Does ash dieback affect the reproductive ecology of Fraxinus excelsior L.?

Forest tree species reproduction is a key factor in maintaining the genetic diversity of future generations and the stability of forest ecosystems.The ongoing ash dieback disease could affect the reproductive ecology of Fraxinus excelsior L.and have a major impact on the quantity and quality of pollen and seeds.In this study,we investigated pollen production and viability of pollen and seeds of ash trees with different health status from 2018 to 2022.Inflorescences were collected from 105 trees(pollen production),pollen from 125 trees(pollen viability),and seeds from 53 trees(seed quality)in two seed orchards and in one floodplain forest in southern Germany.Not all parameters were examined at every site every year.The average pollen production per tree was estimated at 471.2±647.9 billion pollen grains.In addition,we found that a high number of inflorescences did not equate to high pollen production per inflorescence.Pollen production of healthy and diseased trees did not differ significantly,although only 47%of severely diseased male trees(vs.72%for healthy trees)produced flowers.With regards to pollen viability,the TTC test showed an average viability of 73%±17%.Overall,there was a slight tendency for diseased trees to have less viable pollen.However,a significant difference could only be calculated for trees in the floodplain forest.The percentage of germinable seeds in 2018 was 38%in the floodplain forest and 57%in one of the seed orchards.The percentage of viable seeds(TTC test)ranged from 17 to 22%in the orchards in 2020.Non-viable seeds were usually heavily infested by insects.In general,seed quality was not significantly different between healthy and diseased trees.Our results indicate that ash dieback affects flower formation and pollen viability but not pollen production or seed quality.Nevertheless,the fact that hardly any flowering was observed,especially for trees that were seriously affected,suggests a negative effect of ash dieback on reproductive performance.Thus,severely diseased trees will transfer their genes to a smaller extent to the next generation.

Diverse foraging strategies of breeding Swinhoe's Storm-petrel in the productive marginal sea of the Northwest Pacific

Understanding the foraging behavior is essential for investigating seabird ecology and conservation,as well as monitoring the well-being of the marine environment.Breeding seabirds adopt diverse foraging strategies to maximize energy gains and cope with the intensified challenges of parenting and self-maintenance.Such tradeoff may stem from the heterogeneity of food resources and the constraints of central place foraging.Nevertheless,abundant marine productivity could alleviate the energy limitation for seabirds,resulting in a consistent foraging approach.Here,we investigated the foraging strategy during the breeding season of a cryptic small-sized seabird,Swinhoe’s Storm-petrel(Hydrobates monorhis),in the Yellow Sea,a productive marginal sea of the Northwest Pacific.Using GPS tracking,we evaluated habitat preference,quantified the foraging strategy,and tested if environmental conditions and individual traits influence foraging trips.We found that Swinhoe’s Storm-petrels preferred nearshore areas with shallow water and engaged in primarily short foraging trips.Distinctive southeastward and southwestward strategies emerged when combining trip metrics,including foraging direction,duration,and maximum distance.The bathymetry,proximity to the coastline,and sea surface temperature differed in two foraging strategies.Foraging strategies exhibited flexibility between individuals,potentially explained by wing morphology,in which longer-winged birds are more likely to embark on longer-distance foraging trips.These findings highlight the impact of environmental factors and individual traits on seabirds’foraging decisions in productive marginal sea ecosystems.Our study also provides valuable insights into the foraging ecology of this Asian endemic storm-petrel.

