Search

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

We analyzed haplotypes for 36 Y chromosomal STRs (Y-STRs), including 27 Yfiler Plus loci and 9 additional STRs (DYS549, DYS643, DYS508, DYS447, DYS596, DYS444, DYS557, and DYS527a/b) in 2018 unrelated Chinese Han individuals from Anhui Province using DNATyperTM 36Y Kit. Phylogenetic analysis was performed to determine the genetic relationship of the Anhui Han population with other neighboring and/or linguistically close populations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recently, the environmental microplastic pollution has aroused wide interdisciplinary attentions. However, the occurrence of microplastics in agricultural soils is rarely understood, especially in eastern China. In this work, the occurrence and characteristic property of microplastics in agricultural soils in Anhui province, which is situated in eastern China, was investigated for the first time according to the density separation and filtration method. The concentration of microplastic in agricultural soils varied from 0.66 to 17.66 (103 kg−1 dry soil), and the fiber (~ 55.1%), film (~ 34.7%) were the main types in farmland soils. In addition, the small size (250 ~ 500 µm) was the dominant size of microplastics in agricultural soils in Anhui province. The concentration of microplastics was closely related to geographical location and planting patterns. Meanwhile, the types of microplastics were polystyrene (PS), polyethylene (PE), polypropylene (PP), and high-density polyethylene (HDPE). Finally, the environmental risk of microplastics in farmland soil in Anhui Province was evaluated. The overall risk index of farmland soil microplastics in Anhui Province was less than 1000, and the content of soil microplastics was high, but the overall risk level was low. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Excessive applications of agricultural chemical fertilizers contribute to environmental pollution and climate change. Although chemical fertilizers ensure high grain yields, it is crucial to regulate fertilization practices and avoid excessive application to achieve sustainable agricultural development. The overall goal of this study is to examine how market pressure and social network affect farmers' adoption of low-carbon fertilization practice. Data analyses were based on 1255 observations collected from a field survey in Anhui Province of China in 2021. The results showed that 32.1% of farmers had adopted low-carbon fertilization practices. The findings showed that market pressure, including consumption pressure and sales pressure, had positive impacts on the farmers' adoption of low-carbon fertilization practices. Findings also revealed that consumption pressure has a more significant influence on farmers' adoption of low-carbon fertilization practices than sales pressure. Social network has a significant positive influence on the farmers' adoption of low-carbon fertilization practices. Further analysis revealed that organizational network has a more significant influence on farmers' adoption of low-carbon fertilization practices than production networks. Therefore, the government should utilize market pressure and strengthen farmers' social network to improve the adoption rate of low-carbon fertilization practices. The results and policy implications of this study are significant for sustainable agricultural development under climate change in China and other countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Livelihood resilience is the ability of individuals, families or communities to withstand external shocks based on existing resources. It is an important research paradigm in sustainable development studies. The outbreak of COVID-19 and strict epidemic prevention policies have greatly impacted the production and life of rural farmers in China. The resilience of farmers' livelihoods during the epidemic is crucial to the sustainable development of their livelihoods and regional stability. This study uses classic buffer capacity, self-organization ability, and the capacity for learning a three-dimension livelihood resilience framework using the comprehensive index, OLS, and geographical detector methods based on Hubei province and neighboring Anhui and Chongqing. Rural household survey data investigate the background of epidemic hit the livelihood of farmers resilience and its spatial distribution pattern and identify the key influencing factors. The results show that the livelihood shock faced by farmers was higher than the risk of disease, and the overall level of livelihood resilience was low after the pandemic. Financial capital and social capital can effectively help farmers to eliminate livelihood difficulties. In contrast, natural capital has a limited driving force, and physical and human capital have no obvious impact. The spatial agglomeration differentiation is obvious, indicating that the impact of COVID-19 on livelihoods was closely related to the degree of local socio-economic development and