Infrared echo and late-stage rebrightening of nuclear transient PS1-10adi: exploring Torus by tidal disruption event in active galactic nuclei

Tidal disruption events (TDEs) in active galactic nuclei (AGNs) have been overlooked for a long time but tentatively been investigated recently. We report the discovery of a long-lasting luminous mid-infrared (mid-IR) flare in PS1-10adi, which is a newly-identified highly energetic transient event occurred in AGN. The IR luminosity of PS1-10adi, as well as other analogous events, are at least one order of magnitude higher than all known supernova, but can be well interpreted as the dust echoes of TDEs, whose ultra-high IR energy is reprocessed from the dusty torus around the black hole. The torus dust is sublimating during the early stage of the outburst and probably lead to the observed rapid emergence of Fe II lines. Moreover, the UV-optical rebrightening and contemporaneous X-ray onset after $\sim1500$ rest-frame days since the optical peak is also an intriguing feature of PS1-10adi, which could be attributed to the interaction between the high-velocity outflow and torus. We suggest that the luminous IR echo is a very typical phenomenon of TDEs in AGNs and may provide us an ideal opportunity to explore the torus properties.Comment: Accepted by ApJ, 1 table, 8 figure

The mechanism and scenarios of how mean annual runoff varies with climate change in Asian monsoon areas

National Natural Science Foundation of China 51279140；National Basic Research Program of China 2010CB428406/2012CB956204<p class="FR_field"> Understanding the effects of climate change on runoff is important for the sustainable management of water resources. However, the mechanism of such effects in the Asian monsoon region remains unclear. This study revisits Fu&#39;s two-parameter climate elasticity index and enhances it by using the Gardner function to strengthen the former&#39;s prediction reliability when the future climate condition is beyond the historical range. Then the improved method was applied to study the elasticity change with temperature and precipitation in the eastern monsoon basins of China, whereas to explore the mechanism of climate change on runoff. Furthermore, the runoff change and the elasticity of the study area from 2020 to 2050 under representative concentration pathways (RCPs) were predicted. Results show that the trend of elasticity change assumes a centrosymmetric picture with the symmetric point (0,0). Different catchments respond differently to the same climate change scenario: the sensitivity of the Haihe Basin is the highest; those of Yellow, Huaihe, Liaohe, Songhua, Pearl, Yangtze, and Southeast Rivers are lower, in descending order. The changing mode of precipitation and temperature differs greatly to keep the runoff unchanged. For semi-humid regions in which the mean annual temperature ranges from 0.71 degrees C to 9.0 degrees C, such as the basins of Songhua, Liaohe, Haihe, and Yellow, a 1 degrees C increase in temperature requires a corresponding 3.2-4.0% increase in precipitation to keep the runoff unchanged. However, in wet regions, such as the basins of Yangtze, Southeast Rivers, and Pearl, the same change in temperature requires a less than 2.8% increase in precipitation to keep the runoff unchanged. In the future, the runoff in most basins may decrease in different degrees. The decreasing velocity of the runoff is the fastest in the RCP8.5 scenario and the decreasing trend of the runoff slows down under the RCP4.5 and RCP2.6 scenarios. The proposed method can be applied to other basins to assess potential climate change effects on annual runoff. The results of the basins studies can inform planning of long-term basin water management strategies taking into account global change scenarios. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.</p

