Tourism gentrification and sustainability of farming cultural heritage site

Gentrification is a phenomenon widely studied in inner city transformation. Recently the concept of gentrification has also been applied in the context of tourism. However, the negative effects of gentrification in area of indigenous shall not be ignored particularly where the cultural and lifestyle of the indigenous people are the main tourist attractions. This research investigates gentrification process in the Rice Terraces World Heritage Site at Yuanyang Yunnan, China. We deployed qualitative research to collect interview and observation data to analyse the drivers of gentrification, and proposed practical approaches to sustainable development

High resolution thermal microscopy

Journal ArticleA new high resolution thermal microscope has been demonstrated capable of imaging thermal fields with sub 1000 angstom resolution. It is based upon a non-contacting near field thermal probe. The thermal probe consists of a thermocouple sensor on the end of a tip with sub 1000 angstrom dimensions. The probe tip is scanned in close proximity to a solid or liquid surface and the local temperature is mapped with a resolution determined by the size of the tip. Material independent surface profiling has also been demonstrated with the thermal probe, providing a lateral resolution of approximately 300 angstroms. Temperature mapping and surface profiling results are presented on both electronic and biological materials

Aedes albopictus salivary proteins adenosine deaminase and 34k2 interact with human mast cell specific proteases tryptase and chymase

When mosquitoes probe to feed blood, they inoculate a mixture of salivary molecules into vertebrate hosts' skin causing acute inflammatory reactions where mast cell-derived mediators are involved. Mosquito saliva contains many proteins with largely unknown biological functions. Here, two Aedes albopictus salivary proteins - adenosine deaminase (alADA) and al34k2 - were investigated for their immunological impact on mast cells and two mast cell-specific proteases, the tryptase and the chymase. Mouse bone marrow-derived mast cells were challenged with increased concentrations of recombinant alADA or al34k2 for 1, 3, and 6 h, and to measure mast cell activation, the activity levels of beta-hexosaminidase and tryptase and secretion of IL-6 were evaluated. In addition, a direct interaction between alADA or al34k2 with tryptase or chymase was investigated. Results show that bone marrow-derived mast cells challenged with 10 mu g/ml of alADA secreted significant levels of beta-hexosaminidase, tryptase, and IL-6. Furthermore, both al34k2 and alADA are cut by human tryptase and chymase. Interestingly, al34k2 dose-dependently enhance enzymatic activity of both tryptase and chymase. In contrast, while alADA enhances the enzymatic activity of tryptase, chymase activity was inhibited. Our finding suggests that alADA and al34k2 via interaction with mast cell-specific proteases tryptase and chymase modulate mast cell-driven immune response in the local skin microenvironment. alADA- and al34k2-mediated modulation of tryptase and chymase may also recruit more inflammatory cells and induce vascular leakage, which may contribute to the inflammatory responses at the mosquito bite site

Quantitative Prediction of Air Entrainment Defects in Casting Filling Process

Air entrainment defect is a common type of defect in the casting process, which will seriously affect the quality of the casting. Numerical simulation technology can predict the occurrence of casting defects according to the evolution law of liquid metal in the process of fill ing and solidification. The simulation of air entrainment process is a hot and difficult issue in the field of numerical simulation. The evolution law of air entrainment and the tracking of induced bubbles in the process of metal filling are still lacking. So is the quantitative prediction of trained gas. In this paper, based on the numerical simulation software of Inte CAST, this paper proposes an algorithm for air entrainment search and tracking, which is used to develop a quantitative prediction system for air entrainment. The feasibility of the system is verified through the simulation calculation of the typical test pieces of the air entrainment and the prediction of air entrainment defects of the casting in the process of filling is obtained through the simulation calculation of the actual casting, which can provide a certain guiding role for the optimization of the process in the production practice

The common rs9939609 variant of the fat mass and obesity-associated gene is associated with obesity risk in children and adolescents of Beijing, China

