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Telocytes (TCs) are distinctive interstitial cells due to their characteristic structures and heterogeneity. They are suggested to participate in tissue repair/regeneration. TCs have been identified in many organs of various mammals. However, data on TCs in lower animals are still very limited. In this work, TCs were identified in the myocardium of the bullfrog (Rana catesbeiana) by light and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The structural relationships between TCs and neighbouring cell types were measured using the ImageJ (FiJi) morphometric software. TCs with slender Tps (telepodes) were located around cardiomyocytes (CMC). TEM revealed TCs with long Tps in the stroma between CMC. The homocellular tight junctions were observed between the Tps. The Tps were also very close to the neighbouring CMC. The distance between Tps and CMC was 0.15 ± 0.08 μm. Notably, Tps were observed to adhere to the periphery of the satellite cells. The Tps and the satellite cells established heterocellular structural connections by tight junctions. Additionally, Tps were frequently observed in close proximity to mast cells (MCs). The distance between the Tps and the MCs was 0.19 ± 0.09 μm. These results confirmed that TCs are present in the myocardium of the bullfrog, and that TCs established structural relationships with neighbouring cell types, including satellite cells and MCs. These findings provide the anatomical evidence to support the note that TCs are involved in tissue regeneration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Moso bamboo (Phyllostachys edulis (Carriere) J. Houz.) is a major giant bamboo species. Unreasonable fertilization and nitrogen (N) loss is a serious problem. A field experiment was conducted to determine the effects of application methods (furrow and hole) and depths (0-20 and 20-40 cm) on ammonia (N[H.sub.3]) volatilization and N runoff losses from June to December, 2015. Ammonia volatilization was detected as a single peak curve after fertilization. Three weeks later, fluxes of all fertilization treatments were similar to those of the control and remained stable. After the experiment, the cumulative N[H.sub.3] volatilization was 17.2-21.4 kg x [ha.sup.-1]. Approximately 90% of N[H.sub.3] volatilization occurred within the first two weeks. The N[H.sub.4.sup.+]-N loss was higher than the N[O.sub.3.sup.-]-N loss, and the total runoff losses were relatively low. For the same application method, with the increase of application depth, the N[H.sub.3] volatilization and N runoff losses reduced; for the same application depth, the N[H.sub.3] volatilization and N runoff losses after furrow application were lower than those after hole application. Therefore, the deep and furrow application methods were effective in reducing N loss through N[H.sub.3] volatilization and runoff. In the present study, furrow application at a 20-40 cm depth has been appropriate for field practice. Key words: Phyllostachys edulis, fertilization method, fertilization depth, N[H.sub.3] volatilization, runoff. Le bambou moso (Phyllostachys edulis (Carriere) J. Houz.) est une importante espece de bambou geant. Une fertilisation deraisonnable et la perte d'azote (N) sont des problemes serieux. Une experience a ete realisee sur le terrain pour determiner les effets de la methode d'application (dans des sillons ou dans des trous) et de la profondeur (0-20 et 20-40 cm) sur la volatilisation de l'ammoniaque (N[H.sub.3]) et les pertes de N par ruissellement de juin a decembre 2015. La volatilisation de N[H.sub.3] a ete detectee par l'unique sommet dans la courbe apres la fertilisation. Trois semaines plus tard, les flux de tous les traitements de fertilisation etaient similaires a ceux du temoin et sont demeures stables par la suite. A la suite de l'experience, la volatilisation cumulative de N[H.sub.3] atteignait 17,2-21,4 kg x [ha.sup.-1]. Approximativement 90 % de la volatilisation de N[H.sub.3] est survenue durant les deux premieres semaines. La perte de N-N[H.sub.4.sup.+] etait plus elevee que la perte de N-N[O.sub.3.sup.-] et les pertes totales par ruissellement etaient relativement faibles. Pour la meme methode d'application, l'augmentation de la profondeur d'application a reduit la volatilisation de N[H.sub.3] et les pertes de N par ruissellement. Peu importe la profondeur d'application, la volatilisation de N[H.sub.3] et les pertes de N par ruissellement etaient moins elevees apres l'application dans des sillons plutot que dans des trous. Par consequent, l'application en profondeur dans des sillons etait efficace pour reduire les pertes de N par la volatilisation de N[H.sub.3] et le ruissellement. Dans le cadre de cette etude, la fertilisation dans des sillons a une profondeur de 20-40 cm etait appropriee pour la pratique sur le terrain. [Traduit par la Redaction] Mots-cles : Phyllostachys edulis, methode de fertilisation, profondeur de fertilisation, volatilisation de N[H.sub.3], ruissellement., Introduction Bamboo forests are one of the important and widely spread forest types in Southern China. According to the 8th national forest inventory, bamboo forests cover an area of 6.0 [...]

