In this paper we investigate the size of a bi-dimensional fragmentation process. A rectangle of dimensions x and y is considered, it is split into four sub-rectangles with some probability that depends on x and y, we iterate until the stop of the process. The total number of the all the obtained rectangles at the end of the process satisfies some equality in distribution which is resolved , using some tools on integral equations, via the contraction method.

In this paper, we consider a viscoelastic kirchhoff equation with a delay term in the internal feedback. By using the Faedo-Galarkin approximation method we prove the well-posedness of the global solutions. Introducing suitable energy, we prove the general uniform decay results

A 2-dimension linguistic lattice implication algebra (2DL-LIA) can build a bridge for logical algebras and 2-dimension fuzzy linguistic information. In this paper, the notion of a Boolean element is proposed in a 2DL-LIA and some properties of Boolean elements are discussed. Then derivations on 2DL-LIAs are introduced and the related properties of derivations are investigated. Moreover, it proves that the derivations on 2DL-LIAs can be constructed by Boolean elements.

In this paper, we study the solvability of a nonlinear two-parametric quantum difference equation Dirichlet boundary value problem. At first, we provide and prove the formula of changing the order of integration for (p,q)-double integral. Second, We obtain the existence and uniqueness criteria of solutions for this kind of boundary value problem by using Banach contraction mapping principle, Leray-Schauder nonlinear alternative theorem and Leray-Schauder continuation theorem. At last, we give two examples to illustrate our results.

Crowd-based hydrological observations can supplement existing monitoring networks and allow data collection in regions where otherwise no data would be available. In the citizen science project CrowdWater, repeated water level observations using a virtual staff gauge approach result in time series of water level classes. To investigate the quality of these observations, we compared the water level class data for a number of locations where water levels were also measured and assessed when these observations were submitted. We analysed data for nine locations where citizen scientists reported multiple observations using a smartphone app and stream level data were also available. At twelve other locations, signposts were set up to ask citizens to record observations on a form that could be left in a letterbox. The results indicate that the quality of the data collected with the app was higher than for the forms. A possible explanation is that for each app location, most contributions were made by a single person, whereas at the locations of the forms almost every observation was made by a new contributor. On average, more contributions were made between May and September than during the other months. Observations were submitted for a range of flow conditions, with a higher fraction of high flow observations for the data collected with the app. Overall, the results are encouraging for citizen science approaches in hydrology and demonstrate that the smartphone application with its virtual staff gauge is a promising approach for crowd-based water level class observations.

In general, fatigue performance of welded structures are evaluated according to design codes based on theoretical and experimental investigations under uniaxial loading conditions. This study highlights the biaxial cyclic loading with different phases. The fracture mechanics approach toward fatigue life evaluation can obtain the fatigue crack growth history. This paper proposes a numerical simulation method for obtaining the fatigue crack propagation histories of a cracked plate subjected to biaxial loads with a phase difference for each loading component. The fatigue surface crack growth behavior of a flat plate and an out-of-plane gusset welded joint under biaxial cyclic loadings with different phases was investigated by extending the applicability of the proposed method to a through thickness crack. Comparisons between the measured crack evolution and the numerical simulation results were carried out to validate our fatigue crack growth simulation for flat plane and welded joints.

Habitat disturbance, a common consequence of anthropogenic land use practices, creates human-animal interfaces where humans, wildlife, and domestic species can interact. These altered habitats can influence host-microbe dynamics, leading to potential downstream effects on host physiology and health. Here, we explored the effect of ecological overlap with humans and domestic species and infection with the protozoan parasite Giardia duodenalis on the bacteria of black and gold howler monkeys (Alouatta caraya), a key sentinel species, in northeastern Argentina. Fecal samples were screened for Giardia duodenalis infection using a nested PCR reaction, and the gut bacterial community was characterized using 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing. Habitat type was correlated with variation in A. caraya gut bacterial community composition but did not affect gut bacterial diversity. Giardia presence did not have a universal effect on A. caraya gut bacteria across habitats, perhaps due to the high infection prevalence across all habitats. However, some bacterial taxa, such as Actinobacteria, Bacteroidetes, Firmicutes, and Lachnospiraceae, were found to vary with Giardia infection. While A. caraya’s behavioral plasticity and dietary flexibility allow them to exploit a range of habitat conditions, habitats are generally becoming more anthropogenically disturbed, and thus, less hospitable. Alterations in gut bacterial community dynamics are one possible indicator that A. caraya may be reaching its physiological limits for plasticity since changes in host-microbe relationships due to stressors from habitat disturbance may lead to negative repercussions for host health. These dynamics are likely relevant for understanding organism responses to environmental change in other mammals.

