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Agricultural soil as a potential source of input of heavy metals into the lacustrine sediments of Chaohu Lake via soil erosion and weathering has not been well documented. In the present study, rice soil samples along two main tributaries of Chaohu Lake were collected to determine 30 metal elements which were compared with the data on the elements in surface sediments of Chaohu Lake to explore the impacts of soil erosion on the accumulation in the sediments. The results showed that the concentrations of most elements were less than their soil background values of Anhui Province, but Se, Sb, Sn, As, and Ba were greater than the corresponding background values. Furthermore, these elements except for Sc in the soils appeared a low variability in spatial distribution. More than 90% of agricultural soils were not expected with significant contamination by the residual elements based upon the consideration of pollution level index (PLI) combining probabilistic density function. Compared with the residual elements in the surface sediments of Chaohu Lake, most elements (Ti, Mn, Zr, Sr, Zn, Ga, Hf, U, Se, Sn, Nb, Th, V, Cd) appeared depletion in agricultural soils but enrichment in sediments. Specially for Cd, it was not detectable in all soils samples, but it existed at an extreme average content in the lacustrine sediments. These results possibly implied that elements in agricultural soils in Chaohu Lake were depleted because of soil erosion and weathering during long-term agricultural practice, resulting in enrichment in sediments of the lake. The depletion of elements in soils was predominately due to the fact that these metals existed in the soil with a large mobile fraction. While As, Th and Se moderately accumulated in the soils due to their insusceptibility of transport potentials. Because Sr and U are easier to be leached from soils than Rb and Th, respectively, a greater ratio of Rb/Sr and a lower value of U/Th was found in soil samples than in sediments. Therefore, our study implied agricultural soils could play an important role in the input of heavy metals into sediments via soil erosion and weathering.

Objective Diabetes increases the risk for cancers. However, whether it is associated with hematologic malignancies is not clear. The present study investigated the association between diabetes and acute lymphocytic leukemia (ALL), acute myeloid leukemia (ML), non-Hopkin lymphoma (NHL), and multiple myeloma (MM). Methods Newly diagnosed adult cancer patients were recruited consecutively from our clinical database. Peoples from a local enterprise were recruited to create a small-scale population-based dataset. We compared the diabetes prevalence between the cancer patients and the local people; an increase in diabetes prevalence in the cancer patients suggests an association between diabetes and the cancer(s). Results We found that the prevalence of diabetes was 19.7%, 21.3%, 12.5%, and 12.0% in ALL, AML, NHL, and MM, respectively, which was higher than that (9.1%) in the local people. Despite that there were more male than female cancer patients, there were more female than male diabetic patients. The increase in diabetes prevalence occurred in ALL and NHL patients aged 18 to 39 years old as well as in AML patients over 40. In MM patients, the increase in diabetes prevalence (18.6%) occurred only in females. Approximately 70% of the diabetic patients were undiagnosed before the diagnosis of the blood cancer. Approximately half of the pre-existing diabetic patients had anti-diabetic treatment, with over 70% of them still had poor glycemic control. Conclusions Our results suggest that diabetes is associated with ALL, AML, NHL, and MM, at least in adult patients.

Objective To discern the symptomatic features of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19) and to evaluate the severity and prognosis of the disease. Methods In this retrospective cohort study, 932 hospitalized patients with COVID‐19 in Wuhan were enrolled, including 52 severe and 880 non‐severe cases. All patients were followed up for 3 months after discharge. The symptomatic features and follow‐up data of the patients in both groups were analyzed and compared. Results Of the 932 patients, fever (60.0%), cough (50.8%) and fatigue (36.4%) were the most common symptoms. In total, 32.7% of the severe cases presented with gastrointestinal symptoms at disease onset, including anorexia, nausea, vomiting or diarrhea, which was significantly higher than that of the non‐severe group (P = 0.0015). The incidence of olfactory disturbance and dysgeusia was only 3.1% and 6.2%, respectively. After adjusting for age and sex, multivariate regression analysis showed that fever lasting for over 5 days (odds ratio [OR] 1.90, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.00‐3.62, P = 0.0498), anorexia at onset (OR 2.61, 95% CI 1.26‐5.40, P = 0.0096), and modified Medical Research Council level above grade 2 when dyspnea occurred (OR 14.19, 95% CI 7.01‐28.71, P, Clinical courses of major symptoms and duration of viral shedding from illness onset in patients hospitalized with coronavirus disease 2019.

Ultrathin, flexible and lightweight characteristics are greatly desirable for next-generation wearable electromagnetic interference (EMI) shielding materials to address EM radiation pollution. Herein, we used poly(3-hydrobutyrate-co-3-hydroxyvalerate) (PHBV), which is a type of biodegradable and non-petroleum-based polymer, and silver nanowires (AgNWs) to fabricate ultrathin and flexible composite films with a sandwich structure via electrospinning, vacuum assisted filtration (VAF) and hot pressing in sequence. Owing to the highly conductive AgNW networks, the minimum sheet resistance and the maximum EMI shielding effectiveness (SE) of the obtained PHBV/AgNW film reached 0.5 Ω sq−1 and 45.9 dB, respectively, in X-band at a thickness of 18 μm. The films could meet the industry-accepted SE requirement (20 dB) at a high optical transparency of 74%. The specific EMI SE (SSE/t) of the film is up to 19 678 dB cm2 g−1, significantly surpassing those of most reported polymeric EMI shielding materials. Moreover, the sandwich structure of the PHBV wrapped AgNW layer could effectively prevent the shedding and corrosion of AgNWs. Thus, the PHBV/AgNW film has an outstanding EMI shielding reliability with a negligible change in EMI SE after exposure to harsh environmental conditions (acidic, alkali and saline solutions) and physical damage (1000 bending cycles and ultrasound for 60 min). This work provides a feasible strategy for the fabrication of ultrathin and flexible EMI shielding films, which will have promising prospects for applications in flexible electronics and wearable devices.

