The Nitrogen Budget of Coastal Eastern Guangdong in the Last 15 Years

Nitrogen pollution has caused severe ecological and environmental crisis, especially in densely populated coastal regions. Using a mathematical model based on statistical data series from industry, agriculture, environmental protection, and population in 2000, 2005, 2010, and 2015, this paper aims to estimate the nitrogen income and expenditure of coastal Eastern Guangdong, to reveal the temporal variation of the nitrogen budget in the coastal region with high agriculture intensity, and to suggest a management strategy for the local nitrogen control. The results show that: coastal Eastern Guangdong is a nitrogen surplus region, with nitrogen load and nitrogen flux varying in the range 276.01–299.60 kg N ha−1 yr−1 and 221.26–239.06 kg N ha−1 yr−1, respectively, during the period 2000–2015; from 2000 to 2015, the overall nitrogen surplus and the nitrogen surplus unit area showed an obvious upward trend, indicating that nitrogen pollution in the area was deteriorating; agricultural used fertilizer serves as the main contributor to nitrogen input, while water nitrogen accounts for the highest portion of nitrogen output; despite the fluctuation of nitrogen input and output, water nitrogen output steadily increased, suggesting a stronger water environment management requirement. This research provides reference for researchers and decision-makers in the ecological and environmental domain

Evidence of Dark Contents in the Center of NGC 6517

Millisecond pulsars can serve as effective probes to investigate the presence of Intermediate-mass Black Holes (IMBHs) within Galactic globular clusters (GCs). Based on the standard structure models for GCs, we conduct simulations to analyze the distributions of pulsar accelerations within the central region of NGC 6517. By comparing the measured accelerations of pulsars obtained from their period derivatives $\dot P$ to the simulated distribution profiles, we demonstrate that a central excess of dark mass is required to account for the measured accelerations. Our analysis, which relies on existing pulsar timing observations, is currently unable to differentiate between two possible scenarios: an IMBH precisely situated at the core of the cluster with mass $\gtrsim 9000^{+4000}_{-3000}~M_{\odot}$, or a central concentration of stellar mass dark remnants with a comparable total mass. However, with additional acceleration measurements from a few more pulsars in the cluster, it will be possible to differentiate the source of the nonluminous matter.Comment: 6 pages, 3 figures, 1 table. Accepted for publication in MNRA

Neonatal rhesus monkey is a potential animal model for studying pathogenesis of EV71 infection

AbstractData from limited autopsies of human patients demonstrate that pathological changes in EV71-infected fatal cases are principally characterized by clear inflammatory lesions in different parts of the CNS; nearly identical changes were found in murine, cynomolgus and rhesus monkey studies which provide evidence of using animal models to investigate the mechanisms of EV71 pathogenesis. Our work uses neonatal rhesus monkeys to investigate a possible model of EV71 pathogenesis and concludes that this model could be applied to provide objective indicators which include clinical manifestations, virus dynamic distribution and pathological changes for observation and evaluation in interpreting the complete process of EV71 infection. This induced systemic infection and other collected indicators in neonatal monkeys could be repeated; the transmission appears to involve infecting new monkeys by contact with feces of infected animals. All data presented suggest that the neonatal rhesus monkey model could shed light on EV71 infection process and pathogenesis

Design and optimization of heat pump with infrared drying for Glycyrrhiza uralensis (Licorice) processing

A new dryer, integrating infrared and heat pump drying technologies, was designed to enhance licorice processing standardization, aiming at improved drying efficiency and product quality. Numerical simulation using COMSOL software validated the air distribution model through prototype data comparison. To address uneven air distribution, a spoiler was strategically placed based on CFD simulation to optimize its size and position using the velocity deviation ratio and non-uniformity coefficient as indices. Post-optimization, the average velocity deviation ratio decreased from 0.5124 to 0.2565%, and the non-uniformity coefficient dropped from 0.5913 to 0.3152, achieving a more uniform flow field in the drying chamber. Testing the optimized dryer on licorice demonstrated significant improvements in flow field uniformity, reducing licorice drying time by 23.8%. Additionally, optimized drying enhanced licorice color (higher L* value) and increased retention rates of total phenol, total flavone, and vitamin C. This research holds substantial importance for advancing licorice primary processing, fostering efficiency, and improving product quality

