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This study investigates e-textbook development for the course of intercultural communication of national image for English majors and learners in the context of integrating ideological and curriculum education in the Chinese mainland. Under the framework of Fairclough's three-dimensional discourse analysis and glocalization in intercultural communication, the study proposes an e-textbook development workflow involving text design, discursive database construction, and social investigation and explores the unit design strategies for the course, paying special attention to integrate ideological elements properly into intercultural communication studies in each unit. Following authenticity principle and presentation-practice-production (P-P-P) model, the study constructs an e-textbook system featuring by unit design with contents and modules both linguistic theories based and intercultural communication oriented. This e-textbook will contribute to the cultivation of a locally grounded, globally minded intercultural communicator of national image.

Reinforced-concrete shear walls stand as the primary construction method for urban residential structures in northern China. In alignment with national carbon neutrality goals for residential construction, this study developed a set of prediction models with which to estimate the building material carbon emissions of reinforced-concrete shear-wall urban residential buildings. Specifically, this study clarified the boundaries, content, and calculation method for carbon emissions in the stage of material production. Using consumption data for building materials from 20 reinforced-concrete shear-wall urban residential buildings in northern China, the study evaluated the composition and distribution of building material carbon emissions. Linear and ridge regression was performed to fit the coupling relationship between spatial design parameters and building material carbon emissions. Adopting two technical approaches of direct and indirect prediction, 10 carbon emission prediction models based on residential design parameters were established and validated. The results indicate that, although the indirect prediction models, based on concrete, steel, cement mortar, and the transparent envelope, had relatively low accuracy in estimating carbon emissions from cement mortar and the transparent envelope, they performed well overall. Additionally, the prediction performance of the four models was similar. In contrast, except for M1 and M3, the other direct prediction models, based on the number of building stories, number of basement levels, number of primary rooms on the standard floor or in the unit, and building width and depth, also had good fitting and prediction performance. These models effectively predicted the total building material carbon emissions in the phases of conceptual design, schematic design, preliminary design, and working drawing. Three prediction models could produce fast and effective data support for the low-carbon design of urban residential buildings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Empirical studies have found a processing asymmetry between Chinese subject-extracted relative clauses (SRCs) and object-extracted relative clauses (ORCs). Still, there is no consensus on how this SRC-ORC asymmetry occurs. Thus, aiming to elucidate how the neural activity, in the forms of both event-related potentials (ERPs) and brain oscillations (i.e. event-related synchronisation/desynchronisation, ERS/ERD), attuned to sentences with different levels of processing difficulty, we conducted an electroencephalography (EEG) study to examine the comprehension of Chinese SRCs and ORCs. The results showed an N400 and a P600 effect when comparing SRCs and ORCs. Simultaneously, delta ERS was associated with N400 during the processing of both types of relative clauses and theta ERS with P600 during the processing of SRCs. By incorporating the ERP and ERS indexes, we propose that the dissociation between the integration and retrieval effort involved in sentence comprehension may account for the processing asymmetry between sentences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective DM with positive anti-melanoma differentiation-related gene 5 (MDA5) antibody is an autoimmune disease with multiple complications. Interstitial lung diseases (ILDs) are significantly associated with DM and are particularly related to MDA5+ DM. This article aims to explore potential molecular mechanisms and develop new diagnostic biomarkers for MDA5+ DM-ILD. Methods The series matrix files of DM and non-specific interstitial pneumonia (NSIP) were downloaded from the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) database to identify the differentially expressed genes (DEGs). Gene set enrichment analysis (GSEA) was used to screen the common enriched pathways related to DM and NSIP. Next, the co-expressed differential expressed genes (co-DEGs) between MDA5+, MDA5− and NSIP groups were identified by Venn plots, and then selected for different enrichment analyses and protein–protein interaction (PPI) network construction. The mRNA expression levels of IFN-beta and EIF2AK2 were measured by RT-qPCR. The protein expression levels of IFN-beta were measured by ELISA. Results Using GSEA, the enriched pathway 'herpes simplex virus 1 infection' was both up-regulated in DM and NSIP. Enrichment analysis in MDA5+ DM, MDA5− DM and NSIP reported that the IFN-beta signalling pathway was an important influencing factor in the MDA5+ DM-ILD. We also identified that eukaryotic translation initiation factor 2 alpha kinase 2 (EIF2AK2) was an important gene signature in the MDA5+ DM-ILD by PPI analysis. The expression levels of IFN-beta and EIF2AK2 were significantly increased in MDA5+ DM-ILD patients. Conclusions IFN-beta and EIF2AK2 contributed to the pathogenesis of MDA5+ DM-ILD, which could be used as potential therapeutic targets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nighttime ozone in the lower boundary layer regulates atmospheric chemistry and surface ozone air quality, but our understanding of its vertical structure and impact is largely limited by the extreme sparsity of direct measurements. Here we present 3-year (2017–2019) measurements of ozone in the lower boundary layer (up to 500 m) from the Canton Tower in Guangzhou, the core megacity in South China, and interpret the measurements with a 1-month high-resolution chemical simulation from the Community Multiscale Air Quality (CMAQ) model. Measurements are available at 10, 118, 168, and 488 m, with the highest (488 m) measurement platform higher than the typical height of the nighttime stable boundary layer that allows direct measurements of ozone in the nighttime residual layer (RL). We find that ozone increases with altitude in the lower boundary layer throughout the day, with a vertical ozone gradient between the 10 and 488 m heights (Δ O 3/Δ H 10–488 m) of 3.6–6.4 ppbv hm -1 in nighttime and 4.4–5.8 ppbv hm -1 in daytime. We identify a high ozone residual ratio, defined as the ratio of ozone concentration averaged over nighttime to that in the afternoon (14:00–17:00 LT), of 69 %–90 % in January, April, and October, remarkably higher than that in the other three layers (29 %–51 %). Ozone in the afternoon convective mixing layer provides the source of ozone in the RL, and strong temperature inversion facilitates the ability of RL to store ozone from the daytime convective mixing layer. The tower-based measurement also indicates that the nighttime surface O x (O x= O 3+ NO 2) level can be an effective indicator of RL ozone if direct measurement is not available. We further find significant influences of nocturnal RL ozone on both the nighttime and the following day's daytime surface ozone air quality. During the surface nighttime ozone enhancement (NOE) event, we observe a significant decrease in ozone and an increase in NO 2 and CO at the 488 m height, in contrast to their changes at the surface, a typical feature of enhanced vertical mixing. The enhanced vertical mixing leads to an NOE event by introducing ozone-rich and NO x -poor air into the RL to enter the nighttime stable boundary layer. The CMAQ model simulations also demonstrate an enhanced positive contribution of vertical diffusion (Δ VDIF) to ozone at the 10 and 118 m heights and a negative contribution at the 168 and 488 m heights during the NOE event. We also observe a strong correlation between nighttime RL ozone and the following day's surface maximum daily 8 h average (MDA8) ozone. This is tied to enhanced vertical mixing with the collapse of nighttime RL and the development of a convective mixing layer, which is supported by the CMAQ diagnosis of the ozone budget, suggesting that the mixing of ozone-rich air from nighttime RL downward to the surface via the entrainment is an important mechanism for aggravating ozone pollution the following day. We find that the bias in CMAQ-simulated surface MDA8 ozone the following day shows a strong correlation coefficient (r= 0.74) with the bias in nighttime ozone in the RL, highlighting the necessity to correct air quality model bias in the nighttime RL ozone for accurate prediction of daytime ozone. Our study thus highlights the value of long-term tower-based measurements for understanding the coupling between nighttime ozone in the RL, surface ozone air quality, and boundary layer dynamics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reactive chlorine species play a crucial role as precursors to Cl radicals, which can significantly impact the atmospheric oxidation capacity and influence the levels of trace gases related to climate and air quality. However, their anthropogenic sources remain uncertain and require further investigation. In previous studies, we developed the Anthropogenic Chlorine Emission Inventory for China (ACEIC) for the years 2012 and 2014. This inventory focused solely on the emissions of hydrogen chloride (HCl) and chlorine gas (Cl2) from coal combustion and prescribed waste incineration. In the present study, we updated this inventory to include data from a more recent year (2018) and expanded the range of species considered (HCl, fine particulate Cl-, Cl2, and hypochlorous acid (HOCl)) as well as the number of anthropogenic sources (41 specific sources). The emission factors used in this updated inventory were primarily based on localized survey data. The total emissions of HCl, fine particulate Cl-, Cl2, and HOCl in mainland China for the year 2018 were estimated to be 454 (-48 %~45 %), 238 (-59 %~89 %), 17 (-44 %~58 %), and 73 (-44 %~79 %) Gg, respectively. To facilitate analysis, we aggregated the chlorine emissions from various sources into five economic sectors: power, industry, residential, agriculture, and biomass burning. HCl emissions were primarily derived from biomass burning (45 %), industry (35 %), and residential (15 %) sectors. The biomass burning and industry sectors accounted for 78 % and 14 % of the fine particulate Cl- emissions, respectively. Residential and industry sectors contributed 59 % and 31 % of the total Cl2 emissions. HOCl emissions were predominantly from the residential sector, constituting 90 % of the total emissions. Notably, the usage of chlorine-containing disinfectants was identified as the most significant source of Cl2 and HOCl emissions in the residential sector. Geographically, regions with high HCl and fine particulate Cl- emissions were found in northeast China, the North China Plain, and the Sichuan Basin, whereas the Pearl River Delta, Yangtze River Delta, and Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei regions exhibited elevated levels of Cl2 and HOCl emissions. Regarding monthly variation, emissions of HCl and fine particulate Cl- were relatively higher during early summer (June–July) and October due to intensified agricultural activities, while Cl2 and HOCl emissions were higher in the summer months due to increased demand for water disinfection. This updated inventory contributes to a