Variations of Frost-free Period and Its Impact on Grain Yields in Henan Province during 1961-2013

The aim of this study was to investigate the responses of frost dates to global warming and its influences on grain yields. In this study, based on the frost date series defined by daily minimum ground temperature, the spatial and temporal characteristics of first frost date （FFD）, last frost date （LFD） and frost-free period （FFP） were analyzed. The impact of extending FFP on major crop yields was also studied. The results were as follows： FFD showed a significantly delaying trend of 2.2 d/10 y, and LFD presented an advancing trend of 2.4 d/10 y. FFP extended at a rate of 4.5 d/10 y due to the later FFD and earlier LFD. The most obvious trend of FFD was in westem Henan, while the most significant trend of LFD and FFP oc- curred in south central parts of the study area. However, in eestem region, the trends of FFD, LFD and FFP were not so obvious. Major crop yield showed a sig- nificant correlation with frost-free period for Henan during 1961-2013. The yields of grain, rice, wheat, and maize increased by 79.5, 90.0, 79.5 and 70.5 kg/hm2 with FFP extending by one day.

Analysis of the Change Trends of Temperature and Frost-free Period in Xingtai in Recent 53 Years

[Objective] The changes trend of temperature and frost-free period in Xingtai in recent 53 years were studied.[Method] According to the climate data of Xingtai City and Nangong County in 1958-2010,the changes trend of the temperature,the first and the last frost day,and the frost-free days in Xingtai were studied.The characteristics of the changes of temperature and frost-free days in Xingtai in recent 53 years were studied.[Result] No matter in city or countryside,the annual average temperature was increasing.The climate tendency rates in Xingtai and Nangong were about 0.5 and 0.2 ℃/10 a respectively.Especially,since 1996,the annual average temperature increasing trend was about 1.0 ℃/10 a.The average temperature of the four seasons was also climbing and was similar to the increasing span of the annual average temperature.The annual average temperature increasing span was the largest in winter.And the increase of the annual average temperature in winter was the largest and the increase of the annual average temperature was caused by the increase of the average temperature in winter.The urban annual average temperature was obviously higher than that of the countryside,which reflected the characteristics of tropical island effect.No matter in the city or the countryside,the early frost day,final frost day and frost-free day showed same tendency,namely,the delay of early frost day,advance of final-frost day,extension of frost-free day;the day of urban early frost was late than that of the countryside,and the final frost day was earlier than that of the countryside,the frost-free days were longer than that of countryside and indirectly influenced by urban heat effect.[Conclusion] The study provided theoretical basis for the development and application of thermal resources in Xingtai.

The spatio-temporal variations of frost-free period in China from 1951 to 2012

The frost-free period（FFP）first frost date（FFD） and last frost date（LFD） have been regard as the important climate variables for agricultural production. Understanding the spatio-temporal variations of the FFPFFD and LFD is beneficial to reduce the harmful impacts of climate change on agricultural production and enhance the agricultural adaptation. This study examined daily minimum temperatures for 823 national-level meteorological stationscalculated the values of FFDLFD and FFP for station-specific and region-specific from 1951 to 2012estimated the gradients of linear regression for station-specific moving averages of FFDLFD and FFPand assessed station-specific time series of FFP and detected the abrupt change. The results as follows： at both the station level and the regional levelthe FFP across China decreases with the increase of latitude from south to northand with the increase of altitude from east to west generally. At the station levelthe inter-annual fluctuations of FFDLFD and FFP in south and west agricultural regions are greater than those in north and east. At the regional levelexcluding the QT regiontemporal changes of FFP are relatively small in both the low-latitude and the high-latitude regionsbut for the mid-latitude regions. According to the linear trend gradients of the moving average values of station-specific FFDLFD and FFPFFD was delayedLFD advancedand FFP extended gradually over the 80% of China. Furthermorethe change magnitudes for FFDLFD and FFP in the north and east agricultural regions are higher than that in the southern and western. Among the 659 station-specific time series of FFP examined by the Mann-Kendall test341 stationslocated mainly in the north regionhave one identifiable and significant abrupt change. And at the 341 stations with identified abrupt changesmost（57%） abrupt changes occurred during 1991–2012followed by the periods of 1981–1990（28%）1971–1980（12%）and 1951–1970（3%）. The spatio-temporal variations of FFDLFD and FFP would provide important guidance to agricultural practices.

