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Abstract With the increasingly intense academic competition, the stressors faced by doctoral students are gradually escalating. Based on the Job Demands-Resources Model, this study proposed a moderated moderation to explore how hindrance research stressors affect doctoral students’ research creativity. Explicitly, the present study investigates whether the relationship between hindrance research stressors and research creativity is contingent on inclusive mentoring style and academic resilience. By analyzing the survey data from 538 valid questionnaire responses of doctoral students in China, this study has revealed that hindrance research stressors negatively relate to doctoral students’ research creativity, and inclusive mentoring style from academic supervisors can mitigate the negative impact of hindrance research stressors on the research creativity of doctoral students. Furthermore, academic resilience strengthens the moderating effect of inclusive mentoring style. Specifically, it buffers the negative impact of hindrance research stressors on research creativity among doctoral students who receive high inclusive mentoring, but not among those with low levels of inclusive mentoring. These findings emphasize that effective strategies to enhance the research creativity of doctoral students who encounter hindrance stressors may require the joint consideration of contextual and personal resources.

Optical tweezers are precise tools for translating and rotating micrometer-sized particles and are used widely in biology and physics. In a linearly polarized optical trap, Janus particles comprising two hemispheres with different refractive indexes can be rotated about the beam axis following the polarization direction. In previous research, the position and orientation of a Janus particle relative to the polarization direction were simulated using the T-matrix method, whereas this paper is focused on accurate experimental measurements. The position and orientation of a Janus particle are extracted by image processing, and the polarization direction is controlled by a motor-driven half-wave plate (HWP). The particle’s orientation and the polarization direction are related via the HWP’s rotation angle. However, rotating the HWP not only rotates the polarization direction but also causes the trap center to fluctuate positionally because of the inevitable misalignment between the HWP’s rotation axis and the optical axis. Both the trap center and the polarization direction affect the particle’s position, but the influence of the former is removed with the aid of a homogeneous microsphere. The experimental results show that the Janus particle rotates following the polarization direction to keep the interface between its two hemispheres always parallel to the polarization direction. Also, the particle’s centroid moves in a circular orbit around the trap center to hold the trap center in the hemisphere with the higher refractive index. The experimental results agree with the previous simulation results and are of use for future applications.

Summary: China’s pursuit of photovoltaic (PV) power, particularly rooftop installations, addresses energy and ecological challenges, aiming to reduce basic energy consumption by 50% by 2030. The northwest region, with its solar potential, is a focal point for distributed PV growth, which has already exceeded 50% of the energy mix by 2021. This study assesses the rooftop PV potential in five northwestern capitals, finding favorable conditions such as ample space, dense populations, and high sunlight exposure. Cities like Yinchuan and Xining are highlighted for their high projected annual PV yields. Although there is a negative correlation between surface temperature and vegetation coverage, the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) numerical simulation found that large-scale deployment of rooftop photovoltaics will not have a significant impact on the vegetation ecology of the area. The research underscores the significant role of rooftop PV in achieving China’s energy and climate goals in its northwestern urban centers.

Abstract Assembly ubiquitously occurs in nature and gives birth to numerous functional biomaterials and sophisticated organisms. In this work, chiral hydrogen-bonded organic-inorganic frameworks (HOIFs) are synthesized via biomimicking the self-assembly process from amino acids to proteins. Enjoying the homohelical configurations analogous to α-helix, the HOIFs exhibit remarkable chiroptical activity including the chiral fluorescence (g lum = 1.7 × 10−3) that is untouched among the previously reported hydrogen-bonded frameworks. Benefitting from the dynamic feature of hydrogen bonding, HOIFs enable enantio-discrimination of chiral aliphatic substrates with imperceivable steric discrepancy based on fluorescent change. Moreover, the disassembled HOIFs after recognition applications are capable of being facilely regenerated and self-purified via aprotic solvent-induced reassembly, leading to at least three consecutive cycles without losing the enantioselectivity. The underlying mechanism of chirality bias is decoded by the experimental isothermal titration calorimetry together with theoretic simulation.

Abstract Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) have been applied in transplantation to treat intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) but with limited efficacy. Accumulated evidence has shown that glial cell-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF) plays a crucial part in neuronal protection and functional recovery of the brain after ICH; however, GDNF has difficulty crossing the blood–brain barrier, which limits its application. In this study, we investigated the influences of MSCs overexpressing GDNF (MSCs/GDNF) on the brain structure as well as gait of rats after ICH and explored the possible mechanisms. We found that cell transplantation could reverse the neurological dysfunction and brain damage caused by ICH to a certain extent, and MSCs/GDNF transplantation was superior to MSCs transplantation. Moreover, Transplantation of MSCs overexpressing GDNF effectively reduced the volume of bleeding foci and increased the level of glucose uptake in rats with ICH, which could be related to improving mitochondrial quality. Furthermore, GDNF produced by transplanted MSCs/GDNF further inhibited neuroinflammation, improved mitochondrial quality and function, promoted angiogenesis and the survival of neurons and oligodendrocytes, and enhanced synaptic plasticity in ICH rats when compared with simple MSC transplantation. Overall, our data indicate that GDNF overexpression heightens the curative effect of MSC implantation in treating rats following ICH.

The utility-scale deployment of photovoltaic (PV) power plants is critical for achieving carbon peaking and carbon neutrality goals and mitigating climate change. However, the impact of a PV power plant project on the microclimate is unclear for different underlying surfaces. Therefore, PV power plants in deserts and lakes were selected to assess and compare the impact of PV array deployment on the environment by the observation. The results indicate that the PV array affected the wind pattern, the wind direction makes simple (from 10 m to 2 m), and wind speed in the PV site under two types of underlying surfaces was less than the reference site. For the PV power plant in desert, the delta (PV - REF) is increased from 0.12 m s−1 at 10 m to 0.27 m s−1 at 2 m. The counterpart in the lake is increased from 0.14 m s−1 at 10 m to 0.55 m s−1 at 2 m. However, the PV arrays had no effect on the air temperature at the center of the PV array gap. The difference in air temperature for two observation sites under two type of underlying surfaces was less than the resolution of instrument MaxiMet (0.1 °C). Instead, the heat from the PV panels is transmitted down to the land surface, causing a temperature effect in the desert and lakes. For the PV power plant in land, the arrays have heating effect on air temperature (The air temperature was 33.43 °C in the PV_land site, and 28.03 °C in the REF_land site in July, respectively). But the arrays have cooling effect on air temperature for the PV power plant in lake in the same month (PV_lake site, 28.58 °C; REF_lake site, 29.97 °C). Furthermore, evaporation is lower in the PV power plant owing to the physical shielding of PV arrays (For the land, the peak of hour evaporation (PV_land – REF_land) was 0.12 mm; for the lake, the peak of hour evaporation (PV_lake – REF_lake) was 0.32 mm). This study provides new evidence of the microclimate impact of photovoltaic array deployment on different underlying surfaces.

