Drying enhances the antioxidant activity of Allium mongolicum Regel through the phenylpropane and AA-MA pathway as shown by metabolomics.

Fresh Allium mongolicum Regel (FA) and dried A. mongolicum Regel (DA) are significantly different in antioxidant activity. However, the relevant mechanisms have not yet been explored. We evaluated the antioxidant activities of two varieties of FA and DA and characterized their metabolites using targeted metabolomics. The effect of different metabolites on the antioxidant activity of A. mongolicum Regel was investigated by multivariate analysis. A total of 713 metabolites were detected in all samples. Pearson correlation analysis demonstrated that the key primary metabolites were directly and significantly correlated with the total phenolic content (TPC) and total flavonoid content (TFC), while the secondary metabolites were directly correlated with antioxidant activity. The higher antioxidant activity of DA may be mainly attributed to the higher TPC and TFC. This study revealed the potential mechanism by which drying enhances the antioxidant activity of A. mongolicum Regel.

Effects of dietary Allium mongolicum Regel powder supplementation on the growth performance, meat quality, antioxidant capacity and muscle fibre characteristics of fattening Angus calves under heat stress conditions.

The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of dietary Allium mongolicum Regel powder (AMRP) supplementation on the growth performance, meat quality, antioxidant capacity and muscle fibre characteristics of fattening Angus calves. Growth performance data and longissimus thoracis (LT) samples were collected from four groups of fattening Angus, which were fed either a basal diet (CON) or a basal diet supplemented with an AMRP dose of 10 (LAMR), 15 (MAMR), or 20 g/animal/day AMRP (HAMR) for 120 days before slaughter. AMRP addition to the feed improved growth performance and meat quality and altered muscle fibre type. Some responses to AMRP supplementation were dose dependent, whereas others were not. Together, the results of this study demonstrated that dietary supplementation with 10 g/animal/day AMRP was the optimal dose in terms of fattening calf growth performance, while 20 g/animal/day AMRP supplementation was the optimal dose in terms of meat quality.

Water footprint of nations amplified by scarcity in the Belt and Road Initiative.

The growing water scarcity due to international trade poses a serious threat to global sustainability. Given the intensified international trade throughout the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), this paper tracks the virtual water trade and water footprint of BRI countries in 2005-2015. By conducting a multi-model assessment, we observe a substantial increase in BRI's water footprint after taking water scarcity into account. Globally the BRI acts as a net exporter of virtual water, while the export volume experiences a decreasing trend. Noticeable transitions in nations' role (net exporters vs. net importers) are found between the BRI and global scales, but also between with and without considering water scarcity. Overall economic and population growth is major drivers of scarcity-weighted water footprint for BRI nations, as opposed to the promotion of water-use efficiency and production structure that can reduce water scarcity. Improving international trade and strengthening cooperation on water resources management deserve priority in alleviating the water scarcity of BRI.

Bridging planetary boundaries and spatial heterogeneity in a hybrid approach: A focus on Chinese provinces and industries.

Communicating the finiteness of the Earth system at sub-global scales is necessary to guide human activities within a safe operating space. Despite the numerous efforts committed to downscaling planetary boundaries (PBs) at multiple scales, neither top-down nor bottom-up approaches adequately account for the spatial heterogeneity and integrity of local and global natural systems. To overcome these shortcomings, we developed a hybrid approach that combines bottom-up aggregation and top-down adjustment for downscaling five crucial PBs (i.e., climate change, nitrogen and phosphorus cycles, freshwater use, and land use change) to Chinese provinces and industries. In addition to the widely applied equity principle, we further incorporated the eco-efficiency principle into the downscaling of PBs under the proposition that safeguarding finite PBs should be reconciled with the pursuit of maximizing human welfare. Environmental sustainability at multiple scales was subsequently assessed with the complementary use of environmental footprints and downscaled PBs. The results demonstrate that 1) China suffers from severe unsustainability because of the transgression of PBs for phosphorus and nitrogen cycles, carbon emissions, and cropland use; 2) provinces in West and North China perform worse than other provinces in terms of the eco-efficiency in manufacturing industries, including Electronic equipment, Textiles, and Wood processing and furnishing, rendering these industries that are more unsustainable; and 3) industries with varying eco-efficiencies account differently for the provincial PBs. Construction dominates the provincial shares of carbon PBs, whereas Agriculture and Food processing and tobacco contribute most to the other four PBs. Our findings suggest that improving eco-efficiency in most manufacturing industries is the key to saving resources, reducing emissions, and safeguarding local boundaries.

