Optimization of terrestrial ecosystem model parameters using atmospheric CO2 concentration data with the Global Carbon Assimilation System (GCAS)

Author Posting. © American Geophysical Union, 2017. This article is posted here by permission of American Geophysical Union for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Journal of Geophysical Research: Biogeosciences 122 (2017): 3218–3237, doi:10.1002/2016JG003716.The Global Carbon Assimilation System that assimilates ground-based atmospheric CO2 data is used to estimate several key parameters in a terrestrial ecosystem model for the purpose of improving carbon cycle simulation. The optimized parameters are the leaf maximum carboxylation rate at 25°C (V25 max), the temperature sensitivity of ecosystem respiration (Q10), and the soil carbon pool size. The optimization is performed at the global scale at 1° resolution for the period from 2002 to 2008. The results indicate that vegetation from tropical zones has lower V25 max values than vegetation in temperate regions. Relatively high values of Q10 are derived over high/midlatitude regions. Both V25 max and Q10 exhibit pronounced seasonal variations at middle-high latitudes. The maxima in V25 max occur during growing seasons, while the minima appear during nongrowing seasons. Q10 values decrease with increasing temperature. The seasonal variabilities of V25 max and Q10 are larger at higher latitudes. Optimized V25 max and Q10 show little seasonal variabilities at tropical regions. The seasonal variabilities of V25 max are consistent with the variabilities of LAI for evergreen conifers and broadleaf evergreen forests. Variations in leaf nitrogen and leaf chlorophyll contents may partly explain the variations in V25 max. The spatial distribution of the total soil carbon pool size after optimization is compared favorably with the gridded Global Soil Data Set for Earth System. The results also suggest that atmospheric CO2 data are a source of information that can be tapped to gain spatially and temporally meaningful information for key ecosystem parameters that are representative at the regional and global scales.National Key R&D Program of China Grant Number: 2016YFA0600204; National Natural Science Foundation of China Grant Number: 415713382018-06-2

Carbon-coated magnetic particles increase tissue temperatures after laser irradiation

Purpose: This work focused on the investigation the hyperthermia performance of the carbon-coated magnetic particles (CCMPs) in laser-induced hyperthermia. Materials and methods: We prepared CCMPs using the organic carbonization method, and then characterized them with transmission electron microscopy (TEM), ultraviolet-visible (UV-Vis) spectrophotometry, vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD). In order to evaluate their performance in hyperthermia, the CCMPs were tested in laser-induced thermal therapy (LITT) experiments, in which we employed a fully distributed fiber Bragg grating (FBG) sensor to profile the tissue's dynamic temperature change under laser irradiation in real time. Results: The sizes of prepared CCMPs were about several micrometers, and the LITT results show that the tissue injected with the CCMPs absorbed more laser energy, and its temperature increased faster than the contrast tissue without CCMPs. Conclusions: The CCMPs may be of great help in hyperthermia applications

Origins and stepwise expansion of R2R3-MYB transcription factors for the terrestrial adaptation of plants

The R2R3-MYB transcription factors play critical roles in various processes in embryophytes (land plants). Here, we identified genes encoding R2R3-MYB proteins from rhodophytes, glaucophytes, Chromista, chlorophytes, charophytes, and embryophytes. We classified the R2R3-MYB genes into three subgroups (I, II, and III) based on their evolutionary history and gene structure. The subgroup I is the most ancient group that includes members from all plant lineages. The subgroup II was formed before the divergence of charophytes and embryophytes. The subgroup III genes form a monophyletic group and only comprise members from land plants with conserved exon–intron structure. Each subgroup was further divided into multiple clades. The subgroup I can be divided into I-A, I-B, I-C, and I-D. The I-A, I-B, and I-C are the most basal clades that have originated before the divergence of Archaeplastida. The I-D with the II and III subgroups form a monophyletic group, containing only green plants. The II and III subgroups form another monophyletic group with Streptophyta only. Once on land, the subgroup III genes have experienced two rounds of major expansions. The first round occurred before the origin of land plants, and the second round occurred after the divergence of land plants. Due to significant gene expansion, the subgroup III genes have become the predominant group of R2R3-MYBs in land plants. The highly unbalanced pattern of birth and death evolution of R2R3-MYB genes indicates their important roles in the successful adaptation and massive radiation of land plants to occupy a multitude of terrestrial environments

Occurrence of neonicotinoids in Chinese apiculture and a corresponding risk exposure assessment