Objective: To compare the changes of kinematics and dynamics indexes of deep squat, bench press and hard pull in order to provide basis for the application of these three kinds of resistance strength training methods. Methods: The kinematic and dynamic characteristics of 30 young men in deep squat, bench press and hard pull were measured by the real-time wireless sensor motion capture and mechanical evaluation system of the wearable FAB. Results: In terms of kinematic parameters under 40%1RM and 80%1RM load, there were significant differences(P

Precise web page classification can be achieved by evaluating features of web pages, and the structural features of web pages are effective complements to their textual features. Various classifiers have different characteristics, and multiple classifiers can be combined to allow classifiers to complement one another. In this study, a web page classification method based on heterogeneous features and a combination of multiple classifiers is proposed. Different from computing the frequency of HTML tags, we exploit the tree-like structure of HTML tags to characterize the structural features of a web page. Heterogeneous textual features and the proposed tree-like structural features are converted into vectors and fused. Confidence is proposed here as a criterion to compare the classification results of different classifiers by calculating the classification accuracy of a set of samples. Multiple classifiers are combined based on confidence with different decision strategies, such as voting, confidence comparison, and direct output, to give the final classification results. Experimental results demonstrate that on the Amazon dataset, 7-web-genres dataset, and DMOZ dataset, the accuracies are increased to 94.2%, 95.4%, and 95.7%, respectively. The fusion of the textual features with the proposed structural features is a comprehensive approach, and the accuracy is higher than that when using only textual features. At the same time, the accuracy of the web page classification is improved by combining multiple classifiers, and is higher than those of the related web page classification algorithms.

The expansion and intensification of agricultural lands (i.e., croplands and pasture areas) have become increasing threats to species diversity around the world. However, genus diversity should be considered for biodiversity conservation due to the important role that phylogenetic diversity and evolutionary history play shaping biodiversity patterns, particularly in the Neotropics, the most species-rich realm. Here, we explored agricultural land effects on distribution patterns of terrestrial vertebrate diversity at the genus level using cases from the Neotropics. We compiled distribution data on genera of amphibians, birds, mammals, and reptiles and explored the effects of agricultural lands on genus diversity distribution patterns for terrestrial vertebrates in the region using distribution modelling. Geography Weighting Regression (GWR) was used to explore the spatially variable relationship between agricultural lands and genus diversity. We found that there are significant, non-stationary relationships between agricultural lands and genus diversity in the Neotropics. The non-stationary relationship between croplands and genus diversity was stronger than that between pasture areas and genus diversity. Furthermore, these effects may depend on changes in genus groups (i.e., amphibians, birds, mammals, and reptiles) and biomes. The relationship was the strongest for the croplands and reptile diversity pair at the genus levels. The relationship between both croplands and pasture areas and reptile diversity was the largest in temperate broadleaf and mixed forests. Given the influence of crop and pasturelands on vertebrate distribution patterns, we argue that agriculture development should be considered in the spatial prioritization of conservation for vertebrates in the Neotropics. Agricultural lands should be used as environmental variables for distribution modelling, and understanding the impacts of agricultural lands on biodiversity is critical for effective conservation management in the Neotropics.

Heavy metal pollution in lacustrine sediments is a worldwide environmental issue. In the present study, eight heavy metals including Zn, Pb, Co, Cr, Cd, Mn, As and Cu in sediment cores collected from Chaohu Lake, Eastern China were determined, and potential sources and risks of selected heavy metals were evaluated using multivariate statistical techniques and pollution indices. Results show that all sampling areas were extremely contaminated by Cd, and were not significantly affected by Mn. High accumulation of Zn, Pb and Cu in urban area related sites implies they were generally derived from urban sources including municipal and industrial sewage. Whereas high concentrations of As and Cd, and Co in rural locations possibly suggests agricultural sources. Possible decreasing trends for most elements in the sediment cores indicate the reduction of total input amounts which would be attributed to the increasing operation of wastewater treatment plants in the urban areas. Different intercorrelations between each two elements for four sampling sites reflect the different input sources. Cluster analysis also indicates the residual elements in sediment cores of Chaohu Lake were generally from natural materials for Mn, from urban origins for Cu, Zn and Pb, and from agricultural activities for the remaining elements. The results from both contamination factors and geo-accumulation index (Igeo) suggest sediments were not polluted by Mn, extremely contaminated by Cd, and slightly to moderately impacted by the remaining elements. But all samples were examined with significant metal pollution given their pollution level index values higher than 1.0.

We propose and study a magnetic field and temperature sensor based on a D-shaped photonic crystal fiber using surface plasmon resonance and directional resonance coupling methods. Magnetic fluid is deposited on a flat surface of the D-shaped PCF, and used to measure magnetic field. Ethanol is inserted into a defective cavity in the D-shaped PCF, and used to be used to measure temperature. The simulation result showed that a magnetic field measurement at 30 Oe∼270 Oe and a temperature measurement at 5 °C∼65 °C can be measured independently in two different optical wavelength channels. Better linearity can be achieved. A magnetic field sensitivity of about 0.21 nm/Oe and a temperature sensitivity of about −1.25 nm/°C can be exhibited. Such novel sensing structure has potential application in dual parameter measurements.

Background Schistosomiasis is very common in the southern part of the Yangtze River Basin in China. It is mainly manifested as appendicitis, ulcers, hematomas, and thickening of the intestinal tract. Schistosomiasis of the appendix is rare, mainly manifested as appendicitis, which is easy to be misdiagnosed. Case presentation Here we report a rare case of a Chinese female whose intestinal mass manifested as intestinal polyps and was eventually diagnosed pathologically as schistosomiasis infection (appendix schistosomiasis). So far, there are rare relevant cases reported. Conclusions Intestinal schistosomiasis is easily misdiagnosed, and appendix schistosomiasis is rare. The final diagnosis requires pathology, especially surgical pathology.

