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With the exploitation of rare earth elements (REE) in southern China, desertification has become a serious ecological problem in this region. To accurately understand the desertification process in mining areas and formulate targeted ecological restoration programs, taking the Lingbei mining area in Ganzhou City, Jiangxi Province as the study area, we explored desertification information extraction methods, desertification dynamics monitoring, and desertification drivers in REE mining areas using multisource data from 1986 to 2021. The results show that from the method of extracting desertification information, Random Forest is the prominent (83.33%), followed by Albedo–NDVI (Normalized Difference Vegetation Index) space (74.44%), and thirdly Linear Spectral Mixture Model (65.56%). From 1986 to 2021, the desertification land area in Lingbei mining areas first increased and then decreased, showing a reverse trend, but it has not recovered to the pre‐mining level. The government's ecological reclamation measures are the key factors for the restoration of desertification land. There are still 17.81 km2 areas that have not been restored, of which 2.16 km2 are at the level of severe desertification. Moderate desertification and light desertification have not been completely curbed, which needs continuous attention. Vegetation coverage has the highest explanatory power to the distribution of land desertification in mining areas, followed by land use classification, indicating that human activities have a great influence on the spatial differentiation of land desertification in mining areas, and it is necessary to pay attention to regional balanced and sustainable development in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During the mining process of ionic rare earth elements (REE), mining disturbances, such as land surface excavation, stripped vegetation, injection holes, and tailings discharge, have led to large-scale vegetation degradation and land desertification, ultimately resulting in land surface temperature (LST) differentiation. The surface thermal anomaly is an important ecological parameter, and its spatiotemporal variation has become a powerful tool for identifying surface ecological disturbance. Because the REE mining areas have the characteristics of scattered ore and small areas, it is of great value to obtain LST data with strong practicality and high spatial resolution for sustainable ecological environment monitoring. In this study, the Lingbei mining area in Dingnan County, Ganzhou, China was selected as the study area. Via the use of Landsat and GaoFen-1 (GF-1) remote sensing images, and based on data fusion and the mixed-pixel decomposition method, the temperature downscaling with image fusion and spectral unmixing (TDIFSU) model and the temperature downscaling with data fusion and spectral unmixing (TDDFSU) model were constructed. In addition, they were compared with the commonly used temperature-downscaling disaggregation procedure for radiometric LST (DisTrad) model to explore the accuracy and applicability of different downscaling models for REE mining areas. Finally, based on remote sensing data from the past 20 years, a suitable downscaling model was selected and the temperature difference index (TDI) was used to analyze the spatiotemporal evolutions of ecological disturbances caused by REE mining. The results showed TDDFSU model had the highest accuracy and the smallest mean absolute error (MAE) and root mean square error (RMSE), which were 1.062 K and 1.386 K in February and 0.877 K and 1.094 K in October, respectively, but it had limitations in spatiotemporal study. The accuracy of TDIFSU model was the second, and TDIFSU model based on Landsat data has more advantages in long time series research. DisTrad model has the lowest accuracy. The most suitable model can be selected according to the time span and accuracy; The LST obtained by downscaling can reflect the actual land surface in more detail, and the boundaries between different ground objects were clearer; The high-temperature areas were mainly concentrated in the vicinity of long-term ore occurrences covered with a large amount of tailings. Medium-temperature areas were mainly bare soil and in situ leaching vegetation areas, and low-temperature areas were mainly natural and reclaimed vegetation areas; During the monitoring of the LST in Lingbei mining area for nearly 20 years, the temperature differences caused by different mining activities were revealed, and the land surface disturbance situation has improved after the state actively carried out REE mining environmental control. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Monolithic nickel foam catalyst grown in situ. • The temperature rises to 173° solely under visible light. • Synergistic oxidation of lattice oxygen and free radicals. • Detailed toluene photothermal degradation was explored. • Energy-efficient toluene elimination method. Recent research highlights the pressing need for innovative and practical oxidation degradation technologies for volatile organic compounds (VOCs). In this study, a monolithic catalyst was successfully developed by loading Pt-CeO 2 onto nickel foam (NF) matrix through hydrothermal and reduction methods. The photothermal catalytic performance was investigated at room temperature for varying Pt content, toluene concentration, light source type, and water content. Remarkably, the toluene removal efficiency and CO 2 selectivity stabilized at 98.8 % and 74.6 %, respectively, within less than 10 min of light activation. The d-d transition thermal effect of CeO 2 and plasma effect of Pt enhanced light-to-heat conversion and active free radical generation (•O 2 – and •OH) through light absorption, respectively. The NF matrix's excellent thermal conductivity ensured a rapid increase in catalyst temperature upon visible light irradiation, reaching 173 °C. The study demonstrated that both the Mars-van Krevelen (Mvk) oxidation process, driven by temperature increase from near-infrared (NIR) absorption, and the free radical oxidation process, induced by higher energy illumination, synergistically contributed to toluene decomposition and mineralization. The catalyst's morphology, physical and chemical properties, surface synergistic oxidation process involving gaseous oxygen and free radicals, and toluene degradation pathway were thoroughly analyzed. We believe that this coexistence of thermocatalytic and photocatalytic mechanisms in a monolithic catalyst driven by renewable solar energy holds significant potential for practical applications and warrants further exploration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Quantitative evaluation of ecological restoration effectiveness is critical to provide operational feedback for mine restoration and to implement adaptive management. Existing practice are limited by a focus on single elements and sub-project scales. This paper proposed an ecological restoration evaluation framework with 8 dimensions and 24 indicators from macro perspective, taking a mineral concentration area (MCA) in southeastern Hubei as a case study. LandTrendr and random forest algorithms were used to extract and classify different ecological disturbances around the mine sites from micro perspective. The ecological restoration process and disturbances were revealed at different scales. The findings demonstrated that the total ecological restoration area increased by 10.092% from 2010 to 2019, showing an improving trend, but it has not recovered to the ecological level of 2000. The ecologically degraded areas were shifting to the urban areas with concentrated population and around the water, from area diffusion to strip extension. Ecological disturbances changes in mining areas shows there was a trend towards slower ecological restoration of mine sites after 2019. Disturbances due to construction development occurred in areas surrounding closed mining areas, especially in Huangshi National Mine Park and Tonglvshan Copper Mine. Notably, natural restoration occurred in mine-forest compound area without any ecological restoration measures. While the findings demonstrate the effectiveness of ecological engineering, there are still some limitations in the mine ecological restoration process. In response, we suggest an international framework for ecological restoration in mining areas to solve the cognitive gaps in ecological engineering, improve the management of the whole process of ecological restoration, and optimize the ecological restoration effect in mining areas. [Display omitted] • An ecological restoration assessment framework at macro perspective was proposed. • Different disturbance and recovery types in 3-km buffer were analyzed. • The ecological disturbance and restoration characteristics were analyzed in different typical mining areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nitrogen fertilizer and planting density are two crucial factors that affect the yield of common buckwheat ( Fagopyrum esculentum M.). Youqiao2, a common buckwheat cultivar with high photosynthetic capacity and planted widely in local production was used to investigate the effects of nitrogen fertilizer and planting density on the leaf photosynthetic characteristics, agronomic traits, and grain yield in common buckwheat by a split plot design. The main plots were assigned to three nitrogen fertilizer rates: 0, 45, and 90 kg ha −1 , and the subplots were assigned to three planting densities: 60, 90, and 120 plants m −2 . Results showed that the grain yield was significantly and positively correlated with net photosynthesis rate (P n ), stomatal conductance (G s ), transpiration rate (T r ), stomatal limitation value (L s ), chlorophyll content (SPAD value), leaf area index (LAI), plant height, stem diameter, branch number, internode number, grain number per plant, and 1000-grain weight, while significantly and negatively correlated with intercellular CO 2 concentration (C i ) and water-use efficiency (WUE). The P n , G s , T r , L s , SPAD, LAI, grain yield, stem diameter, branch number, internode number, grain number per plant, and 1000-grain weight increased and then decreased with the increase of nitrogen fertilizer and planting density, and their maximum values appeared in the nitrogen fertilization of 45 kg ha −1 and planting density of 90 plants m −2 treatment. The C i and WUE decreased and then increased with the increase of nitrogen fertilizer and planting density, and their minimum values appeared in the nitrogen fertilization of 45 kg ha −1 and planting density of 90 plants m −2 treatment. The plant height increased with the increase of nitrogen fertilizer, while decreased with the increase of planting density. These results suggested that nitrogen fertilizer and planting density had significant effects on the leaf photosynthetic capacity, agronomic traits, and grain yield of common buckwheat, and the combination of nitrogen fertilization of 45 kg ha −1 and planting density of 90 plants m −2 is recommended for common buckwheat planting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Photothermal synergistic oxidation of formaldehyde on CeO 2 -rGO-NF catalyst. [Display omitted] • The load of CeO 2 is facilitated by rGO. • Temperature spontaneously heating to 170 °C under light illumination. • The oxidation properties of lattice oxygen are excited. • Photogenerated O 2 – promoted the cycle of lattice oxygen. • Surface reaction mechanism was clarified. Photocatalysis is a feasible method for degrading indoor formaldehyde (HCHO) pollutants. To improve the purification efficiency and lower the cost of using noble metals as the primary component of the catalyst, synergistic catalysis involving two catalytic modes, such as thermocatalysis/photocatalysis, has attracted significant attention. In this study, a monolithic catalyst was prepared by loading reduced graphene oxide (rGO) and cerium dioxide (CeO 2) on a nickel foam (NF) matrix. It was observed that the HCHO removal efficiency could be > 93 % under xenon light. The pre-deposited rGO on the NF matrix served as the photothermal conversion layer and contributed to the uniform and stable loading of CeO 2. The surface temperature of this synthesized monolithic catalyst could rapidly rise to 170 °C. In addition, the heat was distributed evenly because of the increased near-infrared (NIR) light absorption caused by the added rGO and high electron mobility owing to the heat-conducting property of NF. At this temperature, the oxidation of HCHO was stimulated not only by the lattice oxygen of CeO 2 but also by the production of O 2 – via oxidation by photogenerated electrons. In addition, O 2 – would reoxidize Ce3+ to Ce4+ on oxygen vacancies and accelerate the lattice oxygen consumption and supply cycle to reinforce the existing Mars-van Krevelen (MvK) mechanism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Visible-light-driven photocatalytic degradation of moxifloxacin over a aminobenzaldehyde grafted graphitic carbon nitride. [Display omitted] Graphitic carbon nitride (GCN) has been demonstrated to be a potential visible-light-driven photocatalyst for eliminating organic pollutants. However, its practical application is limited by low photocatalytic efficiency originating from high recombination of photogenerated charges. In this work, the electronic structure of GCN was regulated by doping aminobenzaldehyde (ABA) into the skeleton through a solid-state Schiff base reaction. Photoelectrochemical characterizations illustrated that the obtained catalyst (CNABA) exhibited narrower band gap, lower recombination rate of photoinduced electron-hole pair and higher charge transfer ability than the pristine GCN, further indicating its excellent photocatalytic activity. Using moxifloxacin (MOX) as a model pollutant, the ABA doping content was firstly optimized and the optimal activity of the CNABA photocatalyst was 3.1 times higher than that of the GCN. Subsequently, the effects of pH value, photocatalyst dosage and MOX concentration on the photocatalytic behavior were also studied. Superior stability and photocatalytic reusability were confirmed by five repeated tests. By substituting tap water/natural lake water for deionized water and sunlight for xenon light, the CNABA also exhibited high