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Bio-embankment is an important soil and water conservation measure in the purple hilly area in China, which can effectively improve the ability of cultivated soil layers to resist rainfall erosion and runoff scour. In contrast, the ecological effect of bioembankment depends on the stability of the earth bank. Taking the natural grass bank as a control (CK), the root distribution, root tensile properties and shear resistance of root-soil composites for 3 typical soil and water conservation bio-embankments, namely, Morus alba Linn (Morus), Zanthoxylum bungeanum Maxim. (Zanthoxylum) and Medicago sativa (Medicago) were analysed. The results included the following: (1) The root system of the bio-embankments generally decreased in extent with the soil depth; fine roots in the 0–10 cm depth were most prevalent and significantly higher than those at the other depths, and coarse roots were mainly distributed in the 0–30 cm layer. (2) The stress-strain curves of the roots of each bio-embankment were single-peak curves without clear strain softening phenomena. The smaller the root diameters were, the smoother the stress-strain curves, and the lower the capability of the earth bank to resist collapse. The larger the root diameters were, the lower the tensile strength. The average root tensile force was highest for Zanthoxylum (73.91 N), followed by Medicago (68.07 N) and Morus (61.88 N), and the average root tensile strength showed the same trend, 16.52 MPa for Zanthoxylum, 16.08 MPa for Medicago and 13.02 MPa for Morus. (3) The bio-embankment measures significantly improved the soil shear resistance, especially under vertical loads of 100 kPa and 200 kPa. The soil internal friction angle showed a significant log-positive correlation with root morphological parameters of root length density (RLD), root surface area density (RSAD) and root weight density (RWD), while the soil cohesion force showed a positive linear correlation with these parameters. The results provide effective parameters supporting for the design of bio-embankments and promoting the use of soil reinforcement with suitable species selection in protective earth banks for stability in the purple hilly area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Intestinal dysfunction of farm animals, such as intestinal inflammation and altered gut microbiota, is the critical problem affecting animal welfare, performance and farm profitability. China has prohibited the use of antibiotics to improve feed efficiency and growth performance for farm animals, including poultry, in 2020. With the advantages of maintaining gut homeostasis, enhancing digestion, and absorption and modulating gut microbiota, organic acids are regarded as promising antibiotic alternatives. Butyric and citric acids as presentative organic acids positively impact growth performance, welfare, and intestinal health of livestock mainly by reducing pathogenic bacteria and maintaining the gastrointestinal tract (GIT) pH. This review summarizes the discovery of butyric acid (BA), citric acid (CA) and their salt forms, molecular structure and properties, metabolism, biological functions and their applications in poultry nutrition. The research findings about BA, CA and their salts on rats, pigs and humans are also briefly reviewed. Therefore, this review will fill the knowledge gaps of the scientific community and may be of great interest for poultry nutritionists, researchers and feed manufacturers about these two weak organic acids and their effects on intestinal health and gut microbiota community, with the hope of providing safe, healthy and nutrient-rich poultry products to consumers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Fertility desire for a second child has been a lively topic since the implementation of the two-child policy in China. Chinese researchers have explored various factors influencing the fertility desire for a second child. However, there have not been studies on the individual differences in the relative fertility costs and fertility benefits and their effects on fertility desire for a second child. Methods: A total of 396 participants rated four kinds of relative fertility costs, four kinds of fertility benefits and their fertility desire for a second child. Latent profile analysis (LPA) was used to explore the individual differences in the relative fertility costs and fertility benefits and their effects on fertility desire for a second child. Results: Stepwise regression analysis showed that parenting joy, health risks, mutual care among siblings, the flourishing of family, and time pressure and opportunity cost significantly predicted the fertility desire for the second child. According to the latent profile analysis, the participants were classified into four classes. Participants in the lowest-cost/lowest-benefit and high-cost/medium-benefit classes had low fertility desire for a second child, while those in the low-cost/high-benefit and highest-cost/highest-benefit classes had high fertility desire. Conclusion: Fertility benefits have a stronger effect on the fertility desire for a second child than relative fertility costs. Fertility benefits should be paid more attention to than relative fertility costs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The late Mesozoic destruction of the eastern North China Craton (NCC) resulted from intense crust-mantle interaction, culminating in the formation of world-class gold deposits in the Jiaodong Peninsula at ca. 120 Ma. We present zircon U-Pb geochronological data, Hf isotopic compositions, whole-rock major and trace element, and Sr-Nd-Pb isotopic compositions for two suites of granitoids: one (the Linglong suite) that hosts significant mineralization and the other (the Weideshan suite) that is largely unmineralized. The Linglong suite was emplaced in the Late Jurassic at 160 ± 3 Ma to 155 ± 3 Ma, whereas the Weideshan suite was emplaced in the Early Cretaceous at 121 ± 2 Ma