Machine learning in soil nutrient dynamics of alpine grasslands.

As a terrestrial ecosystem, alpine grasslands feature diverse vegetation types and play key roles in regulating water resources and carbon storage, thus shaping global climate. The dynamics of soil nutrients in this ecosystem, responding to regional climate change, directly impact primary productivity. This review comprehensively explored the effects of climate change on soil nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), and their balance in the alpine meadows, highlighting the significant roles these nutrients played in plant growth and species diversity. We also shed light on machine learning utilization in soil nutrient evaluation. As global warming continues, alongside shifting precipitation patterns, soil characteristics of grasslands, such as moisture and pH values vary significantly, further altering the availability and composition of soil nutrients. The rising air temperature in alpine regions substantially enhances the activity of soil organisms, accelerating nutrient mineralization and the decomposition of organic materials. Combined with varied nutrient input, such as increased N deposition, plant growth and species composition are changing. With the robust capacity to use and integrate diverse data sources, including satellite imagery, sensor-collected spectral data, camera-captured videos, and common knowledge-based text and audio, machine learning offers rapid and accurate assessments of the changes in soil nutrients and associated determinants, such as soil moisture. When combined with powerful large language models like ChatGPT, these tools provide invaluable insights and strategies for effective grassland management, aiming to foster a sustainable ecosystem that balances high productivity and advanced services with reduced environmental impacts.

Inflammation and endothelial function relevant genetic polymorphisms, carotid atherosclerosis, and vascular events in high-risk stroke population.

Aim: To identify the associations of 19 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in genes involved in inflammation and endothelial function and carotid atherosclerosis with subsequent ischemic stroke and other vascular events in the high-risk stroke population. Methods: This was a multicenter community-based sectional survey and prospective cohort study in Sichuan, southwestern China. Eight communities were randomly selected, and the residents in each community were surveyed using a structured face-to-face questionnaire. Carotid ultrasonography and DNA information were obtained from 2,377 out of 2,893 individuals belonging to a high-risk stroke population. Genotypes of the 19 SNPs in genes involved in inflammation and endothelial function were measured. All the 2,377 subjects were followed up for 4.7 years after the face-to-face survey. The primary outcome was ischemic stroke, and the secondary outcome was a composite of vascular events. Results: Among the 2,377 subjects, 2,205 (92.8%) completed a 4.7-year follow-up, 947 (42.9%) had carotid atherosclerosis [372 (16.9%) carotid vulnerable plaque, 405 (18.4%) mean IMT > 0.9 mm, 285 (12.0%) carotid stenosis ≥15%]. Outcomes occurred in 158 (7.2%) subjects [92 (4.2%) ischemic stroke, 17 (0.8%) hemorrhagic stroke, 48 (2.2%) myocardial infarction, and 26 (1.2%) death] during follow-up. There was a significant gene-gene interaction among ITGA2 rs1991013, IL1A rs1609682, and HABP2 rs7923349 in the 19 SNPs. The multivariate logistic regression model revealed that carotid atherosclerosis and the high-risk interactive genotypes among the three SNPs were independent with a higher risk for ischemic stroke (OR = 2.67, 95% CI: 1.52-6.78, p = 0.004; and OR = 3.11, 95% CI: 2.12-9.27, p < 0.001, respectively) and composite vascular events (OR = 3.04, 95% CI: 1.46-6.35, p < 0.001; and OR = 3.23, 95% CI: 1.97-8.52, p < 0.001, respectively). Conclusion: The prevalence of carotid atherosclerosis was shown to be very high in the high-risk stroke population. Specific SNPs, interactions among them, and carotid atherosclerosis were independently associated with a higher risk of ischemic stroke and other vascular events.

Solar-powered detection of organic dyes using nitrogen-doped N-TiO2/Ag2O nanorod arrays.

Organic pollutant detection has caused widespread concern regarding due to their potential environmental and human health risks. In this work, a nitrogen-doped titanium dioxide/silver oxide (N-TiO2/Ag2O) composite has been designed as a sensitive photoelectrochemical (PEC) monitoring platform of organic dyes. Sensitive determination relies on the outstanding PEC performance of N-TiO2/Ag2O. The improved PEC performance stems from the effective separation of photocarriers and the extended light response range provided by the narrowing bandgap and a p-n junction with N-TiO2/Ag2O. The N-TiO2/Ag2O electrode exhibits a photocurrent density of up to 2.2 mA/cm2, demonstrating three times increase compared with the photocurrent density observed with the pure TiO2 film. The linear detection range for rhodamine B (RhB), methylene blue (MB), and methyl orange (MO) is 0.2 ng/mL to 10 µg/mL with an ultrasensitive detection limit of 0.2 ng/mL without bias voltage. Due to the outstanding photocurrent density and sensitive response to organic pollutants, the N-TiO2/Ag2O PEC sensor provided a promising analytical method to detect environmental organic dyes.