geographical location. The results of this study provide targeted recommendations for the development of epidemic prevention and livelihood resilience policies tailored to local conditions, emphasizing the importance of boosting livelihood recovery at both the government and household levels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The extant literature on international immigrants has discussed migrants' entrepreneurial activities in the context of Western countries but has paid little attention to return-home entrepreneurial intention (RHEI). Rural migrant workers (RMWs) in China, who used to promote rural development by remittances and were characterized by similarities with early international migrants, have gradually returned to their hometowns to initiate entrepreneurial activities. Based on the structured questionnaire conducted in 2015 and 2020 in Anhui Province, China, this article combines the concept of mixed embeddedness with the idea of double-layered embeddedness and analyzes the impacts of the social, economic and institutional context in RMWs' hometowns and migration destinations on RMWs' RHEI by using binary logistic regression. The article shows that the social, economic, and institutional environments of RMWs' hometowns and migration destinations have effects on their RHEI. The embeddedness in the economic and informal institutional context in RMWs' RHEI is even more important than personal characteristics. Compared with migration destinations, RMWs' hometowns exert a more influential effect on their RHEI. However, that does not mean that the role of migration destinations can be undervalued. Actually, the better the social, economic, and institutional environments of migration destinations RMWs moved into is, the higher entrepreneurial intention they will have after returning to their hometowns. The article proposes a modified framework in combination of mixed embeddedness with double-layer embeddedness and proves that it is suitable for analyzing RMWs' RHEI. The framework has important implications for strengthening China's RMWs to return home to start their own businesses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Mine Water & the Environment is the property of Springer Nature and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The complete genome of a novel virus, provisionally named "Camellia sinensis badnavirus 1" (CSBV1), was identified in tea plant (Camellia sinensis) leaves collected in Anhui Province, China. The genome of CSBV1 consists of 8,195 bp and possesses three open reading frames (ORFs), sharing 68.6 % nucleotide sequence identity with the genome of Camellia lemon glow virus (CLGV) from Camellia japonica. The genome organization of CSBV1 is highly similar to that of members of the genus Badnavirus (family Caulimoviridae). Phylogenetic analysis revealed that CSBV1, CLGV, and cacao swollen shoot virus form a separate clade within the genus Badnavirus, suggesting that CSBV1 is the first badnavirus infecting C. sinensis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Jiangnan Orogenic Belt in South China formed as a result of the amalgamation between the Yangtze Block and the Cathaysian Block and records the geological information of collision. However, the timing of the amalgamation of two blocks remains controversial. Here, structural deformation and zircon U-Pb geochronological results from Precambrian metamorphosed sedimentary-volcanic rock units at the eastern domain of the Jiangnan orogenic belt in southern Anhui Province are presented. The pre-Nanhua rocks in the study area were widely involved in the metamorphism and deformation to with NW or SE-dipping foliation, tight folds and local development of strike-slip ductile shear zones, which is induced by collision of Yangtze Block and the Cathaysia Block. In this study, a mylonitic granodiorite sample intruding in the Xikou Group, a mylonitic dacite sample from Jingtan Formation and two deformed quartz veins samples in the Shexian region were dated by LA-ICP-MS zircon U-Pb dating method. Zircons from the mylonitic granodiorite and dacite yield the weighted mean ages of 811.2 ± 7.5 Ma (MSWD = 0.51, n = 30) and 779 ± 7.4 Ma (MSWD = 0.42, n = 29), respectively, interpreted as the crystallization ages of the original rocks, whereas the zircons from deformed quartz veins yield the weighted mean ages of 779 ± 14 Ma (MSWD = 2.6, n = 22) and 769 ± 16 Ma (MSWD = 2.4, n = 16), respectively, representing the crystallization age of the quartz veins. Combined with previous data, our results show that the metamorphosis and deformation of Pre-Nanhua rocks took place during the period of 820–770 Ma. Therefore, we consider that the Yangtze Block and the Cathaysian Block the eastern Jiangnan Orogenic Belt don't amalgamate until 770 Ma. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The determination of groundwater hydrochemical facies (GHF) is useful for analyzing the chemical composition of groundwater, tracking sources of groundwater recharge and assessing how its chemical composition changes along groundwater flowpaths due to water–rock interactions. This paper proposes a geographical information systems (GIS)-based method for identifying and mapping the spatial distribution of GHF categories in an aquifer. Several procedures including spatial interpolation, raster reclassification, raster-to-vector conversion, spatial union overlay, and generalization methods are coupled in GIS tools to determine the type and distribution of GHF categories. This method was implemented to distinguish shallow GHF categories for a shallow aquifer near Fuyang City in Anhui Province, China. The results obtained from the GIS assessment of water quality data from 30 wells show there were seven types of hydrochemical facies identified in the study area. The major GHFs categories are HCO3–Na + K + Ca + Mg, HCO3–Ca + Mg, HCO3–Na + K + Ca, and HCO3–Na + K, which cover 94% of the total area. The GIS method correctly identified the GHF categories determined in 80% of the wells in the area. The major GHFs categories progressively change in the direction of groundwater flow from HCO3–Ca + Mg to HCO3–Na + K+Ca + Mg, then to HCO3–Na + K + Ca, and then to HCO3–Na + K. The changes in the proportions of major ions in groundwater, coupled with salinity increases in the direction of groundwater flow are due to the combined effects of water–rock interactions in the aquifer and human activities. The method can relatively efficiently identify and map GHF zones for aquifers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents an investigation on the effect of grouting into multi-bed-separation to control mining-induced surface subsidence. In the overburden without obvious thick-and-hard strata for generating large-scale bed separation, overburden grouting is carried out by increasing the number of boreholes and grouting strata. The scale model test, numerical simulation, and field measurements are used to study distribution and process of bed separation and to compare the overburden failure with surface subsidence due to pre- and post-overburden grouting, with a case study of the Qi'nan Coal Mine, Anhui Province, China. The scale model test and numerical simulation results of the overburden grouting process are in close agreement with those obtained from the field measurements. Filling masses with different diffusion radii are commonly formed in the different bed separation, which are overlaid to control the surface subsidence. It is proven that overburden grouting can successfully mitigate overburden failure and subsidence without obvious hard strata and bed separations. This provides an effective and cost-efficient approach for addressing the surface subsidence and overburden deformation problems due to mining. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Inclusive green growth (IGG) offers an effective alternative to pursue sustainable development. The core of the IGG system lies in the coordination of inclusive, green, and growth subsystems. However, there is little quantitative assessment on IGG based on subsystem collaboration. This study proposes a holistic scheme of inclusive-green-growth nexus in Anhui province from 2009 to 2018 by using an integrated approach, namely, the entropy weight approach (EWA), coupling coordination degree model (CCDM), grey prediction model (GPM), and obstacle factor diagnostic model (OFDM). The results show that: (1) The proposed integrated approach could be viable to measure the synergistic interactions among internal IGG subsystems; (2) At the provincial level, a relatively high IGG performance but a low coupling coordination degree (CCD) of the IGG nexus are seen. Although the predicted value of CCD will show an upward trend, it will not be able to cross the start stage. The obstacle factors on the coordinated development of IGG can be divided into two stages: (3) At the prefectural level, the cities in which CCD is rising outnumber those it is falling. However, the CCD is also low, and the gap between cities is getting wider. The obstacles that affect the CCD of cities see a dynamic evolution trend from "inclusive obstacle type" to "inclusive and growth obstacle type" then to "green obstacle type" over the decade. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mapping of groundwater distribution potential over space, built by synergizing environmental variables and machine learning models, was of great significance for regional water resources management. A total of 245 wells were identified based on field survey in the Chihe River basin in Anhui province, out of which 172 wells locations were randomly used for training the machine models and the other 73 wells for validation process of machine models. Thirteen environmental variables including elevation, slope, slope aspect, plan curvature, profile curvature, topographic wetness index (TWI), drainage density, distance to rivers, distance to faults, lithology, soil type, land use, and normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) were used