Scalable mapping of myelin and neuron density in the human brain with micrometer resolution

Optical coherence tomography (OCT) is an emerging 3D imaging technique that allows quantification of intrinsic optical properties such as scattering coefficient and back-scattering coefficient, and has proved useful in distinguishing delicate microstructures in the human brain. The origins of scattering in brain tissues are contributed by the myelin content, neuron size and density primarily; however, no quantitative relationships between them have been reported, which hampers the use of OCT in fundamental studies of architectonic areas in the human brain and the pathological evaluations of diseases. Here, we built a generalized linear model based on Mie scattering theory that quantitatively links tissue scattering to myelin content and neuron density in the human brain. We report a strong linear relationship between scattering coefficient and the myelin content that is retained across different regions of the brain. Neuronal cell body turns out to be a secondary contribution to the overall scattering. The optical property of OCT provides a label-free solution for quantifying volumetric myelin content and neuron cells in the human brain.

UV-enhanced NO2 gas sensors based on In2O3/ZnO composite material modified by polypeptides

This present study reported a high-performance gas sensor, based on In2O3/ZnO composite material modified by polypeptides, with a high sensibility to NO2, where the In2O3/ZnO composite was prepared by a one-step hydrothermal method. A series of results through material characterization technologies showed the addition of polypeptides can effectively change the morphology and size of In2O3/ZnO crystals, and effectively improve the sensing performance of the gas sensors. Due to the single shape and small size, In2O3/ZnO composite modified by polypeptides increased the active sites on the surface. At the same time, the gas sensing properties of four different ratios of polypeptide-modified In2O3/ZnO gas sensors were tested. It was found that the In2O3/ZnO-10 material showed the highest response, excellent selectivity, and good stability at room temperature under UV light. In addition, the response of the In2O3/ZnO-10 gas sensor showed a strong linear relationship with the NO2 gas concentration. When the NO2 gas concentration was 20 ppm, the response time was as quick as 19s, and the recovery time was 57s. Finally, based on the obtained experimental characterization results and energy band structure analysis, a possible gas sensing mechanism is proposed.

Detection of chlorophyll fluorescence as a rapid alert of eutrophic water

An in-situ detection of chlorophyll fluorescence was used in an innovative manner to detect eutrophic water, and the results were compared with the Carlson's Trophic State Index (CTSI) indicators. Eutrophication was due to climate warming and anthropogenic activities. The turbidity and chromaticity showed a strong linear relationship (R2 = 0.85) of the Bi Lake in Taipei city. Both the swimming area and the bridge are popular with the general public and had the worst turbidity (35.80–44.00 NTU) and chromaticity (495.37–552.27 Pt). The CTSI had a stronger linear relationship with the phycocyanin (PC) concentration (R2 = 0.605) than with any other three CTSI factors like chlorophyll-a concentration, total phosphorus (TP) concentration, and transparency. The TP pollution had a potential to cause an increase in PC concentration found in this study (R2 = 0.86). The absorbances of the water samples represented the environment is PC (cyanobacteria) dominant in winter. The PC concentration in Bi Lake ranged from 75.55 to 80.24 μg/L and higher with lower water temperature. Measurement of in-situ chlorophyll fluorescence is similar to lab-scaled spectrophotometer (R2>0.92). The real-time detection of PC concentration could be the basis of a rapid alert system to biological threats to waters.

Reliability and Validity of the SHFT Running Power Meter

The SHFT device is a novel running wearable consisting of two pods connected to your smartphone issuing several running metrics based on accelerometer and gyroscope technology. The purpose of this study was to investigate the reliability and validity of the power output (PO) metric produced by the SHFT device. To assess reliability, 12 men ran on an outdoor track at 10.5 km·h−1 and 12 km·h−1 on two consecutive days. To assess validity, oxygen uptake (VO2) and SHFT data from eight men and seven women were collected during incremental submaximal running tests on an indoor treadmill on one to four separate days (34 tests in total). SHFT reliability on the outdoor track was strong with coefficients of variance (CV) of 1.8% and 2.4% for 10.5 and 12 km·h−1, respectively. We observed a very strong linear relationship between PO and VO2 (r2 = 0.54) within subjects, and a very strong linear relationship within each subject within each treadmill test (r2 = 0.80). We conclude that SHFT provides a reliable running power estimate and that a very strong relationship between SHFT-Power and metabolic rate exists, which places SHFT as one of the leading commercially available running power meters.

