《禹贡》地理学价值新论

对我国最早的综合性地理文献《禹贡》的地理学价值提出了一些新的看法,认为开创了综合地理区划的先河;首次利用秦岭淮河这条自然地理界线将我国分成地理特征各异的南方和北方;初步揭示了我国东部中纬度地区的纬度地带性规律;基本形成了山脉水系的地理概念;萌芽了“农业区位论”的生产布局思想。

Schizandra arisanensis extract attenuates cytokine-mediated cytotoxicity in insulin-secreting cells

AIM: To explore the bioactivity of an ethanolic extract of Schizandra arisanensis (SA-Et) and isolated constituents against interleukin-1 β and interferon-γ-mediated β cell death and abolition of insulin secretion. METHODS: By employing BRIN-BD11 cells, the effects of SA-Et administration on cytokine-mediated cell death and abolition of insulin secretion were evaluated by a viability assay, cell cycle analysis, and insulin assay. The associated gene and protein expressions were also measured. In addition, the bioactivities of several peak compounds collected from the SA-Et were tested against cytokine-mediated β cell death.RESULTS: Our Results revealed that SA-Et dose-dependently ameliorated cytokine-mediated β cell death and apoptosis. Instead of suppressing inducible nitric oxide synthase/nitric oxide cascade or p38MAPK activity, suppression of stress-activated protein kinase/c-Jun NH2-terminal kinase activity appeared to be the target for SA-Et against the cytokine mix. In addition, SA-Et provided some insulinotropic effects which re-activated the abolished insulin exocytosis in cytokine-treated BRIN-BD11 cells. Finally, schiarisanrin A and B isolated from the SA-Et showed a dose-dependent protective effect against cytokine-mediated β cell death. CONCLUSION: This is the first report on SA-Et ameliorating cytokine-mediated β cell death and dysfunction via anti-apoptotic and insulinotropic actions.

Work Organization at Farm Level： A Process-Led Approach to Understand Land Use Changes

In the French Alps, some grasslands have been abandoned, others are invaded by scrub whereas they are still used by farmers What are the relationships between land use changes and other changes at farm level that lead to scrub invasion？ We hypothesize that they are linked by two work organization processes： process of changes （changes in the household and farm） leading to less intensive land use; and annual processes （sequences of activities during the year） and their repetition from one year to another, leading to insufficient land maintenance. In this paper, we present a study carried out in the Northern French Alps, based on surveys with livestock farmers. It appears that land use changes are often the consequence of other changes made to address work problems, and land use sequences are defined according to workforce and prioritization of tasks. This highlights the importance of considering farmers as workers in order to evaluate land use changes at the farm level and to link them to the human dimension within farming systems.

Effects of Mechanical Aeration on the Compaction and Hydraulic Conductivity of a Grassy Sward

In a golf course located at El Kantaoui, Sousse, Tunisia, this study was carried out over a sandy soil grassy sward to investigate the effects of mechanical aeration （perforation of the sward with an aerators machine called ＂Vertidrain＂） on its compaction and hydraulic conductivity. For this purpose, many soil cores were extracted using a 1.6 e.g. m effective width Verti-Drain aerator equipped with hollow spades spaced 65 e.g. mm apart. Aeration was performed at a rate of 350 holes/m2. Soil resistance to penetration and permeability were determined at the initial state before aeration as well as 10, 20, and 30 days after aeration. Compared to the initial state, the results showed that mechanical aeration greatly affects the grassy sward ground by reducing its resistance to penetration as 35% and 43% decrease in penetration resistance were noticed at 5 e.g. cm depth 10 and 20 days after aeration, respectively. Also, resistance to penetration decreased by 41% and 48% at 15 e.g. cm depth during the same two periods of time with a relatively constant moisture content. However, soil resistance to penetration at 5 and 15 e.g. cm depths only decreased by 21% and 26%, respectively. Regarding the soil hydraulic conductivity measured after aeration, a significant improvement at the 1% level with the method of variance analysis, was observed compared to that at the initial state （4.9 e.g. cm hl）. Indeed, the hydraulic conductivity was 12.5, 13, and 14.1 e.g. cm h-1 10, 20, and 30 days after aeration, respectively.

Novel voltage signal at proximity-induced superconducting transition temperature in gold nanowires

We observed a novel voltage peak in the proximity-induced superconducting gold(Au) nanowire while cooling the sample through the superconducting transition temperature. The voltage peak turned dip during warming. The voltage peak or dip was found to originate respectively from the emergence or vanishing of the proximity-induced superconductivity in the Au nanowire.The amplitude of the voltage signal depends on the temperature scanning rate, and it cannot be detected when the temperature is changed slower than 0.03 K/min. This transient feature suggests the non-equilibrium property of the effect. Ginzburg-Landau model clarified the voltage peak by considering the emergence of Cooper pairs of relatively lower free energy in superconducting W contact and the non-equilibrium diffusion of Cooper pairs and quasiparticles.