Xiaoxia Huang

Objective: To carry out empirical research on the role of project-achieving quality control circle (QCC) in constructing a new model of contactless medical service for outpatients. Methods: A QCC, consisting of information office members from a grade A tertiary hospital in Wenzhou, was established to conduct a research project with the theme “Constructing a new model of contactless medical service based on outpatients’ experience.” According to the ten steps and PDCA cycle, an analysis was carried out before and after the QCC activities, focusing on improving pre-consultation services, providing steward-like services, and facilitating post-consultation management. Results: After the QCC activities, the mobile appointment rate, missed appointment rate, the proportion of smart check-ins, and the average check-in time were 55.68%, 4.02%, 39.75%, and 8.24 ± 3.66 min, respectively; in contrast, before the activities, they were 32.00%, 7.88%, 0.00%, and 14.96 ± 4.98 min, respectively; the difference between the two groups was statistically significant (χ2 = 3480.112, 4994.496; Fisher’s exact probability = 963788.570; t = 5.323, P < 0.001). Many experts have also visited the hospital to learn about this system, thus rendering social and economic benefits. Conclusion: Project-achieving QCC activities are suitable for complex situations, such as constructing a new model of contactless medical service, and can significantly improve outpatient service quality, enhance patients’ experience, and improve the abilities of circle members.

In a large river with significant environmental variations in space (i.e., microhabitat) or over time (i.e., seasonality and/or long‐term trend), discovering the spatial changes in fish diversity, distributions, and functional traits would provide an important foundation for the understanding of ecosystem structure and function. In the Pearl River in China, three datasets as fish distribution, species functional traits, and environmental variables were constructed and sorted to (1) test the relationships between and congruence of taxonomic diversity, functional diversity, and phylogenetic diversity by a randomisation procedure, (2) map the spatial pattern of diversity and the correlation to environmental variables by maximal information coefficient, and (3) determine the fish traits tendency under environmental changes by the fourth‐corner method. The Pearl River possesses the highest fish richness among all the rivers in China, with 438 freshwater fish species including 119 cave species. At basin scale, phylogenetic diversity showed faster change than functional diversity, suggesting a little divergence of functional traits despite high phenotypic or genetic diversity across species, as parallel evolution. However, at a small scale, when only considering cave fishes, the variation rate of species traits was faster than that of species increase, as evolutionary radiation in a variety of microhabitats. For all three aspects of diversity, random permutation tests confirmed that congruence values in each grid cell were significantly different from the random expectations. Besides widely accepted variables such as altitude, precipitation, and slope concerned with fish biogeography, hydrochemical variables showed influential impacts on the morphological and growth traits of fishes in the Pearl River characterised by the dominance of the karst habitat.

Transitional climate zones (TCZ) are characterized by instability due to rapid changes in climate and biological variables, and trees growing there are particularly sensitive to climate change. Therefore, knowledge about the shifted relationships of tree growth in response to climate warming will shape regional forest conservation and management strategies. China has experienced rapid warming in recent decades. However, how tree growth in semihumid to semiarid regions, such as the Guandi Mountains, responds to more sophisticated changes in the hydrothermal combination is not yet clear. In this study, we used tree-ring width data from three sites along an elevational gradient in the Guandi Mountains to present the response of Picea wilsonii Mast. radial growth to increasing temperature and elevational differences in the relationship between tree growth and climate. The results indicated that the Guandi Mountains have experienced rapid warming with a clear trend toward aridity. From 1959 to 1995, the radial growth of P. wilsonii was mainly influenced by temperature, while it was controlled by both temperature and precipitation after rapid warming in 1996. From 1959 to 2017, this species showed a generally consistent growth–climate relationship at different elevations in the Guandi Mountains. However, the radial growth of trees at higher elevations had a higher climatic correlation than at lower elevations, and it was more conditioned by higher summer temperatures and precipitation in December of the previous year. These results suggested that P. wilsonii was more susceptible to drought and high temperatures due to a warming climate and that more attention should be devoted to forest management, especially the adverse consequences of summer drought on P. wilsonii.

The aims of this study were to assess how functional diversity (FD) and functional redundancy respond to subalpine meadow ecosystem degradation under anthropogenic disturbance and how species contribute to functional redundancy along the disturbance gradient. The study was carried out in the subalpine meadow in Mount Jade Dragon, which is located at the southeastern edge of the Tibetan Plateau. Four disturbance intensities [no disturbance (ND), weak disturbance (WD), moderate disturbance (MD) and severe disturbance (SD)] were identified. Species richness, soil properties and five key plant functional traits were assessed along the disturbance gradient. Simpson’s diversity index, FD based on the Rao algorithm, functional redundancy, community-weighted mean of each functional trait and species-level functional redundancy were determined. Unimodal change pattern of FD and functional redundancy along the disturbance gradient were found in the present study, with their maximum in MD and WD, respectively. Species diversity showed a decreasing trend with increasing disturbance intensity. As disturbance intensified, species with traits related to conservative growth strategies, such as low specific leaf area (SLA) and high leaf dry matter content (LDMC), decreased, whereas species with resource acquisitive strategies, such as small plant, high SLA and low LDMC, increased in the community. At the species level, species showed species-specific roles in functional redundancy. Notably, some species were important in the community in terms of their unique function. For instance, Ligularia dictyoneura in ND and Potentilla delavayi in MD and SD.

Freshwater fishes are threatened by increasing environmental changes and human disturbances. The Min River, the largest river in Southeastern China, contains unique fish fauna for the Oriental realm. Due to environmental changes brought by forty years of economic growth, fish numbers have dramatically declined. The average taxonomic distinctness in the 1970s was significantly higher than that in 2015, while no significant differences were found in the variation in taxonomic distinctness between the two periods. Due to the river network and habitat diversity, fish fauna composition showed significant spatial differences but lower variation than the decadal variation. Precipitation was determined to be the most influential factor in determining the spatial pattern of fish fauna, followed by temperature. Species introduced for aquaculture have invaded the endemic fish community after escape and should be reconsidered in the trade-offs between economic development and ecological protection.

Trails are a type of tourism infrastructure that impact vegetation and soil, which are essential for sustainable recreation practices. There is limited recreation ecology research on the impact of trails in China, especially on Mount Jade Dragon, where it is characterized as a global biodiversity hotspot with high scenic value. Impacts of trails on vegetation, soil and their interaction were assessed for the subalpine meadow area of Mount Jade Dragon. The aims of this research were: (i) to assess trail effects on vegetation, soil and their interaction, and (ii) to evaluate the effects of the trail type and usage level on trail impacts. Vegetation and soil properties were measured at control and trailside sites along formal and informal trails of different usage levels. A three‐way analysis of variance was performed to determine the effects of site location, trail type and usage level. Canonical correspondence analysis was used to visualize species composition along trails and to ordinate species with respect to the soil variables. A multiple linear regression model was used to examine relationships between soil variables and vegetation cover. The results showed that trails led to vegetation cover, height and species richness reduction as well as soil organic matter and moisture content loss. Trails also affected soil‐vegetation relationships. Soil organic matter and soil moisture content played an important role in determining vegetation along trails at low‐usage sites. The soil‐vegetation relationships were weakened at high‐usage sites. Compared with informal trails, formal trails had a protective effect on vegetation cover, especially at high‐usage sites. These results suggest that park managers should limit the spread of informal trails at high‐usage sites, upgrade existing informal trails, and rehabilitate damaged areas. Further, greater recognition should be given to research on soil protection and soil‐vegetation relationships.