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Causal reasoning is important to children's cognition and academic development. However, there have been few empirical studies on the impact of visual cues and non-verbal scaffolding on children's reasoning in continuous causal processes. Hence, the present study aims to explore how causal reasoning in continuous processes is facilitated by visual mind maps and multiple-choice questions through science experiments. By randomly selecting 136 children aged 9-13, the following results were obtained: Children provided with a mind map containing visual causal cues performed significantly better than the non-cue group on explanation tasks regardless of age differences, and children assessed using non-verbal multiple-choice questions scored significantly higher in explaining causal relationships than those using only verbal reports. This suggests that identification and explanation need to be differentiated for a more accurate evaluation of causal reasoning ability. These results have valuable implications for science curriculum and pedagogy at primary schools.

The ability to understand listening is an essential skill for non-native speakers of English as a foreign language (EFL). Research has shown that several factors can influence EFL students' English listening comprehension, including the listening strategy they use during listening activities. This study, therefore, used the meta-cognitive listening strategy to explore the mediation role of learning style and self-efficacy in the relationship with listening performance. In this study, 632 Chinese university students participated in a survey and completed electronic questionnaires on MALQ (Meta-cognitive Awareness of Listening Questionnaire), PLSPQ (Perceptual Learning Style Preference Questionnaire), and GSE (General Self-Efficacy Scale). The data were analyzed using AMOS software and a structural equation modeling (SEM) technique. The results showed that students' listening strategy directly and positively predicted their English listening performance. Moreover, students' listening performance was fully mediated by learning style and self-efficacy. After discussing these findings, suggestions as well as limitations for future studies will be given. The findings of this study are expected to contribute to a better understanding of the factors that may affect EFL students' English listening comprehension and inform instructional practices in the EFL classroom. Specifically, the results of this study may suggest the use of teaching strategies tailored to individual learning styles and the adoption of measures to improve self-efficacy of EFL students. Ultimately, the goal of this research is to improve EFL students' English listening comprehension skills and enhance their overall language proficiency.

This study investigates the influence of ecological innovations and sustainable financing in promoting the Chinese economy's green total factor productivity (GTFP) from Q1-2004 to Q4-2018. Initially, this study measures GTFP using Data Envelopment Analysis and applies Bootstrap Auto-regressive Distributed Lagged (BARDL) model for dynamic effects. The preliminary results confirm the existence of unit root and a long-term cointegrating relationship among the model variables. The long-run results demonstrate that ecological innovations and sustainable financing have promoted GTFP in China. Moreover, government intervention is imperative to support green productivity growth at the macro level. However, there is a need to control the adverse effect of unemployment in impeding GTFP. Notably, the long-run results reflect the more substantial impact of the stated variables compared to the short run with the convergence towards long-run equilibrium. The policymakers are suggested to prioritise the development of the financial market and technological innovations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recently, the financial performance of the steel industry has faced several challenges due to a lack of focus on corporate social responsibilities (CSR), green finance, and information communication technology (ICT). Hence, this study investigates the impact of CSR, green finance, and ICT on the financial performance of the steel industry in China. The present research also investigates the moderating role of organizational support among CSR and firm performance and ICT and firm performance. We applied structural equation modeling to analyze the primary data of 290 employees collected from the employees of the steel industry in China. The findings indicated that CSR, green finance, and ICT have a positive and significant impact on the financial performance of this industry. The results also showed that organizational support significantly and positively moderates the interaction between CSR, ICT, and financial performance. These findings suggest that Chinese steel industries should adopt CSR practices and implement an ICT adoption strategy for better financial performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research project is an endeavor to evaluate China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) critically from legal and politico-economic perspectives. CPEC encounters numerous legal and politico-economic issues at the domestic, regional and international levels. At the national level, CPEC has raised politico-economic issues between provincialism and federalism. Moreover, some legal aspects of the Constitution and national law of Pakistan are in conflict with the corresponding domains of the International Law. Therefore, the focal point of the current work is to delve into various basic legal aspects of CPEC. Nevertheless, the study applies mixed method approach wherein questionnaires and interviews will be distributed and conducted from the legal, political and economic experts, respectively. Quantitative data, collected through questionnaires, will be analyzed through Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) whereas qualitative data, received through open ended interviews, will be textually analyzed. The significance of the study lies in the fact that it will not only explore the issues under study, but also suggest recommendations for appropriately addressing and/or eradicating the same issues so that people's apprehensions and grievances are finished at the provincial and national levels, and legal and politico-economic hurdles are eliminated for timely completion of CPEC as a very large and direly needed plan. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, there has been an interest in using visual input in multimodal applications for language learning. However, the effects of visual input in listening materials remain to be discussed. Past literature has shown no unified answer to the effects of video input in improving listening comprehension scores. Since there are many proposals for the diversified reform of English teaching methods, it is worth examining whether using traditional audio listening only or using different video inputs can bring more significant benefits to students. The subjects of this study are 30 non-English majors in Chinese universities. This paper applied the quantitative research method, testing students' performance using different listening visual inputs (content, context, and audio only) and different listening text types (monologue and dialogue). Data were analysed using the two-way repeated measures within groups ANOVA. The interaction effects and the main effect of variables on listening performance were examined to explore the impact of visual input and text types on English listening comprehension. The following conclusions are drawn from the data analysis: (1) The interaction effect shows that video and text types significantly affect students' listening scores. Videos that contain authentic listening scenes and content elements are beneficial to promote listening comprehension as they support students' interpretation and understanding of what they hear, and (2) It was noted that grouping students by listening proficiency and examining their cultural background would expand the study in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The ongoing climate changes have created various challenges for each industry to achieve sustainable environmental goals. Like other extensively growing industries, China's film and drama industry and inbound tourism are also responsible for contributing effectively toward a sustainable environment. Despite its significant importance, there is a dearth of empirical evidence that analyses these industry's environmental performance. Thus, this study fills the gap by applying the novel bootstrap ARDL approach and found that Inbound Tourism and Film and Drama industry increased environmental performance (reducing ecological footprint) in China. These results imply that entertainment industries and inbound tourism increased social awareness and encouraged environmental protection in societies and industries. Manifestly, the coefficient's magnitude of the Film and Drama industry is relatively lower due to a smaller share of the overall economy. However, it shows significant potential for sustainability by creating awareness about sustainable practices and corporate social responsibility, leading to higher environmental performance. Moreover, a feedback effect (two-way causality) exists between Film and Drama industry, Inbound Tourism, and environmental performance. These results offer valuable policy recommendations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In spite of the considerable research on construction labor management, labor resource availability remains a challenge for China's construction projects. The reason is the separation between contractors and laborers caused by the main labor resource utilization method, namely, labor subcontracting rather than direct recruitment. Service-oriented concept and technology are introduced by multiple industries for the management and optimal allocation of distributed resources, and have the potential to solve the problem of labor resource availability faced by China's construction industry. However, insufficient conceptual understanding impedes implementation. Accordingly, this research extends the service-oriented concept to construction labor and proposes a conceptual framework for explanation, thereby contributing to the body of knowledge. In this framework, a service-oriented labor resource management model called labor-as-a-service is covered and described from three aspects: organizational relationship, managerial process, and technical framework. A strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats analysis is conducted to preliminarily investigate the potential of the proposed framework. Results show that the conceptual framework suits China's conditions and has the potential to improve labor resource management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Prior to COVID-19, the tourism industry was one of the important sectors of the world economy. This study intends to measure the perception of Chinese tourists concerning the spread of COVID-19 in China. The crowding perception, xenophobia, and ethnocentrism are the measurement indicators of the study. A five-point Likert scale is used to predict the perception of the tourists in various destinations. The Kaiser–Mayer–Olkin test and Cronbach's alpha are conducted to ensure the validity and reliability of the corresponding items. SPSS version 21 is used to obtain factor loading, mean values, and standard deviation. Regression analysis is used to measure the strength of the constructs' relationship and prove the hypotheses. Questionnaires have been filled from 730 Chinese respondents. Artificial neural networks and confusion matrices are used for validation and performance evaluation, respectively. Results show that crowding perception, xenophobia, and ethnocentrism caused the spread of COVID-19 during the epidemic. Hence, the tourism industry in China is adversely affected by COVID-19. The crisis management stakeholders of the country need to adopt policies to reduce the spread of COVID-19. The tourism sector needs to provide confidence to the tourists. It will provide ground for the mental strength of the tourists in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China's green growth has shown a trend of fluctuation year by year. Simultaneously, Chinese local governments have pursued simple economic growth driven by the interests of "political competition" for a long time, while the supervision of the ecological environment has been loosened and tightened. In this environment, financial development and technological innovation may easily become the accelerator of this phenomenon, thus exacerbating the fluctuation of green growth. To deeply excavate the key factors to achieve stable and sustained growth of green economy, based on the annual panel data of 30 provinces in China from 2011 to 2018, this paper studies the impact of financial development and technological innovation on the volatility of green growth using dynamic system GMM method. The findings of this paper are shown as follows: First, the expansion of financial institutions' scale will significantly enhance the volatility of green growth. Second, the increase in the scale of the stock market will also significantly cause green growth fluctuations. Third, the interaction between financial development and technological innovation can significantly weaken the volatility of green growth. Fourth, financial