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River algal blooms have become a global environmental problem due to their large impact range and environmental hazards. However, the complex mechanisms underlying these blooms make prediction and prevention challenging. Here, we employed empirical dynamic modeling (EDM) and machine learning to reveal the causes and predict diatom blooms from 2003 to 2017 in the Han River of China. The diatom cell density ranged from 0.1 to 5.1 × 107 cells L−1, whereas algal blooms often lasted for 10 days with density exceeding 107 cells L−1. The EDM results elucidated that, under consistent high nutrient concentrations, algal blooms were primarily regulated by eight environmental factors: water temperature in the Han River; water levels, flow velocities, and streamflow discharges in the Han River and the Yangtze River; and water level variation in the Han River. The poor performance (coefficient of determination R2 < 0) of the multiple linear regression, EDM, and random forest models indicated the challenge of predicting algae density. Therefore, we used machine learning classification models to predict algal blooms occurrences. With the resampling techniques to account for imbalanced data, machine learning models achieved perfect classification prediction (Kappa value = 1) of the 13 algae‐bloom events with a 10‐day lead time during a 15‐year period, providing an important reference for preemptive warning of riverine algal blooms. Plain Language Summary: River algal blooms have become a global environmental problem due to their large impact range and environmental hazards. The Han River is one of the most frequent areas of river algal blooms in China, but there is no clear conclusion on the causes of algal blooms formation. In this study, we combined two methods to reveal the causes and predict the occurrence of algal blooms in the Han River. Our results show that the prediction of algal blooms in the Han River is feasible. These blooms are primarily affected by the water temperature and seven other hydrological variables in the Han and Yangtze River. This study provides a starting point for the preemptive warning of riverine algal blooms. Key Points: Empirical dynamic modeling detects causality for river algal bloomsMachine learning accurately predicts the occurrence of algal blooms in the Han RiverResampling techniques improve robustness and accuracy of machine learning [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The carbon emissions released from buildings are correlated with various factors in social and economic systems. Thus, quantifying and then controlling those factors can decrease the release of carbon emissions further. To quantify the influencing factors of the carbon emissions of residential buildings in Yunnan Province in China, separately for urban and rural areas, this study adopted the methods of utilizing the carbon emission factor and the LMDI model and combined them with the carbon emissions data obtained from 2010 to 2019. Subsequently, with this model, the contribution of each factor to the overall carbon emissions was quantified. The results demonstrate the following: (1) the main factors influencing carbon emissions from residential buildings include the per capita floor area, energy consumption per unit area, energy intensity effect, energy structure effect, urbanization rate, and population size. (2) For urban buildings, carbon emissions are negatively correlated with the energy consumption per unit area, energy intensity effect, and energy structure effect, with contribution values of 0.34, 0.27, and 0.05, respectively. Conversely, there is a positive correlation with the per capita floor area, urbanization rate, and population size, with contribution values of 0.23, 0.11, and 0.01, respectively. (3) For rural buildings, carbon emissions are negatively correlated with urbanization rate, energy intensity effect, and energy structure effect, with contribution values of 0.16, 0.15, and 0.14, respectively. Conversely, there is a positive correlation with the per capita floor area, energy consumption per unit area, and population size, with contribution values of 0.29, 0.24, and 0.02, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Two new rare trachylobane euphoratones A-B (1-2), together with five known diterpenoids (compounds 3-7), were isolated from the aerial parts of Euphorbia atoto. Their structures were unambiguously elucidated through HRESIMS, 1D and 2D NMR spectral analysis. Compounds 1, 3, 4 and 7 showed weak anti-inflammatory activities (IC50 77.49 ± 6.34, 41.61 ± 14.49, 16.00 ± 1.71 and 33.41 ± 4.52 μM, respectively), compared to the positive control quercetin (IC50 15.23 ± 0.65 μM). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Understanding the public's diverse linguistic expressions about rainfall and flood provides a basis for flood disaster studies and enhances linguistic and cultural awareness. However, existing research tends to overlook linguistic complexity, potentially leading to bias. In this study, we introduce a novel algorithm capturing rainfall and flood-related expressions, considering the relationship between precipitation observations and linguistics expressions. Analyzing 210 million social media microblogs from 2017, we identified 594 keywords, 20 times more than usual manually created bag-of-words. Utilizing Large Language Model, we categorized these keywords into rainfall, flood, and other related terms. Semantic features of these keywords were analyzed from the viewpoint of popularity, credibility, time delay, and part-of-speech, finding rainfall-related terms most common-used, flood-related keywords often more time delayed than precipitation, and notable differences in part-of-speech across categories. We also assessed spatial characteristics from keyword and city-centric perspectives, revealing that 49.5% of the keywords have significant spatial correlation with differing median centers, reflecting regional variations. Large and disaster-impacted cities show the richest expression diversity for rainfall and flood-related terms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Gifted programs are an indispensable component of gifted education, and have drawn much academic attention in the recent years. However, the public images of such programs are still under-examined. In this study, we employed semantic network analysis and content analysis to uncover the public images of gifted programs in China and their change over time. Based on 1,486 Chinese news reports between 1978-2015 on gifted education, our analysis revealed four different images of gifted programs and their participants in China: "successful graduates", "early ripe, early rot", "superb intelligence", and "all-around development". The co-existence of two common stereotypes, "the chosen ones" and "Mad genius", can be concluded from the emerging process of these four images and the correlations between them. In addition, the rise and fall of different images show how the public opinions of gifted programs change over time, influenced by both institutional interventions and culture shifts. The change over time is indicative of the social-constructive nature of public opinions towards gifted education.

