Chitosomes-In-Chitosan Hydrogel for Acute Skin Injuries: Prevention and Infection Control

Burns and other skin injuries are growing concerns as well as challenges in an era of antimicrobial resistance. Novel treatment options to improve the prevention and eradication of infectious skin biofilm-producing pathogens, while enhancing wound healing, are urgently needed for the timely treatment of infection-prone injuries. Treatment of acute skin injuries requires tailoring of formulation to assure both proper skin retention and the appropriate release of incorporated antimicrobials. The challenge remains to formulate antimicrobials with low water solubility, which often requires carriers as the primary vehicle, followed by a secondary skin-friendly vehicle. We focused on widely used chlorhexidine formulated in the chitosan-infused nanocarriers, chitosomes, incorporated into chitosan hydrogel for improved treatment of skin injuries. To prove our hypothesis, lipid nanocarriers and chitosan-comprising nanocarriers (≈250 nm) with membrane-active antimicrobial chlorhexidine were optimized and incorporated into chitosan hydrogel. The biological and antibacterial effects of both vesicles and a vesicles-in-hydrogel system were evaluated. The chitosomes-in-chitosan hydrogel formulation demonstrated promising physical properties and were proven safe. Additionally, the chitosan-based systems, both chitosomes and chitosan hydrogel, showed an improved antimicrobial effect against S. aureus and S. epidermidis compared to the formulations without chitosan. The novel formulation could serve as a foundation for infection prevention and bacterial eradication in acute wounds.     

Probing structural periodicity (annual ring size) in Scots pine by NMR profiling

The water distribution along a direction normal to the annual rings of a water-saturated sapwood sample from Scots pine (9 mm of length) was determined using NMR one-dimensional imaging. The NMR profiles were obtained at a low-field NMR instrument using pulsed field gradients in Hahn echo experiments. Using a gradient pulse of 60 G/cm, a spatial resolution of 12 μm along the axis was obtained. A subsequent Fourier analysis of the signal intensity along the specified direction enabled the size distribution of the annual rings together with the relative amount of water within the rings to be estimated. The technique is a non-damaging way to determine the annual ring profile in wood, and can be further developed as a mobile technique for annual ring profiling of whole trees.     

Recent ice-sheet growth in the interior of Greenland

A continuous data set of Greenland Ice Sheet altimeter height from European Remote Sensing satellites (ERS-1 and ERS-2), 1992 to 2003, has been analyzed. An increase of 6.4 +/- 0.2 centimeters per year (cm/year) is found in the vast interior areas above 1500 meters, in contrast to previous reports of high-elevation balance. Below 1500 meters, the elevation-change rate is -2.0 +/- 0.9 cm/year, in qualitative agreement with reported thinning in the ice-sheet margins. Averaged over the study area, the increase is 5.4 +/- 0.2 cm/year, or approximately 60 cm over 11 years, or approximately 54 cm when corrected for isostatic uplift. Winter elevation changes are shown to be linked to the North Atlantic Oscillation.     

鳀鱼及其他重要经济鱼类生物学特征的研究

The paper deals with growth of Japanese anchovy (Engraulis japonicus) and variations in length by area and maturity of anchovy and some selected fish species obtained during surveys with R/V “Bei Dou” in the Yellow Sea and East China Sea,in 1984-1999.Demersal trawl catch rates for some selected fish species from the same surveys are also included.No density-dependent growth in length or weight of anchovy was found.Reduced length at maturity of small yellow croaker was apparent from 1986 to 1994.     

Biological investigations of anchovy and some selected fish species caught during the R／V “Bei Dou”surveys 1984—1999

IntroductionProductivity of an ecosystem may be measured in terms of structure,abundance and growth of keyspecies.Stock structure,measured as age or size composition in a given stock may indicate whether the stockis in a state of growing,stable or declining.Individual growth may be measured in terms of annual growth ofindividual age groups and maturity of key species will similarly reflect the potential of the species to copewith the influence of a changing environment of predators and human i…     

Satellite Evidence for an Arctic Sea Ice Cover in Transformation

Recent research using microwave satellite remote sensing data has established that there has been a reduction of about 3 percent per decade in the areal extent of the Arctic sea ice cover since 1978, although it is unknown whether the nature of the perennial ice pack has changed. These data were used to quantify changes in the ice cover's composition, revealing a substantial reduction of about 14 percent in the area of multiyear ice in winter during the period from 1978 to 1998. There also appears to be a strong correlation between the area of multiyear ice and the spatially averaged thickness of the perennial ice pack, which suggests that the satellite-derived areal decreases represent substantial rather than only peripheral changes. If this apparent transformation continues, it may lead to a markedly different ice regime in the Arctic, altering heat and mass exchanges as well as ocean stratification.     

Coordinated Effects Monitoring and Modelling for Developing and Supporting International Air Pollution Control Agreements

For 20 years the Convention on Long-range Transboundary Air Pollution has worked to control air pollutant emissions in Europe and North America. Its Working Group on Effects (WGE) has been responsible for much of the underpinning science. The WGE's six International Cooperative Programmes (ICPs) on Waters, Natural Vegetation and Crops, Forests, Materials and Cultural Heritage, Integrated Monitoring, and Modelling and Mapping, together with a Joint Task Force on Human Health with WHO, quantify air pollution effects on the environment through monitoring, modelling and scientific review. Early work found evidence to support the need for decreases in emissions of sulphur and nitrogen pollutants. More recently, monitoring results and models have provided the scientific basis, e.g. critical loads and levels, for effects-based Protocols and for evaluating their effectiveness. ICP studies on trends show recovery from acidification effects in keeping with the fall in sulphur emissions. Steady-state models provide an indication of long-term improvements. Recent increased emphasis on developing dynamic models will enable better links between recovery rates and abatement strategies. The scientific network of the ICPs and the monitoring and modelling results have been key to the development of the Convention and are an essential component for its success in the future.     

The challenge of long-term climate change

Climate policy needs to address the multidecadal to centennial time scale of climate change. Although the realization of short-term targets is an important first step, to be effective climate policies need to be conceived as long-term programs that will achieve a gradual transition to an essentially emission-free economy on the time scale of a century. This requires a considerably broader spectrum of policy measures than the primarily market-based instruments invoked for shorter term mitigation policies. A successful climate policy must consist of a dual approach focusing on both short-term targets and long-term goals.