Strategies and Economic Benefit Analysis for Productive Landscape of Rape Flower Sea in Cold Regions

The cold regions are located in high latitudes and cold climates.The local excellent ornamental plant resources are relatively scarce.The plant species that are suitable for both ornamental and productive benefits of landscape of flower sea construction are also even fewer.Therefore,it is imperative to introduce and screen the plant resources suitable for cold regions to create the landscape of flower sea.The rape,an oilseed crop,was used as a research object in order to create a productive flower landscape with both ornamental and economic values in cold regions.Four rape flower varieties,Qingza No.5,7,9,and 11,were introduced from Qinghai Hufeng Agricultural Science and Technology Group Co.,Ltd.They were planted in the experimental practice base of Northeast Agricultural University in three batches.Development characteristics and seed yield of rape flowers on different sowing dates were studied.The fuzzy probability method was used to comprehensively evaluate the varieties.The results showed that the rape flowers grew well in Harbin City during the experimental sowing period,which could form a good landscape of flower sea and had a considerable rapeseed yield.It could be widely used in cold urban and rural areas,such as Harbin City.In view of the experimental results,the strategies of creating a productive landscape of rape flower sea were proposed and the economic benefits were analyzed.It could change the status quo of a uniform landscape of flower sea in cold regions,help the development of rural tourism,and promote local economic income.

NEW QUALITY PRODUCTIVE FORCES SPUR GLOBAL DEVELOPMENT

The third plenary session of the 20th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China(CPC)in July was in the global spotlight for the reform measures it proposed to advance Chinese modernization.The plenum decided to improve the institutions and mechanisms for fostering new quality productive forces in line with local conditions and pinpointed the key areas.

In the Era of New Quality Productive Forces,How Can Cosmetics Enterprises Go with the Trend?

In 2024,a new mode of high-quality development and revolutionary innovation with“new quality productive forces”as the core is sweeping rapidly across China,involving traditional,emerging,future and many other industries.There is no exception to cosmetics production.Tendency:New quality productive forces as a new topicThe new quality productive force,highlighting“innovation”and“quality”,is an advanced productivity ecology with high-technology,high-efficiency and high-quality features,which has broken through the traditional economic growth mode and productivity development path,and conforms to the new development philosophy.

New Quality Productive Forces Spur Global Development

China’s new quality productive forces theory and actions are a Chinese solution for win-win cooperation and common development by sharing development opportunities.THE third plenary session of the 20th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China(CPC)in July was in the global spotlight for the reform measures it proposed to advance Chinese modernization.The plenum decided to improve the institutions and mechanisms for fostering new quality productive forces in line with local conditions and pinpointed the key areas.The reforms will give impetus to both China’s development and common global prosperity.China’s new quality productive forces theory and actions taken vis-à-vis them indicate the development path of Chinese socialism and are a Chinese solution for win-win cooperation and common development by sharing development opportunities.

Research on Key Points of Design of Standard Plants in Modern Industrial Parks Under the Background of Promoting the Development of New Quality Productive Forces

With the progress of science and technology and the acceleration of industrialization,the modern industrial park is an important carrier of industrial development.The importance of its standard plant design has become increasingly prominent.With the development of new quality productive forces as the background,this research deeply discusses the key points of standard plant design in modern industrial parks.This paper uses literature review and case analysis to systematically analyze the important role of standard plant design in developing new quality productive forces in modern industrial parks and puts forward suggestions for optimizing design.It is found that the rationality,intelligence,and environmental protection of plant design are the key factors affecting the development of new quality productive forces.The paper summarizes the core points of modern industrial park standard plant design to provide a reference for the future development of related industries.

An Intelligent Turn With a focus on innovation and digitisation,the new quality productive forces will have far-reaching impact on the society

Chinese President Xi Jinping has put forward a series of theoretical explanations on new quality productive forces.He has stressed that high-quality development has to be supported by a new productivity theory.Since new productive forces have emerged and played a strong role in driving and supporting high-quality development,they should be theorised systematically to guide further development.

