Habitat ecological integrity and environmental impact assessment of anthropic activities: A GIS-based fuzzy logic model for sites of high biodiversity conservation interest

In literature, an effective method enabling the classification, based on a single indicator, of habitats that need a priority protection intervention has not been identified yet. Moreover, the excessive number of landscape metrics, used to quantify integrity of habitats, can cause confusion, often providing redundant and inconsistent results.The aim of this work is to develop a method for evaluating the ecological vulnerability of the habitats in sites of high biodiversity conservation interest. In the first phase, we selected and analyzed, by using principal component analysis (PCA) and fuzzy logic, the landscape metrics, in order to obtain the map of the intrinsic ecological vulnerability index. In the second step, the result of this intrinsic vulnerability was connected, through another fuzzy model, to anthropogenic impacts, obtaining the integrated ecological vulnerability index. We developed specific spatial indicators (landscape metrics), which can examine the mutual position and morphology of the habitats present, along with indicators of human pressure, related to the type and intensity of use of the anthropic territory, with reference to the habitat itself as well as to the areas immediately adjacent. The developed fuzzy models are innovative, compared to the current ecological studies, and examine landscape metrics as well as the impact of human activities.The case study is the “Val Basento-Ferrandina Scalo” Site of Community Importance, Ferrandina-SCI (Basilicata Region, Southern Italy). The results allowed us to build a rank of the habitats based on their intrinsic and integrated ecological vulnerability. Moreover, the results show that, in the Ferrandina-SCI, the most important source of concern is not human activities, but rather the inherent risk of ecological fragility caused by geographical and landscape features of the different patches of habitats themselves.This model aims to be a tool for decision support in sustainable landscape management. It is easy to use and to apply on other regions, although it should always be accompanied by a sensitivity analysis to reduce the subjectivity.     

Design,synthesis and biological evaluation of HIV-1 protease inhibitors with morpholine derivatives as P2 ligands in combination with cyclopropyl as P1′ ligand

A series of novel HIV-1 protease inhibitors has been designed and synthesized, which contained morpholine derivatives as the P2 ligands and hydrophobic cyclopropyl as the P1′ ligand at the meantime in this study, with the aim of improving the interactions between the active sites of HIV-1 protease and the inhibitors. Twenty-eight compounds were synthesized and assessed, among which inhibitors m18 and m1 exhibited excellent inhibitory effect on the activity of HIV-1 protease with IC₅₀ value of 47 nM and 53 nM, respectively. The molecular modeling of m1 revealed possible hydrogen bondings or van der Waals between the inhibitor and the protease, worthy of in-depth study.     

基于景观地形的小流域单元减灾调控评价研究

近年来,中国诸多大中城市内涝灾害频发。武汉市作为城市内涝频发的典型城市,其建成区地表高度（20.0~24.0 m）大多低于外江常年所处的洪水位高度（23.9 m）,在区域性暴雨条件下,极易引发内涝灾害。武汉由于其内涝典型性,2013年被列为全国31个重点防洪城市之一,2015年被列入首批海绵城市试点城市之一。从城市内涝发生机理出发,以水文角度的小流域单元作为内涝风险区划的基本单元,利用小流域单元分析武汉市景观地形要素（地表高程、地表起伏度、地表粗糙度）与城市内涝积水密度的相关性及其影响程度,量算统计出小流域单元的内涝风险等级。基于此,提出武汉市小流域单元减灾地形调控评价。以武汉市作为城市内涝问题的研究案例,以期为武汉市内涝缓解提供新的思考路径,具有典型性和必要性。     

不同分级及转归脓毒症患者血清PCT、D-D、CRP及血小板相关参数检测的临床意义

目的:探讨不同分级及转归脓毒症患者的血清降钙素原(PCT)、D-二聚体(D-D)、C反应蛋白(CRP)及血小板相关参数检测的临床意义。方法:回顾性分析2015年3月至2018年8月期间中国人民解放军西部战区总医院收治的92例脓毒症患者的临床资料,分析不同分级及转归脓毒症患者的血清中PCT、D-D和CRP水平、急性病生理与慢性健康评价系统Ⅱ(APACHEⅡ)评分及血小板相关参数[血小板计数(PLT)、血小板平均容积(MPV)、血小板分布宽度(PDW)、大型血小板比率(P-LCR)],并分析脓毒症患者PCT、D-D、CRP水平以及血小板相关参数与APACHEⅡ评分的相关性。结果:全身炎症反应综合征组、轻度脓毒症组、严重脓毒症组、脓毒性休克组血清PCT、D-D和CRP水平、MPV、PDW、P-LCR、APACHEⅡ评分逐渐升高(P0.05),PLT逐渐降低(P0.05)。存活组患者血清PCT、D-D、CRP水平、MPV、PDW、P-LCR、APACHEⅡ评分均低于死亡组(P0.05),PLT高于死亡组(P0.05)。Pearson相关分析显示,脓毒症患者血清PCT、D-D、CRP、MPV、PDW、P-LCR与APACHE II评分呈正相关(P0.05),PLT与APACHE II评分呈负相关(P0.05)。结论:脓毒症患者血清PCT、D-D、CRP及血小板相关指标可能参与了脓毒症的发展,通过检测其血清PCT、D-D、CRP水平及血小板相关参数可评估脓毒症患者的病情和预后。     

