ALBERT

Description: Considering the actual situation of separating pedestrian flow in T-shaped passage, the guide sign is set to guide the pedestrians and subconscious strength is introduced to show the effect of guide sign. Pedestrian subconscious strength model is established, and the subconscious strength calculation result is added to the pedestrian simulation model which is based on cellular automata. On the platform of MATLAB software, separating pedestrian flow simulation with the effect of guide sign is realized. Simulations indicate that, compared with the separating pedestrian flow without guide sign, the efficiency of pedestrians passing with guide sign is higher. Analyzing the effect of guide sign in different positions, the suitable position of guide sign is obtained.

Description: One-year observation of dust aerosol properties near Hexi Corridor was obtained from polarimetric measurements by ground-based sunphotometer in the county of Minqin in northwestern China from March 2012 to February 2013. We observed an annual mean AOD of at 0.50 μm and Ångström exponents of 0.1–1.0 fitting a bimode normal distribution centered at 0.18 and 0.50, respectively. The effective radii of fine (0.13–0.17 μm) and coarse (2.49–3.49 μm) modes were found stable at all seasons together with the appearance of a third mode of particle radius at 0.4–1.0 μm when AOD was larger than 0.6. It is noticeable that the real (1.5–1.7) and imaginary (0.0005 to 0.09) parts of complex refractive indices were higher than other studies performed in other desert regions of China, while single scattering albedo was relatively lower (~0.84–0.89) at wavelengths of 0.44, 0.67, 0.87, and 1.02 μm. This is partially due to calcite or hematite in the soil in Minqin or the influence of anthropogenic aerosols containing carbon. Moreover, from our novel polarimetric measurement, the scattering phase function () and degree of linear polarization for incident unpolarized light () of dust aerosols were also obtained within this deserted area.

Description: How to obtain the “truth” of land surface parameter as reference value to validate the remote sensing retrieved parameter in heterogeneous scene and coarse-resolution pixel is one of the most challenging topics in environmental studies. In this paper, a distributed sensor network system named CPP-WSN was established to capture the spatial and temporal variation of land surface parameters at coarse-resolution satellite pixel scale around the Huailai Remote Sensing Station, which locates in the North China Plain. The system consists of three subnetworks that are RadNet, SoilNet, and VegeNet. Time series observations of typical land surface parameters, including UVR, PAR, SWR, LWR, albedo, and land surface temperature (LST) from RadNet, multilayer soil moisture and soil temperature from SoilNet, and fraction of vegetation cover (FVC), clumping index (CI), and leaf area index (LAI) from VegeNet, have been obtained and shared on the web. Compared with traditional single-point measurement, the “true” reference value of coarse pixel is obtained by averaging or representativeness-weighted averaging the multipoint measurements acquired using the sensor network. The preliminary applications, which validate several remote sensing products with CPP-WSN data, demonstrate that a high quality ground “truth” dataset has been available for remote sensing as well as other applications.

Description: Comparisons of related species that have diverse spatial distributions provide an efficient way to investigate adaptive evolution in face of increasing global warming. The oyster subjected to high environmental selections is a model species as sessile marine invertebrate. This study aimed to detect the adaptive divergence of energy metabolism in two oyster subspecies from the genus Crassostrea — C. gigas gigas and C. gigas angulata —which are broadly distributed along the northern and southern coasts of China, respectively. We examined the effects of acute thermal stress on energy metabolism in two oyster subspecies after being common gardened for one generation in identical conditions. Thermal responses were assessed by incorporating physiological, molecular, and genomic approaches. Southern oysters exhibited higher fluctuations in metabolic rate, activities of key energetic enzymes, and levels of thermally induced gene expression than northern oysters. For genes involved in energy metabolism, the former displayed higher basal levels of gene expression and a more pronounced downregulation of thermally induced expression, while the later exhibited lower basal levels and a less pronounced downregulation of gene expression. Contrary expression pattern was observed in oxidative stress gene. Besides, energy metabolic tradeoffs were detected in both subspecies. Furthermore, the genetic divergence of a nonsynonymous SNP ( SOD-132 ) and five synonymous SNPs in other genes was identified and validated in these two subspecies, which possibly affects downstream functions and explains the aforementioned phenotypic variations. Our study demonstrates that differentiations in energy metabolism underlie the plasticity of adaptive divergence in two oyster subspecies and suggest C. gigas angulata with moderate phenotypic plasticity has higher adaptive potential to cope with exacerbated global warming. Adaptive divergence of energy metabolism in two oyster subspecies, Crassostrea gigas and C. angulata .

