Mapping mangrove sustainability in the face of sea level rise and land use: A case study on Leizhou Peninsula, China.

Habitat loss and degradation of mangrove forests can be caused by both sea level rise (SLR) and unsustainable land practices. Current long-term change projections are often based on changes to mangrove extent; however, this may overlook fragmentation and the associated habitat resilience decline and therefore fail to adequately reveal the risks to mangrove habitats. A mangrove sustainability index (MSI) was proposed in this study to assess the impact of SLR and land use on mangrove habitats. The index consists of four components: habitat area change, habitat quality, landscape pattern, and protection ratio. Ecological models and landscape models were combined to calculate the MSI. Considering the SLR under RCP4.5 and RCP8.5 and land use strategies, four scenarios were set with prediction periods of base year (2020) to 2050 and 2100. The Leizhou Peninsula, China was used as the case study. The results showed that dual stressors would reduce the extent of mangroves by 16.6%-56.2%. Habitat quality was sensitive to land use change but was not affected by SLR. Landscape pattern and protection ratio were influenced by SLR but less effected by land use. In all scenarios, mangroves tended to migrate out of the protected areas, with protection ratio decreasing from 37% to 16.9%-29.9%. Newly expanding habitats may suffer from patch fragmentation and low connectivity. Unsustainable mangrove distribution sites on Leizhou Peninsula were identified as hotspots for management. Projections under different scenarios showed that some unsustainable sites could be reversed to sustainable sites through improvements in land use policies. The proposed approach could provide essential tools for the formulation of mangrove conservation and restoration strategies adapted to climate change.

A Dual Functional Artificial SEI Layer Based on a Facile Surface Chemistry for Stable Lithium Metal Anode.

Solid electrolyte interphase (SEI) on a Li anode is critical to the interface stability and cycle life of Li metal batteries. On the one hand, components of SEI with the passivation effect can effectively hinder the interfacial side reactions to promote long-term cycling stability. On the other hand, SEI species that exhibit the active site effect can reduce the Li nucleation barrier and guide Li deposition homogeneously. However, strategies that only focus on a separated effect make it difficult to realize an ideal overall performance of a Li anode. Herein, a dual functional artificial SEI layer simultaneously combining the passivation effect and the active site effect is proposed and constructed via a facial surface chemistry method. Simultaneously, the formed LiF component effectively passivates the anode/electrolyte interface and contributes to the long-term stable cycling performance, while the Li-Mg solid solution alloy with the active site effect promotes the transmission of Li+ and guides homogeneous Li deposition with a low energy barrier. Benefiting from these advantages, the Li||Li cell with the modified anode performs with a lower nucleation overpotential of 2.3 mV, and an ultralong cycling lifetime of over 2000 h at the current density of 1 mA cm-2, while the Li||LiFePO4 full battery maintains a capacity retention of 84.6% at rate of 1 C after 300 cycles.

The CDKN2A polymorphisms and the susceptibility of HBV-related gestational diabetes mellitus.

BACKGROUND: Single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were discovered in HBV-related gestational diabetes mellitus, but it still unclear whether these SNPs are associated with the susceptibility of HBV-related gestational diabetes mellitus. METHODS: The investigation of the association between CDKN2A polymorphisms and occurrence of HBV-related gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) in Chinese was assessed in the case-control study. A total of 480 pregnant patients with HBV and 530 pregnant controls were consecutively recruited from January 2015 to December 2016. Polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphisms (PCR-RFLP) method was applied to measure genotyping for the detection of CDKN2A. RESULTS: The significant differences in the frequency of CDKN2A genotype distributions, rs10811661 and rs564398, were found by Chi-square test. Using conditional logistic analysis, individuals carrying the CDKN2A rs10811661 TC and TT genotypes and CDKN2A rs564398 AA and AG genotypes were related to a greater risk of HBV-related GDM compared with the genotype. CONCLUSIONS: In conclusion, the CDKN2A rs10811661 and rs564398 polymorphisms showed association with a greater risk of HBV-related GDM in a Chinese population.

In Situ Raman Spectrum Peak Test of Monocrystalline Silicon Wafer under Quantitative Uniaxial Pressure.

