Analysis on Fengshui Theory and Urban Planning in Ancient China

Chinese traditional Fengshui theory was commonly used in ancient China in the site construction of ancient capitals, ancient cities, villages, towns, houses, and graves throughout the entire country, particularly in Southeast, Southwest, South, and Central China. Langzhong ancient city, in Sichuan Province, was the case study in this paper, which was the typical representative Fengshui city in the Southwest of China. Site selection, spatial layout, landscape, and image of this city were analyzed in depth. With the guidance of Fengshui the ancient city satisfies not only physical needs, but also environmental, psychological and aesthetic ones. This analysis concludes that, Fengshui is rich in science and aesthetic principles, as well as contains the concepts and methods of landscape ecology and urban planning. The findings provide important theories and references for the planning, construction, and environmental improvement of modern cities

Scientificity and Rationality of Chinese Traditional Classical Fengshui Theory

Chinese traditional Fengshui theory was the fundamental basis, norm, and guiding ideology for site selection, planning, design, and building of residences in the ancient times. Based on the main classical theories of Chinese ancient Fengshui theory and the classical Fengshui model which is suitable for the planning and design of space field, this paper discusses and analyzes the Chinese traditional Fengshui theory from the multidisciplinary perspectives of hydrology, climatology, geology, topography, landscape ecology, environmental psychology, with an aim to demonstrate its scientificity and rationality, thereby, promote correct understanding and reasonable application of it. The conclusion is that Fengshui is based on multi-disciplinary knowledge, especially contains a large number of geological geography knowledge, and reflects the distinct principles of environmental ecology and sustainability. It is a comprehensive and systemic theory of planning and designing environment and architecture from the perspective of the modern scientific theory. The paper also aims to corroborate that Chinese traditional classical Fengshui theory is not only a culture or latent science, but also a comprehensive and interdisciplinary geography and environmental science with rich humanistic connotation. Therefore, it can and should be used extensively in the land-use policy, urban planning, landscape restoration, environmental protection, etc, and should be spread from China to Asian countries with similar cultural heritage, and even to the rest of the world

Abnormal outer and inner retina in a mouse model of Huntington’s disease with age

Huntington’s disease (HD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder characterized by motor dysfunction and cognitive decline. While retinal abnormalities have been documented in some HD patients and animal models, the nature of these abnormalities—specifically whether they originate in the inner or outer retina—remains unclear, particularly regarding their progression with age. This study investigates the retinal structure and function in HD transgenic mice (R6/1) compared to C57BL/6 J control mice at 2, 4, and 6 months of age, encompassing both pre-symptomatic and symptomatic stages of HD. Pathological assessments of the striatum and evaluations of motor function confirmed significant HD-related alterations in R6/1 mice at 6 months. Visual function was subsequently analyzed, accompanied by immunofluorescent staining of retinal and optic nerve tissues over time. Our findings revealed that R6/1 mice exhibited pronounced HD symptoms at 6 months, characterized by neuronal loss in the striatum and impaired locomotor abilities. Functionally, visual acuity declined at 6 months, while retinal light responses began to deteriorate by 4 months. Structurally, R6/1 mice demonstrated a global reduction in cone opsin expression as early as 2 months, with a decrease in rhodopsin levels at 4 months, alongside a thinner retinal structure compared to controls. Notably, rod bipolar cell populations were decreased at 6 months, exhibiting shorter dendritic branches and reduced synaptic connections with photoreceptors in the outer retina. Additionally, ganglion cell numbers in the inner retina decreased at 6 months, accompanied by aberrant neural fibers in the optic nerve. Microglial activation was evident at 4 months, while astrocytic activation was observed at 6 months. Aggregates of mutant huntingtin (mHTT) were first detected in the ganglion cell layer and optic nerve at 2 months, subsequently disseminating throughout all retinal layers with advancing age. These results indicate that retinal pathology in R6/1 mice manifests earlier in the outer retina than in the inner retina, which does not align with the progression of mHTT aggregation. Consequently, the R6/1 mouse retina may serve as a more effective model for elucidating the mechanisms underlying HD and evaluating potential therapeutic strategies, rather than functioning as an early diagnostic tool for the disease

Application of bilateral fusion model based on CNN in hyperspectral image classification

Aiming at the issues of decreasing spatial resolution and feature loss caused by pooling operation in depth CNN-based hyperspectral image classification algorithm,a bilateral fusion block network （DFBN）composed of bilateral fusion blocks was designed.The upper structure of bilateral fusion block was constituted by 1×1 convolution and hyperlink,which was used to transfer local spatial characteristics.The lower structure was constituted by pooling layer,convolutional layer,deconvolution layer and upsampling to enhance the characteristics of efficient discrimination.Experimental results on three benchmark hyperspectral image data sets illustrate that the model is superior to other similar classification models

Transcriptomic analysis of two Chinese wheat landraces with contrasting Fusarium head blight resistance reveals miRNA-mediated defense mechanisms

