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Abstract Background Cancer cachexia is a multifactorial metabolic syndrome characterized by systemic inflammation and ongoing skeletal muscle loss resulting in weakness, poor quality of life, and decreased survival. Whereas lipid accumulation in skeletal muscle is associated with cancer cachexia as well as the prognosis of cancer patients, surprisingly little is known about the nature of the lipids that accumulate in the muscle during cachexia, and whether this is related to inflammation. We aimed to identify the types and distributions of intramyocellular lipids in patients with and without cancer cachexia. Methods Rectus abdominis muscle biopsies were collected during surgery of patients with pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (n = 10 without cachexia, n = 20 cachectic without inflammation (CRP

Objective Embryonic interferon-tau (IFNT) and progesterone affect expression of interferon-stimulated genes (ISGs), progesterone receptor (PGR) and progesterone-induced blocking factor (PIBF) in the ovine thyroid. Methods Thyroids of ewes were sampled at day 16 of nonpregnancy, days 13, 16, and 25 of pregnancy, and real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction assay, western blot and immunohistochemistry were used to detect expression of ISGs, PGR, and PIBF. Results Free ISG15 protein was undetected, but ISG15 conjugated proteins upregulated at day 16 of pregnancy, and expression levels of ISG15 conjugated proteins, PGR isoform (70 kDa), PIBF, interferon-gamma-inducible protein 10 and myxovirusresistance protein 1 peaked, but expression level of signal transducer and activator of transcription 1 was the lowest at day 16 of pregnancy. In addition, the expression levels of PGR isoform (70 kDa) and signal transducer and activator of transcription 1 (STAT1) decreased, but levels of PGR isoform (43 kDa), 2′,5′-oligoadenylate synthetase, IP-10 and MX1 increased at day 25 of pregnancy comparing with day 16 of the estrous cycle. Conclusion Early pregnancy affects expression of ISGs, PGR, and PIBF in maternal thyroid through IFNT and progesterone, which may regulate thyroid autoimmunity and thyroid hormone secretion in ewes.

IntroductionPrevious systematic review has shown that individuals with more comprehensive dietary knowledge tend to engage in healthier eating patterns among American or European population. However, research on the association between dietary knowledge based on the Chinese Dietary Guidelines and healthy dietary behaviors, particularly among adolescents and college students in China, is lacking. This study aimed to examine the association between dietary knowledge based on the Chinese Dietary Guidelines and adherence to healthy dietary behaviors among adolescents and college students in China.MethodsA cross-sectional study was conducted in China in August and October 2023. The study involved 527 adolescents and 11,856 college students. A convenience and cluster sampling methodology was employed to select one or two grades from 33 different university majors. The dietary behaviors of college students were evaluated by assessing their consumption of nine food groups: water, eggs, milk and milk products, vegetables, fruit, red meat, soy and soy products, seafood, and sugar-sweetened beverages. The dietary behaviors of adolescents were evaluated by assessing their consumption of five food groups: fast food, salty snack foods, fruits, vegetables, and soft drinks and sugared fruit beverages. The participants’ dietary knowledge was assessed using the Chinese Dietary Guidelines. The relationship between dietary knowledge and behaviors was examined using a multivariate logistic regression analysis.ResultsThe questionnaire response rate was 100.0%. Multivariate logistic regression analysis revealed a significant positive association between dietary knowledge and the likelihood of exhibiting diverse dietary behaviors among college students. After adjusting for gender, age, family income, place of residence, and parents’ education levels, the results demonstrated a positive association between dietary knowledge and adherence to 4–8 eating habits among college students. In contrast, similar association was not observed among adolescent.ConclusionThis study revealed a significant association between dietary knowledge based on the Guidelines and adherence to healthy dietary behaviors among college students in China. That is to say, the higher the level of dietary knowledge based on the Guidelines among college students, the healthier the dietary behaviors they tend to adopt in their daily lives. These findings indicate the necessity of developing educational interventions based on the Guidelines to enhance dietary knowledge among individuals with limited dietary knowledge. Such interventions could facilitate the acquisition of essential health-related knowledge and strengthen motivation to engage in healthy dietary behaviors. Future studies should employ longitudinal prospective designs or randomized controlled trials in order to establish a causal association between dietary knowledge based on the Guidelines and healthy dietary behaviors.

The hydrological dynamics and sources of karst tidal springs are difficult to capture and quantify due to fluctuations in their flow velocity. In this study, the Laolongshui (LLS) karst tidal spring in the Maocun underground river basin of Guilin City was taken as an example, with a 2-year continuous monitoring of the electrical conductivity, and water level, as well as water chemical analysis. The results showed the following: (1) discovered the variation pattern of LLS water level in different seasons, the water level fluctuates regularly on a daily scale, with a rise and fall time of 43.6 min after heavy rainfall in the rainy season, while in the dry season, it lasts for about 74–80 h. (2) Four peaks were extracted from the frequency distribution of electrical conductivity, representing the response of springwater under different rainfall conditions. (3) The annual average frequencies of the occurrence of P1, P2, P3, and P4 in terms of time are 53.82, 39.29, 6.18, and 0.72%, respectively. The results provide a new method for analyzing groundwater's source and dynamic changes in karst areas. HIGHLIGHTS Two years of automatic continuous monitoring illustrated the water level fluctuation of a typical karst tidal spring.; Explaining the forming mechanism of karst tidal springs.; The frequency distribution of conductivity quantified the source of karst water.; Providing a fast and low-cost new method for identifying karst water sources.; Enriching groundwater investigation methods and understanding of underground structures.;

Natural rubber is a critical material that is essential to industry and transportation. In order to reduce the cost of rubber tapping and improve the efficiency and profitability of rubber production, the 4GXJ-2 portable electric rubber cutter and automatic rubber tapping robot have been developed. In their vibration tool holder, the planetary rotor with variable speed self rotation and uniform eccentric revolution is the most important transmission component, and its instability will cause irregular vibration of the tapping tool, thereby reducing the accuracy of vibration cutting and increasing noise. Base on the ANCF (Absolute Nodal Coordinate Formulation) 3D-beam element and 3D REF (3D Ring on Elastic Foundation), a novel eccentric 3D REF model of a planetary rotor is proposed. By introducing multiple coordinate systems, the coupled motion of uniform eccentric revolution, variable speed self rotation and flexible deformation is decomposed and the influences of these motions on the centrifugal force and Coriolis force are more clearly derived. The model is degraded and validated by comparing with other examples of a rotating circular ring model and uniformly eccentrically revolving annular plate. According to the Floquet theory and Runge−Kutta method, the unstable region of revolution speed of a planetary rotor in rubber tapping machinery is predicted as [817 rad/s, 909 rad/s], [1017 rad/s, 1095 rad/s] and [1263 rad/s,1312 rad/s]. Compared with the rubber-tapping experiment of rubber tapping machinery, the validity of the proposed model is further verified. This model provides important design references for the speed settings of those rubber tapping machines.

The improvement of in vitro embryo development is a gateway to enhance the output of assisted reproductive technologies. The Wnt and Hippo signaling pathways are crucial for the early development of bovine embryos. This study investigated the development of bovine embryos under the influence of a Hippo signaling agonist (LPA) and a Wnt signaling inhibitor (DKK1). In this current study, embryos produced in vitro were cultured in media supplemented with LPA and DKK1. We comprehensively analyzed the impact of LPA and DKK1 on various developmental parameters of the bovine embryo, such as blastocyst formation, differential cell counts, YAP fluorescence intensity and apoptosis rate. Furthermore, single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) was employed to elucidate the in vitro embryonic development. Our results revealed that LPA and DKK1 improved the blastocyst developmental potential, total cells, trophectoderm (TE) cells and YAP fluorescence intensity and decreased the apoptosis rate of bovine embryos. A total of 1203 genes exhibited differential expression between the control and LPA/DKK1-treated (LD) groups, with 577 genes upregulated and 626 genes downregulated. KEGG pathway analysis revealed significant enrichment of differentially expressed genes (DEGs) associated with TGF-beta signaling, Wnt signaling, apoptosis, Hippo signaling and other critical developmental pathways. Our study shows the role of LPA and DKK1 in embryonic differentiation and embryo establishment of pregnancy. These findings should be helpful for further unraveling the precise contributions of the Hippo and Wnt pathways in bovine trophoblast formation, thus advancing our comprehension of early bovine embryo development.

