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Table of Content

    25 December 2014, Volume 36 Issue 6
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    Invited Special Paper
    Shrub-encroached grassland: a new vegetation type
    CHEN Lei-yi;SHEN Hai-hua;FANG Jing-yun
    2014, 36(6):  391-396. 
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    Shrub-encroached grassland (SEG), referring to a mosaic landscape with shrub patches interspaced with grass patches, is becoming an important and new vegetation type in arid and semiarid region. As a shrub-grass-continuum, the development of shrub patch and grass patch in the SEG alters local and regional water and heat balance, and consequently determines the community structure and ecological function of the vegetation type. We reviewed the distribution, possible mechanism, vegetation characteristics, species composition, and carbon budget of SEG.
    The rise of big fish—the largest Silurian vertebrate from Xiaoxiang Fauna, Qujing
    ZHU You-an;ZHU Min
    2014, 36(6):  397-403. 
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    The Silurian Xiaoxiang Fauna from Qujing, Yunnan is unique worldwide for its exquisitely-preserved jawed vertebrates either in diversity or in completeness. In June 2014, a new Silurian fish, Megamastax amblyodus, which is the largest Silurian vertebrate discovered to date with an estimated length up to 1.2 m, was reported from Xiaoxiang Fauna. The jaws of the new fish feature minute conical dentition on the occlusal margins and large blunt teeth that are fused to the coronoids, highlighting durophagous feeding. A global increase in oxygen levels may have facilitated the emergence and diversification of large jawed vertebrates in the mid-Paleozoic. Competing paleoatmospheric models predict the onset of near-modern oxygen levels during either the late Silurian (~420 Ma) or the Emsian (Early Devonian, ~400 Ma). The absence of pre-Emsian fishes more than half-a-metre in length was used as support for the latter model, with presumed low pre-Devonian oxygen levels imposing evolutionary constraints on maximum vertebrate body size. The new finding is consistent with previous studies documenting an increase in gnathostome diversity and functional disparity well before the advent of the Devonian along with predictions of a late Silurian oxygen rise.
    Brief Introduction of Nobel Prize
    Super-resolution fluorescent microscopy: A brief introduction to the Nobel Prize in#br# Chemistry 2014
    JI Wei;XU Tao;LIU Bei
    2014, 36(6):  404-408. 
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    Super-resolution fluorescent microscopy becomes a powerful tool for biomedical research, and extent the application of fluorescent microscopy to a brand new level. The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences decided to award Erik Betzig, Stefan W. Hell and W. E. Moerner the Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2014 for the development of super-resolution fluorescence microscopy. Their award proved the importance of this multidisciplinary field consist of chemistry, biology and physics. In this article, we briefly introduced the historical background of super-resolution imaging, and dissect the born and development of each techniques. Finally, the current problems and the challenges for future research were presented.
    Where am I#br# ——Introduction to the research works of 2014 Nobel Prize Winner in Physiology or Medicine
    WANG Yun-jiu
    2014, 36(6):  409-414. 
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    At first the academic careers of 2014 Nobel Prize Winner (John M. O’Keefe, Edvard I. Moser and May-Britt Moser) are introduced briefly in this paper. In the 1970’s O’Keefe found that the neural cells in hippocampus of rat brain are sensitive to the position of the animal so named place cell. Then E. Moser and M. Moser discovered that grid cells of the rat entorhinal cortex show receptive field with regular triangle pattern. These cells may be organized in rat brain to perform navigation behavior in environment. At last, because of the complexity of brain science we point out that there are still long way to go to solve the problem of animal navigation absolutely.
    The new light source shining 21 century: A brief introduction to the Nobel Prize in#br# Physics 2014
    PAN Du-wu
    2014, 36(6):  415-420. 
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    The Nobel Prize in Physics 2014 rewarded to Isamu Akasaki, Hiroshi Amano and Shuji Nakamura as they have invented the blue light-emitting diode (LED). It is a new energy-efficient and environment-friendly light source. The Laureates’ research works and achievements are introduced briefly in this article . The physical principle and structure of the blue light-emitting diode are described sketchily.
