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The Yili Basin represents a typical region influenced by the Westerlies, and as a result of the substantial precipitation delivered by these winds, it has emerged as a significant hub for agricultural and animal husbandry activities in Central Asia. This study established a 419-year tree-ring width chronology, utilizing living Picea schrenkiana samples from two sampling sites in the Yili Basin. Correlation analysis showed that the standard tree-ring width chronology had the best correlation with the Palmer Drought Severity Index from the previous August to the current May (PDSIP8C5) (r = 0.614, n = 59, p < 0.001). Therefore, we reconstructed PDSIP8C5 variations from 1673 to 2018. The reconstruction results reveal eight wet and seven dry periods during the past 346 years. In the reconstructed series, droughts are particularly pronounced around 1770 and 1920, and the PDSI shows a significant long-term wetting trend since the 1980s. The solar activity, North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO), and Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation (AMO) jointly influenced the regional moisture variation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Urban roads in China, particularly low-lying areas such as underpasses, tunnels, and culverts, are highly vulnerable to the dangers of urban pluvial flooding. We used spatial interpolation methods and limited measured data to assign elevation values to the road surface. The road network was divided into tiny squares, enabling us to calculate each square's elevation, slope, and curvature. Statistical analysis was then employed to evaluate the impact of terrain on flood characteristics in urban road systems. Our analysis reveals a strong spatial correspondence between the distribution of flood-prone points and the curvature parameters of the terrain. The spatial coincidence rate can reach 100% when an appropriate sampling scale is chosen. The presence of depressions is necessary but insufficient for forming flood-prone points. In lowland/gentle slope (LL/GS) areas with higher drainage pressure, we observe a significant negative correlation between flood-prone points and terrain curvature (Spearman's r = 0.205, p < 0.01). However, in highland/steep slope (HL/SS) areas, we find no significant correlation between them. Notably, terrain matters, but effective drainage is more influential in flood-prone areas. The maximum flood depth (MFD), submerged area, and ponding volume during urban pluvial flooding are constrained by depression topography, while the characteristics of the upstream catchment area also play a role in determining the MFD and flood peak lag time(FPLT). Larger upstream catchment areas and longer flow paths normally result in greater MFD and longer emergency response times/FPLT. Additionally, a higher flow path gradient will directly contribute to an increased flood risk (greater MFD and shorter FPLT). These findings have important implications for flood risk identification and the development of effective flood mitigation strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and aims: Metabolic dysfunction-associated fatty liver disease (MAFLD) was proposed to substitute NAFLD in 2020. This new term highlights the systematic metabolic disturbances that accompany fatty liver. We evaluated the correlations between MAFLD and subclinical carotid atherosclerosis (SCA) based on a nationwide health examination population in China. Methods: We performed a nationwide cross-sectional population and a Beijing retrospective cohort from 2009 to 2017. SCA was defined as elevated carotid intima-media thickness. The multivariable logistic and Cox models were used to analyze the association between MAFLD and SCA. Results: 153,482 participants were included in the cross-sectional study. MAFLD was significantly associated with SCA in fully adjusted models, with an odds ratio of 1.66; 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.62-1.70. This association was consistent in the cohort, with a hazard ratio (HR) of 1.31. The association between baseline MAFLD and incident SCA increased with hepatic steatosis severity. Subgroup analysis showed an interaction between age and MAFLD, with a higher risk in younger groups (HR:1.67, 95% CI: 1.17-2.40). Conclusion: In this large cross-section and cohort study, MAFLD was significantly associated with the presence and development of SCA. Further, the risk was higher among MAFLD individuals with high hepatic steatosis index and young adults. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reconstruction of relative humidity changes in the upper Tarim River using carbon isotopic tree-ring chronology bridges the gap in historical observations on the Tarim River Basin in Arid Central Asia. Populus euphratica Olivier (P. euphratica), growing in the Tarim River Basin of Xinjiang, is an excellent record of past climate change. Based on precise dating, we analysed alpha-cellulose stable carbon isotopes in four cores of P. euphratica taken from the Alaer region of the upper Tarim River Basin. The four stable carbon isotope series records were corrected by the "pin method" and then combined into a carbon isotopic discrimination (Δ13C) series by the "numerical mix method". The discrimination (Δ13C) series were clearly correlated with the mean relative humidity (RHAS) in April–September of the growing season (n = 60, r = −0.78, p < 0.001), and according to the climate response analysis, we designed a simple regression equation to reconstruct the mean relative humidity (RHAS) in April–September from 1824 to 2018 on the Alaer region. The reconstructed sequence showed mainly dry periods in the last 195 years, 1857–1866 and 1899–1907, while primarily wet periods from 1985 to 2016. Due to increased global warming and human activities, the climate shifted from "warm–dry" to "warm–wet" in the mid-to-late 1980s, when there were signs of a shift from "warm–wet" to "warm–dry" in the 2010s, with an increasing trend towards aridity. The RHAS series of Alaer compares well to other hydroclimate series' surrounding the research area, and the spatial correlation analysis indicates that the reconstructed series has good regional representativeness. On an interdecadal scale, the revamped RHAS series is positively correlated with the Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation (AMO) and negatively correlated with the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO), reflecting the influence of westerly circulation on regional wet and dry variability. At the same time, the RHAS may also be influenced by The Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and aims: The epidemiological characteristics of MAFLD and its relationship with atrial fibrillation (AF) are limited in China. Therefore, we explored the epidemiological characteristics of MAFLD from adults along with the association of MAFLD and 12-ECG diagnosed AF in a nationwide population from health check-up centers. Methods: This observational study used cross-sectional and longitudinal studies with 2,083,984 subjects from 2009 to 2017. Age-, sex-, and regionalstandardized prevalence of MAFLD was estimated. Latent class analysis (LCA) was used to identify subclusters of MAFLD. Multivariable logistic regression and mixed-effects Cox regression models were used to analyze the relationship between MAFLD and AF. Results: The prevalence of MAFLD increased from 22.75% to 35.58% during the study period, with higher rates in males and populations with high BMI or resided in northern regions. The MAFLD population was clustered into three classes with different metabolic features by LCA. Notably, a high proportion of MAFLD patients in all clusters had overweight and prediabetes or diabetes. The MAFLD was significantly associated with a higher risk of AF in the crosssectional study and in the longitudinal study. In addition, the coexistence of prediabetes or diabetes had the largest impact on subsequent AF. Conclusion: Our findings suggested a high prevalence of MAFLD and a high prevalence of other metabolic diseases in the MAFLD population, particularly overweight and glucose dysregulation. Moreover, MAFLD was associated with a significantly higher risk for existing and subsequent subclinical AF in the Chinese population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and aims: Metabolic dysfunction-associated fatty liver disease (MAFLD) is a newly emerged term that is suggested to better reflect the pathogenesis of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD); however, the