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Parallel to the expansion in numbers of Chinese students studying abroad, an increasing number of international degree holders are attracted to develop their careers in Chinese universities. This study examines the recruitment policies of a Double First-Class Initiative Institution and their impact on overseas graduates who become early-career researchers. By employing critical discourse analysis (CDA), this research focuses on the linguistic structure and contextual strategies shown in these recruitment policies, informed by McDonnell and Elmore's policy instruments framework. It reveals that these policies display instrumental features of mandates, inducements, system-changing, and hortatory efforts. The policies also indicate the behavior expected from the applicants and recruitment and evaluation organizers, suggesting a trend of resource reallocation within the sector.

This study aims to explore tooth growth variation by regions and ethnicity in China, and to validate the modified Tibetan so as to assist in proposing a better approach. A total of 1320 orthopantomograms of Han children aged 4–14.99 were retrospectively collected from eastern and western regions of China. The Demirjian method and modified Tibetan method were applied. Results showed that dental maturity scores (DMS) in eastern children were significantly greater than western children. Age was overestimated by both methods in eastern children. MAE was 0.88 and 1.3 years by Demirjian method, 1.01 and 1.21 years by modified Tibetan method in eastern girls and boys respectively. In western children, age was significantly underestimated in girls and slightly overestimated by Demirjian method; by modified method, age was generally overestimated. MAE was 0.79 and 0.84 years by Demirjian method, 0.51 and 0.69 years by modified Tibetan method in girls and boys respectively. The current study reveals that tooth growth was significantly advanced in Eastern Han children compared with Western Han children. Ethnic variation between Eastern Han and Tibetan Chinese was substantial. Neither method was sufficiently accurate in Eastern Han children. The modified Tibetan method was reliable in Western Han children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study conducted a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) to evaluate the carbon emissions associated with large yellow croaker farming on Aquaculture Vessel "Conson No. 1". The functional unit considered was 1 kg of fresh large yellow croakers delivered to a wholesaler. The life cycle of large yellow croaker farming on the aquaculture vessel was divided into five processes: feed production (FP), ship construction (SC), fingerling breeding (FB), adult fish farming (AF), and fish distribution (FD). Results showed that the carbon footprint (CF, kgCO2e/kg LW) for the complete life cycle amounted to 6.2170 kgCO2e/kg LW, while the CF per unit economic value of "Conson No. 1" large yellow croaker was estimated at 31 gCO2e/CNY. Among all processes, AF and FP had the highest CF contribution rates at 69.30% and 24.86%, respectively. Notably, energy consumption by aquaculture equipment on board emerged as the primary contributor across all sources of CF comparative analysis demonstrated that the CF of marine fish farming on the aquaculture vessel was lower than that of closed aquaculture systems' average level and it was a viable option for implementing low-carbon aquaculture in the deep sea. In order to reduce energy consumption and promote a low-carbon economy in aquaculture vessels, several suggestions were proposed, including adjusting energy structure, enhancing energy efficiency, improving feed ratio, and optimizing feeding methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This study aims to examine how young consumers perceive the advertising effectiveness of endorsements by virtual idols and how endorsements by virtual idols differ from endorsements by real human celebrities such as traditional celebrities and online influencers. Design/methodology/approach: An experimental study was conducted with 400 randomly selected young respondents in China in December 2022. A 3 × 2 factorial design was used to test how the type of celebrity endorser and level of product involvement influence the persuasiveness of advertising aimed at young adults. Among 400 respondents, the average age was 21.5 years. A total of 193 male and 207 female respondents participated in the experiment. Findings: Young consumers find virtual idols, online influencers and traditional celebrities attractive. Although virtual idols are the least credible among the three types of celebrity endorsers, young consumers tend to be more convinced by their endorsements of products with low levels of consumer involvement than those with high levels of involvement. Among the three types of celebrity endorsements, young consumers find traditional celebrities the most effective. In addition, young consumers' attitudes toward celebrity endorsers mediate the impact of celebrity endorsers' attractiveness and credibility on their attitudes toward the advertisements. The perceived level of product involvement moderates the transfer of meaning from the attitude toward the celebrity endorsers to the attitude toward the advertisement. Practical implications: First, when choosing celebrity endorsers to advertise products targeting young consumers, marketing communication practitioners should give priority to the endorsers' perceived credibility, as young consumers have a variety of views about them that can significantly affect their attitudes toward the advertisement. Second, real human celebrity endorsers are more effective than virtual idols in celebrity endorsements. However, virtual idols may be suited for use in advertisements to promote products with low involvement levels, such as soft drinks. Originality/value: To the best of the authors' knowledge, this is the first experimental study to attempt to analyze the effectiveness of virtual idols in advertising aimed at young consumers. This is also the first comparative study to introduce virtual idols as celebrity endorsers in product advertising and to compare their effectiveness with that of the two other types of commonly discussed celebrity endorsers, traditional celebrities and online influencers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Entrepreneurship education (EE) has rapidly evolved within higher education and has emerged as a pivotal mechanism for cultivating innovative and entrepreneurial talent. In China, while EE has made positive strides, it still faces a series of practical challenges. These issues cannot be effectively addressed solely through the efforts of universities. Based on the triple helix (TH) theory, this study delves into the unified objectives and practical content of EE in Chinese higher education. Through a comprehensive literature review on EE, coupled with educational objectives, planned behavior, and entrepreneurship process theories, this study introduces the 4H objective model of EE. 4H stands for Head (mindset), Hand (skill), Heart (attitude), and Help (support). Additionally, the research extends to a corresponding content model that encompasses entrepreneurial learning, entrepreneurial practice, startup services, and the entrepreneurial climate as tools for achieving the objectives. Based on a single-case approach, this study empirically explores the application of the content model at T-University. Furthermore, this paper elucidates how the university plays a role through the comprehensive development of entrepreneurial learning, practices, services, and climate in nurturing numerous entrepreneurs and facilitating the flourishing of the regional entrepreneurial ecosystem. This paper provides important contributions in its application of TH theory to develop EE within the Chinese context, and it provides clear guidance by elucidating the core objectives and practical content of EE. The proposed conceptual framework serves not only as a guiding tool but also as a crucial conduit for fostering the collaborative development of the EE ecosystem. To enhance the robustness of the framework, this study advocates strengthening empirical research on TH theory through multiple and comparative case studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Adult age estimation is one of the most challenging problems in forensic science and physical anthropology. In this study, we aimed to develop and evaluate machine learning (ML) methods based on the modified Gustafson's criteria for dental age estimation. In this retrospective study, a total of 851 orthopantomograms were collected from patients aged 15 to 40 years old. The secondary dentin formation (SE), periodontal recession (PE), and attrition (AT) of four mandibular premolars were analyzed according to the modified Gustafson's criteria. Ten ML models were generated and compared for age estimation. The partial least squares regressor outperformed other models in males with a mean absolute error (MAE) of 4.151 years. The support vector regressor (MAE = 3.806 years) showed good performance in females. The accuracy of ML models is better than the single-tooth model provided in the previous studies (MAE = 4.747 years in males and MAE = 4.957 years in females). The Shapley additive explanations method was used to reveal the importance of the 12 features in ML models and found that AT and PE are the most influential in age estimation. The findings suggest that the modified Gustafson method can be effectively employed for adult age estimation in the southwest Chinese population. Furthermore, this study highlights the potential of machine learning models to assist experts in achieving accurate and interpretable age estimation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines the relationship between science and technology insurance (S&T insurance) and regional innovation from a macro innovation input-output perspective. Based on provincial panel data from 2010–2019, the impact of S&T insurance on regional innovation is examined using a dynamic panel regression model. The results indicate that S&T insurance has a significant promotion effect on innovation inputs with a lagged effect but a negative effect on innovation outputs. Further, there is regional and subject heterogeneity in the role