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Background: The optimal surgical approach in treating lumbar brucellosis (LBS) has not been determined. This study aims to compare the surgical efficacy of anterior approach and combined posterior and anterior approach in treating LBS.Method: A retrospectively cohort study included LBS patients undergoing lumber surgery in the Department of Orthopedics, Department of Orthopedics, Hebei Province from June 2012 to June 2016. According surgical approach, patients were divided into two groups; patients with one-stage anterior approach were classified into group A, and the rest of patients with combined posterior and anterior approach were group B. The operative time, intraoperative blood loss and, hospitalization stay were recorded to compare the surgical risk of two groups. In terms of treatment efficacy, visual analogue scale (VAS), bone graft fusion, erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) and Oswestry disability index (ODI) were assessed and compared before and after surgery.Results: Eight-nine patients with LBS were included into the study. Fifty cases were males, and 39 patients were female. The mean age of this cohort was 61.9 ± 12 years, ranging from 23 to 78 years. Forty-nine patients were divided into group A, undergoing anterior debridement and bone graft fusion. Forty patients underwent posterior fixation combined with anterior approach (group B). The operation time of group A was 30 minutes shorter than that of group B. Group A had less intraoperative blood loss (800 vs. 900 ml; P 0.05). Conclusions: One-stage anterior approach and combine posterior-anterior approach had no significant difference in terms of clinical efficacy. Individualized surgical treatment should be suggested in patients with complicated LBS and ineffective therapeutic treatment. Trial registration: This study has been retrospectively registered in local ethical Institution Review Board(No:[2020]068).

The gradual transition of the algal ancestor from the freshwater to land has always attracted evolutionary biologists. The recent report of high-quality reference genomes of five Charophyta algae (Spirogloea muscicola, Mesotaenium endlicherianum, Mesostigma viride, Chlorokybus atmophyticus and Penium margaritaceum) and one hornwort (Anthoceros angustus) species sheds light on this fascinating transition. These early diverging plants and algae could have gained new genes from soil bacteria and fungi through horizontal gene transfer (HGT), which was so common during plant terrestrialization and may outrun our expectations. Through reviewing and critical thinking about the advancements on these plant genomes, here, I propose three prospective research directions that need to address in the future: (i) due to the ubiquitous nature of viruses that is similar to soil bacteria and fungi, there is less attention to viruses that probably also play an important role in the genome evolution of plants via HGT; (ii) multicellularity has occurred many times independently, but we still know a little about the biological and ecological mechanisms leading to multi-cellularity in Streptophyta; (iii) and most importantly, the quantitative relationships between genetic innovations and environmental variables such as temperature, precipitation and solar radiation, need pioneering research collaborated by biological evolutionists, computer scientists, and ecologists, which are crucial for understanding the macroevolution of plants and could also be used to simulate the evolution of plants under future climate change.

The mutations in the SARS-CoV-2 virus genome during COVID-19 dissemination are unclear. In 788 COVID-19 patients from Zhejiang province, we observed decreased rate of severe/critical cases compared with patients in Wuhan. For mechanisms exploration, we isolated one strain of SARS-CoV-2 (ZJ01) from a mild COVID-19 patient. Thirty-five specific gene mutations were identified. Phylogenetic and relative synonymous codon usage analysis suggested that ZJ01 may be a potential evolutionary branch of SARS-CoV-2. We classified 54 global virus strains based on the base (C or T) at positions 8824 and 28247 while ZJ01 has T at both sites. The prediction of the Furin cleavage site (FCS) and sequence alignment indicated that the FCS may be an important site of coronavirus evolution. ZJ01 mutations identified near the FCS (F1-2) caused changes in the structure and electrostatic distribution of the S surface protein, further affecting the binding capacity of Furin. Single-cell sequencing and ACE2-Furin co-expression results confirmed that the Furin expression was especially higher in glands, liver, kidneys, and colon. The evolutionary pattern of SARS-CoV-2 towards FCS formation may result in its clinical symptom becoming closer to HKU-1 and OC43 caused mild flu-like symptoms, further showing its potential in differentiating into mild COVID-19 subtypes.