Influence of tree mycorrhizal type, tree species identity, and diversity on forest root-associated mycobiomes.

Understanding the complex interactions between trees and fungi is crucial for forest ecosystem management, yet the influence of tree mycorrhizal types, species identity, and diversity on tree-tree interactions and their root-associated fungal communities remains poorly understood. Our study addresses this gap by investigating root-associated fungal communities of different arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) and ectomycorrhizal (EcM) tree species pairs (TSPs) in a subtropical tree diversity experiment, spanning monospecific, two-species, and multi-species mixtures, utilizing Illumina sequencing of the ITS2 region. The study reveals that tree mycorrhizal type significantly impacts the alpha diversity of root-associated fungi in monospecific stands. Meanwhile, tree species identity's influence is modulated by overall tree diversity. Tree-related variables and spatial distance emerged as major drivers of variations in fungal community composition. Notably, in multi-species mixtures, compositional differences between root fungal communities of AM and EcM trees diminish, indicating a convergence of fungal communities irrespective of mycorrhizal type. Interestingly, dual mycorrhizal fungal communities were observed in these multi-species mixtures. This research underscores the pivotal role of mycorrhizal partnerships and the interplay of biotic and abiotic factors in shaping root fungal communities, particularly in varied tree diversity settings, and its implications for effective forest management and biodiversity conservation.

Molecular characterization of a novel narnavirus infecting the phytopathogenic fungus Botryosphaeria dothidea.

Here, a novel mycovirus, Botryosphaeria dothidea narnavirus 5 (BdNV5), was discovered in the plant-pathogenic fungus Botryosphaeria dothidea strain ZM210167-1. The BdNV5 genome sequence is 2,397 nucleotides (nt) in length and contains a putative open reading frame (ORF) encoding an RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp) with a molecular mass of 72.77 kDa. A BLASTp search using the RdRp amino acid (aa) sequence showed that it was most similar to the RdRp of Botryosphaeria dothidea narnavirus 4 (42.35%). In a phylogenetic tree based on RdRp aa sequences, BdNV5 clustered with members of the family Narnaviridae. BdNV5 is thus a novel member of the family Narnaviridae infecting the phytopathogenic fungus B. dothidea.

Overlooked uneven progress across sustainable development goals at the global scale: Challenges and opportunities.

Differences in progress across sustainable development goals (SDGs) are widespread globally; meanwhile, the rising call for prioritizing specific SDGs may exacerbate such gaps. Nevertheless, how these progress differences would influence global sustainable development has been long neglected. Here, we present the first quantitative assessment of SDGs' progress differences globally by adopting the SDGs progress evenness index. Our results highlight that the uneven progress across SDGs has been a hindrance to sustainable development because (1) it is strongly associated with many public health risks (e.g., air pollution), social inequalities (e.g., gender inequality, modern slavery, wealth gap), and a reduction in life expectancy; (2) it is also associated with deforestation and habitat loss in terrestrial and marine ecosystems, increasing the challenges related to biodiversity conservation; (3) most countries with low average SDGs performance show lower progress evenness, which further hinders their fulfillment of SDGs; and (4) many countries with high average SDGs performance also showcase stagnation or even retrogression in progress evenness, which is partly ascribed to the antagonism between climate actions and other goals. These findings highlight that while setting SDGs priorities may be more realistic under the constraints of multiple global stressors, caution must be exercised to avoid new problems from intensifying uneven progress across goals. Moreover, our study reveals that the urgent needs regarding SDGs of different regions seem complementary, emphasizing that regional collaborations (e.g., demand-oriented carbon trading between SDGs poorly performed and well-performed countries) may promote sustainable development achievements at the global scale.

Extreme drought alters methane uptake but not methane sink in semi-arid steppes of Inner Mongolia.