better understanding of anthropogenic sources of reactive chlorine species and can aid in the formulation of emission control strategies to mitigate secondary pollution in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nighttime ozone in the lower boundary layer regulates atmospheric chemistry and surface ozone air quality, but our understanding of its vertical structure and impact is largely limited by the extreme sparsity of direct measurements. Here we present 3-year (2017–2019) measurements of ozone in the lower boundary layer (up to 500 m) from the Canton Tower at Guangzhou, the core megacity in South China, and interpret the measurements with a one-month high-resolution chemical simulation from the Community Multiscale Air Quality (CMAQ) model. Measurements are available at 10 m, 118 m, 168 m, and 488 m, with the highest 488 m measurement platform higher than the typical height of nighttime stable boundary layer that allows direct measurements of ozone in the nighttime residual layer (RL). We find that ozone increases with altitude in the lower boundary layer throughout the day, with nighttime (daytime) ozone at the 488 m height being 2.4–5.4 (1.5–2.4) times as that at the 10 m height. This indicates a persistent high ozone level and oxidation capacity aloft the surface. The ozone vertical gradient between the 10 m and 488 m height (∆O3/∆H10–488 m) is 3.6–6.4 ppbv/hm in nighttime and 4.4–5.8 ppbv/hm daytime. We identify a strong ozone residual capacity, defined as the ratio of the ozone concentration averaged over nighttime to that in the afternoon (14:00–17:00 LT), of 67 %–90 % in January, April and October, remarkably higher than that in the other three layers (29 %–51 %). Ozone in the afternoon convective mixing layer provides the source of ozone in the RL, and strong temperature inversion facilitates the ability of RL to store ozone from the daytime convective mixing layer, by constraining the exchange of RL ozone with ozone inside the nocturnal stable boundary layer that is subject to strong chemical destruction and deposition. The tower-based measurement also indicates that nighttime surface Ox (Ox=O3+NO2) level can be an effective indicator of RL ozone if direct measurement is not available. We further find significant influences of nocturnal RL ozone on both nighttime and the following day's daytime surface ozone air quality. During the surface nighttime ozone enhancement (NOE) event, we observe significant decrease in ozone and increase in NO2 and CO at the 488 m height, in contrast to their changes at the surface, a typical feature of enhanced vertical mixing. The enhanced vertical mixing leads to NOE event by introducing ozone-rich air in the RL to enter the nighttime stable boundary layer and weakens the titration effect by diluting NOx concentrations. The CMAQ model simulations also demonstrate enhanced positive contribution of vertical diffusion (ΔVDIF) to ozone at the 10 m and 118 m and negative contribution at the 168 m and 488 m during the NOE event. We also observe strong correlation between nighttime RL ozone and the following day's surface MDA8 ozone. This is tied to enhanced vertical mixing with the collapse of nighttime RL and the development of convective mixing layer, which is supported by the CMAQ simulated increase in positive ΔVDIF of +50 ppbv·hr−1 at the 10 m and negative ΔVDIF of -10 ppbv·hr−1 at 488 m at early morning (08:00–09:00 LT), suggesting that the mixing of ozone-rich air from nighttime RL downward to surface via the entrainment is an important mechanism to aggravate ozone pollution in the following day. We find that the bias of CMAQ simulated surface MDA8 ozone in the following day shows a strong correlation coefficient (r =0.74) with the bias in nighttime ozone in the RL, highlighting the necessity to correct air quality model bias in the nighttime RL ozone for accurate prediction of daytime ozone. Our study thus highlights the value of long-term tower-based measurements for understanding the coupling between nighttime ozone in the RL, surface ozone air quality, and boundary layer dynamics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Through quantitative content analysis, this study outlines the media construction of video games in Chinese newspapers in the period 2010–2020 from four aspects: dominant themes, tones, benefits–threats, and stakeholders. The findings indicate that the dominant themes of game coverage shifted from the commercial and industrial fields to social concerns, while the tone toward gaming became more negative. Entertainment remained the most prominent benefit of gaming in media coverage, while media concerns about game addiction increased immensely. Notably, game developers increased their presence as information sources. They were also the dominant responsibility takers for the gaming impacts in 2010–2015, after which the media more frequently attributed responsibility to all stakeholders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent discoveries of oil and gas have principally been located in the central part of the Ordos Basin, which is a petroliferous basin with the largest discovered reserves and annual production of tight sandstone gas in China. For tight sandstone gas reservoirs in the transition zone of the basin margin, the process of natural gas accumulation has remained relatively vaguely understood, because of the transitional accumulation of geological conditions such as structure, sedimentation, and preservation. In this study, thin-section identification and scanning electron microscopic observations of the reservoir core, measurement of the physical properties of the reservoir, microscopic petrography research and measurement of the homogenization temperature of fluid inclusions, digital simulations, and laser Raman spectroscopy analysis were combined to analyze the process of natural gas accumulation of the Permian Lower Shihezi Formation in Duguijiahan block, Hangjinqi area, northern Ordos Basin. The results showed that the Lower Shihezi Formation reservoir in the Duguijiahan block began gas charging in the southern part as early as the Early Cretaceous (130–128 Ma), and then gradually charged in the northern part. Three stages were identified in the digital simulations of gas charging, i.e., the breakthrough, rapid, and fully saturated stages. The initial porosity of the Lower Shihezi Formation reservoir ranged between 28% and 40%. Later, because of strong compaction and interstitial filling during burial, the sandstone porosity decreased rapidly, and densification (porosity < 10%) occurred in the mid–late Jurassic. This late tectonic uplift caused a continuous reduction in ground temperature, and diagenesis had a weak effect on pore transformation. The present porosity of the Lower Shihezi Formation reservoir basically inherited its characteristics in the late Early Cretaceous. The current average porosity of the reservoir is 8.58%, and the average permeability is 0.88 mD, and it can thus be characterized as a tight reservoir. The gas accumulation process of the Lower Shihezi Formation has three stages: (1) the depositional stage (C–P), corresponding to the depositional stage of the source-reservoir-cap combination in gas reservoir; (2) the natural gas accumulation stage (T–K1), corresponding to the period of rapid source rock maturation and natural gas charging step-by-step; and (3) the gas reservoir adjustment stage (K2–present), corresponding to the period of uplift and natural gas charging in the early stage that gradually migrated and accumulated northward along the fracture zone. Finally, the gas accumulation model in the transition zone at the margin of basin was established. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Motivated by rising concerns regarding global warming and traffic congestion effects, we study the time-dependent green vehicle routing problem with time windows (TDGVRPTW), aiming to minimize carbon emissions. The TDGVRPTW is a variant of the time-dependent vehicle routing problem (TDVRP) in which, in addition to the time window constraints, the minimization of carbon emissions requires determination of the optimal departure times for vehicles, from both the depot and customer location(s). Accordingly, the first exact method based on a branch-cut-and-price (BCP) algorithm is proposed for solving the TDGVRPTW. We introduce the notation of a time-dependent (TD) arc and describe how to identify the nondominated TD arcs in terms of arc departure times. In this way, we reduce infinitely many TD arcs to a finite set of nondominated TD arcs. We design a state-of-the-art BCP algorithm for the TDGVRPTW with labeling and limited memory subset row cuts, together with effective dominance rules for eliminating dominated TD arcs. The exact method is tested on a set of test instances derived from benchmark instances proposed in the literature. The results show the effectiveness of the proposed exact method in solving TDGVRPTW instances involving up to 100 customers. Summary of Contribution: Due to the environmental situation, green vehicle routing problems (GVRPs) aim to consider greenhouse gas emissions reduction, while routing the vehicles, and play a key role in transportation and logistics. Vehicle greenhouse gas emissions strongly depend on the vehicle speeds and traffic conditions which in real life vary continuously over time. To tackle these challenges, we address the time-dependent green vehicle routing problem with time windows (TDGVRPTW) aimed at reducing total carbon emissions under time-dependent travel times and time window constraints. We design an effective exact method for the TDGVRPTW based on a state-of-the-art branch-cut-and-price algorithm. The paper is both of methodological value for researchers and of interest for practitioners. For researchers, the presented algorithm is amenable for various routing constraints and provides a ground for further studies and research. For practitioners, the paper suggests insights on how the carbon emissions change based on different vehicle speed profiles. History: Accepted by Andrea Lodi, Area Editor for Design & Analysis of Algorithms—Discrete. Funding: This research is supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China [Grants 71831003, 71831006, 72171043, and 71901180] and the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities [Grants N170405005 and N180704015]. Supplemental Material: The electronic companion is available at https://doi.org/10.1287/ijoc.2022.1195. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Surface ozone concentrations typically peak during the daytime, driven by active photochemical production, and decrease gradually after sunset, due to chemical destruction and dry deposition. Here, we report that nocturnal ozone enhancement (NOE, defined as an ozone increase of more than 5 ppbv h -1 in 1 of any 2 adjacent hours between 20:00 and 06:00 LT, local time) events are observed at multiple monitoring sites in China at a high frequency, which has not been recognized in previous studies. We present an overview of the general characteristics of NOE events in China and explore the possible mechanisms based on 6 years of observations from the national monitoring network. We find that the mean annual frequency of NOE events is 41±10 % (i.e., about 140 d would experience an NOE event per year) averaged over all 814 Chinese sites between 2014 and 2019, which is 46 % larger than that over Europe or the United States. The NOE event frequency is higher in industrialized city clusters (>50 %) than in regions with lighter ozone pollution, and it is higher in the warm season (46 %) than in the cold season (36 %), consistent with the spatiotemporal evolution of ozone levels. The mean ozone peak during NOE events reaches 37±6 ppbv in the warm season. The ozone enhancements are within 5–15 ppbv h -1 during 85 % of the NOE events; however, in about 10 % of cases, the ozone increases can exceed 20 ppbv h -1. We propose that high photochemistry-induced ozone during the daytime provides a rich ozone source in the nighttime residual layer, determining the overall high frequency of NOE events in China, and that enhanced atmospheric mixing then triggers NOE events by allowing the ozone-rich air in the residual layer to mix into the nighttime boundary layer. This is supported by our analyses which show that 70 % (65 %) of the NOE events are associated with increases in friction velocity (planetary boundary layer height), indicative of enhanced atmospheric mixing, and also supported by the observed sharp decreases in surface NO 2 and CO concentrations with ozone increases in NOE events, a typical signal of mixing with air in the residual layer. Three case studies in Beijing and Guangzhou show that synoptic processes such as convective storms and low-level jets can lead to NOE events by aggravating vertical mixing. Horizontal transport of ozone-rich plumes may also be a supplementary driver of NOE events. Our results summarize, for the first time, the characteristics and mechanism of NOE events in China based on nationwide and long-term observations, and our findings emphasize the need for more direct measurements and modeling studies on the nighttime ozone evolution from the surface to the residual layer. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Lewy body dementia is the second most common neurodegenerative dementia, but data concerning the onset age and clinical features in the prodromal stage remain limited in China.Objective: To investigate the associations between onset age and clinical manifestations of cognitive impairment with Lewy bodies in a large-sample cohort.Methods: We included 74 patients with mild cognitive impairment with Lewy bodies (MCI-LB), 533 patients with dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB), 118 patients with Parkinson's disease with MCI (PD-MCI), and 313 patients with Parkinson's disease dementia (PDD) in this multicenter cohort from 22 memory clinics of China from 1 January 2018 to 31 March 2022. The onset age, clinical manifestations, and neuropsychological assessments were recorded and analyzed after reviewing the medical records.Results: The average onset age of memory loss was 68.28 (±7.00) years, and parkinsonism happened 2.00 (±1.24) years later for patients with MCI-LB. The average onset age of parkinsonism was 60.56 (±8.96) years, and the memory loss happened 3.49 (±3.02) years later for patients with PD-MCI. Rapid eye movement sleep behavior disorder and visual hallucinations were frequently reported in MCI-LB, DLB, and PDD, while visual hallucinations were least frequently reported in PD-MCI. Lower scores of MMSE and depression, and higher scores of activities of daily living and delusions, were independently associated with older onset age in DLB.Conclusion: The onset of PD-MCI precedes MCI-LB, and memory loss occurs 3 years after parkinsonism. The onset age is associated with cognition and neuropsychiatric symptoms in process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Early Paleozoic subduction beneath peri-Gondwana microcontinents formed a major Proto-Tethys magmatic arc system. Appinite suite rocks constitute important components within that magmatic arc. Herein, we report hornblende 40Ar/39Ar and zircon U–Pb geochronology data, zircon Hf isotope, mineral chemistry, whole-rock geochemistry, and Sr–Nd–Pb isotope data for the rocks of hornblende gabbro-diorite-quartz diorite-quartz monzodiorite from the Renda appinite suite and adjacent granite porphyry in the southeastern Qilian Orogen. Hornblende 40Ar/39Ar and zircon U–Pb isotopic data constrain ages of the intrusions of the Renda appinite suite to 439–435 Ma. Rocks in this suite represent the calc-alkalic to alkali-calcic series, and they are enriched in large-ion lithophile elements and depleted in high-field-strength elements. The hornblende gabbros exhibit moderate initial 87Sr/86Sr ratios (0.7046–0.7055) and higher whole-rock εNd(t) (–1.3 to +1.7) and zircon εHf(t) (+7.2 to +11.2) values relative to the other rocks of the suite (0.7047–0.7064, – 7.7 to – 1.1, and – 6.6 to +6.8, respectively) as well as Pb isotopic features similar to EM2 lithospheric mantle. These geochemical characteristics suggest that the Renda appinite suite originates from partial melting of an enriched lithospheric mantle, with subsequent fractional crystallization and hybridization with crustal components. The granite porphyry formed by partial melting of the crust coeval with the emplacement of juvenile magma. This study suggests emplacement occurred during a short-lived collision with slab failure (breakoff) after latest stage (cessation) of Proto-Tethys oceanic subduction along the northern side of the southeastern Qilian Orogen. The heat supplied by the asthenospheric upwelling through a gap in the subducted slab induced melting in lithospheric mantle and deep crust producing Renda appinite suite rocks and granite porphyry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Research on sex ratios of Lewy body dementia is controversial, established in small samples, and rarely focused on prodromal stage. The objective is to investigate the clinical sex ratios (men/women) and their associations with clinical features among individuals with mild cognitive impairment with Lewy bodies (MCI-LB), dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB), Parkinson's disease with mild cognitive impairment (PD-MCI), and Parkinson's disease with dementia (PDD) in China. Methods: We conducted a multicenter cohort study, including 1038 individuals with probable MCI-LB, DLB, PD-MCI, or PDD diagnosis from 22 memory clinics in China from January 2018 to March 2022, and recorded their demographic and clinical data by reviewing medical records. Descriptive and regression analyses were used to calculate the sex ratio (men/women), and its associations with demographic and clinical data. Results: In this study, men comprised 35.14% (men/women sex ratio = 0.54) for MCI-LB, 46.72% (men/women sex ratio = 0.88) for DLB, 63.56% (men/women sex ratio = 1.74) for PD-MCI, and 52.40% (men/women sex ratio = 1.10) for PDD. Sex ratios roughly increased with age. Men had more parkinsonism (p = 0.000) and less fluctuating cognition (p = 0.024) in MCI-LB, and those with PD-MCI had more RBD (p = 0.001). Women with PD-MCI had lower MMSE scores (β ± standard error = − 1.24 ± 0.58, p = 0.04), more irritability (0.95 ± 0.46, p = 0.04) and fluctuating cognition (− 3.41 ± 1.31, p = 0.01), and less parkinsonism (− 2.10 ± 0.97, p = 0.03) than men after adjusting for demographic and cardiometabolic conditions. Conclusion: There were more women in DLB and MCI-LB, and more men in PD-MCI and PDD. The sex distribution, demographic, and clinical characteristics differed, which strengthened the independence and heterogeneity of the four diseases, and indicated sex-sensitive strategies for management of dementia necessary. Highlights: There are significant sex differences in Chinese population with cognitive impairment in Lewy body disease. Women were more common in dementia with Lewy bodies and mild cognitive impairment with Lewy bodies cases, had more frequent and severe neuropsychiatric symptoms, and poorer cognition than men. Men predominant in Parkinson's disease with mild cognitive impairment and Parkinson's disease with dementia cases, and performed more frequent RBD and parkinsonism than women. Dementia with Lewy bodies vs. Parkinson's disease with dementia, and mild cognitive impairment with Lewy bodies vs. Parkinson's disease with mild cognitive impairment are distinct disease forms and should not be confused. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The concentration changes of aerosols have attracted wide-ranging attention during the COVID-19 lockdown (CLD) period, but the studies involving aerosol optical properties (AOPs) are relatively insufficient, mainly AOD (fine-mode AOD (AODf) and coarse-mode AOD (AODc)), aerosol absorption optical depth (AAOD), and aerosol extinction coefficient (AEC). Here, the remote-sensing observations, Modern-Era Retrospective analysis for Research and Applications, Version 2 (MERRA-2) products, backward-trajectory, and potential-source-contribution models are used to assess the impact of AOPs, vertical distribution, and possible sources on the atmosphere environment in North China Plain (NCP), Central China (CC), Yangtze River Delta (YRD), Pearl River Delta (PRD), and Sichuan Basin (SB) during the CLD period. The results demonstrate that both AOD (MODIS) and near-surface AEC (CALIPSO, <2 km) decreased in most areas of China. Compared with previous years (average 2017–2019), the AOD (AEC) of NCP, CC, YRD, PRD, and SB reduced by 3.33% (10.76%), 14.36% (32.48%), 10.80% (29.64%), 31.44% (22.68%), and 15.50% (8.44%), respectively. In addition, MODIS (AODc) and MERRA-2 (AODc) decreased in the five study areas compared with previous years, so the reduction in dust activities also contributed to improving regional air quality during the epidemic. Despite the reduction of anthropogenic emissions (AODf) in most areas of China during the CLD periods, severe haze events (AODf > 0.6) still occurred in some areas. Compared to previous years, there were increases in BC, OC (MERRA-2), and national raw coal consumption during CLD. Therefore, emissions from some key sectors (raw coal heating, thermal power generation, and residential coal) did not decrease, and this may have increased AODf during the CLD. Based on backward -rajectory and potential source contribution models, the study area was mainly influenced by local anthropogenic emissions, but some areas were also influenced by northwestern dust, Southeast Asian biomass burning, and marine aerosol transport. This paper underscores the importance of emissions from the residential sector and thermal power plants for atmospheric pollution in China and suggests that these sources must be taken into account in developing pollution-mitigation plans. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines the relationship between cognitive and affective factors and people's information-seeking and -avoiding behaviours in acute risks with a 1,946-sample online survey conducted in February 2020, during the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in mainland China. Multiple linear regression analysis showed that perceived information insufficiency correlates negatively with information-seeking behaviour and there was an inverted U-shaped relationship between information insufficiency and avoidance behaviour. As for the risk-related cognitive factors, information seeking increases as perceived severity of risks rises, while information avoiding increases as perceived susceptibility rises. Perceived response efficacy positively correlates with information-seeking and negatively with information-avoidance behaviours. Preliminary results also indicated that different affective factors relate to information-seeking and avoidance behaviours differently. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The interplay between top‐down and bottom‐up processes determines ecosystem productivity. Yet, the factors that mediate the balance between these opposing forces remain poorly understood. Furthering this challenge, complex and often cryptic factors like ecosystem engineering and trait‐mediated interactions may play major roles in mediating the outcomes of top‐down and bottom‐up interactions. In semiarid grasslands of northeastern China, we conducted a large‐scale, three‐year experiment to evaluate how soil engineering by ants and plasticity in plants independently and jointly influenced the top‐down effects of grazing by a ubiquitous herbivore (cattle) on aboveground standing biomass of the dominant perennial grass, Leymus chinensis. Herbivory had strong top‐down effects, reducing L. chinensis AB by 25% relative to baseline levels without cattle or ants. In contrast, soil engineering by ants facilitated weak bottom‐up effects in the absence of herbivory. However, in the presence of herbivory, soil engineering effects were strong enough to fully offset herbivore removal of aboveground biomass. This outcome was mediated by L. chinensis's plasticity in reallocating growth from below‐ to aboveground biomass, a result linked to additive effects of engineers and herbivores increasing soil N availability and engineering effects improving soil structure. Soil engineering increased soil N by 12%, promoting aboveground biomass. Herbivores increased soil N by 13% via defecation, but this increase failed to offset their reductions in aboveground biomass in isolation. However, when combined, engineers and herbivores increased soil N by 26% and engineers improved soil bulk density, facilitating L. chinensis to shift resource allocations from below‐ to aboveground biomass sufficiently to fully offset herbivore suppression of aboveground biomass. Our results demonstrate that soil engineering and trait‐mediated effects of plant plasticity can strongly mediate the outcome of top‐down and bottom‐up interactions. These cryptic but perhaps ubiquitous processes may help to explain the long‐debated phenomenon of plant compensatory responses to large grazers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nitrogen pollution emissions from human production and living activities in coastal regions are important topics in the management of environmental pollution in coastal waters. However, to date, there has been relatively little research systematically assessing the environmental loss of nitrogen (NEL) from human activities that negatively affect marine ecosystems. This study categorised emission sources into five subsystems, namely livestock, farming, aquatic, industrial, and residential. Through flow analysis, the anthropogenic emissions of nitrogen in the gas, liquid, and solid phases from 11 coastal provinces in China in 2011, 2015, and 2020 were determined. A nitrogen cost index was constructed by combining the social indicators of each province. The effectiveness of nitrogen emission control since the land-sea coordination and the future challenges for the coastal region were discussed from various perspectives. The results of the study showed that the total NEL that poses a potential threat to marine ecosystems in coastal areas of China has decreased from 18.93 TgN to 14.66 TgN since the proposal of land-sea coordination, with livestock systems and aquatic systems emitting the most. The Bohai and Yellow Seas area were most threatened by nitrogen pollution. Among the three oceanic pathways, liquid-phase nitrogen discharge from each subsystem was effectively controlled, and the control of gas-phase nitrogen emissions is still the most numerous NEL state, although it has had a significant effect. The results of the correlation analysis suggest that NEL flow can characterize the regional management of nutrient-based organic pollutants. Past management tools and environmental investments in China have been more effective in controlling emissions from point and line sources involving artificial facilities, but less direct effect on mariculture. How to control surface source pollution from livestock and aquaculture will be an important challenge to reduce reactive nitrogen emissions in the future. [Display omitted] • Nitrogen emissions reduced from 18.93 TgN to 14.66 TgN. • How to control surface source pollution from livestock and aquaculture will be the key challenge. • The NEL flow can characterize the management of regional nutrient-based organic pollutants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is a paucity of data on the relation between serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] concentration and cardiometabolic biomarkers in the Chinese population. To comprehensively and quantitatively examine the association of 25(OH)D and cardiometabolic traits, we conducted a cross-sectional study in the Chinese rural population. Serum 25(OH)D and eight cardiometabolic biomarkers were measured in 1714 individuals from Henan province, China. Scatter plot was used to visualize the distribution and correlation of 25(OH)D and cardiometabolic indicators. Moreover, multivariate linear regressions and restricted cubic spline (RCS) functions were performed to examine the quantitative association between the serum 25(OH)D and cardiometabolic parameters. The median serum 25(OH)D level was 19.94 ng/ml in all participants, with an estimated 50.12% presenting vitamin D deficiency. Serum 25(OH)D level showed significantly modest association with cardiometabolic parameters (p<0.05) except for diastolic blood pressure (r=0.03, p=0.22). Multiple linear regression models showed that 25(OH)D concentration was positively associated with high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) and negatively associated with low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) and fasting serum glucose (GLU). The results of restricted cubic spline models indicated a positively linear association of 25(OH)D with HDL-C (p for overall<0.001, p for nonlinearity=0.191) and a negatively linear association with GLU (p for overall=0.024, p for nonlinearity=0.095). Overall, vitamin D deficiency was very common among Chinese rural population living near the 34 degrees north latitude. Besides, there were significant association between 25(OH)D concentrations and cardiometabolic biomarkers including HDL-C and GLU levels. Future longitudinal studies and randomized trials are warranted to clarify the causal relationship. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A high-resolution air pollutant emission inventory for the Yangtze River Delta (YRD) region was updated for 2017 using emission factors and chemical speciation based mainly on local measurements in this study. The inventory included 424 non-methane volatile organic compounds (NMVOCs) and 43 fine particulate matter (PM 2.5) species from 259 specific sources. The total emissions of SO 2 , NO x , CO, NMVOCs, PM 10 , PM 2.5 , and NH 3 in the YRD region in 2017 were 1552, 3235, 38 507, 4875, 3770, 1597, and 2467 Gg, respectively. SO 2 and CO emissions were mainly from boilers, accounting for 49 % and 73 % of the total. Mobile sources dominated NO x emissions, contributing 57 % of the total. NMVOC emissions, mainly from industrial sources, made up 61 % of the total. Dust sources accounted for 55 % and 28 % of PM 10 and PM 2.5 emissions, respectively. Agricultural sources accounted for 91 % of NH 3 emissions. Major PM 2.5 species were OC, Ca, Si, PSO 4 , and EC, accounting for 9.0 %, 7.0 %, 6.4 %, 4.6 %, and 4.3 % of total PM 2.5 emissions, respectively. The main species of NMVOCs were aromatic hydrocarbons, making up 25.3 % of the total. Oxygenated volatile organic compounds (OVOCs) contributed 21.9 % of the total NMVOC emissions. Toluene had the highest comprehensive contribution to ozone (O 3) and secondary organic aerosol (SOA) formation potentials, while other NMVOCs included 1,2,4-trimethylbenzene, m , p -xylene, propylene, ethene, o -xylene, and ethylbenzene. Industrial process and solvent-use sources were the main sources of O 3 and SOA formation potential, followed by motor vehicles. Among industrial sources, chemical manufacturing, rubber and plastic manufacturing, appliance manufacturing, and textiles made significant contributions. This emission inventory should provide scientific guidance for future control of air pollutants in the YRD region of China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dechlorane Plus (DP) is found widely in the environment. It is important to study DP enrichment and biomagnification in terrestrial ecosystems to improve our understanding of the possible effects of DP on the environment and human health. A total of 90 samples, including plant and animal tissues, were collected from Xilingol Prairie in Inner Mongolia, China. The DP concentrations in different species were assessed, and transmission of DP through food webs containing ectotherms and endotherms was assessed. The compound was detected in the biotic samples (plant; range 0.133–0.422 ng/g dry wt), in animal muscle (range: not dected–5.70 ng/g lipid wt), and in animal hair (range: not dected–2.03 ng/g dry wt), indicating that DP is present in remote environments such as Xilingol Prairie. These findings suggest that DP can undergo long‐distance transport in the environment. Biomagnification factors (ectotherms: range 0.146–88.0, endotherms: range 0.866–17.2) and anti‐DP/total DP concentration ratios (fanti values of 0.412–0.787) for the prairie animals were calculated. Ectotherms were found to selectively enrich syn‐DP, and stereoselective enrichment increased moving up the food web. Lower‐trophic‐level endotherms strongly stereoselectively enriched syn‐DP, and higher‐trophic‐level endotherms stereoselectively enriched anti‐DP. Environ Toxicol Chem 2021;40:413–421. © 2020 SETAC [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An exopolysaccharide (EPS)-producing strain SN-8 isolated from Dajiang was identified as Leuconostoc mesenteroides. When sucrose was used as the carbon source for fermentation, the output of EPS was 2.42 g/L. High performance liquid chromatography analysis confirmed the presence of monomers such as glucan and mannose. The molecular weight detection value is 2.0 × 105 Da. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy displayed the EPS had the basic skeleton and functional groups of a typical polysaccharide structure. Scanning electron microscopy showed smooth surfaces and compact structure. Thermal performance analysis showed that the highest heat resistance temperature of the EPS was 80 °C. Compared with vitamin C, its hydroxyl radical scavenging rate was as high as 32% and 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl scavenging rate was as high as 40% under the same concentration. The peanut oil was the most emulsifiable at a concentration of 1.5 mg/mL, and the emulsification index was 0.55. These results might show that the EPS had high application value. Unlabelled Image • The high EPS-producing strain was newly isolated from Dajiang , a traditional fermented food in northeast China. • The produced EPS were dextrans and mannose with high molecular weight. • EPS sample were characterized by antioxidant activity in vitro and high emulsifying properties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China has suffered from increasing levels of ozone pollution in urban areas despite the implementation of various stringent emission reduction measures since 2013. In this study, we conducted numerical experiments with an up-to-date regional chemical transport model to assess the contribution of the changes in meteorological conditions and anthropogenic emissions to the summer ozone level from 2013 to 2017 in various regions of China. The model can faithfully reproduce the observed meteorological parameters and air pollutant concentrations and capture the increasing trend in the surface maximum daily 8 h average (MDA8) ozone (O3) from 2013 to 2017. The emission-control measures implemented by the government induced a decrease in MDA8 O3 levels in rural areas but an increase in urban areas. The meteorological influence on the ozone trend varied by region and by year and could be comparable to or even more significant than the impact of changes in anthropogenic emissions. Meteorological conditions can modulate the ozone concentration via direct (e.g., increasing reaction rates at higher temperatures) and indirect (e.g., increasing biogenic emissions at higher temperatures) effects. As an essential source of volatile organic compounds that contributes to ozone formation, the variation in biogenic emissions during summer varied across regions and was mainly affected by temperature. China's midlatitude areas (25 to 40 ∘ N) experienced a significant decrease in MDA8 O3 due to a decline in biogenic emissions, especially for the Yangtze River Delta and Sichuan Basin regions in 2014 and 2015. In contrast, in northern (north of 40 ∘ N) and southern (south of 25 ∘ N) China, higher temperatures after 2013 led to an increase in MDA8 O3 via an increase in biogenic emissions. We also assessed the individual effects of changes in temperature, specific humidity, wind field, planetary boundary layer height, clouds, and precipitation on ozone levels from 2013 to 2017. The results show that the wind field change made a significant contribution to the increase in surface ozone over many parts of China. The long-range transport of ozone and its precursors from outside the modeling domain also contributed to the increase in MDA8 O3 in China, especially on the Qinghai–Tibetan Plateau (an increase of 1 to 4 ppbv). Our study represents the most comprehensive and up-to-date analysis of the impact of changes in meteorology on ozone across China and highlights the importance of considering meteorological variations when assessing the effectiveness of emission control on changes in the ozone levels in recent years. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Fragile X-associated tremor/ataxia syndrome (FXTAS) is a late onset, X-linked genetic, neurodegenerative disorder caused by a "premutation (PM)" in the fragile X mental retardation 1 (FMR1) gene. Here we report a case of FXTAS from mainland of China who presented with rare orthostatic tremor. A review of tremor of FXTAS in the literature is also included.Case Presentation: A 67-year-old right-handed farmer started with tremor of both legs 8 years ago which was present while standing but absent when sitting or lying and progressed with unsteady gait one and a half years ago. The brain MRI showed high intensity signal in the bilateral middle cerebellar peduncles (MCP) in T2-weighted and fluid-attenuated inversion recovery (FLAIR) images and gene test for premutation for FMR1 was positive with 101 CGG repeats. The patient met the the diagnosis of definite FXTAS. Clonazepam and topiramate were administered to control tremor. We reviewed the literature and identified 64 cases with detailed clinical and genetic information. Orthostatic tremor associated with FXTAS is very rare. We found 85.2% patients reported tremor,42.6% with intention tremor,36.1% with kinetic tremor,32.8% with rest tremor and 29.5% with posture tremor. 37.7% of patients who have tremor showed at least two types of tremor. There were 6 patients with isolated rest tremor. There was 2 patient with voice tremor and 6 with head tremor. We also found that 74.6% FXTAS patients had family history of FMR1 gene associated diseases including Fragile X syndrome (FXS), FXTAS or fragile X-associated primary ovarian insufficiency (FXPOI).Conclusions: Adding our data to the available literature suggests that orthostatic tremor could be a rare initial manifestation of FXTAS and the review will increasing our understanding the phenotype of tremor in FXTAS. Family history of FMR1 gene associated diseases might be an important clue to the diagnosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Genetic factors are thought to play an important role in the pathogenesis of Parkinson's disease (PD), particularly early-onset PD. The PRKN gene is the primary disease-causing gene for early-onset PD. The details of its functions remain unclear. This study identified novel compound heterozygous variants (p.T240K and p.L272R) of the PRKN gene in a Han-Chinese family with early-onset PD. This finding is helpful in the genetic diagnosis of PD and also the functional research of the PRKN gene. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

BACKGROUND: Dajiang is fermented based on the metabolism of microbial communities in bean sauce mash, a traditional fermented soybean product in China. The current study first investigated the metaproteome of bean sauce mash. This was followed by an analysis of its biological functions and its microbial community to reveal information about strains and about the expressed proteins to better understand the roles of the microbiota in bean sauce mash. RESULTS: The metaproteomic results demonstrated that a total of 1415 microbial protein clusters were expressed mainly by members of the Penicillium and Rhizopus genera and were classified into 100 cellular components, 238 biological processes, and 220 molecular function categories by gene ontology (GO) annotation. Enzymes associated with glycolysis metabolic pathways were also identified. These can provide the energy required for microbial fermentation. Illumina MiSeq sequencing technology results showed that the microorganism communities of bean sauce mash exhibited a high level of diversity. Microbiological analysis demonstrated that the Penicillium, Mucor, Fusarium, Aspergillus, and Rhizopus fungi, and Lactobacillus, Enterococcus, Fructobacillus, Staphylococcus, Carnobacterium genera were predominant 22 samples. CONCLUSION: The profiles and insights in the current study are important for research on bean sauce mash and related products in terms of their food microbial ecology. The information obtained from this study will help the development of stable sufu starter cultures with unique sensory qualities. © 2019 Society of Chemical Industry [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cucumber production in China is declining due to various pathologic diseases, but the technology for plant disease detection is not mature and requires high labor costs. Moreover, since planting sites are typically high-density scenes, most photos are shot from various angles with messy backgrounds, resulting in poor classification reliability. In this paper, batches of cucumber leaf image data are collected from agricultural websites and then preprocessed through the image size normalization. A mobile-based recognition algorithm is proposed to identify cucumber diseases from leaf images in natural scenes, enabling farmers to detect diseases more quickly. The proposed algorithm allows farmers to upload cucumber pictures, and rapidly and accurately classify them with high accuracy. With a improved network based on MobileNet V3, the classification of seven kinds of cucumber leaf diseases can be quickly and accurately completed. The network model is achieved by selecting appropriate parameters, optimizers, and batch capacity using the single-variable method. Additionally, a new training strategy called the flooding method is applied in the model, replacing the traditional strategy that relies solely on loss decline. An accuracy of 83.3% is achieved on our custom dataset. Finally, two public datasets, namely PlantVillage and Apple Disease, are selected for migration experiments. The achieved accuracy rates for these datasets are 99% and 98.1% respectively, demonstrating the universality of the proposed strategy. The code for all the experiments will be made available for reference on the GitHub repository at https://github.com/YiQuanMarx/Agricultural_Diseases_Dentification. • An algorithm to identify seven cucumber diseases in natural scenes is proposed. • Lightweight and fast MobileNetv3 network is achieved by various optimizations. • Replacing the strategy of loss decline, flooding method is applied for high accuracy. • Eight state-of-the-art algorithms are selected for performance comparison. • Performance criteria cover accuracy, loss, parameters, computation time, storage etc. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Severe surface ozone pollution over major Chinese cities has become an emerging air quality concern, raising a new challenge for emission control measures in China. In this study, we explore the source contributions to surface daily maximum 8 h average (MDA8) ozone over China in 2016 and 2017, the 2 years with the highest surface ozone averaged over Chinese cities in record. We estimate the contributions of anthropogenic, background, and individual natural sources to surface ozone over China using the GEOS-Chem chemical transport model at 0.25∘×0.3125∘ horizontal resolution with the most up-to-date Chinese anthropogenic emission inventory. Model results are evaluated with concurrent surface ozone measurements at 169 cities over China and show generally good agreement. We find that background ozone (defined as ozone that would be present in the absence of all Chinese anthropogenic emissions) accounts for 90 % (49.4 ppbv) of the national March–April mean surface MDA8 ozone over China and 80 % (44.5 ppbv) for May–August. It includes large contributions from natural sources (80 % in March–April and 72 % in May–August). Among them, biogenic volatile organic compound (BVOC) emissions enhance MDA8 ozone by more than 15 ppbv in eastern China during July–August, while lightning NOx emissions and ozone transport from the stratosphere both lead to ozone enhancements of over 20 ppbv in western China during March–April. Over major Chinese city clusters, domestic anthropogenic sources account for about 30 % of the May–August mean surface MDA8 ozone and reach 39–73 ppbv (38 %–69 %) for days with simulated MDA8 ozone >100 ppbv in the North China Plain, Fenwei Plain, Yangtze River Delta, and Pearl River Delta city clusters. These high ozone episodes are usually associated with high temperatures, which induce large BVOC emissions and enhance ozone chemical production. Our results indicate that there would be no days with MDA8 ozone >80 ppbv in these major Chinese cities in the absence of domestic anthropogenic emissions. We find that the 2017 ozone increases relative to 2016 are largely due to higher background ozone driven by hotter and drier weather conditions, while changes in domestic anthropogenic emissions alone would have led to ozone decreases in 2017. Meteorological conditions in 2017 favor natural source contributions (particularly soil NOx and BVOC ozone enhancements) and ozone chemical production, increase the thermal decomposition of peroxyacetyl nitrate (PAN), and further decrease ozone dry deposition velocity. More stringent emission control measures are thus required to offset the adverse effects of unfavorable meteorology, such as high temperature, on surface ozone air quality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Since the beginning of China's reform and opening up in late 1970s, the contradiction between environmental quality and economic development has become increasingly acute. As the main driving force of development, China's fixed asset investment (FAI) has grown rapidly. In the meanwhile, China's energy consumption surged and the environmental pressures mounted. The surge in FAI may have great influences on the environmental quality. On the one hand, the rapid increase in FAI facilitated the development of the secondary industry especially energy- and pollution-intensive industries, which brought about significant amount of energy-related pollution. On the other hand, growing investment on environmental investment is expected to slow environmental deterioration. Moreover, the environmental quality and domestic investment may have potential spatial correlations. In this paper, after fully accounting for the spatial dependence, the relationship between domestic investment and environmental quality in China is quantitatively investigated. Using CO 2 and SO 2 as two representative pollutants, the estimation results indicate that the spatial dependence indeed exists, and total effects of FAI on pollutant emissions are positive. However, there is no evidence that environmental protection investment had expected effects to effectively curb pollutant emissions in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The subduction–collision processes associated with the Indo‐Eurasian plates resulted in the formation of a major belt of porphyry copper deposits in the eastern Tibetan Plateau. Identifying the emplacement depths of the ore‐hosting porphyry intrusions and quantifying their denudation degree, which in turn is a function of the uplift and structural history, are fundamental to formulate guidelines for ore prospecting. In this study, we investigate three important porphyry deposits located adjacent to the Diancangshan–Ailaoshan Suture. From SW to NE, these are the Bijiashan, Xiaolongtan, and Fenshuiling deposits. Our study focuses on the relationship among uplift, denudation, and mineral preservation through the application of mineral thermobarometry, integrated with published