Description: In performing our experiment, impaired autophagy increased hepatocellular damage during the reperfusion period. It was demonstrated by the effect of blocking autophagy using bafilomycin A1 or knocking Atg5 gene out reduces the anti-apoptotic effect of Stat3. Here we focus on the role of signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (Stat3) in regulating autophagy to alleviate hepatic IRI. We found that Stat3 was up-regulated during hepatic IRI and was associated with an activation of the autophagic signaling pathway. This increased Stat3 expression, which was allied with high autophagic activity, alleviated liver damage to IR, an effect which was abrogated by Stat3 epletion as demonstrated in both in vivo and in vitro methods. The levels of Atg5 protein were decreased when Stat3 was inhibited by HO 3867 or siStat3. We conclude that Stat3 appeared to exert a pivotal role in hepatic IRI, by activating autophagy to alleviate hepatic IRI, and Atg5 was required for this process. The identification of this novel pathway, that links expression levels of Stat3 with Atg5-mediated autophagy, may provide new insights for the generation of novel protective therapies directed against hepatic IRI. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved

Description: Tris (1,3-dichloro-2-propyl) phosphate (TDCIPP) is one of the widely used organophosphorus flame retardants (OPFRs), which are regarded as suitable substitutes for brominated flame retardants (BFRs). Previously, we have validated the toxicity of TDCIPP in PC12 cells owing to the induced alterations in GAP43, NF-H, CaMK2a/2b, and tubulin α/β proteins; however, limited information is currently available on the toxicity and mechanism of TDCIPP. In the present study, cytotoxicity effects were evaluated by exposing PC12 cells to different concentrations of TDCIPP (0–50 μM) for 4 days. To explore the possible mechanisms through which cytotoxicity is induced, changes in intracellular [Ca 2+ ] i levels and the activation of calmodulin dependent protein kinase 2 (CaMK2), c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK), extracellular regulated protein kinases (ERK1/2), and p38 mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPK) pathways were evaluated. Furthermore, PC12 cells were pretreated with CaMK2 inhibitor KN93 to investigate the relationship between TDCIPP-induced phosphorylation of CaMK2 and activation of JNK, ERK1/2, and p38 MAPK pathways. Our results indicate that TDCIPP-induced toxicity might be associated with the overload of [Ca 2+ ] i levels, increased phosphorylation of CaMK2, and activation of the JNK, ERK1/2, and p38 MAPK pathways, the lattermost of which was further demonstrated to be partially elicited by the CaMK2 phosphorylation.

Description: [1]  Black carbon (BC), brown carbon (BrC), and mineral dust (DU) are three major light absorbing aerosols, playing important roles in climate change. Better knowledge of their concentrations is necessary for more accurate estimates of their radiative forcing effects of climate. We present a method to retrieve columnar contents of BC, BrC and DU simultaneously from spectral refractive indices and spectral single scattering albedo obtained from the sun-sky radiometer measurements. Then, this method is applied to investigate the columnar volume fractions and mass concentrations of BC, BrC and DU in Beijing, China based on measurements obtained from 2009 to 2010. Results show that among the three absorbing aerosols, DU dominates the largest volume fraction in the total aerosol volume (20–45%), followed by BrC (5–25%), and BC (〈 5%). The retrieved monthly mean content of each absorbing component exhibits clear seasonal variation. BrC dominates in late fall and winter (40–92.5 mg/m 2 ), whereas is extremely low in summer (〈 10 mg/m 2 ). DU dominates in spring, ranging from 270 to 405 mg/m 2 (with volume fraction 〉30%), while during June-September, the DU fraction is generally lower than 30%. BC is characterized by low levels throughout the year. The monthly mean BC columnar mass concentration ([BC]) ranges from 2.7 to 7.3 mg/m 2 with winter slightly higher than other seasons. As a preliminary validation, we compare our retrieved [BC] with in-situ measurements. Similar day-to-day variation trends and good correlations are found between the retrieved [BC] and in-situ measurements.

