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Quality evaluation of Chinese medicinal decoction pieces is vital for the development of the downstream industries, and is an important channel for implementing the strategy of "higher quality, higher price, and priority for the high quality" for traditional Chinese medicine. At the moment, the quality of Chinese medicinal decoction pieces is mainly evaluated based on chemical component examination. Considering the weak preliminary research foundation and poor research conditions, traditional experience-based evaluation is undervalued in the quality rating of Chinese medicinal decoction pieces. However, traditional experience is a summary of the quality of Chinese medicinal materials based on clinical experience, which thus can be a potential basis for the quality evaluation of the decoction pieces. It is a challenge in the evaluation of Chinese medicinal decoction pieces to objectify the traditional experience-based evaluation from multiple aspects such as chemistry, effect, and characterization via modern techniques. Therefore, this study developed the "experience-ingredients-activity-electronic sensing" evaluation system for Chinese medicinal decoction pieces on the basis of experience-based assessment, chemical ingredients that can truly reflect the traditional experience, biological effect assessment, and electronic sensory evaluation, which is expected to quantify the traditional experience of quality evaluation of Chinese medicinal decoction pieces via chemistry, biology, and sensory simulation. The evaluation system can serve as a reference for clinical experience-based quality evaluation of Chinese medicinal decoction pieces.

Based on the flow direction of the Fuhe River into Baiyangdian Lake, the impacted area of the Fuhe River was divided into 6 subareas, and sediments from 48 sites were collected in November 2020. The characteristics and risks of sediment nutrients and heavy metal pollution in these six subareas were investigated. The results showed that the average ω (TN), ω (TP), and ω (TOC) were 1841 mg·kg -1 , 769 mg·kg -1 , and 1.77%, respectively. The major heavy metals were Cd, Cu, Zn, Hg, and Pb, which were 3.73, 1.50, 1.42, 1.31, and 1.31 times the soil background values for Hebei Province, respectively. The TP and heavy metal (Cd, Cu, Zn, Hg, and Pb) content showed a decreasing trend from the Fuhe River estuary to the downstream Zaolinzhuang, whereas the TN and TOC content showed no marked trends. TN, TP, TOC, and heavy metals (Cd, Cu, Zn, Hg, and Pb) were enriched in surface sediments (0-10 cm). The TP content in the surface sediments (0-10 cm) of the Fuhe River estuary, Fuhe River estuary-Nanliuzhuang, and Nanliuzhuang subareas were heavily polluted; the Wangjiazhai and Guangdian subareas were moderately polluted; and the Zaolinzhuang subarea was slightly polluted. Cd and Hg were the major contributors to heavy metal pollution, which were at considerable risk and moderate risk levels, respectively. The heavy metals in surface sediments (0-10 cm) of the Fuhe River estuary, Fuhe River estuary-Nanliuzhuang, and Nanliuzhuang subareas were at a considerable risk level, and the sediments below 30 cm presented a low risk level. The leaching concentrations of heavy metals in sediments from the subarea of severe ecological risk level were far less than the identification standard values of leaching toxicity, suggesting that the sediments can be treated as general waste after dredging.

A dredging demonstration project in the Baiyangdian Lake included open waters and fishing ponds to reduce the internal release of nitrogen and phosphorus from bottom sediments. The dredging depth design was determined by both the sediment vertical distribution profile of total nitrogen and phosphorus, and the sediment adsorption-desorption equilibrium method. The determined dredging depths were very similar and coincident. The dredging depth for the demonstration area of open waters in Nanliuzhuang was identified as(50±10) cm; and the dredging depths for fishing ponds were(30±10) cm in both the Nanliuzhuang and Caiputai demonstration areas. The equilibrium nitrogen(NH 4 + -N) and phosphorus(SRP) concentrations at zero net sorption or desorption(ENC 0 and EPC 0 ) were significantly positively correlated with both exchangeable and total nitrogen and phosphorus in the sediments. The total nitrogen and phosphorus in the sediments were also used to predict the risk of their release from the bottom sediments to the overlying water column. The sediment layers with ENC 0 and EPC 0 values greater than the NH 4 + -N and SRP in the overlying water column indicated the sediments act as a source of dissolved nitrogen and phosphorus to the overlying water column in the Nanliuzhuang and Caiputai demonstration areas. Accordingly, the sediment layers with both total nitrogen concentrations greater than 750 mg·kg -1 and total phosphorus concentrations greater than 500 mg·kg -1 should be identified as dredging layers.

The prokaryotic community structure in river waters of the Ningbo Sanjiang Mouth was analyzed for the first time using 16S rRNA gene based-Illumina Miseq high-throughput sequencing. A total of 215 504 high-quality sequences were obtained, and the results of alpha-diversity analysis revealed that Yongjiang River Watershed (YRW) harbored high diversity and richness of prokaryotic communities. Taxonomic assignment analysis indicated that β-Proteobacterium, Actinobacteria and Bacteroidetes dominated in the river water of YRW, and accounted for 78. 88% of the total prokaryotic communities. Hydrological condition may play an important role in influencing the composition and structure of YRW prokaryotic community. In addition, several kinds of sewer- and fecal-pollution indicator bacterial groups were observed in this area with the highest abundance of pollution indicator bacteria occurring in the water sample of Yuyao River, implying that the Yuyao River might have a high potential risk of sewer- and fecal-pollution. Moreover, a total of 76 species and 18 subspecies of potential pathogenic bacteria, which accounted for 2. 19% and 0. 40% of total sequences respectively, were identified using BLASTN analysis with a local pathogenic bacteria database. Overall, this study provided an important basic data for shedding light on the structure and ecological function of YRW prokaryotic community.

Application of a biogeochemical model, DeNitrification and DeComposition or DNDC, was discussed to assess the impact of CH4 emissions on different soil database from rice fields in Taihu Lake region of China. The results showed that CH4 emissions of the polygon-based soil database of 1:50000, which contained 52034 polygons of paddy soils representing 1107 paddy soil profiles extracted from the latest national soil map (1:50000), were located within the ranges produced by the county-based soil database of 1:50000. However, total emissions of the whole area differed by about 1680 Gg CH4-C. Moreover, CH4 emissions of the polygon-based soil database of 1:50000 and the county-based soil database of 14,000,000, which was the most popular data source when DNDC model was applied in China, have a big estimation discrepancy among each county-based unit in spite of total emissions of the whole area by a difference of 180 Gg CH4-C. This indicated that the more precise soil database was necessary to better simulate CH4 emissions from rice fields in Taihu Lake region using the DNDC model.