Comparison of forest above‐ground biomass from dynamic global vegetation models with spatially explicit remotely sensed observation‐based estimates

Gaps in our current understanding and quantification of biomass carbon stocks, particularly in tropics, lead to large uncertainty in future projections of the terrestrial carbon balance. We use the recently published GlobBiomass data set of forest above‐ground biomass (AGB) density for the year 2010, obtained from multiple remote sensing and in situ observations at 100 m spatial resolution to evaluate AGB estimated by nine dynamic global vegetation models (DGVMs). The global total forest AGB of the nine DGVMs is 365 ± 66 Pg C, the spread corresponding to the standard deviation between models, compared to 275 Pg C with an uncertainty of ~13.5% from GlobBiomass. Model‐data discrepancy in total forest AGB can be attributed to their discrepancies in the AGB density and/or forest area. While DGVMs represent the global spatial gradients of AGB density reasonably well, they only have modest ability to reproduce the regional spatial gradients of AGB density at scales below 1000 km. The 95th percentile of AGB density (AGB₉₅) in tropics can be considered as the potential maximum of AGB density which can be reached for a given annual precipitation. GlobBiomass data show local deficits of AGB density compared to the AGB₉₅, particularly in transitional and/or wet regions in tropics. We hypothesize that local human disturbances cause more AGB density deficits from GlobBiomass than from DGVMs, which rarely represent human disturbances. We then analyse empirical relationships between AGB density deficits and forest cover changes, population density, burned areas and livestock density. Regression analysis indicated that more than 40% of the spatial variance of AGB density deficits in South America and Africa can be explained; in Southeast Asia, these factors explain only ~25%. This result suggests TRENDY v6 DGVMs tend to underestimate biomass loss from diverse and widespread anthropogenic disturbances, and as a result overestimate turnover time in AGB.     

Determination of inflection points of CyberKnife dose profiles within acceptability criteria of deviations in measurements

AimThe aim of this study was to determine the Inflection Points (IPs) of flattening filter free (FFF) CyberKnife dose profiles for cone-based streotactic radiotherapy. In addition, dosimetric field sizes were determined.BackgroundThe increased need for treatment in the early stages of cancer necessitated the treatment of smaller tumors. However, efforts in that direction required the modeling accuracy of the beam. Removal of the flattening filter (FF) from the path of x-ray beam has provided the solution to those efforts, but required a different normalization approach for the beam to ensure the delivery of the dose accurately. As a solution, researchers proposed a normalization factor based on IPs.Materials and methodsMeasurements using microDiamond (PTW 60019), Diode SRS (PTW 60018) and Monte Carlo (MC) calculations of dose profiles were completed at SAD 80 cm and 5 cm depth for 15–60 mm cones. Performance analysis of detectors with respect to MC calculation was carried out. Gamma evaluation method was used to determine achievable acceptability criteria for FFF CyberKnife beams.ResultsAcceptability within (3%–0.5 mm) was found to be anachievable criterion for all dose profile measurements of the cone beams used in this study. To determine the IP, the first and second derivatives of the dose profile were determined via the cubic spline interpolation technique.ConclusionDerivatives of the interpolated profiles showed that locations of IPs and 50% isodose points coincide.     

