Modeling and assessing the impacts of climate change on groundwater recharge in endorheic basins of Northwest China.

Climate change imposing additional stressors on groundwater resources globally, thereby predicting groundwater recharge (GR) changes is crucial to sustainably managing water resources, especially in the arid endorheic basins. Groundwater in the Endorheic Basins of Northwest China (NWEB) is potentially impacting regional socio-economic output and ecosystem stability due to the imbalance between supply and extraction exacerbated by climate change. Hence, recognizing the impacts of climate change on past and future GR is imperative for groundwater supply and sustainable groundwater management in the NWEB. Here, the impact of historical (1971-2020) and projected (2021-2100) climate changes on GR across the entire NWEB and three distinctive landscape regions (i.e., mountainous, oasis, and desert) were assessed. A coupled distributed hydrologic model (CWatM-HBV model), which integrates the Community Water Model (CWatM) and the HBV model, was run with three shared socioeconomic pathways (SSP1-2.6, SSP2-4.5, and SSP3-7.0) forcing from 10 general circulation models (GCMs) to simulate and analyze the interannual and seasonal variations of GR, along with their driving factors. Over the past 50 years, both precipitation and runoff have undergone significant increases, and leading to a dramatic rise in GR (0.09 mm yr-1). The future annual growth rate of GR is projected to range from 0.01 to 0.09 mm yr-1 from SSP1-2.6 to SSP3-7.0 across the entire NWEB, with the majority of the increase expected during the spring and summer seasons, driven by enhanced precipitation. GR from the mountainous region is the primary source (accounting for approximately 56-59 %) throughout the NWEB with the greatest increase anticipated. Precipitation and runoff have significant influences on GR in mountainous areas, and the impact of precipitation on GR is expected to increase over time. Changes in GR in oasis and desert areas are mainly limited by precipitation variation and increase in the SSP2-4.5 and SSP3-7.0 scenario. Additionally, the processes of glacial retreat and permafrost degradation will complicate the GR dynamics although the process is largely interfered with by anthropogenic environmental changes, especially in oasis-desert systems. The average annual recharge in the NWEB was 8.9 mm in the historical period and 13.6 ± 4.1 mm in the future. Despite an increase in GR due to climate change, groundwater storage is likely to continue to decline due to complex water demands in the NWEB. This study highlights the significance of future precipitation changes for GR and contributes to the understanding of the influence of climate change on groundwater systems and advances the sustainable management of water resources.

Spatiotemporal variability and controlling factors of groundwater depletion in endorheic basins of Northwest China.

Recent global groundwater overpumping is threatening ecosystem stability and food security, particularly in arid basins. A solid investigation regarding the drivers of groundwater depletion is vital for groundwater restoration, hitherto, yet it remains largely unquantified. Here, a framework to quantify the contribution of natural forcing (NF) and anthropogenic perturbations (AP) to groundwater storage anomalies (GWSA) variability by separating the GWSA estimated by the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) satellite into natural- and human-induced GWSA was proposed in the northwest endorheic basin (NWEB) of China. Further, a multiple linear regression model was established for GWSA change prediction. Our results showed that, during the period 2003-2020, the GWSA depleted at a rate of 0.25 cm yr-1 in the entire NWEB. In addition, GWSA was found to decrease significantly (exceeding 1 cm yr-1) in the west of NWEB where there are heavily irrigated areas, and has become one of the regions with the most serious groundwater depletion in China. Whereas a significantly increasing trend (greater than 0.5 cm yr-1) was observed in the Qaidam basin and south part of the Tarim River basin, becoming a groundwater enrichment reservoir in NWEB. The negative contribution of AP to groundwater depletion has increased from 3% to 95% in the last decade, as determined by separating the effects of NF and AP on GWSA. The rapid expansion of the cropland area and the increase in water use due to population growth are investigated to be the main reasons for GWSA depletion, particularly in the North Tianshan Rivers, Turpan-Hami, and Tarim River basins. Therefore, we conclude that AP are dominating and accelerating groundwater depletion in the NWEB. The increase of GWSA in the Qaidam basin has been attributed to the increase in solid water melt and regional precipitation. The western route project of China's south-north water diversion and water-saving irrigation are important ways to solve the problem of groundwater depletion in NWEB. Our results emphasize that a more feasible framework capable of reliably identifying the driving factors of groundwater storage change is a necessary tool for promoting the sustainable management of groundwater resources under both NF and AP in arid endorheic basins.

