Improving protected area effectiveness through consideration of different human-pressure baselines.

Previous assessments of the effectiveness of protected areas (PAs) focused primarily on changes in human pressure over time and did not consider the different human-pressure baselines of PAs, thereby potentially over- or underestimating PA effectiveness. We developed a framework that considers both human-pressure baseline and change in human pressure over time and assessed the effectiveness of 338 PAs in China from 2010 to 2020. The initial state of human pressure on PAs was taken as the baseline, and changes in human pressure index (HPI) were further analyzed under different baselines. We used the random forest models to identify the management measures that most improved effectiveness in resisting human pressure for the PAs with different baselines. Finally, the relationships between the changes in the HPI and the changes in natural ecosystems in PAs were analyzed with different baselines. Of PAs with low HPI baselines, medium HPI baselines, and high HPI baselines, 76.92% (n=150), 11.11% (n=12), and 22.86% (n=8) , respectively, showed positive effects in resisting human pressure. Overall, ignoring human-pressure baselines somewhat underestimated the positive effects of PAs, especially for those with low initial human pressure. For PAs with different initial human pressures, different management measures should be taken to improve effectiveness and reduce threats to natural ecosystems. We believe our framework is useful for assessing the effectiveness of PAs globally, and we recommend it be included in the Convention on Biological Diversity Post-2020 Strategy.

Las evaluaciones previas de la efectividad de las áreas protegidas (AP) se han enfocado principalmente en los cambios de las presiones humanas con el tiempo y no han considerado las diferentes líneas base de las presiones humanas en las AP, por lo que potencialmente han sobrestimado o subestimado su efectividad. Desarrollamos un marco de trabajo que considera las líneas base de presión humana y los cambios de las presiones humanas con el tiempo y evaluamos a la efectividad de 338 AP en China entre 2010 y 2020. Consideramos el estado inicial de la presión humana en las AP como la línea base y analizamos los cambios en el índice de presión humana (IPH) bajo diferentes líneas base. Utilizamos modelos de bosque aleatorio para identificar las medidas de gestión que más aumentaron la efectividad de la resistencia a las presiones humanas en las AP con líneas base diferentes. Finalmente, analizamos con diferentes líneas base las relaciones entre los cambios en el IPH y los cambios en los ecosistemas naturales de las AP. De las AP con líneas base de IPH bajas, medianas y altas, 76.92% (n=150), 11.11% (n=12) y 22.86% (n=8), respectivamente, mostraron efectos positivos de resistencia a las presiones humanas. En general, si ignoramos las líneas base de las presiones humanas, se subestiman los efectos positivos de las AP de una u otra manera, especialmente aquellas con poca presión humana al inicio. En el caso de las AP que al inicio tienen diferentes presiones humanas, se deben tomar diferentes medidas de gestión para mejorar la efectividad y reducir las amenazas a los ecosistemas naturales. Creemos que nuestro marco de trabajo sirve para evaluar la efectividad mundial de las AP y recomendamos que se incluya en la Estrategia Post-2020 de la Convención sobre la Diversidad Biológica. Mejoría de la Efectividad de un Área Protegida al Considerar Diferentes Líneas Base de Presión Humana.

What is optimal timing of warming for transferring vitrified cleavage stage of day 3 slow-growing embryos? A cohort retrospective study.

PURPOSE: To evaluate optimal warming time, the early warming or the routine warming time, for transferring vitrified-warmed and cultured overnight cleavage stage of the slow-growing embryos on day 3 in frozen embryo transfer (FET) cycle. METHODS: This was a retrospective cohort study from January 2017 to July 2018. A total of 705 FET patients aged < 40 years were included and 1486 embryos were formed, of which 1366 embryos were eventually transferred. RESULTS: For slow-growing embryos, the clinical pregnancy rate of early warming group [152/468 (32.5%)] was significantly higher than that of routine warming group (55/235 (23.4%)) [OR 1.39 (CI 1.06-1.81), p = 0.01], while there was no statistically significant difference in pregnancy loss in early warming group [39/170 (22.9%)] versus in routine warming group [16/62 (25.8%)] [OR 0.89 (CI 0.53-1.47), p = 0.65]. CONCLUSION: For slow-growing embryos, higher pregnancy outcomes were shown in early warming strategy as compared to the routine warming, which suggested that the improvement of endometrium-embryo synchronism may correct the time difference brought by the slow-growing embryos.