to build the spatial database of this research. Three GIS-based machine learning models were used for mapping the groundwater distribution potential: logistic regression (LR), deep neural networks (DNN) and random forest (RF). Then, the applicability of those models was evaluated by the evaluation index of mean absolute error (MAE), root mean square error (RMSE) and correlation coefficient (R). The final results indicated that the potential of regional groundwater distribution is concentrated in moderate to high potential areas. Among them, the moderate to the high potential distribution area in the LR model accounted for 81.14% of the total area, 90.36% and 87.55% in the DNN model and the RF model, respectively. In addition, three machine learning models can be implemented for prediction of groundwater distribution based on the three evaluation indexes, among which the LR model performs more prominently. The good prediction capabilities of machine learning technologies can provide a reliable scientific basis for spatial prediction of groundwater distribution and management of water resources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An iron ore mine at Anhui Province of China is in the transition from open pit to underground mining. The closed open pit of this mine will be filled with mine waste for land reclamation. This is conducive to the sustainable development of the mine. However, filling the open pit may affect the exploitation of lower mineral resources. Therefore, the influence of the filling of the pit on the underground mining operation should be investigated. A numerical model is thus established to study the mechanical response of the pit and underground stope to the open pit filling. The strain–time evolution of backfill with binder content and stress–strain data of backfill with curing time are investigated and thus used to compare with the relevant outcomes predicted by the developed model. The comparison results can prove the validity and applicability of the developed model. The validated model is then applied to study the evolutions of stress and displacement of the pit and stope during the filling process. The simulation results indicate that stress concentration of the slope, pit bottom and underground stope evolves during the filling process. The displacement of the stope roof is affected by the horizontal distance between the stope and the pit bottom. Filling the open pit can reduce the maximum stress on the stope roof. The obtained results can be combined with the field monitoring data in the future, which will provide guidance for the better production arrangement of the open pit filling and underground stope mining. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The complete genome sequence of a virus from lily (Lilium lancifolium Thunb.) growing in Huoshan County, Anhui Province, China, was determined. The whole genome consists of 9558 nucleotides, excluding the poly(A) tail, and encodes a 3061-amino-acid polyprotein (GenBank number ON365558) typical of potyviruses. This is the first complete genome sequence of iris potyvirus B (IPB), for which only a partial sequence from Iris domestica was reported previously. Comparative analysis of this genome sequence with those of closely related potyviruses identified nine cleavage sites and the conserved motifs typical of potyviruses. The complete polyprotein ORF shares 73.6% nucleotide and 81.6% amino acid sequence identity with that of iris potyvirus A (IPA, GenBank number MH898493). Phylogenetic analysis showed that IPB is related to IPA and clusters in a group with lily yellow mosaic virus (LYMV). This is the first report of IPB infecting lily plants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aimed to explore the prevalence of sleep disturbances among preschool children in rural areas of China and identify the underlying associated factors. A cross-sectional study was conducted in rural areas of Anhui Province, China, from September 2019 to January 2020. The caregivers of children from 26 kindergartens completed the demographic questionnaire, the Children's Sleep Habits Questionnaire (CSHQ), the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ), the Self-rating Anxiety Scale (SAS), and the adapted Identification and Management of Feeding Difficulties (IMFeD) tool. One-way analysis of variance, independent-samples t-test, and hierarchical multiple linear regression were conducted to explore the potential influencing factors of sleep disturbances in preschool children. For the specific sleep disturbances based on each subscale of the CSHQ, bedtime resistance (54.9%) and sleep anxiety (47.9%) were the most common types of sleep disturbances, followed by daytime sleepiness (21.3%), sleep duration (20.8%), parasomnias (16.5%), sleep-onset delay (12.6%), night wakings (12.2%) and sleep-disordered breathing (10.3%). The ages of children, children's emotional/behavioral problems, children's feeding difficulties, inconsistent parenting attitudes of parents, poor parenting