elimination efficiency, implying its good practicability. Superoxide radical, hydroxyl radical and photogenerated hole were identified as the main active species to degrade MOX. Finally, possible degradation pathways for MOX to mineralize small molecules were proposed by determining intermediate products during photocatalysis. This work provides a solid-state method to rationally design aromatic system-modified GCN photocatalysts, and the obtained CNABA is a promising visible-light-driven photocatalyst for eliminating antibiotics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Visible-light-driven photocatalytic degradation of moxifloxacin over a aminobenzaldehyde grafted graphitic carbon nitride. [Display omitted] Graphitic carbon nitride (GCN) has been demonstrated to be a potential visible-light-driven photocatalyst for eliminating organic pollutants. However, its practical application is limited by low photocatalytic efficiency originating from high recombination of photogenerated charges. In this work, the electronic structure of GCN was regulated by doping aminobenzaldehyde (ABA) into the skeleton through a solid-state Schiff base reaction. Photoelectrochemical characterizations illustrated that the obtained catalyst (CNABA) exhibited narrower band gap, lower recombination rate of photoinduced electron-hole pair and higher charge transfer ability than the pristine GCN, further indicating its excellent photocatalytic activity. Using moxifloxacin (MOX) as a model pollutant, the ABA doping content was firstly optimized and the optimal activity of the CNABA photocatalyst was 3.1 times higher than that of the GCN. Subsequently, the effects of pH value, photocatalyst dosage and MOX concentration on the photocatalytic behavior were also studied. Superior stability and photocatalytic reusability were confirmed by five repeated tests. By substituting tap water/natural lake water for deionized water and sunlight for xenon light, the CNABA also exhibited high elimination efficiency, implying its good practicability. Superoxide radical, hydroxyl radical and photogenerated hole were identified as the main active species to degrade MOX. Finally, possible degradation pathways for MOX to mineralize small molecules were proposed by determining intermediate products during photocatalysis. This work provides a solid-state method to rationally design aromatic system-modified GCN photocatalysts, and the obtained CNABA is a promising visible-light-driven photocatalyst for eliminating antibiotics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The sea urchin-like Pt-Cu bimetallic was synthesized by a one-pot method. • The contact/interaction between nanoparticles and RGO surface was enhanced. • The electrocatalytic activity of the designed hydrazine sensor was investigated. The fabrication and application of bimetallic catalysts are of significance in enhanced electrocatalytic performance. In this work, sea urchin-like Pt-Cu bimetallic catalyst was synthesized by a one-pot aqueous method. The alloy was reduced and grown directly on the surface of reduced graphene oxide (RGO), which can maximize the contact/interaction between metals and RGO to achieve the enhanced catalytic activity. The transmission electron microscopy images revealed that the Pt-Cu bimetallic particles were uniformly dispersed on RGO in the shape of sea urchin-like with the size about ~ 20 nm. A hydrazine electrochemical sensor was built by modifying glassy carbon electrode with Pt-Cu/RGO nanomaterial. The electrochemical experiments showed that the proposed sensor exhibited an excellent performance for hydrazine analysis with a wide linear range of 0.4 μM-12 mM and a low detection limit of 0.13 μ M (S/N = 3). Additionally, the sensor also demonstrated a long term stability, good selectivity and repeatability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Display omitted] • A hydrothermal co-assembling strategy is employed to synthesize an assembly catalyst. • N-doped holey graphene (NHG) anchored Pd nanoparticles (Pd NP) is assembled with fibrous aluminum silicate (ASFs) agglomerate. • The Pd NP /NHG-ASFs catalyst integrated to a fixed-bed system allows continuous-flow reduction of nitroarenes. • The fixed-bed system based on Pd NP /NHG-ASFs catalyst displays a high processing rate. Rational design and preparation of efficient fixed-bed catalysts for continuous-flow system are highly desired but remain daunting challenges. Herein, we report the synthesis of an assembly catalyst consisted of aluminium silicate fibers (ASFs) agglomerate and Pd nanoparticles (Pd NP) decorated N-doped holey graphene (NHG) through a facile hydrothermal co-assembling strategy. Due to the interconnect network and porous structure, the as-obtained Pd NP /NHG-ASFs assembly is suitable to be