Osteocytic Connexin43 Channels Regulate Bone–Muscle Crosstalk

Bone&ndash;muscle crosstalk plays an important role in skeletal biomechanical function, the progression of numerous pathological conditions, and the modulation of local and distant cellular environments. Previous work has revealed that the deletion of connexin (Cx) 43 in osteoblasts, and consequently, osteocytes, indirectly compromises skeletal muscle formation and function. However, the respective roles of Cx43-formed gap junction channels (GJs) and hemichannels (HCs) in the bone&ndash;muscle crosstalk are poorly understood. To this end, we used two Cx43 osteocyte-specific transgenic mouse models expressing dominant negative mutants, &Delta;130&ndash;136 (GJs and HCs functions are inhibited), and R76W (only GJs function is blocked), to determine the effect of these two types of Cx43 channels on neighboring skeletal muscle. Blockage of osteocyte Cx43 GJs and HCs in &Delta;130&ndash;136 mice decreased fast-twitch muscle mass with reduced muscle protein synthesis and increased muscle protein degradation. Both R76W and &Delta;130&ndash;136 mice exhibited decreased muscle contractile force accompanied by a fast-to-slow fiber transition in typically fast-twitch muscles. In vitro results further showed that myotube formation of C2C12 myoblasts was inhibited after treatment with the primary osteocyte conditioned media (PO CM) from R76W and &Delta;130&ndash;136 mice. Additionally, prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) level was significantly reduced in both the circulation and PO CM of the transgenic mice. Interestingly, the injection of PGE2 to the transgenic mice rescued fast-twitch muscle mass and function; however, this had little effect on protein synthesis and degradation. These findings indicate a channel-specific response: inhibition of osteocytic Cx43 HCs decreases fast-twitch skeletal muscle mass alongside reduced protein synthesis and increased protein degradation. In contrast, blockage of Cx43 GJs results in decreased fast-twitch skeletal muscle contractile force and myogenesis, with PGE2 partially accounting for the measured differences

Structured mesh material with gradient surface wettability for high-power-density proton exchange membrane fuel cells

A compact cell structure is highly desirable for next-generation high-power-density proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cell (>9.0 kW L−1). A novel integrated bipolar plate (BP) – gas diffusion layer (GDL) structure utilizing porous material is a promising configuration, which not only improves output power due to the reduced transport resistance but also reduces cell thickness. Herein, we propose a structured mesh material with gradient surface wettability for this cell structure, which is characterized by an ordered skeleton in the three-dimensional (3D) space with high structure design flexibility. It is experimentally found that the structured mesh material shows higher performance than serpentine and parallel flow fields. Meanwhile, 3D modeling work on an automobile fuel cell (cell area: 245.76 cm2) with the distribution zones of dot matrix structure for hydrogen, air and coolant flow, is conducted, and it is found that the structured mesh material effectively decreases the concentration and electric ohmic losses in comparison with the traditional “BP/flow field + GDL” structure, improving power density with uniform distribution characteristics. Moreover, the gradient wettability on the mesh surface helps promote the water detach the GDL and hold the residual liquid water in the top region, optimizing the water management.</p

Exogenous Si Mitigates the Effects of Cinnamic-Acid-Induced Stress by Regulating Carbon Metabolism and Photosynthetic Pigments in Cucumber Seedlings

(1) Background: Cinnamic acid (CA) is a harmful substance secreted by the roots of continuous-cropping crops. (2) Methods: This study aimed to investigate how exogenous Si affects chlorophyll content and carbon metabolism in cucumber seedlings under CA-induced stress. (3) Results: The levels of chlorophyll a, chlorophyll b, chlorophyll a+b, and carotenoids were significantly reduced due to CA-induced stress. The addition of exogenous Si significantly alleviated this reduction. Under CA-induced stress, exogenous Si significantly increased the activities of ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase, glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase, fructose-1,6-bisphosphatase, fructose-1,6-bisphosphate aldolase, and transketolase. CA-induced stress significantly increased the fructose, glucose, and sucrose contents and reduced the starch content in the leaves and roots of seedlings. Similarly, the sucrose phosphate synthase, sucrose synthase, acid invertase, and neutral invertase activities were significantly reduced in plants under CA-induced stress. Overall, exogenous Si significantly reduced the soluble sugar content, increased the starch content, and promoted sucrose metabolism-related enzymatic activity in seedlings. (4) Conclusion: Exogenous Si can effectively increase the content of photosynthetic pigments in leaves of seedlings and maintain the balance of osmotic potential in the plant by reducing the accumulation of carbon assimilation products, which ultimately promotes tolerance to CA-induced autotoxicity stress