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Abstract The accumulation of secondary metabolites in Panax ginseng Meyer (P. ginseng) exhibits significant geographical variation, normally due to environmental factors. The current study aimed at elucidating the key environmental factors modulating the accumulation of secondary metabolites in P. ginseng. Plant and the associated soil samples were collected from ten geographical locations within the latitudinalrange of 27.09°N − 42.39°N and longitudinal range of 99.28°E − 128.19°E. 12 secondary metabolites in P. ginseng toots were measured. And the correlation between secondary metabolites with a series of soil properties and 7 climatic factors were investigated through Pearson’s correlation, mantel test, random forest and pathway analysis. The results revealed that climatic factors were stronger drivers of ginseng secondary metabolite profile than soil nutrients. Specifically, temperature seasonality (TS) and soil available phosphorus (AP) were the most effective environments to have significantly and positively influence on the secondary metabolites of ginseng. This findings contribute to identifying optimal cultivation areas for P. ginseng, and hopefully establishing methods for interfering/shaping microclimate for cultivating high-quality P. ginseng.

Bronchial artery aneurysm (BAA) is a rare and fatal condition that requires immediate treatment. However, conventional surgical and transcatheter arterial embolization treatments are less effective. In the present case, a 76-year-old hypertensive woman was admitted with dizziness and diagnosed with an unruptured bronchial artery aneurysm, which was treated by transcatheter arterial embolization and aortic stent-graft. The patient's clinical status was stable during the 4-year follow-up. Simultaneously, we reviewed 79 research papers, analyzing past BAA cases for their etiology, symptoms, and treatment outcomes. We found that catheter arterial embolization and aortic stent-graft implantation, especially for BAA of short-necked and arterial tortuosity, demonstrate superior efficacy compared to other methods. Therefore, we consider this approach to be the preferred choice in clinical BAA treatment.

The design of high energy density materials (HEDM) with good detonation performance but which are also safe to handle is challenging. Here, the authors synthesize a PTX analogue and incorporate explosophoric groups to obtain an HEDM with improved detonation performance but low impact and friction sensitivity.

While laser surface texturing (LST) is a promising manufacturing technique for surface functionalization, simultaneously realizing high precision and high efficiency in the LST of complex curved surface is challenging, due to continuously varied geometries of laser-matter incidence. In the present work, we propose a novel manufacturing system of 7-axis on-the-fly LST for complex curved surface, based on the integrated synchronization of 5-axis linkage motion platform with 2-axis galvanometer. Specifically, the algorithm for decomposing spatial texture trajectory on curved surface into low-frequency and high-frequency parts is established, based on which the kinematic model of synchronized 7-axis system is developed to derive the motion of each axis in both 5-axis linkage motion platform and 2-axis galvanometer simultaneously. Subsequently, the synchronized 7-axis LST system is experimentally realized, including the setup of mechanical stages integrated with optical path, the configuration of numerical control unit, and the development of processing software. Finally, case study of 7-axis on-the-fly LST of freeform aluminum surface is performed, and the advantages in terms of processing efficiency and texturing accuracy over 5-axis linkage LST are demonstrated. The correlation of reduced following errors between mechanical stages with the promoted performance of curved surface texturing by the 7-axis on-the-fly LST is further analyzed. Current work provides a feasible solution for establishing the manufacturing system for high performance LST of complex curved surface.

Researchers have previously described the response of crop productivity and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions to fertilizer nitrogen (N) additions, but they have not determined how to maximize yields while minimizing GHG emissions. We conducted an experiment at 2293 sites with four N levels to simulate both grain yield and yield-scaled GHG emissions in response to the N addition. The yield-scaled GHG emissions decreased by 16% as the N rate increased from treatments without the N addition to the minimum yield-scaled GHG emissions, which was comparable to the values associated with the maximum grain yields. The sites with both high soil productivity and high crop productivity had the highest yield and lowest yield-scaled GHG emissions, with 43% higher yield and 38% lower yield-scaled GHG emissions than sites with low soil and low crop productivity. These findings are expected to enhance evaluations of wheat production and GHG emissions in China, and thereby contribute to addressing disparities in the global food and GHG budget.

