bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Existing and Emerging Approaches to Risk Assessment in Patients with Ascending Thoracic Aortic Dilatation
Authors: Anfinogenova Nina D. , Sinitsyn Valentin E. , Kozlov Boris N. , Panfilov Dmitry S. , Popov Sergey V. , Vrublevsky Alexander V. , Chernyavsky Alexander , Bergen Tatyana , Khovrin Valery V. , Ussov Wladimir Yu.
Published: October 2022

Ascending thoracic aortic aneurysm is a life-threatening disease, which is difficult to detect prior to the occurrence of a catastrophe. Epidemiology patterns of ascending thoracic aortic dilations/aneurysms remain understudied, whereas the risk assessment of it may be improved. The electronic databases PubMed/Medline 1966–2022, Web of Science 1975–2022, Scopus 1975–2022, and RSCI 1994–2022 were searched. The current guidelines recommend a purely aortic diameter-based assessment of the thoracic aortic aneurysm risk, but over 80% of the ascending aorta dissections occur at a size that is lower than the recommended threshold of 55 mm. Moreover, a 55 mm diameter criterion could exclude a vast majority (up to 99%) of the patients from preventive surgery. The authors review several visualization-based and alternative approaches which are proposed to better predict the risk of dissection in patients with borderline dilated thoracic aorta. The imaging-based assessments of the biomechanical aortic properties, the Young’s elastic modulus, the Windkessel function, compliance, distensibility, wall shear stress, pulse wave velocity, and some other parameters have been proposed to improve the risk assessment in patients with ascending thoracic aortic aneurysm. While the authors do not argue for shifting the diameter threshold to the left, they emphasize the need for more personalized solutions that integrate the imaging data with the patient’s genotypes and phenotypes in this heterogeneous pathology.
Direct-Grown Helical-Shaped Tungsten-Oxide-Based Devices with Reconfigurable Selectivity for Memory Applications
Authors: Chen Ying-Chen , Huang Yifu , Sarkar Sumant , Gibbs John , Lee Jack
Published: October 2022

In this study, a direct-grown helical-shaped tungsten-oxide-based (h-WOx) selection device is presented for emerging memory applications. The selectivity in the selection devices is from 10 to 103 with a low off-current of 0.1 to 0.01 nA. In addition, the selectivity of volatile switching in the h-WOx selection devices is reconfigurable with a pseudo RESET process on the one-time negative voltage operations. The helical-shaped selection devices with the glancing angle deposition (GLAD) method show good compatibility, low power consumption, good selectivity, and good reconfigurability for next-generation memory applications.
Characterizing Gas Hydrate-Bearing Marine Sediments Using Elastic Properties—Part 2: Seismic Inversion Based on a Pore-Filling–Solid Matrix Decoupling Scheme
Authors: Guo Zhiqi , Lv Xiaoyu , Liu Cai , Chen Haifeng , Mei Lulu
Published: October 2022

Characterizing gas hydrate-bearing marine sediments using seismic methods is essential for locating potential hydrate resources. However, most existing pre-stack seismic inversion methods estimate the properties of sediments containing gas hydrates without considering specific characteristics associated with gas hydrate occurrences. In the present study, a pore-filling–solid matrix decoupling amplitude variation with offset (AVO) formula is proposed to represent seismic reflectivity in terms of properties associated with gas hydrates. Based on the rock physics relationships of solid substitution, the parameters introduced into the decoupling AVO equation estimate the concentration of gas hydrates with different occurrences, including pore fillings mixed with water and solid components forming part of the dry sediment frame. A theoretical model test indicates that seismic attributes obtained with the decoupling AVO inversion are superior to the conventional wave velocities-related properties in predicting gas hydrate saturations. A realistic model test further validates the applicability of the proposed method in characterizing a gas hydrate system with varying concentrations and layer thickness. By adjusting the tuning parameters, the configurations and concentrations of the gas hydrate system can be identified using the obtained attributes. Therefore, the presented method provides a useful tool for the characterization of gas hydrate-bearing sediments.
Numerical Investigation of Flow around Two Tandem Cylinders in the Upper Transition Reynolds Number Regime Using Modal Analysis
Authors: Nazvanova Anastasiia , Yin Guang , Ong Muk Chen
Published: October 2022

Flow around two tandem cylinders at Re = 3.6 × 106 for different center-to-center spacing ratio (L/D) is investigated numerically using two-dimensional (2D) Unsteady Reynolds-Averaged Navier–Stokes (URANS) equations combined with a standard k−ω SST turbulence model. The instantaneous flow structures around the cylinders, hydrodynamic forces on the cylinders and Strouhal number (St) are analyzed and discussed. Dynamic Mode Decomposition (DMD) is used to extract the spatiotemporal information of the coherent flow structures in the wake regions behind the upstream (UC) and downstream (DC) cylinders. A sparsity-promoted algorithm is implemented to select the dominant modes which contribute the most to the dynamics of the system. Based on the dominant modes, a reduced-order representation of the flows is built. A comparison of the lift and drag force–time histories, obtained by simulation results and the reduced-order representations, shows a high capability of the latter to reproduce the surrounding flow and hydrodynamic properties of the tandem cylinders at the high Reynolds number.
Nutritional Appraisal and Antidiabetic Activity of a Kind of Mixed Plasma Proteolytic Peptide from Tachpleus tridentatus
Authors: Kang Xinhuang , Zhang Guoguang , Wu Yulian , Deng Chunmei
Published: October 2022

