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AbstractContext Liuwei Dihuang pill (LWDH) has been used to treat postmenopausal osteoporosis (PMOP).Objective To explore the effects and mechanisms of action of LWDH in PMOP.Materials and methods Forty-eight female Sprague-Dawley rats were divided into four groups: sham-operated (SHAM), ovariectomized (OVX), LWDH high dose (LWDH-H, 1.6 g/kg/d) and LWDH low dose (LWDH-L, 0.8 g/kg/d); the doses were administered after ovariectomy via gavage for eight weeks. After eight weeks, the bone microarchitecture was evaluated. The effect of LWDH on the differentiation of bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs) was assessed via osteogenesis- and lipogenesis-induced BMSC differentiation. The senescence-related biological indices were also detected using senescence staining, cell cycle analysis, quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction and western blotting. Finally, the expression levels of autophagy-related proteins and Yes-associated protein (YAP) were evaluated.Results LWDH-L and LWDH-H significantly modified OVX-induced bone loss. LWDH promoted osteogenesis and inhibited adipogenesis in OVX-BMSCs. Additionally, LWDH decreased the positive ratio of senescence OVX-BMSCs and improved cell viability, cell cycle, and the mRNA and protein levels of p53 and p21. LWDH upregulated the expression of autophagy-related proteins, LC3, Beclin1 and YAP, in OVX-BMSCs and downregulated the expression of p62.Discussion and conclusions LWDH improves osteoporosis by delaying the BMSC senescence through the YAP-autophagy axis.

Background: Osteoporosis is a systemic bone disease characterized by bone loss and microstructural degeneration. Recent preclinical and clinical trials have further demonstrated that the transplantation of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) derived from human adipose tissue (AD), dental pulp (DP), placental amniotic membrane (AM), and umbilical cord (UC) tissues can serve as an effective form of cell therapy for osteoporosis. However, MSC-mediated osteoimmunology and the ability of these cells to regulate osteoclast-osteoblast differentiation varies markedly among different types of MSCs.Methods: In this study, we investigated whether transplanted allogeneic MSCs derived from AD, DP, AM, and UC tissues were able to prevent osteoporosis in an ovariectomy (OVX)-induced mouse model of osteoporosis. The homing and immunomodulatory ability of these cells as well as their effects on osteoblastogenesis and the maintenance of bone formation were compared for four types of MSCs to determine the ideal source of MSCs for the cell therapy-based treatment of OVX-induced osteoporosis. The bone formation and bone resorption ability of these four types of MSCs were analyzed using micro-computed tomography analyses and histological staining. In addition, cytokine array-based analyses of serological markers and bioluminescence imaging assays were employed to evaluate cell survival and homing efficiency. Immune regulation was determined by flow cytometer assay to reflect the mechanisms of osteoporosis treatment.Conclusion: These analyses demonstrated that MSCs isolated from different tissues have the capacity to treat osteoporosis when transplanted in vivo. Importantly, DP-MSCs infusion was able to maintain trabecular bone mass more efficiently with corresponding improvements in trabecular bone volume, mineral density, number, and separation. Among the tested MSC types, DP-MSCs were also found to exhibit greater immunoregulatory capabilities, regulating the Th17/Treg and M1/M2 ratios. These data thus suggest that DP-MSCs may represent an effective tool for the treatment of osteoporosis.

Source apportionment and risk assessment of soil heavy metals (HMs) are essential for pollution control. However, inherent limitations in receptor models hinder accurate source apportionment, impacting outcomes of source-oriented risk assessment. A hybrid model was employed by combining two receptor models, absolute principal component score/multiple linear regression (APCS/MLR) and positive matrix factorization (PMF) models. Four primary pollution sources were identified, followed by an assessment of source-oriented environmental and human health risks in the Huangshui River Basin. Results revealed that Cr, Cd, and Ni average concentrations surpassed their background by 3.1, 2.1, and 1.9 times, respectively. Additionally, 54.29%, 13.34%, and 18.09% of Igeo values for Cr, Cd, and Ni were classified as “moderately contamination” or higher. Natural sources significantly influence Cu (90.2%) and As (71.4%). Cr (63.4%) and Ni (77.9%) mainly originated from agriculture and industry, respectively. Transportation sources emerged as the primary contributors to Pb (59.6%), Zn (48.6%), and Cd (47.2%). The environmental risk level in this study area remained acceptable. Ecological risk was mainly attributed to industrial activities (46.6%) and transportation (37.6%), with Cd being the predominant metal responsible for this risk. Although the noncarcinogenic risk was negligible for all populations, the carcinogenic risk demands attention, particularly concerning children. Industrial sources (67.0%) and Ni were identified as the main contributors to the carcinogenic risk. This study represents an attempt to develop a hybrid model, providing an effective approach to combine models for the accurate apportionment of pollution sources and the reduction of risks.

