Search

The article "Knockdown of long non-coding RNA LUCAT1 reverses high glucose-induced cardiomyocyte injury via targeting CYP11B2, by Y. Yin, Z.-F. Yang, X.-H. Li, L.-Q. Zhou, Y.-J. Zhang, B. Yang, published in Eur Rev Med Pharmacol Sci 2019; 23 (19): 8560-8565-DOI: 10.26355/eurrev_201910_19171-PMID: 31646588" has been retracted by the authors as they cannot ensure the reproducibility of the data. The third party who provided some data turned out to be unreliable. The same manuscript was also questioned on PubPeer after publication. The Publisher apologizes for any inconvenience this may cause. https://www.europeanreview.org/article/19171.

Grassland ecosystems are increasingly threatened by pressures from climate change and intensified human activity, especially in the arid region of Central Asia. A comprehensive understanding of the ecological environment changes is crucial for humans to implement environmental protection measures to adapt to climate change and alleviate the contradiction between humans and land. In this study, fractional vegetation coverage (FVC), leaf area index (LAI), gross primary productivity of vegetation (GPP), land surface temperature (LST), and wetness (WET) were retrieved from Moderate-Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) satellite remote sensing products in 2008 and 2018. Principal component analysis (PCA) was used to establish the MODIS data-based ecological index (MODEI) in the study area, and the spatial differentiation characteristics and driving mechanism of ecological quality in the last ten years were explored. The results showed that: (1) FVC, GPP, LAI, and WET had positive effects on the ecological environment, while LST had a negative impact on the ecological environment. FVC and GPP were more significant than other indicators. (2) The MODEI showed a spatial pattern of “excellent in the north and poor in the south” and changed from north to south in the study area. (3) From 2008 to 2018, the average MODEI of Fuyun County increased from 0.292 to 0.303, indicating that the ecological quality in Fuyun County became better overall. The improved areas were mainly located in the summer pastures at higher elevations. In comparison, the deteriorated areas were concentrated in the spring and autumn pastures and winter pastures at lower elevations. The areas where the ecological environment had obviously improved and degraded were distributed along the banks of the Irtysh River and the Ulungur River. (4) With the increase in precipitation and the decrease in grazing pressure, the MODEI of summer pasture was improved. The deterioration of ecological environment quality in spring and autumn pastures and winter pastures was related to the excessive grazing pressure. The more significant changes in the MODEI on both sides of the river were associated with implementing the herdsmen settlement project. On the one hand, the implementation of newly settled villages increased the area of construction land on both sides of the river, which led to the deterioration of ecological quality, on the other hand, due to the increase in cropland land and the planting of artificial grasses along the river, the ecological quality was improved. The study offers significant information for managers to make more targeted ecological restoration efforts in ecologically fragile areas.

The purpose of this study was to detect the expression of long intergenic non-protein-coding RNA 1503 (LINC01503) in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), and to further study its biological function, as well as the regulatory relationships of c-MYC with LINC01503 and the extracellular signal regulated kinase (ERK)/mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signaling pathway in NSCLC.Tissue specimens were collected from 36 NSCLC patients, and the relative expression level of LINC01503 in the 36 cases of NSCLC tissue specimens and NSCLC cells was then determined using quantitative Reverse Transcription-Polymerase Chain Reaction (qRT-PCR). Then, the effects of LINC01503 on the proliferation and apoptosis of NSCLC cells were detected in vitro via Cell-Counting Kit (CCK)-8 assay, colony-forming assay and flow cytometry. Besides, the possible LINC01503 promoter-binding transcription factor was predicted using bioinformatics. After interference with c-MYC expression, the changes in the expression of LINC01503 were examined through qRT-PCR. Finally, the changes in the expressions of the molecular markers in the ERK/MAPK signaling pathway after interference with LINC01503 and c-MYC expressions were evaluated using Western blotting.According to qRT-PCR results, the expression of LINC01503 was upregulated in 30 out of 36 cases of NSCLC tissues. Compared with that in human normal bronchial epithelial cells, the expression of LINC01503 was elevated in NSCLC cells. As shown by the CCK-8 assay and colony-forming assay, the proliferation ability of NSCLC cells was weakened after interference with LINC01503 expression, and the flow cytometry results revealed the apoptosis rate of NSCLC cells was raised after interference with LINC01503 expression. Moreover, the bioinformatics prediction showed that c-MYC might be the LINC01503 promoter-binding transcription factor. Additionally, it was found through the qRT-PCR that the expression of LINC01503 declined after interference with c-MYC expression. Finally, based on Western blotting results, the expressions of phosphorylated ERK1/2 (p-ERK1/2) and p-MAPK/ERK kinase (MEK), the molecular markers in the ERK/MAPK signaling pathway, were inhibited after interference with c-MYC and LINC01503 expressions.The transcription factor c-MYC promotes the expression of LINC01503 in NSCLC and activates the ERK/MAPK signaling pathway to drive the development and progression of NSCLC.

