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Background: Tyrosine kinase inhibitors combined with conventional chemotherapy (CC) in treating Philadelphia chromosome-positive acute lymphoblastic leukemia (Ph-positive ALL) has achieved promising efficacy and safety outcomes. The study was conducted to compare the cost-effectiveness between imatinib (HANSOH Pharma, Jiangsu, China) and dasatinib (CHIATAI TIANQING Pharma, Jiangsu, China) in treating pediatric Ph-positive ALL when combined with CC from the perspective of the health system in China. Methods: A Markov model was established to simulate a hypothetical cohort of pediatric Ph-positive ALL patients receiving imatinib or dasatinib, combined with CC. The model was designed using a 10-year horizon, a 3- month cycle, and a 5% discount rate. Three health states were included: alive with progression-free survival, progressed disease, and death. Patient characteristics and transition probabilities were estimated based on clinical trials. Other relevant data, such as direct treatment costs and health utility data were extracted from published literature and Sichuan Province's centralized procurement and supervision platform. One-way sensitivity analysis and probabilistic sensitivity analysis were performed to assess the robustness of the results. The willingness-to-pay (WTP) was set as three times China's GDP per capita in 2021. Results: In the base-case analysis, the total medical costs were $89,701 and $101,182, and the quality-adjusted life years (QALYs) gained were 1.99 and 2.70, for imatinib and dasatinib regimens, respectively. The incremental cost-effectiveness ratio for dasatinib versus imatinib was $16,170/QALY. The probabilistic sensitivity analysis indicated that treatment with dasatinib combined with CC achieved a 96.4% probability of cost-effectiveness at a WTP threshold of $37,765/QALY. Conclusions: Dasatinib combined with CC is likely to be a cost-effective strategy compared to imatinib combination therapy for pediatric Ph-positive ALL in China at a WTP threshold of $37,765/QALY. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aesthetics of natural landscapes and the conservation of forest ecological integrity have received much attention because of the increasing public demand for aesthetic quality and the shift of forest conservation management objectives from single elements to multiple ecosystem services. However, existing research has not adequately addressed the relationship between forest scenic beauty with the color index and ecological integrity. This study aimed to evaluate and quantify the scenic beauty of forests and the vegetation color index using web questionnaires and Python color interpretation, with Jiuzhaigou World Natural Heritage and Giant Panda National Park in western Sichuan, China, as examples. The relationships between forest scenic beauty with vegetation color and ecological integrity were explored via correlation and linear regression analyses, respectively. The results showed that: (1) The overall scenic beauty of the autumn forests in the study area was at a "medium" level; (2) the scenic beauty of the autumn forest was significantly positively correlated with the saturation and value ratio; and (3) the scenic beauty was not significantly negatively correlated with ecological integrity. This research provides an important reference for the renovation of autumn foliage forests and ecotourism planning. This study also provides a theoretical basis for the transformation of forest conservation management objectives, offering the possibility for nature reserves to achieve the "win-win" management goal of ecological protection and local economic development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Human activities change the natural ecosystem and cause the decline of the intact ecosystem. Establishing an applicable and efficient human activity monitoring indicator system benefits China's ambitious national park system construction. In this study, we established a refined technique for ecological intactness scores (EIS) and applied it in the area of Giant Panda National Park (GPNP) from 1980 to 2020 by quantifying four types of human interferences including land use and cover change (LUCC), road construction, water reservoir and hydropower construction, and mining. The results show the following: (1) Under the ecological intactness score range of 0–10, the GPNP with about 92.6% area of the EIS was above 6.0, and the mean baseline level of intactness was 7.1 when it was established in 2018. (2) The EIS in the east of Qionglaishan and south of Minshan were relatively lower than the rest of the study area. (3) During the past 40 years, 80% of the GPNP's ecological intactness has remained stable. (4) In total, 14% of the GPNP was degraded mainly in the areas below 1200 m with severe human