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Aim: Over the last century, lakes all over the world have experienced significant eutrophication and become more susceptible to critical transitions. This has prompted a growing need to understand how community dynamics shift following ecological perturbations. This study aims to elucidate the present status, spatial patterns and determinants of biological diversity, and how they have changed in response to alterations driven by eutrophication. Location: Lakes of East China, mostly in the Yangtze River Basin. Taxa: Bacillariophyceae (163 species in 33 genres, see taxa names in Appendix S1). Methods: The environmental conditions of over 60 lakes were assessed based on parameters such as water quality, physical characteristics and biogeochemical constituents. Surface sediment samples and high‐resolution sediment records were collected to quantify the biodiversity of diatom communities, and principal component analysis (PCA) was used to determine the major environmental gradients. Meanwhile, linear regression, canonical correlation analysis and Mantel tests were used to quantify the correlations between variables. Results: Biodiversity metrics showed no distinct geographic patterns, although areas near large lakes showed comparatively high evenness. Smaller pairwise dissimilarities were observed among hypereutrophic lakes in comparison to lakes with a lower trophic status. The past century has witnessed a decrease in both pairwise dissimilarity and the standard deviation of evenness. A significant statistical association was found between dissimilarity and ionic concentration and composition in the surface sediment of lakes, rather than nutrient levels. Main Conclusions: Following regional eutrophication and human disturbance, a significant reduction in biodiversity differentiation was observed in lakes located in East China. Currently, the dominant factor in determining the beta diversity of diatom communities is geochemical conditions rather than nutrient concentrations. Long‐term stress caused by cultural eutrophication may also have altered the dominant determinant of regional biodiversity and diatom community dynamics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: The widely observed positive response of productivity to biodiversity, known as the biodiversity‐productivity relationship (BPR), underpins nature‐based solutions for mitigating and adapting to global changes. Little is known of the role of such emergent processes in the restoration of damaged ecosystems. Here, we test for evidence of a BPR in degraded freshwater lakes, and its role in underpinning or undermining lake recovery from eutrophic states. Location: Lower Yangtze and Huaihe river basins, China, East Asia. Taxa: Freshwater phytoplankton; also macrophytes, fish, zooplankton and zoobenthos. Methods: A systematic review of biodiversity studies was conducted to enumerate freshwater biodiversity change during eutrophication, encompassing 572 samples from 155 lakes in East China. Empirical samples were then taken of 93 phytoplankton communities from 38 lakes in ecologically degraded states of eutrophication. Samples were analysed for niche overlap in relation to biodiversity and productivity, and metrics of network structure indicative of community stability. Results: Reviewed publications on eutrophication in East China lakes revealed losses in biodiversity of macrophytes, fishes, zooplankton and zoobenthos but not phytoplankton. Empirically sampled eutrophic lakes maintained high phytoplankton biodiversity through niche differentiation, and phytoplankton biodiversity correlated positively with biomass, in line with the expectations of BPR. Conclusions: The positive effect of biodiversity on phytoplankton productivity in eutrophic lakes acts in opposition to the negative impacts on productivity induced by eutrophication‐management strategies of nutrient suppression. In degraded systems, the BPR contributes to sustaining productivity of lake phytoplankton communities, impeding recovery from a eutrophic state. This is a case of the BPR playing an undesirable role at the ecosystem level. Lake recovery programmes need to anticipate that the control of phytoplankton biomass will depend on reducing nutrients to a level sufficient to degrade the internal structure of the phytoplankton community. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Clarifying the impact of livelihood interventions on the livelihood resilience of farmers in undeveloped mountain areas can not only optimize interventions, but also provide experiential support for global poverty alleviation. To analyze the impact of multiple livelihood interventions on livelihood resilience, we constructed an analytical framework and analyzed the enjoyment of livelihood interventions and the heterogeneity of livelihood resilience among out-of-poverty farmers in the Longnan mountain areas, China. Then, we studied the impact of intervention intensity on livelihood resilience through the multiple linear regression model. The results revealed that: 1) the livelihood interventions enjoyed by out-of-poverty farmer in mountain areas were multiple. The proportion of farmers enjoyed diversified livelihood interventions was in descending order of high mountain areas, semi-mountain area and Chuanba valley areas. 2) The overall livelihood resilience of farmers in Longnan mountain areas was generally low, with an average of 0.299. There were significant differences in the livelihood resilience of farmers across different geographic areas in the study area and types of interventions. 3) The effects of industry interventions, employment interventions and education interventions were significant. The endogenous power of farmers not only had a significant positive effect on livelihood resilience, but also positively moderated the impact of the intensity of interventions on livelihood resilience. In addition, the household dependency ratio and the average altitude of the village area had a significant negative impact on their livelihood resilience. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Some seriously weathered jades of Fubin culture were unearthed at the Moyishan site in Lingnan, South China. These long-buried jades have many secondary changes such as discoloration, microstructural change and chemical composition variation. To explore the formation mechanism of secondary changes, the microstructure, mineral components, and chemical content of the jade samples and their buried soil are analyzed separately. The jade with red-brown shell is preserved well and shows better structural stability, further research indicates that it's the result of surface complexation reactions. During the long-term burial in acidic soil environment, the jade wrapped in the negatively charged kaolinite which absorbed Fe3+ to complexed on the jade surface. Iron(ⅲ) precipitates causes the dense shell to appear red-brown. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article selects relevant data from 283 cities in China from 2000 to 2020 and verifies the impact of the establishment of free trade zones on human capital levels based on the asymptotic PSM-DID model. It is found that the establishment of FTZs can significantly contribute to the improvement of regional human capital levels, but the promotion effect has a certain lag. Finally, the article gives constructive suggestions based on the empirical results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rice black-streaked dwarf virus (RBSDV) is the main pathogen causing maize rough dwarf disease (MRDD) in China. Typical enation symptoms along the abaxial leaf veins prevail in RBSDV-infected maize inbred line B73 (susceptible to RBSDV), but not in X178 (resistant to RBSDV). Observation of the microstructures of epidermal cells and cross section of enations from RBSDV-infected maize leaves found that the increase of epidermal cell and phloem cell numbers is associated with enation formation. To identify proteins associated with enation formation and candidate proteins against RBSDV infection, comparative proteomics between B73 and X178 plants were conducted using isobaric tags for relative and absolute quantitation (iTRAQ) with leaf samples at the enation forming stage. The proteomics data showed that 260 and 316 differentially expressed proteins (DEPs) were identified in B73 and X178, respectively. We found that the majority of DEPs are located in the chloroplast and cytoplasm. Moreover, RBSDV infection resulted in dramatic changes of DEPs enriched by the metabolic process, response to stress and the biosynthetic process. Strikingly, a cell number regulator 10 was significantly down-regulated in RBSDV-infected B73 plants. Altogether, these data will provide value information for future studies to analyze molecular events during both enation formation and resistance mechanism to RBSDV infection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Grey mould, caused by Botrytis cinerea, is an increasingly destructive disease of ginseng (Panax ginseng) in China. However, the extent of variation in the morphological characteristics of fungal colonies, genetic background and pathogenicity of different strains of this pathogen remains unknown. In this study, we isolated and identified 102 isolates of B. cinerea from ginseng. Among these, the sclerotial phenotype was dominant, followed by the mycelial and conidial phenotypes, with the proportion of each phenotype in the pathogen population showing no obvious variance across three provinces. Isolates were separated into three groups with differing pathogenicity, based on the diameter of the lesions they caused in pathogenicity tests; moderate-pathogenicity isolates were dominant, followed by strong- and weak-pathogenicity isolates. Variation was observed in the pathogenicity of isolates from three provinces. The Nei's genetic diversity index and the Shannon's information index of isolates from Jilin province was highest, followed by those from Liaoning, while isolates from Heilongjiang displayed the lowest genetic diversity. Furthermore, most of the genetic variance was found within the geographically defined B. cinerea populations; the low-genetic variance among populations was probably counteracted by gene flow. Results from this study provide a base understanding of genetic and pathogenic variation in B. cinerea populations from the main ginseng-growing regions of China, which will be helpful for further research and control of grey mould of ginseng. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the rapid development of high-speed rail in China, addressing the issue of safety assurance during the operation of the train is very important. A very important part of a train's power supply system is the pantograph and catenary system, which consists of a pantograph and a catenary. Failure of the pantograph-catenary system can cause significant damage to the normal operation of the train. The dynamic performance of the pantograph-catheter system must be detected in real time during the operation of the train. This paper is based on the study and analysis of pantograph-catheter dynamic performance parameters and developed a system for real-time detection of pantograph-catheter dynamic performance parameters based on a car visual system. The results are as follows: based on this detection method, the visual error is low and the accuracy is high. The machine-based directional height detection module developed in this paper has a good detection effect and high test accuracy; the arcing detection module designed in this paper can effectively detect the arcing and store the arcing pictures and can display the duration of single arcing and the arcing rate of the section in real-time. The practical application effect is good. The results show that the focal length of the camera lens is 16 mm, and the error of the machine vision system is low. The system designed in this paper may make a great contribution to the operation condition monitoring and fault diagnosis of the pantograph-catenary system of a high-speed train in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The price of photovoltaics (PV) has been steadily decreasing over the last decade, and many reports suggest that PV has become considerably cheaper than conventional electricity sources. In this paper, we critically evaluate the PV grid parity and use China as a case study. China is an interesting case study due to the wealth of data combined with the recent decrease in financial subsidies. Electricity costs are commonly compared in the literature using levelized costs of electricity (LCOE). However traditional LCOE analyses neglect important cost factors that are specific to PV, in particular the cost of grid integration. Here, we demonstrate that system LCOE calculation more accurately estimates the grid parity of PV. We find that the integration costs account for 15% of the total system costs, which cannot be neglected with the higher penetration of PV in the electricity system. Further, provincial grid parity indexes are greater than 1, indicating that the grid parity from a system LCOE perspective has not yet been achieved. The learning rate of Chinese PV is still relatively small, and we estimate that grid parity for PV in China will be achieved between 2020 and 2032, depending on the region. These findings shed new light on assessing grid parity of PV systems by considering relevant local parameters and thereby offer an assessment method framework and prediction modeling for assessing grid parity of PV installations. • This paper assesses PV's commercial feasibility in the current electricity market. • Grid parity is estimated using a new approach of system LCOE and learning curve. • The impacts of system LCOE and electricity price on grid parity are investigated. • The additional grid integration costs amount for 15% of total PV system costs. • Grid parity from a system LCOE perspective will be achieved between 2020 and 2032. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: Corn stover is an important agricultural byproduct, and represents an animal feedstuff. Waxy corn is harvested at milk stage or dough stage (20 d difference in harvest time) to meet the market demand for fresh corn and ripe corn in China, resulting in plenty of byproducts of corn stover after fresh- (CF) or ripe-corn (CR) harvested. This study was conducted to investigate the digestibility and rumen fermentation of these two corn stover silages in growing beef cattle. We observed that CR silage had greater dry matter and fiber contents, but with similar substrate degradation through in vitro ruminal fermentation in comparison with the CF silage. Further feeding trials indicated that feeding a CR diet (i.e., replaced 50% forage of CF silage with CR silage on a dry matter basis) increased feed intake and decreased fiber digestibility with reduction in the abundance of ruminal fiber degraders, together with similar growth performance in beef cattle, when comparing with CF diet. Both waxy corn stover after fresh- (CF) and ripe-corn (CR) harvested are important byproducts of corn cropping system and have 20 d difference in harvest time. The study aimed to investigate the effects of prolonging harvest time on the nutritive value of corn stover silage by comparing CF with CR silages. In vitro ruminal experiment was firstly performed to investigate substrate degradation and fermentation of CF and CR silages. The CR diet was formulated by replacing 50% forage of CF silage with CR silage on a dry matter (DM) basis. Fourteen crossbred steers (Simmental × Limousin × local Chinese) aged 13 months with an average weight of 318.1 ± 37.1 kg were selected and randomly allocated into two dietary treatment groups. Although the CR silage had greater DM and fiber contents than CF silage, it did not alter in vitro degradation (p > 0.05), but with lower molar percentage of propionate and acetate to propionate ratio (p < 0.05). The cattle fed CR diet had a higher DM intake and lower fiber digestibility with reduction in 18S rRNA gene copies of protozoa and fungi and 16S rRNA gene copies of Fibrobacter succinogenes (p < 0.05). Further 16S rRNA gene amplicon analysis indicated a similar diversity of bacteria community between CR and CF treatments (p > 0.05). Few differences were observed in the abundance of genera larger than 1% (p > 0.05), except for the reduction in abundance of genera Ruminococcaceae_NK4A214_group in CR treatment (p < 0.05). In summary, prolonging 20 d harvest time of corn stover silage increases the forage fiber and DM content, which promotes feed intake with decreased fiber degradation, although rumen fermentation and growth performance are not changed in growing beef cattle. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: To determine the level of critical cultural competence (CCC) among Chinese clinical nurses and explore its influencing factors. Background: Previous research has only focused on the theoretical model of CCC and the development of assessment tools; however, no large‐scale study has been conducted on the level of clinical nurses' CCC and its influencing factors. Method: Clinical nurses in 14 Level A tertiary hospitals (n = 3858) were surveyed using Almutairi's critical cultural competence scale (CCCS). Descriptive, univariate and multivariate analyses were performed. Results: The mean score of CCC was 4.44 (SD = 0.33). Critical empowerment (M = 4.85, SD = 0.58) and critical awareness (M = 3.57, SD = 0.99) had the highest and lowest scores, respectively. Female nurses, nurses in the nursing department and nurses with higher positions had higher CCC. Conclusion: The CCC of clinical nurses can be strengthened through targeted training, especially considering the fact that male and low‐ranking nurses who had the lower level of CCC work in different departments. Implications for Nursing Management: Hospital administrators should pay attention to the importance of culture and cultural differences among different countries or ethnic groups. Creating an equal and fair nursing environment and encouraging nurses to provide critical cultural nursing is important. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Astroviruses (AstVs) are among the most important viruses causing diarrhea in human infants and many animals, posing a threat to public health safety and a burden on the economy. Five porcine AstV (PAstV) genotypes have been identified in various countries, including China. However, the epidemiology of PAstV in Yunnan province, China, remains unknown. In this study, 489 fecal samples from pigs in all 16 prefectures/cities of Yunnan were collected between April and August of 2020 for epidemiological investigation. The total infection rate of PAstV-2 or PAstV-5 was 39.9%, with suckling piglets having the highest infection rate (62.3%). The ORF2 genes of seven PAstV-2 and 10 PAstV-5 isolates were sequenced and phylogenetically analyzed. In addition to coinfections with PAstV-2 and PAstV-5, coinfections of PAstV with other diarrhea-inducing viruses (e.g., porcine bocavirus) were also discovered. A comparison of ORF2-encoded capsid protein sequences revealed that there were multiple insertions and deletions in the seven Yunnan PAstV-2 sequences, while point mutations, but no deletions or insertions, were found in the 10 Yunnan PAstV-5 sequences, which were very similar to the reference sequences. This is the first epidemiological investigation and genetic characterization of PAstV-2 and PAstV-5 in Yunnan province, China, demonstrating the current PAstV infection situation in Yunnan. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The extremal spatial dependence of significant wave height (H S) in the South China Sea (SCS) is discussed by combining altimeter observations of ocean satellites and ERA5 reanalysis dataset from the period 2011–2023. A spatial conditional extremes (SCE) model allowing different classes of extremal dependence is established, which uses a reliable Markov chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) scheme to realize the parameter inference. In this work, four transects are selected in the northern South China Sea (NSCS) and the central South China Sea (CSCS) respectively, which are approximately southwest-northeast (SW-NE) and northwest-southeast (NW-SE), and the H S data is transformed to the standard Laplace scale. The model fitting results show that the extremal dependence characteristics of different regions and directions in the SCS are different. The mean dependence of H S in NSCS decays faster than in CSCS, and the mean dependence on NW-SE transects decays faster than SW-NE transects. In general, the SW-NE transect in CSCS is observed a longer-range extremal dependence, which is potentially related to the storm direction in the SCS. • Simultaneous events of extreme oceans at multiple locations often have greater risks. • Important to analyze the spatial dependence of extreme wave height. • Satellite altimeter (HY-2) and ERA5 reanalysis dataset incorporated. • Spatial conditional extremes model used to quantify extremal spatial dependence of the effective wave heights for four transects in the South China Sea. • Extreme wave height shows greater extremal dependence from southwest to northeast than from northwest to southeast in the central South China Sea. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Understanding social-ecological interactions is a major research priority for sustainable management. However, the scarcity in multi-decadal records represents a big gap in information that hinders the development of above research. In this paper, we propose a framework to explore the long-term dynamic mechanisms between social and ecological systems, and present a case study in the Erhai basin, southwest China. Using paleolimnological proxies to reconstruct the long-term trends of ecological changes, the social-ecological system (SES) framework links the variations of ecosystem services (ESs) and ecosystem functions with social policies. According to the results of the Erhai basin, there were increasing social demands and wanted provisioning ESs but degraded ecosystem functions over the last 70 years. Typically, the introduction of four major Chinese carps since the 1950s, the construction of hydropower stations on the Xi'er river since the 1970s, and the development of tourism since the 1990s, have been implemented to meet the social demands for wanted fish provisioning, hydroelectricity provisioning, and culture services respectively. Although there were temporary benefits in above desired services, improper strategies have gradually impaired the functions of native fish diversity, hydrodynamic forces, and nutrient cycling. Degraded ecosystem functions threatened the sustainable provision of wanted ESs, which motivated the implementation of subsequent social policies, such as the fishing ban after the 1950s, water level control after the 1970s and restoration projects after the 1990s. By rounds of renewed social drivers/policies, the social system and ecosystem in the Erhai basin are tightly connected in the form of a feedback loop in the SES, rendering dynamic changes in wanted ESs. The current social-ecological trap in the Erhai basin emphasizes the significance of SES framework and advantages of a paleolimnological approach in revealing the long-term SES dynamics, which can help tailor proper management measures in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Continuing care is needed for the growing number of chronically ill patients who struggle with health problems after discharge. This study aims to elucidate the development process, functionalities, service protocols, and utilization of an Internet Plus Care (IPC) platform devised by our hospital to offer healthcare services to discharged patients. Methods: This was a mixed study. After describing the development process, function and usage of IPC platform, we retrospectively collect data such as the general information of service recipients and service providers, service items, and service prices through the IPC platform from January 2021 to September 2023 to characterize these services. Results: 69 nurses delivered a total of 788 services to 211 patients through the IPC platform. The majority of services (N = 652, 82.7%) were delivered offline, with almost half of the recipients (N = 384, 48.7%) being elderly individuals. 46.4% of nurses provided services ≥ 3 times. Furthermore, 26.5% of patients received services three or more times. Notably, patients' care requirements exhibited variations across age groups, with wound care (n = 243, 63.3%), pressure injuries care (n = 50, 13.0%), and replacement of indwelling nasogastric tubes (n = 20, 5.2%) emerging as the top three services favored by the elderly. Conclusions: The IPC platform demonstrates potential in delivering diverse health services to patients; however, the involvement of nurses and patients needs to be enhanced. It is necessary to implement relevant safeguard policies to promote the effective use of IPC platform for health management of discharged patients in the future. What does this paper contribute to the wider global clinical community?: The prevalence of chronic diseases is on the rise, and patients with chronic diseases continue to struggle with health problems after discharge and require extended treatment and rehabilitation. Our study proves that IPC platform presents a promising avenue for addressing these challenges. It is anticipated that governmental authorities will undertake comprehensive policy, legislative, and medical insurance reforms to facilitate the extensive adoption of IPC platform-based services. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Surgery, as one of the main diagnostic and treatment methods, is a routine work in medical settings. Patients undergoing surgery often experience acute procedure anxiety due to uncertainty. There is ample evidence showing that uncertainty is a risk factor for the acute procedure anxiety in surgical patients. However, little is known about the psychological processes mediating this relationship. Therefore, this study aims to evaluate resilience as a mediator of the association between uncertainty and anxiety. Methods: A population-based cross-sectional survey with a convenience sampling method was conducted, involving 243 surgical patients in Jiaxing, Zhejiang province of China was carried out. Relevant data were collected by self-reporting questionnaires, including demographic characteristics questionnaire, Amsterdam Preoperative Anxiety and Information Scale (APAIS-C), Mishel's Illness Uncertainty Scale (MUIS), Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC). Pearson correlation analysis was employed to examine correlations between various variables. A path model was used to assess the mediation effect of resilience with respect to uncertainty and acute procedure anxiety. Results: In the path model, uncertainty have an indirect effect on acute procedure anxiety through resilience. The results suggest that resilience has a mediating role in uncertainty and acute procedure anxiety among surgical patients. Conclusions: These findings call for the development of interventions targeting the role of resilience in effectively predicting and preventing acute procedure anxiety and uncertainty among surgical patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • Heterogeneity index(H) is a structural parameter describing the distribution of species associations. • H is proposed to unveil the species turnover in community in this paper. • Eight lakes exhibit a eutrophication trend with different degrees from the 1950s. • H , species richness, evenness and Jaccard index respond differently to eutrophication. • H can serve as a complementary biodiversity metric to quantify functional diversity. Anthropogenic eutrophication in aquatic ecosystems has had significant negative effects on biodiversity and human wellbeing. Improving our understanding of the ways in which biological communities respond to eutrophication underlies biodiversity conservation, and diversity metrics like species richness and evenness are often used to assess environmental impacts on biodiversity. However, such studies mainly consider overall gain and loss, ignoring species replacement in community succession. This paper combines paleolimnology and network science to propose a heterogeneity index (H) to measure community successions by linking long-term changes in community structure with environmental stress. Eight lakes of different types in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River Basin (MLYB) were selected, and we focused on diatom communities to reconstruct their ecological trajectories after significant anthropogenic impact. The combined results suggested that human impacts have caused eutrophication in each lake since the 1950s, but led to different degrees of impact on the diatom communities. In hypereutrophic lakes, diatom assemblages shifted to high-nutrient tolerance and the proportions of epiphytic-benthic species decreased, while in mildly eutrophic lakes, a switch to mild-nutrient tolerant assemblages occurred in planktonic and epiphytic-benthic species with no change in epiphytic-benthic proportions. The H of diatom communities declined in hypereutrophic lakes, but changed little in mildly eutrophic lakes after the 1950s. Meanwhile, no regular changes in diversity indicators such as richness, evenness and the Jaccard-index occurred with lake eutrophication. The ordered species turnover in nutrient-enriched diatom communities may account for the discrepancies in H and the above indices, such as ordered epiphytic-benthic species being replaced by higher nutrient-tolerant and planktonic species with no necessarily attendant reduction in species richness. By quantifying the alteration of species associations without being influenced by species diversity, the H index effectively reveals the succession of diatom communities, and can therefore serve as a complementary indicator of biodiversity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To protect the limited forest resources, forestry soils for Panax ginseng cultivation is gradually replaced by farmland, but the extent to which soil type and cultivation age affects soil microbiome in the ginseng rhizosphere is not well known. By using Illumina MiSeq sequencing of the 16S and ITS2 rRNA genes, we tested the effects of two soil types (forest, and farmland) and three cultivation ages (four, five, and six years) on soil microbiome in the ginseng rhizosphere from nine locations in Jilin Province, China. Relative abundance and diversity of rhizosphere microbes differed among soil samples, and Ascomycota, Acidobacteria, Proteobacteria, Actinobacteria and Chloroflexi were the dominant phyla. Soil type positively influenced fungal community, while cultivation age had more positive effect on bacterial than on fungal community. Richness and diversity of fungal community was greater in forest than in farmland soils, while these parameters for bacterial communities were lower in forest than in farmland soils. A deterioration of soil fertility and continuous cultivation increased the proportion of pathogens such as Fusarium , Cylindrocarpon , but reduced the proportion of beneficial and neutral fungi and bacteria. The observed changes in soil properties (pH, organic matter, total nitrogen, total phosphorus, and total potassium) caused by soil type and cultivation age could be explained by the variations in the microbiome. A network analysis indicated that farmland and increasing cultivation age augmented the proportion of pathogens but diminished the proportion of beneficial and neutral fungi and bacteria. The present study showed that the rhizosphere microbiome differed between forest and farmland soils. Cultivation age had a stronger influence on bacterial than on fungal community. These findings suggested that soil microbiome dynamics may be a bioindicator of soil quality, and defining the microbial players involved in various cultivation ages will promote the selection and adoption of favorable ginseng cultivation lands. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

