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During the Sino-Japanese war of 1937 to 1945, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in Shandong Province in North China achieved an unnoticed but historically significant success in financial affairs. From that time onward, the CCP in Shandong not only controlled economic affairs within its territory, but also obtained access to territories under enemy occupation through manipulation of currency exchange rates and by controlling the trade in staple grains, cotton, salt and peanut oil. As a result, trade with occupied China and with the Japanese invaders became the principal source of revenue of the CCP in Shandong as early as the second half of 1943. By the time of Japan’s defeat in August 1945, about 80% of the CCP’s revenue in Shandong came from trade beyond the areas under its control. Moreover, the CCP in Shandong deliberately carried out a policy of controlled inflation to increase its financial power. The key to this achievement was the CCP’s success in establishing exclusive zones for its banknotes in August 1943. The exclusive use of CCP currency developed in the course of many years of armed conflict among Japanese, CCP and Nationalist (GMD) forces in the province. The CCP’s ii banknotes were backed by Communist military power and military success. From their first days, the banknotes were intertwined with the military power of the CCP in Shandong and the supporting administrative institutions that Party authorities established in the province. The establishment of exclusive currency zones reflected the maturity of the CCP’s party-state. Because external trade was their principal source of revenue, CCP leaders in Shandong lacked the incentive to carry out social reform in Shandong. Moreover, justifications for the CCP’s program of agrarian revolution as carried out elsewhere were not found in Shandong. Rather than seeking social and economic transformation, the CCP built up power with a view to achieving a favourable position vis-à-vis the GMD before the end of the war against Japan. / Thesis (Ph.D, History) -- Queen's University, 2008-10-02

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Pittsburgh, 1988. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 273-288).

<p>Phosphorus is a macronutrient required for plant growth and reproduction. Insufficient supplies of phosphate will adversely impact plant growth. In an effort to supply adequate phosphate to crops, large quantities of phosphate-rich fertilizer are applied to fields but much of the phosphate can leach from the soil as run-off, impacting water systems. Therefore, proper management of phosphate and the development of phosphate efficient genotypes of plants are strategies needed for a sustainable agriculture industry.</p> <p>This thesis project focused on the development of biomarkers of phosphate stress in <em>Thellungiella salsuginea, </em>a plant highly tolerant to salt, cold and water deficit. Biomass determinations and real-time quantitative PCR were used to determine the gene expression of several genes selected as known phosphate-responsive genes from studies of phosphate starvation of the related genetic model plant <em>Arabidopsis thaliana.</em></p> <p><em> Thellungiella </em>seedlings were grown on 5 and 500 µM phosphate media. The expression of several genes (<em>RNS1, At4, Pht1;1, Pht1;4, Pht1;5, Siz1, PHR1, WRKY75, </em>and<em> Pht2;1</em>) were assayed for their response to media phosphate content. <em>RNS1</em> and <em>At4 </em>expression was estimated from cDNA prepared from shoot tissues while <em>At4, Pht1;1</em> and <em>Pht1;5</em> expression was determined from root tissues. In all tissue sources, significantly increased expression of <em>RNS1</em>, <em>At4</em>,<em> Pht1;1</em> and <em>Pht1;5</em> was observed under 5 µM phosphate exposure.</p> <p><em> </em>Two natural accessions of <em>Thellungiella</em> were used in this study with one originating from the Yukon Territory, Canada and the second from Shandong Province, China. Seedlings of both ecotypes were grown on defined media plates containing various concentrations of phosphate (0, 25, 125, 250, 500, and 2000 µM). For both accessions, the addition of as little as 25 µM phosphate led to significant increases in root and shoot biomass. Gene expression levels corresponding to <em>RNS1, At4</em> and <em>Pht1;1</em> were the highest in Yukon and Shandong <em>Thellungiella </em>grown on 0 µM phosphate media. The addition of 25 µM phosphate to the media was enough to significantly decrease transcript abundance of <em>RNS1, At4 </em>and <em>Pht1;1. </em>In a test using the transfer of Yukon <em>Thellungiella </em>seedlings from high (500 µM) to low (5 µM) phosphate the expression of <em>At4</em> in roots and shoots increased 30-fold over a five-day period and only <em>Pht1;1</em> expression increased in the roots over the same time period.</p> <p><em>RNS1</em> and <em>At4</em> share attributes that make them suitable biomarkers for phosphate stress in plants. Both genes are expressed in the shoots making it easier to remove tissue for monitoring gene expression, and both genes show readily discernible increases in transcript levels for determination by qPCR. At present, however, the role for their products in phosphate assimilation by plants is uncertain. This lack of knowledge is a deterrent to adopting these genes for widespread use as biomarkers. In particular, more work needs to be done to characterize factors that elicit their expression to test the specificity of their response to phosphate stress in <em>Thellungiella</em>.</p> / Master of Science (MSc)

