Disparities in tree mortality among plant functional types(PFTs)in a temperate forest:Insights into size-dependent and PFT-specific patterns

Tree mortality significantly influences forest structure and function,yet our understanding of its dynamic patterns among a range of tree sizes and among different plant functional types(PFTs)remains incomplete.This study analysed size-dependent tree mortality in a temperate forest,encompassing 46 tree species and 32,565 individuals across different PFTs(i.e.,evergreen conifer vs.deciduous broadleaf species,shade-tolerant vs.shade-intolerant species).By employing all-subset regression procedures and logistic generalized linear mixed-effects models,we identified distinct mortality patterns influenced by biotic and abiotic factors.Our results showed a stable mortality patte rn in eve rgreen conifer species,contrasted by a declining pattern in deciduous broadleaf and shadetolerant,as well as shade-intolerant species,across size classes.The contribution to tree mortality of evergreen conifer species shifted from abiotic to biotic factors with increasing size,while the mortality of deciduous broadleaf species was mainly influenced by biotic factors,such as initial diameter at breast height(DBH)and conspecific negative density.For shade-tolerant species,the mortality of small individuals was mainly determined by initial DBH and conspecific negative density dependence,whereas the mortality of large individuals was subjected to the combined effect of biotic(competition from neighbours)and abiotic factors(i.e.,convexity and pH).As for shade-intolerant species,competition from neighbours was found to be the main driver of tree mortality throughout their growth stages.Thus,these insights enhance our understanding of forest dynamics by revealing the size-dependent and PFT-specific tree mortality patterns,which may inform strategies for maintaining forest diversity and resilience in temperate forest ecosystems.

The Effect of Tuberculosis Infection on Pancreatic Beta-Cell Function in Patients with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus

Objective: The aim of this study is to investigate how individuals with type 2 diabetes mellitus’ pancreatic β-cell function index and insulin resistance index are affected by tuberculosis infection. Methods: The study group consisted of 89 patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus and tuberculosis infection who were admitted to Jingzhou Chest Hospital between March 2019 and March 2021. Gender and duration of diabetes were matching conditions. The control group was made up of 89 patients with type 2 diabetes who were admitted to Jingzhou Central Hospital’s endocrinology department during the same period. The two patient groups provided general information such as gender, age, length of diabetes, and blood biochemical indexes such as glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c), fasting glucose (FPG), and fasting C-peptide (FC-P). The HOMA calculator was used to calculate the HOMA-β and the HOMA-IR, and intergroup comparisons and correlation analyses were carried out. Results: Regarding gender, age, disease duration, FC-P, and HbA1c, the differences between the two groups were not statistically significant (P > 0.05). However, BMI, FPG, HOMA-β, and HOMA-IR showed statistically significant differences (P < 0.05). In comparison to the control group, the study group’s HOMA-β was lower and its HOMA-IR was greater. According to Spearman’s correlation analysis, HOMA-β had a negative association (P th FPG, HbA1c, and the length of the disease, and a positive correlation with BMI and FC-P. A positive correlation was found between HOMA-IR and BMI, FPG, and FC-P (P < 0.01), as well as a correlation with the length of the disease (P > 0.05) and HbA1c. Conclusions: In type 2 diabetes mellitus combined with tuberculosis infection, the patients had higher FPG levels and lower FC-P levels, the secretory function of pancreatic β-cells was more severely impaired, and insulin resistance was more obvious.

A Set of Almost Automorphic Functions and Applications

For a set S of real numbers, we introduce the concept of S-almost automorphic functions valued in a Banach space. It generalizes in particular the space of Z-almost automorphic functions. Considering the space of S-almost automorphic functions, we give sufficient conditions of the existence and uniqueness of almost automorphic solutions of a differential equation with a piecewise constant argument of generalized type. This is done using the Banach fixed point theorem.

The biological function of type I receptors of bone morphogenetic protein in bone

Bone morphogenetic proteins （BMPs） have multiple roles in skeletal development, homeostasis and regeneration. BMPs signal via type I and type II serine/threonine kinase receptors （BMPRI and BMPRII）. In recent decades, genetic studies in humans and mice have demonstrated that perturbations in BMP signaling via BMPRI resulted in various diseases in bone, cartilage, and muscles. In this review, we focus on all three types of BMPRI, which consist of activin-like kinase 2 （ALK2, also called type IA activin receptor）, activin- llke kinase 3 （ALK3, also called BMPRIA）, and activin-like kinase 6 （ALK6, also called BMPRIB）. The research areas covered include the current progress regarding the roles of these receptors during myogenesis, chondrogenesis, and osteogenesis. Understanding the physiological and pathological functions of these receptors at the cellular and molecular levels will advance drug development and tissue regeneration for treating musculoskeletal diseases and bone defects in the future.

HIGHER RADIAL DERIVATIVE OF BLOCH TYPE FUNCTIONS

In this paper, The integral characterizations of alpha-Bloch (little alpha-Bloch) axe given in terms of higher radial derivative, and their characterizations of Caxleson type measure are obtained.