Global climate change, particularly drought, is expected to alter grassland methane (CH4) oxidation, a key natural process against atmospheric greenhouse gas accumulation, yet the extent of this effect and its interaction with future atmospheric CH4 concentrations increases remains uncertain. To address this research gap, we measured CH4 flux during an imposed three-month rain-free period corresponding to a 100-year recurrence drought in soil mesocosms collected from 16 different Eurasian steppe sites. We also investigated the abundance and composition of methanotrophs. Additionally, we conducted a laboratory experiment to explore the impact of elevated CH4 concentration on the CH4 uptake capacity of grassland soil under drought conditions. We found that regardless of the type of grassland, CH4 flux was still being absorbed at its peak, meaning that all grasslands functioned as persistent CH4 sinks even when the soil water content (SWC) was <5 %. A bell-shaped relationship between SWC and CH4 uptake was observed in the soils. The average maximum CH4 oxidation rate in the meadow steppe was higher than that in the typical and desert steppe soils during extreme drought. The experimental elevation of atmospheric CH4 concentration counteracted the anticipated reduction in CH4 uptake related to physiological water stress on methanotrophic soil microbes under the drought stress. On the contrary, we found that across the regional scale, nitrogen, phosphorous, and total soil organic content played a crucial role in moderating the duration and magnitude of CH4 uptake with respect to SWC. USC-γ (Upland Soil Cluster γ) and JR-3 (Jasper Ridge Cluster) were the dominant group of soil methanotrophic bacteria in three types of grassland. However, the methanotrophic abundance, rather than the methanotrophic community composition, was the dominant microbiological factor governing CH4 uptake during the drought.

Diversity of Lasiodiplodia Species Associated with Canker and Dieback in Fruit Trees in the Henan and Shandong Provinces of China.

Lasiodiplodia is a widely distributed genus that is associated with a variety of diseases in many plant species, especially fruit trees. In this study, a disease survey of fruit trees growing in 12 orchards located in the Henan and Shandong provinces of China was conducted between 2020 and 2022. The symptoms observed included stem canker, branch dieback, and gummosis. Phylogenetic analyses of internal transcribed spacer, tub2, tef1, and rpb2 sequence data combined with morphological characteristics revealed that the 19 isolates collected during the survey belonged to five documented Lasiodiplodia species, namely, Lasiodiplodia citricola, L. chiangraiensis, L. huangyanensis, L. pseudotheobromae, and L. theobromae, and two previously undescribed species, L. xinyangensis and L. ziziphi. In addition, the survey identified three novel host-pathogen interactions: L. chiangraiensis on loquat, L. citricola on apple, and L. huangyanensis on grapevine. Furthermore, the detailed phylogenic analysis indicated that four previously described Lasiodiplodia species were genetically very closely related that they would be better classified as synonyms rather than distinct species, so L. paraphysoides and L. nanpingensis should be considered synonyms of L. citricola, L. fujianensis should be a synonym of L. iraniensis, and L. henanica should be a synonym of L. huangyanensis. Pathogenicity tests confirmed that representative isolates of the two novel species and three new host-pathogen interactions identified in the current study were pathogenic to their original hosts, thereby fulfilling Koch's postulates. Similarly, all of the isolates were found to be pathogenic on four alternative hosts, although a high degree of variation in virulence was observed.

Livestock dung rather than biochar enhances the anaerobic methane oxidation in grassland soils.

The terrestrial anaerobic methane oxidation (AOM) coupled with denitrification is considered to be an important link in the "cryptic cycle of methane". However, it remains uncertain how land use activity such as biochar and livestock dung amendments regulate the AOM in grassland. Here, we incubated soils with biochar and dung amendments in microcosms to monitor the AOM activity and quantified the maker genes of anaerobic methanotrophs and their potential syntrophs. Dung enhanced the AOM mediated by Candidatus Methylomirabilis oxyfera and stimulated denitrifying bacteria and anammox growths as well. The biochar amendment inhibited AOM due to the trapping of NO3- and NO2-. Our study raised the possibility that anthropogenic activity can regulate AOM through porosity alteration and substrate limitation.

Changes in foveal avascular zone area and retinal vein diameter in patients with retinal vein occlusion detected by fundus fluorescein angiography.