of S&T insurance. S&T insurance has a significant effect on innovation input in the central and eastern regions, but not in the western regions; S&T insurance has a significant effect on innovation in enterprises, but not on non-enterprise organisations. This study also examines whether there is a spillover effect of S&T insurance on regional innovation. The results show a spillover effect on innovation inputs but no spillover effect on innovation outputs. Finally, the authors suggest promoting the development of the S&T insurance market to improve regional innovation capacity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China's high-speed rail (HSR) construction provides an ideal 'quasi-natural experiment' in which regional issues are investigated. This study explores how HSR affects innovation efficiency and explores the mediating effect of urban form. Based on panel data comprising 280 cities in China from 2006 to 2016, this study uses a time-varying difference-in-differences method to analyze whether HSR affects regional innovation, and it explores the mediating effect of urban form. The results show the following. (1) HSR significantly promotes regional innovation. The parallel trend test shows that the treatment group and the control group have the same trend before HSR construction. (2) Knowledge spillovers are important manifestations through which HSR promotes regional innovation. HSR can significantly improve the level of total factor productivity and human capital. (3) Urban form mediates the impact of HSR on regional innovation significantly, which varies across the different indexes of different urban forms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Online influencers are increasingly used by brands around the globe to establish brand communication. This study aims to investigate the characteristics of social media content in terms of presentation style and brand communication among online influencers in China. The authors identified how characteristics of social media posts influence young consumers' engagement with the posts. Design/methodology/approach: The authors analyzed 1,779 posts from the Sina Weibo accounts of ten top-ranked online influencers by combining traditional content analysis with Web data crawling of audience engagement with social media posts. Findings: Online influencers in China more frequently used photos than videos to communicate with their social media audience. Altogether 8% and 6% of posts carried information about promotion and event, respectively. Posts with promotional incentives as well as event information were more likely to engage audiences. Altogether 22% of the sampled social media posts mentioned brands. Posts with brand information, however, were less likely to engage audiences. Furthermore, having long text is more effective than photos/images in generating likes from social media audiences. Originality/value: Combining content analysis of social media posts and engagement analytics obtained via Web data crawling, this study is, to the best of the authors' knowledge, one of the first empirical studies to analyze influencer marketing and young consumers' reactions to social media in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Celebrity endorsement is a commonly used advertising strategy in China. The entertainment and sports industries frequently employ celebrities to do promotions. The development of new media has led to the emergence of self-made micro-celebrities, termed 'online influencers'. However, most studies analyze the advertising persuasiveness of either celebrities or online influencers separately. Only a limited number of studies compare celebrity endorsement from the perspective of both celebrities and online influencers, and none of them analyze advertising persuasiveness from a relational approach. A cross-sectional survey was conducted with 435 respondents in China. Results indicated that respondents' perception of celebrities was more positive than online influencers. Furthermore, the motivation driving the relationship was different between celebrity endorsers and online influencers. Insights for strategic marketing engagement were drawn from the results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Virtual reality (VR), as a new type of media technology, significantly improves the audience experience with product presentation in the marketing communication field. The apartment rental market, particularly in China, has no exception in adopting VR technology in its communication strategy. VR usage has been boosted since the outbreak of COVID-19 and has become a widespread application in the global apartment rental market. Although extant studies have analyzed how real estate companies use VR technology to enhance customer experience, few studies have been made to explore the power of VR in apartment rental advertising, particularly in targeting the youth in China market. To fill this research gap, this study aims to figure out how young consumers perceive VR advertising and characteristics of VR used in apartment rental advertisements, and how VR advertising affects young consumers' intentions to rent an apartment. Design/methodology/approach: A cross-sectional survey was conducted in 2021 with 301 Chinese university students aged 18 to 23. All respondents were invited offline and guided to watch one selected rental advertisement with VR technology featuring an apartment of about 50 square meters and then complete a questionnaire. Findings: VR's media richness in the apartment rental advertising increases its sense of presence perceived by the survey respondents. Both VR's media richness and sense of presence positively influence respondents' attitudes toward the advertised apartment. If respondents evaluate the advertised apartment positively, they are more willing to rent the advertised apartment. Research limitations/implications: The sample size is not large enough to represent all Generation Z consumers in China. The use of the nonprobability sampling method also limits the generalizability of the study results. Practical implications: To counter the challenges created by COVID-19, apartment rental service providers and apartment owners/landlords are suggested to enhance the application of VR technology to the apartment rental advertisements to grow young consumers' interest in the advertised apartments and even their renting intention. Originality/value: To the best of the authors' knowledge, this is the first quantitative study to assess young consumers' responses to VR apartment rental advertising in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on the improved Tapio decoupling model and geographic information system spatial analysis technology, this paper studied the spatial and temporal pattern evolution law of the decoupling relationship between innovation capability and resource consumption in 283 cities in China. The non-residual complete decomposition model was used to decompose the rebound effect of resource consumption in China's urban innovation development. We found (1) during the study period, innovation capability and resource consumption in Chinese cities showed a weak decoupling state. (2) Regions with significant decoupling showed a trend of spatial agglomeration, and the gap in the degree of urban decoupling gradually narrowed. (3) The increase in urban population growth and innovation intensity in China have a positive pull effect on resource consumption. The improvement in resource efficiency has an inhibitory effect on resource consumption, but this inhibition is less than the effect of population scale and innovation intensity on resource consumption. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With rapid economic growth in the twenty-first century, innovation has become an essential component of national development, and industry-university-research regional collaborative innovation is the key to implementing China's innovation plan. Using panel data from 30 provinces and cities in China (excluding Tibet Autonomous Region) from 2011 to 2018, this paper employs the two-stage dynamic DEA model to develop a rating index system of regional collaborative innovation performance, which is divided into knowledge innovation stage and technology innovation stage, and measures the collaborative innovation efficiency of 30 provinces in China. The environmental regulation score is then determined by using the entropy method. Finally, an experimental application of the panel Tobit model is conducted to investigate the impact mechanism of environmental regulation on regional collaborative innovation. The results reveal that the collaborative innovation efficiency values of the majority of provinces are between 0.5 and 0.7, leaving ample room for growth. When the efficiency value of collaborative innovation is broken down by region, the eastern, central, and western regions show a pattern of "rising in the east, stable in the center, and falling in the west." The findings of the Tobit regression reveal that the effect of environmental regulation on regional collaborative innovation performance follows a "U"-shaped distribution, confirming the "Porter Hypothesis." This study proposes remedies and proposals to enhance regional collaborative innovation performance from the perspective of environmental regulation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Innovation is an important driving force in regional sustainable development, and innovation efficiency improvements can promote regional innovation. This study uses the Hansen threshold regression model to examine innovation efficiency's impact on the ecological footprint at different economic development levels in China's provinces from 2003 to 2013. It uses the super efficiency slacks-based model to measure innovation efficiency, with night light data from the operational line-scan system employed by the defense meteorological program representing the regional economic development level. The conclusions are as follows: (1) improvements in regional innovation efficiency have an inhibitory effect on the ecological footprint, and this effect gradually weakens with increasing levels of economic development. (2) The inhibitory effect is spatially heterogeneous: it is stronger in eastern China than in central and western China. (3) Scientific and technological human resources are inhibitory at first, later promoting the ecological footprint. Scientific and technological financial and informational resources, as well as the number of scientific papers, promote the ecological footprint, but the promoting effect of financial resources is relatively smaller. Meanwhile, the number of patent applications has an inhibitory effect on the ecological footprint. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The rodents and shrews are important reservoirs for a large number of zoonotic pathogens. Here by performing a literature review, we determined the occurrence and distribution of rodents and shrews in China at three scales including province, city, and county levels. The peer-reviewed papers published in English and Chinese were collected, standard procedures were applied in reference books, field surveys and websites to remove duplicates, and information on recorded locations of rodents and shrews was extracted. The dataset contains 13,911 records of geo-referenced occurrences for 364 rodents and shrews distributed over 1,663 locations distinguished. As pathogens continue to emerge from rodents and shrews, this dataset could assist efforts to put preliminary bounds around a variety of spatial analyses of rodents and shrews, facilitate a better understanding of the transmission risk of the pathogens they carry, and be helpful for assessing the risk of future emergence of rodent-borne zoonoses. Measurement(s) diversity and distribution of rodents and shrews Technology Type(s) literature review Factor Type(s) diversity and distribution Sample Characteristic - Organism rodents • shrews Sample Characteristic - Environment diversity • distribution Sample Characteristic - Location China [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Knowledge has become the most important factor of production with the emergence of the knowledge economy. We use the system GMM estimation method to analyze how cross-national knowledge transfer (CNKT) impacts the total factor productivity (TFP) of China's 31 provinces and evolution of China's ability to absorb foreign knowledge. We also examine the possible intermediary effects of foreign direct investment (FDI), outward FDI, import trade, export trade, and direct technology spillovers between CNKT and TFP. We find that: (1) CNKT improves China's TFP and positively impacts FDI, import trade, export trade, and direct technology spillover; It shows that CNKT not only helps to improve China's TFP, but also provides innovative knowledge reserve for the absorption of international technology spillovers. (2) The improvement in the domestic infrastructure construction level, R&D capacity, human capital, economic development and openness has obvious absorption effect on CNKT, which is conducive to the absorption and utilisation of international advanced knowledge. (3) FDI, import trade, and direct technology spillover play a partial mediating role between CNKT and TFP, and the intermediary effect of import trade technology spillover is the strongest. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As an ordinary alteration mineral in the process of fluid–rock interaction, chlorite (most especially its chemical composition) has the potential to become an effective tool to reveal the physicochemical conditions during alteration and help exploration. However, its elemental characteristics during the chloritization process are yet to be clearly understood. The Dehua‐Youxi‐Yongtai (DYY) ore district in south‐east China is one of the potential areas of gold and polymetallic deposits. Lying in the north‐west section of the DYY ore district, the Donghua area is notable for its remarkable metallogenic potential, and porphyry‐epithermal systems might have developed in the area. This study focuses on the elemental characteristics of chlorite in the Donghua area as footprints of the alteration process and mineralization vectoring. According to the geological features and occurrences, the chlorite from Donghua can be divided into two generations: (a) Chlorite I is closely related to chloritization developed in intrusive and volcanic rocks (Permian quartz monzobiorite and Jurassic volcanic rocks of Changlin Formation), and (b) chlorite II is accompanied by superimposed hydrothermal overprinting. The alteration process suggested by overprinting chlorite II can be regarded as almost coeval with the ca. 154–153 Ma magmatic event, and chlorite II is later than chlorite I generation. According to the geothermometry of the chlorite in Donghua, chlorite I might have crystallized on the temperature of 180–240°C with a peak of ~200°C, and the overprinting chlorite II might have experienced two episodes of hydrothermal/epithermal fluid pulsing. The mineral geochemistry of the trace elements in the two generations of the chlorite in Donghua shows different characteristics. The replacement of Mg2+ by Fe2+ plays an important role for ionic substitution in the octahedral position, especially for chlorite II. The other occasion might be Mg and Fe jointly entering the octahedral position as well as Mg‐ and Fe‐AlVI substitution mechanisms. The enrichment of Mg especially in chlorite II suggests low‐grade oxidation and acid conditions, which might be beneficial for the transportation of metallogenic substances. The obvious differences of Co and Ni are remarkable aspects of the trace elements of chlorite in Donghua, resulted by the ion substitution and function of different octahedral site preference energy. The mineral chemistry of chlorite II from Donghua can be helpful for targeting and exploration vectoring in the DYY ore district. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The Jingxin Zhidong formula (JXZDF), a traditional Chinese medicine, has been widely used to treat tic disorder (TD) in China. However, its efficacy has not yet been evaluated in a randomized controlled trial. We aimed to compare the effectiveness and safety of JXZDF and aripiprazole in patients with TD. Methods: In this randomized, double-blind, double-dummy, parallel controlled trial, 120 patients with TD, aged 6– 16 years were randomly assigned to receive either JXZDF (n = 60, 17.6 g/day) or aripiprazole (n = 60, 10 mg/day) for 12 weeks. The primary outcome was measured using the Yale Global Tic Severity Scale (YGTSS). Adverse events were assessed using the Treatment Emergent Symptom Scale. Results: JXZDF produced greater improvements than aripiprazole in the following YGTSS subscale scores at the endpoint: total tic scores (P = 0.004, 95% CI: 1.085– 3.494) and total motor scores (P = 0.004, 95% CI: 0.313– 1.739). The difference in rate between the groups was no significant (χ2 = 0.702, degrees of freedom = 1, P = 0.402). The overall incidence of adverse events was significantly lower in the JXZDF group than in the aripiprazole group (0% vs 6.67%, P < 0.001). Conclusion: JXZDF had a better safety profile than aripiprazole, and it was not inferior in terms of clinical efficacy. JXZDF warrants consideration as a potential treatment option for TD. Trial Registration: CHiCTR, ChiCTR2000039601 (Registered November 2, 2020). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The city is both a carrier and a subject of innovation. Based on the triple helix theory of industry–university research and the theory of spatial correlation, this study constructs a collaborative innovation framework both within the cities and between cities, and uses a network data envelopment analysis (DEA) model and spatial econometric model to measure and analyze the collaborative innovation efficiency in 75 innovative cities in China. The results show that collaborative innovation efficiency within cities is on the rise, and the efficiency of "research to production" is significantly higher than that of "learning to research." Industrial structure and foreign factors have inhibited the efficiency improvements, and infrastructure and living standards have different promoting effects on different stages of efficiency. Between cities, capital flows have obvious spillover effects, which promote the efficiency of innovation networks, while the long‐term characteristics of institutional learning have a near‐term negative impact. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mite-borne diseases, such as scrub typhus and hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome, present an increasing global public health concern. Most of the mite-borne diseases are caused by the blood-sucking mites. To present a comprehensive understanding of the distributions and diversity of blood-sucking mites in China, we derived information from peer-reviewed journal articles, thesis publications and books related to mites in both Chinese and English between 1978 and 2020. Geographic information of blood-sucking mites' occurrence and mite species were extracted and georeferenced at the county level. Standard operating procedures were applied to remove duplicates and ensure accuracy of the data. This dataset contains 6,443 records of mite species occurrences at the county level in China. This geographical dataset provides an overview of the species diversity and wide distributions of blood-sucking mites, and can potentially be used in distribution prediction of mite species and risk assessment of mite-borne diseases in China. Measurement(s) Distribution Technology Type(s) digital curation • Geographic Information System Factor Type(s) genus • species • province • city • county • GPS Sample Characteristic - Organism mite • Acari Sample Characteristic - Location China Machine-accessible metadata file describing the reported data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.14459055 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Latecomer technology imitation and learning is an important driving force to enhance their competitiveness and total factor productivity (TFP). This paper constructs green TFP (GTFP) based on the SBM–Global–Luenberger index, using Chinese provincial panel data from 2003 to 2017. The marginal effects of foreign direct investment (FDI), outward foreign direct investment (OFDI), import and export, and intangible and total international technology spillovers (ITS) on GTFP were assessed. These effects were analysed under the influence of absorption capabilities such as research and development intensity, economic and financial, and openness. A spatial diffusion model based on three diffusion sources in China's first-tier cities, Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou, was constructed to describe the heterogeneous impacts of ITS on GTFP under the marketisation of diffusion sources. We found: (1) ITS based on exports and OFDI promote economic, imports and FDI are relatively small, independent technological innovation is the dominant source of economic growth. (2) Considering spatial diffusion, the contribution of Beijing's ITS is relatively weak, and Shanghai's contribution is stronger. Coastal areas have the largest marginal effect of ITS on GTFP, and ITS do not attenuate as geographic distances increase. (3) The market has a multiplier effect, modifying the relationship between ITS and GTFP. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Celebrity endorsement is common in the marketing communications context, especially in the Asian market. Thanks to the popularity of online DIY celebrities, many marketing communications practitioners have started to involve such celebrities in brand and product endorsement strategies. However, few existing studies have compared the endorsement persuasiveness of online DIY celebrity endorsers with traditional celebrity endorsers, particularly in the Asian market. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to fill the literature gap by examining how consumers perceive and evaluate online DIY and traditional celebrity endorsers. Design/methodology/approach: In-depth personal interviews were conducted with 15 interviewees with a median age of 23. They were asked to report their overall evaluations and attitudes toward online DIY celebrity endorsers and traditional celebrity endorsers, and their respective endorsement strategies. Findings: Although the popularity of online DIY celebrities is growing in China, they received a lower level of appreciation from interviewees than traditional celebrities. The persuasiveness of online DIY celebrity endorsers was not as effective as that of traditional celebrity endorsers. Interviewees even held an overall negative attitude toward online DIY celebrities and their endorsements. Interviewees perceived traditional celebrity endorsers more positively, and their endorsements to be more effective, than online DIY celebrity endorsers. Research limitations/implications: The small sample size may constrain any generalization to be drawn from the findings. Future studies are suggested using survey and experiment methodology to further test and compare the persuasiveness of online DIY and traditional celebrity endorsement. Practical implications: We suggest communications practitioners continue to use traditional celebrities to improve overall brand image and enhance the target audience's purchase intention as the exploratory study reveals that audiences have an overall positive experience with traditional celebrities, instead of online DIY celebrities. If online DIY celebrities are preferred in communications strategies, we suggest practitioners carefully select qualified online DIY celebrity endorsers based on image congruence between such online DIY celebrities and the product category in that audiences in the exploratory study are quite cautious when exposed to product endorsement messages from online DIY celebrities. Besides this, audiences have more confidence in product endorsement if there is a fit between online DIY celebrities' expertise and the endorsed product type. Originality/value: This is the first qualitative study on consumers' perception of product endorsement at the level of online DIY and traditional celebrity endorsers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study measures the ecological efficiency of various regions in China through the Global-Malmquist model. The results show a trend of an initial sharp decline in ecological efficiency followed by a gradual increase temporally, but there is no significant correlation spatially. Using the gravity model to quantify the attractiveness of the regions' capital and human resources for collaborative innovation, we estimate the impact of collaborative innovation on eco-efficiency through the system Generalized Method of Moments (GMM) model. The results show that technological innovation capital in other regions has a negative 'U' relationship with local ecological efficiency, while scientific and technological innovation human resources have a positive 'U' relationship. Based on these findings, this study puts forward policy recommendations for local governments to advance their development agendas alongside their environmental priorities in line with their specific circumstances. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explored the impacts of the changing urban form on the ecological efficiency of administrative areas and urban agglomerations in China under different regional scales using the slack-based measure of efficiency model. It also measured the morphological characteristics of cities across several regions using the Largest Patch Index (LPI), Patch Density (PD), and Fractal Dimension (FD). Using the threshold regression model, the impact mechanism of urban form on ecological efficiency was examined. Results show that the ecological efficiency of the regions show an "N" type change over time. LPI and PD show a significant impact in promoting ecological efficiency while FD inhibits ecological efficiency but is not significant until the regional scale reaches 1,352 km2. We conclude that the development of urban agglomeration is more conducive to improving regional ecological efficiency, which will give policymakers some inspiration in developing a regional development strategy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study uses China's provincial panel data for 2003–2016 to estimate the turning point of technology spillovers promoting economic growth in the coastal and inland areas. The results show that the turning point in coastal areas is significantly higher than that in inland areas. However, improved absorptive capacity as a result of regional disparity increases the threshold of technology spillovers from promotion to suppression in inland areas but decreases it in coastal areas. Then, this study further tests the threshold characteristics of absorptive capacity factors influencing international technology spillovers using a double-threshold regression model and estimates the threshold values of both forward and reverse spillovers from the viewpoint of knowledge context, economic development, opening degree and human resources infrastructure. In conclusion, the effect of absorptive capacity factors on international spillovers is nonlinear, that is, when absorptive capacity factors are between the two threshold values, technology spillovers are maximised. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights • Sacrum and coccyx measurements were analyzed for sex and stature estimation in China. • The stepwise analyses of all measurements are more accurate in sex estimation. • Stature was significantly correlated with the sacrum and coccyx measurements. • Sacrum and coccyx measurements can be utilized for stature estimation. Abstract The present study is an attempt to estimation of stature and sex from sacrum and coccyx measurements by multidetector computed tomography (MDCT) in a contemporary Chinese population. Nine measurements for every sacrum and coccyx were taken from CT image of 350 Chinese. The sample is composed of 190 males and 160 females with an average age of 55 and 50 years, respectively. Discriminant function was used in sex estimation and regression analysis was used in stature estimation from these two bones. The stepwise analysis of all measurements yielded a sex classification accuracy rate of 84.9%. The classification accuracy rates of the univariate discriminant function analyses are 58.3%–76.9%. For stature estimation, the accuracy of stature prediction ranged from 4.891 to 6.107 cm for male, from 4.474 to 5.606 cm for female, respectively. This paper provides indications that the sacrum and coccyx are important bones for sex estimation and they could be effectively used as alternatives in forensic cases when the skull and pelvis are unavailable. Furthermore, the regression equations presented in this study may be useful for forensic estimation of the stature of Chinese individuals, particularly in cases where better predictors such as the long bones are not available. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on the general time-varying parameter vector autoregressive model and data mining technology, this study proposes a new extension mixed innovation time-varying parameter stochastic volatility vector autoregressive model and investigates time-varying characteristics and efficiencies of different shock effects on China’s monetary policy towards inflation and GDP. Using sample monthly data for 1979-2014, we utilize typical time points to illustrate the mechanisms between different economic variables via the Markov Chain Monte Carlo method and impulse response function. The empirical results show that the monetary transmission mechanism in China can be effective in the real economy, but with delay and efficiency leakage. The average delay and maximum efficiency can be measured through the MI model, which can capture accurate information of economic variables, effectively improving the precision of macroeconomic regulation and control. Meanwhile, the difference between the impacts of different channels is obvious; while the impact of interest rates is not significant, the impact of stock market is significant. The action mechanism between GDP and the inflation rate undergoes a gradual structural change, evidently displaying time-varying characteristics and a gradually weakening impact over time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Technological change is one of the most effective methods to reduce carbon intensity. Meanwhile, cities are essential carriers of technological change and carbon emissions. Considering the extensive land expansion in urbanization which always manifests in the density of urban economic activity, this paper analyzes the relationship between urban density and carbon intensity and also the mediating role of directed technological change to explore the interaction among them. First, the authors construct a theoretical model that considers the knowledge production sector, final goods production sector, and technical choice. Second, based on the panel data of 280 cities in China from 2008 to 2017, the authors use the two-way fixed effect regression, mediation-effect regression, and panel-threshold model to examine the results. The results show that: (1) The increase in urban density helps to reduce carbon intensity. (2) Capital-saving technological change is a mediating factor in the path of urban density's effect on carbon intensity. (3) With the increase in market size, the effect of urban density on capital-saving technological change weakens, thereby weakening the inhibitory effect on carbon intensity. Findings can provide a reference for reducing carbon intensity in other countries to formulate reasonable and practical policies for sustainable urbanization, especially for developing countries. • The increase in urban density helps to suppress carbon intensity. • Capital-saving technology change mediates urban density effect on carbon intensity. • Larger markets reduce urban density inhibition effect on carbon intensity. • The density and intensity of urban construction should be scientifically planned. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Shitouban Au deposit is a vein-type deposit, which located in the Dehua-Youxi area (Fujian Province, southeast China) and hosted by late Jurassic volcanic-sedimentary rocks. In this study, a detailed investigation on fluid inclusions, multiple isotopic compositions (H-O-S-Pb-Sr) and Rb Sr isotope dating of quartz have been carried out in an attempt to constrain the ore-forming processes and ore genesis. The deposit shares a characteristic of low-sulfidation epithermal Au deposit, such as low-temperature (peak T h 160–180 °C, average 168 °C) and low-salinity (2-3 wt% NaCl equiv., average 2.47). The hydrogen and calculated oxygen isotope values for fluids are −64 to −54‰ (average − 60‰) and - 0.95 to 0.76‰ (average 0.15‰) respectively, indicating that the ore-forming fluid was a mixture of dominant meteroric water and subsidiary magmatic fluid. Pyrite from the deposit shows a δ34S range from - 4.5 to - 1.2‰ (average −2.4‰), indicating a magmatic sulfur. The lead isotope ratios of pyrite, 206Pb/204Pb (18.399–18.494), 207Pb/204Pb (15.695–15.841), 208Pb/204Pb (38.842–39.297), are more radiogenic than the Jurassic magmatic rocks in the area, indicating a mixing metal source of magmatic and basement rocks. Based on the Rb Sr isotopic isochron age of Au-bearing quartz, the metallogenic epoch of Shitouban Au deposit is 157 ± 1 Ma, and consistent with the Jurassic volcanism in the Dehua-Youxi area. It is proposed that the primary hydrothermal fluids may have exsolved from the late Jurassic magma chamber and subsequently ascent into the shallower crust level near paleosurface to mix with meteoric water, which cause precipitation of Au and sulfides in the epithermal environment due to a decrease in metal solubility triggered by fluid boiling, cooling, and mixing. [Display omitted] • Shitouban Au deposit is a late Jurassic epithermal deposit in Dehua-Youxi area, Southeast China. • The ore-forming fluids show low-temperature and low-salinity characteristics. • H O isotopes indicate a mixture of dominant meteoric water with magmatic fluid. • Pb isotopes indicate a mixing metal source of magmatic and basement rocks. • Rb Sr geochronology of Au-bearing quartz yielded an age of 157 ± 1 Ma. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: In the present work, in order to investigate the nearshore wave energy resources, the third-generation wave model SWAN is utilised to simulate wave parameters of the Shandong peninsula in China for 16 years (1996–2011). The wind parameters used to simulate waves are obtained by the Weather Research & Forecasting Model (WRF). The modelling results of wave are validated by observation data. The spatial distributions of significant wave height and wave energy density are analysed under both extreme and mean wave conditions. The wave energy resources of the Chengshantou headland, with the highest wave energy density, the Langyatai headland and the Yellow River Delta are also studied in detail. For the above three sites, the mean month averaged wave energy is investigated, the wave energy resources are characterised in terms of wave state parameters, and wave energy roses are introduced. The values of extreme high and time-averaged nearshore wave energy density are 296 kW/m and 5.1 kW/m respectively. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The Yangtze River exhibits a high biodiversity and plays an important role in global biodiversity conservation. As the world's busiest inland river in regard to shipping, little attention has been paid to underwater noise pollution. In 2017, the underwater noise level in 25 riverside locations along the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River mainly at night time were investigated by using passive acoustic monitoring method. Approximately 88% and 40% of the sampled sites exhibit noise levels exceeding the underwater acoustic thresholds of causing responsiveness and temporary threshold shift, respectively, in cetacean. Noise pollution may impose a high impact on fish with physostomous swim bladders and Weberian ossicles, such as silver carp, bighead carp, goldfish and common carp, whereas it may affect fish with physoclistous swim bladders and without Weberian ossicles, such as lake sturgeon and paddlefish, to a lesser extent. Noise levels reductions of approximately 10 and 20 dB were observed in the middle and lower reaches, respectively, of the Yangtze River over the 2012 level. The green development mode of the ongoing construction of green shipping in the Yangtze River Economic Belt, including the development of green shipping lanes, ports, ships and transportation organizations, may account for the alleviated underwater noise pollution. Follow-up noise mitigation endeavors, such as the extension of ship speed restrictions and the study and implementation of the optimal navigation speed in ecologically important areas, are required to further reduce the noise level in the Yangtze River to protect local porpoises and fish. [Display omitted] • 88% sites in the Yangtze River can cause responsiveness in porpoises. • 40% sites in the Yangtze River can cause hearing threshold shifts in porpoises. • Noise impact are high on goldfish and common carp and low on sturgeon and paddlefish. • Follow-up noise mitigation endeavors are still required in the Yangtze River. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Promoting sustainable development in resource-based cities is required to accelerate transformative economic development, which also can promote harmonious development and accelerate progress of industrialization while playing a critical role in China's urbanization. However, the role of regional sustainable development plans within resource-based cities is unclear. This paper selected 87 resource-based cities as the treated group, matching propensity scores of city characteristics on a total of 253 cities in China from 2008 to 2018. The paper used the difference-in-differences method to evaluate the impact of the implementation of the "National Plan for Resource-based City Sustainable Development (2013-2020)", measuring six years before and five years post-planning implementation. We found: (1) The implementation of the plan has promoted economic, social, and ecological transformation by 19.6%, 55.4% and 74.5% respectively (p < 0.01), but there appeared to be no additional effects on sustainable utilization of resources. (2) Among driving factors, market development affected all forms of transformation the most. (3) The impact of this transformation varied by stages of urban development according to the full life cycle of the resource-based city and its local resources. Specifically, the transformation effect of the growing type city in economic, social, ecological and resource transformation was the strongest among that of all type stages. • Regard pilot policy of Resource-based City Sustainable Development as a quasi-natural experiment. • Employ a differences-in-differences method with panel data of 253 cities in China from 2008 to 2018. • Evaluate policy effects upon resource-based city sustainable transformation. • Exploit drive mechanism and market development is an important driving factor. • Transformation effects vary from stages of urban development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Qingyunshan Cu-Au deposit: an intermediate-low temperature IS epithermal deposit. [Display omitted] • Qingyunshan Cu-Au deposit in Fujian province is a vein-type epithermal deposit. • H-O isotopes indicate a dominant meteoric water for ore fluids. • S-Pb isotopes indicate a major magmatic source for ore metals. • Pyrite Re-Os dating yielded an age of 158.1 ± 9.3 Ma. • Zircon U-Pb dating yielded an age of 162 ± 1.0 Ma for the Nanyuan Formation volcanic rock. The Qingyunshan Cu-Au deposit, located in the Dehua-Youxi area (Fujian Province, southeastern China), is a vein-type deposit that occurs along fractured zones in the Late Jurassic volcanic-sedimentary rocks and Early Silurian intrusions. Three mineral paragenetic stages are identified, including the pyrite-quartz veins (stage I), polymetallic sulfide-quartz-calcite veins (stage II), and calcite (±siderite)-chalcedony-comb quartz veins (stage III). The stage II is the main mineralization stage, dominated by pyrite, chalcopyrite, and galena as well as two generations of Fe-poor sphalerite with average Fe content of 0.84 wt% in the early sub-stage and 0.31 wt% in the late sub-stage. Fluid inclusion studies indicate that the stage I has a temperature of 220–240 °C and salinity of 3.00–3.50 wt% NaCleq., whereas the stage II has lower temperature (140–160 °C), but similarly low salinity (2.50–3.00 wt% NaCleq.), suggesting it is an intermediate-low temperature epithermal deposit. Hydrogen and oxygen isotope data indicate the fluids of stage I has a δD value of −72.5 to −69.5‰ and δ18O w value of −2.96 to −0.46‰, whereas the stage II fluids show similar or slightly higher δD value (−68.0 to −66.5‰), but significantly lower δ18O w value from −6.96 to −6.26‰, which suggest meteoric water predominated in the ore-forming fluid and shows an increasing trend from stage I to II. The δ34S values of sulfide minerals are