Shandong Province, renowned as China’s greatest agricultural province, is dominated by smallholders growing rain-fed crops and vulnerable to severe weather shocks that can increase poverty rates. Weather index insurance, an innovative agricultural risk management product, may be an effective mechanism to address vulnerability to catastrophic weather risk in rural regions of China, including Shandong. This project evaluated current household livelihood and risk management strategies and farmer interest in weather index insurance. Data from 174 participants were collected using a methodology that included focus groups, questionnaires, and personal interviews. Despite limited access to formal financial services, Shandong farmers generally employ informal, well-diversified income strategies and rely on no-interest informal loans from community members to manage adverse impacts of natural disasters, such as drought. Households sometimes rely on reducing consumption as a risk coping strategy; however, unlike many regions of the world, Shandong farmers do not tend to sell livelihood assets to manage weather shocks. A majority of interviewed participants were interested in weather index insurance after they understood its basic concept; however, participants expressed concerns regarding basis risk and program implementation.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of California, Los Angeles, 2000. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 251-279).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Washington, 2006. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 224-246).

The Clean Development Mechanism under Kyoto Protocol created a new age for current global emission situation. China, who owns over one third of the whole CDM projects in the world, occupies the main part of CDM development. As one of the biggest and most active economy, China declared that they would reduce their carbon emission by 40%-45% per unit GDP in 2020 compared with the 2005 level, in which CDM has the chance to highlight its value. By the day 28 April 2010, there are 814 registered CDM projects distributed in different provinces in China mainland and this number is still increasing rapidly. Because of large number of CDM projects and the significantly distinct situations in different regions of China, the author chooses two provinces, Shandong and Shaanxi, in east and west of China respectively, as representative samples to do this study. This essay investigates the current situation of CDM projects in those two provinces, and studies the contribution of these projects to emission reduction of Shandong and Shaanxi provinces in last and the next several years. The result shows that CDM projects do contribute to future potential emission reduction but their contribution are limited in these two provinces.

<p> Thellungiella salsuginea (also known as T. halophila), is an emerging model species for studies of plant tolerance to osmotic stress. Currently, Thellungiella plants originating from two geographical locations are being developed for research. Yukon Thellungiella is native to the saline and alkaline soils of the Yukon Territory, Canada. The seeds in this study were collected at the Takhini Salt-Flats near Whitehorse, YT, a sub-arctic and semi-arid region. Plants from the Yukon have been proposed to be a suitable species to study plant tolerance to salinity, cold temperatures, and water deficits. Shandong Thellungiella is native to the saline coast of north-eastern China in Shandong Province where the climate is temperate and affected by summer monsoons. This plant has been proposed as an ideal model for the study of salt tolerance mechanisms but is reported to show little drought tolerance.</p> <p> An objective of this study was to compare Yukon and Shandong Thellungiella plants with respect to their ability to withstand water deficits. Plants were grown simultaneously in controlled environment chambers where watering was withheld until plants visibly wilted. Wilting occurred at a leaf relative water (RWC) content of about 50-60% and then turgor was restored by re-watering. In a second experiment plants allowed to wilt and recover once were then subjected to a second wilting and recovery cycle. The third experimental approach tested the survival capacity of plants after experiencing a wilting episode where leaf RWC dropped to about 30%.</p> <p> With the first drought simulation treatment, both Yukon and Shandong plants took about 6 days to wilt when watering was stopped. After re-watering and recovery, the Yukon plants subjected to a second drought episode took almost two days longer to wilt while the similarly treated Shandong plants showed no change in the days taken to wilt. This indicates that Yukon plants show improved tolerance to stress after a single exposure to a water deficit. Yukon plants were also able to grow and complete their life cycle following exposure to severe water deficit treatment whereas Shandong plants died. Measurements of solute potential showed that the Yukon plants re-established turgor at a lower solute potential of -2.06 +/- 0.03 MPa following recovery from a second drought treatment suggesting that this plant can undergo osmotic adjustment. No evidence of osmotic adjustment was observed for Shandong Thellungiella.</p> <p> Gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS) was used to identify the metabolites associated with Thellungiella leaves recovering from water deficits relative to those from unstressed, well-watered controls. For comparison, metabolite profiles were also prepared from leaves of plants harvested at a Yukon field site during a dry year (2003) and a year of higher than normal rainfall (2005). The data was analyzed to identify treatment/sample-specific patterns using ANOVA to test for significance among quantitative and qualitative changes for individual metabolites. Significant changes were then subjected to hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA) and principal component analysis (PCA). Using ANOVA and HCA, we were able to identify the most likely metabolite candidates contributing to the superior tolerance of Thellungiella, and their linkages between broad spectrums of metabolites. Using PCA we were able to assign clusters to the individual plant treatments for each plant source, and identify the most important components contributing to these clusters. Of the ca 289 components detected, only a small subset of components underwent statistically significant changes in abundance. Most of the drought-stress related changes were attributed to sugars: hexoses and disaccharides. Sugars accumulating in the more drought-tolerant Yukon plants and in a dry field season included fructose, glucose and galactose. Of the sugar alcohols, only myo-inositol showed patterns of interest in view of its enrichment in tissues showing superior tolerance to low water conditions. Similar patterns were also shown by the organic acid, threonic acid.</p> <p> A complementary approach was used to characterize metabolic traits associated with exposure to cold temperatures. In this study, a higher content of proline and citrate distinguished plants exposed to cold temperatures irrespective of whether the plants were in cabinets or in the field. Proline content, however, did not show drought-responsive accumulation under any drought treatment tested. As such, by comparison with the drought-stress data we can identify possible stress-specific signatures among metabolites undergoing changes. The study of stress-responsive traits could help develop a better understanding of plant systems and their response to specific environmental conditions.</p> / Thesis / Master of Science (MSc)

