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Background: Growing studies have indicated an association between dietary factors and gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD). However, whether these associations refer to a causal relationship and the potential mechanism by which dietary factors affect GERD is still unclear. Methods: A two-step mendelian randomization analysis was performed to obtain causal estimates of dietary factors, blood lipids on GERD. Independent genetic variants associated with 13 kinds of dietary factors and 5 kinds of blood lipids at the genome-wide significance level were selected as instrumental variables. The summary statistics for GERD were obtained from European Bioinformatics Institute, including 129,080 cases and 473,524 controls. Inverse variance weighted was utilized as the main statistical method. MR-Egger intercept test, Cochran's Q test, and leave-one-out analysis were performed to evaluate possible heterogeneity and pleiotropy. And the potential reverse causality was assessed using Steiger filtering. Results: The results of the inverse variance weighted method indicated that genetically predicted total pork intake (OR = 2.60, 95% CI: 1.21–5.58, p = 0.0143), total bread intake (OR = 0.68, 95% CI: 0.46–0.99, p = 0.0497), total cereal intake (OR = 0.42, 95% CI: 0.31–0.56, p = 2.98E-06), and total cheese intake (OR = 0.41, 95% CI: 0.27–0.61, p = 1.06E-05) were associated with the risk of GERD. Multivariable Mendelian randomization analysis also revealed a negative association between total cereal intake, total cheese intake and the risk of GERD, but the effect of total pork intake and total bread intake on GERD disappeared after adjustment of smoking, alcohol consumption, use of calcium channel blockers, BMI, physical activity levels, and biological sex (age adjusted). Furthermore, the concentration of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) is negatively correlated with total cheese intake, which mediates the impact of total cheese intake on GERD. The proportion mediated by LDL-C is 2.27% (95%CI: 1.57%, 4.09%). Conclusions: This study provides evidence that an increase in total cereal intake and total cheese intake will decrease the risk of GERD. Additionally, LDL-C mediates the causal effect of total cheese intake on GERD. These results provide new insights into the role of dietary factors and blood lipids in GERD, which is beneficial for disease prevention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cultural and creative industries have become prosperous, and successful examples in the UK have inspired many countries to commercialise their own cultures by integrating their cultural values into art and design production. Inspired by this trend, the aim of this project is to increase awareness of traditional Chinese cultural aesthetics in modern product development as well as to highlight the role of cultural sensitivity in the product design process. This study focuses on industrial cultural products and examines the meanings and values of cultural products. Through the examination of the user experience of current cultural products with questionnaires and interviews with product designers, a design toolkit for Chinese cultural products was developed and applied in design practice. Design majors from various cultural backgrounds were recruited to participate in workshops to evaluate the usability of the toolkit and to validate whether the toolkit helped in their design processes. The findings of the research revealed that users' experiences, particularly users' emotional engagement with the products, could be enriched when the design toolkit was applied in the design process. This design toolkit is designed for use by international designers in the initial stage of the design process when idea generation, brainstorming and sketching occur. The toolkit could be applied not only in product design but also in visual communication design, interior design and digital content design.

This study explores how history teachers in Taiwan make curricular decisions while engaging controversial public issues. The main political controversies discussed in Taiwanese society center on the relationship between Taiwan and the People's Republic of China. This study documents how four social studies teachers formulate their curricular decisions through the intersecting lenses of professional knowledge and personal beliefs. Findings illuminate the role of personal experience and belief in teacher's curricular-instructional gate keeping in socially divisive contexts. In sum, this study helps us understand the relationship between a teacher's own imaginative worldview, sense of personal and professional identity and their classroom teaching practices.

Background/Objectives: During the COVID-19 pandemic, TikTok emerged as a significant app for entertainment and information acquisition for the general public, gradually extending its reach to the older population. Digital technology, exemplified by TikTok, has become an indispensable part of older adults' lives. However, while prior studies have extensively focused on the impact of internet use on older adults' health, research on the impact of TikTok during the COVID-19 pandemic remains insufficient. Methods: Utilizing data from the China Family Panel Studies (CFPS) 2020, this study explored the impact of TikTok use on older adults' self-rated health and its underlying mechanisms through multiple regression and mediation analysis. Results: The study found that (1) TikTok use had a significant positive effect on the self-rated health of older adults; (2) while TikTok use increased the exercise frequency of older adults, exercise frequency did not affect their self-rated health; and (3) TikTok use boosted older adults' protein intake, contributing substantially to their self-rated health, accounting for 38.7% of the total effect. Conclusions: It is advisable to actively promote the popularity of short video apps such as TikTok among older adults, as they serve as an effective tool for disseminating health information and encouraging healthier lifestyles and behaviors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The traditional model of factor-driven economic growth can no longer be maintained due to an increasing demand to save energy and reduce emissions and a rapid rise in the cost of related factors. The concept of green total factor productivity (GTFP) has emerged as an essential component of high-quality economic growth; consequently, how to boost GTFP through the development of technical advancement has become an important question in recent years. An improved CES production function of labor, capital, and energy is created using the theoretical framework for biased technological growth as its foundation. Subsequently, the mechanisms resulting from the synergy of factor structure, factor efficiency and biased technological progress (BTP) on GTFP are theoretically deduced and empirically analyzed. The conclusion shows that the types of technical advancement are mainly net labor-enhancing and net energy-enhancing technical advancement in China from 2001 to 2017. Due to the biased effect of technical advancement, the relative comparison of the three elements is determined predominantly by excessive capital investment and less by labor and energy. Factor-enhancing technical advancement led to the growth of GTFP, while the synergistic effect of BTP, factor structure and factor efficiency hindered the growth of GTFP. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Early childhood caries (ECC) remain a serious oral health problem on a global scale. Risk-based caries management (RBCM) implemented in some parts of the world has been effective in preventing ECC. However, there is a lack of prospective research on the application of RBCM among Chinese children, and little is known about its effectiveness. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of RBCM in preventing caries among children aged 3–5 years in Wanzhou District, Chongqing Municipality, China. Methods: Three- to five-year-old children from four kindergartens in Wanzhou were randomly selected for baseline dental examination and caries risk assessment (CRA) and randomly assigned to the experimental group (EG) or the control group (CG) according to the kindergarten. The EG received caries prevention measures of different intensities based on the child's caries risk level. The CG received full-mouth fluoride twice a year according to standard prevention, regardless of their caries risk. One year later, another dental examination and CRA were conducted, to observe changes in the decayed, missing, and filled teeth (dmft) index and caries risk, and to analyze potential factors that may affect the incidence of new caries. Results: Complete data were collected from 291 children (EG, N = 140, 84.8%; CG, N = 181, 83.4%). A total of 25.7% of the EG and 50.3% of the CG children developed new caries, with newly added dmft scores of 0.54 ± 1.12 and 1.32 ± 1.72, respectively (P < 0.05). Multivariate logistic regression indicated that children living in rural areas, assigned to the CG, and rated as high-risk at baseline were more likely to develop new caries (P < 0.05). The proportion of children with an increased caries risk in the EG was significantly lower than that in the CG (P < 0.05). Conclusions: RBCM effectively prevented new caries in 3- to 5-year-old Wanzhou children and reduced the proportion of children at increased risk of caries. It is an effective approach for preventing ECC. Clinical trial registration: This trial was registered in the Chinese Clinical Trials Register. The registration number was ChiCTR230067551 (11/01/2023). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Landscape ecological risk (LER) is an effective index to identify regional ecological risk and measure regional ecological security. The localized shared socioeconomic pathways (LSSPs) can provide multi-scenario parameters of social and economic development for LER research. The research of LER under LSSPs is of scientific significance and practical value in curbing the breeding and spread of LER risk areas. In this study, land-cover raster files from 2010 to 2020 were used as the foundational data. Future land use simulation (FLUS), regression, and Markov chain models were used to predict the land cover patterns under the five LSSP scenarios in the Xiangjiang River Basin (XJRB) in 2030. Thus, an evaluation model was established, and the LER of the watershed was evaluated. We found that the rate of land cover change (LCC) in the XJRB between 2010 and 2020 had a higher intensity (increasing at an average of 18.89% per decade) than that projected under the LSSPs for 2020–2030 (averaging an increase of 8.58% per decade). Among the growth rates of all land use types in the XJRB, that of urban land was the highest (33.3%). From 2010 to 2030, the LER in the XJRB was classified as lower risk (33.73%), lowest risk (33.11%), and moderate risk (24.13%) for each decade. Finally, the LER exhibited significant heterogeneity among different scenarios. Specifically, the percentages of regions characterized by the highest (9.77%) and higher LER (9.75%) were notably higher than those in the remaining scenarios. The higher-level risk area under the localized SSP1 demonstrated a clear spatial reduction compared to those of the other four scenarios. In addition, in order to facilitate the differential management and control of LER by relevant departments, risk zoning was carried out at the county level according to the prediction results of LER. And we got three types of risk management regions for the XJRB under the LSSPs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Because of human-induced habitat deterioration and climate change, a large number of species are threatened and even endangered. Batrachium pekinense Liang Liu, a perennial aquatic plant endemic to Beijing, was synonymized as a widely distributed species in Northern China, B. bungei Steudel, but it was later listed in the national key protected wild plants in China. Taxonomic uncertainty should be clarified especially when related species may be allocated with a limited conservation budget. In this study, we reappraised the identity of B. pekinense based on results from molecular phylogenetic analysis and 15-year field observations. Our result shows that 77% of the 65 individuals collected from various sites share identical sequences in both the nuclear ribosomal ITS and the plastid psbA-trnH markers, all samples of the two species consist of one monophyletic clade with strong support, and continuous morphological variations on the key distinguishing character, the leaf shape, are observed in the field. Integrative evidence from both our and the others' studies supports the same identity for B. pekinense and B. bungei. Hence, we suggest excluding B. pekinense from the list of national key protected wild plants of China in its next update and advocate the integrative evidence-based taxonomy and systematics for biodiversity conservation and management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A good water budget involving four variables, including precipitation (P), evapotranspiration (ET), streamflow (R), and terrestrial water storage change (TWSC), is reflected in two aspects: a high accuracy against observations for each budget component and the low water budget closure residual error (ΔRes). Due to the lack of consideration of observations of budget components in existing water budget closure assessment methods (BCMs), when the ΔRes of budget components is low, their error against respective observations may still be high. In this study, we assess the water budget closure accuracy of satellite/reanalysis-based hydrological data products over mainland China based on six popular P products and multiple datasets of additional budget components (ET, R, and TWSC). The results indicated that the ΔRes changes between ±15 mm over mainland China. Satellite P products such as GPM IMERG showed better performance by comparing them with rain gauge-based observations. However, reanalysis P products such as GLDAS and FLDAS showed a better water budget closure since the selected datasets of additional budget components (ET and R) are also derived from reanalysis datasets. This indicates that these same data sources for budget components make it easier to close the water budget. The further development of satellite P products should consider the closure of the water budget with other water cycle variables. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Lonicera japonica Flos is widely used as a medicinal plant in China owing to its various pharmacological activities. However, little is known about the metabolic profile and antibacterial properties of the leaves of Lonicera species. The present study aimed to determine and compare the metabolite profiles and antibacterial and antioxidant activities of leaf extracts of five Lonicera species. Results: 598 metabolites were identified based metabolomics using UHPLC-Q Exactive Orbitrap MS/MS in the five Lonicera species leaves. Among them, flavonoids and phenols compounds accounted for 13%. In Lonicera dasystyla, 110 differential metabolites were found compared to those in the other Lonicera species, of which flavonoids and phenols accounted for 20% and 10%, respectively. Compared to other Lonicera species leaves, the contents of total phenol, total flavonoid, antioxidant activities and anti-bacterial capacities were considerably higher in Lonicera hypoglauca and lower in L. dasystyla. The contents of total phenol and total flavonoid in L. hypoglauca were 95.86% and 201.64% higher than those in L. dasystyla. The RPA value in L. hypoglauca was 93.27% higher than the value of L. dasystyla, respectively. The content of 4, 5-dicaffeoylquninic acid in L. hypoglauca was 4.814 mg g−1, which was 302.85% higher than that of L. dasystyla. Besides, Chlorogenic acid was most high in leaves of L. japonica and reached 15 mg g−1, which was 209.34% higher than that of L. dasystyla. Moreover, correlation analysis showed most flavonoids, phenols, and coumarins were positively correlated with antioxidant activities and antibacterial capacities. Conclusions: This study identified the difference of metabolites in leaves of five Lonicera species, antioxidant abilities and inhibition effects of leaf extracts on pathogens, which provides a potential information for further application of Lonicera leaves. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Leading Western economies face major dilemmas regarding China's rise as different geopolitical considerations and economic interests inform how such states engage China. This article seeks to understand Western approaches to China's rise through an analysis of Germany's response to Chinese investment. The discussion shows that the Sino-German relationship has increasingly been affected by rising Chinese investment in Germany that entails common benefits in technology and industrial policy. Despite enhanced economic opportunities, however, Germany's position is gradually shifting to a more cautious approach due to increasing economic asymmetry and political uncertainty in Sino-German ties. The concerns of the German leadership are focused on the lack of reciprocity, the exposure of the EU to China's influence, and the antagonistic positions of the two economic powers in the global economy, and are imposing limits on Germany's cooperation with China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Anaplasma capra is an emerging tickborne human pathogen initially recognized in China in 2015; it has been reported in ticks and in a wide range of domestic and wild animals worldwide. We describe whole-genome sequences of 2 A. capra strains from metagenomic sequencing of purified erythrocytes from infected goats in China. The genome of A. capra was the smallest among members of the genus Anaplasma. The genomes of the 2 A. capra strains contained comparable G+C content and numbers of pseudogenes with intraerythrocytic Anaplasma species. The 2 A. capra strains had 54 unique genes. The prevalence of A. capra was high among goats in the 2 endemic areas. Phylogenetic analyses revealed that the A. capra strains detected in this study were basically classified into 2 subclusters with those previously detected in Asia. Our findings clarify details of the genomic characteristics of A. capra and shed light on its genetic diversity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Evaluating the correlation between