association between hyperuricemia and MAFLD has not been explored in the Chinese population. Meantime, this study also examined the temporal relationship between the two entities in a longitudinal cohort. Methods: We conducted a retrospective cross-sectional study including 1,587,962 individuals from 19 health check-up centers in China from 2009-2017 and a longitudinal study with 16,112 individuals. A logistic regression model was applied to determine the association between hyperuricemia and MAFLD in a cross-sectional study. The Cox regression model was used to explore the association between hyperuricemia at baseline and subsequent onset of MAFLD or the association between the presence of MAFLD at baseline and the subsequent incidence of hyperuricemia. The cross-lagged analysis was applied to exam the temporal relationship between hyperuricemia and MAFLD. Results: In the cross-sectional study, hyperuricemia showed a strong positive association with MAFLD after controlled potential confounders. In the longitudinal cohorts, hyperuricemia at baseline was associated with the new-onset of MAFLD, with a hazard ratio (HR) of 1.765 (95% CI: 1.512, 2.060). Interestingly, baseline MAFLD was also associated with the subsequent incidence of hyperuricemia, with an HR of 1.245 (95% CI: 1.106, 1.400). The cross-lagged path analysis revealed a bidirectional relationship between hyperuricemia and MAFLD. Conclusions: The results suggested that hyperuricemia and MAFLD form a vicious cycle, resulting in more deterioration of metabolic status. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Emerging evidence suggests an association between remnant cholesterol (RC) and vascular damage and hypertension. However, this association has not been explored in a large-scale population in China, and a temporal relationship between RC and hypertension also needs to be investigated. Methods: We conducted a retrospective cross-sectional study in 2,199,366 individuals and a longitudinal study in 24,252 individuals with repeated measurements of lipid profile and blood pressure in at least a 3-year follow-up. The logistic model was used to explore the association between lipid components and hypertension in the cross-sectional analysis. The Cox model was used to analyze the association between high RC (HRC) at baseline and the subsequent incidence of hypertension or the association between hypertension at baseline and incidence of HRC. The cross-lagged panel model was applied to analyze the temporal relationship between RC and hypertension. Results: RC level as a continuous variable had the highest correlation with hypertension among lipid profiles, including RC, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, total cholesterol, non-high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, and triglycerides, with an odds ratio of 1.59 (95% confidence interval: 1.58–1.59). In the longitudinal cohort, HRC at baseline was associated with incident hypertension. We further explored the temporal relationship between RC and hypertension using the cross-lagged analysis, and the results showed that RC increase preceded the development of hypertension, rather than vice versa. Conclusions: RC had an unexpected high correlation with the prevalence and incidence of hypertension. Moreover, RC increase might precede the development of hypertension, suggesting the potential role of RC in the development of hypertension. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: To investigate the effect of extubation in the operating room (OR) on mechanical ventilation-related adverse outcomes in patients who undergo liver transplantation. Methods: Patients who underwent liver transplantation between January 2016 and December 2019 were included. According to the timing of extubation, patients were divided into OR extubation group and intensive care unit (ICU) extubation group. The propensity score was used to match OR extubation group and ICU extubation group at a 1:2 ratio by demographical and clinical covariates. The primary outcome was a composite of mechanical ventilation-related adverse outcomes, including 30-day all-cause mortality, in-hospital acute kidney injury (stage 2 or 3), and in-hospital moderate to severe pulmonary complications. Secondary outcomes included in-hospital moderate to severe infectious complications, unplanned reintubation rates, ICU and postoperative hospital lengths of stay, and total hospital cost. Results: A total of 438 patients were enrolled. After propensity score matching, 94 patients were in OR extubation group and 148 patients were in ICU extubation group. Incidence of the composite mechanical ventilation-related adverse outcomes was significantly lower in OR extubation group than ICU extubation group, even after adjusting for confounding factors (19.1% vs. 31.8%; Odds Ratio, 0.509; 95% Confidence Index [CI], 0.274-0.946; P=0.031). The duration of ICU stay was much shorter in OR extubation group than ICU extubation group (median 4, Interquartile range [IQR] (3 ~ 6) vs. median 6, IQR (4 ~ 8); P<0.001). Meanwhile, extubation in the OR led to a significant reduction of total hospital cost compared with extubation in the ICU (median 3.9, IQR (3.5 ~ 4.6) 10000 US dollars vs. median 4.1, IQR (3.8 ~ 5.1) 10000 US dollars; P=0.021). However, there were no statistically significant differences in moderate to severe infectious complications, unplanned reintubation rates, and the length of postoperative hospital stay between groups. Conclusions: Among patients who underwent liver transplantation, extubation in the OR compared with extubation in the ICU, significantly reduced the primary composite outcome of 30-day all-cause mortality, in-hospital acute kidney injury (stage 2 or 3), or in-hospital moderate to severe pulmonary complications. Trial registration: The trial was registered at www.clinicaltrials.gov with registration number NCT04261816. Retrospectively registered on 1st February 2020. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China's lunar exploration program has developed and progressed for more than 13 years. Over this time, Precise Orbit Determination (POD) has guaranteed successful execution of the Chang'e missions, and is the basis for further scientific investigations using radio science data; for example, recovering the lunar gravity field to explore the inner structure and detect craters to study the evolutionary history of the moon. This study briefly reviews the Chang'e series mission orbit and radio tracking measurements. We reprocessed the tracking data and comprehensively summarized the evolution of the POD accuracy and the tracking system precision from the Chang'e 1 to Chang'e 4 missions using in‐house software. Our results show a progression of the tracking station, as the first Chang'e 1 mission only reached several millimeters per second level accuracy in the Doppler measurements and several meters level accuracy for the two‐way range measurements. Later on the accuracy of Chang'e 5T1 Doppler measurements reached about 0.35 mm/s and the accuracy of the Chang'e 3 two‐way range measurements below 0.7 m. Moreover, the newest Chang'e 4 relay satellite achieved POD residuals Root Mean Square for the two‐way range less than a meter and orbital accuracy at 200 m level, in contrast to meters level residual and the half‐kilometer level accuracy achieved during the Chang'e 1 mission. We can clearly see that the POD performance of the Chang'e spacecraft continuously improved. This research study is a reference for future Chinese Lunar exploration missions, as well as Chinese Mars and asteroid explorations. Key Points: We first summarized orbital geometry, tracking network and its tracking strategies of all Chang'e missionsWe have processed the tracking data on the orbiting phase, from Chang'e 1 to Chang'e 4, and concluded its orbit accuracyMoreover, we also displayed some puzzling points which happened in Chang'e 1 and 2 missions in tracking data and answered them [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The bug Orius similis Zheng is a native generalist predator of insect pests in southern China. The fall armyworm (FAW), Spodoptera frugiperda (J.E. Smith), is a notorious defoliator that is now an economically important insect pest throughout China. To investigate the ability of O. similis to control FAW, we evaluated the predatory capacity, behavior, and functional response of O. similis with respect to FAW and their olfactory response. Both females and males successfully preyed on FAW eggs and first-instar larvae but not on second-instar or older larvae. Adult O. similis only attacked and killed one egg or one larva at a time before sucking the prey, and similar predatory behavior was also observed with regard to FAW egg masses. Both female and male O. similis exhibited type II functional response when preying on FAW eggs and first-instar larvae. Maximum estimated prey consumed per day was 23.7 eggs and 26.2 larvae for adult females and 22.5 eggs and 19.6 larvae for adult males. Moreover, in a Y-tube olfactometer experiment, both female and male O. similis exhibited a significant preference for maize (Zea mays L.) seedlings damaged by FAW over clean air, healthy seedlings, FAW feces, and FAW, suggesting that seedlings damaged by FAW may releases specific volatiles attracting the predator. Collectively, the results of the study suggest that O. similis is a promising candidate for the biological control of FAW eggs and first-instar larvae, particularly given its attraction to FAW-damaged leaves, which may enable it to locate the target prey rapidly. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fossils of Auroraceratops are abundant and found in high concentrations within the Mazongshan area of northwestern China. As small basal Neoceratopsia discovered from the Lower Cretaceous, its general anatomy is well known; however, the endocranial morphology of this genus has never been formally described before. Here, we selected a well-preserved skull which belongs to Auroraceratops sp. and used a high-resolution CT scan to reconstruct its three-dimensional, virtual endocast in order to illustrate the endocranial structures in detail. Our study provides the first description of the endocranial anatomy of Auroraceratops and compares it with other relevant ceratopsian taxa. Our result shows that for a basal Neoceratopsia, the endocranial morphology of Auroraceratops is closer to that of non-neoceratopsian ceratopsian Psittacosaurus than the more derived neoceratopsians, such as Pachyrhinosaurus, which provides new insight into the endocranial characters of basal Neoceratopsia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A water resource allocation model coupling quantity and quality is a topic of concern in China. The water resources supply modelling is set up according to the water quality, and water quality has been emulated under the program of water resources allocation. It analysed the effect to water resources allocation which was caused by water quality and researched the technology of pollutants reduction under the protection target of water quality in water functional zone. Such a methodology can be used by basin managers in decision making and provides better performance in terms of both water resources and the environment. The methodology of water resource allocation model coupling quantity and quality is applied to the Huntai River Basin in China, under different scenarios. The results show that it is possible to reduce future water scarcity problems and improve the water environment. In addition, an optimal water resource allocation model can be useful for water saving and protection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China's unique energy reserve structure abundant in coal and scarce in crude oil and natural gas has promoted heavy investment on the research and development of clean coal chemical technologies during last two decades, which has turned China into a heartland for demonstrating, developing, and commercializing virtually every aspect of new coal chemical process technologies. Consequently, breakthroughs in coal gasification, indirect and direct coal-to-liquid (CTL) processes, and methanol-to-olefins (MTO) technologies are catching attention worldwide. Gasification technology for syngas production is the key to high plant availability and economic success for most coal chemical projects. During the past 20 years, both international and Chinese gasifier vendors have reaped great successes in licensing their technologies in the domestic market. Notably, the local vendors have been investing heavily on inventing and improving their technologies to suit the specific requirement of gasifying a variety of coals. The opposed multinozzle gasification technology from East China University of Science and Technology was taken as an example to demonstrate the recent development in this field. The coal chemical industry in China has witnessed several notable achievements in chemical engineering progress, namely CTL (indirect and direct) and MTO. Comprehensive reviews on topics such as catalysis, kinetics, and reactor design and process integration will be provided by leading scientists in related fields with firsthand information to showcase the contributions of Chinese researchers to chemical engineering science and technology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Modern trams have been widely used around the world, especially in China. This paper explores the main influencing factors of modern trams' passenger flow at the early operational stage. The system dynamics model is adopted for dealing with the problem on hand. Tram Line 1 in Huai'an, Jiangsu Province, China is selected as the case study. Data are collected using the RP and SP survey. The sensitivity test and extreme condition test are performed. The simulation results demonstrate that four variables (i.e., land development intensity, fares, service level, and transfer efficiency) significantly affect passenger flow. Land development intensity is the most significant factor, and the effect of service level on passenger flow is higher than that of the fares. The departure interval of 10 minutes is the maximum psychological limit that passengers can bear, and 2 RMB is a reasonable price. Such conclusions can provide guidance for the planning and design of modern trams and address the problem of shortage of passengers at an early stage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Because of long-term drying of the lower reaches of the Tarim River, oasis ecosystems are facing serious threats and have started to degenerate. An ecological water conveyance project has been started in the lower reaches of the Tarim River to save the degenerated ecosystem. The effects of ecological water conveyance on the ring width increments of Populus euphratica were studied by use of the trend analysis method, the moving t test technique, and a regression equation based on ring increment data from the past 40 years in the lower reaches of the Tarim River. Results showed that the ring increments of Populus euphratica in four monitoring transects along the river can be divided into two parts, 1970-2001 and 2002-2008. This division implies that ecological water conveyance had a positive effect on the increase of ring increments. The ring increments of Populus euphratica in Yinsu, Kardayii, Alagan, and Yiganbjma increased by 79.37, 174.5, 75.61, and 71.81% after ecological water conveyance. The years 2002, 2001, 2001, and 2002 were the transition years in the Yinsu, Alagan, Kardayi, and Yiganbjma transects, respectively. The ring width increments in Yinsu, Kardayi, Alagan, and Yiganbjma as a result of ecological water conveyance were 1.41, 0.987, 0.265, and 0.671 mm, respectively. The main cause of the changes in ring width increments was the rise of groundwater level. The results from this study should contribute to improved management of the ecosystems in the lower reaches of the Tarim River, and can also provide a scientific basis for implementing similar projects in other arid and semiarid areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Water resources efficient utilization is the key to ecological improvement and economic development in Tarim River Basin. It is necessary to analyze the water resources utilization and its variation tendency in the whole river basin. Based on the monitored data and formation at eight meteorological stations and fifteen hydrological stations, the method of time series, regression analysis are applied to analyzing the water resources utilization and variation trend in the headstreams and mainstream areas especially in recent 10 years . The quantitative results indicate that inflows of the headstream areas have an increasing trend to different extent in the past 40 years. The runoff increasing trend is more significant from 1994 to 2002, which show the water resources condition in the headstreams is at an advantage. However, under the condition of water increase with the volume of 25×108 m³ in headstreams in recent 10 years, the mainstream water flowing from the headstreams has increased less than 0.9985×108 m³. In addition, the runoff at the different hydrologic stations along the Tarim River has a significant linear decreasing trend. It is shown that the degraded trend of ecological environment in the mainstream areas hardly changes even if the Tarim River Basin is in the special water period for ten consecutive years. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Emulsified isoflurane is a novel intravenous general anesthetic obtained by encapsulating isoflurane molecules into emulsion. The formulation of emulsion has been improved according to the latest regulations of the China Food and Drug Administration. This study was designed to compare the bioequivalence of the new and previous formulation emulsion of isoflurane. Methods: In a single-center, single-dose, double-blinded, randomized, two-period crossover study, healthy volunteers received intravenous injection of 30 mg/kg of isoflurane with either previous formulation of emulsion isoflurane (PFEI) or new formulation of emulsion isoflurane (NFEI). Arterial and venous blood samples were obtained for geometric mean test/reference ratios of Cmax, AUC0-t, and AUC0-∞, as well as their 90% confidence interval (CI90) as the primary outcome. The secondary outcomes were safety measurements such as vital signs, 12-lead electrocardiography, adverse effects, and laboratory tests; and anesthesia efficacy was assessed by Modified Observer's Assessment of Alertness/Sedation (MOAA/S) score, bispectral index (BIS), and loss/recovery of eyelash reflex. Results: 24 subjects were eligible, of which 21 completed the whole experiment (NFEI n = 21, PFEI n = 23). Arterial geometric mean test/reference ratios of Cmax, AUC0-t, and AUC0-∞ were 104.50% (CI90 92.81%–117.65%), 108.23% (94.51%–123.96%), and 106.53% (93.94%∼120.80%), respectively. The most commonly seen adverse effects for NFEI and PFEI were injection pain (38.1% vs. 34.8%), hypotension (19.0% vs. 13.0%), apnea (14.3% vs. 17.4%), and upper airway obstruction (14.3% vs. 13.0%). No severe adverse effect was observed. The effectiveness of general anesthesia was similar between the two formulations. Conclusion: The CI90 of Cmax, AUC0-t, AUC0-∞, NFEI, and PFEI were within the range of 80%–125%, suggesting bioequivalence between NFEI and PFEI. The safety and anesthesia effectiveness were also similar. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is one of the most common causes of chronic liver disease and also closely related to cardiometabolic disease. Its prevalence was estimated at over one-fourth in the general population in China. We aimed to develop effective score tools for detecting NAFLD.Methods: A total of 17,212 participants aged 45-70 years old were surveyed in Shanghai between 2013 and 2014, and 13,293 participants were included in this analysis. All participants were randomly classified into the exploratory group or the validation group. Candidate categorical variables were selected using a logistic regression model. The score points were generated according to the β-coefficients.Results: We developed the Shanghai Nicheng NAFLD Score I (SHNC NAFLD Score I), which included body mass index and waist circumference with an area under the receiver-operating characteristic curve (AUC) of 0.802 (95% CI 0.792-0.811) in the exploratory group and 0.802 (95% CI 0.793-0.812) in the validation group. We further developed the SHNC NAFLD Score II by adding fasting plasma glucose, triglyceride, and alanine aminotransferase/aspartate aminotransferase ratio to the SHNC NAFLD Score I, achieving an AUC of 0.852 (95% CI 0.843-0.861) in the exploratory group and 0.843 (95% CI 0.834-0.852) in the validation group. The two score tools also performed well in subjects with normal alanine aminotransferase (ALT) levels.Conclusions: Based on anthropometric and clinical categorical variables, our two scores are effective tools for detecting NAFLD in both this southern Chinese population and their subpopulation with normal ALT levels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Light olefins including ethylene and propylene are important chemical materials, and a diversity of production technologies have been applied in industrial processes. An index called Olefins Production Security Index (OPSI) is proposed for quantifying the performance of techno-economics and security for different olefins production routes. The results show that Coal via Methanol to Olefins (CMTO) and Coal via Methanol to Propylene (CMTP) routes have the higher security rank in terms of raw materials supply and reasonably good economic performance compared with the Nature Gas via Fischer–Tropsch Synthesis to Olefins (NFTO) and Deep Catalytic Cracking (DCC) routes. Carbon Dioxide via Methanol to Olefins (CDMTO) and Carbon Dioxide via Methanol to Propylene (CDMTP) routes have lower carbon dioxide emissions but higher direct production costs. Basically, CMTO, CMTP, and Nature Gas via Methanol to Olefins (NMTO) routes have the top OPSI grades, which means they are more competitive than other routes in terms of security. We also identify the shortcomings of each olefins production route with regard to the security through sensitivity analysis. It is expected the proposed framework plays a role in searching the most suitable production route for light olefins from the viewpoint of security. [Display omitted] • Light olefins production routes are evaluated against techno-economics and security. • Olefins Production Security Index (OPSI) is proposed. • OPSI considers effects of raw materials, energy, technology, economy, and CO 2. • OPSI can be genetically extended to other industrial productions chain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Themethanol to olefins (MTO) process has been successfully commercializedin China and will potentially become an important route for lightolefins production. In this work, a modeling approach is presentedfor MTO fluidized bed reactor design and operation optimization. Thetwo-fluid model (TFM) where the solid phase shear viscosity and solidphase pressure are derived from kinetic theory of granular flow hasbeen used to model the solid–gas two-phase flows. The interphasedrag force is calculated by either the traditional Gidaspow modelor a recently developed EMMS-bubble model. The simulation study hasbeen performed for a fluidized bed reactor in a 16 kt/a DMTO unit.It has been shown that the Gidaspow model cannot predict a stabledense bed, while the EMMS-bubbling model could simulate the solidfraction distribution in the reactor reasonable well. A reaction modelbased on the simple MTO reaction kinetics has been implemented totest the effectiveness of the model approach. The simulation resultsshow that the methanol is converted rapidly just above the gas inlet.The selectivity of ethylene and propylene however are underpredicted,while the selectivity of CO2and other products are overestimated.It is suggested that a further extension of the EMMS model to a turbulentfluidized bed is important in order to get more quantitative results.Also the MTO reaction kinetics for a commercial DMTO catalyst, inwhich the coke formation kinetics should be included, is highly desired. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Insulin resistance (IR) is closely associated with cardio-metabolic diseases. However, the impact of IR on bone mass remains obscure. The present study is to evaluate the association between the triglyceride-glucose (TyG) indicated IR and bone mass in a nationwide health check-up population in China. We conducted a retrospective cross-sectional study including 788,247 participants and a longitudinal cohort study in 8770 participants who had repeated measurements of TyG index and bone mass in at least a 2-year follow-up period. The restricted cubic splines and logistic models were used to analyze the association between IR and bone mass in the cross-sectional study. The Cox model was applied to evaluate the relationship between baseline IR and the subsequent incidence of low bone mass and osteoporosis in the longitudinal study. In the cross-sectional study, the TyG index had positive correlations with low bone mass, osteoporosis, or both after adjusting for confounding factors (all P < 0.001). In the longitudinal cohort study, the baseline TyG index was significantly associated with the incidence of low bone mass, osteoporosis, or both during the follow-up period, with hazard ratios (HRs) of 1.56 (95 % confidence interval [CI]: 1.25, 1.93, P < 0.05), 1.66 (95%CI: 1.06, 2.59, P < 0.05), and 1.55 (95%CI: 1.27, 1.88, P < 0.05) after adjusting for confounding factors, respectively. These results suggest that IR indicated by TyG is significantly associated with an increased risk of low bone mass and osteoporosis. Therefore, bone mass monitoring and early prevention strategies may be needed in individuals with IR to prevent the occurrence of low bone mass and osteoporosis. • The association between insulin resistance (IR) and bone mass remains unclear. • A cross-sectional study (n = 788,247) and a longitudinal study (n = 8,770) were conducted. • TyG-indicated IR is associated with an increased risk of low bone mass and osteoporosis. • BMD monitoring and early prevention may be helpful for populations with IR. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Microbial community assembly contributes to the restoration and rehabilitation of the disturbed ecosystems. However, the viral assembly mechanism and its difference from bacterial communities under soil contamination have not been previously reported. Here, clean, light and heavy chromium (Cr)-contaminated soils were collected from two Cr slag sites and adjacent soils in northwestern and southwestern China. Through metagenome and virome sequencing analysis, we found that the alpha diversity of bacterial genes (including overall genes and Cr detoxifying genes) showed no clear variance (p > 0.05) across soils, indicating the functional redundancy in the bacterial communities. The assembly of both the bacteria and virus taxa were primarily controlled by deterministic process across soils The assembly of bacterial genes turned from stochastic processes to deterministic processes when the Cr content increased in soils. By contrast, the assembly of viral genes altered from deterministic processes in clean soil into stochastic processes in Cr-contaminated soils. Virus-host linkage results showed that the niche breadth of bacteria and viruses was closely related. The normalized stochasticity ratio of viral functional assembly was positively correlated with the Simpson index of the bacteria (p < 0.05). The results suggested that the stochasticity of viral functional assembly was conducive to facilitating the functional redundancy of bacterial communities and their evolution toward the deterministic direction. [Display omitted] • Bacteria maintained functional redundancy under Cr exposure. • Deterministic process dominated the assemblies of bacterial and viral taxa. • Bacterial and viral genes were driven by distinct processes due to Cr exposure. • Viral communities facilitated the functional redundancy of host bacteria. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Yanshanian magmatism develops well and has obvious metallogenic specificity in the Qinzhou–Hangzhou bays of South China. Zircon, in granite, has great potential in the study of metallogenic specificity. Moreover, with the development of in-situ zircon analysis technology, a significant amount of data on zircon composition has become available in recent years. Hence, to further elucidate the distinctive diagnostic signatures of zircon signatures regarding metallogenic fertility and the preference for metallogenic types of granites, this paper exhaustively explores all possible bivariate and ternary discrimination diagrams using a set of 13 rare-earth elements with published zircon data from Yanshanian, South China. This results in 4095 binary diagrams and 12,485 ternary diagrams, ranked according to their success in classifying the training data. One-hundred binary graphs and 300 ternary graphs with the highest CH index values were selected, from which the graphs were picked out. The results reveal that there is no suitable diagram to distinguish between mineralization and barren granites. Further, in the diagrams to distinguish the type of mineralization, there are indeed some overlapping parameter ranges (such as Gd/Yb and Ce/Gd); however, it still can be observed that some binary and ternary graphs containing Eu or Ce (e.g. Eu/Gd, Eu/Tb and Ce/Sm) can discriminate between samples related to porphyry Cu and samples related to W–Sn (Sn). Some diagrams (i.e. Dy/Lu–Er/Lu, Gd/Dy–Er/Yb) also have been observed to distinguish between ore-forming types of granites, the underlying geochemical mechanism of which has not been fully understood. In addition, our results suggest that the linear discrimination analysis (LDA) method outperforms any of the traditional discrimination diagrams in discriminating ore-bearing and fertile granites. The results of geochemical data mining in this paper can be used as prospective indicators to provide a scientific basis for the study of Yanshanian hydrothermal deposits in South China. Moreover, the compositions of zircon are relatively simple to obtain, and the LDA methods described in this study could potentially be used as a useful exploration tool. • New discrimination diagrams were proposed by using zircon REE composition. • Most discrimination diagrams related to Eu and Ce can distinguish the mineralization information of the parent rock. • The linear discrimination analysis (LDA) method remarkably outperforms any traditional discrimination diagram. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Residual heavy metals in soils will destroy microbial community stability and influence its aggregation. However, exploring microbial ecology under heavy-metal stress still requires a conjoint analysis of bacterial interspecies communication and the community diversity maintenance mechanism. In this study, soil samples were collected from a heavy-metal-contaminated site in China to investigate the ecological response of indigenous microbial communities through high-throughput sequencing. Results showed that bacterial taxa and functions generated unusual decoupling phenomena. There were no significant differences in the diversity of species with the increase in concentration of heavy metals (Hg, Se, and Cr), but the functional diversity was lost. Also, the average niche breadth of bacterial species increased from 1.70 to 2.28, but community stability declined and the species assembly was always a deterministic process (NST <0.5). After the bacterial functional assembly changed from a stochastic process to a deterministic process (NST <0.5), it was transformed into a stochastic process (NST >0.5) again under the stress of high-concentration heavy metals, indicating that the collective stress resistance of bacterial communities changed from positive mutation into passive functional propagation. The research results can provide new insight into understanding the adaptive evolution of communities and ecosystem restoration under the stress of soil heavy metals., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Objective: To translate the Stressors in Breast Cancer Scale (SBCS) from English to Chinese and assess its psychometric properties., Methods: The Brislin's translation model was applied to perform forward translation, back translation, cross-cultural adaptation, Whereas the Chinese version of the SBCS was formed by conducting pre-testing. A cohort of 878 breast cancer patients participated in this methodological study. Content validity, construct validity, convergent validity, discriminant validity, and criterion-related validity were used to establish validity. Internal consistency reliability, split-half reliability, and test-retest reliability were used to establish reliability., Results: The final scale contained five dimensions and 24 items, including interpersonal relationship and healthcare strains, worries and concerns about the future, physical appearance and sex strains, daily difficulties and health. The average content validity index of the scale was 0.975. The goodness-of-fit index (χ2/DF = 2.416, RMSEA = 0.057, GFI = 0.896, CFI = 0.947, IFI = 0.947, and TLI = 0.939) indicated that the model was well-fitted. The composite reliability (CR) of the dimensions ranged from 0.825 to 0.934, the average variance extracted (AVE) ranged from 0.539 to 0.712, and the correlation coefficients of each dimension with the other dimensions were less than the square root of the AVE for that dimension. The Criterion-related validity was 0.511. The Cronbach's alpha was 0.938, and the dimensions ranged from 0.779 to 0.900. Split-half reliability was 0.853, with dimensions ranging from 0.761 to 0.892. Test-retest reliability was 0.855., Conclusions: The Chinese version of the SBCS has good reliability and validity, which can be applied to the assessment of stressors in breast cancer patients in China., (© 2024. The Author(s).)

