A key solution to urban and global sustainability is effective planning of sustainable urban development, for which geo-techniques especially cellular automata(CA) models can be very informative. However, existing CA ...A key solution to urban and global sustainability is effective planning of sustainable urban development, for which geo-techniques especially cellular automata(CA) models can be very informative. However, existing CA models for simulating sustainable urban development, though increasingly refined in modeling urban growth, capture mostly the environmental aspect of sustainability. In this study, an adaptable risk-constrained CA model was developed by incorporating the social-ecological risks of urban development. A three-dimensional risk assessment framework was proposed that explicitly considers the environmental constraints on, system resilience to, and potential impacts of urban development. The risk-constrained model was then applied to a case study of Sheyang County, Jiangsu Province in the eastern China. Comparative simulations of urban development in four contrasting scenarios were conducted, namely, the environmental suitability constrained scenario, the ecological risk constrained scenario, the social risk constrained scenario, and the integrated social-ecological risk constrained scenario. The simulations suggested that considering only environmental suitability in the CA simulation of urban development overestimated the potential of sustainable urban growth, and that the urbanization mode changed from city expansion that was more constrained by social risks to town growth that was more constrained by ecological risks. Our risk-constrained CA model can better simulate sustainable urban development; additionally, we provide suggestions on the sustainable urban development in Sheyang and on future model development.展开更多
A modified complex coacervation-co-precipitation method was used to prepare bone morphogenetic protein (BMP)-loaded nanospheres. Three natural polymers were used as packing materials to obtain nanoscale delivery devic...A modified complex coacervation-co-precipitation method was used to prepare bone morphogenetic protein (BMP)-loaded nanospheres. Three natural polymers were used as packing materials to obtain nanoscale delivery device for BMP,in the presence of phosphatidylcholine functioning as stabilizer. Positively charged polysaccharide, N,N-diethylaminoethyl dex-tran (DEAE-dextran) tended to form stable, uniform and smaller size particles carrying BMP. Negatively charged bovine serum albumin (BSA) induced precipitation of the produced BMP particles due to its weak interaction with BMP molecules, although it produced nanosized BMP spheres. While collagen, a weakly positively charged protein shaped larger particles due to the strong interaction among themselves. A mechanism of co-precipitation process was also deduced to depict the formation of stable nanospheres.展开更多
Aims Harsh environmental conditions in alpine ecosystems shape vegetation structure into patches,where many different plant species cluster and grow together.Yet,which factors are important for the structure and dynam...Aims Harsh environmental conditions in alpine ecosystems shape vegetation structure into patches,where many different plant species cluster and grow together.Yet,which factors are important for the structure and dynamics of such plant–patch networks remains poorly understood.We aim to assess which and how environmental and biotic factors predict the assembly of plant–patch networks along a mountain range.Methods We examined the distribution of plant species in more than 5500 vegetation patches in 37 Mediterranean alpine grasslands distributed along a 500 m altitudinal gradient(National Park of Sierra Guadarrama,Spain).We established a plant–patch network for each grassland community and analyzed how nestedness and modularity vary with environmental(altitude,insolation and soil conditions)and biotic factors(number of species per plot,mean patch area and total pasture area).Important Findings Plant–patch networks showed consistent,non-random patterns characterized by a nested,but not modular,structure,which suggests that positive associations among co-occurring specialists promote their growth within patches as subsets of a pool with more generalist species.Both nestedness and modularity of plant–patch networks varied among grasslands.Specifically,nestedness decreased with increasing species per plot and increased with mean patch area,while it was independent of environmental variables;modularity increased with increasing pasture area and species per plot.The negative relationship between species per plot and nested patterns may be linked to the restricted number of species that can coexist within the same patch at a given size.Moreover,the positive relationship between patch size and nestedness indicates that the growth of rare plant species within vegetation patches occupied by more abundant species is facilitated in bigger rather than smaller patches.Furthermore,these results indicate that the nested assembly of vegetation patches may be independent of abiotic conditions.These findings suggest that large and unfragmented vegetation patches are fundamental for the maintenance of plant diversity in alpine grasslands.Looking at species distribution at fine spatial scales may shed new light on the biotic processes underlying plant network assembly and provide novel ways for conserving biodiversity.展开更多