Insulin-induced severe thyrotoxic periodic paralysis:A case report

BACKGROUND Thyrotoxic periodic paralysis(TPP)is an endocrine emergency caused by thyrotoxicosis,manifesting mainly as periodic myasthenia and hypokalemia,and posing a serious threat to the patient's health.Fatigue,strenuous exercise,alcohol abuse,high carbohydrate intake and insulin injections are common triggers of paralysis.This article reports a case of severe TPP induced by insulin injection,elucidates the characteristics and pathogenesis of the disease,analyses the risk factors for triggering TPP,and hopefully provides more clinical data for TPP patients.CASE SUMMARY A 38-year-old Asian man presented to the emergency department with a oneweek history of limb weakness and worsening half-day.His medical history included poorly controlled type 2 diabetes and he had been switched to Aspart50 a week earlier.He was alert and oriented with upper extremity strength grade 3 and lower extremity strength grade 1.Emergency department tests showed hypokalemia of 1.6 mmol/L.The paramedics administered 1.5 g of potassium intravenously,followed by 4.0 g orally.Weakness in the arms and legs improved.He was referred to endocrinology where he was diagnosed with Graves'disease,with suboptimal control and insulin injections possibly causing TPP.We stopped his insulin and he was discharged with a potassium level of 4.0 mmol/L.CONCLUSION Insulin is a trigger for TPP and should be avoided in patients with hyperthyroidism.Early recognition and treatment of TPP is crucial,especially in patients presenting with hypokalemic periodic paralysis.

鼻咽癌中Period2下调ERK/MAPK磷酸化水平的机制

目的探讨生物钟基因Period2在鼻咽癌中下调ERK/MAPK磷酸化水平的分子机制。方法用慢病毒对细胞进行感染,构建细胞系。采用Label-free蛋白质组学检测方法对PER2蛋白表达进行验证。采用不同浓度的ERK通路激活剂Ceramide C6干预各组细胞,MTT检测各组细胞的增殖能力,筛选最佳药物浓度和作用时间。采用ERK通路激活剂Ceramide C6干预细胞,正常对照组采用等剂量药物溶剂进行处理,分为6组。Western blot检测各组细胞PER2、ERK、p38MAPK、p-ERK、p-p38MAPK蛋白的表达。流式细胞术检测细胞周期,Transwell实验检测各组细胞侵袭能力,进一步明确PER2调控ERK、MAPK磷酸化的机制。用免疫组化检测PER2、p-ERK在人体鼻咽癌样本中的表达,并分析PER2、p-ERK与鼻咽癌临床特点的相关性。结果蛋白质组学检测结果示PER2过表达组的PER2蛋白表达明显高于阴性病毒对照组和空白对照组(P<0.05)。Top 20差异蛋白显示MAPK3在PER2过表达组和对照组差异有统计学意义(P<0.05)。MTT实验结果:不同药物浓度处理后,根据每组细胞抑制率,得出最佳的药物作用浓度10μmol/L,最佳处理时间24 h。WB结果显示PER2过表达下调p-ERK、p-p38MAPK蛋白表达,ERK通路激活剂Ceramide C6干预后,在PER2-OE组中ERK、p38MAPK蛋白水平无明显变化,但p-ERK、p-p38MAPK蛋白表达水平上调,干预前后差异有统计学意义(P<0.01)。细胞周期实验结果显示:ERK通路激活剂Ceramide C6干预各组细胞后,使细胞在G1期的比例明显增加,而在G2期数量减少。Transwell实验结果显示PER2过表达抑制细胞侵袭能力,此种现象不能被磷酸激酶逆转。在鼻咽癌组织、鼻咽部黏膜中PER2蛋白、p-ERK蛋白表达阳性率差异有统计学意义(P<0.05)。PER2蛋白表达与肿瘤的T分期相关(P<0.05)。在鼻咽癌组织中PER2蛋白与p-ERK蛋白表达相关(P<0.05)。结论PER2过表达下调ERK/MAPK磷酸化水平,可能不是直接作用于ERK和p38MAPK的磷酸化位点,而是与调控ERK和p38MAPK的关键节点有关。鼻咽癌组织中PER2蛋白呈低表达,p-ERK蛋白呈高表达,两者相关,并且与肿瘤的发生、发展关系密切。

