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Irrigation with saline groundwater has become necessary to overcome freshwater scarcity in the agricultural industry in arid areas. However, the effects of long-term saline groundwater irrigation on soil salinity and bacterial diversity have rarely been examined. In this study, a Lycium ruthenicum field was divided into two parts and subjected to flooding irrigation with saline groundwater (pH 7.81, total salinity 0.95 g L −1 ) and surface water (pH 7.76, total salinity 0.36 g L −1 ) for 8 years. After 8 years of irrigation, the soil salinity and salt ion content (i.e., Na + , Mg 2+ , K + , Ca 2+ , Cl − and CO 3 2− ) in the groundwater irrigation group were significantly greater than those in the surface water irrigation group ( p  < 0.001), with notable accumulation in the topsoil (0–5 cm) ( p  < 0.01). The bacterial community structure differed between the surface water and groundwater irrigation groups. Salt-tolerant bacterial groups (e.g., Balneolaceae and Halomonadaceae) and species (e.g., the marine bacterium JK1007, the bacterium YC-LK-LKJ35, and Methylohalomonas lacus ) dominated in the groundwater irrigation environment. Additionally, bacterial communities were associated primarily with soil salt ions (RV = 0.66, p  < 0.001). The characteristic bacterial taxa in long-term groundwater irrigation soils were salt-tolerant species (e.g., the marine bacterium JK1007, the bacterium YC-LK-LKJ35, and Methylohalomonas lacus). These findings suggest that salinity is the key factor driving differences in bacterial community structure between long-term groundwater and surface water irrigation. The long-term use of surface water and groundwater for irrigation has different impacts on soil environments, with groundwater irrigation having a more pronounced negative effect. Highlights. The long-term effects of this practice on soil salt accumulation and bacterial diversity were examined. This study provides potential applications for sustainable land management in similar ecological contexts. Groundwater irrigation is characterized by saline-tolerant keystone species. Salinity filtering was used to determine the pattern of bacterial community construction. Highlights The long-term effects of this practice on soil salt accumulation and bacterial diversity were examined. This study provides potential applications for sustainable land management in similar ecological contexts. Groundwater irrigation is characterized by saline-tolerant keystone species. Salinity filtering was used to determine the pattern of bacterial community construction.

Desert ecosystems are generally considered lifeless habitats characterised by extreme environmental conditions, yet they are successfully colonised by various biocrust nonvascular communities. A biocrust is not only an important ecosystem engineer and a bioindicator of desert ecological restoration but also plays a vital role in linking surficial abiotic and biotic factors. Thus, extensive research has been conducted on biocrusts in critical dryland zones. However, few studies have been conducted in the vast temperate deserts of China prior to the beginning of this century. We reviewed the research on biocrusts conducted in China since 2000, which firstly focused on the eco-physiological responses of biocrusts to species composition, abiotic stresses, and anthropological disturbances. Further, research on the spatial distributions of biocrusts as well as their succession at different spatial scales, and relationships with vascular plants and soil biomes (especially underlying mechanisms of seed retention, germination, establishment and survival of vascular plants during biocrust succession, and creation of suitable niches and food webs for soil animals and microorganisms) was analysed. Additionally, studies emphasising on the contribution of biocrusts to ecological and hydrological processes in deserts as well as their applications in the cultivation and inoculation of nonvascular plants for land degradation control and ecological restoration were assessed. Finally, recent research on biocrusts was evaluated to propose future emerging research themes and new frontiers.

The main prevention and control area for wind-blown sand hazards in northern China is about 320000 km^2 in size and includes sandlands to the east of the Helan Mountain and sandy deserts and desert-steppe transitional regions to the west of the Helan Mountain.Vegetation recovery and restoration is an important and effective approach for constraining wind-blown sand hazards in these areas.After more than 50 years of long-term ecological studies in the Shapotou region of the Tengger Desert,we found that revegetation changed the hydrological processes of the original sand dune system through the utilization and space-time redistribution of soil water.The spatiotemporal dynamics of soil water was significantly related to the dynamics of the replanted vegetation for a given regional precipitation condition.The long-term changes in hydrological processes in desert areas also drive replanted vegetation succession.The soil water carrying capacity of vegetation and the model for sand fixation by revegetation in aeolian desert areas where precipitation levels are less than 200 mm are also discussed.

