Forecasting stock volatility in the presence of extreme shocks: Short-term and long-term effects

This paper introduces a novel generalized autoregressive conditional heteroskedasticity–mixed data sampling–extreme shocks (GARCH-MIDAS-ES) model for stock volatility to examine whether the importance of extreme shocks changes in different time ranges. Based on different combinations of the short- and long-term effects caused by extreme events, we extend the standard GARCH-MIDAS model to characterize the different responses of the stock market for short- and long-term horizons, separately or in combination. The unique timespan of nearly 100 years of the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) daily returns allows us to understand the stock market volatility under extreme shocks from a historical perspective. The in-sample empirical results clearly show that the DJIA stock volatility is best fitted to the GARCH-MIDAS-SLES model by including the short- and long-term impacts of extreme shocks for all forecasting horizons. The out-of-sample results and robustness tests emphasize the significance of decomposing the effect of extreme shocks into short- and long-term effects to improve the accuracy of the DJIA volatility forecasts.     

Blockage of the NLRP3 inflammasome by MCC950 improves anti-tumor immune responses in head and neck squamous cell carcinoma

The NLRP3 inflammasome is a critical innate immune pathway responsible for producing active interleukin (IL)-1β, which is associated with tumor development and immunity. However, the mechanisms regulating the inflammatory microenvironment, tumorigenesis and tumor immunity are unclear. Herein, we show that the NLRP3 inflammasome was over-expressed in human HNSCC tissues and that the IL-1β concentration was increased in the peripheral blood of HNSCC patients. Additionally, elevated NLRP3 inflammasome levels were detected in tumor tissues of Tgfbr1/Pten 2cKO HNSCC mice, and elevated IL-1β levels were detected in the peripheral blood serum, spleen, draining lymph nodes and tumor tissues. Blocking NLRP3 inflammasome activation using MCC950 remarkably reduced IL-1β production in an HNSCC mouse model and reduced the numbers of myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs), regulatory T cells (Tregs) and tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs). Moreover, inhibiting NLRP3 inflammasome activation increased the numbers of CD4⁺ and CD8⁺ T cells in HNSCC mice. Notably, the numbers of exhausted PD-1⁺ and Tim3⁺ T cells were significantly reduced. A human HNSCC tissue microarray showed that NLRP3 inflammasome expression was correlated with the expression of CD8 and CD4, the Treg marker Foxp3, the MDSC markers CD11b and CD33, and the TAM markers CD68 and CD163, PD-1 and Tim3. Overall, our results demonstrate that the NLRP3 inflammasome/IL-1β pathway promotes tumorigenesis in HNSCC and inactivation of this pathway delays tumor growth, accompanied by decreased immunosuppressive cell accumulation and an increased number of effector T cells. Thus, inhibition of the tumor microenvironment through the NLRP3 inflammasome/IL-1β pathway may provide a novel approach for HNSCC therapy.     

Seven new species of the genus Pseudostegana (Diptera: Drosophilidae) from South-west China,with DNA barcoding information

Seven new species of the genus Pseudostegana are discovered from South China: P. latiapicula sp. nov., P. nannanae sp. nov., P. bingxueae sp. nov., P. husaensis sp. nov., P. linyongi sp. nov., P. montipagana sp. nov., and P. sigangli sp. nov.; the first two new species belong to the P. latiparma species group, and the rest belong to the P. zonaria species group. The DNA sequences of the mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI) gene with BOLD Process ID and GenBank accession numbers are provided for the seven new species and 10 known species from southern China: P. acutifoliolata Li, Gao and Chen, 2010; P. angustifasciata Chen and Wang, 2005, P. bifasciata Chen, Toda and Wang, 2005, P. bilobata Li, Gao and Chen, 2010; P. insularis Li, Gao and Chen, 2010; P. latifasciata Chen, Toda and Wang, 2005, P. minutipalpata; P. nitidifrons Chen and Wang, 2005, P. pallidemaculata Chen and Wang, 2005 and P. silvana. Intra- and interspecific pairwise Kimura’s two-parameter (K2P) distances among these species are summarised. www.zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:C01D7920-61AD-4651-8861-9D76C3CD86F6     

基于园林卓越人才培养的观赏植物组织培养课程实践改革

以园林专业卓越人才培养为目标,提出教学过程以应用与创新为导向,更新教学内容体系,探索引入项目式教学形式,调整考核方法.改革后的课程体系侧重学生实践动手能力与创新能力的培养,学生的学习主动性显著提高,在学生中反馈效果好,教学效果显著.     