As a carbonate-hosted deposit, the Huamuqing Pb–Zn deposit is situated in the western margin of the Yangtze Block. The strata-bound, irregular or vein-type Pb–Zn orebodies of the Huamuqing Pb–Zn deposit are mainly hosted by carbonate rocks of the Sinian Dengying Formation or Cambrian Meishucun Formation. Ores metallic minerals include mainly sphalerite, galena, and pyrite, whereas non-metallic minerals include mainly quartz and calcite. The alteration/mineralization can be divided into three stages: (I) the pyrite-quartz stage, (II) the polymetallic sulfide-quartz stage, and (III) the pyrite-calcite stage. The C–O isotopes of stage III hydrothermal calcite and multi-isotopes (S, Pb, Rb, Sr) of stage II sulfides were analyzed to constrain the ore-forming material source and mineralization timing at Huamuqing. The ranges of δ13CPDB and δ18OSMOW values for the stage III calcites are from − 0.641 to + 0.180‰ and + 17.542 to + 18.443‰, respectively. This suggests that the carbon of stage III was mainly derived from the Sinian dolostone, and the O isotope signatures of stage III were probably in connection with water/rock (W/R) interactions between the δ18O-depleted fluids and δ18O-enriched Sinian dolostone. The stage II sulfide δ34SCDT values vary from + 13.037 to +20.696‰, indicating that the reduced sulfur was originated mainly from Sinian to Triassic evaporites. The stage II sulfide 206Pb/204Pb, 207Pb/204Pb, and 208Pb/204Pb ranges are from 18.184 to 18.393, 15.575 to 15.691, and 38.325 to 38.436, respectively. This demonstrates multiple Pb sources, which may have included sedimentary rocks, basement rocks, and basalts. Initial 87Sr/86Sr ratios of eight sphalerite samples range from 0.70815 to 0.71399, indicating that the ore fluids most probably came from or percolated through basement rocks, basalts, and sedimentary rocks. The mineralization timing was sphalerite Rb–Sr dated to be Late Triassic (204 ± 2 Ma), reflecting the Huamuqing deposit formed during late Indosinian. Hence, the Huamuqing deposit is a carbonate-hosted, thrust fault–controlled epigenetic Pb-Zn deposit that has a mixed source of ore-forming metals and ore-forming fluids.

Purpose To investigate the prediction capacity and status of frailty in Chinese cancer patients in national level, through establishing a novel prediction algorithm. Methods The percentage of frailty in different ages, provinces and tumor type groups of Chinese cancer patients were revealed. The predictioncapacity of frailty on mortality of Chinese cancer patients was analyzed by FI-LAB that is composed of routine laboratory data from accessible blood test and calculated as the ratio of abnormal factors in 22 variables. Establishment of a novel algorithm MCP(mortality of cancer patients)to predict the five-year mortality in Chinese cancer patients was accomplished and its prediction capacity was tested in the training and validation sets using ROC analysis. ResultsWe found that the increased risk of death in cancer patients can be successfully identified through FI-LAB. The univariable and multivariable Cox regression were used to evaluate the effect of frailty on death. In the 5-year follow-up, 20.6% of the 2959 participants (age = 55.8 ± 11.7 years; 43.5% female) were dead while the mean FI-LAB score in baseline was 0.23 (standard deviation = 0.13; range = 0 to 0.73).Frailty (after adjusting for gender, age, and other confounders) could be directly correlated with increased risk of death, with a hazard ratio of 12.67 (95% confidence interval CI: 7.19, 22.31) in comparison with those without frailty. In addition, MCP algorithm presented an area under the ROC (AUC) of 0.691 (95% CI: 0.659-0.684) and 0.648 (95% CI: 0.613-0.684) in the training and validation set, respectively. Conclusion Frailty is common in cancer patients and FI-LAB has high prediction capacity on mortality. The MCP algorithm is a good supplement for frailty evaluation and mortality prediction in cancer patients.

Background In the past several millenniums, we have domesticated several crop species that are crucial for human civilization, which is a symbol of significant human influence on plant evolution. A pressing question to address is if plant diversity will increase or decrease in this warming world since contradictory pieces of evidence exit of accelerating plant speciation and plant extinction in the Anthropocene. Results Comparison may be made of the Anthropocene with the past geological times characterised by a warming climate, e.g., the Palaeocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM) 55.8 million years ago (Mya)—a period of “crocodiles in the Arctic”, during which plants saw accelerated speciation through autopolyploid speciation. Three accelerators of plant speciation were reasonably identified in the Anthropocene, including cities, polar regions and botanical gardens where new plant species might be accelerating formed through autopolyploid speciation and hybridization. Conclusions However, this kind of positive effect of climate warming on new plant species formation would be thoroughly offset by direct and indirect intensive human exploitation and human disturbances that cause habitat loss, deforestation, land use change, climate change, and pollution, thus leading to higher extinction risk than speciation in the Anthropocene. At last, four research directions are proposed to deepen our understanding of how plant traits affect speciation and extinction, why we need to make good use of polar regions to study the mechanisms of dispersion and invasion, how to maximize the conservation of plant genetics, species, and diverse landscapes and ecosystems and a holistic perspective on plant speciation and extinction is needed to integrate spatiotemporally.