All-natural rubber is harvested from rubber trees (Hevea brasiliensis Muell. Arg.) by traditional tapping knives, so rubber tapping still heavily relies on labor. Therefore, this study explored a novel, hand-held mechanical rubber tapping machine for rubber tree harvesting. In this study, a mechanical tapping cutter with a vertical blade and adjustable guide was first described. The response surface method was applied to evaluate factors affecting the tapping effect. The experimental values were in close agreement with the predicted value. Machine-tapped latex was comparable in quality to hand-tapped latex. Based on the single-factor results, the response surface method (RSM) and the center combined rotation design (CCRD) optimization method were adopted to explore the influence of three factors influencing vertical blade height (A), cutting force (B), and spiral angle (C) on the tapping effect. Regarding the cutting rate of the old rubber line (Y1), cutting time (Y2), latex flow rate (Y3), and average cutting current (Y4) as evaluation indexes of the tapping effect, an optimization scheme was determined. The quadratic model fits for all the responses. The test results showed that the main factors affecting Y1, Y2, Y3, and Y4 were A and B, B, A and C, and B, respectively. Under optimal conditions, the influencing factors of A, B, and C were 10.24 mm, 51.67 N, and 24.77°, respectively, when the evaluation index values of Y1, Y2, Y3, and Y4 were 98%, 8.65 mL/5 min, 9.00 s, and 1.16 A. The range of the relative error between the experimental and predicted results was from −11.11% to 11.11%. According to the optimized treatment scheme, a comparison test was designed between mechanical and manual rubber tapping tools. To verify the availability and effect of the mechanical tapping method preliminarily, the important rubber tapping evaluation indexes included bark thickness, bark excision, latex flow time, cutting time, ash content, and cutting depth, which were selected to serve as a comparison test. There was no significant difference between hand and mechanical methods, except ash content (p < 0.05) and cutting time (p < 0.01). The mechanical tapping machine proposed in this study is meaningful to improve cutting efficiency, practicality, and operability. Furthermore, it provides crucial theoretical references for the development of intelligent tapping machines.

The hydrogeochemistry of cave drip water is an important environmental index in cave systems, and drip water monitoring may be an essential solution for paleoclimate reconstructions. We measured the hydrogeochemical properties of the seasonal and perennial drip water and CO2 concentrations from 2015 to 2019 in the Liangfeng Cave, Guilin, Southwest China. This study identified the difference in the regional environmental records in the perennial and seasonal drip water. By comparing the regional climate data recorded by the drip water, the results showed that the perennial drip water recorded regional climate information throughout the year, whereas the seasonal drip water only recorded the high precipitation periods. The precipitation during the 2015 dry season was abnormally high, and higher than the values in other rainy seasons. This indicates that hydrogeochemistry only represents changes in precipitation and not the alternation of dry and rainy seasons during this period. HIGHLIGHTS The first long-term monitoring study was performed in well ventilation Cave, Guilin, Southwest China.; The purpose of this study was to interpret the precipitation and drought event signals recorded in hydrogeochemical properties of the cave water.; The seasonal variation hydrogeochemical responses of the cave drip water can record regional climate information.;

Karstification and the global carbon cycle are closely related. Understanding the features of dissolution variations in carbonate rocks and the variables influencing carbonate dissolution is crucial for producing reliable estimates of karst carbon sinks. The seasonal variations in carbonate dissolution rates and the primary factors affecting carbonate dissolution in the Maocun watershed, Guilin, are examined under external source water (Xiaolongbei), karst water (Beidiping), and the mixed external source water and karst water (Bianyan) conditions. In this work, the characteristics of carbonate dissolution rates in several water bodies are investigated using field sampling and indoor experimental measurements. A correlation analysis is performed to analyze the key environmental factors impacting carbonate dissolution. The findings demonstrate that there is a clear seasonal and regional variation in the rate of the dissolution of carbonate rocks. The seasonal characteristics of the carbonate dissolution rate are summer > autumn > spring > winter. The carbonate dissolution rate ranges from −0.023 to 0.258 mg/cm2/d, with a mean value of 0.068 mg/cm2/d. The variation in carbonate dissolution rates on a spatial scale is characterized by exogenous water (Xiaolongbei) > exogenous water mixed with karst water (Bianyan) > karst water (Beidiping). As the rate of carbonate erosion in the Maocun basin is influenced by many factors, the correlation analysis shows that the main controlling factors for the rate of carbonate erosion in the Maocun basin are flow, the saturation index, pH, and pCO2. Seasonal variations in carbonate dissolution rates are mainly influenced by pCO2 and the flow rate, and the spatial variations are mainly influenced by pH and the saturation index. The results of this study are important for the scientific assessment of karst development in the study area and the accurate estimation of karst carbon sinks.

Carbonate bedrock regions represent that 14% of Earth's continental surface and carbon (C) sink in karst water plays an important role in the global C cycle due to the CO2 consumption during carbonate mineral weathering. Intensive agriculture and urbanization have led to the excessive input of nitrogen (N) into aquatic systems, while the high concentrations of inorganic C in the karst water might affect the N cycle. This paper summarized the characteristics of water in karst regions and discussed the N transformation coupled with the C cycle in the condition of high Ca2+ content, high pH, and high C/N ratios. Carbonates can consume more atmospheric and pedologic CO2 than non-carbonates because of their high solubility and high rate of dissolution, resulting in the higher average CO2 sink in karst basins worldwide than that in non-karst basins. Therefore, carbonate mineral weathering and aquatic photosynthesis are the two dominant ways of CO2 absorption, which are termed as coupled carbonate weathering. As the alkalinity and high C/N content of karst water inhibit the denitrification and mineralization processes, the karst aquatic environment is also served as the N sink. HIGHLIGHTS Karst aquatic systems contain high contents of DIC, Ca2+, Mg2+, and high pH.; C–N cycles in the karst aquatic systems are mainly related with DIC and NO3−.; Enhanced nitrification and DIC can promote aquatic communities growth.; Atmospheric CO2 sink in carbonate area is high.;

Plant growth and its changes over space and time are effective indicators for signifying ecosystem health. However, large uncertainties remain in characterizing and attributing vegetation changes in the ecologically fragile South China Karst region, since most existing studies were conducted at a coarse spatial resolution or covered limited time spans. Considering the highly fragmented landscapes in the region, this hinders their capability in detecting fine information of vegetation dynamics taking place at local scales and comprehending the influence of climate change usually over relatively long temporal ranges. Here, we explored the spatiotemporal variations in vegetation greenness for the entire South China Karst region (1.9 million km2) at a resolution of 30m for the notably increased time span (1987-2018) using three decadal Landsat images and the cloud-based Google Earth Engine. Moreover, we spatially attributed the vegetation changes and quantified the relative contribution of driving factors. Our results revealed a widespread vegetation recovery in the South China Karst (74.80%) during the past three decades. Notably, the area of vegetation recovery tripled following the implementation of ecological engineering compared with the reference period (1987-1999). Meanwhile, the vegetation restoration trend was strongly sustainable beyond 2018 as demonstrated by the Hurst exponent. Furthermore, climate change contributed only one-fifth to vegetation restoration, whereas major vegetation recovery was highly attributable to afforestation projects, implying that anthropogenic influences accelerated vegetation greenness gains in karst areas since the start of the new millennium during which ecological engineering was continually established. Our study provides additional insights into ecological restoration and conservation in the highly heterogeneous karst landscapes and other similar ecologically fragile areas worldwide.

To address the practical navigation issues of rubber-tapping robots, this paper proposes an active navigation system guided by trunk detection for a rubber-tapping robot. A tightly coupled sliding-window-based factor graph method is proposed for pose tracking, which introduces normal distribution transform (NDT) measurement factors, inertial measurement unit (IMU) pre-integration factors, and prior factors generated by sliding window marginalization. To actively pursue goals in navigation, a distance-adaptive Euclidean clustering method is utilized in conjunction with cylinder fitting and composite criteria screening to identify tree trunks. Additionally, a hybrid map navigation approach involving 3D point cloud map localization and 2D grid map planning is proposed to apply these methods to the robot. Experiments show that our pose-tracking approach obtains generally better performance in accuracy and robustness compared to existing methods. The precision of our trunk detection method is 93% and the recall is 87%. A practical validation is completed in robot rubber-tapping tasks of a real rubber plantation. The proposed method can guide the rubber-tapping robot in complex forest environments and improve efficiency.

