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In this article, we aim to investigate the path following control problem for four-wheel-independent-drive electric vehicles with consideration of modeling errors and complex driving scenarios. In order to guarantee operational safety and robustness, a supertwisting second-order sliding mode (SOSM) control strategy is employed to suppress the heavy chattering issue existing in the traditional sliding mode control (SMC). To degrade the lumped disturbance, a nonlinear disturbance observer (NDOB) technique is proposed to estimate the disturbance and compensate the modeling error. Then, a composite control strategy, which combines the SMC algorithm and NDOB technique is proposed based on stability analysis of the corresponding closed-loop system. Finally, hardware-in-the-loop experimental results show that the supertwisting SOSM control algorithm with the NDOB technique can achieve better tracking performance and suppress the chattering phenomenon. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The detailed neutron transport module for hexagonal- z reactor is developed based on COMSOL. • The least-squares FEM format S N transport equation is integrated into COMSOL. • All the multi-group multi-dimensional detail transport simulation for complicated geometries can be realized. Detailed neutron transport simulation has undergone much investigation in advanced reactor engineering, where the adaptability of complex geometrics and the simplicity of computational implementation are of great significance. In this paper, a detailed neutron transport module (DNTM) based on the COMSOL Multiphysics platform is developed for hexagonal- z reactor conditions. The multi-group, multidimensional neutron transport S N equation is discretized using the least-squares finite element method and is embedded in COMSOL using the weak form partial differential equation interface without the necessity for additional coding. The proposed DNTM's feasibility and accuracy are demonstrated through the analysis of three neutron transport benchmarks, encompassing various energy groups, dimensions, and scales. All the numerical results show good agreement with the reference values, indicating that the proposed DNTM in COMSOL can be used to solve the neutron transport process in the hexagonal- z reactor accurately and reliably. This approach may contribute a simple and practical high-fidelity neutronics solving tool and an effective direction to realize multi-physics tight coupling simulations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The concept of a green economy has been advocated globally ever since it was first proposed. In China, green economy has been adopted as the national strategy for future economic development. In this paper, we applied statistical description, grey correlation, proportion and elastic coefficient analysis to assess contributions of green industry to the national development from 2008 to 2012. We found that: (1) The average green degree of China's economic industry, 45%, was relatively low. The relative green degrees from high to low were 65% for service industry, 55% for agriculture industry, and 24% for manufacturing industry, respectively. (2) The share that added values of green industry took up gross domestic product (GDP) was between 41% and 48%. Green industry growth was highly correlated to the national economic growth evidenced by their grey correlation coefficient of 0.8532. (3) Both categories and quantities of green products were increasing annually and the growth rate of exported green products exceeded 50% during the study period. The gross domestic product grew by 0.04% owing to the increase of 1% in green product exports. (4) The pulling effect of green industry on employment was not significant, with a contribution rate of about 8%. With governmental support, green industry has made big improvements but there is still a lot of space for it to grow in the long term and it requires greater attention from managers and decision-makers in order to make more contribution to the society and the economy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Water, as an important resource in ecosystem, greatly influence human life. Increasing water use efficiency will save water resources, thus will lead to better ecosystem. Agricultural water resources are important production materials that will impinge the long-term agriculture development potential, while water use efficiency (WUE) is a key factor closely linked to agricultural production. In this study targeted at Heihe Agriculture Zone, we used a stochastic frontier production function to study agricultural production efficiency and WUE. In particular, the effects of planting areas on farmers' WUE were investigated. The result show current farmers' WUE of Maize is 0.67 on average, which still can be improved largely. The farmers' planting scales largely affect WUE of Maize. The farmers with planting scales of 0–0.3 ha and over 1.3 ha paid high attention to WUE. The optimal planting scale of water use efficiency of maize is around 3.3 ha. This study provides a scientific basis for the water resource use in arid and semiarid regions [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aiming at intercepting hidden aerial targets, a distributed time cooperative system of decoy-attacker heterogeneous missiles is provided. The decoy missiles of the system constrain a hidden target to maneuver. After the target is fully exposed, the decoy missiles will cooperate with the attacker missiles to achieve cooperative interception via sliding mode time cooperative guidance law. Then, a super-twisting second-order sliding mode control eliminates the chattering problem of sliding mode control, and the attacking time convergence of guidance law is verified by the Lyapunov function. Finally, simulation results show that the cooperative system can completely distribute time cooperation in expected conditions and has a good performance in cooperative attacks with an effective interception. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The water-use efficiency has direct impacts on the water consumption of agriculture production and is vital to water conservation at both local and regional extent. The agricultural water-use efficiency is a critical indicator that reflects the effective water allocation and water productivity improvement among different agricultural sectors. Taking the Heihe River Basin as the case study area, this study explores the changing trajectories of agricultural water use based on the input–output data of 2003–2012, and estimates the water-use efficiency with Data Envelopment Analysis, Malmquist Total Productivity Index and the decomposition of total factor productivity. Further, the influence of driving factors on the water-use efficiency is analyzed with the Tobit model. The research results indicate that the average agricultural water-use efficiency in different counties is all lower than 1 during 2003–2012, indicating that there is still improvement space in the agricultural water-use efficiency. In addition, there is obvious heterogeneity in the agricultural water-use efficiency among different counties, especially prior to 2009. The research results from the Tobit model indicate that agricultural investment and production, economic growth, industrial restructuring and agricultural plants structural adjustment have significant influence on the agricultural water-use efficiency. The research results can provide significant references for agricultural water-use management in the middle reaches of the Heihe River Basin and other similar regions in Northwest China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Arsenic and cadmium pose a potential health risk to human beings via rice grain consumption. In the current study, a pot experiment was conducted to evaluate the effect of Br (5 mM and 20 mM) and Se (1 mM) at rice tillering and filling stages on Cd and As accumulation in rice grain and their health risk indices. The results showed that Br or Se applications at different stages of rice improved the photosynthesis, reduce MDA content in flag leaves by 17.41%–38.65%, increased rice biomass and grain yield by 10.50%–29.94% and 10.50%–36.56%, and enhanced grain N and P uptake by 3.25%–34.90%, and 22.98%-72.05%, respectively. Applications of Br and Se effectively decreased Cd and As concentration in rice grain by 31.74%–86.97% and 16.42%–81.13% respectively. Compared to the individual treatment, combined 20 mM Br and 1 mM Se at the filling stage showed the lowest accumulation of As (0.149 mg·kg−1) and Cd (0.105 mg·kg−1) in grain, and its health risk index was below the acceptable limits (HRI < 1). This implies that application of Br and Se at the filling stage is a promising strategy for the safe production of rice in As and Cd co-contaminated regions. In this study, foliar applications of Br and Se at the grain filling and tillering stage demonstrate their effect on As and Cd accumulation. The findings showed that Br and Se resulted in the Se concentration in grains reaching the Se-enriched level, and the accumulation of As and Cd was the lowest. Furthermore, the application of Br and Se decreased lipid peroxidation, promoted N and P uptake, and increased the rate of photosynthesis in the rice plants, which resulted in increasing rice growth and grain yield. The HRI of heavy metals was below the acceptable limits after application of Br and Se. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The structure and biological activities of a highly sulfated heparan sulfate (HS) extracted from shrimp (Penaeus brasiliensis) heads were characterized. Structurally the shrimp HS was more heterogenous than heparin, although it is still highly sulfated. The molecular mass of the shrimp HS preparation was determined to be 32.3kDa by gel filtration HPLC. Analysis by surface plasmon resonance demonstrated that various growth/differentiation factors specifically bound to the shrimp HS with comparable affinity. Notably, the shrimp HS had a greater inhibitory effect against infections by dengue virus type 2 as well as Japanese encephalitis virus than heparin. Experiments on anticoagulant activity indicated that the shrimp HS exhibited significant anti-thrombin activity, but less than the commercial heparin. Hence, the HS preparation from shrimp heads, an industrial waste, is a prospective agent for a variety of clinical applications. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Microbial residues may make a more significant contribution to soil organic carbon (SOC) than traditionally believed. However, little is known about the accumulation characteristics of fungal and bacterial residues and their contribution to SOC in salt-affected soils. We investigated changes in fungal and bacterial residues using amino sugar biomarkers along a salinity gradient in coastal salt-affected soils. As salinity increased, the content of fungal residue decreased from 337.6 to 111.6 mg kg−1, while the bacterial counterpart increased from 62.5 to 142.4 mg kg−1. The contribution of microbial residues to SOC was salinity-dependent. There was an increase for microbial residue contribution to SOC and a shift from fungal to bacterial residue dominated contribution to SOC with increasing salinity. Hence, salinization had a significant impact on microbial-mediated SOC accumulation. • Soil salinization decreased the total microbial residue accumulation. • Soil salinization increased bacterial but decreased fungal residue accumulation. • Soil salinization increased the relative microbial contribution to SOC. • Salinity shifts have distinct impacts on fungal and bacterial contribution to SOC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recently, affected by the changes of dietary structure and the deterioration of ecological environment, expanding the output of livestock products within the carrying capacity of grassland resources has become a major strategic demand of the country. Achieving sustainable development of grass-based livestock husbandry is of great significance for ensuring the ecological security of grassland and national food security, but there is still short of sustainable development pattern for reference. To further refine a sustainable pattern, an "Eco-engineering Experimental Area" (Experimental Area) was established in Hulun Buir, taking pastures as basic production unit and carrying out the "grain - cash - forage" three-dimensional planting structure, but the rest of the region still belongs to traditional development pattern. In this paper, we applied Emergy Analysis to unify the different sacle of grass-based livestock husbandry into comparable production units, and assess the sustainability of grass-based livestock husbandry in the Experimental Area and the traditional pastoral area of Hulun Buir. The results showed that the Energy-based Sustainability