Features of architectural landscape fragmentation in traditional villages in Western Hunan, China.

With rapid industrialization and urbanization in China, inadequate preservation of traditional architecture coupled with natural deterioration have led to the fragmentation of architectural landscapes. Drawing from ecological fragmentation research in landscape ecology, we consider the cultural landscape as our research object, viewing buildings as landscape patches, and determine a system for measuring architectural landscape fragmentation in traditional villages. The study shows the degree of landscape fragmentation can reveal the characteristics of traditional villages and the process of regional modernization. The results are as follows: (1) From the perspective of landscape diversity, the study area was rich in landscape types in all dimensions, and the relative evenness index was high, signifying evident or severe fragmentation. (2) The index of landscape heterogeneity in the dimensions of building quality, height, and landscape appearance is low in the study area, with mild levels of landscape fragmentation caused by heterogeneity in the aforementioned dimensions. (3) Mild fragmentation suggests the integrity and homogeneity of architectural landscape types, reflecting a lagging level of economic development, whereas high fragmentation signifies rapid economic development, leading to a substantial deterioration in the integrity and homogeneity of architectural landscape types. Therefore, efforts to preserve and develop traditional villages should not solely aim for low fragmentation as it could potentially constrain sustainable development.

Spatiotemporal patterns of global carbon intensities and their driving forces.

Carbon intensity (CI) is a valuable indicator of the balances struck by the world's governments between economic growth and environmental issues. This study investigates spatiotemporal variations in the CI levels related to energy consumption, as well as the spatial heterogeneity of its driving forces, in 208 countries globally during 2000-2018. To do this, we obtained data from the International Energy Agency (IEA) and the World Bank, employing methods of exploratory spatial data analysis (ESDA) and standard deviation ellipse (SDE) in order to analyze CI's spatiotemporal variations. We also performed a geographically weighted regression (GWR) analysis to determine the spatial heterogeneity of CI and the strength of its influencing factors. Our results reveal that: (1) Carbon emissions from energy consumption increased, while CI decreased globally, with the CI of most countries and regions declining significantly. (2) Global CI evidenced a heterogeneous spatial distribution, with higher-value areas concentrated in Asia and lower-value areas in Africa and Western Europe; obvious spatial agglomeration was also presented, especially with respect to High-High and Low-Low agglomerations, and the gravity center point moved from the northeast to the southwest. (3) The 8 influencing factors investigated in this study all had effective explanatory power in relation to CI globally. These factors showed significant spatial heterogeneity, and energy structure was the only factor to have a fully positive influence on CI, while foreign direct investment, foreign trade openness, industrial structure, total population, and energy intensity, mainly exerted a positive influence, and the urbanization rate and GDP per capita exerted a negative influence. By clarifying the spatiotemporal variations characteristics of global CI and the spatial heterogeneity of its influencing factors, this study provides a targeted reference for reducing CI and promoting sustainable development, globally.

A Cu²âº-selective fluorescent chemosensor based on BODIPY with two pyridine ligands and logic gate.

A novel near-infrared fluorescent chemosensor based on BODIPY (Py-1) has been synthesized and characterized. Py-1 displays high selectivity and sensitivity for sensing Cu(2+) over other metal ions in acetonitrile. Upon addition of Cu(2+) ions, the maximum absorption band of Py-1 in CH3CN displays a red shift from 603 to 608 nm, which results in a visual color change from pink to blue. When Py-1 is excited at 600 nm in the presence of Cu(2+), the fluorescent emission intensity of Py-1 at 617 nm is quenched over 86%. Notably, the complex of Py-1-Cu(2+) can be restored with the introduction of EDTA or S(2-). Consequently, an IMPLICATION logic gate at molecular level operating in fluorescence mode with Cu(2+) and S(2-) as chemical inputs can be constructed. Finally, based on the reversible and reproducible system, a nanoscale sequential memory unit displaying "Writing-Reading-Erasing-Reading" functions can be integrated.