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The proportion of international students in Chinese higher education is increasing, however, there remains little research that explores their motivations and how their learning of Chinese influences their identities and imagined futures. In this paper, we address the need for research on South-South migration--specifically Sino-African relations--and draw on the concept of linguistic capital to explore what it means for 15 self-funded international students from six different African countries. The findings highlight African youths' negotiation of power matrices in different fields and their desire for Chinese linguistic capital. The acquisition of such capital would position themselves advantageously in terms of employability and social prestige within the geopolitical and geo-economic context of China-Africa relations. In documenting their investment in Chinese language learning, the study compels us to reflect on the intersection of identity, ideology and capital within the language acquisition process and what Chinese language learning has come to mean for those from the peripheral nation-states.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, many grandparents in China have spent more time with their grandchildren than they used to. When their adult children returned to work after a period of lockdown, many grandparents extended their roles from taking care of household tasks and looking after their grandchildren's basic needs to supervising their online learning and providing academic support. It has been a precious opportunity for both the children and their grandparents to get to know each other better and to learn from each other. During this challenging period of home learning, a Chinese initiative called the "Shaping Students' Vacation Life Project" (SSVLP), which is led by the Shanghai Municipal Institute for Lifelong Education (SMILE) of East China Normal University (ECNU), conducted a two-month project that investigated intergenerational learning between grandparents and grandchildren (IL-GP&GC) across seven primary schools located in six areas of China. They explored topics such as pandemic prevention, health and fitness, traditional culture and information literacy. Following this, the co-authors of this article conducted an interpretive inquiry to explore how the participating primary schools implemented the IL-GP&GC project, and to understand its impact. Based on in-depth interviews with 11 teachers and 7 families (including 7 grandchildren aged 7-13, and their 7 grandparents aged 60-68), four main findings emerged: (1) both generations gained more health knowledge, life skills and values; (2) the older generation changed their learning perspective and behaviours; (3) the younger generation understood their grandparents more and cultivated the concept of lifelong learning; and (4) the relationships between grandparents and grandchildren became closer.

Life education is increasingly recognized as one of the potentially effective ways to reduce unnatural deaths. Existing research focuses mainly on classroom knowledge transfer and extracurricular practical activities, which has been criticized for their effectiveness due to insufficient interaction between teachers and students. Creating high-quality life education, therefore, has become a demand for human happiness. Intergenerational learning embedded in life education, developed by collaborating with primary schools and older adult schools in China, has become an effective practice. Two teachers, seven primary school students, and seven older adult learners were interviewed to reveal the characteristics and impact of this effective practice. This model of practice establishes a dual subject of teachers and students in breaking the boundary between teachers as subjects and students as objects, while recognizing diverse lives in the interaction and reflection of intergenerational learning. In addition, this study constructs a classroom teaching model of teachers, primary school students, and older adult learners jointly creating knowledge, skills, emotions, attitudes, and values, and I put forward the life education thought of 'seeing life through life'. This study has implications for policymakers on improving educational policies and practitioners on innovating life education models in cross-cultural contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Atopic dermatitis (AD) is a chronic immuno-inflammatory skin disease. Crisaborole ointment, 2%, is a nonsteroidal phosphodiesterase 4 inhibitor approved for the treatment of mild to moderate AD. This post hoc analysis assesses the efficacy and safety of crisaborole in Chinese patients aged ≥ 2 years with mild to moderate AD. Methods: We evaluated the efficacy and safety of crisaborole in Chinese patients from the vehicle-controlled, phase 3 CrisADe CLEAR study. Patients were randomly assigned 2:1 to receive crisaborole or vehicle twice daily, respectively, for 28 days. The primary endpoint was percent change from baseline in Eczema Area and Severity Index (EASI) total score at day 29. Key secondary endpoints were improvement in Investigator's Static Global Assessment (ISGA), ISGA success, and change from baseline in weekly average Peak Pruritus Numerical Rating Scale (PP-NRS) score. Adverse events were documented. Results: Of 391 patients in the overall study, 237 were from China, 157 assigned to crisaborole and 80 assigned to vehicle. A greater reduction in percent change from baseline in EASI total score at day 29 was shown in the crisaborole vs. vehicle group (least squares mean [LSM]: −66.34 [95% (confidence interval) CI −71.55 to −61.12] vs. −50.18 [95% CI −58.02 to −42.34]). Response rates for achievement of ISGA improvement (43.2% [95% CI 35.4–51.1] vs. 33.4% [95% CI 22.5–44.2]) and ISGA success (31.7% [95% CI 24.3–39.0] vs. 21.5% [95% CI 12.1–30.9]) at day 29 were higher in the crisaborole vs. vehicle group. A greater reduction in change from baseline in weekly average PP-NRS score at week 4 was observed in the crisaborole vs. vehicle group (LSM: −1.98 [95% CI −2.34 to −1.62] vs. −1.08 [95% CI −1.63 to −0.53]). No new safety signals were observed. Conclusion: Crisaborole was effective and well tolerated in Chinese patients aged ≥ 2 years with mild to moderate AD. Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT04360187. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Lip squamous cell carcinoma (LSCC) was one of the most common cancer types of head and neck tumors. This study aimed to find more predictors of the prognosis in postoperative LSCC patients. Methods: A total of 147 LSCC patients between June 2012 and June 2018 were collected from two tertiary care institutions. There were 21 clinicopathological factors included and analyzed in our study. The univariate and multivariate Cox regression analyses were performed to find the independent prognostic factors for predicting progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) in postoperative LSCC patients. The role of adjuvant radiotherapy in various subgroups was displayed by Kaplan–Meier plots. Results: The 1-, 3-, and 5-year PFS of postoperative LSCC patients were 88.4%, 70.1%, and 57.8%, respectively. Similarly, the 1-, 3-, and 5-year OS of postoperative LSCC patients were 94.6%, 76.9%, and 69.4%, respectively. The results suggested that postoperative LSCC patients with age at diagnosis ≥ 70 years, grade with moderate or poor differentiate, the American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC) stage IV, higher systemic immune-inflammation index (SII), surgical margin < 5, and age-adjusted Charlson Comorbidity Index (ACCI) ≥ 5 tend to have a poorer PFS (all P < 0.05). Besides, postoperative LSCC patients with age at diagnosis ≥ 70 years, AJCC stage IV, higher GPS, higher SII, and ACCI ≥ 5 tend to have a worse OS (all P < 0.05). Additionally, postoperative patients with LSCC in the subgroup of ACCI < 5 and AJCC III–IV stage was more likely to benefit from adjuvant radiotherapy, but not for the other subgroups. Conclusion: We identified a series of significant immune-inflammation-related and comorbidity-related clinicopathological factors associated with the prognosis of postoperative LSCC patients by local data from two tertiary care institutions in China, which can be helpful for patients and surgeons to pay more attention to nutrition, inflammation, and complications and finally obtained a better prognosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Corona textures, characterized by specific mineral assemblages as layers between existing phases, are frequently observed in high-grade metamorphic rocks. The mechanisms of corona formation have been extensively investigated, however direct dating of corona phases has rarely to be attempted. In order to decipher the timing and duration of corona formation and its implications for metamorphic processes, an integrated garnet Lu–Hf and Sm–Nd and zircon U–Pb petrochronological study was conducted on a corona-bearing granulite from the Miyun region in the North China Craton. The Miyun region, located at the joint area of the Archean Eastern Block and the Paleoproterozoic Trans-North China Orogen, offers a distinctive opportunity to study polymetamorphic processes within the North China Craton. The sample shows a corona texture, primarily composed of garnet, minor clinopyroxene and quartz, that formed at the boundary between plagioclase and orthopyroxene. Pseudosection modelling for the effective bulk composition of reactive domains and conventional thermobarometric calculations indicate that the anhydrous corona assemblage (comprising clinopyroxene, garnet and quartz) formed at ~ 0.9 GPa and ~ 740 ℃. The subsequent hydrous retrogression took place at ~ 0.5 GPa and ~ 670 ℃ and led to the growth of amphibole and biotite. A Lu–Hf garnet date of 1864 ± 3 Ma is significantly younger than the U–Pb date of ca. 2454 Ma for metamorphic zircons in the sample, consistent with the disequilibrium partitioning of rare earth elements between the two phases. The well-preserved Lu zoning in garnet supports the interpretation that the Lu–Hf date represents the age of garnet growth and approximates the timing of formation of the anhydrous corona assemblage. Thus, the U–Pb age reflects a distinct Archean metamorphic event that has been widely documented in high-grade rocks across the Eastern Block of the North China Craton. The garnet Sm–Nd date of 1817 ± 6 Ma is indistinguishable from an amphibole-biotite Lu–Hf date