Based on the bioactivities of blood protein, the nutritional appraisal and antidiabetic activity of a kind of mixed plasma proteolytic peptide from Tachpleus tridentatus (PPPT) were studied in this work. Results indicated that the amino acid level of PPPT could meet an adult’s FAO/WHO recommended standard; PPPT also manifested inhibitory activity on α-glucosidase with IC50 at 2.62 mg/mL in vitro, and relieved symptoms of type II diabetic mouse in vivo by improving glucose tolerance, increasing insulin secretion by 5.15 mIU/L in the PPPT-4 group and by 4.54 mIU/L in the PPPT-1 group, reducing blood glucose values to nearly normal levels 120 min after intragastric administration, and restoring pathological damage in the thymus. Thus, PPPT can be developed into both a healthcare product and an adjuvant for type II diabetes in the future.
Detection Method of Marine Biological Objects Based on Image Enhancement and Improved YOLOv5S
Authors: Li Peng , Fan Yibing , Cai Zhengyang , Lyu Zhiyu , Ren Weijie
Published: October 2022

Marine biological object detection is of great significance for the exploration and protection of underwater resources. There have been some achievements in visual inspection for specific objects based on machine learning. However, owing to the complex imaging environment, some problems, such as low accuracy and poor real-time performance, have appeared in these object detection methods. To solve these problems, this paper proposes a detection method of marine biological objects based on image enhancement and YOLOv5S. Contrast-limited adaptive histogram equalization is taken to solve the problems of underwater image distortion and blur, and we put forward an improved YOLOv5S to improve accuracy and real-time performance of object detection. Compared with YOLOv5S, coordinate attention and adaptive spatial feature fusion are added in the improved YOLOv5S, which can accurately locate the target of interest and fully fuse the features of different scales. In addition, soft non-maximum suppression is adopted to replace non-maximum suppression for the improvement of the detection ability for overlapping objects. The experimental results show that the contrast-limited adaptive histogram equalization algorithm can effectively improve the underwater image quality and the detection accuracy. Compared with the original model (YOLOv5S), the proposed algorithm has a higher detection accuracy. The detection accuracy AP50 reaches 94.9% and the detection speed is 82 frames per second; therefore, the real-time performance can be said to reach a high level.
Ship Collaborative Path Planning Method Based on CS-STHA
Authors: Yao Jiyu , Gang Longhui
Published: October 2022

Ship path planning is one of the key technologies for ship automation. Establishing a cooperative collision avoidance (CA) path for multi-ship encounters is of great value to maritime intelligent transportation. This study aims to solve the problem of multi-ship collaborative collision avoidance based on the algorithm of Conflict Search (CS) and Space-Time Hybrid A-star (STHA). First, a static CA path is searched for each ship by using the space-time Hybrid A-star algorithm, and the conflict risk area is determined according to the ship safety distance constraint and fuzzy Collision Risk Index (CRI). Secondly, the space-time conflict constraint is introduced into the multi-ship cooperative CA scheme, and the binary tree is used to search for an optimal navigation path with no conflict and low cost. In addition, the optimal path is smoothed by using cubic interpolation to make the path consistent with actual navigation practice and ship maneuvering characteristics. Finally, considering the constraints of the International Regulations for Preventing Collisions at Sea (COLREGs), the typical two-ship and multi-ship encounter scenarios are designed and simulated to verify the effectiveness of the proposed method. Furthermore, a comparative analysis of actual encounters and encounters based on CS-STHA is also carried out. The results indicate that the proposed algorithm in the study can obtain an optimal CA path effectively and provide a reference of CA decision-making for autonomous ships.
Validation of the Satellite Method for Measuring Spectra of Spatially Inhomogeneous Sea Waves
Authors: Bondur Valery , Dulov Vladimir , Kozub Vladimir , Murynin Alexander , Yurovskaya Maria , Yurovsky Yury
Published: October 2022

A method for retrieving 2D spatial spectra of sea wave elevations and slopes from high resolution (about 1 m) satellite imagery has been developed that also allows for assessing sea wave angular distributions. A validation of the suggested method was carried out based on the results from a comprehensive experiment that included both satellite imaging of the Black Sea water area and sea truth under controlled conditions. The retrieval of spatial wave spectra from fragments of a satellite image and comparison with the results of measuring the frequency spectra from sea truth data obtained using an array of string wave recorders were carried out. Wave spectra from remote and in situ data are consistent in the frequency range of 0.2–1.1 Hz, corresponding to wavelengths from 1.3 to 39 m.
Novel and Investigational Treatments for Onychomycosis
Authors: Gregoriou Stamatios , Kyriazopoulou Maria , Tsiogka Aikaterini , Rigopoulos Dimitrios
Published: October 2022

