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The construction of an appropriate cropping pattern is crucial for the improvement of regional agricultural economic efficiency and sustainable development. Despite previous efforts, there remains a gap in optimizing cropping patterns that fully leverage climate resources to enhance production efficiency. This study addresses this gap by systematically comparing the differences in climate resource allocation, production efficiency and crop response among models by constructing four new triple-maturing cropping models at typical ecological sites in the hilly areas of southwest China. To solve the above problems, we constructed eight cropping patterns and classified them to three as follows: the Traditional Double Cropping System, the Traditional Triple Cropping System, the Novel Triple Cropping System. The results showed that the new multi-maturing planting pattern was significantly better than the traditional two-maturing netting pattern and the traditional three-maturing planting pattern in terms of light, temperature and water productivity. Compared with the traditional two-maturity net cropping model and the traditional three-maturity cropping model, the new cropping model increased light energy productivity by 97.88% and 50.00%, respectively; light energy use by an average of 0.48% and 0.31%; cumulative temperature productivity by an average of 84.70% and 49.14%; and rainfall productivity by an average of 101.04% and 49.61%. An assessment of the light, temperature and water meteorological resource use efficiency of the different treatments showed that the resource use efficiency of the new multi-maturing planting pattern was on average 111.58% and 74.78% higher than that of the traditional two-maturing net planting pattern and the traditional three-maturing planting pattern, with the T6 pattern having the highest resource use efficiency. The new multi-ripening cropping pattern has demonstrated production stability in response to changes in light, temperature and water resources, better adapting to weekly climate changes, stabilizing yields and improving efficiency. In summary, the results of this study can provide a theoretical basis for optimizing cropping patterns and promoting the use of climate resources in agriculture and sustainable development. Future research should focus on further refining these models, exploring their adaptability to various climatic conditions, and evaluating their long-term economic and environmental impacts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sustainable manufacturing is crucial to achieving carbon neutrality targets. However, research on the sustainability of manufacturing systems is limited, and high consumption, low efficiency, and high emissions have resulted in high resource consumption and rapid environmental degradation. Therefore, it is of great importance to establish an evaluation and improvement indicator system conducive to sustainable development. To this end, this study developed a data-driven methodology for evaluating and enhancing the sustainability of manufacturing systems. Manufacturing system production process data, with data dimensions unified via the emergy method, were used to construct a sustainable development evaluation model that includes four perspectives: economy, environment, society, and sustainability. The model was applied to a flange production workshop in China to analyze the interrelation mechanisms among energy consumption, resource consumption, and environmental pollution, and identify optimization schemes to improve sustainability. After implementing these optimization schemes, the emergy yield rate (EYR) of the flange increased by 23.40%, the environmental load rate (ELR) decreased by 19.03%, the per capita emergy (EPP) increased by 6.88%, and the emergy-based sustainability index (ESI) increased by 52.76%. The method presented herein offers a novel and effective tool to analyze and visualize sustainable development in manufacturing systems and identify the relationship between technology and management in the manufacturing industry; however, this method is based on historical data and rules, and lacks of flexible response to unknown situations. The results provide a reference for enterprises to achieve sustainable and lean manufacturing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research, conducted at the National Field Science Observation and Research Station of the Aksu Farmland Ecosystem in Xinjiang, was performed to partition evapotranspiration components, identify the main water absorption depth, and quantify the contribution of soil water at different depths during different growing stages of cotton by combining hydrogen and oxygen stable isotopes and the MixSIAR model. The results indicated that evapotranspiration in the seeding stage, bud stage, flowering and boll stage, boll opening stage, and harvesting stage were 88 mm, 137 mm, 542 mm, 214 mm, and 118 mm, respectively, and the corresponding transpiration accounted for 51%, 82%, 88%, 85%, and 72% of evapotranspiration. With the development of cotton roots, the water absorption depth gradually increased, and the main absorption depths in the late bud stage, mid flowering and boll stage, late flowering and boll stage, boll opening stage, and harvesting stage were 0–20 cm, 40–60 cm, 60–80 cm, 80–100 cm, and 0–20 cm, respectively, with corresponding contributions of 35.4%, 40.9%, 27.7%, 29.9%, and 22.5%. Our results can provide a theoretical foundation for the accurate irrigation management of cotton fields. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

STUDY QUESTION Was polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), which impairs fertility and adheres to the evolutionary paradox, subject to evolutionary selection during ancestral times and did rapidly diminish in prevalence? SUMMARY ANSWER This study strengthened the hypothesis that positive selection of genetic variants occurred and may account for the high prevalence of PCOS observed today. WHAT IS KNOWN ALREADY PCOS is a complex endocrine disorder characterized by both reproductive and metabolic disturbances. As a heritable disease that impairs fertility, PCOS should diminish rapidly in prevalence; however, it is the most common cause of female subfertility globally. Few scientific genetic studies have attempted to provide evidence for the positive selection of gene variants underlying PCOS. STUDY DESIGN, SIZE, DURATION We performed an evolutionary analysis of 2,504 individuals from 14 populations of the 1000 Genomes Project. PARTICIPANTS/MATERIALS, SETTING, METHODS We tested the signature of positive selection for 37 single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) associated with PCOS in previous genome-wide association studies using six parameters of positive selection. MAIN RESULTS AND THE ROLE OF CHANCE Analyzing the evolutionary indices together, there was obvious positive selection at the PCOS-related SNPs loci, especially within the original evolution window of humans, demonstrated by significant Tajima's D values. Compared to the genome background, six of the 37 SNPs in or close to five genes (DENN domain-containing protein 1A: DENND1A , chromosome 9 open reading frame 3: AOPEP , aminopeptidase O: THADA , diacylglycerol kinase iota: DGKI , and netrin receptor UNC5C: UNC5C) showed significant evidence of positive selection, among which DENND1A , AOPEP , and THADA represent the set of most established susceptibility genes for PCOS. LIMITATIONS, REASONS FOR CAUTION First, only well-documented SNPs were selected from well-designed experiments. Second, it is difficult to determine which hypothesis of PCOS evolution is at play. After considering the most significant functions of these genes, we found that they had a wide variety of functions with no obvious association between them. WIDER IMPLICATIONS OF THE FINDINGS Our findings provide additional evidence for the positive evolution of PCOS. Our analyses require confirmation in a larger study with more evolutionary indicators and larger data range. Further research to identify the roles of the DENND1A , AOPEP , THADA , DGKI , and UNC5C genes is also necessary. STUDY FUNDING/COMPETING INTEREST(S) This study was supported by the National Key Research and Development Program of China (2021YFC2700400 and 2021YFC2700701), Basic Science Center Program of NSFC (31988101), CAMS Innovation Fund for Medical Sciences (2021-I2M-5-001), National Natural Science Foundation of China (82192874, 31871509, and 82071606), Shandong Provincial Key Research and Development Program (2020ZLYS02), Taishan Scholars Program of Shandong Province (ts20190988), and Fundamental Research Funds of Shandong University. The authors have no conflicts of interest to disclose. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER N/A. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Optimizing Cropping patterns is important for the improvement of regional agricultural economic efficiency and sustainable development. However, there are few studies on the sustainability of cropping patterns in hilly areas. Here, we studied four new three-maturing cropping patterns in a typical ecological site in the hilly areas of southwest China. An analytical method combining economic efficiency evaluation and energy value analysis was used to evaluate and compare the economic efficiency and sustainability of the new cropping model and the traditional cropping model. We explored the construction of a new three-crop cropping model suitable for the southwest hilly area to improve the economic benefits of agricultural production and improve the sustainability of agricultural production. To solve the above problems, we constructed eight cropping patterns and classified them as follows: The Traditional Double Cropping System: T1, oilseed rape-summer soybean; T2, oilseed rape-summer maize; T3, wheat-summer maize. Traditional Triple Cropping System: T4, wheat/spring maize/summer soybean. Novel Triple Cropping System: T5, forage oilseed rape-spring maize/summer soybean; T6, forage oilseed rape-spring maize/peanut; T7, potato-spring maize/peanut; T8, potato-spring maize/summer soybean. The results of the study showed that compared with the Traditional Double Cropping System and the Traditional Triple Cropping System, the Novel Triple Cropping System increased the economic yield by an average of 100.39% and 49.18%, the economic production capacity by 71.32% and 36.48%, the biological yield by 12.53% and 4.90%, and the biological production capacity by 13.59% and 5.80%. The economic benefits of the Novel Triple Cropping System were significantly improved, with economic profits increased by CNY 9068 ·hm−2 and CNY 7533 ·hm−2 compared with the Traditional Double Cropping System and the Traditional Triple Cropping System. The energy value analysis further revealed the