Combining remote sensing and ground census data to develop new maps of the distribution of rice agriculture in China

Large-scale assessments of the potential for food production and its impact on biogeochemical cycling require the best possible information on the distribution of cropland. This information can come from ground-based agricultural census data sets and/or spaceborne remote sensing products, both with strengths and weaknesses. Official cropland statistics for China contain much information on the distribution of crop types, but are known to significantly underestimate total cropland areas and are generally at coarse spatial resolution. Remote sensing products can provide moderate to fine spatial resolution estimates of cropland location and extent, but supply little information on crop type or management. We combined county-scale agricultural census statistics on total cropland area and sown area of 17 major crops in 1990 with a fine-resolution land-cover map derived from 1995–1996 optical remote sensing (Landsat) data to generate 0.5° resolution maps of the distribution of rice agriculture in mainland China. Agricultural census data were used to determine the fraction of crop area in each 0.5° grid cell that was in single rice and each of 10 different multicrop paddy rice rotations (e.g., winter wheat/rice), while the remote sensing land-cover product was used to determine the spatial distribution and extent of total cropland in China. We estimate that there were 0.30 million km2 of paddy rice cropland; 75% of this paddy land was multicropped, and 56% had two rice plantings per year. Total sown area for paddy rice was 0.47 million km2. Paddy rice agriculture occurred on 23% of all cultivated land in China

Modeling impacts of farming management alternatives on CO2, CH4, and N2O emissions: A case study for water management of rice agriculture of China

Since the early 1980s, water management of rice paddies in China has changed substantially, with midseason drainage gradually replacing continuous flooding. This has provided an opportunity to estimate how a management alternative impacts greenhouse gas emissions at a large regional scale. We integrated a process-based model, DNDC, with a GIS database of paddy area, soil properties, and management factors. We simulated soil carbon sequestration (or net CO2 emission) and CH4 and N2O emissions from China\u27s rice paddies (30 million ha), based on 1990 climate and management conditions, with two water management scenarios: continuous flooding and midseason drainage. The results indicated that this change in water management has reduced aggregate CH4 emissions about 40%, or 5 Tg CH4 yr−1, roughly 5–10% of total global methane emissions from rice paddies. The mitigating effect of midseason drainage on CH4 flux was highly uneven across the country; the highest flux reductions (\u3e200 kg CH4-C ha−1 yr−1) were in Hainan, Sichuan, Hubei, and Guangdong provinces, with warmer weather and multiple-cropping rice systems. The smallest flux reductions (\u3c25 kg CH4-C ha−1 yr−1) occurred in Tianjin, Hebei, Ningxia, Liaoning, and Gansu Provinces, with relatively cool weather and single cropping systems. Shifting water management from continuous flooding to midseason drainage increased N2O emissions from Chinese rice paddies by 0.15 Tg N yr−1 (∼50% increase). This offset a large fraction of the greenhouse gas radiative forcing benefit gained by the decrease in CH4 emissions. Midseason drainage-induced N2O fluxes were high (\u3e8.0 kg N/ha) in Jilin, Liaoning, Heilongjiang, and Xinjiang provinces, where the paddy soils contained relatively high organic matter. Shifting water management from continuous flooding to midseason drainage reduced total net CO2emissions by 0.65 Tg CO2-C yr−1, which made a relatively small contribution to the net climate impact due to the low radiative potential of CO2. The change in water management had very different effects on net greenhouse gas mitigation when implemented across climatic zones, soil types, or cropping systems. Maximum CH4 reductions and minimum N2O increases were obtained when the mid-season draining was applied to rice paddies with warm weather, high soil clay content, and low soil organic matter content, for example, Sichuan, Hubei, Hunan, Guangdong, Guangxi, Anhui, and Jiangsu provinces, which have 60% of China\u27s rice paddies and produce 65% of China\u27s rice harvest

Reduced methane emissions from large-scale changes in water management of China’s rice paddies during 1980-2000

Decreased methane emissions from paddy rice may have contributed to the decline in the rate of increase of global atmospheric methane (CH4) concentration over the last 20 years. In China, midseason paddy drainage, which reduces growing season CH4 fluxes, was first implemented in the early 1980s, and has gradually replaced continuous flooding in much of the paddy area. We constructed a regional prediction for China\u27s rice paddy methane emissions using the DNDC biogeochemical model. Results of continuous flooding and midseason drainage simulations for all paddy fields in China were combined with regional scenarios for the timing of the transition from continuous flooding to predominantly mid-season drainage to generate estimates of total methane flux for 1980–2000. CH4 emissions from China\u27s paddy fields were reduced over that period by ∼5 Tg CH4 yr−1

Greenhouse gas emission consequences of large-scale changes in water management of China’s rice paddies during 1980-2000

