[Integrated Assessment of Runoff Quality from Green Roofs with Different Configurations].

Green roofs are regarded as one of the important measures for the sponge city construction. However, the comprehensive impacts of configuration factors (e.g., vegetation and substrates) on runoff quality from green roofs are not clear, which limits the promotion of green roofs. In this study, 12 green roofs with three vegetation types (i.e., Sedum lineare, Portulaca grandiflora, and non-vegetated substrates), three substrate types (i.e., local planting soil, engineered soil, and light growing medium), and two substrate depths (i.e., 10 cm and 15 cm) were set up in Beijing. During the rainy season of 2019, the rainfall characteristics, runoff volumes, and concentrations of nutrients and heavy metals of runoff from the green roofs were monitored. Based on the measured data, a runoff quality index (RQI) was developed to evaluate the comprehensive influences of configurations on runoff quality of the green roofs. The results showed that vegetation could improve runoff reduction rate and decrease the concentrations of NO3--N in runoff of green roofs. The RQIs of green roofs planted with S. linear and P. grandiflora were similar, and the evaluation results of runoff quality were better than those with non-vegetated substrates. The materials of substrates had significant influences on the runoff reduction rate and pollutant concentrations in runoff from green roofs. The green roofs with light growing medium, which had the lowest runoff reduction rates and the highest concentrations of NH4+-N, DFe, DMn, and DZn in the runoff, showed poorer runoff quality than the green roofs with local planting soil and engineered soil. The green roofs with a substrate depth of 15 cm had higher runoff reduction rates than those with 10 cm deep substrate, and the runoff quality was better than those with a substrate depth of 10 cm. The results of this study provide scientific reference for the design and integrated assessment of green roofs.

[Inter-annual Changes in Runoff Quality from Green Roofs with Different Vegetation].

As an important measure of the sponge city, green roofs have received extensive attention in recent years. To investigate the inter-annual changes in runoff quality of green roofs with different vegetation types, three green roofs with different vegetation cover (Sedum lineare, Portulaca grandiflora, and a non-vegetated control) were set up in Beijing. The influences of vegetation and monitoring period on runoff quality from the green roofs were evaluated using the plant growth characteristics and the quality of rainwater and runoff from the green roofs during the rainy season of 2017-2019. The results showed that all three green roofs were the sinks of NH4+-N, and the average mass concentration reduction rates were between 50.1% and 79.2%. However, all three green roofs were sources of PO43--P, DCr, DCu, and DNi. The green roofs covered with S. lineare and P. grandiflora were sinks of NO3--N in 2017, and the average mass concentration reduction rates were 71.4% and 99.5%, respectively, but they became sources of NO3--N in both 2018 and 2019. However, the non-vegetated control was the source of NO3--N in all three rainy seasons. Both vegetation type and length of monitoring period had significant effects on the mass concentrations of NO3--N, PO43--P, DNi, and DCu in runoff from the green roofs (P<0.05) but had no significant effects on the mass concentrations of NH4+-N and DCr in runoff from the green roofs (P>0.05). In 2017-2019, the mass concentrations of NO3--N in runoff from the non-vegetated control and the green roofs covered by S. lineare and the mass concentration of PO43--P in runoff from the green roof covered by P. grandiflora increased yearly. The mass concentrations of DNi and DCu in runoff from all three green roofs increased in 2018 but dropped in 2019. Among the green roofs with different vegetation types, the green roof covered by P. grandiflora showed better NO3--N retention capacity than that of the other green roofs but may have increased the concentrations of PO43--P, DNi, and DCu in the runoff.

Full length transcriptomes analysis of cold-resistance of Apis cerana in Changbai Mountain during overwintering period.

Apis cerana in Changbai Mountain is an ecological type of Apis cerana, which is an excellent breeding material with cold-resistant developed by long-term natural selection under the ecological conditions. However, the physiological and molecular mechanisms of Changbai Mountain population under cold stress are still unclear. In this study, the Nanopore sequencing was carried out for the transcriptome of Apis cerana in Changbai Mountain in the coldest period of overwintering, which will provide a reference to the cold-resistant mechanism. We determined 5,941 complete ORF sequences, 1,193 lncRNAs, 619 TFs, 10,866 SSRs and functional annotations of 11,599 new transcripts. Our results showed that the myosin family and the C2H2 zinc finger protein transcription factor family possibly have significant impacts on the response mechanism of cold stress during overwintering. In addition, the cold environment alters genes expression profiles in honeybees via different AS and APA mechanisms. These altered genes in Hippo, Foxo, and MARK pathways help them counter the stress of cold in overwinter period. Our results might provide clues about the response of eastern honeybees to extreme cold, and reflect the possible genetic basis of physiological changes.

