Una aproximación a la ciudad desde la mirada del espectador. Una propuesta gráfica

[EN] Graffiti, those drawings or anonymous writings that sit on the walls of some public places reflect the popular ideology of the moment, tell stories that inspire and involve the viewer with the environment. But how does the viewer relate to graffiti? In my case, they have deceived me to the point that, one of them, they have become the image that is the guiding thread in my graphic proposal. The project focuses on the making of a book and an animated short film, where a black cat, who is one of the protagonists of the murals of the Carmen neighborhood, becomes the main character in the story. The project arises from the tours made by the aforementioned neighborhood of the city of Valencia. The work done has led me to reflect on the city that for a year has become "my city".[ES] Los graffitis, esos dibujos o escritos anónimos que situados en los muros de algunos lugares públicos reflejan la ideología popular del momento, cuentan historias que inspiran e involucran al espectador con el entorno. Pero, ¿cómo se relaciona el espectador con los graffitis?. En mi caso me han ido embaucando hasta el punto de que, uno de ellos se ha convertido en la imagen que hace de hilo conductor en mi propuesta gráfica. El proyecto se centra, en la realización de un libro y un cortometraje de animación, donde un gato negro, que es uno de los protagonistas de los murales del barrio del Carmen, se convierte en el personaje principal de la historia. El proyecto surge a partir de los recorridos realizados por el mencionado barrio de la ciudad de Valencia. El trabajo realizado, me ha llevado a reflexionar sobre la ciudad que durante un año se ha convertido en “mi ciudad”.Wu, L. (2017). Una aproximación a la ciudad desde la mirada del espectador. Una propuesta gráfica. Universitat Politècnica de València. http://hdl.handle.net/10251/165548TFG

Reconstruction of the Hirnantian (Late Ordovician) Palaeotopography in the Upper Yangtze Region

Reconstruction of the Hirnantian (Late Ordovician) palaeotopography in South China is important for understanding the distribution pattern of the Hirnantian marine depositional environment. In this study, we reconstructed the Hirnantian palaeotopography in the Upper Yangtze region based on the rankings of the palaeo-water depths, which were inferred according to the lithofacies and biofacies characteristics of the sections. Data from 374 Hirnantian sections were collected and standardized through the online Geobiodiversity Database. The Ordinary Kriging interpolation method in the ArcGIS software was applied to create the continuous surface of the palaeo-water depths, i.e. the Hirnantian palaeotopography. Meanwhile, the line transect analysis was used to further observe the terrain changes along two given directions. The reconstructed palaeotopographic map shows a relatively flat and shallow epicontinental sea with three local depressions and a submarine high on the Upper Yangtze region during the Hirnantian. The water depth is mostly less than 60 m and the Yangtze Sea gradually deepens towards the north

Impacts of sea-land and mountain-valley circulations on the air pollution in Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei (BTH): A case study

In the study, observational data analyses and the WRF-CHEM model simulations are used to investigate the role of sea-land and mountain-valley breeze circulations in a severe air pollution event occurred in Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei (BTH) during August 9-10, 2013. Both the wind observations and the model simulations have clearly indicated the evolution of the sea-land and mountain-valley breeze circulations during the event. The WRF-CHEM model generally reproduces the local meteorological circulations and also performs well in simulating temporal variations and spatial distributions of fine particulate matters (PM2.5) and ozone (O-3) concentrations compared to observations in BTH. The model results have shown that the offshore land breeze transports the pollutants formed in Shandong province to the Bohai Gulf in the morning, causing the formation of high O-3 and PM2.5 concentrations over the gulf. The onshore sea breeze not only causes the formation of a convergence zone to induce upward movement, mitigating the surface pollution to some degree, also recirculates the pollutants over the gulf to deteriorate the air quality in the coastal area. The upward valley breeze brings the pollutants in the urban area of Beijing to the mountain area in the afternoon, and the downward mountain breeze transports the pollutants back during nighttime. The intensity of the mountain-valley breeze circulation is weak compared to the land-sea breeze circulation in BTH. It is worth noting that the local circulations play an important role when the large-scale meteorological conditions are relatively weak. (C) 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved

TOD typologies for metro stations based on the butterfly model

As a promising planning strategy for urban sustainability, transit-oriented development (TOD) has been widely encouraged and adopted to integrate land use and transport systems. Because of the different applications in form, function and impact, it is necessary to explore context-based TOD typologies to better map the TOD specificities and focus on strategic planning. As the best-known method, the node-place model provides a useful analytical framework to evaluate TOD typologies. However, by using two indexes to aggregate the node and place value, details of some important TOD characteristics are disregarded in this model. Proposing a multi-axial indexes system, the butterfly model can perform a more detailed evaluation of node and place. In this research, we have revised and optimized the butterfly model and taken Tianjin Metro Line 1 as a case study. We find that all stations can be divided into five TOD types with significant spatial variations. TOD principles have already been implemented in Tianjin with good integration between metro system and land use. The method demonstrated in this paper equips urban planners with a useful tool for evaluating TOD performance and adopting more targeted strategies

Technology transfer in clean development mechanism (CDM) projects: lessons from China

China has become the largest host country of Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) in the world. This article provides an assessment of international technology transfer (TT) based on 500 registered Chinese CDM projects. It reveals that the projects hosted by large state-owned enterprises (SOEs), not Hydro and Wind projects, with foreign consultants or developers, commonly involve TT. Projects located in the comparatively developed regions such as Eastern China are more likely to involve TT. The findings indicate that the mitigation potential of non-SOEs, energy efficiency (EE) and other projects, has not been fully explored in China, which can be facilitated using advanced mitigation technologies

Effectiveness Study of Moxibustion on Pain Relief in Primary Dysmenorrhea: Study Protocol of a Randomized Controlled Trial

Dysmenorrhea is a prevalent problem in menstruating women. As a nonpharmacologic and free of relevant side effects intervention, moxibustion is considered as a safe treatment and has long been recommended for dysmenorrhea in China. However, the exact effects of moxibustion in PD have not been fully understood. Therefore we designed this random clinical trial aiming to (1) investigate whether moxibustion is safe and effective for pain relief in primary dysmenorrhea when compared to conventional pain-killers and (2) assess the acceptability and side effects associated with moxibustion. The results of this trial will contribute to a better understanding of the different effects of moxibustion in pain relief in primary dysmenorrhea when compared to conventional pharmacologic pain treatment

Genomic analysis of oesophageal squamous-cell carcinoma identifies alcohol drinking-related mutation signature and genomic alterations

Approximately half of the world's 500,000 new oesophageal squamous-cell carcinoma (ESCC) cases each year occur in China. Here, we show whole-genome sequencing of DNA and RNA in 94 Chinese individuals with ESCC. We identify six mutational signatures (E1–E6), and Signature E4 is unique in ESCC linked to alcohol intake and genetic variants in alcohol-metabolizing enzymes. We discover significantly recurrent mutations in 20 protein-coding genes, 4 long non-coding RNAs and 10 untranslational regions. Functional analyses show six genes that have recurrent copy-number variants in three squamous-cell carcinomas (oesophageal, head and neck and lung) significantly promote cancer cell proliferation, migration and invasion. The most frequently affected genes by structural variation are LRP1B and TTC28. The aberrant cell cycle and PI3K-AKT pathways seem critical in ESCC. These results establish a comprehensive genomic landscape of ESCC and provide potential targets for precision treatment and prevention of the cancer

Risk factors and the value of microbiological examinations of COVID-19 associated pulmonary aspergillosis in critically ill patients in intensive care unit: the appropriate microbiological examinations are crucial for the timely diagnosis of CAPA