Background The outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has become a large threat to public health in China, with high contagious capacity and varied mortality. This study aimed to investigate the epidemiological and clinical characteristics of older patients with COVID-19 outside Wuhan. Methods A retrospective study was performed, with collecting data from medical records of confirmed COVID-19 patients in Zhejiang province from 17 January to 12 February 2020. Epidemiological, clinical, and treatment data were analyzed between older (≥ 60 years) and younger ( Results A total of 788 patients with confirmed COVID-19 were selected; 136 were older patients with corresponding mean age of 68.28 ± 7.31 years. There was a significantly higher frequency of women in older patient group compared with younger patients (57.35% vs 46.47%, P = .021). The presence of coexisting medical conditions was significantly higher in older patients compared with younger patients (55.15% vs 21.93%, P 39.0°C (13.97% vs 7.21%, P = .010) were observed in older patients compared with younger patients. Finally, higher rates of intensive care unit admission (9.56% vs 1.38%, P Conclusions The specific epidemiological and clinical features of older COVID-19 patients included significantly higher female sex, body temperature, comorbidities, and rate of severe and critical type disease.

ObjectiveThe SARS-CoV-2-infected disease (COVID-19) outbreak is a major threat to human beings. Previous studies mainly focused on Wuhan and typical symptoms. We analysed 74 confirmed COVID-19 cases with GI symptoms in the Zhejiang province to determine epidemiological, clinical and virological characteristics.DesignCOVID-19 hospital patients were admitted in the Zhejiang province from 17 January 2020 to 8 February 2020. Epidemiological, demographic, clinical, laboratory, management and outcome data of patients with GI symptoms were analysed using multivariate analysis for risk of severe/critical type. Bioinformatics were used to analyse features of SARS-CoV-2 from Zhejiang province.ResultsAmong enrolled 651 patients, 74 (11.4%) presented with at least one GI symptom (nausea, vomiting or diarrhoea), average age of 46.14 years, 4-day incubation period and 10.8% had pre-existing liver disease. Of patients with COVID-19 with GI symptoms, 17 (22.97%) and 23 (31.08%) had severe/critical types and family clustering, respectively, significantly higher than those without GI symptoms, 47 (8.14%) and 118 (20.45%). Of patients with COVID-19 with GI symptoms, 29 (39.19%), 23 (31.08%), 8 (10.81%) and 16 (21.62%) had significantly higher rates of fever >38.5°C, fatigue, shortness of breath and headache, respectively. Low-dose glucocorticoids and antibiotics were administered to 14.86% and 41.89% of patients, respectively. Sputum production and increased lactate dehydrogenase/glucose levels were risk factors for severe/critical type. Bioinformatics showed sequence mutation of SARS-CoV-2 with m6A methylation and changed binding capacity with ACE2.ConclusionWe report COVID-19 cases with GI symptoms with novel features outside Wuhan. Attention to patients with COVID-19 with non-classic symptoms should increase to protect health providers.

The outbreak of COVID-19 become enormous threat to human beings, showing unclear virus mutation during dissemination. We found, in our 788 confirmed COVID-19 patients, the decreased rate of severe/critical type, increased liver/kidney damage and prolonged period of nuclear acid positivity, when compared with Wuhan. To investigate underlining mechanisms, we isolated one strain of SARS-CoV-2 (ZJ01) in mild COVID-19 patient and found the existence of 35 specific gene mutation by gene alignment. Further phylogenetic analysis and RSCU heat map results suggested that ZJ01 may be a potential evolutionary branch of SARS-CoV-2. We classified 54 strains of viruses worldwide (C/T type) based on the base (C or T) at positions 8824 and 28247. ZJ01 has both T at those sites, becoming the only TT type currently identified in the world. The prediction of Furin cleavage site (FCS) and the sequence alignment of virus family indicated that FCS may be an important site of coronavirus evolution. ZJ01 had mutations near FCS (F1-2), which caused changes in the structure and electrostatic distribution of S protein surface, further affecting the binding capacity of Furin. Single cell sequencing and ACE2-Furin co-expression results confirmed that Furin level was higher in the whole body, especially in glands, liver, kidney and colon while FCS may help SARS-CoV-2 infect these organs. The evolutionary pattern of SARS-CoV-2 towards FCS formation may result in its clinical symptom becoming closer to HKU-1 and OC43 (the source of FCS sequence-PRRA) caused influenza, further showing potential in differentiating into mild COVID-19 subtypes.

The purpose of this chapter is to critically examine the social welfare reforms of both India and China after 1978 and its effect on the welfare of the people. In this introductory chapter we provide; a general introduction followed by (i) an overview of reform, policies and social welfare in China; (ii) an overview of reform, policies and social welfare in India; (iii) the population in need for welfare—a comparison; and (iv) a critical understanding of the role of the state in social welfare. The chapter concludes with a summary of the volume and its scope.

Under the new educational situation, there are many disadvantages in the traditional classroom teaching, and the multimedia-assisted teaching has become a useful supplement to the classroom teaching. The visualization of the text presentation is combined with the images of the literary aesthetics. The interaction of the teaching links is combined with the expansion of students’ imagination by the literary aesthetics, and the integration of the teaching contents is combined with the cognitive function of the literary aesthetics. The integration strategy of the technical elements and the aesthetic elements in the literature teaching makes the teaching process of the literature courses three-dimensional, modern and diversified. The design of the multimedia teaching system for the literary creation based on the B/S mode can not only display the cultural connotation contained in the literary works more effectively and annotate the systematic thinking of the literary creation, but can also facilitate students to learn effectively, master the necessary skills of dealing with the literary emotions, and realize the comprehensive deepening of the literary creation mechanisms.

