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Studies suggest that the dynamic changes in cellular response might correlate with disease severity and outcomes in SARS-CoV-2 patients. The study aimed to investigate the dynamic changes of lymphocyte subsets in patients with COVID-19. In this regard, 53 patients with COVID-19 were prospectively included, classified as mild, moderate, and severe. The peripheral lymphocyte profiles (LyT, LyB, and NK cells), as well as CD4+/CD8+, CD3+/CD19+, CD3+/NK and CD19+/NK ratios, and their dynamic changes during hospitalization and correlation with disease severity and outcome were assessed. We found significant differences in CD3+ lymphocytes between severity groups (p < 0.0001), with significantly decreased CD3+CD4+ and CD3+CD8+ in patients with severe disease (p < 0.0001 and p = 0.048, respectively). Lower CD3+/CD19+ and CD3+/NK ratios among patients with severe disease (p = 0.019 and p = 0.010, respectively) were found. The dynamic changes of lymphocyte subsets showed a significant reduction in NK cells (%) and a significant increase in CD3+CD4+ and CD3+CD8+ cells in patients with moderate and severe disease. The ROC analysis on the relationship between CD3+ cells and fatal outcome yielded an AUC of 0.723 (95% CI 0.583–0.837; p = 0.007), while after addition of age and SpO2, ferritin and NLR, the AUC significantly improved to 0.927 (95%CI 0.811–0.983), p < 0.001 with a sensitivity of 90.9% (95% CI 58.7–99.8%) and specificity of 85.7% (95% CI 69.7–95.2%). The absolute number of CD3+ lymphocytes might independently predict fatal outcomes in COVID-19 patients and T-lymphocyte subset evaluation in high-risk patients might be useful in estimating disease progression. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, fruits of the red flesh Malus plant 'Hongxun 2' (Malus neidzwetzkyana (Dieck) Langenf.) and green flesh Malus plant 'Xinye 13-11' (Malus sieversii (Led.) Roem.) were used as experimental materials. Both of them came from Xinjiang, China, and Malus neidzwetzkyana (Dieck) Langenf. is believed to be a variant of Malus sieversii (Led.) Roem. The components and contents of polyphenols in the peel and pulp of the two kinds of fruit during the development period were detected, and the dynamic changes and differences in the polyphenols between the two kinds of fruit were discussed. The results showed that the total polyphenol content of 'Xinye 13-11' was higher in the peel and pulp than that of 'Hongxun 2', and the content of peel was higher than that of pulp in the two kinds of fruit. An analysis of five types of polyphenols showed that anthocyanins were only contained in the peel and pulp of 'Hongxun-2', and the peel had a higher content than the pulp. Cyanidin 3-O-galactoside was the main anthocyanin component. Four other types of substances, except hydroxycinnamics, were higher in 'Hongxun-2' than 'Xinye 13-11', while the contents of other substances in 'Xinye 13-11' were higher than those of 'Hongxun 2'. The accumulation of major polyphenol components in the peel and flesh of 'Hongxun 2' and 'Xinye 13-11' apples was significant in the period before and after 65 days after flowering, and the contents of procyanidin B1 and procyanidin C1 were the highest in this period. In addition to the difference in anthocyanin content between 'Hongxun 2' and 'Xinye 13-11', the chlorogenic acid content in the peel and pulp of 'Hongxun 2' was significantly higher than that of 'Xinye 13-11', and the contents of other components were lower than those of 'Xinye 13-11'. Moreover, based on the components and contents of polyphenol components, this paper supports the viewpoint that Malus neidzwetzkyana (Dieck) Langenf is a separate species to Malus sieversii (Led.) Roem. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In remote sensing image processing, when categorizing images from multiple remote sensing data sources, the deepening of the network hierarchy is prone to the problems of feature dispersion, as well as the loss of semantic information. In order to solve this problem, this paper proposes to integrate a parallel network architecture HDAM-Net algorithm with a hybrid dual attention mechanism Hybrid dual attention mechanism for forest land cover change. Firstly, we propose a fusion MCA + SAM (MS) attention mechanism to improve VIT network, which can capture the correlation information between features; secondly, we propose a multilayer residual cascade convolution (MSCRC) network model using Double Cross-Attention Module (DCAM) attention mechanism, which is able to efficiently utilize the spatial dependency between multiscale encoder features: the spatial dependency between multiscale encoder features. Finally, the dual-channel parallel architecture is utilized to solve the structural differences and realize the enhancement of forestry image classification differentiation and effective monitoring of forest cover changes. In order to compare the performance of HDAM-Net, mountain urban forest types are classified based on multiple remote sensing data sources, and the performance of the model is evaluated. The experimental results show that the overall accuracy of the algorithm proposed in this paper is 99.42%, while the Transformer (ViT) is 96.92%, which indicates that the proposed classifier is able to accurately determine the cover type.The HDAM-Net model emphasizes the effectiveness in terms of accurately classifying the land, as well as the forest types by using multiple remote sensing data sources for predicting the future trend of the forest ecosystem. In addition, the land utilization rate and land cover change can clearly show the forest cover change and support the data to predict the future trend of the forest ecosystem so that the forest resource survey can effectively monitor deforestation and evaluate forest restoration projects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Groundwater represents a critical resource for sustaining the livelihoods of both urban and rural populations, facilitating economic and social development, and preserving ecological equilibrium. This study leverages groundwater quality monitoring data from the northern Baiquan spring basin (NBSB) to elucidate groundwater hydrochemical characteristics and decipher the temporal variability in water quality. Findings suggest that groundwater within the NBSB is predominantly weakly alkaline and characterized as hard-fresh, with HCO3− and Ca2+ as the predominant ions, which collectively demarcate the hydrochemical type as predominantly HCO3-Ca. The principal constituents of NBSB groundwater are influenced predominantly by the weathering of carbonates and silicates alongside the dissolution of gypsum and halite. Moreover, agricultural operations and similar human activities have exerted an impact on the hydrochemical attributes of NBSB's groundwater. Generally, fluctuations in groundwater anion concentrations over time are more pronounced than those of cations, exemplified by a significant upward trend in the major ion concentrations at the BQ03 monitoring site in the later stages. While the general groundwater quality within the NBSB is deemed satisfactory, most monitoring sites have experienced an escalation in water quality indices over time, notably at BQ03, which warrants serious attention. The findings of this research contribute to the efficient management and sustainable utilization of groundwater resources in the NBSB. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Qidan is one of the most famous varieties of Wuyi Rock tea and has a strong aroma. The aroma-active compounds in Qidan subject to different roasting times were analyzed using solid-phase microextraction two-dimensional gas chromatography–olfactometry–mass spectrometry (SPME-GC×GC-O-MS), and a total of 92 aroma-active compounds were detected. Multivariate statistical analysis showed that the roasting time had a significant effect on the aroma characteristics of Qidan, and that the key products in the Maillard reaction accumulated with the extension of the roasting time; these key products were screened out according to the calculation of the odor activity values (OAVs), from which kinetic equations were established. It was found that the levels of 2-methylbutanal, 3-methylbutanal, 2-methylpyrazine, 2-ethyl-5-methylpyrazine, and benzaldehyde increased with time, while the contents of benzeneacetaldehyde showed a tendency to first increase and then decrease. This study provides a theoretical basis for flavor quality control during Qidan processing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Monitoring the long-term changes in antibody and cellular immunity following Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection is crucial for understanding immune mechanisms that prevent reinfection. In March 2023, we recruited 167 participants from the Changning District, Shanghai, China. A subset of 66 participants that were infected between November 2022 and January 2023 was selected for longitudinal follow-up. The study aimed to investigate the dynamics of the immune response, including neutralizing antibodies (NAbs), anti-spike (S)-immunoglobulin G (IgG), anti-S-IgM, and lymphocyte profiles, by analyzing peripheral blood samples collected three to seven months post infection. A gradual decrease in NAbs and IgG levels were observed from three to seven months post infection. No significant differences in NAbs and IgG titers were found across various demographics, including age, sex, occupation, and symptomatic presentation, across five follow-up assessments. Additionally, a strong correlation between NAbs and IgG levels was identified. Lymphocyte profiles showed a slight change at five months but had returned to baseline levels by seven months post infection. Notably, healthcare workers exhibited lower B-cell levels compared to police officers. Our study demonstrated that the immune response to SARS-CoV-2 infection persisted for at least seven months. Similar patterns in the dynamics of antibody responses and cellular immunity were observed throughout this period. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Teacher resilience has been an increasingly hot topic in the booming perspective of positive psychology. It has often been conceptualized as the capacity to bounce back from teaching adversities that form in the process of dynamic and complex interaction and interconnection between teachers and the context in which they operate. However, scant attention has been paid to unveiling the fluctuation and process developmental mechanism of early career English teacher resilience, especially from an ecological perspective. A self-narrative study could serve as a bridge to understand teachers' capacity for resilience to navigate multiple challenges, discover and reconstruct themselves and ensure recovery and development in their daily interaction with their environment. Against this backdrop, the present study adopted a self-narrative method to explore the dynamic development and influencing factors of early career English teacher resilience. Results concerning early career English teacher resilience displayed an approximate V-shaped developmental trajectory evincing a Fighting–Lying flat–Seeking balance–Fighting–Fighting transition during the early stages of an educational career. Additionally, this was affected by various personal factors (i.e., previous experience, belief, motivation and well-being) and contextual factors (i.e., students, family and colleagues) over the past five years. In light of these findings, implications are proposed for fostering early career teachers' resilience to deal with setbacks and promoting their sustainable professional development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Natural Forest Protection Project (NFPP) is an ecological restoration project aimed at safeguarding natural forests, and is one of China's six main forestry initiatives. The upper reaches of the Yangtze River represent the main distribution area of natural forests in China, and are an important area for the implementation of the NFPP. A systematic assessment of forest ecosystem changes in the upper Yangtze River region before and after implementation of the NFPP is of great scientific significance for the improvement of the project implementation effect, regional ecological protection, and further protection and restoration of natural forest resources. This study uses the NFPP area in the Yangtze River's upper reaches as the study area; the data are primarily derived from the 1998 and 2020 forest resources category II survey data, long-term monitoring data from forest ecological stations, and public social data published by authoritative Chinese organizations. Based on the above data, we used the full index system of forest ecosystem services, continuous observation, and inventory system with the distributed measurement method to analyze the dynamic changes in forest ecosystem services in the study area in terms of three aspects: physical quality, value quality, and dominant function. The results of the study show that: (1) over the studied time scale, compared to the 1998 baseline, the physical quantities (soil erosion control, water regulation, and PM10 retention) and value of each