Abstract Background Metabolic reprogramming is a common phenomenon in tumorigenesis and tumor progression. Amino acids are important mediators in cancer metabolism, and their kinetics in tumor tissue are far from being understood completely. Mass spectrometry imaging is capable to spatiotemporally trace important endogenous metabolites in biological tissue specimens. In this research, we studied L-[ring-13C6]-labeled phenylalanine and tyrosine kinetics in a human non-small cell lung carcinoma (NSCLC) xenografted mouse model using matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization Fourier-transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry imaging (MALDI-FTICR-MSI). Methods We investigated the L-[ring-13C6]-Phenylalanine (13C6-Phe) and L-[ring-13C6]-Tyrosine (13C6-Tyr) kinetics at 10 min (n = 4), 30 min (n = 3), and 60 min (n = 4) after tracer injection and sham-treated group (n = 3) at 10 min in mouse-xenograft lung tumor tissues by MALDI-FTICR-MSI. Results The dynamic changes in the spatial distributions of 19 out of 20 standard amino acids are observed in the tumor tissue. The highest abundance of 13C6-Phe was detected in tumor tissue at 10 min after tracer injection and decreased progressively over time. The overall enrichment of 13C6-Tyr showed a delayed temporal trend compared to 13C6-Phe in tumor caused by the Phe-to-Tyr conversion process. Specifically, 13C6-Phe and 13C6-Tyr showed higher abundances in viable tumor regions compared to non-viable regions. Conclusions We demonstrated the spatiotemporal intra-tumoral distribution of the essential aromatic amino acid 13C6-Phe and its de-novo synthesized metabolite 13C6-Tyr by MALDI-FTICR-MSI. Our results explore for the first time local phenylalanine metabolism in the context of cancer tissue morphology. This opens a new way to understand amino acid metabolism within the tumor and its microenvironment.

Understanding the coherent variability of runoff in the Source Region of the Indus River (SRIR) with the regional environmental parameters (precipitation, temperature, potential evapotranspiration-PET, NDVI, NDSI), and global oceanic indices (El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO), Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO), North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO), Arctic Oscillation (AO), Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD) and Indian Summer Monsoon Index (ISMI) is of paramount importance. This study has attempted to show the relationship of the SRIR runoff with the regional meteorological and global oceanic indices. The monotonic Mann-Kendal, Sen Slope, and wavelet analysis were employed to assess the trends and periodicity in the hydro-meteorological variables. Monthly runoff from all sub-basins shows increasing trends from October to March and decreases from April to September, except for western tributaries. Most sub-basins in the SRIR are experiencing significant increases in winter while decreases in summer. The annual runoff trend suggests an increase after 2000 from the Kabul River Basin (KRB). However, contrasting results are evident in the Upper Indus Basin (UIB). The Jhelum River Basin (JRB) has shown a significant declining trend since the mid-1990s. Annual runoff (3.19 m3/s), precipitation (0.24 mm/year), temperature (0.011 °C/year), and NDVI (0.002) increased in the SRIR, whereas PET (−0.020 mm/year) and NDSI (−0.003) declined during 1970–2016. In general, built-up grassland, snow/ice, water bodies, and wetlands increased, while barren land, cropland, and forest/shrubland declined between 2001 and 2018. Overall, all the factors displayed a positive correlation with runoff. Generally, runoff has a stronger association with regional environmental factors than global, as evident in correlation and wavelet analysis, which implies that local factors had a more significant effect on runoff. However, NAO, AO, and ISMI shared a significant correlation other than the regional environmental factors concerning the oceanic indices. The warmer and wetter climate hastened the melting of snow/glaciers via runoff variation, and rising water inputs may have had a secondary impact on the SRIR. These findings have significant implications for decision-makers seeking to enhance water resource planning and operations in the SRIR in the context of future water management.

At present, green energy transformation and climate policy are increasingly connected. The need to improve national competitiveness and implement climate and energy strategies means that an energy-consuming country like China must rapidly enhance its green energy efficiency (GEE) and energy consumption structure. The following paper contributes to the existing literature by analyzing the effects of bilateral FDI on GEE from the perspective of spatial correlation. Based on data from 30 Chinese provinces between 2003 and 2020, this paper uses multiple undesired output indicators covering eight pollutants to measure GEE and then uses the coupling function to measure the coordinated development level of bilateral FDI (CDFDI). According to the Panel Vector Autoregression model, there is a coupling relationship between bilateral FDI. Both the global Moran index and the local Moran scatter plot shows that GEE and CDFDI are characterized by spatial aggregation. This paper adopts the dynamic Spatial Dubin Model for empirical analysis. Our results reveal a significant positive impact of CDFDI on GEE in local and nearby regions. The impact of CDFDI on GEE is moderated by technological diffusion, nationalization, and environmental regulation, resulting in differential impacts on GEE in local and nearby regions. Furthermore, CDFDI with different investment motives has a boosting effect on local GEE. Among them, the mutual investment portfolio between China and developed countries has a negative impact on the local GEE. By contrast, the complementary investment motivation portfolio can boost GEE in local and adjoining regions in any period. This is the first paper to study the spatial effects of green energy efficiency and the heterogeneity of investment incentives to help Chinese international investment policymakers better understand the contribution of CDFDI to improving GEE and inform supportive policies. To improve green energy efficiency, the government must strengthen the implementation of the opening-up policy and create international capital flows suitable for local needs.

As a convenient means of transportation, high-speed rail (HSR) plays an important role in green development. In the context of the rapid development of China’s HSR, this study selects the SBM-DDF-SML model to construct the green total factor productivity (GTFP) index to measure urban green development; moreover, it empirically tests the impact of the opening of the HSR on GTFP using the spatial difference-in-differences (SDID) model. The results show that the opening of the HSR could significantly promote GTFP for HSR-served cities. In addition, the opening of HSR has a positive effect on the GTFP for neighboring HSR-served cities but a negative impact on that for neighboring non-HSR-served cities. The mechanism test shows that HSR can influence GTFP by promoting urban green innovation and entrepreneurial vitality. This study is a supplement to the research on the impact of HSR on the GTFP, in order to provide corresponding policy advice. The government should optimize the layout of HSR and help cities achieve green and sustainable development.

Chemiluminescence (CL) method, combined with the flow-injection (FI) technique, is an attractive alternative for pharmaceutical analysis. In this paper, a CL reaction between diperiodatoargentate(III) (DPA) and mitoxantrone (MTX) was observed. A strong CL signal was generated during the reaction of mitoxantrone with DPA in an alkaline medium. Thus a highly sensitive flow injection CL method was developed for the determination of mitoxantrone. Optimized experimental conditions were investigated in detail. Under the optimum conditions, the relative CL intensity was linear with the mitoxantrone concentration in the range of 8.0 × 10−10–5.0 × 10−7 g/mL with a correlation coefficient of 0.9994 and the detection limit was 1.9 × 10−10 g/mL. The proposed method had good reproducibility with a relative standard deviation of 1.5% (n = 11) for 1.0 × 10−7 g/mL mitoxantrone. The highly sensitive method was successfully applied to the determination of mitoxantrone in pharmaceutical preparation and serum samples with satisfactory results. The possible CL reaction mechanism was also discussed briefly.

Background: Failure of fascial healing in the abdominal wall can result in incisional hernia, which is one of the most common complications after laparotomy. Understanding the molecular healing process of abdominal fascia may provide lipid markers of incisional hernia or therapeutic targets that allow prevention or treatment of incisional hernias. Purpose: This study aims to investigate temporal and in situ changes of lipids during the normal healing process of abdominal fascia in the first postoperative week. Methods: Open hemicolectomy was performed in a total of 35 Wistar rats. The midline fascia was closed identically for all rats using a single continuous suturing technique. These animals were sacrificed with equal numbers (n = 5) at each of 7-time points (6, 12, 24, 48, 72, 120, and 168 h. The local and temporal changes of lipids were examined with mass spectrometry imaging and correlated to histologically scored changes during healing using hematoxylin and eosin staining. Results: Two phosphatidylcholine lipid species (PC O-38:5 and PC 38:4) and one phosphatidylethanolamine lipid (PE O-16:1_20:4) were found to significantly correlate with temporal changes of inflammation. A phosphatidylcholine (PC 32:0) and a monosialodihexosylganglioside (GM3 34:1;2) were found to correlate with fibroblast cell growth. Conclusion: Glycerophospholipids and gangliosides are strongly involved in the normal healing process of abdominal fascia and their locally fluctuating concentrations are considered as potential lipid markers and therapeutic targets of fascial healing.

Natural rubber is an important and strategic raw material, used in tires, gloves, and insulating products, that is mainly obtained by cutting the bark of rubber trees. However, the complex contour curve of the rubber tree trunk is hard to fit using a tapping machine. Thus, a trunk contour curve collection would be useful for the development of tapping machines. In this study, an acquisition system based on laser-ranging technology was proposed to collect the point cloud data of rubber tree trunks, and a B-spline fitting program was compiled in Matrix Laboratory (MATLAB) to extract the trunks’ contour curves. The acquisition system is composed of power, a controller, a driver, a laser range finder, and data transmission modules. An automatic extraction experiment on the contour curves of rubber tree trunks was carried out to verify the feasibility and accuracy of using the acquisition system. The results showed that the degree of rubber tree trunk characteristic recognition reached 94.67%, which means that the successful extraction of the rubber tree trunk contour curves and the B-spline fitting program are suitable for the extraction of irregular curves of rubber tree trunks. The coefficient of variation of repeated collection was 0.04%, which indicates that changes in relative positions and acquisition directions have little influence on the extraction and the accuracy of the acquisition system, which are high and stable. Therefore, it was unnecessary to adjust the position of the acquisition device before the collecting process, which helped to improve the efficiency of acquisition considerably. The acquisition system proposed in this study is meaningful to the practical production and application of agroforestry and can not only improve the precision of the rubber tapping process by combining with an automatic rubber tapping machine but can also provide technical support for the prediction of rubber wood volume and the development of ring-cutting equipment for other fruit trees.

