River terraces serve as excellent indicators of the landform evolution of the Guizhou Plateau. This paper presents the results of terrace investigation and optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating focused on five sections along the Liujiang River of the southeastern Guizhou Plateau. The OSL ages of the terraces range from 0.21 ± 0.02 to 16.0 ± 1.4 ka for the first terraces (T1) and from 3.5 ± 0.3 to 26.5 ± 3.3 ka for the second terraces (T2), which are much younger than those of other basins on the Guizhou Plateau. These ages, considered in tandem with the results of previous investigations, enhance our understanding of the fluvial landform evolution of the Guizhou Plateau since the Late Pleistocene. On the Guizhou Plateau platform, terraces are considered to be the response of river evolution to tectonic uplift, indicating a relatively slow geomorphic process. In the slope zone, climate change has had a significant impact on the fluvial landform processes, driving the formation of the younger terraces along the Liujiang River. In the platform–slope transition zone, the evolution of terraces was driven by both tectonic uplift and climate change, where the landform processes were dominated by strong headward erosion.

Machine learning methods have been used in identifying omics markers for a variety of phenotypes. We aimed to examine whether a supervised machine learning algorithm can improve identification of alcohol-associated transcriptomic markers. In this study, we analysed array-based, whole-blood derived expression data for 17 873 gene transcripts in 5508 Framingham Heart Study participants. By using the Boruta algorithm, a supervised random forest (RF)-based feature selection method, we selected twenty-five alcohol-associated transcripts. In a testing set (30 % of entire study participants), AUC (area under the receiver operating characteristics curve) of these twenty-five transcripts were 0·73, 0·69 and 0·66 for non-drinkers v. moderate drinkers, non-drinkers v. heavy drinkers and moderate drinkers v. heavy drinkers, respectively. The AUC of the selected transcripts by the Boruta method were comparable to those identified using conventional linear regression models, for example, AUC of 1958 transcripts identified by conventional linear regression models (false discovery rate < 0·2) were 0·74, 0·66 and 0·65, respectively. With Bonferroni correction for the twenty-five Boruta method-selected transcripts and three CVD risk factors (i.e. at P < 6·7e-4), we observed thirteen transcripts were associated with obesity, three transcripts with type 2 diabetes and one transcript with hypertension. For example, we observed that alcohol consumption was inversely associated with the expression of DOCK4, IL4R, and SORT1, and DOCK4 and SORT1 were positively associated with obesity, and IL4R was inversely associated with hypertension. In conclusion, using a supervised machine learning method, the RF-based Boruta algorithm, we identified novel alcohol-associated gene transcripts.

A growing body of literature explores the effect of higher education on the urban–rural divide in China. Despite an increasing number of rural students gaining access to college, little is known about their performance in college or their job prospects after graduation. Using nationally representative data from over 40,000 urban and rural college students, we examine rural students’ college performance and estimate the impact of rural status on students’ first job wages in comparison to their urban peers. Our results indicate that once accepted into college, rural students perform equally as well, if not better, than their urban counterparts. Additionally, we discovered that rural students earn a 6.2 per cent wage premium compared to their urban counterparts in their first job after graduation. Our findings suggest the importance of expanding access to higher education for rural students, as it appears to serve as an equalizer between urban and rural students despite their significantly different backgrounds.

In the current study, cryoconite samples were collected from six glaciers on the Tibetan Plateau to analyze n-alkanes and n-alkenes. The findings revealed that the concentrations of n-alkanes and n-alkenes varied from 40.1 to 496.1 μg g−1 and from 4.6 to 13.8 μg g−1, respectively. The carbon preference index of the long-chain n-alkanes ranged from 3.3 to 8.4, and the average chain length ranged from 28.7 to 29.3. Moreover, the δ13C of the n-alkanes in cryoconites were within the range of C3 plants, demonstrating that the n-alkanes in cryoconites were only derived from vascular plants. However, the δDmean were more negative than that of C3 plants, which could be caused by dry and humid conditions of glaciers. Unlike n-alkanes, n-alkenes ranged from C17:1 to C30:1 and showed a weak even-over-odd carbon number preference in the Dongkemadi, Yuzhufeng, Laohugou and Tianshan glacier, but a weak odd carbon preference in the Qiyi glacier. The n-alkenes in the YL Snow Mountains showed an obvious odd-over-even carbon number predominance from C17:1 to C22:1 with Cmax at C19:1, and the even-over-odd carbon number preference from C23:1 to C30:1 with Cmax at C28:1. This demonstrated that the n-alkenes of cryoconites may be mainly derived from in situ production in glaciers.

