Free Glutamate Content of Condiment and Seasonings and Their Intake in Bogor and Jakarta, Indonesia

Free glutamate has been known as flavor enhancer. Commercially, free glutamate is available in form of monosodium glutamate (MSG) crystal. Seasoning or premix may also contain free glutamate or MSG. The aim of the present study was focus on the determination of the usage and potential/actual exposure of consumers to free glutamate from condiment and seasonings. There were several steps of the study, i.e. survey, laboratory analyses, data analyses, and evaluation of total exposure of free glutamate from condiment and seasonings. The survey was conducted to the 110 households in Bogor (rural) and 112 households in Jakarta (urban). The samples of condiment/seasoning were analyzed by using high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) with fluorescent detector. The condiment/seasonings were categorized into 15 types, i.e. sweet soy sauce, salty soy sauce, fermented soybean paste, tomato sauce, MSG, premix seasoning, fermented fish/shrimp paste, chili sauce, ready to use seasoning, seasoned flour, dip and sauce, mayonnaise and mustard, spread, oyster and fish sauce, and teriyaki and others. The results of condiment/seasonings survey revealed that sweet soy sauce, MSG, and premix seasoning were used by most of households (±71% or more than 80 households) both in Bogor and Jakarta. The laboratory analyses of free glutamate from condiment/seasonings revealed that the highest free glutamate content was found in MSG (733.29 mg/g). Beside MSG, there were three other condiments that also had high free glutamate content, i.e. premix seasoning (70.77 mg/g in Bogor and 63.66 mg/g in Jakarta), oyster and fish sauce (46.76 mg/g in Bogor), and ready to use seasoning (15.71 mg/g in Jakarta). Although the average condiment/seasonings usage in Bogor (5.39 g/cap/day) was lower than that in Jakarta (9.62 g/cap/day), but the free glutamate intake from condiment/seasonings in Bogor (847.04 mg/cap/day) was higher than that in Jakarta (615.87 mg/cap/day). This was due to the high contribution of MSG that used in higher amount in Bogor.

The Variation of Plankton Community Structure in Artificial Reef Area and Adjacent Waters in Haizhou Bay

Plankton are an important component of marine protected areas(MPAs),and its communities would require much smaller interpatch distances to ensure connection among MPAs.According to the survey from MPAs dominated by artificial reefs and adjacent waters(estuary area(EA),aquaculture area(AA),artificial reef area(ARA),natural area(NA)and comprehensive effect area(CEA))in Haizhou Bay in spring and autumn,we analyzed phyto-zooplankton composition,abundance and biomass,and correlation with hydrologic variables to gain information about the forces that structure the plankton.The results showed that the dominant zooplankton were copepods(spring,98.9%;autumn,94.2%),while the phytoplankton were mainly composed of Bacillariophyta(spring,61.8%;autumn,95.6%).The RDA results showed that temperature,salinity and depth highly associated with the distribution and composition of plankton species among the habitats than other factors in spring;temperature,Chla and DO had the strongest influence in autumn.The zooplankton in the ARA and AA ecosystems basically contained the same species as those in other habitats,and each habitat also exhibited a relatively unique combination of plankton species.The structures of the EA zooplankton in spring and the EA phytoplankton in both seasons were much different than other habitats,which may have been caused by factors such as currents and tides.We concluded that there exists similarity of the plankton community between artificial reef area and adjacent waters,whereas the EAs may be relatively independent systems.Therefore,these interaction between plankton community should be considered when designing MPA networks,and ocean circulations should be considered more than the environmental factors.