Laser-assisted hatching zona thinning does not improve the pregnancy outcomes of poor-quality blastocysts in frozen-thawed embryo transfer cycle: a retrospective cohort study.

It had been suggested, after facilitating the hatching process, improved pregnancy outcomes could be attained in embryos with thick and hard zona. This study aimed to determine the effect of zona thinning on pregnancy outcomes in poor-quality frozen-thawed blastocysts. This retrospective study included 230 women (≤ 40 years) who underwent frozen embryo transfer of poor-quality blastocysts (scored < 3BB). In total, 105 patients were in the assisted hatching group in which the zona was thinned by laser before transfer and 125 patients were in the control group in which the blastocysts were non-manipulated. Patients' demographics, cycle characteristics, and pregnancy outcomes were compared between the assisted hatching group and the control group. Further, regression analysis was applied to test the correlation between assisted hatching and live birth. All parameters in the patients' demographic characteristics and the cycle's characteristics were not significantly different between two groups. As for pregnancy outcomes, the second trimester pregnancy loss was significantly higher in the assisted hatching group (P = 0.035). Other pregnancy outcomes, including implantation rate, clinical pregnancy rate, biochemical miscarriage rate, the first trimester pregnancy loss, ongoing pregnancy rate, and live birth rate were comparable between two groups. The logistic regression analysis demonstrated no association between live birth and assisted hatching (univariate, OR = 0.787, P > 0.05; multivariate, OR = 0.652, P > 0.05), and the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve of the regression model was almost 0.7. It suggested that zona thinning may not be supposed to perform on poor-quality, frozen-thawed blastocysts. The indications of assisted hatching were still needed to further investigate.

FAM9B serves as a novel meiosis-related protein localized in meiotic chromosome cores and is associated with human gametogenesis.

Meiosis is a complex process involving the expression and interaction of numerous genes in a series of highly orchestrated molecular events. Fam9b localized in Xp22.3 has been found to be expressed in testes. However, FAM9B expression, localization, and its role in meiosis have not been previously reported. In this study, FAM9B expression was evaluated in the human testes and ovaries by RT-PCR, qPCR, and western blotting. FAM9B was found in the nuclei of primary spermatocytes in testes and specifically localized in the synaptonemal complex (SC) region of spermatocytes. FAM9B was also evident in the follicle cell nuclei and diffusely dispersed in the granular cell cytoplasm. FAM9B was partly co-localized with SYCP3, which is essential for both formation and maintenance of lateral SC elements. In addition, FAM9B had a similar distribution pattern and co-localization as γH2AX, which is a novel biomarker for DNA double-strand breaks during meiosis. All results indicate that FAM9B is a novel meiosis-associated protein that is co-localized with SYCP3 and γH2AX and may play an important role in SC formation and DNA recombination during meiosis. These findings offer a new perspective for understanding the molecular mechanisms involved in meiosis of human gametogenesis.

[Value evaluation and ecological compensation of endangered species from the perspective of stakeholders: A cases study with Elaeagnus mollise]. / åˆ©ç›Šç›¸å ³è€ è§†è§’ä¸‹çš„æ¿’å±ç‰©ç§ä»·å€¼è¯„ä¼°ä¸Žç”Ÿæ€è¡¥å¿­­ä»¥ç¿ æžœæ²¹æ ‘ä¸ºä¾‹.