service function of the forest ecosystem in the upper reaches of the Yangtze River project area in 2020 showed a significant increasing trend; (2) at the spatial scale, changes in forest ecosystem service functions in the upper reaches of Yangtze River under the NFPP showed significant spatial heterogeneity from 1998 to 2020; (3) in 2020, the total value of forest ecosystem services in the study area was 3,261,161,000,000 yuan/a, of which the functional value of biodiversity conservation was 1,294,426,000,000 yuan/a and the functional value of water conservation was 841,069,000,000 yuan/a, indicating that the forest ecosystem of the study area plays an important role as a "green gene pool" and "green water reservoir"; (4) the forest ecosystem service functions of the NFPP in the upper reaches of Yangtze River are intricately tied to forest resource features such as forest area, forest volume, age-group structure of arbor forest, etc., which influence the physical quantity and value of each forest ecosystem service function to varying degrees. In addition to illustrating the amazing efficiency of the natural forest preservation initiative, this study provides a scientific foundation for future natural forest resource conservation and restoration. It can serve as a reference for the project's subsequent development as well to provide scientific foundations and guidance for the development of the natural forest protection and restoration program and to promote the protection and restoration of more natural forest resources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using in situ near-surface observations of solar-induced chlorophyll fluorescence (SIF) and gross primary productivity (GPP) of a subtropical evergreen coniferous forest in southern China, this study analyzed the dynamics of SIF, GPP and their environmental responses, and explored the potential of SIF in characterizing the variation of GPP. The results showed that SIF and GPP have similar diurnal and seasonal variation and both reach the highest value in summer, indicating that the SIF can be applied to indicate the seasonal variation of GPP for the subtropical evergreen co-niferous. With the increase in temporal scale, the correlation between SIF and GPP becomes more linear. The diurnal variations of both SIF and GPP were characterized by photosynthetically active radiation (PAR), the seasonal variations of SIF and GPP were influenced by air temperature (Ta) and PAR. Probably due to the absent of drought stress during the study period, no significant correlation was detected between soil water content (SWC) and either SIF or GPP. With the in-crease in Ta, PAR or SWC, the linear correlation between the SIF and GPP gradually decreased, and when Ta or PAR was relatively higher, the correlation between SIF and GPP become weakly. Further research is still needed to illustrate the relationship between SIF and GPP under drought condition which occurred frequently in this region based on longer observation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The area fluctuation of lakes directly affects the stability of the surrounding ecological environment. Research on the area evolution of lakes and the driving factors affecting it plays an important role in sustainable water resource management. In this study, Hulun Lake, located in the Hulunbuir grassland, was taken as the research object. Based on remote sensing images of the Hulun Lake area from 1986 to 2020, MNDWI interpretation was used to obtain the change law of lake surface area over a long time frame. Combined with natural factors and anthropogenic factors, Pearson correlation analysis and principal component analysis were used to analyze the driving force. The results showed that (1) in the past 35 years, the water surface area of Hulun Lake has decreased significantly. The dynamic change in water area could be divided into four stages. The areas with dramatic changes in water area are distributed mainly in the northeast and south of Hulun Lake. (2) In terms of natural factors, the meteorological factors based on evaporation and relative humidity, the runoff of rivers entering the lake, and the vegetation with medium-high coverage and medium-low coverage had significant effects. In terms of anthropogenic factors, the population had the most significant impact. The artificial water diversion project had different degrees of influence on the response of the Hulun Lake area change to natural factors. (3) Anthropogenic factors were the main driving force causing the rapid change in the Hulun Lake area from 2000 to 2016, explaining 48% of the change in the Hulun Lake area. These research results can provide a scientific basis for the development and utilization of water resources and sustainable development in the Hulun Lake area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aimed to identify the impact of mesenchymal stem cell transplantation on the safety and clinical outcomes of patients with severe COVID-19. This research focused on how lung functional status, miRNA, and cytokine levels changed following mesenchymal stem cell transplantation in patients with severe COVID-19 pneumonia and their correlation with fibrotic changes in the lung. This study involved 15 patients following conventional anti-viral treatment (Control group) and 13 patients after three consecutive doses of combined treatment with MSC transplantation (MCS group). ELISA was used to measure cytokine levels, real-time qPCR for miRNA expression, and lung computed tomography (CT) imaging to grade fibrosis. Data were collected on the day of patient admission (day 0) and on the 7th, 14th, and 28th days of follow-up. A lung CT assay was performed on weeks 2, 8, 24, and 48 after the beginning of hospitalization. The relationship between levels of biomarkers in peripheral blood and lung function parameters was investigated using correlation analysis. We confirmed that triple MSC transplantation in individuals with severe COVID-19 was safe and did not cause severe adverse reactions. The total score of lung CT between patients from the Control and MSC groups did not differ significantly on weeks 2, 8, and 24 after the beginning of hospitalization. However, on week 48, the CT total score was 12 times lower in patients in the MSC group (p ≤ 0.05) compared to the Control group. In the MSC group, this parameter gradually decreased from week 2 to week 48 of observation, whereas in the Control group, a significant drop was observed up to week 24 and remained unchanged afterward. In our study, MSC therapy improved lymphocyte recovery. The percentage of banded neutrophils in the