Extensive numerical simulations on competitive growth between the Edwards–Wilkinson and Kardar–Parisi–Zhang universality classes

Extensive numerical simulations and scaling analysis are performed to investigate competitive growth between the linear and nonlinear stochastic dynamic growth systems, which belong to the Edwards–Wilkinson(EW) and Kardar–Parisi–Zhang(KPZ) universality classes, respectively. The linear growth systems include the EW equation and the model of random deposition with surface relaxation(RDSR), the nonlinear growth systems involve the KPZ equation and typical discrete models including ballistic deposition(BD), etching, and restricted solid on solid(RSOS). The scaling exponents are obtained in both the(1 + 1)-and(2 + 1)-dimensional competitive growth with the nonlinear growth probability p and the linear proportion 1-p. Our results show that, when p changes from 0 to 1, there exist non-trivial crossover effects from EW to KPZ universality classes based on different competitive growth rules. Furthermore, the growth rate and the porosity are also estimated within various linear and nonlinear growths of cooperation and competition.

Prognostic value of vascular endothelial growth factor receptor 1 and classⅢβ-tubulin in survival for nonmetastatic rectal cancer

AIM To assess the long-term prognostic value of vascular endothelial growth factor receptor 1(VEGFR1)and classⅢβ-tubulin(TUBB3)mRNA expression in nonmetastatic rectal cancer.METHODS A total of 75 consecutive patients with non-metastatic rectal cancer from March 2004 to November 2008 were analyzed retrospectively at our institute.The mRNA expressions of VEGFR1 and TUBB3 were detected by multiplex branched DNA liquid-chip technology.The Cutoff Finder application was applied to determine cutoff point of mRNA expression.SPSS software version 22.0was used for analysis.RESULTS The median follow-up was 102.7 mo(range,6-153.6).Theχ~2 and Fisher’s exact tests showed that VEGFR1expression was related to lymph node metastasis(P=0.013),while no relationships between TUBB3 and clinicopathological features were observed.Univariate analysis showed that T stage,lymph node metastasis,tumor differentiation,VEGFR1 and TUBB3 mRNA expression were correlated to overall survival(OS)(P=0.048,P=0.003,P=0.052,P=0.003 and P=0.015,respectively).Also,lymph node metastasis and VEGFR1expression independently influenced OS by multivariate analysis(P=0.027 and P=0.033).VEGFR1 expression was positively correlated with TUBB3(P=0.024).The patients with low expression of both TUBB3 and VEGFR1 presented a better OS(P=0.003).In addition,the receiver operating characteristic analysis suggested that the combination of lymph node metastasis and VEGFR1 had a more favorable prognostic value(P<0.001).CONCLUSION VEGFR1 expression and lymph node metastasis independently and jointly affect survival.Moreover,low expression of VEGFR1 and TUBB3 presented a better OS in patients with non-metastatic rectal cancer,which might serve as a potential prognostic factor.

Variability in the climate-radial growth correlation of Pinus massoniana of different diameter classes

The physiological characteristics of trees change with age,suggesting that growth-related climate signals vary over time.This study aimed to clarify the impacts of different diameter classes on the chronological characteristics of Pinus massoniana Lamb.and its response to climatic factors.Chronologies of P inus massoniana were established in small diameter(14.1 cm),middle diameter(27.3 cm),and large diameter(34.6 cm)trees according to dendrochronology.The results show that:(1)radial growth of different diameter classes had varied characteristics and climate sensitivities;(2)radial growth of small diameter trees was affected by climatic factors of the previous and the current year,while large diameter trees were mainly affected by climatic factors of the current year;and(3)precipitation and temperature were key factors that restricted the radial growth of small and large diameter trees,respectively.

