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In the built heritage studies, the intricate web of social and selective processes that define heritage is evident. These processes are, in many cases, intertwined with the notion of scale, examplified through the production of heritage sites at the local, national, and transnational scales. While heritage and geography scholars have articulated the role played by scale in heritage-making and argue against a rigid, fixed, and hierarchical understanding of scale, they highlight the constant reproduction of scale. There is, so far, limited explanation of how the perception of scale gets reproduced and how crucial actors manipulate scalar power and resources for heritage making and the reproduction of scale. To fill this gap, this paper delves into mainland China's heritage-making, using the southern Anhui historical villages as an example. Based on intensive 5-month field research, this paper has three findings: 1) The nomination process for a World Heritage Site is notably influenced by politics and selectivity; 2) Diverse stakeholders are pivotal in shaping heritage narratives; 3) Individual contributions to heritage creation directly interact with, and subsequently reshape, 'scale', an entity that is simultaneously discursive and tangible. By integrating the notion of 'scale' into heritage discussions, we illuminate two concurrent processes: creating hierarchies through rule assimilation by interpreting the UNESCO standard internally and evolving socio-spatial dynamics via the manifestation of individual agency with resource manipulation, scale jumping, and reproduction of scale. This approach aligns with the material orientation in human geography and repositions 'scale'. Here, it's not just an epistemological framework but also a tangible force that steers individual perceptions and actions and yields measurable material impacts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Power systems with a high proportion of inverter-based sources like photovoltaics require a substantial short-circuit current ratio to ensure strong voltage support capabilities. However, this also increases the system's short-circuit current capacity and levels, which may potentially affect the safe operation of system equipment and current-carrying conductors. To evaluate the operational risks, this paper proposes a quantitative calculation model for the critical integration proportion of grid-connected inverter-interfaced power sources based on short-circuit current over-limit probability. Firstly, according to the verification criterion about short-circuit current during the selection of the switching equipment and conductors in the power system, the short-circuit current over-limit probability evaluation system with five indices is established. Secondly, considering the impact of the increased grid integration proportion of inverter-based power sources on short-circuit currents, an evaluation process for operational risk probabilities is proposed. Based on this, the critical access proportion for inverter-based power source integration in the power grid can be calculated. Finally, the proposed model is used to assess the operational risk probability for a 220 kV system which includes a high proportion of inverter-based power sources in the Anhui area, China. Through the analysis of cumulative probability distribution curves, the critical grid integration proportion interval for the transition from normal to high proportion stages of inverter-based power sources is determined. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Roads are a type of typical artificial terrain, and are key components of urban terrain. Road networks formed by connections between different roads not only form the skeleton of urban terrain, but also plays an important role in transmitting energy and matter on the urban surface. Therefore, how to consider characteristics when constructing the digital road elevation model (DEM) has become an important research topic in the field of geographic information and mapping. Using high-definition unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) images as the basic data source, this study proposes a new method for constructing the road DEM by analyzing semantic features such as road shape and function. This method first takes the sideline and centerline of the road as the macroscopic undulation morphological constraints. It uses the shape control equation of the local domain to constrain the morphological change characteristics of the road surface in the transverse and longitudinal directions, in order to construct the road DEM with high fidelity to the surface shape characteristics. Then, in terms of the water catchment function of the road surface, a road DEM correction method considering surface flow direction characteristics is designed to ensure that the water catchment path of the road surface conforms to the actual situation. For this paper, several typical roads in Chuzhou University in Anhui Province, China, were selected as the experimental objects to carry out a DEM construction experiment. The results indicate the following: (1) compared with the traditional construction method, the DEM shape of the road constructed by this research method is more consistent with the actual road shape, and the smoothness of the road surface is better; (2) due to the high density and high elevation accuracy of the point cloud used in modeling, the elevation adjustment strategy of the sideline and centerline of the road implemented in this study does not reduce elevation accuracy, indicating that an adjustment to the elevation information is necessary for constructing the DEM of special artificial terrain; and (3) the DEM correction method proposed in this paper to find the correct catchment path can ensure that the processed DEM can accurately simulate the surface catchment process, and the correction of the elevation of the road DEM is also controlled within a small range without affecting the elevation accuracy of the regional DEM. This study has reference value for implementing projects such as urban terrain expression in the construction of 3D China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Atmospheric resources provide important support for human economic and social systems through their unique ecosystem service functions. Implementing the off-office auditing of atmospheric resources for leading cadres holds great strategic significance for fundamentally solve air pollution problems. Exploring the compilation of an atmospheric resource balance sheet is a necessary pre-step in the implementation of outgoing audits. In this paper, atmospheric resources are innovatively divided into atmospheric capacity resources and atmospheric quality resources from the perspective of the ecosystem service functions of atmospheric resources. The value of atmospheric resource assets is calculated by combining the environmental capacity value method and the environmental loss evaluation method. This study evaluates atmospheric ecological achievements based on the atmospheric resources balance sheet and related accounts as the data carrier and opens up the key "blocking point" of the off-office auditing of atmospheric resources. This paper takes Anhui Province as an example and applies the accounting results of the prepared atmospheric resource balance sheet to evaluate the atmospheric resource ecological achievements of leading cadres from 2016 to 2020. The results clearly reflect the ecological achievements and shortcomings of local leading cadres during their tenure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper used the micro panel data from 2016 to 2019 of 2031 registered poor households in B Town, W County, Lu'an City of Anhui Province in China to analyze the diversified patterns and poverty alleviation effect of paired assistance based on the PSM-DID model. The empirical results show that paired assistance provided by social forces can significantly contribute to the poverty alleviation of poor households, promoting the poverty alleviation rate by 7.8%, which can be concluded through sample matching and control of relevant variables. Furthermore, based on the subsample of poor households with social assistance, we found that external social assistance subject to paired assistance can significantly improve the poverty alleviation rate of poor households by 14.26%, mainly hung on their economic base and strength of poverty alleviation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper analyses agricultural green efficiency and productivity by using the farming and livestock industries as case studies. To do so, nitrogen and phosphorus surpluses in arable land are measured by considering recycling of agricultural wastes in the farming and livestock ecosystem and defined as the undesirable output in agricultural production. The empirical analysis is based on data of rural areas in Anhui province, China, over the period of 2000 to 2017. It shows the existence of considerable nitrogen and phosphorus nutrient surplus in arable land, with phosphorus surplus keeps increasing. It also illustrates that nitrogen and phosphorus nutrients from manure were decreasing while those from the crop residues were increasing. The empirical assessment demonstrates that agricultural green efficiency tended to converge over time. Furthermore, agricultural green total factor productivity showed an overall increasing trend, although its components, efficiency change and technological progress, moved in opposite directions in most years. Finally, some useful policy recommendations are provided in this paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Due to rapid expansion in the global economy and industrialization, PM2.5 (particles smaller than 2.5 µm in aerodynamic diameter) pollution has become a key environmental issue. The public health and social development directly affected by high PM2.5 levels. In this paper, ambient PM2.5 concentrations along with meteorological data are forecasted using time series models, including random forest (RF), prophet forecasting model (PFM), and autoregressive integrated moving average (ARIMA) in Anhui province, China. The results indicate that the RF model outperformed the PFM and ARIMA in the prediction of PM2.5 concentrations, with cross-validation coefficients of determination R2, RMSE, and MAE values of 0.83, 10.39 µg/m3, and 6.83 µg/m3, respectively. PFM achieved the average results (R2 = 0.71, RMSE = 13.90 µg/m3, and MAE = 9.05 µg/m3), while the predicted results by ARIMA are comparatively poorer (R2 = 0.64, RMSE = 15.85 µg/m3, and MAE = 10.59 µg/m3) than RF and PFM. These