    Progress
    Urban fog/haze control and clean motor petrol
    BAO Xiao-jun
    2014, 36(6):  421-425. 
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    In recent years, fog-haze weather is frequently encountered in most areas of China, which has seriously affected the lives and health of Chinese citizens. The control on the fog and haze pollution is extremely urgent. In this contribution, the author first outlines the harms of the fog and haze, then introduces the relationship between PM2.5, the principal contributor to the fog and haze pollution, and automobile exhaust, and finally describes the GARDES technology for clean gasoline production, with the aim of making the public understand the relationship between motor emission and petrol quality.
    Soral crypsis of insect larvea on bracken ferns
    SHANG Hui;YAN Yue-hong
    2014, 36(6):  426-430. 
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    Ferns and insects live on the earth together more than 300 million years, but the interaction is rare known. A field surveys was hold in Sangzhi County of Hunan province about the insect larvae on Pteris spp. We found 89 Noctuidae larvae and 21 Tenthredinidae larvae on 42 bracken ferns belong to four species. The larvea of Tenthredinidae mimiced the indusium through appearance and color, and feeded on immature leaves. By contrast, the larvea of Noctuidae feeded on spores hiding under the indusium, whose color turns white to buff, with brown spot sometime, as another kind of soral crypsis. Meanwhile, a jump spider
    of prey was observed, which may be attracted by the larvea. The spider acts on the mature sporophyl, carrying several spores. These discoveries give us a good insight into the interaction and co-evolution among ferns, insect larvea and spider.
    Reconstruction of past nitrogen biogeochemical cycle in the ancient oceans with#br# nitrogen isotopes
    HONG Yi-guo;XU Xiang-rong;YUE Wei-zhong
    2014, 36(6):  431-436. 
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    The earliest nitrogen cycle on the earth was controlled by both atmospheric reactions and geological processes. Approximately 2.7 billion years ago, a linked suite of microbial processes evolved to be the most crucial driving force to control the nitrogen transformation, resulting in the current modern nitrogen cycling model. There is a different isotope effect associated with different microbial metabolism and this signal of isotope fractionation is reserved in the palaeobios. Therefore, nitrogen biogeochemical cycle in ancient oceans could be reconstructed by analyzing the stable isotopic ratio of nitrogen in the palaeobios.
    The reasons, development and problems of the land reclamation
    YIN Yan-hong;YIN Cong
    2014, 36(6):  437-444. 
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    The big wave of land reclamation nowadays is mainly caused by the great gap between the price of the land reclaimed from the sea and the land. The economic benefit of reclamation should be considered from the overall situation with the vision of development. In other words, it should be not only estimated from the price difference of the cost between land and land reclamation, but also other factors such as the economic loss generated by marine and land environment impact, which the excessive quantity of earth-rock and the maintenance expense after the reclamation project should be taken into account. The reclamation area should be smaller than the reclamation area of rising benefit limit. Land reclamation especially reclaimed in rather deep waters, for a large area,
    would lead to negative economic benefit.
    Science Focus
    Beating Ebola virus disease needs global collaboration
    YANG Xian-bi
    2014, 36(6):  445-450. 
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    Science Review
    Our task has been recorded in history
    GUAN Yi
    2014, 36(6):  451-458. 
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    Portraits
    Brenda Milner: the pioneer of exploring the mystery of memory
    GU Fan-ji
    2014, 36(6):  458-463. 
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    English Canadian neuropsychologist Brenda Milner (1918—) graduated in Cambridge, and got her Ph. D. and Sc. D. from McGill University and Cambridge University, respectively. She has taught in McGill University since 1952. She is a member of Royal Society of London, and She won the National Academy of Sciences Award in Neurosciences in 2004 for her seminal investigations of the role of the temporal lobes and other brain regions in learning, memory, and language. In May 2014, she shared Kavli Prize in neurosciences with 2014 English Nobel Laureate John O’Keefe and American neurologist Marcus Raichle. Her strong curiosity in science and tenacity of purpose not to be discouraged when the going got rough has inspired others to follow her example in researches.
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