Responses of root growth of Alhagi sparsifolia Shap. (Fabaceae) to different simulated groundwater depths in the southern fringe of the Taklimakan Desert, China

Alhagi sparsifolia Shap. （Fabaceae） is a spiny, perennial herb. The species grows in the salinized, arid regions in North China. This study investigated the response characteristics of the root growth and the dis- tribution of one-year-old A. sparsifolia seedlings to different groundwater depths in controlled plots. The eco- logical adaptability of the root systems of A. sparsifolia seedlings was examined using the artificial digging method. Results showed that： （1） A. sparsifolia seedlings adapted to an increase in groundwater depth mainly through increasing the penetration depth and growth rate of vertical roots. The vertical roots grew rapidly when soil moisture content reached 3%-9%, but slowly when soil moisture content was 13%-20%. The vertical roots stopped growing when soil moisture content reached 30% （the critical soil moisture point）. （2） The morphological plasticity of roots is an important strategy used by A. sparsifolia seedlings to obtain water and adapt to dry soil conditions. When the groundwater table was shallow, horizontal roots quickly expanded and tillering increased in order to compete for light resources, whereas when the groundwater table was deeper, vertical roots developed quickly to exploit space in the deeper soil layers. （3） The decrease in groundwater depth was probably respon- sible for the root distribution in the shallow soil layers. Root biomass and surface area both decreased with soil depth. One strategy of A. sparsifolia seedlings in dealing with the increase in groundwater depth is to increase root biomass in the deep soil layers. The relationship between the root growth/distribution of A. sparsifolia and the depth of groundwater table can be used as guidance for harvesting A. sparsifolia biomass and managing water resources for forage grasses. It is also of ecological significance as it reveals how desert plants adapt to arid environments.

Ecological suitability evaluation for urban growth boundary in red soil hilly areas based on fuzzy theory

The fuzziness exists in spatial distribution of geographic data of land suitability evaluation processes,which makes it difficult to quantify land boundaries by using traditional binary logic-based overlay model.Aiming at this limitation,an ecological suitability evaluation analysis model was presented based on fuzzy theory and a research on urban growth boundary(UGB) of the Great-Hexi Leading District(GHLD) of Changsha was conducted.With the support of GIS,RS and MATLAB,slope,elevation,vegetation,soil productivity,soil permeability,water body and land use are selected as the input of model according to the characteristic properties of soil and terrain in red soil hilly areas.The running result of this model indicates that the ratios of highly suitable land,suitable land,moderately suitable land and unsuitable land in GHLD are 18.75%,10.31%,64.16%,6.78%,respectively.This result accords with spatial structure worked out by Space Development Strategy Planning of GHLD,Based on this result,several suggestions are made to guide UGB developments in future.

Seasonal differences in climatic controls of vegetation growth in the Beijing–Tianjin Sand Source Region of China

Launched in 2002, the Beiing–Tianjin Sand Source Control Project (BTSSCP) is an ecological restoration project intended to prevent desertification in China. Evidence from multiple sources has confirmed increases in vegetation growth in the BTSSCP region since the initiation of this project. Precipitation and essential climate variable-soil moisture (ECV-SM) conditions are typically considered to be the main drivers of vegetation growth in this region. Although many studies have investigated the inter-annual variations of vegetation growth, few concerns have been focused on the annual and seasonal variations of vegetation growth and their climatic drivers, which are crucial for understanding the relationships among the climate, vegetation, and human activities at the regional scale. Based on the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) derived from MODIS and the corresponding climatic data, we explored the responses of vegetation growth to climatic factors at annual and seasonal scales in the BTSSCP region during the period 2000–2014. Over the study region as a whole, NDVI generally increased from 2000 to 2014, at a rate of 0.002/a. Vegetation growth is stimulated mainly by the elevated temperature in spring, whereas precipitation is the leading driver of summer greening. In autumn, positive effects of both temperature and precipitation on vegetation growth were observed. The warming in spring promotes vegetation growth but reduces ECV-SM. Summer greening has a strong cooling effect on land surface temperature. These results indicate that the ecological and environmental consequences of ecological restoration projects should be comprehensively evaluated.

