Vegetation EVI changes and response to natural factors and human activities based on geographically and temporally weighted regression

The research on vegetation changes plays a crucial role in the assessment of ecosystem health, monitoring environmental changes, providing early warnings for natural disasters, and supporting decision-making for sustainable development. However, understanding the nonstationary characteristics of drivers affecting vegetation change remains challenging. This study used Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI) data obtained through Google Earth Engine (GEE), Theil-Sen, and Mann-Kendall methods to analyze the spatial-temporal patterns and trends of vegetation changes in Sichuan, western China from 2000 to 2020. The Geographical and Temporal Weighted Regression (GTWR) method was applied to deal with spatial and temporal nonstationarity simultaneously. Results showed that vegetation cover in Sichuan was good overall, with medium and high vegetation covering more than 78% of the area. About 72.75% of the area showed an increasing trend in vegetation cover, and areas with extremely significant and significant EVI growth (p < 0.01 and 0.01 ≤ p < 0.05) accounted for 23.94% of the total area. The areas with significant increases in vegetation EVI were mainly distributed in northeast, east, southeast, central, and southwest in Sichuan, while the areas with significant decreases were mainly distributed in the central Sichuan plain urban agglomeration and western Sichuan plateau. GTWR addressed the nonstationary effect of the temporal dimension on the drivers of natural and human activities, with a fitted R2 of 0.846. The study identified climate, terrain, and human activities as the primary driving factors behind vegetation EVI fluctuations. Annual average temperature and precipitation, human activities, and slope had a positive impact on vegetation EVI changes, while solar radiation and aspect had a negative inhibitory effect. The effects of climate, terrain, and human activities on EVI changes exhibited significant spatial heterogeneity and clustering, resulting in either positive promotion or negative inhibition. This study provides an additional methodology to solve the nonstationary problem of vegetation change trends and their response mechanisms. The revealed changes in vegetation EVI and the spatiotemporal heterogeneity characteristics of their driving factors are important for fragile ecosystems to adapt to and mitigate the effects of natural changes and human activities. Revealing the variations in vegetation EVI and their underlying drivers can showcase diverse characteristics across regions and time periods, the presence of spatiotemporal heterogeneity holds great significance in comprehending the adaptive strategies employed by fragile ecosystems to mitigate the effects of natural fluctuations and human-induced activities

Genome-Wide Identification of Maize Protein Arginine Methyltransferase Genes and Functional Analysis of <i>ZmPRMT1</i> Reveal Essential Roles in <i>Arabidopsis</i> Flowering Regulation and Abiotic Stress Tolerance

Histone methylation, as one of the important epigenetic regulatory mechanisms, plays a significant role in growth and developmental processes and stress responses of plants, via altering the methylation status or ratio of arginine and lysine residues of histone tails, which can affect the regulation of gene expression. Protein arginine methyltransferases (PRMTs) have been revealed to be responsible for histone methylation of specific arginine residues in plants, which is important for maintaining pleiotropic development and adaptation to abiotic stresses in plants. Here, for the first time, a total of eight PRMT genes in maize have been identified and characterized in this study, named as ZmPRMT1-8. According to comparative analyses of phylogenetic relationship and structural characteristics among PRMT gene family members from several representative species, all maize 8 PRMT proteins were categorized into three distinct subfamilies. Further, schematic structure and chromosome location analyses displayed evolutionarily conserved structure features and an unevenly distribution on maize chromosomes of ZmPRMT genes, respectively. The expression patterns of ZmPRMT genes in different tissues and under various abiotic stresses (heat, drought, and salt) were determined. The expression patterns of ZmPRMT genes indicated that they play a role in regulating growth and development and responses to abiotic stress. Eventually, to verify the biological roles of ZmPRMT genes, the transgenic Arabidopsis plants overexpressing ZmPRMT1 gene was constructed as a typical representative. The results demonstrated that overexpression of ZmPRMT1 can promote earlier flowering time and confer enhanced heat tolerance in transgenic Arabidopsis. Taken together, our results are the first to report the roles of ZmPRMT1 gene in regulating flowering time and resisting heat stress response in plants and will provide a vital theoretical basis for further unraveling the functional roles and epigenetic regulatory mechanism of ZmPRMT genes in maize growth, development and responses to abiotic stresses

