ALBERT

Description: The fine periodic growth patterns on shell surfaces have been widely used for studies in the ecology and evolution of scallops. Modern X-ray CT scanners and digital cameras can provide high-resolution image data that contain abundant information such as the shell formation rate, ontogenetic age, and life span of shellfish organisms. We introduced a novel multiscale image processing method based on matched filters with Gaussian kernels and partial differential equation (PDE) multiscale hierarchical decomposition to segment the small tubular and periodic structures in scallop shell images. The periodic patterns of structures (consisting of bifurcation points, crossover points of the rings and ribs, and the connected lines) could be found by our Space-based Depth-First Search (SDFS) algorithm. We created a MATLAB package to implement our method of periodic pattern extraction and pattern matching on the CT and digital scallop images available in this study. The results confirmed the hypothesis that the shell cyclic structure patterns encompass genetically specific information that can be used as an effective invariable biomarker for biological individual recognition. The package is available with a quick-start guide and includes three examples: http://mgb.ouc.edu.cn/novegene/html/code.php . We introduced a novel multiscale image processing method based on the matched filters with Gaussian kernels and the PDE multiscale hierarchical decomposition to segment the small tubular and periodic structures in scallop shell images. The periodic patterns of structures (consisting of bifurcation points, crossover points of the rings and ribs, and the connected lines) could be found by our Space-based Depth-First Search (SDFS) algorithm. The proposed methods are implemented in a Matlab package and can be used as an effective invariable biomarker for biological individual recognition.

Description: This paper investigates statistical features of equatorial plasma bubbles (EPBs) using airglow images from 2012-2014 from a ground-based network of four imagers in the equatorial region of China. It is found that: (1) EPBs mainly occur during 21:00-00:00 local time (LT) in equinoxes. There is an asymmetry in occurrence rates between March (June) and September equinoxes (December solstices); (2) Most EPBs occur in groups of 2-6 depletions. The distance between adjacent EPB depletions is ~100-700 km, and the average is 200-300 km. The zonal extension of an EPB group is usually less than 1500 km, but can reach 3000 km; (3) EPBs usually have a maximum drift velocity near 100 m/s at 21:00-22:00 LT in 9.5° ± 1.5° geomagnetic latitude, and then decrease to 50-70 m/s toward sunrise; (4) The averaged westward tilt angle of most EPBs (with respect to the geographic north-south) increased from 5°-10° to 23°-30° with LT between 20:00 and 03:00 LT, then decreasing to 10°-20° toward sunrise; (5) When 90 〈 F 10.7  〈 140, the maximum magnetic latitudinal extension (PMLE) is usually lower than 15.0° (apex height ~725 km), but it can reach 23.0° (apex height ~1330 km) when F 10.7  〉 140. The maximum PMLE increases by 3.4°-5.5° when F 10.7 changes from 90-190; (6) the EPB occurrence patterns and zonal drift velocities are significantly different from those at Kolhapur, India, which locates west to our stations by 20.0 o -32.0 o in longitude.

Description: The study applies the improved cloud-free Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectral radiometer (MODIS) daily snow cover product (MODMYD_MC) to investigate the snow cover variations from snow Hydrologic Year (HY) HY2000 to HY2013 in the Amur River Basin (ARB), Northeast Asia. The fractions of forest cover were 38%, 63% and 47% in 2009 in China (the southern ARB), Russia (the northern ARB) and ARB, respectively. Validation results show that MODMYD_MC has a snow agreement of 88% against in situ snow depth (SD) observations (SD≥4cm). The agreement is about 10% lower at the forested stations than at the non-forested stations. Snow Cover Durations (SCD) from MODMYD_MC are 20 days shorter than ground observations (SD≥1cm) at the forested stations, while they are just 8 days shorter than ground observations (SD≥1cm) at the non-forested stations. Annual mean SCDs from MODMYD_MC in the forested areas are 21 days shorter than those in the nearby farmland in the SanJiang Plain. This indicates forest has a complex influence on the snow accumulation and melting processes and even on optical satellite snow cover mapping. Meanwhile, SCD and mean snow cover are negatively correlated with air temperature in ARB, especially in the snow melting season, when mean air temperature in March and April can explain 86% and 74% of the mean snow cover variations in China ARB and Russia ARB, respectively. From 1961 to 2015, the annual mean air temperature presented an increase trend by 0.33°C/decade in both China ARB and Russia ARB, while it had a decrease trend from HY2000 to HY2013. The decrease of air temperature led to an increase of snow cover, which is different from the global decrease trend of snow cover variations. SCD and snow cover had larger increase rates in China ARB than in Russia ARB, and they were larger in the forested areas than in the nearby farmland in the SanJiang Plain.

