Unlocking single molecule magnetism: a supramolecular strategy for isolating neutral MnIII salen-type dimer in crystalline environments.

In [Mn(5-MeOsalen)(Cl)]2(dibenzo[24]crown-8), dibenzo[24]crown-8 formed a supramolecule via multi-point interactions with the [Mn(5-MeOsalen)(Cl)] dimer. The dimer was magnetically isolated with ST = 4 and weak interdimer magnetic interactions. The crystal exhibited single-molecule magnet behaviour with an anisotropic barrier of 26(1) K, which is the highest among the Mn-salen series reported to date.

Perturbations in gut and respiratory microbiota in COVID-19 and influenza patients: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Objectives: Coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19)/influenza poses unprecedented challenges to the global economy and healthcare services. Numerous studies have described alterations in the microbiome of COVID-19/influenza patients, but further investigation is needed to understand the relationship between the microbiome and these diseases. Herein, through systematic comparison between COVID-19 patients, long COVID-19 patients, influenza patients, no COVID-19/influenza controls and no COVID-19/influenza patients, we conducted a comprehensive review to describe the microbial change of respiratory tract/digestive tract in COVID-19/influenza patients. Methods: We systematically reviewed relevant literature by searching the PubMed, Embase, and Cochrane Library databases from inception to August 12, 2023. We conducted a comprehensive review to explore microbial alterations in patients with COVID-19/influenza. In addition, the data on α-diversity were summarized and analyzed by meta-analysis. Results: A total of 134 studies comparing COVID-19 patients with controls and 18 studies comparing influenza patients with controls were included. The Shannon indices of the gut and respiratory tract microbiome were slightly decreased in COVID-19/influenza patients compared to no COVID-19/influenza controls. Meanwhile, COVID-19 patients with more severe symptoms also exhibited a lower Shannon index versus COVID-19 patients with milder symptoms. The intestinal microbiome of COVID-19 patients was characterized by elevated opportunistic pathogens along with reduced short-chain fatty acid (SCFAs)-producing microbiota. Moreover, Enterobacteriaceae (including Escherichia and Enterococcus) and Lactococcus, were enriched in the gut and respiratory tract of COVID-19 patients. Conversely, Haemophilus and Neisseria showed reduced abundance in the respiratory tract of both COVID-19 and influenza patients. Conclusion: In this systematic review, we identified the microbiome in COVID-19/influenza patients in comparison with controls. The microbial changes in influenza and COVID-19 are partly similar.

Temporal and spatial variations and influencing factors of gross primary productivity in Changbai Mountain Nature Reserve, China.

Changbai Mountain Nature Reserve (CNR) is a typical temperate forest ecosystem, and gross primary production (GPP) of which is closely related to topography and climate change. Research on the spatio-temporal variations and influencing factors of GPP in the CNR is of great significance for assessing growth status of vegetation and the quality of ecological environment. We calculated GPP in CNR using the vegetation photosynthesis model (VPM), and analyzed the influences of slope, altitude, temperature, precipitation, and total radiation. The results showed that the range of annual average GPP in CNR was 63-1706 g C·m-2·a-1 from 2000 to 2020 and that GPP decreased with the increases of altitude. Temperature played the most important role in driving the spatial varia-tion of GPP, with a significant positive correlation with GPP. During the study period, the overall annual GPP showed a significant increase trend in CNR, with an average annual increase of 13 g C·m-2·a-1. The areas with increase of annual GPP accounted for 79.9% of the total area, and the area proportion of annual GPP increase differed in each plant functional type. Annual precipitation was significantly negatively correlated with GPP in 43.2% of CNR, while annual mean temperature and annual total radiation were significantly positively correlated with GPP in 47.2% and 82.4% of CNR. GPP would increase continuously in CNR under the scenario of future global warming.

Mapping Chinese annual gross primary productivity with eddy covariance measurements and machine learning.

