[Spatiotemporal evolution of habitat quality in three basins of Hainan Island based on InVEST model]. / 基于InVEST模型的海南岛三大流域生境质量时空演变.

Based on land use data of five periods during 1980 to 2020, using the InVEST model and the methods of land use transfer, habitat quality change rate and spatial statistical analysis, we explored the changes of habitat quality and its spatial distribution characteristics in the three major basins of Hainan Island (Nandu River, Changhua River and Wanquan River). The results showed that woodlands were the main land use type in the three basins of Hainan Island, accounting for more than 70% of the total area. From 1980 to 2020, the area of construction land increased the most, reaching up to 169.09 km2, mainly from cultivated land and woodland. The spatial distribution pattern of habitat quality in the study area was higher in the upstream and head water areas and lower in the mid and downstream regions. Overall, habitat quality index increased slightly for a short period and then decreased significantly during the study period. Among the three basins, habitat quality of Wanquan River Basin was the highest, followed by Changhua River Basin, and Nandu River Basin was the lowest. The habitat quality of Nandu River Basin fluctuated greatly and was strongly affected by human disturbance. From 1980 to 2020, the change rate of habitat quality in the three basins generally decreased by 0.5%, which was significantly degraded from 2010 to 2020. From 1980 to 2020, the spatial distribution of habitat quality in the study area displayed strong autocorrelation and significant aggregation. The hot spot area of habitat quality was mainly concentrated near the head water and upstream areas of the three basins, while the cold spot area was mainly distributed in the estuary area of the three basins, along with the mid and downstream areas of the Nandu River. These results would provide scientific reference for biodiversity conservation and ecological restoration efforts in the three basins of Hainan Island.

Gross ecosystem product accounting of national park: Taking Hainan Tropical Rainforest National Park as an example.

Hainan Tropical Rainforest National Park has the most representative and largest contiguous tropical rainforest in China, which has advantages in exploring the realization mechanism of ecological product value in national parks. Based on the basic framework of "The Technical Guideline on Gross Ecosystem Product (GEP)", we constructed a GEP accounting system in line with the characteristics of tropical rain forest national park, and calculated the GEP of Hainan Tropical Rainforest National Park in 2019. The results showed that the GEP of Hainan Tropical Rainforest National Park in 2019 was 204.513 billion yuan, and the GEP per unit area was 0.046 billion yuan·km-2. Among all the service types, the value of material services was 4.850 billion yuan, accounting for 2.4% of the total GEP in the national park. The ecosystem regulation service value was 168.891 billion yuan, accounting for 82.6%. The value of cultural services was 30.772 billion yuan, accounting for 15.0%. Among different ecosystem types, the unit area value of the tropical rain forest ecosystem represented by mountain rain forest, lowland rain forest, deciduous monsoon forest, and tropical cloud forest was much higher than that of plantation or other ecosystems, indicating the dominant role of tropical rain forest ecosystem in providing ecosystem services. In addition, based on the GEP accounting results of the national park, we put forward relevant suggestions for further exploring the realization path and realization mechanism of ecological product value.

Apolipoprotein A-I: A favorable prognostic marker in infective endocarditis.

BACKGROUND: Decreased apolipoprotein A-I (apoA-I) and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) are common in inflammation and sepsis. No study with a large sample size has been performed to investigate the prognostic value of apoA-I or HDL-C in infective endocarditis (IE). OBJECTIVE: The present study aimed to explore the prognostic value of apoA-I and HDL-C for adverse outcomes in IE patients. METHODS: Patients with a definite diagnosis of IE between January 2009 and July 2015 were enrolled and divided into 3 groups according to their apoA-I tertiles at admission. Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed to evaluate the relationship of apoA-I and HDL-C with clinical outcomes. RESULTS: Of the 593 included patients, 40 (6.7%) died in hospital. Patients with lower apoA-I experienced markedly higher rates of in-hospital mortality (10.7%, 7.0%, and 2.5% in tertiles 1-3, respectively; P = .006) and major adverse clinical events (32.5%, 24.1%, and 8.6% in tertiles 1-3, respectively; P < .001). ApoA-I (area under the curve, 0.671; P < .001) and HDL-C (area under the curve, 0.672; P < .001) had predictive values for in-hospital death. Multivariate logistic regression showed that apoA-I <0.90 g/L and HDL-C <0.78 mmol/L were independent risk predictors for in-hospital death. A multivariate Cox proportional hazard analysis revealed that apoA-I (increments of 1 g/L; hazard ratio, 0.36; 95% confidence interval, 0.15-0.87; P = .023) and HDL-C (increments of 1 mmol/L; hazard ratio, 0.38; 95% confidence interval, 0.18-0.83; P = .015) were independently associated with long-term mortality. CONCLUSIONS: ApoA-I and HDL-C were inversely associated with adverse IE prognosis.

Thrombospondin-1 Production Regulates the Inflammatory Cytokine Secretion in THP-1 Cells Through NF-κB Signaling Pathway.