In arid areas, irrigation with the available brackish water is common because of scarce freshwater resources. However, the impact of different irrigation regimes on soil salt ion and soil nutrient status have rarely been studied in the Qaidam Basin in northwestern China. To investigate this, two treatments (flood and drip irrigation) were established in a randomized block design on Lycium ruthenicum grown on a farm in the Qaidam Basin, and soil salt ion and soil nutrients at different soil depths were measured. The soil water content (SWC) was higher at each soil depth under flood compared with drip irrigation, except for top soil (0–5 cm), and the variations of SWC with soil depth differed between flood and drip irrigation. Moreover, soil salt ion content was higher under flood than drip irrigation at each soil depth, while soil nutrient contents were higher under drip irrigation, and were reduced remarkably as soil depth increased under both irrigation types. Consequently, drip irrigation with brackish water can reduce soil salinization and maintain high soil nutrient levels for irrigated L. ruthenicum in arid regions. In the context of brackish water irrigation, drip irrigation is relatively more appropriate for the cultivation of L. ruthenicum than flood irrigation.

Realizing the full potential of plug-in electric vehicle (PEVs) in power systems requires the development of business models for PEV owners and electric vehicle aggregators (EVAs). Most business models neglect the significant economic potential of PEV demand response. This paper addresses this challenge by proposing a novel business model to optimize the charging energy of PEVs for maximizing the owners’ profits. The proposed business model aims to overcome the opportunity cost neglect for PEV owners, whose charging energy and charging profiles are optimized with full consideration of the demand curves and market conditions. Lagrangian relaxation technology is used for the relaxation of the constraint of satisfying the charging demand, and as a result, the optimization potential becomes greater. The bidding/offering strategy is formulated as a two-stage stochastic optimization problem, considering the different market prices and initial and target state of energy (SOE) of the PEVs. By case studies and analyses, we demonstrate that the proposed business model can effectively overcome the opportunity cost neglect and increase the PEV owners’ profits. Furthermore, we demonstrate that the proposed business model is incentive-compatible. The PEV owners will be attracted by the proposed business model.

Background Approximately one-third of patients who undergo bronchial blocker (BB) intubation in the conventional supine position suffer BB malposition. This trial aims to explore the efficiency and clinical application of BB intubation in the lateral position to reduce the incidence of BB malposition in patients undergoing video-assisted thoracic surgery (VATS). Methods This single-center, parallel-group, randomized controlled trial will enroll 110 patients aged 18–80 years who are scheduled for elective unilateral VATS with BB intubation under general anesthesia. Participants will be randomly assigned (1:1) to either the lateral BB intubation group or the conventional supine BB intubation group. The primary outcome is the incidence of BB malposition observed by fiberoptic bronchoscopy (FOB). Secondary outcomes include the duration of intubation, the frequency and duration of FOB usage, whether to re-intubate, intraoperative vital signs, and postoperative recovery. Discussion This trial will confirm the clinical efficacy and superiority of BB intubation in the lateral position to consolidate the lateral intubation pattern in thoracic anesthesia. We expect that performing lateral BB intubation can reduce the BB malposition rate and result in more stable intraoperative vital signs and fewer postoperative complications, which is in line with the concept of Enhanced Recovery After Surgery in thoracic anesthesia. Trial registration Chinese Clinical Trial Registry ChiCTR2400081961. Registered on March 18, 2024.

PurposeThe influences of biological soil crusts (BSCs) on soil properties have been investigated extensively. However, few studies have compared soil properties under different types of BSCs in different erosion regions.MethodsThree erosion regions (water erosion, wind-water crisscross erosion, and wind erosion regions) were identified in the Loess Plateau, and we collected subsoil samples of cyanobacteria and moss crusts in each region (crust coverage > 95%), respectively. The variations of soil nutrient content and enzyme activity were evaluated, and the most influential soil properties were determined.ResultsMost of the tested soil properties were significantly affected by erosion and crust types (p < 0.05). Soil pH was significantly higher, while soil electrical conductivity (EC) was substantially lower in the water erosion region than the water-wind crisscross erosion and wind erosion regions (p < 0.05). Soil nutrient content and enzyme activity were higher in the water erosion region compared to the wind erosion and wind-water erosion regions (p < 0.05). In the subsoil below BSCs, most of the soil nutrient availability and enzyme activity was higher under moss crusts than cyanobacteria crusts (p < 0.05).ConclusionOur results suggested that there were differences in the effects of two types of BSCs on the soil nutrient availability and enzyme activity across the three typical erosion regions in the Loess Plateau, and the magnitude of these effects followed the order of: water erosion regions > wind erosion regions > wind-water erosion crisscross regions, and moss crusts > cyanobacteria crusts.