Description: ABSTRACT Objective: Ischemic stroke is the leading cause of worldwide mortality and long-term disability in adults. This study aims to explore the effects of RNA interference (RNAi)-mediated silencing of the S100B gene on nerve function recovery and morphological changes of hippocampus cells in rat models with ischemic stroke. Methods : Sixty Wistar rats were assigned into different group. S100B and Caspase 3 mRNA and protein expressions were evaluated by RT-qPCR and Western blotting. Positive rate of S100B, NeuN, and MAP2 expressions were detected by immunohistochemistry (IHC). Water content, malondialdehyde (MDA) levels, and superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity in brain tissues were measured. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was employed to detect serum levels of TNF-α and IL-1β. A neurological severity score (NSS) was used to test nerve function. TUNEL assay was used to determine hippocampal cell apoptosis. Results : Downregulation of S100B showed a lower number of S100B immune positive cells, but higher NeuN and MAP2-positive cells, increased SOD level, declined MDA level, prominently faster recovery of neurological function, decreased TRCS, TCTP, TCFP and IE levels, an obvious increase in the number of survival neurons, a decrease in the number of apoptotic cells, notably decreased TNF-α and IL-1β contents, as well as infarct volume, an obvious decrease in positive hippocampal cell Caspase 3 expression and protein expressions of Caspase 3 and cleaved Caspase 3. Conclusion : This study provides data to suggest that RNAi-mediated silencing of S100B gene could improve the recovery of nerve function while inhibiting apoptosis of hippocampal cells in rats with ischemic stroke. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved

Description: Abstract Texturing is an effective approach to improving the piezoelectricity of piezoelectric ceramics. In this work, 〈001〉 textured Li+‐doped 0.852Bi0.5Na0.5TiO3–0.11Bi0.5K0.5TiO3–0.038BaTiO3 ternary lead‐free piezoelectric ceramics are prepared by the reactive templates grain growth (RTGG) method. X‐ray diffraction (XRD) results demonstrate a high orientation degree of 77% along the 〈001〉 direction. Outstanding electro‐strain response, which is higher than most of reported BNT‐based textured ceramics, is achieved due to the contribution of oriented‐grains along the 〈001〉 direction. A large electro‐strain of 0.55% with a relatively low hysteresis is obtained at 6.5 kV/mm with corresponding large signal piezoelectric coefficient () of 846 pm/V in the textured ceramics, which is 49% higher than that of the random ceramics. Besides, the electro‐strain could reach as high as 0.52%@5.5 kV/mm ( = 945 pm/V) at 100°C. These results indicate that the RTGG is an effective way to design high performance lead‐free piezoelectric materials.

Description: This paper is concerned with the problem of weighted filtering for a class of switched linear systems with two additive time-varying delays, which represent a general class of switched time-delay systems with strong practical background. Combining average dwell time (ADT) technique with piecewise Lyapunov functionals, sufficient conditions are established to guarantee the exponential stability and weighted performance for the filtering error systems. The parameters of the designed switched filters are obtained by solving linear matrix inequalities (LMIs). A modification of Jensen integral inequality is exploited to derive results with less theoretical conservatism and computational complexity. Finally, two examples are given to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method.