Additional file 1 of Association between perceived environmental pollution and health among urban and rural residents-a Chinese national study

Additional file 1. Questionnair

Evaluating development projects: exploring a synthesis model of the logical framework approach and outcome mapping

Under the current results-driven development agenda, sound evaluation, and a corresponding evaluation toolkit, need to be in place to examine whether and to what extent development interventions have achieved their targeted objectives and results, and to generate lessons for further development learning and improvement. My review of the literature shows that innovative and appropriate evaluation approaches are needed to address key challenges in evaluation such as the tension between learning and accountability objectives, the need to unpack the mechanisms linking outputs and outcomes or goal, and to add an actor perspective. Irrespective of project type, the Logical Framework Approach (LFA) is often a standard requirement of major official donor agencies on projects they fund, so as to fulfil bureaucratic imperatives. However, it is often considered inadequate in addressing key challenges in development evaluation. Given the dominant status of the LFA with such strong support from donors, it is helpful to seek a ‘middle way’: a combination of the LFA with other approaches in order to address some of its inadequacies, while satisfying donor agencies’ requirements. A synthesis of the LFA and Outcome Mapping (OM) is one such option. This thesis explores the practical value and usefulness of a synthesis model empirically. Applying the model in two case study aid projects, I found that it serves well as a theory-based evaluation tool with a double-stranded (actor strand and results chain) theory of change. The model helps reconcile learning and accountability and add explanatory power and an explicit actor perspective. It also helps establish causation and enable attribution claims at various results levels with its different elements. The model has some limitations but my results suggest it can be usefully adopted. The choice of its application depends on project evaluation context and purpose in specific cases

Image_1_Response of spring vegetation phenology to soil freeze–thaw state in the Northern Hemisphere from 2016 to 2022.jpg

IntroductionThe research on spring vegetation phenology is crucial to the investigation of terrestrial ecosystems and climate change. Changes in the soil freeze–thaw (F/T) lead to variations in soil moisture, directly impacting vegetation activity. The start of the season (SOS) is the initial and important phenophase for vegetation activity, and thus, this highlights the need to understand the response of spring vegetation phenology to soil F/T state.MethodsThis study first comprehensively investigates the consistency of the SOS and three soil F/T state indexes, i.e., the start day of the F/T state (SFT), the end day of the F/T state (EFT), and the length of days of the F/T state (LFT) via satellite data source.ResultsResults reveal that: (1) All 3 F/T state indexes impact SOS values, and the EFT outperforms others. The correlation coefficients between EFT and SOS gain around 3.07%. (2) A temporal overlap between SOS and EFT occurs in May, suggesting that parts of the plants begin active growth before average temperatures reach above 0°. (3) Small differences of SOS and EFT exist between savannas, and croplands, with an average difference of less than 10 days; in contrast, the largest differences occur in broadleaf evergreen forests. The results can fill the knowledge gap on the response of spring vegetation phenology to soil F/T state, and help to investigate the reasons for the nonlinear dynamics of SOS under global warming.</p

Nuclear accumulation of L-periaxin by mutating Leu₈₃ and Leu₈₅ to Gln.

<p>(A) Structures of L-PRX, PDZ-cyclin A1, and their mutants. Gray boxes indicate the amino acid residues replaced with Gln in the PDZ domain. (B) RSC96 cells were transfected with the plasmids encoding EGFP-tagged L-PRX, PDZ-cyclin A1, and their mutants. Scale bar = 25 μm. (C) The cytoplasm and nucleus were separated and determined the distribution of protein in the two fractions by Western blotting. β-actin and Histone served as an internal control for cytosol and nucleus, respectively. (D) Quantitative analysis of the distribution of EGFP fusion proteins in the two fractions by normalized to the internal control level. *P<0.05.</p

Cytoplasmic localization of a normal nuclear cyclin A1 by fusing with the PDZ domain of L-periaxin.