Cultivated pastures are effective supporting systems of natural grassland preservation and sustainable agriculture in arid regions of northwest China. The adaptive combination of forage species enhances the yields and ecological functions of cultivated pastures. Legume&ndash, grass intercropping is a valuable sowing regime because of the niche differentiation and resource acquisition. Understanding the effects of species interactions in legume&ndash, grass intercropping systems can provide scientific and practical guidance on cultivated pasture management. In this study, we conducted a field experiment to determine the advantages and effects of alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) annual grass intercropping on cultivated pastures. We analyzed the data on population traits, community characteristics and dry matter in the growing period to evaluate the effects of variety and sowing patterns with the following treatments: three alfalfa varieties (Algonquin, Leafy king, WL354HQ) sown in monocultures and mixed with oat (Avena sativa L.) or sudangrass (Sorghum sudanense (Piper) Stapf.) with two seeding ratios. Our results suggest that in mixtures, the plant traits of alfalfa were determined by their own characters at the earlier stage but were affected more by companion grass at the later stage. The annual forage grass companion impaired the growth of alfalfa during the growth period. In mixtures, sudangrass displayed a stronger inhibiting effect on alfalfa than oat. Alfalfa&ndash, grass intercropping was proved to be a feasible cropping practice in terms of yield, production stability and weed control, due to their complementary use of resources in comparison with alfalfa monocropping. Alfalfa&ndash, annual grass intercropping is a beneficial alternative strategy to obtain effective cultivated pastures in arid regions.

Currently, the epidemic of 2019 coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is still ongoing. Its characteristics include high contagiousness, herd susceptibility and clinical phenotype diversity, which have a severe influence on people's daily life and rountine therapy for other diseases. Breast dieases are clinical common diseases. In the central epidemic area of COVID-19, the clinical specialists of breast diseases should consider all of the following factors comprehensively: the prevention of COVID-19, the diagnosis and treatment of breast diseases and the accessibility of medical resources. Besides, we should select the appropriate therapy and optimize treatment process so as to prevent the propagation and cross infection of COVID-19 as well as manage the breast diseases without delay. Therefore, we carried out some management proposals of the patients with breast diseases in the central epidemic area during the epidemic of COVID-19 on the basis of conventional treatment guidelines and clinical experiences. The suggestions and corrections from colleagues will be welcomed.新型冠状病毒肺炎传染力强，人群易感性高，临床表现多样化，严重影响了群众正常的工作和生活，也影响了其他疾病的正常诊疗。乳腺疾病是临床常见病、多发病。在疫情严重地区，乳腺专科医师需要全面考虑疫情防控、疾病诊疗和医疗资源可及性等因素，合理选择诊疗方案，优化诊治流程；既避免新型冠状病毒肺炎的传播和交叉感染，也不延误疾病诊治。为此，我们依据相关诊疗规范和指南，结合实际工作经验，就疫情严重地区乳腺疾病诊疗问题提出有关策略建议。.

Livelihood diversification is beneficial to mitigate economic and environmental risks and to improve livelihood sustainability and regional sustainable development. Unsettled herder households (UHH), settled herder households (SHH) and farmer households (FH) are different household types in far northwestern China whose livelihood diversification has not been fully explored. By applying a framework of livelihood diversification, this paper presents a comparative analysis of the characteristics and determinants of the diversification of the three household types. The results show that livelihood assets have been unequally distributed, with FH possessing the least assets, however, FH are better than UHH and SHH in the diversification of livelihood activities. Agriculture remains the most important livelihood source. The high-income groups of the three household types have a higher number of livelihood activities but do not necessarily hold an advantage in equality of livelihood activities. Labor capacity and income are positively related to the number of livelihood activities for the three household types. Livestock size is negatively associated with the number of activities of herders. Moreover, age and subsidy have negative impacts on the number of activities for UHH. Based on the findings, we provide policy suggestions on livelihood enhancement and sustainable and effective development of pastoral regions.

We determined the high-resolution allele and haplotype frequencies at the human leucocyte antigen (HLA)A, B and DRB1 loci in the Han population of Hubei province, the TB endemic area of Central China, with pulmonary tuberculosis (PTB), and established the relationship between HLA-A, B and DRB1 alleles as well as haplotypes and susceptibility to multidrug-resistant and rifampicin-resistant tuberculosis (MDR/RR-TB). Blood samples were drawn from 174 patients with MDR/RR-TB and 838 patients with drug-susceptible PTB in ethnic Han population from Hubei province (central China). Four-digit allele genotyping of HLA- A, B and DRB1 loci was performed using polymerase chain reaction with sequence-specific oligonucleotide probes (PCR- SSOP). The allele and haplotype frequencies of HLA-A, B and DRB1 were determined and compared between patients with MDR/RR-TB and patients with drug-susceptible PTB. Statistical analysis of the generated data indicated no departure from expectation of Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium (HWE) at all loci of the control group. Multivariate analysis identified allele DRB1*08:01 (p

Cleaner Production concepts and practices have matured with outstanding success since their introduction in the 1980s, currently being a central part of the agenda of companies, sectors, and governments by integrating theory, applied science, and policies. This VSI of the Journal of Cleaner Production reunites contributions from the 8th and the 9th International Workshop on Advances in Cleaner Production and aims at underscoring the role of Cleaner Production in contributing to sustainable development from the application of local actions to global interventions. The 62 articles that compose this VSI provide an overview of how Cleaner Production has evolved in scope, content, the range of sectors covered, and the targets to be achieved: from less pollution/waste generation to the food-energy-water nexus to the green/blue and the circular economy. The selected articles clearly show that the integration of multiple viewpoints has created a novel field of scientific collaboration.