Microplastics (MPs) are carbon-rich polymers that are ubiquitous in the environment. With the increase of plastic production, microplastic pollution may be exacerbated and result in significant changes in microbial communities and biogeochemical processes such as carbon cycling, eventually impacting greenhouse gas emission and carbon storage in terrestrial ecosystems. However, current research on the effect of MPs on soil carbon cycling is still limited, and there is a lack of systematic review of the scattered information obtained from previous studies. Accordingly, this review provides a systematic overview of the current knowledge on the effects of MPs on soil carbon cycling and gives future research suggestions. Emerging evidence indicates that MPs could affect soil carbon stability and CO2 and CH4 emission by modifying soil physicochemical and microbiological properties; though biodegradable MPs often exhibit a greater effect than nonbiodegradable ones, the specific effects are highly dependent on plastic type, size and concentration. The specific mechanisms of MPs’ impact on soil carbon cycles remain elusive, which are discussed mainly from the perspective of microbial changes, including microbial biomass, microbial community composition, and key enzymes and functional genes associated with carbon metabolism. Further research is needed to elucidate whether MPs have a positive priming effect on soil carbon decomposition and the biotic and abiotic mechanisms involved. This review paper helps researchers gain a clearer picture of how and through which way MPs impact carbon cycling in soil ecosystems.

Melting and calving of glaciers and ice caps in Antarctica and Greenland could potentially contribute significantly to global sea level rise. Updates to existing outlines that provide critical glacier baseline information in both regions could help in the analysis of particular changes in glacier parameters such as area and volume from time-series inventories. Here we synthesize previously established techniques and apply new multi-source datasets to update glacier outlines in selected test areas of Antarctica and Greenland, as well as to reduce uncertainties and errors during the mapping process. The workflow includes mapping glacier boundaries, subdividing glaciers by watersheds and assigning glacier attributes. Complicated glacier scenarios and updating challenges in polar regions are discussed and demonstrated by representative case studies. For the first time in Antarctica, we analyze the effect of terminus types on mapped glacier areas, and in Greenland we compare the differences with glacier mapping results using Landsat OLI and ETM+. With new data sources, the methods described in this study might help to create glacier outlines on a larger scale in Antarctica and Greenland. Although data sources can be substituted, the enormous amount of manual labor required to update glacier inventories remains a significant challenge.

The COVID-19 pandemic led to an initial increase in the incidence of carbapenem-resistant Enterobacterales (CRE) from clinical cultures in South-East Asia hospitals, which was unsustained as the pandemic progressed. Conversely, there was a decrease in CRE incidence from surveillance cultures and overall combined incidence. Further studies are needed for future pandemic preparedness.

In this work, a confined-doped fiber with the core/inner-cladding diameter of 40/250 μm and a relative doping ratio of 0.75 is fabricated through a modified chemical vapor deposition method combined with the chelate gas deposition technique, and subsequently applied in a tandem-pumped fiber amplifier for high-power operation and transverse mode instability (TMI) mitigation. Notably, the impacts of the seed laser power and mode purity are preliminarily investigated through comparative experiments. It is found that the TMI threshold could be significantly affected by the seed laser mode purity. The possible mechanism behind this phenomenon is proposed and revealed through comprehensive comparative experiments and theoretical analysis. Finally, a maximum output power of 7.49 kW is obtained with the beam quality factor of approximately 1.83, which is the highest output power ever reported in a forward tandem-pumped confined-doped fiber amplifier. This work could provide a good reference and practical solution to improve the TMI threshold and realize high-power high-brightness fiber lasers.

The sequential occurrence of three layers of smooth muscle layers (SML) in human embryos and fetus is not known. Here, we investigated the process of gut SML development in human embryos and fetuses and compared the morphology of SML in fetuses and neonates. The H&E, Masson trichrome staining, and Immunohistochemistry were conducted on 6–12 gestation week human embryos and fetuses and on normal neonatal intestine. We showed that no lumen was seen in 6–7th gestation week embryonic gut, neither gut wall nor SML was developed in this period. In 8–9th gestation week embryonic and fetal gut, primitive inner circular SML (IC-SML) was identified in a narrow and discontinuous gut lumen with some vacuoles. In 10th gestation week fetal gut, the outer longitudinal SML (OL-SML) in gut wall was clearly identifiable, both the inner and outer SML expressed α-SMA. In 11–12th gestation week fetal gut, in addition to the IC-SML and OL-SML, the muscularis mucosae started to develop as revealed by α-SMA immune-reactivity beneath the developing mucosal epithelial layer. Comparing with the gut of fetuses of 11–12th week of gestation, the muscularis mucosae, IC-SML, and OL-SML of neonatal intestine displayed different morphology, including branching into glands of lamina propria in mucosa and increased thickness. In conclusions, in the human developing gut between week-8 to week-12 of gestation, the IC-SML develops and forms at week-8, followed by the formation of OL-SML at week-10, and the muscularis mucosae develops and forms last at week-12.