findings reveal that the RF model is the most effective method for predicting PM2.5 and can be applied to other regions for new findings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Haze pollution poses a serious threat to residents' health. In this study, a spatial econometric model of environmental health was established to investigate the direction, intensity, and spatial–temporal heterogeneity of the impact of haze pollution and its spillover effects on public health in 26 cities of the Yangtze River Delta urban agglomerations from 2005 to 2018. The study found that (1) PM2.5 pollution and public health level all show the characteristic of positive spatial correlation and spatial clustering. (2) Haze pollution is the main influencing factor of residents' public health level, with significant negative effects and obvious spillover effects. The urbanization rate, the number of health technicians, and the green area per capita have significant positive impacts on public health. (3) The spatial and temporal heterogeneity of the impact of haze pollution and other factors on public health is obvious. The negative correlation between PM2.5 pollution and public health in eastern cities is higher than that in other cities. Both urbanization rate and green area per capita have a greater positive impact on public health in the northeast of the Yangtze River Delta region. The improvement effect of the number of health technicians on the public health is stronger in the cities of Anhui Province. The research results of this paper provide certain support for the city governments to formulate targeted policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to reveal the relationship between new urbanization and carbon emission to provide reference opinions for the construction of low-carbon urbanization, an evaluation system between new urbanization and carbon emission was constructed. Then their matching degree relationship was analyzed by coupling coordination degree model based on the data from 2012 to 2021 in Anhui Province, and their development trend from 2023 to 2032 was predicted by gray prediction model. The results show that: (1) New urbanization and carbon emission have the co-trend effect, and the consistency of core impact factors is relatively significant. Among them, the level of new urbanization increases from 0.058 in 2012 to 0.699 in 2021 and carbon emission development increases from 0.023 in 2012 to 0.165 in 2021, which both showing an upward trend. Meanwhile, social urbanization and population carbon emission are the core influencing factors. (2) The coupling coordination degree between new urbanization and carbon emission is low, but the synergy trend is optimistic and there is a large room for improvement. Among them, the coupling coordination coefficient of the coupling system rises from 0.136 in 2012 to 1.412 in 2021 (antagonistic phase), and then reaches 0.820 by 2032 (highly coordinated phase) by forecast. It shows that their current development is unbalanced, but the development trend is good, and there is a chance for improvement. This paper deepens the understanding of the logical correlation between new urbanization and carbon emission, and the following views are formed: (1) Low-carbon development is still the mainstream of new urbanization; (2) The coordination development of new urbanization and carbon emission reduction should be strengthened. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Permian–Triassic boundary (PTB) volcanic tuffs are widely distributed in the East Palaeo‐Tethys region, but their age and origin have been controversial. The Permian–Triassic deep‐water sediments in the northeastern margin of South China are favourable research objects, and we report new results from the PTB deep basin sediments in the Susong area, Anhui Province, in this paper. Two volcanic tuffs are found in the Zuoshan PTB in the Zuoshan section, and Laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LA‐ICP‐MS) U–Pb zircon dating indicates that the upper and lower tuffs are 251.3 ± 1.7 Ma and 252.3 ± 2.1 Ma, respectively. The PTB age is 251.6 Ma according to a numerical interpolation method of the average deposition rate of the PTB. Fusulinids and non‐fusulinid foraminifers in the limestone overlying the lower tuff define the rock as end‐Permian. Zircon trace elements show that both tuffs are sourced from felsic volcanism in continental arc background, and their source magmas were derived from the continental crust. Zircons of PTB age from the upper tuff on the bottom of the Triassic have negative εHf(t) value from −8.02 to −3.75, and the Palaeo‐Mesoproterozoic two‐stage model ages of 1502–1780 Ma, showing that their source rocks were only derived from the remelting of the Palaeo‐Mesoproterozoic continental crust. The zircons from the lower tuff on the top of the Permian show two types, including negative εHf(t) values from −6.48 to −1.25 and Palaeo‐Mesoproterozoic two‐stage model ages of 1350–1679 Ma, and positive εHf(t) values from +3.98 to +10.15, and Neoproterozoic two‐stage model ages of 629–1023 Ma, indicating that their sources were derived from the reworking of the Palaeo‐Mesoproterozoic continental crust and early Neoproterozoic depleted mantle joined in juvenile crust growth in the northern margin of the South China Block at the beginning of the collision between the South China and North China blocks. The initial collision started no later than 252.3 Ma and developed significantly from east to west. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ordovician limestone in North China coalfield has the characteristics of karst fissure development and strong water yield. Coal mines in North China have been threatened by Ordovician limestone water for a long time. Taking the mining of 32 coal seam in the first eastern mining area of Qianyingzi coal mine in Anhui Province in China as the engineering geological prototype, this paper uses the self-developed fluid solid coupling similarity model test device to carry out the similarity model test of overburden stress and pore water pressure response of coal mining under Ordovician limestone nappe aquifer. Based on the variation law of pore water pressure and overburden stress in a stope, it can be seen that the variation law of pore water pressure in confined aquifer is jointly affected by two factors: the vertical distance between the monitoring point and coal seam and the horizontal distance between the monitoring point and DF200 fault. According to the analysis of experimental results, the maximum height of a water flowing fracture zone in the stope is fifteen times the mining thickness. Compared with the theoretical calculation results of empirical formula, the coupling effect of seepage field and stress field and the geological structure characteristics of the stope promote the development of a water flowing fracture zone. The research results of this paper have important theoretical and practical significance not only for the safe mining of Qianyingzi coal mine but also for the safe mining of the coal mine facing the double threat of roof Ordovician limestone confined aquifer and reverse fault. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In China, rural homesteads are strategic elements for coordinating the people and land resources relationship between urban and rural regions and are powerful means for increasing the property income of farmers. The rural homestead transfer issue has always concerned policymakers. In this paper, the risk system theory framework is employed to identify risk source (risk perception), risk control (the control measures and institutions), and risk receptor (farmers' characteristics) to explore farmers' intentions towards rural homestead transfer from the perspective of first- and second-order observation. The results demonstrate that farmers' intentions are significantly affected by risk source from first-order observation, and risk control and risk receptor from second-order observation. The heterogeneity of outcomes is examined by grouping of ages and regions of sampled farmers. It is suggested that the risk perception needs of farmers should be respected, land tenure of rural homesteads should be tightly protected, and farmers' characteristics should be of great concern. Moreover, more attention should be paid to idle homesteads, and full advantage taken of rural resources to develop featured rural industries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reports a case study of the community revitalization initiative in Bishan Village, Anhui Province, China, which is art-oriented and overseen by the renowned art curator Ou Ning and his colleagues. The Bishan Project, launched in 2011, is analysed as an attempt to revive the countryside through cultural and creative innovations. This responds to the recent emphasis in rural studies on arts and creativities as effective interventions into rural revival and development. To comprehend the vibrant, resilient, and innovative ruralities that are proliferating around the world, the post-productivism thesis casts important light on the revival and revalorization of rural places by way of the diversification of rural livelihoods and economies. However, the focus on cultural consumption by urban consumers cannot account for the varied constellations of economic, social, and cultural innovations that contribute to the swift reinvention of rurality. Engaging instead with the literature on rural creativity, which examines the crucial role of creative practices in restoring rural subjectivities and remedying the social fabrics in rural regions, this study suggests that creative initiatives intervene in and catalyst the restoration of local cultures and social relations, and contribute to an evolutionary resilience that is nonetheless contested and indeterminate, revolving around tensions between the cultural authority of artists and villagers' uneven participation; and between local villagers' aspiration for economic development and artists' reluctance to capitalize on rural creativities. • The need to theorize reinvention of rurality becomes imperative amid urban-rural integration. • The post-productivism approach sheds light on the diversification of rural livelihoods. • The rural creativity literature pays more attention to endogenous development. • Socially engaged arts provide a relational means of knowledge making. • This paper investigates art-based rural revitalization in Bishan Village, China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rice is a major staple food grain for more than half of the world's population, and China is the largest rice producer and consumer in