development measured by stock market indicators is more efficient than financial development measured by financial institutions indicators to curb the volatility of green growth. Fifth, the fluctuation of green growth in the previous period will reduce the volatility of green growth in the current period. This study provides new evidence for exploring the power source to promote the stability and sustainable growth of the green economy in the special stage of financial and technological integration. Controlling the development scale of financial institutions and removing their state preferences, expanding the development of capital markets, and deepening the integration of financial development and technological innovation are conducive to achieve stable green growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A lockdown due to the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) resulting in the closure of largest industries in the world for a period of 2 months was enough to cause a drop of 7% of the anthropogonic carbon dioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere. Besides, the atmosphere oceans play a key role to buffer the greenhouse effect. Herein, the resultant reduction in CO2 emissions on the productivity of the global oceans are studied. Often chlorophyll-a (chl-a), particulate inorganic and organic carbon (PIC:POC), and sea surface temperature (SST), are used to indicate the productivity of oceans. Based on the satellite estimates, a drop in chl-a is observed in North Europe, South China and Southeast USA during the pandemic. The observed reduction in mean chl-a by around 5% in China may have occurred due to a drop of 123 tonnes of CO2 emissions. A cooling response of 0.5°C in mean SST is observed over most of the coastal areas. A considerable drop in CO2 emissions in the North Indian Ocean translates into a drop of mean SST in the region by 5%. All these suggest that maintaining global activities as sustainable as the pandemic period, can help to recover the oceans. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Engineering procurement and construction (EPC) is a normative practice globally approved since China has been engaging in international cooperation under the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) infrastructure development. EPC has been adopted in the delivery of BRI infrastructure projects in other countries. Compared to the domestic method of contract, EPC remains at a low level in management practice, such as a lack of coordinating diverse project stakeholders, high cost of information communication, and risk in complex environments in West Asia (WA). However, no research has conducted a strategic analysis of the current situation of EPC for BRI infrastructure projects inWest Asian countries. This study aims to understand the current status quo of EPC for BRI projects in WA by performing a strength, weakness, opportunity, and threats (SWOT) analysis and with the support of data collected from the literature review and semi-structured interviews with EPC stakeholders. The study brings awareness along which internally and externally circumstances of the EPC for BRI infrastructure projects can be perceived by major stakeholders participating. The four critical strategies presented based on the SWOTs identified could help EPC firms develop and promote EPC to implement BRI infrastructure projects in WA at the strategic level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aimed to investigate the current state of research on antibacterial dental adhesives. The interest in this field can be drawn from an increasing number of scholarly works in this area. However, there is still a lack of quantitative measurement of this topic. The main aim of this study was to consolidate the research published on the antibacterial adhesive from 1996 to 2020 in Web of Science indexed journals. The bibliometric method, a quantitative study of investigating publishing trends and patterns, was used for this study. The result has shown that a gradual increase in research was found, whereby a substantial increase was observed from 2013. A total of 248 documents were published in 84 journals with total citations of 5107. The highly cited articles were published mainly in Q1 category journals. Most of the published articles were from the USA, China, and other developed countries; however, some developing countries contributed as well. The authorship pattern showed an interdisciplinary and collaborative approach among researchers. The thematic evaluation of keywords along with a three-factor analysis showed that 'antibacterial adhesives' and 'quaternary ammonium' have been used commonly. This bibliometric analysis can provide direction not only to researchers but also to funding organizations and policymakers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Additive manufacturing, including 3D printing (3DP), is one of the critical pillars of Industry 4.0 and the next construction revolution. Several countries, including China, have utilized 3DP on larger scales or real projects. However, reviews of the lessons learned from previous large-sized practices of 3DP utilization are scarce. This paper presents a few practical applications of implementing 3DP over the past decade and suggests a direction for future research work. Recent publications on 3DP practices are systematically reviewed using an interpretivist philosophical lens, and more specifically, the nozzle characteristics are focused upon. The Scopus and China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) journal databases are utilized, resulting in the examination of 54 English and 62 Chinese papers. The selected practices from Mainland China, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Macao are considered for this review. A content critical review approach is adopted, and the identified papers are critically reviewed. These papers reported key challenges and advantages from their reported practices, such as limitations in aggregate sizes, nozzle sizes, standards, post-occupancy satisfaction, final product quality, productivity challenges and other associated risks. The paper reports upon prominent limitations and signposts directions for future investigations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This section offers news briefs related to the library and information science (LIS) sector as of March 2010. The LIS department of Allama Iqbal Open University (AIOU) of Islamabad, Pakistan is urging the North-West Frontier Province (NWFP) to recognize its Master in LIS (MLIS) degree. The national mobile library Kitab Bus has been launched in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. The National Library in Beijing, China has reached its 100th anniversary.

