Search

Background: Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) has been used in the treatment of anthracycline (ANTs)-induced cardiotoxicity. This meta-analysis aims to evaluate systematically the efficacy and safety of TCM combined with dexrazoxane (DRZ) on cardiotoxicity caused by ANTs. Materials and Methods: Retrieval of the China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), WAN FANG DATA, Chinese Biomedical Database (CBM), Cochrane Library, and PubMed was conducted through various methods. The meta-analysis was registered on PROSPERO (Registration ID: CRD42023435324). A randomized controlled trial (RCT) of TCM in combination with DRZ to avert cardiotoxicity caused by ANTs was compiled. The efficacy and safety of TCM Combined with DRZ, the cardiotoxicity induced by ANTs was synthesized and discussed, along with the outcomes of cardiac troponin T (cTnT), cardiac troponin I (cTnI), brain natriuretic peptide (BNP), creatine kinase isoenzymes (CK-MB), creatine kinase (CK), left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF), electrocardiogram (ECG) abnormalities, and the incidence of adverse reactions. RevMan 5.3 was used for meta-analysis. Results: A total of 10 RCTs with 746 patients were included. The pooled results showed that TCM combined with DRZ treatment decreased significantly the incidence of ECG abnormalities (RR = 0.47, 95% CI [0.32,0.70], p = 0.0001), the level of cTnT (MD = −7.16, 95% CI [−8.31, −6.02], p< 0.001), CK (MD = −14.94, 95% CI [−22.91, −6.97], p< 0.001), cTnI (MD = −0.10, 95% CI [−0.14, −0.06], p< 0.001), BNP (MD = −33.66, 95% CI [−36.95, −30.37], p< 0.001), CK-MB (MD = −5.93, 95% CI [−8.16, −3.70], p< 0.001). However, there was no significant change in LVEF in the experimental group compared with the control group (MD = 4.81, 95% CI [−02.99, 12.21], p = 0.23). Moreover, adverse events have no significant difference between the two groups as well (RR = 0.60, 95% CI [0.31, 1.15], p = 0.13). Conclusion: This meta-analysis revealed TCM combined with DRZ appears to be able to improve the efficacy of cardiotoxicity caused by ANTs, but the included studies were of poor quality, and high-quality RCTs would be preferred for future studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Northeast China (NEC) is the most prominent grain‐producing region in China. However, it is currently facing significant impacts from climate change. Since the climate‐related impacts on crop yield in this region are a major concern for society in the future, quantifying climate change impacts on crop yields in NEC is essential to ensure future food security. This study aimed to quantify the effects of future climate change on crop yields in NEC and explore adaptation strategies using the Crop Growth Model (PCSE) driven by downscaled CMIP6 climate projections under four Shared Socioeconomic Pathways (SSPs) scenarios during 2015–2100. Results showed that there could be average reductions in crop yields of 21.4% for maize and 4.2% for soybean by the year 2100 under SSP585 compared to the 2015 baseline. The increasing temperature was the dominant factor in reducing yields, although elevated CO2 and precipitation offered partial compensation. The optimized planting date brought noticeable benefits for rice and soybean but had limited effects on maize due to heat stress. Relocating rice expansion eastward and implementing earlier planting increased yields by up to 50% but adversely decreased soybean and maize due to competition. This study enriches our comprehension of climate change impacts on NEC agriculture, while also quantifying potential benefits and constraints of evaluated adaptations. The proposed adaptations may help mitigate projected yield declines in other key agricultural regions across the globe. Adjusting crop management practices to capitalize on changing climate factors shows promise as a strategy for sustaining production globally. Plain Language Summary: Northeast China (NEC) is essential for achieving food accessibility and food security in China, but its agricultural production is seriously threatened by climate change. This study investigated how climate change could impact maize, rice, and soybean crop yields in this region from 2015 to 2100, using the PCSE crop model and forcing from the international Coupled Model Intercomparison Project 6 (CMIP6) climate projections. Simulation results suggested rising temperatures would negatively affect crop yields, especially for maize. Increased carbon dioxide and rainfall partially offset these losses. By 2100, average declines were projected for maize (−21%) and soybeans (−4%), respectively. Altering planting dates to match crop needs was an effective adaptation to boost yields, with rice benefiting the most. Relocating rice production eastward and expanding its area substantially increased simulated rice yields (+62%) but decreased other crops due to competition (−32% maize, −28% soybeans). Even with adaptations, some areas still showed yield declines, indicating extra measures may be needed to maintain production. Overall, this study suggests significant risks to crop yields from climate change in Northeast China, with adaptations like optimized planting and strategic crop relocation able to mitigate some but not all of the projected impacts. Key Points: Rising temperatures negatively impacted simulated future crop yields, especially for maizeAdjusting planting dates boosted yields for rice and soybeans but had limited benefits for maizeRelocating and expanding the rice area increased yields substantially [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Researchers and practitioners insist on equipping supply chains with the adaptive capability to return to a more desirable state after being disrupted. Various resilience capabilities