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The accurate estimation of gross primary productivity (GPP) plays an important role in accurately projecting the terrestrial carbon cycle and climate change. Satellite-driven near-infrared reflectance (NIRv) can be used to estimate GPP based on their nearly linear relationship. Notably, previous studies have reported that the relationship between NIRv and GPP seems to be biome-specific (or land cover) at the ecosystem scale due to both biotic and abiotic effects. Hence, the NIRv-based estimation of GPP may be influenced by land cover changes (LCC) and the discrepancies in multisource products (DMP). However, these issues have not been well understood until now. Therefore, this study took the Yellow River basin (YRB) as the study area. This area has experienced remarkable land cover changes in recent decades. We used Moderate-Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) and European Space Agency (ESA) Climate Change Initiative (CCI) land cover products (termed MCD12C1 and ESACCI, respectively) during 2001–2018 to explore the impact of land cover on NIRv-estimated GPP. Paired comparisons between the static and dynamic schemes of land cover using the two products were carried out to investigate the influences of LCC and DMP on GPP estimation by NIRv. Our results showed that the dominant land cover types in the YRB were grassland, followed by cropland and forest. Meanwhile, the main transfer was characterized by the conversion from other land cover types (e.g., barren) to grassland in the northwest of the YRB and from grassland and shrubland to cropland in the southeast of the YRB during the study period. Moreover, the temporal and spatial pattern of GPP was highly consistent with that of NIRv, and the average increase in GPP was 2.14 gCm−2yr−1 across the YRB. Nevertheless, it is shown that both LCC and DMP had significant influences on the estimation of GPP by NIRv. That is, the areas with obvious differences in NIRv-based GPP closely correspond to the areas where land cover types dramatically changed. The achievements of this study indicate that considering the land cover change and discrepancies in multisource products would help to improve the accuracy of NIRv-based estimated GPP. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we study exponentially fast mixing induced/enhanced by gravity and stochastic boundary in the kinetic theory of Vlasov equations. We consider the Vlasov equations with and without a vertical magnetic field inside a horizontally-periodic 3D half-space equipped with a non-isothermal diffusive reflection boundary condition of bounded continuous boundary temperature at the bottom. We construct both stationary solutions and global-in-time dynamical solutions in L ∞. We prove that moments of a dynamical fluctuation around the steady solutions decay exponentially fast in L ∞. As a key of this proof, we establish a uniform bound of so-called residual measures independently of the bouncing number of stochastic characteristics, by constructing a continuous stationary outgoing boundary flux which is strictly positive almost everywhere. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this work, electric properties of undoped and MoO3-doped 0.93Bi0.5Na0.5TiO3-0.07BaTiO3 ceramics (BNT-BT: x mol. % MoO3) are systematically studied. At room temperature, the optimum piezoelectric property (d33 = 177.0 pC/N) was observed in BNT-BT: 0.10Mo ceramics, with remanent polarization (Pr = 32.15 μC/cm2), electromechanical coupling coefficient (kt = 0.578, kp = 0.169, k31 = 0.180), and mechanical quality factor (Qm = 90.3). Mo doping was found to have a positive effect on the depolarization temperature Td, and k31 showed excellent thermal stability at BNT-BT: 0.05Mo ceramics. These findings confirm that Mo doping is an effective method to improve BNT-based lead-free ceramics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Percutaneous suture is a classic technique used in Achilles tendon repair. However, the complication rates surrounding the sural nerve remain relatively high. Modified percutaneous repair technology can effectively avoid these complications; however, the surgical procedure is complicated. Hence, the present study was conducted to describe a redesigned repair technique for the Achilles tendon able to avoid sural nerve injury and reduce the complexity of the procedure. Methods: Data of patients with acute primary Achilles tendon rupture at our hospital from January 2019 to May 2020 were included. Subjects with expectations for surgical scarring underwent a minimally invasive‐combined percutaneous puncture technique. The surgical time, requirement for conversion to other technologies, and length of postoperative hospitalization were investigated to assess efficacy. The American Orthopedic Foot & Ankle Society (AOFAS) score and the Arner–Lindholm scale (A‐L scale) were used to assess postoperative clinical outcomes (> 24 months). During the 2‐year follow‐up, MRI was performed to observe the healing of the Achilles tendon. In addition, subjective satisfaction with surgical scar healing was recorded. Resul ts : Twenty consecutive subjects with an average follow‐up of 28.3 ± 4.5 months (range, 24–41) met the inclusion criteria. None of the 20 enrolled patients required a converted surgical approach. The mean surgical time was 26.9 ± 6.47 min (range, 20–44). None of the patients experienced dysesthesia or anesthesia around the sural nerve. No signs of postoperative infections were observed. MRI data showed that the wounds of the Achilles tendon healed completely in all the subjects. The AOFAS score increased from 55.6 ± 11.07 (range, 28–71) preoperatively to 97.8 ± 3.34 (range, 87–100) at the last follow‐up. The A‐L scale showed that 90% of the subjects (n = 18) presented as excellent and 10% of the subjects (n = 2) presented as good, with an excellent/good rate of 100%. Moreover, subjects' satisfaction for surgical scars was 9.1 ± 0.78 (upper limit, 10). Conclusions: The results indicate that this technique can achieve good postoperative function, a small surgical incision, and high scar satisfaction. In addition, this technique should be widely used in suturing Achilles tendon ruptures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In addition, for low- and medium-resolution remote-sensing phenology products (e.g., MODIS/VIIRS), it is difficult even for UAVs or phenocams to provide validation data at the comparable pixel scale, in which case indirect "validation" can be performed using higher-spatial-resolution satellite data [[30]]. Land surface phenology (LSP) is an important research field in terrestrial remote sensing and has become an indispensable approach in global change research, as evidenced by many important scientific findings supported by LSP in recent decades. As such, we organized this Special Issue to cover the latest developments in sensor technologies, LSP retrieval algorithms and validation strategies, and the use of LSP products in a variety of fields. Recent advances in field and spaceborne sensor technologies, as well as data fusion techniques, have enabled novel LSP retrieval algorithms that refine LSP retrievals at even higher spatiotemporal resolutions, providing new insights into ecosystem dynamics. [Extracted from the article]

Water yield (WY) refers to the difference between precipitation and evapotranspiration (ET), which is vital for available terrestrial water. Climate change has led to significant changes in precipitation and evapotranspiration on a global scale, which will affect the global WY. Nevertheless, how terrestrial WY has changed during the past few decades and which factors dominated the WY changes are not fully understood. In this study, based on climate reanalysis and remote sensing data, the spatial and temporal patterns of terrestrial WY were revisited from 1981 to 2018 globally using an improved Mann-Kendall trend test method with a permutation test. The response patterns of WY to precipitation and ET are also investigated. The results show that the global multi-year mean WY is 297.4 mm/a. Based on the traditional Mann-Kendall trend test, terrestrial WY showed a significant (p < 0.05) increase of 5.72% of the total valid grid cells, while it showed a significant decrease of 7.68% of those. After correction using the calibration method, the significantly increasing and decreasing areas are reduced by 10.52% and 10.58% of them, respectively. After the correction, the confirmed increase and decrease in WY are mainly located in Africa, eastern North America and Siberia, and parts of Asia and Oceania, respectively. The dominant factor for increasing WY is precipitation, while that for decreasing WY was the combined effect of precipitation and evapotranspiration. The achievements of this study are beneficial for improving the understanding of WY in response to hydrological variables in the context of climate change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study evaluated the effects of varying levels of malondialdehyde (MDA) on the structural and foaming properties of the egg yolk proteins (EYPs), and the interaction between them was explored by molecular docking. The results showed that oxidative modification due to MDA increased the carbonyl content of EYPs by 4.49 times. Simultaneously, the total sulfhydryl content was reduced by 21.47%, and the solubility of EYPs was significantly decreased (p < 0.05). Continuous oxidation disorders the previously ordered structure of EYPs. Sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis indicated that some proteins underwent crosslinking and aggregation with increased MDA oxidation, aligning with changes in particle size and zeta-potential. Moderate oxidation (<1 mmol/L) enhanced the foaming capacity and foam stability of EYPs. Additionally, molecular docking results uncovered favorable interactions between MDA and specific EYPs, primarily through hydrogen bonding. This research offers valuable insights into managing the functional and quality changes of yolk products during processing. [Display omitted] • Malondialdehyde (MDA) changed the original conformation of egg yolk proteins (EYPs). • High levels of oxidation caused EYPs to form