Purpose: To investigate whether erythropoietin (EPO) can treat pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) in rats by regulating the differentiation and homing of bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs) through Notch1/Jagged signaling pathway. Materials & methods: BMSCs were isolated from the bone marrow of 6-week-old male SD rats by whole bone marrow method and identified. BMSCs were treated with 500 IU/mL EPO, and the proliferation, migration, invasion and differentiation ability, and the expression of MMP-2 and MMP-9 protein of BMSCs were detected in vitro. After the establishment of the pulmonary hypertension model in rats, BMSCs were intervened with different concentrations of EPO and injected into the rats through intravenous injection. The levels of TNF-α, IL-1β and IL-6 in lung tissue, the expression of SRY CXCR4, CCR2, Notch1 and Jagged protein in lung tissue, and the levels of TGF-α, vascular endothelial factor (VEGF), IGF-1 and HGF in serum were detected. Immunofluorescence (IF) staining was used to detect the co-localization of CD34. Results: EPO promoted the proliferation, migration, and invasion of BMSCs by inhibiting Notch1/Jagged pathway in vitro, and induced BMSCs to differentiate into vascular smooth muscle cells and vascular endothelial cells. EPO inhibited Notch1/Jagged pathway in PAH rats, induced BMSCs homing and differentiation, increased the levels of TGF-α, VEGF, IGF-1 and HGF, and decreased the levels of TNF-α, IL-1β and IL-6. Discussion & conclusion: EPO can inhibit the Notch1/Jagged pathway and promote the proliferation, migration, invasion, homing and differentiation of BMSCs to treat pulmonary hypertension in rats in vitro and in vivo.

Abstract Background Extrapelvic endometriosis occurring at skeletal muscle and joint sites is not rare and is prone to delayed diagnosis and inappropriate treatment. Herein, endometriosis of the skeletal muscular system (ESMS) is systematically reviewed to facilitate early diagnosis and treatment. Methods Literature on ESMS published before March 2022 was retrieved from the Ovid Medline and Web of Science databases, and the major clinical data were extracted for descriptive analysis. Results A total of 62 studies (78 ESMS cases) met these requirements. The ESMS included the abdominal muscles (50.7%), pelvic floor muscles (11.6%), lower limb muscles (11.6%), hip muscles (8.7%), lumbar muscles (7.2%), joints (5.8%), upper limb muscles (2.9%), and shoulder–neck muscles (1.4%). The age was 34.0 ± 7.2 years (range 17–49 years). Approximately 63.8% of patients had at least one previous pelvic surgery, and 76.8% of local symptoms were related to the menstrual cycle. The course of disease was 29.6 ± 25.4 months (range 0.5–96 months). Only 30.3% of the patients sought initial medical advice from gynecologists, while 69.7% sought initial medical advice from a nongynecological physician. Twenty-seven patients underwent fine-needle aspiration (FNA) under ultrasound or CT monitoring, and only 44.4% (12/27) were confirmed to have endometriosis by FNA tissue pathology. Approximately 47.4% (37/78) of the patients had a normal pelvic cavity appearance. Surgical resection was performed in 92.3% (72/78) of the patients, of whom 88.9% (64/72) underwent complete resection of the lesion (negative surgical margin) and 20.8% (15/72) received postoperative hormone therapy. At 16.7 months of follow-up, 83.3%, 13.8%, 2.9%, and four patients had complete response, partial response, recurrence, and permanent function impairment, respectively. Conclusion Endometriosis can occur at almost any site in the musculoskeletal system. For women of reproductive age with catamenial pain or a mass in the musculoskeletal system, endometriosis should be suspected. Fine-needle aspiration can easily lead to missed diagnoses. Surgical resection for negative margins is the main treatment, and permanent impairment of function may occur in a few patients due to delayed diagnosis. Vascular lymphatic metastasis is the most likely mechanism of pathogenesis.

The dual-band polarization-independent all-optical logic gate by coherent absorption effect in an amorphous silicon (a-Si) graphene metasurface is investigated theoretically and numerically. Taking the substrate effect into consideration, the coherent perfect absorption condition of the a-Si graphene metasurface is derived on the basis of the Cartesian multipole method. The coherent nearly perfect absorption of the a-Si graphene metasurface is realized by the interference of multipole moments and the interband transition of monolayer graphene, achieving peak values of 91% and 92% at 894.5 nm and 991.5 nm, respectively. The polarization independence of the coherent absorption is revealed due to the center symmetry of the structure of the a-Si graphene metasurface. The dual-band polarization-independent all-optical XOR and OR logic gates are implemented at 894.5 nm and 991.5 nm by the a-Si graphene metasurface based on the coherent nearly perfect absorption, which has the opportunity to be utilized in all-optical computing, all-optical data processing, and future all-optical networks.

Numerous geophysical studies have revealed the lithospheric structure of the Qiangtang and the Songpan-Ganzi terranes in the eastern Tibetan Plateau. However, crust–mantle evolution and crustal response to the Indian lithospheric subduction are still controversial. Answering these questions requires additional information regarding crustal structure. In this study, the 2-D normalized full gradient (NFG) of the Bouguer gravity anomaly was used to investigate anomalous sources and interpret the crustal structure underneath the Qiangtang and Songpan-Ganzi terranes. The NFG-derived structures with low-order harmonic numbers (N = 33 and N = 43) showed that an anomalous source beneath the southern Qiangtang terrane had a characteristic northeastward-dipping shape, suggesting the northeastward motion of the crustal material induced by underthrusting Indian lithospheric mantle. The NFG images with harmonic number N = 53 showed a large-scale anomalous source in the lower crust of the transformational zone from the Qiangtang terrane to the Songpan-Ganzi terrane, consistent with thickening crust and resistance of lower crustal flow. The anomalous source demonstrated by the NFG results with harmonic number N = 71, located in the upper crust underneath the Ganzi-Yushu fault, suggested a seismogenic body of the 2010 MW6.9 Yushu event.

