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Introduction: The aggregation of intelligent technologies such as big data, algorithms, and biometrics poses new moral risks to humanity and has raised awareness of technology ethics. Based on the research on moral issues in the fields of ethics and psychology, we built the concept of technology moral sense (TMS) by investigating three dimensions--technology moral consensus, cognition, and emotion. Methods: We focused on the field of intelligent surveillance technology, adopted a scale, and conducted a questionnaire survey with more than 1,000 respondents. We used exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis to test two different samples. Results: First, by combining item analysis and Cronbach's alpha coefficient, we established that all three dimensions are reliable. Our results indicated a Cronbach's alpha coefficient of 0.944, 0.891 and 0.938 for technology moral consensus, emotion, and cognition. Second, exploratory factor analysis verified that there were three factors, the eigenvalues were all greater than one, and the cumulative variance explanation rate was 74.953%, and the factor loading coefficient of the 18 items are greater than 0.5. Finally, we used confirmatory factor analysis to test the fit of the model. The test shows that RMSEA = 0.078, CFI and TLI are greater than 0.9, which indicating the fit was suitable and the construct validity was good. Discussion: Our findings demonstrated that the new scale is a reliable tool for assessing the technology moral sense in China. The results support the reliability and validity of the Technology Moral Sense (TMS) scale, and explain the existence of the concept of technology moral sense through three dimensions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Crucian carp (Carassius auratus) is one of the major freshwater species and is also a common food fish in China. Recently, Carassius auratus herpesvirus (CaHV) could induce fatal viral disease with high mortality of crucian carp, which had caused huge economic losses. In this study, we described a rapid and simple recombinase-aid amplification (RAA) assay coupled with lateral flow dipstick (LFD), which could achieve sensitive diagnosis of tumor necrosis factor receptor (TNFR) of CaHV within 35 min at 40°C. Our RAA-LFD method had a satisfactory detection limit of 100 gene copies per reaction, which was 100-fold more sensitive than traditional PCR. In addition, no cross-reaction was observed with other viral pathogens, including koi herpesvirus (KHV), cyprinid herpesvirus 2 (CyHV-2), infectious hematopoietic necrosis virus (IHNV), spring viremia of carp virus (SVCV) and grass carp reovirus (GCRV). Furthermore, the overall cost of the method was cut in half compared to previous studies. In conclusion, RAA-LFD assay is therefore, a promising alternative for point-ofcare testing (POCT) of CaHV, which is feasible and of certain value in application of aquatic disease control. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The thermal state of permafrost in the present and future is fundamental to the ecosystem evolution, hydrological process, carbon release, and infrastructure integrity in cold regions. From 2011, we began to establish permafrost monitoring network along the China-Russia crude oil pipelines (CRCOPs) route at the eastern flank of the northern Da Xing'anling Mountains in Northeast China. Based on meteorological data near the southern limit of latitudinal permafrost (SLLP), ground temperature data in 20 boreholes with the depths of 10-60.6 m, soil volumetric liquid water contents and 2-D electrical resistivity tomography (ERT) data, we compiled an integrated dataset of the ground thermal state along the CRCOPs route. Study results demonstrate that permafrost in the vicinity of SLLP has experienced marked warming (2011-2020) to climate change, manifested as the rising permafrost temperatures depth. Local thermal disturbances triggered by the construction and operation of CRCOPs have resulted in significant permafrost warming and subsequent thawing on the right-of-way (ROW) of the pipeline. This permafrost thaw will persist, but it can be alleviated by adopting mitigative measures, such as insulation layer and thermosyphons. The in29 situ observational dataset is of great value for assessing the variability of permafrost under the linear disturbances of the CRCOPs and related environmental effects, for understanding hydro-thermal-mechanical interactions between the buried pipelines and permafrost foundation soils, and for evaluating the operational and structural integrity of the pipeline systems in the future. The dataset is available at the National Tibetan Plateau/Third Pole Environment Data Center (http://doi.org/10.11888/Cryos.tpdc.272357; Li, 2022). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Background: Beginning in December 2019, coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused an outbreak of infectious pneumonia. The Chinese government introduced a series of grounding measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19. The living and working patterns of many scientific researchers also underwent significant changes during this period. Methods: An opportunity sample (n = 251) was obtained in China using a questionnaire with 42 questions on scientific research progress and psychological stress during the COVID-19 epidemic. Results: Of the 251 participants, 76.9% indicated that their research was affected by the COVID-19 outbreak, and participants who were affected by the outbreak had higher stress levels than those who were not affected. Participants who conducted COVID-19 research and indicated concern that they would fail to finish the research on time were more likely to indicate high levels of stress. Respondents indicated that extending deadlines (64.1%), receiving support from superiors for research (51.8%), and increasing benefits for researchers (51.0%) would likely relieve outbreak-related stress. Conclusion: The COVID-19 outbreak had a major impact on the experiments of researchers in the life sciences, especially in basic and clinical medicine. It has also caused high levels of psychological stress in these populations. Measures should be taken to relieve psychological pressure on basic medical researchers and students who will soon complete their degrees (e.g., Master's and PhD candidates in graduation years). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The urban waterfront area is in a special land-water communication zone and is an ecologically sensitive zone. It combines the characteristics of natural landscape and human landscape intertwined. The urbanization process continues to affect the natural and cultural environment of the waterfront, and environmental issues have become increasingly prominent. Taking Xuhui Riverside Zone as an example, this paper analyses the dynamic evolution process of the landscape, aiming at revealing the impact of the evolution of landscape pattern on urban ecological environment during the process of urbanization in China, so as to provide useful references for the planning and design of the waterfront space landscape of domestic and foreign cities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rehmannia glutinosa Libosch is a well-known medicinal plant in China. Despite its common use, very few molecular markers are available for this species, severely impeding any improvement of key agronomic traits. In this study, gene-based SSR (simple sequence repeat) markers were mined from the R. glutinosa transcriptome, assembled from leaf and root libraries, to obtain polymorphic information content (PIC). A total of 1,812 SSR (≥18 bp) loci were identified from 1,747 transcripts, in which 1,018 transcripts had significant homology to known proteins, and 35 transcripts were identified as non-coding RNA. Of all SSR loci, AG/GT was the most frequent SSRs repeat type, and bias of base composition presented SSRs loci from noncoding RNA. A set of 279 SSR primers (≥20 bp) were synthesized, of which 204 were successfully amplified in the Wen85-5 genome and 91 had a polymorphic information content between 0.33 and 0.90. Seven pairs of polymorphic SSR primers were selected to evaluate the genetic diversity of 36 R. glutinosa germplasms, and results demonstrated that cultivars are differ considerably from wild strains and that distinct genetic relationships exist among wild strains. The SSRs identified in this study provide critical information for future R. glutinosa breeding. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Hand, foot and mouth disease (HFMD) is a common illness in young children. It also can be seen in adults occasionally. Enterovirus 71 (EV71), a pathogen that causes not only HFMD but also neurological complications and even death, has caused many HFMD outbreaks in China. However, till now the data about the duration of EV71 shedding is very limited. Results: A total of 136 throat swabs and fecal samples were collected from 27 children and 3 adults, which includs 7 close contacts, 9 mild cases and 14 severe cases,. The participants were divided into three groups namely, severe case group, mild case group and close contact group. All the samples were assayed with real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Kruskal-Wallis Test was employed to compare the difference in duration of viral RNA shedding among three groups. The results showed that significant difference in duration of EV71 shedding was found among three groups (P < 0.01). The longest duration of EV71 shedding in fecal samples is 54 days and 30 days in throat swabs. Conclusions: HFMD is characterized by extended excretion of EV71. Our results suggest that the duration of EV71 shedding is correlated with the severity of the disease. EV71 shedding through feces can persist more than 54 days. Prolonged virus shedding is a potential risk factor of proliferating HFMD epidemic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Chlorimuron-ethyl has been widely used for the soybean production of China, but less information is available on the possible risk of long-term application of this herbicide. Materials and methods: In this paper, soil samples were collected from the plots having been received 30 g active component of chlorimuron-ethyl/ha per year for 5 and 10 years in a continuously cropped soybean field of Northeast China, with their microbial community analyzed by plate counting, PCR-DGGE, and cloning library. Chlorimuron-ethyl had a higher accumulation in test soils, and the accumulation decreased the CFU of soil bacteria and increased the CFU of soil fungi significantly. The CFU of soil actinomycetes only had a significant decrease in the plot having been received chlorimuron-ethyl for 10 years. Results and discussion: Under the long-term stress of chlorimuron-ethyl, the diversity and evenness of soil microbial community decreased, and more importantly, some bacterial and fungal species that possibly benefited soybean's growth, e.g., Acidobacteria, γ-proteobacteria, Cortinarius violaceu, Acarospora smaragdula, and Xerocomus chrysenteron decreased or demised, while some species that could induce the obstacle of soybean's continuous cropping, e.g., Fusarium oxysporum, Rhizoctonia solani, and Phytophthora sojae, increased or appeared. Some actinomycetes were inhibited having negative effects on the antagonism between soil microbes. It is considered that due to the longer half-life of chlorimuron-ethyl in soil and the resistance and resilience of soil microbes to short-term environmental stress, long-term in situ investigation rather than laboratory microcosm test or short-term field experiment would be more appropriate to the accurate assessment of the ecological risk of long-term chlorimuron-ethyl application. Further studies should be made on the application mode and duration of chlorimuron-ethyl to reduce the possible ecological risk of applying this herbicide on continuously cropped soybean field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cadmium-resistant bacteria were isolated from the farmland soil in Zhangshi Irrigation Area in Shenyang of Northeast China, an area has been polluted by heavy metals, especially cadmium, for more than 40 years. The cadA gene was detected in 4 Bacillus strains and for the first time in one Flavobacterium strain. The high sequence identity (93%–99%) of cadA gene, shared indels in different bacterial species and genera, and the phylogenetic incongruence between 16S rDNA gene tree and cadA gene tree suggested that lateral gene transfer (LGT) occurred among Bacillus and Flavobacterium spp. The LGT of cadA gene might play a vital role in promoting the spread of cadmium-resistant phenotypes throughout soil microbial communities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]