between −3.7 and −2.3‰, consistent with a major magmatic sulfur source. The lead isotope data show a relatively narrow range with 206Pb/204Pb, 207Pb/204Pb, and 208Pb/204Pb values of 18.392–18.513, 15.642–15.758, and 38.497–39.043, respectively. These Pb-isotope data are similar to those of the Late Jurassic intrusions, but quite different from those of the surrounding rocks of Early Silurian quartz diorite. Pyrite from the ores yielded a Re-Os isochron age of 158.1 ± 9.3 Ma, which is similar to the zircon U-Pb age (162.0 ± 1.0 Ma) of the host dacite crystal tuff in the Nanyuan Formation. Therefore, we concluded that the Late Jurassic magmatic activity (ca. 160 Ma) has a genetic relation with formation of the Qingyunshan vein-type Cu-Au deposit, for which the ore metals were mainly derived from the magma, but ore-forming fluids evolved from a mixing of magmatic fluids and meteoric water with the later playing a major role in the main stage of ore formation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Considering the heterogeneity of environmental regulation, this study calculates the green innovation efficiency of 235 cities in Mainland China from 2004 to 2016. The study builds a spatial measurement model based on the geographic weight matrix to verify the mechanism through which environmental regulation affects regional green innovation efficiency. This study mainly finds that 1) green innovation efficiency has a large spatial imbalance in 235 Chinese cities. During the study period, green innovation efficiency rises in Eastern China, remains stable in Central China, and declines in Western China. Overall, China shows a trend of "rising in the East, stabilizing in Central China, declining in the West."; 2) the spatial autocorrelation test shows a significant positive autocorrelation of urban green innovation efficiency and the spatial measurement test results show that it has a significant spatial spillover effect; and 3) according to the spatial error model, environmental regulation has a positive U-shaped relationship with urban green innovation efficiency that can be reinforced by increasing investment in educational resources, optimizing the industrial structure, and improving economic development, supporting the Porter hypothesis at the scale of Chinese cities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on electronic waste (e-waste) and highlights its health and environmental impact. It informs that by the year 2020 e-waste from old computers will increase between 200 percent and 500 percent in South Africa and China and reports that discarded mobile phones will be approximately 7 and 18 times higher in China and India than in 2007 levels. It also highlights that if the problem of e-waste is not tackled in time it will pose serious health threat.

The developmental patterns of the pelvic epiphyses are one of the anatomical markers used in the assessment of skeletal age and the legally relevant age threshold. In this study, four regression models and five classification models were developed for forensic age estimation and the determination of the 18-year threshold, respectively. A total of 2137 conventional pelvic radiographs (1215 males and 922 females) aged 10.00-25.99 years were analyzed, and the ossification and fusion of the iliac crest and ischial tuberosity epiphyses were scored separately. The epiphyses on both sides were used as inputs for all models. The accuracy of the regression models was compared using the mean absolute error (MAE) and root mean square error. The percentages of correct classifications were evaluated for the determination of the 18-year threshold. Support vector regression (SVR) and gradient boosting regression (GBR) showed higher accuracy for age estimation in both sexes. The lowest MAE was 1.38 years in males when using SVR and 1.16 years in females when using GBR. In the demarcation of minors and adults, the percentage of correct classification was over 92%, and the area under the receiver operating characteristic curves was over 0.91 in all models, except the Bernoulli naive Bayes classifier. This study demonstrated that the present models may be helpful for age estimation and the determination of the 18-year threshold. However, owing to the high effective dose of ionizing radiation used during conventional radiography of the pelvis, it is expected that these models will be tested with pelvic MRI for age estimation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective of this research was to conduct a performance evaluation of three food waste/biowaste-to-biogas pilot projects across 7 scenarios in China based on multi-criteria decision analysis (MCDA) methodology. The projects ranked included a food waste-biogas project in Beijing, a food waste-biogas project in Suzhou and a co-digestion project producing biomethane in Hainan. The projects were ranked from best to worst based on technical, economic and environmental criteria under the MCDA framework. The results demonstrated that some projects are encountering operational problems. Based on these findings, six national policy recommendations were provided: (1) shift away from capital investment subsidies to performance-based subsidies; (2) re-design feed in tariffs; (3) promote bio-methane and project clustering; (4) improve collection efficiency by incentivizing FW producers to direct waste to biogas projects; (5) incentivize biogas projects to produce multiple outputs; (6) incentivize food waste-based projects to co-digest food waste with other substrates for higher gas output. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • Ecopath with Ecosim was used to model and compare three floodplain lake ecosystems. • Fishing ban in lakes connected in flood season may cause food web simplification. • Six scenarios in Ecosim were modeled to explore the optimized countermeasures. • The autumn-winter connection will benefit the restoration in ecosystem complexity. • Further removing predatory fish helps to enrich the food sources of top predators. The ecological degradation of freshwater river and lake system has developed into a global crisis. From January 2020, a "ten-year fishing ban" has been conducted in the Yangtze River and its affiliated lakes in China, which is an unprecedented and one of the most stringent biodiversity conservation plans in the World. However, there are still uncertainties about its restorative effect, because the river-lake isolation has not been properly addressed. To provide more references for the management of widespread sluice-controlled lakes, we constructed Ecopath models for three oxbow lakes under different management modes, compared the outputs, and manipulated through Ecosim simulations. The model comparison showed that, the lakes with longer protection, which only connected to the river in flood phase, were more developed but not more complex in ecological structure. Whereas year-round connected lake had also been simplified after the fishing ban: a 10 cm mesh net allowed small fish flowing in but restricted large fish wintering out, thus caused its biomass accumulation. According to the trophodynamic simulations, the maturity and complexity could be improved simultaneously when large individuals of river-lake migratory fish were removed from the system. Our results indicated a possible widespread food web simplification in sluice-controlled lakes of the middle and lower Yangtze floodplain during the "ten-year fishing ban", and we suggested that future seasonal connecting scheme should be aiming at driving large river-lake migratory species back to the river, including enlarging net mesh and increasing water discharge in autumn and winter. Our findings make new complements to seasonal connecting methods and may benefit the conservation of floodplain lakes worldwide. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The resent study was to assess the relationship between the radiologic anthropometry of the lumbar vertebral dimensions and stature in Chinese and to develop regression formulae to estimate stature from these dimensions. A total of 412 normal, healthy volunteers, comprising 206 males and 206 females, were recruited. The linear regression analysis were performed to assess the correlation between the stature and lengths of various segments of the lumbar vertebral column. Among the regression equations created for single variable, the predictive value was greatest for the reconstruction of stature from the lumbar segment in both sexes and subgroup analysis. When individual vertebral body was used, the heights of posterior vertebral body of L 3 gave the most accurate results for male group, the heights of central vertebral body of L 1 provided the most accurate results for female group and female group with age above 45 years, the heights of central vertebral body of L 3 gave the most accurate results for the groups with age from 20–45 years for both sexes and the male group with age above 45 years. The heights of anterior vertebral body of L 5 gave the less accurate results except for the heights of anterior vertebral body of L 4 provided the less accurate result for the male group with age above 45 years. As expected, multiple regression equations were more successful than equations derived from a single variable. The research observations suggest lumbar vertebral dimensions to be useful in stature estimation among Chinese population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to determine the electromagnetic characteristics of high sulfur coking coal under different conditions, to learning the wave absorbing frequency range and provide a theoretical base for the selection of coal desulfurization conditions by microwave radiation, the reflection transmission method was used to measure the permittivity of coking coal with high sulphur rate in Shanxi by scanning in the frequency range between 0. 2-18. 0 GHz. The effects of separation density, grain size and mineral content were investigated. The results show that the real part ε'of the coal's permittivity decreases slightly with the increase of the frequency, and ε" decreases first then increases and achieve maximum value on 15. 619 GHz. Peak of tancrappears on 15. 664 GHz. When the kaolinite content in coal increases, ε' and ε" increase accordingly. The calcite basically has no influence on dielectric properties, and quartz is between these two. In the range of 0. 