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This research investigates the ideological character of the English language in East Asia. It focuses on the prevailing beliefs, values and propositions relating to English as a global language and the spread of English in the non-English East Asian countries, namely China, Japan, South Korea and Taiwan. By analyzing how English is presented in governmental and educational documents, news reports and advertisement, it examines the presentation and construction of discourses and explores public assumptions on the English language. First, in the second section, it reviews the development of English in East Asia in the late 20th and early 21st century. The third section discuses the relations between language, ideology and discourse. Section Four illustrates the research questions and the rationale and hypothesis of this study. In the fifth section, the construction of discourses concerning English and ideological assumptions regarding the English language in these East Asian countries is investigated. Finally, discourses and presuppositions identified in the texts and their implications are discussed. This study sugests that discourses concerning English in East Asia are conditioned by the external global structure and the local socio-cultural context. Concepts such as globalization, internationalization, economic development, national competitiveness and individual competitiveness influence the discourses on English. In the context of East Asia, the ideology of English consequently functions as part of the mechanisms involved in the global spread of English.

Objective: The study aimed to analyze the current status and reasons for the neglect of the psychological need of patients with common skin diseases. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted in China using an online self-assessment questionnaire distributed via social media. Demographic, clinical and psychological data were collected, and the main outcomes, i.e., depression (evaluated using the 9-item Patient Health Questionnaire, PHQ-9) and anxiety (evaluated using Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7, GAD-7). Multivariate regression analysis was used for the prediction of variates of mental health service seeking behaviors. Results: A total of 1,010 patients participated in the survey, and 273 (27.0%) patients met the "with need" criteria, i.e., having the need for mental health intervention but not being treated. In the multivariate regression model, income (OR = 0.80, 95%CI: 0.65-0.99), duration of disease (OR = 0.68, 95%CI: 0.49-0.95) and suicide ideation (OR = 2.10, 95%CI: 1.14-3.87) were significant factors. For patients who did not receive mental health care, the lack of knowledge about the availability of mental health services, lack of knowledge of where to seek help, concerns about the side effects of treatment, failure to seek treatment for severe skin diseases, and absence of current psychological distress were associated with their need for psychological intervention. Conclusion: This study examined the current status of the need for psychological intervention and the reasons why the need was unmet in patients with skin diseases. Due to the confusion and a lack of knowledge about their mental health issues, mental health services are often underutilized. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The growing demand for electrophysiology (EP) treatment in China presents a challenge for current EP care delivery systems. This study constructed a discrete event simulation (DES) model of an inpatient EP care delivery process, simulating a generalized inpatient journey of EP patients from admission to discharge in the cardiology department of a tertiary hospital in China. The model shows how many more patients the system can serve under different resource constraints by optimizing various phases of the care delivery process. Methods: Model inputs were based on and validated using real-world data, simulating the scheduling of limited resources among competing demands from different patient types. The patient stay consists of three stages, namely: the pre-operative stay, the EP procedure, and the post-operative stay. The model outcome was the total number of discharges during the simulation period. The scenario analysis presented in this paper covers two capacity-limiting scenarios (CLS): (1) fully occupied ward beds and (2) fully occupied electrophysiology laboratories (EP labs). Within each CLS, we investigated potential throughput when the length of stay or operative time was reduced by 10%, 20%, and 30%. The reductions were applied to patients with atrial fibrillation, the most common indication accounting for almost 30% of patients. Results: Model validation showed simulation results approximated actual data (137.2 discharges calculated vs. 137 observed). With fully occupied wards, reducing pre- and/or post-operative stay time resulted in a 1–7% increased throughput. With fully occupied EP labs, reduced operative time increased throughput by 3–12%. Conclusions: Model validation and scenario analyses demonstrated that the DES model reliably reflects the EP care delivery process. Simulations identified which phases of the process should be optimized under different resource constraints, and the expected increases in patients served. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: The study aimed to analyze the current status and reasons for the neglect of the psychological need of patients with common skin diseases. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted in China using an online self-assessment questionnaire distributed via social media. Demographic, clinical and psychological data were collected, and the main outcomes, i.e., depression (evaluated using the 9-item Patient Health Questionnaire, PHQ-9) and anxiety (evaluated using Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7, GAD-7). Multivariate regression analysis was used for the prediction of variates of mental health service seeking behaviors. Results: A total of 1,010 patients participated in the survey, and 273 (27.0%) patients met the “with need” criteria, i.e., having the need for mental health intervention but not being treated. In the multivariate regression model, income (OR = 0.80, 95%CI: 0.65–0.99), duration of disease (OR = 0.68, 95%CI: 0.49–0.95) and suicide ideation (OR = 2.10, 95%CI: 1.14–3.87) were significant factors. For patients who did not receive mental health care, the lack of knowledge about the availability of mental health services, lack of knowledge of where to seek help, concerns about the side effects of treatment, failure to seek treatment for severe skin diseases, and absence of current psychological distress were associated with their need for psychological intervention. Conclusion: This study examined the current status of the need for psychological intervention and the reasons why the need was unmet in patients with skin diseases. Due to the confusion and a lack of knowledge about their mental health issues, mental health services are often underutilized. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigated the effects of heavy metals on the species diversity of the Xinjian Dyke Wetland, an ecosystem where reclaimed farmlands are being transformed back into wetlands through the introduction of indigenous plants. The sources of soil heavy metals were analyzed, and correlation analyses were conducted to assess the relationships between heavy metal content and biodiversity indices. The results indicated that (1) the mean contents of Hg, Cd, Cu, Zn, As, Cr, and Pb were higher than the control values, with the content of Hg, Cd, Cu, and Zn exceeding the national standard; (2) the soil heavy metals mainly came from pesticides, chemical fertilizer, transportation, sewage irrigation, and the soil matrix; and (3) Hg and As were not significantly correlated with the diversity indices, but there was a highly positive correlation for Cu, Cr, and Pb, and a significant negative correlation for Zn and Cd. Collectively, our findings indicated that heavy metals have different effects on the plant species diversity inXinjian Dyke reconstruction area. The ecological restoration of wetlands from reclaimed farmlands should reasonably increase tolerant species and maximize the ecological niche differentiation of the species. Moreover, functionally redundant species should not be planted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sand mining, which has tripled in the last two decades, is an emerging concern for global biodiversity. However, the paucity of sand mining data worldwide prevents understanding the extent of sand mining impacts and how it affects wildlife populations and ecosystems, which is critical for timely mitigation and conservation actions. Integrating remote sensing and field surveys over 14 years, we investigated mining impacts on the critically endangered Yangtze finless porpoise (Neophocaena asiaeorientalis asiaeorientalis) in Dongting Lake, China. We found that sand mining presented a consistent, widespread disturbance in Dongting Lake. Porpoises strongly avoided mining sites, especially those of higher mining intensity. The extensive sand mining significantly contracted the porpoise's range and restricted their habitat use in the lake. Water traffic for sand transportation further blocked the species's river–lake movements, affecting the population connectivity. In addition, mining-induced loss of near-shore habitats, a critical foraging and nursery ground for the porpoise, occurred in nearly 70% of the water channels of our study region. Our findings provide the first empirical evidence of the impacts of unregulated sand extractions on species distribution. Our spatio-temporally explicit approach and findings support regulation and conservation, yielding broader implications for sustainable sand mining worldwide. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Printed circuit board (PCB) orthogonal packing problems derive from the massive circuit board production process in the electronic industry. In the early stage, it mainly relied on human experiences to make decisions on how to make the most of each sheet while meeting customers' orders. Up till now, researchers in enterprises and academic circles are still trying to explore effective mathematical models and feasible optimization methods. In most cases, what PCB companies generally face is the orthogonal layout decision, which considers positioning each rectangle PCB piece (PCB-P) on a rectangle sheet board (panel) in an ideal way so that each panel has the minimal remains with the most PCB-Ps. In this paper, multi-round gradual packing methods (MGPMs) are proposed based on the idea of combinatorial optimization and dynamic programming. MGPMs include the depth priority-based method (MGPM-DP) and breadth priority-based branch-and-prune method (MGPM-BC). The former has the advantage of finding better solutions, while the latter has the advantage of consuming short computational time. Through extensive computational tests on real data from a PCB production enterprise in China, both MGPM-DP and MGPM-BC have achieved noticeable and satisfactory results compared with the simplex method, dynamic programming method, and a widely used industrial software (Yuanbo) in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The relationship between soil properties and environmental covariates is mostly nonlinear for human impacted areas. Herein, we proposed a nonlinear model for mapping soil organic carbon (SOC) and total nitrogen (TN) in a typical human impacted area (a small watershed of Poyang Lake, China), namely radial basis function neural network combined with agricultural land use (RBFNN_ALU). The results showed that the RBFNN_ALU performs better than the ordinary kriging (OK), the OK combined with agricultural land use (OK_ALU), the geographically weighted regression (GWR), the multiple linear regression (MLR), the MLR combined with agricultural land use (MLR_ALU) and the RBFNN. In addition, RBFNN_ALU provided a more detailed and accurate description of the spatial SOC and TN patterns. The results indicate that when predicting spatial distribution of SOC and TN for human impacted areas, non-linear models are critical for predicting the spatial distribution of soil properties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: To evaluate the lifetime cost-effectiveness of 3 widely used atrial fibrillation (AF) treatments from the perspectives of Chinese healthcare system: antiarrhythmic drugs (AADs), ThermoCool SmartTouch guided by ablation index (STAI), and second-generation cryoballoon (CB2).Methods: A discrete event simulation (DES) model was implemented to compare the lifetime cost-effectiveness of AADs, STAI, and CB2. AF disease progression was explicitly modeled based on the Atrial Fibrillation Progression Trial clinical study results. The base-case analysis assumed that patients with paroxysmal AF (PAF) entered the model at the age of 55 years and had a CHA2DS2-VASc (Congestive heart failure, Hypertension, Age ( > 65 = 1 point, > 75 = 2 points), Diabetes, previous Stroke/transient ischemic attack (2 points)-Vascular disease (peripheral arterial disease, previous myocardial infarction, aortic atheroma), Age 65 to 74 years, and Sex category) score of 2 for males and 3 for females. Model parameter uncertainties were incorporated throughout the DES simulation with full probabilistic model parameterization.Results: The lifetime cost-effectiveness evaluations showed that patients treated with AADs gained an average of 4.98 quality-adjusted life-years (QALYs) and 9.63 life-years (LYs) at an average cost of US dollar (USD) 15 374. Patients treated with CB2 gained 5.92 QALYs and 10.74 LYs at an average cost of USD 26 811. The STAI group gained an average of 6.55 QALYs and 11.57 LYs at an average cost of USD 24 722. The incremental cost-effectiveness ratios was USD 5927 and USD 12 167 per QALY for STAI versus AADs and CB2 versus AADs, respectively. Assuming the willingness-to-pay threshold for China is USD 30 390 per QALY, both ablation treatments will be cost-effective compared with AADs for patients with PAF.Conclusions: The DES model demonstrated that catheter ablations are more cost-effective than AADs for patients with PAF under the healthcare system in China. Among catheter ablation technologies, STAI provides better outcomes at lower costs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although regulated deficit irrigation may improve crop yields, little research has been conducted on the effects of water deficits on Isatis indigotica, a popular herbal medicine. Field experiments were conducted in 2016 and 2017 to study the effects of regulated deficit irrigation on the net photosynthetic rate, yield, water use efficiency (WUE), and quality of I. indigotica in northwest China. Plants at the vegetative and fleshy root growth stages were subjected to mild, moderate, and severe water deficits, and their photosynthetic physiological indexes, yield, and WUE were measured. Moderate and severe deficits, but not a mild deficit, significantly decreased the net photosynthetic rate and dry matter accumulation. The yield and WUE under mild deficit were markedly higher, reaching 8239.56 kg·ha−2 and 8390.80 kg·ha−2, respectively, in the vegetative stage and 24.11 kg·ha−2·mm−1 and 23.62 kg·ha−2·mm−1, respectively, in the fleshy root growth stage, while severe deficits significantly reduced yield and WUE. Mild and moderate deficits increased the content of (R,S)-goitrin, indirubin, and indigo, improving root quality, but severe deficits decreased these compounds. Therefore, a mild water deficit in the vegetative and fleshy root growth stages is optimal and can reduce water consumption and improve I. indigotica quality and WUE without reducing yield. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Intercropping, a diversified planting pattern, increases land use efficiency and farmland ecological diversity. We explored the changes in soil physicochemical properties, nutrient uptake and utilization, and microbial community composition in wide-strip intercropping of maize and peanut. Results: The results from three treatments, sole maize, sole peanut and intercropping of maize and peanut, showed that intercropped maize had a marginal advantage and that the nutrient content of roots, stems and grains in side-row maize was better than that in the middle row of intercropped maize and sole maize. The yield of intercropped maize was higher than that of sole cropping. The interaction between crops significantly increased soil peroxidase activity, and significantly decreased protease and dehydrogenase activities in intercropped maize and intercropped peanut. The diversity and richness of bacteria and fungi decreased in intercropped maize rhizosphere soil, whereas the richness of fungi increased intercropped peanut. RB41, Candidatus-udaeobacter, Stropharia, Fusarium and Penicillium were positively correlated with soil peroxidase activity, and negatively correlated with soil protease and dehydrogenase activities. In addition, intercropping enriched the functional diversity of the bacterial community and reduced pathogenic fungi. Conclusion: Intercropping changed the composition and diversity of the bacterial and fungal communities in rhizosphere soil, enriched beneficial microbes, increased the nitrogen content of intercropped maize and provided a scientific basis for promoting intercropping in northeastern China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective. To better understand the status of medical treatment for human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2)-positive breast cancer and the differences between the Chinese and the international clinical practice. Methods. This was a retrospective, nationwide, multicenter, epidemiological study of advanced breast cancer patients from China. Between January 01, 2012, and December 31, 2014, a total of 3649 patients, covering 7 geographic regions and 21 institutions, participated in this series of studies. HER2-positive breast cancer was selected among the group and adopted into this study. In comparison, we summarized the demographics and clinical characteristics of HER2-positive breast cancer from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database. Results. A total of 918 patients diagnosed as HER2-positive breast cancer patients were included. The median age at diagnosis was 46 years (ranging, 23 to 78) with a single-peak incidence. The proportions of stages II–IV at diagnosis and distance metastasis in viscera were more than half of the participants. In comparison, the prevalence of estrogen or progesterone receptor-positive expression and luminalB subtype was relatively lower than that of the United States. The receipt of chemotherapy was fairly higher, while the usage of targeted therapy was seriously insufficient. Tumor size was in significantly positive associations with the duration of targeted therapy (Kendall's correlation coefficient = 0.3, P < 0.0001), while no prohibitive variables among clinical characteristics were detected. Conclusion. Our study suggested that HER2-positive breast cancer patients were characterized as a younger trend, a lower prevalence of hormonal receptor (HR)-positive expression, and less accessible to anti-HER2 targeted therapy with insufficient duration over the past few years in China. Concerted efforts should be exerted for promising survival benefits in the future. The trial registration number is https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT03047889. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Citizen science is a popular method for the long‐term monitoring of the distribution of wild animals. The application of these methods in different species and environments still poses challenges, especially for aquatic animals. In this study, we investigated the distribution of the Bryde's whale (Balaenoptera edeni) in the Beibu Gulf of China by using scientific boat‐based surveys and citizen science approaches using 2 different methods of data collection. First, we built our mobile app (Whale Guard) and installed it on fishermen's phones. Second, we used a popular instant messaging app (WeChat) to create an online fisherman community. We found that the mobile phone app collected far fewer reports (5 reports) than the online community group (42 reports, P < 0.01). By using a variety of incentives, we maintained the fisherman's community's activity without significant user loss (P < 0.01). We also found that the locations collected by social media applications in this study were consistent with observations from scientific boat‐based transect surveys. The sightings distribution of Bryde's whales differed from those in previous surveys in that they were present across larger areas. Social media apps reported that 69% of reports was confirmed by more than one person, whereas Whale Guard reports were much lower (0, P <0.001). Community‐based citizen science can greatly contribute to the long‐term monitoring of Bryde's whales, and it has successfully overcome the challenges of data accessibility, accuracy, and fragmentation. Our study shows how to appropriately use citizen science in different community groups and community‐based approaches make them useful for large baleen whale surveys. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Diabetes mellitus (DM), a common tuberculosis (TB) comorbidity, is associated with delayed bacillary clearance during anti-TB treatment and unfavorable outcomes. Bedaquiline (BDQ), when used as part of multidrug regimen for multidrug-resistant/extensively drug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR/XDR-TB), has been shown to be effective and safe although treatment outcome and risks for patients with MDR/XDR-TB and DM are unknown. A multicenter retrospective study was conducted to compared the safety and effectiveness of 24-week BDQ-containing anti-TB treatment for patients with MDR/XDR-TB with and without DM. Methods: The study of patients with MDR/XDR-TB with or without DM (enrolled February 2018–September 2019, 21 Chinese hospitals) was supervised by the New Drug Introduction and Protection Program (NDIP). Of 640 patients with MDR/XDR-TB receiving BDQ-containing anti-TB treatments, two propensity score-matched groups (107 DM/107 non-DM) were compared for cumulative culture conversion rate, time to culture conversion, adverse events, and corrected QT interval. Results: Body mass index was higher in patients with DM than patients without DM (23.29 ± 3.9 vs. 20.5 ± 3.6, P < 0.001); lung cavity prevalence (86.9% vs. 72.9%, P = 0.037) was also higher in patients with DM; the non-DM group had higher hepatitis prevalence (29.0% vs. 15.9%, P = 0.022). No significant intergroup differences were found for sputum culture conversion rate at week 8 (80.0% vs. 81.4%, P = 0.884), at week 24 (95.6% vs. 98.2%, P = 0.629), or for median time to sputum culture conversion [56 days (IQR 28–63) vs. 56 days (IQR 28–84) (P = 0.687)]. Favorable post-24-week treatment outcomes were presented by 90.7% and 93.5% in the DM group and non-DM group, respectively, without significant intergroup differences (P = 0.448). The DM adverse event rate exceeded non-DM rate (77.6% vs. 64.5%, P = 0.035). Conclusion: Despite some differences in baseline characteristics, Chinese patients with MDR/XDR-TB with or without DM had similar sputum culture conversion rates and favorable treatment outcomes post-24-week BDQ-containing anti-TB treatment. Low BMI but not DM is risk factor associated with unfavorable outcome of patients with MDR/XDR-TB. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although receptor status including estrogen receptor (ER), progesterone receptor (PR) and human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) of the primary breast tumors was related to the prognosis of breast cancer patients, little information is yet available on whether patient management and survival are impacted by receptor conversion in breast cancer metastases. Using data from the nation‐wide multicenter clinical epidemiology study of advanced breast cancer in China (NCT03047889), we report the situation of retesting ER, PR and HER2 status for breast cancer metastases and evaluate the patient management and prognostic value of receptor conversion. In total, 3295 patients were analyzed and 1583 (48.0%) patients retesting receptor status for metastasis. Discordance in one or more receptors between the primary and the metastatic biopsy was found in 37.7% of women. Patients who remained hormone receptor (HR) positive in their metastases had similar progression‐free survival of first‐line and second‐line treatment compared to patients with HR conversion (P >.05). In multivariate analysis, patients who showed ER conversion from negative to positive had longer disease‐free survival (DFS) than patients who remained negative in their metastases (hazard ratio, 2.05; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.45‐2.90; P <.001). Patients with PR remained positive and had longer DFS than patients with PR conversion from negative to positive (hazard ratio, 0.56; 95% CI, 0.38‐0.83; P =.004). Patients with PR conversion have shorter overall survival than patients with PR remained positive or negative (P =.016 and P =.041, respectively). Our findings showed that the receptors' conversions were common in metastatic breast cancer, and the conversion impacted the survival. What's new? Tumor metastasis is still the main cause of breast cancer mortality. Treatment of metastatic tumors is often based on the hormone receptor and human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 status of the primary tumor. However, as many as a third of patients with metastases have altered receptor status. Does this receptor conversion affect prognosis? In this large Chinese study, the authors found that, in many cases, the answer is yes. These results indicate that it is clinically important to biopsy distant metastases and assess receptor status whenever possible and to use these results to guide treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Neurofilament light chain (NFL) was believed to be a promising biomarker for the diagnosis of Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and disease burden evaluation. Objective: To determine the serum NFL level and its clinical relevance, including its association with disease severity [evaluated by the ALS Functional Rating Scale–revised (ALSFRS-r) score and King's College staging system] and progression (evaluated by the disease progression rate (DPR) and diagnostic delay), in ALS patients in China. Method: Serum NFL levels were detected using the Single Molecule Array (Simoa) technology in 30 ALS patients and 20 healthy controls (HCs). Results: There were significantly elevated levels of serum NFL in patients with ALS than in the HCs (P < 0.001). The serum NFL levels were significantly higher in rapidly progressive ALS and patients in Stage 3 than in slowly progressive ALS and patients in Stage 2 (P DPR < 0.001, P Diagnosticdelay = 0.019; P stage = 0.033). Furthermore, the serum NFL levels negatively correlated with the diagnostic delay (R 2 = 0.23, P = 0.016), the ALSFRS-r score (R 2 = 0.15, P = 0.047) and disease duration (R 2 = 0.15, P = 0.034), and positively correlated with the DPR (R 2 = 0.42, P < 0.001). Conclusions: The present study preliminarily investigated the diagnostic value of serum NFL and its clinical relevance in the Chinese ALS population using the ultrasensitive Simoa technology. The results demonstrated that the level of serum NFL may become a potential biomarker for ALS diagnosis and indicate disease severity and progression. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, we analyze and report cases of three patients who were admitted to Renmin Hospital, Wuhan University, China, for treating COVID-19 pneumonia in February 2020 and were unresponsive to initial treatment of steroids. They were then received titrated steroids treatment based on the assessment of computed tomography (CT) images augmented and analyzed with the artificial intelligence (AI) tool and output. Three patients were finally recovered and discharged. The result indicated that sufficient steroids may be effective in treating the COVID-19 patients after frequent evaluation and timely adjustment according to the disease severity assessed based on the quantitative analysis of the images of serial CT scans. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Adipic acid is an important petrochemical product, and its production process emits a high concentration of greenhouse gas N2O. This paper aims to provide quantitative references for relevant authorities to formulate greenhouse gas control roadmaps. The forecasting method of this paper is consistent with the published national inventory in terms of caliber. Based on the N2O abatement technical parameters of adipic acid and the production trend, this paper combines the scenario analysis and provides a measurement of comprehensive N2O abatement effect of the entire industry in China. Four future scenarios are assumed. The baseline scenario (BAUS) is a frozen scenario. Three emission abatement scenarios (ANAS, SNAS, and ENAS) are assumed under different strength of abatement driving parameters. The results show that China's adipic acid production process can achieve increasingly significant N2O emission abatement effects. Compared to the baseline scenario, by 2030, the N2O emission abatements of the three emission abatement scenarios can reach 207–399 kt and the emission abatement ratios can reach 32.5%–62.6%. By 2050, the N2O emission abatements for the three emission abatement scenarios can reach 387–540 kt and the emission abatement ratios can reach 71.4%–99.6%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Consensus has been reached that precipitation extremes vary proportionally with global warming. Nevertheless, the underlying cause and magnitude of these factors affecting their relationships remain highly debated. To elucidate