Preweaning period is a critical window for rumen microbial regulation of average daily gain in Holstein heifer calves

Background Rumen bacterial groups can affect growth performance,such as average daily gain(ADG),feed intake,and efficiency.The study aimed to investigate the inter-relationship of rumen bacterial composition,rumen fermentation indicators,serum indicators,and growth performance of Holstein heifer calves with different ADG.Twelve calves were chosen from a trail with 60 calves and divided into higher ADG(HADG,high pre-and post-weaning ADG,n=6)and lower ADG(LADG,low pre-and post-weaning ADG,n=6)groups to investigate differences in bacterial composition and functions and host phenotype.Results During the preweaning period,the relative abundances of propionate producers,including g_norank_f_Butyricicoccaceae,g_Pyramidobacter,and g_norank_f_norank_o_Clostridia_vadin BB60_group,were higher in HADG calves(LDA>2,P<0.05).Enrichment of these bacteria resulted in increased levels of propionate,a gluconeogenic precursor,in preweaning HADG calves(adjusted P<0.05),which consequently raised serum glucose concentrations(adjusted P<0.05).In contrast,the relative abundances of rumen bacteria in post-weaning HADG calves did not exert this effect.Moreover,no significant differences were observed in rumen fermentation parameters and serum indices between the two groups.Conclusions The findings of this study revealed that the preweaning period is the window of opportunity for rumen bacteria to regulate the ADG of calves.

The neutrophil–osteogenic cell axis promotes bone destruction in periodontitis

The immune-stromal cell interactions play a key role in health and diseases. In periodontitis, the most prevalent infectious disease in humans, immune cells accumulate in the oral mucosa and promote bone destruction by inducing receptor activator of nuclear factor-κB ligand (RANKL) expression in osteogenic cells such as osteoblasts and periodontal ligament cells. However, the detailed mechanism underlying immune–bone cell interactions in periodontitis is not fully understood. Here, we performed single-cell RNAsequencing analysis on mouse periodontal lesions and showed that neutrophil–osteogenic cell crosstalk is involved in periodontitis-induced bone loss. The periodontal lesions displayed marked infiltration of neutrophils, and in silico analyses suggested that the neutrophils interacted with osteogenic cells through cytokine production. Among the cytokines expressed in the periodontal neutrophils, oncostatin M (OSM) potently induced RANKL expression in the primary osteoblasts, and deletion of the OSM receptor in osteogenic cells significantly ameliorated periodontitis-induced bone loss. Epigenomic data analyses identified the OSM-regulated RANKL enhancer region in osteogenic cells, and mice lacking this enhancer showed decreased periodontal bone loss while maintaining physiological bone metabolism. These findings shed light on the role of neutrophils in bone regulation during bacterial infection, highlighting the novel mechanism underlying osteoimmune crosstalk.

