滇西北高原湿地景观变化与人为、自然因子的相关性

人为活动的干扰与自然因子的变化共同作用于湿地生态系统,但两者对湿地生态系统作用的贡献率存在差异,目前尚缺乏进一步的研究。本研究基于面向对象分割和目视解译相结合的技术方法,研究了滇西北高原典型湿地纳帕海汇水区内28年来(1987—2015年)的湿地类型、分布及其空间格局的变化特征,并探讨其与当地人为活动的干扰(主要社会经济发展指标)、自然因子(主要气候因子)之间的相互关系。结果表明:(1)湿地总面积共计减少2456.46 hm~2,其中,原生沼泽、沼泽化草甸和草甸面积分别减少了1152.07,1257.72,202.74 hm~2,湖泊面积增加了156.07 hm~2;(2)湿地景观多样性发生显著变化,其中,斑块数量(NP)由1987年的221增加到2005年的299,随后减少到2015年的260;香农多样性指数(SHDI)由1987年的1.81增加到1999年的1.84,随后减少到2015年的1.75;聚集度指数(contagion index)由1987年的52.82减少到1999年的52.02,随后增加到2015年的53.49;(3)湿地分布面积和香农多样性指数与第一、二、三产业值,以及年均温度呈负相关,与降水量呈正相关;斑块数量、聚集度指数均与第一、二、三产业值,以及年均温度呈正相关,与降水量呈负相关;(4)社会经济发展主要指标对湿地面积和景观多样性指数变化的解释度为63.50%,气候因子对其的解释度为36.50%。整体上,人为活动的干扰是导致该区域湿地不断萎缩、景观多样性改变的关键驱动力。减缓人为活动对湿地生态系统的过度影响,是当地保护湿地资源、维护湿地生态功能的关键。     

鄂尔多斯市生态资产和生态系统生产总值评估

鄂尔多斯市属于生态环境脆弱区域,在大规模开发丰富能源资源的同时,生态环境保护也在不断加强,评估鄂尔多斯生态资产价值,是认识鄂尔多斯生态价值的关键。构建了生态资产、生态系统生产总值评估的理论框架和评估方法指标体系,基于鄂尔多斯市生态系统格局、质量数据,评估了鄂尔多斯市生态资产、生态系统生产总值。评估结果表明:(1)2015年,鄂尔多斯市生态系统质量等级以差、低、中为主,分别占比:50.74%、31.78%、6.17%,差、低、中等级的生态系统面积之和占比88.69%。(2)2015年,鄂尔多斯市生态资产指数为1998.19,其中生态资产指数最高的是鄂托克旗,生态资产指数为392.26,占比19.63%,其次是杭锦旗,生态资产指数为307.48,占比15.39%。2010—2015年,鄂尔多斯市生态资产指数总体呈上升趋势。其中,上升最为剧烈的区域是鄂托克前旗,生态资产指数上升92.72,占比19.38%,其次为乌审旗,生态资产指数上升91.04,占比19.03%。(3)2015年,鄂尔多斯市生态系统生产总值(GEP)为2481.71亿元,GEP约为2015年GDP总值的58.72%,鄂尔多斯市单位面积GEP为0.03亿元/km~2,人均GEP为12.14万元/人。2010—2015年,鄂尔多斯市生态系统生产总值从1975.50亿元增加至2481.71亿元,增加量占2010年GEP价值的比例为25.62%,上升趋势明显。(4)2010—2015年,鄂尔多斯市生态系统质量变化原因主要是GDP增长(P0.05),表明经济持续发展降低了当地人口对草地、森林的经济的依赖性。鄂尔多斯市生态资产指数上升的主要驱动因素气候因素降水的增加(P0.001)、人口密度的下降(P0.01),以及GDP的增加(P0.01)。鄂尔多斯间生态系统生产总值变化的主要驱动因素,包括城市扩张、农田开垦、退耕还林、草、湿、生态恢复、矿山开采、生态退化等。本研究根据鄂尔多斯市生态系统质量、生态资产、生态系统生产总值面临的问题,提出了生态保护建议与对策。     

Effects of glucanase treatment on the structure and mechanical properties of cell walls in the giant‐celled xanthophycean alga Vaucheria frigida

The cell wall of the tip‐growing cells of the giant‐cellular xanthophycean alga Vaucheria frigida is mainly composed of cellulose microfibrils (CMFs) arranged in random directions and the major matrix component into which the CMFs are embedded throughout the cell. The mechanical properties of a cell‐wall fragment isolated from the tip‐growing region, which was inflated by artificially applied pressure, were measured after enzymatic removal of the matrix component by using a protease; the results showed that the matrix component is involved in the maintenance of cell wall strength. Since glucose and uronic acid are present in the matrix component of Vaucheria cell walls, we measured the mechanical properties of the cell wall after treatment with endo‐1,3‐ß‐glucanase and observed the fine structures of its surfaces by atomic force microscopy. The major matrix component was partially removed from the cell wall by glucanase, and the enzyme treatment significantly weakened the cell wall strength without affecting the pH dependence of cell wall extensibility. The enzymatic removal of the major matrix component by using a protease released polysaccharide containing glucose and glucuronic acid. This suggests that the major matrix component of the algal cell walls contains both proteins (or polypeptides) and polysaccharides consisting of glucose and glucuronic acid as the main constituents.     