Thrombospondin-1 (TSP-1) is upregulated in several inflammatory diseases. Recent data have shown that macrophages from TSP-1-deficient mice have a reduced inflammatory phenotype, suggesting that TSP-1 plays a part in macrophage activation. DNA microarray approach revealed that Porphyromonas gingivalis lipopolysaccharide (P. gingivalis LPS) may induce the enhanced TSP-1 expression in human monocytes, suggesting a role of TSP-1-mediated pathogenesis in periodontitis. Until recently, the function of TSP-1 has been a matter of debate. In this study, we explored the role of TSP-1 in inflammatory cytokine secretions and its putative mechanism in pathogenesis of periodontitis. We demonstrated that TSP-1 expression was significantly upregulated in gingival tissues with periodontitis and in P. gingivalis LPS-stimulated THP-1 cells. Deficiency of TSP-1 by transfecting siRNAs decreased IL-6, IL-1ß, and TNF-α secretions in THP-1 cells, whereas overexpression of TSP-1 resulted in an upregulation of IL-6, IL-1ß, and TNF-α productions. Additional experiments showed that Pyrrolidine dithiocarbamate (PDTC) inhibited IL-6, IL-1ß, and TNF-α expression induced by overexpression of TSP-1, accompanying with downregulation of phosphorylated p65 and IκBα protein levels in response to P. gingivalis LPS. These results indicated that TSP-1 played a significant role in P. gingivalis LPS-initiated inflammatory cytokines (IL-6, IL-1ß, and TNF-α) secretions of THP-1 cells, and the NF-κB signaling is involved in its induction of expression. Thus, TSP-1 effectively elevated P. gingivalis LPS-induced inflammation mediated by the NF-κB pathway and may be critical for pathology of periodontitis.

Patients with type 2 diabetes exhibit cognitive impairment with changes of metabolite concentration in the left hippocampus.

Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is associated with cognitive dysfunction. Previous studies have reported the relationship between cerebral metabolite changes and glucose levels. However, the specific aspects of cognition that are affected by metabolic changes in T2DM- related cognitive impairment remain undetermined. In this study, 188 T2DM patients and 266 controls were recruited. Proton magnetic resonance spectra with a single voxel stimulated echo acquisition mode (STEAM) were acquired from the left hippocampus and the frontal lobe. Presence of T2DM negatively affected the scores of Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), sub-tests (i.e., attention and language) of MMSE, Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) according to the Beijing version, and sub-tests (i.e., visuospatial/executive reasoning, attention, and language) of MoCA, rather than the Wechsler Memory Scale - Revised in China (WMS-RC), and all memory sub-tests contained with the MMSE and MoCA frameworks. T2DM positively affected creatine and myoinositol peak areas from the left hippocampus, rather than metabolites in the left frontal lobe. Negative correlations were shown between the left hippocampal myoinositol levels and language scores, and between the left hippocampal creatine levels and visuospatial/executive scores in T2DM. These findings suggest that T2DM may be an independent risk factor for cognitive impairment. Further, the cognitive domains of visuospatial /executive reasoning, attention and language may be predominantly impaired in the early phases of T2DM-related cognitive impairment. In addition, left hippocampal myoinositol and creatine concentrations were associated with cognitive impairment in patients with T2DM.

Relationships among serum C-reactive protein, receptor for advanced glycation products, metabolic dysfunction, and cognitive impairments.

BACKGROUND: We examined the clinical value of two serum markers of low-grade inflammation, C-reactive protein (CRP) and receptor of advanced glycation products (RAGE), as prognostic indices for cognitive decline. METHODS: Patients with cognitive impairment (n = 377) and controls (n = 66) were examined by blood biochemistry tests, including ELISAs of serum CRP and RAGE, the Mini-mental State Examination (MMSE) and Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA), and STEAM 1H-MRS of the left hippocampus and thalamus. RESULTS: Compared to the control group, the cognitive impairment group was older (63.10 ± 9.70 years vs. 55.09 ± 10.77 years, P = 0.000) and had fewer years of formal education (9.01 ± 4.01 vs. 12.94 ± 3.0, P = 0.000). There were no significant differences in the frequencies of type 2 diabetes, hypertension, or hyperlipidemia between groups. Serum CRP and RAGE were higher in the cognitive impairment group (CRP: 2.08 mg/L, range 1.07 - 3.36 mg/L vs. 0.21 mg/L, range 0.18 - 0.42 mg/L; RAGE: 4.01, range 2.49 - 5.71, vs. 2.28, range 1.84 - 3.03; P < 0.05 for both). In patients with cognitive impairment, there were negative correlations between cognitive function (as measured by MMSE and MoCA) and both CRP and RAGE levels (P < 0.05). Patients over 55 years exhibited a positive correlation between CRP and myo-inositol peak area in the left hippocampus (P < 0.05), while there was no relationship between RAGE and any metabolite (P > 0.05). Multiple linear regression revealed that CRP was influenced by hypertension (P = 0.026) and cognitive impairment (P = 0.042). CONCLUSIONS: Chronic low-grade inflammation is present in patients with cognitive impairment. Serum CRP, RAGE, and left hippocampal myo-inositol may provide prognostic information on cognitive decline.