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Previous genome-wide association studies for type 2 diabetes susceptibility genes have confirmed that a common variant, rs9939609, in the fat mass and obesity associated (<it>FTO</it>) gene region is associated with body mass index (BMI) in European children and adults. A significant association of the same risk allele has been described in Asian adult populations, but the results are conflicting. In addition, no replication studies have been conducted in children and adolescents of Asian ancestry.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A population-based survey was carried out among 3503 children and adolescents (6-18 years of age) in Beijing, China, including 1229 obese and 2274 non-obese subjects. We investigated the association of rs9939609 with BMI and the risk of obesity. In addition, we tested the association of rs9939609 with weight, height, waist circumference, waist-to-height ratio, fat mass percentage, birth weight, blood pressure and related metabolic traits.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>We found significant associations of rs9939609 variant with weight, BMI, BMI standard deviation score (BMI-SDS), waist circumference, waist-to-height ratio, and fat mass percentage in children and adolescents (<it>p </it>for trend = 3.29 × 10^-5, 1.39 × 10^-6, 3.76 × 10^-6, 2.26 × 10^-5, 1.94 × 10^-5, and 9.75 × 10^-5, respectively). No significant associations were detected with height, birth weight, systolic and diastolic blood pressure and related metabolic traits such as total cholesterol, triglycerides, HDL-cholesterol, LDL-cholesterol and fasting plasma glucose (all <it>p </it>> 0.05). Each additional copy of the rs9939609 A allele was associated with a BMI increase of 0.79 [95% Confidence interval (CI) 0.47 to 1.10] kg/m², equivalent to 0.25 (95%CI 0.14 to 0.35) BMI-SDS units. This rs9939609 variant is significantly associated with the risk of obesity under an additive model [Odds ratio (OR) = 1.29, 95% CI 1.11 to 1.50] after adjusting for age and gender. Moreover, an interaction between the <it>FTO</it> rs9939609 genotype and physical activity (<it>p </it>< 0.001) was detected on BMI levels, the effect of rs9939609-A allele on BMI being (0.95 ± 0.10), (0.77 ± 0.08) and (0.67 ± 0.05) kg/m², for subjects who performed low, moderate and severe intensity physical activity.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The <it>FTO </it>rs9939609 variant is strongly associated with BMI and the risk of obesity in a population of children and adolescents in Beijing, China.</p

Diverse Applications of Nanomedicine

The design and use of materials in the nanoscale size range for addressing medical and health-related issues continues to receive increasing interest. Research in nanomedicine spans a multitude of areas, including drug delivery, vaccine development, antibacterial, diagnosis and imaging tools, wearable devices, implants, high-throughput screening platforms, etc. using biological, nonbiological, biomimetic, or hybrid materials. Many of these developments are starting to be translated into viable clinical products. Here, we provide an overview of recent developments in nanomedicine and highlight the current challenges and upcoming opportunities for the field and translation to the clinic. \ua9 2017 American Chemical Society

Two ultraviolet radiation datasets that cover China

Ultraviolet (UV) radiation has significant effects on ecosystems, environments, and human health, as well as atmospheric processes and climate change. Two ultraviolet radiation datasets are described in this paper. One contains hourly observations of UV radiation measured at 40 Chinese Ecosystem Research Network stations from 2005 to 2015. CUV3 broadband radiometers were used to observe the UV radiation, with an accuracy of 5%, which meets the World Meteorology Organization's measurement standards. The extremum method was used to control the quality of the measured datasets. The other dataset contains daily cumulative UV radiation estimates that were calculated using an all-sky estimation model combined with a hybrid model. The reconstructed daily UV radiation data span from 1961 to 2014. The mean absolute bias error and root-mean-square error are smaller than 30% at most stations, and most of the mean bias error values are negative, which indicates underestimation of the UV radiation intensity. These datasets can improve our basic knowledge of the spatial and temporal variations in UV radiation. Additionally, these datasets can be used in studies of potential ozone formation and atmospheric oxidation, as well as simulations of ecological processes

Research and application of enterprise resource planning system for foundry enterprises

PPDB issues - four aspects of current management issues of foundry enterprises are discussed in this paper, including Production Management, Process Control, Duration Monitoring and Business Intelligence Data Analysis. Also a whole Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) solution for foundry enterprises is proposed. The solution contains many models, four of which are used to solve the PPDB issues. These are called SPDB models, which separately are the Single-piece management model (based on casting lifecycle), Process management model (based on task-driven technology), Duration monitoring model (based on surplus period), and Business intelligence data analysis model (based on data mining). An ERP system for foundry enterprises, named HZERP, was researched and developed, and applied to a sand casting company of single piece and small batch production. Qualitatively and quantitatively comparing the application effect before and after implementing the HZERP system, the result demonstrated that the foundry ERP system based on the SPDB models can help metal casting enterprises achieve the single-piece management, better regulate the production processes, improve production and delivery management, shorten the production cycle, reduce costs, and speed up the capital turnover to a large extent

Harnessing stimuli‐responsive biomaterials for advanced biomedical applications

Cell behavior is intricately intertwined with the in vivo microenvironment and endogenous pathways. The ability to guide cellular behavior toward specific goals can be achieved by external stimuli, notably electricity, light, ultrasound, and magnetism, simultaneously harnessed through biomaterial‐mediated responses. These external triggers become focal points within the body due to interactions with biomaterials, facilitating a range of cellular pathways: electrical signal transmission, biochemical cues, drug release, cell loading, and modulation of mechanical stress. Stimulus‐responsive biomaterials hold immense potential in biomedical research, establishing themselves as a pivotal focal point in interdisciplinary pursuits. This comprehensive review systematically elucidates prevalent physical stimuli and their corresponding biomaterial response mechanisms. Moreover, it delves deeply into the application of biomaterials within the domain of biomedicine. A balanced assessment of distinct physical stimulation techniques is provided, along with a discussion of their merits and limitations. The review aims to shed light on the future trajectory of physical stimulus‐responsive biomaterials in disease treatment and outline their application prospects and potential for future development. This review is poised to spark novel concepts for advancing intelligent, stimulus‐responsive biomaterials