN YUNNAN, CHINA

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    Xian-guoGuo; Ti-junQian; Li-junGuo; JingWang; Wen-geDong; LiZhang; Zhi-minMa; andWeiLi

    2004-01-01

    On the basis of investigating 9 counties (towns) in Yunnan Province of China, the species diversity and community structure of sucking lice on the body surface of small mammal hosts are studied in the paper. Species richness (S) is used to stand for the species diversity. The calculation of community diversity index and evenness are based on Shannon-Wiener's method. 2745 small mammals captured from the investigated sites belong to 10 families, 25 genera and 41 species in 5 orders (Rodentia, Insectivora, Scandentia, Logomorpha and Carnivora) while 18165 individuals of sucking lice collected from the body surface of the small mammal hosts are identified into 4 families, 6 genera and 22 species. The species of sucking lice are much less than the species of their hosts. Most species of small mammals have their fixed sucking lice on their body surface. One species of small mammals usually have few species of sucking lice (1 to 4 species). The close species of the hosts in the taxonomy are found to have the same or similar dominant species of sucking lice on their body surface. The results reveal that the species diversity of sucking lice on small mammals is very low with a very simple community structure. The results also imply there may be a close co-evolution relationship between the lice and the hosts.

  20. Succession of Bacterial Community Structure and Diversity in Soil along a Chronosequence of Reclamation and Re-Vegetation on Coal Mine Spoils in China

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Yuanyuan; Wen, Hongyu; Chen, Longqian; Yin, Tingting

    2014-01-01

    The growing concern about the effectiveness of reclamation strategies has motivated the evaluation of soil properties following reclamation. Recovery of belowground microbial community is important for reclamation success, however, the response of soil bacterial communities to reclamation has not been well understood. In this study, PCR-based 454 pyrosequencing was applied to compare bacterial communities in undisturbed soils with those in reclaimed soils using chronosequences ranging in time following reclamation from 1 to 20 year. Bacteria from the Proteobacteria, Chloroflexi, Actinobacteria, Acidobacteria, Planctomycetes and Bacteroidetes were abundant in all soils, while the composition of predominant phyla differed greatly across all sites. Long-term reclamation strongly affected microbial community structure and diversity. Initial effects of reclamation resulted in significant declines in bacterial diversity indices in younger reclaimed sites (1, 8-year-old) compared to the undisturbed site. However, bacterial diversity indices tended to be higher in older reclaimed sites (15, 20-year-old) as recovery time increased, and were more similar to predisturbance levels nearly 20 years after reclamation. Bacterial communities are highly responsive to soil physicochemical properties (pH, soil organic matter, Total N and P), in terms of both their diversity and community composition. Our results suggest that the response of soil microorganisms to reclamation is likely governed by soil characteristics and, indirectly, by the effects of vegetation restoration. Mixture sowing of gramineae and leguminosae herbage largely promoted soil geochemical conditions and bacterial diversity that recovered to those of undisturbed soil, representing an adequate solution for soil remediation and sustainable utilization for agriculture. These results confirm the positive impacts of reclamation and vegetation restoration on soil microbial diversity and suggest that the most important

  1. [Phenotypic diversity of toxigenic Vibrio cholerae O1 El Tor strains identified in China].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhao, Xuan; Zhang, Li; Li, Jie; Kan, Biao; Liang, Weili

    2014-05-01

    To understand the phenotypic diversity of toxigenic Vibrio cholerae O1 El Tor strains isolated from different provinces in China during the last 50 years. Traditional biotyping testings including susceptibility to polymyxin B, sensitivity to group IV phage, Voges-Proskauer test and haemolysis of sheep erythrocytes were conducted. Data from Biotype-specific phenotype analysis revealed that only 133 isolates carried the typical El Tor phenotypes while the other 251 isolates displayed atypical El Tor phenotypes. Combined with ctxB, rstR genotypes and phenotypic characteristics, 64 isolates were identified as typical El Tor biotype, 21 were El Tor variants that showing the typical El Tor biotype-specific phenotype but with ctxB(class). 280 isolates were defined as the hybrid groups with traits of both classical and El Tor biotypes that could be further classified into 45 groups, based on the combination of genotypes of ctxB, rstR and phenotypic characteristics. Toxigenic Vibrio cholerae O1 El Tor strains that isolated from different provinces in China displayed high phenotypic diversity. The traditional biotype traits could not be used to correctly distinguish the two different biotypes.

  2. Assessment of Genetic Diversity and Population Genetic Structure of Corylus mandshurica in China Using SSR Markers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zong, Jian-Wei; Zhao, Tian-Tian; Ma, Qing-Hua; Liang, Li-Song; Wang, Gui-Xi

    2015-01-01

    Corylus mandshurica, also known as pilose hazelnut, is an economically and ecologically important species in China. In this study, ten polymorphic simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers were applied to evaluate the genetic diversity and population structure of 348 C. mandshurica individuals among 12 populations in China. The SSR markers expressed a relatively high level of genetic diversity (Na = 15.3, Ne = 5.6604, I = 1.8853, Ho = 0.6668, and He = 0.7777). According to the coefficient of genetic differentiation (Fst = 0.1215), genetic variation within the populations (87.85%) were remarkably higher than among populations (12.15%). The average gene flow (Nm = 1.8080) significantly impacts the genetic structure of C. mandshurica populations. The relatively high gene flow (Nm = 1.8080) among wild C. mandshurica may be caused by wind-pollinated flowers, highly nutritious seeds and self-incompatible mating system. The UPGMA (unweighted pair group method of arithmetic averages) dendrogram was divided into two main clusters. Moreover, the results of STRUCTURE analysis suggested that C. mandshurica populations fell into two main clusters. Comparison of the UPGMA dendrogram and the Bayesian STRUCTURE analysis showed general agreement between the population subdivisions and the genetic relationships among populations of C. mandshurica. Group I accessions were located in Northeast China, while Group II accessions were in North China. It is worth noting that a number of genetically similar populations were located in the same geographic region. The results further showed that there was obvious genetic differentiation among populations from Northeast China to North China. Results from the Mantel test showed a weak but still significant positive correlation between Nei's genetic distance and geographic distance (km) among populations (r = 0.419, P = 0.005), suggesting that genetic differentiation in the 12 C. mandshurica populations might be related to geographic distance. These

  3. Assessment of Genetic Diversity and Population Genetic Structure of Corylus mandshurica in China Using SSR Markers.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jian-Wei Zong

    Full Text Available Corylus mandshurica, also known as pilose hazelnut, is an economically and ecologically important species in China. In this study, ten polymorphic simple sequence repeat (SSR markers were applied to evaluate the genetic diversity and population structure of 348 C. mandshurica individuals among 12 populations in China. The SSR markers expressed a relatively high level of genetic diversity (Na = 15.3, Ne = 5.6604, I = 1.8853, Ho = 0.6668, and He = 0.7777. According to the coefficient of genetic differentiation (Fst = 0.1215, genetic variation within the populations (87.85% were remarkably higher than among populations (12.15%. The average gene flow (Nm = 1.8080 significantly impacts the genetic structure of C. mandshurica populations. The relatively high gene flow (Nm = 1.8080 among wild C. mandshurica may be caused by wind-pollinated flowers, highly nutritious seeds and self-incompatible mating system. The UPGMA (unweighted pair group method of arithmetic averages dendrogram was divided into two main clusters. Moreover, the results of STRUCTURE analysis suggested that C. mandshurica populations fell into two main clusters. Comparison of the UPGMA dendrogram and the Bayesian STRUCTURE analysis showed general agreement between the population subdivisions and the genetic relationships among populations of C. mandshurica. Group I accessions were located in Northeast China, while Group II accessions were in North China. It is worth noting that a number of genetically similar populations were located in the same geographic region. The results further showed that there was obvious genetic differentiation among populations from Northeast China to North China. Results from the Mantel test showed a weak but still significant positive correlation between Nei's genetic distance and geographic distance (km among populations (r = 0.419, P = 0.005, suggesting that genetic differentiation in the 12 C. mandshurica populations might be related to geographic

  4. Molecular detection and sequence characterization of diverse rhabdoviruses in bats, China.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xu, Lin; Wu, Jianmin; Jiang, Tinglei; Qin, Shaomin; Xia, Lele; Li, Xingyu; He, Biao; Tu, Changchun

    2018-01-15

    The Rhabdoviridae is among the most diverse families of RNA viruses and currently classified into 18 genera with some rhabdoviruses lethal to humans and other animals. Herein, we describe genetic characterization of three novel rhabdoviruses from bats in China. Of these, two viruses (Jinghong bat virus and Benxi bat virus) found in Rhinolophus bats showed a phylogenetic relationship with vesiculoviruses, and sequence analyses indicate that they represent two new species within the genus Vesiculovirus. The remaining Yangjiang bat virus found in Hipposideros larvatus bats were only distantly related to currently known rhabdoviruses. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  5. Voices of Successful Science Teachers in an Urban Diverse Single Gender Girls' School

    Science.gov (United States)

    Malhan, Jyoti

    2016-01-01

    This research study was conducted as a qualitative case study of four successful science teachers of female students in a diverse, title 1, urban, public girls' school. The study was designed to hear the 'muted' voices of successful science teachers concerning their beliefs and practices when they effectively provide learning opportunities for…

  6. Isolation of diverse members of the Aquificales from geothermal springs in Tengchong, China

    OpenAIRE

    Hedlund, Brian P.; Reysenbach, Anna-Louise; Huang, Liuquin; Ong, John C.; Liu, Zizhang; Dodsworth, Jeremy A.; Ahmed, Reham; Williams, Amanda J.; Briggs, Brandon R.; Liu, Yitai; Hou, Weiguo; Dong, Hailiang

    2015-01-01

    The order Aquificales (phylum Aquificae) consists of thermophilic and hyperthermophilic bacteria that are prominent in many geothermal systems, including those in Tengchong, Yunnan Province, China. However, Aquificales have not previously been isolated from Tengchong. We isolated five strains of Aquificales from diverse springs (temperature 45.2–83.3°C and pH 2.6–9.1) in the Rehai Geothermal Field from sites in which Aquificales were abundant. Phylogenetic analysis showed that four of the str...

  7. Inspiring science achievement: a mixed methods examination of the practices and characteristics of successful science programs in diverse high schools

    Science.gov (United States)

    Scogin, Stephen C.; Cavlazoglu, Baki; LeBlanc, Jennifer; Stuessy, Carol L.

    2017-08-01

    While the achievement gap in science exists in the US, research associated with our investigation reveals some high school science programs serving diverse student bodies are successfully closing the gap. Using a mixed methods approach, we identified and investigated ten high schools in a large Southwestern state that fit the definition of "highly successful, highly diverse". By conducting interviews with science liaisons associated with each school and reviewing the literature, we developed a rubric identifying specific characteristics associated with successful science programs. These characteristics and practices included setting high expectations for students, providing extensive teacher support for student learning, and utilizing student-centered pedagogy. We used the rubric to assess the successful high school science programs and compare them to other high school science programs in the state (i.e., less successful and less diverse high school science programs). Highly successful, highly diverse schools were very different in their approach to science education when compared to the other programs. The findings from this study will help schools with diverse students to strengthen hiring practices, enhance teacher support mechanisms, and develop student-focused strategies in the classroom that increase science achievement.

  8. Bacterial and archaeal diversities in Yunnan and Tibetan hot springs, China.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Song, Zhao-Qi; Wang, Feng-Ping; Zhi, Xiao-Yang; Chen, Jin-Quan; Zhou, En-Min; Liang, Feng; Xiao, Xiang; Tang, Shu-Kun; Jiang, Hong-Chen; Zhang, Chuanlun L; Dong, Hailiang; Li, Wen-Jun

    2013-04-01

    Thousands of hot springs are located in the north-eastern part of the Yunnan-Tibet geothermal zone, which is one of the most active geothermal areas in the world. However, a comprehensive and detailed understanding of microbial diversity in these hot springs is still lacking. In this study, bacterial and archaeal diversities were investigated in 16 hot springs (pH 3.2-8.6; temperature 47-96°C) in Yunnan Province and Tibet, China by using a barcoded 16S rRNA gene-pyrosequencing approach. Aquificae, Proteobacteria, Firmicutes, Deinococcus-Thermus and Bacteroidetes comprised the large portion of the bacterial communities in acidic hot springs. Non-acidic hot springs harboured more and variable bacterial phyla than acidic springs. Desulfurococcales and unclassified Crenarchaeota were the dominated groups in archaeal populations from most of the non-acidic hot springs; whereas, the archaeal community structure in acidic hot springs was simpler and characterized by Sulfolobales and Thermoplasmata. The phylogenetic analyses showed that Aquificae and Crenarchaeota were predominant in the investigated springs and possessed many phylogenetic lineages that have never been detected in other hot springs in the world. Thus findings from this study significantly improve our understanding of microbial diversity in terrestrial hot springs. © 2012 Society for Applied Microbiology and Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

  9. New species, hyper-diversity and potential importance of Calonectria spp. from Eucalyptus in South China.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lombard, L; Chen, S F; Mou, X; Zhou, X D; Crous, P W; Wingfield, M J

    2015-03-01

    Plantation forestry is expanding rapidly in China to meet an increasing demand for wood and pulp products globally. Fungal pathogens including species of Calonectria represent a serious threat to the growth and sustainability of this industry. Surveys were conducted in the Guangdong, Guangxi and Hainan Provinces of South China, where Eucalyptus trees in plantations or cuttings in nurseries displayed symptoms of leaf blight. Isolations from symptomatic leaves and soils collected close to infected trees resulted in a large collection of Calonectria isolates. These isolates were identified using the Consolidated Species Concept, employing morphological characters and DNA sequence comparisons for the β-tubulin, calmodulin, histone H3 and translation elongation factor 1-alpha gene regions. Twenty-one Calonectria species were identified of which 18 represented novel taxa. Of these, 12 novel taxa belonged to Sphaero-Naviculate Group and the remaining six to the Prolate Group. Southeast Asia appears to represent a centre of biodiversity for the Sphaero-Naviculate Group and this fact could be one of the important constraints to Eucalyptus forestry in China. The remarkable diversity of Calonectria species in a relatively small area of China and associated with a single tree species is surprising.

  10. Response of Termite (Blattodea: Termitoidae) Assemblages to Lower Subtropical Forest Succession: A Case Study in Dinghushan Biosphere Reserve, China.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Zhi-Qiang; Ke, Yun-Ling; Zeng, Wen-Hui; Zhang, Shi-Jun; Wu, Wen-Jing

    2016-02-01

    Termite (Blattodea: Termitoidae) assemblages have important ecological functions and vary in structure between habitats, but have not been studied in lower subtropical forests. To examine whether differences in the richness and relative abundance of termite species and functional groups occur in lower subtropical regions, termite assemblages were sampled in Dinghushan Biosphere Reserve, China, among pine forest, pine and broad-leaved mixed forest (mixed forest), and monsoon evergreen broad-leaved forest (monsoon forest). The dominant functional group was wood-feeding termites (family Termitidae), and the mixed forest hosted the greatest richness and relative abundance. Soil-feeding termites were absent from the lower subtropical system, while humus-feeding termites were sporadically distributed in mixed forest and monsoon forest. The species richness and functional group abundance of termites in our site may be linked to the forest succession. Altitude, soil temperature, air temperature, surface air relative humidity, and litter depth were significant influences on species and functional group diversity.

  11. Genetic Diversity and Population Structure of Broomcorn Millet (Panicum miliaceum L.) Cultivars and Landraces in China Based on Microsatellite Markers

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Minxuan; Xu, Yue; He, Jihong; Zhang, Shuang; Wang, Yinyue; Lu, Ping

    2016-01-01

    Broomcorn millet (Panicum miliaceum L.), one of the first domesticated crops, has been grown in Northern China for at least 10,000 years. The species is presently a minor crop, and evaluation of its genetic diversity has been very limited. In this study, we analyzed the genetic diversity of 88 accessions of broomcorn millet collected from various provinces of China. Amplification with 67 simple sequence repeat (SSR) primers revealed moderate levels of diversity in the investigated accessions. A total of 179 alleles were detected, with an average of 2.7 alleles per locus. Polymorphism information content and expected heterozygosity ranged from 0.043 to 0.729 (mean = 0.376) and 0.045 to 0.771 (mean = 0.445), respectively. Cluster analysis based on the unweighted pair group method of mathematical averages separated the 88 accessions into four groups at a genetic similarity level of 0.633. A genetic structure assay indicated a close correlation between geographical regions and genetic diversity. The uncovered information will be valuable for defining gene pools and developing breeding programs for broomcorn millet. Furthermore, the millet-specific SSR markers developed in this study should serve as useful tools for assessment of genetic diversity and elucidation of population structure in broomcorn millet. PMID:26985894

  12. Recovery and phylogenetic diversity of culturable fungi associated with marine sponges Clathrina luteoculcitella and Holoxea sp. in the South China Sea.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ding, Bo; Yin, Ying; Zhang, Fengli; Li, Zhiyong

    2011-08-01

    Sponge-associated fungi represent an important source of marine natural products, but little is known about the fungal diversity and the relationship of sponge-fungal association, especially no research on the fungal diversity in the South China Sea sponge has been reported. In this study, a total of 111 cultivable fungi strains were isolated from two South China Sea sponges Clathrina luteoculcitella and Holoxea sp. using eight different media. Thirty-two independent representatives were selected for analysis of phylogenetic diversity according to ARDRA and morphological characteristics. The culturable fungal communities consisted of at least 17 genera within ten taxonomic orders of two phyla (nine orders of the phylum Ascomycota and one order of the phylum Basidiomycota) including some potential novel marine fungi. Particularly, eight genera of Apiospora, Botryosphaeria, Davidiella, Didymocrea, Lentomitella, Marasmius, Pestalotiopsis, and Rhizomucor were isolated from sponge for the first time. Sponge C. luteoculcitella has greater culturable fungal diversity than sponge Holoxea sp. Five genera of Aspergillus, Davidiella, Fusarium, Paecilomyces, and Penicillium were isolated from both sponges, while 12 genera of Apiospora, Botryosphaeria, Candida, Marasmius, Cladosporium, Didymocrea, Hypocrea, Lentomitella, Nigrospora, Pestalotiopsis, Rhizomucor, and Scopulariopsis were isolated from sponge C. luteoculcitella only. Order Eurotiales especially genera Penicillium, Aspergillus, and order Hypocreales represented the dominant culturable fungi in these two South China Sea sponges. Nigrospora oryzae strain PF18 isolated from sponge C. luteoculcitella showed a strong and broad spectrum antimicrobial activities suggesting the potential for antimicrobial compounds production.

  13. Dynamics and diversity of microbial community succession in traditional fermentation of Shanxi aged vinegar.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nie, Zhiqiang; Zheng, Yu; Du, Hongfu; Xie, Sankuan; Wang, Min

    2015-05-01

    The traditional fermentation of Shanxi aged vinegar (SAV), a well-known traditional Chinese vinegar, generally involves the preparation of starter daqu, starch saccharification, alcoholic fermentation (AF) and acetic acid fermentation (AAF). Dynamics and diversity of microbial community succession in daqu and other fermentation stages were investigated by denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE). Results showed that eight bacterial genera and four fungal genera were found in daqu. However, Staphylococcus, Saccharopolyspora, Bacillus, Oceanobacillus, Enterobacter, Streptomyces, Eurotium, Monascus and Pichia in daqu were eradicated during AF. Four bacterial genera and three fungal genera were found in this stage. Weissella, Lactobacillus, Streptococcus, Saccharomyces, and Saccharomycopsis were the dominant microorganisms in the late stage of AF. During AAF, four bacterial genera and four fungal genera were found. Weissella, Streptococcus, Klebsiella, Escherichia, and Cladosporium gradually disappeared; the dominant microorganisms were Acetobacter, Lactobacillus, Saccharomycopsis, and Alternaria in the late stage of AAF. Alpha diversity metrics showed that fungal diversity in daqu was greater than that in AF and AAF. By contrast, bacterial diversity decreased from daqu to AF and increased in the first three days of AAF and then decreased. Hence, these results could help understand dynamics of microbial community succession in continuous fermentation of traditional Chinese vinegars. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  14. Distribution and molecular diversity of three cucurbit-infecting poleroviruses in China.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shang, Qiao-xia; Xiang, Hai-ying; Han, Cheng-gui; Li, Da-wei; Yu, Jia-lin

    2009-11-01

    Cucurbit aphid-borne yellows virus (CABYV) and Melon aphid-borne yellows virus (MABYV) have been found to be associated with cucurbit yellowing disease in China. Our report identifies for the first time a third distinct polerovirus, tentatively named Suakwa aphid-borne yellows virus (SABYV), infecting Suakwa vegetable sponge. To better understand the distribution and molecular diversity of these three poleroviruses infecting cucurbits, a total of 214 cucurbitaceous crop samples were collected from 25 provinces in China, and were investigated by RT-PCR and sequencing. Of these, 108 samples tested positive for CABYV, while 40 samples from five provinces were positive for MABYV, and SABYV was detected in only 4 samples which were collected in the southern part of China. Forty-one PCR-amplified fragments containing a portion of the RdRp gene, intergenic NCR and CP gene were cloned and sequenced. Sequence comparisons showed that CABYV isolates shared 78.0-79.2% nucleotide sequence identity with MABYV isolates, and 69.7-70.8% with SABYV. Sequence identity between MABYV and SABYV was 73.3-76.5%. In contrast, the nucleotide identities within each species were 93.2-98.7% (CABYV), 98.1-99.9% (MABYV), and 96.1-98.6% (SABYV). Phylogenetic analyses revealed that the polerovirus isolates fit into three distinct groups, corresponding to the three species. The CABYV group could be further divided into two subgroups: the Asia subgroup and the Mediterranean subgroup, based on CP gene and partial RdRp gene sequences. Recombination analysis suggested that MABYV may be a recombinant virus.

  15. Locus of control and academic success among ethnically diverse baccalaureate nursing students.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wood, April Moy; Saylor, Coleen; Cohen, Jayne

    2009-01-01

    This descriptive study used quantitative and qualitative methods to gain a deeper understanding of the perceptions of locus of control and the academic success of baccalaureate nursing students from ethnically diverse backgrounds. Students who were more likely to attribute academic outcomes to forces beyond their personal control were more likely to have lower medical-surgical theory grades, more likely to be Filipino or from other Asian groups, and more likely to be students for whom English was their second language. The most frequently reported factors students identified as contributors to academic success were good study strategies, persistence, and supportive social connections.

  16. Effects of experimental nitrogen additions on plant diversity in tropical forests of contrasting disturbance regimes in southern China

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lu Xiankai; Mo Jiangming; Gilliam, Frank S.; Yu Guirui; Zhang Wei; Fang Yunting; Huang Juan

    2011-01-01

    Responses of understory plant diversity to nitrogen (N) additions were investigated in reforested forests of contrasting disturbance regimes in southern China from 2003 to 2008: disturbed forest (with harvesting of understory vegetation and litter) and rehabilitated forest (without harvesting). Experimental additions of N were administered as the following treatments: Control, 50 kg N ha -1 yr -1 , and 100 kg N ha -1 yr -1 . Nitrogen additions did not significantly affect understory plant richness, density, and cover in the disturbed forest. Similarly, no significant response was found for canopy closure in this forest. In the rehabilitated forest, species richness and density showed no significant response to N additions; however, understory cover decreased significantly in the N-treated plots, largely a function of a significant increase in canopy closure. Our results suggest that responses of plant diversity to N deposition may vary with different land-use history, and rehabilitated forests may be more sensitive to N deposition. - Highlights: → Nitrogen addition had no significant effect on understory plant diversity in the disturbed forest. → Nitrogen addition significantly decreased understory plant cover. → Nitrogen addition had no effect on richness and density in the rehabilitated forest. → The decrease is largely a function of a significant increase in canopy closure. → Land-use practices may dominate the responses of plant diversity to N addition. - Research in disturbed forests of southeastern China demonstrates that land-use history can substantially alter effects of excess nitrogen deposition on plant diversity of tropical forest ecosystems.

  17. Can butterflies cope with city life? Butterfly diversity in a young megacity in southern China.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sing, Kong-Wah; Dong, Hui; Wang, Wen-Zhi; Wilson, John-James

    2016-09-01

    During 30 years of unprecedented urbanization, plant diversity in Shenzhen, a young megacity in southern China, has increased dramatically. Although strongly associated with plant diversity, butterfly diversity generally declines with urbanization, but this has not been investigated in Shenzhen. Considering the speed of urbanization in Shenzhen and the large number of city parks, we investigated butterfly diversity in Shenzhen parks. We measured butterfly species richness in four microhabitats (groves, hedges, flowerbeds, and unmanaged areas) across 10 parks and examined the relationship with three park variables: park age, park size, and distance from the central business district. Butterflies were identified based on wing morphology and DNA barcoding. We collected 1933 butterflies belonging to 74 species from six families; 20% of the species were considered rare. Butterfly species richness showed weak negative correlations with park age and distance from the central business district, but the positive correlation with park size was statistically significant (p = 0.001). Among microhabitat types, highest species richness was recorded in unmanaged areas. Our findings are consistent with others in suggesting that to promote urban butterfly diversity it is necessary to make parks as large as possible and to set aside areas for limited management. In comparison to neighbouring cities, Shenzhen parks have high butterfly diversity.

  18. HIV-1 genetic diversity and its distribution characteristics among newly diagnosed HIV-1 individuals in Hebei province, China.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lu, Xinli; Zhao, Cuiying; Wang, Wei; Nie, Chenxi; Zhang, Yuqi; Zhao, Hongru; Chen, Suliang; Cui, Ze

    2016-01-01

    Since the first HIV-1 case in 1989, Hebei province has presented a clearly rising trend of HIV-1 prevalence, and HIV-1 genetic diversity has become the vital barrier to HIV prevention and control in this area. To obtain detailed information of HIV-1 spread in different populations and in different areas of Hebei, a cross-sectional HIV-1 molecular epidemiological investigation was performed across the province. Blood samples of 154 newly diagnosed HIV-1 individuals were collected from ten prefectures in Hebei using stratified sampling. Partial gag and env genes were amplified and sequenced. HIV-1 genotypes were identified by phylogenetic tree analyses. Among the 139 subjects genotyped, six HIV-1 subtypes were identified successfully, including subtype B (41.0 %), CRF01_AE (40.3 %), CRF07_BC (11.5 %), CRF08_BC (4.3 %), unique recombinant forms (URFs) (1.4 %) and subtype C (1.4 %). Subtype B was identified as the most frequent subtype. Two URF recombination patterns were the same as CRF01_AE/B. HIV-1 genotype distribution showed a significant statistical difference in different demographic characteristics, such as source (P  0.05). The differences in HIV-1 genotype distribution were closely associated with transmission routes. Particularly, all six subtype strains were found in heterosexuals, showing that HIV-1 has spread from the high-risk populations to the general populations in Hebei, China. In addition, CRF01_AE instead of subtype B has become the major strain of HIV-1 infection among homosexuals. Our study revealed HIV-1 evolution and genotype distribution by investigating newly diagnosed HIV-1 individuals in Hebei, China. This study provides important information to enhance the strategic plan for HIV prevention and control in China.

  19. An overview of the management consulting firms of the Spanish company in China: company profile and success and failure factors

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    A. Niñerola

    2016-03-01

    Full Text Available This article explores the vision of Management Consulting Firms (MCF specialized in internationalization processes of Spanish companies in China. The main objective is to shed light on a process full of uncertainty as is international expansion into emerging markets on the point of view of the advisors of that process. First, it is analyzed whether there is a Spanish company profile that is internationalized toward China in terms of sector of activity, size and experience in international business. And second, with their client’s experiences, success and failure factors in the internationalization process are studied. To achieve those objectives in depth interviews were held with partners and managers of six Management Consulting Firms with Spanish clients in their portfolio. As a result it is concluded that the sectors where the Spanish company has invested are several, the size of the company is important to undertake an implementation process in China and its international experience as well. Eight key factors were found relevant to invest in China successfully.  Five factors are related with their resources (humans and financials and the other three are related with their strategy. The main reasons of failure are also discussed. The article provides an outside perspective on the reasons why an internationalization process is successful and other fails.

  20. The distribution and diversity of sea cucumbers in the coral reefs of the South China Sea, Sulu Sea and Sulawesi Sea

    Science.gov (United States)

    Woo, Sau Pinn; Yasin, Zulfigar; Ismail, Siti Hasmah; Tan, Shau Hwai

    2013-11-01

    A study on the distribution and diversity of sea cucumbers in the coral reefs of the South China Sea, Sulu Sea and Sulawesi Sea was carried out in July 2009. The survey was done using wandering transect underwater with SCUBA. Twelve species of sea cucumber were found from four different families and nine genera. The most dominant family was Holothuriidae (five species), followed by Stichopodidae (three species), Synaptidae (three species) and Cucumariidae with only one species. The most dominant species found around the island was Pearsonothuria graffei, which can be found abundantly on substrate of dead corals in a wide range of depth (6-15 m). The Sulawesi Sea showed a higher diversity of sea cucumber with seven different species compared to the South China Sea with only six different species and Sulu Sea with only two species. Ordination by multidimensional scaling of Bray-Curtis similarities clustered the sampling locations to three main clusters with two outgroups. Previous studies done indicated a higher diversity of sea cucumber as compared to this study. This can be indication that the population and diversity of sea cucumbers in the reef is under threat.

  1. Hierarchical biodiversity and environment impact assessment of South-to-North Water Diversion Project of China

    OpenAIRE

    Youhua Chen

    2013-01-01

    In this brief review, the potential environmental and biodiversity impact of South-to-North Water Diversion (SNWD) project in China on regional environments was assessed. I used the hierarchical environmental impact assessment to classify the possible impacts into three orders caused by the construction of SNWD and then presented the current research advances on each order of the impacts. Further impact assessments should be reinforced during the construction period of SNDW project for the su...

  2. Invasion success in Cogongrass (Imperata cylindrica): A population genetic approach exploring genetic diversity and historical introductions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rima D. Lucardi; Lisa E. Wallace; Gary N. Ervin

    2014-01-01

    Propagule pressure significantly contributes to and limits the potential success of a biological invasion, especially during transport, introduction, and establishment. Events such as multiple introductions of foreign parent material and gene flow among them can increase genetic diversity in founding populations, often leading to greater invasion success. We applied...

  3. Tree diversity promotes insect herbivory in subtropical forests of south-east China.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schuldt, Andreas; Baruffol, Martin; Böhnke, Martin; Bruelheide, Helge; Härdtle, Werner; Lang, Anne C; Nadrowski, Karin; von Oheimb, Goddert; Voigt, Winfried; Zhou, Hongzhang; Assmann, Thorsten; Fridley, Jason

    2010-07-01

    1.Insect herbivory can strongly affect ecosystem processes, and its relationship with plant diversity is a central topic in biodiversity-functioning research. However, very little is known about this relationship from complex ecosystems dominated by long-lived individuals, such as forests, especially over gradients of high plant diversity.2.We analysed insect herbivory on saplings of 10 tree and shrub species across 27 forest stands differing in age and tree species richness in an extraordinarily diverse subtropical forest ecosystem in China. We tested whether plant species richness significantly influences folivory in these highly diverse forests or whether other factors play a more important role at such high levels of phytodiversity.3.Leaf damage was assessed on 58 297 leaves of 1284 saplings at the end of the rainy season in 2008, together with structural and abiotic stand characteristics.4.Species-specific mean damage of leaf area ranged from 3% to 16%. Herbivory increased with plant species richness even after accounting for potentially confounding effects of stand characteristics, of which stand age-related aspects most clearly covaried with herbivory. Intraspecific density dependence or other abiotic factors did not significantly influence overall herbivory across forest stands.5.Synthesis.The positive herbivory-plant diversity relationship indicates that effects related to hypotheses of resource concentration, according to which a reduction in damage by specialized herbivores might be expected as host plant concentration decreases with increasing plant diversity, do not seem to be major determinants for overall herbivory levels in our phytodiverse subtropical forest ecosystem. We discuss the potential role of host specificity of dominant herbivores, which are often expected to show a high degree of specialization in many (sub)tropical forests. In the forest system we studied, a much higher impact of polyphagous species than traditionally assumed might

  4. Genetic Diversity of Bacterial Communities and Gene Transfer Agents in Northern South China Sea

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sun, Fu-Lin; Wang, You-Shao; Wu, Mei-Lin; Jiang, Zhao-Yu; Sun, Cui-Ci; Cheng, Hao

    2014-01-01

    Pyrosequencing of the 16S ribosomal RNA gene (rDNA) amplicons was performed to investigate the unique distribution of bacterial communities in northern South China Sea (nSCS) and evaluate community structure and spatial differences of bacterial diversity. Cyanobacteria, Proteobacteria, Actinobacteria, and Bacteroidetes constitute the majority of bacteria. The taxonomic description of bacterial communities revealed that more Chroococcales, SAR11 clade, Acidimicrobiales, Rhodobacterales, and Flavobacteriales are present in the nSCS waters than other bacterial groups. Rhodobacterales were less abundant in tropical water (nSCS) than in temperate and cold waters. Furthermore, the diversity of Rhodobacterales based on the gene transfer agent (GTA) major capsid gene (g5) was investigated. Four g5 gene clone libraries were constructed from samples representing different regions and yielded diverse sequences. Fourteen g5 clusters could be identified among 197 nSCS clones. These clusters were also related to known g5 sequences derived from genome-sequenced Rhodobacterales. The composition of g5 sequences in surface water varied with the g5 sequences in the sampling sites; this result indicated that the Rhodobacterales population could be highly diverse in nSCS. Phylogenetic tree analysis result indicated distinguishable diversity patterns among tropical (nSCS), temperate, and cold waters, thereby supporting the niche adaptation of specific Rhodobacterales members in unique environments. PMID:25364820

  5. Fertilizer regime impacts on abundance and diversity of soil fauna across a poplar plantation chronosequence in coastal Eastern China

    OpenAIRE

    Shaojun Wang; Han Y. H. Chen; Yan Tan; Huan Fan; Honghua Ruan

    2016-01-01

    Soil fauna are critical for ecosystem function and sensitive to the changes of soil fertility. The effects of fertilization on soil fauna communities, however, remain poorly understood. We examined the effects of fertilization form and quantity on the abundance, diversity and composition of soil fauna across an age-sequence of poplar plantations (i.e., 4-, 9- and 20-yr-old) in the coastal region of eastern China. We found that the effects of fertilization on faunal abundance, diversity, and c...

  6. Feasibility of recruiting a diverse sample of men who have sex with men: observation from Nanjing, China.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Weiming Tang

    Full Text Available Respondent-driven-sampling (RDS has well been recognized as a method for sampling from most hard-to-reach populations like commercial sex workers, drug users and men who have sex with men. However the feasibility of this sampling strategy in terms of recruiting a diverse spectrum of these hidden populations has not been understood well yet in developing countries.In a cross sectional study in Nanjing city of Jiangsu province of China, 430 MSM were recruited including 9 seeds in 14 weeks of study period using RDS. Information regarding socio-demographic characteristics and sexual risk behavior were collected and testing was done for HIV and syphilis. Duration, completion, participant characteristics and the equilibrium of key factors were used for assessing feasibility of RDS. Homophily of key variables, socio-demographic distribution and social network size were used as the indicators of diversity.In the study sample, adjusted HIV and syphilis prevalence were 6.6% and 14.6% respectively. Majority (96.3% of the participants were recruited by members of their own social network. Although there was a tendency for recruitment within the same self-identified group (homosexuals recruited 60.0% homosexuals, considerable cross-group recruitment (bisexuals recruited 52.3% homosexuals was also seen. Homophily of the self-identified sexual orientations was 0.111 for homosexuals. Upon completion of the recruitment process, participant characteristics and the equilibrium of key factors indicated that RDS was feasible for sampling MSM in Nanjing. Participants recruited by RDS were found to be diverse after assessing the homophily of key variables in successive waves of recruitment, the proportion of characteristics after reaching equilibrium and the social network size. The observed design effects were nearly the same or even better than the theoretical design effect of 2.RDS was found to be an efficient and feasible sampling method for recruiting a diverse

  7. An evaluation of the nursing success program: reading comprehension, graduation rates, and diversity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Symes, Lene; Tart, Kathryn; Travis, Lucille

    2005-01-01

    The Nursing Success Program was developed to enhance retention of baccalaureate nursing students. Reading comprehension scores are used to identify students who are at risk for failure and direct them into the retention program that addresses their skill deficits. To evaluate the program, the authors assessed reading comprehension, graduation rates, and ethnic diversity.

  8. The genetic diversity of the mangrove kandelia obovata in China revealed by ISSR analysis

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chen, Shao-Bo; Ding, When-Young; Qiu, Jia-Biao; Wang, Guang-Yin; Zhou, Zhi-Min; Chen- Jiao-Fei; Ai, Wewi-ming; Wang, Cheng-Yi; Xie, Qi-Lang

    2010-01-01

    The genetic diversity of 7 populations of Kandelia obovata in China was characterized using inter simple sequence repeats (ISSR) technique. A total of 50 primers were screened, of which 9 polymorphic and informative patterns were selected to determine genetic relationships. ISSR amplification was conducted on 140 individuals from 7 populations, and 88 polymorphic loci were detected from 106 total loci. The total percentage of polymorphic loci (PPL) was 83.02%. The percentage of PPL at the population level ranged from 32.08% to 47.17%, with an average of 39.89%. Nei's gene diversity (H) and Shannon's information index (I) of K. obovata at the species level were 0.3631 and 0.5203, respectively. The genetic differentiation coefficient (Gst) among populations was 0.5548. Among populations component accounted for 55.48% of the total variation, whereas the within populations component accounted for 44.52%, suggesting that genetic differentiation among K. obovata populations was relatively high. The gene flow among populations was 0.4012, indicating that gene flow was low among geographically diverse populations of K. obovata. The results of the genetic diversity and cluster analysis suggest that geographical isolation of K. obovata populations mainly results in low gene flow and random genetic drift, leading to genetic differentiation. (author)

  9. Genetic diversity and population structure of Miscanthus sinensis germplasm in China.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hua Zhao

    Full Text Available Miscanthus is a perennial rhizomatous C4 grass native to East Asia. Endowed with great biomass yield, high ligno-cellulose composition, efficient use of radiation, nutrient and water, as well as tolerance to stress, Miscanthus has great potential as an excellent bioenergy crop. Despite of the high potential for biomass production of the allotriploid hybrid M. ×giganteus, derived from M. sacchariflorus and M. sinensis, other options need to be explored to improve the narrow genetic base of M. ×giganteus, and also to exploit other Miscanthus species, including M. sinensis (2n = 2x = 38, as bioenergy crops. In the present study, a large number of 459 M. sinensis accessions, collected from the wide geographical distribution regions in China, were genotyped using 23 SSR markers transferable from Brachypodium distachyon. Genetic diversity and population structure were assessed. High genetic diversity and differentiation of the germplasm were observed, with 115 alleles in total, a polymorphic rate of 0.77, Nei's genetic diversity index (He of 0.32 and polymorphism information content (PIC of 0.26. Clustering of germplasm accessions was primarily in agreement with the natural geographic distribution. AMOVA and genetic distance analyses confirmed the genetic differentiation in the M. sinensis germplasm and it was grouped into five clusters or subpopulations. Significant genetic variation among subpopulations indicated obvious genetic differentiation in the collections, but within-subpopulation variation (83% was substantially greater than the between-subpopulation variation (17%. Considerable phenotypic variation was observed for multiple traits among 300 M. sinensis accessions. Nine SSR markers were found to be associated with heading date and biomass yield. The diverse Chinese M. sinensis germplasm and newly identified SSR markers were proved to be valuable for breeding Miscanthus varieties with desired bioenergy traits.

  10. Inbreeding and Genetic Diversity in Three Imported Swine Breeds in China Using Pedigree Data

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    G. Q. Tang

    2013-06-01

    Full Text Available The accumulation of inbreeding and the loss of genetic diversity is a potential problem in the modern swine breeds in China. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to analyze the pedigrees of Chinese Duroc (CD, Landrace (CL and Yorkshire (CY swine to estimate the past and current rates of inbreeding, and to identify the main causes of genetic diversity loss. Pedigree files from CD, CL and CY containing, 4529, 16,776 and 22,600 records, respectively, were analyzed. Pedigree completeness indexes of the three breeds, accounting for one generation back, were 83.72, 93.93 and 93.59%, respectively. The estimated average annual inbreeding rates for CD, CL and CY in recent three years were 0.21, 0.19 and 0.13%, respectively. The estimated average percentage of genetic diversity loss within each breed in recent three years was about 8.92, 2.19, and 3.36%, respectively. The average relative proportion of genetic diversity loss due to unequal contributions of founders in CD, CL and CY was 69.09, 57.95 and 60.57%, and due to random genetic drift was 30.91, 42.05 and 39.43%, respectively. The estimated current effective population size for CD, CL and CY was 76, 117 and 202, respectively. Therefore, CD has been found to have lost considerable genetic diversity, demanding priority for optimizing the selection and mating to control future coancestry and inbreeding. Unequal contribution of founders was a major cause of genetic diversity loss in Chinese swine breeds and random genetic drift also showed substantial impact on the loss of diversity.

  11. Wide Distribution and Genetic Diversity of Babesia microti in Small Mammals from Yunnan Province, Southwestern China.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gao, Zi-Hou; Huang, Tao-Hua; Jiang, Bao-Gui; Jia, Na; Liu, Zheng-Xiang; Shao, Zong-Ti; Jiang, Rui-Ruo; Liu, Hong-Bo; Wei, Ran; Li, Yu-Qiong; Yao, Hong-Wu; von Fricken, Michael E; Jiang, Jia-Fu; Du, Chun-Hong; Cao, Wu-Chun

    2017-10-01

    Babesia, usually found in wild and domestic mammals worldwide, have recently been responsible for emerging malaria-like zoonosis in infected patients. Human B. microti infection has been identified in China, primarily in the Southwest along the Myanmar border but little direct surveillance of B. microti infection in rodents has been carried out here (Yunnan province). In this region, a diverse topographic range combined with tropical moisture sustains a high biodiversity of small mammals, which might play important role on Babesia transmission. Small mammals were captured in 141 sample locations from 18 counties located Yunnan Province, and screened for B. microti-like parasites infection by a nested PCR to target 18S rRNA gene of Babesia, plus directly sequencing for positive samples. Univariate and multivariate forward stepwise logistic regression analysis was used to access the association between infections and some related risk factors. Infection with Babesia microti was confirmed in 2.4% (53/ 2204) of small mammals. Significant differences in prevalence rates of B. microti were observed based on variations in forest, agricultural, and residential landscapes. Furthermore, adult small mammals had higher prevalence rates than younger, pubertal mammals. The near full-length 18S rRNA gene revealed that there were two types of B. microti, Kobe and Otsu, which demonstrate the genetic diversity and regional distribution. There exists a wide distribution and genetic diversity of endemic B. microti in Southwestern China, warranting further investigations and monitoring of clinical disease in individuals presenting with Babesia like symptoms in these areas.

  12. How Did You Survive in the First Five Years? Secrets to Success Described by Apparel New Ventures in China

    OpenAIRE

    Li Zhao; Jung Ha-Brookshire

    2014-01-01

    The study explored the secrets of success described by Chinese apparel new ventures. Barney's (1991) resource-based view of the firm helped the researchers understand secrets to success from the firm's internal perspective, and the social network theory informed key secrets from the external perspective (Ahuja, 2000). In-depth interviews with open-ended questions were employed with sixteen top apparel companies in China. Results revealed that having the first successful store is the symbol of...

  13. Life cycle assessment of water supply alternatives in water-receiving areas of the South-to-North Water Diversion Project in China.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Yi; Xiong, Wei; Zhang, Wenlong; Wang, Chao; Wang, Peifang

    2016-02-01

    To alleviate the water shortage in northern China, the Chinese government launched the world's largest water diversion project, the South-to-North Water Diversion Project (SNWDP), which delivers water from water-sufficient southern China to water-deficient northern China. However, an up-to-date study has not been conducted to determine whether the project is a favorable option to augment the water supply from an environmental perspective. The life cycle assessment (LCA) methodology integrated with a freshwater withdrawal category (FWI) was adopted to compare water supply alternatives in the water-receiving areas of the SNWDP, i.e., water diversion, wastewater reclamation and seawater desalination. Beijing, Tianjin, Jinan and Qingdao were studied as representative cities because they are the primary water-receiving areas of the SNWDP. The results revealed that the operation phase played the dominant role in all but one of the life cycle impact categories considered and contributed to more than 70% of their scores. For Beijing and Tianjin, receiving water through the SNWDP is the most sustainable option to augment the water supply. The result can be drawn in all of the water-receiving areas of the middle route of the SNWDP. For Jinan and Qingdao, the most sustainable option is the wastewater reclamation system. The seawater desalination system obtains the highest score of the standard impact indicators in all of the study areas, whereas it is the most favorable water supply option when considering the freshwater withdrawal impact. Although the most sustainable water supply alternative was recommended through an LCA analysis, multi-water resources should be integrated into the region's water supply from the perspective of water sustainability. The results of this study provide a useful recommendation on the management of water resources for China. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  14. Identification of three new isolates of Tomato spotted wilt virus from different hosts in China: molecular diversity, phylogenetic and recombination analyses.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Zhenjia; Wang, Deya; Yu, Chengming; Wang, Zenghui; Dong, Jiahong; Shi, Kerong; Yuan, Xuefeng

    2016-01-14

    Destructive diseases caused by Tomato spotted wilt virus (TSWV) have been reported associated with many important plants worldwide. Recently, TSWV was reported to infect different hosts in China. It is of value to clone TSWV isolates from different hosts and examine diversity and evolution among different TSWV isolates in China as well as worldwide. RT-PCR was used to clone the full-length genome (L, M and S segments) of three new isolates of TSWV that infected different hosts (tobacco, red pepper and green pepper) in China. Identity of nucleotide and amino acid sequences among TSWV isolates were analyzed by DNAMAN. MEGA 5.0 was used to construct phylogenetic trees. RDP4 was used to detect recombination events during evolution of these isolates. Whole-genome sequences of three new TSWV isolates in China were determined. Together with other available isolates, 29 RNA L, 62 RNA M and 66 RNA S of TSWV isolates were analyzed for molecular diversity, phylogenetic and recombination events. This analysis revealed that the entire TSWV genome, especially the M and S RNAs, had major variations in genomic size that mainly involve the A-U rich intergenic region (IGR). Phylogenetic analyses on TSWV isolates worldwide revealed evidence for frequent reassortments in the evolution of tripartite negative-sense RNA genome. Significant numbers of recombination events with apparent 5' regional preference were detected among TSWV isolates worldwide. Moreover, TSWV isolates with similar recombination events usually had closer relationships in phylogenetic trees. All five Chinese TSWV isolates including three TSWV isolates of this study and previously reported two isolates can be divided into two groups with different origins based on molecular diversity and phylogenetic analysis. During their evolution, both reassortment and recombination played roles. These results suggest that recombination could be an important mechanism in the evolution of multipartite RNA viruses, even negative

  15. Genetic diversity and population demography of the Chinese crocodile lizard (Shinisaurus crocodilurus in China.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Huayuan Huang

    Full Text Available The Chinese crocodile lizard Shinisaurus crocodilurus is a critically endangered species, listed in Appendix II of CITES. Its populations and habitat in China have undergone significant changes in recent years. Understanding the genetic variability and phylogeography of this species is very important for successful conservation. In this study, samples were taken from 11 wild ponds and two captive populations in China. We sequenced mitochondrial CYTB, partial ND6, and partial tRNA-Glu and genotyped 10 microsatellite loci. Our analyses of these data showed low genetic variability, no strong isolation caused by distance, and a lack of a phylogeographic structure in this species. Based on our results, the basal divergence between two clades of S. crocodilurus in China may have been caused by the formation of the Pearl River system. We found a population expansion in one of these clades. Microsatellite analysis indicated the presence of three clusters, separated by significant genetic differences. We found that most individuals in the two captive populations were from the Luokeng (Guangdong and Guangxi wild source populations, respectively.

  16. Diversity and convergence of population aging: evidence from China and Canada

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Légaré, Jacques

    2004-01-01

    Full Text Available EnglishTaking the diversity and the convergence of demographic transitions intoconsideration, it is hypothesized that population aging that occurs in developed countries anddeveloping countries will reflect diversity, but will also show some convergence. In order to testthis hypothesis, the present study compares the population aging experiences of China (1971-2050 andCanada (1911-2050 and places them within the context of the demographic transition. In this paper welearn how, as population ages, these two countries will, through two distinct pathways, arrive atsimilar age structures by the middle of the 21st century. Both the diversity and the convergence ofpopulation aging are shown in this comparative study.FrenchEn constatant la diversité et la convergence des transitions démographiques,nous faisons l'hypothèse que le processus du vieillissement démographiquecomporte également une certaine diversité et montrera une convergence, enparticulier, entre les pays développés et les pays en développement. Afin devérifier cette hypothèse, la présente étude compare les vieillissementsdémographiques en Chine (1971-2050 et au Canada (1911-2050, en lesmettant dans le contexte de la transition démographique. Cet article montre qu’àmesure que vieillit la population, comment ces deux pays arriveront par deuxvoies distinctes à une structure par âge similaire au milieu du XXIème siècle. Ladiversité et la convergence du vieillissement sont toutes deux illustrées danscette étude comparative.

  17. Understory plant diversity in mixed and pure plantations of jatropha curcas vs. native vegetation in the lower-middle reaches of the lancang-meikong river watershed, china

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ou, G.L.; Ma, H.C.; Tang, J.R.

    2015-01-01

    22 plots at the Xiaoheijiang base, located in the lower-middle reaches of the Lancang-Meikong River in China, were investigated to analyze the understory biodiversity of Jatropha curcas plantations. Two kinds of mixed modes of J. curcas (mixed plantation with Macadamia integrifolia and mixed plantation with shrub species) and a pure plantation of J. curcas were planted, while the native vegetation served as a control. The plots were distributed along the gradients of forest management, succession and elevation by CCA analysis. Species richness was not significantly different for the different types of plantation, but the evenness of species could be affected, especially for the total community and the understory by planting J. curcas. The diversity and evenness indices of species were affected for the mixed plantation with different proportions of M. integrifolia, especially for the shrub layer, the Shannon diversity index and Pilou evenness index showed significant differences. And for the different mixed shrub species, only the Shannon diversity index and Pilou evenness index were significantly different. Finally, from the perspective of biological diversity, J.curcas plantation with shrub species would be a recommended planting model for ecological restoration in a dry-hot valley area, while J. curcas plantation with M. integrifolia would be an effective planting model to balance crop yield and food security. (author)

  18. Nucleotide polymorphisms and haplotype diversity of RTCS gene in China elite maize inbred lines.

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    Enying Zhang

    Full Text Available The maize RTCS gene, encoding a LOB domain transcription factor, plays important roles in the initiation of embryonic seminal and postembryonic shoot-borne root. In this study, the genomic sequences of this gene in 73 China elite inbred lines, including 63 lines from 5 temperate heteroric groups and 10 tropic germplasms, were obtained, and the nucleotide polymorphisms and haplotype diversity were detected. A total of 63 sequence variants, including 44 SNPs and 19 indels, were identified at this locus, and most of them were found to be located in the regions of UTR and intron. The coding region of this gene in all tested inbred lines carried 14 haplotypes, which encoding 7 deferring RTCS proteins. Analysis of the polymorphism sites revealed that at least 6 recombination events have occurred. Among all 6 groups tested, only the P heterotic group had a much lower nucleotide diversity than the whole set, and selection analysis also revealed that only this group was under strong negative selection. However, the set of Huangzaosi and its derived lines possessed a higher nucleotide diversity than the whole set, and no selection signal were identified.

  19. Diversity patterns of ground beetles and understory vegetation in mature, secondary, and plantation forest regions of temperate northern China.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zou, Yi; Sang, Weiguo; Wang, Shunzhong; Warren-Thomas, Eleanor; Liu, Yunhui; Yu, Zhenrong; Wang, Changliu; Axmacher, Jan Christoph

    2015-02-01

    Plantation and secondary forests form increasingly important components of the global forest cover, but our current knowledge about their potential contribution to biodiversity conservation is limited. We surveyed understory plant and carabid species assemblages at three distinct regions in temperate northeastern China, dominated by mature forest (Changbaishan Nature Reserve, sampled in 2011 and 2012), secondary forest (Dongling Mountain, sampled in 2011 and 2012), and forest plantation habitats (Bashang Plateau, sampled in 2006 and 2007), respectively. The α-diversity of both taxonomic groups was highest in plantation forests of the Bashang Plateau. Beetle α-diversity was lowest, but plant and beetle species turnover peaked in the secondary forests of Dongling Mountain, while habitats in the Changbaishan Nature Reserve showed the lowest turnover rates for both taxa. Changbaishan Nature Reserve harbored the highest proportion of forest specialists. Our results suggest that in temperate regions of northern China, the protected larch plantation forest established over extensive areas might play a considerable role in maintaining a high biodiversity in relation to understory herbaceous plant species and carabid assemblages, which can be seen as indicators of forest disturbance. The high proportion of phytophagous carabids and the rarity of forest specialists reflect the relatively homogenous, immature status of the forest ecosystems on the Bashang Plateau. China's last remaining large old-growth forests like the ones on Changbaishan represent stable, mature ecosystems which require particular conservation attention.

  20. Genetic diversity of Begonia versicolor (Begoniaceae, a narrow endemic species in southeast Yunnan of China

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    Chun Li

    2018-03-01

    Full Text Available Begonia versicolor Irmscher, a narrow endemic Begonia species in southeast Yunnan of China, is a wonderful ornamental plant with huge diversity in colored foliage. To investigate its variations, the genetic diversity and population structure were studied based on 56 individuals sampled from four localities using 12 polymorphic microsatellite loci transferred from other species of Begonia. The results showed a relatively low level of genetic diversity in B. versicolor comparing with other species of Begonia using microsatellite. Positive inbreeding coefficient (FIS values were found in three populations (SWC, XPZ and DSD. AMOVA analysis indicated that genetic variations occurred mainly within populations (55.9% rather than among populations (9.7% and among groups (34.4%. Four populations were grouped into two clusters based on STRUCTURE. AMOVA and STRUCTURE analysis showed a high level and significant genetic differentiation in the populations of B. versicolor. Based on its genetic status and rarity in the wild, the sustainable in-situ and ex-situ conservation strategies should be urgently carried out to protect this species with high horticultural and scientific values.

  1. Germplasm Diversity of Chinese Kale in China

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    Jianjun LEI

    2017-05-01

    Full Text Available Chinese kale is an important vegetable crop in China, especially in South China where the majority of varieties are grown. It originated in South China and spread throughout Southeast Asia thereafter. Chinese kale can be classified into two types according to whether the petals are white or yellow. There are also three main cultivated types based on the edible organs, including the stalk and leaf type, the stalk type, and the leaf type. Two primary types have also been defined based on stalk color, including green stalks and red stalks. They are also cultivated based on the type of stalk, including main stalk and lateral stalk types. Significant differences have also been observed in glucosinolate content among the varieties, and a 40-fold difference in neoindle-3-methyl glucosinolate was detected across the cultivars.

  2. Co-Circulation of Canine Coronavirus I and IIa/b with High Prevalence and Genetic Diversity in Heilongjiang Province, Northeast China.

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    Xinyu Wang

    Full Text Available To trace the evolution of canine coronavirus (CCoV, 201 stool samples from diarrheic dogs in northeast China were subjected to reverse transcription-polymerase chain reactions (RT-PCRs targeting the partial M and S genes of CCoV, followed by an epidemiological analysis. M gene RT-PCRs showed that 28.36% (57/201 of the samples were positive for CCoV; of the 57 positive samples, CCoV-I and CCoV-II accounted for 15.79% (9/57 and 84.21% (48/57, respectively. A sequence comparison of the partial M gene revealed nucleotide homologies of 88.4%-100% among the 57 CCoV strains, and 88.7%-96.2% identity between the 57 CCoV strains and the Chinese reference strain HF3. The CCoV-I and CCoV-II strains exhibited genetic diversity when compared with reference strains from China and other countries. The 57 CCoV strains exhibited high co-infection rates with canine kobuvirus (CaKV (33.33% and canine parvovirus-2 (CPV-2 (31.58%. The CCoV prevalence in diarrheic dogs differed significantly with immunization status, regions, seasons, and ages. Moreover, 28 S genes were amplified from the 57 CCoV-positive samples, including 26 CCoV-IIa strains, one CCoV-IIb strain, and one CCoV-I strain. A sequence comparison of the partial S gene revealed 86.3%-100% nucleotide identity among the 26 CCoV-IIa strains, and 89.6%-92.2% identity between the 26 CCoV-IIa strains and the Chinese reference strain V1. The 26 CCoV-IIa strains showed genetic diversity when compared with reference strains from China and other countries. Our data provide evidence that CCoV-I, CCoV-IIa, and CCoV-IIb strains co-circulate in the diarrhoetic dogs in northeast China, high co-infection rates with CaKV and CPV-2 were observed, and the CCoV-II strains exhibited high prevalence and genetic diversity.

  3. Microbial diversity in cold seep sediments from the northern South China Sea

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    Yong Zhang

    2012-05-01

    Full Text Available South China Sea (SCS is the largest Western Pacific marginal sea. However, microbial studies have never been performed in the cold seep sediments in the SCS. In 2004, “SONNE” 177 cruise found two cold seep areas with different water depth in the northern SCS. Haiyang 4 area, where the water depth is around 3000 m, has already been confirmed for active seeping on the seafloor, such as microbial mats, authigenic carbonate crusts and bivalves. We investigated microbial abundance and diversity in a 5.55-m sediment core collected from this cold seep area. An integrated approach was employed including geochemistry and 16S rRNA gene phylogenetic analyses. Here, we show that microbial abundance and diversity along with geochemistry profiles of the sediment core revealed a coupled reaction between sulphate reduction and methane oxidation. Acridine orange direct count results showed that microbial abundance ranges from 105 to 106 cells/g sediment (wet weight. The depth-related variation of the abundance showed the same trend as the methane concentration profile. Phylogenetic analysis indicated the presence of sulphate-reducing bacteria and anaerobic methane-oxidizing archaea. The diversity was much higher at the surface, but decreased sharply with depth in response to changes in the geochemical conditions of the sediments, such as methane, sulphate concentration and total organic carbon. Marine Benthic Group B, Chloroflexi and JS1 were predominant phylotypes of the archaeal and bacterial libraries, respectively.

  4. Diversity and Antibacterial Activities of Fungi Derived from the Gorgonian Echinogorgia rebekka from the South China Sea

    OpenAIRE

    Wang, Ya-Nan; Shao, Chang-Lun; Zheng, Cai-Juan; Chen, Yi-Yan; Wang, Chang-Yun

    2011-01-01

    The diversity of symbiotic fungi associated with the gorgonian coral Echinogorgia rebekka from the Weizhou coral reef in the South China Sea was investigated. Combined with morphologic traits, ITS-rDNA sequences revealed 18 fungal strains from this gorgonian. All of the 18 fungi belonged to the phylum Ascomycota and were distributed among seven genera in five orders: Eurotiales (Aspergillus and Penicillium), Pleosporales (Alternaria), Capnodiales (Cladosporium), Trichosphaeriales (Nigrospora)...

  5. Pharmacovigilance in China: current situation, successes and challenges.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Li; Wong, Lisa Y L; He, Ying; Wong, Ian C K

    2014-10-01

    With the integration of the global pharmaceutical economy and the gradual transformation of the healthcare insurance system in China, the legislative framework for a comprehensive regulatory system monitoring the whole process including drug development, manufacture, distribution and use has been established by the China Food and Drug Administration (CFDA) to ensure the safety and effectiveness of medication use. China has established a relatively comprehensive pharmacovigilance system covering regulation, organisation and technology from 1989 to 2014. As of 2013, one national centre, 34 provincial centres and more than 400 municipal centres for adverse drug reaction (ADR) monitoring were included in the four-level pharmacovigilance network (national, provincial, municipal and county) with more than 200,000 grassroot organisation users. The China Adverse Drug Reaction Monitoring System (CADRMS) is an online spontaneous reporting system which connects the four-level pharmacovigilance network. By 2013, CADRMS had received over 6.6 million ADR case reports. After integrating and analysing pharmacovigilance data, the National Centre for ADR Monitoring (NCADRM) publishes medication safety information by releasing ADR bulletins, National ADR Annual Reports and International Pharmacovigilance Newsletters. The NCADRM also routinely provides CADRMS data feedback to manufacturers. The CFDA implemented risk management through several approaches, including arranging 'manufacturer communication meetings', modification of medication package inserts, and restriction, suspension or withdrawal of marketing authorisations. Seamless information exchange with overseas regulatory authorities and organisations remains an area for improvement. Further development of the China pharmacovigilance system in terms of signal generation, post-marketing pharmacoepidemiology research and education is also needed.

  6. [Diversity and classification system of weed community in Harbin City, China].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Xiao-Shuang; Liang, Hong; Song, Kun; Da, Liang-Jun

    2014-08-01

    To analyze the causes of weed community diversity and their strategies of adaption to the high heterogeneity of urban habitats, weed communities in the central urban area of Harbin, China were studied, and a classification system was established for the weed communities. There were 175 weed species, belonging to 128 genera and 38 families. The heterogeneous urban habitats and species' temporal niche differentiation resulted in the highly diversified weed communities. The high proportions of mono-species dominance and annual species dominance communities were their response to the unstable urban habitats under human disturbances with high intensities and frequencies. A four-level classification system was established in terms of plant species and habitat conditions. Within this system, the identified 1763 weed communities could be categorized into two types of life form, 5 types of dormancy form, 22 community groups, and 119 dominance communities.

  7. First insight into the genotypic diversity of clinical Mycobacterium tuberculosis isolates from Gansu Province, China.