characteristics of the Novel Triple Cropping System as a high input and high output model. The Novel Triple Cropping System increased energy value inputs by 6.56% and 4.25%, and energy value outputs by 13.69% and 4.27% compared with the Traditional Double Cropping System and the Traditional Triple Cropping System, respectively. This high level of inputs stems mainly from a significant increase in labor inputs. Meanwhile, the energy-value indicator analysis of the Novel Triple Cropping System shows its lower dependence on natural resources, greater production intensification, and increased system stability. As a result, the Novel Triple Cropping System showed higher sustainable production capacity. In summary, the results of this study can provide a theoretical basis for optimizing cropping patterns and promoting high-yield and the sustainable development of agriculture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims and Objectives: To investigate the oral health literacy (OHL) of nurses and explore the factors affecting their OHL. Background: OHL is important for improving the oral health outcomes. Nurses' OHL may affect the oral health of themselves, families, and patients. Few studies have examined the OHL and its related factors among nurses. Design: A cross‐sectional design following the STROBE guideline. Methods: A total of 449 nurses were recruited from tertiary hospitals in the minority areas of southwest China. The participants completed an online questionnaire, which contained questions related to the OHL, sociodemographic factors, general health, oral health and related behaviours, oral health knowledge, attitudes, and oral health‐related quality of life. OHL was measured using the validated Chinese version of the short‐form Health Literacy of Dentistry (HeLD‐14) scale. Descriptive statistics, the Mann–Whitney U test, Spearman's correlation, and multiple linear regression analysis were used to analyse the data. Results: The median HeLD‐14 score (p25–p75) was 50.0 (44.0–54.0). The regression model for OHL was found to be significant. The factors that influenced OHL included oral health knowledge, oral health attitudes, self‐reported oral health, annual household income, and dental flossing; these factors accounted for 13.9% of the variance in OHL. Conclusions: The nurse' OHL has room for improvement. Nurses' OHL could be improved by enriching their oral health knowledge, promoting their positive oral health attitudes, increasing their household income, and helping them build correct oral health behaviours. Relevance to clinical practice: The findings of the study could be used to make a case for changing nursing curricula. Oral health knowledge curriculum or programmes targeted towards nurses should be developed to improve their OHL. Patient or public contribution: No Patient or Public Contribution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While China's digital trade is developing rapidly, it is facing the problem of uncoordinated and uneven regional development. In order to explore countermeasures to bridge the differences in regional digital trade, this paper first measures the development level of digital trade in 11 provinces of the Yangtze River Economic Belt through entropy-weighting TOPSIS. Secondly, the fuzzy set Qualitative Comparative Analysis method was used to analyze the influencing factors and improvement paths of digital trade development in various provinces of the Yangtze River Economic Belt. The research results show that: first, the current development level of digital trade is gradually weakening from east to west, especially the development of digital trade in the Yangtze River Delta region is the best, showing a large regional imbalance and uncoordinated development. What's more, the market size and urbanization have the most significant impact on the development of digital trade. Finally, we examine the reliability of the results by sensitivity analysis, and find that our ranking results are robust. In the future, China should continue to actively promote the coordinated development strategy of regional economy and participate in international digital trade exchanges and cooperation, so as to promote the coordinated and high-quality development of digital trade. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: Small skeletal fossils are reported for the first time from the early Cambrian Guojiaba Formation, southern Shaanxi, China. All specimens were recovered from bioclastic limestone interbeds and encompass a wide variety of skeletal clades, including brachiopods, sphenothallids, archaeocyaths, bradoriids, sponge spicules, echinoderm plates, and trilobite spines. The archaeocyaths described herein are considerably older than those described from the Xiannvdong Formation, which was previously assumed to contain the lowest archaeocyath-bearing horizons in South China. The brachiopod Lingulellotreta yuanshanensis is recorded for the first time from the Fucheng area, with previous records confined mainly to the Chengjiang Fauna-bearing Yu'anshan Formation in the lower Cambrian, the eastern Yunnan Province. Micro-morphological and elemental analyses of the small skeletal fossil assemblages were carried out using SEM, BSEM, and Micro X–ray fluorescence. The skeletal fauna in the Guojiaba Formation resembles the assemblages recovered from the upper Yu'anshan Formation (Chengjiang Fauna) in eastern Yunnan Province. Based on the recovered assemblage, the biostratigraphic age of the Guojiaba Formation correlates with the Chiungchussuan Stage (Stage 3 of Cambrian Series 2). A small skeletal fossil assemblage is described for the first time from the bioclastic limestone interbeds of the siltstone-dominated Guojiaba Formation, southern Shaanxi, China. The carbonate-hosted fossils include brachiopods (Eohadrotreta zhujiahensis, Eohadrotreta zhenbaensis, Spinobolus sp., Kuangshanotreta malungensis, Kyrshabaktella sp., Lingulellotreta yuanshanensis, Eoobolus incipiens, and Eoobolus sp.), sphenothallids (Sphenothallus sp.), archaeocyaths (Robustocyathus sp. and Yukonocyathus sp.), bradoriids (Kunmingella douvillei), chancelloriids sclerites (Onychia sp., Allonnia sp., Diminia sp., Archiasterella pentactina, and Chancelloria cf. eros), echinoderm plates, fragments of trilobites (Eoredlichia sp.), and hyolithelminths. The discovery of archaeocyaths in the Guojiaba Formation significantly extends their stratigraphic range in South China from the early Tsanglangpuian at least to the late Chiungchussuan. Thus, the Guojiaba Formation now represents the lowest known stratigraphic horizon where archaeocyath fossils have been found in the southern Shaanxi area. The overall assemblage is most comparable, in terms of composition, to Small skeletal fossil (SSF) assemblages from the early Cambrian Chengjiang fauna recovered from the Yu'anshan Formation in eastern Yunnan Province. The existing position that the Guojiaba Formation is correlated with Stage 3 in Cambrian Series 2 is strongly upheld based on the fossil assemblage recovered in this study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: To evaluate whether the 24-weeks postoperative fracture union rate for the investigational TFNA intramedullary nail was non-inferior compared to the control product PFNA-II. Methods: The study was a prospective, randomized, single-blind, noninferiority dual-arm study drawing from 9 trauma centers across China, between November 2018 and September 2020, with follow-up measurements at 24 weeks after internal fixation. The full analysis data set (FAS [Intent-to-Treat]) was analyzed and is summarized here. The primary outcome was fracture union rate, a composite score combining clinical and radiographic assessment. Secondary endpoints comprised (a) clinical outcomes including (1) SF-12, (2) Harris Hip, and (3) EQ-5D Scores, (b) radiographic incidence of complications such as loosening or cut-out requiring revision, (c) revision rates, (d) reoperation rates, and (e) adverse events, including 24-weeks revision and reoperation rates. Results: Both TFNA and PFNA-II group fracture healing rates were 100% at 24 weeks; TFNA was therefore shown to be non-inferior to PFNA-II. With baseline data matched in all parameters except age in both the TFNA and PFNA-II groups, comparisons of union rates, SF-12, Harris Hip, and EQ-5D Scores yielded p values > 0.05 indicating no significant difference between the two groups, further supporting the noninferiority of TFNA. In both groups, revision and re-operation rates were 0, and the incidences of serious adverse events were 19.4% and 17.4%, respectively. Conclusion: In terms of fracture union rate at 24 weeks, the DePuy Synthes Trochanteric Fixation Nail Advanced (TFNA) was not inferior to the marketed Proximal Femoral Nail Antirotation (PFNA-II) device produced by the same manufacturer. Secondary and safety outcomes showed no significant differences between the two groups. Registration: Registration was completed at ClinicalTrials.gov NCT03635320. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The infamous "Sydney Tar Ponds" are well known as one of the largest toxic waste sites of Canada, due to almost 100 years of steelmaking in Sydney, a once beautiful and peaceful city located on the east side of Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia. This article begins with a contextual overview of the Tar Ponds issue including a brief introduction and history and summaries of the effects on the earth, the people, and the biotic community (animals and vegetation). Then the authors talk about the STS analysis approach, namely, a discussion of six systems to indicate what has been brought to the earth and mankind by technology and modern industry. The remaining part of the article describes the difficulties confronting China, some of which are similar to the ones Canada faces as a result of the Tar Ponds contamination, and summarizes some of the experiences at Tar Ponds and the lessons China can learn from Tar Ponds. (Contains 10 notes.)

