Search

Chinese government proposed the target that China's CO2 emissions could peak by 2030. Under this background, this paper focused on when and how can China's CO2 emissions reach peak. By analyzing the survival data of 91 countries from 1960 to 2014, this paper adopted the survival models to explore the factors that could influence the timing of emissions peaking and predicted the conditional probability of realizing the peak of CO2 emissions. The empirical results indicated that the total-factor productivity (TFP) plays a very important role with the average marginal effect of 0.012 and 0.066 for OECD (Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development) and non-OECD countries, respectively. It was estimated that China would peak in 2030, 2028 and 2025 in three different scenarios with the probability of >50%. The probability of peaking will increase to 98% in 2037, 2034 and 2030 under the these scenarios. These findings could help policy-makers to reduce carbon emissions and achieve the CO2 emissions target.

Retinal ganglion cells (RGCs) are the brain's gateway to the visual world. They can be classified into different types on the basis of their electrophysiological, transcriptomic, or morphological characteristics. Here, we characterize the transcriptomic, morphological, and functional features of 472 high-quality RGCs using Patch sequencing (Patch-seq), providing functional and morphological annotation of many transcriptomic-defined cell types of a previously established RGC atlas. We show a convergence of different modalities in defining the RGC identity and reveal the degree of correspondence for well-characterized cell types across multimodal data. Moreover, we complement some RGC types with detailed morphological and functional properties. We also identify differentially expressed genes among ON, OFF, and ON-OFF RGCs such as Vat1l, Slitrk6, and Lmo7, providing candidate marker genes for functional studies. Our research suggests that the molecularly distinct clusters may also differ in their roles of encoding visual information.

The extent to which neurogenesis occurs in adult primates remains controversial. In this study, using an optimized single-cell RNA sequencing pipeline, we profiled 207,785 cells from the adult macaque hippocampus and identified 34 cell populations comprising all major hippocampal cell types. Analysis of their gene expression, specification trajectories and gene regulatory networks revealed the presence of all key neurogenic precursor cell populations, including a heterogeneous pool of radial glia-like cells (RGLs), intermediate progenitor cells (IPCs) and neuroblasts. We identified HMGB2 as a novel IPC marker. Comparison with mouse single-cell transcriptomic data revealed differences in neurogenic processes between species. We confirmed that neurogenesis is recapitulated in ex vivo neurosphere cultures from adult primates, further supporting the existence of neural precursor cells (NPCs) that are able to proliferate and differentiate. Our large-scale dataset provides a comprehensive adult neurogenesis atlas for primates.

Neurons are the bricks of the neuronal system and experimental access to certain neuron subtypes will be of great help to decipher neuronal circuits. Here, we identified trophoblast glycoprotein (TPBG)-expressing GABAergic amacrine cells (ACs) that were selectively labeled in DAT-tdTomato transgenic mice.Retina and brain sections were prepared for immunostaining with antibodies against various biomarkers. Patch-sequencing was performed to obtain the transcriptomes of tdTomato-positive cells in DAT-tdTomato mice. Whole-cell recordings were conducted to identify responses to light stimulation.Tyrosine hydroxylase immunoreactive cells were colocalized with tdTomato-positive cells in substantia nigra pars compacta, but not in the retina. Transcriptomes collected from tdTomato-positive cells in retinas via Patch-sequencing exhibited the expression of marker genes of ACs (Pax6 and Slc32a1) and marker genes of GABAergic neurons (Gad1, Gad2, and Slc6a1). Immunostaining with antibodies against relevant proteins (GAD67, GAD65, and GABA) also confirmed transcriptomic results. Furthermore, tdTomato-positive cells in retinas selectively expressed Tpbg, a marker gene for distinct clusters molecularly defined, which was proved with TPBG immunoreactivity in fluorescently labeled cells. Finally, tdTomato-positive cells recorded showed ON-OFF responses to light stimulation.Ectopic expression occurs in the retina but not in the substantia nigra pars compacta in the DAT-tdTomato mouse, and fluorescently labeled cells in the retina are TPBG-expressing GABAergic ACs. This type of transgenic mice has been proved as an ideal tool to achieve efficient labeling of a distinct subset of ACs that selectively express Tpbg.