Quantifying urban expansion and its driving forces in Chengdu, western China

Understanding urban sprawl and its drivers is crucial for sustainable urban development. Most studies on Chinese urbanization have focused on coastal areas, paying little attention to urban centers in western China. This study examines urban expansion based on the Google Earth Engine (GEE), remotely sensed image, urban expansion model, and analysis of buffer and quadrant location in the Geographic Information System (GIS). Additionally, driving forces of urban expansion are examined based on the principle component analysis (PCA). Results indicate that urban land area increased more than 5.60 times, reaching 124,723 ha, an increase of over 400 % during 1990–2020. The urban expansion rate and intensity significantly increased and exhibited spatio-temporal heterogeneity. We identified that urban spatial expansion patterns changed from patch filling to patch border expansion, and urban expansion direction was mainly in the southern, northeastern, southwestern, and northwestern regions, extending along the traffic corridor, ring road, and adjacent cities. We suggest that economic development, population, and urbanization have become the driving factors of urban expansion. The GEE provides a new geographic processing algorithm based on massive image datasets, facilitating remote sensing processing. The results revealed that Chengdu is following trends witnessed in coastal cities of China; however, the significance of various drivers of urban expansion in these cities differs from that of the eastern cities. This study will help formulate policies for better urban land management and sustainable land development

Li metal anode interface in sulfide‐based all‐solid‐state Li batteries

Abstract Sulfide solid electrolyte (SSE)‐based all‐solid‐state Li batteries (ASSLBs) can overcome the problems of low energy density and safety concern of current Li‐ion batteries. However, the practical application of SSE‐based ASSLBs is suffered from several problems, especially interfacial issues between Li metal anode (LMA) and SSEs. Therefore, in this study, the problems of the LMA–SSE interface and their corresponding solutions are reviewed. First, the interfacial problems are summarized, namely the side reactions of SSEs, the Li dendrite growth, and poor contact between the electrode and electrolyte. Second, the available strategies to improve the robustness of the interface are discussed, including the protection of the LMA, substitution of the LMA, and modification of SSEs. Third, the characterization methods used to analyze the morphological and compositional evolution of the interface during cycling are introduced. Finally, the limitations and future research directions are proposed

M⁶A methylated peaks of HSPs mRNA.

<p>Integrative genomics viewer (IGV) plots showing m⁶A methylated peaks for <i>HSPA1B</i> (<i>HSP70</i>) (<b>A</b>), <i>HSPB1</i> (<i>HSP27</i>) (<b>B</b>), <i>HSPA9</i> (<i>HSP70</i>) (<b>C</b>), <i>HSP90AA1</i> (<i>HSP90</i>) (<b>D</b>), <i>HSPD1</i> (<i>HSP60</i>) (<b>E</b>), <i>HSF1</i> (<b>F</b>) mRNA in HepG2 cells. Blue boxes represent exons and blue lines represent introns. <i>n</i> = 2.</p

Localization of YTHDF2 under heat shock.