to 118 ± 1 Ma, coeval with gold mineralization. Geochemical data indicate the Linglong suite was derived from the melting of thickened lower crust of the NCC, mixed with material from the Yangtze Craton (YC) and intervening Su-Lu Orogenic Belt, whereas the Weideshan suite was formed from the partial melting of lower continental crust, with the addition of enriched lithospheric mantle components. The Late Jurassic magmatism was associated with crustal growth resulting from the continental collision between the NCC and YC and subsequent subduction of the Paleo-Pacific Oceanic Plate (PPOP). In contrast, Early Cretaceous magmatism was triggered by rapid lithospheric thinning and asthenospheric upwelling resulting from slab roll-back and stagnation of the PPOP beneath the NCC. Lithospheric delamination induced the widespread development of secondary structures associated with the major Tan-Lu Fault, providing favorable loci for the accumulation of auriferous fluids. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Soil erosion resistance and tillage performance indicators increased with increasing erosion. • A minimum data set was established for erosion-impacted purple soil evaluation. • A systematic evaluation method was established for the erosion-prone cultivated-layer soil. • The cultivated-layer soil quality decreased with increasing soil erosion degree. • Soil erosion aggravated cultivated-layer soil deterioration, while sub-soiling controlled it. The assessment of cultivated-layer soil quality (CLSQ) is important for improving crop growth capacity and is the premise for taking effective remedial measures. The cultivated-layer soil quality index (CLSQI) is a significant tool for evaluating CLSQ. This study aims to select the most effective indicators to construct a minimum data set (MDS) for soil in erosion-impacted hilly areas with purple soil in China and to analyse the association between CLSQ and the erosional environment. Taking the erosion of purple soil of sloping farmland in China as the focus of this study, different combinations of scoring methods, indicators, and data set methods were compared. In this study, the MDS is constructed by principal component analysis (PCA) in conjunction with the norm value, and the accuracy of the MDS is verified by the Nash effective coefficient. Furthermore, the nonlinear scoring (NLS) method is used to normalize the indicator data and then assess the CLSQ of soils with different degrees of erosion using the CLSQI. The results showed the following. 1) The soil indicators significantly varied under the different erosion degrees: the soil productivity showed a decreasing trend with increasing erosion, while the soil anti-erosion ability and tillage performance showed increasing trends with increasing erosion. 2) For the study area, the generated MDS included saturated hydraulic conductivity, bulk density, shear strength, penetration resistance and available phosphorus. 3) The CLSQI -NLS evaluation method was most suitable for this research topic, and combined with the MDS indicators, it could be used to accurately evaluate the CLSQ. 4) As the erosion degree intensified, the CLSQI showed an obvious decreasing trend, and the CLSQI under soil erosion of 20 cm (S-20, 0.393) was significantly lower than that under other erosion degrees, indicating that soil erosion gradually reduced the CLSQ. After the cultivated-layer soil was eroded and the subsoil was converted to cultivated-layer soil, the soil quality obviously decreased. The indexing approach used in this study provides a practical and time- and cost-effective method for the quantitative evaluation of CLSQ for erosion-prone soil in hilly areas with purple soil worldwide. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the economic development, a large number of engineering accumulation bodies with Lou soil as the main soil type were produced in Guanzhong area, Northwest China. We examined the characteristics of runoff and sediment yield of Lou soil accumulation bodies with earth (gravel content 0%) and earth-rock (gravel content 30%) under different rainfall intensities (1.0, 1.5, 2.0, 2.5 mm·min -1 ) and different slope lengths (3, 5, 6.5, 12 m) by the simulating rainfall method. The results showed that runoff rate was relatively stable when rainfall intensity was 1.0-1.5 mm·min -1 , while runoff rate fluctuated obviously when rainfall intensity was 2.0-2.5 mm·min -1 . The average runoff rate varied significantly across different rainfall intensities on the same slopes, and the difference of average runoff rate of the two slopes was significantly increased with rainfall intensity. Under the same rainfall intensity, the difference in runoff rate between the slope lengths of the earth-rock slope was more obvious than that of the earth slope. When the slope length was 3-6.5 m, flow velocity increased rapidly at first and then increased slowly or tended to be stable. When the slope length was 12 m, flow velocity increased significantly. In general, with the increases of rainfall intensity, inhibition effect of gravel on the average flow velocity was enhanced. When rainfall intensity was 2.5 mm·min -1 , the maximum reduction in the average flow velocity of earth-rock slope was 61.5% lower than that of earth slope. When rainfall intensity was less than 2.0 mm·min -1 , sediment yield rate showed a trend of gradual decline or stable change, while that under the other rainfall intensities showed a trend of rapid decline and then fluctuated sharply. The greater the rainfall intensity, the more obvious the fluctuation. There was a significant positive correlation between the average sediment yield rate and runoff parameters, with the runoff rate showing the best fitting effect. Among the factors, slope length had the highest contribution to runoff velocity and rainfall erosion, which was 51.8% and 35.5%, respectively. This study can provide scientific basis for soil and water erosion control of engineering accumulation in Lou soil areas.

