Citizen Willingness to Pay for the Implementation of Urban Green Infrastructure in the Pilot Sponge Cities in China

Urban green infrastructure has been widely used to in cities to solve stormwater problems caused by extreme weather events and urbanization around the world. However, the lack of a long-term funding mechanism for performing urban green infrastructure's functions has limited wider implementation. Factors influencing citizen attitudes and willingness to pay for urban green infrastructure vary from city to city. This study estimated the public's willingness to pay for urban green infrastructure, as well as compared the selected influencing factors of willingness to pay in different Chinese pilot sponge cities. The results show that 60% to 75% of all respondents in the cities were willing to support the implementation of urban green infrastructure in sponge cities, with those most willing to pay around 0-5 RMB/month (0-0.72 USD/month). The respondents' educational level was a significant influencing factor for their willingness to pay in all six cities, but age, gender and family monthly income correlated differently with respondents' willingness to pay in different cities. Previous knowledge of the sponge city concept and sponge city construction in the community were not significantly correlated with residents' willingness to pay. We conclude that local governments in China need to provide more information to the general public about the multiple ecosystem services, e.g., educational and recreational benefits, that urban green infrastructure can provide. In doing so, it will help a shift to urban green infrastructure as the solution to dealing with urban stormwater problems

Bis(4-amino­benzene­sulfonato-κO)bis­(propane-1,3-diamine-κ2 N,N′)copper(II) dihydrate

In the title compound, [Cu(C3H10N2)2(C6H6NO3S)2]·2H2O, the CuII atom lies on an inversion center and is hexa­coordinated by four N atoms from two 1,3-diamino­propane ligands and two O atoms from two 4-amino­benzene­sulfonate ligands in a trans arrangement, displaying a distorted and axially elongated octa­hedral coordination geometry, with the O atoms at the axial positions. A three-dimensional network is formed in the crystal structure through O—H⋯O, N—H⋯O and N—H⋯N hydrogen bonds

Gene expression profile analysis of tobacco leaf trichomes

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Leaf trichomes of <it>Nicotiana tabacum </it>are distinguished by their large size, high density, and superior secretion ability. They contribute to plant defense response against biotic and abiotic stress, and also influence leaf aroma and smoke flavor. However, there is limited genomic information about trichomes of this non-model plant species.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>We have characterized <it>Nicotiana tabacum </it>leaf trichome gene expression using two approaches. In the first, a trichome cDNA library was randomly sequenced, and 2831 unique genes were obtained. The most highly abundant transcript was ribulose bisphosphate carboxylase (RuBisCO). Among the related sequences, most encoded enzymes involved in primary metabolism. Secondary metabolism related genes, such as isoprenoid and flavonoid biosynthesis-related, were also identified. In the second approach, a cDNA microarray prepared from these 2831 clones was used to compare gene expression levels in trichome and leaf. There were 438 differentially expressed genes between trichome and leaves-minus-trichomes. Of these, 207 highly expressed genes in tobacco trichomes were enriched in second metabolic processes, defense responses, and the metabolism regulation categories. The expression of selected unigenes was confirmed by semi-quantitative RT-PCR analysis, some of which were specifically expressed in trichomes.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The expression feature of leaf trichomes in <it>Nicotiana tabacum </it>indicates their metabolic activity and potential importance in stress resistance. Sequences predominantly expressed in trichomes will facilitate gene-mining and metabolism control of plant trichome.</p

The value of high-flow nasal cannula oxygen therapy after extubation in patients with acute respiratory failure

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the value of high-flow nasal cannula oxygen therapy after extubation in patients with acute respiratory failure. METHODS: A single-center, prospective, randomized, controlled pilot trial was conducted between January 2013 and December 2014. Sixty enrolled patients were randomized immediately after extubation into either a high-flow nasal cannula group (n=30) or an air entrainment mask group (n=30) at a fixed inspired oxygen fraction (40%). The success rate of oxygen therapy, respiratory and hemodynamic parameters and subjective discomfort (using a visual analogue scale) were assessed at 24h after extubation. RESULTS: The two groups were comparable at extubation. A total of 46 patients were successfully treated including 27 patients in the high-flow nasal cannula group and 19 patients in the air entrainment mask group. Compared to the air entrainment mask group, the success rate of oxygen therapy and the partial pressure of arterial oxygen were significantly higher and the respiratory rate was lower in the high-flow nasal cannula group. In addition, less discomfort related to interface displacement and airway dryness was observed in the high-flow nasal cannula group than in the air entrainment mask group. CONCLUSIONS: At a fixed inspired oxygen fraction, the application of a high-flow nasal cannula after extubation achieves a higher success rate of oxygen therapy and less discomfort at 24h than an air entrainment mask in patients with acute respiratory failure

Evidence for self-organized criticality phenomena in prompt phase of short gamma-ray bursts

