Scrutiny of the mechanism of β-amyloid protein captures HSV-2 to protect the brain infection

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is an age-related neurodegenerative disorder. β-amyloid protein (Aβ) is the key protein which involved in AD. But the physiological function of Aβ is needed to be investigated. Many experimental studies have shown that Aβ could bind to glycoproteins D (gD) on the surface of the herpes virus. However the mechanism is still unclear. In the present study, we elucidate the molecular mechanism of the interaction between Aβ and gD of herpes simplex virus type 2 (HSV-2) by molecular docking and molecular dynamics simulation. Molecular dynamics simulations displayed that Aβ could stably bind to the HSV-2 gD owing to the presence of several interactions. Analysis binding free energy by molecular mechanics Poisson–Boltzmann surface area (MM–PBSA) method revealed that hot residues including Glu3, Glu11, Glu22 and Ala42 of Aβ1-42 were involved in binding with HSV-2 gD. Thus, the HSV-2 gD can be entrapped by Aβ which will be utilized for prevent and therapy of AD in future

FIGURE 2 in New species of Gekko (Squamata: Sauria: Gekkonidae) from China: morphological and molecular evidence

FIGURE 2. Bayesian phylogenetic tree obtained for seven species of the genus Gekko derived from 1556 bp of the combined data (COI and cyt b). Numbers by the nodes indicate (in this order): posterior probability value of the Bayesian analysis and MP bootstrap values above 50 %. An asterisk indicates a MP bootstrap value below 50 %

Gekko wenxianensis Zhou & Wang, 2008, sp. nov.

Gekko wenxianensis sp. nov. (Figure 1) Holotype. Nanjing Normal University (NNU) Z 2006.013, adult male; China, Gansu Province, Wenxian County, Danbao Village on the south slope of the west Qinling Mts, 32 ° 51 ’N; 104 ° 46 ’E, altitude 905 m; collected by J.Y. Zhang, 2 August 2006. Paratypes. NNU Z 2006.001 –012, Z 2006.014 –043), 21 males and 21 females; same data and collector as for holotype. Etymology. The specific epithet is a latinization of the name Wenxian, Gansu Province, China. Diagnosis. Gekko wenxianensis sp. nov. can be distinguished from all congeners on the basis of the following combination of characters: body size moderate; nostril in contact with rostral; dorsal tubercles oval or conical, extending from occiput and temporal region on to back and tail base, lacking on forelimb and thigh; 42–44 ventral scales across belly; short web between the toes; 6–8 precloacal pores in continuous series in male; tailbase with 2–3 (usually 2) cloacal spurs on each side. From their most morphologically similar congers they can be distinguished by: the lack of forelimb and thigh tubercles from G. japonicus; usually 2 cloacal spurs (versus mostly 3 in G. japonicus and G. taibaiensis, and 1 in G. hokouensis); and a continuous series of precloacal pores in males (versus left and right series separated by a single scale in G. taibaiensis). FIGURE 1. Adult male holotype of Gekko wenxianensis, sp. nov., (NNU Z 2006.013) from Wenxian County, Gansu Province, Photo by Chao Tian. Description (based on the holotype, NNU Z 2006.013). Adult male. Snout-vent length 52.87 mm. Head relatively long (HeadL/SVL ratio 0.28), wide (HeadW/HeadL ratio 0.75), not markedly depressed (HeadH/ HeadL ratio 0.45), distinct from neck. Lores and interorbital region weakly inflated, frontonasal region weakly concave. Snout elongate (SnEye/HeadL ratio 0.45), rounded at tip; longer than eye diameter (OrbD/ SnEye ratio 0.54); scales on snout and forehead small, rounded, granular, homogeneous; scales on snout larger than those on occipital region. Eye large (OrbD/HeadL ratio 0.25); pupil vertical with crenelated margins; Ear opening rounded, relatively large (EarL/HeadL ratio 0.08); eye to ear distance larger than diameter of eye (EyeEar/OrbD ratio 1.42). Rostral quadrangular, twice as wide (3.23 mm) as high (1.57 mm), without middorsal notch; rostral in contact with supralabial I and supranasals and internasal; two enlarged supranasals separated by a single internasal; nostrils round, each surrounded by supranasal, rostral, first supralabial, and two postnasals; Mental pentagonal, wider (1.78 mm) than deep (1.28 mm); one pair of enlarged postmentals, each bordered anteromedially by mental, medially in broad contact with other postmental, bordered anterolaterally by first infralabial, laterally by an enlarged sublabial, posteriorly by two enlarged chin-shields. Supralabials to midorbital position 9 (right) to 10 (left); enlarged supralabials to angle of jaws 12 / 12; infralabials 11 / 11. Body slender, elongate (TrunkL/SVL ratio 0.43). Scales on dorsum of body granular, nearly homogeneous, intermixed with distinctly enlarged tubercles (4–6 times size of adjacent scales), in approximately 10 rows at midbody; tubercles oval or conical; a few tubercles present in temporal and occipital region and also on shank, tubercles lacking on the other parts of limbs; ventral scales larger than dorsals, smooth, hexagonal, and imbricate, much larger in precloacal region; 44 rows of ventral scale across midbody; gular region with relatively homogeneous, smooth scales. Six large preanal pores in continuous series, each borne in an enlarged scale. Base of tail distinctly swollen, with 2 cloacal spurs on each side. Fore and hindlimbs moderately long, slender (ForeaL/SVL ratio 0.13; CrusL/SVL ratio 0.19); digits moderately dilated, inflected at interphalangeal joints, clawed except for digit I; distal, compressed claw-bearing phalanges arising from anterior margin of dilated portion, extending only a short distance beyond; undivided scansors covering the distal dilated portion: 6 – 6–7 – 8 – 7 (manus), 6–8 – 9 – 9 – 7 (pes); interdigital webbing minimal. Relative length of digits (manus; measurements in mm in parentheses): IV (3.93)> III (3.71)> V (3.56)> II (3.01)> I (2.77); (pes): IV (4.84)> III (4.39)> V (4.08)> II (3.47)> I (3.29). Coloration in preservative. Dorsal ground color brown, with a series of roundish, somewhat enlarged grayish spots along the midline of the back, each outlined by a dark brown border. First spot on the neck, seven on the trunk. A grayish stripe, bordered above with dark brown, extends from the posterior corner of the orbit, passing above the ear opening to the occiput. Dorsal surfaces of the limbs brown, with irregular grayish markings outlined by dark brown borders. Dorsal surface of the tail with several transverse grayish bands, each band margined by a narrow dark band anteriorly. Ventral surface cream yellow, with or without dark dots on the head or body; dark dots occurring in high density on limbs and tail. Variation. Comparative mensural data for the holotype and paratypes are presented in Table 2. The enlarged chin-shields vary in number; tail with 2–3 pairs of cloacal spurs, mostly 2. Male with 6–8 preanal pores.Published as part of Zhou, Kaiya & Wang, Qiuxian, 2008, New species of Gekko (Squamata: Sauria: Gekkonidae) from China: morphological and molecular evidence, pp. 59-68 in Zootaxa 1778 on pages 61-63, DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.18226

