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Fault recognition is a difficult problem in seismic exploration data interpretation, and there is still no solution both well in terms of accuracy and signal-to-noise ratio. To solve this problem, based on the region energy algorithm, a novel fault recognition method is proposed, which determines the direction of fault tracking based on region energy when identifying fault points. First, the third-generation coherence cube algorithm is adopted to calculate the coherence attribute of the seismic data volume. Then, fault tracking is performed on each seismic section. When conducting fault tracking, the seismic sample is scanned and identified one by one. If it is a fault point, it is assigned to the corresponding fault in the connected area, and then, track along a certain direction of the current pixel point in the front left, directly ahead, or front right direction. The selection of the tracking directions is based on the energy of the corresponding area in the direction. The direction with the highest energy is tracked in the direction until the complete fault is tracked or the stopping condition is reached. If the point is not judged as a fault point, a certain distance is tracked down continue and the path is stored temporarily. If a fault point is tracked, the tracking path is classified as a fault, otherwise return to continue scanning. When all the sample points on the seismic section are scanned, the fault tracking on the corresponding section is completed. Subsequently, the fault points are fitted using the least squares fitting algorithm, and the fault line is obtained. Finally, comparative experiments were conducted on actual seismic data, and the effectiveness of the novel method was validated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An important factor in the progression of type 2 diabetes mellitus is the malfunctioning insulin production by β-cells in the pancreas. Caffeic acid dimethyl ether (CADE) reduces resistance to insulin in alcoholic fatty liver disease, but both the therapeutic effects of CADE on excessive glucose and lipid-induced insulin secretion disorders and the underlying mechanisms are unknown. The aim of this research was to (i) explore how CADE impacts insulin production issues caused by a surplus of glucose and lipids β-cells and (ii) elucidate the underlying mechanism. The results of our research demonstrated that insulin production was reduced in the pancreas of mice given a high-fat -diet and streptozotocin, as well as in human 1.1B4 pancreatic β-cells treated with high -glucose and high -fat, with increased activity of miR-378b and decreased expression levels of p110α, p-AKT1/2, insulin receptor, p-FoxO1, and PDX-1. However, treatment with CADE ameliorated the insulin secretion impairment by decreasing the miR-378b level and reversing the inhibitory effects on the aforementioned factors. Overexpression of miR-378b exacerbated the insulin secretion disorder and inhibited the PI3K-AKT signaling pathway, whereas miR-378b deficiency relieved the insulin secretion disorder, activating the PI3K-AKT pathway. In addition, CADE ameliorated the impairment of insulin secretion and reversed the miR-378b overexpression-induced PI3K-AKT pathway inhibition. In conclusion, our study demonstrates that CADE ameliorated insulin secretion dysfunction induced by excess lipid and glucose in β-cells by downregulating miR-378b expression, thus promoting PI3K-AKT activation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Global warming is causing melting of glaciers, which is affecting socioeconomic development. It is essential to study the combined influence of changes in structures of glaciers on human well-being and socioeconomic systems. Herein, we considered Qilian Mountains as an example, quantified the regional socioeconomic benefits of glaciers and human well-being, and attempted to draw a correlation between glacier service value and human well-being. The findings of our study reveal that the value of glacier services in Qilian Mountains decreased from 1.84 × 1010 yuan in 1998 to 1.72 × 1010 yuan in 2018, with a spatial trend of circling down from the central region to the western and eastern regions. The distribution of human well-being showed an increasing trend, and a phenomenon of "low value central and western clustering, high value eastern sporadic distribution." There is an increasing degree of coordination between human well-being and glacier services value; the spatial distribution shows a decreasing trend from the west to the east, with differences in the nature of coordinated development in different regions at the same coordination stage being obvious. We analyzed the changes in glacier services value and their relationship with human well-being from both micro and macro perspectives to provide theoretical support for formulating management strategies for glacier resource conservation and improving the interface between glacier service evaluation results and government decision-making. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Our previous study identified that the RepA protein encoded by the oat dwarf virus (ODV) was responsible for inducing a strong hypersensitive response (HR) during the virus infection in non-host tobacco plants. However, little was known about the molecular mechanism of the RepA-elicited HR. Here, a RING-finger protein, which is described as NbRFP1 and is mainly located in the cytoplasm and nucleus in Nicotiana benthamiana cells, was confirmed to interact with RepA. In addition, the accumulation level of NbRFP1 in N. benthamiana leaves was enhanced by either ODV infection or by only RepA expression. The knockdown of NbRFP1 by a TRV-mediated virus-induced gene silencing markedly delayed the ODV or RepA-elicited HR. By contrast, the overexpression of NbRFP1 in N. benthamiana conferred enhanced resistance to ODV infection and promoted RepA-induced HR. Further mutation analysis showed that a RING-finger domain located in NbRFP1 plays important roles in modulating RepA-induced HR, as well as in mediating the interaction between NbRFP1 and RepA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Urban infrastructure resilience is an important perspective for measuring the development quality of resilient cities and an important way to measure the level of infrastructure development. This paper uses the kernel density estimation, exploratory spatial data analysis, and spatial econometric models to analyze the characteristics of dynamic evolution and the spillover effects of the infrastructure resilience levels in 283 prefecture-level and above cities in China from 2010 to 2019. Our results are as follows. (1) The overall level of urban infrastructure resilience increased. The eastern region had a higher level than the national