The effects of climate change are unparalleled in magnitude, ranging from changing weather patterns that endanger food production to increasing sea levels that increase the likelihood of catastrophic flooding. Therefore, determining the extent of such variations on regional and local scales is imperative. We used monthly precipitation data from 25 meteorological stations in northern Pakistan (NP) to document the observed changes in seasonal and annual precipitation. The station density in the NP is small and unevenly distributed; therefore, ERA-5 reanalysis data were used to supplement the observed dataset to assess the spatial trends in NP. The non-parametric Mann–Kendall (MK), Sen’s Slope estimator (SSE), and Sequential Mann–Kendall (SQMK) tests were performed to assess the trends. In addition, the wavelet analysis technique was used to determine the association of precipitation with various oceanic indices from 1960 to 2016. Results indicate that maximum precipitation was shown in the annual and summer seasons. In NP, annual, winter, spring, and summer precipitation declined, while an increase in autumn was observed at a rate of 0.43 mm/decade between 1989 and 2016. The spatial trends for observed and ERA-5 reanalysis datasets were almost similar in winter, spring, and autumn; however, some disagreement was observed in both datasets in the summer and annual precipitation trends in NP during 1960–2016. Between 1989 and 2016, summer and annual precipitation increased significantly in Region III. However, seasonal and annual precipitation decreased in NP between 1960 and 2016. Moreover, there were no prominent trends in annual precipitation until the mid-1980s, but an apparent increase from 1985 onwards. Annual precipitation increased in all elevations except at the 500–1000 m zone. The ENSO (El Niño–Southern Oscillation) shared notable interannual coherences among all indices above 16–64 months. Inter-decadal coherence with the ENSO, AO (Arctic Oscillation), and PDO (Pacific Decadal Oscillation) in NP for 128 months and above. Generally, AO, AMO (Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation), and NAO (North Atlantic Oscillation) exhibited less coherence with precipitation in NP. The regression of seasonal and annual precipitation revealed that winter and spring precipitation levels had higher linear regression with the AO and ENSO, respectively, while both the AO and ENSO also dominated at the annual scale. Similarly, the IOD and PDO indices had a higher influence in summer precipitation. The findings may help water resource managers and climate researchers develop a contingency plan for better water resource management policies in the face of changing climate change in Pakistan, particularly in NP.

During normal pregnancy, there is a dynamic regulation of the maternal immune system, including the liver, to accommodate the presence of the allogeneic foetus in the uterus. However, it was unclear that the expression of the IkappaB (IκB) family was regulated in the ovine maternal liver during early pregnancy. In this study, sheep livers were collected at day 16 of the oestrous cycle (NP16), and days 13, 16 and 25 of gestation (DP13, DP16 and DP25), and RT-qPCR, Western blot and immunohistochemistry analysis were used to analyse the expression of the IκB family, including B cell leukemia-3 (BCL-3), IκBα, IκBβ, IκBε, IKKγ, IκBNS and IκBζ. The results revealed that expression of BCL-3, IκBβ, IκBε and IKKγ peaked at DP16, and the expression of IκBα was increased during early pregnancy. In addition, the expression of IκBζ peaked at DP13 and DP16, and IκBNS peaked at DP13. IκBβ and IKKγ proteins were located in the endothelial cells of the proper hepatic arteries and portal veins, and hepatocytes. In conclusion, early pregnancy changed the expression of the IκB family, suggesting that the modulation of the IκB family may be related to the regulation of maternal hepatic functions, which may be favourable for pregnancy establishment in sheep.

Abstract Background Increased physical activity level is related to lower risk of depressive symptoms, and there is an inverse association between muscle strength and risk of depressive symptoms among the elderly. Although there is evidence of an inverse association between muscle strength and depressive symptoms, the relationship between these variables in a younger population is still unknown. This study aimed to examine the association between handgrip strength, a representative indicator of skeletal muscle strength, and the risk of depressive symptoms among Chinese female college freshmen. Methods A cross-sectional study was conducted among 867 participants aged between 16 and 23 years. Handgrip strength was measured with a handheld digital Smedley dynamometer, and handgrip strength relative to body weight (kg/kg) was calculated and was classified into tertiles as follows: low (0.32–0.50), medium (0.51–0.58), and high (0.59–0.94). Depressive symptoms were evaluated using the 20-item Zung self-rating depression scale (SDS), and three cutoff points were used to indicate different depression levels. Results We found that 10.7% of participants were classified as having severe depressive symptoms using an SDS score of 50 as the cutoff point. After adjusting for potential confounders, the adjusted odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for moderate-to-severe depressive symptoms across tertiles of the relative handgrip strength were 1.00 (reference) for tertile 1, 0.614 (0.353, 1.069) for tertile 2, and 0.537 (0.292, 0.988) for tertile 3 (P for trend = 0.041). The significant associations remained when other cutoff points (SDS scores: 48 or 45) were used. Interactions between handgrip strength and potential confounders for depressive symptoms in the final models were not significant. Conclusions Our findings indicate that handgrip strength is inversely and independently related to the risk of depressive symptoms among Chinese female college freshmen. The present findings can help develop an effective intervention strategy against depression. Further intervention studies are needed to explore the mechanisms underlying the effects of handgrip strength on depressive symptoms.

The differences in reproductive processes at the molecular level between viviparous and oviparous animals are evident, and the site in the ovary that synthesizes sex hormones (androgens and oestrogens) and the trends for enriching sex hormones during follicle development in chickens are different from those in mammals, suggesting that the effect of sex hormones on follicle development in chickens is probably different from that in viviparous animals. To explore the specific role of androgen receptors (ARs) on chicken follicular development, we matched the correspondence of follicular development stages among chickens, humans, cows and identified chicken-specific genes related to follicle development (GAL-SPGs) by comparing follicle development-related genes and their biological functions among species (chickens, humans, and cows). A comparison of the core transcription factor regulatory network of granulosa cells (or ovaries) based on super-enhancers among species (chicken, human, and mouse) revealed that AR is a core transcriptional regulator specific to chickens. In vivo experiments showed that inhibition of AR significantly reduced the number of syf (selected stage follicles) in chickens and decreased the expression of GAL-SPGs in F5 follicles, while in vitro experiments showed that inhibition of AR expression in chicken granulosa cells (GCs) significantly down-regulated the expression levels of GAL-SPGs, indicating that AR could regulate follicle selection through chicken-specific genes related to follicle development. A comparison among species (77 vertebrates) of the conserved genomic regions, where chicken super-enhancers are located, revealed that the chicken AR super-enhancer region is conserved in birds, suggesting that the role of AR in follicle selection maybe widespread in birds. In summary, we found that AR can regulate follicle selection through chicken-specific genes related to follicle development, which also emphasizes the important role of AR in follicle selection in chickens and provides a new perspective for understanding the unique process of follicle development in chickens. Our study will contribute to the application of androgens to the control of egg production in chickens and suggests that researchers can delve into the mechanisms of follicle development in birds based on androgen/androgen receptors.

This paper employs the Green Credit Guidelines as green financial policy to investigate whether the implementation of green credit has contributed to the low-carbon economic development. The difference-in-differences method (DID) is then applied to estimate the emission reduction effects. The paper found that green financial policy has effectively reduced pollution and energy consumption in high pollution and high energy consuming industries. As a means of verifying the reliability of the results, propensity score matching difference-in-differences (PSM-DID) applies the match kernels and radius method before the DID. Furthermore, this paper explored the regional and industry heterogeneity in incremental carbon emission reductions. This is the first paper to use Guidelines to measure green finance, in order to achieve indicator innovation and provide corresponding policy advice. To reduce carbon emissions, the government must strengthen the implementation of green credit policy and create a green financial environment tailored to local needs.