The Effectiveness of Explicit Vocabulary Instruction on Productive Vocabulary Learning in Writing Among Intermediate School Learners in Saudi Arabia

This study aimed to identify the effectiveness of explicit vocabulary instruction on productive vocabulary learning in writing among intermediate school learners in Saudi Arabia,verify the existence of any statistically significant differences at the significance level of 0.01 between the mean scores of the post-test of the control group and the experimental group in the vocabulary test,and verify the existence of any statistically significant differences at the significance level of 0.01 between the mean scores of the pre-and post-test of the experimental group in the vocabulary test in favor of the post-test.The study community consisted of all intermediate school students in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia,while the study sample included 30 students.The experimental method was adopted to identify the effectiveness of explicit vocabulary instruction on productive vocabulary learning in writing and the achievement test was used as the study tool.The study reached many results including there were no statistically significant differences at the significance level of 0.01 between the mean scores of the post-test of the control group and the experimental group in the vocabulary test and there were no statistically significant differences at the significance level of 0.01 between the mean scores of the pre-and post-test of the experimental group in the vocabulary test in favor of the post-test.According to these results,some recommendations and proposals were made including training English teachers at the intermediate school level in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia,on explicit vocabulary instruction and conducting future researches on the trends of English teachers at the intermediate school level,in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia,regarding the adoption of explicit vocabulary instruction while teaching the English language.

Associations between Sow Body Lesions with Body Condition and Subsequent Reproductive Performance

The objective was to determine the association between foot, leg, vulva and shoulder lesions with body condition and reproduction in group housed sows. Whiteline sows (n = 887) were measured before farrowing and at weaning at a commercial farm in eastern North Carolina. Foot and leg abnormalities included cracked hooves, toe length differences, overgrown hooves and locomotion. Vulva lesions were scored no lesion or lesion present. Shoulder lesions were scored no lesion, abrasion or open wound. Sow body condition measures included the Knauer sow caliper (CS), body weight (WT), visual body condition score (BCS), backfat (BF) and longissimus muscle area (LMA). Sow production traits included number born alive, litter birth weight, number weaned, litter weaning weight, piglet survival (number weaned ÷ (total number born + net transfer)), wean-to-conception interval and average daily lactation feed intake. Data were analyzed in SAS using PROC GLM for continuous traits and PROC GLIMMIX for categorical traits. Vulva lesions were recorded on 17.6% of sows at farrowing and 0% at weaning. No shoulder lesions, abrasions and open wounds were recorded on 100%, 0% and 0%, respectively, of sows at farrowing and 73%, 21% and 6%, respectively, at weaning. Foot and leg abnormalities were not associated with body condition or reproduction. Vulva lesions at farrowing were associated with lower CS, WT, BCS and BF at farrowing, and reduced piglet survival (4.3%). Lower CS at farrowing was associated with increased shoulder abrasions and open wounds at weaning. Backfat and BCS at farrowing had curvilinear associations with shoulder lesions at weaning, a BF of 39 mm and a BCS of 4.2 minimizing lesions. Results suggest vulva and shoulder lesions were associated with thinner sows at farrowing and vulva lesions at farrowing were associated with lower piglet survival.

Average Probability of an Element Being a Generator in the Cyclic Group

All elements in the cyclic group are generated by a generator g. The number of generators of of , namely is known to be Euler’s totient function;however, the average probability of an element being a generator has not been discussed before. Several analytic properties of have been investigated for a long time. However, it seems that some issues still remain unresolved. In this study, we derive the average probability of an element being a generator using previous classical studies.

Humanizing the Culture of Technology Teams: Strategies for Creating Healthier and More Productive Work Environments

With the advancement of technology, companies are increasingly dependent on technology teams to stay competitive. However, members of these teams often work in stressful and unhealthy environments, which can undermine their productivity and well-being. The humanization of the culture of technology teams is an approach that aims to create healthier and more productive work environments for team members, promoting balance between personal and professional life. Despite the importance of a healthy and productive work environment, many companies do not invest in strategies to humanize the culture of their technology teams. This can lead to high levels of stress, staff turnover and low productivity. The objective of this project is to identify effective strategies to humanize the culture of technology teams and create healthier and more productive work environments in digital companies. For this, factors such as management styles, psychological safety, human-centered development, individual beliefs and time and energy management will be analyzed. The project’s methodology will include a literature review on the subject and qualitative data analysis will be performed using a content analysis approach. This project will contribute to the advancement of knowledge about the humanization of the culture of technology teams in digital companies. The results can be applied to companies that want to create healthier and more productive work environments for their team members.