insoluble aggregates. • Moderate oxidation enhanced the foaming capacity and foam stability of EYPs. • MDA has non-covalent interactions with representative proteins of EYPs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Selection of suitable ILs as extracting agents is the key to ensuring an extraction process. • An EDS process is exemplified to choose efficient and effective ILs. • [C 1 pyr][H 2 PO 4 ] and [C 1 pyr][HSO 4 ] are finally identified which can satisfy the qualification of sulfur content (<10 ppm). • This work is from the molecular level to experimental research, then to industrial scale. • A systematic method to choose efficient and effective ILs as extracting agent is presented. Selecting of appropriate ionic liquids (ILs) as extracting agents is a key to ensuring an extraction process. Therefore, this study illustrates a systematic method for an extractive desulfurization (EDS) process to select the most promising ILs. The proposed method combines: 1) COSMO-RS calculation of the mutual solubility of ILs and fuel oil, and the capacity of ILs for the S-compounds, 2) experimental investigation of the prescreened ILs for their desulfurization ability, 3) and Aspen Plus simulation of developing a new insight into the industrial application of EDS. Based on the obtained results, [C 1 pyr][H 2 PO 4 ] and [C 1 pyr][HSO 4 ] having small mutual solubility with fuel oil, high extraction capacity for S-compounds and high desulfurization efficiency are selected as two promising ILs. Considering the qualification of the low sulfur content standard and real industrial applications, [C 1 pyr][H 2 PO 4 ] is recognized as the most favorable solvent for the EDS process. The proposed method initiating from micro-level to experimental stage and finally to industrial stage can preferably be extended over a variety of extraction application for selection of the promising ILs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

African Swine Fever (ASF) is an acute and highly lethal disease in pigs caused by African Swine Fever Virus (ASFV). Viral proteins have been commonly used as antigenic targets for the development of ASF diagnostic methods. However, the prokaryotic expression of viral proteins has deficiencies such as instability, insolubility, and high cost in eukaryotic situations. This study screened and verified ASFV-encoded p72, p54, and p30 protein antigenic epitopes. Subsequently, a novel antigenic epitope-associated recombinant protein was designed based on an ideal structural protein and expressed in Escherichia coli (E. coli). Western blot analysis indicated that the recombinant protein could specifically react with the monoclonal antibody (mAb) of p72 and polyclonal antibodies of p54 and p30, respectively. Next, an ASF indirect ELISA (iELISA) method was established based on the recombinant protein, which has no specific reaction with sera of other important pig viral diseases. Meanwhile, it shows a sensitivity to detecting dilutions of ASF-positive reference serum up to 1:6400. The clinical sample detection results showed a high coincidence rate of 98 % with a commercial competition ELISA kit. In conclusion, we established a novel specific, and sensitive ASF serologic detection method that opens new avenues for ASF serodiagnostic method development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Spring greening has been widely observed across the Northern Hemisphere (NH) using a remotely sensed vegetation index (e.g., the normalized difference vegetation index, NDVI). However, there is still a debate on the ecological effects of spring greening on seasonal carbon and water budgets. This study jointly investigated the concurrent and lagged effects of spring greening on carbon gain (gross primary productivity, GPP) and water loss (evapotranspiration, ET) in the summer-active ecosystems at mid and high latitudes of NH using remote sensing and multimodel ensemble data during 1982–2013. The results showed that the collective promotion of spring greening to concurrent GPP and ET is widespread despite variations in magnitude and significance. Both beneficial and adverse lagged effects of spring greening on summer GPP commonly appear with an obvious spatial heterogeneity and difference among climate-plant types. However, the expected significant suppression of spring greening to summer GPP was rarely observed even in the areas where spring ET was significantly promoted by spring greening. Nevertheless, when drought was taken into account, the response patterns of spring water use to spring greening varied to some extent, and the adverse lagged effect of spring greening to summer GPP appeared or strengthened in some regions, especially during the years with dry summer. Given the predicted warming of the climate and more frequent climatic extremes, the adverse effect of spring greening should be given more attention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ecosystem-scale water-use efficiency (WUE) is an important indicator for understanding the intimately coupled relationship between carbon and water cycles in ecosystems. Previous studies have suggested that both abiotic and biotic factors have significant effects on WUE in forest ecosystems. However, responses of WUE to phenology in the context of climate change remain poorly understood. In this study, we analyzed the sensitivity and response patterns of seasonal WUE to phenology in Zhejiang Province where typical subtropical forest ecosystems are located, and discussed potential causes of the changes of the sensitivity and response patterns along different climate gradient during 2000–2014. The results of interannual partial correlation analysis showed widespread negative correlations between WUE and the start of growing season (SOS) in spring. This is because the increase in gross primary product (GPP) is larger than that of evapotranspiration (ET), resulting from an advanced SOS. The positive correlation between WUE and SOS was widely observed in summer mainly because of water stress and plant ecological strategy. The autumn WUE enhanced with the delay in the end of growing season (EOS) mainly because of the increase in GPP meanwhile the decrease or steadiness in ET, resulting from a delayed EOS. In space, the sensitivity of spring WUE to SOS significantly decreased along the radiation gradient, which might be related to strong soil evaporation in high radiation area; the sensitivity of WUE to SOS in summer showed a positive correlation with precipitation and a negative correlation with temperature, respectively, which might be attributed to the compensation of GPP to the delayed SOS and water stress caused by high temperature. The sensitivity of WUE to EOS increased significantly along the radiation and precipitation gradients in autumn, which may be because the increase of radiation and precipitation provides more water and energy for photosynthesis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Systems of differential equations with polynomial right-hand sides are very common in applications. In particular, when restricted to the positive orthant, they appear naturally (according to the law of mass-action kinetics) in ecology, population dynamics, as models of biochemical interaction networks, and models of the spread of infectious diseases. Their mathematical analysis is very challenging in general; in particular, it is very difficult to answer questions about the long-term dynamics of the variables (species) in the model, such as questions about persistence and extinction. Even if we restrict our attention to mass-action systems, these questions still remain challenging. On the other hand, if a polynomial dynamical system has a weakly reversible single linkage class ( W R 1 ) realization, then its long-term dynamics is known to be remarkably robust: all the variables are persistent (i.e., no species goes extinct), irrespective of the values of the parameters in the model. Here we describe an algorithm for finding W R 1 realizations of polynomial dynamical systems, whenever such realizations exist. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Complex-balanced mass-action systems are some of the most important types of mathematical models of reaction networks, due to their widespread use in applications, as well as their remarkable stability properties. We study the set of positive parameter values (i.e., reaction rate constants) of a reaction network G that, according to mass-action kinetics, generate dynamical systems that can be realized as complex-balanced systems, possibly by using a different graph G ′ . This set of parameter values is called the disguised toric locus of G. The R -disguised toric locus of G is defined analogously, except that the parameter values are allowed to take on any real values. We prove that the disguised toric locus of G is path-connected, and the R -disguised toric locus of G is also path-connected. We also show that the closure of the disguised toric locus of a reaction network contains the union of the disguised toric loci of all its subnetworks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract A clear interannual variability in annual production of grasslands (termed AEVI) has been reported over the Tibetan Plateau (TP), but the underlying mechanism has not been fully understood. Here, we explained the interannual variability of AEVI during 2001–2015 by two phenological metrics (the start and end of the growing season, termed SOS and EOS, respectively) and one physiological metric (the maximum capacity of canopy light absorbance, termed MEVI) using MODIS Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI) data over the TP. The results showed that the interannual variability of AEVI can be well attributed to not only the trends of, but also the sensitivities of AEVI to, the selected biological metrics. On the one hand, the advancing SOS and delaying EOS dominated the study area while both increased and decreased MEVI were observed. On the other hand, the AEVI responded negatively to the SOS and positively to the EOS and MEVI, exhibiting significant variations along the temperature and precipitation gradients. Hence, the current interannual variability of SOS and EOS mainly increased