The relationship between total uniaxial stress (F/N) and strain (ε/µm/m) of wolfram carbide (WC) base in diamond anvil cell was measured: F=3.395ε+12.212 (R2=0.999 9), and a device was developed which can be used to test the spectral characteristics of the sample in situ under quantitative uniaxial pressure. The Raman spectrum peak of monocrystalline silicon wafer was tested by using this device under a uniaxial pressure up to 2 548.664 MPa. The test result shows that, when the pressure is perpendicular to [100] crystal plane of the monocrystalline silicon sample, the 519.12 cm-1 peak shifts towards high frequency linearly with increasing pressure, and the linear relationship between shift amount of Raman spectrum peak frequency (Δω/cm-1) and pressure (σ/MPa) is: σ=365.80Δω+10.19, wherein the constant may reflect the presence of residual stress in the sample to some extent, and some difference between monomial coefficient and the result of theoretical calculations may be due to sample stress orientation in this experiment.The constant in the Δω-σ linear relationship reflects experimental errors and the value of residual inner stress to some extent.

[Characteristics of Raman spectra of minerals in the veins of Wenchuan earthquake fault zone].

Quartz in the veins at the Shenxigou section of Wenchuan earthquake fault zone was investigated by micro-Raman spectroscopic measurement, and the distribution of compressive stress in the fault zone was estimated by the frequency shifts of the 464 cm-1 vibrational mode of quartz grains in the veins. It was showed that the 464 cm-1 peak arising from the quartz grains in the veins near the fault plane shifts by 3. 29 cm-1 , and the corresponding compressive stress is 368. 63 MPa, which is significantly lower than the stress accumulation on both sides due to multi-stage events. Stress accumulation increased with moving away from the fault plane in the footwall with the offset of the 464 cm-1 peak arising from the quartz grains in the veins increasing, which can reach 494. 77 MPa at a distance of 21 m with a high offset of 4. 40 cm-1 of the 464 cm-1 peak. The compressive stress gets the maximum value of 519.87 MPa at a distance of 10 m from the fault plane in the hanging wall with the offset of the 464 cm-1 peak arising from the quartz grains in the veins being 4. 62 cm-1, followed by a sudden drop in stress accumulation, and it drops to 359. 59 MPa at a distance of 17 m. Because of moving away from the foult plane at the edge of the foult zone, the stress drops to 359. 59 MPa with a small value of 464 cm-1 peak offset 3. 21 cm-1 at a distance of 27 m from the fault plane in the hanging wall due to the little effect by the fault activity. Therefore, the stress of Wenchuan earthquake fault zone is partially released, but the rest of the stress distribution is uneven, and there is also a high stress accumulation in somewhere in the fault zone, which reflects that the mechanical properties of the rocks in the fault zone have a characteristic of unevenness in space.

Hydrochemistry of the hot springs in western Sichuan province related to the Wenchuan MS 8.0 earthquake.

Hydrogeochemistry of 32 hot springs in the western Sichuan Province after the Wenchuan MS 8.0 earthquake was investigated by analyzing the concentrations of cation and anion and the isotopic compositions of hydrogen and oxygen. The water samples of the hot springs were collected four times from June 2008 to April 2010. Hydrogeochemical data indicated the water samples can be classified into 9 chemical types. Values of δ D and δ(18)O indicated that the spring waters were mainly derived from meteoric precipitation and affected by water-rock interaction and mixture of deep fluids. Concentrations of K(+)and SO4(-) of the samples from the Kangding district exhibited evident increases before the Wenchuan earthquake, indicating more supplement of deep fluids under the increase of tectonic stress. The chemical and isotopic variations of the water samples from the area closer to the epicenter area can be attributed to variation of regional stress field when the aftershock activities became weak.

What drives the green development behavior of local governments? A perspective of grounded theory.

Although the elements that lead local governments to adopt sustainable development behaviors have been examined, the underlying processes that local governments adopt to accomplish green development behavior (GDB) lack systematic theoretical analysis. This study aims to investigate the determinants influencing local governments' implementation of GDB from the organizational internal and external perspectives. This study employed grounded theory to analyze the data and develop an influencing factor model of local government green development behavior (GDB-LG) after interviewing 53 Chinese local officials. Additionally, through integrating process organization research with new institutional theory, the mechanism that explains how these elements influence GDB was investigated. The results of the study demonstrate that the influencing factors model could give municipal governments clear guidance when creating sensible green development policies, further enhancing the efficacy of GDB.

Complexity and chaos control of dynamic evolution in energy vehicle production decisions.

