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Picea neoveitchii Mast. is a rare and threatened species of evergreen coniferous tree in China, commonly facing issues such as damaged seeds, abnormal seed growth, and empty seed shells. These abnormalities vary by location; unfortunately, the reasons behind these inconsistencies are completely unknown. This study compared seeds from two 150-year-old trees located in Taibai (Shaanxi province, TB150) and Zhouqu (Gansu province, ZQ150). The results showed significant differences in 43 metabolites and hormone levels, with higher levels of indole-3-acetic acid (IAA), methyl jasmonate (MeJA), and brassinosteroid (BR) in ZQ150, which were associated with more viable seeds. In contrast, TB150 exhibited more damaged seeds and empty seed shells due to higher abscisic acid (ABA) levels. Moreover, to further investigate these inconsistencies, we performed de-novo transcriptomic assembly and functional annotation of unigenes using high-throughput sequencing. A total of 2,355 differentially expressed unigenes were identified between TB150 and ZQ150, with 1,280 upregulated and 1,075 downregulated. Hormone signaling and sugar metabolism-related unigenes were further examined for their role in seed development. ZQ150 increased the number of normal seeds by enhancing endogenous IAA levels and upregulating auxin signaling and sugar metabolism-related genes. Conversely, TB150 showed more empty seed shells, correlated with elevated ABA levels and the activation of ABA signaling genes. We hypothesize that enhanced IAA levels and the upregulation of sugar metabolism and auxin signaling genes promote normal seed development.

IntroductionIn recent years, the visible light intensity of lawns has significantly decreased due to obstructions caused by urban shading objects. Carex has a competitive advantage over other turfgrass in low-light conditions and extensive management. Therefore, exploring their survival strategy in low-light environments is of great significance.MethodsThis study focuses on two species of Carex, Carex parva and Carex scabrirostris, and investigates their response to low-light conditions (150 μmol/m2/s) by simulating urban lawn conditions. Biomass allocation characteristics, leaf anatomical features, biochemical parameters, root morphology and photosynthetic parameters were measured.Results(a) Peroxidase activity, specific leaf area, and relative water content are key factors influencing the photosynthetic capacity of the two Carex species. (b) Under low-light conditions, photosynthetic parameters, leaf physiological indicators, and biomass allocation of the two Carex species were significantly affected (p

Abstract Compressional and shear wave velocities of polycrystalline stishovite (SiO2) have been measured at simultaneous high pressures and temperatures up to 14.5 GPa and 800°C. By fitting velocities to the finite strain equations, the elastic moduli and density were determined to be KS0 = 306.6(46) GPa, KS′ = 4.92(10), ∂KS/∂T = −0.024(1) GPa/K, G0 = 229.0(34) GPa, G′ = 1.07(10), ∂G/∂T = −0.017(1) GPa/K, ρ0 = 4.287(2) g/cm3. Our modeling suggested that, in the eclogite, coesite‐stishovite transition can increase P and S wave velocities by 2.4% and 3.5%, respectively. A comparison between geophysical observations and our model shows that the coesite‐stishovite phase transition in the eclogite can potentially be responsible for the occurrence of the X discontinuity beneath Hawaii. In addition, our current results suggest an eclogite‐rich layer between 340 and 450 km depth beneath Hawaii. The eclogite concentration at the top and bottom of the layer is 41–55 vol% and >77 vol%, respectively.

Abstract Carbon nanomaterials are unique with excellent functionality and diverse structures. However, agglomerated structures are commonly formed because of small‐size effects and surface effects. Their hierarchical assembly into micro particles enables carbon nanomaterials to break the boundaries of classical Geldart particle classification before stable fluidization under gas‐solid interactions. Currently, there are few systematic reports regarding the structural evolution and fluidization mechanism of carbon nano agglomerations. Based on existing research on carbon nanomaterials, this article reviews the fluidized structure control and fluidization principles of prototypical carbon nanotubes (CNTs) as well as their nanocomposites. The controlled agglomerate fluidization technology leads to the successful mass production of agglomerated and aligned CNTs. In addition, the self‐similar agglomeration of individual ultralong CNTs and nanocomposites with silicon as model systems further exemplify the important role of surface structure and particle‐fluid interactions. These emerging nano agglomerations have endowed classical fluidization technology with more innovations in advanced applications like energy storage, biomedical, and electronics. This review aims to provide insights into the connections between fluidization and carbon nanomaterials by highlighting their hierarchical structural evolution and the principle of agglomerated fluidization, expecting to showcase the vitality and connotation of fluidization science and technology in the new era.