Excess dietary cholesterol may have an adverse effect on growth performance of early post-larval Litopenaeus vannamei

One experiment was conducted to determine the nutritive value of cholesterol for post-larval shrimp, Litopenaeus vannameL Four isoenergetic and isonitrogenous diets supplemented with four levels of cholesterol （D1, D2, D3 and D4 with 0, 0.5%, 1% and 2% cholesterol, respectively） were fed to triplicate groups of L. vannamei shrimp （mean initial wet weight 0.8 mg） for 27 days. After the trial, shrimp fed the D1 diet had the best growth performance （final body weights： FBW; weight gain： WG; specific growth rate： SGR）, while there was no significant difference between diet treatments with respect to survival. The whole body crude protein level in the shrimp decreased with the increase in dietary cholesterol levels, while the whole body crude lipid level in shrimps in the D4 diet treatment was significantly higher （P 〈 0.05） than in other diet treatments. Dietary analysis indicated that the D1 diet contained 0.92% cholesterol prior to supplementation, which may have satisfied the dietary cholesterol requirement of post-larval L. vannamei; excess dietary cholesterol may thus lead to adverse effects on the growth performance of post-larval shrimp.

Decoupling scenario of economic growth and ecological environment pressure and influence factors of carbon emissions in Shandong Province

Based on the panel data of 17 prefecture-level cities in Shandong Province from 2007 to 2016,this paper studies the decoupling relationship between economic growth and ecological environment pressure in different prefecture-level cities in Shandong Province,and analyses the influencing factors by using decoupling model and LMDI decomposition model.It concludes that the economic growth of the main cities in Shandong Province is relatively decoupled from the pressure of ecological environment;the population and economic factors are the main factors leading to the increase of carbon emissions,and the energy efficiency is constantly improving in China,which contributes to carbon emissions reduction in those areas.On the side,it demonstrates the basis and realistic possibility of the transformation of new and old kinetic energy.

Growth and Inequality in Indonesia： Does Kuznets Curve Hold？

Sustainable economic growth has put Indonesia as a middle-income country （MIC） and currently, the level of per capita income has already exceeded US$3,000. The increase in income per capita is followed by the increasing number of middle-class population and the reduction in poverty. However, it has not been accompanied by declining inequality that reflects the quality of economic growth. According to Kuznets theory, an increase in inequality is a common problem in the process of economic growth. Inequality will further decline after the country has reached a certain threshold level of income. This study aims to analyze the trend and nature of income inequality in Indonesia and to test whether the Kuznets Curve holds. This paper used dynamic panel method with 26 provincial panel data from 2000 to 2011. The empirical result proves the existence of inverted U-shaped Kuznets Curve in Indonesia and it may have the turning points when the real GDP per capita in each province reached Rp. 179.41 million/year or around US$17.000. For the determinant of inequality in Indonesia, this study found that the percentage of urban population, inflation, and share of agricultural sector contributed to the increase of inequality, while high-level education and share of industrial sector are associated with the lower level of inequality.

Fostering Ecologically Sustainable Growth

IN July,2,400 guests from 35 countries and regions attended the Eco Forum Global Annual Conference Guiyang 2018 in Guiyang,a national forest city in southwest China.The theme of the conference was"Embracing a New Era of

Actual Costs of Uneconomic Growth of Marine Fisheries in China’s Pearl River Delta

As traditional economic theory is mainly based on neoliberal principles, whose failure is to ignore the ecological component in value assessment methods, it assumes that continuous economic growth exists with high level of employment and low inflation rate. Many ecological economists have criticized the blind pursuit of short-term economic interests in the last 30 years for leading to loss of natural capital and ecosystem services. This study demonstrates the concept of?“uneconomic growth”?by measuring the actual costs of fishing activities and fishery policy implemented in China’s Pearl River Estuary from economic, social, and ecological aspects. The results show that the costs of economic growth exceed the benefits of additional growth because of the limits of the ecosystem. The ecological system of the Pearl River Estuary has been degraded significantly by overfishing and is regarded to be under non-optimal conditions regarding both ecological and socio-economic objectives.

The Analysis of Growth and Reproduction of Industrial Clusters Based on View of Ecological Coexistence

The behavior of industrial cluster is similar to the behavior of biological population, that is, the industrial cluster is seemed to be an ecological symbiotic system. The relationship between economic organizations in the industrial cluster is similar to the relationship of species in ecological system, and symbiotic reciprocity, competition and cooperation are the basic. The ecological development is mainstream and direction of industrial cluster. In this paper, firstly, we studied the ecological symbiosis growth model of industry cluster, and tbund it being according to logistic growth model; secondly, we studied the growth and reproduction of economic organizations in industrial cluster in three different cases, which with only competition relations, only beneficial relations, and both competition and beneficial cooperation relationship between economic organizations, and finally, we determined the number of economical organizations when the industrial cluster attained ecological equilibrium.