Index (ESI) of Experimental Area was much higher than the traditional pastoral area, indicating that the "grain - cash - forage" three-dimensional planting structure in Experimental Area supported by artificial forage has higher sustainable development potential and economic development potential than traditional development pattern. Enhancing technology, as well as changing the production management mode and increasing the yield of high-quality forage are all helpful to achieve sustainable development. • A emergy evaluation indexwas built from both economic and ecological perspective. • The structure of "grain - cash - forage" has higher sustainable development ability. • Artificial forage is the key factor to grass-based livestock husbandry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Circular RNAs (circRNAs) circularized by back-splicing of pre-mRNA are widely expressed and affected the proliferation, invasion and metastasis of bladder cancer (BCa). However, the mechanism underlying circRNA biogenesis in mediating the distant metastasis of BCa still unexplored. Methods: RNA sequencing data between BCa and normal adjacent tissues was applied to identify the differentially expressed circRNAs. The functions of circNIPBL in BCa were investigated via a series of biochemical experiments. The Clinical significance of circNIPBL was examined in a cohort of larger BCa tissues. Results: In the present study, we identified a novel circRNA (hsa_circ_0001472), circNIPBL, which was significantly upregulated and had great influence on the poor prognosis of patients with BCa. Functionally, circNIPBL promotes BCa metastasis in vitro and in vivo. Mechanistically, circNIPBL upregulate the expression of Wnt5a and activated the Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway via directly sponged miR-16-2-3p, leading to the upregulation of ZEB1, which triggers the EMT of BCa. Moreover, we revealed that ZEB1 interacted with the flanking introns of exons 2–9 on NIPBL pre-mRNA to trigger circNIPBL biogenesis, thus forming a positive feedback loop. Importantly, circNIPBL overexpression significantly facilitated the distant metastasis of BCa in the orthotopic bladder cancer model, while silencing ZEB1 remarkably blocked the effects of metastasis induced by circNIPBL overexpression. Conclusions: Our study highlights that circNIPBL-induced Wnt signaling pathway activation triggers ZEB1-mediated circNIPBL biogenesis, which forms a positive feedback loop via the circNIPBL/miR-16-2-3p/Wnt5a/ZEB1 axis, supporting circNIPBL as a novel therapeutic target and potential biomarker for BCa patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Climate change, characterized with global warming, created severe potential threat to natural ecosystems and sustainable development of human society. Effective adaptation measures to mitigate the negative effects of climate change would affect both the ecological environment and the social economy. In this paper, we built a positive mathematical programming model to assess adaptation measures, which were divided into four aspects, to tackle climate change based on the survey data obtained from seven counties and 32 villages in the region of Hulun Buir. The results showed that, livestock breeding improvement had a positive impact on grass yield, livestock number and especially herder's household income (the most in Ewenki (11.7%) and the least in Xinzuo (2.3%)); artificial grassland project could lead to an average growth rate of 8.4% in household income among the four counties; current policies and going out for work could also increase household income, however, not a sustainable choice. To realize sustainable development in the context of global climate change, the vitality of sustainable development of animal husbandry under the premise of protecting ecological environment should be enhanced. For example, improving the safety and quality of livestock products through influencing livestock breeding, processing technology and high quality forage, and ensuring adequate forage supplement through artificial grassland project. Highlights • The pastoral regions in Hunlun Buir have a poor capability for resisting natural disasters. • We built a positive mathematical programming model to assess adaptation measures in a pastoral region. • Livestock breeding improvement and artificial grassland project had a positive impact on income. • Sustainable development of animal husbandry under the premise of protecting ecological environment should be enhanced. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We examine relationships between nationwide sparing use of water and farmer income of China in this article. As increasing implementation of water projects and irrigation system, the cost of water use has increased in many regions. However, as local policy-oriented urban expansion and ecological restoration have carried out during the past decade, water demand has increased. The spatial distributions of water use and farmer income are uneven and their relationships are ambiguous over time, especially it is uncertain that farmers can benefit from those so called water-saving programs when urban expansion grows faster in China. Based on consumption theory, empirical results of Blundell–Bond dynamic panel-data model with generalized method of moments (GMM) estimators indicate saving one percent of water has positive impacts at 0.085–0.35 percent on farmer income in the following statistical year. Population has negative impacts on farmer income. Particularly in Central China, one percent of increase in population will statistically significantly decrease 0.276 percent of contemporaneous farmer income. Particularly, in Eastern China with large population during years 2004 through 2012, the total amount of water use increases one percent, contemporaneous farmer income loses 0.04 percent. Thus, saving water can benefit future farmer income, and it indicates that urban expansion may induce the diversion of resources and agricultural production from rural to urban area. Policy implication of relationships between water allocation and farmer income distribution caused by water-saving programs needs to be further studied at regional scale, in particularly to the regions with large population and urban expansion in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Understanding the effects of forestation on the hydrological process is crucial to protecting water resources. In this study, the