Bovine mastitis, caused by Streptococcus agalactiae (Group B Streptococcus; GBS), poses significant economic challenges to the global dairy industry. Mouse models serves as valuable tools for assessing GBS-induced infections as an alternative to large animals. This study aimed to investigate the LD50 dose, organ bacterial load, and quantification of peritoneal leukocyte populations for GBS serotypes Ia and II isolates from China and Pakistan. Additionally, we measured indicators such as lactoferrin, albumin, and myeloperoxidase (MPO) activity. Pro-inflammatory cytokines (TNF-α, IL-1β, IL-6, and IL-2) and anti-inflammatory cytokines (IL-10 and TGF-β) in serum and tissue samples were evaluated using ELISA and qPCR, respectively. BALB/c mice (4 mice per group) received individual intraperitoneal injections of 100 μl containing specific bacterial inoculum concentrations (ranging from 105 to 109 CFU per mouse) of Chinese and Pakistani GBS isolates (serotypes Ia and II). Control groups received 100 μL of sterile PBS. Results revealed that the LD50 bacterial dose causing 50 % mortality in mice was 107 CFU. The highest bacterial load in all experimental groups was quantified in the peritoneum, followed by blood, mammary gland, liver, spleen, lungs, and brain. The most significant bacterial dissemination was observed in mice inoculated with Pakistani serotype Ia at 24 h, with a subsequent notable decline in bacterial counts at day 3. Notably, infection with Pakistani serotype Ia showed a trend of increased total leukocyte counts, significantly higher than Pakistani serotype II, Chinese Serotype Ia, and Chinese serotype II. A substantial influx of neutrophils and lymphocytes was observed in response to all tested serotypes, with Pakistani serotype Ia inducing a significantly higher influx compared to other groups (Pakistani serotype II, Chinese serotype Ia, and Chinese serotype II). Furthermore, TNF-α, IL-1β, IL-2, and IL-6 expressions were significantly increased in mice one day after infection with the Pakistani serotype Ia. Compared to mice infected with the Pakistani serotype II, Chinese Serotype Ia, and Chinese serotype II, those infected with the Pakistani serotype Ia isolate exhibited the highest production of IL-10 and TGF-β, along with significantly increased concentrations of lactoferrin, albumin, and MPO. These findings suggest that the persistence and severity of infection caused by the Pakistani serotype Ia may be linked to its ability to spread to deeper tissues. This study enhances our understanding of the clinical characteristics of bovine mastitis caused by S. agalactiae in China and Pakistan. • Pakistani GBS serotype Ia spreads faster than Pakistani serotype II, Chinese serotypes Ia/II in mice organs. • Pakistani serotype Ia induces higher pro/anti-inflammatory cytokines than serotype II, Chinese serotypes Ia/II in mice. • Pakistani serotype Ia raises more inflammatory indicators than serotype II, Chinese Ia/II in mice. • Mouse models offer practical GBS infection assessment as an alternative to large animals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Connected speech processes (CSPs) occur randomly in everyday conversations of native speakers; however, such phonological variations can bring about challenges for non-native listeners. Looking at CSP literature, there seems to be very few studies that involved young foreign language learners. Therefore, the present study aimed to explore the development of connected speech perception skills by focusing on 201 9- to 12-year-old Chinese EFL children. It also incorporated systematic error analysis to further probe into the specific perceptual difficulties. The results indicate that: (1) Despite a significantly ascending trend for the overall growth of perception skills, no significant differences were found between 11 and 12 year olds in elision and contraction, which suggests that the developmental trend varied depending on different CSP types; (2) Although random errors decreased with age, the number of lexicon and syntax errors gradually increased, and the distribution of perceptual errors shifted from the level of words and syllables to that of phonemes; (3) The primary types of errors resulting in the perception difficulties for elision and contraction were consonant errors, grammatical errors and morphology errors. Ergo, this study enhances the understanding of connected speech perception among EFL children and provides some implications for EFL/ESL listening instructions., (© 2024 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston.)