Onychomycosis is a common nail disease caused by fungi. The primary pathogens are dermatophytes; however, yeasts, non-dermatophyte moulds, and mixed fungal populations may also contribute to the development of a recalcitrant condition, usually accompanied by difficulties in everyday life and severe emotional stress. Treatment failure and relapse of the infection are the most frequent problems, though new issues have become the new challenges in the therapeutic approach to onychomycosis. Resistance to antifungals, an increasing number of comorbidities, and polydrug use among the ageing population are imperatives that impose a shift to safer drugs. Topical antifungals are considered less toxic and minimally interact with other drugs. The development of new topical drugs for onychomycosis is driven by the unmet need for effective agents with prolonged post-treatment disease-free time and a lack of systemic impact on the patients’ health. Efinaconazole, Tavaborole, and Luliconazole have been added to physicians’ weaponry during the last decade, though launched on the market of a limited number of countries. The pipeline is either developing new products (e.g., ME-1111 and NP213) with an appealing combination of pharmacokinetic, efficacy, and safety properties or reformulating old, well-known drugs (Terbinafine and Amphotericin B) by using new excipients as penetration enhancers.
Research Progress on Fungal Sesterterpenoids Biosynthesis
Authors: Zhang Ping , Qi Jianzhao , Duan Yingce , Gao Jin-ming , Liu Chengwei
Published: October 2022

Sesterterpenes are 25-carbon terpenoids formed by the cyclization of dimethyl allyl diphosphate (DMAPP) and isopentenyl diphosphate (IPP) as structural units by sesterterpenes synthases. Some (not all) sesterterpenoids are modified by cytochrome P450s (CYP450s), resulting in more intricate structures. These compounds have significant physiological activities and pharmacological effects in anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, antitumour, and hypolipidemic communities. Despite being a rare class of terpenoids, sesterterpenoids derived from fungi show a wide range of structural variations. The discovered fungal sesterterpenoid synthases are composed of C-terminal prenyltransferase (PT) and N-terminal terpene synthase (TS) domains, which were given the name PTTSs. PTTSs have the capacities to catalyze chain lengthening and cyclization concurrently. This review summarizes all 52 fungal PTTSs synthases and their biosynthetic pathways involving 100 sesterterpenoids since the discovery of the first PTTSs synthase from fungi in 2013.
Management of Plant Beneficial Fungal Endophytes to Improve the Performance of Agroecological Practices
Authors: Nasslahsen Bouchra , Prin Yves , Ferhout Hicham , Smouni Abdelaziz , Duponnois Robin
Published: October 2022

By dint of the development of agroecological practices and organic farming, stakeholders are becoming more and more aware of the importance of soil life and banning a growing number of pesticide molecules, promoting the use of plant bio-stimulants. To justify and promote the use of microbes in agroecological practices and sustainable agriculture, a number of functions or services often are invoked: (i) soil health, (ii) plant growth promotion, (iii) biocontrol, (iv) nutrient acquiring, (v) soil carbon storage, etc. In this paper, a review and a hierarchical classification of plant fungal partners according to their ecosystemic potential with regard to the available technologies aiming at field uses will be discussed with a particular focus on interactive microbial associations and functions such as Mycorrhiza Helper Bacteria (MHB) and nurse plants.
The First Telomere-to-Telomere Chromosome-Level Genome Assembly of Stagonospora tainanensis Causing Sugarcane Leaf Blight
Authors: Xu Fu , Li Xiuxiu , Ren Hui , Zeng Rensen , Wang Zhoutao , Hu Hongli , Bao Jiandong , Que Youxiong
Published: October 2022

The sexual morph Leptosphaeria taiwanensis Yen and Chi and its asexual morph Stagonospora tainanensis W. H. Hsieh is an important necrotrophic fungal phytopathogen, which causes sugarcane leaf blight, resulting in loss of cane tonnage and sucrose in susceptible sugarcane varieties. Decoding the genome and understanding of the basis of virulence is vitally important for devising effective disease control strategies. Here, we present a 38.25-Mb high-quality genome assembly of S. tainanensis strain StFZ01, denovo assembled with 10.19 Gb Nanopore sequencing long reads (~267×) and 3.82 Gb Illumina short reads (~100×). The genome assembly consists of 12 contigs with N50 of 2.86 Mb of which 5 belong to the telomere to telomere (T2T) chromosome. It contains 13.20% repeat sequences, 12,543 proteins, and 12,206 protein-coding genes with the BUSCO completeness 99.18% at fungi (n = 758) and 99.87% at ascomycota (n = 1706), indicating the high accuracy and completeness of our gene annotations. The virulence analysis in silico revealed the presence of 2379 PHIs, 599 CAZys, 248 membrane transport proteins, 191 cytochrome P450 enzymes, 609 putative secreted proteins, and 333 effectors in the StFZ01 genome. The genomic resources presented here will not only be helpful for development of specific molecular marker and diagnosis technique, population genetics, molecular taxonomy, and disease managements, it can also provide a significant precise genomic reference for investigating the ascomycetous genome, the necrotrophic lifestyle, and pathogenicity in the future.
Genetic Diversity and Population Structure of Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. conglutinans Race 1 in Northern China Samples
Authors: Ling Jian , Dong Xin , Ping Xingxing , Li Yan , Yang Yuhong , Zhao Jianlong , Lu Xiaofei , Xie Bingyan , Mao Zhenchuan
Published: October 2022

Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. conglutinans (FOC), the causal agent of cabbage fusarium wilt, is a serious threat to cabbage production in northern China, and most Chinese FOC isolates were identified as FOC race 1 (FOC1). To better understand the genetic diversity of FOC1 in northern China, we collected FOC isolates from five provinces in northern China and identified them as FOC1 through pathogenicity and race test. To evaluate the genome-level diversity of FOC1, we performed a genome assembly for a FOC1 isolate (FoYQ-1) collected from Yanqing, Beijing, where cabbage fusarium wilt was first reported in China. Using resequencing data of FOC1 isolates, we conducted a genome-wide SNP (single nucleotide polymorphism) analysis to investigate the genetic diversity and population structure of FOC1 isolates in northern China. Our study indicated that Chinese FOC1 can be grouped into four populations and revealed that the genetic diversity of FOC1 were closely associated with geographical locations. Our study further suggests that genetic differentiation occurred when FOC1 spread to the northwest provinces from Beijing Province in China. The FOC1 genetic diversity based on whole-genome SNPs could deepen our understanding of FOC1 variation and provide clues for the control of cabbage fusarium wilt in China.
Effect of Erector Spinae Plane Block on Postoperative Pain after Laparoscopic Colorectal Surgery: A Randomized Controlled Study
Authors: Choi Jung Ju , Chang Young Jin , Lee Dongchul , Kim Hye Won , Kwak Hyun Jeong
Published: October 2022

The erector spinae plane (ESP) block can be used to reduce pain and opioid requirements after abdominal surgery. We evaluated the effect of the ESP block on postoperative pain score, analgesic use, and quality of recovery (QoR) score in patients undergoing laparoscopy. Fifty-nine patients undergoing elective laparoscopic colorectal surgery were randomly assigned to control (n = 30) or ESPB (n = 29) groups after anesthesia induction. In the ESPB group, an ultrasound-guided ESP block was performed immediately after induction using 20 mL of 0.5% ropivacaine bilaterally. The primary outcome was the postoperative pain score, which was evaluated using the 11-point numeric rating scale (NRS) (0 = no pain, 10 = worst imaginable pain), in the recovery room. NRS “at rest” and “on cough” and total dose of fentanyl rescue (in the recovery room) as well as NRS “at rest” and the cumulative administered fentanyl dose of patient-controlled analgesia (24 h post-surgery) were significantly lower in the ESPB group than in the control group. The postoperative QoR score did not differ between the groups. Bilateral ESP block after induction reduced pain scores and opioid requirements for 24 h postoperatively but did not improve the QoR in patients undergoing laparoscopic colorectal surgery.
Patient-Reported Postoperative Pain and Numbness: Applications for Endoscopic vs. Microscopic Ear Surgery
Authors: Chern Alexander , Sharma Rahul K. , Grewal Maeher R. , Golub Justin S.
Published: October 2022

Background: Transcanal endoscopic ear surgery (TEES) avoids a postauricular incision, which has been shown to minimize pain and numbness. Our objective is to assess how much patients value minimizing pain and numbness relative to other postoperative otologic outcomes. Methods: Cross-sectional anonymous surveys were distributed to otolaryngology clinic patients in a tertiary care center. Patients were instructed to rate how much they value various outcomes when undergoing hypothetical ear surgery on a scale of 0 (not important) to 10 (very important). Results: 102 patients responded. Ten percent of survey respondents were Spanish-speaking. Outcomes of the highest importance included hearing (mean 9.3; SD 1.9), staff friendliness (8.9; 1.8), numbness (8.3; 2.4), and pain (8.1; 2.5). Outcomes of moderate importance included time spent under anesthesia (7.0; 3.2), scar visibility (6.3; 3.5), incision size (5.5; 3.4), incision hidden in the ear canal (5.4, 3.9), and surgery cost to the hospital (5.1; 3.9). In linear regression analysis, increasing age was associated with decreased value placed on incision size (p < 0.001) and scar visibility (p < 0.001). Conclusion: Patients placed a high value on minimizing pain and numbness after ear surgery, nearly as much as a good hearing outcome. These patient-centric outcomes are important in justifying the minimally invasive approach of TEES.
Preoperative Prediction of Catheter Ablation Outcome in Persistent Atrial Fibrillation Patients through Spectral Organization Analysis of the Surface Fibrillatory Waves
Authors: Escribano Pilar , Ródenas Juan , García Manuel , Arias Miguel A. , Hidalgo Víctor M. , Calero Sofía , Rieta José J. , Alcaraz Raúl
Published: October 2022

