An electroencephalography network and connectivity analysis for deception in instructed lying tasks

10.1371/journal.pone.0116522PLoS ONE102e011652

Direct and indirect loss of natural habitat due to built-up area expansion:A model-based analysis for the city of Wuhan, China

Urbanization has been responsible for the loss of cropland worldwide, especially in China. To guarantee national food security, China has implemented a series of policies to protect cropland. One of these policies requires that one-hectare cropland should be reclaimed when urban expansion occupies one-hectare cropland. Since most cropland reclamation leads to a conversion of natural habitat, such as wetland and grassland, urban expansion may lead to (indirect) natural habitat loss in addition to direct loss from conversion of into urban area. While several studies assessed the direct habitat loss resulted from built-up area expansion, few studies investigated the indirect losses caused by cropland displacement. In this paper, a model-based approach is applied to explore both direct and indirect impacts of built-up area expansion on natural habitat loss for the city of Wuhan, China, between 2010 and 2020 using different scenarios. Our scenarios differ in the implementation of strict cropland protection policies and ecosystem conservation strategies. Results show that the indirect loss of natural habitat due to cropland displacement under strict cropland protection policies far outweighs the direct loss due to built-up area expansion alone. Moreover, we found that ecosystem conservation strategies mainly influence the type of natural habitat that is affected, while the total amount of natural habitat loss remains relatively constant

The experience of long-stay patients in a forensic psychiatric hospital in China: a qualitative study

open access articleBackground Long stay in forensic psychiatric hospitals is common in patients who are defined as “not criminally responsible on account of mental disorder”. However, little is known about how these patients experience and perceive the long stay within these settings. The aim of this study is to explore the perception and needs of long-stay patients in forensic psychiatric hospitals in China. Methods In-depth semi-structured interviews were conducted with 21 participants who had lived in the forensic psychiatry hospital for more than 8 years. We used thematic analysis strategies to analyse the qualitative data. Results Participants’ perceptions clustered seven themes: hopelessness, loneliness, worthlessness, low mood, sleep disturbances, lack of freedom, and lack of mental health intervention. Conclusions The views and opinions expressed by long-stay patients showed that psychological distress is prevailing in forensic psychiatric hospitals. Adequate and effective care and mental health interventions are recommended to be tailored for their special needs

MiR-497 decreases cisplatin resistance in ovarian cancer cells by targeting mTOR/P70S6K1.

The mechanism of cisplatin resistance in ovarian cancer is not clearly understood. In the present investigation, we found that the expression levels of miR-497 were reduced in chemotherapy-resistant ovarian cancer cells and tumor tissues due to hypermethylation of miR-497 promoter. Low miR-497 expression levels were associated with chemo-resistant phonotype of ovarian cancer. By analyzing the expression levels of miR-497, mTOR and p70S6K1 in a clinical gene-expression array dataset, we found that mTOR and p70S6K1, two proteins correlated to chemotherapy-resistance in multiple types of human cancers, were inversely correlated with miR-497 levels in ovarian cancer tissues. By using an orthotopic ovarian tumor model and a Tet-On inducible miR-497 expression system, our results demonstrated that overexpression of miR-497 sensitizes the resistant ovarian tumor to cisplatin treatment. Therefore, we suggest that miR-497 might be used as a therapeutic supplement to increase ovarian cancer treatment response to cisplatin

Enhanced Effects of Iron on Mycelial Growth, Metabolism and In Vitro Antioxidant Activity of Polysaccharides from Lentinula edodes

The polysaccharides found in Lentinula edodes have a variety of medicinal properties, such as anti-tumor and anti-viral effects, but their content in L. edodes sporophores is very low. In this study, Fe2+ was added to the liquid fermentation medium of L. edodes to analyze its effects on mycelial growth, polysaccharide and enzyme production, gene expression, and the activities of enzymes involved in polysaccharide biosynthesis, and in vitro antioxidation of polysaccharides. The results showed that when 200 mg/L of Fe2+ was added, with 7 days of shaking at 150 rpm and 3 days of static culture, the biomass reached its highest value (0.28 mg/50 mL) 50 days after the addition of Fe2+. Besides, Fe2+ addition also enhanced intracellular polysaccharide (IPS) and exopolysaccharide (EPS) productions, the levels of which were 2.98- and 1.79-fold higher than the control. The activities of the enzymes involved in polysaccharides biosynthesis, including phosphoglucomutase (PGM), phosphoglucose isomerase (PGI), and UDPG-pyrophosphorylase (UGP) were also increased under Fe2+ addition. Maximum PGI activity reached 1525.20 U/mg 30 days after Fe2+ addition, whereas PGM and UGP activities reached 3607.05 U/mg and 3823.27 U/mg 60 days after Fe2+ addition, respectively. The Pearson correlation coefficient showed a strong correlation (p < 0.01) between IPS production and PGM and UGP activities. The corresponding coding genes of the three enzymes were also upregulated. When evaluating the in vitro antioxidant activities of polysaccharides, EPS from all Fe2+-treated cultures exhibited significantly better capacity (p < 0.05) for scavenging -OH radicals. The results of the two-way ANOVA indicated that the abilities of polysaccharides to scavenge O2− radicals were significantly (p < 0.01) affected by Fe2+ concentration and incubation time. These results indicated that the addition of iron provided a good way to achieve desirable biomass, polysaccharide production, and the in vitro antioxidation of polysaccharides from L. edodes

