Water utilization characteristics of dominant plant species from different functional groups of desert steppe.

Understanding water use characteristics of plants and their interrelations is essential for achieving sustainable vegetation restoration of desert steppe. This study focused on five dominant plant species inhabiting two habitats: sierozem (, , and ) and aeolian sandy soil (, , and ). We analyzed δH and δO isotopes in xylem, soil water, groundwater, and precipitation.

Ecological causality between vegetation construction and habitat drought in arid areas.

The core of scientific greening in arid areas is 'greening based on water'. One of its preconditions is the potential causal relationship between vegetation construction and habitat drought. However, the causal relationship between factors or processes in ecology is generally difficult to accurately define and describe, especially for complex ecosystems.

[Village-level landscape succession and its driving mechanism in the agro-pastoral ecotone of Ningxia, China].

The relationship between human activities and landscape patterns and its regulation are one of the core fields in landscape ecology. The ecological conditions and local cultures of agro-pastoral ecotone are gradually wea-kening due to environmental fluctuations, land-use characteristics (suitable for both farming and grazing), and unstable policy. Therefore, protecting and restoring this semi-natural landscape and the resulting biological, ecolo-gical and cultural functions are becoming increasingly urgent.

Trade-off between soil moisture and species diversity in semi-arid steppes in the Loess Plateau of China.

Effectively balancing soil moisture and biodiversity restoration remains a contentious issue for managers and researchers in the Loess Plateau region of China, even after many years of restoration efforts. We conducted a regional study on the trade-off between soil moisture and species diversity using spatial grid sampling in a semi-arid steppe (200-300 mm annual precipitation) in the northwest Loess Plateau. Results reveal that only soil moisture between 20 and 60 cm depth was significantly correlated with diversity indexes.

[Comparison on moisture dynamics of two different soil types in desert steppe].

Based on the positioning monitoring data from 2017 to 2018, we analyzed the spatial-temporal dynamic characteristics of moisture in two different soil types (sierozem and aeolian sandy soil) in the Yanchi desert steppe in the eastern Ningxia. The results showed that the rainfall in the study area was 208.2 and 274.

[Population dynamics of Artemisia scoparia in heterogeneous habitats in the desert steppe].

To understand the intra- and inter-annual population dynamics of Artemisia scoparia in the desert steppe, we set up three treatments, i.e., increasing the precipitation by 30%, reducing the precipitation by 30%, and the control (CK) in each soil habitat of aeolian sandy soil, sierozem soil, and bedrock weathered sedimentary soil.

Graphene Oxide Quantum Dots Exfoliated From Carbon Fibers by Microwave Irradiation: Two Photoluminescence Centers and Self-Assembly Behavior.

Graphene oxide quantum dots (GOQDs) attract great attention for their unique properties and promising application potential. The difficulty in the formation of a confined structure, and the numerous and diverse oxygen-containing functional groups results in a low emission yield to GOQDs. Here, GOQDs with a size of about 5 nm, exfoliated from carbon fibers by microwave irradiation, are detected and analyzed.

[Effects of cutting and reseeding on the ground-dwelling arthropod community in Caragana intermedia forest in desert steppe].

Taking a 25-year-old Caragana intermedia forest in desert steppe as test object, an investigation was conducted on the ground-dwelling arthropod community in cutting and no-cutting stands with and without reseeding, aimed to understand the effects of cutting, reseeding and their interaction on the individual number and group richness of ground-dwelling arthropod in C. intermedia forest. There were significantly lower number and richness of ground-dwelling arthropod in the open spaces than under the shrubs in the no-cutting and no-reseeding stands.

[Effects of short-term fencing on organic carbon fractions and physical stability of sandy sierozem in desert steppe of Northwest China].

In order to explore the change patterns of organic carbon fractions and physical stability of sandy sierozem in desert steppe at the early stage of fencing, 0-40 cm soil samples were collected from a 5-year fenced desert steppe (inside the fence) and a free grazing steppe (outside the fence) in Yanchi County of Ningxia, Northwest China, with the soil organic carbon, labile organic carbon, and particulate organic carbon contents and soil particle composition analyzed. No significant differences were observed in the soil organic carbon content and soil particle composition inside and outside the fence. The average soil organic carbon inside and outside the fences was 3.

[Changes of plant community biomass and soil nutrients during the vegetation succession on abandoned cultivated land in desert steppe region].

By the method of substituting temporal serial with spatial serial, and taking five abandoned cultivated lands with different ages (1, 4, 9, 12, and 20 years) in desert steppe region as test objects, this paper studied the change characteristics of plant community biomass and soil nutrients during vegetation succession. With the increasing abandoned years, the plant community aboveground biomass on the abandoned lands increased after an initial decrease, whereas the total nitrogen, total phosphorus, organic carbon contents, and carbon density in 0-60 cm soil layer increased first, decreased then, and increased again, with the maximum values of soil total nitrogen and phosphorus contents appeared on the abandoned lands with the ages 4 and 20 years. During vegetation succession, the effects of soil total nitrogen and organic carbon on plant community biomass were greater than those of soil total phosphorus and soil bulk density.

[Soil sandy desertification and salinization and their interrelationships in Yanghuang irrigated area of Hongsipu, Ningxia of northwest China].

By the methods of controlled and typical sampling, this paper analyzed the texture, salinization characteristics, cation exchange capacity (CEC), and their correlations in the 0-40 cm soil profiles of corn land, medlar land, and non-utilized land in Yanghuang irrigated area of Hongsipu, Northwest China. Under controlled sampling, the salt content in the soil profiles was 0.69-1.

Postprocedural serum sLOX-1 levels are associated with coronary in-stent restenosis in patients with stable coronary artery disease.

Objectives: We tested whether serum soluble lectin-like oxidized low-density lipoprotein receptor-1 (sLOX-1) levels are able to predict in-stent restenosis (ISR) after successful primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI).

Methods: Preprocedural and postprocedural serum sLOX-1 levels were measured in 210 consecutive patients with stable coronary artery disease who underwent successful primary PCI for de novo lesions. The patients were grouped as ISR and non-ISR based on angiographic follow-up results.

Serum sLOX-1 levels are associated with the presence and severity of angiographic coronary artery disease in patients with metabolic syndrome.

Purpose: Patients with metabolic syndrome are at high-risk for development of atherosclerosis and cardiovascular events. Serum soluble lectin-like oxidized low-density lipoprotein receptor-1(sLOX-1) is associated with coronary artery disease (CAD) and metabolic disorders. We sought to assess whether serum sLOX-1 levels are correlated with the presence and severity of CAD in patients with metabolic syndrome (MetS) undergoing coronary angiography.