styles, non-parent caregivers, and caregiver anxiety contributed significantly to the CSHQ total score, accounting for approximately 27.1% (R2 = 0.271) of the variance. Our study indicates that the prevalence of sleep disturbances among preschool children in rural areas of China is quite high. Furthermore, the potential risk factors are complicated, including factors related to both children and their caregivers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The reforming and opening-up and the development of agricultural science and technology have brought about the rapid growth of China's food quantity and solved the problem that 20% of the world's population has enough to eat. At the same time, it also brings the problem of harmful residues in food. On the one hand, the Chinese government guides farmers to rationally use chemical fertilizers, pesticides, and veterinary drugs. On the other hand, in urban and rural school canteens and farmers' markets in third-tier cities, the implementation of pesticide residue detection system. Through the investigation of 24 kinds of edible agricultural products which are easy to produce harmful residues, and using a variety of statistical methods, the results showed that at present, the residues of harmful substances in edible agricultural products consumed by urban residents and school canteens in urban and rural areas have been well controlled, and the compliance rate is about 80%. The residues of harmful substances in edible agricultural products consumed by rural residents obviously exceed the standard. Taking rice production as an example, although farmers can reduce the risk of excessive pesticide residues in rice through rational application of pesticides, they are more worried about less application of pesticides and bear the risk of reducing rice production. Most farmers still choose to take the risk of excessive pesticide residues. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Free-range chickens might mediate the spread of Cryptosporidium oocysts to humans and other animals. Few studies have evaluated the prevalence of Cryptosporidium species in domestic free-range poultry in China. Here, we characterized the prevalence and distribution of species and genotypes of Cryptosporidium in domestic free-range chickens, ducks, and geese in Anhui Province, China. A total of 1910 fresh fecal samples from three poultry species were examined from 18 free-range poultry farms by nested PCR and analysis of the Cryptosporidium SSU rRNA gene. The overall prevalence of Cryptosporidium species was 2.9% (55/1910), with infection rates of 1.3% (11/829) in chickens, 7.3% (36/487) in ducks, and 1.4% (8/594) in geese. C. baileyi (0.6%), C. meleagridis (0.2%), C. galli (0.2%), and C. xiaoi-like genotype (0.2%) were identified in chickens, and only C. baileyi was identified in ducks and geese, with infection rates of 7.4% and 1.3%, respectively. C. baileyi was the most prevalent species. Sequencing of the GP60 gene revealed that the C. meleagridis isolates belonged to the IIIbA26G1R1b subtype. This is the first study to document C. galli and C. xiaoi-like genotype in domestic free-range chickens in China. These findings expand the range of avian hosts known for Cryptosporidium and highlight the need for additional studies to characterize the diversity of Cryptosporidium in avian species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Hydrogeology Journal is the property of Springer Nature and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Recently, a novel duck-origin goose parvovirus (N-GPV) was reported to cause short beak and dwarfism syndrome in ducks. In this study, we performed complete genome sequencing and analyzed three different duck-derived parvoviruses that infected different breeds of ducks. Phylogenetic trees based on gene sequences indicated that they were classical goose parvovirus (C-GPV), Muscovy duck parvovirus (MDPV), and N-GPV. Furthermore, potential recombination events were found. These results improve our understanding of the diversity of duck-derived parvoviruses in Anhui province, eastern China, and provide a reference for the prevention of associated diseases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Due to the rapid pace of urbanization in China, there has been a significant increase in construction work, which has resulted in the generation of more waste. Reducing the waste at source is the most efficient way to reduce its negative impacts, and prefabrication is a construction method that does exactly that. Since prefabricated construction generates less waste compared to conventional cast-in-situ construction, it is being promoted by the Chinese government. This study investigates the benefits of prefabrication and quantifies the percentage of construction waste reduction through its application in China. It does so by using a 26-storey concrete-brick residential building as a case study, and by conducting uncertainty analysis with Oracle Crystal Ball simulation software to assess the reduction of waste when using prefabricated components in place of cast-in-situ elements. Simulation results demonstrated that the waste generation rate for in-situ timber formwork and masonry work was 10.52 and 4.77 kg/m2 respectively, and that the use of prefabricated components reduced those figures by 36.04% and 25.53% respectively. This study quantifies the benefits of prefabrication as a method for reducing the generation of construction waste in China. Not only would extensive use of prefabrication decrease the cost related to construction waste management in China, but it could also mitigate the environmental and social impacts of construction waste globally. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Anhui Province is the most important energy production base for eastern China. Many large pithead coal-fired power plants are being operated in the coal-rich Huainan and Huaibei coalfields in northern Anhui. To assess the environmental risks of local coal-fired power plants, a complete atmospheric emission inventory of F, As, Se, Cd, Sb, Hg, Pb, and U from coal-fired power plants in Anhui was compiled by a simple mass-balance-based method. The results indicated that the atmospheric emissions of F, As, Se, Cd, Sb, Hg, Pb, and U in 2017 from the Anhui coal-fired power plants were 578 t, 2.01 t, 15.3 t, 0.57 t, 0.18 t, 2.80 t, 23.7 t, and 0.099 t, respectively. The emission factor is the major contributor to the uncertainties in this inventory. With increasing energy demand by the more developed eastern China region, the atmospheric emissions of volatile hazardous elements will continue to increase in the near future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigated the temporal changes of PBDEs in the sediment cores from the Anhui Province section of Yangtze River (YR), China. The dramatic increase of ∑Br3-Br9-BDEs and BDE-209 concentrations in cores in the period of ca. 1990–2008 was consistent with the booming of regional and national production and consumption of household appliances and electronics. Following declines in BDE-209 and ∑Br3-Br9-BDEs concentrations can be associated with the deceasing use of legacy commercial PBDE mixtures in recent years. Compared with the different regions around the world, sediments in the YR were moderately polluted by PBDEs. The levels and the detection rates of BDE-209 were highest among the detected PBDEs single congener. The composition analysis indicated that Deca-BDE, Octa-BDE, and Penta-BDE were the dominant forms in the YR. The increasing trends of both BDE-209 and ∑Br3-Br9-BDEs in the YR during 1990s and 2000s largely reflected the time periods for transferring PBDE sources from the developed countries to China. TOC and finer particles were strongly correlated with distributions of PBDEs in sediments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the purpose of investigate the characteristics and provenances of the hazardous trace elements (HTEs) in a typical agricultural land in the undulating plain area of eastern Anhui province, China, a total of 1170 soil samples were collected. Six HTEs, including Cd, Cr, Hg, Ni, Pb, and As, were determined. Statistical methods including box plot, Pearson correlation analysis, principal component analysis, and cluster analysis, were conducted to illustrate the provenances of HTEs. Results indicate that Cd and Hg were influenced by human activities (such as traffic transportation for Cd and Pb, and chemical pesticides for Hg). Cr, Ni, and As mainly originated from the parent materials (e.g., red detrital rocks, carbonate rocks, and late Pleistocene loess). Pb is of dual provenances of both human activity and parent material. In a word, regarding highly toxic HTEs, the soil in the study area is almost free from pollution, and only a small amount of soil samples contains slightly higher contents of As, Cd and Pb. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objectives of this study are to investigate Chinese hog farmers' minimum willingness-to-accept (WTA) subsidies for complying pro-environmental (i.e., safe meat) production, and to explore the factors that affect farmers' WTA, paying a special attention to the role of risk preference and trust. A double-bounded dichotomous choice (DBDC) approach is used to analyze farmers' WTA for complying three different hypothetical policy scenarios: the first scenario with delayed and uncertain subsidies, the second scenario with delayed but certain subsidies, and the third scenario with certain and immediate subsidies. Within the DBDC maximum-likelihood estimation framework, we further simultaneously explore how these three scenarios and social-demographic characteristics (e.g., risk preference and trust) affect farmers' WTA. The data for empirical analysis are collected from 712 hog farmers in Henan and Anhui provinces of China. Our findings indicate that the compromised effectiveness of the current subsidy policy targeting harmless treatment of dead hogs is mainly due to the delayed payment, rather than low