Ultrafast dynamics of femtosecond laser-induced high spatial frequency periodic structures on silicon surfaces

Femtosecond laser-induced periodic surface structures(LIPSS)have been extensively studied over the past few decades.In particular,the period and groove width of high-spatial-frequency LIPSS(HSFL)is much smaller than the diffraction limit,making it a useful method for efficient nanomanufacturing.However,compared with the low-spatial-frequency LIPSS(LSFL),the structure size of the HSFL is smaller,and it is more easily submerged.Therefore,the formation mechanism of HSFL is complex and has always been a research hotspot in this field.In this study,regular LSFL with a period of 760 nm was fabricated in advance on a silicon surface with two-beam interference using an 800 nm,50 fs femtosecond laser.The ultrafast dynamics of HSFL formation on the silicon surface of prefabricated LSFL under single femtosecond laser pulse irradiation were observed and analyzed for the first time using collinear pump-probe imaging method.In general,the evolution of the surface structure undergoes five sequential stages:the LSFL begins to split,becomes uniform HSFL,degenerates into an irregular LSFL,undergoes secondary splitting into a weakly uniform HSFL,and evolves into an irregular LSFL or is submerged.The results indicate that the local enhancement of the submerged nanocavity,or the nanoplasma,in the prefabricated LSFL ridge led to the splitting of the LSFL,and the thermodynamic effect drove the homogenization of the splitting LSFL,which evolved into HSFL.

Effect of Temperature on Frost-Free Days and Length of Crop Growing Season across Southern Ontario

Climate change has an impact on various climatic variables. In this study our focus is mainly on temperature characteristics of climate parameter. In temperate and humid regions like southern Ontario, the effect of climate change on Frost-free days in winter is distinctive. The average annual temperature is going upward but the extreme increase is in the winter temperature. Winter average temperature is going up by about 2˚C. However, extreme daily minimum temperature is going up by more than 3˚C. This climate effect has a great impact on the nature of precipitation and length of frost-free days. The snowfall over winter months is decreasing and the rainfall is increasing. However, the number of frost-free days during late fall months, early winter months, late winter months and early spring months are increasing. This result reveals an increase in length of the growing season. This research focuses on the effect of change in climatic variables on Frost-free days in Southern Ontario. Therefore, special attention should be given to the effect of change in climate Frost-free conditions on length of crop growing in winter season for potential investigation.

ON THE STABILITY OF PERIODIC SOLUTIONS OF PIECEWISE SMOOTH PERIODIC DIFFERENTIAL EQUATIONS

In this paper,we address the stability of periodic solutions of piecewise smooth periodic differential equations.By studying the Poincarémap,we give a sufficient condition to judge the stability of a periodic solution.We also present examples of some applications.

Tim4 deficiency reduces CD301b+macrophage and aggravates periodontitis bone loss

Periodontitis is a common chronic inflammatory disease that causes the periodontal bone destruction and may ultimately result in tooth loss.With the progression of periodontitis,the osteoimmunology microenvironment in periodontitis is damaged and leads to the formation of pathological alveolar bone resorption.CD301b^(+)macrophages are specific to the osteoimmunology microenvironment,and are emerging as vital booster for conducting bone regeneration.However,the key upstream targets of CD301b^(+)macrophages and their potential mechanism in periodontitis remain elusive.In this study,we concentrated on the role of Tim4,a latent upstream regulator of CD301b^(+)macrophages.We first demonstrated that the transcription level of Timd4(gene name of Tim4)in CD301b^(+)macrophages was significantly upregulated compared to CD301b^(-) macrophages via high-throughput RNA sequencing.Moreover,several Tim4-related functions such as apoptotic cell clearance,phagocytosis and engulfment were positively regulated by CD301b^(+)macrophages.The single-cell RNA sequencing analysis subsequently discovered that Cd301b and Timd4 were specifically co-expressed in macrophages.The following flow cytometric analysis indicated that Tim4 positive expression rates in total macrophages shared highly synchronized dynamic changes with the proportions of CD301b^(+)macrophages as periodontitis progressed.Furthermore,the deficiency of Tim4 in mice decreased CD301b^(+)macrophages and eventually magnified alveolar bone resorption in periodontitis.Additionally,Tim4 controlled the p38 MAPK signaling pathway to ultimately mediate CD301b^(+)macrophages phenotype.In a word,Tim4 might regulate CD301b^(+)macrophages through p38 MAPK signaling pathway in periodontitis,which provided new insights into periodontitis immunoregulation as well as help to develop innovative therapeutic targets and treatment strategies for periodontitis.