ENSO impacts on litter stocks and water holding capacity in secondary forests in eastern Amazonia

Among the impacts of climate change,there is the intensification of phenomena such as the El Niño South-ern Oscillation(ENSO)responsible for El Niño and La Niña.However,understanding their effects on the functional pro-cesses of forests is limited.Therefore,this study evaluated the effects of ENSO on litter stock and water holding capac-ity(WHC)in a successional forest in eastern Amazonia.Evaluations occurred in periods with the most rainfall in El Niño(2019)and least in La Niña(2021)years.Twelve permanent plots were used to sample litter.ENSO effects were evident for WHC,higher during El Niño.However,this influence was not clear for litter,as only in the rainy season effects were found.There was a positive correlation of WHC with precipitation and humidity,while litter stocks were negatively correlated with temperature and wind speed.Although the subject of this study requires long-term assessments,preliminary results suggests that,depending on the intensity of ENSO,forest functional processes can be strongly impacted and altered.The conclusion reinforces warnings by the scientific community about the impacts of climate change on the maintenance of litter stocks,decomposition and,consequently,the biogeochemical cycle and essential ecosystem services for the maintenance of Amazonia biodiversity.The need to develop long-term research to understand the effects of climatic change on litter stocks and water holding capacity is highlighted,especially in Amazonia.

Erratum to:Deriving Temporal and Vertical Distributions of Methane in Xianghe Using Ground-based Fourier Transform Infrared and Gas-analyzer

“Diurnal variation of CH4 at the surface from spring to winter.The time units are in local time(+8 h UTC).The error bar is 1σfor all the observed hourly mean data within that season at that local time.”in the caption of Fig.8 on Page 604 should be“Diurnal variation of CH4 at the surface from spring to winter.The time units are in UTC.The error bar is 1σfor all the observed hourly mean data within that season at that local time.”

Oriented Generation of Novel Thermo-Sensitive Genic Male Sterile Lines with Improved Grain Shape and Outcrossing Rate in Early-Season Rice

Two-line hybrid rice with excellent quality is preferred in the Chinese market.However,there is a trade-off between reducing costs for hybrid seed production and lowering the outcrossing rate of the sterile line,which is largely determined by the stigma exsertion rate(SER).In this study,we constructed mutants of male sterility lines with improved grain length(GL)and SER in three elite early-season indica rice varieties through targeted manipulation of the TMS5 and GS3 genes using CRISPR/Cas9-mediated multiplex systems.We obtained a series of marker-free gs3 single mutants and gs3tms5 double mutants with significantly higher SER,longer grains,and increased 1000-grain weight compared with the wild type(WT).Importantly,the typically thermo-sensitive genic male sterile(TGMS)trait with a higher SER was observed in gs3tms5 mutants,and their F1 hybrids exhibited remarkable improvements in grain shape and yield-related traits.Our findings provided an efficient method to generate new valuable TGMS germplasm with improved SER through the mutagenesis of GS3 and TMS5 synergistically,and demonstrated that GS3 had pleiotropic effects on grain size,SER,and grain quality in early-season indica rice.

Molecular analyses display the increasing diversity of Podostemaceae in China

Podostemaceae(riverweed family),one of the largest aquatic plant families in the world,comprises about 350 species in 51 genera placed in three subfamilies,Podostemoideae,Weddellinoideae,and Tristichoideae(Koi et al.,2022).Most Podostemaceae genera(~38)are monotypic or oligotypic,with a high level of endemism(Koi et al.,2018,2022).Members of Podostemaceae adhere to rocks in fast-flowing rivers,streams,or waterfalls in the subtropics and tropics(Koi et al.,2018).As an adaptation to fastrunning currents,the morphological structure of river-weeds tends to be extremely reduced,including a loss or reduction of primary shoots or roots(Koi and Kato,2007).The vegetative mass of these plants resembles lichens or bryophytes,and are thus known commonly as“dream bryophytes”(Philbrick and Retana,1998).Podostemaceae plants flower when the water level drops during the dry season.In recent years,anthropogenic factors and climate change have severely affected river weed habitats,decreasing populations of these plants.