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    Jie Liu

    Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Investigations of Mycobacterium tuberculosis genetic diversity in China have indicated a significant regional distribution. The aim of this study was to characterize the genotypes of clinical M. tuberculosis isolates obtained from Gansu, which has a special geographic location in China. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: A total of 467 clinical M. tuberculosis strains isolated in Gansu Province were genotyped by 15-locus mycobacterial interspersed repetitive units-variable number tandem repeats (MIRU-VNTR and spoligotyping. The results showed that 445 isolates belonged to six known spoligotype lineages, whereas 22 isolates were unknown. The Beijing genotype was the most prevalent (87.58%, n = 409, while the shared type 1 was the dominant genotype (80.94%, n = 378. The second most common lineage was the T lineage, with 25 isolates (5.35%, followed by the H lineage with 5 isolates (1.07%, the MANU family (0.64%, 3 isolates, the U family (0.43%, 2 isolates and the CAS lineage with 1 isolate (0.21%. By using the VNTR15China method, we observed 15 groups and 228 genotypes among the 467 isolates. We found no association between the five larger groups (including the Beijing genotype and sex, age, or treatment status, and there was no noticeable difference in the group analysis in different areas. In the present study, seven of the 15 MIRU-VNTR loci were highly or moderately discriminative according to their Hunter-Gaston discriminatory index. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: The Beijing genotype is the predominant genotype in Gansu province. We confirm that VNTR15China is suitable for typing Beijing strains in China and that it has a better discriminatory power than spoligotyping. Therefore, the use of both methods is the most suitable for genotyping analysis of M. tuberculosis.

  8. Bacterial diversity in goat milk from the Guanzhong area of China.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Fuxin; Wang, Zhaoxia; Lei, Feiyan; Wang, Bini; Jiang, Shuaiming; Peng, Qiannan; Zhang, Jiachao; Shao, Yuyu

    2017-10-01

    In this study, the V3 and V4 regions of the 16S rRNA gene from metagenomic DNA were sequenced to identify differences in microbial diversity in raw milk of Saanen and Guanzhong goats from the Guanzhong area of China. The results showed that Proteobacteria was the predominant phylum, accounting for 71.31% of all phyla identified in milk from the 2 breeds, and Enterobacter was the predominant genus (24.69%) within the microbial community. Microbial alpha diversity from Saanen goat milk was significantly higher than that of Guanzhong goat milk based on bioinformatic analysis of indices of Chao1, Shannon, Simpson, observed species, and the abundance-based coverage estimator. Functional genes and their likely metabolic pathways were predicted, which demonstrated that the functional genes present in the bacteria in goat milk were enriched in pathways for amino acid metabolism and carbohydrate metabolism, which represented 11.93 and 11.23% of functional genes, respectively. Physicochemical properties such as pH, protein, fat, and AA levels were also determined and correlations made with microbial diversity. We detected a significant difference in the content of lactose and 6 AA, which were higher in Saanen milk than in Guanzhong milk, and positively correlated with microbial carbohydrate metabolism and AA metabolism. Lactococcus, Lactobacillus, Bifidobacterium, Enterococcus, and Streptococcus, which are lactose-utilizing genera, were more abundant in Saanen milk than in Guanzhong milk. Higher levels of lactose in Saanen goat milk may explain its greater microbial diversity. We also demonstrated that most of the AA metabolism-related bacterial genera (e.g., Massilia, Bacteroides, Lysobacter) were enriched in Saanen goat milk. In this research, both probiotic and pathogenic bacteria were identified in goat milk, which provided the microbial information necessary to direct the utilization of beneficial microbial resources and prevent the development of harmful organisms in

  9. The biological features and genetic diversity of novel fish rhabdovirus isolates in China.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fu, Xiaozhe; Lin, Qiang; Liang, Hongru; Liu, Lihui; Huang, Zhibin; Li, Ningqiu; Su, Jianguo

    2017-09-01

    The Rhabdoviridae is a diverse family of negative-sense single-stranded RNA viruses which infects mammals, birds, reptiles, fish, insects and plants. Herein, we reported the isolation and characterization of 6 novel viruses from diseased fish collected from China including SCRV-QY, SCRV-SS, SCRV-GM, CmRV-FS, MsRV-SS, OmbRV-JM. The typical clinical symptom of diseased fish was hemorrhaging. Efficient propagation of these isolates in a Chinese perch brain cell line was determined by means of observation of cytopathic effect, RT-PCR and electron microscopy. Sequence alignment and phylogenetic analysis of the complete G protein sequences revealed that these isolates were clustered into one monophyletic lineage belonging to the species Siniperca chuatsi rhabdovirus.

  10. Teaching about Ethnicities in China

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stedman, Caryn White

    2010-01-01

    A unit on China's ethnicities provides students rich opportunities to explore multiple themes in the social studies while helping them to develop a deeper understanding of recent events in western China. Studying China's ethnic minorities encompasses such topics as stereotyping, cultural diversity, the creation of ethnic identities, and key…

  11. Genetic diversity and population structure analysis in Perilla frutescens from Northern areas of China based on simple sequence repeats.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ma, S J; Sa, K J; Hong, T K; Lee, J K

    2017-09-21

    In this study, 21 simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers were used to evaluate the genetic diversity and population structure among 77 Perilla accessions from high-latitude and middle-latitude areas of China. Ninety-five alleles were identified with an average of 4.52 alleles per locus. The average polymorphic information content (PIC) and genetic diversity values were 0.346 and 0.372, respectively. The level of genetic diversity and PIC value for cultivated accessions of Perilla frutescens var. frutescens from middle-latitude areas were higher than accessions from high-latitude areas. Based on the dendrogram of unweighted pair group method with arithmetic mean (UPGMA), all accessions were classified into four major groups with a genetic similarity of 46%. All accessions of the cultivated var. frutescens were discriminated from the cultivated P. frutescens var. crispa. Furthermore, most accessions of the cultivated var. frutescens collected in high-latitude and middle-latitude areas were distinguished depending on their geographical location. However, the geographical locations of several accessions of the cultivated var. frutescens have no relation with their positions in the UPGMA dendrogram and population structure. This result implies that the diffusion of accessions of the cultivated Perilla crop in the northern areas of China might be through multiple routes. On the population structure analysis, 77 Perilla accessions were divided into Group I, Group II, and an admixed group based on a membership probability threshold of 0.8. Finally, the findings in this study can provide useful theoretical knowledge for further study on the population structure and genetic diversity of Perilla and benefit for Perilla crop breeding and germplasm conservation.

  12. Factors controlling accumulation of soil organic carbon along vegetation succession in a typical karst region in Southwest China

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Liu, Shujuan [Key Laboratory of Agro-ecological Processes in Subtropical Region, Institute of Subtropical Agriculture, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changsha 410125 (China); Huanjiang Observation and Research Station of Karst Ecosystem, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Huanjiang, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region 547100 (China); University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049 (China); Zhang, Wei [Key Laboratory of Agro-ecological Processes in Subtropical Region, Institute of Subtropical Agriculture, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changsha 410125 (China); Huanjiang Observation and Research Station of Karst Ecosystem, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Huanjiang, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region 547100 (China); Wang, Kelin, E-mail: kelin@isa.ac.cn [Key Laboratory of Agro-ecological Processes in Subtropical Region, Institute of Subtropical Agriculture, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changsha 410125 (China); Huanjiang Observation and Research Station of Karst Ecosystem, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Huanjiang, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region 547100 (China); Pan, Fujing [Key Laboratory of Agro-ecological Processes in Subtropical Region, Institute of Subtropical Agriculture, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Changsha 410125 (China); Huanjiang Observation and Research Station of Karst Ecosystem, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Huanjiang, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region 547100 (China); University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049 (China); Yang, Shan [Changsha university, Changsha 410003 (China); Shu, Shiyan [Changjiang Project Supervision & Consultancy Co. Ltd, Wuhan 430010 (China); Changjiang Ecology (Hubei) Technology Development LLC, Wuhan 430010 (China)

    2015-07-15

    Vegetation succession enhances the accumulation of carbon in the soil. However, little is known about the mechanisms underlying soil organic carbon (SOC) accumulation in different vegetation types in the karst region of Southwest China. The goal of this study was to identify and prioritize the effects of environmental parameters, including soil physico-chemical properties, microbial biomass, enzyme activities, and litter characteristics, on SOC accumulation along a vegetation succession sere (grassland, shrubland, secondary forest, and primary forest) in the karst landscape of Southwest China. Relationships between these parameters and SOC were evaluated by redundancy analysis. The results showed that SOC accumulation was significantly different among vegetation types (P < 0.01) and increased with vegetation succession (from 29.10 g·kg{sup −1} in grassland to 73.92 g·kg{sup −1} in primary forest). Soil biochemistry and physical characteristics significantly affected the accumulation of SOC. Soil microbial biomass showed a predominant effect on SOC in each of the four vegetation types. In addition, the soil physical property (especially the silt content) was another controlling factor in the early stages (grassland), and urease activity and saccharase activity were important controlling factors in the early-middle and middle-late stages, respectively. Litter characteristics only showed mild effects on SOC accumulation. Variation partitioning analysis showed that the contribution of sole main factors to SOC variation decreased, while the interaction effect among parameters increased along the succession gradient. - Highlights: • Vegetation restoration is conducive to soil carbon sequestration in karst areas. • The factors controlling SOC accumulation differed along vegetation succession. • The interaction effect among significant factors became more and more prominent along succession.

  13. The second great wall of China: evolution of a successful policy of population control.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stycos, J M

    1989-10-01

    In 1949, Mao Tse-tung professed that overpopulation could not occur under communism and more people and socialist organization leads only to more wealth and power. Yet 3 decades later communist China has adopted Malthusian population policies claiming them as socialist with a Chinese approach. This shift is ideology came about due to rapid population growth, concomitant food shortages, and insufficient economic growth. Since 1982 China has added 13 million persons/year to its population of 1 billion. In 1963, urban fertility began to decline from 6 children/woman to 3 at the end of the decade. The early 1970s marked the beginning of the politicization of birth control. Unlike Western nations and other developing countries that emphasize the health of mothers and children in their family planning campaigns, China emphasizes political goals. For example, the Chinese purports that family planning can speed world revolution by reducing family size. The Chinese prefer to persuade others to use contraceptives rather than coercing them to do so. Actually Chinese prefer very small families (2 in urban areas and 2 in rural areas). This persuasion and the introduction of oral contraceptives (OCs) and a simpler technique for female sterilization (minilaparotomy) contributed to the high contraceptive usage of 70% for couples of childbearing age and a high abortion rate of 318/1000 live birth by the end of the 1970s. The Chinese constitution states that family planning is the duty of each couple rather than a right. Further, the government has a 1 child/couple population policy. Even though China has had many successes, it has not reached a below replacement level (1989 total fertility rate=2.4), however.

  14. Spatial diversity of bacterioplankton communities in surface water of northern South China Sea.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Jialin; Li, Nan; Li, Fuchao; Zou, Tao; Yu, Shuxian; Wang, Yinchu; Qin, Song; Wang, Guangyi

    2014-01-01

    The South China Sea is one of the largest marginal seas, with relatively frequent passage of eddies and featuring distinct spatial variation in the western tropical Pacific Ocean. Here, we report a phylogenetic study of bacterial community structures in surface seawater of the northern South China Sea (nSCS). Samples collected from 31 sites across large environmental gradients were used to construct clone libraries and yielded 2,443 sequences grouped into 170 OTUs. Phylogenetic analysis revealed 23 bacterial classes with major components α-, β- and γ-Proteobacteria, as well as Cyanobacteria. At class and genus taxon levels, community structure of coastal waters was distinctively different from that of deep-sea waters and displayed a higher diversity index. Redundancy analyses revealed that bacterial community structures displayed a significant correlation with the water depth of individual sampling sites. Members of α-Proteobacteria were the principal component contributing to the differences of the clone libraries. Furthermore, the bacterial communities exhibited heterogeneity within zones of upwelling and anticyclonic eddies. Our results suggested that surface bacterial communities in nSCS had two-level patterns of spatial distribution structured by ecological types (coastal VS. oceanic zones) and mesoscale physical processes, and also provided evidence for bacterial phylogenetic phyla shaped by ecological preferences.

  15. Spatial diversity of bacterioplankton communities in surface water of northern South China Sea.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jialin Li

    Full Text Available The South China Sea is one of the largest marginal seas, with relatively frequent passage of eddies and featuring distinct spatial variation in the western tropical Pacific Ocean. Here, we report a phylogenetic study of bacterial community structures in surface seawater of the northern South China Sea (nSCS. Samples collected from 31 sites across large environmental gradients were used to construct clone libraries and yielded 2,443 sequences grouped into 170 OTUs. Phylogenetic analysis revealed 23 bacterial classes with major components α-, β- and γ-Proteobacteria, as well as Cyanobacteria. At class and genus taxon levels, community structure of coastal waters was distinctively different from that of deep-sea waters and displayed a higher diversity index. Redundancy analyses revealed that bacterial community structures displayed a significant correlation with the water depth of individual sampling sites. Members of α-Proteobacteria were the principal component contributing to the differences of the clone libraries. Furthermore, the bacterial communities exhibited heterogeneity within zones of upwelling and anticyclonic eddies. Our results suggested that surface bacterial communities in nSCS had two-level patterns of spatial distribution structured by ecological types (coastal VS. oceanic zones and mesoscale physical processes, and also provided evidence for bacterial phylogenetic phyla shaped by ecological preferences.

  16. Genetic diversity and population structure of Eleutheronema rhadinum in the East and South China Seas revealed in mitochondrial COI sequences

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sun, Xinxu; Xu, Dongdong; Lou, Bao; Zhang, Tao; Xin, Jian; Guo, Yaoshi; Ma, Shilei

    2013-11-01

    Eleutheronema rhadinum is a potential commercial fisheries species and is subject to intense exploitation in China. Knowledge on the population structure of E. rhadinum in Chinese coastal waters, which is important for sustainable exploitation and proper resource management, is lacking. In the present study, the genetic diversity and population structure of E. rhadinum were evaluated using a 564-base pair fragment of the mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI) gene. A total of 76 specimens were collected from three localities around the East (Qidong and Zhoushan) and South China Seas (Zhuhai). Among these individuals, nine polymorphic sites were detected and 11 distinct haplotypes were defined. High levels of haplotype diversity ( h =0.759±0.035) and low levels of nucleotide diversity ( π= 0.001 98±0.003 26) were observed in these populations. Hierarchical analysis of molecular variance (AMOVA) indicated that 96.72% of the genetic variation occurred within the populations, whereas 3.28% occurred among populations. No significant genealogical branches or clusters were recognized on the neighbor-joining tree. Intra-group variation among populations was significant ( φ st=0.032 85, PTests of neutral evolution and mismatch distribution suggest that E. rhadinum may have experienced a population expansion. The present study provides basic information for the conservation and sustainable exploitation of this species.

  17. INDONESIAN TRADE UNDER CHINA FREE TRADE AREA

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tavi Supriana

    2011-09-01

    Full Text Available This paper investigates the implementation of CAFTA (China-Asean Free Trade Area on the international trade flows across Indonesia, China and the rest of ASEAN using a gravitation model. It finds the evidence that the influence of diversion and creation effects on China are significant, while the influence of both effects on Indonesia are not significant. It also finds that the diversion effect, which leads to a decrease in society’s wealth, is greater than that of the creation effect. As a consequence, the gap across countries involved in the trade agreement is wider. Keywords: CAFTA, gravitation model, diversion effect, creation effectJEL classification numbers: F13, F14, F15

  18. Species diversity and drivers of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal communities in a semi-arid mountain in China

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    He Zhao

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF play an essential role in complex ecosystems. However, the species diversity and composition of AMF communities remain unclear in semi-arid mountains. Further, it is not well understood if the characteristics of AMF community assemblies differ for different habitat types, e.g., agricultural arable land, artificial forest land, natural grassland, and bush/wood land. Here, using the high-throughput technology by Illumina sequencing on the MiSeq platform, we explored the species diversity and composition of soil AMF communities among different habitat types in a semi-arid mountain (Taihang Mountain, Mid-western region of China. Then, we analyzed the effect of nutrient composition and soil texture on AMF community assembly. Our results showed that members of the Glomus genera were predominated in all soil types. The distance-based redundancy analysis indicated that the content of water, available phosphorus, and available potassium were the most crucial geochemical factors that significantly affected AMF communities (p < 0.05. The analysis of the soil texture confirmed that AMF diversity was negatively correlated with soil clay content. The comparison of AMF diversity among the various habitat types revealed that the artificial forest land had the lowest AMF diversity in comparison with other land types. Our findings suggest that there were differences in species diversity and composition of soil AMF communities among different habitat types. These findings shed new light on the characteristics of community structure and drivers of community assembly in AMF in semi-arid mountains, and point to the potential importance of different habitat types on AMF communities.

  19. Low Microbial Diversity and Abnormal Microbial Succession Is Associated with Necrotizing Enterocolitis in Preterm Infants

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dobbler, Priscila T.; Procianoy, Renato S.; Mai, Volker; Silveira, Rita C.; Corso, Andréa L.; Rojas, Bruna S.; Roesch, Luiz F. W.

    2017-01-01

    Despite increased efforts, the diverse etiologies of Necrotizing Enterocolitis (NEC) have remained largely elusive. Clinical predictors of NEC remain ill-defined and currently lack sufficient specificity. The development of a thorough understanding of initial gut microbiota colonization pattern in preterm infants might help to improve early detection or prediction of NEC and its associated morbidities. Here we compared the fecal microbiota successions, microbial diversity, abundance and structure of newborns that developed NEC with preterm controls. A 16S rRNA based microbiota analysis was conducted in a total of 132 fecal samples that included the first stool (meconium) up until the 5th week of life or NEC diagnosis from 40 preterm babies (29 controls and 11 NEC cases). A single phylotype matching closest to the Enterobacteriaceae family correlated strongly with NEC. In DNA from the sample with the greatest abundance of this phylotype additional shotgun metagenomic sequencing revealed Citrobacter koseri and Klebsiella pneumoniae as the dominating taxa. These two taxa might represent suitable microbial biomarker targets for early diagnosis of NEC. In NEC cases, we further detected lower microbial diversity and an abnormal succession of the microbial community before NEC diagnosis. Finally, we also detected a disruption in anaerobic microorganisms in the co-occurrence network of meconium samples from NEC cases. Our data suggest that a strong dominance of Citrobacter koseri and/or Klebsiella pneumoniae, low diversity, low abundance of Lactobacillus, as well as an altered microbial-network structure during the first days of life, correlate with NEC risk in preterm infants. Confirmation of these findings in other hospitals might facilitate the development of a microbiota based screening approach for early detection of NEC. PMID:29187842

  20. Introduction to "Islam in China/China in Islam"

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Matthew S. Erie

    2014-09-01

    Full Text Available Rather than China versus Islam, the overarching theme of this special issue is “Islam in China/China in Islam.” In thinking through “Islam in China,” we argue that the relationship between China and Islam is not one of opposition, but rather one of cultural, linguistic, and economic imbrication. Indeed, it is difficult to describe Islam and China as two separate or essentialized entities. For some Muslim minorities in certain regions of China, there is no distinction between neo-Confucianism and Islam or between the nation-state and the global umma (community of Muslims. Through intellectual labor, modes of prayer and worship, art, calligraphy, architecture, cuisine, linguistic creoles, and legal pluralism, these Muslims embody multiple cultural referents. For other Muslim minorities in other regions in China, political and economic circumstances present challenges to living in accordance with Islam while also being a citizen of the PRC. In other words, the Muslim experience in China encompasses a complex mosaic of accommodation, adjustment, preservation, and, at times, resistance. Thus, generalizations about this incredibly diverse population are unhelpful, and careful attention must be paid to history, politics, and place...

  1. Diversity of microbial plankton across the Three Gorges Dam of the Yangtze River, China

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Shang Wang

    2012-05-01

    Full Text Available The Three Gorges Dam (TGD of the Yangtze River, China, is one of the largest irrigation and hydroelectric engineering projects in the world. The effects of huge man-made projects like TGD on fauna and macrophyte are obvious, mainly through changes of water dynamics and flow pattern; however, it is less clear how microorganisms respond to such changes. This research was aimed to examine differences in microbial diversity at different seasons and locations (in front of and behind the TGD. In addition, differences between particle-attached and free-living communities were also examined. The community structures of total and potentially active microorganisms in the water columns behind and in front of the TGD were analyzed with the DNA- and RNA-based 16S rRNA gene phylogenetic approaches over three different seasons. Clone libraries of 16S rRNA genes were prepared after amplification from extracted DNA and, for some samples, after preparing cDNA from extracted rRNA. Differences were observed between sites at different seasons and between free-living and particle-attached communities. Both bacterial and archaeal communities were more diverse in summer than in winter, due to higher nutrient levels and warmer temperature in summer than in winter. Particle-attached microorganisms were more diverse than free-living communities, possibly because of higher nutrient levels and heterogeneous geochemical micro-environments in particles. Spatial variations in bacterial community structure were observed, i.e., the water reservoir behind the TGD (upstream hosted more diverse bacterial populations than in front of the dam (downstream, because of diverse sources of sediments and waters from upstream to the reservoir. These results have important implications for our understanding of responses of microbial communities to environmental changes in river ecosystems affected by dam construction.

  2. ISSR Analysis on Genetic Diversity of the 34 Populations of Oryza meyeriana Distributing in Yunnan Province, China

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    Ya-tao WAN

    2008-03-01

    Full Text Available The genetic diversity of the 34 populations of wild rice Oryza meyeriana Baill. distributed in Yunnan Province, China was analyzed using 13 inter-simple sequence repeat (ISSR markers. A total of 168 bands were amplified, of which 135 polymorphic bands were discovered and the percentage of polymorphic bands (PPB was 80.36%. A genetic diversity was revealed as Nei's gene diversity (H = 0.2666 and Shannon information index (I = 0.4028 at population level. The 34 populations were divided into different groups based on administrative regions, latitude and longitudes, river areas, altitudes of their origins, and their indexes such as Na (number of alleles, Ne (effective number of alleles, H, I and PPB were calculated. Richer genetic diversity was found in the wild rice populations distributed in Simao Prefecture than that in Lingcang Prefecture or Xishuangbanna Prefecture whereas the least genetic diversity was in Baoshan Prefecture or Dehong Prefecture. Rich genetic diversity was also discovered in the wild rice populations originated from higher than 710 m altitude around the middle and lower reaches of the Lancang River belonging to the Pacific Ocean drainage system. The 34 populations could be classified into two groups, one group covered the wild rice distributing in Simao Prefecture only while the other group covered ones in Lingcang, Xishuangbanna and Dehong Prefectures. The issue on how to effectively conserve the wild rice germplasm was discussed.

  3. Water Environment Evolution along the China Grand Canal

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mao, F; Wu, Y X; Yang, B F; Li, X J

    2014-01-01

    The China Grand Canal is one of the earliest canals in the world, having lasted for nearly 3000 years. Even its section canals have a rich history, such as the North-South Grand Canal that was established during the Sui Dynasty, whereas the Beijing-Hangzhou Canal was excavated during the Yuan Dynasty and the east line of the South-to-North Water Diversion. As one of the longest in the world, the China Grand Canal's total length is over 3500 kilometers. This length includes the navigable, unnavigable, and underground sections. Making the best use of situations and according to local conditions, the Chinese people harmoniously constructed the Beijing-Hangzhou Canal with nature. Tens of millions of workers took nearly 3000 years to complete the great shipping system. Navigable sections still exist for up to 900 kilometers and the volume of freight traffic is approximately 300 million tons. The canal remains the main logistical channel of the North-to-South Coal Transportation, South-to-North Water Diversion, and resources circulation. To date, China is promoting the success of heritage application. Part of these efforts is the declaration of the China Grand Canal as a World Cultural Heritage by 2014. In addition, the east route of the South-to-North Water Transfer project is planned to be navigable by 2016. The ancient Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal will usher in the new ecological civilization and cultural revival along the canal. This paper presents technical methods of water environment evolution research on the river system, river, and water quality along the Beijing-Hangzhou Canal through the integration of historical literature and modern remote sensing image data. The study carried out water environment investigation and analysis along the Beijing-Hangzhou canal by using ETM, SPOT image data, and GPS measurement data. Spatial and temporal evolution characteristics and regulations of the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal regional water environment in the span of

  4. Stair-Step Pattern of Soil Bacterial Diversity Mainly Driven by pH and Vegetation Types Along the Elevational Gradients of Gongga Mountain, China.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Jiabao; Shen, Zehao; Li, Chaonan; Kou, Yongping; Wang, Yansu; Tu, Bo; Zhang, Shiheng; Li, Xiangzhen

    2018-01-01

    Ecological understandings of soil bacterial community succession and assembly mechanism along elevational gradients in mountains remain not well understood. Here, by employing the high-throughput sequencing technique, we systematically examined soil bacterial diversity patterns, the driving factors, and community assembly mechanisms along the elevational gradients of 1800-4100 m on Gongga Mountain in China. Soil bacterial diversity showed an extraordinary stair-step pattern along the elevational gradients. There was an abrupt decrease of bacterial diversity between 2600 and 2800 m, while no significant change at either lower (1800-2600 m) or higher (2800-4100 m) elevations, which coincided with the variation in soil pH. In addition, the community structure differed significantly between the lower and higher elevations, which could be primarily attributed to shifts in soil pH and vegetation types. Although there was no direct effect of MAP and MAT on bacterial community structure, our partial least squares path modeling analysis indicated that bacterial communities were indirectly influenced by climate via the effect on vegetation and the derived effect on soil properties. As for bacterial community assembly mechanisms, the null model analysis suggested that environmental filtering played an overwhelming role in the assembly of bacterial communities in this region. In addition, variation partition analysis indicated that, at lower elevations, environmental attributes explained much larger fraction of the β-deviation than spatial attributes, while spatial attributes increased their contributions at higher elevations. Our results highlight the importance of environmental filtering, as well as elevation-related spatial attributes in structuring soil bacterial communities in mountain ecosystems.

  5. Ecological footprint analysis of environmental impacts by cascaded exploitation of diversion-type small hydropower: a case study in southwest china

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Zhenhua; Li, Qingyun; Huang, Zhuo; Tang, Xianqiang; Zhao, Weihua

    2017-05-01

    Cascaded exploitation of diversion-type small hydropower (SHP) offers a source of new energy as well as socioeconomic benefits; however, it inevitably causes environmental disturbance and damage. Previous studies on the cumulative effect of cascaded diversion SHP rarely discussed using quantitative analysis method. In this paper, the ecological footprint analysis approach is proposed to assess the positive and negative impacts of cascaded diversion SHP on environment of a small-scale river in Southwest China. Positive impact is defined as ecological supply footprint (ESF), which refers to vegetation protection by replacing firewood with SHP. Negative impact is defined as ecological loss footprint (ELF), which includes fish and net primary productivity loss, vegetation destruction and soil erosion. With the raising in the number (n>4) of diversion SHP stations, the difference between ELF and ESF increases remarkably, suggesting that the adverse impacts of cascaded diversion SHP accumulate in the study area. Compared with vegetation destruction and soil erosion, the cumulative loss of fish and net productivity is the most important aspect of the adverse impacts which needs more attentions.

  6. Diverse Multilateralism

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Wuthnow, Joel; Li, Xin; Qi, Lingling

    2012-01-01

    This article addresses Chinas multilateral diplomacy by identifying four distinct strategies: watching, engaging, circumventing, and shaping. The typology builds on two literatures: power transition theory, and the more recent “assertiveness” discourse in the West. Drawing from a range of cases...... in both the economic and security domains, the article argues that China’s multilateralism is diverse, and that it cannot be un-problematically characterized as either status-quo or revisionist in nature. However, the general trend appears to be towards engagement, but with an assertive tact as China...

  7. Diversity and Spatial-Temporal Distribution of Soil Macrofauna Communities Along Elevation in the Changbai Mountain, China.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yin, Xiuqin; Qiu, Lili; Jiang, Yunfeng; Wang, Yeqiao

    2017-06-01

    The understanding of patterns of vertical variation and diversity of flora and fauna along elevational change has been well established over the past century. However, it is unclear whether there is an elevational distribution pattern for soil fauna. This study revealed the diversity and spatial-temporal distribution of soil macrofauna communities in different vegetation zones from forest to alpine tundra along elevation of the Changbai Mountain, China. The abundance, richness, and Shannon-Wiener diversity index of soil macrofauna communities were compared in four distinguished vegetation zones including the coniferous and broadleaved mixed forest zone, the coniferous forest zone, the subalpine dwarf birch (Betula ermanii) forest zone, and the alpine tundra zone. Soil macrofauna were extracted in May, July, and September of 2009. In each season, the abundance and richness of the soil macrofauna decreased with the ascending elevation. The Shannon-Wiener diversity indices of the soil macrofauna were higher in the vegetation zones of lower elevation than of higher elevation. Significant differences were observed in the abundance, richness, and Shannon-Wiener diversity index for the studied vegetation zones. Soil macrofauna congregated mainly to the litter layer in the low-elevation areas and in the 0-5 cm soil layer of the higher elevation areas. The results emphasized that the diversity of soil macrofauna communities decreased as the elevation increased and possess the distinct characteristics of zonation in the mountain ecosystem. The diversity and distribution of soil macrofauna communities were influenced by mean annual precipitation, altitude, annual radiation quantity, and mean annual temperature. © The Authors 2017. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Entomological Society of America. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  8. Woody species diversity in forest plantations in a mountainous region of Beijing, China: effects of sampling scale and species selection.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yuxin Zhang

    Full Text Available The role of forest plantations in biodiversity conservation has gained more attention in recent years. However, most work on evaluating the diversity of forest plantations focuses only on one spatial scale; thus, we examined the effects of sampling scale on diversity in forest plantations. We designed a hierarchical sampling strategy to collect data on woody species diversity in planted pine (Pinus tabuliformis Carr., planted larch (Larix principis-rupprechtii Mayr., and natural secondary deciduous broadleaf forests in a mountainous region of Beijing, China. Additive diversity partition analysis showed that, compared to natural forests, the planted pine forests had a different woody species diversity partitioning pattern at multi-scales (except the Simpson diversity in the regeneration layer, while the larch plantations did not show multi-scale diversity partitioning patterns that were obviously different from those in the natural secondary broadleaf forest. Compare to the natural secondary broadleaf forests, the effects of planted pine forests on woody species diversity are dependent on the sampling scale and layers selected for analysis. Diversity in the planted larch forest, however, was not significantly different from that in the natural forest for all diversity components at all sampling levels. Our work demonstrated that the species selected for afforestation and the sampling scales selected for data analysis alter the conclusions on the levels of diversity supported by plantations. We suggest that a wide range of scales should be considered in the evaluation of the role of forest plantations on biodiversity conservation.

  9. Isolation of diverse members of the Aquificales from geothermal springs in Tengchong, China.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hedlund, Brian P; Reysenbach, Anna-Louise; Huang, Liuquin; Ong, John C; Liu, Zizhang; Dodsworth, Jeremy A; Ahmed, Reham; Williams, Amanda J; Briggs, Brandon R; Liu, Yitai; Hou, Weiguo; Dong, Hailiang

    2015-01-01

    The order Aquificales (phylum Aquificae) consists of thermophilic and hyperthermophilic bacteria that are prominent in many geothermal systems, including those in Tengchong, Yunnan Province, China. However, Aquificales have not previously been isolated from Tengchong. We isolated five strains of Aquificales from diverse springs (temperature 45.2-83.3°C and pH 2.6-9.1) in the Rehai Geothermal Field from sites in which Aquificales were abundant. Phylogenetic analysis showed that four of the strains belong to the genera Hydrogenobacter, Hydrogenobaculum, and Sulfurihydrogenibium, including strains distant enough to likely justify new species of Hydrogenobacter and Hydrogenobaculum. The additional strain may represent a new genus in the Hydrogenothermaceae. All strains were capable of aerobic respiration under microaerophilic conditions; however, they had variable capacity for chemolithotrophic oxidation of hydrogen and sulfur compounds and nitrate reduction.

  10. Population dynamics and genetic diversity of C4 strains of human enterovirus 71 in Mainland China, 1998-2010.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Dawei Guan

    Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Since 1997, several countries within the Asian Pacific region have been affected by one or more massive outbreaks of Hand Foot and Mouth Disease (HFMD. Virus typing experiments revealed that these outbreaks were caused by strains of human enterovirus 71 (EV71 belonging to several different, recently emerged subgenogroups. In mainland China, a different situation was observed. The first outbreak, localized in Shangdong Province, was reported in 2007, and was followed by a wide-spread outbreak in mainland China in 2008. Since then, numbers of reported HFMD cases have been persistently high. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: To gain insight in the epidemiological behavior of EV71 in China, we studied genetic diversity and EV71 population dynamics to address whether the increase in number of reported EV71 infections reflects a real increase in viral spread or is just the result of increased awareness and surveillance. We used systematically collected VP1 gene sequences of 257 EV71 strains collected in Guangdong province from 2008 to 2010 as part of HFMD surveillance activities, and supplemented them with 305 GenBank EV71 reference stains collected in China from 1998 to 2010. All isolates from Guangdong Province belonged to subgenogroup C4. Viral population dynamics indicated that the increased reporting of HFMD in China since 2007 reflects a real increase in viral spread and continued replacement of viral lineages through time. Amino acid sequence comparisons revealed substitution of amino acid in residues 22, 145 and 289 through time regularly with the VP1 gene of EV71 strains isolated in mainland China from 1998 to 2010. CONCLUSIONS: EV71 strains isolated in mainland China mainly belonged to subgenogroup C4. There was exponential growth of the EV71 virus population in 2007 and 2008. There was amino acid substitution through time regularly with the VP1 gene which possibly increased viral spread and/or ability of the virus to circulate

  11. Evolutionary history of the angiosperm flora of China

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lu, Li-Min; Mao, Ling-Feng; Yang, Tuo; Ye, Jian-Fei; Liu, Bing; Li, Hong-Lei; Sun, Miao; Miller, Joseph T.; Mathews, Sarah; Hu, Hai-Hua; Niu, Yan-Ting; Peng, Dan-Xiao; Chen, You-Hua; Smith, Stephen A.; Chen, Min; Xiang, Kun-Li; Le, Chi-Toan; Dang, Viet-Cuong; Lu, An-Ming; Soltis, Pamela S.; Soltis, Douglas E.; Li, Jian-Hua; Chen, Zhi-Duan

    2018-02-01

    High species diversity may result from recent rapid speciation in a ‘cradle’ and/or the gradual accumulation and preservation of species over time in a ‘museum’. China harbours nearly 10% of angiosperm species worldwide and has long been considered as both a museum, owing to the presence of many species with hypothesized ancient origins, and a cradle, as many lineages have originated as recent topographic changes and climatic shifts—such as the formation of the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau and the development of the monsoon—provided new habitats that promoted remarkable radiation. However, no detailed phylogenetic study has addressed when and how the major components of the Chinese angiosperm flora assembled to form the present-day vegetation. Here we investigate the spatio-temporal divergence patterns of the Chinese flora using a dated phylogeny of 92% of the angiosperm genera for the region, a nearly complete species-level tree comprising 26,978 species and detailed spatial distribution data. We found that 66% of the angiosperm genera in China did not originate until early in the Miocene epoch (23 million years ago (Mya)). The flora of eastern China bears a signature of older divergence (mean divergence times of 22.04-25.39 Mya), phylogenetic overdispersion (spatial co-occurrence of distant relatives) and higher phylogenetic diversity. In western China, the flora shows more recent divergence (mean divergence times of 15.29-18.86 Mya), pronounced phylogenetic clustering (co-occurrence of close relatives) and lower phylogenetic diversity. Analyses of species-level phylogenetic diversity using simulated branch lengths yielded results similar to genus-level patterns. Our analyses indicate that eastern China represents a floristic museum, and western China an evolutionary cradle, for herbaceous genera; eastern China has served as both a museum and a cradle for woody genera. These results identify areas of high species richness and phylogenetic diversity, and

  12. Global mobility orientation and the success of self-initiated expatriates in greater China

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Lauring, Jakob; Selmer, Jan

    2014-01-01

    We investigated 640 self-initiated expatriate academics residing in Greater China. We examined whether their inherent demographic characteristics (age/gender) and acquired demographic characteristics (marital status/seniority) differentiated their work outcomes regarding job adjustment, time...... to proficiency, performance and satisfaction. We also explored the associations between global mobility orientation and these four work outcomes and examined to what extent the demographic characteristics differentiated the relationships. Results support most hypothesized differences. We found that a global...... mobility orientation was associated with all the work outcomes, except satisfaction. For inherent demographic characteristics, we found support for our hypotheses that for individuals with less successful demographics (younger, male), there was a stronger relationship between global mobility orientation...

  13. Succession of ephemeral secondary forests and their limited role for the conservation of floristic diversity in a human-modified tropical landscape.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Michiel van Breugel

    Full Text Available Both local- and landscape-scale processes drive succession of secondary forests in human-modified tropical landscapes. Nonetheless, until recently successional changes in composition and diversity have been predominantly studied at the patch level. Here, we used a unique dataset with 45 randomly selected sites across a mixed-use tropical landscape in central Panama to study forest succession simultaneously on local and landscape scales and across both life stages (seedling, sapling, juvenile and adult trees and life forms (shrubs, trees, lianas, and palms. To understand the potential of these secondary forests to conserve tree species diversity, we also evaluated the diversity of species that can persist as viable metapopulations in a dynamic patchwork of short-lived successional forests, using different assumptions about the average relative size at reproductive maturity. We found a deterministic shift in the diversity and composition of the local plant communities as well as the metacommunity, driven by variation in the rate at which species recruited into and disappeared from the secondary forests across the landscape. Our results indicate that dispersal limitation and the successional niche operate simultaneously and shape successional dynamics of the metacommunity of these early secondary forests. A high diversity of plant species across the metacommunity of early secondary forests shows a potential for restoration of diverse forests through natural succession, when trees and fragments of older forests are maintained in the agricultural matrix and land is abandoned or set aside for a long period of time. On the other hand, during the first 32 years the number of species with mature-sized individuals was a relatively small and strongly biased sub-sample of the total species pool. This implies that ephemeral secondary forests have a limited role in the long-term conservation of tree species diversity in human-modified tropical landscapes.

  14. Previously Unrecognized Ornithuromorph Bird Diversity in the Early Cretaceous Changma Basin, Gansu Province, Northwestern China

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Ya-Ming; O'Connor, Jingmai K.; Li, Da-Qing; You, Hai-Lu

    2013-01-01

    Here we report on three new species of ornithuromorph birds from the Lower Cretaceous Xiagou Formation in the Changma Basin of Gansu Province, northwestern China: Yumenornis huangi gen. et sp. nov., Changmaornis houi gen. et sp. nov., and Jiuquanornis niui gen. et sp. nov.. The last of these is based on a previously published but unnamed specimen: GSGM-05-CM-021. Although incomplete, the specimens can be clearly distinguished from each other and from Gansus yumenensis Hou and Liu, 1984. Phylogenetic analysis resolves the three new taxa as basal ornithuromorphs. This study reveals previously unrecognized ornithuromorph diversity in the Changma avifauna, which is largely dominated by Gansus but with at least three other ornithuromorphs. Body mass estimates demonstrate that enantiornithines were much smaller than ornithuromorphs in the Changma avifauna. In addition, Changma enantiornithines preserve long and recurved pedal unguals, suggesting an arboreal lifestyle; in contrast, Changma ornithuromorphs tend to show terrestrial or even aquatic adaptions. Similar differences in body mass and ecology are also observed in the Jehol avifauna in northeastern China, suggesting niche partitioning between these two clades developed early in their evolutionary history. PMID:24147058

  15. Diverse Colletotrichum species cause anthracnose of tea plants (Camellia sinensis (L.) O. Kuntze) in China.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Yu-Chun; Hao, Xin-Yuan; Wang, Lu; Bin Xiao; Wang, Xin-Chao; Yang, Ya-Jun

    2016-10-26

    Anthracnose caused by Colletotrichum is one of the most severe diseases that can afflict Camellia sinensis. However, research on the diversity and geographical distribution of Colletotrichum in China remain limited. In this study, 106 Colletotrichum isolates were collected from diseased leaves of Ca. sinensis cultivated in the 15 main tea production provinces in China. Multi-locus phylogenetic analysis coupled with morphological identification showed that the collected isolates belonged to 11 species, including 6 known species (C. camelliae, C. cliviae, C. fioriniae, C. fructicola, C. karstii, and C. siamense), 3 new record species (C. aenigma, C. endophytica, and C. truncatum), 1 novel species (C. wuxiense), and 1 indistinguishable strain, herein described as Colletotrichum sp. Of these species, C. camelliae and C. fructicola were the dominant species causing anthracnose in Ca. sinensis. In addition, our study provided further evidence that phylogenetic analysis using a combination of ApMat and GS sequences can be used to effectively resolve the taxonomic relationships within the C. gloeosporioides species complex. Finally, pathogenicity tests suggested that C. camelliae, C. aenigma, and C. endophytica are more invasive than other species after the inoculation of the leaves of Ca. sinensis.

  16. Selection and Participation in Higher Education: University Selection in Support of Student Success and Diversity of Participation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Palmer, Nigel; Bexley, Emmaline; James, Richard

    2011-01-01

    A range of imperatives underpin university selection practices. These include demonstrating merit based on prior academic achievement and supporting successful graduate outcomes in the professions and in broader fields of endeavour. They also include improving diversity of participation and equality of educational opportunity. Selection for…

  17. Ikea success in chinese furniture

    OpenAIRE

    Yihong, Li

    2007-01-01

    This thesis will focus on the market exploiting and development of IKEA in China, analysis the characteristics of Chinese market and the supply-demand of the IKEA products in China. It also analyze the main Chinese consumers’ behaviour and evaluating the furniture retail market in China. IKEA is a successful case to open the china market recent years. The main goal is to acquire this information in order to provide the overseas retailers with a good starting point for creating an effective bu...

  18. Species diversity, vegetation pattern and conservation of Gentiana macrophylla Pall. communities in Dongling mountain meadow, Beijing, China

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sadia, S.; Zhang, J.T.; Bai, X.; Shedayi, A.A.; Tariq, A.

    2017-01-01

    Gentiana macrophylla, native to mountainous areas of Central and Southern Asia, is most popular remedy for rheumatism and pains in Traditional Chinese Medicine with an extensive demand in local market. Our study aimed to classify G. macrophylla communities and to find out the impact of topographic and soil factors on their diversity and distribution in Dongling mountain meadow, Beijing, China. Seventy five samples in 15 transects separated by 50m distance in altitude along an elevation gradient (1592-2298m) were established by quadrate method. TWINSAPN and CCA were used for classification and ordination, respectively. Six diversity indices (Species richness, Shannon-Weiner heterogeneity, Simpson’s index, Hill’s index, Pielou evenness and McIntosh evenness) were used to analyze the pattern of species diversity and polynomial regression analysis was used to establish their relationship with environmental variables. TWINSPAN classified G. macrophylla communities into 8 types and CCA indicated that soil pH, soil temperature, soil type, disturbance, total N, total K, Mg and Zn were significantly related to these communities. Elevation was the most significant factor that affecting the diversity and distribution of G. macrophylla communities. Significant effect of environment, topography and disturbance to meadow communities of G. macrophylla highly suggests some important measures such as uprooting restriction, tourism limitation in meadow area, monitoring of functional diversity, fertilization, irrigation, cloning and cultivation to protect and conserve it and its communities to be used in medicine industry. (author)

  19. Isolation of diverse members of the Aquificales from geothermal springs in Tengchong, China

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Brian P. Hedlund

    2015-02-01

    Full Text Available The order Aquificales (phylum Aquificae consists of thermophilic and hyperthermophilic bacteria that are prominent in many geothermal systems, including those in Tengchong, Yunnan Province, China. However, Aquificales have not previously been isolated from Tengchong. We isolated five strains of Aquificales from diverse springs (temperature 60.0-82.9°C and pH 2.6-8.9 in the Rehai Geothermal Field from sites in which Aquificales were abundant. Phylogenetic analysis showed that four of the strains belong to the genera Hydrogenobacter, Hydrogenobaculum, and Sulfurihydrogenibium, including strains distant enough to likely justify new species of Hydrogenobacter and Hydrogenobaculum. The additional strain may represent a new genus in the Hydrogenothermaceae. All strains were capable of aerobic respiration under microaerophilic conditions; however, they had variable capacity for chemolithotrophic oxidation of hydrogen and sulfur compounds and nitrate reduction.

  20. Diversity, abundance and niche differentiation of ammonia-oxidizing prokaryotes in mud deposits of the eastern China marginal seas

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Shaolan eYu

    2016-02-01

    Full Text Available The eastern China marginal seas are prominent examples of river-dominated ocean margins, whose most characteristic feature is the existence of isolated mud patches on sandy sediments. Ammonia-oxidizing prokaryotes play a crucial role in the nitrogen cycles of many marine environments, including marginal seas. However, few studies have attempted to address the distribution patterns of ammonia-oxidizing prokaryotes in mud deposits of these seas. The horizontal and vertical community composition and abundance of ammonia-oxidizing archaea (AOA and bacteria (AOB were investigated in mud deposits of the South Yellow Sea (SYS and the East China Sea (ECS by using amoA clone libraries and quantitative PCR. The diversity of AOB was comparable or higher in the mud zone of SYS and lower in ECS when compared with AOA. Vertically, surface sediments had generally higher diversity of AOA and AOB than middle and bottom layers. Diversity of AOA and AOB showed significant correlation with latitude. Nitrosopumilus and Nitrosospira lineages dominated AOA and AOB communities, respectively. Both AOA and AOB assemblages exhibited greater variations across different sites than those among various depths at one site. The abundance of bacterial amoA was generally higher than that of archaeal amoA, and both of them decreased with depth. Niche differentiation, which was affected by dissolved oxygen, salinity, ammonia and silicate (SiO32-, was observed between AOA and AOB and among different groups of them. The spatial distribution of AOA and AOB was significantly correlated with δ15NTN and SiO32-, and nitrate and δ13C, respectively. Both archaeal and bacterial amoA abundance correlated strongly with SiO32-. This study improves our understanding of spatial distribution of AOA and AOB in ecosystems featuring oceanic mud deposits.

  1. Diversity, Abundance, and Niche Differentiation of Ammonia-Oxidizing Prokaryotes in Mud Deposits of the Eastern China Marginal Seas.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yu, Shaolan; Yao, Peng; Liu, Jiwen; Zhao, Bin; Zhang, Guiling; Zhao, Meixun; Yu, Zhigang; Zhang, Xiao-Hua

    2016-01-01

    The eastern China marginal seas (ECMS) are prominent examples of river-dominated ocean margins, whose most characteristic feature is the existence of isolated mud patches on sandy sediments. Ammonia-oxidizing prokaryotes play a crucial role in the nitrogen cycles of many marine environments, including marginal seas. However, few studies have attempted to address the distribution patterns of ammonia-oxidizing prokaryotes in mud deposits of these seas. The horizontal and vertical community composition and abundance of ammonia-oxidizing archaea (AOA) and bacteria (AOB) were investigated in mud deposits of the South Yellow Sea (SYS) and the East China Sea (ECS) by using amoA clone libraries and quantitative PCR. The diversity of AOB was comparable or higher in the mud zone of SYS and lower in ECS when compared with AOA. Vertically, surface sediments had generally higher diversity of AOA and AOB than middle and bottom layers. Diversity of AOA and AOB showed significant correlation with latitude. Nitrosopumilus and Nitrosospira lineages dominated AOA and AOB communities, respectively. Both AOA and AOB assemblages exhibited greater variations across different sites than those among various depths at one site. The abundance of bacterial amoA was generally higher than that of archaeal amoA, and both of them decreased with depth. Niche differentiation, which was affected by dissolved oxygen, salinity, ammonia, and silicate (SiO[Formula: see text]), was observed between AOA and AOB and among different groups of them. The spatial distribution of AOA and AOB was significantly correlated with δ(15)NTN and SiO[Formula: see text], and nitrate and δ(13)C, respectively. Both archaeal and bacterial amoA abundance correlated strongly with SiO[Formula: see text]. This study improves our understanding of spatial distribution of AOA and AOB in ecosystems featuring oceanic mud deposits.

  2. Phylogenetic diversity of actinobacteria associated with soft coral Alcyonium gracllimum and stony coral Tubastraea coccinea in the East China Sea.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yang, Shan; Sun, Wei; Tang, Cen; Jin, Liling; Zhang, Fengli; Li, Zhiyong

    2013-07-01

    Actinobacteria are widely distributed in the marine environment. To date, few studies have been performed to explore the coral-associated Actinobacteria, and little is known about the diversity of coral-associated Actinobacteria. In this study, the actinobacterial diversity associated with one soft coral Alcyonium gracllimum and one stony coral Tubastraea coccinea collected from the East China Sea was investigated using both culture-independent and culture-dependent approaches. A total of 19 actinobacterial genera were detected in these two corals, among which nine genera (Corynebacterium, Dietzia, Gordonia, Kocuria, Microbacterium, Micrococcus, Mycobacterium, Streptomyces, and Candidatus Microthrix) were common, three genera (Cellulomonas, Dermatophilus, and Janibacter) were unique to the soft coral, and seven genera (Brevibacterium, Dermacoccus, Leucobacter, Micromonospora, Nocardioides, Rhodococcus, and Serinicoccus) were unique to the stony coral. This finding suggested that highly diverse Actinobacteria were associated with different types of corals. In particular, five actinobacterial genera (Cellulomonas, Dermacoccus, Gordonia, Serinicoccus, and Candidatus Microthrix) were recovered from corals for the first time, extending the known diversity of coral-associated Actinobacteria. This study shows that soft and stony corals host diverse Actinobacteria and can serve as a new source of marine actinomycetes.

  3. Diversity and antibacterial activity of culturable actinobacteria isolated from five species of the South China Sea gorgonian corals.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Xiao-Yong; He, Fei; Wang, Guang-Hua; Bao, Jie; Xu, Xin-Ya; Qi, Shu-Hua

    2013-06-01

    This study describes the diversity and antibacterial activity of culturable actinobacteria isolated from five species of gorgonian corals (Echinogorgia aurantiaca, Melitodes squamata, Muricella flexuosa, Subergorgia suberosa, and Verrucella umbraculum) collected in shallow water of the South China Sea. A total of 123 actinobacterial isolates were recovered using ten different isolation media, and assigned to 11 genera, including Streptomyces and Micromonospora as the dominant genera, followed by Nocardia, Verrucosispora, Nocardiopsis, Rhodococcus, Pseudonocardia, Agrococcus, Saccharomonospora, Saccharopolyspora and Dietzia. Comparable analysis indicated that the numbers of actinobacterial genera and isolates from the five gorgonian coral species varied significantly. It was found that 72 isolates displayed antibacterial activity against at least one indicator bacterium, and the antibacterial strains isolated from different gorgonians had almost the same proportion (~50 %). These results provide direct evidence for the hypotheses that gorgonian coral species contain large and diverse communities of actinobacteria, and suggest that many gorgonian-associated actinobacteria could produce some antibacterial agents to protect their hosts against pathogens. To our knowledge, this is the first report about the diversity of culturable actinobacteria isolated from gorgonian corals.

  4. Pyrosequencing reveals diverse microbial community associated with the zoanthid Palythoa australiae from the South China Sea.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sun, Wei; Zhang, Fengli; He, Liming; Li, Zhiyong

    2014-05-01

    Diverse sessile organisms inhabit the coral reef ecosystems, including corals, sponges, and sea anemones. In the past decades, scleractinian corals (Cnidaria, Anthozoa, Scleractinia) and their associated microorganisms have attracted much attention. Zoanthids (Cnidaria, Anthozoa, Zoanthidea) are commonly found in coral reefs. However, little is known about the community structure of zoanthid-associated microbiota. In this study, the microbial community associated with the zoanthid Palythoa australiae in the South China Sea was investigated by 454 pyrosequencing. As a result, 2,353 bacterial, 583 archaeal, and 36 eukaryotic microbial ribotypes were detected, respectively. A total of 22 bacterial phyla (16 formally described phyla and six candidate phyla) were recovered. Proteobacteria was the most abundant group, followed by Chloroflexi and Actinobacteria. High-abundance Rhizobiales and diverse Chloroflexi were observed in the bacterial community. The archaeal population was composed of Crenarchaeota and Euryarchaeota, with Marine Group I as the dominant lineage. In particular, Candidatus Nitrosopumilus dominated the archaeal community. Besides bacteria and archaea, the zoanthid harbored eukaryotic microorganisms including fungi and algae though their diversity was very low. This study provided the first insights into the microbial community associated with P. australiae by 454 pyrosequencing, consequently laid a basis for the understanding of the association of P. australiae-microbes symbioses.

  5. Ex situ Flora of China

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hongwen Huang

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available The role of living collections-based research and discovery has been a prominent feature throughout the history of evolution and advance of botanical science: such research is the core and soul of the botanical gardens. Currently, there are c. 162 Chinese botanical gardens, harboring c. 20,000 species in China. As an example of initiatives to utilize the garden cultivated flora to address plant diversity conservation and germplasm discovery for sustainable agriculture and the bio-industries, the Ex situ Flora of China project aims to catalog and document this mega-diversity of plants that are cultivated in the Chinese botanical gardens. The concept of Ex situ Flora of China is a complete new formulation of species, based on garden cultivated individuals and populations, to obtain better morphological descriptions, provide multi-purpose applicability and a fundamental data service that will support national bio-strategies and bio-industries. It emphasises integrative information, accurately collected from living collections across different Chinese botanical gardens, on biology, phenology, cultivation requirements and uses of plant resources, which are normally not available from traditional Floras based on herbarium specimens. The ex situ flora should provide better information coverage for taxonomy, biological and introduction and collection data and color photos of stems, leaves, flowers, fruits and seed, as well as useful information of cultivation key points and main use of each plant. In general, the Ex situ Flora of China provides more useful information than the traditional Flora Reipublicae Popularis Sinicae. The project of Ex situ Flora of China is planned to be one of the most important initiatives of the plant diversity research platform for sustainable economic and social development in China.

  6. Critical success factors for BOT electric power projects in China: Thermal power versus wind power

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Zhao, Zhen-Yu. [School of Business Administration, North China Electric Power University, Beijing 102206 (China); Zuo, Jian; Zillante, George [School of Natural and Built Environments, University of South Australia, Adelaide 5001 (Australia); Wang, Xin-Wei [Shandong Nuclear Power Equipment Manufacturing Co. Ltd, Haiyang, Shandong 265118 (China)

    2010-06-15

    Chinese electric power industry has adopted Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) approach in a number of projects to alleviate the pressure of sole state-owned investment. The Chinese government has taken enormous efforts to create an environment to facilitate the application of BOT approach in electric power projects. Moreover, the growing attention on the sustainability issues puts the traditional major source of electricity - thermal power project under more strict scrutiny. As a result, various renewable energy projects, particularly the wind power projects have involved private sector funds. Both thermal power and wind power projects via BOT approach have met with a varying degree of success. Therefore, it is imperative to understand the factors contributing towards the success of both types of BOT power projects. Using an extensive literature survey, this paper identifies 31 success factors under 5 categories for Chinese BOT electric power projects. This is followed by a questionnaire survey to exam relative significance of these factors. The results reveal the different levels of significance of success factors for BOT thermal power projects versus wind power projects. Finally, survey results were analyzed to explore the underlying construction and distributions among the identified success factors. This study provides a valuable reference for all involved parties that are interested in developing BOT electric power projects in China. (author)

  7. Diversity of Cultured Thermophilic Anaerobes in Hot Springs of Yunnan Province, China

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lin, L.; Lu, Y.; Dong, X.; Liu, X.; Wei, Y.; Ji, X.; Zhang, C.

    2010-12-01

    Thermophilic anaerobes including Archaea and Bacteria refer to those growing optimally at temperatures above 50°C and do not use oxygen as the terminal electron acceptor for growth. Study on thermophilic anaerobes will help to understand how life thrives under extreme conditions. Meanwhile thermophilic anaerobes are of importance in potential application and development of thermophilic biotechnology. We have surveyed culturable thermophilic anaerobes in hot springs (pH6.5-7.5; 70 - 94°C) in Rehai of Tengchong, Bangnazhang of Longlin, Eryuan of Dali,Yunnan, China. 50 strains in total were cultured from the hot springs water using Hungate anaerobic technique, and 30 strains were selected based on phenotypic diversity for analysis of 16S rDNA sequences. Phylogenetic analysis showed that 28 strains belonged to the members of five genera: Caldanaerobacter, Calaramator, Thermoanaerobacter, Dictyoglomus and Fervidobacterium, which formed five branches on the phylogenetic tree. Besides, 2 strains of methanogenic archaea were obtained. The majority of the isolates were the known species, however, seven strains were identified as novel species affiliated to the five genera based on the lower 16S rDNA sequence similarities (less than 93 - 97%) with the described species. This work would provide the future study on their diversity, distribution among different regions and the potential application of thermophilic enzyme. Supported by State Key Laboratory of Microbial Resources, Institute of Microbiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences(SKLMR-080605)and the Foundation of State Natural Science (30660009, 30960022, 31081220175).

  8. Novel Bartonella Species in Insectivorous Bats, Northern China.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hui-Ju Han

    Full Text Available Bartonella species are emerging human pathogens. Bats are known to carry diverse Bartonella species, some of which are capable of infecting humans. However, as the second largest mammalian group by a number of species, the role of bats as the reservoirs of Bartonella species is not fully explored, in term of their species diversity and worldwide distribution. China, especially Northern China, harbors a number of endemic insectivorous bat species; however, to our knowledge, there are not yet studies about Bartonella in bats in China. The aim of the study was to investigate the prevalence and genetic diversity of Bartonella species in bats in Northern China. Bartonella species were detected by PCR amplification of gltA gene in 25.2% (27/107 bats in Mengyin County, Shandong Province of China, including 1/3 Rhinolophus ferrumequinum, 2/10 Rhinolophus pusillus, 9/16 Myotis fimbriatus, 1/5 Myotis ricketti, 14/58 Myotis pequinius. Phylogenetic analysis showed that Bartonella species detected in bats in this study clustered into ten groups, and some might be novel Bartonella species. An association between Bartonella species and bat species was demonstrated and co-infection with different Bartonella species in a single bat was also observed. Our findings expanded our knowledge on the genetic diversity of Bartonella in bats, and shed light on the ecology of bat-borne Bartonella species.

  9. Succession of Ephemeral Secondary Forests and Their Limited Role for the Conservation of Floristic Diversity in a Human-Modified Tropical Landscape

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    van Breugel, Michiel; Hall, Jefferson S.; Craven, Dylan

    2013-01-01

    of these secondary forests to conserve tree species diversity, we also evaluated the diversity of species that can persist as viable metapopulations in a dynamic patchwork of short-lived successional forests, using different assumptions about the average relative size at reproductive maturity. We found...... niche operate simultaneously and shape successional dynamics of the metacommunity of these early secondary forests. A high diversity of plant species across the metacommunity of early secondary forests shows a potential for restoration of diverse forests through natural succession, when trees....... This implies that ephemeral secondary forests have a limited role in the long-term conservation of tree species diversity in human-modified tropical landscapes....

  10. Diversity and abundance of nitrate assimilation genes in the northern South china sea.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cai, Haiyuan; Jiao, Nianzhi

    2008-11-01

    Marine heterotrophic microorganisms that assimilate nitrate play an important role in nitrogen and carbon cycling in the water column. The nasA gene, encoding the nitrate assimilation enzyme, was selected as a functional marker to examine the nitrate assimilation community in the South China Sea (SCS). PCR amplification, restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) screening, and phylogenetic analysis of nasA gene sequences were performed to characterize in situ nitrate assimilatory bacteria. Furthermore, the effects of nutrients and other environmental factors on the genetic heterogeneity of nasA fragments from the SCS were evaluated at the surface in three stations, and at two other depths in one of these stations. The diversity indices and rarefaction curves indicated that the nasA gene was more diverse in offshore waters than in the Pearl River estuary. The phylotype rank abundance curve showed an abundant and unique RFLP pattern in all five libraries, indicating that a high diversity but low abundance of nasA existed in the study areas. Phylogenetic analysis of environmental nasA gene sequences further revealed that the nasA gene fragments came from several common aquatic microbial groups, including the Proteobacteria, Cytophaga-Flavobacteria (CF), and Cyanobacteria. In addition to the direct PCR/sequence analysis of environmental samples, we also cultured a number of nitrate assimilatory bacteria isolated from the field. Comparison of nasA genes from these isolates and from the field samples indicated the existence of horizontal nasA gene transfer. Application of real-time quantitative PCR to these nasA genes revealed a great variation in their abundance at different investigation sites and water depths.

  11. Onshore wind power development in China: Challenges behind a successful story

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Han Jingyi; Mol, Arthur P.J.; Lu Yonglong; Zhang Lei

    2009-01-01

    Wind energy utilization, especially onshore grid-connected wind power generation, has a history of 30 years in China. With the increasing attention to renewable energy development in recent years, wind energy has become the focus of academic research and policy-making. While the potential and advantages of wind energy are widely recognized, many questions regarding the effectiveness of policies and performances of current practices remain unanswered. This paper takes Inner Mongolia, the province that has the most abundant wind energy resources in China, as a case to assess the performance of Chinese onshore wind power projects, focusing on the institutional setting, economic and technological performance, as well as environmental and social impacts. Results show that China is experiencing a rapid growth in wind power generation, which brings China great environmental, energy security and social benefits. However, for a full development of wind energy in China a number of barriers need to be removed: high generation cost, low on-grid price, and stagnating development of domestic manufacture. These findings lead to three policy recommendations.