zircon U–Pb dates. Application of amphibole–plagioclase thermobarometry yields emplacement temperature–pressure (T–P) conditions of 833.99°C and 284.18 MPa for Bijiashan, 804.72°C and 163.88 MPa for Xiaolongtan, and 748.67°C and 116.70 MPa for Fenshuiling. Our data show a progressive decrease in the emplacement depth from southwest to northeast, with average depths of 9.80 km in the Bijiashan deposit, 5.65 km in the Xiaolongtan deposit, and 4.02 km in the Fenshuiling deposit, providing important clues on the exhumation history since the Eocene in the eastern Tibetan Plateau. Higher degree of denudation and faster uplift are noticed close to the Diancangshan–Ailaoshan Suture, with all the deposits belonging to the shallow denudation category and large prospecting potential. We integrate these results with geochronological data, alteration characteristics, and exhumation parameters to trace the tectonic history and to provide guidelines for exploration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chlorine radicals can enhance atmospheric oxidation, which potentially increases tropospheric ozone concentration. However, few studies have been done to quantify the impact of chlorine emissions on ozone formation in China due to the lack of a chlorine emission inventory used in air quality models with sufficient resolution. In this study, the Anthropogenic Chlorine Emissions Inventory for China (ACEIC) was developed for the first time, including emissions of hydrogen chloride (HCl) and molecular chlorine (Cl2) from coal combustion and prescribed waste incineration (waste incineration plant). The HCl and Cl2 emissions from coal combustion in China in 2012 were estimated to be 232.9 and 9.4 Gg, respectively, while HCl emission from prescribed waste incineration was estimated to be 2.9 Gg. Spatially the highest emissions of HCl and Cl2 were found in the North China Plain, the Yangtze River Delta, and the Sichuan Basin. Air quality model simulations with the Community Multiscale Air Quality (CMAQ) modeling system were performed for November 2011, and the modeling results derived with and without chlorine emissions were compared. The magnitude of the simulated HCl, Cl2 and ClNO2 agreed reasonably with the observation when anthropogenic chlorine emissions were included in the model. The inclusion of the ACEIC increased the concentration of fine particulate Cl-, leading to enhanced heterogeneous reactions between Cl- and N2O5, which resulted in the higher production of ClNO2. Photolysis of ClNO2 and Cl2 in the morning and the reaction of HCl with OH in the afternoon produced chlorine radicals which accelerated tropospheric oxidation. When anthropogenic chlorine emissions were included in the model, the monthly mean concentrations of fine particulate Cl-, daily maximum 1 h ClNO2, and Cl radicals were estimated to increase by up to about 2.0 µg m-3, 773 pptv, and 1.5 x 10³ molecule cm-3 in China, respectively. Meanwhile, the monthly mean daily maximum 8 h O3 concentration was found to increase by up to 2.0 ppbv (4.1%), while the monthly mean NOx concentration decreased by up to 0.5 ppbv (6.1%). The anthropogenic chlorine emissions potentially increased the 1 h O3 concentration by up to 7.7 ppbv in China. This study highlights the need for the inclusion of anthropogenic chlorine emission in air quality modeling and demonstrated its importance in tropospheric ozone formation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

‘Ecological Civilization’ is a Chinese characteristic concept. It is an important pathway for China to achieve sustainable development and has become a key strategy to address China's serious resource and environmental issues. To solve the disparity between resources and the environment, an index system of urban resource and environment carrying capacity (URECC) based on ecological civilization should be established. This study explored the new connotations of URECC, and constructed an evaluation index system that contains 18 indicators selected from water carrying capacity, land carrying capacity, atmospheric environmental carrying capacity, energy carrying capacity, and environmental carrying capacity of solid waste. The index system fully embodies the supporting and restraining function to resources and environment for human development and reflects the dynamic change of URECC. We used URECC of Tianjin from 2007 to 2015 as a case study. The results reveal that the index system is not only able to reflect the current status of URECC, but also reflects the changes of increment to the original carrying capacity, so that economic and social development can be constrained within URECC. It provides a reference for future research on the carrying capacity index system of the city, and also has important practical significance to guide the sustainable development of the city. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• NR has an amplifier effect on the trade-off and synergy strength relationship of other services. • There were five constraining effects types between environmental factors and four types of ESs. • 70 % vegetation cover, 2000 mm annual precipitation and 0.4 landscape diversity maximize the supply of ESs in the study area. Identifying the multiscale relationships of ecosystem services (ESs) and their influencing factors is helpful for scientific decision-making and regional sustainable development. Different from previous studies on trade-off and synergy relationships, this paper introduced a new perspective of the constraint effect and reports a third type of service relationship. This paper first assessed four typical ESs in the Pearl River Delta region, including water conservation (WC), soil conservation (SC), habitat quality (HQ), and natural recreation (NR). Applying segmented quantile regression, constraint lines for scatter plots of NR and three other ESs were extracted on 8 scale series. The key features of constraint lines were analyzed, and the multiscale constraint effects of four types of environmental factors on ESs were identified. The results showed that (1) NR-SC and NR-WC had a hump-shaped constraint relationship, while NR-HQ had a linear constraint relationship. The NR service not only has an amplifier effect on the trade-off and synergy strength relationship of other services, but its threshold range is also an important reference for realizing a win–win situation; (2) The threshold and key characteristics of the constraint line are closely related to the maximum and range values of vegetation coverage, slope, and landscape diversity; (3) Environmental factors had five constraining effects on ESs: hump-shaped, positive convex, negative convex, U-shaped and exponential, which not only limited the upper boundary of the ES supply but also had lower boundary constraint effects on specific services; and (4) When the vegetation coverage reached 70 %, the average annual precipitation reached 2000 mm, and the landscape diversity reached approximately 0.4, the total amount of ESs approached the maximum value. When the slope is close to 7.5°, monitoring of vegetation and soil erosion needs to be strengthened to reduce ecological risks. The application of the constraint line method in analyzing complex influence relationships has been proven to visualize nonlinear relationships and quantify the optimal values of influencing factors. It will help maintain the long-term stability of the entire ecosystem and become an effective tool for multiscale regional ecological planning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research utilizes a panel data of 29 Chinese provinces during the period between 1995 and 2012 to investigate the existence of the Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC) for per capita coal consumption in China. The conventional estimation methods simply ignore the spatial dependence and therefore are prone to estimation biases. To control for potential spatial dependence, an appropriate spatial econometric model–Spatial Durbin Model (SDM) is employed. The estimation results verify the existence of the spatial correlations in coal consumption across provinces, and there is strong evidence for the “inverted-U” shaped EKC relationship between per capita coal consumption and the GDP per capita. Besides, the GDP per capita corresponding to the peak of coal consumption per capita is estimated to be higher when the spatial effects are fully accounted for. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background/purpose Oral care is vital to human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-positive individuals. As future dentists, it is pertinent that dental students have sufficient knowledge and a positive approach toward this disease. The purpose of this study was to assess HIV/AIDS-related knowledge and attitudes among clinical dental students in central China. Materials and methods This survey was conducted on 103 dental students in the final year of a 5-year program. A structured questionnaire with 50 questions examining their knowledge under various categories and 17 questions examining their attitudes toward the disease was employed. Results The survey was completed by 92.2% (95/103) of the students. The results revealed that more than half of the respondents demonstrated a good level of knowledge, although few exhibited an excellent level. The mean scores on knowledge was 79.41 ± 6.3 out of a maximum possible score of 100, and there was no significant difference regarding sex. Despite their good level of knowledge, the majority (93.68%) displayed a negative attitude (nonprofessional attitude) toward HIV/AIDS. Conclusion These findings might help to define strategies to improve the quality of education among Chinese dental students and suggests that there is a need to address student misconceptions and attitudes toward the disease. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Agricultural greenhouse (AG), one of the fastest-growing technology-based approaches worldwide in terms of controlling the environmental conditions of crops, plays an essential role in food production, resource conservation and the rural economy, but has also caused environmental and socio-economic problems due to policy promotion and market demand. Therefore, long-term monitoring of AG is of utmost importance for the sustainable management of protected agriculture, and previous efforts have verified the effectiveness of remote sensing-based techniques for mono-temporal AG mapping in a relatively small area. However, currently, a continuous annual AG remote sensing-based dataset at large-scale is generally unavailable. In this study, an annual AG mapping method oriented to the provincial area and long-term period was developed to produce the first Landsat-derived annual AG dataset in Shandong province, China from 1989 to 2018 on the Google Earth Engine (GEE) platform. The mapping window for each year was selected based on the vegetation growth and the phenological information, which was critical in distinguishing AG from other misclassified categories. Classification for each year was carried out initially based on the random forest classifier after the feature optimization. A temporal consistency correction algorithm based on classification probability was then proposed to the classified AG maps for further improvement. Finally, the average User's Accuracy, Producer's Accuracy and F1-score of AG based on visually-interpreted samples over 30 years reached 96.56%, 86.64% and 0.911, respectively. Furthermore, we also found that the ranked features via calculating the importance of each tested feature resulted in the highest accuracy and the strongest stability in the initial classification stage, and the proposed temporal consistency correction algorithm improved the final products by approximately five percent on average. In general, the resultant AG sequence dataset from our study has revealed the expansion of this typical object of "Human–Nature" interaction in agriculture and has a potential application in use of greenhouse-related technology and the