The distribution and drivers of PM2.5 in a rapidly urbanizing region: The Belt and Road Initiative in focus.

The accelerating urbanization has led to serious air pollution dominated by PM2.5, posing a critical challenge for the environmental sustainability of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). However, a focus on the distribution and drivers of PM2.5 concentrations in BRI is lacking. To fill in the gap, this study explores the spatio-temporal distribution of PM2.5 concentrations in 74 nations partnering the BRI and identifies the socioeconomic and natural drivers behind the variation through the joint use of spatial autocorrelation and regression analyses. We find that the PM2.5 concentrations of BRI show significant spatial autocorrelation and spatial heterogeneity on the national scale. The most heavily polluted regions are observed mainly in China, Southeast Asia, South Asia, West Asia and North Africa, particularly in the Arabian Gulf region. Energy intensity and per capita electricity consumption act as the major drivers of the PM2.5 concentrations, whereas the expanding forest area contributes to the decrease in PM2.5 concentrations notably. Our findings highlight the need for speeding up new-type urbanization as part of the green BRI practice, calling for international cooperation and coordinated action aimed at enhancing synergies of air-quality and climate policies that at present are mostly launched and implemented in isolation. From a broader point of view, in struggling towards BRI's cleaner air, more attention should be paid to creating policy synergies between the green BRI, the Paris Agreement, and the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

Degradation of cationic red X-GRL by electrochemical oxidation on modified PbO(2) electrode.

This work investigated the degradation of an azo dye, cationic red X-GRL, by electrochemical oxidation on a novel PbO(2) anode modified by fluorine resin. The influences of treatment time, electrolyte concentration, current density, temperature and initial dye concentration on the color and COD removal were critically examined. This process showed a high current efficiency and competitive energy consumption for effective treatment of dye wastewater containing a certain salt content. In the investigated electrolyte concentrations, high salt content exhibited insignificant promotion on the color and COD removal but favored the decrease of energy consumption. During treatment, the current efficiency decreased but the energy consumption increased with treatment time; thus, this method was more suitable for the pretreatment of high-concentrated azo dye wastewater. Based on the degradation intermediates identification, a simplified degradation pathway for cationic red X-GRL was proposed.

Evaluating the Coordination of Industrial-Economic Development Based on Anthropogenic Carbon Emissions in Henan Province, China.

The mechanism of interaction between economic development, industrial structure and anthropogenic carbon emissions has become one of the focuses of climate change research. In this investigation, Henan Province was studied as an example, wherein the calculation model of carbon emissions in the primary, secondary and tertiary economic sectors was built using the ArcGIS 10.1 software. The spatiotemporal difference of carbon emissions between 2006 and 2015 from the three sectors was studied. The relation between economic development and environmental protection is discussed, based on the construction of a coordination degree model. Conclusions drawn from this analysis are: (1) In 2015, China's total carbon emissions reached 10,291.93 × 107 t and Henan's carbon emissions accounted for 1.96% of China's total carbon emissions. The total carbon emissions in Henan Province increased more than 25.00% between 2006 and 2015. (2) Carbon emissions from different economic sectors demonstrated varied patterns. The primary sector presented a gradual decreasing trend in carbon emission, while the secondary sector showed a fluctuating pattern and the tertiary sector had an inclining trend in carbon emission. (3) There are also disparities in the spatial distribution of carbon emissions from different economic sectors. The primary and tertiary sectors had higher emissions in the southeast and lower emissions in the northwest regions, while the secondary sector showed higher emissions in the northwest and lower emissions in the southeast Between cities at different prefecture levels, differences do not only lie on the quantity of carbon emissions from the three sectors of economy but also a larger variation with regards to the change in quantity of carbon emissions. (4) The coordination degree of economic development was low among different prefecture-level cities. The economic and environmental development appeared coordinated among cities at the same prefecture level; however, coordination degrees among different prefecture-level cities varies significantly.

[Pollution Characteristics and Health Risk Assessment of Heavy Metals in Wheat Grains Cultivated in Kaifeng Irrigation Area of the Yellow River].