One Health is recognized as an increasingly important approach to global health. It has the potential to inform interventions and governance approaches to prevent future pandemics. Successfully implementing the One Health approach in policy will require active engagement from the public, which begs the question: how aware is the public of One Health? In this study, we examine the level and distribution of One Health awareness among the general public in China using a survey conducted in Beijing (n = 1820). We distinguish between awareness of the term of “One Health” versus awareness of the core set of ideas – the interconnection between the health of people, animals, and the environment. Our analysis shows that 40% of respondents reported that they have heard of the term, but more than double the number indicated that they recognize the core idea of interconnection between people, animals, and the environment. Specifically, about 83% of the respondents said that they believe people's health is closely connected to animal health and 86% believe people's health is closely connected to plant and environmental health. Multiple regression analysis indicates that women, younger people, and individuals with a higher level of education show higher levels of One Health awareness than their counterparts. Being aware of the term is associated with higher recognition of the core ideas. Policymakers and health practitioners should consider these findings when designing public awareness campaigns and educational initiatives to promote One Health principles.

Abstract This exploratory study examines how three major Canadian newspapers—the Globe and Mail, the National Post, and the Toronto Star—reported on Alberta’s bitumen industry throughout 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic introduced significant market volatility. Through a combination of computational text analysis and qualitative interpretation, the study identified four recurring themes in 685 articles published by the target newspapers: (1) contention over bitumen infrastructure, (2) economic challenges for the bitumen industry, (3) political divide over the future of bitumen, (4) the bitumen industry’s environmental impacts. A further qualitative assessment of these themes indicates that despite the pandemic’s exposure of the structural weaknesses underlying Canada’s resource-dependent economy, voices supporting the bitumen industry continue to dominate Canadian mainstream newspapers.

Abstract Ep type is an important morphological improvement (following dwarf breeding and ideal plant type) that has contributed to breeding super-high yielding, and shows a pleiotropic effect in increasing grain yield and also nitrogen-use efficiency (NUE) in rice. Nevertheless, it remains unclear whether Ep has adverse effects on eating quality and how it affects nitrogen uptake and assimilation. In this study, we developed a pair of near-isogenic lines (NILs) for panicle type (NIL-Ep, NIL-non Ep) in the Liaogeng 5 (LG5) and Akihikari (AKI) backgrounds. Rice plants of the NIL-Ep had higher grain numbers per panicle in the middle to bottom spike positions than plants of the NIL-non Ep. The increased grain number is not only is the key factor leading to increased yield but also is the reason for reduced the eating quality. The content of prolamin and glutelin was significantly higher in NIL-Ep, which resulted in higher hardness and worse viscosity of rice after cooking. In addition, the activity of several essential enzymes catalyzing nitrogen metabolism was higher in the NIL-Ep line grains than in the NIL-non Ep, especially from the mid to late grain filling stage. Based on these results, we conclude that Ep positively regulates grain protein accumulation, primarily through enhancing the activity of enzymes involved in nitrogen assimilation and redistribution during the mid to late grain-filling stage, resulting in excessive accumulation of grain protein and decreased eating quality.