Diabetic cardiomyopathy (DCM) is one of the major complications in patients with diabetes mellitus. Recently, long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) have been well concerned for their roles in the progression of multiple diseases, including DCM. In this research, we aimed to explore the role of lncRNA LUCAT1 in cardiomyocyte injury and apoptosis induced by high glucose (HG) in vitro.High glucose-induced (HG-induced) AC16 cardiomyocytes transfected with LUCAT1 shRNA were constructed. LUCAT1 expression was detected by real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR). Subsequently, cell proliferation and cell apoptosis were detected after LUCAT1 knockdown in HG-induced AC16 cells. Moreover, RT-qPCR and Western blot assay were performed to explore the potential underlying mechanism of LUCAT1 in DCM.The expression of LUCAT1 was significantly upregulated in HG-treated AC16 cardiomyocytes. Moreover, knockdown of LUCAT1 could reverse cardiomyocyte injury and apoptosis through downregulating CYP11B2.We first demonstrated that knockdown of LUCAT1 could reverse HG-induced cardiomyocyte injury by down-regulating CYP11B2. Our findings might offer a new direction for interpreting the mechanism of DCM development.

An environmentally sustainable cultivated grassland at the edge of the Junggar Desert Basin in China is vital for the ecological conservation of the mountain-basin system (MBS) in the arid region of Central Asia and the stable settlement of herdsmen in the northern China. To evaluate the sustainability of sown systems, this study applied emergy and economic analysis to three traditional sown systems, silage corn (SC), oil sunflower (OS), and seed melon (SM), and three innovative sown systems, leafy king monocropped (LM), leafy king-sudangrass intercropped (LSI) and algonquin-sudangrass intercropped (ASI), in a cultivated grassland at the edge of the Junggar Desert Basin. The emergy results revealed that all systems required 85.65%–90.32% of emergy investments from outside systems, and 74.17%–84.46% of the investments were nonrenewable emergy inputs. The emergy sustainability ratio revealed that ASI, LSI and LM had superior ecological benefits with lower environmental burdens than SC, OS and SM. The economic analysis illustrated that OS and ASI had high economic profits, while ASI, LSI and LM had high income-to-cost ratios. LSI and ASI could achieve both ecological and economic benefits. The chemical fertilizer and irrigation water simulations indicated that the sustainability of all these systems could be enhanced by applying drip irrigation and reducing chemical fertilizer by 20%. Therefore, water-saving irrigation and renewable resource utilization need to be implemented. Appropriate adjustments to the plantation structure and long-term financial and policy support for cultivated grassland construction are recommended. Advanced cultivated technology should be investigated and promoted. Additionally, the rationally allocated and scientifically managed cultivated grassland at the edge of desert basin can be an optimized strategy for sustainable development of ecological and economic in similar MBSs of the arid regions of Central Asia.

Background Quantitative evaluations of the relative impacts of climate change and anthropogenic activity on grasslands are significant for understanding grassland degradation mechanisms and controlling degraded grasslands. However, our knowledge about the effects of anthropogenic activities and climate change on the grassland in a mountain basin system in arid regions of Central Asia is still subject to great uncertainties. Methods In this research, we have chosen the net primary productivity (NPP) as an index for revealing grassland dynamics processes. Moreover, the human appropriation of net primary production (NPPH), which was calculated as the potential NPP (NPPP) minus the actual NPP (NPPA), was applied to distinguish the relative influences of climate change and human activities on the grassland NPP variations in a mountain basin system of Central Asia from 2001–2015. Results The results indicated that the grassland NPPA showed an increasing trend (35.88%) that was smaller than the decreasing trend (64.12%). The respective contributions of human activity, climate change and the two together to the increase in the NPPA were 6.19%, 81.30% and 12.51%, respectively. Human activity was largely responsible for the decrease in the grassland NPPA, with the area experiencing human-induced decreases accounting for 98.21% of the total decreased area, which mainly occurred during spring/autumn pasture and winter pasture. Furthermore, the average grazing pressure index (GPI) values of summer pastures, spring/autumn pasture and winter pastures were 1.04, 3.03 and 1.83, respectively, from 2001–2015. In addition, negative correlations between the NPP and GPI occupied most of the research area (92.41%). Discussion Our results indicate that: (i) anthropogenic activities were the primary cause of the reduction in the grassland NPP, especially grazing activities. (ii) For areas where the grassland NPP has increased, precipitation was the dominant climatic factor over temperature in controlling the grassland NPP changes in the study area. (iii) The findings of the current research indicate that some measures should be taken to reduce livestock pressure, and artificial grasslands can be built along the Irtysh River and the Ulungur River to relieve grazing pressure on spring/autumn pastures and winter pastures. Our results could provide reliable information for grassland management and the prevention of grassland degradation in arid regions of Central Asia.