Lack of Airborne Transmission during Outbreak of Pandemic (H1N1) 2009 among Tour Group Members, China, June 2009

This outbreak was caused by droplet transmission

Screening and Identification of Cardioprotective Compounds From Wenxin Keli by Activity Index Approach and in vivo Zebrafish Model

Wenxin Keli (WXKL) is a widely used Chinese botanical drug for the treatment of arrhythmia, which is consisted of four herbs and amber. In the present study, we analyzed the chemical composition of WXKL using liquid chromatography coupled with high-resolution mass spectrometry (LC-HRMS) to tentatively identify 71 compounds. Through typical separate procession, the total extract of WXKL was divided into fractions for further bioassays. Cardiomyocytes and zebrafish larvae were applied for assessment. In vivo arrhythmia model in Cmlc2-GFP transgenic zebrafish was induced by terfenadine, which exhibited obvious reduction of heart rate and occurrence of atrioventricular block. Dynamic beating of heart was recorded by fluorescent microscope and sensitive camera to automatically recognize the rhythm of heartbeat in zebrafish larvae. By integrating the chemical information of WXKL and corresponding bioactivities of these fractions, activity index (AI) of each identified compound was calculated to screen potential active compounds. The results showed that dozens of compounds including ginsenoside Rg1, ginsenoside Re, notoginsenoside R1, lobetyolin, and lobetyolinin were contributed to cardioprotective effects of WXKL. The anti-arrhythmic activities of five compounds were further validated in larvae model and mature zebrafish by measuring electrocardiogram (ECG). Our findings provide a successful example for rapid discovery of bioactive compounds from traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) by activity index based approach coupled with in vivo zebrafish model

Design of the PMT underwater cascade implosion protection system for JUNO

Photomultiplier tubes (PMTs) are widely used underwater in large-scale neutrino experiments. As a hollow glass spherelike structure, implosion is unavoidable during long-term operation under large water pressure. There is a possibility of cascade implosion to neighbor PMTs due to shockwave. Jiangmen Underground Neutrino Observatory designed a protection structure for each 20-inch PMT, consisting of a top cover, a bottom cover, and their connection. This paper introduces the requirement and design of the PMT protection system, including the material selection, investigation of manufacture technology, and prototyping. Optimization and validation by simulation and underwater experiments are also presented.Comment: 10 pages, 15 figure

Implications of wetland degradation for the potential denitrifying activity and bacterial populations with nirS genes as found in a succession in Qinghai Tibet plateau, China

Alpine wetland in the Zoige Plateau has suffered from serious degradation during"the last 30 years due to global climate change and anthropogenic impact. Denitrification is a key nitrogen removal process which can be performed by different microorganisms, including bacteria harboring ttirS-genes. In this study, a degradation succession was used to study the effect on potential denitrification activity (PDA) and on bacterial communities harboring nirS genes. Based on the determination of the PDA, the abundance, structural diversity, and phylogenetic identity of the soil bacteria with nirS genes were further assessed by qPCR, terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism (T-RFLP), and DNA-sequencing, respectively. The results showed that soil PDA ranged from 8.78 to 52.77 ng N20-N g(-1) dry soil h(-1), being lowest in sandy soil and highest in swamp soil. The abundance of nirS genes (copies g(-1) soil) were also the lowest in the sandy soil while highest in the swamp soil. The average Shannon-Wiener diversity index of the nirS denitrifying bacterial structural ranged from 2.20 in the meadow soil to 3.07 in the swamp soil. Redundancy analysis (RDA) showed that the nirS denitrifying bacterial community correlated with soil water content and available phosphorus, with water content as the major factor in shaping the nirS denitrifying bacterial community. The results of this study suggest that the wetland degradation would decrease soil PDA, and abundance and structural diversity of the denitrifying bacteria with nirS genes. These findings can contribute to support a theoretical foundation for predicting the potential influences of wetland degradation on soil denitrifying bacteria in alpine wetlands. (C) 2017 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.Peer reviewe

Genetic Diversity and Symbiotic Efficiency of Nodulating Rhizobia Isolated from Root Nodules of Faba Bean in One Field

Thirty-one nodulating rhizobium strains were collected from root nodules of spring and winter type faba bean cultivars grown in micro ecoarea, i.e. the same field in Chengdu plain, China. The symbiotic efficiency and phylogeny of these strains were studied. Effectively nitrogen fixing strains were isolated from both winter type and spring type cultivars. Based on phylogenetic analysis of 16S rRNA gene and concatenated sequence of atpD, glnII and recA genes, the isolates were assigned as Rhizobium anhuiense and a potential new Rhizobium species. The isolates were diverse on symbiosis related gene level, carrying five, four and three variants of nifH, nodC and nodD, respectively. Strains carrying similar gene combinations were trapped by both winter and spring cultivars, disagreeing with the specificity of symbiotic genotypes to reported earlier faba bean ecotypes.Peer reviewe