Gully head is the main active part of gully erosion, which seriously affects the occurrence of gully headcut erosion. To investigate root distribution and soil physical and mechanical characteristics of typical vegetation gully head, we analyzed the infiltration, root distribution, physical and mechanical properties of soil-root complex of soil in different layers (0-1 m) in natural restoration gully head and artificial restoration gully head. The results showed that the variability of soil bulk and total porosity among different vegetation gully heads was low, with bulk density ranging from 1.10 to 1.37 g·cm -3 and total porosity ranging from 48.3% to 58.4%. Infiltration index of different vegetation gully heads generally decreased with increasing soil depth. The infiltration rate of different soil layers in natural restoration gully head tended to stabilize in 20-30 min, while that of artificial restoration gully head tended to stabilize in 40 min. The infiltration capacity and average infiltration rate of artificial restoration gully head were generally higher than those of natural restoration gully head in all soil layers. Root length density, root surface area density, and average diameter all tended to decrease with increasing soil depth. Except for the 20-40 cm soil layer, root length density, root surface area density and average diameter of natural restoration gully head were all lower than those of artificial restoration gully head. Root system of both vegetation gully heads mainly consisted of 0-0.5 mm roots, accounting for 84.2%-93.6% of the total root length. In the vertical depth, with the increases of water content, the cohesion force decreased linearly with the deepening of soil layer, ranging from 0.42 to 22.67 kPa. The average cohesion force of artificial restoration gully head was higher than natural restoration gully head at each level of water content. The study revealed the effects of vegetation on the gully head cut erosion, which could provide scientific basis for the effective prevention and control of soil erosion in the region.

Colitis, a chronic inflammatory bowel disease, is characterized by bloody diarrhea and inflammation in the colon. Lonicera hypoglauca ("Shanyinhua" in Chinese) and Scutellaria baicalensis ("Huangqin" in Chinese) are two traditional Chinese medicinal plants rich in polyphenols, such as chlorogenic acid (CGA) and baicalin (BA), with the effects of anti-inflammation and antioxidation. However, it remains unknown whether extracts from L. hypoglauca and S. baicalensis (LSEs) could mitigate colonic inflammation. In the present study, ICR mice (22.23 ± 1.65 g) were allocated to three groups treated with chow diet without (CON) or with dextran sulfate sodium (DSS) (CON+DSS) in water or LSE supplementation in diet with DSS (LSE+DSS), and then inflammatory and oxidative parameters and colonic microbiota were detected. The results showed that LSE (500 mg/kg) treatment mitigated DSS-induced colitis symptoms and restored the shortened colon length, the increased disease activity index (DAI), and the damaged intestinal barrier. In serum, LSE supplementation significantly decreased levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines including interleukin (IL)-1β, IL-6, tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α, and lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and increased IL-10 level. Meanwhile, superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase (CAT) were increased, and malondialdehyde (MDA) and reactive oxygen species (ROS) levels were decreased. In the colon tissue, qPCR results showed that LSE supplementation dramatically downregulated the transcriptional expression of IL-1β , IL-6 , TNF-α , and MDA and upregulated the expression of SOD1 , CAT , and IL-10 . Additionally, the damaged gut barriers occludin and zonula occludens-1 (ZO-1) in the CON+DSS group were enhanced with LSE supplementation. Furthermore, LSE treatment regulated the gut microbial communities with higher relative abundance of Dubosiella and Ruminococcus torques group and lower relative abundance of Bacteroides and Turicibacter . Moreover, the contents of short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) as products of gut microbiota were also increased. Correlation analysis showed that the mRNA expression of SOD1 was negatively correlated with TNF-α (r = -0.900, P < 0.05); the mRNA expression of IL-6 (r = -0.779, P < 0.05) and TNF-α (r = -0.703, P < 0.05) had a dramatically negative correlation with Dubosiella . In conclusion, LSE supplementation could effectively ameliorate inflammation by modulating oxidative stress and gut microbiota in a colitis mouse model., Competing Interests: HL is employed by Beijing Centre Technology Co., Ltd., Beijing. The remaining authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2022 Wan, Wang, Zhong, Chen, Han, Liu, Zhao, Lv, Hou, Yi and Zhang.)

