Exploring Spatial Variations in the Relationships between Landscape Functions and Human Activities in Suburban Rural Communities: A Case Study in Jiangning District, China

There is a complicated and contradictory relationship between landscape functions and human activities, especially in the suburban rural communities of metropolises. Previous studies focused on human interference to landscape function, ignoring the impact of landscape functions on human activities. Hence, the present study is focused on the impact of landscape function (based on ecosystem services) on human activities in suburban rural communities of China. The study evaluated the intensity of human activities based on big data; furthermore, the authors analyzed the spatial distribution characteristics through spatial autocorrelation, and probed into the spatial variations in the relationship between human activities and landscape functions using ordinary least squares (OLS) and geographically weighted regression (GWR) models. The result indicates that there are obvious spatial distribution differences in the intensity of human activities in suburban rural communities; that is, the intensity decreases from the inner to the outer suburban areas. Positive influencing factors of human activities are construction area, bus station, road network density, and leisure entertainment, among which, construction area is the principal driver; cultural heritage, hydrological regulation, and provision of aesthetics are negatively or positively correlated with human activities in various regions. The results offer insights for the sustainable development of rural environment in suburban areas and the big data-driven rural research

An Improved Grasshopper Optimizer for Global Tasks

The grasshopper optimization algorithm (GOA) is a metaheuristic algorithm that mathematically models and simulates the behavior of the grasshopper swarm. Based on its flexible, adaptive search system, the innovative algorithm has an excellent potential to resolve optimization problems. This paper introduces an enhanced GOA, which overcomes the deficiencies in convergence speed and precision of the initial GOA. The improved algorithm is named MOLGOA, which combines various optimization strategies. Firstly, a probabilistic mutation mechanism is introduced into the basic GOA, which makes full use of the strong searchability of Cauchy mutation and the diversity of genetic mutation. Then, the effective factors of grasshopper swarm are strengthened by an orthogonal learning mechanism to improve the convergence speed of the algorithm. Moreover, the application of probability in this paper greatly balances the advantages of each strategy and improves the comprehensive ability of the original GOA. Note that several representative benchmark functions are used to evaluate and validate the proposed MOLGOA. Experimental results demonstrate the superiority of MOLGOA over other well-known methods both on the unconstrained problems and constrained engineering design problems

Inhibition of ATM reverses EMT and decreases metastatic potential of cisplatin-resistant lung cancer cells through JAK/STAT3/PD-L1 pathway

Abstract Background The cisplatin-resistance is still a main course for chemotherapy failure of lung cancer patients. Cisplatin-resistant cancer cells own higher malignance and exhibited increased metastatic ability, but the mechanism is not clear. In this study, we investigated the effects of Ataxia Telangiectasia Mutated (ATM) on lung cancer metastasis. Materials and methods Cisplatin-resistant A549CisR and H157CisR cell line were generated by long-term treating parental A549 and H157 cells (A549P and H157P) with cisplatin. Cell growth, cell migration and cell invasion were determined. Gene expressions were determined by Western Blot and qPCR. Tumor metastasis was investigated using a xenograft mouse model. Results The IC50 of the cisplatin-resistant cells (A549CisR and H157CisR cells) to cisplatin was 6–8 higher than parental cells. The A549CisR and H157CisR cells expressed lower level of E-cadherin and higher levels of N-cadherin, Vimentin and Snail compared to the parental A549P and H157P cells, and exhibited stronger capabilities of metastatic potential compared to the parental cells. The ATM expression was upregulated in A549CisR and H157CisR cells and cisplatin treatment also upregulated expression of ATM in parental cells, The inhibition of ATM by using specific ATM inhibitor CP466722 or knock-down ATM by siRNA suppressed Epithelial-to-Mesenchymal transition (EMT) and metastatic potential of A549CisR and H157CisR cells. These data suggest that ATM mediates the cisplatin-resistance in lung cancer cells. Expressions of JAK1,2,、 STAT3 、PD-L1 and ATM were increased in A549CisR and H157CisR cells and could by induced by cisplatin in parental lung cancer cells. Interestedly, ATM upregulated PD-L1 expression via JAK1,2/STAT3 pathway and inhibition of ATM decreased JAK/STAT3 signaling and decreased PD-L1 expression. The treatment of PD-L1 neutralizing Ab reduced EMT and cell invasion. Inhibition of JAK1,2/STAT3 signaling by specific inhibitors suppressed ATM-induced PD-L1 expression, EMT and cell invasion. Importantly, inhibition of ATM suppressed EMT and tumor metastasis in cisplatin-resistant lung cancer cells in an orthotopic xenograft mouse model. Conclusions Our results show that ATM regulates PD-L1 expression through activation of JAK/STAT3 signaling in cisplatin-resistant cells. Overexpression of ATM contributes to cisplatin-resistance in lung cancer cells. Inhibition of ATM reversed EMT and inhibited cell invasion and tumor metastasis. Thus, ATM may be a potential target for the treatment of cisplatin-resistant lung cancer

Fractal dimension-based analysis of rockery contour morphological characteristics for Chinese classical gardens south of the Yangtze River

Based on the rockery photos of 10 classical gardens including world cultural heritage, this paper incorporates the combined analysis and comparison of constituent elements (rockeries, buildings and plants) of scenic surfaces, and probes into the fractal characteristics of landscaping through the theory and the fractal dimension (FD) value analysis software. Studies have shown that the quantitative evaluation data of visual complexity (FD, i.e., fractal dimension) can characterize the contour morphology of constituent elements of the scenic surface of rockeries. The relevant analysis results are as follows: (1) FD can directly quantify the morphological contour of each element. Through the statistical analysis, it can effectively avoid the misjudgment of empirical cognition and subjective feeling. Therefore, FD value can be used as one of the effective indexes to evaluate the complexity and diversity of rockery and landscape elements. (2) The change in the level of the FD value enables the intuitive analysis of the effects of the plant varieties and landscaping techniques on rockery morphological complexity. (3) Higher FD value is not always better. Necessary morphological maintenance is required to avoid excessive FD value of plants