Glaucoma and optic neuropathies cause progressive and irreversible degeneration of retinal ganglion cells (RGCs) and the optic nerve and are currently without any effective treatment. Previous research into cell replacement therapy of these neurodegenerative diseases has been stalled due to the limited capability for grafted RGCs to integrate into the retina and project properly along the long visual pathway to reach their brain targets. In vivo RGC regeneration would be a promising alternative approach but mammalian retinas lack regenerative capacity even though cold-blood vertebrates such as zebrafish have the full capacity to regenerate a damaged retina using Müller glia (MG) as retinal stem cells. Nevertheless, mammalian MG undergo limited neurogenesis when stimulated by retinal injury. Therefore, a fundamental question that remains to be answered is whether MG can be induced to efficiently regenerate functional RGCs for vision restoration in mammals. Here we show that without stimulating proliferation, the transcription factor (TF) Math5 together with a Brn3 TF family member are able to reprogram mature mouse MG into RGCs with exceedingly high efficiency while either alone has no or limited capacity. The reprogrammed RGCs extend long axons that make appropriate intra-retinal and extra-retinal projections through the entire visual pathway including the optic nerve, optic chiasm and optic tract to innervate both image-forming and non-image-forming brain targets. They exhibit typical neuronal electrophysiological properties and improve visual responses in two glaucoma mouse models:Brn3bnull mutant mice and mice with the optic nerve crushed (ONC). Together, our data provide evidence that mammalian MG can be reprogrammed by defined TFs to achieve robust in vivo regeneration of functional RGCs as well as a promising new therapeutic approach to restore vision to patients with glaucoma and other optic neuropathies.

SummaryIntroduction Diabetic nephropathy (DN) is a common complication in diabetics. Recent evidence suggests that neutrophil–lymphocyte ratio (NLR) affects the development and acceleration of some diabetic complications. Scholars have rarely investigated the relationship between DN and NLR. This study aims to evaluate the relationship between DN and NLR and estimate whether or not NLR is a reliable marker for early-stage DN. Patients and methods The study included 253 patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus, 115 of whom have early-stage DN. The control group was composed of 210 healthy age- and sex-matched subjects. Results The NLR values of the patients with diabetes were significantly higher than those of the healthy controls (P

Calcium carbonate (CaCO3) occurs in the three polymorphs calcite, aragonite and vaterite. The formation of these crystals in inorganic solutions is influenced by parameters like pH, temperature or impurities. Living freshwater microalgae can also induce the formation of CaCO3 when they live in a suitable environment containing saturated amounts of Ca2+. Through this biologically induced biomineralization only the formation of the polymorph calcite has been reported yet. We investigated the precipitates which have been formed in solutions containing the freshwater microalgae Scenedesmus obliquus and different zinc amounts (0, 3.27 and 6.53 mg Zn2+/l) by XRD and SEM. As references precipitates from the same solutions but without algae were investigated. We could show that the presence of living microalgae has a great influence on the precipitation of calcium carbonate crystals. In algae-containing media without or with a low zinc amount always calcite and aragonite are formed. In the corresponding medium with 6.53 mg Zn2+/l pure aragonite crystals were built. In contrast, in the inorganic, algae-free solutions without zinc, pure calcite is precipitated. Both inorganic solutions with zinc show major calcite precipitation and weak aragonite precipitation. Thus the algae cells advance significantly the formation of aragonite, which is enhanced by the presence of zinc cations in the media. Possible mechanisms are discussed.

Background Insulin resistance (IR) plays a vital role in the pathogenesis of Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus (T2DM). The mechanism of IR may be associated with inflammation, whereas the neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) is a new indicator of subclinical inflammation. Scholars have rarely investigated the relationship between IR and NLR. This study aims to evaluate the relationship between IR and NLR, and determine whether or not NLR is a reliable marker for IR. Methods The sample consists of a total of 413 patients with T2DM, 310 of whom have a HOMA-IR value of > 2.0. The control group consists of 130 age and BMI matched healthy subjects. Results The NLR values of the diabetic patients were significantly higher than those of the healthy control (P 2.0 are notably greater than those of the patients with a HOMA-IR value of ≤ 2.0 (P