Objective Quantitative analysis and comparison of the expression of ribonucleic acid （RNA） from frozen organs and formaldehyde-fixed and paraffin-embedded （FFPE） tissues. Methods Frozen specimens of human brain, myocardium and liver tissues as well as FFPE samples at different postmortem intervals were collected and mass concentration of RNA was extracted and detected. Reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction （RT-qPCR） technology was used to analyze the amplification efficiency and relative expression of each RNA marker. Results The mass concentration and integrity of RNA extracted from FFPE samples were relatively low compared with frozen specimens. The amplification efficiency of RNA markers was related with RNA species and the length of amplification products. Among them, glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase （GAPDH） and β-actin （ACTB） with relatively long amplification products failed to achieve optimal amplification efficiency, whereas 5S ribosomal RNA （5S rRNA） achieved ideal amplification efficiency and showed quite stable expression across various tissues, therefore it was chosen as internal reference marker. The expression quantity of GAPDH and ACTB in frozen specimens with longer postmortem intervals and in FFPE samples with relatively long amplification products was decreased. The expressions of tissue-specific microRNAs （miRNAs）, GAPDH and ACTB with relatively short amplification products had consistency in the same tissues and FFPE samples. Conclusion Through standardizing the RT-qPCR experiment, selecting the appropriate RNA marker and designing primers of appropriate product length, RNA expression levels of FFPE samples can be accurately quantified.冻存器官和甲醛固定石蜡包埋组织中RNA的定量表达.目的 定量分析并对比冻存器官和甲醛固定石蜡包埋（formaldehyde-fixed and paraffin-embedded，FFPE）组织中核糖核酸（ribonucleic acid，RNA）的表达情况。 方法 选取不同死亡时间人体脑、心肌和肝组织的冻存及FFPE样本，提取并检测RNA质量浓度，运用实时荧光定量反转录聚合酶链反应（reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction，RT-qPCR）技术分析各RNA指标的扩增效率及相对表达量。 结果 与冻存样本相比，FFPE样本中所提取RNA的质量浓度和完整性相对较低。各RNA指标扩增效率与RNA种类及扩增产物长度有关，其中扩增产物较长的甘油醛-3-磷酸脱氢酶（glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase，GAPDH）及β-肌动蛋白（β-actin，ACTB）扩增效率不理想，而5S核糖体RNA（5S ribosomal RNA，5S rRNA）扩增效率理想且在各组织中表达稳定，故选为内参指标。较长死亡时间的冻存样本及FFPE样本中扩增产物较长的GAPDH及ACTB表达量下降，而组织特异性微小RNA（microRNA，miRNA）以及扩增产物较短的GAPDH和ACTB在同一组织冻存和FFPE样本中表达具有一致性。 结论 通过标准化RT-qPCR实验，选取合适的RNA指标及设计合适产物长度的引物，能够准确定量FFPE样本中RNA的表达水平。.法医病理学；核糖核酸；石蜡包埋；冷冻保存；反转录聚合酶链反应；核糖核酸完整性指数.

Grazing exclusion has been proposed as a method of restoring degraded grassland ecosystems. However, its effectiveness remains poorly understood in mountain-basin grasslands in arid regions. Thus, we investigated the plant community characteristics, C and N storage levels, and soil organic carbon and total nitrogen concentrations and storage within the upper 0–40 cm soil layer in a grazed grassland (GG) and a fenced grassland (FG) with grazing exclusion in mountain meadow (MM) and temperate typical steppe (TTS) habitats in a mountain-basin ecosystem in an arid region of Central China, which are both vital grassland resources for livestock grazing and ecological conservation. In MM, our investigation revealed that grazing exclusion was beneficial to the productivity, coverage, height, diversity, and C and N storage of aboveground plants. However, grazing exclusion was not an effective option for soil C and N sequestration. In TTS, grazing exclusion effectively improved the plant productivity, coverage, height, plant and soil C and N sequestration, although it was not beneficial for maintaining plant diversity. Our findings suggest that reduced or rotational grazing may be a better choice than grazing exclusion in MM. In addition, considering the trade-off between biomass productivity and species diversity in TTS, short-term grazing exclusion should be considered. Additionally, grazing exclusion should be combined with other appropriate measures rather than operating on a standalone basis.

Expression of Notch1 gene in lung cancer A549 cells was reduced using small interfering RNA (small interfering RNA, siRNA) and the effect of Notch1 gene on proliferation and chemo sensitivity of lung cancer A549 cells was studied.The Notch1 siRNA was transfected into A549 cells by liposome to inhibit the expressions of Notch1 gene in A549 cells. Real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and Western blot were used to detect the expression of Notch1 gene and protein. 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) method was used to detect the proliferation of A549 cells. After transfection of Notch1-siRNA, cisplatin was added to each group at a concentration of 4 μg/ml, and cultured for 48 h. MTT assay and 4',6-diamidino-2-phenylindole (DAPI) staining was used to evaluate the change of apoptosis and sensitivity to chemotherapy.Notch1 gene expression of A594 cells, detected by RT-PCR and Western blot was significantly reduced in transfected cells when compared with the control group (p0.05). Inhibition of A594 cell proliferation was significantly decreased as detected by MTT (p0.05), and the MTT assay and DAPI staining showed that Notch1 gene silencing can significantly improve the sensitivity of A549 cells to chemotherapeutic drugs.The Notch1 siRNA can effectively inhibit the expression of Notch1 gene, inhibit the proliferation of lung cancer A549 cells and increase the sensitivity to chemotherapeutic drugs.

Water conflicts between humans and ecosystems are key issues for sustainable water resource management. In the past decades, human-oriented regulation of water resources and construction of many hydraulic projects for hydropower generation, agricultural irrigation, and flood control has significantly altered natural flows in many rivers, resulting in increasing variances in water availabilities and flow regimes. For example, every year, a large amount of water is being diverted for agricultural irrigation in major river basins worldwide. Annually, over 70 % of water is extracted from the rivers to meet agricultural water needs in many countries. Particularly, a number of rivers are subjected to extremely high water extraction rates and the water can hardly reach the sea. Incessant declination in water availabilities has caused a series of impacts on many valuable aquatic habitats, such as riparian floodplains, wetlands, and estuaries. Due to population growth and economic development, enhanced amounts of freshwater are expected to be extracted to support human activities, further worsening such situations. Conflicts over water resources are thus intensive for human beings and ecosystems across the world. Many concerns are rising, particularly in many developing countries. For example, in China, since the early 1970s, the frequency of drying or ephemeral stream flows has been increasing in the Yellow River, which is the sixth largest river in the world. Since the early 1990s, drying took place annually in this river. Averagely, the time length without water in the lower reach of the river was approximately 100 days every year. Such extreme alterations have caused a cascade of adverse impacts on hydrological diversity, species distribution, and indigenous ecosystems in the Yellow River basin. This may eventually lead to unrecoverable effects on biodiversities, services, and even core functions of the associated ecosystems. Similarly, the other major river of China, i.e., the Yangtze River, is also subject to great alterations due to the construction of many mega water-related projects, such as the Three Gorges Dam and the South–North Water Transfer Project. Considering the pressure of stimulating economic growth in many developing countries across the world, similar constructions and projects have been undertaken. However, due to complexities of the associated river systems, as well as the interactions between humans and ecosystems, no clear results could be obtained regarding what unrecoverable and/or recoverable effects would happen because of such profound alterations. Moreover, the alterations may be multiplied by climate change, further affecting water availability and thus intensifying water competition between humans and ecosystems. In order to achieve sustainable water resource management, fostering a socio-economically and ecologically healthy consensus over water demands by humans and ecosystems is of great importance. Environmental flow that can be used to quantify the amount of water needed by a given ecosystem has become a competitive component with human water demand in watershed management. Thus, the management of water conflicts between humans and ecosystems in river basins is desired.

