Dynamics of the water environment in a water quantity-quality-soil model of China's Yellow River basin: imbalance and driving factors.

Dynamic assessment of the water environment reflects variations in water resources in a basin under the combined influence of nature and humans and is a prerequisite for rational water management. This study provides an integrated assessment of the water environment in a water quantity-quality-soil model. Using the long-term monthly data from hydrological monitoring stations, the water environment of the Yellow River basin is assessed from the year 2006 to 2019. The kernel density estimation and the Dagum Gini coefficient are used to analyze the spatial and temporal imbalances of the water environment. Geographic detectors are used to extract external driving factors of the unbalanced evolution. The study results reveal that (1) the water environment in the basin shows a fluctuating downward trend, which mainly depends on the organic pollution control indicators, with a contribution of 22.85%. Scores of the water environment in the midstream are lower than those in the upstream and downstream due to the heavy pollutant discharges. (2) The spatial imbalance shows a fluctuating downward trend. Inter-regional variation is the primary source of regional variation in the water environment, with an average contribution of 56.02%. (3) The temporal imbalance of the water environment is on the rise, with a degree of multipolarity. The significant left trailing feature of the kernel density curve suggests that there are areas within the basin where the water environment is extremely poor. (4) For the overall basin and upstream, economic development and technological innovation are the main external driving factors influencing the spatial and temporal imbalances of the water environment. For the midstream and downstream, population density and environmental regulations are the main drivers. The interaction of any two factors has a greater impact than the single one.

Temperature-dependent development and reproduction of Tarsonemus confusus (Acari: Tarsonemidae): an important pest mite of horticulture.

The tarsonemid mite Tarsonemus confusus Ewing has become an economically important pest in orchards in China. This study investigated the temperature-dependent development and reproduction of T. confusus at 15, 20, 25, 30, 33 and 35 °C. Eggs failed to hatch at 35 °C. When temperature increased from 15 to 30 °C, the developmental rate of eggs, larvae and quiescent larvae and that from egg to adulthood of both sexes significantly increased, and the time period required by females to commence oviposition significantly decreased. The lower temperature threshold (T0) for the development of eggs, larvae and quiescent larvae was between 9.3 and 12.0 °C and both sexes required about 60 degree days (DD) to complete a life cycle. Females were expected to start oviposition at 12.9 °C. The number of eggs laid, the number of female offspring produced and the egg hatch rate were significantly higher at 20, 25 and 30 °C than at 15 and 33 °C. Increasing temperature shortened the longevity of both sexes but increased the intrinsic rate of increase (rm) and finite capacity for increase (λ) with significantly shorter generation time (T) and doubling time (DT) within a temperature range of 15-30 °C. The net reproductive rate (R0) was highest at 25 °C. Results of this study may improve our knowledge of fundamental biology and ecology in genus Tarsonemus in general and in T. confusus in particular. Based on the local climate conditions, the applications of these results in predicting the seasonal population dynamics of T. confusus and timing the pest management are discussed.

Optimizing cold storage of the ectoparasitic mite Pyemotes zhonghuajia (Acari: Pyemotidae), an efficient biological control agent of stem borers.

Pyemotes zhonghuajia Yu, Zhang and He is a newly discovered native ectoparasitic mite that efficiently controls stem borers in China. To provide a steady and sufficient supply, extend adult lifespan and synchronize field augmentative releases of P. zhonghuajia, we determined the optimal cold storage temperature and duration by storing 1-day-old mated females at 8, 10 and 12 °C for 10-90 days with a 10-day interval in the laboratory. We then recorded mite survival during storage and monitored the post-storage reproductive performance of mites at a control temperature of 25 °C. We found that all mites survived at 10 and 12 °C for different durations, but mortality occurred when mites were stored at 8 °C for ≥ 30 days with more than 70% of mites dead when the storage duration prolonged up to 50 days. The proportion of reproductive females was higher at 10 °C but decreased with the prolonged storage duration at all test temperatures. Storage temperature had no significant effect on the pre-reproductive period and offspring sex ratio, whereas prolonged storage induced longer pre-reproductive period and lower proportion of female offspring. The reproductive period increased with increasing storage temperature and with prolonged storage up to 50 and 60 days; however, the longer reproductive period did not directly translate into greater reproductive output. We found that compared with the control, mites stored at 10 °C for up to 30 days did not significantly reduce their survival, proportion of reproductive success and number and sex ratio of offspring, suggesting that 10 °C and ≤ 30 days were the optimal cold storage temperature and duration, respectively, for post-mass production storage before the field augmentative release of P. zhonghuajia.

