•Impact on air quality and GHG emissions is estimated by an integrated assessment tool.•Health benefit from indoor air quality improvement is similar to that from outdoor.•Deterioration of air ...quality at shale gas production regions is not negligible.
Holding the largest recoverable reserves over the world, China makes an ambitious plan to increase shale gas production. Here we use an integrated approach to quantify its impact on indoor and outdoor air quality and greenhouse gas emissions. This approach includes emission estimation, three-dimensional atmospheric chemistry modeling, and human health assessment. Although the production of shale gas generates PM2.5, this risk is outweighed by the benefits of the decreased PM2.5 resulted from coal combustion when shale gas replaces coal as a fuel source. The total avoided premature deaths are 14,000 (10,650–17,160 as 95% confidence interval) and 13,400 (10,350–17,100) in 2017, resulted from the outdoor and indoor pathways, respectively. Future scenario analysis suggests deploying shale gas in the residential sector, but the greenhouse gas emission reductions are minimal if replacing biomass fuel. In production regions, a net deterioration of air quality is predicted if deploying shale gas in the power and industrial sectors, but a net benefit is calculated if deploying in the residential sector. Our study calls for more stringent emission control during upstream processes, and comprehensive consideration of the cost and benefits in both the production and consumption regions.
Six centuries of changing oceanic mercury Zhang, Yanxu; Jaeglé, Lyatt; Thompson, LuAnne ...
Global biogeochemical cycles,
November 2014, Letnik:
28, Številka:
11
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Mercury (Hg) is a global and persistent contaminant, affecting human health primarily via marine fish consumption. Large anthropogenic releases of Hg to the atmosphere by mining and coal combustion ...have resulted in a significant perturbation to the biogeochemical cycling of Hg. The magnitude of this perturbation and the relative roles of the ocean and land as sinks for anthropogenic Hg remain unclear. Here we use a 3‐D global ocean biogeochemical model to show that surface ocean Hg concentrations have increased fourfold over the last 600 years. We find that anthropogenic Hg enters the ocean's interior predominantly by absorption onto sinking organic matter particulates, which decompose and release Hg at a depth of 500–800 m, implying that the human perturbation is largest in subsurface waters of biologically productive regions. Our model simulation predicts that over the last six centuries half of emitted anthropogenic Hg has accumulated in the oceans and marine sediments.
Key Points
We track the history of Hg pollution since the Spanish colonial periodThe first study with both 3‐D oceanic and atmospheric transport for HgConstrained lake sediment observations and oceanic profiles of Hg
The study of multifunctional landscapes is becoming an important subdiscipline in landscape ecology, which provides an effective approach to achieving sustainable landscape management. It is ...acknowledged that the development of multifunctional landscapes can meet the economic, social and ecological needs with minimal living space. This study aims to spatially identify multifunctional landscapes in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, and to make clear associated influencing factors. Based on the quantification of five landscape functions, the interactions of landscape functions were measured using spearman correlation analysis, and the cold and hot spots of landscape functions were identified through Getis-Ord Gi statistics. Based on spatial overlaying, landscape multifunctionality was assessed in the study area. Multinomial logistic regression analysis was also used to make clear the geographical factors of spatial distribution of multifunctional landscapes. The results showed that regulation functions of landscapes displayed synergies in pairs, whereas human activities had obvious conflicts with natural landscape functions, and multifunctional landscapes covered over two-thirds of the study area, widely distributing in low-elevation areas with gentle slopes. They were located not only with a usually high level of vegetation coverage and low level of urbanization, but also some distance from rivers and highways. According to clustering of landscape functions, four development zones were divided in the study area, i.e. urban assembling area, suburban grain-producing area, ecological barrier area, and rural developing area. Policy-makers should set and implement relevant economic development and ecological protection policies according to landscape function features.
•Five landscape functions and their interactions were quantified.•Multifunctional landscapes were identified through spatial overlaying.•Influencing factors were analyzed using multinomial logistic regression.•County-level development zoning was conducted in the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei Region.
