Temporal and regional variations of China＇s fertilizer consumption by crops during 1998-2008

The agricultural and land policies in China are always focused on protecting its food supply and security because of the country＇s large population and improved diets. The crop production guide ＇Take Grain as the Key Link prompted peasants to plant grain on most of the agricultural land, leading to the majority of fertilizer being used in grain crops for many years in China. This situation has changed dramatically in recent years. Based on data pertaining to provincial crops sown area and fertilizer use per unit area in 1998 and 2008, the temporal and spatial variations of China＇s fertilizer consumption by crops were analyzed at the provincial level, and the results are presented here. （1） Fertilizer consumption in China grew strongly in the last decade, while the growth was mainly attributable to the increase of fertilizer consumption by horticultural crops. The fertilizer consumption of grain crops dropped from 71.0% in 1998 to 57.8% in 2008. Thus, it is concluded that the emphasis of fertilizer consumption is shifting toward horticultural crops. （2） There were marked differences in the growth rates of fertilizer consumption from the regional point of view. The national average growth rate of fertilizer consumption was 31.9% during 1998-2008. The western and northeastern parts of the country came close to the national average, while the eastern part was lower, with an average of 13.0%, and central China was much higher （50.8%）. The increase of fertilizer consumption in central and west China was higher than the other zones, which already accounted for 77.9% of the national total. Thus, it is concluded that the consumption emphasis of chemical fertilizer shifts toward the central and western regions. （3） The decline of fertilizer consumption by grain crops was largely due to the decrease in sown area compared with the increase by vegetable crops attributable to the enlarging sown area; the increase by orchard crops was affected by both expanding the sown area and fertilizer use per unit area.

Regional variation in routes to diagnosis of cholangiocarcinoma in England from 2006 to 2017

BACKGROUND Incidence of cholangiocarcinoma(CCA)is rising,with overall prognosis remaining very poor.Reasons for the high mortality of CCA include its late presentation in most patients,when curative options are no longer feasible,and poor response to systemic therapies for advanced disease.Late presentation presents a large barrier to improving outcomes and is often associated with diagnosis via mergency presentation(EP).Earlier diagnoses may be made by Two Week Wait(TWW)referrals through General practitioner(GP).We hypothesise that TWW referrals and EP routes to diagnosis differ across regions in England.AIM To investigate routes to diagnosis of CCA over time,regional variation and influencing factors.METHODS We linked patient records from the National Cancer Registration Dataset to Hospital Episode Statistics,Cancer Waiting Times and Cancer Screening Programme datasets to define routes to diagnosis and certain patient characteristics for patients diagnosed 2006-2017 in England.We used linear probability models to investigate geographic variation by assessing the proportions of patients diagnosed via TWW referral or EP across Cancer Alliances in England,adjusting for potential confounders.Correlation between the proportion of people diagnosed by TWW referral and EP was investigated with Spearman’s correlation coefficient.RESULTS Of 23632 patients diagnosed between 2006-2017 in England,the most common route to diagnosis was EP(49.6%).Non-TWW GP referrals accounted for 20.5%of diagnosis routes,13.8%were diagnosed by TWW referral,and the remainder 16.2%were diagnosed via an‘other’or Unknown route.The proportion diagnosed via a TWW referral doubled between 2006-2017 rising from 9.9%to 19.8%,conversely EP diagnosis route declined,falling from 51.3%to 46.0%.Statistically significant variation in both the TWW referral and EP proportions was found across Cancer Alliances.Age,presence of comorbidity and underlying liver disease were independently associated with both a lower proportion of patients diagnosed via TWW referral,and a higher proportion diagnosed by EP after adjusting for other potential confounders.CONCLUSION There is significant geographic and socio-demographic variation in routes to diagnosis of CCA in England.Knowledge sharing of best practice may improve diagnostic pathways and reduce unwarranted variation.