the world. In a climate-warming context, the frequency, duration and intensity of heat waves tend to increase, and rice production will be exposed to higher heat damage risks. Understanding the negative impacts of climate change on the rice supply is a critical issue. In this study, a new perspective on agricultural weather index insurance is proposed to investigate the impact of extreme high-temperature events on rice production in South China in the context of climate change. Based on data from meteorological stations in Anhui Province in China from 1961 to 2018 and the projected data from five Global Climate Models under three representative concentration pathway (RCP) scenarios from 2021 to 2099, the spatial–temporal characteristics of heat stress and its influence on rice production were analyzed by employing a weather index insurance model. The interdecadal breakpoints in the trends of the heat stress weather insurance index (HSWI) and the payout from 1961 to 2018 in 1987 were both determined, which are consistent with the more significant global warming since the 1980s. The largest increase after 1987 was found in the southeastern part of the study area. The projected HSWI and the payout increased significantly from 2021 to 2099, and their growth was faster with higher radiative forcing levels. The HSWI values were on average 1.4 times, 3.3 times and 6.1 times higher and the payouts were on average 3.9 times, 9.8 times and 15.0 times higher than the reference values for the near future, mid-future and far future, respectively. The results suggest that a more severe influence of heat damage on rice production will probably happen in the future, and it is vital to develop relevant adaptation strategies for the effects of a warmer climate and heat stress on rice production. This paper provides an alternative way to transform the evaluation of the extreme climate event index into the quantitative estimation of disaster impacts on crop production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Anhui flower drum lantern, as a folk dance in the Huaihe River Basin, exudes the local cultural atmosphere and expresses the cultural color of song and dance drama incisively and vividly. At the same time, it is a sacrificial activity with social belief. As a typical example of the development of folk activities in Anhui, it is an important intangible cultural heritage. With the accelerating construction of economic globalization and social innovation, the pursuit of "cultural confidence" has gradually become the belief of a country, a nation, and even everyone. More and more attention is being paid to the protection and dissemination of national intangible cultural heritage. The paper takes Anhui flower drum lamp as the research object, combined with the characteristics of the regional nature, performance form, content, and cultural connotation of Huagu Lantern, by reading the social activities of the people on both sides of the Huaihe River Basin and using literature data, field visits, interviews, logical analysis, and other research methods. The origin, living environment, development historical context, cultural value, existing confusion, and development countermeasures of Huaihe River are analyzed and discussed. This article helps to spread to the people the understanding of the evolution law of the traditional projects with the characteristics of generational attack. At the same time, it is also helpful to grasp the understanding of Hua Gu Deng and the social life, social beliefs, social relations, and other factors on both sides of the Huaihe River. This also make people further understand the social status and value function of the flower drum lantern along the Huai River and it is of great practical significance to the dissemination of the same type of intangible cultural heritage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nowadays, the scale of international trade is expanding at a great pace, leading to the development of the economy of different countries. Global industrialization and urbanization are developing with each passing day, and this fast economic expansion is putting a tremendous impact on the environment. Like the other countries, the scale of Chinese export trade is also increasing with time, resulting in the stable economy of our country. With the improvement of living standards, people are continuously demanding high environmental facilities. Further, the impact of trade (enterprises, companies, industries, etc.) on the ecological environment has become a worldwide problem because economic progress brought forth by trade expansion may directly affect the environment by causing pollution to rise or the degradation of natural resources. This indeed is a serious issue; therefore, various countries have started focusing on the impact of export trade on the ecological environment. In recent years, the issue of economic benefits and the environmental impact of export trade has become a hot topic of research. Therefore, this study focuses on the relationship between trade, economy, and environmental quality in China. For the accomplishment of our research study, we selected Anhui free trade zone (FTZ) as an example to analyze the interaction between the economic benefits of Anhui export trade and the local environment. It is among the top trading provinces in China having a faster economic development. In order to accurately study the economic benefits and environmental impact of export trade in the Anhui FTZ, this paper selects industrial waste gas, wastewater, and solid waste to establish an export trade environmental impact indicating system. After comparative analysis, three factors that include industrial soot (dust) emissions for export trade, chemical oxygen demand for trade, and general industrial solid waste dumping and discards are selected to evaluate the impact on the environment of the free trade zone. Based on this, the export trade environment vector autoregressive (VAR) model is established, and the variance decomposition method is used to analyze the dynamic impact of various factors on the environmental impact index. Further, we established an economic benefit VAR model based on the export economic benefit index (EI), export value (EV), and export product concentration (EPC) index and judged the economic benefit of the Anhui free trade zone based on the contribution rate of the obtained three factors. The experimental results show that the export volume and product concentration directly affect the economic benefits of the region, and at the same time, the expansion of export trade promotes the growth of economic benefits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Large-scale sports stadiums are an important part of China's sports stadium system and an important material basis and prerequisite for China's basic public sports service system. This paper aims to establish the evaluation index system by exploring the utilization of large stadiums and gymnasiums under the background of sustainable development and to provide important reference for the construction and utilization of stadiums and gymnasiums in the future. Using literature methods, quantitative statistics, analytic hierarchy process (AHP), and other methods, focusing on sustainable use, this study develops a postgame utilization evaluation system for large stadiums, considering the design, construction, operation, and management of the stadium. This paper identifies 5 first-level indicators, 13 second-level indicators, and 38 third-level indicators, which mainly included five aspects of comprehensive performance, service level, environmental performance, economic performance, and venue maintenance. The AHP method was used to determine the index weight coefficient, thus forming a sustainable use evaluation index system for the large stadiums. Finally, taking Bengbu Sports Center in Anhui province as an example, this paper makes an empirical analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rural revitalization strategies are an important task in China. Currently, it is in the transition from poverty alleviation to rural revitalization. This paper proposes an evaluation index of rural revitalization and development potential based on a summary of previous studies. Together with the TOPSIS method, the corresponding coefficients of each index layer and the weight coefficient of the criterion layer were analyzed. This shows that during the process, the work direction of rural revitalization varies based on different revitalization types. In this study, diagnostic tools are utilized to conduct a potential development analysis of rural human settlements by identifying the main influencing factors for rural revitalization. In addition, an index system for improving rural human settlement strategies is established. Overall, it helps in defining the interventions of reducing and managing the risk of rural vitalization and evaluating the potential ability of rural revitalization. It also suggests that Anhui Province should focus on carrying out the comprehensive revitalization of rural areas according to the different functional positions of the countryside. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To study the influence of dehydration conditions on the pore structure and the mechanical property of expansive soil, two experimental conditions with high-temperature drying (temperature 50 °C-humidity 10%) and high-temperature humid (temperature 50 °C-humidity 70%) were carried out. Taking the remolded expansive soil in the province of Anhui in China as the research object, this paper used mercury intrusion porosimetry (MIP) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) to analyze the pore size distribution and pore structure of remolded expansive soil samples under different dehydration conditions and duration. After these tests, their mechanical properties were further obtained by uniaxial compression tests. The results showed that the distribution of pore structure of expansive soil was various under different dehydration conditions. Under high temperature and dry environment, the volume of large pores decreased first and then increased with the time of dehydration, while the medium pore volume decreased until the dehydration was stable. Under high temperature and humid environment, the volume of large pore and medium pore both showed a trend of decrease until the dehydration kept stable. The pore volume of expansive soil did not change significantly under the two dehydration conditions. The uniaxial compressive strength (UCS) of remolded expansive soil samples in high temperature and dry environment reached the highest on the 5th day of dehydration, and then the soil strength decreased slightly until it stabilized. The UCS of remolded expansive soil reached the highest on the 15th day of dehydration under high temperature and humidity environment, and the soil strength changed little after continual dehydration. These tests showed that the UCS of dehydrated expansive soil samples under the condition of high temperature and humidity is higher than that of dehydrated expansive soil samples under the condition of high temperature and dry environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper defines five criteria and identifies 21 indicators for the modernization level of a province or a city in modern China. It collects raw index data from 31 provinces in China, between 2007 and 2017, and introduces formula for its dimensionless processing. An improved entropy method (IEM) is proposed for the evaluation of the modernization in urban areas, based on the five criteria and 21 indicators. A practical study was implemented in Anhui province employing the said IEM. The results demonstrate that the IEM is being effective in evaluating the modernization level in urban areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Accurate prediction of surface subsidence is of significance for analyzing the pattern of mining-induced surface subsidence, and for mining under buildings, railways, and water bodies. To address the problem that the existing prediction models ignore the correlation between subsidence points, resulting in large prediction errors, a Multi-point Relationship Fusion prediction model based on Graph Convolutional Networks (MRF-GCN) for mining-induced subsidence was proposed. Taking the surface subsidence in 82/83 mining area of Yuandian No. 2 Mine in Anhui Province in eastern China as an example, the surface deformation data obtained from 250 InSAR images captured by Sentinel-1A satellite from 2018 to 2022, combined with GNSS observation data, were used for modeling. The deformation pattern of each single observation point was obtained by feeding their deformation observation data into the LSTM encoder, after that, the relationship graph was created based on the correlation between points in the observation network and MRF-GCN was established. Then the prediction results came out through a nonlinear activation function of neural network. The research shows that the R2R2 value of MRF-GCN model was 0.865 0, much larger than that of Long-Short Term Memory (LSTM) and other conventional models, while mean square error (MSE) of MRF-GCN model was 1.59 899, much smaller than that of LSTM and other conventional models. Therefore, the MRF-GCN model has better prediction accuracy than other models and can be applied to predicting surface subsidence in large areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The strong disturbance of upward mining of the short-distance multiseam results in frequent fractures in the coal seam to be mined, jeopardizing the operation safety due to the instability of the surrounding rock of the overlying stope and risks of coal and gas outburst. A lucrative alternative is the downward mining of multiseam, which wide implementation is limited by the lack of reliable data on stress evolution characteristics. In this paper, the evolution, nonlinear interaction, and superposition characteristics of mining-induced stress after multiple pressure relief in the short-distance multi-seam were investigated by the numerical simulation and physical simulation, taking the endowment and mining technology characteristics of group B short-distance multiseam in Pan'er Coal Mine in Anhui Province of China as an example. The numerical and physical models of multiple (2—5 times) mining activities in pressure relief multiseam (with five main coal layers) under downward mining are constructed and implemented with the FLAC3D software and 1 : 100 scaling, respectively. The results showed that a pressure relief arch, which bears and transfers stresses, is formed on the coal seam's roof and floor. In downward mining, the local arch expands to the long arch, which bearing capacity within the influence range of multiple mining disturbances is weak, and the arch structure is prone to instability. If a coal pillar is left in the upper coal seam after its mining, the lower coal seam mining will switch from the large-scale low-stress area under the goaf to the small-scale high-stress area of nonlinear interaction of the multiple mining stresses with the stress under the coal pillar. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Avian nephritis virus infections of chicken flocks cause enteric and kidney disease, uneven growth, and runting stunting syndrome, leading to economic losses in the poultry industry. In this study, one ANV strain, designated as AH202017, was isolated from a diseased broiler flock in Anhui province, China, in 2020. Virus production in LMH cell culture was confirmed by real-time RT–PCR and immunofluorescence assay. The complete genome sequencing analysis indicated that AH202017 shares 77.5–85.5% identity with 12 reference strains in GenBank. Phylogenetic analysis of the capsid protein revealed that AH202017 is more closely related to VIC-6a/Australia/2014 belonging to ANV genotype 2. However, the phylogenetic tree, based on the ORF1a protein and ORF1b protein, indicated that AH202017 manifests a close relationship with GXJL815/China/2017 belonging to genotype 8. In infection experiments, four infected chickens showed depression and one chicken died at 6 days post-infection, corresponding to 5% mortality. The virus was shed daily in the faeces of infected chickens, and was found distributed in multiple organs. Macroscopic and microscopic lesions in the kidneys were observed. This is the first paper that describes the genomic characteristics and pathogenicity of a novel ANV strain in China. A novel ANV strain was isolated for the first time from diseased broilers in China. The ANV strain caused nephritis and 5% mortality rate in 1-day-old SPF chickens. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Solid waste backfill mining can effectively deal with gangue and other mining wastes, as well as control the movement and damage of rock strata. In this paper, the RFPA2D rock failure process analysis software is used to study the fracture evolution and seepage response mechanism of the key aquiclude strata (KAS) under the conditions of different structural characteristics, interlayer rock thickness, and backfilling ratios in backfill mining. The simulation results show that, in backfill mining, soft rock plays a crucial role in the fracture repair of KAS with different structural characteristics. An increase in the KAS thickness from 15 to 35 m is shown to results in a continuously improved repair of KAS fractures. At the advancing distance of the working face of 50~100 m and the KAS thickness of 35 m, the minimum vertical seepage velocity of 0.06 ‐ 0.78 × 10 − 2 m / s is reached. An increase in the backfilling ratio from 45 to 80% improves the control effect on the overlying strata. A case study of backfill mining in the Wugou Coal Mine located in the Anhui Province of China was conducted. At the goaf backfilling ratio of 80%, the composite KAS's good control effect was achieved, which minimized seepage and avoided the water in rush phenomena. The above engineering application ensured the safe backfill mining of coal resources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Urbanization in Central and Western China has attracted increasing attention in the advent of new-type urbanization in China and the age of 'Global Urbanism'. Although land urbanization is at the epicenter of Chinese urbanization, its process and driving forces in counties beyond the Eastern coastal areas are less known. This paper therefore seeks to investigate the spatial expansion and driving forces of land urbanization in Feixi county, a relatively advanced county neighboring Hefei city proper in Anhui province in Central China. Based on the land-use change survey data, remote sensing interpretation data, and statistical yearbook data of Feixi county from 2002 to 2016, it is revealed that the overall scale of urban land in Feixi county increased remarkably, though with obvious temporal and geographical variants. The year 2009 appears to be the cutting line between quantity-based land urbanization and quality-based land urbanization. Land urbanization rate is sensitive to both geographical distance and traffic accessibility to Hefei city proper. Driving forces of land urbanization in Feixi county are summarized as: (1) central city expansion, (2) government-led industrial park construction, and (3) large industrial projects along traffic corridors. A better understanding of urbanization in Feixi county cannot be fulfilled without taking into account the wider spatial process in Hefei city and the Yangtze River Delta city-region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A large number of subsided wetlands have formed in eastern China in areas with high-intensity mining. However, data are not currently available to indicate their spatial distribution and expansion in the past thirty years. This paper uses a modified normalized difference water index (mNDWI) and a maximum between-cluster variance (OTSU) image segmentation algorithm to extract the subsided wetlands in mining areas with high ground-water levels of eastern China from 1988 to 2018 based on Google Earth Engine. The results show that the overall accuracy of the extraction of subsided wetlands is 98%; the Kappa coefficient reached 0.81. The total area of subsided wetland in 2018 was 26,034.88 ha, of which 14,290.97 ha was in Anhui Province, accounting for 54.89% of all such wetlands. The spatial extent of subsided wetlands has grown rapidly in the past three decades with the area of subsided wetlands expanding by 11.86 times from 1988 to 2018. The total area of subsided wetlands in the winter of 2018 was 25,296.25 ha, which was smaller than in summer. This indicates that seasonal precipitation affects the spatial extent of subsided wetlands. Although some restoration activities have been successful, most of the subsided wetlands still need active development and management. In conclusion, mNDWI and OTSU image segmentation algorithms could quickly and accurately allow the extraction of the spatial extent of subsided wetlands. Subsided wetlands have strong potential for development in future ecological restoration. The ecosystem services of wetlands and availability of dynamic monitoring technology should be considered important in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The construction of electronic