Regulation of sonic hedgehog expression by integrin ß1 and epidermal growth factor receptor in intestinal epithelium.

We previously found that conditional deletion of integrin ß1 in intestinal epithelium of mice caused early postnatal lethality and intestinal phenotypic changes including excessive proliferation and defective differentiation of intestinal epithelium due to loss of Hedgehog expression. Here, we link these defects to the Hedgehog (Hh) signaling pathway and show that loss of integrin ß1 leads to excessive phosphorylation of MEK-1 and increased expression of ErbB receptors, including the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR). We show that increased EGFR signaling attenuates Hh abundance and that an EGFR inhibitor rescues conditional ß1 integrin null pups from postnatal lethality. These studies link the loss of Hh expression in the intestinal epithelium of integrin ß1-deficient mice to excessive EGFR/MAPK signaling, and identify a unique mechanism for crosstalk between stromal and epithelial signaling pathways that is critical for intestinal epithelial differentiation and function.

Common genetic variation impacts stress response in the brain.

To explain why individuals exposed to identical stressors experience divergent clinical outcomes, we determine how molecular encoding of stress modifies genetic risk for brain disorders. Analysis of post-mortem brain (n=304) revealed 8557 stress-interactive expression quantitative trait loci (eQTLs) that dysregulate expression of 915 eGenes in response to stress, and lie in stress-related transcription factor binding sites. Response to stress is robust across experimental paradigms: up to 50% of stress-interactive eGenes validate in glucocorticoid treated hiPSC-derived neurons (n=39 donors). Stress-interactive eGenes show brain region- and cell type-specificity, and, in post-mortem brain, implicate glial and endothelial mechanisms. Stress dysregulates long-term expression of disorder risk genes in a genotype-dependent manner; stress-interactive transcriptomic imputation uncovered 139 novel genes conferring brain disorder risk only in the context of traumatic stress. Molecular stress-encoding explains individualized responses to traumatic stress; incorporating trauma into genomic studies of brain disorders is likely to improve diagnosis, prognosis, and drug discovery.

Pharmacologic downregulation of c-FLIP(L) restores juxtacrine death receptor-mediated apoptosis in cancer cells in a peritoneal carcinomatosis model.

Metastasis occurs when circulating cancer cells implant in normal secondary tissues. Paradoxically, many cancer cells express death receptors while many normal tissues express the cognate death receptor ligands, suggesting that cancer cells possess mechanisms to inhibit death receptor signaling. Pharmacological restoration of juxtacrine-mediated death receptor signaling could prevent cancer cells from implanting in normal tissues such as the peritoneum. The results showed that BAY 11-7085 significantly inhibited peritoneal carcinomatosis in mice following the introduction of colon and pancreatic cancer cell lines into the intra-abdominal cavity. Treatment with BAY 11-7085 restored juxtacrine death receptor signaling during the adhesion of the cancer cells to mesothelial cells, which line the peritoneum. BAY 11-7085 rapidly inhibited c-FLIP(L) expression in colon and pancreatic cancer cell lines during adhesion to mesothelial cells. Pancreatic cancer cells sorted for high c-FLIP(L) expression formed peritoneal implants much more readily than cells with low c-FLIP(L) expression, and RNAi inhibition of c-FLIP(L) in colon cancer cells dramatically reduced peritoneal implantation. This is a novel demonstration that the restoration of death receptor-mediated apoptotic signaling in cancer cells through the pharmacological inhibition of c-FLIP(L) can inhibit tumor implantation in a clinically relevant model of peritoneal carcinomatosis, a fatal disease. Pharmacological inhibitors of FLIP hold promise as a way to curtail cancer cell colonization of secondary tissues.

Spatial-temporal evolution and driving factors of grey water footprint efficiency in the Yangtze River Economic Belt.