Precipitation changes and its interaction with terrestrial water storage determine water yield variability in the world's water towers.

Previous studies have quantified the contributions of climate factors, vegetation, and terrestrial water storage change, and their interaction effects on hydrological process variation within the Budyko framework; however, further decomposition of the contributions of water storage change has not been systematically investigated. Therefore, focusing on the 76 water tower units of the world, the annual water yield variance was first examined, followed by the contributions of changes in climate, water storage change, and vegetation, as well as their interaction effects on water yield variance; finally, the contribution of water storage change on water yield variance was further decomposed into the effect of changes in groundwater, snow water, and soil water. The results showed that large variability exists in the annual water yield with standard deviations ranging from to 10-368 mm in water towers globally. The water yield variability was primarily controlled by the precipitation variance and its interacted effect with water storage change, with the mean contributions of 60 % and 22 %, respectively. Among the three components of water storage change, the variance in groundwater change had the largest effect on water yield variability (7 %). The improved method helps separate the contribution of water storage components to hydrological processes, and our results highlight that water storage changes should be considered for sustainable water resource management in water-tower regions.

Clonal Dissemination of Antifungal-Resistant Candida haemulonii, China.

Candida haemulonii, a relative of C. auris, frequently shows antifungal resistance and is transmissible. However, molecular tools for genotyping and investigating outbreaks are not yet established. We performed genome-based population analysis on 94 C. haemulonii strains, including 58 isolates from China and 36 other published strains. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that C. haemulonii can be divided into 4 clades. Clade 1 comprised strains from China and other global strains; clades 2-4 contained only isolates from China, were more recently evolved, and showed higher antifungal resistance. Four regional epidemic clusters (A, B, C, and D) were identified in China, each comprising ≥5 cases (largest intracluster pairwise single-nucleotide polymorphism differences <50 bp). Cluster A was identified in 2 hospitals located in the same city, suggesting potential intracity transmissions. Cluster D was resistant to 3 classes of antifungals. The emergence of more resistant phylogenetic clades and regional dissemination of antifungal-resistant C. haemulonii warrants further monitoring.

Critical role of groundwater discharge in sustaining streamflow in a glaciated alpine watershed, northeastern Tibetan Plateau.

As the hydrologic buffering capacity of glaciers diminishes on climate warming, groundwater stored in the glaciated alpine watersheds becomes an important source of streamflow, quantifying the groundwater contribution to this streamflow is significant for better predictions of the impact of rapidly disappearing glaciers on regional water resources. However, the role of groundwater in sustaining streams remains unclear. Here, we selected the upper Shule River Basin (USRB) on the northeast Tibetan Plateau (NETP) as a case to address this knowledge gap through a comprehensive study of geochemistry and stable isotopes data, the application of an end member mixing model and the baseflow hydrograph separation program (HYSEP). Our results indicate that even though the potential sources of streamflow exhibited distinct monthly differences during December 2012-December 2013, the groundwater was the dominant contributor to streamflow generation in the USRB. The groundwater contributed 45% to 100% of the monthly mean streamflow, and the annual mean value of 70%. By contrast, the glacier-snow meltwater and precipitation only contributed 12% and 18% of the annual discharge. The volume contributed by groundwater was calculated as 9.93 × 108 m3, approximately six times higher than the input of the glacier-snow meltwater (i.e., 1.63 × 108 m3). From 1954 to 2018, the volume of the groundwater discharge to the streamflow in the USRB continuously increased from 4.83 × 108 m3/a (65% of total streamflow) in the 1950s to 10.34 × 108 m3/a (71% of total streamflow) in the 2010s, an increase of 2.14 times. The retreating glacier, as well as increasing precipitation and temperature, were determined to be the main reasons for the increase in groundwater discharge to the streamflow. Our findings suggest that groundwater contribution is more important than was previously thought in the glaciated alpine watersheds on the NETP.

Verification of neuroprotective effects of alpha-lipoic acid on chronic neuropathic pain in a chronic constriction injury rat model.

