Assessment of Summer Regional Outdoor Heat Stress and Regional Comfort in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei Agglomeration Over the Last 40 Years.

Outdoor thermal comfort (OTC) is critical for public health, labor productivity, and human life. Growing extreme heat events caused by climate change have a serious impact on OTCs, especially in urban areas. Quantitatively characterizing and evaluating the spatiotemporal changes in OTCs are essential, and more applications are needed in urban agglomerations. Therefore, taking the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei (BTH) urban agglomeration as the study area, this study aimed to quantitatively assess the summer regional OTC from 1981 to 2020. First, the Universal Thermal Climate Index (UTCI) was used as the indicator of daily thermal stress, and then a Composite Thermal Comfort Score was proposed to evaluate the long-term, summertime, regional OTC considering the extent, duration, and intensity of daytime and nighttime thermal stress. The results showed that (a) the increase in UTCI (0.32°C/10a at daytime and 0.21°C/10a at nighttime) and heat stress frequency (0.88 at daytime and 0.39 d/10a at nighttime) were manifested over BTH, indicating a worse OTC. Spatial and temporal heterogeneity was also demonstrated. (b) The general OTC showed a decreasing north-south gradient pattern. At daytime, the northern mountainous zone presented the best OTC, the southern plain zone, especially Hengshui, Langfang, and Cangzhou, showed the worst. At nighttime, the mountain-plain transition zone showed the best OTC, the northern mountainous zone showed the worst since more cold stress occurred. Our findings will be useful in informing climate change adaptation strategies to ensure urban resilience as extreme heat increases in the context of climate change.

[Assessment of allergenicity of oryza sativa recombinant human serum albumin in BALB/c mice].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the potential allergenicity of oryza sativa recombinant human serum albumin(OsrHSA)in BALB/c mice. METHODS: Eighty BALB/c mice were randomly divided into four groups i. e ovalbumin(OVA) positive control group, potato acid phosphatase(PAP) negative control group, Oryza sativa recombinant HAS(OsrHSA) group and solvent control group(phosphate buffer saline, PBS), respectively. Mice were administered by intraperitoneal injections of tested proteins and histamine levels in plasma and sIgE, sIgG, sIgG1, sIgG2 a, and tIgE antibody levels in serum were measured. RESULTS: Compared with the other groups, serum tIgE, sIgE, sIgG, sIgG1 and plasma histamine levels in the OVA group were significantly increased, while serum sIgG2 a levels were decreased(P<0. 05). There was no significant difference in serum sIgE level and histamine level between the OsrHSA group and the control group(P>0. 05). Serum sIgG, sIgG1 and sIgG2 a levels were lower than those in the PAP group(P<0. 05). There was no significant difference in serum tIgE content between PAP group and OsrHSA group(P>0. 05). CONCLUSION: The potential allergenicity of OsrHSA through traperitioneal injection in BALB/c mice was very low.

Ascending migration of endophytic rhizobia, from roots to leaves, inside rice plants and assessment of benefits to rice growth physiology.

Rhizobia, the root-nodule endosymbionts of leguminous plants, also form natural endophytic associations with roots of important cereal plants. Despite its widespread occurrence, much remains unknown about colonization of cereals by rhizobia. We examined the infection, dissemination, and colonization of healthy rice plant tissues by four species of gfp-tagged rhizobia and their influence on the growth physiology of rice. The results indicated a dynamic infection process beginning with surface colonization of the rhizoplane (especially at lateral root emergence), followed by endophytic colonization within roots, and then ascending endophytic migration into the stem base, leaf sheath, and leaves where they developed high populations. In situ CMEIAS image analysis indicated local endophytic population densities reaching as high as 9 x 10(10) rhizobia per cm3 of infected host tissues, whereas plating experiments indicated rapid, transient or persistent growth depending on the rhizobial strain and rice tissue examined. Rice plants inoculated with certain test strains of gfp-tagged rhizobia produced significantly higher root and shoot biomass; increased their photosynthetic rate, stomatal conductance, transpiration velocity, water utilization efficiency, and flag leaf area (considered to possess the highest photosynthetic activity); and accumulated higher levels of indoleacetic acid and gibberellin growth-regulating phytohormones. Considered collectively, the results indicate that this endophytic plant-bacterium association is far more inclusive, invasive, and dynamic than previously thought, including dissemination in both below-ground and above-ground tissues and enhancement of growth physiology by several rhizobial species, therefore heightening its interest and potential value as a biofertilizer strategy for sustainable agriculture to produce the world's most important cereal crops.