Annual gross primary productivity (AGPP) is the basis for grain production and terrestrial carbon sequestration. Mapping regional AGPP from site measurements provides methodological support for analysing AGPP spatiotemporal variations thereby ensures regional food security and mitigates climate change. Based on 641 site-year eddy covariance measuring AGPP from China, we built an AGPP mapping scheme based on its formation and selected the optimal mapping way, which was conducted through analysing the predicting performances of divergent mapping tools, variable combinations, and mapping approaches in predicting observed AGPP variations. The reasonability of the selected optimal scheme was confirmed by assessing the consistency between its generating AGPP and previous products in spatiotemporal variations and total amount. Random forest regression tree explained 85 % of observed AGPP variations, outperforming other machine learning algorithms and classical statistical methods. Variable combinations containing climate, soil, and biological factors showed superior performance to other variable combinations. Mapping AGPP through predicting AGPP per leaf area (PAGPP) explained 86 % of AGPP variations, which was superior to other approaches. The optimal scheme was thus using a random forest regression tree, combining climate, soil, and biological variables, and predicting PAGPP. The optimal scheme generating AGPP of Chinese terrestrial ecosystems decreased from southeast to northwest, which was highly consistent with previous products. The interannual trend and interannual variation of our generating AGPP showed a decreasing trend from east to west and from southeast to northwest, respectively, which was consistent with data-oriented products. The mean total amount of generated AGPP was 7.03 ± 0.45 PgC yr-1 falling into the range of previous works. Considering the consistency between the generated AGPP and previous products, our optimal mapping way was suitable for mapping AGPP from site measurements. Our results provided a methodological support for mapping regional AGPP and other fluxes.

Solvent dependence of crystal structure and dielectric relaxation in ferromagnetic [MnCr(oxalate)3]- salt.

[MnCr(oxalate)3]- possesses a two-dimensional ferromagnetic network that is an ideal system for the construction of multifunctional molecular materials based on ferromagnetism. This is because additional functions, such as ferroelectricity, can be hybridised by incorporating functional cations between the layers. However, the majority of [MnCr(oxalate)3]- networks readily incorporate solvent molecules upon crystallisation, and it is sometimes difficult to measure the crystal physical properties because of the collapse associated with desolvation. Upon desolvation, the polar crystal (CBA+)([18]crown-6)[MnCr(oxalate)3]-(CH3OH) (1·CH3OH) (CBA+ = 4-carboxybutan-1-aminium) underwent a crystal-to-crystal transformation to form (CBA+)([18]crown-6)[MnCr(oxalate)3]-, 1. Furthermore, this change was accompanied by hydrogen bond reorganisation in the (CBA+)([18]crown-6) supramolecular assembly. Both crystals exhibited ferromagnetic ordering at approximately 5 K. In crystal 1, a "merry-go-round" motion of [18]crown-6 was observed, with an activation energy of 41.41 kJ mol-1, which resulted in dielectric relaxation. This crystal-to-crystal structural transformation provides a strategy for designing multifunctional hybrid materials, in which an additional function arises from molecular motion.

[Water use efficiency and leaf nutrient characteristics of five major tree species in broadleaved Korean pine forest in Changbai Mountains, China]. / 长白山阔叶红松林5ç§ä¸»è¦æ ‘ç§æ°´åˆ†åˆ©ç”¨æ•ˆçŽ‡ä¸Žå¶ç‰‡å »åˆ†ç‰¹å¾.

Water use efficiency (WUE) of five dominant tree species (Pinus koraiensis, Fraxinus mandshurica, Acer mono, Quercus mongolica, and Tilia amurensis) was estimated using the stable carbon isotope method in a broadleaved Korean pine forest in Changbai Mountains. Leaf carbon (C), nitrogen (N), and phosphorus (P) contents were measured to analyze nutrient utilization of the dominant species. The relationship between WUE and leaf nutrient contents was systematically assessed. WUE was different due to the variations of micrometeorological factors at different locations in the canopy. The four broadleaved tree species showed upper layer > middle layer > lower layer, while P. koraiensis showed upper layer > lower layer > middle layer. WUE of evergreen coniferous P. koraiensis was higher than that of two broadleaved species with diffuse-porous wood (T. amurensis and A. mono) and lower than that of two broadleaved species with ring-porous wood (F. mandshurica and Q. mongolica). The compound-leaved species (F. mandshurica) had the highest WUE. The WUE of new leaves was significantly higher than old leaves in P. koraiensis. The carbon content and C/N of the old and new leaves of evergreen coniferous P. koraiensis were significantly higher than those of the other four broadleaved tree species, while nitrogen content and N/P were significantly lower than those of the four broadleaved tree species. P content of old leaves of P. koraiensis was significantly lower than that of the four broadleaved tree species. P content of new leaves of current year was not significantly different from that of the broadleaved tree species. The WUE of five tree species had a poor correlation with leaf C content, but a positive correlation with leaf N content. The WUE of evergreen coniferous and deciduous broadleaved tree species was correlated with leaf P content but in opposite direction.