Analysis on the balance between supply and demand of crop land in Yantai city of China in 2020

With the fast development of economy and urbanization, the phenomenon of city construction occupying Cropland often happens. As the contradiction between human and land becomes more prominent, the contradiction between the supply and demand of the cropland are more radical in Yantai City of China. Analysis on the balance between supply and demand of cropland is the main basis to determine land use objectives, and also the basis of editing land use planning. In this paper, the authors firstly calculated the potential of cropland supply in Yantai for 2020 according to its current number of the cropland and the potential quantity of other kinds of land changing to the cropland, and then calculated the demand for cropland in 2020 with the methods of the population prediction and its national economic development planning. Then the balance between the supply and demand of cropland was analyzed. The results were that the cropland in Yantai city in 2020 were lower than those of its demand. At last, to relieve the contradiction, the authors tried to put forward some recommendations like optimizing the structure to coordinate the balance between the supply and demand of the cropland etc. to realize its regional sustainable development

Trends in temperature and precipitation extremes over Circum-Bohai-Sea region, China

Trends in temperature and precipitation extremes from 1961 to 2008 have been investigated over Circum-Bohai-Sea region, China using daily temperature and precipitation data of 63 meteorological stations. The results show that at most stations, there is a significant increase in the annual frequency of warm days and warm nights, as well as a significant decrease in the annual frequency of cold days, cold nights, frost days, and annual diurnal temperature range (DTR). Their regional averaged changes are 2.06 d/10yr, 3.95 d/10yr, -1.88 d/10yr, -4.27 d/10yr, -4.21 d/10yr and -0.20A degrees C/10yr, respectively. Seasonal changes display similar patterns to the annual results, but there is a large seasonal difference. A significant warming trend is detected at both annual and seasonal scales, which is more contributed by changes of indices defined by daily minimum temperature than those defined by daily maximum temperature. For precipitation indices, the regional annual extreme precipitation displays a weak decrease in terms of magnitude and frequency, i.e. extreme precipitation days (RD95p), intensity (RINTEN), proportion (RPROP) and maximum consecutive wet days (CWD), but a slight increase in the maximum consecutive dry days (CDD), which are consistent with changes of annual total precipitation (PRCPTOT). Seasonally, PRCPTOT and RD95p both exhibit an increase in spring and a decrease in other seasons with the largest decrease in summer, but generally not significant. In summary, this study shows a pronounced warming tendency at the less rainy period over Circum-Bohai-Sea region, which may affect regional economic development and ecological protection to some extent.Trends in temperature and precipitation extremes from 1961 to 2008 have been investigated over Circum-Bohai-Sea region, China using daily temperature and precipitation data of 63 meteorological stations. The results show that at most stations, there is a significant increase in the annual frequency of warm days and warm nights, as well as a significant decrease in the annual frequency of cold days, cold nights, frost days, and annual diurnal temperature range (DTR). Their regional averaged changes are 2.06 d/10yr, 3.95 d/10yr, -1.88 d/10yr, -4.27 d/10yr, -4.21 d/10yr and -0.20A degrees C/10yr, respectively. Seasonal changes display similar patterns to the annual results, but there is a large seasonal difference. A significant warming trend is detected at both annual and seasonal scales, which is more contributed by changes of indices defined by daily minimum temperature than those defined by daily maximum temperature. For precipitation indices, the regional annual extreme precipitation displays a weak decrease in terms of magnitude and frequency, i.e. extreme precipitation days (RD95p), intensity (RINTEN), proportion (RPROP) and maximum consecutive wet days (CWD), but a slight increase in the maximum consecutive dry days (CDD), which are consistent with changes of annual total precipitation (PRCPTOT). Seasonally, PRCPTOT and RD95p both exhibit an increase in spring and a decrease in other seasons with the largest decrease in summer, but generally not significant. In summary, this study shows a pronounced warming tendency at the less rainy period over Circum-Bohai-Sea region, which may affect regional economic development and ecological protection to some extent