The value evaluation of endangered species can provide important supports for policy-making in biodiversity conservation. We evaluated the stakeholders' preference and willingness to pay (WTP) from the perspective of stakeholders by the choice experiment method (CEM) and discussed the ecological compensation mechanism, with Elaeagnus mollis, a national secondary key protected plant as an example. Based on the interest demands analysis of three stakeholders, the management departments, enterprises and farmers, we measured five species attributes of E. mollis, including planting area, product classification, seedling varieties, protection investment, and far-mers' income. Furthermore, the preference of stakeholders and WTP for different attribute variables were analyzed using random parameter model (RPL). The results showed that the preference of respondents for the variable of "increase investment in protection" was the strongest and WTP was the highest (331.00 yuan·a-1·household-1). The stakeholders had stronger preference for the variables of "simultaneous development of high and low-end products" and "development of high-end products", with WTP being 242.71 and 227.57 yuan·a-1·household-1, respectively. For the variables of "farmers' income", "unchanged investment in protection", "seedling varieties" and "planting area", stakeholders showed certain preference and WTP from strong to weak. The prefe-rence for "no investment in protection" and "development of low-end products" was weaker and the WTP was negative. Through direct and indirect approaches of compensation, ecological compensation could be implemented for the objects of ecological compensation (E. mollis and associated habitat). The value of compensating surplus (CS) calculated was 285.62 yuan·a-1·household-1.

Th17 cell frequency and IL-17A production in peripheral blood of patients with non-small-cell lung cancer.

OBJECTIVE: This study investigated the frequency of T-helper (Th)17 lymphocytes and production of cytokine interleukin (IL)-17 in peripheral blood of patients with non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) and their use as a marker of clinical value. METHODS: Sixty patients with NSCLC and 60 healthy volunteers were enrolled in the study. Flow cytometry was used to detect the frequency of Th17 lymphocytes in peripheral blood, and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was used to detect serum levels of IL-17. We analyzed the association of Th17 lymphocytes and IL-17 levels in the peripheral blood of patients with their clinicopathological features. RESULTS: Frequency of Th17 lymphocytes and production of IL-17 were significantly higher in the NSCLC group than in the control group and were higher in patients with a smoking history compared with non-smokers. Moreover, Th17 lymphocyte and IL-17 expression levels were higher in patients with squamous cell carcinoma than in patients with adenocarcinoma, and significantly higher in patients with stage III and IV cancers than in patients at stage I or II. CONCLUSION: Th17 lymphocytes and IL-17 play an important role in the development of NSCLC in patients and may have clinical value as markers for treatment of NSCLC.

[Analysis and evaluation of dynamic accumulation of multiple bioactive constituents in Spatholobi Caulis].

A method was established for simultaneous determination of 21 active constituents including flavanols, isoflavones, flavonols, dihydroflavones, dihydroflavonols, chalcones, pterocarpan, anthocyanidins and phenolic acids in Spatholobi Caulis by ultra fast liquid chromatography with triple quadrupole linear ion trap mass spectrometry(UFLC-QTRAP-MS/MS). Then, it was employed to analyze and evaluate the dynamic accumulation of multiple bioactive constituents in Spatholobi Caulis. The chromatographic separation was performed on a XBridge®C_(18)(4.6 mm×100 mm, 3.5 µm) at 30 ℃ with a gradient elution of 0.3% formic acid aqueous solution-methanol, and the flow rate was 0.8 mL·min~(-1), using multiple-reaction monitoring(MRM) mode. A comprehensive evaluation of the multiple bioactive constituents was carried out by gray correlation analysis(GRA). The 21 target components showed good linearity(r>0.999 0) in the range of the tested concentrations. The average recovery rates of the 21 components were from 97.46% to 103.6% with relative standard deviations less than 5.0%. There were differences in the contents of 21 components in Spatholobi Caulis at diffe-rent harvest periods. Spatholobi Caulis had high quality from early November to early December, which is consistent with the local tradi-tional harvest period. This study reveals the rule of the dynamic accumulation of 21 components in Spatholobi Caulis and provides basic information for the suitable harvest time. At the same time, it provides a new method reference for the comprehensive evaluation of the internal quality of Spatholobi Caulis.

Calcium-sensing receptor antagonist NPS-2143 suppresses proliferation and invasion of gastric cancer cells.

NPS-2143 is a calcium-sensing receptor (CaSR) antagonist that has been demonstrated to possess anticancer activity. To date, the effects of NPS-2143 on gastric cancer (GC) cell growth, motility, and apoptosis have not been investigated. In the present study, we firstly investigated the expression of CaSR in GC tissues using immunohistochemistry and western blotting. Then Cell Counting Kit-8 and colony formation assays were conducted to explore the effect of the NPS-2143 on the proliferation of GC cell line AGS. Transwell invasion and migration assays were performed to test the effect of NPS-2143 on AGS cell motility. We determined the percentage of apoptotic cells by flow cytometry and explored the changes of apoptosis-related protein by western blotting. Furthermore, we constructed a CaSR knockdown AGS cell line to determine whether NPS-2143 acted via inhibition of CaSR. We found that the protein expression level of CaSR was higher in GC tissues compared with the paired adjacent normal tissues. In addition, NPS-2143 treatment caused an inhibitory effect on the proliferation, invasion, and migration of AGS cells and a promoting effect on AGS apoptosis. The expression of Bcl-2 was decreased while the levels of Bax and active caspase 3 were enhanced in AGS cells after NPS-2143 treatment. Mechanistically, NPS-2143 lead to a significant decrease in the expression of phosphorylated (p)-AKT, phosphorylated mechanistic target of rapamycin (p-mTOR), p70, and cyclin D1. Knockdown of CaSR also suppressed cell proliferation, invasion, and migration and promoted cell apoptosis. No significant difference was observed between CaSR-silenced AGS cells with and without NPS-2143 treatment. These results confirmed that NPS-2143 has an inhibitory influence on AGS cell growth via inhibiting CaSR, which then suppresses the PI3K/Akt signaling pathway.

Design, synthesis and biological evaluation of novel indole-based oxalamide and aminoacetamide derivatives as tubulin polymerization inhibitors.

A series of novel indole-based oxalamide and aminoacetamide derivatives were designed, synthesized, and evaluated for antiproliferative activities. Preliminary results revealed that compound 8g exhibited significant antiproliferative effect against PC-3, HeLa and HCT-116 cell lines. Flow cytometric analysis of the cell cycle demonstrated the compound 8g induced the cell cycle arrest at G2/M phase in HeLa cell lines. Immunocytochemistry revealed loss of intact microtubule structure in cells treated with 8g andinhibition of tubulinpolymerization. Additionally, molecular docking analysis suggested that 8g formed stable interactions in the colchicine-binding site of tubulin. These preliminary results demonstrated that a new class of novel indole-based oxalamide and aminoacetamide derivatives described in the investigation could be developed as potential scaffolds to new anticancer agents.

Low genetic differentiation yet high phenotypic variation in the invasive populations of Spartina alterniflora in Guangxi, China.

Genetic variation and population structure may reflect important information for invasion success of exotic plant species and thus help improve management of invasive plants. Spartina alterniflora is an invasive plant that is a major threat to the economy and environment of the coastal regions in China. We analyzed the genetic structure and diversity of six populations of S. alterniflora differing in invasion histories in Guangxi, China. A total of 176 individuals from the six populations produced 348 AFLP fragments. The average heterozygosity was significantly lower than in the native population. And genetic bottlenecks were also detected in most populations. Standardized FST statistics (Φpt = 0.015) and AMOVA results indicated weak genetic differentiation. Genetic admixture and obviously isolation by distance indicated populations in Guangxi come from a pre-admixed population by a single introduction. High phenotypic variations of S. alterniflora in Guangxi influenced by soil salinity and temperature might be an important reason for the successful invasion.

[Effects of a Green Roof on Stormwater Regulation and Cost-benefit Analysis].

Increasingly frequent urban waterlogging disasters, which are mainly caused by the increase in impervious surfaces due to rapid urbanization, have attracted public attention. Green roofs are conducive to increasing the urban pervious surface area to control sources of runoff, which has great significance for the ecological environment. This study uses the green roof of the administrative building of Jinling Primary School in Nanjing as the study area. 76 rainfall-runoff events collected over 17 months (2016-06-2017-10) were used to calculate the comprehensive runoff control ability and factors influencing the green roof in the context of the site scale. Based on life cycle assessment theory, the benefits of stormwater regulation over its 30-year life cycle were quantitatively evaluated. The results show that:① The average retention of the green roof was 62.7%, which could have a significant impact on runoff and peak flow, reducing the runoff time and delaying the flood peak. ② The green roof has a strong ability to retain runoff during small and medium rainfall; however, this ability becomes low when the retention capacity is saturated or not fully recovered, even in small rainfall-runoff events. ③ The main factors affecting the retention ability of the green roof are the total rainfall, rainfall intensity, and water content of the growth substrate soil. ④ The green roof has great economic benefits, with a construction cost of about 12.51 yuan·m-3 and a return on investment of 0.41. The results of this study can provide an important scientific basis and decision-making reference for the planning and construction of green roofs and the promotion of related policies.

Disentangling Environmental and Anthropogenic Impacts on the Distribution of Unintentionally Introduced Invasive Alien Insects in Mainland China.

Globalization increases the opportunities for unintentionally introduced invasive alien species, especially for insects, and most of these species could damage ecosystems and cause economic loss in China. In this study, we analyzed drivers of the distribution of unintentionally introduced invasive alien insects. Based on the number of unintentionally introduced invasive alien insects and their presence/absence records in each province in mainland China, regression trees were built to elucidate the roles of environmental and anthropogenic factors on the number distribution and similarity of species composition of these insects. Classification and regression trees indicated climatic suitability (the mean temperature in January) and human economic activity (sum of total freight) are primary drivers for the number distribution pattern of unintentionally introduced invasive alien insects at provincial scale, while only environmental factors (the mean January temperature, the annual precipitation and the areas of provinces) significantly affect the similarity of them based on the multivariate regression trees.

Acute arterial embolism of left lower extremity caused by paradoxical embolism in Ebstein's anomaly: A case report.

INTRODUCTION: Ebstein's anomaly is a benign and stable congenital heart disease for asymptomatic patients. Despite a low incidence of Ebstein's anomaly (EA), patients' quality of life can be badly affected by EA without positive surgical intervention. Especially EA is associated with other congenital heart disease, such as the atrial septal defect, patent foramen ovale, and arterial embolism exclude other reasons, it is often considered to be the consequence of paradoxical embolism, and surgical intervention must be conducted. CASE REPORT: An 11-year-old girl falling off the bed suffered pain from left lower extremity. Echocardiographic evaluation revealed an EA, severe tricuspid regurgitation, and secundum atrial septal defect. Both left leg amputation and cardiac surgery were conducted after recovery. Under the condition of anesthesia cardiopulmonary bypass extracorporeal circulation, atrial septal defect repair and Cone reconstruction of the tricuspid valve were performed. Patient recovered well and left hospital smoothly. DISCUSSION: EA is a rare and complex congenital cardiac malformation. There are about 80% to 90% of EA patients with combined atrial septal defect and patent foramen ovale. Sudden arterial occlusion is very rare especially in childhood. When thoracic roentgenoscopy, arterial blood gas analysis, coagulation test, and echocardiographic of lower extremity deep venous system are all normal, one should consider the possibility of a paradoxical embolism. If patients have the paradoxical embolism or worsening tricuspid regurgitation, the most suitable therapeutic regimen should be chosen according to patients' condition. With surgical techniques and methods renewed continuously, cone reconstruction of the tricuspid valve has been confirmed in clinical trials, which can use its own tissues to form not only central bloodstream, but also the coaption between leaflet and leaflet.

The modified cone reconstruction in the treatment of Ebstein's anomaly: Case reports.

RATIONALE: To investigate the early and mid-term clinical outcomes of the modified cone reconstruction in the treatment of Ebstein's anomaly (EA) which provide appropriate surgical treatment for clinical and reduce the incidence of re-operation and valve replacement. PATIENT CONCERNS: Clinical data of 18 consecutive patients with EA in our hospital between May 2008 and August 2015 were analyzed retrospectively. All patients were diagnosed by echocardiography. Among these patients, according to New York Heart Association functional grade, there were 12 patients with grade II cardiac function and 6 patients with grade III. All patients had severe tricuspid regurgitation grade. DIAGNOSES: All patients were diagnosed EA. One case was with acute arterial embolism and amputation of left lower extremity caused by paradoxical embolism of combined secundum atrial septal defect. INTERVENTIONS: The modified cone reconstruction in the treatment of EA of the tricuspid valve uses its own tissues to form not only central bloodstream, but also the coaption between 2 leaflets. For those patients whose anterior leaflet developed poor and smaller, the valve leaflet was widened by using autologous pericardial. For all patients, tricuspid annulus were reinforced by autologous pericardial. One case was combined with double-orifice technique due to postoperative poor closure of the tricuspid valve. OUTCOMES: There were 2 cases with arrhythmia, and they returned to normal after medication. The rest patients recovered smoothly with no death. Review of echocardiography: 1 patient with moderate regurgitation, the rest of patients' leaflets coapted well and had no tricuspid stenosis. All cases were followed up postoperatively for 9 to 38 months, and there were 14 patients with grade I cardiac function and 4 patients with grade II. LESSONS: The early and mid-term clinical outcomes of the modified cone reconstruction in the treatment of EA were which can make leaflets coapt and had a strong antiregurgitation ability, reducing the incidence of re-operation, valve replacement, and postoperative mortality.

Analyzing Spectral Characteristics of Water Involving In-Situ Multiangle Polarized Reflectance and Extraction of Water-Leaving Radiance.

Polarization is defined as an asymmetry in the direction of vibration with respect to the direction of light propagation. Polarization information is an important component to remote sensed data, which comprises spatial, spectral, and radiation information. In optical remote sensing, polarization information supplements spectral information. Polarization-based remote sensing has a significant application potential for analyzing the spectral characteristics of water bodies, wherein a very important technique is eliminating the mirror reflection caused by skylight on the water surface and extracting water-leaving radiance that carry the constituent information. The incident sunlight on the surface of water either reflects or scatters owing to the existence of particles in water, which results in water-leaving signals with strong polarization characteristics. The ongoing experiments on remote sensing involve water polarization cover either clean ocean waters under natural light or indoor simulations of water under artificial light; however, turbid inland waters under natural light have rarely been investigated. Through the combination of a field spectroradiometer and a Thompson polarizing prism, this study obtained in-situ measurements of the spectral polarization reflectance over inland waters under natural light conditions. Using the obtained multiangle polarized reflectance spectra, the polarization spectral characteristics of water under multiangle viewing conditions were quantitatively analyzed, and the water-leaving radiance was achieved by eliminating skylight reflection. When observing water bodies at an azimuth of 135° and a zenith of 53°, the measurement of polarization to eliminate skylight reflection had better elimination efficiency than at other viewing angles, and this observation angle was recommended for conducting spectral polarized above-water observations. Compared with the traditional methods including non-polarized above-water measurements, the proposed method is less prone to being affected by changes in weather conditions, and it can extract water-leaving radiance more accurately.

[Construction of an indicator system for evaluating the protection efficacy of national nature reserves in China: A case study on terrestrial vertebrates (excluding migratory birds)].

The protection efficacy of nature reserves is a key element in achieving targets of biodiversity conservation. It is therefore very important to develop a scientific, systematic, and accurate index system for evaluating the protection efficacy of national nature reserves in China. Using methods of frequency statistics, expert consultation, analytic hierarchy process, and demonstration survey, we present a novel index system for evaluating the protection efficacy of Chinese national nature reserves for terrestrial vertebrates (excluding migratory birds) over a 10-year period. The indicator system included one target layer, two system layers, nine factor layers, and forty index layers. The system layer included ecological effectiveness evaluation (with a score of 60%) and management effectiveness evaluation (score of 40%). The ecological effectiveness evaluation was a comprehensive, dynamic evaluation of the target species, population, habitat, and ecological system. The management effectiveness evaluation was focused on the effectiveness of patrol and monitoring. The additional part aimed to analyze the impact of humans on the target species, population and nature resources of the nature reserve. This study combined the ecological effectiveness evaluation and the management effectiveness evaluation for the first time, highlighted the importance of time and space changes, distinguished the influence of natural factors from human factors, and integrated them into the evaluation results. By emphasizing quantifiable indicators, this evaluation index system could vastly assist the protection of nature reserves by improving management effectiveness, biodiversity conservation, and macroscopic decision-making.

[Retrieving Chromophoric Dissolved Organic Matter in Guanting Reservoir Based on in-situ Measured Reflectance Data].

In the present paper, Guanting Reservoir located in Zhangjiakou City, Hebei province and Yanqing District, Beijing, was selected as the study area, and Chromophoric dissolved organic matter (CDOM) content (represented by the CDOM absorption coefficient at 440 nm, aCDOM (440)) was inverted through semi-analytical method and empirical method. The data used in this paper include the spectral data (R (λ)) collected on October 26, 2013 over Guanting Reservoir and aCDOM (λ) measured in the laboratory. A semi-analytical method (QAA-CDOM) was validated and improved accordingly. The inversion result accuracy of QAA-CDOM was not bad, the root-mean-square error (RMSE) was 0.10 and the mean relative error (σ) was 10.8%. The QAA-CDOM method was improved by recalculating the value of Q (the ratio of upwelling irradiance to upwelling radiance just below the water surface) by the field spectral data to replace the fixed value. After this improvement, the inversion accuracy was slightly improved, with RMSE of 0.09 and σ of 10.2%. After that, four band ratios were used in linear regression with aCDOM (440) to build empirical inversion models. The results showed that the performance of the model based on Rrs (531)/Rrs (551) was the best, with R2 of 0.63. The RMSE and σ of the aCDOM(440) result inverted by the empirical method were 0.08 and 8.8% respectively. The empirical method was of higher precision than that of the semi-analytical method, but the bands and coeffi- cients used in the empirical method need to be calibrated by concurrently measured data in each study area. On the contrary, semi-analytical method does not need calibration, and is easier to be applied.

[Effects of agricultural activities and transgenic crops on agricultural biodiversity].

Agricultural biodiversity is a key part of the ecosystem biodiversity, but it receives little concern. The monoculture, environmental pollution and habitat fragmentation caused by agricultural activities have threatened agricultural biodiversity over the past 50 years. To optimize agricultural management measures for crop production and environmental protection, we reviewed the effects of agricultural activities, including cultivation patterns, plastic mulching, chemical additions and the cultivation of transgenic crops, on agricultural biodiversity. The results showed that chemical pesticides and fertilizers had the most serious influence and the effects of transgenic crops varied with other factors like the specific transgene inserted in crops. The environmental risk of transgenic crops should be assessed widely through case-by-case methods, particularly its potential impacts on agricultural biodiversity. It is important to consider the protection of agricultural biodiversity before taking certain agricultural practices, which could improve agricultural production and simultaneously reduce the environmental impacts.

[Analysis of directional reflectance properties of Lake Taihu using multi-angle measurements].

The optical field above water is not isotropic. It is important to study the directional reflectance properties of the optical field above water, which is useful for building water quality parameters retrieving models by remote sensing. The bidirectional reflectance distribution function above oceanic waters has been well studied. However, the bidirectional reflectance distribution function above inland waters is still unresolved. The in-situ measured multi-angle remote sensing reflectance above water provides valuable data for studying directional reflectance properties above water. Unfortunately, such data is almost unavailable for inland waters due to the lack of of feasible instrument. Therefore, the authors designed and manufactured a specialized device to measure in situ multi-angle remote sensing reflectance involving with a spectrometer. We carried out an experiment in Lake Taihu to measure in situ multi-angle remote sensing reflectance data with this device. Then, we analyzed the directional properties of the remote sensing reflectance above water surface of Lake Taihu, and their effects on building water quality parameters retrieving models by remote sensing. Finally, we proposed a strategy for building water quality parameters retrieving models, which could reduce the directional effects of the optical field above inland waters.

[Hyperspectral remote sensing of total suspended matter concentrations in Lake Taihu based on water optical classification].

Four field investigations were carried out in the Taihu Lake for collecting in situ observation data in Nov. 2008, Apr. 2009, May and Aug. 2010. On the basis of water optical classification, different retrieval algorithms were developed, specific for different types of waters. Based on the preformance of each model comparion in each type of waters, the optimal models obtained were (1) the band ratio model for Type 1 water; (2) the semi-analysis algorithm model 2 for Type 2 water; (3) the first-order differential model for Type 3 water. Meanwhile, an optimal retrieval model was also established using the same collection of calibration data. Some comparisons were done between the developed models for the classified and non-classified waters. The comparison results showed that the models for the classified waters had better performances than that for the non-classified water, in both the retrieval accuracy and the model stability. Then, analyses of the optical classification leading to the accuracy decrease of the semi-analysis algorithm model were processed. Finally, the results of this study in hyperspectral remote sensing date showed a great application potential by analysis. The findings of this study are significant for promoting the development of water color remote sensing for optically complex turbid inland waters.