Magnetically reusable and well-dispersed nanoparticles for oxygen detection in water

In this study, we aimed to synthesize magnetically well-dispersed nanosensors for detecting dissolved oxygen (DO) in water, and explore their biological applications. Firstly, we synthesized two kinds of magnetic nanoparticle with average sizes of approximately 82 nm by one-step emulsion polymerization: polystyrene magnetic nanoparticles (Fe3O4@Os1-PS) and polymethylmethacrylate magnetic nanoparticles (Fe3O4@Os1-PMMA). Both types of nanoparticle present good dispersibility and fluorescence stability. The nanoparticles could be used as oxygen sensors that exhibited a high DO-sensitivity response in the range 0-39.30 mg/L, with a strong linear relationship. The nanoparticles have good magnetic properties, and so they could be recycled by magnet for further use. Recovered Fe3O4@Os1-PS still presented high stability after continued use in oxygen sensing for one month. Furthermore, Fe3O4@Os1-PS was employed for detecting the bacterial oxygen consumption of Escherichia coli (E-coli) to monitor the metabolism of bacteria. The results show that Fe3O4@Os1-PS provide high biocompatibility and non-toxicity. Polystyrene magnetic nanoparticles therefore present significant potential for application in biological oxygen sensing.

Association between serum alanine and aspartate aminotransferase and blood pressure: a cross-sectional study of Chinese freshmen

Background High blood pressure is a well-recognized risk factor for cardiovascular events, and the incidence of hypertension is increasing among young people. This study investigated the relationship between ALT and AST levels and hypertension among freshmen in China. Methods This cross-sectional study was conducted in the Anhui Province from September to November 2018. A total of 3114 freshmen underwent a physical examination including testing of biochemical indicators and a standardized questionnaire. Results The overall prevalence of elevated ALT and AST were 6.8% and 2.3% among freshmen. The mean ALT and AST levels were higher in males (22.59 ± 21.98 vs.12.62 ± 10.30 U/L; 23.55 ± 12.24 vs. 20.02 ± 5.75 U/L, respectively). The prevalence of hypertension was significantly higher in men (16.1%) than in women (1.9%). The mean values of BMI, SBP, DBP, TC, TG, and LDL-C were found to be increased with elevated levels of serum ALT and AST in the quartiles (P for trend < 0.05). After adjusting for covariates, the risk of hypertension was significantly higher in the highest ALT quartile than in the lowest quartile (OR (95% CI) of 1.681 (1.028, 2.751) in males; 2.802 (1.102, 7.124) in females). A strong linear relationship was found between serum ALT levels and the odds of hypertension after adjustment for potential confounders only in total population and females (P for trend < 0.05). Conclusions These findings suggest that ALT level is significantly associated with hypertension both in male and female freshmen.

Impact of Vegetation Cover Structure on Birds' Community at Tianfu National Wetland Park in Jiangsu Kunshan, China

Background: Vegetation cover has an essential role in wetland habitats in controlling avian populations throughout the world. The vegetation cover structure in grassland systems varies dramatically among seasons on the same sites. Variation in vegetation cover-abundance richness and diversity has been studied through one hundred forty-seven quadrate samples during summer and autumn, 2019, winter, and spring 2020. Avian species richness and diversity were recorded during the same period. Results: The correlation analysis results confirmed that: (1) there was no apparent seasonal difference in the abundance of vegetation cover while avian abundance was statistically different. (2) Plant abundance in summer was positively correlated with the number of avian, while in autumn it was negatively correlated. Plant and avian abundance at the genus level showed a positive correlation while maintaining a negative correlation at the species level (p < 0.05). However, during summer and autumn, a strong linear relationship exists between vegetation coverage and avian. The Shannon diversity index and Simpson diversity index have a positive linear relationship between vegetation coverage and avian families and genera. Conclusions: We conclude that vegetation coverage richness significantly impact avian communities. We suggest further research into the relationship between other biological communities and farming practices in the wetlands.