Abstract The self‐assembling preparation accompanied with template auto‐catalysis loop and the ability to gather energy, induces the appearance of chirality and entropy reduction in biotic systems. However, an abiotic system with biotic characteristics is of great significance but still missing. Here, it is demonstrated that the molecular evolution is characteristic of ultralong carbon nanotube preparation, revealing the advantage of chiral assembly through template auto‐catalysis growth, stepwise‐enriched chirality distribution with decreasing entropy, and environmental effects on the evolutionary growth. Specifically, the defective and metallic nanotubes perform inferiority to semiconducting counterparts, among of which the ones with double walls and specific chirality (n, m) are more predominant due to molecular coevolution. An explicit evolutionary trend for tailoring certain layer chirality is presented toward perfect near‐(2n, n)‐containing semiconducting double‐walled nanotubes. These findings extend our conceptual understanding for the template auto‐catalysis assembly of abiotic carbon nanotubes, and provide an inspiration for preparing chiral materials with kinetic stability by evolutionary growth.

Urban parks, as an important component of urban green spaces, play a crucial role in improving the urban environment and enhancing residents’ quality of life. This review summarizes the main content and research progress of urban park microclimate studies through analysis and synthesis of relevant literature from academic databases such as Web of Science and Google Scholar. Using Citespace or VOSviewer for bibliometric analysis, we found that the number of academic papers on the urban park microclimate has been growing year by year. The research content primarily covers the monitoring and analysis of temperature, humidity, wind speed, and other indicators in urban parks, as well as the impact of park design and planning on the microclimate. Keyword analysis revealed that researchers have mainly focused on the cooling effects of the urban park microclimate, mitigation of the urban heat island effect, and improvement of air quality. In terms of research methods, a combination of field observations and simulation models is commonly employed, with data being analyzed and validated using mathematical and statistical methods. The research results indicate that well-designed and planned parks can significantly improve the microclimate environment, reduce temperatures, and provide comfortable climatic conditions in urban areas. Additionally, vegetation arrangements and water features in urban parks also contribute to microclimate regulation. Moreover, windbreak measures and cooling strategies in parks can help alleviate the urban heat island effect, enhance air quality, and promote the health of ecosystems. However, this review also identified some issues in urban park microclimate research, including limitations in research scope, methods, and practical applicability. Future studies could deepen the comprehensive understanding of the urban park microclimate and explore more effective strategies for park design and planning to optimize and enhance the microclimate environment. It is also important for researchers to continuously innovate in terms of research methods and verify the feasibility of practical applications to better address the challenges of urban development.

Brace roots are the main organ to support the above-ground part of maize plant. It involves in plant growth and development by water absorption and lodging resistance. The bracing root angle (BRA) and diameter (BRD) are important components of brace root traits. Illuminating the genetic basis of BRA and BRD will contribute the improvement for mechanized harvest and increasing production. A GWAS of BRA and BRD was conducted using an associated panel composed of 508 inbred lines of maize. The broad-sense heritability of BRA and BRD was estimated to be respectively 71% ± 0.19 and 52% ± 0.14. The phenotypic variation of BRA and BRD in the non-stiff stalk subgroup (NSS) and the stiff stalk subgroup (SS) subgroups are significantly higher than that in the tropical/subtropical subgroup (TST) subgroups. In addition, BRA and BRD are significantly positive with plant height (PH), ear length (EL), and kernel number per row (KNPR). GWAS revealed 27 candidate genes within the threshold of p < 1.84 × 10−6 by both MLM and BLINK models. Among them, three genes, GRMZM2G174736, GRMZM2G445169 and GRMZM2G479243 were involved in cell wall function, and GRMZM2G038073 encoded the NAC transcription factor family proteins. These results provide theoretical support for clarifying the genetic basis of brace roots traits.

This perspective article details a semester-long “internationalization at home” project that was piloted during Fall 2021 as part of emergency remote teaching and learning. By presenting the project's components and overall student feedback, I demonstrate how virtual international collaboration contributes to the development of students' intercultural competence. Additionally, I emphasize that one-off faculty initiatives focused on collaborative transcultural learning will not suffice to embed this model into the local institutional matrix. Accordingly, the article concludes by advocating for stronger institutional support to leverage the promise of virtual internationalization.

