► A bottom-up framework is developed to exam the residential carbon intensity in China. ► Energy intensity of activities has a significant and both-side effect. ► End-use mode is the biggest ...contributor on the increase of aggregate carbon intensity. ► Guiding residents’ life styles is summarized as a wise and first policy choice.
The residential sector is the second largest consumer in China with great room for energy consumption growth, as well as the related carbon emissions. Thus, how to reduce the growth rate of carbon emissions is crucial for realizing the target of energy conservation and emission mitigation in the residential sector. Based on a bottom-up framework with survey data and official statistics, this paper examines the changes of aggregate residential carbon intensity, and analyzes its driving factors from an end-use perspective over the period of 1996–2008. The Adaptive Weighting Divisia with rolling base year index specification is applied to identify the quantitative effects of driving components and their further decomposing results of end-use activities. Results show that, the residential aggregate carbon intensity has grown rapidly since 2002 in both urban and rural China. The changes in primary fuel mix for electricity and heat generation have an overall negative but insignificant effect on the residential aggregate carbon intensity, while the effect of final energy structure is positive with a rising tendency. The significant impact of changes in energy intensity shift from negative to positive over time, and contribute more to a decline than to an increase. The driving force arising from the residential end-use mode has the highest contribution to the increase of aggregate carbon intensity. Finally, some policy implications are proposed to effectively slow down the accelerated rate of the residential aggregate carbon intensity. Guiding households towards energy-saving behaviors is recommended as a wise and first policy choice.
Coal consumption in China has been almost equal to the consumption of all other countries since 2011, and influenced not only global climate change but also domestic air pollution control, energy ...production and consumption revolution. Coal consumption is closely related to China's whole economy, and its cap control should be based on comprehensive understanding of different economic agents' interactions. Therefore, this study uses the input-output model to identify key relationships to be adjusted which have their significant direct and indirect effects on coal consumption. We find that fixed capital formation in construction having a significant indirect impact on coal consumption in all main coal-intensive sectors, and most of the important production relationships in a sector involve inputs of basic raw materials or fuel, such as building materials in construction. From the perspective of fine structure adjustment to control coal effectively, some non-basic inputs need massive restrictions, such as substantially reducing pesticide and fertilizer application in agriculture, and construction expansion should be limited to a rational growth through reducing short-lived buildings, constraining low-level redundant construction of roads and buildings, and minimizing the vacancy rate and incremental construction area. Moreover, export of coke, chemicals, and chemical products should be discouraged from the perspective of coal control, and urban households should consume daily chemical and pharmaceutical products more rationally.
•Paths to structural adjustment for coal control were identified.•Investment in construction has significant impacts.•Structure could be adjusted by phasing out backward production capacity.
► The levels of six heavy metals in honey collected in China were investigated. ► Six heavy metals in honey were below the corresponding national standards of China. ► No chronic-toxic risks were ...posed from six metals in honey for Zhejiang inhabitants. ► Carcinogenic risk of As exceeded acceptable level for Zhejiang female inhabitants.
The levels of copper (Cu), zinc (Zn), cadmium (Cd), lead (Pb), arsenic (As), and mercury (Hg) in eight types of honey collected in China were determined. The average concentrations of the six heavy metals in the honey samples were 46.18, 1329.5, 1.34, 33.98, 13.44, and 1.65μgkg−1, respectively. All these values were below the maximum allowable contaminant levels in foods (GB2762-2005) and honey (GB14963-2011) in China. The hazard quotients of individual heavy metals and the hazard index of all six heavy metals were far below one, indicating no chronic-toxic risk from these metals for the inhabitants of Zhejiang under the current consumption rates of honey. However, the carcinogenic risk of As for the female inhabitants in Zhejiang exceeded the acceptable level of 10−4. Therefore, As is the most concerning heavy metal in honey.
•Each increase of 10 μg/m3 in PM1 was associated with decreased eGFR by 0.64%.•Each increase of 10 μg/m3 in PM2.5 was associated with decreased eGFR by 0.72%.•Associations between eGFR and PM were ...higher in females compared to males.•Association with PM1 were weaker than that with other fractions included in PM2.5.