the complex relationship between precipitation extremes and temperature in China during the warm seasons (May through September), a 60-year (1958–2017) record of hourly rain gauge measurements, in combination with surface air temperature, RH, precipitable water (PW), and convective available potential energy (CAPE) collected from 120 radiosonde stations were examined. Spatially, the scaling relationship between precipitation extremes and temperature exhibits a large geographic difference across China. In particular, the Clausius–Clapeyron (CC) and sub-CC relationships tend to occur in northwest (ROI-N) and southeast China (ROI-S), whereas the super-CC relationship is found to mainly concentrates in central China (ROI-C). Additionally, the response of precipitation extremes to temperature becomes more sensitive as precipitation intensity increases, shifting from CC to super-CC at a certain point of inflection that varies by geographic regions. This shift occurs at approximately 15 °C in ROI-C and ROI-N, but at around 20 °C in ROI-S. Within the temperature range of the super-CC slope, the PW rises with the increases in temperature, whereas the CAPE decreases with rising temperature, which is contrary to the monotonic scaling of precipitation with temperature. From the perspective of interannual variation, the precipitation extremes correlate positively with temperature. This further confirms the notion that global warming, through jointly affecting PW and CAPE, is able to considerably regulate precipitation extremes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Current research on leader narcissism has been predominantly centered on the intrapersonal perspective and discusses leader narcissism and associated behavioral outcomes. Few have adopted the interpersonal approach to explore the possible effects that leader narcissism can exert on their followers. Drawing on the social cognitive theory of moral disengagement, the present study aims to examine leader narcissism and followers' outcomes from the interpersonal perspective. We propose that perceived narcissistic supervision will lead to employees' organizational deviance via moral disengagement and that employees' moral identity will moderate the link between perceived narcissistic supervision and employees' moral disengagement; Moreover, there also exists a moderated mediation effect of employees' moral identity. Study 1, a three‐wave study conducted in 10 companies distributed among eight cities in China within 2 months, with a final sample containing 61 supervisors and 228 subordinates, preliminarily supported the main effect and the moderating effect of moral identity. In addition, we conducted a supplementary study on the basis of another three‐wave investigation with a sample of 195 employees, which replicated our research results in Study 1 and also verified the moderated mediation effect. Implications of the model are described, and future research directions are suggested. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sina Weibo, one of the biggest social services in China, provides users with opportunities to share information and express their personal views, leading an explosive growth of information. How to recommend the right information to the proper person among massive data has received considerable critical attention in recent years. One of the main obstacles is the access to user topic interests. In this paper, we proposed an algorithm based on tags and bidirectional interactions to mine user topic interests on Sina Weibo. The algorithm, formulated by user interaction graph, fully takes advantage of the discordance between user interactions. Forward spread and back spread are thus utilized to update tag spread weights. We also quantify the impact of these two spread by tuning parameters on three sub data sets. In order to prove the superiority of the algorithm, we compare our algorithm with famous methods on Sina Weibo. The result demonstrates that our new algorithm outperforms other methods both in precision rate and recall rate, with the ability of mining user interest effectively with respect to tags and bidirectional interactions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, coinfection of tuberculosis (TB) and parasitosis in humans is an emerging problem in coendemic areas, which has been increasingly highlighted in developing countries. However, there is limited information about the prevalence of Toxoplasma gondii infection in TB patients. Therefore, through a case-control study, 924 TB patients hospitalized for diacrisis or treatment in northeastern and eastern China, and 924 control subjects from the general population of the same region matched with gender, age, and residence were examined for the presence of IgG and IgM antibodies to T. gondii and associated sociodemographic and behavioral characteristics in a population of TB patients. Seroprevalence of IgG antibodies to T. gondii in TB patients (122/924, 13.2%) was significantly higher than control subjects (90/924, 9.7%) ( p = 0.019), and 26 (2.8%) TB patients and 19 (2.1%) controls were positive for anti- T. gondii IgM antibodies ( p = 0.291), respectively. Multivariate analysis showed that T. gondii infection was associated with keeping cats at home, presence of stray cats, and consumption of raw/undercooked meat. The present study first revealed the seroprevalence of T. gondii infection in TB patients in China. Moreover, parasitological surveys should be regularly carried out among TB patients, aiming to prevent the possibility of severe toxoplasmosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Water erosion increased but wind erosion decreased in China's drylands in 20 years. • Water erosion dominated area larger than wind erosion, but the pattern is changing. • Benefits of ecological restoration on water erosion were higher than wind erosion. • Benefits of afforestation on soil erosion were higher than grassland restoration. Soil erosion is the most severe form of land degradation threatening terrestrial ecosystems globally. Drylands with fragile ecosystems are particularly sensitive to soil erosion. China's drylands face the threat of soil erosion by wind and water. Currently, more studies need to be focused on wind and water erosion response to ecological restoration measures at monthly resolution in these areas. This is key to understanding ecological restoration measures' effectiveness under changing environments. Here, we assessed the monthly water and wind erosion in China's drylands from 2001 to 2020 using the G2 model and revised wind erosion equation (RWEQ). The Sequential linear regression slopes (SeRGS) explored water and wind erosion intensities. We also discuss the mitigation benefits of two ecological restoration measures, afforestation and grassland restoration. The results showed that water and wind erosion in China's drylands is mild (47.35%) and slight (58.76%). Water erosion increased between 2001 and 2020, while wind erosion decreased. At the monthly level, a higher water and wind erosion rate occurred from April to June and February to March, respectively. Water erosion dominated 50.64% of the China's drylands, while wind erosion was the most critical form of erosion in 47.88%. Nevertheless, the erosion pattern in China's drylands is changing. The average mitigation benefits of afforestation on water and wind erosion were −61.12% and −57.05%, respectively, and the average mitigation benefits of grassland restoration on water and wind erosion were −57.05% and 7.95%, respectively. This study can help managers identify the best ecological restoration strategies to mitigate land degradation in drylands. [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 nation-wide feature of raindrop size distribution (hereafter referred to as DSD) remains largely unknown across China. We here analyzed the DSD using high-resolution disdrometer measurements collected throughout China during the warm season (May through August) of 2020. Overall, pronounced unimodal structures were found for the monthly mean DSD, while little differences were revealed in the monthly variation of DSD. Spatially, the regions with a high value of mass-weighted mean diameter Dm generally witnessed a low value of intercept parameter Nw. The DSD parameters were further investigated by six regions of interest: Northeast China Plain (ECP), North China Plain (NCP), Yangtze River Delta (YRD), Pearl River Delta (PRD), Sichuan Basin (SCB), and Qinghai-Tibet Plateau (QTP). Specially, D m (log 10 Nw) over ECP, NCP, YRD, PRD and SCB was found to have a larger (smaller) value than the surrounding areas, whereas the D m (log 10 N w) in the QTP had a smaller (larger) value. Furthermore, explicit analyses were performed in attempt to better understand the influential factors accounting for the regional disparity of DSD by two categories: stratiform and convective precipitation. D m , log 10 N w , spectral width and peak concentration all showed larger values in the convective precipitation than those in the stratiform precipitation. Interestingly, the D m -log 10 N w pairs for convective precipitation resembled roughly the "maritime" cluster, indicating a maritime nature of convective precipitation throughout the warm season in China. The PRD had the largest D m and the smallest log 10 N w , while the QTP had the smallest D m and the largest log 10 N w in the stratiform precipitation. In addition, several widely used empirical equations of Z - R relations tended to underestimate R compared with our actual fitting. The impacts of environmental variables were further studied, including convection available potential energy (CAPE), surface temperature, wind shear and vertically integrated moisture flux divergence (MFD). The dependence of DSD on environmental variable was revealed to varying degrees. It is noteworthy that larger CAPE but lower MFD was found to be accompanied with heavy rain produced by convective precipitation than by stratiform precipitation. The invaluable DSD dataset hereby will lay a solid