The relationship between serum total cholesterol (TC) and triglyceride (TG) levels and mortality in maintenance hemodialysis (MHD) patients remains inconsistent. We aimed to explore the individual and combined association of TC and TG levels with the risk of mortality in Chinese MHD patients. 1036 MHD patients were enrolled in this multicenter, prospective cohort study. The serum levels of total cholesterol and triglycerides were measured at baseline. The primary outcome was all-cause mortality and secondary outcome was cardiovascular disease (CVD) mortality. During a median follow-up duration of 4.4 years (IQR= 2.0–7.9 years), 549 (53.0%) patients died, and 297 (28.7%) deaths were attributed to CVD. Compared with patients with TC levels in the first three quartiles (<182.5 mg/dL), a significantly higher risk of all-cause mortality was found in participants with TC in the fourth quartile (hazard ratio [HR], 1.43; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.17–1.76). However, a significantly lower risk of all-cause mortality was observed in participants with TG in the fourth quartile (≥193.9 mg/dL) (HR, 0.78; 95%CI: 0.63–0.98), compared with participants with TG in the first three quartiles. Similar trends were observed in CVD mortality. When analyzed jointly, patients with lower TC (<182.5 mg/dL) and higher TG (≥193.9 mg/dL) levels had the lowest risk of all-cause mortality and CVD mortality. Conclusions: In MHD patients in southern China, higher TC levels were associated with higher risk of mortality, while higher TG levels were related to lower risk of mortality. Patients with lower TC and higher TG levels had the best survival prognosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Data are limited on the relationship between waist-to-hip ratio (WHR) and mortality risk among maintenance hemodialysis (MHD) patients. Moreover, the combined association of body mass index (BMI) and WHR with mortality remains uncertain. Therefore, we aimed to explore the individual and combined association of BMI and WHR with the all-cause and cardiovascular disease (CVD) mortality. Methods In this multicenter prospective cohort study, we enrolled 1034 MHD patients. The primary outcome was all-cause mortality and secondary outcome was CVD mortality. Multivariable Cox proportional hazards models were used to evaluate the individual and combined association of BMI and WHR with the risk of mortality. Results A nonlinear inverse relationship was found between BMI and risk of all-cause mortality (P for nonlinearity <.05). Being underweight (<18.5 kg/m2) was associated with higher all-cause mortality risk (HR 1.45; 95% CI 1.08–1.94) compared with normal weight (18.5–23.9 kg/m2), while being overweight (24–27.9 kg/m2; HR 0.96; 95% CI 0.70–1.31) and obese (≥28 kg/m2; HR 1.19; 95% CI 0.62–2.26) showed no significant differences. Of note, WHR was independently and positively associated with all-cause mortality (per standard deviation increase, HR 1.13; 95% CI 1.00–1.27). When analyzed jointly, patients with low BMI (<18.5 kg/m2) and high WHR (≥0.95) had the highest risk of all-cause mortality. Similar results were obtained for CVD mortality. Conclusions In patients undergoing hemodialysis from China, low BMI and high WHR were individually and jointly associated with higher risk of mortality. Our results emphasize that BMI and WHR may jointly affect the prognosis of MHD patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rivers play an important role in water supply, irrigation, navigation, and ecological maintenance. Forecasting the river hydrodynamic changes is critical for flood management under climate change and intensified human activities. However, efficient and accurate river modeling is challenging, especially with complex lake boundary conditions and uncontrolled downstream boundary conditions. Here, we proposed a coupled framework by taking the advantages of interpretability of physical hydrodynamic modeling and the adaptability of machine learning. Specifically, we coupled the Gated Recurrent Unit (GRU) with a 1‐D HydroDynamic model (GRU‐HD) and applied it to the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River, the longest river in China. We show that the GRU‐HD model could quickly and accurately simulate the water levels, streamflow, and water exchange rates between the Yangtze River and two important lakes (Poyang and Dongting), with most of the Kling‐Gupta efficiency coefficient (KGE $\mathrm{K}\mathrm{G}\mathrm{E}$) above 0.90. Using machine learning‐based predicted water levels, instead of the rating curve approach, as the downstream boundary conditions could improve the accuracy of modeling the downstream water levels of the lake‐connected river system. The GRU‐HD model is dedicated to the synergy of physical modeling and machine learning, providing a powerful avenue for modeling rivers with complex boundary conditions. Key Points: Coupling machine learning into physical hydrodynamics for river modeling with complex boundary conditionsStreamflow and water levels were modeled with Kling‐Gupta efficiency coefficient above 0.90 at most hydrologic stations and 38 times faster than traditional 1‐D/2‐D coupled modelsThe proposed machine learning‐based downstream boundary condition showed better performance than the rating curve method [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Understanding the distribution patterns and formation mechanisms of endemic taxa is essential for effective biodiversity conservation. China is an important distribution and endemic center for genus Viburnum in Asia. However, the distribution pattern and formation mechanism of endemic taxa of Viburnum remains unclear in China. In this study, we determined the distribution information of 61 endemic taxa of Viburnum through specimens' review and field surveys. Species distribution models were used to clarify the distribution patterns of the endemic taxa of Viburnum. The findings shows that the hotspot for overall endemic taxa of Viburnum in China is mainly distributed in temperate and subtropical mountainous areas, and the highest richness in the mountainous regions were around the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau and the Sichuan Basin. About one-third of the endemic taxa of Viburnum were rare species, whose distribution area was scattered and lacked protection. The distribution pattern of the endemic taxa of genus Viburnum can be well explained within the three hypotheses of environmental energy, water availability and climate seasonality. This study provides additional understanding and explanation of endemic species richness distribution and their formation mechanisms. In addition, it provides conservation measures for endemic taxa of genus Viburnum to guide conservationists and policy makers in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Huayu-Qiangshen-Tongbi (HQT) decoction, a Chinese medical formula, has been identified to show a potent therapeutic effect on rheumatoid arthritis (RA). However, the specific molecular mechanism of HQT in RA has not been well studied. In the present study, LPS-treated human rheumatoid fibroblast-like synoviocyte (FLS) MH7A cells and collagen-induced arthritis (CIA) mice were utilized as in vitro and in vivo models. Our results demonstrated that HQT could efficiently inhibit RA-induced inflammation by reducing the production of cytokines including tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α), interleukin-1 beta (IL-1β), and interleukin-6 (IL-6). Moreover, HQT significantly upregulated the expression of miR-125b. Besides, analysis of bioinformatics suggested casein kinase 2 (CK2) was a potential target of miR-125b. Luciferase reporter assay was performed and revealed that miR-125b suppressed CK2 expression in MH7A cells. Furthermore, miR-125b inhibited LPS-induced NF-kappa-B (NF-κB) activation, which is a downstream target of CK2. In addition, the NF-κB inhibitor ammonium pyrrolidinedithiocarbamate (PDTC) and NF-kappa-B inhibitor alpha (IkB-α) enhanced the inhibitory effect of miR-125b on the expression of TNF-α, IL-1β, and IL-6. Taken together, our study revealed that HQT could attenuate RA through upregulating miR-125b to suppress NF-κB-induced inflammation by targeting CK2. The findings of this study should facilitate investigating the mechanism of HQT on RA and discovering novel therapeutic targets for RA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to examine the influence of bilateral political relations on the completion stage premium of cross-border mergers and acquisitions(CSPCMA) and the moderating roles of cultural distance, trade openness and the nature of firm ownership for this relationship. Design/methodology/approach: Based on a sample of 401 cross-border mergers and acquisitions (M&A) conducted by Chinese companies from 1995 to 2019 in the Statistical Data Center (SDC), this article used weighted least squares (WLS) to empirically test the impact of bilateral political relations between countries on the CSPCMA. Findings: The better the target country of entry's bilateral political relations with China, the lower the premium of the transaction price paid by Chinese companies at the completion stage of cross-border M&A. Among the moderators, the study found cultural distance positively moderates the relationship between bilateral political relations between countries and CSPCMA. The degree of trade openness of the target country negatively moderates the relationship between bilateral political relations between countries and CSPCMA. The negative relationship between bilateral political relations between countries and CSPCMA is stronger when the acquirer is a state-owned enterprise (SOE). Originality/value: The findings of this study not only add to the knowledge about the relationship between bilateral political relations and corporate cross-border M&A premiums, but also have managerial implications for Chinese corporate managers to sustainably reduce corporate cross-border M&A premiums. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is little investigation on the independent effects of left-behind experience (LBE) on self-esteem and aggressive behavior in Chinese young adult populations, or the interaction effects of LBE and self-esteem on aggressive behavior. Thus, a school-based health survey was conducted in Anhui province in China in 2017. A total of 4,154 college students completed standard questionnaires which contain details of left-behind–related characters, self-esteem, aggressive behavior, and sociodemographic profile. Of included students, 55.3% were those with LBE (LBEs). Compared to students without left-behind experiences (NLBEs), LBEs had significantly increased scores of aggressive behavior and decreased score of self-esteem. The increased aggression in LBEs was highly related to longer left-behind duration, younger age of left-behind for the first time, and decreased self-esteem. On the other side, the aggressive behavior was demonstrated negatively correlated with self-esteem in both LBEs and NLBEs. There was an interaction effect of left-behind duration and self-esteem on physical aggression and of frequency of contacting with parents and self-esteem on verbal aggression. Besides, the interaction of primary caregiver and self-esteem on hostility and aggression toward self were also observed, respectively. Our results indicated LBEs and low self-esteem are associated with increased risk of aggressive behavior in Chinese young adults. The increased aggressive behavior in LBEs were highly related to longer left-behind duration, younger age of left-behind for the first time and decreased self-esteem. In those LBEs with some certain left-behind–related characters, aggressive behavior decreased more prominently with the increase of self-esteem. Strategies to improve self-esteem, particularly among young adults who have certain characters of LBE, should be a significant component of prevention and interventions of aggressive behavior. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

High fibre intake is associated with reduced mortality risk in both general and chronic kidney disease populations. However, in dialysis patients, such data are limited. Therefore, the association between dietary fibre intake (DFI) and the risk of all-cause and CVD mortality was examined in this study. A total of 1044 maintenance haemodialysis (MHD) patients from eight outpatient dialysis centres in China were included in this study. Data on DFI were collected using 24-h dietary recalls for 3 d in a week and were normalised to actual dry weight. The study outcomes included all-cause and CVD mortality. Over a median of 46 months of follow-up, 354 deaths were recorded, of which 210 (59 %) were due to CVD. On assessing DFI as tertiles, the CVD mortality risk was significantly lower in patients in tertiles 2–3 (≥0·13 g/kg per d; hazard ratio (HR) 0·71; 95 % CI 0·51, 0·97) compared with those in tertile 1 (<0·13 g/kg per d). A similar but non-significant trend was found for the association between DFI (tertiles 2–3 v. tertile 1; HR 0·83; 95 % CI 0·64, 1·07) and all-cause mortality. In summary, higher DFI was associated with lower CVD mortality risk among Chinese MHD patients. This study emphasises the significance of DFI in MHD patients and provides information that is critical for the improvement of dietary guidelines for dialysis patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study was to review the clinical features in a cohort of Chinese patients with primary intraspinal benign tumors. This retrospective study included a consecutive series of patients with intraspinal benign lesions who received surgery between January 2014 and October 2018 at our hospital. We collected each patient's clinical data, including age, gender, presenting symptoms, the spinal level (cervical, thoracic, lumbar, or sacral), and location (intramedullary or extramedullary) of the tumor. A total of 66 patients were included in this study, of whom 24 were men and 42 (63.6%) were women. The mean age was 52.5 years (range, 21–76 years). The most common symptom was sensory deficits. The most common tumor type, found in 56.1% patients, was schwannoma, followed by meningioma in 33.3% patients. The commonly performed surgery included decompression of spinal canal and excision of spinal lesions. Primary intraspinal benign tumors occur in elderly and female population and at the thoracic region. Schwannoma and meningioma are the two with higher incidence. The surgical outcome in terms of tumor excision and functional recovery is good. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Experiments were conducted in a straight channel that widens from a single channel to a compound channel based on a real navigation channel with a similar shape in a mountainous region of China. Flow entered the single channel and then the compound channel with vegetated floodplains. The channel widened at the interface between the single and compound channels, resulting in different flow depths between the single and compound channels. An equation was proposed to estimate the percentage that the flow depth decreased from the single channel to the compound channel. Vegetation increased the floodplain resistance, causing more water to flow in the main channel and yielding a greater mean velocity in the main channel relative to the nonvegetated case. The velocity reached a maximum and gradually decreased until reaching a constant in the compound channel. Sediment motion (bedload vs. deposition) was determined by the local bed shear and the critical bed shear. Sediment was deposited in the compound channel at the position where the local bed shear was smaller than the critical bed shear. When the floodplains were vegetated, the increase in the main channel velocity enhanced the local bed shear, which surpassed the critical bed shear; thus, deposited sediment was reinitiated and moved downstream, and no deposition was observed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Quantifying dynamic urban human activities from locating-requests over 24 hours. • Assessing the dynamic urban structural characteristics at the national scale. • The urban scalar law is used to assess structural efficiency. • Unstable urban structure is not conducive to sustainable urban development. Conventionally urban structures are mainly inferred from the spatial arranges of related urban elements such as land use and population density. China's unprecedented urbanization process has significantly changed urban spatial structure and it is not clear how urban structure impacts the sustainability and livability of cities across a large geographic space. Furthermore, urban structure always shows dynamical variations during the day and over the night, which are a challenge to be captured by the conventional research methods and data. In this paper, we evaluated and compared the characteristics of the urban structure of the 287 cities in China by examining the dynamic changes of urban human activities distribution inferred from location requests collected by Tencent's platform. We developed two new indexes, the Dispersion Variation Index (DVI) and Spatial Dispersion Variation Index (SDVI), using the Lorenz curve, Gini coefficient, and adjusted Ripley's K function to describe the overall agglomeration intensity and the temporal variability of human activities. We also applied the urban scaling law to create two further indexes, the Scale-Adjusted Metropolitan Indicator DVI (SAMI_DVI) and the Scale-Adjusted Metropolitan Indicator SDVI (SAMI_SDVI), which enable us to evaluate the efficiency of urban structures. Our results show that the daily fluctuations of the urban structure are related to urban population, and also impacted by urban planning, topography, and other factors. The 1st-tier cities have the highest DVI (median: 0.020) and SDVI (0.052) values, which suggest the most volatile urban structure during the day. The 2nd-tier cities have the lowest urban structure efficiency, as suggested by higher SAMI_DVI (0.17) and SAMI_SDVI (0.28) values. Also, 69.2% and 76.9% of the 2nd-tier cities have DVI and SDVI values over the predicted values based on their population sizes. We also demonstrate that cities with high unstable structural characteristics tend to exhibit lower commuting efficiency and higher carbon emission intensity. Our framework outperforms previous metrics, is highly scalable, and can be implemented at little cost, allowing studies to be conducted even in small and medium-sized cities with little traditional data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective To study the clinical application of the modified nutritional risk