Seasonal variation of mesoscale eddy intensity in the global ocean

Mesoscale eddies are a prominent oceanic phenomenon that plays an important role in oceanic mass transport and energy conversion.Characterizing by rotational speed,the eddy intensity is one of the most fundamental properties of an eddy.However,the seasonal spatiotemporal variation in eddy intensity has not been examined from a global ocean perspective.In this study,we unveil the seasonal spatiotemporal characteristics of eddy intensity in the global ocean by using the latest satellite-altimetry-derived eddy trajectory data set.The results suggest that the eddy intensity has a distinct seasonal variation,reaching a peak in spring while attaining a minimum in autumn in the Northern Hemisphere and the opposite in the Southern Hemisphere.The seasonal variation of eddy intensity is more intense in the tropical-subtropical transition zones within latitudinal bands between 15°and 30°in the western Pacific Ocean,the northwestern Atlantic Ocean,and the eastern Indian Ocean because baroclinic instability in these areas changes sharply.Further analysis found that the seasonal variation of baroclinic instability precedes the eddy intensity by a phase of 2–3 months due to the initial perturbations needing time to grow into mesoscale eddies.

Will the Globe Encounter the Warmest Winter after the Hottest Summer in 2023?

In the boreal summer and autumn of 2023,the globe experienced an extremely hot period across both oceans and continents.The consecutive record-breaking mean surface temperature has caused many to speculate upon how the global temperature will evolve in the coming 2023/24 boreal winter.In this report,as shown in the multi-model ensemble mean(MME)prediction released by the Institute of Atmospheric Physics at the Chinese Academy of Sciences,a medium-to-strong eastern Pacific El Niño event will reach its mature phase in the following 2−3 months,which tends to excite an anomalous anticyclone over the western North Pacific and the Pacific-North American teleconnection,thus serving to modulate the winter climate in East Asia and North America.Despite some uncertainty due to unpredictable internal atmospheric variability,the global mean surface temperature(GMST)in the 2023/24 winter will likely be the warmest in recorded history as a consequence of both the El Niño event and the long-term global warming trend.Specifically,the middle and low latitudes of Eurasia are expected to experience an anomalously warm winter,and the surface air temperature anomaly in China will likely exceed 2.4 standard deviations above climatology and subsequently be recorded as the warmest winter since 1991.Moreover,the necessary early warnings are still reliable in the timely updated mediumterm numerical weather forecasts and sub-seasonal-to-seasonal prediction.

Downscaling Seasonal Precipitation Forecasts over East Africa with Deep Convolutional Neural Networks

This study assesses the suitability of convolutional neural networks(CNNs) for downscaling precipitation over East Africa in the context of seasonal forecasting. To achieve this, we design a set of experiments that compare different CNN configurations and deployed the best-performing architecture to downscale one-month lead seasonal forecasts of June–July–August–September(JJAS) precipitation from the Nanjing University of Information Science and Technology Climate Forecast System version 1.0(NUIST-CFS1.0) for 1982–2020. We also perform hyper-parameter optimization and introduce predictors over a larger area to include information about the main large-scale circulations that drive precipitation over the East Africa region, which improves the downscaling results. Finally, we validate the raw model and downscaled forecasts in terms of both deterministic and probabilistic verification metrics, as well as their ability to reproduce the observed precipitation extreme and spell indicator indices. The results show that the CNN-based downscaling consistently improves the raw model forecasts, with lower bias and more accurate representations of the observed mean and extreme precipitation spatial patterns. Besides, CNN-based downscaling yields a much more accurate forecast of extreme and spell indicators and reduces the significant relative biases exhibited by the raw model predictions. Moreover, our results show that CNN-based downscaling yields better skill scores than the raw model forecasts over most portions of East Africa. The results demonstrate the potential usefulness of CNN in downscaling seasonal precipitation predictions over East Africa,particularly in providing improved forecast products which are essential for end users.