  12. China's Pork Miracle? : Agribusiness and Development in China's Pork Industry

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    M.L. Schneider (Mindi); S. Sharma (Shefali)

    2014-01-01

    markdownabstractEXECUTIVE SUMMARY Agriculture has helped fuel the “China miracle.” Since 1978, agricultural and food output has soared, Chinese agribusiness firms have become key players in domestic and international markets, and by all accounts, China has been highly successful in overcoming land

  13. Vegetable Genetic Resources in China

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Haiping WANG

    2018-03-01

    Full Text Available China is recognized as an important region for plant biodiversity based on its vast and historical collection of vegetable germplasm. The aim of this review is to describe the exploration status of vegetable genetic resources in China, including their collection, preservation, evaluation, and utilization. China has established a number of national-level vegetable genetic resources preservation units, including the National Mid-term Genebank for Vegetable Germplasm Resources, the National Germplasm Repository for Vegetatively-Propagated Vegetables, and the National Germplasm Repository for Aquatic Vegetables. In 2015, at least 36 000 accessions were collected and preserved in these units. In the past decade, 44 descriptors and data standards for different species have been published, and most accessions have been evaluated for screening the germplasms for specific important traits such as morphological characteristics, disease resistance, pest resistance, and stress tolerance. Moreover, the genetic diversity and evolution of some vegetable germplasms have been evaluated at the molecular level. Recently, more than 1 000 accessions were distributed to researchers and breeders each year by various means for vegetable research and production. However, additional wild-relative and abroad germplasms from other regions need to be collected and preserved in the units to expand genetic diversity. Furthermore, there is a need to utilize advanced techniques to better understand the background and genetic diversity of a wide range of vegetable genetic resources. This review will provide agricultural scientists’ insights into the genetic diversity in China and provide information on the distribution and potential utilization of these valuable genetic resources. Keywords: vegetable, genetic resource, preservation, evaluation, utilization

  14. Grazer diversity interacts with biogenic habitat heterogeneity to accelerate intertidal algal succession.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Whalen, Matthew A; Aquilino, Kristin M; Stachowicz, John J

    2016-08-01

    Environmental heterogeneity contributes to coexistence by allowing species with different traits to persist when different species perform best at different times or places. This interaction between niche differences and environmental variability may also help explain relationships between biodiversity and ecosystem functioning, but few data are available to rigorously evaluate this hypothesis. We assessed how a biologically relevant aspect of environmental heterogeneity interacts with species diversity to determine ecosystem processes in a natural rocky intertidal community. We used field removals to factorially manipulate biogenic habitat heterogeneity (barnacles, bare rock, and plots that were 50/50 mixes of the two habitat types) and gastropod grazer species richness and then tracked algal community succession and recovery over the course of 1 yr. We found that herbivore diversity, substrate heterogeneity, and their interaction played unique roles in the peak abundance and timing of occurrence of different algal functional groups. Early successional microalgae were most heavily grazed in diverse herbivore assemblages and those with barnacles present, which was likely due to complementary feeding strategies among all three grazers. In contrast, late successional macroalgae were strongly influenced by the presence of a habitat generalist limpet. In this herbivore's absence, heterogeneous habitats (i.e., mixtures of bare rock and barnacles) experienced the greatest algal accumulation, which was partly a result of complementary habitat use by the remaining herbivores. The complex way habitat identity and heterogeneity altered grazer-algal interactions in our study suggests species' differences and environmental heterogeneity both separately and interactively contribute to the relationship between biodiversity and ecosystem functions. © 2016 by the Ecological Society of America.

  15. Identity, Diversity and Diversity Management

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Holck, Lotte; Muhr, Sara Louise; Villeseche, Florence

    2016-01-01

    – The work can encourage policy makers, diversity and HR managers to question their own practices and assumptions leading to more theoretical informed diversity management practices. Originality/value – The theoretical connections between identity and diversity literature have so far not been reviewed......The purpose of this paper is to examine the relationship between the identity and diversity literatures and discuss how a better understanding of the theoretical connections between the two informs both diversity research and diversity management practices. Design/methodology/approach – Literature...... and limitations – is crucial for successful diversity management research and practice. Research limitations/implications – The authors argue for a better understanding of differences, overlaps and limits of different identity perspectives, and for a stronger engagement with practice. Practical implications...

  16. Phenotype diversity analysis of red-grained rice landraces from Yuanyang Hani's terraced fields, China

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Lianjie; Cheng, Long

    2017-10-01

    There are many areas in the world have terraced fields, Yuanyang Rani's terraced fields are examples in the world, and their unique ecological diversity is beyond other terraced fields, rice landraces are very rich. In order to provide useful information for protection and utilization of red-grained rice landraces from Rani's terraced fields, 61 red-grained rice landraces were assessed based 20 quantitative traits. Principal component analysis (PCA) suggested that 20 quantitative characters could be simplified to seven principal components, and their accumulative contribution ration amounted to 78.699%. The first principal component (PC1) explained 18.375% of the total variance, which was contributed by filled grain number, 1000-grain weight, spikelets per panicle, secondary branch number, grain length, and grain thickness. PC2 accounted for 16.548% of the variance and featured flag leaf width, flag leaf area, panicle neck length and primary branch number. These traits were the most effective parameters to discriminate individuals. At the request of the proceedings editor and with the approval of all authors, article 040111 titled, "Phenotype diversity analysis of red-grained rice landraces from Yuanyang Hani's terraced fields, China," is being retracted from the public record due to the fact that it is a duplication of article 040110 published in the same volume.

  17. Biogeographical distribution and diversity of bacterial communities in surface sediments of the South China Sea.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Tao; Wang, Peng

    2013-05-01

    This paper aims at an investigation of the features of bacterial communities in surface sediments of the South China Sea (SCS). In particular, biogeographical distribution patterns and the phylogenetic diversity of bacteria found in sediments collected from a coral reef platform, a continental slope, and a deep-sea basin were determined. Bacterial diversity was measured by an observation of 16S rRNA genes, and 18 phylogenetic groups were identified in the bacterial clone library. Planctomycetes, Deltaproteobacteria, candidate division OP11, and Alphaproteobacteria made up the majority of the bacteria in the samples, with their mean bacterial clones being 16%, 15%, 12%, and 9%, respectively. By comparison, the bacterial communities found in the SCS surface sediments were significantly different from other previously observed deep-sea bacterial communities. This research also emphasizes the fact that geographical factors have an impact on the biogeographical distribution patterns of bacterial communities. For instance, canonical correspondence analyses illustrated that the percentage of sand weight and water depth are important factors affecting the bacterial community composition. Therefore, this study highlights the importance of adequately determining the relationship between geographical factors and the distribution of bacteria in the world's seas and oceans.

  18. Provenance and tectonic setting of the supra-crustal succession of the Qinling Complex: Implications for the tectonic affinity of the North Qinling Belt, Central China

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shi, Yu; Huang, Qianwen; Liu, Xijun; Krapež, Bryan; Yu, Jinhai; Bai, Zhian

    2018-06-01

    The Qinling Complex lies in the Qinling orogenic belt of Central China and holds the key to understanding the evolution of this feature. The Qinling Complex comprises a basement complex composed of amphibolite and ecologite, overlain by a supra-crustal succession that has been metamorphosed to the upper greenschist facies at approximately 516-509 Ma. The protoliths of the meta-sedimentary rocks are graywackes, which are divided into lower, middle and upper units. Detrital zircons from nine samples of the supra-crustal succession have ages ranging from 1182 to 1158 Ma for the lower unit, 957 to 955 Ma for the middle unit and 917 to 840 Ma for the upper unit. The lower unit is intruded by a ca. 960 Ma pluton. The bulk compositions of these meta-sedimentary rocks and their detrital zircon ages clearly indicate derivation from Meso- and Neo-proterozoic granites. Thus, we suggest that the sedimentary succession was derived from an arc-related tectonic setting and that none of the detritus was sourced from the southern margin of the North China Block or from the northern and western margins of the South China Block. We conclude that the North Qinling Belt was an independent micro-continental block during the Meso- to Neo-proterozoic.

  19. Geological characteristics and tectonic significance of unconformities in Mesoproterozoic successions in the northern margin of the North China Block

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yongqiang Qu

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available Several stratigraphic breaks and unconformities exist in the Mesoproterozoic successions in the northern margin of the North China Block. Geologic characters and spatial distributions of five of these unconformities, which have resulted from different geological processes, have been studied. The unconformity beneath the Dahongyu Formation is interpreted as a breakup unconformity, representing the time of transition from continental rift to passive continental margin. The unconformities beneath the Gaoyuzhuang and the Yangzhuang formations are considered to be the consequence of regional eustatic fluctuations, leading to the exposure of highlands in passive margins during low sea-level stands and transgressive deposition on coastal regions during high sea-level stands. The unconformity atop the Tieling Formation might be caused by uplift due to contractional deformation in a back-arc setting, whereas the uplift after the deposition of the Xiamaling Formation might be attributed to a continental collision event. It is assumed that the occurrences of these unconformities in the Mesoproterozoic successions in the northern margin of the North China Block had a close bearing on the assemblage and breakup of the Columbia and Rodinia supercontinents.

  20. Diversity and Ecological Functions of Crenarchaeota in Terrestrial Hot Springs of Tengchong, China

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, W.; Song, Z.; Chen, J.; Jiang, H.; Zhou, E.; Wang, F.; Xiao, X.; Zhang, C.

    2010-12-01

    The diversity and potential ecological functions of Crenarchaeota were investigated in eight terrestrial hot springs (pH: 2.8-7.7; temperature: 43.6-96 C) located in Tengchong, China, using 16S rRNA gene phylogenetic analysis. A total of 826 crenarchaeotal clones were analyzed and a total of 47 Operational taxonomic units (OTUs) were identified. Most (93%) of the identified OTUs were closely related (89-99%) to those retrieved from hot springs and other thermal environments. Our data showed that temperature may predominate over pH in affecting crenarchaeotal diversity in Tengchong hot springs. Crenarchaeotal diversity in moderate-temperature (59 to 77 C) hot springs was the highest, indicating that the moderate-temperature hot springs are more inclusive for Crenarchaeota. To understand what ecological functions these Crenarchaeota may play in Tengchong hot springs, we isolated the environmental RNA and constructed four cDNA clone libraries of the archaeal accA gene that encodes Acetyl CoA carboxylase. The accA gene represents one of the key enzymes responsible for the CO2 fixation in the 3-hydroxypropionate/4-hydroxybutyrate pathway. The results of phylogenetic analysis showed all the transcribed accA gene sequences can be classified into three large clusters, with the first one being affiliated with marine crenarchaeota, the second one with cultured crenarchaeota, and the third one with Chlorobi (Green sulfur bacteria), which have been proved to employ the 3-hydroxypropionate/4-hydroxybutyrate pathway. The long-branch distances of the phylogenetic tree suggest that these sequences represent novel accA-like gene. Our results also showed that sequences of the accA-like gene from the same hot spring belonged to one cluster, which suggests that a single crenarchaeotal group may fix CO2 via 3-hydroxypropionate/4-hydroxybutyrate pathway in the investigated hot springs.

  1. Plant molecular phylogeography in China and adjacent regions: Tracing the genetic imprints of Quaternary climate and environmental change in the world's most diverse temperate flora.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Qiu, Ying-Xiong; Fu, Cheng-Xing; Comes, Hans Peter

    2011-04-01

    The Sino-Japanese Floristic Region (SJFR) of East Asia harbors the most diverse of the world's temperate flora, and was the most important glacial refuge for its Tertiary representatives ('relics') throughout Quaternary ice-age cycles. A steadily increasing number of phylogeographic studies in the SJFR of mainland China and adjacent areas, including the Qinghai-Tibetan-Plateau (QTP) and Sino-Himalayan region, have documented the population histories of temperate plant species in these regions. Here we review this current literature that challenges the oft-stated view of the SJFR as a glacial sanctuary for temperate plants, instead revealing profound effects of Quaternary changes in climate, topography, and/or sea level on the current genetic structure of such organisms. There are three recurrent phylogeographic scenarios identified by different case studies that broadly agree with longstanding biogeographic or palaeo-ecological hypotheses: (i) postglacial re-colonization of the QTP from (south-)eastern glacial refugia; (ii) population isolation and endemic species formation in Southwest China due to tectonic shifts and river course dynamics; and (iii) long-term isolation and species survival in multiple localized refugia of (warm-)temperate deciduous forest habitats in subtropical (Central/East/South) China. However, in four additional instances, phylogeographic findings seem to conflict with a priori predictions raised by palaeo-data, suggesting instead: (iv) glacial in situ survival of some hardy alpine herbs and forest trees on the QTP platform itself; (v) long-term refugial isolation of (warm-)temperate evergreen taxa in subtropical China; (vi) 'cryptic' glacial survival of (cool-)temperate deciduous forest trees in North China; and (vii) unexpectedly deep (Late Tertiary/early-to-mid Pleistocene) allopatric-vicariant differentiation of disjunct lineages in the East China-Japan-Korea region due to past sea transgressions. We discuss these and other consequences

  2. ISSR diversity and genetic differentiation of ancient tea (camellia sinensis var. assamica) plantations from China: implications for precious tea germplasm conservation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Huang, X.Q.; Ji, P.Z.; Li, H.; Zhang, J.; Gao, L.Z.; Cheng, Z.Q.

    2011-01-01

    Over 10 centuries, ancient cultivated tea populations (Camellia sinensis var. assamica) are still planted merely in Yunnan province of China. Genetic diversity and differentiation were examined in 10 ancient tea plantations by using ISSR markers. The average genetic diversity within populations, estimated with Nei's genetic diversity (HE), was approximately 0.2809, while Shannon indices (HO) was 0.4179. The percentage of polymorphic loci (P) of the 10 populations ranged from 56.5% to 90.91%. We found a moderate level of genetic differentiation among population as evidenced by the coefficients of gene differentiation (Gst) of 0.3911 and the analysis of molecular variance (AMOVA) of 39.70%. The result could be explained by the nature of highly out crossing in the tea species as well as serious habitat fragmentation. Finally, conservation strategies were discussed to protect these ancient tea populations, including in situ reserve settings and ex situ germplasm sampling. (author)

  3. The diversity and structure of marine protists in the coastal waters of China revealed by morphological observation and 454 pyrosequencing

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Yun; Song, Shuqun; Chen, Tiantian; Li, Caiwen

    2017-04-01

    Pyrosequencing of the 18S rRNA gene has been widely adopted to study the eukaryotic diversity in various types of environments, and has an advantage over traditional morphology methods in exploring unknown microbial communities. To comprehensively assess the diversity and community composition of marine protists in the coastal waters of China, we applied both morphological observations and high-throughput sequencing of the V2 and V3 regions of 18S rDNA simultaneously to analyze samples collected from the surface layer of the Yellow and East China Seas. Dinoflagellates, diatoms and ciliates were the three dominant protistan groups as revealed by the two methods. Diatoms were the first dominant protistan group in the microscopic observations, with Skeletonema mainly distributed in the nearshore eutrophic waters and Chaetoceros in higher temperature and higher pH waters. The mixotrophic dinoflagellates, Gymnodinium and Gyrodinium, were more competitive in the oligotrophic waters. The pyrosequencing method revealed an extensive diversity of dinoflagellates. Chaetoceros was the only dominant diatom group in the pyrosequencing dataset. Gyrodinium represented the most abundant reads and dominated the offshore oligotrophic protistan community as they were in the microscopic observations. The dominance of parasitic dinoflagellates in the pyrosequencing dataset, which were overlooked in the morphological observations, indicates more attention should be paid to explore the potential role of this group. Both methods provide coherent clustering of samples. Nutrient levels, salinity and pH were the main factors influencing the distribution of protists. This study demonstrates that different primer pairs used in the pyrosequencing will indicate different protistan community structures. A suitable marker may reveal more comprehensive composition of protists and provide valuable information on environmental drivers.

  4. Development of the Geothermal Heat Pump Market in China; Renewable Energy in China

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    2006-03-01

    This case study is one in a series of Success Stories on developing renewable energy technologies in China for a business audience. It focuses on the development of the geothermal heat pump market in China.

  5. Biodiversity promotes tree growth during succession in subtropical forest.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Martin Barrufol

    Full Text Available Losses of plant species diversity can affect ecosystem functioning, with decreased primary productivity being the most frequently reported effect in experimental plant assemblages, including tree plantations. Less is known about the role of biodiversity in natural ecosystems, including forests, despite their importance for global biogeochemical cycling and climate. In general, experimental manipulations of tree diversity will take decades to yield final results. To date, biodiversity effects in natural forests therefore have only been reported from sample surveys or meta-analyses with plots not initially selected for diversity. We studied biomass and growth of subtropical forests stands in southeastern China. Taking advantage of variation in species recruitment during secondary succession, we adopted a comparative study design selecting forest plots to span a gradient in species richness. We repeatedly censored the stem diameter of two tree size cohorts, comprising 93 species belonging to 57 genera and 33 families. Tree size and growth were analyzed in dependence of species richness, the functional diversity of growth-related traits, and phylogenetic diversity, using both general linear and structural equation modeling. Successional age covaried with diversity, but differently so in the two size cohorts. Plot-level stem basal area and growth were positively related with species richness, while growth was negatively related to successional age. The productivity increase in species-rich, functionally and phylogenetically diverse plots was driven by both larger mean sizes and larger numbers of trees. The biodiversity effects we report exceed those from experimental studies, sample surveys and meta-analyses, suggesting that subtropical tree diversity is an important driver of forest productivity and re-growth after disturbance that supports the provision of ecological services by these ecosystems.

  6. Genetic diversity of Neisseria meningitidis serogroup C ST-4821 in China based on multiple-locus variable number tandem repeat analysis.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Xiaoying Shan

    Full Text Available Neisseria meningitidis sequence type (ST-4821 was first reported in China in 2003, and a new hyper-virulent lineage has been designated as the ST-4821 complex. A large number of N. meningitidis ST-4821 strains have been identified in China since 2003; however, the microevolution characteristics of this complex are unclear. Different combinations of variable number of tandem repeats (VNTR loci were used in multiple-locus VNTR analysis (MLVA to analyze 118 N. meningitidis serogroup C ST-4821 strains isolated from seventeen provinces between 2003 and 2012. Additionally, MLVA with five VNTR loci was performed due to its high discriminatory power. One hundred and eighteen isolates were found to comprise 112 subtypes based on MLVA, and 16 outbreak-associated strains were clustered into one group. These data indicate a high level of diversity for N. meningitidis ST-4821 due to microevolution in the last decade. In addition, the results revealed high similarity between isolates from the same geographic origins, which is helpful when monitoring the spread of N. meningitidis serogroup C ST-4821 and will provide valuable information for the control and prevention of bacterial meningitis in China.

  7. Concentrations and Exposure Evaluation of Metals in Diverse Food Items from Chengdu, China.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Rong; Zhong, Bifeng; Pi, Lu; Xie, Fuyu; Chen, Mengqin; Ding, Sanglan; Su, Shijun; Li, Zhi; Gan, Zhiwei

    2018-01-01

    A total of 520 food samples belonging to 29 food types and 63 drinking water were collected in Chengdu market of China in 2014 to investigate the concentrations of 11 metals, and to assess the related exposure to the local consumers by estimating the hazard quotient and carcinogenic risk (CR). The results showed that metals concentrations in drinking water were below the limit values suggested by the Ministry of Health of the People's Republic of China, and FAO/WHO (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations/World Health Organization). While As, Cd, and Cr were found at concentrations higher than the limit values in some of the foodstuffs. Children in Chengdu intake more metals compared to adults, with the same order of Mn > Zn > Cu > Sr > Cr > Ni > As > Cd > Pb > Co > Sb. Among all of the diverse food, rice, flour, and fish and seafood were the primary sources to intake metals for Chengdu residents. Residents in Chengdu are subjected to both carcinogenic and non-carcinogenic risks based on the calculated HI and CR values, especially for children. Finally, total daily metals intakes for both children and adults were calculated based on the current study and our previous studies, including consumption of food and drinking water and intake of outdoor and indoor dust. Dietary exposure is the predominant exposure route to metals for Chengdu residents, accounting for more than 75.8% of the total daily metals intakes for both children and adults.

  8. Ancient DNA from Giant Panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca) of South-Western China Reveals Genetic Diversity Loss during the Holocene.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sheng, Gui-Lian; Barlow, Axel; Cooper, Alan; Hou, Xin-Dong; Ji, Xue-Ping; Jablonski, Nina G; Zhong, Bo-Jian; Liu, Hong; Flynn, Lawrence J; Yuan, Jun-Xia; Wang, Li-Rui; Basler, Nikolas; Westbury, Michael V; Hofreiter, Michael; Lai, Xu-Long

    2018-04-06

    The giant panda was widely distributed in China and south-eastern Asia during the middle to late Pleistocene, prior to its habitat becoming rapidly reduced in the Holocene. While conservation reserves have been established and population numbers of the giant panda have recently increased, the interpretation of its genetic diversity remains controversial. Previous analyses, surprisingly, have indicated relatively high levels of genetic diversity raising issues concerning the efficiency and usefulness of reintroducing individuals from captive populations. However, due to a lack of DNA data from fossil specimens, it is unknown whether genetic diversity was even higher prior to the most recent population decline. We amplified complete cyt b and 12s rRNA, partial 16s rRNA and ND1 , and control region sequences from the mitochondrial genomes of two Holocene panda specimens. We estimated genetic diversity and population demography by analyzing the ancient mitochondrial DNA sequences alongside those from modern giant pandas, as well as from other members of the bear family (Ursidae). Phylogenetic analyses show that one of the ancient haplotypes is sister to all sampled modern pandas and the second ancient individual is nested among the modern haplotypes, suggesting that genetic diversity may indeed have been higher earlier during the Holocene. Bayesian skyline plot analysis supports this view and indicates a slight decline in female effective population size starting around 6000 years B.P., followed by a recovery around 2000 years ago. Therefore, while the genetic diversity of the giant panda has been affected by recent habitat contraction, it still harbors substantial genetic diversity. Moreover, while its still low population numbers require continued conservation efforts, there seem to be no immediate threats from the perspective of genetic evolutionary potential.

  9. Ancient DNA from Giant Panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca of South-Western China Reveals Genetic Diversity Loss during the Holocene

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gui-Lian Sheng

    2018-04-01

    Full Text Available The giant panda was widely distributed in China and south-eastern Asia during the middle to late Pleistocene, prior to its habitat becoming rapidly reduced in the Holocene. While conservation reserves have been established and population numbers of the giant panda have recently increased, the interpretation of its genetic diversity remains controversial. Previous analyses, surprisingly, have indicated relatively high levels of genetic diversity raising issues concerning the efficiency and usefulness of reintroducing individuals from captive populations. However, due to a lack of DNA data from fossil specimens, it is unknown whether genetic diversity was even higher prior to the most recent population decline. We amplified complete cytb and 12s rRNA, partial 16s rRNA and ND1, and control region sequences from the mitochondrial genomes of two Holocene panda specimens. We estimated genetic diversity and population demography by analyzing the ancient mitochondrial DNA sequences alongside those from modern giant pandas, as well as from other members of the bear family (Ursidae. Phylogenetic analyses show that one of the ancient haplotypes is sister to all sampled modern pandas and the second ancient individual is nested among the modern haplotypes, suggesting that genetic diversity may indeed have been higher earlier during the Holocene. Bayesian skyline plot analysis supports this view and indicates a slight decline in female effective population size starting around 6000 years B.P., followed by a recovery around 2000 years ago. Therefore, while the genetic diversity of the giant panda has been affected by recent habitat contraction, it still harbors substantial genetic diversity. Moreover, while its still low population numbers require continued conservation efforts, there seem to be no immediate threats from the perspective of genetic evolutionary potential.

  10. Alfa analysis of genetic diversity in populus cathayana rehd originating from south eastern Qinghai-Tibetan plateau of China

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chen, K.; Peng, Y.

    2010-01-01

    The wide geographical and climatic distribution of Populus cathayana Rehd indicates that there is a large amount of genetic diversity available, which can be exploited for conservation, breeding programs and afforestation schemes. In our study, genetic diversity was evaluated in the natural populations of P. cathayana originating from southern and eastern areas of the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau of China by means of AFLP markers. For four primer combinations, a total of 175 bands were obtained of which 173 (98.9%) were polymorphic. Six natural populations of P. cathayana possessed different levels of genetic diversity, high level of genetic differentiation existed among the populations (G/sub st) =0.489) of P. cathayana. Individuals cluster and PCO analysis based on Jaccards's similarity coefficient also showed evident population genetic structure with high level of population genetic differentiation. The long evolutionary process coupled with genetic drift within populations, rather than contemporary gene flow, are the major forces shaping genetic structure of P. cathayana populations. Moreover, there was no correspondence between geographical and genetic distances in the populations of P. cathayana, seldom gene exchange among the populations and different selection pressures may be the causes. Our findings of different levels of genetic diversity within populations and high level of genetic differentiation among the populations provided promising condition for further breeding and conservation programs. (author)

  11. Taxonomic and functional diversity provides insight into microbial pathways and stress responses in the saline Qinghai Lake, China.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Qiuyuan Huang

    Full Text Available Microbe-mediated biogeochemical cycles contribute to the global climate system and have sensitive responses and feedbacks to environmental stress caused by climate change. Yet, little is known about the effects of microbial biodiversity (i.e., taxonmic and functional diversity on biogeochemical cycles in ecosytems that are highly sensitive to climate change. One such sensitive ecosystem is Qinghai Lake, a high-elevation (3196 m saline (1.4% lake located on the Tibetan Plateau, China. This study provides baseline information on the microbial taxonomic and functional diversity as well as the associated stress response genes. Illumina metagenomic and metatranscriptomic datasets were generated from lake water samples collected at two sites (B and E. Autotrophic Cyanobacteria dominated the DNA samples, while heterotrophic Proteobacteria dominated the RNA samples at both sites. Photoheterotrophic Loktanella was also present at both sites. Photosystem II was the most active pathway at site B; while, oxidative phosphorylation was most active at site E. Organisms that expressed photosystem II or oxidative phosphorylation also expressed genes involved in photoprotection and oxidative stress, respectively. Assimilatory pathways associated with the nitrogen cycle were dominant at both sites. Results also indicate a positive relationship between functional diversity and the number of stress response genes. This study provides insight into the stress resilience of microbial metabolic pathways supported by greater taxonomic diversity, which may affect the microbial community response to climate change.

  12. Outsourcing to China.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Jacqueline

    2004-12-01

    To enhance competitive advantage in the face of increasing globalisation, companies need to consider moving certain operations to China, if they have not done so already. This article describes the evolving nature of outsourcing to China and what companies need to consider to be successful in this business model.

  13. Frequent Spread of Plasmodium vivax Malaria Maintains High Genetic Diversity at the Myanmar-China Border, Without Distance and Landscape Barriers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lo, Eugenia; Lam, Nancy; Hemming-Schroeder, Elizabeth; Nguyen, Jennifer; Zhou, Guofa; Lee, Ming-Chieh; Yang, Zhaoqing; Cui, Liwang; Yan, Guiyun

    2017-12-05

    In Myanmar, civil unrest and the establishment of internally displaced person (IDP) settlements along the Myanmar-China border have impacted malaria transmission. Microsatellite markers were used to examine source-sink dynamics for Plasmodium vivax between IDP settlements and surrounding villages in the border region. Genotypic structure and diversity were compared across the 3 years following the establishment of IDP settlements, to infer demographic history. We investigated whether human migration and landscape heterogeneity contributed to P. vivax transmission. P. vivax from IDP settlements and local communities consistently exhibited high genetic diversity within populations but low polyclonality within individuals. No apparent genetic structure was observed among populations and years. P. vivax genotypes in China were similar to those in Myanmar, and parasite introduction was unidirectional. Landscape factors, including distance, elevation, and land cover, do not appear to impede parasite gene flow. The admixture of P. vivax genotypes suggested that parasite gene flow via human movement contributes to the spread of malaria both locally in Myanmar and across the international border. Our genetic findings highlight the presence of large P. vivax gene reservoirs that can sustain transmission. Thus, it is important to reinforce and improve existing control efforts along border areas. © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press for the Infectious Diseases Society of America. All rights reserved. For permissions, e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  14. [Effect of stock abundance and environmental factors on the recruitment success of small yellow croaker in the East China Sea].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Zun-lei; Yuan, Xing-wei; Yang, Lin-lin; Yan, Li-ping; Zhang, Hui; Cheng, Jia-hua

    2015-02-01

    Multiple hypotheses are available to explain recruitment rate. Model selection methods can be used to identify the best model that supports a particular hypothesis. However, using a single model for estimating recruitment success is often inadequate for overexploited population because of high model uncertainty. In this study, stock-recruitment data of small yellow croaker in the East China Sea collected from fishery dependent and independent surveys between 1992 and 2012 were used to examine density-dependent effects on recruitment success. Model selection methods based on frequentist (AIC, maximum adjusted R2 and P-values) and Bayesian (Bayesian model averaging, BMA) methods were applied to identify the relationship between recruitment and environment conditions. Interannual variability of the East China Sea environment was indicated by sea surface temperature ( SST) , meridional wind stress (MWS), zonal wind stress (ZWS), sea surface pressure (SPP) and runoff of Changjiang River ( RCR). Mean absolute error, mean squared predictive error and continuous ranked probability score were calculated to evaluate the predictive performance of recruitment success. The results showed that models structures were not consistent based on three kinds of model selection methods, predictive variables of models were spawning abundance and MWS by AIC, spawning abundance by P-values, spawning abundance, MWS and RCR by maximum adjusted R2. The recruitment success decreased linearly with stock abundance (P recruitment success might be due to cannibalism or food competition. Meridional wind intensity showed marginally significant and positive effects on the recruitment success (P = 0.06), while runoff of Changjiang River showed a marginally negative effect (P = 0.07). Based on mean absolute error and continuous ranked probability score, predictive error associated with models obtained from BMA was the smallest amongst different approaches, while that from models selected based on the P

  15. Diversity in the Workplace. Symposium.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2002

    Three papers comprise this symposium on diversity in the workplace. "Factors That Assist and Barriers That Hinder the Success of Diversity Initiatives in Multinational Corporations" (Rose Mary Wentling) reports that factors that assisted in the success were classified under diversity department, human, and work environment; barriers were…

  16. Genetic diversity and population genetic structure of the only population of Aoluguya Reindeer (Rangifer tarandus) in China.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ju, Yan; Liu, Huamiao; Rong, Min; Zhang, Ranran; Dong, Yimeng; Zhou, Yongna; Xing, Xiumei

    2018-04-16

    Aoluguya Reindeer is the only reindeer species in China and currently approximately 1000 Aoluguya Reindeer remain semi-domesticated. A relative low diversity estimate was found by investigating genetic variability and demographic history of its population. Mismatch distribution curve of its nucleotide sequences and neutral test indicate its population has not experienced expansion. Genetic diversity and population structure were also analysed by using its mtDNA and microsatellites technology. Statistical results of these analyses showed there were varying degrees of population inbreeding and suggested that gene flow existed among its populations at one time. Three mutation models were also used to detect the bottleneck effect of reindeer population. The genetic variation of eight populations is relatively small. In addition, the clustering program STRUCTURE was used to analyse Aoluguya Reindeer population structure, to determine its optimal K and first time to analyse the phylogenetic status of Aoluguya Reindeer among other reindeer subspecies. It is recommended that the government establish a natural conservation area in Aoluguya Reindeer growing geography, forbade the trade and hunting of Aoluguya Reindeer, and strengthen the protection of this endangered species.

  17. Voices of successful science teachers in an urban diverse single gender girls' school

    Science.gov (United States)

    Malhan, Jyoti

    This research study was conducted as a qualitative case study of four successful science teachers of female students in a diverse, title 1, urban, public girls' school. The study was designed to hear the 'muted' voices of successful science teachers concerning their beliefs and practices when they effectively provide learning opportunities for female students of color in their classrooms. Ethic of Care, equity pedagogy and culturally responsive pedagogy, created the theoretical framework for interpretation of the powerful narratives and storytelling that influenced this group of successful teachers. Data were collected by conducting in-depth, semi-structured interviews. Constant comparative method and narrative analysis were used to code and categorize the data. Analysis was conducted after each interview to discover emergent themes. Teachers conducted member checks throughout the process. The findings from the study yielded the following: (1) teachers had a passion for science and incorporated ongoing scientific developments and real-life examples and applications in their teaching, (2) teachers adopted a caring, concerned, and student-centered approach to teaching, (3) teachers acknowledged certain benefits to a single-sex girls education which included fewer distractions, increased confidence and comfort level of students, (5) teachers built relationships with students that encouraged students to engage with rigorous course content and meet higher expectations for performance. Themes that emerged included: care, culturally responsive pedagogy and culturally relevant curriculum.

  18. Population structure and genetic diversity of native and invasive populations of Solanum rostratum (Solanaceae.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jiali Zhao

    Full Text Available We investigate native and introduced populations of Solanum rostratum, an annual, self-compatible plant that has been introduced around the globe. This study is the first to compare the genetic diversity of Solanum rostratum between native and introduced populations. We aim to (1 determine the level of genetic diversity across the studied regions; (2 explore the likely origins of invasive populations in China; and (3 investigate whether there is the evidence of multiple introductions into China.We genotyped 329 individuals at 10 microsatellite loci to determine the levels of genetic diversity and to investigate population structure of native and introduced populations of S. rostratum. We studied five populations in each of three regions across two continents: Mexico, the U.S.A. and China.We found the highest genetic diversity among Mexican populations of S. rostratum. Genetic diversity was significantly lower in Chinese and U.S.A. populations, but we found no regional difference in inbreeding coefficients (F IS or population differentiation (F ST. Population structure analyses indicate that Chinese and U.S.A. populations are more closely related to each other than to sampled Mexican populations, revealing that introduced populations in China share an origin with the sampled U.S.A. populations. The distinctiveness between some introduced populations indicates multiple introductions of S. rostratum into China.

  19. Genetic Diversity and Structure of Natural Quercus variabilis Population in China as Revealed by Microsatellites Markers

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Xiaomeng Shi

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available Quercus variabilis is a tree species of ecological and economic value that is widely distributed in China. To effectively evaluate, use, and conserve resources, we applied 25 pairs of simple sequence repeat (SSR primers to study its genetic diversity and genetic structure in 19 natural forest or natural secondary forest populations of Q. variabilis (a total of 879 samples. A total of 277 alleles were detected. Overall, the average expected heterozygosity (He was 0.707 and average allelic richness (AR was 7.79. Q. variabilis manifested a loss of heterozygosity, and the mean of inbreeding coefficient (FIS was 0.044. Less differentiation among populations was observed, and the genetic differentiation coefficient (FST was 0.063. Bayesian clustering analysis indicated that the 19 studied populations could be divided into three groups based on their genetic makeup, namely, the Southwest group, Central group, and Northeastern group. The Central group, compared to the populations of the Southwest and Northeast group, showed higher genetic diversities and lower genetic differentiations. As a widely distributed species, the historical migration of Q. variabilis contributed to its genetic differentiation.

  20. Illumina-based analysis the microbial diversity associated with Thalassia hemprichii in Xincun Bay, South China Sea.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jiang, Yu-Feng; Ling, Juan; Dong, Jun-De; Chen, Biao; Zhang, Yan-Ying; Zhang, Yuan-Zhou; Wang, You-Shao

    2015-10-01

    In order to increase our understanding of the microbial diversity associated with seagrass Thalassia hemprichii in Xincun Bay, South China Sea, 16S rRNA gene was identified by highthrough sequencing method. Bacteria associated with seagrass T. hemprichii belonged to 37 phyla, 99 classes. The diversity of bacteria associated with seagrass was similar among the geographically linked coastal locations of Xincun Bay. Proteobacteria was the dominant bacteria and the α-proteobacteria had adapted to the seagrass ecological niche. As well, α-proteobacteria and Pseudomonadales were associated microflora in seagrass meadows, but the interaction between the bacteria and plant is needed to further research. Burkholderiales and Verrucomicrobiae indicated the influence of the bay from anthropogenic activities. Further, Cyanobacteria could imply the difference of the nutrient conditions in the sites. γ-proteobacteria, Desulfobacterales and Pirellulales played a role in the cycle of sulfur, organic mineralization and meadow ecosystem, respectively. In addition, the less abundance bacteria species have key functions in the seagrass meadows, but there is lack knowledge of the interaction of the seagrass and less abundance bacteria species. Microbial communities can response to surroundings and play key functions in the biochemical cycle.

  1. Diversity and Distribution Characteristics of Viruses in Soils of a Marine-Terrestrial Ecotone in East China.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yu, Dan-Ting; Han, Li-Li; Zhang, Li-Mei; He, Ji-Zheng

    2018-02-01

    A substantial gap remains in our understanding of the abundance, diversity, and ecology of viruses in soil although some advances have been achieved in recent years. In this study, four soil samples according to the salinity gradient from shore to inland in East China have been characterized. Results showed that spherical virus particles represented the largest viral component in all of the four samples. The viromes had remarkably different taxonomic compositions, and most of the sequences were derived from single-stranded DNA viruses, especially from families Microviridae and Circoviridae. Compared with viromes from other aquatic and sediment samples, the community compositions of our four soil viromes resembled each other, meanwhile coastal sample virome closely congregated with sediment and hypersaline viromes, and high salinity paddy soil sample virome was similar with surface sediment virome. Phylogenetic analysis of functional genes showed that four viromes have high diversity of the subfamily Gokushovirinae in family Microviridae and most of Circoviridae replicase protein sequences grouped within the CRESS-DNA viruses. This work provided an initial outline of the viral communities in marine-terrestrial ecotone and will improve our understanding of the ecological functions of soil viruses.

  2. Is China Different?

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Ljungwall, Christer; Tingvall, Patrik Gustavsson

    In this paper we examine whether China has benefited more from spending on R&D than other countries by conducting a meta-analysis of the relevant literature on a large number of countries at different stages of economic development. The results suggest that the growth-enhancing effect of R......&D spending in China has been significantly weaker than that of other countries. It is thus unlikely that R&D spending has been successful as a key contributing factor to economic growth in China....

  3. Is China Different?

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Ljungwall, Christer; Tingvall, Patrik Gustavsson

    2015-01-01

    In this paper we examine whether China has benefited more from spending on R&D than other countries by conducting a meta-analysis of the relevant literature on a large number of countries at different stages of economic development. The results suggest that the growth-enhancing effect of R......&D spending in China has been significantly weaker than that of other countries. It is thus unlikely that R&D spending has been successful as a key contributing factor to economic growth in China....

  4. Ageing in rural China: impacts of increasing diversity in family and community resources.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Joseph, A E; Phillips, D R

    1999-06-01

    The majority of China's population lives in rural areas and a pattern is emerging of very uneven provision of support for rural elderly people. Local economic conditions and broad demographic trends are creating diversity in the ability both of rural families to care for their elderly kin and in the capacity of communities to support their elderly residents and family carers. In part as a consequence of China's population policy and the 'one-child policy', future Chinese families will have fewer members and be 'older', but they will continue to be regarded emotionally and in policy as the main source of economic and social support for the elderly. The increasing involvement of women in the paid workforce and the changing geographical distribution of family members resulting from work-related migration, are reducing the ability of families to care for their elderly relatives. The availability of resources other than the family for the care of older persons therefore becomes a key issue. Communities in more prosperous, modernising rural areas are often able to provide their elderly residents with welfare and social benefits previously found almost exclusively in urban areas. However, in poorly developed rural areas, provision is either very patchy or non-existent and the local economy cannot support expansion or improvement. A case study in Zhejiang Province illustrates the favourable provision for ageing in a prosperous modernising rural community, in which entitled elderly residents are provided with an impressive array of financial and social benefits. The paper concludes with a consideration of the policy implications of the growing differentiation of the social and economic capacity of rural communities to support their elderly members.

  5. Genetic diversity and population structure of Chinese honeybees ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Genetic diversity and population structure of Chinese honeybees (Apis cerana) under microsatellite markers. T Ji, L Yin, G Chen. Abstract. Using 21 microsatellite markers and PCR method, the polymorphisms of 20 Apis cerana honeybee populations across China was investigated and the genetic structure and diversity of ...

  6. Functional diversity changes during tropical forest succession.

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Lohbeck, M.W.M.; Poorter, L.; Paz, H.; Breugel, van M.; Martinez-Ramos, M.; Bongers, F.

    2012-01-01

    Functional diversity (FD) ‘those components of biodiversity that influence how an ecosystem operates or functions’ is a promising tool to assess the effect of biodiversity loss on ecosystem functioning. FD has received ample theoretical attention, but empirical studies are limited. We evaluate

  7. Population structure and diversity of citrus tristeza virus (CTV) isolates in Hunan province, China.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xiao, Cui; Yao, Run-Xian; Li, Fang; Dai, Su-Ming; Licciardello, Grazia; Catara, Antonino; Gentile, Alessandra; Deng, Zi-Niu

    2017-02-01

    Stem-pitting (SP) is the main type of citrus tristeza virus (CTV) that causes severe damage to citrus trees, especially those of sweet orange, in Hunan province, China. Understanding the local CTV population structure should provide clues for effective mild strain cross-protection (MSCP) of the SP strain of CTV. In this study, markers for the p23 gene, multiple molecular markers (MMMs), and sequence analysis of the three silencing suppressor genes (p20, p23 and p25) were employed to analyze the genetic diversity and genotype composition of the CTV population based on 51 CTV-positive samples collected from 14 citrus orchards scattered around six major citrus-growing areas of Hunan. The results indicated that the CTV population structure was extremely complex and that infection was highly mixed. In total, p23 gene markers resulted in six profiles, and MMMs demonstrated 25 profiles. The severe VT and T3 types appeared to be predominantly associated with SP, while the mild T30 and RB types were related to asymptomatic samples. Based on phylogenetic analysis of the amino acid sequences of p20, p23 and p25, 19 representative CTV samples were classified into seven recently established CTV groups and a potentially novel one. A high level of genetic diversity, as well as potential recombination, was revealed among different CTV isolates. Five pure SP severe and two pure mild strains were identified by genotype composition analysis. Taken together, the results update the genetic diversity of CTV in Hunan with the detection of one possible novel strain, and this information might be applicable for the selection of appropriate mild CTV strains for controlling citrus SP disease through cross-protection.

  8. Microbial eukaryotic diversity and distribution in a river plume and cyclonic eddy-influenced ecosystem in the South China Sea.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wu, Wenxue; Wang, Lei; Liao, Yu; Huang, Bangqin

    2015-10-01

    To evaluate microbial eukaryotic diversity and distribution in mesoscale processes, we investigated 18S rDNA diversity in a river plume and cyclonic eddy-influenced ecosystem in the southwestern South China Sea (SCS). Restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis was carried out using multiple primer sets. Relative to a wide range of previous similar studies, we observed a significantly higher proportion of sequences of pigmented taxa. Among the photosynthetic groups, Haptophyta accounted for 27.7% of the sequenced clones, which belonged primarily to Prymnesiophyceae. Unexpectedly, five operational taxonomic units of Cryptophyta were closely related to freshwater species. The Chlorophyta mostly fell within the Prasinophyceae, which was comprised of six clades, including Clade III, which is detected in the SCS for the first time in this study. Among the photosynthetic stramenopiles, Chrysophyceae was the most diverse taxon, which included seven clades. The majority of 18S rDNA sequences affiliated with the Dictyochophyceae, Eustigmatophyceae, and Pelagophyceae were closely related to those of pure cultures. The results of redundancy analysis and the permutation Mantel test based on unweighted UniFrac distances, conducted for spatial analyses of the Haptophyta subclades suggested that the Mekong River plume and cyclonic eddy play important roles in regulating microbial eukaryotic diversity and distribution in the southwestern SCS. © 2015 The Authors. MicrobiologyOpen published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  9. Contingencies for Success: Examining Diversity Committees in Higher Education

    Science.gov (United States)

    Leon, Raul A.; Williams, Damon A.

    2016-01-01

    This study focused on an examination of the work of 10 diversity committees operating in 10 research institutions across the midwestern region of the United States. We explored the work of these committees with a focus on the concept of strategic diversity leadership. To conduct this examination we examined five contingencies impacting the work of…

  10. Different Regions, Diverse Classrooms? a Study of Primary Classrooms in China

    Science.gov (United States)

    McNaught, Carmel; Lok, Beatrice; Yin, Hongbiao; Lee, John Chi-Kin; Song, Huan

    2014-01-01

    Classroom experience is shaped by a number of factors. In this paper, we report a classroom observation study in China, illustrating regional variation in students' classroom learning experiences. Through comparing and contrasting observed classroom practices in three different regions in China (Chongqing, Hong Kong and Shanghai), the paper…

  11. Diversity and evolution of avian influenza viruses in live poultry markets, free-range poultry and wild wetland birds in China.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Liang-Jun; Lin, Xian-Dan; Guo, Wen-Ping; Tian, Jun-Hua; Wang, Wen; Ying, Xu-Hua; Wang, Miao-Ruo; Yu, Bin; Yang, Zhan-Qiu; Shi, Mang; Holmes, Edward C; Zhang, Yong-Zhen

    2016-04-01

    The wide circulation of novel avian influenza viruses (AIVs) highlights the risk of pandemic influenza emergence in China. To investigate the prevalence and genetic diversity of AIVs in different ecological contexts, we surveyed AIVs in live poultry markets (LPMs), free-range poultry and the wetland habitats of wild birds in Zhejiang and Hubei provinces. Notably, LPMs contained the highest frequency of AIV infection, and the greatest number of subtypes (n = 9) and subtype co-infections (n = 14), as well as frequent reassortment, suggesting that they play an active role in fuelling AIV transmission. AIV-positive samples were also identified in wild birds in both provinces and free-range poultry in one sampling site close to a wetland region in Hubei. H9N2, H7N9 and H5N1 were the most commonly sampled subtypes in the LPMs from Zhejiang, whilst H5N6 and H9N2 were the dominant subtypes in the LPMs from Hubei. Phylogenetic analyses of the whole-genome sequences of 43 AIVs revealed that three reassortant H5 subtypes were circulating in LMPs in both geographical regions. Notably, the viruses sampled from the wetland regions and free-range poultry contained complex reassortants, for which the origins of some segments were unclear. Overall, our study highlights the extent of AIV genetic diversity in two highly populated parts of central and south-eastern China, particularly in LPMs, and emphasizes the need for continual surveillance.

  12. Impact of Text-Mining and Imitating Strategies on Lexical Richness, Lexical Diversity and General Success in Second Language Writing

    Science.gov (United States)

    Çepni, Sevcan Bayraktar; Demirel, Elif Tokdemir

    2016-01-01

    This study aimed to find out the impact of "text mining and imitating" strategies on lexical richness, lexical diversity and general success of students in their compositions in second language writing. The participants were 98 students studying their first year in Karadeniz Technical University in English Language and Literature…

  13. Genetic diversity and relationship of global faba bean (Vicia faba L.) germplasm revealed by ISSR markers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Hai-Fei; Zong, Xu-Xiao; Guan, Jian-Ping; Yang, Tao; Sun, Xue-Lian; Ma, Yu; Redden, Robert

    2012-03-01

    Genetic diversity and relationships of 802 faba bean (Vicia faba L.) landraces and varieties from different geographical locations of China and abroad were examined using ISSR markers. A total of 212 repeatable amplified bands were generated with 11 ISSR primers, of which 209 were polymorphic. Accessions from North China showed highest genetic diversity, while accessions from central China showed low level of diversity. Chinese spring faba bean germplasm was clearly separated from Chinese winter faba bean, based on principal component analysis and UPGMA clustering analysis. Winter accessions from Zhejiang (East China), Jiangxi (East China), Sichuan (Southwest China) and Guizhou (Southwest China) were quite distinct to that from other provinces in China. Great differentiation between Chinese accessions and those from rest of the world was shown with a UPGMA dendrogram. AMOVA analyses demonstrated large variation and differentiation within and among groups of accessions from China. As a continental geographic group, accessions from Europe were genetically closer to those from North Africa. Based on ISSR data, grouping results of accessions from Asia, Europe and Africa were obviously associated with their geographical origin. The overall results indicated that the genetic relationship of faba bean germplasm was closely associated with their geographical origin and their ecological habit.

  14. Holocene Vegetation Succession and Response to Climate Change on the South Bank of the Heilongjiang-Amur River, Mohe County, Northeast China

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Chao Zhao

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available Pollen samples from peat sediments on the south bank of the Heilongjiang River in northern Northeast China (NE China were analyzed to reconstruct the historical response of vegetation to climate change since 7800 cal yr BP. Vegetation was found to have experienced five successions from cold-temperate mixed coniferous and broadleaved forest to forest-steppe, steppe-woodland, steppe, and finally meadow-woodland. From 7800 to 7300 cal yr BP, the study area was warmer than present, and Betula, Larix, and Picea-dominated mixed coniferous and broadleaved forests thrived. Two cooling events at 7300 cal yr BP and 4500 cal yr BP led to a decrease in Betula and other broadleaved forests, whereas herbs of Poaceae expanded, leading to forest-steppe and then steppe-woodland environments. After 2500 cal yr BP, reduced temperatures and a decrease in evaporation rates are likely to have resulted in permafrost expansion and surface ponding, with meadow and isolated coniferous forests developing a resistance to the cold-wet environment. The Holocene warm period in NE China (7800–7300 cal yr BP could have resulted in a strengthening of precipitation in northernmost NE China and encouraged the development of broadleaved forests.

  15. Effective policies for renewable energy - the example of China's wind power - lessons for China's photovoltaic power

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wang, Qiang

    2010-01-01

    China, one of the global biggest emitter of CO 2 , needs promotion renewable energy to reduce air pollution from its surging fossil fuel use, and to increase its energy supply security. Renewable energy in its infancy needs policy support and market cultivation. Wind power installed capacity has boomed in recent year in China, as a series of effective support policies were adopted. In this paper, I review the main renewable energy policies regarding to China's wind power, including the Wind Power Concession Program, Renewable Energy Law, and a couple of additional laws and regulations. Such policies have effectively reduced the cost of wind power installed capacity, stimulated the localization of wind power manufacture, and driven the company investment in wind power. China is success in wind power installed capacity, however, success in wind-generated electricity has yet achieved, mainly due to the backward grid system and lack of quota system. The paper ends with the recommended best practice of the China's wind power installed capacity might be transferable to China's photovoltaic power generation. (author)

  16. Taxonomic and phylogenetic diversity of vascular plants at Ma'anling volcano urban park in tropical Haikou, China: Reponses to soil properties.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cheng, Xia-Lan; Yuan, Lang-Xing; Nizamani, Mir Mohammad; Zhu, Zhi-Xin; Friedman, Cynthia Ross; Wang, Hua-Feng

    2018-01-01

    Anthropogenic processes and socio-economic factors play important roles in shaping plant diversity in urban parks. To investigate how plant diversity of Ma' anling urban volcano park in Hainan Province, China respond to these factors, we carried out a field investigation on the taxonomic and phylogenetic diversity of vascular plants and soil properties in this area. We found 284 species of vascular plants belonging to 88 families and 241 genera, which included 194 native species, 23 invasive species, 31 naturalized species, 40 cultivars, and 4 rare / endangered plant species. Tree composition and richness significantly varied between different vegetation formations (plantation, secondary forest, and abandoned land). Plant species richness and community composition were significantly affected by elevation (El), soil water content (WC), total soil nitrogen (TN) and soil organic matter (SOM). There were significant diversity differences between plantations and abandoned lands, but not between the plantations and secondary forests. The flora in the study site was tropical in nature, characterized by pantropic distributions. Compared to adjacent areas, floristic composition in the study site was most similar to that of Guangdong, followed by that of Vietnam. Our study revealed the diversity patterns of volcanic plants and provided the basis for future planning of plant conservation, such as preserving plant species, maintaining plant habitats, and coordinating plant management in this region.

  17. High diversity of nitrogen-fixing bacteria in upper reaches of Heihe River, Northwestern China

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tai, X. S.; Mao, W. L.; Liu, G. X.; Chen, T.; Zhang, W.; Wu, X. K.; Long, H. Z.; Zhang, B. G.

    2013-03-01

    Vegetation plays a key role to water conservation in southern Qilian Mountains (Northwestern China), the upper reaches of Heihe River. Nitrogen-fixing bacteria are crucial for vegetation protection because they can supply plants with nitrogen source. Nevertheless, little is known about nitrogen-fixing bacteria in this region. In present study, nifH gene clone libraries were established for detecting the difference of nitrogen-fixing bacterial communities between Potentilla parvifolia shrub and Carex alrofusca meadow in the southern Qilian Mountains. All the identified nitrogen-fixing bacterial clones belonged to Proteobacteria. At the genus level, the Azospirillum sp. was only detected in shrub soil while Thiocapsa sp., Derxiasp., Ectothiorhodospira sp., Mesorhizobium sp., Klebsiella sp., Ensifer sp., Methylocella sp. and Peseudomonas sp. were just detected in meadow soil. Shannon-Wiener index of nifH gene ranged from 1.5 to 2.8 and was higher in meadow soil than shrub soil. Contrarily, the nifH gene copies and CFUs of cultured nitrogen-fixing bacteria ranged from 0.4 × 107 to 6.9 × 107 copies g-1 soil and 0.97 × 106 to 12.78 × 106 g-1 soil, respectively. Furthermore, both of them were lower in meadow soil than shrub soil. Statistical analysis revealed that diversity and copies of nifH gene mostly correlated with aboveground biomass in shrub soil. In meadow soil, nifH gene diversity was principally affected by altitude while copies did by soil available K.

  18. Should Exotic Eucalyptus be Planted in Subtropical China: Insights from Understory Plant Diversity in Two Contrasting Eucalyptus Chronosequences.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wu, Jianping; Fan, Houbao; Liu, Wenfei; Huang, Guomin; Tang, Jianfu; Zeng, Ruijin; Huang, Jing; Liu, Zhanfeng

    2015-11-01

    Although Eucalyptus is widely planted in South China, whose effects on native biodiversity are unclear. The objective of this study was to quantify the richness and composition of understory plants in two contrasting Eucalyptus chronosequences in South China. One was in Zhangzhou City with plantation age of 2, 4, and 6 years after clear-cutting Chinese fir forests, while the other was in Heshan City with plantation age of 2, 3, and 24 years that reforested on barren lands. Results showed that the richness of understory plants and functional groups was not significantly altered in the Zhangzhou chronosequence, while increased in the 24-year-old plantations, with a significantly larger proportion of woody plants than the younger plantations for the Heshan chronosequence. Moreover, a higher richness of woody plants accompanied by a lower richness of herbaceous species was detected in the Zhangzhou chronosequence compared with the Heshan one. To balance the need for pulp production and plant diversity conservation, we suggest that intercropping approaches between exotic Eucalyptus plantations and native forests should be considered in the fast rotation Eucalyptus plantations. However, Eucalyptus plantations may be used as pioneer species to sustain ecosystem functioning for the degraded lands.

  19. Scenarios of land cover in China

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yue, Tian Xiang; Fan, Ze Meng; Liu, Ji Yuan

    2007-02-01

    A method for surface modeling of land cover change (SMLC) is developed on the basis of establishing transition probability matrixes between land cover types and HLZ types. SMLC is used to simulate land cover scenarios of China for the years 2039, 2069 and 2099, for which HLZ scenarios are first simulated in terms of HadCM3 climatic scenarios that are downscaled in zonal model of spatial climate change in China. This paper also analyzes spatial distribution of land cover types, area change and mean center shift of each land cover type, ecotope diversity, and patch connectivity under the land cover scenarios. The results show that cultivated land would decrease and woodland would expand greatly with climatic change, which coincides with consequences expected by implementation of Grain-for-Green policy. Nival area would shrink, and desertification area would expand at a comparatively slow rate in future 100 years. Climate change would generally cause less ecotope diversity and more patch connectivity. Ecosystems in China would have a pattern of beneficial cycle after efficient ecological conservation and restoration. However, if human activities would exceed regulation capacity of ecosystems themselves, the ecosystems in China might deteriorate more seriously.

  20. Prevalence and Genetic Diversity of Enterococcus faecalis Isolates from Mineral Water and Spring Water in China

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lei Wei

    2017-06-01

    Full Text Available Enterococcus faecalis is an important opportunistic pathogen which is frequently detected in mineral water and spring water for human consumption and causes human urinary tract infections, endocarditis and neonatal sepsis. The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence, virulence genes, antimicrobial resistance and genetic diversity of E. faecalis from mineral water and spring water in China. Of 314 water samples collected from January 2013 to January 2014, 48 samples (15.3% were contaminated E. faecalis. The highest contamination rate occurred in activated carbon filtered water of spring water (34.5%, followed by source water of spring water (32.3% and source water of mineral water (6.4%. The virulence gene test of 58 E. faecalis isolates showed that the detection rates of asa1, ace, cylA, gelE and hyl were 79.3, 39.7, 0, 100, 0%, respectively. All 58 E. faecalis isolates were not resistant to 12 kinds of antibiotics (penicillin, ampicillin, linezolid, quinupristin/dalfopristin, vancomycin, gentamicin, streptomycin, ciprofloxacin, levofloxacin, norfloxacin, nitrofurantoin, and tetracycline. Enterobacterial repetitive intergenic consensus-PCR classified 58 isolates and three reference strains into nine clusters with a similarity of 75%. This study is the first to investigate the prevalence of E. faecalis in mineral water and spring water in China. The results of this study suggested that spring water could be potential vehicles for transmission of E. faecalis.

  1. Assessing China's Relations with Africa

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    chifaou.amzat

    2013-10-15

    Oct 15, 2013 ... of dollars in aid to the country as an incentive to do so. By January ... China has followed up this diplomatic success over Taiwan with cooperation .... Gono, in a meeting with the deputy governor of the People's Bank of China,.

  2. A comparison of the radioactivity levels in the coastal waters between the great wall and Zhongshan stations in Antarctica and the Pohai, Huanghai, east China and south China seas of China

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chen Jinxing

    1992-01-01

    A comparison of radioactivity levels in the coastal sediments and plants between the Great Wall and Zhongshan Stations in Antarctica and the four seas (i.e. the Pohai Sea, Huanghai Sea, East China Sea and South China Sea) in China shows that in general the radioactivity levels in the coastal sediments and plants in Antarctica are lower than those in the four seas in China. The contents of the total β in the sediments decrease from higher to lower in amount in the order of East China Sea, South China Sea, Pohai Sea, Huanghai Sea and the Great Wall Bay in Antarctica successively, but the contents of 238 U, 232 Th, 226 Ra, 40 K and the total β in marine plants decrease from higher to lower in amount in the order of Daya Bay in the South China Sea, Hanzhou Bay in the East China Sea and the Great Wall Bay in Antarctica successively. The results show that the contamination levels of radioactivity, especially the artificial radioactive contamination in the Antarctic coastal area are far lower than those in China Coastal area, with the remarkable exception of 137 Cs

  3. Fish assemblages and diversity in three tributaries of the Irrawaddy River in China: changes, threats and conservation perspectives

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yang M.-L.

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available Incompletely known fish assemblages and species diversity are substantial obstacles in fish conservation, particularly when their aquatic habitats are under threat due to rapid human-induced changes. Fish assemblages and diversity in three tributaries of the upper Irrawaddy River in China (the Dulong, Daying and Ruili rivers were examined based on field collections and literature resources. The newly compiled fish assemblage recorded 85 species (in 8 orders, 20 families and 51 genera distributed in the upper Irrawaddy. The fish compositions in the Daying (67 species, 44 genera, 19 families, 7 orders and Ruili rivers (65 species, 44 genera, 19 families, 8 orders were more similar to each other and more speciose than that in the Dulong River (14 species, 10 genera, 4 families, 3 orders. Two indices of taxonomic diversity (the average taxonomic distinctness (Δ+, and the variation in taxonomic distinctness (Λ+ were used to discriminate four collections spanning a ten-year period. A decrease in taxonomic diversity and an increase in unevenness of the fish assemblages were found in both the Daying River and Ruili rivers, which indicated that the impacts were accumulated gradually during this decade, when dams and the spread of non-native species were major threats. Comparatively speaking, the Dulong River is still in a near-natural state, and thus the fish community has experienced less disturbance. In situ conservation (nature reserves and tributary protection and ex situ conservation (artificial propagation and release should be combined and managed to promote fish conservation in the future.

  4. [Responses of functional diversity of aquatic insect community to land use change in middle reach of Qiantang River, East China].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Lian-Bo; Liu, Dong-Xiao; Liu, Shuo-Ru; Zhang, Yong; Tong, Xiao-Li; Wang, Bei-Xin

    2013-10-01

    Based on the biological traits such as life history, resistance ability against environmental disturbance, and physiological characteristics of aquatic insects, and by using the fourth-corner statistical method, this paper studied the responses of the functional diversity of aquatic insect community to land use change in the middle reach of Qiantang River, Zhejiang Province of East China. For the test aquatic insect community, some of its biological traits were sensitive to land use change, and altered along human disturbance gradients as expected. With the increasing intensity of human disturbance, the maximal insect body length decreased gradually, the dominant respiration pattern evolved from gill respiration to tegument respiration, and the abundance of burrowers increased significantly. At the same time, the functional diversity measured as Rao's quadratic entropy was significantly higher in reference sites than in disturbed sites (P aquatic community were mainly induced by the land use change caused by human activities, which resulted in the decline of stream water quality and habitat quality and the variations of aquatic insect community composition and biological traits. The aquatic insect biological traits and functional diversity could be the potentially effective indicators in the stream health assessment in the future.

  5. Killer cell immunoglobulin-like receptor gene diversity in the Tibetan ethnic minority group of China.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhu, Bo-feng; Wang, Hong-dan; Shen, Chun-mei; Deng, Ya-jun; Yang, Guang; Wu, Qing-ju; Xu, Peng; Qin, Hai-xia; Fan, Shuan-liang; Huang, Ping; Deng, Li-bin; Lucas, Rudolf; Wang, Zhen-Yuan

    2010-11-01

    The aim of this study was to analyze killer immunoglobulin-like receptor (KIR) gene polymorphisms in the Tibetan ethnic minority of China. To that purpose, we have studied KIR gene frequencies and genotype diversities of 16 KIR genes and three pseudogenes (2DL1, 2DL2, 2DL3, 2DL4, 2DL5A, 2DL5B, 2DS1, 2DS2, 2DS3, 2DS4*001/002, 2DS4*003-007, 2DS5, 3DL1, 3DL2, 3DL3, 3DS1, 2DP1, 3DP1*001/002/004, and 3DP1*003) in a population sample of 102 unrelated healthy individuals of the Tibetan population living in Lhasa city, Tibet Autonomous Region of China. Tibetans mainly live in "the roof of the world," the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau of China and surrounding areas stretching from central Asia in the North and West to Myanmar and mainland China in the East, and India, Nepal, and Bhutan to the south. KIR gene frequencies and statistical parameters of Tibetan ethnic minority were calculated. Fifteen KIR genes were observed in the 102 tested Tibetan individuals with different frequencies. The allelic frequencies of the 15 KIR genes ranged from 0.06 to 0.86. In addition, KIR 2DL1, 2DL4, 3DL2, and 3DL3 were found to be present in every individual. Variable gene content, together with allelic polymorphisms, can result in individualized human KIR genotypes and haplotypes, with the A haplotypes being predominantly observed. The results of tested linkage disequilibrium (LD) among KIR genes demonstrated that KIR genes present a wide range of linkage disequilibrium. Moreover, a comparison of the population data of our study with previously published population data of other ethnic groups or areas was performed. The differences of allelic frequency distribution in KIR2DL2, 2DL3, 2DL5, 3DL1, 2DS1, 2DS2, 2DS3, 3DS1, and 2DP1 were statistically significant among different populations using the statistical method of the standard χ(2) test. In conclusion, the results of the present study can be valuable for enriching the Chinese ethnical gene information resources of the KIR gene pool and for

  6. Fertilizer regime impacts on abundance and diversity of soil fauna across a poplar plantation chronosequence in coastal Eastern China.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Shaojun; Chen, Han Y H; Tan, Yan; Fan, Huan; Ruan, Honghua

    2016-02-09

    Soil fauna are critical for ecosystem function and sensitive to the changes of soil fertility. The effects of fertilization on soil fauna communities, however, remain poorly understood. We examined the effects of fertilization form and quantity on the abundance, diversity and composition of soil fauna across an age-sequence of poplar plantations (i.e., 4-, 9- and 20-yr-old) in the coastal region of eastern China. We found that the effects of fertilization on faunal abundance, diversity, and composition differed among stand ages. Organic fertilizers increased the total abundance of soil fauna, whereas low level inorganic fertilizers imparted increases only in the 4- and 9-yr-old stands. The number of faunal groups did not change with fertilization, but Shannon's and Margalef diversity indices increased under low level organic fertilization, and decreased under inorganic fertilization in the 9- and 20-yr-old stands. Community composition of soil fauna differed strongly with fertilization and stand age. The changes in soil fauna were strongly associated with the changes in microbial biomass carbon, dissolved organic carbon and nitrogen, and available phosphorus and potassium. Our findings suggest that the responses of soil fauna to fertilization may be mediated through the fertilization effects on soil nutrient availability.