中国古代槟榔文化的接受与传播

作为舶来品的槟榔,在饮食、医药、赋税等方面扮演过重要的角色,具有丰厚的历史文化。梳理文献发现,两汉三国时期,槟榔视作“奇草异木”记载在各种《异物志》中,开始被接受;南北朝时期,槟榔是贵族士宦的“奢侈品”,唐代受佛教平等思想影响日渐向大众传播,宋代逐渐成为百姓家的“寻常物”。槟榔之所以能被接受与传播,并在海南用于婚俗,是因其本身的物质文化之外,还与其因贵异而用于重要的人际礼仪、文人墨客极力推崇渲染和赋予了槟榔君子品格等精神文化有着莫大的关系。

黄河流域生态保护迈向高质量发展的特征——植被绿度、生产力和降水利用效率的差异性变化

Globally,vegetation has been changing dramatically.The vegetation-water dynamic is key to understanding ecosystem structure and functioning in water-limited ecosystems.Continual satellite monitoring has detected global vegetation greening.However,a vegetation greenness increase does not mean that ecosystem functions increase.The intricate interplays resulting from the relationships between vegetation and precipitation must be more adequately comprehended.In this study,satellite data,for example,leaf area index(LAI),net primary production(NPP),and rainfall use efficiency(RUE),were used to quantify vegetation dynamics and their relationship with rainfall in different reaches of the Yellow River Basin(YRB).A sequential regression method was used to detect trends of NPP sensitivity to rainfall.The results showed that 34.53%of the YRB exhibited a significant greening trend since 2000.Among them,20.54%,53.37%,and 16.73%of upper,middle,and lower reach areas showed a significant positive trend,respectively.NPP showed a similar trend to LAI in the YRB upper,middle,and lower reaches.A notable difference was noted in the distributions and trends of RUE across the upper,middle,and lower reaches.Moreover,there were significant trends in vegetation-rainfall sensitivity in 16.86%of the YRB’s middle reaches—14.08%showed negative trends and 2.78%positive trends.A total of 8.41%of the YRB exhibited a marked increase in LAI,NPP,and RUE.Subsequently,strategic locations reliant on the correlation between vegetation and rainfall were identified and designated for restoration planning purposes to propose future ecological restoration efforts.Our analysis indicates that the middle reach of the YRB exhibited the most significant variation in vegetation greenness and productivity.The present study underscores the significance of examining the correlation between vegetation and rainfall within the context of the high-quality development strategy of the YRB.The outcomes of our analysis and the proposed ecological restoration framework can provide decision-makers with valuable insights for executing rational basin pattern optimization and sustainable management.

Mechanical Modeling and Analysis of Stability Deterioration of Production Well During Marine Hydrate Depressurization Production

Different from oil and gas production,hydrate reservoirs are shallow and unconsolidated,whose mechanical properties deteriorate with hydrate decomposition.Therefore,the formations will undergo significant subsidence during depressurization,which will destroy the original force state of the production well.However,existing research on the stability of oil and gas production wells assumes the formation to be stable,and lacks consideration of the force exerted on the hydrate production well by formation subsidence caused by hydrate decomposition during production.To fill this gap,this paper proposes an analytical method for the dynamic evolution of the stability of hydrate production well considering the effects of hydrate decomposition.Based on the mechanical model of the production well,the basis for stability analysis has been proposed.A multi-field coupling model of the force state of the production well considering the effect of hydrate decomposition and formation subsidence is established,and a solver is developed.The analytical approach is verified by its good agreement with the results from the numerical method.A case study found that the decomposition of hydrate will increase the pulling-down force and reduce the supporting force,which is the main reason for the stability deterioration.The higher the initial hydrate saturation,the larger the reservoir thickness,and the lower the production pressure,the worse the stability or even instability.This work can provide a theoretical reference for the stability maintaining of the production well.