foundation for potentially improved quantitative precipitation estimation from weather radar in the future in China. • The national-scale features of raindrop size distribution in China are revealed for the first time. • Larger values are observed for the raindrop size distribution of convective precipitation than stratiform precipitation. • The raindrop size distribution exhibits dependence on environmental variable, particularly for convective precipitation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Seventy patients with stage III or IV endometriosis were randomly assigned to 2 groups after conservative surgery. Group O (n = 35) received 3 cycles of a 28-day gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonist (GnRH-a) treatment (goserelin, 3.6 mg) starting 3-5 days postoperatively. Group M (n = 35) received the same treatment starting on days 1-5 of menstruation. Groups were further subdivided according to add-back treatment. Pre- and posttreated levels of estradiol (E2), follicle stimulating hormone (FSH), and luteinizing hormone (LH) and visual analog scale (VAS), Kupperman menopausal index (KMI), and bone mineral density (BMD) scores were recorded. The incidence of uterine bleeding was assessed. In both groups, serum levels of E2, FSH, and LH and VAS scores decreased significantly after treatment. Spotting was the most frequent bleeding pattern. During cycle 1, the bleeding time in group M was much longer that than that in group O ( P =.001), and the bleeding rate in group M was significantly higher than that in group O ( P =.024, RR = 1.185). In patients with stage III or IV endometriosis, the efficacy of GnRH-a initiated 3-5 days postoperatively was equivalent to that of GnRH-a initiated on days 1-5 of menstruation. Female patients who initiated GnRH-a treatment 3-5 days postoperatively experienced less uterine bleeding during the first cycle of treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background The important role of angiogenesis displaying in tumor development and metastasis has been generally realized. Vascular endothelial growth factor ( VEGF), basic fibroblast growth factor ( bFGF) and endostatin ( ES) are critical members of angiogenesis modulating the balance between pro-angiogenenic and anti-angiogenenic factors. The aim of this study was to evaluate the circulating level of these factors in serum and explore their prognostic significance in 96 operable non-small cell lung cancer ( NSCLC) patients. Methods Pre-operational serum VEGF, bFGF, and ES were determined by commercially available enzyme-link immunosorbent assay for 96 NSCLC patients and compared to a cohort of healthy controls (n = 51). Values were correlated with clinicopathological features and overall survival ( OS). Results The pretreatment serum levels of VEGF, b FGF and ES in NSCLC were significantly higher than in the healthy control ( P < 0.001, P = 0.009 and P = 0.016, respectively). Univariate survival analysis showed that a high bFGF level correlated with shorter OS and remained an independent factor in multivariate analysis (hazard ratio [ HR] = 1.918, 95% confidence interval [ CI], 1.061-3.464). In the squamous subtype, a high bFGF indicated a particularly poor prognosis ( HR = 2.609, 95% CI, 1.188-5.729). Conclusions bFGF is an independent predictor of poor survival in patients with NSCLC. For patients with high serum bFGF, aggressive antitumor treatments should be given after surgery. Approaches targeting the bFGF signaling pathway should be considered as potentially promising therapeutic strategies in NSCLC, especially for the squamous subtype. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective. To analyze the clinical characteristics of inpatients with anaphylaxis and the factors that influenced those characteristics. Methods. Using the patient records from 1990 to 2013 from three highly ranked Chinese hospitals, we retrospectively analyzed the characteristics of 108 inpatients with anaphylaxis (not anaphylaxis admitted). Results. The mean patient age was 42±20 years old and male-to-female ratio was 1 : 1.3. The number of patients with anaphylaxis increased gradually, and cases diagnosed after 2005 accounted for 68.5% of the 108 total cases. The most common trigger was medications. The most common clinical manifestations included cutaneous, nervous, respiratory, circulatory, and digestive signs and symptoms. Male patients were more likely to experience loss of consciousness. Multisystem involvement was more likely to develop in patients with low BP, whereas it was uncommon in those with anaphylaxis induced by antibiotics or anesthetics. Epinephrine was used as the first-line treatment for 56 cases. Conclusions. Inpatient with anaphylaxis was more common in female patients and the number increased gradually during the study period. The most common trigger was medications. Patients with low BP were prone to having multisystem involvement, whereas the cases of anaphylaxis induced by antibiotics and anesthetics were less likely to involve multiple organ systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Astronomy was politically relevant to the imperial state in ancient China because a good astronomical system was believed to indicate the legitimacy of rule and symbolize good governance. This political significance meant that astronomy was a state enterprise. China saw many important astronomical achievements during the Northern Song dynasty (960-1127) when astronomy received sustained organizational and financial support from the imperial government. Alongside astronomy's high profile in state politics, this fiscal support contributed to its development, along with the eight major astronomical reforms which the Northern Song dynasty made. It maintained a state-supported Astronomical Bureau which had more than 100 members of staff. In addition, the government invested a lot of money in astronomical instrument making. For example, the waterpowered astronomical clock tower constructed in 1092 cost more than 5000 strings of money, accounting for about one thousandth of the total annual fiscal income of the imperial state. The purpose of this study is to ascertain to what degree the state supported astronomical research financially. Based on sources such as the Song huiyao jigao(Re-Collection Draft to Essentials of the Song Period), we give an estimate of the Song government's financial investment in astronomy-an investment which comprised a substantial part of the state's total fiscal income. We believe that this investigation of the Northern Song state's financial support for astronomy will help to explain why there were so many great innovations in astronomy during this period. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using a nationwide survey of randomly selected manufacturing firms in representative Chinese cities, we examine how firms' compliance with social insurance policies is shaped by their historical imprinting, by their founding ownership structures, as well as by massive institutional changes. Our empirical results suggest that firms founded in the state socialist era and firms founded as Chinese state-owned enterprises (SOEs) were infused with socialist institutional logics of labor relations, and they tended to comply with social insurance policies even in the present market socialist era. Chinese SOEs restructured into private and joint-ventured firms attenuated the lingering effect of organizational imprinting and provide social insurances for fewer workers. This research is among the first to probe the historical influence on labor protection in contemporary society. Through studying the stability and changes of socialist institutional logic of labor relations, our research leads to a better understanding of the situation of labor relations in contemporary China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research investigates firms’ bribery motivations in China. Based on resource dependence theory and anomie theory, we identify resource conditions as firms’ proactive motivation to bribe and firms’ perceived institutional environment as their passive motivation to bribe. We use the data from 2002 World Business Environment Survey, collected by the World Bank, to investigate firms’ bribery in the world’s largest emerging market, China. We employ a multi-level logistic model to test our hypotheses. The results show that unsatisfactory general and task environmental conditions may trigger firms to bribe in order to compete for better resources and opportunities; institutional conditions such as the security expenditure and anomie climate may make firms perceive bribery as a common phenomenon and thus induce firms to bribe. This research provides some insights to understand business bribery behaviors in emerging market. It also discusses some managerial implications and guidelines for policy-making from the findings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• 91.72% of the soil in Xunwu County exhibited an acidification trend over 35 years. • Main conversion modes were cropland and forest changed to garden and other land. • Soil pH variability and land use type correlated in 1984 and 2018 (P < 0.01). • Land use change altered the influence of factors on soil pH variability. Abnormal changes in soil acidity and alkalinity impact regional food security and sustainable development of terrestrial ecosystems, especially under land use change. The regulation of soil acidity and alkalinity requires a clear understanding of soil pH variability and its influencing factors under regional land use change. This study explored the patterns of soil pH variability under land use change between 1984 and 2018 in a red soil hilly region (Xunwu County, Jiangxi Province) in southern China. We identified the key factors influencing regional spatiotemporal variability in soil pH and analyzed the response of soil pH variability to land use change. The results showed that the mean pH values of surface soil samples in 1984 (n = 595) and 2018 (n = 580) were 5.35 and 5.05, respectively. The