Catheter ablation (CA) is a commonly used treatment for persistent atrial fibrillation (AF). Since its medium/long-term success rate remains limited, preoperative prediction of its outcome is gaining clinical interest to optimally select candidates for the procedure. Among predictors based on the surface electrocardiogram, the dominant frequency (DF) and harmonic exponential decay (γ) of the fibrillatory waves (f-waves) have reported promising but clinically insufficient results. Hence, the main goal of this work was to conduct a broader analysis of the f-wave harmonic spectral structure to improve CA outcome prediction through several entropy-based measures computed on different frequency bands. On a database of 151 persistent AF patients under radio-frequency CA and a follow-up of 9 months, the newly introduced parameters discriminated between patients who relapsed to AF and those who maintained SR at about 70%, which was statistically superior to the DF and approximately similar to γ. They also provided complementary information to γ through different combinations in multivariate models based on lineal discriminant analysis and report classification performance improvement of about 5%. These results suggest that the presence of larger harmonics and a proportionally smaller DF peak is associated with a decreased probability of AF recurrence after CA.
Can Social Capital Help the Youngers Rent Land?—A Case of Pastoral Areas in Inner Mongolia, P.R. China
Authors: Li Tingyu , Liu Bo , Tan Shuhao
Published: October 2022

Ensuring the youngers obtain access to land resources is important to help them earn a living and sustain agriculture. By applying a probit model to a comprehensive dataset with 422 sampled households from Inner Mongolia, the results of this study showed that social capital significantly improved the possibility of herders renting land. However, compared with the middle-aged group, the youngers’ social capital is significantly weaker in helping them rent land. The findings and policy implications proposed by this study are expected to narrow the intergenerational difference in social capital and promote the transfer of land between generations, which will help the youngers obtain access to land resources, enhance their sustainable livelihood, and facilitate the sustainability of agriculture in the future.
Impact of Urbanization through High-Speed Rail on Regional Development with the Interaction of Socioeconomic Factors: A View of Regional Industrial Structure
Authors: Hu Jinxing , Ma Guojie , Shen Chaohai , Zhou Xiaolan
Published: October 2022

This study is to empirically investigate the impact of urbanization through improving transportation infrastructure, reflected by introducing high-speed rail (HSR), on the regional development with the interaction of the socioeconomic factors reflected by industrial structure. An advanced quantitative tool named multi-period difference-in-differences (DID) method is applied. We find the impact of urbanization through HSR on regional development is mixed while interacting with industrial structure helps to explain heterogeneities of the impact. The more the industrial structure tends to be agricultural, the greater the negative impact of HSR opening on regional economic development; meanwhile, the more the industrial structure evolves to be service-oriented, the greater the positive impact of HSR. This study highlights the importance of the interaction between urban growth and socioeconomic factors, which would provides a reference for government and urban planners to make decisions on introducing HSR or improving transportation infrastructure.
Impact of Regional Differences in Risk Attitude on the Power Law at the Urban Scale
Authors: Xia Mengdi , Lu Zhangwei , Xu Lihua , Shi Yijun , Ma Qiwei , Wu Yaqi , Sheng Boyuan
Published: October 2022

Internal mechanisms and laws exist in the evolution of cities, and the power law is widely applied in multiple areas in the real world. It is crucial to optimize the urban-scale systems through explanation studies of the urban-scale distribution pattern from the perspective of regional differences in risk attitudes. Based on computer simulation technologies, this study explores the influence of regional differences in risk attitudes of micro decision-makers on the power law through setting scenarios of same attitudes with quantitative differences and mixed multi-attitudes. In this case, we selected six provinces in China to verify the scale characteristic of the real world. The results show that the settlement scale is heavily influenced by risk attitudes with a larger slope, which are more pronounced in the mixed multi-attitudes scenario. The increase in the mixed-scale benefits less affects the utility of risk attitudes, where the slope value of the aversion attitudes has smaller variation. The averse model has a larger primary ratio than the others. However, the primary ratio does not reveal a significant bias towards large and small in the mixed multi-attitude scenario. In the six provinces, the advantageous areas with higher economic and cultural levels show larger-scale agglomeration characteristics similar to the impact of seeking attitudes. The primacy ratio increases with the variation degree in urban scales, especially in economically disadvantaged areas.
A Comprehensive Review of Different Types of Green Infrastructure to Mitigate Urban Heat Islands: Progress, Functions, and Benefits
Authors: Shao Huamei , Kim Gunwoo
Published: October 2022

Climate change and rapid urbanization increase/amplify urban heat islands (UHIs). Green infrastructure (GI) is an effective and popularly strategy used to moderate UHIs. This paper aims to better understand the progress of different GI types (urban parks, urban forests, street trees, green roofs, green walls) in mitigating UHIs, and what benefits they provide. Firstly, this paper used CiteSpace to analyze 1243 publications on the Web of Science from 1990 to 2021, then analyzed the function/regulation of ecosystem services/benefits and values of GI types in reducing UHIs. The historical review results show that research on all GI types showed rapid growth since 2013, and their GR increased rapidly. The highest-ranking keywords were urban heat island/heat island, climate/climate change/microclimate, and temperature/land surface temperature/air temperature. “Design,” “vegetation,” “quality,” and “reduction” are the top four strongest keyword bursts. The most published countries are the People’s Republic of China, USA, Australia, Germany, and Italy, and the top three institutions are the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Arizona State University, and the National University of Singapore. Landscape and Urban Planning, Building and Environment, Energy and Building, and Urban Forestry and Urban Greening are the most published journals. In urban areas, different GI types as a form of ecosystem hardware provide multiple functions (reduced land surface temperatures, lower building energy usage, improved thermal comfort and enhanced human health, reduced morbidity and mortality, etc.). GI thus provides a regulated ecosystem service to ameliorate UHIs primarily through temperature regulation and shade. At the same time, GI provides benefits and values (ecological, economic, social, and cultural) to humans and urban sustainable development. GI types determine the functions they provide, afford corresponding regulated ecosystem services, and provide benefits and values in a logical/recycle system. Overall, this review highlights the development and importance of GI, as well as the relationship of GI types and functions of regulating the ecosystem service benefits and values to mitigate UHI, and advances the study of climate change adaptation in cities.
Simulation of Dynamic Urban Growth Boundary Combining Urban Vitality and Ecological Networks: A Case Study in Chengdu Metropolitan Area
Authors: Xia Xiaojiang , Zhang Yue , Shi Xiaona , Chen Jian , Rao Tiechuan
Published: October 2022

The Chengdu Metropolitan Area, located on the eastern edge of the world’s highest plateau, has experienced a period of integrating urban and rural area development for decades. With rapid urbanization and population growth, the vulnerability and security of the ecological environment have become critical aspects to consider in sustainability. Moreover, the presence of different levels of vitality in the study area has a crucial impact on land-use change. Hence, we propose a growth boundary study based on the theory of urban vitality and ecological networks. We focus on identifying the inefficient urban land and urban development potential land, explore their expansion probabilities to conduct spatial simulations for the next 15 years, and combine the ecological network to form a reasonable spatial pattern. Results showed that the proposed model could simulate the urban growth state more accurately within a certain space scale and integrate different limits and influences to simulate different growth strategies under multiple planning periods. Thus, the proposed model can be an effective decision support tool for the government.
Response Characteristics of Soil Erosion to Spatial Conflict in the Production-Living-Ecological Space and Their DrivingMechanism: A Case Study of Dongting Lake Basin in China
Authors: Liu Changchang , Deng Chuxiong , Li Zhongwu , Liu Yaojun
Published: October 2022

Land use conflicts induced by human activities cause accelerated soil erosion. The response of soil erosion to spatial conflict in production-living-ecological space (PLES) is not clearly understood. In this research, models such as PLES spatial conflict, revised universal soil loss equation, bivariate spatial autocorrelation, and an optimal parameter-based geographical detector were used to explore the characteristics and drivers of soil erosion in response to spatial conflict in the PLES of the Dongting Lake watershed. Results show that spatial changes of the PLES first increased and then decreased. Approximately 45% of the area was consistently in moderate or higher conflict levels throughout the study period. The average soil erosion rate showed a decreasing trend for each year except in the period 2000–2005, when moderate erosion increased. The spatial correlation between spatial conflict and soil erosion was found to be in the form of an inverted “U” for the high-high and low-high agglomeration patterns, and a decreasing trend for the high-low ones. Approximately 27% of the area must be traded off between the spatial conflict of the PLES and soil erosion. The influence of GDP and population density was significant. DEM interacted strongly with GDP, NDVI, precipitation, population density, and “return of farmland to forest” policy. Different patterns were formed among the factors through actions such as amplification, mitigation, catalysis, and dependence effects. We propose policy recommendations based on the differences in the driving mechanisms of the respective models.
Resilience Design in Practice: Future Climate Visions from California’s Bay Area
Authors: Lambrou Nicole
Published: October 2022

This study discusses the implications of resilience design for questions of economic and social resilience, and for equity. Resilience design proposals for California’s Bay Area, resulting from the Resilience by Design project and published in 2017, were evaluated through content analysis and interviews with design teams and plan authors. Findings from the study indicate that these proposals offer visions and strategies for large-scale infrastructural projects that rely on a land-as-ecosystem framing to adapt to extreme weather events, but that they also attempt to direct the impact of these ecological processes on surrounding social systems such as planning processes and landscape regenerations for adaptation purposes. However, findings also indicate that the design process does little to address equity beyond proposing access to those new landscapes and green infrastructure spaces, and to a much lesser degree homeownership and labor models for wealth accumulation. Ecology is consistently deployed in the data analyzed to normalize and propose socio-environmental relationships, implicating questions of equity that are often not addressed. These findings matter for urban design projects and processes that are increasingly pursued by municipalities and public agencies in an effort to secure funding and implement strategies for a climate just future.
Social Media Data in Urban Design and Landscape Research: A Comprehensive Literature Review
Authors: Yang Chenghao , Liu Tongtong
Published: October 2022