The response mechanism of soil microbiota in military polluted sites can effectively indicate the biotoxicity of ammunition. In this study, two military demolition ranges polluted soils of grenades and bullet were collected. According to high-throughput sequencing, after grenade explosion, the dominant bacteria in Site 1 (S1) are Proteobacteria (97.29 %) and Actinobacteria (1.05 %). The dominant bacterium in Site 2 (S2) is Proteobacteria (32.95 %), followed by Actinobacteria (31.17 %). After the military exercise, the soil bacterial diversity index declined significantly, and the bacterial communities interacted more closely. The indigenous bacteria in S1 were influenced more compared to those in S2. According to the environmental factor analysis, the bacteria composition can easily be influenced by heavy metals and organic pollutants, including Cu, Pb, Cr and Trinitrotoluene (TNT). About 269 metabolic pathways annotated in the Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) database were detected in bacterial communities, including nutrition metabolism (C, 4.09 %; N, 1.14 %; S, 0.82 %), external pollutant metabolism (2.52 %) and heavy metal detoxication (2.12 %), respectively. The explosion of ammunition changes the basic metabolism of indigenous bacteria, and heavy metal stress inhibits the TNT degradation ability of bacterial communities. The pollution degree and community structure influence the metal detoxication strategy at the contaminated sites together. Heavy metal ions in S1 are mainly discharged through membrane transporters, while heavy metal ions in S2 are mainly degraded through lipid metabolism and biosynthesis of secondary metabolites. The results obtained in this study can provide deep insight into the response mechanism of the soil bacterial community in military demolition ranges with composite pollutions of heavy metals and organic substances. CAPSULE: Heavy metal stress changed the composition, interaction and metabolism of indigenous communities in military demolition ranges, especially the TNT degradation process., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest Mao Ye reports financial support was provided by the National Natural Science Foundation of China. Fenghe Wang reports financial support was provided by the Major Project of College Natural Science Foundation of Jiangsu Province., (Copyright © 2023. Published by Elsevier B.V.)

To deeply understand the effects of water and temperature factors on the xylem formation of Populus euphratica , taking the Yingsu section in the lower reaches of Tarim River as an example, we selected micro-coring samples of P. euphratica around monitoring wells F 2 and F 10 in the 100 and 1500 m distance from the channel of Tarim River. We used wood anatomy method to analyze the xylem anatomy of P. euphratica and its response to water and temperature factors. The results showed that the changes of the total anatomical vessel area and the vessel number of P. euphratica in the two plots were basically consistent during the whole growing season. The vessel number of xylem conduits of P. euphratica increased slowly with the increases of groundwater depth, while the total conduit area increased firstly and then decreased. The total vessel area, minimum vessel area, average vessel area, and maximum vessel area of P. euphratica xylem increased significantly with the increases of temperature in the growing season. The contribution of groundwater depth and air temperature to P. euphratica xylem varied among different growth stages. In the early growing season, air temperature had the largest contribution to the number and total area of xylem conduits of P. euphratica . During the middle growing season, air temperature and groundwater depth jointly affected the parameters of each conduit. During the later growing season, groundwater depth had the largest contribution to the number and total area of conduits. Results of the sensitivity analysis indicated that the groundwater depth sensitive to xylem vessel number change of P. euphratica was 5.2 m and that to the change in the total conduit area was 5.9 m. The temperature sensitive to total vessel area of P. euphratica xylem was 22.0 ℃, and that to average vessel area was 18.5 ℃. Therefore, the sensitive groundwater depth affecting xylem growth was at the range of 5.2-5.9 m, and the sensitive temperature was at the range of 18.5-22 ℃. This study could provide scientific basis for the restoration and protection of P. euphratica forest in the lower reaches of Tarim River.

Background and Aims: Metabolic dysfunction-associated fatty liver disease (MAFLD) was proposed to substitute NAFLD in 2020. This new term highlights the systematic metabolic disturbances that accompany fatty liver. We evaluated the correlations between MAFLD and subclinical carotid atherosclerosis (SCA) based on a nationwide health examination population in China., Methods: We performed a nationwide cross-sectional population and a Beijing retrospective cohort from 2009 to 2017. SCA was defined as elevated carotid intima-media thickness. The multivariable logistic and Cox models were used to analyze the association between MAFLD and SCA., Results: 153,482 participants were included in the cross-sectional study. MAFLD was significantly associated with SCA in fully adjusted models, with an odds ratio of 1.66; 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.62-1.70. This association was consistent in the cohort, with a hazard ratio (HR) of 1.31. The association between baseline MAFLD and incident SCA increased with hepatic steatosis severity. Subgroup analysis showed an interaction between age and MAFLD, with a higher risk in younger groups (HR:1.67, 95% CI: 1.17-2.40)., Conclusion: In this large cross-section and cohort study, MAFLD was significantly associated with the presence and development of SCA. Further, the risk was higher among MAFLD individuals with high hepatic steatosis index and young adults., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2023 Lei, Wang, Wang, Huang, Liu, Qin, Zhang, Ji, She, Cai, Li, Zhang and Li.)

Tamarix cones play key roles in preventing sand erosion and maintaining regional ecosystem stability. This study aimed to explore the characteristics of soil grain size distribution (GSD) in Tamarix cones across the Taklimakan Desert, verify the relationships between soil grain composition and the fractal dimension, and analyze the relationships between soil GSD and environmental factors. Soils of the Tamarix cones from 0 to 500 cm soil depth were sampled every 20 cm at four sites (Qiemo, Qira, Aral, and Tazhong) along the periphery to the hinterland of the Taklimakan Desert. A total of 300 soil samples were collected to measure soil grain sizes and soil properties. Soil grain size composition was dominated by silt and very fine sand, and the fraction of fine particles decreased and that of the coarse particles increased with soil depth, except for at Tazhong. This suggested that suspension-size particles are the main component of the soil GSD and decrease with the increasing depth in the profiles at the Tamarix cones. The soils were poorly and moderately poorly sorted. Kurtosis generally showed a mesokurtic peak, and the GSD was negatively skewed towards the coarser particles. The fractal dimensions of GSD decreased in the following order Qiemo (2.30) > Qira (2.07) > Aral (1.99) > Tazhong (1.96) because of the increase of coarse particles. The fractal dimension had a strong positive correlation with the clay and silt fractions, and a strong negative correlation with the sand fraction, indicating that the fractal dimension can reflect the characteristics of the soil GSD. The strong relationships between the fractal dimensions and selected soil properties indicate that the fractal dimension can not only quantify changes in soil properties, but also reflect the degree of desertification and degradation in the desert region. Considering the strong wind activities and different deposition sources in the Taklimakan Desert, this study provides a deep insight into the soil formation processes of Tamarix cones within extreme arid desert ecosystems., (© 2022. The Author(s).)

