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The paper proposes a deep learning model based on Chebyshev Network Gated Recurrent Units, which is called Spectral Graph Convolution Recurrent Neural Network, for multichannel electroencephalogram emotion recognition. First, in this paper, an adjacency matrix capturing the local relationships among electroencephalogram channels is established based on the cosine similarity of the spatial locations of electroencephalogram electrodes. The training efficiency is improved by utilizing the computational speed of the cosine distance. This advantage enables our method to have the potential for real-time emotion recognition, allowing for fast and accurate emotion classification in real-time application scenarios. Secondly, the spatial and temporal dependence of the Spectral Graph Convolution Recurrent Neural Network for capturing electroencephalogram sequences is established based on the characteristics of the Chebyshev network and Gated Recurrent Units to extract the spatial and temporal features of electroencephalogram sequences. The proposed model was tested on the publicly accessible dataset DEAP. Its average recognition accuracy is 88%, 89.5%, and 89.7% for valence, arousal, and dominance, respectively. The experiment results demonstrated that the Spectral Graph Convolution Recurrent Neural Network method performed better than current models for electroencephalogram emotion identification. This model has broad applicability and holds potential for use in real-time emotion recognition scenarios. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this work, a series of chitosan (CS)-grafted carbon oxynitride (OCN) nanoparticles (denoted as CS-OCN) were successfully synthesized for the first time by thermal polycondensation and subsequent esterification. The structure and photocatalytic performance of CS-OCN nanoparticles were investigated. The XPS spectra of CS-OCN-3 showed the presence of amino bonds. The optimal photocatalytic degradation efficiency of the synthesized CS-OCN-3 could reach 94.3% within 390 min, while the photocurrent response intensity was about 150% more than that of pure OCN. The improved photocatalytic performance may be mainly attributed to the enhanced photogenerated carrier's separation and transportation and stronger visible light response after CS grafting. In addition, the inhibition diameter of CS-OCN-3 reached 23 mm against E. coli within 24 h under visible light irradiation, exhibiting excellent photocatalytic bactericidal ability. The results of bacterial inhibition were supported by absorbance measurements (OD600) studies of E. coli. In a word, this work provided a rational design of an efficient novel metal-free photocatalyst to remove bacterial contamination and accelerate the degradation of organic dyes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sustainable EV adoption is critical to urban low-carbon future. The in-depth analysis of urban incentives' role in encouraging EV purchases is less examined. The perspectives of EV adopters can provide unique insights into policy implementation and effectiveness, informing future policy design and learning. Taking Shanghai—a city with roughly 4% of global EV stock—as the case, we aim to fill the above gaps via an online survey among existing EV owners. Our analysis shows that (a) urban EV strategies played a critical role in Shanghai's early adoption success, encouraging many first-time buyers to choose EVs over petrol cars, avoiding future lock-in emissions; (b) locally tailored measures such as free license plates and access to highways during rush hours significantly encouraged EV purchases; and (c) users' feedback on policy implementation reveals challenges for next-step scale adoption, especially regarding an unsupportive installation environment for private chargers, and inadequate services, e.g., infrastructure maintenance and the building up of a used-car market. These findings suggest city-level incentives can increase EV uptake but are insufficient to support a complete EV transition. Research needs to look beyond incentives for early adopters and into policy and social aspects that can support upscaling and social embedding of EVs. • Locally tailored incentives played a critical role in early adoption success. • Assertive urban policies encouraged first-time buyers to choose EVs over ICEVs. • Users' feedback on policy implementation reveals challenges for next scale adoption. • Early incentives are insufficient to support a complete EV transition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Self‐regulated learning (SRL) ability is the key determinant of the success of full‐time online learning. Thus, exploring the influencing factors of SRL and their influencing mechanisms is necessary to improve this ability among K‐12 students. Objectives: The purpose of this study was to investigate the influence mechanism of teacher autonomy support on students' online SRL by examining the structural relationship among teacher autonomy support, parental autonomy support, students' self‐efficacy, and students' online SRL. Methods: We use structural equation modelling and effect analysis to analyse the collected data from 961 Chinese K‐12 students who engaged in full‐time online learning in their homes during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID‐19) outbreak. Results and Conclusions: Parental autonomy support and students' self‐efficacy play crucial independent mediating roles in the influence of teacher autonomy support on students' online SRL. Parental autonomy support and students' self‐efficacy have a chain mediating effect on the influence of teacher autonomy support on students' online SRL. Implications: On the basis of the results, we suggest that in order to develop students' online SRL ability, it is important for teacher to improve parental autonomy support and students' self‐efficacy. In addition, base on the chain mediating effect, to improve students' online SRL, teacher autonomy support needs focus on parental autonomy support, and then parental autonomy support needs focus on improving students' self‐efficacy. Lay Description: What is already known about this topic: • Self‐regulated learning (SRL) ability is the key determinant of the success of online learning. • To improve K‐12 students' SRL ability, it is important to explore the influencing factors and their influencing mechanisms on students' online SRL. • Teacher autonomy support play an important role for students' learning. What is not known about this topic?: • How does teacher autonomy support influence students' online SRL, especially in full‐time online learning? • Do parental autonomy support and student' self‐efficacy play a chain mediating role in the influence of teacher autonomy support on students' online SRL? What this paper adds: • Parental autonomy support and students' self‐efficacy play crucial independent mediating role in the influence of teacher autonomy support on students' online SRL. • Teacher autonomy support has a indirect influence on students' online SRL through the chain mediating effect of parental autonomy support and students' self‐efficacy. Implications for practice and/or policy: • Given that parental autonomy support and students' self‐efficacy mediating the influence of teacher autonomy support on students' online SRL, it is important to improve parental autonomy support and students' self‐efficacy. • In order to improve students' online SRL ability, teachers need focus on parental autonomy support, and parental autonomy support focus on improving students' self‐efficacy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As COVID-19 has become a normalized seasonal infectious disease that may break out any time, online learning has also become an important and normalized learning mode during the post-epidemic period. Promoting students’ online learning engagements is the premise to ensure online learning effectiveness. Self-determination theory (SDT) can offer new insights on how to stimulate and maintain students’ online learning engagements. This study aimed to explore SDT’s contribution to students’ online learning engagements by examining the relationship among teacher support dimensions, students’ basic psychological needs, and online learning engagements. A theoretical model was established on the basis of existing research. The model was then tested with 1073 K–12 students who participated in online learning at home in western China during the COVID-19 outbreak in 2022 as sample data. Results found that (1) teacher autonomy support and involvement significantly predicted students’ perceived autonomy, competence, and relatedness need satisfaction, whereas teacher structure significantly and negatively influenced students’ perceptions of the three basic psychological needs satisfaction; (2) Students’ perceived autonomy and competence need satisfaction significantly and positively influenced their online learning cognitive and behavioral engagements but had no significant positive influence on their online learning emotional engagement; (3) Students’ perceived relatedness need satisfaction significantly and positively influenced their online learning behavioral and emotional engagements but significantly and negatively influenced their online learning cognitive engagement. On the basis of the above findings, we put forward some future research directions and implications that can help improve the understanding of SDT’s contribution to students’ online learning engagements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