Backgroud: A long-term hepatic inflammatory response is a risk factor for liver cancer initiation and progression. Interleukin (IL)-35 is the newest member of the IL-12 cytokine family, and has been reported to play an essential role in the immunosuppressive liver microenvironment. Herein we focus on the expression profiles of IL-35 in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and the effect on local immune status. Methods: HCC transcriptome array data were downloaded from Gene Expression Omnibus. The bioinformatics analysis was performed by the BRB array tools and online Ingenuity Pathway Analysis software. The serum IL-35 level was detected by AimPlet bead-based immunoassay. In situ IL-35 expression detection was performed by immunohistochemical staining and western blot. Results: Our results showed that there were large amounts of IL-35 expressed in HCC serum and tumor tissues. IL-35 expression affects the transcript of thousands of genes, most of which correlated with T-cell immunity. This study proved that enhancement of regulatory T cells (Tregs) and impairment of cytolytic T cells are prominent effects of IL-35. Conclusions: Elevated IL-35 played critical roles in HCC patients through affecting the balance between Tregs and cytotoxic T cells. Dissection of the precise targets and the underlying molecular mechanisms will lead to alternative treatments for HCC patients.

We develop a novel approach to trophic metacommunities which allows us to explore how progressive habitat loss affects food webs. Our method combines classic metapopulation models on fragmented landscapes with a Bayesian network representation of trophic interactions for calculating local extinction rates. This means we can repurpose known results from classic metapopulation theory for trophic metacommunities, such as ranking the habitat patches of the landscape with respect to their importance to the persistence of the metacommunity as a whole. We use this to study the effects of habitat loss, both on model communities and the plant-mammal Serengeti food web dataset as a case study. Combining straightforward parameterizability with computational efficiency, our method permits the analysis of species-rich food webs over large landscapes, with hundreds or even thousands of species and habitat patches, while still retaining much of the flexibility of explicit dynamical models.

Tissue constructs of physiologically relevant scale require a vascular system to maintain cell viability. However, in vitro vascularization of engineered tissues is still a major challenge. Successful approaches are based on a feeder layer (FL) to support vascularization. Here, we investigated whether the supporting effect on the self-assembled formation of vascular-like structures by microvascular endothelial cells (mvECs) originates from the FL itself or from its extracellular matrix (ECM). Therefore, we compared the influence of ECM, either derived from adipose-derived stem cells (ASCs) or adipogenic differentiated ASCs, with the classical approaches based on a cellular FL. All cell-derived ECM (cdECM) substrates enable mvEC growth with high viability. Vascular-like structure formation was visualized by immunofluorescence staining of endothelial surface protein CD 31 and can be observed on all cdECM and FL substrates but not on control substrate collagen I. On adipogenic differentiated ECM longer and higher branched structures can be found compared to stem cell cdECM. An increased concentration of pro-angiogenic factors can be found in cdECM substrates and FL approaches compared to controls. Finally, expression of proteins associated with tube formation (E-selectin and thrombomodulin) was confirmed. These results highlight cdECM as promising biomaterial for in vitro vascularization in adipose tissue engineering.

The alkali dissolution characteristics and mechanism of hemicellulose in bagasse pith have been deeply analyzed. Firstly, the technical uncertainty of alkali-extraction and ethanol-separation process has been evaluated. The results showed that the effects of extraction process by-products (i.e., lignin and ash, etc) could be neglected and directly use ethanol precipitation without pre-neutralization for separation of hemicellulose in lye is reasonable. The kinetic behavior test showed that there exists an optimal alkali concentration (~100g/L) to maximize the extraction yield of hemicellulose, attributing to the ratio of hydrodynamic diameter of hydrates and the intersheet distance of cellulosic microfibers. The activation energy of 22.19 KJ/mol indicated that the time-dependent dissolution process of hemicellulose could be mainly attributed to a diffusion controlled process. The developed model has been proved to be effective for prediction of hemicellulose concentration in the process-lye of atmospheric NaOH-H2O2 extraction of a bagasse pith under the experimental conditions studied.