In situ determination of trace elements in melt inclusions using laser ablation inductively coupled plasma sector field mass spectrometry.

RATIONALE: In situ trace element analysis of melt inclusions by laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS) provides important geochemistry information. However, the precision and accuracy of this technique are affected by many factors, such as matrix effect, laser conditions, and calibration method. In addition, many previous LA-ICP-MS studies ablated entire melt inclusions along with their host minerals and obtained trace element composition by deconvoluting the mixed ablation signal, which may induce much uncertainty. METHODS: A 193 nm ArF laser ablation system combined with inductively coupled plasma sector field mass spectrometry (ICP-SF-MS) was used to investigate matrix effect, laser conditions, choice of external calibration standards, and data reduction strategy for in situ analysis of 36 major and trace elements in six common silicate reference glasses. The validity of the protocol presented here was demonstrated by measuring trace elements in olivine-hosted melt inclusions. Instead of ablating entire melt inclusions along with their host minerals, melt inclusions were polished to the surface to avoid laser ablating the mineral host. RESULTS: The calibration lines calculated from the calibration standards should cross the coordinate origin, especially for low-concentration elements (<10 ppm). As the laser crater size increased from 17 to 33 µm, the precision was improved from <20% to <8% (2RSD), and accuracy was improved from ±20% to better than ±10%. Most measured trace elements in Dali melt inclusions are consistent with those in their host rocks. For mobile elements (Ba, Sr, Pb), melt inclusions display much smaller variations than their host rocks. CONCLUSIONS: A simple but accurate approach for in situ analysis of trace elements in melt inclusions by LA-ICP-SF-MS has been established, which should greatly facilitate the wider application of in situ trace element geochemistry to melt inclusion studies.

Strontium isotope measurement of basaltic glasses by laser ablation multiple collector inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry based on a linear relationship between analytical bias and Rb/Sr ratios.

RATIONALE: In situ strontium (Sr) isotope analysis of geological samples by laser ablation multiple collector inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LA-MC-ICP-MS) provides useful information about magma mixing, crustal contamination and crystal residence time. Without chemical separation, during Sr isotope analysis with laser ablation, many kinds of interference ions (such as Rb+ and Kr+ ) are on the Sr isotope spectrum. Most previous in situ Sr isotope studies only focused on Sr-enriched minerals (e.g. plagioclase, calcite). Here we established a simple method for in situ Sr isotope analysis of basaltic glass with Rb/Sr ratio less than 0.14 by LA-MC-ICP-MS. METHODS: Seven Faraday cups, on a Neptune Plus MC-ICP-MS instrument, were used to receive the signals on m/z 82, 83, 84, 85, 86, 87 and 88 simultaneously for the Sr isotope analysis of basaltic glass. The isobaric interference of 87 Rb was corrected by the peak stripping method. The instrumental mass fractionation of 87 Sr/86 Sr was corrected to 86 Sr/88 Sr = 0.1194 with an exponential law. Finally, the residual analytical biases of 87 Sr/86 Sr were corrected with a relationship between the deviation of 87 Sr/86 Sr from the reference values and the measured 87 Rb/86 Sr. The validity of the protocol present here was demonstrated by measuring the Sr isotopes of four basaltic glasses, a plagioclase crystal and a piece of modern coral. RESULTS: The measured 87 Sr/86 Sr ratios of all these samples agree within 100 ppm with the reference values. In addition, the Sr isotopes of olivine-hosted melt inclusions from the Emeishan large igneous province (LIP) were measured to show the application of our method to real geological samples. CONCLUSIONS: A simple but accurate approach for in situ Sr isotope measurement by LA-MC-ICP-MS has been established, which should greatly facilitate the wider application of in situ Sr isotope geochemistry, especially to volcanic rock studies.

[In Situ Infrared Spectroscopic Determination of Enzyme Activity].