screening tool and nutrition assessment in pediatric patients in China, and to provide a theoretical basis for establishing a standardized nutritional management process for pediatric patients. Methods A retrospective analysis was performed for the nutritional risk screening and nutrition assessment data of 16 249 hospitalized children. According to the degree of nutritional risk, the children were divided into a high nutritional risk group with 588 children, a moderate nutritional risk group with 4 330 children, and a non-nutritional risk group with 11 331 children. Nutrition assessment results were compared between groups. The composition of nutritional risk screening scores and the impact of nutritional risk screening on the rate of nutrition support therapy were analyzed. Results The incidence rate of nutritional risk was 30.27% (4 918/16 249), and the incidence rates of malnutrition and overnutrition were 27.37% (4 448/16 249) and 11.29% (1 834/16 249), respectively. Nutrition assessment results were significantly correlated with nutritional risk (≥5 years old: rs=0.313, P<0.05; <5 years old: rs=-0.304, P<0.05). There was a significant difference in the composition of scoring items between the groups with different nutritional risks (P<0.05). With the implementation of nutritional risk screening, there was a gradual increase in the rate of nutrition support therapy year by year (P<0.05). Conclusions There is a high incidence rate of nutritional risk in hospitalized children. The use of the modified pediatric nutritional risk screening tool can promote the implementation of standardized nutritional management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background. Visceral pain is one of the most common types of pain and particularly in the abdomen is associated with gastrointestinal diseases. Bulleyaconitine A (BAA), isolated from Aconitum bulleyanum, is prescribed in China to treat chronic pain. The present study is aimed at evaluating the mechanisms underlying BAA visceral antinociception. Methods. The rat model of chronic visceral hypersensitivity was set up by colonic perfusion of 2,4,6-trinitrobenzene sulfonic acid (TNBS) on postnatal day 10 with coapplication of heterotypic intermittent chronic stress (HeICS). Results. The rat model of chronic visceral hypersensitivity exhibited remarkable abdominal withdrawal responses and mechanical hyperalgesia in hind paws, which were dose-dependently attenuated by single subcutaneous of administration of BAA (30 and 90 μg/kg). Pretreatment with the microglial inhibitor minocycline, dynorphin A antiserum, and κ-opioid receptor antagonist totally blocked BAA-induced visceral antinociception and mechanical antihyperalgesia. Spontaneous excitatory postsynaptic currents (sEPSCs) in spinal dorsal horn lamina II neurons were recorded by using whole-cell patch clamp. Its frequency (but not amplitude) from TNBS-treated rats was remarkably higher than that from naïve rats. BAA (1 μM) significantly reduced the frequency of sEPSCs from TNBS-treated rats but not naïve rats. BAA-inhibited spinal synaptic plasticity was blocked by minocycline, the dynorphin A antiserum, and κ-opioid receptor antagonist. Dynorphin A also inhibited spinal synaptic plasticity in a κ-opioid receptor-dependent manner. Conclusions. These results suggest that BAA produces visceral antinociception by stimulating spinal microglial release of dynorphin A, which activates presynaptic κ-opioid receptors in afferent neurons and inhibits spinal synaptic plasticity, highlighting a novel interaction mode between microglia and neurons. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Maintenance haemodialysis (MHD) is the use of a machine to filter wastes, salts and fluid from blood for at least 3 months to prolong the life of patients with advanced kidney failure. Although low dietary energy intake (DEI) has been observed in MHD patients, few studies have related DEI to the risk of mortality. To explore this relationship, a study included 1039 MHD patients from eight centres was conducted. DEI was assessed by three 24-h diet recalls and was normalised to ideal body weight (IBW). All-cause mortality and CVD mortality were the primary and secondary outcomes, respectively. During a median follow-up of 28 months, a U-shaped relationship was observed between DEI and all-cause or CVD mortality. The risk of all-cause mortality decreased significantly with the increase of DEI in participants with DEI <167·4 kJ/kg IBW per d (hazard ratio (HR) 0·98; 95 % CI 0·96, 1·00) and increased significantly with the increase of DEI in those with DEI ≥167·4 kJ/kg IBW per d (HR 1·12; 95 % CI 1·04, 1·20). Similarly, the risk of CVD mortality decreased with the increase of DEI in participants with DEI <152·7 kJ/kg IBW per d (HR 0·96; 95 % CI 0·93, 0·99) and increased with the increase of DEI in participants with DEI ≥152·7 kJ/kg IBW per d (HR 1·11; 95 % CI 1·04, 1·18). In summary, there was a U-shaped association between DEI and all-cause or CVD mortality, with a turning point at about 167·4 and 152·7 kJ/kg IBW per d, respectively, in MHD patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: In the literature concerning international new ventures (INVs), there has been a tension between the learning advantages of newness and absorptive capacity perspectives for explaining the performance influence of initial entry speed. To address this tension, this paper, through integrating both the motivation and ability to acquire foreign knowledge, proposes a theoretical model about the nonlinear relationship between INVs' initial entry speed and international performance. Drawing upon upper echelons theory and the institution-based view, this study aims to extend the literature by developing two boundary conditions for this relationship: the moderating role of executives' individual learning orientation and sub-national institutions. Design/methodology/approach: The authors used the latent moderated structural equations approach specific to Mplus to test the hypotheses with data on 322 Chinese INVs. Findings: The findings indicate that INVs' international performance will increase initially and then decrease, as they accelerate initial entry speed (an inverted U-shaped relationship), and that INVs managed by executives with a higher learning orientation and located in better sub-national institutional environments achieve greater international growth gains from moderate initial entry speed. Originality/value: This study mainly makes contributions to the INV literature by integrating the motivation and ability to acquire foreign knowledge to offer full understanding of the effect of initial entry speed on international performance, and by elaborating on the moderating effects of executives' individual learning orientation and sub-national institutions on this relationship. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, the application mode and evaluation methods of green and sustainable remediation (GSR) were investigated in a soil remediation project. On-site equipment, materials, and energy usage were recorded, and environmental footprints were calculated using qualitative and semiquantitative methods. Replacement of equipment with appropriate power, reduction of redundant drive routes, increase of the reuse ratio of on-site and off-site materials, and optimization of remediation among other improvements should be implemented. Conventionally, the total air pollutant emission, water consumption, energy use, and greenhouse gas (GHG) emission were 1,682 kg, 3,093 t, 249.5 MWh, and 320 t CO2e, respectively. Furthermore, on basis of 10 best management practices (BMPs) selected, the all-life cycle of the project was optimized using the GSR concept by eliminating inappropriate practices; redundant drive route was reduced by 19.8% using ArcGIS and TravellerAPP, while the reuse ratio and remediation method were theoretically optimized. Environmental footprint and accident risk of remediation were sharply reduced based on a combination of BMPs and quantitative evaluation. Air pollutant emission, hazardous gas, water, and energy consumption were reduced by 46.2%, 50.8%, 28.3%, and 40.5%, respectively, and GHG emission decreased by 147.4 t. Finally, confronting barriers and recommendations for GSR administration particularly in developing countries were summarized. This study theoretically and practically applied the GSR concept to an actual project in China. Association of on-site data with remediation activities and its optimization can provide technical and administrative support for GSR development and engineering practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Established a model for measuring in-situ stress in horizontal boreholes (HF). • Fracture initiation position is observed in the middle section of the wellbore. • Breakdown, reopening and shut-in pressures are presented successively in the test. • Formulas for conservative calculation in practical engineering. Horizontal directional investigation is an alternative method different from traditional (vertical) geotechnical investigation, which can effectively reflect geological conditions along the axis and evaluate the engineering characteristics of tunnels in mountainous areas with super long distances and depths. However, the absence of effective methods to measure in-situ stress in horizontal