The Epidemiological Pattern and Co-infection of Influenza A and B by Surveillance Network From 2009 to 2014 in Anhui Province, China.

Influenza-like illness (ILI) is one of the most important public health problems globally, causing an enormous disease burden. Influenza infections are the most common cause of ILI. Bacterial and virus co-infection is common yet the data of co-infection with influenza A and B viruses are scarce. To identify the epidemiological patterns of and co-infection of influenza A and B in Anhui province, China, we analyzed the surveillance data of 5 years from 2009 to 2014 collected by the Chinese National influenzas network. The results showed that the weekly ratio of ILI was 3.96 ± 1.9% (95% CI 3.73-4.2%) in outpatients and the highest affected population was children under 5 years old. The epidemic of influenza viruses was highest during 2009-2010. For the other 4 surveillance years, school-aged people (5-14 years) were the most highly affected population. Influenza B and H3N2 viruses were more prevalent than H1N1pdm09 virus after 2010. In addition, a significant co-circulation of influenza A (H1N1pdm09 and H3N2) and influenza B virus was detected with 0.057% PCR positive rate during 2009-2014 in Eastern China, yet isolated only in pediatric patients. Our data reveals school-aged population would be the main vulnerable population and a distinct seasonality for influenza. In addition, the co-infection of influenza A and B were found in Anhui Province, China. Ongoing surveillance is critical to understand the seasonality variation and make evidence-based vaccination recommendations. Information on the epidemiological patterns and co-infections of influenza A and B can help us to implement different strategies for selecting vaccine formulations and monitoring new emerging influenza strains. In addition, the identification of the susceptible population can help us to develop more precise protection measures.

Changes in Serum Neutralizing Antibodies Levels During Convalescence of COVID-19 Patients.

Detection of serum-specific SARS-CoV-2 antibody has become a complementary means for the identification of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). As we already know, the neutralizing antibody titers in patients with COVID-19 decrease during the course of time after convalescence, whereas the duration of antibody responses in the convalescent patients has not been defined clearly. In the current study, we collected 148 serum samples from 37 confirmed COVID-19 cases with different disease severities. The neutralizing antibodies (Nabs), IgM and IgG against COVID-19 were determined by CLIA Microparticle and microneutralization assay, respectively. The time duration of serum titers of SARS-CoV-2 antibodies were recorded. Our results indicate that IgG (94.44%) and Nabs (89.19%) can be detected at low levels within 190-266 days of disease onset. The findings can advance knowledge regarding the antibody detection results for COVID-19 patients and provide a method for evaluating the immune response after vaccination.

Emergence of a young case infected with avian influenza A (H5N6) in Anhui Province, East China during the COVID-19 pandemic.

In the context of the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic, we investigated the epidemiological and clinical characteristics of a young patient infected by avian influenza A (H5N6) virus in Anhui Province, East China, and analyzed genomic features of the pathogen in 2020. Through the cross-sectional investigation of external environment monitoring (December 29-31, 2020), 1909 samples were collected from Fuyang City. It was found that the positive rate of H5N6 was higher than other areas obviously in Tianma poultry market, where the case appeared. In addition, dual coinfections were detected with a 0.057% polymerase chain reaction positive rate the surveillance years. The virus was the clade 2.3.4.4, which was most likely formed by genetic reassortment between H5N6 and H9N2 viruses. This study found that the evolution rates of the hemagglutinin and neuraminidase genes of the virus were higher than those of common seasonal influenza viruses. The virus was still highly pathogenic to poultry and had a preference for avian receptor binding.

[Characteristics of water use efficiency in a succession series of broadleaved Korean pine forests in Changbai Mountain, China.] / 长白山阔叶红松林演替序列水分利用效率特征.