New Energy Vehicles (NEVs) exert great potential in reducing carbon emissions, improving air quality and reducing the dependence on petroleum products, and are also essential in realizing the social transformation toward a low-carbon society. Since public are the principal users and stakeholders of NEVs, it's vital to understand their acceptance of NEVs and discuss the influencing factors of public acceptance, so as to promote the development of NEVs. Based on the survey data of Gansu Province, this paper analyzes the public perception and acceptance of NEVs in underdeveloped regions, and explores main factors affecting their acceptance by adopting Structural Equation Model. The results show that the public acceptance of NEVs is relatively higher, with only 51.99% residents are willing to accept NEVs. And there are differences of public acceptance of NEVs among different groups. The acceptance of females, young and less educated public are relatively higher, decreases with aging and increases with education attainment. Perceived risk and perceived cost are significantly negative correlated with public acceptance of NEVs, while subjective norm and the quality of NEVs positively correlated with public acceptance. In addition, support policy is significantly positively correlated with perceived cost while perceived cost is positively corelated with perceived risk. Finally, this paper proposes countermeasures and suggestions on improving the public acceptance of NEVs in underdeveloped regions. • We conducted the NEVs acceptance of 1356 residents in Chinese underdeveloped regions. • 51.99% of the public in underdeveloped regions of China were willing to accept NEVs. • Perceived risk, perceived cost, and NEVs' quality are the key influencing factors. • Support policy, knowledge have significant indirect impact on acceptance of NEVs. • Enhancing subsidies and supporting facilities were effective ways. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the context of carbon neutrality, the paper uses Super Efficiency Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) to evaluate the level of regional energy efficiency in China, then selects Theil index to analyze the difference and change of regional energy efficiency. The results are as follows: (1) The overall level of energy efficiency in China is relatively low, and the average efficiency level from 2007 to 2019 is 0.568. Among them, Beijing is the highest, at 1.261, and Xinjiang is the lowest, at only 0.205. The energy efficiency of the eastern region is the highest in China: the average is 0.812. The central region is lower than the national average, with the value of 0.534. The lowest energy efficiency is in the western region, which is only 0.349. It can be seen that there are significant differences in regional energy efficiency, and from west to east has increased. (2) The Theil coefficient increased before 2012 and began to show a downward trend in 2013. The difference in the eastern region maintained the smallest downward trend among the three regions. The difference in the central region fluctuated and increased before 2011, and dropped sharply after 2012. In the western region, the coefficient is relatively stable and has not changed significantly. (3) Differences within and between regions in China show an overall downward trend. From the perspective of contribution rate, the difference between regions contributes the most to the overall difference. • We use super-efficiency DEA to measure China's regional energy efficiency. • We use Theil Index to illustrate regional differences in energy efficiency. • We have reached a conclusion that can provide a theoretical reference for policy making. • We compared the magnitude and trend of energy efficiency in various regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

From a global perspective, carbon emissions are a global problem that needs to be solved urgently. At present, 61% of countries have committed to achieving net zero emissions. Compared with industry and construction, the transportation sector has become the focus and challenge for countries to achieve carbon neutrality due to the characteristics of strong mobility, scattered emission sources, and complex social behaviors. Therefore, the issue of carbon emissions in the transportation industry has become the focus of academic attention. This paper first calculates the carbon emission efficiency (CEE) of the regional transportation industry through the super-efficiency SBM model and then evaluates its regional differentiation characteristics through the Theil index, which has important practical significance for reducing regional carbon emissions. The results show that the national transportation CEE average value is 0.612, a relatively low level. The spatial distribution of China's transportation CEE shows an obvious characteristic of "east highest and west lowest". The regional differences in the transportation industry CEE are larger than those between regions. The differences in the transportation industry CEE among the eastern, central, and western regions are on the downward trend as a whole, and intra-regional differences are greater than inter-regional. The intra-regional differences cause the overall differences in transportation industry CEE; the eastern region contributed the most to the Theil index, while the central contributed the least. The biggest factor affecting the transportation industry CEE is the regional energy structure, and the smallest factor is the per capita GDP. This research has important reference significance on the target of carbon neutrality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Urban villages represent informal residential areas emerging since China's rapid urbanization process. Scientific map generalization of urban villages with scientific maps aids readers in discerning their distribution and making informed decisions concerning them. However, there is still a scarcity of research on the automatic extraction and generalization of urban villages from vector data, which needs to be studied to further improve the expression of maps. To address this problem, this paper presents a methodology for the extraction and generalization of urban villages from Digital Line Graphics. Firstly, a heuristic approach is employed to analyze the atypical morphological characteristics of urban villages. Then, indices based on computational geometry and the modified Hausdorff distance are utilized to quantify these traits. Lastly, an automatic generalization principle for urban villages is offered. The approach was tested in experimental blocks and proved to be effective. It offers a novel method for the automatic extraction and cartography of urban villages. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The pharmacokinetic (PK) characteristics of drugs were altered under high‐altitude hypoxia. We aim to describe the population PK of atorvastatin (ATV) to identify patient characteristics that are predictive of variability in the PK parameters of the ATV and investigate the effects of high‐altitude hypoxia on the blood concentration of ATV in patients with hyperlipidemia. A total of 160 plasma concentrations were collected from 40 patients with hyperlipidemia in plateau areas and 40 in plain areas. The population pharmacokinetic model of patients with hyperlipidemia in plateau and plain areas of China was established by a nonlinear mixed‐effects model. The PK of ATV were described by a 1‐compartment model with first‐order elimination. The main PK parameters of ATV were the first‐order absorption rate (0.76 hour−1 fixed); clearance (174.22 L/h) and apparent volume of distribution (1119.62 L). The values of area and age were identified as significant covariates for the clearance, area, age, and urea for the volume of distribution. The steady‐state peak concentration in the plateau area was higher than that in the plain area. This study may suggest dose reduction is necessary for patients with hyperlipidemia in high altitudes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: The proportion of older people with dementia in China is gradually increasing with the increase in the aging population over recent years. Hypertension and diabetes are common non‐communicable diseases among rural populations in China. However, it remains unclear whether these conditions affect the occurrence and development of cognitive impairment as there is limited research on cognitive status and its risk factors among residents of rural areas. Methods: A multi‐stage stratified cluster random sampling method was used to select 5400 participants from rural permanent residents. A self‐designed structured questionnaire was used to investigate demographic data of the participants. Cognitive function was assessed using the Montreal Cognitive Function Assessment Scale (MoCA). The results were analyzed using chi‐square test, ANOVA and multiple linear regression analysis. Results: A total of 5028 participants returned the survey, giving a response rate of 93.1%. Higher education (odds ratio (OR) = 3.2, 95% confidence interval (CI) 2.87–3.54, p < 0.001), higher income (OR = 1.61, 95% CI 1.16–2.07, p < 0.001), and dietary control (OR = 0.66, 95%CI 0.34–0.98, p < 0.001) were protective factors. A visual representation of the relationship between annual income and MoCA score showed an inverted U‐curve, the group with an annual income of 6000–7999 RMB had a maximum OR of 1.93 (95%CI 0.12–2.74, p < 0.001). While difficulty in maintaining sleep were risk factors for cognitive impairment (OR = −2.28, 95% CI–4.18–0.39, p = 0.018). Conclusions: Participants with middle incomes had better cognitive status than those with the highest incomes. Higher education, proper diet control and good sleep are beneficial to the cognitive status of residents in rural areas. Key points: Higher education level, higher income level and diet control are protective factors for the development of cognitive dysfunction.Cognitive dysfunction is more likely to occur in women and in people who have difficulty maintaining sleep.There were no significant differences in the demographic characteristics of patients with hypertension, diabetes, the combination of hypertension and diabetes, and healthy residents in low‐income rural areas.The cognitive status of middle‐income people is better than that of high‐income people than that of low‐income people, a visual representation of the relationship between annual income and MoCA score showed an inverted U‐curve. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Carbon markets are crucial to attaining sustainable development objectives given the pressing need to cut greenhouse gas emissions and combat climate change. China is a key player in the fight against climate change since the country emits the most greenhouse emissions globally. In light of China's carbon markets, this study evaluates the risks and mitigation strategies related to financing carbon credit projects. Fuzzy Analytical Hierarchy Process (FAHP) and Fuzzy Viekriterijumsko Kompromisno Rangiranj (FVIKOR) methodologies are used to assess carbon finacing risks and strategies for the growth of China's carbon market. The FAHP method evaluated carbon credit financing risks and sub-risks, while the FVIKOR method prioritized mitigation strategies. The findings of the FAHP method show that regulatory and policy risks, financial risks, and operational risks are the major risks in the Chinese carbon markets. To mitigate these risks, prioritizing strategies based on FVIKOR suggests that developing stakeholder relationships, financial stability, and transparency would be a practical approach to achieving efficient, productive, and sustainable carbon markets in China. The study provides practical policy implications for stakeholders involved in carbon credit financing and contributes to global climate change efforts by offering insights into carbon credit market risks and opportunities. • Assessing carbon credit financing risks and mitigation strategies for carbon markets. • The Fuzzy AHP and Fuzzy VIKOR methodology proposed. • Prioritizing six risks, twenty-four sub-risk, and five risk mitigation strategies. • Regulatory and policy reported to be most crucial carbon credit financing risk. • The stakeholder relationships considered to be most significant risk mitigation strategy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The existing researches for leaf area index (LAI)-based Penman–Monteith evapotranspiration (ET) model (PML) are mostly carried out at yearly scale and the analysis of effects of seasonal change and different underlying surface conditions on model parameters is scarce. This study emphasizes on the influences of seasonal change and diverse land surface conditions on ET by optimizing the sensitive parameters, namely soil evaporation coefficient f and maximum stomatal conductance gsx, with particle swarm algorithm. This analysis is based on the observations of eight flux stations in China. The model performance is reasonable with a best Pearson r of 0.87. The seasonal calibration results indicate parameters change evidently in different seasons and have obvious spatial heterogeneity. The seasonal calibration method has an obvious effect on improving the ET accuracy in spring, which is mostly influenced by regional temperature and relative humidity. This study further demonstrates the need to dynamically adjust model parameters over time with PML model for evapotranspiration simulations, rather than simply setting these parameters to constants depended on subsurface conditions such as land use type. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Carbon and water fluxes in ecosystems are tightly coupled by gas diffusion through stomata. However, carbon–water (C–W) relationships vary largely across time scales, vegetation types, and regions. Subtropical forests in China play an important role in the global carbon and water cycles, yet studies of C–W relationships in this region remain limited. Here, we investigated summer-time C–W relationships in this region at two subtropical sites: the evergreen broadleaved forest at Dinghushan (23.17° N, 112.53° E, 300 m) and the evergreen coniferous forest at Qianyanzhou (26.74° N, 115.06° W, 106 m), using the flux tower data from the FLUXNET2015. The C–W relationship was examined using two measures. The first was daily water use efficiency (WUE), which is the ratio of daily gross primary productivity (GPP) to evapotranspiration (ET). The second was the correlation coefficient (r) of hourly GPP and ET. Our analysis showed that the daily WUE in the two forests ranged over 4–14 mg CO2 per g H2O, higher in the coniferous forest than in the broadleaved forest. The mean values of r for hourly C–W coupling were similar at the two forests, being 0.5–0.6, which suggests asynchronous diurnal variations in GPP and ET. Both daily WUE and r were modulated by meteorological conditions. In general, high radiation, air temperature, and humidity can reduce WUE at both sites. For the broadleaved forest, the most influential factor on WUE was VPD, followed by radiation, while in the coniferous forest, VPD, air temperature, and radiation were almost equally important. For hourly C–W coupling, VPD plays a significant role. The drier the air is, the weaker the coupling in the two forests. The daily WUE and hourly C–W coupling reflect the C–W relationship from different perspectives. Both showed the strongest response to VPD but with different sensitivity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aimed to investigate the current situation regarding fertility intentions, parenting attitudes, and fear of childbirth among college students in mainland China and the factors related to these variables. A cross-sectional study Colleges across China Five hundred and eighty-three college students attending regular institutions of higher education Fertility intentions and fear of childbirth were measured using the Swedish Fertility Awareness Questionnaire and the Childbirth Fear Prior to Pregnancy scale. Only 38.8% of participants expressed their willingness to have children, and there was a significant difference between male and female students (P <.02). Males regarded having children as more important (P <.01), and females were more concerned about the negative effects of becoming parents, including difficulties in the labor market, having less freedom, and having less money. When deciding whether to have children, factors such as work, economics, and childcare were more important to females. Students who did not want children had higher levels of fear of childbirth than those who wanted children or were unsure (P <.02). The fertility intentions of college students were not optimistic. In addition to the 2-child Chinese fertility policy, interventions aimed at reducing the cost of raising children, eliminating gender inequality in the workplace, and normalizing childcare institutions might help alleviate conflict between work and childrearing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Archaeal glycerol dibiphytanyl glycerol tetraethers (isoGDGTs) and their hydroxylated derivatives (OH-GDGTs) have been increasingly applied to reconstruct past changes in lake temperature and lake-level using down-core sediments. However, a detailed examination of the distribution pattern of iso- and OH-GDGTs in lacustrine sediments is so far limited. To investigate the controls on the sedimentary GDGT distribution in lakes, we examined the archaeal GDGT distribution in surface sediments at different water depths from Lake Lugu, a deep alpine lake in southwest China. Our aim is to determine their distribution, sources and controlling factors. Based on the significant correlations between iso- and OH-GDGTs in deep-water sediments (> 20 m), we suggest that the main biological source of archaeal GDGTs in surface sediments is aquatic Group I.1a Thaumarchaeota (Nitrosoarchaeum). The depth-related variation of iso- and OH-GDGTs indicates that water depth is the main factor affecting the distribution of archaeal GDGTs in Lake Lugu, reflecting that Thaumarchaeota prefer to live in the deeper layer above the oxycline. This relationship leads to a positive correlation between %Cren, %OH-GDGTs, and Cren/Cren' with water depth, confirming their potential application for paleo-lake level reconstruction. Our study improves the understanding of the factors that control the archaeal GDGTs in a deep alpine lake and suggest that they might be used as lake-level indicators. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Shidian is a recent meteorite which fell in Yunnan province, China, on November 27, 2017, and has been classified as a CM2 chondrite. Petrography, mineralogy, oxygen and chromium isotopic composition, reflectance spectrum, and density studies of Shidian are reported in this study. Clasts with different aqueous alteration degree, two type 1 clasts with nontypical CM petrography, and one metamorphic clast are observed in Shidian. Mineralogically, Shidian main body consists of phyllosilicates (∼70 vol%), forsterite (∼13 vol%), fayalitic olivine, carbonates, sulfide, high‐Ca pyroxene, magnetite framboids, and Fe‐Ni metal. The average electron microprobe analysis (EMPA) analytical totals of phyllosilicates are 84.07 ± 1.75 wt%, with average FeO/SiO2 of tochilinite–cronstedtite intergrowths (TCIs) in different clasts ranging from 1.18 to 3.29. The bulk geochemical composition is characterized by flat rare earth element pattern, and by depletion of highly volatile elements. The whole rock oxygen isotopic composition is −0.51 ± 0.73‰, 5.44 ± 1.01‰, and −3.38 ± 0.20‰ for δ17O, δ18O, and Δ17O, respectively, with bulk chromium isotopic composition as ε54Cr = 1.00 ± 0.11. The grain density, bulk density, and porosity are 2.758 ± 0.008 g cm−3, 2.500 ± 0.004 g cm−3, and 9.37 ± 0.59%, respectively. The reflectance spectrum shows "blue" (negative) continuum slope across the visible and near‐infrared range, with characteristic absorption features (such as 0.765, 0.923, and 1.160 μm for phyllosilicates). These characteristics indicate that Shidian is an unheated, brecciated CM chondrite and may be an analog of asteroid Bennu. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Foliar stable nitrogen (N) isotopes (δ15N) generally reflect N availability to plants and have been used to infer about changes thereof. However, previous studies of temporal trends in foliar δ15N have ignored the influence of confounding factors, leading to uncertainties on its indication to N availability. In this study, we measured foliar δ15N of 1811 herbarium specimens from 12 plant species collected in southern China forests from 1920 to 2010. We explored how changes in atmospheric CO2, N deposition and global warming have affected foliar δ15N and N concentrations ([N]) and identified whether N availability decreased in southern China. Across all species, foliar δ15N significantly decreased by 0.82‰ over the study period. However, foliar [N] did not decrease significantly, implying N homeostasis in forest trees in the region. The spatiotemporal patterns of foliar δ15N were explained by mean annual temperature (MAT), atmospheric CO2 (PCO2), atmospheric N deposition, and foliar [N]. The spatiotemporal trends of foliar [N] were explained by MAT, temperature seasonality, PCO2, and N deposition. N deposition within the rates from 5.3 to 12.6 kg N ha−1 year−1 substantially contributed to the temporal decline in foliar δ15N. The decline in foliar δ15N was not accompanied by changes in foliar [N] and therefore does not necessarily reflect a decline in N availability. This is important to understand changes in N availability, which is essential to validate and parameterize biogeochemical cycles of N. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Both paleoclimatic change and anthropogenic habitat destruction can have adverse effects on species demography and, in turn, could lead a species towards being endangered and rare. Understanding the relative importance of these natural and anthropogenic factors driving species endangerment and rarity is thus crucial for effective conservation planning but remains elusive. Here, we examine the phylogeography and demographic history of an endangered conifer species in China, Torreya jackii Chun, and assess the relative importance of natural and anthropogenic factors that might have put the species in its endangered state. We collected tissue samples from all the 13 extant wild populations, and analyzed the genetic variation using eight nuclear microsatellites and four chloroplast and one mitochondrial DNA fragments. We found low genetic and nucleotide diversities, which could explain the absence of spatial and phylogeographic structure. Using a hierarchical approximate Bayesian computation technique, we identified the demographic scenario that best fits the genetic data and found that effective population size was low at least 200 000 years ago but expanded after the last glacial maximum (LGM). The paleoclimatic niche model revealed a profound effect of precipitation on the distribution of T. jackii and predicted that the current distribution areas were suitable during the LGM. Despite the post‐LGM expansion, the best‐supported scenario showed a dramatic population collapse during the past 300 years, when anthropogenic disturbances also increased dramatically. Overall, our study sheds light on how historical factors and human impacts jointly threaten the persistence of a species, and these aspects should be duly considered in species conservation planning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Taking China's first application of domestic shield tunneling in a water-rich sand layer for crossing a high-speed railway as research background, the influence of changes in the shield tunneling parameters on ground settlement is analyzed based on field tests, and a construction control method suitable for shield tunneling under a risk source in a water-rich sand layer is proposed. The test results show that the use of 10% sodium bentonite as the soil modifier for soil pressure balance shield tunneling into the water-rich sand layer has advantages, while adding 50% loess into the bentonite slurry in the gravel sand layer can greatly improve the impermeability of the soil; the settlement of soil can be effectively reduced by using the special segment with grouting holes for deep grouting and applying the adaptive transformation of the shield cutter. Based on the statistical analysis results, a reasonable range for the cutter head torque, cutter head speed, chamber pressure, bentonite injection volume, and advanced speed in the water-rich sand layer can provide a construction control basis for similar projects and provide data support for the compilation of relevant specifications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This investigation delves into the utilization of tremolite, a rare mineral, as a pottery temper for cooking vessels of the late Neolithic lower Yangtze Liangzhu culture. Raman spectroscopy analysis of 165 mineral-tempered pottery sherds from the Dazemiao site revealed that tremolite was the predominant tempering material for tripods (ding), whereas a mixture of feldspar and quartz was used for open-topped vats (da-kou-gang). SEM images indicate that the tremolite temper exhibits relatively coarse fiber structure, corresponding to one of the nephrite materials used for the Liangzhu jade. It is suggested that the Liangzhu miners reallocated materials according to nephrite quality, formulating different product lines, including different types of jade objects and pottery temper. Additionally, the utilization of tremolite temper persisted throughout the entire Liangzhu culture. The presence of tremolite-tempered pottery in regions without indigenous tremolite mines necessitated robust logistical networks for the transportation of these bulky materials. The tremolite temper not only reconfirms the strong 'jade culture' of Liangzhu, but also provides evidence of extensive socio-economic exchanges between different geographical regions on the Yangtze River delta. • Potters used tremolite temper in Liangzhu culture (5300-4300 BP), China. • Tremolite temper was widely used in the cooking vessel – tripod (Ding). • Nephrite jade craftsmanship influenced the use of tremolite temper. • A riverine logistical network encouraged the circulation of tremolite. • A complex polity made efforts to integrate transport networks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Urban light rail transit systems have a significant potential to alter future urban development. We developed a new cellular automata model (CACG) based on conjugate gradients, and applied it to 1) simulate historical urban development at Jinhua of China, and 2) project future development scenarios incorporating the effect of future light rail transit stations (LRTS). The model produced a realistic urban pattern for 2018 with overall accuracy exceeding 95%, Kappa coefficient exceeding 70% and figure-of-merit exceeding 32%, indicating the model's ability to accurately capture urban dynamics. We predicted three different scenarios: a benchmark scenario of business as usual (BAU), a scenario focusing on LRTS, and an individual-factor-based scenario (ILRTS). The results show that the annual urban development intensity has the strongest correlation with LRT stations for LRTS-scenario, followed by ILRTS-scenario and BAU-scenario. The model can be readily applied elsewhere to assess the impact of urban infrastructure on future development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• ECs mounted on WPCBs are profiled for materials and toxicity. • Higher contents of precious metals are found in ECs than PWBs. • New toxic threats from As and Se are found. Waste printed circuit boards (WPCBs) contain valuable material resources and hazardous substances, thereby posing a challenge for sustainable resource recovery and environmental protection initiatives. Overcoming this challenge will require mapping the toxic footprint of WPCBs to specific materials and substances used in manufacturing electronic components (ECs). Therefore, this work collected 50 EC specimens from WPCBs in five ubiquitous consumer products, such as television, refrigerator, air conditioner, washing machine and computer. The work extracted and analyzed metal contents and used leachability assessments based on tests adopted by the regulatory policies from China and the United States. The work found that copper and iron are the most abundant constituents in ECs, with concentrations ranging 5.90–796.62 g/kg and 0–831.53 g/kg, respectively; whereas abundance of precious metal content is in the order of silver > gold > palladium > platinum, with silver concentration ranging 15–5290 mg/kg. The content of marginally-regulated toxic substance arsenic ranged 0–9700 mg/kg; whereas fully regulated toxic metals such as chromium, lead and mercury did not exceed the thresholds set by China and US standards. The work found new toxic threats from arsenic and selenium leached from 20 of 50 ECs exceeding regulatory standards. These results will aid manufacturers and recyclers in protecting workers' health and environmental quality from arsenic and selenium pollution, and should initiate discussion about regulating these toxic components as part of a comprehensive program to reduce the toxic footprint of electronic products. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The photometric properties of the uppermost lunar regolith are used in the spectroscopic study. China's Chang'E‐5 (CE‐5) mission successfully landed in the Northern Oceanus Procellarum of the Moon, carrying the scientific payload lunar mineralogical spectrometer (LMS). LMS performed full‐view scanning and obtained the reflectance spectra in various geometric configurations. The photometric properties, including the single‐scattering albedo ω and two parameters of the Henyey‐Greenstein phase function (b, c), were derived. Our modeling results showed weak backward scattering and strong forward scattering properties of the regolith at the CE‐5 landing site. Meanwhile, the asymmetry parameter (−b×c) $(-b\times c)$ indicates that CE‐5 regolith has weaker forward scattering than the Apollo lunar soil samples and the regolith at the Chang'E‐4 landing site. The derived Hapke parameters can be used for comparison with that of the returned lunar sample, supporting further studies of lunar spectroscopy, and can be the ground truth of the CE‐5 landing area. Plain Language Summary: The in‐situ mineral compositions of the lunar regolith can be retrieved using spectral observations with known photometric properties of the lunar surface. The lunar mineralogical spectrometer installed on the Chang'E‐5 lander conducted in‐situ full‐view scanning, and obtained many spectral data. We derived a photometric function using these data to study the properties of the regolith. These findings can be compared to the measured value of the lunar returned samples of CE‐5 to support future spectroscopy research and provide a better understanding of the mineralogical information at the CE‐5 landing area. Key Points: The photometric properties of the lunar regolith are revealed by in‐situ spectrum data from the Chang'E‐5 Lunar Mineralogical SpectrometerThe derived photometric parameters contribute to a better understanding of the properties of the regolith on the near side of the moonThe forward scattering was dominant in the landing site, consistent with the compositions of the lunar samples returned from the Chang'E‐5 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As a hyperspectral imager aboard the orbiter "HX-1" of China's first Mars mission, the Mars Mineralogical Spectrometer (MMS) is designed with hyperspectral and multispectral operation modes to survey the mineral types and their distribution on the surface of Mars, and to study the overall chemical composition and evolution history of Mars. The multispectral modes of MMS are different from hyperspectral modes on the bands selection, spatial and spectral resolution, Signal-to-Noise Ratio (SNR) etc. So the spectral detection capability of each mode of MMS is also different. The ground validation experiment of MMS is conducted to evaluate the hyperspectral and multispectral data quality and detection capabilities. The main conclusions include: (1) The measured hyperspectra of typical mineral samples obtained by MMS agree well with the data acquired by the Standard Comparison Spectrometers (SCS) under the same measurement conditions, and the spectral uncertainty between MMS and SCS is less than 7% in the key spectral ranges (0.7 ∼ 2.2 μm ). For some typical minerals, the absorption band positions deviation between MMS and SCS are within 0.69 ∼ 14.86 nm , which are within the spectral resolution limits of MMS. (2) The six sets of band combinations designed for MMS multispectral modes are slightly superior to CRISM's multispectral mode in terms of spectral resolutions and bands selection, the water-containing minerals will be more accurately distinguished and identified, such as montmorillonite and kaolinite. Besides, the SNR of each multispectral mode is greater than 400 in the 500–2600 nm spectral range, which meets the requirements for the subtle spectral characteristics of water-containing minerals. (3) Benefiting from the MMS ground validation experiment and the experience of the OMEGA and CRISM, it is recommended that MMS first adopt the spatial continuous 52-sample or 104-sample (spatial resolution is about 0.53 ∼ 1.06 km ) multispectral operation mode for typical minerals global mapping and finding target areas of interest. Then the 208-sample multispectral mode (spatial resolution is about ∼ 265 m ) or 26-sample hyperspectral mode can be used to survey target areas of interest for the subtle mineral types characteristics and distribution. At last, 26-sample hyperspectral mode could be used to monitor the atmospheric composition of Mars by limb observations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

n -Alkanes have been widely used to reconstruct palaeoenvironmental variations in lacustrine environments. However, for robust reconstructions, improving the understanding of the origin of n -alkanes and their distribution within the lake is essential. Therefore, we examined the distribution pattern of n -alkanes in the aquatic plants within Lake Lugu (a deep alpine lake on the southeastern margin of the Tibetan Plateau, southwest China), and terrestrial plants and topsoils in the catchment, to unravel the origin of sedimentary n -alkanes and further investigate the spatial distribution of n -alkanes from surface sediments in this lake. The aquatic plants are dominated by mid-chain C 23 and C 25 , terrestrial plants and soils by long-chain C 29 , and 76% of the surface sediment samples show C 29 predominance. The average chain length (ACL) and the aquatic plant proxy (P aq) values of surface sediments are between those of aquatic and terrestrial plants and soils. Thus, n -alkanes from autochthonous (aquatic plants) and allochthonous (terrestrial plants and soils) sources were apparent in the surface sediments. A substantial spatial distribution of n -alkanes exists within Lake Lugu: the n -alkane concentrations of total, aquatic, and terrigenous origins are concentrated in the northwestern portion of the lake's north basin, which may be attributed to the underwater topography and increased human-induced soil erosion in this area. Similarly, the clear spatial heterogeneity of ACL 21 – 33 and P aq may suggest that the sedimentary n -alkanes comprise a mixture contribution of autochthonous and allochthonous production, which might be the major source of n -alkanes in the lakeshore, and a higher proportion of autochthonous n -alkanes is present in deep water. However, there is no significant correlation between the P aq of sediments and water depth in Lake Lugu; thus, the application of P aq as a lake-level indicator should be used with caution in deep-water lakes similar to Lake Lugu. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dispersal that unites spatially subdivided populations into a metapopulation with source–sink dynamics is crucial for species persistence in fragmented landscapes. Understanding such dynamics for pollinators is particularly urgent owing to the ongoing global pollination crisis. Here, we investigated the population structure and source–sink dynamics of a pollinating wasp (Wiebesia sp. 3) of Ficus pumila in the Zhoushan Archipelago of China. We found significant asymmetry in the pairwise migrant numbers for 22 of 28 cases on the historical timescale, but only two on the contemporary timescale. Despite a small population size, the sole island not colonized by a superior competitor wasp (Wiebesia sp. 1) consistently behaved as a net exporter of migrants, supplying large sinks. Comparable levels of genetic diversity, with few private alleles and low genetic differentiation (total Fst: 0.03; pairwise Fst: 0.0005–0.0791), were revealed among all the islands. There was a significant isolation‐by‐distance pattern caused mainly by migration between the competition‐free island and other islands, otherwise the pattern was negligible. The clustering analysis failed to detect multiple gene pools for the whole region. Thus, the sinks were most probably organized into a patchy population. Moreover, the estimates of effective population sizes were comparable between the two timescales. Thus the source–sink dynamics embedded within a well‐connected population network may allow Wiebesia sp. 3 to persist at a competitive disadvantage. This study provides evidence that metapopulations in the real world may be complicated and changeable over time, highlighting the necessity to study such metapopulations in detail. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Halophilic Archaea are widely distributed globally in hypersaline environments. However, little is known of how dominant halophilic archaeal genera are distributed across environments and how they may co-associate across ecosystems. Here, the archaeal community composition and diversity from hypersaline environments (> 300 g/L salinity; total of 33 samples) in the Qaidam Basin of China were investigated using high-throughput Illumina sequencing of 16S rRNA genes. The archaeal communities (total of 3,419 OTUs) were dominated by the class Halobacteria (31.7–99.6% relative abundances) within the phylum Euryarchaeota (90.8–99.9%). Five predominant taxa, including Halorubrum, Halobacterium, Halopenitus, Methanothrix, and Halomicrobium, were observed across most samples. However, several distinct genera were associated with individual samples and were inconsistently distributed across samples, which contrast with previous studies of hypersaline archaeal communities. Additionally, co-occurrence network analysis indicated that five network clusters were present and potentially reflective of interspecies interactions among the environments, including three clusters (clusters II, III, and IV) comprising halophilic archaeal taxa within the Halobacteriaceae and Haloferacaceae families. In addition, two other clusters (clusters I and V) were identified that comprised methanogens. Finally, salinity comprising ionic concentrations (in the order of Na+ > Ca2+ > Mg2+) and pH were most correlated with taxonomic distributions across sample sites. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Feeding a low-protein diet can enhance urea reabsorption and transfer to the rumen, which might alter microbial protein (MCP) synthesis and redirect molecular hydrogen (H 2) flow away from methanogenesis. The aim of this study was to determine the effects of feeding goats a low-protein diet on urea nitrogen (N) salvage and metabolism, and consequence on H 2 metabolism for MCP synthesis and methanogenesis. Goats (Xiangdong Black goats, a local breed in southern China,) with body weight of 20.4 ± 2.15 kg (mean ± SD) were fed a control diet (consisted of 70% rice straw and 30% concentrates, with crude protein [CP] content by 108 g kg−1) or a low-protein diet (55.2 g CP/kg). 