activities. (5) LUCC and road construction were the main driving factors for the decrease of ecological intactness in the GPNP. (6) The habitat of the giant panda is mainly distributed in the areas with an EIS above 6.0, and this is a key link between ecological intactness and habitat suitability. Our research proved that the ecological intactness score (EIS) is an effective indicator for monitoring and assessing the impact of human activities on the regional natural ecosystem and could be helpful for ecological restoration and human activities management GPNP in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate change and its impacts at global warming of 1.5 °C and 2 °C are major concerns of the international community. Based on the multi-model dynamical downscaling outputs, by using the quantile–quantile (Q-Q) adjustment method to correct the biases for the future periods, projections are made for the variation trend of the extreme precipitation events over the middle and upper Yangtze River in the context of global warming of 1.5 °C and 2 °C. The results show that the Q-Q adjustment method significantly reduces the bias of simulated extreme precipitation. In the dynamical downscaling simulation over the middle and upper Yangtze River, the bias of the number of rainy days for daily precipitation exceeding 25 mm (R25) is reduced from 6 to 1d after correction, and the 95th percentile of precipitation (pq95) is reduced from 40 to 10% over the whole region. At 1.5 °C and 2 °C warming thresholds, precipitation will be more extreme, with increasing frequency and much greater intensity. Under the RCP4.5 scenario, the precipitation intensity (SDII), extreme precipitation contribution rate (pfl95), R25, and pq95 increase more at 2 °C than at 1.5 °C warming level, but the maximum consecutive 1-day and 5-day precipitation (R1d, R5d) increase slightly less. Under the RCP8.5 scenario, SDII, pq95, R1d, and R5d increase more at 2 °C than at 1.5 °C warming target, but pfl95 and R25 increase slightly less. From the perspective of spatial distribution, the future changes of each extreme precipitation indices show significant regional differences. All show a significant increasing trend in the upper Jialing River, the Wu River Basin, and the southern Sichuan Basin, but decreases trend in pq95, pfl95, R1d, and, R5d over the Northern Sichuan Basin. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The forest productivity of mixed plantations was 18–39.5% greater than that of pure plantations. • Understory vegetation diversity in MCC was significantly higher than in PCL and PCF, by 15.8–20% and 13.2–35.7%, respectively. • The water conservation capacity of MCC is significantly higher (by 19.4–42.9%) than that of PCL and PCF. • Performance against the soil fauna diversity index was similar in all three stands. Many studies of biodiversity-ecosystem functioning (BEF) relationships indicate that mixed plantations can enhance ecological benefits by enabling ecological niche differentiation between species. However, few studies explore multi-dimensional evidence to fully evaluate the integrated ecological benefits of mixed plantations. This paper aims to assess the stand characteristics and ecological benefits of different forest types, drawing on multiple lines of evidence (trees, shrubs, herbs, soil fauna, and soils) to understand the effects of mixed plantations on integrated ecological benefits. Our study focused on pure Cunninghamia lanceolata (Chinese Fir) plantations (PCL), pure Cryptomeria fortunei (Chinese Cedar) plantations (PCF), and mixed C. lanceolata - C. fortunei plantations (MCC), which are common in the mountainous areas of the Sichuan Basin in southwestern China. We analysed the growth status, spatial structure, understory vegetation diversity, soil fauna characteristics, and physical and chemical soil properties found in plots representing these three forest types. The results showed that productivity was significantly higher in the MCC than in PCL or PCF, by 39.5% and 18%, respectively. Mixed plantations showed higher stand growth rates, but this effect was limited by interspecific competition. The results further showed that mixed plantations promote forest growth by allocating spatial locations between different tree species. In addition, the spatial stand structure in the mixed plantations was more stable than that in the two pure plantations, and the management potential of the mixed plantations was greater. Understory vegetation in MCC was significantly more diverse than in PCL and PCF, by 15.8–20% and 13.2–35.7%, respectively. Moreover, mixed plantations performed better in terms of soil water and soil fertility. Interestingly, we found no difference in soil fauna diversity between mixed and pure plantations. We conclude that, overall, planting mixed plantations can enhance the