Impact of Vegetation Cover Structure on Birds' Community at Tianfu National Wetland Park in Jiangsu Kunshan, China

Vegetation cover has an essential role in wetland habitats in controlling avian populations throughout the world. The vegetation cover structure in grassland systems varies dramatically among seasons on the same sites. Variation in vegetation cover-abundance richness and diversity has been studied through one hundred forty-seven quadrate samples during summer and autumn, 2019, winter, and spring 2020. Avian spe cies richness and diversity were recorded during the same period. Meanwhile, correlation analysis results confirmed that: (1) there was no apparent seasonal difference in the abundance of vegetation cover while avian abundance was statistically different. (2) Plant abundance in summer was positively correlated with the number of avian, while in autumn it was negatively correlated. Plant and avian abundance at the genus level showed a positive correlation while maintaining a negative correlation at the speci es level (p < 0.05). However, during summer and autumn, a strong linear relationship exists between vegetation coverage and avian. The Shannon diversity index and Simpson diversity index have a positive linear relationship between vegetation coverage and a vian families and genera. Therefore, we conclude that vegetation coverage and richness significantly impact avian communities. We suggest further research into the relationship between other biological communities and farming practices in the wetlands.

Retrieval of Solar-induced Chlorophyll Fluorescence from TanSat Measurements: Comparison of SIF between TanSat and OCO-2

Solar-induced chlorophyll fluorescence (SIF) is emitted during photosynthesis in plant leaves. It constitutes a small additional offset to reflected radiance and can be observed by sensitive instruments. The Chinese global carbon dioxide monitoring satellite (TanSat), as its mission, acquires greenhouse gas column density. The advanced technical characteristics of the hyper-spectrum grating spectrometer (ACGS) onboard TanSat enable SIF retrieval from space observations in the O2-A band. In this study, one-year SIF data was processed from Orbiting Carbon Observatory-2 (OCO-2) and TanSat using a physical-based algorithm. A comparison between the SIF retrieved from OCO-2 and its official product shows their strong linear relationship (R2 > 0.85) and suggests the reliability of the algorithm. The global distribution showed that the SIF retrieved from the two satellites shared the same spatial pattern for all seasons with the grided SIF difference less than 0.3 W m−2 μm−1 sr−1, and they also agreed with the official OCO-2 SIF product. The retrieval uncertainty of seasonal-grided TanSat SIF is less than 0.03 W m−2 μm−1 sr−1 whereas the uncertainty of each sounding ranges from 0.1 to 0.6 W m−2 μm−1 sr−1. The relationship between SIF and terrestrial gross primary productivity was also estimated for data quality testing. The spatiotemporal consistency between TanSat and OCO-2 and their comparable data quality make the comprehensive usage of the two mission products possible. Data supplemented by TanSat observations are expected to contribute to the development of global SIF maps with more spatiotemporal detail, which will advance global research on vegetation photosynthesis.

Impact of Vegetation Cover Structure on Birds' Community at Tianfu National Wetland Park in Jiangsu Kunshan, China

Vegetation cover has an essential role in wetland habitats in controlling avian populations throughout the world. The vegetation cover structure in grassland systems varies dramatically among seasons on the same sites. Variation in vegetation cover-abundance richness and diversity has been studied through one hundred forty-seven quadrate samples during summer and autumn, 2019, winter, and spring 2020. Avian species richness and diversity were recorded during the same period. Meanwhile, correlation analysis results confirmed that: (1) there was no apparent seasonal difference in the abundance of vegetation cover while avian abundance was statistically different. (2) Plant abundance in summer was positively correlated with the number of avian, while in autumn it was negatively correlated. Plant and avian abundance at the genus level showed a positive correlation while maintaining a negative correlation at the species level (p < 0.05). However, during summer and autumn, a strong linear relationship exists between vegetation coverage and avian. The Shannon diversity index and Simpson diversity index have a positive linear relationship between vegetation coverage and avian families and genera. Therefore, we conclude that vegetation coverage and richness significantly impact avian communities. We suggest further research into the relationship between other biological communities and farming practices in the wetlands