<p>(A) Schematic representation of cyclin A1 and its chimeric proteins fused with the PDZ domain of L-periaxin. N-terminal hatched boxes indicate EGFP-tagged peptides. The plain numbers on top of the boxes indicate the amino acid residue number of cyclin A1. Italic numbers correspond to the residues flanking the PDZ-domain of L-periaxin. The subcellular localization of each protein, when expressed in RSC96 cells, is indicated on the right. N, nucleus, C, cytoplasm. (B) Fluorescence analysis of RSC96 cells transfected with the plasmids encoding EGFP, EGFP-cyclin A1, and EGFP-PDZ-cyclin A1. Scale bar = 25 μm. (C) GFP fusion proteins are stable in the cell which is shown by Western blotting.</p

Nuclear export of L-periaxin is inhibited by LMB.

<p>(A) RSC96 cells were transfected with the plasmids encoding EGFP-tagged L-PRX and PDZ-cyclin A1. The cells in the second and fourth panels were treated with 37 nmol/L LMB for 1 h after 7 h post-transfection. EGFP-L-PRX and EGFP-PDZ-cyclin A1 localization was observed by Delta Vision. Scale bar = 25 μm. (B) The cytosol and nucleus were separated and determined the distribution of protein in the two fractions by Western blotting. β-actin and Histone served as an internal control for cytosol and nucleus, respectively. (C) Quantitative analysis of the distribution of EGFP fusion proteins in the two fractions by normalized to the internal control level. *P<0.05.</p

Quantification of microRNA by DNA–Peptide Probe and Liquid Chromatography–Tandem Mass Spectrometry-Based Quasi-Targeted Proteomics

The distorted and unique expression of microRNAs (miRNAs) in cancer makes them an attractive source of biomarkers. However, one of prerequisites for the application of miRNAs in clinical practice is to accurately profile their expression. Currently available assays normally require pre-enrichment, amplification, and labeling steps, and most of them are semiquantitative. In this study, we converted the signal of target miR-21 into reporter peptide by a DNA-peptide probe and the reporter peptide was ultimately quantified using LC-MS/MS-based targeted proteomics. Specifically, substrate peptide GDKAVLGVDPFR containing reporter peptide AVLGVDPFR and tryptic cleavage site (lysine at position 3) was first designed, followed by the conjugation with DNA sequence that was complementary to miR-21. The newly formed DNA-peptide probe was then hybridized with miR-21, which was biotinylated and attached to streptavidin agarose in advance. After trypsin digestion, the reporter peptide was released and monitored by a targeted proteomics assay. The obtained limit of quantification (LOQ) was 1 pM, and the detection dynamic range spanned ∼5 orders of magnitude. Using this assay, the developed quasi-targeted proteomics approach was applied to determine miR-21 level in breast cells and tissue samples. Finally, qRT-PCR was also performed for a comparison. This report grafted the strategy of targeted proteomics into miRNA quantification

PDZ is necessary to accomplish an efficient nuclear export of L-PRX.

<p>(A) Structures of L-PRX and its PDZ-deleted mutants (DPDZ-L-PRX). Amino acid residues flanking each domain are numbered on top of the diagram. (B) Subcellular localization of EGFP-tagged L-PRX and its PDZ-deleted mutant (DPDZ-L-PRX). RSC96 cells were transfected with the plasmids encoding EGFP-tagged full-length L-PRX and its DPDZ-L-PRX. Scale bar = 25 μm. (C) GFP fusion constructs detected by Western blotting to ensure that the visualized proteins are not free GFP, or GFP fused to a truncated protein.</p

Alignment of potential NES sequences of L-periaxin with previously characterized leucine-rich NESs.

<p>NES sequences in mitogen-activated protein kinase kinase (MAPKK), zyxin, HIV.Rev, c-Abl, and LIM-kinase 1 are obtained from previous studies <a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0091953#pone.0091953-Yang1" target="_blank">[22]</a>, <a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0091953#pone.0091953-Fischer1" target="_blank">[29]</a>, <a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0091953#pone.0091953-FukudaM1" target="_blank">[30]</a>, <a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0091953#pone.0091953-NixDA1" target="_blank">[31]</a>, <a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0091953#pone.0091953-Taagepera1" target="_blank">[32]</a>. Residue numbers are indicated in parentheses. Consensus sequence is shown at the bottom. Ψ indicates hydrophobic residues, which include leucine, isoleucine, valine, phenylalanine, and methionine.</p