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Actinidia arguta (A. arguta, kiwiberry) is a perennial deciduous vine with a strong overwintering ability. We hypothesized that trehalose metabolism, which plays a pivotal role in the stress tolerance of plants, may be involved in the cold acclimatization of A. arguta. Transcriptome analysis showed that the expression of AaTPPA, which encodes a trehalose-6-phosphate phosphatase (TPP), was upregulated in response to low temperatures. AaTPPA expression levels were much higher in lateral buds, roots, and stem cambia than in leaves in autumn. In AaTPPA-overexpressing (OE) Arabidopsis thaliana (A. thaliana), trehalose levels were 8–11 times higher than that of the wild type (WT) and showed different phenotypic characteristics from WT and OtsB (Escherichia coli TPP) overexpressing lines. AaTPPA-OE A. thaliana exhibited significantly higher freezing tolerance than WT and OtsB-OE lines. Transient overexpression of AaTPPA in A. arguta leaves increased the scavenging ability of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and the soluble sugar and proline contents. AaERF64, an ethylene-responsive transcription factor, was induced by ethylene treatment and bound to the GCC-box of the AaTPPA promoter to activate its expression. AaTPPA expression was also induced by abscisic acid. In summary, the temperature decrease in autumn is likely to induce AaERF64 expression through an ethylene-dependent pathway, which consequently upregulates AaTPPA expression, leading to the accumulation of osmotic protectants such as soluble sugars and proline in the overwintering tissues of A. arguta. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Extreme environmental stress significantly impacts plant growth. Drought stress is one of the most important abiotic stresses, adversely affecting plant development and agricultural productivity. Prunus mira is an exceptionally drought-tolerant plant. However, there are a limited number studies on the drought resistance of it. Here, we isolated and identified nascent polypeptide-associated complex subunit alpha-like protein 1 of P. mira (PmNACA1). PmNACA1 comprises 201 amino acids and contains an NAC domain at its N-terminal. It was localized in the cytoplasm and nucleus. PmNACA1 was primarily expressed in leaves, and was induced by drought. PmNACA1 overexpression Arabidopsis thaliana increased germination and root elongation. Histochemical staining revealed that the overexpression lines accumulated less ROS under mannitol-induced osmotic stress. Under drought stress, overexpression lines exhibited an elevation in the activities of SOD, POD, CAT, and GR and a rise in the levels of GSH and GSSG. In addition, the overexpression lines exhibited relatively lower levels of H2O2, O2.−, MDA, and electrical conductivity than control plants. PmNACA1 induced the expression of drought- and ABA-related genes after drought treatment. PmNACA1 scavenged H2O2, DPPH radicals, and hydroxyl radicals in vitro. In summary, we conclude that PmNACA1 plays an active role in drought stress response by scavenging ROS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lectins are natural proteins in animals, plants, and microorganisms and can be divided into 12 families. These lectins play important roles in various environmental stresses. Some polyploid plants show tolerance to environmental stresses and to insect pests. However, the mechanism of stress tolerance is unclear. Tetraploid Robinia pseudoacacia (4×) under salt stress showed higher tolerance than diploid R. pseudoacacia (2×). As lectin can improve stress tolerance, it was questioned whether the stress resistance of polyploid plants was related to the lectin protein. In this study, salt resistance of lectin gene TRpL1 was verified by its over-expression in plants. In addition, salt resistance of lectin protein by E. coli strains was detected. The data revealed that the over-expression transgenic plants of TRpL1 showed better salt tolerance than control plants under salt stress, and the TRpL1-expressing strain also grew better in the medium with added NaCl. Therefore, tetraploid plants can resist salt stress through TRpL1 protein regulation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Herein, we propose a one-dimensional convolutional neural network (CNN) + long short-term memory (LSTM) model optimised by L1 regularisation and the dropout method to solve the problem of acquiring both computational speed and accuracy in a deformation prediction analysis model of a super-high arch dam's first impoundment. The calculation results of one class (OC) + LSTM, traditional LSTM, optimised LSTM, CNN + LSTM and multilayer perceptron are compared with the actual measurement results using deformation monitoring data from the first impoundment of a super-high arch dam in southwest China. The results show that the proposed