integrated ecological benefits of afforestation and may be an essential strategy for ensuring that plantations can cope with climate extremes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is uncertainty and limited knowledge regarding stand characteristics and soil properties of middle-aged pure forest plantations in the mountainous area of Western Sichuan. Plantation forests are almost exclusively planted as monocultures in the Pengzhou forest farm in the western mountainous area of Sichuan Province. This study aimed to assess the spatial and ecological characteristics of middle-aged Cunninghamia lanceolata (Lamb.) Hook. and Cryptomeria fortunei Hooibr. in the Pengzhou forest farm. The relationships and differences between stand growth characteristics and forest soil composition were assessed on the two forests planted simultaneously within the same area and exposed to the same environmental conditions. Cr. fortunei grew sparse, and slower than Cun. lanceolata. Principal component analysis indicated that the soil properties in the Cr. fortunei plantation were better than those in the Cun. lanceolata plantation. Redundancy analysis revealed that the differences in stand structure were affected significantly by the total nitrogen content and pH value. Thus, we propose that Cr. fortunei is planted for priority consideration in the subtropical high mountain area. Further, tending operations and application of fertilizers need to be conducted in Cun. lanceolata forests. Based on theoretical and experimental data, the present study explains why local farmers are more willing to plant Cr. fortunei, and thus provides a useful theoretical reference for the development of sustainable plantations in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The forest ecological integrity evaluation system was constructed and validated. • The existing ecological integrity evaluation was improved from different aspects. • The ecological integrity of various vegetation types is different in western Sichuan. • Age and elevation are the main factors affecting the ecological integrity of forests. With the concern for biodiversity conservation and ecological sustainability, the traditional method of assessing conservation management based on single elements such as timber production, stand structure, and forest area is no longer applicable. Especially for China, where the primary goal of national park conservation management is to "protect and maintain the authenticity and integrity of natural ecosystems", it is necessary to construct a set of indicators that can comprehensively evaluate the effectiveness of natural ecosystem conservation management. Therefore, in this study, we take Jiuzhaigou and Giant Panda National Park, in Sichuan, China, as examples, and construct a set of ecological integrity evaluation indices system from the perspective of attributes of forest ecosystems. Initially, we screened the candidate indicators based on the coefficient of variation, distribution range, and redundancy analysis and identified 16 indicators as the evaluation indices of ecological integrity. Next, the model fit and the interrelationship of the components of the ecological integrity model were verified using a combination of structural equation modeling and actual data. The model validation results showed that: (1) CMIN/DF = 1.66, RMSEA = 0.058, GFI = 0.954, and other model fit metrics have reached the best reference standard, indicating that the ecological integrity model overall fit is high. (2) In the parameter estimation results of the model observed and latent variables, the ecological integrity model explained 96%, 85% and 89% of the variance in species composition, stand structure and ecological processes, respectively, indicating that the evaluation indices selected can effectively predict the ecological integrity of forests. In addition, we used the factor loadings in the structural equation model to calculate the weights of the indices and used the weighted sum to calculate the ecological integrity. A one-way ANOVA was conducted to compare the differences among the ecological integrity of forests of different origins, forest types and life forms. The relative importance and linear regression were used to elucidate the main factors affecting forest ecological integrity. The results showed that (1) except for the scrub community, the mean value of forest ecological integrity was >0.45, which was in the middle-to-upper level. (2) the ecological integrity of forests of different origins and different forest types showed a changing pattern: natural forest > plantation forest, mixed forest > pure forest. (3) Stand age and elevation strongly influenced the ecological integrity of forests, with relative contribution rates of 64.54% and 11.88%, respectively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]