MSC group was significantly lower in comparison with control patients on day 14. Inflammatory markers such as ESR and CRP decreased more rapidly in the MSC group in comparison to the Control group. The plasma levels of surfactant D, a marker of alveocyte type II damage, decreased after MSC transplantation for four weeks in contrast to patients in the Control group, in whom slight elevations were observed. We first showed that MSC transplantation in severe COVID-19 patients led to the elevation of the plasma levels of IP-10, MIP-1α, G-CSF, and IL-10. However, the plasma levels of inflammatory markers such as IL-6, MCP-1, and RAGE did not differ between groups. MSC transplantation had no impact on the relative expression levels of miR-146a, miR-27a, miR-126, miR-221, miR-21, miR-133, miR-92a-3p, miR-124, and miR-424. In vitro, UC-MSC exhibited an immunomodulatory impact on PBMC, increasing neutrophil activation, phagocytosis, and leukocyte movement, activating early T cell markers, and decreasing effector and senescent effector T cell maturation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Outbreaks of periphytic algae, including filamentous algae, have been observed after submerged macrophyte restoration and are common in early stages. Dynamic changes in the periphytic algae community on Vallisneria natans and artificial V. natans were investigated in situ, and their characteristics were compared on the two substrates. The results showed that more periphytic algae species occurred on V. natans (77 taxa) than on artificial V. natans (66 taxa) (F = 2.089, p = 0.047). The cell density and chlorophyll a (Chl. a) content of periphytic algae were 3.42–202.62-fold and 2.07–15.50-fold higher on the artificial substrate than on V. natans, respectively. Except for Lyngbya perelagans (i.e., the only common dominant periphytic algae species on the two substrates), the dominant species on V. natans were Cocconeis placentula and Ulothrix tenerrima, while those on the artificial substrate were Stigeoclonium aestrivale, Oscillatoria tenuis and Achnanthes minutissima. The cell density of periphytic algae was significantly affected by the total phosphorus (TP) and NO3−-N and electric conductivity on V. natans, and by TP and NH4+-N on artificial V. natans. The malondialdehyde content of V. natans was significantly correlated with the periphytic algae biomass. V. natans was more affected by periphytic algae during its slow-growing period, and the contribution order of stress to V. natans was diatoms > cyanobacteria > green algae. Our findings might contribute to the understanding the effect of substrate specificity on periphytic algae communities, and have important implications for the restoration of submerged plants in eutrophic lakes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Polysaccharides are biological macromolecules that are difficult to absorb into intestinal epithelial cells for exerting activities, whereas the interaction between polysaccharides and gut microbiota might be an alternative method. This study aimed to explore the in vitro digestion of hawthorn polysaccharides (HPS) and their interaction with the gut microbiota. Results showed that the content of reducing sugars increased slightly during gastric digestion. However, no free monosaccharide was detected during the whole simulated digestion process, indicating that HPS was indigestible. The total carbohydrate residue decreased during in vitro fermentation. This result was due to the utilization by the gut microbiota. Meanwhile, short-chain fatty acids were produced due to the utilization of HPS. Notably, HPS could significantly modulate the composition of human gut microbiota; in particular, the relative abundances of Megasphaera, Acidaminococcus and Mitsuokella increased, whereas the relative abundances of Escherichia Shigella and Fusobacterium decreased. It was suggested that HPS could decrease the abundances of harmful intestinal microbiota and regulate the proportion of beneficial bacteria in the intestinal tract. Overall, the beneficial effects of HPS were believed to be related to the gut microbiota and could be used as a potential dietary supplement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Qinghai–Tibet Plateau (QTP), also known as the Third Pole of the Earth, is sensitive to climate change, and it has become a hotspot area for research. As a typical natural ecosystem on the QTP, alpine wetlands are particularly sensitive to climate change. The identification of different types of alpine wetland and analysis of changes in their distributions and areas are the most direct indicators for characterizing the impact of climate change on wetlands. To understand the dynamic change process of the alpine wetlands in the QTP and their responses to climate change, the Maqu wetlands, located at the source of the Three Rivers in the eastern part of the QTP, was taken as an example; the Google Earth Engine (GEE) remote sensing cloud platform and long-term dense Landsat time series data from 1990 to 2020 were used to map the annual wetland classification and to analyze the evolution characteristics of the wetlands and their driving forces. The results revealed that (1) based on dense Landsat time series data, different alpine wetland types can be effectively distinguished, including swamp, swamp meadow, and wet meadow. (2) From 1990 to 2020, the area of the Maqu wetlands exhibited an overall fluctuating decrease, with the total area decreasing by about 23.35%, among which the swamp area decreased the most (by 27.15%). The overall type of change was from wet to dry. All of the types of wetlands were concentrated between 3400 and 3600 m above sea level, and the reduction in the wetland area was concentrated on slopes < 3°, with the greatest loss of wetland area occurring on shady slopes. (3) The driving forces of the changes in the wetlands were predominantly temperature and precipitation, and the greatest correlation was between the total wetland area and the growing season temperature. The results of this study provide valuable information for the conservation of alpine wetlands. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As the most important forest product in the export of China, wooden furniture is facing increasingly fierce international competition and has a strong need for quality improvement. Based on the endogenous determination model of quality, this paper measures the quality of Chinese wooden furniture in exports from 1998 to 2017, by using product-level trade data of BACI CEPII. From the perspectives of the overall and sub-category quality, it examines the characteristics of dynamic changes in the product quality and its regional distribution of "the Belt and Road Initiative" countries. The results show that the quality of Chinese wooden furniture in exports is lower than that of wood-based panels and paper products. It remains stable after a slight increase from 2001 to 2005, but the quality level is always low. Among the sub-categories, wooden furniture not for kitchens, offices, or bedrooms has the lowest quality, while wooden office furniture has the highest one. The three dominant sub-categories that account for a high export share are all low in quality, while the small proportion sub-categories are all of higher quality, implying a strong imbalance. In particular, the quality of the main export products, upholstered wooden seats and wooden furniture not for kitchen, office, or bedroom use, has continued to decline, highlighting the plight of the quality growth of Chinese wooden furniture. For the BRI markets, the quality of Chinese wooden furniture exported to the region has declined slightly since 2012. However, different markets have shown different characteristics in the quality level and the direction of change. In terms of quality level, the qualities of wooden furniture exported to Malaysia, Israel, the United Arab Emirates, Vietnam, and the Philippines are relatively high. In terms of changing trends, the qualities of wooden furniture to Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, and Israel are showing a rising trend. In this case, accurately identifying the quality of different export categories of furniture products and their changing characteristics can help furniture enterprises make better production and operation decisions, promote the formation of a good business environment, and foster new comparative advantages and international competitiveness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Spatial structure dynamics play a major role in understanding the mechanisms of forest structure and biodiversity formation. Recently, researches on the spatial structure dynamics utilizing multi-period data have been published. However, these studies only focused on comparative analyses of the spatial structure of multi-period living trees, without an in-depth analysis of the change processes. In this study, we propose a new comprehensive analysis method for dynamic change of the spatial structure at the individual level, which includes three processes (living trees' flow, mortality process and recruitment process) that have not been considered in previous researches. Four spatial structural parameters (SSSPs, Uniform angle index, Mingling, Dominance and Crowding) and a natural spruce-fir-broadleaf mixed forest with two-phase data were taken as an example to find out the laws of the spatial structure dynamics. All types of dynamic change were named and their proportions were analyzed. The proportion of changes in the SSSPs of individuals was relatively high, even though the mean values of the stand did not change considerably. The five values (0, 0.25, 0.5, 0.75, 1) of the SSSPs are in mutual flow, and the flows are typically one-step, with three-steps and four-steps changes being uncommon. The processes of mortality and recruitment have a higher influence on the spatial structure than the flow of living trees. The dynamic change of spatial structure analysis method created in this study can capture more features not discovered in earlier approaches, as well as guiding forest management in some ways. Understanding the nuances of these changes is a critical part of reasonable spatial structure and biodiversity maintenance, and should be the focus of future research efforts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Plant architecture is dynamic as plants develop. Although many genes associated with specific plant architecture components have been identified in rice, genes related to underlying dynamic changes in plant architecture remain largely unknown. Here, we identified two highly similar recombinant inbred lines (RILs) with different plant architecture: RIL-Dynamic (D) and RIL-Compact (C). The dynamic plant architecture of RIL-D is characterized by 'loosetiller angle (tillering stage)–compact (heading stage)–loosecurved stem (maturing stage)' under natural long-day (NLD) conditions, and 'loosetiller angle (tillering and heading stages)–loosetiller angle and curved stem (maturing stage)' under natural short-day (NSD) conditions, while RIL-C exhibits a compact plant architecture both under NLD and NSD conditions throughout growth. The candidate locus was mapped to the chromosome 9 tail via the rice 8K chip assay and map-based cloning. Sequencing, complementary tests, and gene knockout tests demonstrated that Tiller Angle Control 1 (TAC1) is responsible for dynamic plant architecture in RIL-D. Moreover, TAC1 positively regulates loose plant architecture, and high TAC1 expression cannot influence the expression of tested tiller-angle-related genes. Our results reveal that TAC1 is necessary for the dynamic changes in plant architecture, which can guide improvements in plant architecture during the modern super rice breeding. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Salvia miltiorrhiza is a traditional Chinese herbal medicine containing multiple components that contribute to its notable bioactivities. This article investigated the distribution and dynamic changes of chemical constituents in various parts of S. miltiorrhiza from different growth periods. An ultra-high performance liquid chromatography-triple quadrupole mass spectrometer (UPLC-TQ-MS/MS) and high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with evaporative light scattering detector (HPLC-ELSD) methods were developed for accurate determination of 24 compounds (including phenolic acids, flavonoids, triterpenes, and saccharides) in S. miltiorrhiza. The established methods were validated with good linearity, precision, repeatability, stability, and recovery. Results indicated that there were category and quantity discrepancies in different parts of the plant, for the roots mainly contained salvianolic acids and tanshinones, and most of the saccharides are stachyose. In the aerial parts, salvianolic acids, flavonoids, and triterpenes, except the tanshinones, were detected, and the saccharides were mainly monosaccharides. Dynamic accumulation analysis suggested the proper harvest time for S. miltiorrhiza Bunge was the seedling stage in spring, and for the aerial parts was July to August. This study provided valuable information for the development and utilization value of the aerial parts of S. miltiorrhiza and was useful for determining the optimal harvest time of the plant. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, we compared and analyzed the dynamic changes of water conservation and its value of some typical forests, grasslands, and farmlands in China within a year based on the dataset of the Chinese Ecosystem Research Net (CERN). Results showed that forest, grassland, and farmland provide different kinds of water conservation services which vary in size and dynamic processes within a year. Water conservation of forest consisted of water regulation service, here referred to as water retaining service, and water supply service, while water conservation of grassland and farmland was mainly water regulation service. Different types of forests/grasslands/farmlands can serve different water conservation services in both size and change patterns. In general, the water conservation service and value of forests is the largest (Xishuangbanna forest being $712µhm-2µyear-2, Dingshu Mountains forest being $823µhm-2µyear-2, and Changbai Mountains forest being $366µhm-2µyear-2), and then is the farmlands (Yucheng farmland being $147µhm-2µyear-2, Changshu farmland being $92µhm-2µyear-2, Qianyanzhou farmland being $247µhm-2µyear-2), and that of the grasslands is the least (Haibei alpine meadow being µhm-2µyear-2, Mongolia grassland being $30µhm-2µyear-2). The monthly water conservation and its value of each ecosystem had its own changing pattern throughout the year. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We measured and determined the factors associated with long-term generic quality-of-life (QOL) changes in human bladder cancer patients. We utilized the World Health Organization QOL-Brief questionnaire to assess consecutive patients' QOL at outpatient clinics of our hospital. A mixed-effects model was constructed to investigate the determinants of QOL changes according to each domain and individual item after controlling for demographic and clinical factors, as well as the effect of radical cystectomy. We also applied a kernel smoothing method to describe the long-term dynamic changes after the first definite treatment. In total, 1185 repeated measurements were collected from 343 bladder cancer patients. The mixed-effects models demonstrated that marital status, monthly income, and comorbidity with heart disease and diabetes were significant determinants among all the study participants. Regardless of the urinary diversion type, radical cystectomy contributed to lower scores for all four domains, mainly from 4–5 years after cystectomy, which declined significantly in patients who were older than 60 years. As for non-muscle-invasive bladder cancer (NMIBC) patients with preserved bladders, tumor recurrence was a major predictor for lower scores for sexual activity in the social domain. In summary, generic QOL can be independently influenced by many factors, not only cystectomy and tumor recurrence, which should be discussed with patients before treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

(1) Background: The governance measures that governments deploy vary substantially across countries and even within countries; there is, however, limited knowledge of the responses of local governments or from different areas in the same country. (2) Methods: By using grounded theory and an automatic text processing method, this study analyses the pandemic governance measures, the pandemic governance pattern, and possible factors across 28 provinces in mainland China based on the text of 28 official provincial government Sina microblogs dating from 20 January to 1 July 2020. (3) Results and discussion: The provincial pandemic governance patterns in China are divided into a pathogen-control pattern, a diagnosis and treatment consolidation pattern, a balanced promotion pattern, a quick-adjustment response pattern, and a recovery-oriented pattern. The pandemic severity, economic development, public health service, and population structure may all have an impact on pandemic governance measures. (4) Conclusions: The conclusions of this study may help us to reconstruct governance systems related to global public health emergencies from the perspective of normalisation, as well as providing important clarification for management and a reference for countries seeking to curb the global spread of a pandemic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the fifth most common neoplasm and a major cause of cancer-related death worldwide. There is no ideal biomarker allowing early diagnosis of HCC and tumor surveillance in patients receiving therapy. Liquid biopsy, and particularly circulating tumor cells (CTCs), have emerged as a useful tool for diagnosis and monitoring therapeutic responses in different tumors. In the present manuscript, we evaluate the current evidence supporting the quantitative and qualitative assessment of CTCs as potential biomarkers of HCC, as well as technical aspects related to isolation, identification, and classification of CTCs. Although the dynamic assessment of CTCs in patients with HCC may aid the decision-making process, there are still many uncertainties and technical caveats to be solved before this methodology has a true impact on clinical practice guidelines. More studies are needed to identify the optimal combination of surface markers, to increase the efficiency of ex-vivo expansion of CTCs, or even to target CTCs as a potential therapeutic strategy to prevent HCC recurrence after surgery or to hamper tumor progression and extrahepatic spreading.

Hillslope erosion is an essential source of catchment sediment yield. However, the current understanding of the spatiotemporal patterns of field hillslope erosion processes is limited. In this study, fourteen runoff scouring experiments were undertaken on two plots (A and B) established on one field slope of the hilly and gully loess plateau in China. Terrestrial laser scanning (TLS) was employed to investigate soil erosion processes across the hillslopes of the plots. The results demonstrated that the TLS-derived cumulative sediment yields of the hillslopes were more accurate than the TLS-derived consecutive sediment yields (i.e., the sediment yields for individual experiments). The magnitudes of the mean absolute/relative errors for the TLS-derived cumulative sediment yield for slopes A and B were 0.87 kg/25.02% and 1.26 kg/56.82%, respectively, with the linear relation R2 between the calculated and measured values over 0.60 (p < 0.001). The sediment yields from the hillslopes fluctuated considerably even when the runoff production became stable, leading to a weak relationship