Study on the trade-off/synergy spatiotemporal benefits of ecosystem services and its influencing factors in hilly areas of southern China

IntroductionThis study aims to investigate the factors influencing ecosystem service trade-offs/synergies (TOSs) in major agricultural production areas in the southern hilly region and to propose optimization strategies to promote ecosystem sustainability in agricultural areas.MethodsThe study used a geographical detector to analyze the determinants influencing the ecosystem service trade-offs as well as correlation analysis, geographically weighted regression (GWR), and a geographical detector to analyze the spatial and temporal evolution of ecosystem service and TOS relationships from 2000 to 2020 in Hunan Province.ResultsThe results showed that the comprehensive value of ecosystem services in Hunan Province showed an increasing trend from 2000 to 2020. With spatial heterogeneity, the areas with high values were mainly distributed in the hilly areas in the west, south, and east of Hunan Province, and the areas with low values were mainly distributed in the Dongting Lake Plain and the Xiangzhong Hilly Basin. There was a trade-off relationship between food production (FP) and all other ecosystem services, of which FP has the strongest trade-off effect with habitat quality (HQ). The synergy effect between HQ, water yield (WY), carbon storage (CS), and soil conservation (SC) shows an increasing trend. Gross domestic product (GDP) and SLOPE are the dominant factors for the strength of trade-offs between food supply and other ecosystem services, and Digital Elevation Model (DEM) and Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) are the dominant factors for the strength of synergy effects among ecosystem services. The strength of TOS effects of ecosystem services is determined by interactions or co-influences between the two services rather than by a single component.DiscussionThe results of this study can provide a reference basis for the enhancement of ecosystem services and the sustainable planning of agricultural landscapes in the southern hilly areas

Logical architecture strawman for provenance systems

The purpose of this document is to propose a logical architecture for a provenance system. The logical architecture is specified independently of specific technologies. Specifically, we introduce our definition of provenance in the context of service-oriented architectures, and we identify the different roles that exist in a provenance system

Glycoursodeoxycholic acid regulates bile acids level and alters gut microbiota and glycolipid metabolism to attenuate diabetes

ABSTRACTAccumulating evidence suggests that the bile acid regulates type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) through gut microbiota-host interactions. However, the mechanisms underlying such interactions have been unclear. Here, we found that glycoursodeoxycholic acid (GUDCA) positively regulates gut microbiota by altering bile acid metabolism. GUDCA in mice resulted in higher taurolithocholic acid (TLCA) level and Bacteroides vulgatus abundance. Together, these changes resulted in the activation of the adipose G-protein-coupled bile acid receptor, GPBAR1 (TGR5) and upregulated expression of uncoupling protein UCP-1, resulting in elevation of white adipose tissue thermogenesis. The anti-T2DM effects of GUDCA are linked with the regulation of the bile acid and gut microbiota composition. This study suggests that altering bile acid metabolism, modifying the gut microbiota may be of value for the treatment of T2DM

A proof of concept design for provenance

The utility of provenance is becoming apparent in many Grid and Web Service based applications, where there is frequently a need to trace back and understand the processes that lead to a specific result. The term provenance however lends itself to several possible conceptions, and our initial step in the EU Provenance project was to design and implement a simple system to articulate our conception of provenance. This system, termed the pre-prototype, is based on a conceptualized process for baking a Victoria Sponge Cake. This report describes the cake baking scenario, presents some provenance-type questions that can be asked about the baking process and provides an implementation of the cake baking process within a service-oriented architecture framework that can answer these questions using collated provenance data

A Proof of Concept: Provenance in a Service Oriented Architecture

Provenance has been identified as an emerging and important concept within the Grid community for a variety of purposes, such as verifying or tracing results. We seek to provide a concrete conception of provenance and its possible utilisation through the process of designing and implementing a system prototype with some specific provenance requirements. This prototype, which is based on an idealised recipe for baking a cake, is developed within the context of a service oriented Grid computing environment and implemented using standard Web Services technologies. The issues surrounding the design of possible provenance system are also explored

A proof of concept: Provenance in a service oriented architecture

Provenance has been identified as an emerging and important concept within the Grid community for a variety of purposes, such as verifying or tracing results. We seek to provide a concrete conception of provenance and its possible utilisation through the process of designing and implementing a system prototype with some specific provenance requirements. This prototype, which is based on an idealised recipe for baking a cake, is developed within the context of a service oriented Grid computing environment and implemented using standard Web Services technologies. The issues surrounding the design of possible provenance system are also explored