Abstract
Central Taiwan is among the most heavily polluted regions in Taiwan because of a complex mixing of local emissions from intense anthropogenic activities with natural dust. Long-range ...transport (LRT) of pollutants from outside Taiwan also contributes critically to the deterioration of air quality, especially during the northeast monsoon season. To identify the sources of particulate matter < 10 μm (PM
10
) in central Taiwan, this study performed several sampling campaigns, including three local events, one LRT event, and one dust storm event, during the northeast monsoon season of 2018/2019. The PM
10
samples were analyzed for water-soluble ion and trace metal concentrations as well as Pb isotope ratios. Local sediments were also collected and analyzed to constrain chemical/isotopic signatures of natural sources. The Pb isotope data were interpreted together with the enrichment factors and elemental ratios of trace metals in PM
10
, and reanalysis data sets were used to delineate the sources of PM
10
in central Taiwan. Our results suggested that Pb in PM
10
was predominantly contributed by oil combustion and oil refineries during the local events (48–88%), whereas the lowest contributions were from coal combustion (< 21%). During periods of high wind speed, the contribution from natural sources increased significantly from 13 to 31%. Despite Pb represented only a small portion of PM
10
, a strong correlation (r = 0.89,
p
< 0.001, multiple regression analysis) between PM
10
mass and the concentrations of Pb, V, and Al was observed in the study area, suggesting that the sources of PM
10
in central Taiwan can be possibly tracked by using chemical characteristics and Pb isotopes in PM
10
. Moreover, the Pb isotopic signals of PM
10
collected during the LRT event confirmed the impact of LRT from Mainland China, and the chemical characteristics of the PM
10
significantly differed from those of the PM
10
collected during local events. This study demonstrates the robustness of using a combination of Pb isotopic compositions and chemical characteristics in PM
10
for source tracing in complex and heavily polluted areas.
As a revolutionary technology, terrestrial laser scanning (TLS) is attracting increasing interest in the fields of architecture, engineering and construction (AEC), with outstanding advantages, such ...as highly automated, non-contact operation and efficient large-scale sampling capability. TLS has extended a new approach to capturing extremely comprehensive data of the construction environment, providing detailed information for further analysis. This paper presents a systematic review based on scientometric and qualitative analysis to summarize the progress and the current status of the topic and to point out promising research efforts. To begin with, a brief understanding of TLS is provided. Following the selection of relevant papers through a literature search, a scientometric analysis of papers is carried out. Then, major applications are categorized and presented, including (1) 3D model reconstruction, (2) object recognition, (3) deformation measurement, (4) quality assessment, and (5) progress tracking. For widespread adoption and effective use of TLS, essential problems impacting working effects in application are summarized as follows: workflow, data quality, scan planning, and data processing. Finally, future research directions are suggested, including: (1) cost control of hardware and software, (2) improvement of data processing capability, (3) automatic scan planning, (4) integration of digital technologies, (5) adoption of artificial intelligence.
Individuals with high anti-citrullinated protein antibody (ACPA) titers have an increased risk of developing rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Although our knowledge of the generation and production of ...ACPAs has continuously advanced during the past decade, our understanding on the pathogenic mechanisms of how ACPAs interact with immune cells to trigger articular inflammation is relatively limited. Citrullination disorders drive the generation and maintenance of ACPAs, with profound clinical significance in patients with RA. The loss of tolerance to citrullinated proteins, however, is essential for ACPAs to exert their pathogenicity. N-linked glycosylation, cross-reactivity and the structural interactions of ACPAs with their citrullinated antigens further direct their biological functions. Although questions remain in the pathogenicity of ACPAs acting as agonists for a receptor-mediated response, immune complex (IC) formation, complement system activation, crystallizable fragment gamma receptor (FcγR) activation, cross-reactivity to joint cartilage and neutrophil extracellular trap (NET)-related mechanisms have all been suggested recently. This paper presents a critical review of the characteristics and possible biological effects and mechanisms of the immunopathogenesis of ACPAs in patients with RA.
Aim
Microvascular invasion (MVI) is not discussed for solitary hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) up to 2 cm in the 8th Edition of the American Joint Committee on Cancer Staging Manual. The present study ...aimed to reappraise the influence of MVI on solitary HCC up to 2 cm in diameter.
Methods
Between January 2010 and December 2012, a retrospective cohort of 496 HCC patients from the Eastern Hepatobiliary Surgery Hospital was analyzed. Propensity score matching was carried out to balance the baseline characteristics. Survival analysis was carried out using the Kaplan–Meier method. Risk factors were evaluated using the Cox proportional hazards model. Multivariate logistic regression was used to identify the risk factors associated with MVI.
Results
All patients were classified into either an MVI‐negative group (n = 332) or an MVI‐positive group (n = 164). The MVI‐positive group had poorer recurrence‐free survival and overall survival before and after propensity score matching. The multivariate analysis showed that MVI; being male; increased total bilirubin levels, alanine transaminase levels and γ‐glutamyl transpeptidase levels; decreased albumin levels; and HBV DNA load >103 IU/mL were risk factors for recurrence‐free survival. MVI, older age, lower albumin levels, and cirrhosis were risk factors for overall survival. Age <50 years, alpha‐fetoprotein >20 ng/mL, and lack of or an incomplete capsule were significantly independent predictors for MVI.