Inter-layer interference for multi-layered tight gas reservoir in the absence and presence of movable water

Due to the dissimilarity among different producing layers,the influences of inter-layer interference on the production performance of a multi-layer gas reservoir are possible.However,systematic studies of inter-layer interference for tight gas reservoirs are really limited,especially for those reservoirs in the presence of water.In this work,five types of possible inter-layer interferences,including both absence and presence of water,are identified for commingled production of tight gas reservoirs.Subsequently,a series of reservoir-scale and pore-scale numerical simulations are conducted to quantify the degree of influence of each type of interference.Consistent field evidence from the Yan'an tight gas reservoir(Ordos Basin,China)is found to support the simulation results.Additionally,suggestions are proposed to mitigate the potential inter-layer interferences.The results indicate that,in the absence of water,commingled production is favorable in two situations:when there is a difference in physical properties and when there is a difference in the pressure system of each layer.For reservoirs with a multi-pressure system,the backflow phenomenon,which significantly influences the production performance,only occurs under extreme conditions(such as very low production rates or well shut-in periods).When water is introduced into the multi-layer system,inter-layer interference becomes nearly inevitable.Perforating both the gas-rich layer and water-rich layer for commingled production is not desirable,as it can trigger water invasion from the water-rich layer into the gas-rich layer.The gas-rich layer might also be interfered with by water from the neighboring unperforated water-rich layer,where the water might break the barrier(eg weak joint surface,cement in fractures)between the two layers and migrate into the gas-rich layer.Additionally,the gas-rich layer could possibly be interfered with by water that accumulates at the bottom of the wellbore due to gravitational differentiation during shut-in operations.

Genetic and epigenetic targets of natural dietary compounds as anti-Alzheimer's agents

Alzheimer’s disease is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder and the most common cause of dementia that principally affects older adults.Pathogenic factors,such as oxidative stress,an increase in acetylcholinesterase activity,mitochondrial dysfunction,genotoxicity,and neuroinflammation are present in this syndrome,which leads to neurodegeneration.Neurodegenerative pathologies such as Alzheimer’s disease are considered late-onset diseases caused by the complex combination of genetic,epigenetic,and environmental factors.There are two main types of Alzheimer’s disease,known as familial Alzheimer’s disease(onset<65 years)and late-onset or sporadic Alzheimer’s disease(onset≥65 years).Patients with familial Alzheimer’s disease inherit the disease due to rare mutations on the amyloid precursor protein(APP),presenilin 1 and 2(PSEN1 and PSEN2)genes in an autosomaldominantly fashion with closely 100%penetrance.In contrast,a different picture seems to emerge for sporadic Alzheimer’s disease,which exhibits numerous non-Mendelian anomalies suggesting an epigenetic component in its etiology.Importantly,the fundamental pathophysiological mechanisms driving Alzheimer’s disease are interfaced with epigenetic dysregulation.However,the dynamic nature of epigenetics seems to open up new avenues and hope in regenerative neurogenesis to improve brain repair in Alzheimer’s disease or following injury or stroke in humans.In recent years,there has been an increase in interest in using natural products for the treatment of neurodegenerative illnesses such as Alzheimer’s disease.Through epigenetic mechanisms,such as DNA methylation,non-coding RNAs,histone modification,and chromatin conformation regulation,natural compounds appear to exert neuroprotective effects.While we do not purport to cover every in this work,we do attempt to illustrate how various phytochemical compounds regulate the epigenetic effects of a few Alzheimer’s disease-related genes.