  7. Use of a culture independent method to analyze the diversity of soil fungi surrounding Chroogomphus rutilus in the Beijing region of China

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Liu, Yu; Wang, Shouxian; Yin, Yonggang

    2012-01-01

    habitat to facilitate its large-scale cultivation. A culture-independent molecular approach—a powerful technology for microbiological ecology studies—was used to investigate the diversity of soil fungal communities in samples surrounding C. rutilus from the Beijing region of China. Metagenomic DNA...... was isolated from soil samples collected around C. rutilus, and an internal transcribed spacer (ITS) gene library was constructed. Subsequently, polymerase chain reaction products were digested with HinfI, HaeIII, MspI, TaqI, or MboI. Clones were selected and sequenced based on their restriction fragment...... length polymorphisms. The diversity of the fungi represented by their ITS sequences was analyzed. Our results indicate the presence of numerous fungi in the C. rutilus habitat. This study is the first demonstration of the fungal ecology surrounding C. rutilus using a culture independent method...

  8. Novel coronaviruses, astroviruses, adenoviruses and circoviruses in insectivorous bats from northern China.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Han, H-J; Wen, H-L; Zhao, L; Liu, J-W; Luo, L-M; Zhou, C-M; Qin, X-R; Zhu, Y-L; Liu, M-M; Qi, R; Li, W-Q; Yu, H; Yu, X-J

    2017-12-01

    Bats are considered as the reservoirs of several emerging infectious disease, and novel viruses are continually found in bats all around the world. Studies conducted in southern China found that bats carried a variety of viruses. However, few studies have been conducted on bats in northern China, which harbours a diversity of endemic insectivorous bats. It is important to understand the prevalence and diversity of viruses circulating in bats in northern China. In this study, a total of 145 insectivorous bats representing six species were collected from northern China and screened with degenerate primers for viruses belonging to six families, including coronaviruses, astroviruses, hantaviruses, paramyxoviruses, adenoviruses and circoviruses. Our study found that four of the viruses screened for were positive and the overall detection rates for astroviruses, coronaviruses, adenoviruses and circoviruses in bats were 21.4%, 15.9%, 20% and 37.2%, respectively. In addition, we found that bats in northern China harboured a diversity of novel viruses. Common Serotine (Eptesicus serotinu), Fringed long-footed Myotis (Myotis fimriatus) and Peking Myotis (Myotis pequinius) were investigated in China for the first time. Our study provided new information on the ecology and phylogeny of bat-borne viruses. © 2017 The Authors. Zoonoses and Public Health Published by Blackwell Verlag GmbH.

  9. Genetic diversity of Haemonchus contortus isolated from sympatric wild blue sheep (Pseudois nayaur) and sheep in Helan Mountains, China.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shen, Dong-Dong; Wang, Ji-Fei; Zhang, Dan-Yu; Peng, Zhi-Wei; Yang, Tian-Yun; Wang, Zhao-Ding; Bowman, Dwight D; Hou, Zhi-Jun; Liu, Zhen-Sheng

    2017-09-19

    Haemonchus contortus is known among parasitic nematodes as one of the major veterinary pathogens of small ruminants and results in great economic losses worldwide. Human activities, such as the sympatric grazing of wild with domestic animals, may place susceptible wildlife hosts at risk of increased prevalence and infection intensity with this common small ruminant parasite. Studies on phylogenetic factors of H. contortus should assist in defining the amount of the impact of anthropogenic factors on the extent of sharing of agents such as this nematode between domestic animals and wildlife. H. contortus specimens (n = 57) were isolated from wild blue sheep (Pseudois nayaur) inhabiting Helan Mountains (HM), China and additional H. contortus specimens (n = 20) were isolated from domestic sheep that were grazed near the natural habitat of the blue sheep. Complete ITS2 (second internal transcribed spacer) sequences and partial sequences of the nad4 (nicotinamide dehydrogenase subunit 4 gene) gene were amplified to determine the sequence variations and population genetic diversities between these two populations. Also, 142 nad4 haplotype sequences of H. contortus from seven other geographical regions of China were retrieved from database to further examine the H. contortus population structure. Sequence analysis revealed 10 genotypes (ITS2) and 73 haplotypes (nad4) among the 77 specimens, with nucleotide diversities of 0.007 and 0.021, respectively, similar to previous studies in other countries, such as Pakistan, Malaysia and Yemen. Phylogenetic analyses (BI, MP, NJ) of nad4 sequences showed that there were no noticeable boundaries among H. contortus populations from different geographical origin and population genetic analyses revealed that most of the variation (94.21%) occurred within H. contortus populations. All phylogenetic analyses indicated that there was little genetic differentiation but a high degree of gene flow among the H. contortus populations among

  10. Low Mitochondrial DNA Diversity in an Ancient Population from China: Insight into Social Organization at the Fujia Site.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dong, Yu; Li, Chunxiang; Luan, Fengshi; Li, Zhenguang; Li, Hongjie; Cui, Yinqiu; Zhou, Hui; Malhi, Ripan S

    2015-01-01

    To gain insight into the social organization of a population associated with the Dawenkou period, we performed ancient DNA analysis of 18 individuals from human remains from the Fujia site in Shandong Province, China. Directly radiocarbon dated to 4800-4500 cal BP, the Fujia site is assumed to be associated with a transitional phase from matrilineal clans to patrilineal monogamous families. Our results reveal a low mitochondrial DNA diversity from the site and population. Combined with Y chromosome data, the pattern observed at the Fujia site is most consistent with a matrilineal community. The patterns also suggest that the bond of marriage was de-emphasized compared with the bonds of descent at Fujia.

  11. Habitat structure and diversity influence the nesting success of an endangered large cavity-nesting bird, the Southern Ground-hornbill

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Leigh Combrink

    2017-11-01

    Full Text Available Habitat features can have a profound effect on the nesting success of birds. Savannas are often managed with predators and large herbivores as priority species, with little thought to the many bird species that management decisions could affect. Using a data set spanning seven breeding seasons, we examined how nesting success of Southern Ground-hornbills (SGHs Bucorvus leadbeateri in the Kruger National Park varied as a result of various environmental and habitat factors within a radius of 3 km surrounding the nest site. Identifying which factors affect nesting success will allow for targeted management efforts to ensure the long-term survival of SGHs both within and outside of protected areas. Habitat structure and diversity of the vegetation surrounding the nest were the most influential factors on SGH nesting success. SGHs require open grassy areas for foraging and areas with large trees for nesting. Savanna habitat drivers such as elephants and fire should be managed to ensure that sufficient large trees are able to establish in the landscape and to control for bush encroachment. This is especially important in areas earmarked for SGH reintroductions. Nest sites of SGHs should be monitored to mitigate any structural changes in the habitat surrounding the nests. Nests should be modified or artificial nest sites provided, where nests have been damaged or lost, to ensure the continued presence of these birds in African savannas. Conservation implications: Habitat structure and diversity surrounding Southern Groundhornbill nests has a significant impact on their nesting success. This highlights the importance of monitoring vegetation change in savanna habitats where they occur. Management of savanna areas should take factors that influence bush encroachment, such as fire and elephants, into account to ensure the long-term persistence of these birds.

  12. The impact of self-concept and college involvement on the first-year success of medical students in China.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhou, Ying-Xue; Ou, Chun-Quan; Zhao, Zhi-Tao; Wan, Cheng-Song; Guo, Cui; Li, Li; Chen, Ping-Yan

    2015-03-01

    Students' first-year academic success plays a critical role on their overall development in college, which implies the need to concentrate on identifying ways to improve students' first-year academic success. Different from most research on the subject, this study attempted to combine the sociological perspective of college impact with a psychological perspective to synthetically explore the causal relationship of specific types of self-concept and college involvement with academic success of medical students. A longitudinal study was conducted using 519 matriculates at a medical university in mainland China. We conducted the Cooperative Institutional Research Program freshmen survey and the Your First College Year survey to collect data of the pre-college and college academic and social self-concept, college involvement components, and some input characteristics. The academic success was measured by the first-year grade point average. A pathway analysis was conducted and showed the following results. Having high academic self-concept, being engaged in class and putting effort in homework or study directly contributes to increasing college achievement. Students' pre-college achievement and self-concept, faculty interaction, and homework involvement positively affected students' college academic self-concept development, which indirectly improved average grade point. These findings contribute to our understanding of a student's ability to interact with his or her collegiate environment and to experience academic success.

  13. Evaluation of essential oil composition and DNA diversity of mint ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    use

    2011-11-23

    Nov 23, 2011 ... Full Length Research Paper. Evaluation of essential oil composition and DNA diversity of mint resources from China. Chen Xiao Hua, G. R. Wang and Yao Lei*. Aromatic Plant R&D Centre, School of Agriculture and Biology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University Shanghai 200240, China. Accepted 19 September ...

  14. Diversity of symbiotic algae of the genus Symbiodinium in scleractinian corals of the Xisha Islands in the South China Sea

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    Zhi-Jun DONG; Hui HUANG; Liang-Min HUANG; Yuan-Chao LI

    2009-01-01

    Symbiotic algae (Symbiodinium sp.) in scleractinian corals are important in understanding how coral reefs will respond to global climate change. The present paper reports on the diversity of Symbiodinium sp. in 48 scleractinian coral species from 25 genera and 10 families sampled from the Xisha Islands in the South China Sea, which were identified with the use of restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) of the nuclear ribosomal DNA large subunit gene (rDNA). The results showed that: (i) Symbiodinium Clade C was the dominant zooxanthellae in scleractinian corals in the Xisha Islands; (ii) Symbiodinium Clade D was found in the corals Montipora aequituberculata, Galaxea fascicularis, and Plerogyra sinuosa; and (iii) both Symbiodinium Clades C and D were found simultaneously in Montipora digitata, Psammocora contigua, and Galaxeafascicularis. A poor capacity for symbiosis polymorphism, as uncovered by RFLP, in the Xisha Islands indicates that the scleractinian corals have low adaptability to environmental changes. Further studies are needed to investigate zooxanthellae diversity using other molecular markers.

  15. Phytoplankton diversity in the East China Sea and Yellow Sea measured by PCR-DGGE and its relationships with environmental factors

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sun, Jing; Yu, Zhigang; Gao, Yahui; Zhou, Qianqian; Zhen, Yu; Chen, Hongtao; Zhao, Liyuan; Yao, Qingzhen; Mi, Tiezhu

    2010-03-01

    Relationships between phytoplankton community composition and environmental variables in the East China Sea (ECS) and Yellow Sea (YS) were investigated using geochemical and molecular microbiology methods. The diversity of phytoplankton was characterized using cultivation-independent PCR-based denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE). Groups resulting from unweighted pair-group method with arithmetic averages clustering of the DGGE profiles showed good consistency with the eco-environmental characteristics of the sea area they belonged to. Additionally, the clustering results based on DGGE fingerprinting and those based on morphological compositions were practically identical. The relationship of phytoplankton diversity to environmental factors was statistically analyzed. Temperature, dissolved inorganic nitrogen (DIN), and silicate-Si were found significantly related to the phytoplankton community composition. Canonical correspondence analysis (CCA) was performed to reveal the relationship between community composition and these three environmental factors. Generally, values of the ECS are clearly separated from those of the YS in the CCA biplot, due to mainly the effect of temperature and DIN.

  16. Low Lactobacilli abundance and polymicrobial diversity in the lower reproductive tract of female rhesus monkeys do not compromise their reproductive success.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Amaral, Wellington Z; Lubach, Gabriele R; Kapoor, Amita; Proctor, Alexandra; Phillips, Gregory J; Lyte, Mark; Coe, Christopher L

    2017-10-01

    The lower reproductive tract of nonhuman primates is colonized with a diverse microbiota, resembling bacterial vaginosis (BV), a gynecological condition associated with negative reproductive outcomes in women. Our 4 aims were to: (i) assess the prevalence of low Lactobacilli and a BV-like profile in female rhesus monkeys; (ii) quantify cytokines in their cervicovaginal fluid (CVF); (iii) examine the composition and structure of their mucosal microbiota with culture-independent sequencing methods; and (iv) evaluate the potential influence on reproductive success. CVF specimens were obtained from 27 female rhesus monkeys for Gram's staining, and to determine acidity (pH), and quantify proinflammatory cytokines. Based on Nugent's classification, 40% had a score of 7 or higher, which would be indicative of BV in women. Nugent scores were significantly correlated with the pH of the CVF. Interleukin-1ß was present at high concentrations, but not further elevated by high Nugent scores. Vaginal swabs were obtained from eight additional females to determine microbial diversity by rRNA gene amplicon sequencing. At the phylum level, the Firmicutes/Bacteroidetes ratio was low. The relative abundance of Lactobacilli was also low (between 3% and 17%), and 11 other genera were present at >1%. However, neither the microbial diversity in the community structure, nor high Nugent scores, was associated with reduced fecundity. Female monkeys provide an opportunity to understand how reproductive success can be sustained in the presence of a diverse polymicrobial community in the reproductive tract. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  17. Prevalence and diversity of fish-borne zoonotic trematodes in tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) culture in Guangdong, China

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Li, Kang; Murrell, Kenneth Darwin; Clausen, Jesper Hedegaard

    The fishborne zoonotic trematode parasites (FZT) which cause liver and intestinal infections in humans are widespread in fish in Southeast Asia. Guangdong Province is the most important region for tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) culture in China, but it is also an endemic region for FZT. To assess...... the potential for FZT transmission in an area with high density of tilapia farms, wild-caught fish from local rivers and canals were bought at local markets. The wild-caught fish species included Hemiculter leucisculus (145), Rhodeus sinensis Gunther (10), Rasborinus lineatus (96), Squaliobarbus curriculus (6......), and Carassius auratus (4).The FZT species recovered were mainly Haplorchis taichui, and H. pumilio along with some unknown species whose identifications are still being determined. Subsequently a cross-sectional survey for the prevalence and diversity of FZT in tilapia culture systems was conducted in Guangdong...

  18. Assessment of genetic diversity among sixty bread wheat (Triticum ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Mwale

    2016-05-25

    May 25, 2016 ... the highest genetic diversity followed by genome B while genome D was the lowest diverse. Cluster ... and 95% of people in the developing countries eat wheat or maize in ... area for wheat production in China due to pressure from ...... hypertension in the stroke-prone spontaneously hypertensive rat. Cell.

  19. Principles and guidelines for diversity in teamwork

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Berman, M.; Crespin, G.; Garcia, L.R.; Jansma, R.; Lovato, L.; Randall, G.; Sanchez, A.

    1994-08-01

    As part of Sandia`s Corporate Diversity Program, a Diversity Action Team was assembled to study the impact of diversity on teamwork. We reviewed the available literature on successful teaming, both with homogeneous (more alike than different) and heterogeneous teams. Although many principles and guidelines for successful homogeneous teams also apply to diverse teams, we believe that a document concentrating on diverse teams will be useful both for Sandians and for the outside world.

  20. Population genetic diversity and structure analysis of wild apricot (Prunus armeniaca L.) revealed by ssr markers in the Tien-Shan mountains of China

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hu, X.; Ni, B.; Zheng, P.; Li, M.

    2018-01-01

    The simple sequence repeat markers were used to investigate the population genetic diversity and structure of 212 germplasm samples from 14 apricot (Prunus armeniaca) populations in the western of Tien-Shan Mountains, Sinkiang, China. The relatively high expected heterozygosity and Shannon's diversity index indicated the apricot populations maintained a high level of genetic diversity (He = 0.6109, I = 1.2208), with the population in Tuergen ditch of Xinyuan County having the highest genetic diversity index. A high level of intra-population genetic differentiation (91.51%) and a lower level of inter-population genetic differentiation were occurred, as well as a moderate but steady inter-population gene flow (Nm = 2.3735). The self-incompatible pattern, wide distribution, and long-distance pollen transmission via insects and gale are the main factors underlying the genetic variation structure. The UPGMA cluster analysis and genetic structure analysis showed that apricot germplasm could be divided into two or four groups, which was basically consistent with the geographic distribution pattern. The inter-population genetic distance and geographic distance showed a significant correlation (r = 0.2658, p<0.05). (author)

  1. ASEAN - China Free Trade Area : A quantitative study of Trade diversion and Trade creation effects on ASEAN - China trade flows

    OpenAIRE

    Duong Xuan, Vinh

    2011-01-01

    The Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN) and China have a long history of trading with each other. They are economic partners as well as competitors for many years. In order to push their economic relationship to a higher level, in November 2002, ASEAN and China signed the initial framework agreement, determined on establishing the ASEAN - China Free Trade Area (ACFTA) among the eleven countries by 2010 for the ASEAN-6 (Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand)...

  2. [Diversity of soil fauna in corn fields in Huang-Huai-Hai Plain of China under effects of conservation tillage].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhu, Qiang-Gen; Zhu, An-Ning; Zhang, Jia-Bao; Zhang, Huan-Chao; Huang, Ping; Zhang, Cong-Zhi

    2009-10-01

    An investigation was made on the abundance and diversity of soil fauna in the corn fields under conventional and conservation tillage in Huang-Huai-Hai Plain of China. The abundance and diversity of soil fauna were higher at corn maturing (September) than at its jointing stage (July), and higher at jointing stage under conservation tillage than under conventional tillage. Soil fauna mainly distributed in surface soil layer (0-10 cm), but still had a larger number in 10-20 cm layer under conservation tillage. The individuals of acari, diptera, diplura, and microdrile oligochaetes, especially those of acari, were higher under conservation tillage than under conventional tillage. At maturing stage, an obvious effect of straw-returning under conservation tillage was observed, i. e., the more the straw returned, the higher the abundance of soil fauna, among which, the individuals of collembola, acari, coleopteran, and psocoptera, especially those of collembolan, increased significantly. The abundance of collembola at both jointing and maturing stages was significantly positively correlated with the quantity of straw returned, suggesting that collembola played an important role in straw decomposition and nutrient cycling.

  3. History of protein crystallography in China

    OpenAIRE

    Rao, Zihe

    2007-01-01

    China has a strong background in X-ray crystallography dating back to the 1920s. Protein crystallography research in China was first developed following the successful synthesis of insulin in China in 1966. The subsequent determination of the three-dimensional structure of porcine insulin made China one of the few countries which could determine macromolecular structures by X-ray diffraction methods in the late 1960s and early 1970s. After a slow period during the 1970s and 1980s, protein cry...

  4. China's Nuclear Power Program: Options for the US

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Suttmeier, R.P.

    1985-01-01

    The issue of American nuclear cooperation with the People's Republic of China is examined with regards to political relations, commercial benefits to the United States, and nonproliferation. China's interest in nuclear power is examined, and its nuclear program is briefly reviewed from the 1950's to present. China's international nuclear relations with other countries are discussed, and implications for the United States examined, particularly with regards to China's intentions toward nuclear proliferation, danger of diversion of material for nuclear weapons, use of pressurized water reactor technology for Chinese naval reactors, and the terms of the nuclear cooperation agreement

  5. [Diversity and enzyme-producing activity of culturable halophilic bacteria in Daishan Saltern of East China].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yang, Dan-Dan; Li, Qian; Huang, Jing-Jing; Chen, Min

    2012-11-01

    Soil and saline water samples were collected from the Daishan Saltern of East China, and the halophilic bacteria were isolated and cultured by using selective media, aimed to investigate the diversity and enzyme-producing activity of culturable halophilic bacteria in saltern environment. A total of 181 strains were isolated by culture-dependent method. Specific primers were used to amplify the 16S rRNA gene of bacteria and archaea. The operation taxonomy units (OTUs) were determined by ARDRA method, and the representative strain of each OTU was sequenced. The phylogenetic position of all the isolated strains was determined by 16S rRNA sequencing. The results showed that the isolated 181 strains displayed 21 operational taxonomic units (OTUs), of which, 12 OTUs belonged to halophilic bacteria, and the others belonged to halophilic archaea. Phylogenetic analysis indicated that there were 7 genera presented among the halophilic bacteria group, and 4 genera presented among the halophilic archaea group. The dominant halophilic strains were of Halomonas and Haloarcula, with 46.8% in halophilic bacteria and 49.1% in halophilic archaea group, respectively. Enzyme-producing analysis indicated that most strains displayed enzyme-producing activity, including the activities of producing amylase, proteinase and lipase, and the dominant strains capable of enzyme-producing were of Haloarcula. Our results showed that in the environment of Daishan Saltern, there existed a higher diversity of halophilic bacteria, being a source sink for screening enzyme-producing bacterial strains.

  6. Genetic diversity of Ustilago scitaminea Syd. in Southern China ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    The polymorphism and similarity relationships among 35 mating-type isolates of Ustilago scitaminea collected from Southern China were determined with random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) and inter-simple sequence repeat (ISSR) analyses. These fungal isolates were collected from 16 sugarcane cultivars ...

  7. Understanding China’s Economic Success

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Li, Xing

    2016-01-01

    This study attempts to provide a framework for understanding the role of the “embeddedness” in China’s economic success reflected by a unique embedded integration of state-market-society relations. “Embeddedness with Chinese characteristics” is the central concept of this study for analyzing how...... cultural and political uniqueness influences economic activities and shapes distinctive institutional forms. In order to grasp the factors behind the Chinese economic success, it is important to understand how the disembedded forces of marketization and commodification were balanced by the embedded forces...... context to explain and analyze the “embedded” hegemony in transitional China. The first part of the this paper provides a conceptual framework for understanding socio-cultural and political embeddedness in China and the second part analyzes some characteristics of the state-market-society embedded process...

  8. China: a rich flora needed of urgent conservation

    OpenAIRE

    López-Pujol, Jordi; Zhao, A-Man

    2004-01-01

    [EN] China is one of the richest countries in plant biodiversity in the world. Besides to a rich flora, which contains about 33 000 vascular plants (being 30 000 of these angiosperms, 250 gymnosperms, and 2 600 pteridophytes), there is a extraordinary ecosystem diversity. In addition, China also contains a large pool of both wild and cultivated germplasm; one of the eight original centers of crop plants in the world was located there. China is also considered one of the main ce...

  9. Nearly a decade-long repeatable seasonal diversity patterns of bacterioplankton communities in the eutrophic Lake Donghu (Wuhan, China)

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Yan, Qingyun [Environmental Microbiome Research Center and the School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou China; Key Laboratory of Aquatic Biodiversity and Conservation of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Institute of Hydrobiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan China; Stegen, James C. [Biological Sciences Division, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland WA USA; Yu, Yuhe [Key Laboratory of Aquatic Biodiversity and Conservation of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Institute of Hydrobiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan China; Deng, Ye [CAS Key Laboratory of Environmental Biotechnology, Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing China; Li, Xinghao [Key Laboratory of Aquatic Biodiversity and Conservation of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Institute of Hydrobiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan China; Wu, Shu [Key Laboratory of Aquatic Biodiversity and Conservation of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Institute of Hydrobiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan China; Dai, Lili [Key Laboratory of Aquatic Biodiversity and Conservation of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Institute of Hydrobiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan China; Zhang, Xiang [Key Laboratory of Aquatic Biodiversity and Conservation of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Institute of Hydrobiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan China; Li, Jinjin [Key Laboratory of Aquatic Biodiversity and Conservation of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Institute of Hydrobiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan China; Wang, Chun [Key Laboratory of Aquatic Biodiversity and Conservation of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Institute of Hydrobiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan China; Ni, Jiajia [Key Laboratory of Aquatic Biodiversity and Conservation of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Institute of Hydrobiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan China; Li, Xuemei [Key Laboratory of Aquatic Biodiversity and Conservation of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Institute of Hydrobiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan China; Hu, Hongjuan [Key Laboratory of Aquatic Biodiversity and Conservation of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Institute of Hydrobiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan China; Xiao, Fanshu [Environmental Microbiome Research Center and the School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou China; Feng, Weisong [Key Laboratory of Aquatic Biodiversity and Conservation of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Institute of Hydrobiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan China; Ning, Daliang [Department of Microbiology and Plant Biology, Institute for Environmental Genomics, University of Oklahoma, Norman OK USA; He, Zhili [Environmental Microbiome Research Center and the School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou China; Department of Microbiology and Plant Biology, Institute for Environmental Genomics, University of Oklahoma, Norman OK USA; Van Nostrand, Joy D. [Department of Microbiology and Plant Biology, Institute for Environmental Genomics, University of Oklahoma, Norman OK USA; Wu, Liyou [Department of Microbiology and Plant Biology, Institute for Environmental Genomics, University of Oklahoma, Norman OK USA; Zhou, Jizhong [Department of Microbiology and Plant Biology, Institute for Environmental Genomics, University of Oklahoma, Norman OK USA; State Key Joint Laboratory of Environment Simulation and Pollution Control, School of Environment, Tsinghua University, Beijing China; Earth Sciences Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley CA USA

    2017-05-21

    Uncovering which environmental factors have the greatest influence on community diversity patterns and how ecological processes govern community turnover are key questions related to understanding community assembly mechanisms. Although we have good understanding of plant and animal community assembly, the mechanisms regulating diversity patterns of aquatic bacterial communities in lake ecosystems remains poorly understood. Here we present nearly a decade-long time-series study of bacterioplankton communities from the eutrophic Lake Donghu (Wuhan, China) using 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing. We found strong repeatable seasonal patterns for the overall community, common (detected in more than 50% samples) and dominant bacterial taxa (relative abundance > 1%). Moreover, community composition tracked the seasonal temperature gradient, indicating that temperature is an important environmental factor controlling observed diversity patterns. Total phosphorus also contributed significantly to the seasonal shifts in bacterioplankton composition. However, any spatial pattern across the main lake areas was overwhelmed by temporal variability in this eutrophic lake system. Phylogenetic analysis further indicated that 75%-82% of community turnover was governed by homogeneous selection, suggesting that the bacterioplankton communities are mainly controlled by niche-based processes. However, dominant niches available within seasons might be occupied by similar combinations of bacterial taxa with modest dispersal rates throughout this lake system. This study gives us important insights into community assembly and seasonal turnover of lake bacterioplankton, it may be also useful to predict temporal patterns of other planktonic communities.

  10. Bacterial and archaeal diversity in two hot spring microbial mats from the geothermal region of Tengchong, China.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pagaling, Eulyn; Grant, William D; Cowan, Don A; Jones, Brian E; Ma, Yanhe; Ventosa, Antonio; Heaphy, Shaun

    2012-07-01

    We investigated the bacterial and archaeal diversity in two hot spring microbial mats from the geothermal region of Tengchong in the Yunnan Province, China, using direct molecular analyses. The Langpu (LP) laminated mat was found by the side of a boiling pool with temperature of 60-65 °C and a pH of 8.5, while the Tengchong (TC) streamer mat consisted of white streamers in a slightly acidic (pH 6.5) hot pool outflow with a temperature of 72 °C. Four 16S rRNA gene clone libraries were constructed and restriction enzyme analysis of the inserts was used to identify unique sequences and clone frequencies. From almost 200 clones screened, 55 unique sequences were retrieved. Phylogenetic analysis showed that the LP mat consisted of a diverse bacterial population [Cyanobacteria, Chloroflexi, Chlorobia, Nitrospirae, 'Deinococcus-Thermus', Proteobacteria (alpha, beta and delta subdivisions), Firmicutes, Bacteroidetes and Actinobacteria], while the archaeal population was dominated by methanogenic Euryarchaeota and Crenarchaeota. In contrast, the TC streamer mat consisted of a bacterial population dominated by Aquificae, while the archaeal population also contained Korarchaeota as well as Crenarchaeota and methanogenic Euryarchaeota. These mats harboured clone sequences affiliated to unidentified lineages, suggesting that they are a potential source for discovering novel bacteria and archaea.

  11. Diversity and distribution patterns of root-associated fungi on herbaceous plants in alpine meadows of southwestern China.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gao, Qian; Yang, Zhu L

    2016-01-01

    The diversity of root-associated fungi associated with four ectomycorrhizal herbaceous species, Kobresia capillifolia, Carex parva, Polygonum macrophyllum and Potentilla fallens, collected in three sites of alpine meadows in southwestern China, was estimated based on internal transcribed spacer (ITS) rDNA sequence analysis of root tips. Three hundred seventy-seven fungal sequences sorted to 154 operational taxonomical units (sequence similarity of ≥ 97% across the ITS) were obtained from the four plant species across all three sites. Similar taxa (in GenBank with ≥ 97% similarity) were not found in GenBank and/or UNITE for most of the OTUs. Ectomycorrhiz a made up 64% of the fungi operational taxonomic units (OTUs), endophytes constituted 4% and the other 33% were unidentified root-associated fungi. Fungal OTUs were represented by 57% basidiomycetes and 43% ascomycetes. Inocybe, Tomentella/Thelophora, Sebacina, Hebeloma, Pezizomycotina, Cenococcum geophilum complex, Cortinarius, Lactarius and Helotiales were OTU-rich fungal lineages. Across the sites and host species the root-associated fungal communities generally exhibited low host and site specificity but high host and sampling site preference. Collectively our study revealed noteworthy diversity and endemism of root-associated fungi of alpine plants in this global biodiversity hotspot. © 2016 by The Mycological Society of America.

  12. Radionuclides distribution, properties, and microbial diversity of soils in uranium mill tailings from southeastern China

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yan, Xun; Luo, Xuegang

    2015-01-01

    Objective: To collect the radioactive contamination data for environmental rehabilitation in uranium mill tailings in southeastern China. Method: The sample areas were divided into high, moderate and low concentration areas, according to the uranium concentration. For every area, 3 soil samples were collected at 0–15 cm, 15–30 cm and 30–45 cm depth respectively, with 5 repetitions for each. Total 45 (3 × 5 × 3) soil samples were collected. Physicochemical properties and enzyme activities of soils were determined as described by references. The concentrations of the radionuclides 238 U, 232 Th, 226 Ra and 40 K in soils were determined by using HPGe gamma-ray spectrometer. Soil microbial diversity was analyzed via denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE). Results: Soil samples were all acidic. Physicochemical properties, like pH, content of total/available N, P and K, as well as enzyme activities were all increased along with decreased uranium concentration. The 232 Th concentration was increased with the decreased uranium concentration and was not influenced by the depth of sample sites. However, uranium concentration and depth of sample showed no significant influence on the concentrations of 226 Ra and 40 K. The concentration of 232 Th was significantly correlated with that of 226 Ra and 40 K, while the concentrations of 226 Ra and 40 K were significantly correlated. However, Pearson correlation coefficients between 238 U and other radionuclides were not significant. The microbial population in different concentration areas was different with four domain strains in low area, and two for both moderate and high areas. Furthermore, in each sample site, Proteobacteria was the most dominant flora, while environmental samples were the second according to GenBank database. Moreover, Serratia sp. of Proteobacteria was the dominant strain. Conclusion: Radionuclides distribution in the uranium mill tailing showed a profound influence on soil properties and

  13. Effects of comprehensive educational reforms on academic success in a diverse student body.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lieberman, Steven A; Ainsworth, Michael A; Asimakis, Gregory K; Thomas, Lauree; Cain, Lisa D; Mancuso, Melodee G; Rabek, Jeffrey P; Zhang, Ni; Frye, Ann W

    2010-12-01

    Calls for medical curriculum reform and increased student diversity in the USA have seen mixed success: performance outcomes following curriculum revisions have been inconsistent and national matriculation of under-represented minority (URM) students has not met aspirations. Published innovations in curricula, academic support and pipeline programmes usually describe isolated interventions that fail to affect curriculum-level outcomes. United States Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE) Step 1 performance and graduation rates were analysed for three classes of medical students before (matriculated 1995-1997, n=517) and after (matriculated 2003-2005, n=597) implementing broad-based reforms in our education system. The changes in pipeline recruitment and preparation programmes, instructional methods, assessment systems, academic support and board preparation were based on sound educational principles and best practices. Post-reform classes were diverse with respect to ethnicity (25.8% URM students), gender (51.8% female), and Medical College Admissions Test (MCAT) score (range 20-40; 24.1% scored ≤ 25). Mean±standard deviation MCAT scores were minimally changed (from 27.2±4.7 to 27.8±3.6). The Step 1 failure rate decreased by 69.3% and mean score increased by 14.0 points (effect size: d=0.67) overall. Improvements were greater among women (failure rate decreased by 78.9%, mean score increased by 15.6 points; d=0.76) and URM students (failure rate decreased by 76.5%, mean score increased by 14.6 points; d=0.74), especially African-American students (failure rate decreased by 93.6%, mean score increased by 20.8 points; d=1.12). Step 1 scores increased across the entire MCAT range. Four- and 5-year graduation rates increased by 7.1% and 5.8%, respectively. The effect sizes in these performance improvements surpassed those previously reported for isolated interventions in curriculum and student support. This success is likely to have resulted from the broad

  14. Genetic diversity among major endemic strains of Leptospira interrogans in China

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Zhang Zhi-Ming

    2007-07-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Leptospirosis is a world-widely distributed zoonosis. Humans become infected via exposure to pathogenic Leptospira spp. from contaminated water or soil. The availability of genomic sequences of Leptospira interrogans serovar Lai and serovar Copenhageni opened up opportunities to identify genetic diversity among different pathogenic strains of L. interrogans representing various kinds of serotypes (serogroups and serovars. Results Comparative genomic hybridization (CGH analysis was used to compare the gene content of L. interrogans serovar Lai strain Lai with that of other 10 L. interrogans strains prevailed in China and one identified from Brazil using a microarray spotted with 3,528 protein coding sequences (CDSs of strain Lai. The cutoff ratio of sample/reference (S/R hybridization for detecting the absence of genes from one tested strain was set by comparing the ratio of S/R hybridization and the in silico sequence similarities of strain Lai and serovar Copenhageni strain Fiocruz L1-130. Among the 11 strains tested, 275 CDSs were found absent from at least one strain. The common backbone of the L. interrogans genome was estimated to contain about 2,917 CDSs. The genes encoding fundamental cellular functions such as translation, energy production and conversion were conserved. While strain-specific genes include those that encode proteins related to either cell surface structures or carbohydrate transport and metabolism. We also found two genomic islands (GIs in strain Lai containing genes divergently absent in other strains. Because genes encoding proteins with potential pathogenic functions are located within GIs, these elements might contribute to the variations in disease manifestation. Differences in genes involved in O-antigen biosynthesis were also identified for strains belonging to different serogroups, which offers an opportunity for future development of genomic typing tools for serological classification

  15. What makes renewable energy successful in China? The case of the Shandong province solar water heater innovation system

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Goess, Simon; Jong, Martin de; Ravesteijn, Wim

    2015-01-01

    The Chinese province of Shandong, and more particularly its cities Dezhou, Jinan and Rizhao, have established an international reputation of being hotbeds for solar water heating (SWH) technology development and dissemination. The article aims to unveil the evolution of this innovative environment by applying the Functions of Innovation Systems (FIS) approach to the Chinese province of Shandong. It examines the actors, institutions and policy instruments that shape Shandong's innovation system for SWH, the dominant drivers and barriers during the evolution of the TIS and also assesses the applicability of the IS approach to China. It appears that the presence of influential interest organizations and proactive support from local governments have acted as strong drivers for the emergence of Shandong's innovation system for SWHs. On the other hand, the lack of adequate personnel and an overreliance on government policies act as main barriers. With regard to the Chinese specificities potentially detracting from the relevance of applying IS theory to China, we did not find that the central government acted as an initiator of innovation nor that state-owned enterprises had dominant positions in the market. In this innovative industry the impetus for development came from the bottom up and from private corporations. - Highlights: • Application of the functions of innovation systems framework to Chinese province. • Analysis of the evolution of Shandong's solar water heating industry and market. • Local governments and interest organizations make innovation environment successful. • Bottom-up development and dissemination of renewable energy in China.

  16. The microbial diversity, distribution, and ecology of permafrost in China: a review.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hu, Weigang; Zhang, Qi; Tian, Tian; Cheng, Guodong; An, Lizhe; Feng, Huyuan

    2015-07-01

    Permafrost in China mainly located in high-altitude areas. It represents a unique and suitable ecological niche that can be colonized by abundant microbes. Permafrost microbial community varies across geographically separated locations in China, and some lineages are novel and possible endemic. Besides, Chinese permafrost is a reservoir of functional microbial groups involved in key biogeochemical cycling processes. In future, more work is necessary to determine if these phylogenetic groups detected by DNA-based methods are part of the viable microbial community, and their functional roles and how they potentially respond to climate change. This review summaries recent studies describing microbial biodiversity found in permafrost and associated environments in China, and provides a framework for better understanding the microbial ecology of permafrost.

  17. China : a rich flora needed of urgent conservation

    OpenAIRE

    López-Pujol, Jordi

    2004-01-01

    China is one of the richest countries in plant biodiversity in the world. Besides to a rich flora, which contains about 33.000 vascular plants (being 30.000 of these angiosperms, 250 gymnosperms, and 2.600 pteridophytes), there is a extraordinary ecosystem diversity. In addition, China also contains a large pool of both wild and cultivated germplasm; one of the eight original centers of crop plants in the world was located there. China is also considered one of the main centers of origin and ...

  18. Analysis of genetic diversity and population structure of oil palm (Elaeis guineensis) from China and Malaysia based on species-specific simple sequence repeat markers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhou, L X; Xiao, Y; Xia, W; Yang, Y D

    2015-12-08

    Genetic diversity and patterns of population structure of the 94 oil palm lines were investigated using species-specific simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers. We designed primers for 63 SSR loci based on their flanking sequences and conducted amplification in 94 oil palm DNA samples. The amplification result showed that a relatively high level of genetic diversity was observed between oil palm individuals according a set of 21 polymorphic microsatellite loci. The observed heterozygosity (Ho) was 0.3683 and 0.4035, with an average of 0.3859. The Ho value was a reliable determinant of the discriminatory power of the SSR primer combinations. The principal component analysis and unweighted pair-group method with arithmetic averaging cluster analysis showed the 94 oil palm lines were grouped into one cluster. These results demonstrated that the oil palm in Hainan Province of China and the germplasm introduced from Malaysia may be from the same source. The SSR protocol was effective and reliable for assessing the genetic diversity of oil palm. Knowledge of the genetic diversity and population structure will be crucial for establishing appropriate management stocks for this species.

  19. Managing Workplace Diversity

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Harold Andrew Patrick

    2012-04-01

    Full Text Available Diversity management is a process intended to create and maintain a positive work environment where the similarities and differences of individuals are valued. The literature on diversity management has mostly emphasized on organization culture; its impact on diversity openness; human resource management practices; institutional environments and organizational contexts to diversity-related pressures, expectations, requirements, and incentives; perceived practices and organizational outcomes related to managing employee diversity; and several other issues. The current study examines the potential barriers to workplace diversity and suggests strategies to enhance workplace diversity and inclusiveness. It is based on a survey of 300 IT employees. The study concludes that successfully managing diversity can lead to more committed, better satisfied, better performing employees and potentially better financial performance for an organization.

  20. History of protein crystallography in China.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rao, Zihe

    2007-06-29

    China has a strong background in X-ray crystallography dating back to the 1920s. Protein crystallography research in China was first developed following the successful synthesis of insulin in China in 1966. The subsequent determination of the three-dimensional structure of porcine insulin made China one of the few countries which could determine macromolecular structures by X-ray diffraction methods in the late 1960s and early 1970s. After a slow period during the 1970s and 1980s, protein crystallography in China has reached a new climax with a number of outstanding accomplishments. Here, I review the history and progress of protein crystallography in China and detail some of the recent research highlights, including the crystal structures of two membrane proteins as well as the structural genomics initiative in China.

  1. A Nursing Workforce Diversity Project: Strategies for Recruitment, Retention, Graduation, and NCLEX-RN Success.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Murray, Ted A; Pole, David C; Ciarlo, Erica M; Holmes, Shearon

    2016-01-01

    The purpose of this article is to describe a collaborative project designed to recruit and retain students from underrepresented minorities and disadvantaged backgrounds into nursing education. Ethnic minorities remain underrepresented in the nursing workforce in comparison to the general population. The numbers of minorities enrolled in nursing education programs are insufficient to meet the health care workforce diversity needs of the future. High school students were provided with a preprofessional education program to prepare them for admission into a nursing program. Retention strategies were implemented for newly admitted and enrolled nursing education students. Twenty-one high school students enrolled in a nursing education program. The students enrolled in the nursing education program graduated and passed the licensure examination. Early recruitment and multiprong retention programs can be successful in diversifying the registered nurse workforce.

  2. Development of Managed Aquifer Recharge in China

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Wang, W.; Zhou, Y.; Sun, X.; Wang, W.

    2014-10-01

    China has a long history in managed aquifer recharge (MAR). The historic development can be divided into 4 stages based on a summary of typical MAR projects. The first stage is MAR applied to agricultural production, the second is MAR applied to industrial production and alleviation of agricultural problems, the third is MAR applied to ecological protection and the increase in urban water supplies, and the fourth is multi-source MAR. In addition, geothermal reinjection and ground source heat pumps are also effective uses of MAR. Nevertheless, the MAR framework is defective, there is a lack of water quality studies, and the recharge rate of most projects is low. However, China has achieved a great effect on industrial and agricultural production, ecological protection, drinking water supplies and urban reclaimed water reuse, amongst others. But there are still many issues to be improved. A feasible, convenient and economic technique of MAR which fits local hydrogeological conditions needs to be developed and guidelines for both MARs and management regulations to ensure the successful running of MAR projects also need to be established. MAR will make a great difference to improving potable water quality, alleviating geological hazards, long distance water diversion, urban water supplies, agriculture irrigation, etc. (Author)

  3. Genetic diversity and relationships among cabbage ( Brassica ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    The integration of our data with historical documents confirmed that traditional cabbage landraces cultivated in North of China were first introduced from Russia. Key words: Amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP), genetic diversity, cabbage (Brassica oleracea var. capitata), landraces, population structure.

  4. Diversity and cultural competence training in health care organizations: hallmarks of success.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Curtis, Ellen Foster; Dreachslin, Janice L; Sinioris, Marie

    2007-01-01

    The authors reviewed recent literature on diversity training interventions and identified effective practices for health care organizations. Self-reported satisfaction was especially likely to be found as a result of training, whereas attitude change measured by standardized instruments was mixed. Although those responsible for diversity training in the workplace agree that behavioral change is key, awareness building and associated attitude change remain the focus of most diversity training in the workplace. Consequently, the authors recommend a systems approach to diversity training interventions wherein training is a key component of a health care organization's strategic approach to organizational performance, and diversity training is linked to the organizations' strategic goals for improved quality of care. The systems approach requires these steps: determine diversity and cultural competence goals in the context of strategy, measure current performance against needs, design training to address the gap, implement the training, assess training effectiveness, and strive for continuous improvement. Higher level evaluations measuring whether employees have transferred learning from training to their jobs are paramount to the systems approach to diversity training interventions. Measuring other positive changes in a "return on investment" format can be used to convince stakeholders of training's value.

  5. China’s Selection of Foreign Laws for Succession in the Late Qing Dynasty

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Zhongqiu Zhang

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available This article studies the selection of a target country for succession of foreign laws by China of the late Qing Dynasty as well as the channels and approaches based on documentation in the Chinese language. According to this article, the selection was mostly limited by information, the national situation and political system, objectives, international environment, legal tradition as well as human and material resources, of which the national situation, political system and objectives serve as key factors. In this case, historically, China of the late Qing Dynasty looked at the United States, Britain, France and Germany before settling on Japan as the target country for the succession of foreign laws; and with respect to the channels and approaches for the succession, several relatively effective channels and approaches, such as studying aboard, translating foreign texts, making survey trips and hiring foreign experts, were employed. Such selection by China of the late Qing Dynasty for the purpose of succession of foreign laws provide us with useful references for thinking about law succession and the current exchange of laws and cultures b etween China and foreign countries.

  6. University of Nottingham Ningbo China and Xi'an Jiaotong-Liverpool University: Globalization of Higher Education in China

    Science.gov (United States)

    Feng, Yi

    2013-01-01

    This essay studies the University of Nottingham Ningbo China and Xi'an Jiaotong-Liverpool University--the two Chinese campuses established respectively by the University of Nottingham and the University of Liverpool. They represent successful models of globalization of higher education in China; however their rationale, strategies, curricula,…

  7. Assessment of genetic diversity of Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    2000-01-01

    @@Bacterial blight of rice, caused by Xanthomonas oryzae pv. Oryzae(Xoo. ), is one of the major rice diseases in China. Making clear the shift of genetic diversity of the pathogen will provide important information for rice breeding. Strains collected from 11 provinces located in Southern region of the Changjiang River in China were assessed by using inoculation method and IS-PCR(Insertion Sequence-Based Polymerase Chain Reaction) analysis.

  8. Bioethics in China.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, En-Chang

    2008-09-01

    Historically, the preconditions for the emergence of bioethics in China. were political reforms and their applications. The Hanzhong Euthanasia Case and the publication of Qiu Ren-zong's academic work Bioethics played a significant role in the development of bioethics in China. Other contributory factors include the establishment of the Chinese Society of Medical Ethics/Chinese Medical Association (C.M.A), the publication of the Journal of Chinese Medical Ethics, and the teaching and education of bioethics in China. Major achievements of bioethics in China include the establishment of ethics committee and ethics review system, active international communication and cooperation among the academic circles, and the successful management of the 8th World Congress of Bioethics in Beijing in 2006. Chinese bioethics focus on native Chinese realities and conditions, absorb the international research achievements in relevant fields, and combine international ideas with traditional Chinese doctrines. Admittedly, there are still some aspects to be improved, yet bioethics has attracted a lot of attention from the core leadership in China and has gained sound financial support, which augers well for its further development. This article also briefly introduces the development of bioethics in Hong Kong and Taiwan, China.

  9. Made in China: Challenge and Innovation in China's Vocational Education and Training System. International Comparative Study of Leading Vocational Education Systems

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stewart, Vivien

    2015-01-01

    China has the largest population and largest labor force in the world. It has been highly successful in rapidly expanding both secondary and higher education to a significant fraction of the youth cohort. However, educational opportunities and standards across China are highly uneven. China has abundant labor power, but it will need a far more…

  10. Diversity - Essential quality for agronomy

    Science.gov (United States)

    Diversity is an essential quality for success in agronomy because agronomy touches everyone, everywhere in some way, and food production is crucial for every society around the world. Consider, for example, our membership, which is diverse in almost every way imaginable. This diversity brings differ...

  11. Successful Students Who Are Deaf or Hard of Hearing and Culturally and/or Linguistically Diverse in Inclusive Settings.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ayantoye, Catherine Adekemi; Luckner, John L

    2016-01-01

    The population of students who are deaf or hard of hearing is becoming more culturally and/or linguistically diverse. However, there is a paucity of practitioner literature and research available to professionals and families to guide decision making about daily practices with these students and their families. The study identified factors that contribute to the success of students who are deaf or hard of hearing and from culturally and/or linguistically diverse backgrounds who receive the majority of their education in inclusive settings. Students were recruited from two schools in two school districts in a western state. Students, educators, interpreters, and parents participated in individual in-depth, semi-structured interviews. Observations of the students were also done. Analysis of the data included coding the transcribed interviews and the field notes to identify common themes. Seven themes emerged and are reported. Recommendations for future research are provided.

  12. Microbial diversity in raw milk and traditional fermented dairy products (Hurood cheese and Jueke) from Inner Mongolia, China.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gao, M L; Hou, H M; Teng, X X; Zhu, Y L; Hao, H S; Zhang, G L

    2017-03-08

    Hurood cheese (HC) and Jueke (Jk) are 2 traditional fermented dairy products produced from raw milk (RM) in the Inner Mongolia region of China. They have a long history of production and consumption. The microbial compositions of RM, HC, and Jk vary greatly, and are influenced by their geographical origins and unique processing methods. In this study, 2 batches of RM, HC, and Jk samples were collected (April and August 2015) from the Zhenglan Banner, a region located in the southern part of Inner Mongolian belonging to the Xilingol league prefecture. The bacterial and fungal diversities of the samples were determined by 16S rRNA and 18S rRNA gene sequence analysis, respectively. A total of 112 bacterial and 30 fungal sequences were identified, with Firmicutes and Ascomycota being the predominant phyla for bacteria and fungi, respectively. Lactococcus and Lactobacillus were identified as the main bacterial genera, whereas Kluyveromyces was the predominant fungus identified in the 3 dairy products. Different bacterial and fungal compositions were observed in RM, HC, and Jk samples collected at different times. These results suggested that time of production may be an important factor influencing the microbial diversity present in RM, HC, and Jk.

  13. Energy economics. CO{sub 2} emissions in China

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Wei, Yiming [Beijing Institute of Technology (China). Center for Energy and Environmental Policy Research; Liu, Lancui [Ministry of Environmental Protection of the People' s Republic of China, Beijing (China). Center for Climate and Environmental Policy; Wu, Gang; Zou, Lele [Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing (China). Inst. of Policy and Management

    2011-07-01

    ''Energy Economics: CO{sub 2} Emissions in China'' presents a collection of the researches on China's CO{sub 2} emissions as studied by the Center for Energy and Environmental Policy Research (CEEP). Based on the analysis of factors related to global climate change and CO{sub 2} emissions, it discusses China's CO{sub 2} emissions originating from various sectors, diverse impact factors, as well as proposed policies for reducing carbon emissions. Featuring empirical research and policy analysis on focused and critical issues involving different stages of CO{sub 2} emissions in China, the book provides scientific supports for researchers and policy makers in dealing with global climate change. (orig.)

  14. China's petroleum industry

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Boykiw, A.; Katsuris, D.

    1997-01-01

    Petroleum and natural gas resources, industry organization, production, pipeline construction and other transportation issues, refining and business aspects of the Chinese petroleum and natural gas industries were reviewed. The need for large amounts of foreign capital and western technology to stem the deficit in domestic hydrocarbon supply were emphasized as being responsible for the creation in China of favourable conditions for foreign participation in oil and gas exploration, and for the growing confidence for Western investment in China. The most important considerations for successful participation in the economic development of China include: understanding the roles of networking, cultural affinity and reciprocity; hands-on management; finding an appropriate business partner, agent/distributor, or joint venture partner; and understanding local peculiarities and customs. 3 refs

  15. Diversity and antibacterial activities of fungi derived from the Gorgonian Echinogorgia rebekka from the South China Sea.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Ya-Nan; Shao, Chang-Lun; Zheng, Cai-Juan; Chen, Yi-Yan; Wang, Chang-Yun

    2011-01-01

    The diversity of symbiotic fungi associated with the gorgonian coral Echinogorgia rebekka from the Weizhou coral reef in the South China Sea was investigated. Combined with morphologic traits, ITS-rDNA sequences revealed 18 fungal strains from this gorgonian. All of the 18 fungi belonged to the phylum Ascomycota and were distributed among seven genera in five orders: Eurotiales (Aspergillus and Penicillium), Pleosporales (Alternaria), Capnodiales (Cladosporium), Trichosphaeriales (Nigrospora) and Hypocreales (Hypocrea and Nectria). Antibacterial activities of these fungal strains were investigated with five pathogenic bacteria. All of the 18 fungal strains displayed different levels of antibacterial activities, most of which exhibited moderate to high antibacterial activities to the Gram-positive pathogens Staphylococcus aureus and Micrococcus tetragenus, and showed relatively low bioactivities to other three pathogenic bacteria. Several fungal strains in the genera Penicillium and Cladosporium with strong antibacterial activities provide potential for further research on isolation of bioactive secondary metabolites.

  16. Analysis of genetic diversity and population structure in upland ...

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    Mulugeta Seyoum

    2018-06-09

    Jun 9, 2018 ... diversity and population structure at DNA level, 302 elite upland cotton germplasm accessions ...... conservation of cotton germplasm in China (English abstract). ... and Alishah O. 2011 Inter simple sequence repeats (ISSR).

  17. Effects of nutrients, temperature and their interactions on spring phytoplankton community succession in Lake Taihu, China.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jianming Deng

    Full Text Available We examined the potential effects of environmental variables, and their interaction, on phytoplankton community succession in spring using long-term data from 1992 to 2012 in Lake Taihu, China. Laboratory experiments were additionally performed to test the sensitivity of the phytoplankton community to nutrient concentrations and temperature. A phytoplankton community structure analysis from 1992 to 2012 showed that Cryptomonas (Cryptophyta was the dominant genus in spring during the early 1990s. Dominance then shifted to Ulothrix (Chlorophyta in 1996 and 1997. However, Cryptomonas again dominated in 1999, 2000, and 2002, with Ulothrix regaining dominance from 2003 to 2006. The bloom-forming cyanobacterial genus Microcystis dominated in 1995, 2001 and 2007-2012. The results of ordinations indicated that the nutrient concentration (as indicated by the trophic state index was the most important factor affecting phytoplankton community succession during the past two decades. In the laboratory experiments, shifts in dominance among phytoplankton taxa occurred in all nutrient addition treatments. Results of both long term monitoring and experiment indicated that nutrients exert a stronger control than water temperature on phytoplankton communities during spring. Interactive effect of nutrients and water temperature was the next principal factor. Overall, phytoplankton community composition was mediated by nutrients concentrations, but this effect was strongly enhanced by elevated water temperatures.

  18. Biodiversity and evolution of Imjin virus and Thottapalayam virus in Crocidurinae shrews in Zhejiang Province, China.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lin, Xian-Dan; Zhou, Run-Hong; Fan, Fei-Neng; Ying, Xu-Hua; Sun, Xiao-Yu; Wang, Wen; Holmes, Edward C; Zhang, Yong-Zhen

    2014-08-30

    The recent discovery of numerous hantaviruses in insectivores has provided a new view of hantavirus biodiversity and evolution. To determine the presence and genetic diversity of Imjin virus (MJNV) and Thottapalayam virus (TPMV) in insectivores in Zhejiang Province, China, we captured and performed virus screening of 32 Ussuri white-toothed shrews (Crocidura lasiura) and 105 Asian house shrews (Suncus murinus) in different coastal regions. Hantavirus genome (S, M, and L segments) sequences were successfully recovered from one Ussuri white-toothed shrew and seven Asian house shrews. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that the virus carried by the Ussuri white-toothed shrew was most closely related to MJNV, but with >15% nucleotide sequence difference, suggesting that it represents a new subtype. The hantaviruses carried by Asian house shrews were closely related to the TPMV variants found in the same geographic area, but more distantly related to those sampled in India and Nepal. Additionally, the TPMV sequences obtained in this study, as well as those found previously in this area, could be divided into three lineages reflecting their geographic origins, indicative of largely allopatric evolution. Overall, our data highlights the high genetic diversity of insectivore-borne hantaviruses in China, suggesting that more may be discovered in the future. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  19. Airborne Bacterial Communities in Three East Asian Cities of China, South Korea, and Japan.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lee, Jae Young; Park, Eun Ha; Lee, Sunghee; Ko, GwangPyo; Honda, Yasushi; Hashizume, Masahiro; Deng, Furong; Yi, Seung-Muk; Kim, Ho

    2017-07-17

    The global diversity of airborne bacteria has not yet been studied, despite its importance in human health and climate change. Here, we focused on the diversity of airborne bacteria and their correlations with meteorological/environmental conditions in China, South Korea, and Japan. Beijing (China) had more diverse airborne bacteria, followed by Seoul (South Korea) and Nagasaki (Japan), and seasonal variations were observed. Beijing and Seoul had more diverse airborne bacteria during the winter, whereas Nagasaki showed greater diversity during the summer. According to principal component analysis and Bray-Curtis similarity, higher similarity was observed between Beijing and Seoul than between Seoul and Nagasaki during all seasons except summer. Among meteorological/environmental variables, temperature and humidity were highly correlated with the diversity of airborne bacteria on the measurement day, whereas wind speeds and the frequency of northwest winds were highly correlated for 2-3-day moving averages. Thus, proximity and resuspension could enhance bacterial diversity in East Asian cities.

  20. Analyses of soil microbial community compositions and functional genes reveal potential consequences of natural forest succession.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cong, Jing; Yang, Yunfeng; Liu, Xueduan; Lu, Hui; Liu, Xiao; Zhou, Jizhong; Li, Diqiang; Yin, Huaqun; Ding, Junjun; Zhang, Yuguang

    2015-05-06

    The succession of microbial community structure and function is a central ecological topic, as microbes drive the Earth's biogeochemical cycles. To elucidate the response and mechanistic underpinnings of soil microbial community structure and metabolic potential relevant to natural forest succession, we compared soil microbial communities from three adjacent natural forests: a coniferous forest (CF), a mixed broadleaf forest (MBF) and a deciduous broadleaf forest (DBF) on Shennongjia Mountain in central China. In contrary to plant communities, the microbial taxonomic diversity of the DBF was significantly (P the DBF. Furthermore, a network analysis of microbial carbon and nitrogen cycling genes showed the network for the DBF samples was relatively large and tight, revealing strong couplings between microbes. Soil temperature, reflective of climate regimes, was important in shaping microbial communities at both taxonomic and functional gene levels. As a first glimpse of both the taxonomic and functional compositions of soil microbial communities, our results suggest that microbial community structure and function potentials will be altered by future environmental changes, which have implications for forest succession.

  1. Interactive Effects of Diversity and Biomass on Productivity: Insights from Succession

    Science.gov (United States)

    Qinfeng Guo

    2008-01-01

    Do commonly observed spatial relationships also exist over time? As an example of attempting to answer this question, this article examines whether the frequently observed diversity-biomass-productivity-relationships over space can also be seen over time. Syntheses of long-term data and literature show that when the full successional cycles are examined, diversity and...

  2. Molecular diversity analysis of Tetradium ruticarpum (WuZhuYu) in China based on inter-primer binding site (iPBS) markers and inter-simple sequence repeat (ISSR) markers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xu, Jing-Yuan; Zhu, Yan; Yi, Ze; Wu, Gang; Xie, Guo-Yong; Qin, Min-Jian

    2018-01-01

    "Wu zhu yu", which is obtained from the dried unripe fruits of Tetradium ruticarpum (A. Jussieu) T. G. Hartley, has been used as a traditional Chinese medicine for treatment of headaches, abdominal colic, and hypertension for thousands of years. The present study was designed to assess the molecular genetic diversity among 25 collected accessions of T. ruticarpum (Wu zhu yu in Chinese) from different areas of China, based on inter-primer binding site (iPBS) markers and inter-simple sequence repeat (ISSR) markers. Thirteen ISSR primers generated 151 amplification bands, of which 130 were polymorphic. Out of 165 bands that were amplified using 10 iPBS primers, 152 were polymorphic. The iPBS markers displayed a higher proportion of polymorphic loci (PPL = 92.5%) than the ISSR markers (PPL = 84.9%). The results showed that T. ruticarpum possessed high loci polymorphism and genetic differentiation occurred in this plant. The combined data of iPBS and ISSR markers scored on 25 accessions produced five clusters that approximately matched the geographic distribution of the species. The results indicated that both iPBS and ISSR markers were reliable and effective tools for analyzing the genetic diversity in T. ruticarpum. Copyright © 2018 China Pharmaceutical University. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  3. Avian nesting success and diversity in conventionally and organically managed apple orchards

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fluetsch, K.M.; Sparling, D.W.

    1994-01-01

    This study examines the effects of operational use of pesticides on avian species inhabiting apple orchards in Pennsylvania. Mourning dove (Zenaida rnacroura) and American robin (Turdus migratorius) nests were monitored in three organic and three conventional apple orchards during 1990 and 1991. In 1991 we surveyed the avian communities of these orchards by using line transects. Organophosphorus (OP) (e.g., azinphos-methyl, phosphamidon, parathion, dimethoate), carbamate (CA) (e.g., methomyl, formetanate, oxamyl), and organochlorine (endosulfan) pesticides, known to be highly toxic to birds, were sprayed individually or in mixtures as part of routine pest management as many as 19 times during peaks in breeding activity. Spray card tests revealed that OP pesticides were deposited on 86% of the nests in conventional orchards. Daily survival rates (DSRs) for nests of both species were higher in the organic orchards than in the conventional orchards for 1991 and for years combined (p the organic orchards (H= 2.43) than in the conventional orchards (H=1.79). Repeated applications of pesticides within the conventional orchards reduced the reproductive success of doves and robins and may have lowered avian species diversity compared with organic orchards.

  4. U.S.-China Relations: Policy Issues

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-01-12

    global issues on which the Obama Administration has sought to work with China are the international financial crisis, climate change, and nuclear non-proliferation. In remarks in July 2009, President Obama declared that partnership between the United States and China was a prerequisite for progress on many of the most pressing global challenges. Continuing major bilateral issues in the relationship include trade and...into the Obama Administration, U.S. officials point to some successes in their efforts to work with China on global issues , including

  5. Mitochondrial DNA analysis reveals a low nucleotide diversity of ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    STORAGESEVER

    2009-06-17

    Jun 17, 2009 ... gene sequences of C. japonica in China to assess nucleotide sequence diversity (GenBank ... provide a scientific basis for the regional control of forestry .... population (AB015869) was downloaded from GenBank database.

  6. Genetic diversity of Pogonatherum paniceum (Lam.) Hack. in ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) markers were used to estimate the genetic diversity of Pogonatherum paniceum (Lam.) Hack. from Sichuan Province, Yunnan Province, Chongqing City and. Guangxi Zhuang autonomous Region in China. 10 primer combinations were carried out on 180 different individuals ...