Background Growth in insect pest populations poses a significant threat to ecosystem functions and services, societal development, and food security in alpine regions under climate change. Risk assessments are important prioritization tools for pest management, which must be used to study insect pest expansion in alpine ecosystems under global warming. We used species distribution modeling to simulate the current and future distribution probabilities of 58 insect pest species in the Qinghai Province, China, based on a comprehensive field investigation. Subsequently, general linear modeling was used to explore the relationship between the distribution probability of these species and the damage caused by them. Finally, we assessed the ecological risk of insect pest expansion across different alpine ecosystems under climate change. Results Climate change could increase the distribution probabilities of insect pest species across different alpine ecosystems. However, the presence of insect pest species may not correspond to the damage occurrence in alpine ecosystems based on percent leaf loss, amount of stunting, and seedling death of their host species. Significant positive relationships between distribution probability and damage occurrence were found for several of the examined insect pest species. Insect pest expansion is likely to increase extensively in alpine ecosystems under increasing carbon dioxide (CO2 ) emission scenarios. Conclusion The relationships between distribution probability and damage occurrence should be considered in species distribution modeling for risk assessment of insect pest expansion under climate change. Our study could improve the effectiveness of risk assessment of insect pest expansion under changing climate conditions. © 2021 Society of Chemical Industry.

BackgroundMuch remains unknown about COVID-19 onset and rehabilitation's symptomatic features, especially the long-term health consequences of patients with COVID-19 who have been discharged from the hospital.MethodsIn this cohort study, we collected the first pandemic data of hospitalized patients in Wuhan from February 20 to March 31, 2020. All patients completed a 3-month follow-up after discharge. We carefully analyzed the detailed symptomatic characteristics of severe COVID-19 at illness onset and three months after discharge, compared it with non-severe patients, and used multiple logistic regression to determine potential symptomatic risk factors for severe COVID-19.ResultsA total of 932 hospitalized patients with COVID-19 were enrolled, including 52 severe cases and 880 non-severe cases. Fever (60%), cough (50.8%), and fatigue (36.4%) were the most common symptoms, followed by anorexia (21.8%) and dyspnea (19.2%). The median duration of fever was seven days, which was characterized by persistent low fever. The median duration of cough was 17 days, characterized by dry cough without sputum. Most dyspnea occurred on the fourth day after symptom onset, with a median duration of 16 days. The incidences of taste loss and olfactory disturbance were only 6.2% and 3.1%, respectively. Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that age over 65 years old (OR 6.52, 95% CI 3.27-13.02, PP = 0.0001), fever lasting for more than five days (1.90, 1.00-3.62, P=0.0498), anorexia at onset (2.61, 1.26-5.40, P=0.0096), and modified Medical Research Council level above grade 2 when dyspnea occurred (14.19,7.01-28.71, PConclusionsCOVID-19 caused clusters of symptoms, with multiple systems involved. Specific symptomatic features at the onset of illness have predictive value for severe COVID-19. Persistent legacy symptoms are more frequent in severe COVID-19 patients.

BACKGROUND: Small cell lung cancer (SCLC) is the most deadly and aggressive type of primary lung cancer, with the 5-year survival rate lower than 5%. The FDA has approved arsenic trioxide (As(2)O(3)) for acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL) treatment. However, its role in SCLC-derived cancer stem cells (CSCs) remains largely unknown. METHODS: CSCs were enriched from SCLC cell lines by culturing them as spheres in conditioned serum-free medium. Then, qPCR, western blot, serial passage, limiting dilution, Transwell, and tumorigenesis assay were performed to verify the cells’ stem phenotypic characteristics. Anticancer efficiency of As(2)O(3) was assessed in these cells using CCK8, colony formation, sphere formation, flow cytometry, qPCR, western blot analysis in vitro, and tumor growth curve, immunofluorescence, and TUNEL staining analyses in vivo. RESULTS: The fifth-passage SCLC spheres showed a potent self-renewal capacity, higher clonal formation efficiency (CFE), SOX2, c-Myc, NANOG, and OCT4 levels, and invasion ability, and stronger tumorigenesis capacity than the parental SCLC cells, indicating that the SCLC sphere cells displayed CSC features. As(2)O(3) inhibited the proliferation, clonality and sphere forming ability of SCLC-derived CSCs and suppressed the tumor growth of CSCs-derived xenograft tumors. As(2)O(3) induced apoptosis and downregulation of SOX2 and c-Myc in vitro and in xenografts. Besides, SOX2 knockdown suppressed SCLC-derived CSCs to self-renew and induced apoptosis. Mechanistically, expression of GLI1 (a key transcription factor of Hedgehog pathway) and its downstream genes increased in SCLC-derived CSCs, compared to the parental cells. As(2)O(3) dramatically downregulated GLI1 and its downstream genes in vitro and in vivo. The GLI inhibitor (GANT-61) recapitulated and enhanced the effects of As(2)O(3) on SCLC-derived CSCs, including growth suppression, apoptosis induction, and GLI1, SOX2 and c-Myc downregulation. CONCLUSIONS: Altogether, As(2)O(3) effectively suppressed SCLC-derived CSCs growth by downregulating stem cell-maintenance factors and inducing apoptosis. These effects are mediated at least partly via the Hedgehog signaling blockade.