This study proposes an interval semiinfinite De Novo programming (ISIDP) method for the planning of water resource management systems under uncertainty. The ISIDP problem is settled by dividing it into two interactive linear programming subproblems and solving it by using a conventional simplex method. To evaluate the applicability of the proposed model, the method is applied to a case study of the Yuecheng Reservoir in Zhangweinan River Basin, China. The results indicate that the strategies generated through ISIDP would not increase the complexity in decision-making processes. Compared with the conventional optimization method, ISIDP has the advantages of (1) better reflecting the association of the system benefits with water price, (2) generating more reliable solutions with a lower risk of system failure as a result of the possible violation of constraints, and (3) providing more flexible management planning because the availability of budgets can be adjusted with the variations in water price.

The use of full-depth precast concrete panels for rehabilitation of bridge decks allows fast installation and all-weather construction. Typically, precast panels are prefabricated in a well-controlled environment, resulting in strong and durable products. Undoubtedly, they will perform well under the traffic loading and weathering. However, the panel joints that are closed later with grout pour may degrade prematurely, leading to a less desirable composite action. Obviously, the lack of overall system performance causes concerns that limit the wider application of this innovative construction method. Conventionally, cementitious grouts, epoxy mortars or polymer concretes are used for the closure pour. In general, epoxy mortars or polymer concretes have extremely low permeability and dry shrinkage, as well as good adhesion with the substrate; but they are difficult to mix and clean, very sensitive to moisture variations, and incompatible with the substrate under thermal and mechanical loads. As a result, deficient bonding may occur, particularly when longitudinal post-tensioning is not provided, causing leaking and rusting. Oppositely, cementitious grouts are easier to mix and more compatible with the concrete substrate; however, they are more prone to shrinkage. More recently, advances in cementitious materials resulted in the development of Ultra-High Performance Concrete (UHPC). While this material has demonstrated exceptional performance when used for the closure pour; it requires special mixing to well disperse the particles and careful attention must be paid to the construction and curing practices to achieve enhanced mechanical and durability properties. As a result, testing of various types of grout materials is essential to establish the quality and serviceability of these materials. It is the intention of this paper to evaluate the performance of different cement-based grouting materials and to provide bridge engineers with useful database as to what materials are preferred for a specific project.

Dredging can lead to an increase in suspended sediment concentration, which poses a threat to the survival of fish eggs and larvae.To assess the impact of dredging on fish eggs and larvae, Caotan Fishing Port in south China was chosen as a case in this paper. The threat to the survival of fish eggs and larvae, i.e. the increased suspended sediment concentrations, is identified through analyzing pollution sources in dredging operations; the number and species of fish eggs and larvae were obtained through on-site investigations; the concentration and influence range of suspended sediments are calculated by pollutant diffusion equations; the loss of fish eggs and larvae caused by suspended sediment during dredging is evaluated according to Technical Regulations for the Impact Assessment of Construction Projects on Marine Biological Resources (SC/T 9110-2007) in this paper. It can be preliminarily concluded that the suspended sediments produced during dredging and backfilling have an impact on the survival of fish eggs and larvae, and will reduce their quantity. Currently, loss analysis methods are based on empirical formulas, and more accurate quantitative analysis needs to be further studied.

This paper aims to determine the effects of microstructure and mechanical properties of laser cladding TC17 titanium alloy post laser shock peening (LSP) In this work, A 3J, 20ns, 1064nm wavelength, Nd:YAG laser was employed on laser cladded TC17 titanium alloy samples with multiple impacts. Micro-hardness, residual stress were measured. The microstructure of LSPned sample was mapped by Electron Backscattered Diffraction (EBSD). The residual stress results showed that a stable compressive residual stress has been formed on the cladded coating surface with a value of 190MPa due to LSP modification. Additionally, LSP also improves the surface microhardness of cladded TC17 samples with an increase rate of 13.1%. Vibration fatigue tests were designed and carried out to examine the effects of LSP on the fatigue strength of cladded TC17 specimens. Results show that the fatigue strength of unpeened cladded sample is 290MPa while of peened claded sample is 300MPa. This work will contribute to prolong the service life of repaired TC17 components in aero-engines thereby economizing the repairing costs.

