Thoughts on the relationship between Buddhism and Tibetans permeate Pema Tseden’s films. His early films focused on whether the Buddhist spirit, such as feelings, dedication, and self-sacrifice, was ...recognized in modern Tibet. Identity is a problem that Tibetans have always faced in the process of modernization. People in economically disadvantaged positions often face difficult choices between self-survival and maintaining moral and cultural traditions. Pema Tseden’s films, however, focus more on the philosophy of Buddhism and use an ethnic internal perspective to examine the problems in ethnic modernization, which provides his stories with a strong allegorical color.
N6-methyladenosine (m6A) is the most abundant mRNA modification in mammals and has been implicated in various biological processes. However, its role in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) remains largely ...unknown. In this study, we investigated the alterations of 19 main m6A regulatory genes in HCC and their association with clinicopathological features, including survival. The mutation, copy number variation (CNV) and clinical data of HCC patients were retrieved from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database. We found that the m6A regulators had high frequent alterations in HCC. The alterations of m6A regulators were significantly associated with clinicopathological features as well as TP53 alteration. Patients with any mutation of the m6A regulatory genes had worse overall survival (OS) and disease free survival (DFS). Deletion of METTL16 or ALKBH5 predicted poor OS and DFS of HCC patients. Moreover, deletion of METTL16 was an independent risk factor for DFS. Low METT16 expression was association with activation of multiple metabolic pathways in HCC. Finally, by RT-PCR, we confirmed that METTL16 was downregulated in HCC, and that lower METTL16 expression was associated with poor OS. In conclusion, we reported a significant association between alterations of m6A regulators and clinicopathological features, and highlighted the importance of METTL16 among the 19 m6A regulators in HCC pathogenesis. These findings will provide new insights into the role of m6A modification in HCC.
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Here we report a simple, low-cost and environment friendly method, in which Black locust seed dregs and potassium ferrate (K2FeO4) are used as starting raw materials and activation ...agent. The hierarchically porous carbons (BDPC) with high special surface area and abundant mesopores (SBET = 2010.1 m2 g−1 and Vmeso = 1.457 cm3 g−1) are obtained through hydrothermal treatment and chemical activation. The BDPC electrode exhibits excellent electrochemical performances by virtue of unique architecture and heteroatoms pseudocapacitance contribution. In the three-electrode system, the optimized carbon material (BDPC-2) achieves a high specific capacitance of 333 F g−1 at 1 A g−1 and displays the high rate capability (81.1% capacitance retention at 100 A g−1) in 6 M KOH electrolyte. The symmetric supercapacitor based BDPC-2 exhibits energy density as high as 26.2 Wh kg−1 (at a power density of 0.79 kW kg−1) and excellent long-term cycling stability (only 8% decrease after 10,000 cycles) in 6 M KOH.
In recent studies, NKG2A is revealed to be a key immune checkpoint for both natural killer (NK) cells and CD8
+
T cells. It form heterodimer receptors with CD94, and targets the peptide-presenting ...human leukocyte antigen-E (HLA-E) molecules. Upon crosslinking, NKG2A/CD94 delivers inhibitory signals for NK cells and CD8
+
T cells, while blocking NKG2A can effectively unleash functions of these cytotoxic lymphocytes. The interaction between NKG2A and HLA-E contributes to tumor immune escape, and NKG2A-mediated mechanisms are currently being exploited to develop potential antitumor therapeutic strategies. In addition, growing evidence shows that NKG2A also plays important roles in other immune-related diseases including viral infections, autoimmune diseases, inflammatory diseases, parasite infections and transplant rejection. Therefore, the current work focuses on describing the effect of NKG2A on immune regulation and exploring its potential role in immune-mediated disorders.
•First comprehensive ship emission inventory in China including OGVs, RVs and CVs•Full year AIS data of >15billion reports (166,546 vessels) were used for estimation.•Detailed spatial distribution ...and monthly variation of ship emissions were presented.•Emission differences of the major port clusters (BSA, YRD and PRD) were analyzed.•Emissions for the 24 major ports in China were presented.
