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Objective: Although the TyG index is a reliable predictor of insulin resistance (IR) and cardiovascular disease, its effectiveness in predicting major adverse cardiac events in hospitalized acute coronary syndrome (ACS) patients has not been validated in large-scale studies. In this study, we aimed to explore the association between the TyG index and the occurrence of MACEs during hospitalization. Methods: We recruited ACS patients from the CCC-ACS (Improving Cardiovascular Care in China-ACS) database and calculated the TyG index using the formula ln(fasting triglyceride [mg/dL] × fasting glucose [mg/dL]/2). These patients were classified into four groups based on quartiles of the TyG index. The primary endpoint was the occurrence of MACEs during hospitalization, encompassing all-cause mortality, cardiac arrest, myocardial infarction (MI), and stroke. We performed Cox proportional hazards regression analysis to clarify the correlation between the TyG index and the risk of in-hospital MACEs among patients diagnosed with ACS. Additionally, we explored this relationship across various subgroups. Results: A total of 101,113 patients were ultimately included, and 2759 in-hospital MACEs were recorded, with 1554 (49.1%) cases of all-cause mortality, 601 (21.8%) cases of cardiac arrest, 251 (9.1%) cases of MI, and 353 (12.8%) cases of stroke. After adjusting for confounders, patients in TyG index quartile groups 3 and 4 showed increased risks of in-hospital MACEs compared to those in quartile group 1 [HR = 1.253, 95% CI 1.121–1.400 and HR = 1.604, 95% CI 1.437–1.791, respectively; p value for trend < 0.001], especially in patients with STEMI or renal insufficiency. Moreover, we found interactions between the TyG index and age, sex, diabetes status, renal insufficiency status, and previous PCI (all p values for interactions < 0.05). Conclusions: In patients with ACS, the TyG index was an independent predictor of in-hospital MACEs. Special vigilance should be exercised in females, elderly individuals, and patients with renal insufficiency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: Blue oat mite species mainly include Penthaleus major, P. falcatus, P. tectus, and P. minor. Among them, P. major, P. falcatus and P. tectus are important pest mites on gramineous crops, which often occur in low-temperature and high-humidity environments. These three mites are difficult to distinguish in the field due to their small size and similar shape. Furthermore, they exhibit different resistance to chemical pesticides, making it challenging to control their outbreak. Worryingly, we only saw reports of frequent occurrence of P. major in winter wheat regions in China, and no other species of blue oat mites were found. Understanding the distribution pattern, genetic diversity, and genetic differentiation among populations of blue oat mite species in winter wheat regions of China is essential for developing effective control programs. In this study, we evaluated the distribution of blue oat mites in the major wheat regions in China and assessed the level of genetic diversity and genetic structure of blue oat mites from winter wheat regions of China using mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase I (COI) sequences. Blue oat mite species, including Penthaleus major and P. tectus, are pests widely distributed across China that cause damage to winter wheat. This study evaluated the genetic diversity of P. major and P. tectus on Triticum hosts collected from 23 geographic locations based on mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI) sequences. We identified nine haplotypes in 438 P. major individuals from 21 geographic locations and five haplotypes in 139 P. tectus individuals from 11 geographic locations. Meanwhile, P. major exhibits high values of haplotype diversity (Hd) and nucleotide diversity (Pi) (Hd = 0.534 > 0.5 and Pi = 0.012 > 0.005), representing a large stable population with a long evolutionary history. P. tectus shows low values of Hd and Pi (Hd = 0.112 < 0.5 and Pi = 0 < 0.005), which suggest recent founder events. Moreover, demographic analysis suggested that P. major and P. tectus have not undergone a recent population expansion. The lowest genetic variation was observed in Xiangzhou (XZ-HB), Zaoyang (ZY-HB), Siyang (SY-JS), and Rongxian (RX-SC), with only one species and one haplotype identified in over 30 individuals. Robust genetic differentiation was found in P. major compared to P. tectus, which provides a theoretical basis for the widespread distribution of P. major in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Question: How conservation and forest type affect macrofungal compositional diversity is not well understood. Even less is known about macrofungal associations with plants, soils, and geoclimatic conditions. Location: Southern edge of boreal forest distribution in China, named as Huzhong Nature Reserve. Methods: We surveyed a total of 72 plots for recording macrofungi, plants, and topography in 2015 and measured soil organic carbon, nitrogen, and bulk density. Effects of conservation and forest types on macrofungi and plants were compared, and their associations were decoupled by structural equation modeling (SEM) and redundancy ordination (RDA). Results: Conservation and forest type largely shaped macrofungal diversity. Most of the macrofungal traits declined with the conservation intensities or peaked at the middle conservation region. Similarly, 91% of macrofungal traits declined or peaked in the middle succession stage of birch‐larch forests. Forest conservation resulted in the observation of sparse, larch‐dominant, larger tree forests. Moreover, the soil outside the Reserve had more water, higher fertility, and lower bulk density, showing miscellaneous wood forest preference. There is a complex association between conservation site characteristics, soils, plants, and macrofungi. Variation partitioning showed that soil N was the top‐one factor explaining the macrofungal variations (10%). As shown in SEM coefficients, conservation effect to macrofungi (1.1–1.2, p <.05) was like those from soils (1.2–1.6, p <.05), but much larger than the effect from plants (0.01–0.14, p >.10). For all tested macrofungal traits, 89%–97% of their variations were from soils, and 5%–21% were from conservation measures, while plants compensated 1%–10% of these effects. Our survey found a total of 207 macrofungal species, and 65 of them are new updates in this Reserve, indicating data shortage for the macrofungi list here. Conclusion: Our findings provide new data for the joint conservation of macrofungi and plant communities, highlighting the crucial importance of soil matrix for macrofungal conservation in boreal forests. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Improving water-holding functions is an important purpose of sustainable forest management. However, few studies have examined whether there are differences in water-holding capacities between the forests dominated by trees associated with different mycorrhizal types and what are the main factors leading to the differences. Here, we investigated seven parameters of water-holding capacities of soils, litter, and canopy interception in 210 forest plots (10 m × 10 m). The plots were equally divided into three forest types associated with mycorrhizal types, including AM plots (arbuscular mycorrhizal trees > 75% in dominance), ECM plots (ectomycorrhizal trees > 75%), and AM + ECM plots (between 25 and 75%). We calculated tree diversity (richness, Shannon–wiener index, Simpson index, evenness), community structure (diameter at breast height, height, under branch height, density, neighborhood comparison-U, uniform angle index-W, and mingling index-M), and soil physics (soil bulk density and field water content). The results showed that: (1) ECM-dominated communities increased 1.6–2.0-fold in the litter water-holding capacities than those of AM and AM + ECM. The canopy interception of the ECM community was the highest (0.97 mm), significantly higher than that of the AM + ECM community (0.58 mm). (2) The ECM community had lower field soil water-holding capacity (p < 0.05) but 42–78% higher soil non-capillary water capacity than that of AM and AM + ECM (p < 0.05). (3) ECM forests were characterized by low tree species evenness, big-sized trees, and low bulk density, favoring increasing ecosystem water-holding capacities. Moreover, increasing ECM tree dominance enhanced the contribution of community structure to water-holding variations. (4) ECM trees increased ecosystem water-holding functions by direct effects (mainly on the litter) and indirect effects from soil physics (mainly on the soils) or tree size (mainly on the canopy) regulations. This study highlighted that ECM trees enhanced water-holding capacity, providing important information for planting and managing temperate water conservation forests. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Glomalin-related soil protein (GRSP) is a glycoprotein from the hyphae and spores of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi. Despite urbanization being the leading cause of present-day land-use changes, there is limited information available on the effects of urbanization on GRSP. We sampled soil from 257 plots in Harbin City, China, and surveyed forest characteristics, soil properties, and urbanization gradients related to ring road development, urban history, and land use. Two glomalin components (easily extracted glomalin, EEG; and total glomalin, TG) and their relative contributions to soil organic carbon (SOC: EEG/SOC, TG/SOC) were measured in the laboratory. We found exponential increases in EEG/SOC and TG/SOC from the most urbanized to the most rural regions, indicating that urbanization sharply reduced glomalin-related SOC sequestration. In general, 1.3–1.4-fold higher glomalin levels were found in the newly urbanized, previously rural areas, while glomalin contribution to SOC sequestration was lower by 38–59% for EEG and 74–85% for TG in the most urbanized regions compared to rural regions. Accompanying these recorded changes in glomalin, linear decreases in soil pH and electrical conductance were observed in all three urban-rural gradients from the urban center to the rural area, and steep decreases in conifer ratio and shrub richness were seen in two of the gradients. The complex associations among glomalin and forest characteristics, soil properties, and urbanization gradients were decoupled and cross-checked using redundancy analysis variation partitioning and structural equation model analysis. Urbanization indirectly changed glomalin features by altering soil properties, with soil properties accounting for over 60% of the glomalin variation. Forest characteristics and urbanization gradients contributed to 10–15% of the glomalin variation. With rapid urbanization occurring in China and on a global scale, glomalin variation should be considered when evaluating soil carbon sequestration and in developing effective forest management strategies, with the aim of ameliorating soil degradation in urbanized regions by rehabilitating glomalin accumulation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Understanding the associations between urbanization intensity and urban forest structural - taxonomic attributes is a central theme of urban ecology, biodiversity conservation and forest management for maximizing ecological services to design proper urban green infrastructure. By selecting a typical provincial capital city of Changchun as an example, the effects of urbanization intensity (low, medium and heavy urbanization as measured by impervious surface area, ISA) on landscape patterns and structural-taxonomic attributes of urban forests were investigated in this study. The results showed that the urban forest Patch Density (PD), Landscape Shape Index (LSI), Interspersion & Juxtaposition Index (IJI), Tree Density (TD), Canopy Density (CD), Species Richness (SR) and Species Diversity (H’ index) exhibited strictly monotonic increases with urbanization intensity, increasing by 162%, 60%, 44%, 37%, 50%, 85%, and 84% from low to heavy urbanization areas, respectively. In contrast, the forest Mean Euclidian Nearest Neighbor Distance (ENN-MN) and Health Condition grade (HC) monotonically decreased by 12% and 37%, respectively. Furthermore, regression analysis suggested that structural-taxonomic attributes were closely associated with forest-related landscape patterns, but urbanization intensity dramatically influenced these associations. Our findings highlight that the planning of urban green infrastructure, in particular, urban afforestation and associated management, should be different at different urbanization intensities. In low urbanization areas, low Total area (TA, forest area) requires construction of larger forest patches and the protection of large remnant trees, and TD and above ground biomass (AGB) could be increased by enhancing the Mean Fractal Dimension (FRAC-MN) and PD, respectively. In medium urbanization areas, the same increases in TD and AGB could be more effectively achieved by decreasing the IJI and Area-Weighted Mean Contiguity (CONTIG-MN). Moreover, in heavy urbanization areas, more attention should be paid to increasing forest patch aggregation and contiguity, and both tree diversity and evenness could be increased by enhancing the FRAC-MN index. Because these structural-taxonomic attributes are the basis of various forest ecological services, our findings indicate that regulation of some of these landscape metrics could improve urban forest services in Changchun. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Wild birds play a critical role in avian influenza virus (AIV) ecology and some outbreaks of avian influenza in human originate from wild birds, suggesting that epidemiological surveillance and interspecies-transmission analysis of AIVs in wild birds are critical. Since 2019, we have performed sampling in Yancheng Wetland along the East Asian-Australasian Flyway. Totally, 2054 fecal swabs were collected and one H3N8, two H3N1, one H10N8, and three H10N1 were isolated. Three H3 gene of AIVs we isolated belonged to Eurasian lineage, but the four H10 gene clustered into North American lineage. What's more, the H3 and the foreign H10 gene had generated novel reassortants in Yancheng wetland. Receptor binding assay indicated that nearly all strains, except D369/H10N1, presented a dual receptor-binding profile and bound to avian-type receptor preferentially. In animal experiment, all isolates could infect mice without prior adaptation and induce histopathological changes in mice lungs, moreover, all H3 subtype AIVs obviously triggered weight loss of mice. In addition to lung and turbinate, D322/H3N1, D338/H3N8, D211/H10N8 and D266/H10N1 could spread to brain and kidney or liver or spleen, showing a wider range of tissue tropism. Multiple mutants associated with mammalian adaptation were also detected in all isolates according to molecular analysis. These findings revealed that H3 and H10 AIVs circulating in wild birds in Yancheng Wetland underwent complex reassortment and increased mammalian adaptation, which highlighted the necessity to monitor the diverse reassortment of AIVs in wild birds and evaluate the risks of H3 and H10 viruses to human health. • H3 and H10 subtype of AIVs were isolated in migratory birds in Jiangsu Province. • North American lineage H10 gene were the first time discovered in Jiangsu Province. • H3 and H10 gene had generated novel reassortants. • All AIVs isolated in this study could infect mice without prior adaptation. • Some AIV isolates could be detected in brain, kidney, liver or spleen. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The glycoprotein known as glomalin-related soil protein (GRSP) is abundantly produced on the hyphae and spores of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) in soil and roots. Few studies have focused on its amount, composition and associations with soil properties and possible land-use influences, although the data hints at soil rehabilitation. By choosing a primary forest soil as a non-degraded reference, it is possible to explore whether afforestation can improve degraded farmland soil by altering GRSP. In this paper, close correlations were found between various soil properties (soil organic carbon, nitrogen, pH, electrical conductivity (EC), and bulk density) and the GRSP amount, between various soil properties and GRSP composition (main functional groups, fluorescent substances, and elements). Afforestation on farmland decreased the EC and bulk density (p < 0.05). The primary forest had a 2.35–2.56-fold higher GRSP amount than those in the plantation forest and farmland, and GRSP composition (tryptophan-like and fulvic acid-like fluorescence; functional groups of C–H, C–O, and O–H; elements of Al, O, Si, C, Ca, and N) in primary forest differed from those in plantation forest and farmland (p < 0.05). However, no evident differences in GRSP amount and composition were observed between the farmland and the plantation forest. Our finding highlights that 30 years poplar afforestation on degraded farmland is not enough to change GRSP-related properties. A longer period of afforestation with close-to-nature managements may favor the AMF-related underground recovery processes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Formulation of different ecological zone plans according to the corresponding protection targets and the necessity of proper conservation policy is one of the measures to achieve the goal of ecological conservation in China. In order to clarify the interrelation among key ecological zone plans, this paper carried out the research on spatial relation of priority areas of biodiversity conservation and three key ecological areas (key ecological function areas, key regions of ecological service function, national nature reserves) and the research on ecological conditions, based on multi-scale ecological spatial theme information, which incorporates elements like ecological quality and type, and by the aid of spatial information analysis and GIS modeling. The results showed a contrastively fine spatial consistency with 68.8% of priority areas of biodiversity conservation overlapping with three key ecological areas. Although the environment in priority areas of biodiversity conservation were in good conditions, protection pressure is also increasing, powerful supervision and protection should not be ignored. The environmental conditions in the overlapping areas, as a whole, were superior to those in the non-overlapping areas. Since two areas have different characteristics, targeted protection measures should be formulated based on this difference, which will be very important for biodiversity conservation in priority areas of biodiversity conservation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Measles remains a leading vaccine-preventable cause of child mortality worldwide. The incidence has increased recently in some areas. The authors retrospectively analyzed the epidemiological and clinical characteristics of 2473 measles patients in Shanghai from 2000 to 2009. There were 1909 measles cases during 2005-2009 (group II), whereas only 564 cases were reported during 2000-2004 (group I). In total, 60.87% patients in group II were younger than 9 months, which was significantly higher than that in group I (35.28%; P < .001). More complications, death cases, and less atypical rashes were found in recent years. In addition, 2181 of all the 2473 patients (88.19%) and 1112 of 1328 hospitalized children (83.73%) had not been vaccinated; most of them were immigrants. The results indicated that the rising number of immigrants accounted for the increased measles morbidity in Shanghai. The tendency of more young patients and increased complications suggest that some adjustments might be needed in vaccination administration and therapeutic strategy. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Feline panleukopenia (FPL) is a highly contagious infectious disease caused by infection with feline parvovirus (FPV) and canine parvovirus type 2 (CPV-2). In recent years, the number of cats with FPL has increased with the expansion of pet cat population in China. The feces of 51 cats with diarrhea symptoms collected from 2021 to 2022 in Eastern Shandong, China, were detected by polymerase chain reaction for parvovirus and other viruses related to feline diarrhea to investigate the prevalence and gene variation of parvovirus in cats. In all the 51 samples, 45.1% (23/51) were positive for at least one viral pathogen, and the positivity of parvovirus was 41.2% (21/51), showing a high prevalence. Multiple-pathogen testing indicated high-coinfection rates of 42.9% (9/21) with other common viruses in parvovirus-positive cats. Most of the coinfections are feline coronavirus (FCoV), followed by feline astrovirus (FAstV) and feline bocavirus (FBoV). The complete VP2 sequences of 21 parvoviruses were obtained. Among them, 20 sequences were identified as FPV, and only one was CPV-2c of Asian origin, which was first detected from cats in Eastern Shandong, China. A phylogenetic tree of the 20 FPVs was constructed together with 698 FPVs (cat/dog host) worldwide on the basis of complete VP2. The 18 FPVs displayed high-sequence identity to one another (99.8%–100%), and they were clustered into FPV-G1 group, whereas the other two were clustered into FPV-G3 group. The FPV-G1 group increased dramatically to become predominant after 2019 in China, contributing to the prevalence of A91S mutation due to 96.07% FPV-G1 with A91S mutation as well as 100% of FPV-G2 and 99.12% of FPV-G3 with 91A in the statistical analysis. This study enriched the understanding of the prevalence, molecular evolution, and cross-species transmission of parvovirus in cats and provided a basis for responding to challenges in the diagnosis and treatment of FPL. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: Phosphorus (P) is vital for ecosystem functioning, but how boreal forest succession affects soil P is not yet well defined. Method: We collected 134 soil samples from ten plant succession stages of climax vegetation of larch forests in the Greater Khingan Mts., northeast China, and measured soil total P (TP) and nine fraction-Ps, together with detailed records of trees, shrubs, herbs diversity, and geo-topographical conditions. Results: Our results showed that TP and nine fraction-Ps declined non-linearly in the chronosequence in concentration, and three organic fractions (NaHCO3-Po, NaOH-Po, and conc.HCl-Po) showed a similar non-linear decrease. The stoichiometric percent of Pi, conc.HCl-Pi and NaOH-Pi linearly increased (R2 = 0.81–0.92), and Po, NaOH-Po, and Re-P decreased linearly (R2 = 0.59–0.61). Partial ordination excluding geo-climatic impacts (30.8%) could identify the exact association between plant succession and P changes. The negative relations between tree diversity, biomass and organic fraction-Ps showed that P storage in tree biomass was responsible for soil P declines during plant succession, and tree diversity accelerated these P changes. In contrast, the significantly higher soil P in the grass stage was due to P's grass-upload function to surface soils. Conclusion: Our data highlighted that soil P was depleted, with a higher Pi proportion during plant succession in high-latitude boreal forests, favoring precise soil P management and evaluation of these forests. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Depletion of water resources has threatened water security in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei urban agglomeration, China. However, the relative importance of precipitation and urbanization to water storage change has not been sufficiently studied. In this study, both terrestrial water storage (TWS) and groundwater storage (GWS) change in Jing-Jin-Ji from 1979 to the 2010s were investigated, based on the global land data assimilation system (GLDAS) and the EartH2Observe (E2O) outputs, and we used a night light index as an index of urbanization. The results showed that TWS anomaly varied in three stages: significant increase from 1981 to 1996, rapid decrease from 1996 to 2002 and increase from 2002 to the 2010s. Simultaneously, GWS has decreased with about 41.5 cm (500% of GWS in 1979). Both urbanization and precipitation change influenced urban water resource variability. Urbanization was a relatively important factor to the depletion of TWS (explains 83%) and GWS (explains 94%) since the 1980s and the precipitation deficit explains 72% and 64% of TWS and GWS variabilities. It indicates that urbanization coupled with precipitation deficit has been a more important factor that impacted depletion of both TWS and GWS than climate change only, in the Jing-Jin-Ji region. Moreover, we suggested that the cumulative effect should be considered when discussing the relationship between influence factors and water storage change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To achieve near-continuous vertical observations of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in the planetary boundary layer (PBL), multi-channel whole-air sampling equipment onboard an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) platform was developed in this study. The equipment consists of a multi-position solenoid valve and specially designed lightweight quartz sampling canisters. The canisters have little adsorption loss of VOCs and good inter-canister reproducibility. The 7 d recovery test shows that most VOC species (97 %) had a 1-week decay within 20 %. Online instruments for measuring O 3 , NO 2 , CO, SO 2 , and meteorological parameters are also integrated into the UAV platform. During one take-off and landing, the UAV platform can reach 800 m above the ground within 40 min and take whole-air samples at six heights. Vertical profiles of VOCs and trace gases during the evolution of the PBL in south-western China are successfully obtained by deploying the newly developed UAV system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To understand the variation and patterns of vegetation coverage in the Yellow River Basin, as well as to promote regional ecological protection and maintain ecological construction achievements, MOD13Q1 data at a resolution of 250 m were used to calculate the annual average normalised difference vegetation index (NDVI) in a time series from 2000 to 2010. Using a variation coefficient, a Theil–Sen Median trend analysis, the Mann–Kendall test, and the Hurst index method, this study investigated the temporal and spatial variations of vegetation coverage characteristics of the Yellow River Basin. The results showed that (1) the vegetation coverage of the Yellow River appeared to have an overall trend of high in the southeast and west and low in the northwest; (2) the averaged NDVI of the whole basin fluctuated in a range of 0.3 to 0.4 from 2000 to 2010 (from 2000 to 2004 there were larger variations and these have been growing rapidly since 2005); (3) the NDVI was stable, 73.4% of the vegetation-coverage area fluctuated with a low-to-medium amplitude, while 27.6% of the area varied by a large amplitude; (4) the regions with improved vegetation coverage (62.9%) were far greater than the degraded regions (27.7%), while the sustained invariant area accounted for 9.4% of the total vegetation coverage regions; and (5) 86% of the vegetation-covered area was positively sustainable. The areas with sustainable improvement accounted for 53.7% of the total vegetation coverage area; the invariant area accounted for 7.8%. The area with sustainable degradation was 24.5%; the future variation in trends of the residual (14%) could not be determined. Therefore, continuous attention must be given to the variation in trends of vegetation in the sustainably degraded and underdetermined regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background. Osteoporosis is a systemic bone disease characterized by reduction of bone content. Bisphosphonates are first-line treatments for osteoporosis, but they have variable effectiveness. Genetic factors may explain these differences. The NF-κB signaling pathway plays a key role in the regulation of bone metabolism. We aimed to determine whether genetic variations in the NF-κB signaling pathway affect the effectiveness of alendronate in postmenopausal Chinese women with low bone mass. Methods. We recruited 455 postmenopausal Han Chinese women with primary osteoporosis or osteopenia aged 48–90 yrs who had experienced no spontaneous menses for at least 1 yr. All participants had dual X-ray absorptiometry (DEXA) bone mineral density (BMD) measurement at baseline and 1 yr after treatment. Treatment involved 1 yr administration of 70 mg oral alendronate weekly and 600 mg calcium and 125 IU of vitamin D daily. Thirteen tagSNPs in NF-κB1 (rs28362491, rs3774937, rs230521, rs230510, and rs4648068), RELA (rs7119750, rs11820062), and NLRC5 (rs289747, rs1566439, rs1684575, rs289726, rs289723, and rs41383) were chosen from the NCBI Locus Link and HapMap and genotyped individually. Genetic variation in these genes and the corresponding therapeutic response to alendronate treatment were analyzed. Results. Among the 13 tagSNPs, rs289747 was significantly correlated with the BMD change rate at the femoral neck (P = 0.048). This significance no longer existed after Bonferroni correction. We then performed principal component analysis (PCA) and found NLRC5 (rs289747 and rs1566439) were strongly correlated with alendronate efficacy in femoral phenotypes and were major components of BMD change values, particularly total hip and intertrochanteric phenotypes. Furthermore, the PLINK linear regression GLM model revealed that haplotype TT of RELA (rs7119750 and rs11820062) and ICCTA of NF-κB1 (rs28362491, rs3774937, rs230521, rs230510, and rs4648068) were associated with BMD of the total hip among each haplotype after 1 yr of treatment. Conclusion. The NF-κB1, RELA, and NLRC5 genetic variations affect the therapeutic response of alendronate treatment for postmenopausal osteoporosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Glomalin-related soil protein (GRSP) is essential for stable carbon and nutrient sequestration. The spatial variation of GRSP characteristics and its influencing factors after farmland-shelterbelt afforestation remain poorly understood. Thus, 750 soil samples were collected from 15 regions in 1-m soil profiles in the Northeastern China Plain. Nine GRSP traits (EEG[easily-extracted], TG[total extracted], EEG/TG, and GRSP's contribution to SOC[soil organic carbon], TN[total nitrogen], and TP[total phosphorus]), twenty environmental parameters, and the soil microbial composition were also investigated. In the whole Northeastern China Plain, TG was 5.03 g/ kg and 11 % was from EEG, within the reported literature range. EEG contributed 1–3 %, while TG contributed 35 %, 26 %, and 17 % to the SOC, TN, and TP. The coefficient of variations from 25 %–54 % manifested considerable inter-region variation. TG/TP in shelterbelts was 4 % (p = 0.02) higher than in farmlands at the 0–20 cm soil layer, and deep soils (40-100 cm) of poplar shelterbelts had 9 %–12 % higher TG, TG/SOC, and TG/TN than in farmlands. Ordination analysis revealed shelterbelts had more prominent GRSP traits than farmlands in cold and moist regions and more compacted soils. Two microbial groups were related to GRSP accumulation; the first group (Geobacillus , Balneimonas , Virgisporangium , Frankia , Candidatus Xiphinematobacter , Microlunatus , Geopora , Inocybe) was negatively correlated with TG, TG/SOC, and TG/TN but positively correlated with TG/TP and EEG/TP; the second group (Mortierella , Leveillula , Otidea Cryptococcus , Rhizophagus , Aleuria , Thelebolus , Candidatus Solibacter , Mesorhizobium , Phenylobacterium , Ralstonia , Anoxybacillus , Euzebya , Azoarcus , Polaromonas , Hyphomicrobium , Nutrosovibrio , Niabella) showed opposite associations. Pathway analysis showed that soil microorganisms enhanced the geo-climatic explaining power on GRSP variations but weakened the roles of soils and trees. Our data highlighted that GRSP-related soil management should fully consider these influencing factors for improving their microbial roles in soil conditioning. [Display omitted] • 750 soils quantified GRSP amounts and contribution to C, N and P in whole NE China Plain. • TG/TP in shelterbelts were 4 % (p = 0.02) higher than in farmlands at 0–20 cm soils. • Afforestation increased 9 %–12 % of TG-related carbon and nutrients sequestration in deep soils. • Ordination analysis found two microbial groups, but not Glomales alone, responsible for GRSP variations. • Cold-moist regions and compacted soils favor GRSP accrual in shelterbelts than farmlands. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Patients with schistosomal colorectal cancer (CRC) and nonschistosomal CRC have different clinicopathological features, laboratory test results and survival rates. Long-term infection with schistosomiasis in patients with CRC may affect the pathogenesis and subsequently change the mechanisms of CRC in these patients, resulting in changes in the survival rates of patients with schistosomal and nonschistosomal CRC. In China, the most common type of schistosomiasis is S. japonicum. The present study aimed to investigate the clinicopathological features and prognostic factors of schistosomal and nonschistosomal CRC. A total of 253 patients with schistosomal CRC and 2,885 patients with nonschistosomal CRC were analyzed and their symptoms, clinicopathological features and laboratory test results were retrospectively evaluated. Patients with CRC in the present study underwent radical resection at The First Affiliated Yijishan Hospital of Wannan Medical College between January 2012 and December 2018. A total of 3,138 patients with CRC were enrolled, 253 of whom were patients with schistosomal CRC. Patients were followed-up to examine differences in the 5-year survival rates between patients with schistosomal and nonschistosomal CRC to determine whether schistosomiasis impacted the prognosis of CRC. There were significant differences in age, sex, fecal occult blood positive, pathological T stage, and CA19-9, WBC, RBC and PLT levels between patients with schistosomal CRC and nonschistosomal CRC. For residents in areas with higher levels of schistosomiasis infections, especially middle-aged and elderly males, serum tumor markers and digestive tract endoscopy should be regularly evaluated to detect the presence of digestive tract tumors as early as possible. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Although many studies have investigated Mendelian susceptibility to mycobacterial disease (MSMD) worldwide, there is no report of the long-term clinical management and prognosis for MSMD in China. Methods: This is a cohort study from January 2000 to June 2018. Three hundred and twenty-four patients with bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) infection were diagnosed during this period, and those with MSMD diagnosed by genetic and functional experiments were enrolled in the study. The clinical and genetic characteristics and management of these MSMD patients were summarized. Results: Thirty patients diagnosed with MSMD were followed up. The age at the follow-up end point ranged from 5 to 173 months. Among the patients, IL12RB1 mutations were identified in 22, IFNGR1 mutations in 5, STAT1 mutations in 2, and IFNGR2 mutation in 1. The medium age at onset was 3 months. BCG infection involved multiple organs, including regional infection (8/30; 26.7%) or distant or disseminated infection (22/30; 73.3%). Ten percent (30/324) of patients with BCG infection had a confirmed MSMD diagnosis. Protein expression of IL12RB1 or IFNGR1 was decreased in all patients with IL12RB1 or IFNGR1 mutation, respectively, as indicated by flow cytometry. In addition, 77.8% of patients received rhIFN-γ treatment, which can improve the prognosis of patients with IL12RB1 deficiency. Two patients received stem cell transplantation. Twenty-five patients remained alive at the time of publication. Conclusion: MSMD is an important cause of BCG infection. Flow cytometric detection of IL12RB1 and IFNGR1 expression is very useful for rapid MSMD diagnosis. rhIFN-γ therapy is effective in patients with MSMD, particularly improving prognosis in those with IL12RB1 deficiency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Soil nitrogen (N) is an essential nutrient for tree growth, and excessive N is a source of pollution. This paper aims to define the effects of plant diversity and forest structure on various aspects of soil N cycling. Herein, we collected soils from 720 plots to measure total N content (TN), alkali-hydrolyzed N (AN), nitrate N (NO 3 −-N), ammonium N (NH 4 +-N) in a 7.2 ha experimental forest in northeast China. Four plant diversity indices, seven structural metrics, four soil properties, and in situ N 2 O efflux were also measured. We found that: 1) high tree diversity had 1.3–1.4-fold NO 3 −-N, 1.1-fold NH 4 +-N, and 1.5–1.8-fold N 2 O efflux (p < 0.05). 2) Tree growth decreased soil TN, AN, and NO 3 −-N by more than 13%, and tree mixing and un-uniform distribution increased TN, AN, and NH 4 +-N by 11–22%. 3) Soil organic carbon (SOC) explained 34.3% of the N variations, followed by soil water content (1.5%), tree diameter (1.5%) and pH (1%), and soil bulk density (0.5%). SOC had the most robust linear relations to TN (R2 = 0.59) and AN (R2 = 0.5). 4) The partial least squares path model revealed that the tree diversity directly increased NO 3 −-N, NH 4 +-N, and N 2 O efflux, and they were strengthened indirectly from soil properties by 1%–4%. The effects of tree size-density (−0.24) and spatial structure (0.16) were mainly achieved via their soil interaction and thus indirectly decreased NH 4 +-N, AN, and TN. Overall, high tree diversity forests improved soil N availability and N 2 O efflux, and un-uniform spatial tree assemblages could partially balance the soil N consumed by tree growth. Our data support soil N management in high northern hemisphere temperate forests from tree diversity and forest structural regulations. We found that plant diversity directly increased NO 3 −-N, NH 4 +-N and N 2 O efflux in soil. Soil physicochemical properties played a strong mediating role in the effect of forest structure on soil nitrogen availability. Tree size-density indirectly decreased the soil N availability via soil physicochemical properties, but the forest spatial distribution (mixing and un-uniform distribution) balanced part of the negative effect on soil N. Our results provide new insights into forest management and deepen our understanding of plant diversity and forest structure on the N cycle. [Display omitted] • Four soil N parameters from 720 soils, and 18054 trees were measured in 720 plots in NE China. • High tree diversity accompanied with 1.3–1.4-fold nitrate-N, 1.1-fold ammonium-N, and 1.5–1.8-fold N 2 O efflux. • The best predictors for soil N were soil organic carbon, water content, and diameter at breast height. • Tree growth decreased soil N availability, and tree mixing and distribution patterns balance part of these declines. • Tree size-density and spatial distribution contrarily affect soil N availability via soil properties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Shelterbelts decreased bulk density and total P and increased soil inorganic C in the 0–40 cm soil layer. • Shelterbelts decreased NO 3 −-N compared with that in farmlands, which was more evident in deep soils. • NO 3 −-N decrease in shelterbelt soil was due to decreasing nitrification and increasing ECM fungi. • Poplar directly affects soil properties, and indirect effects via microbes should be considered. • This data support a holistic evaluation of multiple soil properties of shelterbelt afforestation in degraded black soils. Black soils constitute the food basket of many countries, and the improvement of their properties has received increasing attention. We collected 750 samples at 0 to 1 m depth from poplar shelterbelts and farmlands of 15 regions within the NE China Plain. We measured soil organic carbon (SOC), inorganic carbon (SIC), nitrate nitrogen (NO 3 −-N), total N, available N, ammonia N (NH 4 +-N), total phosphorus (TP), available P, bulk density (BD), porosity, specific gravity, electrical conductivity (EC), water content (WC), pH, total Glomalin-related soil protein (TG) and easily extracted glomalin (EEG), soil microbial characteristics, and forest characteristics. The results showed that: 1) Pooled data collected from poplar shelterbelts decreased BD, TP and NO 3 −-N by 7%, 11% and 7%, and increased SIC by 16% (p < 0.05), respectively, in the 0–40 cm soil layer, and sharper NO 3 −-N decreases have been observed in the 40–100 cm soil layer soils. 