Water level, as an intuitive factor of hydrologic conditions, is of great importance for lake management. In this study, periodic structures of water level and its fluctuations in Lake Baiyangdian are analyzed based on wavelet analysis and seasonal-trend decomposition using local error sum of squares (STL). Data of monthly time series are divided into three types with emphasis on anthropogenic influence from water allocation. It is found that intra-annual characteristics of water level fluctuations are the common periodic structures. Water allocation alters the periodic structures by decreasing and weakening the oscillations of water level, compared with the slight effects of natural hydrologic water supplies and short-term climate changes. An irregular water level decline and short-term oscillation with irregular periodicity are deduced from seasonal-trend decomposition analysis using STL. With seasonality depicted monthly, the influence of water allocation implies irregular oscillations with high-frequency components, especially for monthly changes. The water level fluctuations are influenced by seasonal changes, as demonstrated by three types of time series. The impacts of water allocation on seasonality show the differences with continuous single-peak oscillations representing no influences and continuous double-peak oscillations representing frequent influences. Furthermore, the accumulation of water allocation shows a slight rising trend in average monthly level fluctuations over the last several years. The study helps understand periodic structures and long-term trend changes of water level fluctuations, which will facilitate lake management of Lake Baiyangdian.

A number of inexact fuzzy programming methods have been developed for the planning of water-resources-management systems under uncertainty. However, most of them do not allow the parameters in the objective and constraints of a programming problem to be functional intervals (i.e., the lower and upper bounds of the intervals are functions of impact factors). In this study, an interval fuzzy bi-infinite De Novo programming (IFBDP) method is developed in response to the above concern. A case study is also conducted; the solutions are then compared with those obtained from inexact De Novo programming (IDNP) and interval-fuzzy De Novo programming (IFDNP) that takes no account of bi-infinite programming. It is indicated that the IFBDP method can generate more reliable solutions with a lower risk of system failure due to the possible constraints violation and provide a more flexible management planning since the budgets availability can be adjusted with the variations in water price. These solutions are more flexible than those identified through IFDNP since the tolerance intervals are introduced to measure the level of constraints satisfaction. Moreover, it can be used for analyzing various scenarios that are associated with different levels of economic consequences under uncertainty.

A set of ecological indicators were proposed for the lake ecosystem health assessment via the application of structural, functional, and system-level responses of whole-lake ecosystems to land-use types, chemical stressors including nutrients and organic pollution, and physical stressors including water depth (WD) and grain size (GR). The structural metrics incorporated Chlorophyll c/Chlorophyll a (Chl c/a), Shannon diversity index (H), and proportion of Bacillariophyta (BAC). The functional metrics encompassed leucine amino peptide enzymes (LEU) and general primary productivity (GPP). The ecosystem level indicators consisted of eco-exergy (Ex), structural eco-exergy (Exst), and ecological buffer capacity (βTP-A). Using these indicators, we developed an integrated ecological health modeling method (IEHMM) for macrophyte-dominated lake health assessment. The IEHMM was designed to: (1) identify the relevant questions related to the health of the ecosystem; (2) analyze the lake's ecosystem structure including the pelagic and benthic pathways and use these results to determine the model's structure and complexity; (3) establish a whole-lake ecological conceptual model; (4) calculate the lake's ecosystem health indicators; (5) assess lake ecosystem health using these different indicators; and (6) compare the assessment results with different calculation methods. The IEHMM conceptual model included 5 sub-models and 15 state variables. The results of the case study in Baiyangdian Lake (China) demonstrated that the IEHMM provided comprehensive assessment results that corresponded with the lake's actual health state.

An integrated multi-objective method for environmental flow assessments was developed that considered variability of potential habitats as a critical factor in determining how ecosystems respond to hydrological alterations. Responses of habitat area, and the magnitude of those responses as influenced by salinity and water depth, were established and assessed according to fluctuations in river discharge and tidal currents. The requirements of typical migratory species during pivotal life-stage seasons (e.g., reproduction and juvenile growth) and natural flow variations were integrated into the flow-needs assessment. Critical environmental flows for a typical species were defined based on two primary objectives: (1) high level of habitat area and (2) low variability of habitat area. After integrating the water requirements for various species with the maximum acceptable discharge boundary, appropriate temporal limits of environmental flows for ecosystems were recommended. The method was applied in the Yellow River estuary in eastern Shandong province, China. Our results show that, while recommended environmental flows established with variability of potential habitats in mind may not necessarily benefit short-term survival of a typical resident organism on a limited temporal or spatial scale, they may encourage long-term, stable biodiversity and ecosystem health. Thus, short-term ecosystem losses may be compensated by significant long-term gains.

Eutrophication and water quality degradation comprise one of the most important environmental problems associated with protecting freshwater. Here, systematical analyses of trends, qualitative and quantitative analyses of water quality variables, and simulations of eutrophication were conducted to evaluate biochemical oxygen demand (BOD), total phosphorus (TP), total nitrogen (TN), dissolved oxygen (DO), chlorophyll a (Chl a), and Secchi disk data (SD) based on separate hydrological periods to enhance our understanding of lake ecosystem restoration. Long-term trends were identified using seasonal-trend decomposition with local error sum of squares, while non-supervised artificial neural networks were used to identify qualitative characteristics, and quantitative characteristics were measured using statistical analyses. Numerical simulation of Chl a by the hybrid evolutionary algorithm provided a theoretical solution for ecological warnings. The results were as follows: (1) declining trends in BOD, TP, TN, DO and Chl a were observed during long-term seasonal decomposition after December 2006, but SD increased after June 2003; (2) partitioned K-means maps revealed quantitative characteristics with heterogeneous changes during three hydrological periods, with BOD, TN, SD and Chl a showing the highest clustering quality; (3) BOD and DO showed clear relative hierarchies when compared with other parameters based on quantitative analysis; (4) Chl a simulation revealed heterogeneous changes in the three hydrological periods, and sensitivity analyses indicated that BOD was highly sensitive to Chl a, but TP was not. The sensitivities of other parameters changed during different hydrological periods. The methods described here can be used as preliminary management tools for degraded lakes.

