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A number of cupressaceous fossil leaves are described in this paper that come from the lower Miocene of Inner Mongolia, northern China. These new examples of fossil leaves are compressed, have their branchlets arranged in a plane, either spreading or ascending, and are flat. These specimens also possess scale-like leaves that are dimorphic, preserved facial leaves that are rhomboidal and have obtuse apices, and lateral leaves that are boat-shaped and have slightly incurved apices. The epidermal cells of these fossils are quadrangular, rectangular, or narrowly rectangular, while the leaves are amphistomatic, and stomata are elliptical or oblong, and monocyclic. In comparison with both living and related fossil taxa, we identify the new fossils as Platycladus preorientalis sp. nov. Taken in combination with a molecular phylogenetic analysis, the new fossils suggest that the genus Platycladus originated in the Oligocene in mid and high Asian latitudes. Thus, the ancient Platycladus lineage probably migrated from Europe to Asia following the closure of the Turgai strait during the Oligocene. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, 3D technology has been widely used in various aspects of the entire workflow of conservation–restoration. However, in the majority of cases, researchers have mainly relied on 3D technologies to assist the conventional conservation–restoration process, and its advantages have not truly been exploited. In this paper, we applied a combination of digital acquisition, virtual anastylosis, virtual reconstruction, and 3D printing of a transparent reversible prosthesis with slots for the restoration of a gold foil decorated Black Ding bowl collected by the Chifeng Museum of the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. While completing the physical/aesthetic restoration of the artifact, the conservation–restoration principles of the integrity and authenticity of cultural heritage, minimal intervention and reversibility were followed to the utmost extent. At the same time, we also conducted preliminary performance tests on the 3D printing material of the prosthesis, and the results showed that the material has excellent mechanical properties and stain resistance, contributing to the long-term, stable preservation of the artifact. This work presents an innovative solution applicable to other pieces of cultural heritage and has high significance for promotion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As an important non-metallic mineral resource, zeolite is widely used in many fields. In this paper, natural zeolite from Chifeng, Inner Mongolia, was selected as the experimental material, and the calcination effect of the sample was studied in detail. The zeolite sample undergoes complex changes during the calcination process. The higher the calcination temperature, the smaller the specific surface area of the sample. When calcined at 150°C for 1 h, zeolite samples with granularity ranging from 0.050 to 0.075 mm show relatively good removal of Cu2+ and Pb2+from aqueous solution. After the zeolite is calcined, the solution with an initial concentration of 100 mg/l of heavy metal ions can reduce the concentration of Pb2+ and Cu2+ to 25 mg/l and 60 mg/l, respectively, with a removal rate of 75% and 40%. In addition, this article also focuses on its removal mechanism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Converting wind energy into ammonia (WtA) has been recognized as a promising pathway to produce “green” ammonia compared with traditional coal-based technologies. As the key part of WtA, Power-to-Ammonia (PtA) has great potential to facilitate the usage of wind generation. This paper proposes a co-planning approach for regional wind resources-based ammonia industry and the electric network (EN). To this end, PtA is first modeled as a flexible power load of power systems with spatial and temporal constraints on hydrogen supply chains (HSC). Then a novel co-planning model of WtA and EN is established to optimize the WtA configuration and the EN expansion. An alternating direction method of multipliers (ADMM) based algorithm is introduced to effectively solve this model. Real data of Inner Mongolia Province in China is adopted to verify the effectiveness and significance of the proposed approach. It is shown that the siting and operation flexibility of PtA with HSC can reduce the expansion burden of EN. The co-planning of WtA and EN can significantly enhance wind power utilization and reduce total investment costs. Furthermore, feasibility analysis on WtA in comparison with coal-to-ammonia (CtA) and ultra-high voltage transmission (UHV) provides helpful guidelines for the realization of WtA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to accurately identify targets such as insulators, shock hammers, bird nests, and spacers on high-voltage transmission lines, this paper proposes a multitarget detection model for transmission lines based on DANet and YOLOv4. First, the DANet and YOLOv4 are fused to solve the difficulty in understanding the scene and the discrimination of pixels caused by the complex and diverse scenes of UAV' (unmanned aerial vehicle) aerial images (lighting, viewing angle, scale, occlusion, and so on) so as to improve the significance of the detection target. Gaussian function and KL (Kullback–Leibler) divergence are used to improve the nonmaximum suppression in YOLOv4 so as to improve the recognition rate of occluded targets; the focal loss function and the balanced cross entropy function are used to improve the loss function of YOLOv4 in order to reduce the impact of not only the imbalance between the background and the detection target but also the imbalance among the samples, which is aimed at improving the accuracy of the detection. Then, a data set is made for the experiment by using the UAV inspection image provided by a power grid company in Eastern Inner Mongolia. Finally, the algorithm proposed in this paper is compared with other target detection algorithms. Experimental results show that the average detection accuracy of the proposed algorithm can reach 94.7%, and the detection time of each image is 0.05 seconds. The method has good accuracy, real-time, and robustness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As an important source, sink and pool of carbon, lake sediment plays an important role in carbon cycle. Inorganic carbon (IC) in lake sediment is abundant, however the role of inorganic carbon in lake systems in terrestrial carbon cycling remains less clear. In this paper, the spatial variations, source and transformation of IC in sediments of Lake Hulun were investigated and compared with typical lakes of Inner Mongolia Plateau by analyzing the influencing factors. The results showed that contents of total IC in surface sediment in Lake Hulun ranged from 17.2 to 66.7 mg g–1 with a mean of 42.6 mg g–1, and the pattern of spatial distribution showed obviously decreasing trend from southwest to northeast lake districts. The order size of IC fractions in surface sediment was in a sequence of EX (extracted by NaCl) < SAL (extracted by NaOH) < WAL (extracted by NH3·H2O) ⪡ SAC (extracted by HCl) < WAC (extracted by HO-NH2·HCl), the WAC and SAC fractions were the major fractions, accounted for 80% of total IC. In vertical distribution, the WAC and SAC fractions presented obviously opposite spatial distribution, indicted that these fractions could transform into each other in sediments. The ratio of IAP/Ksp in lake water ranged from 8.87 to 108.5, suggested that this lake had what it took to form the authigenic carbonate precipitation. A differential analysis study indicated that the mechanisms what made the difference of IC content in four lakes were multiple, the chemical properties and temperature of lake water, the defusion or dissolve of CO2, biomass and sediment environment were the key factors that might affect the contents of inorganic carbon in the lake sediment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Kubuqi Desert is the seventh-largest desert in China. Under the leadership of the central, autonomous region and local governments, the ecological situation has undergone historic changes. In this paper, we select Hangjin Banner and Dalate Banner, which have the most widely distributed deserts and use 347 households as the research perspective to construct the evaluation index system of the