Purpose: To investigate changes in foveal avascular area (FAZ) and retinal vein diameter in patients with retinal vein occlusion (RVO) after intravitreal ranibizumab, and to analyze the correlation between ranibizumab therapy and visual gain. Methods: This retrospective study enrolled 95 eyes of 95 patients who had accepted three consecutive monthly ranibizumab injections, including 50 branch RVOs (BRVOs) and 45 central RVOs (CRVOs). BRVOs were divided into ischemia group (n = 32) and non-ischemia group (n = 18), and CRVOs also had ischemia group (n = 28) and non-ischemia group (n = 17). Comprehensive ophthalmic examinations were performed before the first injection and after 6, 12, and 24 months. The FAZ was manually circumscribed on early-phase images of fundus fluorescein angiography. Retinal vein diameters were measured on fundus photographs. Results: After three injections, the FAZ area was significantly enlarged firstly and then reduced in all ischemic RVOs and the non-ischemic BRVOs (p < 0.05), while the retinal vein diameter was significantly reduced firstly and then increased in all groups except for unobstructed branch veins of non-ischemic BRVOs (p < 0.05). The correlation between the FAZ area and best corrected visual acuity was statistically significant in all CRVOs (non-ischemic, r = 0.372; ischemic, r = 0.286; p < 0.01) and ischemic BRVOs (r = 0.180, p < 0.05). Spearman's correlation analysis revealed that the retinal vein diameter was significantly correlated to the larger FAZ area in obstructed branch veins of ischemic BRVOs (r = -0.31, p < 0.01), inferior temporal branch veins of non-ischemic CRVOs (r = -0.461, p < 0.01) and ischemia CRVO groups (superior temporal branch vein, r = -0.226, p < 0.05; inferior temporal branch vein, r = -0.259, p < 0.01). Conclusion: After three consecutive monthly ranibizumab injections, the FAZ area was enlarged and retinal vein diameter reduced with gradual recovery to near baseline from 12 months. These results suggest that ranibizumab therapy can worsen macular ischemia and prevent visual gain in the short term. It has important significance for the treatment and prognosis of RVO, although the natural course of RVO may also affect ischemia and visual gain.

An early warning signal for grassland degradation on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau.

Intense grazing may lead to grassland degradation on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau, but it is difficult to predict where this will occur and to quantify it. Based on a process-based ecosystem model, we define a productivity-based stocking rate threshold that induces extreme grassland degradation to assess whether and where the current grazing activity in the region is sustainable. We find that the current stocking rate is below the threshold in ~80% of grassland areas, but in 55% of these grasslands the stocking rate exceeds half the threshold. According to our model projections, positive effects of climate change including elevated CO2 can partly offset negative effects of grazing across nearly 70% of grasslands on the Plateau, but only in areas below the stocking rate threshold. Our analysis suggests that stocking rate that does not exceed 60% (within 50% to 70%) of the threshold may balance human demands with grassland protection in the face of climate change.

Navigating the landscape of global sustainable livelihood research: past insights and future trajectory.

Sustainable livelihoods (SL) have emerged as a crucial area of focus in global environmental change research, aligning with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This field is rapidly gaining prominence in sustainability science and has become one of the primary research paradigms. In our study, we conducted scientometrics analysis using the ISI Web of Science core collection database to examine research patterns and frontier areas in SL research. We selected 6441 papers and 265,759 references related to SL published from 1991 to 2020. To achieve this, we employed advanced quantitative analysis tools such as CiteSpace and VOSviewer to quantitatively analyze and visualize the evolution of literature in the SL research field. Our overarching objectives were to understand historical research characteristics, identify the knowledge base, and determine future research trends. The results revealed an exponential increase in SL research documentation since 1991, with the Consortium of International Agricultural Research Center (CGIAR) contributing the highest volume of research documents and citations. Key journals in this field included World Development, Global Environmental Change, Ecological Economics, and Ecology and Society. Notably, Singh RK and Shackleton CM emerged as prolific authors in SL research. Through our analysis, we identified six primary clusters of research areas: livelihoods, conservation, food security, management, climate change, and ecosystem services. Additionally, we found that tags such as rural household, agricultural intensification, cultural intensification, and livelihoods vulnerability remained relevant and represented active research hotspots. By analyzing keyword score relevance, we identified frontier areas in SL research, including mass tourism, solar home systems, artisanal and small-scale mining, forest quality, marine-protected areas, agricultural sustainability, sustainable rangeland management, and indigenous knowledge. These findings provide valuable insights to stakeholders regarding the historical, current, and future trends in SL research, offering strategic opportunities to enhance the sustainability of livelihoods for farmers and rural communities in alignment with the SDGs.

Distribution, source, and contamination assessment of heavy metals in surface sediments of the Old Yellow River Estuary in China.