Drought poses a significant challenge to global wheat production, and the application of exogenous phytohormones offers a convenient approach to enhancing drought tolerance of wheat. However, little is known about the molecular mechanism by which strigolactones (SLs), newly discovered phytohormones, alleviate drought stress in wheat. Therefore, this study is aimed at elucidating the physiological and molecular mechanisms operating in wheat and gaining insights into the specific role of SLs in ameliorating responses to the stress. The results showed that SLs application upregulated the expression of genes associated with the antioxidant defense system (Fe/Mn-SOD, PER1, PER22, SPC4, CAT2, APX1, APX7, GSTU6, GST4, GOR, GRXC1, and GRXC15), chlorophyll biogenesis (CHLH, and CPX), light-harvesting chlorophyll A-B binding proteins (WHAB1.6, and LHC Ib-21), electron transfer (PNSL2), E3 ubiquitin-protein ligase (BB, CHIP, and RHY1A), heat stress transcription factor (HSFA1, HSFA4D, and HSFC2B), heat shock proteins (HSP23.2, HSP16.9A, HSP17.9A, HSP21, HSP70, HSP70-16, HSP70-17, HSP70-8, HSP90-5, and HSP90-6), DnaJ family members (ATJ1, ATJ3, and DJA6), as well as other chaperones (BAG1, CIP73, CIPB1, and CPN60I). but the expression level of genes involved in chlorophyll degradation (SGR, NOL, PPH, PAO, TIC55, and PTC52) as well as photorespiration (AGT2) was found to be downregulated by SLs priming. As a result, the activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD), peroxidase (POD), and catalase (CAT) were enhanced, and chlorophyll content and photosynthetic rate were increased, which indicated the alleviation of drought stress in wheat. These findings demonstrated that SLs alleviate drought stress by promoting photosynthesis through enhancing chlorophyll levels, and by facilitating ROS scavenging through modulation of the antioxidant system. The study advances understandings of the molecular mechanism underlying SLs-mediated drought alleviation and provides valuable insights for implementing sustainable farming practice under water restriction.

Darkfield imaging can achieve in situ observation of marine plankton with unique advantages of high-resolution, high-contrast and colorful imaging for plankton species identification, size measurement and abundance estimation. However, existing underwater darkfield imagers have very shallow depth-of-field, leading to inefficient seawater sampling for plankton observation. We develop a data-driven method that can algorithmically refocus planktonic objects in their defocused darkfield images, equivalently achieving focus-extension for their acquisition imagers. We devise a set of dual-channel imaging apparatus to quickly capture paired images of live plankton with different defocus degrees in seawater samples, simulating the settings as in in situ darkfield plankton imaging. Through a series of registration and preprocessing operations on the raw image pairs, a dataset consisting of 55 000 pairs of defocused-focused plankter images have been constructed with an accurate defocus distance label for each defocused image. We use the dataset to train an end-to-end deep convolution neural network named IsPlanktonFE, and testify its focus-extension performance through extensive experiments. The experimental results show that IsPlanktonFE has extended the depth-of-field of a 0.5× darkfield imaging system to ~7 times of its original value. Moreover, the model has exhibited good content and instrument generalizability, and considerable accuracy improvement for a pre-trained ResNet-18 network to classify defocused plankton images. This focus-extension technology is expected to greatly enhance the sampling throughput and efficiency for the future in situ marine plankton observation systems, and promote the wide applications of darkfield plankton imaging instruments in marine ecology research and aquatic environment monitoring programs.