changes in design rainstorms and extreme rainstorm events under climate change facilitates flood control and disaster reduction. Based on the daily rainfall data of 609 stations during 1958–2017, the Pearson-III curve, least square method, F-test, and other methods were adopted to study the changes in design rainstorms and the response to extreme rainstorms over nearly 60 years in China, and to explore the flood control capacity of engineering during climate change. The conclusions are as follows. (1) There is a general increasing trend in extreme rainstorm events in China. Most extreme rainstorm indices present upward trends in East China (EC), South China (SC), Central China (CC), Northwest China (NW), and Southwest China (SW) and downward trends in Northeast China (NE) and North China (NC). (2) The temporal series of design rainstorms shows general growth under each return period in China. In EC, SC, and SW, the design rainstorms increase significantly with rates of 3.0, 3.1, and 1.3 mm/10a, respectively, in the 20-year return period, while they decrease significantly by −2.0 mm/10a in NC (p < 0.05). (3) Design rainstorms have a positive response to extreme rainstorm events, which resulted in increasing rainstorms in a specific return period in EC, SC, NW, and SW. These results can promote the revision of engineering design standards and improve the flood control capability of engineering. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims: To explore the lived experiences of emergency department (ED) healthcare professionals regarding visiting restrictions during the COVID‐19 pandemic. Design: A qualitative phenomenology study. Methods: Semi‐structured interviews were undertaken. Participants consisted of 10 physicians, 20 clinical nurses, and three managers, who were purposefully selected from two EDs in China between April and July 2021. Colaizzi's approach guided data analysis. Results: Four themes arose: (i) burden moral injury, (ii) higher workload to provide and support patient‐ and family‐centered care, (iii) dissatisfied and unsafe healthcare service for patients and families, and (iv) tailoring strategies to provide family‐centered care. Patient or Public Contribution: This study explored the lived experiences of ED health care professionals regarding visiting restrictions during the COVID‐19 pandemic. Noted challenges included communicating with families and ethical decision making. Strategies that support ED clinician welfare, and communication with families are warranted if visiting policy restrictions are continued or re‐introduced. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: To screen VSX1 gene sequence variations and describe the clinical features of families with keratoconus (KC) from northwest China. Methods: We screened VSX1 sequence variations and clinical data of 37 families including 37 probands with diagnosed KC from Ningxia Eye Hospital (China). VSX1 was screened by targeted next-generation sequencing (NGS) and verified by Sanger sequencing. In silico analysis including Mutation Taster, MutationAssessor, PROVEAN, MetaLR, FATHMM, M-CAP, FATHMM-XF_coding and DANN was performed to identify the pathogenicity of the sequence variations as well as the conserved amino acid variations of VSX1 was implemented by Clustal X. All subjects were assessed in Pentacam Scheimpflug tomography and corneal biomechanical Corvis ST examinations. Results: Five VSX1 gene variants, were identified in six (16.2%) unrelated families with KC. In silico analysis predicted deleterious effects of the three missense variants (p.G342E, p.G160V, and p.L17V) in the encoded protein. Another previously reported synonymous variation (p.R27R) in the first exon and one heterozygous change in the first intron (c.425-73C>T) were identified in three KC families. Clinical examination of the asymptomatic first-degree parents from these six families who shared the gene with the proband had suspected KC changes in topographic and biomechanical markers. These variants cosegregated with the disease phenotype in all affected individuals but not in unaffected family members or healthy controls, though with variable expressivity. Conclusion: The variant p.G342E of VSX1 is implicated in the pathogenesis of KC, which expands the range of the spectrum of VSX1 mutations with an autosomal dominant inheritance pattern and variable expression in the clinical phenotype. Genetic screening combined with clinical phenotype may help in the genetic counseling of patients with KC and identification of individuals with subclinical KC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Artificial intelligence (AI) is a promising technology to transform the healthcare industry. Due to the highly sensitive nature of patient data, federated learning (FL) is often leveraged to build models for smart healthcare applications. Existing deployed FL frameworks cannot address the key issues of varying data quality and heterogeneous data distributions across multiple institutions in this sector. In this paper, we report our experience developing and deploying the Contribution‐Aware Federated Learning (CAreFL) framework for smart healthcare. It provides an efficient and accurate approach to fairly evaluate FL participants' contributions to model performance without exposing their private data, and improves the FL model training protocol by allowing the best performing intermediate sub‐models to be distributed to participants for FL training. Since its deployment by Yidu Cloud Technology Inc. in March 2021, CAreFL has served eight well‐established medical institutions in China to build healthcare decision support models. It can perform contribution evaluations close to three times faster than the best existing approach and has improved the average accuracy of the resulting models by more than 2% compared to the previous system (which is significant in industrial settings). To the best of our knowledge, it is the first CAreFL successfully deployed in the healthcare industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chuanxiong (CX, Ligusticum chuanxiong), Japanese Chuanxiong (JCX, Cnidium officinale), Fuxiong (FX, Ligusticum sinense 'Fuxiong'), and Jinxiong (JX, Ligusticum sinense 'Jinxiong') are aromatic herbs used in China, Japan, and other regions. Their morphology and aromatic odor are similar, resulting in confused and mixed uses. This study compares the volatile compositions of these herbs for defining their medical uses. Headspace solid-phase microextraction–gas chromatography–triple quadrupole–mass spectrometry was employed to separate, identify, and quantify the compounds in the volatile gas of the four herbs. A total of 128 volatile compounds were identified and quantified in 23 these herbal samples. The sums of 106, 115, 116, and 120 compounds were detected in the volatile gas of CX, JCX, FX, and JX, with the mean contents of 4.80, 7.12, 7.67, and 12.0 μg/g, respectively. Types and contents of the main compounds were found to be different in the volatile gas of these herbs. The orthogonal partial least squares discriminant analysis and hierarchical clustering analysis showed the four herbs located in different confined areas or clusters. It is concluded that the volatile compositions in the four herbs are generally similar, but the contents of main volatile compounds are different. These herbs should be clearly differentiated in medical use. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Reliable electrophysiological indicators are urgently needed in the precise evaluation of Parkinson's disease (PD). It is still elusive whether oculomotor performance is impaired or has clinical value in early PD. This study aims to explore oculomotor performance in newly diagnosed, drugnaïve PD and its correlation with clinical phenotype. Methods: Seventy-five patients with de novo PD, 75 patients with essential tremor (ET), and 46 gender-and age-matched healthy controls (HCs) were included in this cross-sectional study. All subjects underwent oculomotor test via videonystagmography. Visually guided saccade latency, saccadic accuracy and gain in smooth pursuit eye movement (SPEM) at three frequencies of the horizontal axis were compared among the three groups. Patients with PD also received detailed motor and non-motor evaluation by serial scales. The association between key oculomotor parameters and clinical phenotypes were explored in PD patients. Results: Both de novo PD and ET patients showed prolonged saccadic latency and decreased saccadic accuracy relative to HCs. SPEM gain in PD was uniformly reduced at each frequency. SPEM gain at 0.4 Hz was also decreased in ET compared with HCs. However, there was no significant difference of oculomotor parameters between de novo PD and ET patients. Furthermore, prolonged saccadic latency was correlated with long disease duration, whereas decreased SPEM gain was associated with severe motor symptoms in de novo PD patients. Conclusion: Ocular movements are impaired in de novo, drug naïve PD patients; these changes could be indicators for disease progression in PD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Shared decision-making (SDM) is a scientific and reasonable decision-making model. However, whether physicians choose SDM is usually influenced by many factors. It is not clear whether the strained doctor-patient relationship will affect physicians' willingness to choose SDM. Through a survey by questionnaire, 304 physicians' evaluations of doctor-patient relationship (DPR) were quantified by the difficult DPR questionnaire-8. Their preferences for SDMand the reasons were also evaluated. The correlation between physicians' evaluations of DPR and their preferences for SDM were analyzed. 