Concluding chapter of this volume critically examines the impact of neoliberal policies on welfare provisions in both India and China. We argue that neoliberalism in both India and China resulted in disparities and unequal treatment of people than benefiting the people, further poor, marginalized and other weaker section of the society are most impacted by these economic policies. Going further the chapter outlines the similarities and differences in economic progress and the welfare provisions in India and China, then it outlines the challenges ahead of India and China in the social policy context. Finally, the chapter concludes with a concrete recommendation for policymakers, researchers and administrators in formulating inclusive social policies.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to increase wear resistance of aluminum. Design/methodology/approach The authors have studied the ways to improve the tribological performance of aluminum by assembling stearic acid on aluminum coated by sol-gel-derived TiO2 film. The samples were characterized by infrared spectroscopy, contact angle measurements and a macro friction and wear tester. Findings Enhanced wear resistance was clearly obtained after functionalization of TiO2 film on aluminum by stearic acid. Originality/value The relevant results might be helpful for guiding the surface modification of aluminum devices in industrial applications.

The ‘home-field advantage (HFA) hypothesis’ predicts a litter-field affinity effect on litter decomposition. In terrestrial ecosystems, plant roots have comprehensive roles in regulating litter-decomposer interactions, yet their potential influences on HFA remain unsolved. To fill this gap, we conducted a litter transplant experiment in a subtropical forest, and tested whether roots affect litter-field affinity via interactions with soil microbial functions. Leaf litters of Quercus variabilis and Pinus massoniana were incubated at their conspecific-dominated and heterospecific-dominated forests. Root-specific incubation microcosms were manipulated by using a series of root ingrowth cores to control the access of living fine roots. Entire exclusion of roots led to a significant suppression of HFA, and the affinity effect was amplified under a medium root constraint treatment (by 0.5 mm mesh). Incubation field (‘home’ vs. ‘away’) generally had a positive effect on litter mineralization when roots were present, and roots became more influential after 9 months than 3 months of incubation. Although microbial enzymatic functions and their impact on litter N loss depended on root status, they were not associated with incubation field. Our findings advocate that a moderate amount of local roots is essential for HFA in leaf litter decomposition, and taking account of root-mediated species-specific bio-interactions will advance our understanding of native litter- home field affinity.

Titanium alloy shows a poor tribological performance even under lubrication. In this paper, we report the formation of carbon-based tribofilms from poly-alpha-olefin (PAO) base oil molecules on Ti6Al4V (Ti64) samples after thermal oxidization treatment, where PAO enabling base oils to provide not only the fluid but also the solid tribofilm. Ball-on-disk tests at contact pressures of 2.0 GPa reveal that these carbon-based tribofilms on thermally oxidized Ti64 samples decrease the friction coefficient by about 3 times and wear rate by up to 2 orders magnitude as comparing to untreated one.

In this paper, we deal with the sharp threshold results for a host-pathogen model with general incidence rates. We formulate the model by a system of degenerated reaction-diffusion equations with heterogeneous parameters, where the movement of pathogens are ignored. The basic reproduction number, ℜ 0 , is defined to govern and it is shown to be a threshold determining whether or not the disease will be extinct or be persistent. We also confirm that disease will be extinct in the critical case ℜ 0 = 1 . By three examples of homogeneous cases in the sense that parameters are all constants, we obtain the specific formula for ℜ 0 , and explore the stability problems of the unique constant positive equilibrium by using the technique of Lyapunov function. Our theoretical results can also be potentially applied to explore the effect of the spatial heterogeneity on disease dynamics, and also evaluate the risk of disease transmission.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to evaluate naturally occurring phytic acid (PA) as a green-water-based lubricant. Design/methodology/approach Lubrication is studied using a ball-on-disk tribometer with silica glass against silicon nitride contact, and the friction coefficient and wear are measured in the boundary lubrication regimes. Findings Excellent lubrication performance was found by using PA aqueous solutions. After the running-in process, the sliding coefficient of friction could drop to as low as 0.01 with a quite low concentration of 7.5 × 10−4 M. The lubricating performance of PA solution could be further improved by increasing PA concentration. The work suggests that the excellent lubricity of PA in aqueous solution can be mostly contributed to its adsorption on the silica surface. Originality/value The paper shows that the natural products could be used as water-based lubricant additives.