Regional variation of pediatric inflammatory bowel disease in Saudi Arabia: Results from a multicenter study

BACKGROUND Incidence and severity variations of inflammatory bowel disease(IBD)have been reported from Western populations between continents and regions of the same countries.However,no data were available from other countries.AIM To investigate the regional differences in the IBD profiles of pediatric patients from the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.METHODS Data from a national multicenter IBD study were used.The incidence,time trend,and clinical presentation of Crohn’s disease(CD)and ulcerative colitis(UC)in the Central region(CR),Western region(WR),and Eastern region(ER)were analyzed and compared.Statistical analysis included Poisson regression analysis for incidence variation and Chi-square test for demographic and clinical parameters.A P<0.05 was considered significant.RESULTS The prevalence of positive family history was lower in children with CD from the ER than the CR or the WR.Consanguinity rate was higher in children with CD and UC from the CR and the ER,respectively.The incidences and time trends of CD and UC were not significantly different between regions.In the ER,a significantly higher percentage of children with CD presented with abdominal pain(P<0.001),blood in stools(P=0.048),stricturing or penetrating disease(P=0.029),higher erythrocyte sedimentation rate(P<0.001),higher C-reactive protein(P<0.001),higher anemia(P=0.017),and lower albumin level(P=0.014).For children with UC from the ER,a significantly higher percentage presented with anemia(P=0.006)and a lower percentage with pancolitis(P<0.001).CONCLUSION The most important finding is the identification of significantly more severe presentation of CD in the ER of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.Prospective studies are needed to explain such variations.

Winter sea ice albedo variations in the Bohai Sea of China

Sea ice conditions in the Bohai Sea of China are sensitive to large-scale climatic variations. On the basis of CLARA-A1-SAL data, the albedo variations are examined in space and time in the winter（December, January and February） from 1992 to 2008 in the Bohai Sea sea ice region. Time series data of the sea ice concentration（SIC）, the sea ice extent（SIE） and the sea surface temperature（SST） are used to analyze their relationship with the albedo. The sea ice albedo changed in volatility appears along with time, the trend is not obvious and increases very slightly during the study period at a rate of 0.388% per decade over the Bohai Sea sea ice region.The interannual variation is between 9.93% and 14.50%, and the average albedo is 11.79%. The sea ice albedo in years with heavy sea ice coverage, 1999, 2000 and 2005, is significantly higher than that in other years; in years with light sea ice coverage, 1994, 1998, 2001 and 2006, has low values. For the monthly albedo, the increasing trend（at a rate of 0.988% per decade） in December is distinctly higher than that in January and February. The mean albedo in January（12.90%） is also distinctly higher than that in the other two months. The albedo is significantly positively correlated with the SIC and is significantly negatively correlated with the SST（significance level 90%）.

Influence of Geographical Regions on Catechin and Caffeine Levels in Tea (Camellia sinensis)

This study aimed at investigating the influence of different growing conditions in two regions, Timbilil and Kangaita, on the levels of catechins and caffeine. Fresh leaf samples of 60 clones cultivated in both sites were obtained, processed and assayed for levels of caffeine, total and individual catechins using Reverse Phase High Performance Liquid Chromatography (RP-HPLC). The obtained data was subjected to analysis of variance using GENSTAT-C statistical software. Safe for a few clones in the Kangaita site had significantly higher total and individual catechins than those grown in the Timbilil site. A mean epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) content of 7.9% was observed for Kangaita clones compared to 6.7% in Timbilil. A similar trend was observed for the rest of the individual catechin fractions with a mean epicatechin gallate (ECG) of 3.3% in Kangaita and 2.5% in Timbilil, a mean epigallocatechin (EGC) of 5.2% in Kangaita compared to 5.0% in Timbilil and a mean epicatechin (EC) content of 1.5% in Kangaita compared to 1.4% in Timbilil. Similarly in the total catechins analyses, clones in Kangaita had a mean value of 18.7% compared to 16.2% observed for the Timbilil site clones. However, the Timbilil site clones had significantly high caffeine contents (mean, 4.2%) compared to the Kangaita site clones (mean, 3.9%) although with a few exceptions. Significant interactions (P < 0.05) between clone and region are also observed, suggesting that levels of these biomolecules are bound to differ with the growing region but the extent of variation will vary depending on the clonal genotype. The observed differences in levels of these biologically important biomolecules among the two regions shows the importance of the underlying conditions on the production of tea.