Seasonal Variation of the Sea Surface Temperature Growth Rate of ENSO

El Ni?o–Southern Oscillation(ENSO) exhibits a distinctive phase-locking characteristic, first expressed during its onset in boreal spring, developing during summer and autumn, reaching its peak towards winter, and decaying over the next spring. Several studies have demonstrated that this feature arises as a result of seasonal variation in the growth rate of ENSO as expressed by the sea surface temperature(SST). The bias towards simulating the phase locking of ENSO by many state-of-the-art climate models is also attributed to the unrealistic depiction of the growth rate. In this study, the seasonal variation of SST growth rate in the Ni?o-3.4 region(5°S–5°N, 120°–170°W) is estimated in detail based on the mixed layer heat budget equation and recharge oscillator model during 1981–2020. It is suggested that the consideration of a variable mixed layer depth is essential to its diagnostic process. The estimated growth rate has a remarkable seasonal cycle with minimum rates occurring in spring and maximum rates evident in autumn. More specifically, the growth rate derived from the meridional advection(surface heat flux) is positive(negative) throughout the year. Vertical diffusion generally makes a negative contribution to the evolution of growth rate and the magnitude of vertical entrainment represents the smallest contributor. Analysis indicates that the zonal advective feedback is regulated by the meridional immigration of the intertropical convergence zone, which approaches its southernmost extent in February and progresses to its northernmost location in September, and dominates the seasonal variation of the SST growth rate.

Characteristics and triggering mechanisms of early negative Indian Ocean Dipole

Negative Indian Ocean Dipole(nIOD)can exert great impacts on global climate and can also strongly influence the climate in China.Early nIOD is a major type of nIOD,which can induce more pronounced climate anomalies in summer than La Niña-related nIOD.However,the characteristics and triggering mechanisms of early nIOD are unclear.Our results based on reanalysis datasets indicate that the early nIOD and La Niña-related nIOD are the two major types of nIOD,and the former accounts for over one third of all the nIOD events in the past six decades.These two types of nIODs are similar in their intensities,but are different in their spatial patterns and seasonal cycles.The early nIOD,which develops in spring and peaks in summer,is one season earlier than the La Niña-related nIOD.The spatial pattern of the wind anomaly associated with early nIOD exhibits a winter monsoon-like pattern,with strong westerly anomalies in the equatorial Indian Ocean and eastly anomalies in the northern Indian Ocean.Opposite to the triggering mechanism of early positve IOD,the early nIOD is induced by delayed Indian summer monsoon onset.The results of this study are helpful for improving the prediction skill of IOD and its climate impacts.

Persistent mixing bursts in the equatorial Pacific thermocline induced by persistent equatorial waves

A recent study by Liu et al.(2020)suggested that due to the saturation of equatorially trapped planetary waves with different dynamical types,temporal periods,meridional and baroclinic modes,complex layer structures of vertical velocity shear and hence turbulent mixing could frequently occur in the thermocline of the eastern equatorial Pacific.We investigated the occurrence of the interior turbulent mixing as indicated by shear instabilities,above the Equatorial Undercurrent(EUC)core at three equatorial sites along 140°W,170°W,and 165°E,respectively,based mainly on data from the Tropical Atmosphere and Ocean(TAO)mooring array.We found that turbulent mixing bursts persisted in the thermocline of all three sites.Specifically,the interior turbulent mixing layers(ITMLs)could occur in probability of approximately 68%,53%,and 48%at the three sites,respectively.The overall occurrence probability shows obvious and similar biannual variations at 140°W and 170°W,which is higher in boreal from late summer to winter and lower in spring.Vertically,the ITMLs are primarily located above the EUC core and prevail in deeper(shallower)layers from late summer to winter(spring).Most ITMLs(70%)lasted for hours to 3 days,and a few of them(15%)for more than 7 days.The thicknesses of ITMLs were concentrated between 15 and 55 m.At 165°E,the vertical distribution of ITML occurrence probability was different from that at 140°W and 170°W,as it did not show a preference for depths;the durations of ITMLs are short(also from hours to several days)and their thicknesses were between 5 and 25 m.These properties,particularly the high occurrence probability,and short durations demonstrated the persistence of thermocline mixing in the western to eastern equatorial Pacific thermocline and confirmed the generation mechanism by persistent equatorial waves as well.

