Search

Interception is one of the most underestimated processes in hydrological cycle in arid and semiarid regions. In Qilian Mountains of northwestern arid and semiarid China, the Qinghai spruce (Picea crassifolia) forest plays an important role in the hydrological cycle of the inland Heihe River basin. The historical disturbance of Qinghai spruce forest has resulted in various ecological problems. In order to realize the sustainable development of Heihe River basin, the Chinese government implemented restoration practices for Qinghai spruce in the past three decades. In this study, we estimated the rainfall interception in the actual and potential distribution of Qinghai spruce forest. Some of the important findings include: (1) The interception ratio of rainfall events ranged from 11-51% with a mean value of 27.02%; (2) Totally, 147 Mt of rainfall is intercepted by canopy of actual Qinghai spruce forest, in the projected potential distribution of the forest, totally 407 Mt of rainfall will be intercepted.

The impact of changing climate on vegetation in dryland is a prominent focus of global research. As a typical arid region in the world, Central Asia is an ideal area for studying the associations between climate and arid-area vegetation. Utilizing data from the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts fifth-generation reanalysis (ECMWF ERA-5) and normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) datasets, this study investigates the spatio-temporal variation characteristics of the NDVI in Central Asia. It quantitatively assesses the contribution rates of climatic factors to vegetation changes and elucidates the impact of an increased vapor pressure deficit (VPD) on vegetation changes in Central Asia. The results indicate that the growing seasons' NDVI exhibited a substantial increase in Central Asia during 1982–2015. Specifically, there was a pronounced "greening" process (0.012/10 yr, p < 0.05) from 1982 to 1998. However, an insignificant "browning" trend was observed after 1998. Spatially, the vegetation NDVI in the growing seasons exhibited a pattern of "greening in the east and browning in the west" of Central Asia. During spring, the dominant theme was the "greening" of vegetation NDVI, although there was noticeable "browning" observed in southwest region of Central Asia. During summer, the "browning" of vegetation NDVI further expanded eastward and impacted the entire western Central Asia in autumn. According to the estimated results computed via the partial differential equation method, the "browning" trend of vegetation NDVI during the growing seasons was guided by increased VPD and decreased rainfall in western Central Asia. Specifically, the increased VPD contributed 52.3% to the observed vegetation NDVI. Atmospheric drought depicted by the increase in VPD significantly lowers the "greening" trend of vegetation NDVI in arid regions, which further aggravates the "browning" trend of vegetation NDVI. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To study the distribution and drug resistance of pathogens in urinary tract infections(UTI), and to provide evidence for rational treatment of the disease. Methods: The results of bacterial culture from morning clean-catch mid-streamurinein the patients with UIT during July 2016 to June 2020 were retrospectively analyzed to determine the distribution and drug resistance of pathogens. Result A total of 3 543 specimens were collected, 810 strains of pathogens were isolated, and the positive rate was 22.9%, including 558 strains of Gram-negative bacteria (68.9%), 113 strains of Gram-positive cocci (14.0%), 128 strains of Mycoplasma(15.8%), 11 strains of fungi(1.4%). The majority of bacteria strains were Escherichia coli (337 strains, 41.6%) and Klebsiella pneumoniae (67 strains, 8.3%). Ureaplasma urealyticum(UU) accounted for 10.6% (86 strains) inisolated mycoplasma. Escherichia coli and Proteusisolates were sensitive to aminoglycoside and carbapenem antibiotics and the resistant rates were lower than 5%; Klebsiella pneumoniae was resistant to ceftriaxone and levofloxacin and its′ resistant rates were 58.3% and 55.2%, respectively.All Enterococci strains were resistant to penicillin, ampicillin, gentamicin, and levofloxacin, which had higher resistance rates than those in Enterococcus faecalis; Enterococcus faecalis had high resistant rates to levofloxacin and moxifloxacin(73.3% and 64.4%, respectively). Staphylococcus aureus and Enterococcus were sensitive to sulfonamides, glycopeptides and common broad-spectrum antibiotics, and the resistant rates were lower than 5%. The drug resistant rate of UU to ciprofloxacin was 69.9%, and UU was sensitive to both minocycline and doxycycline. Conclusions: The majority of pathogens isolated from UTI patients in Zhoupu District of Shanghai is Gram-negative bacilli, which shows different degree of resistance to common antibiotics. Therefore, the regular monitoring of UTI pathogenic bacteria is important to determine how to choose antibiotics in clinical practice.