government's ecological environment governance effect. The entropy method is used to evaluate the governance effect, and the ordinary least squares and quantile regression are used to compare the evaluation differences of different publics. The research found the following. (1) The public believes that the government's ecological governance measures have achieved good results in the third-level index analysis. The ecological environment in the desert area has been significantly improved; that is, the survival rate of trees has increased, the area of vegetation coverage and vegetation types have increased, and the frequency of sandstorms has decreased. However, the intensity of sandstorms and the flow of water sources did not change significantly. The various types of public income have increased significantly compared to before the governance. The public takes the ecological priority as the concept and actively participates in the government's governance implementation, which means that the ecological awareness and behavior are higher. (2) Among the second-level index, the weights and scores in descending order are public economic characteristics: 45.53% and 0.4840, public ecological behavior: 25.62% and 0.1682, public ecological effect perception: 18.35% and 0.1240, and public ecological awareness: 10.51% and 0.0291. The comprehensive evaluation result is 0.8054, which is in the first grade, and the effect is excellent. (3) The public comprehensive evaluation results of the two regions are similar. Hangjin Banner is 0.8209 and Dalate Banner is 0.8557, both in the first grade. The effect is excellent. (4) In the OLS regression results, gender has a significant positive impact on evaluating the government's ecological environment governance effect. Age, ethnicity, and occupation have a significant negative impact. As the quintile increases, the influence of gender, age, and ethnicity first increases and then decreases. The maximum regression coefficient of gender at the 50% quantile is 0.714, which has a significant positive effect. Age has a significant negative impact at each quantile. The regression coefficient of ethnicity at the 50% quantile is the highest -0.357, which has a significant negative impact. Occupation only has a significant negative impact at the low quintile. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There are few studies on the management methods of large-scale goaf groups per the specific surrounding rock mass conditions of each goaf. This paper evaluates comprehensively the stability of the multistage large-scale goaf group in a Pb-Zn mine in Inner Mongolia, China, via the modified Mathews stability diagram technique. The volume of each goaf to be backfilled was quantitatively analyzed in the combination of theoretical analysis and three-dimensional laser scanning technology. The corresponding mechanical characteristics of the filling were determined by laboratory testing while formulating the treatment scheme of the large goaf group using the backfill method. The applicability of the treatment scheme using the backfill was verified by the combination of the numerical results of the distribution of the surrounding rock failure zone and the monitored data of the surface subsidence. The research results and treatment scheme using the backfill can provide a reference for similar conditions of mines worldwide. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As the essential content of intelligent animal husbandry, identifying each livestock is the only way to achieve modern and refined scientific husbandry. This paper proposes a sheep face recognition method based on European spatial metrics and realizes noncontact sheep identity recognition by training the network using sheep face image samples in the natural environment. The SheepBase data set was first proposed in this process, which contains 6559 images of Inner Mongolia fine-wool sheep and Sunite sheep. To enhance the diversity of the data, the sheep face images were data-enhanced. Secondly, to solve the problems of more redundant information in the sheep face image and the poor posture and angle of the sheep face, we propose the sheep face detection and correction (SheepFaceRepair) method. This method aims to detect the sheep face area in the image to be recognized and align the sheep face area. On this basis, we offer an open sheep facial recognition network (SheepFaceNet) based on the European spatial metric. This method incorporates the biological identity information features of the sheep face to achieve sheep identity. We also tested the effectiveness of this method in the SheepBase data set. The experimental results show that the method proposed in this paper is much higher than the other methods, and the precision of recognition reaches 89.12%. In addition, we found that integrating the biometrics of the sheep face can effectively improve the network's recognition capacity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: We proposed a target detection algorithm based on the channel attention mechanism SENet, the GeLU activation function and layer normalized ShallowSE. We refined and simplified the PANet part and the YOLO Head part in YOLOv4 to obtain the Custom_YOLO target detection module. We designed a 3D coordinate regression algorithm for three fully connected networks in order to predict the goats' coordinates. We combined the improved YOLOv4 target detection algorithm and coordinate regression algorithm to achieve goat localization. In order to achieve goat localization to help prevent goats from wandering, we proposed an efficient target localization method based on machine vision. Albas velvet goats from a farm in Ertok Banner, Ordos City, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, China, were the main objects of study. First, we proposed detecting the goats using a shallow convolutional neural network, ShallowSE, with the channel attention mechanism SENet, the GeLU activation function and layer normalization. Second, we designed three fully connected coordinate regression network models to predict the spatial coordinates of the goats. Finally, the target detection algorithm and the coordinate regression algorithm were combined to localize the flock. We experimentally confirmed the proposed method using our dataset. The proposed algorithm obtained a good detection accuracy and successful localization rate compared to other popular algorithms. The overall number of parameters in the target detection algorithm model was only 4.5 M. The average detection accuracy reached 95.89% and the detection time was only 8.5 ms. The average localization error of the group localization algorithm was only 0.94 m and the localization time was 0.21 s. In conclusion, the method achieved fast and accurate localization, which helped to rationalize the use of grassland resources and to promote the sustainable development of rangelands. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to expand the application of remote sensing prospecting technology in gold prospecting, this paper takes the Zhuanshanzi area in Inner Mongolia as an example, and selects Landsat 8 OLI remote sensing data. On the basis of image data preprocessing, the regional tectonic information is enhanced by the fusion of B7B5B3 band. The principal component analysis is used to extract the alteration anomaly information through threshold segmentation. Based on the geological characteristics and remote sensing interpretation information of the region and Zhuanshanzi Gold Deposit, the prospecting indicator of gold deposits in Zhuanshanzi area is established, and 3 prospect areas for prospecting prediction are delineated. The field verification shows that there is gold mineralization in the prospect area. It is believed that the linear and ring structure and remote sensing anomaly information extraction based on OLI remote sensing images can be used as auxiliary means for gold prospecting prediction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Inner Mongolia Pacific Mining Co., Ltd. uses a heap leaching process for gold extraction. The large area of ore heap leaching and high sodium cyanide consumption result in high production costs. To further reduce costs and increase efficiency, the company has optimized the process and implemented the effective area dripping method. This paper introduces in detail the application conditions of the effective area dripping method in heap leaching process and the control of various indexes. The successful application of the method effectively reduces the dosage of reagents, saving 55.14 million yuan in reagent costs with significant results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Journal of Irrigation & Drainage is the property of Journal of Irrigation & Drainage Editorial Office and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This paper analyzes the stratification of farm households in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region from 2015 to 2019 based on statistical data. The conclusion of this paper is that the number of large-scale farmers and land-owning non-farmers tends to increase, and the stratification of farm households is confirmed. On the other hand, the management of small-and medium-sized farmers is considered to be maintained by mechanization of crop production, and livestock breeding. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tamusu mudstone, located in Inner Mongolia, is being recognized to be the potential host formation in deep HLW disposal across China. This paper describes diverse laboratory experiments performed using the fractured Tamusu mudstone, with concern to the study of the combined mechanical and thermal effects on its hydraulic properties, as well as its self-sealing effect. A single rough fracture is generated down the sample diameter direction before the sample's installation. Considering a heating-cooling cycle, the evolution of the samples' hydraulic properties under different stress conditions has been monitored. The hydraulic conductivity is proved to be not only related to the temperature-induced water viscosity and density variation but also the change of stress state. At the same thermal conditions, the increase of confining pressure (or deviatoric stress) may weaken the flow capacity of the fractures and thus reduce the permeability. The non-coincidence for the curve of permeability versus temperature at the heating and cooling stage indicates that the permeability alterations in the fractures are irreversible. Fracture zone changes were observed by X-ray computer tomography (CT) before and after the tests. The self-sealing behavior, which may be beneficial from high confining pressure, was detected for fractured Tamusu mudstone. Morphologies of fracture surfaces were detected by the 3D scanning technique, which shows that the fracture surface roughness, due to the alteration of asperity contacts and void spaces under high stress, may take an important part of the responsibility to the change of permeability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

High-intensity coal mining in grasslands has negative impact on the surface ecology of the mining area and its surroundings. This impact shows spatio-temporal heterogeneity due to differences in mining intensity at various life stages. Based on remote sensing images and experimental test data, this paper took the Baorixile Surface Coal Mine (BSCM), which as the largest open-pit mine in eastern Inner Mongolia, as an example to analyze surface ecological quality and risk at the whole life cycle. In total, 13 indices from three aspects of site structure, spatial pattern, and ecological function were selected to assess surface ecological quality. The geoaccumulation index and potential ecological risk index were used to analyze the ecological risk of surface soil. Identification of impact range of mining activities and pollution sources of soil heavy metal was obtained by correlation analysis. At present, the BSCM is at a stable stage. Ecological quality showed a deteriorating trend during the reaching and stable stages. The soil organic matter content at the BSCM was lower than the Second National Soil Survey and exhibited a decreasing tendency. A low ecological risk was found in soil, and Cd was the main potential ecological risk element. The surface ecology of the boundary and its 2 km buffer zone was affected by mining activities in the BSCM. Mining activities may have an impact on the surface ecology of the 5 km buffer zone. This study provides a reference method for ecological quality assessment and impact scope determination of similar mining areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cone‐producing gymnosperms are important elements of the Mesozoic floras. Studying their cone organizations can potentially help us understand the evolutionary trends of seed plants through time and the origin of angiosperms. In this paper, we present a new and an undetermined species of Ixostrobus Raciborski, a fossil genus representing male cones of the Czekanowskiales from the Middle Jurassic Daohugou locality in Inner Mongolia, China. The holotype specimen of the new species was studied using the neutron tomography (NT) technique. The cone shows higher neutron attenuation than the surrounding matrix. To detect the different organic compounds, a volume rendering of tomographic reconstruction with false colour spectrum of relative neutron attenuation is presented. The highest concentration of organic material is in the axis and some parts of the sacs, the rest of the cone has lower concentration, and the surrounding matrix has the lowest concentration. It seems that the remnant organic materials are regularly differentiated in different parts of the cone probably because of the preservation and different taphonomic process of different type of cells. In addition to revealing more detailed morphological features of the cone by NT reconstruction, the application of NT is potentially important for detecting remnant organic materials preserved in fossil plants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hand, foot, and mouth disease (HFMD) is a global infectious disease severely threatening children's health. It has been recognized that climate factors play an important role in the transmission of HFMD. In this paper, the bootstrap test in the geographically weighted regression (GWR) literature is extended to geographically and temporally weighted regression (GTWR) models for identifying homogeneous explanatory variables and spatiotemporally heterogeneous ones. The resulting mixed GTWR model is then used to investigate spatiotemporal effect of climate factors on the HFMD incidence in Inner Mongolia, China, a provincial autonomous region with extensive area and different climatic conditions. The results demonstrate that the effect of relative humidity is global over space and time, while that of air temperature, air pressure and wind speed varies spatiotemporally. The extended bootstrap test provides a solid statistical basis for model selection. The findings from the study may provide not only a deep understanding of spatiotemporal variation characteristics of the climatic effect on the HFMD incidence, but also some useful evidences for taking measures of the disease prevention and control at the county level in different seasons. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Self-driving tour is one of the most important ways for people to travel, and network travel notes actually reflect the traveling information of self-driving tourists. In this paper, with the network travel notes of self-driving tourists as the research object, methods such as text analysis and visualization were adopted to study behavior patterns of self-driving tourists, tourism experience, time-space migration, and distribution of tourism resources in Inner Mongolia, from the multiple dimensions of mobile drivers, perceived dimensions, and spatial migration. The results showed that: ① self-driving tourists had a variety of motivations for traveling, in which love for nature dominated; ② self-driving tour destinations were mainly Hulunbuir, Ordos, and Alxa League; ③ spatial migration was characterized by obvious seasonal fluctuations. The research on the behavior of self-driving tourists in Inner Mongolia is an important part for the study of the connection between tourism resources and market connection in Inner Mongolia, and is of significance for guiding the theory, practice and policy formulation of self-driving tours in Inner Mongolia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Underground coal fires are considered an ecological disaster. While underground coal fires are prevalent in coal-producing areas throughout the world, they are most problematic in northern China. Previous studies have shown that underground coal fires stimulate the formation of cracks or gas outlets on the