soil pH change between the two periods ranged from −0.91 to 0.32, with a mean value of −0.30. In total, 91.72% of the study area showed an acidification trend from 1984 to 2018. The spatiotemporal variability in soil pH was influenced by elevation, slope, distance to rivers, changes in distance to roads, and changes in the nitrogen fertilizer application rate. The main land use conversion modes were cropland and forest transferred to garden and other land. The soil pH decreased in 15 of 16 conversion modes of cropland land, garden, forest, and other land, whereas a pH increase of 0.32 occurred under conversion from cropland to garden. Changes in distance to roads, changes in the nitrogen fertilizer application rate, and slope played a dominant role in soil pH variability under land use change. This study provides fundamental data for the formulation of soil acidity and alkalinity control measures, which in turn contributes to regional improvement of agricultural production stability and sustainable development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China's soft power campaign has spawned many scholarly studies on it, but few have examined its rhetorical aspect. Through keyword analysis, this research examines strategic ambiguity in China's public affairs rhetoric surrounding the Six Party Talks over North Korea's nuclear program. The two keywords, ‘the Six Party Talks’ and ‘da ju’ (big picture, overall view), are semantically open and central to China's rhetoric in defining ‘What is it?’ and ‘Why is it?’ with regard to the talks. Analysis shows that strategic ambiguity contributed to some of China's goals. However, it was not adjusted when it stopped working. Its effectiveness was undercut by certain inconsistent messages, andda jufailed to differentiate between domestic and international political context and was also culturally maladaptive. This research contributes to public diplomacy and public affairs rhetoric research. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Aims Vegetation type is important in determining variations in soil carbon (C) efflux under grassland managements. This study was conducted to examine the effects of mowing and nitrogen (N) addition on soil respiration and their dependences upon vegetation types in an oldfield grassland of northern China. Methods Soil respiration, temperature, moisture and aboveground net primary productivity (ANPP) and belowground net primary productivity (BNPP) were examined in response to mowing and N addition among the three patches dominated by different species (named as grass, forb and mixed patches, respectively) in the growing seasons (May–October) from 2006 to 2008. Important Findings Across the 3 years, soil respiration in the grass patch was greater than those in the forb and mixed patches, which could have been ascribed to the higher soil moisture (SM) in the grass patch. Mowing had no impact on soil respiration due to unaltered SM and plant growth. Soil respiration was stimulated by 6.53% under N addition, and the enhancement was statistically significant in 2006 but not in 2007 or 2008 because of the limited water availability in the later 2 years. There were no interactive effects between mowing and N addition on soil respiration. Soil respiration showed positive dependence upon SM, ANPP and BNPP across plots. The results suggest that soil water availability and plant growth could be the primary factors in controlling the temporal and spatial variations in soil respiration and its response to different treatments. Our observations indicate that grassland managements (i.e. mowing for hay once a year) may have little influence on soil respiration of the oldfield grassland in northern China. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Abstract: Before the Indian collision with Asia, northward subduction of the Neo-Tethyan oceanic lithosphere produced an Andean-type convergent margin in South Asia characterized by arc magmatism starting from the early Jurassic and lasting until the Eocene. The magmatic arc is now represented by widespread intrusive bodies or the so-called Transhimalayan batholiths in the Lhasa terrane of southern Tibet that have been divided into two main magmatic suites, i.e., the northern plutonic belt and the southern Gangdese Batholith. Their temporal distribution, concerning how exactly the magmatic suites correlate eastwards and then southeastwards around the eastern Himalayan syntaxis, however, remains poorly constrained. Here we report the first combined zircon U–Pb and Hf isotopic study of the Transhimalayan batholiths from the eastern part of the Lhasa terrane (∼95–97.5°E and ∼28.5–30°N), SE Tibet. Zircon U–Pb dating results of 24 granitoids indicate that the rocks were emplaced principally in the Early Cretaceous (∼133–110 Ma) and subordinately in the Paleocene (∼66–57 Ma), long after an older granite intrusion in the earliest Jurassic (∼198 Ma). The zircon ε Hf(T) values range from +5 to −20, yielding Hf crustal model ages (T DM C) between 0.8 and 2.4 Ga that peak at ∼1.7 Ga, suggesting a major episode of crustal growth in the Proterozoic and a predominantly, or even exclusively, crustal source for the granitoid petrogenesis. These zircon U–Pb and Hf isotopic constraints, together with whole-rock geochemical characteristics, allow us to correlate them to S-type granitoids in the northern plutonic belt, rather than to the I-type Gangdese Batholith from the central part of the southern Lhasa terrane. In contrast to the Gangdese magmatism that formed with a significant juvenile mantle input related to the Neo-Tethyan subduction, these S-type granitoids show geochemical similarities to the North American Cordilleran Interior batholiths that did not form directly from a subduction setting. Thus, we attribute the petrogenesis of the widespread Early Cretaceous granitoids in the northern belt and eastern Himalayan batholiths to a postcollisional regime due to the Late Jurassic–Early Cretaceous continental collision between the Lhasa and Qiangtang terranes. Under this framework, the S-type magmatism was generated in response to collision-induced crustal thickening, which may have capabilities of causing crustal anatexis by itself in the region. However, continued interplay with the Neo-Tethyan subduction zone processes such as back-arc extension could also have played a crucial, and long-lasting, role in the magma generation. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The present study was conducted to examine photosynthetic characteristics of three dominant grass species (Agropyron cristatum, Leymus chinensis, and Cleistogenes squarrosa) and their responses to burning and nitrogen fertilization in a semiarid grassland in northern China. Photosynthetic rate ( Pn), stomatal conductance ( gs), and water use efficiency (WUE) showed strong temporal variability over the growing season. C. squarrosa showed a significantly higher Pn and WUE than A. cristatum and L. chinensis. Burning stimulated Pn of A. cristatum and L. chinensis by 24–59% ( P < 0.05) in the early growing season, but not during other time periods. Light-saturated photosynthetic rate ( Pmax) in A. cristatum and the maximum apparent quantum yield (Φmax) in A. cristatum and L. chinensis were significantly enhanced by burning (16–67%) in both the fertilized and unfertilized plots. The main effect of burning on Pn, Pmax and Φmax was not significant in C. squarrosa. The burning-induced changes in soil moisture could explain 51% ( P = 0.01) of the burning-induced changes in Pn of the three species. All three species showed positive responses to N fertilization in terms of Pn, Pmax, and Φmax. The stimulation of Pn under N fertilization was mainly observed in the early growing season when the soil extractable N content was significantly higher in the fertilized plots. The N fertilization-induced changes in soil extractable N content could explain 66% ( P = 0.001) of the changes in Pn under N fertilization. The photosynthetic responses of the three species indicate that burning and N fertilization will potentially change the community structure and ecosystem productivity in the semiarid grasslands of northern China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Shipping has increasingly become a major threat to cetaceans due to its direct effect (e.g. ship strikes) and indirect effects (e.g. noise and habitat displacement). Most previous studies have focused on the deleterious effects of shipping traffic on marine species, while the effect of shipping on freshwater cetaceans has received little attention. The Yangtze River is a major trade artery in China, and shipping traffic there caused deaths of the now-extinct Yangtze river dolphin or baiji (Lipotes vexillifer). Here, we examine the distributional overlap of another cetacean species, the critically endangered Yangtze finless porpoise (Neophocoena asiaorientalis asiaorientalis) and cargo ships in a busy section of Yangtze River from Ezhou to Zhenjiang City. We use vessel-based survey data from 2006, 2012, and 2017 to quantify the distribution of porpoise. We use satellite images to quantify the distribution of cargo vessels travelling upstream. Most porpoise were concentrated within 300 m of the river banks. Shipping increased by 65% from 2006 to 2017, and ~ 60% of the upstream vessels was also within 300 m of the banks. This increase in shipping may have caused an observed shift in porpoise distribution away from the banks after 2006. Enhanced enforcement of existing shipping regulations that limit vessels to established shipping lane and set refuges in the side channels could help reduce the distributional overlap of porpoise and ships and aid in porpoise conservation. This could be applied and benefit the cetacean conservation under continued growth of shipping in rivers. • Shipping is becoming a major threat to aquatic megafauna. • Shipping has increased by 65% from 2006 to 2017 in the Yangtze River. • Shipping has caused an observed shift in porpoise distribution away from the banks. • Porpoise