Weed expansion has the potential to severely affect global agriculture. Habitat suitability models (HSMs) have been widely used to assess weed expansion to enable effective prevention and control of weeds. However, few studies have focused on the habitat suitability of global croplands for these weeds. Previous studies listed the 10 serious weed species that have the largest negative impact on global agriculture. Here, we used Maxent modeling (an HSM with good performance) to quantify the habitat suitability of global croplands for these 10 weed species using occurrence records and environmental variables (i.e., climate factors, soil properties, and human footprint). We compared the habitat suitability values of these 10 serious weed species in 174 different types of cropland. The habitat suitability values for all the weed species studied was high in global croplands. Furthermore, habitat suitability may depend on the type of cropland and the spatial variation created by varying climate factors, soil properties, and human footprint. Cynodon dactylon, Echinochloa crus-galli, Eleusine indica, Panicum maximum, and Sorghum halepense had the highest habitat suitability values in chicory plantations. Cyperus rotundus and Echinochloa colona had the highest habitat suitability values in olive plantations. The habitat suitability values for Imperata cylindrica was the highest in mustard plantations, Eichhornia crassipes was most suited to expansion in raspberry plantations, and the habitat suitability values for Lantana camara was the highest in chickpea plantations. Risk prevention and control should be based on the cropland type for these 10 serious weed species, taking into account climate factors, soil properties, and human activities. Our study provides guidelines for effective management of weed risk in different croplands globally.

Background No specific therapeutic agents or vaccines are available for the treatment of Coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) yet. In this study, we aimed to assess the efficacy of high dose ulinastatin for patients with Covid-19.Methods Twelve patients hospitalized with confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection were treated with high dose of ulinastatin beyond standard care. The changes of clinical manifestations, laboratory examinations and chest images were retrospectively analyzed. Results A total of 10 patients with severe Covid-19 and 2 patients with moderate Covid-19 received ulinastatin treatment. The average age of the patients was 68.0 ± 11.9 years, ranging from 48 to 87 years. Nine of 12 patients (75.0%) had one or more comorbidities. The most common symptoms on admission were fever (8/12, 66.7%), cough (5/12, 41.7%) and dyspnea (5/12, 41.7%). The percentage of lymphocytes was decreased in 41.7% of patients (5/12), and 58.3% of patients (7/12) had elevated hypersensitive C-reactive protein (CRP) levels (mean, 49.70 ± 77.70 mg/L). The white blood cell levels and the percentage of lymphocytes returned to normal in all of the patients, and CRP decreased significantly and returned to normal in 83.3% of patients (10/12; mean, 6.87 ± 6.63 mg/L) on the seventh day after ulinastatin treatment. Clinical symptoms were relieved synchronously. The peripheral oxygen saturation improved and 66.7% of the patients (8/12) did not need further oxygen therapy seven days after ulinastatin treatment. No patients required intensive care unit admission or mechanical ventilation. All patients revealed different degrees of absorption of pulmonary lesions after treatment. No obvious adverse events were observed.Conclusions Our preliminary data revealed that high dose of ulinastatin treatment was safe and showed a potential beneficial effect for patients with Covid-19.

Personal cooling technologies (PCTs) locally control the temperature of an individual instead of a whole building and are thus energy saving. However, most PCTs still consume energy and are heavy in weight, restricting their application among human beings. To achieve personal thermal comfort and no energy consumption on hot summer days, we designed a bilayer structure fabric with high thermal comfort by increasing the dissipation of human thermal radiation and reducing solar energy absorption simultaneously. The fabric consisted of two layers, including a polyethylene film with nanopores (100-1000 nm in pore size) and a film made of nylon 6 nanofibers (ca. 100 nm in diameter) with beads (ca. 230 nm in diameter), which could increase the visible light reflectance but not affect the infrared wave radiation. Therefore, the designed fabric showed a high heat dissipation power, which was 14.13, 17.93, and 17.93 W/m2 higher than that of the selected traditional textiles of cotton, linen, and odile, respectively, suggesting good cooling capability. Its cooling performance was better than those reported by the previous research works even at a higher ambient temperature. Meanwhile, the moisture penetrability and hygroscopic property results indicated that the wearing comfort of the designed fabric reached the levels of the selected traditional textiles.

In recent years, cerebral blood oxygen saturation has become a key indicator during the perioperative period. Cerebral blood oxygen saturation monitoring is conducive to the early diagnosis and treatment of cerebral ischemia and hypoxia. The present study discusses the three most extensively used clinical methods for cerebral blood oxygen saturation monitoring from different aspects: working principles, relevant parameters, current situations of research, commonly used equipment, and relative advantages of different methods. Furthermore, through comprehensive comparisons of the methods, we find that near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) technology has significant potentials and broad applications prospects in terms of cerebral oxygen saturation monitoring. Despite the current NIRS technology, the only bedside non-invasive cerebral oxygen saturation monitoring technology, still has many defects, it is more in line with the future development trend in the field of medical and health, and will become the main method gradually.

Human footprint and soil variability may be important in shaping the spread of invasive plant species (IPS). However, until now, there is little knowledge on how human footprint and soil variability affect the potential distribution of IPS in different biomes. We used Maxent modeling to project the potential distribution of 29 IPS with wide distributions and long introduction histories in China based on various combinations of climatic correlates, soil characteristics and human footprint. Then, we evaluated the relative importance of each type of environmental variables (climate, soil and human footprint) as well as the difference in range and similarity of the potential distribution of IPS between different biomes. Human footprint and soil variables contributed to the prediction of the potential distribution of IPS, and different types of biomes had varying responses and degrees of impacts from the tested variables. Human footprint and soil variability had the highest tendency to increase the potential distribution of IPS in Montane Grasslands and Shrublands. We propose to integrate the assessment in impacts of human footprint and soil variability on the potential distribution of IPS in different biomes into the prevention and control of plant invasion.