the AEVI; meanwhile, both enhancement and suppression of the interannual variability of MEVI to the AEVI were widespread over the TP. Overall, the interannual variability of MEVI mostly contributed to that of the AEVI, indicating a dominant role of the physiological metric rather than phenological metrics in carbon gain of TP grasslands. The achievements of this study are helpful to understand the underlying biological causes of the interannual variability of grassland production over the TP. Graphical abstract Unlabelled Image Highlights • The advancing SOS and delaying EOS widely increase grassland production on the TP. • Consistent variability of annual max EVI and grassland production is widespread. • The physiological metric plays a dominant role in changes of grassland production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research in vegetation phenology change has been one heated topic of current ecological and climate change study. The Tibetan Plateau, as the highest plateau of the earth, is more vulnerable and sensitive to climate change than many other regions. In this region, shifts in vegetation phenology have been intensively studied during recent decades, primarily based on satellite-retrieved data. In this study, we explored the spatiotemporal changes of vegetation phenology for different land-cover types in the Tibetan Plateau and characterized their relationship with temperature and precipitation by using long-term time-series datasets of normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) from 1982 to 2014. Diverse phenological changes were observed for different land-cover types, with an advancing start of growing season (SOS), delaying end of growing season (EOS) and increasing length of growing season (LOS) in the eastern Tibetan Plateau where meadow was the dominant vegetation type, but with the opposite changes in the steppe and sparse herbaceous or sparse shrub regions which are mostly located in the northwestern and western edges of the Tibetan Plateau. Correlation analysis indicated that sufficient preseason precipitation may delay the SOS of evergreen forests in the southeastern Plateau and advance the SOS of steppe and sparse herbaceous or sparse shrub in relatively arid areas, while the advance of SOS in meadow areas could be related to higher preseason temperature. For EOS, because it is less sensitive to climate change than SOS, the response of EOS for different landcover types to precipitation and temperature were more complicated across the Tibetan Plateau. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate change has significantly influenced the productivity of terrestrial ecosystems through water cycles. Water use efficiency (WUE) is an important indicator for understanding how water couples with the carbon cycle. Abiotic factors such as climatic factors and CO 2 concentration have been investigated to understand the mechanisms involved in the coupled carbon-water cycle of terrestrial ecosystems in response to climate change. However, the effects of biotic factors on WUE are less clear. By analyzing 66 site-years of flux and meteorological data obtained from 8 temperate deciduous broadleaf forest sites across North America and Europe, we found that ecosystem-scale WUE (defined here as the ratio of gross primary production (GPP) to evapotranspiration (ET)) in the spring significantly increased with the advance of the flux-based photosynthetic onset (FPO), mainly because an earlier FPO could lead to a steeper increase in GPP than in ET. However, the advance of FPO probably reduced summer WUE as a result of the enhancement of water stress by ET in the spring in temperate deciduous broadleaf forest. Our results also implied that spring warming had an indirectly positive effect on WUE through advancing spring phenology, but such a positive effect will likely weaken once the sensitivity of spring phenology to warming decreases as reported. Here, we argue that phenology, which exerts critical biotic control over most ecological processes, plays a larger role than expected in the regulation of the seasonal WUE and cannot be ignored in earth system models. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ecological geographic regions, also called eco-regions, can be used to divide a remotely sensed image, which is helpful for reducing the complexity of land cover types within eco-regions and for improving the classification accuracy of land cover. In this case study in China, we improved a method of ecological geographic regionalization that is more suitable for remote sensing mapping of regional land cover, and we obtained new eco-regions. The canonical correspondence analysis (CCA) and k-means clustering were adopted in the ecological geographic regionalization using both seasonal remotely-sensed vegetation information and environmental data including climate, elevation and soil features. Our results show that the combination of seasonal vegetation information and the CCA performed well in the selection of the dominant environmental factor of the biogeographic pattern, and it can be used as regionalization indicators of eco-regions. We found that thermal factors are the most important driving forces of the biogeographic pattern in China, which followed by moisture factors. Two global land cover products (MODIS MCD12C1 and GlobCover) were used to assess our eco-regions. The results show that our eco-regions performed better than that of a previous study regarding the complexity of land cover types, such as in the number of types and the proportional area of the major/secondary type. These results indicate that the method of ecological geographic regionalization, which is based on environmental factors associated with seasonal vegetation features, is effective for reducing the regional complexity of land cover. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The flux-derived slope (G 1) in the USO model was investigated in temperate forests. • G 1 displays considerable seasonal variations with a minimum value in mid-summer • Satellite-derived leaf area index (LAI) could well capture the seasonality of G 1. • The LAI-based dynamic G 1 parametrization was used to modeling transportation (T c). • The scheme of dynamic G 1 could effectively reduce the error in T c estimation. The ecosystem-level conductance-photosynthesis models, which represent a linearly coupled relationship between canopy stomatal conductance (G s) and CO 2 assimilation, have been increasingly used for modeling transpiration (T c). As a key parameter in these models, the slope parameter (G 1) has been observed to vary considerably over the seasons in the field, but is often parametrized with a biome-specific temporally constant G 1 , resulting in large potential uncertainty. Here we hypothesized that G 1 varies with leaf area index (LAI) phenology and soil water content (SWC) seasonality, and accurate characterization of G 1 seasonality offers an avenue to improve T c modelling. To test these hypotheses, we first investigated the seasonality of Eddy flux-derived G 1 and then explored its relationship with satellite-derived LAI and field-observed SWC seasonality at 12 temperate forest FLUXNET sites across the Northern Hemisphere. Last, we cross-compared the two schemes of model parameterization of G 1 for modeling T c : (1) a constant G 1 (FIX) and (2) a dynamic G 1 parameterized using the selected variables (DYN). Our results show G 1 displays considerable seasonal variations across all sites, with a minimum value in mid-summer. Further variance partitioning analysis demonstrates that the seasonal variations in G 1 show direct linkages with LAI phenology rather than SWC seasonality likely associated with leaf aging and ontogeny development. Last, we found relative to the FIX model, the DYN model (using LAI for G 1 parameterization) significantly reduced the model uncertainty in terms of RMSE by 24.6 ± 11.8% and 32.0 ± 8.7%, respectively for G s and T c at a daily scale. These results collectively improve our understanding of the dynamic pattern and proximate controls of G 1 seasonality, and highlight the effectiveness of using remote sensing-derived LAI phenology for improved characterization of G 1 seasonality that ultimately contributes to the improved process model simulations of the seasonal dynamics of G s and T c across temperate forest landscapes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Southwest Transboundary Basin (STB), which contains a part of the Tibetan Plateau and Southwest China, covers a large area of grassland that has been experiencing significant climate change (Cc) and human activities (Ha). However, variabilities of the grasslands and respective contributions of the drivers have not been fully understood. In this study, we quantitatively investigated the influences of Cc and Ha on the grasslands from 1982 to 2015 across the STB, using residual analysis, trend analysis, and partial correlation analysis. Particularly, vapor pressure deficit (VPD), which is increasingly paid attention to in current studies, was included in our analysis as a critical driver of alpine grasslands. Additionally, a new method, pure climate-induced grassland pixel, which combined the coefficient of variation, was proposed to significantly improve the pixel purity with higher coefficient correlation and lower error and bias. Results show that changes in the climate play an important role in the grassland coverage of STB during 1982–1999 and 2000–2015, while Ha only had a relatively weak negative impact on grassland during 2000–2015, mainly in the Lancang River Basin. Specifically, the grasslands showed an increasing trend in 1982–1999, dominated by climate change with a contribution rate of 80.87%. Temperature had the greatest contribution, followed by VPD and precipitation in this period. On the contrary, the grasslands showed a decreasing trend in 2000–2015, dominated by both Cc and Ha with the contributions of 53.16% and 46.84%, respectively. The findings of this study provide a valuable reference for future ecological restoration in other similar alpine regions. • A new method was proposed to distinguish climate change and human activities. • Vapor pressure defect was introduced in this study. • Climate change dominates the change of grassland NDVI in the STB. • Temperature restored the grassland in 1982–1999, VPD depressed it in 2000–2015. • An increasing (1982–1999)-decreasing (2000–2015) pattern in grassland change in the STB. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present work aims to detect bamboo expansion and its impact on carbon storage in a thick forest in the most recent 30 years. The research area is the national nature reserve of Tianmushan, Zhejiang Province, China, and the present paper monitored bamboo expansion from 1984 to 2015. Multi-spectral band and vegetation indices from Landsat images in summer and winter are used combined to improve the accuracy of detection using a support vector machine (SVM) classifier. Expansion of bamboo over this period is evident. Total expansion is 161%, the fastest annual rate being 11.6%. However, over recent decades the growth of bamboo has been inhibited by human activity and the total area has decreased by 21%. Evergreen broadleaf forest is the most vulnerable to invasion by bamboo at a ratio of about 65%, and this expanding trend has been brought under effective control. Carbon storage was estimated using sample plot surveys and modelling based on key ecological forests. According to our estimation using carbon storage models, the total carbon storage of Tianmushan has declined by circa 4.7% due to bamboo expansion in the past three decades. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Comprehensive monitoring of the quality of systematic reviews (SRs) and meta-analyses (MAs) of endoscopic ultrasound (EUS) requires complete and accurate reporting and methodology. Objective: To assess the reporting and methodological quality of SRs/MAs on EUS diagnosis and to explore the potential factors influencing articles’ quality. Methods: The quality of the reporting and methodology was evaluated in relation to the adherence of papers to the PRISMA checklist and the AMSTAR quality scale. The total scores for every criterion and for every article on the two standards were calculated. Data were evaluated and analyzed using SPSS17.0 and RevMan 5.1 in terms of publication time, category of reviews, category of journals, and funding resource. Results: A total of 72 SRs/MAs was included, but no Cochrane Systematic Reviews (CSRs) were obtained. The number of SRs/MAs ranged from 1 in 1998 to 15 in 2013; 88.1% used the QUADAS tool; the average overall scores by PRISMA statement and AMSTAR tool were 19.9 and 5.4, respectively. Scores on some items showed substantial improvement after publication of PRISMA and AMSTAR. However, no reviews followed the criterion of protocol and registration, and only 11.1% of articles fulfilled the criterion of literature search. SRs/MAs from the Science Citation Index (SCI) were of better quality than non-SCI studies. Funding resource made no difference to quality. Regression analysis showed that time of publication and inclusion in the SCI were significantly correlated with total scores on the two standards. Conclusion: The reporting and methodological quality of SRs/MAs on EUS diagnosis has improved measurably since PRISMA and AMSTAR checklists released. It is hoped that CSR in this field will be produced. Literature searching and protocol criteria, as well as QUADAS-2 tool need to be addressed more in the future. Time of publication and SCI relate more to the overall quality of SRs/MAs than does funding resource. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, we detected the spectrum and vegetation index responses of Masson pine to acid stress using ground-based hyperspectral radiometry and satellite-based multispectral remote sensing. From the hyperspectral detection, we found that the spectral reflectance of stressed Masson pine increased with increase in acidity in the visible region, while an opposite result was found in the near-infrared (NIR) region. The simulated normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) derived from hyperspectral data of Masson pine presented higher values under weaker acid stress in general. Similar results were observed by satellite-derived NDVI across four acidity gradient transects in subtropical China. Both annual average NDVI and inter-annual NDVI trends of Masson pine forest increased with increase in annual average precipitation acidity (pH), indicating that acid stress would inhibit the growth of Masson pine under certain environmental conditions. However, there are limitations and uncertainties in our present work, and the integration of long-term ground-based and satellite-based observations of vegetation growth and acidity deposition is urgently needed. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

A useful method was developed to establish a diagnostic model using hyperspectral remote sensing to predict and monitor acid stress on plants. We analysed the hyperspectral response of Chinese fir to acid rain by measuring the spectral reflectance of the seedling leaves, sprayed by simulated acid rain (pH, 2.5, 4.0, and 5.6), for three periods. The sensitive bands were located and the rules for predicting classes of simulated acid stress on Chinese fir were established using a classification and regression tree (CART) approach. The acid-sensitive bands of Chinese fir were nearly all located between 380 and 410 nm, 460 and 560 nm, and 640 and 750 nm. CART predictor variables, which were selected from sensitive bands, reduce data dimensionality significantly. The misclassification errors of the CART training process in correctly attributing variables to respective target classes are 7.78%, 6.67%, and 11.67% respectively, at each measurement period, and the cross-validation misclassification errors are 16.6%, 11.1%, and 23.3%, respectively. Our results show that the spectral reference bands, which are related to chlorophyll-aandbaround 670 and 450 nm, as well as the slight peak in the green around 550 nm, significantly affected the classification accuracy on acid stress. These provide useful optical response to acid stress. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many physiological activities in amphibians show rhythmic changes to adapt to ambient light conditions. However, the effects of photoperiod variation on the immune and antioxidant status and their possible correlation with different tissues have not been reported in Dybowski's frog, Rana dybowskii. In this study, the specific activities of immune and antioxidant enzymes in R. dybowskii under different photoperiods were evaluated. The results demonstrated that the photoperiod significantly impacted antioxidant enzymes and immune enzymes in Dybowski's frog. In terms of antioxidant enzyme activity, catalase (CAT) and superoxide dismutase (SOD) activities in frogs at 6 L:18D and 0 L:24D were significantly higher than those at 18 L:6D and 24 L:0D, respectively. Further, the activities of these enzymes increased during the dark phase and decreased during the light phase. The malondialdehyde (MDA) content decreased significantly with the decrease in photoperiod time. Lysozyme (LZM) activity in serum and the liver decreased with a prolonged photoperiod. LZM activity in the dark cycle was higher, but the peak activity in skin occurred at noon. Thus, long-term light exposure may cause oxidative stress in Dybowski's frog. Accordingly, a 6 L:18D photoperiod may be suitable for optimum physiological functions of this species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Plant phenology is one of the key regulators of ecosystem processes, which are sensitive to environmental change. The acceleration of urbanization in recent years has produced substantial impacts on vegetation phenology over urban areas, such as the local warming induced by the urban heat island effect. However, quantitative contributions of the difference of land surface temperature (LST) between urban and rural (ΔLST) and other factors to the difference of spring phenology (i.e., the start of growing season, SOS) between urban and rural (ΔSOS) were rarely reported. Therefore, the objective of this study is to explore impacts of urbanization on SOS and distinguish corresponding contributions. Using Hangzhou, a typical subtropical metropolis, as the study area, vegetation index-based phenology data (MCD12Q2 and MYD13Q1 EVI) and land surface temperature data (MYD11A2 LST) from 2006–2018 were adopted to analyze the urban–rural gradient in phenology characteristics through buffers. Furthermore, we exploratively quantified the contributions of the ΔLST to the ΔSOS based on a temperature contribution separation model. We found that there was a negative coupling between SOS and LST in over 90% of the vegetated areas in Hangzhou. At the sample-point scale, SOS was weakly, but significantly, negatively correlated with LST at the daytime (R2 = 0.2 and p < 0.01 in rural; R2 = 0.14 and p < 0.05 in urban) rather than that at nighttime. Besides, the ΔSOS dominated by the ΔLST contributed more than 70% of the total ΔSOS. We hope this study could help to deepen the understanding of responses of urban ecosystem to intensive human activities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The explanatory power of EOS to the interannual variations in GPP, ET and WUE were quantitatively assessed. • The autumn phenology played a crucial role in regulating GPP, ET and WUE in autumn on the Tibetan Plateau. • The delayed EOS increased the daily mean GPP but meanwhile increased the ET in autumn, rather than enhanced the WUE. Vegetation phenology is a commonly used indicator of climate-vegetation interactions, which also plays a crucial role in regulating gross primary productivity (GPP), evapotranspiration (ET) and ecosystem water use efficiency (WUE, defined as the ratio between GPP and ET). Actually, quantitative evaluation of the impact of phenology on WUE is critical yet lacking. In this study we detected the interannual variations of autumn WUE, GPP and ET and conducted Redundancy analysis (RDA) to quantitatively assess their responses to autumn end of growing season (EOS) in the grassland ecosystem across the Tibetan Plateau. Our study found that the delayed EOS increased the daily mean GPP but meanwhile increased the ET in autumn, rather than enhanced