Quantitative Evaluation of the Environmental Quality of New Rural Communities-a Case Study of Henan Province, China

Abstract: The construction of new rural communities is an important measure to promote the integration of urban and rural areas. The environmental quality of new rural communities represents the residential suitability of the communities. The evaluation of the environmental quality can help promote the healthy development of new rural communities. The present study combines AHP (Analytic Hierarchy Process) and TOPSIS (Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to an Lead Solution) for the evaluation and ordering of the environmental quality of 28 new rural communities in Henan Province, China. The AHP model containing four hierarchies is constructed: objective hierarchy, principle hierarchy, index hierarchy and factor hierarchy. The principle hierarchy is composed of 3 factors: social environment, material environment and ecological environment; the index hierarchy consists of 7 factors: service environment, civilized environment, planning environment, architectural environment, facility environment, greening environment, sanitation environment; the factor hierarchy consists of 14 factors: life service, health service, education degree, neighborhood relationship, spatial layout, functional layout, architectural style, architectural functions, infrastructure, public facilities, percentage of green open space, leisure and entertainment facilities, garbage treatment rate and wastewater treatment rate. By AHP model, the weight of the factors in every hierarchy is obtained and TOPSIS is employed for the ordering of the environmental quality of the 28 new rural communities. The results show: in the environmental evaluation, spatial layout, functional layout, architectural functions, infrastructure and neighborhood relationship have a relatively higher weight and more importance should be attached to these respects. The ordering of environmental quality of new rural communities has a high discrimination. The five communities with the highest environmental quality (representing 17.8% of the total communities) are R 13 , R 6 , R 24 , R 23 and R 28 . The result can effectively reflect the environmental quality of new rural communities. On the one hand, this result can provide the basis for the transform and restructuring of the existing communities; on the other hand, it can be used as the reference for the quality control of newly-built communities, so that the objectives of new rural community construction will be met

Identification of candidate genes and clarification of the maintenance of the green pericarp of weedy rice grains

The weedy rice (Oryza sativa f. spontanea) pericarp has diverse colors (e.g., purple, red, light-red, and white). However, research on pericarp colors has focused on red and purple, but not green. Unlike many other common weedy rice resources, LM8 has a green pericarp at maturity. In this study, the coloration of the LM8 pericarp was evaluated at the cellular and genetic levels. First, an examination of their ultrastructure indicated that LM8 chloroplasts were normal regarding plastid development and they contained many plastoglobules from the early immature stage to maturity. Analyses of transcriptome profiles and differentially expressed genes revealed that most chlorophyll (Chl) degradation-related genes in LM8 were expressed at lower levels than Chl a/b cycle-related genes in mature pericarps, suggesting that the green LM8 pericarp was associated with inhibited Chl degradation in intact chloroplasts. Second, the F2 generation derived from a cross between LM8 (green pericarp) and SLG (white pericarp) had a pericarp color segregation ratio of 9:3:4 (green:brown:white). The bulked segregant analysis of the F2 populations resulted in the identification of 12 known genes in the chromosome 3 and 4 hotspot regions as candidate genes related to Chl metabolism in the rice pericarp. The RNA-seq and sqRT-PCR assays indicated that the expression of the Chl a/b cycle-related structural gene DVR (encoding divinyl reductase) was sharply up-regulated. Moreover, genes encoding magnesium-chelatase subunit D and the light-harvesting Chl a/b-binding protein were transcriptionally active in the fully ripened dry pericarp. Regarding the ethylene signal transduction pathway, the CTR (encoding an ethylene-responsive protein kinase) and ERF (encoding an ethylene-responsive factor) genes expression profiles were determined. The findings of this study highlight the regulatory roles of Chl biosynthesis- and degradation-related genes influencing Chl accumulation during the maturation of the LM8 pericarp

Analysis of MOOC Quality Requirements for Landscape Architecture Based on the KANO Model in the Context of the COVID-19 Epidemic

COVID-19 has had a severe impact on higher education worldwide, and Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) have become the best solution to reduce the impact of the COVID-19 on student learning. In order to improve the quality of MOOCs for Landscape Architecture, it is essential to fully understand the psychological needs of students learning online. A total of 119 undergraduates and postgraduates majoring in landscape architecture were selected as the research subjects, and 18 indicators falling into 5 functions, including course organization, course resources, learning environment, learning experience, and learning support were screened. Questionnaires based on the KANO model were prepared at wjx.cn for investigation through WeChat. Attributes were classified according to the traditional KANO model and the KANO model based on Better-Worse coefficients. The research showed that based on the classification results of the traditional KANO model, 17 of the 18 indicators were of the attractive quality factor and the rest were of the must-be quality factor. After reclassification using the KANO model based on Better-Worse coefficients, 4 of the 18 indicators were must-be quality factors, 6 were one-dimensional quality factors, 4 were attractive quality factors, and the rest 4 were indifferent quality factors. Compared to the traditional KANO model, the KANO model based on Better-Worse coefficients has better quality element classification discrimination. According to the KANO-based analysis, appropriate strategies for indicators shall be adopted for MOOC development according to the four types of quality requirements. The research can provide a basis for the development and optimization of MOOCs for landscape architecture so as to better meet the learning needs of students and achieve better learning effects