Water use efficiency (WUE) is an objective indicator of plant water use, the research of which is helpful to understand the carbon-water coupling mechanism in terrestrial ecosystems. We investigated WUE of dominant tree species in the succession series of broad-leaved Korean pine forests in Changbai Mountain (middle-aged poplar-birch secondary forest, mature poplar-birch secondary forest, broad-leaved Korean pine forest) by using stable carbon isotope technology. The WUE of three forests under different succession stages decreased in order of broad-leaved Korean pine forest > middle-aged poplar-birch secondary forest > mature poplar-birch secondary forest. In addition, the same tree species had different WUE in different forest stands. The WUE of Populus davidiana and Betula platyphylla in the middle-aged poplar-birch secondary forest was higher than that in mature poplar-birch secondary forest. The WUE of Fraxinus mandshurica in broad-leaved Korean pine forest was much higher than that in middle-aged poplar-birch secondary forest. The WUE of Acer mono and Quercus mongolica in broad-leaved Korean pine forest was higher than that in mature poplar-birch secondary forest. The dominant tree species had different WUE as for wood types which generally presented ring-porous wood species>diffuse-porous wood species. There were different seasonal trends during the growing season among the dominant species in the broad-leaved Korean pine forest. The WUE of Fraxinus mandshurica, Acer mono, Quercus mongolica and Tilia amurensis showed first decreasing and then increasing, while that of Pinus koraiensis was opposite. The WUE of the broad-leaved Korean pine forest was negatively correlated with temperature in the growing season. The different WUE was one of the strategies for dominant species in the broad-leaved Korean pine forest in Changbai Mountains to adapt to the community succession and respond to climate and environmental change.

Molecular characteristics of the H9N2 avian influenza viruses in live poultry markets in Anhui Province, China, 2013 to 2018.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: H9N2 subtype avian influenza virus (AIV) has low-pathogenicity but causes respiratory symptoms and drop in egg production in chicken with long-term virus shedding, resulting in great economic losses due to high mortality related to secondary infection with other pathogens. In recent years, H9N2 viruses have been posing a threat to public health, causing human infection in China. Compared to studies on other AIV subtypes, there are relatively few studies on the pathogenic mechanism of the H9N2 virus in mammals. H9N2 subtype AIV has been circulating worldwide in many avian species and transmitting with high efficiency in poultry. It can provide internal genes for other subtypes to produce new viruses, causing a pandemic risk. It is important to carry out long-term surveillance and pathogenic characteristics of the H9N2 virus. In this study, we conducted environmental surveillance of live poultry markets in Anhui province from 2013 to 2018, and 33 representative environmental isolates were selected and studied systematically. METHODS: The genomic RNA of Anhui H9N2 isolates was subjected to RT-PCR amplification followed by sequencing analysis. RESULTS: Thirty-three strains were isolated from the embryonated eggs of specific-pathogen-free chickens. Phylogenetic analysis indicated that h9.4.2.5-like H9N2 viruses were predominant during 2013-2018 and acquired multiple specific amino acid mutations that may have increased their affinity for mammals and enhanced their infectivity and transmissibility. Additionally, six internal genes of H9N2 clustered together with the novel human-lethal reassortant viruses, such as the low-pathogenicity H7N9, H10N8, and Anhui H5N6 viruses, and even HPAI H7N9. CONCLUSION: Because H9N2 viruses may be the donors of internal genes that lead to the generation of novel reassortant viruses with enhanced pathogenicity in Anhui province, continuous environmental surveillance of live poultry markets, a key source of reassorted H9N2 and other avian influenza viruses, is of great importance.

Modeling analysis of COVID-19 based on morbidity data in Anhui, China.

Since the first case of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Wuhan Hubei, China, was reported in December 2019, COVID-19 has spread rapidly across the country and overseas. The first case in Anhui, a province of China, was reported on January 10, 2020. In the field of infectious diseases, modeling, evaluating and predicting the rate of disease transmission is very important for epidemic prevention and control. Different intervention measures have been implemented starting from different time nodes in the country and Anhui, the epidemic may be divided into three stages for January 10 to February 11, 2020, namely. We adopted interrupted time series method and develop an SEI/QR model to analyse the data. Our results displayed that the lockdown of Wuhan implemented on January 23, 2020 reduced the contact rate of epidemic transmission in Anhui province by 48.37%, and centralized quarantine management policy for close contacts in Anhui reduced the contact rate by an additional 36.97%. At the same time, the estimated basic reproduction number gradually decreased from the initial 2.9764 to 0.8667 and then to 0.5725. We conclude that the Wuhan lockdown and the centralized quarantine management policy in Anhui played a crucial role in the timely and effective mitigation of the epidemic in Anhui. One merit of this work is the adoption of morbidity data which may reflect the epidemic more accurately and promptly. Our estimated parameters are largely in line with the World Health Organization estimates and previous studies.