Treatment of neuropathic pain is far from satisfactory. This study sought evidence of a neuroprotective effect of alpha-lipoic acid (ALA) to treat neuropathic pain in a chronic constriction injury (CCI) rat model. A total of 48 rats were randomly divided into sham, CCI, or CCI + ALA groups. Mechanical and thermal nociceptive thresholds were evaluated as behavioral assessments. Dorsal root ganglia cells were assessed morphologically with hematoxylin and eosin staining and for apoptosis with P53 immunohistochemical staining. Compared with the sham group, the CCI group had a shorter paw withdrawal threshold and paw withdrawal latency, abnormal morphologic manifestations, and increased numbers of satellite glial cells and P53+ cells. These changes were significantly reversed by treatment with ALA. Our study indicates neuroprotective effects of ALA on chronic neuropathic pain in a CCI rat model. ALA is potentially considered to be developed as a treatment for neuropathic pain caused by peripheral nerve injury, which requires further verification.

Flooding constrains tree water use of a riparian forest in the lower Heihe River Basin, Northwest China.

Riparian forests in floodplains are occasionally or regularly submerged by flooding. However, controversy exists regarding the effects of flooding on water use in riparian forests, and this controversy severely restricts our ability to better utilize limited water resources to restore damaged riparian forests in arid regions.The evapotranspiration (Et) and transpiration (T) of riparian P. euphratica forests in the arid regions of northwestern China were determined using eddy covariance and sap flow technology across a 3-year period. Fortunately, the flooding introduced by ecological water diversion was occurred in 2014 and 2016 but not in 2015. Our results showed that the magnitude and seasonal pattern of Et across 3 years was comparable (approximately 900 mm), but the T was higher in 2015 (431 mm) than in the other two years (288 mm in 2014 and 290 mm in 2016). The interannual patterns in the transpiration were consistent with the net ecosystem productivity at the site. Given the similar meteorological conditions (e.g. net radiation, temperature, relative humidity, and vapor pressure deficit) among the 3 years, two aspects may contributed to the suppressed tree water use and productivity under flooding: 1) the increased soil salinity reduce the roots water uptake from soil by increasing root water potential via osmotic adjustment; and 2) the depressed tree growth (e.g. the leaf area) via suspended water upward transport along soil-plant-atmosphere continuum. Although flooding is widely known beneficial for the regeneration, we suggest that it is not appropriate for the rejuvenation of phreatophyte (e.g., Populus spp.) in arid regions. Our results were drawn from only three years of measurement and therefore longer time series are needed to confirm or refine those conclusions.

Investigation of Neuroprotective Effects of Erythropoietin on Chronic Neuropathic Pain in a Chronic Constriction Injury Rat Model.

INTRODUCTION: Neuropathic pain is pretty common in modern society, and the treatment effect is far from satisfactory. This study aimed to find evidence of the neuroprotective effect of erythropoietin (EPO) in the treatment of neuropathic pain in a rat model of chronic constriction injury (CCI). METHODS: A total of 30 rats were randomly divided into sham operation group, CCI group, or CCI+EPO group. The mechanical and thermal nociception thresholds are evaluated as behavioral assessments. The dorsal root ganglion cells were morphologically evaluated by hematoxylin and eosin staining, and AMPK, p-AMPK, mTOR, p70S6K, and AQP-2 proteins were compared and analyzed by Western blotting. Compared with the sham operation group, rats in the CCI group had shorter paw withdrawal threshold and paw withdrawal latency, abnormal morphology, and increased satellite glial cells. RESULTS: After treatment with EPO, these changes were significantly reversed. In vivo administration of erythropoietin seems to be able to regulate the expression of AQP-2 through the AMPK/mTOR/p70S6K pathway. Our study provides behavioral, morphological, and immunoblot evidence to prove the neuroprotective effect of EPO in the treatment of chronic neuropathic pain in the CCI rat model. CONCLUSION: Our results indicate that EPO has the potential to treat neuropathic pain caused by peripheral nerve injury, although further verification is needed.

Circulating C-Reactive Protein to Prealbumin Ratio and Prealbumin to Fibrinogen Ratio are Two Promising Inflammatory Markers Associated with Disease Activity in Rheumatoid Arthritis.