IntroductionDuring the Omicron pandemic in China, a significant proportion of patients with Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) associated pulmonary aspergillosis (CAPA) necessitated admission to intensive care unit (ICU) and experienced a high mortality. To explore the clinical risk factors and the application/indication of microbiological examinations of CAPA in ICU for timely diagnosis are very important.MethodsThis prospective study included patients with COVID-19 admitted to ICU between December 1, 2022, and February 28, 2023. The clinical data of influenza-associated pulmonary aspergillosis (IAPA) patients from the past five consecutive influenza seasons (November 1, 2017, to March 31, 2022) were collected for comparison. The types of specimens and methods used for microbiological examinations were also recorded to explore the efficacy in early diagnosis.ResultsAmong 123 COVID-19 patients, 36 (29.3%) were diagnosed with probable CAPA. CAPA patients were more immunosuppressed, in more serious condition, required more advanced respiratory support and had more other organ comorbidities. Solid organ transplantation, APACHEII score ≥20 points, 5 points ≤SOFA score <10 points were independent risk factors for CAPA. Qualified lower respiratory tract specimens were obtained from all patients, and 84/123 (68.3%) patients underwent bronchoscopy to obtain bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) specimens. All patients’ lower respiratory tract specimens underwent fungal smear and culture; 79/123 (64.2%) and 69/123 (56.1%) patients underwent BALF galactomannan (GM) and serum GM detection, respectively; metagenomic next-generation sequencing (mNGS) of the BALF was performed in 62/123 (50.4%) patients. BALF GM had the highest diagnostic sensitivity (84.9%), the area under the curve of the mNGS were the highest (0.812).ConclusionThe incidence of CAPA was extremely high in patients admitted to the ICU. CAPA diagnosis mainly depends on microbiological evidence owing to non-specific clinical manifestations, routine laboratory examinations, and CT findings. The bronchoscopy should be performed and the BALF should be obtained as soon as possible. BALF GM are the most suitable microbiological examinations for the diagnosis of CAPA. Due to the timely and accuracy result of mNGS, it could assist in early diagnosis and might be an option in critically ill CAPA patients

Antibiotics and antibiotic resistance genes in global lakes:A review and meta-analysis

Lakes are an important source of freshwater, containing nearly 90% of the liquid surface fresh water worldwide. Long retention times in lakes mean pollutants from discharges slowly circulate around the lakes and may lead to high ecological risk for ecosystem and human health. In recent decades, antibiotics and antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) have been regarded as emerging pollutants. The occurrence and distribution of antibiotics and ARGs in global freshwater lakes are summarized to show the pollution level of antibiotics and ARGs and to identify some of the potential risks to ecosystem and human health. Fifty-seven antibiotics were reported at least once in the studied lakes. Our meta-analysis shows that sulfamethoxazole, sulfamerazine, sulfameter, tetracycline, oxytetracycline, erythromycin, and roxithromycin were found at high concentrations in both lake water and lake sediment. There is no significant difference in the concentration of sulfonamides in lake water from China and that from other countries worldwide; however, there was a significant difference in quinolones. Erythromycin had the lowest predicted hazardous concentration for 5% of the species (HC5) and the highest ecological risk in lakes. There was no significant difference in the concentration of sulfonamide resistance genes (sul1 and sul2) in lake water and river water. There is surprisingly limited research on the role of aquatic biota in propagation of ARGs in freshwater lakes. As an environment that is susceptible to cumulative build-up of pollutants, lakes provide an important environment to study the fate of antibiotics and transport of ARGs with a broad range of niches including bacterial community, aquatic plants and animals

Sequence of a complete chicken BG haplotype shows dynamic expansion and contraction of two gene lineages with particular expression patterns.

Many genes important in immunity are found as multigene families. The butyrophilin genes are members of the B7 family, playing diverse roles in co-regulation and perhaps in antigen presentation. In humans, a fixed number of butyrophilin genes are found in and around the major histocompatibility complex (MHC), and show striking association with particular autoimmune diseases. In chickens, BG genes encode homologues with somewhat different domain organisation. Only a few BG genes have been characterised, one involved in actin-myosin interaction in the intestinal brush border, and another implicated in resistance to viral diseases. We characterise all BG genes in B12 chickens, finding a multigene family organised as tandem repeats in the BG region outside the MHC, a single gene in the MHC (the BF-BL region), and another single gene on a different chromosome. There is a precise cell and tissue expression for each gene, but overall there are two kinds, those expressed by haemopoietic cells and those expressed in tissues (presumably non-haemopoietic cells), correlating with two different kinds of promoters and 5' untranslated regions (5'UTR). However, the multigene family in the BG region contains many hybrid genes, suggesting recombination and/or deletion as major evolutionary forces. We identify BG genes in the chicken whole genome shotgun sequence, as well as by comparison to other haplotypes by fibre fluorescence in situ hybridisation, confirming dynamic expansion and contraction within the BG region. Thus, the BG genes in chickens are undergoing much more rapid evolution compared to their homologues in mammals, for reasons yet to be understood.This is the final published version. It was originally published by PLOS in PLOS Genetics here: http://www.plosgenetics.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pgen.1004417