Over the past 2 decades, Alberta’s bitumen industry has emerged as a major point of contention in Canadian politics, with the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion (TMX) project being a recent controversy that has attracted both domestic and international media attention. This brief research report focuses on news coverage of TMX in a rarely studied form of ethnic media: WeChat newsfeeds (known as “public accounts”) targeting Chinese diasporas across Canadian metropolises. A thematic analysis of TMX-related WeChat articles published between January 2016 and May 2021 reveals an overall negative attitude toward the project’s opponents. This stance is mainly due to WeChat public accounts’ heavy reliance on the Canadian mainstream media’s framing of TMX. As a result, the Canadian mainstream media’s downplay of the climate emergency and decarbonization sets the news agendas of the surveyed WeChat public accounts. Accordingly, there is an urgent need to develop non-English alternative media to engage ethnic minority groups in broader public conversations on climate change mitigation.

Space division multiplexing elastic optical networks (SDM-EONs) are one of the most promising network architectures that satisfy the rapidly growing traffic of the internet. However, different from traditional wavelength division multiplexing (WDM)-based networks, the problems of resource allocation become more complicated because SDM-EONs have smaller spectrum granularity and have to consider several novel network resources, such as modulation formats and spatial dimensions. In this work, we propose an integer linear programming (ILP) model without space lane change (SLC) that provides theoretically exact solutions for the problem of routing, modulation format, space, and spectrum assignment (RMSSA). Moreover, to more efficiently solve our model which is difficult to solve directly, we propose three exact algorithms based on model decomposition and evaluate their performance via simulation experiments, and we find that two of our exact algorithms can solve the model effectively in small-scale instances.

Vehicle-to-vehicle communication plays a strong role in modern wireless communication systems, appropriate channel models are of great importance in future research, and propagation environment with slope is one special kind. In this study, a novel three-dimensional nonstationary multiple-input multiple-output channel model for the sub-6 GHz band is proposed. This model is a regular-shaped multicluster geometry-based analytical model, and it combines the line-of-sight component and multicluster scattering rays as the nonline-of-sight components. Each cluster of scatterers represents the influence of different moving vehicles on or near a slope, and scatterers are, respectively, distributed within two spheres around the transmitter and the receiver. In this model, it is considered that the azimuth and elevation angles of departure and arrival are jointly distributed and conform to the von Mises–Fisher distribution, which can easily control the range and concentration of the scatterers within spheres to mimic the real-world situation well. Moreover, the impulse response and the autocorrelation function of the corresponding channel is derived and proposed; then, the Doppler power spectrum density of the channel is simulated and analyzed. In addition, the nonstationary characteristics of the presented channel model are observed through simulations. Finally, the simulation results are compared with measurement data in order to validate the utility of the proposed model.

The fast urban development leads to many complex problems. A smart city aims to solve these problems using scientific approaches. Urban Green Space (UGS) is a fundamental component of urban infrastructure. It needs to be upgraded simultaneously with the concept of the smart city. Methods of smart UGS planning and sustainable landscape design help integrate ecological performance and other functions of UGS. Smart UGS planning is a technical management tool and a human-centered smart application. A novel UGS classification method based on function combinations is proposed in the present work. Five types of UGS (Scenic UGS, Residential UGS, Commercial UGS, Office UGS, and Road UGS) in Baqiao District of Xi’an, Shaanxi Province, are selected as sample sites. Interviewees’ socio-economic attributes, visiting frequencies, and differences in demands are investigated. Eventually, the UGSs researched in this work are optimized based on public preferences and the current conditions of the sites. Results demonstrate the following. (1) The public’s preference for different types of UGS is different considerably. (2) Based on the public’s preference, Scenic UGS is improved in terms of quantity, function, and management; Residential UGS is upgraded regarding quantity and accessibility; and Commercial UGS, Office UGS, and Road UGS are improved in terms of quality. The results could provide methodological references for planning different types of UGS and innovative insights for smart UGS planning and sustainable landscape design.