Sichuan-Yunnan and its adjacent area are the main places where the eastward material flow from the Tibet Plateau escapes and spins to SE-SSE with active geological formations and frequent seismic activity. The study of the crustal structure and material transport characteristics of this region is important to reveal the mechanism of earthquake occurrence here. It can also deepen the understanding of the tectonic activity mechanism of the southeastern margin of the Tibet Plateau. This paper summarizes recent achievements and important advances in the study of regional Bouguer gravity anomaly and crustal density structure in Sichuan-Yunnan and its adjacent areas. (1) Bouguer gravity anomaly information of eight gravity profiles was obtained by using gravity and GNSS positioning techniques, and the basic framework of crustal density structure of the southeastern margin of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau and its adjacent areas was constructed by using gravity inversion techniques constrained by various geophysical observations. (2) New gravitational evidence of clockwise rotation of the Sichuan-Yunnan rhomboid massif was found through the separation and extraction of gravity signals by wavelet decomposition and normalized gradient. (3) Through the scientific research of the Yushu MS7.1, Lushan MS7.0 and Ludian MS6.5 earthquakes, we have deepened our understanding of the seismogenic tectonic environment in the southeastern margin of the Tibet Plateau. There are significant differences in density distribution on sides of the left-slip shear fault zone (Ganzi-Yushu, Xianshuihe and Xiaojiang) and the large thrust nappe structure (Longmen Shan), both of which are regional seismicity-controlled faults. The seismicity of the Ludian earthquake zone may be related to the eastward migration of the Xiaojiang fault zone. The nappe characteristics and detachment structure of the Longmenshan fault zone may be an important factor in the occurrence of the Lushan earthquake at the Houshan fault.

Abstract While the facilitated transport of heavy metals by colloids such as clay particles has been widely recognized, the influence of heavy metals on transport of the colloids has received much less attention. This study conducted saturated column experiments to systematically examine influence of multivalent heavy metal cations on transport of natural clay colloids and fullerene nC60 nanoparticles in glass bead porous media. Results showed that the presence of Cd2+ in the solution can cause more deposition of clay colloids in glass beads compared to Ca2+ at a given ionic strength (IS), and the subsequent release by IS reduction was less, demonstrating that the presence of Cd2+ increased the irreversibility of attachment. When the glass beads were initially adsorbed with Ca2+ and Cd2+, the release of clay colloids was significantly reduced due to strong cation bridge between the clay colloids and collector surfaces via the heavy metal cations. The release of clay colloids was significantly increased upon reduction of solution IS if the Na+ was used to exchange for the Ca2+ or Cd2+ before the IS reduction. Additional experiments showed that the nC60 nanoparticles that were deposited in the presence of Fe3+ and Cu2+ cannot be released by reduction of solution IS. However, the nanoparticle release occurred when the Ca2+ was used to exchange for the Fe3+ and Cu2+. Our work was the first to reveal the influence of heavy metal cations on the irreversibility of colloid attachment, and the findings have important implication to fabrication of functional nanomaterials for stabilization of heavy metals in soil and development of mathematic models for accurate prediction of cotransport of heavy metals and colloids in subsurface environments.

Previous studies show that the calculated loading effects from global ocean tide models do not match actual measurements of gravity attraction and loading effects in Southeast Asia. In this paper, taking advantage of a unique network of gravity tidal stations all over the Chinese mainland, we compare the observed and modeled tidal loading effects on the basis of the most recent global ocean tide models. The results show that the average efficiencies of the ocean tidal loading correction for O1, K1, M2 are 77%, 73% and 59%, respectively. The loading correction efficiencies using recent ocean tidal models are better than the 40 years old Schwiderskis model at coastal stations, but relative worse at stations far from ocean.

Cutaneous-wound healing requires a coordinated reaction of multiple cells, including interstitial cells. Impaired recovery of cutaneous wounds can lead to various adverse health outcomes. Kangfuxin (KFX), an extract obtained from Periplaneta americana, is beneficial in cutaneous-wound healing. In this study, we isolated dermal cells from suckling mice and established a mouse model of cutaneous injury to evaluate the therapeutic effects of KFX. Cell biology experiments indicated that treatment with KFX improved cell proliferation and migration and also repaired cutaneous wounds in the animal model. Activation of the signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) signaling pathway was the core molecular mechanism of KFX. Our study provides a theoretical and practical basis for the clinical application of KFX in cutaneous-wound healing.

As cultivated land quality has been paid more and more scientific attention, its connotation generalization and cognitive bias are widespread, bringing many challenges to the investigation and evaluation of regional cultivated land quality and its data analysis and mining. Establishing a systematic and interdisciplinary cognitive approach to cultivated land quality is urgent and necessary. Therefore, we explored and developed a conceptual framework of the model for the cultivated land quality analysis from the data perspective, including cultivated land quality ontology, mapping, correlation, and decision models. We identified the primary content of cultivated land quality perceptions and four cognitive mechanisms. We built vital technologies, such as the collaborative perception of the quality of cultivated land, intelligent treatment, diagnostic evaluation, and simulation prediction. Applying this analysis framework, we sorted out the frequency of indicators that characterize the function of cultivated land according to the literature in recent years and have built the cognitive system of cultivated land quality in the black soil region of Northeast China. The system’s central component was production capacity and it had three components: a foundation, a guarantee, and an effect. The black soil region cultivated land quality evaluation system has seven purposes involving 20–31 key indicators: production supply, threat control, farmland infrastructure regulation, cultivated land ecological maintenance, economics, social culture, and environmental protection. In various application contexts, the system had many critical supporting technologies. The results demonstrate that the framework has strong adaptability, efficiency, and scalability, which might offer a theoretical direction for further studies on the evaluation of the quality of cultivated land in the area. The analysis framework established in this study is helpful to deepen the understanding of cultivated land quality systems from the perspective of big data. Taking the big data of cultivated land quality as the driving force, combined with the technical methods of cultivated land quality analysis, the evaluation results of cultivated land quality under different scenarios and different objectives are optimized. In addition, the framework can serve the practice of farmland management and engineering improvement, adapt to the management needs of different objects and different scales, and achieve the combination of theory and practice.