MOOC participants from different disciplines are becoming increasingly common. This study aims to identify whether students from different genders, online learning experiences, and academic backgrounds in the same course have differences in perception of teaching, social, and cognitive presence. A survey was conducted to investigate the level of these presences that learners perceived in an xMOOC-based blended course using CoI instrument. Results show no significant differences of perceived presences among different genders and online learning experiences. However, significant group differences were observed in perception of social and cognitive presence among students from different academic backgrounds, but no significant group difference was found in teaching presence. The level of cognitive presence perceived by art students in triggering event and resolution stage is lower than that of humanities and science students. The level of social presence perceived by art students on the three subcategories of social presence is lower than that of humanities and science students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cerebral ischemia is a common cerebrovascular condition which often induces neuronal apoptosis, leading to brain damage. The sonic hedgehog (Shh) signaling pathway has been reported to be involved in ischemic stroke, but the underlying mechanisms have not been fully elucidated. In the present study, we demonstrated that expressions of Shh, Ptch, and Gli-1 were significantly downregulated at 24 h following oxygen-glucose deprivation (OGD) injury in neurons in vitro, effects which were associated with increasing numbers of apoptotic cells and reactive oxygen species generation. In addition, expressions of synaptic proteins (neuroligin and neurexin) were significantly downregulated at 8 h following OGD, also associated with concomitant neuronal apoptosis. Treatment with purmorphamine, a Shh agonist, increased Gli-1 in the nucleus of neurons and protected against OGD injury, whereas the Shh inhibitor, cyclopamine, produced the opposite effects. Activation of Shh signals promoted CREB and Akt phosphorylation; upregulated the expressions of BDNF, neuroligin, and neurexin; and decreased NF-κB phosphorylation following OGD. Notably, this activation of Shh signals was accompanied by improved neurobehavioral responses along with attenuations in edema and apoptosis at 48 h postischemic insult in rats. Taken together, these results demonstrate that activation of the Shh signaling pathway played a neuroprotective role in response to ischemic exposure via promotion of synaptic and neuronal health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, research on distracted driving behavior recognition has made significant progress, with an increasing number of researchers focusing on deep-learning-based algorithms. Aiming at the problems of the existing distracted driving recognition algorithm, such as its oversized model and difficulty in adapting to low computing environments, a lightweight network MobileNetV2, is chosen as the backbone network and improved to design a distracted driving behavior detection method that is both accurate and practical. The Ghost module is employed to replace point-by-point convolution to reduce the computation, the Leaky ReLU function helps mitigate the problem of dead neurons, as it prevents gradients from becoming zero for negative inputs. Finally, the channel pruning algorithm is used to further reduce the model parameters. The experiment results on the State Farm dataset show that the model's test accuracy can reach 94.66%, and the number of parameters is only 0.23 M. The improved model has significantly fewer parameters than the baseline model, which demonstrates the effectiveness and applicability of the method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Studies show that the gain from China's remarkable growth of the past 35 years has not been evenly shared, especially through the intergenerational transmission of income. To address this concern, we use data from China Health and Nutrition Survey and find the intergenerational income elasticity to be 0.466 in 2011, which suggests that sons' incomes are affected by their fathers' economic statuses to a large extent. A cross-country comparison indicates that the degree of generational income mobility in China is lower than that in many developed nations. Meanwhile, by investigating possible transmission channels, we find that the fathers' investments in the sons' education and occupation play substantial roles in intergenerational transmission of income. The results not only demonstrate the trends in intergenerational income mobility in China, but also identify the most likely transmission channels, which is of great importance to improving social equality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Technology alone will not achieve building energy conservation goals, and humans and their energy-related behavior in buildings must be included in energy performance efforts. Despite many studies revolving around human behavior and building energy performance, the understanding of occupant behavior and its role in building energy performance remains vague, confusing and inconsistent. We attempt to rethink occupant behavior and its role in building energy performance by means of review. Relevant articles have been collected from Web of Science and the basic picture of research has been presented. In-depth review focuses on four critical research topics: a) the current understanding of occupant behavior, with particular focus on window opening behavior, lighting control behavior, and space heating/cooling behavior; b) methods and techniques for collecting data on behavior and building energy performance; c) quantitative modeling of occupant behavior and building energy performance; and d) evaluation of energy saving potentials of occupant behavior based on existing literature. We estimate the energy-saving potential of occupant behavior to be in the range of 10%–25% for residential buildings and 5%–30% for commercial buildings, based on findings of existing research. From our analyses, we identify four existing research gaps, namely the needs for understanding occupant behavior in a systematic framework; for stronger empirical evidence beyond individual buildings and at a larger city scale; for linking occupant behavior to socio-economic and policy variables; and for evaluating the role of occupant behavior in the effectiveness of building energy efficiency policy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cities can play a key role in the low-carbon transition, with an increasing number of cities engaging in carbon mitigation actions. The literature on urban low-carbon transition shows that low-carbon urban development is an inevitable trend of urban sustainable future; there is a great potential albeit with some limitations for cities to reduce its carbon footprints, and there are diverse pathways for cities to achieve low-carbon development. There is, however, a limited understanding in terms of the internal mechanism of urban low-carbon transition, especially in rapidly developing economies. This paper attempts to address this gap. We examine how low-carbon policies emerge and evolve, and what are the enabling mechanisms, taking Shanghai as a case study. We developed an analytical framework drawing on system innovation theory and sustainability experiments for this purpose. A total of 186 relevant policies were selected and analyzed, which is supplemented by the interviews with stakeholders in the government to gain a deeper insight into the policy contexts in Shanghai. We found that the city's low-carbon initiatives are embedded and integrated into its existing policy frameworks. A strong vertical linkage between the central and the local governments, and more importantly, a nested structure for innovative policy practices were identified, where a top-down design is met with bottom-up innovation and proactive adoption of enabling mechanism. The structure includes two layers of experiments that facilitate learning through policy experiments across scales. The uniqueness, effectiveness, applicability and limitations of these efforts are discussed. The findings provide new theoretical and empirical insights into the multilevel governance of low-carbon transition in cities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rapid urbanisation generates risks and opportunities for sustainable development. Urban policy and decision makers are challenged by the complexity of cities as social-ecological-technical systems. Consequently there is an increasing need for collaborative knowledge development that supports a whole-of-system view, and transformational change at multiple scales. Such holistic urban approaches are rare in practice. A co-design process involving researchers, practitioners and other stakeholders, has progressed such an approach in the Australian context, aiming to also contribute to international knowledge development and sharing. This process has generated three outputs: (1) a shared framework to support more systematic knowledge development and use, (2) identification of barriers that create a gap between stated urban goals and actual practice, and (3) identification of strategic focal areas to address this gap. Developing integrated strategies at broader urban scales is seen as the most pressing need. The knowledge framework adopts a systems perspective that incorporates the many urban trade-offs and synergies revealed by a systems view. Broader implications are drawn for policy and decision makers, for researchers and for a shared forward agenda. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Urbanization is one of the biggest social transformations of modern time, driving and driven by multiple social, economic, and environmental processes. The impacts of urbanization on the environment are profound, multifaceted and are manifested at the local, regional, and global scale. This article reviews recent advances in conceptual and empirical knowledge linking urbanization and the environment, focusing on six core aspects: air pollution, ecosystems, land use, biogeochemical cycles and water pollution, solid waste management, and the climate. We identify several emerging trends and remaining questions in urban environmental research, including ( a) increasing evidence on the amplified or accelerated environmental impacts of urbanization; ( b) varying distribution patterns of impacts along geographical and other socio-economic gradients; ( c) shifting focus from understanding and quantifying the impacts of urbanization toward understanding the processes and underlying mechanisms; ( d) increasing focus on understanding complex interactions and interlinkages among different environmental, social, economic, and cultural processes; and ( e) conceptual advances that call for articulating and using a systems approach in cities. In terms of governing the urban environment, there is an increasing focus on public participation and coproduction of knowledge with stakeholders. Cities are actively experimenting toward sustainability under a plethora of guiding concepts that manifests their aspirational goals, with varying levels of implementation and effectiveness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The literature on planetary and Earth system boundaries calls on humans to live within those boundaries. Sharing such limited ecospace raises questions of justice. Global environmental assessments and scholarship are increasingly paying attention to justice issues, yet inadequately define how to share the limited ecospace. Against this background we ask: how can global environmental assessments’ concerns for justice be enhanced through an Earth system justice framework that guides how the global community could share limited ecospace? Based on an analysis of how justice concerns are addressed in the Assessment of Assessments and global environmental change projects, we build an Earth system justice framework that discusses how ecospace can be shared fairly through the setting of Earth system boundaries and the provision of minimum resource needs for all, and how this can be achieved through an equitable redistribution of resources, rights, and responsibilities focused on addressing inequality, overconsumption, and harmful accumulation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent decades have seen an expanding literature exploring urban energy and material flows, loosely branded as urban metabolism analysis. However, this has occurred largely in parallel to the mainstream studies of cities as ecosystems. This paper aims to conceptually bridge these two distinctive fields of research, by (a) identifying the common aspects between them; (b) identifying key characteristics of urban ecosystems that can be derived from energy and material flow analysis, namely energy and material budget and pathways; flow intensity; energy and material efficiency; rate of resource depletion, accumulation and transformation; self-sufficiency or external dependency; intra-system heterogeneity; intersystem and temporal variation; and regulating mechanism and governing capacity. I argue that significant ecological insight can be, or has the potential to be, drawn from the rich and rapidly growing empirical findings of urban metabolism studies to understand the behaviour of cities as human-dominated, complex systems. A closer intellectual linkage and cross pollination between urban metabolism and urban ecosystem studies will advance our scientific understanding and better inform urban policy and management practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hydrogen as a new medical gas exerts organ-protective effects through regulating oxidative stress, inflammation and apoptosis. Multiple lines of evidence reveal the protective effects of hydrogen in various models of brain injury. However, the exact mechanism underlying this protective effect of hydrogen against hypoxic-ischemic brain damage (HIBD) is not fully understood. The present study was designed to investigate whether hydrogen-rich saline (HS) attenuates HIBD in neonatal mice and whether the observed protection is associated with reduced endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress and regulated autophagy. The results showed that HS treatment significantly improved brain edema and decreased infarct volume. Furthermore, HS significantly attenuated HIBD-induced ER stress responses, including the decreased expression of glucose-regulated protein 78, C/EBP homologous protein, and down-regulated transcription factor. Additionally, we demonstrated that HS induced autophagy, including increased LC3B and Beclin-1 expression and decreased phosphorylation of mTOR and Stat3, as well as phosphorylation of ERK. Taken together, HS exerts neuroprotection against HIBD in neonatal mouse, mediated in part by reducing ER stress and increasing autophagy machinery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on China's program to clean up the Huai River basin that was begun in the mid-1990s. The author discusses a widely-publicized environmental catastrophe in July 2004, when authorities were forced to open water gates in the upper stream of the river, which released a 500 million-ton torrent of polluted water. The result of this discharge was hundreds of kilometers of contaminated water and dead fish, ducks and other birds. The article discusses the huge environmental challenges that China faces as the nation develops. INSETS: The xuzhou experience;Figure 1-6;The xuzhou experience.

We report the development and evaluation of a serotype-specific xTAG luminex assay (SSA) that allows detection of the 33 serotypes of Streptococcus suis ( S. suis ). This assay is based on wzy gene targets directly involved in the cps biosynthesis and can be completed 40 min post-PCR amplification. The assay correctly and specifically identified the serotype of all 209 isolates tested, in comparison with two serotyping multiplex PCR methods previously developed. The sensitivity was higher than that of the previously described methods. The SSA system described here provides an easy-to-use, high-throughput system for rapid detection of S. suis serotypes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although neutral luminescent radicals have arisen much attention recently, their applications in fluorescence imaging are rarely reported due to their insolubility in water and weak luminescence in polar solvents. Herein, we encapsulated a luminescent radical and its precursor into nanoparticles (NPs) by an amphiphilic polymer matrix, DSPE-PEG 2000 , to avoid aggregation-caused quenching and poor solubility in water to further achieve its application in cell-imaging. The obtained radical NPs exhibited strong red emission, excellent stability and remarkable biocompatibility under physiological conditions. The radical NPs were incubated with live HCT116 cells and showed good cellular uptake, thus making fluorescence imaging possible in vitro. The results confirm the feasibility of stable neutral luminescent radical as a promising candidate for the application in fluorescence imaging. [Display omitted] • Radical nanoparticles consist of the luminescent radical and its precursor were encapsulated together within an amphiphilic polymer matrix at an optimized proportion. • Radical nanoparticles exhibited bright red emission and excellent biocompatibility. • Radical nanoparticles can be internalized into HCT116 cells and become a promising tool in fluorescence imaging. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the article titled "Neuroprotective Effects of the Sonic Hedgehog Signaling Pathway in Ischemic Injury through Promotion of Synaptic and Neuronal Health" [[1]], the authors have identified that in Figure 4, the incorrect images were provided due to an error during the preparation of the manuscript. Graph: (a) Graph: (b) Graph: (c) REFERENCES 1 Yin S., Bai X., Xin D., Li T., Chu X., Ke H., Han M., Chen W., Li X., Wang Z. Neuroprotective Effects of the Sonic Hedgehog Signaling Pathway in Ischemic Injury through Promotion of Synaptic and Neuronal Health. [Extracted from the article]

Interpolation is a mature technique used in image processing and many data hiding schemes based on image interpolation have been proposed. In this paper, a novel efficient data hiding scheme based on the difference between image interpolation algorithms is proposed. The interpolated values obtained by neighboring points using different interpolation algorithms are generally different, and the difference can be used for encoding secret data. 2k different interpolated values calculated by 2k different interpolation algorithms respectively in the ideal case, and they are numbered in increasing order to correspond to the k bits secret data in each interpolated pixel. At the receiver's side, the secret data can be obtained based on the matching of the sorting results of these interpolation values of the accepted interpolation values. In fact, different algorithms may produce the same interpolation values, it is necessary to modify the appropriate number of interpolation value so that the number of different interpolation values reaches 2k, then the following image hiding procedures can employ the method of ideal case. The experimental results show that the proposed hiding scheme provides high embedding capacity with good visual quality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article examines the rationale, challenges and opportunities of promoting urbanization in Western China. Topics covered include the launch of the National Western Development Strategies in 1999, trends in urbanization in China since 1978, and the benefits of urbanization like the promotion of social, economic, environmental and natural capital. Also discussed are the challenges to be considered in promoting urbanization in the western region, including the fragile ecological system.

