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Mercury emissions from human activities persist in the environment, posing risks to humans and ecosystem, and are regulated by the Minamata Convention. Understanding the historical emissions of mercury is critical for explaining the presence of mercury in the environment. In recent years, some studies have looked at the historical trends of atmospheric emission inventory. The spatial resolution of inventories for relatively recent years have improved. However, limited inventories have combined both long time scales and high spatial resolution, which is essential for evaluating the legacy impacts of anthropogenic mercury emissions, particularly in regions with high levels of mercury emissions. Here we compile a new comprehensive point source database by fusing multiple data source, and integrate it with previous China Atmospheric Mercury Emission Model to create an annual point source and gridded emission inventory for China covering 1978–2021. Integrating point source emission inventory (P-CAME) improves the accuracy of the gridded emissions, reducing the normalized mean error for all grids by 108 % compared to not using point sources in the most recent year of 2021. The improved gridded emissions inventory notably enhances the simulation of atmospheric mercury concentrations, particularly in urban areas. P-CAME inventory resulted in a 20–23 % reduction in the normalized mean bias. The improved gridded emission data identifies potential polluted grids characterized by high cumulative emissions. It indicates that 20 % of cumulative emissions originate from just 0.3 % of the grids, primarily distributed in Gansu, Yunnan, and Hunan Provinces. These areas are predominantly dominated by non-ferrous metal smelters or a mix of emissions sources including coal-fired industries and cement production. With the improvements in simulation accuracy and the identification of highly polluted regions, this updated inventory would greatly facilitate the assessment of mercury exposure, legacy impacts, and effective management of cross-media mercury pollution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Liangshan Prefecture, located at the northeastern edge of the Hengduan Mountain System and within the southern section of the Sichuan-Yunnan tectonic belt in Sichuan Province, China, a region prone to landslides, collapses and debris flows due to its active tectonics, complex topography and significant river erosion. By analysing a dataset of environment factors and geological hazard catalogue, the research uses the Relief algorithm to identify critical influencing factors for each hazard type, selecting 10, 9 and 9 factors for landslides, collapses and debris flows, respectively. Five models are used to assess the vulnerability of these hazards: the Information Value model, the Evidence Weight model, the Logistic Regression model, and both the Evidence Weight-Logistic Regression and the Information Value-Logistic Regression coupled models. The effectiveness of these models is confirmed by confusion matrix and ROC curve analyses, with the combined models showing particularly high accuracy in assessing susceptibility. High risk zones were identified in specific areas and along major fault zones in Liangshan Prefecture. The research provides significant insights into the susceptibility of geological hazards in mountainous and canyon regions, offering a comprehensive approach that goes beyond the limitations of single model applications. This methodology not only provides more accurate and comprehensive results, but also serves as a fundamental reference for geological hazard mitigation and management in Liangshan Prefecture, potentially benefiting similar regions worldwide. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With worldwide cultivation, the faba bean (Vicia faba L.) stands as one of the most vital cool-season legume crops, serving as a major component of food security. China leads global faba bean production in terms of both total planting area and yield, with major production hubs in Yunnan, Sichuan, Jiangsu, and Gansu provinces. The faba bean viruses have caused serious yield losses in these production areas, but previous researches have not comprehensively investigated this issue. In this study, we collected 287 faba bean samples over three consecutive years from eight provinces/municipalities of China. We employed small RNA sequencing, RT-PCR, DNA sequencing, and phylogenetic analysis to detect the presence of viruses and examine their incidence, distribution, and genetic diversity. We identified a total of nine distinct viruses: bean yellow mosaic virus (BYMV, Potyvirus), milk vetch dwarf virus (MDV, Nanovirus), vicia cryptic virus (VCV, Alphapartitivirus), bean common mosaic virus (BCMV, Potyvirus), beet western yellows virus (BWYV, Polerovirus), broad bean wilt virus (BBWV, Fabavirus), soybean mosaic virus (SMV, Potyvirus), pea seed-borne mosaic virus (PSbMV, Potyvirus), and cucumber mosaic virus (CMV, Cucumovirus). BYMV was the predominant virus found during our sampling, followed by MDV and VCV. This study marks the first reported detection of BCMV in Chinese faba bean fields. Except for several isolates from Gansu and Yunnan provinces, our sequence analysis revealed that the majority of BYMV isolates contain highly conserved nucleotide sequences of coat protein (CP). Amino acid sequence alignment indicates that there is a conserved NAG motif at the N-terminal region of BYMV CP, which is considered important for aphid transmission. Our findings not only highlight the presence and diversity of pathogenic viruses in Chinese faba bean production, but also provide target pathogens for future antiviral resource screening and a basis for antiviral breeding. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Black‐and‐white snub‐nosed monkeys (Rhinopithecus bieti) rely on behavioral and dietary flexibility to survive in temperate latitudes at high‐elevation habitats characterized by climate and resource seasonality. However, little is known about how elevation influences their behavioral and dietary flexibility at monthly or seasonal scales. We studied an isolated R. bieti population at Mt. Lasha in the Yunling Provincial Nature Reserve, Yunnan, China, between May 2008 and August 2016 to assess the impacts of elevation on feeding behavior and diet. Across our sample, R. bieti occupied elevations between 3031 and 3637 m above mean sea level (amsl), with a 315.1 m amsl range across months and a 247.3 m amsl range across seasons. Contrary to expectations, individuals spent less time feeding when ranging across higher elevations. Lichen consumption correlated with elevation use across months and seasons, with individuals spending more time feeding on this important resource at higher elevations. Leaf consumption only correlated with elevation use during the spring. Our results suggest that R. bieti do not maximize their food intake at higher elevations and that monthly and seasonal changes in lichen and leaf consumption largely explain variation in elevation use. These findings shed light on the responses of R. bieti to environmental change and offer insight into strategies for conserving their habitats in the face of anthropogenic disturbance. Research Highlights: Black‐and‐white snub‐nosed monkeys (Rhinopithecus bieti) spend less time feeding in months and seasons when occupying higher‐elevation habitats.Leaves only comprise a higher percentage of the R. bieti diet when occupying higher‐elevation habitats in the spring.Lichen comprise a higher percentage of the R. bieti diet in months and seasons when occupying higher‐elevation habitats. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective lo explore the application value ot a recombinant antigen-based capture enzyme immunoassay (KAg-CEIA) in detection of recent human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) infection in the sentinel surveillance population. Methods Among the HIV/AIDS sentinel surveillance population in Yunnan province in 2015, the confirmed HIV-1 antibodies positive plasma specimens matching the detection criteria for recent HIV-1 infection were tested by HIV-1 RAg-CEIA. The recent HIV-1 infection specimens were classified by the normalized optical density (ODn) values, and then the HIV-1 incidence in population were estimated. The detection and analysis data were compared with those by BED capture enzyme immunoassay (BED-CEIA) and limiting antigen avidity enzyme immunoassay (LAg-Avidity EIA), respectively. Results A total of 51 313 plasma specimens were tested for HIV antibodies, in which 1 255 specimens were HIV-1 antibodies positive. 253 out of 373 specimens matching the detection criteria for recent HIV-1 infection were tested by the 3 assays, respectively. By RAg-CEIA, BED-CEIA and LAg-Avidity EIA, 88, 78 and 54 specimens were classified as recent HIV-1 infections, and the HIV-1 incidence in the sentinel surveillance population was 0.33% (95% CI: 0.26%~0.39%), 0.31% (95% CI: 0.24%-0.38%) and 0.31% (95% CI: 0.22%-0.39%), respectively. The differences between the HIV-1 incidence by the 3 assays were not statistically significant (P = 0.927). Among the sub-populations, the HIV-1 incidence in men who have sex with men (MSM) were 3.50% (95% CI: 2.48%-4.52%), 3.92% (95% CI: 2.76%-5.08%) and 4.17% (95% CI: 2.79%-5.55%), respectively. The differences between the HIV-1 incidence by the 3 assays were not statistically significant (P = 0.763). The ODn values by RAg-CEIA were linear correlation with those by BED-CEIA (Spearman's rank correlation coefficient was 0.911), and those by LAg-Avidity EIA (Spearman' s rank correlation coefficient was 0.755), respectively. Conclusion HIV-1 RAg-CEIA can be effectively used in classification of recent HIV-1 infections and estimation of HIV-1 incidence, indicating that this approach has a good application prospect in detection of recent HIV-1 infection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fallback foods (FBF), categorized into staple and filler types, are suboptimal food sources chosen by animals in response to a scarcity of preferred food items during specific periods. Using lichens as FBF by Yunnan snub‐nosed monkeys (Rhinopithecus bieti) represents a distinctive ecological adaptation and evolutionary development within nonhuman primates. This study delves into the annual dietary choices of the species to address issues, elucidate the nutritional value, and understand the ecological significance of lichens for this primate species, which resides at the highest altitudes and experiences the coldest weather among global primates. The findings reveal that the lichens consumed by the monkeys serve as the staple FBF, with Bryoria spp. and Usnea longissima being the primary dietary species. The former is the preferred choice, providing higher digestible fiber (neutral detergent fiber) levels but lower tannin, fat, ADF, and energy levels. During the dry season, lichens dominate as the monkeys' primary food and nutritional resources. In the wet season, they