OC-LSTM model can reduce the computational time without sacrificing computational accuracy, providing a new computational model for super-high arch dam deformation prediction during the first impoundment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mercury sulfides (HgS), one of the largest Hg sinks in the lithosphere, has long been considered to be highly inert. Recently, several HgS speciation (e.g., nano- or micro-sized HgS particles) in paddy soils have been found to be reactive and bioavailable, increasing the possibility of methylation and bioaccumulation and posing a potential risk to humans. However, a simple and uniform method for investigating HgS bioavailability is still lacking. To address this issue, we extracted dissolved Hg from HgS particles by sodium thiosulfate (Na2S2O3) in paddy soils and analyzed the correlation between extracted Hg and soil methylmercury (MeHg). Results showed that the amounts of Hg extracted by Na2S2O3 had a strong positive correlation with the levels of soil MeHg (R2adj = 0.893, p < 0.05). It is suggested that Na2S2O3 extraction may be a good method of predicting Hg bioavailability in paddy soils. Our results would help to give clues in better predicting Hg risk in natural environments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Narrow space characteristic is a common structural feature of aircraft assembly, which puts forward higher requirements for the end-effector of a robot drilling system. This paper proposed a new robotic simple and fast drilling system for aircraft automatic assembly. The robot drilling system and control scheme are designed. The end-effector is designed and calculated theoretically. The workflow of the whole system is designed and analyzed. Besides, a new calibration method is proposed for the system calibration includes the calibration of the robot end-effector and the calibration of the robot system relative to the machined parts. Finally, some drilling experiments are designed to verify the effectiveness of the proposed system. The results show that the newly designed robotic drilling system can meet the requirements of aircraft part drilling, such as the drilling accuracy is better than 0.5 mm, the drilling process is more stable, and the rigidity of the system is better. The drilling error of the hole diameter of this system can be controlled below 0.1 mm. The relative distances between holes in the X and Y direction and the hole edge distance meet the technical requirements, and all errors can be controlled to less than 0.5 mm, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Oxide-metal-oxide (OMO) multilayer film has attracted increasing interest due to its high performance, including the high optical transparency and low electric resistivity, and has been considered a promising substitute for the conventional indium tin oxide (ITO) film. In this work, we studied the role of growth parameters for the performance of sputtered ITO/Ag/ITO multilayer film. ITO/Ag/ITO film with superior properties of transmittance of 89.1% and sheet resistance of 8 Ω/□ was prepared. The effects of deviation of film thickness on the optical and properties were investigated systematically. Ultrathin ITO1−x film with thickness of less than 5 nm covers the active Ag surface to avoid Ag oxidation effectively, resulting in both high transmittance and conductivity. The X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy depth profile analysis indicates the role of ultrathin ITO1−x film on Ag surface oxidation. This work provides a guideline to fabricate high-quality OMO-based films and devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Yttrium oxide film is an important dielectric material, which has been widely used in the scientific and engineering fields. The microstructures of yttrium oxide films can be modified effectively by adjusting the substrate temperature and bias voltage, which also have effects on dielectric properties of yttrium oxide films. In this work, the dielectric properties of yttrium oxide films grown on Pt film, which exhibit the distinct microstructures with cubic-phase and monoclinic-phase domination manipulated by different substrate temperatures and bias voltages, have been investigated systematically. High substrate temperature as well as large bias voltage can decrease the loss tangent and enhance the dielectric constants up to 56 and 40, respectively. Furthermore, the driven force of temperature is more favorable than that of bias voltage for enhanced dielectric constant due to fewer defects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Improvement of water quality has frequently been delayed due to high recycling rates of nutrients across the sediment–water interface in a reservoir. Diffusive fluxes and annual loads of ammonia nitrogen (NH4+-N) and phosphate (PO43−-P) in sediments from Guanting Reservoir (GTR) were estimated according to their vertical distribution. The average contents of NH4+-N and PO43−-P in surface pore water were higher by factors of 6.9 – 11.7 and 1.3 – 6.4 than those in overlying water, respectively. The ranges of fluxes were 1.59 – 13.0 (mg m2 d−1) for NH4+-N, and 0.002 – 0.196 (mg m2 d−1) for PO43−-P. The annual load contributions from sediments of GTR were 659 t a−1 for NH4+-N and 4.83 t a−1 for PO43−-P. Notably, the upstream of GTR accounted for 50.7% annual loads for NH4+-N, while the downstream contributed 71.2% loads to PO43−-P. This study will better inform future environmental management for the reservoir. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hearing is considered the primary sensory modality of cetaceans and enables their vital life functions. Information on the hearing sensitivity variability within a species obtained in a biologically relevant wild context is fundamental to evaluating potential noise impact and population-relevant management. Here, non-invasive auditory evoked-potential methods were adopted to describe the audiograms (11.2–152 kHz) of a group of four wild Yangtze finless porpoises (Neophocaena asiaeorientalis asiaeorientalis) during a capture-and-release health assessment project in Poyang Lake, China. All audiograms presented a U shape, generally similar to those of other delphinids and phocoenids. The lowest auditory threshold (51–55 dB re 1 µPa) was identified at a test frequency of 76 kHz, which was higher than that observed in aquarium porpoises (54 kHz). The good hearing range (within 20 dB of the best hearing sensitivity) was from approximately 20 to 145 kHz, and the low- and high-frequency hearing cut-offs (threshold > 120 dB re l μPa) were 5.6 and 170 kHz, respectively. Compared with aquarium porpoises, wild porpoises have significantly better hearing sensitivity at 32 and 76 kHz and worse sensitivity at 54, 108 and 140 kHz. The audiograms of this group can provide a basis for better understanding the potential impact of anthropogenic noise. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is widely acknowledged that dams affect sediment transport and water quality. To support water management of reservoirs, it is useful to explore how the fractions of phosphorus (P) in sediments were changed after the dam was built. The aim of this study was to assess the spatial and temporal trends of the P fractions in sediments from the Miyun Reservoir, a pivotal drinking water supply for Beijing City, the capital of China. Nine surface sediment samples, together with a sediment core, were collected. The concentrations of total P (TP) and their fractions were then determined by using a sequential extraction method. The results showed that the reservoir was classified into three areas spatially based on the TP concentrations, i.e., high (Baihe area), medium (transitional area), and low (Chaohe area) concentrations. The concentrations of iron-bound P (BD-P) and metal oxide–bound P (NaOH-P) were higher in the Baihe and Chaohe regions than those in the transitional area and tended to increase with water depth. Dam construction can lead to the concentrations of P increased in sediments and further increase the potential of internal P loadings. This study revealed the effect of dam construction on sedimentary P accumulation. The results will be helpful in better understanding the mobility and bioavailability of P in the aquatic ecosystem, which aim to achieve a more highly targeted environmental management for this important region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Concentrations, sources and risk of 16 priority polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) were investigated in surface sediments from 19 representative tributaries in a regional scale of Chongqing City. The total concentration of 16 PAHs (ΣPAHs) ranged from 221 to 3205 ng g−1 with a mean of 1055 ng g−1. Most tributaries of the Jialing River exhibited significantly higher ΣPAHs concentrations (mean 1864 ng g−1) compared to those flowing into the Yangtze River (mean 787 ng g−1). Isomeric ratio and hierarchical clustering analysis showed combustion may impact sedimentary PAHs at most center sites of the City, while PAHs at most sites were mixed of petrogenic and pyrogenic sources. Toxicity equivalency concentration for carcinogenic PAH were 2–4 times more than the Dutch limit. More comprehensive assessment of safety is suggested to reduce environmental risk of PAHs in sediments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recently, China unveiled "The Implementation Plan for the National Ecological Civilization Zone", which recognizes ecosystems as a community of life and fosters such things as environmental restoration, ecological restoration, and watershed management. In addition, this section explores the environmental state and heavy metal contamination in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, North China; (3) The final section, including 1 research article and 2 review papers, highlights the aspects of environmental mechanisms and application technologies for metal-contaminated sites. [Extracted from the article]