A real-time infrared (IR) spectroscopy measurement is an effective means to obtain enzymatic information either in vitro or in living cells, as it can provide direct, continue test of biomacromolecule reactions. The principles of measurements are performed basing on the fact that the absorption bands in spectra of reactants and products are usually separated to each other and changed independently with time. Therefore, it is possible to measure the enzymatic efficiency at any reaction time according to the changes of characteristic band, from either reactant or product. That is, IR spectroscopy can be used to obtain intracellular structural information during the cells metabolic processes, as which can provide detailed and reliable scientific evidences. In this paper, we summarized the new developments of IR spectra in the in vitro enzymatic assay for several representative enzymes, as well the screening of enzyme inhibitors, which was further extended to the identical aspect by using living cells as detection model. Such important enzymatic examination closes to the physiological conditions without labeling, supplying structural information of the related biomolecules. The developing trends of IR spectra are discussed and the perspectives of it in the research area are also provided in this review.

Azanitrile Cathepsin K Inhibitors: Effects on Cell Toxicity, Osteoblast-Induced Mineralization and Osteoclast-Mediated Bone Resorption.

AIM: The cysteine protease cathepsin K (CatK), abundantly expressed in osteoclasts, is responsible for the degradation of bone matrix proteins, including collagen type 1. Thus, CatK is an attractive target for new anti-resorptive osteoporosis therapies, but the wider effects of CatK inhibitors on bone cells also need to be evaluated to assess their effects on bone. Therefore, we selected, among a series of synthetized isothiosemicarbazides, two molecules which are highly selective CatK inhibitors (CKIs) to test their effects on osteoblasts and osteoclasts. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: Cell viability upon treatment of CKIs were was assayed on human osteoblast-like Saos-2, mouse monocyte cell line RAW 264.7 and mature mouse osteoclasts differentiated from bone marrow. Osteoblast-induced mineralization in Saos-2 cells and in mouse primary osteoblasts from calvaria, with or without CKIs,; were was monitored by Alizarin Red staining and alkaline phosphatase activity, while osteoclast-induced bone resorption was performed on bovine slices. RESULTS: Treatments with two CKIs, CKI-8 and CKI-13 in human osteoblast-like Saos-2, murine RAW 264.7 macrophages stimulated with RANKL and mouse osteoclasts differentiated from bone marrow stimulated with RANKL and MCSF were found not to be toxic at doses of up to 100 nM. As probed by Alizarin Red staining, CKI-8 did not inhibit osteoblast-induced mineralization in mouse primary osteoblasts as well as in osteoblast-like Saos-2 cells. However, CKI-13 led to a reduction in mineralization of around 40% at 10-100 nM concentrations in osteoblast-like Saos-2 cells while it did not in primary cells. After a 48-hour incubation, both CKI-8 and CKI-13 decreased bone resorption on bovine bone slices. CKI-13 was more efficient than the commercial inhibitor E-64 in inhibiting bone resorption induced by osteoclasts on bovine bone slices. Both CKI-8 and CKI-13 created smaller bone resorption pits on bovine bone slices, suggesting that the mobility of osteoclasts was slowed down by the addition of CKI-8 and CKI-13. CONCLUSION: CKI-8 and CKI-13 screened here show promise as antiresorptive osteoporosis therapeutics but some off target effects on osteoblasts were found with CKI-13.

The chemical structure of the Hawaiian mantle plume.

The Hawaiian-Emperor volcanic island and seamount chain is usually attributed to a hot mantle plume, located beneath the Pacific lithosphere, that delivers material sourced from deep in the mantle to the surface. The shield volcanoes of the Hawaiian islands are distributed in two curvilinear, parallel trends (termed 'Kea' and 'Loa'), whose rocks are characterized by general geochemical differences. This has led to the proposition that Hawaiian volcanoes sample compositionally distinct, concentrically zoned, regions of the underlying mantle plume. Melt inclusions, or samples of local magma 'frozen' in olivine phenocrysts during crystallization, may record complexities of mantle sources, thereby providing better insight into the chemical structure of plumes. Here we report the discovery of both Kea- and Loa-like major and trace element compositions in olivine-hosted melt inclusions in individual, shield-stage Hawaiian volcanoes--even within single rock samples. We infer from these data that one mantle source component may dominate a single lava flow, but that the two mantle source components are consistently represented to some extent in all lavas, regardless of the specific geographic location of the volcano. We therefore suggest that the Hawaiian mantle plume is unlikely to be compositionally concentrically zoned. Instead, the observed chemical variation is probably controlled by the thermal structure of the plume.