To explore the correlation between the expression levels of several RNA markers in human brain tissue and early postmortem interval （PMI）.Twelve individuals with known PMI （range from 4.3 to 22.5 h） were selected and total RNA was extracted from brain tissue. Eight commonly used RNA markers were chosen including5S rRNA, miRNA-9 and miRNA-125b showed quite stable expression and their expression levels had no relation with age, gender and cause of death. The error rate of estimated PMI using5S rRNA, miRNA-9 and miRNA-125b are suitable as internal reference markers of human brain tissue owing to their stable expression in early PMI. The expression level of

To study the effect of radiation dose and dose rate on radiation-induced pulmonary fibrosis in mice.Twenty-four C57BL/6 mice were randomly divided into a control group (n=6) and an irradiation group(n=18). The irradiation group was further assigned to 3 subgroups according to the whole lung radiation with 15 Gy at 400 cGy/min, 20 Gy at 400 cGy/min and 20 Gy at 100 cGy/min, while the control group received sham-irradiation. All mice were scanned with computed tomograph (CT) 20 weeks post-irradiation, and then they were sacrificed and lung tissues were collected. HE staining, sirius red staining, lung fibrosis scored and hydroxyproline content analysis were used to assess lung fibrosis and collagen deposition. Real time PCR was used to measure the mRNA expression of type Ⅰ collagen. Immunohistochemical staining was used to detect the activatin and distribution of a-SMA(+) -myofibroblasts.Compared to the control group, mice from irradiation groups exhibited significant pulmonary consolidation and collagen deposition.At the same dose rate, the higher irradiated dose used, the more severe pulmonary fibrosis was.On the other hand, with the same dose, the dose rate had less effect on pulmonary fibrosis.The effect of radiation dose on the degree of pulmonary fibrosis in mice is more than effect of the dose rate.

In this paper, a new environment friendly electroless plating bath using sodium hypophosphite as reductant and nitrilotriacetic acid as complexing agent was investigated under the acid condition. The effects of bath temperature, pH, CuSO4.5H2O concentration, nitrilotriacetic acid concentration and NaH2PO2.H2O concentration upon the deposition rate and the bath stability were studied. The electrochemical results indicated that the deposition rate of the electroless copper increased with the decrease in the pH, and it reached 2·4 μm h−1 when the bath pH was 6·0. The as deposited Cu films were characterised by energy dispersive X-ray analyser, X-ray diffraction, atomic force microscopy and resistivity measurement. The quality of the Cu films were improved by the addition of a surfactant PEG-600, and a uniform copper film with a low resistivity (2·60 μΩ cm) was obtained, which was able to be used as seed layer for electroplating Cu.

An environmentally friendly surface etching and Pd free activation technique for acrylonitrile–butadiene–styrene (ABS) surface metallisation was investigated. With surface etching, NiSO4 absorption and NaBH4 reduction, nickel particles were deposited on the ABS surface as a catalyst replacement for palladium catalyst to achieve surface metallisation. After the electroless plating, a uniform copper film was electrodeposited on the ABS surface. The effects of NiSO4 concentration, NaBH4 concentration, reduction temperature and reduction time on the adhesion strength between the ABS surface and the electroless copper film were investigated. The adhesion strengths between electroless copper and ABS substrate reached 0·72 kN m−1, and indicated that this surface activation technique was a feasible and cost effective method for ABS surface metallisation.

An interval fuzzy bi-level programming (IFBP) approach is developed for planning water resources management system. The developed IFBP improves upon the existing bi-level programming by introducing interval mathematical programming (IMP) into its framework. The IFBP can handle uncertainties expressed as interval values in the constraints' left- and right-hand sides, as well as in the upper- and lower-level objective functions. Moreover, the decision dimensions of objective functions can be addressed through setting different tolerance levels based on the fuzzy set theory, such that tradeoffs corresponding to different upper- and lower-level objectives as well as varied system optimality and reliability can be generated. A case study is provided for an application to planning a water resources management system, where a number of scenarios are analyzed. For all scenarios under consideration, the IFBP method has advantages over the conventional programming methods with single decision maker in reflecting the interactions among multi-level objectives and strategies as well as encouraging co-operations among multiple parties under uncertainty.

Laser photocoagulation treatment is often complicated by a side effect of visual impairment, which is caused by the unavoidable laser-induced retinal destruction. At present no specific is found to cure this retinopathy. The aim of this study was to observe the neuroprotective effect of bFGF on laser-induced retinal injury. Chinchilla rabbits were divided into three groups and argon laser lesions were created in the retinas. Then bFGF or dexamethasone, a widely used ophthalmic preparation, or saline was given severally by retrobulbar injection. The retinal lesions were evaluated histologically and morphometrically, and visual function was examined by ERG. The results showed that bFGF administration better preserved morphology of retinal photoreceptors and significantly diminished the area of the lesions. Furthermore, bFGF promoted the restoration of the ERG b-wave amplitude. In rabbits treated with dexamethasone, however, the lesions showed almost no ameliorative changes. This is the first study to investigate the potential role of bFGF as a remedial agent in laser photocoagulation treatment. These findings suggest that bFGF has significant neuroprotective properties in the retina and this type of neuroprotection may be of clinical significance in reducing iatrogenic laser-induced retinal injuries in humans.