BACKGROUND: The C-reactive protein to prealbumin ratio (CPR) and prealbumin to fibrinogen ratio (PFR) are two new inflammatory markers that were reported to have predictive value for the assessment of systemic inflammatory disease. The aim of the present study was to explore the relationship between these two markers and the Disease Activity Score of 28 joints (DAS-28) in rheumatoid arthritis (RA). METHODS: A total of 170 RA patients and 120 healthy individuals were enrolled in this retrospective study. Correlations of CPR and PFR with the disease activity of RA were analyzed. Receiver-operating characteristic (ROC) curves for CPR and PFR were generated to determine the discriminative ability by calculating the areas under the curve (AUC). RESULTS: Compared with healthy controls, RA patients showed a significantly lower PFR (p < 0.001) and higher CPR (p < 0.001). CPR was positively correlated with C-reactive protein (CRP), erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), and DAS-28 score (r = 0.957, p < 0.001, r = 0.781, p < 0.001, r = 0.729, p < 0.001, respectively), whereas the PFR was negatively correlated with CRP, ESR, and DAS-28 score (r = -0.817, p < 0.001, r = -0.805, p < 0.001, r = -0.739, p < 0.001, respectively) in RA patients. ROC curve analysis showed that the CPR and PFR had a high level of AUC (AUC = 0.943 and AUC = 0.912, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: The CPR and PFR are two promising novel inflammatory markers for assessing disease activity in RA patients.

Gender stereotype of early adolescents and its influencing factors / 中国学校卫生

Objective@#To explore the gender stereotype in early adolescence and the potential influencing factors.@*Methods@#Stratified cluster sampling method was adopted to recruit students of grade 6-8 in three middle schools of Shanghai during November to December, 2017. Students were surveyed anonymously using Computer Assisted Self-Interview approach regarding geder stereotype and associated factors.@*Results@#Average gender stereotype score was (3.32±0.75), with boys(3.43±0.75)higher than the girls(3.20±0.72)(t=6.37, P<0.05). The "agreement" proportion was highest among gender stereotypes items which reflect personality characteristics such as "it’s important for boy to be strong and determined" "girls should be like a lady" and "girls were expected to be submissive"(60.99%，50.79%，43.95%), and the "agreement" proportion among boys increased with age, while decreased in girls. Boys who had sisters or recent bullying behaviors showed more gender stereotype[β(95%CI)=0.19(0.05-0.33), 0.39(0.12-0.67)]. Girls whose parents allowed to go to opposite sex homes alone had less gender stereotype, however, the gender stereotype became stronger when girls had more female peers[β(95%CI)=-0.22(-0.41--0.03),0.04(0.00-0.07)].@*Conclusion@#The young adolescents, especially boys, show certain level of gender stereotype. The normal heterosexual friendships and safe campus environments would help promote young adolescents to establish equal gender beliefs.

Heterosexual romantic expectation of early adolescents and its influencing factors / 中国学校卫生

Objective@#To explore the heterosexual romantic expectation in early adolescence(10-14 years)and its influencing factors, and to provide a reference for instructing children of early puberty to establish a positive interpersonal relationship(including heterosexual relationship) and improving their healthy development.@*Methods@#Stratified cluster sampling method was adopted to recruit students of grade 6-8 in three middle schools of Shanghai during November to December, 2017. Students were surveyed anonymously using Computer Assisted Self-Interview approach via the tablets. The collected data included the information on demographic, families, peers, use of the media, community cohesion and heterosexual romantic expectation. The ttest, Chi-square test, ANOVA and multiple linear regression were used to explore the relationships between potential factors and heterosexual romantic expectation.@*Results@#The mean score of heterosexual romantic expectation was 2.55. Score of the boys was higher than that of girls (2.62 vs. 2.47, t=2.65, P<0.05). There was no statistically significant difference between the scores of the ages before 12 years old (10-11: 2.34, 12: 2.28), but a significant increase of the scores along the age after 12 years old(13: 2.69, 14: 3.05). Multiple linear regression suggested that respondents with older age, poorer caregiver-child relationship, higher proportion of friends of the opposite sex, more friends that thought having boyfriends/girlfriends was important, more TV/movie use and lower community cohesion had higher score of heterosexual romantic expectation of early adolescents(P<0.05).@*Conclusion@#The early adolescents had relative conservative views on the heterosexual romantic relationships of adolescents of their own age while the boys were more permissive than girls. The heterosexual romantic expectation improved significantly after 12 years and may be influenced by factors of family, peers, media and community.