boreholes hinders the promotion of horizontal directional investigation. This paper relies on the thorough horizontal directional drilling geotechnical investigation of the Tianshan Shengli tunnel in China, based on the method of hydraulic fracturing in-situ stress measurement, the relationship between the direction and magnitude of in-situ stresses and the parameters of the hydraulic fracturing was established in a horizontal borehole by enhancing the previous model of inclined boreholes. The interpretation principles of horizontal boreholes by hydraulic fracturing method are further explored through experimental and numerical study. The conclusion of this paper provides theoretical and empirical support for in-situ stress measurement in horizontal boreholes by hydraulic fracturing method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Two new lignans, dolichanthin A (1) and dolichanthin B (2), were isolated from the EtOAc extract of Wikstroemia dolichantha. Their structures were elucidated by the analysis of 1D and 2D spectroscopic data as well as MS. The inhibitory activity of two isolates against acetylcholinesterase (AChE) revealed that compound 1 exhibited weak inhibitory activity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Gifted programs are an indispensable component of gifted education, and have drawn much academic attention in the recent years. However, the public images of such programs are still under-examined. In this study, we employed semantic network analysis and content analysis to uncover the public images of gifted programs in China and their change over time. Based on 1,486 Chinese news reports between 1978-2015 on gifted education, our analysis revealed four different images of gifted programs and their participants in China: "successful graduates", "early ripe, early rot", "superb intelligence", and "all-around development". The co-existence of two common stereotypes, "the chosen ones" and "Mad genius", can be concluded from the emerging process of these four images and the correlations between them. In addition, the rise and fall of different images show how the public opinions of gifted programs change over time, influenced by both institutional interventions and culture shifts. The change over time is indicative of the social-constructive nature of public opinions towards gifted education. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chemical investigation on the cultures of the fungusPsilocybe merdariaresulted in the first isolation of 10 compounds including two new ones 11,14-dihydroxylneoechinulin E (1) and (S)-4-(4-methylpent-3-en-1-yl)-butyrolactone (2). Their structures were elucidated from the analysis of 1D and 2D NMR and MS data. Among them, compound7showed inhibitory activity against AChE with 20% percentage at a concentration of 50 μg/ml. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

• Understanding regional variations of rainstorm perception can aid resilience plan. • Dwellers living in the northern cities in China are more sensitive to rainstorms. • Public perception is most significantly impacted by rainstorm over the summer. • Annual rainfall and terrain relief significantly impact rainstorm sensitivity by city. • The public-perceived rainstorm threshold can improve the current rainstorm criteria. Extreme weather events become more frequent in the context of global climate change. Understanding how the public sense and perceive extreme weather events such as rainstorms is crucial for rainstorm-induced hazard mitigation. However, it is not clear how public's rainstorm perception and sensitivity vary across a large geographic scale. In this study, we examined over 210 million microblogs and studied rainstorm perception and perception sensitivity across China in 2017. Our results show that, on average, when the rainstorm-derived rainfall increase 1 mm, city dwellers would post 0.178 more rainstorm-related microblogs. There are also significant variations in rainstorm perception sensitivity across our study area. Dwellers living in the cities in the southeastern coast are not as sensitive to rainstorms as those in the north. Such spatial variations could be explained by annual rainfall and terrain relief variables. Dwellers who live in cities with annual rainfall less than 839 mm and terrain relief greater than 264 m show more attention to rainstorms by posting more microblogs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ethnopharmacological relevance Indigo naturalis has been used to treat inflammatory diseases and dermatosis, including psoriasis, since thousands of years in China. It has been proven effective in our previous clinical studies on treating psoriasis, but the active component and the mechanism of how indigo naturalis working still needs to be clarified. Since the dysregulated angiogenesis is known to play an important role in the pathogenesis of psoriasis, the anti-angiogenic effect of indigo naturalis and tryptanthrin, a pure component of indigo naturalis, was investigated. Materials and methods The in vivo angiogenesis was studied by chick chorioallantoic membrane assay. The in vitro studies were performed using human vascular endothelial cells. Cell viability was determined by MTT assay. Cell cycle distribution was revealed by flow cytometry. The cellular messenger (m)RNA or protein expression level was analyzed by real-time RT-PCR or Western blot, respectively. Transwell filter migration assay and matrix gel-induced tube formation method were applied to examine the angiogenic potential. Results Indigo naturalis significantly inhibited the in vivo vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF)-induced angiogenesis, as well as tryptanthrin. In vitro studies confirmed that indigo naturalis and tryptanthrin reduced the number of viable vascular endothelial cells. Tryptanthrin resulted in a cell cycle arrest and dose-dependently decreased the expressions of cyclin A, cyclin B, cyclin dependent kinase(CDK) 1 and 2, but not cyclin D and cyclin E, at both the mRNA and protein levels. The migration and tube formation of vascular endothelial cells were significantly inhibited by tryptanthrin in a dose-dependent manner. Result also showed that tryptanthrin could reduce the phosphorylated levels of both protein kinase B (PKB or Akt) and focal adhesion kinase (FAK). Conclusions All together, these results demonstrated the anti-angiogenic effect of tryptanthrin, the acting component of indigo naturalis and revealed the underlying mechanism by inhibiting the cell cycle progression, cell migration and tube formation, likely mediated through blocking the Akt and FAK pathways. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

2D DIGE technology was employed on proteins prepared from human brain microvascular endothelial cells (HBMEC), to study the differentially expressed proteins in cells at 0 h, 1 h, 16 h, and 24 h after infection. Proteins found to be differentially expressed were identified with matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight/time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDITOF/TOF MS) analysis. We identified 43 spots showing changes of at least 2.5 fold up- or downregulated expressions in EV71-infected cells at different time when comparing to control, and 28 proteins could be successfully identified by MALDI TOF/TOF mass spectrometry analysis. 4 proteins were significantly upregulated, and 6 proteins were downregulated, another 18 proteins were different expression at different incubation time. We identified changes in the expression of 12 cellular metabolism-related proteins, 5 molecules involved in cytoskeleton, 3 molecules involved in energy metabolism, 2 molecules involved in signal transduction, 1 molecule involved in the ubiquitin-proteasome pathway, 1 molecule involved in cell cycle, 1 molecule involved in apoptosis-related protein, 1 molecular chaperone, and 2 unknown proteins. These findings build up a comprehensive profile of the HBMEC proteome and provide a useful basis for further analysis of the pathogenic mechanism that underlies EV71 infections to induce severe neural complications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mountains and plateaus in Southwest China contain many subalpine and alpine wetlands, with significant hydroecological functions. But ungauged or poorly gauged conditions limit the study and understanding of hydrological regimes of these wetland types. This study selects an ungauged subalpine wetland - Napahai in Northwest Yunnan, China - as a case for developing a practical approach to revealing its storage-area relationship of open water. A Trimble R8 GNSS (Global Navigation Satellites Systems) RTK (Real-time Kinematic system) and sonar fathometer were used to survey fine-resolution elevation data and generate a digital elevation model of the Napahai Wetland. Forty-four Landsat images from 1987 to 2011 were collected, and the Normalized Difference Water Index was used to classify open water features in the area. The area of open water in Napahai was calculated for each phase. With these data and a developed conceptual model, the storage of open water for each phase was estimated using ArcGIS tools. Both storage and area of open water showed significant intra-annual and inter-annual variations. In the rainy season, the monthly change of average storage of open water in Napahai showed about 1-2 months lag behind mean monthly rainfall. The storage-area relationship of open water was well fit by a power function equation ( R≈0.91, n=44). This study indicates that if detailed elevations are available for similarly ungauged subalpine wetlands in Southwest China, researchers can use this practical approach to estimate multi-temporal areas and storages and reveal the storage-area relationship of open water in the wetlands. The study provided valuable information of this case wetland for optimizing its hydro-ecological managements and a new method to wetland researchers and managers for the hydrological study of similarly ungauged wetland complex. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Predicted No-Effect Concentration (PNEC) is a key for ecological risk assessment. In this paper, the aquatic species existing widely in the Taihu Lake were selected, and their toxicity data to 2,4-dichlorophenol (2,4-DCP), 2,4,6-trichlorophenol (2,4,6-TCP) and pentachlorophenol (PCP) were collected. The PNECs of 2,4-DCP; 2,4,6-TCP; and PCP were derived using three different approaches, i.e., the assessment factor (AF), species sensitivity distribution (SSD) as well as an eco-toxicological model (AQUATOX). As the results, PNECAFs were 2.18 μg L-1, 2.53 μg L-1 and 0.26 μg L-1, and PNECSSDs were 77 μg L-1, 197 μg L-1 and 10 μg L-1, respectively for 2,4-DCP; 2,4,6-TCP; and PCP respectively. Based on the aquatic conditions of the Taihu Lake, the derived site-specific PNECAQUATOXs were 15 μg L-1, 67 μg L-1 and 4 μg L-1, respectively. In general, the PNECs for three chlorophenols derived from different approaches followed the declined order of PNECSSD> PNECAQUATOX> PNECAF. The ratios of PNECAF to PNECSSD and PNECAQUATOX to PNECSSD for three chlorophenols were 0.013-0.028 and 0.19-0.4, respectively. It indicated that PNECs obtained using different approaches may vary and the one based on the AF was the lowest. Therefore, PNECAF can be seen as overprotective. The PNECAQUATOX values for three chlorophenols were less than the corresponding PNECSSD values, mostly because the indirect effects were considered in the ecological model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is well-known that the strengths of sandstones measured under fully saturated conditions are smaller than those measured under nominally dry conditions. This strength softening phenomenon has profound implications to rock engineering. In this work we investigate the tensile strength softening of Longyou sandstone from China. Defining the strength softening factor as the ratio of the strength under nominally dry conditions over that under saturated conditions, the static compressive strength softening factor of Longyou sandstone is close to 2 and the static tensile strength softening factor is about 7.9. To further address the applications, where the load may be dynamic, we examine the rate dependence of the tensile strength softening of this sandstone. The dynamic tensile strength is measured using the split Hopkinson pressure bar system in combination with the Brazilian disc sample geometry. The results show that the tensile strength softening factor decreases with the loading rate. Because the saturated sample shows stronger loading rate sensitivity than the dry sample, the softening factor decreases with the loading rate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: An ecological project for water purification was conducted in Meiliang Bay, Lake Taihu, which supplies one-third of the drinking water for Wuxi City, China. Sediment dredging was employed. The floating-leaf and floating macrophytes were planted, combined with wave-attenuating, algal bloom blocking to improve the water quality. At the same time, large amounts of fish net were placed in the experimental zone, to which massive periphytes adhere. To evaluate the effectiveness of remediation, many studies were based on chemical analysis or acute toxicity test. In this study, chronic toxicities before and after the ecological project in Meiliang Bay, Lake Taihu, China, were evaluated based on a battery of in vitro bioassays, including EROD bioassay, recombined yeast assay, as well as umu test for detection of Ah-receptor (AhR) agonists, estrogenic chemicals and genotoxic chemicals, respectively. Before remediation, AhR effect, estrogenic effect and indirect genotoxicity were all detected in sediments of Meiliang Bay, Taihu Lake. After amelioration, levels of AhR agonists decreased by 42.3–80.7%, estrogenic chemicals decreased by 71.6–93.9% and indirect genotoxic chemicals decreased by 23.2–75.0%. Results showed that the ecological project effectively removed the chronic toxicants from the sediments. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

It is significant to carry out the party construction in state high-tech new district. Wuxi achieves success as well as leaves some new problems to be discussed and solved. The paper discusses how the work adapts to the new times. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It is well-known that Dasheng Group founded by Zhang Jian and Rongshi Group founded by Rongshi brothers were the two earliest, largest and most important private enterprises in modern China. Both the groups began in the late of the nineteenth century, located in the south of Jiangsu Province. Originally Dasheng Group was much stronger than Rongshi Group. However, with decades of frustrations and tortuousness, Dasheng Group has come down the world, yet Rongshi Group has increasingly become prosperous. This paper reveals the causes of their prosperity and decay by making a profound contrast of the two groups from their respective development strategies, marketing tactics, managing systems, etc. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Lake Tai is a core area of the Yangtze Delta. The quality of the water in the river greatly related to the development and the future of the around cities. The strategy, the integration of Yangtze delta, has risen to a national strategy. To deal with the polluted water in Lake Tai also need to be integrative; people should have the internal pressure. The article provides the relevant solutions and advices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The potential of Dolichospermum flos-aquae for production biochar was investigated. • The microbe-biochar composite showed superior hexavalent chromium removal capacity. • Biochar can effectively protect microbe cells from the direct toxicity of chromium. • This study lead to development of a novel utilization of harmful algal biomass. In China, Dolichospermum flos-aquae is one of the most prevalent bloom-forming cyanobacteria and thus a major challenge for the concerned catchment area. To solve this problem and turn it into an opportunity for heavy metal remediation, we investigated the potential of D. flos-aquae for production algal biochar, and constructed a microbe-algal biochar composite. The microbe-biochar composite (biochar immobilized Proteus mirabilis PC801) showed superior hexavalent chromium removal capacity. It produced 100% Cr(VI) (150 mg/L) removal efficiency, with 87.7% total Cr immobilized in/on the particles and only 12.3% Cr(III) left in solution. Furthermore, Scanning electron microscopy-energy dispersive spectroscopy and antioxidase activity results showed that Cr(VI) reduction mainly occurred outside the cells, and the biochar can effectively protect P. mirabilis YC801 from the direct toxicity of chromium, thereby promoting the removal efficiency. Overall, this study provides a promising approach by utilizing this harmful algae for the bio-remediation of Cr(VI)-contaminated groundwater in practical application. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Asian honeybee venom is widely used in traditional oriental medicine. Melittin is the main component of Asian honeybee venom. In the present study, an ultra-performance liquid chromatography-quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry (UPLC-QqTOF-MS) method was used for accurate qualitative and quantitative analyses of melittin in Asian honeybee venom. The results showed that the dynamic linear range of melittin was from 0.094 to 20 μg/mL, and the limit of quantification was 0.3125 μg/mL. The spiking recovery of melittin in honeybee venom ranged from 84.88% to 93.05%. Eighteen Asian honeybee venom samples in eighteen batches were collected from two different zones of China, and their melittin contents were measured. The contents of melittin in Asian honeybee venom samples was 33.9–46.23% of dry weight. This method proved a useful tool for the rapid evaluation of the authenticity and quality of Asian honeybee venom in terms of the melittin contents, and will contribute to a broader understanding of Asian honeybee venom. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The authors discuss the development of joint replacement therapies in China, highlights that the Chinese Joint Surgery Association has grown as an organization. They discuss several challenges facing this technology, including differences between patients in urban and rural areas, insufficient number of surgeons and prolonged hospital stay. It highlights the need of national joint replacement registers, better fitting prostheses for Chinese people and a systematic program to tackle these issues.