government (e-government) systems is a process of continuous improvement. It is necessary to evaluate the performance of e-government systems regularly to improve the services provided by government agencies and enhance the exchange of information between governments and citizens. Evaluating e-government performance based on citizens' experience is a multiple criterion decision making (MCDM) problem under uncertainty, where assessments are qualitative, and many e-government system users are involved. Deriving criterion weights from a large amount of evaluation data is rarely discussed in previous MCDM studies. This paper proposes a data-driven evidential reasoning (DDER) method for evaluating e-government performance. A criteria framework from the citizens' experience perspective, including service guide clarity, site usability, information sharing, documentation, and the availability of e-services, is proposed. Belief structures are used to portray uncertain assessments from e-government system users. The criterion weights are learned from the data by minimizing the dissimilarity between the aggregation assessments of the alternatives on each criterion and citizens' historical observations on a whole. A case study is conducted in 16 cities of Anhui province in China to evaluate the performance of e-government systems. The ranking results verified the applicability and effectiveness of the proposed method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A main purpose of the present study was to examine and compare attitudes toward inclusive education between parents of children with ASD, parents of typically developing children, and classroom teachers in China. The investigators also sought to explore factors influencing different stakeholders' perspectives. An attitude survey was distributed to 14 institutions in Shanghai and Anhui Province in China, including four kindergartens, two elementary schools, four special schools, and four private training agencies. Seven hundred and twelve responses were received, including 170 from parents of children with ASD, 337 from parents of typically developing children, and 197 from classroom teachers. Both multivariate and univariate analyses were conducted to compare differences in attitudes between groups. The results indicate that parents of children with ASD held the most positive attitudes toward inclusion, whereas classroom teachers held the least positive attitudes toward the inclusion of children with ASD. Further analyses revealed that not only were adults' attitudes influenced by their identities as parents or teachers, but their background may also influence how they perceive inclusive education. The findings of the study provided a comprehensive view on how different parties perceive inclusive education of ASD. It also provided empirical evidence that inclusion generally has a positive impact on people's attitudes toward ASD. Implications and suggestions for future research and practices were further discussed in the paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Under the strong influence of climate change and human activities, the frequency and intensity of disturbance events in the forest ecosystem both show significant increasing trends. Pine wood nematode (Bursapherenchus xylophilus, PWN) is one of the major alien invasive species in China, which has rapidly infected the forest and spread. In recent years, its tendency has been to spread from south to north, causing serious losses to Pinus and non-Pinus coniferous forests. It is urgent to carry out remote sensing monitoring and prediction of pine wilt disease (PWD). Taking Anhui Province as the study area, we applied ground survey, satellite-borne optical remote sensing imagery and environmental factor statistics, relying on the Google Earth Engine (GEE) platform to build a new vegetation index NDFI based on time-series Landsat images to extract coniferous forest information and used a random forest classification algorithm to build a monitoring model of the PWD infection stage. The results show that the proposed NDFI differentiation threshold classification method can accurately extract the coniferous forest range, with the overall accuracy of 87.75%. The overall accuracy of the PWD monitoring model based on random forest classification reaches 81.67%, and the kappa coefficient is 0.622. High temperature and low humidity are conducive to the survival of PWN, which aggravates the occurrence of PWD. Under the background of global warming, the degree of PWD in Anhui Province has gradually increased, and has transferred from the southwest and south to the middle and northeast. Our results show that PWD monitoring and prediction at a regional scale can be realized by using long time-series multi-source remote sensing data, NDFI index can accurately extract coniferous forest information and grasp disease information in a timely manner, which is crucial for effective monitoring and control of PWD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Overloading of road freight vehicles accelerates road damage, creates unfair competition in the transport market, and increases safety risk. There is a dearth of research on the mining of data of highway Freight Weight (FW), and this paper therefore aims to discover factors affecting road freight overloading based on highway FW data, with a view of developing strategies to mitigate such occurrences. A comprehensive sampling survey of road freight transportation was conducted in Anhui Province (China). Vehicle Characteristics (VC), Operation Mode (OM), and transportation information from a total of 3248 trucks were collected. In order to take advantage of the strengths associated with both statistical modelling techniques and non-parametric methods, a Classification And Regression Tree (CART) technique was integrated with Binary Logistic Regression (BLR) to reveal the factors affecting road freight overloading. The classification efficacy test shows that the BLR-CART method outperformed the BLR method in term of accuracy. It is also revealed that the factors affecting overloading of freight vehicles are the Type of Transportation (ToT), Rated Load (RL), OM, FW during the investigation period, interaction between RL and FW, and interaction among RL, FW, and Average Haul Distance (AHD). Road transport authorities should pay greater attention to these factors in order to improve efficiency and effectiveness of overloading inspection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper describes a systematic method with high accuracy and efficiency to scientifically analyse the long-term stability and deformation behaviour of an anhydrite mine-out located in Anhui, South China and evaluate the feasibility of this mine-out as an underground crude oil storage space. Applying the particle swarm optimization algorithm, the parameters of Burgers creep model of anhydrite rock were obtained based on the uniaxial compressive creep test. Considering the results of numerical simulation, element safety factor (Esf) based on the Mohr's strength theory was introduced and modified to quantificationally evaluate the long-term stability of cavern group. Combining field monitoring, the long-term deformation behaviour of the mine-out was analysed. The results show that the mine-out has good long-term stability and non-deformability. After 100 years of natural deformation, the vertical convergence deformation of the cavern is less than 500 mm, while lateral convergence deformation is less than 450 mm. The ground settlement is not more than 234 mm. The maximum loss rate of the space volume is no more than 5.38%, which is 4.75% under the condition of crude oil storage with 1.0 MPa internal pressure. Therefore, the mine-out has the potential to serve as an underground crude oil storage space. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

According to the results of the physical model tests, the failure plane of an anaclinal layered rock slope was a linear-type plane at an angle above the plane normal to the discontinuities, and the failure mode of rock strata was bending tension. However, the shear failure occurred near the slope toe, the effects of the cohesion of the discontinuities on the stability of the slope, and the contribution of tangential force to cross-section axial force were neglected in such studies. Moreover, none of the experts had developed a rigorously theoretical method for determining the angle between the failure plane and the plane normal to the discontinuities. This paper was initiated for the purpose of solving the problems described above. With the cantilever beam model and a step-by-step analytical method, an optimization of the analytical method for determining the flexural toppling failure plane based on the limit equilibrium theory was developed and the corresponding formulations were derived. Based on the present computational framework, comparisons with other studies were carried out by taking a slate slope in South Anhui in China and a rock slope facing the Tehran-Chalus Road near the Amir-Kabir Dam Lake in Iran. Furthermore, the sensitivity analyses of the parameters used in the calculation process of the failure angle of the slate slope in South Anhui in China were performed. The results demonstrated that the failure plane and the safety factor of the stability obtained with the presented method were credible, which verified the proposed method. The dip angle of the slope, the dip angle of the rock stratum, and the friction angle of the discontinuities were the controlling factors for the overall failure of the slate slope in South Anhui in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Shengjin Lake is a typical lake-type wetland in the lower of the Yangtze River, which is also an important national nature reserve in China. It is of great significance to evaluate the ecological risk of land use for promoting the coordinated development of land use and ecological environment. In this paper, according to the TM remote sensing images of Shengjin Lake wetland in Anhui province in 1986, 2002 and 2016, we used supervised classification method to divide the Shengjin Lake reserve into eight types of land use, and then we acquire land use information after the statistics of land utilization type and area, so as to analyze land use ecological risk indicator factors. Then we used analytic hierarchy process to calculate the weight of each index factor and established the land use ecological risk assessment index system. On this basis, the model of ecological risk assessment of land use was established by hierarchical analysis and fuzzy mathematics. The results showed that the overall ecological risk of Shengjin Lake wetland was intermediate in rank, from 1986 to 2016, the ecological risk of land use increased. Among them, the land use ecological risk index of the core area was relatively low, but it also showed a gradually increasing trend. The ecological risk index of the experimental area was higher. The ecological risk index of the buffer area changed obviously, and the ecological risk was serious. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Based on the theory of crossover, the purpose of this paper is to explore the limited but growing body of research on positive crossover, wherein the authors investigated the direct and indirect crossover of work passion between the dyadic setting of leader and followers. The authors hypothesized that the leader's (follower's) work passion influence follower's (leader's) work passion through direct crossover phenomena (i.e. crossover via empathy). In the study, the authors also examined the underlying indirect crossover mechanism of leader's (follower's) work passion via personal identification – the process by which individuals (supervisors and subordinates) realize cognitive overlap between the self and other over time in a relationship. In an attempt to fully understand the crossover of leader's (follower's) work passion, the authors scrutinized the pattern of leader–follower relationship quality, which has the capacity to moderate the direct and indirect crossover of work passion from leader to follower and vice versa. Design/methodology/approach: The authors conducted two independent studies and collected a time-lagged data from the dyadic settings of a large trade multinational company (n=77 supervisor and 373 subordinates) and a large manufacturing multinational company (n=89 supervisor and 411 subordinates) situated in Anhui province of China to test the authors' moderated mediation model of work passion. Findings: As expected the authors found support for all the authors' hypothesized relationships. Specifically, the results provide support for the notion of direct and indirect crossover of work passion within leader–follower dyads. Moreover, the authors' findings also support the moderated mediation model of direct and indirect crossover of work passion. Originality/value: Overall, this study provides a potential way to stimulate work passion in employees (leader and followers) from the perspective of their relationship quality with each other. Moreover, implications for theory, research and practice with prospective future research topics are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study delves into the factors influencing the willingness of rural land transfers in different terrain areas, aiming to promote the improvement of land transfer institutions and accelerate the process of scale farming. Based on rural survey data from Anhui and Qinghai provinces in China, this research uses geographical detector and Binary Logistic Model to explore the differential factors affecting the willingness of farmers to participate in land contract transfer in the first and third terrain areas of China. The study examines four dimensions, including individual characteristics, family endowments, social support strategies, and geographical environment. The findings reveal the following: (1) By comparing the mean values, standard deviations, and coefficients of variation of the data from both provinces, it is evident that the indicators of individual characteristics, family endowments, social support strategies, and geographical environment differ significantly between the two provinces. This indicates substantial disparities in the basic attributes of farmers and their living environments. (2) The single-factor explanatory power significantly influencing farmers' willingness to engage in land transfer varies considerably and is statistically significant at the 1% level. The types of interaction between two factors mainly include dual-factor enhancement, nonlinear enhancement, single-factor nonlinear attenuation, and nonlinear attenuation. (3) There are commonalities and differences in the factors that significantly influence farmers' willingness to participate in land transfer in the two provinces. Common factors influencing farmers' land transfer willingness in both provinces include: the educational level of household heads, the health status of household heads, the number of family laborers, the arable land area, the differentiation of agricultural management objectives, the proportion of agricultural operating income, labor service economy, and relocation policies. Factors showing different influences include: the age of household heads, school-age children, the number of family members engaged in different occupations, the proportion of income from off-farm employment, minimum guarantee policies credit support, location distance, and terrain undulation. Therefore, in formulating land transfer policies, the government should prioritize significant driving factors influencing farmers' decision-making behavior in different regions. It is essential to develop and implement land transfer policies tailored to local conditions with the primary goal of safeguarding the rights and interests of the principal stakeholders, thus achieving sustainable land utilization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nanling County, situated on the southern bank of the Yangtze River's middle and lower reaches in China, and has not yet carried out hydrogeochemical geological surveys. This study is pivotal in ensuring the reliability of the drinking water supply, particularly during emergencies. Utilizing an array of analytical methods—statistical analysis, Shularev classification, Piper trilinear diagram, Gibbs diagram, ion ratio method, and mineral saturation index—this research elucidates the hydrogeochemical characteristics and principal water–salt interactions in Nanling's shallow groundwater. Our findings, derived from the Shularev classification and Piper trilinear diagram, reveal that, in the southern mountainous and river valley plain regions, the primary hydrogeochemical type of groundwater is HCO3-Ca. Conversely, in the northern area of Sanli Town and the adjoining plain, groundwater predominantly falls under the HCO3-Na•Ca category, with some regions showing the characteristics of HCO3•Cl-Ca, HCO3•Cl-Na•Ca, and, occasionally, HCO3•SO4-Na•Ca. According to the Gibbs diagram analysis, the predominant source of groundwater in this region is attributed to water–rock dissolution processes occurring during groundwater runoff. The increase in Na+, Ca2+, Cl−, HCO3−, and SO42− concentrations in the water–rock interaction in the study area is mainly due to the dissolution of rock salt, gypsum, calcite, and dolomite, and the alternating cation adsorption occurs during the reaction. Finally, the mineral saturation index points to the ongoing dissolution of gypsum, calcite, and dolomite, until a state of precipitation–dissolution equilibrium is reached. This comprehensive study provides vital insights into the hydrogeochemical dynamics of Nanling County's groundwater, contributing significantly to our understanding of regional water quality and its management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Amphibians and reptiles, especially the critically endangered Chinese alligators, are vulnerable to climate change. Historically, the decline in suitable habitats and fragmentation has restricted the distribution of Chinese alligators to a small area in southeast Anhui Province in China. However, the effects of climate change on range‐restricted Chinese alligator habitats are largely unknown. We aimed to predict current and future (2050s and 2070s) Chinese alligator distribution and identify priority conservation areas under climate change. We employed species distribution models, barycenter migration analyses, and the Marxian model to assess current and future Chinese alligator distribution and identify priority conservation areas under climate change. The results showed that the lowest temperature and rainfall seasonality in the coldest month were the two most important factors affecting the distribution of Chinese alligators. Future predictions indicate a reduction (3.39%–98.41%) in suitable habitats and a westward shift in their distribution. Further, the study emphasizes that suitable habitats for Chinese alligators are threatened by climate change. Despite the impact of the Anhui Chinese Alligator National Nature Reserve, protection gaps persist, with 78.27% of the area lacking priority protected area. Our study provides crucial data for Chinese alligator adaptation to climate change and underscores the need for improved conservation strategies. Future research should refine conservation efforts, consider individual plasticity, and address identified limitations to enhance the resilience of Chinese alligator populations in the face of ongoing climate change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Surplus rural workers seek employment through inter-provincial migration, which was once a path to urbanization in labor export regions, and contributed a lot to the economic and social development of both the labor export regions and labor import regions. But in recent years the labor shortage in eastern regions indicates new changes of the Chinese population structure and migration. Based on the macro statistical analysis and field survey, this paper analyzes Huaiyuan County in northern Anhui Province by using the push-and-pull model as the analytical framework. Then it explores the mechanism of population migration and the tendency of urbanization from the aspects of the pull from labor import regions and the push from labor export regions. The study shows that both the pull from labor import regions and the push from labor export regions are decreasing, and reverse population migration may occur. Therefore, to accommodate such changes, labor export regions should transfer from "Laborers Migrating for Employment" to "Industry Transfer for Laborers" to promote healthy urbanization. Finally, it proposes further discussions in combination with the National New Urbanization Plan (2014 - 2020). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, innovation and entrepreneurship education is one of the hot spots of higher education research and practice in China. Innovation and entrepreneurship education can be taken as a new direction. Despite the commonly held view that entrepreneurship education drive the promotion of entrepreneurial intention, little is known about the mechanism through which this intervention impacts on entrepreneurial intention. Based on the assimilation learning theory of cognitive structure and the planned behavior theory, the purpose of this work is to analyze the relationship between innovation and entrepreneurship education (IEE) and entrepreneurial intention from the perspective of educational psychology, to explore the influence mechanism of IEE on entrepreneurial intention, and to promote the success of college students in entrepreneurship. In this study, questionnaires were conducted among college students of different colleges, majors, and grades in Anhui province, with the aid of multiple linear regression analysis and mediating effect model analysis. The results show that IEE has positive effect on entrepreneurial intention. In addition, entrepreneurial knowledge plays a mediating role in the relationship between IEE and entrepreneurial intention. And the mediating effect of innovation behavior and entrepreneurial attitude is not obvious. These results are expected to provide evidence for understanding the relationship between IEE and entrepreneurial intention under the background of Chinese education, to enrich and expand the theoretical basis of IEE, and to possess theoretical, empirical, and practical significance for the design and implementation of innovation and entrepreneurship education for college students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Alunite is used as a representative mineral for indicating deposits in lithocaps, and lithocaps are generally related to the porphyry–(high-sulfidation) epithermal mineralization system. The study of alunite is of theoretical and exploration significance for prospecting potential underlying porphyry and epithermal deposits. Studies on alunite geochemistry have made breakthroughs, but there is little research on alunite mineralogy, for example, using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images, differential thermal analysis (DTA), and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR). This study mainly focuses on alunite micromorphological characteristics, weight loss changes with temperature, and ionic group structure, aiming to identify the relationship between these features and indications for prospecting. The Fanshan lithocap is located in the northwest part of the Luzong basin, Anhui province of China, and it can potentially be used for exploring porphyry and epithermal deposits. Fanshan alunite is formed in two stages with three types of alunite. IA alunite is formed in the early hydrothermal stage and replaces felsic minerals in the Zhuanqiao Formation, IB alunite is formed in the later hydrothermal stage and fills in open spaces with bladed particles, and II alunite is the product of pyrite oxidation and reaction with other minerals in the supergene stage. Alunite electron microprobe data and energy-dispersive spectroscopy data further confirm temperature decreases with hydrothermal evolution, and the presence of a high-sulfidation epithermal system in the Luzong basin. Aside from the forming environment, SWIR, and geochemistry of alunite, there are other indication indexes; for example, the larger peak values at 3480 cm−1 and smaller peak values at 1080 cm−1 in FT-IR spectra and the deeper exothermic valleys at 750 °C and steeper weight loss slopes in the DTA curve suggest a favorable formation environment for alunite and provide valuable indications for deposit exploration and assessments of mineralization potential. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the rapid development of multimedia technology, short video apps have become a common form of entertainment for the elderly. Studies showed that participation in short video apps have positive impact on the elderly. However, research on the elderly's preference for apps designed for them is limited. In this study, the target subjects--the population in demand for using short video apps -- are the elderly aged 55-75 years old and in good health in rural areas of northern Anhui. The two objectives of this study are: (1) to analyze the well-known we-media software related to short videos in China; (2) to investigate and explore the elderly's demand for short video apps through Kano model questionnaire. The results showed the preference of the elderly for interface design, functional content, interaction mode, and information display. The enhancement of these four qualities in the development and design of we-media will not only provide more positive experience for elderly users, but also ensure the design suitability of we-media for them. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rice production in the Anhui province is threatened by fungal diseases. We obtained twenty-five fungal isolates from rice and wild rice leaves showing leaf spot disease collected along the Yangtze River. A phylogenetic analysis based on internal transcribed spacer (ITS), translation elongation factor 1 alpha (TEF1-α), and beta tubulin (TUB2) sequences revealed one isolate (SS-2-JB-1B) grouped with Nigrospora sphaerica, one (QY) with Nigrospora chinensis, twenty-two with Nigrospora oryzae, and one isolate (QY-2) grouped in its own clade, which are related to but clearly different from N. oryzae. Nineteen tested isolates, including sixteen strains from the N. oryzae clade and the three isolates of the other three clades, caused disease on detached rice leaves. The three isolates that did not belong to N. oryzae were also able to cause disease in rice seedlings, suggesting that they were rice pathogens. Isolate QY-2 differed from the other isolates in terms of colony morphology, cell size, and susceptibility to fungicides, indicating that this isolate represents a new species that we named Nigrospora anhuiensis. Our analysis showed that N. sphaerica, N. chinensis, and the new species, N. anhuiensis, can cause rice leaf spot disease in the field. This research provides new knowledge for understanding rice leaf spot disease. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although a large number of reviews have studied different scales of forest ecosystem services, few have concentrated on accounting the spatiotemporal dynamic changes of forest ecosystem services in a region. To make a more accurate accounting, this paper selects intense data sets that assess the physical quantity and value of forest ecosystem services in Anhui provinces from 2009 to 2014. Regulating and supporting services such as water conservation, carbon sequestration and oxygen release, soil conservation and air purification are included in the paper as variables. Optimize analysis was further conducted in order to identify the spatial and temporal heterogeneity during the study period. We establish a dynamic ecosystem services assessment model with the coefficient of spatial heterogeneity and coefficients of scarce resources and social development to analyze the trend of the value in Anhui province. This model is designed for comparisons of forest services in different scales in Anhui province. The results demonstrate that the total value of forest ecosystem services is beyond the previous estimation while using spatiotemporal visualization. The implications are that the evaluation of forest ecosystem services should be measured more accurately with the help of big data in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• A large-area digital soil mapping method based on environmental-similarity is proposed. • The distance-decay relationship is adaptively determined by spatial distribution of samples. • Adaptively considering spatial distance to samples improves soil prediction accuracy. Digital soil mapping (DSM) based on environmental similarity may be used to predict the soil properties at unvisited locations based on the soil–environment relationship at each sample locations, which is more suitable for large-area (or regional scale) predictive mapping with comparatively limited soil samples than (geo-)statistical DSM methods with high requirements for the quantity and spatial distribution of samples. Recently, the DSM method based on environmental similarity but with inadequate consideration of the First Law of Geography was improved by considering the spatial distance to samples by means of the inverse distance weight (IDW), following the assumption that the more similar the environmental conditions and the shorter the spatial distance between the locations of interest and a sample are, the more similar the soil properties of the two locations. However, the current consideration of spatial distance by a constant distance-decay parameter should be improper across a whole large area under mapping due to the spatial variation of both sample distribution and the environmental conditions over a large area. In this paper, we propose a new large-area DSM method based on environmental similarity with adaptive consideration of spatial distance to samples by using adaptive distance-decay parameter values across a large area. An evaluation experiment to predict the soil organic matter at a depth of 0–20 cm at a 90-m resolution with a total of 659 soil samples in Anhui Province (approximately 134000 km2), China, was carried out. Evaluation results show that the proposed method (named iPSM-AdaIDW) achieved higher accuracy (with a root mean square error, or RMSE, of 8.273 g/kg) than two representative environmental-similarity-based DSM methods, i.e., individual Predictive Soil Mapping (iPSM) (without considering the spatial distance to samples) (RMSE = 8.878 g/kg) and iPSM considering spatial distance with a constant distance-decay parameter across the study area (RMSE = 8.310 g/kg), and a representative of large-area DSM not based on environmental similarity, i.e., the random forest kriging method (RMSE = 9.647 g/kg). For large areas with quantitively limited and unevenly distributed samples, the proposed method can achieve more applicable and accurate predictions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Regional landscape ecological risk (LER) assessment is of great significance for coordinating the relationship between land use and ecological environment, and for promoting the rational allocation of resources, and it is the basis and guarantee for achieving sustainable development. By assessing the landscape ecological risk of the Huaihe River ecological and economic zone, it can promote the development of ecological risk assessment theory, provide a scientific basis for the formulation of ecological civilization construction planning and policies, and help to strengthen environmental monitoring, planning and management, and promote the construction of ecological civilization. Based on the remote sensing image data of land use from 1985 to 2020, the spatiotemporal evolution characteristics of land