<p>The majority of YTHDF2 resided in the cytosol in normal conditions, whereas nearly all YTHDF2 translocated into the nucleus from the cytosol under heat shock stress. <i>Scale bar</i> = 88 μm.</p

Experimental Study on the Droplet Size and Charge-to-Mass Ratio of an Air-Assisted Electrostatic Nozzle

An air-assisted electrostatic nozzle uses a combination of air-assisted atomization and electrostatic spray technology. This article optimizes the existing air-assisted electrostatic nozzles in terms of structural design to obtain a higher charge-to-mass ratio and a smaller droplet size. The optimized air-assisted electrostatic nozzle was studied experimentally, and the effects of liquid pressure, air pressure and applied voltage on the droplet size and charge-to-mass ratio were investigated. Comparing the effects of air pressure, liquid pressure and applied voltage on the charge-to-mass ratio and droplet size, the relationship curves of the droplet size and charge-to-mass ratio under each voltage were fitted using the Rayleigh charge limit theory. For a higher CMR during the spray operation, applied voltages between 2.5 kV and 3 kV, an air pressure between 0.4 bar and 0.6 bar, and a liquid pressure of less than 0.9 bar could be chosen. The optimized air-assisted electrostatic nozzles not only have small droplets but also have high charge-to-mass ratios, reducing the need for pesticide use and thus protecting human health and the environment

One-Dimensional Heterobimetallic Au/Ag Coordination Polymer Showing a Selective, Reversible, and Visible Vapor-Chromic Photoluminescent Response toward Methanol

A heterobimetallic coordination polymer [Au4(dppmt)4(AgCl)2]n (1) incorporating an in situ generated P–S ligand (dppmtH) was synthesized from the solvothermal reaction of Au(tht)Cl, AgCl, and dpppyatc in CH3CN/CH2Cl2 (dppmtH = (diphenylphosphino)methanethiol, tht = tetrahydrothiophene, dpppyatc = N,N-bis((diphenylphosphaneyl)methyl)-N-(pyridin-2-yl)-amino-thiocarbamide). The structure of 1 contains a one-dimensional helical Au–Au chain in which the unique [Au4Ag2S2] cluster units are connected by [Au2(dppmt)2] dimers. Upon excitation at 343 nm, 1 exhibited cyan (495 nm) phosphorescent emission at quantum yield (QY) = 22.3% and τ = 0.78 μs (λex = 375 nm). Coordination polymer 1 exhibited a rapid, selective, reversible, and visible vapor-chromic response on exposure to methanol (MeOH) vapor with its emission shifting to a more intense green (530 nm, λex = 388 nm) with QY = 46.8% and τ = 1.24 μs (λex = 375 nm). A polymethylmethacrylate film containing 1 served as a reversible chemical sensor for the sensitive detection of MeOH in air

Circadian Clock Regulation of Hepatic Lipid Metabolism by Modulation of m6A mRNA Methylation

Summary: Transcriptional regulation of circadian rhythms is essential for lipid metabolic homeostasis, disruptions of which can lead to metabolic diseases. Whether N6-methyladenosine (m6A) mRNA methylation impacts circadian regulation of lipid metabolism is unclear. Here, we show m6A mRNA methylation oscillations in murine liver depend upon a functional circadian clock. Hepatic deletion of Bmal1 increases m6A mRNA methylation, particularly of PPaRα. Inhibition of m6A methylation via knockdown of m6A methyltransferase METTL3 decreases PPaRα m6A abundance and increases PPaRα mRNA lifetime and expression, reducing lipid accumulation in cells in vitro. Mechanistically, YTHDF2 binds to PPaRα to mediate its mRNA stability to regulate lipid metabolism. Induction of reactive oxygen species both in vitro and in vivo increases PPaRα transcript m6A levels, revealing a possible mechanism for circadian disruption on m6A mRNA methylation. These data show that m6A RNA methylation is important for circadian regulation of downstream genes and lipid metabolism, impacting metabolic outcomes. : Zhong et al. reveal that hepatic Bmal1 deletion changes m6A mRNA methylation, particularly of PPaRα. METTL3 or YTHDF2 knockdown affects PPaRα transcription and translation, impacting downstream lipid metabolism. These findings further reveal the overlap between circadian gene network disruption, mRNA m6A modifications, and metabolic state. Keywords: circadian clock, Bmal1, hepatic, lipid metabolism, ROS, m6A RNA methylation, post-transcriptional regulation, METTL3, YTHDF2, PPaR