In China, midseason paddy drainage, which reduces growing season methane fluxes and enhances growing season nitrous oxide fluxes, was first implemented in the early 1980s, and has gradually replaced continuous flooding in much of the paddy rice area. We constructed a prediction rice paddy methane and nitrous oxide emissions in China using the DNDC biogeochemical model. Results of continuous flooding and midseason drainage simulations for all paddy fields in China (about 30 million ha) were combined with regional scenarios for the timing of the transition from continuous flooding to predominantly mid-season drainage to generate estimates of total methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O) flux for 1980-2000. By shifting from continuous flooding to midseason drainage management, we estimate that total N2O emissions from the rice paddies in China increased by about 0.17 Tg N2O-N yr−1 due to the stimulated nitri- fication and denitrification, while CH4 emissions decreased by about 4.5 Tg CH4-C yr−1 due to increased soil aeration. Simulated net carbon loss in paddy soils was about 0.65 Tg C yr−1 due to elevated decomposition. On a 100-year time frame, CH4 has a global warming potential (GWP) 23 times that of CO2, and N2O has a GWP 296 times that of CO2. The total GWP impact (2000 vs. 1980) of shifting to predominantly mid-season paddy drainage was -0.138 Pg CO2-equiv yr−1 from methane, +0.077 Pg CO2-equiv yr−1 from nitrous oxide and +0.0024 Pg CO2 yr−1 from soil C loss, for a total GWP impact of -0.059 Pg CO2-equiv yr−1 . The results imply that more than half of the GWP benefit of decreased CH4 emissions was offset, primarily by increases in N2O emissions, and to a small degree by soil C loss

[Study Protocol] Palliative long-term abdominal drains versus repeated drainage in individuals with untreatable ascites due to advanced cirrhosis: study protocol for a feasibility randomised controlled trial

Background: UK deaths due to chronic liver diseases such as cirrhosis have quadrupled over the last 40 years, making this condition now the third most common cause of premature death. Most patients with advanced cirrhosis (end–stage liver disease, [ESLD]) develop ascites. This is often managed with diuretics, but if refractory then the fluid is drained from the peritoneal cavity every 10-14 days by large volume paracentesis (LVP), a procedure requiring hospital admissions. As the life expectancy of patients with ESLD and refractory ascites (if ineligible for liver transplantation) is on average ≤ 6 months, frequent hospital visits are inappropriate from a palliative perspective. One alternative is long-term abdominal drains (LTAD), used successfully in patients whose ascites is due to malignancy. Although inserted in hospital, these drains allow ascites management outside of a hospital setting. LTAD have not been formally evaluated in patients with refractory ascites due to ESLD. Methods: Due to uncertainty about appropriate outcome measures and whether patients with ESLD would wish or be able to participate in a study, a feasibility randomised controlled trial (RCT) was designed. Patients were consulted on trial design. We plan to recruit 48 patients with refractory ascites and randomise them (1:1) to either a) LTAD or b) current standard of care (LVP) for 12 weeks. Outcomes of interest include acceptability of LTAD to patients, carers and healthcare professionals as well as recruitment and retention rates. Palliative care Outcome Scale (IPOS), the Short Form Liver Disease Quality of Life (SF-LDQOL), the EuroQol (EQ-5D) and carer (Zarit Burden Interview [ZBI-12]) reported outcomes will also be assessed. Preliminary data on cost effectiveness will be collected and patients and healthcare professionals will be interviewed about their experience of the trial with a view to identifying barriers to recruitment. Discussion: LTAD could potentially improve end-of-life care in patients with refractory ascites due to ESLD by improving symptom control, reducing hospital visits and enabling some self-management. Our trial is designed to see if such patients can be recruited, as well as informing the design of a subsequent definitive trial. Trial registration: ISRCTN30697116, date assigned: 07/10/201

Desert Ants Learn Vibration and Magnetic Landmarks

The desert ants Cataglyphis navigate not only by path integration but also by using visual and olfactory landmarks to pinpoint the nest entrance. Here we show that Cataglyphis noda can additionally use magnetic and vibrational landmarks as nest-defining cues. The magnetic field may typically provide directional rather than positional information, and vibrational signals so far have been shown to be involved in social behavior. Thus it remains questionable if magnetic and vibration landmarks are usually provided by the ants' habitat as nest-defining cues. However, our results point to the flexibility of the ants' navigational system, which even makes use of cues that are probably most often sensed in a different context

Defining motility in the Staphylococci

The ability of bacteria to move is critical for their survival in diverse environments and multiple ways have evolved to achieve this. Two forms of motility have recently been described for Staphylococcus aureus, an organism previously considered to be non-motile. One form is called spreading, which is a type of sliding motility and the second form involves comet formation, which has many observable characteristics associated with gliding motility. Darting motility has also been observed in Staphylococcus epidermidis. This review describes how motility is defined and how we distinguish between passive and active motility. We discuss the characteristics of the various forms of Staphylococci motility, the molecular mechanisms involved and the potential future research directions