  7. Diversity and aboveground biomass of lianas in the tropical seasonal rain forests of Xishuangbanna, SW China.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lü, Xiao-Tao; Tang, Jian-Wei; Feng, Zhi-Li; Li, Mai-He

    2009-01-01

    Lianas are important components of tropical forests and have significant impacts on the diversity, structure and dynamics of tropical forests. The present study documented the liana flora in a Chinese tropical region. Species richness, abundance, size-class distribution and spatial patterns of lianas were investigated in three 1-ha plots in tropical seasonal rain forests in Xishuangbanna, SW China. All lianas with > or = 2 cm diameter at breast height (dbh) were measured, tagged and identified. A total of 458 liana stems belonging to 95 species (ranging from 38 to 50 species/ha), 59 genera and 32 families were recorded in the three plots. The most well-represented families were Loganiaceae, Annonceae, Papilionaceae, Apocynaceae and Rhamnaceae. Papilionaceae (14 species recorded) was the most important family in the study forests. The population density, basal area and importance value index (IVI) varied greatly across the three plots. Strychnos cathayensis, Byttneria grandifolia and Bousigonia mekongensis were the dominant species in terms of IVI across the three plots. The mean aboveground biomass of lianas (3 396 kg/ha) accounted for 1.4% of the total community above-ground biomass. The abundance, diversity and biomass of lianas in Xishuangbanna tropical seasonal rain forests are lower than those in tropical moist and wet forests, but higher than those in tropical dry forests. This study provides new data on lianas from a geographical region that has been little-studied. Our findings emphasize that other factors beyond the amount and seasonality of precipitation should be included when considering the liana abundance patterns across scales.

  8. Diversity analysis in Cannabis sativa based on large-scale development of expressed sequence tag-derived simple sequence repeat markers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gao, Chunsheng; Xin, Pengfei; Cheng, Chaohua; Tang, Qing; Chen, Ping; Wang, Changbiao; Zang, Gonggu; Zhao, Lining

    2014-01-01

    Cannabis sativa L. is an important economic plant for the production of food, fiber, oils, and intoxicants. However, lack of sufficient simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers has limited the development of cannabis genetic research. Here, large-scale development of expressed sequence tag simple sequence repeat (EST-SSR) markers was performed to obtain more informative genetic markers, and to assess genetic diversity in cannabis (Cannabis sativa L.). Based on the cannabis transcriptome, 4,577 SSRs were identified from 3,624 ESTs. From there, a total of 3,442 complementary primer pairs were designed as SSR markers. Among these markers, trinucleotide repeat motifs (50.99%) were the most abundant, followed by hexanucleotide (25.13%), dinucleotide (16.34%), tetranucloetide (3.8%), and pentanucleotide (3.74%) repeat motifs, respectively. The AAG/CTT trinucleotide repeat (17.96%) was the most abundant motif detected in the SSRs. One hundred and seventeen EST-SSR markers were randomly selected to evaluate primer quality in 24 cannabis varieties. Among these 117 markers, 108 (92.31%) were successfully amplified and 87 (74.36%) were polymorphic. Forty-five polymorphic primer pairs were selected to evaluate genetic diversity and relatedness among the 115 cannabis genotypes. The results showed that 115 varieties could be divided into 4 groups primarily based on geography: Northern China, Europe, Central China, and Southern China. Moreover, the coefficient of similarity when comparing cannabis from Northern China with the European group cannabis was higher than that when comparing with cannabis from the other two groups, owing to a similar climate. This study outlines the first large-scale development of SSR markers for cannabis. These data may serve as a foundation for the development of genetic linkage, quantitative trait loci mapping, and marker-assisted breeding of cannabis.

  9. Fatty acid composition indicating diverse habitat use in coral reef fishes in the Malaysian South China Sea.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Arai, Takaomi; Amalina, Razikin; Bachok, Zainudin

    2015-02-22

    In order to understand feeding ecology and habitat use of coral reef fish, fatty acid composition was examined in five coral reef fishes, Thalassoma lunare, Lutjanus lutjanus, Abudefduf bengalensis, Scarus rivulatus and Scolopsis affinis collected in the Bidong Island of Malaysian South China Sea. Proportions of saturated fatty acids (SAFA) ranged 57.2% 74.2%, with the highest proportions in fatty acids, the second highest was monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFA) ranged from 21.4% to 39.0% and the proportion of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) was the lowest ranged from 2.8% to 14.1%. Each fatty acid composition differed among fishes, suggesting diverse feeding ecology, habitat use and migration during the fishes' life history in the coral reef habitats. Diets of the coral fish species might vary among species in spite of that each species are living sympatrically. Differences in fatty acid profiles might not just be considered with respect to the diets, but might be based on the habitat and migration.

  10. Diversity and Antibacterial Activities of Fungi Derived from the Gorgonian Echinogorgia rebekka from the South China Sea

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Chang-Yun Wang

    2011-08-01

    Full Text Available The diversity of symbiotic fungi associated with the gorgonian coral Echinogorgia rebekka from the Weizhou coral reef in the South China Sea was investigated. Combined with morphologic traits, ITS-rDNA sequences revealed 18 fungal strains from this gorgonian. All of the 18 fungi belonged to the phylum Ascomycota and were distributed among seven genera in five orders: Eurotiales (Aspergillus and Penicillium, Pleosporales (Alternaria, Capnodiales (Cladosporium, Trichosphaeriales (Nigrospora and Hypocreales (Hypocrea and Nectria. Antibacterial activities of these fungal strains were investigated with five pathogenic bacteria. All of the 18 fungal strains displayed different levels of antibacterial activities, most of which exhibited moderate to high antibacterial activities to the Gram-positive pathogens Staphylococcus aureus and Micrococcus tetragenus, and showed relatively low bioactivities to other three pathogenic bacteria. Several fungal strains in the genera Penicillium and Cladosporium with strong antibacterial activities provide potential for further research on isolation of bioactive secondary metabolites.

  11. High diversity of nitrogen-fixing bacteria in the upper reaches of the Heihe River, northwestern China

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    X. S. Tai

    2013-08-01

    Full Text Available Vegetation plays a key role in water conservation in the southern Qilian Mountains (northwestern China, located in the upper reaches of the Heihe River. Nitrogen-fixing bacteria are crucial for the protection of the nitrogen supply for vegetation in the region. In the present study, nifH gene clone libraries were established to determine differences between the nitrogen-fixing bacterial communities of the Potentilla parvifolia shrubland and the Carex alrofusca meadow in the southern Qilian Mountains. All of the identified nitrogen-fixing bacterial clones belonged to the Proteobacteria. At the genus level, Azospirillum was only detected in the shrubland soil, while Thiocapsa, Derxia, Ectothiorhodospira, Mesorhizobium, Klebsiella, Ensifer, Methylocella and Pseudomonas were only detected in the meadow soil. The phylogenetic tree was divided into five lineages: lineages I, II and III mainly contained nifH sequences obtained from the meadow soils, while lineage IV was mainly composed of nifH sequences obtained from the shrubland soils. The Shannon–Wiener index of the nifH genes ranged from 1.5 to 2.8 and was higher in the meadow soils than in the shrubland soils. Based on these analyses of diversity and phylogeny, the plant species were hypothesised to influence N cycling by enhancing the fitness of certain nitrogen-fixing taxa. The number of nifH gene copies and colony-forming units (CFUs of the cultured nitrogen-fixing bacteria were lower in the meadow soils than in the shrubland soils, ranging from 0.4 × 107 to 6.9 × 107 copies g−1 soil and 0.97 × 106 to 12.78 × 106 g−1 soil, respectively. Redundancy analysis (RDA revealed that the diversity and number of the nifH gene copies were primarily correlated with aboveground biomass in the shrubland soil. In the meadow soil, nifH gene diversity was most affected by altitude, while copy number was most impacted by soil-available K. These results suggest that the nitrogen-fixing bacterial

  12. High diversity of nitrogen-fixing bacteria in the upper reaches of the Heihe River, northwestern China

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tai, X. S.; Mao, W. L.; Liu, G. X.; Chen, T.; Zhang, W.; Wu, X. K.; Long, H. Z.; Zhang, B. G.; Zhang, Y.

    2013-08-01

    Vegetation plays a key role in water conservation in the southern Qilian Mountains (northwestern China), located in the upper reaches of the Heihe River. Nitrogen-fixing bacteria are crucial for the protection of the nitrogen supply for vegetation in the region. In the present study, nifH gene clone libraries were established to determine differences between the nitrogen-fixing bacterial communities of the Potentilla parvifolia shrubland and the Carex alrofusca meadow in the southern Qilian Mountains. All of the identified nitrogen-fixing bacterial clones belonged to the Proteobacteria. At the genus level, Azospirillum was only detected in the shrubland soil, while Thiocapsa, Derxia, Ectothiorhodospira, Mesorhizobium, Klebsiella, Ensifer, Methylocella and Pseudomonas were only detected in the meadow soil. The phylogenetic tree was divided into five lineages: lineages I, II and III mainly contained nifH sequences obtained from the meadow soils, while lineage IV was mainly composed of nifH sequences obtained from the shrubland soils. The Shannon-Wiener index of the nifH genes ranged from 1.5 to 2.8 and was higher in the meadow soils than in the shrubland soils. Based on these analyses of diversity and phylogeny, the plant species were hypothesised to influence N cycling by enhancing the fitness of certain nitrogen-fixing taxa. The number of nifH gene copies and colony-forming units (CFUs) of the cultured nitrogen-fixing bacteria were lower in the meadow soils than in the shrubland soils, ranging from 0.4 × 107 to 6.9 × 107 copies g-1 soil and 0.97 × 106 to 12.78 × 106 g-1 soil, respectively. Redundancy analysis (RDA) revealed that the diversity and number of the nifH gene copies were primarily correlated with aboveground biomass in the shrubland soil. In the meadow soil, nifH gene diversity was most affected by altitude, while copy number was most impacted by soil-available K. These results suggest that the nitrogen-fixing bacterial communities beneath Potentilla

  13. 16S rRNA-based bacterial diversity in the organic-rich sediments underlying oxygen-deficient waters of the eastern Arabian Sea

    Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

    Divya, B.; Parvathi, A.; LokaBharathi, P.A.; Nair, S.

    ). Bootstrap analysis was carried out using 1000 iterations. Diversity analysis The clone library of AS-OMZ was compared with those of other anoxic sediments from Gulf of Mexico, North Sea and South China Sea (28, 60 and 87 sequences, respectively.... Figure 2d Bacterial diversity and richness To understand the bacterial diversity and richness of the AS-OMZ sediment clone library, comparisons were made with suboxic sediment clone libraries from South China Sea, North Sea and Gulf of Mexico...

  14. The New Presence of China in Africa

    OpenAIRE

    2009-01-01

    This book describes China's growing range of activities in Africa, especially in the sub-Saharan region. The three most important instruments China has at its disposal in Africa are development aid, investments and trade policy. The Chinese government, which believes the Western development aid model has failed, is looking for new forms of aid and development in Africa. China's economic success can partly be ascribed to the huge availability of cheap labour, which is primarily employed in exp...

  15. Drivers shaping the diversity and biogeography of total and active bacterial communities in the South China Sea

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Yao; Zhao, Zihao; Dai, Minhan; Jiao, Nianzhi; Herndl, Gerhard J

    2014-01-01

    To test the hypothesis that different drivers shape the diversity and biogeography of the total and active bacterial community, we examined the bacterial community composition along two transects, one from the inner Pearl River estuary to the open waters of the South China Sea (SCS) and the other from the Luzon Strait to the SCS basin, using 454 pyrosequencing of the 16S rRNA and 16S rRNA gene (V1-3 regions) and thereby characterizing the active and total bacterial community, respectively. The diversity and biogeographic patterns differed substantially between the active and total bacterial communities. Although the composition of both the total and active bacterial community was strongly correlated with environmental factors and weakly correlated with geographic distance, the active bacterial community displayed higher environmental sensitivity than the total community and particularly a greater distance effect largely caused by the active assemblage from deep waters. The 16S rRNA vs. rDNA relationships indicated that the active bacteria were low in relative abundance in the SCS. This might be due to a high competition between active bacterial taxa as indicated by our community network models. Based on these analyses, we speculate that high competition could cause some dispersal limitation of the active bacterial community resulting in a distinct distance-decay relationship. Altogether, our results indicated that the biogeographic distribution of bacteria in the SCS is the result of both environmental control and distance decay. PMID:24684298

  16. The rhizospheres of traditional medicinal plants in Panxi, China, host a diverse selection of actinobacteria with antimicrobial properties.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhao, Ke; Penttinen, Petri; Chen, Qiang; Guan, Tongwei; Lindström, Kristina; Ao, Xiaoling; Zhang, Lili; Zhang, Xiaoping

    2012-06-01

    Actinobacteria are a prolific source of antibiotics. Since the rate of discovery of novel antibiotics is decreasing, actinobacteria from unique environments need to be explored. In particular, actinobacterial biocontrol strains from medicinal plants need to be studied as they can be a source of potent antibiotics. We combined culture-dependent and culture-independent methods in analyzing the actinobacterial diversity in the rhizosphere of seven traditional medicinal plant species from Panxi, China, and assessed the antimicrobial activity of the isolates. Each of the plant species hosted a unique set of actinobacterial strains. Out of the 64 morphologically distinct isolates, half were Streptomyces sp., eight were Micromonospora sp., and the rest were members of 18 actinobacterial genera. In particular, Ainsliaea henryi Diels. hosted a diverse selection of actinobacteria, although the 16S ribosomal RNA (rRNA) sequence identity ranges of the isolates and of the 16S rRNA gene clone library were not congruent. In the clone library, 40% of the sequences were related to uncultured actinobacteria, emphasizing the need to develop isolation methods to assess the full potential of the actinobacteria. All Streptomyces isolates showed antimicrobial activity. While the antimicrobial activities of the rare actinobacteria were limited, the growth of Escherichia coli, Verticillium dahliae, and Fusarium oxysporum were inhibited only by rare actinobacteria, and strains related to Saccharopolyspora shandongensis and Streptosporangium roseum showed broad antimicrobial activity.

  17. China Pop

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Steen, Andreas

    2013-01-01

    Popular culture in China is a dynamic and contested sphere of activities, conflicts and negotiations. The effects of globalization as well as new media and communication technologies challenge the authorities and enrich cultural creativity. Today, the state maintains it omnipresence in this cultu......Popular culture in China is a dynamic and contested sphere of activities, conflicts and negotiations. The effects of globalization as well as new media and communication technologies challenge the authorities and enrich cultural creativity. Today, the state maintains it omnipresence...... in this cultural sector while promoting a policy of dialogue, integration and exclusion. Cooperation with the state is attractive because it is rewarded with unlimited access to official media, audiences and commercial success. The article focuses on recent trends in China’s most important genres of popular music......: Mandopop, (red) mainstream music and rock music. It argues that the Chinese state’s success in raising the popularity of the mainstream is based on its constant promotion, patriotic education, a general pride in China’s strength, nationalism and – equally important – adaptation and the commercial...

  18. Onshore wind power development in China: Challenges behind a successful story.

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Han, Jingyi; Mol, A.P.J.; Lu, Y.; Zhang, L.

    2009-01-01

    Wind energy utilization, especially onshore grid-connected wind power generation, has a history of 30 years in China. With the increasing attention to renewable energy development in recent years, wind energy has become the focus of academic research and policy-making. While the potential and

  19. Physio-chemical characteristics and bacterial diversity in copper ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    The effects of seasonal change in temperature on the chemical compositions of water and bacterial diversity in copper mining wastewater reservoir (CMWR) located in Jiangxi province, China, was investigated. Wastewater samples were collected collected in December 2008 and May 2009 from different points of CMWR ...

  20. Genetic diversity of Pogonatherum paniceum (Lam.) Hack in ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Inter-simple sequence repeats markers were used to estimate the genetic diversity of Pogonatherum paniceum (Lam.) Hack. from Sichuan Province, Yunnan Province, Chongqing City and Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region in China. 100 primers were carried out on 22 wild populations, 14 could produce highly ...

  1. Quantifying China's regional economic complexity

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gao, Jian; Zhou, Tao

    2018-02-01

    China has experienced an outstanding economic expansion during the past decades, however, literature on non-monetary metrics that reveal the status of China's regional economic development are still lacking. In this paper, we fill this gap by quantifying the economic complexity of China's provinces through analyzing 25 years' firm data. First, we estimate the regional economic complexity index (ECI), and show that the overall time evolution of provinces' ECI is relatively stable and slow. Then, after linking ECI to the economic development and the income inequality, we find that the explanatory power of ECI is positive for the former but negative for the latter. Next, we compare different measures of economic diversity and explore their relationships with monetary macroeconomic indicators. Results show that the ECI index and the non-linear iteration based Fitness index are comparative, and they both have stronger explanatory power than other benchmark measures. Further multivariate regressions suggest the robustness of our results after controlling other socioeconomic factors. Our work moves forward a step towards better understanding China's regional economic development and non-monetary macroeconomic indicators.

  2. Morphological diversity of wild medicinal Paris L. from China and ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Paris L. (Trilliaceae) is a temperate genus of about 24 perennial herbaceous species distributed from Europe to Eastern Asia. Paris is notable in China for its medicinal value. An investigation was conducted to determine the variations of 27 morphological characters of 196 accessions from 8 populations of medicinal Paris ...

  3. Exploring microbial succession and diversity during solid-state fermentation of Tianjin duliu mature vinegar.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nie, Zhiqiang; Zheng, Yu; Wang, Min; Han, Yue; Wang, Yuenan; Luo, Jianmei; Niu, Dandan

    2013-11-01

    Tianjin duliu mature vinegar was one of famous Chinese traditional vinegars. The unique flavor and taste of vinegar are mainly generated by the multitudinous microorganisms during fermentation. In this research, the composition and succession of microbial communities in the entire solid-state fermentation were investigated, including starter daqu and acetic acid fermentation (AAF). Molds and yeasts in daqu, including Aspergillus, Saccharomycopsis and Pichia, decreased in AAF. The bacterial compositions increased from four genera in daqu to more than 13 genera in AAF. Principal component analysis showed that Acetobacter, Gluconacetobacter, Lactobacillus and Nostoc were dominant bacteria that were correlated well with AAF process. In the early fermentation period, lactic acid bacteria (LAB) decreased while acetic acid bacteria and Nostoc increased rapidly with the accumulation of total acids. Then, the abundance and diversity of LAB increased (more than 80%), indicating that LAB had important influences on the flavor and taste of vinegar. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  4. Diversity distribution patterns of Chinese endemic seed plant species and their implications for conservation planning

    Science.gov (United States)

    Huang, Jihong; Huang, Jianhua; Lu, Xinghui; Ma, Keping

    2016-01-01

    Endemism is an important concept in biogeography and biodiversity conservation. China is one of the richest countries in biodiversity, with very high levels of plant endemism. In this study, we analysed the distribution patterns of diversity, the degree of differentiation, and the endemicity of Chinese endemic seed plants using the floristic unit as a basic spatial analysis unit and 11 indices. The analysis was based on distribution data of 24,951 native seed plant species (excluding subspecies and varieties) and 12,980 Chinese endemic seed plant species, which were sourced from both specimen records and published references. The distribution patterns of Chinese endemic flora were generally consistent but disproportionate across China for diversity, degree of differentiation and endemicity. The South Hengduan Mountains Subregion had the highest values for all indices. At the regional level, both the Hengduan Mountains and the Central China regions were highest in diversity and degrees of differentiation. However, both the rate of local endemic to native species and the rate of local to Chinese endemic species were highest in the Taiwan Region and the South Taiwan Region. The Hengduan Mountains Region and the Central China Region are two key conservation priority areas for Chinese endemic seed plants. PMID:27658845

  5. THE OPINION OF CROWD PARTICIPATORY FOR OPENSTREETMAP: A SURVEY IN CHINA

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    J. Shen

    2018-04-01

    Full Text Available At the present, OpenStreetMap (OSM is considered as one of the most successful and popular VGI (Volunteered Geographic Information projects. It provides a platform that all the registered members coming from different areas in the world can cooperate with each other to mapping our world. Besides, OSM attracts more and more people, companies and even the governmental agencies because of its free and open source. Studies have proofed that both the quantity and quality of OSM data in several western countries, i.e. Germany, France and the Netherland are even better than the authority data. In recent years, the quantity of the OSM data and the number of contributors in China increased rapidly, but the overall distribution of OSM data is very fit with the distribution of population and the economic development and it displays an uneven development in different provinces and cities in China. Besides, the state of the OSM in China is just similar to that in Germany in 2010 in terms of data quantity and quality, although China is about 25 times to Germany regarding land area and the smartphone penetration in China and Germany does not have a large distance (51.7 % to 68.8 %. Why is the development of OSM in China so poor and backward when comparing that with western countries, although the environment in hardware and software in China are similar to the western countries? Attempting to answer this question, this paper presents a user survey in China. Mainly, knowledges and experiences about OSM and OSM contribution were asked in the user survey. The user survey was conducted both by paper and pen and by using online platform. Totally, over 1200 participants with the age range from 15 to 80 and a huge diverse of background took part in the user survey. In this paper, we would like to describe the design of the questions for the user survey at first. Then we will demonstrate the results of the user survey, as well as the analysis and conclusions

  6. The Opinion of Crowd Participatory for Openstreetmap: a Survey in China

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shen, J.; Yang, S.; Zang, K.; Zhou, J.; Fan, H.; Mao, B.

    2018-04-01

    At the present, OpenStreetMap (OSM) is considered as one of the most successful and popular VGI (Volunteered Geographic Information) projects. It provides a platform that all the registered members coming from different areas in the world can cooperate with each other to mapping our world. Besides, OSM attracts more and more people, companies and even the governmental agencies because of its free and open source. Studies have proofed that both the quantity and quality of OSM data in several western countries, i.e. Germany, France and the Netherland are even better than the authority data. In recent years, the quantity of the OSM data and the number of contributors in China increased rapidly, but the overall distribution of OSM data is very fit with the distribution of population and the economic development and it displays an uneven development in different provinces and cities in China. Besides, the state of the OSM in China is just similar to that in Germany in 2010 in terms of data quantity and quality, although China is about 25 times to Germany regarding land area and the smartphone penetration in China and Germany does not have a large distance (51.7 % to 68.8 %). Why is the development of OSM in China so poor and backward when comparing that with western countries, although the environment in hardware and software in China are similar to the western countries? Attempting to answer this question, this paper presents a user survey in China. Mainly, knowledges and experiences about OSM and OSM contribution were asked in the user survey. The user survey was conducted both by paper and pen and by using online platform. Totally, over 1200 participants with the age range from 15 to 80 and a huge diverse of background took part in the user survey. In this paper, we would like to describe the design of the questions for the user survey at first. Then we will demonstrate the results of the user survey, as well as the analysis and conclusions, which can be drawn from

  7. Multi-disciplinarity breeds diversity : the influence of innovation project characteristics on diversity creation in nanotechnology

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Páez-Avilés, Cristina; van Rijnsoever, Frank J.|info:eu-repo/dai/nl/314100334; Juanola-Feliu, Esteve; Samitier, Josep

    Nanotechnology is an emerging and promising field of research. Creating sufficient technological diversity among its alternatives is important for the long-term success of nanotechnologies, as well as for other emerging technologies. Diversity prevents early lock-in, facilitates recombinant

  8. China's response to climate change issues after Paris Climate Change Conference

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yun Gao

    2016-12-01

    Full Text Available The Paris Climate Change Conference was successfully concluded with the Paris Agreement, which is a milestone for the world in collectively combating climate change. By participating in IPCC assessments and conducting national climate change assessments, China has been increasing its understanding of the issue. For the first time, China's top leader attended the Conference of the Parties, which indicates the acknowledgement of the rationality and necessity of climate change response by China at different levels. Moreover, this participation reflects China's commitment to including climate change in its ecology improvement program and pursuing a low-carbon society and economy. In order to ensure the success of the Paris Conference, China has contributed significantly. China's constructive participation in global governance shows that China is a responsible power. These principles such as the creation of a future of win–win cooperation with each country contributing to the best of its ability; a future of the rule of law, fairness, and justice; and a future of inclusiveness, mutual learning, and common development will serve as China's guidelines in its efforts to facilitate the implementation of the Paris Agreement and participate in the design of international systems.

  9. China's response to climate change issues after Paris Climate Change Conference

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    GAO Yun

    2016-01-01

    The Paris Climate Change Conference was successfully concluded with the Paris Agreement, which is a milestone for the world in collectively combating climate change. By participating in IPCC assessments and conducting national climate change assessments, China has been increasing its understanding of the issue. For the first time, China's top leader attended the Conference of the Parties, which indicates the acknowledgement of the rationality and necessity of climate change response by China at different levels. Moreover, this participation reflects China's commitment to including climate change in its ecology improvement program and pursuing a low-carbon society and economy. In order to ensure the success of the Paris Conference, China has contributed significantly. China's constructive participation in global governance shows that China is a responsible power. These principles such as the creation of a future of winewin cooperation with each country contributing to the best of its ability;a future of the rule of law, fairness, and justice;and a future of inclusiveness, mutual learning, and common development will serve as China's guidelines in its efforts to facilitate the implementation of the Paris Agreement and participate in the design of international systems.

  10. Genetic diversity and paternal origin of domestic donkeys.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Han, H; Chen, N; Jordana, J; Li, C; Sun, T; Xia, X; Zhao, X; Ji, C; Shen, S; Yu, J; Ainhoa, F; Chen, H; Lei, C; Dang, R

    2017-12-01

    Numerous studies have been conducted to investigate genetic diversity, origins and domestication of donkey using autosomal microsatellites and the mitochondrial genome, whereas the male-specific region of the Y chromosome of modern donkeys is largely uncharacterized. In the current study, 14 published equine Y chromosome-specific microsatellites (Y-STR) were investigated in 395 male donkey samples from China, Egypt, Spain and Peru using fluorescent labeled microsatellite markers. The results showed that seven Y-STRs-EcaYP9, EcaYM2, EcaYE2, EcaYE3, EcaYNO1, EcaYNO2 and EcaYNO4-were male specific and polymorphic, showing two to eight alleles in the donkeys studied. A total of 21 haplotypes corresponding to three haplogroups were identified, indicating three independent patrilines in domestic donkey. These markers are useful for the study the Y-chromosome diversity and population genetics of donkeys in Africa, Europe, South America and China. © 2017 Stichting International Foundation for Animal Genetics.

  11. Successful completion of the Qinshan phase III nuclear power plant-a successful model for Chinese-Canadian cooperation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Peng Xiaoxing

    2004-01-01

    This report documents Qinshan CANDU project construction and commissioning experience as well as management strategies and approaches that contributed to the successful completion of the project. The Qinshan phase III (CANDU) nuclear power plant was built in record times: Unit 1 achieved commercial operation on December 31, 2002 and Unit 2 on July 24, 2003, 43 days and 112 days ahead of schedule respectively. The reference plant design is the Wolsong 3 and 4 CANDU-6 units in the Republic of Korea. Improvements in design and construction methods allowed Unit 1 to be constructed in 51.5 Months from First Concrete to Criticality-a record in China for nuclear power plants. The key factors are project management and project management tools, quality assurance, construction methods (including open top construction, heavy lifts and modularization), electronic documentation with configuration control that provides up-to-date on-line information, CADDS design linked with material management, specialized material control including bar coding, and planning. The introduction of new design and construction techniques was achieved by combining conventional AECL practices with working experiences in China. The most advanced tools and techniques for achieving optimum construction quality, schedule and cost were used. Successful application of advanced project management methods and tools will benefit TQNPC in operation of the station, and the Chinese contractors in advancing their capabilities in future nuclear projects in China and enhancing their opportunities internationally. TQNPC's participation in Quality surveillance (QS) activities of nuclear steam plant (NSP) and Balance of Plant (BOP) offshore equipment benefited TQNPC in acquiring knowledge of specific equipment manufacturing processes, which can be applied to similar activities in China. China has established the capability of manufacturing CANDU fuel and becoming self-reliant in fuel supply. Excellent co-operation and

  12. Genetic diversity of Streptococcus uberis isolates from dairy cows with subclinical mastitis in Southern Xinjiang Province, China.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Lijun; Chen, Wei; Zhang, Lili; Zhu, Yaxin

    2013-01-01

    Streptococcus uberis is a common cause of dairy cow mastitis throughout the world. The failure to control bovine mastitis caused by S. uberis is largely attributed to the little known about the epidemiology of this bacteria, especially strain differences in the same area. To define the local epidemiology of S. uberis in the south of Xinjiang, China, we explored the genetic diversity of 28 bovine subclinical mastitis field isolates of S. uberis, collected from 3 Chinese farms during 2009 and 2010, which was examined by using pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) for clustering of the isolates and multilocus sequence typing (MLST) to assess the relationship between PFGE patterns and to identify genetic lineages. The 28 isolates were grouped into 13 pulsotypes (U1 to U13), and 1 PFGE type (U1) accounted for almost half of the isolates (13/28, 46.4%). This major type was herd specific, indicating either cow-to-cow transmission or infection with isolates from the same environmental reservoirs. The remaining 12 PFGE types of isolates were from different herds, strongly suggesting environmental sources of S. uberis infection. All 28 isolates were analyzed by MLST and clustered into 8 sequence types (STs), of which 7 STs were found to be novel, either with 5 new alleles of 6 housekeeping and virulence genes (ST158, ST159) or with different combinations of previously assigned alleles (ST153, ST154, ST155, ST156, ST157). To our knowledge, this is the first report that documents molecular typing studies of bovine isolates of S. uberis from southern Xinjiang Province, China, which were shown to represent novel genomic backgrounds of this pathogen.

  13. HIV-1 diversity and drug-resistant mutations in infected individuals in Changchun, China.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ming Yan

    Full Text Available OBJECTIVES: Human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1 infection has been detected in all provinces of China. Although epidemiological and phylogenetic studies have been conducted in many regions, such analyses are lacking from Jilin province in northeastern China. METHOD: Epidemiological and phylogenetic analyses, as well as detection of drug-resistant mutations, were conducted on 57 HIV-1 infected patients from Changchun city identified and confirmed through annual surveillance by local Centers for Disease Control in Jilin province of northeastern China in 2012. RESULTS: Sexual contact was determined to be the major pathway for HIV-1 transmission in Jilin, where hetero- and homosexual activities contributed almost equally. Phylogenetic analyses detected multiple subtypes of HIV-1 including subtype G circulating in Jilin, with multiple origins for each of them. Both subtype B and CRF01_AE were dominant, and evidence of subtype B transmitting between different high-risk groups was observed. Mutations in the viral protease at position 71 indicated the presence of a selective pressure. Several drug-resistant mutations were detected, although they were predicted with low-level resistance to antiviral treatments. CONCLUSIONS: Information from this study fills the gap in knowledge of HIV-1 transmission in Changchun city, Jilin province, China. By revealing the origin and evolutionary status of local HIV-1 strains, this work contributes to ongoing efforts in the control and prevention of AIDS.

  14. Overview on seagrasses and related research in China

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shi, Yajun; Fan, Hangqing; Cui, Xiaojian; Pan, Lianghao; Li, Sen; Song, Xiukai

    2010-03-01

    Seagrass research in China is still in its infancy. Even though there has been progress recently, there is still a great deal of research needed to gain a better understanding of seagrass. In this article we review and discuss the advances in seagrass research in China from two aspects: (1) seagrass species and their distribution; (2) seagrass research in China, including studies on their taxonomy, ecology, photosynthesis, applications in aquaculture, salt-tolerance mechanisms and other research topics. A total of 18 seagrass species belonging to 8 genera are distributed in nine provinces and regions in China (including Hong Kong and Taiwan), as well as the Xisha and Nansha Archipelagos. They can be divided into two groups: a North China Group and a South China Group. Based on the seagrass distribution, the Chinese mainland coast can be divided into three sections: North China Seagrass Coast, Middle China Seagrass Coast, and South China Seagrass Coast. Ecological studies include research on seagrass communities, nutrient cycling in seagrass ecosystems, genetic diversity, pollution ecology and research in the key regions of Shandong, Guangdong, Guangxi, and Hainan. Seagrass species and their locations, community structure, ecological evaluation, epiphytes, ecological functions and threats in the key regions are also summarized. Other studies have focused on remote sensing of seagrass, threatened seagrass species of China, and pollen morphology of Halophila ovalis.

  15. Sex Ideologies in China: Examining Interprovince Differences.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hu, Yang

    2016-01-01

    In recent decades, premarital sex, extramarital sex, and homosexuality have become increasingly visible in China, leading scholars to claim that a national "sex revolution" is under way. However, China's internal sociocultural diversity calls this nation-level generalization into question. How do sex ideologies vary across China's distinct provinces? To what extent are interprovince variations in sex ideologies associated with distinct macrolevel social factors in China? In this research, data from the 2010 China General Social Survey and the 2011 Chinese Statistics Yearbook were analyzed using multilevel models to test four contending theories of interprovince differences in sex ideologies in China: modernization, Westernization, deindustrialization, and the "rice theory." The modernization theory was unsupported by the results, as socioeconomic development is not significantly associated with sex ideologies. Higher levels of deindustrialization and Westernization were associated with less traditional sex ideologies, but the strength of association varied across the domains of premarital sex, extramarital sex, and homosexuality. The rice theory was consistently supported, as the distinction between rice and wheat agriculture explained up to 30% of the province-level variance in sex ideologies. The findings underline the roles of both long-standing geographic differences and recent social changes in shaping China's ideational landscape of sex.

  16. Emissions trading in China: Progress and prospects

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhang, Da; Karplus, Valerie J.; Cassisa, Cyril; Zhang, Xiliang

    2014-01-01

    To control rising energy use and CO 2 emissions, China's leadership has enacted energy and CO 2 intensity targets as part of the Twelfth Five-Year Plan (the Twelfth FYP, 2011–2015). Both to support achievement of these targets and to lay the foundation for a future national market-based climate policy, at the end of 2011, China's government selected seven areas to establish pilot emissions trading systems (ETS). In this paper, we provide a comprehensive overview of current status of China's seven ETS pilots. Pilots differ in the extent of sectoral coverage, the size threshold for qualifying installations, and other design features that reflect diverse settings and priorities. By comparing the development of the ETS pilots, we identify issues that have emerged in the design process, and outline important next steps for the development of a national ETS. - Highlights: • We summarize the history of China's climate policy and milestones in China's ETS development. • We provide a comprehensive overview of the current status of China's seven ETS pilots. • We discuss some key issues and challenges related to the implementation of the ETS pilots. • We identify next steps to support development of a national ETS in China

  17. Variability after 15 Years of Vegetation Recovery in Natural Secondary Forest with Timber Harvesting at Different Intensities in Southeastern China: Community Diversity and Stability

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Zhilong Wu

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available The mixed Cunninghamia lanceolata (Lamb. Hook., Pinus massoniana Lamb., and hardwood forest in southeastern China is a major assemblage in natural secondary forests, and of national and international importance in terms of both timber and ecosystem services. However, over-harvesting has threatened its long-term sustainability, and there is a knowledge gap relating to the effect of harvesting on the ecosystem. After conifer species were selected for harvesting, the mixed Chinese fir, pine, and hardwood forest was changed into mixed evergreen broadleaf forest. In this context, we observed the restoration dynamics of plant communities over a period of 15 years (1996 to 2011 with different levels of harvesting intensity, including selective harvesting at low (13.0% removal of growing stock volume, medium (29.1%, high (45.8%, and extra-high (67.1% intensities, as well as clear-cut harvesting (100.0%, with non-harvesting as the control, based on permanent sample plots established in a randomized block design in these forests in southeastern China. The impact on the richness, diversity, and evenness of plant species derived from descriptive statistical analyses was shown to initially increase, and then decrease, with an increase in harvesting intensity. The most critical impacts were on the richness, diversity, and evenness of shrub and herb species. Richness, diversity, and evenness of plant species recovered and increased under selective harvesting at low and medium intensities, while these parameters had not recovered and significantly decreased under selective harvesting at high and extra-high intensities, as well as with clear-cut harvesting. The impact on the plant community stability was derived from the stability test method of the improved Godron M. The plant community stability was closest to the point of stability (20/80 under selective harvesting at medium intensity, followed by selective harvesting at low intensity. The plant community

  18. Modelling the response of shallow groundwater levels to combined climate and water-diversion scenarios in Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei Plain, China

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Xue; Ye, Si-Yuan; Wei, Ai-Hua; Zhou, Peng-Peng; Wang, Li-Heng

    2017-09-01

    A three-dimensional groundwater flow model was implemented to quantify the temporal variation of shallow groundwater levels in response to combined climate and water-diversion scenarios over the next 40 years (2011-2050) in Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei (Jing-Jin-Ji) Plain, China. Groundwater plays a key role in the water supply, but the Jing-Jin-Ji Plain is facing a water crisis. Groundwater levels have declined continuously over the last five decades (1961-2010) due to extensive pumping and climate change, which has resulted in decreased recharge. The implementation of the South-to-North Water Diversion Project (SNWDP) will provide an opportunity to restore the groundwater resources. The response of groundwater levels to combined climate and water-diversion scenarios has been quantified using a groundwater flow model. The impacts of climate change were based on the World Climate Research Programme's (WCRP's) Coupled Model Intercomparison Project phase 3 (CMIP3) multi-model dataset for future high (A2), medium (A1B), and low (B1) greenhouse gas scenarios; precipitation data from CMIP3 were applied in the model. The results show that climate change will slow the rate of decrease of the shallow groundwater levels under three climate-change scenarios over the next 40 years compared to the baseline scenario; however, the shallow groundwater levels will rise significantly (maximum of 6.71 m) when considering scenarios that combine climate change and restrictions on groundwater exploitation. Restrictions on groundwater exploitation for water resource management are imperative to control the decline of levels in the Jing-Jin-Ji area.

  19. Ubiquity and diversity of heterotrophic bacterial nasA genes in diverse marine environments.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Xuexia Jiang

    Full Text Available Nitrate uptake by heterotrophic bacteria plays an important role in marine N cycling. However, few studies have investigated the diversity of environmental nitrate assimilating bacteria (NAB. In this study, the diversity and biogeographical distribution of NAB in several global oceans and particularly in the western Pacific marginal seas were investigated using both cultivation and culture-independent molecular approaches. Phylogenetic analyses based on 16S rRNA and nasA (encoding the large subunit of the assimilatory nitrate reductase gene sequences indicated that the cultivable NAB in South China Sea belonged to the α-Proteobacteria, γ-Proteobacteria and CFB (Cytophaga-Flavobacteria-Bacteroides bacterial groups. In all the environmental samples of the present study, α-Proteobacteria, γ-Proteobacteria and Bacteroidetes were found to be the dominant nasA-harboring bacteria. Almost all of the α-Proteobacteria OTUs were classified into three Roseobacter-like groups (I to III. Clone library analysis revealed previously underestimated nasA diversity; e.g. the nasA gene sequences affiliated with β-Proteobacteria, ε-Proteobacteria and Lentisphaerae were observed in the field investigation for the first time, to the best of our knowledge. The geographical and vertical distributions of seawater nasA-harboring bacteria indicated that NAB were highly diverse and ubiquitously distributed in the studied marginal seas and world oceans. Niche adaptation and separation and/or limited dispersal might mediate the NAB composition and community structure in different water bodies. In the shallow-water Kueishantao hydrothermal vent environment, chemolithoautotrophic sulfur-oxidizing bacteria were the primary NAB, indicating a unique nitrate-assimilating community in this extreme environment. In the coastal water of the East China Sea, the relative abundance of Alteromonas and Roseobacter-like nasA gene sequences responded closely to algal blooms, indicating

  20. China Changes the Development Model

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Grażyna Rzeszotarska

    2015-04-01

    Full Text Available The last decades of the twentieth century fundamentally changed the situation in the global economy. China's spectacular economic success has increased an interest in this country. The short time in which China moved on from the a poor agricultural country into a global economic power is admirable. China's model combines conflicted elements of different economic systems: the bureaucratic planning, island-capitalism, simple goods production and natural economy. The current development and transformation of the economy have brought about spectacular achievements and successes. However, the "the world's manufacturer" produces goods designed in other countries. In contrast, the modern idea is to build a modern and independent Chinese industry. The possibilities of the current model of economic development based on simple reserves and large statedriven infrastructure projects, which no longer drive the economy to the extent they previously did, dried out. Thus, the "Middle Kingdom" will have to compete against the rest of the world on quality and innovation. Therefore the development of the new model is a prerequisite to ensure progress in the future. Discussion on further development has been expedited in 2011, when it became abundantly clear that the Chinese economy would share the experience of the effects of the global crisis. The Chinese look at the challenges that the economy is facing realistically in thinking about the modern technology which begins to dominate the country. China is determined to become the leading technological superpower of the world. Today, many developing countries are looking towards China watching the development model implemented there with the hope of its adaptation in their economies. However, China is a unique entity. Therefore, it may be that adaptation of the Chinese model of development in other countries is not possible.

  1. Cultivation-dependent analysis of the microbial diversity associated with the seagrass meadows in Xincun Bay, South China Sea.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jiang, Yu-Feng; Ling, Juan; Wang, You-Shao; Chen, Biao; Zhang, Yan-Ying; Dong, Jun-De

    2015-10-01

    Microbial communities have largely existed in the seagrass meadows. A total of 496 strains of the bacteria in the seagrass meadows, which belonged to 50 genera, were obtained by the plate cultivation method from three sites of Xincun Bay, South China Sea. The results showed that Bacillales and Vibrionales accounted for the highest proportions of organisms in all communities. The diversity of the bacteria in the sediment was higher than that associated with seagrass. Thalassia hemperichii possessed the highest abundance of bacteria, followed by Enhalus acoroides and Cymodocea rotundata. Robust seasonal dynamics in microbial community composition were also observed. It was found that microbial activities were closely tied to the growth stage of the seagrass. The microbial distribution was the lowest in site 3. The abundance of the bacteria was linked to the interactions between bacteria and plants, the condition of plant and even the coastal water quality and the nutrition level in the sediment.

  2. Supply for the savvy investor : PetroChina's successful oilsands acquisition last fall set the stage for billions in Asian investment

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Cook, D.L.M.

    2010-06-15

    Sinopec's recent attempt to buy a 9 per cent stake in Syncrude demonstrates China's renewed interest in investing in Canada's oil sands. Many Asian investors are seeing the oil sands as a large energy resource in a country with low political risk. Syncrude is expected to benefit from the transaction because Sinopec is a large well-funded company. As global petroleum reserves dwindle, many countries are looking to purchase resources that are not state-owned. Only large international companies can afford the large amounts of capital required to build oil sands facilities. Many oil sands operators are looking at methods of providing Alberta oil sands to Asian markets. A plan to develop a 525,00 barrel-per-day pipeline from Alberta to the west coast is facing opposition from environmental and First Nation groups. China's refineries are not currently equipped to handle Alberta's bitumens. Future Asian investment in Canada's oil sands will be predicated on the success of Sinopec's new deal. 3 figs.

  3. Diversity and aboveground biomass of lianas in the tropical seasonal rain forests of Xishuangbanna, SW China

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Xiao-Tao Lü

    2009-06-01

    Full Text Available Lianas are important components of tropical forests and have significant impacts on the diversity, structure and dynamics of tropical forests. The present study documented the liana flora in a Chinese tropical region. Species richness, abundance, size-class distribution and spatial patterns of lianas were investigated in three 1-ha plots in tropical seasonal rain forests in Xishuangbanna, SW China. All lianas with = 2 cm diameter at breast height (dbh were measured, tagged and identified. A total of 458 liana stems belonging to 95 species (ranging from 38 to 50 species/ha, 59 genera and 32 families were recorded in the three plots. The most well-represented families were Loganiaceae, Annonceae, Papilionaceae, Apocynaceae and Rhamnaceae. Papilionaceae (14 species recorded was the most important family in the study forests. The population density, basal area and importance value index (IVI varied greatly across the three plots. Strychnos cathayensis, Byttneria grandifolia and Bousigonia mekongensis were the dominant species in terms of IVI across the three plots. The mean aboveground biomass of lianas (3 396 kg/ha accounted for 1.4% of the total community aboveground biomass. The abundance, diversity and biomass of lianas in Xishuangbanna tropical seasonal rain forests are lower than those in tropical moist and wet forests, but higher than those in tropical dry forests. This study provides new data on lianas from a geographical region that has been little-studied. Our findings emphasize that other factors beyond the amount and seasonality of precipitation should be included when considering the liana abundance patterns across scales. Rev. Biol. Trop. 57 (1-2: 211-222. Epub 2009 June 30.Las lianas son componentes importantes de los bosques tropicales y tienen importantes impactos en la diversidad, la estructura y la dinámica de los bosques tropicales. El presente estudio documenta la flora de lianas en una región tropical estacional china. La

  4. Successes and Challenges of Emerging Economy Multinationals

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Successes and Challenges of Emerging Economy Multinationals investigates a broad variety of cases presenting clear evidence of fast successful internationalization of emerging economy multinationals originating not only from big economic players such as China, India and Russia but also from other...... successfully internationalizing emerging countries, namely South Africa and Poland. In terms of size, the firms vary from huge multinational firms such as Huawei, Tata and Gazprom, to really small high technology firms. The in-depth analysis conducted in this book leads to the indication of numerous novel...

  5. Genetic Diversity and Identification of Chinese-Grown Pecan Using ISSR and SSR Markers

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Zhong-Ren Guo

    2011-12-01

    Full Text Available Pecan is an important horticultural nut crop originally from North America and now widely cultivated in China for its high ecological, ornamental and economic value. Currently, there are over one hundred cultivars grown in China, including introduced American cultivars and Chinese seedling breeding cultivars. Molecular markers were used to assess the genetic diversity of these cultivars and to identify the pedigrees of fine pecan plants with good characteristics and no cultivar-related data. A total of 77 samples grown in China were studied, including 14 introduced cultivars, 12 domestic seedling breeding cultivars, and 49 fine pecan plants with no cultivar data, together with Carya cathayensis and Juglans nigra. A total of 77 ISSR and 19 SSR primers were prescreened; 10 ISSR and eight SSR primers were selected, yielding a total of 94 amplified bands (100% polymorphic in the range of 140–1,950 bp for the ISSR and 70 amplified bands (100% polymorphic in the range of 50–350 bp for SSR markers. Genetic diversity analyses indicated Chinese-grown pecan cultivars and fine plants had significant diversity at the DNA level. The dengrograms constructed with ISSR, SSR or combined data were very similar, but showed very weak grouping association with morphological characters. However, the progeny were always grouped with the parents. The great diversity found among the Chinese cultivars and the interesting germplasm of the fine pecan plants analyzed in this study are very useful for increasing the diversity of the pecan gene pool. All 77 accessions in this study could be separated based on the ISSR and SSR fingerprints produced by one or more primers. The results of our study also showed that ISSR and SSR techniques were both suitable for genetic diversity analyses and the identification of pecan resources.

  6. Genetic diversity and identification of Chinese-grown pecan using ISSR and SSR markers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jia, Xiao-Dong; Wang, Tao; Zhai, Min; Li, Yong-Rong; Guo, Zhong-Ren

    2011-12-06

    Pecan is an important horticultural nut crop originally from North America and now widely cultivated in China for its high ecological, ornamental and economic value. Currently, there are over one hundred cultivars grown in China, including introduced American cultivars and Chinese seedling breeding cultivars. Molecular markers were used to assess the genetic diversity of these cultivars and to identify the pedigrees of fine pecan plants with good characteristics and no cultivar-related data. A total of 77 samples grown in China were studied, including 14 introduced cultivars, 12 domestic seedling breeding cultivars, and 49 fine pecan plants with no cultivar data, together with Carya cathayensis and Juglans nigra. A total of 77 ISSR and 19 SSR primers were prescreened; 10 ISSR and eight SSR primers were selected, yielding a total of 94 amplified bands (100% polymorphic) in the range of 140-1,950 bp for the ISSR and 70 amplified bands (100% polymorphic) in the range of 50-350 bp for SSR markers. Genetic diversity analyses indicated Chinese-grown pecan cultivars and fine plants had significant diversity at the DNA level. The dengrograms constructed with ISSR, SSR or combined data were very similar, but showed very weak grouping association with morphological characters. However, the progeny were always grouped with the parents. The great diversity found among the Chinese cultivars and the interesting germplasm of the fine pecan plants analyzed in this study are very useful for increasing the diversity of the pecan gene pool. All 77 accessions in this study could be separated based on the ISSR and SSR fingerprints produced by one or more primers. The results of our study also showed that ISSR and SSR techniques were both suitable for genetic diversity analyses and the identification of pecan resources.

  7. Dark diversity illuminates the dim side of restoration

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Moeslund, Jesper Erenskjold; Brunbjerg, Ane Kirstine; Clausen, Kevin Kuhlmann

    Dark diversity consists of the species that are absent from sites where they could potentially thrive despite the fact that they are actually in the regional species pool. Successful ecological restoration requires detailed knowledge of species that are less successful in (re)colonizing restored ...... in future restoration and conservation efforts.......Dark diversity consists of the species that are absent from sites where they could potentially thrive despite the fact that they are actually in the regional species pool. Successful ecological restoration requires detailed knowledge of species that are less successful in (re)colonizing restored...

  8. South China Sea

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Morton, Brian [Hong Kong Univ., Swire Inst. of Marine Science, Hong Kong (China); Hong Kong Univ., Dept. of Ecology and Biodiversity, Hong Kong (China); Blackmore, Graham [Hong Kong Univ. of Science and Technology, Dept. of Biology, Hong Kong (China)

    2001-07-01

    The South China Sea is poorly understood in terms of its marine biota, ecology and the human impacts upon it. What is known is most often contained in reports and workshops and conference documents that are not available to the wider scientific community. The South China Sea has an area of some 3.3 million km{sup 2} and depths range from the shallowest coastal fringe to 5377m in the Manila Trench. It is also studded with numerous islets, atolls and reefs many of which are just awash at low tide. It is largely confined within the Tropic of Cancer and, therefore, experiences a monsoonal climate being influenced by the Southwest Monsoon in summer and the Northeast Monsoon in winter. The South China Sea is a marginal sea and, therefore, largely surrounded by land. Countries that have a major influence on and claims to the sea include China, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam, although Thailand, Indonesia and Taiwan have some too. The coastal fringes of the South China Sea are home to about 270 million people that have had some of the fastest developing and most vibrant economics on the globe. Consequently, anthropogenic impacts, such as over-exploitation of resources and pollution, are anticipated to be huge although, in reality, relatively little is known about them. The Indo-West Pacific biogeographic province, at the centre of which the South China Sea lies, is probably the world's most diverse shallow-water marine area. Of three major nearshore habitat types, i.e., coral reefs, mangroves and seagrasses, 45 mangrove species out of a global total of 51, most of the currently recognised 70 coral genera and 20 of 50 known seagrass species have been recorded from the South China Sea. The island groups of the South China Sea are all disputed and sovereignty is claimed over them by a number of countries. Conflicts have in recent decades arisen over them because of perceived national rights. It is perhaps because of this that so little research has been undertaken

  9. South China Sea

    Science.gov (United States)

    Morton, Brian; Blackmore, Graham

    2001-01-01

    The South China Sea is poorly understood in terms of its marine biota, ecology and the human impacts upon it. What is known is most often contained in reports and workshop and conference documents that are not available to the wider scientific community. The South China Sea has an area of some 3.3 million km2 and depths range from the shallowest coastal fringe to 5377 m in the Manila Trench. It is also studded with numerous islets, atolls and reefs many of which are just awash at low tide. It is largely confined within the Tropic of Cancer and, therefore, experiences a monsoonal climate being influenced by the Southwest Monsoon in summer and the Northeast Monsoon in winter. The South China Sea is a marginal sea and, therefore, largely surrounded by land. Countries that have a major influence on and claims to the sea include China, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam, although Thailand, Indonesia and Taiwan have some too. The coastal fringes of the South China Sea are home to about 270 million people that have had some of the fastest developing and most vibrant economies on the globe. Consequently, anthropogenic impacts, such as over-exploitation of resources and pollution, are anticipated to be huge although, in reality, relatively little is known about them. The Indo-West Pacific biogeographic province, at the centre of which the South China Sea lies, is probably the world's most diverse shallow-water marine area. Of the three major nearshore habitat types, i.e., coral reefs, mangroves and seagrasses, 45 mangrove species out of a global of 51, most of the currently recognised 70 coral genera and 20 of 50 known seagrass species have been recorded from the South China Sea. The island groups of the South China Sea are all disputed and sovereignty is claimed over them by a number of countries. Conflicts have in recent decades arisen over them because of perceived national rights. It is perhaps because of this that so little research has been undertaken on the South

  10. Functional gene diversity of soil microbial communities from five oil-contaminated fields in China.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liang, Yuting; Van Nostrand, Joy D; Deng, Ye; He, Zhili; Wu, Liyou; Zhang, Xu; Li, Guanghe; Zhou, Jizhong

    2011-03-01

    To compare microbial functional diversity in different oil-contaminated fields and to know the effects of oil contaminant and environmental factors, soil samples were taken from typical oil-contaminated fields located in five geographic regions of China. GeoChip, a high-throughput functional gene array, was used to evaluate the microbial functional genes involved in contaminant degradation and in other major biogeochemical/metabolic processes. Our results indicated that the overall microbial community structures were distinct in each oil-contaminated field, and samples were clustered by geographic locations. The organic contaminant degradation genes were most abundant in all samples and presented a similar pattern under oil contaminant stress among the five fields. In addition, alkane and aromatic hydrocarbon degradation genes such as monooxygenase and dioxygenase were detected in high abundance in the oil-contaminated fields. Canonical correspondence analysis indicated that the microbial functional patterns were highly correlated to the local environmental variables, such as oil contaminant concentration, nitrogen and phosphorus contents, salt and pH. Finally, a total of 59% of microbial community variation from GeoChip data can be explained by oil contamination, geographic location and soil geochemical parameters. This study provided insights into the in situ microbial functional structures in oil-contaminated fields and discerned the linkages between microbial communities and environmental variables, which is important to the application of bioremediation in oil-contaminated sites.

  11. Genetic diversity, population structure, and traditional culture of Camellia reticulata.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xin, Tong; Huang, Weijuan; De Riek, Jan; Zhang, Shuang; Ahmed, Selena; Van Huylenbroeck, Johan; Long, Chunlin

    2017-11-01

    Camellia reticulata is an arbor tree that has been cultivated in southwestern China by various sociolinguistic groups for esthetic purposes as well as to derive an edible seed oil. This study examined the influence of management, socio-economic factors, and religion on the genetic diversity patterns of Camellia reticulata utilizing a combination of ethnobotanical and molecular genetic approaches. Semi-structured interviews and key informant interviews were carried out with local communities in China's Yunnan Province. We collected plant material ( n  = 190 individuals) from five populations at study sites using single-dose AFLP markers in order to access the genetic diversity within and between populations. A total of 387 DNA fragments were produced by four AFLP primer sets. All DNA fragments were found to be polymorphic (100%). A relatively high level of genetic diversity was revealed in C. reticulata samples at both the species ( H sp  = 0.3397, I sp  = 0.5236) and population (percentage of polymorphic loci = 85.63%, H pop  = 0.2937, I pop  = 0.4421) levels. Findings further revealed a relatively high degree of genetic diversity within C. reticulata populations (Analysis of Molecular Variance = 96.31%). The higher genetic diversity within populations than among populations of C. reticulata from different geographies is likely due to the cultural and social influences associated with its long cultivation history for esthetic and culinary purposes by diverse sociolinguistic groups. This study highlights the influence of human management, socio-economic factors, and other cultural variables on the genetic and morphological diversity of C. reticulata at a regional level. Findings emphasize the important role of traditional culture on the conservation and utilization of plant genetic diversity.

  12. Population structure of Han nationality in Central-Southern China.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Qiu-Ling; Chen, Ye-Fei; He, Xin; Shi, Yan-Wei; Wu, Wei-Wei; Zhao, Hu; Lu, De-Jian

    2017-07-01

    Knowledge of population structure is very important for forensic genetics. However, the population substructure in Central-Southern China Han nationality has still not been fully described. In this study, we investigated the genetic diversity of 15 forensic autosomal STR loci from 6879 individuals in 12 Han populations subdivided by administrative provinces in Central-Southern China. The statistical analysis of genetic variation showed that genetic differentiation among these populations was very small with a F st value of 0.0009. The Discriminant Analysis of Principal Components (DAPC) showed that there were no obvious population clusters in Central-Southern China Han population. In practice, the population structure effect in Central-Southern China Han population can be negligible in forensic identification and paternity testing. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier B.V.

  13. Microbial diversity in the hydrate-containing and -free surface sediments in the Shenhu area, South China Sea

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lu Jiao

    2015-07-01

    Full Text Available Microbial diversity in the hydrate-containing (sites SH3B and SH7B and -free (sites SH1B, SH5B, SH5C sediments collected from the Shenhu area of the South China Sea (SCS was investigated using 16S rRNA gene phylogenetic analysis. The phylogenetic results indicate difference in microbial communities between hydrate-containing and -free sediments. At the gas hydrate-containing sites, bacterial communities were dominated by Deltaproteobacteria (30.5%, and archaeal communities were dominated by Miscellaneous Crenarchaeotic Group (33.8%; In contrast, Planctomycetes was the major group (43.9% in bacterial communities, while Marine Benthic Group-D (MBG-D (32.4% took up the largest proportion in the archaeal communities. Moreover, the microbial communities have characteristics different from those in other hydrate-related sediments around the world, indicating that the presence of hydrates can affect the microbial distribution. In addition, the microbial community composition in the studied sediments has its own uniqueness, which may result from co-effect of geochemical characteristics and presence/absence of hydrate.

  14. Fatty acid composition indicating diverse habitat use in coral reef fishes in the Malaysian South China Sea

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Takaomi Arai

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available BACKGROUND: In order to understand feeding ecology and habitat use of coral reef fish, fatty acid composition was examined in five coral reef fishes, Thalassoma lunare, Lutjanus lutjanus, Abudefduf bengalensis, Scarus rivulatus and Scolopsis affinis collected in the Bidong Island of Malaysian South China Sea. RESULTS: Proportions of saturated fatty acids (SAFA ranged 57.2% 74.2%, with the highest proportions in fatty acids, the second highest was monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFA ranged from 21.4% to 39.0% and the proportion of polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA was the lowest ranged from 2.8% to 14.1%. Each fatty acid composition differed among fishes, suggesting diverse feeding ecology, habitat use and migration during the fishes' life history in the coral reef habitats. CONCLUSIONS: Diets of the coral fish species might vary among species in spite of that each species are living sympatrically. Differences in fatty acid profiles might not just be considered with respect to the diets, but might be based on the habitat and migration.

  15. Trends in China's Special Economic Zones and Suggestions for Korean Economy

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yong Ho Choi

    2003-12-01

    Full Text Available China's Special Economic Zones (SEZs have been entering a new development stage after China's entry into WTO. China has been developing 'China's economic development model', in which SEZs have ideally been combined with FDIs. China's SEZs concentrated in the east coastal region geographically, specialized in secondary industry, and put in practice many important favourable policies. China's SEZs also play an important role in regional development with the growth pole. At the time of entering the WTO, China's SEZs have been faced with new changes. This paper analyses this new change in China's SEZs, and considers the effect to Korea in the view of policy. In the past ten years, Korea has acquired a better development in the field of economic cooperation. The industrial structure of the two countries has become more and more closed. Especially, the FDI cooperation of the past ten years mostly concentrated on China's SEZs. From the view of country's spatial division, Korea needs to adjust FDI its strategy more diversely in investment regions and industries, and it needs more joint cooperation.

  16. National park development in China: conservation or commercialization?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Guangyu; Innes, John L; Wu, Sara W; Krzyzanowski, Judi; Yin, Yongyuan; Dai, Shuanyou; Zhang, Xiaoping; Liu, Sihui

    2012-05-01

    The rapid development of parks and ecotourism in China has attracted worldwide attention, not only for the beauty of the landscape that the parks are protecting but also for their abundant and often unique biodiversity. However, in some areas, the development of ecotourism has actually led to the degradation of local ecological, economic, and social systems. Using National Forest Parks for demonstration, this article analyzes the current political, institutional, legal, environmental, and economic issues concerning National Parks in China, and examines their potential future development. Although the intention of National Park systems in China is to raise environmental quality, and to protect biodiversity and social livelihoods, their success has varied. Future success will be measured by their capacity to reduce poverty, to promote long-term rehabilitation of wildlife habitats, and to simultaneously protect Chinese culture and biodiversity.

  17. Fast Food McDonald's China Fix

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    DAVID HENDRICKSON

    2006-01-01

    @@ Since the opening of its first outlet 16 years ago, McDonald's China operation has on many levels proven enormously successful.Home to more than 750 locations nationwide, the Middle Kingdom today ranks as one of McDonald's ten largest markets,with returns hovering in doubles digits and raking in billions annually. As lucrative as it may be, however, China has nonetheless developed into a relative sore spot for the world's leading fast food giant.

  18. Addressing medical school diversity through an undergraduate partnership at Texas A&M Health Science Center: a blueprint for success.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Parrish, Alan R; Daniels, Dennis E; Hester, R Kelly; Colenda, Christopher C

    2008-05-01

    Imperative to increasing diversity in the physician workforce is increasing the pool of qualified underrepresented minority applicants to medical schools. With this goal in mind, the Texas A&M Health Science Center College of Medicine (A&M College of Medicine) has partnered with Prairie View A&M University (PVAMU), a historically black college and university that is a component of the Texas A&M university system, to develop the undergraduate medical academy (UMA). The UMA was established by legislative mandate in 2003 and is a state-funded program. The authors describe the development of partnership between the A&M College of Medicine and PVAMU, focusing on the key attributes that have been identified for success. The administrative structure of the UMA ensures that the presidents of the two institutions collaborate to address issues of program oversight and facilitates a direct relationship between the dean and associate dean for academic affairs of A&M College of Medicine and the director of the UMA to define the program objectives and structure. The authors delineate the admission process to the UMA, as well as the academic requirements of the program. Students attend lecture series during the academic year and participate in summer programs on the A&M College of Medicine campus in addition to receiving intensive academic counseling and opportunities for tutoring in several subjects. The authors also describe the initial success in medical school admissions for UMA students. This partnership provides a model blueprint that can be adopted and adapted by other medical schools focused on increasing diversity in medicine.

