Search

A new orchid species, Hemipilia avisoides, is described from Songpan County and Maoxian County, Sichuan Province, China. Morphologically, H. avisoides is most similar to H. hui, but can be distinguished by the combination of its involute middle lip lobe that is smaller than the lateral lobes, floral bracts that are 5 mm long and are always shorter than the ovary, a leaf that is appressed to the substrate and is adaxially green with white lines along 7-9 principal veins and the subterranean stem with a solitary sheath at its base. The floral morphology of H. avisoides is presented by utilising in vivo micro-CT scanning and 3D visualisation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The fatigue life of the cement asphalt (CA) mortar in the slab track of the China Railway Track System (CRTS) II is crucial to the smooth and safe operation of high-speed railways. To investigate the fatigue life of the CA mortar under the combined thermal action and vehicle loads, this paper develops a new coupled thermal-mechanical finite element (FE) model for the concrete slab track at the mesoscale. First, the meteorology and heat transfer principle are adopted to simulate the temperature distribution of the concrete slab track. The heterogeneous characteristics of the concrete of the precast slab are modelled by the three-phase composite material at the mesoscale using the new developed random aggregate algorithm. Then, the energy-based exponential cohesive zone model is adopted to simulate the interface between the CA mortar and the precast concrete slab. The proposed mesoscale numerical model can provide reliable predictions for the temperature distribution and the deformation of the precast concrete slab under thermal action, which are confirmed by the relevant field measurements. Finally, the fatigue life of the CA mortar is estimated by the nonlinear damage cumulative method associated with the stress time history under the combined thermal action and vehicle load. From the obtained results for the numerical example, the thermal action can decrease severely the fatigue life of the CA mortar, and the fatigue life varies significantly at different positions, with the most vulnerable zone located near but not directly below the rails. • Proposing the coupled thermal-mechanical FE numerical modelling for railway concrete slab tracks. • Developing new random aggregate algorithm for modelling heterogeneous concrete at the mesoscale. • Predicting reliably CA mortar fatigue life using nonlinear damage cumulative method under combined action. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A taxonomic revision of Sageretia lucida, S. thea var. cordiformis and S. yunlongensis in China is presented. Sageretia lucida is revised in terms of morphological characters (habit, branchlet color, phyllotaxis and rachis length), distribution, habitat, and phenology; S. thea var. cordiformis is raised to S. cordiformis; and S. yunlongensis is excluded from the genus Sageretia and reduced to the synonym of Rhamnus nigricans. Furthermore, a new species, S. ellipsoidea, is erected based on the paratype collections of S. lucida. The new species morphologically differs from S. lucida in having reddish brown branchlets, opposite or subopposite phyllotaxis, shorter rachises, and flowering in spring or early summer. S. ellipsoidea is factually closest to S. hamosa as they share similar woody-vine habit and larger fruit size, and fruiting in winter, whereas the former can be easily recognized based on its smaller leaf blades, fewer lateral veins, shorter rachises, and ellipsoidal or elliptic-ovoid fruits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Studies to elucidate the systematic position of two Chinese species described originally as Lactuca hirsuta and L. scandens, of which only historical specimens from the late 19th and early 20th centuries were known, revealed the occurrence of three different species. Molecular phylogenetic analysis of these species based on sequences of the nuclear ribosomal internal transcribed spacer (nrITS) region and three plastid DNA markers (trnL-F, psbA-trnH, matK) uncovered a hitherto unknown lineage in a first comprehensive phylogenetic backbone of the subtribe Crepidinae (Asteraceae, tribe Cichorieae). Substantiated by comparative morphological studies, this lineage is described as a new genus, named Sinoseris, endemic to the Chinese provinces Sichuan and Yunnan. One of its three species is new to science, while another is conspecific with both L. hirsuta and L. scandens. The third was meanwhile described by other authors as Nabalus muliensis and is now transferred to Sinoseris. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Organic carbon (OC) plays a pivotal role in earth surface systems. However, current three-dimensional (3D) mapping studies usually focus on a soil depth of 1 m rather than the depth to the bedrock. A top-down method using piecewise depth functions was proposed to fit the OC vertical decline patterns in a subtropical catchment in southern China. The vertical variation in OC was greatly affected by the heterogeneous topsoil due to natural processes and anthropogenic disturbances. Thus, topsoil OC maps were produced and utilized as covariates to indicate the OC decline rates and to benefit the 3D OC simulation. A distribution map of the underground critical zone thickness (UCZT) was applied as a lower boundary for the 3D simulation. Six widely used mapping techniques were performed to predict the spatial distribution of topsoil OC and depth function parameters. The overall cross-validation