Research on the Growth Mechanism of PM2.5 in Central and Eastern China during Autumn and Winter from 2013–2020

Haze is a majorly disastrous type of weather in China, especially central and eastern of China. The development of haze is mainly caused by highly concentrated fine particles (PM2.5) on a regional scale. Here, we present the results from an autumn and winter study conducted from 2013 to 2020 in seven highly polluted areas (27 representative stations) in central and eastern China to analyze the growth mechanism of PM2.5. At the same time, taking Beijing Station as an example, the characteristics of aerosol composition and particle size in the growth phase are analyzed. Taking into account the regional and inter-annual differences of fine particles (PM2.5) distribution, the local average PM2.5 growth value of the year is used as the boundary value for dividing slow, rapid, and explosive growth (only focuses on the hourly growth rate greater than 0). The average value of PM2.5 in the autumn and winter of each regional representative station shows a decreasing trend as a whole, especially after 2017, whereby the decreasing trend was significant. The distribution value of +ΔPM2.5 (PM2.5 hourly growth rate) in the north of the Huai River is lower than that in the south of the Huai River, and both of the +ΔPM2.5 after 2017 showed a significant decreasing trend. The average PM2.5 threshold before the explosive growth is 70.8 µg m−3, and the threshold that is extremely prone to explosive growth is 156 µg m−3 to 277 µg m−3 in north of the Huai River. For the area south of the Huai River, the threshold for PM2.5 explosive growth is relatively low, as a more stringent threshold also puts forward stricter requirements on atmospheric environmental governance. For example, in Beijing, the peak diameters gradually shift to larger sizes when the growth rate increases. The number concentration increasing mainly distributed in Aitken mode (AIM) and Accumulation mode (ACM) during explosive growth. Among the various components of submicron particulate matter (PM1), organic aerosol (OA), especially primary OA (POA), have become one of the most critical components for the PM2.5 explosive growth in Beijing. During the growth period, the contribution of secondary particulate matter (SPM) to the accumulated pollutants is significantly higher than that of primary particulate matter (PPM). However, the proportion of SPM gradually decreases when the growth rate increases. The contribution of the PPM can reach 48% in explosive growth. Compared to slow and rapid growth, explosive growth mainly occurs in the stable atmosphere of higher humidity, lower pressure, lower temperature, small winds, and low mixed layers.

Dynamic Changes of Endogenic or Exogenic β-Carboline Alkaloid Harmine in Different Mammals and Human in vivo at Developmental and Physiological States

ObjectiveSeveral β-carboline alkaloids (βCBs), such as harmine, harmaline, harmane, and nor-harmane, are effective for Alzheimer’s disease mouse models. They can be found in some plants, common foodstuffs, and blank plasma of various mammals. However, whether these compounds in mammals are exogenous or endogenous remain unclear.MethodsThe exposure levels of βCBs and of neurotransmitters in plasma and tissues of pup rats, aging rats, mice of different physiological states, and healthy volunteers were detected by using UPLC-MS/MS. Plasma and tissue samples from 110 newborn rats up to 29 days old at 11 sampling points were collected and were analyzed to determine the concentration variation of βCBs in the developmental phase of newborn rats. The plasma of rats aged 2 to 18 months was used to detect the variation trend of βCBs and with some neurotransmitters. The plasma samples of normal C57BL/6 mice, APP/PS1 double transgenic mice, and scopolamine-induced memory impairment mice were collected and were analyzed to compare the difference of βCBs in different physiological states. The exposure levels of βCBs such as harmine, harmaline, and harmane in plasma of 550 healthy volunteers were also detected and analyzed on the basis of gender, race, and age.ResultsResults showed that harmine was the main compound found in rats, mice, and human, which can be detected in a newborn rat plasma (0.16 ± 0.03 ng/ml) and brain (0.33 ± 0.14 ng/g) without any exogenous consumption. The concentration of harmine in rat plasma showed a decreasing trend similar to the exposure levels of neurotransmitters such as 5-hydroxytryptamine, acetylcholine chloride, glutamic acid, tyrosine, and phenylalanine during the growth period of 18 months. The harmine exposure in rats and human indicates high dependence on the physiological and pathological status such as aging, gender, and race.ConclusionThe dynamic changes of harmine exposure in different animals and human, in vivo, at developmental and physiological states indicate that harmine is a naturally and widely distributed endogenous substance in different mammals and human. In addition to exogenous ingestion, spontaneous synthesis might be another important source of harmine in mammals, which should be verified by further experiment.