Research on the Algal Density Change Features of Water Bodies in Urban Parks and the Environmental Driving Factors

Water bodies in urban parks are important for scenic and recreational areas, yet algal bloom problems seriously affect public use; therefore, it is important to study the features of algal density (AD) changes and environmental driving factors (EDFs) for water body management. In this study, five scenic water bodies in urban parks of Xinxiang City are taken as the objects for studying the AD and nine environmental indicators from March to October 2021, in accordance with time-series monitoring. The features of AD change in different layers of the water bodies are analyzed, and the main environmental impact factors of AD changes are screened by Pearson correlation analysis and principal components analysis (PCA), with main EDFs further extracted according to multiple linear regression analysis (MLRA), and multiple regression equation established. According to the data, ADs at different depth layers increase at first and then decrease with time, reaching the peak in August. According to the PCA, three principal components (PCs) are extracted in the 0.5 m and 1.0 m water layer, the variance contribution of which is 87.8% and 87.3%, respectively. The variance contribution of four PCs extracted in the 1.5 m water layer is 81.7%. After MLRA, it is found that the main EDFs of algal density in the 0.5 m water layer are electrical conductivity (EC), dissolved oxygen (DO), and water temperature (WT), in the 1.0 m water layer are WT and DO, and in the 1.5 m water layer are WT, DO, total nitrogen (TN), and EC. Generally speaking, WT and DO are decisive factors affecting AD. The EDFs’ leads to the AD changes in different water layers are analyzed, and it is proved that stratification occurs in scenic water bodies in urban parks. This study is expected to provide basic data and a theoretical basis for ecosystem system protection and water quality management of scenic water bodies in urban parks

Research on the Algal Density Change Features of Water Bodies in Urban Parks and the Environmental Driving Factors

Water bodies in urban parks are important for scenic and recreational areas, yet algal bloom problems seriously affect public use; therefore, it is important to study the features of algal density (AD) changes and environmental driving factors (EDFs) for water body management. In this study, five scenic water bodies in urban parks of Xinxiang City are taken as the objects for studying the AD and nine environmental indicators from March to October 2021, in accordance with time-series monitoring. The features of AD change in different layers of the water bodies are analyzed, and the main environmental impact factors of AD changes are screened by Pearson correlation analysis and principal components analysis (PCA), with main EDFs further extracted according to multiple linear regression analysis (MLRA), and multiple regression equation established. According to the data, ADs at different depth layers increase at first and then decrease with time, reaching the peak in August. According to the PCA, three principal components (PCs) are extracted in the 0.5 m and 1.0 m water layer, the variance contribution of which is 87.8% and 87.3%, respectively. The variance contribution of four PCs extracted in the 1.5 m water layer is 81.7%. After MLRA, it is found that the main EDFs of algal density in the 0.5 m water layer are electrical conductivity (EC), dissolved oxygen (DO), and water temperature (WT), in the 1.0 m water layer are WT and DO, and in the 1.5 m water layer are WT, DO, total nitrogen (TN), and EC. Generally speaking, WT and DO are decisive factors affecting AD. The EDFs’ leads to the AD changes in different water layers are analyzed, and it is proved that stratification occurs in scenic water bodies in urban parks. This study is expected to provide basic data and a theoretical basis for ecosystem system protection and water quality management of scenic water bodies in urban parks

Evaluation of urban river landscape design rationality based on AHP

An evaluation model for the rationality of the landscape design of urban rivers was established with the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) method so as to provide a foundation for updating the landscape design of urban rivers. The evaluation system was divided into four layers, including the target layer, the comprehensive layer, the element layer, and the index layer. Each layer was made of different indices. The evaluation standards for each index were also given in this paper. This evaluation model was proved tenable through its application to the landscape design rationality evaluation of the Weihe River in Xinxiang City of Henan Province. The results show that the water quality, space, activity, facility, community, width of vegetation, sense of beauty and water content are among the most influential factors and should be considered the main basis for evaluating the rationality of the landscape design of urban rivers