Many biological conservationists take actions to conserve plant species with extremely small populations (PSESP) in China; however, there have been few studies on the spatial distribution of threats to PSESP. Hence, we selected distribution data of PSESP and made a map of the spatial distribution of threats to PSESP in China. First, we used the weight assignment method to evaluate the threat risk to PSESP at both country and county scales. Second, we used a geographic information system to map the spatial distribution of threats to PSESP, and explored the threat factors based on linear regression analysis. Finally, we suggested some effective conservation options. We found that the PSESP with high values of protection, such as the plants with high scientific research values and ornamental plants, were threatened by over-exploitation and utilization, habitat fragmentation, and a small sized wild population in broad-leaved forests and bush fallows. We also identified some risk hotspots for PSESP in China. Regions with low elevation should be given priority for ex- and in-situ conservation. Moreover, climate change should be considered for conservation of PSESP. To avoid intensive over-exploitation or utilization and habitat fragmentation, in-situ conservation should be practiced in regions with high temperatures and low temperature seasonality, particularly in the high risk hotspots for PSESP that we proposed. Ex-situ conservation should be applied in these same regions, and over-exploitation and utilization of natural resources should be prevented. It is our goal to apply the concept of PSESP to the global scale in the future.

To assess the effect of floor levels of high-rise apartment buildings on the accumulation of contaminants in indoor environment, residential air-conditioner filter dust (ACFD) samples from the 1st, 10th, 20th and 30th floors of a high-rise apartment building were collected for the determination of n-alkanes and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). The results show that both n-alkanes and PAHs in the residential ACFD were ubiquitous but varied greatly in concentrations. The total concentrations of 27 n-alkanes (Σ27AK) and 16 PAHs (Σ16PAH) ranged from 1.35 to 9290 µg g–1 and 278–34200 ng g–1, respectively. Source apportionment revealed that n-alkanes were from mixed sources combining fossil fuel combustion, natural emission and solid biomass burning, but PAHs were mainly from indoor sources. Furthermore, the diagnostic ratio of paired low weight molecular PAH species may change during transportation and accumulation. Significantly higher concentrations of Σ27AK and Σ16PAH were observed in the samples from low floor levels (the 1st and 10th floors) compared to those from high floor levels (the 20th and 30th floors). The results of classification and regression tree analysis clearly suggested floor level is the most important factor influencing the accumulation of Σ27AK and Σ16PAH in the ACFD. Our findings imply that people living on lower floor levels have greater exposure risks to PAHs associated with indoor dust.

With a rowing blade is simulated, and the wind tunnel test resistance, resistance coefficient, lift, the lift coefficient and the pressure coefficient values are compared. And the influence on flow state of the different attack angles, calculation model is discussed, the calculation domain, the key link of grid, turbulence models, discrete format and so on have great influence on the calculation results. Considering the computer performance and the computational time, the study on the problem of the sub area division grid is the best choice, in to the grid refinement and unstructured grid has a certain advantage in the aspects of using computing core area; in the flow region is not complicated place can consider the appropriate grid density. Angle of attack and the state of different turbulence models on the numerical simulation accuracy of the greatest impact, the flow state is not complicated small angle of attack, the velocity vector diagram of the difference is small, but the velocity contours appear differences in change of position specific reaction speed, the convergence speed of S-A mode SST k-ω model fast; calculation of 40-60 degree angle of attack results is relatively poor, the calculation of RNG k-e and SST k-ω model is close to the result of calculation. 70-80 degree angle of attack while the calculation of drag coefficient and lift coefficient compared with experiment data is close to the difference; 90 degree angle of attack SST k-ω model is a more ideal model. In the discussion of the computational domain can be chosen as the reference of the contents of the pressure coefficient. Computing grid and computational domain can be turbulent model, according to the above calculation reference fluid mechanics problems in the field of sports.

Anxiety and depression are common in functional dyspepsia (FD) patients. Although fissured tongue (FT) is often observed in FD, its clinical value in such patients is rarely reported. We analyzed clinical data of FD patients with FT with the aim of elucidating the clinical value of FT in FD. This study suggests FD patients with different types of FT with the course of disease and the 9-item Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ9) showed a significant difference. The PHQ9, course of disease, and self-rated dyspepsia symptoms (SRDS) correlated positively with the types of FT by the Spearman rank analysis. Epigastric pain, bloating, nausea, and SRDS showed a significant difference between FT-FD and nonfissured tongue- (NFT-) FD as well as between FD patients with and without symptoms of depression. Many FD patients also have FT, which may be associated with depressive symptoms. The longer the course of disease, the more serious the fissured tongue; thus, it may provide a predictive value for the diagnosis of depressive symptoms in FD patients.

Species distribution models (SDMs) are powerful tools to predict species distributions, and thus support invasion risk assessments for tree species at the global scale. However, SDMs may produce different species distribution probabilities depending on the spatial scale of climate data included in the model. Hence, we must understand impacts of the climate data scale on the modeled distribution probabilities of invasive tree species (ITS) throughout the world. We used nine ITS from the list of “The 100 of the World's Worst Invasive Alien Species” as our study species, and applied Maxent modeling based on presence and background points to model the distribution probabilities of these ITS across the globe using three climate data scales: 2.5, 5.0 and 10.0′. The average distribution probabilities of presence and background points across the nine focal ITS increased significantly from the 2.5 to the 10.0′ resolution, indicating that coarse climate data scales may increase the distribution probabilities of presence and background points for these focal species. The large gap between different climate data scales resulted in high prediction uncertainty for the distribution probabilities of ITS. We offer two suggestions for decreasing the prediction uncertainty of the distribution probabilities of ITS at the global scale due to the effects of the climate data scale when using SDMs: 1) use 5.0′ resolution as the input to SDMs when using GBIF or other specimen databases; and 2) decrease the gap between 2.5, 5.0 and 10.0′ in the number of presence points of ITS.