scientific planning of protected agriculture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To evaluate whether the multidrug resistance gene 1 (MDR1) exon 26 polymorphisms are associated with the refractory rheumatoid arthritis (RRA). The study was carried out on two hundred and twenty-three patients with RA treated and one hundred and three normal controls. The RA treated were divided into two groups according the response to disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs). There were 108 patients in the effective group and 115 patients in the ineffective group. Genotypes of the C3435T polymorphism were determined by polymerase chain reaction followed by restriction digestion (PCR-RFLP). There were significant differences in the genotype frequency and allele frequency among three groups. Compared to responders and controls, the nonresponders carried more CC genotype (χ = 5.306, P = 0.021; χ = 7.810, P = 0.005) and more C allele (χ = 6.601, P = 0.010; χ = 12.172, P = 0.000). But, there were no statistically significant differences in genotype nor allele frequency between RA and healthy controls. The results from our study suggest that the C3435T MDR1 gene polymorphism may not be related with the RA susceptibility, but may influence the efficacy of RA therapy with DMARDs, and the 3435CC genotype may be related with RRA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In a previous study by the authors, a regional climate model (hereafter the RCM) developed to study the summer monsoon over South China (SC) and the South China Sea (SCS) has been tested and found to be able to simulate to a large extent the precipitation over this region for the months of May and June. To examine the interannual variability of the summer monsoon here, it is necessary to establish a model climatology to serve as a comparison and to reduce or even remove any systematic model biases. This paper presents the analyses of such a 10-year climatology (1991-2000). The model was initialized on 1 April and integrated up to the end of June for the ten years. The initial atmospheric conditions and lateral boundary data used in this study are from the European Centre for Medium-range Weather Forecasts '40-year' reanalyses. The RCM can reproduce well the main features of the monsoon circulation and vertical structure of the atmosphere. The RCM can simulate the intensification and northwestward displacement of the south Asian upper anticyclones from May to June, as well as the low-level moisture transport from the Bay of Bengal to SC. In the simulation, the average SCS summer monsoon onset occurs in the fourth pentad of May, which is consistent with the results from previous observational research. In addition, the RCM can reproduce the main characteristics of the onset such as the change of the low-level zonal flow from easterly to westerly as well as the rapid increase in daily precipitation. The SC and SCS precipitation anomalies have the correct sign in almost all the years. The shortcomings of the model simulation include an under-prediction of the strength of the subtropical high over the Northwest Pacific and the moisture transport from the Bay of Bengal to the Indochina Peninsula (IC) and SCS. A cold bias in surface air temperature is also observed, with the 10-year mean biases of the simulated surface air temperature over SC, SCS and IC in May and June being about −2.1 °C, −2.4 °C and −1.4 °C respectively. The 10-year mean biases of the simulated daily precipitation rate over SC, SCS and IC are about 2.0, −3.8 and 3.5 mm d−1 respectively. Copyright © 2005 Royal Meteorological Society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China was the first country to undergo large-scale lockdowns in response to the pandemic in early 2020 and a progressive return to normalization after April 2020. Spaceborne observations of atmospheric nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and oxygenated volatile organic compounds (OVOCs), including formaldehyde (HCHO), glyoxal (CHOCHO), and peroxyacetyl nitrate (PAN), reveal important changes over China in 2020, relative to 2019, in response to the pandemic-induced shutdown and the subsequent drop in pollutant emissions. In February, at the peak of the shutdown, the observed declines in OVOC levels were generally weaker (less than 20%) compared to the observed NO2 reductions (−40%). In May 2020, the observations reveal moderate decreases in NO2 (−15%) and PAN (−21%), small changes in CHOCHO (−3%) and HCHO (6%). Model simulations using the regional model MAGRITTEv1.1 with anthropogenic emissions accounting for the reductions due to the pandemic explain to a large extent the observed changes in lockdown-affected regions. The model results suggest that meteorological variability accounts for a minor but non-negligible part (~−5%) of the observed changes for NO2, whereas it is negligible for CHOCHO but plays a more substantial role for HCHO and PAN, especially in May. The interannual variability of biogenic and biomass burning emissions also contribute to the observed variations, explaining e.g., the important column increases of NO2 and OVOCs in February 2020, relative to 2019. These changes are well captured by the model simulations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In coastal regions, particulate chloride (Cl−) in sea-salt can react with gaseous dinitrogen pentoxide (N 2 O 5) and produces nitryl chloride (ClNO 2) after the heterogeneous uptake of N 2 O 5. Photolysis of ClNO 2 by sunlight enhances atmospheric oxidation capacity and contributes to the formation of ozone (O 3). Using a regional chemical model (WRF-Chem), we evaluated the emission of particulate Cl− from the South China Sea, the chlorine loss in sea-salt aerosols, and the impact of sea-salt chloride on O 3 formation over the Hong Kong-Pearl River Delta (HK-PRD) and surrounding maritime regions. Two typical O 3 episodes in early autumn (September 2017 and 2018) were analyzed. The modeled results of particulate Cl− agreed well with the observations at a coastal site in both two cases, but the model underestimated ClNO 2 by a factor of 2 in the 2018 case when N 2 O 5 and ClNO 2 were measured. The temporal and spatial distributions of chloride loss and ClNO 2 production were simulated for the 2017 case which contained maritime inflow and continental outflow. During maritime winds, the oceanic fine particulate Cl− penetrated deep inland and was depleted by up to 40% by N 2 O 5 heterogeneous reaction which lead to elevated ClNO 2 mixing ratios (up to 0.6 ppb) produced at night. During the phase of continental outflow, the heterogeneous reaction of N 2 O 5 contributed 18–33% to the depletion of particulate sea-salt Cl− in the coastal areas, leading to an increase in ClNO 2 mixing ratio up to 0.8 ppb in the residual layer (~300 m). The ClNO 2 from sea-salt chloride increased the O 3 mixing ratios by up to 2.0 ppb (4%) over the inland areas during marine winds and up to 3.8 ppb (5.5%) and 6.5 ppb (7.6%) over the South China Sea. This study highlights the considerable impact of the heterogeneous reaction of reactive nitrogen on chlorine loss of sea-salt and O 3 formation in coastal regions. • The emission and chemical processes of sea-salt chloride were reasonably well reproduced by using the WRF-chem model. • The particulate Cl− in sea salt was depleted by 40% in inland area of South China through a heterogeneous reaction with N 2 O 5. • The heterogeneous reaction of N 2 O 5 with sea-salt chloride increased O 3 mixing ratios by up to 6.5 ppb. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The greenhouse is the fastest growing food production approach and has become the symbol of protected agriculture with the development of agricultural modernization. Previous studies have verified the effectiveness of remote sensing techniques for mono-temporal greenhouse mapping. In practice, long-term monitoring of greenhouse from remote sensing data is vital for the sustainable management of protected agriculture and existing studies have been limited in understanding its spatiotemporal dynamics. This study aimed to generate multi-temporal greenhouse maps in a typical protected agricultural region (Shouguang region, north China) from 1990 to 2018 using Landsat imagery and the Google Earth Engine and quantify its spatiotemporal dynamics that occur as a consequence of the development of protected agriculture in the study area. The multi-temporal greenhouse maps were produced using random forest supervised classification at seven-time intervals, and the overall accuracy of the results greater than 90%. The total area of greenhouses in the study area expanded by 1061.94 km 2 from 1990 to 2018, with the largest growth occurring in 1995–2010. And a large number of increased greenhouses occurred in 10–35 km northwest and 0–5 km primary roads buffer zones. Differential change trajectories between the total area and number of patches of greenhouses were revealed using global change metrics. Results of five landscape metrics showed that various landscape patterns occurred in both spatial and temporal aspects. According to the value of landscape expansion index in each period, the growth mode of greenhouses was from outlying to edge-expansion and then gradually changed to infilling. Spatial heterogeneity, which measured by Shannon's entropy, of the increased greenhouses was different between the global and local levels. These results demonstrated the advantage of utilizing Landsat imagery and Google Earth Engine for monitoring the development of greenhouses in a long-term period and provided a more intuitive perspective to understand the process of this special agricultural production approach than relevant social science studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• The seasonal difference of ozone distribution in the inland and coastal areas is significant in the PRD. • The ozone pollution is expanding from the center to southwest in the PRD and spreading from autumn to winter and spring time. • The increasing duration of continuous ozone pollution in some cities raises a great challenge for further mitigation. Surface ozone (O 3) is a major air pollutant and draw increasing attention in the Pearl River Delta (PRD), China. Here, we characterize the spatial-temporal variability of ozone based on a dataset obtained from 57 national monitoring sites during 2013-2019. Our results show that: (1) the seasonal difference of ozone distribution in the inland and coastal areas was significant, which was largely affected by the wind pattern reversals related to the East Asian monsoon, and local ozone production and destruction; (2) the daily maximum 8hr average (MDA8 O 3) showed an overall upward trend by 1.11 ppbv/year. While the trends in the nine cities varied differently by ranging from -0.12 to 2.51 ppbv/year. The hot spots of ozone were spreading to southwestern areas from the central areas since 2016. And ozone is becoming a year-round air pollution problem with the pollution season extending to winter and spring in PRD region. (3) at the central and southwestern PRD cities, the percentage of exceedance days from the continuous type (defined as ≥3 days) was increasing. Furthermore, the ozone concentration of continuous type was much higher than that of scattered exceedance type (<3 days). In addition, although the occurrence of continuous type starts to decline since 2017, the total number of exceedance days during the continuous type is increasing. These results indicate that it is more difficult to eliminate the continuous exceedance than the scatter pollution days and highlight the great challenge in mitigation of O 3 pollution in these cities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Old industrial areas have low quality and spatial differentiation of urban green space (UGS), which makes it difficult to meet the public's physical activity needs and leads to increased health risks. The purpose of this study is to explore the equity of UGS patterns in old industrial areas and its internal relationship with residents' health