Bedrock geology of DFDP-2B, central Alpine Fault, New Zealand

<p>During the second phase of the Alpine Fault, Deep Fault Drilling Project (DFDP) in the Whataroa River, South Westland, New Zealand, bedrock was encountered in the DFDP-2B borehole from 238.5–893.2 m Measured Depth (MD). Continuous sampling and meso- to microscale characterisation of whole rock cuttings established that, in sequence, the borehole sampled amphibolite facies, Torlesse Composite Terrane-derived schists, protomylonites and mylonites, terminating 200–400 m above an Alpine Fault Principal Slip Zone (PSZ) with a maximum dip of 62°. The most diagnostic structural features of increasing PSZ proximity were the occurrence of shear bands and reduction in mean quartz grain sizes. A change in composition to greater mica:quartz + feldspar, most markedly below c. 700 m MD, is inferred to result from either heterogeneous sampling or a change in lithology related to alteration. Major oxide variations suggest the fault-proximal Alpine Fault alteration zone, as previously defined in DFDP-1 core, was not sampled.</p

Early role of vascular dysregulation on late-onset Alzheimer's disease based on multifactorial data-driven analysis

Multifactorial mechanisms underlying late-onset Alzheimer's disease (LOAD) are poorly characterized from an integrative perspective. Here spatiotemporal alterations in brain amyloid-β deposition, metabolism, vascular, functional activity at rest, structural properties, cognitive integrity and peripheral proteins levels are characterized in relation to LOAD progression. We analyse over 7,700 brain images and tens of plasma and cerebrospinal fluid biomarkers from the Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI). Through a multifactorial data-driven analysis, we obtain dynamic LOAD–abnormality indices for all biomarkers, and a tentative temporal ordering of disease progression. Imaging results suggest that intra-brain vascular dysregulation is an early pathological event during disease development. Cognitive decline is noticeable from initial LOAD stages, suggesting early memory deficit associated with the primary disease factors. High abnormality levels are also observed for specific proteins associated with the vascular system's integrity. Although still subjected to the sensitivity of the algorithms and biomarkers employed, our results might contribute to the development of preventive therapeutic interventions

Convalescent plasma in patients admitted to hospital with COVID-19 (RECOVERY): a randomised controlled, open-label, platform trial

SummaryBackground Azithromycin has been proposed as a treatment for COVID-19 on the basis of its immunomodulatoryactions. We aimed to evaluate the safety and efficacy of azithromycin in patients admitted to hospital with COVID-19.Methods In this randomised, controlled, open-label, adaptive platform trial (Randomised Evaluation of COVID-19Therapy [RECOVERY]), several possible treatments were compared with usual care in patients admitted to hospitalwith COVID-19 in the UK. The trial is underway at 176 hospitals in the UK. Eligible and consenting patients wererandomly allocated to either usual standard of care alone or usual standard of care plus azithromycin 500 mg once perday by mouth or intravenously for 10 days or until discharge (or allocation to one of the other RECOVERY treatmentgroups). Patients were assigned via web-based simple (unstratified) randomisation with allocation concealment andwere twice as likely to be randomly assigned to usual care than to any of the active treatment groups. Participants andlocal study staff were not masked to the allocated treatment, but all others involved in the trial were masked to theoutcome data during the trial. The primary outcome was 28-day all-cause mortality, assessed in the intention-to-treatpopulation. The trial is registered with ISRCTN, 50189673, and ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT04381936.Findings Between April 7 and Nov 27, 2020, of 16 442 patients enrolled in the RECOVERY trial, 9433 (57%) wereeligible and 7763 were included in the assessment of azithromycin. The mean age of these study participants was65·3 years (SD 15·7) and approximately a third were women (2944 [38%] of 7763). 2582 patients were randomlyallocated to receive azithromycin and 5181 patients were randomly allocated to usual care alone. Overall,561 (22%) patients allocated to azithromycin and 1162 (22%) patients allocated to usual care died within 28 days(rate ratio 0·97, 95% CI 0·87–1·07; p=0·50). No significant difference was seen in duration of hospital stay (median10 days [IQR 5 to >28] vs 11 days [5 to >28]) or the proportion of patients discharged from hospital alive within 28 days(rate ratio 1·04, 95% CI 0·98–1·10; p=0·19). Among those not on invasive mechanical ventilation at baseline, nosignificant difference was seen in the proportion meeting the composite endpoint of invasive mechanical ventilationor death (risk ratio 0·95, 95% CI 0·87–1·03; p=0·24).Interpretation In patients admitted to hospital with COVID-19, azithromycin did not improve survival or otherprespecified clinical outcomes. Azithromycin use in patients admitted to hospital with COVID-19 should be restrictedto patients in whom there is a clear antimicrobial indication