results showed a root mean squared error (RMSE) of 1.7 g kg–1 and a ratio of performance to deviation (RPD) of 1.82. Given limited boreholes, validation showed that the depth function performed better in the lower part (>1 m) than in the upper part (<1 m). The proposed framework could holistically employ sufficient topsoil samples and limited boreholes and provides a promising solution to simulate the 3D information of subsurface systems. We anticipate that continuous 3D OC maps can be integrated with other critical zone information to elucidate the complex interactions of various processes and to support potential service management decisions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Soil pH is the main factor affecting soil nutrient availability and chemical substances in soil. It is of great significance to study the spatial variability of soil pH for the management of soil nutrients and the prediction of soil pollution. In order to explore the causes of spatial variability in soil pH in red-bed areas, the Nanxiong Basin in south China was selected as an example, and soil pH was measured in the topsoil by nested sampling (0-20 cm depth). The spatial variability characteristics of soil pH were analyzed by geostatistics and classical statistical methods, and the main factors influencing spatial variability in soil pH are discussed. The coefficient of variation in the red-bed areas of Nanxiong Basin was 17.18%, indicating moderate variability. Geostatistical analysis showed that the spherical model is the optimal theoretical model for explaining variability in soil pH, which is influenced by both structural and random factors. Analysis of the spatial distribution and pattern showed that soil pH is relatively high in the northeast and southwest, and is lower in the northwest. These results indicate that land use patterns and topographic factors are the main and secondary influencing factors, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) has been implicated in cognitive performance and the modulation of several metabolic parameters in some disease models, but its potential roles in successful aging remain unclear. We herein sought to define the putative correlation between BDNF Val66Met and several metabolic risk factors including BMI, blood pressure, fasting plasma glucose (FPG) and lipid levels in a long-lived population inhabiting Hongshui River Basin in Guangxi.Methods: BDNF Val66Met was typed by ARMS-PCR for 487 Zhuang long-lived individuals (age ≥ 90, long-lived group, LG), 593 of their offspring (age 60-77, offspring group, OG) and 582 ethnic-matched healthy controls (aged 60-75, control group, CG) from Hongshui River Basin. The correlations of genotypes with metabolic risks were then determined.Results: As a result, no statistical difference was observed on the distribution of allelic and genotypic frequencies of BDNF Val66Met among the three groups (all P > 0.05) except that AA genotype was dramatically higher in females than in males of CG. The HDL-C level of A allele (GA/AA genotype) carriers was profoundly lower than was non-A (GG genotype) carriers in the total population and the CG (P = 0.009 and 0.006, respectively), which maintained in females, hyperglycemic and normolipidemic subgroup of CG after stratification by gender, BMI, glucose and lipid status. Furthermore, allele A carriers, with a higher systolic blood pressure, exhibited 1.63 folds higher risk than non-A carriers to be overweight in CG (OR = 1.63, 95% CI: 1.05 - 2.55, P = 0.012). Multiple regression analysis displayed that the TC level of LG reversely associated with BDNF Val66Met genotype.Conclusions: These data suggested that BDNF 66Met may play unfavorable roles in blood pressure and lipid profiles in the general population in Hongshui River area which might in part underscore their poorer survivorship versus the successful aging individuals and their offspring. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hedera plants are ornamental vines which are regarded as traditional medicinal plants. These plants are widely cultivated worldwide; moreover, new species and varieties have been discovered. For the first time, molecular markers based on sequence-related amplified polymorphism (SRAP) were used in this study to classify species and to analyse the genetic relationship of 21 Hedera plant varieties which are commonly cultivated in China. We also employed high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) to evaluate the medicinal value of these plants by measuring their hederacoside C contents. Results of SRAP–PCR and cluster analyses show that the SRAP molecular markers can successfully be applied in Hedera plants and are available. In addition, HPLC detection results indicate that the Chinese wild species in group I contain less than 30 mg/g hederacoside C and do not comply with the European Pharmacopoeia standards. By contrast, groups II and III exhibit high medicinal value and accord with these standards. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fuzheng-Huayu (FZHY) tablet was formulated based on Chinese medicine theory in treating liver fibrosis. A clinical trial has indicated that FZHY can against hepatitis B-caused liver cirrhosis (HBC), but the underlying mechanism of FZHY efficacy is unclear. Here, we report that miRNA expression levels are remarkably changed when FZHY formula was used in HBC patient's treatment as a paradigm of trials. Then, we functionally characterize the significant impact of potential kernel miRNAs by miRNA-target network analysis. Enrichment analysis show that the FZHY formula dramatically effecting the molecular regulated module in HBC. Thus, we infer that FZHY plays a critical function in HBC treatment process and directly regulated many important pathways, including but not limited to cell cycle, p53 signaling pathway, and TGF-β signaling pathway, suggesting a new strategy for investigating the molecular mechanism of FZHY treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Although medical education has developed rapidly in the last decade, and the National College Entrance Examination (NCEE) is used as the "gold standard" for admission to medical college in mainland China, there is a lack of literature regarding the influence of NCEE score and other factors on the academic performance of medical students. This study aimed to examine potential predictors of first-year grade point average (GPA) for medical students. Methods This study included 1,285 students who matriculated at a first-tier medical university in mainland China in 2011. The precollege motivational attitudes for each matriculate were investigated via questionnaire. A hierarchical linear model was fitted to regress first-year GPA on a 100-point scale on NCEE score and other student-level and major-level characteristics. Results NCEE score was a significant predictor of both within-major and between-major variation of first-year GPA for medical students. Majors with higher mean NCEE scores had higher mean GPAs, and higher GPAs were observed among those individuals with higher NCEE scores after controlling for major-level characteristics. First-year GPA differed by certain individual socio-demographic variables. Female students had a 2.44-higher GPA on average than did male students. NCEE repeaters had a 1.55-lower GPA than non-repeaters. First-year GPA was associated negatively with parental income but positively with academic self-concept. Conclusions NCEE score is an important predictor of the first-year GPA of medical students, but it is not the sole determinant. Individual socio-demographic characteristics and major-level characteristics should be taken into account to understand better and improve the first-year GPA of medical students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tongue coating is one of the important foundations of tongue diagnosis in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) and plays an important role in reflecting the occurrence, development, and prognosis of the disease. However, its material basis is still poorly understood. In this study, a urinary metabonomic method based on gas chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry (GC/MS) was developed. The distinct clustering in metabolic profile was observed from Group A (thick yellow coating in patients with chronic hepatitis B), Group B (thick white coating in patients with chronic hepatitis B), and Group C (thin white coating with healthy humans) using orthogonal projections to latent structures (OPLS). Based on the variable of importance in the project (VIP) values, some significantly changed metabolites have been identified. These changes were related to the disturbance in energy metabolism, amino acid metabolism, nucleotide metabolism, and gut microflora, which were helpful to understand the material basis leading to the formation of tongue coating. This study demonstrated that tongue coating may have an objective material basis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The -493G/T polymorphism in the microsomal triglyceride transfer protein (MTP) gene is associated with lower serum low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) and triglyceride (TG) levels and longevity in several populations, but the results are inconsistent in different racial/ethnic groups. The current study was to investigate the plausible association of MTP -493G/T polymorphism with serum lipid levels and longevity in Zhuang long-lived families residing in Bama area, a famous home of longevity in Guangxi, China. Methods: The MTP -493G/T was genotyped by PCR-restriction fragment length polymorphism in 391 Bama Zhuang long-lived families (BLF, n = 1467, age 56.60 ± 29.43 years) and four control groups recruited from Bama and out-of- Bama area with or without a familial history of exceptional longevity: Bama non-long-lived families (BNLF, n = 586, age 44.81 ± 26.83 years), Bama non-Zhuang long-lived families (BNZLF, n = 444, age 52.09 ± 31.91 years), Pingguo long-lived families (PLF, n = 658, age 50.83 ± 30.30 years), and Pingguo non-long-lived families (PNLF, n = 539, age 38.74 ± 24.69 years). Correlation analyses between genotypes and serum lipid levels and longevity were then performed. Results: No particularly favorable lipoprotein and clinical phenotypes were seen in BLF as compared to general families in the same area. Instead, the levels of total cholesterol (TC), TG, LDL-C, and the prevalence of dyslipidemia were significantly higher in the three Bama families as compared to the two non-Bama families (P < 0.01 for all). There were no differences in the allelic and genotypic frequencies among the tested cohorts (P > 0.05 for all), but the TT genotype tended to enrich in the three long-lived cohorts from both areas. In addition, the individuals harboring TT genotype exhibited lower LDL-C and TC levels in the overall populations and Bama populations with a region- and sex-specific pattern. Multiple linear regression analyses unraveled that LDL-C levels were correlated with genotypes in Bama combined population, BNLF, and the total population (P < 0.05 for each) but not in Pingguo populations; TC and HDL-C levels were correlated with genotypes in Bama combined population and BLF, respectively (P < 0.05 for each). Conclusions: MTP -493G/T polymorphism may play an important role in fashioning the serum lipid profiles of Bama populations, despite no direct association between MTP -493G/T and longevity was detected. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Reducing harm associated with selling and purchasing sex is an important public health priority in China, yet there are few examples of sustainable, successful programs to promote sexual health among female sex workers. The limited civil society and scope of nongovernmental organizations circumscribe the local capacity of female sex workers to collectively organize, advocate for their rights, and implement STI/HIV prevention programs. The purpose of this study was to examine social networks among low-income female sex workers in South China to determine their potential for sexual health promotion. Methods/Principal Findings: Semi-structured interviews with 34 low-income female sex workers and 28 health outreach members were used to examine how social relationships affected condom use and negotiation, STI/HIV testing and healthseeking behaviors, and dealing with violent clients. These data suggested that sex worker's laoxiang (hometown social connections) were more powerful than relationships between women selling sex at the same venue in establishing the terms and risk of commercial sex. Female sex workers from the same hometown often migrated to the city with their laoxiang and these social connections fulfilled many of the functions of nongovernmental organizations, including collective mobilization, condom promotion, violence mitigation, and promotion of health-seeking behaviors. Outreach members observed that sex workers accompanied by their laoxiang were often more willing to accept STI/HIV testing and trust local sexual health services. Conclusions/Significance: Organizing STI/HIV prevention services around an explicitly defined laoxiang social network may provide a strong foundation for sex worker health programs. Further research on dyadic interpersonal relationships between female sex workers, group dynamics and norm establishment, and the social network characteristics are needed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate changes during glacial periods have had significant effects on the current distribution of plant species. Palaeontologial data suggest that modern cycads originated in southwest China. Cycas debaoensis (Cycadaceae) is an endangered species restricted to a small area of southwest China. This species has been classified into two types: sand and karst, according to the soil matrix they grow on. To determine the locations of its glacial refugia and its genetic structure, we examined chloroplast sequence variation of the atpB- rbcL and psbA- trnH intergenic spacers. Four chloroplast DNA haplotypes were obtained from 120 individuals collected from 11 populations covering the entire extant distribution range of the species. Significant population subdivision was detected ( G = 0.684 and F = 0.74160), suggesting low levels of gene flow between regions and populations. There was marked haplotype differentiation between populations in the sand and karst regions, with only one haplotype being present in both. The molecular phylogenetic data, together with the geographic distribution of the haplotypes, suggest that C. debaoensis experienced range contraction during glacial periods, and that the current populations are still confined to the areas of the original refugia. These results implied that isolated refugia might have maintained in both sand and karst regions during the last glacial maximum and even earlier glaciations. The low within-population diversity of C. debaoensis suggested that there were strong bottleneck events or founder effects within each separate region during the Quaternary climatic oscillations. These findings are important for the conservation of this endangered species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The composition of land use for a rapidly urbanizing catchment is usually heterogeneous, and this may result in significant spatial variations of storm runoff pollution and increase the difficulties of water quality management. The Shiyan Reservoir catchment, a typical rapidly urbanizing area in China, is chosen as a study area, and temporary monitoring sites were set at the downstream of its 6 sub-catchments to synchronously measure rainfall, runoff and water quality during 4 storm events in 2007 and 2009. Due to relatively low frequency monitoring, the IHACRES and exponential pollutant wash-off simulation models are used to interpolate the measured data to compensate for data insufficiency. Three indicators, event pollutant loads per unit area (EPL), event mean concentration (EMC) and pollutant loads transported by the first 50% of runoff volume (FF50), were used to describe the runoff pollution for different pollutants in each sub-catchment during the storm events, and the correlations between runoff pollution spatial variations and land-use patterns were tested by Spearman''s rank correlation analysis. The results indicated that similar spatial variation trends were found for different pollutants (EPL or EMC) in light storm events, which strongly correlate with the proportion of residential land use; however, they have different trends in heavy storm events, which correlate with not only the residential land use, but also agricultural and bare land use. And some pairs of pollutants (such as COD/BOD, NH3-N/TN) might have the similar source because they have strong or moderate positive spatial correlation. Moreover, the first flush intensity (FF50) varies with impervious land areas and different interception ratio of initial storm runoff volume should be adopted in different sub-catchments. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