Assessment of Growth and Productivity on Four Black Pepper Varieties (<i>Piper nigrum</i>L.) in Three Target Provinces of Vietnam

Black pepper varieties, namely “Vinh Linh”, “Lada”, “An Do” and “Loc Ninh” were planted in three different ecological regions: Dak Lak, Gia Lai and Dong Nai in order to compare the growth ability, productivity, and quality of peppercorn. The experiments were designed in the Randomized Complete Block Design (RCBD) with four replications. The results of study have been indicated that “Vinh Linh” and “Lada” both varieties performed better crucial parameters of growth, productivity and yield, after 36 months planted. Although having greater growth parameter in the location of Dong Nai province, four varieties showed lower yield than other regions. By contrast, the four pepper types achieved the highest yield in Gia Lai, followed by Dak Lak. With respect to peppercorn quality, “Vinh Linh”, “Loc Ninh” and “Lada” achieved requirements of Vietnamese Standard (TCVN 7036:2008) including bulk density: 535.69 - 612.72 g/l;piperine: 4.06 - 4.31 g/100g and volatile oil at 2.72 - 3.16 ml/100g. In contrast, “An Do” variety presented the poorest level of piperine (3.78 g/100g), and unachieved requirements.

Feature extraction and analysis of reclaimed vegetation in ecological restoration area of abandoned mines based on hyperspectral remote sensing images

The vegetation growth status largely represents the ecosystem function and environmental quality.Hyperspectral remote sensing data can effectively eliminate the effects of surface spectral reflectance and atmospheric scattering and directly reflect the vegetation parameter information.In this study,the abandoned mining area in the Helan Mountains,China was taken as the study area.Based on hyperspectral remote sensing images of Zhuhai No.1 hyperspectral satellite,we used the pixel dichotomy model,which was constructed using the normalized difference vegetation index(NDVI),to estimate the vegetation coverage of the study area,and evaluated the vegetation growth status by five vegetation indices(NDVI,ratio vegetation index(RVI),photochemical vegetation index(PVI),red-green ratio index(RGI),and anthocyanin reflectance index 1(ARI1)).According to the results,the reclaimed vegetation growth status in the study area can be divided into four levels(unhealthy,low healthy,healthy,and very healthy).The overall vegetation growth status in the study area was generally at low healthy level,indicating that the vegetation growth status in the study area was not good due to short-time period restoration and harsh damaged environment such as high and steep rock slopes.Furthermore,the unhealthy areas were mainly located in Dawukougou where abandoned mines were concentrated,indicating that the original mining activities have had a large effect on vegetation ecology.After ecological restoration of abandoned mines,the vegetation coverage in the study area has increased to a certain extent,but the amplitude was not large.The situation of vegetation coverage in the northern part of the study area was worse than that in the southern part,due to abandoned mines mainly concentrating in the northern part of the Helan Mountains.The combination of hyperspectral remote sensing data and vegetation indices can comprehensively extract the characteristics of vegetation,accurately analyze the plant growth status,and provide technical support for vegetation health evaluation.

Ecological Footprint and Endogenous Economic Growth in the Poyang Lake Area in China Based on Empirical Analysis of Panel Data Model

In this paper, ecological footprint methods were used to calculate the ecological footprint of six cities （Nanchang, Jingdezhen, Jiujiang, Xinyu, Yingtan and Fuzhou） in the Poyang Lake Area, Jiangxi, China from 1991 to 2010. Ecological footprint was the input factor for ecological resources and the contribution of this and other factors such as labor and capital to economic growth were analyzed. The results showed that, from 1991 to 2010, ecological footprints in the six cities increased year by year. The amount of land for fossil energy, under cultivation and grassland influenced total ecological footprint in each city. The contribution of ecological resources, labor factors and capital factors to economic growth showed regional differences. Nanchang, Jiujiang, Xinyu, and Yingtan are capital-orientated and capital factor had a great influence on the economic growth rates, whereas, Jingdezhen and Fuzhou were labor-orientated. The contribution of ecological resources to economic growth in the six cities was the lowest of all three factors, meaning that efficiency of ecological resource utilization is low. Total productivity plays a key role in economic development; however, the overall level of total factor productivity for the six cities was low and indicates that the technological content of Poyang Lake Area’s economic growth is low and the utilization of input factors extensive. In summary, we suggest changing the mode of economic growth and developing tertiary industry in the region.