Dynamic change of desertified land in each county around Qinghai Lake in recent 30 years

Desertification is one of the most serious eco-environmental problems around Qinghai Lake.Based on GIS and RS,GIS analysis was used to obtain the information of spatial-temporal change and different pattern of desertification in each county around Qinghai Lake in four phases of1976,1987,1995 and 2006.Using the function of intersect and overlay supported by ARCGIS,with analyzing attributes of vector RS images,we obtained transition data and established transfer matrix of land-use types in recent 30 years,besides,protracted land-use transition maps of all desertification classes.In further,we analyzed transition quantity and direction of desertification in each county,moreover,reconstructed the process of spatial-temporal evolution of desertification.The results are showed below:(1)it's the transition between desertified land and others but not in the desertified that played the main role in Gangcha and Gonghe County,while the transfer between desertified lands were greater than that with other land-use types in Haiyan County.(2)Extremely severe desertified land mainly distributes in Ketu and Sand Islands that belongs to Haiyan County,and moderate desertified land in riversides of Gangcha County,also,the light desertification expanded too rapidly to become the most desertified land-use type in the surrounding of Qinghai Lake since 1976.(3)By using relative change rate of desertified land,the regional variability rank from top to toe was Gangcha,Haiyan and Gonghe.

Comment on “The diurnal variation pattern of choroidal thickness in macular region of young healthy female individuals using spectral domain optical coherence tomography”

Dear Editor,We have read and reviewed the article entitled＂The diurnal variation pattern of choroidal thickness in macular region of young healthy female individuals using spectral domain optical coherence tomography＂by Zhao et al^（[1]）with great interest.

中国急性冠状动脉综合征患者治疗和预后的地区差异:来自国家胸痛中心的证据

Regional variations in acute coronary syndrome(ACS) management and outcomes have been an enormous public health issue. However, studies have yet to explore how to reduce the variations. The National Chest Pain Center Program(NCPCP) is the first nationwide, hospital-based, comprehensive, continuous quality improvement program for improving the quality of care in patients with ACS in China. We evaluated the association of NCPCP and regional variations in ACS healthcare using generalized linear mixed models and interaction analysis. Patients in the Western region had longer onset-to-first medical contact(FMC) time and time stay in non-percutaneous coronary intervention(PCI) hospitals, lower rates of PCI for ST-elevation myocardial infarction(STEMI) patients, and higher rates of medication usage.Patients in Central regions had relatively lower in-hospital mortality and in-hospital heart failure rates.Differences in the door-to-balloon time(Dto B) and in-hospital mortality between Western and Eastern regions were less after accreditation(β =-8.82, 95% confidence interval(CI)-14.61 to-3.03;OR = 0.79, 95%CI 0.70 to 0.91). Similar results were found in differences in Dto B time, primary PCI rate for STEMI between Central and Eastern regions. The differences in PCI for higher-risk non-ST-segment elevation acute coronary syndrome(NSTE-ACS) patients among different regions had been smaller.Additionally, the differences in medication use between Eastern and Western regions were higher after accreditation. Regional variations remained high in this large cohort of patients with ACS from hospitals participating in the NCPCP in China. More comprehensive interventions and hospital internal system optimizations are needed to further reduce regional variations in the management and outcomes of patients with ACS.

Determinants of Self-employment in China:Evidence from Cross-regional Data

This paper presents and tests a series of sources of regional variations in self-employment rate in China in the 2000s, and illustrates that the stage of economic development is a major explanation for the variations of self-employment rate across regions over the past decade. The negative relationship between the stage of economic development and self-employment rate identified in the paper indicates that China has entered the process offast industrialization, and self-employment is playing a diminishing role in economic growth and employment. We also find a substitution effect between self-employment and private enterprises. While both are important components of China ＇s private sector, private enterprises are becoming an increasingly important source of China＇s economic growth and employment. Furthermore, our findings also imply that when job opportunities are limited, self-employment in China is likely a forced choice of disadvantaged people who are not qualified for wage jobs.

