Animal resource exploitation in the northern Guanzhong region during the mid-to-late Holocene: A zooarchaeological case study of the Xitou site

Zooarchaeological approach has been effective in providing insights into human subsistence practices, which laid essential economic foundation for social, cultural, and political developments in the past. The Guanzhong region in northern China played a crucial role in the origins and evolution of ancient Chinese civilization. Previous research on subsistence economies of ancient societies in the Guanzhong region, human exploitation of animal resources in particular, has largely focused on the late Neolithic period or the Bronze Age. Insufficient work has been done for historical periods post-dating the end of the first millennium BCE. There is also a dearth of research on the long-term chronological changes. Here, we present a preliminary analysis of animal remains from the Nantou Locale of the Xitou site, a large settlement located in the northern Guanzhong region. Results show that pigs played a dominant role in the site’s animal economy during the Neolithic Yangshao and Longshan periods (ca. 5000–2000 BCE). The growing importance of cattle and caprines was documented for the Bronze Age Western Zhou period (ca. 11th-8th centuries BCE). In the Han-Tang periods (ca. second century BCE-tenth century CE), pigs regained their significance in local subsistence practices. Differences in the strategies for animal resource exploitation were possibly associated with changing social and environmental factors. Alongside other relevant archaeological evidence, our zooarchaeological data demonstrate the contribution of diversified animal use strategies to sustained development of subsistence economy in the northern Guanzhong region across millennia. The examination of long-term human-animal interactions in the Guanzhong region allows for a better understanding of changing economic, social, and political landscapes in ancient China

Spatio-temporal Markov chain model for very-short-term wind power forecasting

Wind power forecasting (WPF) is crucial in helping schedule and trade wind power generation at various spatial and temporal scales. With increasing number of wind farms over a region, research focus of WPF methods has been recently moved onto exploring spatial correlation among wind farms to benefit forecasting. In this study, a spatio-temporal Markov chain model is proposed for very-short-term WPF by extending the traditional discrete-time Markov chain and incorporating off-site reference information to improve forecasting accuracy of regional wind farms. Not only are the transitions between the power output states of the target wind farm itself considered in the forecasting model, but also the transitions from the output states of reference wind farms to that of the target wind farm are introduced. The forecasting results derived from multiple spatio-temporal Markov chains regarding different reference wind farms over the same region are optimally weighted using sparse optimisation to generate forecasts of the target wind farm. The proposed method is validated by comparing with both local and spatio-temporal WPF methods, using a real-world dataset

Genomic Characterization and High Prevalence of Bocaviruses in Swine

Using random PCR amplification followed by plasmid subcloning and DNA sequencing, we detected bocavirus related sequences in 9 out of 17 porcine stool samples. Using primer walking, we sequenced the nearly complete genomes of two highly divergent bocaviruses we provisionally named porcine bocavirus 1 isolate H18 (PBoV1-H18) and porcine bocavirus 2 isolate A6 (PBoV2-A6) which differed by 51.8% in their NS1 protein. Phylogenetic analysis indicated that PBoV1-H18 was very closely related to a ∼2 Kb central region of a porcine bocavirus-like virus (PBo-LikeV) from Sweden described in 2009. PBoV2-A6 was very closely related to the porcine bocavirus genomes PBoV-1 and PBoV2 from China described in 2010. Among 340 fecal samples collected from different age, asymptomatic swine in five Chinese provinces, the prevalence of PBoV1-H18 and PBoV2-A6 related viruses were 45–75% and 55–70% respectively, with 30–47% of pigs co-infected. PBoV1-A6 related strains were highly conserved, while PBoV2-H18 related strains were more diverse, grouping into two genotypes corresponding to the previously described PBoV1 and PBoV2. Together with the recently described partial bocavirus genomes labeled V6 and V7, a total of three major porcine bocavirus clades have therefore been described to date. Further studies will be required to elucidate the possible pathogenic impact of these diverse bocaviruses either alone or in combination with other porcine viruses

PANDORA-seq expands the repertoire of regulatory small RNAs by overcoming RNA modifications

Although high-throughput RNA sequencing (RNA-seq) has greatly advanced small non-coding RNA (sncRNA) discovery, the currently widely used complementary DNA library construction protocol generates biased sequencing results. This is partially due to RNA modifications that interfere with adapter ligation and reverse transcription processes, which prevent the detection of sncRNAs bearing these modifications. Here, we present PANDORA-seq (panoramic RNA display by overcoming RNA modification aborted sequencing), employing a combinatorial enzymatic treatment to remove key RNA modifications that block adapter ligation and reverse transcription. PANDORA-seq identified abundant modified sncRNAs—mostly transfer RNA-derived small RNAs (tsRNAs) and ribosomal RNA-derived small RNAs (rsRNAs)—that were previously undetected, exhibiting tissue-specific expression across mouse brain, liver, spleen and sperm, as well as cell-specific expression across embryonic stem cells (ESCs) and HeLa cells. Using PANDORA-seq, we revealed unprecedented landscapes of microRNA, tsRNA and rsRNA dynamics during the generation of induced pluripotent stem cells. Importantly, tsRNAs and rsRNAs that are downregulated during somatic cell reprogramming impact cellular translation in ESCs, suggesting a role in lineage differentiation

Internal and External Coordinated Open Innovation Ecosystems: Concept Building and Applying to Shanghai Zizhu International Education Park

In an environment marked with phenomena such as globalization and creation, open innovation is critical for universities to cooperate with external resources and meet the requirements of the era. To investigate open innovation ecosystem of higher education, we use secondary data and interviews to analysis interactive model of Zizhu International Education Park from both internal and external perspectives. The analysis result suggests that the open innovation ecosystem could have positive effects on the development of higher education. It can contribute to deepening the integration of production, teaching, and research; improve the efficiency of scientific research transformation; and use this part of the income to supplement school funding. While the university–industry collaborative relationship could also be a limiting factor for it