Chinese bayberry fruit were stored either in air (control) or pure oxygen for up to 12 days at 5°C to investigate the effects of high oxygen on fruit decay control and its relation to the induction of defense enzyme activities. The results indicated that exposure to pure oxygen significantly prevented fruit decay. At the end of the storage period, the decay rate of fruit exposed to pure oxygen was only 17% while that of control fruit reached 54%. Pure oxygen induced a significant increase in chitinase and β-1,3-glucanase activities which reached peak values at day 6 of storage. Phenylalanine ammonia-lyase and peroxidase activities as well as total phenolic content were also increased by exposure to pure oxygen, and maintained at significantly higher levels compared with the control fruit throughout the storage period. These results suggest that the inhibitory effect of high oxygen on decay incidence was correlated with the induction of defense enzyme activities. The induced disease resistance enzymes may be involved in the mechanisms by which high oxygen inhibits fruit decay in Chinese bayberry fruit.

Internal browning (IB) and flesh leatheriness (mainly manifested as increased fruit firmness and decreased extractable juice rate) are major problems of loquat (Eriobotrya japonica Lindl.) fruit during cold storage. The effects of a postharvest application of 1-methylcyclopropene (1-MCP) on internal browning and quality in loquat fruit during storage at 5°C were investigated. Freshly harvested loquat fruit were exposed to 50 nl/L 1-MCP for 24 h at 20°C, and then stored for six weeks at 5°C. Changes in internal browning, polyphenol oxidase (PPO) activity, fruit firmness, extractable juice rate, total soluble solids (TSS) and total titratable acidity (TA) contents were monitored. The results showed that fruit internal browning was effectively controlled by 1-MCP for up to five weeks during storage at 5°C. Treatment with I-MCP inhibited PPO activity, which may account for inhibited internal browning. Increase in fruit firmness and decrease in extractable juice rate were significantly inhibited by 1-MCP treatment. Treatment with 1-MCP also arrested the decline in both TSS and TA contents. Thus, a postharvest application of I-MCP effectively reduced internal browning and maintained quality in cold-stored loquat fruit. These results suggest that 1-MCP may of commercial use to control internal browning and flesh leatheriness in loquat fruit during cold storage.

In this study, an inexact fuzzy-stochastic constraint-softened programming method is developed for municipal solid waste (MSW) management under uncertainty. The developed method can deal with multiple uncertainties presented in terms of fuzzy sets, interval values and random variables. Moreover, a number of violation levels for the system constraints are allowed. This is realized through introduction of violation variables to soften system constraints, such that the model's decision space can be expanded under demanding conditions. This can help generate a range of decision alternatives under various conditions, allowing in-depth analyses of tradeoffs among economic objective, satisfaction degree, and constraint-violation risk. The developed method is applied to a case study of planning a MSW management system. The uncertain and dynamic information can be incorporated within a multi-layer scenario tree; revised decisions are permitted in each time period based on the realized values of uncertain events. Solutions associated with different satisfaction degree levels have been generated, corresponding to different constraint-violation risks. They are useful for supporting decisions of waste flow allocation and system-capacity expansion within a multistage context.

Annual natural runoff is an important index of a river, which may be affected by solar activities. In this study, 304 years of annual natural runoff at the Sanmenxia station located in the Yellow River and the sunspot relative number are decomposed with the application of a Complex Morlet. According to the results of real part, modulus and second power of modulus, the annual runoff series at the Sanmenxia station has an obvious periodic oscillation on 90-100, 50-80, 35-50, 15-35, about 10, and less than 10-year scales. Also, there are obvious periodic variability with 60-90 years, 30-50 years and about 10 years. There are two centers of energy: one is about 1840-1850 on 7-11-year scale and the other is about 1825-1925 on 60-70-year scale. From the wavelet variance, 3, 26, 46, 68 year periods are detected within a 100-year scale, and the 68-year period is the most significant. Similar analyses are conducted for the sunspot relative number within the same period 1700-2003. The sunspot series shows 11- and 60-year period variation, as well as eight energy centers. Then, the correlation analyses for 11- and 60-year serial scales are computed. From a long-term period (1700-2003) view, there is no notable correlation between the natural runoff and the sunspot relative number; however, it is evident that the correlations exist within a short-term period. The results also indicate that the relationships between solar activities and the natural runoff in the Yellow River are complicated.

In this study, a large-scale dynamic optimization model (University of Regina Energy Model, UREM) has been developed for supporting long-term energy systems planning in the Region of Waterloo. The model can describe energy management systems as networks of a series of energy flows, transferring extracted/imported energy resources to end users through a variety of conversion and transmission technologies over a number of periods. It can successfully incorporate optimization models, scenario development and policy analysis within a general framework. Complexities in energy management systems can be systematically reflected; thus, the applicability of the modeling process can be highly enhanced. Four scenarios (including a reference case) are considered based on different energy management policies and sustainable development strategies for in-depth analysis of interactions existing among energy, socio-economy and environment in the Region. Useful solutions for the planning of energy management systems have been generated, reflecting trade-offs among energy-related, environmental and economic considerations. They are helpful for supporting (a) adjustment or justification of the existing allocation patterns of energy resources and services, (b) allocations of renewable energy resources, (c) formulation of local policies regarding energy consumption, economic development and energy structure, and (d) analysis of interactions among economic cost, system efficiency, emission mitigation and energy-supply security. Results also indicate that UREM can help tackle dynamic and interactive characteristics of the energy management system in the Region of Waterloo and can address issues concerning cost-effective allocation of energy resources and services. Thus, it can be used by decision makers as an effective technique in examining and visualizing impacts of energy and environmental policies, regional/community development strategies and emission reduction measures within an integrated and dynamic framework. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.