Sensor nodes are widely distributed in the Internet of Things and communicate with each other to form a wireless sensor network (WSN), which plays a vital role in people's productivity and life. However, the energy of WSN nodes is limited, so this paper proposes a two-layer WSN system based on edge computing to solve the problems of high energy consumption and short life cycle of WSN data transmission and establishes wireless energy consumption and distance optimization models for sensor networks. Specifically, we propose the optimization objective of balancing load and distance factors. We adopt an improved sparrow search algorithm to evenly distribute sensor nodes in the system to reduce resource consumption, consumption, and network life. Through the simulation experiment, our method is illustrated, effectively reducing the network's energy consumption by 26.8% and prolonging the network's life cycle. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Aiming at the problems of low accuracy of network attack prediction and long response time of attack detection, bidirectional long short-term memory (BiLSTM) was used to predict network attacks. However, BiLSTM has the problems of difficulty in parameter setting and low accuracy of the prediction model. This paper first proposes the Improved Grey Wolf algorithm (IGWO) to optimize the BiLSTM (IGWO-BiLSTM). First, IGWO uses Dimension Learning Hunting (DLH) strategy to construct the wolf neighborhood. In the established wolf neighborhood, the BiLSTM parameters are iteratively optimized to obtain a prediction model with fast convergence speed and small reconstruction error. Secondly, the dataset is preprocessed, and the IP packet statistical signature (IPDCF) is defined according to the characteristics of denial of service (DOS) and distributed denial of service (DDOS) attacks. IPDCF was used to establish the time series model and network traffic time series data were input into IGWO-BiLSTM to get the prediction results. Finally, the DOS and DDOS network packets were input into the trained prediction model to obtain the prediction results of attack data. By comparing the predicted values of IGWO-BiLSTM normal network packets and attack packets, a reasonable threshold is set to provide the basis for the subsequent attack prediction. Experiments show that the IGWO-BiLSTM can reach 99.05% of the fitting degree and accurately distinguish network attacks from normal network demand increases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Currently, research on the evolution of heterogeneous combat networks (HCNs) mainly focuses on the modeling process, with little attention paid to the impact of changes in network topology on operational capabilities. Link prediction can provide a fair and unified comparison standard for network evolution mechanisms. This paper uses link prediction methods to study the evolution of HCNs. Firstly, according to the characteristics of HCNs, a link prediction index based on frequent subgraphs (LPFS) is proposed. LPFS have been demonstrated on a real combat network to be superior to 26 baseline methods. The main driving force of research on evolution is to improve the operational capabilities of combat networks. Adding the same number of nodes and edges, 100 iterative experiments demonstrate that the evolutionary method (HCNE) proposed in this paper outperforms random evolution and preferential evolution in improving the operational capabilities of combat networks. Furthermore, the new network generated after evolution is more consistent with the characteristics of a real network. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the rapid increase of smart Internet of Things (IoT) devices, edge networks generate a large number of computing tasks, which require edge-computing resource devices to complete the calculations. However, unreasonable edge-computing resource allocation suffers from high-power consumption and resource waste. Therefore, when user tasks are offloaded to the edge-computing system, reasonable resource allocation is an important issue. Thus, this paper proposes a digital-twin-(DT)-assisted edge-computing resource-allocation model and establishes a joint-optimization function of power consumption, delay, and unbalanced resource-allocation rate. Then, we develop a solution based on the improved whale optimization scheme. Specifically, we propose an improved whale optimization algorithm and design a greedy initialization strategy to improve the convergence speed for the DT-assisted edge-computing resource-allocation problem. Additionally, we redesign the whale search strategy to improve the allocation results. Several simulation experiments demonstrate that the improved whale optimization algorithm reduces the resource allocation and allocation objective function value, the power consumption, and the average resource allocation imbalance rate by 12.6%, 15.2%, and 15.6%, respectively. Overall, the power consumption with the assistance of the DT is reduced to 89.6% of the power required without DT assistance, thus, improving the efficiency of the edge-computing resource allocation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A major challenge in extracting high-quality DNA from bryophytes is the treatment of bryophyte material in the field. The existing and commonly used treatment methods in the field have several shortcomings. Natural drying methods can lead to DNA breaks. In addition, it is highly cumbersome to carry large quantities of silica gel in the field due to its