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[Objective] Studying the accumulation characteristics and hydrological effects of typical mixed Robinia pseudoacacia plantations is crucial for deeply investigating the water conservation capacity of artificial forests on the Loess Plateau. [Methods] This study focused on five different mixed planting patterns of Robinia pseudoacacia in the loess hilly region, including R. pseudoacacia × Hippophae rhamnoides, R. pseudoacacia × Amorpha fruticosa, R. pseudoacacia × Pinus tabuliformis, R. pseudoacacia × Prunus davidiana, and R. pseudoacacia × Prunus sibirica, with pure R. pseudoacacia plantations serving as a control for comparative analysis. Through field investigations and laboratory experiments, quantitative research was conducted on the accumulation, water-holding capacity, and evaporation characteristics of litter in these mixed plantations. [Results] (1) The total litter accumulation in different mixed R. pseudoacacia plantations ranged from 0.29 to 1.01 kg/m2, with semi-decomposed litter accounting for more than 60% in all cases. Except for the mixture with A. fruticosa, the leaf litter accumulation in other mixtures was higher than that in pure R. pseudoacacia plantations. (2) After 24 hours, the water-holding capacity of litter from different mixtures stabilized with no significant differences. The trend for different organs was leaf > grass > fruit > branch. Furthermore, the effective interception and storage capacity of R. pseudoacacia × A. fruticosa was the largest (1.74 kg/m2), and the effective storage capacity of semi-decomposed litter was greater than that of undecomposed litter (p grass > fruit > branch. (4) During the water-holding and evaporation coupling process, a significant logarithmic relationship existed in the water-holding phase (R2≥0.84, p

The energy system of solar town is a comprehensive energy system with the photovoltaic as the main body, combined with other local energy sources. To fully utilize the solar energy and geothermal energy in such system, a two-stage robust optimization method considering uncertainties of both energy supply and demand is proposed. Uncertainty adjustment parameters are introduced to avoid sacrificing economic efficiency in order to ensure power supply reliability. A max-min-max two-stage robust optimization configuration model is established with the objective of minimizing the overall system cost. The optimization includes the allocation of photovoltaics, combined heat and power, ground source heat pumps and storage in the integrated energy system of the solar town. The uncertainty of photovoltaic and load data is described by a box-type uncertainty set independent of probability distribution. The upper and lower boundary interval as robust constraints represents the fluctuation range of photovoltaic and load. The column and constraint generation algorithm and strong duality transformation are employed to reduce the complexity level of solving the problem. A case study is conducted on a solar town located in northern China. By adjusting the uncertainty adjustment parameters, the conservatism of the configuration plan can be effectively controlled. The scheme has strong applicability, mainly embodied in not only ensuring the reliability of power supply, reducing the load power loss rate, but also reducing the configuration cost and improving the light rejection rate.

[Objective] The coordinated development among the unique ecology, economy, and society of the Loess Plateau was studied to guide the sustainable development of the Loess Plateau. [Methods] The study used data from the typical areas of in Loess Plateau of Changwu County, Suide County, Shenmu City, and Chunhua County from 2001 to 2019 to investigate the ecological, economic, and social development of the area. The coupled coordination degree model and the scissors difference method were used to study the coordinated development trend of the ecology-economy-society system. [Results] The comprehensive evaluation index of the ecosystem for the typical areas of the Loess Plateau fluctuated and increased, the comprehensive evaluation index of the economic system and the social system increased steadily, and the degree of ecological-economic-social coupling and coordination continued to increase. The scissors difference between the ecological and economic systems, and between the ecological and social systems decreased over time, reflecting continuous improvement in the relationships between the ecological, economic, and social systems in the region, and indicating coordinated development. The impact of the economic and social systems on the ecological environment weakened year by year. [Conclusion] Ecological and economic systems, and ecological and social systems of southern border area of the Loess Plateau were in a stage of coordinated development. However, the ecological environment is still an important factor restricting local development. Stabilizing and developing the ecological civilization construction in this region and alleviating the competition between the economy and the ecosystem, and between society and the ecosystem are still important issues that need to be faced for the sustainable development of the Loess Plateau.