Classification of plant functional types based on the nutrition traits： a case study on alpine meadow community in the Zoigê Plateau

The ecological concept of Plant Functional Types（PFTs）, which refers to the assemblage of plants with certain functional traits, has been introduced for the study of plant responses to the environment change and human disturbance. Taking the alpine meadow community in the Zoigê Plateau as a study case, this paper classified PFTs in terms of plant nutrition traits. The sequential results are as follows.（1） The main herbages in the Zoigê Plateau included 16 species in 5 families. Among the five families, Cyperaceae vegetation accounted for 81.37%of herbage area in total, while the remaining 4families occupied less than 20%. As for the species,Kobresia setchwanensis Hand.-Maizz. was dominant,accounting for 48.74% of the total area; while the remaining 51.26% was comprised of Polygonum viviparum L., Anaphalis fiavescens Hand.-Mazz.,Stipa aliena Keng and other species.（2） By using the Principal Component Analysis（PCA）, the assessment of herbages nutrition was carried out based on the comprehensive multi-index evaluation model.Polygonum viviparum L. had the highest nutritional value score（1.43）, and Stipa aliena Keng had the lowest（-1.40）. Nutritional value of herbage species had a significantly positive correlation with altitude（P＆lt;0.01） in the Zoigê Plateau.（3） Based on the nutritional values, herbages in the Zoigê Plateau could be grouped into 3 nutrition PFTs（high, medium and low） by using the Natural Breaks（Jenks） method.

Relationship between phenotypes of cell-function differentiation and pathobiological behavior of gastric carcinomas

AIM: To reveal the correlation between the functional differentiation phenotypes of gastric carcinoma cells and the invasion and metastasis by a new way of cell-function classification.METHODS:Surgically resected specimens of 361 gastric carcinomas(GC) were investigated with enzyme-, mucin-, and tumor-related marker immunohistochemistry. According to the direction of cell-function differentiation, stomach carcinomas were divided into five functionally differentiated types. RESULTS: (1) Absorptive function differentiation type (AFDT): there were 82 (22.7%) patients including 76 (92.7%) aged 45 years. Sixty-nine (84.1%) cases belonged to the intestinal type. Thirty-eight (46.3%) expressed CD44v6 and 9 (13.6%) of 66 male patients developed liver metastasis.The 5-year survival rate of patients in this group (58.5%) was higher than those with the other types (P【0.01). (2) Mucin secreting function differentiation type (MSFDT): 54 (15%) cases. Fifty-three (98.1%) tumors had penetrated the serosa, 12 (22.2%) expressed ER and 22 (40.7%) expressed CD44v6. The postoperative 5-year survival rate was 28.6%. (3) Absorptive and mucin-producing function differentiation type (AMPFDT): there were 180 (49.9%) cases, including 31 (17.2%) aged younger than 45 years. The tumor was more common in women (62, 34.4%,) and expressed more frequently estrogen receptors (ER) (129, 81.7%) than other types (P【0.01). Ovary metastasis was found in 12 (19.4%) out of 62 female subjects. The patients with this type GC had the lowest 5-year survival rate (24.7%) among all types. (4) Specific function differentiation type (SFDT): 13 (3.6%) cases. Nine (69.2%) tumors of this type derived from APUD system, the other 4 (30.7%) were of different histological differentiation. Sixty per cent of the patients survived at least five years. (5) Non-function differentiation type (NFDT): 32 (8.9%) cases. Nineteen (59.4%) cases had lymph node metastases but no one with liver or ovary metastasis. The 5-year survival rate was 28.1%. CONCLUSION: This new cell-function classification of GC is helpful in indicating the characteristics of invasion and metastasis of GC with different cell-function differentiation phenotypes. Further study is needed to disclose the correlation between the cell-functional differentiation phenotypes and the relevant genotypes and the biological behavior of gastric carcinoma.

SUFFICIENT CONDITION FOR FUNCTIONS TO BE IN A CLASS OF MEROMORPHIC MULTIVALENT SAKAGUCHI TYPE SPIRAL-LIKE FUNCTIONS

In this article, we define a subclass of meromorphic multivalent Sakaguchi type functions and obtain certain sufficient conditions for functions to be in this class. The main result presented here includes a number of consequences as its special cases.

Uniform persistence of multispecies ecological competition predator-pray system with Holling Ⅲ type functional response

The main purpose of this paper is to study the persistence of the general multispecies competition predator-pray system with Holling Ⅲ type functional response. In this system, the competition among predator species and among prey species are simultaneously considered. By using the comparison theory and qualitative analysis, the sufficient conditions for uniform strong persistence are obtained.

Effect of Implementing Ecosystem Functional Type Data in a Mesoscale Climate Model

In this paper, we introduce a new concept of land-surface state representation for southern South America, which is based on ＂functional＂ attributes of vegetation, and implement a new land-cover （Ecosystem Functional Type, hereafter EFT） dataset in the Weather and Research Forecasting （WRF） model. We found that the EFT data enabled us to deal with functional attributes of vegetation and time-variant features more easily than the default land-cover data in the WRF. In order to explore the usefulness of the EFT data in simulations of surface and atmospheric variables, numerical simulations of the WRF model, using both the US Geological Survey （USGS） and the EFT data, were conducted over the La Plata Basin in South America for the austral spring of 1998 and compared with observations. Results showed that the model simulations were sensitive to the lower boundary conditions and that the use of the EFT data improved the climate simulation of 2-m temperature and precipitation, implying the need for this type of information to be included in numerical climate models.