average. In contrast, the central, western and north-eastern regions had a slightly lower level than the national average. (2) The areas with high and higher resilience levels were mostly cities with more developed economic and social conditions in Eastern China. The areas below moderate resilience levels show a certain degree of clustering and mainly include some cities in Central, Western, and Northeast China. (3) The national level of urban infrastructure resilience shows significant spatial clustering characteristics, and the spatial pattern from coastal to inland regions presents a hotspot-subhotspot-subcoldspot-coldspot distribution. (4) There is a differential spatial spillover effect of national urban infrastructure resilience, which is gradually strengthened under the role of the economy, financial development, population agglomeration and government funding and weakened under the role of urbanization, market consumption and infrastructure investment. By exploring the dynamic evolution of infrastructure resilience in cities at the prefecture level and above and its spatial spillover effects, we provide a scientific basis for avoiding the siphoning effect among cities, improving the level of infrastructure resilience, and guiding the construction and development of resilient cities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The trend towards efficient and intensive use of land resources is an inevitable outcome of current social development. The rational matching of urban land prices and land use intensity has become an important factor under accelerating urbanization, and promotes the healthy development of the social economy. Using data on residential land price and on land use intensity for 31 provinces and cities in China, we employ the E-G cointegration test and quadrant map classification to determine the coordination relationship between land price and land use intensity. We then employ HR coordination to calculate the coordination degree of land price and land use intensity, and classify the coordination type accordingly. Our results are as follows. (1) The spatio-temporal distribution of urban land price shows high variability with multiple maxima, and follows a decreasing trend from the southeast coastal area to the northwest inland area and the northeast. (2) The overall land use intensity is at or above the middle level, and shows large spatial differences between provinces, but the agglomeration between provinces is increasing. (3) From the perspective of the relationship between urban land price and land use intensity at the inter-provincial scale, we find that the land price and land use intensity are well coordinated, and the number of provinces has been dynamically changing during different development periods. There is an east-west difference in the spatial distribution of land price and land use intensity coordination level. Different provinces and cities with the same coordination stage show differences in their land price and land use intensity level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

MIP is a candidate tumour suppressor protein found in hepatocellular carcinoma. It can interact with different proteins in different subcellular locations. However, antibodies against MIP for testing purposes are still not available and this has hindered the research on MIP protein. In this study, the full coding sequence of MIP protein was cloned into the prokaryotic expression vector pET-28a. The recombinant protein his-MIP was expressed by IPTG (isopropyl β-D-1-thiogalactopyranoside) induction and purified by nickel-affinity chromatography, then used to immunize New Zealand rabbits to obtain a polyclonal antibody against MIP. The sensitivity and specificity of the antibody were evaluated by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and western blot. We used the obtained antibody to detect endogenous MIP protein in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) cells and normal human hepatic cells L-O2 and found decreased MIP expression in HCC cells. The immunohistochemistry results further showed that the expression level of MIP protein in HCC tissues was lower than that in the corresponding adjacent non-cancerous tissues. The MIP protein was distributed mainly in the cytoplasm in HCC. In adjacent tissues, however, high expression of MIP was detected in the nucleus in addition to the cytoplasm. The prepared polyclonal antibody against MIP provides a useful tool for further research on the functions of MIP. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

• We showed spatiotemporal evolution of ecological vulnerability at the county scale. • Ecological vulnerability in the arid areas of Northwest China was severe. • Ecological vulnerability displayed "stepped" differentiation feature in space. • Gravity center of ecological vulnerability exhibited a "Z" direction. Ecological environment in the arid areas of Northwest China is very vulnerable. Ecological vulnerability is considered to be one of the important indicators to measure the status and evolutions of the regional ecological environment and has become a key measure in the study of ecological change. However, studies on the ecological vulnerability in the whole arid areas of Northwest China on the county scale are currently sparse. Here, according to vegetation, land use type, topography, climate and socio-economic data, we present the spatial and temporal evolution of ecological vulnerability in the arid areas of Northwest China over the period 2000–2018 by structuring a "pressure (P)-sensitivity (S)-restoration (R)" ecological vulnerability evaluation index system and using an ordered weighted average (OWA) model. Our results suggested that the overall ecological vulnerability in the arid areas of Northwest China was dominated by the severe level from 2000 to 2018 with an average multi-year ecological vulnerability index of 0.48, which appeared a slight downward trend with the implementation of ecological restoration measures. Ecological vulnerability exhibited a significant "stepped" differentiation feature, and the eastern and western regions were markedly lower than that of the central region. Gravity center of the ecological vulnerability index has a significant spatial difference, which developed in the shape of "Z" direction between Heshuo county and Tuokexun county. Our study revealed the dynamic changes of ecological vulnerability at the county scale and provided decision-making information for the formulation of targeted ecological vulnerability management measures. Under the background of climate change and the new normal of social economy, the dynamic monitoring of ecological vulnerability and effective identification of vulnerability factors still require in-depth research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]