In recent decades, temperature variations have significantly affected the ecosystem and human livelihood in Pakistan. The wavelet analysis is employed to identify the associations between regional temperature change and global teleconnections, i.e. Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation (AMO), Arctic Oscillation (AO), North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO), El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO), Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO), Tropical Northern Atlantic Index (TNA), Pacific/North American Index (PNA), North Pacific Pattern (NP), Western Pacific Index (WP), and Western Hemisphere Warm Pool (WHWP). This paper first uses monotonic modified Mann–Kendall and Sen’s slope estimator to compute the temperature changes in Pakistan and its homogenous climatic regions during 1960–2020. It is found that the temperature in Pakistan has increased significantly at 0.23 °C dec ^−1 in the last 62 years, which is also higher than the global average increase. This increase is more evident in region IV and V in spring at 0.63 and 0.43 °C dec ^−1 respectively, followed by summer and autumn. Temperature changes in Pakistan and its sub-regions are mainly associated with NP, WP and WHWP with higher mean significant coherences. Overall, temperature changes are significantly influenced by multiple interactions of global teleconnections, and these combinations indicate that the integrated influence of teleconnections can better explain the regional temperature changes. The teleconnections with broader significant influence over Pakistan are NP + WP + WHWP, followed by Pacific-based (ENSO, PDO, and PNA), and Atlantic-based (AMO, AO, and NAO) indices as revealed by the mean significant coherences of 0.82, 0.82 and 0.72 respectively. Annually, AMO, TNA and WHWP showed significant correlation with higher magnitudes of 0.44, 0.42 and 0.20 respectively, indicating the modulation effect of these teleconnections on temperature changes over Pakistan. The combined impacts from the various teleconnections represent a considerable advancement in the accuracy of significant temperature variations over the country. These findings have significant implications for policymakers in terms of better planning and policies in light of climate change as well as atmospheric circulation variability.

Maintenance activities mostly depend on the specific conditions of individual equipment, being defined as personalized businesses. In order to improve the efficiency of maintenance activities for complex equipment in lots, the thinking of mass customization is used. After the modular technology used for generic maintenance model, the product/service was divided into mandatory and optional modules, which can form multiple optional maintenance service solutions. Considering the characteristics of maintenance activities and customers’ personalized maintenance requirements, configuration optimization is used to find the most satisfied maintenance solution under different objectives. This paper aims to provide the configuration optimization ideas and solutions for complex equipment maintenance services. A multi-objective optimization model was established, and an algorithm based on Non-Dominated Sorting Genetic Algorithms (NSGA-II) was proposed to solve this configuration optimization model. Finally, the maintenance service of the Electric Multiple Units (EMU) bogie was taken as an example to verify the feasibility of the model and the algorithm.

Abstract Background Tianshu capsule (TSC), a formula of traditional Chinese medicine, has been widely used in clinical practice for prophylactic treatment of headaches in China. However, former clinical trials of TSC were small, and lack of a standard set of diagnostic criteria to enroll patients. The study was conducted to re-evaluate the efficacy and safety of TSC post-marketing in an extending number of migraineurs who have diagnosed migraine with the International Classification of Headache Disorders, 3rd edition (beta version, ICHD-3β). Methods The study was a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled clinical trial that conducted at 20 clinical centers in China. At enrollment, patients between 18 and 65 years of age diagnosed with migraine were assigned to receive either TSC (4.08 g, three times daily) or a matched placebo according to a randomization protocol. The primary endpoint was a relative reduction of 50% or more in the frequency of headache attacks. The secondary outcomes included a reduction in the incidence of headache, the visual analogue scale of headache attacks, days of acute analgesic usage, and percentage of patients with a decrease of 50% or more in headache severity. Accompanying symptoms were also assessed. Results One thousand migraine patients were initially enrolled in the study, and 919 of them completed the trial. Following the 12-week treatment, significant improvement was observed in the TSC group concerning both primary and secondary outcomes. After therapy discontinuation, the gap between the TSC group and the placebo group in efficacy outcomes continued to increase. There were no severe adverse effects. Conclusions TSC is an effective, well-tolerated medicine for prophylactic treatment of migraine, and still have prophylactic effect after medicine discontinuation. Trial registration ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT02035111; Data of registration: 2014-01-10.

The relationship between the source and sink of atmospheric CO2 has always been a widely discussed issue in global climate change research. Recent studies revealed that the chemical weathering of carbonate rocks contributed to 1/3 (~0.5 Pg C/yr) of the missing carbon sinks (MCS) globally, and there are still 2/3 of MCS (~0.5 Pg C/yr) that need to be explored. As one of the main overburdened parts of the earth, loess is one of the important driving factors for atmospheric CO2 consumption. Here, we elaborated on the dissolution process and the carbon sink effect from carbonate and silicate minerals in loess. The relationship between carbonate dissolution and carbon source/sink is elucidated, and the mechanism of carbon sink formation from secondary carbonates in loess is clarified. Additionally, the commonly used methods for the identification of primary and secondary carbonates are summarized, and the methods for the study of loess carbon sinks and the influencing factors of loess carbon sinks are also revealed. Based on the research results and progress interpretations, the prospects of loess carbon sinks are discussed to provide a scientific basis for further research on loess carbon sinks.

Moisture conditions are important ecological factors limiting plant growth in karst areas. In karst areas, because bedrock exposure and permeability are significant and soils are dispersed—without spatial continuity—and shallow, the water storage required for plant uptake and growth in rock fissures as well as shallow soils is very limited, and therefore, water conditions are an important factor influencing plant growth. In order to discover the sources of water used by plants in the karst zone ecosystem of southwest China and the differences in plant water use under different lithological conditions, this study selected limestone and dolomite in the karst ecological test site of Maocun, Guilin, Guangxi, for comparison with the clastic rock area. By measuring the δD and δ18O composition of plant stem water and the potential water sources (soil water, groundwater and precipitation) of the dominant species in the study area, and using the IsoSource and soil water excess (SW-excess) models, we analyzed the proportion of water utilization by different vegetation types under different lithological conditions. The results showed that (1) the slope and intercept of the local rainfall line (LMWL) and soil water line (SWL) in the study area were smaller than those of the global rainfall line (GMWL), and also smaller than those of the local atmospheric precipitation line in Guilin (δD = 8.8δ18O + 17.96), indicating that the local rainfall is influenced by evaporation and is formed by nonequilibrium fractionation of isotopes; (2) in general, the plant water sources in the dolomite, limestone, and clastic areas were dominated by rainfall, groundwater, and soil water, respectively; and (3) the fluctuation range of SW-excess in karst areas was significantly greater than that in nonkarst areas, the xylem water of plants in karst areas was more depleted in δD than soil water, and groundwater was more enriched in δD than soil water, indicating that there might be an ecological–hydrological separation phenomenon in karst areas, i.e., the “two water worlds” hypothesis. The results of this study provide scientific data for hydrological regulation in the ecological restoration of karst areas.

The myometrium is the outer layer of the uterus. Its contraction and steroidogenic activities are required for embryo implantation. However, the molecular mechanisms underlying its functions remain unknown in pigs. The myometrium includes the inner circular muscle (CM) and the outer longitudinal muscle (LM) layers. In this study, we collected the CM and LM samples from the mesometrial side (named M) of the uterus on days 12 (pre-implantation stage) and 15 (implantation stage) of pregnancy and day 15 of the estrous cycle. The transcriptomic results revealed distinct differences between the uterine CM and LM layers in early pregnancy: the genes expressed in the LM layer were mainly related to contraction pathways, whereas the transcriptional signatures in the CM layer on day 15 of pregnancy were primarily involved in the immune response processes. Subsequent comparisons in the CM layer between pregnant and cyclic gilts show that the transcriptional signatures of the CM layer are implantation-dependent. Next, we investigated the genome-wide profiling of histone H3 lysine 27 acetylation (H3K27ac) and histone H3 lysine 4 trimethylation (H3K4me3) in pig uterine CM and LM layers. The genomic regions that had transcriptional activity and were associated with the expression of genes in the two layers were characterized. Taken together, the regulatory regions identified in the study may contribute to modulating the gene expression in pig uterine CM and LM layers during implantation.

NOD receptors (NLRs) mediate adaptive immune responses and immune tolerance. Nevertheless, it is not clear if gestation modulates the NLR signaling pathway in lymph nodes of ewes. In this study, lymph nodes of ewes were collected at day 16 of the estrous cycle, and at days 13, 16 and 25 of gestation (n = 6 for each group). RT-qPCR, Western blot and immunohistochemistry analysis were used to analyze the expression of the NLR family, including NOD1, NOD2, CIITA, NAIP, NLRP1, NLRP3 and NLRP7. The data showed that early gestation enhanced expression of NOD1, CIITA, NLRP1, NLRP3 and NLRP7 mRNA, as well as proteins at day 16 of gestation, and the expression levels of NOD2, CIITA, NLRP1 and NLRP7 were higher at days 13 and 25 of gestation than day 16 of the estrous cycle. However, NOD1 expression was lower on days 13 and 25 of gestation compared to day 16 of the estrous cycle, and early gestation suppressed NAIP expression. In summary, early pregnancy modulated expression of the NLR family in ovine lymph nodes, which participates in immune regulation, and this modulation may be necessary for pregnancy establishment in ewes.