The health and wellness of people through life expectancy, mortality rate improvement, and sustaining the productivity of labor contributes a lot to national income. Infrastructure development consumes energy and releases carbon dioxide at different stages of the construction process. The current study explores the nexus between CO 2 emission, energy consumption, mortality, life expectancy, and GDP in the top five carbon-emitting countries by using time series data from 1975 to 2015. The study used a cointegration technique to find the long- and short-run relationships between study variables. The study also used a structural break test to identify the break time. The results of the correlation matrix show strong positive correlation between CO 2 emissions and energy consumption. It also reflects a weak correlation with mortality and life expectancy in Japan and Russia. The results of the ADF test indicated that the series are stationary at first difference and provided evidence to use Johansen cointegration test for long- and short-run relationships between independent series. Vector error correction term and ECT method are used to find long-run relationships between cointegrated series and adjustment parameters. For the structural breaks of health indicators and energy consumption study, we used the Gregory Hanson structural break. Mortality rate and life expectancy rate of China, U.S., Russia, India, and Japan show relevant policy changes with economic policies of each country.

Objective: To study phenotype-genotype data of Asian-Indian Kallmann syndrome (KS) from our center and systematically review the studies analyzing multiple congenital hypogonadotropic hypogonadism (CHH) genes in KS cohorts using next-generation sequencing., Design, Patients, Measurement: Five hundred twenty-two KS probands (our center n = 78, published studies n = 444) were included in this systematic review. Molecular diagnosis was considered if the likely pathogenic/pathogenic variant in known CHH gene/s was reported in the appropriate allelic state. Varsome prediction tool (following American College of Medical Genetics standards) was used to analyze the variants., Result: For our center, the molecular diagnosis was seen in 20.5% of probands and was seen more often with severe than partial reproductive phenotype (28.3% vs. 4%, p = .0013). Our center data adds eight novel variants. The molecular diagnosis was seen in 31% as per the systematic review and analysis. It ranged from 16.6% to 72.2% at different centers. The affected genes were FGFR1 (9.8%), ANOS1 (7.5%), PROKR2 (6.1%), CHD7 (5.4%), oligogenic (2.1%), and others <1% each (FGF8, SOX10, PROK2, SEMA3A, IL17RD, and GNRHR). FGFR1 and ANOS1 were the commonly affected genes globally, whereas PROKR2 was commonest in studies from China and CHD7 from Japan, South Korea and Poland., Conclusion(s): This systematic review highlights that the genetic yield is 31% in KS probands, with distinct regional variations. The association of severe reproductive phenotype with the higher genetic yield needs further validation., (© 2022 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

The Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) spread rapidly from China to most other countries around the world in early 2020 killing millions of people. To prevent virus spread, world governments implemented a variety of response measures. This paper's objectives were to discuss the country's adopted measures to combat the virus through June 2020, identify gaps in the measures' effectiveness, and offer possible mitigations to those gaps. The measures taken included screening device deployment across international air and land ports, flight suspensions and closures from COVID-19 affected countries, and declaration and extension of a national public holiday (equivalent to lockdowns in other countries). Identified gaps were test kit, PPE, ICU beds, and ventilator shortages, limited public awareness, and insufficient coordination and collaboration among national and international partners. Proper and timely risk mapping, preparedness, communication, coordination, and collaboration among governments and organizations, and public awareness and engagement would have provided sufficient COVID-19 mitigation in Bangladesh., (© 2022. The Author(s).)