use and LER in the Anhui section of the Huaihe River Ecological and Economic Belt in China were explored. The results showed that: (1) The construction land showed an increasing trend, with an increased area of 4753.35 km2, whereas the cultivated land showed a negative growth trend, with a reduced area of 4487.58 km2. (2) During the past 35 years, the ecological risks in the research area showed a decreasing trend as a whole, with medium-low and medium-risk areas ranking as the main; medium-high and high-risk areas are mainly distributed on both sides of the Huaihe River and in the northern-central part of Suzhou City. (3) Moran's I values of LER in each period were showing significant spatial autocorrelation and tending to converge spatially. In the future, the ecological security pattern should be optimized for local high-risk deterioration areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Resilience is crucial for older adults who experience adversities, but research on the issue in rural China remains limited. This study aims to examine factors associated with resilience among older adults in rural China, as related to different types of resilience, and under different levels of adversity. Methods: Data were taken from the eight-wave (2001–2021) Longitudinal Study of Older Adults in Anhui Province, China. We used data from the eighth wave (2021) for the outcome variables and lagged predictors (2018) to avoid reverse causal effects. The study sample included individuals 60 years and above, excluding new participants from 2021, those without any adverse events, and any respondents with incomplete analytic data. Resilience was operationalized as residuals of the regressions of life satisfaction (Life Satisfaction Scale) and depressive symptoms (CES-D) on adversity, referred to as Type-1 and Type-2 resilience respectively. These two types of resilience were then treated as the outcome variables in subsequent multilevel regressions, with the predictors focusing on individual, social, and environmental characteristics and resources. This study adheres to STROBE guidelines. Results: 43% of rural older adults exhibited both Type-1 and Type-2 resilience, whereas 18% exhibited only Type-1 resilience and 7% exhibited only Type-2 resilience. Common factors associated with both types of resilience included self-rated health, satisfaction with one's own financial situation, and the prestigiousness of social networks. Predictors for higher levels of Type-1 resilience included higher levels of financial and emotional support and more options for places of leisure. Predictors for higher levels of Type-2 resilience included greater access to medical care. The prestigiousness of social networks, higher levels of emotional support and instrumental support, access to medical care, and more options of places of leisure were positively associated with resilience in the low-adversity group (first tertile of adversity), only satisfaction with financial situation was positively correlated with the resilience of the middle-adversity group (second tertile), while better self-rated health, satisfaction with financial situation, and financial support yielded greater resilience in the high-adversity group (third tertile). Conclusions: We examined two types of resilience among older adults in rural China, and found that they have shared and unique associated factors. In addition, the potential factors influencing resilience varied with the level of adversity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The chemical compositions of juice and peel from 37 cultivars of pomegranates grown in China were identified using UPLC-Q TOF MS. The total phenolic contents and antioxidant activities of pomegranate juice and peel samples were also determined to make comparisons of their potential nutraceutical values. A total of 20 and 25 compounds were tentatively identified from the juice and peel samples. For the antioxidant activities of juice samples, No. 32 from Italy showed greatest abilities in scavenging DPPH and ABTS free radicals, and a registered novel cultivar No. 24 showed greatest value in scavenging oxygen radical. For the peel samples, No. 8 from Anhui Province of China showed generally greater values in all the three assays. All these results showed that different cultivars of pomegranate have different amounts of bioactive components and antioxidant activities, and development about the byproduct of these pomegranates after industrial processing should be focused in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China's urbanization has taken a unique course with carefully planned economic growth, since last four decades. Economic development zones are exclusive spaces, representing the intimate connection between political authority and urbanization. The imbalanced spatial development of China's economy leads to transfer of industries among different regions of Anhui province. This inter-regional transferring of industries is not only reflecting the dynamic changes of factor endowments among the regions but also an important way to promote the development of under-developed regions. The Wanjiang Demonstration Area (WDA) was selected to undertake industrial transfer, and it results in industrial transfer rely on synergistic effect of technology and local talent. This study analyzed the synergistic effect of technology and local talent of WDA industry transfer by using entropy value method and coupling coordination degree model based on discussing the talent factors that influence the technical level. The result indicates that talent level index (66,190.23, Uj) is much higher than technology level index (1793.65, Ui); coordination degrees of technology and talent in WDA with the values ranging from 0.09 to 2.16 were found and also manifesting low coupling coordination and system imbalance. As per the coupling method, synergistic effects of technology and talent of industry transfer in WDA are basically in a low coupling stage, and the coupling degree ranges were from 0.10 to 0.19. There were regional variations in the metrics that measure talent and technology including (composite index, coupling degree and coordination degree). All indices in the Hefei city are much greater than those in other nearby areas; with the exception of the coupling degree, in resulting regional barriers should be avoided and unrestricted exchanges of talent and technology should be encouraged. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

National Forest Villages in China are village types with significant environmental resources and cultural landscapes that play a vital role in ecological conservation, tourism development, territorial planning, and other elements. Understanding tourists' landscape perception preferences is important to the long-term development of their landscape systems. Using Xidi village from the second batch of National Forest Villages as a research case, we gathered the evaluation digital footprints of visitors to the village with Python (version 3.12.0) and then used the ROST CM6 software and the semantic network analysis method to sort out the general characteristics of visitors' perceptions of the village's landscape. Finally, we constructed a multidimensional landscape perception model by studying precise details of passengers' views of Xidi village on four dimensions: natural landscape, humanistic landscape, landscape environmental atmosphere, and emotional state. The findings show that travelers' perceptions of Xidi village's landscape primarily focus on scenery, architecture, and culture, with the humanistic landscape having the strongest degree of perception, the landscape environment atmosphere having the middle degree of perception, and the natural landscape having a weaker degree of perception. Most travelers have positive emotions, and commercialization and homogenization are negative factors that trigger negative emotions. The optimization recommendations for Xidi village's landscape system are then offered in light of the study's findings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Knowledge of vertical distribution of air pollutants is important for understanding the mechanisms underlying haze pollution. In this paper, we characterize the vertical structure of air pollutants based on ground-based Multi-Axis Differential Optical Absorption Spectroscopy (MAX-DOAS) measurements in the wintertime in Hefei, East China. Both NO 2 and aerosol show exponentially decreasing profile with high concentrations concentrated close to the surface, suggesting the major emissions are at ground level. SO 2 profiles extend to slightly higher altitudes than NO 2 , which might be due to the SO 2 emissions from elevated point sources (e.g., power plants). Elevated HCHO was observed in the middle layer during noon time, probably indicating that the larger effect of the photochemical formation of atmospheric HCHO rather than direct HCHO emissions. Potential source contribution function (PSCF) and concentration-weighted trajectory (CWT) models were used to evaluate the potential sources of Hefei's air pollution in the lower, middle and upper boundary layer. The results revealed that the major regional source of NO 2 and aerosol were located in the northern and eastern part of Anhui and the transport mainly occured in the lower layer. Transported SO 2 from the northwestern regions in the middle layer made great contribution to SO 2 in Hefei. HCHO was mostly produced locally while the transport of HCHO from potential source areas was negligible. To further explore the potential source contributions affecting haze pollution, PSCF and CWT analysis for heavy haze episodes suggested that the potential source areas for aerosol were almost located in the northern region, the northwestern region, and the YRD region. Our findings provide a more comprehensive understanding for regional transport through the study on potential sources at different altitudes, which are useful for designing collaborative air pollution control strategies on a regional scale. • Vertical distribution of air pollutants is investigated to identify potential sources at different altitudes during winter. • Both NO 2 and aerosol show exponentially decreasing profile with high concentrations concentrated close to the surface. • SO 2 and HCHO profile typically extended to higher altitudes than NO 2 and aerosol did during winter. • The main potential sources for aerosol were located in the northern region, the northwestern region, and the YRD region. • This study is useful for designing collaborative air pollution control strategies on a regional scale. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]