Abstract Background Haemonchosis is a major economic problem in goat production in humid, tropical and subtropical regions. The disease is caused by an abomasal nematode, Haemonchus contortus, which is highly pathogenic in small ruminants. The aim of this study was to identifying single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) that were associated with fecal egg counts (FEC) and could be used as markers to identify resistance to H. contortus in goats. Results Ten novel variants in the CIITA, ATP2A3, HSPA8, STAT5B, ESYT1, and SERPING1 genes were associated with FEC in goats with a nominal significance level of P G SNP locus in all goat breeds. Pairwise coefficients of linkage disequilibrium (D´, r 2) revealed complete LD (r 2 = 1) between significant SNP polymorphisms in CIITA and SERPING1 and strong LD (r 2 = 0.93 and 0.98) between polymorphisms in HSPA8 and ATP2A3, respectively. Correlation coefficient (r) between FEC and body weight (BW) was significantly positive (r = 0.56***, P

Due to customer individual difference, limitation of cognitive process and insufficient real-time response of cloud-based remanufacturing service platform, the problems such as disordered demand expression, difficulty in extracting implicit customer demand, and insufficient real-time performance of demand acquisition may be encountered. To this end, this paper presents an edge computing-based dynamic demand discovery and acquisition strategy. On the basis of existing methods and experimental results of implicit demand acquisition, a potential demand discovery method based on situational semantic network is proposed in this study. Firstly, the semantic similarity of ontology concept is used to calculate the correlation strength of registered keywords, and then registration keyword semantic network is constructed accordingly within the edge computing server. Afterwards, the keywords matrix of all web pages within single search behavior is obtained by data aggregation, the core attribute keywords of single search behavior are procured by the Kmeans algorithm and the retrieval keyword semantic network is constructed. After aggregating the two types of keywords semantic networks, the core semantics of aggregated semantic network are extracted by the pangrank method and customer situation semantic network reflecting current potential requirements is formed. Finally, an application example was demonstrated to verify the correctness and practicability of the remanufacturing service demand discovery strategy. This method has the potential to be applied in the intelligent management demand acquisition system of enterprises and urban communities, which provides reference for realization of intelligence technology in digital cities.

Muscle strength can be a predictor of depressive symptoms among the elderly. We conducted a prospective study aiming to examine the association between change of handgrip strength and the incidence risk of depressive symptoms among Chinese female college students. Handgrip strength was used as a representative indicator of skeletal muscle strength, and a handheld digital smedley dynamometer was applied to measure handgrip strength. We also used the 20-item Zung self-rating depression scale to evaluate depressive status, and a score of ≥50 indicated moderate-to-severe depressive symptoms. During a 1-year follow-up period, the incidence of depressive symptoms is 10.7%. Multivariate logistic regressions analysis revealed that the multivariable-adjusted ORs (95% CI) of depressive symptoms for the categories of handgrip strength change was 1.00 (reference) for group 1, 0.57 (0.28, 1.19) for group 2, 0.41 (0.19, 0.89) for group 3 and 0.33 (0.11, 0.99) for group 4 (p = 0.018). This study indicated that change of handgrip strength level over one-year period is negatively associated with risk of depressive symptoms among Chinese female college students.

Understanding the controlling factors of soil organic carbon isotope (δ13CSOC) change and the vegetation succession process is crucial to guide ecological restoration and agricultural cultivation in karst rocky desertification region. However, the information about the combination of C3 and C4 plant distribution and rocky desertification remains unknown. Soils from different landforms, including basin, slope, and plateau, were sampled to investigate the spatial variance of the δ13CSOC distribution characteristics. The contribution of C3 and C4 plant species for δ13CSOC under the different rocky desertification grades (LRD: light rocky desertification; MRD: moderate rocky desertification; and SRD: severe rocky desertification) in Mengzi karst graben basin of Southwest (SW) China was also discussed. The δ13CSOC value decreased with the increase of altitude from basin, slope to plateau. At the same landform, different rocky desertification grades had no significant effect on the δ13CSOC in slope and plateau. Nevertheless, there were significant differences of δ13CSOC C between LRD and SRD in the basin. The C4 plants account for more than 70% in the basin and slope, while C3 plants account for more than 70% in the plateau. This may be due to the long-term cultivation of corn in the historical period in the basin and slope. However, the plateau area is not suitable for the growth of C4 plants such as corn due to the cold climate. In addition, in the same landform, with the aggravation of rocky desertification, the proportion of C4 plants for δ13CSOC increased with the proportion of C3 plants decreased. With the aggravation of rocky desertification, the composition of vegetation species changed from arbour (C3 plants) to small shrubs and herbs (C4 plants).

Pigs, as one of the most common livestock species worldwide, are expected to have a fast growth rate and lower subcutaneous fatness but higher intramuscular fat (“marbling meat”). Nowadays, it is believed that not only host genetics but also its gut microbiomes can modulate farm animal phenotypes, however, many of the mechanisms remain elusive. We measured the body weight (BW), average daily gain (ADG), backfat thickness (BFT), and intramuscular fatness (IMF) of 91 Enshi pigs at 260 days of age, then genotyped each one individually using a 50K single nucleotide polymorphism array and performed 16S ribosomal RNA gene sequencing on 455 microbial samples from the jejunum, ileum, cecum, colon, and rectum. The microbial diversity showed notable spatial variation across the entire intestinal tract, with the cecum and colon having the highest α-diversity. The cecal and colonic microbiotas made greater contributions to BW and ADG and accounted for 22–37% of the phenotypic variance. The jejunal and cecal microbiotas contributed more (13–31%) to the BFT and IMF than the other segments. Finally, from cecum, colon, and jejunum, we identified eight microbial taxa that were significantly correlated with the target traits. The genera Alloprevotella and Ruminococcaceae UCG-005 were highly positively correlated with BW and ADG. The genera Prevotellaceae UCG-001 and Alistipes in the cecum and Clostridium sensu stricto 1 in the jejunum were highly positively correlated with BFT and IMF. The genera Stenotrophomonas, Sphaerochaeta, and Desulfovibrio were negatively associated with the mentioned traits. These findings could aid in developing strategies for manipulating the gut microbiota to alter production performance in pigs.

Depression is known to be correlated with increased risk for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) in middle-aged and older adults, but there is scarce evidence regarding its association with lung function among healthy adults. Thus, we aimed to assess this association by measuring the lung function and depression severity in Chinese college students. This cross-sectional study was conducted among 3,891 college students aged 16–24 years. Lung function was assessed by measuring the forced vital capacity (FVC) using a spirometer, and depression severity was evaluated using the 20-item Zung self-rating depression scale (SDS), with SDS scores of ≥40 and ≥45 indicating mild and moderate-to-severe depression, respectively. After adjusting for potential confounders, the geometric means of the FVC levels for the normal, mild depression, and moderate-to-severe depression groups were 3,446.1 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 3,418.6–3,470.3), 3,415.2 (95% CI: 3,357.7–3,473.8), and 3,351.0 (95% CI: 3271.5–3432.3), respectively (P for trend: 0.031). These results indicated that depression severity was independently correlated with lung function decline in Chinese college students. Future prospective cohort or interventional studies are needed to confirm the negative association between depressive symptoms and lung function and investigate its causality.

In this study, the fluorescent carbon dots (CDs) of good biocompatibility and low toxicity was prepared by a carbonation route, and a strong enhancement effect of CDs on the luminol-K3Fe(CN)6 chemiluminescence (CL) system was observed. 5 ± 1 nm CDs were used as catalysts to enhance the reaction sensitivity. In the presence of 2-methoxyestradiol (2-ME), the CL intensity of CDs-luminol-K3Fe(CN)6 was significantly inhibited. The relative CL intensity was linearly related to the 2-ME concentration in the range of 1.0 × 10−9 –1.0 × 10−7 g mL-1 with a lower detection limit of 4.1 × 10−10 g mL−1. As a preliminary application, the highly sensitive method was successfully applied to the determination of 2-ME in both pharmaceutical preparation and serum samples with satisfactory results. The possible mechanism of CL reaction catalyzed by CDs was investigated and the CDs played a role of catalyst in the reaction which could promote the generation of oxygen radicals. It could be concluded that the enhancement effect on CL by CDs was attributed to the formation of oxygen radicals. The oxidation reaction of luminol was accelerated by oxygen radicals, which led to the enhanced CL emission.