Ulmus elongata is on the verge of extinction due to habitat fragmentation and habitat loss. Identifying the environmental factors affecting the leaf traits of U. elongata is important for understanding its endangerment mechanisms. Specific leaf area (SLA), leaf nitrogen content, and leaf carbon isotope discrimination (δ13C) were determined. Temperature and light were found to be the main environmental factors influencing SLA, indicating that U. elongata is heliophilous. The maximum and minimum δ13C values of the plant species were − 26.33‰ and − 29.64‰, respectively (the mean was − 28.09‰), suggesting that it is of the C3 photosynthetic type. Compared with the altitude, annual sunshine duration, annual precipitation, and mean annual temperature accounted for 36% of the variance in δ13C, which is the main environmental factor affecting 13C fractionation. The foliar δ13C value of U. elongata was significantly more negative than that of Ulmus pumila, a widely distributed elm tree in northern China (P

ObjectiveAccumulation of free fatty acids (FFAs) in hepatocytes induces lipotoxicity, leading to non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). This study aimed to investigate the underlying mechanisms by which FFA contributes to the pathogenesis of NAFLD via the regulation of 3-mercaptopyruvate sulfurtransferase (MPST), a key enzyme that regulates endogenous hydrogen sulfide (H2S) biosynthesis.DesignHepatic MPST expression was evaluated in mice and patients with NAFLD. A variety of molecular approaches were used to study the effects of MPST regulation on hepatic steatosis in vivo and in vitro.ResultsIn vitro treatment of hepatocytes with FFAs upregulated MPST expression, which was partially dependent on NF-κB/p65. Hepatic MPST expression was markedly increased in high fat diet (HFD)-fed mice and patients with NAFLD. Partial knockdown of MPST via adenovirus delivery of MPST short hairpin RNA or heterozygous deletion of the Mpst gene significantly ameliorated hepatic steatosis in HFD-fed mice. Consistently, inhibition of MPST also reduced FFA-induced fat accumulation in L02 cells. Intriguingly, inhibition of MPST significantly enhanced rather than decreased H2S production, whereas MPST overexpression markedly inhibited H2S production. Co-immunoprecipitation experiments showed that MPST directly interacted with and negatively regulated cystathionine γ-lyase (CSE), a major source of H2S production in the liver. Mechanistically, MPST promoted steatosis via inhibition of CSE/H2S and subsequent upregulation of the sterol regulatory element-binding protein 1c pathway, C-Jun N-terminal kinase phosphorylation and hepatic oxidative stress.ConclusionsFFAs upregulate hepatic expression of MPST and subsequently inhibit the CSE/H2S pathway, leading to NAFLD. MPST may be a potential therapeutic target for NAFLD.

Water can be used as an ecological lubricant base if the water-based additives are properly developed to modify its tribological properties. Additionally, those additives should be friend both to human and nature. Pullulan is a naturally occurring polysaccharide, which is biodegradable and non-toxic and widely used in food and nonfood applications. We focus here on understanding the lubrication properties of pullulan, in aqueous solution in absence and presence of sodium salts. Lubrication is studied using a ball-on-disk tribometer with steel–steel surfaces and the friction coefficient and wear are measured in the boundary lubrication regimes. The adsorption of pullulan molecules onto steel surface is determined by measuring wettability of friction couples. It was found that the addition of pullulan improves the lubricating properties of water. The lubricating performance of Pullulan solution could be further improved if sodium chloride or sodium fluoride is added. The tribological results obtaine...

General circulation models and empirical observations show that rainfall patterns will become increasingly erratic in the future as the paradigm “dry gets drier, wet gets wetter” becomes globally prevalent. Currently, few field studies have evaluated the long-term effects of extreme precipitation on forest ecosystems based on tree physiology. To provide a better mechanistic understanding of these effects, a two-year “Precipitation Seasonal Distribution Changes” experiment (PSDC) was conducted in lower subtropical China. The treatments included “Drier dry season and wetter wet season (DD)”, ‘Extended dry season and wetter wet season (ED)” and “Ambient control (AC)’. The throughfall of the DD treatment was excluded during the dry season (October-March of the following year) to simulate drought, whereas the throughfall of the ED treatment was excluded in the spring (April-May) to simulate spring drought without significant altering the total annual precipitation input. The sap flow, water use efficiency, leaf and wood nutrient content and morphological parameters of two co-occurring tree species, Michelia macclurei Dandy and Schima superba Gardner & Champ., were quantified to elucidate the physiological mechanisms that occur in response to rainfall pattern changes. Our results indicated that the whole-tree transpiration per unit sapwood area (Js) and intrinsic water use efficiency (WUEi) showed homeostatic responses. Tree transpiration and response parameters to environmental variables (vapor pressure deficit [VPD] and photosynthetically active radiation [PAR]) did not show significant treatment effects regardless of drought, spring drought or irrigation periods. However, the leaf nitrogen (Narea) and phosphorus (Parea) content showed fluctuations, particularly the leaf N:P ratio, which showed that rainfall pattern changes had adverse effects on nutrient acquisition in this dual nitrogen- and phosphorus- limited forest ecosystem. The wood stoichiometry was more conserved than the leaf stoichiometry. For a given leaf 13C discrimination (≈ci/ca), the wood 13C discrimination did not show treatment or species effects, suggesting that the carbon transfer of trees was not affected by rainfall patterns. The branch As:Al was significantly negatively correlated with the parameters representing the sensitivity of tree transpiration to VPD, indicating that the trees maintained homeostatic responses by combining stomatal control and morphological adjustments. In mesic environments, the two studied tree species showed high resilience to seasonal rainfall pattern changes and homeostatic responses to nutrient acquisition, light use and water uptake, which is consistent with the ‘ecohydrological equilibrium theory’. In conclusion, the shallow-rooted M. macclurei presented a growth advantage in mesic environments or under mild water stress, whereas the deeply rooted S. superba is more competitive under predicted prolonged drought scenarios, such as DD and ED rain patterns, because of its greater morphological plasticity and increased water uptake from groundwater. Both species are common in south and eastern China but present inherently different responses to seasonal precipitation changes, which implies that changes in the timing and magnitude of precipitation may have consequences for plant nutrient acquisition and water balance and the potential to alter community composition.