Nutritional Approaches as a Treatment for Impaired Bone Growth and Quality following the Consumption of Ultra-Processed Food

The severe impairment of bone development and quality was recently described as a new target for unbalanced ultra-processed food (UPF). Here, we describe nutritional approaches to repair this skeletal impairment in rats: supplementation with micro-nutrients and a rescue approach and switching the UPF to balanced nutrition during the growth period. The positive effect of supplementation with multi-vitamins and minerals on bone growth and quality was followed by the formation of mineral deposits on the rats’ kidneys and modifications in the expression of genes involved in inflammation and vitamin-D metabolism, demonstrating the cost of supplementation. Short and prolonged rescue improved trabecular parameters but incompletely improved the cortical parameters and the mechanical performance of the femur. Cortical porosity and cartilaginous lesions in the growth-plate were still detected one week after rescue and were reduced to normal levels 3 weeks after rescue. These findings highlight bone as a target for the effect of UPF and emphasize the importance of a balanced diet, especially during growth.

Research on Regional Differences and Influencing Factors of Chinese Industrial Green Technology Innovation Efficiency Based on Dagum Gini Coefficient Decomposition

Industrial green technology innovation has become an important content in achieving high-quality economic growth and comprehensively practicing the new development concept in the new era. This paper measures the efficiency of industrial green technology innovation and regional differences based on Chinese provincial panel data from 2005 to 2018, using a combination of the super efficiency slacks-based measure (SBM) model for considering undesirable outputs and the Dagum Gini coefficient method, and discusses and analyses the factors influencing industrial green technology innovation efficiency by constructing a spatial econometric model. The results show that: firstly, industrial green technology innovation efficiency in China shows a relatively stable development trend, going through three stages: “stationary period”, “recession period” and “growth period”. However, the efficiency gap between different regions is obvious, specifically in the eastern > central > western regions of China, and the industrial green technology efficiency innovation in the central and western regions is lower than the national average. Secondly, regional differences in the efficiency of industrial green technology innovation in China are evident but tend to narrow overall, with the main reason for the overall difference being regional differences. In terms of intra-regional variation, variation within the eastern region is relatively stable, variation within the central region is relatively low and shows an inverted ‘U’ shaped trend, and variation within the western region is high and shows a fluctuating downward trend. Thirdly, the firm size, government support, openness to the outside world, environmental regulations and education levels contribute to the efficiency of industrial green technology innovation. In addition, the industrial structure hinders the efficiency of industrial green technology innovation, and each influencing factor has different degrees of spatial spillover effects.

Identification and Fine Mapping of the Recessive Gene BK-5, Which Affects Cell Wall Biosynthesis and Plant Brittleness in Maize

The cellulose of the plant cell wall indirectly affects the cell shape and straw stiffness of the plant. Here, the novel brittleness mutant brittle stalk-5 (bk-5) of the maize inbred line RP125 was characterized. We found that the mutant displayed brittleness of the stalk and even the whole plant, and that the brittleness phenotype existed during the whole growth period from germination to senescence. The compressive strength was reduced, the cell wall was thinner, and the cellulose content was decreased compared to that of the wild type. Genetic analysis and map-based cloning indicated that bk-5 was controlled by a single recessive nuclear gene and that it was located in a 90.2-Kb region on chromosome 3 that covers three open reading frames (ORFs). Sequence analysis revealed a single non-synonymous missense mutation, T-to-A, in the last exon of Zm00001d043477 (B73: version 4, named BK-5) that caused the 951th amino acid to go from leucine to histidine. BK-5 encodes a cellulose synthase catalytic subunit (CesA), which is involved with cellulose synthesis. We found that BK-5 was constitutively expressed in all tissues of the germinating stage and silking stage, and highly expressed in the leaf, auricula, and root of the silking stage and the 2-cm root and bud of the germinating stage. We found that BK-5 mainly localized to the Golgi apparatus, suggesting that the protein might move to the plasma membrane with the aid of Golgi in maize. According to RNA-seq data, bk-5 had more downregulated genes than upregulated genes, and many of the downregulated genes were enzymes and transcription factors related to cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin biosynthesis of the secondary cell wall. The other differentially expressed genes were related to metabolic and cellular processes, and were significantly enriched in hormone signal transduction, starch and sucrose metabolism, and the plant–pathogen interaction pathway. Taken together, we propose that the mutation of gene BK-5 causes the brittle stalk phenotype and provides important insights into the regulatory mechanism of cellulose biosynthesis and cell wall development in maize.

Photo-induced antifungal activity of chitosan composite film solution with Nano TiO2 and Nano Ag

This study investigated the ultraviolet (UV) light-induced effect of chitosan-titanium dioxide-silver (CTS-TiO2-Ag) nanocomposite film solution against Penicillium steckii ( ( P. steckii ) , as well as the underlying the physiological mechanism. The results indicated that the longer the UV exposure time, the better the pathogenic inhibition effect. After UV photoinduced treatment for 120 min, the colony diameter of P. steckii was the smallest at 4.85 mm. However, when this process is followed by an 8-h storage period, the conductivity of the P. steckii culture medium reached its highest level at 713 μs/cm. After a 120 h growth period in the same conditions, the lesion diameters and pathogenicity of the mangoes reached 12.61 mm and 41.67%, respectively. Since the cell membrane was severely disrupted, its permeability increased, causing serious intracellular protein and nucleic acid material extravasation. Furthermore, the malondialdehyde (MDA) , catalase (CAT) and superoxide dismutase (SOD) in the P. steckii reached maximum levels after 8 h of incubation, at 2.1106 μmol/mL, 44.06 U/mL, and 24.67 U/mL respectively. These results indicated significant P. steckii inhibition via the UV light induction of the CTS-TiO 2 -Ag composite film solution.