As a novel measure for irregularity and complexity of the spontaneous fluctuations of brain activities, brain entropy (BEN) has attracted much attention in resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI) studies during the last decade. Previous studies have shown its associations with cognitive and mental functions. While most previous research assumes BEN is approximately stationary during scan sessions, the brain, even at its resting state, is a highly dynamic system. Such dynamics could be characterized by a series of reoccurring whole-brain patterns related to cognitive and mental processes. The present study aims to explore the time-varying feature of BEN and its potential links with general cognitive ability. We adopted a sliding window approach to derive the dynamical brain entropy (dBEN) of the whole-brain functional networks from the HCP (Human Connectome Project) rs-fMRI dataset that includes 812 young healthy adults. The dBEN was further clustered into 4 reoccurring BEN states by the k-means clustering method. The fraction window (FW) and mean dwell time (MDT) of one BEN state, characterized by the extremely low overall BEN, were found to be negatively correlated with general cognitive abilities (i.e., cognitive flexibility, inhibitory control, and processing speed). Another BEN state, characterized by intermediate overall BEN and low within-state BEN located in DMN, ECN, and part of SAN, its FW, and MDT were positively correlated with the above cognitive abilities. The results of our study advance our understanding of the underlying mechanism of BEN dynamics and provide a potential framework for future investigations in clinical populations.

A dynamic southern branch trough （SBT） and a dynamic northern branch ridge （NBR）， two flows around the Tibetan Plateau （FQXP） generated by the mid-latitude westerlies in the winter half-year （October-April）， have an important influence on the weather and climate of their vicinity and downstream.In this paper， differences between the mean vorticity and the multi-year mean vorticity of two key regions-where the SBT and the NBR are located in 600 hPa are used to represent the intensity of the SBT and the NBR separately.Then the difference between the strength of SBT and NBR is defined visually as the intensity index of FQXP.The relationship between the precipitation and temperature in China and the evolution of FQXP's average in winter half-year and that in autumn， winter and spring is discussed， using correlation analysis and composite analysis.The results show that the FQXP is constant in the winter half-year （October-April）， with significant interannual variations， and the strongest in winter.In the context of global warming， variations in the intensity of FQXP at each period is closely related to the precipitation and temperature in Northwest， Southwest and South China， especially in winter.FQXP has a significant relationship with the temperature changes in northwest， southwest and northeast China， and its best precipitation correlations are found in southwest and south China.Analysis of anomalous large-scale atmospheric circulation and physical quantity fields， such as water vapor flux dispersion and vertical velocity， at each layer in each time period leads to the conclusion that the bottom-up positive pressure characteristic is significant in most of Asia， which well explains the relationship between FQXP anomalies and precipitation and temperature in China at each time period.FQXP anomalies may also be one cause for high-impact weather in China during winter half-year.

Abstract The underlying surface was the important media of air-lake interaction by transferring energy. The deployment of photovoltaic arrays on the lake has formed a new underlying surface type. But the new underlying surface is different from the natural lake. The impact of fishery complementary photovoltaic (FPV) power plants on the radiation, energy flux, and driving force is unclear. Therefore, the analysis of radiation, energy flux, and driving force by comparing the difference in the two sites under various synoptic conditions. The results indicated that the radiation components are not significantly different in the two sites under diverse synoptic conditions. The downward shortwave radiation (DSR) and net radiation ( $${R}_{n}$$ R n ) were presented with one peak on a sunny day. The daily average DSR and Rn in the two sites were 279.1 W·m−2, 209.3 W·m−2, respectively. The daily average (cloudy day and rainy day) sensible heat flux in the two sites was 39.5 W·m−2 (FPV site), 19.2 W·m−2 (REF site), respectively. The latent heat flux was 53.2 W·m−2 and 75.2 W·m−2 on counterpart. The water body generally absorbs heat from the air (daily average ∆Q was 16.6 W·m−2) in the FPV site on a sunny day. The driving force of sensible heat flux in the FPV site was governed by the temperature of the FPV panel under sunny and cloudy conditions. The latent heat flux was determined by the product between wind speed and water-atmosphere temperature difference.

The research creativity of doctoral students is not solely fueled by their intrinsic motivation, but also thrives in an environment that offers challenging research opportunities, substantial support, and feedback from significant others. Based on the job demands-resources model, this study aims to explore the impact of challenge research stressors on the research creativity of Chinese doctoral students. A mediated moderation model was constructed to examine the mediating effect of achievement motivation and the moderating effect of supervisor developmental feedback on the relationship between challenge research stressors and research creativity. A total of 538 valid questionnaires were collected from doctoral students using convenience sampling and snowball sampling. The questionnaires included the Challenge Research Stressors Scale, the Research Creativity Scale, the Achievement Motivation Scale, and the Supervisor Developmental Feedback Scale. Regression analyses, bootstrap testing, and simple slope analyses were used to estimate the various relationships. The findings indicated that challenge research stressors had a positive effect on doctoral students’ research creativity. Supervisor developmental feedback positively moderated the impact of challenge research stressors on the achievement motivation and research creativity of doctoral students. Achievement motivation partially mediated the influence of challenge research stressors on doctoral students’ research creativity, and further fully mediated the interaction effect of challenge research stressors and supervisor developmental feedback on doctoral students’ research creativity. These findings contribute not only to our understanding of the mechanisms and boundary conditions through which challenge research stressors impact the research creativity of doctoral students, but also provide valuable insights into how to stimulate and maintain their research creativity.

Abstract Shallow soil refers to the soil layer within the 50 cm depth. Shallow soil temperature (ST) directly or indirectly affects many processes in the soil, such as seed germination, plant growth, and water evaporation. Therefore, the study of shallow ST is of great significance in understanding the surface energy, water cycle, ecology and climate change. This work collected observational data from 141 meteorological stations on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau from 1981 to 2020 and ERA5 reanalysis data, used the “Moving Surface Spline Interpolation Algorithm Based on Green’s Function” and “Fuzzy C-means algorithm”, and analyzed the temporal and spatial change characteristics of ST at different levels. The results showed that 1) the temperature increase of 0–20 cm (the surface layer of the shallow soil) was roughly the same. The average annual ST was 9.15–9.57°, and the interdecadal variabilities were 0.49–0.53 K/10a. The average annual ST of 40 cm (the bottom layer) was 8.69°, and the interdecadal variability reached 0.98 K/10a. 2) Considering the 7 regions, the warming trend was obvious, and there were certain regional differences. The average annual ST in different regions ranged from 5.2 (northeastern Plateau) to 17.1 °C (western Sichuan Plateau), with a difference of nearly 12 K. The standard deviation ranged from 0.40 (western Sichuan Plateau) to 0.61 K (Qiangtang Plateau), with a difference of 0.21 K. 3) The errors of the obtained grid data were basically less than 3%, which were much smaller than the errors obtained from the ERA5 reanalysis data. This work is significant for understanding the characteristics of ST evolution and land‒atmosphere interactions on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau and provides important data support for improving the underlying surface boundary conditions of models.

