Strong heatwaves with widespread urban-related hotspots over Africa in 2019

2019 was one of the hottest years in recent decades,with widespread heatwaves over many parts of the world,including Africa.However,as a developing and vulnerable region,the understanding of recent heatwave events in Africa is limited.Here,the authors incorporated different climate datasets,satellite observations,and population estimates to investigate patterns and hotspots of major heatwave events over Africa in 2019.Overall,2019 was one of the years that experienced the strongest heatwaves in terms of intensity and duration since 1981 in Africa.Heatwave hotspots were clearly identified across western-coastal,northeastern,southern,and equatorial Africa,where major cities and human populations are located.The proportion of urban agglomerations(population)exposed to extreme(99 th percentile)heatwaves in the Northern Hemisphere and Southern Hemisphere rose from 4%(5 million people)and 15%(17 million people),respectively,in the baseline period of 1981-2010 to36%(43 million people)and 57%(53 million people),respectively,in 2019.Heatwave patterns and hotspots in 2019 were related to anomalous seasonal change in atmospheric circulation and above-normal sea surface temperature.Without adaptation to minimize susceptibility to the effects of heatwave events,the risks they pose in populated areas may increase rapidly in Africa.

知名化学类期刊封面的中国元素

期刊封面不仅带有艺术性、思想性,也带有文化性。本文以2017.1–2020.4六种知名化学类期刊封面中的中国元素为研究对象,借助数个典型案例,剖析作者在阐述相应化学过程或机理研究中所呈现的与中国元素融合的一些思路,挖掘中国元素在化学研究结果表达中的关系与文化呈现。

众寻“氧气”千百度:那厮显在斑斓处

设计一个别开生面的魔术表演舞台,以X化学博士的魔术表演为主脉,带领青少年探索氧气的发现之旅、揭秘氧的可视化技术与传感材料,理解研究成果的实际应用,在氧气“现形记”中感受科学求真的价值、求善的本质。

Effects of Nitrogen Exponential Fertilization on Growth and Nutrient Concentration of Hydrangea macrophylla Seedlings

Slow growth rate restricts the development and growth of seedlings due to nutrients deficiency or nutrient imbalance.Exponential fertilization can enhance the internal nutrient reserves in seedlings at the nursery-stage and strengthen their resistance to adverse conditions.In this study,nitrogen requirements for producing Hydrangea macrophylla‘Hanatemari’that robust seedlings,nutrient dynamics,biomass and growth,was examined utilizing exponential fertilization.The potted seedlings were fertilized with urea under exponential regime at rates of 0.5,1.5 and 2.0 g nitrogen/plant(EF1,EF2,and EF3),respectively.In addition,an unfertilized group treated with equal volume of deionized water was used as control.The results showed that seedlings under 1.5 g N/plant(EF2)had the highest plant growth index and total biomass.The nutrient concentrations of different organs varied in different fertilization treatments.Based on the results of current study,it is concluded that 1.5 g N/plant(EF2)is suitable exponential fertilization treatment for the culture of hydrangea seedlings.Our treatments results showed that 2.0 g N/plant is not suitable for seedling culturing,because of serious nutrient toxicity.These findings will help to improve seedling quality and strengthen the production of H.macrophylla for plantation.

Problems and Countermeasures of Social Responsibility Investment(SRI)in China in the New Era

Social responsibility investment(SRI)has gradually become a new investment concept in the world.In the context of the new era,SRI has such problems in China such as lack of sufficient policy guarantee,SRI awareness of investors and evaluation awareness of consumers on corporate social responsibility(CSR),and low degree of information disclosure of CSR.This paper puts forward some countermeasures to improve policies,laws and regulations on SRI in China,as well as the information disclosure system of social responsibility.This paper discusses enlightenment of the research progress of foreign SRI to China to promote the further development of SRI in China.