For informed decision making about the current state and near future of any city, it is important to consider the long-term resource use trajectory and legacy of its past. Such information is not always readily available. Urban metabolism analysis for any given time period can be challenging due to the lack of metropolitan- or city-level data, and reconstructing a time series of urban energy or material flows is seldom attempted. For the case of Melbourne, Australia, we demonstrate how time series operational energy demand and supply data can be reconstructed from original sources. Primary energy consumption is calculated based on direct and upstream energy use in common with 'scope 2' standards for emissions reporting. This extends the usual treatment of energy in urban metabolism studies by (1) providing time series data and (2) attributing upstream primary energy consumption to sectors based on their direct secondary energy usage. Results indicate that the transport, commercial, manufacturing, and residential sectors have contributed most to the doubling of Melbourne's energy consumption over four decades. We discuss recent urban development history and its relation to energy consumption and briefly examine potential scenarios of and responses to future change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Urbanization has significant impacts on local, regional, and global biogeochemical cycles, including through nutrient enrichment by food consumption, and especially in rapidly urbanizing countries. This article presents a time-series estimation of phosphorus (P) metabolism through food consumption in Chinese cities and examines its relationship to income level during the period 1985-2006. Our results show that approximately 39% of the total dietary P inflow is exported through direct sewage discharge without treatment, 35% is exported via the output of solid human excreta, 7% is exported through sewage sludge landfill, and 19% is left within urban areas. The total inflow of dietary P to urban systems increases with per capita disposable income level. Furthermore, the ratio of dietary P remaining in urban systems to total dietary P inflow, the dietary P remaining in urban systems per capita, and the dietary P remaining per unit urban built-up area respond in an inverted U shape to increases in per capita disposable income; the per capita outflow of dietary P shows a U-shaped response. These relationships may indicate that the impact of urban dietary P on urban environmental systems follows the traditional environmental Kuznets curve, while the environmental impact of urban dietary P on surrounding nonurban ecosystems initially decreases but then increases with the rising income of urban residents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A novel nano‐ternary spinel oxides of Zn−Ni‐Co−O are synthesized via the coprecipitation method and used for detection towards Cu(II). The Zn doping effect on morphologies and microstructures of ZnxNi1‐xCo2O4 (x=0, 0.2, 0.4, 0.6, 0.8, 1.0) is systematically characterized and investigated. At the x of 0.4, the prepared Zn0.4Ni0.6Co2O4 modified electrode nanomaterials can realize electrochemical ultratrace detection of Cu(II), which shows the lowest detection limit of 1.96 nM with a linear range of 0.1 μM∼1.0 μM and the highest sensitivity of 15.2 μA/μM. Meanwhile, Zn0.4Ni0.6Co2O4 modified electrodes exhibit excellent repeatability (relative standard deviation (RSD) of 0.34 %), reproducibility (RSD of 0.3 %), stability (RSD of 3.0 %) as well as anti‐interference analysis, which has been successfully applied in the actual water environment. These results indicate that ZnxNi1‐xCo2O4 nanoparticles as a promising modified electrode materials for the electrochemical detection Cu(II). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Great claims have been made about the benefits of dematerialization in a digital service economy. However, digitalization has historically increased environmental impacts at local and planetary scales, affecting labor markets, resource use, governance, and power relationships. Here we study the past, present, and future of digitalization through the lens of three interdependent elements of the Anthropocene: (a) planetary boundaries and stability, (b) equity within and between countries, and (c) human agency and governance, mediated via (i) increasing resource efficiency, (ii) accelerating consumption and scale effects, (iii) expanding political and economic control, and (iv) deteriorating social cohesion. While direct environmental impacts matter, the indirect and systemic effects of digitalization are more profoundly reshaping the relationship between humans, technosphere and planet. We develop three scenarios: planetary instability, green but inhumane, and deliberate for the good. We conclude with identifying leverage points that shift human–digital–Earth interactions toward sustainability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: A new series of chiral cis-3-aminoazetidines have been prepared from (S)-1-phenylethylamine. The catalytic activity of the new ligands has been tested in standard asymmetric reactions, in most cases moderate to good yields and moderate enantioselectivity have been observed. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

We examined the sterol profile of Karlodinium veneficum (D. Ballant.) J. Larsen, Akashiwo sanguinea (Hiraska) Ge. Hansen et Moestrup, Alexandrium tamarense (M. Lebour) Balech, Alexandrium affine (H. Inoue et Fukuyo) Balech, Gonyaulax polygramma F. Stein , and Gymnodinium instriatum (Freud. et J. J. Lee) Coats , along with their Amoebophyra parasites. There were no consistent sterol profiles that characterized the genus Amoebophyra. Instead, in five out of six comparisons, the host and parasite sterol profiles where highly correlated. The one exception, Amoebophyra sp. ex Alex.  tamarense, was least like its host in sterol profile and also possessed the widest host range for infection. There was little correlation between host and parasite in fatty acid profiles, with the parasite being deficient in fatty acids characteristic of the plastid [e.g., 18:5(n-3) associated with galactolipids of the thylakoids, as previously published by Adolf et al. (2007)]. Those hosts and parasites with sterol profiles dominated by desmethyl sterols were most sensitive to karlotoxin toxicity. In the host-parasite pairs most sensitive to karlotoxin addition, recovery of the intact karlotoxin molecule was poorest. Given the sensitivity to karlotoxin, some species of Amoebophyra may avoid infection of K. veneficum. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The parasitic dinoflagellate Amoebophrya sp. ex Karlodinium veneficum was used to test two hypotheses: (1) infection of cells decreases with increasing host toxicity and (2) parasitism causes the catabolism of host toxin. To test the first hypothesis, host strains differing in toxin content were inoculated with dinospores of Amoebophrya sp. derived from infected cultures of toxic and non-toxic K. veneficum, with resulting infections assessed following 24-h incubations. Contrary to expectations, infection of K. veneficum by Amoebophrya sp. was positively correlated with host toxicity. To examine the second hypothesis, synchronous infection with >80% of cells being parasitized was induced using a toxic strain of K. veneficum, and total toxin concentration (intracellular plus extracellular levels of KmTX1) was followed over the 3-day infection cycle. Toxin content ml−1 increased with growth of K. veneficum in uninfected control cultures, but declined in infected cultures as the parasite completed its life cycle. On a cellular basis, toxin content of infected and uninfected cultures differed little during the experiment, suggesting that the parasite does not actively catabolise host toxin. Rather, infection appears to promote degradation of toxins via death of host cells and subsequent bacterial activity. Results indicate that Amoebophrya sp. ex K. veneficum has greater potential to impact toxic strains relative to non-toxic host strains in natural systems. Thus, Amoebophrya sp. ex. K. veneficum may limit the occurrence of toxic K. veneficum blooms in marine and estuarine environments, while simultaneously functioning as a pathway for dissipation of host toxin. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Discusses the relationship between urban development and industrial development. How industrial demand for labor attracts rural workers to cities; Impact of input and output associated with industrial processes on the global environment; Factors that determine the magnitude of industrial pollution; How cities suffering from poverty are more likely to place a higher priority on economic development than on environmental quality.

