COVID-19 lockdown has indirect,non-equivalent effects on activity patterns of Reeves's Pheasant(Syrmaticus reevesii)and sympatric species

The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic has brought massive shifts in human activities through a global blockade,directly affecting wildlife survival.However,the indirect impacts of changes in human activities are often easily overlooked.We conducted surveys of Reeves's Pheasant(Syrmaticus reevesii)and its sympatric species by camera traps in forest-type nature reserves in three different scenarios:pre-lockdown,lockdown and postlockdown.An increase in livestock activities observed during the lockdown and post-lockdown period in our study area provided us an opportunity to investigate the indirect impact of the lockdown on wildlife.The prelockdown period was used as a baseline to compare any changes in trends of relative abundance index,activity patterns and temporal spacing of targeted species and livestock.During the lockdown period,the relative abundance index of livestock increased by 50%and there was an increase in daytime activity.Reeves's Pheasant showed avoidance responses to almost all sympatric species and livestock in three different periods,and the livestock avoidance level of Reeves's Pheasant during the lockdown period was significantly and positively correlated with the relative abundance index of livestock.Species-specific changes in activity patterns of study species were observed,with reduced daytime activities of Hog Badger and Raccoon Dog during and after the confinement periods.This study highlights the effect of the COVID-19 lockdown on the responses of wildlife by considering the changes in their temporal and spatial use before,during and after lockdown.The knowledge gained on wildlife during reduced human mobility because of the pandemic aids in understanding the effect of human disturbances and developing future conservation strategies in the shared space,to manage both wildlife and livestock.

从柔到刚——配位聚合物“夜明珠”

开发新型有机/配合物长余辉材料,并通过研究其结构与性质的关系,来提高长余辉性能,是当前的研究热点。本实验涉及一种铜碘簇配位聚合物(CuIU),其存在立方(C,Cubic)和三方(T,Trigonal)相。虽然二者的分子式相同,但由于结构框架的结晶方式不同,导致较刚性的T-CuIU具有明显的长余辉性质,而柔性的C-CuIU则没有。合成过程在盐溶液中常温进行,条件温和,仅需简单的搅拌、离心、干燥等操作就能完成,适合在本科生实验中推行。其中,短时间搅拌反应得到的是C-CuIU,而长时间搅拌得到的是T-CuIU。C、T两相的转化容易控制,二者的余辉差别肉眼可观察。通过引入结构模型教具、荧光墨水、丝网印刷等可进一步提高课程的生动性与趣味性。该实验有助于学生了解金属簇配合物的合成方法,认识配合物结构与性质之间的深刻联系。同时,实验还融合了X射线粉末衍射仪、荧光仪、热重分析仪等科研仪器的操作,具有较好的科教融合效果。

Position and complications of pedicle screw insertion with or without image-navigation techniques in the thoracolumbar spine:a meta-analysis of comparative studies

Computer-navigated pedicle screw insertion is applied to the thoracic and lumbar spine to attain high insertion accuracy and a low rate of screw-related complications.However,some in vivo and in vitro studies have shown that no advantages are gained with the use of navigation techniques compared to conventional techniques.Additionally,inconsistent conclusions have been drawn in various studies due to different population characteristics and methods used to assess the accuracy of screw placement.Moreover,it is not clear whether pedicle screw insertion with navigation techniques decreases the incidence of screw-related complications.Therefore,this study was sought to perform a meta-analysis of all available prospective evidence regarding pedicle screw insertion with or without navigation techniques in human thoracic and lumbar spine.We considered in vivo comparative studies that assessed the results of pedicle screw placement with or without navigation techniques.PubMed,Ovid MEDLINE and EMBASE databases were searched.Three published randomized controlled trials（RCTs） and nine retrospective comparative studies met the inclusion criteria.These studies included a total of 732 patients in whom 4,953 screws were inserted.In conclusion,accuracy of the position of grade I,II,III and IV screws and complication rate related to pedicle screw placement were significantly increased when navigation techniques were used in comparison to conventional techniques.Future research in this area should include RCTs with well-planned methodology to limit bias and report on validated,patient-based outcome measures.