Quantifying the agreement and accuracy characteristics of four satellite-based LULC products for cropland classification in China

Various land use and land cover(LULC)products have been produced over the past decade with the development of remote sensing technology.Despite the differences in LULC classification schemes,there is a lack of research on assessing the accuracy of their application to croplands in a unified framework.Thus,this study evaluated the spatial and area accuracies of cropland classification for four commonly used global LULC products(i.e.,MCD12Q1V6,GlobCover2009,FROM-GLC and GlobeLand30)based on the harmonised FAO criterion,and quantified the relationships between four factors(i.e.,slope,elevation,field size and crop system)and cropland classification agreement.The validation results indicated that MCD12Q1 and GlobeLand30 performed well in cropland classification regarding spatial consistency,with overall accuracies of 94.90 and 93.52%,respectively.The FROMGLC showed the worst performance,with an overall accuracy of 83.17%.Overlaying the cropland generated by the four global LULC products,we found the proportions of complete agreement and disagreement were 15.51 and 44.72% for the cropland classification,respectively.High consistency was mainly observed in the Northeast China Plain,the Huang-Huai-Hai Plain and the northern part of the Middle-lower Yangtze Plain,China.In contrast,low consistency was detected primarily on the eastern edge of the northern and semiarid region,the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau and southern China.Field size was the most important factor for mapping cropland.For area accuracy,compared with China Statistical Yearbook data at the provincial scale,the accuracies of different products in descending order were:GlobeLand30,FROM-GLC,MCD12Q1,and GlobCover2009.The cropland classification schemes mainly caused large area deviations among the four products,and they also resulted in the different ranks of spatial accuracy and area accuracy among the four products.Our results can provide valuable suggestions for selecting cropland products at the national or provincial scale and help cropland mapping and reconstruction,which is essential for food security and crop management,so they can also contribute to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals issued by the United Nations.

Upcycling plastic wastes into value-added products via electrocatalysis and photoelectrocatalysis

Plastic,renowned for its versatility,durability,and cost-effectiveness,is indispensable in modern society.Nevertheless,the annual production of nearly 400 million tons of plastic,coupled with a recycling rate of only 9%,has led to a monumental environmental crisis.Plastic recycling has emerged as a vital response to this crisis,offering sustainable solutions to mitigate its environmental impact.Among these recycling efforts,plastic upcycling has garnered attention,which elevates discarded plastics into higher-value products.Here,electrocatalytic and photoelectrocatalytic treatments stand at the forefront of advanced plastic upcycling.Electrocatalytic or photoelectrocatalytic treatments involve chemical reactions that facilitate electron transfer through the electrode/electrolyte interface,driven by electrical or solar energy,respectively.These methods enable precise control of chemical reactions,harnessing potential,current density,or light to yield valuable chemical products.This review explores recent progress in plastic upcycling through electrocatalytic and photoelectrocatalytic pathways,offering promising solutions to the plastic waste crisis and advancing sustainability in the plastics industry.

Recent advances in cobalt phosphide-based materials for electrocatalytic water splitting:From catalytic mechanism and synthesis method to optimization design

Electrochemical water splitting has long been considered an effective energy conversion technology for trans-ferring intermittent renewable electricity into hydrogen fuel,and the exploration of cost-effective and high-performance electrocatalysts is crucial in making electrolyzed water technology commercially viable.Cobalt phosphide(Co-P)has emerged as a catalyst of high potential owing to its high catalytic activity and durability in water splitting.This paper systematically reviews the latest advances in the development of Co-P-based materials for use in water splitting.The essential effects of P in enhancing the catalytic performance of the hydrogen evolution reaction and oxygen evolution reaction are first outlined.Then,versatile synthesis techniques for Co-P electrocatalysts are summarized,followed by advanced strategies to enhance the electrocatalytic performance of Co-P materials,including heteroatom doping,composite construction,integration with well-conductive sub-strates,and structure control from the viewpoint of experiment.Along with these optimization strategies,the understanding of the inherent mechanism of enhanced catalytic performance is also discussed.Finally,some existing challenges in the development of highly active and stable Co-P-based materials are clarified,and pro-spective directions for prompting the wide commercialization of water electrolysis technology are proposed.