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Infusing undergraduate curricula with authentic research training is an important contemporary challenge. Such exposure typically occurs through mentored research (MR) or course-based undergraduate research experiences (CUREs). In Asian contexts, CURE implementation is rare, while MR is often a graduation requirement. In this study, mentor interviews and mentee focus groups were used to characterize the learning challenges associated with this requirement at a Chinese university. An intensive 6-week CURE was then implemented as an MR preparatory program to help mitigate the identified challenges. This program contained seven site-specific features not typically included in other CUREs, each designed to improve different aspects of student readiness for MR. Post-CURE surveys, focus groups, and interviews demonstrated CURE enrollment significantly improved subsequent MR outcomes. Almost 90% of all enrollees, for example, began their first MR experience in their second year, more than twice the rate of non-enrollees. Enrollees also reported greater confidence in their research skills and more frequent experiences working in multiple labs. This study reports both immediate CURE and downstream MR outcomes, using the former to help explain the latter. A comprehensive CURE implementation process is described, offering a potential model for the design of other programs with similar research enhancement goals.

Residents' participation is crucial for sustainable old neighborhood regeneration. Residents' intentions to participate in the regeneration are low in China, resulting in unsustainable neighborhood development problems. Therefore, it is essential to investigate the drivers of residents' participation. Residents' behavioral mechanisms are deeply embedded in their social networks, especially in acquaintance social networks typical of old neighborhoods in China. By constructing a mediated moderation model based on the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) and danwei system and taking the old neighborhood regeneration in Xi'an as a case study, this paper investigates the paths and mechanisms of the social network embeddedness, TPB, and danwei system on residents' participation intention. The results show that social network embeddedness can improve residents' intention to participate in regeneration through both direct and indirect pathways, and its indirect effect is much larger than the direct effect. Attitude, subjective norm, and perceived behavioral control significantly and positively mediated the contribution of social network embeddedness on participation intention. However, the specific mediating effect of attitude is significantly smaller than the other two. The danwei system has a significant moderating effect in the first stage of the relationship between social network embeddedness and participation intention. These imply that the extrinsic social factor of social network embeddedness is internalized as a driving force for convergence and motivation of residents' participation intentions mainly through the normative pressure and exchange of experiences between acquaintances and that the danwei system reinforces this extrinsic-intrinsic facilitation process through the danwei's "physical presence." These findings provide revelatory countermeasures for exploring the factors that motivate residents to participate actively in neighborhood regeneration and encourage their involvement at the intervention level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] Accurate and detailed spatial information on rice cultivation is essential to developing agricultural policy and reducing the negative impacts of agriculture. However, the dependence of most traditional methods on samples severely limits the feasibility of large-scale rice cultivation mapping. This study proposes a robust large-scale sample-free monitoring method for single-season rice in northern China. A new rice phenology index, quantifying dynamic phenological features of rice (i.e., the occurrence of flooding during transplanting and the growth of rice after transplanting), was generated to highlight rice. Subsequently, a constrained cyclic threshold classification strategy was designed to obtain plausible rice maps using statistical data. Innovatively combining rice mapping with statistical data, the most detailed (10 m) single-season rice map in northern China to date was created. Compared with three other high-precision rice map products, the resulting rice map has high accuracy and good local details. The results indicate that the rice phenology index has excellent and robust performance in identifying rice cultivation locations in northern China. Moreover, the proposed mapping method exhibits clear advantages in the tracking of large-scale and historical rice cultivation. As a whole, this study provides a paradigm of using statistical data instead of samples for crop mapping. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To explore the clinical epidemiological characteristics of oral lichen planus (OLP) and risk factors for erosive/ulcerative OLP. Materials and Methods: Patients diagnosed with OLP from 11 different hospitals were included in the study. Descriptive statistical methods were used to explore the clinical epidemiological characteristics and logistic regression, sensitivity analysis, and subgroup analysis were utilized to explore the risk factors for erosive/ulcerative OLP. Results: The average age of patients was 49.2 ± 13.3 years, and 61.4% of the patients were women. The ratios of patients with reticular, hyperemic/erythematous, and erosive/ulcerative lesions were 47.9%, 27.8%, and 24.2%, respectively. Analysis of risk factors for erosive/ulcerative OLP identified the following variables: age, course of disease of 12 months or more, II°–III° dental calculus, hypertension, diabetes, and heart disease, as well as regions of habitation. Subgroup analysis showed significant differences in risk factors for erosive/ulcerative OLP in patients with and without risk behaviors. Conclusion: The clinical epidemiological characteristics of patients with OLP in the Chinese population in this study are basically consistent with existing reports in developed countries. And we identified clinical characteristics associated with erosive/ulcerative OLP through clinical epidemiological analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Polygonatum cyrtonema Hua (family Asparagaceae) is an endemic plant in China that is valuable for its edible and medicinal uses. Plant growth regulators (PGRs) are natural or synthetic compounds that can regulate plant development and metabolism effectively. To explore potential applications of PGRs for improving the yield and bioactivity of this plant, four PGRs, including gibberellic acid (GA3), 6-benzylaminopurine (6-BA), naphthaleneacetic acid (NAA) and 24-epibrassinolide (EBL), were used in this study and sprayed on the growing seedlings of P. cyrtonema. All of these PGRs did not significantly affect the growth rate of P. cyrtonema, but they had varying effects on the polysaccharide and saponin content in the rhizome. NAA and 6-BA positively affected the polysaccharide content, while most PGR treatments negatively affected the saponin content. Widely targeted metabolomic analysis based on UPLC-MS/MS was conducted and revealed 101 differential metabolites in response to 6-BA, most of which were flavonoids, steroids and lipids. Most of the significantly changed flavonoids decreased under the 6-BA treatment. The study provides insights into the potential use of PGRs for improving the quality of P. cyrtonema, particularly in regulating the content of bioactive compounds. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Air pollution generated by urbanization and industrialization poses a significant negative impact on public health. Particularly, fine particulate matter (PM2.5) has become one of the leading causes of lung cancer mortality worldwide. The relationship between air pollutants and lung cancer has aroused global widespread concerns. Currently, the spatial agglomeration dynamic of lung cancer incidence (LCI) has been seldom discussed, and the spatial heterogeneity of lung cancer's influential factors has been ignored. Moreover, it is still unclear whether different socioeconomic levels and climate zones exhibit modification effects on the relationship between PM2.5 and LCI. In the present work, spatial autocorrelation was adopted to reveal the spatial aggregation dynamic of LCI, the emerging hot spot analysis was introduced to indicate the hot spot changes of LCI, and the geographically and temporally weighted regression (GTWR) model was used to determine the affecting factors of LCI and their spatial heterogeneity. Then, the modification effects of PM2.5 on the LCI under different socioeconomic levels and climatic zones were explored. Some findings were obtained. The LCI demonstrated a significant spatial autocorrelation, and the hot spots of LCI were mainly concentrated in eastern China. The affecting factors of LCI revealed an obvious spatial heterogeneity. PM2.5 concentration, nighttime light data, 2 m temperature, and 10 m u-component of wind represented significant positive effects on LCI, while education-related POI exhibited significant negative effects on LCI. The LCI in areas with low urbanization rates, low education levels, and extreme climate conditions was more easily affected by PM2.5 than in other areas. The results can provide a scientific basis for the prevention and control of lung cancer and related epidemics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For high-speed railway operations at the network level, unforeseen events that lead to operation interruptions are inevitable, which should be handled within a short period of time to reduce the influence of the events as much as possible. This paper introduces an integrated optimization method to deal with rescheduling problems at the railway network level under emergencies, rescheduling the train timetable, and utilizing the train sets. train set A three-objective optimization model is proposed with the aim of minimizing additional operation costs, total delay, and the number of transfer passengers. Then, an algorithm based on NSGA-III is proposed to solve the model. Computational experiments on real data are conducted to show the adaptability of the model and algorithm. The average optimization rate of the three objectives is 12.12%, 14.12%, and 10.57%, indicating the effectiveness of the method. Moreover, more experiments on a railway network in China are being conducted to analyze which section and which time have the greatest impact on the railway network when emergencies occur. According to the experiment, the bottleneck section is section 15, and the bottleneck time is 11:00 am. In addition, the importance of all the depots is discussed, and depot II is selected as the most important depot. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective Nitrogen loss from soils is a pervasive environmental issue facing agricultural production in many countries. In this paper, we studied the combined effect of rainfall and fertilization on nitrogen loss via surface runoff from paddy fields in attempts to improve nitrogen management and reduce the nonpoint source pollution of rice production in Southern China. Method The experiment was conducted from 2019 to 2021 in a paddy field in Zhejiang province. It consisted of four nitrogen treatments: conventional nitrogen fertilization (N18), reduced nitrogen fertilization (N15), organic fertilization (OF). Without fertilization was the control. In the experiment, we measured surface runoff, total nitrogen concentration in the surface runoff. The rainfall data were obtained from a weather station on the experimental site. Result Annual rainfall and annual nitrogen loss were closely correlated, but linear regression analysis showed that daily rainfall and total nitrogen did not correlate significantly. Considering the delay between rainfall and nitrogen loss vial the surface runoff can make piecewise average daily rainfall positively correlated to nitrogen loss, with the regression coefficient ≥0.36. The effect of fertilization on nitrogen loss from the runoff was ranked in the order of N18>N15>OF>CK. Structural equation showed that, when considering the delay between rainfall and nitrogen loss, the piecewise average daily rainfall, the runoff volume, rainfall interval, the interval between rainfall and fertilization, fertilization amount, and fertilizer types were the factors affecting nitrogen loss, with their standardized total effect being 0.264, -0.126, 0.078, 0.033, and -0.038, respectively. The rainfall affected nitrogen loss more than the fertilization, and the piecewise average daily rainfall and rainfall interval were key factors affecting nitrogen loss. Conclusion For rice-wheat rotation cultivation in Zhejiang Province, a short rainfall interval affected nitrogen loss via surface runoff from paddy fields more than an increase in rainfall. Applying organic fertilizer in the wet season can reduce nitrogen loss from the runoff. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Urban flooding disasters endanger people's lives and property while causing significant economic damage to cities. To further improve the efficiency of urban flooding governance and promote the optimal allocation of resources, this article selects the number of people in flood control, medical and health security, financial expenditure on flood control, affected population, and direct economic loss as evaluation indicators from the input–output perspective; it measures the efficiency of urban flooding governance in 30 provincial capitals in China from 2012 to 2021 using the DEA model and Malmquist index method and identifies the key factors affecting the efficiency of urban flooding governance. The research results show that in 2021, the average value of the comprehensive technical efficiency of flood disaster governance in 30 provincial capitals in China was 0.408, the development trend was not optimistic, and the constraint factor was scale efficiency. The interannual average value of the total factor productivity index of urban flood disaster governance from 2012 to 2021 was 0.976, and the overall trend was decreasing year by year, during which some cities were able to achieve a yearly increase in governance efficiency, but most cities still faced a severe situation in flood disaster governance. The total factor productivity index varied enormously across towns with the variation in annual precipitation; the greater the annual precipitation, the greater the total factor productivity index of urban flooding disaster governance in the urban agglomerations, and the comprehensive technical efficiency change was consistent with its trend change. This consistency has a positive contribution to the total factor productivity index of urban flooding disaster governance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Globally, nearly 15% of people suffer from various kinds of disabilities, and China has the largest disabled population in the world. The poor mental health status of people with disabilities has become an essential issue in most countries. The main aim of this study was to explore the potential impact of internet use on depression risk among middle-aged and older adults with different types of disabilities. Methods: The data used in this study were obtained from the 2018 China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS) collected by Peking University. A binary logit model was used to analyze the impact of internet use on the depression risk among adults with disabilities, and the substitute variable method and the propensity score matching method were used to examine the robustness of the results. Results: (1) Internet use was negatively associated with depression risk among disabled people, and the higher the frequency of their internet use, the lower the probability of their depression risk. (2) Different social activities related to the internet had different impacts on the depression risk, and the decline in depression risk was mainly related to watching videos, watching news, and chatting via the internet. (3) Internet use reduced the depression risk of adults with physical disabilities, but had no impact on those with other types of disabilities. Conclusions: Our study suggests that internet use may have a positive spillover effect on decreasing the depression risk of disabled people, but the reduction effect is significantly affected by the social activities related to the internet and the types of disabilities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

White poplars are a dominant tree species in natural ecosystems throughout China, where they are also widely planted for agroforestry and industrial uses. However, the phylogenetic relationships among poplars in section Populus have a complex genetic background influenced by frequent hybridization events and, to date, only a few studies have attempted to clarify this background. In this study, we performed de novo assembly of the whole chloroplast (cp) genome of an elite individual GM107 with the size of 156,493 bp, which consists of a large single-copy (LSR) (84,610 bp), a small single-copy (SSC) (16,567 bp), and a pair of inverted repeats (27,658 bp). It comprises 127 genes, including 85 protein-coding genes, 36 tRNAs, and 6 rRNAs. Comparative analysis of the cp genomes was conducted among 7 poplars in section Populus and 4 cp DNA markers with >1% variable sites were detected. We found that Populus alba was the most closely related species to GM107 by phylogenetic analyses. RNA sequencing detected 66 genes that participated in translation, transcription, and photosynthesis. The expression levels of almost all 66 genes were higher in leaves than in other tissues, except for PtatpF and PtatpH. In all tissues, we detected higher transcript abundances of PtndhF, PtpsbA, PtpsbB, Ptrps14, PtatpF, and PtatpH than of other genes. Both cp genome and transcriptome data help understand evolution events in section Populus and unravel the origin of Chinese white poplars, and may contribute to the molecular genetic improvement of wood properties and carbon sink capacities in the breeding of poplars in this section. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Locoweeds are perennial forbs poisonous to livestock and cause extreme losses to animal husbandry. Locoweed toxicity is attributed to the symbiotic endophytes in Alternaria sect. Undifilum, which produce a mycotoxin swainsonine (SW). We performed a de novo whole genome sequencing of the most common locoweed in China, Oxytropis ochrocephala (2n = 16), and assembled a high‐quality, chromosome‐level reference genome. Its genome size is 958.83 Mb with 930.94 Mb (97.09%) anchored and oriented onto eight chromosomes, and 31,700 protein‐coding genes were annotated. Phylogenetic and collinearity analysis showed it is closely related to Medicago truncatula with a pair of large interchromosomal rearrangements, and both species underwent a whole‐genome duplication event. We also derived the genome of A. oxytropis at 74.48 Mb with a contig N50 of 8.87 Mb and 10,657 protein‐coding genes, and refined the genes of SW biosynthesis. Multiple Alternaria species containing the swnK gene were grouped into a single clade, but in other genera, swnK's homologues are diverse. Resequencing of 41 A. oxytropis strains revealed one SNP in the SWN cluster causing changes in SW concentration. Comparing the transcriptomes of symbiotic and nonsymbiotic interactions identified differentially expressed genes (DEGs) linked to defence and secondary metabolism in the host. Within the endophyte DEGs were linked to cell wall degradation, fatty acids and nitrogen metabolism. Symbiosis induced the upregulation of most of the SW biosynthetic genes. These two genomes and relevant sequencing data should provide valuable genetic resources for the study of the evolution, interaction, and SW biosynthesis in the symbiont. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Toxic metals have attracted great concern worldwide due to their toxicity and slow decomposition. Although metal concentrations can be accurately obtained with chemical methods, it is difficult to map metal distributions on a large scale due to their inherently low efficiency and high cost. Moreover, chemical analysis methods easily lead to secondary contamination. To address these issues, 110 topsoil samples were collected using a soil sampler, and positions for each sample were surveyed using a global navigation satellite system (GNSS) receiver from a coal mine in northern China. Then, the metal contents were surveyed in a laboratory via a portable X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy (XRF) device, and GaoFen-5 (GF-5) satellite hyperspectral images were used to retrieve the spectra of the soil samples. Furthermore, a Savitzky–Golay (SG) filter and continuous wavelet transform (CWT) were selected to smooth and enhance the soil reflectance. Competitive adaptive reweighted sampling (CARS) and Boruta algorithms were utilized to identify the feature bands. The optimum two-stage method, consisting of the random forest (RF) and ordinary kriging (OK) methods, was used to infer the metal concentrations. The following outcomes were achieved. Firstly, both zinc (Zn) (68.07 mg/kg) and nickel (Ni) (26.61 mg/kg) surpassed the regional background value (Zn: 48.60 mg/kg, Ni: 19.5 mg/kg). Secondly, the optimum model of RF, combined with the OK (RFOK) method, with a relatively higher coefficient of determination (R2) (R2 = 0.60 for Zn, R2 = 0.30 for Ni), a lower root-mean-square error (RMSE) (RMSE = 12.45 mg/kg for Zn, RMSE = 3.97 mg/kg for Ni), and a lower mean absolute error (MAE) (MAE = 9.47 mg/kg for Zn, MAE = 3.31mg/kg for Ni), outperformed the other four models, including the RF, OK, inverse distance weighted (IDW) method, and the optimum model of RF combined with IDW (RFIDW) method in estimating soil Zn and Ni contents, respectively. Thirdly, the distribution of soil Zn and Ni concentrations obtained from the best-predicted method and the GF-5 satellite hyperspectral images was in line with the actual conditions. This scheme proves that satellite hyperspectral images can be used to directly estimate metal distributions, and the present study provides a scientific base for mapping heavy metal spatial distribution on a relatively large scale. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dromaeosaurids were bird-like dinosaurs with a predatory ecology known to forage on fish, mammals and other dinosaurs. We describe Daurlong wangi gen. et sp. nov., a dromaeosaurid from the Lower Cretaceous Jehol Biota of Inner Mongolia, China. Exceptional preservation in this specimen includes a large bluish layer in the abdomen which represents one of the few occurrences of intestinal remnants among non-avian dinosaurs. Phylogenetically, Daurlong nests among a lineage of short-armed Jehol Biota species closer to eudromaeosaurs than microraptorines. The topographic correspondence between the exceptionally preserved intestine in the more stem-ward Scipionyx and the remnants in the more birdlike Daurlong provides a phylogenetic framework for inferring intestine tract extent in other theropods lacking fossilized visceral tissues. Gastrointestinal organization results conservative among faunivorous dinosaurs, with the evolution of a bird-like alimentary canal restricted to avialan theropods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Identifying the spatial and temporal heterogeneity of water-related ecosystem services and the mechanisms influencing them is essential for optimizing ecosystem governance and maintaining watershed sustainable development. However, the complex and undiscovered interplay between human activities and natural factors underpins the solutions to the water scarcity and flooding challenges faced by climate transition zone basins. This study used a multiple spatial-scale analysis to: (i) quantify the spatial and temporal variations of the water yield ecosystem service (WYs) of the Wei River Basin (WRB) from 2000 to 2020 using the InVEST model and remote sensing data; and (ii) look at how human activities, climate, topography, and vegetation affect the WYs at the climate transition zone sub-catchment scale using the geographical detector model and multi-scale geographically weighted regression (MGWR). The conclusive research reveals that there would be a gradual increase in WYs between the years 2000 and 2020, as well as a distinct and very different spatial aggregation along the climatic divide. The average yearly precipitation was shown to be particularly linked to the water yield of the WRB. The interplay of human, climatic, plant, and terrain variables has a substantially higher influence than most single factors on the geographical differentiation of WYs. Bivariate enhancement and non-linear enhancement are the most common types of factor interactions. This shows that there are significant interactions between natural and human variables. Our study shows that precipitation and temperature are the main factors that cause WYs in the semi-arid zone. In the semi-humid zone, precipitation and vegetation are the key controlling factors that cause WYs. We provide new perspectives for understanding and optimizing ecosystem management by comparing the drivers of WYS in sub-basins with different climatic conditions. Based on the findings, we recommend that particular attention should be paid to ecosystem restoration practices in watersheds in climatic transition zones. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A reclamation coal mine in Baishui County of Shaanxi Province, China, was selected as the study area to develop a fast survey method for estimating soil heavy metal concentrations using spectral data. A portable object spectrometer manufactured by Analytical Spectral Devices (ASD) was used to measure soil spectral reflectance, and an X-ray fluorescence device was utilized to obtain the content of heavy metals. The Savitzky-Golay filter, first derivative reflectance (FDR), second derivative reflectance (SDR), continuum removal (CR), and continuous wavelet transform (CWT) were used to transform the original reflectance (OR) spectra for enhancing the spectral characteristics, respectively. Furthermore, correlation analysis was introduced to determine the characteristic bands and the correlations of heavy metals. Partial least squares regression (PLSR), extremely learning machine (ELM), random forest (RF), and support vector machine (SVM) were implemented for quantitatively determining relations between heavy metal contents and spectral reflectance. The outcomes demonstrated that the spectral transformation methods could effectively capture the characteristic bands and increase the relations between heavy metal contents and spectral reflectance. The relation between Fe and Ni was close with a relatively high correlation coefficient (r = 0.741). RF combined with CWT at the decomposition scales of 9 demonstrated the best performance with the highest R v 2 (0.71) and the lowest RMSE v (1019.1 mg/kg) for inferring Fe content. Ni content was inferred based on the close relationship between Fe and Ni. The result of RF was better than other methods with the highest R v 2 (0.69) and the lowest RMSE v (1.94 mg/kg) for estimating Ni concentration. Therefore, the RF model was chosen for mapping Fe and Ni contents in the study area. The present study revealed that the indirect inversion methods using spectral data can be effectively used to predict heavy metal concentrations. The outcomes supply a new perspective for retrieving heavy metal content based on hyperspectral remotely sensed technology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Systematic analyses of the daytime and nocturnal precipitation changes provide a better understand of the impact of global warming on the environment. In this study, the daytime and nocturnal precipitation across China from 1990 to 2019 was analyzed using observational data from 698 meteorological stations. Both daytime and nocturnal precipitation have increased in the western parts of China (including the Continental basin, headwaters of the Yangtze River basin, and Yellow River basin), whereas the trends in the eastern part are more complex. Climatological differences between daytime and nocturnal precipitation in summer were more significant than in other seasons. We developed a Z index to quantify the diurnal differences of precipitation. The annual mean Z index of China is about −2%, and its long-term change on an annual basis increased at a rate of 0.06% yr−1 (p < 0.1). The mean Z-index values during the year and seasons (except for summer) are negative and show an increasing trend. The intensity of the diurnal differences of precipitation has been decreasing in China since 1990. Topographic exposure and distance from the coast also influence the daytime and nocturnal precipitation changes. The Z index of the first-category stations (distance from the coast ≤ 100 km) was positively correlated with the distance from the coast (r = 0.39; p < 0.001) in summer, which may result from the superposition of the summer monsoon and sea-breeze effects. Significance Statement: The diurnal cycle of precipitation is an important indicator for diagnosing the impact of global warming on the environment. There is a slight annual difference between daytime and nocturnal precipitation in China. The nocturnal precipitation maximum is in winter, spring, and autumn and the opposite occurs in summer. We define a precipitation index to quantifying the intensity of the diurnal differences of precipitation. The mean precipitation index is negative annually and seasonally (except for summer), with an increasing trend indicating that the intensity of the diurnal differences of precipitation has decreased in China from 1990 to 2019. These results are valuable for understanding the impact of recent warming on the diurnal differences of precipitation in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Digitalization is an essential instrument for enterprises to gain competitive advantages. However, existing studies ignore the essential feature of digitalization as strategic response, which emphasis that digitalization is triggered by combination of internal and external factors. This study innovatively introduces internal performance feedback and external competitor behavior into the antecedent research of firm's digitalization, applying the "Awareness-motivation-capability (AMC) framework" as underlying explanatory mechanism. Using unbalanced panel data from 4033 listed companies in China over 14 years between 2007 and 2021 (a total of 33,928 valid observations), this study reveals that a positive impact occurs when performance gaps are lower than aspiration level on firm digitalization, while the opposite effect is observed for performance gaps higher than aspiration. Furthermore, competition intensity shows a U-shaped relationship with firm digitalization. Industry munificence and organizational slack significantly moderates the impact of internal and external strategic signals on firm's digitalization by influencing the awareness, motivation, and capability mechanisms. Drawing on the limited rationality perspective of firm's decision-making and the integrated model of the AMC framework, the paper provides an explanatory framework for the strategic response mechanism and the heterogeneity of firm digitalization, with insights for relevant digital policy design and firm-level decision-making on digitalization. • Internal and external triggers as antecedents of firm's digitalization. • "Awareness-motivation-capability (AMC) framework" as underlying explanatory mechanism of digitalization. • Provides an theoretical insights and empiriacal evidence of heterogeneity of firm digitalization. • Draws on the limited rationality perspective of firm's decision-making. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The lack and uneven distribution of Ground Control Points (GCPs) will lead to the deterioration of Digital Elevation Model (DEM) block adjustment results in the bistatic Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (InSAR) system. Given this issue, we first explain the relationship between the stability of adjustment parameters and the GCP distribution pattern theoretically using matrix perturbation theory. Second, we put forward the Constraint Slices (CSs) concept and first introduce CSs into the adjustment optimization model as constraint conditions rather than actual values as GCPs. Finally, we propose a novel DEM block adjustment method for spaceborne InSAR using CSs based on an optimization model with nonlinear constraints. The simulated experiment shows the instability of the conventional method and validates the proposed method under different parallel baseline errors. Four groups of real experiments were carried out according to the size of the uncontrolled area using twelve Co-registered Single-look Slant–range Complex (CoSSC) datasets for Henan Province, China. The adjustment results verified by the ICESat-2 ATL08 data demonstrate that the performance of the proposed method is better than the conventional method in the uncontrolled area; the corresponding improvements in adjustment accuracies compared with the conventional method are 0.13 m, 1.02 m, 2.12 m, and 8.18 m, respectively. At the same time, the proposed method can enhance the height consistency in overlapping areas, which is vital for seamless DEM production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Selecting the right partner is a key factor for the successful construction of the strategic alliance of prefabricated construction enterprises in China. Based on the summarization of domestic and foreign studies, combined with the characteristics of the strategic alliance of prefabricated construction enterprises, the paper has constructed an evaluation indicator system of the partner selection of the strategic alliance of prefabricated construction enterprises in China. The paper also has conducted an empirical study on the evaluation model of partner selection of the strategic alliance of prefabricated construction enterprises in China by using the method Entropy Weight-TOPSIS. The research results show that the five most influential second-level indicators are commercial housing sales capability, property management capability, commitment of capital, commitment of talents, and product innovation capability. The model constructed in the paper can comprehensively evaluate and select the strategic alliance partners of prefabricated construction enterprises in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Compound droughts and heat waves have garnered increasing attentions due to their disastrous impacts on the structure and function of ecosystems and societies. A drought is generally characterized by a precipitation deficit, and its negative impact can be amplified by the simultaneous occurrence of a heat wave. More recent studies have highlighted the multicharacteristics of compound droughts and heat waves, which may call for improved efforts on assessing the impact of compound extremes. In this study, a compound drought and heat wave magnitude index (CDHMI) is built to characterize the severity of compound extremes in the Huai River basin (HRB) during 1961–2017. The CDHMI considers the impact of both drought/extreme heat conditions and the duration of drought/extreme heat. In addition, the magnitude index has been graded according to the degree of severity to detect the most drastic extreme compound events. The results show that from 1961 to 2017, mild and moderate events occurred more often than severe events. A significant increase in all compound events was observed from 2003 to 2017. Compound drought and heat wave events, especially in drought status, have increased significantly with the global climate warming in recent decades. The assessment of the impact for compound drought and heat wave events over the HRB needs to be improved in the context of global climate changing. Therefore, the CDHMI can be used to accurately assess the risk of compound droughts and heat waves. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Heavy metals contaminations in mining areas aroused wide concerns globally. Efficient evaluation of its pollution status is a basis for further soil reclamation. Visible and near–infrared reflectance (Vis–NIR) spectroscopy has been diffusely used for retrieving heavy metals concentrations. However, the reliability and feasibility of calibrated models were still doubtful. The present study estimated zinc (Zn) concentrations via the random forest (RF) and partial least squares regression (PLSR) using ground in-situ Zn concentrations as well as soil spectral reflectance at an Opencast Coal Mine of Ordos, China in February 2020. The coefficient of determination (R2), root mean square error (RMSE), mean absolute error (MAE), and the ratio of performance to deviation (RPD) were selected to assess the robustness of the methods in estimating Zn contents. Moreover, the characteristic bands were chosen by Pearson correlation analysis and Boruta Algorithm. Finally, the comparison between RF and PLSR combined with eight spectral reflectance transformation methods was conducted for four concentration groups to determine the optimal model. The results indicated that: (1) Zn contents represented a skewed distribution (coefficient of variation (CV) = 33%); (2) the spectral reflectance tended to decrease with the increase of Zn contents during 580–1850 nm based on Savitzky–Golay smoothing (SG); (3) the continuous wavelet transform (CWT) demonstrated higher effectiveness than other spectral reflectance transformation methods in enhancing spectral responses, the R2 between Zn contents and the soil spectral reflectance achieved the highest (R2 = 0.71) by using CWT; (4) the RF combined with CWT exhibited the best performance than other methods in the current study (R2 = 0.97, RPD = 3.39, RMSE = 1.05 mg kg−1, MAE = 0.79 mg kg−1). The current study supplied a scientific scheme and theoretical support for predicting heavy metals concentrations via the Vis–NIR spectral method in possible contaminated areas such as coal mines and metallic mineral deposit areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims: Reveal the soil organic carbon (SOC) stock change in the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau (QTP) alpine wetlands in the past fifty years. The Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau (QTP) has a large area of alpine marshland and wet meadows. Artificial drainage, overgrazing and climate change have caused severe degradation of the alpine wetlands. However, little is known about the effects of wetland degradation on SOC stock, and studies only focused on the Zoige marshland, the biggest marshland of China. Direct SOC observations from the extensively distributed wet meadows remain scarce. Methods: SOC in the soil surface layer (0–50 cm) were investigated at four wetland sites where degradation has continued for decades. One site is in marshland, and three are in wet meadows of the QTP. Using datasets from the literature and the field measurements of the present study, we estimated the loss of alpine wetland SOC. Results and conclusions: Initially, marshland degradation to wet meadows prompted the accumulation of SOC; however, grazing in wet meadows reduced SOC accumulation. Wetland degradation to dried meadows led to a much greater SOC loss than that in the initial degradation stage, and grazing exacerbated the loss of SOC. An exponential decay rate of SOC was found in the grazed dried meadows. The wetlands of the QTP, have lost 141 ± 25 Tg in 1966–2016, representing 15% of the SOC stock. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The COVID-19 is still a huge challenge that seriously threatens public health globally. Previous studies focused on the influence of air pollutants and probable meteorological parameters on confirmed COVID-19 infections via epidemiological methods, whereas the findings of relations between possible variables and COVID-19 incidences using geographical perspective were scarce. In the present study, data concerning confirmed COVID-19 cases and possible affecting factors were collected for 325 cities across China up to May 27, 2020. The geographically weighted regression (GWR) model was introduced to explore the impact of probable determinants on confirmed COVID-19 incidences. Some results were obtained. AQI, PM2.5, and PM10 demonstrated significantly positive impacts on COVID-19 during the most study period with the majority lag group (P< 0.05). Nevertheless, the relation of temperature with COVID-19 was significantly negative (P< 0.05). Especially, CO exhibited a negative effect on COVID-19 in most study period with the majority lag group. The impacts of each possible determinant on COVID-19 represented significantly spatial heterogeneity. The obvious influence of the majority of possible factors on COVID-19 was mainly detected during the after lockdown period with the lag 21 group. Although the COVID-19 spreading has been effectively controlled by tough measures taken by the Chinese government, the study findings remind us to address the air pollution issues persistently for protecting human health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As a kind of renewable energy, the development and utilization of solar energy are valued by many countries. To accurately provide a basis for the use of solar energy in mainland China, the optimized empirical model is adopted to analyze the variation trends and spatial patterns in solar radiation (SR) during 1961–2016 based on the data of 31 SR sites and 500 sunshine duration (SD) stations. The results indicate that there are obvious discrepancies in the variation trends of annual SR and SD during 1961–2016, with trend conversion occurring in 1992 (SR) and 1980 (SD), respectively. Overall, annual SR decreases at the rate of −3.68 MJ/m2·a in China. Notably, SR declines at the rate of −16.95 MJ/m2·a during 1961–1989 ("dimming" stage), while it increases at the rate of 5.34 MJ/m2·a for 1990–2016 ("brightening" period). In addition, all seasons show a tendency of dimming first and then brightening except for autumn. Compared with SD, SR is more sensitive to changes in pollution, leading to a marked recovery with the reduction of pollution after the 1990s. This study provides a new perspective for the trend difference between SR and SD after the 1990s. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Corona virus disease‐19 (COVID‐19) has substantially reduced human activities and the associated anthropogenic emissions. This study quantifies the effects of COVID‐19 control measures on six major air pollutants over 68 cities in North China by a Difference in Relative‐Difference method that allows estimation of the COVID‐19 effects while taking account of the general annual air quality trends, temporal and meteorological variations, and the spring festival effects. Significant COVID‐19 effects on all six major air pollutants are found, with NO2 having the largest decline (−39.6%), followed by PM2.5 (−30.9%), O3 (−16.3%), PM10 (−14.3%), CO (−13.9%), and the least in SO2 (−10.0%), which shows the achievability of air quality improvement by a large reduction in anthropogenic emissions. The heterogeneity of effects among the six pollutants and different regions can be partly explained by coal consumption and industrial output data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fenghwaia, a new monotypic genus, along with the new species Fenghwaia gardeniicarpa, is described from Guangdong Province, China. The combined features of inferior ovary, cylindrical drupaceous fruits and orbicular and dorsiventrally-compressed seeds with an elongate and pronounced basal appendage make the new genus significantly different from other genera of the family. In addition, its pollen morphology also showed great similarity to other species of this stenopalynous family. The molecular phylogenetic analysis, based on nuclear ribosomal internal transcribed spacer (ITS) and plastid trnL-F intron spacer (trnL-F) DNA sequence data from the new genus and the other 375 species representing 58 genera of Rhamnaceae, indicates that Fenghwaia is nested within the 'rhamnoid' group and sister to the tribe Rhamneae and then both sister to the tribe Maesopsideae. A taxonomic classification key to the 'rhamnoid' group is provided, based on morphological characters. A global conservation assessment is also performed and classifies Fenghwaia gardeniicarpa as Near Threatened (NT). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The standardized precipitation evapotranspiration index (SPEI) is considered appropriate for drought assessment. In this study, changes in drought characteristics and the sensitivity of SPEI to variations in potential evapotranspiration (PET) and precipitation (P) were detected at different timescales (1, 3, 6, and 12 months) on the Huang-Huai-Hai Plain in China from 1901–2015. The results showed that obvious wetting trends were found in this plain and higher SPEI values that were mostly located in the north. Additionally, the SPEI values showed a wetting trend across 83.4%, 99.6%, 98.6%, and 86.6% of the plain at the 1-month (SPEI-01), 3-month (SPEI-03), 6-month (SPEI-06), and 12-month (SPEI-12) timescales, respectively. Obviously, the SPEI displayed a stronger correlation with P than the PET, which was primarily due to the complicated SPEI calculation process. These findings provide critical guidance for sustainable ecological development with the use of the SPEI to detect the impacts of climate factors on drought. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A regional field survey of a total of 109 pairs of soil and rice samples was conducted to evaluate the health risks posed by heavy metals in the Jin-Qu Basin, China. The studied soils are characterized by acid (pH in mean level of 5.5), carbon rich (soil organic matter in mean of 33.6 g kg−1) and mainly contaminated by Cd (42.2% samples exceeded the standard value of 0.3 mg kg−1 (GB15618-2018)). The spatial distributions of Cd, Pb and Zn exhibited similar geographic trends. 34% and 30% of the rice samples containing Cd and Pb exceeded the threshold value of 0.2 mg kg−1 (GB2762-2017), respectively. The risk estimation of dietary intake had a target hazard quotient value of Cd of 0.918 and a hazard index value for rice consumption of 2.141. Totally, Cd and Pb were found to be the main components contributing to the potential health risks posed by non-carcinogenic effects for local inhabitants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Park playgrounds recently are suffering serious heavy metals contamination in China. It is urgent to assess the ecological risk and identify the sources for heavy metals. A total of 111 topsoil samples were collected from four park playgrounds in Xi'an, and the X-ray fluorescence (XRF) instrument was used to measure the concentrations of heavy metals including chromium(Cr), nickel (Ni), copper (Cu), zinc (Zn), arsenic (As), lead (Pb), manganese (Mn), and cobalt (Co), respectively. Ecological risk ( E R i ) and potential ecological risk index (RI) were introduced to determine the pollution level and ecological risk, and the absolute principal component score-multiple linear regression (APCS-MLR) model was implemented to identify the sources for heavy metals. The main results were as follows. (1) Except As, the mean concentrations of measured heavy metals of four park playgrounds surpassed the soil background values of Shaanxi Province. (2) In each park playground, the E R i was below a "low" risk level ( E R i =10) for Cr, Ni, Zn, As, and Mn; Cu was between a "moderate" and "considerable" risk level; Pb was between a "low" and "moderate" risk level; and E R i was between a "considerable" and "high" risk level for Co. Besides, the RI index was on a "high" risk level (120 < RI < 240) with an obvious spatial distinction. (3) The anthropogenic factors were the main sources for heavy metals, and mixed sources and natural sources were considered as the minor sources for metals. (4) The sources contributions for Co had obvious spatial heterogeneity in each park situated in four different urban planning districts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Plant litter can be incorporated into topsoil by a natural process, affecting the soil erosion process. This is a widespread phenomenon in erosion‐prone areas. This study was conducted to investigate the effect of litter incorporation on the process of soil detachment on the Loess Plateau, China. Four common plant litters (Bothriochloa ischaemum L. Keng., Artemisia sacrorum Ledeb., Setaria viridis L. Beauv., and Artemisia capillaris Thunb.) were collected, then incorporated into the silt loam soil at five rates (0.1, 0.4, 0.7, 1.0, and 1.3 kg m−2) on the basis of our field investigation. Twenty litter–soil treatments and one bare soil control were prepared. After 50 days of natural stabilization, 30 soil samples of each treatment were collected. We used a flume test to scour the soil samples under six flow shear stress conditions (5.66, 8.31, 12.21, 15.55, 19.15, and 22.11 Pa). The results showed that the different incorporated litter masses and morphological characteristics, such as litter tissue density (ranging from 0.52 to 0.68 g cm−3), length density (2.34 to 91.00 km m−3), surface area density (LSAD; 27.9 to 674.2 m2 m−3), and volume ratio (0.003 to 0.050 m3 m−3), caused varied soil detachment capacities (0.043 to 4.580 kg·m−2·s−1), rill erodibilities (0.051 to 0.237 s m−1), and critical shear stresses (2.02 to 6.83 Pa). The plant litter incorporated within the soil reduced the soil detachment capacities by 38%–59%, lowered the rill erodibilities by 32%–46%, and increased the critical shear stresses by 98%–193% compared with the bare soil control. The soil containing B. ischaemum (L.) Keng. litter was more resistant to erosion. By comparing different parameters, we found that the contact area between the litter and soil was the main factor affecting the soil detachment process. The soil erosion resistance increased with the increasing contact area between the soil and litter. Furthermore, the litter incorporation effect on rill erodibility can be comprehensively reflected by LSAD (R2 =.93; Nash–Sutcliffe efficiency = 0.79), which could be used to adjust the rill erodibility parameter in physical process‐based soil erosion models. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Black carbon (BC) constitutes a pivotal component of atmospheric aerosols, significantly impacting regional and global radiation balance, climate, and human health. In this study, we evaluated BC data in two prominent atmospheric composition reanalysis datasets: the Modern-Era Retrospective analysis for Research and Applications, Version 2 (MERRA-2) and the Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service (CAMS), and analyzed the causes of their deviations. This assessment is based on observational data collected from 34 monitoring stations across China from 2006 to 2022. Our research reveals a significant and consistent decline in BC concentrations within China, amounting to a reduction exceeding 67.33%. However, both MERRA-2 and CAMS reanalysis data fail to capture this declining trend. The average annual decrease of BC in MERRA-2 from 2006 to 2022 is only 0.06 μg/m3 per year, while the BC concentration in CAMS even increased with an average annual value of 0.014 μg/m3 per year. In 2022, MERRA-2 had overestimated BC concentration by 20% compared to observational data, while CAMS had overestimated it by approximately 66%. In the regional BC concentration analysis, the data quality of the reanalysis data is better in the South China (R M = 0.59, R C = 0.53), followed by the North China (R M = 0.50, R C = 0.42). Reanalysis BC data in Northwest China and the Tibetan Plateau are difficult to use for practical analysis due to their big difference with observation. In a comparison of the anthropogenic BC emissions inventory used in the two atmospheric composition reanalysis datasets with the Multi-resolution Emission Inventory model for Climate and air pollution research (MEIC) emissions inventory, we found that: Despite the significant decline in China's BC emissions, MERRA-2 still relies on the 2006 emissions inventory, while CAMS utilizes emission inventories that even show an increasing trend. These factors will undoubtedly lead to greater deviations between reanalysis and observational data. [Display omitted] • The BC of MERRA-2 and CAMS was comprehensively evaluated for the first time in China. • Neither MERRA-2 nor CAMS reproduce observed BC downward trend from 2006 to 2022. • The use of the BC emission inventory with wrong annual trend is an important reason. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Air pollutants, notably ozone (O 3) and fine particulate matter (PM 2.5) give rise to evident adverse impacts on public health and the ecotope, prompting extensive global apprehension. Though PM 2.5 has been effectively mitigated in China, O 3 has been emerging as a primary pollutant, especially in summer. Currently, alleviating PM 2.5 and O 3 synergistically faces huge challenges. The synergistic prevention and control (SPC) regions of PM 2.5 and O 3 and their spatiotemporal patterns were still unclear. To address the above issues, this study utilized ground monitoring station data, meteorological data, and auxiliary data to predict the China High-Resolution O 3 Dataset (CHROD) via a two-stage model. Furthermore, SPC regions were identified based on a spatial overlay analysis using a Geographic Information System (GIS). The standard deviation ellipse was employed to investigate the spatiotemporal dynamic characteristics of SPC regions. Some outcomes were obtained. The two-stage model significantly improved the accuracy of O 3 concentration prediction with acceptable R2 (0.86), and our CHROD presented higher spatiotemporal resolution compared with existing products. SPC regions exhibited significant spatiotemporal variations during the Blue Sky Protection Campaign (BSPC) in China. SPC regions were dominant in spring and autumn, and O 3 -controlled and PM 2.5 -dominated zones were detected in summer and winter, respectively. SPC regions were primarily located in the northwest, north, east, and central regions of China, specifically in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei urban agglomeration (BTH), Shanxi, Shaanxi, Shandong, Henan, Jiangsu, Xinjiang, and Anhui provinces. The gravity center of SPC regions was distributed in the BTH in winter, and in Xinjiang during spring, summer, and autumn. This study can supply scientific references for the collaborative management of PM 2.5 and O 3. [Display omitted] • A novel two-stage model was adopted to estimate high spatiotemporal resolution O 3 datasets. • The CHROD O 3 datasets generated by this study was validated at multiple spatial temporal scales. • Coordinate prevention and control regions for PM 2.5 and O 3 were identified. • The dynamic of coordinate prevention and control regions for PM 2.5 and O 3 was detected. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Extended the traditional planned behavior theory. • An elevator safety management evaluation method based on machine learning is proposed. • Provided suggestions for the development of elevator installation in old residential quarters. With the aggravation of China's aging population problem, the elevator renovation in old residential areas has developed rapidly in the field of people's production and life. However, at present, elevator installation in old residential quarters in China shows slow progress. Therefore, due to the problems of poor accuracy of traditional elevator safety evaluation methods, the disadvantages of human factors and the complicated safety management of elevators, this study proposes an elevator safety management evaluation method based on machine learning. Based on this, first of all, aiming at the contradiction that residents' willingness are difficult to be coordinated and unified, based on the theory of planned behavior and from the perspective of equity perception, social justice theory is introduced to construct and expand the TPB model and explore the influence mechanism of various potential variables. Then the precision of elevator safety evaluation method is not high and the complexity of elevator safety management. An elevator safety management evaluation method based on machine learning is proposed. Use safety checklist to collect elevator safety status data and conduct safety inspection. The importance and degree of each factor affecting elevator safety are considered by table analysis method and fuzzy mathematics theory. The machine learning principle is applied to the evaluation results, and the existing maintenance knowledge of the evaluation knowledge base is combined to provide users with comprehensive and effective Suggestions and measures for rectification. The practical application shows that this method can find out the potential vulnerabilities in the elevator system management and operation, and reduce the risks. Finally, based on the empirical results, this paper expounds the ways to improve residents' willingness to install elevators and puts forward specific and effective elevator safety measures, so as to provide decision-making reference for the smooth implementation of the installation of elevators in old residential areas in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Prior literature suggests the coexistence of the positive and the negative externalities of agglomeration. However, with a focus on the production system side of industrial cluster, the extant studies less explore the root of the above mixed findings from the knowledge system side of clusters. Thus, this study aims to establish a coherent theoretical framework to reconcile the mixed findings on the relationship between spatial crowdedness and cluster-level patenting performance. Specifically, we expect a U-shaped relationship between spatial crowdedness and cluster-level patenting performance. From a perspective of knowledge based view, we argue that the interplay of two underlying mechanisms, i.e. knowledge spillover exploitation and knowledge safeguarding, will lead to this U-shaped relationship. We also propose the moderation effect of technological complexity on this U-shaped relationship. Using a longitudinal dataset from a sample of 171 industrial clusters in China during the period of 2011–2015, we find strong supports to our hypotheses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, bike-sharing systems have been widely deployed in many big cities, which provide an economical and healthy lifestyle. With the prevalence of bike-sharing systems, a lot of companies join the bike-sharing market, leading to increasingly fierce competition. To be competitive, bike-sharing companies and app developers need to make strategic decisions and predict the popularity of bike-sharing apps. However, existing works mostly focus on predicting the popularity of a single app, the popularity contest among different apps has not been explored yet. In this paper, we aim to forecast the popularity contest between Mobike and Ofo, two most popular bike-sharing apps in China. We develop CompetitiveBike, a system to predict the popularity contest among bike-sharing apps leveraging multi-source data. We extract two novel types of features: coarse-grained and fine-grained competitive features, and utilize Random Forest model to forecast the future competitiveness. In addition, we view mobile apps competition as a long-term event and generate the event storyline to enrich our competitive analysis. We collect data about two bike-sharing apps and two food ordering & delivery apps from 11 app stores and Sina Weibo, implement extensive experimental studies, and the results demonstrate the effectiveness and generality of our approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Liver cancer, which is the second leading cause of tumor-associated mortality, is of great concern worldwide due to its resistance to chemotherapeutic drugs. Transcatheter arterial chemoembolization (TACE) has previously been used as a treatment for unresectable liver tumors in China; however, the response to TACE treatment differs between patients. It has been reported that hepatitis B virus (HBV)-as sociated tumors are less sensitive to TACE treatment compared with non-HBV-associated liver cancer. Previous studies have demonstrated that exosomes serve a crucial role in hepatic carcinoma chemoresistance. We therefore hypothesized that HBV may modulate chemosensitivity via exosomes. The aim of the present study was to investigate how exosomes affect chemoresistance by assessing their role in chaperone-mediated autophagy (CMA)-dependent chemoresistance in HBV-associated liver cancer. Iconography data from HBV-positive and HBV-negative patients with hepatic carcinoma receiving TACE treatment were assessed, and it was revealed that the tumor volume was decreased in the patients with non-HBV-associated liver cancer compared with that in the patients with HBV-associated tumors following TACE therapy. Furthermore, it was revealed that exosomes from HBV-infected liver cancer cells were able to downregulate cell apoptosis when treated with oxaliplatin compared with exosomes from normal HepG2 cells. Furthermore, the results demonstrated that HBV-associated exosomes modulate cell death via activating the CMA pathway, and its key molecule, lysosome-associated