Observational study on boundary-layer moist static energy budget over the tropical western Pacific and its variability associated with boreal summer intraseasonal oscillation

Moist static energy (MSE) in the atmospheric boundary layer (BL) is one of the essential parameters determining convective activity over tropical oceanic areas. It is thus important to quantitatively understand BL MSE budget processes and their variability. Among these processes, only few studies have evaluated contributions of entrainment across the BL top and convective downdraft. This study aims to estimate these contributions by analyzing upper-air and surface meteorological observations obtained using Research Vessel Mirai over the tropical western Pacific in June 2008. Daily-mean downward mass fluxes due to the two processes are calculated using BL dry static energy and moisture budget equations under the BL quasi-equilibrium approximation. Estimated mass fluxes are consistent with convective activity observed by a shipborne weather radar and a ceilometer. This study further examines how the mass fluxes and budget processes are modulated when a convectively active phase of boreal summer intraseasonal oscillation arrives at the observation area in the second half of the month. It is found that, while the contribution of the entrainment does not change significantly, the convective downdraft mass flux and the resultant BL MSE export increase 5 times and 3 times, respectively, in the convectively active period compared with those in the pre-active period. Furthermore, ~1/4 of the increase in the convective downdraft mass flux is attributable to the increase in MSE of convective downdraft air associated with mid-tropospheric moistening.

Dysfunctions of the paraventricular hypothalamic nucleus induce hypersomnia in mice

Hypersomnolence disorder (HD) is characterized by excessive sleep, which is a common sequela following stroke, infection or tumorigenesis. HD is traditionally thought to be associated with lesions of wake-promoting nuclei. However, lesions of a single wake-promoting nucleus, or even two simultaneously, did not exert serious HD. Therefore, the specific nucleus and neural circuitry for HD remain unknown. Here, we observed that the paraventricular nucleus of the hypothalamus (PVH) exhibited higher c-fos expression during the active period (23:00) than during the inactive period (11:00) in mice. Therefore, we speculated that the PVH, in which most neurons are glutamatergic, may represent one of the key arousal-controlling centers. By using vesicular glutamate transporter 2 (vglut2Cre) mice together with fiber photometry, multichannel electrophysiological recordings, and genetic approaches, we found that PVHvglut2 neurons were most active during wakefulness. Chemogenetic activation of PVHvglut2 neurons induced wakefulness for 9 h, and photostimulation of PVHvglut2→parabrachial complex/ventral lateral septum circuits immediately drove transitions from sleep to wakefulness. Moreover, lesioning or chemogenetic inhibition of PVHvglut2 neurons dramatically decreased wakefulness. These results indicate that the PVH is critical for arousal promotion and maintenance.

Expression of Th17/Treg Cells in Peripheral Blood and Related Cytokines of Patients with Ulcerative Colitis of Different Syndrome Types and Correlation with the Disease

Objective. To explore the expression of helper T cells 17 (Th17)/regulatory T cells (Treg) in peripheral blood and related cytokines of patients with different types of ulcerative colitis (UC) and analyze their correlation with the disease. Methods. From January 2018 to December 2019, 53 patients diagnosed with UC in our hospital were selected. According to their medical syndromes, they were divided into the damp-heat internal accumulation group (n = 35) and the spleen-kidney yang deficiency group (n = 18). 21 healthy volunteers were selected as the control group. The Mayo scoring standard was used to determine the severity of the patient’s condition. The expression levels of Th17/Treg cells and related cytokines in peripheral blood were compared between the groups. Pearson correlation was used to analyze the correlation between the ratio of Th17 and Treg cells in the peripheral blood of UC patients and the ratio of TH17/Treg with Mayo score. Results. The peripheral blood Th17 cell ratio and Th17/Treg ratio of the damp-heat internal accumulation and spleen-kidney yang deficiency group were higher than those of the control group; the Treg cell ratio was lower than that of the control group; the peripheral blood Th17 cell ratio and Th17/Treg ratio of the damp-heat internal accumulation group were higher those of the spleen-kidney yang deficiency group; and the proportion of Treg cells was lower than that of the spleen-kidney yang deficiency group ( P < 0.05 ). The expression levels of serum IL-6, IL-17, IL-22, and TNF-α in the damp-heat internal accumulation and spleen-kidney yang deficiency group were higher than those of the control group; IL-10 and TGF-β were lower than those of the control group; the levels of serum IL-6, IL-17, IL-22, and TNF-α in the damp-heat internal accumulation group were higher than those of the spleen-kidney yang deficiency group; and both IL-10 and TGF-β were lower than those of the spleen-kidney yang deficiency group ( P < 0.05 ). The peripheral blood Th17 cell ratio and Th17/Treg ratio in the moderately active period group and severely active period group were higher than those of the lightly active period group; the Treg cell ratio was lower than that of the lightly active period group; the peripheral blood Th17 cell ratio and Th17/Treg ratio in the severely active period group were higher than those in the moderately active period group; and the proportion of Treg cells was lower than that of the moderately active period group. Pearson correlation analysis showed that the proportion of Th17 cells and Th17/Treg in peripheral blood of UC patients were both positively correlated with Mayo score (r = 0.762, r = 0.777, P < 0.001 ). Treg was negatively correlated with Mayo score (r = −0.790, P < 0.001 ). Conclusion. There are differences in the expression of peripheral blood Th17/Treg cells and related cytokines among UC patients with different syndromes, and the damp-heat content is the most significant. The higher the ratio of Th17 cells in peripheral blood and the degree of Th17/Treg imbalance, the lower the ratio of Treg cells, and the more severe the condition of UC patients, which can provide a preliminary quantitative basis for the TCM classification and severity of the diagnosis of UC.