have been emphasized in the literature; however, limited research has linked them to resilience phases and cultural value orientations. Moreover, preparedness and adaption phases have hardly been studied. To address these gaps, we adopted middle‐range theory to investigate agri‐food supply chain (AFSC) resilience to the COVID‐19 crisis in a cross‐country setting. Data were collected from interviews with AFSC practitioners from China and Spain, followed by thematic and comparative analyses. The results indicate that frequently discussed resilience capabilities, such as collaboration, redundancy, flexibility, leadership, and innovation, were implemented across the preparedness, response and recovery, and adaption phases; however, successful AFSC recovery also depends on each country's cultural value orientations. A hierarchical cultural orientation generates sense‐making and collectiveness and further leads to synergy across all AFSC stakeholders, thereby contributing to AFSC response and recovery. Under an egalitarianism cultural orientation that places self‐interest ahead of group goals, organizations are encouraged to make decisions based on their own situational understanding, which contributes to their response and recovery. This study also provides theoretical contributions and managerial and policy implications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Central precocious puberty (CPP) is a precocious puberty due to premature activation of the hypothalamic–pituitary‐gonadal axis (HPG). MKRN3 defects are well‐known causes of CPP, while DLK1 mutations were recently identified in a few patients with CPP. Methods: The study was approved by the Institutional Review and the scientific committee of the hospital. The clinical data were collected. Whole‐exome sequencing (WES) was performed to detect causative variants. Key words 'DLK1', 'MKRN3', and "central precocious puberty" were used for literature search in PubMed, Google Scholar, HGMD, and OMIM databases. Results: The patient, a male, whose puberty began before age nine, had significant metabolic abnormalities including overweight, hyperlipidemia, and hyperuricemia. WES detected a recurrent frame‐shift mutation, NM_003836.5:c.479delC(p.P160fs*50) in DLK1 in the patient and his father. Conclusion: The familial DLK1‐CPP was identified in China for the first time, which supported that short stature is predicted in patients with CPP without GnRHa treatment. Therefore, we recommend that children with DLK1‐CPP should be treated as early as possible to improve adult height. The patient in this study had persistent hyperuricemia, further suggests that this antiadipogenic factor represents a link between reproduction and metabolism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Plate subduction plays a decisive role in continental tectonics, and subduction history is closely connected to deformation and sedimentation in the overriding plate. When and how the Paleo-Pacific Plate subducted beneath Southeast China in the Mesozoic is debated. Here, we show that provenance data, including detrital composition point counts, palaeocurrent data, and detrital zircon U-Pb geochronology from basins in Southeast China, record the timing and process of Paleo-Pacific Plate subduction during the Jurassic and Earliest Cretaceous. The U-Pb dating of detrital zircons from Jurassic samples indicates that the sediments were transported from multiple sources, including intracratonic mountains, tectonic belts and the inferred active continental margin arc that resulted from Paleo-Pacific Plate subduction. The clastic composition and U-Pb dating of Early Cretaceous tuffs suggest that they were sourced from nearby magmatic rocks and the eastern inferred magmatic arc. Based on detrital zircon U-Pb dating, igneous rock isotope, sedimentary, and structural data, we infer that an active continental magmatic arc developed along the coast of Southeast China in the Early Jurassic to Early Cretaceous (~200 Ma-135 Ma). The westward subduction of the Paleo-Pacific Plate initiated in the Early Jurassic (~200 Ma) and continued to the Early Cretaceous (~135 Ma). Paleo-Pacific Plate subduction resulted in the uplift of the northern Wuyi Mountain region and eastern South China and controlled the provenance characteristics of the sedimentary basins in Southeast China during the Jurassic to Early Cretaceous. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Arguments for recognizing autogenic vs. allogenic signals in the stratigraphic record are still far from settled, as is the decoding of unsteady allogenic responses to climate vs. tectonic forcing. We offer the case of late Mesozoic Xuanhua basin in the western Yanshan fold‐and‐thrust belt of North China to make these points. The study area is an intramontane basin that has allowed detailed structural, sedimentological, and provenance analyses in a kilometre‐thick succession (the Tuchengzi Formation) of alluvial fan, fluvial, lake‐delta and lacustrine deposits. Extensive geological mapping provided confidence of near‐basinwide later correlation of strata, revealing two large‐scale upward‐coarsening (CU) successions each 80–240 m thick, with prominent vertical changes from lacustrine through deltaic and fluvial to alluvial fan deposits. Two intervals of thrust‐related growth strata identified in the Tuchengzi Fm suggest that the CU successions were the signals of tectonic uplift and accommodation change related to Likouquan and the Mapu thrusting. In the lower CU succession, there is a stacking (30+) of small‐scale (3–16 m thick) upward‐fining cyclothems that are argued to have been generated by alternating wet‐dry climate cycles. The wet half‐cycle is argued to have initiated with high sediment and water discharge of flood‐generated mass flows into the lake and