Gaomi City Research Articles

Folk art of China: artistic characteristics of New Year's paintings "puhui Nianhua" of Gaomi city, Shandong Province

This study is devoted to the artistic and stylistic analysis of traditional Chinese New Year's pictures called "puhui nianhua" on the example of historical and documentary material collected in the city of Gaomi in Shandong province. It traces the changes in its form and content, the means of expression used during the five-hundred-year history of its distribution in China. The subject of attention is the development of Chinese splint pictures from the Ming Dynasty to the present. As an object, we see the transformation of technological and visual features of the performance of such works within their individual varieties, which were popular in the creative activities of several generations of masters of the city of Gaomi. The purpose of the study is to get a general idea of how the main varieties of "puhui nianhua" were born and formed in the creative activity of Gaoming artisan artists. By means of artistic-stylistic, iconographic and comparative-historical analysis, the author identifies several stages in the process of formation of the tradition of making such pictures. Moreover, a typological series of Chinese New Year's splints is proposed, consisting of images of Lao and Buddhist saints, visualizations of homophonic metaphors, and a description of Chinese life. Each of the presented types differs not only in the originality of the content, but also in the set of compositional and visual means used by the authors.

Geochemical Characteristics and Ecological Risk Assessment of Heavy Metals in Surface Soil of Gaomi City.

Gaomi City, the hinterland of Jiaolai Plain in Shandong Peninsula, was selected as the research object. A total of 8197 surface soil samples were collected to determine the contents of eight soil heavy metals (HMs)including Copper (Cu), Lead (Pb), Zinc (Zn), Nickel (Ni), Chromium (Cr), Cadmium (Cd), Arsenic (As), and Mercury (Hg). Statistical methods were used to find out the geochemical background (GCB) in the area, systematic clustering and factor analysis were used to study the homology between HMs, and single-factor evaluation method was used to evaluate the ecological risks in the study area. The results of the study show that the ecological risk of the surface soil in the study area is relatively low, dominated by a planar distribution, with only a few high-risk points. The uneven distribution of Hg in the surface soil is affected by human activities to a certain extent. The ratio of the GCB of the geological unit area to the GCB of the whole area shows that the Hg content of the Qingshan Group and Dasheng Group geological units is higher, and the Pb content in the subvolcanic rock area is slightly higher. The ecological pollution risk in the study area is generally low, and only exists individual high-risk areas, distributed radially in densely populated areas.

Analysis of Neisseria Meningitidis carriage characteristics among healthy population in Shandong province from 2008 to 2020

Objective: To analyze the carriage characteristics of Neisseria meningitidis (Nm) among healthy population of epidemic cerebrospinal meningitis in Shandong province. Methods: From April 2008 to April 2020, a total of 16 848 healthy population were recruited from Lixia District of Jinan City, Gaomi City of Weifang City, Jiaxiang County of Jining City, Wendeng District of Weihai City, Tancheng County of Linyi City and Linyi County of Dezhou City for the investigation.Throat swab samples were collected, Nm was isolated, cultured and identified, and Nm carrying characteristics of healthy population with different characteristics were analyzed. Results: Among the 16 848 healthy population, male accounted for 51.86% (8 737). A total of 136 Nm strains were isolated, and the carriage rate was 0.81%. Among the 136 Nm strains, serogroup B (60.29%) and ungroupable strains (23.53%) were dominant. Analysis of the Nm carriage rate, that were higher in the healthy population of Linyi (1.39%) and Jinan (1.14%), higher in 13-16 years old (1.60%) and 17-19 years old (1.10%) healthy population, and higher in male (1.02%). Conclusion: The Nm carriage rate of healthy population is relatively low in Shandong Province, and the proportion of serogroup B and ungroupable Nm is relatively high.

Ethnobotanical survey of medicinal plants in Gaomi, China

Ethnopharmacological relevanceThe uses of medicinal plants have a long history and become one of the important sources of the health cares in Gaomi City, Shandong Province, China. However, limited studies have been done to identify these medicinal plant species and to scientifically document their associated traditional knowledge. Many species used by indigenous people could potentially represent a novel resource of medicine. The study can aid in further investigations of modern pharmacology and planning of the wild species conservation. Aim of the studyThe study aimed to investigate and record the medicinal plant taxa and their associated traditional knowledge in Gaomi City, China. Materials and methodsField study was conducted from March 2018 to May 2019 with 184 residents of Gaomi City. Traditional medicinal plant specimens were collected from the field with the help of these residents and were identified and authenticated in the Herbarium of the School of Pharmacy, Binzhou Medical University. Ethnobotanical knowledge was collected by semi-structured face-to-face interviews. The quantitative data were analyzed by using the informant consensus factor (ICF) method and the number of citations. ResultsA total of 181 species belonging to 137 genera and 65 families were collected in Gaomi City. Asteraceae was the predominant family and Fabaceae took the second place. River basins and the southern hills in Gaomi were rich in vegetation. However, the cultivated area of medicinal plants only accounted for 10% of agricultural acreage. The main preparation method was decocting (170, 94.48%) and the most frequent mode of administration was oral (177, 97.97%). The highest numerical ICF value was recorded for treating endocrine, metabolic, and nutritional (ICF: 0.85) conditions. Seven of the medicinal plant species used by the people in Gaomi have not been reported previously in China. Verbena officinalis L. was found in Gaomi City, which is a new distribution record for this species. ConclusionsPeople in Gaomi hold valuable knowledge about the use of medicinal plants; however, their knowledge has not been comprehensively documented. The therapeutic uses of the documented medicinal plants will provide a basis for further pharmacological and phytochemical investigations. Additionally, the result of this study indicated that the elder people in Gaomi have more traditional knowledge of plant medicines than the younger ones.

