Search

In this paper, we study exponentially fast mixing induced/enhanced by gravity and stochastic boundary in the kinetic theory of Vlasov equations. We consider the Vlasov equations with and without a vertical magnetic field inside a horizontally-periodic 3D half-space equipped with a non-isothermal diffusive reflection boundary condition of bounded continuous boundary temperature at the bottom. We construct both stationary solutions and global-in-time dynamical solutions in L ∞. We prove that moments of a dynamical fluctuation around the steady solutions decay exponentially fast in L ∞. As a key of this proof, we establish a uniform bound of so-called residual measures independently of the bouncing number of stochastic characteristics, by constructing a continuous stationary outgoing boundary flux which is strictly positive almost everywhere. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Southwest Transboundary Basin (STB), which contains a part of the Tibetan Plateau and Southwest China, covers a large area of grassland that has been experiencing significant climate change (Cc) and human activities (Ha). However, variabilities of the grasslands and respective contributions of the drivers have not been fully understood. In this study, we quantitatively investigated the influences of Cc and Ha on the grasslands from 1982 to 2015 across the STB, using residual analysis, trend analysis, and partial correlation analysis. Particularly, vapor pressure deficit (VPD), which is increasingly paid attention to in current studies, was included in our analysis as a critical driver of alpine grasslands. Additionally, a new method, pure climate-induced grassland pixel, which combined the coefficient of variation, was proposed to significantly improve the pixel purity with higher coefficient correlation and lower error and bias. Results show that changes in the climate play an important role in the grassland coverage of STB during 1982–1999 and 2000–2015, while Ha only had a relatively weak negative impact on grassland during 2000–2015, mainly in the Lancang River Basin. Specifically, the grasslands showed an increasing trend in 1982–1999, dominated by climate change with a contribution rate of 80.87%. Temperature had the greatest contribution, followed by VPD and precipitation in this period. On the contrary, the grasslands showed a decreasing trend in 2000–2015, dominated by both Cc and Ha with the contributions of 53.16% and 46.84%, respectively. The findings of this study provide a valuable reference for future ecological restoration in other similar alpine regions. • A new method was proposed to distinguish climate change and human activities. • Vapor pressure defect was introduced in this study. • Climate change dominates the change of grassland NDVI in the STB. • Temperature restored the grassland in 1982–1999, VPD depressed it in 2000–2015. • An increasing (1982–1999)-decreasing (2000–2015) pattern in grassland change in the STB. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reclamation of coastal land is one of the most common ways to obtain land resources in China. However, it has long been acknowledged that the artificial interference with coastal land has disadvantageous effects, such as heavy metal contamination. This study aimed to develop a prediction model for cadmium enrichment levels and assess the importance of affecting factors in typical reclaimed land in Eastern China (DFCL: Dafeng Coastal Land). Two hundred and twenty seven surficial soil/sediment samples were collected and analyzed to identify the enrichment levels of cadmium and the possible affecting factors in soils and sediments. The classification and regression tree (CART) model was applied in this study to predict cadmium enrichment levels. The prediction results showed that cadmium enrichment levels assessed by the CART model had an accuracy of 78.0%. The CART model could extract more information on factors affecting the environmental behavior of cadmium than correlation analysis. The integration of correlation analysis and the CART model showed that fertilizer application and organic carbon accumulation were the most important factors affecting soil/sediment cadmium enrichment levels, followed by particle size effects (Al 2 O 3 , TFe 2 O 3 and SiO 2 ), contents of Cl and S, surrounding construction areas and reclamation history. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tachaea chinensis , a parasitic isopod, negatively affects the production of several commercially important shrimp species. To better understand the interaction between shrimp immunity and isopod infection, we performed a transcriptome analysis of the hepatopancreas of Palaemonetes sinensis challenged with T. chinensis. After assembly and annotation, 75,980 high-quality unigenes were obtained using RNA-seq data. Differential gene expression analysis revealed 896 significantly differently expressed genes (DEGs) after infection, with 452 and 444 upregulated and downregulated genes, respectively. Specifically, expression levels of genes involved in detoxification, such as the interferon regulatory factor, venom carboxylesterase-6, serine proteinase inhibitor, and cytochrome P450, were upregulated. Furthermore, expression levels of genes corresponding to retinol dehydrogenase, triosephosphate isomerase, variant ionotropic glutamate receptor, and phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase were significantly upregulated after isopod parasitization, indicating that the shrimp's visual system was influenced by isopod parasitization. Moreover, quantitative real-time PCR of 10 DEGs helped validate the RNA-seq findings. These results provide a valuable basis for future studies on the elucidation of immune responses of P. sinensis to T. chinensis infection. • Comparative transcriptome analysis of hepatopancreas in P. sinensis during T. chinensis -infected was conducted. • Parasitization caused up-regulation of detoxification -related genes in P. sinensis. • Shrimp's visual system was influenced by isopod parasitization. • These data will facilitate studies on mechanisms of parasite-host interactions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To enhance the functional properties of bovine bone proteins (BBP) for food-related applications, their quercetin conjugates (BBP-QC), with antioxidant and emulsifying properties, were prepared by alkaline induction. The structural changes of BBP-QC conjugates were investigated, and their different concentrations were examined for the physical and oxidative stability of oil-in-water (O/W) emulsions. Structural characterization using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) and fluorescence spectroscopy confirmed the covalent binding of QC with BBP resulting in a conformational change in BBP. Particle size and ζ-potential measurements showed that 0.6% BBP-QC effectively improved the physical stability, increased the net charge of the O/W emulsion. Fluorescence microscopy observation of emulsion microstructure showed that the distribution of oil droplets in the BBP-QC stabilized emulsion was smaller and more uniform than that without the conjugates and effectively alleviated the phase separation in the emulsion. The 0.6% BBP-QC emulsion had a peroxide value (PV) and thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) value of only 1.45 mmol/kg and 3.32 μmol/kg after 12 days. Additionally, BBP-QC stabilized emulsions exhibited excellent antioxidant capacity in vitro antioxidant experiments. This study highlights the excellent properties of BBP-QC conjugates as novel emulsifiers with high antioxidant activity and potential applications in the food industry. [Display omitted] • Preparation of a novel antioxidant emulsifier based on bovine bone protein-quercetin conjugates. • The effect of BBP-QC conjugates on the physical and oxidative stability of emulsion was determined. • Further revealed the possible intrinsic mechanism of BBP-QC covalent stabilized emulsion. • Improved thermodynamic instability of oil-in-water emulsions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]