Biochar applied to soil has been considered as an effective tool for mitigation of atmospheric carbon dioxide emission and enhancement of carbon storage in soil, which may also enhance soil quality. However, the effect of biochar aged for 5 years on the different carbon fractions and enzyme activities as well as its changes, is not well understood in the cropland sandy soil of northern China. Therefore, a field trial was carried out in 2014 with biochar applied once at 0, 5.25, 10.50, 21.00 and 42.00 g·kg−1 (BC0, BC1, BC2, BC3, and BC4, respectively). We evaluated the influence of biochar addition to the changes in soil organic carbon (SOC), labile carbon pools (readily oxidized carbon, dissolved organic carbon, and microbial biomass carbon) and enzyme activities (invertase, urease, and catalase). Biochar significantly increased SOC (122.00%) and altered the content of labile carbon (increased ROC, DOC and MBC by 71.29%, 10.35%, and 900.00%, respectively). Soil urease and invertase activities increased by 55.81% and 46.76%, respectively, with an increase in biochar application rate, but catalase activity significantly decreased by 31.79%. The values of the geometric means of labile carbon (0.88) and enzyme activities (2.39) for the BC3 treatment were higher than others, which indicated that the biochar application rate of 21.00 g·kg−1 is suggested for the sandy soil. Our results suggest that the application of biochar in sandy soil for five years increased soil carbon sequestration, changed enzyme activities and ameliorated soil quality.

Soil nutrient testing is an effective way to uncover soil nutrient status. However, the conventional testing method (CT method) and Mehlich 3 method (M3 method) demand long-time consumption, tedious testing steps, high testing cost, dangerous chemicals contained in extractant, etc. Therefore, it is important to develop a new rapid test method or improve the existing rapid test method of soil available nutrients. In this study, an improved Mehlich3 method (IM3 method) with the new combined extractant were developed and evaluated on the testing feasibility, precision, efficiency, and cost. The results showed that: (1) IM3 method avoided the usage of two hazardous chemicals, i.e., ammonium nitrate and nitric acid, which were difficult in purchase and storage but contained in the combined extractant of M3 method. (2) The correlation coefficients of available P, K, Fe, Mn, Cu and Zn in calcareous soil between M3 and CT, and between IM3 and CT methods all reached highly significant level. The correlation coefficient of available Zn between IM3 and CT method was significantly higher than that between M3 and CT method, and those of the other elements had not obviously changed. (3) The variation coefficients of available P, K, Fe and Cu determined by M3 and IM3 methods were all lower than those determined by CT method. The variation coefficients of available Mn and Zn determined by IM3 were 3.67% and 6.43%, which were slightly higher than those determined by CT method with 2.72% and 5.29%, but were lower than those determined by M3 method. (4) Under the premise of ensuring testing precision, IM3 method took only 6.3 min/piece for determining six elements, reducing testing time by 70.7% and 3.08% compared with CT (21.5 min/piece) and M3 (6.5 min/piece) methods, respectively. The testing cost of IM3 method was reduced by 26% and 61.2% compared with M3 and CT methods, respectively. In conclusion, IM3 method is an ideal rapid measurement method for the simultaneous determination of available soil nutrients in calcareous soil.

Potassium (K) is the second most important plant nutritional element and is used for numerous physiological processes. We established an eight-year experiment comparing the effects of five K fertilization treatments (0, 48, 84, 120 and 156 kg K ha−1) on crop yield, K use efficiency and soil apparent K balance under the maize–wheat rotation system in the North China Plain. The highest maize and wheat yields were achieved in the K120 treatment, increasing by up to 16.7% and 25.1%, respectively. The increase in grain yield and K agronomic efficiency (AEK) with K application was greater in wheat than in maize. The K recovery efficiency (REK) and K accumulative recovery efficiency (ARE) significantly decreased with the increase in K fertilization in the maize and wheat seasons. However, the soil apparent K balance and soil available K content increased; the former was deficiency (−24.3 kg ha−1 yr−1) in the K0 treatment, but the latter did not decrease significantly compared with that in the initial year of the experiment. The soil available K content increased by 10.9 mg kg−1 per 100 kg ha−1. In conclusion, the yield response to K fertilization was greater in wheat than in maize and alleviated soil K depletion, but the K fertilizer efficiency was lower. We believed that K fertilizer can be increased moderately in the wheat season and decreased in the maize season.

