Description: Understanding the biogeochemical transformation of dissolved organic matter (DOM) across fluvial networks will ultimately help to predict anthropogenic influences. To date, few studies have evaluated the anthropogenic impact on the spatial and temporal changes of DOM composition in large river systems. Here, FT-ICR-MS combined with excitation-emission matrix spectroscopy (EEMs) and biomarkers were applied to resolve chemical differences of DOM collected from the Changjiang basin at different hydrological and environmental conditions. PCA and cluster analysis illustrated that samples collected from lake systems and northern and southern tributaries differed from the two batches of main stream samples, particularly due to higher contribution of nitrogen and sulfur containing compounds. Correlation of land-use information along the tributaries with different PCA loadings indicated that agricultural, forest and wetland areas and wastewater discharge control the composition of DOM within these subregions. Higher heteroatom content (especially CHONx) in the low discharge period (2009) may be contributed by paddy soil leaching into groundwater. The relative peak magnitude of sulfur containing formulas was elevated during flood season (2010), which may be related to pollutions in areas of high population density. In addition, lignin phenol concentrations were higher in the flood season because of elevated soil erosion. Consequently, land use and human activities can strongly alter the quality and composition of DOM in watersheds flowing through densely populated regions, which may also impact or influence the riverine carbon flux in anthropogenically disturbed river systems.

Description: We design an improved logic threshold approach of energy management for a power-split HEV assisted by an integrated starter generator (ISG). By combining the efficiency map and the optimum torque curve of internal combustion engine (ICE) with the state of charge (SOC) of batteries, the improved logic threshold controller manages the ICE within its peak efficiency region at first. Then the electrical power demand is established based on the ICE energy output. On that premise, a variable logic threshold value is defined to achieve the power distribution between the ISG and the electric motor/generator (EMG). Finally, simulation models for the power-split HEV with improved logic threshold controller are established in ADVISOR. Compared to the equally power-split HEV with the logic threshold controller, when using the improved logic threshold controller, the battery power consumption, the ICE efficiency, the fuel consumption, and the motor driving system efficiency are improved.

Description: Background: Over the last decade, increases in the number of outbreaks of hand, foot and mouth disease (HFMD) have shifted the disease into the public health spotlight in China. Children under the age of five years are particularly susceptible, with fatalities recorded. However, estimating the burden of HFMD has been difficult to conduct to date. Methods: In 2012, a cross-sectional survey of healthcare-seeking behaviour for HFMD was undertaken, using computer assisted telephone interviewing (CATI) technology. Sample of telephone numbers was obtained from the Beijing Immunization Information System. Respondents were parents or guardians of children under the age of five. Multiplier model was used to estimate the number of HFMD case, following the telephone survey of healthcare-seeking behavior. The number of laboratory-confirmed cases was also estimated based on the monthly positive rate of each subtype of virus causing HFMD. The age-specific case fatality rate (CFR) was calculated based on the ratio of reported deaths to the estimated number of cases. Results: For children under five, the consultation rate of parent-defined cases was estimated at 77.8% ((95% CI = [75.2, 80.4]). Parents or legal guardians of children aged between two and four years were more likely to seek healthcare than those of children aged less than two years. For children under the age of five, we estimated that there were 40,165 (95% CI = [38,471, 41,974]) HFMD cases, with an incidence rate of 5.6%, and 22,166 (95% CI = [21,150, 23,295]) laboratory-confirmed cases in Beijing during 2012. The overall CFR was estimated at 10 deaths per 100,000 cases, while for children aged less than two years it was 15.6 deaths per 100,000 cases. Conclusions: Given the public health impact of HFMD in China, control measures need to be prioritized for children 〈 2 years, due to the higher CFR in this age group. Sentinel surveillance approaches could be used to monitor trends and the impact of control measures.

Description: Monitoring surface albedo at medium-to-fine resolution (〈100 m) has become increasingly important for medium-to-fine scale applications and coarse-resolution data evaluation. This paper presents a method for estimating surface albedo directly using top-of-atmosphere reflectance. This is the first attempt to derive surface albedo for both snow-free and snow-covered conditions from medium-resolution data with a single approach. We applied this method to the multispectral data from the wide-swath Chinese HuanJing (HJ) satellites at a spatial resolution of 30 m to demonstrate the feasibility of this data for surface albedo monitoring over rapidly changing surfaces. Validation against ground measurements shows that the method is capable of accurately estimating surface albedo over both snow-free and snow-covered surfaces with an overall root mean square error (RMSE) of 0.030 and r-square (R2) of 0.947. The comparison between HJ albedo estimates and the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectral Radiometer (MODIS) albedo product suggests that the HJ data and proposed algorithm can generate robust albedo estimates over various land cover types with an RMSE of 0.011–0.014. The accuracy of HJ albedo estimation improves with the increase in view zenith angles, which further demonstrates the unique advantage of wide-swath satellite data in albedo estimation.

Description: Background: Trifoliate orange (Poncirus trifoliata (L.) Raf.) is extremely cold hardy after a full acclimation; however the underlying molecular mechanisms underlying this economically valuable trait remain poorly understood. In this study, global transcriptome profiles of trifoliate orange under cold conditions (4 °C) over a time course were generated by high-throughput sequencing. Results: More than 68 million high-quality reads were produced and assembled into a non-redundant data of 77,292 unigenes with an average length of 1112 bp (N50 = 1778 bp). Of these, 23,846 had significant sequence similarity to known genes and these were assigned to 61 gene ontology (GO) categories and 25 clusters of orthologous groups (COG) involved in 128 KEGG pathways. Sequences derived from cold-treated and control plants were mapped to the assembled transcriptome, resulting in the identification of 5549 differentially expressed genes (DEGs). These comprised 600 (462 up-regulated, 138 down-regulated), 2346 (1631 up-regulated, 715 down-regulated), and 5177 (2702 up-regulated, 2475 down-regulated) genes from the cold-treated samples at 6, 24 and 72 h, respectively. The accuracy of the RNA-seq derived transcript expression data was validated by analyzing the expression patterns of 17 DEGs by qPCR. Plant hormone signal transduction, plant-pathogen interaction, and secondary metabolism were the most significantly enriched GO categories amongst in the DEGs. A total of 60 transcription factors were shown to be cold responsive. In addition, a number of genes involved in the catabolism and signaling of hormones, such as abscisic acid, ethylene and gibberellin, were affected by the cold stress. Meanwhile, levels of putrescine progressively increased under cold, which was consistent with up-regulation of an arginine decarboxylase gene. Conclusions: This dataset provides valuable information regarding the trifoliate orange transcriptome changes in response to cold stress and may help guide future identification and functional analysis of genes that are importnatn for enhancing cold hardiness.

Description: Intracranial enterogenous cysts are rare and mainly occur in the posterior fossa. These cysts are usually extra-axial, midline, anterior to the brainstem, or at the cerebellopontine angle. We report a case of ...

Description: Performance and microbial ecology of a nitritation sequencing batch reactor treating high-strength ammonia wastewater Scientific Reports, Published online: 20 October 2016; doi:10.1038/srep35693