Putting labs online with web services

Web services provide a way to offer remote control of scattered scientific instruments, enabling online labs that students can use from anywhere, at any time

Time-restricted feeding improves metabolic and endocrine profiles in mice with polycystic ovary syndrome

ObjectivesPolycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is one of the most common endocrinopathy disorders in premenopausal women, which is characterized by hyperandrogenemia, anovulation, and polycystic ovarian morphology (PCOM). Time-restricted feeding (TRF) is a new intermittent restriction dietary pattern, which has been shown to have positive benefits on obesity and glycolipid metabolism disorders. We aimed to explore the effect of the feeding regimen (ad libitum vs. TRF) on the glycolipid metabolism and reproductive endocrine disorders in a PCOS mouse model.MethodsPCOS mouse model was induced by continuous subcutaneous administration of dihydrotestosterone for 21 days. Mice were fed a high-fat diet (HFD) for 8 weeks on an ad libitum or time- restricted diet (from 10:30 p.m. to 6:30 a.m.).ResultsCompared to control mice, PCOS mice that received TRF treatment had significantly lower body weight, reduced adiposity, lower area under the curve (AUC) of glucose response in the oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT), and lower AUC in the insulin tolerance test (ITT). TRF also ameliorated lipid metabolism, as shown by a reduction in plasma lipid profiles (triglycerides and cholesterol) and the triglyceride content in the liver of PCOS mice. In terms of reproduction, the plasma androgen level, plasma estrogen (E2) level, and luteinizing hormone (LH)/follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) ratio in PCOS mice were significantly reduced after 8 weeks of TRF treatment. In addition, ovarian histology showed that TRF inhibits cyst formation and promotes corpus luteum formation.ConclusionIn conclusion, TRF improved metabolic and endocrine profiles in mice with PCOS

Molecular epidemiology of measles viruses in China, 1995–2003

This report describes the genetic characterization of 297 wild-type measles viruses that were isolated in 24 provinces of China between 1995 and 2003. Phylogenetic analysis of the N gene sequences showed that all of the isolates belonged to genotype H1 except 3 isolates, which were genotype A. The nucleotide sequence and predicted amino acid homologies of the 294-genotype H1 strains were 94.7%–100% and 93.3%–100%, respectively. The genotype H1 isolates were divided into 2 clusters, which differed by approximately 2.9% at the nucleotide level. Viruses from both clusters were distributed throughout China with no apparent geographic restriction and multiple co-circulating lineages were present in many provinces. Even though other measles genotypes have been detected in countries that border China, this report shows that genotype H1 is widely distributed throughout the country and that China has a single, endemic genotype. This important baseline data will help to monitor the progress of measles control in China

Controlling remote instruments using Web services for online experiment systems

Online experimentation allows students from anywhere to operate remote instruments at any time. This promising e-learning application is well positioned to use Web Services to conduct online experiment systems due to its interoperability and Internet compliance. We present a double client-server architecture for online experiment systems and the methodology to wrap the functions of instruments into Web Services. We propose that the instrument Web Services should be stateful services and we present the framework to manage the states of the instrument web services. We benchmark the performance of this system when using SOAP as the wire format for communication and propose solutions to optimize performance

Design Instrumental Web Services for Online Experiment Systems

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A Spectrum Correction Method Based on Optimizing Turbulence Intensity

Based on the classical spectral representation method of simulating turbulent wind speed fluctuation, a harmonic superposition algorithm was introduced in detail to calculate the homogeneous turbulence wind field simulation in space. From the view of the validity of the numerical simulation results in MATLAB and the simulation efficiency, this paper discussed the reason for the bias existing between three types of turbulence intensity involved in the whole simulation process: simulated turbulence intensity, setting reference turbulence intensity, and theoretical turbulence intensity. Therefore, a novel spectral correction method of a standard deviation compensation coefficient was proposed. The simulation verification of the correction method was carried out based on the Kaimal spectrum recommended by IEC61400-1 by simulating the uniform turbulent wind field in one-dimensional space at the height of the hub of a 15 MW wind turbine and in two-dimensional space in the rotor swept area. The results showed that the spectral correction method proposed in this paper can effectively optimize the turbulence intensity of the simulated wind field, generate more effective simulation points, and significantly improve the simulation efficiency

Reduced magnitude and shifted seasonality of CO2 sink by experimental warming in a coastal wetland

Coastal wetlands have the highest carbon sequestration rate per unit area among all unmanaged natural ecosystems. However, how the magnitude and seasonality of the CO2 sink in coastal wetlands will respond to future climate warming remains unclear. Here, based on measurements of ecosystem CO2 fluxes in a field experiment in the Yellow River Delta, we found that experimental warming (i.e., a 2.4 degrees C increase in soil temperature) reduced net ecosystem productivity (NEP) by 23.7% across two growing seasons of 2017-2018. Such a reduction in NEP resulted from the greater decrease in gross primary productivity (GPP) than ecosystem respiration (ER) under warming. The negative warming effect on NEP mainly occurred in summer (-43.9%) but not in autumn (+61.3%), leading to a shifted NEP seasonality under warming. Further analyses showed that the warming effects on ecosystem CO2 exchange were mainly controlled by soil salinity and its corresponding impacts on species composition. For example, warming increased soil salinity (+35.0%), reduced total aboveground biomass (-9.9%), and benefited the growth of plant species with high salt tolerance and late peak growth. To the best of our knowledge, this study provides the first experimental evidence on the reduced magnitude and shifted seasonality of CO2 exchange under climate warming in coastal wetlands. These findings underscore the high vulnerability of wetland CO2 sink in coastal regions under future climate change