Size-resolved aerosol water-soluble ions at a regional background station of Beijing, Tianjin, and Hebei, North China

The characteristics of water-soluble ions in size-resolved particulate matter were investigated usingion chromatography at Shangdianzi, a regional background station of Beijing, Tianjin, and Hebei. Seasonal total concentrations of ions （Na＋, Mg2＋, IC, Ca2＋, NH＋4, Cl-, SO2-4 and NO-3） were 75.5 ± 52.9 μg/m3 in spring, 26.5 ± 12.3 Bg/m3 in summer, 22.7 ± 20.4 μg/m3 in autumn, and 31.1 ± 23.9 μg/m3 in winter, respectively. The secondary ions （NO3, SO2-4 and NH＋4）, mainly associated with fine particles, accounted for 84.2% in spring, 82.1% in summer, 81.5% in autumn and 76.3% in winter of all ions. Strong correlations were found between NH＋4 and SO2-4 （r = 0.95, p 〈 0.01） as well as NH＋4 and NO-3 （r = 0.90, p 〈 0.01） in fine particles; while in coarse particles, correlations between Mg2＋ and NO-3 （r = 0.80, p 〈 0.01）, and Ca2＋ and NO2＋ （r = 0.85, p 〈 0.01） were found. The concentrations of Na＋, IC, Mg2＋, Ca2＋, NH＋4, Cl-, NO3, and SC2-4 were 2.02, 0.81, 0.36, 1.65, 9.58, 4.01, 18.9, and 18.4 μg/m3 in particulate matter from southeast-derived air masses, which were typically 1.58-3.37 times higher than in northwest trajectories. Thus, concentrations of water-soluble ions at this background station were heavily influenced by regional transport of serious pollution derived from biomass burning, coal combustion, industrial and vehicle exhaust emissions from Beijing, Tianjin, and Hebei.

The spatio-temporal variations of frost-free period in China from 1951 to 2012

The frost-free period（FFP）first frost date（FFD） and last frost date（LFD） have been regard as the important climate variables for agricultural production. Understanding the spatio-temporal variations of the FFPFFD and LFD is beneficial to reduce the harmful impacts of climate change on agricultural production and enhance the agricultural adaptation. This study examined daily minimum temperatures for 823 national-level meteorological stationscalculated the values of FFDLFD and FFP for station-specific and region-specific from 1951 to 2012estimated the gradients of linear regression for station-specific moving averages of FFDLFD and FFPand assessed station-specific time series of FFP and detected the abrupt change. The results as follows： at both the station level and the regional levelthe FFP across China decreases with the increase of latitude from south to northand with the increase of altitude from east to west generally. At the station levelthe inter-annual fluctuations of FFDLFD and FFP in south and west agricultural regions are greater than those in north and east. At the regional levelexcluding the QT regiontemporal changes of FFP are relatively small in both the low-latitude and the high-latitude regionsbut for the mid-latitude regions. According to the linear trend gradients of the moving average values of station-specific FFDLFD and FFPFFD was delayedLFD advancedand FFP extended gradually over the 80% of China. Furthermorethe change magnitudes for FFDLFD and FFP in the north and east agricultural regions are higher than that in the southern and western. Among the 659 station-specific time series of FFP examined by the Mann-Kendall test341 stationslocated mainly in the north regionhave one identifiable and significant abrupt change. And at the 341 stations with identified abrupt changesmost（57%） abrupt changes occurred during 1991–2012followed by the periods of 1981–1990（28%）1971–1980（12%）and 1951–1970（3%）. The spatio-temporal variations of FFDLFD and FFP would provide important guidance to agricultural practices.

Bearing Fault Numerical Model for the Closed-slot Rotor Submersible Motor

A numerical model of the bearing fault of a motor with a closed-slot rotor using the finite element method(FEM)is proposed.The rotor’s radial motion can be regarded as static eccentric at the defect time points and healthy at other time points.The frequency of the harmonic component is analyzed corresponding to bearing fault in stator current according to the radial movement of the motor shaft.Moreover,the relative permeability variation region is established to achieve the radial motion of the rotor with bearing fault.Firstly,the relative permeability variation region is established in the health and static eccentric models.Then,the defect time points are estimated and the static eccentricity model by transient field is analyzed.Finally,the relative permeability of the variable region in the static eccentric model is imported into the variable region of the health model at the defect time points.The simulation results show that the air gap flux density of the bearing fault model is different from that of the health model and static eccentric models.In addition,the stator current contains harmonic components of the bearing fault.The analysis results prove the applicability of the proposed model.