• ECs mounted on WPCBs are profiled for materials and toxicity. • Higher contents of precious metals are found in ECs than PWBs. • New toxic threats from As and Se are found. Waste printed circuit boards (WPCBs) contain valuable material resources and hazardous substances, thereby posing a challenge for sustainable resource recovery and environmental protection initiatives. Overcoming this challenge will require mapping the toxic footprint of WPCBs to specific materials and substances used in manufacturing electronic components (ECs). Therefore, this work collected 50 EC specimens from WPCBs in five ubiquitous consumer products, such as television, refrigerator, air conditioner, washing machine and computer. The work extracted and analyzed metal contents and used leachability assessments based on tests adopted by the regulatory policies from China and the United States. The work found that copper and iron are the most abundant constituents in ECs, with concentrations ranging 5.90–796.62 g/kg and 0–831.53 g/kg, respectively; whereas abundance of precious metal content is in the order of silver > gold > palladium > platinum, with silver concentration ranging 15–5290 mg/kg. The content of marginally-regulated toxic substance arsenic ranged 0–9700 mg/kg; whereas fully regulated toxic metals such as chromium, lead and mercury did not exceed the thresholds set by China and US standards. The work found new toxic threats from arsenic and selenium leached from 20 of 50 ECs exceeding regulatory standards. These results will aid manufacturers and recyclers in protecting workers' health and environmental quality from arsenic and selenium pollution, and should initiate discussion about regulating these toxic components as part of a comprehensive program to reduce the toxic footprint of electronic products. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzicola (Xoc) depends on its type III secretion system (T3SS) to translocate type III secreted effectors (T3SEs), including transcription activator-like effectors (TALEs) and non-transcription activator-like effectors (non-TALEs), into host cells. T3SEs can promote the colonization of Xoc and contribute to virulence by manipulating host cell physiology. We annotated 25 genes encoding non-TALEs in Xoc strain GX01, an isolate from Guangxi in the South China's rice growing region. Through systematic mutagenesis of non-TALEs, we found that xopN , the virulence contribution of which was previously unknown for Xoc , significantly contributes to the virulence of Xoc GX01, as does avrBs2. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Flame propagation process of a coal-derived rocket kerosene was analyzed. • The Markstein length was measured and used to investigate the flame instability. • The laminar burning velocity and ignition delay times of the fuel were reported. • A kinetic model was proposed to describe the combustion chemistry of the fuel. The energy structure of coal-rich and oil-poor in China, makes the conversion of coal to liquid fuels an attractive option to reduce petroleum dependence. In this study, the combustion characteristics of a newly developed coal-derived rocket kerosene were investigated to provide fundamental parameters for evaluating the feasibility and compatibility of the new fuel in potential applications. The laminar flame propagation properties of the fuel were studied at pressures of 1, 2 and 5 bar over a temperature range of 423–483 K for equivalence ratio of 0.7–1.8 in a constant volume combustion bomb, and the auto-ignition characteristics of the target fuel were then experimentally studied in a heated shock tube. Flame propagation process was studied based on the recorded flame morphology firstly. The unsteady transition from spark assisted ignition kernel propagation to normal flame was analyzed and was found to become less conspicuous in flames with stronger reaction intensity (higher initial pressure or temperature) and smaller Lewis number (higher equivalence ratio). The Markstein length was extracted by extrapolating the flame trajectories and used to investigate the flame instability. The results shows that the increase of pressure, equivalence ratio enhance the flame instability, but the impact of initial temperature shows no prominent pattern. The laminar burning velocity and ignition delay times were reported over a wide range to strengthen the understanding of combustion characteristics of the new fuel. A kinetic model was proposed to simulate the combustion chemistry of the fuel and kinetic analysis was performed to identify the key reactions driving the flame propagation and auto-ignition. The present study is hoped to provide insights into the evaluation of fuel application in the future and database support for further combustion reaction kinetic mechanism development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Protected areas (PAs) are the primary defense against biodiversity loss. Urban development and expansion have subjected PAs to significant pressure, as they are rapidly approaching. However, our understanding of the interaction between urban development and PAs in China when urbanization accelerated from 2000 to 2018 remains limited. To address this gap, we have realized the dynamic mapping of China's urban expansion and proposed the urban footprint intensity index (UFI) and PAs' UFI (PUFI) to quantify the spatial distribution of urban development and its potential pressure on PAs. Using the Generalized linear mixed-effects models, we also investigated how PAs limit the increase in UFI from multiple perspectives. Our results reveal that while China's urban areas continue to expand annually by 6101.3 km2, the distance between the protected area (PA) and the urban area is shrinking at a rate of 1.39 km per year, maintaining a logarithmic form. The PAs in the eastern China and the southern China always have higher PUFI values from 2000 to 2018. By contrast, those in the northern and western China have lower PUFI values in 2000, which increase dramatically by 2018. Across our study area, PAs have effectively acted as barriers to urban development, resisting a substantial 33.8% increase in UFI within their boundaries. Location and initial urban development conditions surrounding PAs are critical factors impacting their effectiveness in resisting urban development. These findings offer valuable insights for future assessments of the effectiveness of PAs in resisting urbanization on a global scale. Moreover, this study provide crucial guidance for fostering urban development along more sustainable trajectories, thereby ensuring the long-term conservation of PAs worldwide. • The distance between the protected areas (PAs) and the urban area is shrinking by 1.39 km/year. • High values of the urban footprint intensity index in PAs have expanded from north to south and east to west. • PAs resist 33.8% of the increase in urban footprint intensity index within them. • The effectiveness of resistance is contingent on the initial pressure and attributes of the PAs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • Best management practices (BMPs) reduction effects have stochastic characteristics. • The effects of different pollutants and BMPs are correlated. • Coupling SWAT with Vine Copula model can assess multivariate effect of BMPs. • Joint probabilities of designed BMPs scenarios are below separate probabilities. Best management practices (BMPs) have wide application in non-point source (NPS) pollution abatement in agricultural watersheds. Multivariate analysis of BMPs reduction effects taking their randomness and correlations into account is significant to spatial optimization of BMPs configuration. However, quantifying the correlations among high-dimensional random variables of BMPs effects is challenging and remains unexplored thoroughly. This study coupled the SWAT with the Vine Copula model to conduct multivariate analysis of BMPs reduction effects considering their randomness caused by hydro-meteorological variability along with correlations among different indicators (ammonium nitrogen, NH3-N; and total phosphorus, TP) and BMPs. The coupled model was applied to evaluate the multi-indicator effect of individual BMP and combined effect of various BMPs in the upper Boyang River basin, China. Results showed that bivariate copulas and three-dimensional vine copulas can efficaciously describe the dependence of BMPs effects. Simulation results indicate 43–100% probabilities of 45% NH 3 -N loads reduction, while 0–79% probabilities of 45% TP loads reduction for combined BMPs scenarios. Besides, the joint probabilities of different indicators in combined BMPs scenarios are generally lower than separate probabilities with 0–21% decrease, which is similar to individual BMP. Generally, joint probabilities using copulas can provide more accurate and factual knowledge of the risk and dependability of implementation of BMPs than univariate variables. The proposed model can conduct multivariate analysis of BMPs reduction effects and has great prospect in the future risk-based decision-making of NPS pollution management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China shares its board with one developed and thirteen developing countries. A timely, precise, and efficient socioeconomic study of border regions is vital for evaluating political problems and identifying potential economic prospects. Usually, conventional socioeconomic statistical data suffer from significant time lags and unequal statistical scales. This study utilized the random forest model to establish a connection between satellite-derived nighttime light data and the improved human development index (IHDI). The relationship was then applied to predict the IHDI, and differences in its strength, trend, and change pattern by bordering statistical units from 2000 to 2020 were evaluated. Our findings indicate that China's administrative units (AUCs) are more developed and have a greater development trend than their neighbors (AUNs). Except for the Tibet Autonomous Region, all AUCs are spatially more developed than AUNs, with the discrepancy widening between 2000 and 2020. Socioeconomic changes in AUCs predominantly exhibit a forward-leaping development pattern, which may be represented by a logarithmic (53%) or sigmoid (22.6%) function, whereas AUNs' socioeconomic