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

House right is one of people's important social, economic and cultural rights and the release of Declaration of the Rights of Man remarked its generation. Previously, it underwent a long process of development, it was also affected by various social and economic factors. Improvement of "City Diseases", workers' movements and impacts of social democracy all took important roles in this historical process. After World War II, house right was furthered both in theory and practice. At present time, China is advancing its legislation in residence right, so to study this historical process is of great importance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The somatic chromosome numbers for Trochodendron and Tetracentron were determined as 2 n = 38 from shoot tip cells, from cultivated plants introduced from three places in Japan and southwest China. This number is consistent with one of the only two previous studies on the two genera and adds support for their membership of a distinct family Trochodendraceae. © 2008 The Linnean Society of London, Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society, 2008, 158, 332–335. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The evolutionary history of plants in the southeast Tibetan Plateau might be the most complicated around the world because of the area's extremely complex topography and climate induced by strong tectonic activity in recent history. In this research, we implemented a phylogeographical study using chloroplast sequences ( psbA- trnH and trnQ- rps16 intergenic spacer) on Dipentodon, a monotypic or ditypic genus ( D. sinicus and D. longipedicellatus) distributed in southwest China and adjacent areas including Myanmar (Burma), northeast India and northern Vietnam. A total of 257 samples from 16 populations from the southeast Tibetan Plateau ( D. longipedicellatus) and the Yungui Plateau ( D. sinicus) were collected. The results revealed that Dipentodon had 11 haplotypes for the two intergenic spacers, high genetic diversity ( hT = 0.902) and high genetic differentiation ( NST = 0.987 and GST = 0.948).amova analysis showed that the component of among-population within region/species (55.25%) was unexpectedly larger than the among-species/region component (43.69%), which indicates that there is no justification for recognizing two species in Dipentodon. Correlation of pairwise genetic and geographical distances showed that Dipentodon populations in the southeast Tibetan Plateau may have suffered more habitat fragmentation than populations in the Yungui Plateau because of the uplift of the Tibetan Plateau than populations in the Yungui Plateau have. Nested clade analysis showed that 11 haplotypes formed two 3-level, three 2-level and seven 1-level clades, with eight clades showing significant geographical association. However, clade 2-1 and 2-2 did not cluster together, although they are distributed in the same region (Yungui Plateau) and belong to the same species ( D. sinicus). This led not only to incongruence between haplotype network and geographical distribution of 2-level clades, but also to paraphyly of D. sinicus to D. longipedicellatus. We concluded that the incongruence and paraphyly may result from incomplete lineage sorting during the rapid and extreme tectonic events of the Tibetan Plateau. The results reported here will no doubt provide new insights into the evolution of biodiversity on the Tibetan Plateau and adjacent areas, and a historical framework for the conservation of biodiversity in this area, including Dipentodon. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on the taxonomical validation of four species of the herb Castanopsis (Fagaceae) from Hainan, Southern China. It mentions that the species, which include Castanopsis hairocarpa, C. oleifera, C. wuzhishangensis, and C. qingbeiensis, were validated by a holotype designation for their formal use. It also mentions the reasons for the mentioned species to be validated, which include direct reference to their Latin designations.

Miscanthus subgen. Rubimons (B. S. Sun) Y. C. Liu et H. Peng, a new subgenus of Miscanthus Anderss. (Poaceae) is established and Miscanthus ( Rubimons) villosus Y. C. Liu et H. Peng, a new species of this subgenus from southwest Yunnan, China, is described and illustrated. It is closely related to M. paniculatus (B. S. Sun) S. L. Chen & Renvoize, but differs mainly by its villous panicle axis, long callus hair, lanceolate lower lemma and the consistently longer awn of the upper lemma. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lectotypes of Paraphlomis albiflora (Hemsl.) Hand.-Mazz. and Paraphlomis gracilis (Hemsl.) Kudô are designated. The name Paraphlomis javanica (Blume) Prain var. angustifolia C. Y. Wu & H. W. Li ex C. L. Xiang, E. D. Liu & H. Peng is validated by a type designation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on the chemical components of the aquatic weed Pistia stratiotes L., commonly known as water lettuce in South and East China. The important aquatic weed has the ability to scatter wind-fever. The structures of the weed were determined by spectroscopic analysis. Information on the extraction and isolation of the plant are discussed.