PSR J1926-0652: A Pulsar with Interesting Emission Properties Discovered at FAST

We describe PSR J1926-0652, a pulsar recently discovered with the Five-hundred-meter Aperture Spherical radio Telescope (FAST). Using sensitive single-pulse detections from FAST and long-term timing observations from the Parkes 64-m radio telescope, we probed phenomena on both long and short time scales. The FAST observations covered a wide frequency range from 270 to 800 MHz, enabling individual pulses to be studied in detail. The pulsar exhibits at least four profile components, short-term nulling lasting from 4 to 450 pulses, complex subpulse drifting behaviours and intermittency on scales of tens of minutes. While the average band spacing P3 is relatively constant across different bursts and components, significant variations in the separation of adjacent bands are seen, especially near the beginning and end of a burst. Band shapes and slopes are quite variable, especially for the trailing components and for the shorter bursts. We show that for each burst the last detectable pulse prior to emission ceasing has different properties compared to other pulses. These complexities pose challenges for the classic carousel-type models.Comment: 13pages with 12 figure

Tumor Biology and Immune Infiltration Define Primary Liver Cancer Subsets Linked to Overall Survival After Immunotherapy

Primary liver cancer is a rising cause of cancer deaths in the US. Although immunotherapy with immune checkpoint inhibitors induces a potent response in a subset of patients, response rates vary among individuals. Predicting which patients will respond to immune checkpoint inhibitors is of great interest in the field. In a retrospective arm of the National Cancer Institute Cancers of the Liver: Accelerating Research of Immunotherapy by a Transdisciplinary Network (NCI-CLARITY) study, we use archived formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded samples to profile the transcriptome and genomic alterations among 86 hepatocellular carcinoma and cholangiocarcinoma patients prior to and following immune checkpoint inhibitor treatment. Using supervised and unsupervised approaches, we identify stable molecular subtypes linked to overall survival and distinguished by two axes of aggressive tumor biology and microenvironmental features. Moreover, molecular responses to immune checkpoint inhibitor treatment differ between subtypes. Thus, patients with heterogeneous liver cancer may be stratified by molecular status indicative of treatment response to immune checkpoint inhibitors

Wetlands conservation in Beijing of China: Present status and development strategies

The urbanization in Beijing intensified the fragmentation of ecosystems, especially for the forests and wetlands. Wetlands provide multiple ecological services (e.g., a food source, climate regulation). Thus, wetland protection is part of the foundation for sustainable economic and social development for Beijing. This study summarizes the experience of well-developed cities in wetland protection and sustainable development and subsequently analyzes the current issues of Beijing’s wetlands. The results showed that a limited resource space, high human stress, and lack of scientifically based polices are the main obstacles. Therefore, we recommend the following: (1) support the utilization of rainwater and reclaimed water and optimize the coordinated utilization of water resources, (2) strengthen the ecological protection and restoration efforts to realize the ecological protection system of water–city integration, (3) build a forest water complex ecosystem in metropolises to create a livable environment with forest and water, and (4) conduct scientific and technological research on the optimal total amount of wetlands and develop wetland technologies

Ecological Approach for the Evaluation of Structure and Sustainability in the Tourism Industry

Badaling is the main tourism area in Beijing. The development of tourism has generated considerable economic benefit in this region, but the tourism industry also brought considerable environmental pressure. To obtain a targeted upgrade plan for metropolitan tourism industry, static and dynamic analysis methods were used to quantitatively estimate the structure of the tourism industry in this region. In addition, the ecological footprint and ecosystem capacity models were used to evaluate the sustainable development of tourism. The results show that: (1) The structure of tourism in Badaling is better than that of Beijing, but the growth rate of tourism earnings is slower than the average value in Beijing. Overall, the region lacks competitiveness and the tourism industry in the area is in dire need of an upgrade; (2) the total ecological footprint due to tourism in the Badaling region is 381,098.28 hm2, and the ecosystem capacity is 4509.61 hm2. It is in an obvious ecological deficit, and the development of the tourism industry is unsustainable. To relieve the pressure on the ecology in the Badaling region, we propose four policy suggestions: (1) develop disadvantaged sectors and enhance tourism industry competitiveness, (2) boost tourist transportation revenues relying on the Winter Olympic Games, (3) grow cultural and creative products and expand sales channels, and (4) strengthen inter-regional cooperation and alleviate local ecological pressure