The impact of accelerating population aging on service industry development: Evidence from China.

The demographic structure is an important factor influencing the development of the services industry. As the country with the world's most serious aging problem, China's service industry structure is likely to undergo profound changes in response to the rapid demographic transition. Therefore, this paper examines the effect of population aging on the development of the service industry in the context of China's accelerating population aging. The study found that: (1) Population aging has a significant "inverted U" effect on the development of the services industry. (2) The impact of population aging on the development of the service industry has obvious regional and industry heterogeneity. The study of regional heterogeneity found that population aging in economically developed regions has a more obvious effect on the development of the service industry than in economically less developed regions. Industry heterogeneity studies found that population aging has an obvious promotional effect on the development of medical and other rigid demand industries, while the effect on other non-rigid demand industries is not significant. (3) The threshold effect test found that when the degree of population aging exceeds the threshold, the stimulating effect of population aging on the development of the services industry is no longer significant. The research in this paper provides useful insights into the likely response to changes in the industrial structure of the services industry, and offers some implications for countries with similar demographic profiles to China.

CO2 emission accounting and emission reduction analysis of the steel production process based on the material-energy-carbon correlation effect.

This paper develops a process-level carbon emission calculation model for iron and steel enterprises through the carbon emission mechanism of the whole production process. The relationship between material, energy and carbon flows is considered and combined. The carbon emissions of enterprises are divided into industrial emissions and combustion emissions, and the indirect emissions of purchased intermediate products and electricity purchased from the grid are also considered. Carbon emission targets and corresponding emission reduction strategies are formulated at the enterprise and process levels. For example, consider an iron and steel enterprise. The different types of carbon emissions are accounted for, with their reduction potential analysed based on the carbon material flow analysis method. The results show that the carbon emission of this enterprise is 1930.87 kgCO2/t (CS), and the combustion emission caused by energy flow is the main contributor to the enterprise's carbon emission, accounting for 57.02% of the total emission. The carbon emission during iron-making accounts for 69.06% of the entire process and is critical in any carbon emission reduction of the enterprise. Among them, process emissions from the blast furnace process account for 81.79% of industrial emissions of the whole process, which is 356.51 kgCO2/t (CS), and is the main challenge of low carbon transformation in this extensive process. This study highlights that increasing the integrated steel-making scrap ratio and electric furnace steel production can break through the existing emission reduction limits. A 65.02% carbon emission reduction can be achieved, and using green electricity can reduce emissions by 24.15%. Reasonably determining the amount of purchased coke and paying attention to the high-value recycling of byproduct gas resources in the plant are essential to achieve low-carbon economic development of steel.

Unmasking Fracture Risk in Type 2 Diabetes: The Association of Longitudinal Glycemic Hemoglobin Level and Medications.

CONTEXT: Fracture risk is underestimated in people with type 2 diabetes (T2D). OBJECTIVE: To investigate the longitudinal relationship of glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) and common medications on fracture risk in people with T2D. METHODS: This retrospective population-based cohort study was conducted using de-identified claims and electronic health record data obtained from the OptumLabs Data Warehouse for the period January 1, 2007, to September 30, 2015. For each individual, the study was conducted within a 2-year HbA1c observation period and a 2-year fracture follow-up period. A cohort of 157 439 individuals with T2D [age ≥ 55 years with mean HbA1c value ≥ 6%] were selected from 4 018 250 US Medicare Advantage/Commercial enrollees with a T2D diagnosis. All fractures and fragility fractures were measured. RESULTS: With covariates adjusted, poor glycemic control in T2D individuals was associated with an 29% increase of all fracture risk, compared with T2D individuals who had adequate glycemic control (HR: 1.29; 95% CI, 1.22-1.36). Treatment with metformin (HR: 0.88; 95% CI, 0.85-0.92) and DPP4 inhibitors (HR: 0.93; 95% CI, 0.88-0.98) was associated with a reduced all fracture risk, while insulin (HR: 1.26; 95% CI, 1.21-1.32), thiazolidinediones (HR: 1.23; 95% CI, 1.18-1.29), and meglitinides (HR: 1.12; 95% CI, 1.00-1.26) were associated with an increased all fracture risk (All P value < 0.05). Bisphosphonates were associated similarly with increased fracture risk in the T2D and nondiabetic groups. CONCLUSION: Longitudinal 2-year HbA1c is independently associated with elevated all fracture risk in T2D individuals during a 2-year follow-up period. Metformin and DPP4 inhibitors can be used for management of T2D fracture risk.

Scalable, effective, and rapid decontamination of SARS-CoV-2 contaminated N95 respirators using germicidal ultraviolet C (UVC) irradiation device.

Particulate respirators such as N95s are an essential component of personal protective equipment (PPE) for front-line workers. This study describes a rapid and effective UVC irradiation system that would facilitate the safe re-use of N95 respirators and provides supporting information for deploying UVC for decontamination of SARS-CoV-2 during the COVID-19 pandemic. To assess the inactivation potential of the proposed UVC germicidal device as a function of time by using 3 M 8211-N95 particulate respirators inoculated with SARS-CoV-2. A germicidal UVC device to deliver tailored UVC dose was developed and test coupons (2.5 cm2) of the 3 M-N95 respirator were inoculated with 106 plaque-forming units (PFU) of SARS-CoV-2 and were UV irradiated. Different exposure times were tested (0-164 s) by fixing the distance between the lamp and the test coupon to 15.2 cm while providing an exposure of at least 5.43 mWcm-2. Primary measure of outcome was titration of infectious virus recovered from virus-inoculated respirator test coupons after UVC exposure. Other measures included the method validation of the irradiation protocol, using lentiviruses (biosafety level-2 agent) and establishment of the germicidal UVC exposure protocol. An average of 4.38 × 103 PFU ml-1 (SD 772.68) was recovered from untreated test coupons while 4.44 × 102 PFU ml-1 (SD 203.67), 4.00 × 102 PFU ml-1 (SD 115.47), 1.56 × 102 PFU ml-1 (SD 76.98) and 4.44 × 101 PFU ml-1 (SD 76.98) was recovered in exposures 2, 6, 18 and 54 s per side respectively. The germicidal device output and positioning was monitored and a minimum output of 5.43 mW cm-2 was maintained. Infectious SARS-CoV-2 was not detected by plaque assays (minimal level of detection is 67 PFU ml-1) on N95 respirator test coupons when irradiated for 120 s per side or longer suggesting 3.5 log reduction in 240 s of irradiation, 1.3 J cm-2. A scalable germicidal UVC device to deliver tailored UVC dose for rapid decontamination of SARS-CoV-2 was developed. UVC germicidal irradiation of N95 test coupons inoculated with SARS-CoV-2 for 120 s per side resulted in 3.5 log reduction of virus. These data support the reuse of N95 particle-filtrate apparatus upon irradiation with UVC and supports use of UVC-based decontamination of SARS-CoV-2 during the COVID-19 pandemic.