Wind speed predictions are essential for wind power management and wind farm operation. However, due to the high volatility and nonstationarity of measured wind data, it is often difficult to achieve an accurate prediction. This study proposes a hybrid approach that consists of two stages, i.e., data preprocessing and wind speed predicting, to improve the accuracy of short-term wind speed prediction. A preprocessing algorithm for the transformation and standardization of hourly mean wind speed is utilized to remove the non-Gaussian distribution of wind data and diurnal nonstationarity. Several statistical models and artificial intelligence models are then adopted in the second stage of the prediction process, including a persistence model, autoregressive model, autoregressive moving average model and backpropagation neural network. The proposed approach is developed based on the weighted averaging of these models and error optimization theory. Finally, wind speed data for 12 months from two meteorological towers located in Yanan, China, are investigated to demonstrate the effectiveness and accuracy of the proposed approach for multistep wind speed predictions, and its performance is then compared with several existing prediction models. The results indicate that the prediction accuracy improves significantly after preprocessing with the proposed approach, outperforming all the existing aforementioned models. • Novel two-stage hybrid approach for predicting short-term wind speed. •Investigations on non-Gaussianarity and nonstationarity of wind speed series. •Evaluations of the multi-step wind speed predictions of the aforementioned models. •Detailed verification for the performance of the proposed hybrid model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on the in-situ stress management in the Wenchuan Fault Scientific Drilling (WFSD)-1 borehole at the Wenchuan Earthquake fault in China. Topics discussed include the use of differential strain analysis (DSA) in the WFSD project, the stability of the Wenchuan fault, and the principal stress ratio measurement in WFSD.

The article focuses on the application of the anelastic strain recovery (ASR) technique at the Wenchuan Earthquake Fault Scientific Drilling (WEFSD-1) borehole in order to determine the nature of the in-situ stresses within the fault's crustal movements during the earthquake that hit China's Sichuan province on May 12, 2008. The ASR results at the WEFSD-1 Well corroborated previous findings that the earthquake was dominated by thrusting activity accompanied by dextral strike-slip faulting.

To better understand the contribution of understory to biodiversity of a forest ecosystem, we examined the understory in stands of: (1) a Phyllostachys edulis (Moso bamboo) plantation, (2) a Cunninghamia lanceolata (Chinese fir) plantation and (3) a natural evergreen and deciduous broad-leaved mixed forest (natural mixed forest) in Mt. Mao'er in southern China, and the distribution and diversity of understory in relation to environmental conditions (overstory structure, soil nutrients, and gap light level). Soil samples were taken and analyzed in a laboratory for pH, organic matter (SOM), and total nitrogen (TN). Hemispherical photographs were taken using a Panasonic DMC-LX5 digital camera and analyzed using Gap Light Analyzer 2.0 software. Statistical methods, such as multi-response permutation procedure (MRPP), detrended correspondence analysis (DCA), Mantel test, and stepwise multiple linear regressions were used in this study. Canopy communities were significantly different in basal area (BA), density, and species richness but not Shannon diversity (H'). Soil variables differed in terms of soil pH and TN across the three canopy types; however, the light levels did not differ significantly. MRPP revealed significant differences in species composition of understory among the three forest types. DCA ordination separated sample plots into three groups corresponding to the three forest types. Multiple stepwise regressions showed that soil pH combined with SOM, Overstory-H' and TTot could explain 99% of the variation in understory species richness, while Overstory-H' with Overstory-S, Density, and SOM could explain 92% of the variation in understory diversity. The results indicated that canopy structure together with soil nutrient were the best predictors of understory vegetation in the study area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The risk of chronic hepatitis B (CHB) infection is often affected by polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) metabolism which is strongly influenced by single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) within the PUFA metabolic pathway. Given this, we designed this study to determine the relationship between specific polymorphisms within fatty acid desaturase 2 (FADS2), a key enzyme in PUFA metabolism, and CHB infection. We completed this evaluation using a case-control study comprising 230 CHB patients and 234 unrelated healthy controls in which the genetic relationships between three previously identified SNPs, isolated via mass spectrometry, and CHB infection. Our data revealed that none of these three SNPs (rs174568, rs174601, and rs2727270) were significantly associated with susceptibility to CHB infection when compared to healthy controls. However, when we stratified our cohort by sex, male subjects with the TC genotype for FADS2 exhibited a decreased risk for CHB infection (OR = 0.62, 95%CI = 0.39-0.96; OR = 0.64, 95%CI = 0.41-1.00; OR = 0.57, 95%CI = 0.36-0.90). Furthermore, age stratification revealed that both the T allele and the TC genotypes for each of the three target SNPs were less common in Chinese CHB cases in people younger than 50 years old. Correlation analysis also revealed that there was no statistically significant relationship between these three SNPs and HBV-DNA replication or hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) levels. Thus, our data suggests that rs174568, rs174601, and rs2727270 may affect the CHB outcomes in various age or sex subgroups, suggesting that they may be useful predictive or diagnostic biomarkers of CHB infection in some populations., (Copyright © 2022. Published by Elsevier B.V.)

