Abstract Selenium (Se) is a nutritionally important micronutrient for humans. The use of Se fertilizers is often the most feasible approach to precisely increase Se contents in rice grains, but the effects of common commercial Se fertilizers on producing Se-rich rice remain to be investigated. In this study, we compared the effects of liquid and granular Se fertilizers on the accumulation of Se and heavy metals in rice grains of four different varieties in field. Results showed that Se accumulation in rice grains was affected by the form of fertilizers, applied concentrations of Se fertilizers, and rice varieties. Liquid fertilizer displayed significantly higher Se transfer efficiency than granular fertilizer, whereas the granular fertilizer had a slightly higher effect on organic Se accumulation. More than 95.5% Se in grains were organic Se, with selenomethionine (SeMet) being the dominant one. The proportion of organic selenocysteine (SeCys2) in grains was significantly higher in treatments with liquid fertilizer. Both forms of fertilizers significantly reduced the accumulation of cadmium, lead, and arsenic. Collectively, our study provides a reference for producing Se-rich rice in a more competitive manner in practice.

Abstract The effect of Maillard reaction browning factors on the color enhancement of membrane clarification non-centrifugal cane sugar (M-NCS) in storage was explored. During storage, the color of M-NCS gradually browned and blackened. pH, the contents of glucose, fructose, protein, total amino acids and 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (5-HMF) decreased significantly. Meanwhile, the moisture content, relative percentages of volatile Maillard reaction products (MRPs) and the content of 3-deoxyglucosone (3-DG) increased during storage. The sucrose content remained stable. Correlation analysis shows all browning factors were significantly correlated with color. Multivariate data analysis results demonstrated that the compound effects of volatile MRPs, 3-DG, pH, glucose and total amino acids led to the color change of stored M-NCS. The order of effect on the color change of stored M-NCS was volatile MRPs > 3-DG > pH > glucose > total amino acids.

The predicted changes in precipitation patterns because of global change have profound effects on terrestrial ecosystems. In the present study, the principle and design details of a rainfall enrichment system (RAINES) for open field experiments in semi-arid and arid ecosystems are presented. The rainfall intensity, validity and uniformity of this experimental facility were also tested. During the period from 2008 to 2010, our data showed that the RAINES was able to simulate rainfall events with different rainfall sizes, frequencies and timing. The greatest advantage of the RAINES was its high uniformity in rainfall distribution over a relatively large experimental surface area (>65 m2), which was important for experimental studies of semi-arid and arid ecosystems where vegetation distribution is sparse. The rainfall validity of RAINES was steadily at 66% or higher as long as the hydraulic pressure exceeded 1.4 KPa and the wind speed was below 2.5 m s-1. Since the RAINES is light-weight, inexpensive and versatile enough to be used to simulate various rainfall events with needed properties in remote fields, it is able to provide reliable simulated rainfall in the field for studying possible responses of soil and vegetation processes to rainfall change in arid and semi-arid ecosystems. The application of the RAINES will improve our understanding on the relationship between water availability and ecosystem processes in arid and semi-arid ecosystems, which will provide useful knowledge for the protection, restoration and sustainable management of semi-arid and arid desert ecosystems worldwide.

