Role of the gut microbiota in the pathogenesis of endometriosis: a review

Endometriosis is classically defined as a chronic inflammatory heterogeneous disorder occurring in any part of the body, characterized by estrogen-driven periodic bleeding, proliferation, and fibrosis of ectopic endometrial glands and stroma outside the uterus. Endometriosis can take overwhelmingly serious damage to the structure and function of multi-organ, even impair whole-body systems, resulting in severe dysmenorrhea, chronic pelvic pain, infertility, fatigue and depression in 5–10% women of reproductive age. Precisely because of a huge deficiency of cognition about underlying etiology and complex pathogenesis of the debilitating disease, early diagnosis and treatment modalities with relatively minor side effects become bottlenecks in endometriosis. Thus, endometriosis warrants deeper exploration and expanded investigation in pathogenesis. The gut microbiota plays a significant role in chronic diseases in humans by acting as an important participant and regulator in the metabolism and immunity of the body. Increasingly, studies have shown that the gut microbiota is closely related to inflammation, estrogen metabolism, and immunity resulting in the development and progression of endometriosis. In this review, we discuss the diverse mechanisms of endometriosis closely related to the gut microbiota in order to provide new approaches for deeper exploration and expanded investigation for endometriosis on prevention, early diagnosis and treatment

Potential Effects of Urbanization on Precipitation Extremes in the Pearl River Delta Region, China

Rapid urbanization plays an indelible role in modifying local climate, with more extreme precipitation in urban areas. Understanding the mechanism of urban-induced precipitation changes and quantifying the potential effects of urbanization on the changes in precipitation extremes have become hotspot issues in hydrometeorology. We examine the spatiotemporal changes of precipitation extremes over the Pearl River Delta region in China using the homogenized daily precipitation dataset from the period 1961–2017, and quantify the urbanization effects on these changes. Most of the extreme precipitation indices show increasing trends, but only the mean precipitation intensity has a significant increase. Urbanization could induce the intensification of extreme precipitation, with a higher amount, intensity, and frequency of precipitation extremes and a larger magnitude of their trends in urban areas by comparison with those rural areas. Moreover, high-level urbanization tends to make a greater contribution to the temporal changes in precipitation extremes, indicating that urbanization effects on precipitation extremes may be related to urbanization levels. However, urbanization level shows little effect on the changes in the spatial patterns of precipitation extremes, with similar spatial distribution in different urbanization stages. Our findings highlight the important role of urbanization in precipitation extremes and offer insights into the feedback of anthropogenic changes into variations in precipitation extremes

Potential Effects of Urbanization on Precipitation Extremes in the Pearl River Delta Region, China

Rapid urbanization plays an indelible role in modifying local climate, with more extreme precipitation in urban areas. Understanding the mechanism of urban-induced precipitation changes and quantifying the potential effects of urbanization on the changes in precipitation extremes have become hotspot issues in hydrometeorology. We examine the spatiotemporal changes of precipitation extremes over the Pearl River Delta region in China using the homogenized daily precipitation dataset from the period 1961–2017, and quantify the urbanization effects on these changes. Most of the extreme precipitation indices show increasing trends, but only the mean precipitation intensity has a significant increase. Urbanization could induce the intensification of extreme precipitation, with a higher amount, intensity, and frequency of precipitation extremes and a larger magnitude of their trends in urban areas by comparison with those rural areas. Moreover, high-level urbanization tends to make a greater contribution to the temporal changes in precipitation extremes, indicating that urbanization effects on precipitation extremes may be related to urbanization levels. However, urbanization level shows little effect on the changes in the spatial patterns of precipitation extremes, with similar spatial distribution in different urbanization stages. Our findings highlight the important role of urbanization in precipitation extremes and offer insights into the feedback of anthropogenic changes into variations in precipitation extremes

Effects of Scrambling trumpet Creeper flavone on transient cerebral ischemia model (TIA) in rats