status. This study selecteds relevant indicators to evaluate the equity of UGS patterns in the Harbin area and used linear regression analysis to explore the correlation between attributes of old industrial areas and UGS patterns. Additionally, this study explored the spatial correlation of UGSs using Moran's index and hotspot analysis. Finally, a report on residents' health was generated through a questionnaire survey, using linear regression analysis to explore the factors affecting residents' self-rated health and the significance of their correlation. The results showed that there is an excess supply around the core industrial zone in the west, while the rural areas in the south face a serious shortage of supply. The significance between the factors representing age and income in industrial attributes and UGS pattern was less than 0.05. We observed that residents' self-rated health was positively affected by the intensity of physical activity (low intensity B = 2.073, medium intensity B = 2.359, high intensity B = 2.512) and the frequency of physical activity (B = 1.174). Ages (B = −0.597) and three generations living together (B = −3.191), which represent the industrial attributes, had a negative impact on residents' self-rated health. To a certain extent, industrial attributes aggravate the mismatch of UGS patterns, leading to abnormal areas in spatial clustering. The quality of UGS in the old industrial zone is low and the movement is not strong; thus, the population characteristics and income have become the important factors affecting the health of residents. • According to the industrial attributes of the study area, the selected green space objects are all UGSs with physical activity conditions. • A new UGS supply and demand pattern index system is constructed to evaluate the fairness of UGS patterns in terms of physical activity. • There is a serious imbalance between supply and demand of UGS in old industrial areas. The stronger the industrial property, the more unbalanced the supply pattern of UGS. • Industrial attributes have profoundly affected the pattern matching and spatial aggregation of UGS supply and demand in old industrial areas. • Demographic characteristics and physical activity status had a significant effect on residents' health, while UGS patterns were not significantly affected by age, income, etc., regarding self-rated health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Top-down constraints of CO 2 emissions from coal-fired power plants are critical to improving the accuracy of CO 2 emission inventory and designing carbon reduction strategies. Different top-down models based on satellite observation have been proposed in previous studies, but discrepancies between these models and the underlying drivers are rarely explored, limiting the confidence of their application for monitoring point-source CO 2 emissions from satellite. Here, we apply three top-down models to estimate CO 2 emissions from individual coal-fired power plants in the United States (US) and China in 2014–2021 from Orbiting Carbon Observatory 2 (OCO-2) satellite observations. The first one applies the Gaussian plume model to optimize emissions by fitting modeled CO 2 enhancement to the observation. The second and third methods apply the same inversion framework using the maximum likelihood estimation, but with WRF-Chem and WRF-FLEXPART as forward models, respectively. We evaluate consistency between the three methods in estimating emissions of 10 power plants in the US, using daily reported values from the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) as a benchmark, and then apply the three methods to quantify emissions of 13 power plants in China. Results show that the WRF-Chem and WRF-FLEXPART based inversion results are consistent with the EPA reported emission rates, with correlation coefficients (r) of 0.76 and 0.85 and mean biases (MB) of 4.06 and 3.97 ktCO 2 /d relative to EPA reports at all 10 power plants, respectively. The Gaussian plume model driven by wind fields from WRF-Chem model without the wind rotation shows comparable ability in reproducing the EPA reported emission rates at 7 power plants (r = 0.82, MB = 6.17), but is not applicable for the other three cases. We find that application of the high-resolution three-dimensional wind fields can better capture the shape of observed plumes, especially under complex wind conditions, compared to the Gaussian plume model which relies on wind field at a single point, and thus the Gaussian plume model has difficulty to optimize emissions under inhomogeneous wind fields or when observations are far away from the power plant. In general, using the WRF-FLEXPART model as the forward model in the inverse analysis shows advanced capability to simulate narrow-shape plumes in the absence of numerical diffusion which is inherent in Eulerian model such as WRF-Chem. Emissions estimated by the three top-town methods show a moderate consistency at 13 coal-fired power plant cases in China, with 8 of 13 cases showing differences of <30% between at least two methods. However, large differences emerge when wind fields are inhomogeneous and number of available observations is limited. Using different meteorological wind fields and OCO-2 data versions can also bring substantial differences to the posterior emissions for all three approaches. We find that the posterior CO 2 emissions, though only reflecting instantaneous emission rates at satellite overpass time, are not proportional to the reported capacities of these power plants, indicating that attributing CO 2 emissions simply based on the capacity of power plants in some bottom-up approaches may have significant discrepancies. Our study exposes the capability and limitation of different top-down approaches in quantifying point-source CO 2 emissions, advancing their application for better serving increasing constellations of point-source imagers in the future. [Display omitted] • We use three methods to optimize CO 2 emissions at power plants from satellite. • Mean emission estimates for three methods differed from reported values by 3.97 to 6.17 ktCO 2 /day. • Inverse analysis with a Lagrangian model agrees best with EPA reported emissions. • Derived CO 2 emissions at Chinese power plants are not proportional to the capacities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background and Objectives: Accumulating evidence suggests that vitamin D may be involved in the pathogenesis of type 2 diabetes (T2D). Group-specific component (GC) gene is the most important transporter of vitamin D and plays a regulatory role in vitamin D metabolism. We aimed to evaluate the association of GC gene polymorphisms with T2D susceptibility and vitamin D status in the Chinese rural population.Methods and Study Design: A total of 1372 subjects were eligible in this cross-sectional study. Three SNPs of the GC gene (rs7041, rs4588, and rs2282679) were genotyped by TaqMan probe assays. Logistic regression and Kruskal-Wallis one-way analysis were performed to determine the possible risk genotype for T2D and vitamin D metabolite concentrations, respectively.Results: The serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D3 [25(OH)D3] and vitamin D binding protein (DBP) concentrations were significantly lower in the T2D group than the non-T2D group. GG genotype carriers of rs7041 (T>G) were more likely to have T2D compared with AA carriers (OR=2.00, 95% CI: 1.19-3.37). Variants of rs4588 (C>A) and rs2282679 (A>C) were associated with a lower risk of T2D under the dominant inheritance model (OR=0.65, 95% CI: 0.48-0.88; OR=0.66, 95% CI: 0.49-0.90, respectively). We further found that non-T2D subjects with the AA genotype of rs4588 had significantly higher 25(OH)D3 concentrations than the CC genotype (p=0.022). In contrast, the T2D cases with the CC genotype of rs2282679 had lower DBP concentrations compared to the AA genotype (p=0.020).Conclusions: Our study indicates a potential role for GC gene polymorphisms in T2D susceptibility and vitamin D metabolite concentrations in the Chinese rural population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Livestock manure is known to be a significant reservoir of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs), posing a major threat to human health and animal safety. ARGs are found in both intracellular and extracellular DNA fractions. However, there has been no comprehensive analysis of these fractions in commercial organic fertilizers (COFs). The present study conducted a systematic survey of the profiles of intracellular ARGs (iARGs) and extracellular ARGs (eARGs) and their contributing factor in COFs in Northern China. Results showed that the ARG diversity in COFs (i.e., 57 iARGs and 53 eARGs) was significantly lower than that in cow dung (i.e., 68 iARGs and 69 eARGs). The total abundance of iARGs and eARGs decreased by 85.7% and 75.8%, respectively, after compost processing, and there were no significant differences between iARGs and eARGs in COFs (P > 0.05). Notably, the relative abundance of Campilobacterota decreased significantly (99.1–100.0%) after composting, while that of Actinobacteriota and Firmicutes increased by 21.1% and 29.7%, respectively, becoming the dominant bacteria in COFs. Co-occurrence analysis showed that microorganisms and mobile genetic elements (MGEs) were more closely related to eARGs than iARGs in COFs. And structural equation models (SEMs) further verified that microbial community was an essential factor regulating iARGs and eARGs variation in COFs, with a direct influence (λ = 0.74 and 0.62, P < 0.01), following by similar effects of MGEs (λ = 0.59 and 0.43, P < 0.05). These findings indicate the need to separate eARGs and iARGs when assessing the risk of dissemination and during removal management in the environment. [Display omitted] • The study explored the profiles of eARGs and iARGs in commercial organic fertilizers. • There was no significant difference between iARGs and eARGs in COFs. • MGEs played a key role in structuring ARGs in COFs under different bacterial contexts. • Microorganism, eMGEs and eARGs had stronger correlation than that of intracellular ones. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Based on the feasibility evaluation of measuring individual ship emissions, layout of onshore monitoring sites in Yantian Port, China was studied. Four categories of representative ships were selected and WRF/CALPUFF was used to simulate the transmission and diffusion of exhaust pollutants from each individual ship. Statistical analysis was conducted on the measurable SO 2 range for all categories of representative ships under 24 types of typical meteorological conditions. The measurable extent was the largest when the wind direction was perpendicular to the route. Additionally, the measurable distance increased with increasing wind speed under stable stratification, while the opposite held true under unstable stratification. Moreover, the ship's main engine power had significant impact on the measurable extent. Overall, the most favourable monitoring direction is southwest and establishing monitoring sites on the southern island of Yantian Port was deemed optimal. The measurable distances of category A, B, C and D ships southwest of the monitoring sites were large, at 2.55 km, 2.64 km, 3.04 km, and 3.28 km, respectively. The measurable distance was 2.64 km on the annual average scale in this direction. The monitoring efficiencies of the six pre-set monitoring sites ranged from 15.32% to 64.34%; Sites 5 and 6, located on the southern island, had the highest monitoring efficiencies, followed by Site 3 north of the ship routes. The monitoring efficiency would reach 98.16% if onshore monitoring sites were set up simultaneously at Site 5 and Site 3. • Method of individual ship analysis was adopted to evaluate the monitoring possibility. • Ship emission was considered as moving point sources with high temporal resolution. • Numerical modelling was performed based on WRF/CALPUFF. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]