The goal of the present study is to demonstrate 1H LF-NMR time relaxation measurements for efficient and rapid evaluation of Omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA)-rich linseed oil (LSO) oxidative aging mechanisms, by monitoring primary chemical and structural changes occurring during thermal oxidative stress. The LF NMR monitors the different proton spin-spin coupling energy relaxation times, T2 within LSO molecular segments, from the initiation of free radical generation and hydroperoxide formation to the propagation of alkoxy radicals, and alpha, beta-unsaturated aldehydes formation, and a termination phase of crosslinked polymerization end products. The 1H LF NMR T2 values monitors both the covalent and secondary bonding interactions (e.g., electrostatic and hydrogen bonding) during the different oxidation phases. The present paper shows that LSO tail segments mobility in terms of T2 multi-exponential relaxation decays, generated by data reconstructing of 1H transversal relaxation components are providing a clear, sharp and informative understanding of LSO sample’s autoxidation aging processes. This is supported by high field band selective 1H NMR pulse excitation for hydroperoxide and aldehydes quantification of the same LSO samples at 25, 40, 60, 80, 100, and 120oC with pumped air for 168 h. Peroxide value, viscosity and self-diffusion, as well as fatty acids profile and by- products determined by GC-MS were also carried out, and correlated with the LSO tail T2 relaxation results. In conclusion the selective determination of LSO alkyl tail T2 energy relaxation time domain values was demonstrated as a rapid evaluation marker for following omega-3 PUFA-rich oils oxidative aging.

Ricinoleate anion based ionic liquids (ILs) were synthesized from four different nitrogen containing cationic counterparts such as tetrabutylammonium, tetrapropylammonium, cetyltrimethylammonium, imidazolium and evaluated for tribological performance in two lubricant base stocks. From the tribological tests it was found that the synthesized ILs in base oil significantly reduced the wear scar diameter by 17-25 % and a remarkable reduction in wear observed for all the tested load and rotation speed at optimized concentration and also improved the load carrying capacity by 25-43%. The results conclude that the cation present in IL control the thermal stability, antiwear and extreme pressure properties. The imidazolium cation containing IL showed the better performance among all the ILs being studied. Additionally, the morphology of worn surface and deposition of elementals on rubbed surface lubricated with base oil and base oil containing IL was studied by scanning electron microscope (SEM) and Energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX). The fatty acid constituted ILs are promising immense efficiency as environmentally friendly and renewable lubricant additives since they are free from halide, sulphate and phosphate ions.

Shortenings are highly important in the food industry for being used widely in baking, confectionery, and frying products. Conventionally, shortenings are among the most important sources of trans fatty acids(TFA). In order to characterize these products, the samples from 15 different brands in Iran were collected and their physicochemical properties (fatty acid composition, iodine value(IV), free fatty acids(FFA) content, peroxide value(PV), induction periods of oxidation at 110°C(IP110), slip melting point(SMP), solid fat content(SFC), and Lovibond color) were studied. Briefly, Iranian shortenings contain 0.21-15.54% of TFA and 40.08-59.54% saturated fatty acids(SFA). Palmitic acid(25.48-47.90 %) was the dominant SFA in shortenings. The IV between 40.84 and 73.32, FFA content between 0.02-0.92% and PV between 1.0 and 3.0 mEq/kg were detected in samples. The IP110 of the samples was found to be between 10.03 and 44.02 h. The Lovibond yellow and red colors of the samples were 2.1-13.6 and 28-70.4, respectively. SMP of the shortenings was between 42.5 and 49.3 °C (45.53 °C on average). The SFC of Iranian shortenings were found to be between 40.6 and 75.0% at 10 °C, 24.2-59.5% at 20°C, 11.4-36.4% at 30°C, 7.8-27.3% at 35°C, and between 3.1 and 17.4% at 40°C. The results of this study can present valuable information on various types of shortenings to researchers and producers as the physicochemical properties of middle-eastern shortenings were characterized in great detail and were also compared with their international counterparts with reasons causing these differences in relation to slight changes in their components.