Responses of riparian forests to flood irrigation in the hyper-arid zone of NW China.

Knowledge of forest water use is crucial to water resources managers, especially in arid environments. Flood irrigation has sometimes been used to ameliorate forest decline, however, there has only been limited research on vegetation responses to these interventions. We undertook a study to quantify evapotranspiration (ET) and its components, transpiration (T) and evaporation (E), of two Populus euphratica Oliv. stands (MA: middle-aged and OA: old-aged) with and without flood irrigation in the lower Heihe River Basin of NW China. ET and T were measured using eddy covariance and sap flow methods, respectively. Understory E was estimated by difference. Annual ET was 766.4 mm in the MA stand and 532.5 mm in the OA stand with an average of 4.2 and 2.9 mm d-1 during the growing season, respectively. ET of the MA stand was 44% higher than that of the OA stand, with contributions of 28% and 16% from E and T. Despite stand density, leaf area index and canopy cover being higher in the MA than OA stand sapwood area within the two stands was similar (MA 6.04 m2 ha-1 and OA 6.02 m2 ha-1). We hypothesised lower understory E and a lower E to ET ratio in the MA stand than OA stand. However, E was approximately 63% of ET in both stands. Therefore, we conclude that differences in ET, T and E were mainly associated with the flood irrigation. This was further supported by the comparable ET between the OA stand and the other studies in arid regions of Central Asia. In conclusion, flood irrigation has a less significant effect on canopy water use (T) than understory E suggesting alternatives to flood irrigation might be more appropriate in this water-limited ecosystem.

[Epidemiological investigation of macrosomia-related knowledge awareness among pregnant women in Zhejiang province].

OBJECTIVE: To understand the awareness rate of macrosomia related knowledge and influencing factors among pregnant women in Zhejiang province and provide evidence for the improvement of pre-gestational and prenatal care. METHODS: A face to face questionnaire survey was conducted among 1 512 pregnant women selected through multistage cluster random sampling from 20 counties (district) in Zhejiang. Macrosomia-related awareness and related factors were analyzed. RESULTS: A total of 1 494 valid questionnaires were analyzed, the awareness rate was 40.7% for macrosomia diagnostic criteria (95% CI: 38.2%-43.2%), 55.0% for the cause of macrosomia (95% CI: 52.4%-57.6%) and 62.4% for prevention related knowledge (95% CI: 59.9%-64.9%) and the awareness rate of both the cause and the prevention related knowledge was 49.0% (95% CI: 46.4%-51.6%). Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that the third trimester of pregnancy (OR = 1.906, 95% CI: 1.128-3.221), urban residence (OR = 1.335, 95% CI: 1.014-1.756), educational level of junior college (OR = 2.474, 95% CI: 1.635-3.744) and educational level of regular college or above (OR = 2.072, 95% CI: 1.338-3.209), receiving health education about health pregnancy (OR = 1.936, 95% CI: 1.509-2.484) and self-learning about the knowledge of health pregnancy (OR = 2.065, 95%CI: 1.338-3.189) were the influencing factors to the awareness rate of macrosomia diagnostic criteria and prevention related knowledge of macrosomia among pregnant women. The awareness rate of the cause and prevention related knowledge of macrosomia was higher in older age group (OR = 2.103, 95% CI: 1.330-3.323). CONCLUSION: Among the pregnant women in Zhejiang, the awareness rate of macrosomia diagnostic criteria was less than 50%. Therefore, it was necessary to strengthen the health education during pre-gestational and gestational periods among reproductive women, especially the education about pregnancy health in rural area.

Type A personality, hostility, time urgency and unintentional injuries among Chinese undergraduates: a matched case-control study.