IntroductionFusarium head blight (FHB), caused primarily by Fusarium graminearum (Fg), poses a significant threat to wheat production. It is necessary to deeply understand the molecular mechanisms underlying FHB resistance in wheat breeding.MethodsIn this study, the transcriptomic responses of two Chinese wheat landraces—Wuyangmai (WY, resistant) and Chinese Spring (CS, susceptible)—to F. graminearum infection were examined using RNA sequencing (RNA-seq). Differential expression of mRNAs, long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs), circular RNAs (circRNAs), and microRNAs (miRNAs) was analyzed at 3 and 5 days post-Fg inoculation (dpi).ResultsThe results showed that WY exhibited a targeted miRNA response, primarily modulating defense-related pathways such as glutathione metabolism and phenylpropanoid biosynthesis, which are crucial for oxidative stress regulation and pathogen defense response. In contrast, CS displayed a broader transcriptional response, largely linked to general metabolic processes rather than immune activation. Notably, the up-regulation of genes involved in oxidative stress and immune defense in WY confirmed its enhanced resistance to FHB. The integrated analysis of miRNA-mRNA interactions highlighted miRNAs as central regulators of defense mechanisms in WY, particularly at later stages of infection. These miRNAs targeted genes involved in immune responses, while lncRNAs and circRNAs played a more limited role in the regulation of defense responses. The GO and KEGG pathway enrichment analyses further revealed that WY enriched for plant-pathogen interaction and secondary metabolite biosynthesis pathways, which are crucial for pathogen resistance. In contrast, CS prioritized metabolic homeostasis, suggesting a less effective defense strategy.DiscussionOverall, this study underscores the critical role of miRNA-mediated regulation in FHB resistance in WY. These insights into miRNA-mediated regulatory mechanisms provide a molecular basis for breeding FHB-resistant wheat varieties and highlight miRNA-mRNA interactions as promising targets for enhancing disease resilience

A novel switchgear state assessment framework based on improved fuzzy C-means clustering method with deep belief network

Due to the problems such as fuzzy state assessment grading boundaries, the recognition accuracy is low when using traditional fuzzy techniques to grade the switchgear state. To address this problem, this paper proposes a switchgear state assessment and grading method based on deep belief network (DBN) and improved fuzzy C-means clustering (IFCM). Firstly, the switchgear state information data are processed by normalization method; then the feature parameters are extracted from the switchgear state information data by using DBN, and finally the extracted feature parameters are categorised according to the condition of switchgear equipment through clustering using IFCM. The experimental results show that the accuracy of the method in assessing the switchgear state under small sample conditions reaches 94, which exceeds the accuracy of other switchgear state assessment grading methods currently in use

Ginsenoside Rg1 Ameliorates Behavioral Abnormalities and Modulates the Hippocampal Proteomic Change in Triple Transgenic Mice of Alzheimer’s Disease

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is one of the most common neurodegenerative diseases, so far, there are no effective measures to prevent and cure this deadly condition. Ginsenoside Rg1 (Rg1) was shown to improve behavioral abnormalities in AD; however, the potential mechanisms remain unclear. In this study, we pretreated 7-month-old 3xTg-AD mice for 6 weeks with Rg1 and evaluated the effects of Rg1 on the behaviors and the protein expression of hippocampal tissues. The behavioral tests showed that Rg1 could improve the memory impairment and ameliorate the depression-like behaviors of 3xTg-AD mice. Proteomic results revealed a total of 28 differentially expressed hippocampal proteins between Rg1-treated and nontreated 3xTg-AD mice. Among these proteins, complexin-2 (CPLX2), synapsin-2 (SYN2), and synaptosomal-associated protein 25 (SNP25) were significantly downregulated in the hippocampus of 3xTg-AD mice compared with the WT mice, and the treatment of Rg1 modulated the expression of CPLX2 and SNP25 in the hippocampus of 3xTg-AD mice. The expression of CPLX2, SYN2, and SNP25 was further validated by Western blot analysis. Taken together, we concluded that Rg1 could be a potential candidate drug to improve the behavioral deficits in AD via modulating the expression of the proteins (i.e., CPLX2, SYN2, and SNP25)

Nucleotide diversity and molecular evolution of the WAG-2 gene in common wheat (Triticum aestivum L) and its relatives

In this work, we examined the genetic diversity and evolution of the WAG-2 gene based on new WAG-2 alleles isolated from wheat and its relatives. Only single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) and no insertions and deletions (indels) were found in exon sequences of WAG-2 from different species. More SNPs and indels occurred in introns than in exons. For exons, exons+introns and introns, the nucleotide polymorphism π decreased from diploid and tetraploid genotypes to hexaploid genotypes. This finding indicated that the diversity of WAG-2 in diploids was greater than in hexaploids because of the strong selection pressure on the latter. All dn/ds ratios were < 1.0, indicating that WAG-2 belongs to a conserved gene affected by negative selection. Thirty-nine of the 57 particular SNPs and eight of the 10 indels were detected in diploid species. The degree of divergence in intron length among WAG-2 clones and phylogenetic tree topology suggested the existence of three homoeologs in the A, B or D genome of common wheat. Wheat AG-like genes were divided into WAG-1 and WAG-2 clades. The latter clade contained WAG-2, OsMADS3 and ZMM2 genes, indicating functional homoeology among them

2020 Proceedings of the 3rd International Conference on Trauma Surgery Technology in Giessen

The main topic for 2020 was trauma surgery implants and their functionality. The included figure (source: Dr Bosco Yu’s introductory talk) shows some of the requirements for modern trauma implants. Resistance against wear and against the generation of debris particles, adapted fracture toughness and stiffness have to be considered to avoid implant failure. The three sessions this year specifically addressed these issues by 5 talks each. First, talks about device functionality were presented, followed by the second session on surgical aspects of implants, and the third which investigated optimised surface properties. As part of our ongoing collaboration, Dr. Yu is overseeing our joint investigations about the mechanical stiffness in human femur head samples and the influence of osteoporosis thereon. Results are being prepared for publication at the moment.The 3 rd event of the Giessen International Conference on Trauma Surgery Technology on October, the 17th 2020 was hosted on Zoom in accordance with the worldwide corona situation. Dr Mieczakowski, Dr Yu, and Wolfram drafted in 2018 from Jan’s apartment in Bremen the manuscript which was submitted to and approved for funding by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG). At that time, we had no idea what substantial changes the conferencing concept would require. This is why we would like to thank again Michele. She first planned this year’s event after the 2019 date and then in the spring of 2020 had to replan for the new situation