act as a fundamental food selection rather than an ideal dietary choice, substituting nutrients from fruits, seeds, and leaves. Compared to other Asian colobine counterparts, this species exhibits the highest lichen consumption but the lowest proportions of leaves, flowers, and seeds. This study provides valuable evidence and information for developing or amending conservation strategies and guidelines for the dietary management of captive breeding of monkeys, one of the world's critically endangered primate species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Hengduan Mountains Region (HMR) is essential for the future ecological protection, clean energy production, Sichuan-Xizang and Yunnan-Xizang railways, and other major infrastructure projects in China. The distributions of climate and vegetation exhibit significant regional differentiation and vertical zonality due to the rugged longitudinal ranges and gorges and the complex disaster-prone environments in HMR. Therefore, it is urgent to develop the climate-vegetation regionalization in HMR to effectively satisfy the national requirements such as agricultural production and ecological protection, mountain disaster risk prevention, and major project construction. We here develop a new scheme of climate-vegetation regionalization with the latest demarcation outcome of HMR, the ground observation from 122 meteorological stations in HMR and its surrounding areas during 1990–2019, and the high-precision remote sensing data of land cover types. The new scheme first constructs the regionalization index system, fully considering the extraordinarily complicated geomorphic pattern ofmountains and valleys, the scarcity of meteorological observations, and the remarkable differentiation of climate and vegetation in HMR. The system consists of three primary regionalization indices (i.e., days with daily average temperature steady above 10°C, aridity index, and main vegetation types, dividing the temperature zones, moisture regions, and vegetation subregions, respectively) and three auxiliary indices of the accumulated temperature above 10°C, and the temperatures in January and July. Then, the HMR is divided into five temperature zones, 20 moisture regions, and 55 vegetation subregions. Compared with previous regionalization schemes, the new scheme optimizes the climate spatial interpolation model of thin plate smoothing spline suitable for the unique terrain in HMR. Moreover, the disputed division index threshold between different climatic zones (regions) is scientifically clarified using geographical detectors. Specifically, the stepwise downscaling pane division method is initially proposed to determine the zoning boundary, alleviating the excessive dependence of the traditional zoning method on subjective experience. Besides, the scheme considers the typical regional characteristics of the complex underlying surface and the high gradient zone of climate-vegetation distribution types in HMR. Consequently, the transition zone with quick climate changes between the plateau temperate and mid-subtropical zones is divided into mountainous subtropics, taking into account the spatial distribution characteristics of climate-vegetation regionalization indices. The regionalization scheme will provide practically theoretical support for agricultural production, ecological protection, major project construction, disaster prevention and relief efforts, and other socioeconomic activities in HMR, serving as a classic case of climate-vegetation regionalization for the alpine and canyon regions with intricate underlying surface, striking regional differences, and lack of ground observations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During the investigations of discomycetes in Yunnan, China, five species of Tatraea were discovered on decayed, decorticated oak trees or unidentified wood. All species have typical disc-like, large fruiting bodies with grey, brown or greyish-green colors. The ITS sequence analysis showed that they belong to Tatraea (Helotiaceae, Helotiales) and the LSU and ITS combination revealed a different topology within the genus. Four species, T. clepsydriformis, T. griseoturcoisina, T. yunnanensis and T. yuxiensis were established as new species, and T. aseptata was collected and described on oak woods. The pairwise homoplasy index (PHI) test results indicated that there is no significant genetic recombination (Fw = 1.0) between all related species pairs. All the species described here are supported by descriptions, illustrations and multi-gene analyses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

On May 21, 2021, at 21:48 local time, an earthquake with a moment magnitude of 6.1 occurred in Yangbi County, Yunnan Province, China. By using the robust strong ground motion data released by the Yunnan Earthquake Agency, we selected five near-field stations (R < 100 km) and determined model parameters, such as the duration, spectral attenuation, stress drop, and site amplification factors of the 2021 Mw 6.1 Yangbi earthquake in China. These model parameters required for the simulation were fed into a stochastic finite-fault model of the corner frequency associated with a dislocation. The modified stochastic finite-fault method was applied to simulate the acceleration recordings of these five near-fault stations, and the acceleration response spectra and Fourier acceleration spectrum were obtained. Comparative observation results reveal that the key input parameters extracted from a few stations and the revised approach established in the current study can adequately predict the near-fault ground motion at high frequencies of the Yangbi earthquake and can demonstrate the contribution of areas with large slips to radiated energy. The proposed method can provide a basis for postdisaster rescue and seismic building design for this region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Vajrasana pagoda is the only stone overturned-bowl pagoda among the 12 existing Vajrasana pagodas built during the Ming Dynasty in the Guandu District, Kunming City, Yunnan Province, China. The location of the Vajrasana pagoda is in an earthquake-active zone with high rainfall. The small towers on the upper side were damaged by an earthquake in 1696 AD. All the stone statues representing religious figures have blistered and may peel further due to external factors, such as sunshine and rainfall. To assess the structural stability of the blistering, we employed 3D laser scanning to record the building's geometry over time. Subsequently, X-ray diffraction, thin section identification, and uniaxial compressive strength tests were conducted on the pagoda stone to reveal physical–mechanical properties. Finally, a finite element model was constructed to analyze stress and displacement in various scenarios. The results revealed: (1) Blistering on the pagoda stone is secure under self-gravity and heavy rainfall. (2) In an earthquake, the upper blistering near the junction of two sides may break. (3) A 3D color deviation model of blistering over 8 months showed peeling and bursting within the finite element simulation's predicted range. This research offers a fresh approach to stone tower preservation, shifting from reactive measures to proactive prevention and prediction. These methods and concepts hold relevance for stone towers in similar high-rainfall and earthquake-prone regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: Three bark beetle species, Tomicus yunnanensis, T. brevipilosus, and T. minor, are the most economically significant pests of the Yunnan pine in Southwestern China. Chemical and physical communication play key roles in various life activities. In this study, we described the fine structure of the adult mouthparts of these three Tomicus species using scanning and transmission electron microscopy. We identified three types of mandibular shapes, which match with their biomechanical properties, their ability to process food, and their preferred foraging locations on tree trunks. Eleven types of sensilla were discernible, including sensilla basiconica, sensilla twig basiconica, sensilla coeloconica, sensilla chaetica, sensilla trichoidea, and sensilla digitiformia. The function roles of each sensilla type were given based on its distribution and structures, especially on the internal structures such as dendrites and tubular body. Most chemoreceptors occur on the palpal tips. No significant differences among the sexes or species were identified; however, intraspecific variability in the number of sensilla twig basiconica 3 and sensilla digitiformia sensilla was evident. These findings will aid future studies of the feeding niches and reproductive behaviors of Tomicus beetles. Tomicus yunnanensis, T. brevipilosus, and T. minor are the most economically significant pests of Pinus yunnanensis in Southwestern China. Chemical and physical factors play critical roles in diverse biological activities. Here, we describe the fine structure of the adult mouthparts of these three Tomicus species using scanning and transmission electron microscopy. We identified three types of mandibular shapes, which determine their biomechanical properties, their ability to process food, and their preferred foraging locations on tree trunks. Eleven types of sensilla were discernible, including sensilla basiconica (Sb.1–2), sensilla twig basiconica (Stb.1–3), sensilla coeloconica (Sco), sensilla chaetica (Sch.1–2), sensilla trichoidea (Str.1–2), and sensilla digitiformia (Sdi). Each basiconic sensillum occurs on the palpal tips and is innervated by 2–6 dendrites. Sb.1 are gustatory receptors, Sb.2 are olfactory receptors, and the three other sensilla have dual taste and mechanical functions. Sco, Sch, and Str are mechanoreceptors. Sdi are mechanical vibration receptions, given that they are innervated by one dendrite with numerous dendritic branches into the nonporous cuticle. No significant differences among the sexes or species were identified; however, intraspecific variability in the number of Stb.3 and Sdi sensilla was evident. These results will aid future studies of Tomicus beetle behaviors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The occurrence of earthquakes has been recognized as a natural disaster capable of significantly impacting land use/cover change (LUCC) patterns. During the post-earthquake recovery and reconstruction phase, obtaining an accurate and scientific grounded understanding of the LUCC process in the affected area is essential for analyzing the subsequent changes in recovery and identifying the underlying driving forces. In this study, we selected the 2014 Ludian Ms6.5 earthquake as the focal point of our research. Through the utilization of Google Earth Engine and Landsat 8 OLI remote sensing image, we employed the Random Forest classification algorithm to analyze the structural and transformational changes of LUCC in Ludian County prior to and post the earthquake. In addition, we produced comprehensive post-earthquake damage map and recovery map through the LUCC