of 1819 ± 16 Ma and ~ 47 Myr younger than the corresponding garnet Lu–Hf date. The younger Sm–Nd age represents the timing of cooling and post-dates retrogression. The Paleoproterozoic and Archean ages in the Miyun granulite align with the major tectonic events in the Trans-North China Orogen and the Eastern Block, respectively. This consistency suggests that the Miyun region likely experienced concurrent metamorphic events in both the Trans-North China Orogen and the Eastern Block. This texture-based Lu–Hf and Sm–Nd dating approach has wide applicability for rocks with explicit textures, facilitating precise extraction of temporal intervals in the metamorphic process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sandstones are enriched in deep energy reservoirs and also exist as outcrop rocks, where the pore characteristics of sandstone are influenced by hydration absorption and thermal effects. To study the influence of the initial temperature on the hydration absorption characteristics of outcrop porous sandstone in the Mogao Grottoes, China, an intelligent experimental device for rock hydration was used. The hydration absorption characteristics and temperature effects of sandstone were analyzed by using infrared thermography techniques to monitor the infrared radiation characteristics of the sandstone's surface during hydration absorption. The experimental results show that the higher the initial temperature of the rock samples, the shorter the time it takes for the sandstone to absorb enough water to reach saturation. The temperature variation of sandstone with different initial temperatures was also determined; the variation in the hydration absorption of sandstone conforms to certain rules, which can be expressed by formulae containing certain parameters. The changing trend of hydration absorption in outcrop porous sandstone shows that the hydration absorption increases rapidly at first, and then the rate of increase slows down until the hydration absorption remains unchanged after saturation. The experimental technique and method provide feasible means and techniques to evaluate the hydration absorption and thermal effects of outcrop porous sandstone, for further detecting the weathering degree of rock grottoes and revealing the damage mechanisms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Diabetic retinopathy is a leading cause of preventable blindness in Canada. Clinical guidelines recommend annual diabetic retinopathy screening for people living with diabetes to reduce the risk and progression of vision loss. However, many Canadians with diabetes do not attend screening. Screening rates are even lower in immigrants to Canada including people from China, Africa, and the Caribbean, and these groups are also at higher risk of developing diabetes complications. We aim to assess the feasibility, acceptability, and fidelity of a co-developed, linguistically and culturally tailored tele-retinopathy screening intervention for Mandarin-speaking immigrants from China and French-speaking immigrants from African-Caribbean countries living with diabetes in Ottawa, Canada, and identify how many from each population group attend screening during the pilot period. Methods: We will work with our health system and patient partners to conduct a 6-month feasibility pilot of a tele-retinopathy screening intervention in a Community Health Centre in Ottawa. We anticipate recruiting 50–150 patients and 5–10 health care providers involved in delivering the intervention for the pilot. Acceptability will be assessed via a Theoretical Framework of Acceptability-informed survey with patients and health care providers. To assess feasibility, we will use a Theoretical Domains Framework-informed interview guide and to assess fidelity, and we will use a survey informed by the National Institutes of Health framework from the perspective of health care providers. We will also collect patient demographics (i.e., age, gender, ethnicity, health insurance status, and immigration information), screening outcomes (i.e., patients with retinopathy identified, patients requiring specialist care), patient costs, and other intervention-related variables such as preferred language. Survey data will be descriptively analyzed and qualitative data will undergo content analysis. Discussion: This feasibility pilot study will capture how many people living with diabetes from each group attend the diabetic retinopathy screening, costs, and implementation processes for the tele-retinopathy screening intervention. The study will indicate the practicability and suitability of the intervention in increasing screening attendance in the target population groups. The study results will inform a patient-randomized trial, provide evidence to conduct an economic evaluation of the intervention, and optimize the community-based intervention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The shear strength of granitic gneiss residual soil (GGRS) determines the stability of colluvial landslides in the Huanggang area, China. It depends on several parameters that represent its structure and state as well as their interactions, and therefore requires accurate assessment. For an effective evaluation of shear strength parameters of GGRS based on these factors and their interactions, three parameters, namely, moisture content, bulk density, and fractal dimension of grain size, were selected as influencing factors in this study based on a thorough investigation of the survey data and physical property tests of landslides in the study area. The individual effects and interaction of the factors were then incorporated by implementing a series of direct shear tests employing the response surface methodology (RSM) into the regression model of the shear parameters. The results indicate that the factors affecting shear parameters in the order of greater to lower are bulk density, moisture content, and fractal dimension, and their interactions are insignificant. The proposed model was validated by applying it to soil specimens from other landslide sites with the same parent bedrock, showing the validity of the strength regression model. This study demonstrates that RSM can be applied for parameter estimation of soils and provide reliable performance, and is also significant for conducting landslide investigation, evaluation, and regional risk assessment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

High seed vigor is a prerequisite for high and stable yield. At present, seed vigor is not considered a goal of soybean breeding in China. Therefore, the seed vigor status of soybean strains is unclear. In this study, the seed vigor of 131 soybean strains included in the Huanghuaihai regional test in 2019 was measured using the artificial accelerated aging method. Significant (p < 0.01) differences in seed vigor were found, with a coefficient of variation of four vigor indexes being more than 48%. The strains with high vigor only accounted for 28.24%, indicating the seed quality of the tested strains was generally not high. Furthermore, the seed vigor of four representative strains selected from each of three vigor types was evaluated using multiyear and multilocation experiments. The seed vigor indexes of high-vigor-type strains were the most stable, while medium- and low-vigor-type strains varied under different environmental conditions. The generalized heritability of the four vigor indexes of the three vigor types was more than 51% and in the order of high vigor type > low vigor type > medium vigor type. Our results suggested that the genotypes of high-vigor-type strains have a greater influence on seed vigor, so to ensure varieties with high seed vigor, this criterion should be prioritized in soybean breeding programs in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Accurately defining the peak ages and timescales of high‐temperature metamorphism is fundamental to unravelling tectonic dynamics. However, metamorphic constraints are frequently hampered by a large spread of zircon U–Pb ages without explicit textural relationships. Integrated garnet and zircon petrochronology may clarify ambiguous ages retrieved from ancient high‐temperature metamorphic rocks. There is a long‐standing debate on the interpretation of the spread of zircon ages from c. 2.5–1.8 Ga for the granulites of the North China Craton. In order to clarify the timing and duration of (ultra)high‐temperature metamorphism in the North China Craton, we investigated a mafic granulite and the adjoining gneiss from the Yinshan Block of the North China Craton using zircon and titanite U–Pb geochronology combined with garnet Lu–Hf and Sm–Nd geochronology. Pseudosection modelling and conventional thermobarometric calculations constrain the peak metamorphic conditions to be ~1.0 GPa and ~850°C. The near‐complete lack of major‐element zoning in garnet, aside from ~2 μm diffusion profiles at crystal rims, suggests complete re‐equilibration at peak temperatures followed by fast cooling from high temperatures. The Lu–Hf garnet age of 1870 ± 4 Ma and Sm–Nd age of 1870 ± 7 Ma, determined on the same garnet fractions, are indistinguishable from the zircon U–Pb age of 1866 ± 11 Ma obtained from zircon that grew contemporaneously with garnet, evidenced by the chemical equilibrium of coexisting garnet and zircon, and are additionally consistent with a titanite U–Pb age of 1876 ± 7 Ma. We interpret this close agreement of ages, within uncertainty, coupled to the existence of flat Sm–Nd–Hf profiles in garnet that also has well‐preserved Lu zoning, to reflect a short‐lived high‐temperature metamorphic event that was terminated by rapid exhumation and cooling. The short‐lived (<4 Myr) high‐temperature metamorphism may be generated in the lowermost parts of the crust through magmatic underplating/intraplating during extension that follows collision of the Ordos and the Yinshan Blocks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Aim: This study aims to propose a conservation network that contains suitable habitat and connectivity corridors for mitigation due to habitat transformation and fragmentation of Yunnan snub‐nosed monkeys (Rhinopithecus bieti). Further, we also aim to understand the effects of land‐use changes on the conservation network of R. bieti from 1990 to 2020. Location: Three Parallel Rivers Region (TPRR) on the Qinghai–Tibetan Plateau (QTP) of China. Methods: We used a GIS‐based niche model to predict habitat suitability and extracted highly suitable habitats with an area above 30 km2 as