surface, as well as coal fire sponges (CFS) on the soil layer surface, which collect coal-fired pollutants. Herein, ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography (UHPLC) was used in conjunction with electrospray ionization (ESI) high-resolution mass spectrometry to analyze CFS samples collected from the No. 8 fire zone, located in Wuda coalfield, Inner Mongolia, China. The results show that CFS contain 233 oxy-substituted polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (O-PAHs), e.g., naphthaldehyde; 40 oxapolycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (OPAHs), e.g., dibenzofuran; 40 alkyl-substituted polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (R-PAHs); and 11 parent polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PPAHs). Thus, CFS are primarily composed of O-PAHs, which are 25 times and 5 times more prevalent than PPAHs and R-PAHs, respectively. As such, a high relative abundance of varied O-PAHs are discharged from underground coal fires, which is significantly different from what is released during industrial coal burning. Owing to their water solubility and condensability, the new facts disclosed in this paper may provide a new perspective for understanding complex organic pollutants from underground coal fires and their environmental impacts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many orogenic belts in the world exhibit accretionary and collisional orogenic phases to varying extents. How accretion evolves into collision of the Central Asian Orogenic Belt (CAOB), the largest Phanerozoic accretionary orogenic belt, is an intriguing question. In this paper, we present new U-Pb age, geochemical and isotopic data for Permian-Triassic granitoids from middle Inner Mongolia, Northern China in the southeastern CAOB, and delineate the magmatic transition from subduction to (soft) collision. The magmatic record of soft collision is identified and characterized by thickened lower crust-derived high Sr/Y granitoids with a sub-linear distribution along the Solonker suture zone. Granitoids from Early Permian to Late Permian became more enriched in whole-rock Nd and zircon Hf isotopic compositions (εNd(t) values from 2.4 to −19.5, εHf(t) values from 11.6 to −33.7), indicating increasing incorporation of old crust. The change in peak timing of magmatism from west (ca. 264 Ma) to east (ca. 251 Ma) along the Solonker suture zone implies "scissor-like" closure of the Paleo-Asian Ocean. Integrated with previous studies, a three-stage tectonic model from the Permian to Triassic by accretion leading to collision on the south-eastern margin of CAOB is proposed. (1) Early Permian (> ca. 285 Ma): Juvenile magmatism on an active continental margin with double-sided subduction of the Paleo-Asian Ocean; (2) Middle Permian to Middle Triassic (ca. 285–235 Ma): Magma source transition from juvenile to old crust induced by a tectonic switch from arc to "scissor-like" closure and subsequent intra-continental orogenic contraction; (3) Late Triassic (< ca. 235 Ma): A-type and alkaline magmatism in response to post-collisional extension. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• This paper analyzes whether the financial support for grassland ecological protection and restoration has improved the vegetation coverage of grassland. • There is a nonlinear relationship between financial support for ecological restoration and grassland vegetation coverage. • Different fiscal expenditure structure has a heterogeneous response. • The degree of fiscal decentralization has a significant positive regulatory effect on the ecological benefits. Grassland ecological restoration is an important cornerstone to maintain the sustainable development of grassland ecosystem. One of the goals of financial support for grassland ecological protection and restoration is whether the ecological benefits of grassland are fully realized, and grassland vegetation coverage is the main index to measure the ecological benefits. This paper aims to analyze whether the financial support for grassland ecological protection and restoration has improved the vegetation coverage of grassland. and then verify whether there is room for improvement in the fiscal effect of grassland ecological protection and restoration? Based on the panel data of 54 animal husbandry and semi-agricultural and semi-animal husbandry counties in Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region of China, this paper adopts a bidirectional fixed effect model and cross-fixed effect model to introduce natural factors affecting grassland vegetation coverage into the model and systematically examines the financial effects of ecological benefits of financial support for grassland ecological protection and restoration. The main findings are as follows: (1) there is a nonlinear relationship between financial support for grassland ecological protection and restoration and grassland vegetation coverage when natural factors are taken into account in the model. (2) different fiscal expenditure structure has a heterogeneous response to the impact of grassland ecological protection and restoration on ecological benefits. (3) the degree of fiscal decentralization and the relative performance of the government have a significant positive moderating effect on the ecological benefits of fiscal support for grassland ecological protection and restoration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The properties and service life of asphalt pavement are to a large extent dependent on pavement structure. Most pavement structural designs at home and abroad commonly follow the typical structural design method; however, considering that the geographical span from east to west in Inner Mongolia is large, a single pavement structure cannot be optimal for all environments, and low-temperature fracturing may easily occur during the road service life. Ten kinds of pavement structures are analyzed in this paper. The pavement structure mechanical indices are analyzed using different soil base modulus values, different axle loads, and different internal contact conditions. A low-temperature return period was introduced to establish a Gumbel extreme temperature model. The low-temperature protection index and calculation method based on the return period for asphalt pavement is proposed, which takes Arxan City as a benchmark for calculating low-temperature protection values in Eastern Inner Mongolia. The low-temperature fracturing formula is improved to calculate low-temperature indexes for different pavement structures. Using a life cycle cost model, the economy of different pavement structures is evaluated from the aspects of initial cost, maintenance cost, and pavement residual value. By establishing a combined weight-fuzzy pavement evaluation model and combining the mechanical response, low-temperature fractures during the return period, and economy of the life cycle, a comprehensive property ranking for different pavement structures was obtained. Finally, the typical structural combination for the asphalt pavement in the Eastern Inner Mongolia is recommended to be three layers of asphalt surface + semi-rigid base or three layers of asphalt surface + asphalt treated base (ATB) + semi-rigid base. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