transfer amount to analyze each township's damage and recovery degree quantitatively. Finally, we employed the geographic detector to investigate the driving factors contributing to the post-earthquake recovery degree. As is demonstrated by our results, the earthquake inflicted substantial damage on cropland, grassland, and built-up areas, with Longtoushan Town and Huodehong Town suffering the most severe damage. After three years, we found that cropland and built-up areas had been restored, while previously unused land had been successfully treated, yielding initial restoration progress. Upon reaching the six-year mark, built-up areas continued to expand, while cropland acreage exhibited a decline in comparison to the P1 and P2 phases. Concurrently, forest and grassland areas increased relative to the P1 and P2 phases, signifying Ludian County's successful restoration. The factor detection results show that socio-economic factors are potent factors that promote post-earthquake recovery, and the earthquake factors also have a continuous impact. The research results can serve as a valuable reference for informing local disaster area reconstruction planning as well as ensuring effective protection of ecological environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hepatitis E virus (HEV) harbored by small mammals in Dali City, Yunnan Province was investigated. The samples were detected by nested RT-PCR and whole genomes were sequenced by high-throughput sequencing in the positive HEV samples. Bioinformatics was analyzed by the soft-wares of MEGA-X, BESTv1.10.4 and Geneious. A total of 114 small mammals from 6 genera and 7 species were screened in this study. The positivity rate of HEV in Norway rat (Rattus norvegicus) was 8.00% (2/25), and the whole genome of one HEV strain of No. DL147 was obtained, which was the HEV-C1 genotype, and had the highest homology to HEV in the serum of a patient with hepatitis E in Hong Kong, with a nucleotide level of 95.21%. The earliest divergence between the two strains was about 2003. The study confirmed the presence of HEV-C1 infection in Norway rat in Dali City, Yunnan Province, which is highly homologous to the recently reported human emerging HEV and has a relatively recent phylogenetic relationship, and it is instructive for prevention and control of hepatitis E. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A digital civilization rising on silicon-based technology is predicted to replace carbon-based spaces with virtual ones, leading to the decline of rural regionalism. Reconciling the benefits of globalization through data-driven methods while preserving the locality of rural areas is crucial. The extensive collection of traditional villages in the Yunnan Province possesses abundant natural heritages and diverse regional cultural resources. However, the existing assessment and identification index system for these traditional villages primarily relies on qualitative measures, which lack a consistent and quantifiable data system that can provide scientific, data-driven analysis. This study focuses on the mainstream types of traditional villages in the Yunnan Province as its research subject. Based on empirical research methods and architectural typology principles, two data acquisition and vectorization procedures are implemented, combining tilt photography and digital mapping technology. This approach addresses the inconsistency problem of the current system's complex information and multiple data. This study aims to establish an efficient, objective, and consistent method of generating a database that comprehensively represents the environmental and architectural characteristics of the villages. Once established, this database could serve as a consistent and objective basis for subsequent quantitative analyses across different types of villages. Hence, setting up a consistent, quantifiable database is the first step to future data-driven policymaking, which is essential for sustainable preservation. In conclusion, the repeatability and reproducibility of these research findings are intrinsically tied to the meticulous methodology employed in the process of data acquisition and vectorization. The valid result was demonstrated after the verifying of the correlation analysis. Finally, a challenge to the universality came from adding different worldwide villages to the database and revealing underlying patterns. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Plague, caused by Yersinia pestis, is a zoonotic disease that can reemerge and cause outbreaks following decades of latency in natural plague foci. However, the genetic diversity and spread pattern of Y. pestis during these epidemic-silent cycles remain unclear. In this study, we analyze 356 Y. pestis genomes isolated between 1952 and 2016 in the Yunnan Rattus tanezumi plague focus, China, covering two epidemic-silent cycles. Through high-resolution genomic epidemiological analysis, we find that 96% of Y. pestis genomes belong to phylogroup 1.ORI2 and are subdivided into two sister clades (Sublineage1 and Sublineage2) characterized by different temporal-spatial distributions and genetic diversity. Most of the Sublineage1 strains are isolated from the first epidemic-silent cycle, while Sublineage2 strains are predominantly from the second cycle and revealing a west to east spread. The two sister clades evolved in parallel from a common ancestor and independently lead to two separate epidemics, confirming that the pathogen responsible for the second epidemic following the silent interval is not a descendant of the causative strain of the first epidemic. Our results provide a mechanism for defining epidemic-silent cycles in natural plague foci, which is valuable in the prevention and control of future plague outbreaks. Genome sequencing of Chinese Yersinia pestis isolates spanning more than 60 years and covering two epidemics and "silent" cycles in-between reveal the phylogeographic and evolutionary background of these plague cycles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Plague, one of the most devastating infectious diseases in human history, is caused by the bacterium Yersinia pestis. Since the 1950s, the Dehong Dai–Jingpo Autonomous Prefecture (DH) in Yunnan Province, China, has recorded plague outbreaks that have resulted in 1,153 human cases and 379 deaths. The genetic diversity and transmission characteristics of Y. pestis strains in this region remain unknown. Here, we performed high-resolution genomic epidemiological analysis of 175 Y. pestis strains isolated from five counties and 19 towns in DH between 1953 and 2007. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that most DH strains were located in lineage 1.ORI2, which could be further subdivided into seven sub-phylogroups (SPG1-SPG7). The dominant sub-phylogroups of Y. pestis in DH varied during different periods and presented a population shift. Genomic evidence showed that plague might have emerged from the southwest of DH (e.g., Longchuan or Ruili counties) or its bordering countries, and subsequently spread to the northeast in multiple waves between 1982 and 2007. Our study infers a fine-scale phylogeny and spread pattern of the DH Y. pestis population, which extends our knowledge regarding its genetic diversity and provides clues for the future prevention and control of plague in this region. Author summary: Yersinia pestis, the causative agent of plague, has led to three historic pandemics and remains a major public health issue. Here, genomic epidemiological analysis of 175 Y. pestis strains isolated over 50 years from the Dehong Dai—Jingpo Autonomous Prefecture, a region located in southwestern China, revealed the genomic evolution scenario of Y. pestis with high resolution. Our results revealed that plague epidemics in this region were led by different phylogroups, and population shift events were observed during different years, suggesting high dynamics of Y. pestis populations in the local natural plague foci. We found that the spread of plague was from southwest to northeast and inferred the possible origin of the epidemics, which would help strengthen surveillance of the epizootic in local natural plague foci and promote the prevention and control of human plague. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Provisioning can significantly affect the ranging patterns, foraging strategies, and time budget of wild primates. In this study, we document for the first time, the effects of provisioning on the activity budget and foraging effort in an Asian colobine. Over 3‐years, we used an instantaneous scanning method at 10‐min intervals to collect data on the activity budget of a semiprovisioned breeding band (SPB) of black‐and‐white snub‐nosed monkeys (Rhinopithecus bieti) (42–70 individuals) at Xiangguqing (Tacheng), Yunnan, China. We then compared the effects of provisioning in our study band with published data on a sympatric wild nonprovisioned breeding band (NPB) of R. bieti (ca. 360 monkeys) at the same field site. The SPB spent 25.6% of their daytime feeding, 17.1% traveling, 46.9% resting, and 10.3% socializing. In comparison, the NPB devoted more time to feeding (34.9%) and socializing (14.1%), less time to resting (31.3%), and was characterized by a greater foraging effort (1.74 versus 0.96, foraging effort = (feeding + traveling)/resting; see Methods). There was no difference between bands in the proportion of their activity budget devoted to traveling (15.7% vs. 17.1%). In addition, the SPB exhibited a more consistent activity budget and foraging effort across all seasons of the year compared to the NPB. These findings suggest that the distribution, availability, and productivity of naturally occurring feeding sites is a major determinant of the behavioral strategies and activity budget of R. bieti. Finally, a comparison of our results with data on six nonprovisioned R. bieti bands indicates that caution must be raised in meta‐analyses or intraspecific comparisons of primate behavioral ecology that contain data generated from both provisioned and nonprovisioned groups. Research Highlights: We studied the activity budget of a semiprovisioned band of black‐and‐white snub‐nosed monkeys and compared the results with six wild nonprovisioned bands.The semiprovisioned band spent less time feeding, more time resting, and had a lower foraging effort than the nonprovisioned bands.Caution must be exercised in conducting meta‐analyses when using data from both provisioned and nonprovisioned primate bands. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A seismic sequence has struck the Yangbi county, west part of Yunnan Province in southwest China since May 18, 2021. This region experienced the strongest ground shakings on the night of 21 May with the successive occurrence of four earthquakes with MS ≥5.0 in a short time and more small earthquakes. Large numbers of strong-motion recordings obtained in the four earthquakes with MS ≥5.0 (i.e. the MS 5.6 foreshock, the MS 6.4 mainshock, the MS 5.0 and MS 5.2 aftershocks) were analyzed in detail to characterize the source effects, distance decay, etc. The velocity pulse-like waveform at near-source station 53YBX and the significant asymmetry of distance decay along the SSE-NNW direction (i.e. much slower toward the SSE) in the MS 6.4 mainshock seem to hint the occurrence of the asymmetrical source rupture. The source rupture directivity for the four events were investigated by fitting the azimuth-dependent residuals of the PGAs. The MS 6.4 mainshock is characterized by the significantly asymmetrical bilateral rupture propagation, predominantly in the SSE direction with a rupture velocity of about 2.24 km/s. The PGA and PSAs from the four earthquakes were further compared with the predicted medians of the ASK14 and CY14 prediction models for global shallow crustal earthquakes. The negative inter-events residuals reflect the weaker source contributions of the Yangbi events to ground motions. The source contributions to short-period ground motions approximately show the dependence on earthquake type, that is, MS 5.6 foreshock > MS 6.4 mainshock > MS 5.2 aftershock, consistent with the dependence of stress drop on earthquake type. We further noted that the inter-events values for the MS 5.0 aftershock are far below those for the MS 5.2 aftershock. This may be attributed to the differences in the spatial and temporal distance to the mainshock, that is, weak source contributions from the close aftershocks to the mainshock. The values of adjustment coefficient Δc3 are almost positive, indicating the weaker anelastic attenuations in the study region. Finally, we also found that the distance scaling of significant duration can be well described by both empirical models (AS16 model for predicting significant duration and the BT14 model for empirically illustrating the ground-motion path duration). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

On 21 May 2021 (local time), an Mw 6.1 earthquake struck the Yangbi County, Yunnan Province, China. The finite fault stochastic simulation approach is usually used to simulate ground motions in high‐frequency band (f > 1 Hz). Model parameters needed for earthquake ground motion simulation mainly include source, path, and site. In the high‐frequency ground motion simulation program widely used in earthquake engineering, the reciprocal of corner frequency is typically used to define the source rise time; however, the complete step‐wise derivation process is unavailable. In deriving the static corner frequency f0, source rise time is typically estimated to be the time required for the rupture to reach 50% of the final location, and the source rise time then can be obtained as 0.27/f0, which is consistent with the hypothesis of corner frequency and rupture velocity, and the correlation and integrity between parameters are established. This study also focuses on the influence of different source rise times and path durations on the simulation results, such as Fourier acceleration spectrum, pseudo‐spectral acceleration, and peak ground acceleration. The results show that the source rise time recommended in this simulation can improve the accuracy of near‐fault ground motion simulations. This study provides suggestions for a reasonable selection of path duration in different engineering applications. Key Points: The stochastic finite‐fault method was applied to simulate the near‐field ground motion of the Yangbi earthquake in ChinaThe input parameters were selected and the simulated and observed results were comparedThe effects of path duration and source rise time on the synthetized results were analyzed [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, a combined anisotropic random field and GPU-accelerated Cholesky decomposition algorithm is proposed for diversion tunnel excavation. With the MATLAB programming control be used to combine the advantages of GPU and CPU computing, the efficient method of generating large numerical model random fields is realized. Based on the geological structure characteristics of red-layered soft rocks in central Yunnan, the anisotropic rock random field and tunnel excavation with different rotation angles are simulated. The results show that the variability of rotational anisotropy random fields and mechanical parameters of the red-bedded soft rocks in central Yunnan has a large influence on the deformation and stress state of the surrounding rocks at the excavation face of the tunnel. This study can provide theoretical and technical support for the design and construction of relevant rock engineering in the red-layered soft rock area in central Yunnan. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Three new species of Distoseptispora, viz. D. mengsongensis, D. nabanheensis, and D. sinensis, are described and illustrated from specimens collected on dead branches of unidentified plants in Yunnan Province, China. Phylogenetic analyses of LSU, ITS, and TEF1 sequence data, using maximum-likelihood (ML) and Bayesian inference (BI), reveal the taxonomic placement of D. mengsongensis, D. nabanheensis, and D. sinensis within Distoseptispora. Both morphological observations and molecular phylogenetic analyses supported D. mengsongensis, D. nabanheensis, and D. sinensis as three new taxa. To extend our knowledge of the diversity of Distoseptispora-like taxa, a list of recognized species of Distoseptispora with major morphological features, habitat, host, and locality is also provided. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A Gram-negative, aerobic, rod-shaped, motile bacterium with multi-flagella, strain RST, was isolated from bacterial wilt of tobacco in Yuxi city of Yunnan province, China. The strain contains the major fatty acids of C16: 0, summed feature 3 (C16: 1 7c and/or C16: 1 6c), and summed feature 8 (C18: 1 7c and/or C18: 1 6c). The polar lipid profile of strain RST consists of diphosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylglycerol, phosphatidylethanolamine, and unidentified aminophospholipid. Strain RST contains ubiquinones Q-7 and Q-8. 16S rRNA gene sequence (1,407 bp) analysis showed that strain RST is closely related to members of the genus Ralstonia and shares the highest sequence identities with R. pseudosolanacearum LMG 9673T (99.50%), R. syzygii subsp. indonesiensis LMG 27703T (99.50%), R. solanacearum LMG 2299T (99.28%), and R. syzygii subsp. celebesensis LMG 27706T (99.21%). The 16S rRNA gene sequence identities between strain RST and other members of the genus Ralstonia were below 98.00%. Genome sequencing yielded a genome size of 5.61 Mbp and a G + C content of 67.1 mol%. The genomic comparison showed average nucleotide identity (ANIb) values between strain RST and R. pseudosolanacearum LMG 9673T, R. solanacearum LMG 2299T, and R. syzygii subsp. indonesiensis UQRS 627T of 95.23, 89.43, and 91.41%, respectively, and the corresponding digital DNA-DNA hybridization (dDDH) values (yielded by formula 2) were 66.20, 44.80, and 47.50%, respectively. In addition, strains belonging to R. solanacearum phylotype I shared both ANIb and dDDH with strain RST above the species cut-off values of 96 and 70%, respectively. The ANIb and dDDH values between the genome sequences from 12 strains of R. solanacearum phylotype III (Current R. pseudosolanacearum) and those of strain RST were below the species cut-off values. Based on these data, we concluded that strains of phylotype I, including RST, represent a novel species of the genus Ralstonia, for which the name Ralstonia nicotianae sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain of Ralstonia nicotianae sp. nov. is RST (=GDMCC 1.3533T = JCM 35814T). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Accurate assessment of seismic landslides hazard is a prerequisite and foundation for post-disaster relief of earthquakes. An Ms 5.7 earthquake occurring on September 7, 2012, in Yiliang County, Yunnan Province, China, triggered hundreds of landslides. To explore the characteristics of coseismic landslides caused by this moderate-strong earthquake and their significance in predicting seismic landslides regionally, this study uses an artificial visual interpretation method based on a planet image with 5-m resolution to obtain the information of the coseismic landslides and establishes a coseismic landslide database containing data on 232 landslides. Nine influencing factors of landslides were selected for this study: elevation, relative elevation, slope angle, aspect, slope position, distance to river system, distance to faults, strata, and peak ground acceleration. The real probability of coseismic landslide occurrence is calculated by combining the Bayesian probability and logistic regression model. Based on the coseismic landslides, the probabilities of landslide occurrence under different peak ground acceleration are predicted using a logistic regression model. Finally, the model established in this paper is used to calculate the landslide probability of the Ludian Ms 6.5 earthquake that occurred in August 2014, 78.9 km away from the macro-epicenter of the Yiliang earthquake. The probability is verified by the real coseismic landslides of this earthquake, which confirms the reliability of the method presented in this paper. This study proves that the model established according to the seismic landslides triggered by one earthquake has a good effect on the seismic landslides hazard assessment of similar magnitude, and can provide a reference for seismic landslides prediction of moderate-strong earthquakes in this region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Greenhouse gas emissions have largely changed the global climate, leading to an increase in the frequency and extent of droughts. Forests are essential natural resources, and they play an important role in maintaining ecological security. Effectively monitoring drought stress in forests can help promote sustainable forestry development. Solar-induced chlorophyll fluorescence is a spectral signal released by vegetation photosynthesis after light absorption. In this study, we used solar-induced chlorophyll fluorescence data (SIF), canopy fluorescence yield (SIFyield) data, vegetation indices (NDVI, EVI), leaf area index (LAI), and fraction of absorbed photosynthetically active radiation (fPAR) to study forest drought stress in the Yunnan, Fujian, Shaanxi, and Heilongjiang provinces in China, respectively. The temporal and spatial ranges of drought stress indicated by the Standardized Precipitation-Evapotranspiration Index (SPEI) values were used as a reference (SPEI ≤ −0.5 indicates the occurrence of drought). Firstly, the standardized anomalous values of SIF, SIFyield, NDVI, EVI, LAI, and fPAR were calculated. The temporal and spatial response abilities of each variable to drought stress were analyzed. Secondly, the correlation between each variable and the drought indicator SPEI was quantified. Finally, the validity and variability of SIF and other variables for drought monitoring were analyzed and verified with a random forest classification model. The results showed that on a temporal scale, SIFyield showed an earlier response to drought stress than other variables and the abnormal change of SIFyield was higher than other variables by 10% or more. Spatially, the range of drought areas indicated by SIFyield and SPEI had more coincident areas than other variables. The overall correlation between SIFyield and SPEI was also higher during the drought period, especially during late drought periods when other variables showed negative correlations. For SIFyield, the correlation coefficients of the Yunnan, Fujian, Shaanxi, and Heilongjiang provinces were 0.57, 0.43, 0.32, and 0.49, respectively. Additionally, the variable importance assessment using a random forest model also indicated that SIFyield is more sensitive to forest droughts. We concluded that SIFyield is an effective tool for monitoring forest drought stress in various regions of China and that it can provide a scientific basis for forest drought monitoring. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Located at the intersection of the Tethys and Pacific Rim metallogenic belts, the Laojunshan polymetallic metallogenic province in SE Yunnan Province hosts many large-scale W–Sn and Sn–Zn polymetallic deposits. The newly discovered Caiyuanzi medium-sized Pb–Zn deposit is located in the northern part of this province and has eight sulfide ore bodies. All the ore bodies occur in the siliceous rocks of the Lower Devonian Pojiao Formation (D1p). The ore bodies are conformable with stratigraphy and controlled by a lithologic horizon. The sulfide ores have banded or laminated structures. The ore minerals are mainly pyrite, chalcopyrite, sphalerite, and galena. In this study, in situ sulfur and lead isotopes were used to constrain the origin of the Caiyuanzi Pb–Zn deposit. The results show that the in situ δ34S values of pyrite, chalcopyrite, and sphalerite range from 0.1‰ to 6.0‰, with an average of 4.7‰. This δ34S signature reflects the mixing between magmatic-derived and reduced seawater sulfate sulfur. The in situ Pb isotopes characteristics of pyrite, galena, and sphalerite suggest that the sulfur and lead of ore minerals come from the upper crust. Integrating the data obtained from the studies including regional geology, ore geology, and S–Pb isotope geochemistry, we proposed that the Caiyuanzi Pb–Zn deposit is a hydrothermal deposit formed by sedimentary exhalative and magmatic hydrothermal superimposition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The central Yunnan sub-block is an important channel for southeast migration of materials in the Qinghai-Xizang Plateau, and therefore a key area to study tectonic movement and deformation. In this study, a three-dimensional electrical structure of the crust and upper mantle lithosphere was derived from magnetotelluric data inversion along a survey line across the central Yunnan sub-block. Results suggest that the middle and upper crust of the central Yunnan sub-block is comprised of several independent high-resistivity bodies. Deep extension of some faults was revealed according to electrical structure and relocated microseismicity. The Chenghai fault extends downward along the eastern boundary of a high-resistivity body. The Yuanmou fault dips to the west and extends to the depth along the boundary between two high-resistivity bodies. The Tanglang-Yimen fault cuts through a high-resistivity body in the middle and upper crust. There is an obvious high-conductivity C1 layer in the lower crust in the eastern part of the central Yunnan sub-block, and its western border displays an obvious structural boundary in the shallow part. The eastern part of the central Yunnan sub-block moves eastward relative to the western part (bounded by the west side of a high-resistivity body R3 in the C1 west). C1 is speculated to be characterized by low rheological strength and viscosity, thus reducing the resistance to eastward movement of the eastern part. Owing to the combined action of C1 and its western boundary, the eastern materials slip eastward faster relative to R3. Due to South China Block resistance, the middle and upper crust in the eastern part is within a compressional tectonic environment, consistent with the negative dilatation rate and the presence of compressive faults in this region. The C1 ground surface has a low strain rate, indicating weak deformation in this region and rigid motion dominance. Our results suggest that under the decoupling effect of the high-conductivity layer in the lower crust, the independent rigid blocks in the middle and upper crust can also exhibit tectonic deformation characteristics of rigid extrusion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To realize the autonomous operation of a terraced rice sowing robot, a set of sowing robot operation path planning algorithms with universal significance for small, irregular terraced plots is proposed. According to the characteristics of terraces and the agronomic requirements of sowing seeding, the operation path mainly includes parallel operation and boundaries surrounding the operation path. The boundary pre-collision detection method is expounded, and the cyclic detection method judges the U-turn area. The Bézier curve fitting algorithm was used to smooth the boundary wrapping path. To verify the feasibility of the algorithm, four typical irregular small fields located in 666.7-hectare terraces of Sama in Hong He Prefecture, Yunnan Province, were randomly selected, and a field map was obtained through Google Earth. An existing seeding robot was used as a model, and the simulation and comparison tests were carried out with the mainstream EHNS algorithm and boundary polyline algorithm under the ROS-kinetic platform in the Cen Village Scientific Research Base of South China Agricultural University. The actual boundaries of the four fields with the same simulation test were used as the map to verify the field experiment. The simulation test results show that the area coverage of the sowing operation is greater than 93.53% and the replay rate is less than 3.46%, and the field test results show that the area coverage of the sowing operation is greater than 94.33% and the replay rate is less than 3.03%. The simulation test is in good agreement with the field test results, indicating that the algorithm has good adaptability, which meets the requirements of a sowing robot for sowing operation path planning and can provide a certain reference for the path planning of irregular field operation robots in hilly and mountainous areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Contamination of leafy vegetables grown in heavy metal(loid)-polluted mining areas pose serious health risks. This study aimed to explore the heavy metal(loid) contamination of leafy vegetables near two mining areas, by collecting samples from 14 different leafy vegetable species in Yunnan Province, China. The lead (Pb), cadmium (Cd), arsenic (As), and copper (Cu) contents of the samples were determined, and risks to human health were calculated using the hazard quotient and hazard index (HI). Moreover, Malabar spinach was identified as a leafy vegetable that exhibits low accumulation of heavy metal(loid)s. The accumulation capacity of different Malabar spinach varieties was verified, and a Cd soil safety threshold was determined using a pot experiment. Overall, Pb and Cd were the main soil and vegetable contaminants found in both study sites. The HI values for all leafy vegetables, apart from Malabar spinach, were greater than 1, indicating the presence of risks to human health; moreover, the health risks were greater for children than adults. The Malabar spinach pot experiment results showed that only some Cd forms exceeded China's maximum permissible standards. Furthermore, Malabar spinach varieties A (instant Malabar spinach), C (extra-large leaf green vine Malabar spinach), and F (large leaf Malabar spinach) displayed the lowest Cd accumulation. We calculated Cd total and bioavailable soil safety thresholds of 4.75 and 0.77 mg kg-1, respectively. However, further research is required to validate soil heavy metal safety thresholds for different vegetables. Ultimately, the heavy metal(loid) contamination of leafy vegetables described here was more serious than anticipated. Finally, the results of this study can inform residents living near these mining areas of a low-risk leafy vegetable, which will reduce the harm caused by heavy metal(loid) contamination in the area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Deletion/insertion polymorphism (DIP), as a short insertion/deletion sequence polymorphic genetic marker, has attracted the attention of forensic genetic scientist due to its lack of stutter, short amplicon and abundant ancestral information. In this study, based on a self-developed 43 autosomal deletion/insertion polymorphism (A-DIP) loci panel which could meet the forensic application purposes of individual identification, kinship testing and ancestral inference to some extent, we evaluated the forensic efficiencies of the above three forensic objectives in Chinese Yi, Hani and Miao groups of Yunnan province. The cumulative match probability (CPM) and combined probability of exclusion (CPE) of these three groups were 1.11433E-18, 8.24299E-19, 4.21721E-18; 0.999610217, 0.999629285 and 0.999582084, respectively. Average 96.65% full sibling pairs could be identified from unrelated individual pairs (as likelihood ratios > 1) using this DIP panel, whereas the average false positive rate was 3.69% in three target Yunnan groups. With the biogeographical ancestor prediction models constructed by extreme gradient boosting (XGBoost) and support vector machine (SVM) algorithms, 0.8239 (95% CI 0.7984, 0.8474) of the unrelated individuals could be correctly divided according to the continental origins based on the 43 A-DIPs which were large frequency distribution differentiations among different continental populations. The present results of principal component analysis (PCA), multidimensional scaling (MDS), neighbor joining (NJ) and maximum likelihood (ML) phylogenetic trees and STRUCTURE analyses indicated that these three Yunnan groups had relatively close genetic distances with East Asian populations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Ticks are obligate blood-sucking vectors for multiple zoonotic diseases. In this study, tick samples were collected from Yunnan Province, China, which is well-known as the "Global Biodiversity Hotspot" in the world. This study aimed to clarify the microbial populations, including pathogens, associated with ticks and to identify the diversity of tick-borne microbiota in this region. Methods: The 16S rRNA full-length sequencing from pooled tick DNA samples and PCR amplification of pathogenic genera from individual samples were performed to understand tick-associated microbiota in this region. Results: A total of 191 adult ticks of 5 tick species were included and revealed 11 phyla and 126 genera bacteria, including pathogenic Anaplasma, Ehrlichia, Candidatus Neoehrlichia, Rickettsia, Borrelia, and Babesia. Further