Background and Aims: The epidemiological characteristics of MAFLD and its relationship with atrial fibrillation (AF) are limited in China. Therefore, we explored the epidemiological characteristics of MAFLD from adults along with the association of MAFLD and 12-ECG diagnosed AF in a nationwide population from health check-up centers., Methods: This observational study used cross-sectional and longitudinal studies with 2,083,984 subjects from 2009 to 2017. Age-, sex-, and regional-standardized prevalence of MAFLD was estimated. Latent class analysis (LCA) was used to identify subclusters of MAFLD. Multivariable logistic regression and mixed-effects Cox regression models were used to analyze the relationship between MAFLD and AF., Results: The prevalence of MAFLD increased from 22.75% to 35.58% during the study period, with higher rates in males and populations with high BMI or resided in northern regions. The MAFLD population was clustered into three classes with different metabolic features by LCA. Notably, a high proportion of MAFLD patients in all clusters had overweight and prediabetes or diabetes. The MAFLD was significantly associated with a higher risk of AF in the cross-sectional study and in the longitudinal study. In addition, the coexistence of prediabetes or diabetes had the largest impact on subsequent AF., Conclusion: Our findings suggested a high prevalence of MAFLD and a high prevalence of other metabolic diseases in the MAFLD population, particularly overweight and glucose dysregulation. Moreover, MAFLD was associated with a significantly higher risk for existing and subsequent subclinical AF in the Chinese population., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2022 Lei, Qin, Song, Liu, Chen, Sun, Huang, Deng, Zuo, Yao, Xu, Lu, Wang, Liu, Chen, Luo, Xia, Wang, Yang, Zhang, Ji, Zhang, She, Zeng, Li and Cai.)

Background: To develop a sensitive and clinically applicable risk assessment tool identifying coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients with a high risk of mortality at hospital admission. This model would assist frontline clinicians in optimizing medical treatment with limited resources., Methods: 6415 patients from seven hospitals in Wuhan city were assigned to the training and testing cohorts. A total of 6351 patients from another three hospitals in Wuhan, 2169 patients from outside of Wuhan, and 553 patients from Milan, Italy were assigned to three independent validation cohorts. A total of 64 candidate clinical variables at hospital admission were analyzed by random forest and least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) analyses., Results: Eight factors, namely, O xygen saturation, blood U rea nitrogen, R espiratory rate, admission before the date the national M aximum number of daily new cases was reached, A ge, P rocalcitonin, C -reactive protein (CRP), and absolute N eutrophil counts, were identified as having significant associations with mortality in COVID-19 patients. A composite score based on these eight risk factors, termed the OURMAPCN-score, predicted the risk of mortality among the COVID-19 patients, with a C-statistic of 0.92 (95% confidence interval [CI] 0.90-0.93). The hazard ratio for all-cause mortality between patients with OURMAPCN-score >11 compared with those with scores ≤ 11 was 18.18 (95% CI 13.93-23.71; p  < .0001). The predictive performance, specificity, and sensitivity of the score were validated in three independent cohorts., Conclusions: The OURMAPCN score is a risk assessment tool to determine the mortality rate in COVID-19 patients based on a limited number of baseline parameters. This tool can assist physicians in optimizing the clinical management of COVID-19 patients with limited hospital resources.

The marine ecosystems of the marginal seas of the Western Pacific region are frequently disturbed by terrigenous materials. It is of great significance to investigate the ecological functioning of these marine areas, which can be well understood by exploring the microbial communities of sediments. However, the geographical distribution, composition, and genetic functions of sedimentary bacterial communities of the Yellow Sea and East China Sea (YEC Seas) are poorly understood. In this work, sediment samples were collected from YEC Sea areas to investigate bacterial communities by high-throughput sequencing. A total of 1960 genera were determined, with Proteobacteria being the dominant phylum (45.03%), followed by Planctomycetes, Bacteroidetes, Acidobacteria, and Chloroflexi. Correlation analysis indicates that the bacterial composition is influenced by environmental factors, including pressure, depth, seawater density, salinity, organic matter content, nutrient, and heavy metal. Approximately 178 metabolism pathways annotated in the Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) database were detected in the bacterial communities, including ones for nutrient metabolism (C, 3.04%; S, 0.70%; N, 0.52%; and P, 0.22%) and exogenous pollutant metabolism (e.g., polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), chlorobenzene, and benzoate; up to 4.97%). The results demonstrate that the abundant bacterial communities in the sediments of the YEC Seas are important for maintaining marine ecological functioning, especially for elemental biogeochemical cycling and exogenous pollutant transformation., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest All of the authors (Dan Huang, Zhongyun Zhang, Mingming Sun, Zhengyao Feng, Mao Ye) mutually agree that the manuscript (Characterization and ecological function of bacterial communities in Western Pacific marine sediments) should be submitted to Science of the Total Environment (The special issue VSI: YES 2019). The manuscript has not been previously submitted to Science of the Total Environment or to any other international journal. The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2020 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

The safety and efficacy of anti-diabetic drugs are critical for maximizing the beneficial impacts of well-controlled blood glucose on the prognosis of individuals with COVID-19 and pre-existing type 2 diabetes (T2D). Metformin is the most commonly prescribed first-line medication for T2D, but its impact on the outcomes of individuals with COVID-19 and T2D remains to be clarified. Our current retrospective study in a cohort of 1,213 hospitalized individuals with COVID-19 and pre-existing T2D indicated that metformin use was significantly associated with a higher incidence of acidosis, particularly in cases with severe COVID-19, but not with 28-day COVID-19-related mortality. Furthermore, metformin use was significantly associated with reduced heart failure and inflammation. Our findings provide clinical evidence in support of continuing metformin treatment in individuals with COVID-19 and pre-existing T2D, but acidosis and kidney function should be carefully monitored in individuals with severe COVID-19., Competing Interests: Declaration of Interests We have no competing interests to declare., (Copyright © 2020 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

The prognostic power of circulating cardiac biomarkers, their utility, and pattern of release in coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients have not been clearly defined. In this multicentered retrospective study, we enrolled 3219 patients with diagnosed COVID-19 admitted to 9 hospitals from December 31, 2019 to March 4, 2020, to estimate the associations and prognostic power of circulating cardiac injury markers with the poor outcomes of COVID-19. In the mixed-effects Cox model, after adjusting for age, sex, and comorbidities, the adjusted hazard ratio of 28-day mortality for hs-cTnI (high-sensitivity cardiac troponin I) was 7.12 ([95% CI, 4.60-11.03] P <0.001), (NT-pro)BNP (N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide or brain natriuretic peptide) was 5.11 ([95% CI, 3.50-7.47] P <0.001), CK (creatine phosphokinase)-MB was 4.86 ([95% CI, 3.33-7.09] P <0.001), MYO (myoglobin) was 4.50 ([95% CI, 3.18-6.36] P <0.001), and CK was 3.56 ([95% CI, 2.53-5.02] P <0.001). The cutoffs of those cardiac biomarkers for effective prognosis of 28-day mortality of COVID-19 were found to be much lower than for regular heart disease at about 19%-50% of the currently recommended thresholds. Patients with elevated cardiac injury markers above the newly established cutoffs were associated with significantly increased risk of COVID-19 death. In conclusion, cardiac biomarker elevations are significantly associated with 28-day death in patients with COVID-19. The prognostic cutoff values of these biomarkers might be much lower than the current reference standards. These findings can assist in better management of COVID-19 patients to improve outcomes. Importantly, the newly established cutoff levels of COVID-19-associated cardiac biomarkers may serve as useful criteria for the future prospective studies and clinical trials.