2) Compared to farmlands, poplar shelterbelts decreased microbial α-diversity, and the undefined saprotroph-fungi abundance and microbial nitrification and denitrification by 9.25% to 11.67%, but increased ectomycorrhizal fungi dominance, complexity, and stability of microbial network compared with farmlands. 3) The partial least squares path model revealed that NO 3 −-N, TP, and BD changes were achieved by the direct effects of poplar growth and indirectly through soil microbial modification. At the same time, geo-climatic differences contributed to SIC changes. Poplar shelterbelts significantly affected soil properties in moist and warm areas, and the effects of shelterbelts on soil properties were more evident in the 0–40 cm layer than in the 40–100 cm layer. Our results highlight that, besides windbreaking functions, poplar shelterbelt's benefits for crop productivity should also include their effects on multiple soil properties into l m deep soils, soil microbial alteration, and associated with geoclimatic conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Efficient and accurate distinction of histopathological subtype of lung cancer is quite critical for the individualized treatment. So far, artificial intelligence techniques have been developed, whose performance yet remained debatable on more heterogenous data, hindering their clinical deployment. Here, we propose an end-to-end, well-generalized and data-efficient weakly supervised deep learning-based method. The method, end-to-end feature pyramid deep multi-instance learning model (E2EFP-MIL), contains an iterative sampling module, a trainable feature pyramid module and a robust feature aggregation module. E2EFP-MIL uses end-to-end learning to extract generalized morphological features automatically and identify discriminative histomorphological patterns. This method is trained with 1007 whole slide images (WSIs) of lung cancer from TCGA, with AUCs of 0.95–0.97 in test sets. We validated E2EFP-MIL in 5 real-world external heterogenous cohorts including nearly 1600 WSIs from both United States and China with AUCs of 0.94–0.97, and found that 100–200 training images are enough to achieve an AUC of > 0.9. E2EFP-MIL overperforms multiple state-of-the-art MIL-based methods with high accuracy and low hardware requirements. Excellent and robust results prove generalizability and effectiveness of E2EFP-MIL in clinical practice. Our code is available at https://github.com/raycaohmu/E2EFP-MIL. [Display omitted] • A novel end-to-end and highly-generalized weakly supervised deep learning method to aid in lung cancer subtype diagnosis. • Patch sampling module and feature aggregation module to learn features more effectively and comprehensively. • Data efficient, 100 to 200 slides instead of thousands of ones is enough obtain test AUCs of > 0.9. • International, multicentre evaluation showing a promising generalizability on more heterogenous real-world data. • Results better than the other deep learning methods in the identification of lung cancer subtypes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: We aimed to report the characteristics of leukocyte adhesion deficiency-I (LAD-I) and four novel mutations in the ITGB2 gene in a Chinese cohort. Methods: Seven patients with LAD-I were reported in our study. Clinical manifestations and immunological phenotypes were reviewed. The expression of CD18 was detected by flow cytometry. Next-generation sequencing (NGS) and Sanger sequencing were performed to identify gene mutations. Results: The mean onset age of all the patients was 1.3 months. Recurrent bacterial infections of the skin and lungs were the most common symptoms. Most patients (6/7) had delayed cord separation. The number of white blood cells (WBC) was increased significantly, except that two patients had a mild increase in the number of WBC during infection-free periods. The expression of CD18 was very low in all patients. Homozygous or compound heterozygous mutations in the ITGB2 gene were identified in each patient. Four mutations were novel, including c.1794dupC (p.N599Qfs*93), c.1788C>A (p.C596X), c.841-849del9, and c.741+1delG. Two patients had large deletions of the ITGB2 gene. Five patients were cured by hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT). Conclusions: This study reported the clinical and molecular characteristics of a Chinese patient cohort. It is helpful in understanding the current status of the disease in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • Urban soil pH of urban forests increased with an increasing level of urbanization (p < 0.001). • The impervious surface coverage (TISC) is the main influencing factor that has both direct (TISC-pH) and indirect effects (TISC-BD-SWC-EC-pH chain) on urban forest soil alkalization. • Urbanization possibly leads to soil alkalization which is contrary to natural ecosystems. Soil pH in natural ecosystems is experiencing outstanding changes because of acid deposition, especially in the background of global climate change, which significantly alters the ecological material cycle and affects ecosystem function. However, in urban ecosystems, the direction and pattern of forest soil pH variation affected by urbanization are still unclear. In this study, we obtained the level of urbanization by remote sensing and combined it with urban forest soil properties obtained from field sampling to ascertain the effects of urbanization on the soil in Changchun city, Northeast China. Our results showed that the urban soil pH of urban forests was significantly higher than that in suburban (+3%) and outside-city forests (+33 %, p < 0.001) and that it increased with an increasing level of urbanization (p < 0.001). The other soil physical–chemical properties of urban forests in urban areas, such as soil electrical conductivity and EC (+41 %, p < 0.001; +172 %, p < 0.001) and soil water content and SWC (-9%; p > 0.05; −27 %, p < 0.001), were also significantly different from those in suburban and outside-city forests, but there were no evident changes in soil bulk density. Urbanization has caused topsoil soil water deficits and serious soil alkalization. The expansion of total impervious surface coverage (TISC) is the main influencing factor that has both direct (TISC-pH) and indirect effects (TISC-BD-SWC-EC-pH chain) on urban forest soil alkalization. Our findings highlight that urbanization possibly reverses the urban forest soil acidification risk and that its significance should be considered in global biogeochemical cycling. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This study aimed to determine the factors that influence patient satisfaction with ecdemic medical care. Materials and methods: Eight hundred and forty-four face-to-face interviews were conducted between October and November 2017 in two high-profile hospitals in Nanchang, China. Patient satisfaction was divided into lowest and highest satisfaction groups according the 80/20 rule. Demographic factors associated with patient satisfaction were identified by logistic regression models. Results: Respondents' main reasons for choosing a non-local hospital were "high level of medical treatment" (581/844), "good reputation of the hospital" (533/844), and "advanced medical equipment" (417/844). The top three items that dissatisfied the ecdemic patients were "long time to wait for treatment" (553/844), "complicated formalities" (307/844), and "poor overall service attitude" (288/844). Fewer female patients (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] =1.47, 95% confidence interval [CI] =1.03–2.11), patients with a family per-capita monthly income (FPMI) between 3,001 and 5,000 CNY (AOR =1.40, 95% CI =1.01–2.17), inpatients (AOR =1.46, 95% CI =1.01–2.13), and more patients with an FPMI >7,000 CNY (AOR =0.43, 95% CI =0.20–0.92) were detected in the lowest satisfaction group. Fewer patients with an associate's or bachelor's degree (AOR =2.40, 95% CI =1.37–4.20) and patients with an FPMI >7,000 CNY (AOR =3.02, 95% CI =1.10–8.33) were detected in the highest satisfaction group. Moreover, more inpatients (AOR =0.70, 95% CI =0.54–0.97) and those aged 46–65 years (AOR =0.63, 95% CI =0.33–0.98) were detected in the highest satisfaction group. Conclusion: Findings suggested that managers of the medical facilities should note the importance of increasing their publicity through a rapidly developing media, as well as the necessity of creating a more patient-friendly medical care experience. Hospitals should also focus on the medical care experience of patients with relatively lower and higher income levels, male ecdemic patients, and ecdemic outpatients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Clinical diagnosis and treatment for chronic granulomatous disease (CGD) have advanced greatly in recent years. However, CGD patients in China have unique clinical features and infection spectrums, which are challenging to their caretakers. Here, we summarized the clinical characteristics, genetic features, treatment, and prognosis of CGD in a single center in Shanghai.Methods: One hundred sixty-nine CGD patients were recruited between January 2004 and May 2017 based on clinical diagnosis. Electronic medical charts were reviewed to collect clinical data.Results: Among the 169 patients recruited, CYBB mutations were identified in 150 cases, whereas CYBA mutations were identified in 7 cases, NCF1 in 5, and NCF2 in 7. The medium age at onset was 1 month (interquartile range 1-3). The medium age at diagnosis was 8 months (interquartile range 3-19). The most common infection sites were the lung (95.9%), lymph node (58.5%), skin (45.4%), intestinal (43.1%), and perianal (38.5%). Bacillus Calmette-Guérin (BCG) infections were common (59.2%). In addition, other non-infectious complications were also common, including anemia (55.4%) and impaired liver functions (34.6%). Thirty-one patients received stem cell transplantation. By the end of this study, 83/131 patients survived.Conclusions: Similar to other non-consanguineous populations, X-linked CGD accounted for the majority of the cases in China. However, BCG infections were a clinical challenge unique to China. In addition, severe infections were the major cause of death and the overall mortality was still high in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Soil P, soil fungi change in poplar shelterbelts compared with farmland, and the driving pathway-related mechanism. [Display omitted] • TP in poplar shelterbelts reduced by 27.75% compared with farmlands. • Shelterbelt reduced TP mainly in macroaggregates and HCl-Pi. • Shelterbelt-induced ECM fungi increased and stability of fungal network decreased. • Shelterbelt decreased P in macroaggregates via changes in fungal community structure. • Shelterbelt changed content of leaching fraction-P through soil pH and tree growth. Phosphorus (P) is an indispensable element for all life on Earth, and clarifying soil P components can favor the precise management of soil nutrients. This paper hypothesized that soil total P (TP) and P components in different aggregates and leachable fractions differed between poplar shelterbelts and farmlands. Such changes were strongly associated with fungal variations. Total 24 soil samples were collected from 0 to 40 cm soil layers in 12 pairs of poplar shelterbelts and neighboring farmlands in four sites in Northeast China Plain. The soil P was determined in three soil aggregates (macroaggregates, microaggregates, and silt + clay) and nine sequential leachable fractions (H 2 O-Pi, NaHCO 3 -Pi, NaHCO 3 -Po, NaOH-Pi, NaOH-Po, HCl-Pi, conc. HCl-Pi, conc. HCl-Po, and Re-P), and soil fungi in bulk soils were analyzed by Illumina sequencing. Our data revealed that poplar shelterbelts had 27.75% lower soil TP than neighboring farmlands, mainly occurring in macroaggregates (0.25–2 mm) with no changes in microaggregates and silt + clay. In leachable P fractions, reduced TP was caused by changes in HCl-Pi contributed 47.8%, and NaOH-Pi contributed 34.2% (low or medium plant-available). Poplar shelterbelts decreased the soil fungi diversity and network relations with fewer nodes, edges, and modularity but contained more ectomycorrhizal and less pathogenic fungi than farmlands. The macroaggregates P reduction was mainly driven by fungal community changes, while the fraction-P changes were more closely related to soil pH and tree growth of poplar trees. Our findings highlighted high P depletion from poplars, possible risks for plant availability, and soil fungi roles in the China shelterbelt program, supporting the evaluation and management of soil P-related nutrients in the farmland afforesting system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: Objectives: The incidence of human granulocytic anaplasmosis (HGA), a tick-borne disease caused by the obligate intracellular bacterium Anaplasma phagocytophilum, has increased across the world. However, information on HGA is lacking in China. The purpose of this study was to investigate the clinical features and outcomes of HGA patients in China. Methods: A total of 83 patients with HGA from the provinces of Hubei and Henan in China, who were admitted to Union Hospital between March 2009 and September 2010, were included in this study. We investigated the epidemiology, clinical features, laboratory markers, and therapeutic effects in these patients. We also analyzed life-threatening complications such as systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS)/multiple organ dysfunction syndrome (MODS) following HGA and assessed the risk factors for a poor clinical outcome. Results: In our study, an HGA outbreak peak was observed for the months May to August. The highest age-specific incidence occurred among the group of patients aged 50–59 years. With regard to patient occupation and pathological origin, we found that 73 of the 83 patients with HGA had a peasant occupation. With respect to symptoms, 45 patients had no complications and 38 patients diagnosed with HGA met SIRS criteria, of whom 25 rapidly developed MODS. The mortality for the entire cohort was 26.5%. The factors predictive of patients developing MODS and an adverse outcome were advanced age, disturbance of consciousness, highly elevated lactate dehydrogenase, creatinine, and aspartate aminotransferase levels, and the presence of SIRS. Moreover, MODS was found to be an independent predictor of death. Conclusions: In China, HGA patients had severe clinical symptoms and high rates of complications and mortality. These findings may provide useful information so that physicians will be on the alert for severe complications after a diagnosis of HGA; they will also be useful for optimizing supportive care for HGA-related critical illness. Prompt treatment and close monitoring of severe complications such as SIRS and MODS are of great importance in saving patient lives. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Marine sand is one of the most important marine mineral resources in the Pearl River estuary as well as nearby Hong Kong waters of China. For more healthy and order development of marine sand extraction activities, about 518km of initial seismic exploration and marine drilling of 5 validation boreholes with total footage of 176.7m were carried out in 2001 and 2002 respectively, and the preliminary overall situation of marine sand resources in the Pearl River estuary waters was clarified. Based on geological interpretation of GeoPulse seismic profiles and core sample analyses of boreholes, the Quaternary stratigraphic sequence in the Pearl River estuary was divided into four depositional units: the upper marine unit of Holocene marine mud, and other three late Pleistocene units: the upper terrestrial unit of weathered mottled clay, the lower marine unit of silty clay, and the lower terrestrial unit of alluvial sand. The main type of marine sand occurrence and the main exploration targets for marine sand resources are identified in the late Pleistocene paleo-Pearl River channel sand at the lower terrestrial unit. The most valuable marine sand resources are located in Holocene tidal channel which coincide with late Pleistocene paleo-channels where the Holocene marine mud overburden is thinner. Sustainable development and scientific management of marine sand resources in the Pearl River estuary waters must strengthen legal system construction, work out scientific exploitation planning, strengthen environmental impact research, and strictly enforce pertinent laws. In about 3000km2 Pearl River estuary waters tentative estimation of reserves of buried marine sand is 12.5×108 m3 in 20 sites, of which 10 sites with 5.38×108 m3 were suggested to be suitable for current exploitation, other part of these reserves were put aside for exploitation as their thick cover in 4 sites with 2.75×108 m3, seriously contaminated cover in 1 site with 2.5×108 m3 or ecological or environmental sensitivity in 5 sites with 5.38×108 m3. This research results can give some overall description of marine sand resources in the Pearl River estuary waters and provide scientific base for macroscopic management. Gassy sediments recorded by acoustic turbidity change the geoacoustic properties of the seabed, weaken geophysical exploration effect, and have great engineering and environment significance. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The increase of surface ozone during the Corona Virus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) lockdown in China has aroused great concern. In this study, we combine 1.5 years of measurements for ozone, volatile organic compounds (VOCs), and nitrogen oxide (NO X) at four sites to investigate the effect of COVID-19 lockdown on surface ozone in Dongguan, an industrial city in southern China. We show that the average concentrations of NO X and VOCs decreased by 70%–77% and 54%–68% during the lockdown compared to pre-lockdown, respectively. Based on the source apportionment of VOCs, the contribution of industrial solvent use reduced significantly (86%–94%) during the lockdown, and climbed back slowly along with the re-opening of the industry after lockdown. A slight increase in mean ozone concentration (3%–14%) was observed during the lockdown. The rise of ozone was the combined effect of substantial increase at night (58%–91%) and small reduction in the daytime (1%–17%). These conflicting observations in ozone response between day and night to emission change call for a more detailed approach to diagnostic ozone production response with precursor changes, rather than directly comparing absolute concentrations. We propose that the ratio of daily Ox (i.e. ozone + NO 2) enhancement to solar radiation can provide a diagnostic parameter for ozone production response during the lockdown period. Smaller ratio of daily O X (ozone + NO 2) enhancement to solar radiation during the lockdown were observed from the long-term measurements in Dongguan, suggesting significantly weakened photochemistry during the lockdown successfully reduces local ozone production. Our proposed approach can provide an evaluation of ozone production response to precursor changes from restrictions of social activities during COVID-19 epidemic and also other regional air quality abatement measures (e.g. public mega-events) around the globe. • Both VOCs and NO X significantly declined during the COVID lockdown in Dongguan China. • The largest reduction was observed from solvent use among various VOCs sources. • A new approach was proposed to evaluate the response of ozone production to precursor changes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tamarixia radiata is one of the established biocontrol pests against the major Asian citrus psyllid, Diaphorina citri, a vector of Candidatus Liberibacter that is a causal agent of citrus Huanglongbing (HLB) disease. Updated information and regional exploration on biocontrol pests are important elements for effective disease management strategies. In this study, the diversity and parasitism rate of T. radiata populations were evaluated. Due to the importance of the host–parasitoid relationship, the presence of Wolbachia as an endosymbiont was also investigated. The parasitism rate of various T. radiata populations from Ecuador and China ranged between 57.27% and 66.32%, respectively, with a non-significant emergence rate and a statistically similar sex ratio. Sequence analysis of ITS and COI from T. radiata populations was consistent with the morphological hypothesis that the collections represent a single species, whereas phylogeny of the wsp gene confirmed the presence of Wolbachia pipientis as an endosymbiont within T. radiata populations. Based on partial COI sequences, the maximum genetic diversity such as total haplotype diversity (Hd = 0.788), nucleotide, diversity (π = 0.2439), and average nucleotide difference (k = 171.844) was also estimated for different T. radiata populations. Furthermore, neutrality tests based on COI sequences indicated an overall contraction in T. radiata populations, whereas an expansion trend was observed in associated W. pipientis strains. This study clearly demonstrated the presence of genetically diverse T. radiata populations that were able to parasitize D. citri effectively, and these can be further explored as promising biocontrol candidates in integrated pest management strategies to solve citriculture economic loss caused by D. citri. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Quantified the effects on wetland distribution using structural equation model. • The infulence path of variables on wetland distribution is changing. • Human disturbance has become the major variable affecting wetland distribution. Wetlands are important to global ecosystems and are easily affected by changes in climate, soil properties, terrain, and human disturbances. To describe the effects quantitatively, structural equation modeling was applied to detect the impacts of these four latent variables on the distribution of wetlands in the Jing-Jin-Ji region in 1980, 1995, 2005, and 2015. The results of the models show that human disturbance and terrain conditions had negative effects on the distribution of wetlands, and their standard coefficients ranged from −0.084 to −0.011 and from −0.124 to −0.006, respectively. Climate and soil properties were beneficial for wetland distribution, and their standard coefficients ranged from 0.039 to 0.169 and from 0.015 to 0.290, respectively. The modeling results also indicate some differences in indirect influence among the four models, and 9 indirect pathways were detected in the four models. We also found that there was a significant negative correlation between the variation in the influencing factors and their impact on wetlands (p < 0.05), and the correlation coefficient was −0.71. These results indicate that the influence on the distribution of wetlands will change as in climatic conditions and human activities change over the long term, and the results of impact pathways could contribute to the restoration and management of wetlands. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]