ended with accumulation of lacustrine mudstones as lake level rose. The lake deposits include the maximum flooding during the wet half‐cycle. The dry half‐cycle was characterized by continued lacustrine deposits, but increased evidence of subaerial exposure (rooting, paleosols, and mudcracks) argued to result from falling of the lake level under dry conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Wangshi Group faithfully records the Late Cretaceous palaeogeographic environment and tectonic evolution of the East Asian continental margin. Here, we reconstruct a four-stage evolution model of the Late Cretaceous source-to-sink system in the northern Jiaolai Basin by multiproxy provenance methods. With statistical and visualization analyses of multiple results and comparisons to the characteristics of potential source regions, the results strongly suggest that (1) the Linjiazhuang Formation (Fm) was mainly sourced from the Qingshan Group volcanic rocks; (2) during the deposition of the Xingezhuang Fm, the Sulu orogenic belt south of the basin was rapidly uplifted and replaced the Qingshan Group volcanic rocks as the primary source area for the basin; (3) during the deposition of the Hongtuya Fm, the tectonic activity on the southern side of the basin weakened, and the Jiaobei area and Qingshan Group volcanic rocks again became primary sources for the basin; and (4) the Jingangkou Fm was sourced mainly from the Jiaobei terrane instead of the Qingshan Group volcanic rocks. The significant change in the main source region of this source-to-sink system during the deposition of the Xingezhuang Fm, from the Jiaobei terrane to the north to the Sulu orogenic belt to the south, suggests that the Sulu orogenic belt experienced rapid uplift in the early Late Cretaceous. The NNW subduction of the western Pacific Plate during the Late Cretaceous may have led to N-S extension in the East Asian continental margin, controlling the deposition of the Wangshi Group in the Jiaolai Basin and inducing the rapid uplift of the Sulu orogenic belt in the early Late Cretaceous. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A well‐constrained plate deformation model may lead to an improved understanding of sedimentary basin formation and the connection between subduction history and over‐riding plate deformation. Building quantitative models of basin kinematics and deformation remains challenging often due to the lack of comprehensive constraints. The Bohai Bay Basin (BBB) is an important manifestation of the destruction of the North China Craton, and records the plate kinematic history of East Asia during the Cenozoic. Although a number of interpretations of the formation of the BBB have been proposed, few quantitative basin reconstruction models have been built to test and refine previous ideas. Here, we developed a quantitative deformation reconstruction of the BBB constrained with balanced cross‐sections and structural, stratigraphic and depositional age data. Our reconstruction suggests that the basin formation process was composed of three main stages: Paleocene‐early Eocene (65–42 Ma) extension initiation, middle Eocene‐early Oligocene (42–32.8 Ma) extension climax and post‐Oligocene (32.8–0 Ma) post‐extensional subsidence. The deformation of the BBB is spatially heterogeneous, and its velocity directions rotated clockwise during the basin formation process. The reconstruction supports the interpretation that the BBB formed via strike‐slip faulting and orthogonal extension and that the basin is classified as a composite extensional‐transtensional basin. We argue that the clockwise rotation of the basin velocity field was driven by the counter‐clockwise rotation in the direction of Pacific Plate subduction. The kinematics of the BBB imply that the Pacific Plate may have been sufficiently coupled to the over‐riding East Asian Plate during the critical period of Pacific Plate reorganization. The new reconstruction provides a quantitative basis for studies of deformation processes not only in the vicinity of the BBB, but also more broadly throughout East Asia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Triassic-Jurassic stratigraphy in the Yanshan fold-thrust belt is dominated by nonmarine deposits, and the division of this stratigraphy remains controversial among geologists. Age results from biostratigraphic and isotope chronological studies are inconsistent, especially for the Dengzhangzi and Guojiadian Basins in the eastern part of the Yanshan belt. We present four new detrital zircon U–Pb isotope datasets for the Triassic-Jurassic stratigraphic units and one for the Permian unit in the basins. The geochronological results show that the andesitic breccia in the Permian strata was deposited at ca. 273.78 ± 1.68 Ma, the Laohugou Formation was deposited in the Anisian-Ladinian Stage, the andesitic lava in the Shuiquangou Formation erupted at ca. 238.56 ± 0.91 Ma, and the conglomerate in the Guojiadian Formation was deposited from ca. 170 ± 5 to 163.0 ± 2.2 Ma. Field observations and facies analyses demonstrate that the Laohugou, Shuiquangou and Dengzhangzi Formations predominantly consist of subaqueous debris flow deposits, subaerial fluvial deposits, and fan delta deposits while the Guojiadian Formation is generally composed of fluvial and subaerial mass-flow deposits that formed in braided channels. Here, we propose a more precise and comprehensive Triassic-Jurassic stratigraphic division scheme based on age constraints and facies analysis. With this new stratigraphic sequence, we compare the Mesozoic stratigraphic units in the study area with those in other basins in the Yanshan fold-thrust belt in terms of the lithological associations, regional unconformities and zircon U-Pb dating results. This comparison indicates that the Indosinian and Yanshanian movements exerted a far-reaching influence on the development and evolution of the Dengzhangzi and Guojiadian Basins in the study area, forming several important regional unconformities and syntectonic conglomeratic units. These new age data on the stratigraphy are of fundamental significance for understanding the Mesozoic tectonic evolution of Yanshan. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A complex intraplate deformation sequence since the Cretaceous is recorded in the basin–mountain belt along the South China continental margin and provides a critical window to reconstruct the paleostress regime since the Cretaceous and further explore the relationship between the intraplate deformation episodes in South China and the dynamic changes in Izanagi-Pacific subduction. Here, integrating the clues from the field investigation, fault-slip inversion, and zircon U–Pb chronology in four regions along the basin–mountain belt reveals six paleostress regimes on the South China margin, listed in order of decreasing age: E‒W extension (ca. 145-120 Ma), NW‒SE extension (ca. 120-105 Ma), NW‒SE compression (ca. 105-100 Ma), N–S extension (ca. 100-65 Ma), NE‒SW compression (ca. 65-55 Ma), and NE‒SW extension (ca. < 55 Ma). The four extensional regimes controlled regional subsidence and sedimentation, resulting in NW-striking and E–W-striking alignments of Early and Late Cretaceous basins, respectively. In comparison, the two compressional regimes produced two regional unconformities between the Early and Late Cretaceous strata and between the Late Cretaceous and Paleogene strata. Our results suggest that the prevailing Cretaceous extension in South China likely started at ca. 145 Ma, reversed due to short-term compression, and restarted at ca. 100 Ma. By comparing the history of the Izanagi-Pacific plate subduction, we conclude that the dynamic changes in the subduction process have been the primary force driving intraplate deformation in South China since the Cretaceous. • Six stress regimes are recognized by fault-slip inversion in South China. • Four long-term extensional phases and two short-term compressional ones alternated. • The intraplate deformation was caused by dynamic subduction changes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The northwestward subduction of the Izanagi Plate beneath the eastern Eurasian Plate during the Late Mesozoic caused a series of compressional deformation events in the Yanshan fold and thrust belt (YFTB), but the tectonic deformation timing, tectonic properties and relationship between tectonic uplift and sediment accumulation in the intermontane basins continue to be debated. For this reason, the sedimentology, sediment provenance, and basin structure of the Qianjiadian Basin (QJB) in the northern Beijing region during the Late Jurassic and Early Cretaceous were studied in detail. The results suggest that a fault-propagation fold-type (FPFT) growth structure and growth strata developed on the western edge of the QJB and that the top part of Member 2 and Member 3 of the Tuchengzi Formation are growth strata controlled by the limb rotation mechanism. In two small thrust faults in the QJB, the Mesoproterozoic Xiamaling Formation is thrust over the Tuchengzi Formation, and these faults may have controlled the development of the fault-bend fold-type growth strata. An analysis of the "source-to-sink" process suggests that the hanging wall succession of the Shangyi-Pingquan fault (SPF) was the main source area of the Late Jurassic to early Early Cretaceous strata in the QJB. A zircon 206Pb/238U age of 140.8±2.4 Ma for the volcanic rocks at the bottom of the FPFT growth strata represents the timing of the initiation of FPFT growth structure development. The discovery of the FPFT growth structure and growth strata in the QJB indicate that the QJB was an intermontane flexural basin controlled by fold and thrust structures during the early Early Cretaceous. Near the E-W-trending SPF, the NE-SW-trending Qianjiadian thrust fault (QJTF) and two small intrabasinal thrust faults may constitute a unified right-lateral strike-slip system that formed in response to the northwestward flat subduction of the Izanagi Plate beneath the East Asian continent during the Jurassic-Early Cretaceous. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The timing of the “Yanshanian Movement” and the tectonic setting that controlled the Yanshan fold-and-thrust belt during Jurassic time in China are still matters of controversy. Sediments that filled the intramontane basins in the Yanshan belt perfectly record the history of “Yanshanian Movement” and the tectonic background of these basins. Recognizing syn-tectonic sedimentation, clarifying its relationship with structures, and accurately defining strata ages to build up a correct chronostratigraphic framework are the key points to further reveal the timing and kinematics of tectonic deformation in the Yanshan belt from the Jurassic to the Early Cretaceous. This paper applies both tectonic and sedimentary methods on the fold-and-thrust belt and intramontane basins in the Zhangjiakou area, which is located at the intersection between the western Yanshan and northern Taihangshan. Our work suggests that the pre-defined “Jurassic strata” should be re-dated and sub-divided into three strata units: a Late Triassic to Early Jurassic unit, a Middle Jurassic unit, and a Late Jurassic to early Early Cretaceous unit. Under the control of growth fold-and-thrust structures, five types of growth strata developed in different growth structures: fold-belt foredeep type, thrust-belt foredeep type, fault-propagation fold-thrust structure type, fault-bend fold-thrust structure type, and fault-bend fold-thrust plus fault-propagation fold composite type. The reconstructed “source-to-sink” systems of Late Triassic to Early Jurassic, Middle Jurassic and Late Jurassic to early Early Cretaceous times, which are composed of a fold-and-thrust belt and flexure basins, imply that the “Yanshanian Movement” in our study area started in theMiddle Jurassic. During Middle Jurassic to early Early Cretaceous times, there have been at least three stages of fold-thrust events that developed “Laramide-type” basement-involved fold-thrust structures and small-scale intramontane broken “axial basins”. The westward migration of a “pair” of basement-involved fold-thrust belt and flexure basins might have been controlled by flat subduction of the western Paleo-Pacific slab from the Jurassic to the Early Cretaceous. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mesozoic thrusting within the Yanshan fold-and-thrust belt of North China resulted in a series of fault-bounded intramontane basins whose infill and evolution remain poorly understood. In particular, the bounding faults and adjacent sediment accumulations along the western segments of the belt are almost unstudied. A sedimentological and provenance analysis of the Lower Jurassic Xiahuayuan Formation and the Upper Jurassic Jiulongshan Formation have been mapped to show two distinctive clastic wedges: an early Jurassic wedge representing a mass-flow-dominated, Gilbert-type fan delta with a classic tripartite architecture, and an late Jurassic shoal-water fan delta without steeply inclined strata. The basinward migration of the fan-delta wedges, together with the analysis of their conglomerate clast compositions, paleocurrent data and detrital zircon U-Pb age spectra, strongly suggest that the northern-bounding Xuanhuan thrust fault controlled their growth during accumulation of the Jiulongshan Formation. Previous studies have suggested that the fan-delta wedge of the Xiahuayuan Formation was also syntectonic, related to movement on the Xuanhua thrust fault. Two stages of thrusting therefore exerted an influence on the formation and evolution of the Xiahuayuan basin during the early-late Jurassic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Mesozoic northern Yangtze foreland basin system was formed by continental collision between the North China and South China plates along the Mianlue suture. Synorogenic stratigraphic sequences of Late Triassic to Early-Middle Jurassic age were developed in the northern Yangtze foreland basin. The upper Middle Jurassic Shaximiao Formation consists mainly of thick-bedded terrestrial successions that serve as the main body of the basin-filling sequences, suggesting intense tectonism in the peripheral orogeny of the foreland basin. Laser-ICP-MS U-Pb analysis of 254 detrital zircon grains from sandstone samples and several published Lower-Middle Jurassic samples, detrital compositions, petrofacies, and paleocurrent reconstructions in the northern Yangtze foreland basin indicate that discrete source areas included the Qinling-Dabieshan ranges and the Mianlue suture zone to the north, and the South China plate to the south. The stratigraphic succession and sediment provenance of the foreland basin imply that the early Mianlue oceanic basin, magmatic arc, and nonmarine molasse foreland basin during the period of deposition were modified or buried by the subsequent continent-continent collision between the North China-Qinling-Dabieshan plate and the Yangtze plate during the Jurassic, which followed the oblique amalgamation between these plates during the Middle-Late Triassic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fluid dynamical and numerical modelling predicts a large-scale regional domal uplift prior to basalt eruptions in large igneous provinces, which can be readily measured when a plume head rises below a shallow marine sedimentary basin. Research on the sedimentology, biostratigraphy, and isotopic chronology of the Emeishan large igneous province demonstrates that the sedimentary environment in the Maokou stage is not uniform carbonate platform facies, but rather sedimentary facies with a north–south linear alignment and west–east different distribution controlled by the syn-depositional normal faulting of the Changhai and Xiaojiang faults, which are the result of underwater dynamic uplift induced by deep mantle activity. The dynamic uplift started in the Maokou stage. Thus, thinning of the Maokou limestone was the product of the difference in the initial depositional thickness caused by the underwater uplift and post-depositional surface uplift and erosion, but post-depositional uplift was much less than kilometre scale. Sedimentary facies differentiation and tectonic–sedimentary evolution in the Maokou stage provide a constraint for the time of the initial eruption and eruption environment before and during the Emeishan basalt eruption. Small-scale magmatic activity might have already begun in the middle of the Maokou stage, whereas submarine and terrestrial sedimentary environments coexisted before and during Emeishan basalt eruption. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The North Dabashan thrust belt, which is located in South Qinling, is bounded by the Ankang fault on the north and the Chengkou–Fangxian fault on the south. The North Dabashan thrust belt experienced multiple stages of structural deformation that were controlled by three palaeostress fields. The first structural event (Middle Triassic) involved NNW–SSE shortening and resulted in the formation of numerous dextral strike-slip structures along the entire Chengkou–Fangxian fault zone and within the North Dabashan thrust belt, which suggests that the South China Block moved to the NW and was obliquely subducted under the North China Block. The second structural event (Late Triassic–Early Jurassic) involved NE–SW shortening that formed NW–SE-trending structures in the North Dabashan thrust belt. The third structural event (Late Jurassic–Early Cretaceous) involved ENE–WSW or nearly E–W shortening and resulted in additional thrusting of the North Dabashan thrust belt to the WSW and formation of the WSW-convex Chengkou–Fangxian fault zone, which has an oroclinal shape. Owing to the pinning of the Hannan massif and Shennongjia massif culminations, numerous sinistral strike-slip structures developed along the eastern Chengkou–Fangxian fault zone and were superimposed over the early dextral strike-slip structures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims at exploring the tectonic characteristics of the South China Continent (SCC) and extracting the universal tectonic rules from these characteristics, to help enrich the plate tectonic theory and better understand the continental dynamic system. For this purpose, here we conduct a multi-disciplinary investigation and combine it with the previous studies to reassess the tectonics and evolution of SCC and propose that the tectonic framework of the continent comprises two blocks, three types of tectonic units, four deformation systems, and four evolutionary stages with distinctive mechanism and tectonic characteristics since the Neoproterozoic. The four evolutionary stages are: (1) The amalgamation and break-up of the Neoproterozoic plates, typically the intracontinental rifting. (2) The early Paleozoic and Mesozoic intracontinental orogeny confined by plate tectonics, forming two composite tectonic domains. (3) The parallel operation of the Yangtze cratonization and intracontinental orogeny, and multi-phase reactivation of the Yangtze craton. (4) The association and differentiation evolution of plate tectonics and intracontinental tectonics, and the dynamic characteristics under the Meso-Cenozoic modern global plate tectonic regime. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Dabie orogen underwent deep continental subduction, rapid exhumation, and the huge amount of erosion during the Mesozoic. Its tectonic evolution, especially how its evolution was recorded by sedimentary basins at the flanks of the Dabie orogen is one of the most important issues of the world's attention. These years, newly studies of basin sedimentology, combined with structural geology, have shown a fundamental progress. The overall distribution of different basin types in the orogen indicates that shortening and thrusting at the margins of the orogen from the Late Triassic to the Early Cretaceous controlled the foreland basins, and extension, doming and rifting were initiated in the core of the orogen from the Jurassic to the Early Cretaceous and were expanded to the whole orogen after the Late Cretaceous. Therefore, The Dabie orogen records gradual transition from overall shortening and thrusting to dominantly extension and rift basin formation expanded from its core to its margins, although these shortening and extension overlapped in time from the Jurassic through Early Cretaceous at crustal levels. The unroofing ages of the ultra-high pressure (UHP) metamorphic rocks in the Dabie orogen change from Early Jurassic to Late Jurassic westward. The depth of exhumation increases eastwards. The sediment sources for the Hefei basin are mostly composed of the deeply exhumed, axial Dabie metamorphic complex, and the sediment sources for the Middle Yangtze basin are mostly from cover strata in the southern orogen and related strata with subjacent (i.e. subsequently overthrusted) Mianlue suture belt. Geodynamic analysis represents that continental collision between the North China Block and the South China Block along the Shangdan and Mianlue sutures, subsequently northwestward progradation of the Jiangnan fold and thrust belt, and the underthrusting of the North China Block along the Northern Boundary Fault of Qinling Range led to crustal thickening, gravitational spreading and balanced rebound of the resultant thick crustal welt, and multi-episodic exhumation of the HP/UHP metamorphic rocks. The future studies by the methods of tracing the Dabie orogeny through deposition in the marginal basins should focus on eastward extension of the Mianlue suture, thrust and overlap of the Dabie HP/UHP metamorphic block on different lithotectonic zones and basins along the northern South China Block, the structural framework of the source area of the basins in the syn-depositional stage, the basin lateral extension, huge amount of erosion and sediment transportation from the Dabie blanket and basement rocks, and recovery of subducted and removed structural units within the Dabie orogen, etc. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Xunhua, Guide and Tongren intermontane basin system in the NE Tibetan Plateau, situated near the Xining basin to the N and the Linxia basin to the E, is bounded by thrust fault-controlled ranges. These include to the N, the Riyue Shan, Laji Shan and Jishi Shan ranges, and to the S the northern West Qinling Shan ( NWQ). An integrated study of the structural geology, sedimentology and provenance of the Cenozoic Xunhua and Guide basins provides a detailed record of the growth of the NE Tibetan Plateau since the early Eocene. The Xining Group ( ca. 52-21 Ma) is interpreted as consisting of unified foreland basin deposits which were controlled by the bounding thrust belt of the NWQ. The Xunhua, Guide and Xining subbasins were interconnected prior to later uplift and damming by the Laji Shan and Jishi Shan ranges. Their sediment source, the NWQ, is constrained by strong unidirectional paleocurrent trends towards the N, a northward fining lithology, distinct and recognizable clast types and detrital zircon ages. Collectively, formation of this mountain-basin system indicates that the Tibetan Plateau expanded