conservation requires enhanced enforcement of existing shipping regulations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• UN decades on ecosystem restoration calls for effective and innovative ways of land restoration. • Ant Forest as a new land restoration approach facilitated by Fintech in China was studied. • The effect of Ant Forest on sustainable development goals in China were analyzed. • The Fintech facilitated restoration has the potential to be scaled up in the digital age. • Ant Forest platform needs to maintain its user group and attracts more new users. Land degradation is a global issue that affects the livelihood of billions of people worldwide. Various responses have emerged to achieve the land degradation neutrality target, including the UN one billion tree campaign and Decade on Ecosystem Restoration. Ant Forest, a land restoration approach initiated by China's largest Fintech company Alibaba, has made substantial progress on land restoration in degraded areas in China, especially in desert areas. It represents a new model of transforming environmental protection intentions and activities of users into actual environmental benefits by planting trees. The lessons and implications of Ant Forest can contribute to ecosystem restoration globally. However, the effects and effectiveness of Ant Forest are not fully understood. Here we use the data from official reports from Alibaba's ant financial, as well as remote sensing data, to examine how the Ant Forest contributes to land restoration and its socio-economic effects. We found that Ant Forest has many potential roles for achieving sustainable development goals, ranging from land restoration, carbon emission reduction, poverty reduction, human health improvement and many more. While its innovation has brought its international reputation at home and abroad, whether the project itself can sustain is still a question that needs to be concerned. The Fintech facilitated restoration has the potential to be scaled up, but it still needs to continue updating its platform, keep the intentions of the existed users and encouraging more new users to join in the effort. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Mild soil erosion (0–176.26 t hm−2 a−1) occurred in the Nanliao River watershed. • Soil total P (STP) content showed moderate variability (0.06–1.19 g/kg). • There was a negative correlation between STP content and soil erosion. • Elevation, soil particle size, and pH were the main factors influencing STP content. Soil erosion can change the migration and deposition patterns of soil particles and alter the regional geographic environment; therefore, it plays an important role in the biogeochemical cycle of soil total phosphorus (STP). Quantifying the influence of environmental factors on STP content under soil erosion is critical for understanding the lateral transfer of STP from soil. Here, we explored the influence of environmental factors on STP content under different levels of soil erosion in the small watershed of Nanliao River, a tributary of Xiu River in the western part of Poyang Lake Plain in Jiangxi Province, China. Soil erosion ranged from 0 to 176.26 t hm−2 a−1 (15.41 t hm−2 a−1 on average) across the watershed in 2018, indicating a mild erosion level on the whole. The STP content varied between 0.06 and 1.19 g/kg (0.6 g/kg on average) with a coefficient of variation of 43.33%, indicating moderate variation. An exponential model with a small nugget effect (7.35%) and a small range (2.25 km) could estimate 86.5% of spatial variability in STP content. The STP content showed a strong spatial autocorrelation, and the soil rich in STP was mostly distributed along the Nanliao River. There was a negative correlation between STP content and soil erosion (r = –0.149, P < 0.01). Each of the 10 selected environmental factors could explain 2.7–21.3% of spatial variability in STP content. Elevation, soil particle size, soil pH, and their interactions with other factors were the main factors influencing STP content, although their influence differed across various erosion levels. This study could provide useful data for controlling STP loss and reducing the impacts of soil erosion on the ecological environment in the Poyang Lake Plain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• A novel environmental multimedia model (EMM) is developed to assess the risks of antibiotics in river basin system. • This EMM approach is integrated with numerical water quality simulation for spatially analyzing the river network system. • The spatial and temporal distribution of antibiotics in environmental media is given by the developed modeling method. In this paper, a regional spatial environmental multimedia modeling (RSEMM) approach is developed based on the integration of an environmental multimedia method (EMM) and a numerical water quality model. Emissions, inter-media mass transfer, physical transport and degradation processes are considered in the modeling system. The RSEMM approach is applied to the Beijing-Tianjin area in China, where there are many antibiotic emission sources throughout the Haihe River Basin including six streams. The antibiotic sulfadiazine (SDZ) is selected as the target contaminant in this basin region, including the urban area of Tianjin City. The predicted SDZ concentrations in the water and sediment zones align well with the reported monitoring data. A sensitivity analysis, using the Morris screening method, shows that flow rate and active sediment depth are the significant influential parameters for the regional water and sediment zones. Two modeling scenarios are further performed to assess health risks. They show that the SDZ concentrations and risks in the impacted environmental media could be reduced by possible mitigation actions. The RSEMM approach can also be applied to find the source-response relation in order to control other emerging contaminants in a complicated environmental multimedia site. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Drawing on a survey of randomly selected firms from 12 representative Chinese cities, we analyze the differences between Chinese state-owned enterprises (SOEs) and non-SOEs in their organizational welfare practices. We apply the organizational imprinting theory to explain these differences. The institutional environment during the firms' founding period has a lasting effect on their current practices. Only the most significant changes in the institutional environment weaken the organizational imprinting effect. By focusing our analyses on Chinese SOEs, this research enriches and extends the organizational imprinting theory and its implications to a transitional economy. In addition, our research has managerial and policy implications for managing Chinese SOEs in a changing domestic and global environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The Ailao Shan–Red River (ASRR) shear zone, one of the most prominent geologic strike-slip shear zones in Southeast Asia, consists of high-grade metamorphic complexes that provide a rare opportunity to sample the mid-crustal rocks along the western margin of the Yangtze Block of South China. Here we report combined, in-situ analyses of zircon U–Pb and Lu–Hf isotopes of eight gneisses from the Diancang Shan and Ailao Shan segments of the ASRR shear zone. Our zircon U–Pb data indicate that the rocks contain abundant magmatic zircons ranging in age from 1785 to 25Ma, with peak ages at ca. 770, 350 and 240Ma, suggesting three major periods of protolith formation. The 350-Ma zircons, observed only in an orthogneiss from the Diancang Shan, show uniform initial Hf isotopic ratios marked by high and positive εHf(T) values from +16 to +10. This is in contrast with the other two zircon populations that are more common, occurring in both the Diancang Shan and Ailao Shan, and overall delineate very heterogeneous Hf isotopic compositions, with εHf(T) values ranging from +15 to −16. Many zircons reveal distinctive core-rim age variations. Zircon rims, formed between ca. 34 and 26Ma, show significant variations in Th/U ratios (5–0.01) and εHf(T) values (+14 to −10) that suggest complicated magmatic and metamorphic zircon overgrowth during the Oligocene. The presence of both metamorphic and magmatic overgrowths on zircons suggests that the metamorphism reached upper amphibolite facies, corresponding to mid-crustal level P–T conditions, as also suggested by structural and petrologic data. Our data furthermore suggest that the ASRR gneisses were not produced solely by shear heating during the Tertiary strike-slip faulting, but are uplifted, mid-crustal basement rocks that formed essentially during two major stages of magmatism, represented by the Neoproterozoic Kangding Complex and Late Permian Emeishan large igneous province. As a result of the India–Asia collision, these basement rocks underwent regional magmatic and metamorphic overprinting in the Oligocene that, based on our relevant work (Searle et al., 2010, Geosphere, 6, 1–23), predated the initial left-lateral movement along the ASRR shear zone. The 350-Ma protolith, which requires a dominant depleted-mantle input in the petrogenesis, cannot be linked to any major magmatic events in South China but may be interpreted as part of the Paleotethys remnants that were later incorporated into the ASRR shear zone. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

