Importance of rubberwood in wood export of Malaysia and Thailand

We examined the contribution of rubberwood to the timber export markets of Malaysia and Thailand. In Malaysia, rubberwood has grown from 26% of total exported wood products in 1998 to 35% in 2007. A high proportion of furniture products (80%) is rubberwood, whereas the contribution of rubberwood to other wooden products is less than 20%. Only 10% of sawn timber and logs is rubberwood. In Thailand, rubberwood contributes to around 60% of total exported wood products, arising from a high share of not only furniture products (70%) but also other wood products (around 50%) and sawn timber and logs, which have increased in share from 40% in 1998 to 79% in 2007. We conclude that the high proportion of rubberwood products in the wood export markets of these two countries is a result of: (1) scarcity of raw wood materials because of strict controls on the logging of natural forests; and (2) governmental support to rubberwood production, including financial support to rubber planters and technical assistance to downstream timber processors.     

Estimation of rubberwood production in Cambodia

We estimated the production of rubberwood from 1996 to 2011 in Cambodia. We employed data from interview surveys with three rubberwood processing companies and statistics from estate rubber plantations and wood retailing companies. The result was that the end use of rubberwood in Cambodia was the sawntimber products, being exported to Vietnam and China. The yield rate from rubberwood stumpage into sawn timber was between 11.6 and 14.9%, closely matching the rates of Malaysia and Thailand. The average production of rubberwood roundwood from 1996 to 2011 was 254,697 m³/year, of which sawn timber as well as residuals in secondary processing was 84,559 and 170,138 m³/year, respectively. Although the timber production of Cambodia has declined sharply due to the strict restriction of natural forest logging, rubberwood could explain more than 60% of the domestic industrial roundwood production from 2000. We suggest the necessity of monitoring the expansion of rubber plantations in new rubber producing countries and linking the rubberwood production with the regional wood resource management.     

Displacement above the hypocenter of the 2011 Tohoku-Oki earthquake

The moment magnitude (M(w)) = 9.0 2011 Tohoku-Oki mega-thrust earthquake occurred off the coast of northeastern Japan. Combining Global Positioning System (GPS) and acoustic data, we detected very large sea-floor movements associated with this event directly above the focal region. An area with more than 20 meters of horizontal displacement, that is, four times larger than those detected on land, stretches several tens of kilometers long along the trench; the largest amount reaches about 24 meters toward east-southeast just above the hypocenter. Furthermore, nearly 3 meters of vertical uplift occurred, contrary to observed terrestrial subsidence.     

The crystal structure of a sodium galactose transporter reveals mechanistic insights into Na+/sugar symport

Membrane transporters that use energy stored in sodium gradients to drive nutrients into cells constitute a major class of proteins. We report the crystal structure of a member of the solute sodium symporters (SSS), the Vibrio parahaemolyticus sodium/galactose symporter (vSGLT). The approximately 3.0 angstrom structure contains 14 transmembrane (TM) helices in an inward-facing conformation with a core structure of inverted repeats of 5 TM helices (TM2 to TM6 and TM7 to TM11). Galactose is bound in the center of the core, occluded from the outside solutions by hydrophobic residues. Surprisingly, the architecture of the core is similar to that of the leucine transporter (LeuT) from a different gene family. Modeling the outward-facing conformation based on the LeuT structure, in conjunction with biophysical data, provides insight into structural rearrangements for active transport.     

Teleportation of nonclassical wave packets of light

We report on the experimental quantum teleportation of strongly nonclassical wave packets of light. To perform this full quantum operation while preserving and retrieving the fragile nonclassicality of the input state, we have developed a broadband, zero-dispersion teleportation apparatus that works in conjunction with time-resolved state preparation equipment. Our approach brings within experimental reach a whole new set of hybrid protocols involving discrete- and continuous-variable techniques in quantum information processing for optical sciences.     

Molecular mapping for seedling cold tolerance QTLs in rice

The quantitative trait loci(QTLs)for cold tolerance relative characters were identified with microsatellite markers.Ten QTLs located on chromosome1,3,4,5,6,8,9,11(two)and 12were detected for seedling height at different low temperature.Only 2 of these were detected at the same locus at four environments.1 was significant at three environments.6 were significant at two environments and 1 was significant at one environment.Seven QTLs located on chromosome 1(two),2(two),5,6,8were found for ow temperature chlorosis resistance and five QTLs located on chromosome 3,4,7,8,11resistant to chilling injury.The amount of variation explained by indivdual QTL ranged from 4.85%to 49.34%,There was no linkage relationship among the three characters.which indicates seediling cold tolerance is a complex character and is controlled by different QTLs.     

Repeated and sudden reversals of the dipole field generated by a spherical dynamo action

Using long-duration, three-dimensional magnetohydrodynamic simulation, we found that the magnetic dipole field generated by a dynamo action in a rotating spherical shell repeatedly reverses its polarity at irregular intervals (that is, punctuated reversal). Although the total convection energy and magnetic energy alternate between a high-energy state and a low-energy state, the dipole polarity can reverse only at high-energy states where the north-south symmetry of the convection pattern is broken and the columnar vortex structure becomes vulnerable. Another attractive finding is that the quadrupole mode grows, exceeding the dipole mode before the reversal; this may help to explain how Earth's magnetic field reverses.     

N-cyclohexyl linoleamide: metabolism and cholesterol-lowering effect in rats

More than half of orally administered N-cyclohexyl linoleamide-car-boxyl-C(14) yl-CI was recovered from feces of rats, and 30 to 50 percent of the absorbed carbon-14 activity was excreted in urine. N-Cyclohexyl linoleamide had an inhibitory eflect on the absorption of cholesterol from the thoracic duct and caused a decrease in the deposition of cholesterol in the livers of rats that had been fed cholesterol.     

Orangutan cultures and the evolution of material culture

Geographic variation in some aspects of chimpanzee behavior has been interpreted as evidence for culture. Here we document similar geographic variation in orangutan behaviors. Moreover, as expected under a cultural interpretation, we find a correlation between geographic distance and cultural difference, a correlation between the abundance of opportunities for social learning and the size of the local cultural repertoire, and no effect of habitat on the content of culture. Hence, great-ape cultures exist, and may have done so for at least 14 million years.     

A rubberlike stretchable active matrix using elastic conductors

By using an ionic liquid of 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium bis(trifluoromethanesulfonyl)imide, we uniformly dispersed single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) as chemically stable dopants in a vinylidene fluoride-hexafluoropropylene copolymer matrix to form a composite film. We found that the SWNT content can be increased up to 20 weight percent without reducing the mechanical flexibility or softness of the copolymer. The SWNT composite film was coated with dimethyl-siloxane-based rubber, which exhibited a conductivity of 57 siemens per centimeter and a stretchability of 134%. Further, the elastic conductor was integrated with printed organic transistors to fabricate a rubberlike active matrix with an effective area of 20 by 20 square centimeters. The active matrix sheet can be uniaxially and biaxially stretched by 70% without mechanical or electrical damage. The elastic conductor allows for the construction of electronic integrated circuits, which can be mounted anywhere, including arbitrary curved surfaces and movable parts, such as the joints of a robot's arm.