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Abstract: As one of the areas covered by plenty of primeval forests, Northeast China contributes a lot for the conservation of water and land resources, produces timber production, and provides habitats for a huge number of wild animals and plants. With changes of socio-economic factors as well as the geophysical conditions, there are dramatic shrinkage trends of forestry area. Therefore, it is of significance to find the underlining reasons for the changes of forestry area. To grasp the determinants of forestry area change in Northeast China, an econometric model is developed which is composed of three equations identifying forest production, conversion from open forest to closed forest and conversion from other land uses to closed forest, and then to explore the impacts on the changes of forestry area from demographic, social, economic, location and geophysical factors. The research results provide meaningful decision-making information for conserving and exploiting the forest resources and for making out the planning for forest production in the Northeast China region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Objective: To explore the effect of hepatocyte growth factor signaling pathway activation on Plasmodium berghei infection. Methods: In this study, hepatocyte growth factor was detected by ELISA and Western blotting assay. Hepatocyte injury was detected by FITC-dextran absorption assay, and hepatocyte growth factor expression was shown to be expressed in the same injury cells by immunofluorescence against hepatocyte growth factor. In addition, Activation of hepatocyte growth factor and its receptor signaling pathway was detected with immunoprecipitation and detection of phosphorylation status. Results: It was found that injury of hepatocytes by sporozoite migration induced the secretion of hepatocyte growth factor and it was hepatocyte growth factor that rendered hepatocytes susceptible to Plasmodium sporozoite infection. In addition, hepatocyte infections depended on activation of the hepatocyte growth factor and its receptor signaling pathway. Conclusions: Our results indicate that hepatocyte growth factor and its receptor may possibly be potential targets for new approaches to malaria treatment. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]