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Zheng Guanying paid close attention to the issue of the spread of Christianity in China since his youth. Over a period of more than three decades, he produced five monographs specifically addressing Christianity, from unequivocally opposing the spread of Christianity in China in the mid-to-late 1870s, to advocating for the adoption of the preaching form of the Christian "gatherings every seven days" to disseminate the village covenants and sacred edicts among the Chinese people in the 1890s. He proposed that the Chinese people should hold the right to spread Christianity. In 1906, he advocated for the establishment of a "common religion" and proposed "one religion for all nations" to eliminate wars around the world. In his later years, he proposed the "Five great wishes" to integrate and govern the various religions of the world with Taoism as the core, attempting to reconstruct global order from the perspective of religious unity. He envisioned the establishment of a sacred Taoist monastery, the dissemination of religious concepts, and the cultivation of talents, which drew on the organizational structure and missionary methods of Christianity, reflecting the thinking and efforts of modern Chinese intellectuals to bridge the Chinese and Western civilizations, seek solutions for modern China, reconcile conflicts between China and the West, and pursue global unity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The gene-editing technique CRISPR—clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats—is often depicted as a security threat because it could theoretically allow scientists or amateurs to edit the genome of a variety of organisms and potentially cause harm to humans, plants, and animals. The recent use of CRISPR by Chinese scientist He Jiankui to edit the genome of viable embryos, which resulted in the birth of twin girls, has exacerbated those fears. This article reviews the timeline of the CRISPR-babies experiment, highlights the challenges that contributed to the experiment's failure, and evaluates the risks of CRISPR's use for malevolent purposes. It concludes that although the potential for abuse is great, the technical obstacles are still too significant to allow successful modification that would threaten security. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Chuxiong basin, located in southwest China, is well known as a mineralization area of red-bed type copper deposits in China. These deposits are characterized by mineral zoning, which is especially true for the Dayao deposits. The mineral zoning is consistent for both horizontal and vertical zoning; from the base (center) of the ore body to the top (outermost), the mineral zones are from hematite, chalcocite, chalcocite + bornite, and bornite + chalcopyrite to pyrite. We studied the mineral zoning in detail using a thermodynamic phase diagram method, such as log⁡fO2-log⁡fS2, pH-log⁡fO2, and pH-Eh, and discussed the constraints on the order of the minerals precipitation under different physiochemical conditions. It is indicated that changes in temperature have little effect on pH and Eh in the formation of minerals. S2− is stable only below 473 K, and the forming temperature of chalcocite must be below 473 K. In this paper, we also explain the mineral zoning formation mechanism and propose that the main controlling factor of mineral zoning is pH. Because this mineral zoning is widespread in sediment-hosted deposits, studies on this mechanism can considerably promote better understanding of the genesis of ore deposits in order to guide the exploration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Langdu skarn copper deposit in the Zhongdian area, Yunnan Province, China, has an average Cu grade of 6.49 %. The deposit is related to a porphyry intrusion (~216 Ma), which was emplaced in the Upper Triassic sedimentary rocks of the Tumugou and Qugasi Formations. At the Langdu skarn copper deposit, carbon and oxygen isotope ratios of fresh limestones (δO = 3.0-5.6 ‰ relative to V-SMOW; δC = 24.5-25.7 ‰ relative to PDB) and partly altered limestones (δO = 27-7.2 to −1.9 ‰; δC = 11.8-15.2 ‰) indicated that the deposit was a typical marine carbonate source. Oxygen and carbon isotope values for calcites formed at different hydrothermal stages are −9.1 to 0.2 and 10.1-16.3 ‰, respectively. Moreover, the carbon-oxygen isotopic composition of an ore-forming fluid (δO = 5.0-9.5 ‰, δC = −7.3 to −5.3 ‰) suggested the presence of magmatic water, which most likely came from the differentiation or melting of a homologous magma chamber. The deposition of Calcite I may arise from metasomatism in an open system with a progressively decreasing temperature. Later, the minerals chalcopyrite, pyrrhotite, quartz and Calcite II were precipitated due to immiscibility. Water-rock interaction could potentially be responsible for Calcite III precipitation in the post-ore stage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The distribution and speciation of mercury in surface water of East River, Guangdong province, China were investigated. Methods: All told 63 water samples were collected during a bi-weekly sampling campaign from July 15th to 26th, 2009. Results: Total mercury (THg) concentrations in water samples ranged from 11 to 49 ng/L. Maximum levels of THg were measured in the lower reaches of East River, where it passes through a major industrial area adjacent to Dongguang city. Higher ratios of dissolved mercury (THg (aq)) in proportion to THg were restricted to the downstream section of East River. Concentrations of the minor constituent methyl mercury varied in the range from 0.08 to 0.21 ng/L. On average, methyl mercury made up 0.8% and 0.56% of THg (aq) and THg, respectively. Dissolved species dominated the speciation of methyl mercury in proportions up to 81%, which may imply that methyl mercury is largely produced in situ within the river water. Environmental factors (such as water temperature, dissolved oxygen, etc.) are regarded to play an important role in Hg methylation processes were monitored and assessed. Conclusions: In an international perspective, East River must be classified as a polluted river with considerably sources within its industrial areas. The THg (aq) and particle mercury fluxes to the Pearl River Estuary by East River run-off were estimated to be 0.31 ± 0.11 and 0.17 ± 0.13 t/year, respectively. Hence, in total nearly 0.5 t Hg is annually released to the sea from the East River tributary. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although Manchukuo is easily dismissed as a puppet of Japan, at the time of its founding, it was one of many examples of a partially sovereign state. Specific compromises of Manchukuo's sovereignty shaped the formation of its domestic institutions, such as the legal sphere, in tangible ways. Manchukuo handed over to Japan the power to staff and ideologically mold its judiciary, while the tutelary attitude that Japan took toward the state was concretely manifested in aspects of Manchukuo penal and civil law, and a surprisingly contentious path to the abrogation of Japanese extraterritoriality. With the outbreak of war, Manchukuo effectively surrendered its national sovereignty to the needs of the Japanese empire, sacrificing its jurisdictional integrity as well. While not denying the deliberate attempt made by Japan to misrepresent the independence of Manchukuo, this article also seeks to understand more precisely how Manchukuo's architects assumed certain limits to state sovereignty, and how this understanding systematically crippled the new state's legal institutions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]