Air pollution is one of the most important factors affecting the solar radiation reaching the earth’s surface under the clear (cloudless) sky conditions. In this work, six typical cities with serious pollution located in the north, northeast, eastern, central, southwest, and southern regions of China: Beijing, Shenyang, Shanghai, Wuhan, Wenjiang and Guangzhou were selected. The influence of air pollution on global and diffuse solar radiation (Rsand Rd) under clear sky condition was quantitatively analyzed, based on the historical daily meteorological data from January 2014 to December 2020. The results showed that the highest Rsattenuation ratio of the above six cities appeared in spring, autumn, winter, summer, autumn and winter, respectively. The largest Rdincrement ratio of the six cities appeared in summer, spring, autumn, summer, autumn and spring, respectively. From 2014 to 2020, the relative attenuation of Rscaused by air pollution (AQI > 100) was largest in Beijing (6.03%), followed by Shanghai (4.21%), Wenjiang (4.15%), Shenyang (3.28%) and Wuhan (3.14%), while Guangzhou (1.32%) had the smallest relative attenuation. Additionally, the Rdrelative increment was largest in Beijing (16.21%), followed by Shanghai (8.78%), Wenjiang (8.13%), Shenyang (7.76%) and Guangzhou (5.96%), while Wuhan (2.57%) had the smallest relative increment.

In order to improve the simulation performance of NCAR CLM4.5 （The Community Land Model Version 4.5） for land surface temperature （LST） in northern China， the ability of three commonly used soil thermal conductivity （STC） models were tested in this paper.The results show that these schemes can simulate the temporal and spatial characteristics of land surface temperature in northern China well.The LST in northern China has risen in recent 30 years， especially since 2003.The trend can be simulated by all these three schemes and shows a significant correlation with the observed LST， but the simulated warming amplitude is small than that of observation.The overall evaluation based on the taylor diagram and precipitation simulation shows that LR scheme has the best simulation effect.Therefore， a new scheme of STC that more suitable for climate simulation in northern China is added to CLM4.5， which promotes the development of the land surface model.

Increasingly, higher education institutions are giving more attention to the language proficiency of non-native English-speaking teachers (NNESTs) due to their growing numbers. Despite a recent surge in the literature on NNESTs in the global discourse of English language teaching (ELT), the impacts of NNESTs’ language competency within the higher education systems of their countries remain woefully under-examined. Of particular concern is the absence of students’ voices. Therefore, this study explores higher education students’ perception of NNESTs’ language proficiency. Data was collected through class observations of five NNESTs and followed-up semi-structured interviews with five student focus groups recruited randomly from each class. Our results show that while students concur that NNESTs’ language proficiency contributes to their learning performance in class, other factors (e.g., the teacher’s effective teaching style and charming personality, relaxed class atmosphere, the difficulty level of the teaching materials, and the learners’ proficiency level) also perceived to play key roles in boosting students’ class learning effectiveness. The findings highlight the need to include students in the design of teaching approaches, course design, and curricula, as well as the reflection process about NNESTs’ language proficiency.

As an important part of surface hydrological cycle and energy distribution， lake evaporation is of great practical significance.The lake photovoltaic power plant is a new form of power generation， which changes the energy distribution in the process of converting solar energy into electric energy， thus changing the evaporation of the lake.Based on the observation data inside and outside the fish-lighting complementary photovoltaic power plant from October 2020 to January 2021 in Yingfang Village， Yangzhong City， Jiangsu Province， this paper analyzed the characteristics of the changes in evaporation， and evaluated the main evaporation models.The results show that： the evaporation inside the station was less than that outside the station which affected by the shielding effect of the photovoltaic power plant， and the evaporation was reduced by 44.9%.The evaporation in autumn was obviously larger than that in winter， and the evaporation in daytime was much larger than that at night.Three evaporation models were evaluated in this paper， among which the mass transfer model had the best simulation effect.Correlation analysis showed that the daily evaporation of lake photovoltaic power plants was significantly correlated with water vapor pressure difference， temperature difference between lake and air， and net radiation flux.The hourly evaporation could be approximated as a linear regression value of net radiation， 10m wind speed， relative humidity and temperature difference between lake and air.The linear model was expressed as： y=0.08+0.0003Rn+0.0754u10-0.0035RH+0.0165Ts.

The construction and operation of photovoltaic （PV） power stations have changed the surface characteristics of the natural underlying surface， which may cause changes in land surface process factors such as surface albedo and surface roughness， affecting the characteristics of material exchange and energy distribution.In order to explore the influence of the construction of Gobi photovoltaic power station on the underlying land surface parameters and improve the land surface process model， this paper studied the characteristics of the underlying land surface parameters of the photovoltaic power station based on the observation data of the photovoltaic power station and reference stations in Wujiaqu.The results showed that the average aerodynamic roughness inside the PV plant is 0.12 m， which is much larger than the roughness of the natural Gobi underlying surface.During the daytime， the friction velocity and momentum flux inside the PV plant are larger than those at the reference site， with the maximum values in the daily variation increased by 18.8% and 38.5%， respectively.The vertical turbulent mixing in the PV plant increased by 22.2% compared to the reference site， while the latitudinal and longitudinal turbulence intensity decreased by 11.8% and 2.9%， respectively.The average soil thermal conductivity of 5~20 cm depth in photovoltaic power station is 0.33 W·（m·K）-1.

With the large-scale construction of photovoltaic power plants， the physical characteristics of the near-surface layer change accordingly.The turbulence activity as the way of interaction between the earth and the atmosphere is also affected by it.As a new form of solar power generation， lake photovoltaic power plant plays a vital role in energy application.In order to understand the characteristics of local turbulence in lake photovoltaic power plants， the observed data of the photovoltaic power plant from July to November 2021 in Yingfang Village， Fengyu Town， Yangzhong City， Jiangsu Province， were used in this study to investigate the turbulence characteristics and the variation rules of stability.The results indicate that： the installation of photovoltaic power plant enhanced the turbulence intensity， and showed as Iv>Iu>Iw， which had a certain influence on the local airflow.At the same time， the photovoltaic power plant promoted the enhancement of turbulent kinetic energy and friction velocity， and significantly increased the local momentum and heat transport.The momentum transport coefficient CD=13.36×10-3，and the sensible heat transport coefficient CH=6.01×10-3.The instability of near-ground atmosphere on photovoltaic power plant was enhanced in the daytime， and conversely， it was enhanced stability at night.After the classification of stability， the near-ground atmosphere on photovoltaic power plant was mainly concentrated in neutral and near neutral， accounting for 75.11%.

Due to the global environmental crisis， energy crisis and the urgent need to deal with climate change， governments around the world have increased the use of renewable energy.The progress of photovoltaic technology and the support of government policies have promoted the unprecedented the development of photovoltaic industry.The large-scale construction of photovoltaic plants has significantly changed the land use and land cover， caused changes in the characteristics of the land surface， led to changes in the energy budget and distribution between land and atmosphere， and then produced feedback to the local climate system.Hence， many scholars have carried out relevant research on the environmental and climate impact of photovoltaic plants.Based on the domestic and international research progress in this field， this paper systematically summarizes the research methods， conclusions and possible impact mechanisms of photovoltaic climate effects.Existing research is mainly based on large-scale photovoltaic plants in desert areas and BIPV （Building Integrated Photovoltaic） in urban areas： photovoltaic plants cause local temperature rise， resulting in "photovoltaic heat island" effect in desert areas due to the high albedo； In urban areas， photovoltaic panels can not only reduce building energy consumption， but also effectively slow down the "urban heat island" effect.

