In the last years it has been shown that some properties of strongly coupled superconductors can be potentially described by classical general relativity living in one higher dimension, which is ...known as holographic superconductors. This paper gives a quick and introductory overview of some holographic superconductor models with s-wave, p-wave and d-wave orders in the literature from point of view of bottom-up, and summarizes some basic properties of these holographic models in various regimes. The competition and coexistence of these superconductivity orders are also studied in these superconductor models.
Noncommunicable chronic diseases have become the leading causes of mortality and disease burden worldwide.
To investigate the prevalence of diabetes and glycemic control in the Chinese adult ...population.
Using a complex, multistage, probability sampling design, we conducted a cross-sectional survey in a nationally representative sample of 98,658 Chinese adults in 2010.
Plasma glucose and hemoglobin A1c levels were measured after at least a 10-hour overnight fast among all study participants, and a 2-hour oral glucose tolerance test was conducted among participants without a self-reported history of diagnosed diabetes. Diabetes and prediabetes were defined according to the 2010 American Diabetes Association criteria; whereas, a hemoglobin A1c level of <7.0% was considered adequate glycemic control.
The overall prevalence of diabetes was estimated to be 11.6% (95% CI, 11.3%-11.8%) in the Chinese adult population. The prevalence among men was 12.1% (95% CI, 11.7%-12.5%) and among women was 11.0% (95% CI, 10.7%-11.4%). The prevalence of previously diagnosed diabetes was estimated to be 3.5% (95% CI, 3.4%-3.6%) in the Chinese population: 3.6% (95% CI, 3.4%-3.8%) in men and 3.4% (95% CI, 3.2%-3.5%) in women. The prevalence of undiagnosed diabetes was 8.1% (95% CI, 7.9%-8.3%) in the Chinese population: 8.5% (95% CI, 8.2%-8.8%) in men and 7.7% (95% CI, 7.4%-8.0%) in women. In addition, the prevalence of prediabetes was estimated to be 50.1% (95% CI, 49.7%-50.6%) in Chinese adults: 52.1% (95% CI, 51.5%-52.7%) in men and 48.1% (95% CI, 47.6%-48.7%) in women. The prevalence of diabetes was higher in older age groups, in urban residents, and in persons living in economically developed regions. Among patients with diabetes, only 25.8% (95% CI, 24.9%-26.8%) received treatment for diabetes, and only 39.7% (95% CI, 37.6%-41.8%) of those treated had adequate glycemic control.
The estimated prevalence of diabetes among a representative sample of Chinese adults was 11.6% and the prevalence of prediabetes was 50.1%. Projections based on sample weighting suggest this may represent up to 113.9 million Chinese adults with diabetes and 493.4 million with prediabetes. These findings indicate the importance of diabetes as a public health problem in China.
Effects of the heavy metal copper (Cu), the metalloid arsenic (As), and the antibiotic oxytetracycline (OTC) on bacterial community structure and diversity during cow and pig manure composting were ...investigated. Eight treatments were applied, four to each manure type, namely cow manure with: (1) no additives (control), (2) addition of heavy metal and metalloid, (3) addition of OTC and (4) addition of OTC with heavy metal and metalloid; and pig manure with: (5) no additives (control), (6) addition of heavy metal and metalloid, (7) addition of OTC and (8) addition of OTC with heavy metal and metalloid. After 35 days of composting, according to the alpha diversity indices, the combination treatment (OTC with heavy metal and metalloid) in pig manure was less harmful to microbial diversity than the control or heavy metal and metalloid treatments. In cow manure, the treatment with heavy metal and metalloid was the most harmful to the microbial community, followed by the combination and OTC treatments. The OTC and combination treatments had negative effects on the relative abundance of microbes in cow manure composts. The dominant phyla in both manure composts included Actinobacteria, Bacteroidetes, Firmicutes, and Proteobacteria. The microbial diversity relative abundance transformation was dependent on the composting time. Redundancy analysis (RDA) revealed that environmental parameters had the most influence on the bacterial communities. In conclusion, the composting process is the most sustainable technology for reducing heavy metal and metalloid impacts and antibiotic contamination in cow and pig manure. The physicochemical property variations in the manures had a significant effect on the microbial community during the composting process. This study provides an improved understanding of bacterial community composition and its changes during the composting process.