Contents of Heavy Metals in Typical Aquatic Products from a Market in Binzhou

To evaluate the levels of heavy metal pollution and risks in consumption of aquatic products from a market in Binzhou, the contents of Cu, Zn, Cd, Cr and Pb in the edible part of eight aquatic species such as Ctenopharyngodon idellus were determined by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. The results show that the levels of the five elements differed among different species of aquatic products. The ability of bivalves to accumulate heavy metals was significantly higher than that of fish. Compared with relevant food hygiene standards, there was a certain excess of Cr in Ruditapes philippinarum and Penaeus vannamei. The results of human exposure risk assessment show that the THQ values of the heavy metals in the eight aquatic species were all less than 1, indicating that the consumption of these aquatic products had no potential non-carcinogenic risks

Application of organic amendments to a coastal saline soil in north China: effects on soil physical and chemical properties and tree growth.

The ability of the following four organic amendments to ameliorate saline soil in coastal northern China was investigated from April 2010 to October 2012 in a field experiment: green waste compost (GWC), sedge peat (SP), furfural residue (FR), and a mixture of GWC, SP and FR (1∶1∶1 by volume) (GSF). Compared to a non-amended control (CK), the amendments, which were applied at 4.5 kg organic matter m(-3), dramatically promoted plant growth; improved soil structure; increased the cation exchange capacity (CEC), organic carbon, and available nutrients; and reduced the salt content, electrical conductivity (EC), and exchangeable sodium percentage (ESP). At the end of the experiment in soil amended with GSF, bulk density, EC, and ESP had decreased by 11, 87, and 71%, respectively, and total porosity and organic carbon had increased by 25 and 96% respectively, relative to the CK. The GSF treatment resulted in a significantly lower Na(+)+K(+) content than the other treatments. CEC and the contents of available N, P, and K were significantly higher in the GSF-treated soil than in the CK and were the highest in all treatments. The FR treatment resulted in the lowest pH value and Ca(2+) concentration, which decreased by 8% and 39%, respectively, relative to the CK. Overall, the results indicate that a combination of green waste compost, sedge peat and furfural residue (GSF treatment) has substantial potential for ameliorating saline soils in the coastal areas of northern China, and it works better than each amendment alone. Utilization of GWC and FR can be an alternative organic amendment to substitute the nonrenewable SP in saline soil amelioration

Antinociceptive effects of rotigotine-loaded microspheres and its synergistic interactions with analgesics in inflammatory pain in rats

Rotigotine-loaded microspheres (RoMS) are sustained-release formulations with prolonged anti-Parkinson's effects. Given that pain is a non-motor symptom of Parkinson's disease, this study investigated the antinociceptive effects of RoMS and their synergistic effects with analgesics on inflammatory pain. A model of inflammatory pain was prepared by intraplantarly injecting male Sprague-Dawley rats with carrageenan. The antinociceptive effects of RoMS, acetaminophen, and tramadol, both alone and in combination, were evaluated using the hind paw withdrawal latency in the hot plate test and Randall–Selitto test. The rotigotine concentrations in serum and tissues were assayed using ultra-performance liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry. Isobolographic analysis was performed to evaluate the nature of the interactions of RoMS with acetaminophen or tramadol. The results showed that hind paw withdrawal latency to thermal and mechanical stimuli was significantly increased on day 3 and 7 after administered RoMS. Rotigotine could be detected in serum and tissues 3 and 7 days after an intramuscular injection of RoMS. However, the rotigotine concentration fell the detection limit of the assay on day 14 after administration. RoMS produced synergistic antinociceptive effects in the inflammatory pain model when RoMS is combined with acetaminophen or tramadol. These findings suggest that RoMS can relieve inflammatory pain in rats. Furthermore, the combination of RoMS with acetaminophen or tramadol produces synergistic antinociception, which may be clinically worthy because combination therapies may reduce the drug doses required for antinociception.[Display omitted]•RoMS exhibits antinociceptive effect.•Analgesic effect of RoMS is related to rotigotine concentrations.•Combination of RoMS with analgesics produces a synergistic analgesic effect

Effects of temperature on Rb and 129Xe spin polarization in a nuclear magnetic resonance gyroscope with low pump power

We propose an average Rb polarization model to analyze the influence of temperature on the spin polarization of Rb and 129Xe in a Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Gyroscope (NMRG) with low pump power. This model is essentially based on summing the Rb spin polarization along the direction of the pump beam and dividing the result by the cell length. We experimentally study the spin polarization of Rb and 129Xe atoms as a function of the cell temperature at low values of the pump power. The experimental results and the values calculated with the average Rb polarization model are in good agreement for both Rb and 129Xe. The spin polarization of Rb atoms decreases with increasing cell temperature, with a decreasing trend which is rapid at temperatures below 110 °C, and slower at temperatures above 110 °C. The experimental values of the 129Xe polarization, obtained with a pump power of 1 mW, first increase to a maximum P  129Xe−ave = 0.66 % at 118 °C, and then decreases as the temperature increases. Increasing the power of the pump beam shifts the temperature maximum to a higher value. Our model is suitable for the analysis of Rb and 129Xe polarization at high temperature and low pump power, i.e. when the power of the pump beam is completely absorbed within a few millimeters of the front window of the cell. Therefore, the present model can provide theoretical support for the improvement of the Signal-to-Noise-Ratio (SNR) of the NMRG, and to determine its optimal working temperature