Euphorbia lathyris L. is a well-known bioenergy plant cultivated in many parts of the world. In this study, we sequenced the complete chloroplast (cp) genome sequence of E. lathyris to investigate its phylogenetic relationship in the family Euphorbiaceae. The cp genome was 163,738 bp in length, consisting of a pair of inverted repeats (IRa and IRb: 26,837 bp) separated by a large single-copy region (LSC: 91,783 bp) and a small single-copy region (SSC: 18,281 bp). The GC content of whole cp genome is 35.6%. Annotation showed the presence of 113 unique genes with 79 protein-coding genes, four tRNA genes, and 30 rRNA genes. Phylogenetic analysis indicated that E. lathyris was in the basal position of subgen. Esula, closely related to sect. Esula and sect. Helioscopiae.

While laser surface texturing is promising for the fabrication of planar surface microstructures, the continuously patterning with micrometer accuracy of non-planar surface on miniature parts with large curvature by laser ablation is challenging. In the present work, we demonstrate the feasibility of applying the proposed multi-axis laser milling in continuous patterning of 25 mm diameter spherical stainless steel with high uniformity and precision, based on a strategy of simultaneously adjusting the position and the posture of laser-surface interaction point for enabling the constant coincidence of laser beam with ablated surface normal. Specifically, a miniaturized five-axis platform for controlling workpiece motion with high degree-of-freedom is designed and integrated with a fixed nanosecond pulsed laser beam operating at 1064 nm. The precise path of laser-surface interaction point is derived based on the projection and transformation of pre-determined planar pattern on spherical surface. Meanwhile, a virtual prototype of the multi-axis laser milling with embedded interpolation algorithm is established, which enables the generation of NC codes for subsequent laser milling experiments. Furthermore, the sampling of laser processing parameters particularly for spherical surface is carried out. Finally, complex patterns are continuously structured on the spherical surface by employing the proposed multi-axis laser milling method, and subsequent characterization demonstrates both long range uniformity and local high accuracy of the fabricated patterns. Current work provides a feasible method for the continuous laser surface texturing of non-planar surfaces for miniature parts with large curvature.

The optimal timing of initiating antiviral treatment for immune-tolerant (IT) patients remains unknown. We conducted this study in liver biopsy-proven IT patients to compare the long-term outcomes of untreated and treated patients suffering non-cirrhotic chronic hepatitis B (CHB). This retrospective cohort study recruited 171 consecutive treatment-naïve CHB patients who completed liver biopsy test. Patients were stratified into IT (n = 60), mildly-active (MA; n = 31), immune-active (IA; n = 80), according to alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and liver biopsy data. One hundred and nine patients receiving antiviral treatment constituted the treated set, and 62 patients under close follow-up comprised the untreated set. Primary outcomes were virological response, HBeAg seroconversion, HBsAg loss, ALT normalization, and liver stiffness measurement normalization (NCT03740789). The study population was predominantly male (62.6%) with a mean age of 31 years. The proportion of virological response in treated patients in the MA phase was 57.1%, and the proportion of HBeAg seroconversion was 28.6%, which showed no difference with the 43.8% virological response and 31.5% HBeAg seroconversion in IA patients. The proportions of virological response and seroconversion were 18.2 and 9.1%, respectively, in the IT phase, which were lower than the rates in the MA and IA phases. However, 95.5% of IT patients persisted normal ALT, and 100% of IT patients persisted normal liver stiffness measurement in the treated group. Therefore, antiviral treatment should be considered for CHB patients with high viral load regardless of phase to minimize further damage to hepatocytes.

