A highly efficient palladium(II)-catalyzed hydration of a wide range of alkynylphosphonates to the corresponding β-ketophosphonates has been developed to give high yields at 80 °C in 1, 4-dioxane, with no acidic or alkaline cocatalysts required. The described catalytic system should provide an efficient alternative to highly toxic mercury-catalyzed methodologies and be useful in synthetic programs.

A highly efficient palladium(II)-catalyzed hydration of a wide range of alkynylphosphonates to the corresponding β-ketophosphonates has been developed to give high yields at 80 °C in 1, 4-dioxane, with no acidic or alkaline cocatalysts required. The described catalytic system should provide an efficient alternative to highly toxic mercury-catalyzed methodologies and be useful in synthetic programs.

An efficient protocol for the title reaction without additional co-catalysts is developed.

An efficient protocol for the title reaction without additional co-catalysts is developed.

This paper examines the major driving forces behind the conversion of arable land to non-agricultural uses in China during the reform years (1978-1995). Both graphic techniques, based on a Geographic Information System (GIS), and an econometric modeling approach are employed. It is found that industrialization and land losses due to land degradation have played an equally important role in reducing the gross quantity of arable land. The findings suggest that strengthening protection measures for arable land against natural hazards will significantly contribute to maintaining the gross scale of arable land. In order to save high- quality farmland it is necessary to increase the intensity of non-agricultural land uses through both economic incentives and administrative measures.

Aims/Introduction: Although long-acting insulin analogs are recommended in type 2 diabetics failing on oral agents, their efficacy is uncertain. Here we compared the efficacy and safety of regimens based on long-acting insulin analogs with other preparations in insulin-naïve type 2 diabetics failing on oral agents.

NKCC1 and KCC2 are encoded by slc12 gene family and involved in the maintenance of intracellular chloride concentration which may be associated with epileptogenesis. In this study, we aimed to investigate the long-term expression profiles of NKCC1 and KCC2 in CA1 region in the mice model of lithium-pilocarpine induced status epilepticus (PISE) and their relationship with epileptogenesis. We found NKCC1 mRNA and proteins were up-regulated at 1 d, 14 d and 45 d after pilocarpine injection, while KCC2 was down-regulated. According to obtained results, there were some expressional changes of NKCC1 and KCC2. Deregulation of their expression may break the balance of intracellular and extracellular chloride concentration which contributes to the mechanism of hyperexcitability leading to seizures. Also it may provide new drug targets for development of new antiepileptic medicine.

Highlights • DSI definition considers the frequency, visibility and duration of dust events. • Changes in NDVI did not synchronize with precipitation. • Implementation of the GGW program was observed to have improved vegetation density. • NDVI variable had a close negative relationship with DSI measurements. Abstract China launched its “Green Great Wall” (GGW) program in 1978. However, the effects of this program are subject to intense debate. This study compares changes in the vegetation index in regions where the GGW program has been implemented with those where it has not. Subsequently, a definition to measure dust storm intensity (DSI) was proposed that better calculates the intensity of dust events; it considers the frequency, visibility, and duration of dust events. The results show that in the GGW region, vegetation has greatly improved, while it varied dramatically outside the GGW region. In the mid-1980s, DSI decreased significantly, different from the changes in dust storm frequency in the study region. By discounting the effects of climatic change and human pressures, the results show that the GGW program greatly improved the vegetation index and effectively reduced DSI in northern China.

The land fallow policy was adopted by central and local governments to encourage the abandonment of water-intensive crops, such as winter wheat, in groundwater over-exploited areas. At the same time, since the 1990s, many households in the North China Plain (NCP) have chosen to replace the winter wheat and summer maize double-cropping system with the spring maize single-cropping system. Therefore, it is crucial to identify target land parcels for winter wheat abandonment and to design reasonable and proper standards for ecological compensation prior to the implementation of the land fallow policy in the NCP. In this study, multi-level logit models were used with household survey data in order to detect determinants across land parcel, household and village levels on household cropping system decisions; the opportunity costs for winter wheat abandonment were also calculated using cost–benefit analysis. The results show that: (1) land quality and irrigation condition at parcel level are two essential elements influencing household cropping system decisions. Nearly 70% of the total area of poor land and more than 90% of the total area of unirrigated land has suffered winter wheat abandonment. Target land parcels for the land fallow policy should be those that are irrigated and of high quality. (2) There were no significant differences between net profits from spring maize and summer maize under similar farming conditions, and the opportunity cost for winter wheat abandonment should be equal to the net profit of winter wheat. (3) The primary purpose of the land fallow policy is to induce groundwater recovery and restoration as a preliminary stage. A higher level of 350 yuan/mu is recommended as subsidy for ecological compensation at this stage. Later, the primary purpose of the policy should be a transition to a balance between exploitation and supplementation of water resources, and a lower level of 280 yuan/mu is recommended as a subsidy at this stage.

Ecological land is like the "liver" of a city and is very useful to public health. Ecological land change is a spatially dynamic non-linear process under the interaction between natural and anthropogenic factors at different scales. In this study； by setting up natural development scenario； object orientation scenario and ecosystem priority scenario； a Cellular Automation (CA) model has been established to simulate the evolution pattern of ecological land in Beijing in the year 2020. Under the natural development scenario； most of ecological land will be replaced by construction land and crop land. But under the scenarios of object orientation and ecosystem priority； the ecological land area will increase； especially under the scenario of ecosystem priority. When considering the factors such as total area of ecological land； loss of key ecological land and spatial patterns of land use； the scenarios from priority to inferiority are ecosystem priority； object orientation and natural development； so future land management policies in Beijing should be focused on conversion of cropland to forest； wetland protection and prohibition of exploitation of natural protection zones； water source areas and forest parks to maintain the safety of the regional ecosystem.