The Enrichment Process of Groundwater Fluorine in Sea Water Intrusion Area of Gaomi City, China.

A typical area, Gaomi City in China, was chosen to discuss the enrichment process of groundwater fluorine in sea water intrusion area. The groundwater had fluorine levels of 0.09-10.99 mg/L, with an average concentration of 1.38 mg/L. The high-fluorine groundwater was mainly distributed in the unconsolidated Quaternary sediments, where concentrations in 83.6% of the samples exceeded the national limit of 1.0 mg/L. The groundwater in the Quaternary sediments also had higher levels of Cl- , TDS, Mg2+ , and pH and lower levels of Ca2+ , Co, Ni, and Cu than that in the bedrock. The groundwater fluorine levels in the Quaternary sediments are positively correlated with Cl- , TDS, Mg2+ , pH, and negatively correlated with Ca2+ , γCa2+ /γMg2+ , Co, Ni, Cu. Geochemical indices of Cl- and TDS indicate sea water intrusion in the Quaternary high-fluorine groundwater area (F- > 1.0 mg/L), while they do not indicate any intrusion in the bedrock area. The chemical weathering of minerals was intensified with the intrusion of sea water. Cation exchange was confirmed to occur in the Quaternary sediments and was promoted by sea water intrusion. Cation exchange consumes part of groundwater Ca2+ and permits more F- dissolving. Consequently, in the Quaternary sediments, the groundwater was supersaturated with CaF2 minerals and undersaturated with MgF2 minerals when F- > 1.0 mg/L, while CaF2 and MgF2 minerals both are undersaturated when F- < 1.0 mg/L. Thus, the chemical weathering of minerals and cation exchange caused by sea water intrusion are the crucial processes controlling the groundwater fluorine levels, which should be considered when the groundwater fluorine enrichment mechanism is discussed along coastal zones.

The Enrichment Process of Groundwater Fluorine in Seawater Intrusion Area of Gaomi City, China.

A typical area, Gaomi City in China, was chosen to discuss the enrichment process of groundwater fluorine in seawater intrusion area. The groundwater had fluorine levels of 0.09-10.99 mg/L, with an average concentration of 1.38 mg/L. The high-fluorine groundwater was mainly distributed in the unconsolidated Quaternary sediments, where concentrations in 83.6% of the samples exceeded the national limit of 1.0 mg/L. The groundwater in the Quaternary sediments also had higher levels of Cl- , TDS, Mg2+ , pH and lower levels of Ca2+ , Co, Ni, Cu than that in the bedrock. The groundwater fluorine levels in the Quaternary sediments are positively correlated with Cl- , TDS, Mg2+ , pH, and negatively correlated with Ca2+ , γCa2+ /γMg2+ , Co, Ni, Cu. Geochemical indexes of Cl- and TDS indicate seawater intrusion in the Quaternary high-fluorine groundwater area (F- > 1.0 mg/L), while they do not in the bedrock area. The chemical weathering of minerals was intensified with the intrusion of seawater. Cation exchange was confirmed to occur in the Quaternary sediments, and was promoted by seawater intrusion. Cation exchange consumes part of groundwater Ca2+ and permits more F- dissolving. Consequently, in the Quaternary sediments, the groundwater was super-saturated with CaF2 minerals and under-saturated with MgF2 minerals when F- > 1.0 mg/L, while CaF2 and MgF2 minerals both are under-saturated when F- < 1.0 mg/L. Thus, the chemical weathering of minerals and cation exchange caused by seawater intrusion are the crucial processes controlling the groundwater fluorine levels, which should be considered when the groundwater fluorine enrichment mechanism is discussed along coastal zones. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

Comprehensive evaluation and optimization of agricultural system: An emergy approach

Abstract China’s agriculture is facing a series of severe challenges such as increasingly tight resource constraints and deteriorating environmental problems. The intensive utilization of agricultural resources and sustainable development of agricultural have been paid more and more attention by the Chinese government. Hence, an emergy approach is employed in this study to comprehensively evaluate economic benefit, environmental pressure and sustainability performance of agricultural system in Gaomi city. The results showed that the emergy yield ratio (EYR), the environmental loading ratio (ELR) and the emergy sustainable index (ESI) of the agricultural system are 2.25, 1.91 and 1.18 respectively. To further improve the sustainable development level of the agricultural system, the sensitivity analysis is used to identify key emergy flows restricting its sustainable development. On this basis, tracing the source to find the key substances. Finally, according to the position of key substances in the agricultural system, the Reduce-Reuse-Recycle (“3R”) principle of circular economy is introduced to design three optimization scenarios. The results showed that if all the three optimization scenarios proposed in this study are realized, the sustainable development level of the agricultural system in Gaomi city can be increased by 52.51%. The emergy optimization methodology system based on “3R” principle proposed in this study can provide a new perspective of an industry evaluation.

Quantitative Trait Locus (QTL) Mapping of Sugar Yield-Related Traits in Sugar Beet (Beta vulgaris L.)

Quantitative trait locus (QTL) mapping of sugar yield-related traits can promote the discovery of new sugar yield-related genes. Subsequently, marker-assisted selection (MAS) can be used to breed new high-yield sugar beet varieties. In this study, we observed the F1 population (219 individuals) from a cross of 3a (high-yield, low-sugar, diploid, monogerm, sterile line) and 3b (low-yield, high-sugar, diploid, polyembryonic, pollinated line) parents located in Gaomi City, Shandong Province, China. A total of four traits (root length, root perimeter, root weight, and sugar content) exhibited a normal distribution. Based on a high-density genetic map, including 3287 specific-length amplified fragment markers and nine linkage groups (LGs) with an overall genetic distance of 1554.64 cM, a total of 32 QTLs were identified for the four aforementioned traits. The QTLs were distributed on LG2, LG3, LG5, LG7, and LG9. The root length was mapped to six regions of LG2. The phenotypic variance explained (PVE) ranged from 6.30% to 8.03%. The root perimeter was mapped to five regions of LG5 and 12 regions of LG7. The largest PVE was on LG5 (7.23%). The root weight was mapped to two regions of LG3 and three regions of LG7. The four sugar content-related QTLs located on LG5 and LG9 had a threshold logarithm of odds (LOD) value of 4.35 and a max PVE of 10.13%, indicating a potentially important QTL for future gene cloning. Using trait-based QTL mapping and chromosomal marker distribution data, we identified 3690 candidate genes including 191 root length, 918 root perimeter, 409 root weight, and 2172 sugar content genes. Our results provide valuable information for additional research in fine mapping, gene functional analysis, pyramid breeding, and MAS.

From the "Shandong Embroidery" Light "Clan Folk Song" Research Value

From the "Shandong Embroidery" Light "Clan Folk Song" Research Value

The Formation and Model of High Fluoride Groundwater and In-situ Dispelling Fluoride Assumption in Gaomi City of Shandong Province

The Formation and Model of High Fluoride Groundwater and In-situ Dispelling Fluoride Assumption in Gaomi City of Shandong Province

Correlation between environmental selenium levels and cognitive ability among rural elderly population

：Objective To explore thecorrelation between environmental selenium(Se) levels and cognitive ability among ruralelderly population, and the effect of Se on cognitive skill of the elderly. Methods Twostudy sites(Zichuan district and Gaomi city of Shandong) with different environmental Selevels were selected according to rural elderly people ≥ 65 years were extracted by stratified random sampling method in each site. Aretrospective survey was carried out using dietary intake questionnaire for the elderlyfor the past 1 year, and their daily total Se intake was calculated. Questionnaire wasalso used to obtain cognitive skill information in the elderly people. The CommunityScreening Instrument for Dementia, the Consortium to Establish a Registry for Alzheimer'sDisease (CERAD) Word List Learning Test, the Indiana University (IU) Story Recall Test,the Animal Fluency Test, and the IU Token Test were applied to assess the cognitiveability. Se level in these samples was analyzed. Correlation between the Se levels ofenvironment and those of human body were analyzed statistically. Results There were0.163), (0.405 ± 0.086)]mg/kg and nail Se[(147.44 ± 17.42), (117.38 ± 22.48)μg/L]betweenthe two groups (U = 31.59, 25.00, 23.67, all P ＜0.01 ). Therewere positive correlation among the nail Se, environmental Se and Se in all subjects(r =0.51,0.46, 0.60, all P ＜ 0.01 ). The differences ofthe CSID total score, the CERAD Word List Learning Test, the CERAD Word List Recall Testand the IU Story Recall Test between the two sites were statistically significant(F =2.56, 9.18, 7.48, 4.42, all P ＜ 0.05), excluding the IndianaUniversity Story Recall Test.After eliminating possible confounding factors, the Se levelsand the CSID total score, the IU Story Recall Test, the Animal Fluency Test and the IUStory Token Test had a significantly positive correlation (r = 0.076, 0.138, 0.042,0.107,P ＜ 0.05 or ＜ 0.01 ), excluding the CERAD WordList Learning Test. Conclusions This study supports the hypothesis that a life long low Selevel is associated with lower cognitive ability. The cognitive abilities in the elderlypopulation lived in areas with high environmental selenium levels are significantly higherthan that of the elderly lived in areas with low environmental selenium levels. Key words: Aged; Selenium; Cognitive ability