As a transducer of PPARγ signaling, recent evidence supports that fibroblast growth factor 1 (FGF1) mediates adipose tissue remodeling and insulin sensitivity. This study is to assess the role of serum FGF1 in obesity. A hospital-based case-control study of 154 subjects was conducted. Serum level of FGF1 was measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. The serum level of FGF1 in the lean (119.0 [103.1–146.1] pg/ml) was higher than it in the subjects with overweight/obesity (111.9 [80.3–127.4] pg/ml, P=0.009). Binary logistic regression models found a reverse association between serum FGF1 level and the risk of overweight/obesity (adjusted odds ratio=0.990, 95% confidence interval [0.981–0.998], P=0.019). Furthermore, serum FGF1 reversely correlated with body mass index (r=−0.176, P=0.029), systolic blood pressure (r=−0.224, P=0.005), diastolic blood pressure (r=−0.185, P=0.022) and triglycerides (r=−0.162, P=0.044). Multiple stepwise linear regression analysis found serum level of FGF1 was dependent on anti-diabetic drugs, hemoglobin A1C, body mass index and sex. Serum level of FGF1 is associated with the decreased risk of obesity in human.

Exotic fast-growing tree species have been commonly planted as pioneer species to facilitate ecological restoration in South China. Their growth and resource utilization behavior related to intrinsic physiology and structural properties have profound influences on forest ecosystem. However, the contrastive research focusing on water utilization features along with xylem anatomical properties between native and exotic species is scarce in South China. The objective of this study is to investigate the sapwood anatomical characteristics and water utilization conditions of native and exotic fast-growing species, and to elucidate the relationship between sap-flux density and conduit features. We measured sap-flux density, conduit length, diameter and density of four native species (Schima superba, Michelia macclurei, Castanopsis hystrix and Castanopsis fissa) and four exotic species (Eucalyptus citriodora, Eucalyptus urophylla × grandis, Acacia auriculaeformis and Acacia mangium). Sap flux density was measured based on the Granier’s thermal dissipation probe method. The whole-tree water transport was quantified by multiplying sap-flux density by sapwood area. The measurements of conduit characteristics were conducted by using segregation and slice method. Sapwood area increased with the growing diameter at breast height (DBH) as a power function. Native species had a larger water-conducting tissue area than exotic species at the same DBH value when trees grew to a size with a certain value of DBH. The conduit diameter of exotic species was significantly larger than that of native species. Conversely, native species, such as S. superba and M. macclurei, had longer conduit length and higher conduit density than other tree species. Based on a physiological interpretation of the measured conduit characteristics, native tree species developed a safe water transport system while exotic fast-growing tree species come into being an efficient system instead. Water transport increased with the growing DBH as a power function, and the exponent for native species (1.60) was higher than that for exotic species (1.22). Under the combined impact of sap-flux density and sapwood area, native species presented a larger water transport at a larger DBH value, indicating that growth advantage of exotic fast-growing species might weaken as DBH increased.

Two-dimensional (2D) monolayer cell cultures are the most common in vitro models for mechanistic studies on the toxicity of engineered nanoparticles (NPs). However, 2D cell cultures may not accurately model the functions of three-dimensional (3D) tissues that have extensive cell–cell and cell–matrix interactions, and thus may lead to wrong experimental results. Hence, to obtain more adequate and detailed information about ZnO NP–tissue interactions, we here assess the toxicity and inflammatory effects of different-sized ZnO NPs at various concentrations on Caco-2 cells which are three-dimensionally cultured in agarose gels, measuring ROS expression, pro-inflammatory cytokines, cell proliferation and death. The results showed that the significant effects of cell dimensionality to cellular responses such as inflammatory response, cytotoxicity and different modes of cell death in response to ZnO NPs treatment. Moreover, ZnO NPs induced the toxicity of 2D and 3D cells in different size-dependent manners. This study revealed that the nanotoxicity conclusions obtained from the 2D cell model might overestimate the toxic effects of ZnO NPs. There is a more realistic mechanism study of nanoparticle-induced toxicity in the 3D cell model, which acts as an intermediate stage bridging in vitro 2D and in vivo models.