This study aims to build a dynamic evolutionary game model for production decisions related to new energy vehicles and traditional fuel vehicles under a dual credit policy. The equilibrium point is calculated, and its stability is evaluated. Meanwhile, the dynamic evolution process of the system is simulated numerically, and the results reveal the complexity of the evolution process. Finally, the delay feedback control method is used to suppress the chaos of the model. Results show that in the production competition of duopoly automobile enterprises, automobile enterprises react too quickly to the market, thus resulting in system imbalance and chaos. At the same time, new energy vehicles are more sensitive to the market than traditional fuel vehicles. An excessively large output adjustment speed is not conducive to the smooth transformation of the automobile market. In addition, the delay feedback control method can effectively suppress the chaos in the system. The larger the delay feedback parameter, the faster the system returns to a steady state. This result suggests that policymakers should reflexively use this approach in practice.

Influence of research and development, environmental regulation, and consumption of energy on CO2 emissions in China-novel spatial Durbin model perspective.

Global warming continues to be an intimidating factor for environmental protection, and reducing carbon emissions is an effective way to deal with the phenomenon. However, the energy sector is a significant contributor to greenhouse gas emissions. Therefore, investment in environmental regulations and research and development (R&D), is critical for fostering a low-carbon growth model. This study focuses on 30 provinces in China from 2004 to 2019. We used the spatial Durbin model to investigate how the spatial spillover effect of R&D and environmental regulation impacts carbon emissions. In addition, we applied the dynamic threshold panel model to mitigate potential problems of endogeneity. The results reveal that carbon emissions have a considerable spatial correlation in both temporal and spatial dimensions, exhibiting high and low-value accumulation characteristics. Furthermore, the combined effect of R&D intensity, environmental regulation, and energy consumption were found to contribute to the increase in carbon emissions across China's provinces, and they also suggest different influencing mechanisms. The spillover effects of increased carbon emissions in neighboring regions also contribute to the increase in local carbon emissions. The study also found that R&D and stringent environmental regulations measures strongly moderate the link between energy consumption and carbon emissions. In promoting carbon reduction, by breaking the dynamic equilibrium in China, the provincial investment outflow on R&D intensity could be optimized, and the regional levels should focus more on tightening environmental regulatory measures and promoting the development of energy-conserving technologies.

Explaining the Green Development Behavior of Local Governments for Sustainable Development: Evidence from China.

Although researchers have examined organizational sustainability practices, a specific interpretation of local government green development practices remains for supplemental analysis. This study conducted an empirical survey of 53 local officials from departments related to green development to understand the key processes and practices of green development behavior of local governments in China. The key findings indicate that the main stakeholders involved in the green development practices of Chinese local governments consist of enterprises and residents. In part, local government green development practices emphasize the greening of enterprises, especially in the step of process environmental regulation. The new institutionalism theory and the organizational process research provide dependable insights into green development behaviors. Our findings further shed light on the process of cross-sectoral cooperation across local government departments in green development, contributing to local multi-sectoral interactions for regional green development.

Advancing DNA Barcoding to Elucidate Elasmobranch Biodiversity in Malaysian Waters.

The data provided in this article are partial fragments of the Cytochrome c oxidase subunit 1 mitochondrial gene (CO1) sequences of 175 tissues sampled from sharks and batoids collected from Malaysian waters, from June 2015 to June 2022. The barcoding was done randomly for six specimens from each species, so as to authenticate the code. We generated barcodes for 67 different species in 20 families and 11 orders. DNA was extracted from the tissue samples following the Chelex protocols and amplified by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) using the barcoding universal primers FishF2 and FishR2. A total of 654 base pairs (bp) of barcode CO1 gene from 175 samples were sequenced and analysed. The genetic sequences were blasted into the NCBI GenBank and Barcode of Life Data System (BOLD). A review of the blast search confirmed that there were 68 valid species of sharks and batoids that occurred in Malaysian waters. We provided the data of the COI gene mid-point rooting phylogenetic relation trees and analysed the genetic distances among infra-class and order, intra-species, inter-specific, inter-genus, inter-familiar, and inter-order. We confirmed the addition of Squalus edmundsi, Carcharhinus amboinensis, Alopias superciliosus, and Myliobatis hamlyni as new records for Malaysia. The establishment of a comprehensive CO1 database for sharks and batoids will help facilitate the rapid monitoring and assessment of elasmobranch fisheries using environmental DNA methods.

Heterogeneity of Fish Taxonomic and Functional Diversity Evaluated by eDNA and Gillnet along a Mangrove-Seagrass-Coral Reef Continuum.