基金Under the auspices of the Special Research Funds for Public Welfare,Ministry of Land and Resources of China(No.201511001-03)the Open Fund of Key Laboratory of Coastal Zone Exploitation and Protection,Ministry of Land and Resource of China(No.2017CZEPK03)
文摘A key solution to urban and global sustainability is effective planning of sustainable urban development, for which geo-techniques especially cellular automata(CA) models can be very informative. However, existing CA models for simulating sustainable urban development, though increasingly refined in modeling urban growth, capture mostly the environmental aspect of sustainability. In this study, an adaptable risk-constrained CA model was developed by incorporating the social-ecological risks of urban development. A three-dimensional risk assessment framework was proposed that explicitly considers the environmental constraints on, system resilience to, and potential impacts of urban development. The risk-constrained model was then applied to a case study of Sheyang County, Jiangsu Province in the eastern China. Comparative simulations of urban development in four contrasting scenarios were conducted, namely, the environmental suitability constrained scenario, the ecological risk constrained scenario, the social risk constrained scenario, and the integrated social-ecological risk constrained scenario. The simulations suggested that considering only environmental suitability in the CA simulation of urban development overestimated the potential of sustainable urban growth, and that the urbanization mode changed from city expansion that was more constrained by social risks to town growth that was more constrained by ecological risks. Our risk-constrained CA model can better simulate sustainable urban development; additionally, we provide suggestions on the sustainable urban development in Sheyang and on future model development.
基金Project supported by the Basic Research Program (863) of China(No. G1999054305) and the National Natural Science Foundationof China (No. 50173024)
文摘A modified complex coacervation-co-precipitation method was used to prepare bone morphogenetic protein (BMP)-loaded nanospheres. Three natural polymers were used as packing materials to obtain nanoscale delivery device for BMP,in the presence of phosphatidylcholine functioning as stabilizer. Positively charged polysaccharide, N,N-diethylaminoethyl dex-tran (DEAE-dextran) tended to form stable, uniform and smaller size particles carrying BMP. Negatively charged bovine serum albumin (BSA) induced precipitation of the produced BMP particles due to its weak interaction with BMP molecules, although it produced nanosized BMP spheres. While collagen, a weakly positively charged protein shaped larger particles due to the strong interaction among themselves. A mechanism of co-precipitation process was also deduced to depict the formation of stable nanospheres.
基金supported by the Madrid Regional Government(grant REMEDINAL TE-CM-S2018/EMT-4338)the Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness of Spain,(grants ROOTs-CGL2015-66809-P-)and AdAptA-CGL2012-33528)partially by the Swiss National Science Foundation to GL(grants IZSEZ0_180195 and P2ZHP3_187938).
文摘Aims Harsh environmental conditions in alpine ecosystems shape vegetation structure into patches,where many different plant species cluster and grow together.Yet,which factors are important for the structure and dynamics of such plant–patch networks remains poorly understood.We aim to assess which and how environmental and biotic factors predict the assembly of plant–patch networks along a mountain range.Methods We examined the distribution of plant species in more than 5500 vegetation patches in 37 Mediterranean alpine grasslands distributed along a 500 m altitudinal gradient(National Park of Sierra Guadarrama,Spain).We established a plant–patch network for each grassland community and analyzed how nestedness and modularity vary with environmental(altitude,insolation and soil conditions)and biotic factors(number of species per plot,mean patch area and total pasture area).Important Findings Plant–patch networks showed consistent,non-random patterns characterized by a nested,but not modular,structure,which suggests that positive associations among co-occurring specialists promote their growth within patches as subsets of a pool with more generalist species.Both nestedness and modularity of plant–patch networks varied among grasslands.Specifically,nestedness decreased with increasing species per plot and increased with mean patch area,while it was independent of environmental variables;modularity increased with increasing pasture area and species per plot.The negative relationship between species per plot and nested patterns may be linked to the restricted number of species that can coexist within the same patch at a given size.Moreover,the positive relationship between patch size and nestedness indicates that the growth of rare plant species within vegetation patches occupied by more abundant species is facilitated in bigger rather than smaller patches.Furthermore,these results indicate that the nested assembly of vegetation patches may be independent of abiotic conditions.These findings suggest that large and unfragmented vegetation patches are fundamental for the maintenance of plant diversity in alpine grasslands.Looking at species distribution at fine spatial scales may shed new light on the biotic processes underlying plant network assembly and provide novel ways for conserving biodiversity.