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Fulltext Exploring the factors and spatial patterns of national night cultural tourism consumption agglomeration zones in China

Xiong S, Wang H, Liao Z, Hashim R

Heliyon, 2024 Jan 30;10(2):e24132.
PMID: 38293367 DOI: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e24132

This study is based on the theory of spatial structure and uses the geographic information system's (GISs) spatial analysis technology to investigate the spatial distribution characteristics and influencing factors of 243 national night cultural and tourism consumption agglomeration zones (NNCTCAZs) in China. Furthermore, this study employs various analytical methods, including the nearest index, geographic concentration index, imbalance index, nuclear density analysis, buffer analysis and geographic detector method. The results reveal that NNCTCAZs exhibit an imbalanced spatial distribution, with a predominant concentration in the east and southwest regions of China. Furthermore, the 'core-edge' structure of this distribution is discernible. The spatial distribution density of NNCTCAZs is uneven, with high-density areas primarily located in the Yangtze River Delta, Pearl River Delta and Sichuan-Chongqing regions. This distribution pattern exhibits the characteristics of being progressive, that is, strong in the east and west and having small agglomerations with large dispersion. In addition, these areas are mainly concentrated in the central regions of cities and the surrounding areas of popular tourist attractions. The spatial layout of NNCTCAZs is mainly influenced by the level of social development, the tourism industry and regional gross domestic product (GDP), which are considered the core determinants. Furthermore, the development level of traffic conditions plays a crucial role in shaping the spatial layout, whereas the impact of the cultural environment and economic conditions is comparatively less pronounced.
Fulltext A Serious Game ("Fight With Virus") for Preventing COVID-19 Health Rumors: Development and Experimental Study

Xiong S, Zuo L, Chen Q, Zeliang Z, Nor Akmal Khalid M

JMIR Serious Games, 2024 Feb 26;12:e45546.
PMID: 38407954 DOI: 10.2196/45546

BACKGROUND: Health rumors arbitrarily spread in mainstream social media on the internet. Health rumors emerged in China during the outbreak of COVID-19 in early 2020. Many midelders/elders (age over 40 years) who lived in Wuhan believed these rumors.
OBJECTIVE: This study focused on designing a serious game as an experimental program to prevent and control health rumors. The focus of the study was explicitly on the context of the social networking service for midelders/elders.
METHODS: This research involved 2 major parts: adopting the Transmission Control Protocol model for games and then, based on the model, designing a game named "Fight With Virus" as an experimental platform and developing a cognitive questionnaire with a 5-point Likert scale. The relevant variables for this experimental study were defined, and 10 hypotheses were proposed and tested with an empirical study. In total, 200 participants were selected for the experiments. By collecting relevant data in the experiments, we conducted statistical observations and comparative analysis to test whether the experimental hypotheses could be proved.
RESULTS: We noted that compared to traditional media, serious games are more capable of inspiring interest in research participants toward their understanding of the knowledge and learning of health commonsense. In judging and recognizing the COVID-19 health rumor, the test group that used game education had a stronger ability regarding identification of the rumor and a higher accuracy rate of identification. Results showed that the more educated midelders/elders are, the more effective they are at using serious games.
CONCLUSIONS: Compared to traditional media, serious games can effectively improve midelders'/elders' cognitive abilities while they face a health rumor. The gameplay effect is related to the individual's age and educational background, while income and gender have no impact.
Long-term PS micro/nano-plastic exposure: Particle size effects on hepatopancreas injury in Parasesarma pictum

Liang J, Abdullah ALB, Li Y, Wang H, Xiong S, Han M

Sci Total Environ, 2024 Dec 01;954:176530.
PMID: 39332714 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.176530

