ALBERT

Description: The Space Environment Prediction Center (SEPC) has classified geomagnetic activity into four levels: quiet to unsettled ( Kp  〈 4), active ( Kp  = 4), minor to moderate storm ( Kp  = 5 or 6), and major to severe storm ( Kp  〉 6). The 3-hourly Kp index prediction product provided by the SEPC is updated half hourly. In this study, the statistical conditional forecast models for the 3-hourly geomagnetic-activity level were developed based on 10 years of data, and applied to more than 3 years of data, using the previous Kp index, interplanetary magnetic field, and solar wind parameters measured by the Advanced Composition Explorer (ACE) as conditional parameters. The quality of the forecast models was measured and compared against verifications of accuracy, reliability, discrimination capability, and skill of predicting all geomagnetic activity levels, especially the probability of reaching the storm level given a previous “calm” (non-storm level) or “storm” (storm level) condition. It was found that: the conditional models that used the previous Kp index, the peak value of B t V (the product of the total interplanetary magnetic field and speed), the average value of B z (the southerly component of the interplanetary magnetic field), and B z V (the product of the southerly component of the interplanetary magnetic field and speed) over the last six hours as conditional parameters, provide a relative operating characteristic area ( ROCA ) of 0.64, and can be an appropriate predictor for the probability forecast of geomagnetic activity level.

Description: ABSTRACT Paraquat is a nitrogen herbicide imposing severe organ toxicity in human leading to acute lung injury and heart failure. The present study was designed to examine the impact of ablation of the innate proinflammatory mediator toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) in paraquat-induced cardiac contractile dysfunction and the underlying mechanisms involved with a focus on endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress and apoptosis. Adult male wild-type (WT) and TLR4 knockout (TLR4 −/− ) mice were challenged with paraquat (45 mg/kg, i.p.) for 48 h prior to the assessment of myocardial and cardiomyocyte sarcomere function, ER stress, apoptosis and inflammation. Acute paraquat challenge exerted myocardial functional and geometric alterations including enlarged left ventricular end systolic diameter (LVESD), reduced fractional shortening, decreased sarcomere shortening, maximal velocities of sarcomere shortening and relengthening associated with unchanged LV posterior wall thickness, septal thickness, LV end diastolic diameter (LVEDD), heart rate, sarcomere length, time-to-peak shortening and time-to-90% relengthening. Although TLR4 ablation did not affect mechanical properties in the heart, it significantly attenuated or ablated paraquat-induced cardiac contractile anomalies. Moreover, paraquat imposed overt ER stress, apoptosis and inflammation as evidenced by upregulation of Bip, CHOP, Caspase-3, −9, Bax, Bad, and IL-1β, phosphorylation of PERK, eIF2α and IΚB, as well as activation of the stress molecules ERK and p38, with unchanged Caspase-8, Bcl2, TNF-α, p53, HMGB1, MyD88 and phosphorylation of Akt, GSK3β and JNK, the effects of which were attenuated or negated by TLR4 knockout. Taken together, our results suggested that TLR4 ablation alleviated paraquat-induced myocardial contractile dysfunction possibly through attenuation of ER stress, apoptosis and inflammation. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Environ Toxicol, 2016.

Description: The water level oscillation of endorheic lakes and extent change of glaciers associated with the Asian monsoon are known as prominent representatives of climatic and environmental events in the Tibetan Plateau during the Quaternary. However, details process in spatial and temporal changes are still debated. We use the schizothoracines as a palaeoclimatic proxy to test two hypotheses concerning the evolution of Quaternary glaciations and lakes of the Changtang Plateau: (1) the Tibetan glaciations generally tended to decrease since the middle Pleistocene; (2) the lakes expansion was driven by summer monsoon rainfall. Based on a wide range-wide sampling throughout in the Changtang Plateau and its adjacent drainages, we constructed phylogeny and demographic histories of schizothoracines in the Changtang Plateau. Our results showed that the populations of the exorheic rivers and lakes in southern Tibet possessed higher genetic variability, earlier coalescent and expansion times than those of the endorheic lakes in the Changtang Plateau. Population expansions are highly consistent with phases of strong summer monsoon and high lake level during interglacial stages. The maximum growth rate intervals showed three pulses from 64.7 to 54.8, 39.6 to 31.0, and 14.9 to 2.4 kya respectively. The significant positive correlations were found between regional precipitation and genetic diversity, as well as coalescence time of populations in the endorheic lakes. We suggested that the demographic history of the schizothoracines reflects the spatial and temporal changes in climate and lake level, in particular, in regional precipitation gradients associated with changes of the South Asian monsoon, and supports the climatic hypothesis of a general diminishing tend in Tibetan glaciations in the Tibetan Plateau since the middle Pleistocene. The Tibetan Plateau (the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, QTP) and adjacent mountains together form the largest and highest mountainous area of the world. Although a huge number of studies in geosciences focus on this orogenic system, the important questions concerning its Late Cenozoic uplift and climatic history are still controversial (Royden et al. 2008; Molnar et al. 2010). We used the schizothoracines as palaeoclimatic proxies to test the hypotheses of the evolution of Quaternary geography and climate of the central Tibetan Plateau.W were able to establish a clear link between the evolutionary history of the schizothoracines and the palaeoclimatic events concerning the Pleistocene glacial, lake expansion and Asia summer monsoon in the central Tibetan Plateau.