upstream Heihe River Basin is selected as the study area, which is the water source area of the whole basin. The grassland and forest are the main land use types, the proportion of which in the total land area is 21% and 50%, respectively. Firstly, a scenario of forestation was designed with the actual land cover data in 1980. Then a scenario with simulated land cover data in 1980 was established, in which the forest area increases by 12%. Thereafter a hydrological simulation was carried out with the actual and simulated land cover maps and the climate observation data during 1980–2010. The results suggested that the total water yield increased by 12.57 mm under the scenario with land use change during 1980–2010 compared with the simulation with the actual land cover in 1980. However, the results also indicated that the surface runoff reduced by 22.17 mm during the same period, indicating the forest land has “sponge” effects on the water resource in the mountainous watershed. These results may provide important information that supports operational practices, such as forest regeneration programs and watershed restoration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Arsenic (As) contamination in vegetables is a severe threat to human health. However, the evaluation of As relative bioavailability (As-RBA) or bioaccessibility in vegetables is still unexplored. The study sought to evaluate the As-RBA in commonly consumed ten leaf vegetables collected from As-polluted farmlands. Additionally, the As-RBA was determined using rat bioassay and compared with As bioaccessibility through five commonly used in vitro methods, including UBM (Unified BARGE Method), SBRC (Solubility Bioavailability Research Consortium), DIN (Deutsches Institut für Normung e.V.), IVG (In Vitro Gastrointestinal), and PBET (Physiologically Based Extraction Test). Results showed that the As-RBA values were 14.3–54.0% among different vegetables. Notably, significant in vivo – in vitro correlations (IVIVC) were observed between the As-RBA and the As bioaccessibility determined by the PBET assay (r2 = 0.763–0.847). However, the other assays (r2 = 0.417–0.788) showed a comparatively weaker relationship. The estimation of As-RBA using derived IVIVC to assess As exposure risk via vegetable consumption confirmed that As exposure risk based on As-RBA was lower than that the total As concentrations. Therefore, it was concluded that PBET could better predict the As-RBA in vegetables than other in vitro assays. Furthermore, As-RBA values should be considered for accurate health risk assessment of As in vegetables. [Display omitted] • Bioaccessibility of arsenic in leaf vegetables was assessed using in vitro methods. • Relative bioavailability of arsenic was determined using a rat blood model. • PBET-IP could accurately predict As-RBA in contaminated leaf vegetables. • Bioaccessibility is better than total amount for assessing arsenic exposure risks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cadmium (Cd) and arsenic (As) contamination of soil has been a public concern due to their potential accumulation risk through the food chain. This study was conducted to investigate the performance of ferrous sulfate (FeSO4) and ferric oxide (Fe2O3) nanoparticle (Nano-Fe) to stabilize the concentrations of Cd and As in paddy soil. Both Fe treatments led to low extractable Cd and the contents of specifically sorbed As contents, increased (p < 0.05) the Shannon index and decreased (p < 0.05) the Simpson diversity indices compared with the control. Nano-Fe increased the relative abundances of Firmicutes and Proteobacteria and decreased the abundances of Acidobacteria and Chloroflexi. Moreover, the addition of both forms of Fe promoted the formation of Fe plaque and decreased the translocation factor index (TFs) root/soil, TFs shoot/root, and TFs grain/shoot of Cd and As. These results suggest that exogenous Fe may modify the microbial community and decrease the soil available Cd and As contents, inhibit the absorption of Cd and As by the roots and decrease the transport of Cd and As in rice grains and the risk intake in humans. These findings demonstrate that soil amendment with exogenous Fe, particularly Nano-Fe, is a potential approach to simultaneously remediate the accumulation of Cd and As from the soil to rice grain systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs) exhibit considerable heterogeneity in advanced cancers; however, the functional annotation and mechanism of CAFs in early-stage cancers remain elusive. Utilizing single-cell RNA sequencing and spatial transcriptomic, we identify a previously unknown PDGFRα+ITGA11+ CAF subset in early-stage bladder cancer (BCa). Multicenter clinical analysis of a 910-case cohort confirms that PDGFRα+ITGA11+ CAFs are associated with lymphovascular invasion (LVI) and poor prognosis in early-stage BCa. These CAFs facilitate LVI and lymph node (LN) metastasis in early-stage BCa, as evidenced in a PDGFRα+ITGA11+ CAFs-specific deficient mouse model. Mechanistically, PDGFRα+ITGA11+ CAFs promote lymphangiogenesis via recognizing ITGA11 surface receptor SELE on lymphatic endothelial cells to activate SRC-p-VEGFR3-MAPK pathway. Further, CHI3L1 from PDGFRα+ITGA11+ CAFs aligns the surrounding matrix to assist cancer cell intravasation, fostering early-stage BCa LVI and LN metastasis. Collectively, our study reveals the crucial role of PDGFRα+ITGA11+ CAFs in shaping metastatic landscape, informing the treatment of early-stage BCa LVI. [Display omitted] • A CAF subset that expresses PDGFRα and ITGA11 is identified in early-stage BCa • PDGFRα+ITGA11+ CAFs enhance lymphangiogenesis via ITGA11-SELE interplay • PDGFRα+ITGA11+ CAFs align ECM via CHI3L1 to assist BCa cell intravasation • Targeting PDGFRα+ITGA11+ CAFs inhibits LVI and LN metastasis of early-stage BCa Zheng et al. uncover the cellular landscape in early-stage BCa and report a CAF subset characterized by PDGFRα and ITGA11. They demonstrate that PDGFRα+ITGA11+ CAFs stimulate lymphangiogenesis and align ECM to assist BCa cell intravasation, facilitating the LVI and LN metastasis of early-stage BCa, which provides a potential therapeutic target. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Improvement in living standards has led to the development and utilization of forest green foods. The study seeks to examine the foundation and potential of forest green food industry in Yunnan Province. By constructing the industrial competitive advantage model, this paper measured and analyzed the competitiveness of forest green food industry in Yunnan Province from 2016 to 2020 by using fuzzy evaluation method and AHP. The conclusions were as follows: (1) The competitiveness of forest green food industry in Yunnan Province was at a medium level with competitiveness index of 83.98. (2) The competitive advantage of forest green food industry in Yunnan Province mainly depended on key factors such as natural endowment and education level. The area is however not having comparative advantage in general factors and important factors. Therefore, there is the need to put in place measures to realise the full potential of forest green food industry in the area by providing players in the sector with requisite skills. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Analyzing the livelihood capital of rural households can be beneficial for informing the effect of poverty alleviation, after several years of sustained efforts of poverty alleviation at large scale in China. Based on original data from a household survey in two severe poverty areas of China (Wumeng Mountains and Western Border Mountains) and a non-poverty area (reference), this study uses a new 5-point scale to extract information, and then analyzes the effects of poverty alleviation on the poor households through regression analysis and variance analysis. The results show that the livelihood capital of rural households in the severe poverty areas has been improved but still vulnerable if compared with non-poverty area. The livelihood capitals are 39.13% and 36.04% lower than those in non-poverty area by regression model, respectively. It also can be found that, due to the combined effect of multiple factors, the control variable has a significant effect on the livelihood capital. The change of livelihood capital is more significant than that of single dimension capital in terms of poverty caused by getting illness and out of poverty caused by mastering skill. Further analysis of interactive variance demonstrates difference between the severe poverty areas, also between poverty and non-poverty areas. Focusing on increasing land benefit, enhancing county-level of industrial layout, developing better medical security, highlighting educational level, maintaining the continuity of policies represent effective methods of poverty alleviation. This study helps to better understand the optimization of poverty alleviation and improve related policies. • Redesign assessment indicator system scored 0-5 for the severe poverty areas. • Deeper investigation to Wumeng Mountains and Western Border Mountains in China. • Analyzing livelihood capital in terms of 557 rural households. • Finding fractal phenomenon though with similar poverty situation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Urban–rural industry convergence is a critical factor in addressing the dual urban–rural structure, as it has the potential to increase agricultural productivity and update the industry structure. This study aims to assess the mechanisms through which urban–rural industry convergence affects farmers’ incomes in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of China. First, we developed an evaluation framework to measure urban–rural industry convergence and conducted an exploratory spatiotemporal data analysis to assess the trends in convergence across 99 districts and counties in Xinjiang between 2001 and 2020. Thereafter, using an econometric model, we then analyzed the mediating effects of industrial structure upgrading on the relationship between urban–rural industry convergence and farmers’ income, and the implementation path. The results indicated that urban–rural industrial convergence in Xinjiang has fluctuated and declined over time, with a spatial distribution skewed from north to south. Moreover, it was found that urban–rural industry convergence and industrial structure upgrading significantly contribute to the growth of farmers’ income. Additionally, the impact pathway analysis revealed that urban–rural industry convergence promotes industrial structure upgrading, thereby stimulating growth in farmers’ incomes. This positive effect had long-term implications and became more noticeable over time due to cumulative effects. Furthermore, the effects of urban–rural industry convergence on farmers’ income varied depending on income levels. It had a significant positive effect on the income of low-income farmers but a negative effect on high-income farmers. Moreover, the impact of the digital economy on farmers’ incomes varied based on regional and group differences, particularly affecting low, medium, and medium–high-income groups in northern Xinjiang. These findings provided empirical evidence for promoting urban–rural industry convergence and increasing farmers’ incomes, contributing to both theoretical and practical understanding of the subject matter. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The environment carrying capacity and reduction of carbon emissions are the challenges faced in the ecologically fragile areas. Therefore, the evaluation of carbon security is imperative. This paper, using Yunnan as an example, built up models of carbon footprint and vegetation carbon carrying capacity to assess the level of carbon security. The IPCC method, which is internationally recognized and universal applied, was adopted to calculate carbon footprint. Forest, grassland and crop plant were selected to calculate carbon carrying capacity. The study relied on data from 2008 to 2017 for analysis and arrived at the conclusion that Yunnan's carbon footprint rose from 272.48 million tonnes in 2008 to 317.71 million tonnes in 2017. The result shows that the carbon carrying capacity of vegetation assumed an increasing trend from 339.52 million tonnes in 2008 to 416.30 million tonnes in 2017. The carbon pressure index was 0.80 in 2008 and 0.76 in 2017, showing a trend of first rising and then falling. This implies that Yunnan is carbon surplus and the level of carbon security is within the region of relatively safe. It is appropriate to improve upon the carbon carrying capacity and reduce the carbon footprint to maintain carbon security in the future. • The carbon footprint and carbon carrying capacity in Yunnan were calculated. • Carbon security rating was evaluated by the carbon pressure index. • Yunnan is carbon surplus with relatively safe of carbon security. • Energy consumption