[Variation characteristics of NDVI and its response to climatic change in the growing season of Changbai Mountain Nature Reserve during 2001 and 2018]. / 2001­2018年长白山自然保护区生长季NDVIå˜åŒ–ç‰¹å¾åŠå ¶å¯¹æ°”å€™å˜åŒ–çš„å“åº”.

To understand the dynamics of temperate forest in Northeast Asia and its response to climate change under the scenario of global change, we examined the temporal and spatial changes of normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) and their correlation with temperature and precipitation of Changbai Mountain Nature Reserve in the growing season during 2001 and 2018, based on the remote sensing database of MODIS with a resolution of 250 m, land surface temperature data with a resolution of 1 km and meteorological data in the studied and surrounding area. The results showed that, in the growing season of 2001-2018, the averaged NDVI value of the study area was 0.711. Vegetation coverage was relatively high, increasing with a rate of 0.0025·a-1. The temperature showed an extremely significantly increasing trend (0.032 ℃·a-1), the rate of which was higher than that at global level. Precipitation also showed a significantly increasing trend (5.54 mm·a-1) with increased interannual variation. Spatially, NDVI generally was higher in the northwest and decreased with elevation. During the study period, the area with increased NDVI accounted for 46.2%, mainly concentrated in the north and south central high-altitude areas, while 53.8% of total area remained unchanged or slightly decrease. NDVI of the study area was mainly affected by temperature. At the annual scale, NDVI and land surface temperature were positively correlated, with 90.2% presented positive correlation and 43.6% significantly correlated. At the monthly scale, the impact of temperature on NDVI was more significant at the beginning and the end of growing season.

[Applications of compound-specific isotope analysis in tree non-structural carbohydrates research: A review.] / ç‰¹å®šåŒ–åˆç‰©åŒä½ç´ åˆ†æžæŠ€æœ¯åœ¨æ ‘æœ¨éžç»“æž„æ€§ç¢³æ°´åŒ–åˆç‰©ç ”ç©¶ä¸­çš„åº”ç”¨.

Compound-specific isotope analysis (CSIA) can precisely determine the carbon isotopic composition (δ13C) of specific compounds in a complex substrate. The δ13C values in tree non-structural carbohydrates (NSC) compounds, e.g. sugars, organic acids, and sugar alcohols, measured via CSIA could help tracing the newly assimilated photosynthate during carbon transfer and exchange with atmosphere. Further, they can act as sensitive indicators of the physiological response of trees to environmental change. In this review, we first systematically introduced the methods of CSIA with respect to sampling, purification, and analysis. Then, compound-specific δ13C difference among different NSCs and across tree carbon pools, as well as temporal pattern and mechanism underlying the variation of δ13C were described. Finally, we discussed the interaction between δ13C in tree NSCs, the main substrates of respiration, and respired CO2(δ13CR). Further studies on the post-photosynthetic discrimination, tree stress physiology, and tree-ring δ13C formation with the promising applications of CISA were suggested.

[Relationship between tree ring δ13C and net primary productivity of Pinus koraiensis in Changbai Mountain, China]. / é•¿ç™½å±±çº¢æ¾å¹´è½®ç¢³åŒä½ç´ ä¸Žå‡€åˆçº§ç”Ÿäº§åŠ›çš„å ³ç³».

Carbon isotope in tree ring is an effective indicator of climate and environmental change. However, few studies have analyzed the indication effect of tree ring carbon isotope on net primary productivity (NPP) of forests. Based on meteorological factors of growing seasons, we analyzed the variation trend and the relationship between the tree ring δ13C chronosequence of Korean pine (Pinus koraiensis) and net primary productivity (NPP) of Korean pine in Changbai Mountain. We found that before 1970, the change of Korean pine tree ring δ13C and NPP was synchronous, with a highly significant linear positive correlation between them, indicating that tree ring δ13C recorded the impacts of climate change on NPP. After 1970, tree ring δ13C was negatively correlated with NPP but not statistically significant, meaning that other environmental factors such as severe droughts reduced the sensitivity of tree ring δ13C to climate change and the recording of NPP by tree ring δ13C. The δ13C of the current year was also correlated with the corresponding NPP in the following year, which indicated that the current year's environmental conditions were of great significance to the growth of Korean pine in the following year. This study showed that tree ring δ13C was a good indicator of the NPP of Korean pine in Changbai Mountain and that tree ring δ13C had the potential to reconstruct long-term changes of forest NPP in the history.