To assess the sources and pollution status of heavy metals, surface sediments from the Old Yellow River estuary were systematically sampled and analyzed to determine the concentrations of seven heavy metals. The Pearson's correlation coefficient, enrichment factor, geoaccumulation index, and principal component analysis were used to distinguish the sources and assess the pollution risk of heavy metals. The results showed that the distributions of Al, Fe, Cu, Pb, Zn, Cr, and As were similar and mainly dominated by fine-grained sediments, whereas the distributions of Cd and Hg were irregular. Al was strongly correlated with Fe, Cu, Pb, Zn, As, and Mz, and positively correlated with Cr. Except for Cr, Cd, and Hg, all the other elements were positively correlated with Mz. Multiple indicators indicated that Cu, Pb, Zn, Cr, and As were mainly derived from natural sources, whereas Hg and Cd were derived from anthropogenic sources.

Methylotrophic methanogens and bacteria synergistically demethylate dimethylarsenate in paddy soil and alleviate rice straighthead disease.

Microorganisms play a key role in arsenic (As) biogeochemistry, transforming As species between inorganic and organic forms and different oxidation states. Microbial As methylation is enhanced in anoxic paddy soil, producing primarily dimethylarsenic (DMAs), which can cause rice straighthead disease and large yield losses. DMAs can also be demethylated in paddy soil, but the microorganisms driving this process remain unclear. In this study, we showed that the enrichment culture of methylotrophic methanogens from paddy soil demethylated pentavalent DMAs(V) efficiently. DMAs(V) was reduced to DMAs(III) before demethylation. 16S rRNA gene diversity and metagenomic analysis showed that Methanomassiliicoccus dominated in the enrichment culture, with Methanosarcina and Methanoculleus also being present. We isolated Methanomassiliicoccus luminyensis CZDD1 and Methanosarcina mazei CZ1 from the enrichment culture; the former could partially demethylate trivalent DMAs(III) but not DMAs(V) and the latter could demethylate neither. Addition of strain CZDD1 to the enrichment culture greatly accelerated DMAs(V) demethylation. Demethylation of DMAs(V) in the enrichment culture was suppressed by ampicillin, suggesting the involvement of bacteria. We isolated three anaerobic bacterial strains including Clostridium from the enrichment culture, which could produce hydrogen and reduce DMAs(V) to DMAs(III). Furthermore, augmentation of the Methanomassiliicoccus-Clostridium coculture to a paddy soil decreased DMAs accumulation by rice and alleviated straighthead disease. The results reveal a synergistic relationship whereby anaerobic bacteria reduce DMAs(V) to DMAs(III) for demethylation by Methanomassiliicoccus and also produce hydrogen to promote the growth of Methanomassiliicoccus; enhancing their populations in paddy soil can help alleviate rice straighthead disease.

Vulnerable Carotid Plaque is Associated with an Increased Risk of Intracerebral Hemorrhage in Individuals at High Risk of Stroke: A Chinese Population-based Cohort Study.

OBJECTIVES: To assess the association between carotid artery plaques and the risk of incident intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) event in high-risk individuals for stroke. METHODS: We conducted a population-based cohort study using the longitudinal participant-level data of a multicenter, cross-sectional survey in southwestern China. 2644 high-risk participants for stroke were enrolled in the year 2015. The primary outcome was new-onset ICH events during a five-year follow-up period. Multivariate logistic regression was performed to identify the association between carotid plaque and new-onset ICH. Stratified analyses and interaction tests were conducted to identify variables that might modify the association between vulnerable carotid plaque and ICH. RESULTS: Among 2644 high-risk individuals enrolled, carotid plaques were found in 904 (34.2%) subjects, including 479 (18.1%) with stable plaques and 425 (16.1%) with vulnerable plaques. During a five-year follow-up period, 22 (0.83%) participants developed ICH. Vulnerable carotid plaque was associated with an increased risk of new-onset ICH in multivariable analyses (adjusted RR 3.72, 95 % CI 1.32 to 10.46, p=0.013). Stratified analyses and interaction analyses demonstrated the association between vulnerable carotid plaque and ICH was not changed by age, family history of stroke, hemorrhagic stroke and chronic disease, smoking, drinking, physical activity, BMI, antihypertensives, and antithrombotic drugs (all p for interaction>0.05). However, among the female cohort, participants with vulnerable plaques had a significantly higher risk of ICH compared with participants without vulnerable plaques (crude RR=9.8; 95%CI: 3.1-31.3, p<0.001; adjusted RR=26.3, 95%CI: 5.5-124.5, p<0.001), but not in man (p>0.05). CONCLUSION: In Chinese individuals at high risk of stroke, vulnerable carotid artery plaques are associated with an increased risk of intracerebral hemorrhage independent of classical vascular risk factors, especially in female individuals.