Simulation and evaluation of 3D traction force microscopy

Measuring cell-generated forces by Traction Force Microscopy (TFM) has become a standard tool in cell mechanobiology. Although widely used in two dimensional (2D) experiments, only a few methods exist to measure traction in three-dimensional (3D) cell culture, since 3D volumetric high-resolution microscopy and more demanding computational approaches are required. Although it is commonly known that the selected experimental and computational setup highly influence the quality and accuracy of the results, no existing methods can adequately assess the errors involved in this process. We present a fully integrated simulation and evaluation platform that allows one to simulate TFM images and quantify errors of an applied approach for traction stress reconstruction, in order to improve experiments that attempt to measure mechanical interaction in cellular systems. In this context, we show that a careful parameter selection can decrease the reconstructed traction error by up to 40%.     

Patellofemoral cartilage stresses are most sensitive to variations in vastus medialis muscle forces

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of variations in quadriceps muscle forces on patellofemoral stress. We created subject-specific finite element models for 21 individuals with chronic patellofemoral pain and 16 pain-free control subjects. We extracted three-dimensional geometries from high resolution magnetic resonance images and registered the geometries to magnetic resonance images from an upright weight bearing squat with the knees flexed at 60°. We estimated quadriceps muscle forces corresponding to 60° knee flexion during a stair climb task from motion analysis and electromyography-driven musculoskeletal modelling. We applied the quadriceps muscle forces to our finite element models and evaluated patellofemoral cartilage stress. We quantified cartilage stress using an energy-based effective stress, a scalar quantity representing the local stress intensity in the tissue. We used probabilistic methods to evaluate the effects of variations in quadriceps muscle forces from five trials of the stair climb task for each subject. Patellofemoral effective stress was most sensitive to variations in forces in the two branches of the vastus medialis muscle. Femur cartilage effective stress was most sensitive to variations in vastus medialis forces in 29/37 (78%) subjects, and patella cartilage effective stress was most sensitive to variations in vastus medialis forces in 21/37 (57%) subjects. Femur cartilage effective stress was more sensitive to variations in vastus medialis longus forces in subjects classified as maltrackers compared to normal tracking subjects (p?=?0.006). This study provides new evidence of the importance of the vastus medialis muscle in the treatment of patellofemoral pain.     

Polarization of Myosin II Refines Tissue Material Properties to Buffer Mechanical Stress

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Traction Force Measurements of Human Aortic Smooth Muscle Cells Reveal a Motor-Clutch Behavior

The contractile behavior of smooth muscle cells (SMCs) in the aorta is an important determinant of growth, remodeling, and homeostasis. However, quantitative values of SMC basal tone have never been characterized precisely on individual SMCs. Therefore, to address this lack, we developed an in vitro technique based on Traction Force Microscopy (TFM). Aortic SMCs from a human lineage at low passages (4-7) were cultured 2 days in conditions promoting the development of their contractile apparatus and seeded on hydrogels of varying elastic modulus (1, 4, 12 and 25 kPa) with embedded fluorescent microspheres. After complete adhesion, SMCs were artificially detached from the gel by trypsin treatment. The microbeads movement was tracked and the deformation fields were processed with a mechanical model, assuming linear elasticity, isotropic material, plane strain, to extract the traction forces formerly applied by individual SMCs on the gel. Two major interesting and original observations about SMC traction forces were deduced from the obtained results: 1. they are variable but driven by cell dynamics and show an exponential distribution, with 40% to 80% of traction forces in the range 0-10 μN. 2. They depend on the substrate stiffness: the fraction of adhesion forces below 10 μN tend to decrease when the substrate stiffness increases, whereas the fraction of higher adhesion forces increases. As these two aspects of cell adhesion (variability and stiffness dependence) and the distribution of their traction forces can be predicted by the probabilistic motor-clutch model, we conclude that this model could be applied to SMCs. Further studies will consider stimulated contractility and primary culture of cells extracted from aneurysmal human aortic tissue.     

Magnetic Field–Suppressed Lithium Dendrite Growth for Stable Lithium‐Metal Batteries

Lithium metal is the most attractive anode material due to its extremely high specific capacity, minimum potential, and low density. However, uncontrollable growth of lithium dendrite results in severe safety and cycling stability concerns, which hinders the application in next generation secondary batteries. In this paper, a new and facile method imposing a magnetic field to lithium metal anodes is proposed. That is, the lithium ions suffering Lorentz force due to the electromagnetic fields are put into spiral motion causing magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) effect. This MHD effect can effectively promote mass transfer and uniform distribution of lithium ions to suppress the dendrite growth as well as obtain uniform and compact lithium deposition. The results show that the lithium metal electrodes within the magnetic field exhibit excellent cycling and rate performance in a symmetrical battery. Additionally, full batteries using limited lithium metal as anodes and commercial LiFePO₄ as cathodes show improved performance within the magnetic field. In summary, a new and facile strategy of suppressing lithium dendrites using the MHD effect by imposing a magnetic field is proposed, which may be generalized to other advanced alkali metal batteries.