Distribution of Three Congeneric Shrub Species Along an Aridity Gradient Is Related to Seed Germination and Seedling Emergence

Environmental tolerance of a species has been shown to correlate positively with its geographical range. On the Ordos Plateau, three Caragana species are distributed sequentially along the precipitation gradient. We hypothesized that this geographical distribution pattern is related to environmental tolerances of the three Caragana species during seed germination and seedling emergence stages. To test this hypothesis, we examined seed germination under different temperature, light and water potentials, and monitored seedling emergence for seeds buried at eight sand depths and given different amounts of water. Seeds of C. korshinskii germinated to high percentages at 5 : 15 to 25 : 35 °C in both light and darkness, while those of C. intermedia and C. microphylla did so only at 15 : 25 and 25 : 35 °C, respectively. Nearly 30 % of the C. korshinskii seeds germinated at -1.4 MPa at 20 and 25 °C, while no seeds of the other two species did so. Under the same treatments, seedling emergence percentages of C. korshinskii were higher than those of the other two species. The rank order of tolerance to drought and sand burial of the three species is C. korshinskii \u3e C. intermedia \u3e C. microphylla. The amount of precipitation and sand burial depth appear to be the main selective forces responsible for the geographical distribution of these species

Research on the Intervention of Contemporary Art in Social Public Space

In today’s rapid economic development, consumer culture has become the main body. In this era, public life is constantly changing, and the original public space with simple physical performance can no longer meet people’s demand for public space. As an original force, art intervenes in public space and public life, adding emotional links between space and the public. With the creation form of contemporary art becomes more and more open and advanced, it is increasingly free from space constraints. It has become a development trend for contemporary art to move out of art museums and into social public space and public life. This study focuses on the intervention of contemporary art in social public space in China

Public awareness and willingness to pay for tackling smog pollution in China: a case study

In recent years, smog has become one of greatest challenges in China and many other countries. However, there are limited attentions of measuring public environment awareness of air pollution and the relations between public environmental awareness and smog prevention in a Chinese context. This study was designed to investigate the facts of public environmental awareness in a typical city of China after the serious smog in the beginning of 2013. The relationship between willingness to pay (WTP) of the residents for tackling smog pollution and their knowledge of the health hazard of smog was also explored. We found that most of respondents heard of smog mainly from news and thought that human activities are the main causes of heavy smog. Around 60% of the respondents wanted to support activities for coping with smog. Using public transportation (77.67%) and using energy saving appliances (72.74%) are environmentally friendly measures that most respondents wanted to practice. The average WTP for self-protection after information disclosure was significantly higher than that before information disclosure. The WTP for supporting smog control and preventive actions before and after information disclosure showed the same trend as WTP for self-protection. However, people wanted to pay more for self-protection than for supporting smog control and preventive actions, which indicated that individuals tend to think that the government should have more roles in smog control and prevention. The factors of age, occupations, education, and income had impacts on the WTP of the residents, but education and income were the most significant. This research suggested that enhancing public environmental education and providing accessible environmental knowledge to residents for tackling smog pollution are of great importance. The knowledge provided by this paper may contribute to smog prevention especially from a public participation perspective. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved

Relationships between HDL-C, hs-CRP, with central arterial stiffness in apparently healthy people undergoing a general health examination.

