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To analyze quasi‐periodic signals (with time‐varying complex amplitudes/frequencies) typically contained in geophysical observables is a quest that has seen continual advances in numerical techniques over the decades. In this study, based on transient z‐pole estimation (in Hankel matrices), a state‐space analysis referred to as Hankel Spectral Analysis (HSA) was developed. Based on the Hankel total least squares and incorporating truncated singular value decomposition and its shift‐invariant property, the HSA aims to decompose the closely spaced sinusoids robustly and orthogonally. Upon using a sliding windows process, the HSA can be used for decomposing and analyzing quasi‐periodic signals, in the support of consecutive parameter spectra {Ai, fi, θi}. Based on a series of experiments, we first confirmed the superiority of the HSA for decomposing different signal constituents (e.g., amplitude‐frequency modulation, mutation, and episodic signals). In real applications, as examples, we use HSA to analyze the polar motion (PM) and Earth's dynamic oblateness (ΔJ2). For the PM, we obtained the time‐varying Chandler wobble (CW) and Annual wobble, and first confirmed that there are four phase jumps in the CW since the 1900s; we find that all of those phase jumps are synchronized by the sharp decrease of Chandler intensity and period, and their random excitation mechanism was discussed. For the ΔJ2, the 18.6 and 10.5 years signals were re‐extracted, and we found that its interannual‐to‐decadal oscillations contribute to multiple global gravity anomalies. These results indicate the great potential of the HSA in decomposing and extracting the recorded periodic/quasi‐periodic signals from geophysical observations. Plain Language Summary: In signal analysis, the refined extracting of the periodic and quasi‐periodic signals remains a considerable challenge. In this study, we propose a powerful time‐series separator, the Hankel Spectral Analysis (HSA), which supports instant structured detection that traditional methods cannot afford. We have designed multiple sets of simulations to show the HSA's well‐restored ability for various and complex quasi‐periodic signals. Although the HSA has some significant advantages, it has two fundamental limitations: (a) it is applicable only to data series which are physically constituted by a sum of harmonic components; (b) the number of harmonic components needs to know beforehand. In the real application, we focus on the study of polar motion (PM) and the Earth's dynamic oblateness (ΔJ2). Here, we mainly attempted to resolve their recent disputes about the Chandler wobbles (CW) phase jumps in PM and the long periodic signal in ΔJ2. Subsequently, the origins of CW phase jumps are re‐examined; and our results show that there is a particular consistency between the four‐phase jump events and the valleys of amplitude and period. In addition, we re‐extracted the ∼18.6 and 10.5 years signals in ΔJ2 and found that the famous "1998 anomaly" related to the fluctuations on interannual‐decadal timescales. Key Points: Hankel Spectrum Analysis is proposed for more exactly decomposing and parameterizing signals with time‐varying amplitudes/frequenciesMultiple phase jumps of the Chandler wobble accompanied by sudden drops in instantaneous amplitude and period are detectedWe access the Earth's oblateness ΔJ2 of the residual ∼18.6 years tidal signal, ∼10.5 years signal, and multiple global gravity anomaly peaks [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To explore the ionospheric coupling mechanism, the total electron contents (TECs) and slant TECs (STECs) were processed from GPS sites in China, Nepal and India, and the singular spectrum analysis (SSA) method was introduced to investigate the seismic-ionospheric signals prior to the Mw7.8 Nepal earthquake on April 25, 2015. The results of pre-earthquake ionospheric anomaly show that there were obviously positive on 2nd day and negative anomalies on 14th day prior to the earthquake, respectively. The radius of anomalous area with a regular elliptical shape reached 2500 km and 2000 km in the above days respectively, which was close to the radius of Nepal earthquake. After excluding the moving effects of ionosphere hump, the investigation by the global ionosphere maps (GIMs) shows that a wide TEC abnormality appeared over the epicenter and conjugated region with the duration of 12 hr. Besides, the magnitude of TEC anomalies impending the shock, with its peaks happening at the midday (local time), was proportional to the number of days prior to the occurrence. By using the STECs within seismogenic zone, we further studied the coseismic ionospheric disturbance (CID) of Nepal earthquake. The results show that two modes of CID propagation velocity have been detected. Due to the TEC respond of Rayleigh wave, one mode had average propagating speed of 1.3 km/s in the near-field within 800 km, and gradually reaching up to 2.7 km/s in the far-field beyond 2000 km. Another mode had average propagating speed of 0.6 km/s only existing in the near-field, which was in accordance with the speed of shock acoustic waves. Besides, CID intensity presented the obvious directional difference. The ambient magnetic field around the epicenter made it easier for CID to spread in the southward direction, the plateau topography also prohibited the propagation of ionospheric disturbance, and most CID points were detected along the southeast direction of the epicenter which is consistent with the rupture propagation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Graphical abstract Highlights • The singular spectrum analysis (SSA) method is proposed to detect the ionospheric anomaly preceding great earthquake. • SSA can effectively eliminate the influence of solar-geomagnetic activities. • SSA can detect more obviously anomalous characteristics of seismic-ionospheric coupling effect than traditional