into the NWQ at a time roughly coinciding with Eocene to earliest Miocene continental collision between India and Eurasia. The Guide Group ( ca. 21-1.8 Ma) is inferred to have been deposited in the separate Xunhua, Guide and Tongren broken foreland basins. Each basin was filled by locally sourced alluvial fans, braided streams and deltaic-lacustrine systems. Structural, paleogeographic, paleocurrent and provenance data indicate that thrust faulting in the NWQ stepped northward to the Laji Shan from ca. 21 to 16 Ma. This northward shift was accompanied by E-W shortening related to nearly N-S-striking thrust faulting in Jishi Shan after 11-13 Ma. A lower Pleistocene conglomerate (1.8-1.7 Ma) was deposited by a through-flowing river system in the overfilled and connected Guide and Xunhua basins following the termination of thrust activity. All of the basin-mountain zones developed along the Tibetan Plateau's NE margin since Indian- Tibetan continental collision may have been driven by collision-induced basal drag of old slab remnants in the manner of N-dipping and flat-slab subduction, and their subsequent sinking into the deep mantle. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: We integrated a systematic sedimentary data into a regional Early Mesozoic stratigraphic framework which demonstrated a detailed picture of spatiotemporal variations in basin deposition and formation in the North China Craton. The Early Mesozoic basin sedimentary evolution is utilized to interpret polyphase tectonism and to unravel the craton deformation. The Late Triassic, nearly WNW-trending, giant intracratonic Ordos basin was widely distributed across most of North China Craton, with a southern wedge-top depozone along the northern East Qilian–Qinling orogenic belt and a northwestern rift depozone along the Helanshan. The continuous subsidence and deposition within the basin were dominantly related to the thrust load of the East Qilian–Qinling belt and inferred mantle flow effects associated with paleotethys plate subduction, and the rift in the northwestern Ordos was driven by nearly north-vergent compression of the eastern North Qilian–North Qinling active margins with the stable North China Craton. This intracratonic Ordos basin formation initiated the deformation of the North China Craton. Formation of the Jurassic NNE-trending walled intracratonic Ordos basin and the broken flexural basins indicates the North China Craton underwent the second, even more abroad nearly NNE trending crustal deformation, with lithosphere thickening in the eastern part of the North China Craton, and dynamic subsidence in the west, which may have been driven by nearly northwestward subduction of the Izanagi plate and the eastward extrusion and underthrusting of the western North China Craton crustal basement. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The northern Sichuan Basin of central China is an important region for investigating the continent-continent convergence that resulted from the closure of the Palaeo-Tethys Ocean. The Early-Middle Jurassic sediments of this basin record the palaeogeography, palaeoenvironments and tectonic evolution of the southern Qinling orogenic belt, especially the Dabashan thrust belt. Detailed sedimentological investigations, coupled with provenance analyses using zircon U Pb geochronology, demonstrate that during Early Jurassic times, conglomerate megafan facies extended across the northern Sichuan Basin into the Micangshan area deformed by South Dabashan thrusting and reached even as far as the Mianlue suture belt. These megafan deposits were mainly reworked from the Silurian sediments of the North Dabashan thrust belt (also called the South Qinling orogenic belt), north of the Mianlue suture. These conglomerates record the initial thrust-driven uplift and exhumation of the Qinling orogenic belt that rapidly followed the diachronous closure of the Mianlue oceanic basin. Moreover, our results show that the detrital materials of meandering stream, lacustrine and braided river delta facies that accumulated in the Middle Jurassic mainly originated from the southern Qinling orogenic belt, Mianlue suture zone and northern South China block, suggesting the southward progradation of the Dabashan fold-thrust belt onto the northern Yangtze block and the southward migration of the basin centre. These findings support a model in which the Early to Middle Jurassic evolution of the northern Sichuan Basin may have been triggered by East Asian convergence. [Display omitted] • The megafan oligomict conglomerate of the Baitianba Formation extended across the northern Sichuan Basin into the Micangshan area during the Early Jurassic. • The megafan oligomict conglomerates of the Baitianba Formation record the initial thrust-driven uplift and exhumation of the Qinling orogenic belt. • The Early-Middle Jurassic evolution of the northern Sichuan Basin may have been triggered by East Asian convergence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Agarwood is a resinous material formed in wounded Aquilaria sinensis in China, which is widely used as an effective traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). This study is aimed to use gas chromatography–mass spectrometry combined with chemometric methods to create reliable criteria for accurate identification of natural agarwood and artificial agarwood, as well as for quality evaluation of artificial agarwood. Natural agarwood and artificial agarwood (stimulated by formic acid or formic acid plus fungal inoculation) were used as standards and controls for the gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC–MS) and multivariate analysis. The identification criteria developed were applied to commercial agarwood. A reliable criteria including correlation coefficient of