The potential of herbal drugs to treat heart failure:The roles of Sirt1/AMPK

Heart failure(HF)is a highly morbid syndrome that seriously affects the physical and mental health of patients and generates an enormous socio-economic burden.In addition to cardiac myocyte oxidative stress and apoptosis,which are considered mechanisms for the development of HF,alterations in cardiac energy metabolism and pathological autophagy also contribute to cardiac abnormalities and ultimately HF.Silent information regulator 1(Sirt1)and adenosine monophosphate-activated protein kinase(AMPK)are nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide(NAD+)-dependent deacetylases and phosphorylated kinases,respectively.They play similar roles in regulating some pathological processes of the heart through regulating targets such as peroxisome proliferator-activated receptorγcoactivator 1α(PGC-1α),protein 38 mitogen-activated protein kinase(p38 MAPK),peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors(PPARs),and mammalian target of rapamycin(mTOR).We summarized the synergistic effects of Sirt1 and AMPK in the heart,and listed the traditional Chinese medicine(TCM)that exhibit cardioprotective properties by modulating the Sirt1/AMPK pathway,to provide a basis for the development of Sirt1/AMPK activators or inhibitors for the treatment of HF and other cardiovascular diseases(CVDs).

Spatial and Temporal Variations in Available Soil Nitrogen—A Case Study in Kobresia Alpine Meadow in the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau, China

Elucidating the factors that determine the effects of temporal and spatial variation of nutrients is important for analyzing the characteristics of an ecosystem. The goal of this paper was to estimate how values obtained using a particular sampling approach correlated with the actual data for an entire plot. The mesh partition method was employed to divide an integrated observing field (IOF) located at the Haibei National Field Research Station of an alpine grassland ecosystem, China, into 25 subplots. Five of the 25 subplots were randomly selected for soil sampling and to determine the source of variations in soil nutrient content from 2001 to 2012. The results showed that, contributions of temporal and spatial variation in available nitrogen in the 0 - 10 cm soil layer accounted for 47.3% and 52.7%, respectively. The contribution of spatial variance was higher than that of temporal variance especially in the surface soil layers. The available soil nitrogen content in the alpine meadow was not obviously affected by fluctuations in rainfall and temperature. Increasing the number of samples could reduce calculation errors in measuring available soil nitrogen content, while collecting a reasonable number of samples can save time and labor.

Simultaneous Detection of Flare-related Decaying and Decayless Kink Oscillations Using Jerk-aware Motion Magnification

Kink oscillations of coronal loops are often influenced by external events and this results in various changes of the oscillations.Studying the changes can provide valuable information for understanding kink oscillations.Our observation focuses on a flare region acquired by the Atmospheric Imaging Assembly on the Solar Dynamics Observatory spacecraft on 2016 March 23.There are a bunch of arched loops and an open loop near the region.However,their oscillations show very low amplitudes.So we used the jerk-aware motion method to magnify the weak oscillations.We found that before the flare onset at 02:59 UT,there were some large loops above the arched loops being raised rapidly.The properties of the weak oscillations show clear changes.On the one hand,the oscillations in the arched loops were decayless initially,but both their amplitude and period increased after 02:30 UT and before the flare onset.Once enhanced,the oscillations decayed with time.On the other hand,the oscillations in the open loop were nearly constant before and after 02:30 UT,but their period increased.This means that the changes in periods and amplitudes of oscillations are likely associated with the loops raised before the flare.

Effect of Spraying Liquid Mineral Mixed Fertilizers on the Mineral Elements of Potted Poa crymophila cv. Qinghai

Objective] The aim was to explain the accumulation characteristic of mineral elements in alpine grassland plants and the effect of supplementary supply on the nutrient changes of mineral elements. [Method] Potted Poa crymophila cv. Qinghai plants were regularly applied with liquid mineral mixed fertilizers, and samples were collected for analysis and detection. [Result] After the regular spraying of liquid mineral mixed fertilizers, the mineral elements in potted P. crymophila and its soil reduced （ P 〈0.05）, but the accumulation of corresponding mineral elements of P. crymophila in the control group was increased due to the ＂Starvation Effect＂, which was one of the endogenetic forces driving the increase in the accumulation of mineral elements. [Conclusion] This study is of great significance for the study of the accumulation of mineral elements in degraded grassland plants and its dynamic mechanism, as well as testing the hypothesis of the Starvation Effect of mineral elements. In addition, it also provides scientific bases and technical support for the restoration and remediation of degraded grassland and the development of ecological livestock husbandry.