Trichosanthis Radix (TR) is one of the most severely sulfur-fumigated herbs in the market, whose transformation mechanism of chemical compositions and sulfur-fumigation markers of TR have not been clarified. To excavate characteristic sulfur-fumigation markers of TR samples, this study brings up a practical protocol using both ultra-performance liquid chromatography/quadrupole time-of-flight-mass spectrum (UPLC-ESI-QTOF-MS/MS)-based non-targeted metabolomics and ultra-performance liquid chromatography/electrospray ionization/quadrupole multiple-stage linear ion-trap mass spectrum (UPLC-ESI-QTRAP-MS/MS)-based widely targeted metabolomics. The results of study demonstrated that five characteristic markers are sulfur-containing components, which were identified as p-Hydroxybenzyl hydrogen sulfite, cucurbitacin D sulfite I, cucurbitacin D sulfite II, cucurbitacin B sulfite I, and cucurbitacin B sulfite II, respectively. Additionally, cucurbitacin B and D were also filtered and identified as the characteristic sulfur-fumigation markers. Meanwhile, the different sulfur-fumigation extent of TR samples was tested by chemical transformations analysis and sulfur dioxide residues test. Further, 58.16% (139 of 239) of the differential metabolites content significantly reduced in sulfur-fumigated TR samples. Besides, 20 kinds of non-sulfur marker metabolites were tested to evaluate the quality of TR samples before and after sulfur fumigation, predominantly including phenolic acids, amino acids, lipids and nucleotides. Taking TR as an example, this work provides a comprehensive practical protocol for the quality supervision of sulfur-fumigation herbs.

Abstract Previous studies have shown that uterine leiomyomas (UL) are benign tumours with contributions from environmental and genetic factors. We aimed to replicate two initial significant genetic factors, TNRC6B and BET1L, in a Han Chinese population. A total of 2,055 study subjects were recruited, and 55 SNPs mapped to TNRC6B and BET1L were selected and genotyped in samples from these subjects. Genetic associations were analysed at both the single marker and haplotype levels. Associations between targeted SNPs and relevant clinical features of UL were analysed in case only samples. Functional consequences of significant SNPs were analysed by bioinformatics tools. Two SNPs, rs2280543 from BET1L (χ2 = 18.3, OR = 0.64, P = 1.87 × 10−5) and rs12484776 from TNRC6B (χ2 = 19.7, OR = 1.40, P = 8.91 × 10−6), were identified as significantly associated with the disease status of UL. Rs2280543 was significantly associated with the number of fibroid nodes (P = 0.0007), while rs12484776 was significantly associated with node size (χ2 = 54.88, P = 3.44 × 10−11). Both SNPs were a significant eQTL for their genes. In this study, we have shown that both BET1L and TNRC6B contributed to the risk of UL in Chinese women. Significant SNPs from BET1L and TNRC6B were also identified as significantly associated with the number of fibroid nodes and the size of the node, respectively.

This paper develops a new method for the calculation of low speed characteristic of compressor. Considering of the compressibility of the air, the low speed index of pump machinery similarity theory is improved. A new index calculation method is proposed, and the correction factor is added in the modified theoretical formula to increase the calculation accuracy of the compressor characteristics. Genetic algorithm is adopted to realize the optimization of the calculation to obtain the best value of the correction factor. It does not need to consider the structure and thermodynamic parameters of the compressor, and calculates the low speed characteristics of the compressor based on the existing characteristic curves. The calculation results show that the characteristic curves solved by the method are reasonable in changing trends.

Increasing plant density is a key measure to close the maize (Zea mays L.) yield gap and ensure food security. However, there is a large plant density difference in the fields sown by agronomists and smallholders. The primary cause of this phenomenon is the lack of an effective methodology to systematically analyze the density loss. To identify the plant density loss processes from experimental plots to smallholder fields, a research methodology was developed in this study involving a farmer survey and measurements in a smallholder field. The results showed that the sowing density difference caused by farmer decision-making and plant density losses caused by mechanical and agronomic factors explained 15.5%, 5.5% and 6.8% of the plant density difference, respectively. Changing smallholder attitudes toward the value of increasing the plant density could help reduce this density loss and increase farm yields by 12.3%. Therefore, this methodology was effective for analyzing the plant density loss, and to clarify the primary causes of sowing density differences and plant density loss. Additionally, it was beneficial to identify the priorities and stakeholders who share responsibility for reducing the density loss. The methodology has wide applicability to address the sowing density differences and plant density loss in other areas to narrow crop yield gaps and ensure food security.