weight and high risk of contamination among samples. In this study, we explored more convenient drying methods to treat bryophyte specimens and promote more efficient DNA recovery. The quantity and quality of genomic DNA extracted from every bryophyte species using different drying methods, including hot-air drying methods (150°C, 80°C, and 40°C), natural drying method, and silica gel drying method, were measured. Spectrophotometry, electrophoresis, and PCR amplification were performed to assess the effects of different drying methods. The results of total DNA purity, total DNA concentration, PCR success, and OD 260/230 ratios suggested that the hot-air drying (40–80°C) was the best method. The morphological comparison revealed that hot-air drying at 40°C and 80°C exerted no significant adverse effects on plant morphology and taxonomic studies. Thus, this method prevents rapid DNA degradation and silica gel pollution and saves the workforce from carrying large amounts of silica gel to the field. Several inexpensive devices, such as portable hairdryers, fan heaters, and electric blankets, are available that can be easily carried to the field for drying molecular specimens. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The frequency-domain passivity theory offers an effective way to assess the stability of inverters in a complex grid. In this article, a unified impedance model, suitable for either inverter current control (ICC) or grid current control (GCC) of LCL-type grid-connected inverters with observer-based capacitor current feedback active damping, is built to facilitate the passivity-based stability assessment and controller parameter design. With the passivity analysis, it is found that when the antiresonant frequency of LCL filter is in certain ranges, i.e., (0.056 $\omega _s$ , 0.20 $\omega _s$) for ICC and (0.046 $\omega _s$ , 0.23 $\omega _s$) for GCC, all frequencies’ passive output admittance of the inverter can be achieved via proposed parameter design guidelines. Due to the utilization of the observer and all frequencies’ passive output admittance property, not only extra current sensors for active damping can be saved, but also the inverter can be connected and stably operated in a grid regardless of the grid impedance. The validity of the theoretical analysis and effectiveness of the proposed method are verified by using experimental results on a laboratory prototype. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The utility of elevational gradients as tools to test either ecological hypotheses and delineate elevation‐associated environmental factors that explain the species diversity patterns is critical for moss species conservation. We examined the elevational patterns of species richness and evaluated the effects of spatial and environmental factors on moss species predicted a priori by alternative hypotheses, including mid‐domain effect (MDE), habitat complexity, energy, and environment proposed to explain the variation of diversity. Last, we assessed the contribution of elevation toward explaining the heterogeneity among sampling sites. We observed the hump‐shaped distribution pattern of species richness along elevational gradient. The MDE and the habitat complexity hypothesis were supported with MDE being the primary driver for richness patterns, whereas little support was found for the energy and the environmental factors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rhodobryum laxelimbatum (Bryophyta, Bryaceae) is one of the folk medicine resources in Southwest China, which has excellent potential for application in treating cardiovascular diseases. In this study, R. laxelimbatum was sequenced by high-throughput sequencing technology. The complete chloroplast genome is 124,632 bp in length with a quadripartite structure. Two inverted repeat regions are 9837 bp, separated by a large single copy region of 86,444 bp and a small single copy region of 18,514 bp. It encodes 118 unique genes, including 82 protein-coding genes, 32 tRNA genes, and four rRNA genes. The phylogenetic tree was constructed based on the complete chloroplast genome sequences of 18 bryophytes, downloaded from GenBank and acquired in this study. The phylogenetic analysis strongly indicated that R. laxelimbatum was the sister group of the clade which consists of Mnium marginatum, Pohlia cruda and Pohlia nutans. The R. laxelimbatum chloroplast genome sequence provides new genomic resources, which will improve its research, conservation, and application in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Moso bamboo (Phyllostachys edulis (Carrière) J.Houz.) is famous for its fast growth and biomass accumulation, as well as high annual output for timber and bamboo shoots. Organic mulches are widely used to improve shoots' production in moso bamboo forests. However, continuous mulching management may cause bamboo forest degradation and affect sustainable development. The objective of this study was to identify the degradation mechanism and to provide a theoretical basis for recovery. A complete randomized block design with four treatments was conducted, including mulching for one year (M1), two years (M2), three years (M3) and no-mulching management (NM). Soil nutrient contents, enzyme activities and microbial biomass were determined. With the increase of mulching years, the soil pH value gradually reduced, causing soil acidification, but the content of soil organic matter was inclined to ascend. Soil total nitrogen (TN), total phosphorus (TP) and total potassium (TK) contents