Conclusions
MVI had a negative impact on the prognosis of solitary HCC up to 2 cm after curative hepatectomy. The 8th edition of the American Joint Committee on Cancer staging system could be improved by subdividing solitary HCC up to 2 cm according to MVI.
This study investigated environmental efficiency considering heterogeneity for 192 thermal power plants in the Yangtze River Delta of China from 2009 to 2011. We evaluated environmental efficiency ...using metafrontier directional slacks-based measure. We also testify whether heterogeneity for environmental technology increased or decreased among different provinces. We proposed a regional, time, and coal intensity effects hypothesis to explore the determinants of environmental efficiency through bootstrapped truncated regression. We found that heterogeneity for environmental technology widened from 2010 to 2011. Shanghai had the highest environmental efficiency. Environmental efficiency increased from 2009 to 2010, and declined in 2011. Coal consumption intensity negatively impacted environmental efficiency. It is critical that we should decrease the rate of coal use, and expand technology spillover of production technology and environmental technology among different provinces and power plants.
Centromeres are essential chromosomal regions that mediate kinetochore assembly and spindle attachments during cell division. Despite their functional conservation, centromeres are among the most ...rapidly evolving genomic regions and can shape karyotype evolution and speciation across taxa. Although significant progress has been made in identifying centromere-associated proteins, the highly repetitive centromeres of metazoans have been refractory to DNA sequencing and assembly, leaving large gaps in our understanding of their functional organization and evolution. Here, we identify the sequence composition and organization of the centromeres of Drosophila melanogaster by combining long-read sequencing, chromatin immunoprecipitation for the centromeric histone CENP-A, and high-resolution chromatin fiber imaging. Contrary to previous models that heralded satellite repeats as the major functional components, we demonstrate that functional centromeres form on islands of complex DNA sequences enriched in retroelements that are flanked by large arrays of satellite repeats. Each centromere displays distinct size and arrangement of its DNA elements but is similar in composition overall. We discover that a specific retroelement, G2/Jockey-3, is the most highly enriched sequence in CENP-A chromatin and is the only element shared among all centromeres. G2/Jockey-3 is also associated with CENP-A in the sister species D. simulans, revealing an unexpected conservation despite the reported turnover of centromeric satellite DNA. Our work reveals the DNA sequence identity of the active centromeres of a premier model organism and implicates retroelements as conserved features of centromeric DNA.
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The exploration of carbon dots (CDs) with high quantum yield, facile synthesis path and satisfying output for their multiple applications remains a challenge. Thus, a silicon-doped ...orange-emitting carbon dots (O-CDs) is synthesized via a one-step hydrothermal method o-phenylenediamine and ethyl orthosilicate as raw materials. The O-CDs exhibits a bright and non-excitation-dependent emission peaking at 580 nm, and the corresponding quantum yield could be greatly boosted from 39.2 % to 64.1 % by silicon doping. The obtained O-CDs possess good biocompatibility and promising luminescence stability with varying solvents, ionic concentrations and temperatures. Its bio-imaging ability is performed by incubating zebrafish embryos with O-CDs aqueous solution, and clear in-vivo fluorescent images are obtained. Furthermore, due to its high-efficient and specific pH-sensitive emission with excellent dispersibility, the O-CDs can be used as a fluorescent ink for dual-model data encry/decryption in both hand-writing and stamp printing. Therefore, the as-prepared O-CDs show the potential as promising candidate for biomedical diagnosis, data encryption, and anti-counterfeiting.
A 3D yolk–shell‐like electrode material composed of a porous interconnected graphene network and embedded Ni2P nanoparticles is designed and fabricated by an assembly and self‐template strategy. This ...novel nanoarchitecture integrates the advantages of nanostructure and microstructure, and provides highly efficient and stable electrochemical circuits involving the active nanoparticles, leading to excellent electrochemical performance in terms of reversibility, rate capability, and cycle stability.
Understanding scale effects is important and indispensable for geography studies. However, spatial and spatiotemporal statistical tools for measuring the operational scales of different processes are ...rather limited. This article extends the popular geographically and temporally weighted regression (GTWR) model to consider operational scale effects by proposing multiscale GTWR (MGTWR), which offers a flexible and scalable framework for identifying and analysing multiscale processes by specifying flexible bandwidths for various covariates. Then, MGTWR is employed to explore spatiotemporal variations and how influential factors are associated with housing prices in Shenzhen. This article attempts to extend GTWR to MGTWR in consideration of scale effects, thereby highlighting the importance of different levels of spatiotemporal heterogeneity. Furthermore, the empirical results of this study can provide valuable policy implications for real estate development in areas where urban planning should address multiscale effects in both temporal and spatial dimensions.
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