Effect of hepatocyte growth factor signaling pathway activation on Plasmodium berghei infection

Objective:To explore the effect of hepatocyte growth factor signaling pathway activation on Plasmodium berghei infection.Methods:In this study,hepatocyte growth factor was detected by ELISA and Western blotting assay.Hepatocyte injury was detected by FITC-dextran absorption assay,and hepatocyte growth factor expression was shown to be expressed in the same injury cells by immunofluorescence against hepatocyte growth factor.In addition,Activation of hepatocyte growth factor and its receptor signaling pathway was detected with immunoprecipitation and detection of phosphorylation status.Results:It was found that injury of hepatocytes by sporozoite migration induced the secretion of hepatocyte growth factor and it was hepatocyte growth factor that rendered hepatocytes susceptible to Plasmodium sporozoite infection.In addition,hepatocyte infections depended on activation of the hepatocyte growth factor and its receptor signaling pathway.Conclusions:Our results indicate that hepatocyte growth factor and its receptor may possibly be potential targets for new approaches to malaria treatment.

Design of Environmental Monitoring and Control System for Large-scale Pig House with Fermentation Bed

The design and assembly of environmental monitoring and control system for large-scale pig house with fermentation bed helped to solve the problem of environmental automatic control in piggery.The sensors would monitor the temperature,humidity,light,wind direction,wind speed,CO2,NH3and other parameters.On-line real-time data collection was achieved.The expert system was constructed to control the temperature in piggery below 30℃,to control the air and mattress humidities higher than 65%.Under the conditions of different season or different wind speed,even in day and night,the control actuators were different.The actuators included fanning wet curtain,lighting,micro spraying,spraying,propeller fan,electric aluminum alloy shutter and spraying systems on the roof.The actuators were integrated,and they control the piggery environment simultaneously.The system also designed the remote video monitor interface,parameter-monitoring curved interface and operation interface,which provided a good man-machine interface.

Comparison of multinomial logistic regression and logistic regression： which is more efficient in allocating land use？

Spatially explicit simulation of land use change is the basis for estimating the effects of land use and cover change on energy fluxes, ecology and the environment. At the pixel level, logistic regression is one of the most common approaches used in spatially explicit land use allocation models to determine the relationship between land use and its causal factors in driving land use change, and thereby to evaluate land use suitability. However, these models have a drawback in that they do not determine/ allocate land use based on the direct relationship between land use change and its driving factors. Consequently, a multinomial logistic regression method was introduced to address this flaw, and thereby, judge the suitability of a type of land use in any given pixel in a case study area of the Jiangxi Province, China. A comparison of the two regression methods indicated that the proportion of correctly allocated pixels using multinomial logistic regression was 92.98%, which was 8.47% higher than that obtained using logistic regression. Paired t-test results also showed that pixels were more clearly distinguished by multinomial logistic regression than by logistic regression. In conclusion, multinomial logistic regression is a more efficient and accurate method for the spatial allocation of land use changes. The application of this method in future land use change studies may improve the accuracy of predicting the effects of land use and cover change on energy fluxes, ecology, and environment.

Determination of DNA single-strand breaks by low-energy heavy ion and analysis of dose-effect curves

Calf thymus DNA was exposed to low-energy heavy ions (N+) and 60Co-γ-rays, and the dose-effect on DNA single-strand breaks (SSB) has been investigated. The results indicate that the dose-effect curve by N+ irradiation is different from that of conventional ionizing radiation. While the curve from γ-irradiation follows exponential type, the effect curve produced by N+ ion is of 'saddle type'. The yield of DNASSB per dose unit per DNA unit remained at a certain level under different doses of γ-rays. In contrast, the DNASSB at low dosage region of N+ showed an obvious peak before it decreased rapidly to a lower level.

An equilibrium analysis of the land use structure in the Yunnan Province, China

Global land use structure is changing rapidly due to unceasing population growth and accelerated urbanization, which leads to fierce competition between the rigid demand for built-up area and the protection of cultivated land, forest, and grassland. It has been a great challenge to realize the sustainable development of land resources. Based on a computable general equilibrium model of land use change with a social accounting matrix dataset, this study implemented an equilibrium analysis of the land use structure in the Yunnan Province during the period of 2008-2020 under three scenarios, the baseline scenario, low TFP （total factor productivity） scenario, and high TFP scenario. The results indicated that under all three scenarios, area of cultivated land declined signifi- cantly along with a remarkable expansion of built-up area, while areas of forest, grassland, and unused land increased slightly. The growth rate of TFP had first negative and then positive effects on the expansion of built-up area and decline of cultivated land as it increased. Moreover, the simulated changes of both cultivated land and built-up area were the biggest under the low TFP scenario, and far exceeded the limit in the Overall Plan for Land Utilization in the Yunnan Province in 2020. The scenario-based simulation results are of important reference value for policy-makers in making land use decisions, balancing the fierce competition between the protection of cultivated land and the increasing demand for built-up area, and guaranteeing food security, ecological security, and the sustainable development of land resources.

Economic Effects of Drought on Agriculture in North China

In the past three decades, global agriculture losses have continuously grown due to increasingly severe droughts. Compared with direct economic effects, there are great difficulties in evaluating the indirect economic effects of drought, which has severely lagged behind the urgent information needs for decision making. This study tries to solve the perplexity in the evaluation of the effects of drought on the price fluctuation of agricultural products by building a partial equilibrium model that describes the balancing process of supply and demand quantitatively. Using this model, a scenario analysis is applied to evaluate the price fluctuation of agricultural products caused by drought in North China. The results indicate that there is no major impact of drought on the market prices of eight major agricultural products. Even with the occurrence of a severe drought in North China, market prices of agricultural products will rise no more than 3.59 percent, which is less than the normal market price fluctuations of China’s agricultural products. This study provides a tool for evaluating indirect economic effects of drought. The results of our case study could support decision making for China’s food market regulation.