In this paper, we present an open python procedure with Jupyter notebook, for data extraction and vectorization of geophysical exploration profile. Constrained by observation routes and traffic conditions, geophysical exploration profiles tend to bend curved roads for easy observation, however, it must be projected onto a straight line when data processing and analyzing. After projection, we don't know the true position of the obtained crustal structure. Nonetheless, when the results used as an initial constraint condition for other geophysical inversion, such as gravity inversion, we need to know the true position of the data rather than the distance to the starting point. We solved this problem by profile vectorization and reprojection. The method can be used for extraction data of various geophysical exploration profiles, such as seismic reflection profiles, gravity profiles. Keywords: Data extraction, Vectorization, Profile, Geophysical exploration, Python

Bacteria often respond to dynamic soil environment through the secretion of extracellular polymeric substances (EPS). The EPS modifies cell surface properties and soil pore-scale hydration status, which in turn, influences bacteria transport in soil. However, the effect of soil particle size and EPS-mediated surface properties on bacterial transport in the soil is not well understood. In this study, the simultaneous impacts of EPS and collector size on Escherichia coli (E. coli) transport and deposition in a sand column were investigated. E. coli transport experiments were carried out under steady-state flow in saturated columns packed with quartz sand with different size ranges, including 0.300–0.425 mm (sand-I), 0.212–0.300 mm (sand-II), 0.106–0.150 mm (sand-III) and 0.075–0.106 mm (sand-IV). Bacterial retention increased with decreasing sand collector size, suggesting that straining played an important role in fine-textured media. Both experiment and simulation results showed a clear drop in the retention rate of the bacterial population with the presence of additional EPS (200 mg L−1) (EPS+). The inhibited retention of cells in sand columns under EPS+ scenario was likely attributed to enhanced bacteria hydrophilicity and electrostatic repulsion between cells and sand particles as well as reduced straining. Calculations of the extended Derjaguin-Landau-Verwey-Overbeek (XDLVO) interactions energies revealed that high repulsive energy barrier existed between bacterial cells and sand particles in EPS+ environment, primarily due to high repulsive electrostatic force and Lewis acid-base force, as well as low attractive Lifshitz-van der Waals force, which retarded bacterial population deposition. Steric stabilization of EPS would also prevent the approaching of cells close to the quartz surface and thereby hinder cell attachment. This study was the first to show that EPS reduced bacterial straining in saturated porous media. These findings provide new insight into the functional effects of extrinsic EPS on bacterial transport behavior in the saturated soil environment, e.g., aquifers.

Abstract Background Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) have been extensively explored as a promising therapeutic agent in the field of bone tissue engineering due to their osteogenic differentiation ability. In this study, the osteogenic differential ability and the effect of fibronectin and laminin on the osteogenic differentiation in four types of MSCs derived from placental tissue are compared to determine the ideal source for bone reconstruction tissue engineering. Results The present study examines the osteogenic differentiation levels of four types of MSCs using alizarin red staining and quantifies the calcium levels and alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity. In addition, this study examines the osteoblast differentiation protein markers osterix, collagen I, osteopontin, and osteocalcin using a Western blot assay. qPCR and EdU labeling assays were employed to identify the kinetics of osteogenic differentiation. Calcium deposit levels, ALP activity, and osteopontin and osteocalcin concentrations were determined to confirm the role of Extracellular matrix (ECM) components role on the osteogenic differentiation of MSCs. The data demonstrated that MSCs isolated from different layers of placenta had different potentials to differentiate into osteogenic cells. Importantly, AM-MSCs and UC-MSCs differentiated into the osteoblast stage more efficiently and quickly than CM-MSCs and DC-MSCs, which was associated with a decrease in their proliferation ability. Among the different types of MSCs, AM-MSCs and UC-MSCs had a higher osteogenic differentiation potential induced by fibronectin due to enhanced phosphorylation during the Akt and ERK pathways. Conclusions Taken together, these results indicate that AM-MSCs and UC-MSCs possess a higher osteogenic potential, and fibronectin can robustly enhance the osteogenic potential of the Akt and ERK pathways.