Los cambios predichos en los modelos de precipitación como resultado del cambio global tienen efectos profundos en los ecosistemas terrestres. Un equipo que simule la lluvia es una herramienta de investigación efectiva para explorar los efectos de los cambios en los modelos de lluvia sin varias restricciones naturales. En el presente estudio, se presentan los principios y detalles de diseño de un equipo simulador de lluvia (RAINES) para estudios a campo en ecosistemas áridos y semiaridos. También se determinaron la intensidad de lluvia, validez y uniformidad del RAINES. Durante el perÃodo 2008 al 2010, nuestros datos mostraron que el RAINES fue capaz de simular eventos de lluvia con diferentes cantidades, frecuencias y momentos de lluvia. La mayor ventaja del RAINES fue su gran uniformidad en la distribución de la lluvia sobre una superficie experimental relativamente grande (>65 m2). Esto es importante para estudios experimentales en ecosistemas áridos y semiáridos donde la distribución de la vegetación es dispersa. La validez de la lluvia provista por el RAINES fue al menos de 66% siempre y cuando la presión hidráulica excedió los 1.4 KPa y la velocidad del viento fue menor que 2.5 m s-1. El RAINES es de bajo peso, no costoso y lo suficientemente versátil como para ser usado para simular varios eventos de lluvia bajo condiciones de campo distantes. Es capaz de proveer lluvia simulada en forma confiable en el campo para estudiar la respuesta de procesos en el suelo y la vegetación a cambios en la cantidad de lluvia en ecosistemas áridos y semiáridos. El uso del RAINES mejorará nuestro entendimiento en la relación entre la disponibilidad de agua y los procesos en ecosistemas áridos y semiáridos. También proveerá conocimiento útil para la protección, restauración y menejo sustentable de ecosistemas de desierto áridos y semiáridos a escala mundial.

RESUMO OBJETIVO Estudar os fatores que afetam a regeneração hepática após hepatectomia. MÉTODOS A capacidade de regeneração hepática de 117 pacientes foi analisada com a tecnologia de reconstituição 3D e foram estudados os fatores relacionados. RESULTADOS Não houve diferença estatística significante entre o volume de ressecção hepática simulada e a ressecção atual. Todos os fígados apresentaram diferentes graus de regeneração após cirurgia. Idade, gênero e indicadores sanguíneos não tiveram impacto na regeneração hepática, enquanto que tempo de cirurgia, perda sanguínea intraoperatória, tempo de bloqueio do fluxo sanguíneo e diferentes formas de ressecção mostraram impacto significante na regeneração do órgão. Além disso, condições patológicas dos pacientes, incluindo hepatite e fibrose hepática, tiveram impacto significante na regeneração hepática. CONCLUSÃO O modelo de reconstituição 3D é um bom modelo para calcular o volume do fígado. Idade, gênero, indicadores sanguíneos e bioquímicos não tiveram impacto na regeneração hepática, mas indicadores operatórios e condição patológica dos pacientes mostraram influência na regeneração do órgão.

SUMMARY OBJECTIVE To study factors affecting the liver regeneration after hepatectomy METHODS With 3D reconstitution technology, liver regeneration ability of 117 patients was analysed, and relative factors were studied. RESULTS There was no statistically difference between the volume of simulated liver resection and the actual liver resection. All livers had different degrees of regeneration after surgery. Age, gender and blood indicators had no impact on liver regeneration, while surgery time, intraoperative blood loss, blood flow blocking time and different ways of liver resection had a significant impact on liver regeneration; In addition, the patients’ own pathological status, including, hepatitis and liver fibrosis all had a significant impact on liver regeneration. CONCLUSION 3D reconstitution model is a good model to calculate liver volume. Age, gender, blood indicators and biochemistry indicators have no impact on liver regeneration, but surgery indicators and patients’ own pathological status have influence on liver regeneration.

A qualidade de imagens Landsat em áreas úmidas é consideravelmente degradada pela neblina em termos do seu padrão de resposta espectral, o que limita a possibilidade da sua aplicação usando as bandas do visível e infravermelho próximo. Uma variedade de algoritmos de remoção de neblina têm sido propostos para corrigir estes efeitos indesejados da iluminação, causados pela contaminação por neblina. O propósito deste estudo foi demonstrar a diferença entre os dois principais algoritmos (a filtragem homomórfica melhorada (HF) e a nuvem virtual de pontos (VCP)), considerando sua efetividade na solução da contaminação da neblina com variação espacial, e para avaliar os impactos da remoção da neblina na classificação da cobertura do solo. Um estudo de caso com utilização de grande quantidade de imagens Landsat TM e climáticas (claras e com neblina) em áreas muito úmidas da China comprovou que estes algoritmos de remoção têm bom desempenho no processamento das imagens contaminadas por neblina. O resultado da aplicação do filtro VCP parece ser mais similar às imagens de referência quando comparado ao filtro HF. Além disso, a imagem Landsat com a remoção de neblina por VCP pode efetivamente melhorar a acurácia da classificação em comparação àquelas sem a remoção da neblina, especialmente em áreas contaminadas por nuvens.