China is the world's largest energy consumer and carbon emitter, but despite unbalanced growth among the eastern, central, and western regions, local financial expenditure on energy conservation and environmental protection has increased from 255.1 billion yuan in 2011 to 582.5 billion yuan in 2018. This research thus introduces financial expenditure like a new input into a dynamic meta-frontier non-radial directional distance function to evaluate China's energy and carbon emission efficiency over that period of time. Different from previous studies, after considering financial expenditure we find that most provinces have narrowed their gap with the benchmark frontier, reflecting that increasing financial expenditure does help improve energy and carbon emission efficiency. The results highlight that most provinces should increase their financial expenditure on energy conservation and environmental protection, especially in the central and western regions, so as to narrow their technology gap with the eastern region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research on labour disputes in China has primarily adopted a political economy perspective to focus on state-owned enterprises inland and foreign-invested plants in economically developed zones. Research has neglected community-based protests in small private firms in urbanising areas and their implications for human resource management and employment relations. This paper addresses this gap through an in-depth case study of a community-based, village cadres and clan leaders-led protest (including strike actions) against a privately-owned metal work factory located in a local community. Deploying the notion of community politics and 'acquaintance society', the study enriches our knowledge of industrial actions in China by extending the analytical scope of the context to understand the motive and choice of actions of individuals in participating in the disputes, and modes of dispute resolution. The study reveals the important role of social institutions and cultural norms, as well as the significance of discrete interventions of bureaucrats in the outcome of the dispute. We find that the settlement of community-based (labour) disputes may not officially involve key formal institutional actors, such as the trade union and legal/government authority. Rather, these institutional actors may be involved in an unofficial capacity, though drawing on power derived from their bureaucratic position in the intervention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although there are many new types of environmentally friendly fertilizers that can improve maize yield, chemical fertilizers are the most widespread type of fertilizer used in the agricultural sector of China due to their low cost and ease of application. However, the misuse of chemical fertilizers could lead to environmental problems, such as the massive emission of greenhouse gases (GHG). Therefore, it is important to determine how fertilizer-use efficiency (FUE) could be improved to stabilize or increase maize yield while reducing GHG emissions. In this study, we collected 6618 date records which include three datasets (for N, P, and K) from five maize-growing regions in China from 2005 to 2018, and performed a meta-analysis on the effects of N, K, and P fertilization levels on maize yield, partial factor productivity (PFP), agronomic efficiency (AE), and the carbon footprint of maize production. Additionally, scenario analyses were performed to estimate optimal fertilizer application rates for stabilizing or increasing maize yield while reducing GHG emissions. It was shown that FUE and maize yield responses to fertilization level varied in different regions. Compared to the past, the maize production of China has improved significantly in terms of FUE and its carbon footprint in recent years. Because of improvements in maize cultivars and cultivation technologies, it is possible to decrease N, P, and K application rates and reduce per unit area carbon footprint of maize, without compromising yield. In the future, N fertilization should be reduced by 10% from current levels, and the application of P and K fertilizers should be increased or decreased depending on the conditions of each maize-growing region. Thus, it should be possible to stabilize or even increase yields and reduce GHG emissions of maize production, thereby achieving green and efficient development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Airspace planning scheme evaluation based on ATC‐Flight real‐time simulation which incorporates air traffic control simulator and flight simulator has become increasingly important. It has irreplaceable advantages of truly simulating and in‐depth evaluating airspace operation, especially for analyzing human factors. As a multi‐criteria decision making (MCDM) problem, it poses challenges which this study aims to overcome from three aspects. Firstly, the complexity of airspace and the characteristics of ATC‐Flight real‐time simulation are analyzed to build a multi‐criteria evaluation system. The criteria include air traffic flow, airspace operational performance, flight procedure quality, cost, controller workload and pilot workload. Secondly, a novel weighting method based on plithogenic set is presented to derive robust subjective criteria weights from a group of human decision makers. The subjective weights are then combined with objective weights using game theory to determine cumulative criteria weights. Thirdly, technique for order preference by similarity to ideal solution (TOPSIS) and grey correlation analysis are integrated to perform comprehensive evaluation and ranking. The first series of ATC‐Flight real‐time simulations in China are conducted to illustrate a case study. The results demonstrated that the proposed MCDM approach could improve the accuracy and discriminability of evaluation results, and outperformed other existing well‐known MCDM algorithms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the increasing concerns about the environmental issues of forest health tourism, the environmentally responsible behavior of tourists becomes the key to the sustainable development of forest health tourism. Therefore, the article takes experiential value as an entrance point, innovatively introduces the scenario of forest health tourism, and divides experiential value into the functional value, hedonic value and symbolic value. Then, a theoretical model of the experiential value of forest health tourism, two place perception concepts of place attachment, and environmentally responsible behavior is constructed. The research team assembled 498 valid questionnaires for the empirical investigation in the Fuzhou National Forest Park in China. Structural equation modeling was used to test the theoretical hypotheses and to explore the cumulative driving effects of the experiential value and place attachment in forest health tourism on environmentally responsible behavior. The results showed that the experiential value of forest health tourism had a significant positive effect on the environmentally responsible behavior. It also had a significant positive effect on place attachment, which also strengthened the environmentally responsible behavior. In addition, place attachment is considered to be an important mediator of the effect of forest health tourism's experiential value on the intention of environmentally responsible behavior. Place attachment is a more important element driving environmentally responsible behavior than the elements of the forest health tourism's experiential value. Place attachment has a greater impact on tourists' environmentally responsible behavior than place identification. This highlights the importance of place attachment in influencing the environmentally responsible behavior of tourists. These results provide a useful theoretical basis and practical reference for promoting environmentally responsible behavior in forest health tourism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, has a special geological history, diverse habitats, a complex climate, and a large number of wetlands, which harbor a huge of wetland plants. In this study, we sorted out the monographs, literatures and online databases, as well as our own collection from field surveys, and comprehensively combed the checklist and county-level diversity of wetland angiosperms and endangered species in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau for the first time. The distribution pattern of species richness was analyzed through three groups of environmental variables: energy, water, and habitat. The wetland angiosperms have high richness, with a total of 2329 species, belonging to 91 families and 438 genera, mainly hygrophytes (94.98%). The spatial distribution is uneven, and gradually decreases from the southeast to the northwest of the plateau. Species richness decreased with elevation and latitude and increased with longitude. Annual precipitation (AP) and annual mean temperature (AMT) are the most important variables affecting species diversity. Habitat environmental variables had less influence on species richness distribution and wetland area was not associated with richness distribution. The setting of endangered wetland angiosperm reserves needs to focus on the Hengduan Mountains and southeastern Tibet. Our study provided basic data for the research and protection of wetland plant diversity in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: Doliutheca orientalis is revised from the Shipai Formation (early Cambrian Stage 4) of the Three Gorges area, South China. Specimens are preserved as casts in silty mudstone and as small shelly fossils in calcareous pelites. SEM and Micro-CT analyses show that Doliutheca possessed hyolithid-like skeletons (especially regarding the operculum) but significantly lack helens. This combination of features sees the genus placed within the Family Paramicrocornidae, a group of hyoliths closely related to hyolithids. Newly compressed specimens of Doliutheca from silty mudstone show some soft-part preservation with the gut clearly visible. Additionally, the highly variable apex morphology of Doliutheca is explained as a consequence of differences in preservation due to secondary deposits formed inside the shell. This finding highlights the challenge of preservational artefacts in calculating the disparity and diversity of early Cambrian skeletal fossils, and the resulting potential effects on taxonomic assessments on the diversity of skeletal taxa in the Cambrian. New hyolith specimens from the early Cambrian (Stage 4) of the Three Gorges area, western Hubei Province are described and assigned to the species Doliutheca orientalis. Doliutheca are preserved in two taphonomic modes: casts in silty mudstone revealing gross morphology and some soft parts, and internal molds in calcareous pelites, which exhibit new morphological details of the conch and operculum. SEM and Micro-CT analyses show that Doliutheca preserve well-developed platy clavicles and cardinal processes on the interior of the operculum composed of rod-shaped tubular elements. This observation and the distinct cardinal and conical shields of the operculum indicate that Doliutheca could be placed within the Family Paramicrocornidae, most recently established as a group of hyoliths closely related to hyolithids. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Accurate load forecasting is the foundation for power systems to develop the optimal combination of generating units, power economic dispatch and other cooperative operation strategies. In order to solve the problem of uncertainty and volatility of load changes due to weather conditions and users' energy use characteristics in low-voltage distribution networks, a short-term forecasting model based on Residual Stacking Frequency Attention (RSF-Attention) is proposed. First, RSF-Attention is an integrated model that stacks multiple sub-models, and the input information of sub-models is changed by residual stacking technique so that each sub-model pays attention to the different characteristics to mine the load information exhaustively. Subsequently, a new attention mechanism named FFT-Attention is designed to focus the model on the overall trend of the signal by converting the feature information into frequency domain and reducing the high-frequency noisy signal characteristics of the load information. Finally, prediction experiments are conducted on the Australian power dataset and power data of the Yun Hai station area in Lianyungang, Jiangsu Province, China. Ablation experimental results show the effectiveness of constructed prediction model; comparison experiments with a variety of deep learning models show that the proposed model has higher prediction accuracy. • Residual stacking frequency attention network achieves accurate load forecasting. • Residual method makes each sub-model pay attention to distinct information. • Frequency attention focuses the model on the overall trend of the signal. • Experiments validate the effectiveness of the proposed method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Age-related cognitive decline (ARCD) is a common condition among older adults, affecting 100 million people worldwide. Traditional Chinese Medicine's (TCM) constitution is closely related to the occurrence and development of diseases in the elderly population. However, little is known about the relationships between TCM constitution and ARCD in the super-aged population. The present study aimed to investigate the relationships between the TCM constitution and ARCD in Chinese centenarians and to explore the application of the constitution to prevent ARCD in the elderly population. Methods: Each participant underwent a standardized epidemiological investigation and physical examination, based on the China Hainan Centenarian Cohort Study. Data on the demographic characteristics and TCM constitution were collected using structured questionnaires. Results: The present study included 636 centenarians aged 100–116 years. The prevalence of ARCD was 87.7% (n = 558 centenarians). In multiple linear regression analysis, an inverse relationship between Qi depression and Mini-Mental State Examination scales was significant after controlling for a wide range of other factors (P < 0.05). In multiple logistic regression analysis, Qi depression was positively associated with ARCD after full adjustment (P < 0.05). Conclusion: As the first study in the world, the present study provides strong epidemiological evidence that Qi depression has a significant relationship with ARCD in Chinese centenarians, and regulating Qi depression may be a valuable method to prevent and treat ARCD in the elderly population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Previous studies did not comprehensively examine the effect of adenotonsillectomy on growth and development, emotional state, quality of life, attention ability, and cognitive dysfunction in children with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). This study aimed to explore the improvement effects of adenotonsillectomy on the growth, development, quality of life, and attention ability in children with OSA.Methods: This prospective single-arm study involved children with OSA admitted at The No. 980 Hospital, Joint Logistics Support Force, PLA, China (02/2017-02/2018). The Myklebust Pupil Rating Scale (PRS), Inventory of Subjective Life Quality (ISLQ), Zung Self-rating Anxiety Scale (SAS), Conners Parent Symptom Questionnaire (PSQ), and Continuous Performance Task (CPT) were examined before and at 6 months after adenotonsillectomy.Results: Forty-nine patients were enrolled. They all completed the 6-month follow-up. The body mass index increased after surgery (from 18.8 ± 4.9 to 19.3 ± 4.3 kg/m2, P = 0.008). The total PRS score increased 6 months after surgery (from 73.8 ± 12.7 to 84.6 ± 10.3, P < 0.001). All aspects of the ISLQ, except anxiety experience and physical emotion, were improved at 6 months after adenotonsillectomy (all P < 0.01). The SAS score also decreased from 20.1 ± 10.0 to 12.8 ± 6.6 (P < 0.001). All six dimensions of the PSQ, as assessed by the legal guardians, decreased after adenotonsillectomy (all P < 0.01). The proportions of children with auditory and/or visual sustained attention abnormalities decreased after surgery.Conclusions: After adenotonsillectomy, the PRS, ISLQ, and PSQ improved, and anxiety and auditory/visual sustained attention abnormalities decreased, suggesting positive impacts on the growth, development, quality of life, and comprehensive cognitive abilities of children with OSA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Plasma total homocysteine (tHCY) is a known risk factor of a wide range of complex diseases. No genome scans for tHCY have been conducted in East Asian populations. Here, we conducted an exome-wide association study (ExWAS) for tHCY in 5,175 individuals of Chinese Han origin, followed by a replication study in 668 Chinese individuals. The ExWAS identified two loci, 1p36.22 (lead single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) rs1801133, MTHFR C677T) and 16q24.3 (rs1126464, DPEP1), showing exome-wide significant association with tHCY (p < 5E−7); and both loci have been previously associated with tHCY in non-East Asian populations. Both SNPs were replicated in the replication study (p < 0.05). Conditioning on the genotype of C677T and rs1126464, we identified a novel East Asian-specific missense variant rs138189536 (C136T) of MTHFR (p = 6.53E−10), which was also significant in the replication study (p = 9.8E−3). The C136T and C677T variants affect tHCY in a compound heterozygote manner, where compound heterozygote and homozygote genotype carriers had on average 43.4% increased tHCY than had other genotypes. The frequency of the homozygote C677T genotype showed an inverse-U-shaped geospatial pattern globally with a pronounced frequency in northern China, which coincided with the high prevalence of hyperhomocysteinemia (HHCY) in northern China. A logistic regression model of HHCY status considering sex, age, and the genotypes of the three identified variants reached an area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) value of 0.74 in an independent validation cohort. These genetic observations provide new insights into the presence of multiple causal mutations at the MTHFR locus, highlight the role of genetics in HHCY epidemiology among different populations, and provide candidate loci for future functional studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Drivers have always been confronted with real-time parking difficulties when driving on urban roads, especially in crowded downtown or beauty spots. On the other hand, privacy leakage risks on users’ private parking preferences and the sensitive data of parking lots have triggered increasing worries. Some literatures endeavor to improve parking service qualities through multi-consideration parking decision optimization on edge sides or cloud computing based on outsourced data storage. And some other literatures propose a number of privacy-preserving methods, such as cryptography and authentication, but these privacy strategies are at the expense of other qualities of parking services, especially the real-time performance. In this paper, we propose a fuzzy skyline parking recommendation scheme for real-time parking recommendation based on roadside traffic facilities. Linguistic parking information instead of raw parking-related data is used in fuzzy skyline fusion. We evaluated our solution with real-world data sets collected from parking facilities in Wulin downtown, Hangzhou city, China. The evaluation results show that our approaches achieve an average accuracy of parking recommendation over 91%, low communication cost, and quick response time with privacy protection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The cap-shaped shells of Triplicatella are known almost exclusively from small shelly fossil assemblages with articulated specimens showing unequivocally that they represent the operculum of a hyolith. Abundant specimens of Triplicatella opimus from the fine-grained shales of the Chengjiang Lagerstätte of South China with soft-part preservation are documented herein. The soft tissues, including the feeding apparatus and complex digestive system, in T. opimus strongly suggest that Triplicatella was a deposit feeder. The digestive tract of T. opimus consists of two limbs, a spiral loop folded into a chevron-like structure and a slightly recurved to straight anal tube, which are preserved as reddish-black traces enriched in iron. The new anatomical information obtained from T. opimus in the Chengjiang Biota suggests an intermediate stage in the development of the characteristic folded gut of orthothecid hyoliths. The new anatomical information reported here shows that Triplicatella is one of the best-preserved early members of the Orthothecida and promotes our understanding of the general anatomy and evolution of the Hyolitha. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Blockchain smart contract technology will provide a new management mode for professional athlete contract management, as its main characteristics can be briefly summarized as decentralization, intelligence, efficiency, accuracy, and low cost. At present, the management of professional athletes in China mainly adopts the contract system.However, there are such problems as irregular signing procedures, invalid contract content, and many disputes of the implementation process, which hinders the improvement of professional athletes' competitive level. Based on the technical characteristics and application choices of blockchain smart contract, the current situation of professional athlete contract management is explored, and the application of blockehain smart contract is compared to professional athlete contract management. It finds that the contract management mode of professional athletes based on blockchain smart contracts is conducive to simplifying the contract process, preventing fraud, reducing costs, setting precision and promoting the development of athletes. The professional athlete contract management mode o f blockchain smart contract technology is also designed, the main body positioning on the chain is clarified, the layered application framework and implementation process are structured, the practical obstacles of the model are analyzed, and the implementation path is proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The geographic pattern of β-diversity across the three dimensions is highly consistent. • Taxonomic β-diversity is dominated by turnover components, whereas phylogenetic and functional β-diversity is dominated by nestedness components. • Environmental filtering and dispersal limitation together determine the geographic patterns of wetland plant β-diversity. • Climatic and topographic variables were the main drivers of the β-diversity pattern of wetland plants in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. The Qinghai-Tibet Plateau (QTP) harbours the largest wetland complex in China, with a relatively high diversity of wetland plants. While there has been extensive research on the α-diversity of various plant groups in the QTP, the study of β-diversity specifically in wetland plants has been limited. In this study, we quantified the geographic pattern of wetland plant β-diversity from three dimensions: taxonomic, phylogenetic, and functional. We assessed the relative importance of geographic distance, climatic distance, environmental distance and topographic distance on the pattern of β-diversity. The results indicate a high consistency in the geographic pattern of wetland plant β-diversity across the three dimensions. β-diversity is high in the mountainous regions at the edge of the plateau and relatively low in the plateau platform. The turnover component contributes more to taxonomic β-diversity than nestedness, whereas the opposite is true for phylogenetic and functional β-diversity. Furthermore, taxonomic β-diversity is higher than phylogenetic and functional β-diversity. The geographic patterns of taxonomic, phylogenetic and functional diversity of wetland plants in the QTP are jointly influenced by environmental filtering and dispersal limitation. Climatic variables (temperature seasonality, annual precipitation, precipitation seasonality and annual mean temperature) and topographic variables (elevation variation coefficient, elevation and slope) were identified as the main factors influencing wetland plant β-diversity in the QTP. Overall, this study contributes to elucidating the evolutionary history and formation mechanisms of wetland plant communities in the QTP, and reveals the large-scale patterns of wetland plant diversity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Chinese longsnout catfish (Leiocassis longirostris) is a commercially important freshwater fish species in China. To understand the molecular mechanisms underlying its growth, we performed a comparative transcriptomic analysis of muscle and liver tissues of fast- and slow-growing L. longirostris. A total of 580 and 511 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were obtained in the muscle and liver tissues, respectively. We selected 10 DEGs each from muscle and liver tissues by qRT-PCR to verify the reliability of RNA-seq, and it was found that the expression patterns of these genes were consistent with RNA-seq analysis results. According to the differential expression and functional enrichment analysis of genes, we found differences in the expression of several growth-related genes between fast- and slow-growing individuals. These genes may contribute to the differences in the growth of L. longirostris by influencing muscle growth and the metabolism of substances and energy. In particular, the pk and fabp genes were highly expressed in fast-growing individuals, while the cart , leptin , pepck , murf1 , trim32 , and pparα genes exhibited higher levels in slow-growing individuals. It was speculated that genes related to feeding behavior might be the key genes in regulating the growth of L. longirostris , while glycolytic/gluconeogenic metabolic pathway, lipid metabolism, and ubiquitin-proteasome pathway might be the main pathways involved in regulating body weight of L. longirostris. This study could enrich the available gene resources and provide a valuable basis for further studies on the regulatory mechanisms of growth in L. longirostris. [Display omitted] • The first report on the transcriptome sequencing and growth-related study of Leiocassis longirostris. • The expression patterns of feeding-related genes have an impact on growth of Leiocassis longirostris. • Initially revealed that energy metabolic pathways are closely related to the growth of Leiocassis longirostris. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Raindrop size distribution (DSD) is of great significance for understanding the microphysical process of rainfall and the quantitative precipitation estimation (QPE). However, in the past, there was a lack of relevant research on Xinjiang in the arid region of northwest China. In this study, the rainy season data collected by the disdrometer in the Yining area of Xinjiang were used for more than two years, and the characteristics of DSDs for all samples, for two rain types (convective and stratiform), and for six different rain rates were studied. The results showed that nearly 70% of the total samples had a rainfall rate of less than 1 mm·h−1, the convective rain was neither continental nor maritime, and there was a clear boundary between convective rain and stratiform rain in terms of the scattergram of the standardized intercept parameter ( log 10 N w ) versus the mass-weighted average diameter ( D m ). When the raindrop diameter was less than 0.7 mm, DSDs of the two rainfalls basically coincided, while when the raindrop diameter was greater than 0.7 mm, DSDs of convective rainfall were located above the stratiform rain. As the rainfall rate increased, D m increased, while log 10 N w first increased and then decreased. In addition, we deduced the Z − R (radar reflectivity-rain rate) relationship and μ − Λ relationship (shape parameter-slope parameter of the gamma DSDs) suitable for the Yining area. These conclusions are conducive to strengthening the understanding of rainfall microphysical processes in arid regions and improving the ability of QPE in arid regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recycled concrete self-insulating blocks (RCSBs) are an economic and environmentally friendly load-bearing building material that can save energy. In China, there is almost no systematic evaluations focusing on the shear performance of RCSB walls. To realize the effective utilization of RCSB, this paper makes a series of experimental research and theoretical analysis on the shear performance of 72 standard RCSB wall specimens. The key factors such as shear failure characteristics, shear strength calculation formula, and shear compression failure criterion are analyzed. The test results show that the shear strength of RCSB walls is higher than that of ordinary concrete block wall. Recommended formulas for the shear strength of RCSB walls are given, taking into account the actual situation, and having certain safety and reliability. The measured shear-pressure correlation curve of RCSB walls is given, including three modes of shear-friction, shear-compression, and diagonal compression. Additionally, an elastoplastic finite element analysis of RCSB walls is performed by separating the block model from the mortar model by using ABAQUS, which can accurately simulate the shear behavior of RCSB walls. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Chronic lymphocytic inflammation with pontine perivascular enhancement responsive to steroids (CLIPPERS) syndrome is a recently described chronic inflammatory disease of the central nervous system. There are few reports of CLIPPERS in the Chinese population to date. We summarized the clinical characteristics of 6 CLIPPERS patients to deepen the understanding of this disease. Methods: The clinical manifestations and treatment of 6 CLIPPERS patients confirmed by pathology or clinical diagnosis in our hospital were retrospectively analyzed. Results: The common clinical manifestations included ataxia, dysarthria, diplopia, dysphagia, dizziness, cognitive impairment, facial paresthesia, and paralysis. Most of the lesions showed typical symmetric "pepper powder"-like dot and nodular enhancement centered in the pontine and cerebellum except 1 patient with unilateral nodular enhancement. The brain histopathological examination of the 5 biopsied patients indicated that, with the exception of patient 4 with no lymphocyte infiltration, a large amount of perivascular lymphocytic infiltration was found in the other 4 patients, among whom only 1 patient was dominated by CD3+ T cell infiltration and the other 3 patients were dominated by CD20+ B cell infiltration. After treatment with intravenous methylprednisolone, all patients had significant clinical recovery associated with complete or significant MRI recovery, but they were prone to relapse after withdrawal or reduction of the corticosteroid. Conclusion: Our reports highlight the importance of neuropathological examinations when encountering atypical imaging manifestations, such as unilateral and large nodular Gd+ lesions, in order to establish a final diagnosis of CLIPPERS. In addition, the lymphocytic infiltration in the lesions of CLIPPERS may be dominated by CD20+ B cells instead of CD3+ T cells. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the context of China's supply-side structural reform and the concept of green development, we introduce the energy and environmental factors into the analytical framework of the total factor productivity (TFP) of the logistics industry and use the Global Malmquist–Luenberger index method to analyze the evolution trend and heterogeneity of green TFP in the logistics industry of 30 provinces (cities and districts) in China from 2003 to 2017. The results show that, firstly, the green TFP and traditional TFP of China's logistics industry are both on the rise and the absence of energy and environmental factors will lead to the overestimation of TFP of the logistics industry. Whether it is green TFP or traditional TFP, the main source of its growth is technical progress. Secondly, there is obvious regional heterogeneity in green TFP of logistics industry. Under the three regional division standards, the average annual growth rate of green TFP is from high to low in the order of eastern, western, and central regions. Under the eight regional classification standards, the eastern coastal economic zone, the southern coastal zone, the northern coastal zone, the northeast region, the middle reaches of the Yellow River, the southwest region, the middle reaches of the Yangtze River, and the northwest region are in order from high to low. Thirdly, there is obvious interprovincial heterogeneity in green TFP of the logistics industry. The highest growth rate of green TFP is in Zhejiang, followed by Jiangsu and Guangdong, and the slowest growth rate is in Chongqing. The technical progress of logistics industry in most provinces contributes more to the growth of green TFP. Fourthly, the differences of green TFP in the three regions of the east, center, and