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is a leading cause of mortality and morbidity among patients with diabetes. Endothelial dysfunction is an early physiological event in CVD. Metformin, a common oral antihyperglycemic agent, has been demonstrated to directly affect endothelial cell function. Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), originally discovered in the brain as a neurotrophin, has also been reported to play a protective role in the cardiovascular system. In our study, we demonstrated that high glucose (HG) reduced cell proliferation and induced cell apoptosis via changes in BDNF expression and that metformin reversed the effects of HG injury by upregulating BDNF expression. Furthermore, we found that cyclic AMP response element binding (CREB) phosphorylation was reduced in HG-treated human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs), and this effect was reversed by the metformin treatment. However, the metformin effect on BDNF levels in HG-incubated HUVECs was blocked by a CREB inhibitor, which indicated that BDNF expression is regulated by metformin through CREB activation. In addition, we found that adenosine monophosphate-activated protein kinase (AMPK) activation is involved in CREB/BDNF regulation in HG-incubated HUVECs treated with metformin and that an AMPK inhibitor impaired the protective effects of metformin on HG-treated HUVECs. In conclusion, this study demonstrated that metformin affects cell proliferation and apoptosis via the AMPK/CREB/BDNF pathway in HG-incubated HUVECs.

In order to improve the pressure distribution, the aerostatic circular thrust bearing with single supply hole was studied. In the computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulation, the laminar model, the turbulent model, the mixture model of laminar and turbulent were used simultaneously. The micro-characteristics of the gas flows were analysed based on the simulation results. One test rig was built for measuring the pressure distribution with the single test hole, and the calculated and experimental results were compared. The results showed that when the gas film clearance is small and the gas flow is subsonic completely, the whole gas flow is laminar flow, which should be calculated based on the laminar model and when the gas film thickness is large and there is supersonic flow in some region, which should be calculated according to the mixture model; at the same time, there is no surface of discontinuity for Mach number and pressure distribution, and no shock, and the pressure is recovered due to the boundary layer separation, the change of the flow state and the change of viscosity. The method for testing the pressure distributions with a single test hole is effective.

Understanding the time-course of dry matter (DM) and nitrogen (N) accumulation in terms of yield-trait relationships is essential to simultaneously increase grain yield and synchronize N demand and N supply. We collected 413 data points from 11 field experiments to address patterns of DM and N accumulation with time in relation to grain yield and management of winter wheat in China. Detailed growth analysis was conducted at the Zadok growth stages (GS) 25 (regreening), GS30 (stem elongation), GS60 (anthesis), and GS100 (maturity) in all experiments, including DM and N accumulation. Grain yield averaged 7.3 Mg ha(-1), ranging from 2.1 to 11.2 Mg ha(-1). The percent N accumulation was consistent prior to DM accumulation, while both DM and N accumulation increased continuously with growing time. Both the highest and fastest DM and N accumulations were observed from stem elongation to the anthesis stage. Significant correlations between grain yield and DM and N accumulation were found at each of the four growth stages, although no positive relationship was observed between grain yield and harvest index or N harvest index. The yield increase from 7-9 Mg ha(-1) to >9 Mg ha(-1) was mainly attributed to increased DM and N accumulation from stem elongation to anthesis. Although applying more N fertilizer increased N accumulation during this stage, DM accumulation was not improved, indicating that N fertilizer management and related agronomic management should be intensified synchronously across the wheat growing season to simultaneously achieve high yields and match N demand and N supply.