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Ship exhaust emissions have been considered a significant source of air pollution, with adverse impacts on the global climate and human health. China, as one of the largest shipping countries, has long been in great need of in-depth analysis of ship emissions. This study for the first time developed a comprehensive national-scale ship emission inventory with 0.005°×0.005° resolution in China for 2014, using the bottom-up method based on Automatic Identification System (AIS) data of the full year of 2014. The emission estimation involved 166,546 unique vessels observed from over 15billion AIS reports, covering OGVs (ocean-going vessels), CVs (coastal vessels) and RVs (river vessels). Results show that the total estimated ship emissions for China in 2014 were 1.1937×106t (SO2), 2.2084×106t (NOX), 1.807×105t (PM10), 1.665×105t (PM2.5), 1.116×105t (HC), 2.419×105t (CO), and 7.843×107t (CO2, excluding RVs), respectively. OGVs were the main emission contributors, with proportions of 47%–74% of the emission totals for different species. Vessel type with the most emissions was container (~43.6%), followed by bulk carrier (~17.5%), oil tanker (~5.7%) and fishing ship (~4.9%). Monthly variations showed that emissions from transport vessels had a low point in February, while fishing ship presented two emission peaks in May and September. In terms of port clusters, ship emissions in BSA (Bohai Sea Area), YRD (Yangtze River Delta) and PRD (Pearl River Delta) accounted for ~13%, ~28% and ~17%, respectively, of the total emissions in China. On the contrast, the average emission intensities in PRD were the highest, followed by the YRD and BSA regions. The establishment of this high-spatiotemporal-resolution ship emission inventory fills the gap of national-scale ship emission inventory of China, and the corresponding ship emission characteristics are expected to provide certain reference significance for the management and control of the ship emissions.
Four anaerobic ammonium oxidation (anammox) immobilized filler reactors (R1: 33 °C-normal, R2: seasonal temperature-normal, R3: seasonal temperature-feast, R4: seasonal temperature-starvation) were ...established to study the response of anammox immobilized fillers to seasonal temperature changes and different operating modes. The results showed that the anammox immobilized filler could better adapt to the seasonal temperature drop and maintain the activity potential by adjusting the hydraulic retention time (HRT). During the temperature rise phase, R2 activity increased rapidly with the highest nitrogen removal rate reaching 1.26 kgN·(m3·d)−1, which was equivalent to control sample R1 (1.33 kgN·(m3·d)−1). However, feasting and famine conditions severely impaired anammox performance and changed stoichiometric ratios; feasting, in particular, significantly lowered the nitrogen removal potential of R3. The specific anammox activity of R2, R3 and R4 was 92.2%, 52.6% and 67.9%, respectively, that of R1, respectively, where the accumulation of functional bacteria was the reason for the higher activity of R2. Degradation kinetics and NO2−-N inhibition curves showed that R3 was less sensitive to high concentrations of NH4+–N, while R4 responded earlier to low concentrations of NH4+–N, and the reduction of IC50 at low temperature was the reason for the inhibition of R3 activity. Furthermore, seasonal temperature fluctuations had little effect on the microbial community structure but had a considerable impact on bacteria abundance. The anammox functional bacteria Candidatus Kuenenia was found to be the dominant genus in R1-R4; however, the relative abundance of most bacteria, including anammox bacteria, decreased in R3, while the proportion of fermentation bacteria and denitrifying bacteria increased in R4. These findings highlight the necessity of rational regulation of HRT for the adaptation of anammox immobilized fillers to seasonal temperature changes, which could enhance our understanding of the synergistic effect of seasonal temperature changes and different operating modes on nitrogen removal.
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•Evaluated entrapped anammox biomass performance at seasonal temperature for 375 days.•HRT regulation stabilized nitrogen removal while maintaining activity potential.•Excess substrate at low temperatures is more harmful than starvation.•Anammox reaction kinetics and NO2−-N tolerance affected by different operation modes.•Feast mainly affected AnAOB, while starvation had a greater effect on other flora.
Abstract
Estimating truck emissions accurately would benefit atmospheric research and public health protection. Here, we developed a full-sample enumeration approach TrackATruck to bridge ...low-frequency but full-size vehicles driving big data to high-resolution emission inventories. Based on 19 billion trajectories, we show how big the emission difference could be using different approaches: 99% variation coefficients on regional total (including 31% emissions from non-local trucks), and ± as large as 15 times on individual counties. Even if total amounts are set the same, the emissions on primary cargo routes were underestimated in the former by a multiple of 2–10 using aggregated approaches. Time allocation proxies are generated, indicating the importance of day-to-day estimation because the variation reached 26-fold. Low emission zone policy reduced emissions in the zone, but raised emissions in upwind areas in Beijing's case. Comprehensive measures should be considered, e.g. the demand-side optimization.