Grain filling is the physiological process for determining the obtainment of yield in cereal crops. The grain-filling characteristics of 50 maize brand hybrids released from 1964 to 2014 in China ...were assayed across multiple environments. We found that the grain-filling duration (54.46%) and rate (43.40%) at the effective grain-filling phase greatly contributed to the final performance parameter of 100-kernel weight (HKW). Meanwhile, along with the significant increase in HKW, the accumulated growing degree days (GDDs) for the actual grain-filling period duration (AFPD) among the selected brand hybrids released from the 1960s to the 2010s in China had a decadal increase of 23.41°C d. However, there was a decadal increase of only 19.76°C d for GDDs of the days from sowing to physiological maturity (DPM), which was also demonstrated by a continuous decrease in the ratio between the days from sowing to silking (DS) and DPM (i.e., from 53.24% in the 1960s to 49.78% in the 2010s). In contrast, there were no significant changes in grain-filling rate along with the release years of the selected hybrids. Moreover, the stability of grain-filling characteristics across environments also significantly increased along with the hybrid release years. We also found that the exotic hybrids showed a longer grain-filling duration at the effective grain-filling phase and more stability of the grain-filling characteristics than those of the Chinese local hybrids. According to the results of this study, it is expected that the relatively longer grain-filling duration, shorter DS, higher grain-filling rate, and steady grain-filling characteristics would contribute to the yield improvement of maize hybrids in the future.
By systematically summarizing horizontal well fracturing technology abroad for shale oil and gas reservoirs since the “13th Five-Year Plan”, this article elaborates new horizontal well fracturing ...features in 3D development of stacked shale reservoirs, small well spacing and dense well pattern, horizontal well re-fracturing, fracturing parameters optimization and cost control. In light of requirements on horizontal well fracturing technology in China, we have summarized the technological progress in simulation of multi-fracture propagation, horizontal well frac-design, electric-drive fracturing equipment, soluble tools and low-cost downhole materials and factory-like operation. On this basis, combined with the demand analysis of horizontal well fracturing technology in the “14th Five-Year Plan” for unconventional shale oil and gas, we suggest strengthening the research and development in the following 7 aspects: (1) geology-engineering integration; (2) basic theory and design optimization of fracturing for shale oil and gas reservoirs; (3) development of high-power electric-drive fracturing equipment; (4) fracturing tool and supporting equipment for long horizontal section; (5) horizontal well flexible-sidetracking drilling technology for tapping remaining oil; (6) post-frac workover technology for long horizontal well; (7) intelligent fracturing technology.
To decipher neural circuits underlying brain functions, viral tracers are widely applied to map input and output connectivity of neuronal populations. Despite the successful application of retrograde ...transsynaptic viruses for identifying presynaptic neurons of transduced neurons, analogous anterograde transsynaptic tools for tagging postsynaptically targeted neurons remain under development. Here, we discovered that adeno-associated viruses (AAV1 and AAV9) exhibit anterograde transsynaptic spread properties. AAV1-Cre from transduced presynaptic neurons effectively and specifically drives Cre-dependent transgene expression in selected postsynaptic neuronal targets, thus allowing axonal tracing and functional manipulations of the latter input-defined neuronal population. Its application in superior colliculus (SC) reveals that SC neuron subpopulations receiving corticocollicular projections from auditory and visual cortex specifically drive flight and freezing, two different types of defense behavior, respectively. Together with an intersectional approach, AAV-mediated anterograde transsynaptic tagging can categorize neurons by their inputs and molecular identity, and allow forward screening of distinct functional neural pathways embedded in complex brain circuits.
•AAV1 and AAV9 exhibit anterograde transsynaptic spread properties•AAV1-Cre can transsynaptically tag input-defined postsynaptic neurons•Corticocollicular input-defined SC neurons mediate different defense behaviors•With an intersectional approach, the tagging can be postsynaptic cell-type specific
Zingg et al. revealed anterograde transsynaptic spread properties of adeno-associated viruses. This novel viral application is useful for tracing and manipulating neural circuits in a postsynaptic cell-type- and input-specific manner, thus facilitating dissection of neural circuits underlying different behaviors.
Advances in Effects of Sound Waves on Plants Hassanien, Reda HE; HOU, Tian-zhen; LI, Yu-feng ...