This paper examines how Canadian media have discussed the role of natural gas in climate change mitigation from 2016 to 2019. It also explicates different stakeholders' varying stances on the environmental impacts of North America's ongoing “shale gas boom,” as manifested in their conflicting attitudes toward designating unconventional gas as a bridge to a low-carbon future. The data in question consist of 99 articles published by Canadian media sources, all of which included explicit references to either “bridge fuel” or “transition fuel.” Through a qualitative thematic analysis, I found that more than half of the articles adopted the conventional definition of bridge fuel. Meanwhile, there are three less common, yet noteworthy interpretations arising out of the rest of the articles, which conflict with each other in terms of their views on the relationship between unconventional gas and greenhouse gas emissions reduction. Overall, the fact that bridge fuel references only appeared in a fraction of Canadian environmental and energy news reports during the target period suggests the issue's peripheral status in the Canadian media sphere. Given this situation, the paper ends by calling for more knowledge mobilization efforts to raise public awareness of the controversial factors underlying expanding unconventional gas production and consumption.

Shale gas extraction via hydraulic fracturing has been a controversial issue in many countries. In Canada, the provincial government of British Columbia (BC) has made relentless efforts on developing a liquefied natural gas (LNG) industry targeting potential Asian importers, which has been a heatedly debated public controversy since late 2011. Focusing on the two contending discourse coalitions formed by this policy initiative’s supporters and opponents, respectively, this article explores the intricate economic, political, and ideological struggles underlying Canadian extractivism. A qualitative discourse analysis of related stakeholder communications reveals that the pro-LNG coalition led by the BC Liberal government developed a “progressive extractivism” storyline to frame LNG exports as an unprecedented and ethical economic opportunity deserving the political support of environmentally minded British Columbians. By contrast, the anti-LNG coalition formed by progressive civil organizations, Indigenous groups, and concerned citizens engaged in fierce discursive resistance, notably via (a) adopting mainstream economic knowledge to highlight the fragile economic basis of BC LNG and (b) incorporating potent political issues such as democratic governance and reconciliation to expand public debates beyond the “jobs versus the environment” dichotomy.

In Canada, the provincial government of British Columbia has been keen on building an export-oriented liquefied natural gas (LNG) industry since 2011. This paper examines media coverage of the Pacific NorthWest LNG project (PNW), which was considered as the flagship proposal leading the BC LNG development, until its abrupt cancellation in July 2017. The paper explores the differences between public, commercial, and independent media in energy reporting by tracing how six Canadian media outlets covered the rise and fall of PNW over a 36 month period. The comparative analysis reveals that when addressing the project's cancellation, fossil fuel advocates repeatedly deployed the “jobs killed by environmentalists” argument via opinion pieces appearing in commercial newspapers. This diagnosis, however, downplayed the far-reaching impacts of falling Asian LNG market conditions prior to the cancellation. By comparison, independent media played an important role in assisting LNG opponents to communicate PNW's fragile economic basis to a wide audience. Overall, these findings shed light upon the significance of independent media in supporting diverse news accounts of energy controversies.

Based on Landau-de Gennes theory, electric field-induced structure transition of negative nematic liquid crystals in submicron-confined cylinder cells was investigated. The easy orientation of the weak anchoring conditions on the cylindrical side surface was prescribed along the radial direction. When we kept the cell gap d unchanged and gradually increased the voltage U, system showed an unexpected structure transition. At a critical value of U = Uc, two-dimensional (2D) local order reconstruction occurred in the system. Meanwhile, when we kept the ratio of U/d unchanged and gradually decreased the d, biaxiality layer gradually moved from the central axis to the cylindrical side surface and disappeared when d is under nanoscale. Furthermore, Uc decreased when the anchoring energy on the side surface increased. Keywords: Negative nematics, Submicron cylinder cells, Local order reconstruction, Landau-de Gennes theory, Relaxation iterative method