[Stable carbon isotopic characteristics of plant-litter-soil continuum along a successional gradient of broadleaved Korean pine forests in Changbai Mountain, China.] / 长白山阔叶红松林演替序列植物-凋落物-åœŸå£¤ç¢³åŒä½ç´ ç‰¹å¾.

Stable carbon isotope composition can accurately indicate ecosystem carbon cycling and provide key information for the study of the influence of forest succession on the carbon cycling and carbon sequestration potential. We measured the δ13C values and carbon and nitrogen contents of leaf, trunk, root, litter, and soil along a forest successional gradient in Changbai Mountain, which included a middle-aged poplar-birch secondary forest, a mature poplar-birch secondary forest, and an old-growth broad-leaved Korean pine forest. The results showed that leaf δ13C reduced with their position from the upper canopy to lower canopy, bark δ13C was less than xylem, fine root δ13C was less than course root. In contrast to the secondary forests, δ13C of the undecomposed litter layer was less than that of the semi-decomposed layer and decomposed litter layer in the broad-leaved Korean pine forest. Soil δ13C increased with depth. The ascending order of mean δ13C was leaf, litter, root, trunk, and soil, indicating that there is obvious fractionation among different organs of plants and among different parts of a specific organ. In addition, plant δ13C first decreased and then increased with the succession process, but soil δ13C increased with the succession processes. The different patterns of the changes of plant and soil δ13C along forest succession could be explained by the relationship between nitrogen content and carbon isotope fractionation effect, indicating that carbon isotope fractionation was affected by the change of dominant tree species and the variation of carbon turnover rate.

[Characteristics of climate change in Changbai Mountain ecological functional area, Northeast China.] / 长白山生态功能区气候变化特征.

We integrated the meteorological records from 36 national weather stations and CN05.1 gridded daily observation dataset to analyze the climate change characteristics of Changbai Mountain eco-functional area. Linear tendency estimation, Mann-Kendall mutation test, cumulative anomaly method and Morlet wavelet analysis were used to investigate the temporal and spatial variation of temperature (annual temperature, seasonal temperature, extreme temperature), moisture (annual precipitation, seasonal precipitation, relative humidity), radiation (sunshine duration, sunshine percentage) and wind speed from 1961 to 2016. The results showed that, during 1961-2016, the temperature of this area increased, the radiation and wind speed decreased, and the precipitation varied periodically. Specifically, winter temperature [0.45 ℃·(10 a)-1] and the lowest temperature [0.74 ℃·(10 a)-1] significantly increased. The mean annual wind speed significantly decreased [-0.21 m·s-1·(10 a)-1]. No abrupt climate change was observed. The annual precipitation days decreased considerably [-7.01 d·(10 a)-1], which was different from the climate change pattern of Northeast China. The annual precipitation trend coefficient of this area was 16.06 mm·(10 a)-1 , which could not be simply depicted by increase or decrease in trend. The precipitation change in this area was dominated by periodically patterns, and the period was 26 years and 3 years. Our results would be instructive to the regional ecological assessment, and the research on ecosystem responses to climate change and phenological changes.

[Measuring and calculating methods of plant mesophyll conductance: A review.] / 植物叶肉导度的测定及计算方法综述.

