Coupling Coordination Analysis of Urban Development and Ecological Environment in Urban Area of Guilin Based on Multi-Source Data.

Urban development in developing regions increases ecological and environmental pressures. Few annual ecological studies have been conducted on tourist-oriented cities. Guilin is famous as an international tourist destination in Chine. Analyzing its coupling coordination between urbanization and ecology is vital for subsequent sustainable development. This paper constructed a night-time light index (NTLI) based on DMSP/OLS, NPP/VIIRS night-time light data in response to these problems. The remote sensing ecological index (RSEI) model was established in this study by using four indexes: greenness, wetness, dryness and heat. The coupling coordination degree model (CCDM) was built. From the dynamic time-series changes of CCDM, the urban development and ecological environment of the urban area of Guilin, from 2000 to 2020, were analyzed. The results showed that the urban area of Guilin's urbanization had developed rapidly over the past 20 years. NTLI in 2020 was 7.72 times higher than in 2000. The overall ecological quality of the main urban area of Guilin has improved significantly, while local ecological pressure in Lingui District has increased. CCDM has shifted from low to high coupling coordination, and the relationship between urban development and the ecological environment has improved. The method of annual spatial-temporal analysis of urban ecology in this paper can be applied in similar studies on other cities, and the results obtained for Guilin have reference value for future urban planning and environmental protection work.

Molecular Identification and Antibacterial Activity Analysis of Blue Fox (Vulpes lagopus) ß-Defensins 108 and 122.

The blue fox (Vulpes lagopus), a fur-bearing animal, is an important component of the breeding industry in China. Semen quality is a key factor for the reproductive process and the breeding effectiveness of the farmed blue fox. However, bacterial contamination in semen samples utilized in artificial fertilization is very common. The ß-defensins, a class of important antimicrobial peptides in mammals, could protect the reproductive system of male animals from bacterial invasion, maintain the stability of the genital tract microenvironment and improve semen quality. In this study, molecular cloning and bioinformatics analysis were conducted to analyze the protein structure and function of blue fox ß-defensin 108 (Vulpes lagopus beta-defensin 108, vBD108) and 122 (Vulpes lagopus beta-defensin 122, vBD122). To evaluate the bacteriostatic effect of recombinant vBDs (Vulpes lagopus beta-defensins) protein, varying concentrations (0, 25, 50, 100, 200 µg/mL) were taken to evaluate the effects on Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus at different times (0, 2, 4, 6, 8, 12 h). The results showed that vBD108 and vBD122 existed in different forms in protein structure and had antibacterial activity. Both proteins, at 50 µg/mL, had efficacious bacteriostatic activity. This study shows that recombinant vBD108 and vBD122 proteins have good antibacterial activity in vitro. This implies a potential role in improving semen quality and hygienic measures in the process of artificial insemination as an extender of semen dilution with antibacterial activity.

Declined expressing mRNA of beta-defensin 108 from epididymis is associated with decreased sperm motility in blue fox (Vulpes lagopus).

BACKGROUND: Fecundity is important for farm blue fox (Vulpes lagopus), who with asthenospermia have be a problem in some of farms in China. A key symptom of asthenospermia is decreased sperm motility. The decreased secreting beta-defensin108 (vBD108) of blue fox is speculated be related to asthenospermia. To clarify this idea, the mRNA expression of vBD108 in testis and epididymis of blue foxes with asthenospermia were detected and compared to the healthy one. The antibody was prepared and analyzed by immunohistochemistry. RESULTS: The vBD108 in testis and epididymis was found both in blue fox with asthenospermia and healthy group by the method of immunohistochemistry. The expression of vBD108 mRNA in testes (P < 0.05) and epididymal corpus (P < 0.0001) in asthenospermia group was lower than that in healthy group. CONCLUSIONS: These results suggested that vBD108 deficiency may related to blue fox asthenospermia. Meanwhile, the study on the blue fox vBD108 provides a hopeful direction to explore the pathogenesis of blue fox asthenospermia in the future.

Novel Fiber-Optic Ring Acoustic Emission Sensor.

Acoustic emission technology has been applied to many fields for many years. However, the conventional piezoelectric acoustic emission sensors cannot be used in extreme environments, such as those with heavy electromagnetic interference, high pressure, or strong corrosion. In this paper, a novel fiber-optic ring acoustic emission sensor is proposed. The sensor exhibits high sensitivity, anti-electromagnetic interference, and corrosion resistance. First, the principle of a novel fiber-optic ring sensor is introduced. Different from piezoelectric and other fiber acoustic emission sensors, this novel sensor includes both a sensing skeleton and a sensing fiber. Second, a heterodyne interferometric demodulating method is presented. In addition, a fiber-optic ring sensor acoustic emission system is built based on this method. Finally, fiber-optic ring acoustic emission experiments are performed. The novel fiber-optic ring sensor is glued onto the surface of an aluminum plate. The 150 kHz standard continuous sinusoidal signals and broken lead signals are successfully detected by the novel fiber-optic ring acoustic emission sensor. In addition, comparison to the piezoelectric acoustic emission sensor is performed, which shows the availability and reliability of the novel fiber-optic ring acoustic emission sensor. In the future, this novel fiber-optic ring acoustic emission sensor will provide a new route to acoustic emission detection in harsh environments.

Detonation Velocity Measurement with Chirped Fiber Bragg Grating.

Detonation velocity is an important parameter for explosive, and it is crucial for many fields such as dynamic chemistry burn models, detonation propagation prediction, explosive performance estimation, and so on. Dual-channel detonation velocity measurement method and system are described. The CFBG sensors are pasted both on the surface and in the center of the explosive cylinder. The length of CFBG sensors is measured via the hot-tip probe method. The light intensity reflected from the CFBG sensors attached to the explosive is transformed to voltage, and the voltage-time is then measured with the oscilloscope. According to the five experiments results, the relative standard uncertainty of detonation velocity is below 1%.