methods. Abstract To study seismo-ionospheric coupling, the singular spectrum analysis (SSA) method was introduced to detect ionospheric anomalies preceding great earthquakes. The SSA method was used to decompose the total electronic content (TEC) series, and the reconstructed components (RCs) were combined to obtain the TEC principal components using w-correlation. The background TEC value during the quiet solar-terrestrial environment period was used to calculate the standard deviation, which was subsequently used to determine the upper and lower bounds of the background values. The root-mean-square error of the global ionosphere map (GIM) published by the International GNSS Service (IGS) near the earthquake epicenter was extracted and averaged to obtain the threshold, which was then used to suppress the systematic error effect during the detection of pre-earthquake TEC anomalies process. This new method was used to detect ionospheric anomalies prior to the occurrence of the Mw7.8 Kaikoura earthquake in New Zealand on 13 November 2016 and the Mw6.9 Fukushima earthquake in Japan on 21 November 2016. The TEC data were further analysed with the sliding interquartile range (IQR) method to verify the reliability and feasibility of the SSA. The results showed that the TEC anomalies over these two epicenters were clearly detected on 25 and 28 October and 10 November. Our results showed that compared with IQR, SSA could detect TEC anomalies with a larger magnitude, making TEC anomalies caused by external factors more visible. Furthermore, based on the analysis of the solar-terrestrial environment using the data of F10.7, Dst and Kp indices, it is found that magnetic storms occurred during these three days. To identify and extract potential precursor information on seismo-ionospheric anomalies, the global distribution of TEC anomalous areas with SSA and IQR was also analysed. The results indicated the presence ofobvious anomalous characteristics of the seismic-ionospheric coupling effect in the preparation zones detected by SSA. In addition, the relation between TEC anomaly and Dst index detected by the cross-wavelet analysis indicated that ionospheric anomalies outside the preparation zones detected by IQR were caused by magnetic storms. In contrast, the ranges and amplitudes of TEC anomalies detected by SSA in these zones were much smaller than those with IQR. Overall, these findings demonstrate that SSA can effectively eliminate the effect of solar-geomagnetic activity and extract seismic-ionospheric coupling anomalies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The ultra-small spacing tunnel is a new tunnel type under the urban engineering environment, which not only has high requirements for deformation and settlement control, but also has great difficulty in construction technology. Since the middle rock pillar is the key part in the design and construction of ultra-small spacing tunnels, to explore the stability of the middle rock pillar in the ultra-small spacing (0-200 mm) subway tunnels, this study examined the Gangding-Shipaiqiao ultra-small spacing tunnels on Guangzhou Metro Line 3 in China by using ABAQUS and theoretical analysis, which mainly involved the plastic zone of the surrounding rock, the stress distribution and skew displacement effect of the middle rock pillar by defining the skew coefficient. The tunnel cross-sections of three different types were optimized, and a simplified calculation method was proposed with the load and ultimate bearing capacity of the middle rock pillar. Results show that the theoretical analysis of the bearing capacity of the middle rock pillar is essentially consistent with the results of numerical calculation. The conclusions obtained in the study are of important theoretical value to provide on-site engineering construction guidance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Solar ultraviolet B (UVB) irradiance at the Earth's surface is increasing due to anthropogenic influences. To evaluate the effects of enhanced UVB radiation on photosynthetic characteristics of the marine diatom Phaeodactylum tricornutum, the species was exposed to four levels of UVB radiation, 0, 0.25, 0.75, and 1.50 KJ m day for 7 days. Effects of UVB stress on net photosynthetic rate, net respiration rate, variable chlorophyll (Chl) fluorescence parameters, Chl a and carotenoid contents, and UV-absorbing compounds (UVACs) were investigated. Results showed that there were no significant differences in terms of net respiration rate or maximal photochemical efficiency of photosystem II (F/F) between the treatments in the short or long term. However, enhanced UVB radiation at an intensity of 0.16 W m had a negative effect on the net photosynthetic rate, electron transport rate, and on the pathway of excess energy dissipation over the short term (1 to 5 days). Carotenoid and UVACs content increased under UVB radiation. Photosynthetic parameters were unaffected by UVB radiation on the seventh day indicating that P. tricornutum can adapt to UVB radiation in the long term. Results of the present study indicate that there is a dynamic balance between damage and adaptation in microalgae that enables them to adapt to UVB-induced photosystem alterations during both short-term and long-term exposure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