The hydrogenation of furfural (FUR), a typical bio‐based furan derivative, is a critical reaction within the roadmap for upgrading lignocellulosic biomass into high value‐added chemicals and liquid ...fuels, the performance of which is strongly correlated with the catalysts’ intrinsic peculiarities. Metal catalysts with tailorable sizes, uniform dispersions and robust sintering resistance are generally recognized as a prerequisite for obtaining better hydrogenation activity, selectivity and stability, which has prompted intensive research into metal particle size effects and their regulation strategies. The roles of metal particle sizes and corresponding dispersions of metal catalysts used for FUR hydrogenation have been clearly recognized to be crucial over the past decade. In this regard, this systematic Minireview aims to provide profound insights into particle size effects in the metal‐catalyzed hydrogenation of FUR, as well as conditional and structural approaches to regulating these effects. In addition, from the aspect of catalyst stability, the impacts and improvements of the metal particle sintering issue are analyzed. Moreover, several suggestions are proposed in response to the challenges in regulating particle size effects. Furthermore, the viewpoints presented herein would potentially contribute to the rational development of metal hydrogenation catalysts and further help to boost a more sustainable biomass refining system.
Particle size matters: The roles of particle size and dispersion of metal catalysts used for furfural hydrogenation have been clearly recognized to be crucial over the past decade. This Minireview is focused on particle size effects in the metal‐catalyzed furfural hydrogenation, as well as approaches to regulating these effects.
SUMMARY
An analysis of over 10 000 plant genome sizes (GSs) indicates that most species have smaller genomes than expected given the incidence of polyploidy in their ancestries, suggesting selection ...for genome downsizing. However, comparing ancestral GS with the incidence of ancestral polyploidy suggests that the rate of DNA loss following polyploidy is likely to have been very low (4–70 Mb/million years, 4–482 bp/generation). This poses a problem. How might such small DNA losses be visible to selection, overcome the power of genetic drift and drive genome downsizing? Here we explore that problem, focussing on the role that double‐strand break (DSB) repair pathways (non‐homologous end joining and homologous recombination) may have played. We also explore two hypotheses that could explain how selection might favour genome downsizing following polyploidy: to reduce (i) nitrogen (N) and phosphate (P) costs associated with nucleic acid synthesis in the nucleus and the transcriptome and (ii) the impact of scaling effects of GS on cell size, which influences CO2 uptake and water loss. We explore the hypothesis that losses of DNA must be fastest in early polyploid generations. Alternatively, if DNA loss is a more continuous process over evolutionary time, then we propose it is a byproduct of selection elsewhere, such as limiting the damaging activity of repetitive DNA. If so, then the impact of GS on photosynthesis, water use efficiency and/or nutrient costs at the nucleus level may be emergent properties, which have advantages, but not ones that could have been selected for over generational timescales.
Significance Statement
Despite an astonishing 2400‐fold range in angiosperm genome sizes, a key unanswered question is why most plant genomes are small, in spite of the abundance of repeats and the prevalence of polyploidy. This review outlines our current understanding of the mechanisms and processes responsible for genome size diversity, predicts typical rates of DNA loss following polyploidy and explores how selection might act to drive genome downsizing.
•The gully was the main sediment source, and the contribution of the gully to the slope was 8:2 between 1978 and 2010.•Erosion was dominated by the collapse of gully walls under the effect of ...gravity, which was triggered by rainstorms.•Changes in sediment contribution correlated to soil, landform, rainfall, coal mining and soil conservation.•Uncertainties of the fingerprinting approach are more significant and influential in complex environments.
Sediment sources in catchments under the control of check dams in the wind-water erosion crisscross region are more complicated compared to other regions on the Chinese Loess Plateau. This is due to their general complexity, which mainly results from variation in soil, landform, vegetation, and erosion agents. Accordingly, we used the composite fingerprinting approach to trace sediment sources in a typical small catchment in this region. The aim was to reveal the erosion characteristics of the catchment throughout the trapping history of the check dam. Sediment sources were classified into three-source (paleosol, loess and sand) and four-source (paleosol-gully, loess-gully, slope bare of sand and slope covered by sand) groups on the basis of soil and landform types, respectively. Sediment sources throughout the whole trapping history of the check dam (1978–2010) could be classified into three stages according to variation in sedimentation rate. Results showed that depositional sediment in the check dam was primarily from gullies (averaging 80.1%), especially the paleosol-gully (>54.1%). The large contribution of gullies indicated that the main erosion agents were streamflow from rainstorm events and gravity. Coal mining also had a significant impact on contribution of sediment sources, especially for slopes. Since 1987, mining began to change the structure of hills in this region, leading to slope fissures, collapse, and landslides at junctions where gullies meet slopes, which increased the risk of slope erosion. This has caused an increase in sediment from slopes bare of sand distributed under condition of continues implementation of soil conservation measures, which converted sloping cropland into grassland or forest. Further studies are necessary to gain better insight into sediment transport and deposition within such complex environments, as well as to distinguish between the effects of multiple erosion agents.
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