Seventeen polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) compounds were determined in surface sediments collected from the Chaohu Lake (a large shallow lake in eastern China) and its tributaries. Both diagnostic ratios and a receptor model (positive matrix factorization, PMF) were applied to identify and determine the contribution of a local iron–steel manufacturing plant located in the Nanfei River (NFR) to the Chaohu Lake basin. The results show that sites located in the downstream of the steel plant contained concentrations of 17 PAH (Σ17PAH) approximately two orders of magnitudes higher than those from other sites. Five factors were identified by the PMF model, including industrial waste, wood/biomass burning, diagenetic origin, domestic coal combustion, and industrial combustion. Our findings suggest that sediments in the downstream of the plant and in the western part of the Chaohu Lake were predominantly affected by industrial coal combustion. A mixture of pyrolytic origins impacted urban sediments in the upstream of the plant, whereas diagenetic origins along with coal and biomass burning were suggested to influence the eastern part and rural tributaries of the lake. To assess the potential ecological risk and toxicity caused by the iron–steel plant, sediment toxicity was evaluated by the PMF model, sediment quality guideline, and toxic equivalent factors. All of the three approaches suggested PAH accumulation in the NFR sediments could produce significant adverse ecological effects and half of the sediment toxicity in the NFR may be attributed to the emissions from the iron–steel plant. Some rural locations also exhibited PAH concentrations above probable effects, most likely contributed by wood/biomass burning.

The glasses with chemical composition of 25Na2O:23CaO:6P2O5:44B2O3:2ZrO2: xEu2O3 for extra different Eu2O3 concentrations of x = 0.25, 0.5, 0.75, 1.0 and 1.25 mol% were synthesized by the conventional melt quenching technique. The glass structure, physical property, optical and luminescence characteristics of the synthesized glasses were characterized by FT-IR spectroscopy, X-ray powder diffraction and photoluminescence (PL) spectra, respectively. The results indicated that the density and molar volume of the glasses were found to increase with Eu2O3 concentration. The glasses were composed of [PO4], [BO3] and [BO4] basic structural units. Under 393 nm wavelength excitation, five luminescence bands were observed at 578 nm, 592 nm, 612 nm, 653 nm and 701 nm, which corresponds to 5D0 → 7FJ (J = 0, 1, 2, 3, 4) transitions. And the most intense red emission was found at 612 nm. Moreover, the color coordinate and color correlated temperatures (CCTs) changed with Eu2O3 contents. This work shows the potential application of europium-doped glass samples in UV converted white light-emitting diodes (WLEDs) and other optical devices.

Crop area information can provide decision support for agricultural production management, and it is an important basis for formulating grain policy and economic plan. Remote sensing has an irreplaceable role in large-scale agricultural monitoring, in which optical remote sensing is greatly influenced by cloud and rain weather. It is often unable to obtain clear and clear optical remote sensing images in the critical period of crop growth, which seriously images the accuracy and timeliness of the classification of crop remote sensing. Synthetic aperture radar (SAR) capable of monitoring ground objects throughout the day and all weather, Polarimetric SAR data also include scattering matrix, geometric details and permittivity information, it is sensitive to the geometry and height of vegetation, which can make up for the lack of optical remote sensing and has unique advantages in crop identification and monitoring. So full polarization SAR has wide application demand and great potential in crop remote sensing monitoring. The effective use of full polarimetric SAR data to classify crops is of great academic and practical value for promoting the greater role of radar technology in national agricultural remote sensing monitoring and agricultural supply side structural reform. This paper summarizes the different data types and polarization decomposition methods of polarization SAR used in crop identification. According to the current research, there are the following deficiencies: first, most of the research subjects are rice, and dry land crops are less studied. Secondly, the identification of dry land crops is not accurate enough, and the average recognition accuracy is less than 85%. Finally, there are few researches on the scattering mechanism, which leads to poor rationality and poor universality. First, determine the scattering mechanism of dry land crops, and use scattering mechanism to improve the accuracy and universality of remote sensing recognition of dryland crops. Second, how to make use of the special imaging method of SAR to optimize the design is applicable to polarimetric SAR classification algorithm. Third, how to better integrate with optical remote sensing and other multi-source data, these three points will become the key problem to be solved in polarimetric SAR crop classification in the future.

We described potential changes in the geographic distribution and occurrence probability of Pinus koraiensis Sieb. et Zucc. and Eleutherococcus senticosus (Rupr. et Maxim.) Maxim. in the counties of northeast China. This information was used to identify priority areas for protection and provide protection and management recommendations within each studied county. The two species were mapped in 2884 study plots throughout this region over a 4-year period (38°40′N–53°30′N, 115°05′E–135°02′E). We used the species distribution models (Maxent), systematic conservation planning models (Marxan), and Geographic Information Systems (ArcGIS 10.0). The distributions of two species were correlated in the study area, enabling unique and economically viable joint conservation measures to be implemented. Three models were combined to identify feasible priority conservation sites. We used local spatial statistics to assess all identified conservation areas in relation to potential climate change based shifts in the geographic distribution of the two species. Model-based conservation strategies were used to identify effective measures to protect and utilize these two tree species in the study region. This study presents a novel technique for assessing wild plant distributions, in addition to serving as a model for the conservation of other species within the framework of general forest management, ecological construction, and geographical surveying.