the WUE. Over the entire Tibetan Plateau, the daily GPP and ET in the autumn of the steppe were dominated by the delayed EOS, with the explanatory power of EOS to GPP and ET of 75.90% (P < 0.01) and 21.80% (P < 0.05). An one day delay of the EOS increased the daily GPP and ET by 0.05 × 10−1 gC m−1 day−1 (P < 0.01) and 0.27 × 10−1 mm day−1 (P < 0.01), respectively. Furthermore, the EOS agreed on a positive correlation with daily GPP and ET in different ecoregions and the interannual variations of WUE for the meadow and steppe in the different ecoregions across the Tibetan Plateau did not show significant trend because of this same increasing pattern of GPP and ET form the delayed EOS. This study highlights the impacts of EOS on the interannual changes of the GPP, ET and WUE in autumn in a large cold and semiarid/arid area, which indicated that phenology should be regard as a crucial indicator in the process of carbon water coupling cycles and their biological regulatory mechanisms in terrestrial ecosystems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There are few studies on the relationship between photoperiod and the melatonin cycle in amphibians. To elucidate the role of the photoperiodically modulated endogenous melatonin cycle in different tissues of Dybowski's frog (Rana dybowskii), its serum, liver, whole brain, skin, and eyeballs were collected under five photoperiods, and the daily variation in melatonin concentration was determined via high-performance liquid chromatography. Compared with the control group (12 L:12 D), melatonin concentration was increased under photoperiods 0 L:24 D and 6 L:18 D in serum, and the concentration peaked at 00:00 under photoperiod 0 L:24 D. This trend was synchronized with the peak melatonin concentration in the retinal, liver, and whole-brain tissues. After 24 h of light exposure, no significant daily variation was observed under photoperiod 24 L:0 D. Furthermore, we observed a significant peak at 04:00 in the serum under photoperiod 18 L:6 D. However, we observed the opposite trend in the circadian rhythm of the skin tissue. Our results underscore the high sensitivity of melatonin content to different photoperiods. These findings may have real-world implications in terms of furthering our understanding of circadian rhythms disruption induced by exposure to different photoperiods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Speed correction curves are introduced to improve the simulation of vehicle emission factors. • A multi-year emission inventory is developed in a typical middle-sized city based on detailed data. • The comparison of emissions is made between the middle-sized city and the megacities. • Four possible emission control policies are evaluated and discussed for middle-sized cities. Vehicle emissions are regarded as an important contributor to urban air pollution in China and most previous studies focused on megacities. However, the vehicle pollution in middle-sized cities becomes more severe due to the increasing vehicle population (VP) and lagged control policy. This study takes Langfang, a typical middle-sized city bordered by two megacities (Beijing and Tianjin), as the target domain to investigate vehicle emissions. The speed correction curves (SCC) are introduced to improve the vehicle emission factors (EF) simulation in official technical guidelines on emission inventory (GEI). A multi-year vehicle emission inventory (from 2011 to 2025) is developed in Langfang. From 2011 to 2017, the total vehicle emissions in Langfang decrease for carbon monoxide (CO), but increase for volatile organic compounds (VOCs), nitrogen oxides (NO x), and inhalable particles (PM 10), respectively. From 2018 to 2025, the emissions would increase more rapidly in Langfang than in Beijing and Tianjin, indicating the middle-sized cities may become a significant contributor to air pollution in China. Four possible control policies, including VP constrained (VPC), public transportation promotion (PTP), new energy vehicles promotion (NEP), and freight transportation structure optimization (FTO) are evaluated. The most significant emissions reductions are observed under the FTO for CO, NO x , and PM 10 , and under the VPC for VOCs. The spatial distributions of vehicle emissions show a high order of heterogeneity, indicating that local conditions should be considered in policy formulation in addition to national consistency. More comprehensive policies should be implemented to mitigate the vehicle pollution in middle-sized cities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Jing-Jin-Ji urban group (JJJug), the Yangtze River Delta urban group (YRDug) and the Pearl River Delta urban group (PRDug) are major urban groups of eastern China that play crucial roles in the economy and ecology. With rapid urbanization, demand for land for urban construction has significantly increased, causing direct and indirect losses of forests. At the same time, forest protection and restoration are being promoted in the construction of forested urban groups in response to the 13th Five-Year Plan for forestry development of China in the abovementioned regions. These inevitable contradictory demands for land may inhibit regional sustainable development. However, how forest coverage changed and its ecological impacts in recent decades have rarely been systematically evaluated. To address this issue, this paper quantitatively investigated the spatial and temporal variations in forest coverage and the evolution of landscape patterns using remote sensing data across the JJJug, the YRDug and the PRDug from 1992 to 2015. The results show that forest coverage in the JJJug first increased and then decreased, while that in the YRDug and the PRDug showed a sustained decline during the study period. In the case of land displacement, on the one hand, the three urban groups exhibited a transition from forest to farmland in the forest-farm ecotone at medium and high altitudes. On the other hand, grassland and shrubland were changed into forest mainly in the outer suburbs. Furthermore, in general, the landscape fragmentation in the urban groups significantly increased because of urban expansion. Besides, that of the JJJug exhibited an obvious spatial heterogeneity with a decline in the north while an increase in the south. Overall, unbalanced forest displacement, which could lead to a negative effect on both forest-coverage quantity and landscape quality, should be given more attention in the future development of forested urban groups. It is shows the conceptual illustration of unbalanced forest displacement and its impacts due to urban expansion across the coastal urban groups of eastern China. On the one hand, conversions from forest to farmland or grassland in the forest-farm ecotone were widely observed at medium and high altitudes of the study area. On the other hand, the grasslands and shrublands were converted into forest mainly in the outer suburbs. Moreover, the landscape fragmentation of the urban groups mainly increased due to the direct and indirect effects of urban expansion. Overall, unbalanced forest displacement may lead to a negative effect on both forest-coverage quantity and landscape quality, which should be given close attention. Unlabelled Image • Forest coverage generally decreased across the coastal urban groups of eastern China in recent decades. • Altitude-related forest losses due to the indirect impact of urban expansion were widely observed. • Unbalanced forest displacement led to increasing landscape fragmentation of the urban groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cultivated land productivity is a basic guarantee of food security. This study extracted the multiple cropping index (MCI) and most active days (MAD, i.e., days when the EVI exceeded a threshold) based on crop growth EVI curves to analyse the changes and potential characteristics of cultivated land productivity in Jiangsu Province during 2001–2017. The results are as follows: (1) The MCI of 83.8% of cultivated land remained unchanged in Jiangsu, the cultivated land with changed MCI (16.2%) was mainly concentrated in the southern and eastern coastal areas of Jiangsu, and the main cropping systems were single and double seasons. (2) The changes in cultivated land productivity were significant and had an obvious spatial distribution. The areas where the productivity of single cropping system changed occupied 67.8% of the total cultivated land of single cropping system, and the decreased areas (46.5%) were concentrated in southern Jiangsu. (3) For double cropping systems, the percentages of the changed productivity areas accounting for cultivated land were 82.7% and 73.3%. The decreased areas were distributed in central Jiangsu. In addition, the productivity of the first crop showed an overall (72%) increasing trend and increased areas (40.8%) of the second crop were found in northern Jiangsu. (4) During 2001–2017, cultivated land productivity greatly improved in Jiangsu. In the areas where productivity increased, the proportions of cultivated land with productivity potential space greater than 20% in single and double cropping systems were greater than 60% and 90%, respectively. In the areas where productivity decreased, greater than 25% and 75% of cultivated land had potential space in greater than 80% of the single and double cropping systems, respectively. This result shows that productivity still has much room for development in Jiangsu. This study provides new insight for studying cultivated land productivity and provides references for guiding agricultural production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Timely and accurate detection of microclimates is extremely valuable for monitoring and stimulating exchanges of mass and energy in forest ecosystems under climate change. Recently, the rapid growth of wireless sensor networks (WSNs) has provided a new approach for detecting microclimates in a complex environment at multiple temporal and spatial scales. However, applications of wireless sensors in forest microclimate monitoring have rarely been studied, and the corresponding observation accuracy, error sources and correction methods are not well understood. In this study, through field experiments in two typical subtropical forest ecosystems in Zhejiang Province, China, the accuracy of the temperature and humidity observed by the wireless sensors was evaluated against standard meteorological data. Furthermore, the observation error sources were analyzed and corresponding correction models were established. The results showed that the wireless sensor-based temperature and humidity values performed well within the total observation accuracy. However, the observation errors varied with season, daily periodicity and weather conditions. For temperature, the wireless sensor observations were overestimated during the daytime while they were underestimated during the nighttime. For humidity, the data observed by the wireless sensors generally appeared as overestimates. Adopting humidity as the corrected factor, correction models were established and effectively improved the accuracy of the microclimatic data observed by the wireless sensors. Notably, our error analysis demonstrated that the observation errors may be associated with the shell material of the wireless sensor, suggesting that shading measures for the wireless sensors should be considered for outdoor work. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• We studied the urban–rural gradient of urban vegetation phenology changes (△UVP) and its drivers across 1500+ cities in China. • Along the urban–rural gradient, the SOS advance and EOS delay increase first, decrease later, and finally steady. • The △UVP is contributed more by climate change than by urbanization level for urban subzones. A comprehensive investigation on the long-term changes of urban vegetation phenology (△UVP) is critical for a better understanding of changes in urban ecosystems. However, the urban–rural gradient of the △UVP across cities with diverse climate zones and city sizes, as well as the associated drivers, remains largely unclear. Here, using multi-source remote sensing data from 2001 to 2019, we investigated the urban–rural gradient (including six urban–rural subzones, i.e., the old urban core, new urban core, new urban area, suburban area, exurban area, and rural area) of the △UVP across 1500 + cities in China and analyzed the impacts of urbanization level and climate change on the △UVP. First, over the past two decades, the △UVP during spring (i.e., the changes of the start of growing season, termed △SOS) is generally negative (advanced SOS; 73 % ± 4 %) and that during autumn (i.e., changes of the end of growing season, termed △EOS) is mainly positive (delayed EOS; 63 % ± 3 %) in all urban–rural subzones. The spatial distribution of the △UVP based on enhanced vegetation index (EVI) data is relatively consistent with that based on solar-induced chlorophyll fluorescence (SIF) data. Along the urban–rural gradient, both the SOS advance and EOS delay exhibit an increasing first, decreasing later, and finally steady curve, with the maximum occurring in the new urban area at − 12.4 ± 18.5 days (for △SOS) and 3.8 ± 9.9 days (for △EOS). Second, the SOS changes from an advance to a delay from the middle temperate to southern subtropical zones, while the EOS changes from a delay to an advance. The magnitudes of both △SOS and △EOS show a general trend of increasing first and then decreasing with decreasing latitude. Third, the SOS advance and EOS delay generally decrease with city size for the old urban core, increase initially and decrease later with city size for the three suburban subzones, while they show little deviations with city size for the new urban core and new urban area. Finally, in the three urban subzones, the mean △UVP across all the cities is contributed more by climate change (mean: △SOS: 73 %; △EOS: 78 %) than by urbanization level (mean: △SOS: 27 %; △EOS: 22 %). Our findings can improve the understanding of urban vegetation changes in the context of rapid urbanization and climate change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Osteosarcoma (OS) is a common malignant bone tumor that occurs mostly in children and adolescents. At present, surgery after chemotherapy or postoperative adjuvant chemotherapy is the main treatment plan. However, the efficacy of chemotherapeutic drugs is limited by the occurrence of chemotherapeutic resistance, toxicity to normal cells, poor pharmacokinetic performance, and drug delivery failure. The delivery of chemotherapy drugs to the bone to treat OS may fail for a variety of reasons, such as a lack of selectivity for OS cells, initial sudden release, short‐term release, and the presence of biological barriers (such as the blood‐bone marrow barrier). Nanomaterials are new materials with at least one dimension on the nanometer scale (1–100 nm) in three‐dimensional space. These materials have the ability to penetrate biological barriers and can accumulate preferentially in tumor cells. Studies have shown that the effective combination of nanomaterials and traditional chemotherapy can significantly improve the therapeutic effect. Therefore, this article reviews the latest research progress on the use of nanomaterials in OS chemotherapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: African swine fever (ASF) causes acute hemorrhagic disease in domestic pigs. This disease causes huge economic losses worldwide, and there are no safe and effective vaccines. The ASF virus (ASFV) has at least 68 structural proteins. One of these is CD2v, an outer envelope protein usually used as a target for ASF vaccine development. However, the effective immunological regions of this protein have not been fully characterized. Herein, we used monoclonal antibodies to identify a novel B cell epitope located in the intracellular region of CD2v. Importantly, the epitope can elicit both humoral and cellular immune responses in a mouse model. This study provides new insights into ASF epitope vaccine development. The African swine fever virus (ASFV) causes high mortality in domestic pigs. ASFV encodes an important protein target for subunit vaccine development, CD2v, but its most effective immunological regions are not known. Herein, we generated a monoclonal antibody (mAb) named IF3 by immunizing mice against the intracellular region of the CD2v protein (CD2v-IR). 1F3 specifically recognized CD2v, which is expressed transiently in transfected Sf9 cells and also in inactivated ASFV-infected porcine alveolar macrophage (PAM) cells. The epitope recognized by 1F3 is 264EPSPREP270, which is highly conserved in ASFV genotypes. Immunization of mice with this epitope elicited an increased IgG response, including IgG1 and IgG2a subtypes, and also increased CD8+ T cells and cytokine expression. Overall, these results indicate that this epitope induces both humoral and cellular immune responses that may be used for ASFV-related subunit vaccine design and development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Soil moisture (SM) is a bridge between the atmosphere, vegetation and soil, and its dynamics reflect the energy exchange and transformation between the three. Among SM at different soil profiles, root zone soil moisture (RZSM) plays a significant role in vegetation growth. Therefore, reliable estimation of RZSM at the regional scale is of great importance for drought warning, agricultural yield estimation, forest fire monitoring, etc. Many satellite products provide surface soil moisture (SSM) at the thin top layer of the soil, approximately 2 cm from the surface. However, the acquisition of RZSM at the regional scale is still a tough issue to solve, especially in the semi-arid areas with a lack of in situ observations. Linking the dynamics of SSM and RZSM is promising to solve this issue. The soil moisture analytical relationship (SMAR) model can relate RZSM to SSM based on a simplified soil water balance equation, which is suitable for the simulation of soil moisture mechanisms in semi-arid areas. In this study, the Xiliaohe River Basin is the study area. The SMAR model at the pixels where in situ sites were located is established, and parameters (a, b, sw2, sc1) at these pixels are calibrated by a genetic algorithm (GA). Then the spatial parameters are estimated by the random forest (RF) regression method with the soil, meteorological and vegetation characteristics of the study area as explanatory variables. In addition, the importance of soil, climatic and vegetation characteristics for predicting SMAR parameters is analyzed. Finally, the spatial RZSM in the Xiliaohe River Basin is estimated by the SMAR model at the regional scale with the predicted spatial parameters, and the variation of the regional SMAR model performance is discussed. A comparison of estimated RZSM and in-situ RZSM showed that the SMAR model at the point and regional scales can both meet the RMSE benchmark from NASA of 0.06 cm3·cm−3, indicating that the method this study proposed could effectively estimate RZSM in semi-arid areas based on remotely sensed SSM data. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nature reserve establishment can lead to conflict with some stakeholders. Zoning management is useful to mitigate against the conflict between human development and nature reserves, and a nature reserve can be divided into three zones: the core zone, buffer zone, and experimental zone. So far, how to monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of zoning management in nature reserves is a problem faced by remote sensing scientists and ecologists. Net primary productivity (NPP) is a key indicator which can be used to monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of zoning management in nature reserves. However, to date there has been no research on the effectiveness of zoning management on NPP, and the estimation of NPP in the Tianmu Mountain Nature Reserve also has not been studied. Based on remote sensing data and in situ measurements, the Carnegie–Ames–Stanford approach (CASA) model was used to estimate NPP in the Tianmu Mountain Nature Reserve during the period 1984–2014. We used the observed NPP to verify the simulated NPP, and the results show that the simulated NPP was consistent with the observed NPP (R2 ≥ 0.85, p ≤ 0.0002, RMSE = 52.62 g C m−2 year−1, where R2 represents coefficient of determination, p represents statistical significance, and RMSE represents root mean square error). This means that the CASA model is suitable for NPP estimation in the Tianmu Mountain Nature Reserve. The results also indicate that NPP showed an increasing trend during the period 1984–2014, and the increase over the whole period was 6.66%. The total of the annual averaged NPP was 3.07 × 1010 g C year−1, while the annual averaged NPP per unit area was 708 g C m−2 year−1. The largest averaged annual NPP per unit appeared in the core zone (720 g C m−2 year−1), followed by the buffer zone (711 g C m−2 year−1), with the experimental zone having the smallest averaged annual NPP per unit (706 g C m−2 year−1). At the p < 0.1 level, there was no region where NPP had decreased significantly in the core zone and buffer zone, and the area of the regions where NPP had decreased significantly in the experimental zone was 8.04 ha. At the p < 0.05 level, there was no area where NPP had decreased significantly in the three zones of the Tianmu Mountain Nature Reserve. The results show that the zoning management on NPP was effective in the Tianmu Mountain Nature Reserve. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reclamation of coastal land is one of the most common ways to obtain land resources in China. However, it has long been acknowledged that the artificial interference with coastal land has disadvantageous effects, such as heavy metal contamination. This study aimed to develop a prediction model for cadmium enrichment levels and assess the importance of affecting factors in typical reclaimed land in Eastern China (DFCL: Dafeng Coastal Land). Two hundred and twenty seven surficial soil/sediment samples were collected and analyzed to identify the enrichment levels of cadmium and the possible affecting factors in soils and sediments. The classification and regression tree (CART) model was applied in this study to predict cadmium enrichment levels. The prediction results showed that cadmium enrichment levels assessed by the CART model had an accuracy of 78.0%. The CART model could extract more information on factors affecting the environmental behavior of cadmium than correlation analysis. The integration of correlation analysis and the CART model showed that fertilizer application and organic carbon accumulation were the most important factors affecting soil/sediment cadmium enrichment levels, followed by particle size effects (Al 2 O 3 , TFe 2 O 3 and SiO 2 ), contents of Cl and S, surrounding construction areas and reclamation history. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Spinal cord injury (SCI) can result in a partial or complete loss of motor and sensory function below the injured segment, which has a significant impact on patients' quality of life and places a significant social burden on them. Long non-coding RNA (LncRNA) is a 200–1000 bp non-coding RNA that has been shown to have a key regulatory role in the progression of a variety of neurological illnesses. Many studies have demonstrated that differentially expressed LncRNAs following spinal cord injury can participate in inflammatory damage, apoptosis, and nerve healing by functioning as competitive endogenous RNA (ceRNA); at the same time, it has a significant regulatory effect on sequelae such neuropathic pain. As a result, we believe that LncRNAs could be useful as a molecular regulatory target in the diagnosis, treatment, and prognosis of spinal cord injury. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Vegetation phenology has been viewed as the nature's calendar and an integrative indicator of plant‐climate interactions. The correct representation of vegetation phenology is important for models to accurately simulate the exchange of carbon, water, and energy between the vegetated land surface and the atmosphere. Remote sensing has advanced the monitoring of vegetation phenology by providing spatially and temporally continuous data that together with conventional ground observations offers a unique contribution to our knowledge about the environmental impact on ecosystems as well as the ecological adaptations and feedback to global climate change. Land surface phenology (LSP) is defined as the use of satellites to monitor seasonal dynamics in vegetated land surfaces and to estimate phenological transition dates. LSP, as an interdisciplinary subject among remote sensing, ecology, and biometeorology, has undergone rapid development over the past few decades. Recent advances in sensor technologies, as well as data fusion techniques, have enabled novel phenology retrieval algorithms that refine phenology details at even higher spatiotemporal resolutions, providing new insights into ecosystem dynamics. As such, here we summarize the recent advances in LSP and the associated opportunities for science applications. We focus on the remaining challenges, promising techniques, and emerging topics that together we believe will truly form the very frontier of the global LSP research field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Improving understanding of changes in intra-annual variability (IAV) of evapotranspiration (ET) and the underlying drivers is an essential step for modeling hydrological processes in response to global change. Previous studies paid special attention to climatic regulations of IAV of ET. However, ignoring the role of landscape characteristics (e.g., vegetation coverage) can introduce great uncertainty in the explanation of ET variance. In this work, the Poyang Lake Basin, which is a typical humid basin in China, was taken as the study area. It has experienced an obvious climate change and revegetation since the 1980s. Here, trends of IAV of ET and their responses to four climatic variables (i.e., air temperature, precipitation, downward shortwave radiation and wind speed) and vegetation coverage were explored from 1983 to 2014. The results show that IAV of ET exhibited contrary trends during the past decades. It significantly (p < 0.05) declined with a significant linear slope of −0.52 mm/year before 2000, and then slightly increased (slope = 0.06 mm/year, p > 0.05) over the basin, which was generally consistent with the IAV of temperature and radiation. The proposed variables could well capture the change in IAV of ET, while their dominators were different during the two contrasting phases mentioned above. The IAV of radiation and temperature dominated the change of the IAV of ET over 77.82% and 35.14% of the basin, respectively, before and after the turning point. Meanwhile, the rapid increase in vegetation coverage, which was associated with afforestation, significantly (p < 0.05) reduced IAV of ET over about 35% of the study area. The achievements of this study should be beneficial for a sophisticated awareness of responses of intra-annual variability of ET to climate and land cover changes at the basin scale. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To improve the stability and bioavailability of double-loaded clove essential oil (CEO) liposomes (DLCL), chitosan was used to coat DLCL (CS-DLCL) as a promising delivery system for CEO. Considering the vesicle size, polydispersity index, zeta potential, and encapsulation efficiency, 3.5 mg/mL chitosan was selected as the optimum concentration. Electrostatic interactions between chitosan and DLCL were confirmed through Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. Stability analysis revealed that the physical barrier formed by chitosan improved the stability of DLCL under high-temperature, high-salt, and long-term storage at 4 °C and reduced the interaction of CEO with chemicals in the digestive fluids, providing a foundation for the sustained release of CEO in the intestine. Finally, chitosan exhibited an obvious inhibitory effect on lipid oxidation secondary products and enhanced the antioxidant activity of DLCL. Thus, chitosan is a promising coating material for improving the stability of DLCL, and CS-DLCL have a good potential for application in foods. [Display omitted] • Chitosan-coated DLCL (CS-DLCL) showed better stabilities. • CS-DLCL showed a better-sustained release characteristics in vitro. • Chitosan had an obvious inhibitory effect on lipid oxidation secondary products. • Chitosan coating strengthened antioxidant activity of DLCL. • Further revealed the possible intrinsic mechanism of chitosan stabilized DLCL. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Acid rain is a major regional-scale environmental problem in China. To control acid rain pollution and to protect the ecological environment, it is urgent to document acid rain patterns in various regions of China. Taking Liaoning Province as the study area, the present work focused on the spatial and temporal variations of acid rains in northeastern China. It presents a means for predicting the occurrence of acid rain using geographic position, terrain characteristics, routinely monitored meteorological factors and column concentrations of atmospheric SO2 and NO2. The analysis applies a decision tree approach to the foregoing observation data. Results showed that: (1) acid rain occurred at 17 stations among the 81 monitoring stations in Liaoning Province, with the frequency of acid rain from 0 to 84.38%; (2) summer had the most acid rain occurrences followed by spring and autumn, and the winter had the least; (3) the total accuracy for the simulation of precipitation pH (pH ≤ 4.5, 4.5 < pH ≤ 5.6, and pH > 5.6) was 98.04% using the decision tree method known as C5. The simulation results also indicated that the distance to coastline, elevation, wind direction, wind speed, rainfall amount, atmospheric pressure, and the precursors of acid rain all have a strong influence on the occurrence of acid rains in northeastern China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Tachaea chinensis , a parasitic isopod, negatively affects the production of several commercially important shrimp species. To better understand the interaction between shrimp immunity and isopod infection, we performed a transcriptome analysis of the hepatopancreas of Palaemonetes sinensis challenged with T. chinensis. After assembly and annotation, 75,980 high-quality unigenes were obtained using RNA-seq data. Differential gene expression analysis