In the situation of low-carbon energy development， photovoltaic power industry develops rapidly， and photovoltaic power stations in China are mostly built in the Northwest Gobi region.In order to study the influence of Gobi photovoltaic power station on local climate and environment， this paper compared and analyzed the characteristics and differences of meteorological elements between the Gobi photovoltaic power station and the reference station in December 2019 and April， July and October 2020.The results show that the temperature of PV power station at 2 m height is lower than the reference point in all seasons at night， and the cooling effect weakens with the increase of height.The temperature of PV power station is higher than that of the reference site at 2 m height in the daytime of spring， summer and autumn， but lower than that of the reference site in the daytime of winter.With the increase of height， the warming effect weakens in spring and summer in daytime， and strengthens in autumn and winter.Because the specific heat capacity of photovoltaic panel is lower than that of soil， the temperature of photovoltaic panel is higher than the surface temperature of reference station in daytime， and the difference increases with the enhancement of solar radiation.Compared with the reference station， the wind direction in the photovoltaic power station is single and the wind speed is lower due to the shielding effect of the photovoltaic array on the wind.With the increase of height， the influence of pv array on wind field decreases.

Non-human primate (NHP) neuroimaging can provide essential insights into the neural basis of human cognitive functions. While functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) localizers can play an essential role in reaching this objective (Russ et al., 2021), they often differ substantially across species in terms of paradigms, measured signals, and data analysis, biasing the comparisons. Here we introduce a functional frequency-tagging face localizer for NHP imaging, successfully developed in humans and outperforming standard face localizers (Gao et al., 2018). FMRI recordings were performed in two awake macaques. Within a rapid 6 Hz stream of natural non-face objects images, human or monkey face stimuli were presented in bursts every 9 s. We also included control conditions with phase-scrambled versions of all images. As in humans, face-selective activity was objectively identified and quantified at the peak of the face-stimulation frequency (0.111 Hz) and its second harmonic (0.222 Hz) in the Fourier domain. Focal activations with a high signal-to-noise ratio were observed in regions previously described as face-selective, mainly in the STS (clusters PL, ML, MF; also, AL, AF), both for human and monkey faces. Robust face-selective activations were also found in the prefrontal cortex of one monkey (PVL and PO clusters). Face-selective neural activity was highly reliable and excluded all contributions from low-level visual cues contained in the amplitude spectrum of the stimuli. These observations indicate that fMRI frequency-tagging provides a highly valuable approach to objectively compare human and monkey visual recognition systems within the same framework.

For the first time, a novel dithiomaleimides (DTM) based tetra-antennary GalNAc conjugate was developed, which enable both efficient siRNA delivery and good traceability, without incorporating extra fluorophores. This conjugate can be readily constructed by three click-type reactions, that is, amidations, thiol-dibromomaleimide addition and copper catalyzed azide–alkyne cycloaddition (CuAAC). And it also has comparable siRNA delivery efficiency, with a GalNAc L96 standard to mTTR target. Additionally, due to the internal DTMs, a highly fluorescent emission was observed, which benefited delivery tracking and reduced the cost and side effects of the extra addition of hydrophobic dye molecules. In all, the simple incorporation of DTMs to the GalNAc conjugate structure has potential in gene therapy and tracking applications.

Podocyte injury plays a key role in the production of proteinuria and is closely related to the progression of chronic kidney disease (CKD). Alleviating podocyte injury is beneficial to prevent the occurrence and development of CKD. tRNA-derived RNA fragments (tRFs) are associated with podocytes injury processes such as protein binding, cell adhesion, synapses, the actin cytoskeleton. Our previous data showed that tRF-003634 tightly correlated with podocyte injury, while its effect remains unclear. This study aimed to investigate the role of tRF-003634 in podocyte injury and the potential mechanisms. The expression level of tRF-003634, nephrin, podocin and tRF-003634 targeted toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) in podocytes and kidney tissues were examined by quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR), western blot and immunohistochemistry. The biochemical indices were monitored and renal pathological changes were assessed by hematoxylin and eosin PAS staining. Furthermore, potential target genes of tRF-003634 were screened using high-throughput mRNA sequencing, and then confirmed by RNA pulse-chase analysis. The results showed that tRF-003634 was downregulated in adriamycin (Adr)-induced podocyte injury. Overexpression of tRF-003634 increased the expression of nephrin and podocin in vivo and in vitro and alleviated podocyte injury. Meanwhile, overexpression of tRF-003634 alleviated proteinuria and renal pathological damage. In addition, high-throughput sequencing after overexpression of tRF-003634 showed that TLR4 might be a downstream target gene. tRF-003634 can alleviate podocyte injury by reducing the stability of TLR4 mRNA, possibly by competing with TLR4 mRNA to bind to YTH domain-containing protein 1 (YTHDC1). In conclusion, tRF-003634 was underexpressed in Adr-induced podocyte injury, and its overexpression alleviated podocyte injury in vitro and in vivo by reducing the stability of TLR4 mRNA.

During the winter half-year (previous October–April), the mid-latitude westerlies flows around the Tibetan Plateau (TP) and generate a dynamic low-pressure trough on its south side and a high-pressure ridge on its north side. In this study, we define the vorticity perturbation as the difference between local vorticity and the meridionally-averaged vorticity. Then, the difference of averaged vorticity perturbation at 600 hPa in the two key areas where the trough and ridge are located is used to represent the intensity of the flows around the Tibetan Plateau (FAT). The evolution characteristics of FAT in the winter half-year, as well as in autumn, winter and spring, are analyzed. Moreover, under global warming, in winter the relationship of FAT to the precipitation and temperature in China are discussed. The results show that FAT steadily exists on both sides of TP during the winter half-year. With the north-south migration of the mid-latitude westerlies, the FAT gradually strengthens in autumn, with the strongest intensity and the widest range in winter, and begins to weaken in spring. The intensity of FAT (IFAT) has a decreasing trend and a quasi-4a period variation on the interannual scale in all the time, both of which are closely related to the mid-latitude westerlies upstream of TP. Represented by the winter when IFAT is strongest, the IFAT is significantly correlated to the change of precipitation and temperature in most parts of China under global warming, especially in the convergence area over central-eastern China. There is also a significant correlation between IFAT and the precipitation and temperature anomalies in Northwest China, TP, and Northeast China. This relationship between the FAT anomaly and the climate anomaly in China in winter can be well explained by analyzing the anomalies of large-scale circulation, outgoing longwave radiation and water vapor flux divergence. The FAT anomaly maybe one of the reasons for the climate extreme events in China in winter.

The global warming effect has been accelerating rapidly and poses a threat to human survival and health. The top priority to solve this problem is to provide reliable renewable energy. To achieve this goal, it is important to provide fast and accurate solar radiation predictions based on limited observation data. In this study, a fast and accurate solar radiation nowcasting method is proposed by combining FY-4A satellite data and the McClear clear sky model under the condition of only radiation observation. The results show that the random forest (RF) performed better than the support vector regression (SVR) model and the reference model (Clim-Pers), with the smallest normalized root mean square error (nRMSE) values (between 13.90% and 33.80%), smallest normalized mean absolute error (nMAE) values (between 7.50% and 24.77%), smallest normalized mean bias error (nMBE) values (between −1.17% and 0.7%) and highest R2 values (between 0.76 and 0.95) under different time horizons. In addition, it can be summarized that remote sensing data can significantly improve the radiation forecasting performance and can effectively guarantee the stability of radiation predictions when the time horizon exceeds 60 min. Furthermore, to obtain the optimal operation efficiency, the prediction results were interpreted by introducing the latest SHapley Additive exPlanation (SHAP) method. From the interpretation results, we selected the three key channels of an FY-4A and then made the model lightweight. Compared with the original input model, the new one predicted the results more rapidly. For instance, the lightweight parameter input model needed only 0.3084 s (compared to 0.5591 s for full parameter input) per single data point on average for the 10 min global solar radiation forecast in Yuzhong. Meanwhile, the prediction effect also remained stable and reliable. Overall, the new method showed its advantages in radiation prediction under the condition that only solar radiation observations were available. This is very important for radiation prediction in cities with scarce meteorological observation, and it can provide a reference for the location planning of photovoltaic power stations.