Description: Abstract Ba0.5Sr0.5TiO3 ceramics with different Mn‐doping amount (Ba0.5Sr0.5Ti1‐xMnxO3, x = 0, 0.1%, 0.3%, 0.5%) were prepared by spark plasma sintering method. The single phase with cubic structure symmetry was confirmed and a gradual increase in lattice parameter with increasing x was observed. Fine grains with dense microstructure were revealed from the SEM images, while an obvious increase in grain size was detected when x = 0.5%. An optimized doping amount of 0.3% was determined, showing high dielectric constant (εr ≈ 2190), low dielectric loss (tanδ ≈ 2.78 × 10−3), enhanced breakdown strength (290 kV/cm), and high‐energy storage density (1.69 J/cm3) at room temperature. A possible mechanism, namely defect dipoles formation mechanism, was employed to explain the optimization of energy storage performance, and further confirmed from the variation in AC conductivity.

Description: Growing second-generation energy crops on marginal land is conceptualized as one of the primary means of future bioenergy development. However, the extent to which marginal land can support energy crop production remains unclear. The Loess Plateau of China, one of the most seriously eroded regions of the world, is particularly rich in marginal land. On the basis of the previous field experiment of planting Miscanthus species in Qingyang of the Gansu Province, herein, we estimated the yield potential of Miscanthus lutarioriparius , the species with the highest biomass, across the Loess Plateau. On the basis of the radiation model previously developed from Miscanthus field trials, annual precipitation was introduced as an additional variable for yield estimate in the semiarid and semihumid regions of the Loess Plateau. Of 62 million hectares (Mha) of the Loess Plateau, our model estimated that 48.7 Mha can potentially support Miscanthus growth, with the average yield of 17.8 t ha −1  yr −1 . After excluding high-quality cropland and pasture and land suitable for afforestation, a total of 33.3 Mha of presumably marginal land were left available for producing the energy crop at the average yield of 16.8 t ha −1  yr −1 and the total annual yield of 0.56 billion tons. The analysis of environmental factors indicated that erosion, aridity, and field steepness were the primary contributors to the poor quality of the marginal land. The change of land uses from traditional agriculture to energy crop production may prevent further erosion and land degradation and consequently establish a sustainable economy for the region.

Description: Growing second-generation energy crops on marginal land is conceptualized as one of the primary means of future bioenergy development. However, the extent to which marginal land can support energy crop production remains unclear. The Loess Plateau of China, one of the most seriously eroded regions of the world, is particularly rich in marginal land. On the basis of the previous field experiment of planting Miscanthus species in Qingyang of the Gansu Province, herein, we estimated the yield potential of Miscanthus lutarioriparius , the species with the highest biomass, across the Loess Plateau. On the basis of the radiation model previously developed from Miscanthus field trials, annual precipitation was introduced as an additional variable for yield estimate in the semiarid and semihumid regions of the Loess Plateau. Of 62 million hectares (Mha) of the Loess Plateau, our model estimated that 48.7 Mha can potentially support Miscanthus growth, with the average yield of 17.8 t ha −1  yr −1 . After excluding high-quality cropland and pasture and land suitable for afforestation, a total of 33.3 Mha of presumably marginal land were left available for producing the energy crop at the average yield of 16.8 t ha −1  yr −1 and the total annual yield of 0.56 billion tons. The analysis of environmental factors indicated that erosion, aridity, and field steepness were the primary contributors to the poor quality of the marginal land. The change of land uses from traditional agriculture to energy crop production may prevent further erosion and land degradation and consequently establish a sustainable economy for the region.