This study conducted laboratory column experiments to systematically examine the transport of novel heteroaggregates of montmorillonite (Mt) microparticles with nanoscale zerovalent irons (nZVIs) in saturated sand at solution ionic strengths (ISs) ranging from 0.001 to 0.2 M. Spherical nZVIs were synthesized using the liquid phase reduction method and were attached on the plate-shaped Mt surfaces in monolayer. While complete deposition occurred for nZVIs in sand, significant transport was observed for Mt-nZVI heteroaggregates at IS ≤ 0.01 M despite the transport decrease with an increasing loading concentration of nZVIs on Mt. The increased mobility of Mt-nZVI heteroaggregates was because the attractions between nZVIs and sand collectors were reduced by the electrostatic repulsions between the Mt and the collector surfaces, which led to a decreased deposition in the sand columns. Complete deposition occurred for the Mt-nZVI heteroaggregates at IS ≥ 0.1 M due to a favorable deposition at Derjaguin–Landau–Verwey–Overbeek (DLVO) primary energy minima. Interestingly, a large fraction of the deposited heteroaggregates was released by reducing IS because of a monotonic decrease of interaction energy with separation distance for the heteroaggregates at low ISs (resulting in repulsive forces), in contrast to the irreversible deposition of nZVIs. Therefore, the fabricated heteroaggregates could also have high mobility in subsurfaces with saline pore water through continuous capture and release using multiple injections of water with low ISs. Our study was the first to examine the transport of heteroaggregates of a plate-like particle with spherical nanoparticles in porous media; the results have important implications in the use of nanoscale zerovalent iron for in situ soil and groundwater remediation.

Soils in black soil areas are high in organic matter and rich in nutrients. Soil microorganisms are particularly critical to cultivated land. The objective of this study was to explore the influencing factors of soil bacterial diversity under special regional conditions in a black soil region. In this study, the cultivated land in a black soil area was used as the study area and a random forest was used to map the bacterial abundance in the black soil area based on 1810 sample points. DbMEM analysis was used to quantify the spatial effect of the black soil area and to identify the influencing factors of soil bacterial abundance in the black soil area in combination with soil properties, terrain, and climate. Results of a variation division showed that broad (8.336%), AT (accumulated temperature, 5.520%), and pH (4.184%) were the main factors affecting soil bacterial diversity. The broad effect was more significant in the spatial effect, which may be related to the local landscape configuration. Overall, our research showed that the influencing factors of soil bacteria will be affected by regional characteristics.

Many viruses, such as severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), have a structure consisting of spikes protruding from an underlying spherical surface. Research in biological and colloidal sciences has revealed secrets of why spikes exist on virus surfaces.

Nanoscale zerovalent iron (nZVI) has shown great promise for water treatment and soil remediation. However, the rapid aggregation of nZVIs significantly affects their mobility and reactivity, which considerably limits the practical applications. Montmorillonite- (Mt-) supported nZVI (Mt-nZVI) has received increasing attention for the past decade because it can prevent the aggregation of nZVI and incorporate the advantages of both nZVI and Mt in soil and water treatment. This work thus had a comprehensive review on the use of Mt-nZVI for soil and water treatment. We first summarized existing methods used to prepare Mt-nZVI, indicating the advantages of using Mt to support nZVI (e.g., increase of the dispersion and mobility of nZVI, reduction of the size and oxidation tendency of nZVI). We then presented the reaction mechanisms of Mt-nZVI for contaminant removal and evaluated the critical factors that influence the removal (e.g., pH, temperature, and dosage of the adsorbent). We further presented examples of applications of Mt-nZVI for the removal of typical contaminants such as heavy metals and organic compounds in soil and water. We finally discussed the limitations of the use of Mt-nZVI for water treatment and soil remediation and presented future directions for the application of nZVI technology for soil and water treatment.

Abstract Understanding the influence of soil‐borne hydrogels (e.g., bacterial extracellular polymeric substances [EPS] and biofilm or root‐derived mucilage) on soil hydraulic properties is crucial for accurate modeling of flow and transport in porous media. The underlying mechanisms of how hydrogels modify soil physical and hydraulic properties, however, remain unclear. In this study, we applied a roughness‐triangular pore space model (R‐TPSM) to simulate water retention curve and hydraulic conductivity of hydrogel‐affected soils. The model considers the effective soil pore size distribution and physicochemical properties (e.g., surface tension and surface roughness) of soil and soil solution. The modeling results are in good agreement with measured water retention curves and hydraulic conductivity for different textured soils. Comparison of the fitted model parameters between control and hydrogel‐treated soil samples indicates that hydrogels reduce surface tension and shift the effective pore size distribution to a narrower size range. Hydrogels generally increase water retention in the form of adsorptive films and reduce film flow under relatively dry conditions. This study highlights the importance of considering reduced surface tension and mean pore size by hydrogels in changing soil hydraulic properties, which has important implications for accurate modeling of water distribution and flow in the rhizosphere.

ABSTRACT Knowledge of the soil water retention curve (SWRC) is critical to mathematical modeling of soil water dynamics in the vadose zone. Traditional SWRC models were developed based on bundles of cylindrical capillaries (BCCs) using a residual water content, which fail to accurately describe the dry end of the curve. This study improved and expanded on the traditional BCC models. Specifically, the total water retention was treated as a weighed superposition of capillary and adsorptive components. We proposed a mathematical continuous expression for water retention from saturation to oven dryness, which also allowed for a partition of capillary and adsorptive retention. We further evaluated six capillary retention functions using different probability laws for pore‐size distribution—namely, the log‐logistic, Weibull, lognormal, two‐parameter van Genuchten (VG), three‐parameter VG (or Dagum), and Fredlund–Xing (FX) distributions. Model testing against 144 experimental data showed better agreement of the proposed model with experimental observations than the traditional approaches that use the residual water content. The Dagum and FX distributions, which have one more degree of freedom, provided better agreement with experimental data than the other four distributions. The log‐logistic and lognormal distributions fitted the experimental data better than the Weibull and VG distribution for loam soils. In addition, the fitted weighting factor w using the log‐logistic and lognormal distributions better correlated to soil clay content than the other four distributions. Our study suggests that the log‐logistic and lognormal distributions are more suitable to model soils’ pore‐size distribution than other tested distributions.