2-10. 0 GHz, ε' becomes larger with the grain size increasing, and ε" becomes smaller. For the coal sample with density above 1. 8 g/cm³, ε' and ε" are clearly higher than coal sample with other density level. In addition,the dielectric constant of coal sample with high ash content is higher than coal sample with low ash content. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The Tieshan complex body (TCB) is actually a potassic metamorphic complex. • The K-feldspar in TCB is mainly microcline, indicating its hydrothermal origin. • Hydrothermal quartz and melanite, combining K-feldspar, confirmed the origin of TCB. • Massive potassic metasomatism indicates huge potential of rare earth oxide resources. • The 39Ar-40Ar age of feldspars is 108 – 126 Ma, suggesting the Mesozoic alteration event. Tieshan complex body (TCB) is located in Zhenghe County on the border of Zhejiang and Fujian, covering an area of about 5.7 km2. Tieshan complex body (TCB) is the most developed metasomatised area in the southeast of China, which was misunderstood as a syenite intrusion. Much Study has carried on at Shizigang in the southwest of the TCB. The alkali metasomatites are composed of feldspar, pyroxene, amphibole, biotite and melanite et al. Potassic feldspars in Complex body have four kinds of forms and can be separated into three stages: (1) one in facial alkali alteration and one in alkali alteration with melanites, (2) one in light alkali feldspar veins, and (3) one in dark alkali feldspar veins and. Pyroxenes had three kinds of forms: some in breccias, some in feldspar and some accompanied with amphiboles. Amphiboles had two kinds of forms: in breccias and scatter in feldspars in the veins, its mineral compositions are composed of basaltic hornblende, ferrous pargasite, actinolite and ferroactinolite, all belong to calcic amphibole subgroup. Biotites are scattered in breccias and in the veins or which is the product of metasomatised pyroxenes. The compositions of biotites show low-Ti and Fe, but high-Mg, which were the thermal products of a higher oxygen fugacity. Melanites occurred as layers and belts, which were metasomatised by feldspars and epidotes and amphiboles and carbonates and sericites and diopsides, their ingredients are solid solution series between andradite and Grossular and reflect the melanites were formed in the relative oxidative, alkaline environment. X-ray powder diffraction and infrared spectrum analyses of K-feldspar from early alkali feldspar provide degrees of ordering of 0.71–0.80, structural parameters of 1.27–1.61, triclinicities of 0.23–0.29, T1 (o) + T1 (m) of 0.86–0.90 degrees of ordering of 0.67–0.88 from late K-feldspar, its structural parameters of 1.10–1.91, triclinicities of 0.30–0.70, T1 (o) + T1(m) of 0.84–0.93. Both two kinds of alkali feldspars are microcline, most adularia. Their structure temperatures vary from 200 to 370 °C which are the highest temperatures at which K-feldspars were formed. Thus, it is concluded the K-feldspars in Tieshan is originated from thermal fluid, and the fluid was potassium-rich and a little rich in sodium at the later stage. The 39Ar-40Ar age of feldspars shows 118.68 ± 7.70 Ma and 114.61 ± 6.74 Ma, which represent the ages of early stage facial alkali alteration and late stage dark alkali feldspar veins respectively. It is obvious that an original granites were formed at about 250 to 255 Ma, but all the rocks were considered to be strongly metasomatised by alkali fluid later, most occurred during 108–126 Ma in Yanshanism. Metasomatism of the TCB reflected that complex history of the region. The metasomatised rocks include fenite and amphibole feldsparite. Fenite, especially apatite-rich fenite is associated with REE mineralization, which is helpful to understand the mechanism of a large scale of rare earth deposits in the region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Patella measurements were analyzed for sex estimation in contemporary Chinese. • An automatic measurement method was introduced. • Patella measurements can be utilized in sex estimation when the skull and pelvis are unavailable. Sex estimation is an important part of creating a biological profile, and ultimately assisting in creating a presumptive identification of unidentified skeletal remains. However, manual methods of anthropometric are time-consuming and prone to observer variability. The present study is an attempt to estimation of sex from automatic measurement of patella by multidetector computed tomography (MDCT) in a contemporary Chinese population. Four measurements for every patella, including maximum height (MAXH), maximum breadth (MAXB), maximum thickness (MAXT) and patellar volume (PV), were automatically provided by the software from CT image of 300 Chinese. The sample is composed of 156 males and 144 females with an average age of 41.44 and 45.68 years, respectively. The statistical analyses showed that all variables were sexually dimorphic. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis was performed to estimate sex from patella. The univariate analysis of each patellar parameter yielded a sex classification accuracy rate of 73.1% to 85.7%. The classification accuracy rates of sex estimation using the combination of the patellar parameters are 81.9% to 91.6%. This paper provides indications that the patella is important bone for sex estimation and it may be used as an alternative in forensic cases when the skull and pelvis are unavailable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to develop population – specific discriminant function equations and stature prediction equations for predicting sex and stature from measurements of the scapula in a contemporary Chinese, 414 individual 3D CT images were collected from participants undergoing routine examination. Sex differences for the variables were tested by Student’s t -test. Fisher’s method has been followed for discriminant analysis. Regression analysis was applied to match the six linear parameters against stature. The stepwise analysis of all measurements yielded a sex classification accuracy rate of 86.7% and a sex bias of 3.1%. All the classification accuracy rates of the univariate discriminant function analyses are of more than 80%. For stature estimation, the accuracy of stature prediction ranged from 5.252 to 7.210 cm for male, from 4.630 to 6.484 cm for female, respectively. This paper provides indications that the scapula is an important bone for sex diagnosis and it could be effectively used as alternatives in forensic cases. Furthermore, the equations presented for stature estimation in this study should be used as alternatives in forensic cases when long bones were unavailable for stature estimation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Peach is one of the popular and economically important fruit crops in China. Peach cultivation is hampered due to attacks of anthracnose disease, causing significant economic losses. Colletotrichum fructicola and Colletotrichum siamense belong to the Colletotrichum gloeosporioides species complex and are considered major pathogens of peach anthracnose. Application of different groups of fungicides is a routine approach for controlling this disease. However, fungicide resistance is a significant drawback in managing peach anthracnose nowadays. In this study, 39 isolates of C. fructicola and 41 isolates of C. siamense were collected from different locations in various provinces in China. The sensitivity of C. fructicola and C. siamense to some commonly used fungicides, i.e., carbendazim, iprodione, fluopyram, and propiconazole, was determined. All the isolates of C. fructicola collected from Guangdong province showed high resistance to carbendazim, whereas isolates collected from Guizhou province were sensitive. In C. siamense, isolates collected from Hebei province showed moderate resistance, while those from Shandong province were sensitive to carbendazim. On the other hand, all the isolates of C. fructicola and C. siamense showed high resistance to the dicarboximide (DCF) fungicide iprodione and succinate dehydrogenase inhibitor (SDHI) fungicide fluopyram. However, they are all sensitive to the demethylation inhibitor (DMI) fungicide propiconazole. Positive cross-resistance was observed between carbendazim and benomyl as they are members of the same methyl benzimidazole carbamate (MBC) group. While no correlation of sensitivity was observed between different groups of fungicides. No significant differences were found in each fitness parameter between carbendazim-resistant and sensitive isolates in both species. Molecular characterization of the β-tubulin 2 (TUB2) gene revealed that in C. fructicola, the E198A point mutation was the determinant for the high resistance to carbendazim, while the F200Y point mutation was linked with the moderate resistance to carbendazim in C. siamense. Based on the results of this study, DMI fungicides, e.g., propiconazole or prochloraz could be used to control peach anthracnose, especially at locations where the pathogens have already developed the resistance to carbendazim and other fungicides., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they do not have any conflicts of interest., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

This study aimed to explore and develop data mining models for adult age estimation based on CT reconstruction images from the sternum. Maximum intensity projection (MIP) images of chest CT were retrospectively collected from a modern Chinese population, and data from 2700 patients (1349 males and 1351 females) aged 20 to 70 years were obtained. A staging technique within four indicators was applied. Several data mining models were established, and mean absolute error (MAE) was the primary comparison parameter. The intraobserver and interobserver agreement levels were good. Within internal validation, the optimal data mining model obtained the lowest MAE of 9.08 in males and 10.41 in females. For the external validation (N = 200), MAEs were 7.09 in males and 7.15 in females. In conclusion, the accuracy of our model for adult age estimation was among similar studies. MIP images of the sternum could be a potential age indicator. However, it should be combined with other indicators since the accuracy level is still unsatisfactory., (© 2024. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.)