84.5% physicians perceived DPR as poor or strained, 53.3% physicians preferred SDM, mainly because of the influences of medical ethics and social desirability bias. Their preferences for SDM were not significantly correlated with their evaluations of DPR (P > 0.05). Physicians with different evaluations of DPR (good, poor, and strained) all had similar preferences for SDM (42.6, 56.4, and 42.9%), with no significant difference (P > 0.05). There was no correlation between physicians' evaluations of DPR and their preferences for SDM. Physicians' evaluations of poor DPR did not affect their preferences for SDM. This may be influenced by the medical ethics and social desirability bias. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Forest soil carbon (C) sequestration has an important effect on global C dynamics and is regulated by various environmental factors. Mixed and pure plantations are common afforestation choices in north China, but how forest type and environmental factors interact to affect soil C stock remains unclear. We hypothesize that forest type changes soil physicochemical properties and surface biological factors, and further contributes to soil active C components, which together affect soil C sequestration capacity and C dynamic processes. Three 46-year-old 25 m × 25 m pure Pinus tabulaeformis forests (PF) and three 47-year-old 25 m × 25 m mixed coniferous-broadleaf (Pinus tabulaeformis-Quercus liaotungensis) forests (MF) were selected as the two treatments and sampled in August 2016. In 2017, soil temperature (ST) at 10 cm were measured every 30 min for the entire vegetation season. Across 0-50 cm (five soil layers, 10 cm per layer), we also measured C components and environmental factors which may affect soil C sequestration, including soil organic carbon (SOC), soil total nitrogen (STN), dissolved organic carbon (DOC), microbial biomass carbon (MBC), soil moisture (SM) and soil pH. We then incubated samples for 56 days at 25 °C to monitor the C loss through CO2 release, characterized as cumulative mineralization carbon (CMC) and mineralized carbon (MC). Our results indicate that ST, pH, SM and litter thickness were affected by forest type. Average SOC stock in MF was 20% higher than in PF (MF: 11.29 kg m-2; PF: 13.52 kg m-2). Higher CMC under PF caused more soil C lost, and CMC increased 14.5% in PF (4.67 g kg-1 soil) compared to MF (4.04 g kg-1 soil) plots over the two-month incubation period. SOC stock was significantly positively correlated with SM (p < 0.001, R2 = 0.43), DOC (p < 0.001, R2 = 0.47) and CMC (p < 0.001, R2 = 0.33), and significantly negatively correlated with pH (p < 0.001, R2 = -0.37) and MC (p < 0.001, R2 = -0.32). SOC stock and litter thickness may have contributed to more DOC leaching in MF, which may also provide more C source for microbial decomposition. Conversely, lower SM and pH in MF may inhibit microbial activity, which ultimately makes higher MC and lower CMC under MF and promotes C accumulation. Soil mineralized C drives more C stock in coniferous-broadleaf mixed plantations compared to pure plantations, and CMC and MC should be considered when soil C balance is assessed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, we examined the power operation and policymaking mechanisms of local governments in China and analysed the sources of risk in macroeconomic policies. Based on the reality of local governance in China, this article defines political uncertainty as normal or abnormal changes in the Standing Members of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Provincial‐level Committee. We analysed the impact of turnovers of these local core officials upon the investment and financing of local private‐sector enterprises. We found that when changes in provincial inner core officials happened normally, the long‐term impact on the investment and financing of local private‐sector enterprises was not so obvious. However, when senior officials were investigated for corruption, the investment and financing of enterprises dropped significantly. For enterprises with personal political capital only, the impact of local core official turnover upon firm financing was even more pronounced. For private‐sector enterprises with partial state ownership, however, this negative impact was significantly weakened in the long term. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study analyzes the power source of Chinese state-owned enterprise (SOE) leaders by sorting out the unique selection and appointment mechanism of SOE cadres in China and the organizational structure behind this mechanism. Empirical research finds when local core officials are investigated for corruption, it has a major impact on the top leaders of local SOEs due to 'top to bottom' personnel changes, which would in turn have a strong impact on corporate investment behavior. However, the magnitude of such impact would differ between local versus central SOEs, as well as among commercial competition versus public welfare SOEs. This study provides an analytical framework for Western scholars to study corporate governance of SOEs in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study focuses on state ownership of Chinese private sector enterprises as important political capital. Using the data of private listed companies, we empirically study the impact of state ownership on technological innovation of private sector enterprises in different political and economic environments. The study finds that state ownership can effectively promote the innovation activities of private sector enterprises; when local core officials change, state ownership can effectively hedge the impact of political uncertainty. In addition, in regions with higher levels of economic development, state ownership plays a significant role in promoting technological innovation of enterprises. In regions with lower levels of economic development, state ownership plays no significant role in promoting technological innovation of enterprises. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study is based on the practice of cleaner production (CP) audits in more than 300 enterprises. After reviewing 1484 CP options, it is found that 82.5% of the options are directly and indirectly related to management. Moreover, there are common problems such as the poor sustainability of CP audit results. This shows that enterprise management plays a significant role in implementing CP options. Based on these, this study proposes a new concept of cleaner production management (CPM) system, and draws lessons from the modern environmental management theory and method to establish the framework of CPM system. This system combines the theory and method of CP with the management system of enterprises and presents the CPM requirements in the current enterprise management system, which mainly includes CPM responsibilities, CP objectives, CPM indexes, CP energy resources management, CP process control, CP product management, CPM inspections, and CP performance evaluation. The characteristic of the proposed system is to construct a modern information-based CPM system. With highly systematic, concise structure, and easy operability, this system not only simplifies and improves the CP work in enterprises and reduces several tedious tasks such as document preparation, but also enhance the enterprise management efficiency and motivate the willingness of employees to participate in CP. Innovated and developed for CP implementation, the system has been implemented and applied in Chinese enterprises, and the implementation and application have obvious effects on improving production level as well as environmental and economic benefits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Eimeria spp. infection can cause weight loss in goats, and severe cases can lead to the death of lambs, resulting in economic losses to the goat industry. To explore the pooled prevalence of Eimeria spp. in goats in China, we obtained 70 related publications from five databases and conducted a meta-analysis. In China, the combined prevalence of Eimeria spp. in goats was 78.7% (95% confidence interval (CI): 68.15–87.67). Among them, the most serious infections occurred in Northeast China (88.0%, 95% CI: 83.54–91.86). The main Eimeria species were E. alijevi (43.7%, 95% CI: 29.53–58.45), E. arloingi (49.7%, 95% CI: 34.83–64.49), E. christenseni (41.2%, 95% CI: 27.07–56.16), and E. ninakohlyakimovae (35.9%, 95% CI: 21.02–52.31). In the sampling year subgroup, 2006 or later presented a lower prevalence (75.3%, 95%CI: 58.72–88.72). In terms of age, the point estimate for young goats (≤ 1 year) was higher (89.9%, 95% CI: 80.82–96.48). The Float (NaCl) method showed the lowest prevalence of Eimeria spp. in goats (75.9%, 95%CI: 62.00–87.46). In the season subgroup, the highest prevalence was in summer (81.5%, 95%CI: 49.62–99.18). Female goats presented