A predictive model for regional zenith tropospheric delay correction

The conventional zenith tropospheric delay(ZTD)model(known as the Saastamoinen model)does not consider seasonal variations affecting the delay,giving it low accuracy and stability.This may be improved with adjustments to account for annual and semi-annual variations.This method uses ZTD data provided by the Global Geodetic Observing System to analyze seasonal variations in the bias of the Saastamoinen model in Asia,and then constructs a model with seasonal variation corrections,denoted as SSA.To overcome the dependence of the model on in-situ meteorological parameters,the SSA+GPT3 model is formed by combining the SSA and GPT3(global pressure-temperature)models.The results show that the introduction of annual and semi-annual variations can substantially improve the Saastamoinen model,yielding small and time-stable variations in bias and root mean square(RMS).In summer and autumn,the bias and RMS are noticeably smaller than those from the Saastamoinen model.In addition,the SSA model performs better in low-latitude and low-altitude areas,and bias and RMS decease with the increase of latitude or altitude.The prediction accuracy of the SSA model is also evaluated for external consistency.The results show that the accuracy of the SSA model(bias:-0.38 cm,RMS:4.43 cm)is better than that of the Saastamoinen model(bias:1.45 cm,RMS:5.16 cm).The proposed method has strong applicability and can therefore be used for predictive ZTD correction across Asia.

Research on Scheduling Strategy of Flexible Interconnection Distribution Network Considering Distributed Photovoltaic and Hydrogen Energy Storage

Distributed photovoltaic(PV)is one of the important power sources for building a new power system with new energy as the main body.The rapid development of distributed PV has brought new challenges to the operation of distribution networks.In order to improve the absorption ability of large-scale distributed PV access to the distribution network,the AC/DC hybrid distribution network is constructed based on flexible interconnection technology,and a coordinated scheduling strategy model of hydrogen energy storage(HS)and distributed PV is established.Firstly,the mathematical model of distributed PV and HS system is established,and a comprehensive energy storage system combining seasonal hydrogen energy storage(SHS)and battery(BT)is proposed.Then,a flexible interconnected distribution network scheduling optimization model is established to minimize the total active power loss,voltage deviation and system operating cost.Finally,simulation analysis is carried out on the improved IEEE33 node,the NSGA-II algorithm is used to solve specific examples,and the optimal scheduling results of the comprehensive economy and power quality of the distribution network are obtained.Compared with the method that does not consider HS and flexible interconnection technology,the network loss and voltage deviation of this method are lower,and the total system cost can be reduced by 3.55%,which verifies the effectiveness of the proposed method.

Eco-Epidemiological Characteristics of Human Rabies in Côte d’Ivoire, 2012-2017

Introduction: Human rabies is a major public health problem in many African countries, including Côte d’Ivoire. The present work aims at describing the eco-epidemiological characteristics of human rabies cases recorded in Côte d’Ivoire. Methods: This was a retrospective and prospective cross-sectional descriptive study based on epidemiological surveillance data that ran from september 2014 to december 2017. The clinical data were extracted from the database of the human rabies epidemiological surveillance management service of the National Institute of Public Hygiene’s rabies centre. These data cover the period from 1 January 2012 to 31 December 2017. Results: Human rabies is endemic in Côte d’Ivoire, with most people exposed in the south and especially in the west of the country. There was no association between any of the climatological parameters (temperature, humidity, rainfall) and the occurrence of human rabies during the months of exposure to rabies infection. Conclusion: Ultimately, effective prevention and control of human rabies requires a thorough understanding of the links between climatological parameters and rabies. Health authorities must take ownership of these results if we are to achieve our goal of eliminating rabies by 2030.

Principles of Technology for Bottling Medicinal Mineral Waters of Sairme Using the Example of Source №3a

Sairme mineral water, one of the famous mineral waters in Georgia, is renowned for its exceptional healing properties. The distinctiveness and therapeutic benefits of the naturally sourced mineral water, known as “Sairme”, stem from its rich array of microelements, notably including iron and manganese. Since 1948, the bottling of Sairme mineral water has been a prominent activity. Named after the Sairme deposit, this mineral water is packaged in various formats to cater to diverse consumer preferences. The bottling process involves transporting the mineral water from wells to the bottling plant through pipelines. Prior to bottling, the mineral water undergoes meticulous processing stages in adherence to current Georgian and international regulations. This process ensures that the concentration of trace elements in the bottled water is minimized, maintaining its purity and quality. Given the importance of preserving the microelements present in bottled mineral water, our research is dedicated to optimizing the technological process. Our objective is to safeguard the valuable microelements while ensuring the highest standards of quality and safety in the final product.