The study investigated the strategies used by Chinese students in inferring meanings of unfamiliar words and the influential factors of successful use of different lexical inferencing strategies. A total of 104 fourth graders inferred 36 unfamiliar semitransparent compound words in three conditions: word in isolation, contextual information only, and both word and context. Results revealed that students were more likely to obtain the correct meaning of words when both morphological information and contextual information were available. The likelihood of using a morpheme-based or context-based lexical inferencing strategy was strongly influenced by the presentation condition of target words and precursors. Students with higher vocabulary knowledge and reading comprehension ability were more sensitive to morphological and contextual information and were able to synthesize multiple sources of information, whereas children with lower vocabulary knowledge and reading comprehension ability showed difficulties in integration and tended to overly rely on morphological information. The findings reveal the interactions between available source information and individual differences in vocabulary knowledge and reading comprehension in predicting lexical inferencing and have implications for vocabulary and reading instruction.

The horse played a crucial role in China through the first millennium BC, used both for military advantage and, through incorporation into elite burials, to express social status. Details of how horses were integrated into mortuary contexts during the Qin Empire, however, are poorly understood. Here, the authors present new zooarchaeological data for 24 horses from an accessory pit in Qin Shihuang's mausoleum, indicating that the horses chosen were tall, adult males. These findings provide insights into the selection criteria for animals to be included in the emperor's tomb and invite consideration of questions concerning horse breeds, husbandry practices, and the military and symbolic importance of horses in early imperial China.

In the past 10–15 years, the government of China has made various efforts in tackling excessive antibiotics use. Yet, little is known about their effects at rural primary care settings. This study aimed to determine the impact of government policies and the COVID-19 pandemic on antibiotic prescribing practices at such settings utilizing data from separate studies carried out pre- and during the pandemic, in 2016 and 2021 in Anhui province, China, using identical sampling and survey approaches. Data on antibiotics prescribed, diagnosis, socio-demographic, etc., were obtained through non-participative observation and a structured exit survey. Data analysis comprised mainly descriptive comparisons of 1153 and 762 patients with respiratory infections recruited in 2016 and 2021, respectively. The overall antibiotics prescription rate decreased from 89.6% in 2016 to 69.1% in 2021, and the proportion of prescriptions for two or more classes of antibiotics was estimated as 35.9% in 2016 and 11.0% in 2021. There was a statistically significant decrease in the number of days from symptom onset to clinic visits between the year groups. In conclusion, measures to constrain excessive prescription of antibiotics have led to some improvements at the rural primary care level, and the COVID-19 pandemic has had varying effects on antibiotic use.

Jinghu is the lead accompaniment instrument in the Peking opera ensemble. Qinshi are the accompanists who play jinghu. Traditionally, jinghu was regarded as a male instrument; female qinshi first appeared in educational institutions subsidised by the People’s Republic of China in the 1950s. Nevertheless, till now, the-all-male jinghu performance history and standards influenced by the virile ethos have deeply influenced contemporary female qinshi’s performances and recognition of their musicality and contributions to jinghu performance. In this article, I explore the rise of female qinshi, their challenges to jinghu performance conventions, and their contributions to contemporary jinghu performance.

We aim to examine the relation of several folate forms (5-methyltetrahydrofolate (5-mTHF), unmetabolised folic acid (UMFA) and MeFox) with kidney function and albuminuria, which remained uncertain. The cross-sectional study was conducted in 18 757 participants from National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2011–2018. The kidney outcomes were reduced estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) (<60 ml/min/1·73 m2), microalbuminuria (albumin:creatinine ratio (ACR) of 30–299 mg/g) and macroalbuminuria (ACR ≥ 300 mg/g). Overall, there were significant inverse associations between serum 5-mTHF and kidney outcomes with significant lower prevalence of reduced eGFR (OR, 0·71; 95 % CI: 0·57, 0·87) and macroalbuminuria (OR, 0·65; 95 % CI: 0·46, 0·91) in participants in quartiles 3–4 (v. quartiles 1–2; both Pfor trend across quartiles <0·05). In contrast, there were significant positive relationship between serum UMFA and kidney outcomes with significant higher prevalence of reduced eGFR in participants in quartiles 2–4 (v. quartile 1; OR, 2·12; 95 % CI: 1·45, 3·12; Pfor trend <0·001) and higher prevalence of macroalbuminuria in participants in quartile 4 (v. quartiles 1–3; OR, 1·46; 95 % CI: 1·06, 2·01; Pfor trend <0·001). However, there was no significant associations of 5-mTHF and UMFA with microalbuminuria. In addition, there were significant positive relationships of serum MeFox with reduced eGFR, microalbuminuria and macroalbuminuria (all Pfor trend <0·01). In conclusion, higher 5-mTHF level, along with lower UMFA and MeFox level, was associated with lower prevalence of kidney outcomes, which may help counsel future clinical trials and nutritional guidelines regarding the folate supplement.