MEMS reservoir computing system with stiffness modulation for multi-scene data processing at the edge

Reservoir computing(RC)is a bio-inspired neural network structure which can be implemented in hardware with ease.It has been applied across various fields such as memristors,and electrochemical reactions,among which the microelectro-mechanical systems(MEMS)is supposed to be the closest to sensing and computing integration.While previous MEMS RCs have demonstrated their potential as reservoirs,the amplitude modulation mode was found to be inadequate for computing directly upon sensing.To achieve this objective,this paper introduces a novel MEMS reservoir computing system based on stiffness modulation,where natural signals directly influence the system stiffness as input.Under this innovative concept,information can be processed locally without the need for advanced data collection and preprocessing.We present an integrated RC system characterized by small volume and low power consumption,eliminating complicated setups in traditional MEMS RC for data discretization and transduction.Both simulation and experiment were conducted on our accelerometer.We performed nonlinearity tuning for the resonator and optimized the post-processing algorithm by introducing a digital mask operator.Consequently,our MEMS RC is capable of both classification and forecasting,surpassing the capabilities of our previous non-delay-based architecture.Our method successfully processed word classification,with a 99.8%accuracy,and chaos forecasting,with a 0.0305 normalized mean square error(NMSE),demonstrating its adaptability for multi-scene data processing.This work is essential as it presents a novel MEMS RC with stiffness modulation,offering a simplified,efficient approach to integrate sensing and computing.Our approach has initiated edge computing,enabling emergent applications in MEMS for local computations.

Whole-soil warming shifts species composition without affecting diversity,biomass and productivity of the plant community in an alpine meadow

The structure and function of plant communities in alpine meadow ecosystems are potentially susceptible to climate warming.Here,we utilized a unique field manipulation experiment in an alpine meadow on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau and investigated the responses of plant species diversity,composition,biomass,and net primary productivity(NPP)at both community and functional group levels to whole-soil-profile warming(3–4℃ across 0–100 cm)during 2018–2021.Plant species diversity,biomass and NPP(both above-and belowground)at the community level showed remarkable resistance to warming.However,plant community composition gradually shifted over time.Over the whole experimental warming period,aboveground biomass of legumes significantly decreased by 45%.Conversely,warming significantly stimulated aboveground biomass of forbs by 84%,likely because of better growth and competitive advantages from the warming-induced stimulation of soil water and other variables.However,warming showed minor effects on aboveground biomass of grasses and sedges.Overall,we emphasize that experimental warming may significantly affect plant community composition in a short term by triggering adjustments in plant interspecific competition or survival strategies,which may cause potential changes in plant productivity over a more extended period and lead to changes in carbon source-sink dynamics in the alpine meadow ecosystem.

Most root-derived carbon inputs do not contribute to long-term global soil carbon storage

Plant root-derived carbon(C)inputs(I_(root))are the primary source of C in mineral bulk soil.However,a fraction of I_(root)may lose quickly(I_(loss),e.g.,via rhizosphere microbial respiration,leaching and fauna feeding)without contributing to long-term bulk soil C storage,yet this loss has never been quantified,particularly on a global scale.In this study we integrated three observational global data sets including soil radiocarbon content,allocation of photo synthetically assimilated C,and root biomass distribution in 2,034 soil profiles to quantify I_(root)and its contribution to the bulk soil C pool.We show that global average I_(root)in the 0-200 cm soil profile is 3.5 Mg ha^(-1)yr^(-1),~80%of which(i.e.,I_(loss))is lost rather than co ntributing to long-term bulk soil C storage.I_(root)decreases exponentially with soil depth,and the top 20 cm soil contains>60%of total I_(root).Actual C input contributing to long-term bulk soil storage(i.e.,I_(root)-I_(loss))shows a similar depth distribution to I_(root).We also map I_(loss)and its depth distribution across the globe.Our results demonstrate the global significance of direct C losses which limit the contribution of I_(root)to bulk soil C storage;and provide spatially explicit data to facilitate reliable soil C predictions via separating direct C losses from total root-derived C inputs.