Tuning Second Chern Number in a Four-Dimensional Topological Insulator by High-Frequency Time-Periodic Driving

Floquet engineering has attracted considerable attention as a promising approach for tuning topological phase transitions.We investigate the effects of high-frequency time-periodic driving in a four-dimensional(4D)topological insulator,focusing on topological phase transitions at the off-resonant quasienergy gap.The 4D topological insulator hosts gapless three-dimensional boundary states,characterized by the second Chern number C_(2).We demonstrate that the second Chern number of 4D topological insulators can be modulated by tuning the amplitude of time-periodic driving.This includes transitions from a topological phase with C_(2)=±3 to another topological phase with C_(2)=±1,or to a topological phase with an even second Chern number C_(2)=±2,which is absent in the 4D static system.Finally,the approximation theory in the high-frequency limit further confirms the numerical conclusions.

Solitons and Their Biperiodic Pulsation in Ultrafast Fiber Lasers Based on CB/GO

The carbon black(CB)is introduced to manufacture CB/graphene oxide(GO)composite material to mitigate limitations of GO as a saturable absorber with the excellent performance in ultrafast fiber lasers.At a central wavelength of 1555.5 nm,the stable mode-locked pulse with width of 656 fs,repetition rate of 20.16 MHz,and high signal-to-noise ratio of 82.07 dB is experimentally obtained.Additionally,experimental observations for pulsation phenomena of vector biperiodic solitons combining period-1 and period-17,period-2 and period-32,period-3 and period-36 are verified via simulations.

Sinensetin protects against periodontitis through binding to Bach1 enhancing its ubiquitination degradation and improving oxidative stress

Periodontitis is a chronic inflammatory and immune reactive disease induced by the subgingival biofilm.The therapeutic effect for susceptible patients is often unsatisfactory due to excessive inflammatory response and oxidative stress.Sinensetin(Sin)is a nature polymethoxylated flavonoid with anti-inflammatory and antioxidant activities.Our study aimed to explore the beneficial effect of Sin on periodontitis and the specific molecular mechanisms.We found that Sin attenuated oxidative stress and inflammatory levels of periodontal ligament cells(PDLCs)under inflammatory conditions.Administered Sin to rats with ligation-induced periodontitis models exhibited a protective effect against periodontitis in vivo.By molecular docking,we identified Bach1 as a strong binding target of Sin,and this binding was further verified by cellular thermal displacement assay and immunofluorescence assays.Chromatin immunoprecipitation-quantitative polymerase chain reaction results also revealed that Sin obstructed the binding of Bach1 to the HMOX1 promoter,subsequently upregulating the expression of the key antioxidant factor HO-1.Further functional experiments with Bach1 knocked down and overexpressed verified Bach1 as a key target for Sin to exert its antioxidant effects.Additionally,we demonstrated that Sin prompted the reduction of Bach1 by potentiating the ubiquitination degradation of Bach1,thereby inducing HO-1 expression and inhibiting oxidative stress.Overall,Sin could be a promising drug candidate for the treatment of periodontitis by targeting binding to Bach1.

Cranial ultrasound in perioperative period of acute severe traumatic brain injury