A new free-hand pedicle screw placement technique with reference to the supraspinal ligament

We sought to compare the safety and accuracy of a new free-hand pedicle screw placement technique to that of the conventional technique. One hundred fifty-three consecutive adult patients with simple fracture in the tho- racic or/and lumbar spine were alternately assigned to either the new free-hand or the conventional group. In the new free-hand technique group, preoperative computerized tomography （CT） images were used to calculate the targeted medial-lateral angle of each pedicle trajectory and the pedicle screw was inserted perpendicular to the corresponding supraspinal ligament. In the conventional technique group, the medial-lateral and cranial-caudal angle of each pedicle trajectory was determined by intraoperatively under fluoroscopic guidance. The accuracy rate of pedicle screw placement, the time of intraoperative fluoroscopy, the operating time and the amount of blood loss during operation were respectively compared. All screws were analyzed by using intraoperative ra- diographs, intraoperative triggered electromyography （EMG） monitoring data, postoperative CT data and clinical outcomes. The accuracy rate of pedicle screw placement in the new free-hand technique group and the conven- tional technique group was 96.3% and 94.2% （P 〈 0.05）, respectively. The intraoperative fluoroscopy time of the new technique group was less than that of the conventional technique group （5.37 seconds vs. 8.79 seconds, P 〈 0.05）. However, there was no statistical difference in the operating time and the amount of blood loss during op- eration （P 〉 0.05）. Pedicle screw placement with the free-hand technique which keeps the screw perpendicular to the supraspinal ligament is an accurate, reliable and safe technique to treat simple fracture in the thoracic or lum- bar spine.

Vector Radiative Transfer in a Vertically Inhomogeneous Scattering and Emitting Atmosphere.PartⅠ:A New Discrete Ordinate Method

The original vector discrete ordinate radiative transfer(VDISORT)model takes into account Stokes radiance vector but derives its solution assuming azimuthal symmetric surface reflective matrix and atmospheric scattering phase matrix,such as the phase matrix derived from spherical particles or randomly oriented non-spherical particles.In this study,a new VDISORT is developed for general atmospheric scattering and boundary conditions.Stokes vector is decomposed into both sinusoidal and cosinusoidal harmonic modes,and the radiance at arbitrary viewing geometry is solved directly by adding two zero-weighted points in the Gaussian quadrature scheme.The complex eigenvalues in homogeneous solutions are also taken into full consideration.The accuracy of VDISORT model is comprehensively validated by four cases:Rayleigh scattering case,the spherical particle scattering case with the Legendre expansion coefficients of 0th-13th orders of the phase matrix(hereinafter L13),L13 with a polarized source,and the randomoriented oblate particle scattering case with the Legendre expansion coefficients of 0th-11th orders of the phase matrix(hereinafter L11).In all cases,the simulated radiances agree well with the benchmarks,with absolute biases less than 0.0065,0.0006,and 0.0008 for Rayleigh,unpolarized L13,and L11,respectively.Since a polarized bidirectional reflection distribution function(pBRDF)matrix is used as the lower boundary condition,VDISORT is now able to handle fully coupled atmospheric and surface polarimetric radiative transfer processes.

Growth and Optical Applications of Centimeter-Long ZnO Nanocombs

Ultralong ZnO nanocombs have been synthesized on silicon substrates with a high growth rate of~7μm/s using a simple“thermal evaporation and condensation”method promoted by Cu catalysts.The lengths of the ZnO nanocombs range from several millimeters to more than one centimeter and the diameters of the branches are about 300 nm.The growth mechanism of the ultralong nanocombs and the catalytic behavior of the copper are discussed.The nanocombs were readily separated and their applications as optical polarizer and grating were investigated.The results show that the ultralong ZnO nanocombs can act as effective optical components in miniaturized integrated optics systems.