Abstract P282: Time Restricted Feeding In Mice On A Chronic High Fat Diet Leads To Reduced Aortic Damage And Oxidative Stress

Diet-induced obesity is associated with an increased risk of developing cardiovascular disease (CVD) . Aortic damage and stiffness are critical risk factors for CVD progression, especially with chronic high fat diet (HFD). Mice fed HFD ad libitum have increased food intake during the inactive period. We previously showed that HFD leads to significantly reduced blood pressure (BP) dipping and that time restricted food availability to the active period (TRF) in the final 2 weeks of HFD restores BP dipping. Thus, we hypothesized that TRF will reduce aortic damage and stiffness in chronic HFD mice. Utilizing this same mouse model of ad libitum chronic HFD (20 weeks 45% fat diet, male C57Bl6/J mice) compared to normal fat diet (NFD, 10% fat) and TRF intervention (food during lights off active period only from weeks 18-20), we determined aortic fibrosis and stiffness. By histological staining and quantitative analysis of the fibrosis area, HFD+TRF mice had significantly reduced fibrosis compared to HFD mice (% fibrosis per area, NFD: 143, NFD+TRF: 132, HFD: 175, HFD+TRF: 105, 2-way ANOVA, TRF effect: p=0.02). Aortic stiffness was measured by pulse wave velocity (PWV, Vevo 3100). We found that HFD fed mice have a significant increase in PWV compared to NFD group with no significant difference in the HFD+TRF and NFD+TRF groups compared to the NFD group (PWV m/sec, NFD: 1.60, NFD+TRF: 1.5, HFD: 2.30, HFD+TRF: 1.70, 2-way ANOVA, diet effect: p=0.02). We further analyzed plasma sE-selectin (endothelial-specific damage marker) and 8-isoprostane (oxidative stress marker) in HFD and HFD+TRF mice. Plasma from HFD+TRF mice showed significantly reduced sE-selectin and 8-isoprostane compared to HFD mice (sE-selectin ng/ml, HFD: 3.50, HFD+TRF: 1.85, p=0.027; 8-isoprostane ng/ml, HFD: 159.1, HFD+TRF: 59.6, p=0.008). Thus, TRF in chronic HFD mice leads to reduced endothelial injury and oxidative stress that is correlated with reduced aortic fibrosis and stiffness compared to ad libitum HFD mice. This study highlights that restricting the time of food intake in a model of diet-induced obesity minimizes CVD risk by reducing aortic damage and oxidative stress.

The Temporal-Spatial Variations and Potential Causes of Dust Events in Xinjiang Basin During 1960–2015

Dust events not only cause local ecosystem degradation and desertification, but also have profound impacts on regional and global climate system, as well as air quality and human health. Dust events in Xinjiang Basin, as the important dust source of Eastern Asia, have undergone a significant change under the global warming background and may be in a new active period after 2000, which is worthy of study. This study provides the temporal and spatial variations of dust events in the Xinjiang Basin based on surface meteorological station observation data during 1960–2015. The results show that Southern Xinjiang is the main dust occurrence region where dust events are significantly more than that in the Northern Xinjiang, and each year more than 73% of dust events occurred in spring and summer. The dust index (DI), which is defined to represent the large-scale variation of dust event, shows a significant downward trend during the past 56 years with a linear decreasing rate −8.2 years−1 in Southern Xinjiang. The DI is positively correlated to surface wind speed with a mean correlation coefficient of 0.79. The declining trend of surface wind speed could explain dust events variation during 1960–2000. But in the new active period after 2000, the increase of DI is not consistent with the rising wind speed with the correlation coefficient decreasing to 0.34. It is found that, compared with 1960–1999, the average annual precipitation and frequency increased by 17.4 and 13% during 2000–2015, respectively, and the NDVI also increased at the same time, which indicates that the surface condition changes induced by the increase of precipitation might suppress the occurrence of dust. Moreover, the analysis of high-altitude wind field shows that the variation of the East Asian general circulation’s intensity, dominating the upper-level wind fields in the Xinjiang basin, will change the surface wind speed and precipitation, and further affect the occurrence of dust events.