BackgroundPneumocystis jirovecii can result in a serious pulmonary infection, Pneumocystis jirovecii pneumonia, in immunocompetent hosts. The diagnosis of Pneumocystis jirovecii pneumonia has long been a major clinical concern, and there are limitations with the currently utilized immunostaining and polymerase chain reaction diagnosis/detection technologies (e.g., insufficient sensitivity and accuracy). Hence, we sought to establish a rapid and RNA-specific transcription mediated amplification and CRISPR/Cas13a-based diagnostics targeted P. jirovecii-mitochondrial large subunit ribosomal RNA.MethodsThe procedure of the diagnostics included amplification of the extracted RNA samples by transcription mediated amplification, followed by CRISPR/Cas13 detection, and ultimately, the judgment of the results after 30 minutes of fluorescence signal. Later, the diagnostic performance of the CRISPR/Cas13-based diagnostics were tested on the 62 surplus clinical samples.ResultsThis CRISPR/Cas13-based diagnostics achieved limits of detection of approximately 2 copies/µL transcribed RNA templates, with no cross reaction to other respiratory pathogens, including bacteria and fungi. Similar to in-house quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction, CRISPR/Cas13-based diagnostics was still positive in 243-fold diluted bronchial alveolar lavage fluid. A preliminary evaluation of 62 surplus bronchial alveolar lavage fluid samples from patients suspected of Pneumocystis jirovecii pneumonia showed that CRISPR/Cas13-based diagnostics achieved a 78.9% sensitivity and a 97.7% specificity in the diagnosis of Pneumocystis jirovecii pneumonia.ConclusionOur study demonstrates that the CRISPR/Cas13-based diagnostics technique has good performance for the accurate and specific diagnosis of Pneumocystis jirovecii pneumonia.

Background Psychogenic non epileptic seizures (PNES) are a frequent, disabling and costly disorder for which there is no consensual caring. They are considered as a dissociative disorder and they share many common characteristics with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Nevertheless, their pathophysiology is still unclear. In this study, we plan to obtain new data comparing functional brain activity of participants suffering from PNES, from PTSD and healthy controls via functional brain MRI during resting state and under emotional visual stimulation. The protocol presented hereunder describes an observational study with no direct treatment implication. Nevertheless, it could lead to a better understanding of PNES and to identifying targets for specialised cares of post-traumatic or dissociative disorders, like repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation. Methods & analysis This is a prospective, single-centre, interventional, non-randomized, open, controlled and exploratory clinical study. It will involve 75 adult French, right-handed women in 3 groups, either suffering from PNES or PTSD, or healthy controls. An informed consent will be signed by each participant. All of them will be given psychiatric tests to assess dissociation and alexithymia, psychopathological profile and history, and emotional recognition. Each participant will undergo a functional brain MRI. We will record anatomical images and five functional imaging sequences including emotional periodic oscillatory stimulation, standard emotional stimulation, Go / No Go task under emotional stimulation, and resting state. Analysis will include a descriptive analysis of all participants and the treatment for functional magnetic resonance imaging images of each sequence. Registration, ethics & dissemination This study was approved the regional Protection of Persons Committee under the reference 16.10.01 and by the French National Medical Security Agency under the reference 2016-A01295-46. The protocol and results will be published in peer-reviewed academic medical journals and disseminated to research teams, databases, specialised media and concerned patients’ organisations.

Patients treated for bilateral congenital cataracts provide a unique model to test the role of early visual input in shaping the development of the human cortex. Previous studies showed that brief early visual deprivation triggers long-lasting changes in the human visual cortex. However, it remains unknown if such changes interact with the development of other parts of the cortex. With high-resolution structural and resting-state fMRI images, we found changes in cortical thickness within, but not limited to, the visual cortex in adult patients, who experienced transient visual deprivation early in life as a result of congenital cataracts. Importantly, the covariation of cortical thickness across regions was also altered in the patients. The areas with altered cortical thickness in patients also showed differences in functional connectivity between patients and normally sighted controls. Together, the current findings suggest an impact of early visual deprivation on the interactive development of the human cortex.

In the field of arc fault detection, it is universally acknowledged that it is very hard to judge whether there is an arc fault through signals of the main line when a masking load (such as air compressors, lamps with dimmers, and so on) is in parallel with a resistive load, which always tends to be a fire hazard. Meanwhile, it is annoying that the normal currents of some appliances are very similar to the arcing ones. In this paper, we have found the principles of a novel detection method called high-frequency coupling, putting the neutral line (N) and the live line (L) through the current transformer (CT), which results in asymmetrical distribution of magnetic flux in the core and the only high-frequency components left in the secondary output of the CT. So it is possible for series arc fault detectors to be free from the masking loads and distinguish between the arcing and the nonarcing clearly. Thanks to this convenient method, an arc fault detector based on the microcontroller unit (MCU) has been proposed to detect arc faults effectively by means of simple multi-indicators. The experimental results show the accuracy of arc fault recognition, in all the masking tests, can reach a high level and the detector can detect an arc fault within a short time.

Rice blast is one of the most serious diseases of rice and a major threat to rice production. Breeding disease-resistant rice is one of the most economical, safe, and effective measures for the control of rice blast. As a complement to traditional crop breeding, the transgenic method can avoid the time-consuming process of crosses and multi-generation selection. In this study, maize (Zea mays) Activator (Ac)/Dissociation (Ds) transposon vectors carrying green fluorescent protein (GFP) and red fluorescent protein (mCherry) genetic markers were used for generating marker-free transgenic rice. Double fluorescent protein-aided counterselection against the presence of T-DNA was performed together with polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-based positive selection for the gene of interest (GOI) to screen marker-free progeny. We cloned an RNAi expression cassette of the rice Pi21 gene that negatively regulates resistance to rice blast as a GOI into the Ds element in the Ac/Ds vector and obtained marker-free T1 rice plants from 13 independent transgenic lines. Marker-free and Ds/GOI-homozygous rice lines were verified by PCR and Southern hybridization analysis to be completely free of transgenic markers and T-DNA sequences. qRT-PCR analysis and rice blast disease inoculation confirmed that the marker-free transgenic rice lines exhibited decreased Pi21 expression levels and increased resistance to rice blast. TAIL-PCR results showed that the Ds (Pi21-RNAi) transgenes in two rice lines were reintegrated in intergenic regions in the rice genome. The Ac/Ds vector with dual fluorescent protein markers offers more reliable screening of marker-free transgenic progeny and can be utilized in the transgenic breeding of rice disease resistance and other agronomic traits.

The clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeat (CRISPR)-associated endonuclease Cas13a can specifically bind and cleave RNA. After nucleic acid pre-amplification, bacterial Cas13a has been used to detect genetic mutations. In our study, using a transcription-mediated amplification together with Cas13a, we can isothermally amplify and detect mitochondrial point mutations under non-denaturing conditions from human genomic DNA. Unlike previous reports, we prepared CRISPR DNA with T7 promoter sequences and generated CRISPR RNA via transcription-mediated amplification instead of synthesizing and adding CRISPR RNA in a separate step. As a proof-of-concept, we showed that both m.1494C > T and m.1555A > G mutations were detected within 90 min. In addition, we explored various designs of CRISPR DNA to improve assay specificity, including the location and number of nucleotide mismatches, length of protospacer sequence, and different buffering conditions. We also confirmed the possibility of a “one-step single-tube” reaction for mutation detection. This assay can robustly distinguish circular DNA templates that differ by a single nucleotide. It has the potential to be adapted for automated applications, such as the screening of mitochondrial diseases.

The highly focused laser beam is capable of confining micro-sized particle in its focus. This is widely known as optical trapping. The Janus particle is composed of two hemispheres with different refractive indexes. In a linearly polarized optical trap, the Janus particle tends to align itself to an orientation where the interface of the two hemispheres is parallel to the laser propagation as well as the polarization direction. This enables a controllable approach that rotates the trapped particle with fine accuracy and could be used in partial measurement. However, due to the complexity of the interaction of the optical field and refractive index distribution, the trapping trajectory of the Janus particle in the linearly polarized optical trap is still uncovered. In this paper, we focus on the dynamic trapping process and the steady position and orientation of the Janus particle in the optical trap from both simulation and experimental aspects. The trapping process recorded by a high speed camera coincides with the simulation result calculated using the T-matrix model, which not only reveals the trapping trajectory, but also provides a practical simulation solution for more complicated structures and trapping motions.

Summary: We followed visual development in a rare yet large sample of patients with congenital bilateral cataract for 4 years. We divided the patients into two groups: a complete deprivation group with no response to a flashlight pointing to either of their eyes and otherwise an incomplete deprivation group. All the patients received cataract surgery at age of 3 months. From 27 months onward, the complete deprivation group showed better developmental outcomes in acuity and eyeball growth than the incomplete deprivation group. Such a seemingly counterintuitive finding is consistent with research on visually deprived animals. Plasticity is better preserved in animals receiving a short period of complete visual deprivation from birth than in animals who saw diffuse light. The current finding that plasticity in visual development is better preserved in human infants with complete visual deprivation than in those who can see diffuse light but not patterned visual input has important clinical implications. : Ophthalmology; Human Physiology; Biology of Human Development Subject Areas: Ophthalmology, Human Physiology, Biology of Human Development

The quantum model has been considered to be advantageous over the Markov model in explaining irrational behaviors (e.g., the disjunction effect) during decision making. Here, we reviewed and re-examined the ability of the quantum belief–action entanglement (BAE) model and the Markov belief–action (BA) model in explaining the disjunction effect considering a more realistic setting. The results indicate that neither of the two models can truly represent the underlying cognitive mechanism. Thus, we proposed a more realistic Markov model to explain the disjunction effect in the prisoner’s dilemma game. In this model, the probability transition pattern of a decision maker (DM) is dependent on the information about the opponent’s action, Also, the relationship between the cognitive components in the evolution dynamics is moderated by the DM’s degree of subjective uncertainty (DSN). The results show that the disjunction effect can be well predicted by a more realistic Markov model. Model comparison suggests the superiority of the proposed Markov model over the quantum BAE model in terms of absolute model performance, relative model performance, and model flexibility. Therefore, we suggest that the key to successfully explaining the disjunction effect is to consider the underlying cognitive mechanism properly.

Surface solar radiation research is important for understanding future climate change and the application of large-scale photovoltaic systems. We used the coupled model intercomparison project phase 5 (CMIP5) under the RCP8.5 scenario to project potential changes in surface solar radiation, surface temperatures, and cloud fractions between 2006 and 2049 in China, as well as how these changes may affect photovoltaic power generation. The results show that the following. (1) For surface temperatures, the median trends of all considered models show warming in China of 0.05 K/year. The maximum positive trends for all-sky radiation appear in the southeast of China, reaching 0.4 W/m2/year. Cloud cover exhibits a mainly decreasing trend in the overall region of China. (2) The all-sky radiation of most selected regions shows a decreasing trend. The maximum negative value (−0.08 W/m2/year) appears in Qinghai. (3) Compared with the average photovoltaic power output from 2006 to 2015, the photovoltaic power output in western China will decrease by −0.04 %/ year, while photovoltaic power output in southeastern China will increase by 0.06–0.1%/year. Keywords: Solar radiation changes, CMIP5 models, Climate change, PV output, Projections

One of the daunting features of the brain is its physiology complexity, which arises from the interaction of numerous neuronal circuits that operate over a wide range of temporal and spatial scales, enabling the brain to adapt to the constantly changing environment and to perform various cognitive functions. As a reflection of the complexity of brain physiology, the complexity of brain blood-oxygen signal has been frequently studied in recent years. This paper reviews previous literature regarding the following three aspects: (1) whether the complexity of the brain blood-oxygen signal can serve as a reliable biomarker for distinguishing different patient populations; (2) which is the best algorithm for complexity measure? And (3) how to select the optimal parameters for complexity measures. We then discuss future directions for blood-oxygen signal complexity analysis, including improving complexity measurement based on the characteristics of both spatial patterns of brain blood-oxygen signal and latency of complexity itself. In conclusion, the current review helps to better understand complexity analysis in brain blood-oxygen signal analysis and provide useful information for future studies.

Background: Most previous studies have found that human intestinal microbiota affect the symptoms of autism spectrum disorder (ASD), especially gastrointestinal (GI) symptoms, but regarding this, there is limited data of non-western ethnicity. Probiotics can reconstitute the host intestinal microbiota and strengthen gastrointestinal function, however, clinical data proving the effect of probiotics treatment on ASD is lacking.Methods: This study explored the significant differences between ASD and neurotypical (NT), and the improvement of applied behavior analysis (ABA) training in combination with probiotics, vs. ABA training only.Results: We found significant differences between the ASD group and the NT group in the evenness of the intestinal microbiota and the relative abundance of the bacterial phyla and genus. At the phylum level, relative abundance of Bacteroidetes in the ASD group was significantly lower than in the NT group. At the genus level, the relative abundance of Bacteroides, Bifidobacterium, Ruminococcus, Roseburia, and Blautia in the ASD group was significantly lower than that in the NT group. After a 4-week ABA training program in combination with probiotics treatment, the ATEC and GI scores decreased more than the control group with ABA training only.Conclusion: Our findings suggest that intestinal microbiota is different between the NT children and the ASD children with or without GI problems. In combination with ABA training, probiotics treatment can bring more benefit to ASD children. Clinical trials with a more rigorous design and larger sample size are indispensable for further validation.