GPS radio occultation (RO) technology can fully describe the subtle structure of the ionosphere. This paper discusses the dynamic abnormity observed by the RO data from the Constellation Observing System for Meteorology Ionosphere and Climate (FORMOSAT-3/COSMIC) before the great earthquake case in Concepcion, Chile (27 February 2010, Mw 8.8). Traditional ground-based GPS monitoring was considered as the external conditions and references to the excitation response. Using kriging interpolation, the global Nmf2 map (GNM) was first constructed to study the ionosphere deviation from the normal state. Successively, the ionosphere abnormality in the F2 region (Nmf2), vertical structure (RO profiles), and multiple heights (electron density) of traveling are unfolded. The Nmf2 disturbances in the possibility of seismic influences were excluded from non-seismic noise factors, including the external input (e.g., space weather activity, 15 February) and meteorological events (e.g., lower atmospheric forcing in quiet periods). However, the results show that there were apparent local Nmf2 perturbations for up to 5 h in the epicenter area on 21 and 25 February. The disturbances of the RO profiles and the interaction of other layers of the ionosphere implied the fluctuation signals of prominent long-wavelength fluctuations >50 km in the F layer. The ionospheric fluctuates wildly, and these wave signals considered as the trace of gravity wave propagating upward are mainly distributed at the elevation of 200–300 km. The simultaneous reaction of GNSS TEC further evidenced the potential possibility of acoustic gravity by the COSMIC RO profiles, reflecting the compounding couplings of seismo-ionosphere effects. In terms of the presentation of VLF radiation noise and the aerosol ion clusters, the electromagnetic and chemical channels have been previously completed by DEMETER and Terra/Aqua satellites. These findings implied the great potential of the FORMOSAT-7/COSMIC-2 system (now in the testing phase), with ~5000 soundings to investigate the subtle atmospheric stratification. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Tonga volcano erupted on 15 January 2022, at 04:15:45 UTC, which significantly influenced the atmosphere and space environment, at the same time, an unprecedented opportunity to monitor ionospheric anomalies is provided by its powerful eruption. In current studies of traveling ionospheric disturbance (TID) triggered by the 2022 Tonga volcanic eruption, the particular phenomenon of ionospheric disturbances in various parts of the world has not been reasonably explained, and the vertical ionospheric disturbances are still not effectively detected. In this paper, we calculate the high-precision slant total electron content (STEC) from more than 3000 ground-based GPS stations distributed around the world, then we obtain the radio occultation (RO) data from near-field COSMIC-2 profiles and investigate the horizontal TID and the vertical ionospheric disturbances by the singular spectrum analysis (SSA). Horizontal TID propagation captured by GPS STEC results indicates that acoustic-gravity waves dominate the energy input at the beginning of the ionospheric disturbance with an approximate speed of 1050 m/s initially. With the dissipation of the shock energy, lamb waves become a dominant mode of ionospheric disturbances, moving at a more stable speed of about 326 m/s to a range of 16,000 km beyond the far-field. Local characteristics are evident during the disturbance, such as the ionospheric conjugation in Australia and the rapid decay of TID in Europe. The shock-Lamb-tsunami waves' multi-fluctuation coupling is recorded successively from the COSMIC-2 RO observation data. The shock and Lamb waves can perturb the whole ionospheric altitude. In contrast, the disturbance caused by tsunami waves is much smaller than that of acoustic-gravity waves and Lamb waves. In addition, influenced by the magnetic field, the propagation speed of TID induced by Lamb waves is higher towards the northern hemisphere than towards the southern hemisphere. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Marine heat waves and extreme high temperature become more frequent and intense in these years, which affected the survival of aquaculture animals. The ridgetail white prawn Exopalaemon carinicauda is an important economic species in eastern China, which has remarkable thermal tolerance. However, there has been little study of its thermal-adaptation mechanisms due to the complex genetic structure and unknown genome. To better understand the molecular mechanisms of E. carinicauda to adapt to the changing temperature, a combination of Illumina-based short reads RNA-seq and single molecule real-time-based full-length transcriptome sequencing was used in this study. In total, 17,212 unigenes from high-quality transcripts of E. carinicauda were generated and 14,663 complete ORFs were detected with an average length of 1980 bp. In addition, the transcriptome profiles of E. carinicauda treated with 34 °C heat stress for 6 and 24 h were analyzed. These differentially expressed genes were primarily enriched in oxidation-reduction process (Gene Ontology enrichment, GO) and the pathways of starch and sucrose metabolism (Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes enrichment, KEGG) after 6 h thermal stress, which indicated that E. carinicauda was suffering the attack by reactive oxygen species. After 24 h thermal stress, these differentially expressed genes were enriched in the pathway of lysosome, glycine, serine and threonine metabolism, fatty acid metabolism (KEGG), which indicated the oxidative stress was decreased. Interestingly, 40 genes for hemocyanin were found to be downregulated after 6 h heat stress, which indicated that the immunocompetence of E. carinicauda decreased after short term thermal stress (6 h). After 24 h thermal stress, E. carinicauda showed transcriptional adaptation to high temperature by upregulating of 11 genes encoding molecular chaperones, including HSP40 and HSP90 which were firstly reported to be related to thermal stress in E. carinicauda. These results promote a better understanding of the thermal-adaptation mechanism of E. carinicauda. Unlabelled Image • Explore the adaptation mechanism of aquaculture animal in coastal area to cope with the thermal stress. • Combine short reads RNA-seq and single molecule full-length transcriptome sequencing to get more reliable results. • Find two novel molecular chaperone to adapt to the thermal stress in crustacean. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to study the coupling relationship between large earthquakes and the ionosphere, the techniques of ionosphere data acquisition were refined by the Crustal Movement Observation Network of China (CMONOC) to detect the pre-earthquake ionospheric abnormal and coseismic ionospheric disturbances (CID) of the Mw 6.6 Lushan earthquake on 20 April 2013. Based on the regional ionosphere maps (RIMs) derived from the Global Positioning System (GPS) observations of CMONOC, the ionospheric local effects near the epicenter of the Lushan earthquake one month prior to the shock were analyzed. The results show that the total electron content (TEC) anomalies appeared 12–14 (6–8 April), 19 (1 April), and 25–27 (24–26 March) days prior to the Lushan earthquake, which are defined as periods 1, 2, and 3, respectively. Multi-indices including the ring current index (Dst), geomagnetic planetary (Kp) index, wind plasma speed (Vsw) index, F10.7, and solar flares were utilized to represent the solar–terrestrial environment in different scales and eliminate the effects of solar and geomagnetic activities on the ionosphere. After the interference of solar–terrestrial activity and the diurnal variation in the lower thermosphere were excluded, the TEC variations with obvious equatorial ionospheric anomaly (EIA) in period-1 were considered to be related to the Lushan earthquake. We further retrieved precise slant TECs (STECs) near the epicenter to study the coseismic ionospheric disturbance (CID). The results show that there was clear STEC disturbance occurring within half an hour after the Lushan earthquake, and the CID propagation distance was less than the impact radius of the Lushan earthquake (689 km). The shell models with different altitudes were adopted to analyze the propagation speed of the CID. It is found that at the F2-layer with the altitude of 277 km, which had a CID horizontal propagation velocity of 0.84 ± 0.03 km/s, was in accordance with the acoustic wave propagation velocity. The calculated velocity acoustic wave from the epicenter to the ionospheric pierce points of this shell model was about 0.53 ± 0.03 km/s, which was also consistent with its actual velocity within the altitude of 0–277 km. Affected by the geomagnetic field, the CID mainly propagated along the southeast direction at the azimuth of 190°, which was almost parallel to the local magnetic line. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The mechanism for the hydroxyl-radical-induced depolymerization of cellulose under alkaline conditions in air was investigated using density functional theory at the B3LYP/6-31+G(d,p) level as well as electron transfer theory. The pathway for the depolymerization of cellulose was obtained theoretically and H abstraction from the C(3) atom of the pyran ring during the cleavage of the glucosidic bond was found to be the rate-limiting step due to its high energy barrier (16.81 kcal/mol) and low reaction rate constant (4.623 × 104 mol L−1 s−1). Calculations of the electron transfer between O2 and the saccharide radical performed with the HARLEM software package revealed that following the H abstraction, the oxygen molecule approaches C(2) on the saccharide radical and obtains an electron from the radical, even though no bond forms between the oxygen molecule and the radical. The rate constant for electron transfer could be as high as 1.572 × 1011 s−1. Furthermore, an enol intermediate is obtained during the final stage of the depolymerization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fractured reservoirs are highly heterogeneous in both matrix and fracture properties, which results in significant variations in well production. Assessing and quantifying the influence of fractures on fluid flow is essential for developing unconventional reservoirs. The complicated effects of fractures in unconventional fractured reservoirs on fluid flow highly depend on fracture geometry, fracture distribution, and fracture properties, which can be reflected in pressure transient testing. The biggest challenge lies in delineating the pre-existing natural fracture distribution pattern, density, azimuth, and connectivity. Using the advanced finite element method, this paper builds a finely characterized near-wellbore model to numerically simulate the pressure transient testing process in naturally fractured reservoirs and further evaluates fracture-related effects to obtain a more accurate solution. First, the numerical program is benchmarked by the analytical solutions and numerical results of Eclipse. Next, different fracture models with single fractures or fracture networks are set up to investigate the effects of fracture parameters numerically (e.g., fracture location, fracture dip angle, fracture spacing, the ratio of fracture permeability to matrix permeability, fracture network orientation, horizontal fracture distribution, etc.) on pressure transient behaviors in naturally fractured reservoirs. Velocity and pressure profiles are presented to visualize and analyze their effects, and new features in the flow regimes of the derivative plots of the bottom-hole pressure are identified and discussed. Finally, based on geological and geophysical data, including image logs, core descriptions, wireline logs, and seismic and well test data, a practical fractured model of the Dalwogan 2 well in the Surat basin is built, analyzed, and compared with homogenous and measured data. The results show significance in characterizing the complex fracture networks in near-wellbore models of unconventional fractured reservoirs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aquaculture plays important roles in global food security. Prized as a valuable commercial species, the aquaculture industry of half-smooth tongue sole (Cynoglossus semilaevis) has faced unprecedented challenge due to bacterial diseases, including vibriosis caused by Vibrio anguillarum. Alternative splicing (AS) is an important layer of post-transcriptional