Spatial pattern and mechanisms of farmland abandonment in Agricultural and Pastoral Areas of Qingzang Plateau

With the rapid development of social economy and urban−rural integration,the phenomenon of farmland aban-donment worldwide has proved to be one of the main trends of land use and land cover change(LUCC),and profoundly affected the rural landscape and regional ecological environment.Restricted by the natural environ-ment,economic development and backward agricultural technology,the phenomenon of farmland abandonment is also common in the Qingzang Plateau(QP).Therefore,this paper adopted the spatial autocorrelation method to analyze the spatial pattern of abandonment in the agricultural and pastoral areas of the Qingzang Plateau(APA−QP)in 2017,and the geographically weighted regression(GWR)model to explore the effects of geograph-ical resources,socio-economic development and location conditions on farmland abandonment.This study found that:1)From 2015 to 2017,the abandoned farmland area in the APA−QP was approximately 18.23×10^(4)ha,with an overall abandonment rate of 15.18%.On the whole,it showed the distribution characteristics of“strong in the south and weak in the north,strong in the east and weak in the west”.2)There were positive spatial correlation between both abandoned area and abandonment rate in the APA−QP,showing“concave”and“convex”patterns,respectively,mainly concentrated in the Huang−shui Valley and the Southeast Tibet;while in the western and northern regions,the degree of abandonment was relatively low.3)Farmland abandonment in the APA−QP was mainly driven by the geographical environment changes and farmers’decision−making on farmland utilization.There was significant spatial heterogeneity on farmland abandonment associated with the impact of geographical resources,socio−economics and location conditions.The geographical resource factors had a positive impact on the abandonment,and were strongly constrained by natural geographic conditions such as altitude and slope.The farmland resources in the Qingzang Plateau are limited,but are of strategic significance for the sustainable development of agriculture in the whole Qingzang Plateau.In order to realize the rational distribution of agricul-ture and animal husbandry and the sustainable utilization of farmland resources in the plateau region,land use strategies should be implemented according to regional differences and regional advantages in order to ensure the ecological environment security of Qingzang Plateau.

Nonlinear model characterizing stress-strain relationship and permeability change of contact compression fracture at closing stage

Understanding the stress-strain relationship and permeability change for contact compression fracture at closing stage has been a hot issue for a long time.Previous investigations of this topic were mainly focused on experimental tests;however,theoretical approaches were rarely reported.Based on this,this paper focuses on the contact fracture at closing stage when rock is uniaxially loaded,and then a theoretical model is proposed.Based on the change of fracture elasticity modulus,it shows that as crack apertures are gradually reduced in the loading process,the permeability of rock sample will decrease progressively.This scenario shows that theoretical computation matches well with the experimental results.Finally,the effects of ratio of sample size to fracture aperture(n).pore pressure(P),and initial aperture(b) on stress-strain relationship and permeability change for contact compression fracture at closing stage are analyzed.

Karst Groundwater Management through Science and Education

In Southwestern China, karst covers an area of 540,000 km2, and supports a population of approximately 100 million people. This groundwater can easily become highly polluted without effective management. Sound management of karst areas requires the conscientious participation of citizens including homeowners, planners, government officials, farmers and other land-use decision makers. Lingshui Spring was a good example. A series of educational materials were developed and delivered to the local government, residents, and students. A groundwater polluted accident was tracked as a natural tracer test in a spring to increase understanding of the vulnerability of the area’s karst aquifer. More than 200 people attended the communication and training course on groundwater protection and environmental justice law. Several efforts have appeared as a result, such as a proposal for Lingshui water resources protection that was put forward for the first time by Wuming county political consultative conference.

The landscape and clinical relevance of intronic polyadenylation in human cancers

Intronic polyadenylation(IPA)is an RNA 3'end processing event which has been reported to play important roles in cancer development.However,the comprehensive landscape of IPA events across various cancer types is lacking.Here,we apply IPAFinder to identify and quantify IPA events in 10,383 samples covering all 33 cancer types from The Cancer Genome Atlas(TCGA)project.We identify a total of 21,835 IPA events,almost half of which are ubiquitously expressed.We identify 2761 unique dynamically changed IPA events across cancer types.Furthermore,we observe 8855 non-redundant clinically relevant IPA events,which could potentially be used as prognostic indicators.Our analysis also reveals that dynamic IPA usage within cancer signaling pathways may affect drug response.Finally,we develop a user-friendly data portal,IPACancer Atlas(http://www.tingni-lab.com/Pancan_IPA),to search and explore IPAs in cancer.

Dual-site lattice co-doping strategy regulated crystal-structure and microstructure for enhanced cycling stability of Co-free Ni-rich layered cathode

Affected by cobalt(Co)supply bottlenecks and high costs,Co-free Ni-rich layered cathodes are considered the most promising option for economical and sustainable development of lithium-ion batteries(LIBs).Low-cost LiNi_(x)Al_(1-x)O_(2)(x≥0.9)cathode are rarely reported due to their chemo-mechanical instabilities and poor cycle life.Herein,we employ a strategy of Mg/W Li/Ni dualsite co-doping LiNi_(0.9)Al_(0.1)O_(2)(named as LNA90)cathodes to enhance cycling stability by modifying the crystal structure and forming a center radially aligned microstructure.The Mg/W co-doped LiNi_(0.9)Al_(0.1)O_(2)cathode(named as LNAMW)exhibits high capacity retention of 94.9%at 1 C and 3.0-4.5 V after 100 cycles with 22.0%increase over the pristine cathode LNA90 and maintains the intact particle morphology.Meanwhile,the cycling performance of LNAMW cathode exceeds that of most reported Ni-rich cathodes(Ni mol%>80%).Our work offers a straightforward,efficient,and scalable strategy for the future design of Cofree Ni-rich cathodes to facilitate the development of economical lithium-ion batteries.