Prostate cancer presents high occurrence worldwide. Medicinal plants are a major source of novel and potentially therapeutic molecules; therefore, the aim of the present study was to investigate the possible anti-prostate cancer activity of afzelin, a flavonol glycoside that was previously isolated from Nymphaea odorata. The effect of afzelin on the proliferation of androgen-sensitive LNCaP and androgen-independent PC-3 cells was evaluated by performing a water soluble tetrazolium salt-1 assay. In addition, the effect of afzelin on the cell cycle of the LNCaP and PC-3 prostate cancer cell lines was evaluated. Western blot analysis was performed to evaluate the effect of afzelin on the kinases responsible for the regulation of actin organization. Afzelin was identified to inhibit the proliferation of LNCaP and PC3 cells, and block the cell cycle in the G0 phase. The anticancer activity of afzelin in these cells was determined to be due to inhibition of LIM domain kinase 1 expression. Thus, the in vitro efficacy of afzelin against prostate cancer is promising; however, additional studies on different animal models are required to substantiate its anticancer potential.

The luminescent glasses composed of P2O5–ZnO–SrO–K2O (PZSK) tri-doped thulium oxide (Tm2O3), terbium oxide (Tb4O7) and manganese carbonate (MnCO3) were synthesized by conventional melting method. The full colors including blue, green and reddish orange emitting are observed simultaneously in the photoluminescent spectra of Tm/Tb/Mn tri-doped PZSK glasses excited by 354 nm. The combination of these three emitting allows the realization of white light emitting in the glass samples. Furthermore, the tunable luminescent color and chromaticity parameters can be realized by varying the content of dopant in the glass matrix, which makes these as-prepared phosphate glasses promising candidate for white light-emitting diodes. It is confirmed that energy transfer from Tm3+ (Tb3+) to Mn2+ occurs, which is reasonably interpreted based on energy level diagrams and the analysis of the fluorescence lifetimes.

We propose an improved planning method for priority protected areas (PPAs) to conserve endangered plant species that are threatened by climate change and human disturbance. Recent researches have shown that the actual approaches used in planning PPAs are useful for the conservation of endangered plants. The next required step is to determine how to protect endangered plants effectively in PPAs. Here, we used the case of 84 endangered plants in China to integrate conservation management into the planning of PPAs. First, we identified locations for proposed PPAs based on current and future suitable habitats of species, based on shifts due to climate change, as modelled by Maxent; secondly, we classified the species into different clusters based on the value of protecting them and the factors that threaten them; finally, we determined the best regions for conservation management. We found that species with high material, medicinal, and scientific research values of protection were threatened by over-exploitation and excess reclamation in PPAs. The best candidate PPAs were distributed mainly in southern China—the provinces of Fujiang, Guangxi, Guangdong, Fujian, Hunan, Zhejiang and Guizhou held large potential for the protection of endangered plant species. Given the attention that we paid to conservation management for the planning of PPAs, and the practical value of study, our method will provide an important point of reference for the implementation of policy to protect endangered plants from the effects of climate change, along with information about the values of protecting species and the factors that threaten them.

Preterm born infants have high rates of brain injury, leading to motor and neurocognitive problems in later life. Infection and resulting inflammation of the fetus and newborn are highly associated with these disabilities. However, there are no established neuroprotective therapies. Microglial activation and expression of many cytokines play a key role in normal brain function and development, as well as being deleterious. Thus, treatment must achieve a delicate balance between possible beneficial and harmful effects. In this review, we discuss potential neuroprotective strategies targeting systemic infection or the resulting systemic and central inflammatory responses. We highlight the central importance of timing of treatment and the critical lack of studies of delayed treatment of infection/inflammation.

The simulation of Profiled Steel Sheeting-concrete Composite Slabs is based on ABAQUS,the finite element simulation software.The simulation is compared with the test to verify correctness of the finite element simulation method.By changing shear connectors of composite slabs, studies are performed on the influence of shear-bond property ,the behavior of slip between sheeting and concrete,slip distribution along the composite slabs and so on.The results indicate that setting shear connectors ,such as shear reinforcement and studs, can improve ultimate bearing capacity and reduce the slippage between the interface.The studs’ effect is more obvious.Actual engineering should select suitable shear connectors,so that it can meet the strength requirement and be economical.

The partitioning behavior of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) between gaseous and particulate phases from coal-fired power plants (CFPPs) is critically important to predict PAH removal by dust control devices. In this study, 16 US-EPA priority PAHs in gaseous and size-segregated particulate phases at the inlet and outlet of the fabric filter unit (FFs) of a circulating fluidized bed (CFB) boiler were analyzed. The partitioning mechanisms of PAHs between gaseous and particulate phases and in particles of different size classes were investigated. We found that the removal efficiencies of PAHs are 45.59% and 70.67–89.06% for gaseous and particulate phases, respectively. The gaseous phase mainly contains low molecular weight (LMW) PAHs (2- and 3-ring PAHs), which is quite different from the particulate phase that mainly contains medium and high molecular weight (MMW and HMW) PAHs (4- to 6-ring PAHs). The fractions of LMW PAHs show a declining trend with the decrease of particle size. The gas-particle partitioning of PAHs is primarily controlled by organic carbon absorption, in addition, it has a clear dependence on the particle sizes. Plot of log (TPAH/PM) against logDp shows that all slope values were below −1, suggesting that PAHs were mainly adsorbed to particulates. The adsorption effect of PAHs in size-segregated PMs for HMW PAHs is more evident than LMW PAHs. The particle size distributions (PSDs) of individual PAHs show that most of PAHs exhibit bi-model structures, with one mode peaking in the accumulation size range (2.1–1.1 μm) and another mode peaking in coarse size range (5.8–4.7 μm). The intensities of these two peaks vary in function of ring number of PAHs, which is likely attributed to Kelvin effect that the less volatile HMW PAH species preferentially condense onto the finer particulates. The emission factor of PAHs was calculated as 3.53 mg/kg of coal burned, with overall mean EFPAH of 0.55 and 2.98 mg/kg for gaseous and particulate phase, respectively. Moreover, the average emission amount of PAHs for the investigated CFPP was 1016.6 g/day and 371073.6 g/y, respectively.