To investigate the effects of Scrambling Trumpet Creeper flavone on neurological function score, brain tissue lesion and related biochemical indexes in rat TIA model. Methods: TIA model was induced by tail vein injection of t-butanol (t-BHP). The rats in each administration group were given large, medium and low dose of Scrambling Trumpet Creeper flavone 0.1% CMC suspension, nimodipine and Yangxueqingnao particles group 0.1% CMC suspension, model group and blank group fed the same volume 0.1% CMC. Once a day, continuous administration of 7d. On the 3rd and 6th day after administration, t-BHP was injected into the tail vein, and then placed in a sealed 1 L jar. After 10 min of hypoxia, the neurological function score (NDS) was performed. After the first 2 days of TIA administration, the hem rheology was measured immediately after 1 h of administration, and blood rheology was measured immediately after the administration of blood, blood clotting, hematocrit, hematocrit and whole blood viscosity. After HE is staining to observe the pathological changes of hippocampus and cortex in the left-brain tissue. (LDH) and adenosine triphosphate (ATP) were measured. The right brain tissue of the cerebral cortex was observed. The expression of lactate (LD), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) Fibroblast growth factor (FGF) and insulin growth factor (IGF) were detected by immunohistochemistry. Results: Compared with the blank group, the coagulation time of the model rats was significantly shortened. The red blood cell deformation index was significantly decreased. Erythrocyte sedimentation rate, hematocrit, plasma viscosity, whole blood viscosity, erythrocyte rigidity index and blood sedimentation equation K value were significantly increased; LD content increased significantly, and LDH, ATP enzyme activity decreased significantly. The positive expression of FGF and IGF in the cortical area had a trend of increasing. Conclusion: The Scrambling Trumpet Creeper flavone significantly improved the indexes of whole blood rheology; the energy metabolism of cerebral ischemia was increased, and the positive expression of neurotrophic factor in cortex was significantly increased. Keywords: Scrambling trumpet Creeper flavone, TIA, NDS, Hemorheology, Energy metabolism, Neurotrophic facto

Variability of Stable Isotope in Lake Water and Its Hydrological Processes Identification in Mt. Yulong Region

Lakes are regarded as important nodes in water resources, playing pivotal roles in the regional hydrological cycle. However, the systematic study on lake water balance is scarce in Mt. Yulong region. Here, we study the stable isotope compositions of precipitation, inflowing rivers and lake water to exploit the characteristics of hydrological supply and lake water balance. The results showed that there was a typical spatial distribution of surface isotope in August and April. Relatively high δ18O values with low d-excess were found on the east and west shores of the lake in August and in the middle part of the lake in April. The lowest δ18O with highest d-excess were found in the north and south shores in August and April, respectively. Meanwhile, slight isotopic stratification indicated that the lake water was vertically mixed-well. Subsequently, the evaporation-to-inflow ratios (E/Is) during the two periods were further derived based on the isotope mass balance model. Approximately 51% in August and 12% in April of the water flowing into Lashi Lake underwent evaporation. This study provides a reference for the long-term monitoring and modeling the hydrology processes of the basin, and is important for the regional water resource

Projection of Future Water Resources Carrying Capacity in the Huang-Huai-Hai River Basin under the Impacts of Climate Change and Human Activities

Water resources are essential for human beings. It is of significance to project future water resources carrying capacity for water resources planning and management. In this study, the Huang-Huai-Hai River Basin (HHHRB), where the contradiction between humans and water is prominent in China, is selected as the study area. The fuzzy comprehensive evaluation model of regional water resources carrying capacity is constructed, the variation characteristics of water resources affected by climate change are analyzed based on the Budyko-Fu model, and considering the influence of transit water resources and water diversion projects, the future water resources carrying capacity in HHHRB under four future climate scenarios in CMIP6 is projected. The results indicate that: (1) On the whole, the carrying capacity of water resources in HHHRB is weak, and the spatial difference is great. (2) Under the background of climate change in the future, precipitation, temperature, and water resources in HHHRB all show increasing trends with changes of 0.90–12.59%, 1.22–1.80 °C, and 13.12–34.29%. (3) Under the background of global change, the water resources carrying capacity of most prefecture-level cities in HHHRB will be greatly improved in the future, and the spatial distributions of change rates among different climate scenarios are relatively consistent. (4) The construction of water diversion projects such as the South-to-North Water Diversion Project has played an obvious role in improving the carrying capacity of water resources. The research results can provide important scientific and technological support for the rational allocation of water resources in the basin under the background of global change

An Exponential Filter Model-Based Root-Zone Soil Moisture Estimation Methodology from Multiple Datasets