Assessment of Selenium Contamination in Sediments of the Aby and Tendo Lagoons in Côte d’Ivoire

Selenium is a trace element that can have both beneficial and harmful effects on aquatic life. The Aby Lagoon is a coastal environment in Côte d’Ivoire that receives selenium inputs from various natural and anthropogenic sources. The aim of this study was to assess the levels of selenium in the sediments of the Aby Lagoon and its tributaries, the Tanoe River and the Tendo Lagoon, and to examine the spatial and seasonal variations of selenium concentrations. Sediment samples were collected from different sites and seasons, and selenium concentrations were measured by atomic fluorescence spectrometry. The results showed that the average concentration of selenium in the sediments of the Aby Lagoon was 0.82 mg/kg, indicating moderate contamination. The concentration of selenium varied between sites and seasons, with higher values in the channel of the Tendo Lagoon and during the dry season. The study highlighted the complexity of selenium dynamics in aquatic ecosystems, and the need to take into account seasonal and spatial variability as well as interactions between environmental factors. The study also suggested potential ecotoxicological risks for some sensitive organisms in certain areas of the lagoon. This study contributes to the knowledge of the dynamics of selenium in lagoon ecosystems and to the assessment of the environmental risks associated with its presence.

Response of the Maize Variety EV87-28 to a Fertilization Strategy Involving Indorama Granular Urea on Ferralsol in the Central Ivory Coast

In Côte d’Ivoire, the decline in soil fertility strongly impacts the productivity of maize (Zea mays L.) on heavily leached ferralitic soil. In this study, the general objective was therefore to improve the productivity of maize EV87-28 on the Ferralsols in pre-forested areas during different cropping seasons. Eight (8) micro-plots were set up according to a total randomization device with three repetitions. Two factors were studied: nitrogen fertilizer modalities (main factor) and crop season (secondary factor). Growth, flowering and yield parameters were measured and analyzed. The results showed that there was no interaction between the nitrogen fertilizer factor and the cropping season factor. In addition, this study showed the short rainy season had the most positive impact on growth, flowering and yield parameters than the long rainy season. The results also showed that the different nitrogen fertilizer modalities had no statistically different effects on growth, flowering and yield parameters. However, quantitative differences were reported, highlighting one nitrogen fertilizer modality, which is the combination of urea granule + farm manure (75% urea indorama granules and 25% farm manure). The combination of urea granule + farm manure (75% urea indorama granules and 25% farm manure) had the best effect on corn grain yield. So, the combination of urea (75%) and manure (25%), that resulted in yield gain, could be recommended for corn fertilization during the small rainy season.

Cultivating the Human Rights Garden

In the practice of advancing the cause of human rights,China has blazed a path of human rights development that is both consistent with the trend of the times and befits the nation’s conditions.WHEN contemplating human rights,the principle of individual freedom often comes to the forefront.The Chinese government’s perception,however,consists in the more organic concept of a metaphorical garden,wherein human rights flourish by virtue of China’s unique soil-its rich history,ancient culture,and political system.China,as a seasoned gardener,thus endeavors,under the leadership of President Xi Jinping,to develop human rights based on its national conditions.

Old Traditions of Making Huangyao Douchi

THE ancient town of Huangyao located in Zhaoping County,Hezhou City,south China’s Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region,is renown for its time-honored Douchi processing techniques.Douchi is a kind of popular Chinese food made from fermented and salted black beans,which is commonly used as a condiment or seasoning for a variety of dishes.The history of Huangyao’s Douchi processing techniques can be traced back to the late Yuan Dynasty(1271-1368)and the early Ming Dynasty(1368-1644).According to a historical record of the Qing Dynasty(1644-1911),“Huangyao is famous for its Douchi and has no rivals.”