between the sediment yield and runoff discharge (the R2 values for slopes A and B were 0.57 (p = 0.002) and 0.08 (p = 0.321) for inter-experiments, and 0.37 (p < 0.001) and 0.06 (p = 0.035) for intra-experiments, respectively). The development of hillslope erosion was found to experience three major stages, which included a rapid increase and widespread distribution, a sharp decrease, and a stable distribution of the area with erosion/deposition. The rill development impacted the cumulative erosion and sediment yield rather than the cumulative deposition, with the impacts of rill depth and rill width development being stronger than those of rill length. The peak sediment yield corresponded well with the evolution of rills, partly accounting for the weak relationship between runoff and sediment yield. Our results provide a useful reference for the development of process-based soil erosion models and the establishment of spatially targeted control of soil erosion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Surface water is an essential element that supports natural ecosystem health and human life, and its losses or gains are closely related to national or local sustainable development. Monitoring the spatial-temporal changes in surface water can directly support the reporting of progress towards the sustainable development goals (SDGs) outlined by the government, especially for measuring SDG 6.6.1 indicators. In our study, we focused on Baiyangdian Lake, an important lake in North China, and explored its spatiotemporal extent changes from 2014 to 2020. Using long-term Sentinel-1 SAR images and the OTSU algorithm, our study developed an automatic water extraction framework to monitor surface water changes in Baiyangdian Lake at a 10 m resolution from 2014 to 2020 on the Google Earth Engine cloud platform. The results showed that (1) the water extraction accuracy in our study was considered good, showing high consistency with the existing dataset. In addition, it was found that the classification accuracy in spring, summer, and fall was better than that in winter. (2) From 2014 to 2020, the surface water area of Baiyangdian Lake exhibited a slowly rising trend, with an average water area of 97.03 km2. In terms of seasonal variation, the seasonal water area changed significantly. The water areas in spring and winter were larger than those in summer and fall. (3) Spatially, most of the water was distributed in the eastern part of Baiyangdian Lake, which accounted for roughly 57% of the total water area. The permanent water area, temporary water area, and non-water area covered 49.69 km2, 97.77 km2, and 171.55 km2, respectively. Our study monitored changes in the spatial extent of the surface water of Baiyangdian Lake, provides useful information for the sustainable development of the Xiong'an New Area and directly reports the status of SDG 6.6.1 indicators over time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: The gut microbiota in sows is important for the health of the host, and potential benefits may also be transferred to piglets during pregnancy. Therefore, systematic studies investigating the changes in the gut microbiota of sows are needed to elucidate the microbial compositions and functions. This study was conducted at 12 time points to investigate the temporal variations in the gut microbiota of sows using 16S rRNA sequencing. The results provided important information for the gut microbiota of sows during different perinatal periods. The gut microbiota in sows is important for the health of the host, and potential benefits may also be transferred to piglets during pregnancy. Therefore, systematic studies investigating the changes in the gut microbiota of sows are needed to elucidate the microbial compositions and functions. This study was conducted at 12 time points to investigate the temporal variations in gut microbiota on Days 27, 46, 64, 81, 100, and 113 during gestation (G) and Days 3, 5, 7, 10, 14, and 21 during lactation (L). Results suggested that the gut microbiota changed across the perinatal period with microbial function and abundance varying between the prenatal and postnatal periods. The alpha diversity was higher in the postnatal period than in the prenatal period. Thirty-eight genera were distributed between the two periods with Methanobrevibacter, Desulfovibrio, Akkermansia, and Turicibacter being enriched in the prenatal period while Eubacterium, Actinobacillus, Paludibacter, Butyricimonas, Megasphaera, Succiniclasticum, Acidaminococcus, and Rummeliibacillus were enriched in the postnatal period. Analysis done at the different time points of the prenatal period suggested that Days 27 and 113 had more microbial biomarkers than other days. Bacteroidales, Bacteroidia, and Prevotella were enriched on the 27th day, while bacteria belonging to the Clostridium and Ruminococcaceae were enriched on the 113th day. On the other hand, Clostridiales, Ruminococcaceae, Clostridia, and unclassified Christensenellaceae were enriched three days after delivery. Predicted microbial KO functions were also more enriched on Day 27 of the gestation period and Day 3 of the lactation period. Random forest, a machine learning method, was used to identify the top five important genera of Megasphaera, Stenotrophomonas, Phyllobacterium, Catenibacterium, and Turicibacter, while the most important function was arginine and proline metabolism. These systematic results provide important information for the gut microbiota of sows. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Maternal metabolic disorders in ewes induced by energy deficiency have a detrimental effect on the maternal health and lambs. However, the dynamic processes of metabolic disorders are unknown. Therefore, this study attempted to explore the dynamic changes of maternal metabolism based on metabolomics approach during energy deficiency in pregnant ewes. Twenty pregnant Hu sheep were fed a basic diet or a 70% restricted basic diet. The HPLC-MS platform was applied to identify blood metabolites. Principal component analysis of blood samples based on their metabolic profile showed that blood samples of feed restriction group differed after the treatment. In particular, when comparing both groups, there were 120, 129, and 114 differential metabolites at day 5, day 10, and day 114 between the two groups, respectively. Enrichment analysis results showed that four metabolic pathways (glycerophospholipid metabolism, linoleic acid metabolism, arginine and proline metabolism, and aminoacyl-tRNA biosynthesis) at day 5, four metabolic pathways (aminoacyl-tRNA biosynthesis, aminoacyl-tRNA