potential core habitats (PCH patches). We designed a normalized importance value index (NIVI) to select PCH patches with the top 5 NIVI values designated as priority protection habitats (PPHs), and we selected a circuit model to build connectivity corridors among PPHs and five protected areas (PAs) from 1990 to 2020. Results: Unsuitable areas and lowly suitable habitats increased 69.3 and 46.8 km2, respectively, from 1990 to 2020. In particular, the area of PPHs dramatically decreased from 212.1 km2 in 1990 to 101.6 km2 in 2020. Average length of connectivity corridors among PCH patches and PPHs decreased from 75.9 km in 1990 to 56.8 km in 2020. Main conclusion: Habitat loss and fragmentation are common phenomena as evidenced by decreasing in highly and moderately suitable habitats of R. bieti and increasing in lowly suitable habitats and unsuitable areas. Five PAs are central to build a conservation network and to protect populations and wild groups of R. bieti. Land use changes the conservation network of R. bieti in the past 30 years. Based on re‐planning boundaries of PAs to incorporate all protection network of R. bieti, it has practical significance to re‐adjust the system of PAs that conservation network of R. bieti should be as fundamental management unit for PA development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Global climate change has threatened world crop production and food security. Decoding the adaptive genetic basis of wild relatives provides an invaluable genomic resource for climate‐smart crop breedinG. Here, we performed whole‐genome sequencing of 185 diverse wild soybean (Glycine soja) accessions collected from three major agro‐ecological zones in China to parse the genomic basis of local adaptation in wild soybean. The population genomic diversity pattern exhibited clear agro‐ecological zone‐based population structure, and multiple environmental factors were observed to contribute to the genetic divergence. Demographic analysis shows that wild soybeans from the three ecological zones diverged about 1 × 105 years ago, and then the effective population sizes have undergone different degrees of expansions. Genome‐environment association identified multiple genes involved in the local adaptation, such as flowering time and temperature‐related genes. A locus containing two adjacent MADS‐box transcription factors on chromosome 19 was identified for multiple environmental factors, and it experienced positive selection that enables the adaptation to high‐latitude environment. This study provides insights into the genetic mechanism of ecological adaptation in wild soybean that may facilitate climate‐resilient soybean breeding. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dynamic monitoring of building environments is essential for observing rural land changes and socio-economic development, especially in agricultural countries, such as China. Rapid and accurate building extraction and floor area estimation at the village level are vital for the overall planning of rural development and intensive land use and the "beautiful countryside" construction policy in China. Traditional in situ field surveys are an effective way to collect building information but are time-consuming and labor-intensive. Moreover, rural buildings are usually covered by vegetation and trees, leading to incomplete boundaries. This paper proposes a comprehensive method to perform village-level homestead area estimation by combining unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) photogrammetry and deep learning technology. First, to tackle the problem of complex surface feature scenes in remote sensing images, we proposed a novel Efficient Deep-wise Spatial Attention Network (EDSANet), which uses dual attention extraction and attention feature refinement to aggregate multi-level semantics and enhance the accuracy of building extraction, especially for high-spatial-resolution imagery. Qualitative and quantitative experiments were conducted with the newly built dataset (named the rural Weinan building dataset) with different deep learning networks to examine the performance of the EDSANet model in the task of rural building extraction. Then, the number of floors of each building was estimated using the normalized digital surface model (nDSM) generated from UAV oblique photogrammetry. The floor area of the entire village was rapidly calculated by multiplying the area of each building in the village by the number of floors. The case study was conducted in Helan village, Shannxi province, China. The results show that the overall accuracy of the building extraction from UAV images with the EDSANet model was 0.939 and that the precision reached 0.949. The buildings in Helan village primarily have two stories, and their total floor area is 3.1 × 105 m2. The field survey results verified that the accuracy of the nDSM model was 0.94; the RMSE was 0.243. The proposed workflow and experimental results highlight the potential of UAV oblique photogrammetry and deep learning for rapid and efficient village-level building extraction and floor area estimation in China, as well as worldwide. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Poor land use remains a major threat to ecological security. Land ecological security early warning and simulation of land‐use patterns based on the 'anti‐planning' theory provide many research bases for maintaining land ecological security. However, their utility with respect to illegal development and construction is limited. This study defines the concept of early warning based regional land‐use ecological security and builds a framework system for it. A case‐study investigation was carried out using land use, natural geography and social and economic basic data in Xingguo County, Jiangxi Province, China. The ecological red line zone (a sustainable ecological infrastructure for regional development similar to the municipal infrastructure) of the case area was 1816.16 km2, accounting for 56.49% of the total area; the core zone was 138.23 km2, accounting for 4.30% of the total area. For the natural development scenario, regional construction land pattern changes spread from the centre to the surroundings. In early warning land‐use ecological security, serious alerts were more concentrated in Lianjiang Town, Changgang Township, and Butou Township; moderate alerts were less concentrated and distributed in Longping Township and light alerts were more scattered and distributed in many townships. We propose corresponding prevention strategies for different levels of alerts. The construction of an early warning mechanism for regional land‐use ecological security can assist land spatial planning in regional development. More importantly, it can formulate land‐use ecological risk prevention strategies in advance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The ecologically and economically important genus Chrysanthemum contains around 40 species and many hybrids and cultivars. The dried capitulum of Chrysanthemum morifolium (CM) Ramat. Tzvel, i.e., Flos Chrysanthemi, is frequently used in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) and folk medicine for at least 2,200years. It has also been a popular tea beverage for about 2,000years since Han Dynasty in China. However, the origin of different cultivars of CM and the phylogenetic relationship between Chrysanthemum and related Asteraceae genera are still elusive, and there is a lack of comprehensive review about the association between biodiversity and chemodiversity of Chrysanthemum. This article aims to provide a synthetic summary of the phylogeny, biodiversity, phytometabolites and chemodiversity of Chrysanthemum and related taxonomic groups, focusing on CM and its wild relatives. Based on extensive literature review and in light of the medicinal value of chrysanthemum, we give some suggestions for its relationship with some genera/species and future applications. Mining chemodiversity from biodiversity of Chrysanthemum containing subtribe Artemisiinae, as well as mining therapeutic efficacy and other utilities from chemodiversity/biodiversity, is closely related with sustainable conservation and utilization of Artemisiinae resources. There were eight main cultivars of Flos Chrysanthemi, i.e., Hangju, Boju, Gongju, Chuju, Huaiju, Jiju, Chuanju and Qiju, which differ in geographical origins and processing methods. Different CM cultivars originated from various hybridizations between multiple wild species. They mainly contained volatile oils, triterpenes, flavonoids, phenolic acids, polysaccharides, amino acids and other phytometabolites, which have the activities of antimicrobial, anti-viral, antioxidant, anti-aging, anticancer, antiinflammatory, and closely related taxonomic groups could also be useful as food, medicine and tea. Despite some progresses, the genetic/chemical relationships among varieties, species and relevant genera have yet to be clarified; therefore, the roles of pharmacophylogeny and omics technology are highlighted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Shale lithofacies were an important key for the exploration and development of unconventional oil and gas reservoirs. Previous studies usually use logging data, X-ray diffraction analysis (XRD), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) to identify shale lithofacies, but these methods cannot accurately and quickly identify geochemical characteristics. Portable X-ray fluorescence (XRF) analysis can identify geochemical characteristics. However, few publications reported the feasibility of XRF identifying lithology. We tested the major elements of this formation systematically by X-ray fluorescence and compared the characteristics of these elements in the silty laminated shales against the calcareous laminated shale and the argillaceous shales. We analyzed the geochemical characteristics of shale using portable XRF and proposed a method to identify argillaceous shale, silty laminated shale, and calcareous laminated shale in the Chang 7 of Well Y1 (in Xiasiwan area). Furthermore, we established a lithoface identification standard. We also found that Ca/Mg of calcareous laminated shale was the highest which indicated a dry depositional environment; in contrast, lowest Ca/Mg of silty laminated shale indicated a humid depositional environment. Argillaceous shale was deposited in a strongly reducing environment because Fe content of argillaceous shale was the highest. Finally, this criterion is tested against the data from the Well Y2, and