Wetland vegetation cover changes and its response to climate changes across Heilongjiang-Amur River Basin

The Heilongjiang-Amur River Basin is one of the largest and most complex aquatic systems in Asia, comprising diverse wetland resources. The wetland vegetation in mid-high latitude areas has high natural value and is sensitive to climate changes. In this study, we investigated the wetland vegetation cover changes and associated responses to climate change in the Heilongjiang-Amur River Basin from 2000 to 2018 based on the growing season (May to September) climate and LAI data. Our results indicated that the wetland LAI increased at 0.014 m2·m-2/yr across Heilongjiang-Amur River Basin with the regional climate showed wetting and warming trends. On a regional scale, wetland vegetation in China and Russia had positive partial correlation with solar radiation and minimum air temperature, with precipitation showing a slight lag effect. In contrast, wetland vegetation in Mongolia had positive partial correlation with precipitation. These correlations were further investigated at different climate intervals. We found the precipitation is positively correlated with LAI in the warm regions while is negatively correlated with LAI in the wet regions, indicating an increase in precipitation is beneficial for the growth of wetland vegetation in heat sufficient areas, and when precipitation exceeds a certain threshold, it will hinder the growth of wetland vegetation. In the cold regions, we found solar radiation and minimum air temperature are positively correlated with LAI, suggesting SR and minimum air temperature instead of mean air temperature and maximum air temperature play more important roles in affecting the wetland vegetation growth in the heat limited areas. The LAI was found to be negatively correlated with maximum air temperature in the arid areas, indicating excessive temperature would inhibit the wetland vegetation growth when the water is limited. Our investigation can provide a scientific foundation for the trilateral region in wetland ecosystem protection and is beneficial for a more comprehensive understanding of the responses of wetlands in the middle and high latitudes to climate change

Serum zinc levels in 368 patients with oral mucosal diseases: a preliminary study

Background: The aim of this study was to assess the serum zinc levels in patients with common oral mucosal diseases by comparing these to healthy controls. Material and Methods: A total of 368 patients, which consisted of 156 recurrent aphthous stomatitis (RAS) patients, 57 oral lichen planus (OLP) patients, 55 burning mouth syndrome (BMS) patients, 54 atrophic glossitis (AG) patients, 46 xerostomia patients, and 115 sex-and age-matched healthy control subjects were enrolled in this study. Serum zinc levels were measured in all participants. Statistical analysis was performed using a one-way ANOVA, t-test, and Chi-square test. Results: The mean serum zinc level in the healthy control group was significantly higher than the levels of all other groups ( p < 0.001). No individual in the healthy control group had a serum zinc level less than the minimum normal value. However, up to 24.7% (13/54) of patients with AG presented with zinc deficiency, while 21.2% (33/156) of patients with RAS, 16.4% (9/55) of patients with BMS, 15.2% (7/46) of patients with xerostomia, and 14.0% (8/57) of patients with OLP were zinc deficient. Altogether, the zinc deficiency rate was 19.02% (70/368) in the oral mucosal diseases (OMD) group (all patients with OMD). The difference between the OMD and healthy control group was significant ( p < 0.001). Gender differences in serum zinc levels were also present, although not statistically significant. Conclusions: Zinc deficiency may be involved in the pathogenesis of common oral mucosal diseases. Zinc supplementation may be a useful treatment for oral mucosal diseases, but this requires further investigation; the optimal serum level of zinc, for the prevention and treatment of oral mucosal diseases, remains to be determined

Long-range dipole-dipole exchange-induced atomic grating

We propose a theoretical scheme for dipole exchange-induced grating (DEIG) based on a hybrid system consisting of ultra-cold Rubidium ($^{87}$Rb) atomic ensemble and movable Rydberg spin atoms. The optical response of the grating appears as a superposition of three- and four-level configurations, similar to the cooperative optical nonlinear effect caused by the dipole blockade effect. However, such Rydberg atomic grating uniquely responds to the spatial positions of spin atoms, offering a novel approach to dynamically control electromagnetically induced gratings (EIG) except for input probe intensity

Progress of photonuclear cross sections for medical radioisotope production at the SLEGS energy domain

Photonuclear reactions using a laser Compton scattering (LCS) gamma source provide a new method for producing radioisotopes for medical applications. Compared with the conventional method, this method has the advantages of a high specific activity and less heat. Initiated by the Shanghai Laser Electron Gamma Source (SLEGS), we conducted a survey of potential photonuclear reactions, (\upgamma,n), (\upgamma,p), and (\upgamma,\upgamma') whose cross-sections can be measured at SLEGS by summarizing the experimental progress. In general, the data are rare and occasionally inconsistent. Therefore, theoretical calculations are often used to evaluate the production of medical radioisotopes. Subsequently, we verified the model uncertainties of the widely used reaction code TALYS-1.96, using the experimental data of the \ce{^100Mo}(\upgamma,n)\ce{^99Mo}, \ce{^65Cu}(\upgamma,n)\ce{^64Cu}, and \ce{^68Zn}(\upgamma,p)\ce{^67Cu} reactions.Comment: 16 pages, 19 figure