Green credit policy, as an environmental regulation instrument in the financial sector, is gradually having an impact on corporate performance in environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG). Based on the implementation of the Green Credit Guidelines policy, this paper investigates the impact of green credit policies on corporate ESG performance from 2011 to 2019 using the double‐difference propensity score matching method (PSM‐DID) and the Heckman two‐stage method, using a sample of A‐share listed companies. It was found that the implementation of the Green Credit Guidelines effectively improved the ESG performance of firms in green credit‐restricted industries relative to non‐green credit‐restricted industries. It is further found that this is mainly due to the increased green focus of corporate executives, while the incremental effect of green credit policies on corporate ESG performance is further strengthened by the increased quality and quantity of corporate green technology innovation. Finally, heterogeneity analysis reveals that the boosting effect of green credit policy on ESG performance of enterprises in green credit‐restricted industries is more prominent in the sample of enterprises with more analyst attention, less financially developed regions and private ones. How to leverage the green credit policy dividend to enhance the ESG performance of enterprises, further refine, and improve the green credit policy to help enterprises' sustainable development are the most direct policy implications of this paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The corrosion behavior and mechanism of nickel slag on semi‐rebonded magnesia‐chrome brick are investigated. The variations in the specimens before and after corrosion were studied using microstructure, phase composition, and thermodynamic simulations. The results reveal that at high temperatures, the metal oxides in nickel slag easily react with Cr2O3 to generate Cr‐spinel, and the isolation layer forms a continuous phase on the surface of the refractory. The appearance of the isolation layer causes the nickel slag corrosion process on semi‐rebonded magnesia‐chrome brick to shift from direct to indirect corrosion controlled by ion diffusion, effectively blocking the continuous penetration of Ca2+ and Si4+ in the slag inside the refractories. As a result, the semi‐rebonded magnesia‐chrome brick resists nickel slag corrosion extremely well. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the context of climate change and rapid urbanization, there have been unparalleled changes in land use and land cover (LULC), resulting in substantial impacts on the surrounding habitat quality (HQ), particularly in ecologically vulnerable arid regions. However, previous studies on the influencing mechanisms of HQ in arid urban agglomerations and future multi‐scenario simulations remain limited. To fill this knowledge gap, this study aimed to reveal the influencing mechanisms in HQ changes and to develop a multi‐scenario HQ assessment framework within arid urban agglomerations. We assessed the spatiotemporal variations in HQ using the InVEST model and three periods of LULC data for the urban agglomeration on the northern slope of the Tianshan Mountains (UANSTM), and the partial least squares structural equation model was introduced to explore the interactions between natural and non‐natural factors and their impacts on HQ. Additionally, we coupled multi‐objective programming and PLUS models to predict the LULC under different optimization scenarios (natural development scenario (NDS), ecological protection scenario (EPS), ecological–economic coordinated scenario, and economic development scenario) for the UANSTM in 2030, and to assess HQ. Results show that (1) the HQ index of the UANSTM was 0.507, 0.520, and 0.495 in 2000, 2010, and 2020 respectively, with a spatial distribution pattern of high values in the west, low values in the east, and high in the central and low in the north and south; (2) geomorphic, climatic, and LULC factors have direct positive effects on HQ, while socio‐economic factors have a direct negative effect on HQ. In addition, geomorphic, socio‐economic, and climatic factors also influence HQ through potential indirect paths. Climatic and LULC factors enhance the positive effect of geomorphic on HQ while counteracting the direct negative effect of socio‐economic factors on HQ. Climatic factors have the largest negative effect on HQ through their influence on LULC; (3) according to the four scenarios in 2030, the highest HQ index (increased by 0.13%) was found under the EPS, which also aligns more closely with SDGs. Conversely, NDS showed the lowest HQ index (declined by 2.59%). The research results could provide a scientific basis for promoting sustainable land management and ecological conservation for the UANSTM. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The ecosystem service value (ESV) is an important basis for measuring an ecological environment's quality and the efficient management of ecosystems. It is particularly necessary to explore a proven methodology for assessing and predicting ESV dynamics coupled with policy-oriented scenarios that can provide a theoretical groundwork for macro decision, particularly in the context of implementing ecological protection and restoration projects. This study selected the land cover (LC) of Sichuan Province at five periods and the spatiotemporal dynamic equivalent factor method to assess the ESVs from 2000 to 2020. Additionally, the study coupled the Markov chain and GeoSOS-FLUS model, and predicted the future pattern of ESVs under four future development scenarios. The results show that (a) the areas of forests, shrubs, waters, wastelands, wetlands, and impervious areas showed a continuous increase from 2000 to 2020, with the most frequent interchanges occurring among croplands, forests, and grasslands. (b) The implementation of ecological protection and restoration projects led to a 13,083.32 × 108 yuan increase in ESV, and barycenter of the ESVs is located in the northeastern part of Ya'an and exhibits a tendency to move towards the northeast. (c) The ESV aggregation pattern of each city has remained unchanged, with Ganzi being the only city with a high aggregation. Overall, there are more conflict cities than coordination cities between economic development and the ecological environment. (d) The total ESV in 2025 will continue to increase under all development scenarios, reaching a maximum of 50,903.37 × 108 yuan under the EP scenario. This study can provide insights for ecological planning decisions and sustainable regional socio-economic development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]