• The methodology of PPP-B2b augmented single-frequency precise point positioning with the raw observations is firstly examined. • Better than 10 cm accuracy in horizontal directions is achievable with the PPP-B2b augmented real-time single frequency PPP. • PPP-B2b augmented single-frequency PPP requires 1–2 h' convergence time, which is only slightly longer than the IGS final product solution. The Beidou satellite navigation system (BDS-3) precise point positioning (PPP) B2b services provide freely accessible real-time GPS/BDS-3 precise orbit and clock correction, which is beneficial for high-precision positioning applications in China and its surrounding areas. The performance of the BDS-3 PPP-B2b services for dual-frequency precise point positioning (PPP) has been investigated, while how the PPP-B2b service benefits the single-frequency (SF) users has not been investigated yet. In this paper, the quality of PPP-B2b corrections, including the orbit, clock offset, and signal-in-space ranging error (SISRE) is evaluated first, then the positioning performance of PPP-B2b augmented SF-PPP is examined. By applying the PPP-B2b corrections, both GPS and BDS-3 achieves better than 0.3 m orbit accuracy and 0.2 ns clock accuracy. The performance of PPP-B2b augmented SF-PPP is evaluated with 7 GNSS stations for 15 consecutive days. The results show the PPP-B2b augmented SF-PPP achieves better than 10 cm and 30 cm accuracy for static and kinematic cases respectively. The mean convergence time of the PPP-B2b enabled PPP is close to the final precise product-based PPP solution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Zero-Liquid Discharge (ZLD) has received a lot of attention due to water scarcity and pollution. This article reviews the treatment of desulfurization wastewater in pretreatment, concentration and solidification with the trend of zero-liquid discharge in China. We summarize the advantages, disadvantages, performance, benefits and other characteristics of different ZLD technologies. Membrane-based technology is an effective means of recycling wastewater in ZLD systems. Therefore, we focus on the application of bipolar membrane electrodialysis (BMED) in desulfurization wastewater and high-salt wastewater treatment, discussing its limitations and solutions. In addition, several Chinese ZLD cases and economic analysis are introduced. It is believed that ZLD will become a new trend in desulfurization wastewater treatment in the future. Therefore, exploring new materials and technologies with low cost and high efficiency is the focus of future work. • Zero-liquid discharge technologies for desulfurization wastewater are compared. • The applications of bipolar membrane technology in wastewater treatment are emphasized. • Economic analysis of several industrial cases is made. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • Ecosystem services (ESs) in the upper Ganjiang watershed of China are quantified. • Five major ESs vary in supply–demand deficits at the sub-watershed scale. • Slope and forest area ratio have distinct threshold effects on supply–demand ratios of ESs. • Research on mechanisms driving ESs should consider both their supply and demand. Understanding the spatial associations of ecosystem services (ESs) driven by socio-ecological factors is essential for regional ecosystem management and effective resource allocation. Yet previous studies of mechanisms driving ESs have focused mainly on the supply or demand for ESs, rarely consider their threshold effects and supply–demand ratios. Taking the upper reach of Ganjiang watershed (URGW) in southern China as an example, the supply, demand, and supply–demand ratio of ESs (ESDRs) were quantified for grain production (GP), water yield (WY), soil retention (SR), carbon sequestration (CS), and green space recreation (GR). Correlation analysis and random forest models were used to investigate the spatial associations of five ESDRs and the relative importance and marginal effects of 9 socio-ecological factors upon them. At the watershed scale, only SR incurred a supply–demand deficit (ESDR < 0), while the other four ESs (GP, WY, CS, and GR) met the internal demand (ESDR > 0). When considered across 188 sub-watersheds, all ESs had different supply–demand deficits. The trade-offs in ESDRs mainly derived from two ESs (GP, SR) and the other three ESs (WY, CS, GR). The supply–demand ratio of SR was mainly determined by topography (i.e., slope gradient), while land use (i.e., proportions of cropland and forest land areas) played a decisive role in the supply–demand ratios of GP and WY. The supply–demand ratios of GR and CS showed similar spatial distribution, driven mainly by the normalized difference vegetation index and human population density. Specific socio-ecological factors (e.g., slope gradient and proportion of forest land area) had significant threshold effects on the ESDRs. Accordingly, research on the mechanisms driving ESs should consider ESs' supply and demand in tandem, and pay particular attention to the potential threshold effects of socio-ecological factors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) has become popular interventional treatment for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). However, lack of knowledge about the general characteristics and long-term clinical outcomes hampers the development of herbal drugs for ALS. The China Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis Registry of Patients with Traditional Chinese Medicine (CARE-TCM) provides an opportunity to better understand which TCM interventions patients with ALS are receiving, what the characteristics of patients with ALS are, and how these interventions impact clinical measures. This study includes a voluntary nationwide registry, and data will be collected prospectively using an electronic data system. Detailed data collection will be performed every 3 months for 5 years. Baseline characteristics and 5-year survival will be collected. This registry was initiated in March 2021. The number of participating medical centers will be about 30 hospitals, and the target procedure number will be 2000. We will also compare the results with those of other registries in China and other countries. The CARE-TCM registry will first provide real-world data regarding TCM and ALS in China, focusing on the clinical characteristics of ALS patients with TCM, disease phenotypes that respond best to TCM, and correlating clinical response with other parameters. The CARE-TCM can be very helpful to improve the efficiency and quality of TCM clinical trial design. ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT04885374 (registered on May 8, 2021). [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Warming responses of photosynthesis and its temperature dependence in two C3 grass (Agropyron cristatum, Stipa krylovii), one C4 grass (Pennisetum centrasiaticum), and two C3 forb (Artemisia capillaris, Potentilla acaulis) species in a temperate steppe of northern China were investigated in a field experiment. Experimental warming with infrared heater significantly increased daily mean assimilation rate (A) in P. centrasiaticum and A. capillaris by 30 and 43%, respectively, but had no effects on other three species. Seasonal mean A was 13, 15, and 19% higher in the warmed than control plants for P. centrasiaticum, A. capillaries, and S. krylovii, respectively. The mean assimilation rate in A. cristatum and P. acaulis was not impacted by experimental warming. All the five species showed photosynthetic acclimation to temperature. The optimum temperature for photosynthesis (T opt) and the assimilation rate at T opt in the five species increased by 0.33–0.78°C and 4–27%, respectively, under experimental warming. Elevated temperature tended to increase the maximum rate of ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate (RuBP) carboxylation (V cmax) and the RuBP regeneration capacity (J max) in the C3 plants and carboxylation efficiency and the CO2-saturated photosynthetic rate in the C4 plant at higher leaf temperature, as well as the optimum temperatures for the four parameters. Our results indicated that photosynthetic responses to warming were species-specific and that most of the species in the temperate steppe of northern China could acclimate to a warmer environment. The changes in the temperature dependence of V cmax and J max, as well as the balance of these two processes altered the temperature dependence of photosynthesis under climatic warming. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

• The spatial distribution of ecological quality and ecosystem services is similar. • The overall coordination of ecological quality and ecosystem services is high. • Not all ecological quality indicators are correlated to ecosystem services functions. • Specific services may not shift synchronously with changes in ecological quality. Ecological quality (EQ) is the foundation of all ecosystem services (ESs) and is critical for the improvement of human welfare. To clarify the link between ecosystems and human well-being, the present study investigated the relationship between EQ and ESs in the Pingjiang watershed in a red soil hilly region (southern China) in 2016. The remote sensing ecological index (RSEI) and the ecosystem service index (ESI), respectively, were used to characterize EQ and four major ESs, i.e., water yield (WY), soil conservation (SC), carbon storage (CS), and food supply (FS). The relationship between EQ and ESs was explored at the sub-watershed scale. Results showed that the EQ of the Pingjiang watershed decreased from the surroundings to the central south. The spatial distributions of SC, CS, and ESI were similar to the EQ distribution, while FS exhibited an opposite trend. The spatial aggregation patterns of RSEI and ESI were somewhat similar, with a Spearman's correlation coefficient (r) of 0.690 (P < 0.01), indicating that the overall coordination of EQ and ESs was high. In addition to RSEI, the normalized difference vegetation index, wetness component, and the normalized differential build-up and bare soil index all had the highest correlations with SC (| r| = 0.606–0.890, P < 0.01) among the four ESs. Only the normalized difference vegetation index was significantly correlated with WY (r = 0.274, P < 0.01), while land surface temperature had the greatest correlation with CS (r = −0.691, P < 0.01). This study enhances our understanding of the spatial and quantitative relationships between EQ and ESs in the Pingjiang watershed, and could facilitate decision-making for local governments in pursuit of sustainable development in similar watersheds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]