  19. Abundance and diversity of archaeal accA gene in hot springs in Yunnan Province, China.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Song, Zhao-Qi; Wang, Li; Wang, Feng-Ping; Jiang, Hong-Chen; Chen, Jin-Quan; Zhou, En-Min; Liang, Feng; Xiao, Xiang; Li, Wen-Jun

    2013-09-01

    It has been suggested that archaea carrying the accA gene, encoding the alpha subunit of the acetyl CoA carboxylase, autotrophically fix CO2 using the 3-hydroxypropionate/4-hydroxybutyrate pathway in low-temperature environments (e.g., soils, oceans). However, little new information has come to light regarding the occurrence of archaeal accA genes in high-temperature ecosystems. In this study, we investigated the abundance and diversity of archaeal accA gene in hot springs in Yunnan Province, China, using DNA- and RNA-based phylogenetic analyses and quantitative polymerase chain reaction. The results showed that archaeal accA genes were present and expressed in the investigated Yunnan hot springs with a wide range of temperatures (66-96 °C) and pH (4.3-9.0). The majority of the amplified archaeal accA gene sequences were affiliated with the ThAOA/HWCG III [thermophilic ammonia-oxidizing archaea (AOA)/hot water crenarchaeotic group III]. The archaeal accA gene abundance was very close to that of AOA amoA gene, encoding the alpha subunit of ammonia monooxygenase. These data suggest that AOA in terrestrial hot springs might acquire energy from ammonia oxidation coupled with CO2 fixation using the 3-hydroxypropionate/4-hydroxybutyrate pathway.

  20. Modeling the environmental behavior and performance of livestock farmers in China: An ABM approach

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Zheng, C.; Liu, Y.; Bluemling, B.; Chen, J.; Mol, A.P.J.

    2013-01-01

    The diversity of farmers is a central concern in the development of environmental policies related to livestock production. However, this diversity is largely ignored in policy making, implementation and evaluation in China. In this research, an Agent-based Nutrient Emission Model (ANEM) was

  1. Wild Plant Species with Extremely Small Populations Require Conservation and Reintroduction in China

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hai Ren; Qianmei Zhang; Hongfang Lu; Hongxiao Liu; Qinfeng Guo; Jun Wang; Shuguang Jian; Hai’ou Bao

    2012-01-01

    China is exceptionally rich in biodiversity, with more than 30000 vascular plant species that include many endemic genera, species of ancient origin, and cultivated plants (Yang et al. 2005). Because of rapid economic development, population growth, pollution, and continuing resource exploitation, China’s plant diversity faces severe threats. According to the Chinese...

  2. Bacterial diversity and community along the succession of biological soil crusts in the Gurbantunggut Desert, Northern China.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Bingchang; Kong, Weidong; Wu, Nan; Zhang, Yuanming

    2016-06-01

    Biological soil crusts (BSCs) are common and play critical roles in semi-arid and arid ecosystems. Bacteria, as an important community in BSCs, play critical roles in biochemical processes. However, how bacterial diversity and community change in different successional stages of BSCs is still unknown. We used 454 pyrosequencing of 16S rRNA to investigate the bacterial composition and community, and the relationships between bacterial composition and environmental factors were also explored. In different successional stages of BSCs, the number of bacteria operational taxonomic units (OTUs) detected in each sample ranged from 2572 to 3157. Proteobacteria, Cyanobacteria, Bacteroidetes were dominant in BSCs, followed by Firmicutes, Acidobacteria, and Actinobacteria. At the successional stages of BSCs, bacterial communities, OTU composition and their relative abundance notably differentiated, and Cyanobacteria, especially Microcoleus vaginatus, dominated algal crust and lichen crust, and were the main C-fixing bacteria in BSCs. Proteobacteria and Bacteroidetes increased with the development of BSCs. OTUs related to Planomicrobium Chinese, Desulfobulbus sp., Desulfomicrobium sp., Arthrobacter sp., and Ahhaerbacter sp. showed higher relative abundance in bare sand than other successional stages of BSCs, while relative abundance of Sphingomonas sp. Niastella sp., Pedobacter, Candidatus solobacter, and Streptophyta increased with the development of BSCs. In successional stages of BSCs, bacterial OTUs composition demonstrated strong correlations with soil nutrients, soil salts, and soil enzymes. Additionally, variation of bacterial composition led to different ecological function. In bare sand, some species were related with mineral metabolism or promoting plant growth, and in algal crust and lichen crust, C-fixing bacteria increased and accumulated C to the desert soil. In later developed stage of BSCs, bacteria related with decomposition of organic matter, such as

  3. Prevalence, Virulence Genes, Antimicrobial Susceptibility, and Genetic Diversity of Bacillus cereus Isolated From Pasteurized Milk in China

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tiantian Gao

    2018-03-01

    Full Text Available Bacillus cereus is a common and important food-borne pathogen that can be found in various food products. Due to low-temperature sterilization for a short period of time, pasteurization is not sufficient for complete elimination of B. cereus in milk, thereby cause severe economic loss and food safety problems. It is therefore of paramount importance to perform risk assessment of B. cereus in pasteurized milk. In this study, we isolated B. cereus from pasteurized milk samples in different regions of China, and evaluated the contamination situation, existence of virulence genes, antibiotic resistance profile and genetic polymorphism of B. cereus isolates. Intriguingly, 70 samples (27% were found to be contaminated by B. cereus and the average contamination level was 111 MPN/g. The distribution of virulence genes was assessed toward 10 enterotoxigenic genes (hblA, hblC, hblD, nheA, nheB, nheC, cytK, entFM, bceT, and hlyII and one emetic gene (cesB. Forty five percent strains harbored enterotoxigenic genes hblACD and 93% isolates contained nheABC gene cluster. The positive rate of cytK, entFM, bceT, hlyII, and cesB genes were 73, 96, 75, 54, and 5%, respectively. Antibiotic susceptibility assessment showed that most of the isolates were resistant to β-lactam antibiotics and rifampicin, but susceptible to other antibiotics such as ciprofloxacin, gentamicin and chloramphenicol. Total multidrug-resistant population was about 34%. In addition, B. cereus isolates in pasteurized milk showed a high genetic diversity. In conclusion, our findings provide the first reference on the prevalence, contamination level and characteristics of B. cereus isolated from pasteurized milk in China, suggesting a potential high risk of B. cereus to public health and dairy industry.

  4. A metagenomic survey of viral abundance and diversity in mosquitoes from Hubei province.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Chenyan Shi

    Full Text Available Mosquitoes as one of the most common but important vectors have the potential to transmit or acquire a lot of viruses through biting, however viral flora in mosquitoes and its impact on mosquito-borne disease transmission has not been well investigated and evaluated. In this study, the metagenomic techniquehas been successfully employed in analyzing the abundance and diversity of viral community in three mosquito samples from Hubei, China. Among 92,304 reads produced through a run with 454 GS FLX system, 39% have high similarities with viral sequences belonging to identified bacterial, fungal, animal, plant and insect viruses, and 0.02% were classed into unidentified viral sequences, demonstrating high abundance and diversity of viruses in mosquitoes. Furthermore, two novel viruses in subfamily Densovirinae and family Dicistroviridae were identified, and six torque tenosus virus1 in family Anelloviridae, three porcine parvoviruses in subfamily Parvovirinae and a Culex tritaeniorhynchus rhabdovirus in Family Rhabdoviridae were preliminarily characterized. The viral metagenomic analysis offered us a deep insight into the viral population of mosquito which played an important role in viral initiative or passive transmission and evolution during the process.

  5. A Metagenomic Survey of Viral Abundance and Diversity in Mosquitoes from Hubei Province

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shi, Chenyan; Liu, Yi; Hu, Xiaomin; Xiong, Jinfeng; Zhang, Bo; Yuan, Zhiming

    2015-01-01

    Mosquitoes as one of the most common but important vectors have the potential to transmit or acquire a lot of viruses through biting, however viral flora in mosquitoes and its impact on mosquito-borne disease transmission has not been well investigated and evaluated. In this study, the metagenomic techniquehas been successfully employed in analyzing the abundance and diversity of viral community in three mosquito samples from Hubei, China. Among 92,304 reads produced through a run with 454 GS FLX system, 39% have high similarities with viral sequences belonging to identified bacterial, fungal, animal, plant and insect viruses, and 0.02% were classed into unidentified viral sequences, demonstrating high abundance and diversity of viruses in mosquitoes. Furthermore, two novel viruses in subfamily Densovirinae and family Dicistroviridae were identified, and six torque tenosus virus1 in family Anelloviridae, three porcine parvoviruses in subfamily Parvovirinae and a Culex tritaeniorhynchus rhabdovirus in Family Rhabdoviridae were preliminarily characterized. The viral metagenomic analysis offered us a deep insight into the viral population of mosquito which played an important role in viral initiative or passive transmission and evolution during the process. PMID:26030271

  6. The impact of workplace diversity on organisations

    OpenAIRE

    Dike, Priscilla

    2013-01-01

    The subject matter of this paper is workplace diversity. The study is conducted to explore how companies manage workforce diversity and its consequences to the company’s existence as well as examine how companies’ deal with challenges that comes with employees from diverse cultural backgrounds. The research therefore answers the question `Has workplace diversity contributed to organizational success`. Because diversity covers a wide range of human attrib-utes and qualities, The research is ...

  7. Advanced investigation on the change in the streamflow into the water source of the middle route of China's water diversion project

    Science.gov (United States)

    She, Dunxian; Xia, Jun; Shao, Quanxi; Taylor, John A.; Zhang, Liping; Zhang, Xiang; Zhang, Yanjun; Gu, Huanghe

    2017-07-01

    To alleviate water shortage in northern China, the middle route of the South to North Water Diversion Project (MRP) was constructed by the Chinese government. A dramatic reduction in the annual streamflow into Danjiangkou Reservoir (ASDR), the water source of MRP, during 1990 has raised some concerns on the MRP's operation. This paper employed an advanced segmented regression model with more recent data to have a clear picture and understand the changing pattern of the ASDR. Our study first revealed a zigzag changing pattern (decreasing-increasing-decreasing-increasing) of ASDR during 1960-2013, which was supported by statistical criteria compared with a monotonic or single abrupt change. Particularly, the significantly decreasing trend from 1990s was reversed after 2000, and such change may relieve the concern about the water availability in the future. Sensitivity analysis showed that changes in streamflow were largely influenced by the combined effects of precipitation (P) and potential evapotranspiration (ET0) and were more sensitive to P than ET0. As ET0 is estimated from other primary variables, further analysis was conducted to understand the sensitivities of ET0 to its primary driving variables (wind speed, actual vapor pressure, temperature, and sunshine duration) and indicated that ET0 is mostly sensitive to actual vapor pressure during 1960-2013. The findings will assist the MRP's operation and management. Moreover, the results in this study also indicate that an adaptive water diversion plan, rather than the current plan with a constant annual amount of diversion water, might be a better option in the MRP's operation.

  8. Investigating the Genetic Diversity, Population Differentiation and Population Dynamics of Cycas segmentifida (Cycadaceae Endemic to Southwest China by Multiple Molecular Markers

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Xiuyan Feng

    2017-05-01

    Full Text Available Climate change, species dispersal ability and habitat fragmentation are major factors influencing species distribution and genetic diversity, especially for the range-restricted and threatened taxa. Here, using four sequences of chloroplast DNAs (cpDNAs, three nuclear genes (nDNAs and 12 nuclear microsatellites (SSRs, we investigated the genetic diversity, genetic structure, divergence time and population dynamics of Cycas segmentifida D. Y. Wang and C. Y. Deng, a threatened cycad species endemic to Southwest China. High levels of genetic diversity and genetic differentiation were revealed in C. segmentifida. Haplotypes of networks showed two evolutionary units in C. segmentifida, with the exception of the nuclear gene GTP network. Meanwhile, the UPGMA tree, structure and PCoA analyses suggested that 14 populations of C. segmentifida were divided into two clades. There was significant effect of isolation by distance (IBD in this species. However, this species did not display a significant phylogeographic structure. The divergence time estimation suggested that its haplotypes diverged during the Middle Pleistocene. Additionally, the population dynamics inferred from different DNA sequences analyses were discordant. Bottleneck analysis showed that populations of C. segmentifida did not experience any recent bottleneck effect, but rather pointed to a contraction of its effective population size over time. Furthermore, our results suggested that the population BM which held an intact population structure and occupied undisturbed habitat was at the Hardy–Weinberg equilibrium, implying that this population is a free-mating system. These genetic features provide important information for the sustainable management of C. segmentifida.

  9. Assessing the influence of climate change and inter-basin water diversion on Haihe River basin, eastern China: a coupled model approach

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xia, Jun; Wang, Qiang; Zhang, Xiang; Wang, Rui; She, Dunxian

    2018-04-01

    The modeling of changes in surface water and groundwater in the areas of inter-basin water diversion projects is quite difficult because surface water and groundwater models are run separately most of the time and the lack of sufficient data limits the application of complex surface-water/groundwater coupling models based on physical laws, especially for developing countries. In this study, a distributed surface-water and groundwater coupling model, named the distributed time variant gain model-groundwater model (DTVGM-GWM), was used to assess the influence of climate change and inter-basin water diversion on a watershed hydrological cycle. The DTVGM-GWM model can reflect the interaction processes of surface water and groundwater at basin scale. The model was applied to the Haihe River Basin (HRB) in eastern China. The possible influences of climate change and the South-to-North Water Diversion Project (SNWDP) on surface water and groundwater in the HRB were analyzed under various scenarios. The results showed that the newly constructed model DTVGM-GWM can reasonably simulate the surface and river runoff, and describe the spatiotemporal distribution characteristics of groundwater level, groundwater storage and phreatic recharge. The prediction results under different scenarios showed a decline in annual groundwater exploitation and also runoff in the HRB, while an increase of groundwater storage and groundwater level after the SNWDP's operation. Additionally, as the project also addresses future scenarios, a slight increase is predicted in the actual evapotranspiration, soil water content and phreatic recharge. This study provides valuable insights for developing sustainable groundwater management options for the HRB.

  10. Managing air quality in a rapidly developing nation: China

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fang, Ming; Chan, Chak K.; Yao, Xiaohong

    As the world gets ready to begin the second decade of the twenty-first century, global climate change has been recognized as a real threat to civilization as we know it. The rapid and successful economic growth of developing nations, particularly China and India, is contributing to climate change. The route to initial economic success in China followed that of the developed nations through the development of industries. Unfortunately, China's environmental protection efforts have not been the same as in developed countries because China is vastly different culturally, socially, economically and, especially, politically from developed nations. When China started to deal with environmental concerns in the late 1970s, it took advantage of the experiences of other countries in establishing environmental standards and regulations, but it did not have a model to follow when it came to implementing these standards and regulations because of the abovementioned differences. Economically, China is transitioning from an agricultural base into an industrial base; however, even now, 60% of the population remains farmers. China has been and still is heavily dependent upon coal for energy, resulting in serious atmospheric particulate pollution. While growing efforts have been expended on the environment, at this juncture of its economic development, China would be well served to revisit the traditional "develop first and clean up later" approach and to find a balance between development and protecting the environment. Against this backdrop, a reflective look of the effort to manage air quality from 1949-2008 (with an emphasis on the past 30 years) in China is presented in this paper. The environmental component of the 2008 Olympic Games is examined as a special example to illustrate the current measures being used to improve air quality in China.

  11. Introduction and Utilization of INGER Rice Germplasm in China

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    TANGSheng-xiang; WEIXing-hua; ELJavier

    2004-01-01

    The International Network for Genetic Evaluation of Rice (INGER) is a global partnership between international and national agricultural research institutions. INGER focuses on worldwide exchange, evaluation and utilization of improved varieties and elite breeding lines of rice. China has actively participated in the activities of INGER since 1980.During the pasted years, 26 500 INGER entries with diversity genetic background have been introduced and evaluated by Chinese scientists. Among of them, 37 commercial varieties directly from elite INGER entries and 27 rice hybrids using INGER lines as their restorer lines/donors have been released to farmers in China. About 1 900 INGER entries were indirectly utilized as cross parents or pest resistant donors in various national and provincial rice breeding programs. Based on the incomplete statistics, there were 14.5 million cumulated hectares planting these varieties and hybrids, from which 5.44 MT of increased rough rice has been received by farmers. INGER accelerates the transfer of adapted varieties and hybrids to farmers, and increases the diversity of rice germplasm in cultivation. Therefore, INGER cooperation has made great benefit both in economy and society in China.

  12. Introduction and Utilization of INGER Rice Germplasm in China

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    TANG Sheng-xiang; WEI Xing-hua; E L Javier

    2004-01-01

    The International Network for Genetic Evaluation of Rice (INGER) is a global partnership between international and national agricultural research institutions. INGER focuses on worldwide exchange, evaluation and utilization of improved varieties and elite breeding lines of rice. China has actively participated in the activities of INGER since 1980.During the pasted years, 26 500 INGER entries with diversity genetic background have been introduced and evaluated by Chinese scientists. Among of them, 37 commercial varieties directly from elite INGER entries and 27 rice hybrids using INGER lines as their restorer lines/donors have been released to farmers in China. About 1 900 INGER entries were indirectly utilized as cross parents or pest resistant donors in various national and provincial rice breeding programs. Based on the incomplete statistics, there were 14.5million cumulated hectares planting these varieties and hybrids, from which 5.44 MT of increased rough rice has been received by farmers. INGER accelerates the transfer of adapted varieties and hybrids to farmers, and increases the diversity of rice germplasm in cultivation. Therefore, INGER cooperation has made great benefit both in economy and society in China.

  13. Discussion on organization structure system of nuclear power projects in China

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wang Zhi

    2011-01-01

    With the development of the nuclear power industry in China, several AE companies were born and now play a major role in building nuclear power projects in China and overseas. After studying current organization structure systems of all nuclear power AE companies in China and comparing with successful foreign ones, this paper proposes some approaches to optimize the structure. (author)

  14. Coronavirus Infection and Diversity in Bats in the Australasian Region.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Smith, C S; de Jong, C E; Meers, J; Henning, J; Wang, L- F; Field, H E

    2016-03-01

    Following the SARS outbreak, extensive surveillance was undertaken globally to detect and identify coronavirus diversity in bats. This study sought to identify the diversity and prevalence of coronaviruses in bats in the Australasian region. We identified four different genotypes of coronavirus, three of which (an alphacoronavirus and two betacoronaviruses) are potentially new species, having less than 90% nucleotide sequence identity with the most closely related described viruses. We did not detect any SARS-like betacoronaviruses, despite targeting rhinolophid bats, the putative natural host taxa. Our findings support the virus-host co-evolution hypothesis, with the detection of Miniopterus bat coronavirus HKU8 (previously reported in Miniopterus species in China, Hong Kong and Bulgaria) in Australian Miniopterus species. Similarly, we detected a novel betacoronavirus genotype from Pteropus alecto which is most closely related to Bat coronavirus HKU9 identified in other pteropodid bats in China, Kenya and the Philippines. We also detected possible cross-species transmission of bat coronaviruses, and the apparent enteric tropism of these viruses. Thus, our findings are consistent with a scenario wherein the current diversity and host specificity of coronaviruses reflects co-evolution with the occasional host shift.

  15. Bacterial successions in the Broiler Gastrointestinal tract

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Ranjitkar, Samir; Lawley, Blair; Tannock, Gerald

    2016-01-01

    diversity, data were pooled for downstream analysis. With increasing age, a clear succession of bacterial communities and an increased bacterial diversity was observed. Lactobacillaceae (mainly Lactobacillus) represented most of the Firmicutes at all ages and in all segments of the gut except the ceca...

  16. Population genetic structure of the mantis shrimp Oratosquilla oratoria (Crustacea: Squillidae) in the Yellow Sea and East China Sea

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yang, Mei; Li, Xinzheng

    2017-09-01

    The mantis shrimp Oratosquilla oratoria is an ecologically and economically important species in the Western Pacific. In present study, the population genetic structure of Oratosquilla oratoria from the Yellow Sea and East China Sea was examined with mitochondrial DNA control region sequences. In total, 394 samples were collected from 18 locations and 102 haplotypes were obtained. For the Yellow Sea, the overall nucleotide diversity and haplotype diversity were 0.006 9 and 0.946 8, respectively; while across all the East China Sea locations, the overall nucleotide diversity and haplotype diversity were 0.027 94 and 0.979 0, respectively. The results of AMOVA and pairwise F ST (0.145 2, P China Sea populations of O. oratoria. However, neither the neighbor-joining tree nor haplotype network showed clades with geographic pattern, which indicated considerable gene flow was existed between the Yellow Sea and East China Sea, and supporting the high larval dispersal ability in this species. Mismatch distribution analysis and neutrality tests suggested that O. oratoria has undergone population expansion event, and the Pleistocene glacial cycles might have an impact on the historical demography of O. oratoria. The genetic information obtained in this study can provide useful information for sustainable improvements for capture fisheries management strategies.

  17. Genetic diversity and phylogenetic analysis of Aleutian mink disease virus isolates in north-east China.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Leng, Xue; Liu, Dongxu; Li, Jianming; Shi, Kun; Zeng, Fanli; Zong, Ying; Liu, Yi; Sun, Zhibo; Zhang, Shanshan; Liu, Yadong; Du, Rui

    2018-05-01

    Aleutian mink disease is the most important disease in the mink-farming industry worldwide. So far, few large-scale molecular epidemiological studies of AMDV, based on the NS1 and VP2 genes, have been conducted in China. Here, eight new Chinese isolates of AMDV from three provinces in north-east China were analyzed to clarify the molecular epidemiology of AMDV. The seroprevalence of AMDV in north-east China was 41.8% according to counterimmuno-electrophoresis. Genetic variation analysis of the eight isolates showed significant non-synonymous substitutions in the NS1 and VP2 genes, especially in the NS1 gene. All eight isolates included the caspase-recognition sequence NS1:285 (DQTD↓S), but not the caspase recognition sequence NS1:227 (INTD↓S). The LN1 and LN2 strains had a new 10-amino-acid deletion in-between amino acids 28-37, while the JL3 strain had a one-amino-acid deletion at position 28 in the VP2 protein, compared with the AMDV-G strain. Phylogenetic analysis based on most of NS1 (1755 bp) and complete VP2 showed that the AMDV genotypes did not cluster according to their pathogenicity or geographic origin. Local and imported ADMV species are all prevalent in mink-farming populations in the north-east of China. This is the first study to report the molecular epidemiology of AMDV in north-east China based on most of NS1 and the complete VP2, and further provides information about polyG deletions and new variations in the amino acid sequences of NS1 and VP2 proteins. This report is a good foundation for further study of AMDV in China.

  18. Submerged macrophytes shape the abundance and diversity of bacterial denitrifiers in bacterioplankton and epiphyton in the Shallow Fresh Lake Taihu, China.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fan, Zhou; Han, Rui-Ming; Ma, Jie; Wang, Guo-Xiang

    2016-07-01

    nirK and nirS genes are important functional genes involved in the denitrification pathway. Recent studies about these two denitrifying genes are focusing on sediment and wastewater microbe. In this study, we conducted a comparative analysis of the abundance and diversity of denitrifiers in the epiphyton of submerged macrophytes Potamogeton malaianus and Ceratophyllum demersum as well as in bacterioplankton in the shallow fresh lake Taihu, China. Results showed that nirK and nirS genes had significant different niches in epiphyton and bacterioplankton. Bacterioplankton showed greater abundance of nirK gene in terms of copy numbers and lower abundance of nirS gene. Significant difference in the abundance of nirK and nirS genes also existed between the epiphyton from different submerged macrophytes. Similar community diversity yet different community abundance was observed between epiphytic bacteria and bacterioplankton. No apparent seasonal variation was found either in epiphytic bacteria or bacterioplankton; however, environmental parameters seemed to have direct relevancy with nirK and nirS genes. Our study suggested that submerged macrophytes have greater influence than seasonal parameters in shaping the presence and abundance of bacterial denitrifiers. Further investigation needs to focus on the potential contact and relative contribution between denitrifiers and environmental factors.

  19. Cultural diversity and patient teaching.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Price, J L; Cordell, B

    1994-01-01

    Cultural diversity challenges health care providers to facilitate bridging cross-cultural gaps with clients. It is through providing culturally relevant care that health care practitioners truly serve the needs of all clients in our diverse society. A theory of Cultural Care Diversity and Universality offers a framework for building linkages of clinical knowledge to cultural care. A four-step approach to providing culturally sensitive patient teaching is described: (1) health care providers should assess their own cultural beliefs and be aware of general ethnic, regional, and religious beliefs and practices in their area; (2) develop a teaching plan; (3) implement the plan; (4) evaluate the success of the teaching-learning process and make alterations based on evaluation. When providers assess clients' beliefs and practices and incorporate them into the teaching plan design, teaching becomes more relevant and clients become more successful at learning.

  20. Industrial tracer application in people's republic of china

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sun Maoyi

    1987-01-01

    A number of important applications of radioisotopes and their compounds used as tracers in petroleum industry, metallurgical industry, mechanical industry, chemical industry, electronic industry, hydrology and water conservancy in China are introduced in this paper. And the tracer technique applied to entomology is also mentioned. The industrial tracer applications are successful and beneficial in People's Republic of China from the examples given. (author)

  1. Taobao:The Overlord of E-Commerce in China

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    DAI Yue

    2013-01-01

    With the rapid development of Internet in China during the recent years, the number of Internet users is growing at high speed every year. Flourishing e-commerce in China market has provided a new market and numerous opportunities for merchants. Taobao precisely took up this vital point and had to leap to the top of e-commerce in China with so many competitors. This article will analyze the factors of Taobao's success, its market positioning, e-payment from the perspective of the economics. As well give some suggestions on further development.

  2. Bank Ethics:An Empirical Investigation of the Banking in China

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    刘春红; 宋玮

    2004-01-01

    Business ethics is considered critical for the reputation and competitive power of banks, especially in China after WTO Entry. This study applied the theory and research on ethical practices of successful managers and ethics control mechanisms to identify the ethical climates that result in ethical behaviors in the banking. 141 employees from different banks in Shanghai, China, completed measures of all scales in the survey. The results support the theorizing of the value of well-formed business ethics in the banking in China. The correlation and structural equation analysis suggests that ethical practices of successful managers and ethics control mechanisms of banks reinforce three ethical climates of 'service', 'law and rules' and 'caring' that promote the ethical level of employees, and the independence and instrumental climate on the contrary. This study also found that there are three ethics control mechanisms most commonly used in the banking and ethics-focused reward system is believed to be a mostly effective one by the employees of banking in China.

  3. Receptivity to malaria in the China-Myanmar border in Yingjiang County, Yunnan Province, China.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Tianmu; Zhang, Shaosen; Zhou, Shui-Sen; Wang, Xuezhong; Luo, Chunhai; Zeng, Xucan; Guo, Xiangrui; Lin, Zurui; Tu, Hong; Sun, Xiaodong; Zhou, Hongning

    2017-11-21

    The re-establishment of malaria has become an important public health issue in and out of China, and receptivity to this disease is key to its re-emergence. Yingjiang is one of the few counties with locally acquired malaria cases in the China-Myanmar border in China. This study aimed to understand receptivity to malaria in Yingjiang County, China, from June to October 2016. Light-traps were employed to capture the mosquitoes in 17 villages in eight towns which were categorized into four elevation levels: level 1, 0-599 m; level 2, 600-1199 m; level 3, 1200-1799 m; and level 4, > 1800 m. Species richness, diversity, dominance and evenness were used to picture the community structure. Similarity in species composition was compared between different elevation levels. Data of seasonal abundance of mosquitoes, human biting rate, density of light-trap-captured adult mosquitoes and larvae, parous rate, and height distribution (density) of Anopheles minimus and Anopheles sinensis were collected in two towns (Na Bang and Ping Yuan) each month from June to October, 2016. Over the study period, 10,053 Anopheles mosquitoes were collected from the eight towns, and 15 Anopheles species were identified, the most-common of which were An. sinensis (75.4%), Anopheles kunmingensis (15.6%), and An. minimus (3.5%). Anopheles minimus was the major malaria vector in low-elevation areas (malaria in the China-Myanmar border in Yingjiang County.

  4. English Training for Professionals in China: Introducing a Successful EFL Training Programme.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zou, Yongyi

    1998-01-01

    Describes how intensive English-as-a-Second-Language training for professionals in China is conducted, explaining the importance of training Chinese professionals in English and illustrating this type of training by highlighting a new intensive course for adults at one Chinese chemical engineering corporation. Essential teaching principles for…

  5. Genetic diversity and relationship analysis of Gossypium arboreum accessions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, F; Zhou, Z L; Wang, C Y; Wang, Y H; Cai, X Y; Wang, X X; Zhang, Z S; Wang, K B

    2015-11-19

    Simple sequence repeat techniques were used to identify the genetic diversity of 101 Gossypium arboreum accessions collected from India, Vietnam, and the southwest of China (Guizhou, Guangxi, and Yunnan provinces). Twenty-six pairs of SSR primers produced a total of 103 polymorphic loci with an average of 3.96 polymorphic loci per primer. The average of the effective number of alleles, Nei's gene diversity, and Shannon's information index were 0.59, 0.2835, and 0.4361, respectively. The diversity varied among different geographic regions. The result of principal component analysis was consistent with that of unweighted pair group method with arithmetic mean clustering analysis. The 101 G. arboreum accessions were clustered into 2 groups.

  6. Long-run Effects of the Korea-China Free-Trade Agreement

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sunghyun Kim

    2015-06-01

    Full Text Available This paper uses a 53-country 15-industry computable general equilibrium model of trade to analyze the effects of the Korea-China free trade agreement on the Korean economy, the manufacturing sector in particular. The model is based on Yaylaci and Shikher (2014 which uses the Eaton-Kortum methodology to explain intra-industry trade. The model predicts that the Korea-China FTA will increase Korea-China manufacturing trade by 56%, manufacturing employment in Korea by 5.7% and China by 0.55%. The model also predicts significant reallocation of employment across industries with the Food industry in Korea losing jobs and other industries there gaining jobs, with the Medical equipment industry gaining the most. There will be some trade diversion from the ASEAN countries, as well as Japan and the United States.

  7. Comparison of methanogen diversity of yak (Bos grunniens) and cattle (Bos taurus) from the Qinghai-Tibetan plateau, China

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-01-01

    Background Methane emissions by methanogen from livestock ruminants have significantly contributed to the agricultural greenhouse gas effect. It is worthwhile to compare methanogen from “energy-saving” animal (yak) and normal animal (cattle) in order to investigate the link between methanogen structure and low methane production. Results Diversity of methanogens from the yak and cattle rumen was investigated by analysis of 16S rRNA gene sequences from rumen digesta samples from four yaks (209 clones) and four cattle (205 clones) from the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau area (QTP). Overall, a total of 414 clones (i.e. sequences) were examined and assigned to 95 operational taxonomic units (OTUs) using MOTHUR, based upon a 98% species-level identity criterion. Forty-six OTUs were unique to the yak clone library and 34 OTUs were unique to the cattle clone library, while 15 OTUs were found in both libraries. Of the 95 OTUs, 93 putative new species were identified. Sequences belonging to the Thermoplasmatales-affiliated Linage C (TALC) were found to dominate in both libraries, accounting for 80.9% and 62.9% of the sequences from the yak and cattle clone libraries, respectively. Sequences belonging to the Methanobacteriales represented the second largest clade in both libraries. However, Methanobrevibacter wolinii (QTPC 110) was only found in the cattle library. The number of clones from the order Methanomicrobiales was greater in cattle than in the yak clone library. Although the Shannon index value indicated similar diversity between the two libraries, the Libshuff analysis indicated that the methanogen community structure of the yak was significantly different than those from cattle. Conclusion This study revealed for the first time the molecular diversity of methanogen community in yaks and cattle in Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau area in China. From the analysis, we conclude that yaks have a unique rumen microbial ecosystem that is significantly different from that of cattle

  8. Comparison of methanogen diversity of yak (Bos grunniens and cattle (Bos taurus from the Qinghai-Tibetan plateau, China

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Huang Xiao

    2012-10-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Methane emissions by methanogen from livestock ruminants have significantly contributed to the agricultural greenhouse gas effect. It is worthwhile to compare methanogen from “energy-saving” animal (yak and normal animal (cattle in order to investigate the link between methanogen structure and low methane production. Results Diversity of methanogens from the yak and cattle rumen was investigated by analysis of 16S rRNA gene sequences from rumen digesta samples from four yaks (209 clones and four cattle (205 clones from the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau area (QTP. Overall, a total of 414 clones (i.e. sequences were examined and assigned to 95 operational taxonomic units (OTUs using MOTHUR, based upon a 98% species-level identity criterion. Forty-six OTUs were unique to the yak clone library and 34 OTUs were unique to the cattle clone library, while 15 OTUs were found in both libraries. Of the 95 OTUs, 93 putative new species were identified. Sequences belonging to the Thermoplasmatales-affiliated Linage C (TALC were found to dominate in both libraries, accounting for 80.9% and 62.9% of the sequences from the yak and cattle clone libraries, respectively. Sequences belonging to the Methanobacteriales represented the second largest clade in both libraries. However, Methanobrevibacter wolinii (QTPC 110 was only found in the cattle library. The number of clones from the order Methanomicrobiales was greater in cattle than in the yak clone library. Although the Shannon index value indicated similar diversity between the two libraries, the Libshuff analysis indicated that the methanogen community structure of the yak was significantly different than those from cattle. Conclusion This study revealed for the first time the molecular diversity of methanogen community in yaks and cattle in Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau area in China. From the analysis, we conclude that yaks have a unique rumen microbial ecosystem that is significantly different

  9. Effects of tourism and topography on vegetation diversity in the subalpine meadows of the Dongling Mountains of Beijing, China.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Jin-Tun; Xiang, ChunLing; Li, Min

    2012-02-01

    Subalpine meadows in the Dongling Mountains (located at E115º26'-115º40', N40º00'-40º05') of Beijing, China are important for tourism and the provision of ecosystem services. However, because of poor management serious degradation has occurred on these subalpine meadows. The aim of this paper is to present a quantitative analysis of effects of tourism disturbance and topography on the status and diversity of montane meadow communities and to provide direction for improved management. Sixty quadrats of 2 × 2 m(2) along 10 transects were set up to collect data on site characteristics and vegetation status. The relationships between community composition and structure, species diversity, and tourism disturbance and topographic variables were analyzed by multivariate methods (TWINSPAN and CCA). The results showed that eight meadow communities were identified by TWINSPAN. Most of them were seriously degraded. The first CCA axis identified an elevation and tourism disturbance intensity gradient, which illustrated that tourism disturbance and elevation were most important factors influencing meadow types, composition and structure. Some resistant species and response species to tourism disturbance were identified and can be used as indicator species of tourism disturbance. Species richness, heterogeneity and evenness were closely related to tourism disturbance and elevation. It is concluded that tourism disturbance must be controlled to enable grassland rehabilitation to occur in the meadows. Measures of effective management of the meadows were discussed.

  10. Small mammal community succession on the beach of Dongting Lake, China after the Three Gorges Project.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Meiwen; Wang, Yong; Li, Bo; Guo, Cong; Huang, Guoxian; Shen, Guo; Zhou, Xunjun

    2014-06-01

    Although the Three Gorges Project (TGP) may have affected the population structure and distribution of plant and animal communities, few studies have analyzed the effect of this project on small mammal communities. Therefore, the present paper compares the small mammal communities inhabiting the beaches of Dongting Lake using field investigations spanning a 20-year period, both before and after the TGP was implemented. Snap traps were used throughout the census. The results indicate that the TGP caused major changes to the structure of the small mammal community at a lake downstream of the dam. First, species abundance on the beaches increased after the project commenced. The striped field mouse (Apodemus agrarius) and the Norway rat (Rattus norvegicus), which rarely inhabited the beach before the TGP, became abundant (with marked population growth) once water was impounded by the Three Gorges Reservoir. Second, dominant species concentration indices exhibited a stepwise decline, indicating that the community structure changed from a single dominant species to a more diverse species mix after TGP implementation. Third, the regulation of water discharge release by the TGP might have caused an increase in the species diversity of the animal community on the beaches. A significant difference in diversity indices was obtained before and after the TGP operation. Similarity indices also indicate a gradual increase in species numbers. Hence, a long-term project should be established to monitor the population fluctuations of the Yangtze vole (Microtus fortis), the striped field mouse and the Norway rat to safeguard against population outbreaks (similar to the Yangtze vole outbreak in 2007), which could cause crop damage to adjacent farmland, in addition to documenting the succession process of the small mammal community inhabiting the beaches of Dongting Lake. © 2013 International Society of Zoological Sciences, Institute of Zoology/Chinese Academy of Sciences and Wiley

  11. Research on Upgrade Path to Technology Innovation of Resource-based SMEs in China

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jie, Xu

    2017-08-01

    Complexity, diversity and coordination are features of technology innovation of resource-based SMEs in China. This paper studies on the key factors of macro-environment, cooperation among enterprises and enterprise interior, which influence the upgrading of technology innovation of resource-based SMEs in China. This paper constructs integrated system of technology innovation to analyse the upgrade path to technology innovation of resource-based SMEs in China, so that enterprises would improve their technology innovation and get a new way to accomplish sustainable innovated development.

  12. Is the cosmopolitanization of science emerging in China?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Joy Yueyue

    2010-12-01

    China is one among many other countries that have recognised the necessity in aligning national scientific progress with that of global development. As China is striding along the path of scientific development with determination and initial success, a key concern confronted by international scientific community is how China, a rising scientific power, will transform existing global scientific atlas. Based on a project carried out in six Chinese cities between 2006 to 2009, this paper mainly employs Ulrich Beck's cosmopolitan theory in examining China's life sciences' development in the last decade to investigate how Chinese stakeholders have developed a (cosmopolitan) sensibility to rival ways of scientific reasoning, and in what way, Chinese stakeholders have contributed to the cosmopolitanization of science.

  13. Application of DNA Barcodes in Asian Tropical Trees--A Case Study from Xishuangbanna Nature Reserve, Southwest China.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Huang, Xiao-cui; Ci, Xiu-qin; Conran, John G; Li, Jie

    2015-01-01

    Within a regional floristic context, DNA barcoding is more useful to manage plant diversity inventories on a large scale and develop valuable conservation strategies. However, there are no DNA barcode studies from tropical areas of China, which represents one of the biodiversity hotspots around the world. A DNA barcoding database of an Asian tropical trees with high diversity was established at Xishuangbanna Nature Reserve, Yunnan, southwest China using rbcL and matK as standard barcodes, as well as trnH-psbA and ITS as supplementary barcodes. The performance of tree species identification success was assessed using 2,052 accessions from four plots belonging to two vegetation types in the region by three methods: Neighbor-Joining, Maximum-Likelihood and BLAST. We corrected morphological field identification errors (9.6%) for the three plots using rbcL and matK based on Neighbor-Joining tree. The best barcode region for PCR and sequencing was rbcL (97.6%, 90.8%), followed by trnH-psbA (93.6%, 85.6%), while matK and ITS obtained relative low PCR and sequencing success rates. However, ITS performed best for both species (44.6-58.1%) and genus (72.8-76.2%) identification. With trnH-psbA slightly less effective for species identification. The two standard barcode rbcL and matK gave poor results for species identification (24.7-28.5% and 31.6-35.3%). Compared with other studies from comparable tropical forests (e.g. Cameroon, the Amazon and India), the overall performance of the four barcodes for species identification was lower for the Xishuangbanna Nature Reserve, possibly because of species/genus ratios and species composition between these tropical areas. Although the core barcodes rbcL and matK were not suitable for species identification of tropical trees from Xishuangbanna Nature Reserve, they could still help with identification at the family and genus level. Considering the relative sequence recovery and the species identification performance, we recommend the

  14. Profiling bacterial diversity in a limestone cave of the western Loess Plateau of China

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yucheng eWu

    2015-03-01

    Full Text Available Bacteria and archaea sustain subsurface cave ecosystems by dominating primary production and fueling biogeochemical cyclings, despite the permanent darkness and shortage of nutrients. However, the heterogeneity and underlying mechanism of microbial diversity in caves, in particular those well connect to surface environment are largely unexplored. In this study, we examined the bacterial abundance and composition in Jinjia Cave, a small and shallow limestone cave located on the western Loess Plateau of China, by enumerating and pyrosequencing small subunit (SSU rRNA genes. The results clearly reveal the contrasting bacterial community compositions in relation to cave habitat types, i.e., rock wall deposit, aquatic sediment and sinkhole soil, which are differentially connected to the surface environment. The deposits on the cave walls were dominated by putative cave-specific bacterial lineages within the -Proteobacteria or Actinobacteria that are routinely found on cave rocks around the world. In addition, sequence identity with known functional groups suggests enrichments of chemolithotrophic bacteria potentially involved in autotrophic C fixation and inorganic N transformation on rock surfaces. By contrast, bacterial communities in aquatic sediments were more closely related to those in the overlying soils. This is consistent with the similarity in elemental composition between the cave sediment and the overlying soil, implicating the influence of mineral chemistry on cave microhabitat and bacterial composition. These findings provide compelling molecular evidence of the bacterial community heterogeneity in an East Asian cave, which might be controlled by both subsurface and surface environments.

  15. Diversity of fish sound types in the Pearl River Estuary, China

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    Zhi-Tao Wang

    2017-10-01

    Full Text Available Background Repetitive species-specific sound enables the identification of the presence and behavior of soniferous species by acoustic means. Passive acoustic monitoring has been widely applied to monitor the spatial and temporal occurrence and behavior of calling species. Methods Underwater biological sounds in the Pearl River Estuary, China, were collected using passive acoustic monitoring, with special attention paid to fish sounds. A total of 1,408 suspected fish calls comprising 18,942 pulses were qualitatively analyzed using a customized acoustic analysis routine. Results We identified a diversity of 66 types of fish sounds. In addition to single pulse, the sounds tended to have a pulse train structure. The pulses were characterized by an approximate 8 ms duration, with a peak frequency from 500 to 2,600 Hz and a majority of the energy below 4,000 Hz. The median inter-pulsepeak interval (IPPI of most call types was 9 or 10 ms. Most call types with median IPPIs of 9 ms and 10 ms were observed at times that were exclusive from each other, suggesting that they might be produced by different species. According to the literature, the two section signal types of 1 + 1 and 1 + N10 might belong to big-snout croaker (Johnius macrorhynus, and 1 + N19 might be produced by Belanger’s croaker (J. belangerii. Discussion Categorization of the baseline ambient biological sound is an important first step in mapping the spatial and temporal patterns of soniferous fishes. The next step is the identification of the species producing each sound. The distribution pattern of soniferous fishes will be helpful for the protection and management of local fishery resources and in marine environmental impact assessment. Since the local vulnerable Indo-Pacific humpback dolphin (Sousa chinensis mainly preys on soniferous fishes, the fine-scale distribution pattern of soniferous fishes can aid in the conservation of this species. Additionally, prey and predator

  16. Diversity and succession of bacterial communities in the uterine fluid of postpartum metritic, endometritic and healthy dairy cows.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Thiago M A Santos

    Full Text Available The diversity of the uterine bacterial composition in dairy cows is still poorly understood, although the emerging picture has shown to be increasingly complex. Understanding the complexity and ecology of microorganisms in the uterus of postpartum dairy cows is critical for developing strategies to block their action in reproductive disorders, such as metritis/endometritis. Here, we used PCR-Denaturing Gradient Gel Electrophoresis (DGGE and DNA pyrosequencing to provide a comprehensive description of the uterine bacterial diversity and compare its succession in healthy, metritic and endometritic Holstein dairy cows at three intervals following calving. Samples were collected from 16 dairy cows housed in a dairy farm located in upstate New York. PCR-DGGE revealed a complex profile with extensive differences in the community structure. With few exceptions, clustering analysis grouped samples from cows presenting the same health status. Analysis of >65,000 high-quality 16S rRNA gene sequences showed that the uterine bacterial consortia, regardless of the health status, is mainly composed of members of the phyla Bacteroidetes, Fusobacteria, Firmicutes, Proteobacteria, and Tenericutes. In addition to these co-dominant phyla, sequences from Spirochaetes, Synergistetes, and Actinobacteria appear less frequently. It is possible that some sequences detected in the uterine fluid resulted from the presence of fecal or vaginal contaminants. Overall, the bacterial core community was different in uterine fluid of healthy cows, when compared to cows suffering from postpartum diseases, and the phylogenetic diversity in all the combined samples changed gradually over time. Particularly at the 34-36 days postpartum (DPP, the core community seemed to be specific for each health status. Our finding reveals that the uterine microbiota in dairy cows varies according with health status and DPP. Also, it adds further support to the hypothesis that there is uterine

  17. Embracing "Soft Skill" Diversity in the Workplace (Invited)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Thomas, T.

    2010-12-01

    Embracing "Soft Skill" Diversity in the Workplace Terri Thomas, Sr. Director Global Customer Support ShoreTel INRODUCTION Truly successful diversity programs go beyond gender, age, ethnicity, race, sexual orientation and spiritual practice. They include diversity of thought, style, leadership and communication styles, the so called “soft skills”. The increasing need for global workforces is stronger than ever and high performance teams have fully embraced, successfully harnessed and put into practice robust diversity programs than include a “soft skill” focus. Managing diversity presents significant organizational challenges, and is not an easy task, particularly in organizations that are heavily weighted with highly technical professionals such as engineers, accountants etc.. The focus of this presentation is on leveraging the “Soft Skills” diversity in technical work environments to create high performance and highly productive teams. WHY DIVERSITY and WHY NOW? Due to increasing changes in the U.S. population, in order to stay competitive, companies need to focus on diversity and look for ways to become inclusive organizations because diversity has the potential of yielding greater productivity and competitive advantages . Managing and valuing diversity is a key component of effective people management, which can improve workplace productivity (Black Enterprise, 2001). Changing demographics, from organizational restructuring, women in the workplace, equal opportunity legislation and other legal issues, are forcing organizations to become more aggressive in implementing robust diversity practices. However, YOU do not need to wait for your organization to introduce a formal “Diversity” program. There are steps you can take to introduce diversity into your own workgroups. There is no “one single answer” to solve this issue, however this discussion will provide thought provoking ideas, examples of success and failure and a starting point for you

  18. Genetic diversity analysis of five cattle breeds native to China using ...

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    Unknown

    This work was supported by Department of Education of Shan- dong Province of China Foundation (No. J04C11). References. Barendse W., Armitage S. M. and Kossarek L. M. 1994 A gene- tic linkage map of the bovine genome. Nature Genetics 6,. 227–235. Barker J. S. F. 1994 A global protocol for determining genetic.

  19. Development of an HIV-1 Subtype Panel in China: Isolation and Characterization of 30 HIV-1 Primary Strains Circulating in China.

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    Jingwan Han

    Full Text Available The complex epidemic and significant diversity of HIV-1 strains in China pose serious challenges for surveillance and diagnostic assays, vaccine development and clinical management. There is a lack of HIV-1 isolates in current canonical HIV-1 subtype panels that can represent HIV-1 diversity in China; an HIV-1 subtype panel for China is urgently needed.Blood samples were collected from HIV-1 infected patients participating in the drug-resistance surveillance program in China. The samples were isolated, cultured and stored as neat culture supernatant. The HIV-1 isolates were fully characterized. The panel was used to compare 2 viral load assays and 2 p24 assays as the examples of how this panel could be used.An HIV-1 subtype panel for China composed of 30 HIV-1 primary strains of four subtypes (B [including Thai-B], CRF01_AE, CRF07_BC and G was established. The samples were isolated and cultured to a high-titer (10(6-10(9 copies/ml/high-volume (40 ml. The HIV-1 isolates were fully characterized by the final viral load, p24 concentration, gag-pol and envC2V3 sequencing, co-receptor prediction, determination of the four amino acids at the tip of the env V3-loop, glycosylation sites in the V3 loop and the drug-resistance mutations. The comparison of two p24 assays and two viral load assays on the isolates illustrated how this panel may be used for the evaluation of diagnostic assay performance. The Pearson value between p24 assays were 0.938. The viral load results showed excellent concordance and agreement for samples of Thai-B, but lower correlations for samples of CRF01_AE.The current panel of 30 HIV-1 isolates served as a basis for the development of a comprehensive panel of fully characterized viral isolates, which could reflect the current dynamic and complex HIV-1 epidemic in China. This panel will be available to support HIV-1 research, assay evaluation, vaccine and drug development.

  20. Effective use of physical/chemical mutagens in crop hybrid breeding in China

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Liu Luxiang; Wang Jing [Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Institute for Application of Atomic Energy, Beijing (China)

    2001-03-01

    Crop heterosis utilization was one of the greatest achievements in the agriculture production in the 20th century. It is proved that every breakthrough in crop hybrid breeding was predicated on the discovery or successful development of new heterosis germplasm. In recent years, in order to open up the scope and ways of using crop heterosis, it has been paid much close attention to apply mutation techniques to hybrid breeding. Useful tool materials like male sterile mutant lines, fertile restoration mutants in many crops have been obtained by effective use of physical/chemical mutagens. Brief introduction is made in this paper on the newest research improvement concerning the effective use of the techniques of mutation induction in China to create special useful genes, enrich the diversity of germplasm and promote the rapid development of crop hybrid breeding. (author)

  1. Effective use of physical/chemical mutagens in crop hybrid breeding in China

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Liu Luxiang; Wang Jing

    2001-01-01

    Crop heterosis utilization was one of the greatest achievements in the agriculture production in the 20th century. It is proved that every breakthrough in crop hybrid breeding was predicated on the discovery or successful development of new heterosis germplasm. In recent years, in order to open up the scope and ways of using crop heterosis, it has been paid much close attention to apply mutation techniques to hybrid breeding. Useful tool materials like male sterile mutant lines, fertile restoration mutants in many crops have been obtained by effective use of physical/chemical mutagens. Brief introduction is made in this paper on the newest research improvement concerning the effective use of the techniques of mutation induction in China to create special useful genes, enrich the diversity of germplasm and promote the rapid development of crop hybrid breeding. (author)

  2. Revegetation of the riparian zone of the Three Gorges Dam Reservoir leads to increased soil bacterial diversity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ren, Qingshui; Li, Changxiao; Yang, Wenhang; Song, Hong; Ma, Peng; Wang, Chaoying; Schneider, Rebecca L; Morreale, Stephen J

    2018-06-06

    As one of the most active components in soil, bacteria can affect soil physicochemical properties, its biological characteristics, and even its quality and health. We characterized dynamics of the soil bacterial diversity in planted (with Taxodium distichum) and unplanted soil in the riparian zone of the Three Gorges Dam Reservoir (TGDR), in southwestern China, in order to accurately quantify the changes in long-term soil bacterial community structure after revegetation. Measurements were taken annually in situ in the TGDR over the course of 5 years, from 2012 to 2016. Soil chemical properties and bacterial diversity were analyzed in both the planted and unplanted soil. After revegetation, the soil chemical properties in planted soil were significantly different than in unplanted soil. The effects of treatment, time, and the interaction of both time and treatment had significant impacts on most diversity indices. Specifically, the bacterial community diversity indices in planted soil were significantly higher and more stable than that in unplanted soil. The correlation analyses indicated that the diversity indices correlated with the pH value, organic matter, and soil available nutrients. After revegetation in the riparian zone of the TGDR, the soil quality and health is closely related to the observed bacterial diversity, and a higher bacterial diversity avails the maintenance of soil functionality. Thus, more reforestation should be carried out in the riparian zone of the TGDR, so as to effectively mitigate the negative ecological impacts of the dam. Vegetating the reservoir banks with Taxodium distichum proved successful, but planting mixed stands of native tree species could promote even higher riparian soil biodiversity and improved levels of ecosystem functioning within the TGDR.

  3. China's science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) research environment: A snapshot.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Han, Xueying; Appelbaum, Richard P

    2018-01-01

    In keeping with China's President Xi Jinping's "Chinese Dream," China has set a goal of becoming a world-class innovator by 2050. China's higher education Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) research environment will play a pivotal role in influencing whether China is successful in transitioning from a manufacturing-based economy to an innovation-driven, knowledge-based economy. Past studies on China's research environment have been primarily qualitative in nature or based on anecdotal evidence. In this study, we surveyed STEM faculty from China's top 25 universities to get a clearer understanding of how faculty members view China's overall research environment. We received 731 completed survey responses, 17% of which were from individuals who received terminal degrees from abroad and 83% of which were from individuals who received terminal degrees from domestic institutions of higher education. We present results on why returnees decided to study abroad, returnees' decisions to return to China, and differences in perceptions between returnees and domestic degree holders on the advantages of having a foreign degree. The top five challenges to China's research environment identified by survey respondents were: a promotion of short-term thinking and instant success (37% of all respondents); research funding (33%); too much bureaucratic or governmental intervention (31%); the evaluation system (27%); and a reliance on human relations (26%). Results indicated that while China has clearly made strides in its higher education system, there are numerous challenges that must be overcome before China can hope to effectively produce the kinds of innovative thinkers that are required if it is to achieve its ambitious goals. We also raise questions about the current direction of education and inquiry in China, particularly indications that government policy is turning inward, away from openness that is central to innovative thinking.

  4. Breastfeeding in China: a review

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Binns Colin W

    2009-06-01

    Full Text Available Abstract This review aims to describe changes in breastfeeding and summarise the breastfeeding rates, duration and reasons of discontinuing 'any breastfeeding' or 'exclusive breastfeeding' in P.R. China. Breastfeeding rates in China fell during the 1970s when the use of breast milk substitutes became widespread, and reached the lowest point in the 1980s. As a result many efforts were introduced to promote breastfeeding. The breastfeeding rate in China started to increase in the 1990s, and since the mid-1990s 'any breastfeeding' rates in the majority of cities and provinces, including minority areas, have been above 80% at four months. But most cities and provinces did not reach the national target of 'exclusive breastfeeding' of 80%. The 'exclusive breastfeeding' rates in minority areas were relatively lower than comparable inland provinces. The mean duration of 'any breastfeeding' in the majority of cities or provinces was between seven and nine months. The common reasons for ceasing breastfeeding, or introducing water or other infant food before four months, were perceived breast milk insufficiency, mother going to work, maternal and child illness and breast problems. Incorrect traditional perceptions have a strong adverse influence on 'exclusive breastfeeding' in less developed areas or rural areas. China is a huge country, geographically and in population size, and there is considerable ethnic diversity. Therefore breastfeeding rates in different parts of China can vary considerably.

  5. Uncovering Scientist Stereotypes and Their Relationships with Student Race and Student Success in a Diverse, Community College Setting

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schinske, Jeffrey; Cardenas, Monica; Kaliangara, Jahana

    2015-01-01

    A number of studies have identified correlations between children’s stereotypes of scientists, their science identities, and interest or persistence in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. Yet relatively few studies have examined scientist stereotypes among college students, and the literature regarding these issues in predominantly nonwhite and 2-yr college settings is especially sparse. We piloted an easy-to-analyze qualitative survey of scientist stereotypes in a biology class at a diverse, 2-yr, Asian American and Native American Pacific Islander–Serving Institution. We examined the reliability and validity of the survey, and characterized students’ comments with reference to previous research on stereotypes. Positive scientist stereotypes were relatively common in our sample, and negative stereotypes were rare. Negative stereotypes appeared to be concentrated within certain demographic groups. We found that students identifying nonstereotypical images of scientists at the start of class had higher rates of success in the course than their counterparts. Finally, evidence suggested many students lacked knowledge of actual scientists, such that they had few real-world reference points to inform their stereotypes of scientists. This study augments the scant literature regarding scientist stereotypes in diverse college settings and provides insights for future efforts to address stereotype threat and science identity. PMID:26338318

  6. Species delimitation, genetic diversity and population historical dynamics of Cycas diannanensis (Cycadaceae occurring sympatrically in the Red River region of China

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Liu eJian

    2015-09-01

    Full Text Available Delimitating species boundaries could be of critical importance when evaluating the species’ evolving process and providing guidelines for conservation genetics. Here, species delimitation was carried out on three endemic and endangered Cycas species with resembling morphology and overlapped distribution range along the Red River (Yuanjiang in China: Cycas diananensis Z. T. Guan et G. D. Tao, Cycas parvula S. L. Yang and Cycas multiovula D. Y. Wang. A total of 137 individuals from 15 populations were genotyped by using three chloroplastic (psbA-trnH, atpI-atpH and trnL-rps4 and two single copy nuclear (RPB1 and SmHP DNA sequences. Basing on the carefully morphological comparison and cladistic haplotype aggregation (CHA analysis, we propose all the populations as one species, with the rest two incorporated into C. diannanensis. Genetic diversity and structure analysis of the conflated C. diannanensis revealed this species possessed a relative lower genetic diversity than estimates of other Cycas species. The higher genetic diversity among populations and relative lower genetic diversity within populations, as well as obvious genetic differentiation among populations inferred from chloroplastic DNA (cpDNA suggested a recent genetic loss within this protected species. Additionally, a clear genetic structure of C. diannanensis corresponding with geography was detected based on cpDNA, dividing its population ranges into Yuanjiang-Nanhun basin and Ejia-Jiepai basin groups. Demographical history analyses based on combined cpDNA and one nuclear DNA (nDNA SmHP both showed the population size of C. diannanensis began to decrease in Quaternary glaciation with no subsequent expansion, while another nDNA RPB1 revealed a more recent sudden expansion after long-term population size contraction, suggesting its probable bottleneck events in history. Our findings offer grounded views for clarifying species boundaries of C. diannanensis when determining the

  7. Paleomagnetism of a well-dated marine succession in South China: A possible Late Cambrian true polar wander (TPW)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jiao, Wen-Jun; Li, Yong-Xiang; Yang, Zhen-Yu

    2018-04-01

    The Cambrian true polar wander (TPW) hypothesis remains controversial largely because of the uncertainties in the quality and/or fidelity of the paleomagnetic data as well as their chronological control. Testing the TPW hypothesis requires high-quality paleomagnetic data of sufficient spatial and temporal resolutions. Here, we present paleomagnetic results of a continuous Cambrian shallow marine succession from South China where available detailed biostratigraphy provides exceptional chronological constraints. Forty-three sites of paleomagnetic samples were collected from this limestone-dominated succession. Stepwise thermal demagnetization generally reveals three-component magnetizations. Low- and intermediate-temperature components can be cleaned by ∼330 °C, and the high-temperature component (HTC) was isolated typically from ∼350 to ∼450 °C. A positive fold test and the presence of reversed polarity in the strata, together with rock magnetic data as well as the scanning electron microscopic (SEM) and transmission electron microscopic (TEM) results, collectively suggest that the HTCs are likely primary. A directional shift of the HTCs occurs between the lower-middle Cambrian and the upper Cambrian strata in the succession and is tentatively interpreted to indicate a ∼57° polar wander from ∼500.5 to 494 Ma. Because the rate of polar wander is too fast to be a tectonic origin, this polar wander is interpreted to represent a Late Cambrian TPW. This TPW appears coeval with the Steptoean positive carbon isotope excursion (SPICE) and the major trilobite mass extinctions, suggesting a potential link between the TPW and the Late Cambrian biotic and climatic changes. Because the proposed TPW event is exceptionally well-dated, it should be testable through examination of other worldwide sections.

  8. Implementing Integrated River Basin Management in China

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Dorri G. J. te Boekhorst

    2010-06-01

    Full Text Available This paper examines the role of the World Wildlife Fund for Nature China as policy entrepreneur in China. It illustrates the ways in which the World Wildlife Fund for Nature is active in promoting integrated river basin management in the Yangtze River basin and how the efforts at basin level are matched with the advice of the China Council for International Cooperation on Environment and Development task force on integrated river basin management to the national government of China. This article demonstrates that the World Wildlife Fund for Nature uses various strategies of different types to support a transition process towards integrated river basin management. Successful deployment of these strategies for change in environmental policy requires special skills, actions, and attitudes on the part of the policy entrepreneur, especially in China, where the government has a dominant role regarding water management and the position of policy entrepeneurs is delicate.

  9. Evaluation of Rural Primary Health Care in Western China: A Cross-Sectional Study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Manli; Fang, Haiqing; Bishwajit, Ghose; Xiang, Yuanxi; Fu, Hang; Feng, Zhanchun

    2015-10-29

    China's Ministry of Health has enacted Rural Primary Health Care Program (2001-2010) (HCP) guidelines to improve the quality of people's health. However, the program's success in Western China remains unevaluated. Thus, this study aims to begin to fill that gap by analyzing the provision and utilization of Rural Primary Health Care (RPHC) in Western China. A cross-sectional study was conducted to collect secondary data on the socio-economic characteristics, system construction, services use and implementation of RPHC, and the residents' health status of the sampled areas. Four hundred counties from 31 provinces in China were selected via stratified random sampling, including 171 counties from 12 Western provinces. Twenty-seven analysis indicators, covering system construction, services use and implementation of RPHC were chosen to assess Western China's primary health quality. Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) and Least Significant Difference (LSD) methods were used to measure the RPHC disparities between Western and Eastern and Central China. Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS) was used to rank Western, Eastern and Central internal provinces regarding quality of their RPHC. Of the 27 indicators, 13 (48.15%) were below the standard in Western China. These focused on rural health service system construction, Chinese medicine services, and public health. In the comparison between Western, Central and Eastern China, 12 indicators had statistical significance (p China, all indicators were statistically significant (p China overall. Western China's RPHC has proceeded well, but remains weaker than that of Eastern and Central China. Differences within Western internal provinces threaten the successful implementation of RPHC.