Electroless nickel boron (Ni-B) coatings are finding their applications in the aerospace, automotive, chemical and electrical industries due to their properties such as high hardness and high wear resistance. However, Ni-B coatings generally show high friction. They also suffered from severe attacks in aqueous solution containing Cl− ion. In this paper, the experiments are carried out to reduce the friction and improve corrosion resistant properties of Ni-B coating by PTFE impregnation. It is found that Ni-B coating after impregnated by an aqueous solution containing 40 wt% PTFE nanoparticles is able to withstand a rubbing test duration of 3600 s with the coefficient of friction as low as

This article comments on: Donald A. Levin. 2019. Plant speciation in the age of climate change. Annals of Botany 124(5): 769–775.

In this paper, coupled with Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes equations and ballistic equations, the numerical simulations of high-speed water entry of projectiles under different conditions have been conducted. The water-gas flow was modeled by the mixture multiphase model. The numerical results indicated that the simulations agree well with analytical solutions by two cavity models, which validates the model applied. Then the effects of variations of project length, entry angle and velocity on the entry process of projectiles were further investigated. The results show that, for small water entry angles, the cavity wall interacts with the projectile, affects the trajectory of the projectile, and even ricochets for projectiles with small length (5D). On the other hand, the projectile vibrates during the whole process of water entry, the vibration amplitude decreases with the increase of projectile length and entry angle, however, it is the contrary for the vibration period. Furthermore, after the initial impact period, the influence of these parameters on the drag coefficient is not obvious.

Combination of chemotherapy and small interfering RNA (siRNA)-based nanotherapeutics could cooperatively and effectively suppress multiple drug resistance in cancer development. Particularly, nano-...

Numerical simulations are carried out to investigate the influence of geometric parameters on the flow and heat transfer characteristics of rectangular, trapezoidal and triangular shaped microchannel heat sinks. A good agreement is found between numerical results and experimental data when the variation of water viscosity with temperature is taken into account. The microchannel with high aspect ratio, long wetted perimeter and small hydraulic diameters usually have low thermal resistance and high pressure drop. For the rectangular microchannel, it has the best performance with the aspect ratio among 8.904–11.442. And among three kinds of microchannel, the rectangle has the lowest thermal resistance, followed by trapezoid and triangle microchannel. The channel number also affects the thermal resistance and pressure drop. The increase of channel number reduces the thermal resistance, but at the expense of high pressure drop. Under the condition of the same power consumption, the channel number has an optimum range.

The superhydrophobic surface on copper is fabricated by using a simple hydrothermal reaction and subsequent perfluorosilane treatment. The micro-structured and nano-structured surface was directly obtained through the hydrothermal reaction of copper sheets with sulfur at 180 °C for 12 h, resulting in the formation of copper sulfide film on the copper substrate. The chemical composition of this film was confirmed using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. After copper sulfide film is treated by perfluorosilane, the superhydrophobic surface with static water contact angle of 153 °C and a low contact angle hysteresis is achieved. The superhydrophobic surface shows strong mechanical stability and can effectively protect the copper substrate. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

A stage-structured prey–predator model with time delay and harve-sting is considered. Some novel sufficient conditions for the local stability of the positive equilibria are obtained by Routh–Hurwitz criteria. Moreover, the existence of a Hopf bifurcation at the coexistence equilibrium is established. Finally, the optimal harvesting problem is formulated and solved by Pontryagin’s maximum principle, and an example is given for illustration.

Canopy stomatal ozone (O3) flux (Fst,O3) in a plantation of Schima superba, an ecologically and economically important evergreen pioneer tree species in subtropical China, was quantified based on sap flow measurements during a 2-year period. Mean Fst,O3 and accumulated Fst,O3 (AFst0) were significantly higher in wet seasons from April to September (4.62 nmol m(-2) s(-1) and 35.37 mmol m(-2), respectively) than in dry seasons from October to March (3.90 nmol m(-2) s(-1) and 24.15 mmol m(-1), respectively), yet comparable between the 2 years of the experiment, being 4.23 nmol m(-2) s(-1) and 58.23 mmol m(-2) in April 2013-March 2014 and 4.29 nmol m(-2) s(-1) and 60.80 mmol m(-2) in April 2014-March 2015, respectively. At the diurnal scale, Fst,O3 generally peaked in the early to middle afternoon hours (13:00-15:00), while the maximum stomatal conductance (Gst,O3) typically occurred in the middle to late morning hours (09:00-11:00). Monthly integrated AFst0 reached the maximum in July, although accumulated O3 exposure (SUM0) was highest in October. Seasonally or yearly, the accumulated O3 doses, either exposure-based or flux-based, notably exceeded the currently adopted critical thresholds for the protection of forest trees. These results, on the one hand, demonstrated the decoupling between the stomatal uptake of O3 and its environmental exposure level; on the other hand, indicated the potential O3 risk for S. superba in the experimental site. Therefore, the present study endorses the use of sap flow measurements as a feasible tool for estimating Fst,O3, and the transition from the exposure-based toward flux-based metrics for assessing O3 risk for forest trees. Further studies are urgently needed to relate stomatal O3 uptake doses with tree growth reductions for an improved understanding of O3 effects on trees under natural conditions.