Cytoplasmic chromatin fragments (CCF) are recognized by the cytoplasmic DNA sensor cyclic GMP-AMP synthase (cGAS), which activates the cGAS-STING (cyclic GMP-AMP synthase-stimulator of interferon ...genes) pathway and promotes the production of inflammatory factors and breast cancer metastasis. However, the mechanisms by which CCF are formed in tumor cells and CCF activation cGAS promotes breast cancer metastasis remain unclear. Here, we report that the enhancer of zeste homolog 2 (EZH2) can promote the formation of CCF and activate the cGAS-STING pathway to promote breast cancer metastasis. Further research found that the EZH2-mediated CCF formation depended on high mobility group A1 (HMGA1), while the stability of EZH2 required ubiquitin-specific peptidase 7 (USP7), indicating that the EZH2-HMGA1-USP7 complex regulated CCF formation. Moreover, EZH2 can activate cGAS through CCF, requiring USP7 to deubiquitinate cGAS and stabilize cGAS. In vivo experimental results showed that EZH2 could promote breast cancer metastasis through CCF. Our findings highlight a new target for breast cancer metastasis. Targeting the EZH2-CCF-cGAS axis may be a potential therapeutic strategy for inhibiting breast cancer metastasis.
Vegetation is one of the most important components of the terrestrial ecosystem and, thus, monitoring the spatial and temporal dynamics of vegetation has become the key to exploring the basic process ...of the terrestrial ecosystem. Vegetation change studies have focused on the relationship between climatic factors and vegetation dynamics. However, correlations among the climatic factors always disturb the results. In addition, the impact of anthropogenic activities on vegetation dynamics was indeterminate. Here, vegetation dynamics in 14 provinces in Eastern China over a 10-year period was quantified to determine the driving mechanisms relating to climate and anthropogenic factors using partial correlation analysis. The results showed that from 1999 to 2008, the vegetation density increased in the whole, with spatial variations. The vegetation improvement was concentrated in the Yangtze River Delta, with the vegetation degradation concentrated in the other developed areas, such as Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei Region and the Pearl River Delta. The annual NDVI changes were mainly driven by temperature in Northeast China and the Pearl River Delta, and by precipitation in the Bohai Rim; while in the Yangtze River Delta, the driving forces of temperature and precipitation almost equaled each other. Furthermore, the impact of anthropogenic activities on vegetation dynamics had accumulative effects in the time series, and had a phase effect on the vegetation change trend.
Homemade peanut oil is widely consumed in rural areas of Southwestern China, which is easily contaminated by aflatoxins (AFs) and associated with adverse birth outcomes.
To identify the effect of ...exposure to homemade peanut oil consumption on low birth weight (LBW), preterm birth (PB) and other associated factors.
A prospective cohort study was conducted among pregnant women in Guangxi province, Southwestern China. Information of all eligible women on homemade peanut oil consumption and potential factors associated with LBW and PB was collected, and all were followed up until delivery. The effect of homemade peanut oil exposure was analyzed using multiple logistic regression models using the directed acyclic graph (DAG) approach.
Of 1611 pregnant women, 1316 (81.7%) had consumed homemade peanut oil, and the rates of LBW and PB were 9.7% and 10.0%, respectively. Increased risks of LBW and PB in women with homemade peanut oil consumption were found with aORs of 1.9 (95% CI 1.1-3.2) and 1.8 (95% CI 1.1-3.0), respectively. Women with a history of PB or LBW were 3-5 times more likely to have higher rates of LBW or PB compared with those without this type of history. The odds of PB were approximately double in those taking medicine during pregnancy. Advanced maternal age, lack of physical exercise during pregnancy, passive smoking, or pregnancy complications were also more likely to have a higher risk of LBW.
Homemade peanut oil consumption was a potential risk factor for both LBW and PB, of which health authorities who are responsible for food safety of the country should pay more attention to providing recommendation for oil consumption during pregnancy.
A series of novel ionic cross-linked sulfonated poly(ether sulfone) (SPES)-based proton exchange membranes (PEMs) were successfully constructed by using quaternized graphene oxide (QGO) as the ...inorganic fillers and cross-linking agents. The ionic cross-linking networks were implemented by the interactions between the sulfonic acid groups of SPES and the quaternary ammonium groups of QGO. The influences of different loading contents of QGO on the properties of the ionic cross-linked composite membranes were studied. The composite membranes showed the enhanced mechanical properties and improved oxidative stabilities. Meanwhile, the swelling ratio, water uptake and methanol permeability of the ionic cross-linked SPES/QGO composite membranes were much lower than that of the pristine SPES membrane. The swelling ratio and water uptake of SPES-10-QGO composite membrane had the minimum values among all the composite membranes. In addition, although the proton conductivity of ionic cross-linked SPES membranes by QGO decreased, SPES-10-QGO still exhibited high proton conductivity of about 0.08Scm−1 at 80°C. All the results indicated that the ionic cross-linked composite membranes with balanced properties were the potential candidate materials for PEMs.