Choline acetyltransferase neurons in the vertical diagonal band of Broca (vChATs) degenerate in the early stage of Alzheimer's disease (AD). Here, we report that vChATs directly innervate newly generated immature neurons (NGIs) in the dorsal hippocampus (dNGIs) of adult mice and regulate both the dNGIs survival and spatial pattern separation. In a mouse model that exhibits amyloid-β plaques similar to AD patients, cholinergic synaptic transmission, dNGI survival and spatial pattern separation are impaired. Activation of vChATs with theta burst stimulation (TBS) that alleviates the decay in cholinergic synaptic transmission effectively protects against spatial pattern separation impairments in the AD mice and this protection was completely abolished by inhibiting the dNGIs survival. Thus, the impairments of pattern separation-associated spatial memory in AD mice are in part caused by degeneration of cholinergic synaptic transmission that modulates the dNGIs survival. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Machining process is usually needed to fettle the assembly interfaces of large-scale component before the final assembly. There are several issues that make the process time and effort consuming, such as hard-to-machine material, difficulties in positioning and alignment, errors between as-built component, and as-designed model. Shop floor optimization is essential for machining this kind of large and complex workpiece but is limited by information loss from CAD/CAM to CNC (Computer Numerical Control) using traditional G&M codes. STEP-NC has been proven to perform excellently in data exchange between CAD/CAM and CNC but it does not support some special processes in machining the assembly interfaces. To solve these matters, this paper proposes a closed-loop machining system based on extended STEP-NC data models which cover aligning and laser tracker measuring process. The system consists of: (1) a STEP-NC compliant CAD/CAM system which exports STEP-NC programs, (2) a STEP-NC high-level process controller which translates STEP-NC programs and makes closed-loop optimization, and (3) CNCs and mechanical systems which perform machining and measuring tasks. In the end, a vertical tail of a large passenger plane is used as a study case to demonstrate the advantages of the proposed data models and systems. This paper contributes to machining the assembly interfaces of large-scale components, and the future development of STEP-NC in large-scale manufacturing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pore water plays a more significant role than do sediments in pollutant cycling dynamics. Also, concentrations of pollutants in pore water provide important information about their bioavailability or eco-toxicity; however, very few studies have focused on this topic. In this study, four duplicate sediment cores from three typical northern bays as well as the central part of Taihu Lake were collected to investigate the distribution, diffusive fluxes, and toxicity of heavy metals and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in pore water profiles, which will be good in understanding the mobility and toxicity of these toxic pollutants and achieving better environmental management. The diffusive fluxes of heavy metals across the sediment-water interface was estimated through Fick's First Law, and the toxicity of heavy metals and PAHs in pore water was assessed by applying a water quality index (interstitial water toxicity criteria unit, IWCTU) and a hazard index (HI), respectively. The average concentrations of Cr, Cu, Ni, Pb, and Zn in surface pore water were 18.8, 23.4, 12.0, 13.5, and 42.5 μg L, respectively. Also, concentrations of the selected heavy metals in both overlying water and pore water from Taihu Lake were all lower than the standard values of the environmental quality standards for surface water. The concentrations as the pore water depth increased, and the highest detected concentrations of heavy metals were recorded between 3 and 5 cm below the sediment surface. The average diffusive fluxes of these metals were 27.3, 24.8, 7.03, 7.81, and −3.32 μg (m day), respectively, indicating export from sediment into overlying water, with the exception of Zn. There was a potential risk of toxicity, mainly from Pb and Cu, indicating that heavy metals in pore water had slight to moderate impact on sediment-dwelling organisms by values of the IWCTU and the Nemeraw index. The total PAH concentrations in pore water were higher than those in overlying water, and such gradient implies a potential flux of PAHs from pore water to overlying water. The average HI value of PAHs in surface pore water showed no or low ecological risk. While there may be occasional risk due to the HI values in some sites being greater than 1, the dominant contributors were carcinogenic PAHs. Because of their potential biological impact, heavy metals and PAHs and their comprehensive toxic effects in pore water should be given priority attention to keep the safety of Taihu Lake. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Polyanionic LiTi(PO) material with 3D framework structure is intensively investigated to be used in lithium ion batteries. However, the LiTi(PO)-based materials suffer from poor electronic conductivity hindering the application as electrode active materials. This work describes an effective and simple strategy to synthesize LiTi(PO)/C core-shell structure without the addition of external carbon sources. This approach is achieved by a simple one-step solid state reaction using organometallic salt as raw material. The as-prepared LiTi(PO) exhibits uniform and thin carbon coating on the particle surface. The electrochemical properties of the LiTi(PO)/C composite are investigated, and the results demonstrate that the as-prepared LiTi(PO)/C shows good cycling performance and rate capability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Hai River Basin (HRB) is considered to be one of the most polluted areas in China due to the high regional population density and rapid economic development. The estuaries of the HRB, which receive pollutants from terrestrial rivers, may subsequently suffer potential pollution and result in ecological risk of heavy metals. Six heavy metals (Cd, Cr, Cu, Ni, Pb, and Zn) were measured in estuarine surface sediments from 10 estuaries of the HRB to investigate their variation characteristics and ecological risks. The spatial difference of Cr, Ni, Pb, and Zn in sediments was higher than that of the rest two elements. The Yongdingxin Estuary (YDX) and Ziyaxin Estuary (ZYX) in the Northern Hai River System (NHRS) were the most severe in terms of heavy metal contamination. According to the Risk Assessment Code (RAC) classification, Cd associated with the exchangeable and carbonate fraction (the average of 21.3 %) indicated medium risk to high risk. More than 50 % of Cr, Cu, Ni, and Zn on average were associated with the residual fraction. Based on the sum of the first three fractions (exchangeable and carbonate + reducible + oxidizable), the mobility order of these heavy metals was Cd >Pb > Zn ≈ Cu > Ni > Cr. Compared to the background values of cinnamon soil, the potential ecological risk index (RI) values ranged from 25.6 to 168, with an average of 91.2, indicating a low ecological risk in estuarine sites of the HRB. Cd and Pb were the dominant contributors to the toxic-response factor (45.8 and 25.5 %, respectively). The results give insight into the different control measures pertaining to heavy metal pollution and risk for both relatively clean estuaries and urban seriously polluted areas, respectively, for the formation of protect strategies of aquatic environment in the HRB. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The preferentially oriented InO thin films were prepared on glass substrates by conventional magnetron sputtering with Ar plasma exposure at room temperature. Based on the x-ray diffraction, x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and UV photoelectron spectroscopy results, it was found that the Ar plasma exposure not only enhanced the low-temperature crystallization of InO thin films, but also led to a dramatic improvement in the work function. Furthermore, it demonstrated that the shift mechanism of the work function in InO thin films mainly combined with theelimination of oxygen defects and the change of the preferential orientation of InO film surface. [Figure not available: see fulltext.] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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MicroRNAs (miRNAs) have been considered to be potent biomarkers for early disease diagnosis and for cancer therapy. The rapid and selective detection of miRNAs without reverse transcription and labelling is highly desired. Herein, we report a simple and label-free miRNA detection method that is based on the Duplex-Specific Nuclease (DSN)-Assisted simple target miRNA recycling procedure. The interaction of the G-quadruplex DNA structure with N-methyl mesoporphyrin IX (NMM) led to a label-free signal output. Under the optimised conditions, this method allowed for simple, rapid, and sequence-specific detection of miR-141 over a dynamic range from 1 fM to 100 nM with a linear range from 1 pM to 100 nM. Moreover, our method offered an excellent capacity to discriminate between miRNA family members with just one mismatched nucleotide. This simple and label-free strategy holds great potential in applications in biomedical research and in early clinical diagnostics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