changes exhibit either a late-leaping exponential (34.2%) or static development (18.6%) trend. The IHDI values in AUCs exhibit greater disparity as measured by the Theil index, than the AUNs, primarily due to the natural environment, resource availability, and development policies. In less developed regions, harsh natural surroundings, temperatures, and scarce natural resources hinder socioeconomic growth. • The proposed IHDI was used to measure the socioeconomic development levels along China's land border (2000-2020). • The AUCs' IHDI values are significantly higher than that of the AUNs, and the gap is widening. • AUCs' units exhibit mainly logarithmic and S-shaped patterns while AUNs' units mainly exhibit an exponential or stable pattern. • In addition to the natural environmental elements, policies also play a significant role in determining the disparities in socioeconomic development levels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Wind tunnel tests of wind loads acting on the roof of Shenzhen new railway station were conducted in a boundary layer wind tunnel at Hunan University, for the conditions without train and with trains inside the station. In addition, the effects of wind speed amplify in the station were also investigated. This paper presents the results of the mean and RMS wind pressure coefficients, and comparisons of the maximum mean negative wind pressure coefficients and fluctuating wind pressure coefficients for the case of without train and with trains were made. Furthermore, the characteristics of probability density functions of wind pressures measured from typical pressure taps were analyzed, and the peak factors of that were estimated under a probability significance level of 99.999%. On the other hand, the results obtained from numerical simulations were also presented in the paper, and the results were compared with the wind tunnel test data. The outcomes of the combined experimental and numerical study indicate that: (1) The maximum mean negative wind pressure coefficients on the roof occur at the windward leading edge region, where the maximum fluctuating wind pressure coefficients occur also in this region; (2) There are some differences of the maximum mean negative wind pressure coefficients and RMS wind pressure coefficients under conditions with different number of trains inside the station, but such effects on the overall pressure distributions on the whole roof are negligible; (3) There are clearly negative skewed distributions for some pressure taps at the windward leading roof edge and much longer negative tails are observed, which follow Non-Gaussian distributions; (4) Wind flow was found to be congregated inside the holes at the structure, and the maximum wind speed amplify coefficient is up to 1.34; And (5) the results obtained from the numerical simulations are in good agreement with these of the wind tunnel test, illustrating that the Large Eddy Simulation (LES) approach and Discretizing and Synthesizing Random Flow Generation (DSRFG) technique are effective tools for numerical simulations of wind effects on the complex long-span roof structures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The diurnal variation of nitric oxide (NO) emission fluxes from a Kandelia obovata and Avicennia marina mangrove wetland were studied in the Zhangjiang River Estuary Mangrove National Nature Reserve using a dynamic chamber-based technique and a chemiluminescent analyzer. Results from field experiments show that NO emission from K. obovata and A. marina sampling sites reached maximal values of 1.07ngNm−2 s−1 and 1.23ngNm−2 s−1, respectively after the night tide. Meanwhile NO emission maintained at a steady lower level in daytime for both wetland sites. In laboratory experiments, NO emission from the mangrove wetland soil samples treated with simulated tides in the darkness exhibited higher values than those in the light, therefore it seems that tides and darkness could increase NO emission from mangrove wetlands, while intensive light, high temperature, and dryness in the daytime decreased NO emission. Compared with K. obovata soil samples, the diurnal average NO emission rate of the A. marina site was significantly higher, which was closely related to relatively higher diurnal average CO2 emission rate, soil available nitrogen content and soil net nitrification rate of the A. marina site. Moreover, soil samples of the A. marina site were more responsive to simulated tides and the addition of nitrogen than those of the K. obovata site. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Background: Triple valve surgery (TVS) is still of choice for advanced rheumatic heart disease (RHD), which has been associated with reported poor early and late outcomes. We describe the short- and long-term results after TVS in last two decades in Mainland China. Methods: From January 1985 to January 2005, a total of 871 patients (217 men, 654 women), with mean age of 42±11 years, underwent primary TVS for isolated advanced RHD. All patients received replacement procedures in mitral and aortic position (845 mechanical, 26 bioprosthetic), and 840 patients received repair procedures and the other 31 received replacement procedures in tricuspid position (9 mechanical, 22 bioprosthetic). Preoperative, perioperative, and postoperative data were retrospectively analyzed and risk factors affecting early and late survival were evaluated. Results: The 30-day hospital mortality was 8% (n =71). Presence of ascites, New York Heart Association (NYHA) class IV and lower left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) were identified as independent risk factors for hospital mortality. Overall long-term survival rate was 71%±3% at 5 years, and 59%±5% at 10 years. The cardiac survival rate was 75%±3% at 5 years and 63%±4% at 10 years. The event-free survival rate at 5 years and 10 years was 61%±6% and 41%±13%, respectively. Multivariate analysis revealed advanced age, NYHA class IV and lower LVEF were associated with increased late mortality. The freedom from thromboembolism and anticoagulation-related hemorrhage at 10 years was 90%±4% and 81%±5%, respectively. Of the 508 patients still alive, 376 (74%) were in NYHA class I and II. Conclusions: Primary TVS for advanced RHD appears to offer satisfactory short- and long-term results with excellent symptomatic improvement. Cardiac-related late mortality following TVS may be improved by early surgical treatment before NYHA class IV or deterioration of LVEF occurs. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

• UPLC-QTRAP®/MS2 was developed for simultaneous determination of 24 components. • The method was applied in determination of different regions and organs of LJ. • The differences of LJ between different regions and organs were remarkable. A rapid, sensitive and convenient analytical method of ultra-performance liquid chromatography coupled with triple-quadrupole linear ion-trap tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-QTRAP®/MS2) was proposed for the simultaneous determination of characteristic alkaline and acidic components covering many structure types including alkaloids, phenolic acids, phenylpropanoids and flavonoids in Leonurus japonicus Houtt. (LJ). The proposed method was first reported and validated by assessing the matrix effects, linearity, limit of detections, limit of quantifications, precision, repeatability, stability and recovery of target components. The developed UPLC-QTRAP®/MS2 was successfully applied to simultaneously determine all target compounds in 38 batches of LJ from 11 different producing regions in China and five organs (including root, caulis, branch, flower and leaf) of LJ from the same stand planting base in Jiangsu Province (China). The result showed that LJ in different regions with different geographical position would affect the accumulation of different compounds, and the significant discrepancies of some target compounds were also observed in different organs of LJ due to different biosynthetic pathway and enzymes in different organs. Furthermore, both hierarchical clustering analysis and principal components analysis were performed to classify the 38 batches of LJ samples from different producing regions on the basis of target compounds. As a result, the samples could be mainly clustered into different groups, which were similar with areas classification. Overall, the presented method would be helpful for the comprehensive utilization and development of LJ resources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The prognosis of patients with mucinous breast cancer (MuBC) is affected by several factors, but the low incidence of MuBC makes it difficult to conduct extensive and in-depth studies. This study was designed to establish a prognostic model and verify its accuracy in patients with MuBC after chemotherapy and surgery to help develop personalized treatment strategies., Materials and Methods: Patients with MuBC who underwent chemotherapy and surgery from 2004 to 2015 were identified in the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database. The prognostic factors of patients with MuBC were investigated using a Cox proportional hazards regression analysis. Based on the identified factors, a nomogram was constructed to forecast the overall survival (OS) of patients at 3, 5, and 10 years. Internal (from SEER) and external (from Yunnan Cancer Center, YNCC) verification queues were used to verify the nomogram and demonstrate the predictive capacity of this model., Results: The study comprised 1668 MuBC patients from the SEER database and 107 from the YNCC. The nomogram included four characteristics: age, anatomical stage, surgical method, and radiotherapy. The concordance indices in the training, internal verification, and external verification queues were 0.680, 0.768, and 0.864, respectively. The calibration curves for the nomogram showed excellent agreement between the predictions and observations. This nomogram has good clinical application value according to the decision curve analysis., Conclusions: The prognosis of patients with MuBC who have undergone chemotherapy and surgery can be forecasted using this nomogram, which would be beneficial to help create individualized treatment plans for the affected patients., (© 2023. BioMed Central Ltd., part of Springer Nature.)