Soil organic carbon (SOC) is a critical measure of soil organic matter (SOM) content. SOM plays a vital role in ecosystem services, soil fertility, soil water retention capacity, and carbon cycling. SOC can be partitioned into various carbon fractions, which exhibit diverse stability and chemical compositions that are influenced variably by lithology as well as biological and cli­matic processes. A better understanding of SOC and the influ­ence of different bedrock types on carbon fractions could facili­tate the evaluation of the fate and stability of SOC. The present study is focused on the concentrations and characteristics of different SOC fractions (e.g., Labile organic carbon, LOC; Re­calcitrant organic carbon, ROC; Calcium-bound organic car­bon, Ca-SOC; Iron/aluminium-bound organic carbon, Fe/Al-SOC) in forest soils associated with different bedrock lithology under similar climate conditions in the centre of the ‘Classical Karst’, and evaluates influence of the geological environment on SOC. SOC and SOC fraction concentrations decreased with an increase in depth in all profiles, indicating stabilized soil profiles. SOC values (9.7–45.5 g∙kg-1) were consistent with the findings of other studies on soils in the region. ROC and Fe/Al-SOC (51.5–65.8 % and 68.0–73.3 %, respectively) were the ma­jor SOC fractions, while Ca-SOC accounted for a considerably lower proportion (6.4–7.4 %) of the SOC contents. Key factors influencing SOC contents were calcite (expressed as calcium oxide) and clay contents, which represent mineral complexes stabilizing SOC. Overall Fe2O3 and Al2O3 concentration did not explain differences in SOC nor its fractions, potentially due to the importance of chemical/mineral forms of Fe- and Al-related minerals (reactivity). Soils on carbonate rocks, which are richer in clay and CaO, had 6.35 g∙kg-1 (28 percentage points) higher concentrations of SOC average when compared with soils on siliciclastic rock, due to higher concentrations of stabilized SOC fractions. The results demonstrate that bedrock lithology and pedogenesis are key factors influencing SOM stabilization. Key words: karst soil, soil organic carbon, labile organic carbon, recalcitrant organic carbon, calcium-bound organic carbon, iron/aluminium-bound organic carbon. Kvantifikacija in vrednotenje organskega ogljika in njegovih frakcij v tleh: primer s Klasičnega Krasa, JZ Slovenija Z meritvami organskega ogljika v prsteh (SOC) izražamo vsebnost organskih snovi v prsteh (SOM). SOM igra ključno vlogo pri ekosistemskih storitvah, rodovitnosti, zmogljivosti zadrževanja vode in kroženju ogljika. SOC lahko razdelimo na različne ogljikove frakcije, ki kažejo različno stabilnost in kemično sestavo, na katero različno vplivajo litološka zgradba, biološki in podnebni procesi. Boljše razumevanje SOC in vpliv različnih vrst matične podlage na ogljikove frakcije bi lahko olajšala oceno stabilnosti SOC. Ta študija preučuje koncentracije in dinamiko različnih frakcij SOC (npr. labilni organski ogljik, LOC; rekalcitrantni organski ogljik, ROC; organski ogljik, vezan na kalcij; organski ogljik, vezan na železo/aluminij, Fe/Al-SOC) v gozdnih prsteh in povezanost z različno litološko zgradbo v podobnih podnebnih razmerah. Prostorsko se študija osredotoča na območje klasičnega krasa. Koncentracija SOC in njegove frakcije so se z naraščajočo globino v vseh profilih zmanjšale, kar kaže na relativno uravnotežene profile prsti. Vrednosti SOC (9,7–45,5 g∙kg-1) so skladne z ugotovitvami drugih raziskav prsti v regiji. ROC in Fe/Al-SOC (51,5–65,8 % oziroma 68,0–73,3 %) sta bili glavni komponenti SOC, medtem ko je za Ca-SOC značilen bistveno nižji delež (6,4–7,4 %). Ključna dejavnika, ki vplivata na vsebnost SOC, sta vsebnost kalcita (izražen kot kalcijev oksid) in gline; tadva s SOC tvorita mineralne komplekse, ki stabilizirajo SOC. Vrednosti Fe2O3 in Al2O3 ne pojasnjujejo razlik SOC niti njegovih frakcij, kar je lahko posledica različnega vpliva kemičnih/mineralnih oblik železovih oz. aluminijevih spojin na reaktivnost. Prsti na karbonatnih kamninah, ki so bogatejše z delci velikosti glin in CaO, so imele zaradi višjih koncentracij stabiliziranih SOC frakcij za 6,35 g∙kg-1 (28 odstotnih točk) višje povprečne vrednosti SOC v primerjavi prstmi na siliciklastičnih (flišnih) kamninah. Rezultati kažejo, da sta osnovna dejavnika, ki vplivata na stabilizacijo SOM, litološka zgradba in pedogeneza. Ključne besede: kraške prsti, organski ogljik v tleh, labilni organski ogljik, rekalcitrantni organski ogljik, organski ogljik, vezan na kalcij, organski ogljik, vezan na železo/aluminij.

During the dry spinning process for fabrication of cellulose acetate fibers, the moving jet is approximated as a string, and its vibration equation is established. The vibration frequency affects greatly the fiber’s mechanical property and crimp frequency. An experiment was carried out to verify the theoretical prediction.

Drift compensation is an important issue in an electronic nose (E-nose) that hinders the development of E-nose’s model robustness and recognition stability. The model-based drift compensation is a typical and popular countermeasure solving the drift problem. However, traditional model-based drift compensation methods have faced “label dilemma” owing to high costs of obtaining kinds of prepared drift-calibration samples. In this study, we have proposed a calibration model for classification utilizing a single category of drift correction samples for more convenient and feasible operations. We constructed a multi-task learning model to achieve a calibrated classifier considering several demands. Accordingly, an associated solution process has been presented to gain a closed-form classifier representation. Moreover, two E-nose drift datasets have been introduced for method evaluation. From the experimental results, the proposed methodology reaches the highest recognition rate in most cases. On the other hand, the proposed methodology demonstrates excellent and steady performance in a wide range of adjustable parameters. Generally, the proposed method can conduct drift compensation with limited one-class calibration samples, accessing the top accuracy among all presented reference methods. It is a new choice for E-nose to counteract drift effect under cost-sensitive conditions.

Having an extreme topography and heterogeneous climate, the Upper Indus Basin (UIB) is more likely to be affected by climate change and it is a crucial area for climatological studies. Based on the monthly minimum temperature (Tmin), maximum temperature (Tmax) and precipitation from nine meteorological stations, the spatiotemporal variability of temperature and precipitation were analyzed on monthly, seasonal, and annual scales. Results show a widespread significant increasing trend of 0.14 °C/decade for Tmax, but a significant decreasing trend of −0.08 °C/decade for Tmin annually, during 1955–2016 for the UIB. Seasonally, warming in Tmax is stronger in winter and spring, while the cooling in Tmin is greater in summer and autumn. Results of seasonal Tmax indicate increasing trends in winter, spring and autumn at rates of 0.38, 0.35 and 0.05 °C/decade, respectively, while decreasing in summer with −0.14 °C/decade. Moreover, seasonal Tmin results indicate increasing trends in winter and spring at rates of 0.09 and 0.08 °C/decade, respectively, while decreasing significantly in summer and autumn at rates of −0.21 and −0.22 °C/decade respectively for the whole the UIB. Precipitation exhibits an increasing trend of 2.74 mm/decade annually, while, increasing in winter, summer and autumn at rates of 1.18, 2.06 and 0.62 mm/decade respectively. The warming in Tmax and an increase in precipitation have been more distinct since the mid-1990s, while the cooling in Tmin is observed in the UIB since the mid-1980s. Warming in the middle and higher altitude (1500–2800 m and >2800 m) are much stronger, and the increase is more obvious in regions with elevation >2800 m. The wavelet analysis illustrated sporadic inter-annual covariance of seasonal Tmax, Tmin and precipitation with ENSO, NAO, IOD and PDO in the UIB. The periodicities were usually constant over short timescales and discontinuous over longer timescales. This study offers a better understanding of the local climate characteristics and provides a scientific basis for government policymakers.

BackgroundIt is well established that increased internet use is related to an increased risk of musculoskeletal pain among adolescents. The relationship between internet addiction (IA), a unique condition involving severe internet overuse, and musculoskeletal pain has, however, not been reported. This study aimed to investigate the association between IA and the risk of musculoskeletal pain among Chinese college students.MethodsA cross-sectional study was conducted among 4211 Chinese college freshmen. IA status was evaluated using the 20-item Young’s Internet Addiction Test (IAT). IA was defined as internet addiction score ≥50 points. Musculoskeletal pain was assessed using a self-reported questionnaire. Multiple logistic regression analysis was performed to determine association between IA categories (normal, mild, and moderate-to-severe) and musculoskeletal pain.ResultsAmong all participants; neck, shoulder, elbow, wrist/hand, and low back and waist pain was reported by 29.2, 33.9, 3.8, 7.9, and 27.9%, respectively. The prevalence of IA was 17.4%. After adjusting for potential confounders, the results showed significant differences in the risk of musculoskeletal pain among different IA categories. The odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) for neck pain with IA categories were 1.000 (reference), 1.451 (1.221, 1.725), and 1.994 (1.608, 2.473), respectively (P for trends: < 0.001). For shoulder pain, these were 1.000 (reference), 1.520 (1.287, 1.795), and 2.057 (1.664, 2.542), respectively (P for trends: < 0.001). For elbow pain, ORs (95% CIs) were 1.000 (reference), 1.627 (1.016, 2.605), and 2.341 (1.382, 3.968), respectively (P for trends: 0.001). Those for wrist/hand pain were 1.000 (reference), 1.508 (1.104, 2.060), and 2.236 (1.561, 3.202), respectively (P for trends: < 0.001). For low back and waist pain with severe IA categories, these were 1.000 (reference), 1.635 (1.368, 1.955), and 2.261 (1.813, 2.819), respectively (P for trends: < 0.001).ConclusionThis cross-sectional study showed that severe IA was associated with a higher risk of musculoskeletal pain in Chinese college freshmen. In future research, it will be necessary to explore causality regarding this relationship using interventional studies.