Black carp growth hormone gene transgenic allotetraploid hybrids of Carassius auratus red var. (♀)×Cyprinus carpio (♂)

Ecological safety is a major consideration in the commercialization of transgenic fish. Development of sterile transgenic triploid fish through hybridization of transgenic tetraploid fish and transgenic diploid fish is a feasible way to solve this problem. The "all-fish" transgene, pbcAbcGHc, containing the black carp β-actin gene promoter and the open reading frame (ORF) of the black carp growth hormone (GH) gene was constructed and introduced into fertilized eggs of allotetraploid fish through microinjection. Contrast cultivation results showed that the growth rate of 150 day-old P 0 black carp GH gene transgenic allotetraploid fish was much higher than that of controls. Sixty 150 day-old transgenic allotetraploid fish were assayed by PCR for transgene integration and 90% of fish were positive for the transgene. The transgene was detected in 13 of 20 sperm samples from male transgenic allotetraploid fish. RT-PCR detected transcription of the exogenous black carp GH gene in the muscle, liver, kidney and ovaries of the largest transgenic allotetraploid fish. This study has developed P 0 black carp GH gene transgenic allotetraploid fish with a highly increased growth rate, which provides a solid foundation for the establishment of a pure line of transgenic allotetraploid fish and for the large scale production of sterile transgenic triploid fish.

Short-Term Mindfulness Intervention on Adolescents’ Negative Emotion under Global Pandemic

Objective:In this research,we tried to explore how short-term mindfulness(STM)intervention affects adoles-cents’anxiety,depression,and negative and positive emotion during the COVID-19 pandemic.Design:10 classes were divided into experiment groups(5 classes;n=238)and control(5 classes;n=244)randomly.Hospital Anxi-ety and Depression Scale(HADS)and Positive and Negative Affect Schedule(PANAS)were used to measure par-ticipants’dependent variables.In the experiment group,we conducted STM practice interventions every morning in theirfirst class from March to November 2020.No interventions were conducted in the control group.Methods:Paired-sample t-tests were used to identify if a significant difference exists between every time point of the experimental and control groups.Repeated ANOVA and Growth Mixture Model(GMM)were used to analyze the tendency of positive and negative emotions,anxiety,and depression in the experimental group.Results and Conclusions:(1)With the intervention of STM,there was a significant decrease in negative emotions and an increase in positive emotions in the experimental group,whereas there were non-significant differences in the control group.(2)To explore the heterogeneity trajectories of dependent variables,we built a GMM and found there were two latent growth classes in the trajectories.(3)The results of the models showed their trajec-tories were downward,which meant that the levels of anxiety,depression,and negative emotions of participants decreased during the STM training period.Nonetheless,the score of positive affect showed upward in three loops of intervention,which indicated that the level of the participants’positive affect increased through the STM inter-vention.(4)This research indicated that STM should be given increasing consideration to enhance mental health during the worldwide outbreak of COVID-19.

Pollen Production in Relation to Ecological Class of Some Hydrophytes and Marsh Plants

The knowledge of quantitative production and method of dispersal give some idea about the frequency of presence of particular plant pollen grains in the atmosphere or hydrosphere. Pollen production in terms of number per anther along with the particular anther number per flower, anther length, pollen grain size, mode of anther dehiscence was determined for 51 angiospermous hydrophytes and marsh species occurring in Tripura, India. Pollen production is species specific. The level of pollen production directly related to the anther size and anther number per flower. However, no such correlation could be drawn between pollen production and size of pollen grains. Most of the hydrophytic taxa of the present investigation are anemophilous. The anemophilous taxa are characterized by high pollen production. However no correlation could be drawn from the present study between the high pollen production and mode of anther dehiscence as in all the studied taxa they show only one kind of anther dehiscence.