River hydraulic modeling with ICESat-2 land and water surface elevation

Advances in geodetic altimetry instruments are providing more accurate measurements, thus enabling satellite missions to produce useful data for narrow rivers and streams. Altimetry missions produce spatially dense land and water surface elevation (WSE) measurements in remote areas where in situ data are scarce that can be combined with hydraulic and/or hydrodynamic models to simulate WSE and estimate discharge. In this study, we combine ICESat-2 (Ice, Cloud and land Elevation Satellite) land and water surface elevation measurements with a low-parameterized hydraulic calibration to simulate WSE and discharge without the need for surveyed cross-sectional geometry and a rainfall–runoff model. ICESat-2 provides an opportunity to map river cross-sectional geometry very accurately, with an along-track resolution of 0.7 m, using the ATL03 product. These measurements are combined with the inland water product ATL13 to calibrate a steady-state hydraulic model to retrieve unobserved hydraulic parameters such as river depth or the roughness coefficient. The low-parameterized model, together with the assumption of steady-state hydraulics, enables the application of a global search algorithm for a spatially uniform parameter calibration at a manageable computational cost. The model performance is similar to that reported for highly parameterized models, with a root mean square error (RMSE) of around 0.41 m. With the calibrated model, we can calculate the WSE time series at any chainage point at any time for an available satellite pass within the river reach and estimate discharge from WSE. The discharge estimates are validated with in situ measurements at two available gauging stations. In addition, we use the calibrated parameters in a full hydrodynamic model simulation, resulting in a RMSE of 0.59 m for the entire observation period.</p

The anaphase promoting complex impacts repair choice by protecting ubiquitin signalling at DNA damage sites

Double-strand breaks (DSBs) are repaired through two major pathways, homology-directed recombination (HDR) and non-homologous end joining (NHEJ). While HDR can only occur in S/G2, NHEJ can happen in all cell cycle phases (except mitosis). How then is the repair choice made in S/G2 cells? Here we provide evidence demonstrating that APCCdh1 plays a critical role in choosing the repair pathways in S/G2 cells. Our results suggest that the default for all DSBs is to recruit 53BP1 and RIF1. BRCA1 is blocked from being recruited to broken ends because its recruitment signal, K63-linked poly-ubiquitin chains on histones, is actively destroyed by the deubiquitinating enzyme USP1. We show that the removal of USP1 depends on APCCdh1 and requires Chk1 activation known to be catalysed by ssDNA-RPA-ATR signalling at the ends designated for HDR, linking the status of end processing to RIF1 or BRCA1 recruitment.We thank S.-Y. Lin (MD Anderson Cancer Center) for cell lines; J. Rosen (Baylor College of Medicine) for reagents; H. Masai (Tokyo Metropolitan Institute of Medical Science) for U2OS-Fucci cell line; D. Durocher (University of Toronto) for HeLa-Fucci cell line; E. Citterio (Netherlands Cancer Institute) for GFP-USP3 construct; M.S.Y. Huen (The University of Hong Kong) for RNF168 antibody. This work was performed with facilities and instruments in the Imaging Core of National Center for Protein Science (Beijing), the Cytometry and Cell Sorting Core at Baylor College of Medicine with funding from the NIH (P30 AI036211, P30 CA125123 and S10 RR024574), the Integrated Microscopy Core at Baylor College of Medicine with funding from the NIH (HD007495, DK56338 and CA125123), and the John S. Dunn Gulf Coast Consortium for Chemical Genomics. We also thank other members of the Zhang lab for helpful discussion and support. This work was supported in part by an international collaboration grant (# 2013DFB30210) and a 973 Project grant (# 2013CB910300) from Chinese Minister of Science and Technology, in part by a Chinese National Natural Science Foundation grant (# 81171920), in part by a grant from The Committee of Science and Technology of Beijing Municipality, China (# Z141100000214015), and in part by NIH grants CA116097 and CA122623 to P.Z. J.J. is supported by grants from National Institutes of Health (R01GM102529) and the Welch Foundation (AU-1711). S.H. is supported by grants (# 81272488 and 81472795) from Chinese National Natural Science Foundation. Y.Z. is supported by grants from the National Natural Scientific Foundation of China (No. 81430055), Programs for Changjiang Scholars and Innovative Research Team in University (No. IRT_15R13).S

A New Nonparametric Filled Function Method for Integer Programming Problems with Constraints