In China, dairy cattle managed in collective feedlots contribute about 30% of the milk production and are believed to be an important contributor to national methane emissions. Methane emissions from a collective dairy feedlot in North China Plain (NCP) were measured during the winter, spring, summer, and fall seasons with open-path lasers in combination with an inverse dispersion technique. Methane emissions from the selected dairy feedlot were characterized by an apparent diurnal pattern with three peaks corresponding to the schedule of feeding activities. On a per capita basis, daily methane emission rates of these four seasons were 0.28, 0.32, 0.33, and 0.30 kg head−1 d−1, respectively. In summary, annual methane emission rate was 112.4 kg head−1 yr−1 associated with methane emission intensity of 32.65 L CH4 L−1 of milk and potential methane conversion factor Ym of 6.66% of gross energy intake for mature dairy cows in North China Plain.

Transforming smallholder farms is critical to global food security and environmental sustainability. The science and technology backyard (STB) platform has proved to be a viable approach in China. However, STB has traditionally focused on empowering smallholder farmers by transferring knowledge, and wide-scale adoption of more sustainable practices and technologies remains a challenge. Here, we report on a long-term project focused on technology scale-up for smallholder farmers by expanding and upgrading the original STB platform (STB 2.0). We created a formalized and standardized process by which to engage and collaborate with farmers, including integrating their feedback via equal dialogues in the process of designing and promoting technologies. Based on 288 site-year of field trials in three regions in the North China Plain over 5 y, we find that technologies cocreated through this process were more easily accepted by farmers and increased their crop yields and nitrogen factor productivity by 7.2% and 28.1% in wheat production and by 11.4% and 27.0% in maize production, respectively. In promoting these technologies more broadly, we created a "one-stop" multistakeholder program involving local government agencies, enterprises, universities, and farmers. The program was shown to be much more effective than the traditional extension methods applied at the STB, yielding substantial environmental and economic benefits. Our study contributes an important case study for technology scale-up for smallholder agriculture. The STB 2.0 platform being explored emphasizes equal dialogue with farmers, multistakeholder collaboration, and long-term investment. These lessons may provide value for the global smallholder research and practitioners. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although China has achieved great advancements toward national food security, the country is still confronted with a range of challenges, including natural resource stress, imbalanced diets and environmental pollution. Optimized management of crop-livestock systems is the key measure to realize agricultural green transformation. However, optimized management of crop-livestock systems that use multi-objective zoning is lacking. This study employed a multi-objective zoning management approach to comprehensively analyze four indicators: ammonia volatilization, nitrogen surplus, soil carrying capacity and ecological red line area. With its significant ecological integrity and a strong emphasis on sustainability, the Baiyangdian Basin serves as a unique and suitable test case for conducting analyses on multi-objective nutrient optimization management, with the aim to facilitate the agricultural green transformation. This study finds that less than 8% of the area in the Baiyangdian Basin meet the acceptable environmental indicator standard, whereas around 50% of the area that had both nitrogen surplus and ammonia volatilization exceeded the threshold. Implementation of unified management, that is, the same management technique across the study areas, could result in an increase of areas meeting environmental indicator thresholds to 21.1%. This project developed a novel multi-indicator partition optimization method, in which distinct measures are tailored for different areas to satisfy multiple environmental indicators. Implementation of this method, could potentially bring more than 50% area below the threshold, and areas with ammonia emissions and nitrogen surplus could be reduced to 15.8%. The multi-indicators partition optimization method represents a more advanced and efficiency-oriented management approach when compared to unified management. This approach could be regarded as the best available option to help China achieve agricultural transformation to improve efficient production and reduce environmental pollution. It is recommended that current policies aimed at nutrient management toward sustainable agricultural development should shift toward the application of multi-indicators partition optimization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A recent UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) analysis indicated a significant regression in the global SDG goal scores, particularly in SDG 2--Zero Hunger. The emissions of environmental pollution caused by meeting food demands have prompted some countries to intensify their climate change mitigation efforts. These circumstances have introduced significant uncertainty to the future global sustainable food development. Additionally, a notable global challenge is the persistence of hidden hunger, primarily characterized by the insufficient consumption of high-quality animal protein. Addressing this issue would necessitate increased environmental costs to attain high-quality food security. The future food system presents a significant