Early Paleozoic Granulite-Facies Metamorphism and Magmatism in the Northern Wulan Terrane of the Quanji Massif:Implications for the Evolution of the Proto-Tethys Ocean in Northwestern China

The nature and evolution of the Proto-Tethys Ocean originated from the breakup of the supercontinent Rodinia remain controversial. Early Paleozoic magmatism and metamorphism can pro- vide important constraints on the closure of the Proto-Tethys Ocean. This paper reports on a set of geological, petrographical, geochronological, mineralogical and geochemical data for Early Paleozoic granite, gabbro, granulite and granitic leucosome in the northern Wulan terrane of the Quanji Massif. Zircon LA-ICP-MS U-Pb dating reveals two episodes of magmatism, with the emplacement of a gran- itic pluton at 476.7±2.8 Ma and a gabbroic dike at 423±2 Ma. Whole-rock geochemistry suggests an arc affinity for the magma of the granitic pluton but a post-collisional extension setting for the gabbroic dike. Zircon LA-ICP-MS U-Pb dating also shows that the peak granulite-facies metamorphism and anatexis occurred at --475 Ma, coeval with the formation of the granitic pluton in the Quanji Massif as well as the early lawsonite-bearing eclogites in the North Qaidam high-pressure and ultrahigh-pressure （HP-UHP） metamorphic belt to the south. The granulite-facies metamorphism with peak P-T condi- tions at 718-729 ℃ and 0.46-0.53 GPa is characterized by an anticlockwise P-T path. Our data provide compelling evidence for Early Paleozoic paired metamorphic belts with HP-UHP metamorphism in the North Qaidam to the south and low PIT metamorphism in the Quanji Massif as a continental arc to the north, hence suggesting a northward subduction polarity for the Proto-Tethys oceanic plate. The intrusion of the post-collisional gabbroic dike supports for the closure of the Proto-Tethys Ocean in north- western China before 423 Ma.

Controllable synthesized step-scheme heterojunction of WO_(3)/CuBi_(2)O_(4) decorated WO_(3) plates for visible-light-driven CO_(2) reduction

Rational design and construction of step-scheme(S-scheme)photocatalyst has received much attention in the field of CO_(2) reduction because of its great potential to solve the current energy and environmental crises.In this study,a series of plate-like WO_(3)/CuBi_(2)O_(4)(WO/CBO)photocatalysts were synthesized.The CO and CH4 yields over optimal composite reached 1,115.8 and 67.2μmol/m2 after 9 h visible light illumination(λ>400 nm),which was higher than those of two pure catalysts in CO_(2) photoreduction.The product yields slightly decreased in the 7th cycling.Besides,the staggered band structure of heterojunction was characterized by diffuse reflectance spectroscopy(DRS)and valence band-X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy(VB-XPS),and a S-scheme charge transfer mechanism was verified by detecting electron spin resonance(ESR)and XPS result about surface composition of WO/CBO catalyst in dark or light.This work may be useful for rational designing of S-scheme photocatalyst and provides some illuminating insights into the S-scheme transfer mechanism.

Extreme fire weather is the major driver of severe bushfires in southeast Australia

In Australia,the proportion of forest area that burns in a typical fire season is less than for other vegetation types.However,the 2019-2020 austral spring-summer was an exception,with over four times the previous maximum area burnt in southeast Australian temperate forests.Temperate forest fires have extensive socio-economic,human health,greenhouse gas emissions,and biodiversity impacts due to high fire intensities.A robust model that identifies driving factors of forest fires and relates impact thresholds to fire activity at regional scales would help land managers and fire-fighting agencies prepare for potentially hazardous fire in Australia.Here,we developed a machine-learning diagnostic model to quantify nonlinear relationships between monthly burnt area and biophysical factors in southeast Australian forests for 2001-2020 on a 0.25°grid based on several biophysical parameters,notably fire weather and vegetation productivity.Our model explained over 80%of the variation in the burnt area.We identified that burnt area dynamics in southeast Australian forest were primarily controlled by extreme fire weather,which mainly linked to fluctuations in the Southern Annular Mode(SAM)and Indian Ocean Dipole(IOD),with a relatively smaller contribution from the central Pacific El Niño Southern Oscillation(ENSO).Our fire diagnostic model and the non-linear relationships between burnt area and environmental covariates can provide useful guidance to decision-makers who manage preparations for an upcoming fire season,and model developers working on improved early warning systems for forest fires.