基于洪水行为聚类的淮河流域洪水事件时空演变特征探讨

Flood is one of the severest natural disasters in the world and has caused enormous causalities and property losses.Previous studies usually focus on flood magnitude and occurrence time at event scale,which are insufficient to contain entire behavior characteristics of flood events.In our study,nine behavior metrics in five categories(e.g.,magnitude,duration,timing,rates of changes and variability)are adopted to fully describe a flood event.Regional and interannual variations of representative flood classes are investigated based on behavior similarity classification of numerous events.Contributions of geography,land use,hydrometeorology and human regulation on these variations are explored by rank analysis method.Results show that:five representative classes are identified,namely,conventional events(Class 1,61.7% of the total),low discharge events with multiple peaks(Class 2,5.3%),low discharge events with low rates of changes(Class 3,18.1%),low discharge events with high rates of changes(Class 4,10.8%)and high discharge events with long durations(Class 5,4.1%).Classes 1 and 3 are the major flood events and distributed across the whole region.Class 4 is mainly distributed in river sources,while Classes 2 and 5 are in the middle and down streams.Moreover,the flood class is most diverse in normal precipitation years(2006,2008-2010 and 2015),followed by wet years(2007,2013-2014),and dry years(2011 and 2012).All the impact factor categories explain 34.0%-84.1% of individual flood class variations.The hydrometeorological category(7.2%-56.9%)is the most important,followed by geographical(1.0%-6.3%),regulation(1.7%-5.1%)and land use(0.9%-2.2%)categories.This study could provide new insights into flood event variations in a comprehensive manner,and provide decision-making basis for flood control and resource utilization at basin scale.

Energy-efficient Bio-inspired Gait Planning and Control for Biped Robot Based on Human Locomotion Analysis

In this paper an experiment of human locomotion was carried out using a motion capture system to extract the human gait features. The modifiable key gait parameters affecting the dominant performance of biped robot walking were obtained from the extracted human gait features. Based on the modifiable key gait parameters and the Allowable Zero Moment Point （ZMP） Variation Region （AZR）, we proposed an effective Bio-inspired Gait Planning （BGP） and control scheme for biped robot to- wards a given travel distance D. First, we construct an on-line Bio-inspired Gait Synthesis algorithm （BGSN） to generate a complete walking gait motion using the modifiable key gait parameters. Second, a Bio-inspired Gait Parameters Optimization algorithm （BGPO） is established to minimize the energy consumption of all actuators and guarantee biped robot walking with certain walking stability margin. Third, the necessary controllers for biped robot were introduced in briefly. Simulation and experiment results demonstrated the effectiveness of the proposed method, and the gait control system was implemented on DRC-XT humanoid robot.

Strong variation in frequencies of male and female determiners between neighboring housefly populations

Sex-determination mechanisms evolve rapidly and vary between species.Occasionally,polymorphic systems are found,like in the housefly.Studying the dynamics and stability of such systems can provide a better understanding of the evolution of sex-determination systems.In the housefly,dominant male-determining loci(M)can lie not only on the Y chromosome(M^(Y)),but also on autosomes(M^(A))or the X chromosome(M^(X)).M enforces male development by inhibiting the female-determining gene transformer(tra).A mutant tra allele,tra^(D),is insensitive to M and is a dominant female determiner.M^(Y) prevails at high latitudes and polymorphic M loci together with tra^(D) at low latitudes.To get more insight into the stability and frequencies of these sex determiners with mutually exclusive dominance,we investigated 5 regional Spanish populations.We found strong variation among populations.Two populations with hemizygous M^(III) were found,2 contained homozygous M^(X) with additional hemizygous MI and M^(II) in 1 population.One population contained homozygous and hemizygous M^(X) with additionally hemizygous M^(II).All females in populations with homozygous M,had tra^(D),whereas no tra^(D) was found in populations without homozygous M.Our results indicate locally stable systems may either harbor a single hemizygous M and no tra^(D),corresponding to a male heterogametic system,or homozygous and/or multiple M and heterozygous tra^(D),reminiscent of a female heterogametic system.They support that M loci can accumulate in the presence of a dominant female determiner.Limited migration between populations may contribute to the stability of these systems.