Regulatory mechanisms of dopamine metabolism in a marine Meyerozyma guilliermondii GXDK6 under NaCl stress as revealed by integrative multi-omics analysis

Dopamine can be used to treat depression,myocardial infarction,and other diseases.However,few reports are available on the de novo microbial synthesis of dopamine from low-cost substrate.In this study,integrated omics technology was used to explore the dopamine metabolism of a novel marine multi-stress-tolerant aromatic yeast Meyerozyma guilliermondii GXDK6.GXDK6 was found to have the ability to biosynthesize dopamine when using glucose as the substrate.14 key genes for the biosynthesis of dopamine were identified by whole genome-wide analysis.Transcriptomic and proteomic data showed that the expression levels of gene AAT2 encoding aspartate aminotransferase(regulating dopamine anabolism)were upregulated,while gene AO-I encoding copper amine oxidase(involved in dopamine catabolism)were downregulated under 10%NaCl stress compared with non-NaCl stress,thereby contributing to biosynthesis of dopamine.Further,the amount of dopamine under 10%NaCl stress was 2.51-fold higher than that of zero NaCl,which was consistent with the multi-omics results.Real-time fluorescence quantitative PCR(RT-qPCR)and high-performance liquid chromatography(HPLC)results confirmed the metabolic model of dopamine.Furthermore,by overexpressing AAT2,AST enzyme activity was increased by 24.89%,the expression of genes related to dopamine metabolism was enhanced,and dopamine production was increased by 56.36%in recombinant GXDK6AAT2.In conclusion,Meyerozyma guilliermondii GXDK6 could utilize low-cost carbon source to synthesize dopamine,and NaCl stress promoted the biosynthesis of dopamine.

Advancing Human Health through Exploration of Plant Metabolism and Reaping the Benefits of Edible Medicinal Plants

The metabolism of （edible） medicinal plants has increasingly become a central topic for research at the nexus of plant food and human health. Following the successful inaugural event in December of 2015, the 2rid International Symposium on Func- tional Food and Plant Metabolism （ISFFPM） was held on December 14-15,2016, at the scenic Shanghai Chenshan Botan- ical Garden （www.csnbgsh.cn）.

The Reference Genome Sequence of Scutellaria baicalensis Provides Insights into the Evolution of Wogonin Biosynthesis

Scutellaria baicalensis Georgi is important in Chinese traditional medicine where preparations of dried roots,"Huang Qin," are used for liver and lung complaints and as complementary cancer treatments. We report a high-quality reference genome sequence for S. baicalensis where 93% of the 408.14-Mb genome has been assembled into nine pseudochromosomes with a super-N50 of 33.2 Mb. Comparison of this sequence with those of closely related species in the order Lamiales, sesamum indicum and Salvia splendens,revealed that a specialized metabolic pathway for the synthesis of 4'-deoxyflavone bioactives evolved in the genus Scu-tellaria. We found that the gene encoding a specific cinnamate coenzyme A ligase likely obtained its newfunc- tion following recent mutations, and that four genes encoding enzymes in the 4'-deoxyflavone pathway are present as tandem repeats in the genome of S. baicalensis. Further analyses revealed that gene duplications, segmental duplication, gene amplification, and point mutations coupled to gene neo- and subfunctionaliza-tions were involved in the evolution of 4'-deoxyflavone synthesis in the genus Scutellaria. Our study not only provides significant insight into the evolution of specific flavone biosynthetic pathways in the mint family, Lamiaceae, but also will facilitate the development of tools for enhancing bioactive productivity by metabolic engineering in microbes or by molecular breeding in plants. The reference genome of S. baicalensis is also useful for improving the genome assemblies for other members of the mint family and offers an important foundation for decoding the synthetic pathways of bioactive compounds in medicinal plants.

Two CYP82D Enzymes Function as Flavone Hydroxylases in the Biosynthesis of Root-Specific 4＇-Deoxyflavones in Scutellaria baicalensis