Modern smart agriculture initiative presents more requests for soil moisture (SM) monitoring over large agricultural areas. Remote sensing techniques facilitate high-resolution surface SM (SSM) estimation at a large scale but lack root zone SM (RZSM) information. Establishing the deduction method of RZSM from the SSM has long been the focus of most attention. Data assimilation methods are promising techniques for RZSM estimation, developing numerous assimilated reanalysis datasets, e.g., ERA5 and the latest Soil Moisture Active and Passive (SMAP) L4 SM product. However, data latency and large computation during data collecting and processing often inhibits further applications. This work proposes a rapid estimation scheme for estimating RZSM with short latency and small computations, based on the Exponential Filter (EF) method. The EF model with single parameter T was firstly calibrated and validated using the SSM and RZSM of ERA5 reanalysis dataset, obtaining the optimum parameter T map for each grid. Then, the fast-updating SMAP L3 SSM product together with the scale-matched optimum T were adopted as inputs into the EF model to retrieve RZSM estimation of each grid. Specifically, such estimation scheme was tested over the central and eastern agricultural areas of China, using a dense monitoring network of 796 SM observation sites, which contains various land uses, as well as meteorological and hydrological conditions. The calibrated optimum parameter T presented an increasing trend with good physical explanations. Furthermore, all the estimated RZSMs were found to have good performances on capturing the temporal-spatial variations of RZSM and well reflecting seasonal RZSM changes. Overall, such an estimation scheme was proven to be a desirable alternative for estimating RZSM over large agricultural areas

Comparison of the Performance of IMERG Products and Interpolation-Based Precipitation Estimates in the Middle Reaches of Yellow River Basin

Accurate spatial precipitation data are of prime importance for hydrological simulations and flood forecasts. Interpolation methods and satellite-based precipitation products (SPPs) are often applied to obtain spatially distributed precipitation over basins. The objective of this study is to investigate whether satellite precipitation data can yield better estimates than the precipitation information (gauge observations) already available in the basin. In this study, we assessed the performance of three Integrated Multi-satellite Retrievals for Global Precipitation Measurement (IMERG) products against two calculated interpolation data and the ground precipitation observations at a daily scale in the middle reaches of the Yellow River Basin (MRYRB). This research includes two interpolation methods, namely, inverse distance weighting (IDW) and ordinary kriging (OK), and three latest IMERG SPPs, namely, IMERG “Early”, “Late”, and “Final” run SPPs (IMERG-E, IMERG-L, and IMERG-F). The results show that the two interpolation methods (IDW and OK) obtain the best overall performance, followed by IMERG-F, whereas IMERG-E and IMERG-L have inferior performance. Compared with the two interpolation methods, IMERG-F obtains higher CC values and lower FAR scores during the rainy season and presents better correlation with the gauge-based precipitation at the basin boundary. Furthermore, IMERG-F possesses a better capability over IDW and OK in detecting heavy precipitation events (over 20 mm). Nevertheless, the three IMERG SPPs generally provide similarly poor performance in terms of detection metrics and failed to accurately detect winter precipitation. The findings of this study are expected to provide SPP researchers and users with useful feedback on the net utility of satellite products and remind researchers of the importance of interpolated precipitation data in the assessment of satellite precipitation

The Time Lag Effects and Interaction among Climate, Soil Moisture, and Vegetation from In Situ Monitoring Measurements across China

The interaction between soil moisture (SM) and vegetation dynamics has been proven in previous studies. In situ measurements have provided reliable data to investigate and validate the time effect in different zones, which is important in the hydrology and agriculture fields. There were 845 SM in situ monitoring measurements utilized with the correlation between SM and vegetation across various soil depths and climate zones in China. The impact of climate and teleconnection factors on SM and the leaf area index (LAI) are also discussed. The results indicate that SM increases from northwest to southeast in China. The time lag responses of SM to temperature, precipitation, relative humidity, and sunshine duration are 0–3 days, 3–7 days, 1–3 days, and 3–15 days, respectively. The LAI is most strongly correlated with the climate of the current month. When the LAI leads SM, a negative correlation is observed, whereas a positive correlation is observed when SM leads the LAI. This proves that vegetation growth restricts the increase in SM, and soil drying further restricts the growth of vegetation. There was a response time of 2–4 months between the LAI and SM. The effect of vegetation and deeper SM was significant in the arid zone, while they were coupled with shallow SM in the humid zone. Additionally, the El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) showed a significant positive correlation with SM in 2015–2016 with signals of 9–14 months. The results provide support for balancing the contradiction between future vegetation restoration and water resource scarcity