Genome-wide association studies of 14 agronomic traits in rice landraces

Uncovering the genetic basis of agronomic traits in crop landraces that have adapted to various agro-climatic conditions is important to world food security. Here we have identified ～ 3.6 million SNPs by sequencing 517 rice landraces and constructed a high-density haplotype map of the rice genome using a novel data-imputation method. We performed genome-wide association studies (GWAS) for 14 agronomic traits in the population of Oryza sativa indica subspecies. The loci identified through GWAS explained ～ 36% of the phenotypic variance, on average. The peak signals at six loci were tied closely to previously identified genes. This study provides a fundamental resource for rice genetics research and breeding, and demonstrates that an approach integrating second-generation genome sequencing and GWAS can be used as a powerful complementary strategy to classical biparental cross-mapping for dissecting complex traits in rice.     

月地高速再入返回器热控设计及实现

针对月地高速再入返回器不同阶段大功率散热、小功率保温与高速返回过程中高温隔热之间的突出矛盾,以及狭小、局促空间内设备热量的收集、传输、排散与阻断等技术难题,首次构建一种基于柔性自适应"热开关"的小型再入返回类航天器热控体系,成功研制出一套基于异构式环路热管的一体化柔性、高效热管理系统.在轨飞行数据表明:核心热控产品环路热管控温运行模式下实际传热能力超过65 W,阻断模式下漏热量小于2 W,"热导比"大于30,能够很好地实现"热开关"功能,确保了返回器所有设备的温度水平优于指标要求.     

Genome-wide association study of flowering time and grain yield traits in a worldwide collection of rice germplasm

A high-density haplotype map recently enabled a genome-wide association study (GWAS) in a population of indica subspecies of Chinese rice landraces. Here we extend this methodology to a larger and more diverse sample of 950 worldwide rice varieties, including the Oryza sativa indica and Oryza sativa japonica subspecies, to perform an additional GWAS. We identified a total of 32 new loci associated with flowering time and with ten grain-related traits, indicating that the larger sample increased the power to detect trait-associated variants using GWAS. To characterize various alleles and complex genetic variation, we developed an analytical framework for haplotype-based de novo assembly of the low-coverage sequencing data in rice. We identified candidate genes for 18 associated loci through detailed annotation. This study shows that the integrated approach of sequence-based GWAS and functional genome annotation has the potential to match complex traits to their causal polymorphisms in rice.     

A genome-wide association study in Chinese men identifies three risk loci for non-obstructive azoospermia

Non-obstructive azoospermia (NOA) is one of the most severe forms of male infertility. Its pathophysiology is largely unknown, and few genetic influences have been defined. To identify common variants contributing to NOA in Han Chinese men, we performed a three-stage genome-wide association study of 2,927 individuals with NOA and 5,734 controls. The combined analyses identified significant (P < 5.0 × 10(-8)) associations between NOA risk and common variants near PRMT6 (rs12097821 at 1p13.3: odds ratio (OR) = 1.25, P = 5.7 × 10(-10)), PEX10 (rs2477686 at 1p36.32: OR = 1.39, P = 5.7 × 10(-12)) and SOX5 (rs10842262 at 12p12.1: OR = 1.23, P = 2.3 × 10(-9)). These findings implicate genetic variants at 1p13.3, 1p36.32 and 12p12.1 in the etiology of NOA in Han Chinese men.     

Plovers breeding in the highlands of Jalisco, Aguascalientes, Zacatecas, and San Luis Potosí, central Mexico

From April to July 2008, we surveyed for breeding plovers at 32 sites in the semiarid highlands of Jalisco, Aguascalientes, Zacatecas, and San Luis Potos&iacute;, in the Central Mexican High Plateau. We documented evidence or presumption of breeding Snowy Plovers ( Charadrius alexandrinus ) at 3 sites, Killdeer ( C. vociferus ) at 15 sites, and Mountain Plovers ( C. montanus ) at 1 site. Our surveys showed that the region is important breeding ground for only the Killdeer. We documented an apparent breeding range extension of the Mountain Plover to slightly more than 200 km south of its previously known breeding range.