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An overview of Sun–Sky Radiometer Observation Network (SONET) measurements in China is presented. Based on observations at 16 distributed SONET sites in China, atmospheric aerosol parameters are acquired via standardization processes of operational measurement, maintenance, calibration, inversion, and quality control implemented since 2010. A climatology study is performed focusing on total columnar atmospheric aerosol characteristics, including optical (aerosol optical depth, ÅngstrÖm exponent, fine-mode fraction, single-scattering albedo), physical (volume particle size distribution), chemical composition (black carbon; brown carbon; fine-mode scattering component, coarse-mode component; and aerosol water), and radiative properties (aerosol radiative forcing and efficiency). Data analyses show that aerosol optical depth is low in the west but high in the east of China. Aerosol composition also shows significant spatial and temporal variations, leading to noticeable diversities in optical and physical property patterns. In west and north China, aerosols are generally affected by dust particles, while monsoon climate and human activities impose remarkable influences on aerosols in east and south China. Aerosols in China exhibit strong light-scattering capability and result in significant radiative cooling effects.

The HD-ZIP transcription factor family plays crucial roles in plant growth and abiotic stress responses. While its diverse functions and regulatory mechanisms are well-documented, its role in conferring abiotic stress tolerance in peaches remains largely unexplored. Here, we report the bioinformatics profile of PpGL2, a member of the HD-ZIP transcription factor family, and its integration into the soybean genome to assess its potential impact on drought tolerance. Localization studies in onion cells revealed nuclear localization of PpGL2-GFP fusion protein, while yeast hybridization experiments demonstrated its transactivation and DNA binding abilities. PpGL2 overexpression under drought conditions led to reduced accumulation of reactive oxygen species and malondialdehyde compared to wild-type, decreased rate of water loss, and increased chlorophyll and relative water content. Additionally, PpGL2 overexpression promoted soybean height and root length under drought stress, accompanied by altered transcription levels of stress-related genes across different plant genotypes. Furthermore, PpGL2 overexpression enhanced oxidative tolerance. Therefore, our findings suggest that PpGL2 overexpression holds promise for enhancing soybean drought resistance, offering a novel approach to improving soybean drought resistance.

The dynamic thermomechanical analysis on composite sandwich plates with damage is investigated in this paper. A thermomechanical extended layerwise/soild-element (TELW/SE) method is developed for sandwich plates. In the TELW/SE method, the thermomechanical extended layerwise theory is used to model the behavior of the laminated composite facesheets, while the thermomechanical eight-node solid element is employed to discretize the cores. The total governing equations are assembled by using the interface conditions, to ensure the compatibility of displacements and temperature, and the equilibrium of internal force. In the numerical examples, the dynamic thermomechanical analysis is carried out for the sandwich plates with one or two layer honeycombs cores, taking the delaminations, transverse crack and debonding at core/facesheets interface into account. The proposed method is validated by using three-dimensional elastic models developed in commercial finite element softwares Comsol and Abaqus, and good agreement is achieved. Several typical damage in composite sandwich plates can be described finely in the proposed method.

The multiple delaminations at different interfaces and their interactions should be described simultaneously in an accurate analysis approach of composite laminates under the multi-physics loading, but it is not studied thoroughly in the existing research works. A thermo-mechanical cohesive zone model is proposed to investigate the thermo-mechanical progressive growth of multiple delaminations in composite laminated plates. The multiple delaminations are simulated by the extended layerwise method (XLWM), and their thermo-mechanical progressive damage characterization is described by a discrete damage zone model (DDZM). A traction–separation law is employed to account for the heat flux transfer and mechanical load transfer across the delamination front. Several numerical examples of double cantilever beams and laminated plates are carried out to verify the proposed model for the contact and degradation problems. The thermo-mechanical progressive growth mechanism is also investigated for the multiple delaminations in composite laminated plates

Expansins are cell wall proteins that promote cell wall relaxation by inducing pH-dependent cell wall elongation and stress relaxation. The activities of expansins are essential in a series of physiological development processes in higher plants, including seed germination. Here, we identified a kale ( Brassica oleracea var. acephala DC.) expansin gene, BoEXPA2 , that is only expressed in germinated seeds. A mutant of this gene showed delayed germination, confirming that BoEXPA2 helps regulate seed germination. Exogenous gibberellins (GA) increased the expression level of BoEXPA2 during seed germination, while abscisic acid (ABA) had no effect on BoEXPA2 expression. When subjected to stress, the germination rate of seeds with inhibited BoEXPA2 expression was significantly reduced relative to that of wild-type seeds, while the germination rate was significantly increased in BoEXPA2 overexpression lines. Under drought and salt stress, the activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD), peroxidase (POD), and catalase (CAT) and the content of Malondialdehyde (MDA) increased in seeds of all three genotypes, but the activities of SOD, POD, and CAT were far higher in the seeds of BoEXPA2 overexpression strains than those of the control and inhibited expression strains, and the activities of MDA were lower than those of the control and inhibition expression strains. In conclusion, our results indicate that BoEXPA2 participates in GA-mediated seed germination and promotes tolerance to salt stress and osmotic stress in kale.

