Central cholinergic signal-mediated neuroendocrine regulation of vasopressin and oxytocin in ovine fetuses

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The hypothalamic-neurohypophysial system plays a fundamental role in the maintenance of body fluid homeostasis by secreting arginine vasopressin (AVP) and oxytocin (OT) in response to a variety of signals, including osmotic and nonosmotic stimuli. It is well established that central cholinergic mechanisms are critical in the regulation of cardiovascular responses and maintenance of body fluid homeostasis in adults. Our recent study demonstrated that intracerebroventricular (i.c.v.) injection of carbachol elicited an increase of blood pressure in the near-term ovine fetuses. However, <it>in utero </it>development of brain cholinergic mechanisms in the regulation of the hypothalamic neuropeptides is largely unknown. This study investigated AVP and OT neural activation in the fetal hypothalamus induced by central carbachol.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Chronically prepared near-term ovine fetuses (0.9 gestation) received an i.c.v. carbachol (3 μg/kg). Fetal blood samples were collected for AVP and OT assay, and brains were used for c-fos mapping studies. I.c.v. carbachol significantly increased fetal plasma AVP and OT concentrations. Intense FOS immunoreactivity (FOS-ir) was observed in the fetal supraoptic nuclei (SON) and paraventricular nuclei (PVN) in the hypothalamus. Double labeling demonstrated that a number of AVP- and OT-containing neurons in the fetal SON and PVN were expressing c-fos in response to central carbachol.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The results indicate that the central cholinergic mechanism is established and functional in the regulation of the hypothalamic neuropeptides during the final trimester of pregnancy. This provides evidence for a functional link between the development of central cholinergic mechanisms and hypothalamic neuropeptide systems in the fetus.</p

Modeling charge polarization voltage for large lithium-ion batteries in electric vehicles

Purpose: Polarization voltage of the lithium-ion battery is an important parameter that has direct influence on battery performance. The paper aims to analyze the impedance characteristics of the lithium-ion battery based on EIS data. Design/methodology/approach: The effects of currents, initial SOC of the battery on charge polarization voltage are investigated, which is approximately linear function of charge current. The change of charge polarization voltage is also analyzed with the gradient analytical method in the SOC domain. The charge polarization model with two RC networks is presented, and parts of model parameters like Ohmic resistance and charge transfer impedance are estimated by both EIS method and battery constant current testing method. Findings: This paper reveals that the Ohmic resistance accounts for much contribution to battery total polarization compared to charge transfer impedance. Practical implications: Experimental results demonstrate the efficacy of the model with the proposed identification method, which provides the foundation for battery charging optimization. Originality/value: The paper analyzed the impedance characteristics of the lithium-ion battery based on EIS data, presented a charge polarization model with two RC networks, and estimated parameters like Ohmic resistance and charge transfer impedance.Peer Reviewe

Modeling charge polarization voltage for large lithium-ion batteries in electric vehicles

Purpose: Polarization voltage of the lithium-ion battery is an important parameter that has direct influence on battery performance. The paper aims to analyze the impedance characteristics of the lithium-ion battery based on EIS data. Design/methodology/approach: The effects of currents, initial SOC of the battery on charge polarization voltage are investigated, which is approximately linear function of charge current. The change of charge polarization voltage is also analyzed with the gradient analytical method in the SOC domain. The charge polarization model with two RC networks is presented, and parts of model parameters like Ohmic resistance and charge transfer impedance are estimated by both EIS method and battery constant current testing method. Findings: This paper reveals that the Ohmic resistance accounts for much contribution to battery total polarization compared to charge transfer impedance. Practical implications: Experimental results demonstrate the efficacy of the model with the proposed identification method, which provides the foundation for battery charging optimization. Originality/value: The paper analyzed the impedance characteristics of the lithium-ion battery based on EIS data, presented a charge polarization model with two RC networks, and estimated parameters like Ohmic resistance and charge transfer impedance

Dissecting the Characteristics and Dynamics of Human Protein Complexes at Transcriptome Cascade Using RNA-Seq Data

<div><p>Human protein complexes play crucial roles in various biological processes as the functional module. However, the expression features of human protein complexes at the transcriptome cascade are poorly understood. Here, we used the RNA-Seq data from 16 disparate tissues and four types of human cancers to explore the characteristics and dynamics of human protein complexes. We observed that many individual components of human protein complexes can be generated by multiple distinct transcripts. Similar with yeast, the human protein complex constituents are inclined to co-express in diverse tissues. The dominant isoform of the genes involved in protein complexes tend to encode the complex constituents in each tissue. Our results indicate that the protein complex dynamics not only correlate with the presence or absence of complexes, but may also be related to the major isoform switching for complex subunits. Between any two cancers of breast, colon, lung and prostate, we found that only a few of the differentially expressed transcripts associated with complexes were identical, but 5–10 times more protein complexes involved in differentially expressed transcripts were common. Collectively, our study reveals novel properties and dynamics of human protein complexes at the transcriptome cascade in diverse normal tissues and different cancers.</p></div

Land Use and Land Cover Change in the Kailash Sacred Landscape of China

Land use and land cover change (LUCC) is an important driver of ecosystem function and services. Thus, LUCC analysis may lay foundation for landscape planning, conservation and management. It is especially true for alpine landscapes, which are more susceptible to climate changes and human activities. However, the information on LUCC in sacred landscape is limited, which will hinder the landscape conservation and development. We chose Kailash Sacred Landscape in China (KSL-China) to investigate the patterns and dynamics of LUCC and the driving forces using remote sensing data and meteorological data from 1990 to 2008. A supervised classification of land use and land cover was established based on field survey. Rangelands presented marked fluctuations due to climatic warming and its induced drought, for example, dramatic decreases were found in high- and medium-cover rangelands over the period 2000&#8211;2008. And recession of most glaciers was also observed in the study period. Instead, an increase of anthropogenic activities accelerated intensive alteration of land use, such as conversion of cropland to built-up land. We found that the change of vegetation cover was positively correlated with growing season precipitation (GSP). In addition, vegetation cover was substantially reduced along the pilgrimage routes particularly within 5 km of the routes. The findings of the study suggest that climatic warming and human disturbance are interacted to cause remarkable LUCC. Tourism development was responsible land use change in urban and pilgrimage routes. This study has important implications for landscape conservation and ecosystem management. The reduction of rangeland cover may decrease the rangeland quality and pose pressure for the carrying capacity of rangelands in the KSL-China. With the increasing risk of climate warming, rangeland conservation is imperative. The future development should shift from livestock-focus animal husbandry to service-based ecotourism in the sacred landscape

Novel Silica Sorbents Surface-Functionalized with a Salicylhydroxamic Acid-Based Ion-Imprinting Polymer for the Selective Removal of Pb(II) from Aqueous Solution

A new Pb­(II)-imprinted silica sorbent IIP-SHA/SiO₂ has been successfully prepared using the surface imprinting technique. The bidentate and rigid salicylhydroxamic acid was used as the chelating ligand, and a nucleophilic ring-opening reaction of glycidyl with phenolic hydroxyl group was employed as the cross-linking chemistry. The resulting ion-imprinted silica shows enhanced adsorption and more importantly remarkable selectivity toward Pb­(II) and excellent reusability in both batch and dynamic adsorption experiments, making it an appealing material for Pb­(II) removal from aqueous medium. The spontaneous adsorption process was found to be entropy driven and endothermic. The positive entropy change associated with the adsorption process is unusually large, indicating that the binding pockets after template ion removal are rather rigid which is believed to be responsible for the enhanced selectivity