(1) Background--In 2021, the forest chief system was fully implemented nationwide. Under this background, how to embed the forest-chief system into the forest resources management system in the state-owned forest areas and fully realize the comprehensive efficiency of forest supervision and protection policies has become an important issue in the forest areas at present. (2) Methods--Based on the field investigation of some typical forestry enterprises in the key state-owned forest areas, this paper systematically analyzed the forest resources management practice after the reform in the key state-owned forest areas at the present stage, summarized the new challenges faced by the forest resources management mechanism after the implementation of the forest chief system, and on this basis, put forward policy suggestions to help the forest chief system to be embedded in the forest resources management system in the key state-owned forest areas. (3) Results--First, the forest chief system was carried out in the key state-owned forest areas, and the state-owned forest industry enterprises were incorporated into the local forest chief system through the organization of personnel. Second, the managers in different state-owned forest industry enterprises served as forest chiefs in different forms. Among them, the enterprise managers of China Longjiang Forest Industry Group Co., Ltd., Yichun Forest Industry Group and Daxing' anling Forestry Group participated in the forest chief system by serving as deputy forest chief of their respective counties (cities or districts). The managers of Jilin Forest Industry Group Co., Ltd.and Changbai Mountain Forest Industry Group served as the general forest chief of their respective forestry bureaus in accordance with the county-level forest chief system. As one of the six major areas of responsibility under the forest chief system in Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, Inner Mongolia Forest Industry Group appointed deputy forest chief to manage forest resources. (4) Conclusions and Discussions--The implementation of forest chief system in the key state-owned forest areas faces a series of challenges. First, in the process of realizing the policy goal of forest chief system in the key state-owned forest areas, the forest resources management in the forest areas needs to be systematically integrated in the goal setting. Second, under the background of the overall implementation of forest chief system, the forest resources management in the key state-owned forest areas has a pattern of "dual-track and parallel". Third, the coordination mechanism of forest resources management under the forest chief system in the key state-owned forest areas is not perfect, including the government-enterprises coordination mechanism and the social participation mechanism. Based on the above analysis, the following policy suggestions are put forward. First, promote the integration of forest resources management objectives based on the reality of the key state-owned forest areas. Second, develop a list of forest chief powers to clarify the boundaries of responsibilities and powers of forest resources management under the forest chief system. Third, accelerate the establishment of the working mechanism of forest resources management under the forest chief system. In short, when promoting the forest resources management under the forest chief system in the key state-owned forest areas, the appeals of the central government, local governments, forest industry enterprises, forest residents and other parties must be comprehensively considered, the work objectives of the forest chief system must be clearly defined, the work content of the forest chief system must be enriched, and the objectives of integrating ecological benefits, social benefits and economic benefits must be formulated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Copyright of Geology & Resources is the property of Geology & Resources Editorial Office and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Chinese Journal of Inorganic Analytical Chemistry / Zhongguo Wuji Fenxi Huaxue is the property of Beijing Research Institute of Mining & Metallurgy Technology Group and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Journal of Remote Sensing is the property of Editorial Office of Journal of Remote Sensing & Science Publishing Co. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Socio-economic development is undergoing changes in China, such as the recently proposed carbon peak and carbon neutral targets, new infrastructure development strategy and the Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Meanwhile, the new-round marketization reform of the electricity industry has been ongoing in China since 2015. Therefore, it is urgent to evaluate the risk of electric power grid investment in China under new socio-economic development situation, which can help the investors manage risk and reduce risk loss. In this paper, a hybrid novel multi-criteria decision making (MCDM) method combining the latest group MCDM method, namely, Bayesian best–worst method (BBWM) and improved matter-element extension model (IMEEM) is proposed for risk evaluation of electric power grid investment in China under new socio-economic development situation. The BBWM is used for the weights' determination of electric power grid investment risk criteria, and the IMEEM is employed to rank risk grade of electric power grid investment. The risk evaluation index system of electric power grid investment is built, including economic, social, environmental, technical and marketable risks. The risk of electric power grid investment under new socio-economic development situation in Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region of China is empirically evaluated by using the proposed MCDM method, and the results indicate that it belongs to "Medium" grade, but closer to "High" grade. The main contributions of this paper include: (1) it proposes a hybrid novel MCDM method combining the BBWM and IMEEM for risk evaluation of electric power grid investment; and (2) it provides a new view for risk evaluation of electric power grid investment including economic, social, environmental, technical and marketable risks. The proposed hybrid novel MCDM method for the risk evaluation of electric power grid investment is effective and practical. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Transactions of the Chinese Society of Agricultural Engineering is the property of Chinese Society of Agricultural Engineering and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Underground mining in coal mining areas will induce large-scale, large-gradient surface deformation, threatening the safety of people's lives and property in nearby areas. Due to mining-related subsidence is characterized by fast displacement and high nonlinearity, monitoring this process by using traditional and single interferometric synthetic aperture radar (InSAR) technology is very challenging, and it cannot accurately and quantitatively calculate the deformation of the mining area. In this paper, we proposed a new method that combines both multitemporal consecutive D-InSAR and offset tracking technology to construct a complete deformation field of the coal mining area. Taking into account the accuracy of multitemporal consecutive D-InSAR in calculating small deformation areas and the ability of offset tracking to measure large deformation areas, we utilized their respective advantages to extract the surface influence range and applied an adaptive spatial filtering method to integrate their respective results for inversion of the deformation field. 12 ascending high-resolution TerraSAR-X images (2 m) from September 3, 2018, to October 26, 2019, and 39 descending Sentinel-1 TOPS SAR images from August 5, 2018, to November 4, 2019, in the Ordos Coalfield located at Inner Mongolia, China, were utilized to obtain the whole subsidence field of the working faces F6211 and F6207 during the 454-day mining period. The GPS monitoring station located in the direction of the mining surface is used to verify the accuracy of the above method; at the same time, to a certain extent, the difference between the unmanned aerial vehicle's DSM data acquired after coal mining and the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (STRM) DEM can qualitatively verify the accuracy of the results. Our results show that the results of TerraSAR are basically consistent with the deformation trend of GPS data, and that of Sentinel-1 have large errors compared with GPS. The maximum central subsidence reaches ~12 m in the working face F6211 and ~4 m in the working face F6207. In the working face F6207, the good agreement between GPS and TerraSAR results indicated that the method above using high-resolution SAR data could be reliable for monitoring the large deformation area in the mining field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the current situation of frequent forest fires, the study of forest burned area mapping is important. However, there is still room for improvement in the accuracy of existing forest burning area mapping methods. Therefore, in this paper, an unsupervised method based on fire index enhancement and GRNN (General Regression Neural Network) is proposed for automated forest burned area mapping from single-date post-fire remote sensing imagery. The proposed method first uses adaptive spatial context information to enhance the generated fire index to improve its ability to indicate the burned areas. Then the uncertainty analysis is performed on the enhanced fire index to extract reliable burned samples and non-burned samples for subsequent classifier training. Finally, the improved GRNN model considering the spatial correlation of pixels is used as a classifier to binarize the enhanced fire index to generate the final burned area map. Based on two commonly used fire indexes, NBR (Normalized Burn Ratio) and BAI (Burned Area Index), this paper conducts burned area mapping experiments on a post-fire image of a forest area in Inner Mongolia, China to test the effectiveness of the proposed method, and two commonly used threshold methods (Otsu and Kmeans clustering) are also used to conduct burned area mapping based on threshold segmentation of fire index for comparison experiments. The experimental results prove the effectiveness and superiority of the proposed method. The proposed method is unsupervised and automated, so it has high application value and potential under the current situation of frequent forest fires. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, the grey-based models with fractional accumulation have received extensive attention by scholars and have been widely used in various fields. However, the existing rough construction of the background value in the fractional grey model impairs its predictive performance to some extent. To address this problem, this paper reconstructs a dynamic background value for the fractional grey model by the composite integral median theorem, as a result, a novel fractional grey model-based variable background value (denoted as OFAGM(1,1) for short) is proposed. In particular, the Particle Swarm Optimization algorithm (PSO) is then employed to determine the optimum for the fractional order and the background value coefficients. Based on electricity consumption of two regions of China (i.e. Beijing, Inner Mongolia), the superiority of the proposed model has been verified in comparison with other benchmark models, the electricity consumption of Beijing is predicted to reach 1 3 8 5. 3 5 × 1 0 8 Kwh in 2022 and that of Inner Mongolia will reach 5 0 6 3. 3 9 × 1 0 8 Kwh in 2023. This study also takes the relative growth rate and the doubling time into account for these two regions that facilities comparison of the regions' performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Great efforts have been made to curb soil erosion and restore the natural environment to Inner Mongolia in China. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the impact of returning farmland to the forest on soil erosion on a regional scale. Considering that rainfall erosivity also has an important impact on soil erosion, the effect of land use and land cover change (LUCC) on soil erosion was evaluated through scenario construction. Firstly, the universal soil loss equation (USLE) model was used to evaluate the actual soil erosion (2001 and 2010). Secondly, two scenarios (scenario 1 and scenario 2) were constructed by assuming that the land cover and rainfall-runoff erosivity are fixed, respectively, and soil erosion under different scenarios was estimated. Finally, the effect of LUCC on soil erosion was evaluated by comparing the soil erosion under actual situations with the hypothetical scenarios. The results show that both land use/cover change and rainfall-runoff erosivity change have significant effects on soil erosion. The land use and land cover change initiated by the ecological restoration projects have obviously reduced the soil erosion in this area. The results also reveal that the method proposed in this paper is helpful to clarify the influencing factors of soil erosion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Most skarns are found near the pluton or in lithologies containing at least some limestone. However, recent research has shown that neither a pluton nor limestone is necessarily required to form a skarn deposit. The newly discovered Bagenheigeqier Pb–Zn skarn deposit is located in NE China. The skarn and Pb–Zn orebodies occur in volcanic lithologies of the Baiyin'gaolao Formation and are controlled by NE–SW-trending faults. The nearest pluton is a granite porphyry, at a distance of 20–250 m from the orebodies. Five paragenetic stages at Bagenheigeqier are recognized: (I) skarn; (II) oxide; (III) early sulphide; (IV) late sulphide; and (V) late quartz–calcite. The fluid inclusions from stages II to V homogenized at temperatures of 402–452, 360–408, 274–319 and 167–212°C, respectively. The hydrogen and oxygen isotope compositions (δ18OH2O, –12.4‰ to +9.3‰; δDH2O, –156.5‰ to –99.1‰) indicate that the ore-fluids were primarily of magmatic origin, with the proportion of meteoric water increasing during the progression of ore formation. Sulphur isotope values (δ34SVCDT, 1.4–5.5‰), lead isotope values (206Pb/204Pb, 18.184–18.717; 207Pb/204Pb, 15.520–15.875; 208Pb/204Pb, 37.991–38.379) and the initial 187Os/188Os ratios of the pyrite (0.307 ± 0.06) suggest that the ore metals were derived from the granite porphyry and Baiyin'gaolao Formation. Re–Os dating of pyrite intergrown with galena and sphalerite yielded a well-constrained isochron age of 151.2 ± 4.7 Ma, which is coeval with the laser ablation – inductively coupled plasma – mass spectrometry zircon U–Pb age of 154 ± 1 Ma for the granite porphyry. The deposit was therefore formed during Late Jurassic time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper is a study of the case file of the Daur politician Fumingtai, which is deposited in the Central Archives of the Federal Security Service (FSB) in Moscow. The author examines the structure and specific features of the case file, Fumingtai's biography, and information about peoples and events taking place in the period from 1917 to 1937, paying special attention to the years Fumingtai spent in the USSR. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nonionic surfactants have been applied to improve the lignite floatability in the flotation process. In this paper, Inner Mongolia lignite was pretreated by three type surfactants, including sorbitan monolaurate, sorbitan monostearate, and sorbitan monooleate, respectively. It was investigated that the effect of the length and saturability of hydrocarbon chain on the collectivity and selectivity of surfactant. The flotation results indicated that the optimum efficiencies were found at the dosages of about 35 kg/t for the three surfactants. However, the recovery of combustible material of lignite pretreated by sorbitan monolaurate is comparatively low, which may relate to the weak collectivity of this shorter hydrocarbon chain surfactant. On the other hand, XPS results showed that the C1s can be fitted to C-C, C-H, C-O, and COO- with the contents of 10.99%, 9.19% and 2.11% on the raw lignite surface, respectively. After the pretreatment, the contents of hydrophobic C-C, C-H were increased to 13.53%, 16.07% and 17.18% for the three surfactants. Obviously, the hydrophobic functional groups were much higher after pretreated by sorbitan monooleate, which was corresponded with the better flotation results. Therefore, the longer and unsaturated hydrocarbon chain in sorbitan monooleate molecule is beneficial for the collectivity and selectivity for lignite. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Shamanistic healing practices, including divination, have coexisted with other religious and medical practices in modern Inner Mongolia and China for many years. However, scholarly research has yet to investigate the effectiveness of shamanic healing and its physical and psychological benefits. This paper discusses the practice of shamanic activities, including healing rituals, on the boundaries between the spiritual communities and the masses in Eastern Inner Mongolia, and how the contrasts between the perspectives of healers or practitioners and the lay people's more fluid understanding of the practices impact health, illness, and ethnic/cultural identity. Why is it that shamanistic healing is not included in any of the official healing systems, despite its importance as a health resource and as a factor in identity formation in Inner Mongolia. This study will show that shamanistic healing is not included in the official healing systems due to several historical forces and geopolitical events, such as the invasion of exotic cultures and China's ban on religious activities during and after the 1940s, when land reform, socialist transformation policies, and the Cultural Revolution took hold in Inner Mongolia. In addition, the official recognition of Mongolian medicine as a national medicine in the 1960s left no room for other local healing practices, including shamanistic healing. I argue that the revitalization of shamanism during the decades since China has reformed and opened up is due, in part, to the suffering of both individuals and communities from cultural tensions, ecocosmological crises, and lost traditions and the effectiveness of these practices in healing these wounds. Healing practices or rituals have continued to exist in this modernizing socialist state because of their effectiveness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Impacted by groundwater, faults, lithology, and other factors, the slope of the Shengli no. 1 open-pit coalmine has been in a state of instability. Among these factors, groundwater in the quaternary aquifer is considered primary. Thus, an optimum design for dewatering well pumping rates is presented in this paper. A two-dimensional groundwater simulation model is built to characterize the groundwater flow of the study area. A steady-state model was applied to the observed data (head and discharge) to verify and calibrate the groundwater model. The pilot point method, with a regularization option provided by parameter estimation, was used to identify the hydraulic conductivity field. Afterward, a groundwater optimization model is integrated with the calibrated simulation model to realize groundwater dewatering optimization in the studied open-pit coalmine, and an optimization method called modified Pareto dominance-based real-coded genetic algorithm is adopted. Taking into account the safety of the mine, slope and dewatering wells, seepage discharge is added to objective function and the maximum aquifer saturated thickness is set as the constraint condition in the optimization model. The results indicate that the dewatering optimization procedure developed in this paper can serve as a useful template and framework for solving mining related water problems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The "double-carbon" policy is a new opportunity for the transformation of China's production sector. With steady economic growth, each province has proposed specific policies aimed at cleaner production. However, the interactions between regions and the complex linkages between industries have hindered the implementation of the "double-carbon" policy. In order to address this issue, we introduced a complex network framework with multiple industries at a national level. The framework aimed to clarify whether there is fluctuation diffusion in China's multi-province multi-industry carbon emission system, to identify key industries and regions, and to answer the question of "who" is the most effective in governance. The results showed that the fluctuations of industrial carbon emissions had a cross-regional diffusion effect in China indeed. The diffusion capacity of industry fluctuation depends on whether the industry is located at a "hub" position in the network. Hub industries with strong capacity can spread the carbon emission fluctuation of themselves and upstream or downstream industries to the whole country through regional interactions. This characteristic of the hub industry should be taken into account in governance to maximize the effectiveness of emission reduction. Shandong and Inner Mongolia, as important provinces for the production of intermediate products and energy chemicals in China, had a greater role to play in global carbon supply push from their hub industries than in the demand pull. The pulling capacity of Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region to the national carbon demand side was greater than that of Yangtze River Delta and Pearl River Delta. These findings might have implications for environmental and economic policymaking, particularly with regard to cross-provincial coordinated systemic solutions and policy anchors for synergy with industries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Geology & Resources is the property of Geology & Resources Editorial Office and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

When the Yellow River flows through the Hetao Plain in Inner Mongolia, north China, it forms a mountain-river-desert system with the Yin Mountains on one side and the Hobq desert on the other side. In this mountain-river-desert system, a dense growth of green grass is formed in the area fronting the river and with the mountains at the back, however, on the opposite the river, the area has an inherent trend to lost moisture, which might cause desertification. This study verifies this theoretical conjecture by analyzing the Yellow River-bed change from 2014 to 2021. The seven year change showed the river is the inherent boundary between the grassland and the dessert, and it was nothing to do with the river banks' past earth surfaces. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sensitivity analysis of model parameters and inputs is an important research method to improve model accuracy and calibration efficiency. The purpose of this paper is to explore the sensitivity of model parameters and model inputs in arid areas, and then to study the linear or nonlinear relationship of model sensitivity taking Erjiama small watershed in Jungar banner, Ordos, Inner Mongolia, China as the research object. Based on the calibration of CASC2D-SED model, four model parameters, including hydraulic conductivity, Manning coefficient, Suction head and vegetation interception, and one model input-river network were perturbed at a variation rate of 25%. The hydrological process is simulated by using the combination of 20 model parameters and model inputs after perturbation, and then the sensitivity analysis of model parameters and inputs is studied. The results show that: 1) The sensitivity of Manning coefficient to peak discharge and peak arrival time is non-linear, while the sensitivity of hydraulic conductivity, Suction head and vegetation interception to peak discharge, peak arrival time, simulated total discharge and infiltration amount is linear; 2) With the increase of hydraulic conductivity, Suction head and vegetation interception, the peak discharge and simulated total discharge decrease gradually, while the peak arrival time and infiltration amount increase gradually; 3) With the increase of Manning coefficient, the simulated total flow decreases gradually, while the infiltration rate increases gradually; 4) With the increase of the number of tributaries, the peak discharge, the simulated total discharge and the total amount of infiltration gradually decrease, while the flood peak arrival time presents a U-shaped change; 5) With the increase of Manning coefficient, hydraulic conductivity, Interception and Suction head, the simulated sediment flow decreases. Manning coefficient is more sensitive to the simulated amount of clay than the other three model parameters. Sensitivity analysis of parameters and inputs of CASC2D-SED model plays a guiding role in model calibration and accurate modeling. This method can be applied to the calibration, structural uncertainty and model application of hydrological models, and has a wide range of application. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Soil wind erosion is a global problem that leads to increasingly serious regional land degradation, where the need for windbreak and sand fixation services (WSFS) is substantial. Inner Mongolia plays an important role in global semiarid and arid areas and the severe land degradation resulting from soil wind erosion warrants an urgent solution. However, the mechanism of influence of various driving factors on windbreak and sand fixation services is still not fully studied. In this paper, the revised wind erosion equation (RWEQ) model was used to synthesize the monthly spatiotemporal dynamics of soil wind erosion modulus (SWEM) and WSFS in Inner Mongolia from January 2000 to February 2020 from a semi-monthly scale. The influencing factors of WSFS were examined from both natural and anthropogenic aspects. Results show that over the past 20 years, the average SWEM in Inner Mongolia was 118.06 t ha−1 yr−1, the areas with severe wind erosion were mainly concentrated in the desert areas in the southwest of Inner Mongolia, and the forests in the northeast suffered less soil wind erosion. Meanwhile, the average WSFS was 181.11 × 108 t yr−1, with the high-value areas mainly located in major deserts, sandy land, and the area bordering Mongolia in the north and the low-value areas mainly located in the densely forested northeast and the Gobi Desert in the northwest. Both SWEM and WSFS showed a clear downward trend and a certain periodicity over the past 20 years. WSFS showed two peaks a year (April and October). Among the natural factors, precipitation and NDVI showed a significant correlation with WSFS and were identified as the main driving factors of WSFS, whereas temperature had no significant correlation. Among the anthropogenic factors, farming and animal husbandry intensity and GDP showed a positive correlation with WSFS, whereas population showed a negative correlation. These four types of factors were identified as socio-economic factors that drive WSFS. Meanwhile, WSFS did not show any significant correlation with the administrative area. Land use change contributed to a large proportion of WSFS change, thereby suggesting that the intensity of human activities is another central driver of WSFS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