Occupant behavior in residential buildings has great energy-saving potential and offers an important opportunity for realizing the targets of energy conservation and carbon emission reduction. Traditionally, it is believed that occupant behavior aligns with people's energy-related attitude. However, an attitude-behavior gap has been observed in many recent studies, which rarely focused on specific attitudes and behaviors in urban residential buildings. Therefore, based on a large-scale empirical survey (N = 1003) in Beijing, China, we explore the relationship between energy-related attitudes and behaviors. Specifically, purchase and habitual behaviors are investigated along with relevant attitudes, including the willingness to pay (WTP) more for energy efficient products, whether paying attention (WPA) to energy efficiency parameters/indicators of products when making a purchase, and the willingness to change behavior (WTC) for further residential energy reduction. The results show a mixed picture. There is a consistency between the occupants' WPA and purchase behavior. In contrast, the occupants generally don't behave consistently with their reported WTP and WTC, suggesting the existence of attitude-behavior gaps. Different reasons may lead to these gaps, demonstrating the necessity of a more comprehensive and flexible strategy for energy policymaking. Furthermore, a closer look at the factors underlying different attitudes shows the significant effects that perceived building thermal insulation performance and past experiences of changing behavior may have, suggesting the effectiveness and importance of building thermal retrofits and more targeted awareness campaigns. A self-reinforcing feedback loop may exist between attitude and behavior, demonstrating the great potential of social interactions and peer influence for behavioral change. • Empirical data on attitude and behavior were collected from a large-scale survey. • A mixed picture emerges for the residents' attitude-behavior relationship. • A self-reinforcing feedback loop exists for energy-related attitudes and behavior. • Social interactions and peer influence have great potential for behavioral change. • A comprehensive and flexible strategy for building energy policymaking is needed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

LncRNAs play an important role in autoimmune diseases. The purpose of this study was to explore the role of lncRNA SNHG1 in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), and laid a theoretical foundation for the study of SLE. The basic clinical information of all subjects was first collected for statistical analysis, and SNHG1 expression in the serum of all subjects was detected by RT‐qPCR. The value of SNHG1 in the diagnosis of SLE was assessed by ROC. The correlation between SNHG1 and each blood sample index was analyzed by Pearson correlation analysis. The role of SNHG1 in primary peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) apoptosis was explored. SNHG1 expression is relatively upregulated in patients with SLE compared to healthy people. SNHG1 expression was positively correlated with SLEDAI score, IgG, CRP, and ESR, and negatively correlated with C3 and C4. ROC indicated that SNHG1 has the potential to assist in the diagnosis of SLE. PBMCs apoptosis in SLE was higher than that in control group, the knockdown and overexpression of SNHG1 could correspondingly inhibit and promote PBMCs apoptosis. SNHG1 has the potential to be a diagnosis marker for SLE and may be involved in regulating PBMCs apoptosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Financing mitigation actions in cities is critical to achieving 1.5 °C emissions pathways. Direct funding, such as grants and subsidies, is a feasible financial instrument to enable local authorities to conduct climate mitigation projects. Current literature has largely focused on the cost-effectiveness of direct-funding instruments on carbon reduction, but little on how these instruments influence other aspects of the urban low-carbon transition. A comprehensive understanding of the role of direct funding in low-carbon transition is important, as this new understanding may potentially encourage more direct investments by cities into their low-carbon initiatives. Here we examine the direct and flow-on effects of a city-level direct-funding scheme on urban low-carbon initiatives, taking Shanghai as a case study. Our findings show that the direct results of Shanghai's fund scheme include carbon reduction outcomes and a variety of policy outputs, such as a range of subsidy policies, data reporting systems, and demonstration projects. More importantly, over the 11 years of its implementation, the fund has become a catalyst for a series of institutional changes – by enabling and enhancing cooperation across numerous government departments in Shanghai. In addition, the funding scheme created avenues for the engagement of business stakeholders and raising public awareness on low-carbon and sustainability issues, through subsidizing technology adoption and low-carbon-themed campaigns. Collectively, these processes have improved the city's capacity for achieving low-carbon transition. Our study shows that a well-designed, city-level direct-funding scheme can fill the "implementation" gap between the policy intentions (i.e., the low-carbon initiatives and implementation framework) and the policy outcomes (e.g., carbon reduction and the institutional formation in the transition). Such a scheme may also nurture and enable a pool of policy experiments and innovations for effective policy learning, identification of successful experiments, and upscaling. With these broader catalytic effects, a city-level direct fund could be a justifiable and attractive option in managing low-carbon transition. • Understanding spillover effects of direct funding may encourage more investment. • A linkage analysis is performed to visualize institutional formation processes. • Urban direct funding has catalytic effects on institutions and local capacity building. • Fund implementation fills an implementation gap between policy intentions and outcomes. • Wide funding support enables a pool of sustainability experiments for policy learning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses publications considered to be of special merit in the science and policy of climate change including the article "Learning Cities: Knowledge, Capacity, and Competitiveness," by Tim Campbell in a 2009 issue of "Habitat International," “Rising Temperatures, Rising Tensions: Climate Change and the Risk of Violent Conflict in the Middle East” and “Climate Change and Security in Africa: A Study for the Nordic-African Foreign Ministers Meeting," both by Oli Brown and Alec Crawford, available at the web site of the International Institute for Sustainable Development.