Detailed evaluation of Mobius3D dose calculation accuracy for volumetric-modulated arc therapy

PurposeTo perform a detailed evaluation of dose calculation accuracy and clinical feasibility of Mobius3D. Of particular importance, multileaf collimator (MLC) modeling accuracy in the Mobius3D dose calculation algorithm was investigated.MethodsMobius3D was fully commissioned by following the vendor-suggested procedures, including dosimetric leaf gap (DLG) optimization. The DLG optimization determined an optimal DLG correction factor which minimized the average difference between calculated and measured doses for 13 patient volumetric-modulated arc therapy (VMAT) plans. Two sets of step-and-shoot plans were created to examine MLC and off-axis open fields modeling accuracy of the Mobius3D dose calculation algorithm: MLC test set and off-axis open field test set. The test plans were delivered to MapCHECK for the MLC tests and an ionization chamber for the off-axis open field test, and these measured doses were compared to Mobius3D-calculated doses.ResultsThe mean difference between the calculated and measured doses across the 13 VMAT plans was 0.6% with an optimal DLG correction factor of 1.0. The mean percentage of pixels passing gamma from a 3%/1 mm gamma analysis for the MLC test set was 43.5% across the MLC tests. For the off-axis open field tests, the Mobius3D-calculated dose for 1.5 cm square field was −4.6% lower than the chamber-measured dose.ConclusionsIt was demonstrated that Mobius3D has dose calculation uncertainties for small fields and MLC tongue-and-groove design is not adequately taken into consideration in Mobius3D. Careful consideration of DLG correction factor, which affects the resulting dose distributions, is required when commissioning Mobius3D for patient-specific QA.     

基于组合评价法的湖南省农业可持续发展区域分异

从农业资源与环境、农业生产与经济、农业人口与社会3个评价维度构建了区域农业可持续发展指标体系, 运用主成分分析法、熵值法、模糊Borda法、因子分析法及聚类分析法和GIS技术, 通过组合评价方法定量研究湖南省农业可持续发展区域分异现状。结果表明: 湖南省农业可持续发展在区域上总体呈现出不平衡的发展状态, 农业可持续发展综合水平以长株潭城市群为核心, 由东至西递减; 农业人口与社会可持续发展水平南北低中部高, 东部强西部弱; 农业生产与经济可持续发展水平围绕湘北洞庭湖农业区和湘南农业综合区向外围递减; 农业资源与环境可持续发展水平表现为一横两纵优势带和南北两个落后圈。     

Improving the aqueous solubility of HCV‐E2 glycoprotein epitope mimics by cyclization using POLAR hinges

In this research we describe the improvement of the water‐solubility of cyclic epitope mimics based on the HCV E2 glycoprotein by incorporation of suitable polar hinges. The poor solubility of epitope mimics based on peptide sequences in the envelope (E2) protein hampered their synthesis and purification and made it very difficult to prepare the molecular constructs for evaluation of their bioactivity. Since changes in the amino acid composition are hardly possible in these epitope mimics in order to increase water‐solubility, a polar cyclization hinge may offer a remedy leading to a significant increase of polarity and therefore water solubility. These polar hinges were applied in the synthesis of better water‐soluble HCV‐E2 epitopes. An azide functionality in the polar hinges allowed attachment of a tetraethylene glycol linker by Cu‐catalyzed azide‐alkyne cyclo‐addition (CuAAC) for a convenient conjugation to ELISA plates in order to evaluate the bio‐activity of the epitope mimics. The immunoassays showed that the use of more polar cyclization hinges still supported anti‐HCV antibody recognition and did not negatively influence their binding. This significantly increased solubility induced by polar hinges should therefore allow for the molecular construction and ultimate evaluation of synthetic vaccine molecules.     

A Site‐Specific Integration Reporter System That Enables Rapid Evaluation of CRISPR/Cas9‐Mediated Genome Editing Strategies in CHO Cells

Targeted gene knockout and site‐specific integration (SSI) are powerful genome editing techniques to improve the development of industrially relevant Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cell lines. However, past efforts to perform SSI in CHO cells are characterized by low efficiencies. Moreover, numerous strategies proposed to boost SSI efficiency in mammalian cell types have yet to be evaluated head to head or in combination to appreciably boost efficiencies in CHO. To enable systematic and rapid optimization of genome editing methods, the SSIGNAL (s ite‐s pecific i ntegration and g en ome al teration) reporter system is developed. This tool can analyze CRISPR (clustered regularly interspaced palindromic repeats)/Cas9 (CRISPR‐associated protein 9)‐mediated disruption activity alone or in conjunction with SSI efficiency. The reporter system uses green and red dual‐fluorescence signals to indicate genotype states within four days following transfection, facilitating rapid data acquisition via standard flow cytometry instrumentation. In addition to describing the design and development of the system, two of its applications are demonstrated by first comparing transfection conditions to maximize CRISPR/Cas9 activity and subsequently assessing the efficiency of several promising SSI strategies. Due to its sensitivity and versatility, the SSIGNAL reporter system may serve as a tool to advance genome editing technology.