purpose of this study was to analyse the clinical, microbiological and molecular epidemiological characteristics of patients with pyogenic liver abscess (PLA) caused by Klebsiella pneumoniae (KPN) in Inner Mongolia, China. Methods: The KPN isolates from 78 KPN-PLA cases admitted to a tertiary teaching hospital in Baotou, Inner Mongolia, from 2016 to 2019 were studied systematically and described comprehensively. The virulence factors, drug resistance and sequence types of KPN in different samples were identified by a wire-drawing test, polymerase chain reaction, a drug susceptibility test and multi-site sequence typing. Results: There were more male than female KPN-PLA patients (P< 0.05). The mortality rate was 2.5%, and KPN-PLA was significantly associated with diabetes mellitus (P< 0.05). Most of the KPN isolates in the puncture fluid of patients with KPN-PLA were hypervirulent KPN (HvKP). The positive rate of the KPN-PLA specimens was higher than that of the blood and urine specimens. The KPN isolates of the urine specimens had higher drug resistance than the other two (P< 0.05). The hypermucoviscous KPN, aerobic actin (aero) (+), K1 and K2 serotypes accounted for 80.8%, 89.7%, 56.4% and 26.9%, respectively. In addition to ironB (3.8%), the detection rates of virulence factors rmpA, irp2, entB, iucD, aero, wcaG, iutA, kfu, ybtA, iron, fimH and mrkD were higher (69.2%– 100.0%). The positive rate of KPN isolates of the KPN-PLA puncture fluid was higher than that of the blood and urine samples (P< 0.05). In addition, ST23 was found to be the dominant ST (32.1%) of KPN-PLA in the Baotou region. Conclusion: In the KPN-PLA specimens, the KPN isolates were more virulent than those in the blood and urine specimens, and a carbapenem-resistant HvKP strain emerged. This research will help improve the understanding of HvKP and provide useful suggestions for KPN-PLA treatments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines two contrasting cases of ethnic-group political activism in China – the Uighurs in Xinjiang and the Mongols in Inner Mongolia – to explain the former's political activism and the latter's lack thereof. Given similar challenges and pressures, how can we explain the divergent patterns in these two groups' political behavior? This paper forwards the argument that domestic factors alone are not sufficient to account for differences in the groups' political behavior. Instead, international factors have to be included to offer a fuller and satisfactory explanation. The paper illustrates how three types of international factors – big power support, external cultural ties, and Uighur diaspora community activism – have provided opportunities and resources to make the Uighur political activism sustainable. In Inner Mongolia, its quest for self-determination reached the highest fervor in the early half of the twentieth century, particularly with the support of imperial Japan. However, since the end of WWII, Inner Mongolia has not received any consistent international support and, as a result, has been more substantially incorporated into China's geopolitical body. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to supply water for growing industrial needs in Ordos City, Hangjin Irrigation District on the south bank of the Yellow River, Inner Mongolia has traded some of its irrigation water to downstream factories. The trading is termed “irrigation water-saving supported by industrial investment, with saved water traded to industry”. At the same time, Hangjin Irrigation District has conducted a comprehensive reform of irrigation water management focused on water rights. This paper describes the current status of water management in the district, outlines some of the problems water trading has produced, and presents a framework for further water rights reform focused on rights allocation, the granting of volumetrically-capped water certificates and tickets, water use planning and monitoring, and the responsibilities of water user associations in ensuring that individual farmers receive fair allocations. The paper then summarizes key recommendations of relevance to Hangjin and other irrigation districts in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The matching in college admission is a typical example of applying algorithms in cyberspace to improve the efficiency of the corresponding process in physical space. This paper studies the real-time interactive mechanism (RIM) recently adopted in Inner Mongolia of China, where students can immediately observe the provisional admission results for their applications and are allowed to modify the application before the deadline. Since the universities accept the applications according to the ranking of the scores, RIM is believed to make the competition more transparent. However, students may coordinate to manipulate this mechanism. A high-score student can perform a last-minute change on the university applied, opening a slot for a student with a much lower score. With agent-based simulations, we find that a large portion of students will choose to perform coordinating manipulation, which erodes the welfare and fairness of society. To cope with this issue, we investigate the Multistage RIM (MS-RIM), where students with different ranges of scores are given different deadlines for application modification. We find that the multistage policy reduces the chance of manipulation. However, the incentive to conduct manipulation is increased by a higher success rate of manipulation. Hence, the overall social welfare and fairness are further diminished under MS-RIM with a small number of stages, but are improved if the stage number is large. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China has suffered from extensive and serious SO2 pollution. The central and provincial governments have reinforced environmental awareness by increasing fiscal expenditure for environmental protection for years. This paper extended an environmental Kuznets curve (EKC) framework to evaluate the direct and indirect spillover effects of environmental awareness of provincial governments on SO2 emissions, applying spatial econometric models. The empirical findings are as follows. (1) There exists an inverted U-shaped curve. Of 30 Chinese provinces, only 9 provinces, namely, 8 eastern provinces and Inner Mongolia, have passed the turning point at about 53,000 Yuan while the rest 21 provinces have not yet. (2) Expenditure for environmental protection is negatively correlated with SO2 pollution. In other words, environmental awareness of governments contributes to substantially reducing SO2 emissions. Besides, significant and negative spillover effects of environmental awareness are found, implying that provinces follow suit if neighboring provinces enhance environmental awareness by increasing spending on environmental protection, thereby reducing SO2 emissions. (3) The SO2 reduction policy implemented by the central government is found to have a negative impact on SO2 emissions, implying that the policy effectively works. To conclude, the central and provincial governments play pivotal roles in addressing the problem of SO2 pollution in China. Hence, more expenditure for environmental protection cannot be overstated for China's environmental quality improvements and sustainable development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]