biosynthesis, glycerophospholipid metabolism, and citrate cycle) at day 10, and nine metabolic pathways (aminoacyl-tRNA biosynthesis, synthesis and degradation of ketone bodies, glycerophospholipid metabolism, butanoate metabolism, linoleic acid metabolism, citrate cycle, alanine, aspartate and glutamate metabolism, valine, leucine and isoleucine biosynthesis, and arginine and proline metabolism) at day 15 were significantly enriched between the two groups. These findings revealed temporal changes of metabolic disorders in pregnant ewes caused by severe feed restriction, which may provide insights into mitigation measures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The severity of liver fibrosis can be noninvasively evaluated by measuring liver stiffness (LS) using transient elastography. This study aimed to evaluate the prognostic value of achieving low liver stiffness measurement (LSM) in patients with cirrhosis confirmed from the resected liver due to hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). A total of 184 patients that received curative surgery for HCC related to the hepatitis B virus at Barcelona Clinic Liver Cancer stage 0–A, and had a METAVIR fibrosis score of 4 were investigated. LSM significantly decreased after antiviral therapy during follow-up (p = 0.001), and achieving LSM ≤8 kilopascal (kPa) suggested a reduced risk of late recurrence (>12 months) (hazard ratio (HR), 0.519; 95% confidence interval (CI), 0.307–0.877; p = 0.014). Older age at surgery (≥45 years) and multiple HCC nodules predicted an increased risk of late recurrence (HR, 3.270; 95% CI, 1.296–8.251; p = 0.012; and HR, 3.146; 95% CI, 1.396–7.089; p = 0.006). Decreased LSM also suggested decreased mortality (HR, 0.251; 95% CI, 0.086–0.756; p = 0.045) along with baseline low aspartate aminotransferase-to-platelet ratio index (APRI) score (<1.5) (HR, 0.251; 95% CI, 0.086–0.759; p = 0.041). Having early HCC recurrence (HR, 9.416; 95% CI, 3.566–24.861; p < 0.001) and microvascular tumor invasion (HR, 3.191; 95% CI, 1.188–8.568; p = 0.021) predicted increased mortality. Among HCC patients with liver cirrhosis under antiviral therapy, achieving low LSM (≤8 kPa) predicted reduced late HCC recurrence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lakes have an important role in human life and the ecological environment, but they are easily affected by human activity and climate change, especially around urban areas. Hence, it is critical to extract water with a high precision method and monitor long-term sequence dynamic changes in lakes. As the greatest natural lake of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, Baiyangdian Lake has a significant function in human life, socio-economic development, and regional ecological balance. This lake area has shown large changes due to human activity and climate change. The change monitoring process of the water surface is of great significance in providing support for the management and protection of the lake. The Spectrum Matching based on Discrete Particle Swarm Optimization (SMDPSO) method is a new, robust, and low-cost method for water extraction, that has obvious advantages in extracting complex water surfaces. In this paper, the SMDPSO method was used to extract the water surface of Baiyangdian Lake by Landsat images from 1984 to 2018. This method has a good effect on complex water surface extraction with vegetation, shadows, and so forth, and the Landsat images have higher resolution and longer time series. The main contents and results of this paper are as follows: (1) We verified the applicability of the SMDPSO method in the Baiyangdian Lake using visual interpretation and correlation analysis. The relative errors between observed and extracted results were all less than 5% in spring, summer, and fall, and the correlation coefficient between the water area and water level was 0.96. (2) According to seasonal verification and comparison of the extraction results, the SMDPSO method was used to extract the water surface area of Baiyangdian Lake during spring of the years 1984–2018. Water area changes of Baiyangdian Lake can be divided into four periods: Dry period (1984–1988), degraded period (1989–2000), stable period (2000–2008), and recovery period (2008–2018). The water area reached a maximum of 280 km2 in 1989 and a minimum of 44 km2 in 2002. (3) The possible causes of the changes in the water area of Baiyangdian Lake were also analyzed. The changes were caused by climate and human activities during the first and second periods, but mainly human activities during the third and fourth periods. In fact, effective policies combined with water conservancy projects were directly conducive to improving or even recovering the water and ecological environment of Baiyangdian Lake. Considering its importance for the benign development of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei Region and the construction of the Xiong'an New Area, a policy is necessary to ensure that the lake's ecological environment will not be destroyed under the premise of economic development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Salvia miltiorrhiza is a traditional Chinese herbal medicine containing multiple components that contribute to its notable bioactivities. This article investigated the distribution and dynamic changes of chemical constituents in various parts of S. miltiorrhiza from different growth periods. An ultra-high performance liquid chromatography-triple quadrupole mass spectrometer (UPLC-TQ-MS/MS) and high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with evaporative light scattering detector (HPLC-ELSD) methods were developed for accurate determination of 24 compounds (including phenolic acids, flavonoids, triterpenes, and saccharides) in S. miltiorrhiza . The established methods were validated with good linearity, precision, repeatability, stability, and recovery. Results indicated that there were category and quantity discrepancies in different parts of the plant, for the roots mainly contained salvianolic acids and tanshinones, and most of the saccharides are stachyose. In the aerial parts, salvianolic acids, flavonoids, and triterpenes, except the tanshinones, were detected, and the saccharides were mainly monosaccharides. Dynamic accumulation analysis suggested the proper harvest time for S. miltiorrhiza Bunge was the seedling stage in spring, and for the aerial parts was July to August. This study provided valuable information for the development and utilization value of the aerial parts of S. miltiorrhiza and was useful for determining the optimal harvest time of the plant.