The quality of Landsat images in humid areas is considerably degraded by haze in terms of their spectral response pattern, which limits the possibility of their application in using visible and near-infrared bands. A variety of haze removal algorithms have been proposed to correct these unsatisfactory illumination effects caused by the haze contamination. The purpose of this study was to illustrate the difference of two major algorithms (the improved homomorphic filtering (HF) and the virtual cloud point (VCP)) for their effectiveness in solving spatially varying haze contamination, and to evaluate the impacts of haze removal on land cover classification. A case study with exploiting large quantities of Landsat TM images and climates (clear and haze) in the most humid areas in China proved that these haze removal algorithms both perform well in processing Landsat images contaminated by haze. The outcome of the application of VCP appears to be more similar to the reference images compared to HF. Moreover, the Landsat image with VCP haze removal can improve the classification accuracy effectively in comparison to that without haze removal, especially in the cloudy contaminated area

Abstract Achievement goals are cognitive representations that guide behavior to a competence-related future end state. Existing theories and empirical findings suggest that achievement goals are potentially related to life satisfaction. However, the relationship between achievement goals and life satisfaction remains relatively unexplored in the psychology literature. In this study, we examined how, why, and when achievement goals affect life satisfaction using original survey data from China. The results suggest that achievement goals were positively related to life satisfaction (R2 = .20, 90% CI [.11, .26]), that the perception of successful agency fully mediated the relationship between achievement goals and life satisfaction (R2 = .22, 90% CI [.12, .27]), and that emotion reappraisal moderated the relationship between achievement goals and life satisfaction (R2 = .34, 90% CI [.23, .39]). Our study indicates that achievement goals have a positive influence on life satisfaction and help to elucidate the mechanism and boundary condition of this influence.

Background: 3-Ketosteroid-∆¹-dehydrogenase (KSDD), a flavoprotein enzyme, catalyzes the bioconversion of 4-androstene-3,17-dione (AD) to androst-1,4-diene-3,17-dione (ADD). To date, there has been no report about characterization of KSDD from Mycobacterium neoaurum strains, which were usually employed to produce AD or ADD by fermentation. Results: In this work, Corynebacterium crenatum was chosen asa new host for heterologous expression of KSDD from M. neoaurum JC-12 after codon optimization of the KSDD gene. SDS-PAGE and western blotting results indicated that the recombinant C. crenatum harboring the optimized ksdd (ksdd n) gene showed significantly improved ability to express KSDD. The expression level of KSDD was about 1.6-fold increased C. crenatum after codon optimization. After purification of the protein, we first characterized KSDD from M. neoaurum JC-12, and the results showed that the optimum temperature and pH for KSDD activity were 30°C and pH 7.0, respectively. The Km and Vmax values of purified KSDD were 8.91 µM and 6.43 mM/min. In this work, C. crenatum as a novel whole-cell catalyst was also employed and validated for bioconversion of AD to ADD. The highest transformation rate of AD to ADD by recombinant C. crenatum was about 83.87% after 10 h reaction time, which was more efficient than M. neoaurum JC-12 (only 3.56% at 10 h). Conclusions: In this work, basing on the codon optimization, overexpression, purification and characterization of KSDD, we constructed a novel system, the recombinant C. crenatum SYPA 5-5 expressing KSDD, to accumulate ADDfromADefficiently. This work provided new insights into strengthening sterol catabolism by overexpressing the key enzyme KSDD, for efficient ADD production.