In this paper, we calculated Bouguer gravity anomalies and Airy-Heiskanen isostatic anomalies in the New Britain Trench and surrounding areas of Papua New Guinea. The calculations are based on a topographic model and a gravity anomaly model from the Scripps Institute of Oceanography. Characteristics of the isostatic anomaly and the earthquake dynamic environment of this region are analyzed, and the results show that there are obvious differences in the isostatic state between each block in the region. Tectonic movements are very intense in regions with high positive or negative isostatic gravity anomalies, and a number of sub-plates in this area are driven by external tectonic action, such as plate subduction and thrusting, of the Pacific, Indo-Australian and Eurasian plates. From the distribution of the isostatic gravity anomaly, the tectonic action of anti-isostatic movement obviously is the main source of power. Based on isostatic gravity and spatial distribution of earthquakes in the region, it is obvious that further contraction of the Indo-Australian Plate will result in the southwestern part of the Solomon Plate becoming part of the Owen Stanley thrust belt, and the northern part will enter the lower part of the Bismarck Plate. The eastern part of the Solomon Plate will enter the front of the Pacific Plate, resulting in northward and eastward migration of significant earthquakes along the Solomon Plate. Keywords: Papua New Guinea, New Britain Trench, Earthquake, Bouguer gravity anomaly, Isostatic gravity anomaly

Abstract Background Adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cells (ADSCs) have been extensively explored as a promising therapeutic agent due to their differentiation, proliferation and migration abilities. The epigenetic mechanisms that regulate the fate of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) have been described in detail. However, the epigenetic modulation of ADSCs proliferation and migration is poorly understood. Methods The present study examined histone demethylases roles and expression by RT-PCR, as well as through siRNA screening and ChIP-qPCR assay. Cellular proliferation and migration assays were employed in shRNA-mediated JMJD6 knockdown and control ADSCs. PDE1C inhibition studies were conducted to confirm its role in JMJD6-mediated epigenetic regulation of ADSCs. Results The data demonstrate that the histone demethylase JMJD6 plays a critical role in regulating the proliferation and migration of ADSCs by removing H4R3me2a at the promoter regions of PDEC1 and suppressing PDEC1 expression. Importantly, the depletion of JMJD6 in ADSCs significantly increased cellular proliferation and motility, which was associated with increases in PDE1C expression and decreases in the levels of both cAMP and cGMP. The increase in proliferation and migration was reversed by treatment with a PDE1C inhibitor, suggesting that JMJD6 attenuates the proliferation and migration of ADSCs as an epigenetic regulator and PDE1C partially contributes to the JMJD6-mediated regulation. Conclusions Taken together, our results indicate for the first time that JMJD6 plays an important role in the regulation of ADSCs proliferation and migration through the modulation of PDE1C expression.

A plasmonic near-infrared multiple-channel filter is numerically and experimentally investigated based on a gold periodic composite nanocavities metasurface. By the interference among different excited plasmonic modes on the metasurface, the multipeak extraordinary optical transmission (EOT) phenomenon is induced and utilized to realize multiple-channel filtering. Investigated from the simulated transmission spectrum of the metasurface, the positions and intensity of transmission peaks are tuned by the geometrical parameters of the metasurface and environmental refractive index. The fabricated metasurface approached transmission peaks at 1128 nm, 1245 nm, and 1362 nm, functioning as a three-passbands filter. With advantages of brief single-layer fabrication and multi-frequency selectivity, the proposed plasmonic filter has potential possibilities of integration in nano-photonic switching, detecting and biological sensing systems.

The Barkam–Jiuzhaigou–Wuqi gravity profile extends across the Jiuzhaigou Ms7.0 earthquake (in 2017) zone and passes through several historical big earthquakes’ zones. We have obtained Bouguer gravity anomalies along the profile composed of 365 gravity observation stations with Global Positioning System (GPS) coordinates, analyzed the observed data and inverted subsurface density structure. The results show that the Moho depth has a big lateral variation from southwest to northeast, which shallows from 57 km to 43 km with maximum variation up to 14 km within 800 km. The most acute depth change of the Moho is in the boundary region between the Bayan Har block and West Qinling–Qilian block. According to our analysis, it is related to the eastward movement of the Bayan Har block. There are three main pieces of evidence that support it: (1) Density is higher in the east of the Bayan Har block and smaller in the west, which is the same as seismic activity; (2) Two thin low-density layers exist in the upper and middle crust of the Bayan Har block, which may promote inter-layer slip and the Jiuzhaigou Ms7.0 earthquake occurred in the boundary area of the two low-density layers, where the crustal density and Moho surface fluctuate sharply; (3) the GPS velocity field in the southwestern part gravity profile is significantly larger than that of the northeastern part, which is consistent with the density structure. Our studies also suggest that the large undulation of the Moho prevents the movement of the Bayan Har block, and strain is prone to accumulate here. The dynamic background analysis of the crust in this area indicates that the Moho surface uplifts in the West Qinling–Qilian block, which decelerates the eastern migration of material on the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau, and leads to the weak tectonic activity of the north part of the Bayan Har block.