subsidy levels. Thus, the policy focus should be given to the pathways that help to simplify the miscellaneous procedures causing the delayed subsidy payments. Our estimates also show that farmers' trust to the local government affects farmers' WTA significantly, but their risk preferences do not. In particular, we find that hog farmers with higher trust levels require lower subsidies, suggesting that disseminating the subsidy program via personal networks might be more useful than through government propagandas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the past few decades, a variety of data-driven predictive modeling techniques has led to a dramatic advancement in mineral prospectivity mapping (MPM). The random forests (RF) algorithm, a machine learning method, has been applied successfully to data-driven MPM. However, there are two main challenges that need to be examined. Firstly, whether RF modeling can be used for the 3D MPM. The voxel (in 3D) has replaced the pixel (in 2D) to represent geological features, and so the capability of the RF model should be tested. Secondly, when we conduct regional-scale MPM, building a suitable conceptual model has a significant influence on the results; however, mineral deposit models often focus on just deposit-scale features. These two challenges were encountered in the case study in the Tongling ore cluster, which is the most representative skarn ore-concentrated area in the Middle–Lower Yangtze River Valley Metallogenic Belt in Eastern China. Thus, 3D geological models of the Tongling ore cluster were constructed from the multiple geological datasets. Then, a conceptual model was translated into 3D predictor layers. Finally, we tested and compared the MPM capabilities of the RF and compared it with weights-of-evidence (WofE) modeling. The results indicate that RF modeling not only outperforms WofE modeling in 3D MPM, but it also has capability to assess the relative importance of different predictor layers. Further testing of this method is warranted in other areas with different scales or metallogenic model to investigate fully its efficiency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, the provenance of anthropogenic lead, a major pollutant of surface sediments, was determined in Huainan Panji coal mining area. The lead concentrations and the pollution degree were investigated by the enrichment factor. Tessier five-step morphology extraction method was used to discuss its potential hazard. By comparing the lead isotope ratios of surface sediments and surrounding potential polluted end-members, the lead isotope ternary mixture model was appropriated to explore the sources and relative contribution fractions. The results showed that: (1) The lead concentrations ranged from 31.44 to 64.07 mg/kg which was mild-moderate pollution. (2) The chemical forms of lead were residue state > iron-manganese oxidation state > exchangeable state > organic state > carbonate state. (3) The anthropogenic lead in surface sediments originated from soil, vehicle exhaust, coal gangue. And the relative contribution fractions were 51.70%, 30.90%, and 17.40%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ambient noise tomography (ANT) has been used successfully to image shallow earth structure. Here we perform ANT on a local dense seismic array around the Tanlu fault zone (TFZ) to the southeast of Hefei City, Anhui Province in eastern China. The array consists of 53 stations with average spacing close to 5 km. Cross-correlations of vertical-component ambient noise data of different station pairs are computed in 1-h segments and stacked over 1 month from 17 March to 26 April 2017. Clear fundamental-mode Rayleigh waves are observed between 0.2 and 5 s period. We then use the direct surface-wave tomographic method with period-dependent ray tracing to invert group and phase dispersion travel-time data simultaneously for three-dimensional (3D) shear-wave velocity (Vs) structure. The Vs model shows clear correlation with the known geologic features. The TFZ is associated with a high-velocity anomaly zone in the shallow crust, corresponding to metamorphic rocks due to magma intrusion. Low-velocity anomaly zones are mainly located to the west of the TFZ, caused by thick sedimentary layers in the Hefei Basin. Our study shows that, with ambient noise data recorded on a dense array and an advanced surface-wave inversion method, we can image detailed structure around the fault zone. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To explore the evolution of extreme weather events, the spatial and temporal characteristics of temperature and precipitation with mutual impact and adaptation are studied. Firstly, it selects the average temperature and the daily precipitation data to investigate the variation characteristics of extreme weather events by linear regression method, accumulative anomalies, Mann-Kendall trend analysis and mutation test with surfer 11 software. Secondly, the effect of weather change on extreme events evolution and its adaptability is analyzed. As for temperature, the average maximum and minimum temperatures increase on the whole in nearly 50 years and decrease gradually from south to north and from east to west with regional distribution. As for precipitation, the extreme precipitation has the mutation and shows a trend of increase for recent 50 years. Compared with different time periods and return periods, the frequency estimates show that extreme precipitation increases firstly and then decreases with each passing day. As for the effect and adaptability, the change of extreme temperature is consistent with extreme precipitation, such as mutation points, and the corresponding spatial relationships. Then the development of weather change is grasped as much as possible, providing the scientific basis for disaster prevention and reduction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Total concentrations of heavy metals in soils may not be enough to understand their mobility and bioavailability. It is important to evaluate the degree of association of heavy metals with different chemical forms of soil. The sequential extraction method was applied to evaluate the mobile behavior of Cd, Cr, Cu, Ni, Pb, and Zn in 42 representative soil samples from the Linhuan subsidence of Huaibei Coalfield, Anhui Province, China. The results showed that mean concentrations of heavy metals were higher than background values of Huaibei City surface soil by a factor of 1.16 to 3.21 (Cd, 3.21; Cr, 1.19; Cu, 1.16; Ni, 1.23; Zn, 1.85) except Pb (0.89). Most of the total Cr, Cu, Ni, Pb, and Zn were present in the residual forms (above 70 %), while Cd was dominated by the exchangeable forms (42 %). The correlations analysis showed that the mobility of Cd, Cu, Pb, and Zn in soil was affected by both physicochemical properties and total metal concentrations. In contrast, the moblity of Cr and Ni of soil was mainly affected by their total metal concentrations. According to assessments by the potential ecological risk index ( RI) and the risk assessment code (RAC), Cr, Cu, Ni, Pb, and Zn posed no or low risk. However, Cd presents high to very high risk, due to its higher exchangeable and carbonate-bound fractions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study presents the total concentrations and chemical fractionations of metals (Cu, Pb, Zn, Ni, Fe, and Mn) in 54 surface sediment samples collected from the Huaihe River (Anhui Province) in eastern China. Compared with the average shale values, Zn and Pb exhibited the most substantial anthropogenic enrichment, especially in Fengtai and Huainan areas, the main industrial districts along the Huaihe River (Anhui Province). Low levels of Cu and Ni were observed in the sediments. Based on risk assessment code (RAC), the metals associated with weak acid soluble (F1) in the Huaihe River sediments followed the order: Mn > Zn > Cu > Pb > Ni > Fe. Manganese presented the most potential for releasing into the aqueous environment and can easily enter the food chain. Copper, zinc, nickel, and iron were found dominant in the residual fraction, implying that these four metals were strongly bound to the sediments. Lead showed a different partitioning pattern from that of other metals studied, with a large percentage in Fe-Mn oxide fraction, indicating that slight redox potential changes may make significant influence on the removability of Pb. Moreover, Cu in oxidizable (F3) and residual (F4) fractions presented high positive correlation with organic matter, which can explain the high percentage of Cu in these two fractions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Coal mining area is highly subject to lead (Pb) pollution from coal mining activities. Several decades of coal mining and processing practices in dozens of coal mines in the Huainan Coal Mining Area (HCMA) have led to the accumulation of massive amounts of coal gangue, which piled in dumps. In order to investigate the impacts of coal gangue dumps on Pb level in the supergene media of the HCMA, a systematic sampling campaign comprising coal gangue, soil, wheat, and earthworm samples was conducted. The average Pb content in the coal mining area soil is 24 mg/kg, which is slightly higher than the associated coal gangues (23 mg/kg) and markedly higher than reference region soil (12.6 mg/kg). Soil in the HCMA present a slight to moderate Pb contamination, which might be related to the weathering and leaching of coal gangue dumps. Lateral distribution of Pb in HCMA soil differed among individual coal mines. The soil profile distribution of Pb depends on both natural and anthropogenic contributions. Average Pb content is higher in roots than in stems, leaves, and wheat husks, while the Pb level in seeds exceeded the maximum Pb allowance for foods (Maximum Levels of Contaminants in Foods of China, GB 2762-2012). Earthworms in the selected area are significantly enriched in Pb, suggesting higher bio-available Pb level in soil in the HCMA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]