• Beijing household purchase behavior is overall energy-efficient. • Air conditioning plays a critical role in both purchase and usage behaviors. • Occupants' habitual reactions are consistent across all categories. • Purchase behavior is not associated with habitual reaction. • More policy attention should be directed to occupant behavior with air conditioning. Despite progress in energy efficiency technologies and energy intensity reduction, the buildings sector's final energy consumption and associated CO 2 emissions both continue to grow, pointing to the necessity of understanding real occupant behavior. This study, therefore, explores occupants' energy-related behavior in residential buildings with empirical data from a large-scale survey in Beijing, China, aiming to present an in-depth and comprehensive picture of occupant behavior. We obtained a total of 1003 valid responses to an online questionnaire concentrating on occupant behaviors with respect to space heating and cooling, water heating, cooking, lighting, appliances and other equipment. Our results show that, typically, purchase behavior is overall energy-efficient, as most appliances purchased are energy efficient. For both purchase and usage behaviors, air conditioning (AC), which is used for both space heating and cooling, plays a critical role as residents usually have less energy efficient AC in their homes and use it more often and for a longer period of time than other devices. Their habitual reactions are consistent across all habitual categories, but show no significant correlation with their purchase behavior. There is no single, straightforward and coherent pattern that can be explained by any single socio-demographic factor. These findings offer a behavioral insight into efforts to improve residential energy efficiency at the city scale. For instance, more policy attention should be directed to occupants' purchase and usage behavior of ACs, such as by promoting the energy rating program in a more effective way. Moreover, given the lack of apparent linkage between purchase and habitual behaviors, a comprehensive policy framework incorporating different measures for different types of behavior is necessary. The complexity underlying behavioral choices also suggests the necessity of better understanding the behavioral patterns and their determining factors, as well as avoiding any simplistic assumption in policy making that aims to take behavioral factors into account. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Intercity variability of the level of pesticide residue (LPR) across Chinese cities was measured. • Local socioeconomic and policy factors explained 40% of the LPR cross-city disparity. • Local policy had a larger impact on local food safety than socioeconomic factors. • Not all the policymaking and implication activities can significantly improve food safety. • A systems approach of the government in controlling pesticide residue is necessary. Controlling pesticide residues in marketed fruits and vegetables is an essential issue for food safety and public health. Local governments improve local conditions, like policymaking and implementation, economic structure and development level, and agricultural practices, to control pesticide residues. However, the level of influence and relative importance of these local factors are not analyzed quantitatively. Here we present the food safety level across 42 Chinese cities as measured by the level of pesticide residues (LPR) in fresh fruits and vegetables, and explore how local socio-economic and policy factors influence its intercity variability. A total of 12,070 sample measurements were used in this study. The relationships between LPR and local socio-economic-policy factors were tested by using Pearson correlation analysis, two-sided independent t -test, and stepwise multivariable linear regression. Our analysis shows that: (1) the pesticide residues in 97.1% of the samples were within legal limits, but the LPR had a considerable cross-city disparity and (2) eight socio-economic-policy variables were found to be significantly correlated with LPR at the city level. Six policy-related variables, namely the number of pesticide-related policies, the number of food safety-related policies, the number of food safety-related news reports, the supermarket revolution, the administrative level of the city and the transparency of supervision of food safety, could explain 32.8% of the intercity variability of LPR. This was followed by the gross domestic product (GDP) per capita from the tertiary sector (15.6%) and the pesticide usage per cultivated area in local agriculture (13.4%). After eliminating the collinearity of these variables, local socio-economic-policy factors collectively could explain around 40% of the intercity variability of LPR. This indicates that local-level policy may have a larger impact on local food safety in terms of LPR than economic factors or local agricultural practice, underscoring the critical role of local government in ensuring food safety. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background The spread of antibiotic-resistant bacteria (ARB) and antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) among humans and food-producing animals has been widely reported. However, the transmission routes and associated risk factors remain incompletely understood. Methods Here, we used commensal Escherichia coli bacteria strains from faeces of pigs and local citizens [HEG: high exposure group (pig breeders, butchers or restaurant chefs) and LEG: low exposure group (other occupations)] to explore the dynamics of ARB and ARG transmission between animals and humans. Results Most ARGs (96%) present in pigs were shared with humans. Carriage rates of the shared ARGs suggest two transmission patterns among pigs, the HEG and LEG: one pattern was highest in pigs, gradually decreasing in the HEG and LEG (e.g. floR and cmlA1); the other pattern was increasing from pigs to the HEG but then decreasing in the LEG (e.g. mcr-1.1). Carriage rates of the HEG were higher than in the LEG in both patterns, implicating the HEG as a crucial medium in transmitting ARB and ARGs between food-producing animals and humans. Moreover, frequent inter/intragroup transmission via strains, plasmids and/or mobile elements was evident. Carriage of mcr-1.1 on human-gut-prevalent plasmids possibly promoted its enrichment in the HEG. Conclusions The HEG is a crucial factor in transmitting ARB and ARGs between food-producing animals and humans. Rational measures to contain the risks of occupational exposure are urgently needed to keep dissemination of antibiotic resistance in check and safeguard public health. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Urban green infrastructure improves the urban environment and enriches the lives of urban dwellers by positively affecting ambient temperatures, noise levels, and air quality, and creating an environment that promotes human health. Green technologies are increasingly used to increase green patches in urban areas. In this review of 108 vertical greenery publications, the potential physical and non-physical contributions of a subset of green infrastructure—vertical greenery systems—are presented. Most studies focus on how greenery improves the thermal performance of individual buildings and the potential energy savings, but non-physical benefits, such as health and well-being, have received little attention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research shows urban sustainability experiments are critical for sustainability transition in cities and beyond, especially when they are multiplied in other contexts and upscaled. Even with a growing body of literature on sustainability experiments, little is known on how these experiments travel to and are contextualized in other contexts. Here we attempt to fill this gap, taking the adoption and proliferation of Energy Performance Contracting (EPC) in Shanghai as a case study. First, based on the system innovation literature, we identify the critical components that characterize the innovative practices. We then examine the contextualization process of EPC in Shanghai using this characterization. Finally, we identify and compare some innovative elements that emerged during the contextualization with those in the original contexts from which Shanghai learned. We argue that post experiment adoption and contextualization requires mobilization and realignments of actors, resources, and institutional arrangements within the process of learning, which involves much more than simple duplication and often with distinctive