utilized as a fixed-bed catalyst for organic reactions in continuous-flow mode. The processing rate is much higher than that of the previously reported fixed-bed systems based on metal-based catalysts. In addition, the catalytic continuous-flow system displays a remarkable durability and good substrate generality to other substituted nitrobenzenes. This work provides rational design concept for efficient fixed-bed catalyst with dual active components and paves a way for the industrial application in organic synthesis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Our aim was to evaluate the effectiveness of a modified 8-week reminiscence therapy on the burden, positive experience, and life satisfaction of older spouse caregivers and the life satisfaction of stroke survivors.Methods: We conducted a randomized controlled trial by using 75 older stroke couples recruited from communities in Zhengzhou, China. We randomly assigned participants to 1 of 3 groups: Group 1 (G1 , 25 couples, all attend intervention) and Group 2 (G2 , 22 couples, only caregivers attend intervention), who participated in a modified 8-week reminiscence therapy, and a waiting list (control) group (G3 , 28 couples). Interviewers blinded to treatment group assignment administered the life satisfaction to both stroke survivors and caregivers, caregiver burden, and positive experience for caregivers, at preintervention, immediately postintervention, and at 1 month and 3 months after cessation of the intervention.Results: We found a statistically significant interaction between treatment groups and assessment time points for the 4 outcome measures (P < .001). Although the effects were decreased after intervention at 1 month, the improvement in caregivers' positive experience, life satisfaction, burden, and life satisfaction of stroke survivors were still significant (P < .001).Conclusions: The use of a modified 8-week reminiscence therapy in this study sample improved the life satisfaction of stroke survivors and their spouse caregivers, improved the positive experience of caregivers, and decreased the burden of caregivers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Adult Carer Quality of Life questionnaire (AC-QoL) is a reliable and valid instrument used to assess the quality of life (QoL) of adult family caregivers. We explored the psychometric properties and tested the reliability and validity of a Chinese version of the AC-QoL with reliability and validity testing in 409 Chinese stroke caregivers. We used item-total correlation and extreme group comparison to do item analysis. To evaluate its reliability, we used a test-retest reliability approach, intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC), together with Cronbach’s alpha and model-based internal consistency index; to evaluate its validity, we used scale content validity, confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and exploratory factor analysis (EFA) via principal component analysis with varimax rotation. We found that the CFA did not in fact confirm the original factor model and our EFA yielded a 31-item measure with a five-factor model. In conclusions, although some items performed differently in our analysis of the original English language version and our Chinese language version, our translated AC-QoL is a reliable and valid tool which can be used to assess the quality of life of stroke caregivers in mainland China. Chinese version AC-QoL is a comprehensive and good measurement to understand caregivers and has the potential to be a screening tool to assess QoL of caregiver. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A large set of potential microsatellites markers covering the entire genome are required for genetic diversity, mapping and functional genomics studies. In this study, a total of 37,572 microsatellites with frequency of 83.25 microsatellites per Mb were mined in the recently sequenced Fagopyrum tataricum. Among these 37,572 microsatellites, most of the microsatellites were di-nucleotide (26,196, 69.72%) and AT/TA repeat motifs were the most abundant (24,742, 65.85%). A total of 26,549 microsatellite markers were designed from the flanking sequences of 37,572 microsatellites and 2643 (9.96%) were genic microsatellite markers. All of these newly-developed microsatellite markers were physically anchored to the eight chromosomes of F. tataricum and the first and high-density physical map was constructed with an average marker density of 58.82 markers per Mb. Amplification efficiency and experimental evaluation of the newly-developed microsatellite markers assessed with 440 markers randomly selected in F. tataricum, showed that these microsatellite markers are highly effective and valuable. The large number of new microsatellite markers and their