In this paper, a diffusive host-pathogen model with horizontal transmission and heterogeneous parameters is proposed and analyzed. We first prove the global existence of solution and a global attractor of the model. We then give the threshold dynamics for extinction and persistence of the disease. Our result suggests that by adding horizontal transmission, even a homogeneous case, the basic reproduction number is larger than the case without horizontal transmission mechanism. This may lead to over-evaluating the threshold role of the basic reproduction number. Finally, we also carry out the bifurcation analysis of steady state solutions by considering disease-induced mortality as the main bifurcation parameter, and such results can help us better understanding how it affects the spatial pattern of the pathogen.

Correction for ‘Assessment of the toxicity and inflammatory effects of different-sized zinc oxide nanoparticles in 2D and 3D cell cultures’ by Zhipan Wu, Rongfa Guan, Miao Tao et al., RSC Adv., 2017, 7, 12437–12445, DOI: 10.1039/C6RA27334C.

Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) is a crystalline polymer with a high melting temperature (Tm) and glass transition temperature (Tg). Because of its good barrier properties, it is widely used in food, chemical, pharmaceutical packaging, electronics and many other fields. But due to the large number of ester bonds in the main chain of PET macromolecules, it is easily degraded by strong acids, bases and water vapor, and lead to the decrease of physical and mechanical properties. In this paper, PET was immersed in three different solutions (water, sulfuric acid, sodium chloride) to accelerate the aging. Combining with the mechanical properties test, the change of mechanical properties of PET before and after solution aging was studied to provide reference for improving the aging properties of PET. The results show that the tensile strength of PET increased by 12.7MPa, the flexural strength increased by 18.8MPa, the elongation at break decreased from 290% to zero with the aging time of solution, and the change of notched impact strength and hardness was not significant.

Polyethylene terephthalate (PET) is widely used in food and pharmaceutical packaging. In the processing, storage and use of the process, it will inevitably be in contact with air at a certain temperature, resulting in thermal-oxidative aging. So in this paper, the hot air exposure test was used to investigate the changes of structure before and after thermal-oxidative aging of PET by means of FTIR, DSC, UV-visible spectroscopy and fluorescence spectroscopy. IR study found that, after thermal-oxidative aging, the trans conformation of PET increased, the cis content decreased, and the carboxyl content of PET increased slightly. DSC analysis showed that the melting temperature, crystallization temperature and crystallinity of PET increased after thermal-oxidative aging. The results of IR, UV/Vis and fluorescence spectra showed that the crystallinity of PET increased after thermal-oxidative aging, the color difference (C) and the transparency (T%) increased, the yellow index(YI) decreased and the content of trans conformation was higher.

Although several studies on the night-time water use of different plant species have been reported, comparative studies under the same climatic conditions of a region are scarce. This study aimed to analyse the inter- and intraspecific variations in night-time water use in relation to environmental factors and to tree morphological features to understand and elucidate the possible underlying mechanisms. The sap flow of three co-occurring tree species in a low subtropical secondary broadleaf forest in South China was monitored using Granier-style sap flux sensors. All examined environmental factors except wind speed exerted significant influence on the daytime sap flows of Schima superba, Castanopsis hystrix and Michelia macclurei, but the impacts of all factors, including wind speed, on the night-time sap flux were trivial. These results indicated that sap flow was mainly used for water recharge at night. The morphological features of the trees, except tree height, significantly affected the daytime water use, but no morphological features significantly affected the night-time water use. We found that night-time water recharge was strongly affected by the maximum flux density. A principal component analysis showed that there were more intraspecific than interspecific variations in water transport. The results also revealed that the night-time water use and the percentage of night/day (Qn/Qd) of photosynthetic stem species (C. hystrix and M. macclurei) were greater than those of non-photosynthetic stem species (S. superba)., Aiming to analyse the inter- and intraspecific variations in night-time water use, we used Granier-style sap flux sensors to monitor the sap flow of three co-occurring tree species in a low subtropical secondary broadleaf forest in South China. A principal component analysis showed that there were more intraspecific than interspecific variations in water transport. The results indicated that sap flow was mainly used for water recharge at night, and the night-time water use and the percentage of night/day (Qn/Qd) of photosynthetic stem species (Castanopsis hystrix and Michelia macclurei) were greater than those of non-photosynthetic stem species (Schima superba).