structure of Yunnan should be optimized in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nanoplastics in the environment lead to the human exposure to these particles. However, the consequences of this exposure are not yet fully understood. Here, the cytotoxicity of polystyrene nanoparticles (PS-NPs) with a uniform size (50 nm) but distinct surface functionalization (pristine polystyrene, PS; carboxy and amino functionalized, PS-COOH and PS-NH 2 , respectively), and at an exposure dosage of 10, 50 and 100 μg/mL, were assessed in the human hepatocellular carcinoma (HepG2) cell line. Although all PS-NPs could be internalized by the HepG2 cells, according to the fluorescent intensities, more of PS-COOH and PS-NH 2 than PS, accumulated in the cells. The cell viability was significantly affected in a positively dose-related manner. Functionalized PS-NPs exhibited greater inhibition of cell viability than PS, and the viability inhibition peaked (46%) at 100 μg/mL of PS-NH 2 exposure. Superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity was maximum when HepG2 cells were exposed to 10 μg/mL of PS-COOH (1.8 folds higher than that without PS-COOH exposure). The glutathione (GSH) content was maximum when the cells were treated with 50 μg/mL of PS (3.75 fold increase compared to untreated cells). Although the difference in inhibition of cell viability was not significant between PS-NH 2 and PS-COOH exposure, 100 μg/mL of PS-NH 2 exposure caused the most severe oxidative stress due to dramatically increased accumulation of malondialdehyde (MDA); however, a decrease in the antioxidants levels as the SOD activity and GSH content were also found. The results demonstrated that the cellular oxidative damage occurred and that the antioxidation enzymes may not be able to maintain the balance between the generation of oxidant species and the antioxidant defense. Consequently, 100 μg/mL of PS-NH 2 exposure triggered the destruction of antioxidant structures. This study defines the cytotoxic effects of PS-NPs on HepG2 cells and emphasizes the significance of investigating the cytotoxic outcomes of nanoplastics in humans. Unlabelled Image • PS-NPs reduced the cell viability of HepG2 cells. • Reduced of cell viability showed positively dosage-related trend. • PS-NPs with size of 50 nm can be rapidly internalized by HepG2 cells. • Functionalized PS-NPs exhibited higher negative impact on cell viability than PS. • PS-NH 2 of 100 μg/mL caused the destruction of antioxidant capabilities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • Flower-like cobalt sulfide activated PMS exhibits efficient SMX degradation. • Non-radical pathways dominate SMX degradation rather than radicals. • Co(IV) species and 1O 2 were identified as the dominant active species. • The Co sites on catalyst surface as active sites for PMS non-radical activation. The treatment of emerging pollutants has become a challenging and multidisciplinary subject. Advanced oxidation processes based on persulfate are a strategic opportunity to address this issue, with research into catalysts and catalytic processes being the focus of this process. In this work, flower-like cobalt sulfide (F-CoS) particles acted as catalysts in peroxymonosulfate (PMS) activation for degrading an organic pollutant, sulfamethoxazole (SMX). The results indicated that F-CoS/PMS combined system performed excellently, with SMX being completely oxidized within 10 min. And the system exhibited superior resistance to environmental factors (e.g. pH and anions). Radicals quenching and electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) analyses indicated that non-radical pathways based on high-valent cobalt-oxo (Co(IV)) species and 1O 2 take a dominant position in SMX degradation, instead of SO 4 •− and •OH. Electrochemical, in-situ Raman and density functional theory (DFT) calculations revealed that PMS interacts with Co sites on the F-CoS surface, and then electronic transfer processes occurred, in which PMS acts as an electron acceptor to produce Co(IV) species and as an electron donor to produce 1O 2. This study not only implies a method with great potential application in organic wastewater treatment but also contributes to further comprehending the heterogeneous activation process and catalytic mechanism of PMS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract This study calculated the CO 2 emissions due to fossil fuel consumption in China during 2000–2015 with consideration of the regional coal-, oil-, and gas-related variations. We used logarithmic mean Divisia index methods to establish the primary influencing factors of CO 2 emissions, and we extended the UK National Ecosystem Assessment Scenarios to forecast future CO 2 emissions related to fossil fuel use during 2020–2030. It was determined economic development is the main reason for increased CO 2 emissions, and that energy intensity and energy structure decreased CO 2 emissions. Finally, we considered six scenarios to predict the future development of coal, oil, and gas consumption in China. Six scenarios including Go with the Flow, Nature@work, Green and Pleasant Land, World Market, National Security and Local Stewardship, results show Green and Pleasant Land will induced coal and oil emission decrease and gas emission slightly increase. The results obtained based on analysis of CO 2 emissions and identification of regional influencing factors could provide useful information for decision makers regarding the allocation of fossil fuel use. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