Limited studies have examined the impact of airborne particulate matter of 2.5 μm or less (PM2.5) on renal function. No study has examined the effect of PM1, which is small enough to reach the blood circulation. We examined whether exposure to PM1 or PM2.5 affected renal function of young Han Chinese.
We included 2,546,047 young adults who were aged 18 to 45 years, being Han ethnicity and had no chronic disease from a Chinese national birth cohort. Serum creatinine (Scr) of each participant was measured during the baseline examination. Estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) were calculated for each participant using the latest Chronic Kidney Disease Epidemiology Collaboration equation. One-year average exposure to PM1 and PM2.5 prior to the health examination for each participant were estimated using machine learning models with satellite remote sensing information. Generalized additive mixed models were used to estimate associations between PM1 or PM2.5 and renal function after adjusting for detailed individual variables.
A 10 μg/m3 increment in PM1 exposure was associated with −0.95% (95%CI: −1.04%, −0.87%) difference of eGFR in females and −0.37% (95%CI: −0.44%, −0.31%) in males. For PM2.5, the corresponding difference of eGFR was −0.99% (95%CI: −1.05%, −0.93%) in females and −0.48% (95%CI: −0.53%, −0.43%) in males, respectively. Associations between eGFR and PM were higher in females compared to males (p < 0.05 for interaction test). Association with PM1 were weaker than that with other fractions included in PM2.5. Participants who worked as farmers, were of normal weight, were not exposed to tobacco smoking, did not drink alcohol, had higher associations between eGFR and PM than their counterparts (p < 0.05 for interaction test).
Exposure to PM1 and PM2.5 was associated with reduced renal function among Han Chinese at reproductive age.
Exposure to relatively low or high temperatures during the entire pregnancy significantly increase the risk of preterm birth, with hazard ratios (HRs) 95% confidence intervals (CIs) of 1.03 (95%CI: ...1.02, 1.04) for relatively low (9.1 ℃, the 5th percentile) temperature and 1.55 (95%CI: 1.48, 1.61) for relatively high (23.0 ℃, the 95th percentile) temperature in comparison with the thresholds (12.0 ℃)
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Little is known about the effect of ambient temperature on preterm birth, especially for the trimester-specific effects.
To evaluate whether exposure to relatively low or high temperature during pregnancy is associated with increasing risk of preterm birth or not.
We analysed the data of a birth cohort with 1,281,859 singleton pregnancies during 2013–2014 and matched the home address of each pregnant women to the model based daily meteorological and air pollution data. Then we used the Cox proportional hazard regression models with random effect to estimate the non-linear associations between exposure to relatively low or high temperature at each trimester of pregnancy and the risk of preterm birth, after controlling for air pollution and individual-level covariates.
The overall preterm birth rate was 8.1% (104,493 preterm births). Exposure to relatively low or high temperatures during the entire pregnancy significantly increase the risk of preterm birth, with hazard ratios (HRs) 95% confidence intervals (CIs) of 1.03 (95%CI: 1.02, 1.04) for relatively low (9.1 ℃, the 5th percentile) temperature and 1.55 (95%CI: 1.48, 1.61) for relatively high (23.0 ℃, the 95th percentile) temperature in comparison with the thresholds (12.0 ℃). Pregnant women at the early pregnancy (the 1st and 2nd trimester) are more susceptible to high temperatures while pregnant women at the late pregnancy (the 3rd trimester) are more susceptible to low temperatures.
These findings provide new evidence that exposure to relatively low or high temperatures during pregnancy increases the risk of preterm birth, which can serve as scientific evidence for prevention of preterm birth.
The effects of five domestic cooking methods, including steaming, microwaving, boiling, stir-frying, and stir-frying followed by boiling （stir-frying/boiling）, on the nutrients and health-promoting ...compounds of broccoli were investigated. The results show that all cooking treatments, except steaming, caused significant losses of chlorophyll and vitamin C and significant decreases of total soluble proteins and soluble sugars. Total aliphatic and indole glucosinolates were significantly modified by all cooking treatments but not by steaming. In general, the steaming led to the lowest loss of total glucosinolates, while stir-frying and stir-frying/boiling presented the highest loss. Stir-frying and stir-frying/boiling, the two most popular methods for most homemade dishes in China, cause great losses of chlorophyll, soluble protein, soluble sugar, vitamin C, and glucosinolates, but the steaming method appears the best in retention of the nutrients in cooking broccoli.