HOOKLESS1 is a positive regulator in Arabidopsis thermomorphogenesis

Dear Editor,With the inevitable trend of global warming,it is urgent to understand how plants sense and respond to temperature increases for designing new crop varieties that can tolerate high ambient temperature.In Arabidopsis thaliana,high ambient temperature promotes hypocotyl elongation in seedlings and stimulates petiole elongation and hyponasty in rosette leaves.These changes in architecture are collectively tenned thermomorphogenesis.Thennomorphogenesis protects seedling meristems from the heat reflected from the ground and reduces the heat flux among leaves in adult plants.

Optical Properties of SiO2 and ZnO Nanostructured Replicas of Butterfly Wing Scales

SiO2 and ZnO inverse structure replicas have been synthesized using butterfly wings as templates. The laser diffraction performance of the SiO2 inverse structure replica was investigated and it was found that the zero-order light spot split into a matrix pattern when the distance between the screen and the sample was increased. This unique diffraction phenomenon is closely related to the structure of the SiO2 inverse structure replica. On the other hand, by analyzing the photoluminescence spectrum of the ZnO replica, optical anisotropy in the ultraviolet band was demonstrated for this material.

Seedling morphogenesis:when ethylene meets high ambient temperature

Unlike animals,plant development is plastic and sensitive to environmental changes.For example,Arabidopsis thaliana seedlings display distinct growth patterns when they are grown under different light or temperature conditions.M oreover,endogenous plant hormone such as ethylene also impacts seedling morphol ogy.Ethylene induces hypocotyl elongation in light-grown seedlings but strongly inhibits hypocotyl elongation in etiolated(dark-grown)seedlings.Another characteristic ethylene response in etiolated seedlings is the formation of exaggerated apical hooks.Although it is well known that high ambient temperature promotes hypocotyl elongation in light-grown seedlings(thermomor-phogenesis),ethylene suppresses thermomorphogenesis.On another side,high ambient temperature also inhibits the ethylene-responsive hypocotyl shortening and exaggerated hook for mation in etiolated seedlings.Therefore,the simplest phytohormone ethylene exhibits almost the most complicated responses,depending on temperature and/or light conditions.In this review,we will focus on two topics related to the main theme of this special issue(response to high temperature):(1)how does high temperature suppress ethylene-induced seedling morphology in dark grown seedlings,and(2)how does ethylene inhibit high temperature-induced seedling growth in light-grown seedlings.Controlling ethylene biosynthesis through antisense technology was the hallmark event in plant genetic engi-neering in 1990,we assume that manipulations on plant ethylene signaling in agricultural plants may pave the way for coping with climate change in future.

Superior single-mode lasing in a self-assembly CsPbX3 microcavity over an ultrawide pumping wavelength range

All-inorganic perovskite micro/nanolasers are emerging as a class of miniaturized coherent photonic sources for many potential applications,such as optical communication,computing,and imaging,owing to their ultracompact sizes,highly localized coherent output,and broadband wavelength tunability.However,to achieve singlemode laser emission in the microscale perovskite cavity is still challenging.Herein,we report unprecedented single-mode laser operations at room temperature in self-assembly Cs Pb X3 microcavities over an ultrawide pumping wavelength range of 400–2300 nm,covering one-to five-photon absorption processes.The superior frequency down-and upconversion single-mode lasing manifests high multiphoton absorption efficiency and excellent optical gain from the electron–hole plasma state in the perovskite microcavities.Through direct compositional modulation,the wavelength of a single-mode Cs Pb X3 microlaser can be continuously tuned from blue-violet to green(427–543 nm).The laser emission remains stable and robust after long-term high-intensity excitation for over 12 h(up to 4.3×107 excitation cycles)in the ambient atmosphere.Moreover,the pump-wavelength dependence of the threshold,as well as the detailed lasing dynamics such as the gain-switching and electron–hole plasma mechanisms,are systematically investigated to shed insight into the more fundamental issues of the lasing processes in Cs Pb X3 perovskite microcavities.