regulation, being involved in almost all biological processes, including development, reproduction, and immunity. However, its roles in immunity in half-smooth tongue sole remain elusive. In this study, therefore, we profiled the changes of alternative splicing in half-smooth tongue sole after infection with different concentrations of V. anguillarum , and investigated their functions by both enrichment analysis and targeted gene transcript overexpression analysis with half-smooth tongue sole macrophages. Intriguingly, differentially alternatively spliced (DAS) genes were found to be involved in RNA splicing for each bacterial treatment and for the shared gene set, consistent with previous studies that splicing factor themselves often underwent alternative splicing. A set of 12 immune-related shared DAS genes were identified, including hp , c5 , and traf2b. Targeted gene analysis using the shared DAS gene, haptoglobin (hp), showed that alternative splicing resulted in changes of protein domains, and overexpression analysis demonstrated that two transcripts of hp exhibited contrary roles in stimulating or reducing the expression of immune factors in response to lipopolysaccharides (LPS), reflecting the vital roles of alternative splicing in immunity of tongue sole. DAS events were further verified by qRT-PCR (20 primer pairs for 10 DAS events) to confirm the reliability of our bioinformatics analysis. This study, for the first time, revealed the involvement of alternative splicing in immune responses of half-smooth tongue sole using both omics data and targeted gene functional analysis, setting a solid foundation for further analysis and providing clues for potential usage in controlling bacterial diseases in aquaculture. • RNA splicing was enriched for DAS genes in each comparison and the shared gene set. • A set of 12 immune-related genes were identified in 104 shared DAS genes. • Two hp splicing isoforms exhibited contrary roles in stimulation of immune factors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Frequency shift islanding detection methods have been widely used in inverter-based distributed generations. Two representatives of such methods, Sandia frequency shift (SFS) and reactive current perturbation (RCP) methods, are investigated in this article. The investigation reveals two main issues with these two methods, i.e., parameter selection scheme for positive feedback gain and current static error. The current parameter selection scheme, in particular, is considered unreliable and inconvenient in this article, for it has not considered the weakening effect of PI regulators on positive feedback and the positive feedback gain is actually obtained by trial and error, which makes it difficult to use such methods well in field environments. In view of these issues, this article proposes a solution that contains an improved method to eliminate current static error and a reliable and convenient parameter selection scheme based on system stability analyses. The final simulations and experiments verify the good performance of the improved method and the parameter selection scheme. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

MicroRNAs play crucial roles in various biological processes, including but not limited to differentiation, development, disease, and immunity. However, their immunoregulatory roles in half-smooth tongue sole are lacking. Our previous studies indicated that miR-722 could target C5aR1 to modulate the complement pathway to alleviate inflammatory response and even affect the mortality after the bacterial infection with Vibrio anguillarum. Driven by the purpose of revealing the underlying mechanisms, in this study, we investigated the effects of miR-722 on the gene expression and alternative splicing (AS) in the liver of half-smooth tongue sole after Vibrio anguillarum infection, with the approach of miR-722 overexpression/silencing and subsequent RNA-seq. Among the different comparisons, the I group (miR-722 inhibitor and V. anguillarum) versus blank control (PBS) exhibited the highest number of differentially expressed genes (DEGs), suggesting that the immune response was overactivated after inhibiting the miR-722. In addition, enrichment analyses were performed to reveal the functions of DEGs and differential AS (DAS) genes, reflecting the enrichment of RNA splicing and immune-related pathways including NF-κB and T cell receptor signaling pathway. Comparing the M group (miR-722 mimic and V. anguillarum) with the negative control (random sequence and V. anguillarum), two immune-related genes, cd48 and mapk8 , were differentially expressed, of which mapk8 was also differentially spliced, indicating their importance in the immune response. Furthermore, representative gene analysis was performed, suggesting their corresponding functional changes due to AS. To verify the RNA-seq data, quantitative real-time PCR was employed with twenty pairs of primers for DEGs and DAS events. Overall, our results demonstrated that miR-722 could mediate the transcriptome-wide changes of gene expression and AS in half-smooth tongue sole, and provided insights into the regulatory role of miR-722 in immune responses, laying the foundation for further functional analyses and practical applications in aquaculture. • miR-722 mediated the transcriptome-wide changes of gene expression and AS in tongue sole. • DAS contributed significantly to the immune response after the bacterial infection. • mapk8 was the only gene that underwent both differential expression and DAS in M vs N. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small non-coding RNAs involved in various biological processes, including immunity. Previously, we investigated the miRNAs of half-smooth tongue sole (Cynoglossus semilaevis) and found that miR-722 (designated Cse -miR-722) was significantly differentially expressed after infection with Vibrio anguillarum , reflecting its importance in immune response. Our preliminary bioinformatic analysis suggested that Cse -miR-722 could target C5aR1 (designated CsC5aR1), which was known to play crucial roles in complement activation and inflammatory response, as a receptor of C5a. However, the underlying mechanisms of their interactions and specific functions in inflammatory and immune response are still enigmas. In this study, we successfully cloned the precursor sequence of Cse -miR-722 (94 bp) and the full length of CsC5aR1 (1541 bp, protein molecular weight 39 kDa). The target gene of Cse -miR-722 was verified as CsC5aR1 by a dual luciferase reporter assay, and Cse -miR-722 was confirmed to regulate CsC5aR1 at the protein level using quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) and Western blotting. The expression of CsC5aR1 and Cse -miR-722 in liver cells and four immune tissues of half-smooth tongue sole changed significantly after LPS stimulation and infection with V. anguillarum. To explore the functional role of Cse -miR-722 in half-smooth tongue sole, we performed both in vitro and in vivo experiments. Cse -miR-722 was observed to affect phagocytosis and respiratory burst activity of macrophages by regulating CsC5aR1 in half-smooth tongue sole. Furthermore, we found that Cse -miR-722 regulated the expression of CsC5aR1 , CsC5a , and the inflammatory factors CsIL1-β , CsIL6 , CsIL8 , and CsTNF-α both in vitro and in vivo. In addition, Cse -miR-722 reduced mortality and pathological damage. This study clarified the regulatory mechanism of Cse- miR-722 on CsC5aR1 and provided insight into the regulatory roles of Cse- miR-722 in immune responses, laying a theoretical foundation for the feasibility of using miR-722 to prevent and control bacterial diseases in teleost. • Cse -miR-722 targeted CsC5aR1 and silenced CsC5aR1 at the translation level. • Cse -miR-722 affected the phagocytic activity and respiratory burst of macrophages. • Cse -miR-722 regulated immune responses through the C5a/C5aR1 complement pathway. • Cse -miR-722 reduced mortality and body damage after Vibrio anguillarum infection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To explore the effect mechanism of polyoxymethylene dimethyl ethers (PODE)-diesel blends on nitric oxide (NO) and soot emission characteristics, the in-cylinder pressure and the emissions of blends with PODE volume fraction at 10%, 20%, and 30% (labeled P10, P20, and P30) are tested, also the in-cylinder working process of a diesel engine at 2600 r/min under 100% load is simulated by using a computational fluid dynamics software. The results show that both the in-cylinder temperature and the concentration of oxygen atoms have an important effect on the emissions of PODE-diesel blend fuels. PODE helps to increase the average combustion temperature and oxygen atom distribution range in the cylinder, thus reducing the range of lean combustion zone with uneven mixture. With the addition of PODE, the ignition delay period of PODE-diesel blend fuel is shortened, speeding up the combustion process. When the blending ratio of PODE is increased, an ascent of NO production and NO concentration distribution is observed, while soot emissions are significantly reduced, and the ultimate soot generation of P30 fuel under the calibrated working condition is decreased by nearly 80% compared with diesel. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Frequently occurred bacterial diseases have seriously affected the aquaculture industry of half-smooth tongue sole (Cynoglossus semilaevis). Notably, vibriosis, with Vibrio anguillarum as one of the causative pathogens, is the most severe bacterial disease with severe inflammatory response of the host, leading to high mortality rates. In the present study, we explored the relationship between bacterial concentrations and host mortality, inflammatory reaction, and immune response in half-smooth tongue sole after infection with V. anguillarum at different concentrations (Treatment 1, 6.4 × 105 CFU/mL; Treatment 2, 6.4 × 106 CFU/mL). The mortality of Treatment 2 (77.5%) was significantly higher than that of Treatment 1 (10%), corresponding with bacterial concentrations. Although the number of deaths varies, intensive deaths were observed within 24 h post infection (hpi) in both bacterial concentration groups. Histopathological analyses revealed that fish tissues were most severely damaged at 24 or 48 hpi, and Treatment 2 was more severe than Treatment 1. A qRT-PCR-based detection method with virulence factor gene empA was established to quantify the bacterial loads in various tissues, and the bacterial loads were the highest at 24 hpi in Treatment 2, and at 48 hpi in Treatment 1. Additionally, the expression levels of complement genes (C5a , C3 , C5 , and C6), inflammatory factors (IL-1β , TNF-α , and IL-1 0), and other immune-related genes (jak2 , NF-κB1 , stat3 , and tlr3) were increased in various tissues after infection in both treatment groups, with most genes being most expressed at 24 or 48 hpi, and expression levels of inflammatory factors in Treatment 2 were higher than those in Treatment 1. Moreover, the expression of C5a was positively correlated with that of proinflammatory cytokines in both bacterial concentration groups. According to the results of this study, 24–48 hpi was a key node for early vibriosis detection and intervention. Compared with the low mortality of Treatment 1, the mass death of fish in Treatment 2 was suggested to be caused by uncontrolled excessive inflammatory reaction induced by the overactivation of complement system, especially C5a. We believe these results could provide theoretical basis for prevention, evaluation, and treatment of vibrio disease in tongue sole aquaculture, and lay a solid foundation for future functional analyses. • The mortality, inflammation response, host histopathological damage and bacterial loads of tongue sole after Vibrio anguillarum infection peaked at 24–48 hpi. • Inflammatory factors (IL-1β , TNF-α , and IL-10), complement genes (C5a , C3 , C5 , and C6), and other immune genes (jak2 , NF-κB1 , stat3 , and tlr3) were up-regulated after infection, with a bacterial dose effect. • The observed mass death under high bacterial concentration infection was suggested to be caused by the excessive inflammatory response mainly induced by C5a overactivation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The complement system is essential to host defense, but its excessive activation caused by severe pathogen invasion is a driving force in adverse inflammatory. The binding of complement component 5a (C5a) and complement component 5a receptor 1 (C5aR1) is the key to trigger complement-mediated inflammatory response in mammals. However, the role of C5a-C5aR1 axis in fish immune response remains obscure. In this study, the role of C5a-C5aR1 axis of zebrafish (Danio rerio) after serious infection with Aeromonas hydrophila was investigated. C5a and C5aR1 of zebrafish were cloned, with CDS sequences of 228 and 1041 bp, respectively, and they were widely expressed in various tissues with the highest expression in the liver and spleen, respectively. The survival of zebrafish was closely correlated to the dose of A. hydrophila. The cytokine storm occurred at high concentrations of A. hydrophila infection. At 24 h post infection (hpi), the expression of C5a and C5aR1 in the spleen increased 26.8-fold and 9.9-fold in treatment group 1 (TG1, 3.0 × 107 CFU/mL) (P < 0.01), and 4.7-fold and 3.4-fold in treatment group 2 (TG2, 1.0 × 107 CFU/mL) (P < 0.05), respectively. Correspondingly, proinflammatory cytokines interleukin-1β (IL-1β), interleukin-8 (IL-8), and interleukin-17 (IL-17) were positively correlated to C5a and C5aR1 at mRNA and protein expression levels. The expression of IL-1β was significantly increased in the spleen at 6 hpi, with a 599.2-fold and 203.2-fold upregulation in TG1 and TG2 (P < 0.001), respectively. Moreover, after inhibition of C5a-C5aR1 binding treated with C5aR1 antagonist (W-54011), zebrafish showed lower expression of C5a , C5aR1 , and cytokines, less intestinal damage, and significantly enhancement of survival (P < 0.05) after A. hydrophila challenge. This study revealed that the inflammatory effect of C5a was achieved by binding to C5aR1 in zebrafish, providing novel insights into using C5a-C5aR1 axis as an effective target to reduce bacterial inflammation and disease in fish. • C5a-C5aR1 axis was activated by bacterial infection with dose effect. • Hyperactivation of C5a-C5aR1 axis triggered a "cytokine storm" at both mRNA and protein levels in zebrafish. • Inhibition of C5a-C5aR1 axis significantly reduced the inflammatory response after bacterial infection in zebrafish. • The inflammatory effect of C5a was achieved by binding to C5aR1. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The ubiquitin‐proteasome system is the primary cellular pathway for protein degradation, mediating 80% of intracellular protein degradation. Because of the widespread presence of ubiquitin‐modified protein substrates, ubiquitination can regulate a variety of cellular activities including cell proliferation, apoptosis, autophagy, endocytosis, DNA damage repair, and immune responses. With the continuous generation of genomics data in recent years it has become particularly important to analyze these data effectively and reasonably. Cacybp forms a complex with the E3 ubiquitinated ligase Siah1 to participate in ubiquitination. We analyzed Cacybp‐associated genes using the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) and CGGA (Chinese Glioma Genome Atlas) databases and identified 121 differentially expressed genes (DEGs), of which 46 were downregulated and 75 were upregulated. The biological processes, molecular functions, and protein–protein interaction (PPI) network of differential genes were analyzed by Cytoscape software and STRING software. We found no difference in Cacybp expression among different grades of gliomas and there was no significant association between the expression level of Cacybp and the prognosis of patients with glioma in LGG and GBM. © 2019 IUBMB Life, 1–8, 2019 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The toxic ginkgolic acids are the main safety concern for the application of Ginkgo biloba . In this study, the degradation ability of salicylic acid decarboxylase (SDC) for ginkgolic acids was examined using ginkgolic acid C15:1 as a substrate. The results indicated that the content of ginkgolic acid C15:1 in Ginkgo biloba seeds was significantly decreased after 5 h treatment with SDC at 40 °Cand pH 5.5. In order to explore the structure of SDC and the interaction between SDC and substrates, homology modeling, molecular docking and molecular dynamics were performed. The results showed that SDC might also have a catalytic active center containing a Zn 2+ . Compared with the template structure of 2,6-dihydroxybenzoate decarboxylase, the residues surrounding the binding pocket, His10, Phe23 and Phe290, were replaced by Ala10, Tyr27 and Tyr301 in the homology constructed structure of SDC, respectively. These differences may significantly affect the substrates adaptability of SDC for salicylic acid derivatives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper first derives a usable formula for frequency shift islanding detection methods on the basis of the parallel R, L, C load and the conclusions in current literature: the angle by which the total output current of the distributed resources (DR) units leads the point of common coupling (PCC) voltage must be conducted to have the same shifting direction as the load admittance angle during the variation of the frequency. According to the formula and multi-DR operation, the scenarios in which the classic frequency shift methods are applied to energy storage converters are analyzed. The results indicate that the setting of the angle by which the energy storage converter current leads the PCC voltage may