After the People's Republic of China (PRC) established in 1949, central planners have made much efforts to greening the capital city, Beijing. However, with the increasing population and consumption in the city, the increasing environmental risks continually flow into the local social-economic-ecological system (SEES) through ecological intercorrelation from neighborhoods, so that the thresholds of risks challenge the urban resilience of Beijing and the surrounding area. Thereby, we analyze the 139 selected indicators to deeply understand the systematic risks across temporal scale during 1978–2015 in Beijing. Results show the development pathway of Beijing experienced three stages from “entrance”, “soar” to “coursing”. In the current new stage, the ecological impacts and resource use per capita are main constrains to future development in Beijing. This implies to a framework of urban growth for a demonstration pilot path of eco-urbanization in five aspects: 1) strategic clarification of the growth space; 2) design the urban growth path based on ecosystem planning with functional landscape architecture; 3) higher standards of industrial establishments with advanced environmental assessment and monitoring; 4) construction of environmental infrastructures with smart resource recycling; and 5) based on strict implementation of institutions and regulations to maximize the function of market allocation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, we analyze the changes of indicators of ecosystem services and functions, in order to understand the main cause of grassland degradation due to climatic variation or land use changes in the middle-south Inner Mongolia. The soil nutrient and the water supply of supporting service got recovery during 1988–2008. The loss of net primary production declined, and the quality of the retained unconverted grassland (RUG) even increasingly degraded from 2000 to 2008. Analytical results show that environmental degradation on the land-use-changed-area is lower than that on the RUG from 2000 to 2008. It illustrates that climatic variation has more negative impacts on grassland ecosystem service, and which is significantly higher than the so-called “overgrazing” induced grassland degradation. Moreover, it cannot be excluded that those species died out on the RUG due to natural selection or competitive evolution in an evolutionary process under the deteriorative weather condition rather than overgrazing. The positive impacts of human activities such as conservation programs and wildlife protection laws also benefit to regional grassland ecosystem obviously in the study area, so that can delay the environmental degradation even if each planet has its life cycle. It indicates that an integrated regional planning involving the considerations of climatic conditions, geographical characteristics, socioeconomic factors, and ecological functions and biodiversity can benefit to regional grassland conservation based on monitoring and management via scientific methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Global mitigation of greenhouse gas (GHG) emission targets to regional solution at different scales with structural effects. Because local ecosystem service has different functions to influence regional environment, it is unclear that land use structural effects on lowering emission intensity and mitigating air pollution, and it is debatable that the efficiency of mitigation of GHG emission can be improved by increasing what kind of ecological infrastructure at regional scale. We propose a systematic methodology on identification of trade-offs among structural impacts of land use change on emission intensity at regional scale through both qualitatively and quantitatively statistical analysis to clarify impacts of different land use on the mitigation of emission intensity. In particular to a region with some distinct constraints of natural resources, regional planning has to rely on scientific solutions for bridging the gap of emission mitigation target among multi-levels of administrations and at same time enhancing the optimal allocation of natural resource. In this case study, we qualitatively analyze the principle component among impact factors in a regional socio-economic-ecological system of Zhangye City (where is located at the middle reach of the Heihe River Basin) during 1980s–2010s, and quantitatively analyze the relationship between land use structure and emission intensity with controlling the effects of air contaminations. The analytical results prove that forest land has statistically significant impacts on the mitigation of emission intensity, more importantly, there are no statistical significant evidences showing that cultivated land and wetland have the same functions. It indicates that to identify key issues from those mixed impacts of land use structure at regional scale determines to promote an optimal path of natural resource allocation for reducing the GHG emission and air contaminations. It implies that mitigation of GHG sorely needs to take land use structure changes into consideration of the systematic research for scientifically improving regional planning and sustainable development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Economic value of water and economic analysis of water use management in Gansu Province of China have attracted widespread public attention. With the socioeconomic development, research on water resources has become more important than before. In this study, we define “water productivity” as the changes of economic production outputs of sectoral activities in every cubic meter of water input, which is also the technical coefficient of water resource use in each sector. According to Computable General Equilibrium (CGE) framework, based on the Input–Output Table 2007 and water resources bulletin of Gansu Province, we introduced the water into the ORANI-G (A Generic Single-Country Computable General Equilibrium model) model through the nested constant elasticity of substitution (CES) production function to analyze the changes of economic productions caused by water supply changes. We then examined water productivity in different sectors. Empirical results showed that current water productivity is underestimated. Agricultural water productivity is lower than that of the secondary and tertiary industries, even although agricultural water use is the largest part of water use in Gansu Province, and therefore improving agricultural water productivity can greatly mitigate the water shortage. Simulation results indicate that industrial transformation and development of water-saving industries will also mitigate water scarcity. Moreover, sensitivity analysis shows that the empirical results are robust under different scenarios. The results also show that higher constant elasticity of substitution rate (CES) between water and other production factors will contribute to sustainable development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explored how rural cooperatives influence technology efficiency of farmer in the context of Geographical Indication (GI) products industry and identify the main influence factors, to realize regional sustainable development. Based on a survey of rural households in Qingyuan County located in the northeast forest zone in China, where is famous for GI product - Chinese Gentian (a