Changes of starch and sucrose content and related gene expression during the growth and development of Lanzhou lily bulb

As the main forms of carbohydrates, starch and sucrose play a vital role in the balance and coordination of various carbohydrates. Lanzhou lily is the most popular edible lily in China, mainly distributed in the central region of Gansu. To clarify the relationship between carbohydrate metabolism and bulb development of Lanzhou lily, so as to provide a basis for the promotion of the growth and development in Lanzhou lily and its important economic value, we studied lily bulbs in the squaring stage, flowering stage, half withering stage and withering stage. The plant height, fresh weight of mother and daughter bulbs continued to increase during the whole growth period and fresh weight of stem and leaf began to decrease in the half withering stage. The content of starch, sucrose and total soluble sugar in the lily mother bulb accumulated mostly in the flowering, withering and half withering stages, respectively. Starch, sucrose and total soluble sugar accumulated in the daughter bulb with the highest concentration during the withering stage. In the transcription level, sucrose synthase (SuSy1) and sucrose invertase (INV2) expressed the highest in squaring stage, and the expression was significantly higher in the mother bulb than in the daughter bulb. In flowering stage, the expression levels of soluble starch synthase (SSS1), starch-branching enzyme (SBE) and adenosine diphosphate-glucose pyrophosphorylase (AGP1) genes were higher in the mother bulb than in the daughter bulb. Altogether, our results indicate that starch and sucrose are important for the bulb growth and development of Lanzhou lily.

Development of Artificial Intelligence Climate Chamber and Experimental Study on Crop Phenotype Acquisition

Background: The deficiencies of traditional artificial climate chambers in phenotypic collection and analysis were improved to achieve the high-throughput acquisition of crop phenotypes during the growth period. This paper has developed an artificial intelligence climate cabin with functions of crop cultivation management and phenotype acquisition during the whole growth period. This research also established an environmental control system, a crop phenotype monitoring system and a crop phenotype acquisition system with environmental parameter adjustment and crop image collection. Phenotypic feature extraction and other functions were carried out in the cultivation experiment, and phenotype acquisition of wheat was performed under different nitrogen fertiliser application rates. Comparison and analyses were performed by the systematic and manual measurement values of crop phenotype characteristics, and the acquisition of wheat table was evaluated based on artificial intelligence climate cabin. The goodness of fit of the model was used to classify data.Results: During the different growth periods of wheat, the correlation analysis between the systematic and manual measurement values of its leaf area, plant height and canopy temperature showed that the obtained correlation coefficient r was greater than 1, and the fitting determination coefficient R2 was greater than 0.7156, with errors. The coefficient root mean square error was less than 2.42, indicating that the two were positively correlated, and their correlation was excellent. Conclusion: The results verified the feasibility and applicability of the artificial intelligence climate cabin to study the phenotypic characteristics of crops.

Simulating Wheat Production Potential Under Near-future Climate Change in Arid Regions of Northeast Iran

Water scarcity is the key challenge in arid regions, which exacerbates under climate change (CC) and must be considered to assess the impacts of CC on cropping systems. A climate-crop modelling approach was employed by using the CSM-CERES-Wheat model in some arid regions of northeast Iran to project the effects of CC on irrigated wheat production. Current climate data for 1990-2019 and climate projections of three climate models for 2021–2050 under RCP4.5 and RCP8.5 emission scenarios were used to run the crop model. Two irrigation scenarios with different irrigation efficiencies were also simulated to investigate the impacts of water scarcity associated with changing climate and irrigation management on wheat productivity. Results indicated that mean temperature is projected to increase at the rates of 1.74–2.73 °C during the reproductive growth period of winter wheat over the study areas. The precipitation projections also indicated that the precipitation rates would decrease over most of the wheat-growing period. The length of the vegetative growth period will extend in some regions and shorten in others under the near future climate. However, the grain filling duration will reduce by about 2–4 days across all regions. The mean seasonal PET is expected to decrease by about 11 mm from 2021 to 2050 over the study areas. A mean overall reduction in winter wheat yield due to future climate conditions would be about 12.3 % across the study areas. However, an increase of 15-30% in the irrigation efficiency will be able to offset yield reductions associated with limited water supply under future climate scenarios. The results suggest that CC will exacerbate limited irrigation water availability, so implementing high-efficiency irrigation systems should be a priority to adapt to climate change in an arid cropping system.