The effective and reliable monitoring of fish communities is important for the management and protection of marine ecosystems. Environmental DNA (eDNA) metabarcoding is a relatively new method that has been widely used in recent years, while traditional sampling via fish catching (i.e., gillnets) is one of the most common and reliable fish monitoring methods used to date. We compared the taxonomic and functional diversity of fish detected within a mangrove-seagrass-coral reef continuum using both survey methods. One liter seawater and gillnet samples were collected in August 2021 from mangrove forests, seagrass meadows and coral reef habitats (n = 3 each) in Hainan, China. Surveys using eDNA and gillnets identified 139 genera belonging to 66 families and 58 genera belonging to 42 families, respectively. Regardless of the survey method, fish detected in mangrove, seagrass and coral reef habitats were heterogeneous in their communities; however, the shared species between habitats suggest some degree of connectivity. There were no significant differences between habitats in terms of taxonomic and functional diversity, but a higher taxonomic diversity was detected using eDNA. Both methods were able to distinguish fish assemblages between different habitats; however, gillnet surveys performed better than eDNA surveys for distinguishing mangrove from seagrass assemblages. Therefore, the concurrent use of eDNA and gillnet survey methods provides a more comprehensive approach to understanding the heterogeneity of fish taxonomic and functional diversity along mangrove-seagrass-coral reef continuums.

[Variation of Raman spectra of oligoclase under 1.0-4.4 GPa].

Variation of crystal structure of oligoclase with pressure was investigated by the approach of diamond anvil cell (DAC) and in situ micro-Raman spectroscopic measurement at room temperature and under pressures from 1.0 to 4.4 GPa. At 2.9 GPa a new peak round 517 cm(-1) appeared, and a new phase was produced. Near 3.4 GPa a major discontinuity occurs in the pressure dependence of 288 cm(-1) peak arising from the stretching mode of M-O, and 517 cm(-1) peak disappeared, it implied that the oligoclase underwent triclinic to monoclinic phase transition completely at about 3.4 GPa. The peaks at 458 and 516 cm(-1) peaks arising from flexural vibrational mode of Si-O-Si shifted linearly with the increasing pressures, the pressure-related slopes are 1.667 cm(-1)/GPa and 3.560 cm(-1)/GPa, respectively, whereas, the flexural vibrational mode of Al-O-Al at 480 cm(-1) did not shifted linearly with the increasing pressures. The position of 288 cm(-1) peak did not change obviously in comparision with 458, 516 and 480 cm(-1) peaks, which shifted to lower frequency during decompression. The phase transition pressure of feldspar relates to the species of cation in the octatomic rings.

Spatial-Temporal Evolution and Influencing Factors of Urban Green and Smart Development Level in China: Evidence from 232 Prefecture-Level Cities.

Green and smart city is an optimal choice for cities to realize their modernization of governance capacity and sustainable development. As such, it is necessary to clarify the evolutionary characteristics and driving mechanism of urban green and smart development level (GSDL) systematically. From the perspective of green total factor productivity (GTFP), this study adopted the SBM-GML (slack-based model & global Malmquist-Luenberger) method to measure the urban GSDL considering smart input-output elements. Based on the panel data of China's 232 prefecture-level cities from 2005 to 2018, the spatial and temporal evolution characteristics of urban GSDL were explored, and the factors and structural mutation points affecting urban GSDL were analyzed with quantile regression tests and threshold regression tests. The findings of this paper showed that (1) there is an upward trend in the volatility of urban GSDL from 2005 to 2018, in which the eastern region was highest, followed by the central and western regions, and the differentiation showed no converge among regions; (2) the effect of technical progress and technical efficiency improvement on the urban GSDL was demonstrated with a fluctuating "Two-Wheel-Drive" trend on the whole; (3) the urban GSDL was promoted by the opening-up level and urban scale significantly, while inhibited by the level of economic development and government size. Additionally, the effects of industrial structure, financial development level, and human capital level on the urban GSDL were distinctive at different loci; (4) the threshold effects of economic and financial development level on improving the positive effects of industrial structure and opening-up level on urban GSDL were significant. These findings may enrich the research literature on the evolutionary heterogeneity of green and smart cities and provide theoretical and practical exploration for the construction of green and smart cities.

Leader's strategies for designing the promotional path of regional brand competitiveness in the context of economic globalization.

In the era of economic globalization, the competitiveness of products on a global scale is increasingly achieved through effective and sustainable strategies for brand development by the leaders. This paper conducts an empirical study on regional brand competitiveness (BC) influencing factors. A research model was proposed and tested by employing structural equation modeling. Data analysis was conducted using 214 valid questionnaires from two major producing areas in Jilin Province, China. Research results show that Brand Market (BM) and Government Guidance (GG) directly and positively impact the regional BC. Regional Resource (RR) and industrial development (ID) indirectly impact the regional BC through the mediating role of BM and GG. BM is the most important factor affecting the regional BC. Based on this, the path to improve the competitiveness of traditional agricultural products under economic globalization is determined, and targeted countermeasures and suggestions are formulated for the existing problems.