With the widespread use of plastic products, microplastics and nanoplastics have emerged as prevalent pollutants in coastal aquatic ecosystems. Parasesarma pictum, a common estuarine crab species, was selected as a model organism. P. pictum was exposed to polystyrene (PS) particles of sizes 80 nm (80PS), 500 nm (500PS), and 1000 nm (1000PS), as well as to clean seawater (CK) for 21 days. Histological and fluorescent staining results showed that PS particles of all three sizes induced hepatopancreatic nuclear pyknosis, cell junction damage, and necrosis. The degree of damage was observed as 1000PS > 80PS > 500PS. Transcriptomic analysis revealed that major differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were associated with cellular processes, membrane components, and catalytic activity. The respiratory chain disruptions and immune exhaustion induced by 1000PS were notably stronger than those by 80PS and 500PS. Additionally, necrosis caused hepatopancreas injury in P. pictum rather than apoptosis or autophagy after long-term PS particle exposure. Furthermore, PS particles of all three sizes inhibited innate immunity, while the complement pathway was not significantly affected in the 80PS group. This study elucidated potential distinctions in how plastic particles of varying sizes (nanoplastics, microplastics, and micro/nanoplastics) impact P. pictum, providing a reference for toxicological mechanism research on microplastics and nanoplastics in aquatic organisms. Future research should focus on exploring long-term effects and potential mitigation strategies for microplastics and nanoplastics of more types and a wider range of particle size pollution in aquatic environments.
The organism fate of inland freshwater system under micro-/nano-plastic pollution: A review of past decade

Liang J, Xiong S, He C, Song Z, Yang S, Ma D, et al.

Aquat Toxicol, 2023 Dec;265:106774.
PMID: 38000134 DOI: 10.1016/j.aquatox.2023.106774

Micro- and nano-plastics (MPs/NPs) are characterized by their small size and extensive surface area, making them global environmental pollutants with adverse effects on organisms at various levels, including organs, cells, and molecules. Freshwater organisms, such as microalgae, emerging plants, zooplankton, benthic species, and fish, experience varying impacts from MPs/NPs, which are prevalent in both terrestrial and aquatic inland environments. MPs/NPs significantly impact plant physiological processes, including photosynthesis, antioxidant response, energy metabolism, and nitrogen removal. Extended exposure and ingestion to MPs/NPs might cause metabolic and behavioral deviations in zooplankton, posing an extinction risk. Upon exposure to MPs/NPs, both benthic organisms and fish display behavioral and metabolic disturbances, due to oxidative stress, neural toxicity, intestinal damage, and metabolic changes. Results from laboratory and field investigations have confirmed that MPs/NPs can be transported across multiple trophic levels. Moreover, MPs/NPs-induced alterations in zooplankton populations can impede energy transfer, leading to food scarcity for filter-feeding fish, larvae of benthic organism and fish, thus jeopardizing aquatic ecosystems. Furthermore, MPs/NPs can harm the nervous systems of aquatic organisms, influencing their feeding patterns, circadian rhythms, and mobility. Such behavioral alterations might also introduce unforeseen ecological risks. This comprehensive review aims to explore the consequences of MPs/NPs on freshwater organisms and their interconnected food webs. The investigation encompasses various aspects, including behavioral changes, alterations in physiology, impacts on metabolism, transgenerational effects, and the disruption of energy transfer within the ecosystem. This review elucidated the physiological and biochemical toxicity of MPs/NPs on freshwater organisms, and the ensuing risks to inland aquatic ecosystems.
Rapid Thermochromic and Highly Thermally Conductive Nanocomposite Based on Silicone Rubber for Temperature Visualization Thermal Management in Electronic Devices

Yan J, Cai Y, Zhang H, Han M, Liu X, Chen H, et al.

ACS Appl Mater Interfaces, 2024 Feb 14;16(6):7883-7893.
PMID: 38299449 DOI: 10.1021/acsami.3c17947

Effective heat dissipation and real-time temperature monitoring are crucial for ensuring the long-term stable operation of modern, high-performance electronic products. This study proposes a silicon rubber polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS)-based nanocomposite with a rapid thermal response and high thermal conductivity. This nanocomposite enables both rapid heat dissipation and real-time temperature monitoring for high-performance electronic products. The reported material primarily consists of a thermally conductive layer (Al2O3/PDMS composites) and a reversible thermochromic layer (organic thermochromic material, graphene oxide, and PDMS nanocoating; OTM-GO/PDMS). The thermal conductivity of OTM-GO/Al2O3/PDMS nanocomposites reached 4.14 W m-1 K-1, reflecting an increase of 2200% relative to that of pure PDMS. When the operating temperature reached 35, 45, and 65 °C, the surface of OTM-GO/Al2O3/PDMS nanocomposites turned green, yellow, and red, respectively, and the thermal response time was only 30 s. The OTM-GO/Al2O3/PDMS nanocomposites also exhibited outstanding repeatability and maintained excellent color stability over 20 repeated applications.