Immune dysfunction can occur during sepsis or following major trauma. Decreased monocyte HLA-DR expression and cytokine responses are associated with mortality. Recent studies have shown that adaptive immune system defects can also occur in in such patients, characterised by increased PD-L1 expression and associated T-cell anergy. The aim of this study was to determine the effects of an immune adjuvant, interferon-gamma, on monocyte PD-L1 expression and T-cell activation in an ex-vivo human whole blood model of infection. We found that with interferon-gamma treatment, monocytes had increased HLA-DR expression and augmented TNF-α production in response to LPS stimulation. Both LPS and interferon-gamma increased the level of monocyte PD-L1 expression, and that a combination of both agents synergistically stimulated a further increase in PD-L1 levels as measured by flow cytometry. However, despite elevated PD-L1 expression, both CD4 and CD8 T-cell activation was not diminished by the addition of interferon-gamma treatment. These findings suggest that PD-L1 may not be a reliable marker for T-cell anergy, and that interferon-gamma remains an adjuvant of interest that can improve the monocyte inflammatory response while preserving T-cell activation.

The sharp rise in anthropogenic activities and climate change have caused the extensive degradation of grasslands worldwide, jeopardising ecosystem function and threatening human well-being. Toxic weeds have been constantly spreading in recent decades; indeed, their occurrence is considered to provide an early sign of land degeneration. Policy makers and scientific researchers often focus on the negative effects of toxic weeds, such as how they inhibit forage growth, kill livestock and cause economic losses. However, toxic weeds can have several potentially positive ecological impacts on grasslands, such as promoting soil and water conservation, improving nutrient cycling and biodiversity conservation, and protecting pastures from excessive damage by livestock. We reviewed the literature to detail the adaptive mechanisms underlying toxic weeds and to provide new insight into their roles in degraded grassland ecosystems. The findings highlight that the establishment of toxic weeds may provide a self-protective strategy of degenerated pastures that does not require special interventions. Consequently, policy makers, managers and other personnel responsible for managing grasslands need to take appropriate actions to assess the long-term trade-offs between the development of animal husbandry and the maintenance of ecological services provided by grasslands.

Abstract: Dominance hierarchies have been visually represented in several ways, but most leave it difficult to quickly understand complex interactions between multiple entities in a community. Here we propose a new way to visually represent the hierarchy of dominance between entities in such systems called an “agonistic diagram”. We demonstrate this method using data from nectar-feeding bird communities in Australia and America, then using data from inquiline ants, European Badgers, and urban cats. The advantages of using agonistic diagrams are: (1) that the agonistic diagram can be compared visually with other interaction diagrams in related fields, like mutualism, and (2) that the analytical tools used in other fields can be used to assess agonistic networks. Thus, agonistic networks can be quantified in new ways, making it possible to obtain with relatively minor changes, automated agonistic diagrams from the computational programs and ecological metrics that are currently used to understand mutualistic interactions. This includes metrics of nestedness, modularity, and robustness, the identity of core and peripheral species, and the effects of extinction on networks, among other information.

Desertification models do not include analyses of rainfall, temporality, field visits and projection scenarios. The objective is to evaluate desertification under levels of vegetation, soil and albedo, construct forecast models and analyze its variability with time and rainfall. Landsat TM was used for NDVI, TGSI and albedo between 2000 and 2008 in dry and rainy periods in Irauçuba Centro Norte (ICN) and in the National Forest of Sobral (FLONA). Desertification levels and indices of 30 pixels were quantified and their means were inputs in the ARIMA model. The results showed vegetation and albedo at different levels of desertification. The medium desertification class of NDVI increased by 18% at ICN and the low desertification class of albedo increased by 3%. TGSI showed the class severe at ICN and FLONA. The AR(3) model indicated reduction in NDVI, while MA(1) for TGSI and albedo showed severe and low level. ARMA(2,1) showed optimistic scenario of recovery for pixels with desertified NDVI and Albedo of FLONA. The AR(3) model for TGSI of FLONA showed a reduction of 0.0006504 in 70 years. Anthropic practices and climate were responsible for the desertification of ICN, while FLONA was shown to be non-desertified, but NDVI and TGSI were affected by the anthropic practices. Therefore, desertification showed different levels at ICN, rainfall and time affected vegetation and albedo at ICN and FLONA. ARMA(2,1) models showed that the prospects of desertification reversal are greater for FLONA.