COVID-19 Pandemic Implications for Corporate Sustainability and Society: A Literature Review.

The paper revises the ample empirical and theoretical literature on sustainable organizational growth and strategic leadership relating to the critical aspects of the ongoing pandemic, including poverty, social responsibility, public health, and organizational and managerial innovation. Drawing from available COVID-19, management, and sustainable leadership publications released from 2020 to 2021, this paper considers influential studies exploring core business concepts, principles, philosophies, and activities for accelerating, stimulating, and nurturing social and corporate sustainability. The study analyzed the characteristics and interrelation of 133 articles through bibliometric and literature systemization techniques. We shed light on the significant influence COVID-19 has had on financial, operational, and psychological solvency and organizational health to elucidate expectations and implications for businesses worldwide concerning the long-term financial and functional impact of COVID-19. An overview of the relevant studies on the individual, organizational, and external factors relating to novel disease's relation to sustainability are provided. We emphasize the need for digital transformation following the COVID-19 upheaval and throughout the upcoming years. Some of the generally employed techniques in response to adversity entail portfolio diversification, service delivery innovation, product redesigning, new market development, partnering with competitors and/or complementary service providers, synergizing with other stakeholders, and open innovation.

The dynamic evolution of collaborative networks in sustainable development: Untying impact of environmental policy in China using network-based text analysis approach.

As one of the key subjects of multi-center governance of environmental concerns, public perception is crucial in forming and implementing environmental policy. Based on data science research theory and the original theory of public perception, this study proposes a research framework to analyze environmental policy through network text analysis. The primary contents are bidirectional encoder representation from transformers-convolution neural network (BERT-CNN) sentiment tendency analysis, word frequency characteristic analysis, and semantic network analysis. The realism of the suggested framework is demonstrated by using the waste classification policy as an example. The findings indicate a substantial relationship between perceived subject participation and policy pilot areas and that perceived subject participation is repeating. On this premise, specific recommendations are made to encourage policy implementation.

The environmental consequences of foreign aid and key economic indicators: the Sino-Africa perspective.

The study differs substantially from earlier studies, by probing the environmental consequences of foreign aid and selected key economic indicators with a special focus on Sino-Africa. The study focused on China and its top foreign aid recipients in Africa in the last decade. This paper utilizes the Dynamic Augmented Mean Group Estimator (AMG), a robust and recent econometric approach to provide better statistical inferences; crucial for policy formulation and future reforms on foreign aid, trade, energy, pollutions, and economic growth of economies. The findings of the study revealed the China's Foreign aid oriented towards infrastructure has varying impacts on the economic growth and the environment of most recipient African Countries. The findings revealed the incidence of foreign aid ameliorating pollution of the countries: Nigeria and Morocco under strong domestic institutions. The study is of key relevance for policymakers and stakeholders as it explicates the key pillars, policies, and guidelines needed for foreign aid, trade, economic growth, and related internal reforms for mitigating resulting environmental pollution across a wider international context.

Electrolyte Design Enabling Stable Solid Electrolyte Interface for High-Performance Silicon/Carbon Anodes.

Silicon (Si)-based materials have been considered as one of the most promising anodes for the development of high-energy-density lithium-ion batteries (LIBs). However, poor interfacial stability and structural degradation are critical challenges for the successful application of Si-based anodes in LIBs. Herein, the use of a novel fluorinated carbonate (trifluoropropylene carbonate, TFPC) with high reduction potential and rapid film-forming ability as an electrolyte cosolvent is reported, which overcomes the deterioration of the electrode structure that hinders the battery quality. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy combined with Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy technology investigated the composition and distribution of the solid electrolyte interface (SEI) layer formed on the Si/C anode. Notably, a stable SEI with an organic and inorganic bilayer structure was formed in this electrolyte design, and excellent mechanical properties and ionic conductivity were achieved. Moreover, the Li intercalation mechanism is elucidated by in situ Raman characterization. Benefited from this unique SEI, the Si/C-based batteries exhibit compelling cycling and rate performance. This work provides an in-depth understanding of the Li intercalation mechanism of the Si/C electrode, as well as a novel electrolyte, for high-performance LIBs.