In this paper, we investigate and develop a new filled function method for solving integer programming problems with constraints. By adopting the appropriate equivalent transformation method, these problems are transformed into a class of box-constrained integer programming problems. Then, an effective nonparametric filled function is constructed, and a new global optimization algorithm is designed using the discrete steepest descent method. Numerical experiments illustrate that this algorithm has effectiveness, feasibility, and better global optimization ability

A Relaxed and Bound Algorithm Based on Auxiliary Variables for Quadratically Constrained Quadratic Programming Problem

Quadratically constrained quadratic programs (QCQP), which often appear in engineering practice and management science, and other fields, are investigated in this paper. By introducing appropriate auxiliary variables, QCQP can be transformed into its equivalent problem (EP) with non-linear equality constraints. After these equality constraints are relaxed, a series of linear relaxation subproblems with auxiliary variables and bound constraints are generated, which can determine the effective lower bound of the global optimal value of QCQP. To enhance the compactness of sub-rectangles and improve the ability to remove sub-rectangles, two rectangle-reduction strategies are employed. Besides, two ϵ-subproblem deletion rules are introduced to improve the convergence speed of the algorithm. Therefore, a relaxation and bound algorithm based on auxiliary variables are proposed to solve QCQP. Numerical experiments show that this algorithm is effective and feasible

Wartość prognostyczna współczynnika płytki krwi/limfocyty w ostrym zespole wieńcowym: przegląd systematyczny z metaanalizą

Background and aim: The aim of this study was to investigate whether the platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR) is an independent predictor of all-cause mortality and cardiovascular (CV) events in patients with acute coronary syndrome (ACS). Methods: PubMed, Embase, and the Cochrane Library were searched for relevant cohort studies regarding the association between PLR and outcomes of patients with ACS. Either a random- or a fixed-effect model was used for pooling data. Results: Eight studies involving 6627 patients with ACS were included. The cut-off PLR value for defining risk groups was 150, and patients were assigned to the low (≤ 150) or high (&gt; 150) PLR groups. The pooled relative risk (RR) values of in-hospital and long-term mortality were 2.15 (95% CI [confidence interval] 1.73–2.67; p &lt; 0.00001) and 2.27 (95% CI 1.35–3.80; p = 0.002), respectively, comparing the high and the low PLR groups. Compared with the low PLR group, the high PLR group had a significantly increased risk of in-hospital (RR 1.95; 95% CI 1.30–2.91; p = 0.001) and long-term (RR 1.50; 95% CI 1.08–2.09; p = 0.01) major adverse CV events. Conclusions: Elevated PLR was found to be a predictor of all-cause mortality and CV events.Wstęp i cel: Badanie przeprowadzono w celu ustalenia, czy współczynnik płytki krwi/limfocyty (PLR) jest niezależnym czynnikiem predykcyjnym śmiertelności całkowitej i zdarzeń sercowo-naczyniowych u chorych z ostrym zespołem wieńcowym (ACS). Metody: Przeszukano bazy danych PubMed, Embase i Cochrane Library w celu pozyskania odpowiednich badań kohortowych zawierających informacje dotyczące związku między PLR a punktami końcowymi u pacjentów z ACS. Do analizy połączonych danych użyto modelu z efektami losowymi lub z efektami stałymi. Wyniki: Do metaanalizy włączono 8 badań obejmujących 6627 osób z ACS. Wartość progowa PLR przyjęta na potrzeby definiowania ryzyka wynosiła 150, a chorych przydzielano do grupy niskiego (≤ 150) lub wysokiego (&gt; 150) PLR. Oszacowane w analizie łączonych danych ryzyko względne (RR) zgonu wewnątrzszpitalnego i zgonu w perspektywie długoterminowej (porównanie grup z wysokimi i niskimi wartościami PLR) wynosiło odpowiednio 2,15 (95% przedział ufności [CI] 1,73–2,67; p &lt; 0,00001) i 2,27 (95% CI 1,35–3,80; p = 0,002). W porównaniu z grupą niskich wartości PLR, osoby z wysokimi wartościami PLR charakteryzowały się istotnie wyższym ryzykiem zgonu wewnątrzszpitalnego (RR 1,95; 95% CI 1,30–2,91; p = 0,001) i wyższym ryzykiem długookresowym poważnych niepożądanych zdarzeń sercowo-naczyniowych (RR 1,50; 95% CI 1,08–2,09; p = 0,01). Wnioski: Stwierdzono, że podwyższona wartość PLR jest czynnikiem predykcyjnym śmiertelności całkowitej i zdarzeń sercowo-naczyniowych

