Reference Evapotranspiration Changes in the Haihe River Basin during Past 50 Years

AbstractIn this paper, temporal trend of annual reference evapotranspiration (ET0) calculated using the FAO Penman-Monteith equation with the observed daily meteorological data at six stations (i.e. Datong, Weichang, Qinhuangdao, Tianjin, Beijing and Huimin) of Haihe River Basin, China, were detected with the help of parametric t-test and Mann-Kendall (MK) analysis. The six stations were divided in three different classes representing mountain (Datong and Weichang), continental (Beijing and Huimin) and coastal areas (Qinhuangdao and Tianjin), respectively. The result shows that there was a significant upward trend in ET0 at mountain area of the Haihe River Basin. On the contrary, a significant downward trend in ET0 can be found at coastal area. Moreover, the analyses of ET0 at continental area indicate that after 1960, ET0 of Beijing showed a sharp significant increase, while a moderate variation was presented for ET0 at Huimin

Transport Contaminant in Flowing Water for Improving Water Quality

Clean freshwater is fundamental to sustain human activities and the aquatic life. However, cities, industries, and agriculture wastes deteriorate water quality. For example, released fertilizer induces excess algal growth. This leads to major ecological problems such as eutrophication of freshwater ecosystems which has not only a great environmental cost impact, but can also affect the health and sustenance living of the people. This project investigates the transport of nitrate, a major plant fertilizer, in flowing freshwater. Streams and rivers can transform nitrate, thus mitigating its impact. Most of the biogeochemical reactions involved in nitrate removal take place where microorganisms usually thrive, at the sediment or water interfaces. We propose to study how the riverbed sediment influences nitrate transport and transformation. At Notre Dame University, our group conducted tracer experiments in artificial streams at the Linked Ecosystem Experimental Facility (LEEF). The experiment was conducted by co-injecting a conservative tracer (NaCl) and a nitrate salt (KNO3) and measuring their concentration over time at a downstream station. The data shows how their behavior differs as a function of time. Because water flowing through the sediment is much slower than the surface flow, we can make a space for time substitution and attribute longer timescales to travel in the hyporheic zone. As a result, we can attribute reaction rates to specific reactive zones in the stream. Our results show that benthic and hyporheic nitrate uptakes were reflected in the shape of the nitrate breakthrough curves. The benthic zone induced an exponentially decreasing nitrate signal at early times, while the hyporheic uptake was reflected by the truncation of the late time power law tail. We suggest that our analysis should be useful to scientists and managers alike, as we provide a new, spatially explicit, understanding of nitrate fate in flowing systems

The Modulatory Properties of Li-Ru-Kang Treatment on Hyperplasia of Mammary Glands Using an Integrated Approach

Background: Li-Ru-Kang (LRK) has been used in the treatment of hyperplasia of mammary glands (HMG) for several decades and can effectively improve clinical symptoms. This study aims to investigate the mechanism by which LRK intervenes in HMG based on an integrated approach that combines metabolomics and network pharmacology analyses.Methods: The effects of LRK on HMG induced by estrogen-progesterone in rats were evaluated by analyzing the morphological and pathological characteristics of breast tissues. Moreover, UPLC-QTOF/MS was performed to explore specific metabolites potentially affecting the pathological process of HMG and the effects of LRK. Pathway analysis was conducted with a combination of metabolomics and network pharmacology analyses to illustrate the pathways and network of LRK-treated HMG.Results: Li-Ru-Kang significantly improved the morphological and pathological characteristics of breast tissues. Metabolomics analyses showed that the therapeutic effect of LRK was mainly associated with the regulation of 10 metabolites, including prostaglandin E2, phosphatidylcholine, leukotriene B4, and phosphatidylserine. Pathway analysis indicated that the metabolites were related to arachidonic acid metabolism, glycerophospholipid metabolism and linoleic acid metabolism. Moreover, principal component analysis showed that the metabolites in the model group were clearly classified, whereas the metabolites in the LRK group were between those in the normal and model groups but closer to those in the normal group. This finding indicated that these metabolites may be responsible for the effects of LRK. The therapeutic effect of LRK on HMG was possibly related to the regulation of 10 specific metabolites. In addition, we further verified the expression of protein kinase C alpha (PKCα), a key target predicted by network pharmacology analysis, and showed that LRK could significantly improve the expression of PKCα.Conclusion: Our study successfully explained the modulatory properties of LRK treatment on HMG using metabolomics and network pharmacology analyses. This systematic method can provide methodological support for further understanding the complex mechanism underlying HMG and possible traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) active ingredients for the treatment of HMG

Mesoporous hybrid material composed of Mn3O4 nanoparticles on nitrogen-doped graphene for highly efficient oxygen reduction reaction

The hybrid material composed of Mn3O4 nanoparticles on nitrogendoped graphene was prepared via a solvothermal process and investigated for the first time as a catalyst for oxygen reduction reaction (ORR). Its high ORR activity, excellent durability and tolerance to methanol make this hybrid material a promising candidate for highly efficient ORR in fuel cells and metal-air batteries.Jingjing Duan, Yao Zheng, Sheng Chen, Youhong Tang, Mietek Jaroniec and Shizhang Qia

Analysis of genes characterizing chronic thrombosis and associated pathways in chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension.