China’s growth and development have opened the door to a new world. Shandong province’s 90 million inhabitants are entering into a consumption society and the waste stream from households, restaurants and commercials has become a challenge. So far, the waste has mostly been burned in backyards, thrown into rivers, put on open dumps or taken to landfills. The environmental consequence is strong. This study was carried out in Shandong province and presents the current situation of the municipal waste management. The result of the study is organised into social, economical, technical and environmental parameters. It mostly covers the years 2006 to 2010. In the discussion, the strength, weakness, opportunities, and threats to the management are analysed, which gives an overview of the complex situation. The final conclusion is that there are a lot of opportunities in developing municipal solid waste management in Shandong province since the work and planning is new and economy is good. Threats are for example a larger waste stream. The municipal waste management has some strengths, such as a lot of projects going on, but also a lot of weakness for instance implementation of the regulations and laws. / Kinas starka tillväxt håller på att skapa ett konsumtionssamhälle som påminner om det västerländska. Med högre konsumtion och starkare ekonomi växer avfallsmängderna snabbt. I Shandong provinsen finns mer än 90 miljoner invånare som varje dag gör sig av med 0,5 – 1,5 kg sopor. Det är en utmaning för samhällsplanerana och ingenjörerna att ta hand om dessa volymer. Hittills har det mesta av avfallet bränts på bakgårdar, kastas i vattendrag, ut i naturen eller lagts på deponi. Miljöskadorna är stora. Denna studie beskriver avfallshanteringens situtation i Shandong provinsen. Faktan är uppdelad utefter sociala, ekonomiska, tekniska och ekologiska parametrar. Studien täcker åren 2006 till 2010. Olika avfallsanläggningar och konstruktioner besöktes, utländsk litterlatur användes och en handledare från ett kinesiskt provinskonstruktionsföretag bidrog med information och data. Studien är delvis dokumenterad med foton. I diskussionen analysers styrkor, svagheter, möjligheter och hot med avfallshanteringen för överblick av situationen. I slutsatsen framgår det att det finns många möjligheter i utvecklingen av ett avfallshanteringssystem eftersom det är nytt, flexibelt och ekonomin är god. Det finns även hårda miljö och säkerheteslagar som påminner om EUs och USAs. Till hoten räknas stora avfallsvolymer som kan vara svårkontrollerade, samt att alldeles för hårda lagar kan hindra nya innovationer och teknik. Styrkor som finns är att fler än 111 stycken projekt är på gång, och att kunskap finns på högre ledningsnivå. Svageheterna är dålig implementering av lagar samt dålig kunskap på lägre nivå. Eftersom avfallhanteringen är i ett initierande stadie så kan de val som görs nu påverka på väldigt långt sikt.