A chimeric enzyme based on the genetic fusion of a laccase with a hydrophobin domain was employed to functionalize few-layer-graphene, previously exfoliated from graphite in the presence of the hydrophobin. The as-produced biofunctionalized FLG was characterized by electrochemistry and Raman spectroscopy and finally employed in the biosensing of phenols such as catechol and dopamine. This strategy paves the way for the functionalization of nanomaterials by hydrophobin domains of chimeric enzymes and their use in a variety of electrochemical applications.

Soil erosion decreases soil productivity and threats global food security. Various relationships between crop yield and soil erosion were found for different regions, but a comprehensive global synthesis of the relationship is lacking. To quantify crop yield and soil erosion, we conducted a meta-analysis with a hierarchical mixed-effects model based on global-scale studies, and incorporating erosion depth, crop yield, grain type, soil type, measure, and other factors. The results confirmed that crop yield was negatively affected by soil erosion, but the decreasing trend of crop yield with erosion thickness was different. Crop yields did not decreased significantly when erosion depth was < 5 cm. When erosion depth was > 20 cm, crop yield clearly decreased no matter what soil management measures were adopted, which indicated that the degradation of soil productivity could not be restored. In addition, the effect degree of erosion was significantly different between 5 - 10 cm and 10 - 15 cm erosion depth intervals. We conclude that a widely used linear relationship does not well describe the relationships between crop yield and soil erosion, and we suggested that the crop yield response curve was concave when erosion depth was > 5 cm.

Potassium (K+) is an essential macronutrient involved in regulating plant growth and development. K+ homeostasis in plant cells is modulated to facilitate plant adaptation to K+-deficiency stress. Argonaute1 (AGO1) interacts with miR-168a to modulate the small RNA regulatory pathway in tomatoes. However, the roles of AGO1 and miR-168a in modulating K+ deficiency stress in tomatoes have not been elucidated. Accordingly, in this study, we examined the interactions between AGO1 and miR-168a in mediating low-K+ stress in tomato plants. SlmiR-168a and its target SlAGO1 were differentially expressed between low-K+ tolerant JZ34 and low-K+ sensitive JZ18 tomato plants. Transgenic tomato plants constitutively expressing SlmiR-168a and rSlAGO1 (SlmiR-168a-resistant) showed different root hair development, leaf phenotypes, and K+ contents in roots under K+-deficiency stress. Sequencing analyses showed that 446 microRNAs (miRNAs) and 541 miRNAs were differentially expressed in 35S:SlmiR-168a compared with wild-type (WT) tomatoes and in 35S:rSlAGO1 compared with WT tomatoes, respectively. Twelve miRNA/mRNA pairs were identified, and the root growth and cytokinin (CTK)/abscisic acid (ABA) pathways were shown to be involved in SlmiR-168a-mediated SlAGO1 regulatory network in response to K+-deficiency stress. Thus, SlAGO1 regulated by SlmiR-168a may influence downstream miRNA pathways in response to low-K+ stress though modulating root growth and CTK/ABA pathways.