Abstract
The carotenoid isomerase gene (
BoaCRTISO
) of Chinese kale was targeted and edited using the CRISPR/Cas9 system in the present study. The results showed a high mutation rate (81.25%), and ...13
crtiso
mutants were obtained. Only two types of mutations, insertions and replacements, were found. Both the total and individual carotenoid and chlorophyll concentrations of the biallelic and homozygous mutants were reduced, and the total levels declined by 11.89–36.33%. The color of the biallelic and homozygous mutants changed from green to yellow, likely reflecting a reduction in the color-masking effect of chlorophyll on carotenoids. The expression levels of most carotenoid and chlorophyll biosynthesis-related genes, including
CRTISO
, were notably lower in the mutants than in the WT plants. In addition, the functional differences between members of this gene family were discussed. In summary, these findings indicate that CRISPR/Cas9 is a promising technique for the quality improvement of Chinese kale and other
Brassica
vegetables.
To deal simultaneously with the environmental problems caused by the current high-intensity exploitation and extensive use of coal resources, it is necessary to perform a scientific prediction of the ...trend and, especially, the peak of China’s coal demand. Based on the historical data on coal consumption and four primary factors (economic growth, energy structure, investment, and industrial structure) during the period of 1981–2015, this study established a hybrid model for coal demand prediction, using particle swarm optimization and cointegration methods. According to the prediction results combined with the actual statistics, in the business-as-usual scenario, China’s coal demand had peaked in 2014, then a downward trend started with an average annual decline rate of 5.85% for 2016 to 2020. However, future coal demand will keep increasing in the pessimism scenario. And in the optimism scenario, coal demand will decline much faster than the business-as-usual scenario. Sensitive analysis on four influential factors shows that coal demand is more sensitive to changes in investment and industrial structure, and more emphasis should be put on the supply and the demand side of coal industry.
•Hybrid models were constructed to forecast China’s coal demand.•In the business-as-usual scenario, China’s coal consumption had peaked in 2014.•In the pessimism scenario, coal demand will keep increasing till 2020.•In the optimism scenario, decreasing rate of coal demand will be more than doubled.•Future coal demand is sensitive to investment and industrial structure.
Excessive extracellular matrix (ECM) deposition in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) severely limits therapeutic drug penetration into tumors and is associated with poor prognosis. Collagen is ...the most abundant matrix protein in the tumor ECM, which is the main obstacle that severely hinders the diffusion of chemotherapeutic drugs or nanomedicines.
We designed a collagenase-functionalized biomimetic drug-loaded Au nanoplatform that combined ECM degradation, active targeting, immune evasion, near-infrared (NIR) light-triggered drug release, and synergistic antitumor therapy and diagnosis into one nanoplatform. PDAC tumor cell membranes were extracted and coated onto doxorubicin (Dox)-loaded Au nanocages, and then collagenase was added to functionalize the cell membrane through lipid insertion. We evaluated the physicochemical properties, in vitro and in vivo targeting, penetration and therapeutic efficacy of the nanoplatform.
Upon intravenous injection, this nanoplatform efficiently targeted the tumor through the homologous targeting properties of the coated cell membrane. During penetration into the tumor tissue, the dense ECM in the PDAC tissues was gradually degraded by collagenase, leading to a looser ECM structure and deep penetration within the tumor parenchyma. Under NIR irradiation, both photothermal and photodynamic effects were produced and the encapsulated chemotherapeutic drugs were released effectively, exerting a strong synergistic antitumor effect. Moreover, this nanoplatform has X-ray attenuation properties that could serve to guide and monitor treatment by CT imaging.
This work presented a unique and facile yet effective strategy to modulate ECM components in PDAC, enhance tumor penetration and tumor-killing effects and provide therapeutic guidance and monitoring.
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