With the rapid deployment of utility-scale photovoltaic (PV) plants, the impact of PV plants on the environment is a new concern of the scientific and social communities. The exchange of sensible and latent heat energy and mass between land and air in PV plants is crucial to understanding its impact. It is known that the near surface turbulence characteristics rule the exchange. Therefore, it is essential for understanding the impact to study the characteristics of near surface turbulence. However, it is not well recognized. Turbulent fluxes and strength characteristics for the PV plant and the adjacent reference site in the Xinjiang Gobi area were investigated in this study. Various surface layer parameters including friction velocity, stability parameter, momentum flux, and turbulent flux were calculated using eddy correlation system. Results indicate that compared to the reference site, near the surface boundary layer was more unstable during the daytime due to the stronger convection heating, while it was more stable at night in the PV plant. In the PV plant, Iu was weakened and Iv was strengthened during the daytime, and Iu and Iv were all weakened at night, while Iw was strengthened across the whole day. The significant difference between Iu and Iv in the PV plant indicated that the horizontally turbulence strengths were affected by the plant layout. The turbulent kinetic energy of the PV plant was lower than the reference site and the momentum in the PV plant was higher than the reference site, especially during the daytime. Compared to the reference site, the PV plant had a higher sensible heat flux and less latent heat flux. The turbulent components of wind followed the 1/3 power law in the unstable conditions and stable conditions in the PV plant and the reference site.

Solar photovoltaics (PV) has advanced at an unprecedented rate and the global cumulative installed PV capacity is growing exponentially. However, the ability to forecast PV power remains a key technical challenge due to the variability and uncertainty of solar irradiance resulting from the changes of clouds. Ground-based remote sensing with high temporal and spatial resolution may have potential for solar irradiation forecasting, especially under cloudy conditions. To this end, we established two ultra-short-term forecasting models of global horizonal irradiance (GHI) using Ternary Linear Regression (TLR) and Back Propagation Neural Network (BPN), respectively, based on the observation of a ground-based sky imager (TSI-880, Total Sky Imager) and a radiometer at a PV plant in Dunhuang, China. Sky images taken every 1 min (minute) were processed to determine the distribution of clouds with different optical depths (thick, thin) for generating a two-dimensional cloud map. To obtain the forecasted cloud map, the Particle Image Velocity (PIV) method was applied to the two consecutive images and the cloud map was advected to the future. Further, different types of cloud fraction combined with clear sky index derived from the GHI of clear sky conditions were used as the inputs of the two forecasting models. Limited validation on 4 partly cloudy days showed that the average relative root mean square error (rRMSE) of the 4 days ranged from 5% to 36% based on the TLR model and ranged from 12% to 32% based on the BPN model. The forecasting performance of the BPN model was better than the TLR model and the forecasting errors increased with the increase in lead time.

Complex dielectric constant (CDC) of bound water determines the accuracy of the complex dielectric constant of wet soil. According to electrical double-layer structure and dielectric properties, the bound water on clay particle surface is divided into strongly bound water and weakly bound water. Based on this classification, models for the complex dielectric constants of bound water and soil are established taking into consideration factors such as temperature, moisture, texture, and microwave frequency. The results show that the fundamental reason why the complex dielectric constant of bound water is between that of ice and free water is the adsorption force which forms the electrical double-layer structure on the surface of clay particles. Low-concentration cationic solution could exist in free soil water and was found as the reason for the higher salinity and conductivity of free soil water, as compared to the measured soil solution. Results of soil CDC model are in good agreement with measured data across a wide range of microwave frequencies and soil temperature, moisture, and texture. The absolute root mean square error analysis also shows that the soil CDC model in this paper compared to the other models is more accurate.

Fish-lighting complementary photovoltaic power station organically combines aquaculture and renewable energy. In this study we aimed to develop a solar photovoltaic that is not confined to land. We used a shade net to simulate photovoltaic panels, and studied the effects of different proportions of photovoltaic panels on water and fish. The results showed that the average light intensity of the unshaded area and the shaded area were 16,661.7 Lux and 2437.0 Lux. The average light intensity of the shaded area was 85.4% lower than that of the unshaded area. The effective range of the shaded area for the light intensity of the water layer was 0 cm~30 cm. The temperature and pH in the water body showed a linear decreasing trend with the increase of the photovoltaic deployment ratio, and the dissolved oxygen showed an inverted “U”-shaped change characteristic, but this effect was limited. When the photovoltaic deployment ratio was 25% to 75%, the dissolved oxygen in the water body increases by an average of 2.37% compared to the unshaded area. The appropriate proportion of photovoltaic deployment did not affect the dissolved oxygen content in the water body. When the photovoltaic deployment ratio reached 75%, the number of algae species and algae biomass was the largest, and the fish production was the highest at 8094.6 kg·acre−1, which is an increase of 166.2 kg·acre−1 compared to the average yield in unshaded areas. Therefore, photovoltaic layout will not affect the growth of fish, and the proportion of 75% is the best layout choice.

An algorithm to forecast very short-term (30–180 min) surface solar irradiance using visible and near infrared channels (AGRI) onboard the FengYun-4A (FY-4A) geostationary satellite was constructed and evaluated in this study. The forecasting products include global horizontal irradiance (GHI) and direct normal irradiance (DNI). The forecast results were validated using data from Chengde Meteorological Observatory for four typical months (October 2018, and January, April, and July 2019), representing the four seasons. Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV) was employed to calculate the cloud motion vector (CMV) field from the satellite images. The forecast results were compared with the smart persistence (SP) model. A seasonal study showed that July and April forecasting is more difficult than during October and January. For GHI forecasting, the algorithm outperformed the SP model for all forecasting horizons and all seasons, with the best result being produced in October; the skill score was greater than 20%. For DNI, the algorithm outperformed the SP model in July and October, with skill scores of about 12% and 11%, respectively. Annual performances were evaluated; the results show that the normalized root mean square error (nRMSE) value of GHI for 30–180 min horizon ranged from 26.78% to 36.84%, the skill score reached a maximum of 20.44% at the 30-min horizon, and the skill scores were all above 0 for all time horizons. For DNI, the maximum skill score was 6.62% at the 180-min horizon. Overall, compared with the SP model, the proposed algorithm is more accurate and reliable for GHI forecasting and slightly better for DNI forecasting.

Using data collected from a specially designed experiment at the Dunhuang Station (40°10′N, 94°31′E, 1150 m) from September 2017 to September 2018, we have characterized the influences of soil moisture and solar altitude on surface spectral albedo in an arid area. The specific settings of our experiment allowed us to minimize the influences of underlying surface, cloud cover, aerosol and weather conditions, and thus highlight the influence of soil moisture and solar altitude. During the timespan of the experiment, we observed the annual mean surface albedo of global radiation (GR), ultraviolet radiation (UV), visible radiation (VIS) and near-infrared radiation (NIR) to be 0.24, 0.11, 0.24 and 0.25. A significantly negative linear correlation between surface albedo and soil moisture was identified, with the correlation coefficients between GR, UV, VIS, NIR and soil moisture being −0.68, −0.75, −0.70 and −0.61. In addition, we identified an exponential relationship between surface albedo and solar altitude. The exponential regression coefficients are −0.21, −0.077, −0.53 and −0.21, respectively. From these analyses, we derived a new two-factor parametric formula for depicting the influence of soil moisture and solar altitude on surface spectral albedo. Using observation data, we demonstrate that the formula recapitulates the real-world relationship between soil moisture, solar altitude and surface spectral albedo with little deviation. These findings may help us gain a deeper understanding of improving land surface parameterizations and have potential implications for solar energy research and applications.