Coexistence of antibiotics/heavy metals and the overexpression of resistance genes in the vermicompost has become an emerging environmental issue. Little is known about the interaction and correlation between chemical pollutants and biological macromolecular compounds. In this study, three typical vermicompost samples were selected from the Yangtze River Delta region in China to investigate the antibiotic, heavy metal and corresponding antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) and heavy metal resistance genes (HRGs). The results indicated the prevalence of tetracycline (TC), copper (Cu), zinc (Zn), cadmium (Cd), corresponding TC-resistance genes (tetA, tetC, tetW, tetM, tetO, and tetS) and HRGs (copA, pcoA, cusA, czcA, czcB, and czcR) in the three vermicompost samples. In addition, the ARG level was positively associated with the water-soluble TC fraction in the vermicompost, and it was same between the HRG abundance and exchangeable heavy metal content (p < 0.05). Moreover, a positive correlation was found between ARG and HRG abundance in the vermicompost samples, suggesting a close regulation mechanism involving the expression of both genes. The result obtained here could provide new insight into the controlling risk of heavy metals, TC, and relevant resistance genes mixed contamination in the vermicompost., (Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

It is of great significance to study the effects and mechanisms of the key driving forces of surface water quality deterioration-climate change and LUCC (land use and land cover change). The Luanhe River Basin (LRB) in north-eastern China was examined for qualitatively and quantitatively assessing the responses of total nitrogen (TN) and total phosphorus (TP) loads on different climate scenarios and LUCC scenarios. The results show that from 1963 to 2017, the TN and TP loads basically presented a negative correlation with the temperature change (except for winter), while showing a significant positive correlation with the precipitation change. The incidence of TN pollution is sensitive to temperature increase. From 2020 to 2050, the annual average loads of TN and TP were slightly lower than from 1963 to 2017. The contribution of rising temperature was more significant on nutrient loads. Also, the incidence of TN pollution is sensitive to the future climate change. Under LUCC scenarios, the TN and TP loads and pollution incidence increased correspondingly with the decrease of natural land. The evolution characteristics analysis can provide support for the effect and adaptation-strategies study of climate change and LUCC on surface water quality.

Taking the Populus euphratica at lower reaches of Tarim River as test object, and by the methods of tree dendrohydrology, this paper studied the spatiotemporal variation of P. euphratic' s branch radial increment after ecological water transfer. There was a significant difference in the mean radial increment before and after ecological water transfer. The radial increment after the eco-water transfer was increased by 125%, compared with that before the water transfer. During the period of ecological water transfer, the radial increment was increased with increasing water transfer quantity, and there was a positive correlation between the annual radial increment and the total water transfer quantity (R2 = 0.394), suggesting that the radial increment of P. euphratica could be taken as the performance indicator of ecological water transfer. After the ecological water transfer, the radial increment changed greatly with the distance to the River, i.e. , decreased significantly along with the increasing distance to the River (P = 0.007). The P. euphratic' s branch radial increment also differed with stream segment (P = 0.017 ), i.e. , the closer to the head-water point (Daxihaizi Reservoir), the greater the branch radial increment. It was considered that the limited effect of the current ecological water transfer could scarcely change the continually deteriorating situation of the lower reaches of Tarim River.

This paper takes the ecological water conveyance project (EWCP) that transfers water from the Bosten Lake, to Daxihaizi Reservoir, and finally to the Taitema Lake as a case study to analyze the dynamic change of the groundwater depth, the vegetation responses to the elevation of the groundwater depth as well as the relationship between the groundwater depth and the natural vegetation. The results from many years' monitoring in field indicate: (1) the groundwater depth has been elevating gradually with the increase in the times of watering and the elevation range has been expanding continuously in the lower reaches of Tarim River. Correspondingly, the natural vegetation has a favorable response to the elevation of the groundwater depth. The change of the natural vegetation has accordance with that of the groundwater depth. Such facts not only show that groundwater is a key factor to the growth of the native vegetation but also prove it is feasible that the degraded ecosystem can be restored and protected by the EWCP; (2) the results of analysis of the spatial-temporal response of the natural vegetation to watering reveals that the beneficial influence of the EWCP on the ecosystem in the lower Tarim River is a long-term process; (3) in terms of the function and structure of ecosystem after watering in the lower reaches of Tarim River, the EWCP does not still reach the goal of ecological restoration at a large spatial scale at present. Based on such monitoring results, some countermeasures and suggestions for the future restoration strategy are proposed so as to provide a theoretical basis for restoring and protecting the ecosystem in Tarim River, and meanwhile it can also provide some scientific references for implementing the similar ecological projects in other areas.

Restoration and reconstruction of the degraded Tarim River ecosystem is an important challenge. A goal of an ecological water conveyance project is to protect and restore the natural vegetation in the lower reaches of Tarim River by transferring water from Bosten Lake, through the river channel, to the lower reaches. This study describes the changes in groundwater depth during the water transfer and the respondence of riparian vegetation to alterations in groundwater levels. The results indicate that groundwater depth along the Tarim River channel has a significant spatial-temporal component. Groundwater levels closest to the river channel show the most immediate and pronounced changes as a response to water transfer while those further away respond more slowly, although the observed change appears to be longer in duration. With a rise in the groundwater level, natural vegetation responded with higher growth rates, biomass and biodiversity. These favorable changes show that it is feasible to protect and restore the degraded natural vegetation by raising the groundwater depth. Plant communities are likely to reflect the hysteresis phenomenon, requiring higher water levels to initiate and stimulate desired growth than what may be needed to maintain the plant community. Because different species have different ecologies, including different root depths and densities and water needs, their response to increasing water availability will be spatially and temporally heterogenous. The response of vegetation is also influenced by microtopography and watering style. This paper discusses strategies for the protection and restoration of the degraded vegetation in the lower reaches of the Tarim River and provides information to complement ongoing theoretical research into ecological restoration in arid or semi-arid ecosystems.