The prompt phase of gamma-ray burst (GRB) contains essential information regarding the physical nature and central engine, which are as yet unknown. In this paper, we investigate the self-organized criticality (SOC) phenomena in GRB prompt phase as done in X-ray flares of GRBs. We obtain the differential and cumulative distributions of 243 short GRB pulses, such as peak flux, FWHM, rise time, decay time, and peak time in the fourth BATSE TTE Catalog with the Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) technique. It is found that these distributions can be well described by power-law models. In particular, comparisons are made in 182 short GRB pulses in the third Swift GRB Catalog from 2004 December to 2019 July. The results are essentially consistent with those in BATSE ones. We notice that there is no obvious power-law index evolution across different energy bands for either BATSE or Swift sGRBs. The joint analysis suggests that GRB prompt phase can be explained by a Fractal-Diffusive, Self-Organized Criticality (FD-SOC) system with the spatial dimension S = 3 and the classical diffusion ? = 1. Our findings show that GRB prompt phases and X-ray flares possess the very same magnetically dominated stochastic process and mechanism.Comment: 18 pages, 10 figures, accepted for publication in ApJ

An analytic derivation of the empirical correlations of gamma-ray bursts

Empirical correlations between various key parameters have been extensively explored ever since the discovery of gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) and have been widely used as standard candles to probe the Universe. The Amati relation and the Yonetoku relation are two good examples, which have been paid special attention to. The former reflects the connection between the peak photon energy (Ep) and the isotropic $\gamma$-ray energy release (Eiso), while the latter links Ep with the isotropic peak luminosity (Lp), both in the form of a power law function. Most GRBs are found to well follow these correlations, but a theoretical interpretation is still lacking. Meanwhile, there are also some obvious outliers, which may be off-axis GRBs and may follow different correlations as compared with the on-axis ones. Here we present a simple analytical derivation for the Amati relation and the Yonetoku relation in the framework of the standard fireball model, the correctness of which are then confirmed by numerical simulations. The off-axis Amati relation and Yonetoku relation are also derived, which differ from the corresponding on-axis relation markedly. Our results reveal the intrinsic physics lying behind the radiation processes of GRBs, and highlight the importance of viewing angle in the empirical correlations of GRBs.Comment: 20 pages, 7 figures, 2 tables. Submitted to A&

Recombinant immunotoxin anti-c-Met/PE38KDEL inhibits proliferation and promotes apoptosis of gastric cancer cells

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Our study aims to evaluate the anti-growth effects of recombinant immunotoxin (IT) anti-c-Met/PE38KDEL on gastric cancer cells, and its mechnisms.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Gastric cancer cells were treated with increasing doses of IT and c-Met protein was quantified by Western blotting. Cell proliferation was determined by Cell Counting Kit-8 assay (CCK). [³H]-leucine incorporation assay was used to evaluate IT inhibition of protein synthesis. Cell apoptosis was quantified by flow cytometry. Caspase activities were measured using colorimetric protease assays.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Cell growth and protein synthesis of the gastric cancer cell lines were suppressed by IT in a dose- and time-dependent manner. IT also induced apoptosis in a dose-dependent manner. The apoptosis rates of gastric cancer cell lines MKN-45 and SGC7901 were 19.19% and 27.37%, respectively when treated with 50 ng/ml of IT. There were significant increase ofcaspase-3 activity at 24 hr of IT treatment (100 ng/ml) (P < 0.01) in these gastric cancer cell lines.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>IT anti-c-Met/PE38KDEL has anti-growth effects on the gastric cancer cell lines <it>in vitro</it>, and it provides an experimental basis for c-Met-targeted therapy towards <it>in vivo </it>testing.</p

Clonal status and clinicopathological observation of cervical minimal deviation adenocarcinoma

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Minimal deviation adenocarcinoma (MDA) of the uterine cervix is defined as an extremely well differentiated variant of cervical adenocarcinoma, with well-formed glands that resemble benign glands but show distinct nuclear anaplasia or evidence of stromal invasion. Thus, MDA is difficult to differentiate from other cervical hyperplastic lesions. Monoclonality is a major characteristic of most tumors, whereas normal tissue and reactive hyperplasia are polyclonal.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>The clinicopathological features and clonality of MDA were investigated using laser microdissection and a clonality assay based on the polymorphism of androgen receptor (AR) and X-chromosomal inactivation mosaicism in female somatic tissues. </p> <p>Results</p> <p>The results demonstrated that the glands were positive for CEA, Ki-67, and p53 and negative for estrogen receptor (ER), progesterone receptor (PR), and high-risk human papilloma virus (HPV) DNA. The index of proliferation for Ki-67 was more than 50%. However, the stromal cells were positive for ER, PR, vimentin, and SM-actin. The clonal assay showed that MDA was monoclonal. Thus, our findings indicate that MDA is a true neoplasm but is not associated with high-risk HPV.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Diagnosis of MDA depends mainly on its clinical manifestations, the pathological feature that MDA glands are located deeper than the lower level of normal endocervical glands, and immunostaining.</p