west are shrinking, which may be σ convergence, but the differences among the three regions are expanding. Compared with the existing literature, this paper applies the measurement framework of green TFP to China's logistics industry and investigates the regional and provincial heterogeneity of green TFP in logistics industry. The conclusions are significant to understand and grasp the heterogeneity of green TFP growth in China's logistics industry under environmental constraints and how to promote the development of green logistics in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China is the world's largest energy consumer, and coal accounts for a higher proportion of the country's total energy consumption, yet during its 12th five‐year plan (2011–2015), the coal share among total energy consumption significantly decreased. Previous studies exploring energy performance typically used energy consumption as an input, but this lacks the analytical capacity for the structure of energy consumption. Thus, this study splits energy input into two different inputs, coal consumption and non‐coal energy consumption, and based on their differences with other variables, uses the hybrid dynamic data envelopment analysis model to assess the energy performance of China's provincial industrial sector during the period 2011 to 2015. We then compare coal consumption's and non‐coal consumption's rooms for improvement and conclude that provinces in eastern and central China should reduce the amount of coal consumption, thereby improving energy performance. Conversely, provinces in the western region should target a balance between energy utilization efficiency and coal consumption. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND Gibberellic acid (GA3), a plant‐growth regulator, is often used to obtain enlarged table grape berries and induce seedlessness in them. However, the effects of GA3 on rachis elongation and bunch compactness have seldom been reported in wine‐grape production. We assessed the effects of GA3 spraying on wine‐grape inflorescences and bunches and their practical implications for viticulture in the Jiaodong Peninsula, China. RESULTS: Various GA3 concentrations were sprayed on field‐grown Vitis vinifera L. 'Cabernet Franc' (CF) and 'Cabernet Sauvignon' (CS) grapevines before anthesis in the Jiaodong Peninsula, China, in 2015 and 2016. Inflorescence length during berry development was measured, and flavonoids and aroma compounds in the fruit were detected by high‐performance liquid chromatography – mass spectrometry (HPLC‐MS) and gas chromatography – mass spectrometry (GC‐MS), respectively. For both cultivars, 50 and 100 mg L−1 GA3 caused significant elongation of the rachis, whereas there was no significant effect on inflorescence growth and berry seed number. Anthocyanin, flavonol, and flavan‐3‐ol levels in mature berries were not significantly influenced by GA3 spraying, whereas C13‐norisoprenoids were modified. CONCLUSION: The application of 50‐100 mg L−1 GA3 prior to grapevine anthesis caused elongation of inflorescences and bunches, and eased cluster compactness in CF and CS, and no negative effects were observed on the yield and seed numbers. The concentration and composition of flavonoids and most aroma compounds were not influenced, except that the norisoprenoids were increased by 50 mg L−1 GA3 applications. © 2020 Society of Chemical Industry [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Pneumocystis jirovecii (P. jirovecii) is an opportunistic fungal pathogen and the role of its colonization in pulmonary diseases has become a popular focus in recent years. The aim of this study was to develop a modified loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) assay for detection of Pneumocystis jirovecii (P. jirovecii) DNA amongst non-HIV patients with various pulmonary diseases and use it to examine the prevalence and assess the association of P. jirovecii colonization with clinical characteristics of these diseases.Methods: We modified the previously reported LAMP assay for P. jirovecii by adding real-time detection. This method was used to detect P. jirovecii colonization in pulmonary samples collected from 403 non-HIV patients with various pulmonary diseases enrolled from 5 hospitals in China. We determined the prevalence of P. jirovecii colonization in 7 types of pulmonary diseases and assessed the association of P. jirovecii colonization with clinical characteristics of these diseases.Results: The modified LAMP assay showed no cross-reactivity with other common pulmonary microbes and was 1000 times more sensitive than that of conventional PCR. Using the modified LAMP assay, we detected P. jirovecii colonization in 281 (69.7%) of the 403 patients enrolled. P. jirovecii colonization was more common in interstitial lung diseases than in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) (84.6% vs 64.5%, P < 0.05). Patients with acute exacerbation of COPD had a higher prevalence of P. jirovecii colonization compared to patients with stabilized COPD (67.4% vs 43.3%, P < 0.05). P. jirovecii colonization was associated with decreased pulmonary function, increased levels of 1,3-β-D-glucan and C-reactive protein, and decreased levels of CD4+ T-cell counts (P < 0.05 for each). Approximately 70% of P. jirovecii colonized patients had confections with other fungi or bacteria.Conclusions: We developed a modified LAMP assay for detecting P. jirovecii. Our multi-center study of 403 patients supports that P. jirovecii colonization is a risk factor for the development of pulmonary diseases and highlights the need to further study the pathogenesis and transmission of P. jirovecii colonization in pulmonary diseases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The phylogenetic position of hyoliths has long been unsettled, with recent discoveries of a tentaculate feeding apparatus ('lophophore') and fleshy apical extensions from the shell ('pedicle') suggesting a lophophorate affinity. Here, we describe the first soft parts associated with the feeding apparatus of an orthothecid hyolith, Triplicatella opimus from the Chengjiang biota of South China. The tuft-like arrangement of the tentacles of T. opimus differs from that of hyolithids, suggesting they collected food directly from the substrate. A reassessment of the feeding organ in hyolithids indicates that it does not represent a lophophore and our analysis of the apical structures associated with some orthothecids show that these represent crushed portions of the shell and are not comparable to the brachiopod pedicle. The new information suggests that hyoliths are more likely to be basal members of the lophotrochozoans rather than lophophorates closely linked with the Phylum Brachiopoda. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Water imbalances remain the primary problem from the past to the coming future in karst area of South China. A well-admissive method to cope with drought and flood problems is under searching. Rainwater harvesting by water tanks has being an approved way to alleviate water shortage, but with some defects such as bad water quality, unstable sources, and limited volume. To find out its running status, 50 water tanks in a part region of Fengshan County were surveyed. One of them was chosen for online-monitoring and 25 water tanks were sampled for chemical analysis. The results show that there were three typical problems during its running. First, water tanks usually get dry in rainless months, especially in extremely drought events. Second, water quality declines once water has stored for about 100 days with no new supplement. The deterioration of water quality is related to the long-preserved time rather than exogenetic pollution. Third, the situation becomes more serious under the pressure of climate change and the rocky desertification. Therefore, a new rainwater harvesting strategy is proposed for improving this situation. The conception site model (CSM) in hill slope for tank location selection is the critical point, since water harvesting for tanks depends on slope characters. As a CSM example, the hillslope hydrology related to the overland flow, the resurgence of flow in epikarst, and vadose flow at Yaji Karst Experiment Site were investigated to illuminate the complexity of hydrological process and diversity of flow pattern. Then, it is suggested to make full use of different flows from slopes, especially to increase the availability of vadose flow. Finally, besides drinking purpose, water tanks should be extensively used for irrigation and reforestation to obtain economic return and support its maintenance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Macropodus opercularis is an ornamental fish species endemic to China, with obvious sexual dimorphism in phenotype. To obtain the gene expression profile of the gonads of M. opercularis and explore its sex-related genes, six cDNA libraries were constructed from the sexually mature M. opercularis , and RNA-seq analysis was performed. The sequenced clean data were assembled by de novo splicing to generate 171,415 unigenes, and differentially expressed genes (DEGs) screening revealed that there were 41,638 DEGs in the gonads of M. opercularis. By comparing those DEGS in the ovary with the testis, we found 29,870 DEGs were upregulated and 11,768 DEGs were downregulated. Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) and gene ontology (GO) enrichment analysis showed that GO terms related to cell cycle and gamete formation were enriched, and pathway signals related to sex differences, such as FoxO signalling pathway and PI3K-Akt signalling pathway, were also detected. Reverse transcript fluorescence quantitative PCR (RT-qPCR) validation of 14 DEGs associated with sex differences showed that the RT-qPCR results were consistent with RNA-Seq analysis, and five genes, foxl2, sox3, foxo, zar1, cyp19a1 , were significantly expressed in the ovaries. dmrt1, cyp11b, amh, sf1, sox9, gdf6, dmrt3, fstl1 and hsd11b2 , a total of nine genes were significantly expressed in the testis. The results of this study provide a basis for the study of gonadal differentiation, developmental mechanisms and related functional genes in M. opercularis. [Display omitted] • The first report on the transcriptome sequencing and sex-related study of paradise fish. • Constructed the testis and ovary cDNA libraries of paradise fish and 41,638 DEGs were identified in the paradise fish gonads. • Selected and validated 14 sex-related DEGs of paradise fish. • Provide the potential basis for the functional studies of those genes and molecular mechanisms such as cell reproduction later in paradise fish. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: Chronic heart failure (CHF) is a chronic and progressive disease with high incidence. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness and safety of Xinmailong injection (XI) on CHF patients with B-type natriuretic peptide (BNP) ≥200 ng/mL and left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) of ≤45%. Trial design: This is a randomized double-blind placebo-controlled trial. Settings: Hospitals. Subjects: One hundred patients with CHF were randomly divided into XI (n = 50) and control groups (n = 50). Intervention: The XI group was treated with standard treatment plus XI (100 mg/2 mL, intravenous drip infusion). The control group was treated with standard treatment plus equal amounts of XI placebo. The course of treatment was 5 days. Outcome measures: New York Heart Association (NYHA) functional class, LVEF, BNP, and 6-min walking distance were assessed for therapeutic effect. Results: NYHA functional classes and LVEF were better in the XI group than in the control (p < 0.01). BNP was significantly different after the treatments in both groups (p < 0.01), and compared with the control, BNP was reduced after XI treatment (p < 0.01). No deaths occurred in the course of this study. The number of adverse events between the two groups was not statistically different (p > 0.05). Conclusions: XI can alleviate the symptoms, improve heart function, and exercise tolerance in patients with CHF and is safe to use. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ranaviruses were recognized as important pathogens from the late 1990s, which are global pathogens that have continued to severely threaten aquaculture and wildlife worldwide. In this study, we report an infection with a CMTV-like ranavirus in cultured Percocypris pingi (P. pingi), a rare fish species that originated in upper Yangtze River system of China. Naturally and experimentally infected fish exhibited body surface ulcers and enlarged spleen and kidney. Histological examination revealed intracytoplasmic inclusions in the liver, spleen and kidney. Meanwhile, hexagonal viral arrays were observed in cytoplasm of infected Epithelioma papulosum cyprini (EPC) cells. Animal experimental trials confirmed that this hexagonal virus, named P. pingi ranavirus (PPRV), was the causative agent. PPRV (Accession no. ON080858) contains a 106.7 kbp genome, with a GC content of 55.03% and 97 ORFs. The results of phylogenetic analysis of the complete genome and dot plot comparisons both confirmed that the virus was classified into the CMTV-like group. Phylogenetic analyses based on MCP, mMMP, DNA polymerase and ribonuclease III genes indicated that PPRV shared the nearest relationship to Triplophysa siluorides ranavirus (Accession no. FYL140220), Chinese giant salamander iridovirus (Accession no. KF512820) and Andrias davidianus ranavirus (Accession no. KF033124), which were from China. Amidst the expanding fish host range of CMTV-like ranaviruses, this is the first report of ranavirus infection in P. pingi. • This is the first report of ranavirus infection in Percocypris pingi , and the ranavirus is a new member of the CMTV-like ranaviruses. • This study reports a new case of CMTV-like ranavirus infection in fish. • Our study will provide significative information for subsequent studies on the transmission of members of the CMTV-like ranavirus clade between fish and amphibians. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Management of LMs still remains a challenge especially for those suffering from complications such as acute airway compression. In this study, we retrospectively evaluated the efficacy and safety of percutaneous lauromacrogol foam sclerotherapy for the patients with acute airway compression caused by lymphatic malformations (LMs) in infants. Five cases of infants with acute airway compression caused by LMs were treated with lauromacrogol foam sclerotherapy in the radiology department from February 2013 to August 2015 at Wuhan Medical and Healthcare Center for Women and Children, China. By CT examination and the DSA imaging, LMs were diagnosed and progressed cervical and sublingual LMs combined with hemorrhages were observed and suppression of the trachea was noticed as well, resulting in the difficulty with breathing and feeding. For all the patients, we extracted most cyst liquid from the LMs to reduce the surface tension and alleviate the respiratory pressure symptoms under the guidance of ultrasound. Subsequently, the lauromacrogol foam was injected percutaneously into the cyst of LMs. The dose of the agent was determined according to the size of the LMs, which was 3-8 ml in our study. After treatment, autonomous respiration and independent eating were observed. When the procedures were completed after 16 cycles, the cyst cavity became atrophic and then nearly vanished. During the follow-up period (a minimum of three months and a maximum of two years), 4 patients were clinically proved to be cured and one patient was significantly improved. There was no recurrence, serious complications, or adverse reactions. Our study demonstrated that percutaneous sclerotherapy combined with lauromacrogol foam is a safe, effective therapy for acute airway compression caused by LMs, especially giving a good cosmetic result. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Interleukin-19 (IL-19) is a newly discovered cytokine belonging to the Interleukin-10(IL-10) family. IL-19 have indispensable functions in many inflammatory processes and also can induce the angiogenic potential of endothelial cells. The purpose of present study was to investigate the relation of serum interleukin-19 (IL-19) levels with diabetic nephropathy (DN).Methods: Two hundred study groups of patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) (109 males and 91 females) were recruited, included normoalbuminuria(n = 102), microalbuminuria(n = 72) and macroalbuminuria(n = 26) . The 50 healthy blood donors were enrolled for the control group. All subjects were assessed for: IL-19, High-sensitivity C-reactive protein (Hs-CRP), Cystatin C, urinary albumin excretion rate (UAE) and glycosylated hemoglobin A1c(HbA1c).Results: The serum IL-19 levels in DN patients were found to be significantly higher compared to controls. IL-19 levels were significantly positively correlated with Hs-CRP, Cystatin C, UAE and HbA1c(r = 0.623, 0.611,0.591 and 0.526 respectively, P < 0.01). Multivariable logistic regression analysis showed IL-19 levels (P = 0.01) were found to be independently associated with patients with DN.Conclusions: IL-19 is significantly positive correlated with UAE and Cystatin C. IL-19 may play an important role that contributes to the progression of diabetic nephropathy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China is the world's largest consumer of fossil energy and CO 2 emitter, as well as the country with the fastest growth of forest cover. While the China government regards forest carbon sequestration as one of the paths to achieve carbon neutrality, the existing research on energy efficiency measurement in China rarely takes it into account. Thus, this research introduces forest carbon sequestration as a new desirable output variable and applies a meta dynamic non-radial directional distance function to measure China's energy efficiency from 2010 to 2019, which effectively improves the accuracy of the assessment while providing dynamic comparison results. Different from previous studies, findings shows that, with the improvement of forest carbon sequestration, the technology gap ratio between the central and western regions and the eastern region has narrowed from 0.4 to 0.23 and 0.36 to 0.2 on average in 2015–2019. In addition, this study obtains the room for improvement of China's provinces in forest carbon sequestration and puts forward policy suggestions for its long-term sustainable development of forest carbon sequestration, including establishing responsibility objectives of annual minimum growth of forest carbon sequestration by provinces, accelerating the construction of forest carbon sequestration trading system, and developing urban green space carbon sequestration. • Applies a meta dynamic non-radial directional distance function to measure China's energy efficiency. • The central and western regions have narrowed their technology gap with the eastern region. • This research introduces forest carbon sequestration as a new desirable output variable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The flow-field characteristics of high-temperature airflow and particle distributions generated from the running furnace during smelting process in foundry shop were studied by on-site measurements and theoretical analysis in this work. A theoretical model was proposed to describe the dispersion characteristics of the high-temperature buoyant jet flow and plume induced by the furnace with two typical opening modes. The coupling effects of the heat source features and environmental factors were emphatically discussed by comparing the trajectory, cross-section diameter, velocity and temperature decay, and volumetric flow rate during the dispersion process. Results show that in the large foundry shop with natural ventilation, there is a vertical temperature gradient of 0.1–0.4 °C/m, which can make the pollutant locked in the workshop and weaken the entrainment of the thermal flow. The crossflow is a non-negligible factor, which causes the dispersion trajectory of the pollutant flatter and induces a long travelling distance along the horizontal direction. The indoor particle concentration when the furnace opens concentration seriously exceeds the limits in the existing indoor air quality standard of China. This work is expected to give suggestions on ventilation designs and arrangements of the exhaust port or device in industrial environments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Presents a data-driven measurement, evaluation, and identification method. • Uses a coupling coordination degree model for three regional agriculture subsystems. • Suggests ways to reduce costs, increase social support, and enhance competitiveness. This study aims to evaluate the relationship between the agriculture economy environment, and society from the perspective of system theory and then put forward targeted suggestions for sustainable development of Anhui's agriculture in China. Based on the collection of relevant data and the objective weighting of indicators, the entropy weight method is used to measure the comprehensive development level of regional agriculture. The coupling coordination degree model is employed to evaluate the coupling coordination level among the three subsystems of regional agriculture. The obstacle degree model is used to identify the key obstacle factors. The case study results show that the main obstacles of the coordination system are the use of pesticides, the number of agricultural scientific and technological achievements, the application of agricultural plastic film, the number of farmers' technical training schools, and the proportion of animal husbandry. Accordingly, the paper posits suggestions, such as reducing the input of pesticides and agricultural plastic films in agricultural production, improving the social support level of agricultural science, technology, and education, and enhancing the competitiveness of animal husbandry in the Anhui Province. This study provides theoretical and methodological support for the coupled and coordinated development of regional agricultural economy, ecology and society(EES). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Anthropogenic factors resulted from the urbanization may affect the groundwater As in urbanized areas. Groundwater samples from the Guangzhou city (South China) were collected for As and other parameter analysis, in order to assess the impact of urbanization and natural processes on As distribution in aquifers. Nearly 25.5 % of groundwater samples were above the WHO drinking water standard for As, and the As concentrations in the granular aquifer (GA) were generally far higher than that in the fractured bedrock aquifer (FBA). Samples were classified into four clusters by using hierarchical cluster analysis. Cluster 1 is mainly located in the FBA and controlled by natural processes. Anthropogenic pollution resulted from the urbanization is responsible for high As concentrations identified in cluster 2. Clusters 3 and 4 are mainly located in the GA and controlled by both natural processes and anthropogenic factors. Three main mechanisms control the source and mobilization of groundwater As in the study area. Firstly, the interaction of water and calcareous rocks appears to be responsible for As release in the FBA. Secondly, reduction of Fe/Mn oxyhydroxides and decomposition of organic matter are probably responsible for high As concentrations in the GA. Thirdly, during the process of urbanization, the infiltration of wastewater/leachate with a high As content is likely to be the main source for groundwater As, while NO contamination diminishes groundwater As. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The bacterial abundance and community composition in four types of soils and their associated Fe-Mn nodules from Queyu (QY) in Shandong Province, Zaoyang (ZY), Wuhan (WH) in Hubei Province and Guiyang (GY) in Hunan Province, China were investigated using real-time PCR, cloning and sequencing approaches. It was found that the bacterial 16S rRNA gene copy numbers in the soils were almost 3 magnitudes greater than those in their corresponding nodules and positively correlated with OM. The bacterial diversity as indicated by Simpson and Shannon indices, were significantly lower in the nodules than in the soils. Remarkable divergence in bacterial community structure was observed between the soils and the nodules, and the difference was the mainly explained by OM. In contrast, the differences within the soils and within the nodules were minor, suggesting significant habitat filtering for the bacterial community composition in the nodules.Acidobacteriawas the most abundant group (accounting for 28.6%–51.6%) in soil bacterial community while nodule bacterial community was predominated byProteobacteria(accounting for 62.8%– 90.5%). A number of clones closely related to well-known Mn-oxidizing, Fe-oxidizing and Fe-reducing bacteria withinProteobacteriawere retrieved mainly from nodules. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The aim of this study was to examine the effect of non-pharmacological staged interventions on fatigue and dyspnoea in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. A randomized controlled trial was conducted with 64 patients in a tertiary hospital in China from 2010 to 2011. Patients were randomly assigned to the control group ( n = 32), who received routine care, and the intervention group ( n = 32), who received additional non-pharmacological staged interventions. The Multidimensional Fatigue Inventory and the five-grade Medical Research Council dyspnoea scale were used to collect data at baseline and after 6 weeks. Compared with the control group, patients in the intervention group had significantly lower scores on general fatigue ( P < 0.001), physical fatigue ( P < 0.001), reduced activity ( P < 0.001) and reduced motivation ( P = 0.03) and had better relief of dyspnoea ( P = 0.02). Our study showed that non-pharmacological staged interventions were effective in relieving fatigue and dyspnoea in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on the data of China's coastal areas from 2001 to 2020, this paper constructs a simultaneous equation model to study the relationship among China's marine environmental pollution, aquatic products trade and marine fishery economy, and the vector error correction model is used to analyze the process and degree of the interaction among variables. The results show that the inhibition of marine environmental pollution and aquatic products trade to the marine fishery economy in China's coastal areas can reach 2.408%. In the long run, the rapid development of fishery economy and the increase of aquatic products trade are beneficial to the improvement of marine environmental pollution, and the improvement can reach up to 1.037%, while the rapid growth of marine fishery economy, the aggravation of marine environmental pollution can restrain the aquatic products trade up to 1.668%. Therefore, in the process of developing marine fishery economy in the future, the government should strengthen the protection of marine environment, develop the trade of aquatic products in the coastal area moderately, and realize the healthy and harmonious development of marine fishery economy and marine environment. [Display omitted] • Incorporate marine environmental pollution and aquatic product trade into the research framework for modeling analysis. • Study the interaction mechanism among marine environmental pollution, aquatic product trade and marine fishery economy. • On the basis of exploring the mechanism of action, the process and degree of interaction among the three are deeply analyzed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A rapid and effective ultra-high performance liquid chromatography (UHPLC) method was developed for the determination of five anthraquinones (emodin, physcion, aloe-emodin, rhein, and chrysophanol) in Polygonum multiflorum. The target compounds were ultrasonically extracted with 70% methanol, followed by dispersive solid-phase extraction (d-SPE) with HC-C18 and desorption with acetonitrile. The five anthraquinones were separated on an ACQUITY UPLC® HSS T3 column (2.1 × 100 mm, 1.8 μm) and detected by a photodiode array detector (PDA) at 254 nm. Under the optimized conditions, linear relationships were achieved in the range of 0.3~100 mg/L for emodin, 0.3~40 mg/L for physcion, 0.1~20 mg/L for aloe-emodin, and 0.05~20 mg/L for rhein and chrysophanol. The limits of detection of the five analytes ranged from 0.01 to 0.08 mg/L, and the recoveries were within the range of 82.8~118.4% with an RSD (n = 6) of 1.0~10.3%. The intra-day and inter-day precision (n = 5) of the five targets were in the range of 1.0~1.8% and 3.0~3.1%, respectively. Furthermore, this method was applied to analyses of Polygonum multiflorum samples collected from different regions in China with satisfactory results. All the results indicated that this method is suitable for the detection of five anthraquinones in Polygonum multiflorum. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, a new and simple method was established for the simultaneous determination of analogues of aristolochic acids (aristolochic acid I, aristolochic acid II, aristolactam I and aristolactam AII) in Houttuynia cordata by ultra-high performance liquid chromatography–quadrupole/time-of-flight mass spectrometry (UHPLC–Q/TOF-MS). The samples were ultrasonically extracted with methanol, purified with HC-C18, and then separated on a C18 column (75 × 2.1 mm, 2.0 μm) at 35 °C. Under the optimized conditions, aristolochic acid I (AA-I), aristolochic acid II (AA-II), aristolactam I (AL-I) and aristolactam AII (AL-AII) all showed good linear regression (not less than 0.9987). The average recoveries of the four analytes were within the range of 72.3–105.5%, with the relative standard deviations (RSDs) being ≤7.6%. The proposed method was then applied to the determination of Houttuynia cordata samples collected from different regions in China. The results showed that none of the three carcinogenic substances (aristolochic acid I, aristolochic acid II and aristolactam I) were detected in any of the 22 samples collected from 22 different regions of China, while aristolactam AII, which has not been reported to have genotoxicity, was detected in all samples. This study provides a valuable reference for the further safety assessment of Houttuynia cordata. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Lotus (Nelumbo Adans.) is an important ornamental plant and a commercial crop that is distributed widely in Asia and northern Australia. Wild lotus is suffering from habitat loss because of global environmental change and intensive human activities. Conservation of wild lotus requires protection of genetic resources. To assess the genetic diversity of wild lotus worldwide, 83 individuals from populations in America, Thailand, and China were analyzed with simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers. A total of 145 alleles were identified with 36 SSR markers in all accessions. Analysis of molecular variance (AMOVA) showed that the higher genetic diversity was observed among populations (88%) than within populations (12%). A high degree of genetic differentiation was identified among the 11 populations (average F ST =0.42). Low genetic diversity was revealed within each population, which possibly resulted from predominant asexual reproduction of this species. Mantel''s test demonstrated that genetic differentiation among populations was congruent with geographical distance (r =0.89, P <0.001), which indicated that isolation-by-distance was responsible for the observed genetic structure of the populations of Nelumbo analyzed. Cluster, principal coordinate and STRUCTURE analyses revealed that the American populations (Nelumbo lutea Pers.) were genetically distinct from those from Thailand and China (Nelumbo nucifera Gaertn.), and confirmed the genetic distinction between N. nucifera and N. lutea. Moreover, the Thai genotypes were separated from the Chinese genotypes, which represented two ecotypes of N. nucifera. Given the high level of genetic differentiation among populations, every population should be considered for conservation. In situ preservation is the preferred strategy to conserve the natural genetic diversity and evolutionary processes of Nelumbo, but should be supplemented by ex situ conservation. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]