Aims Desert regions are regarded as highly sensitive to climatic changes. In arid and semi-arid desert, photosynthetic organisms from biological soil crusts are poikilohydric and sensitive to fluctuations in precipitation. How do physiological properties such as concentration of biochemical constituents and enzymes respond to a precipitation gradient from semi-arid to arid desert regions? Methods We sampled cyanobacteria and moss crusts from four desert regions with distinctly different amounts of annual rainfall. Subsequently, the contents of photosynthetic pigments, malondialdehyde (MDA), osmotic adjustment substances, and antioxidative enzyme activities were correlated with the means of annual precipitation, evaporation, and temperature at the various sites. Results Crust type, precipitation level, and their interaction had significant influences on many physiological properties (photosynthetic pigments, proline, soluble sugar, and superoxide dismutase). The contents of soluble protein, proline, and soluble sugar of cyanobacteria/moss crusts decreased with increasing precipitation level. Superoxide dismutase and catalase activities of cyanobacteria crusts decreased significantly with increasing annual precipitation. No significant variations in MDA were observed between different precipitation regions in the two crusts. Conclusions Among the environmental variables tested, the annual amount of precipitation had the strongest effect on the physiological properties of moss/cyanobacteria crusts in different regions. Crust type combined with particular precipitation level influenced the physiological properties of crusts. Moreover, both moss and cyanobacteria crusts exhibited strong physiological adaptability to changes in precipitation. This result needs to be incorporated into future ecological models, which will help in understanding the function and vulnerability of biocrusts in the face of climate change.

Shrub species are considered the dominant plants in arid desert ecosystems,unlike in semiarid steppe zones or in grassland ecosystems.On the Alxa Plateau,northern China,sparse vegetation with cover ranging from 15% to 30% is characterized mainly by multifarious shrubs because herbaceous species are strongly restricted by the extreme drought climate,wind erosion,overgrazing and sand burial.Patterns in shrub species richness and species abundance in relation to environmental conditions were examined by DCA(detrended correspondence analysis) and interpreted by a biplot.The rela-tionships between species diversity and environmental factors were examined using regression analyses.Our results show that the distributions of the shrub species in response to environmental conditions can be grouped into four ecological types,corresponding with the biological traits of the shrubs and their responses to the gradients of soil texture and soil water content.Patterns in species richness and species abundance were mainly determined by the deeper soil water content,instead of the soil texture as hypothesized by numerous studies in semiarid grasslands.With exception of the deeper soil water content,soil organic matter and total N content were positively correlated with species abundance,while pH was negatively correlated with it.These findings imply that it is vital for cur-rent shrub diversity conservation to reduce agricultural water use in the middle reaches of the Heihe River,which supplies water for the lower reaches in the western parts of the plateau,and to reduce the amount of groundwater exploitation and urban and oasis water use,to increase the water supply from Helan Mountain to the eastern desert of the Alxa Plateau.

Due to the large scale, high dimension and time series characteristics of power system data, and the normal samples far exceed the abnormal samples, the sample imbalance phenomenon occurs, and it is difficult to mine the abnormal attributes of nodes. Therefore, a method of mining abnormal attributes of topological nodes of power systems based on graph theory is developed. The logical relation between nodes is analyzed by graph theory, and directed graph and undirected graph are obtained. The topology structure of the power system is constructed, the noise in data is removed by the adaptive clustering algorithm, the weight of topological nodes is set, and the abnormal malicious attacks of topological nodes are discovered by the double threshold method. The experimental results show that the proposed method can accurately detect the abnormal topological nodes in the network, perform better in the energy consumption of the neighbor topological nodes, and greatly reduce the energy consumption of the neighbor topological nodes during mining.