Objective To observe the value of cranial ultrasound for perioperative patients with acute severe traumatic brain injury(sTBI).Methods Data of 55 sTBI patients who underwent craniotomy were retrospectively analyzed.The patients were divided into observation group(n=15)and control group(n=40)according to received perioperative cranial ultrasound or not.The general data and surgical data were compared between groups,and ultrasonic data of observation group were analyzed.Results The proportions of good prognosis 1 and 6 months after operation in observation group were both higher than those in control group,while the incidence of cerebral infarction in observation group was lower than that in control group(all P<0.05).No significant difference of general data nor other surgical data was found between groups(all P>0.05).Acute encephalocele occurred in 1 case in observation group during operation,and cranial ultrasound accurately showed the contralateral secondary epidural hematoma.Increased intracranial pressure in different degrees were found in all 15 cases(15/15,100%)in observation group after operation with transcranial color coded Doppler(TCCD)or transcranial Doppler(TCD),while cerebral vascular spasm was observed in 5 cases(5/15,33.33%),among them 4 cases(4/5,80.00%)were diagnosed cerebral infarction based on CT examination.Conclusion Cranial ultrasound could be used to evaluate changes of sTBI in perioperative period and guide adjusting treatment strategy in time,being valuable for reducing risk of postoperative cerebral infarction and improving prognosis.

Interference-induced suppression of particle emission from a Bose-Einstein condensate in lattice with time-periodic modulations

Emission of matter-wave jets from a parametrically driven condensate has attracted significant experimental and theoretical attention due to the appealing visual effects and potential metrological applications.In this work,we investigate the collective particle emission from a Bose-Einstein condensate confined in a one-dimensional lattice with periodically modulated interparticle interactions.We give the regimes for discrete modes,and find that the emission can be distinctly suppressed.The configuration induces a broad band,but few particles are ejected due to the interference of the matter waves.We further qualitatively model the emission process and demonstrate the short-time behaviors.This engineering provides a way to manipulate the propagation of particles and the corresponding dynamics of condensates in lattices,and may find application in the dynamical excitation control of other nonequilibrium problems with time-periodic driving.

A Brief Introduction to the English Periodical of Contemporary Social Sciences

The English periodical of Contemporary Social Sciences is an English periodical founded by Sichuan Academy of Social Sciences and is published every two months.It was approved by the National Radio and Television Administration of the People’s Republic of China(formerly the State Administration of Press,Publication,Radio,Film and Television of the People’s Republic of China)in March 2016.

Periodic signal extraction of GNSS height time series based on adaptive singular spectrum analysis

Singular spectrum analysis is widely used in geodetic time series analysis.However,when extracting time-varying periodic signals from a large number of Global Navigation Satellite System(GNSS)time series,the selection of appropriate embedding window size and principal components makes this method cumbersome and inefficient.To improve the efficiency and accuracy of singular spectrum analysis,this paper proposes an adaptive singular spectrum analysis method by combining spectrum analysis with a new trace matrix.The running time and correlation analysis indicate that the proposed method can adaptively set the embedding window size to extract the time-varying periodic signals from GNSS time series,and the extraction efficiency of a single time series is six times that of singular spectrum analysis.The method is also accurate and more suitable for time-varying periodic signal analysis of global GNSS sites.

Optimal design for rubber concrete layered periodic foundations based on the analytical approximations of band gaps and mapping relations

The seismic performance of rubber concrete-layered periodic foundations are significantly influenced by their design,in which the band gaps play a paramount role.Aiming at providing better designs for these foundations,this study first proposes and validates the analytical formulas to approximate the bounds of the first few band gaps.In addition,the mapping relations linking the frequencies of different band gaps are presented.Furthermore,an optimal design method for these foundations is developed,which is validated through an engineering example.It is demonstrated that ensuring the superstructure’s resonance zones are completely covered by the corresponding periodic foundation’s band gaps can achieve satisfactory vibration attenuation effects,which is a good strategy for the design of rubber concrete layered periodic foundations.

The Periodic Table of Primes

Over millennia, nobody has been able to predict where prime numbers sprout or how they spread. This study establishes the Periodic Table of Primes (PTP) using four prime numbers 2, 3, 5, and 7. We identify 48 integers out of a period 2×3×5×7=210 to be the roots of all primes as well as composites without factors of 2, 3, 5, and 7. Each prime, twin primes, or composite without factors of 2, 3, 5, and 7 is an offspring of the 48 integers uniquely allocated on the PTP. Three major establishments made in the article are the Formula of Primes, the Periodic Table of Primes, and the Counting Functions of Primes and Twin Primes.