  10. Low Divergence of Clonorchis sinensis in China Based on Multilocus Analysis.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jiufeng Sun

    Full Text Available Clonorchis sinensis, an ancient parasite that infects a number of piscivorous mammals, attracts significant public health interest due to zoonotic exposure risks in Asia. The available studies are insufficient to reflect the prevalence, geographic distribution, and intraspecific genetic diversity of C. sinensis in endemic areas. Here, a multilocus analysis based on eight genes (ITS1, act, tub, ef-1a, cox1, cox3, nad4 and nad5 [4.986 kb] was employed to explore the intra-species genetic construction of C. sinensis in China. Two hundred and fifty-six C. sinensis isolates were obtained from environmental reservoirs from 17 provinces of China. A total of 254 recognized Multilocus Types (MSTs showed high diversity among these isolates using multilocus analysis. The comparison analysis of nuclear and mitochondrial phylogeny supports separate clusters in a nuclear dendrogram. Genetic differentiation analysis of three clusters (A, B, and C showed low divergence within populations. Most isolates from clusters B and C are geographically limited to central China, while cluster A is extraordinarily genetically diverse. Further genetic analyses between different geographic distributions, water bodies and hosts support the low population divergence. The latter haplotype analyses were consistent with the phylogenetic and genetic differentiation results. A recombination network based on concatenated sequences showed a concentrated linkage recombination population in cox1, cox3, nad4 and nad5, with spatial structuring in ITS1. Coupled with the history record and archaeological evidence of C. sinensis infection in mummified desiccated feces, these data point to an ancient origin of C. sinensis in China. In conclusion, we present a likely phylogenetic structure of the C. sinensis population in mainland China, highlighting its possible tendency for biogeographic expansion. Meanwhile, ITS1 was found to be an effective marker for tracking C. sinensis infection

  11. Low Divergence of Clonorchis sinensis in China Based on Multilocus Analysis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sun, Jiufeng; Huang, Yan; Huang, Huaiqiu; Liang, Pei; Wang, Xiaoyun; Mao, Qiang; Men, Jingtao; Chen, Wenjun; Deng, Chuanhuan; Zhou, Chenhui; Lv, Xiaoli; Zhou, Juanjuan; Zhang, Fan; Li, Ran; Tian, Yanli; Lei, Huali; Liang, Chi; Hu, Xuchu; Xu, Jin; Li, Xuerong; XinbingYu

    2013-01-01

    Clonorchis sinensis, an ancient parasite that infects a number of piscivorous mammals, attracts significant public health interest due to zoonotic exposure risks in Asia. The available studies are insufficient to reflect the prevalence, geographic distribution, and intraspecific genetic diversity of C. sinensis in endemic areas. Here, a multilocus analysis based on eight genes (ITS1, act, tub, ef-1a, cox1, cox3, nad4 and nad5 [4.986 kb]) was employed to explore the intra-species genetic construction of C. sinensis in China. Two hundred and fifty-six C. sinensis isolates were obtained from environmental reservoirs from 17 provinces of China. A total of 254 recognized Multilocus Types (MSTs) showed high diversity among these isolates using multilocus analysis. The comparison analysis of nuclear and mitochondrial phylogeny supports separate clusters in a nuclear dendrogram. Genetic differentiation analysis of three clusters (A, B, and C) showed low divergence within populations. Most isolates from clusters B and C are geographically limited to central China, while cluster A is extraordinarily genetically diverse. Further genetic analyses between different geographic distributions, water bodies and hosts support the low population divergence. The latter haplotype analyses were consistent with the phylogenetic and genetic differentiation results. A recombination network based on concatenated sequences showed a concentrated linkage recombination population in cox1, cox3, nad4 and nad5, with spatial structuring in ITS1. Coupled with the history record and archaeological evidence of C. sinensis infection in mummified desiccated feces, these data point to an ancient origin of C. sinensis in China. In conclusion, we present a likely phylogenetic structure of the C. sinensis population in mainland China, highlighting its possible tendency for biogeographic expansion. Meanwhile, ITS1 was found to be an effective marker for tracking C. sinensis infection worldwide. Thus, the

  12. Tree Diversity Enhances Stand Carbon Storage but Not Leaf Area in a Subtropical Forest.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Castro-Izaguirre, Nadia; Chi, Xiulian; Baruffol, Martin; Tang, Zhiyao; Ma, Keping; Schmid, Bernhard; Niklaus, Pascal A

    2016-01-01

    Research about biodiversity-productivity relationships has focused on herbaceous ecosystems, with results from tree field studies only recently beginning to emerge. Also, the latter are concentrated largely in the temperate zone. Tree species diversity generally is much higher in subtropical and tropical than in temperate or boreal forests, with reasons not fully understood. Niche overlap and thus complementarity in the use of resources that support productivity may be lower in forests than in herbaceous ecosystems, suggesting weaker productivity responses to diversity change in forests. We studied stand basal area, vertical structure, leaf area, and their relationship with tree species richness in a subtropical forest in south-east China. Permanent forest plots of 30 x 30 m were selected to span largely independent gradients in tree species richness and secondary successional age. Plots with higher tree species richness had a higher stand basal area. Also, stand basal area increases over a 4-year census interval were larger at high than at low diversity. These effects translated into increased carbon stocks in aboveground phytomass (estimated using allometric equations). A higher variability in tree height in more diverse plots suggested that these effects were facilitated by denser canopy packing due to architectural complementarity between species. In contrast, leaf area was not or even negatively affected by tree diversity, indicating a decoupling of carbon accumulation from leaf area. Alternatively, the same community leaf area might have assimilated more C per time interval in more than in less diverse plots because of differences in leaf turnover and productivity or because of differences in the display of leaves in vertical and horizontal space. Overall, our study suggests that in species-rich forests niche-based processes support a positive diversity-productivity relationship and that this translates into increased carbon storage in long-lived woody

  13. Prevalence, Diagnosis, and Vaccination Situation of Animal Chlamydiosis in China

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jizhang Zhou

    2018-05-01

    Full Text Available Since the first case of Chlamydia infection in duck had been reported in 1956 and the first case from domestic animal had been reported in 1979 in China, the chlamydia prevalence in China was heavily according to the published data. The Chlamydia in avian prevalence has been reported at least 11 provinces, Chlamydia in sheep and goats at least 11 provinces, in swine at least 15 provinces, in cows at least 13 provinces and in yaks at least 5 provinces with result of IHA detection. Different diagnostic method such as CFT, ELISA and ABC-ELISA (avidin-biotin-complex ELISA had been established besides IHA. The inactivated vaccines have been developed with isolated strains from sheep, goats, swine and cows. These inactivated vaccines have been used since 1980s and Chlamydia prevalence in China has been successfully controlled in domestic animal. However, the inactivated vaccines of Chlamydia isolated from avian species have not been successful, although a series of experimental vaccine have been done. Due to the unsustainable eradication plan of Chlamydia in China, sporadic outbreak in animal would happen if the vaccinations were suspended and economy lose in some farmers. Although Chlamydia prevalence in China has a long history, however, almost all published studies are in Chinese, which, in some degree, blocked scientists in other countries to understand the prevalence situation and control measures of Chlamydia in China.

  14. Genetic diversity and variation of mitochondrial DNA in native and introduced bighead carp

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Si-Fa; Yang, Qin-Ling; Xu, Jia-Wei; Wang, Cheng-Hui; Chapman, Duane C.; Lu, Guoping

    2010-01-01

    The bighead carp Hypophthalmichthys nobilis is native to China but has been introduced to over 70 countries and is established in many large river systems. Genetic diversity and variation in introduced bighead carp have not previously been evaluated, and a systematic comparison among fish from different river systems was unavailable. In this study, 190 bighead carp specimens were sampled from five river systems in three countries (Yangtze, Pearl, and Amur rivers, China; Danube River, Hungary; Mississippi River basin, USA) and their mitochondrial 16S ribosomal RNA gene and D-loop region were sequenced (around 1,345 base pairs). Moderate genetic diversity was found in bighead carp, ranging from 0.0014 to 0.0043 for nucleotide diversity and from 0.6879 to 0.9333 for haplotype diversity. Haplotype analysis provided evidence that (1) multiple haplotype groups might be present among bighead carp, (2) bighead carp probably originated from the Yangtze River, and (3) bighead carp in the Mississippi River basin may have some genetic ancestry in the Danube River. The analysis of molecular variance showed significant genetic differentiation among these five populations but also revealed limited differentiation between the Yangtze and Amur River bighead carp. This large-scale study of bighead carp genetic diversity and variation provides the first global perspective of bighead carp in the context of biodiversity conservation as well as invasive species control and management.

  15. Regional Population Projections for China

    OpenAIRE

    Toth, F.L.; Cao, G.-Y.; Hizsnyik, E.

    2003-01-01

    Considering the size and the regional diversity of China, a prudent analysis of many economic and policy issues needs to consider the regional differences in climate, soil, water, and other natural resource endowments, population density, and social and economic development. Future-oriented multi-regional assessments require regionally detailed scenarios. A key component of such scenarios is the evolution of the population in different regions. For studies of land-use change and agriculture, ...

  16. Capital outflows from China

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ewa Cieślik

    2009-12-01

    Full Text Available Following the success in opening the economy and attracting inward foreign direct investment, China has rapidly become an important source of outward foreign direct investment (ODI and portfolio investments in recent years. Since China adopted a Going Global strategy, the stock of Chinese ODI has tripled. China’s outward investments are quite small compared with the inward flows. The change of ODI forms, structure and destinations has made China more and more similar to developed countries. Chinese ODI has accumulated in the service sector and high-tech manufacturing. More recently, China’s financial institutions are starting to play a more substantial role in the foreign financial sector. With the concentration of Chinese ODI in foreign advanced sectors, a lot of China’s funds flow into resource sectors in the developing countries. This double-track approach to outward foreign investment is probably beneficial for China’s economic development and is favourable to the process of catching-up with the developed countries.

  17. Measuring Cultural Diversity

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Patsiurko, Natalka; Campbell, John L.; Hall, John A.

    2012-01-01

    Many claim that national economic success depends upon cultural homogeneity. We collect new time-series data and develop new measures of ethnic, linguistic and religious fractionalization for the OECD countries. We show that cultural diversity may vary by type across countries and over short peri...

  18. "Biomedical Workforce Diversity: The Context for Mentoring to Develop Talents and Foster Success Within the 'Pipeline'".

    Science.gov (United States)

    McGee, Richard

    2016-09-01

    Like all biomedical research fields, AIDS research needs the broadest diversity of experiences and perspectives among researchers in the field if creative advancements are to be achieved. Mentors and mentoring are the most important vehicles by which the talents of young scientists are developed. However, mentoring as a teaching and learning paradigm is very complex and idiosyncratic, and often inadvertently fails to provide the same quality and quantity of opportunity to aspiring scientists who are 'different' from those doing the mentoring. This article provides a theoretical and practical framework for understanding how differences of race, ethnicity, gender, skin color, social status and other identifiable characteristics can play into scientific development during mentoring 'within the pipeline'. It also serves as a foundation upon which mentoring in AIDS is considered by subsequent papers in this series. Finally, it goes beyond mentoring to propose systematic coaching as an effective complement to research mentoring to promote success, especially for individuals from underrepresented groups.

  19. The oriental fruit fly, Bactrocera dorsalis, in China: origin and gradual inland range expansion associated with population growth.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wan, Xuanwu; Nardi, Francesco; Zhang, Bin; Liu, Yinghong

    2011-01-01

    The oriental fruit fly, Bactrocera dorsalis, expanded throughout mainland China in the last century to become one of the most serious pests in the area, yet information on this process are fragmentary. Three mitochondrial genes (nad1, cytb and nad5) were used to infer the genetic diversity, population structure and demographic history of the oriental fruit fly from its entire distribution range in China. High levels of genetic diversity, as well as a significant correspondence between genetic and geographic distances, suggest that the invasion process might have been gradual, with no associated genetic bottlenecks. Three population groups could be identified, nevertheless the overall genetic structure was weak. The effective number of migrants between populations, estimated using the coalescent method, suggested asymmetric gene flow from the costal region of Guangdong to most inland regions. The demographic analysis indicates the oriental fruit fly underwent a recent population expansion in the Central China. We suggest the species originated in the costal region facing the South China Sea and gradually expanded to colonize mainland China, expanding here to high population numbers.

  20. Paving the Road to Success: A Framework for Implementing the Success Tutoring Approach

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Spark Linda

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available The exponential growth of higher education enrolment in South Africa has resulted in increased diversity of the student body, leading to a proliferation of factors that affect student performance and success. Various initiatives have been adopted by tertiary institutions to mitigate the negative impact these factors may have on student success, and it is suggested that interventions that include aspects of social integration are the most successful. This paper outlines an approach called Success Tutoring (a non-academic tutorial approach used as part of a student success and support programme in the Faculty of Commerce, Law, and Management at the University of the Witwatersrand, which is underscored by empirical evidence drawn from evaluation data collected during Success Tutor symposia. The authors draw conclusions and make recommendations based on a thematic analysis of the dataset, and ultimately provide readers with a framework for implementing Success Tutoring at their tertiary institutions.

  1. Understory succession in post-agricultural oak plantations

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Brunet, Jörg; Valtinat, Karin; Mayr, Marian Lajos

    2011-01-01

    The herbaceous understory forms the richest stratum in temperate broadleaved forests in terms of plant diversity. Understanding the process of understory succession is thus of critical importance for the development of management guidelines for biodiversity restoration in post-agricultural planta......The herbaceous understory forms the richest stratum in temperate broadleaved forests in terms of plant diversity. Understanding the process of understory succession is thus of critical importance for the development of management guidelines for biodiversity restoration in post...... forested stands, which maintained differences in species composition. The development of a shrub layer seemed to imply a competitive advantage for forest specialists compared to generalist species. For successful recovery of a rich understory, we suggest that post-arable plantations should be established......, and woody species. The group of forest specialists may approach the richness of continuously forested sites after 60-80 years in non-fragmented plantations, but many forest species were sensitive to habitat fragmentation. Open-land species richness decreased during succession, while the richness of woody...

  2. Comparison of drug abuse in Germany and China.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Michels, Ingo Ilja; Fang, Yu-Xia; Zhao, Dong; Zhao, Li-Yan; Lu, Lin

    2007-10-01

    Drug abuse has a long, but also different history in Germany and China. The Opium War largely influenced the history of China in 19th century; however, China was once recognized as a drug-free nation for 3 decades from the 1950s to the 1980s. Drug abuse has spread quickly since re-emerging as a national problem in China in the late 1980s. The number of registered drug abusers increased from 70 000 in 1990 to more than 1 million by the end of 2005. In past decades, illicit drug trafficking and production have swept most provinces in China, and drug abuse has caused many problems for both abusers and the community. One major drug-related problem is the spread of HIV, which has caused major social and economic damage in China. Germany, the largest developed European country, also faces the drug and addiction problem. Germany has about 150 000 heroin addicts, for whom HIV/AIDS has become a serious threat since the mid 1980s. To control the drug problem, the German Government adopted the pAction Plan on Drugs and Addictionq in 2003; the China Central Government approved a similar regulation in the antidrug campaign in 2005. Germany has experience in reducing drug-related harm. The methadone maintenance treatment (MMT) program has run for more than 20 years and the public has become more tolerant of addicts. In 2003, China began the MMT program for controlling the spread of HIV/AIDS. It is necessary for China to learn from developed countries to acquire success in its antidrug campaign. In this review, we will go over the differences and similarities in drug abuse between Germany and China. The differences are related to history, population and economics, drug policy context, drug laws, HIV/hepatitis C virus infection, the MMT program and so on. These 2 nations have drug abuse problems with different histories and currently use different approaches to handle illicit drug marketing and use. The legal penalties for illicit drug offences reflect the social differences of

  3. Returning ex-patriot Chinese to Guangdong, China, increase the risk for local transmission of Zika virus.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sun, Jiufeng; Wu, De; Zhong, Haojie; Guan, Dawei; Zhang, Huan; Tan, Qiqi; Zhou, Huiqiong; Zhang, Meng; Ning, Dan; Zhang, Baohuan; Ke, Changwen; Song, Tie; Lin, Jinyan; Zhang, Yonghui; Koopmans, Marion; Gao, George F

    2017-10-01

    Fast expansion and linkage to microcephaly and Guillain Barre syndrome have made Zika virus (ZIKV) track attention of global health authority concerns. The epidemiology, virological characteristics and genetic evolution of introduced ZIKV to Guangdong, China, were investigated. Analyses of the epidemiological characteristics and genetic diversity of ZIKV isolates were performed. A total of twenty-eight confirmed ZIKV infection cases were imported into China in 2016, of which 19 were imported into Guangdong, China from Venezuela (16), the Samoa Islands (1), Suriname (1) and Guatemala (1). Serial sampling studies of the cases indicated longer shedding times of ZIKV particles from urine and saliva samples than from serum and conjunctiva swab samples. Seven ZIKV strains were successfully isolated from serum, urine and conjunctiva swab samples using cell culture and neonatal mouse injection methods. Genomic analysis indicated that all viruses belonged to the Asian lineage but had different evolutionary transmission routes with different geographic origins. The molecular clock phylogenetic analysis of the ZIKV genomes indicated independent local transmission that appeared to have been previously established in Venezuela and Samoa. Additionally, we found 7 unique non-synonymous mutations in the genomes of ZIKV that were imported to China. The mutations may indicate that ZIKV has undergone independent evolutionary history not caused by sudden adaptation to Chinese hosts. The increasing number of ex-patriot Chinese returning from ZIKV hyper-endemic areas to Guangdong combined with the presence of a variety of Aedes species indicate the potential for autochthonous transmission of ZIKV in Guangdong. Copyright © 2017 The British Infection Association. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  4. Strategic conservation of orchard germplasm based on indigenous knowledge and genetic diversity: a case study of sour orange populations in China.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ming, Feng; Liu, Qi-Kun; Shi, Jin-Lei; Wang, Wei; Lu, Bao-Rong

    2009-01-01

    To effectively conserve sour orange (Citrus aurantium L.) germplasm on two islands at the estuary of the Yangtze River in China, we estimated genetic variation and relationships of the known parental trees and their proposed descendents (young trees) using the fingerprints of random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD). Results based on RAPD analyses showed considerable genetic diversity in the parental populations (H(e)=0.202). The overall populations including the parental and young trees showed slightly higher genetic diversity (H(e)=0.298) than the parents, with about 10% variation between populations. An unweighted pair group method with arithmetic mean analysis dendrogram based on cluster analysis of the Jaccard similarity among individuals demonstrated a more complicated relationship of the parental and young trees from the two islands, although the young trees showed a clear association with parental trees. This indicates a significant contribution of parental trees in establishing the sour orange populations on the two islands. According to farmers' knowledge, conservation of only one or two parental trees would be sufficient because they believed that the whole populations were generated from a single mother tree. However, this study suggests that preserving most parental trees and some selected young trees with distant genetic relationships should be an effective conservation strategy for sour orange germplasm on the two islands.

  5. Diversity of macrofungal community in Bifeng Gorge: the core giant ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Macrofungi not only play an important role in pollution control and other environmental protection measures, but also an important resource in food and pharmaceutical industries. However, the diversity of the macrofungal community in the core habitat of the giant panda in Bifeng Gorge, China is still inadequate. In the ...

  6. Diversity in Information Technology Education: Issues and Controversies

    Science.gov (United States)

    Trajkovski, Goran, Ed.

    2006-01-01

    "Diversity in Information Technology Education: Issues and Controversies" sheds light on the status of diversity in the field of IT education. It identifies a wide range of problems that educators face on a daily basis, and gives practical, applicable solutions, mainly by showcasing successful and replicable examples. The chapters in "Diversity in…

  7. Predictors of success in selective laser trabeculoplasty for primary open angle glaucoma in Chinese

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lee JW

    2014-09-01

    Full Text Available Jacky WY Lee,1,2 Catherine CL Liu,3 Jonathan CH Chan,4 Raymond LM Wong,5 Ian YH Wong,2 Jimmy SM Lai2 1The Department of Ophthalmology, Caritas Medical Centre, Hong Kong, SAR, People’s Republic of China; 2The Department of Ophthalmology, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, SAR, People’s Republic of China; 3Department of Applied Mathematics, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong, SAR, People’s Republic of China; 4The Department of Ophthalmology, Queen Mary Hospital, Hong Kong, SAR, People’s Republic of China; 5The Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Sciences, Hong Kong Eye Hospital, Hong Kong, SAR, People’s Republic of China Purpose: To determine the predictors of success for adjuvant selective laser trabeculoplasty (SLT in Chinese primary open angle glaucoma (POAG patients. Methods: This prospective study recruited Chinese subjects with unilateral or bilateral POAG currently taking medication to reduce intraocular pressure (IOP. All subjects received a single session of 360° SLT treatment and continued their medications for 1 month. SLT success was defined as IOP reduction ≥20% at 1 month. The following covariates were analyzed in both groups via univariate and multivariate analyses: age, sex, lens status, initial IOPs, post-SLT IOPs, number and type of medications, SLT shots and energy, and pre-SLT investigations.Results: In 51 eyes of 33 POAG subjects, the success rate of SLT was 47.1%. Certain groups of patients were associated with greater success using univariate analysis. These groups included the following: older age (coefficient =0.1; OR: 1.1; P=0.0003, a higher pre-SLT IOP (coefficient =0.3; OR: 1.3; P=0.0005, using four types of antiglaucoma medication (coefficient =2.1; OR: 8.4; P=0.005, a greater degree of spherical equivalent (coefficient =2.1; OR: 8.4; P=0.005, and the use of a topical carbonic anhydrase inhibitor (coefficient =1.7; OR: 6.0; P=0.003. None of the covariates were significant using

  8. Fighting against infectious diseases in China.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yin, Weidong

    2011-12-01

    Dr. Yin started his research on infectious disease prevention in the 1980s. In 1985, Dr. Yin sucessfully isolated the hepatitis A virus, after which, in 2002, he developed the first proprietary inactivated hepatitis A vaccine in China and soon launched it into the China market. Led by Dr. Yin, Sinovac successfully developed the vaccine prducts against SARS, H5N1, H1N1, hepatitis A and B and infleunza. Currently, Sinovac is working on the R&D of EV71 vaccine against hand, foot and mouth disease, and pneumococcal conjugate vaccine. Sinovac aims to provide Chinese children with international quality vaccines, and provide children in the world with vaccines made in China.

  9. Population Structure of the Greenhouse Whitefly, Trialeurodes vaporariorum (Westwood, an Invasive Species from the Americas, 60 Years after Invading China

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rui-Rui Gao

    2014-08-01

    Full Text Available Though the greenhouse whitefly, Trialeurodes vaporariorum (Westwood (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae was introduced into China more than 60 years ago, the genetic diversity and structure of this exotic insect pest and virus vector have not been studied. To investigate the population genetic characteristics of this invasive species and to identify potential invasion routes, the genetic diversity and population structure of 17 collections of T. vaporariorum from nine provinces in China were analyzed using seven microsatellite loci. The results of the analyses indicated that the genetic diversity for the populations examined from the four provinces: Jilin, Ningxia, Guizhou and Qinghai, was lower than the genetic diversity of populations from the five provinces: Yunnan, Shandong, Shanxi, Liaoning, and Gansu. The T. vaporariorum populations analyzed in this study grouped as two distinct genetic clusters based on the analysis using STRUCTURE, whereas, 8 clusters were identified based on the BAPS analysis. Of the 136 genetic distance (Fst values, 128 (94% were associated with a significant exact test. However, there was no significant relationship between Fst and geographical distance. These results demonstrate that populations of T. vaporariorum in China exhibit significant genetic differentiation, indicating the likelihood that multiple introductions of T. vaporariorum into China have occurred. Also, the populations collected from the provinces of Jilin, Ningxia, Guizhou and Qinghai appear to represent secondary introductions originating from other Chinese provinces.

  10. Global implications of China's healthcare reform.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yan, Fei; Tang, Shenglan; Zhang, Jian

    2016-01-01

    The ongoing healthcare reform in China has a powerful spillover effect beyond the health sector and the borders of China. A successful completion of the Chinese reform will offer a new model for social justice development, shift the global economy toward sustainability and create a new hub for science and technology in medical and health science. However, reforming the healthcare system in the most populated country is a daunting task. China will not live up to its promise, and all the potentials may end with hype not hope if coherent national strategies are not constructed and state-of-the-art navigation is not achieved with staggering domestic and global challenges. The cost of failure will be immensely high, socioeconomic costs for Chinese and an opportunity cost for the world as a whole. A full appreciation of the global implications of China's healthcare reform is crucial in keeping China receptive toward good practices evidence-approved elsewhere and open minded to fulfill its international obligations. More critically, the appreciation yields constructive engagements from global community toward a joint development and global prosperity. The current report provides a multiple disciplinary assessment on the global implications of the healthcare reform in China. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

  11. The relationship between tree biodiversity and biomass dynamics changes with tropical forest succession.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lasky, Jesse R; Uriarte, María; Boukili, Vanessa K; Erickson, David L; John Kress, W; Chazdon, Robin L

    2014-09-01

    Theory predicts shifts in the magnitude and direction of biodiversity effects on ecosystem function (BEF) over succession, but this theory remains largely untested. We studied the relationship between aboveground tree biomass dynamics (Δbiomass) and multiple dimensions of biodiversity over 8-16 years in eight successional rainforests. We tested whether successional changes in diversity-Δbiomass correlations reflect predictions of niche theories. Diversity-Δbiomass correlations were positive early but weak later in succession, suggesting saturation of niche space with increasing diversity. Early in succession, phylogenetic diversity and functional diversity in two leaf traits exhibited the strongest positive correlations with Δbiomass, indicating complementarity or positive selection effects. In mid-successional stands, high biodiversity was associated with greater mortality-driven biomass loss, i.e. negative selection effects, suggesting successional niche trade-offs and loss of fast-growing pioneer species. Our results demonstrate that BEF relationships are dynamic across succession, thus successional context is essential to understanding BEF in a given system. © 2014 John Wiley & Sons Ltd/CNRS.

  12. Bee Diversity (Hymenoptera: Apoidea in a Tropical Rainforest Succession

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Allan Smith-Pardo

    2007-01-01

    15.356 specimens were collected, belonging to four families and 287 species, representing 62% of all bee species found in Colombia. About 50% of all individuals sampled were stingless social bees (Apidae, Meliponini. Trigona (Trigona fulviventris was the most abundant species (~10% in the survey. Augochlora and Megachile were the most specious genera. The pasture and secondary forest showed high values of diversity and richness and were significantly higher than those of the mature forest and low shrubs. In all successional stages, except in the mature forest, the number of new species collected in each sample period approached zero and the species accumulation curves tended to stabilize as time and sampling area increased. The net was the most efficient method in all successional stages, except in the forest, where most bee species and individuals were collected with the Van Somer trap. However, a higher percentage (50% of rare species was collected with the Malaise trap. The number of new species collected in each sampled period and the species accumulation curves suggest that our survey was nearly sufficient to estimate the bee diversity in these early successional stages, but insufficient to study the mature forest apifauna. Due to the high efficiency of the Van Somer trap to attract bees in the forest, this trap should be used regularly in additional bee surveys in tropical rain forests. We also summarize the bee surveys in Colombia and highlight the importance of using other less common sampling methods to study bees from tropical ecosystems.

  13. Measuring energy security performance within China: Toward an inter-provincial prospective

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhang, Long; Yu, Jing; Sovacool, Benjamin K.; Ren, Jingzheng

    2017-01-01

    China has been the world's largest energy consumer and producer for many years, yet while myriad studies have investigated Chinese performance on energy metrics compared to other countries, few to none have looked internally at Chinese provinces. This paper firstly develops a five-dimensional evaluation system centered on the energy security dimensions of availability and diversity, affordability and equality, technology and efficiency, environmental sustainability, and governance and innovation. It then correlates these dimensions to 20 distinct energy security metrics that are used to assess the energy security performance of 30 Chinese provinces, divided into eight regions. Our results reveal both trends in energy policy and practice as well as provincial status of comparative energy security for the year 2013. We find, for instance, that there is no province which performs well in all five of the energy security dimensions, and that all provinces confronted threats related to energy availability and diversity. We also demonstrate that in comparative terms, the Middle Reaches of Yellow River and the Northwest were the most energy-secure, while the Middle Reaches of Yangtze River and the Northeast were least energy-secure. - Highlights: • We assessed energy security for 30 Chinese provinces across five dimensions. • Fuzzy AHP, PROMETHEE and Sensitivity Analysis are used to investigate. • Western provinces perform better performance than eastern provinces in 2013. • Energy availability and diversity is the most severe threat facing China's energy security. • Developing renewable energy will help improve China's Provincial energy security significantly.

  14. Best Practices for Managing Organizational Diversity

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kreitz, Patricia A.; /SLAC

    2007-05-18

    In the twentieth century, ecologists and agriculturists developed an increasingly sophisticated understanding of the value of biological diversity, specifically the resilience and adaptability it brings to ecosystems. In the twenty-first century, the ecosystem model has been applied to human systems, particularly to understanding how organizations are structured and how they operate. Twenty-first century organizations are challenged by diversity in many arenas. Demographic changes in workforce composition and customer populations, combined with globalized markets and international competition are increasing the amount of diversity organizations must manage, both internally and externally. Many diversity specialists and business leaders argue that businesses and organizations interested in surviving and thriving in the twenty-first century need to take competitive advantage of a diverse workplace (Soutar, 2004; Yang, 2005). But to do so successfully, leaders and human resources (HR) managers must redefine management and leadership (Jones, 1989). Just as mono-cropping destroys biological diversity, and, in extreme cases, such as the Irish potato famine--human as well as natural ecosystems (Keohane, n.d.), so does mono-managing similarly destroy diversity within organizations. Leaders wanting to build strong, diverse organizations will not be successful if they rely on one approach or solution. Single-threaded diversity solutions, such as focusing only on recruitment or single-approach management techniques, such as requiring every employee to take diversity training, do not create lasting change (Kossek & Lobel, 1996; McMahon, 2006; Thomas, 1990). Bringing about the changes needed to build and sustain diversity requires commitment, strategy, communication, and concrete changes in organizational structure and processes. How, then, can managers and leaders develop diverse organizations and ensure that they are managed to take optimum advantage of diversity? What role

  15. Measuring species diversity in a subtropical forest across a tree size gradient: a comparison of diversity indices

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ke, X.; Su, Z.; Hu, Y.; Zhou, Y.; Xu, M.

    2017-01-01

    Shannon-Wiener index and Simpson's diversity index together with other metrics, e.g., richness, number of stems per species or species-specific density (N: S ratio), and kurtosis, were applied to characterize the woody plant diversity patterns of a subtropical broadleaved forest in south China. The aims of our study were to compare the efficacy and sensitivity to community diversity measures between Shannon-Wiener index and Simpson's diversity index. Tree census data from a 5-ha sample plot was partitioned into 3 datasets by diameter class to represent 3 distinct woody plant communities for the characterization of diversity across communities. The 5-ha sample plot of the forest had a total abundance of 23,301 tree stems = 1 cm DBH and a richness of 139 species. The majority of tree stems were seedlings (41.1%) and saplings (38.8%), whereas canopy trees only accounted for 20.1% of the total tree stems. Both Shannon-Wiener index and Simpson's diversity index decreased significantly in response to a decrease in the N: S ratio across the datasets, but Shannon-Wiener index was more sensitive to plot-based richness changes and had a higher efficacy in predicting changes in species richness. Our findings are contrary to the general belief that Shannon-Wiener index is an insensitive measure of the character of the N: S relationship and have demonstrated that it remains a good measure for species diversity in plant community studies for its sensitivity and efficacy. We also suggest that the kurtosis statistic can be used as a new diversity measure due to its sensitivity to diversity change. (author)

  16. Strength in diversity

    CERN Multimedia

    2012-01-01

    Diversity has always been science’s big secret, yet it’s a secret we’ve always been keen to share. CERN was founded on the basis of bringing a diverse mix of people together to pursue common aims, and it’s one of the things that’s driven this Organization’s success over the decades.   Now, we are launching a new diversity programme aimed at strengthening our tradition of inclusiveness. This programme is being launched with a range of key goals in mind for the 2012-2014 timeframe. We’ll be striving to achieve a fair gender balance across all professional categories, and to provide strong gender role models across the Organization. We’ll be improving our career development processes to allow people to progress through both technical and managerial pathways, and we’ll be re-launching workshops that bring people from diverse professions and generations together to share their experience on key aspects of lif...

  17. Diversity effect in category-based inductive reasoning of young children: evidence from two methods.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhong, Luojin; Lee, Myung Sook; Huang, Yulan; Mo, Lei

    2014-02-01

    Previous studies have shown that diverse pieces of evidence, rather than similar pieces of evidence, are considered to have greater strength in adults' inductive reasoning. However, this diversity effect is inconsistently recognized by children. Three experiments using the same materials but different tasks examined whether young children consider the diversity principle in their reasoning. Although Experiment 1 applied a data selection task showed five-year-old children in both China and Korea were not sensitive to the diversity of evidence, Experiments 2 and 3 employed an identification task and demonstrated that children as young as five years were sensitive to diverse evidence. These findings indicated that young children, less than nine years of age, may have diversity effect. Methodological and cultural differences were discussed.

  18. Increasing Coverage of Hepatitis B Vaccination in China

    OpenAIRE

    Wang, Shengnan; Smith, Helen; Peng, Zhuoxin; Xu, Biao; Wang, Weibing

    2016-01-01

    Abstract This study used a system evaluation method to summarize China's experience on improving the coverage of hepatitis B vaccine, especially the strategies employed to improve the uptake of timely birth dosage. Identifying successful methods and strategies will provide strong evidence for policy makers and health workers in other countries with high hepatitis B prevalence. We conducted a literature review included English or Chinese literature carried out in mainland China, using PubMed, ...

  19. Technical innovation success in China: The use of innovation mechanisms in Chinese SOEs

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Brouwers-Ren, Liqin; Krabbendam, Johannes Jacobus; de Weerd-Nederhof, Petronella C.

    2004-01-01

    Climate for technical innovation has been improving in the past few years in China. This Paper describes a case research related to technical innovation in three Chinese state-owned enterprises (SOEs) in the manufacturing industry, by applying a Western technical audit tool. The data and findings

  20. Investigating Cantonese Speakers' Language Attitudes in Mainland China

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ng, Dana Funywe; Zhao, Juanjuan

    2015-01-01

    The People's Republic of China (PRC) has often been considered a monolithic, monolingual state but, in fact, it is linguistically and culturally diverse. Despite the size, there is still a lack of sociolinguistic studies on the Han Chinese in the PRC. Therefore, this study focuses on the language attitudes of Cantonese-speaking students in…

  1. Isomorphic Diffusionin Public Sector: Focus on China

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Cheng CHEN

    2017-10-01

    Full Text Available Based on widely ranged theoretical discus­sion of isomorphic diffusion, this article traces the process of isomorphism in the context of public service center diffusion in China and dis­covers relationships between isomorphism and distance within different time and space. With data for a sample of 238 prefecture level cities collected from China, the authors aim to explore the correlation between isomorphism diffusion and spatial distance. The results of the analysis suggest that local governments will be at a disadvantage if these are stated in a further location when isomorphic diffusion takes place. Moreover, the correlation between isomorphic diffusion and spatial dis­tance varies according to the different phases of the diffusion process. The effect of geographical distance is initially strong in the growth period, but weakens later. The results will build bridges on isomorphic and geographical distance within diverse time and space in China, and have impli­cations both theoretically and practically.

  2. The People's Republic of China: Fueling tremendous growth with nuclear power

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lindberg, K.D.

    1993-01-01

    China has initiated an aggressive, national industrialization program and has gradually been introducing market reforms, particularly in the southeastern section of the country. This program has met with tremendous success, and when combined with the growing population base, China has become one of the fastest-growing and most important industrializing regions of the world. This type of growth requires enormous amounts of power, and China has made a major commitment to nuclear power to help fuel this expansion

  3. Bacterial Wilt in China: History, Current Status, and Future Perspectives

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jiang, Gaofei; Wei, Zhong; Xu, Jin; Chen, Huilan; Zhang, Yong; She, Xiaoman; Macho, Alberto P.; Ding, Wei; Liao, Boshou

    2017-01-01

    Bacterial wilt caused by plant pathogenic Ralstonia spp. is one of the most important diseases affecting the production of many important crops worldwide. In China, a large scientific community has been dedicated to studying bacterial wilt and its causative agent, Ralstonia pseudosolanacearum and R. solanacearum. Most of their work was published in Chinese, which has hindered international communication and collaboration in this field. In this review, we summarize the status of knowledge on geographical distribution, diversity, and host range of Ralstonia spp., as well as, the impact of bacterial wilt on important crops and disease control approaches, in China. We present areas of research and publications by Chinese scientists and propose the promotion of collaborative research within China and with the international community. PMID:28955350

  4. Diversity: The Business Case?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jones, B.

    2013-12-01

    Understanding perceptions and managing expectations are learnable skills that do not necessarily come with project funding. Finding life balance as one moves through a STEM career path poses unique challenges that require a certain skill set that is not always intuitive. Some of those challenges include: selecting grad or post doc positions; balancing work and family commitments; and dealing with employer/advisor perceptions and expectations. As in nature, the STEM enterprise requires multiple perspectives to flourish (necessity of peer review), and in a changing environment (e.g., budget, generations, technology, etc.), embracing diversity in thought and application may help drive the evolution of STEM in the U.S. Many Agencies and organizations have ';workforce development' programs that focus on preparing the next generation of scientists and engineers at the graduate and undergraduate level that focus on preparing students in the diverse disciplines that are unique to those Agency and organizational missions. While financial support certainly is critical to assist students in Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) and other fields, professional development is just as important to equip students with a balanced arsenal of tactics to be successful professionals in the STEM workforce of today. Success in these efforts requires an honest look at the issue of inequality in the STEM ecosystem... meaning, what initiatives have been successful in addressing the imbalance in sources of thought and application, therefore promoting the importance of diversity.

  5. Genome Sequence of Canine Parvovirus Strain SC02/2011, Isolated from a Puppy with Severe Diarrhea in South China

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cheng, Yi; Ji, Yikuan; Wang, Yu; Sun, Leilei; Huang, Jiaxin

    2012-01-01

    A widespread hemorrhagic gastroenteritis in young dogs occurred in South China. A virulent field canine parvovirus (CPV) strain, SC02/2011, was isolated from a puppy showing enteric signs in Guangdong, China. The genome of CPV strain SC02/2011 was sequenced and analyzed, which will promote a better understanding of the molecular epidemiology and genetic diversity of CPV field isolates in South China. PMID:23166228

  6. Floristic characteristics of alien invasive seed plant species in China.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Congyan; Liu, Jun; Xiao, Hongguang; Zhou, Jiawei; DU, Daolin

    2016-01-01

    This study aims to determine the floristic characteristics of alien invasive seed plant species (AISPS) in China. There are a total of five hundred and thirteen AISPS, belonging to seventy families and two hundred and eighty-three genera. Seventy families were classified into nine areal types at the family level, and "Cosmopolitan" and "Pantropic" are the two main types. Two hundred and eighty-three genera were classified into twelve areal types at the genus level, and "Pantropic", "Trop. Asia & Amer. disjuncted", and "Cosmopolitan" are the three main types. These results reveal a certain degree of diversity among AISPS in China. The floristic characteristics at the family level exhibit strong pantropic characteristics. Two possible reasons for this are as follows. Firstly, southeastern China is heavily invaded by alien invasive plant species and this region has a mild climate. Secondly, southeastern China is more disturbed by human activities than other regions in China. The floristic characteristics at the genus level display strong pantropic but with abundant temperate characteristics. This may be due to that China across five climatic zones and the ecosystems in which the most alien invasive plant species occur have the same or similar climate with their natural habitat.

  7. Members of Bemisia tabaci (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae) Cryptic Species and the Status of Two Invasive Alien Species in the Yunnan Province (China)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hu, Jian; Jiang, Zhi-Lin; Nardi, Francesco; Liu, Yuan-Yuan; Luo, Xiao-Rong; Li, Hong-Xiang; Zhang, Zhong-Kai

    2014-01-01

    Abstract Bemisia tabaci (Gennadius) (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae) is a cryptic species complex that includes some of the most significant pests of agriculture and horticulture worldwide. To understand the diversity and distribution of B. tabaci cryptic species in Yunnan, a famous biodiversity hotspot in China, a large-scale sampling was conducted from year 2010 to 2013 in 10 prefectures. Mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase I gene sequences were used to identify different cryptic species. Phylogenetic analyses were performed using Bayesian methods to assess the position of a new B. tabaci cryptic species in the context of the B. tabaci diversity in Asia. The survey indicates at least eight B. tabaci cryptic species are present in Yunnan, two invasive (MEAM1 and MED) and six indigenous (China 2, China3, China 4, Asia I, Asia II 1, and Asia II 6), MEAM1, MED, and Asia I being the three predominant cryptic species in Yunnan. Compared with MEAM1, MED has a wider distribution. Based on molecular data, a new cryptic species, here named China 4, was identified that appears to be related to China 1, China 2, and China 3. Future efforts should focus on the interactions between predominant B. tabaci cryptic species and begomoviruses and on the development of effective control strategies. PMID:25502045

  8. ITER implementation and fusion energy research in China

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhao, Jing; Feng, Zhaoliang; Yang, Changchun

    2015-01-01

    ITER Project is jointly implemented by China, EU, India, Japan, Korea, Russian Federation and USA, under the coordination of Center Team of ITER International Fusion Energy Organization (IO-CT). Chinese fusion research related institutes and industrial enterprises are fully involved in the implementation of China contribution to the project under the leadership of ITER China Domestic Agency (CN-DA), together with IO-CT. The progresses of Procurement Packages (PA) allocated to China and the technical issues, especially on key technology development and schedule, QA/QC issues, are highlighted in this report. The specific enterprises carrying out different PAs are identified in order to make the increasing international manufactures and producers to ITER PAs know each other well for the successful implementation of ITER project. The participation of China to the management of IO-CT is also included, mainly from the governmental aspect and staff recruited from China. On the other hand, the domestic fusion researches, including upgrade of EAST, HL-2A Tokamaks in China, TBM program, the next step design activities for fusion energy power plant, namely, CFETR and training in this area, are also introduced for global cooperation for international fusion community. (author)

  9. Evaluating Methods for Isolating Total RNA and Predicting the Success of Sequencing Phylogenetically Diverse Plant Transcriptomes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bruskiewich, Richard; Burris, Jason N.; Carrigan, Charlotte T.; Chase, Mark W.; Clarke, Neil D.; Covshoff, Sarah; dePamphilis, Claude W.; Edger, Patrick P.; Goh, Falicia; Graham, Sean; Greiner, Stephan; Hibberd, Julian M.; Jordon-Thaden, Ingrid; Kutchan, Toni M.; Leebens-Mack, James; Melkonian, Michael; Miles, Nicholas; Myburg, Henrietta; Patterson, Jordan; Pires, J. Chris; Ralph, Paula; Rolf, Megan; Sage, Rowan F.; Soltis, Douglas; Soltis, Pamela; Stevenson, Dennis; Stewart, C. Neal; Surek, Barbara; Thomsen, Christina J. M.; Villarreal, Juan Carlos; Wu, Xiaolei; Zhang, Yong; Deyholos, Michael K.; Wong, Gane Ka-Shu

    2012-01-01

    Next-generation sequencing plays a central role in the characterization and quantification of transcriptomes. Although numerous metrics are purported to quantify the quality of RNA, there have been no large-scale empirical evaluations of the major determinants of sequencing success. We used a combination of existing and newly developed methods to isolate total RNA from 1115 samples from 695 plant species in 324 families, which represents >900 million years of phylogenetic diversity from green algae through flowering plants, including many plants of economic importance. We then sequenced 629 of these samples on Illumina GAIIx and HiSeq platforms and performed a large comparative analysis to identify predictors of RNA quality and the diversity of putative genes (scaffolds) expressed within samples. Tissue types (e.g., leaf vs. flower) varied in RNA quality, sequencing depth and the number of scaffolds. Tissue age also influenced RNA quality but not the number of scaffolds ≥1000 bp. Overall, 36% of the variation in the number of scaffolds was explained by metrics of RNA integrity (RIN score), RNA purity (OD 260/230), sequencing platform (GAIIx vs HiSeq) and the amount of total RNA used for sequencing. However, our results show that the most commonly used measures of RNA quality (e.g., RIN) are weak predictors of the number of scaffolds because Illumina sequencing is robust to variation in RNA quality. These results provide novel insight into the methods that are most important in isolating high quality RNA for sequencing and assembling plant transcriptomes. The methods and recommendations provided here could increase the efficiency and decrease the cost of RNA sequencing for individual labs and genome centers. PMID:23185583

  10. How does green technology influence CO2 emission in China?--An empirical research based on provincial data of China.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ding, Weina; Han, Botang; Zhao, Xin; Mazzanti, Massimiliano

    2015-07-01

    This paper investigates the role of green innovations aimed at reducing carbon dioxide emissions as a factor that compensates for growth and population effects. It has been shown from tests that the positive effect of green innovations on carbon emissions exists within a STIRPAT framework from a local perspective. The panel data is derived from China Statistical Yearbook and China Intellectual Property Office covered from 1999 to 2013. In addition,the static panel model was run to estimate the diversity among three typical regions of China. The main result shows that the green technology change has not played a dominant role yet in promoting environmental protection, while a scale effect (Affluence and Population)still prevails, although green patents show positive influences on the CO2 emission reduction inthe whole country as well as the East and West regions, except the Central region. Moreover, it turns out that the classical EKC hypothesis does stand in China, referring to the three regions with the inverted "U" shape. The analysis gives suggestions to the policy makers, which would support enlarging the investment scale on green patents and encourage international corporation with environmental related innovations.

  11. Knowledge Transfer in Family Business Successions

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Boyd, Britta; Royer, Susanne; Pei, Rong

    Knowledge often is the fundament for strategic competitive advantage. Thus, it is highly relevant to understand better how knowledge is transferred from one generation to the next in family businesses. Building on the contingency model of family business succession (Royer, Simons, Boyd & Rafferty......, 2008) knowledge transfer in different cultures is investigated in this paper. From a resource-oriented perspective two family businesses with a similar industry background from China and Europe are compared regarding education processes and knowledge transfer in the context of family firm succession...... taking into account the respective transaction atmosphere. For the European family business from the Danish-German border region twelve successions were investigated in a former study: Access to experiential knowledge was found to be a driver of competitive advantage with a shift towards the relevance...

  12. Mass Media as Instruments for Political and Social Control in China: Media Role in Chinese Politics

    OpenAIRE

    Chen, Xi

    2003-01-01

    Under the influence of Soviet media theory, Chinese media have been held under the control of the Communist Party of China ever since the Party was established in 1921. However, this practice of control was subject to change as a result of rapid economic development and many social changes brought about by economic reform after 1978. This thesis explores the current situation of media control in China. Although the mass media in China began to enjoy more autonomy and diversity after the natio...

  13. Is China ready for its nuclear expansion?

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhou, Yun; Rengifo, Christhian; Hinze, Jonathan; Chen, Peipei

    2011-01-01

    China's rapid pace of nuclear energy growth is unique, and its impact on the global nuclear market as both a customer and potential future supplier is already tremendous and will continue to expand. It is crucial to understand this energy policy development and its impact on various global areas. Unfortunately, there is relatively limited English-language information available about China's nuclear power industry and its current development. This paper aims to provide a comprehensive assessment of the Chinese nuclear energy program and policy, reviewing its past, present, likely future developments, as well as to consider potential challenges that deserve further attention. This paper will explore reasons that have caused the existing industry, describe China's nuclear bureaucracy and decision making process to understand how different stakeholders play a role in China's nuclear energy development. This study concludes that China's existing nuclear program and industry, in combination with its current stable economic and political environment, provides a sound foundation for the planned nuclear expansion. However, challenges which are crucial to the success of the nuclear expansion will need to be addressed. (author)

  14. Phylogenetic Distribution of the Capsid Assembly Protein Gene (g20) of Cyanophages in Paddy Floodwaters in Northeast China

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jing, Ruiyong; Liu, Junjie; Yu, Zhenhua; Liu, Xiaobing; Wang, Guanghua

    2014-01-01

    Numerous studies have revealed the high diversity of cyanophages in marine and freshwater environments, but little is currently known about the diversity of cyanophages in paddy fields, particularly in Northeast (NE) China. To elucidate the genetic diversity of cyanophages in paddy floodwaters in NE China, viral capsid assembly protein gene (g20) sequences from five floodwater samples were amplified with the primers CPS1 and CPS8. Denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) was applied to distinguish different g20 clones. In total, 54 clones differing in g20 nucleotide sequences were obtained in this study. Phylogenetic analysis showed that the distribution of g20 sequences in this study was different from that in Japanese paddy fields, and all the sequences were grouped into Clusters α, β, γ and ε. Within Clusters α and β, three new small clusters (PFW-VII∼-IX) were identified. UniFrac analysis of g20 clone assemblages demonstrated that the community compositions of cyanophage varied among marine, lake and paddy field environments. In paddy floodwater, community compositions of cyanophage were also different between NE China and Japan. PMID:24533125

  15. Variation of Bacterial Community Diversity in Rhizosphere Soil of Sole-Cropped versus Intercropped Wheat Field after Harvest.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yang, Zhenping; Yang, Wenping; Li, Shengcai; Hao, Jiaomin; Su, Zhifeng; Sun, Min; Gao, Zhiqiang; Zhang, Chunlai

    2016-01-01

    As the major crops in north China, spring crops are usually planted from April through May every spring and harvested in fall. Wheat is also a very common crop traditionally planted in fall or spring and harvested in summer year by year. This continuous cropping system exhibited the disadvantages of reducing the fertility of soil through decreasing microbial diversity. Thus, management of microbial diversity in the rhizosphere plays a vital role in sustainable crop production. In this study, ten common spring crops in north China were chosen sole-cropped and four were chosen intercropped with peanut in wheat fields after harvest. Denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) and DNA sequencing of one 16S rDNA fragment were used to analyze the bacterial diversity and species identification. DGGE profiles showed the bacterial community diversity in rhizosphere soil samples varied among various crops under different cropping systems, more diverse under intercropping system than under sole-cropping. Some intercropping-specific bands in DGGE profiles suggested that several bacterial species were stimulated by intercropping systems specifically. Furthermore, the identification of these dominant and functional bacteria by DNA sequencing indicated that intercropping systems are more beneficial to improve soil fertility. Compared to intercropping systems, we also observed changes in microbial community of rhizosphere soil under sole-crops. The rhizosphere bacterial community structure in spring crops showed a strong crop species-specific pattern. More importantly, Empedobacter brevis, a typical plant pathogen, was only found in the carrot rhizosphere, suggesting carrot should be sown prudently. In conclusion, our study demonstrated that crop species and cropping systems had significant effects on bacterial community diversity in the rhizosphere soils. We strongly suggest sorghum, glutinous millet and buckwheat could be taken into account as intercropping crops with peanut

  16. Nanobody-derived nanobiotechnology tool kits for diverse biomedical and biotechnology applications

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Wang Y

    2016-07-01

    Full Text Available Yongzhong Wang,1 Zhen Fan,2 Lei Shao,3 Xiaowei Kong,1 Xianjuan Hou,1 Dongrui Tian,1 Ying Sun,1 Yazhong Xiao,1 Li Yu4 1School of Life Sciences, Collaborative Innovation Center of Modern Bio-manufacture, Anhui University, Hefei, People’s Republic of China; 2Department of Biomedical Engineering, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA; 3State Key Laboratory of New Drugs and Pharmaceutical Process, Shanghai Institute of Pharmaceutical Industry, Shanghai, 4Department of Microbiology and Parasitology, Anhui Provincial Laboratory of Microbiology and Parasitology, Anhui Key Laboratory of Zoonoses, Anhui Medical University, Hefei, People’s Republic of China Abstract: Owing to peculiar properties of nanobody, including nanoscale size, robust structure, stable and soluble behaviors in aqueous solution, reversible refolding, high affinity and specificity for only one cognate target, superior cryptic cleft accessibility, and deep tissue penetration, as well as a sustainable source, it has been an ideal research tool for the development of sophisticated nanobiotechnologies. Currently, the nanobody has been evolved into versatile research and application tool kits for diverse biomedical and biotechnology applications. Various nanobody-derived formats, including the nanobody itself, the radionuclide or fluorescent-labeled nanobodies, nanobody homo- or heteromultimers, nanobody-coated nanoparticles, and nanobody-displayed bacteriophages, have been successfully demonstrated as powerful nanobiotechnological tool kits for basic biomedical research, targeting drug delivery and therapy, disease diagnosis, bioimaging, and agricultural and plant protection. These applications indicate a special advantage of these nanobody-derived technologies, already surpassing the “me-too” products of other equivalent binders, such as the full-length antibodies, single-chain variable fragments, antigen-binding fragments, targeting peptides, and DNA-based aptamers. In

  17. Molecular diversity and population structure of Chinese green foxtail [Setaria viridis (L.) Beauv.] revealed by microsatellite analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jia, Guanqing; Shi, Shenkui; Wang, Chunfang; Niu, Zhengang; Chai, Yang; Zhi, Hui; Diao, Xianmin

    2013-09-01

    Green foxtail (Setaria viridis) is a new model plant for the genomic investigation of C4 photosynthesis biology. As the ancestor of foxtail millet (Setaria italica), an ancient cereal of great importance in arid regions of the world, green foxtail is crucial for the study of domestication and evolution of this ancient crop. In the present study, 288 green foxtail accessions, which were collected from all geographical regions of China, were analysed using 77 simple sequence repeats (SSRs) that cover the whole genome. A high degree of molecular diversity was detected in these accessions, with an average of 33.5 alleles per locus. Two clusters, which were inconsistent with the distribution of eco-geographical regions in China, were inferred from STRUCTURE, Neighbor-Joining, and principal component analysis, indicating a partially mixed distribution of Chinese green foxtails. The higher subpopulation diversity was from accessions mainly collected from North China. A low level of linkage disequilibrium was observed in the green foxtail genome. Furthermore, a combined analysis of green foxtail and foxtail millet landraces was conducted, and the origin and domestication of foxtail millet was inferred in North China.

  18. Explaining plant-soil diversity in Alpine ecosystems: more than just time since ecosystem succession started

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lane, Stuart; Baetz, Nico; Borgeaud, Laure; Verrecchia, Eric; Vittoz, Pascal

    2014-05-01

    characteristics; (2) perturbations supply ecosystem resources, such as organic matter or fine sediment, that can substantially and locally accelerate ecosystem succession; and (3) both of these feed back into the development of the plant-soil community. The result is clear evidence of the co-evolution of floristic communities with geomorphic processes that, at the ensemble of the landform, controls the floristic diversity that is found.

  19. Institutional Diversity in Collective Action: Investigating Successful Village Level Maintenance of Hand Pumps in Malawi

    Science.gov (United States)

    Joubert, Brian Anthony

    Providing clean water to rural communities in sub-Saharan Africa remains a challenge. Unsanitary and distant water sources cause a host of health and humanitarian problems. A common means of remedying this situation has been the donation of improved water sources, fitted with low-cost hand pumps. Due donor capacity and/ or policy most hand pumps are donated under the guise of Village Level Operation and Maintenance (VLOM). This premises the notion that recipient communities will take ownership of the new pump and as such will ensure its maintenance. To assist with this many donors carry out programs of technical repair training and the structuring of in-village leadership and management groups. The reality is that a high proportion of these pumps break down after donation and cease to work thereafter. Measures to redress technical elements of these failures through increased training or adequate distribution of spares has seen some success but failure rates remains high. This has led to a call for more attention to demand side issues, focusing on the communal aspects that may influence a village to act collectively in the maintenance of its hand pump. This thesis researched five Malawian villages where the community had maintained their hand pumps for a period of 10 or more years. These hand pumps were treated as shared resources and the literature on common-pool resources and social institutions was used as a theoretical framework. Applying these theories proved to be appropriate for analyzing the norms, conventions and forms of cooperative conduct. This allowed the research to gain insights into institutional diversity and the relationship between 'formal institutions', most often exogenous in nature, and informal' or customary collective action institutions embedded within the communities. Findings showed the emergence of three predominant themes within these successful case studies: 1) the role of leadership at varying levels and how it is embodied

  20. Building energy efficiency in rural China

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Evans, Meredydd; Yu, Sha; Song, Bo; Deng, Qinqin; Liu, Jing; Delgado, Alison

    2014-01-01

    Rural buildings in China now account for more than half of China's total building energy use. Forty percent of the floorspace in China is in rural villages and towns. Most of these buildings are very energy inefficient, and may struggle to provide for basic needs. They are cold in the winter, and often experience indoor air pollution from fuel use. The Chinese government plans to adopt a voluntary building energy code, or design standard, for rural homes. The goal is to build on China's success with codes in urban areas to improve efficiency and comfort in rural homes. The Chinese government recognizes rural buildings represent a major opportunity for improving national building energy efficiency. The challenges of rural China are also greater than those of urban areas in many ways because of the limited local capacity and low income levels. The Chinese government wants to expand on new programs to subsidize energy efficiency improvements in rural homes to build capacity for larger-scale improvement. This article summarizes the trends and status of rural building energy use in China. It then provides an overview of the new rural building design standard, and describes options and issues to move forward with implementation. - Highlights: • Building energy use is larger in rural China than in cities. • Rural buildings are very energy intensive, and energy use is growing with incomes. • A new design standard aims to help rural communities build more efficiently. • Important challenges remain with implementation

  1. Environmental Biotechnology in China

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Shuang Jiang; Liu, Lei; Chaudhry, Muhammad Tausif; Wang, Lei; Chen, Ying Guang; Zhou, Qi; Liu, He; Chen, Jian

    Environmental biotechnology has emerged as an important measure to tackle the environmental pollution as China experiences great economic success. Over the past decade, much emphasis has been paid to the following fields in environmental biotechnology: microbial degradation of toxic and organic chemicals, bio-treatment of wastewater, waste recycling. The Chinese researchers have done a lot of work to understand the natural degradation processes for organic and toxic compounds and finally to clean these compounds from polluted environments. For the treatment of wastewater, many new processes were proposed and optimized to meet the more strict effluent standards in China. Finally, more and more attention has been paid to the reuse of discharged wastes. In this chapter we review the development in the above fields.

  2. Immigrant Diversity and Communication Practices in the New Zealand Business Sector

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cruickshank, Prue

    2007-01-01

    The age of globalization requires an understanding of intercultural communication and diversity issues in workplaces. This is especially so in a country such as New Zealand, which has recently been experiencing the phenomenon of recruiting and attracting skilled, professional immigrants from China, India, and other parts of Asia and the Middle…

  3. Genetic diversity based on SSR markers in maize (Zea mays L.)

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    Home; Journals; Journal of Genetics; Volume 87; Issue 3. Genetic diversity based on SSR markers in maize (Zea mays L.) landraces from Wuling mountain region in China. Yao Qi-Lun Fang Ping Kang Ke-Cheng Pan Guang-Tang. Research Note Volume 87 Issue 3 December 2008 pp 287-291 ...

  4. Transition strategy of the transportation energy and powertrain in China

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wang Hewu; Ouyang Minggao

    2007-01-01

    The problems of the transportation energy and environment are the major challenges faced globally in the 21st century and are especially serious for China. The future 20 years is the strategic opportunity period of the transition of the transportation energy and powertrain system for China. The greatest characteristics of hydrogen economy lie in its diversity of the primary energy source, the unification of energy carrier and the greening of energy transformation. Development of hydrogen energy transportation powertrain system is suitable for China from the views of the situation of Chinese resources and energy sources, the urban and rural layouts, the superiority of later development and the successful practices of clean cars and electric vehicle development projects. The transition of the transportation energy powertrain system includes three parts: the transition of the energy structure, the transition of the powertrain system and the transition of the fuel infrastructure. The technical pathways of energy powertrain system transition includes expending the use of gaseous fuel to prompt the multiform of the transportation energy and to prepare for the transition of the infrastructure simultaneously, developing and promoting the hybrid technology to solve the current energy and environment problems and to prepare for the transition of powertrain system, and focusing on the research and development and demonstration of fuel cell vehicles and the hydrogen energy technology to prompt the earlier formation of the market of fuel cell vehicles. The goal in the near and medium term of transition is to reduce the fuel consumption by 100 million ton in 2020 by substituting and saving, and the long-term goal is to setup the infrastructure of hydrogen and fuel cell vehicle as the main one replacing the petroleum internal combustion engine vehicle. In order to realize the strategic goals of the transition, the four-phases strategic periods and research and development

  5. China and BEPS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Reuven Avi-Yonah

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available This article provides an overview of China’s reaction to the G20/OECD Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS project. From 2013 to 2015, the OECD developed a series of actions designed to address BEPS activities by multinational enterprises, culminating in a final report of 15 action steps. The article reviews and explains China’s reaction to the BEPS project and its actions in detail, with a particular focus on transfer pricing issues. It shows that China has actively participated in both developing and implementing the BEPS project. The article further suggests that in the post-BEPS era, China is expected to implement the BEPS project in a more consistent and coherent way, and will take whatever measures necessary to guarantee the successful implementation of the BEPS package in collaboration with the global community.

  6. Genetic diversity of Ralstonia solanacearum strains from China assessed by PCR-based fingerprints to unravel host plant- and site-dependent distribution patterns.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xue, Qing-Yun; Yin, Yan-Ni; Yang, Wei; Heuer, Holger; Prior, Philippe; Guo, Jian-Hua; Smalla, Kornelia

    2011-03-01

    Bacterial wilt caused by Ralstonia solanacearum is a serious threat to crop production in China. A collection of 319 R. solanacearum strains isolated from 14 different diseased host plants collected in 15 Chinese provinces was investigated by BOX fingerprints in order to test the influence of the site and the host plant on their genetic diversity. Phylotype, fliC-RFLP patterns and biovar were determined for all strains and the sequevar for 39 representative strains. The majority of strains belonged to the Asian phylotype I, shared identical fliC-RFLP patterns and were assigned to four biovars (bv3:123; bv4:162; bv5:3; and bv6:11). Twenty strains were phylotype II, assigned to biovar 2, and had distinct fliC-RFLP patterns. BOX-PCR fingerprints generated from the genomic DNA of each strain revealed a high diversity of the phylotype I strains, where 28 types of BOX fingerprints could be distinguished. While many BOX clusters comprised isolates from different provinces and several host plants, some groups contained isolates that were plant or site specific. All phylotype II isolates originating from 10 provinces belonged to sequevar 1 and displayed identical BOX patterns as the potato brown rot strains from various regions of the world. © 2011 Federation of European Microbiological Societies. Published by Blackwell Publishing Ltd. All rights reserved.

  7. Factors affecting plant diversity during post-fire recovery and succession of mediterranean-climate shrublands in California, USA

    Science.gov (United States)

    Keeley, J.E.; Fotheringham, C.J.; Baer-Keeley, M.