Baicalein, wogonin, and their glycosides are major bioactive compounds found in the medicinal plant Scutellaria baicalensis Georgi. These flavones can induce apoptosis in a variety of cancer cell lines but have no effect on normal cells. Furthermore, they have many additional benefits for human health, such as antioxidant, antiviral, and liver-protective properties. Here, we report the isolation and characterization of two CYP450 enzymes, SbCYP82D1.1 and SbCYP82D2, which function as the flavone 6-hydroxylase （F6H） and flavone 8-hydroxylase （F8H）, respectively, in S. baicalensis. SbCYP82D1.1 has broad substrate speci- ficity for flavones such as chrysin and apigenin and is responsible for biosynthesis of baicalein and scutel- larein in roots and aerial parts of S. baicalensis, respectively. When the expression of SbCYP82D1.1 is knocked down, baicalin and baicalein levels are reduced significantly while chrysin glycosides accumulate in hairy roots. SbCYP82D2 is an F8H with high substrate specificity, accepting only chrysin as its substrate to produce norwogonin, although minor 6-hydroxylation activity can also be detected. Phylogenetic analysis suggested that SbCYP82D2 might have evolved from SbCYP82D1.1 via gene duplication followed by neofunctionalization, whereby the ancestral F6H activity is partially retained in the derived SbCYP82D2.

Effect comparason of thermosensitive moxibustion and estazolam on anxiety and depression in the patients of insomnia differentiated as liver qi stagnation

Objective： To observe the effect of thermosensitive moxibustion on anxiety and depression in the patients of insomnia differentiated as liver qi stagnation.Methods： From January 2015 to January 2017, 60 patients of insomnia differentiated as liver qi stagnation were collected in Shijiazhuang Municipal Chinese Medicine Hospital. According to the random number table, the patients were randomized into a moxibustion group（30 cases） and an estazolam group（30 cases）. In the moxibustion group, the thermosensitive moxibustion was adopted alternatively to the bilateral yuan-source points of the liver and gallbladder meridians. In the estazolam group, estazolam, 1 mg was prescribed for oral administration before sleep every day. After 15-day treatments, the sleep quality, the severity of anxiety and depression and the therapeutic effects were observed before and after treatment in the two groups.Results： Before treatment, the differences were not significant in the scores of Pittsburgh sleep quality index（PSQI）, the self-rating anxiety scale（SAS） and the self-rating depression scale（SDS） between the two groups（all P〉0.05）. After treatment, the scores of PSQJ, SAS and SDS were all reduced remarkably as compared with those before treatment in the two groups（all P〈0.05）. PSQI score was（6.72 ±2.311）points in the moxibustion group and was（5.37 ±2.621） points in the estazolam group. SAS score was（31.76 ± 6.511） points in the moxibustion group and was（39.62 ± 4.371） points in the estazolam group.SDS score was（35.98 ±5.161） points in the moxibustion group and was（46.38 ±4.971） points in the estazolam group. After treatment, the scores of PSQI, SAS and SDS in the moxibustion group were reduced more remarkably as compared with the estazolam group, indicating the significant differences（all P 〈0.05）. After treatment, the scores of sleep efficacy and TCM symptoms were（72.65 ± 14.36） points and（69.36 ±4.28） points respectively in the moxibustion group, better than the estazolam group, indicating the significant differences（all P〈0.05）.Conclusion： The thermosensitive moxibustion at the yuan-source points of the liver and gallbladder meridians significantly improves the sleep quality, relieves the symptoms of anxiety and depression and enhances the therapeutic effects in the patients of insomnia differentiated as liver qi stagnation. Hence,this therapy deserves to be recommended in clinical practice.

A global terrestrial ecosystem respiration dataset(2001-2010)estimated with MODIS land surface temperature and vegetation indices

This paper describes how a validated semi-empirical,but physiologically based,remote sensing model-Ensemble_all-was upscaled using MODIS land surface temperature data(MOD11C2),enhanced vegetation indices(MOD13C1)and land-cover data(MCD12C1)to produce a global terrestrial ecosystem respiration data set(Reco)for January 2001-December 2010.The temporal resolution of this data set is 1 month,the spatial resolution is 0.05°,and the range is from 55°S to 65°N and 180°W to 180°E(crop and natural vegetation mosaic is not included).After crossvalidating our data set using in-situ observations as well as Reco outputs from an empirical variable_Q10 model,a LPJ_S1 process model and a machine learning method model,we found that our data set performed well in detecting both temporal and spatial patterns in Reco’s simulation in most ecosystems across the world.This data set can be found at http://www.dx.doi.org/10.11922/sciencedb.934.