identification suggested that Rickettsia sp. YN01 was a variant strain of Rickettsia spp. IG-1, but Rickettsia sp. YN02 and Rickettsia sp. YN03, were potentially two new SFGR species. Conclusions: This study revealed the complexity of ecological interactions between host and microbe and provided insight for the biological control of ticks. A high microbial diversity in ticks from Yunnan was identified, and more investigation should be undertaken to elucidate the pathogenicity in the area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Plant debris are habitats favoring survival and multiplication of various microbial species. During continuing mycological surveys of saprobic microfungi from plant debris in Yunnan Province, China, several Corynespora-like and Dendryphiopsis-like isolates were collected from dead branches of unidentified perennial dicotyledonous plants. Four barcodes, i.e., ITS, LSU, SSU and tef1-α, were amplified and sequenced. Morphological studies and multigene phylogenetic analyses by maximum likelihood and Bayesian inference revealed three new Corynespora species (C. mengsongensis sp. nov., C. nabanheensis sp. nov. and C. yunnanensis sp. nov.) and a new Kirschsteiniothelia species (K. nabanheensis sp. nov.) within Dothideomycetes, Ascomycota. A list of identified and accepted species of Corynespora with major morphological features, host information and locality was compiled. This work improves the knowledge of species diversity of Corynespora and Kirschsteiniothelia in Yunnan Province, China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Significant changes occurred in both terrestrial and marine environments in the Devonian, during which complex terrestrial life radiated rapidly from the ocean. However, the reconstruction of the seawater temperatures for this period is still noticeably insufficient, largely due to a lack of appropriate geological archives especially in freshwater and near-shore marine deposits. In this study, we carried out a detailed characterization of microstructure, elements and isotopes of Early and Late Devonian fish fossils from Yunnan and Ningxia, China, respectively. The results show that fish enamels were relatively more resistant to diagenetic alteration than fossil dentine and bones, and can serve as valuable archives for Paleozoic temperature and ecology reconstruction. In situ oxygen isotopes of the enamel apatite (δ18O p) of Early Devonian fossil fishes (sarcopterygians and antiarchs) vary from 16‰ to 18‰, in good agreement with those of contemporaneous conodonts. The corresponding seawater temperatures are calculated to be >30°C, therefore lending support to a greenhouse climate of the Early Devonian. In contrast, Late Devonian fish enamels tend to have lower δ18O p than those of the contemporaneous conodonts. The difference in δ18O p is attributable to the change in the living environment during the transition of the fish-to-tetrapod. • SEM and SIMS analyses reveal the preservation of complex fish fossil structures. • Fish enamels are reliable archives for paleotemperature reconstruction. • South China experienced a greenhouse climate during the Early Devonian. • The living environment changed during the transition of the fish-to-tetrapod. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Identification of forest burn severity is essential for fire assessments and a necessary procedure in modern forest management. Due to the low efficiency and labor intensity of the current post-fire field survey in China's Forestry Standards, the limitation of temporal resolution of satellite imagery, and poor objectivity of manual interpretations, a new method for automatic extraction of forest burn severity based on small visible unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) images is proposed. Taking the forest fires which occurred in Anning city of Yunnan Province in 2019 as the study objects, post-fire imagery was obtained by a small, multi-rotor near-ground UAV. Some image recognition indices reflecting the variations in chlorophyll loss effects in different damaged forests were developed with spectral characteristics customized in A and C, and the texture features such as the mean, standard deviation, homogeneity, and shape index of the length–width ratio. An object-oriented method is used to determine the optimal segmentation scale for forest burn severity and a multilevel rule classification and extraction model is established to achieve the automatic identification and mapping. The results show that the method mentioned above can recognize different types of forest burn severity: unburned, damaged, dead, and burnt. The overall accuracy is 87.76%, and the Kappa coefficient is 0.8402, which implies that the small visible UAV can be used as a substitution for the current forest burn severity survey standards. This research is of great practical significance for improving the efficiency and precision of forest fire investigation, expanding applications of small UAVs in forestry, and developing an alternative for forest fire loss assessments in the forestry industry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

On 21 May 2021, an M 6.4 earthquake occurred in Yangbi county, west of Yunnan Province, China. The Yangbi seismic sequence was initiated on 18 May and reached its climax as the occurrence of the M 6.4 mainshock. It was a typical foreshock-mainshock-aftershock sequence. A total of 1043 strong-motion recordings during 44 events from this sequence were selected and utilized for the spectral decomposition to separate the path attenuation and source spectra. The path attenuation curves are overall close to the simplest distance decay form described by R−1. The path attenuations were further represented by the combination of the geometric spreading and anelastic attenuation. Geometric spreading of R−0.37 was retrieved, indicating slower distance decay at local distances. The larger area close to the epicenter tends to undergo strong ground shaking. The quality factors obtained were regressed as Qs(f) = 64.27f0.76 in the frequency range of 0.25–20 Hz, lower than those reported for the whole Yunnan region, indicating faster attenuation at large distances in the study region. The seismic moments, corner frequencies, and stress drops were estimated from the inverted source spectra. The stress drops for the Yangbi seismic sequence were mainly in the range of 0.5–3.0 MPa. The mainshock had the largest stress release (~ 2.7 MPa). The strong foreshocks and aftershocks with Mw ≥ 5.0 had higher stress drops (~ 1.5–2.5 MPa) than those of small events with Mw < 5.0 (~ 0.1–1.5 MPa). We inferred that the strong foreshocks and aftershocks with high stress releases may not rupture the same fault activated by the mainshock, while they may occur in various fault branches. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Luchedu rock avalanche (LRA) that occurred in 1935 at the junction of Sichuan and Yunnan in Southwest China is a disaster chain of the rock slide, debris avalanche, and river blocking induced by heavy rainfall. The rock slide originated from the wedge formed by sheet metamorphic rocks on the fault zone on the left bank of the Jinsha River. After breaking away from the slope, the wedge disintegrated and cracked rapidly, forming debris and causing them to flow in fluidization along a 7.3 km path. After the obvious entrainment process and curve superelevation in the proximal area, the deposition reached 50.5 × 10 6 m3 in the distal area. The sedimentary structure of clasts has typical stratification characteristics. The types of sedimentary facies include carapace facies, body facies, and mixed facies. Inside the sedimentary structure, dense shear zones, liquefied intercalations, jigsaw structures, and directional arrangement of particles are observed. Through a detailed geological survey and DEM spatial analysis, the avalanche entrainment rate of LRA was determined as 1.2. The morphological fluctuation of basement lithology and gully path plays an important role in the long-distance movement. The rock fragments formed by metamorphic rocks with a primary schistosity structure can effectively reduce the energy loss in the internal shear process and significantly promote the laminar flow movement in the distal region of the avalanche. Therefore, as a giant rock avalanche formed by the evolution of specific metamorphic rocks, LRA results from the combination of macrohydrodynamics and microrock failure properties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The 1970 Tonghai earthquake, which occurred on January 5, 1970, in Tonghai County, Yunnan Province, China, triggered a large number of landslides. Since the occurrence of the earthquake, there have been a huge number of research reports on the seismogenic structure and earthquake mechanism, but rare reports on the seismic landslides. As the largest earthquake recorded in the Qujiang fault zone, the study on the coseismic landslides triggered by this earthquake are of great significance to the prevention and mitigation of earthquake-induced landslides in this region. In this study, we established a coseismic landslide inventory for the VIII–X seismic intensity areas of the Ms 7.7 Tonghai earthquake, and conducted spatial analysis on the coseismic landslides, mainly having analyzed the effect of the topographic factors, geological factors, and seismic factors on the development of the coseismic landslides. To enhance the understanding of this earthquake, we converted the earthquake epicenter and magnitude with empirical formulas based on the distributions and areas of the coseismic landslides. Comparing with coseismic landslides in other earthquake-hit areas, we found the capability that this earthquake could induce landslides is low. This study provides a useful supplement to the global coseismic landslide inventories and could be the basic data for seismic landslide assessment in this earthquake-prone region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Anthracnose caused by Colletotrichum spp. was widespread in recent years and resulted in great damage to strawberry production. Soil microbial communities were key contributors to host nutrition, development, and immunity; however, the difference between the microbial communities of healthy and anthracnose-infected strawberry rhizosphere soils remains unclear. In this study, the Illumina sequencing technique was used to comparatively study the prokaryotic and fungal community compositions and structures between healthy and anthracnose-infected strawberry rhizosphere soils in Yuxi, Yunnan Province. Both microbial community diversities and richness of anthracnose-infected strawberry rhizosphere soils were higher than those of healthy strawberry rhizosphere soils. A total of 2,518 prokaryotic and 556 fungal operational taxonomic units (OTUs) were obtained at the 97% similarity threshold. Proteobacteria, Thaumarchaeota, and Acidobacteria were the dominant prokaryotic phyla; Ascomycota, unclassified_k__Fungi, and Mortierellomycota were the dominant fungal phyla. The relative abundances of beneficial bacterial phyla Actinobacteria and Firmicutes, genera Streptomyces, Azospirillum , and Bacillus were significantly reduced in anthracnose-infected strawberry rhizosphere soils; the relative abundance of beneficial fungal species Trichoderma asperellum shows a similar tendency with bacterial abundance. Besides Colletotrichum , 15 other potential fungal pathogen genera and seven fungal pathogen species were identified; among the potential pathogen genera and species, eight pathogen genera and Fusarium oxysporum showed significant differences between healthy and anthracnose-infected strawberry rhizosphere soils. The results suggested that strawberry planted in this area may be infected by other fungal pathogens except for Colletotrichum spp. Our present research will provide theoretical basis and data reference for the isolation and identification of strawberry pathogens and potential probiotics in future works. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A moment magnitude (M w) 5.0 earthquake hit Qiaojia, Yunnan, China on 18 May 2020. Its hypocentre is only approximately 20 km away from the Baihetan reservoir, the second largest hydropower station in China. The Baihetan Reservoir is located at the junction of multiple fault zones on the eastern boundary of the Sichuan-Yunnan rhombic block, an area with high background seismic activity. The Baihetan Reservoir was planned to be impounded in April 2021 and the M w 5.0 earthquake occurred during its water-retaining. Thus, it is critical to investigate the seismogenesis of the Qiaojia M w 5.0 main shock and evaluate the risk of inducing earthquakes near the Baihetan Reservoir after impoundment. In this study, we built a complete and accurate earthquake catalogue to analyse seismicity in the reservoir area before and after the M w 5.0 Qiaojia earthquake. We adopted a machine learning-based seismic phase picker, PhaseNet, to automatically detect seismic picks from continuous raw seismic data. Seismic phase picks were associated and located using sequential earthquake association and location methods, including REAL, VELEST and hypoDD. We eventually obtained high-precision locations of 1640 earthquakes by the hypoDD. The distribution of earthquake locations indicates that a concealed fault nearly vertical to the surface accommodated the M w 5.0 Qiaojia main shock. The majority of its aftershocks is located within a narrow depth range of 8–13 km, indicating that the stresses in the hypocentral area were concentrated near the hypocentre of the M w 5.0 earthquake. Along with focal mechanism solutions, we suggested that the M w 5.0 Qiaojia earthquake is more likely a tectonic earthquake. However, we cannot exclude the possibility that earthquakes could be induced after the impoundment of Baihetan Reservoir, because the identified concealed fault is located in the middle of many large fault zones and only 20 km away from the Baihetan Reservoir. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Plasmodium vivax apical membrane antigen-1 (PvAMA-1) is an important vaccine candidate for vivax malaria. However, antigenic variation within PvAMA-1 is a major obstacle to the design of a global protective malaria vaccine. In this study, we analyzed the genetic polymorphism and selection of the PvAMA-1 gene from 152 P. vivax isolates from imported cases to China, collected in the China–Myanmar border (CMB) area in Yunnan Province (YP) during 2009–2011 (n = 71) and 2014–2016 (n = 81), in comparison with PvAMA-1 gene information from Myanmar (n = 73), collected from public data. The overall nucleotide diversity of the PvAMA-1 gene from the 152 YP isolates was 0.007 with 76 haplotypes identified (Hd = 0.958). Results from the population structure suggested three groups among the YP and Myanmar isolates with optimized clusters value of K = 7. In addition, YP (2014–2016) isolates generally lacked some K components that were commonly found in YP (2009–2011) and Myanmar. Meanwhile, PvAMA-1 domain I is found to be the dominant target of positive diversifying selection and most mutation loci were found in this domain. The mutation frequencies of D107N/A, R112K/T, K120R, E145A, E277K, and R438H in PvAMA-1 were more than 70% in the YP isolates. In conclusion, high genetic diversity and positive selection were found in the PvAMA-1 gene from YP isolates, which are significant findings for the design and development of PvAMA-1-based malaria vaccine. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To provide a better alternative to the current shale inhibitors, this paper designs a novel aluminum-based shale inhibitor by complexing aluminum with humic acid (HA), which is expected to enhance wellbore stability in drilling. Firstly, the alkali dissolution and acid precipitation (ADAP) method was chosen to extract HA from lignite from Shanxi and Yunnan, China. Next, the complexation conditions for aluminum-humic acid (Al-HA) were optimized through orthogonal tests, including reaction ratio, temperature, time, and pH. The best complexation conditions for Al-HA-1 were determined as pH = 5.0, HA/NaAlO 2 = 7/3, T = 75℃, time = 30 min, and those for Al-HA-2 as pH = 10.0, HA/ NaAlO 2 = 3/7, T = 65℃, and time = 30 min. Further, several tests were conducted to evaluate the inhibition performance of our inhibitors. The results show that the hot rolling recovery of shale sample in 1.2 wt% Al-HA-2 solution was up to 90.52% after hot rolling for 16 h at 120℃; the linear swelling rate of artificial bentonite core in 1.2 wt% Al-HA-2 solution was merely 20.38% after 16 h. The inhibition mechanism of Al-HA mainly consists of flocculation on shale surface and chemical reverse osmosis. Both phenomena suppress filtrate intrusion and reduce pore pressure transmission. These superior properties make the proposed inhibitors a promising choice for wellbore stabilization, especially in shale oil/gas formations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Malaria incidence has declined dramatically over the past decade and China was certified malaria-free in 2021. However, the presence of malaria in border areas and the importation of cases of malaria parasites are major challenges for the consolidation of the achievements made by China. Plasmodium vivax Duffy binding protein (PvDBP) performs a significant role in erythrocyte invasion, and is considered a promising P. vivax vaccine. However, the highly polymorphic region of PvDBP (PvDBP-II) impedes the development of blood-stage vaccine against P. vivax. In this study, we investigated the genetic diversity and natural selection of PvDBP-II among 124 P. vivax isolates collected from the China-Myanmar border (CMB) in Yunnan Province, China, during 2009–2011. To compare genetic diversity, natural selection, and population structure with CMB isolates, 85 pvdbp- II sequences of eastern Myanmar isolates were obtained from GenBank. In addition, global sequences of pvdbp -II were retrieved from GenBank to establish genetic differentiation relationships and networks with the CMB isolates. In total, 22 single nucleotide polymorphisms reflected in 20 non-synonymous and two synonymous mutations were identified. The overall nucleotide diversity of PvDBP-II from the 124 CMB isolates was 0.0059 with 21 haplotypes identified (Hd = 0.91). The high ratio of non-synonymous to synonymous mutations suggests that PvDBP-II had evolved under positive selection. Population structure analysis of the CMB and eastern Myanmar isolates were optimally grouped into five sub-populations (K = 5). Polymorphisms of PvDBP-II display that CMB isolates were genetically diverse. Mutation, recombination, and positive selection promote polymorphism of PvDBP-II of P. vivax population. Although low-level genetic differentiation in eastern Myanmar was identified along with the more effective malaria control measures, the complexity of population structure in malaria parasites has maintained. In conclusion, findings from this study advance knowledge of the understanding of the dynamic of P. vivax population, which will contribute to guiding the rational design of a PvDBP-II based vaccine. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: To test a social-psychological model of public acceptance of highway infrastructure projects in the Chinese architecture/engineering/construction industry. Design/methodology/approach: Through a comprehensive literature review, we established a social-psychological model of public acceptance related to benefit perception, risk perception and public trust. We empirically validated our model by using structural equation model analysis based on a questionnaire survey in the S35 Yongjin Highway Infrastructure Project in Yunnan Province, China. Findings: Benefit, trust and risk perception had a significant influence on local residents' public acceptance of highway infrastructure projects; benefit perception and trust perception had a greater influence than risk perception. Public acceptance among local male residents over the age of 35 or those with higher education levels was more likely to be determined by the relative dominance of risk and benefit perceived. Research limitations/implications: This study contributes empirical evidence to the theoretical literature related to locally unwanted land use (LULU) siting and stakeholders in the field of project management from the public perspective. This study also suggests valuable practical implications to authorities, project managers and the public in decision-making and risk communication. Originality/value: Although previous studies addressed factors affecting public acceptance towards potentially hazardous facilities, understanding of the implications of these social-psychological factors and their effects are still far from sufficient. This study bridges this gap by exploring the determinants of public acceptance towards highway infrastructure projects based on a selected case in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new genus and species of tooth-plated lungfishes, Dianodipterus huizeensis gen. et sp. nov., is described from the Qujing Formation (late Eifelian, Middle Devonian) of Huize County, Qujing, north-eastern Yunnan, China. It differs from other lungfishes in the small proportion of the tooth-bearing part on the pterygoid (less than one-quarter), the extensively developed anteromedial edentulous portion of the pterygoid, and tooth rows few in number (only four). Phylogenetic analysis reveals that Dianodipterus is more plesiomorphic than Dipterus, yet crownward of Melanognathus. As the ninth Devonian lungfish genus from China, the new taxon displays a novel schema of lungfish dentition and increases the diversity of early lungfishes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Understanding and identifying the factors responsible for genetic differentiation is of fundamental importance for efficient utilization and conservation of traditional rice landraces. In this study, we examined the spatial genetic differentiation of 594 individuals sampled from 28 locations in Yunnan