PurposeIn chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension (CTEPH), fibrosis of thrombi in the lumen of blood vessels and obstruction of blood vessels are important factors in the progression of the disease. Therefore, it is important to explore the key genes that lead to chronic thrombosis in order to understand the development of CTEPH, and at the same time, it is beneficial to provide new directions for early identification, disease prevention, clinical diagnosis and treatment, and development of novel therapeutic agents.MethodsThe GSE130391 dataset was downloaded from the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) public database, which includes the full gene expression profiles of patients with CTEPH and Idiopathic Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension (IPAH). Differentially Expressed Genes (DEGs) of CTEPH and IPAH were screened, and then Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) and Gene Ontology (GO) functional enrichment analyses were performed on the DEGs; Weighted Gene Co-Expression Network Analysis (WGCNA) to screen the key gene modules and take the intersection genes of DEGs and the key module genes in WGCNA; STRING database was used to construct the protein-protein interaction (PPI) network; and cytoHubba analysis was performed to identify the hub genes.ResultsA total of 924 DEGs were screened, and the MEturquoise module with the strongest correlation was selected to take the intersection with DEGs A total of 757 intersecting genes were screened. The top ten hub genes were analyzed by cytoHubba: IL-1B, CXCL8, CCL22, CCL5, CCL20, TNF, IL-12B, JUN, EP300, and CCL4.ConclusionIL-1B, CXCL8, CCL22, CCL5, CCL20, TNF, IL-12B, JUN, EP300, and CCL4 have diagnostic and therapeutic value in CTEPH disease, especially playing a role in chronic thrombosis. The discovery of NF-κB, AP-1 transcription factors, and TNF signaling pathway through pivotal genes may be involved in the disease progression process

Study of isosteric heat of adsorption and activation energy for surface diffusion of gases on activated carbon using equilibrium and kinetics information

Pure component adsorption equilibria and kinetics of ethane and propane were measured on two activated carbon samples at various temperatures. The isosteric heat of adsorption was derived from the equilibrium information using the Clapeyron equation, while the activation energy for surface diffusion was derived from the surface diffusivity, which was extracted from the kinetics data using the macropore and surface diffusion (MSD) model. Two isotherm models, Unilan and Toth equations are used in the analysis of equilibrium and kinetics data. It is found that the choice of adsorption isotherm has a significant influence on the calculated values of isosteric heat of adsorption, but has less influence on the activation energy for surface diffusion. The ratio of activation energy to isosteric heat of adsorption is found between 0.25 and 0.6 for ethane and propane on the two carbons, depending on the choice of isotherm equation. This ratio is a weak function of surface loading. (C) 2003 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved

Analysis of deformation failure and stability of slope coal under different mining conditions

Due to the typical instability characteristics of the slope, slope coal mining will further aggravate the deformation and instability of the slope. Therefore, we use FLAC3D slope structure model to analyze and predict the deformation, failure and stability of the slope coal under different mining conditions. The result shows that the expansion form and range of the plastic zone of the rock mass inside the slope are different different mining conditions, and the disturbance and damage to the slope flat plate are also different; compared with the downhill stoping, the uphill stoping is worse than the downhill stoping in terms of length and slope stability; the downhill stoping can ensure the stability of the slope to a certain extent; although there is a local slip phenomenon, the overall stability is better, and the instability phenomenon exists in the reverse slope mining slope; the upper coal seam mining slope has local instability, and the overall stability is good. The lower coal seam plastic zone is far away from the slope flat plate, and its stability is better than that of the upper coal seam. It can be concluded that the slope stability is related to the mining depth. The greater the mining depth, the better the slope stability

Insulin resistance in NSCLC: unraveling the link between development, diagnosis, and treatment

Lung cancer is responsible for the highest number of cancer-related deaths, with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) being the most prevalent subtype. A critical aspect of managing lung cancer is reducing morbidity and mortality rates among NSCLC patients. Identifying high-risk factors for lung cancer and facilitating early diagnosis are invaluable in achieving this objective. Recent research has highlighted the association between insulin resistance and the development of NSCLC, further emphasizing its significance in the context of lung cancer. It has been discovered that improving insulin resistance can potentially inhibit the progression of lung cancer. Consequently, this paper aims to delve into the occurrence of insulin resistance, the mechanisms underlying its involvement in lung cancer development, as well as its potential value in predicting, assessing, and treating lung cancer

Long-Life Room-Temperature Sodium-Sulfur Batteries by Virtue of Transition-Metal-Nanocluster-Sulfur Interactions

Room‐temperature sodium–sulfur (RT‐Na/S) batteries hold significant promise for large‐scale application because of low cost of both sodium and sulfur. However, the dissolution of polysulfides into the electrolyte limits practical application. Now, the design and testing of a new class of sulfur hosts as transition‐metal (Fe, Cu, and Ni) nanoclusters (ca. 1.2 nm) wreathed on hollow carbon nanospheres (S@M‐HC) for RT‐Na/S batteries is reported. A chemical couple between the metal nanoclusters and sulfur is hypothesized to assist in immobilization of sulfur and to enhance conductivity and activity. S@Fe‐HC exhibited an unprecedented reversible capacity of 394 mAh g−1 despite 1000 cycles at 100 mA g−1, together with a rate capability of 220 mAh g−1 at a high current density of 5 A g−1. DFT calculations underscore that these metal nanoclusters serve as electrocatalysts to rapidly reduce Na2S4 into short‐chain sulfides and thereby obviate the shuttle effect