    2005-01-01

    Plant community diversity, measured as species richness, is typically highest in the early post-fire years in California shrublands. However, this generalization is overly simplistic and the present study demonstrates that diversity is determined by a complex of temporal and spatial effects. Ninety sites distributed across southern California were studied for 5 years after a series of fires. Characteristics of the disturbance event, in this case fire severity, can alter post-fire diversity, both decreasing and increasing diversity, depending on life form. Spatial variability in resource availability is an important factor explaining patterns of diversity, and there is a complex interaction between landscape features and life form. Temporal variability in resource availability affects diversity, and the diversity peak in the immediate post-fire year (or two) appears to be driven by factors different from subsequent diversity peaks. Early post-fire diversity is influenced by life-history specialization, illustrated by species that spend the bulk of their life cycle as a dormant seed bank, which is then triggered to germinate by fire. Resource fluctuations, precipitation in particular, may be associated with subsequent post-fire diversity peaks. These later peaks in diversity comprise a flora that is compositionally different from the immediate post-fire flora, and their presence may be due to mass effects from population expansion of local populations in adjacent burned areas. ?? 2005 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

  8. The South-to-North Water Diversion Project: effect of the water diversion pattern on transmission of Oncomelania hupensis, the intermediate host of Schistosoma japonicum in China.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liang, You-Sheng; Wang, Wei; Li, Hong-Jun; Shen, Xue-Hui; Xu, Yong-Liang; Dai, Jian-Rong

    2012-03-20

    The South-to-North Water Diversion Project (SNWDP) is the largest national water conservancy project in China. However, the Eastern Route Project (ERP) of SNWDP will refer to the habitats of Oncomelania hupensis, the intermediate host of Schistosoma japonicum. The present study was aimed at investigating the effects of some factors relating to the water diversion pattern on the spread north of O. hupensis and transmission of S. japonicum. Marked snails were attached to the floating debris, and then placed on the water surface, the passage of snails through water pumps was observed. Some marked living adult snails were placed under water in the 5 spots, 15, 30, 60, 90 and 120 days later, their survival and transfer under water were investigated. 2, 4, 8, 16, 32, 64 and 128 juvenile snails, with a male: female ratio of about 1, were caged, 1 year later, their reproductions were calculated. The snails attached on the floating debris at 100-, 50- and 20-cm-distance from the inlet pipe of the big pump (with a diameter of 80 cm), could be absorbed into the pumps, with passing rates of 2.45%, 3.93% and 43.46%, respectively, compared with 72.07% and 91.00% for the snails at 20 cm and 10 cm-distance from the inlet pipe of the small pump (with a diameter of 20 cm). A total of 36,600 marked living snails were put into 5 ponds and ditches, with the water depths of 1-1.6 m, 15-120 days later, no marked ones were found along the ponds and ditches or in the straw packages. The juvenile snails did not reproduce until their density reached up to 8 snails (ratio of male: female of 1)/0.16 m2. During the construction of ERP of SNWDP, the risk of northward spread of schistosomiasis japonica will be decreased or eliminated as long as long-term reliable interventions for snail control are implemented.

  9. Yeast species associated with wine grapes in China.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Shuang-Shi; Cheng, Chao; Li, Zheng; Chen, Jing-Yu; Yan, Bin; Han, Bei-Zhong; Reeves, Malcolm

    2010-03-31

    Having more information on the yeast ecology of grapes is important for wine-makers to produce wine with high quality and typical attributes. China is a significant wine-consuming country and is becoming a serious wine-producer, but little has been reported about the yeast ecology of local ecosystems. This study provides the first step towards the exploitation of the yeast wealth in China's vine-growing regions. The aim of this study was to investigate the yeast population density and diversity on three grape varieties cultivated in four representative vine-growing regions of China. Yeast species diversity was evaluated by using polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) and sequence analysis of the 5.8S internal transcribed spacer (ITS) ribosomal DNA (rDNA) region of cultivable yeasts. The grapes harbored yeast populations at 10(2)-10(6)CFU/mL, consisting mostly of non-Saccharomyces species. Seventeen different yeast species belonging to eight genera were detected on the grape samples tested, including Hanseniaspora uvarum, Cryptococcus flavescens, Pichia fermentans, Candida zemplinina, Cryptococcus carnescens, Candida inconpicua, Zygosaccharomyces fermentati, Issatchenkia terricola, Candida quercitrusa, Hanseniaspora guilliermondii, Candida bombi, Zygosaccharomyces bailii, Sporidiobolus pararoseus, Cryptococcus magnus, Metschnikowia pulcherrima, Issatchenkia orientalis and Pichia guilliermondii. H. uvarum and C. flavescens were the dominant species present on the grapes. For the first time Sporidiobolus pararoseus was discovered as an inhabitant of the grape ecosystem. The yeast community on grape berries was influenced by the grape chemical composition, vine-variety and vine-growing region. This study is the first to identify the yeast communities associated with grapes in China using molecular methods. The results enrich our knowledge of wine-related microorganisms, and can be used to promote the development of the local wine

  10. Factoring Central Asia into China's Afghanistan policy

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ambrish Dhaka

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available China's footprints in Afghanistan are vied by many, both, friends and rivals as it cautiously reveals its geostrategic goals. It would like to emulate the African and Central Asian success story in Afghanistan as well, which is not terra incognito. Afghanistan has been the fulcrum of geopolitical balance of power during the Cold war days. China's Afghanistan policy (CAP is marked by its insecurities of terrorism, extremism and separatism in Xinjiang province. It has heavily invested in procuring Central Asian energy resources. Both, the concerns go well in formulation of CAP. However, the presence of the US and Russia make the scenario competitive, where its ‘Peaceful Rise’ may be contested. Besides, China sees South Asian Region as its new Geoeconomic Frontier. All these concerns get factored into CAP. It remains to be seen what options partake in CAP, as China prepares for durable presence in Afghanistan in the long run.

  11. Addressing water challenges on the North China Plain with hydroeconomic optimization

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Martinsen, Grith; Davidsen, Claus; Bauer-Gottwein, Peter

    . This enables the representation of links and interactions between the water resources system and the power system of Northern China. The multi-reservoir LP model is formulated as a flow path based optimization, which tracks each water delivery from supplier to receiver. This is useful for the exploration...... constructed. However, the project alone cannot solve the NCP’s water crisis. A hydroeconomic optimization model has been developed for the NCP system. The model area represents the administrative area of the Hai River Commission. The challenges addressed are the spatio-temporal distribution of costs......With its diverse environment and large population, China is facing water resource challenges, both in terms of quantity and quality. The North China Plain (NCP) is one of the world’s most densely populated areas and one of the highly water stressed regions of China. It counts for 15% of the Chinese...

  12. Effect of Hydrologic Alteration on the Community Succession of Macrophytes at Xiangyang Site, Hanjiang River, China.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yang, Na; Zhang, Yehui; Duan, Kai

    2017-01-01

    With the intensification of human activities over the past three decades in China, adverse effects on river ecosystem become more serious especially in the Hanjiang River. Xiangyang site is an important spawn ground for four domestic fishes in the downstream region of Hanjiang River. Based on the field survey results of macrophytes during 1997-2000 and 2013-2014, community succession of aquatic macrophytes at Xiangyang site was evaluated and discussed. Two-key ecologic-related hydrologic characteristics, flow regime and water level, were identified as the main influence factors. The EFC (environmental flow components) parameters were adopted to evaluate the alteration of flow regimes at Xiangyang site during 1941-2013. Evaluation results demonstrate a highly altered flow process after being regulated by reservoir. The flow patterns tend to be an attenuation process with no large floods occurring but a higher monthly low flow. Furthermore, the water level decreased and fluctuation reduced after the dam was built, which caused the decrease of biomass but favored the submerged macrophytes during 1995-2009. However, with the water level increasing after 2010 and gently fluctuating, due to uplift by the hydraulic projects downstream as well as the flow attenuation, the dominant position of submerged macrophytes will be weakened.

  13. Diversity and antimicrobial activity of culturable fungi from fishscale bamboo (Phyllostachys heteroclada) in China.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhou, Ying-Ke; Shen, Xiao-Ye; Hou, Cheng-Lin

    2017-06-01

    An important and useful bamboo species, fishscale bamboo (Phyllostachys heteroclada Oliver), is broadly distributed in Southeast China and has multiple purposes, including uses in cuisine, weaving, Chinese medicine and ecological protection. However, no previous studies have focused on the endophytes of this plant. In our article, a total of 127 fungal strains were first isolated from the healthy branches and leaves of common P. heteroclada. These endophytic fungi could be directly categorized into 50 morphotypes according to their culture characteristics, and their internal transcribed spacer (ITS) regions were analyzed for molecular identification. Using the BLAST search tool of the NCBI database and phylogenetic tree analysis, these isolates were divided into two phyla, Ascomycota (95.28%) and Basidiomycota (4.72%), including at least six orders (Xylariales, Capnodiales, Pleosporales, Hypocreales, Chaetothyriales and Polyporales) and fourteen genera (Arthrinium, Pestalotiopsis, Epicoccum, Cladosporium, Nigrospora, Setophoma, Didymella, Calcarisporium, Preussia, Nemania, Creosphaeria, Ophiobolus, Phialophora and Perenniporia). It is fascinating that four genera, Calcarisporium, Preussia, Creosphaeria and Phialophora were isolated from bamboos for the first time. The inhibitory effects against clinical pathogens were also preliminarily screened, and four isolates FB43 (Calcarisporium arbuscula), FB06 (Preussia minima), FB16 (Setophoma sp.) and FB21 (Perenniporia medulla-pains) among the candidate strains displayed broad-spectrum activities according to the agar diffusion method and the disk diffusion assay. Strain FB16 (Setophoma sp.) especially indicated high bioactivity against both clinical bacteria and yeast. This study is the first report on the diversity and antimicrobial activity of the endophytic fungi associated with P. heteroclada, which could be regarded as a potential source of drug precursors and could be used in biocontrol development.

  14. Relationships between Plant Diversity and the Abundance and α-Diversity of Predatory Ground Beetles (Coleoptera: Carabidae) in a Mature Asian Temperate Forest Ecosystem

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zou, Yi; Sang, Weiguo; Bai, Fan; Axmacher, Jan Christoph

    2013-01-01

    A positive relationship between plant diversity and both abundance and diversity of predatory arthropods is postulated by the Enemies Hypothesis, a central ecological top-down control hypothesis. It has been supported by experimental studies and investigations of agricultural and grassland ecosystems, while evidence from more complex mature forest ecosystems is limited. Our study was conducted on Changbai Mountain in one of the last remaining large pristine temperate forest environments in China. We used predatory ground beetles (Coleoptera: Carabidae) as target taxon to establish the relationship between phytodiversity and their activity abundance and diversity. Results showed that elevation was the only variable included in both models predicting carabid activity abundance and α-diversity. Shrub diversity was negatively and herb diversity positively correlated with beetle abundance, while shrub diversity was positively correlated with beetle α-diversity. Within the different forest types, a negative relationship between plant diversity and carabid activity abundance was observed, which stands in direct contrast to the Enemies Hypothesis. Furthermore, plant species density did not predict carabid α-diversity. In addition, the density of herbs, which is commonly believed to influence carabid movement, had little impact on the beetle activity abundance recorded on Changbai Mountain. Our study indicates that in a relatively large and heterogeneous mature forest area, relationships between plant and carabid diversity are driven by variations in environmental factors linked with altitudinal change. In addition, traditional top-down control theories that are suitable in explaining diversity patterns in ecosystems of low diversity appear to play a much less pronounced role in highly complex forest ecosystems. PMID:24376582

  15. Relationships between plant diversity and the abundance and α-diversity of predatory ground beetles (Coleoptera: Carabidae) in a mature Asian temperate forest ecosystem.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zou, Yi; Sang, Weiguo; Bai, Fan; Axmacher, Jan Christoph

    2013-01-01

    A positive relationship between plant diversity and both abundance and diversity of predatory arthropods is postulated by the Enemies Hypothesis, a central ecological top-down control hypothesis. It has been supported by experimental studies and investigations of agricultural and grassland ecosystems, while evidence from more complex mature forest ecosystems is limited. Our study was conducted on Changbai Mountain in one of the last remaining large pristine temperate forest environments in China. We used predatory ground beetles (Coleoptera: Carabidae) as target taxon to establish the relationship between phytodiversity and their activity abundance and diversity. Results showed that elevation was the only variable included in both models predicting carabid activity abundance and α-diversity. Shrub diversity was negatively and herb diversity positively correlated with beetle abundance, while shrub diversity was positively correlated with beetle α-diversity. Within the different forest types, a negative relationship between plant diversity and carabid activity abundance was observed, which stands in direct contrast to the Enemies Hypothesis. Furthermore, plant species density did not predict carabid α-diversity. In addition, the density of herbs, which is commonly believed to influence carabid movement, had little impact on the beetle activity abundance recorded on Changbai Mountain. Our study indicates that in a relatively large and heterogeneous mature forest area, relationships between plant and carabid diversity are driven by variations in environmental factors linked with altitudinal change. In addition, traditional top-down control theories that are suitable in explaining diversity patterns in ecosystems of low diversity appear to play a much less pronounced role in highly complex forest ecosystems.

  16. Relationships between plant diversity and the abundance and α-diversity of predatory ground beetles (Coleoptera: Carabidae in a mature Asian temperate forest ecosystem.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yi Zou

    Full Text Available A positive relationship between plant diversity and both abundance and diversity of predatory arthropods is postulated by the Enemies Hypothesis, a central ecological top-down control hypothesis. It has been supported by experimental studies and investigations of agricultural and grassland ecosystems, while evidence from more complex mature forest ecosystems is limited. Our study was conducted on Changbai Mountain in one of the last remaining large pristine temperate forest environments in China. We used predatory ground beetles (Coleoptera: Carabidae as target taxon to establish the relationship between phytodiversity and their activity abundance and diversity. Results showed that elevation was the only variable included in both models predicting carabid activity abundance and α-diversity. Shrub diversity was negatively and herb diversity positively correlated with beetle abundance, while shrub diversity was positively correlated with beetle α-diversity. Within the different forest types, a negative relationship between plant diversity and carabid activity abundance was observed, which stands in direct contrast to the Enemies Hypothesis. Furthermore, plant species density did not predict carabid α-diversity. In addition, the density of herbs, which is commonly believed to influence carabid movement, had little impact on the beetle activity abundance recorded on Changbai Mountain. Our study indicates that in a relatively large and heterogeneous mature forest area, relationships between plant and carabid diversity are driven by variations in environmental factors linked with altitudinal change. In addition, traditional top-down control theories that are suitable in explaining diversity patterns in ecosystems of low diversity appear to play a much less pronounced role in highly complex forest ecosystems.

  17. Trend of extreme precipitation events over China in last 40 years

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhang Daquan; Hu Jingguo; Feng Guolin

    2008-01-01

    Using the daily precipitation data of 740 stations in China from 1960 to 2000, the analysis on the variations and distributions of the frequency and the percentage of extreme precipitation to the annual rainfall have been performed in this paper. Results indicate that the percentage of heavy rains (above 25mm/day) in the annual rainfall has increased, while on average the day number of heavy rains has slightly reduced during the past 40 years. In the end of 1970s and the beginning of 1980s, both the number of days with extreme precipitation and the percentage of extreme precipitation abruptly changed over China, especially in the northern China. By moving t test, the abrupt change year of extreme precipitation for each station and its spatial distribution over the whole country are also obtained. The abrupt change years concentrated in 1978–1982 for most regions of northern China while occurred at various stations in southern China in greatly different/diverse years. Besides the abrupt change years of extreme precipitation at part stations of Northwest China happened about 5 years later in comparison with that of the country's average

  18. Study on China's low carbon development in an Economy-Energy-Electricity-Environment framework

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hu Zhaoguang; Yuan Jiahai; Hu Zheng

    2011-01-01

    Emissions mitigation is a major challenge for China's sustainable development. We summarize China's successful experiences on energy efficiency in past 30 years as the contributions of Energy Usage Management and Integrated Resource Strategic Planning, which are essential for low-carbon economy. In an Economy-Energy-Electricity-Environment (E4) framework, the paper studies the low-carbon development of China and gives an outlook of China's economy growth, energy-electricity demand, renewable power generation and energy conservation and emissions mitigation until 2030. A business-as-usual scenario is projected as baseline for comparison while low carbon energy and electricity development path is studied. It is defined as low carbon energy/electricity when an economy body manages to realize its potential economic growth fueled by less energy/electricity consumption, which can be characterized by indexes of energy/electricity intensity and emissions per-unit of energy consumption (electricity generation). Results show that, with EUM, China, could save energy by 4.38 billion ton oil equivalences (toes) and reduce CO 2 emission by 16.55 billion tons; with IRSP, China, could save energy by 1.5 Btoes and reduce CO 2 emission by 5.7 Btons, during 2010-2030. To realize the massive potential, China has to reshape its economic structure and rely much on technology innovation in the future. - Research highlights: → In an E4 framework China's low-carbon development is compared with BAU scenario. → Low carbon energy/electricity and their related measuring indexes are discussed. → China's successful experiences on energy efficiency are summarized as EUM and IRSP. → With them China could save energy by 5.8 Btoe and reduce CO 2 by 22.2 Bton until 2030. → China must restructure its economy and rely on technology innovation for them.

  19. Inferring genetic diversity and differentiation of the endangered chinese endemic plant sauvagesia rhodoleuca (ochnaceae) using microsatelite markers

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chen, Z. Y.; Wei, X.; Jiang, Y. S.; Chai, S. F.

    2015-01-01

    Sauvagesia rhodoleuca is one of the most endangered species in China. It has a narrow distribution in the evergreen broadleaved forest of southern China. Up to now, only six populations remained in two provinces. In this study, eight microsatellite loci were used to examine genetic diversity in these populations. We found very low levels of genetic diversity within populations of S. rhodoleuca with average observed and expected heterozygosity (HO and HE) of 0.069 and 0.186, respectively. Estimated inbreeding coefficients (FIS) within populations were high suggests the probable selfing in the species.Combination of the UPGMA dendrogram and the INSTRUCT analysis show that six extant populations could be classified into three distinct genetic groups and no pattern of isolation by distance was detected among populations. The low genetic variation within populations and high genetic differentiation among populations indicate that the management for the conservation of genetic diversity in S. rhodoleuca should aim to preserve every population. (author)

  20. Diversity Indices as Measures of Functional Annotation Methods in Metagenomics Studies

    KAUST Repository

    Jankovic, Boris R.

    2016-01-01

    in the ecosystems and species diversity studies can be successfully used in evaluating certain aspects of the methods employed in metagenomics studies. We show that when applying the concept of Hill’s diversity, the analysis of variations in the diversity order

  1. Dynamics of soil organic carbon in density fractions during post-agricultural succession over two lithology types, southwest China.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wen, Li; Li, Dejun; Chen, Hao; Wang, Kelin

    2017-10-01

    Agricultural abandonment has been proposed as an effective way to enhance soil organic carbon (SOC) sequestration. Nevertheless, SOC sequestration in the long term is largely determined by whether the stable SOC fractions will increase. Here the dynamics of SOC fractions during post-agricultural succession were investigated in a karst region, southwest China using a space-for-time substitution approach. Cropland, grassland, shrubland and secondary forest were selected from areas underlain by dolomite and limestone, respectively. Density fractionation was used to separate bulk SOC into free light fraction (FLFC) and heavy fraction (HFC). FLFC contents were similar over dolomite and limestone, but bulk SOC and HFC contents were greater over limestone than over dolomite. FLFC content in the forest was greater than in the other vegetation types, but bulk SOC and HFC contents increased from the cropland through to the forest for areas underlain by dolomite. The contents of bulk SOC and its fractions were similar among the four vegetation types over limestone. The proportion of FLFC in bulk SOC was higher over dolomite than over limestone, but the case was inverse for the proportion of HFC, indicating SOC over limestone was more stable. However, the proportions of both FLFC and HFC were similar among the four vegetation types, implying that SOC stability was not changed by cropland conversion. Exchangeable calcium explained most of the variance of HFC content. Our study suggests that lithology not only affects SOC content and its stability, but modulates the dynamics of SOC fractions during post-agricultural succession. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  2. Managing Diverse Stakeholders

    OpenAIRE

    Pipkin, Erin; Porter, Sean; Clark, Rickie

    2017-01-01

    For every public project, there is a diverse group of stakeholders who need and want information. During this session we outline important stakeholders, how and when to involve them in the planning process, and how targeted messaging might be the key to your project’s success. We also discuss how to identify and manage stakeholders who oppose your project.

  3. Implications of China's Open-Door Policy for Families: A Family Impact Analysis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Quach, Andrew S.; Anderson, Elaine A.

    2008-01-01

    China's open-door policy (ODP) was created in 1978 as a response to the severe economic depression affecting the country after the Cultural Revolution. The policy was designed to restore China's financial status and lift the nation out of destitution. By all accounts, the ODP has been successful in improving the country's monetary condition.…

  4. Life Cycle Assessment of a Highly Diverse Vegetable Multi-Cropping System in Fengqiu County, China

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Li Li

    2018-03-01

    Full Text Available Agricultural biodiversity usually leads to greater sustainability in production practices. To understand the environmental implications of the development of village-level multi-cropping in rural China, we compared the environmental impact of a highly diverse vegetable multi-cropping system to a conventional wheat/maize rotation system based on the method of life cycle assessment (LCA. Using household level cultivation data, this study examined the gate-to-gate environmental impacts of on-site cultivation practices relating to the production of 10,000 nutrient equivalent units. Results show that vegetable multi-cropping resulted in decreased average land requirement, and diesel, water and electricity usage by 69.8%, 62.2%, 71.7%, and 63.4%, respectively, while average nitrogen (Total N, phosphorus (P2O5, and potassium (K2O usage in vegetable multi-cropping systems decreased by 16.3%, 42.1%, and 75.8%, respectively. Additional corresponding effects led to a decrease in the total global warming, eutrophication, and acidification potentials from external inputs by 21.6%, 16.7%, and 16.2% of the entire system, respectively. Moreover, the midpoint human toxicity potential from pesticide usage of the vegetable multi-cropping system was lower than that of the conventional system. However, the midpoint eco-toxicity potential from pesticide usage was higher due to certain highly toxic substances, and both human and eco-toxicity potentials from heavy metals were all higher by a few orders of magnitudes. Thus, to mitigate these detrimental consequences, some related measures are proposed for sustainable practices in the future implementation of multi-cropping systems.

  5. New development stage of China's uranium industry

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhang Rong

    2001-01-01

    From the early 1980s China adjusted its uranium industry to better meet the market economy requirements. Until 1997, the adjustment has been completed. The technical and managerial improvements result in a more efficient uranium production. In 1996 a series of events related to the nuclear power development of China manifests very favorable situation for the uranium industry. The first two nuclear power plants with a total installed capacity of 2100 MW in the mainland of China have been operating safely and steadily for several years. The additional nuclear power projects to be constructed for the rest of this century are implemented in an all-round way. Four plants with eight reactors of a total of 6900 MW have entered their construction period in succession. In 1996 a commercial ISL mine in Xinjiang with annual capacity 100 tU was completed, and the larger scale of ISL mine is expected to be constructed by 2000. The Benxi uranium mine in northeast China was put into production. It applies some new mining and processing technologies and improved management, which might serve as a new model of uranium mines in China. (author)

  6. Trepanation in Ancient China.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hobert, Leah; Binello, Emanuela

    2017-05-01

    Trepanation, the process of making a burr hole in the skull to access the brain, is an ancient form of a primitive craniotomy. There is widespread evidence of contributions made to this practice by ancient civilizations in Europe, Africa, and South America, where archaeologists have unearthed thousands of trepanned skulls dating back to the Neolithic period. Little is known about trepanation in China, and it is commonly believed that the Chinese used only traditional Chinese medicine and nonsurgical methods for treating brain injuries. However, a thorough analysis of the available archeological and literary evidence reveals that trepanation was widely practiced throughout China thousands of years ago. A significant number of trepanned Chinese skulls have been unearthed showing signs of healing and suggesting that patients survived after surgery. Trepanation was likely performed for therapeutic and spiritual reasons. Medical and historical works from Chinese literature contain descriptions of primitive neurosurgical procedures, including stories of surgeons, such as the legendary Hua Tuo, and surgical techniques used for the treatment of brain pathologies. The lack of translation of Chinese reports into the English language and the lack of publications on this topic in the English language may have contributed to the misconception that ancient China was devoid of trepanation. This article summarizes the available evidence attesting to the performance of successful primitive cranial surgery in ancient China. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  7. Genetic diversity in wild populations of Paulownia fortune.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, H Y; Ru, G X; Zhang, J; Lu, Y Y

    2014-11-01

    The genetic diversities of 16 Paulownia fortunei populations involving 143 individuals collected from 6 provinces in China were analyzed using amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP). A total of 9 primer pairs with 1169 polymorphic loci were screened out, and each pair possessed 132 bands on average. The percentage of polymorphic bands (98.57%), the effective number of alleles (1.2138-1.2726), Nei's genetic diversity (0.1566-0.1887), and Shannon's information index (0.2692-0.3117) indicated a plentiful genetic diversity and different among Paulownia fortunei populations. The genetic differentiation coefficient between populations was 0.2386, while the gene flow was 1.0954, and the low gene exchange promoted genetic differentiation. Analysis of variance indicated that genetic variation mainly occurred within populations (81.62% of total variation) rather than among populations (18.38%). The 16 populations were divided by unweighted pair-group method with arithmetic means (UPGMA) into 4 groups with obvious regionalism, in which the populations with close geographical locations (latitude) were clustered together.

  8. Successful Aging and Frailty: Opposite Sides of the Same Coin?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Woo, Jean; Leung, Jason; Zhang, Tiemei

    2016-09-01

    Operational definitions of successful aging place a strong emphasis on functional capacity, and strategies for successful aging include many factors common to frailty research. We explore the hypothesis that frailty and successful aging are two sides of the same coin and that walking speed may be an objective indicator of successful aging. Observational study of two Chinese cohorts using one to define "fast walkers" and applying this criteria to another cohort to examine associated factors. Community survey in cities in China. A total of 1929 men and women aged 25 to 89 years of age in four cities in China and 4000 men and women 65 years old in Hong Kong SAR China. The top 25th percentile of walking speed for the whole cohort of 1929 men was determined, and the cutoff value was used to define "fast walkers." This value was applied to the Hong Kong Chinese population to examine factors associated with fast walking speed. These factors include age, gender, socioeconomic and lifestyle factors, medical history, quality of life, cognitive function, depressive symptoms, body mass index, body composition, and telomere length. Fast walkers had better self-rated health, lower prevalence of stroke, hypertension, cataracts, osteoporosis, and impaired cognitive function. They were more likely to be current alcohol users, more physically active, consumed more vegetables, had better physical component of health-related quality of life, and received more education. They also had lower body mass index, percentage whole body fat as well as appendicular fat, and higher appendicular muscle mass index. In multivariate analysis, the significant contributing variables were age, gender, current alcohol use, physical activity level, vegetable intake, quality of life, and appendicular fat. The area under the curve value on receiver-operating characteristic analysis was 0.77 for these seven variables. Frailty and successful aging may be considered two sides of the same entity, and fast

  9. Experimental taphonomy and the anatomy and diversity of the earliest fossil vertebrates (Chengjiang Biota, Cambrian, China)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Purnell, Mark; Gabbott, Sarah; Murdock, Duncan; Cong, Peiyun

    2016-04-01

    The oldest fossil vertebrates are from the Lower Cambrian Chengjiang biota of China, which contains four genera of fish-like, primitive vertebrates: Haikouichthys, Myllokunmingia, Zhongjianichthys and Zhongxiniscus. These fossils play key roles in calibrating molecular clocks and informing our view of the anatomy of animals close to the origin of vertebrates, potentially including transitional forms between vertebrates and their nearest relatives. Despite the evident importance of these fossils, the degree to which taphonomic processes have affected their anatomical completeness has not been investigated. For example, some or all might have been affected by stemward slippage - the pattern observed in experimental decay of non-biomineralised chordates in which preferential decay of synapomorphies and retention of plesiomorphic characters would cause fossil taxa to erroneously occupy more basal positions than they should. This hypothesis is based on experimental data derived from decay of non-biomineralised chordates under laboratory conditions. We have expanded this analysis to include a broader range of potentially significant environmental variables; we have also compared and combined the results of experiments from several taxa to identify general patterns of chordate decay. Examination of the Chengjiang vertebrates in the light of these results demonstrates that, contrary to some assertions, experimentally derived models of phylogenetic bias are applicable to fossils. Anatomical and phylogenetic interpretations of early vertebrates that do not take taphonomic biases into account risk overestimating diversity and the evolutionary significance of differences between fossil specimens.

  10. Conceptual Pathways to Ethnic Transcendence in Diverse Churches: Theoretical Reflections on the Achievement of Successfully Integrated Congregations

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gerardo Marti

    2015-09-01

    Full Text Available The concept of ethnic transcendence—defined as the process of co-formulating a shared religious identity among diverse members that supersedes their racial and ethnic differences through congregational involvement—captures a critical aspect of successfully integrating different racial and ethnic groups into a single, commonly shared, multi-ethnic congregation. Drawing on classic theoretical resources from Max Weber and Emile Durkheim, this paper expands on previous scholarship by conceptually articulating two different paths for the achievement of ethnic transcendence in multiracial congregations. In the first path, ethnic transcendence supports and encourages congregational diversification by inspiring members and mobilizing them to contribute their efforts to accomplish a common religious mission. In the second path, the achievement of ethnic transcendence involves the sublimation of congregational members’ religious selves to an overarching moral collective. Both paths involve privileging religious identities in favor of a particularistic ethnic or racial identity. Moreover, through both paths, the development of congregationally specific religious identities results in joining with co-members of different ethno-racial ancestries as a type of spiritually-derived kinship. Due to the fact that ethnic transcendence is an interactive process, congregational diversity is a bi-directional phenomenon representing the extent to which members allow for the integration of separate ethnicities/races into a common congregation through idealized and richly-symbolic notions of connection and belonging to a congregation. Overall, this paper suggests a heuristic framework that productively expands the concept of ethnic transcendence, allows an approach for observing cross-ethnic/inter-racial organizational processes, and ultimately contributes toward understanding how congregations (whether church, temple, or mosque pursue alternative identity

  11. On a State-Sponsored Sport System in China.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cao, Jie; Zhiwei, Pan

    The gold medal success of China in recent Olympic Games can be traced to the advancement of the state-sponsored sport system (SSSS). While the program was developed initially through socialist ideals, it is more than a centralized government system to monopolize resources for glorified sport performance. Participation in competition is an inherent part of the human condition. Success in athletics is associated with national identity and has economic, social, and cultural implications. Because of this, it is essential that the SSSS adjust and improve to keep pace with other facets of China's quickly changing national reform. In association with emerging economic reform, some sports now receive equal or more funds from private investments compared to government allocation. The state-sponsored sport system must continue to adapt to maintain the Chinese tradition of excellence in competition.

  12. Genetic Diversity of Foxtail Millet (Setaria italica L.) From Main Asian Habitats Based on the NRDNA ITS Region

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sun, Y. L.; Zheng, S. L.; Lee, J. K.

    2016-01-01

    Foxtail millet (Setaria italica (L.) P. Beauv.) is a crop of historical importance in some Asian and European countries. In this study, we selected the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region of nuclear ribosomal DNA (nrDNA) as the DNA marker to analyze genetic diversity and relationships of 20 foxtail millet strains collected from three representative Asian countries, including China, Korea, and Pakistan. Due to the length limitation of the nrDNA ITS region, 17 typical variable nucleotide sites were only found, of which 4 sites belonged to insertion, 3 sites deletion, and 10 sites substitution. According to the result of sequence alignment, strains were grouped clearly with the relevant of collected geographical region. Based on the sequence similarity and nucleotide variation, one Main China Group (MCG) and one Main Korea Group (MKG) occurred, and the strains from Pakistan were found to be close to MKG, considered to be originally transmitted from Korea and spread to Pakistan. Certain genetic diversity between strains from Pakistan and Korea were recognized as long-time environment evolution and adaptation. Among strains from Korea, K2, K3, K4, and K5 showed nearer phylogenetic relationship to MCG, considered as Chinese populations. All strains from China showed relatively near phylogenetic relationship with each other, supporting the statement that China is one of origin areas. The result also suggested that there was no introduced strain found in the Chinese strains investigated in this study. This work would provide more sequence sources and help clearer strain distinguishing, genetic diversity and phylogenetic relationship of foxtail millet. (author)

  13. Genetic and phenotypic characteristics of importance for clonal success and diversity in Salmonella

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Müller, Karoline

    dominance of certain clones. These epidemically successful clones are often resistant to antibiotics and associated with severe human illness. They pose a major threat to public health and lead to heavy economic losses. So far, little is known about the environmental and bacterial factors leading...... to the emergence of successful clones. However, resistance to multiple antimicrobial drugs and quinolones seems to contribute to the epidemic success of Salmonella as it is associated with an increased severity of illness and epidemicity. In order to predict and prevent future outbreaks and epidemics, research...... should focus on the evolutionary mechanisms of emerging success clones. The ability to spread in different food production sectors and to cause human disease seems critical for a clone to become successful. The aim of this PhD study was to identify common phenotypic and genetic traits of success clones...

  14. Geospatial data infrastructure: The development of metadata for geo-information in China

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xu, Baiquan; Yan, Shiqiang; Wang, Qianju; Lian, Jian; Wu, Xiaoping; Ding, Keyong

    2014-03-01

    Stores of geoscience records are in constant flux. These stores are continually added to by new information, ideas and data, which are frequently revised. The geoscience record is in restrained by human thought and technology for handling information. Conventional methods strive, with limited success, to maintain geoscience records which are readily susceptible and renewable. The information system must adapt to the diversity of ideas and data in geoscience and their changes through time. In China, more than 400,000 types of important geological data are collected and produced in geological work during the last two decades, including oil, natural gas and marine data, mine exploration, geophysical, geochemical, remote sensing and important local geological survey and research reports. Numerous geospatial databases are formed and stored in National Geological Archives (NGA) with available formats of MapGIS, ArcGIS, ArcINFO, Metalfile, Raster, SQL Server, Access and JPEG. But there is no effective way to warrant that the quality of information is adequate in theory and practice for decision making. The need for fast, reliable, accurate and up-to-date information by providing the Geographic Information System (GIS) communities are becoming insistent for all geoinformation producers and users in China. Since 2010, a series of geoinformation projects have been carried out under the leadership of the Ministry of Land and Resources (MLR), including (1) Integration, update and maintenance of geoinformation databases; (2) Standards research on clusterization and industrialization of information services; (3) Platform construction of geological data sharing; (4) Construction of key borehole databases; (5) Product development of information services. "Nine-System" of the basic framework has been proposed for the development and improvement of the geospatial data infrastructure, which are focused on the construction of the cluster organization, cluster service, convergence

  15. Geospatial data infrastructure: The development of metadata for geo-information in China

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Xu, Baiquan; Yan, Shiqiang; Wang, Qianju; Lian, Jian; Wu, Xiaoping; Ding, Keyong

    2014-01-01

    Stores of geoscience records are in constant flux. These stores are continually added to by new information, ideas and data, which are frequently revised. The geoscience record is in restrained by human thought and technology for handling information. Conventional methods strive, with limited success, to maintain geoscience records which are readily susceptible and renewable. The information system must adapt to the diversity of ideas and data in geoscience and their changes through time. In China, more than 400,000 types of important geological data are collected and produced in geological work during the last two decades, including oil, natural gas and marine data, mine exploration, geophysical, geochemical, remote sensing and important local geological survey and research reports. Numerous geospatial databases are formed and stored in National Geological Archives (NGA) with available formats of MapGIS, ArcGIS, ArcINFO, Metalfile, Raster, SQL Server, Access and JPEG. But there is no effective way to warrant that the quality of information is adequate in theory and practice for decision making. The need for fast, reliable, accurate and up-to-date information by providing the Geographic Information System (GIS) communities are becoming insistent for all geoinformation producers and users in China. Since 2010, a series of geoinformation projects have been carried out under the leadership of the Ministry of Land and Resources (MLR), including (1) Integration, update and maintenance of geoinformation databases; (2) Standards research on clusterization and industrialization of information services; (3) Platform construction of geological data sharing; (4) Construction of key borehole databases; (5) Product development of information services. ''Nine-System'' of the basic framework has been proposed for the development and improvement of the geospatial data infrastructure, which are focused on the construction of the cluster organization, cluster

  16. Genetic diversity of Brucella abortus and Brucella melitensis in Kazakhstan using MLVA-16.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shevtsov, Alexandr; Ramanculov, Erlan; Shevtsova, Elena; Kairzhanova, Alma; Tarlykov, Pavel; Filipenko, Maxim; Dymova, Maya; Abisheva, Gulzada; Jailbekova, Aygul; Kamalova, Dinara; Chsherbakov, Andrei; Tulegenov, Samat; Akhmetova, Assel; Sytnik, Igor; Karibaev, Talgat; Mukanov, Kasim

    2015-08-01

    Brucellosis is an endemic disease in Central Asia characterized by high infection rates in humans and animals. Currently, little is known about the genetic diversity of Brucella spp. circulating in the region, despite the high prevalence of brucellosis. This study aimed to analyze the genetic diversity of Brucella melitensis and Brucella abortus strains circulating in the Republic of Kazakhstan. We genotyped 128 B. melitensis and 124 B. abortus strains collected in regions with the highest prevalence of brucellosis. Genotyping was performed using multi-locus variable-number tandem-repeat analysis (MLVA). Analysis of a subset of 8 loci (MLVA-8) of 128 B. melitensis strains identified genotypes 42 (n=108), 43 (n=2), and 63 (n=19) related to the 'East Mediterranean' group. An MLVA-16 assay sorted 128 B. melitensis strains into 25 different genotypes. Excluding one variable locus, MLVA-15 of B. melitensis was distinct from strains originating in the Mediterranean region; however, 77% of them were identical to strains isolated in China. A minimum spanning tree for B. melitensis using MLVA-15 analysis clustered the local strains together with strains previously collected in China. MLVA-8 analysis of 124 B. abortus strains identified them as genotype 36, suggesting Eurasian distribution of this lineage. Complete MLVA-16 assay analysis clustered the strains into five genotypes, revealing little diversity of B. abortus when compared on the global scale. A minimum spanning tree for B. abortus obtained using MLVA-15 analysis clustered the 2 most prevalent genotypes (n=117) together with strains previously collected in China. Thus, MLVA analysis was used to characterize 252 strains of Brucella collected in Kazakhstan. The analysis revealed genetic homogeneity among the strains. Interestingly, identical MLVA-15 profiles were found in seemingly unrelated outbreaks in China, Turkey, and Kazakhstan. Further analysis is needed for better understanding of the epidemiology of

  17. Low genetic diversity and local adaptive divergence of Dracaena cambodiana (Liliaceae) populations associated with historical population bottlenecks and natural selection: an endangered long-lived tree endemic to Hainan Island, China.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zheng, D-J; Xie, L-S; Zhu, J-H; Zhang, Z-L

    2012-09-01

    Historical population bottlenecks and natural selection have important effects on the current genetic diversity and structure of long-lived trees. Dracaena cambodiana is an endangered, long-lived tree endemic to Hainan Island, China. Our field investigations showed that only 10 populations remain on Hainan Island and that almost all have been seriously isolated and grow in distinct habitats. A considerable amount of genetic variation at the species level, but little variation at the population level, and a high level of genetic differentiation among the populations with limited gene flow in D. cambodiana were detected using inter-simple sequence repeat (ISSR) and random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) analyses. No significant correlation was found between genetic diversity and actual population size, as the genetic diversities were similar regardless of population size. The Mantel test revealed that there was no correlation between genetic and geographic distances among the 10 populations. The UPGMA, PCoA and Bayesian analyses showed that local adaptive divergence has occurred among the D. cambodiana populations, which was further supported by habitat-private fragments. We suggest that the current genetic diversity and population differentiation of D. cambodiana resulted from historical population bottlenecks and natural selection followed by historical isolation. However, the lack of natural regeneration of D. cambodiana indicates that former local adaptations with low genetic diversity may have been genetically weak and are unable to adapt to the current ecological environments. © 2012 German Botanical Society and The Royal Botanical Society of the Netherlands.

  18. Cultural values and diversity management perspectives : Testing the impact of cultural values on the diversity management perspectives in Sierra Leone, Germany and Finland

    OpenAIRE

    Mattila, Linda

    2016-01-01

    Cultural values impact the attitudes towards diversity management perspectives. Therefore they convey critical opportunities and challenges that a country encounters, and which need to be identified for the successful implementation of diversity management initiatives. This thesis discusses the different diversity management perspectives and their motivations and rationales to diversify and the process in which the national culture influences the organizational culture practices. The ...

  19. Increasing Coverage of Hepatitis B Vaccination in China

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Shengnan; Smith, Helen; Peng, Zhuoxin; Xu, Biao; Wang, Weibing

    2016-01-01

    Abstract This study used a system evaluation method to summarize China's experience on improving the coverage of hepatitis B vaccine, especially the strategies employed to improve the uptake of timely birth dosage. Identifying successful methods and strategies will provide strong evidence for policy makers and health workers in other countries with high hepatitis B prevalence. We conducted a literature review included English or Chinese literature carried out in mainland China, using PubMed, the Cochrane databases, Web of Knowledge, China National Knowledge Infrastructure, Wanfang data, and other relevant databases. Nineteen articles about the effectiveness and impact of interventions on improving the coverage of hepatitis B vaccine were included. Strong or moderate evidence showed that reinforcing health education, training and supervision, providing subsidies for facility birth, strengthening the coordination among health care providers, and using out-of-cold-chain storage for vaccines were all important to improving vaccination coverage. We found evidence that community education was the most commonly used intervention, and out-reach programs such as out-of-cold chain strategy were more effective in increasing the coverage of vaccination in remote areas where the facility birth rate was respectively low. The essential impact factors were found to be strong government commitment and the cooperation of the different government departments. Public interventions relying on basic health care systems combined with outreach care services were critical elements in improving the hepatitis B vaccination rate in China. This success could not have occurred without exceptional national commitment. PMID:27175710

  20. Regional differences in awareness of tobacco advertising and promotion in China: findings from the ITC China Survey.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yang, Yan; Li, Lin; Yong, Hua-Hie; Borland, Ron; Wu, Xi; Li, Qiang; Wu, Changbao; Foong, Kin

    2010-04-01

    To examine whether levels of, and factors related to, awareness of tobacco advertising and promotion differ across six cities in China. Data from wave 1 of the International Tobacco Control (ITC) China Survey (April to August 2006) were analysed. The ITC China Survey employed a multistage sampling design in Beijing, Shenyang, Shanghai, Changsha, Guangzhou and Yinchuan. Face-to-face interviews were conducted with a total of 4763 smokers and 1259 non-smokers. Multivariate logistic regression models were used to identify factors associated with awareness of tobacco advertising and promotion. The overall levels of noticing advertisements varied considerably by city. Cities reporting lower levels of advertising tended to report higher levels of point of sale activity. Noticing tobacco industry promotions was associated with more positive attitudes to tobacco companies. The awareness of tobacco advertising and promotional activities was not homogeneous across the six Chinese cities, suggesting variations in the tobacco industry's activities and the diversity of implementing a central set of laws to restrict tobacco promotion. This study clearly demonstrates the need to work with the implementation agencies if national laws are to be properly enforced.

  1. Genetic diversity analysis of mustard (Brassica spp.) germplasm ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    sunny t

    successfully cultivated between Aman and Boro rice rotation without affecting this popular cropping pattern. So, it is urgent to analyze the genetic diversity and its response for the selection of short duration mustard genotypes for increasing our cropping intensity. Diversity at marker loci is currently the most feasible strategy ...

  2. Enhanced nitrogen deposition over China

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Liu, Xuejun; Zhang, Ying; Han, Wenxuan; Tang, Aohan; Shen, Jianlin; Cui, Zhenling; Christie, Peter; Zhang, Fusuo [College of Resources and Environmental Sciences, China Agricultural University, Beijing 100193 (China); Vitousek, Peter [Department of Biology, Stanford University, Stanford, California 94305 (United States); Erisman, Jan Willem [VU University Amsterdam, 1081 HV Amsterdam (Netherlands); Goulding, Keith [The Sustainable Soils and Grassland Systems Department, Rothamsted Research, Harpenden AL5 2JQ (United Kingdom); Fangmeier, Andreas [Institute of Landscape and Plant Ecology, University of Hohenheim, 70593 Stuttgart (Germany)

    2013-02-28

    China is experiencing intense air pollution caused in large part by anthropogenic emissions of reactive nitrogen. These emissions result in the deposition of atmospheric nitrogen (N) in terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems, with implications for human and ecosystem health, greenhouse gas balances and biological diversity. However, information on the magnitude and environmental impact of N deposition in China is limited. Here we use nationwide data sets on bulk N deposition, plant foliar N and crop N uptake (from long-term unfertilized soils) to evaluate N deposition dynamics and their effect on ecosystems across China between 1980 and 2010. We find that the average annual bulk deposition of N increased by approximately 8 kilograms of nitrogen per hectare (P < 0.001) between the 1980s (13.2 kilograms of nitrogen per hectare) and the 2000s (21.1 kilograms of nitrogen per hectare). Nitrogen deposition rates in the industrialized and agriculturally intensified regions of China are as high as the peak levels of deposition in northwestern Europe in the 1980s, before the introduction of mitigation measures. Nitrogen from ammonium (NH4+) is the dominant form of N in bulk deposition, but the rate of increase is largest for deposition of N from nitrate (NO3-), in agreement with decreased ratios of NH3 to NOx emissions since 1980. We also find that the impact of N deposition on Chinese ecosystems includes significantly increased plant foliar N concentrations in natural and semi-natural (that is, non-agricultural) ecosystems and increased crop N uptake from long-term-unfertilized croplands. China and other economies are facing a continuing challenge to reduce emissions of reactive nitrogen, N deposition and their negative effects on human health and the environment.

  3. Clean coal use in China: Challenges and policy implications

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tang, Xu; Snowden, Simon; McLellan, Benjamin C.; Höök, Mikael

    2015-01-01

    Energy consumption in China is currently dominated by coal, a major source of air pollution and carbon emissions. The utilization of clean coal technologies is a likely strategic choice for China at present, however, although there have been many successes in clean coal technologies worldwide, they are not widely used in China. This paper examines the challenges that China faces in the implementation of such clean coal technologies, where the analysis shows that those drivers that have a negative bearing on the utilization of clean coal in China are mainly non-technical factors such as the low legal liability of atmospheric pollution related to coal use, and the lack of laws and mandatory regulations for clean coal use in China. Policies for the development of clean coal technologies are in their early stages in China, and the lack of laws and detailed implementation requirements for clean coal require resolution in order to accelerate China's clean coal developments. Currently, environmental pollution has gained widespread attention from the wider Chinese populace and taking advantage of this opportunity provides a space in which to regain the initiative to raise people’s awareness of clean coal products, and improve enterprises’ enthusiasm for clean coal. - Highlights: • Clean coal is not widely used in China due to many management issues. • Legal liability of pollution related with coal utilization is too low in China. • China is lack of laws and mandatory regulations for clean coal utilization. • It is difficult to accelerate clean coal utilization by incentive subsidies alone.

  4. Comparative analysis of the gut microbiota of black bears in China using high-throughput sequencing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Song, Can; Wang, Bochu; Tan, Jun; Zhu, Liancai; Lou, Deshuai; Cen, Xiaoxi

    2017-04-01

    The Asiatic black bear (Ursus thibetanus) is a protected species from eastern Asia. In China, the Asiatic black bear occurs in 17 provinces from northeast to southwest regions. To date, information on microbial diversity in the gut of the Asiatic black bears from different populations remains limited. To determine the species composition and community structure of the gut microbiota in the Asiatic black bear, we characterized 36 fecal samples from Sichuan, Yunnan, and Heilongjiang provinces, China, by pyrosequencing the 16S V3-V4 hypervariable regions using the Illumina Miseq platform. Results showed that Firmicutes and Proteobacteria were the predominant phyla in the samples, which were largely comprised Escherichia-Shigella, Peptostreptococcaceae_incertae_sedis, Turicibacter, Streptococcus, and Clostridium. By analyzing the community structure from these 36 samples, we found that there were significant differences in the species diversity and richness between Sichuan, Yunnan, and Heilongjiang populations. In conclusion, our results reveal the species composition and structure of the gut microbiota in captive black bears in China, and suggest that biogeography could affect the black bear' gut microbiota.

  5. Rayleigh wave tomography in North-China from ambient seismic noise

    OpenAIRE

    Fang, Lihua

    2010-01-01

    2008/2009 The theory and methodology of ambient noise tomography has been studied and applied to North-China successfully. Continuous vertical-component seismograms, spanning the period from January 1, 2007 to February 28, 2008 recorded by 190 broadband stations and 10 very broadband stations, have been used. The cross correlation technique has been applied to ambient noise data recorded by North-China Seismic Array for each station pairs of the array. Rayleigh wave group ve...

  6. Assessment of regional trade and virtual water flows in China

    OpenAIRE

    Dabo, G.; Hubacek, K.

    2007-01-01

    The success of Chinas economic development has left deep marks on resource availability and quality. Some regions in China are relatively poor with regards to water resources. This problem is exacerbated by economic growth. Flourishing trade activities on both domestic and international levels have resulted in significant amounts of water withdrawal and water pollution. Hence the goal of this paper is to evaluate the current inter-regional trade structure and its effects on water consumption ...

  7. The China Institute of Atomic Energy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fan Mingwu

    2001-01-01

    The China Institute of Atomic Energy (CIAE), established in 1950, carries out multidisciplinary research in nuclear science, technology and engineering. It has three research reactors and ten low energy accelerators. The focus of its nuclear energy related R and D is on reactor engineering and technology. In the area of nuclear techniques for applications, R and D is carried out on accelerators, isotope production, nuclear electronics and utilization of radioisotopes and radiation. There is also a strong programme in basic nuclear physics and radiochemistry. New major facilities under construction in CIAE include China Advanced Research Reactor (flux 8x10 14 n/cm 2 /sec) and China Experimental Fast Reactor. China has been successfully using the products of its R and D for a variety of applications in medicine, industry, materials science etc. A dynamic research programme is tuned to attract young talent to CIEA and there is good collaboration with the Beijing University. CIEA has been an active participant of RCA programmes of the IAEA and has been a resource for many developing countries. The management expects the Institute to be a leading multidisciplinary institute in the field of nuclear science, technology and engineering. (author)

  8. Variation of Bacterial Community Diversity in Rhizosphere Soil of Sole-Cropped versus Intercropped Wheat Field after Harvest.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Zhenping Yang

    Full Text Available As the major crops in north China, spring crops are usually planted from April through May every spring and harvested in fall. Wheat is also a very common crop traditionally planted in fall or spring and harvested in summer year by year. This continuous cropping system exhibited the disadvantages of reducing the fertility of soil through decreasing microbial diversity. Thus, management of microbial diversity in the rhizosphere plays a vital role in sustainable crop production. In this study, ten common spring crops in north China were chosen sole-cropped and four were chosen intercropped with peanut in wheat fields after harvest. Denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE and DNA sequencing of one 16S rDNA fragment were used to analyze the bacterial diversity and species identification. DGGE profiles showed the bacterial community diversity in rhizosphere soil samples varied among various crops under different cropping systems, more diverse under intercropping system than under sole-cropping. Some intercropping-specific bands in DGGE profiles suggested that several bacterial species were stimulated by intercropping systems specifically. Furthermore, the identification of these dominant and functional bacteria by DNA sequencing indicated that intercropping systems are more beneficial to improve soil fertility. Compared to intercropping systems, we also observed changes in microbial community of rhizosphere soil under sole-crops. The rhizosphere bacterial community structure in spring crops showed a strong crop species-specific pattern. More importantly, Empedobacter brevis, a typical plant pathogen, was only found in the carrot rhizosphere, suggesting carrot should be sown prudently. In conclusion, our study demonstrated that crop species and cropping systems had significant effects on bacterial community diversity in the rhizosphere soils. We strongly suggest sorghum, glutinous millet and buckwheat could be taken into account as intercropping

  9. Remediation of Legacy Arsenic Mining Areas in Yunnan Province, China

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ian H. von Lindern

    2011-01-01

    Conclusions. The success of the demonstration project was recognized and has provided direction and momentum for a wider effort by the Province to address mining pollution and water contamination challenges. It demonstrates the success of using known techniques for environmental remediation in the US, with local partners in China responding to their communities’ health and environmental problems.

  10. Cryptic sexual populations account for genetic diversity and ecological success in a widely distributed, asexual fungus-growing ant.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rabeling, Christian; Gonzales, Omar; Schultz, Ted R; Bacci, Maurício; Garcia, Marcos V B; Verhaagh, Manfred; Ishak, Heather D; Mueller, Ulrich G

    2011-07-26

    Sex and recombination are central processes in life generating genetic diversity. Organisms that rely on asexual propagation risk extinction due to the loss of genetic diversity and the inability to adapt to changing environmental conditions. The fungus-growing ant species Mycocepurus smithii was thought to be obligately asexual because only parthenogenetic populations have been collected from widely separated geographic localities. Nonetheless, M. smithii is ecologically successful, with the most extensive distribution and the highest population densities of any fungus-growing ant. Here we report that M. smithii actually consists of a mosaic of asexual and sexual populations that are nonrandomly distributed geographically. The sexual populations cluster along the Rio Amazonas and the Rio Negro and appear to be the source of independently evolved and widely distributed asexual lineages, or clones. Either apomixis or automixis with central fusion and low recombination rates is inferred to be the cytogenetic mechanism underlying parthenogenesis in M. smithii. Males appear to be entirely absent from asexual populations, but their existence in sexual populations is indicated by the presence of sperm in the reproductive tracts of queens. A phylogenetic analysis of the genus suggests that M. smithii is monophyletic, rendering a hybrid origin of asexuality unlikely. Instead, a mitochondrial phylogeny of sexual and asexual populations suggests multiple independent origins of asexual reproduction, and a divergence-dating analysis indicates that M. smithii evolved 0.5-1.65 million years ago. Understanding the evolutionary origin and maintenance of asexual reproduction in this species contributes to a general understanding of the adaptive significance of sex.

  11. The Handbook of Welfare in China

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    The Handbook is a timely compilation dedicated to exploring a rare diversity of perspectives and content on the development, successes, reforms and challenges within China’s contemporary welfare system. It showcases an extensive introduction and 20 original chapters by leading and emerging area...... case-based research from diverse disciplines and perspectives, engage existing literature and further key debates....

  12. THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE DIVERSITY OF EMPLOYEES AND ORGANIZATIONAL PERFORMANCE

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Latif Abdul Ridha ATIYAH

    2016-12-01

    Full Text Available The current research aims to analyze the diversity of workers and its influence on the organizational performance. The success of an organization is achieved by bringing new creative ideas. Thus, adopting diversity management and diverse workforce inside organization, will create a behavior to add several traits that will enhance the organizational performance by adapting the current work environment to the future work plan. The goal of the research is to identify the impact of diversity in being an independent variant resembled by: (Type, sex, age, religion, ethnicity and the other one the organizational performance in being a dependent (Related variant resembled by (market share, sales growth, customer satisfaction, the release cycle of a new product. The present research reached a number of conclusions, their highlights resembled by the importance of diversity relying on diversity strategy on improving the current products while offering continuous and effective support to the projects of development and research, considering it as the main tool to support the success of effective organizational performance. The results generally confirmed the relation and the expected impact between the effective organization performance and diversity in the researched organization.

  13. The Qinshan phase III project-a successful model of sino-canadian cooperation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Pang, S.H.H.; Alikhan, S.; Gu Jun

    2005-01-01

    The Qinshan Phase III (CANDU) Project, the largest-scale cooperative project between China and Canada, was completed in 2003 well in advance of the schedule and 10% under budget. The Third Qinshan (Phase III) Nuclear Power Plant (TQNPP) was built in record times: Unit 1 achieved commercial operation on December 31, 2002 and Unit 2 on July 20, 2003, 43 days and 115 days ahead of schedule respectively. Improvements in design and construction methods allowed Unit 1 to be constructed in 51.5 months from First Concrete to Criticality - a record in China for nuclear power plants. The key factors are project management and project management tools, quality assurance, construction methods, electronic documentation with configuration control that provides up-to-date on-line information, CADDS design linked with material management and control. New design and construction techniques were introduced by combining conventional AECL practices with working experiences in China. The most advanced tools and techniques for achieving optimum construction quality, schedule and cost were used. Successful application of advanced project management methods and tools has benefited TQNPC in its subsequent plant operation, and the Chinese contractors in advancing their capabilities in future nuclear projects in China as well as enhancing their opportunities internationally. Excellent co-operation and teamwork within the integrated TQNPC/AECL Commissioning Team with well documented QA program, process and procedures also contributed to the remarkable success of the Project. AECL's initial assessment, based on lessons learned, showed that the project schedule could readily be reduced to 66 months and the capital costs reduced by 25% for a replication project. AECL is building on this experience and successful results of TQNPP in its Advanced CANDU Reactor TM (ACR TM ) ** design. (authors)

  14. Development status of liquefied natural gas industry in China

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Shi Guohua; Jing Youyin; Wang Songling; Zhang Xutao

    2010-01-01

    With the significant economic growth in China, energy related environmental issues become more and more serious. Most of air pollutants are produced by burning coal. In order to achieve a sustainable balance between economic growth and environmental protection, China has been taking measures to expand the role played by natural gas, especially since the beginning of the 21st century. As the liquid form of natural gas, liquefied natural gas (LNG) has also been paid more attention in the country. This paper explores main motives for the fast development of China's LNG industry. An overview of the industry is also described, covering LNG receiving terminals, plants and transportation. Despite a relatively short development history of LNG industry in China, there are many remarkable successes. City-gas supply by LNG is widely applied in many small to medium cities, and LNG vehicles and cold energy utilization are growing rapidly with governmental supports. At the end, the developmental trends of China's LNG industry are introduced. All the discussions show that LNG is strategically important in China's future energy infrastructure. - Research highlights: →Explore main momentums for the fast development of China's LNG industry→Analyze detailedly current states and future prospects of LNG infrastructure in China→Introduce and analyze the wide application of LNG-based gas supply mode in China→Discuss new developmental trends in China's LNG industry

  15. China and the Changing Myanmar

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yun SUN

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available The author argues that the democratic reform in Myanmar is rooted in profound internal and external factors. Since the beginning of the reform, the changes in Myanmar have taken tolls in a series of China’s existing interests inside the country. Economically, Chinese investments have come under increasing scrutiny, criticism, and even oppositions, threatening the viability of strategic projects such as the oil and gas pipelines. Politically, the initial success of the democratic reform in Myanmar raises questions about Beijing’s continuous resistance to reform. Strategically, the changes in Myanmar undercut China’s original blueprint about the strategic utilities of Myanmar for China at ASEAN, in the Indian Ocean and more broadly in the region. In light of the changes, China has adjusted its policy toward Myanmar. Not only has Beijing dramatically reduced its economic investments in Myanmar, it also cooled down the political ties while established relations with the democratic oppositions. At the same time, China also launched massive public relations campaigns inside Myanmar aimed at improving its image and relations with the local communities.

  16. Government will shape China's refining boom

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wang, H.

    1995-01-01

    China's refining system is undergoing a major overhaul. New refineries are being built as existing ones are upgraded and expanded. The success of refineries funded completely or partially by non-chinese companies will depend in part on Chinese government policy. There will be demand for products from third-party processing facilities, but hard current is necessary for the investors to repatriate profits and for china Petrochemical Corp. (Sinopec) to bid on the products from such facilities. The limited convertibility of chinese current constitutes a major central control over the country's entire economy. This control can be affected by limiting product exchange participants and the volumes to be traded. Such a limitation, however, will reduce access of non-Chinese companies to China's markets, and is not likely to occur in the next 10 years. The paper discusses the current situation in capacity and in refining, capacity, expansion, refinery planning, construction projects, third-party processing, and the prospects for change

  17. Diversity of Penicillium species isolated from heavy metal polluted soil in Guizhou Province, China

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Qing-Xin, Zhou; Houbraken, J.; Li, Qi-Rui; Hyde, K.D.; McKenzie, E.H.C.; Wang, Yong

    2016-01-01

    Seven Penicillium strains were isolated from soil samples polluted by heavy metals in different zones of Guizhou Province, China. Phenotypic identification proved to be difficult and this data was therefore supplemented with ribosomal internal transcribed spacer region and partial β-tubulin

  18. Diversity and frequency of kdr mutations within Anopheles sinensis populations from Guangxi, China.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yang, Chan; Feng, Xiangyang; Huang, Zushi; Li, Mei; Qiu, Xinghui

    2016-08-15

    Anopheles sinensis is a major vector of malaria in China and its control is under great threat as the development of insecticide resistance. Voltage-gated sodium channel (VGSC) is the target of several classes of insecticides. Genetic mutations of VGSC have been documented to confer knockdown resistance (kdr) to dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT) and pyrethroids in mosquitoes. To control this vector efficiently, it is important to know the resistance-associated genetic mutations, their distribution frequencies and genealogical relations. Three hundreds and thirteen (313) adults of An. sinensis collected from nine locations across Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region were used. The partial sequence of the An. sinensis voltage gated sodium channel gene (AS-VGSC) containing codon 1014 was sequenced. PHASE2.1 was used to construct the haplotypes of each individual, and the accuracy of haplotypes was further confirmed by clone sequencing. The genealogical relations of kdr mutations in AS-VGSC was analysed using TCS 2.1 and Network 5.0. Sixteen AS-VGSC haplotypes including seven haplotypes carrying non-synonymous mutations at codon 1014, and fifty-five AS-VGSC genotypes were identified from 313 mosquitoes collected from nine geographical locations across Guangxi. The number of haplotypes in each of the nine populations ranged from 5 to 13. The frequency of haplotypes carrying kdr mutations ranged from 2.7 to 80.0 % within the nine populations, of which 1014C was unexpectedly high in the northeast of Guangxi. Genealogical analysis suggested multiple origins of kdr mutations in An. sinensis. Diverse haplotypes of AS-VGSC are distributed in Guangxi. The presence of haplotypes carrying mutations at codon 1014 indicates a risk of pyrethroid and DDT resistance. The kdr mutations show differential distribution geographically, with high frequencies occurred in the northeast of Guangxi. Genealogical analysis suggests multiple origins of kdr mutations in An. sinensis populations

  19. Advancing primary care to promote equitable health: implications for China

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hung Li-Mei

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available Abstract China is a country with vast regional differences and uneven economic development, which have led to widening gaps between the rich and poor in terms of access to healthcare, quality of care, and health outcomes. China's healthcare reform efforts must be tailored to the needs and resources of each region and community. Building and strengthening primary care within the Chinese health care system is one way to effectively address health challenges. This paper begins by outlining the concept of primary care, including key definitions and measurements. Next, results from a number of studies will demonstrate that primary care characteristics are associated with savings in medical costs, improvements in health outcomes and reductions in health disparities. This paper concludes with recommendations for China on successfully incorporating a primary care model into its national health policy, including bolstering the primary care workforce, addressing medical financing structures, recognizing the importance of evidence-based medicine, and looking to case studies from countries that have successfully implemented health reform.

  20. Population Education in China: Now and into the Future.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Taijin, Zhang

    1991-01-01

    Presents a comprehensive plan for the expansion of China's population education program. Evaluations which demonstrate the success of the program are the foundation for the plans that address new trends and requirements for population management. (MCO)