APPROXIMATION OF CONVEX TYPE FUNCTION BY PARTIAL SUMS OF FOURIER SERIES

The concept of convex type function is introduced in this paper,from which a kin d of convex decomposition approach is proposed.As one of applications of this a pproach,the approximation of the convex type function by the partial sum of its Fourier series is inves tigated.Moreover,the order of approximation is describe d with the 2th continuous modulus.

The X-ray Background (Deep Fields, Luminosity Functions and Type-Ⅱ Quasars)

Deep X ray surveys have shown that the cosmic X ray background (XRB) is largely due to the accretion onto supermassive black holes, integrated over the cosmic time. These surveys have resolved more than 80% of the 0.1-10keV X ray background into discrete sources. Optical spectroscopic identifications show that the sources producing the bulk of the X ray background are a mixture of obscured (type 1) and unobscured (type 2) AGNs, as predicted by the XRB population synthesis models. A class of highly luminous type 2 AGN, so called QSO 2s, has been detected in the deepest Chandra and XMM Newton surveys. The new Chandra AGN redshift distribution peaks at much lower redshifts (z≈0.7) than that based on ROSAT data, indicating that Seyfert galaxies peak at significantly lower redshifts than QSOs.

THE WETLAND TYPES,FUNCTIONS ANDCONSERVATION IN CHINA

ABSTRACT: According to preliminary statistics, there are 9. 4 ×106ha of mire, 8. 0 × 106ha of lake, 2. 1 × 106ha of salt marsh, 2.1 × 107ha of shallow sea (0 - 5m), and 3. 8 × 107ha of paddyfield, their total area amounts to 8. 45× 107ha. Wetland consists of natural wetland system and man-made wetland system. According to hydrology, landform, soil and vegetation etc., natural wetland can be divided into the following types: marine, esturine, riverine, lacustrine, palustrine subsystems. On the basis of the wetland bottom compound, waterlogged state and vegetation forms, it can be subdivided into 26 wetland classes. Man-made wetland can be subdivided into 4 wetland classes. Wetland is a unique landscape in the earth and one of the most important living environment with rich resources and many functions. At present, 262 different types of Wetland Natural Reserves have been established in China, in which 7 Wetland Nature Reserves have been listed in international important wetlands of The Wetland

Impulsive Predator-Prey Dynamic Systems with Beddington-DeAngelis Type Functional Response on the Unification of Discrete and Continuous Systems

In this study, the impulsive predator-prey dynamic systems on time scales calculus are studied. When the system has periodic solution is investigated, and three different conditions have been found, which are necessary for the periodic solution of the predator-prey dynamic systems with Beddington-DeAngelis type functional response. For this study the main tools are time scales calculus and coincidence degree theory. Also the findings are beneficial for continuous case, discrete case and the unification of both these cases. Additionally, unification of continuous and discrete case is a good example for the modeling of the life cycle of insects.

ORTHOGONAL POLYNOMIALS AND DETERMINANT FORMULAS OF FUNCTION-VALUED PADE-TYPE APPROXIMATION USING FOR SOLUTION OF INTEGRAL EQUATIONS

To solve Fredholm integral equations of the second kind, a generalized linear functional is introduced and a new function-valued Padé-type approximation is defined. By means of the power series expansion of the solution, this method can construct an approximate solution to solve the given integral equation. On the basis of the orthogonal polynomials, two useful determinant expressions of the numerator polynomial and the denominator polynomial for Padé-type approximation are explicitly given.

K-Dimension and Hlder Exponent for Bush Type Fractal Functions

Bush type fractal functions were defined by means of the expression of Cantor series of real numbers. The upper and lower bound estimates for the K-dimension of such functions were given. In a typical case, the fractal dimensional relations in which the K-dimension equals the box dimension and packing dimension were presented; moreover, the exact Holder exponent were obtained for such Bush type functions.

Least-squares function-valued Padé-type approximation and its application in solving integral equations

To solve the Fredholm integral equations of the second kind, a new notion of the least-squares orthogonal polyno- mials of function-valued Pade-type approximation is introduced. On the basis of the error formula, the least-squares function： valued Pad＆type approximation is constructed. Their existence and uniqueness are studied. A recursive computation formula of the least-squares function-valued Padetype approximation is given. In the end, an example is given to show that the method is effective and stable.

Algebraic Independence Measures for the Values of Mahler Type Functions

In this paper, we give the algebraic independence measures for the values ofMahler type functions in complex number field and p-adic number field, respectively.

Transcendence for the Values of Mahler Type Function with Several Variables

We prove the transcendence for the values of Mahler type function with several variables, which satisfies some non-linear functional equation.