The large-scale modular energy storage systems (MESS) technology is one of the key technologies in relieving power contradictions and achieving the sustainable energy development. An accurate simulation model, which can capture the complicated and dynamic configuration characteristic of MESS, is very crucial for analyzing the performance of MESS with the architecture properties. In this paper, we have explored bipartite network method in complex networks to construct a network-architecture model of MESS. The coupling relationship between the electrical characteristics (voltage, current and power) and network characteristics (the network diameter, the degree of output terminals) was established. The structure coupling coefficient are presented to analysis the evolution and extension of MESS. Accordingly, the network-architecture model of MESS provides effective simulation analysis method for the plan and optimization of MESS.

Purpose: To explore the mechanism of You-Gui-Wan (YGW) in improving endometrial receptivity in mouse model of controlled ovarian hyperstimulation (COH). Methods: Sixty female mice with two consecutive oestrous cycles were randomly divided into COH model group (n = 50) and normal control group (n = 10). The COH model was created by using GnRH-a + PMSG + HCG and further randomly divided into 5 subgroups of simple model, YGW high-dose, YGW medium-dose, YGW low-dose and aspirin control, 10 in each subgroup. YGW or aspirin or saline was administrated to the mice by gavage once a day for 11 days. Afterwards, blood and uterine samples were collected for examination of serum levels of estradiol (E2) and progesterone (P4), endometrial thickness and number of blood vessels as well as expressions of angiogenic factors of VEGF, Ang-1, Ang-2 and Tie-2 at transcription and translation levels by using H& E staining, ELISA, real-time qRT-PCR, and immunohistochemistry, respectively. Results: COH per se increased the serum concentrations of E2 and P4i¼Œbut decreased the number of endometrial blood vessels and the protein expressions of the angiogenic factors when compared to the normal control group (P< 0.05 or 0.01). YGW increased the mRNA expressions of all angiogenic factors and restored the effect of COH on number of endometrial blood vessels (P< 0.01), and the protein expressions of the angiogenic factors when compared to the COH simple model group (P< 0.05 or 0.01). In comparison, aspirin could only restore the number of endometrial blood vessels and the protein expressions of Ang-2 and Tie-2 (P< 0.05 or 0.01). Conclusions: YGW can restore the side effect of COH on number of endometrial blood vessels and the expressions of angiogenic factors, thus improve endometrial receptivity in COH mice

Micro-blog community detection is one of the hot problems of Micro-blog platform. There are many existing community detection methods that are dedicated to detect community by only considering the topological structure. To detect Micro-blog community better, we considering the Micro-blog content as well as the topological structure. In Micro-blog community, the essence of a concept is semantic objects in the real world. The concept is composed of the object’s attribute set, and the attribute set is a set of nouns that essentially can represent the object. In this article, we let user be object and calculate the interest similarity by the object’s attribute set. First, we establish a micro-blog social network by analyzing the object’s attribute set. Second, we find the clustering directions for each object by the Random Walk method. Then, we detect micro-blog user community following the clustering directions. Finally, experiments performed to verify the efficiency of our method from the two aspects of community structure and interest cohesion.

Medicinal plants are important resources and are under serious threat due to human interference and climate change. We used species richness maps to find hotspots of medicinal plant localities and then modeled the environmental variables with a large effect on their distribution. We began by using a combination of species distribution models (SDMs) and geographic information system (GIS) tools to generate species richness maps of medicinal plants in northeast China. First, we conducted a detailed investigation of 2884 study plots in northeast China and selected 49 medicinal plant species for further analysis. The field surveys performed for this study spanned four years and identified a large number of new populations of medicinal plants in the forests of northeast China. We modeled and mapped the potential distributions of these 49 species and found that species richness hotspots are concentrated in the eastern and northeastern areas of the study region. We then analyzed the results of jackknife tests and found that the most important environmental variables on medicinal plant distribution are related to precipitation. Finally, we used the geographic distribution of medicinal plant richness to evaluate the ability of existing Nature Reserves to conserve these plants. By acquiring model data and using SDM and GIS to evaluate the current distribution and richness of medicinal plants, we are able to evaluate their current protection status and make recommendations about their utilization. This analysis could be expanded to assess medicinal plant populations in other regions where there are adequate records of the current distribution of medicinal plants.

Mobile steel building is a prefabricated building built in a factory, with advantages on moving conveniently, simple structure and scalability. There are still not enough relevant standards and requirements to conduct the design and construction of this kind of buildings. In order to precede to theoretical study on integral structures of mobile steel buildings a method which used to set up finite element analysis model about this kind of structure was proposed. This method is based on finite element analysis software, ANSYS. Using this method a two-story structure model with one box unit in each story was analyzed. Lateral deformations under design load of the integral structure were solved out by these finite element models and were compared with the former experimental results, and the results were discussed.

The paper makes the simulation and analysis to the power harmonic which is produced by the AC drive device of the hot strip mill in the background of the metallurgical industry. Aiming at the line-side effects of AC-AC frequency conversion and AC-DC-AC frequency conversion control system harmonic, the paper makes the MATLAB simulation and analysis in three circumstances, such as the load parameters, the inductance value changes of transformer primary side and secondary side, and adding reactor etc., and defines the functions and value ranges of the line reactor. The simulation results can provide a design basis for the harmonic control and the power supply system when the system uses the variable frequency devices, and then improves the power supply quality of the large drag device.

Based on the actual design and construction experience, the application of cement-soil in road and bridge foundation is designed. First of all, the basic parameters of foundation soil are determined through coring; then, the mix proportion of cement-soil is designed; Finally, the structural design is conducted on cement-soil according to different usages. The results show that using the cement-soil to improve the road and bridge subgrade, it can not only effectively improve the subgrade strength and durability, but also be convenient for construction, save a lot of building materials and reduce the project cost, which has a great guiding significance on the design and construction of the bridge.