Search

Grassland provides multiple ecosystem services and plays a key role in preventing desert encroachment and maintaining oasis stability. In China, the area of cropland in oases has expanded significantly in recent decades, which results in a rapid increase in agricultural water demand and encroachment on grassland subsistence space. However, our knowledge about how the expansion of cropland affects oasis grasslands remains limited. We used machine learning, temporal segmentation of spectral trajectories, and maximum covariance analysis to generate an annual oasis grassland aboveground biomass (AGB) data set at 30‐m resolution from 1989 to 2021 based on multiple remotely sensed and ground observation data sets, and investigated the dynamics of grassland AGB under cropland expansion in oases. We found that overall oasis grassland AGB increased significantly (0.3 gm−2 yr−1, P < 0.01) during 1989–2021, but trends in AGB were not consistent across basins. In the Yellow River, Turpan Hami, Qaidam, and southern Altai Mountains River Basins, AGB was dominated by a significant increase. Conversely, in all basins in southern Xinjiang, AGB showed a decreasing trend due to the rapid cropland expansion. Spatially, cropland expansion and AGB dynamics were strongly coupled. In regions characterized by agricultural concentration, grassland AGB benefitted from resource spillover via edge effects. However, in downstream areas or those with a low proportion of cropland, where most grasslands are distributed, the relationship between the two shifted to a trade‐off. Our study provides a scientific basis for identifying priority areas for ecological restoration and for science‐based planning of the scale of cropland in oases. Plain Language Summary: The rapid expansion of cropland in China's oases inevitably increases agricultural water demand, leading to a gradual reduction in water resources available for grasslands. We assessed the dynamic trends of aboveground biomass (AGB) in oasis grasslands and revealed the impact of cropland expansion on grasslands. We found that although AGB had increased significantly across the region, AGB across all basins of southern Xinjiang showed a decreasing trend due to continuous cropland expansion. Cropland expansion negatively impacts grassland AGB in downstream areas of basins and in areas with a low proportion of cropland. These findings identify hotspots of vegetation loss in Chinese oases and underscore the necessity of science‐based planning of the cropland scale. Key Points: Aboveground biomass (AGB) decreased in 46.0% of grasslands in Chinese oases from 1989 to 2021The river basins in southern Xinjiang are hotspots of grassland AGB loss in Chinese oasesGrassland AGB was more strongly coupled with cropland expansion than with climate factors [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aims to characterize the genetic variability of HPV58, identify novel lineages and sublineages, and explore the association between persistent/multiple HPV58 infections and genetic variation. In this study, samples from 124 women with HPV58 infection in Eastern China were collected and 81 isolates of E6 and L1 full‐length genes were successfully amplified from 55 samples. We evaluated the diversity of genetic variants and performed correlation analyses between genetic variability and pathology, vaccination, multiple infections, and persistent infections. Among the E6 and L1 gene sequences collected, the dominant prevailing sublineages were A1 (46.2%) and A2 (23.1%). In addition, we found two potential novel sublineages denoted as the A4 and A5 sublineage. A total of 50 nucleotide substitutions, including 28 synonymous substitutions and 22 nonsynonymous substitutions, were observed in the E6 and L1 genes. Among them, variants with A388C/K93N substitutions in the E6 gene correlated with persistent infection (≥1 and ≥2 years) (p < 0.005), and C307T/C66C was associated with persistent infection (≥2 years) (p < 0.005). Notably, two mutations above were detected in the isolate from the patient with breakthrough vaccine infection. Our study found two novel sublineages and sites of genetic variability in multiple and persistent infection variants. In addition, we identified two mutational sites associated with persistent infection. This study provides new insight into the clinical characteristics of HPV 58 genetic variations and offers new ideas for research on next‐generation vaccines in Eastern China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Understanding the constraints on light‐use efficiency (LUE) induced by high evaporative water demand (vapour–pressure deficit; VPD) and soil water stress (soil moisture content; SMC) is crucial for understanding and simulating vegetation productivity, particularly in the arid and semi‐arid regions. However, the relative impacts of VPD and SMC on LUE are unclear, as we lack a mechanistic understanding of impacts and their interactions. In this study, we quantified the relative roles of VPD and SMC in limiting LUE and analysed the interactions among VPD, SMC and LUE using data from CO2 and water flux stations and weather stations along a climatic gradient in the Heihe River Basin, China. We found a threshold of VPD constraint on LUE; above the threshold, LUE decreased at only 3.6% to 23.1% of the rate below the threshold. As SMC decreased, however, the VPD threshold increased, and the reduction of LUE caused by VPD decreased significantly, which is more than half of that in moister regions. Therefore, both VPD and SMC played essential roles in LUE limitation caused by water stress. A threshold also existed for heat flux and the correlation between SMC and LUE; the strength of the correlation first decreased and then increased with increasing VPD. Our results clarified the relative impacts of VPD and SMC on LUE, and can improve simulation and prediction of plant productivity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The existing literature provides conflicting results on the association between firm performance and corporate social responsibility ( CSR) disclosure. This paper empirically examines the effect of firm performance on CSR disclosure in terms of disclosure frequency and quality among Chinese listed firms and the possible mediating effect of corporate ownership on the relationship between firm performance and CSR disclosure. Our findings show that better-performing firms are more likely than worse-performing ones to disclose CSR information and to produce higher quality CSR reports. In addition, the link between firm performance and CSR disclosure is found to be weaker among state-owned enterprises compared with non-state-owned ones. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To investigate the association between polymorphisms in the G protein-coupled receptor kinase 4 gene (GRK4) (R65L, A142V and A486V) and essential hypertension in northern Han Chinese, we conducted a case-control study consisting of 503 individuals with essential hypertension (HT) and 490 age-, gender-, and area-matched normotensive (NT) controls. The three GRK4 variants were genotyped by PCR-RFLP analysis. Both haplotype and single locus analysis were used to process the genotyping data. The A486 allele showed a significant association with HT (P < 0.001). A total of 6 haplotypes were observed in the entire population, with the haplotypes L-V-A and R-A-A being found to be significantly related to hypertension (P= 0.001).