Description: Aims Sand burial and precipitation play important roles in vegetation of inland deserts and desertified areas, and both are under strong influence of climate and land-use change. Sand deposition and precipitation both vary greatly in space and time, and different plant species, with diverse adaptations, occupy different niches along spatial gradients in the combination of sand and water availability dynamics. We hypothesized that species specificity in spatial and temporal niche occupation along such gradients is a mechanism for their co-existence and, thereby, a driver and stabilizer of biodiversity in dry, sandy areas. Location Ordos Plateau, China. Methods We conducted a 2-yr field experiment with factorial treatments of precipitation (control, slight enhancement, strong enhancement) and sand addition (control, medium addition, large addition). Plant cover of the six dominant species was followed over different seasons, as we expected different species to benefit from different treatments in different seasons and years with different weather regimes. Results Sand burial alone significantly affected plant cover of all six dominant species, while precipitation enhancement had no significant effect. Effects of sand burial on plant cover changed overall during the two hydrologically contrasting years. Our key finding was that there were multiple significant two- and three-way interactions between species, sand burial and precipitation enhancement on plant cover, while there were also multiple two- and three-way interactions involving species, sand burial or precipitation treatment with year and/or season. Conclusion Our results supported our hypothesis, i.e. the co-existence of species in a semi-arid sand dune can be explained from the different niches they occupy in terms of seasonal and year-to-year variation in precipitation in combination with sand deposition regime. The interactions of these drivers on plant cover with experimental enhancement of precipitation, mimicking a realistic scenario for this region, suggest that shifts in species composition are to be expected this century. More generally, our findings advance our understanding of what drives species co-existence and thereby biodiversity, now and in the future. Plant cover of six predominant species was followed over different seasons in a 2-yr field experiment with factorial treatments of precipitation and sand addition. The results supported the hypothesis that the coexistence of species in semiarid sandy area can be explained from their different niches in terms of seasonal and year-to-year variation in precipitation in combination with sand deposition regime.

Description: The significant positive correlation between ghrelin and iron and hepcidin levels in the plasma of children with iron deficiency anemia prompted us to hypothesize that ghrelin may affect iron metabolism. Here, we investigated the effects of fasting or ghrelin on the expression of hepcidin, ferroportin 1 (Fpn1), transferrin receptor 1 (TfR1), ferritin light chain (Ft-L) proteins and ghrelin, and also hormone secretagogue receptor 1 alpha (GHSR1α) and ghrelin O-acyltransferase (GOAT) mRNAs in the spleen and/or macrophage. We demonstrated that fasting induces a significant increase in the expression of ghrelin, GHSR1α, GOAT and hepcidin mRNAs, as well as Ft-L and Fpn1 but not TfR1 proteins in the spleens of mice in vivo. Similar to the effects of fasting on the spleen, ghrelin induced a significant increase in the expression of Ft-L and Fpn1 but not TfR1 proteins in macrophages in vitro. In addition, ghrelin was found to induce a significant enhancement in phosphorylation of ERK as well as translocation of pERK from the cytosol to nuclei. Furthermore, the increased pERK and Fpn1 induced by ghrelin was demonstrated to be preventable by pre-treatment with either GHSR1α antagonist or pERK inhibitor. Our findings support the hypothesis that fasting up-regulates Fpn1 expression, probably via a ghrelin/GHSR/MAPK signaling pathway. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved

Description: The airway epithelium plays a crucial role in the pathogenesis of asthma. The functions of leukotriene B4 receptor 2 (BLT2) on the airway epithelial cells remains unknown. In our study, BLT2 expression in 16HBE bronchial epithelial cells were manipulated by transfection with BLT2 overexpression plasmid or BLT2 small interference RNA. 16HBE cells were then exposed to BLT2 antagonist (LY255283) or BLT2 agonist (12(S)-hydroxyheptadeca-5Z,8E,10E-trienoic acid [12-HHT] or CAY10583). The results showed that BLT2 overexpression, 12-HHT stimulation or CAY10583 treatment resulted in the enhanced proliferation and migration of 16HBE cells. In addition, BLT2 showed an inhibitory effect on epithelial permeability as illustrated by the measurement of transepithelial electrical resistance (TER) and epithelial permeability, and a promoting effect on the levels of tight junction proteins (occludin and claudin-4) and phosphorylated p38 as demonstrated by real-time PCR and western blotting analyses. These results suggest BLT2 as a key determinant of airway epithelial barrier integrity. On the contrary, RNAi-mediated knockdown or LY255283 treatment had reversed effects on the proliferation, migration and epithelial barrier integrity. Together, our findings suggest the critical roles of BLT2 on the functions of bronchial epithelial cells and that BLT2 agonists are potential therapeutic agents for asthma treatment. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved