Visual Cognitive Assessment Test: Utility of the brief cognitive battery for early screening of cognitive impairment in Chongqing, China.

OBJECTIVES: Early detection of cognitive impairment is essential for timely intervention. Currently, most widely used cognitive screening tests are influenced by language and cultural differences; therefore, there is a need for the development of a language-neutral, visual-based cognitive assessment tool. The Visual Cognitive Assessment Test (VCAT), a 30-point test that assesses memory, executive function, visuospatial function, attention, and language, has demonstrated its utility in a multilingual population. In this study, we evaluated the reliability, validity, and diagnostic performance of the VCAT for screening early cognitive impairment in Chongqing, China METHODS: A total of 134 individuals (49 healthy controls (HCs), 52 with mild cognitive impairment (MCI), and 33 with mild dementia) completed the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA), VCAT, and domain-specific neuropsychological assessments. The diagnostic performances of MMSE, MoCA, and VCAT were evaluated using the area under the curve (AUC), sensitivity, and specificity. Construct validity of the VCAT was assessed with well-established domain-specific cognitive assessments. Reliability was measured using Cronbach's alpha. RESULTS: The VCAT and its subdomains demonstrated both good construct validity and internal consistency (α = 0.577). The performance of VCAT was comparable to that of MoCA and MMSE in differentiating mild dementia from nondemented groups (AUC: 0.940 vs. 0.902 and 0.977, respectively; p = .098 and .053) and in distinguishing cognitive impairment (CI) from HC (AUC: 0.929 vs. 0.899 and 0.891, respectively; p = .239 and .161), adjusted for education level. The optimal score range for VCAT in determining dementia, MCI, and HC was 0-14, 15-19, and 20-30, respectively. CONCLUSION: The VCAT proves to be a reliable screening test for early cognitive impairment within our cohort. Being both language and cultural neutral, the VCAT has the potential to be utilized among a wider population within China.

Carbon emission change based on land use in Gansu Province.

Carbon emissions from land use change have become one of the main sources of regional carbon emissions. In order to explore the changes, 87 districts and counties in Gansu Province are taken as research objects. Based on the remote sensing data and statistical data of land use, the carbon emission coefficient method was used to investigate the spatial characteristics of land use carbon emission of each district and county in Gansu Province in recent 20 years from the perspective of carbon ecological support coefficient and per capita carbon footprint. The main results are as follows: (1) the growth of land use carbon emissions in Gansu Province from 2000 to 2020 was significant, but the growth of carbon emissions after 2010 was fast, and the growth of carbon sinks was relatively slow. (2) The ecological support coefficient of carbon emissions at county level in Gansu Province showed a trend of high in the south and low in the north, high in the east and low in the west, and this trend became more and more obvious with the passage of time. (3) Based on carbon emission, county population, and carbon ecological support capacity, the per capita carbon footprint of each county in Gansu Province was analyzed. The results showed that the per capita carbon footprint in Gansu Province was increasing, indicating that the gap between carbon emission and carbon absorption in each county was widening. By the above result, the author divides the counties of Gansu Province into three regions, low-carbon maintenance area, green development area, and ecological optimization area, and puts forward development suggestions for different regions, respectively. Therefore, this paper can also provide a theoretical reference for the formulation of carbon neutral planning measures in inland northwest China.

Characteristics of carbon budget based on energy carbon emissions and vegetation carbon absorption.

How to evaluate the change characteristics of energy carbon emissions (ECE) and vegetation carbon absorption (VCA) by scientific methods is particularly important for achieving carbon peak by 2030 and carbon neutrality by 2060. Based on provincial-level energy consumption data, nighttime light data, and population data, this study realized spatial simulation of energy carbon emissions and analyzed the change characteristics of energy carbon emissions (ECE) and vegetation carbon absorption (VCA) combined with the net primary productivity (NPP)of vegetation. Besides, the relationship between energy carbon emissions, vegetation carbon absorption, and economic development was also analyzed at an urban scale. The results showed that (1) the total ECE increased from 4.34 billion tons in 2000 to 14.43 billion tons in 2019, but the growth rate of ECE decreased from 15.9% during 2000-2010 to 3.1% during 2010-2019. The VCA capacity has been increasing year by year. In 2019, it could absorb 1.56 billion tons more carbon dioxide than in 2000 with an increase of 16.1%. (2) Through the identification of the increasing and decreasing regions of ECE and VCA, it was found that the continuous rise area of ECE accounts for 0.5% of the study area; the area of fluctuating rise accounted for 6.7% of the study area. The area of continuous decline of VCA accounted for 0.2% of the study area; the area of fluctuating decline accounted for 49.6% of the study area. (3) The eastern China accounted for 42% of ECE and 17% of VCA with 11.4% of land, while the western region accounted for 26% of ECE and 55% of VCA with 66.6% of land, which indicated that there were significant differences in the characteristics of carbon budget between the eastern China and the western region. (4) The carbon pressure index (CPI) of most cities was on the rise, but the carbon efficiency index (CEI) was also on the rise, and cities were developing towards the model of low energy consumption and high output value. In a word, the growth rate of ECE is slowing down, and the VCA capacity is increasing. In the process of promoting carbon neutrality, we should be aware of the different resource endowments of different regions, realize the actual role of each region in carbon neutrality and economic development, and allocate carbon neutrality tasks differently.

[Spatialization and Spatio-temporal Dynamics of Energy Consumption Carbon Emissions in China].

The adverse effects of global climate change on human production and life are becoming increasingly prominent. Responding to climate change has become a severe challenge faced by human society, and the reduction in greenhouse gas emissions has gradually become a common action by all countries. Therefore, analyzing carbon emissions through scientific methods has become an important foundation for responding to the national "dual carbon" strategy. This study used provincial-level carbon emission statistics, combined with nighttime light data and population data, and assigned carbon emissions to the grid scale. It also analyzed the temporal and spatial characteristics and evolution characteristics of carbon emissions in China in 2000, 2005, 2010, 2015, and 2018, as well as the correlation between carbon emissions and the economy. The results showed that:① from 2000 to 2018, the total CO2 emissions in China continued to grow, but the growth rate slowed over time. The average annual growth rate of carbon emissions dropped from 9.9% in 2000-2010 to 7.4% in 2010-2018. From the perspective of spatial distribution, carbon-free areas were mainly distributed in the northwest uninhabited area and northeast forest and mountainous areas, low-carbon emissions were mainly distributed in the vast small and medium-sized cities and towns, and high-carbon emissions were concentrated in northern, central, eastern coastal, and western provincial capitals and urban agglomerations. ② Carbon emissions had high-value or low-value agglomerations at prefecture-level cities; this agglomeration tended to stabilize as a whole and had strengthened after 2005. Low-low agglomeration areas were mainly distributed in the western contiguous areas and Hainan Island. With economic and social development, low-low agglomeration areas began to fragment and reduce in size; high-high agglomeration areas were mainly distributed in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei urban agglomeration, Taiyuan urban agglomeration, Yangtze River Delta urban agglomerations, and Pearl River Delta urban agglomerations, and the scale was gradually strengthened and consolidated; high-low and low-high agglomeration areas mainly appeared in neighboring cities with large differences in economic development levels. ③ Carbon emissions in most parts of China were relatively stable. The areas where carbon emissions had changed were mainly distributed in the peripheral areas of provincial capitals and key cities, and there was a circle structure with no changes in the central urban area and changes in carbon emissions in the peripheral areas. ④ The overall process of urban development in China from 2000 to 2018 followed a shift from "low emission-low income" to "high emission-low income" to "high emission-high income" and finally to "low emission-high income." The growth rate of carbon emissions in China is slowing down. Under the background of the "dual carbon" strategy, different regions face different carbon emission reduction tasks and pressures due to different carbon emission situations. Therefore, the differentiated carbon emissions policy should be implemented by regions and industries.

Assessment of Spatio-Temporal Changes for Ecosystem Health: A Case Study of Hexi Corridor, Northwest China.

Ecosystem health (EH) is important for ensuring sustainable development, and the main goal of environmental protection and governance, especially for ecological fragile areas. Scientific assessment of EH can improve decision-making ability and inform sustainable development. In this paper, the effects of natural and social environment were integrated to reflect the characteristics of EH based on a comprehensive assessment system including ecosystem vigor (EV), ecosystem organization (EO), ecosystem resilience (ER), and the ratio of supply to demand of ecosystem services (ESDR) from the perspectives of ecological integrity and human demand for ecosystem services (ES). The Entire-Array-Polygon (EAP) method was applied to calculate an ecosystem health index (EHI) and analyze spatio-temporal change from 2000 to 2020 in Hexi Corridor (HC), Northwest China. The results showed that: (1) The spatial distribution of EV, EO, ER, and ESDR was generally consistent, with a low spatial distribution in the northwest and high in the southeast, the values showed an overall increasing trend from 2000 to 2020. (2) The spatial distribution of EHI was high in the northwest and central regions, and low in the southwest, reflected a moderate health level. The proportion of area with well and relatively well health was increasing, which indicated that EH showed an improving trend. (3) The significantly decrease areas of EHI were mainly located in urban areas, and the increases areas were mainly located outside of urban areas. The distribution of the EH condition has obvious orientation characteristics. The results of the study provide theoretical and practical implications for regional ecological conservation and management.

Multi-phase distribution and comprehensive ecological risk assessment of heavy metal pollutants in a river affected by acid mine drainage.

To date, there is a lack of a comprehensive research on heavy metals detection and ecological risk assessment in river water, sediments, pore water (PW) and suspended solids (SS). Here, the concentrations of heavy metals, including Cu, Zn, Mn, Cd, Pb and As, and their distribution between the four phases was studied. Samples for analysis were taken from twelve sites of the Hengshi River, Guangdong Province, China, during the rainy and dry seasons. A new comprehensive ecological risk index (CERI) based on considering metal contents, pollution indices, toxicity coefficients and water categories is offered for prediction of potential risk on aquatic organisms. The results of comprehensive analysis showed that the highest concentrations of Cu, Zn and Mn of 6.42, 87.17 and 98.74mg/L, respectively, in PW were comparable with those in water, while concentrations of Cd, Pb and As of 609.5, 2757 and 96.38µg/L, respectively, were 2-5 times higher. The sum of the exchangeable and carbonate fractions of target metals in sediments followed the order of Cd > Mn > Zn > Pb > Cu > As. The distribution of heavy metals in phases followed the order of sediment > SS > water > PW, having the sum content in water and PW lower than 2% of total. The elevated ecological risk for a single metal and the phase were 34,585 for Cd and 1160 for water, respectively, implied Cd as a priority pollutant in the considered area. According to the CERI, the maximum risk value of 769.3 was smaller than 1160 in water, but higher than those in other phases. Out of considering the water categories and contribution coefficients, the CERI was proved to be more reliable for assessing the pollution of rivers with heavy metals. These results imply that the CERI has a potential of adequate assessment of multi-phase composite metals pollution.

A novel exopolysaccharide from deep-sea bacterium Zunongwangia profunda SM-A87: low-cost fermentation, moisture retention, and antioxidant activities.

Many marine microorganisms can secrete exopolysaccharides (EPSs) which have important applications in biotechnology. We have purified a novel EPS from deep-sea bacterium Zunongwangia profunda SM-A87, identified its glycosyl composition and linkage, and optimized its production to 8.9 g/l in previous studies. To reduce the fermentation cost, an economical fermentation medium containing 60.9 % whey, 10 g/l soybean meal, and 2.9 % NaCl was developed. The EPS yield of batch fermentation in this medium reached 12.1 ± 0.3 g/l. Fed-batch fermentation was conducted and led to an EPS yield of 17.2 ± 0.4 g/l, which represents the highest EPS yield ever reported for a marine bacterium. The EPS was extracted and it displayed good rheological properties, moisture-retention ability, and antioxidant activity. Particularly, its moisture-retention ability is superior to that of other marine bacterial EPSs reported to date. SM-A87 EPS also showed high antioxidant activity. These results suggest that SM-A87 EPS has promising potentials in biotechnology.