To protect themselves from herbivore attacks, especially during early developmental stages, plants produce volatiles possessing various ecological and physiological functions. Here, we identified three genes cloned from Lavandula angustifolia. These genes, designated as LaTPS7, LaTPS8, and LaCYP71D582, were hypothesized to be active in plant defense during early developmental stages. The in-vitro assays showed LaTPS7 produced eight compounds including camphene, myrcene, limonene etc. and LaTPS8 catalyzed nine volatiles from α-pinene, sylvestrene to fenchol etc. using geranyl diphosphate (GPP) and nerolidyl diphosphate (NPP) as substrate separately. However, LaTPS7 present in plastids only, synthesized limonene within Nicotiana benthamiana. Limonene was then converted into carveol by LaCYP71D582 present in the endoplasmic reticulum. LaTPS8, also located in plastids, synthesized α-pinene and sylvestrene. Odour response of aphids (Myzus persicae) and ladybugs (Harmonia axyridis) showed that volatiles from transgenic tobacco leaves repelled aphids and attracted ladybugs. LaTPS7 promoter GUS stain assay in Arabidopsis thaliana showed that LaTPS7 displayed a wound-induced expression in leaves. Together, our findings show that these compounds and gene-expression pattern played important roles in protecting plants during vulnerable stages. More practically, these plant tactics can be exploited in agriculture to decrease the use of insecticides, thereby contributing to improved human and environmental health.

Background and Purpose Intra-islet heparan sulfate (HS) plays an important role in the maintenance of the pancreatic islet function. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect mechanism of HS loss on the functioning of islets in diabetic mice. Experimental Approach The hypoglycemic effect of a heparanase inhibitor, OGT2115, was tested in streptozotocin-induced diabetic mice. The islets of pancreas sections were also stained to reveal their morphology. An insulinoma MIN6 cell line and primary isolated murine islets were used to investigate the effect of OGT2115 in vitro. Key Results Intra-islet HS was clearly lost in streptozotocin-induced diabetic mice due to the increased heparanase expression in damaged islets. OGT2115 prevented intra-islet HS loss to improve the glucose profile and insulin secretion in streptozotocin-treated mice. The apoptosis of pancreatic beta cells, the infiltration of mononuclear macrophages, CD4 and CD8 positive T-cells in islets was reduced by OGT2115 in streptozotocin-treated mice, but OGT2115 did not alter the direct streptozotocin-induced damage in vitro. The expression of heparanase was increased in high glucose-treated isolated islets but not in response to direct streptozotocin stimulation. Further experiments showed that high glucose stimuli could decrease the expression of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma (PPARγ) in cultured islets, thereby relieving the PPARγ-induced inhibition of heparanase gene expression. Conclusion and Implications Hyperglycemia could cause intra-islet HS loss by elevating the expression of heparanase, thereby aggravating inflammatory cell infiltration and islet damage. Inhibition of heparanase might provide benefit for pancreatic beta cell protection in type 1 diabetes.

Background and purpose: Chronic alcohol intake provoked unfavorable geometric and functional changes in the heart along with altered autophagy. Parkin, a cytosolic E3 ubiquitin ligase encoded by PARK2 gene, governs mitochondrial homeostasis and mitophagy although its role in alcoholic cardiomyopathy remains unclear. Experimental approach: This study was designed to examine the role of Parkin in alcohol-induced cardiomyopathy. Adult male wild-type (WT) and PARKIN2 knockout (Parkin-/-) mice were placed on alcohol (4%) or control diet for 8 weeks. Echocardiographic and cardiomyocyte mechanical properties, myocardial and mitochondrial morphology, autophagy and mitophagy were evaluated. GFP-LC3 puncta was employed to assess autophagosome formation. Key results: Our results revealed that alcohol intake led to unfavorable geometric and contractile changes (enlarged left ventricular chamber; decreased fractional shortening, ejection fraction, peak shortening and velocity of shortening/relengthening, prolonged relengthening duration), enlarged cardiomyocyte size and interstitial fibrosis, as well as mitochondrial swelling with cristae disarrangement and mitochondrial depolarization, the effects of which were exacerbated by Parkin deficiency. Alcohol consumption promoted autophagy and PINK1-Parkin-mediated mitophagy, the effects of which were cancelled off by Parkin knockout. Co-immunoprecipitation noted a tight interaction between Parkin and Ambra1 (autophagy and beclin1 regulator 1). In vitro study using neonatal rat cardiomyocytes revealed that Parkin transfection ameliorated ethanol-induced changes in autophagy. However, Ambra1 silencing negated Parkin-induced protection against ethanol-induced autophagy. Conclusions and implications: Taken together, these data suggest an integral role for Parkin in the face of alcoholic challenge possibly through its interaction with Ambra1 to promote autophagy and maintain mitochondrial homeostasis.