At present, the deterioration of the water ecosystem has constituted a bottleneck for the further development of the Yangtze River Economic Belt (YREB). As a crucial indicator for evaluating the degree of water pollution, grey water footprint (GWF) is of great significance for rationally evaluating the water environment of the YREB. In this study, we calculated the GWF efficiency of the YREB based on the panel data of 9 provinces and 2 cities from 2005 to 2019. On this basis, spatiotemporal methods and Logarithmic Mean Divisia Index (LMDI) model were adopted to analyze the spatial-temporal evolution characteristics and driving factors of GWF efficiency in the YREB. This study drew the following conclusions: (1) the GWF efficiency in the YREB was on an uptrend, with the average annual growth rates of the upstream, midstream and downstream being 17.35 %, 18.31 % and 17.8 % respectively from 2005 to 2019. (2) The GWF efficiency in the YREB showed a weak trend of polarization and the gap between different regions continued to widen. Besides, it was characterized by stability and owned a positive spatial correlation in both geographic distance and economic distance. (3) The improvement of the technology level, water use efficiency, wastewater treatment capacity, economic development level and the reduction in the industrial pollution intensity contributed positively to boosting the GWF efficiency. Meanwhile, the effect of environmental regulation made a significant negative contribution to GWF efficiency. Therefore, in the process of building the YREB, while emphasizing the coordinated development of the economy, all regions should also carry out joint pollution control.

Measurement and driving factors of grey water footprint efficiency in Yangtze River Basin.

Water shortages and poor water quality have become an urgent problem that is constraining the sustainable development of China. Grey water has been found to bring greater stress on the water supply than freshwater consumption, and the grey water footprint (GWF) has received significant attention as a comprehensive indicator to assess wastewater pollution. In this study, we analysed the grey water footprint in the Yangtze River Basin from 2003 to 2017 and established a Logarithmic mean divisia index (LMDI) model to decompose the grey water footprint efficiency into six key factors. Our findings are as follows: (1) The average grey water footprint (AGWF) in the central regions was 40% higher than eastern region and 172% higher than western region; (2) Economic effects and capital deepening effects are the main factors affecting positive changes in grey water footprint efficiency; (3) Based on an analysis of the driving factors of greywater footprint efficiency in each province, we conducted a territorial classification according to the primary driving factors in each province. Our results reflect the spatial distribution characteristics of the influencing factors on the grey water footprint effect in the Yangtze River Basin and will enable the government to formulate relevant policies for each subregion.

Carbon emission of China's power industry: driving factors and emission reduction path.

The low-carbon development of power industry is the key to low-carbon development of the whole society. In order to determine appropriate and feasible emission reduction policies, it is necessary to identify the contribution of different drivers to the change of carbon emissions in China's power sector and to simulate the potential evolution trend of carbon emissions. This paper constructs LMDI model to analyze the driving factors of carbon emission changes in China's power industry from 2000 to 2018 and uses Monte Carlo algorithm to simulate the evolution trend of carbon emission under different scenarios. We can find (1) economic output effect reached 3.817 billion tons from 2000 to 2018, which was the primary factor to increase the carbon emission. Population scale effect reached 251million tons, which had a weak promotion impact on carbon emission. (2) Conversion efficiency effect played a role in restraining carbon emissions, reaching 699 million tons from 2000 to 2018. (3) Emission factor effect and power intensity effect have obvious volatility. The power structure effect showed great volatility before 2013 and mainly played a role in restraining carbon emission after 2013. (4) Under the baseline scenario, the carbon emission of China's power industry shows a growth trend. Under green development scenario and enhanced carbon reduction scenario, the carbon emission shows a trend of first increasing and then decreasing.

Modeling gene × environment interactions in PTSD using human neurons reveals diagnosis-specific glucocorticoid-induced gene expression.

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) can develop following severe trauma, but the extent to which genetic and environmental risk factors contribute to individual clinical outcomes is unknown. Here, we compared transcriptional responses to hydrocortisone exposure in human induced pluripotent stem cell (hiPSC)-derived glutamatergic neurons and peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) from combat veterans with PTSD (n = 19 hiPSC and n = 20 PBMC donors) and controls (n = 20 hiPSC and n = 20 PBMC donors). In neurons only, we observed diagnosis-specific glucocorticoid-induced changes in gene expression corresponding with PTSD-specific transcriptomic patterns found in human postmortem brains. We observed glucocorticoid hypersensitivity in PTSD neurons, and identified genes that contribute to this PTSD-dependent glucocorticoid response. We find evidence of a coregulated network of transcription factors that mediates glucocorticoid hyper-responsivity in PTSD. These findings suggest that induced neurons represent a platform for examining the molecular mechanisms underlying PTSD, identifying biomarkers of stress response, and conducting drug screening to identify new therapeutics.