Investigating the composition of food sources with stable isotope method can provide direct evidence for the top-down control in the coastal wetland. In this study, we examined food source and feeding habit of Helice tientsinensis of common reed (Phragmites australis) vegetation in high marsh of Yellow River Delta. The results showed that the density of crab was (5.5±1.5) ind·m -2 , with the behavior of climbing P. australis to feed on the leaves at night. Under the same indoor experimental condition, H. tientsinensis showed feeding preference on fresh leaves of P. aus-tralis. The stable isotope food source analysis showed that the leaves of P. australis were one of the important food sources of H. tientsinensis in the field. There were temporal variations in the proportion of fresh leaves [May: (6.4±4.9)%, July: (5.8±4.9)%, September: (12.5±8.8)%] and dead leaves [May: (12.4±7.8)%, July: (15.5±9.9)%, September: (15.1±9.4)%]. Therefore, H. tientsinensis could inhibit P. australis's growth and affect litter decomposition through feeding disturbance behavior.

Sewer interception systems have been built along rivers in rapidly urbanizing areas to collect unregulated sewage discharges due to misconnections between storm sewers and sanitary sewers. During storm events, combined sewage might overflow from these systems into rivers through orifices and deteriorate water quality in rivers. Interception system overflows (ISOs) from different orifices in a sewer interception system might interact with each other, therefore pollutants from ISOs show a spatial variation. This paper aims to understand the spatial variation of pollutants from ISOs for informed decision making. In this study, an urbanized catchment in China is chosen as the study area, and the Storm Water Management Model (SWMM) is used to examine the spatial variation of pollutants from ISOs and to analyze the effect of sewer separation on ISOs. The results obtained from the case study indicate that: (1) Critical rainfall amounts which trigger overflows decrease downstream in an interception system while annual ISO volumes and pollutant loads from ISOs increase downstream; additionally, these variations are influenced by sizes and slopes of interceptors; (2) Runoff is the main source of COD from ISOs while sewage is the main source of NH 3 -N, and ratios of pollutants from sewage to ISOs increase downstream; (3) Sewer separation can significantly reduce pollutant loads from sewage to ISOs, but it cannot significantly reduce pollutant loads from runoff. In order to mitigate ISO pollution, it is suggested to increase conveyance capacities of interceptors in the downstream, separate sewage from runoff, and promote source control for urban runoff in highly urbanized areas., (Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Low impact development (LID) is generally regarded as a more sustainable solution for urban stormwater management than conventional urban drainage systems. However, its effects on urban flooding at a scale of urban drainage systems have not been fully understood particularly when different rainfall characteristics are considered. In this paper, using an urbanizing catchment in China as a case study, the effects of three LID techniques (swale, permeable pavement and green roof) on urban flooding are analyzed and compared with the conventional drainage system design. A range of storm events with different rainfall amounts, durations and locations of peak intensity are considered for holistic assessment of the LID techniques. The effects are measured by the total flood volume reduction during a storm event compared to the conventional drainage system design. The results obtained indicate that all three LID scenarios are more effective in flood reduction during heavier and shorter storm events. Their performance, however, varies significantly according to the location of peak intensity. That is, swales perform best during a storm event with an early peak, permeable pavements perform best with a middle peak, and green roofs perform best with a late peak, respectively. The trends of flood reduction can be explained using a newly proposed water balance method, i.e., by comparing the effective storage depth of the LID designs with the accumulative rainfall amounts at the beginning and end of flooding in the conventional drainage system. This paper provides an insight into the performance of LID designs under different rainfall characteristics, which is essential for effective urban flood management., (Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Integrated water environmental management in a rapidly urbanizing area often requires combining social, economic and engineering measures in order to be effective. However, in reality, these measures are often considered independently by different planners, and decisions are made in a hierarchical manner; this has led to problems in environmental pollution control and also an