Description: ABSTRACT Winter crop losses from extreme weather in Taiwan have increased in the recent decade, with those losses associated with pronounced wet-and-cold events (temperature 〈 10 °C and precipitation 〉5 mm day −1 ). The regional and global patterns of atmospheric circulation and the sea surface temperature (SST) related to the extreme cold that damages fruits, vegetables, and paddy rice in northwest Taiwan were investigated. Cool SST anomalies in the western North Pacific (WNP) and warm SST in the central-eastern Pacific associated with the Pacific meridional mode (PMM) shared a significant role in the occurrence of wet-and-cold events in northwest Taiwan. The interactions of the WNP/PMM with the North Pacific Oscillation (NPO) and the Central Pacific type of El Niño led to a pronounced lead–lag relationship with the occurrence of wet-and-cold events. An empirical model was subsequently developed to predict the wet-and-cold event frequency using observed values of WNP, Niño-3.4, and Arctic Oscillation from year-1 and predicted indices of WNP and PMM derived from the Climate Forecast System Version 2 (CFSv2) outputs. The predictive skill of this hybrid empirical–dynamical model was statistically significant throughout the 6 months leading up to the occurrence of wet-and-cold events. A seasonal prediction for the wet-cold spells leading to winter crop damage in northwestern Taiwan with a combined empirical-dynamical approach. Parichart Promchote, S.-Y. Simon Wang, Yuan Shen, Paul G. Johnson, and Ming-Hwi Yao, International Journal of Climatology, 2017. DOI: 10.1002/joc.5194.

Description: ABSTRACT Due to the inherent limitations of the mouse models, the molecular mechanism of TGFβ signaling involved in the development of intrahepatic bile ducts (IHBDs) has been investigated little. Here, we investigated the role of TGFβ signaling and its regulatory mechanism in IHBDs development. We demonstrate that TGFβ signaling pathway activity is essential for IHBDs development. When blocking TGFβ signaling at E10.5, the number of bile ducts in hilum was reduced more than 2-fold and number of CK19 positive chlangiocytes in periphery was reduced more than 3.5-fold compared with controls. We also show that alpha-smooth muscle actin (α-SMA)-immunoreactive cells are located in the portal vein mesenchyme (PVM) adjacent to the bile ducts during IHBDs development and identify the α-SMA positive cells expressing the Notch ligand Jagged1 in the periportal area. Importantly, after blocking TGFβ signaling, the expression of Jagged1 was selectively decreased in the PVM but not in biliary epithelial cells (BECs), which is associated with the transformation of portal mesenchyme cells (PMCs) into portal myofibroblasts (PMFs). In addition, Sox9, which is downstream of Notch, is decreased after blocking the TGFβ signaling pathway in the liver. Our findings uncover a novel mechanism of TGFβ signaling in controlling the development of IHBDs may through regulating the Jagged1-Notch-Sox9 signaling axis. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved

Description: Cancer stem cells (CSCs) play a central role in the development of breast cancer. The canonical Wnt/β-catenin signal pathway is critical for maintaining CSCs characteristics. Diallyl trisulfide (DATS), a natural organosulfur compound from the garlic, exhibits effective antitumor properties. However, the role of DATS in regulating breast CSCs activity and the underlying molecular mechanisms remain obscure. In the present study, we reported that DATS efficiently inhibited the viability of breast CSCs as evidenced by reducing turmorspheres formation, decreasing the expression of breast CSCs markers (CD44, ALDH1A1, Nanog and Oct4), as well as inhibiting proliferation and inducing apoptosis. Furthermore, we showed that DATS suppressed the activity of Wnt/β-catenin pathway, while LiCl-triggered Wnt/β-catenin activation diminished DATS inhibition on breast CSCs. Taken together, our results illustrated that DATS suppressed breast CSCs through inhibiting Wnt/β-catenin pathway activation. These novel findings could provide new insights into the molecular mechanisms of breast CSCs regulation as well as its target intervention and might provide new strategies for preventing and treating breast cancers. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved

Description: This study examined the effects of different soil texture configurations on water movement and solute transport to provide a reliable scientific basis for the application of negative-pressure irrigation (NPI) technology. HYDRUS-2D was used to analyze water movement and solute transport under NPI. The main results are as follows. (1) HYDRUS-2D can be used to simulate water movement and solute transport under NPI, as there was good agreement between the simulated and measured values for water contents, NaCl concentrations, and wetting distances in the horizontal and vertical directions; the Nash–Sutcliffe efficiency coefficients were in the range of 0.94–0.97. (2) Layered soils have obvious effects on water movement under NPI. With the emitter position in the loam layer, when a coarse texture of loamy sand was present below the loam layer (namely, L-LS), irrigation water accumulated in the topsoil, and this led to an increase in evaporation compared with the homogeneous loam profile. However, fine texture silty loam or silty clay loam layers beneath the loam layer (namely, L-SiL or L-SiCL, respectively) was more conducive to water infiltration into the lower layer, and this increased the amount of water infiltration and simultaneously reduced the surface evaporation effectively. (3) Layered soils have obvious effects on solute transport under NPI, and salt accumulation will readily occur in the clay-rich soil layer at the interface. The maximum soil salt accumulation of L-LS occurred above the soil interface between the two soil layers with a value of 21.8 g kg -1 ; however, for L-SiCL and L-SiL, the maximum salt accumulation occurred below the soil interface between the two soil layers, with values of 23.8 g kg -1 and 20.08 g kg -1 , respectively. (4) Interlayered soils showed remarkable changes in the water infiltration characteristics and salt-leaching intensities under NPI, and the properties for the soil profile with a silty loam interlayer were better than those for the soil profile with a silty clay loam interlayer. The soil profile with a loamy sand interlayer had the lowest amount of water infiltration, which resulted in reductions of the salt-leaching intensities. Thus, NPI is clearly not suitable for loamy sand soil. Overall, the results demonstrated that soil texture configurations affected water movement and solute transport under NPI. Therefore, careful consideration should be given to the use of NPI to achieve target soil water and solution conditions and reduce water loss.

Description: Abstract . Two aliphatic dicarboxy1ic acid ligands, iminodiacetic acid (H 2 L 1 ) and 3,3-thiodipropionic acid (H 2 L 2 ), were used to construct two novel lead(II) frameworks, namely, [Pb(μ 4 -L 1 )Br] n ( 1 ) and [Pb 3 (μ 9 -L 2 )(μ 2 -Br) 2 Br 2 ] n ( 2 ), under hydrothermal conditions. It has to be noted that for 1 the central Pb II ions are bridged by L 2– ligands resulting in infinite right- and left-handed helical Pb–(O–C–O)–Pb linkage. Compound 2 represents a novel 3D hybrid luminescent lead(II) framework with I 3 O 0 type connectivity. For 2 infinite 2D Pb–O–Pb inorganic layers and trinuclear Pb 3 Br 4 clusters are inter-linked forming a 3D inorganic connectivity. In 1 the five-coordinate central Pb II ions adopt a hemi-directed coordination arrangement, whereas in 2 six-coordinate Pb1, six-coordinate Pb2, and four-coordinate Pb3 atoms adopt hemi-directed coordination arrangements. The variable lead(II) coordination environment and flexible coordination modes of carboxy1ic acid ligands such as H 2 L 1 and H 2 L 2 also reveal great potential for constructing novel inorganic-organic hybrid materials. Furthermore TGA, FT-IR, PXRD, elemental analysis, and photo-luminescent properties of 1 and 2 were investigated.

Description: Energy budgets based on the temporal scale separation were used to investigate two persistent torrential rainfall events over the Yangtze River Basin during the 2010 Mei-yu season. Interactions between the precipitation-related eddy flows and their background circulations were analyzed quantitatively to show the corresponding physical scenario. During the persistent precipitation, the precipitation-related eddy flows and their background circulations sustained their respective energy through different mechanisms. For background circulations, the baroclinic energy conversion and the energy transport dominated their maintenance. In contrast, for precipitation-related eddy flows, the upper, middle and lower troposphere showed significantly different energy paths: in the upper troposphere, a remarkable downscaled energy cascade process (ECP) of available potential energy occurred, which favored the maintenance of upper-level wind perturbations through the baroclinic energy conversion; in the middle troposphere, the energy transport controlled the evolution of eddy flows; in the lower troposphere, a significant downscaled ECP of kinetic energy maintained its intensity, which directly favored the sustainment of the Mei-yu front and the lower-level jet. These downscaled ECPs, which reflected the direct effects of background circulations on the eddy flows, dominated the evolution of precipitation-related eddy flows. In contrast, although upscaled ECPs that indicated the feedback effects of eddy flows on their background circulations were also obvious, they were negligible in the variation of background circulations. The further analysis indicates that whether the background circulations could transfer their energy to the precipitation-related eddy flows was determined by their configurations relative to the eddy flows.