Vegetation structural shift tells environmental changes on the Tibetan Plateau over 40 years.

Structural information of grassland changes on the Tibetan Plateau is essential for understanding alterations in critical ecosystem functioning and their underlying drivers that may reflect environmental changes. However, such information at the regional scale is still lacking due to methodological limitations. Beyond remote sensing indicators only recognizing vegetation productivity, we utilized multivariate data fusion and deep learning to characterize formation-based plant community structure in alpine grasslands at the regional scale of the Tibetan Plateau for the first time and compared it with the earlier version of Vegetation Map of China for historical changes. Over the past 40 years, we revealed that (1) the proportion of alpine meadows in alpine grasslands increased from 50% to 69%, well-reflecting the warming and wetting trend; (2) dominances of Kobresia pygmaea and Stipa purpurea formations in alpine meadows and steppes were strengthened to 76% and 92%, respectively; (3) the climate factor mainly drove the distribution of Stipa purpurea formation, but not the recent distribution of Kobresia pygmaea formation that was likely shaped by human activities. Therefore, the underlying mechanisms of grassland changes over the past 40 years were considered to be formation dependent. Overall, the first exploration for structural information of plant community changes in this study not only provides a new perspective to understand drivers of grassland changes and their spatial heterogeneity at the regional scale of the Tibetan Plateau, but also innovates large-scale vegetation study paradigm.

Relationship between health information literacy and health promoting lifestyle among first-degree relatives of patients with colorectal cancer in China: the mediating effect of health belief.

Background: History of first-degree relatives with colorectal cancer is one of the most important and common risk factors for colorectal cancer in China. Most chronic diseases, such as malignancies, are preventable by adopting health-promoting behaviors and other approaches. However, the relationships among factors affecting the health-promoting lifestyles of first-degree relatives with colorectal cancer have not been sufficiently studied. This study aimed to test the mediation effects of Health belief in the relationship between health-promoting lifestyle and health information literacy among first-degree relatives with colorectal cancer. Methods: A cross-sectional descriptive design was conducted using convenience sampling of 856 first-degree relatives of CRC patients attending three tertiary care hospitals in Nanchong and Deyang of China from December 2020 to December 2022. Questionnaires were used to collect data on the participants' demographic information, the colorectal cancer health beliefs, the health promotion lifestyle, and the health information literacy. Data were analyzed with descriptive statistics, one-way ANOVA, Pearson's correlation coefficients, and mediation analysis using SPSS 25.0 program and its macro-program PROCESS. Results: The findings indicated health information literacy was less, health belief was at the medium level, and performance of health promotion behavior was average for first-degree relatives of colorectal cancer. Whereas first-degree relatives of colorectal cancer health-promotion lifestyle had a positive correlation with health beliefs (r = 0.376, p < 0.01) and health information literacy (r = 0.533, p < 0.01), health beliefs had a positive correlation with health information literacy (r = 0.337, p < 0.01). Health beliefs mediated the positive effect of health information literacy on health-promoting lifestyles (ß =0.420, 95% CI, 0.288-0.581), and indirect effects accounted for 14.0% of the total effect. Conclusion: Health information literacy and health beliefs are key factors associated with a health-promoting lifestyle among first-degree relatives with colorectal cancer. These factors have direct and indirect effects on each other and on health-promoting lifestyles. To enhance health-promoting lifestyles among first-degree relatives with colorectal cancer, interventions that strengthen health beliefs and provide health information literacy should be developed.

Heavy metal concentration profiles and pollution assessment in the Jiangsu offshore area, China.

The concentration profiles of various major and trace heavy metals (Cu, Pb, Zn, Cr, Cd, As, Hg, Ni, Li, and Co) were investigated along a 40.1-m-long sediment core in the offshore Jiangsu area of China, to assess their depositional trends and contamination levels. All metals, except Cd, exhibited similar profiles with high average concentrations during the Marine Isotope Stage 2-4 period. The sediment trace-metal concentrations were primarily related to grain size and sediment sources, with almost all heavy metals (except Cd) being positively correlated. Enrichment factors, geoaccumulation indices, and principal component analysis indicated no elemental enrichment or contamination. The high EF and Igeo values of As, Hg, and Li may be related to their background values.