In order to monitor heavy metal pollution in agricultural soils and assess the corresponding health risk in the Yellow River irrigation area, this study applied the Nemero index and the health risk index to evaluate heavy metal pollution in wheat grains and the health risks for residents in the lower reaches of the Yellow River. Four towns in Kaifeng, which are within the lower reaches of the Yellow River, were selected as the study area. The examination of wheat samples revealed that the average contents of Cd, Cr, Pb, Cu, Zn, Ni, and Hg in the wheat grains were 0.034, 0.428, 0.279, 5.363, 29.605, 0.305, and 0.003 mg·kg-1, respectively. Among the heavy metals, Pb and Zn exceeded the national food hygiene standards. The pollution indices of Pb and Zn in the wheat grains contributed significantly to the comprehensive pollution index, as each was greater than 1 (1.985), although the pollution indices of the other heavy metals were less than 1. The comprehensive pollution index of wheat in each town ranged from 1.116 to 1.847. The health risk indices of non-carcinogenic heavy metals (Pb, Cu, Zn, and Hg) for adults and children were 1.0558 and 0.5450, respectively. The health risk indices of carcinogenic heavy metals (Cd, Cr, and Ni) for adults and children were higher than the maximum acceptable risk level (1×10-4) recommended by the USEPA, which suggests that residents of the study area have a high risk of developing various forms of cancer.

Risk assessment and source analysis of soil heavy metal pollution from lower reaches of Yellow River irrigation in China.

The level of concentration of heavy metal in soil is detrimental to soil quality. The Heigangkou-Liuyuankou irrigation area in the lower-reach of Yellow River irrigation, as home to a large population and a major site to agricultural production, is vulnerable to heavy metal pollution. This study examined soil quality in Heigangkou-Liuyuankou irrigation areas of Kaifeng, China. Pollution in soil and potential risks introduced by heavy metal accumulation were assessed using Nemerow, Geoaccumulation, and Hakanson's ecological risk indices. Statistics and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) were used to model and present the spatiotemporal changes of the pollution sources and factors affecting the levels of pollution. The heavy metals found in the sampled soil are Cr, Ni, Cu, Zn, Cd, Pb, As, and Hg. Among them, Cd is more concentrated than the others. The southwestern region of the studied area confronts the most serious heavy metal pollution. There exist spatial disparities of low concentrations of different heavy metals in the study area. Hg and Cd are found to pose the highest potential ecological risks. However, their risk levels are not the same across the study area. Levels concentration of Ni, Cu, Zn, Cd, Pb, As, and Hg in soil are highly correlated. In combination, they post an additional threat to the ecological environment. Transportation, rural settlements, and water bodies are found to be the major sources of Cr, Ni, Cu, Zn, Cd, Pb, and Hg pollution in the soil; among the major sources, transportation is the most significant factor.

[Spatial Distribution and Potential Ecological Risk Assessment of Heavy Metals in Sediments of Suya Lake].

In order to study the pollution status of heavy metals in sediments of Suya Lake, the concentrations of heavy metals Cu, Cd, Cr, Zn, Pb and Ni in sediments were measured at three locations in the center, middle and periphery of Suya Lake, the content characteristics and the pollution status of heavy metals in the study area were analyzed by the method of geoaccumulation index and potential ecological risk index, and the distribution and interrelation of heavy metals were evaluated by Kriging method and correlation analysis. The results showed that, on average, Zn was the highest, 112.87 mg·kg-1, followed by Cr, the smallest average of Cd was only 0.41 mg·kg-1. In addition to Cd and Cr, the coefficients of variation of Cu, Zn, Pb and Ni were relatively small, ranging from 24% to 31%, with moderate degree of variation. The coefficients of variation of Cd and Cr were 50.41% and 41.92%, respectively, and the spatial variation was obvious, which indicated that the variation of Cd and Cr was more significant than the others; 2The heavy metals Cu, Cd, Cr, Zn, Pb and Ni had a strong linear relationship, and there was a significant positive correlation, and six kinds of heavy metals had some homologous characteristics, with a common external input; 3The main pollution elements in the study area were Cd, Cr and Zn, the pollution degree was relatively serious, and the scope was extensive. Among them, the pollution degree of Cd was the most serious, the overall pollution level was moderate, and the pollution degree in some sample areas reached up to severe pollution, the pollution status of Cr, Zn and Pb was relatively mild, the pollution status of Cu, Pb and Ni was better, and there was no ecological risk; 4On the whole, the pollution level of the northeastern part of Suya Lake was relatively light, the degree of pollution in the southwest was relatively serious, showing a significant spatial distribution characteristics of decreasing from southwest to northeast, the contents of heavy metals in the samples were higher than those in the southwest of the reservoir, while the northeastern part of the periphery was the area with accumulation of low concentrations of heavy metals., and there was no pollution from Cu, Cr, Zn and Ni.