Traditional economic activities induce environmental pressures. In order to ensure sustainable economic growth, one needs to decouple it from the environmental pressures. Sustainable growth of the agricultural sector is topical in the sense that economic activity supports rural populations, whereas the resulting environmental pressures may affect diverse groups of population. Thus, the analysis of water footprint related to crop farming is important in the sense of efficient resource use and sustainable development of agriculture in general. In this paper, we focus on Lithuanian crop farming and the related green and grey water footprints. Specifically, we decompose the changes in the water footprints during 2000–2016 by exploiting the Logarithmic Mean Divisia Index. Due to the expansion of the areas harvested, the scale effect appeared as an important driver of growth in green and grey water footprints. The shifts in spatial distribution of area harvested virtually had no influence on the dynamics in either of the water footprints. The crop-mix effect was much higher for the grey water footprint (51% over the period of 2000–2015) than it was the case for the green water footprint (21%). The yield growth induced growth in both green and grey water footprints.

Channel modeling is crucial to the development and evaluation of modern wireless communication systems including satellite communication system, since there might be critical safty-of-life applications. Also, the channel model is of great importance to the performance evaluation of mobile communication systems. In recent years, encouraged by the widely application of unmanned aerial vehicles, the research on channel modeling for aerial and aeronautical communications attract lots of interests. In the published articles, stationary and non-stationary channel models have been developed for air-to-ground communications based on regular shaped geometry-based stochastic model (RS-GBSM). The modeling of air-to-air or satellite-to-aircraft (S2A) communication is still quite simple or completely lacking. For obtaining more precise model of S2A channel, this paper presents an analytical non-stationary S2A channel mode based on RS-GBSM with considerations on line-of-sight path, specular reflection path, and ground scattering path. Analytical expressions of the channel impulse responses, the transfer functions, the auto-correlation functions, and the Doppler power spectrum density based on 3-path model are derived and simulated. Also, the distributions of the path antennation, the path delay, and the normalized Doppler shift based on uniform distribution of the scatterers are derived, simulated and fitted.

Public participation is widely regarded as a vital component for making environmental decisions more democratic, legitimate, and effective. Yet, research on this subject has largely focused on rights and principles instead of context and process, especially in non-Western settings. To address this gap, this article explores how local voices on environmental issues were muted in a Chinese rural context. It describes controversies surrounding a cultural and ecological tourism development in Heyang, a transforming village in the east coastal region of China. Based on semistructured group interviews, the article reveals that although many issues found in the Heyang case resonated with similar cases in Western settings, such as the lack of access to information and the problematic solicitation of public input, fundamentally, the local voices were muted by the village council’s blind adoption of an urban-centric ecological modernization agenda and its neglect of local villagers’ emotional attachment to their land properties. The above findings not only draw our attention to how participatory communication can be compromised by contextual factors but also invite us to reconsider how China’s existing urban–rural division fundamentally influences its ecological civilization.

This article builds on and contributes to research on the material impacts of Information and Communication Technology and Consumer Electronics (ICT/CE) by proposing a holistic framework addressing labour exploitation and environmental destruction in the production, consumption, and disposal of digital devices. Although the emerging media scholarship on digital labour have critically analyzed the material impacts of ICT/CE in terms of labour issues emerged from the production and consumption stages, relatively little research attention has been paid to the end-of-life issues of digital devices and other environmental issues caused by the ICT industry’s global expansion. Based upon previous research on digital labour, environmental management and ecological justice, this article proposes a political economic understanding of the environmental dimension of the ICT industry and how it has contributed to the escalation of environmental crisis and social injustice in developing coun-tries, especially in terms of the urging situation of the global e-waste challenge. The article argues that the critical standpoints taken by political economy of communication and environmental justice re-search provide valuable and promising theoretical connections between labour activism and ecological struggles; and future inquiries on digital economy, in this regard, should combine both perspectives, pay more attention to the enormous social and ecological tensions in the Global South, and make explicit connections between the regressions in labour rights and global environmental justice and ICT’s aggressive and unsustainable expansion.