the results are in good agreement with the thin section analysis and core data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background. Synovial sarcoma (SS) is a rare soft tissue sarcoma. Available data regarding survival outcomes of patients with SS still remains limited. In this study, a single center retrospective analysis was performed to investigate the clinical characteristics, pathology and survival outcomes in patients with SS in China. Methods. Patient data were systematically reviewed at the National Cancer Center from January 2015 to December 2020. The general information and treatment condition of patients were collected. Overall survival (OS) was evaluated using the Kaplan-Meier and Cox regression method. Results. A total of 237 consecutive patients were included in this study (follow-up cut-off date: December, 2020). The median age of patients involved was 35 years (ranging from 5 to 83 years) and the mean tumor diameter was 5.3 cm (ranging from.2 to 26.0 cm). The main findings of the immunohistochemical staining analyses were EMA (111/156) (71%), keratin 7 (32/64) (50.0%), keratin 8/18 (12/20) (60%), keratin 19 (42/70) (60%), S-100 (18/160) (11%), BCL2 (128/134) (96%), CD99 (137/148) (93%) and TLE1 (23/26) (88%). It was found that 109 patients (66%) were presented with monophasic subtype and 55 (34%) with biphasic subtype. A total of 137 patients were tested by FISH method and 119 patients (87%) demonstrated SS18 rearrangement, whereas 18 patients (13%) did not show SS18 rearrangement. Generally, it was found that the 3-year OS rate was 86% and the 3-year DFS was 55%. Results of univariate analysis revealed that age, tumor size, tumor site, radiotherapy and targeted therapy were significantly correlated with the overall survival (P <.05). Further, multivariate Cox regression analysis revealed that age, tumor size and radiotherapy were significantly associated with OS (P <.05). Conclusions. In conclusion, this study shows that the outcomes of patients with SS significantly decrease with age and tumor size. It was evident that radiotherapy is an independent and positive prognostic factor for patients with SS. In addition, it was shown that the prognosis of SS varies with tumor location. For instance, primary tumors in lower extremities have a higher prognosis, whereas tumors located in thorax have a lower prognosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

PLA2G6-associated neurodegeneration (PLAN) is a rare autosomal recessive disorder caused by PLA2G6 mutations. This study aimed to investigate the clinical characteristics and mutation spectrum of PLAN and to investigate the founder effects in Chinese PLAN patients. Six Chinese PLAN families were clinically examined in detail and whole-exome sequencing was performed in the probands. Haplotype analysis was performed in five families with the PLA2G6 c.991G > T mutation using 23 single nucleotide polymorphism markers. Furthermore, all previously reported PLA2G6 mutations and patients in China were reviewed to summarize the genetic and clinical features of PLAN. Interestingly, we found that one patient had hereditary spastic paraplegia and showed various atypical clinical characteristics of PLAN, and five patients had a phenotype of parkinsonism. All probands were compound heterozygotes for PLA2G6 variants, including four novel pathogenic/likely pathogenic mutations (c.967G > A, c.1450G > T, c.1631T > C, and c.1915delG) and five known pathogenic mutations. Haplotype analyses revealed that patients carrying PLA2G6 c.991G > T mutations shared a haplotype of 717 kb. The frequencies of psychiatric features, cognitive decline, and myoclonus in Chinese patients with PLA2G6-related parkinsonism were significantly different from those in European patients. Thus, our study expands the clinical and genetic spectrum of PLAN and provides an insightful view of the founder effect to better diagnose and understand the disease. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Serum uric acid (UA) has been reported to be associated with ischemic stroke and inflammation. However, whether or not UA is related to the recurrence of ischemic stroke, and whether inflammation plays a role in the relationship between them remain inconclusive. Objective: We sought to explore the relationship between UA and the recurrence of ischemic stroke and to define the role of neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) in the aforementioned relationship. Methods: A total of 8,995 patients were included in this study. Basic information and blood samples were collected, and whether or not each participant experienced ischemic stroke recurrence within 3 years was documented. Patients were stratified into three groups according to their UA level, as follows: ≤ 266, 267–339, and ≥ 340 μmol/L. COX regression and restricted cubic spline regression models were used to evaluate the clinical correlation between UA and ischemic stroke recurrence, mediation analysis and interaction and joint analysis were used to evaluate the role of NLR in the association of UA and ischemic stroke recurrence, and sensitivity and subgroup analyses were performed to test the robustness of the data. Results: Ischemic stroke recurrence was related to male sex, older age, higher UA level, higher NLR, hypertension, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease. Following adjustment for potential confounders, a high level of UA (≥ 340 μmol/L) increased the risk of recurrence by 92.6% in patients with previous ischemic stroke. We also found that NLR affects the association between UA and the recurrence of ischemic stroke in older adults, suggesting that patients with high NLR and high UA levels are at greater risk for ischemic stroke recurrence. Conclusion: UA level is non-linearly associated with recurrence, and NLR has an additive interaction between UA and ischemic stroke recurrence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ignoring the responses of local households to ecological protection policies can not only seriously limit sustainable development of the alpine grassland ecosystem, but also not improve livelihood on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau (QTP). It is of vital importance to clearly understand coupling feedback and trigger between household decision-making of local herdsmen with the implementation of ecological protection policies. We selected Sanjiangyuan National Park (SNP) as the study area which was in the hinterland of the QTP and the first national park in China. We used the global rangeland (G-Range) model to simulate alpine grassland changes and DEcisions under Conditions of Uncertainty by Modeled Agents (DECUMA) model to identify household decision-making of local herdsmen. Results showed that: (1) distribution of livestock density was basically consistent with the distribution of habitat suitability of local households in the SNP; (2) more than half of the uneducated households (52 and 70%) opposed the eco-compensation and eco-migration policies; (3) most of the households (53.7%) never traded livestock for maintaining their livelihood; and (4) When local households owed 65,000 yuan (≈10,000 dollars) in debts, as the critical value (trigger), they traded livestock to support their livelihood. We suggest that feedback and trigger of household decision-making should be fully considered by managers of national park and policymakers of local governments in planning ecological protection policies to maintain sustainable development of alpine grassland, which is of practical significance to long-term conservation and sustainable utilization of natural resources in the SNP. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Several main families of Ranunculales are rich in alkaloids and other medicinal compounds; many species of these families are used in traditional and folk medicine. Dichocarpum is a representative medicinal genus of Ranunculaceae, but the genetic basis of its metabolic phenotype has not been investigated, which hinders its sustainable conservation and utilization. We use the third-generation high-throughput sequencing and metabolomic techniques to decipher the full-length transcriptomes and metabolomes of five Dichocarpum species endemic in China, and 71,598 nonredundant full-length transcripts were obtained, many of which are involved in defense, stress response and immunity, especially those participating in the biosynthesis of specialized metabolites such as benzylisoquinoline alkaloids (BIAs). Twenty-seven orthologs extracted from trancriptome datasets were concatenated to reconstruct the phylogenetic tree, which was verified by the clustering analysis based on the metabolomic profile and agreed with the Pearson correlation between gene expression patterns of Dichocarpum species. The phylogenomic analysis of phytometabolite biosynthesis genes, e.g., (S)-norcoclaurine synthase, methyltransferases, cytochrome p450 monooxygenases, berberine bridge enzyme and (S)-tetrahydroprotoberberine oxidase, revealed the evolutionary trajectories leading to the chemodiversity, especially that of protoberberine type, aporphine type and bis-BIA abundant in Dichocarpum and related genera. The biosynthesis pathways of these BIAs are proposed based on full-length transcriptomes and metabolomes of Dichocarpum. Within Ranunculales, the gene duplications are common, and a unique whole genome duplication is possible in Dichocarpum. The extensive correlations between metabolite content and gene expression support the co-evolution of various genes essential for the production of different specialized metabolites. Our study provides insights into the transcriptomic and metabolomic landscapes of Dichocarpum, which will assist further studies on genomics and application of Ranunculales plants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: This study evaluated the safety, effectiveness, and feasibility of indocyanine green (ICG) tracing in guiding lymph-node (LN) dissection during laparoscopic D2 radical gastrectomy in patients with advanced gastric cancer (AGC) after neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC). Method: We retrospectively analyzed data on 313 patients with clinical stage of cT1-4N0-3M0 who underwent laparoscopic radical gastrectomy after NAC between February 2010 and October 2020 from two hospitals in China. Grouped according to whether ICG was injected. For the ICG group (n = 102) and non-ICG group (n = 211), 1:1 propensity matching analysis was used. Results: After matching, there was no significant difference in the general clinical pathological data between the two groups (ICG vs. non-ICG: 94 vs. 94). The average number of total LN dissections was significantly higher in the ICG group and lower LN non-compliance rate than in the non-ICG group. Subgroup analysis showed that among patients with LN and tumor did not shrink after NAC, the number of LN dissections was significantly more and LN non-compliance rate was lower in the ICG group than in the non-ICG group. Intraoperative blood loss was significantly lesser in the ICG group than in the non-ICG group, while the recovery and complications of the two groups were similar. Conclusion: For patients with poor NAC outcomes, ICG tracing can increase the number of LN dissections during laparoscopic radical gastrectomy, reduce the rate of LN non-compliance, and reduce intraoperative bleeding. Patients with AGC should routinely undergo ICG-guided laparoscopic radical gastrectomy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