showed an increasing trend, and they were significantly higher in mulching stands than those in NM (p < 0.05). Contents of soil available nutrients (AN, AP and AK) increased, then decreased with the increase of mulching years and peaked in M1. With the increase of mulching years, the soil stoichiometry ratio (C/N, C/P and N/P) gradually increased. Soil invertase, urease and acid phosphatase activities presented a single-peak curve and reached the maximum within one year after mulching. Total microbial biomass and that of individual groups changed greatly after mulching. Soil microbial biomass increased first and then decreased, and it was the largest in M1. The fungi:bacteria ratio decreased in the first year and then began to rise, while the aerobic:anaerobic ratio showed the opposite trend. According to the overall results, M3 leads to soil acidification, imbalance of the nutrients' proportion, abnormal enzyme activity and change of soil microbial flora, and rotated mulching management (mulching one year and then recuperating one year) should be recommended in practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Haplodontium zangiiX.R.Wang & J.C.Zhao, a new moss species from Xizang, China, is described and illustrated. Previously, specimens ofH. zangiihave been identified asMielichhoferia himalayanaMitt. However,H. zangiiis distinctly different fromM. himalayanain having excurrent costae with short awns (vslong denticulate awns), short-pyriform capsules, 0.8–1 mm (vslong-pyriform capsules, 2.5–3 mm), and densely papillose exostome teeth (vssmooth or vertically striped exostome teeth).Haplodontium zangiiis similar toH. macrocarpum(Hook.) J.R.Spence, which was traditionally placed inMielichhoferiaNees & Hornsch. asM. macrocarpa(Hook.) Bruch & Schimp. The main differences betweenH. zangiiandH. macrocarpumare in the morphology of the leaves, capsules, guide cells, and stomata.Mielichhoferia himalayanaand another Chinese species ofMielichhoferia,M. sinensisDix., are also transferred toHaplodontiumHampe, a new genus in the bryoflora of China, asH. himalayanum(Mitt.) X.R.Wang & J.C.Zhao andH. sinensis(Dix.) X.R.Wang & J.C.Zhao. A morphological comparison and a key to the three species ofHaplodontiumin China as well as toH. macrocarpum, a species that is likely to be found in China, are provided. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) with the attenuated total reflectance technique was used to identify Rhodobryum roseum from its four adulterants. The FTIR spectra of six samples in the range from 4000 cm−1 to 600 cm−1 were obtained. The second-derivative transformation test was used to identify the small and nearby absorption peaks. A cluster analysis was performed to classify the spectra in a dendrogram based on the spectral similarity. Principal component analysis (PCA) was used to classify the species of six moss samples. A cluster analysis with PCA was used to identify different genera. However, some species of the same genus exhibited highly similar chemical components and FTIR spectra. Fourier self-deconvolution and discrete wavelet transform (DWT) were used to enhance the differences among the species with similar chemical components and FTIR spectra. Three scales were selected as the feature-extracting space in the DWT domain. The results show that FTIR spectroscopy with chemometrics is suitable for identifying Rhodobryum roseum and its adulterants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Aims Umbilical hernia is a common abdominal complication in cirrhotic patients with ascites. Our study aimed to evaluate the correlation of umbilical hernia with the volume of ascites. Methods Cirrhotic patients that underwent axial abdominopelvic computed tomography (CT) scans at our hospital between June 2012 and June 2014 were eligible. All CT images were reviewed to confirm the presence of umbilical hernia. The volume of ascites was estimated by five-point method. Results One hundred and fifty-seven patients were enrolled into this study. Among them, 101 patients had ascites and 6 patients had umbilical hernia. Alkaline phosphatase (AKP) and serum sodium were significantly lower in patients with umbilical hernia (P = 0.008, P = 0.011, respectively). Child-Pugh scores and the volume of ascites were significantly higher in patients with umbilical hernia (P = 0.03, P < 0.0001, respectively). Correlation analysis demonstrated that the volume of ascites, Child-Pugh scores, and blood ammonia had positive correlations with umbilical hernia ( r = 0.4579, P < 0.0001; r = 0.175, P = 0.03; r = 0.342, P = 0.001, respectively) and that serum sodium had a negative correlation with umbilical hernia ( r = -0.203, P = 0.011). In patients with ascites ≥2000 mL, only AKP was significantly associated with umbilical hernia (P = 0.0497). No variables were significantly associated with umbilical hernia in a subgroup analysis of patients matched according to the volume of ascites. Conclusions The volume of ascites has a positive correlation with umbilical hernia. However, the factors associated with umbilical hernia in patients with severe ascites remain unclear. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Global warming has created opportunities and challenges for the survival and development of species. Determining how climate change may impact multiple ecosystem levels and lead to various species adaptations is necessary for both biodiversity conservation and sustainable biological resource utilization. In this study, we employed Maxent to predict changes in the habitat range and altitude of Polygala tenuifolia Willd. under current and future climate scenarios in China. Four representative concentration pathways (RCP2.6, RCP4.5, RCP6.0, and RCP8.5) were modeled for two time periods (2050 and 2070). The model inputs included 732 presence points and nine sets of environmental variables under the current conditions and the four RCPs in 2050 and 2070. The area under the receiver-operating characteristic (ROC) curve (AUC) was used to evaluate model performance. All of the AUCs were greater than 0.80, thereby placing these models in the “very good” category. Using a jackknife analysis, the precipitation in the warmest quarter, annual mean temperature, and altitude were found to be the top three variables that affect the range of P. tenuifolia. Additionally, we found that the predicted highly suitable habitat was in reasonable agreement with its actual distribution. Furthermore, the highly suitable habitat area was slowly reduced over time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: Our study aimed to evaluate the discriminative abilities of Child-Pugh, model for end-stage liver disease (MELD), and albumin-bilirubin (ALBI) scores in predicting the in-hospital mortality in cirrhotic patients with acute-on-chronic liver failure (ACLF). Methods: Cirrhotic patients with ACLF admitted between 2010 January and 2014 June were retrospectively reviewed. Areas under the receiver operating characteristic curves (AUROCs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated. Results: One hundred patients were eligible for the Asia-Pacific Association for the Study of the Liver (APASL) criteria. AUROCs of Child-Pugh, MELD, and ALBI scores in predicting the in-hospital mortality was 0.63 (95%CI: 0.52–0.72, P = 0.05), 0.75 (95%CI: 0.65–0.83, P < 0.0001), and 0.53 (95%CI: 0.42–0.63, P = 0.69), respectively. Eighty-eight patients were eligible for the EASL/AASLD criteria. AUROCs of Child-Pugh, MELD, and ALBI scores in predicting the in-hospital mortality were 0.59 (95%CI: 0.48–0.69, P = 0.14), 0.57 (95%CI: 0.46–0.68, P = 0.26), and 0.57 (95%CI: 0.46–0.67, P = 0.29), respectively. There was no significant difference among them. Conclusion: Child-Pugh, MELD, and ALBI scores might be ineffective in predicting the in-hospital mortality of cirrhosis with ACLF. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article offers information on topics related to Pohlia nutans (Hedw.) Lindb. bryophyte. Topics mentioned include the several species of Pohlia nutans, the effects of climate to Pohlia, and its germination behaviour. Also mentioned are the characteristics of laminal cells of Pohlia, the plant growth, and the study of Pohlia nutans in China.

As a result of a literature survey and examination of specimens, we believe that the identification of three species of propaguliferous Pohlia in China, Pohlia flexuosa, Pohlia proligera, and Pohlia leucostoma needs to be clarified. Pohlia flexuosa has two differing types of propagule: one short and oblong and the other long and thread-like; both propagules have inconspicuous leaf primordia, and can occur on the same stem. Propagules of P. proligera are shortly clavate to long vermicular, with one to three unicellular or multicellular prong-like leaf primordia arising at the apex of the propagule, and the leaf primordia are approximately one-fourth of the total length of the propagules. Pohlia leucostoma has long filiform propagules, with two or three short peg-like leaf primordia about one-tenth of total propagule length. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article offers information on Gymnostomiella vernicosa var. acuminata, a new variety of moss from Taihang Mountain Range in China. It says that the Gymnostomiella vernicosa is somewhat similar to the species of Splachnobryum plants in terms of areolation and leaf shapes. It also discusses the ecology and distribution of Gymnostomiella vernicosa in China.

The biological soil crusts (BSCs) in the Gurbantunggut Desert, the largest fixed and semi-fixed desert in China, feature moss-dominated BSCs, which play an indispensable role in sand fixation. Syntrichia caninervis Mitt. (S. caninervis) serves as one of the most common species in BSCs in the desert. In this study we examined the morphological structure of S. caninervis from leafy gametophyte to protonema using light and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). We also examined the relationships between the morphological structure of S. caninervis and environmental factors. We found that: (1) this moss species is commonly tufted on the sand surface, and its leaves are folded upwards and twisted around the stem under dry conditions; (2) the cells on both upper and lower leaf surfaces have C-shaped dark papillae, which may reflect sunlight to reduce the damage from high temperature; (3) the leaf costa is excurrent, forming an awn with forked teeth; and (4) the protonema cells are small and thickset with thick cell walls and the cytoplasm is highly concentrated with a small vacuole. In addition, we also found that the protonema cells always form pouches on the tip of the mother cells during the process of cell polarization. Our results suggest that S. caninervis has, through its life cycle, several morphological and structural characteristics to adapt to dry environmental conditions. These morphological features of S. caninervis may also be found in other deserts in the world due to the world-wide distribution of the species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]