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This situated case study outlines how a place-based landscape template provided an integrative platform for the environmental arm of a cross-disciplinary international education initiative, the Three Brothers Project, wherein geographers at the University of Auckland worked alongside engineers at Tsinghua University in Beijing to support collaborative research with grassland and agricultural scientists at Qinghai University in western China. These collaborative efforts built upon strategic leadership at government and university level, an appropriate resource base and engaged practitioners who developed and embedded research opportunities that built upon a shared commitment to research on environmental values in the source zone of the Yellow River. We highlight how a landscape framing brought together divergent mindsets, methodologies and practices in this collaborative research, providing an effective platform to share experiences, discuss perspectives and develop research outcomes.

• Relative search volume for losing weight progressively increased from 2004 to 2018. • The UK had the largest average increment speed for a search query of losing weight. • There is a seasonality of losing weight with a peak in the spring months. • A spike of relative search volume was observed in all countries in 2017. This study sought to examine the variation trends and seasonality of losing weight by using the data from Google Trends tool. According to the search term of [lose weight + weight loss], Google Trends data were obtained. Search activity was conducted within the USA, the UK, Canada, Ireland, Australia, and New Zealand from January 01, 2004, to December 31, 2018, utilizing the health category. Dynamic series analysis and the plot of seasonal decomposition of time series show that relative search volume of [lose weight + weight loss] increased from 2004 to 2018 at both national and hemispherical levels. Statistically significant seasonal variations in relative search volume for the term [lose weight + weight loss] were observed using cosinor analyses in the USA (p < 0.001), the UK (p < 0.001), Canada (p < 0.001), Ireland (p < 0.001), Australia (p < 0.001), and New Zealand (p < 0.001), peaking in the spring months and reaching the lowest level in the autumn months. The highest level in spring and the lowest level in autumn were reversed by 6 months in both hemisphere countries, consistent with a seasonal pattern. Our results indicate that Internet search queries for losing weight increased within the timeframe of 2004 to 2018, likely reflecting the rising global public interest. In addition, the present research provided preliminary evidence that there is a seasonality of losing weight with a peak in the spring months. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chemical acaricides are mainly used in traditional tick control, which leads to the emergence of tick resistance and concurrently results in environmental pollution. In the present study, the chemical constituents of essential oils (EOs) from Thymus mongolicus , Cinnamomum verum, and Origanum vulgare was analyzed, and their potential application was evaluated to control the vector tick Haemaphysalis longicornis , which is widely distributed over vast areas of Eurasia, Australia, and New Zealand. Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry analysis revealed that the phenols thymol and carvacrol accounted for 34.66% and 75.72% of the EOs of T. mongolicus and O. vulgare , respectively, whereas trans -cinnamaldehyde (49.42%) was the main constituent of C. verum EO. Immersion tests showed that the EOs of C. verum and O. vulgare had significant acaricidal activity against larval H. longicornis , with the 50% lethal concentration (LC 50) being 16.07 and 18.02 mg/mL, respectively, and the 95% lethal concentration (LC 95) being 120.37 and 130.09 mg/mL, respectively. The EOs of O. vulgare and T. mongolicus showed significant acaricidal activity against unfed adult H. longicornis , with LC 50 being 43.50 and 44.21 mg/mL, respectively, and LC 95 being 113.66 and 137.99 mg/mL, respectively. The fumigant toxicity test showed significant acaricidal activity of the three EOs against both unfed and engorged nymphal and adult H. longicornis. Enzyme assays revealed that the EOs of both C. verum and O. vulgare significantly inhibited glutathione S-transferase activity (P < 0.05). In contrast, the activities of carboxylesterase and multifunction oxidases were significantly inhibited by EOs extracted from all three plants (P < 0.05). Taken together, these findings suggest that plant EOs may serve as an environment-friendly alternative for synthetic acaricides in future tick control. • Thymol, carvacrol and trans -cinnamaldehyde were found the main compounds in the three Eos. • EOs of C. verum and O. vulgare had significant acaricidal activity against larval H. longicornis. • EOs of O. vulgare and T. mongolicus showed significant acaricidal activity to adult H. longicornis. • The activity of carboxylesterase and multifunction oxidases were significantly inhibited by Eos. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]