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Hairy fig (Ficus hirta Vahl.) root is a traditional medicinal and food homologous plant in China. Due to the lignified roots are extremely difficult to cut and package, postharvest treatment is very difficult. Therefore, when the roots of the hairy fig are used as a soup ingredient, the root cortex is simply peeled off and used.In order to promote the development and utilization of hairy fig root, chemical composition, volatile profiles and antioxidant activities of entire root (ER), root cortex (RC) and root internal tissue (RIT) of hairy fig were investigated. Hairy fig root was rich in fat, protein, soluble sugar, polyphenols, flavones and other nutrients, which had significant difference in ER, RC and RIT (P<0.05). Chemical components and nutrients were highest in RC, and lowest in RIT, as well as psoralen and bergapten. In ER, RC and RIT, content of psoralen was 0.70, 0.77, 0.32 mg/g, and 0.27, 0.42, 0.14 mg/g for bergapten. Phosphorus, potassium, magnesium, calcium were the main minerals, and arginine was the main free amino acid. There were 47 volatile components detected in ER, RC and RIT, where aldehydes and heterocyclic compounds were the dominant components. The relative level of aldehydes was 16.98~34.09%, and 6.71~45.23% for heterocyclic compounds. In addition, total relative amount of volatile components was 75.68% in RC, but 57.94% in RIT. From chemical components, nutritional components and volatile components content, the quality of RC was better than ER and RIT. The results might be related to chemicals accumulation position and the physiological structure of different parts of plants. According to antioxidant activity, ER, RC and RIT have scavenging activity of 2,2’-azino-bis (3-ethylbenzthiazoline-6- sulphonic acid) (ABTS), 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) and hydroxyl radicals. The half inhibitory concentration (IC50) of RC on ABTS, DPPH and hydroxyl radical were 3.51, 0.08 and 1360.40 mg/mL, respectively, which were lower than ER and RIT. Based on the drying process of the samples, the RC and RIT exhibited the best drying efficiency. All in all, from the point of view of saving energy and quality, RC not only had better quality but need less energy to dry. These results provided a reference for the development and utilization of hairy fig root cortex as a raw material in medicine, functional food or dietary additives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Structural contradictions among cities, agriculture, animal husbandry, and ecosystems in agriculture/ pastoral zones have become increasingly prominent. This study analyzed land use change for a typical farming-pastoral interlacing area in the Keerqinzuoyihou Banner, China, using land use status data from 2009 to 2017. The drivers of land use changes were determined using logistic regression analysis. The Conversion of Land Use and its Effects at Small Region Extent (CLUE-S) model simulated four scenarios (i.e., natural evolution, ecological, economic, and social benefits maximization), and there were three key findings. First, land use structure mainly consisted of cropland, forest, and grassland; these accounted for nearly 90% of the total land area. There was a rapid increase in cultivated and built-up areas from 2009 to 2017. Second, the Kappa coefficient of the CLUE-S simulated results and actual land use was 0.936, indicating high model accuracy and applicability for simulating spatial land use distribution in the study area. Third, under the natural evolution scenario, forest, grassland, water bodies, sandy land, and unused land decreased from 2017 to 2025, whereas cropland and built-up land increased. This provides a reference to guide government land use planning and measures to improve land use efficiency and optimize the industrial structure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chaoshan vernacular house is an important branch of Lingnan traditional houses in South China, with a long architectural history and excellent climate responsiveness to the hot-humid climate. The modern rural houses learn the traditional experiences mainly in the form but fail to inherit the climate-responsive design and wisdom of the traditional houses. This study took the widely distributed Xiashanhu houses in Chaoshan as the object, generated 128 Xishanhu parametric models by combinations of various parameters on design factors of building, opening, shading, construction, and street layout, and investigated the climate-responsive design techniques by using the parametric methods. The results show that the hall width, room width, cornice height, orientation, and wall construction are the key climate-responsive design factors oriented towards thermal performance of Xiashanhu houses. The optimized designs are: the smaller hall width (4.05m,4.32m,4.59m), the smaller room width (2.7m,2.97m,3.24m), the larger cornice height (4.92m,5.1m), the orientation ranged from 30° north by west to 30° north by east, and the brick and concrete wall. The rationality and validity were verified by applying the optimized climate-responsive designs to the re-construction of a new rural house. Compared to the original case, the thermal performance is significantly improved by 5.18-9.98%. A detailed discussion was also provided on considering the actual situation and needs of the modern buildings in the process of "using the past for the present." This study is believed to provide valuable references for the research and modern applications of climate-responsive designs of traditional vernacular houses. It also contributes to the preservation of architectural and cultural regional characters and the inheritance of architectural climate responsiveness in contemporary times. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper proposes a new approach to forecasting intermittent demand by considering the effects of external factors. We classify intermittent demand data into two parts--zero value and nonzero value--and fit nonzero values into a mixed zero-truncated Poisson model. All the parameters in this model are obtained by an EM algorithm, which regards external factors as independent variables of a logistic regression model and log-linear regression model. We then calculate the probability of occurrence of zero value at each period and predict demand occurrence by comparing it with critical value. When demand occurs, we use the weighted average of the mixed zero-truncated Poisson model as predicted nonzero demands, which are combined with predicted demand occurrences to form the final forecasting demand series. Two performance measures are developed to assess the forecasting methods. By presenting a case study of electric power material from the State Grid Shanghai Electric Power Company in China, we show that our approach provides greater accuracy in forecasting than the Poisson model, the hurdle shifted Poisson model, the hurdle Poisson model, and Croston's method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An experimental study of human responses to step changes of temperature and humidity was carried out on people in hot-humid area of China. Thirty college students who were naturally acclimatized to local climate and well experienced with air-conditioned environments participated in the experiment. Their physiological and psychological responses were measured continuously under conditions of neutral-warm and neutral-cool. Psychological lead occurs in all conditions expressed as psychological responses reaching steady state in a much shorter time than physiological ones, and overshoot occurs under sudden heating and does not occur under sudden cooling. Validation test of the Two-Node model shows that the model overestimates the steady state skin temperature under conditions of 20, 23 and 29 °C, and underestimates the change rate of skin temperature at the initial time of step changes. Heat acclimatization is suggested to be taken into account while applying the Two-Node model in hot-humid area of China. Relationships between physiological and psychological responses under step changes of neutral-warm and neutral-cool are established, indicating that both skin temperature and its change rate over time have significant impacts on thermal sensation. The acceptable conditions for transitional spaces in hot-humid area of China are recommended as the upper limits of air temperature 29.2 °C at 50% RH and 28.0 °C at 70% RH for 90% percentage satisfied, and 31.0 °C at 50% RH and 29.5 °C at 70% RH for 73% percentage satisfied. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background The Woman's Condom, a second-generation female condom, is poised for introduction in China. Study design This single-arm couples' use study was conducted in China in 2010 to assess performance and safety of the Woman's Condom and feasibility of mobile phone technology to record adherence data. Results Sixty couples were enrolled in this study, and 59 couples completed all four of the condom uses, resulting in 234 condom uses. Two condoms were opened but not used. Total breakage was 0.85% (two non-clinical breakages). Misdirection (2%), invagination (0.85%) and slippage (1%) were consistent with data on condom failure from other studies. Total clinical failure was 4%. Fifteen mild and no serious adverse events were reported during the study. Conclusions This study has shown that in China, the Woman's Condom performs well. Mobile phones cannot yet replace the use of a coital log and questionnaire. Further work on effectiveness is required. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: This study puts forward to a comprehensive method to evaluate the environment impact and economic benefit of central heating systems. Three types of residential heating systems are compared about the energy use in one-year operation phase, including waste water heat pump system, coal boiler system and gas boiler system. The system, located in Tianjin City, China, is designed for residential buildings. The comparison is made with respect to cost, environment impact and integrated assessment. The results indicate that according to now power structure, if COP of the heat pump reaches 2.5 but lower than 3, heat pump system shows better environment performance but wastes more money than boiler heating systems. If the COP of the heat pump is above 3, heat pump heating system would have best integrated performance, i.e. it has lower cost and less environmental impact than the other systems. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Objective: To test whether the incidence of common colds among college students in China is associated with ventilation rates and crowdedness in dormitories. Methods: In Phase I of the study, a cross-sectional study, 3712 students living in 1569 dorm rooms in 13 buildings responded to a questionnaire about incidence and duration of common colds in the previous 12 months. In Phase II, air temperature, relative humidity and CO2 concentration were measured for 24 hours in 238 dorm rooms in 13 buildings, during both summer and winter. Out-to indoor air flow rates at night were calculated based on measured CO2 concentrations. Results: In Phase I, 10% of college students reported an incidence of more than 6 common colds in the previous 12 months, and 15% reported that each infection usually lasted for more than 2 weeks. Students in 6-person dorm rooms were about 2 times as likely to have an incidence of common colds ≥6 times per year and a duration ≥2 weeks, compared to students in 3-person rooms. In Phase II, 90% of the measured dorm rooms had an out-to indoor air flow rate less than the Chinese standard of 8.3 L/s per person during the heating season. There was a dose-response relationship between out-to indoor air flow rate per person in dorm rooms and the proportion of occupants with annual common cold infections ≥6 times. A mean ventilation rate of 5 L/(s·person) in dorm buildings was associated with 5% of self reported common cold ≥6 times, compared to 35% at 1 L/(s·person). Conclusion: Crowded dormitories with low out-to indoor airflow rates are associated with more respiratory infections among college students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The complex mechanism of nicotine dependency makes it challenging to evaluate dependence or progress towards dependence. The aim of this study was to estimate nicotine dependence levels and identify determinants of dependence among Chinese rural-urban migrants. Methods: Multi-stage systematic sampling was used to select 4,198 rural-urban migrants aged 18 years or older from three metropolises in China. A structured questionnaire was administered during face-to-face interviews. Nicotine dependence among participants was assessed by means of the six-item Mandarin Chinese Version of the Fagerström Test for Nicotine Dependence (CFTND). Determinants of dependence were analyzed using multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA). Results: Among 4,198 participants, estimated current, daily, and occasional smoking rates were 28.3%, 21.2%, and 7.1%, respectively. The CTFND score for the 894 daily smokers was 3.39(SD: 2.32). MANOVA showed that work type, age at first migration, length of migration, and number of cities ever lived were associated with nicotine dependence. Conclusion: A migratory lifestyle is associated with nicotine dependence. Results could inform the design of tobacco control programs that target Chinese rural-urban migrant workers as a special at-risk population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyzes various methods of disposal of municipal solid waste in China, including refuse incineration, garbage power and landfill technology. Based on the conventional pyrolysis principle, a new apparatus has been developed for waste disposal in China. It is especially useful in China as the waste is not sorted. The experiment shows that the concentration of dioxins meets the emission standard of 0.1 ng-TE/N m3 by controlling the residence time and temperature. The expulsive solid weight is as low as 5–7% of the whole refuse. At the same time, a great deal of fire gas was generated in the treatment process. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Soil wind erosion is one of the critical drivers of land degradation in the black soil region of northeastern China. In this study, 137Cs background value and soil wind erosion rate was studied by using 137Cs nuclide tracing technique in the black soil region of northeastern China, and wind erosion characteristics such as background value and soil erosion rate over the years were clarified, which has guiding significance for soil and water conservation and agricultural sustainable development in the black soil region of northeast China. The mean area activity of the Hilltop area was 1541 Bq·m-2, which was lower than the background value of 1879.7 Bq·m-2 in the study area. At the top of the hill, soil erosion occurred to some extent. The 137Cs profile has distributional characteristics that can be divided into three categories. Most of the 137Cs area activity in Hilltop area is evenly distributed in 0-15 cm, and the 137Cs area activity below 15 cm decreased gradually until it disappeared. The spatial difference of wind erosion rate is significant in the study area, mainly between 7.17-10.13 t·hm-2a-1. The average wind erosion rate of hilltops with different tillage quality depths has little difference. The average wind erosion rate is 8.60 t·hm-2a-1, which belongs to mild erosion. However, its erosion rate is higher than the tolerable soil loss of 2 t·hm-2a-1 in the black soil region of northeast China. As a result, soil erosion control in the black soil region of northeast China still requires attention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ultraweak photon emission emitted by all living organisms has been confirmed to be a noninvasive indicator for their physiological and pathological characteristics. In this study, we investigated the characteristics of spontaneous photon emission (SPE) and the contents of specific active compounds of roots and flowers buds of several fresh Chinese herbal medicines (natural medicines) with different growth ages and varieties. The results revealed that the contents of specific active compounds from same species herbs with different growth ages and varieties were significantly different, and this difference could be reflected by their SPE. Because the contents of specific bioactive constituents in Chinese herbs are closely related to their quality and curative effect, the SPE measurement technique may contribute to the quality control of Chinese herbal medicine in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]