North China is a key region for studying geophysical progress. In this study, ground-based and Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) gravity data from 2009 to 2013 are used to calculate the gravity change rate (GCR) using the polynomial fitting method. In general, the study area was divided into the Shanxi rift, Jing-Jin-Ji (Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei Province), and Bohai Bay Basin (BBB) regions. Results of the distribution of the GCR determined from ground-based gravimetry show that the GCR appears to be “negative-positive-negative” from west to east, which indicates that different geophysical mechanisms are involved in the tectonic activities of these regions. However, GRACE solutions are conducted over a larger spatial scale and are able to show a difference between southern and northern areas and a mass redistribution of land water storage.

Understanding the dispersivity and migration of cellulose nanocrystals (CNCs) in porous media is important for exploring their potential for soil and water remediation. In this study, a series of saturated column experiments were conducted to investigate the coupled effects of ionic strength, iron oxides (hematite), and soil colloids on the transport of CNCs through quartz sand and natural soils (red earth and brown earth). Results showed that CNCs had high mobility in oxide-free sand and that iron oxide coating reduced the mobility of CNCs. An analysis of Derjaguin-Landau-Verwey-Overbeek interactions indicated that CNCs exhibited a deep primary minimum, nonexistent maximum repulsion and secondary minimum on hematite-coated sand, favorable for the attachment of CNCs. The maximum effluent percentage of CNCs was 96% in natural soils at 5 mM, but this value decreased to 4% at 50 mM. Soil colloids facilitated the transport of CNCs in brown earth with larger effect at higher ionic strength. The ionic strength effect was larger in natural soils than sand and in red earth than brown earth. The study showed that CNCs can travel 0.2 m to 72 m in porous media, depending on soil properties, solution chemistry, and soil colloids.

Understanding nanoparticle (NP) attachment inside narrow passages such as the pore throats of porous media and plant and animal tissues is critically important to assess the potential ecological and toxicological impact of NPs. This study investigated the attachment of a NP inside a cylindrical nano-sized channel with finite wall thickness at various ionic strengths (ISs) by calculating the Derjaguin–Landau–Verwey–Overbeek (DLVO) interaction energy using a modified surface element integration technique. Results show that there is a critical value of the ratio of the inner channel diameter to NP diameter (RCN) at which the repulsive energy barrier reaches a maximum at a given IS and NP transport is most favored. A non-monotonic variation of the energy barrier with IS was observed for RCNs smaller than the critical value. The repulsive energy barrier disappears at all ISs when the NP diameter is close to the inner channel diameter, resulting in favorable attachment at primary minima. The attached NP cannot be detached in these cases by a disturbance of system conditions because of increased primary-minimum depths and accordingly enhanced adhesive forces. For a given RCN, decreasing the channel thickness can increase and decrease the interaction energy barrier and primary-minimum depth for a NP inside the channel, respectively. Accordingly, NP attachment in primary minima is inhibited whereas transport is favored in channels with thin walls. These theoretical results provide plausible explanations of experimental observations that the retention of colloids in pore throats of porous media via straining is chemically favorable (i.e., no repulsive energy barrier exists) even at very low ISs and irreversible to reduction of the solution IS, and that NPs are favorably attached in narrow passages such as plant tissues and membrane pores.

Saturated column experiments were conducted to systematically examine transport of graphene oxide nanoparticles (GONPs) in sand porous media at different solution ionic strengths (ISs) with different flow velocities. Results show that deposition of GONPs increase with decreasing IS. However, the Derjaguin–Landau–Verwey–Overbeek (DLVO) interaction energy calculations using a surface element integration technique show that the energy barrier increases with increasing IS for the sheet-shaped colloids interacting with a planar sand surface. In contrast, the presence of nanoscale protruding asperities (NPAs) can cause a decrease in the energy barrier with increasing IS, which facilitates the attachment in primary minima at higher IS. At a given IS, increasing flow velocity increases attachment efficiency on the rough sand surfaces. Torque analysis shows that the maximum hydrodynamic torques are smaller than the adhesive torques, even for GONPs located on the NPAs where the adhesions are the lowest. Consequently, the attachment efficiency cannot be reduced by increasing flow velocity. Additional column experiments confirm that deposited GONPs cannot be detached by increasing flow velocity. Conversely, increase of flow velocity may enhance approaching of GONPs in low-flow regions such as concave areas of sand surfaces and subsequent attachment. Although it has been recognized in the literature that the presence of NPAs can cause decrease of attachment efficiency with increasing flow velocity for spherical colloids under both unfavorable and favorable chemical conditions, our results highlight a different role of surface roughness in attachment and detachment of sheet-shaped colloids under unfavorable conditions.

In this study, we analyzed the gravity and, magnetic characteristics, and the occurrence of a fault zone and discussed the relationships between the two locations. The results reveal that the subsurface structures strikes are different compared with those in the research region. In other words, the geophysical advantageous directions from the gravity and magnetic anomalies are not the same as those caused by the surface structures. The local horizontal gradient results from the gravity and magnetic anomalies show that the majority of earthquakes occur along an intense fault zone, which is a zone of abrupt gravity and negative magnetic change, where the shapes match very well. From the distribution of earthquakes in this area, we find that it has experienced more than 11 earthquake events with magnitude larger than Ms7.0. In addition, water development sites such as Jinshajiang, Lancangjiang, and the Red River and Pearl River watersheds have been hit ten times by earthquakes of this magnitude. It is observed that strong earthquakes occur frequently in the Holocene active fault zone.

