Critical factors influencing visitor emotions: analysis of "restorativeness" in urban park visits in Fuzhou, China.

Objective: To date, a comprehensive analysis of urban green space (UGS) visitors' emotional remains largely unexplored. In this study, we focus on how UGS environmental preferences, restorativeness, other physical factors (sound, air, and thermal environments), and individual characteristics affecting visitor emotions. Such a comprehensive analysis would allow relevant practitioners to check the environmental quality of UGSs and improve certain conditions to promote visitor emotions. Methods: A total of 904 questionnaire responses with concurrently monitored physical factors were analyzed by independent sample t-tests, one-way ANOVA and path analysis. Results: The thermal evaluation had the largest impact on positive emotions (ß = 0.474), followed by perceived restorativeness (ß = 0.297), which had ß values of -0.120 and -0.158, respectively, on negative emotions. Air evaluation was more effective for increasing positive emotions (ß = 0.293) than reducing negative emotions (ß = -0.115). Sound evaluation also had similar results (ß = 0.330 vs. ß = -0.080). Environmental preference significantly influenced only positive emotions (ß = 0.181) but could still indirectly impact negative emotions. Moreover, objective physical factors can indirectly affect visitors' emotions by enhancing their evaluations.. Conclusion: The influence of different UGS environmental factors on visitors' emotions vary, as does their impacts on positive versus negative emotions. Positive emotions were generally more affected than negative emotions by UGS. Visitor emotions were mainly influenced by physical and psychological factors. Corresponding suggestions are proposed for UGS design and management in this study.

Exploring the Influencing Paths of Villagers' Participation in the Creation of Micro-Landscapes: An Integrative Model of Theory of Planned Behavior and Norm Activation Theory.

Villager participation has become a key breakthrough in rural landscape governance. Using the theory of planned behavior and the norm activation theory as frameworks, this study adopts the structural equation model to explore the influencing mechanism of villager participation in rural micro-landscapes based on data gathered from 414 villagers in a rural micro-landscape construction survey in Jinjiang, China. The results indicate that (1) integrated planned behavior theory and norm activation theory can better explain the influencing mechanism of villagers' participation in rural micro-landscape construction; (2) perception, norm, attitude, and control dimensions significantly influence villagers' participation behavior intention. The attitude dimension had the greatest influence, followed by the normative and control dimensions, while the perception dimension had the least influence on the procedure; and (3) according to the mediation results, natural environment perception, social environment perception, personal norm, social norm, participation attitude, result awareness, and self-efficacy all exert indirect effects on participation behavior based on villagers' participation behavioral intention. The largest median effect value was result awareness, followed by personal norm, participation attitude, natural environment awareness, self-efficacy, and social norm. This study expands the theoretical framework and research content of planned behavior and clarifies the mechanism of the influencing factors of villagers' participation in rural micro-landscapes, extending the theory of planned behavior to the research field of villagers' participation, which has a guiding role in promoting the co-construction, co-governance, and sharing of rural landscapes.

Complete chloroplast genome of Isoetes sinensis, an endemic fern in China.

Isoetes sinensis is the only aquatic pteridophyte in China with high research value of phylogeny. It is in endangered status. A conservation strategy is therefore imperative for this endangered pteridophyte. In the study, the complete chloroplast (cp) genome of Isoetes sinensis (Isoetaceae) was assembled and annotated. It is the full length of 145,492 bp, include large single-copy (LSC) region of 91,865 bp, small single-copy (SSC) region of 13,207 bp, and a pair of invert repeats (IR) regions of 27,213 bp. Plastid genome contains 135 genes, 71 protein-coding genes, 36 tRNA genes, and eight rRNA genes. Phylogenetic analysis suggested I. sinensis was most closely related to the clade of I. melanospora, I. mattaponica, I. graniticola, I. engelmannii, I. flaccida, I. valida, and I. butleri, with strong support (bootstrap = 100%). The cp genome will contribute to further research and conservation of I. sinensis.

Oxidative stress induces imbalance of adipogenic/osteoblastic lineage commitment in mesenchymal stem cells through decreasing SIRT1 functions.

With rapidly ageing populations worldwide, the incidence of osteoporosis has reached epidemic proportions. Reactive oxygen species (ROS), a by-product of oxidative stress and ageing, has been thought to induce osteoporosis by inhibiting osteogenic differentiation of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs). However, specific mechanisms of how ROS results in alterations on MSC differentiation capacity have been inconsistently reported. We found that H2 O2 , an ROS, simultaneously induced MSC lineage commitment towards adipogenesis and away from osteogenesis at the functional as well as transcriptional level. In addition, H2 O2 decreased the activities of SIRT1, a histone deacetylase and longevity gene. By silencing and reconstituting SIRT1 in MSCs, we demonstrated that H2 O2 exerted its disparate effects on adipogenic/osteoblastic lineage commitment mainly through modulating SIRT1 expression levels. Treatment with resveratrol, a SIRT1 agonist, can also reverse this ROS-induced adipogenesis/osteogenesis lineage imbalance. Moreover, SIRT1 regulation of RUNX2 transcriptional activity was mediated through deacetylation of the ROS-sensitive transcription factor FOXO3a. Taken together, our data implicate SIRT1 as playing a vital role in ROS-directed lineage commitment of MSCs by modulating two lineages simultaneously. Our findings on the critical role of SIRT1 in ROS/age-related perturbations of MSC differentiation capacity highlight this molecule as a target for maintenance of MSC stemness as well as a potential anabolic target in osteoporosis.

High levels of serum macrophage migration inhibitory factor and interleukin 10 are associated with a rapidly fatal outcome in patients with severe sepsis.

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to delineate the association between high macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF) and interleukin 10 (IL-10) levels in the early phase of sepsis and rapidly fatal outcome. METHODS: One hundred and fifty-three adult subjects with the main diagnosis of severe sepsis (including septic shock) admitted directly from the emergency department of two tertiary medical centers and one regional teaching hospital between January 2009 and December 2011, were included prospectively. MIF and IL-10 levels were measured and outcomes were analyzed by Cox regression analysis according to the following outcomes: rapidly fatal outcome (RFO, death within 48 h), late fatal outcome (LFO, death between 48 h and 28 days), and survival at 28 days. RESULTS: Among the three outcome groups, IL-10 levels were significantly higher in the RFO group (p < 0.001) and no significant differences were seen between the LFO and survivor groups. After Cox regression analysis, each incremental elevation of 1000 pg/ml in both IL-10 and MIF was independently associated with RFO in patients with severe sepsis. Each incremental elevation of 1000 pg/ml in IL-10 increased the RFO risk by a factor of 1.312 (95% confidence interval 1.094-1.575; p=0.003); this was the most significant factor leading to RFO in patients with severe sepsis. CONCLUSIONS: Patients with RFO exhibited simultaneously high MIF and IL-10 levels in the early phase of severe sepsis. Incremental increases in both IL-10 and MIF levels were associated with RFO in this patient group, and of the two, IL-10 was the most significant factor linked to RFO.