revealed 896 significantly differently expressed genes (DEGs) after infection, with 452 and 444 upregulated and downregulated genes, respectively. Specifically, expression levels of genes involved in detoxification, such as the interferon regulatory factor, venom carboxylesterase-6, serine proteinase inhibitor, and cytochrome P450, were upregulated. Furthermore, expression levels of genes corresponding to retinol dehydrogenase, triosephosphate isomerase, variant ionotropic glutamate receptor, and phosphoenolpyruvate carboxykinase were significantly upregulated after isopod parasitization, indicating that the shrimp's visual system was influenced by isopod parasitization. Moreover, quantitative real-time PCR of 10 DEGs helped validate the RNA-seq findings. These results provide a valuable basis for future studies on the elucidation of immune responses of P. sinensis to T. chinensis infection. • Comparative transcriptome analysis of hepatopancreas in P. sinensis during T. chinensis -infected was conducted. • Parasitization caused up-regulation of detoxification -related genes in P. sinensis. • Shrimp's visual system was influenced by isopod parasitization. • These data will facilitate studies on mechanisms of parasite-host interactions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Vegetation phenology is sensitive to climate change and, as such, is often regarded as an indicator of climate change. It is a common practice to extract vegetation phenological indicators based on satellite remote sensing data. In this study, we used the Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) Global Inventory Modeling and Mapping Study (GIMMS) Third-Generation normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI3G) to investigate temporal and spatial changes in phenology in Northeast Asia. Based on the maximum rate of change in the NDVI and dynamic threshold, we used the Asymmetric Gaussian model, Double Logistic method, and Savitzky-Golay filter to extract the start of the growing season (SOS), the end of the growing season (EOS), and the length of the growing season (LOS), respectively, along the North–South Transect of Northeast Asia (NSTNEA) from 1982 to 2014. We then compared the differences in SOS, EOS, and LOS and considered their spatio-temporal dynamics and relationship with temperature. The results show that the Asymmetric Gaussian model has the highest stability among the three methods. Dynamic thresholds corresponding to the maximum change rate of NDVI were mainly between 0.5 and 0.6. From 1982 to 2014, the SOS in the NSTNEA region occurred approximately 0.19 days earlier each year; the trends in EOS and LOS were not significant. In general, temperature and latitude have a strong linear relationship, both of which significantly impact vegetation phenology in the NSTNEA region. In addition, elevation also significantly impacts on vegetation phenology in the NSTNEA region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To improve the application of bovine bone protein (BBP) in the food industry, epigallocatechin-3-gallate (EGCG) was modified to EGCG-BBP conjugate. The effect of EGCG-BBP concentration on the emulsifying and oxidative stability of emulsion during the storage period was studied. After covalent modification, the molecular weight of EGCG-BBP increased, while lower maximum fluorescence intensity and the content of α-helix and β-sheet were decreased. The droplet particle size and ζ-potential of emulsion significantly decreased with increasing concentration of EGCG-BBP. Overall, the emulsion prepared by 0.6 % EGCG-BBP was the best, which had the lowest size (723.5 nm) and highest negative charge (−34.18 mV), and smallest droplets, indicating the improved physical stability of the emulsion. Additionally, the peroxide value and thiobarbituric acid reactive substances value of the EGGCG-BBP emulsion significantly decreased to after 20 d of storage. Moreover, the EGCG-BBP stabilized emulsions exhibited strong antioxidant capacity in vitro in an EGCG-BBP concentration-dependent manner. Mechanistically, EGCG-BBP improved the physical and oxidant stability of the emulsion by forming a thicker surface film and increasing the surface charge of droplets. This study demonstrated that EGCG-BBP conjugate can improve the emulsion stability, suggesting that BBP can be used in emulsified food. [Display omitted] • BBP-EGCG conjugate prepared via alkali induction method was as antioxidant emulsifier. • Physical stability of emulsion prepared by EGCG-BBP was significantly improved with the increase of EGCG-BBP concentration. • The addition of EGCG-BBP also significantly improved the chemical stability of the prepared emulsion. • Emulsion prepared by 0.6 % EGCG-BBP had the best stability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To enhance the functional properties of bovine bone proteins (BBP) for food-related applications, their quercetin conjugates (BBP-QC), with antioxidant and emulsifying properties, were prepared by alkaline induction. The structural changes of BBP-QC conjugates were investigated, and their different concentrations were examined for the physical and oxidative stability of oil-in-water (O/W) emulsions. Structural characterization using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) and fluorescence spectroscopy confirmed the covalent binding of QC with BBP resulting in a conformational change in BBP. Particle size and ζ-potential measurements showed that 0.6% BBP-QC effectively improved the physical stability, increased the net charge of the O/W emulsion. Fluorescence microscopy observation of emulsion microstructure showed that the distribution of oil droplets in the BBP-QC stabilized emulsion was smaller and more uniform than that without the conjugates and effectively alleviated the phase separation in the emulsion. The 0.6% BBP-QC emulsion had a peroxide value (PV) and thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) value of only 1.45 mmol/kg and 3.32 μmol/kg after 12 days. Additionally, BBP-QC stabilized emulsions exhibited excellent antioxidant capacity in vitro antioxidant experiments. This study highlights the excellent properties of BBP-QC conjugates as novel emulsifiers with high antioxidant activity and potential applications in the food industry. [Display omitted] • Preparation of a novel antioxidant emulsifier based on bovine bone protein-quercetin conjugates. • The effect of BBP-QC conjugates on the physical and oxidative stability of emulsion was determined. • Further revealed the possible intrinsic mechanism of BBP-QC covalent stabilized emulsion. • Improved thermodynamic instability of oil-in-water emulsions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The rapid growth of the vehicle population was regarded as an important factor that contributed to the urban air pollution in China during the past decades. We used Tianjin, a typical megacity facing vehicle pollution problems, as the study domain to investigate a comprehensive estimation of vehicle emissions, including carbon monoxide (CO), volatile organic compounds (VOCs), nitrogen oxides (NO x), inhalable particles (PM 10), carbon dioxide (CO 2) and sulphur dioxide (SO 2), from 2000 to 2030. The Computer Programme to calculate Emissions from Road Transport (COPERT) model was used to simulate the vehicle emission factors. Historical simulations show that the total emissions of CO, VOCs, NO x , PM 10 , CO 2 , and SO 2 changed from 545.1 Gg, 70.04 Gg, 60.19 Gg, 6.57 Gg, 6.82 Tg and 12.88 Gg to 259.11 Gg, 34.01 Gg, 55.14 Gg, 3.42 Gg, 25.30 Tg and 0.16 Gg from 2000 to 2016, respectively. Passenger cars (PC) and light-duty vehicles (LDV) were the main contributors to the CO and VOCs emissions. Heavy-duty trucks (HDT) and buses (BUS) were the important contributors to NO x and PM 10. PC was the major contributor to CO 2 and SO 2. With respect to the future, four Single Control Policy Scenarios (SCPS), including Passenger car Population Regulation (PPR), Emission Standard Updating (ESU), Public Transportation Promotion (PTP) and Electric Vehicle Popularity (EVP), and Integrated Scenarios (IS), were assembled to describe the impact of future policies on vehicle pollution from 2017 to 2030. Among all SCPS, the results show that the ESU is the more effective policy to control emissions of CO, NO x and PM 10 , while PPR is the more effective way to reduce emissions of VOCs, CO 2 , and SO 2. • A comprehensive estimation of vehicle emissions was investigated in Tianjin from 2000 to 2030. • The estimation incorporated the impacts of vehicle emission control policies that were newly implemented. • The compositions of vehicular emission standards were considered to improve the accuracy of the estimation. • The reduction effects on six pollutants were evaluated under five vehicle emission reduction scenarios. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China is a global hotspot of atmospheric ammonia (NH3) emissions and, as a consequence, very high nitrogen (N) deposition levels are documented. However, previous estimates of total NH3 emissions in China were much lower than inference from observed deposition values would suggest, highlighting the need for further investigation. Here, we reevaluated NH3 emissions based on a mass balance approach, validated by N deposition monitoring and satellite observations, for China for the period of 2000 to 2015. Total NH3 emissions in China increased from 12.1 ± 0.8 Tg N yr ' in 2000 to 15.6 ± 0.9 Tg N yr' in 2015 at an annual rate of 1.9%, which is a approximately 40% higher than existing studies suggested. This difference is mainly due to more emission sources now having been included and NH3 emission rates from mineral fertilizer application and livestock having been underestimated previously. Our estimated NH3 emission levels are consistent with the measured deposition of NH, (including NH,,' and NH3) on land (11-14 Tg N yr') and the substantial increases in NH3 concentrations observed by satellite measurements over China. These findings substantially improve our understanding on NH3 emissions, implying that future air pollution control strategies have to consider the potentials of reducing NH3 emission in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]