Social media data have been widely used in natural sciences and social sciences in the past 5 years, benefiting from the rapid development of deep learning frameworks and Web 2.0. Its advantages have gradually emerged in urban design, urban planning, landscape architecture design, sustainable tourism, and other disciplines. This study aims to obtain an overview of social media data in urban design and landscape research through literature reviews and bibliometric visualization as a comprehensive review article. The dataset consists of 1220 articles and reviews works from SSCI, SCIE, and A&HCI, based on the Web of Science core collection, respectively. The research progress and main development directions of location-based social media, text mining, and image vision are introduced. Moreover, we introduce Citespace, a computer-network-based bibliometric visualization, and discuss the timeline trends, hot burst keywords, and research articles with high co-citation scores based on Citespace. The Citespace bibliometric visualization tool facilitates is used to outline future trends in research. The literature review shows that the deep learning framework has great research potential for text emotional analysis, image classification, object detection, image segmentation, and the expression classification of social media data. The intersection of text, images, and metadata provides attractive opportunities as well.
The Emergence of Terrace Farming in the Arid Zone of the Levant—Past Perspectives and Future Implications
Authors: Avni Yoav
Published: October 2022

Terrace farming installations occupy vast desert areas in the Southern Levant. Their construction in harsh environments raises critical questions focusing on the natural, political, and economic circumstances promoting their construction and operation. The present review, based on new observations and previously published materials, focused on three different arid regions located across the Southern Levant, namely the Eastern Marmarica of Northwestern Egypt, the Negev Desert of Israel, and the Petra region in Jordan. The comparison between the regions allows us to uncover the forces behind this vast phenomenon, and to draw conclusions on the relevance of these arid zones to past and present agricultural productivity. The results of this study showed that the environmental conditions in the Southern Levant provided soil and water throughout the entire Holocene, and that terrace farming was a well-known method to the early inhabitants of the region. However, the actual implementation of the vast phase of terrace farming was diachronic across the region, according to the political and economic circumstances promoting their construction at each location. As enhanced desertification is expected to accelerate during the coming decades, the maintenance of agricultural terraces is vital for the conservation of agricultural productivity in the forthcoming warming world, especially in arid lands.
Spatio-Temporal Evolution Features and Impact Factors of Urban Expansion in Underdeveloped Cities: A Case Study of Nanchang, China
Authors: Liao Kaihuai , Huang Wenyan , Wang Changjian , Wu Rong , Hu Yang
Published: October 2022

Studying the expansion of urban construction land is necessary to promote rational land use and scientific territorial spatial planning. To reveal urban built-up areas, this study uses 1990–2020 Landsat remote sensing images, superimposed with NPP/VIIRS nighttime light. To extract urban construction land, support vector machines are then used to conduct classification experiments. The spatial-temporal features are analyzed using the expansion index, the shift of the center of gravity, and expansion direction, while influencing factors are analyzed using a Geodetector. The results show the following: (1) Urban construction land in Nanchang continued expanding from 1990 to 2020, by 385.22 km2, with an average annual expansion intensity of 0.18% and an average annual growth rate of 6.2%. (2) During this time period, the expansion of urban construction land in Nanchang underwent three development stages from: low-strength with low-speed, low-strength with medium-speed, and medium-strength with low-speed expansion. The types of urban construction land expansion were primarily found to be edge expansion and outlying expansion. (3) The overall center of gravity of urban construction land shifts northwest, with significant expansion SW, NW, S, N, and W. (4) Urban planning policy is the dominant driving factor for urban expansion, whereas natural geographic factors have the weakest influence. The results suggest that planning policies should focus on strengthening the rational use and protection of land resources, and promoting the integration and coordinated development of urban functional spaces.
Spatial Pattern and Key Environmental Determinants of Vegetation in Sand Mining and Non-Mining Sites along the Panjkora River Basin
Authors: Ali Kishwar , Khan Nasrullah , Ullah Rafi , Shah Muzammil , Khan Muhammad Ezaz Hasan , Jones David Aaron , Dewidar Maha
Published: October 2022

A specific set of environmental conditions characterizes plant species patterns and distribution on Earth. Similarly, riparian vegetation can be impacted by anthropogenic activities like mining practices involving the removal of vegetation cover, which destroys the structure and diversity of the habitat, adversely affecting the ecosystem services. In this study, we explored the role of environmental variables and biotic intervention in deriving spatial patterns and distribution of riparian vegetation at mining and non-mining sites along the most depleted Panjkora River basin in NW Pakistan. Vegetation data and its determining factors at 28 mining and non-mining sites (14 each) were sampled using 10 m × 10 m (100 m2) systematic plots at 50 m intervals along transects in a downstream direction from the upper catchments to the bottom junction with the Swat River. We recorded 186 species in both mining and non-mining sites, belonging to 70 families comprising 174 angiosperms, 3 gymnosperms, and 9 Pteridophytes. Results show that annual or perennial therophytic life forms predominated in the Panjkora River system, indicating anthropogenic disturbances. At the same time, the aggressively invasive species, such as Xanthium strumarium and Cannabis sativa, further heightened plant community disturbances. Generally, the species diversity was higher in non-mining sites and may be attributed to habitat fragmentation. Likewise, the Canonical Correspondence Analysis (CCA-ordination) revealed that geographic coordinate (i.e., latitude r = 0.80; longitude r = 0.75) and elevation (r = 0.95) were more meaningful predictors than soil texture (i.e., silt%, r = −0.30), nutrients (i.e., potassium, r = −0.35; phosphorus, r = 0.38) and soil pH (r = −0.50) in shaping the spatial pattern and vegetation structure. Our result implies that the present vegetation composition and spatial assemblages are due to heavy anthropogenic interventions, especially mining activities. Therefore, the heavily degraded fragile riparian system of the Panjkora River and its tributaries needed to be conserved and restored by predicting the composition of communities in response to changing climatic conditions.
Assessing Urban Resilience from the Perspective of Scaling Law: Evidence from Chinese Cities
Authors: Shi Chenchen , Guo Naliang , Zhu Xiaoping , Wu Feng
Published: October 2022