BACKGROUND: Some cardiovascular risk factors have been confirmed to be positively correlated with arterial stiffness. However, it is unclear whether HDL-C, a well-established anti-risk factor, has an independent association with arterial stiffness. The aim of this study was to evaluate the relationship between HDL-C levels and arterial stiffness and the possible role of high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) in this potential correlation in apparently healthy adults undergoing a general health examination in China. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This was a cross-sectional survey. In total, 15,302 participants (age range, 18-82 years; mean, 43.88±8.44 years) were recruited during routine health status examinations. A questionnaire was used and we measured the body mass index, systolic and diastolic blood pressure, and fasting glucose, and serum lipid, uric acid, hs-CRP, and serum creatinine levels of each participant. Central arterial stiffness was assessed by carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity (cf-PWV). RESULTS: HDL-C levels decreased as cf-PWV increased. Pearson's correlation analysis revealed that HDL-C levels were associated with cf-PWV (r=-0.18, P<0.001). hs-CRP levels were positively associated with cf-PWV (r=0.13). After adjustment for all confounders, HDL-C was inversely independently associated with all quartiles of cf-PWV. Furthermore, HDL-C was associated with cf-PWV in different quartiles of hs-CRP, and the correlation coefficients (r) gradually decreased with increasing hs-CRP levels (quartiles 1-4). CONCLUSIONS: HDL-C is inversely independently associated with central arterial stiffness. The anti-inflammatory activity of HDL-C may mediate its relationship with cf-PWV. Further, long-term follow-up studies are needed to evaluate whether high HDL-C levels are protective against central artery stiffening through the anti-inflammatory activity of HDL-C

Distribution of three congeneric shrub species along an aridity gradient is related to seed germination and seedling emergence

Environmental tolerance of a species has been shown to correlate positively with its geographical range. On the Ordos Plateau, three Caragana species are distributed sequentially along the precipitation gradient. We hypothesized that this geographical distribution pattern is related to environmental tolerances of the three Caragana species during seed germination and seedling emergence stages. To test this hypothesis, we examined seed germination under different temperature, light and water potentials, and monitored seedling emergence for seeds buried at eight sand depths and given different amounts of water. Seeds of C. korshinskii germinated to high percentages at 5 : 15 to 25 : 35 °C in both light and darkness, while those of C. intermedia and C. microphylla did so only at 15 : 25 and 25 : 35 °C, respectively. Nearly 30 % of the C. korshinskii seeds germinated at -1.4 MPa at 20 and 25 °C, while no seeds of the other two species did so. Under the same treatments, seedling emergence percentages of C. korshinskii were higher than those of the other two species. The rank order of tolerance to drought and sand burial of the three species is C. korshinskii \u3e C. intermedia \u3e C. microphylla. The amount of precipitation and sand burial depth appear to be the main selective forces responsible for the geographical distribution of these species

Emerging Information Technologies for the Energy Management of Onboard Microgrids in Transportation Applications

The global objective of achieving net-zero emissions drives a significant electrified trend by replacing fuel-mechanical systems with onboard microgrid (OBMG) systems for transportation applications. Energy management strategies (EMS) for OBMG systems require complicated optimization algorithms and high computation capabilities, while traditional control techniques may not meet these requirements. Driven by the ability to achieve intelligent decision-making by exploring data, artificial intelligence (AI) and digital twins (DT) have gained much interest within the transportation sector. Currently, research on EMS for OBMGs primarily focuses on AI technology, while overlooking the DT. This article provides a comprehensive overview of both information technology, particularly elucidating the role of DT technology. The evaluation and analysis of those emerging information technologies are explicitly summarized. Moreover, this article explores potential challenges in the implementation of AI and DT technologies and subsequently offers insights into future trends

Organic Matter and Water Addition Enhance Soil Respiration in an Arid Region

Climate change is generally predicted to increase net primary production, which could lead to additional C input to soil. In arid central Asia, precipitation has increased and is predicted to increase further. To assess the combined effects of these changes on soil CO(2) efflux in arid land, a two factorial manipulation experiment in the shrubland of an arid region in northwest China was conducted. The experiment used a nested design with fresh organic matter and water as the two controlled parameters. It was found that both fresh organic matter and water enhanced soil respiration, and there was a synergistic effect of these two treatments on soil respiration increase. Water addition not only enhanced soil C emission, but also regulated soil C sequestration by fresh organic matter addition. The results indicated that the soil CO(2) flux of the shrubland is likely to increase with climate change, and precipitation played a dominant role in regulating soil C balance in the shrubland of an arid region