Vegetation restoration in the Chinese Loess Plateau has significantly changed soil erosion process of gully head wall. In order to investigate the characteristics and controlling factors of soil anti-scour properties of gully head covered by grasses, we carried out indoor undamaged soil trench scouring tests. By using barren gully head as the control, the physical and chemical properties and anti-scouring characteristics of soil in different soil layers (0-10, 10-20, 20-40, 40-60, 60-80, 80-100 cm) of the vertical wall of gully with grass cover were analyzed. The results showed that water-stable aggregate content and cohesion in barren and grass-covering gully head decreased with soil depth. Soil organic matter content and soil anti-scouribility coefficient in barren gully head decreased with soil depth, while the two indicators for gully head covered by grass increased firstly and then decreased with soil depth, with the maximum value (24.30 g·kg -1 and 58.86 L·g -1 ) in 10-20 cm soil layer. Meanwhile, the soil anti-scouring coefficient in each soil layer of grass-covering gully head was 1.7-9.3 times of that in soil layer of barren gully head. Soil organic matter content, water-stable aggregate content, cohesion and root length density all presented significantly positive correlation with soil anti-scouribility, among which soil organic matter content had the highest coefficient ( r =0.98). Results of this study might provide basic data for the study of headcut erosion mechanism in Loess Plateau gully region, and scientific basis for effective control of soil and water loss in this region.

This study analyzed performance of public hospitals and regional differences in performance following reform of medical service prices in Guangdong province, China. From three cities in four regions, we randomly selected a total of 12 traditional Chinese medicine hospitals and 12 general tertiary hospitals. Six questionnaires were completed by the hospitals, using 2014-2018 internal data. Principal components analysis was used to compare performances of the hospitals and regions following price reform. The extent to which medical service prices were adjusted varied considerable for different procedures in the same region and for the same category of procedures among regions. After reform, compensation for medical services in public hospitals reached the target of 80%, except in the Western region. However, annual growth of costs to patients was generally above 4%; the burden on patients was not alleviated by fee control. Reforms were more effective for comprehensive than Chinese traditional medicine hospitals. Performance scores of general hospitals in the Pearl River Delta, Eastern, Western, and Northern regions were 1.24, 1.16, -0.22, and -1.01, respectively. This is consistent with ranking by level of economic development of each region. The government should implement a regional medical service pricing mechanism. Additionally, comprehensive and traditional Chinese medicine hospitals should each have appropriate pricing policies. Future policies should focus on controlling costs incurred by patients., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2021 Weng, Xia, Lin and Wang.)

Objective: To determine the distributions of major pathogenic capsular types and in vitro antimicrobial susceptibility of different serotypes of Streptococcus suis isolated from clinically healthy sows in China., Methods: Tonsil specimens of clinically healthy sows from 10 different provinces in China were collected, a total of 421 S. suis were isolated. Capsular types of S. suis were decided using the sera agglutination reaction. Antimicrobial susceptibility testing was performed using a broth microdilution method and the differences between serotypes were decided statistically., Results: The prevalent capsular types of S. suis isolated from clinically healthy sows were 9 (26.6%), 3 (23.5%) and 7 (15.7%) types, respectively. 7.4% of isolates were confirmed to be S. suis type 2. Overall, differences in antimicrobial susceptibility among serotypes of S. suis were found. By comparison, lower resistance was observed for S. suis type 2 from clinically healthy sows., Conclusion: The prevalence of pathogenic S. suis serotypes from clinically healthy sows again indicates S. suis is a conditional pathogenic bacterium. Differential prevention and treatment regimes should be considered according to antimicrobial susceptibility of different serotypes of S. suis.