Abstract River damming influences the hydro‐physicochemical variations in karst water; however, such disruption in bacterioplankton communities has seldom been studied. Here, three sampling sites (city‐river section, reservoir area, and outflow area) of the Ca2+–Mg2+–HCO3−–SO42− water type in the dammed Liu River were selected to investigate the bacterioplankton community composition as identified by high‐throughput 16S rRNA gene sequencing. In the dammed Liu River, thermal regimes have been altered, which has resulted in considerable spatial‐temporal differences in total dissolved solids (TDSs), oxidation‐reduction potential (Eh), dissolved oxygen (DO), and pH and in a different microenvironment for bacterioplankton. Among the dominant bacterioplankton phyla, Proteobacteria, Actinobacteria, Bacteroidetes, and Cyanobacteria account for 38.99%–87.24%, 3.75%–36.55%, 4.77%–38.90%, and 0%–14.44% of the total reads (mean relative frequency), respectively. Bacterioplankton communities are dominated by Brevundimonas, Novosphingobium, Zymomonas, the Actinobacteria hgcIclade, the CL500‐29 marine group, Sediminibacterium, Flavobacterium, Pseudarcicella, Cloacibacterium, and Prochlorococcus. Their abundances covary with spatial‐temporal variations in hydro‐physicochemical factors, as also demonstrated by beta diversity analyses. In addition, temperature plays a pivotal role in maintaining bacterioplankton biodiversity and hydro‐physicochemical variations. This result also highlights the concept that ecological niches for aquatic bacteria in dammed karst rivers do not accidentally occur but are the result of a suite of environmental forces. In addition, bacterioplankton can alter the aquatic carbon/nitrogen cycle and contribute to karst river metabolism.

Shaped fibers with irregular cross-section has large specific surface area, high air permeability and low pressure drop, and are widely used in cigarette filters. Cellulose acetate shaped fibers are produced by the dry spinning, and fibers’ cross-section is controlled by the nozzle shape. In this paper, the mechanism for forming a shaped fiber is elucidated by the geometrical potential theory. Keywords: Irregular cross-section, Cellulose acetate fiber, Minimal surfaces, Fiber cross-section, Dry spinning process

Development of placental folds is a critical event affecting placental function in pigs because it can increase surface area for improvement in capillary density as gestation advances. However, the molecular mechanisms of the event are not well defined. Histone modifications have important roles in gene regulation. To investigate their effects on regulation of genes controlling porcine placental development, RNA-seq and ChIP-seq of porcine placental tissues from gestational days 50 (establishment stage of placental folds) and 95 (expanding stage of placental folds) were carried out in this study. The differentially expressed genes were identified and of which the down- and up-regulated genes are related to endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress and angiogenesis, respectively. In addition, we mapped the genome-wide profiles of histone H3 lysine 4 trimethylation (H3K4me3) and histone H3 lysine 27 acetylation (H3K27ac), which are associated with transcriptional activation. A number of differential modification regions between the 2 gestational stages were identified and majority of them are those with increased signals of H3K4me3 (14,576 out of 16,931). Furthermore, we observed that the increase of H3K4me3 is significantly correlated with the elevated expression levels of the neighboring genes, and notably, these genes were enriched in pathways related to blood vessel formation and microvascular permeability. Taken together, the findings suggest important roles of histone modifications on placental remolding in response to developmental changes.

The bioavailable contents of heavy metals in karstic soils are a subject of increasing concern since the uptake of heavy metals by plants can pose a severe threat to food safety and public health. However, the bioavailable contents of heavy metals and their effective factors are poorly understood in karst regions. Calcareous soil and red soil developed from carbonate and clastic rocks, respectively, were chosen from a typical karst region (Guilin) of southwestern China, and the total (CT) and available (CA) contents of 11 heavy metals, as well as their influencing factors in soil profiles, were investigated. The results showed that calcareous soil has greater soil organic carbon, total nitrogen, available nitrogen, available potassium, and calcium (Ca) contents than red soil, but lower available phosphorus and C:N. Acid-soluble Ca (Aca) was the dominant fraction in both types of soil. Heavy metals were highly accumulated in calcareous soil, mainly controlled by secondary enrichment in the processing of carbonate rock weathering. For the majority of metals, calcareous soil had higher CT and lower CA than red soil. According to a redundancy analysis (RDA) and Pearson correlation coefficient, the high pH and Ca content in calcareous soils were primary factors influencing both the CT and CA of the metals, especially residual Ca to CT and Aca to CA. Additionally, higher soil cation exchange capacity and clay minerals also probably improved the immobility of heavy metals.

Gas sensor drift is an important issue of electronic nose (E-nose) systems. This study follows this concern under the condition that requires an instant drift compensation with massive online E-nose responses. Recently, an active learning paradigm has been introduced to such condition. However, it does not consider the “noisy label” problem caused by the unreliability of its labeling process in real applications. Thus, we have proposed a class-label appraisal methodology and associated active learning framework to assess and correct the noisy labels. To evaluate the performance of the proposed methodologies, we used the datasets from two E-nose systems. The experimental results show that the proposed methodology helps the E-noses achieve higher accuracy with lower computation than the reference methods do. Finally, we can conclude that the proposed class-label appraisal mechanism is an effective means of enhancing the robustness of active learning-based E-nose drift compensation.

In karst landscapes, soil CO2 is a key factor in weathering processes and carbon cycling, where its distribution and migration characteristics directly affect fluxes in carbon source−sink dynamics. We measured the CO2 emission and dissolution rates of carbonate tablets in calcareous soil developed from limestone and red soil developed from clastic rock, in karst and non-karst subtropical forests, in Guilin, southwest China between 2015 and 2018, to analyze their CO2 transfer characteristics and source−sink effects. The results showed similar average soil respiration rates between calcareous soil and red soil, with an average CO2 emission flux of 1305 and 1167 t C km−2 a−1, respectively. Carbonate tablet dissolution rates were bidirectional with increasing depth and were greater in red soil than calcareous soil, averaging 13.88 ± 5.42 and 7.20 ± 2.11 mg cm−2 a−1, respectively. CO2 concentration was bidirectional with increasing soil depth, reaching a maximum at the base of the soil−atmosphere interface (50−60 cm), and the bidirectional gradient was more distinctive in red soil. Change in the carbon isotope value of soil CO2 was also bidirectional in calcareous soils, for which the overall average was 0.87‱ heavier in calcareous than red soil. The carbon sink in calcareous soil in karst regions was estimated to be 11.97 times that of red soil in non-karst regions, whereas its role as a carbon source is just 1.12 times that of red soil, thus indicating the key role of karst soil in the reduction of atmospheric CO2.

As a kind of intelligent instrument, an electronic tongue (E-tongue) realizes liquid analysis with an electrode-sensor array and certain machine learning methods. The large amplitude pulse voltammetry (LAPV) is a regular E-tongue type that prefers to collect a large amount of response data at a high sampling frequency within a short time. Therefore, a fast and effective feature extraction method is necessary for machine learning methods. Considering the fact that massive common-mode components (high correlated signals) in the sensor-array responses would depress the recognition performance of the machine learning models, we have proposed an alternative feature extraction method named feature specificity enhancement (FSE) for feature specificity enhancement and feature dimension reduction. The proposed FSE method highlights the specificity signals by eliminating the common mode signals on paired sensor responses. Meanwhile, the radial basis function is utilized to project the original features into a nonlinear space. Furthermore, we selected the kernel extreme learning machine (KELM) as the recognition part owing to its fast speed and excellent flexibility. Two datasets from LAPV E-tongues have been adopted for the evaluation of the machine-learning models. One is collected by a designed E-tongue for beverage identification and the other one is a public benchmark. For performance comparison, we introduced several machine-learning models consisting of different combinations of feature extraction and recognition methods. The experimental results show that the proposed FSE coupled with KELM demonstrates obvious superiority to other models in accuracy, time consumption and memory cost. Additionally, low parameter sensitivity of the proposed model has been demonstrated as well.