BACKGROUND: Associations between type A behaviour pattern (TABP) and injuries are inconsistent. These inconsistencies may be due to different effects of various components of TABP, namely time urgency/impatience, hostility and competitive drive. It is important to examine the relationship between the global TABP, its two components, and unintentional injuries, among undergraduates in China. METHODS: On the basis of a previous cross-sectional study, we conducted a matched case-control study. 253 cases and an equal number of age-, gender-, and major-matched controls were included. The questionnaire solicited socio-demographic information, the experience of injuries, the scale of TABP, and other potential confounding factors. Besides the correlation between the global TABP and injuries, the influences of the two components of TABP on injuries were also evaluated. Conditional logistic regression was used to determine the crude odds ratios (ORs) and adjusted ORs of injury events. RESULTS: A dose-response relationship was apparent among students who rated themselves higher on the TABP scale (P-value for trend, 0.002), with a crude OR of 2.93 (95% CI: 0.93-9.19) for injuries comparing those with TABP to those with type B behaviour pattern (TBBP). After adjustment for potential confounding factors, TABP remained statistically significant, and the adjusted OR was 5.52 (95% CI: 1.43-21.27); from a comparison of students with TABP to those with TBBP. A dose-response relationship was also apparent between the hostility component and nonfatal injuries, both in crude analysis and after adjusting for other confounders. The relationship between time-hurry and injuries was not statistically significant, based on univariate and multivariate analyses. CONCLUSIONS: Both the global TABP and the hostility component were associated with a dose response increase in the risk of non-fatal unintentional injuries among Chinese undergraduates. Further studies need to be conducted to confirm or reject this correlation.

[Spatial heterogeneity of plant community species diversity in Ejina Oasis at the lower reaches of Heihe River].

By the method of geostatistics, this paper studied the spatial heterogeneity of plant community species diversity in Ejina Oasis at the lower reaches of Heihe River. In the study area, the Margalef richness index (Ma), Simpson diversity index (Ds), Shannon diversity index (H') and Pielou evenness index (J') were in normal distribution, and the coefficient of variation (CV) ranged from 55.8% to 67.8%, suggesting a moderate variability. The Ma and H' were accorded with exponential models, and the Ds and J' were accorded with spherical models. The H' had the highest extent of spatial variation, followed by Ma, J' and Ds. Within the variable range, the structural factors in the spatial variation of Ma, Ds, H', and J' were dominant, ranging from 81.1% to 93.0%. The indices changed obviously parallel to the river, with significantly high values near Dalaihubu Town (42 degrees N, 101 degrees E), and obviously low values within the strips 100 degrees-101 degrees E and 102 degrees-102 degrees 30' E, mainly including east and west Gobi and the hinterland of Badain Jaran Desert.

[Analysis of the spatial and temporal changes in soil CO2 efflux and its related factors from alpine meadow in Qilian Mountains].

Continuous field experiment was carried out on alpine meadow along different elevation gradient in Qilian Mountains during the growing season of 2004 using a soil respiration chamber (Li-6400-09) connected to a portable photosynthesis system (Li-6400). The possible effect of water-heat factors and root parameter on characteristics of alpine meadow soil respiration was statistically analyzed. The results indicate that soil CO2 efflux has apparent spatial variation laws. Spatial variation patterns of soil respiration from different alpine meadow along elevation gradient are gradually decreased and its coefficient of variation increases gently. The curves of day change of soil CO2 efflux have a simple peak value, and it is low at night, with lowest at 02:00-06:00, and starts to rise rapidly during 07:00-08:30, and then descends during 16:00 -18:30. The peak CO2 efflux appears during 11:00-16:00. The diurnal average of soil CO2 efflux is between (0.56 +/- 0.32) - (2.53 +/- 0.76) micromol x (m2 x s)(-1). As for seasonal variation, soil CO2 fluxes of various are relatively high in summer and autumn but relatively low in spring and winter. The maximum of average soil CO2 efflux occurrs in July and August [4.736 micromol (m2 x s)(-1), and the second is in June and September, and the third is in May and October. Soil CO2 efflux of alpine meadow during growth season is positively correlated with soil temperature, root biomass and soil water content at depths of 10 cm to different degrees. These results indicate that the temperature, soil moisture and root biomass have great effects on the spatial variation of soil CO2 efflux in the area.