Impact of multi-hole-wall air coupling with air-staged technology on H2S evolution during pulverized coal combustion

The multi-hole-wall air coupling with air-staged technology (MH&AS) was developed for pulverized coal combustion to affect a simultaneous realization of multiple benefits, including prevention of high-temperature corrosion, highly efficient burning of pulverized coal, and low NOx emissions. In this work, the impact of MH&AS on H2S evolution under different conditions was investigated by applying a laboratory-scale MH&AS furnace to test its feasibility for preventing high-temperature corrosion. Some important inclusions were obtained: (i) the lack of multi-hole-wall air for Daheng (DH) coal combustion resulted in H2S concentration exceeding the critical value (namely, 100 ppm) causing high-temperature corrosion, but H2S near the wall could be completely eliminated with a multi-hole-wall air ratio (αm) of 0.1; (ii) the higher the pyrite content of the coal sample was or the smaller the particle size, the larger the H2S concentration near the wall; (iii) the four reactions leading to H2S formation were validated by Gibbs free energy and chemical equilibrium constant calculations. This study affirms the efficiency of MH&AS in mitigating the high-temperature associated with air-staged combustion

In Vitro Inhibition of Acetylcholinesterase, Alphaglucosidase, and Xanthine Oxidase by Bacteria Extracts from Coral Reef in Hainan, South China Sea

Acetylcholinesterase is one of the most important enzymes in living organisms, which is responsible for the synapse cholinergic and other nervous processes. However, its inhibiting effects have proven to have pharmacological applications in the treatment of different diseases, as well as in the control of insect pests; thus, the search for inhibitors is a matter of interest for biomedical and agrochemical fields. Alzheimer’s is a progressive neurodegenerative disease, which can be seen as a wide degeneration of synapses, as well as neurons, in the cerebral cortex, hippocampus, and subcortical structures. Acetylcholinesterase inhibition is an important target for the management of Alzheimer’s. Additionally, diabetes mellitus is a chronic disease with clinical manifestation of hyperglycemia, due to the ineffective production of insulin that controls the level of blood glucose. Alphaglucosidaseinhibitors could retard the uptake of dietary carbohydrates and have shown significant therapeutic effects in clinical application. Fifty-five ethyl acetate extracts from nine bacterial families from Hainan (China) were evaluated to observe their acetylcholinesterase, alphaglucosidase, and xanthine oxidase inhibitory activity. Moreover, a screening of inhibitory activity against the pathogens fungi Fusarium oxysporum and Colletotrichum gloeosporioides was performed. The best acetylcholinesterase and alphaglucosidase inhibitory activity was shown by Vibrio neocaledonicus (98.95%). This is the first report of inhibition of both enzymes by ethyl acetate extract from this strain

Enhancement of micropollutant biotransformation by adding manganese sand in constructed wetlands

Recent investigations have shown that the addition of manganese (Mn) sand to constructed wetlands (i.e., Mn-amended CWs) can improve the performance of organic micropollutants (MPs) removal. In addition to the direct oxidation and adsorption of Mn oxides, the indirect role of Mn oxides in MP biotransformation is crucial to the removal of MPs but has seldom been referred to. Herein, we constructed lab-scale CWs with or without the addition of natural Mn sand (∼35% Mn oxides) to decipher the influence of Mn oxides on the biotransformation of the six selected MPs which commonly existed in the wastewater. The experimental results showed that the addition of Mn sand to CWs can improve the removal of MPs (8.48% atrazine, 13.16% atenolol, and 6.27% sulfamethoxazole [pairwise Wilcoxon test p < 0.05]). Combining the detection of transformation products and metagenomic sequencing, we found that the enhanced removal of atrazine in the Mn-amended CWs was mainly due to the bioaugmented hydroxylation process. The enrichment of biotransformation-related genes and associated microbes of atenolol and sulfamethoxazole in Mn-amended CWs indicated that the addition of Mn sand to CWs can strengthen the biotransformation of MPs. Furthermore, we found that these MP-biodegrading microbes were widely present in the full-scale CWs. Overall, our research provides fundamental information and insights for further application of Mn-amended CWs in MP removal