Mesophyll conductance (gm) refers to the diffusion capacity of CO2 inside mesophyll cells, which is the reciprocal of resistance of mesophyll cells. In the early stage of photosynthesis research, mesophyll diffusion resistance to CO2 was usually assumed to be zero, namely the gm was infinite. In recent studies, however, the gm was found to be limited and changed with external environments. As gm directly determines CO2 diffusion and affects leaf photosynthetic efficiency, it is of great significance to mechanestic research of photosynthesis. Presently, simultaneous chlorophyll fluorescence and gas exchange, the curve-fitting and instantaneous carbon isotope (13CO2) discrimination are commonly used to estimate gm, but few literature have been introduced on those methods in China. Therefore, it is particularly necessary to elaborate the principles and processes of these methods and to compare their advantages and disadvantages. We synthesized the relevant literature, and introduced the three methods in detail from the aspects of principle, derivation process and advantages and disadvantages, aiming to provide a methodological basis to promote the research on gm in China. The curve-fitting method was easy to understand and operate. Its fitting model varied with the status of photosynthesis, which is needed to be divided strictly by researchers. Consequently, it was not conducive to be widely used. Although the instantaneous carbon isotope (13CO2) discrimination method improved the accuracy of results, it was complex in measurement and strict in operation. Furthermore, it was less sensitive to test errors with low reliability. Compared with the above two methods, simultaneous chlorophyll fluorescence and gas exchange was more operable and reliable, and was more conducive to the observation and analysis for large samples with multi-processing and multi-repetition. In addition, the use of chlorophyll fluorescence technology not only simplified the test procedures, but also reduced the accidental errors, making the results more scientific. Chlorophyll fluorescence technology also provided saturated pulse activation energy to maximize leaf photosynthetic potential. But this method also had many problems, for instance, to improve the accuracy of chlorophyll fluorescence parameters, a lower gas flow rate was needed, which would increase the risk of gas diffusion and leakage. Thus, this method had a high requirement for a reasonable gas flow rate. In general, simultaneous chlorophyll fluorescence and gas exchange method was most widely used in the actual determination of plant gm.

[Natural science research in Changbai Mountain during 1956-2018:A review.] / é•¿ç™½å±±åœ°åŒºè‡ªç„¶ç§‘å­¦ç ”ç©¶ç»¼è¿°: 1956­2018.

We synthesized the scientific research carried out in Changbai Mountain from 1956 to 2018 by mapping knowledge domains and bibliometrics based on the literature from international database (WOS) and domestic databases (CNKI and CSCD). The results showed that natural science research in Changbai Mountain underwent three stages during 1956-2018, including embryo stage, growing stage, and rapid development stage. The natural research in Changbai Mountain could be divided into five fields, i.e., forest and ecological science, volcano and geology science, environmental change science, resource sciences and utilization, animal and microbial science, with a total of 20 main research directions. Since 2000, forest and ecological science, volcano and geological science, environmental change science dominated the natural science research in Changbai Mountain. The researches in recent 20 years mainly concentrated on the following seven disciplines: community ecology, forest management, soil ecology, ecosystem ecology, eco-climatology, forest responses to environmental change, and volcanic geology. International researches showed a trend of strong integration of different disciplines. We forecast that the natural science research in the Changbai Mountain would deepen its research in the next decade. Moreover, other fields such as old-growth forest and large-scale ecosystem carbon processes, forest-altitude-climate change, soil fauna and microorganisms, forest management and human activities, biodiversity, volcanic origin and eruption history, volcanic eruption dynamics and volcanic monitoring will emerge as the new research focus. Scale polarization, elements diversification, discipline crossing, and research deepening would be the future trend of natural science research in Changbai Mountain.

Quantification for total demethylation potential of environmental samples utilizing the EGFP reporter gene.

The demethylation potential of pollutants is arguably an innate component of their toxicity in environmental samples. A method was developed for determining the total demethylation potential of food samples (TDQ). The demethylation epigenetic toxicity was determined using the Hep G2 cell line transfected with pEGFP-C3 plasmids containing a methylated promoter of the EGFP reporter gene. The total demethylation potential of the sample extracts (the 5-AZA-CdR demethylation toxic equivalency) can be quantified within one week by using a standard curve of the 5-AZA-CdR demethylation agent. To explore the applicability of TDQ for environmental samples, 17 groundwater samples were collected from heavy polluted Kuihe river and the total demethylation potentials of the sample extracts were measured successfully. Meaningful demethylation toxic equivalencies ranging from 0.00050 to 0.01747µM were found in all groundwater sample extracts. Among 19 kinds of inorganic substance, As and Cd played important roles for individual contribution to the total demethylation epigenetic toxicity. The TDQ assay is reliable and fast for quantifying the DNA demethylation potential of environmental sample extracts, which may improve epigenetic toxicity evaluations for human risk assessment, and the consistent consuming of groundwater alongside the Kuihe river pose unexpected epigenetic health risk to the local residents.