Mountainous areas in China account for two‐thirds of the total land area. Due to rapid urbanization, rural population emigration in China's mountainous areas is very significant. This raises the question to which degree such population emigration influences the vegetation greenness in these areas. In this study, 9,753 sample areas (each sample measured about 64 square kilometers) were randomly selected, and the influences of population emigration (population pressure change) on vegetation greenness during 2000–2010 were quantitatively expressed by the multivariate linear regression (MLR) model, using census data under the condition of controlling the natural elements such as climatic and landform factors. The results indicate that the vegetation index in the past 10 years has presented an increasing overall trend, albeit with local decrease in some regions. The combined area of the regions with improved vegetation accounted for 81.7% of the total mountainous areas in China. From 2000 to 2010, the rural population significantly decreased, with most significant decreases in the northern and central areas (17.2% and 16.8%, respectively). In China's mountainous areas and in most of the subregions, population emigration has significant impacts on vegetation change. In different subregions, population decrease differently influenced vegetation greenness, and the marginal effect of population decrease on vegetation change presented obvious differences from north to south. In the southwest, on the premise of controlling other factors, a population decrease by one unit could increase the slope of vegetation change by 16.4%; in contrast, in the southeastern, northern, northeastern, and central area, the proportion was about 15.5%, 10.6%, 9.7%, and 7.5%, respectively, for improving the trend of NDVI variation.

Abstract In the process of studying dust-storm events, we have to face an important scientific problem: How to define dust-storm intensity (DSI)? This study provides a comprehensive definition of DSI in terms of the frequency, duration, and visibility of dust storms, and uses it to measure the trend of annual changes in dust-storm activities. With dust-storm data from 186 meteorological observation stations in China, the trend in DSI was studied for the period 1980–2007. This trend differs from those based on the frequency of dust storms, which are often used in the literature. In this study, average DSIs after 2000 were underestimated using frequency alone to measure the dust activities, compared with those before 2000. According to the spatiotemporal distribution, there are four modes of change in DSI over the period, namely a significantly decreasing trend, an increasing trend, a mode in which dust storm activity remained constant, and a two-peak mode. Highlights • Re-define dust storm intensity (DSI) with frequency, duration and visibility. • This definition is easily used because the data used is available. • DSI was underestimated after 2000 using the traditional method in China. • There were four modes in the pattern of DSI changes in China in the past 30 years. • Temperature, wind speed and rainfall only explained 5.9% of changes in DSI.

UNLABELLED Aims/Introduction:  Although long-acting insulin analogs are recommended in type 2 diabetics failing on oral agents； their efficacy is uncertain. Here we compared the efficacy and safety of regimens based on long-acting insulin analogs with other preparations in insulin-naïve type 2 diabetics failing on oral agents. MATERIALS AND METHODS   Data from 9548 participants in 22 English studies were included. Most of the studies were of short to medium duration and of low quality. RESULTS   In terms of decreasing hemoglobin A1c； long-acting insulin analogs were not statistically significant to rapid-acting insulin analogs or intermediate neutral protamine Hagedorn (NPH) insulin or glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) analogs； and the differences between long-acting and biphasic insulin analogs were marginal. Compared with rapid-acting insulin analogs； long-acting insulin analogs were similar in the incidence of total hypoglycemia； and the superiority in less weight gain was inconsistent. Relative to biphasic insulin analogs； long-acting insulin analogs were associated with lower incidence of total hypoglycemia and less weight gain. Compared with NPH insulin； long-acting insulin analogs were associated with lower incidence of total and nocturnal hypoglycemia. Relative to GLP-1 analogs； long-acting insulin analogs were associated with lower incidence of treatment related adverse events but with greater weight gain. CONCLUSIONS   For type 2 diabetics failing on oral agents； initiating long-acting insulin analogues seems to provide glycemic control similar to rapid-acting insulin analogs or NPH insulin or glucagon-like peptide-1 analogs and slightly inferior to biphasic insulin analogs with fewer side-effects. (J Diabetes Invest； doi: 10.1111/j.2040-1124.2011.00187.x； 2011).

This paper analyzes characteristics, major driving forces and alternative management measures of land-use change in Kunshan, Jiangsu province, China. The study used remote sensing (RS) maps and socio-economic data. Based on RS-derived maps, two change matrices were constructed for detecting land-use change between 1987 and 1994, and between 1994 and 2000 through pixel-to-pixel comparisons. The outcomes indicated that paddy fields, dryland, and forested land moderately decreased by 8.2%, 29% and 2.6% from 1987 to 1994, and by 4.1%, 7.6% and 8% from 1994 to 2000, respectively. In contrast, the following increased greatly from 1987 to 1994: artificial ponds by 48%, urban settlements by 87.6%, rural settlements by 41.1%, and construction land by 511.8%. From 1994 to 2000, these land covers increased by 3.6%, 28.1%, 23.4% and 47.1%, respectively. For the whole area, fragmentation of land cover was very significant. In addition, socio-economic data were used to analyze major driving forces triggering land-use change through bivariate analysis. The results indicated that industrialization, urbanization, population growth, and China's economic reform measures are four major driving forces contributing to land-use change in Kunshan. Finally, we introduced some possible management measures such as urban growth boundary (UGB) and incentive-based policies. We pointed out that, given the rapidity of the observed changes, it is critical that additional studies be undertaken to evaluate these suggested policies, focusing on what their effects might be in this region, and how these might be implemented.