Urban resilience, as an emerging research focus in urban studies, is the capability of an urban system to adapt to the uncertainties and disturbances faced by modern cities. Numerical characterization of an urban system’s resilience can be performed with urban resilience indicators. Moreover, as cities evolve with intensive socio-economic interactions, the performances of urban indicators are heavily dependent on the scale of these interactions; these relationships are conceptualized as urban scaling laws. Therefore, this study explores the scaling patterns of urban resilience, analyzing the scaling relationship between different resilience indicators and urban population size, as well as the spatial–temporal evolutions of the scaling patterns. The empirical case is based on 267 prefectural-level cities in China. The results show resilience indicators demonstrate scaling patterns on both spatial and temporal scales. Moreover, the scale-adjusted metropolitan indicator (SAMI) differs from the commonly used per capita indicator. Therefore, the scale needs to be considered when assessing urban resilience performance. Findings in this study indicate that moderate scale enhances resilience, enriching urban resilience theorization and urban scaling laws application. The empirical results in the case study also provide a reference for future urban resilience planning and management.
Monitoring the Spatiotemporal Dynamics of Habitat Quality and Its Driving Factors Based on the Coupled NDVI-InVEST Model: A Case Study from the Tianshan Mountains in Xinjiang, China
Authors: Lu Yayan , Zhao Junhong , Qi Jianwei , Rong Tianyu , Wang Zhi , Yang Zhaoping , Han Fang
Published: October 2022

Globally, mountains have suffered enormous biodiversity loss and habitat degradation due to climate change and human activities. As an agent of biodiversity, evaluating habitat quality (HQ) change is an indispensable key step for regional ecological security and human well-being enhancement, especially for fragile mountain ecosystems in arid areas. In this study, we aimed to propose an integrated framework coupled with the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) and Integrated Valuation of Ecosystem Services and Tradeoffs (InVEST)-HQ module to improve the effectiveness and accuracy of HQ estimation. We highlighted the Tianshan Mountains in Xinjiang as an example to validate the model, as it is a typical representative of mountain ecosystems in the temperate arid zone. Specifically, we aimed to assess the spatiotemporal dynamics of HQ over the past two decades and investigate its influencing factors using a geographical detector model. The results show that, first, grassland and unused land were the main land-use types in the study area. The land-use transitions were mainly concentrated in grassland, woodland, water body, and unused land. Second, the total area of very important habitats and general habitats accounted for over 70% of the Tianshan Mountains. The average HQ decreased from 0.5044 to 0.4802 during 1995–2015. Third, the HQ exhibited significant spatial differentiation, and the Ili River Valley and Kaidu River Basin were the hot spots, while the south and east of the Tianshan Mountains were the cold spots. Habitat quality was strongly related to the terrain gradient, with an inverted “U” type. Protected areas of different categories played a vital role in biodiversity conservation. Finally, soil type, land-use change, precipitation, temperature, and grazing intensity were the dominant factors in response to HQ change for both the total Tianshan Mountains and sub-regions, followed by elevation, the relief degree of the land surface, gross domestic product, population density, and distance to tourism attractions. The interaction effects of the influencing factors were improved compared to the effects of the individual factors in each zone. Furthermore, these results provide decision-making criteria for formulating a scientific and systematic protection of ecology and restoration planning systems to enhance the capacity to address climate change.
Distribution Characteristics and Potential Risks of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbon (PAH) Pollution at a Typical Industrial Legacy Site in Tianjin, North China
Authors: Li Chaocan , Zhang Xiaopeng , Wang Xuqin , Zhang Xinbo , Liu Shigang , Yuan Ting , Qu Weigui , Zhang Youjun
Published: October 2022

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) pollution in the soil of industrial legacy sites is a prominent problem when reusing urban land. To estimate the potential risks of PAHs, this study investigated 16 priority PAHs in the soil at different depths in a typical decommissioned industrial site in Tianjin. PAH concentrations were determined via gas chromatography-(tandem) quadrupole mass spectrometry. Incremental lifetime cancer risk (ILCR) assessment was applied to assess the potential risks to the population after land reconstruction. The total concentrations of PAHs in the soil at different depths ranged from 38.3 ng·g−1 to 1782.5 ng·g−1, which were below the risk control standard for soil contamination of development land (GB 36600-2018). Low-ring (two-three ring) PAHs exhibit a dominant component, and the variations in PAH compositions were closely related to the former production units and soil properties. Compared to silty clay layers, PAHs tended to accumulate in the permeable miscellaneous fill layers. Incremental lifetime cancer risk assessment values associated with different exposure pathways for children, adolescents, and adults were calculated. The results showed potential carcinogenic risks for people of varying ages in this area, but they were still acceptable. In general, this legacy site can meet the demands of sustainable land development.