GC–MS fingerprint of natural agarwood and 22 markers of metabolism in natural and artificial agarwood was constructed. Compared with chemically stimulated agarwood (formic acid) and in terms of the 22 markers, artificial agarwood obtained by formic acid stimulation and fungal inoculation were much closer to natural agarwood. The study demonstrates that the chemical components of artificial agarwood obtained by comprehensive stimulated method (formic acid plus fungal inoculation) are much closer to the natural agarwood than those obtained by chemically stimulated method (formic acid), as times goes by. A reliable criteria containing correlation coefficient of GC–MS fingerprint of natural agarwood and 22 metabolism markers can be used to evaluate the quality of the agarwood. As an application case, three samples were identified as natural agarwood from the 25 commercial agarwood by using the evaluation method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The CCGlu-enhancing HS-SPME Arrow combined with GC-Orbitrap-MS was developed to determine 34 SACs in tobacco. • This method possessed satisfactory sensitivity with the LOQ values ranging from 0.07 to 5.97 ng/g and 11 analytes identified for the first time in this study. • PCA results of 45 practical samples showed SACs as potential indicators of three aroma types and geographical origins of Virginia tobacco in China. The identification and measurement of sulfur aroma compounds (SACs) to precisely describe tobacco quality and style have remained as significant topics in tobacco research for many years. However, the ultra-trace quantification of SACs in complex tobacco matrices poses a considerable challenge in analytical area. In this study, an accurate and sensitive analysis of SACs in tobacco through a natural deep eutectic solvent (NADES) enhancing headspace-solid-phase microextraction (HS-SPME) Arrow combined with GC-Orbitrap was developed. The NADES system composed of choline chloride and D-glucose (CCGlu) in the pretreatment possessed excellent enhancement of HS-SPME Arrow extraction efficiency for natural tobacco targets. To improve selectivity, GC-Orbitrap was applied that prominently reduced chemical interferences from the tobacco matrix, improving confidence in the determination and identification of SACs in tobacco. During method validation, the limit of quantification (LOQ) ranged from 0.07 to 5.97 ng/g, apparently lower than those reported previously. And acceptable accuracies were attained with relative recoveries ranging from 85.4 % to 111 %. Finally, the developed method was applied to 45 Virginia tobacco samples, and 23 SACs were identified, among which 11 analytes were detected for the first time in this study. The results were preliminarily analyzed using principal component analysis, demonstrating that SACs could be employed as useful variables to characterize the aroma types and geographical origins of tobacco in China, which might be suitable for monitoring tobacco quality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Liziping Tunnel is located in the southwestern mountainous area of China. The majority of the support structures in the tunnel have failed shortly after construction completion. The goals of this study are to reveal the failure cause of the given support structure, and to develop a quantitative analysis method to optimize scheme of support design. According to the parallel model, the deformation-load relation function of combined support structure (CSS) of anchor bolt-spray are derived from the bearing arch mechanism. Through numerical simulations, the ground reaction curve (GRC) of country rock is obtained, along with the longitudinal deformation profile (LDP) reflecting influences of both installed supports structure and construction technology. The stability factors of the installed support structure under various envisaged construction schemes are estimated by using the convergence-confinement method (CCM). The results indicate that it is possible to avoid the failure of the given support structure if the construction technology is slightly adjusted during construction. Derived from the above research, the empirical method based on the rock mass classification is expanded to be a quantitative analysis approach and can consider more contributing factors than ever, through embedding the convergence-confinement algorithm into the empirical design method of support scheme and with the help of simulation computation technology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • A comprehensive strategy for investigating tobacco quality. • The strategy including a moisture-prediction model, a moisture-correction model and a compound-prediction model. • NIR prediction models with moisture-adaptive corrections. • Rapid and efficient quantification of 70 chemicals in tobacco. • A Mahalanobis-distance-based method for the geographical discrimination and part identification of samples. Tobacco is one of the most widely cultivated non-food cash crops worldwide, and the quality of tobacco procured from different geographical locations varies considerably. This study proposes a comprehensive strategy for investigating tobacco quality using near-infrared (NIR) prediction models with moisture-adaptive corrections. This strategy enables the rapid and efficient quantification of 70 chemicals in tobacco by reducing the effect of moisture on the NIR spectra of tobacco samples. Additionally, this strategy has been proposed for the geographical discrimination and part identification of tobacco samples, with the Mahalanobis distance analysis, the accuracy of predicted values is higher than 81.5%. This study confirms that the tobacco chemical composition from different regions in China is inconsistent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]