15NH 4 Cl and 2H 2 were employed to further confirm the incorporation of N and hydrogen for MCP synthesis through in vitro culture. Feeding a low-protein diet resulted in greater proportion of retained N (+156%, P < 0.05), plasma urea N (+81.9%, P < 0.05) or rumen ammonia-N (+125%, P < 0.001) relative to digested N and greater renal urea N reabsorption (+11.2%, P < 0.05), together with upregulated relative protein expression of urea transporter A (UTA) in the kidneys (P < 0.05) and mRNA expression of UTA in rumen epithelium (P < 0.05). Feeding low-protein diet resulted in greater concentration of rumen dissolved hydrogen (+55.6%, P < 0.05), ratio of MCP to ammonia-N (+17.6%, P < 0.05), and lower enteric methane emissions (g/kg digested DM, −18.5%, P < 0.05). Further, in vitro experiments verified that the addition of NH 4 Cl decreased methane and hydrogen production (P < 0.001), although only a minor quantity of headspace 2H 2 gas was incorporated for MCP synthesis. In conclusions, feeding a low-protein diet to goats enhances renal urea reabsorption capacity and facilitates the rumen microbial hydrogen incorporation for MCP synthesis, leading to enhanced N retention efficiency and reduced methane emissions. However, the effect of such an approach on livestock performance should be tested in the future studies. • Low-protein diet causes an increase in N retention efficiency and a decrease in methane emissions. • Low-protein diet enhances renal urea N reabsorption and increases plasma urea transfer to rumen. • Low-protein diet promotes incorporation of ammonia-N and metabolic hydrogen for ruminal microbial protein synthesis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The use of microwave radiation data collected by lunar orbiters to infer the lunar brightness-temperature (TB) distribution is of great importance to lunar scientific exploration. The TB data acquired by China's Chang'E-2 passive microwave radiometer (MRM) is one of the basic materials for lunar temperature mapping. Core issues of lunar microwave TB mapping include data fitting at different latitudes, outlier removal, and integrated spatial interpolation considering influencing factors. We applied a third-order Fourier function to fit the lunar TB data, which effectively removes outliers considering the fitting characteristic and three-sigma rule (FCTSR). Because the lunar surface temperature is influenced by a variety of factors such as topography and albedo, we then built a multi-factor co-kriging interpolation method to perform lunar TB mapping accurately. The cross-validation shows that, in terms of the mean-absolute-error and root-mean-square-error, the multi-factor co-kriging interpolation improves the mapping accuracy by 30%–60% compared to inverse distance interpolation and ordinary kriging interpolation. The analysis shows that topography and albedo are the most important factors influencing the lunar TB, and the TB maps at 37 GHz reveal cold spots that can be considered as younger craters. It is concluded that the proposed data fitting, denoising and spatial interpolation methods significantly improve the lunar TB mapping. The results and scientific data can also provide a basic energy map for lunar roving path planning and subsequent lunar exploration. • TB outliers were effectively removed using the fitting characteristics and three-sigma rule. • A multi-factor co-kriging method was developed to produce accurate lunar TB maps. • The co-kriging improves accuracy by 30%–60% compared to IDW and ordinary kriging. • The TB maps at 37 GHz reveal cold spots that can be identified as younger craters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• SedaDNA metabarcoding revealed cyanobacterial community over past ∼100 years. • A steady increase in toxic cyanobacteria during past 30 years in Lake Taihu. • Climatic warming explains the increasing trend of toxic cyanobacteria. • Recent climate change is exacerbating the harmful effects of toxic cyanobacteria. Cyanobacterial blooms in freshwater systems are a global threat to human and aquatic ecosystem health, exhibiting particularly harmful effects when toxin-producing taxa are present. While climatic change and nutrient over-enrichment control the global expansion of total cyanobacterial blooms, it remains unknown to what extent this expansion reflected cyanobacterial assemblage due to the scarcity of long-term monitoring data. Here we use high-throughput sequencing of sedimentary DNA to track ∼100 years of changes in cyanobacterial community in hyper-eutrophic Lake Taihu, China's third largest freshwater lake and the key water source for ∼30 million people. A steady increase in the abundance of Microcystis (as potential toxin producers) during the past thirty years was correlated with increasing temperatures and declining wind speeds, but not with temporal trends in lakewater nutrient concentrations, highlighting recent climate effects on potentially increasing toxin-producing taxa. The socio-environmental repercussions of these findings are worrisome as continued anthropogenic climate change may counteract nutrient amelioration efforts in this critical freshwater resource. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Applying pesticides can result in emissions of volatile organic compounds (VOCs), but little is known about VOC emission characteristics and the quantities in particular regions. We investigated the use of pesticides in China based on a large-scale survey of 330 counties in 31 provinces and evaluated the national pesticide VOC emission potentials based on thermogravimetric analysis of 1930 commercial pesticides. The results showed that herbicides were the most extensively used pesticide category in China, accounting for 43.47%; emulsifiable concentrate (EC), suspension concentrate, and wettable powder were the dominant pesticide formulations, with proportions of 26.75%, 17.68%, and 17.31%, respectively. The VOC emission potential coefficient (EP) of the liquid formulations was higher than the solid formulations, and the maximum mean EP was 45.59% for EC and the minimum was 0.76% for WP. Among 437 high-VOC pesticide products used in China, EC accounted for 83.52%, and 16.93% of those contained abamectin. The total VOC emissions derived from commercial pesticides in China were 280 kt (kilotons) in 2018, and 65.35% of the contribution was derived from EC. Shandong, Hunan, and Henan were the three provinces with the highest pesticide VOC emissions (>21 kt/y). The emission rate of VOCs from pesticides was 24.80 t/d in China, which was higher than in San Joaquin Valley, California. These findings suggest that some comprehensive measures (e.g., perfecting pesticide management policy, strict supervision for pesticide production and use, and strengthening pesticide reduction publicity) should be taken to reduce VOC emissions from pesticide applications. [Display omitted] • Emulsifiable concentrate (EC) is the most widely used formulation in China. • Liquid formulations have higher VOC emission potentials than solid formulations. • Abamectin is the most prevalent active ingredient in high-VOC pesticide products. • EC contributed the highest (65.35%) pesticide VOC emission quantity in China. • Pesticide VOC emission rate of China is obviously higher than in San Joaquin Valley. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Biotic homogenization was observed toward high eutrophication for microbes. • Bray-Curtis distance increased with TSI changes, while fungal LCBD declined with TSI. • Eutrophication was a primary driver of microbial community compositions. • Generalists contributed more to β-diversity and were key for biotic homogenization. • LCBD can be considered as a new parameter to indicate homogenization. Eutrophication substantially influences the community structure of aquatic organisms and has become a major threat to biodiversity. However, whether eutrophication is linked to homogenization of microbial communities and the possible underlying mechanisms are poorly understood. Here, we studied bacterial and fungal communities from water and sediments of 40 shallow lakes in the Yangtze-Huaihe River basin, a representative area characterized by intensifying eutrophication in China, and further examined the beta diversity patterns and underlying mechanisms under eutrophication conditions. Our results indicate that eutrophication generally caused biotic homogenization of bacterial and fungal communities in both habitats showing decreased community variations for the sites with a higher trophic state index (TSI). In the two habitats, community dissimilarities were positively correlated with TSI changes for both taxonomic groups, while the local contribution to beta diversity (LCBD) remarkably declined with increasing TSI for the fungal community. These phenomena were consistent with the pivotal importance of the TSI in statistically accounting for beta diversity of bacterial and fungal communities in both habitats. In addition, we found that physicochemical factors such as water temperature and pH were also important for bacterial and fungal communities in water, while heavy metal elements were important for the communities in sediments. Interestingly, generalist species, rather than specialist species, were revealed to more dominantly affect the variations in beta diversity along the trophic gradient, which were quantified by Bray-Curtis dissimilarity and LCBD. Collectively, our findings reveal the importance of generalist species in contributing to the change of beta diversity of microbial communities along trophic gradients, which have profound implications for a comprehensive understanding of the effects of eutrophication on microbial community. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Cross-cultural differences existed in the parents' way to use speech and gestures. • Parental instructions demonstrated different facilitating effects across cultures. • Chinese caregivers tended to provide their children with instructions. • Culture moderated the instructions–children's learning relationship. • Speech instructions exerted more facilitating effects in the Chinese group. Instructions via speech and gestures provided by caregivers can facilitate children's learning. However, caregivers with different cultural backgrounds demonstrate diverse parental behaviors, which exert influences on children's learning in different ways. The current study aimed to explore the cultural differences between Chinese and American caregivers in regard to the way they use speech and gestures to instruct their children. The potential cross-cultural differences in the facilitating effects of parental instructions on children's learning were also examined. Two groups of children aged 3–4 years and their caregivers from China and the U.S. were invited to participate in our study (34 from China and 35 from the U.S.). The caregivers assisted their children in working with a difficult puzzle task. The caregivers' speech and gestural instructions from both cultural groups, as well as the children's learning performance, were coded and analyzed. The results showed that relative to the caregivers in the U.S., those from China provided more instructions to their children. Cultural background was a significant moderator in the relationship between parental instructions and children's learning performance, namely, speech instructions provided by Chinese caregivers had a more effective facilitating influence on their children's learning than did those provided by American caregivers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]