challenge in coordinating food security, food quality and environmental quality. This article presents a comprehensive review and proposes a three-step strategy for future agricultural development based on food security, quality, and environmental aspects. This is a novel food system transfer strategy, as it concurrently addresses both global food security and environmental thresholds. It involves the construction of an efficient food system that operates within the constraints of environmental limits. The objective is to align with global SDG indicators and to maintain natural resource consumption and pollutant emissions within planetary boundaries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nitrogen (N) is an essential nutrient for food production. The rapid increase in population requires high inputs of N to meet the growing food demand. If not managed well, the substantial loss of N from the food system has multiple impacts on grain yield, air and water pollution, and the economic benefits of agricultural. Multi-objective (food security, environmental sustainability and economic sustainability) synergistic consideration of N management in the food system is still lacking. This study employed strategies for optimizing N management in the food system, using Quzhou County as a typical example on the North China Plain. Firstly, a food chain approach was adopted to understand drivers and reasons behind N losses from the food system. Secondly, a top-down approach was used to define multi-objective N management, taking into consideration food security, environmental sustainability and economic sustainability. Multi-objective N management aims to reduce N losses to the environment and increase N use efficiencies, while simultaneously increasing yields and economic benefits. Thirdly, 3R (reduce-retain-recycle) N management strategies were identified for specific crops and animals through a bottom-up approach and then analyzed the potential of these strategies to achieve the multi-objectives. Finally, there is a discussion of how to engage different stakeholders to promote the technologies implementation. This study provides new insights into the synergistic achievement of multi-objective N management in the food system and the development of environmentally-friendly agriculture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This review addresses the growing disparity between the current state of fertilizer production in China and the evolving demands of green agriculture in the 21st century. It explores major advances in fertilizers, proposes the concept of green intelligent fertilizers and develops new strategies aligned with the principles of green development in fertilizer industry and agriculture. Green intelligent fertilizers may be designed to maximize the synergistic effects among plants, soils, microorganisms, nutrient sources and the environment. This concept emphasizes the integration of industry and agriculture toward green development for entire industry chain, using an interdisciplinary approach to drive the green transformation of fertilizer industry, and promote green and sustainable development of agriculture. By bridging the gap between the current state of fertilizer industry and a growing need for environmentally responsible agricultural practices, this review highlights a path toward harmonizing fertilizer production with the imperatives of green agriculture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While agricultural green development (AGD) is highly recognized and has become a national strategy in China, it is imperative to bridge the knowledge gaps between AGD and the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and to evaluate the contribution of AGD to meeting the SDGs. The first aim of this study was to compare the AGD goals and indicators with those of the SDGs so as to identify their relationship. The next aim was to examine the historical evolution of AGD indicators and analyze the gaps between the current status of various indicators and their benchmarks. Limiting factors were identified in China's transition toward AGD. These findings reveal that the indicators of AGD align with those of the SDGs, but have greater specificity to the context in China and are more quantifiable. There has been a significant increase per capita calorie and protein intakes in China, as well as a notable rise in agricultural output per unit of arable land and rural incomes from 1980 to the 2010s. However, these achievements have been accompanied by a high resource use and environmental pollution, highlighting the need for a more sustainable, environmentally responsible agriculture in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pollution of high-altitude lake basins by agriculture and rural activities, and the control of this pollution, have received increasing attention from academic research and government policy in China. Series of restrictions and regulations have been implemented to protect the surface water quality. These restrictions and regulations have greatly impacted and transformed the agricultural systems and rural livelihoods surrounding these lake basins. Using Erhai Lake basin in Yunnan Province as a case study, three main challenges were identified for concurrently decreasing pollution in the lake and increasing farmer income. It is contended that scientifically-sound environmental protection policies and agricultural green development practices are key to reversing the current situation. This will help to protect the lake from pollution while smallholder farmers will be able to produce healthy food in an environmentally sustainable manner, and with a fair remuneration for all the services farmers provide to the society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]