membrane protein (Lamp2a), was also upregulated. Lamp2a-knockdown was also found to reverse anti-apoptotic effects in liver cancer. Taken together, the results of the present study suggest that chemoresistance in patients with HBV-associated hepatic tumors may be mediated by exosomes, and thus may provide a basis for the development of novel treatment strategies for chemoresistant liver cancer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • VTFs contributed the most to soil salinity mapping in the YRD. • Principal component analysis of VI time series aids in soil salinity mapping. • VI time series provide soil salinity information not in single-temporal RS images. • Combining VI time series and single-temporal RS images improves soil salinity inversion accuracy. Accurate mapping of soil salinity is of great significance for agricultural safety. However, soil salinity mapping has proven difficult because of its complex causes. The vegetation index (VI) time series has great potential in soil salinity mapping on a larger scale, yet studies on the use of this index are limited. Therefore, two inversion models (Model A and Model B) are established to assess the effects of VI time series on soil salinity mapping in the Yellow River Delta (YRD). Model A is developed by combining VI time series and single-temporal remote sensing (RS) images, while Model B does not consider VI time series. The effects of VI time series are evaluated from several perspectives by comparing the performances of Model A and Model B. The results show that VI time series can improve the accuracy of soil salinity mapping. The accuracy of Model A (R2 = 0.80, root mean square error (RMSE) = 0.4 mS cm−1) is better than that of Model B (R2 = 0.64, RMSE = 0.68 mS cm−1). In addition, the involvement of VI time series alleviates the overestimation of low-salinity soils and the underestimation of high-salinity soils, eliminating the dividing lines caused by different image times in soil salinity mapping. This study provides a large-scale, high spatial resolution (10 m), accurate soil salinity mapping method. It may help to maintain agricultural and ecological security and promote regional sustainable development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China has witnessed rapid urban growth over the past 3 decades resulting in vast ecological and environmental issues. Understanding the process of construction land (Cl) expansion and its driving factors are crucial for urban growth planning and management to mitigate the adverse impacts of such growth. Based on remote sensing data for 1975, 1990, 2000, and 2008, we monitored Cl changes in Xi'an City over the past 3 decades. The land use transform matrices were calculated. The results showed that from 1975 to 2008, remarkable changes in Cl occurred in Xi'an City. Over the past 30 years, the Cl concentration spread from one centre to multiple centres. The elevation, slope, traffic condition, wetland, education industry, rebuilding of city village, and historical and cultural sites may be the most important driving forces. We therefore recommend discussing the interactions of these potential driving factors within the Cl sprawl. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The aims of the study were to develop sex- and age-specific percentiles for lean mass index (LMI), appendicular LMI (aLMI), fat mass index (FMI), and body fat distribution indices in Chinese adults using dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA), and to compare those indices with those of other ethnicities using the US NHANES data. Methods: Whole-body and regional lean mass and fat mass (FM) were measured using DXA in 5688 healthy males ( n = 1693) and females ( n = 3995) aged 20-90 years. Body fat distribution indices were expressed as % fat trunk/% fat legs, trunk/appendicular FM ratio (FMR), and android/gynoid FMR. Percentile curves of LMI, aLMI, FMI, and body fat distribution indices were obtained by the Lambda-Mu-Sigma method. Results: The aLMI and LMI were negatively associated with age, decreasing from the fifth decade for males, but were not associated with age in females. Females had more total FM than males, whereas males had greater central adiposity (% fat trunk/% fat legs ratio, trunk/appendicular FMR, and android/gynoid FMR) than females. Moreover, FMI and body fat distribution indices consistently increased with age in both sexes, especially in women. In comparison with white, black, and Mexican populations in the USA, Chinese adults had lower total FM, but had greater central adiposity (% fat trunk/% fat legs ratio and trunk/appendicular FMR). Additionally, older white and Mexican populations showed greater decreases for aLMI and LMI than their Chinese counterparts. Conclusions: We present the sex- and age-specific percentiles for aLMI, LMI, FMI, and body fat distribution indices by DXA in Chinese adults, which may refine the individual assessment of the nutritional status of Chinese adults. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Resources scarcity and environmental pollution in China negatively influence the country’s sustainable development. Circular Economy (CE), which established on the basis of “3R principals”, was adopted by the Chinese authorities as a national development strategy to reduce resource consumption and mitigate environmental pollution. After more than ten years’ implementation of CE strategy, it is of vital importance to investigate the progresses and current status of CE development in China, especially in those China’s megacities from both spatial and temporal perspectives, so as to identify the barriers of local CE development in megacities. To achieve such an objective, this study assesses the CE development in China’s four megacities during the last ten years by using one unified indicator system. Results indicate that significant disparities exist among China’s four megacities regarding both CE development index trajectory and CE internal structure. While all four megacities had significantly improved their CE development since 2005, megacities located in eastern China, namely Beijing and Shanghai, had better CE development performances than megacities from western China, namely Urumqi and Chongqing. With respect to the composition of CE development index, Beijing and Urumqi were doing better on balancing the development of CE’s four aspects, namely, resource consumption intensity (RCI), waste emission intensity (WEI), waste recycling and utilization rate (WRUR) and waste disposal level (WDL). In contrast, CE development in Chongqing and Shanghai was primarily attributed to the three aspects of RCI, WEI and WDL, and the WRUR aspects had contributed little to their CE development during the last ten years, indicating an unbalanced CE development status. Additional, Shanghai and Chongqing increased faster on annual average CE development index, and the growth of CE development index of Urumqi was the slowest among the four megacities. In order to promote the CE development performance in China’s four megacities, several measures have been proposed, including providing financial and technological support to Urumqi and Chongqing, promoting the recycling of reclaimed wastewater in Chongqing and Shanghai, supporting the application of integrated waste management, as well as encouraging the participation of local residents. This study could provide valuable reference for countries and regions that adopt CE as their development mode. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bothriochloa ischaemum: (L.) Keng is an excellent native pasture and forage species on the Loess Plateau, China, which is low in soil nitrogen. Little is known about the effects of N addition on biomass, concentrations of non-structural carbohydrates (NSCs), and the carbon:nitrogen:phosphorus (C:N:P) stoichiometry of B. ischaemum in this area. We examined these responses in both plant tissues and soil to N additions of 0 (N0), 2.5 (N1), 5.0 (N2), and 10.0 (N3) g N m year. Biomass was maximal with N additions between 2.5 and 5.0 g N m year. The increase in biomass was more rapid above- than belowground. N addition had no significant effect on the C:N:P ratios in the plant tissues, except for the aboveground biomass N:P ratio which increased significantly. The response to N addition of aboveground biomass and the N:P ratio suggests that N is not likely the limiting nutrient for the growth of B. ischaemum when biomass N:P ratios are between 25.5 and 27.1. In contrast to the plant tissues, the soil C:N and C:P ratios, but not the N:P ratio, decreased significantly with increasing N addition, indicating that N addition may help improve soil quality in this area. Both above- and belowground NSC concentrations varied significantly with N addition, with maxima of 102.4 g kg in N1 and 49.6 g kg in N2. The application of N could be a management option for improving ecosystem biomass production and NSC concentrations in the grasses on the Loess Plateau. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Drawing on institutional theory, we argue that the likelihood of a Chinese firm adopting an isomorphic strategy in outward foreign direct investment (OFDI) depends on the influence of external isomorphic pressures-specifically, domestic regional and domestic industrial isomorphic pressures-and the firm's internal legitimacy-seeking motivation. Quantitative analysis of a sample of 107 Chinese listed firms and their OFDI projects in the 2008-2012 period offers supportive evidence for our arguments. Our study offers further insights into Chinese MNEs by providing a better understanding of the impact of China's regional and industrial diversity on their OFDI. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Facing the challenge of both resources scarcity and environmental pollution, Circular Economy (CE) has been adopted by the Chinese central government as a national development strategy for pursuing sustainable development. Behaviors and lifestyles play a vital role in achieving sustainable development. However, few studies were conducted on investigating consumers' behaviors and lifestyles. Consequently, it is necessary to conduct questionnaire surveys to understand public awareness and performance, as well as related progress, so that the barriers on CE implementation can be identified. Particularly, as a minority administrative region, Xinjiang is facing more challenges on promoting circular economy due to economic, cultural and language barriers. In order to provide more valuable policy implications to other Chinese regions with more minority residents, two questionnaire surveys were carried out in the Midong district of Urumqi city (the capital of Xinjiang), respectively in 2008 and 2013, covering responses from 418 interviewees. The results show that, while residents' understanding toward sustainable development increased from 10.1% in 2008 to 57.5% in 2013, only 41% of the interviewees knew the concept of circular economy, indicating residents' limited understanding on CE development. In addition, only 58.5% of the interviewees thought that wastes could be recycled in 2013, and residents were still facing the uncertainty of responsibility and the lack of knowledge for wastes separation. Moreover, around 80% of the respondents supported and recognized the importance of water saving and energy efficiency, and most of them would like to purchase water-saving and energy efficient appliances. With regard to people's CE behaviors, more respondents separated wastes in 2013 than in 2008, and waste items that have higher economic values were mostly separated. More than 94% of the respondents reused water and more than 80% of the respondents used energy-saving lamps at home. Less than 54% of the respondents utilized shopping bags for their shopping. Policy implications suggest that local governmental agencies should 1) introduce CE related knowledge and best practices to the public; 2) establish CE websites or information platform for public participation; 3) implement CE related policies; 4) provide preferential policies to the green products producers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Circular economy (CE) is key national strategy of China to achieve its long-term sustainable development. Industrial symbiosis (IS) is one practical approach to promote CE for achieving both environmental and economic benefits simultaneously. Chemical industry has a feature of various material and energy flows and is regarded as one key industry to promote IS. However, quantitative analysis of economic and environmental consequence for IS activities is still rare, especially for chemical industrial parks in western China. Under such a circumstance, this study is aiming to shed light on the current IS activities in a typical chemical industrial park in western China, so as to quantitatively evaluate the environmental benefits and economic benefits of IS, including the benefits of each IS chain, the benefits of each participated industrial company and the total benefits of the whole IS network in Midong Chemical Industrial Park (MCIP). Results show that: the annual exchanged volume of undesired material from 32 IS activities in MCIP was more than 4.74 million tons per year, covering 19 different kinds of undesired materials and involving 18 industrial companies within MCIP. The top four exchanged materials were carbide slag, coal gangue, fly ashes and slag, with the exchanged volumes of 1.07, 0.97, 0.92 and 0.68 million tons per year, respectively. From the perspective of IS chains, IS chain number 1 (carbide slag exchange between Huatai Chemical Corp. and Tianshan Cement Corp.) gained the most environmental benefits, with more than 2 million tons and the most economic benefit of 154 million RMB (25.08 million US dollar) per year. From the perspective of industrial companies, Huatai Chemical Corp. received the most economic benefits, while Shenhua Thermal Power Plant and Tianshan Cement Corp. received the most environmental benefits. Totally, IS activities contributed 5.86 million tons of environmental benefits and 382.43 million RMB (62.29 million US dollar) of economic benefits to MCIP. In order to further promote IS in MCIP, several recommendations were proposed, such as increasing CE awareness and environmental awareness of all the stakeholders, restriction of virgin resources, encouragement of urban symbiosis, establishment of a functional information platform and improvement of CE-related technologies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Although various pancreaticojejunal duct-to-mucosa anastomosis methods have been developed to reduce the postoperative risks of pancreaticoduodenectomy, pancreatic fistula remains the most serious complication with a high incident rate. The aim of this study is to compare the safety and effectiveness of one-layer and two-layer duct-to-mucosa pancreaticojejunostomy in patients undergoing pancreaticoduodenectomy.Methods/design: In this study, adult patients who sign consent forms will be recruited and scheduled for elective pancreaticoduodenectomy. One hundred and fourteen patients will be included and randomized before pancreaticojejunal reconstruction and after resection of the lesion from the pancreatic or periampullary region. The primary efficacy endpoint is the incident rate of postoperative pancreatic fistula. Statistical analysis will be based on the intention-to-treat population. Patients will be followed up for 3 months by monitoring for complications and other adverse events.Discussion: This prospective, single-center, randomized, single-blinded, two-group parallel trial is designed to compare one-layer with two-layer duct-to-mucosa anastomosis for pancreaticojejunal anastomosis during elective pancreaticoduodenectomy.Trial Registration: Clinical Trials.gov: NCT02511951 . Registered on 29 July 2015. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using panel data analysis for an industry-level sample of Chinese manufacturing industries from 2000 to 2009, the study examines how latecomers dynamically adapt technology acquisition strategy in terms of technology acquisition diversity during the transition process from imitation to innovation. Our research considers technology acquisition as a portfolio of technology channels and thus examines the impact of technology gap between domestic firms and foreign firms on technology acquisition strategy at the industry level. The findings reveal that technology gap positively affects technology acquisition diversity of Chinese manufacturing industries. Further, it shows that technological uncertainty weakens the positive impact of technology gap on diversity of technology acquisition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Surface ozone (O 3), one of the harmful air pollutants, generated significantly negative effects on human health and plants. Existing O 3 datasets with coarse spatiotemporal resolution and limited coverage, and the uncertainties of O 3 influential factors seriously restrain related epidemiology and air pollution studies. To tackle above issues, we proposed a novel scheme to estimate daily O 3 concentrations on a fine grid scale (1 km × 1 km) from 2018 to 2020 across China based on machine learning methods using hourly observed ground-level pollutant concentrations data, meteorological data, satellite data, and auxiliary data including digital elevation model (DEM), land use data (LUD), normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI), population (POP), and nighttime light images (NTL), and to identify the difference of influential factors of O 3 on diverse urbanization and topography conditions. Some findings were achieved. The correlation coefficients (R2) between O 3 concentrations and surface net solar radiation (SNSR), boundary layer height (BLH), 2 m temperature (T2M), 10 m v-component (MVW), and NDVI were 0.80, 0.40, 0.35, 0.30, and 0.20, respectively. The random forest (RF) demonstrated the highest validation R2 (0.86) and lowest validation RMSE (13.74 μg/m3) in estimating O 3 concentrations, followed by support vector machine (SVM) (R2 = 0.75, RMSE = 18.39 μg/m3), backpropagation neural network (BP) (R2 = 0.74, RMSE = 19.26 μg/m3), and multiple linear regression (MLR) (R2 = 0.52, RMSE = 25.99 μg/m3). Our China High-Resolution O 3 Dataset (CHROD) exhibited an acceptable accuracy at different spatial–temporal scales. Additionally, O 3 concentrations showed decreasing trend and represented obviously spatiotemporal heterogeneity across China from 2018 to 2020. Overall, O 3 was mainly affected by human activities in higher urbanization regions, while O 3 was mainly controlled by meteorological factors, vegetation coverage, and elevation in lower urbanization regions. The scheme of this study is useful and valuable in understanding the mechanism of O 3 formation and improving the quality of the O 3 dataset. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The establishment of either forest or grassland on degraded cropland has been proposed as an effective method for climate change mitigation because these land use types can increase soil carbon (C) stocks. This paper synthesized 135 recent publications (844 observations at 181 sites) focused on the conversion from cropland to grassland, shrubland or forest in China, better known as the 'Grain-for-Green' Program to determine which factors were driving changes to soil organic carbon ( SOC). The results strongly indicate a positive impact of cropland conversion on soil C stocks. The temporal pattern for soil C stock changes in the 0-100 cm soil layer showed an initial decrease in soil C during the early stage (<5 years), and then an increase to net C gains (>5 years) coincident with vegetation restoration. The rates of soil C change were higher in the surface profile (0-20 cm) than in deeper soil (20-100 cm). Cropland converted to forest (arbor) had the additional benefit of a slower but more persistent C sequestration capacity than shrubland or grassland. Tree species played a significant role in determining the rate of change in soil C stocks (conifer < broadleaf, evergreen < deciduous forests). Restoration age was the main factor, not temperature and precipitation, affecting soil C stock change after cropland conversion with higher initial soil C stock sites having a negative effect on soil C accumulation. Soil C sequestration significantly increased with restoration age over the long-term, and therefore, the large scale of land-use change under the 'Grain-for-Green' Program will significantly increase China's C stocks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]