outcomes, thus in many ways is an innovation in itself. Innovation in post experiment contextualization is supported by various "horizontal linkages" with the original experiment, which include information/knowledge transfer and learning via actor interactions across experiments, but the focus of learning shifts from external (i.e. from the original context) to internal (i.e. within the new context) during the contextualization process. These findings contribute to an in-depth understanding of how innovation can transfer across cases, which is a significant gap in current system innovation literature, and may inform practice in terms of how to facilitate the scaling of experiments to achieve sustainability transitions. • How successful experiments travel across contexts is not well understood. • Embedding innovation requires new social, economic and institutional configurations. • Horizontal linkages critical, but learning mode shifts from external to internal. • Contextualization benefits from predecessors but requires endogenous innovation. • Contextualization could be a new source of innovations that needs renewed attention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ho3+/Tm3+ co-doped 50TeO2-25GeO2-3WO3-5La2O3-3Nb2O5-5Li2O-9BaF2 glass fiber is prepared with the rod-tube drawing method of 15 μm core diameter and 125 μm inner cladding diameter applied in the 2.0 μm-infrared laser. The 2.0 μm luminescence properties of the core glass are researched and the fluorescence intensity variation for different Tm3+ doping concentration is systematically analyzed. The results show that the 2.0 μm luminescence of Ho3+ is greatly influenced by the doping concentration ratio of Ho3+ to Tm3+ and that the maximum fluorescence intensity of the core glass can be obtained and its emission cross section can reach 0.933 × 10−21 cm2 when the sensitized proportion of holmium to thulium is 0.3 to 0.7 (mol%). Simultaneously, the maximum phonon energy of the core glass sample is 753 cm−1, which is significantly lower than that of silicate, gallate and germanate glass and the smaller matrix phonon energy can be conductive to the increase 2.0 μm-band emission intensity. The continuous laser with the maximum laser output power of 0.993 W and 2051 nm -wavelength of 31.9%-slope efficiency is output within the 0.5 m glass fiber and the experiment adopts 1560 nm erbium-doped fiber laser(EDFL) as the pump source and the self-built all-fiber laser. Therefore, the glass fiber has excellent laser characteristics and it is suitable for the 2.0 μm-band laser. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A review of the article “Vulnerability to Temperature-Related Hazards: A Meta-Analysis and Meta-Knowledge Approach,” by P. Romero-Lankao et al., which appeared in a 2012 issue of the periodical "Global Environmental Change," is presented.

Abstract A general framework for the analysis of the urban water-energy nexus (WEN) was proposed and a dynamic and quantitative WEN model was developed based on the Long-range Energy Alternatives Planning System (LEAP) and Water Evaluation and Planning (WEAP) tools. Using Xiamen, China, as a case study, eleven future scenarios were designed to explore the impacts of different factors, from both supply and demand sides, on urban WEN. Both water-related energy (WRE) and energy-related water (ERW) were studied to reveal the interconnected relationship between water and energy. We found that most WRE and ERW savings lie on the supply side, except for demand management scenarios, and most scenarios have larger trans-boundary effects than in-boundary effects due to the import of large quantities of energy and water. Industry structure adjustments (oriented toward energy or water savings) and energy-saving measures have better co-benefits in terms of energy and water savings than other measures. Promoting electric vehicles increases electricity imports and related trans-boundary ERW. Such effects should be considered before importing resources from outside city boundaries. Developing high-tech industries might also increase energy or water burdens. Finally, the boundaries of urban WEN research were discussed to promote additional comparable studies. Highlights • A fully-coupled model for urban water-energy nexus is built based on LEAP and WEAP. • Bi-directional linkages of water–energy nexus are studied rather only one aspect. • Most water-related energy saving and energy-related water saving potential lies on supply side. • Under most scenarios, larger trans-boundary effects are observed than in-boundary effects. • Adjusting industrial structure and saving energy have prominent co-benefits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

DNA transduction across aqueous solutions has been reported previously. In this study, we examined a few key factors affecting DNA transduction rate in an extremely low frequency electromagnetic field. These include: the chemical composition of the aqueous solutions, the type of experimental vessel, the dilution step, and the origin of the DNA fragments. The results indicate that partially introducing essential ingredients for DNA amplification (i.e. dNTPs and PCR buffer) to the aqueous solution enhanced the transduction rate greatly, and transduction vessels made of hydrophilic quartz yielded more favorable results than vessels made of hydrophobic plastic. In addition, performing a serial dilution to the transduction solution more than doubled the transduction rate compared to that without the dilution step. For the DNA fragments used in this study, there was one with a pathogenic origin and two with non-pathogenic origins. However, all three fragments achieved DNA transduction regardless of the difference in their origins. The experimental setup for eliminating the false positives caused by both biological and potentially physical contamination is also described. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights • l -Cysteine improved behavioral deficits after neonatal HI insult. • l -Cysteine reduced HI-induced accumulation and activation of glia. • l -Cysteine mediated oxidative stress and synaptic modification post-HI. • l -Cysteine promoted autophagic flux. • Treatment with amino-oxyacetic acid reversed the above effects of l -Cysteine. Abstract We previously reported that l -Cysteine, an H 2 S donor, significantly alleviated brain injury after hypoxia-ischemic (HI) injury in neonatal mice. However, the mechanisms underlying this neuroprotective effect of l -Cysteine against HI insult remain unknown. In the present study, we tested the hypothesis that the protective effects of l -Cysteine are associated with glial responses and autophagy, and l -Cysteine attenuates synaptic injury as well as behavioral deficits resulting from HI. Consistent with our previous findings, we found that treatment with l -Cysteine after HI reduced early brain injury, improved behavioral deficits and synaptic damage, effects which were associated with an up-regulation of synaptophysin and postsynaptic density protein 95 expression in the lesioned cortex. l -Cysteine attenuated the accumulation of CD11b+/CD45high cells, activation of microglia and astrocytes and diminished HI-induced increases in reactive oxygen species and malondialdehyde within the lesioned cortex. In addition, l -Cysteine increased microtubule associated protein 1 light chain 3-II and Beclin1 expression, decreased p62 expression and phosphor-mammalian target of rapamycin and phosphor-signal transducer and activator of transcription 3. Further support for a critical role of l -Cysteine was revealed from results demonstrating that treatment with an inhibitor of the H 2 S-producing enzyme, amino-oxyacetic acid, reversed the beneficial effects of l -Cysteine described above. These results demonstrate that l -Cysteine effectively alleviates HI injury and improves behavioral outcomes by inhibiting reactive glial responses and synaptic damage and an accompanying triggering of autophagic flux. Accordingly, l -Cysteine may provide a new a therapeutic approach for the treatment of HI via the formation of H 2 S. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Transformative urban development is urgent to achieve future sustainable development and wellbeing. Transformation can benefit from shared and cumulative learning on strategies to guide urban development across local to national scales, while also reflecting the complex emergent nature of urban systems, and the need for context-specific and place-based solutions. The article addresses this challenge, drawing on extensive transdisciplinary engagement and National Strategy co-development processes for Australia. This includes generation of two frameworks as boundary objects to assist such transdisciplinary strategy development. An 'enabling urban systems transformation' framework comprises four generic overarching transformation enablers and a set of necessary underpinning urban capacities. This also built cumulatively on other sustainability and urban transformation studies. A complementary 'knowledge for urban systems transformation' framework comprises key knowledge themes that can support an integrated systems approach to mission-focused urban transformations, such as decarbonising cities. The article provides insights on the transdisciplinary processes, urban systems frameworks, and scoping of key strategies that may help those developing transformation strategies from local to national scales. Science highlights • Transdisciplinary national urban strategy development is used to distil generic frameworks and strategy scopes with potential international application. • The frameworks also build on other published framings to support convergent, cumulative and transdisciplinary urban science. • The 'enabling transformations' and 'urban knowledge' frameworks include the perspective of those developing sustainable urban systems strategies. • The enabling framework also informs 'National Urban Policy' and 'Knowledge and Innovation Hub' strategies, and prevailing power imbalances. • The knowledge framework can help frame urban challenges, missions and knowledge programs. Policy and practice recommendations • An urban 'transformation imperative' and 'strategic response' can be co-developed from local to national scales. • Local initiative is crucial to drive urban strategies, but sustained national leadership with coherent policy across sectors and scales is also key. • Diversity in engagement participation and processes generates whole-of-urban-systems and local-to-national perspectives. • Urban solutions are context-specific but generic frameworks can help collaborative issue framing and responses. • Collaborative issue framing informed by generic frameworks can bring broader perspectives to context-specific and contested policy and practice issues. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Food supply and consumption are critical for sustaining urban system functions, and are key determinants of the quantity and pathways of nutrient flow in cities. Nutrient elements from urban food consumption are becoming major pollutant sources in urban environments. Therefore, understanding flow magnitude and pathways, the role of a growing population, and changing dietary structure and technology in future nutrient metabolism are essential to understand cities as ecosystems and urban environmental management. Taking the city of Xiamen, a rapid urbanizing area of Southeast China as a case study, we simulated urban metabolism of three major food-sourced nutrient elements (carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus or CNP) over 1991–2010 and environmental emissions. Impacts of future population growth, dietary habit change, and waste treatment improvement on various environments were forecast by scenario analysis. A sensitivity analysis was conducted to test how different waste treatment technologies affect environmental emissions from food-sourced nutrients. Our results show that the food-sourced CNP had various metabolic fluxes through urban systems, with carbon mostly emitted into the air and nitrogen and phosphorus mostly discharged into landfills and water. Population growth and dietary structure change will accelerate increases of nutrient emissions to the environment, whereas enhancing current waste treatment technology can just alter emissions to different environments. Based on the results, we discuss how food-sourced nutrient metabolism can be better managed, to enhance connectivity between cities and their hinterlands and maintain environmental emissions within the carrying capacity of the cities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Transformative governance is key to addressing the global environmental crisis. We explore how transformative governance of complex biodiversity–climate–society interactions can be achieved, drawing on the first joint report between the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services to reflect on the current opportunities, barriers, and challenges for transformative governance. We identify principles for transformative governance under a biodiversity–climate–society nexus frame using four case studies: forest ecosystems, marine ecosystems, urban environments, and the Arctic. The principles are focused on creating conditions to build multifunctional interventions, integration, and innovation across scales; coalitions of support; equitable approaches; and positive social tipping dynamics. We posit that building on such transformative governance principles is not only possible but essential to effectively keep climate change within the desired 1.5 degrees Celsius global mean temperature increase, halt the ongoing accelerated decline of global biodiversity, and promote human well-being. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aimed to investigate the expression of H19 and its possible molecular mechanism in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE).The expression of H19 and miR-19b in serum and peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) were detected by reverse transcription quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR). Receiver operator characteristic (ROC) curve was constructed to evaluate the diagnostic value of serum H19 in SLE. Pearson correlation coefficient was used to analyze the correlation between serum levels of H19 and miR-19b. Flow cytometry and Cell counting kit-8 (CCK-8) assay were performed to detect cell apoptosis and viability. The levels of pro-inflammatory and anti-inflammatory factors were measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Luciferase reporter gene assay was conducted to verify the interaction between H19 and miR-19b.The expression of H19 and miR-19b in SLE group were up-regulated and down-regulated, respectively. Serum H19 has certain clinical diagnostic value in SLE. In in vitro studies, overexpression of H19 can significantly inhibit the viability of PBMCs and promote apoptosis and inflammatory response of PBMCs by interacting with miR-19b.The expression of H19 is upregulated in patients with SLE and plays a role in cell function and inflammation by targeting miR-19b in PBMCs, which may be one of the pathological mechanisms of SLE. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: Loss‐of‐function KCNMA1 variants cause Liang–Wang syndrome (MIM #618729), a newly identified multiple malformation syndrome with a broad spectrum of developmental and neurological phenotypes. However, the full spectrum of clinical features and underlying pathogenic mechanisms need full elucidation. Methods: Exome sequencing was used to identify pathogenic variants. Patch‐clamp recordings were performed to access the effects of KCNMA1 variants on BK channels. Total and membrane protein expression levels of BK channels were characterized using Western blotting. Results: We report identification and functional characterization of two new de novo loss‐of‐function KCNMA1 variants p.(A172T) and p.(A314T) with characteristics of Liang–Wang syndrome. Variant p.(A172T) is associated with developmental delay, cognitive impairment and ataxia. Mechanistically, p.(A172T) abolishes BK potassium current, inhibits Mg2+‐dependent gating, but shifts conductance‐voltage (G‐V) curves to more positive potentials when complexed with WT channels. Variant p.(A314T) is associated with developmental delay, intellectual disability, cognitive impairment, mild ataxia and generalized epilepsy; suppresses BK current amplitude; and shifts G‐V curves to more positive potentials when expressed with WT channels. In addition, two new patients with previously reported gain‐of‐function variants p.(N536H) and p.(N995S) are found to show epilepsy and paroxysmal dyskinesia as reported previously, but also exhibit additional symptoms of cognitive impairment and dysmorphic features. Furthermore, variants p.(A314T) and p.(N536H) reduced total and membrane levels of BK proteins. Conclusion: Our findings identified two new loss‐of‐function mutations of KCNMA1 associated with Liang–Wang syndrome, expanded the spectrum of clinical features associated with gain‐of‐function KCNMA1 variants and emphasized the overlapping features shared by gain‐of‐function and loss‐of‐function mutations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]