Obesity is a main risk factor for diabetes and cardiovascular disorders and is closely linked to preadipocyte differentiation or adipogenesis. Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ (PPARγ) is an indispensable transcription factor in adipogenesis. A newly identified long noncoding RNA, Acart, exerts a protective effect against cardiomyocyte injury by transactivating PPARγ signaling. However, the function of Acart in preadipocyte differentiation is unclear. To investigate the function of Acart in adipogenesis, a well-established preadipocyte, the 3T3-L1 cell line, was induced to differentiate, and Acart level was assessed during differentiation using quantitative real-time PCR. The biological role of Acart in adipogenesis was analyzed by assessing lipid droplet accumulation, PPARγ and CCAAT/enhancer-binding protein α (C/EBPα) expression, and 3T3-L1 cell proliferation and apoptosis after Acart silencing. We found that Acart level was promptly increased during preadipocyte differentiation in vitro. Acart was also significantly upregulated in obese mouse-derived subcutaneous, perirenal, and epididymal fat tissues compared with nonobese mouse-derived adipose tissues. Functionally, Acart depletion inhibited preadipocyte differentiation, as evidenced by a significant decrease in lipid accumulation and PPARγ and C/EBPα expression levels. Acart silencing also inhibited 3T3-L1 cell proliferation, whereas Acart overexpression accelerated 3T3-L1 cell proliferation and decreased cell apoptosis. Taken together, the current results reveal a novel function of Acart in regulating preadipocyte proliferation and differentiation.

Objective To summarize the clinical features and management of intestinal stricture following neonatal necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC). Methods We retrospectively analyzed the clinical data of 79 infants with intestinal stricture following NEC treated in our hospital between April, 2014 and June, 2018. Of the 79 infants, 20 were diagnosed to have Bell stage I NEC, 52 were in Bell stage Ⅱ and 7 in Bell stage Ⅲ. All the infants underwent preoperative X-Ray examination, 73 had gastrointestinal contrast study and 69 had rectal mucosal biopsy. Results In these infants, the clinical signs of intestinal stricture occurred at a mean of 46.5 d following NEC. Among the 73 infants receiving gastrointestinal contrast study, 58 were found to have intestinal stenosis and 6 had fetal colon. Rectal mucosal biopsy in 69 infants revealed Hirschsprung disease in 3 cases. Intraoperative exploration showed that intestinal stenosis occurred mostly in the ascending colon, transverse colon and descending colon, and multiple stenosis was detected in 32 cases. Surgical resection of stricture and primary end-to-end anastomosis were performed in 71 cases, and the remaining 8 cases underwent staged surgeries. In the 73 cases with complete follow-up data, 3 had postoperative adhesions, and 2 of them received conservative treatment and the other underwent a second operation. Eight infants were hospitalized for 1 to 3 times for malnutrition and dehydration due to repeated diarrhea, and eventually recovered and were discharged smoothly; all the other infants had uneventful recovery without stricture recurrence. Conclusion Intestinal stenosis following NEC occurs most frequently in the colon, and some cases may have multiple strictures. Gastrointestinal contrast study is the primary option for examination. Surgical resection of the stricture and primary end-to-end anastomosis can achieve good therapeutic effect with favorable prognoses in the patients.

In this paper simulated rainfall experiments in laboratory were conducted to quantify the effects oƒ patchy distributed Artemisia capillaris on spatial and temporal variations oƒ the Darcy-Weisbach friction coefficient (f). Different intensities oƒ 60, 90, 120, and 150 mm h-1 were applied on a bare plot (CK) and four different patched patterns: a checkerboard pattern (CP), a banded pattern perpendicular to slope direction (BP), a single long strip parallel to slope direction (LP), and a pattern with small patches distributed like the letter ‘X’ (XP). Each plot underwent two sets oƒ experiments, intact plant and root plots (the above-ground parts were removed). Results showed that mean ƒ for A. capillaris patterned treatments was 1.25-13.0 times oƒ that for CK. BP, CP, and XP performed more effectively than LP in increasing hydraulic roughness. The removal oƒ grass shoots significantly reduced f. A negative relationship was found between mean ƒ for the bare plot and rainfall intensity, whereas for grass patterned plots fr (mean ƒ in patterned plots divided by that for CK) increased exponentially with rainfall intensity. The ƒ -Re relation was best fitted by a power function. Soil erosion rate can be well described using ƒ by a power-law relationship