Enhancing thermoelectric performance of n-type AgBi3S5 through synergistically optimizing the effective mass and carrier mobility

AgBi3S5 is a new n-type thermoelectric material that is environmentally friendly and composed of elements of earth-abundant, non-toxic and high performance-cost ratio. This compound features an intrinsically low thermal conductivity derived from its complex monoclinic structure. However, the terrible electrical transport properties greatly limited the improvement of thermoelectric performance. Most previous studies considered that carrier concentration is the main reason for low electrical conductivity and focused on improving carrier concentration by aliovalent ion doping. In this work, we found that the critical parameter that restricts the electric transport performance of AgBi3S5 was the extremely low carrier mobility instead of the carrier concentration. According to the Pisarenko relationships and density functional theory calculations, Nb doping can sharpen the conduction band of AgBi3S5, which contributes to reducing the effective mass and improving the carrier mobility. With a further increase of the Nb doping content, the conduction band convergence can enlarge the effective mass and preserve the carrier mobility. Combined with the decrease in lattice thermal conductivity due to the intensive phone scattering, a maximum ZT value of ∼0.50 at 773 K was achieved in Ag0.97Nb0.03Bi3S5, which was ∼109.6% higher than that of pure AgBi3S5. This work will stimulate the new exploration of high-performance thermoelectric materials in ternary metal sulfides

Two-stage study of lung cancer risk modification by a functional variant in the 3 '-untranslated region of SMAD5 based on the bone morphogenetic protein pathway

Increasing evidence supports a key role for the bone morphogenetic protein (BMP) signaling pathway in lung vasculogenesis and angiogenesis. Genetic variations in BMP genes have been found to be correlated with cancer risk. In particular, the mutation in the 3'-untranslated region of BMPs may significantly affect gene function, leading to cancer susceptibility. The aim of the present study was to determine whether genetic variations in the components of the BMP family are associated with lung cancer risk. A total of 314 tag single-nucleotide polymorphisms were identified in 18 genes, which are considered to either compose or regulate BMPs, and their association with lung cancer risk was evaluated in a two-stage case-control study with 4,680 cases and controls. A consistently significant association of SMAD5 rs12719482 with elevated lung cancer risk was observed in the three types of sources of populations (adjusted additive model in the combined population: Odds ratio=1.32, 95% confidence interval: 1.16-1.51). The lung cancer risk statistically significantly increased with the increasing number of variant alleles of SMAD5 rs12719482 in a dose-dependent pattern (P for trend=4.9×10-5). Consistent evidence was identified for a significant interaction between the rs12719482 and cigarette smoking, performed as either a continuous or discrete variable. These findings indicated that SMAD5 rs12719482 may be a possible candidate marker for susceptibility to lung cancer in the Chinese population.National Natural Science Foundation of China [81520108001, 81220108001, 81170052]; 973 Key Scheme of China [2015CB553406]; National Key Research and Development Project [2016YFC0903700]; Guangdong Province Universities and Colleges Pearl River Scholar Funded Scheme (2014); Guangdong Province Universities and Colleges Key Grant for Innovative Research [cxzd1142]; Guangzhou Municipal Research Project [201607020030]; Guangzhou Department of Education Innovative Team [13C08]; Guangzhou Department of Education Yangcheng Scholarship [12A001S]; Guangdong Natural Science Foundation [2016A030313593]; Guangzhou Municipal University Research Projects [1201430298]6 month embargo; published online: 6 November 2017This item from the UA Faculty Publications collection is made available by the University of Arizona with support from the University of Arizona Libraries. If you have questions, please contact us at [email protected]

Sodium Tanshinone IIA Sulfonate Decreases Cigarette Smoke-Induced Inflammation and Oxidative Stress via Blocking the Activation of MAPK/HIF-1α Signaling Pathway

Aberrant activation of hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF)-1α is frequently encountered and promotes oxidative stress and inflammation in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). The present study investigated whether sodium tanshinone IIA sulfonate (STS), a water-soluble derivative of tanshinone IIA, can mediate its effect through inhibiting HIF-1α–induced oxidative stress and inflammation in cigarette smoke (CS)-induced COPD in mice. Here, we found that STS improved pulmonary function, ameliorated emphysema and decreased the infiltration of inflammatory cells in the lungs of CS-exposed mice. STS reduced CS- and cigarette smoke extract (CSE)-induced upregulation of tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α and interleukin (IL)-1β in the lungs and macrophages. STS also inhibited CSE-induced reactive oxygen species (ROS) production, as well as the upregulation of heme oxygenase (HO)-1, NOX1 and matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-9 in macrophages. In addition, STS suppressed HIF-1α expression in vivo and in vitro, and pretreatment with HIF-1α siRNA reduced CSE-induced elevation of TNF-α, IL-1β, and HO-1 content in the macrophages. Moreover, we found that STS inhibited CSE-induced the phosphorylation of ERK, p38 MAPK and JNK in macrophages, and inhibition of these signaling molecules significantly repressed CSE-induced HIF-1α expression. It indicated that STS inhibits CSE-induced HIF-1α expression likely by blocking MAPK signaling. Furthermore, STS also promoted HIF-1α protein degradation in CSE-stimulated macrophages. Taken together, these results suggest that STS prevents COPD development possibly through the inhibition of HIF-1α signaling, and may be a novel strategy for the treatment of COPD