Journal of Integrative Agriculture,
02/2014, Volume:
13, Issue:
2
Journal Article
Peer reviewed
Open access
Sound waves technology has been applied to different plants. It has been found that sound waves were at different frequencies, sound pressure levels （SPLs）, exposure periods, and distances from the ...source of sound influence plant growth. Experiments have been conducted in the open field and under greenhouse growing conditions with different levels of audible sound frequencies and sound pressure levels. Sound waves at 1 kHz and 100 dB for 1 h within a distance of 0.20 m could significantly promote the division and cell wall fluidity of callus cells and also significantly enhance the activity of protective enzymes and endogenous hormones. Sound waves stimulation could increase the plant plasma-membrane IT-ATPase activity, the contents of soluble sugar, soluble protein, and amylase activity of callus. Moreover, sound waves could increase the content of RNA and the level of transcription. Stress-induced genes could switch on under sound stimulation. Sound waves at 0.1-1 kHz and SPL of （70＋5） dB for 3 h from plant acoustic frequency technology （PAFT） generator within a distance ranged from 30 to 60 m every other day significantly increased the yield of sweet pepper, cucumber and tomato by 30.05, 37.1 and 13.2%, respectively. Furthermore, the yield of lettuce, spinach, cotton, rice, and wheat were increased by 19.6, 22.7, 11.4, 5.7, and 17.0%, respectively. Sound waves may also strengthen plant immune systems. It has been proved that spider mite, aphids, gray mold, late blight and virus disease of tomatoes in the greenhouses decreased by 6.0, 8.0, 9.0, 11.0, and 8.0%, respectively, and the sheath blight office was reduced by 50%. This paper provides an overview of literature for the effects of sound waves on various growth parameters of plant at different growth stages.
Straw return is an important management tool for tackling and promoting soil nutrient conservation and improving crop yield in Huang-Huai-Hai Plain, China. Although the incorporation of maize straw ...with deep plowing and rotary tillage practices are widespread in the region, only few studies have focused on rotation tillage. To determine the effects of maize straw return on the nitrogen （N） efficiency and grain yield of winter wheat （Triticum aestivum L.）, we conducted experiments in this region for 3 years. Five treatments were tested： （i） rotary tillage without straw return （RT）; （ii） deep plowing tillage without straw return （DT）; （iii） rotary tillage with total straw return （RS）; （iv） deep plowing tillage with total straw return （DS）; （v） rotary tillage of 2 years and deep plowing tillage in the 3rd year with total straw return （TS）. Treatments with straw return increased kernels no. ear-1, thousand-kernel weight （TKW）, grain yields, ratio of dry matter accumulation post-anthesis, and nitrogen （N） efficiency whereas reduced the ears no. ha-1 in the 2011-2012 and 2012-2013 growing seasons. Compared with the rotary tillage, deep plowing tillage significantly increased the grain yield, yield components, total dry matter accumulation, and N efficiency in 2013-2014. RS had significantly higher straw N distribution, soil inorganic nitrogen content, and soil enzymes activities in the 0-10 cm soil layer compared with the DS and TS. However, significantly lower values were ob- served in the 10-20 and 20-30 cm soil layers. TS obtained approximately equal grain yield as DS, and it also reduced the resource costs. Therefore, we conclude that TS is the most economical method for increasing grain yield and N efficiency of winter wheat in Huang-Huai-Hai Plain.
Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have identified over 41 susceptibility loci associated with Parkinson's Disease (PD) but identifying putative causal genes and the underlying mechanisms remains ...challenging. Here, we leverage large-scale transcriptomic datasets to prioritize genes that are likely to affect PD by using a transcriptome-wide association study (TWAS) approach. Using this approach, we identify 66 gene associations whose predicted expression or splicing levels in dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLFPC) and peripheral monocytes are significantly associated with PD risk. We uncover many novel genes associated with PD but also novel mechanisms for known associations such as MAPT, for which we find that variation in exon 3 splicing explains the common genetic association. Genes identified in our analyses belong to the same or related pathways including lysosomal and innate immune function. Overall, our study provides a strong foundation for further mechanistic studies that will elucidate the molecular drivers of PD.
Epigenetic regulation in insects may have effects on diverse biological processes. Here we survey the methylome of a model insect, the silkworm Bombyx mori, at single-base resolution using Illumina ...high-throughput bisulfite sequencing (MethylC-Seq). We conservatively estimate that 0.11% of genomic cytosines are methylcytosines, all of which probably occur in CG dinucleotides. CG methylation is substantially enriched in gene bodies and is positively correlated with gene expression levels, suggesting it has a positive role in gene transcription. We find that transposable elements, promoters and ribosomal DNAs are hypomethylated, but in contrast, genomic loci matching small RNAs in gene bodies are densely methylated. This work contributes to our understanding of epigenetics in insects, and in contrast to previous studies of the highly methylated genomes of Arabidopsis and human, demonstrates a strategy for sequencing the epigenomes of organisms such as insects that have low levels of methylation.
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