NaMnO impure phase is formed during the synthetic process of Na-modified spinel LiMnO by solid state reaction which is confirmed by x-ray diffraction analysis. Scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy and galvanostatic charge-discharge measurements are carried out to investigate the effect of the formation of NaMnO impurity on the morphology and electrochemical properties of the spinel material. The results show that the spinel material with impure phase exhibits improved cyclability compared to that of the pristine LiMnO. The improved electrochemical performance is mainly ascribed to the improved crystallinity of the spinel particles, enhanced stability of the spinel structure and good electronic conductivity of the composite. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The spinel LiMnO cathode material has been considered as one of the most potential cathode active materials for rechargeable lithium ion batteries. The sodium-doped LiMnO is synthesized by solid-state reaction. The X-ray diffraction analysis reveals that the LiNaMnO (0 ≤ x ≤ 0.01) exhibits a single phase with cubic spinel structure. The particles of the doped samples exhibit better crystallinity and uniform distribution. The diffusion coefficient of the LiNaMnO sample is 2.45 × 10 cm s and 3.74 × 10 cm s, which is much higher than that of the undoped spinel LiMnO sample, indicating the Na-ion doping is favorable to lithium ion migration in the spinel structure. The galvanostatic charge-discharge results show that the Na-ion doping could improve cycling performance and rate capability, which is mainly due to the higher ion diffusion coefficient and more stable spinel structure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Yttrium oxide films were prepared on silicon wafers by reactive magnetron sputtering at different oxygen flow rates to investigate the microstructure and optical properties for desirable planar optical waveguiding applications. Under the different conditions of target surface, the deposition rate, structure, and optical properties have great changes. The deposition rate increases to the maximum, and then monotonically decreases. Oxygen content in films increases and the composition of films transforms from stoichiometry to an oxygen-rich state. YO films grow with the (222) preferred growth orientation at low oxygen flow rate, and then turn into the (622) orientation; the microstructure evolves from crystal structure to amorphous state as oxygen flow rate increases from 2 to 12 sccm. Sufficient oxygen makes films low-order structure and oxygen-rich films have poor crystallinity. Very smooth film has been obtained at oxygen flow rate of 12 sccm. The refractive index can be greatly modulated by the oxygen-content factor. It is convincing that the controllable structure and optical properties of YO films can be achieved by adjustment the oxygen flow rate for desired optical design and applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract  Two approaches have been developed to construct plasmids that mediate RNA interference to inhibit the replication and expression of HBV in 2.2.15 cell. The overlapping PCR extension and restriction enzyme-digestion were used to generate DNA fragments encoding designed shRNA based on sequences of ORF C of HBV genome. The pU6 derived vectors were constructed to develop plasmid based shRNA delivery systems termed pU6/HBVi. There were significant reductions in the expression of HBsAg and HBeAg between cells transfected with pU6/HBVi and control groups (as to HBsAg: P P 7 to 2 copies with or without pU6/HBVi. These results suggested that shRNA delivery by recombinant plasmids harboring shRNA encoding DNA fragment of interest generated either by overlapping PCR extension or restriction enzyme-digestion, could inhibit expressions of viral proteins and reduce viral replications. The pU6 derived plasmids might be a useful shRNA delivery system in mammalian cells. In addition, we found siRNA based on stealth 2311 was a potent RNAi target of HBV genome. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We study the solvability of the Cauchy problem (1.1)–(1.2) for the largest possible class of initial values, for which (1.1)–(1.2) has a local solution. Moreover, we also study the critical case related to the initial value u[sub 0] , for 1 < p < ∞. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This is a special issue dedicated to interdisciplinary research between environmental science and geochemistry. Many excellent young environmental scientists and geochemists presented their most updated research progress in this session, making it a convergence of environmental science and geochemistry, which eventually inspired the organization of this special issue. [Extracted from the article]