location on the physical map provided a valuable resource for studying diversity, constructing genetic maps, functional gene mapping, QTL exploration and molecular breeding in Fagopyrum species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims and objectives: To identify whether benefit finding is a mediator or moderator in the relationship between caregiver burden and psychological well‐being (anxiety and depression) in Chinese family caregivers of community‐dwelling stroke survivors. Background: Family caregivers not only bear a heavy burden, a high level of anxiety and depression, but also experience benefit finding (positive effects result from stressful events). However, the relationships among benefit finding, caregiver burden and psychological well‐being in Chinese family caregivers are not well known. Design: This study was a cross‐sectional correlational design. Methods: Caregivers (n = 145) of stroke survivors were recruited from two communities in Zhengzhou, China. Data were collected by face‐to‐face interviews with structured questionnaires, examining caregiver burden, benefit finding and psychological well‐being of caregivers. A hierarchical regression analysis explored whether caregiver burden and benefit finding were associated with anxiety and depression of caregivers. The moderator role of benefit finding was examined by testing the significance of the interaction between caregiver burden and benefit finding. A mediational model was used to test benefit finding as a mediator between caregiver burden and psychological well‐being of caregivers using process in spss 21.0. Results: Caregiver burden and benefit finding were significantly associated with both anxiety and depression of caregivers. Benefit finding did not portray a moderating role, but portrayed the mediator role in the relationship between caregiver burden, anxiety and depression in caregivers. Conclusion: This study provides the preliminary evidence to nurses that intervention focus on benefit finding may help improve the psychological well‐being of caregivers. Relevance to clinical practice: This study offers nurses rational for assessing caregiver's negative emotions and benefit finding. By targeting benefit finding, the nurse may guide caregivers in benefit identification and implement interventions to reduce anxiety, depression and caregiver burden. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Peroxisome is one of the important organelles for intracellular lipid metabolism in plant cells and β-oxidation of fatty acids in peroxisomes provides the energy for oil-containing seed germination. In this study, we identified an ATP-binding cassette (ABC) transporter gene, GmABCA7 from soybean, which is highly expressed in the different developmental stages of seeds. Transient expression of GmABCA7 in tobacco epidermal cells showed that GmABCA7 was specifically localized at the peroxisomes. Overexpression of GmABCA7 in Arabidopsis does not change seed phenotypes, or the overall levels of lipid, protein and sugar stored in the seeds; however, the transgenic seeds produced more gluconeogenic pathway precursors such as succinate and malate and germinated earlier compared to the wild type seeds. These results suggest that GmABCA7 may affect the β-oxidation of fatty acids and play an important role in seed germination. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A large set of potential microsatellites markers covering the entire genome are required for genetic diversity, mapping and functional genomics studies. In this study, a total of 37,572 microsatellites with frequency of 83.25 microsatellites per Mb were mined in the recently sequenced Fagopyrum tataricum. Among these 37,572 microsatellites, most of the microsatellites were di-nucleotide (26,196, 69.72%) and AT/TA repeat motifs were the most abundant (24,742, 65.85%). A total of 26,549 microsatellite markers were designed from the flanking sequences of 37,572 microsatellites and 2643 (9.96%) were genic microsatellite markers. All of these newly-developed microsatellite markers were physically anchored to the eight chromosomes of F. tataricum and the first and high-density physical map was constructed with an average marker density of 58.82 markers per Mb. Amplification efficiency and experimental evaluation of the newly-developed microsatellite markers assessed with 440 markers randomly selected in F. tataricum, showed that these microsatellite markers are highly effective and valuable. The large number of new microsatellite markers and their location on the physical map provided a valuable resource for studying diversity, constructing genetic maps, functional gene mapping, QTL exploration and molecular breeding in Fagopyrum species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]