need to be modified when running state changes. It results in the problems that the classic methods are not applicable for non-unity power factor (non-UPF) control and have to distinguish between generation mode and consumption mode for UPF control. On account of the problems, a coping strategy, i.e., an improved method, is proposed. The analyses indicate that the improved method is applicable in every state. The last simulations and experiments confirm the preceding conclusions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Mw7.9 Alaska earthquake at 09:31:40 UTC on 23 January 2018 occurred as the result of strike slip faulting within the shallow lithosphere of the Pacific plate. Global positioning system (GPS) data were used to calculate the slant total electron contents above the epicenter. The singular spectrum analysis (SSA) method was used to extract detailed ionospheric disturbance information, and to monitor the co-seismic ionospheric disturbances (CIDs) of the Alaska earthquake. The results show that the near-field CIDs were detected 8–12 min after the main shock, and the typical compression-rarefaction wave (N-shaped wave) appeared. The ionospheric disturbances propagate to the southwest at a horizontal velocity of 2.61 km/s within 500 km from the epicenter. The maximum amplitude of CIDs appears about 0.16 TECU (1TECU = 1016 el m−2) near the epicenter, and gradually decreases with the location of sub-ionospheric points (SIPs) far away from the epicenter. The attenuation rate of amplitude slows down as the distance between the SIPs and the epicenter increases. The direction of the CIDs caused by strike-slip faults may be affected by the horizontal direction of fault slip. The propagation characteristics of the ionospheric disturbance in the Alaska earthquake may be related to the complex conditions of focal mechanisms and fault location. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper proposes an analytical solution for the dynamic analysis of laterally loaded single piles in sandy soils that considers the effects of sliding and debonding on the pile-soil interface. These effects have received little attention in earlier studies and usually lead to an overestimate of the dynamic impedances of piles and soil. In this paper, the pile-soil interface is decomposed into three components, the bonding, sliding and debonding components, and the spread of the bonding and sliding areas is associated with the inertial friction angle of the soil around the pile. The effects of sliding and debonding of the pile-soil interface are investigated by using the radiant stress theory and the convolution method of Fourier coefficients. The displacement fields and attenuation functions of the soil are then derived by the potential functions. The dynamic impedances of the pile top are calculated by the Adomian decomposition method. The results are presented by contours in both the horizontal and vertical planes, and the present solution is validated through comparisons against a finite element simulation and other analytical solutions. The influences of related parameters, including the load frequency, effective inertial friction angle of the soil, modulus ratio between the pile and soil and pile slenderness ratio, have also been studied in this paper. • A continuum solution for dynamic analysis of laterally loaded piles in sandy soils is proposed. • The pile-soil interface is decomposed to three components: bonding, sliding, and debonding. • The spreads of bonding and sliding areas are associated with the inertial friction angle of soil around pile. • The effects of sliding and debonding are investigated through the displacement fields and attenuation functions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Islanding detection methods, based on injecting high-/low-frequency currents or negative sequence fundamental frequency currents and observing the resultant responses, are collectively referred to as irregular current injection methods in this paper. In multi-distributed generation (DG) operation, if there is no restriction to the phase of injected irregular currents, the currents at the same frequency may cancel each other out, and then their convergent current may be too small to cause a detectable response, for which reason islanding detection will be severely affected. Accordingly, this paper raises a compatibility issue, which requires the phase difference between any two injected irregular currents to be within a certain interval. In response to this issue, a solution is proposed. According to this solution, the terminal voltage of DG units is referenced to conduct irregular currents injection, and only certain high-frequency currents are used as injected currents. If this solution is adopted by as many manufacturers as possible, the effect and reliability of such methods will be greatly improved. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One class of islanding detection methods, known as impedance measurement-based methods and voltage change monitoring-based methods, are implemented through injecting irregular currents into the network, for which reason they are defined in this paper as irregular current injection methods. This paper indicates that such methods may be affected by distributed generation (DG) unit cut-in events. Although the network impedance change can still be used as a judgment basis for islanding detection, the general impedance measurement scheme cannot separate island events from DG unit cut-in events in multi-DG operation. In view of this, this paper proposes a new islanding detection method based on an improved impedance measurement scheme, i.e., dynamic impedance measurement, which will not be affected by DG unit cut-in events and can further assist some other equipment in islanding detection. The simulations and experiments verify the stated advantages of the new islanding detection method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]