The accurate estimation of wind power is crucial not only to conduct wind energy research but also to improve policy and planning decisions for the national government. However, reliable wind speed datasets at turbine height that can be used for wind power estimation in China are very limited. In this study, the simulated wind profile (expressed by a power-law approach) is optimized using radiosonde wind speed measurements. The wind speed at a typical turbine height (80 m) is then constructed using the optimized wind profile and 10-m wind speed measured at each conventional meteorological station throughout the country. Compared with measurements, the constructed wind speed has reasonable errors (0.08 m s−1 in mean bias, 0.89 m s−1 in root mean square error, and 0.90 in correlation coefficient), which are much smaller than the model errors. Further comparison shows the constructing method in the current study outperforms the other similar statistical methods. Therefore, this method and the constructed wind speed dataset are suggested for wind energy research in China.

Previous findings suggested that a four-protein complex, including sterol-regulatory element-binding protein (SREBP), SREBP-cleavage-activating protein (SCAP), insulin-induced gene (INSIG) and progesterone receptor membrane component 1 (PGRMC1), within the endoplasmic reticulum appears to be an important regulator responsible for atypical antipsychotic drug (AAPD)-induced lipid disturbances. In the present study, effects of typical antipsychotic drug and AAPDs as well as treatment outcome of steroid antagonist mifepristone (MIF) on the PGRMC1/INSIG/SCAP/SREBP pathway were investigated in rat liver using real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) and western blot analysis. In addition, serum triacylglycerol, total cholesterol, free fatty acids and various hormones including progesterone, corticosterone and insulin were measured simultaneously. Following treatment with clozapine or risperidone, both lipogenesis and cholesterogenesis were enhanced via inhibition of PGRMC1/INSIG-2 and activation of SCAP/SREBP expressions. Such metabolic disturbances, however, were not demonstrated in rats treated with aripiprazole (ARI) or haloperidol (HAL). Moreover, the add-on treatment of MIF was effective in reversing the AAPD-induced lipid disturbances by upregulating the expression of PGRMC1/INSIG-2 and subsequent downregulation of SCAP/SREBP. Taken together, our findings suggest that disturbances in lipid metabolism can occur at an early stage of AAPD treatment before the presence of weight gain. Such metabolic defects can be modified by an add-on treatment of steroid antagonist MIF enhancing the PGRMC1 pathway. Thus, it is likely that PGRMC1/INSIG-2 signaling may be a therapeutic target for AAPD-induced weight gain.

ZnO nano/microstructures have been formed by thermal evaporation method using ZnO powders mixed with carbon group elements (C, Si, Ge, Sn, or Pb) as the reducing agent. For cases of mixed precursors of ZnO/C, ZnO/Si, and ZnO/Ge, the pure ZnO nano/microstructures are realized, while for ZnO/Sn (ZnO/Pb) systems, the phase of Pb₂O₃ (Zn₂SnO₄) generally are represented in the ZnO products. The appearance of Pb₂O₃ (Zn₂SnO₄) is attributed to the lower melting point and higher vapor pressure of Sn (Pb) in the heating and evaporation processes. The morphologies and sizes of the products are controlled by adjusting the growth regions and/or introducing gaseous argon. Room temperature (RT) photoluminescence spectra indicate that the intensity (peak position) of the ultraviolet emission is increased (redshift) due to the existence of Zn₂SnO₄ phase in the ZnO products. The Pb₂O₃ (Zn₂SnO₄) phase in ZnO nano/microstructures plays a important role in enhancing the saturation magnetizations of RT ferromagnetism with respect to the case of pure ZnO products fabricated by the precursor of mixed ZnO and graphite.

Uniform Prussian blue Fe3[Fe(CN)6]2 nanocrystals were synthesized by a direct dissociation and reduction of the single-Fe(III)-source precursor K3Fe(CN)6 under low-temperature hydrothermal conditions. UV-visible absorption spectrum, Fourier transform infrared spectrum, X-ray diffraction, field emission scanning electron microscope, X-ray photoelectron spectra, high-resolution transmission electron microscopy, and electrochemical testing were used to characterize and verify the synthesized Prussian blue nanocrystal product. The size of the synthesized product had a strong dependence on the acidity condition and the concentration of K3Fe(CN)6 solution. This result may facilitate not only the exploration of preparing Fe3[Fe(CN)6]2 nanocrystals for particular applications but also an in-depth explanation of the nature of the hydrothermal reaction. The Prussian blue nanocrystals were deposited onto an electrode support through lyotropic liquid crystalline templates to detect hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) by reduction reaction. Cyclic voltammograms showed that the Prussian blue modified electrode was of excellent electrocatalytic activity for H2O2. This electrode demonstrated a detection limit (1 × 10−7 M) and a linear range starting from the detection limit and extending over 6 orders of magnitude of H2O2 concentrations (1 × 10−7 to 1 × 10−1 M), which was of excellent performance in detecting H2O2.

A series of recurring jets occurred at the edge of an active region NOAA 11459 on 2012 April 20, and they were observed simultaneously at EUV and soft X-ray wavelengths. They also were sometimes associated with a hard X-ray source at the base region. The jets might have resulted from magnetic reconnection between the newly emerging flux and the preexisting magnetic field that corresponded to the footpoint region of large-scale coronal loops. We obtained two periods of 171 Å intensity variations at the jet footpoint region, which were about 5 and 13 min. At the jet base, the short and long periodic brightenings might have originated from magneto-acoustic waves and magnetic reconnection. It is plausible that the p-modes might possibly trigger magnetic reconnection, and that reconnection might release stored magnetic energy to produce the jets.