Neonicotinoids are the most widely used insecticides worldwide, but there is mounting evidence demonstrating that they have adverse effects on nontarget organisms. However, little is known about the extent of environmental neonicotinoids contamination in China. In this study, a total of 693 honey samples from across China, from both Apis melifera and Apis cerana, were analyzed to examine neonicotinoid concentrations and their geographical distribution, and correlation with the primary plant species from which the honey was obtained. Furthermore, chronic and acute exposure risk and risk ranking for humans eating honey were investigated, and risks to bees were also considered. The results revealed that 40.8% of the samples contained at least one of the five neonicotinoids tested. Honeys from commercial crops were found to be more frequently contaminated with neonicotinoids than those from noncommercial crops. Honey samples from Apis mellifera were more frequently contaminated than those from Apis cerana. The concentrations of neonicotinoids found in honey overlapped with those that have been found to have significant adverse effects on honeybee health. The dietary risk assessments indicated that the levels of neonicotinoids detected in honey were likely to be safe for human consumption

Jablotron 100-Based Corporation Access System

Bakalářská práce se zabývá problematikou návrhu a realizace přístupového systému podniku s elektronickým zabezpečovacím systémem Jablotron 100 a jeho propojením s jinými systémy. Byl navržen a naprogramován můstek s API rozhraním pro ovládání systému Jablotron 100. Tento můstek byl použit pro realizaci webového uživatelského rozhraní k ovládání přístupového systému. Dále byl vytvořen koncept získávání dat docházky ze systému Jablotron 100.This bachelor thesis deals with the design and implementation of an enterprise access control system based on the electronic security system Jablotron 100 and its connection with external systems. The bridge with an API interface for controlling the Jablotron 100-based corporation access system has been designed and programmed. This bridge was used to implement the web user interface to control the access system. Furthermore, the concept of collecting attendance data from the Jablotron 100-based system was created.

Genetic algorithm optimization for storing arbitrary multimode transverse images in thermal atomic vapor

Storing multimode transverse images in atomic media is crucial in constructing large-scale quantum networks. A major obstacle of storing transverse images in the thermal atomic vapor is the distortion of the retrieved images caused by atomic diffusion. Here, we demonstrate the combination of genetic algorithm with the phase-shift lithography method to construct the optimal phase for an arbitrary transverse image that can diminish the effect of diffusion. Theoretical simulations and experimental results manifest that the retrieved images' resolution can be substantially improved when carrying the optimal phases. Our scheme is efficient and straightforward and can be extensively applied in storing complex transverse multimodes in diffusion media

Novel hypoxia-related gene signature for predicting prognoses that correlate with the tumor immune microenvironment in NSCLC

Background: Intratumoral hypoxia is widely associated with the development of malignancy, treatment resistance, and worse prognoses. The global influence of hypoxia-related genes (HRGs) on prognostic significance, tumor microenvironment characteristics, and therapeutic response is unclear in patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).Method: RNA-seq and clinical data for NSCLC patients were derived from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database, and a group of HRGs was obtained from the MSigDB. The differentially expressed HRGs were determined using the limma package; prognostic HRGs were identified via univariate Cox regression. Using the least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) and multivariate Cox regression, an optimized prognostic model consisting of nine HRGs was constructed. The prognostic model’s capacity was evaluated by Kaplan‒Meier survival curve analysis and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis in the TCGA (training set) and GEO (validation set) cohorts. Moreover, a potential biological pathway and immune infiltration differences were explained.Results: A prognostic model containing nine HRGs (STC2, ALDOA, MIF, LDHA, EXT1, PGM2, ENO3, INHA, and RORA) was developed. NSCLC patients were separated into two risk categories according to the risk score generated by the hypoxia model. The model-based risk score had better predictive power than the clinicopathological method. Patients in the high-risk category had poor recurrence-free survival in the TCGA (HR: 1.426; 95% CI: 0.997–2.042; p = 0.046) and GEO (HR: 2.4; 95% CI: 1.7–3.2; p < 0.0001) cohorts. The overall survival of the high-risk category was also inferior to that of the low-risk category in the TCGA (HR: 1.8; 95% CI: 1.5–2.2; p < 0.0001) and GEO (HR: 1.8; 95% CI: 1.4–2.3; p < 0.0001) cohorts. Additionally, we discovered a notable distinction in the enrichment of immune-related pathways, immune cell abundance, and immune checkpoint gene expression between the two subcategories.Conclusion: The proposed 9-HRG signature is a promising indicator for predicting NSCLC patient prognosis and may be potentially applicable in checkpoint therapy efficiency prediction