This paper examines the impact of environmental uncertainty and environmental regulation on enterprises' green technological innovation, using a panel data of Chinese A-share listed companies in Shanghai and Shenzhen from 2005 to 2019 to conduct an empirical study using an OLS model and Poisson regression model. We employ environmental complexity and environmental dynamism to measure environmental uncertainty, and we have the following findings: first, both environmental uncertainty and environmental regulation promote enterprises' green technological innovation, while environmental regulation has positive moderating effects on the relationship between environmental uncertainty and enterprises' green technological innovation; second, environmental complexity positively affects enterprises' green technological innovation, while environmental dynamism has negative effects on enterprises' green technological innovation; third, environmental regulation accentuates the relationship between environmental complexity and green technological innovation, while it weakens the relationship between environmental dynamism and green technological innovation.

The study differs substantially from earlier studies, by probing the environmental consequences of foreign aid and selected key economic indicators with a special focus on Sino-Africa. The study focused on China and its top foreign aid recipients in Africa in the last decade. This paper utilizes the Dynamic Augmented Mean Group Estimator (AMG), a robust and recent econometric approach to provide better statistical inferences; crucial for policy formulation and future reforms on foreign aid, trade, energy, pollutions, and economic growth of economies. The findings of the study revealed the China's Foreign aid oriented towards infrastructure has varying impacts on the economic growth and the environment of most recipient African Countries. The findings revealed the incidence of foreign aid ameliorating pollution of the countries: Nigeria and Morocco under strong domestic institutions. The study is of key relevance for policymakers and stakeholders as it explicates the key pillars, policies, and guidelines needed for foreign aid, trade, economic growth, and related internal reforms for mitigating resulting environmental pollution across a wider international context., (© 2022. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature.)

Esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) shows remarkable variation in incidence that is not fully explained by known lifestyle and environmental risk factors. It has been speculated that an unknown exogenous exposure(s) could be responsible. Here we combine the fields of mutational signature analysis with cancer epidemiology to study 552 ESCC genomes from eight countries with varying incidence rates. Mutational profiles were similar across all countries studied. Associations between specific mutational signatures and ESCC risk factors were identified for tobacco, alcohol, opium and germline variants, with modest impacts on mutation burden. We find no evidence of a mutational signature indicative of an exogenous exposure capable of explaining differences in ESCC incidence. Apolipoprotein B mRNA-editing enzyme, catalytic polypeptide-like (APOBEC)-associated mutational signatures single-base substitution (SBS)2 and SBS13 were present in 88% and 91% of cases, respectively, and accounted for 25% of the mutation burden on average, indicating that APOBEC activation is a crucial step in ESCC tumor development., (© 2021. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature America, Inc.)

The Sarough watershed in NW Iran hosts a large amount of mineral occurrences and ore deposits which may be considered as the source of heavy metals in the region. The area has been studied previously; however, the methodology of this paper was less focused on previous studies. This study aimed to assess water quality, determine the spatial distribution pattern, and identify the sources of heavy metals in the main tributaries of Sarough watershed using pollution indexes, multivariate statistical methods, and processing data by geographic information system. Totally, 51 water samples were collected along the main rivers to determine the concentrations of heavy metals by ICP-MS. Regarding the drinking water, agriculture, and freshwater aquatic life guidelines, the rivers were assumed unsafe considering most of toxic elements' content, especially As. The mean values for heavy metal pollution indexes (HPI: 237.32) and metal indexes (MI: 25.37) indicated the intensive heavy metal pollution. The cluster analysis categorized the 51 sampling sites into four clusters with respect to pollution level. The results obtained from the Kruskal-Wallis and multiple comparison tests had the harmony with the results of CA in introducing the most impacted sampling sites and the parameters responsible for water quality degradation. The results of PCA showed the maximum similarity between As, Sb, Se, Fe, and Mn as well as base metals which was attributed to anthropogenic input from mining and mineral processing wastes. Association of Cr and Ni may suggest a lithology source (weathering of metamorphosed ultramafic outcrops). The maps prepared in the GIS system showed the spatial distribution pattern of toxic elements with maximum values nearby mining sites which decreases gradually toward downstream areas. Finally, the results showed that the Sarough River and its tributaries are influenced by high concentrations of heavy metals from the drainages of mining and ore processing sites and naturally occurring metal loadings as well as the geogenic sources such as weathering of geologic formations and hot springs., (© 2021. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.)