Aspergillus flavus is one of the most opportunistic pathogens invading many important oilseed crops and foodstuffs with such toxic secondary metabolites as aflatoxin (AF) and Cyclopiazonic acid. We previously used the DNA methylation inhibitor 5-azacytidine to treat with an AF-producing A. flavus A133 strain, and isolated a mutant (NT) of A. flavus, which displayed impaired abilities of AF biosynthesis and fungal development. In this study, gas chromatography−mass spectrometry (GC-MS) analysis was used to reveal the metabolic changes between these two strains. A total of 1181 volatiles were identified in these two strains, among which 490 volatiles were found in these two strains in vitro and 332 volatiles were found in vivo. The NT mutant was found to produce decreasing volatile compounds, among which most of the fatty acid-derived volatiles were significantly downregulated in the NT mutant compared to the A133 strain, which are important precursors for AF biosynthesis. Two antioxidants and most of the amino acids derived volatiles were found significantly upregulated in the NT mutant. Overall, our results reveal the difference of metabolic profiles in two different A. flavus isolates, which may provide valuable information for controlling infections of this fungal pathogen.

Nerve tissue engineering is an important strategy for the treatment of brain injuries. Mesenchymal stem cell (MSC) transplantation has been proven to be able to promote repair and functional recovery of brain damage, and poly (lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) has also been found to have the capability of bearing cells. In the present study, to observe the ability of PLGA scaffold in supporting the adherent growth of MSCs and neurons in vivo and vitro and to assess the effects of PLGA scaffold on proliferation and neural differentiation of MSCs, this study undertakes the following steps. First, MSCs and neurons were cultured and labeled with green fluorescent protein (GFP) or otherwise identified and the PLGA scaffold was synthesized. Next, MSCs and neurons were inoculated on PLGA scaffolds and their adhesion rates were investigated and the proliferation of MSCs was evaluated by using MTT assay. After MSCs were induced by a neural induction medium, the morphological change and neural differentiation of MSCs were detected using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and immunocytochemistry, respectively. Finally, cell migration and adhesion in the PLGA scaffold in vivo were examined by immunohistochemistry, nuclear staining, and SEM. The experimental results demonstrated that PLGA did not interfere with the proliferation and neural differentiation of MSCs and that MSCs and neuron could grow and migrate in PLGA scaffold. These data suggest that the MSC-PLGA complex may be used as tissue engineering material for brain injuries.

The accurate prediction of surface solar irradiance is of great significance for the generation of photovoltaic power. Surface solar irradiance is affected by many random mutation factors, which means that there are great challenges faced in short-term prediction. In Northwest China, there are abundant solar energy resources and large desert areas, which have broad prospects for the development of photovoltaic (PV) systems. For the desert areas in Northwest China, where meteorological stations are scarce, satellite remote sensing data are extremely precious exploration data. In this paper, we present a model using FY-4A satellite images to forecast (up to 15−180 min ahead) global horizontal solar irradiance (GHI), at a 15 min temporal resolution in desert areas under different sky conditions, and compare it with the persistence model (SP). The spatial resolution of the FY-4A satellite images we used was 1 km × 1 km. Particle image velocimetry (PIV) was used to derive the cloud motion vector (CMV) field from the satellite cloud images. The accuracy of the forecast model was evaluated by the ground observed GHI data. The results showed that the normalized root mean square error (nRMSE) ranged from 18.9% to 21.6% and the normalized mean bias error (nMBE) ranged from 3.2% to 4.9% for time horizons from 15 to 180 min under all sky conditions. Compared with the SP model, the nRMSE value was reduced by about 6%, 8%, and 14% with the time horizons of 60, 120, and 180 min, respectively.

Fault arc detection is an important technology to ensure the safe operation of electrical equipment and prevent electrical fires. The high-frequency noise of the arc current is one of the typical arc characteristics of almost all loads. In order to accurately detect arc faults in a low-voltage alternating-current (AC) system, a novel differential high-frequency current transformer (D-HFCT) sensor for collecting high-frequency arc currents was proposed. The sensitivity and frequency band of the designed sensor were verified to ensure that the acquisition requirements of the high-frequency current were satisfied. A series arc fault simulation experiment system was built, and resistive, inductive, and non-linear load and high-power shielding load experiments were carried out. Experiments showed that the sensor output signal was close to zero in the non-arc state, and the sensor output response was a high-frequency glitch in the arc state. The results were consistent for different loads, and the discrimination between normal and fault states was obvious, which proved that the sensor is suitable for series arc fault detection.

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is an autoimmune disease in the CNS. The current immunomodulating drugs for MS do not effectively prevent the progressive neurological decline. Neural stem cells (NSCs) transplantation has been proven to promote repair and functional recovery of experimental allergic encephalomyelitis (EAE) animal model for MS, and glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF) has also been found to have capability of promoting axonal regeneration and remyelination of regenerating axons. In the present study, to assess whether GDNF would enhance therapeutic effect of NSCs for EAE, GDNF gene-modified NSCs (GDNF/NSCs) and native NSCs were transplanted into each lateral ventricle of rats at 10 days and rats were sacrificed at 60 days after EAE immunization. We found that NSCs significantly reduced the clinical signs, and GDNF gene-modification further promoted functional recovery. GDNF/NSCs more profoundly suppressed brain inflammation and improved density of myelin compared with NSCs. The survival of GDNF/NSCs was significantly higher than that of transplanted NSCs. Transplanted GDNF/NSCs, in contrast to NSCs, differentiated into more neurons and oligodendrocytes. Moreover, the mRNA expression of oligodendrocyte lineage cells in rats with GDNF/NSCs was significantly increased compared to rats with NSCs. These results suggest that GDNF enhances therapeutic efficiency of NSCs-based therapy for EAE.

The present study investigates whether transplantation of NSCs treated with T3 alone (T3/NSCs), or in conjunction with GDNF gene (GDNF-T3/NSCs), provides a better therapeutic effect than NSCs for chronic EAE. EAE rats were, respectively, injected with NSCs, T3/NSCs, GDNF-T3/NSCs, and saline at 10 days and sacrificed at 60 days after EAE immunization. The three cell grafted groups showed a significant reduction in clinical scores, inflammatory infiltration, and demyelination compared with the saline-injected group, and among the cell grafted groups, the reduction in GDNF-T3/NSCs group was the most notable, followed by T3/NSCs group. Grafted T3/NSCs and GDNF-T3/NSCs acquired more MAP2, GalC, and less GFAP in brain compared with grafted NSCs, and grafted GDNF-T3/NSCs acquired most MAP2 and least GalC among the cell grafted groups. Furthermore, T3/NSCs and GDNF-T3/NSCs grafting increased the expression of mRNA for PDGFαR, GalC, and MBP in lesion areas of brain compared with NSCs grafting, and the expression of mRNA for GalC and MBP in GDNF-T3/NSCs group was higher than that in T3/NSCs group. In conclusion, T3/NSCs grafting, especially GDNF-T3/NSCs grafting, provides a better neuroprotective effect for EAE than NSCs transplantation.