Variability of extreme summer precipitation over Circum-Bohai-Sea region during 1961-2008

The variability of extreme summer precipitation over Circum-Bohai-Sea region during 1961-2008 was investigated based on the daily precipitation data of 63 meteorological stations using the linear regression method, the non-parametric Mann-Kendall test, and the continuous wavelet transform method. The results showed that there were large spatial differences in the trends of extreme summer precipitation indices. Decreasing trends were found in summer total precipitation, extreme precipitation frequency, intensity and proportion, the maximum consecutive wet days (CWD), and the maximum 1- and 5-day precipitation, and the largest decrease was observed in the central coast area (except CWD), although the trends were not statistically significant at the 5% level at most places. Inversely, the maximum consecutive dry days exhibited non-significant increasing trends. Additionally, the significant 2-4-year periods were detected for eight indices, showing the significant interannual variability of extreme summer precipitation. Overall, the results of this study indicated that in the last 48 years, there was severe water stress over Circum-Bohai-Sea region, especially in the central coast area, which exerted negative effects on economic development and natural ecosystems.The variability of extreme summer precipitation over Circum-Bohai-Sea region during 1961-2008 was investigated based on the daily precipitation data of 63 meteorological stations using the linear regression method, the non-parametric Mann-Kendall test, and the continuous wavelet transform method. The results showed that there were large spatial differences in the trends of extreme summer precipitation indices. Decreasing trends were found in summer total precipitation, extreme precipitation frequency, intensity and proportion, the maximum consecutive wet days (CWD), and the maximum 1- and 5-day precipitation, and the largest decrease was observed in the central coast area (except CWD), although the trends were not statistically significant at the 5% level at most places. Inversely, the maximum consecutive dry days exhibited non-significant increasing trends. Additionally, the significant 2-4-year periods were detected for eight indices, showing the significant interannual variability of extreme summer precipitation. Overall, the results of this study indicated that in the last 48 years, there was severe water stress over Circum-Bohai-Sea region, especially in the central coast area, which exerted negative effects on economic development and natural ecosystems

Trustworthy Anti-Collusion Federated Learning Scheme Optimized by Game Theory

Federated learning, a decentralized paradigm, offers the potential to train models across multiple devices while preserving data privacy. However, challenges such as malicious actors and model parameter leakage have raised concerns. To tackle these issues, we introduce a game-theoretic, trustworthy anti-collusion federated learning scheme, which combines game-theoretic techniques and rational trust models with functional encryption and smart contracts for enhanced security. Our empirical evaluations, using datasets like MNIST, CIFAR-10, and Fashion MNIST, underscore the influence of data distribution on performance, with IID setups outshining non-IID ones. The proposed scheme also showcased scalability across diverse client counts, adaptability to various tasks, and heightened security through game theory. A critical observation was the trade-off between privacy measures and optimal model performance. Overall, our findings highlight the scheme’s capability to bolster federated learning’s robustness and security

The research on the fairness of carbon emissions for China's energy based on GIS

This article firstly calculated China's energy carbon emissions of 30 provinces in 2010 with the method of carbon emission inventories of 2006 IPCC based on the data of China energy statistical yearbook, and then calculated its carbon emission intensity with GDP data in China's statistical yearbook. Next according to the formed formula the author calculated the EEI (Economic Efficiency Index) and ECI (Ecological Carrying Index) and made some corresponding figures with the help of GIS to analyze the fairness of the China's energy CO2 emissions in 2010.The results showed that the distribution of China's CO2 emissions for energy in 2010 become lower from the Bohai bay to the surroundings and the west circle provinces are with the lowest energy carbon emissions. The intensity distribution of China's CO2 emissions for energy in 2010 becomes higher from southeast China to north China. The distributions of EEI, ECI and for China's energy CO 2 emissions are quite different from each other, and also with their comprehensive result. As to the fairness of China's energy CO2 emissions in 2010, we can say that the south provinces are better than those of Bohai bay areas (except Beijing and Tianjing). © Copyright 2013 SPIE