The outbursts of comet 29P/SW-1 and C/2020 R4 (ATLAS)

&lt;p&gt;We present an analysis of the dynamic dust coma of&amp;#160;Centaur&amp;#160;29P/Schewassmann-Wachmann 1 and long-period comet C/2020 R4 (Atlas). Comet P/SW1 has&amp;#160;exhibited a considerable level of activity (so-called outbursts) since its discovery in 1925. In 2011, we found the morphology of comet P/SW 1 showed&amp;#160;dust&amp;#160;features in the form of&amp;#160;jets, spirals and shells.&amp;#160;This year, we have obtained multi-wavelength observations of&amp;#160;29P/SW 1's dust coma&amp;#160;at Lulin observatory and we will present preliminary results including the morphological&amp;#160;analysis and&amp;#160;the colour (B-V, V-R, and R-I) investigation of the dust coma when comet is at quiet and active period.&lt;/p&gt; &lt;p&gt;At least three outbursts found within two weeks from comet Atlas is unusual for long-period comet. However, we didn&amp;#8217;t find any new jet features and fragments from the morphology of comet Atlas. Except for the color investigation during the outburst, we will also give the dust/gas production rates in the comparison between pre- and post-outbursts.&lt;/p&gt;

Variations in oxidative stress and antioxidant defense level during different phases of hibernation in common Asian toad, Duttaphrynus melanostictus

To assess redox status during hibernation with metabolic depression, oxidative stress parameters and antioxidant defense were assessed during different phases of hibernation including active period, hibernation, arousal, and post arousal period, in the liver and brain tissues of Duttaphrynus melanostictus. We hypothesized low levels of oxidative stress and antioxidant defense during the hibernation period in comparison to the summer active period due to hypometabolism and their subsequent increase during the arousal period following an increase in body temperature and metabolism. Contrary to our hypothesis increased oxidative stress with significantly higher lipid peroxidation, protein carbonylation, GSSG/GSH ratio, and elevated antioxidants defense consisting of higher catalase activity and high ascorbic acid content to control oxidative stress were found during hibernation. However, GSH and uric acid levels were found low with SOD activities at a steady level during hibernation. Supporting our hypothesis increased oxidative stress with high lipid peroxidation and GSSG/GSH ratio were found during arousal from hibernation owing to increased oxygen consumption and rewarming. Augmented catalase and SOD activities and nonenzymatic antioxidants (GSH, ascorbic acid, and uric acid) level were found to counteract oxidative stress during arousal periods as it was expected. A steady level of protein carbonylation indicating no oxidative damage during arousal from hibernation due to elevated antioxidant defense shows the significance of hibernation to overcome food and water scarcity and cold climatic condition. Decrease in antioxidants levels accompanying coming down of lipid peroxidation, protein carbonylation, and GSSG/GSH ratio to their lower levels during post arousal period showing normalcy in redox status as it was during active period indicates controllability of oxidative stress in hibernating toads.

Analisis Clustering Pengelompokan Penjualan Paket Data Menggunakan Metode K-Means

At present with the COVID-19 pandemic situation that requires all activities based in the network, starting from work, college, school, everything is based on the network. Certain provider users will experience excessive data plan usage. This also has an effect on a counter that sells data packages, which must provide several data package services in accordance with current conditions. This research was conducted to analyze the grouping of sales of data packages that are often purchased by customers in a counter by using the K-Means method. The K-Means method is used because the K-Means algorithm is not influenced by the order of the objects used, this is proven when the writer tries to determine the initial cluster center randomly from one of the objects in the first calculation. sales of data packages at a counter. Variables used include Price, Active period, and number of data packages. The K-Means Cluster Analysis algorithm is basically applied to the problem of understanding consumer needs, identifying the types of data package products that are often purchased. The K-Means algorithm can be used to describe the characteristics of each group by summarizing a large number of objects so that it is easier.