Province, China, covering a wide geographic distribution and diverse growing conditions. All 594 accessions were studied using ten unlinked target genes and 48 microsatellite loci, and the representative 108 accessions from the whole collection were sampled for resequencing. Results: The genetic diversity of rice landraces was quite different geographically and exhibited a geographical decline from south to north in Yunnan, China. Population structure revealed that the rice landraces could be clearly differentiated into japonica and indica groups, respectively. In each group, the rice accessions could be further differentiated corresponded to their geographic locations, including three subgroups from northern, southern and middle locations. We found more obvious internal geographic structure in the japonica group than in the indica group. In the japonica group, we found that genetic and phenotypic differentiation were strongly related to geographical distance, suggesting a pattern of isolation by distance (IBD); this relationship remained highly significant when we controlled for environmental effects, where the likelihood of gene flow is inversely proportional to the distance between locations. Moreover, the gene flow also followed patterns of isolation by environment (IBE) whereby gene flow rates are higher in similar environments. We detected 314 and 216 regions had been differentially selected between Jap-N and Jap-S, Ind-N and Ind-S, respectively, and thus referred to as selection signatures for different geographic subgroups. We also observed a number of significant and interesting associations between loci and environmental factors, which implies adaptation to local environment. Conclusions: Our findings highlight the influence of geographical isolation and environmental heterogeneity on the pattern of the gene flow, and demonstrate that both geographical isolation and environment drives adaptive divergence play dominant roles in the genetic differentiation of the rice landraces in Yunnan, China as a result of limited dispersal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: This study examines the socioeconomic differentials in trends in the prevalence of hypertension and pre-hypertension and hypertension awareness, treatment, and control in rural Southwestern China.Methods: Two cross-sectional interviews and health examination surveys were administered in rural Yunnan Province, including 6,350 consenting participants in 2009 and 6,359 consenting participants in 2016 (aged ≥ 35 years). Participant demographics, socioeconomic status (SES), and ethnicity, along with information about hypertension awareness, treatment, and control, were collected using similar questionnaires in the two surveys. The participants' blood pressure levels were also measured.Results: From 2009 to 2016, the prevalence of hypertension substantially increased from 28.4% to 39.5% (P < 0.01), and awareness and control rose from 42.2 and 25.8% to 53.1 (P < 0.01) and 30.6% (P < 0.05), respectively. Although people with a higher education level also had higher awareness and control rates than the lower education level ones, there were no conspicuous differences in the improvement of awareness and control between publics with different education levels over the 7 years studied. Increases were observed in both rates of awareness and control in people with a high level of income (P < 0.01). However, only the awareness rate increased in participants with a low level of income. Furthermore, the prevalence (P < 0.01) and treatment (P < 0.05) of hypertension were higher in the Han people than in ethnic minorities.Conclusions: Individual SES has clear associations with trends in the prevalence, awareness, and control of hypertension. Future interventions to improve hypertension prevention and control should be tailored to address individual SES. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based initially on microfossils, Nostolepis is one of the first known 'acanthodians', which constitute a paraphyletic assemblage of plesiomorphic members of the total group Chondrichthyes. Its wide distribution has potential implications for stratigraphic comparisons worldwide. Six species of Nostolepis have been reported in China, including one species from the Xitun Formation (Lochkovian, Lower Devonian) of Qujing, eastern Yunnan. Acid preparation of rock samples from the Xitun Formation has yielded abundant acanthodian remains. Based on both morphological and histological examinations, here we identify five species of Nostolepis, including two new species. N. qujingensis sp. nov. is characterized by thin scales devoid of the neck anteriorly and the dentine tubules rarely present in the anterior part of the crown. N. digitus sp. nov. is characterized by parallel ridges on anterior and lateral margins of the crown, and the neck constricted and ornamented with pore openings. We extend the duration of N. striata in China from the Pridoli of Silurian (Yulungssu Formation) to the Lower Devonian in Qujing and report the first occurrences of N. amplifica and N. consueta in this region. This study increases the diversity of the Lower Devonian Xitun Fauna and provides a better understanding of the paleogeographic distribution of Nostolepis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Two new species of the genus Nigrimacula Shi, Bian & Zhou, 2016 from Yunnan, China, are described, i.e. Nigrimacula laminata Cui, Liu & Shi sp. nov. and Nigrimacula inlobata Cui, Liu & Shi sp. nov. The descriptions are supplemented by detailed images of external morphology A key to all species of the genus is given. The type specimens are deposited in the Museum of Hebei University, Baoding, P. R. China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Yunnan Province, China is thought to be the original source of biovar Orientalis of Yersinia pestis , the causative agent of the third plague pandemic that has spread globally since the end of the 19th century. Although encompassing a large area of natural plague foci, Y. pestis strains have rarely been found in live rodents during surveillance in Yunnan, and most isolates are from rodent corpses and their fleas. In 2017, 10 Y. pestis strains were isolated from seven live rodents and three fleas in Heqing County of Yunnan. These strains were supposed to have low virulence to local rodents Eothenomys miletus and Apodemus chevrieri because the rodents were healthy and no dead animals were found in surrounding areas, as had occurred in previous epizootic disease. We performed microscopic and biochemical examinations of the isolates, and compared their whole-genome sequences and transcriptome with those of 10 high virulence Y. pestis strains that were isolated from nine rodents and one parasitic flea in adjacent city (Lijiang). We analyzed the phenotypic, genomic, and transcriptomic characteristics of live rodent isolates. The isolates formed a previously undefined monophyletic branch of Y. pestis that was named 1.IN5. Six SNPs, two indels, and one copy number variation were detected between live rodent isolates and the high virulence neighbors. No obvious functional consequence of these variations was found according to the known annotation information. Among genes which expression differential in the live rodent isolates compared to their high virulent neighbors, we found five iron transfer related ones that were significant up-regulated (| log2 (FC) | > 1, p.adjust < 0.05), indicating these genes may be related to the low-virulence phenotype. The novel genotype of Y. pestis reported here provides further insights into the evolution and spread of plague as well as clues that may help to decipher the virulence mechanism of this notorious pathogen. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND: The diamondback moth (DBM), Plutella xylostella (Lepidoptera: Plutellidae), is a notorious pest of cruciferous plants. In temperate areas, annual populations of DBM originate from adult migrants. However, the source populations and migration trajectories of immigrants remain unclear. Here, we investigated migration trajectories of DBM in China using genome-wide single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) genotyped using double-digest RAD (ddRAD) sequencing. We first analyzed patterns of spatial and temporal genetic structure among southern source and northern recipient populations, then inferred migration trajectories into northern regions using discriminant analysis of principal components (DAPC), assignment tests, and spatial kinship patterns. RESULTS: Temporal genetic differentiation among populations was low, indicating that sources of recipient populations and migration trajectories are stable. Spatial genetic structure indicated three genetic clusters in the southern source populations. Assignment tests linked northern populations to the Sichuan cluster, and central–eastern populations to the southern and Yunnan clusters, indicating that Sichuan populations are sources of northern immigrants and southern and Yunnan populations are sources of central–eastern populations. First-order (full-sib) and second-order (half-sib) kin pairs were always found within populations, but ∼ 35–40% of third-order (cousin) pairs were found in different populations. Closely related individuals in different populations were found at distances of 900–1500 km in ∼ 35–40% of cases, while some were separated by > 2000 km. CONCLUSION: This study unravels seasonal migration patterns in the DBM. We demonstrate how careful sampling and population genomic analyses can be combined to help understand cryptic migration patterns in insects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Early chondrichthyans (cartilaginous fishes) possess a rich record of scale fossils that have impacted on taxonomic and phylogenetic studies of early jawed vertebrates, but the significance of these scales remains elusive due to the lack of well-defined characters. Gualepis, a scale-based genus from the Lower Devonian of Yunnan, China, was initially recognized as an early chondrichthyan of uncertain affinity. We investigate new material of Gualepis elegans from the type locality. By combining microtomographic data with morphological and histological examination of specimens at successive growth stages, we have reconstructed the 3D growth pattern of the scales. During growth, Gualepis scales added new odontodes appositionally, which has previously been documented in the dermal skeletons of Seretolepis, Kathemacanthus, Parexus, and other crownward members of the stem chondrichthyans. Phylogenetic analysis resolves Gualepis as a non-acanthodid stem chondrichthyan near the crown chondrichthyan node. Our 3D approach is potentially useful to render more reliable scale-based characters, especially regarding scale growth patterns. This study provides the first 3D virtual growth model of stem chondrichthyan scales with a Seretolepis-type morphogenesis, offering new insights into the early evolution of chondrichthyan dermal skeletons. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]