a higher prevalence of Eimeria spp. infection than male goats (70.7%, 95%CI: 27.90–98.96). The prevalence was lower in the intensive feeding model (77.4%, 95%CI: 66.56–86.67) and higher in free feeding goats (79.4%, 95%CI: 66.46–89.92). In addition, we also analyzed the potential relationship between geographical factors and the prevalence of Eimeria spp. infection in goats in China. Our findings suggested that Eimeria spp. infection in goats is widespread in China. Despite the overall downward trend, this infection cannot be ignored. We recommend that breeders use anticoccidial drugs to prevent and treat this disease, while improving the feeding conditions and managemental practices to reduce the economic losses caused by Eimeria infection to the goat industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Weathering is a key process controlling V transport from the continental crust to the hydrosphere. To understand V behavior during chemical weathering, we investigated the concentrations and isotope compositions of V in a latosol profile developed from gabbros in southern China. Despite the significant redistribution of V in the profile, the δ51V values display a narrow range from −0.77‰ to −0.94‰, which is similar to the values of weathered gabbro (−0.88 ± 0.03‰) and fresh gabbro (−0.79 ± 0.06‰) within analytical uncertainty. Iron concentrations and isotope compositions were also analyzed to further determine how V migrates in the profile. Vanadium and Fe concentrations in the profile are positively correlated, suggesting a coupled V and Fe redistribution along the profile. The δ56Fe values of the latosols also show limited variation from 0.04 ± 0.03‰ to 0.14 ± 0.02‰. These observations indicate that V and Fe isotopes are not significantly fractionated during the chemical weathering of gabbros. Based on the observations of the latosols, we propose that soluble ferrous Fe is released from silicate minerals during weathering in oxic environments and oxidized to insoluble ferric Fe in situ , forming Fe (oxyhydr)oxide colloids/particles. The V (+3) and V (+4) ions are released from the minerals and rapidly oxidized to soluble V (+5), which is quantitatively adsorbed on the surfaces of the colloidal Fe (oxyhydr)oxides. Sequentially, Fe (oxyhydr)oxide colloids/particles are transported by water flow through the latosol profile. This study provides important insight into V isotope and V behavior during chemical weathering and helps constrain the V isotope compositions of weathered upper continental crust and river water, and this insight is critical for understanding how V is transferred from the land to the ocean. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Promoting the green efficiency of agricultural water resources is of great significance to alleviate the contradiction between supply and demand of water resources, improve the quality of regional water environment and ensure the sustainable development of agriculture. Based on the directional distance function, the evaluation model of agricultural water resources green efficiency including unexpected pollution of non-point source output is constructed, and the spatio-temporal characteristics and driving contribution of efficiency results of 31 provinces in mainland China from 2003 to 2018 is calculated. Then fixed effect regression method is used to test the influencing factors of the green efficiency of agricultural water resources in China. The results show that: firstly, during the study period, the green efficiency of agricultural water resources in China has experienced three stages: fluctuating decline, rapid rise and rising convergence. The efficiency level of most provinces has been increased, and inter-provincial differences have been narrowed. Secondly, technological progress is the main contribution source of the variety of the green efficiency of agricultural water resources, while the driving contribution of technical efficiency variety to the change of efficiency is minor. Thirdly, supply pressure of water resources and construction level of water conservancy have significant positive correlation with the green efficiency of agricultural water resources, while the increase in water resources demand level, strength of government control and the proportion of water consuming crops in agricultural production system have inhibit the improvement of efficiency level. Based on this, the paper discusses the ways to improve the green efficiency of agricultural water resources from three aspects: simultaneously expanding the contribution of technological progress and technical efficiency, coordinating the use of market mechanism and government regulation means and improving the level of irrigation, water conservancy construction and strengthen government control. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chlamydia bovis is a widespread infection disease caused by the mixed infection of Chlamydia psittaci, Chlamydia pecorum, Chlamydia abortus, and Chlamydia suis in cattle. Although many studies have investigated Chlamydia infection in cattle, there is no nationwide study on the prevalence of Chlamydia infection in cattle of China. We constructed the first meta-analysis to assess the infection rate and infection risk factors of Chlamydia in cattle in China, and we searched PubMed, ScienceDirect, Chinese Web of Knowledge, Wanfang, and VIP Chinese journal database for studies reporting Chlamydia infection in cattle from April 29, 2020. We collected a total of 563 publications from 1989 to 2019, and finally, 78 studies were eligible, which included 152,364 cattle from 27 provinces across the country. We estimated the pooled prevalence of Chlamydia in cattle was 14.2% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 12.2 to 16.4). The prevalence of bovine Chlamydia in China collected before 2000 (14.8%, 95% CI: 5.6 to 27.3) showed the highest prevalence rate. The highest prevalence was found in Central China (22.6%, 95% CI: 12.8 to 34.2). The prevalence of Chlamydia spp. between abortion cattle (39.1%, 95% CI: 24.6 to 54.6) and healthy cattle (8.3%, 95% CI: 3.1 to 15.2) showed significant variation (p < 0.05). In detection methods subgroup, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (30.5%, 95% CI: 21.5 to 40.3) showed the highest prevalence. In the age subgroup, the prevalence rate of age >1 year (16.6%, 95% CI: 12.6 to 20.9) was higher compared with age ≤1 year (9.8%, 95% CI: 6.7 to 13.3). Yaks (17.8%, 95% CI: 13.3 to 22.8) showed the highest Chlamydia prevalence among the varieties of bovine. We also estimated the potential risk factors such as feeding model, sample classification, sampling seasons, bovine gender, parity, and quality level of included studies. Our findings suggested that Chlamydia was prevalent in cattle in China. So we should pay attention to bovine Chlamydia and take necessary measures to prevent it. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As agricultural labor is decreasing, famous tea production is nearly hard to sustain and is getting more and more expensive in China. To improve the mechanization of tea plucking, this paper designs a self-propelled track-type tea plucking machine that integrates mechanic, hydraulic and electronics. The main parameters of chassis were optimized based on conditions of tea garden. And, three different kinds of cutter blades were designed and analyzed about vibration performance with finite element software. Also, a rigid-flex mixed motion model was established. Based on the model and plots, it is explicit that: 1) the blades move in a sine law; 2) the blades take a symmetrical deform from middle to end while moving; 3) the deformation increases along the blade from the center to sides. The single factor experiment revealed that both travel speed and speed ratio of cutting and travelling had a significant effect on quality indexes (integrity rate, unpicking rate, stubble unevenness) of plucked tea leaf. By universal rotary combination experiment of quadratic regression, the regression equations of three indexes about two experimental factors were established. And, the comprehensive optimization of three indexes was conducted with software Design expert. The optimal operating parameters of machine are as follow: travel speed is 0.41 m/s, speed ratio of cutting and travelling is 1.06; prediction of three indexes are that integrity rate could be reach to 78.26%, unpicking rate reduced to 0.82%, stubble unevenness reduced to 1.30 mm. The results of verification experiment are that: integrity rate could be reach to 77.41%, unpicking rate reduced to 0.87%, stubble unevenness reduced to 1.23 mm. These test indexes that are very close to the predicted values, all surpass the requests specified in the standard of tea plucking with machine. In all, the optimized parameter set is indeed synthetically optimal one that enables the wide use of this tea plucking machine, which can be used in the tea garden that has a lengthways slope less than 18°, a crosswise slope less than 20°, and a height of tea trees between 50-120 cm. From above, the tea plucking machine investigated in this paper provides an effective solution to present tea picking problem that is the bottleneck of tea industry. Further studies need to do for making this machine more automated