purpose of the current study is to explore the demographic characteristics of hyperuricemia in China. Study Design: The cross-sectional study was conducted, and the CHARLS dataset in 2011 was used. Methods: Logistic regression model was used to assess the association between BMI and hyperuricemia. We also used restricted cubic spline with three knots to assess the dose–response relationship. To investigate the differences in dose–response relationships in various groups, stratification analysis was conducted. Results: Of the 9408 middle and older participants, those who were overweight or obese had higher risk for hyperuricemia (OR=1.26, 95% CI=1.01– 1.57; OR=1.90, 95% CI=1.46– 2.47). In the subgroup, the effect of obesity on hyperuricemia was robust in varying gender and age. However, among overweight group, those with being male and aged over 60 years had higher risk for hyperuricemia (male: OR=1.42, 95% CI=1.07– 1.90; over 60 years: OR=1.28, 95% CI=1.03– 1.60). A dose-response relationship was examined between BMI and the risk of hyperuricemia. The result showed that the odds ratio of hyperuricemia and BMI displayed U-shaped nonlinear relationship (Ptrend< 0.001, non-linear P< 0.001). Conclusion: The association between BMI and hyperuricemia showed positive relationship. Specifically, the group with male and age over 60 years had higher risk of hyperuricemia along with increased weight. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Late Cretaceous basalts are related to the Paleo-Pacific subduction. • The coastal arc-like basalts originated from sediment-hybridized mantle wedge. • The inland transitional basalts originated from asthenosphere enriched by slab melt. • Retreating dynamics promoting slab opening may explain their coexistence. Cretaceous arc-like, ocean island basalt (OIB)-like, and transitional basalts erupted on the eastern South China Block (SCB), and their petrogenesis was possibly related to the subduction of the Paleo-Pacific plate. However, the detailed petrogenesis in terms of slab subduction, magma sources, and the spatial distribution of the different types in the coastal and inland regions is poorly understood. Here we conduct a comparative study on the Late Cretaceous basalts from both coastal and inland regions. Our compiled age data demonstrate that the basalts in the coastal regions erupted in the period of 104–81 Ma. They show low Nb/La (<0.8), Nb/Y (<0.7), and other typical arc-like signatures, e.g., negative Nb-Ta anomalies, variable enrichment of LILE and LREE, and more radiogenic Sr-Nd isotopic compositions. In contrast, the basalts in the inland regions erupted at 86–71 Ma. They are characterized by high Nb/La (>0.9), slightly negative to positive Nb-Ta anomalies; they mostly possess positive ε Nd (t) values and geochemical features transitional to OIB-like basalts. The systematic geochemical differences may imply the spatial heterogeneity in their magma sources. The three end-member mixing model suggests that the isotopic signatures of arc-like basalts largely resulted from partial melting of the mantle wedge metasomatized by the subducted sediments, while those of transitional basalts likely resulted from depleted mantle source metasomatized by melts from altered oceanic crust (AOC) with minor sediments. We suggest that the retreating of the Paleo-Pacific plate promoted the melting of sediment-hybridized mantle wedge, and then triggered the opening of a slab window and asthenosphere-slab interactions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Due to interregional carbon emission (CE) transfer, the CE reduction allocation approach is crucial to the overall CE reduction effect. The prevalent allocation mode applies the production-based principle (PBP) and causes equity and efficiency losses of CE reduction. The exploration of a CE reduction policy under the consumption-based principle (CBP) is highly demanded. In this article, by studying the transfer of CEs embodied in interprovincial trade (CEs-PT) in 1997–2007 within China, we propose a CE reduction allocation approach under the CBP. We found that net CEs-PT were huge and had increased from 172.22 million tons (Mts.) to 425.94 Mts. The main transfer flow was from the resource-based provinces to the economically developed provinces, from North China to South China. Under the PBP, the transfer of CEs-PT caused serious equity and efficiency losses of CE reduction in China. Then, we propose a CE reduction allocation approach under the CBP that considers the long-term dynamic change of regional CEs. The approach can eliminate equity loss, improve CE reduction efficiency, and avoid the impact of short-term fluctuations of regional CEs. Based on this approach, we calculated China's provincial CE reduction responsibility and found that compared with the allocation approach under the PBP, the CE reduction responsibility of most net exporters of CEs-PT decreased, while that of most net importers increased. To accomplish CE reduction efficiently and economically, we propose a CE reduction trading system. The research can provide support for CE reduction allocation policy and CE reduction trading system for China and other countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: With rising globalization, Western and Eastern brands are increasingly collaborating and co-branding. Drawing on the theory of dialectical self that captures the degree of cognitive tendency to tolerate conflicts, inconsistencies and ambiguities in self-concept, this paper investigates the effect of consumer dialectical self on co-branding that encompasses Western and East Asian cultural brand personality traits. Design/methodology/approach: Two studies were conducted using Chinese participants to examine the effects of the dialectical self on co-brand evaluation under single-and dual-personality conditions and to explore the mediating role of ideal social self-congruence and the moderating role of product type (high vs low conspicuous). Findings: The findings suggest that counterintuitive to the received wisdom, the dialectical self negatively influences one's attitude towards a co-brand in the dual-personality condition only. Further, ideal social self-congruence mediates the relationship between the dialectical self and dual-personality co-brand evaluation in the high conspicuous product condition only. Practical implications: Important implications are offered to international marketing managers for managing the dialectical self that lead to positive co-brand evaluations. Moreover, managers should highlight ideal social self-congruence for co-branding success for particular product types. Originality/value: This paper examines co-branding from a novel perspective of consumer dialectical self and shows the pivotal role it plays when brands carry varying cultural traits engage in co-branding. By identifying the role of the dialectical self and the important mediator and moderator, the paper fulfils an important gap in co-branding literature and offers key implications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Furan, which has been identified as possibly carcinogenic for humans, can be induced to different food items by thermal treatment. In accordance with the previous studies and risks associated with prevalence of furan in food, it is necessary to be acknowledged of amounts of furan formed in different thermally processed foods for human awareness. In this study, Headspace Solid-Phase Microextraction Gas Chromatography–Mass Spectrometry (HS-SPME-GC/MS) was optimized for simultaneous determination of furan, furfural, 2-methylfuran and 2-pentylfuran for the first time from different dried fruits and roasted nuts. The method was proved to be valid for determination of all analytes at 50 °C for 25 min, stirring at 700 rpm and 20% NaCl (W/V) using 50/30 μm divinlybenzene/carboxen/polysimethylsiloxane (DVB/CAR/PDMS) fibre. All analytes were baseline-separated at HP 5-MS column in less than 13 min and obtained results have shown prevalence of furan, furfural and 2-pentylfuran in the studied matrices; however, 2-pentylfuran was more prevalent in the roasted nuts than dried fruits and 2-methylfuran has not shown considerable prevalence in both matrices. Moreover, this method was validated in terms of linearity, precision, recovery, specificity, limit of detection and limit of quantification depending on analytes and sample matrices. Hence, the present method was proved to be highly sensitive, specific and robust with good precision and accuracy and suitable for monitoring these furan derivatives in the studied matrices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rural stay, referring to urban dwellers staying in rural areas temporarily, with tourism activities as a supplement, is an emerging form of urban-rural mobility in China. Through exploring the visitors' motives and resulting activities, this study aims to reveal the uniqueness of rural stay in China that has received little attention currently. Using a mixed methodology, empirical results show that rural stay intersects with various mobilities in terms of some common characteristics and motivations. Its uniqueness, however, is closely related to the China-specific macroeconomic context and embedded social and cultural values. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sediment quality caused by heavy metals was investigated in the Mirs Bay and Tolo Harbor, Hong Kong, China. Samples were collected in January and July, 2010. One-way analysis of variance showed that sediment quality variables (Fe, Zn, Mn, Pb, V, Cu, Cr, Ba, Ni and As) were significantly different (p < 0.05) among the sampling areas, whereas the average concentration of V, Eh and Ba exhibited the significant seasonal variations (p < 0.05) between January and July. The spatial pattern of heavy metals (Pb, Zn and Cu) can probably be attributed to anthropogenic and tidal flushing influence in the harbor. Both geo-accumulation index (Igeo) and enrichment factor (EF) were used to identify the metal pollution level and its related source. Pb, Zn, and Cu are considered as "polluted metal" in Tolo Harbor. Cluster analysis (CA) identified three distinct clusters with the Tolo Habor and Shatou Jiao, the inner bay and the south part of the bay. Principal component analysis (PCA) identified the spatial patterns and their affected parameters in the studying area. Results showed metals distribution in Mirs Bay and its adjacent area is principally affected by human activities such as marineculture, dumping, located mostly in Tolo Harbor and Shatou Jiao, where was closely related with anthropogenic influence. While the monitoring stations including MS13–MS16 and MS8 locating in the south part of the studying area might be corresponded to natural influence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China has been developing "financial inclusion" since the 1990s so as to deal with financial exclusion, a problem that faces rural residents and small and micro enterprises as well as the poor. Analysis is conducted in light of John Foster's theory of institutional change, especially the three limiting conditions, which are, the availability of knowledge, people's capacity for understanding and adaptation, and the principle of minimal dislocation. Digital finance, introduced into China in the early 2000s, is thought to be the innovative and sustainable means of financial inclusion and was boldly encouraged with very loose regulation, especially before 2015. Many of the nontraditional providers of internet financial services, including nonbank digital payment, internet-based lending, crowd funding, and virtual coins, etc. had boomed like mushroom since 2013. While social permission has been granted to such well-intentioned but poorly understood social experiments, unprecedent internet financial chaos have emerged and spread raising serious social concern. Since 2015, new policy bundles have been developed in China, and the concept and practice of financial inclusion has been transformed greatly. As China is still facing challenges marching toward financial inclusion, the three limiting conditions must be carefully considered in formulating policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Occupational burnout in physicians is prevalent and can have many negative effects. The purposes of this study were to explore the prevalence of occupational burnout and to analyze the effects of social support and role stress on occupational burnout among Chinese physicians. Methods Using multistage-stratified cluster random sampling, physicians were selected to participate in the study and completed three questionnaires: the Chinese Maslach Burnout Inventory; the Cross-Cultural Role Conflict, Ambiguity and Overload Scale; and the Social Support Rating Scale. A path analysis was run to test the effects of role stress and social support on occupational burnout. Results Of 2530 physicians, 864 (34.2%) were experiencing moderate occupational burnout and 140 (5.5%) were experiencing severe occupational burnout. The path analysis results indicated that role conflict had direct positive effects on emotional exhaustion (EE) and depersonalization (DP), and role ambiguity had direct positive effects on DP and decreased personal accomplishment (DPA). Coworker support had direct negative effects on EE and positive effects on DP, family support had direct negative effects on DP and DPA. Coworker support mediated the effects of role ambiguity on EE and DP, and family support mediated the effects of role ambiguity on DP and DPA. Conclusions These findings suggest that occupational burnout is common in Chinese physicians, and that role stress and social support play important roles in occupational burnout. Interventions that aim to reduce role stress and increase social support can be effective approaches to prevent occupational burnout among physicians. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Glycerol is a by-product of biodiesel, and it has a great application prospect to be transformed to synthesize high value-added compounds. Pseudomonas chlororaphis GP72 isolated from the green pepper rhizosphere is a plant growth promoting rhizobacteria that can utilize amount of glycerol to synthesize phenazine-1-carboxylic acid (PCA). PCA has been commercially registered as "Shenqinmycin" in China due to its characteristics of preventing pepper blight and rice sheath blight. The aim of this study was to engineer glycerol utilization pathway in P. chlororaphis GP72. First, the two genes glpF and glpK from the glycerol metabolism pathway were overexpressed in GP72ANO separately. Then, the two genes were co-expressed in GP72ANO, improving PCA production from 729.4 mg/L to 993.4 mg/L at 36 h. Moreover, the shunt pathway was blocked to enhance glycerol utilization, resulting in 1493.3 mg/L PCA production. Additionally, we confirmed the inhibition of glpR on glycerol metabolism pathway in P. chlororaphis GP72. This study provides a good example for improving the utilization of glycerol to synthesize high value-added compounds in Pseudomonas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We present a combined garnet Lu–Hf and Sm–Nd, zircon and monazite U–Pb, hornblende Ar–Ar, and zircon U–Th/He geochronology study on a garnet-bearing amphibolite from the Cathaysia Block in Southern China. Pseudosection modeling and garnet–clinopyroxene thermometry indicate that the amphibolite attained peak metamorphic conditions of approximately 0.9 GPa and 780 °C. The Lu–Hf garnet date of 402.7 ± 1.0 Ma and Sm–Nd date of 331.6 ± 3.6 Ma define a ~ 70 Myr difference for the same garnet fractions. Reconciling the large discrepancies between these three geochronological systems with the observed major element diffusion profiles in garnet requires that REEs and Hf were fully re-equilibrated at peak temperatures and that subsequent rapid cooling prevented any disruption of the Lu–Hf or Sm–Nd systems throughout cooling from high temperatures. The Sm–Nd garnet age was partially reset during a thermal pulse associated with intrusion of leucocratic veins, which is inferred to have occurred at ca. 226 Ma based on the coinciding hornblende Ar–Ar (222.3 ± 0.9 Ma) and monazite U–Pb (226.2 ± 2.3 Ma) dates. The T–t path of a reheating event at 226 Ma necessary to produce both the major divalent cation diffusion profiles in garnet and partial resetting of the Sm–Nd garnet age, such that it records an apparent age of ~ 332 Ma, requires an effective diffusion radius of 45–60 μm in garnet during reheating, which is in agreement with the observation of pervasive chlorite-filled fractures within single garnet grains. Diffusion kinetics of Lu and Hf in garnet are sufficiently slow that this reheating episode would not impact the Lu–Hf system, and the 402.7 ± 1.0 Ma garnet age likely reflects the onset of rapid cooling from peak P–T conditions. The zircon U–Pb date of 434.8 ± 2.7 Ma predates the Lu–Hf garnet date by approximately 30 Myr and is interpreted to reflect zircon crystallization during prograde metamorphism. The ~ 226 Ma reheating event is contemporaneous with the intrusion and crystallization of the widespread Triassic A-type granites and alkaline syenites across the Cathaysia Block, indicating an extensional environment. We interpret the zircon U–Th/He date of 143.1 ± 4.2 Ma as reflecting a third thermal pulse based on the concurrence with the early Cretaceous volcanic rocks and granitoids, which overlies the amphibolite. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Russia is the largest neighboring country of China. Between the two countries, the resources and industry are complemented, the political mutual trust is at a high level, and trade cooperation has a broad prospect. Choosing the best regions and the best industries to strengthen investment in Russia has a major strategic significance in promoting 'the Belt and Road Initiative' and China-Mongolia-Russia Economic Corridor Construction. However, the related researches are extremely limited. The investment environment is unclear, and the investment risk is unknown, which seriously restrict the investment in Russia and the trade cooperation with Russia. Our research team carried out scientific expedition, government visits and scientific research cooperation in Russia for several years, and obtained a great number of first-hand valuable data. According to the analysis on the data and Russian regional policies, this study constructed an investment environment evaluation model (ESI-PRA model), scientific assessed the investment environment for 83 subjects of federation in Russia, in terms of economic, social, infrastructure, policy, resource and accessibility, classified 4 types of investment regions, chose 3 investment priority regions, revealed the investment priority industries, demonstrated the main investment risks, and proposed the strategic policies. The research results provide direct scientific and technological support for strategic decisions, such as investment in Russia, bilateral economic and trade cooperation, and overseas layout of Chinese-funded enterprises. Moreover, it has an important practical and strategic significance for improving overseas geo-strategic interests of China and ensuring the construction of China-Mongolia-Russia Economic Corridor. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Achilles tendon (AT) defects frequently occur in trauma and chronic injuries. Currently, no method can satisfactorily reconstruct the AT with completely restored function. Purpose: To evaluate the postoperative outcomes of AT defect reconstruction with decellularized bovine tendon sheets (DBTSs) in a rabbit model. Study Design: Controlled laboratory study. Methods: DBTSs were prepared from bovine tendons after compression, decellularization, antigen extraction, freeze drying, and sterilization. Platelet-rich plasma (PRP) was obtained by differential centrifugation. Sixty-three rabbits were used in this study, and the AT defect model was created bilaterally. All rabbits were divided into 3 groups (n = 21). In the DBTS group and the DBTS + PRP group, 2-cm-long AT was excised and reconstructed by DBTSs or PRP-treated DBTSs. In the control group, the rabbits underwent AT transection, and stumps were sutured. After surgery, all rabbits were assessed by ultrasonography and magnetic resonance imaging and then sacrificed for histological examination and biomechanical testing at 4, 8, or 12 weeks. Results: Gross observations demonstrated the absence of immunologic incompatibility and rejection. Histological examination showed that DBTSs promoted host cell infiltration and new fibrous tissue integration as compared with the control group. In each group, there was an AT-like structure formation and aligned collagen fiber deposition at 12 weeks. Mechanical properties of the reconstructed AT were not significantly different among the 3 groups at 4, 8, and 12 weeks after surgery (P > .05). Ultrasonography and magnetic resonance imaging results illustrated that the reconstructed AT from each group maintained remodeling, and there was no significant difference in the echogenicity scoring (P > .05) and percentages of good and excellent (P > .05) among the 3 groups. Conclusion: DBTSs, which retain the native tendon structure and bioactive factors, had the ability to remodel and integrate into the rabbit AT and improve the healing process. Clinical Relevance: DBTSs could serve as an effective bioscaffold to reconstruct AT defects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The practice of usury has recently provoked an intense debate in China. While the practice is widely condemned, prominent figures have sought to legitimize it with economic analysis. The institutional competition between ancient usury and modern money and banking has persisted for centuries and seems far from ending. This article examines the institutional factors underpinning the revival of usury in China after a thirty-year stretch (1948-1978), during which the practice had virtually disappeared. The revival of usury is attributed mainly to a pattern of uneven development in China. Usury, by its nature, is a drag on economic productivity and a source of social discord. As China endeavors to achieve a more broad-based human flourishing, the practice of usury must be prohibited strictly once more. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rural landscape is a complex of natural landscape and human landscape, with various values. The recreational value of rural landscape is a kind of comprehensive benefit with economic, social and ecological, which is provided by the rural landscape as a recreational resource. Loess Plateau is located at the junction of northern and northwestern of China, with serious water and soil erosion and fragile ecological environment. Jingning County is the national poor county, belonging to Liupanshan concentrated poverty areas. Hulu Watershed in Jingning is the typical valley area of Loess Plateau. In the past few decades, Jingning facing the fragile ecology and poverty, has been focusing on apple industry, forming unique rural landscape, exploring an ecological development path, and making much progress in green industrialization and urbanization. The author, according to the apple tree's growing stages, divided the rural landscape of Hulu Watershed into 15 types and analyzed its spatial patterns. The recreational value of Hulu Watershed was evaluated at 1.8 × 10-3.6 × 10 yuan (RMB) in 2014, by Travel Cost Method and Contingent Valuation Method. The territorial differentiational features of recreational value were that the higher value landscape types concentrated in the surrounding areas of towns and central villages, and the areas along the traffic and river had more development potentiality. The main influence factors were the construction of rural landscape and the development of recreation industry. And the development paths of different landscape types were also proposed. The research conclusions can provide reference for the landscape exploration and recreation industry development in the similar underdeveloped areas in the valley area of Loess Plateau with fragile ecology and poverty. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aimed to identify predictors of success rate of mesenchymal stem cell (MSC) isolation from human deciduous teeth pulp. A total of 161 deciduous teeth were extracted at the dental clinic of Chang Gung Memorial Hospital. The MSCs were isolated from dental pulps using a standard protocol. In total, 128 colonies of MSCs were obtained and the success rate was 79.5%. Compared to teeth not yielding MSCs successfully, those successfully yielding MSCs were found to have less severe dental caries (no/mild-to-moderate/severe: 63.3/24.2/12.5% versus 12.5/42.4/42.4%, P<0.001) and less frequent pulpitis (no/yes: 95.3/4.7% versus 51.5/48.5%, P<0.001). In a multivariate regression model, it was confirmed that the absence of dental caries (OR = 4.741, 95% CI = 1.564–14.371, P=0.006) and pulpitis (OR = 9.111, 95% CI = 2.921–28.420, P<0.001) was significant determinants of the successful procurement of MSCs. MSCs derived from pulps with pulpitis expressed longer colony doubling time than pulps without pulpitis. Furthermore, there were higher expressions of proinflammatory cytokines, interleukin- (IL-) 6 and monocyte chemoattractant protein- (MCP-) 1, P<0.01, and innate immune response [toll-like receptor 1 (TLR1) and TLR8, P<0.05; TLR2, TLR3, and TLR6, P<0.01] in the inflamed than noninflamed pulps. Therefore, a carious deciduous tooth or tooth with pulpitis was relatively unsuitable for MSC processing and isolation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The bacterial communities played important roles in the high productivity mangrove ecosystem. In this study, we investigated the vertical distributions of rhizosphere bacteria from three mangrove species (Bruguiera gymnorrhiza, Kandelia candel and Aegiceras corniculatum) in Beilun Estuary, China using high throughput DNA pyrosequencing of the 16S rRNA gene. Phylogenetic analysis showed that bacterial communities from mangrove rhizosphere sediments were dominated by Proteobacteria (mostly Deltaproteobacteria and Gammaproteobacteria), followed by Chloroflexi, Bacteroidetes, Planctomycetes and Acidobacteria. However, the ANOVA analysis on Shannon and Chao1 indices indicated that bacterial communities among sediments of the three mangrove species varied more strongly than the sampling depths. In addition, the PCA result demonstrated that the bacterial communities could be separated into three groups according to the mangrove species. Moreover, the dominated orders Rhodospirillales, GCA004 and envOPS12 were significantly different among sediments of the three mangrove species. The results of this study provided valuable information about the distribution feature of rhizosphere bacteria from Chinese mangrove plants and shed insights into biogeochemical transformations driven by bacteria in rhizosphere sediments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sustainable development has broad consensus in environmental science and policy discourse, but its implications differ in specific cultural contexts. This article articulates sustainable development from a Chinese cultural perspective by tracing ideas from Chinese traditional culture and exploring China's concept of harmonious development with emphasis on environmental management. Ideas that resemble sustainable development are not new to Chinese culture, but have roots in ancient Chinese thoughts, which in turn influence current governance and policies. Notably, Chinese traditional philosophies such as Confucianism, Taoism, Legalism, and Yin-Yang contain philosophies fundamental to sustainable development. As a distinct local discourse, such concepts were well interpreted and understood in the ancient meaning of harmony, giving China unique sustainability perspectives with institutional implications for policies of harmonious development and environmental management. Currently, China is driven to create a new national identity of harmonious development that involves Chinese traditional philosophies and values in its modern administration. The slogans 'harmonious society' and 'Chinese dream' reflect this new way of responding to the world with the aspiration to achieve cleaner growth, personal prosperity, and social stability. The Chinese and Western roots of sustainable development are conceptually, ideologically, and historically different, and this paper articulates how the convergence of the two underlies contemporary international debates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives:The current study focused on validating a protocol for training and auditing the resident’s practice-based learning and improvement (PBLI) and quality improvement (QI) competencies for primary care.Methods:Twelve second-year (R2), 12 first-year (R1) and 12 postgraduate year-1 residents were enrolled into group A, B and C, respectively, as trainees. After three training protocols had been completed, a writing test, self-assessed questionnaire and mini-OSTE and end-of-rotation assessment were used in auditing the PBLI competency, performance and teaching ability of trainees.Results:Baseline expert-assessed PBLI and QI knowledge application tool writing scores were low for the R1and R2residents. After three training protocols, PBLI and QI proficiencies, performance and teaching abilities were improved to similar levels cross the three training levels of residents based on the expert-assessed writing test-audited assessments and on the faculty and standardized clerk-assessed end-of-rotation-/mini-OSTE-audited assessments.Conclusion:The different four-level hierarchical protocols used to teach group A, B and C were equally beneficial and fitted their needs; namely the different levels of the trainees. Specifically, each level was able to augment their PBLI and QI proficiency. This educational intervention helps medical institutions to train residents as PBLI instructors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Lycium chinense is well known in traditional Chinese herbal medicine for its medicinal value and composition, which have been widely studied for decades. However, further research on Lycium chinense is limited due to the lack of transcriptome and genomic information. Results The transcriptome of L. chinense was constructed by using an Illumina HiSeq 2000 sequencing platform. All 56,526 unigenes with an average length of 611 nt and an N50 equaling 848 nt were generated from 58,192,350 total raw reads after filtering and assembly. Unigenes were assembled by BLAST similarity searches and annotated with Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) orthology identifiers. Using these transcriptome data, the majority of genes that are associated with phenylpropanoid biosynthesis in L. chinense were identified. In addition, phenylpropanoid biosynthesis-related gene expression and compound content in different organs were analyzed. We found that most phenylpropanoid genes were highly expressed in the red fruits, leaves, and flowers. An important phenylpropanoid, chlorogenic acid, was also found to be extremely abundant in leaves. Conclusions Using Illumina sequencing technology, we have identified the function of novel homologous genes that regulate metabolic pathways in Lycium chinense. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tea plantations are rapidly expanding in China and other countries in the tropical and subtropical zones, driven by relatively high private economic benefit. However, the impact of tea plantations on the regional environment, including ecosystem services and disservices are unclear. In this study, we developed an assessment framework for determining the private economic benefits and environmental externalities (the algebraic sum of the regulating services and disservices) of tea plantations in China. Our results showed that tea plantations provided private economic benefits of 5,652 yuan ha year (7.6 yuan = 1 USD in 2007) for tea farmers, plus positive environmental externalities of 6,054 yuan ha year for the society. The environmental externalities were calculated as the sum of the value of four regulating services, including carbon sequestration (392 yuan ha year); soil retention (72 yuan ha year); soil fertility protection (3,189 yuan ha year) and water conservation (2,685 yuan ha year), and three disservices, including CO emission (−39 yuan ha year), NO emission (−137 yuan ha year) and nonpoint source pollution (−108 yuan ha year). Before the private optimal level, the positive environmental externalities can be maintained by private economic benefits; if a social optimal level is required, subsidies from government are necessary. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The Tibetan Plateau is the result of several collision events between a series of Gondwana-derived blocks (e.g., Qiangtang, Lhasa and India) and the Asian continent since the early Paleozoic. The occurrence of high-pressure eclogites has a significant bearing on the Paleo-Tethys subduction and plate suturing processes in this area. A quartzite, together with its host eclogite from the Jilang County in the Lhasa Block of northern Tibet, was investigated in terms of petrology, geochemistry, and combined Lu–Hf and U–Pb geochronology. The composition of the Jilang eclogite is similar to supra-subduction-zone basalts found in back-arc basins (LREE depleted, negative Nb–Ta anomalies, positive Pb anomalies, εNd(t) =~+8). The observations of coesite/coesite pseudomorph in the eclogites and the estimated P–T conditions of 3.4–3.8GPa and 753–790°C for the eclogites imply that the Jilang eclogites have undergone ultra-high-pressure metamorphism. The Lu–Hf age of 265.9±1.1Ma (2σ, 14 points, MSWD=1.8) of the Jilang eclogite most likely reflects garnet growth and is interpreted to reflect eclogite–facies metamorphism due to the occurrence of omphacite inclusions from core to rim in garnets and the spherical geometry effect despite the well-preserved prograde zoning in the garnets. U–Pb analyses of the metamorphic rims of zircons from eclogites indicate that two episodes of zircon growth occurred at ~261Ma and ~238Ma. The identical zircon 206Pb/238U age of 291±4Ma (2σ, MSWD=2.2, n=12) for the quartzite and 290.6±6.2Ma (2σ, MSWD=1.1, n=11) for the magmatic cores of the eclogite suggest that the detrital zircon in quartzite has the same origin as the protolith zircon in the eclogite. The initial opening of the back-arc basin in the Lhasa Block was no later than ca. 290Ma; the final closure of the back-arc basin in the Lhasa Block, led by the arc–continent collision between the Gangdese island arc and the northern Lhasa Block, was no earlier than ca. 266Ma. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Eleven physicochemical parameters of data collected from 12 stations in Daya Bay in 2003 were analyzed by multivariate statistical analysis. Cluster analysis (CA) grouped data from 4 seasons into two groups, the northeast and southwest monsoon periods, representing different natural processes. During the northeast monsoon period, principal component analysis (PCA) and CA group the 12 monitoring sites into Cluster DA1 (S1, S2 and S6) and Cluster DA2 (S3-S5 and S7-S12). During the southwest monsoon period, PCA and CA group the 12 monitoring sites into Cluster WB1 (S1, S2, S7, S9 and S11) and Cluster WB2 (S3-S6, S8, S10, S11 and S12). The spatial heterogeneity within the bay was defined by different hydrodynamic conditions and human activities. These results may be valuable for achieving sustainable use of the coastal ecosystems in Daya Bay. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, a three-stage DEA model is used to evaluate China's efficiency of provincial regional tourism industry before and after eliminating the effect of the environmental factors and the random factors. The results show that; three-stage DEA model can effectively distinguish overestimation or underestimation bias on pure technical efficiency and scale efficiency of the traditional DEA model. The efficiency measurement and decomposition results after stripping environmental factors and statistical noise show that the regional differences of provincial tourism are small on pure technical efficiency , while they are large on scale efficiency. The low scale efficiency restricts Middle and Western region's tourism efficiency. Compared with the scale efficiency, pure technical efficiency of the regional average is much closer to the efficiency frontier; the eastern regions such as Beijing, Shanghai, Jiangsu, Zhejiang and Guangdong are almost to or at technical efficiency frontier of China. In this paper, the regional tourism industry is divided into four types in accordance with the pure technical efficiency and scale efficiency, combining with the local efficiency structure characteristics. The strategies of improving the efficiency of different regional tourism industry are put forward based on raising the level of management or expanding tourism scale. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Although petrologic data from the North Qinling orogen in central China have provided essential information on the geodynamic history of the orogenic cycle, the timing of the continental collision between the North China block and the South China block in the North Qinling orogen remains essentially unconstrained. To refine existing geodynamic models, two eclogites from the North Qinling were dated by U–Pb and Lu–Hf geochronology. The upper limit of the pressure during the eclogite facies metamorphism was restricted within the quartz stability field at 2.6–2.8GPa within a temperature range of 660–710°C by combining conventional thermobarometry and pseudosection estimates. Mineral–whole rock dating for multi-garnet-(omphacite) fractions from two localities yielded ages of 516.4±5.8Ma (2σ) and 494.3±2.7Ma (2σ) with corresponding weighted mean zircon 206Pb/238U ages of 507.0±8.7Ma (2σ) and 490.0±4.1 (2σ) Ma, respectively. Garnet porphyroblasts from the two samples bore evidence of prograde elemental zonation, but the major portion of the garnet grains grew exclusively under eclogite facies conditions as indicated by the occurrence of omphacite inclusions from core to rim. Therefore, these Lu–Hf ages were interpreted to reflect high-pressure eclogite facies metamorphism. The difference between the two Lu–Hf ages likely represents the minimum duration of garnet growth and thus brackets the onset and the closure of the subduction. These results allow for more detailed insight into the subduction history of the North Qinling orogen. These new U–Pb and Lu–Hf ages mark the timing of the onset of the continental collision between the North China block and the South China block in the Qinling belt, suggesting that the entry of the leading edge of the South China block continent into the North China block trench occurred from ca. 516Ma to 490Ma in the North Qinling orogen. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Quartz-rich veins, together with their host high-pressure (HP) to ultra-high-pressure (UHP) rocks, are ideal for deciphering the fluid–rock interaction history in subduction zones. Previous studies of samples from Dabie–Sulu have shown that most quartz-rich veins within UHP/HP eclogite were formed during the prograde or early exhumation stage of host rocks. In contrast, a combined study of petrology and U–Pb, Sm–Nd and Lu–Hf geochronologies for a quartz-rich vein and its host retrogressed eclogite from North Qinling, which is associated with a granite intrusion and obliterated with amphibolite-facies overprint, reveals that the amphibolite-facies overprint is likely due to the late regional magmatism and the quartz-rich vein might derive from the nearby granite. A pool of U–Pb analyses of zircon grains from the retrogressed eclogite reveals zircons grew over an extended period of time but with two caveats at ca. 490Ma and ca. 473Ma. Analyses of zircon grains from the quartz vein yield a weighted mean 207Pb/206Pb ages of 428±5Ma (1σ), which is indistinguishable from that of formation of the adjacent granite. Combined elemental zoning patterns in the garnet with the spherical geometry effect, the Lu–Hf age of 416±5Ma (2σ) of the retrogressed eclogite is likely a mix age of eclogite-facies and amphibolite-facies metamorphism while the garnet–amphibole Sm–Nd age of 400±8Ma (2σ) approximates amphibolite-facies retrogression metamorphism. The latter is consistent with the garnet–biotite Sm–Nd age of 393±4Ma (2σ) of the adjacent granite, suggesting contact metamorphism. The >70Myr gap between the eclogite-facies metamorphism and the amphibole-facies overprint and the consistency of the timing the amphibolite-facies overprint for the eclogite and the cooling of the magma intrusion in this area indicate that the eclogite-facies metamorphism and amphibolite-facies metamorphism might be distinct metamorphic events, and the latter might be trigged by the granite intrusion. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]