inability to devise innovative solutions due to technological lock-in. In this paper, we use a novel coupled system dynamics and water environmental model (SyDWEM) to simulate the dynamic interactions between the socio-economic system, water infrastructure and receiving water in a rapidly urbanizing catchment in Shenzhen, China. The model is then applied to assess the effects of proposed socio-economic or engineering measures on environmental and development indicators in the catchment for 2011-2020. The results indicate that 1) measures to adjust industry structures have a positive effect on both water quantity and quality in the catchment; 2) measures to increase the labor productivity, the water use efficiency, the water transfer quota or the reclaimed wastewater reuse can alleviate the water shortage, but cannot improve water quality in the river; 3) measures to increase the wastewater treatment rate or the pollutant removal rate can improve water quality in the river, but have no effect on water shortage. Based on the effectiveness of the individual measures, a combination of socio-economic and engineering measures is proposed, which can achieve water environmental sustainability in the study area. Thus, we demonstrate that SyDWEM has the capacity to evaluate the effects of both socio-economic and engineering measures; it also provides a tool for integrated decision making by socio-economic and water infrastructure planners., (Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Objective: To analyze the pathological and clinical features of IgA nephropathy (IgAN) in west Guangdong province., Methods: The pathological type and clinical features of 120 patients with IgAN were retrospectively analyzed., Results: Mesangial proliferative glomerulonephritis and focal segmental glomerulosclerosis were the most frequent features of IgAN. IgM deposit could be found in half of the IgAN patients, especially in the IgAN patients with focal segmental glomerulosclerosis., Conclusion: The incidence of IgAN may vary between different regions. Clinically, misdiagnosis of other renal diseases as IgAN may often occur. The nature and severity of glomerular immunoglobulin deposition can be related to the pathogenesis and progression of IgAN.

Increasing concern regarding environmental risk in China has led to a need for education on environmental health and safety. In this paper, we report on four main ways to enhance environmental risk consciousness of the public. By investigating residents' indoor environmental risk consciousness in Beijing, we appraised the effectiveness of current environmental risk education approaches. Our investigation showed that the indoor environmental risk consciousness of most residents is high. Most residents have some environmental risk knowledge, have a strong desire to demand better quality of their living environment, and would like to invest in it. However, people's actual behavior in terms of reducing health risk factors fall comparatively behind. It is important to use all approaches to carry out environmental risk education. Not only should new knowledge be imparted, but the public should also be trained how to take precautions against pollution. The extension of education from campus to society is also necessary.

Surface coatings and surficial sediments were obtained in four natural waters in Xianghai Wetland in China to study the role of surface coatings and surficial sediments in controlling the transporting and cycling of heavy metals in aquatic environments. Pb and Cd adsorption to the surface coatings and surficial sediments were measured under controlled laboratory conditions(mineral salts solution with defined speciation, ionic strength 0.05 mol/L, 25 degrees C and pH 6.0 for surface coatings; and 0.005 mol/L CaCl2 solution, 25 degrees C and pH 6.0 for surficial sediments). The Langmuir adsorption isotherm was applied to estimate equilibrium coefficients of Pb and Cd adsorption to the surface coatings and surficial sediments, and the component analyses of surface coatings and surficial sediments were also carried out. Correlation analyses between the maximum adsorption of Pb and Cd (adsorption max ) and the components in the surface coatings and surficial sediments suggested that there was a statistically significant trend for Pb and Cd adsorption( adsorption max ) to the surface coatings to increase with increasing in contents of Fe and Mn oxides in the surface coatings and surficial sediments. And the metal adsorption abilities of surface coatings were much stronger than those of surficial sediments, highlighting that in the same water, i.e. at the same pH and initial metal concentrations, the metals (such as lead and cadmium) in supernatant were feasible to be adsorbed by surface coatings than surficial sediments. The more importance of surface coatings than surficial sediments for adsorbing and cycling of heavy metals in aquatic environments was evidenced.