and intelligent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• We innovatively proposed the GLPI to analyze urban GTFP in China. • We used the parametric approach to decompose the GLPI into TEC, TC and SEC. • The regional heterogeneity of GLPI and its decompositions increased. In this study, by taking the distance elasticity shares as the input weights in the production function, the generalized Luenberger productivity indicator (GLPI) was proposed to analyze the urban GTFP in China, and the stochastic frontier analysis (SFA) was used for parametric decomposition to obtain the technological change (TC), technical efficiency change (TEC), and scale efficiency change (SEC). The results show that the entire model and specific parameters passed the test, and the production function equation has good economic and statistical significance, which shows that it is feasible to use the parameter approach to measure and decompose the GLPI. Second, the value of the GLPI showed a rapid growth trend between 2000 and 2019, with a cumulative increase of 140.59%, indicating that various inputs were saved by 3.43% in a specific proportion, and that remarkable achievements have been made in the sustainable development of Chinese cities. Third, TC, TEC, and SEC all showed significant spatiotemporal heterogeneity, in which SEC was the main numerical component and TC was the driving force of the GLPI. Through mathematical proof in theory and data matching in reality, it is confirmed that the GLPI proposed in this study is scientific and applicable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Evidence of the association between common chronic diseases and depression is sparse.Methods: Totally 7819 participants aged 45+ without depression at baseline were followed-up (2011-2015) to detect incident depression. Chronic diseases and depression were defined by self-reported diagnosis and the Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale (CES-D10), respectively. Cox proportional hazards model was used to explore the association between chronic diseases and depression adjusting for age, gender, education, marital/living conditions, area, smoking, drinking, economic status, BMI and health insurance.Results: During an average of 3.42 years follow-up, 2271 participants developed depression (85 per 1000 person-year). Chronic diseases were related to significantly higher risk of depression (HR = 1.38). A higher risk of depression was also associated with specific diseases: stomach/other digestive diseases (HR = 1.19), diabetes (HR = 1.22), arthritis/rheumatism (HR = 1.30), and kidney diseases (HR = 1.34) (P < 0.05). The risk of depression increased with increasing in the number of chronic diseases (1: HR = 1.27, 2: HR = 1.49, and 3+: HR = 1.51, P-trend < 0.001). No significant difference was observed across age, gender, education, and area.Limitations: Chronic diseases and depression were based on self-reported diagnosis and measurement scale, respectively, which could lead to information bias. Some unmeasured confounders might have biased the results.Conclusions: The occurrence of depression in people aged 45+ is associated with number of chronic diseases in a dose-response fashion. These results may provide guidance on preventing depression and improving the quality of life in middle and late adulthood. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Paeonia lactiflora 'Hangshao' is widely cultivated in China as a traditional Chinese medicine 'Radix Paeoniae Alba'. Due to the abundant unsaturated fatty acids in its seed, it can also be regarded as a new oilseed plant. However, the process of the biosynthesis of unsaturated fatty acids in it has remained unknown. Therefore, transcriptome analysis is helpful to better understand the underlying molecular mechanisms. Results: Five main fatty acids were detected, including stearic acid, palmitic acid, oleic acid, linoleic acid and α-linolenic acid, and their absolute contents first increased and then decreased during seed development. A total of 150,156 unigenes were obtained by transcriptome sequencing. There were 15,005 unigenes annotated in the seven functional databases, including NR, NT, GO, KOG, KEGG, Swiss-Prot and InterPro. Based on the KEGG database, 1766 unigenes were annotated in the lipid metabolism. There were 4635, 12,304, and 18,291 DEGs in Group I (60 vs 30 DAF), Group II (90 vs 60 DAF) and Group III (90 vs 30 DAF), respectively. A total of 1480 DEGs were detected in the intersection of the three groups. In 14 KEGG pathways of lipid metabolism, 503 DEGs were found, belonging to 111 enzymes. We screened out 123 DEGs involved in fatty acid biosynthesis (39 DEGs), fatty acid elongation (33 DEGs), biosynthesis of unsaturated fatty acid (24 DEGs), TAG assembly (17 DEGs) and lipid storage (10 DEGs). Furthermore, qRT-PCR was used to analyze the expression patterns of 16 genes, including BBCP, BC, MCAT, KASIII, KASII, FATA, FATB, KCR, SAD, FAD2, FAD3, FAD7, GPAT, DGAT, OLE and CLO, most of which showed the highest expression at 45 DAF, except for DGAT, OLE and CLO, which showed the highest expression at 75 DAF. Conclusions: We predicted that MCAT, KASIII, FATA, SAD, FAD2, FAD3, DGAT and OLE were the key genes in the unsaturated fatty acid biosynthesis and oil accumulation in herbaceous peony seed. This study provides the first comprehensive genomic resources characterizing herbaceous peony seed gene expression at the transcriptional level. These data lay the foundation for elucidating the molecular mechanisms of fatty acid biosynthesis and oil accumulation for herbaceous peony. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A nine-year survey on pathotypes of Phytophthora sojae from 2007 to 2015 throughout Jilin Province of China was conducted. A total of 219 single-zoospore isolates of P. sojae that came from 250 commercial soybean fields in 25 counties were tested for their virulence phenotypes by using eight soybean differentials representing eight Rps alleles. The investigation showed that Phytophthora root rot (PRR) or P. sojae is mainly distributed in northeast Jilin. A total of 91 pathotypes were identified from 219 isolates, in which 34 matched the virulence formula of 15 known races, and two races (races 28 and 30) were identified in China for the first time. The highest isolation frequency was 6.4% found for race 8, followed by race 3 and race 1, each representing 4.6% and 4.1% of the isolates. The isolation frequencies of the remaining 12 races (races 0, 4, 9, 13, 14, 23, 24, 25, 28, 30, 33, and 44) was less than 2.3%. In addition, nine intermediate reaction types (IRTs) were found (0.5–1.4% isolation frequency). The remaining 67 pathotypes that represented approximately 66% of the isolates were not identified to a race. The isolates each defeated zero to eight Rps genes, and 71.2% of the isolates defeated more than three Rps genes, indicating that virulence of the isolates in Jilin is moderately strong. Virulence frequency of the isolates to eight single Rps genes ranged from 20–77%. More than 57% of the isolates were virulent on Rps1a, Rps1b, Rps1d, Rps6, and Rps7 while less than 30% of the isolates were virulent on Rps1c, Rps1k, and Rps3a, indicating that Rps1c, Rps1k, and Rps3a were more effective than the other five Rps genes in Jilin at reducing infection of soybean by P. sojae. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper uses statistical learning theory and big data analysis to study the energy consumption structure of China from qualitative and quantitative aspects during COVID-19. According to the domestic and foreign scholars' research on the optimization of energy consumption structure, the carbon emission factor is considered in the optimization of energy consumption structure. Taking the minimum energy consumption cost and carbon dioxide emission as the objective function, the carbon dioxide emission is taken as the objective function, and the total energy consumption and various energy consumption proportions as the constraint conditions, the multi-objective planning method is used to evaluate the energy consumption structure of China. The optimization model of source consumption structure is analyzed, and the medium and long-term energy transformation path and optimization model under low-carbon constraints are studied. Combined with the experimental algorithms related to big data, it is concluded that China's economic development mainly depends on a large amount of energy consumption during the COVID-19 period. On this basis, some suggestions are put forward to realize the sustainable development of China's economy and energy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In China, those who have a dragon zodiac sign are believed to be destined for greatness. We find that if Chinese students are born in a dragon year, they are more likely to have a college degree and receive higher university entrance exam scores. Similarly, Chinese middle school dragon students have higher test scores. The "dragon effect" on test scores is eliminated when we account for parents' expectations of their children. Dragon parents have higher expectations, and they invest more in their children. Although dragon children are not inherently different, the belief in the prophecy of success and the ensuing investment become self-fulfilling. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper studies the impact of self-perceived relative income on subjective well-being (SWB) using data from China. The results show that perceiving a lower relative income in comparison with different reference groups leads to lower life satisfaction and happiness. The effect of the self-perceived relative income on SWB is monotonic—the lower the position of an individual in income comparisons, the larger the negative effect. In addition, favorable and unfavorable relative income positions have asymmetric impacts on life satisfaction, but not on happiness. The results hold when controlling for individual fixed effects by utilizing the panel structure of the data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates the causal effect of ordinal rank on students' academic performance in the short run. This paper provides the first direct evidence of the relationship between objective rank and students' self-perceived rank, as well as of the impact of the self-perceived rank on students' academic attainments. The results show that both students' objective ability and self-perceived rank have a significant positive effect on students' test scores. Taking advantage of the very detailed survey questions aimed at students, parents, and teachers, a large set of potential mechanisms are examined in the paper. I also find a positive effect of having a female teacher on the self-perceived rank of female students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Urban forests are important as they provide recreation areas and offer ecological services. Both functions determine the status of an urban forest and reflect contradictory aspects of forest tourism development and environment conservation. However, assessment of urban forest health status at a landscape scale remains scarce. Here, we selected the Nanguo Peach Garden, China, as the study area. Urban forest health status at the landscape scale were classified into recreation and eco-conservation services. Sustainability was quantified using the principal component analysis and the Kriging method to map the landscape classification in the study area. With regard to landscape recreation sustainability, some 18.9% of the total study region was classified as "very good". They were mainly distributed in the north, southwest, and southeast parts of the study area. The central and southeast regions, accounting for 9.5% of the total area, were classified as "very good" for eco-conservation sustainability. Regarding landscape health, the region classified as "very good" accounted for 11.1% of the total study area, and it was mainly distributed in the southern part of the area; the region classified as "very poor" accounted for 16.4% of the total area, and it was located in the northwestern and eastern parts of the study area. With improved landscape health status, the forest/non-forest patch area ratio was increased and the patch number ratio was decreased. A landscape was considered the healthiest when the forest/non-forest area ratio was 0.65 and the patch number was 0.48. The spatial distribution of landscape recreation sustainability and eco-conservation sustainability differed in the Nanguo Peach Garden, and a close relationship was observed between the landscape health and forest landscape internal structure. Forest/non-forest patch area ratios and patch number ratios were relatively stable and constant, suggesting the urban forest landscapes were healthy. The healthiest forest landscapes were mainly distributed in the forest/non-forest transition zone and the unhealthiest forest landscape was mainly located in a single natural forest. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Field-data based 3D models are built for single well geothermal heating system (SWGHS). • Temperature distributions, thermal output, and economic characteristics are compared. • The thermal production performances of various SWGHSs are determined. • The adaptability and precedence order of each SWGHS are discussed. Benefiting from the closed wellbore space, the single well geothermal heating system (SWGHS) could avoid a large number of environmental problems compared to conventional geothermal systems. Combined with heat pump, this technology is attracting growing interest for the development of district heating based on medium-depth geothermal resources. Efforts of the scientific community and of business operators now focus on the technical optimization and commercial viability of the different SWGHS concepts already available. Here, we numerically investigate the heat extraction performance of a butted- and a vertical-well SWGHS possibly operational in a geothermal prospect area in Xi'an, central China. We addressed the performance of the two systems in terms of outlet temperature, heat production rate, heating area, and economic benefits. Sensitivity analysis suggests that large circulation rates and low inlet temperatures have beneficial effects on both thermal efficiency and economic benefits of the project. Our integrated technical and economic analysis suggests that the butted-well SWGHS configuration is particularly suitable for long-run, large-scale applications, compared to the vertical-well design. This work can provide valuable references for the applications of SWGHS, which is of criterial importance for reaching carbon peaking and carbon neutrality goals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, the rate of colorectal cancer has sharply increased, especially in China, where it ranks second for the number of cancer fatalities. Currently, the treatment of colorectal cancer patients involves the combination of resection surgery and treatment with postoperative anticancer drugs such as 5-FU and oxaliplatin. However, recurrence and metastasis after treatment are still the dominant reasons for the low survival rate. Colorectal cancer stem cells (CSCs) are regarded as the key contributors to tumour recurrence and metastasis due to their resistance to chemotherapy drugs and their extremely high tumourigenicity. Once CSCs overcome chemotherapy treatment, they continue to survive and reinitiate proliferation to form tumours, leading to recurrence. The dominant reason for CSC resistance is that most anticancer drugs are aimed at inhibiting proliferative pathways in cancer cells that differ from those in CSCs. Therefore, studies on the characteristics of CSCs and their intracellular molecular pathways are essential for the exploration of CSC-targeted drugs. In this report, we review recent advances in the research of CSCs and, in particular, review the important intracellular molecular pathways, such as HOXA5-catenin, STRAP-NOTCH and YAP/TAZ, related to the maintenance and differentiation of stem cells to generate a theoretical basis for the exploration of CSC-targeted drugs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A controlled-source audio-frequency magnetotelluric (CSAMT) survey was used to detect geological structures beneath the thick quaternary formation in Taiyuan, Shanxi Province, northern China. Two main CSAMT survey lines with 182 survey sites were recorded. A twodimensional (2D) inversion technique was used to interpret the CSAMT data. The inversion results suggested that: 1) there are four main buried faults named F1, F2, F3, and F4 with dip angles about 65° across the survey line from west to east, the fault displacements of these faults are about 230 m, 180 m, 220 m and 200 m, respectively; 2) the depth of the bedrocks decrease from 1600 to 500 m along the survey lines; and 3) from top to bottom, there are four major layers in the survey area that include the upper layer with the resistivity less than 40 ohm-m represents unconsolidated sediments in the Quaternary formation, a second layer with the resistivity range from 40 to 120 ohm-m represents mudstone and sandstone, a third layer with the resistivity range from 120 to 280 ohm-m represents coal measure strata in the Permian and Carboniferous and a bottom layer with the resistivity higher than 280 Ω⋅m represents limestone in Ordovician. The CSAMT method is an effective technique for exploring buried fault of several hundred meters deep in metropolitan environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates the causal effect of high school curriculum on various student outcomes including academic performance at university, happiness, physical and mental health, self-confidence, confidence in academic ability, and attitudes towards studying and learning. We exploit a curriculum reform in China, the implementation of which started in 2004, but rolled out in different years in different provinces. The new curriculum pivoted away from the old lock-step course structure where all students had to take the same courses and only those subjects that were covered in the national university entrance exam were considered important. In contrast, the new curriculum introduced a course credit system, changed textbooks, and provided flexibility in course selection. It also introduced elective courses and made such courses as arts and physical education mandatory, and a graduation requirement. Using survey data on university students and employing a difference-in-difference approach, we find that the students who were exposed to the new curriculum in high school have better academic performance in university. They are happier, and their physical and mental well-being is better. These students are more likely to have positive attitudes towards themselves and they are more involved in student clubs. They have more confidence in their academic ability, they have more positive attitudes towards studying, and they have more general self-confidence. These results indicate that the reform had a significant impact on students' academic success and well-being, arguably by allowing them to focus on subject matters in which they are interested, and by reducing undue stress of a regimented curriculum. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The variation of groundwater properties caused by seawater intrusion, such as OH–, TDS, can potentially affect the groundwater Se levels. But there are no researches detailing the mechanism of groundwater selenium characteristics in seawater intrusion areas along coastal zones. Buzhuang town has been selected for study and groundwater is sampled to discuss the behavior of groundwater selenium with the intrusion of seawater. The groundwater Se levels range from 1.43 to 15.60 µg/L, with an average of 6.23 µg/L. All are within the limit of 10 µg/L except Wanglu village, but the local groundwater Se levels in 8 villages exceed the chronic criterion of 5 µg/L, and the Se levels in local groundwater are higher than those in the supplied water which has a non-seawater source. The groundwater Se levels have been shown to be elevated by seawater intrusion. The groundwater Se levels are positively correlated with Cl–, TDS, Br–, Na+, Mg2+, Ca2+ and Fe and negatively correlated with pH. Ion competition effects and the Na-Mg-sulfate minerals play an important role in the adsorption and desorption for and , which are the important dynamic species for groundwater selenium enrichment. However, Ca and Fe ions have less contribution to groundwater Se variation because of the lower affinity for and and lesser content in groundwater of seawater intrusion areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For the problem of rough irrigation habits and low irrigation efficiency in Hetao irrigation area in China, which only pays attention to increasing yield, this paper proposes a method of accurate extraction of canal information based on fusion of rules and image enhancement in order to improve the level of canal irrigation management in Hetao irrigation area. Accurate calibration of canal information is the premise of precision irrigation management. For satellite remote sensing, it is difficult to collect information with high accuracy in sub lateral ditches in the field. For ground stations, calibration work is difficult to move flexibly with the target. Therefore, based on UAV remote sensing images and object-oriented segmentation method, a fusion of rules of two spectral features and two shape features was adopted. The optimal combination rule of "image enhancement splicing threshold 2%, normalized chromatic aberration coefficient a = 0.1, b = 0.9, c = 1.2, spectral average less than 98, minimum enclosure rectangle aspect ratio between its minimum value and 1, extension line greater than 1 meter" was obtained. The information of some ecological canal system in Hetao Irrigation District of Inner Mongolia was extracted, and the recognition accuracy reached sub lateral ditches level. The two evaluation methods of canal system calibration were put forward and the experiment was evaluated. The correct rate of sample 1 interpretation of combination rules was 87.5%, SNR (Signal-to-Noise Ratio) of classification results was 7.602, which provided accurate canal system information for precise irrigation operation and management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the case of increasing fragmentation of wetlands, the study of the relationship between wetland landscape characteristics and total nitrogen (TN) in water is of great significance to reveal the mechanism of wetland water purification. Taking the Naoli River (NR) wetlands in Northeast China as the research object, 10 uniformly distributed sampling sites in the study area were sampled in August 2015 to test the TN concentration and interpret the images of NR wetlands in the same period. Taking the sampling site as the control point, the whole wetlands were divided into 10 regions, and the landscape index of each region was extracted. In order to reveal whether the landscape characteristics are related to the TN concentration in the wetlands water body, the landscape index and the TN concentration in the control point water body were analyzed by correlation analysis, step-by-step elimination analysis and path analysis to reveal whether the landscape characteristics are related to the TN concentration under wetlands receiving agricultural drainages. The results showed that the correlation coefficients between four area indexes or eight shape indexes and TN concentration did not reach a significant correlation level (P > 0.05), indicating that TN removal was not only determined by a single landscape index. The path coefficient of edge density (ED) index is −0.41, indicating that wetland patch connectivity is the primary factor of TN removal, and there is no relationship between the larger patch area and the higher TN removal. The removal of TN in wetlands is restricted by the synergistic effect of landscape area and shape characteristics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Heavy metal pollution of the environment caused by e-waste recycling is of increasing concern, but little information is available on metal emissions during e-waste processing activities. Here, the concentrations of nine metals in soil at four contaminated sites in Qingyuan (an e-waste recycling area in China) and the risks posed were investigated. Soil at the sites was polluted with metals, particularly Cd, Cu, Pb, and Sb, the concentrations of which were 2.83-2306,2.17-1880,0.96-1971, and 9.28-5607 times higher, respectively, than local background concentrations. The Cd, Cr, Hg, Pb, and Sb concentrations were significantly lower in soil at an abandoned site than at acid-leaching, dismantling, and burning sites. The risks posed by metals in soil to human and environmental health were much higher at the acid-leaching and burning sites than the dismantling and abandoned sites. Source assessments indicated the differences in metal concentrations at the different sites were caused by different e-waste recycling activities at the sites. The results indicated crude e-waste processing is an important source of heavy metals to soil and should be of great concern. Pollution control measures and risk management strategies specific to soil contaminated through e-waste processing activities should be developed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chimonanthus praecox, a deciduous shrub tree, is endemic to China and widely cultivated in the world as a popular garden and ornamental plant. Here, we have reported its complete chloroplast genome with a length of 153,181 bp, containing a large single copy (LSC) region of 86,916 bp, a small single copy (SSC) region of 19,767 bp and two identical inverted repeat regions (IRs) of 23,249 bp. The overall GC contents of the plastome were 39.27%. A total of 114 unique genes were successfully annotated consisting of 80 protein-coding genes, 30 tRNA genes and four rRNA genes. Sixteen genes each possessed one intron and three genes had two introns. The ML phylogenetic analysis supports Chimonanthus as sister to Calycanthus. This result will be helpful for genetic breeding and population genetics of C. praecox, DNA barcoding of Chimonanthus, and phylogenetic studies of Calycanthaceae. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new diterpenoid, 17-methyl-8, 13-labdadien-15, 16-olid-19-oic acid methyl ester (1), along with two known compounds 2 and 3, were isolated from the leaves of Platycladus orientalis (L.) Franco. The structures were confirmed based on the analysis of HR-MS, 1D-NMR, and 2D-NMR spectra and the configuration of 1 was confirmed by the single-crystal X-ray diffraction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Emissions trading schemes (ETS) have been treated as a cost-effective mitigation measure to effectively control carbon emissions. Industrial carbon emission quota allocation is prior to the implementation of ETS. This study takes industrial sectors in China as a case to apportion carbon emission quotas. An informational entropy and multiple-factor mixed weighting allocation model (IEMMA) was established by considering fairness, efficiency, and feasibility from 4 aspects, i.e., emission reduction responsibility, emission reduction potential, emission reduction capacity, and industrial features. The allocation results among industrial sectors present many differences, and averaging a weighting allocation scheme is more feasible than other allocation schemes considering the fairness, efficiency, and feasibility. This study not only advances the existing literature on the issue of sectoral carbon emission quota allocation, but also provides a significant reference for China's policymaking in ETS implementation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]