Objectives: To establish age estimation models of northern Chinese Han adults using cranial suture images obtained by CT and multiplanar reformation (MPR), and to explore the applicability of cranial suture closure rule in age estimation of northern Chinese Han population., Methods: The head CT samples of 132 northern Chinese Han adults aged 29-80 years were retrospectively collected. Volume reconstruction (VR) and MPR were performed on the skull, and 160 cranial suture tomography images were generated for each sample. Then the MPR images of cranial sutures were scored according to the closure grading criteria, and the mean closure grades of sagittal suture, coronal sutures (both left and right) and lambdoid sutures (both left and right) were calculated respectively. Finally taking the above grades as independent variables, the linear regression model and four machine learning models for age estimation (gradient boosting regression, support vector regression, decision tree regression and Bayesian ridge regression) were established for northern Chinese Han adults age estimation. The accuracy of each model was evaluated., Results: Each cranial suture closure grade was positively correlated with age and the correlation of sagittal suture was the highest. All four machine learning models had higher age estimation accuracy than linear regression model. The support vector regression model had the highest accuracy among the machine learning models with a mean absolute error of 9.542 years., Conclusions: The combination of skull CT-MPR and machine learning model can be used for age estimation in northern Chinese Han adults, but it is still necessary to combine with other adult age estimation indicators in forensic practice.

The Yangtze finless porpoises (Neophocaena asiaeorientalis a.) are an endemic and critically endangered species in China. Intensive captive breeding is essential for understanding the biology of critically endangered species, especially their pregnancy characteristics, knowledge of which is crucial for effective breeding management. Urine metabolomics can reveal metabolic differences, arising from physiological changes across pregnancy stages. Therefore, we used the urinary metabolomic technology, to explore urinary metabolite changes in pregnant Yangtze finless porpoises. A total of 2281 metabolites were identified in all samples, which including organic acids and derivatives (24.45%), organoheterocyclic compounds (20.23%), benzenoids (18.05%), organic oxygen compounds (7.73%), and phenylpropanoids and polyketides (6.48%). There were 164, 387, and 522 metabolites demonstrating differential abundance during early pregnancy, mid pregnancy, and late pregnancy, respectively, from the levels observed in nonpregnancy. The levels of pregnenolone, 17α-hydroxyprogesterone, and tetrahydrocortisone were significantly higher during all pregnancy stages, indicating their important roles in fetal development. The differential metabolites between nonpregnancy and pregnancy were mainly associated with amino acid and carbohydrate metabolism. Moreover, metabolic activity varied across pregnancy stages; steroid hormone biosynthesis was predominant in early pregnancy, and amino acid biosynthesis and carbohydrate metabolism were predominant in mid pregnancy and late pregnancy, respectively. Our results provide new insights into metabolic characteristics in the Yangtze finless porpoises' urine during pregnancy, and indicate that the differential levels of urine metabolites can determine pregnancy in Yangtze finless porpoises, providing valuable information for the husbandry and management of pregnant Yangtze finless porpoises in captivity., (© The Author(s) 2024. Published by Oxford University Press behalf of Society for the Study of Reproduction.)

Euglena gracilis is a unicellular eukaryote between animal and plant cells, which is widely distributed in nature. E . gracilis has both plant and animal characteristics, and can grow photoautotrophically, heterotrophically and mixotrophically. E . gracilis also features on abundant and various cellular composition. Recently, extensive researches on unique cellular components of E . gracilis have revealed its application in the field of medicine, food, and feedstuff, in terms of improving immunity, fighting inflammation, and lowering uric acid levels. The application prospects of paramylon in biomedical area were also discovered. As food ingredients, food additives, feedstuffs and cosmetic ingredients, E . gracilis has been certified domestically and overseas. A series of products have been developed overseas, especially in Japan. However, the research and development of E . gracilis are still in its infancy in China, and there is huge space for development. At present, the research and potential application of cultivation and product functions of E . gracilis have been rarely reviewed. This review systematically examines both the domestic and abroad research of cultivation and production of E . gracilis , as well as the biological activity of E . gracilis powder and paramylon. The existing problems in the application, exploitation, and possible development direction of E . gracilis in the future are prospected. This review might be useful for establishing and optimizing large-scale and efficient heterotrophic technology, as well as developing related products of E . gracilis with specific functions.

Objective: To the best of our knowledge, there is currently no such study in the area of extensive calcified costal cartilage rhinoplasty. The study evaluated patients' satisfaction with extensive calcified costal cartilage compared with no calcified costal cartilage., Method: Thirty-five patients with extensive calcified costal cartilage underwent rhinoplasty at our institution between January 2018 and May 2020. We also used a control group of 35 patients with absent rib cartilage calcification to compare the outcomes. Satisfaction was evaluated by the photogrammetric measurements and Rhinoplasty Outcomes Evaluation (ROE) scale., Results: We found no significant difference in the nose measurement between the two groups before and after the operation. Besides, both groups had a significant difference in comparison with preoperative after surgery except for the nasofrontal angle. The difference between preoperative and postoperative ROE scores was statistically significant in both groups. We also compared the satisfaction of preoperative and postoperative outcomes between the two groups, where no difference was found between them. Each group had a patient who occurred an infection after surgery., Conclusion: Autologous costal cartilage provides the most abundant source for graft fabrication. Patients with extensive calcified cartilage could undergo rhinoplasty and have satisfactory results instead of choosing an artificial implant., (© 2021 Wiley Periodicals LLC.)