•A series of ionic cross-linked PEMs based on SPES and QGO were successfully prepared.•Composite membranes showed enhanced mechanical properties, low swelling ratio and methanol permeability.•SPES-10-QGO had minimum swelling ratio and water uptake with high proton conductivity of at 80°C.•Our strategy provided a promising strategy for constructing cross-linked PEMs with comprehensive performances.
Serious air pollution has caused about one million premature deaths per year in China recently. Besides cross-border atmospheric transport of air pollution, trade also relocates pollution and related ...health impacts across China as a result of the spatial separation between consumption and production. This study proposes an approach for calculating the health impacts of emissions due to a region's consumption based on a multidisciplinary methodology coupling economic, atmospheric, and epidemiological models. These analyses were performed for China's Beijing and Hebei provinces. It was found that these provinces' consumption-based premature deaths attributable to ambient PM2.5 were respectively 22,500 and 49,700, which were 23% higher and 37% lower than the numbers solely within their boundaries in 2007. The difference between the effects of trade and trade-related emissions on premature deaths attributable to air pollution in a region has also been clarified. The results illustrate the large and broad impact of domestic trade on regional air quality and the need for comprehensive consideration of supply chains in designing policy to mitigate the negative health impacts of air pollution across China.
•An approach for calculating consumption-based health impacts was proposed.•Consumption-based health impacts of Beijing and Hebei province were quantified.•Domestic trading was found to greatly influence regional air quality in China.•Effects of trade and trade-related emissions on health impacts were distinguished.
Controlling NOx and CO2 emissions from heavy-duty diesel vehicles (HDDVs) is receiving increasing attention. Accurate measurement of HDDV NOx and CO2 emissions is the prerequisite for HDDV emission ...control. Vehicle emission regulations srecommend the measurement of NOx and CO2 emissions from vehicles using an emission analyzer, which is expensive and unsuitable to measure a large number of vehicles in a short time. The on-board diagnostics (OBD) data stream of HDDVs provides great convenience for calculating vehicle NOx and CO2 emissions by providing the engine fuel flow rate, NOx sensor output, and air mass flow. The calculated vehicle NOx and CO2 emissions based on the OBD data were validated by testing a heavy-duty truck’s emissions on the chassis dynamometer over the CHTC-HT driving cycle, showing that the calculated NOx and CO2 emissions based on the OBD data are consistent with the measured results by the emission analyzer. The calculated vehicle fuel consumptions based on the OBD data were close to the calculated results based on the carbon balance method and the measured results by the fuel flowmeter. The experimental results show that accessing vehicle NOx and CO2 emissions based on the OBD data is a convenient and applicable method.
Citri Reticulatae Pericarpium (CRP) is used as common health-care food and traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), which exerts pharmacological effects, such as anti-cardiovascular, anti-tumor, ...anti-oxidant, anti-inflammatory, anti-virus, hepatoprotective, blood pressure-lowering and neuroprotective. In this study, reliable, and sensitive ultra-high performance liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS/MS) and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) methods were developed and validated for the determination of eleven active components in rat plasma after oral administration of the CRP extract. The results of this method exhibited that the specificity, linearity (r > 0.999), precision and accuracy (the coefficient of variation (CV) < 11.5 %), recovery (52.9–107.9 %), matrix effects (63.8–107.5 %), and stability (CV < 10.8 %) met all requirements for the quantitation of plasma samples. The pharmacokinetic results showed that the Tmax of flavone glycosides was less than 0.7 h, and that of polymethoxyflavones and volatile components were within 1–7 h. Meanwhile, the area-under-the-curve (AUC) and concentration maximum (Cmax) of hesperidin, nobiletin, tangeretin, and D-limonene were higher than those of the other components, suggesting that the plasma exposure levels of these constituents were higher in CRP. The present research lays a foundation for elucidating the therapeutic material basis and provides a reference for further scientific research and clinical application of CRP.
Display omitted
•It is the first time to determination eleven components in rat plasma of CRP extract.•The reliable and sensitive UPLC-MS/MS and GC-MS method was developed and validated.•The method was successfully applied to pharmacokinetics in rats of CRP extract.
PDF