The North–South Seismic Belt (NSSB) is a Chinese tectonic boundary with a very complex structure, showing a sharp change in several geophysical field characteristics. To study these characteristics and their relationship with the distribution of earthquakes and faults in the study area, we first analyze the spatial gravity anomaly to achieve the Bouguer gravity anomaly (EGM2008 BGA) and the regional gravity survey Bouguer gravity anomaly. Next, we ascertain the Moho depth and crustal thickness of the study area using interface inversion with the control points derived from the seismic and magnetotelluric sounding profiles achieved in recent years. In this paper, we summarize the relief, trend, Moho gradient, and crustal nature, in addition to their relationship with the distribution of earthquakes and faults in the study area. The findings show that earthquakes with magnitudes greater than Ms7.0 are mainly distributed in the Moho Bouguer anomaly variation belt and faults. The results of the study are important for future research on tectonic characteristics, geological and geophysical surveys, and seismicity patterns.

By using GPS and gravity data before and after the Wenchuan Ms8.0 earthquake and combining data from geological surveys and geophysical inversion studies, an initial coseismic fault model is constructed. The dip angle changes of the fault slip distribution on the fault plane are inversed, and the inversion results show that the shape of the fault resembles a double-shovel. The Yingxiu–Beichuan Fault is approximately 330 km long, the surface fault dip angle is 65.1°, which gradually reduces with increasing depth to 0° at the detachment layer at a depth of 19.62 km. The Guanxian–Jiangyou Fault is approximately 90 km long, and its dip angle at the surface is 55.3°, which gradually reduces with increasing depth; the fault joins the Yingxiu–Beichuan Fault at 13.75 km. Coseismic slip mainly occurs above a depth of 19 km. There are five concentrated rupture areas, Yingxiu, Wenchuan, Hanwang, Beichuan, and Pingwu, which are consistent with geological survey results and analyses of the aftershock distribution. The rupture mainly has a thrust component with a small dextral strike–slip component. The maximum slip was more than 10 m, which occurred near Beichuan and Hanwang. The seismic moment is 7.84 × 1020 Nm (Mw7.9), which is consistent with the seismological results.

The North–South Seismic Belt was analyzed using gravity observation data from 2011 to 2015, and the nontidal analysis results show that there was a nonlinear gravity change at both the Chengdu and Guza seismostations one month before the Leshan M5.0 earthquake.

The Derjaguin-Landau-Verwey-Overbeek (DLVO) interaction energy profile has been frequently used to interpret the mechanisms controlling colloid attachment/detachment and aggregation/disaggregation behavior. This study highlighted a type of energy profile that is characterized by a shallow primary energy well (i.e., comparable to the average kinetic energy of a colloid) at a small separation distance and a monotonic decrease of interaction energy with separation distance beyond the primary energy well. This energy profile is present due to variations of height, curvature, and density of discrete physical heterogeneities on collector surfaces. The energy profile indicates that colloids can be spontaneously detached from the shallow primary energy well by Brownian diffusion. The spontaneous detachment from primary minima was unambiguously confirmed by conducting laboratory column transport experiments involving flow interruptions for two model colloids (polystyrene latex microspheres) and engineered nanoparticles (fullerene C60 aggregates). Whereas the spontaneous detachment has been frequently attributed to attachment in secondary minima in the literature, our study indicates that the detached colloids could be initially attached at primary minima. Our study further suggests that the spontaneous disaggregation from primary minima is more significant than spontaneous detachment because the primary minimum depth between colloid themselves is lower than that between a colloid and a collector surface.

Surface co-seismic gravity changes and displacements caused by the Wenchuan Ms8. 0 earthquake are calculated on the basis of the half-space dislocation theory and two fault models inversed, respectively, by Institute of Geophysics, CEA and USGS. The results show that 1) the dislocation consists of dip slip and right-lateral strike slip; 2) the co-seismic gravity change shows a four-quadrant pattern, which is greatly controlled by the distribution of the vertical displacements, especially in the near-filed; 3) the gravity change is generally less than 10 × 10−8 ms−2 in the far-field, but as high as several 100 × 10−8 ms−2in the near-filed. These results basically agree with observational results.

Human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs) have potential applications in cell replacement therapy and regenerative medicine. However, limited information is available regarding the immunologic features of iPSCs. In this study, expression of MHC and T cell co-stimulatory molecules in hiPSCs, and the effects on activation, proliferation and cytokine production in allogeneic human peripheral blood mononuclear cells were examined. We found that no-integrate hiPSCs had no MHC-II and T cell co-stimulatory molecules expressions but had moderate level of MHC-I and HLA-G expressions. In contrast to human skin fibroblasts (HSFs) which significantly induced allogeneic T cell activation and proliferation, hiPSCs failed to induce allogeneic CD45+ lymphocyte and CD8+ T cell activation and proliferation but could induce a low level of allogeneic CD4+ T cell proliferation. Unlike HSFs which induced allogeneic lymphocytes to produce high levels of IFN-γ, TNF-α and IL-17, hiPSCs only induced allogeneic lymphocytes to produce IL-2 and IL-10, and promote IL-10-secreting regulatory T cell (Treg) generation. Our study suggests that the integration-free hiPSCs had low or negligible immunogenicity, which may result from their induction of IL-10-secreting Treg.