PIF4 and HOOKLESS1 Impinge on Common Transcriptome and Isoform Regulation in Thermomorphogenesis

High temperature activates the transcription factor PHYTOCHROME-INTERACTING FACTOR4(PIF4)to stimulate auxin signaling,which causes hypocotyl elongation and leaf hyponasty(thermomorphogenesis).HOOKLESS1(HLS1)is a recently reported positive regulator of thermomorphogenesis,but the molecular mechanisms by which HLS1 regulates thermomorphogenesis remain unknown.In this study,we initially compared PIF4-and/or HLS1-dependent differential gene expression(DEG)upon high-temperature treatment.We found that a large number of genes are coregulated by PIF4 and HLS1,especially genes involved in plant growth or defense responses.Moreover,we found that HLS1 interacts with PIF4 to form a regulatory module and that,among the HLS1-PIF4-coregulated genes,27.7%are direct targets of PIF4.We also identified 870 differentially alternatively spliced genes(DASGs)in wild-type plants under high temperature.Interestingly,more than half of these DASG events(52.4%)are dependent on both HLS1 and PIF4,and the spliceosome-defective mutant plantsexhibit a hyposensitive response to high temperature,indicating that DASGs are required for thermomorphogenesis.Further comparative analyses showed that the HLS1/PIF4-coregulated DEGs and DASGs exhibit almost no overlap,suggesting that high temperature triggers two distinct strategies to control plant responses and thermomorphogenesis.Taken together,these results demonstrate that the HLS1-PIF4 module precisely controls both transcriptional and posttranscriptional regulation during plant thermomorphogenesis.

Phytochromes and Phytohormones： The Shrinking Degree of Separation

Any two people on Earth may be connected by a chain of ＇a friend of a friend＇ in six steps or less, dubbed as the ＇six degrees of separation＇. In the world of plant systems, the degree of separation between the signaling ＇pathways＇ of photoreceptor phytochromes and growth regulator phyto- hormones is smaller than previously expected, according to the recent studies.

Light signaling‑mediated growth plasticity in Arabidopsis grown under high‑temperature conditions

Growing concern around global warming has led to an increase in research focused on plant responses to increased temperature.In this review,we highlight recent advances in our understanding of plant adaptation to high ambient temperature and heat stress,emphasizing the roles of plant light signaling in these responses.We summarize how high temperatures regulate plant cotyledon expansion and shoot and root elongation and explain how plants use light signaling to combat severe heat stress.Finally,we discuss several future avenues for this research and identify various unresolved questions within this field.

Ethylene Biology Blooms from Fundamenta Research to Postharvest Applications

The 10th International Conference on the Plant Hormone Ethylene, co-chaired by Zhengguo Li （Chongqing University）, Hongwei Guo （Peking University）, Joseph Ecker （SALK, USA）, Mondher Bou- zayen （University of Toulouse）, and Caren Chang （University of Maryland）, was held on November 14-18, 2015, in Chongqing, China.

Vector Radiative Transfer in a Vertically Inhomogeneous Scattering and Emitting Atmosphere. Part Ⅱ: Coupling with Azimuthally Asymmetric Polarized Bidirectional Reflection over Oceans

The reflection of ocean surface is often assumed azimuthally symmetric in the previous vector discrete ordinate radiative transfer(VDISORT)and many other radiative transfer solvers.This assumption can lead to obvious errors in the simulated radiances.In this study,the vector radiative transfer equation is solved with a polarized bidirectional reflection distribution function(pBRDF)for computing the surface-leaving radiation from the lower boundary.An azimuthally asymmetric pBRDF model at visible and infrared bands over oceans is fully coupled with the updated VDISORT model.The radiance at the ocean surface is combined with the contributions of atmospheric scattering and surface properties.It is shown that the radiance at the ocean surface also exhibits a strong angular dependence in the Stokes vector and the magnitudes of I.Q.and V increase for a larger azimuthal dependence of pBRDF.In addition,the solar position affects the peaks of sun glitter pattern,thus modulating the signal magnitudes and the angular distributions.As ocean wind increases,the reflection weakens with reduced magnitudes of Stokes parameters and lessvarying angular distributions.