Chinese herbal medicine), the efficiency enhancement mechanism of two groups of farmers (cooperative participants and cooperative non-participants) is analyzed, a meta-frontier analysis (MFA) model is constructed to empirical analyze the impact of farmers' participation in cooperatives on the efficiency of Chinese herbal medicine cultivation, and the heterogeneity of farmers that influence technical inefficiency is identified. The conclusions include: Two different ways to participate in the cultivation of GI products are through cooperatives and self-participation which keep farmers at different frontiers of production; The difference in efficiency within the rural cooperative is small but the efficiency of self-participating farmers is relatively large; The efficiency is about 32% higher, which explains the main reason for increase the efficiency of farmers are unified management, skill training and knowledge information diffusion. Household head age, education, enthusiasm and agricultural skill are the main influencing factors of technology inefficiency. This paper enriches the understanding of how rural cooperatives promote technology efficiency of rural households, especially with the heterogeneity of farmers' endowment, and how this contribute to the adaptive management of local GI brand and targeted poverty alleviation to realize rural revitalization. • Rural cooperatives influence technology efficiency of farmer of Geographical Indication (GI) products industry. • Two different ways to participate GI products：cooperatives and self-participation. • The average efficiency of the cooperative participants is about 32% higher than that of cooperative non-participants. • Main influencing factors of technology inefficiency: household head age, education, enthusiasm and agricultural skill. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The energy-rich area of the Yellow River basin are the major energy producers in China, the energy eco-efficiency (ecological efficiency) of this area has a direct impact on the implementation of ecological protection and high-quality development strategies in the Yellow River Basin due to its huge energy consumption. In this paper, the Stochastic Frontier Model (SFA) was used to estimate the energy ecological efficiency of the study area from 2002 to 2016, the spatial differences in energy eco-efficiency were explored with the use of Spatial Auto-regressive Model (SAR), the Spatial Dubin Model (SDM) is used to analyze the influencing factors. The results show that the average value of each region in 2002 and 2016 is 0.799 and 0.698 respectively; the energy eco-efficiency showing significant spatial aggregation, with the lowest in western regions such as Wuzhong and Zhongwei, and the highest in central regions such as Ordos and Yulin; the spatial pattern of energy eco-efficiency is affected by many factors, such as the proportion of fixed assets investment in gross regional product, industrial added value in gross regional product, and the foreign investment. As a result, the formulation of regional development strategies shall focus on optimization of industrial structure and improvement of regional technical level, which shall also be supported by the establishment of cross-regional coordination organizations, the best play of advantages of all regions, and the improvement of industrial competitiveness, so as to realize the evolution and improvement of the overall energy eco-efficiency in the region. • Calculate and analyze the energy ecological efficiency by SFA and SDM models. • The overall efficiency in the study area is low, presenting a downward trend. • The evolution principle of efficiency is similar in time but difference in space. • R&D, industrial structure and other factors are related to efficiency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• An Eucalyptus cloeziana breeding population was assessed using 12 microsatellites. • Genetic diversity was relatively high for the breeding population. • Two sub-populations were identified, indicating weak genetic structure. • A core collection (247 genotypes) was defined at 35 % of the breeding population. Eucalyptus cloeziana F. Muell. (Gympie messmate) is an important tree species providing raw materials for many industrial products. In this study, twelve microsatellite markers were used to assess the genetic diversity of a breeding population of Gympie messmate and extract a core germplasm collection. Relatively high genetic diversity was found for the breeding population, with number of alleles per marker (N a), observed heterozygosity (H o), expected heterozygosity (H e), and Shannon's information index (I) averaging at 10.5, 0.432, 0.682, and 0.673, respectively. Two sub-populations were identified, indicating weak genetic structure. A core collection composed of 247 individuals (35 % of the 707 trees of the whole breeding population) was extracted thereafter, of which diversity parameters differed non-significantly from the breeding population. These results would have implications for germplasm management and genomics studies in Gympie messmate as well as for core collection establishment in other wood-producing hardwood species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study reveals that ecological intercorrelation in urban-rural area is a key role in changes of unobserved environmental effects of urban pollution, energy use inefficiency, and cultivated land loss. In a deductive model, we find that inequivalent economic growth in urban-rural area results in the variability of eco-efficiency of industrial production in urban area, which increases the risks of environmental effect to adjacent suburban and rural area, and directly affects changes of unobserved environmental effect spatial-temporally. Through ecological intercorrelation , both observed and unobserved environmental effects in this dynamic mechanism are formed, consequently intensify the regional inequality of environmental pollution, and frustrate the future coordinative development of regional economy. By employing the data of case study area of Gaoyou in China, estimations show that observed eco-efficiency is getting better but unobserved eco-efficiency is getting worse until this place becomes an eco-city. This study has proved that ecological intercorrelation in some extent sustains unobserved environmental effects to affect regional environmental degradation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]