[Pollution Characteristics and Ecological Risk Assessment of Microplastics in the Yangtze River Basin].

The Yangtze River, the largest river in China, has not been comprehensively studied for its basin's microplastic pollution status. Therefore, a comprehensive investigation and assessment system of microplastics was developed at the river basin scale to characterize the spatial distribution and composition of microplastics in the Yangtze River Basin in order to analyze their influencing factors and assess their ecological risks. The results showed that the microplastic abundance in the study area ranged from 21 to 44 080 n·m-3, with an average abundance of 4 483 n·m-3. The spatial distribution of microplastic abundance was higher in the tributaries than in the main streams (except the Ganjiang Basin), with the Chengdu of the Minjiang Basin being the tributary area with the highest abundance of microplastics detected. The size of microplastics in the river basin was concentrated in the 0-1 mm range; the shapes were mainly fiber and fragment; and the colors were mainly colored and transparent. Further, introducing the diversity index of microplastics, it was found that both the Simpson index and the Shannon-Wiener index could quantify the diversity of microplastic characteristic composition in the river basin, but there were certain differences in the changing trends between the two. Regression analysis showed that anthropogenic activities were significantly and positively correlated with microplastic abundance (P<0.05), and among the eight anthropogenic activity factors, civilian vehicle ownership and tourism income were the most strongly correlated with microplastic abundance, indicating that transportation and tourism were the main factors influencing microplastic distribution. From the perspective of the potential ecological risk index of microplastics, microplastics in the Yangtze River Basin posed a certain ecological risk, with 68.97% of the area falling within risk zones III and IV, with the ecological risk of microplastics in Taihu Lake warranting more widespread attention.

Suspended sediment dynamics and the related environmental risk assessment in a sensitive water area.

Suspended sediment (SS) is a natural component of aquatic environments. It is characterized by the adsorption of pollutants, and its physical properties can affect water volume quality. In this study, SS dynamics were simulated using a 2D hydrodynamic model in the Nanji Mountain Nature Reserve (NNR), and the fluxes of pollutants caused by SS were calculated to assess the biological risks during the wet (May-August) and dry (November-March) seasons. High spatial and temporal variability in SS load within the NNR was found in this study. The average SS load in the reserve increased and then decreased during the year, and the SS input from Ganjiang significantly affected the SS load in the NNR (p < 0.01). The SS load uptrend in the NNR occurred later than that of Ganjiang during the wet season because of the SS sedimentation in the NNR. And the suspension of SS in the NNR during the dry season resulted in a later SS load downtrend compared to Ganjiang. High SS load from Ganjiang during the wet season was responsible for the high nutrient and microplastic fluxes in the NNR, which were 8.38 and 10.61 times higher than those in the dry season, respectively. And the pollutant fluxes during the wet season were almost all from Ganjiang. In contrast, higher waterbird diversity and population during the dry season is the main reason for the increased biological risk of contaminants. Therefore, monitoring and managing SS and its contamination concentrations in rivers entering the lake is helpful for the protection of ecologically sensitive areas and key species in the lake.

Utilization of lipidic food waste as low-cost nutrients for enhancing the potentiality of biofuel production from engineered diatom under temperature variations.

The scarcity of natural fossil fuels presents a promising opportunity for the development of renewable microalgae-based biofuels. However, the current microalgae cultivation is unable to effectively address the high costs of the production of biofuels. To tackle this challenge, this study focused on recruiting engineered Phaeodactylum tricornutum (FabG-OE) to enhance biomass accumulation and lipid production by employing food waste hydrolysate under temperature variations. The biomass and lipid accumulations of FabG-OE were improved effectively in mixed culture medium and food waste hydrolysate at a volume ratio (v/v) of 80:20 at 30 °C. It was found that oxidative stress might contribute to the overexpression of lipogenic genes, thereby leading to lipogenesis at 30 °C. Upscaling cultivation of FabG-OE at 30 °C using a semi-continuous strategy and batch strategy was conducted to achieve 0.73 and 0.77 g/L/d of biomass containing 0.35 and 0.38 g/L/d of lipid, respectively. In summary, these findings provide valuable insights for advancing microalgae-based biofuel production.

PM2.5 and its respiratory tract depositions on blood pressure, anxiety, depression and health risk assessment: A mechanistic study based on urinary metabolome.

Effects of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) and regional respiratory tract depositions on blood pressure (BP), anxiety, depression, health risk and the underlying mechanisms need further investigations. A repeated-measures panel investigation among 40 healthy young adults in Hefei, China was performed to explore the acute impacts of PM2.5 exposure and its deposition doses in 3 regions of respiratory tract over diverse lag times on BP, anxiety, depression, health risk, and the potential mechanisms. We collected PM2.5 concentrations, its deposition doses, BP, the Self-Rating Anxiety Scale (SAS) score and the Self-Rating Depression Scale (SDS) score. An untargeted metabolomics approach was used to detect significant urine metabolites, and the health risk assessment model was used to evaluate the non-carcinogenic risks associated with PM2.5. We applied linear mixed-effects models to assess the relationships of PM2.5 with the aforementioned health indicators We further evaluate the non-carcinogenic risks associated with PM2.5. We found deposited PM2.5 dose in the head accounted for a large proportion. PM2.5 and its three depositions exposures at a specific lag day was significantly related to increased BP levels and higher SAS and SDS scores. Metabolomics analysis showed significant alterations in urinary metabolites (i.e., glucoses, lipids and amino acids) after PM2.5 exposure, simultaneously accompanied by activation of the cAMP signaling pathway. Health risk assessment presented that the risk values for the residents in Hefei were greater than the lower limits of non-cancer risk guidelines. This real-world investigation suggested that acute PM2.5 and its depositions exposures may increase health risks by elevating BP, inducing anxiety and depression, and altering urinary metabolomic profile via activating the cAMP signaling pathway. And the further health risk assessment indicated that there are potential non-carcinogenic risks of PM2.5 via the inhalation route in this area.

Cost-benefit analysis of reusable takeaway food containers usage: a case on campus in China.

Promoting the use of reusable takeaway food container (RTFC) in takeaway industry is an effective way to reduce the negative environmental impacts caused by single-use plastic containers. This study intended to figure out the barriers to the new business model deployment through evaluating the economic costs and benefits of RTFC from a stakeholder's perspective. Taking the pilot RTFC project at a university in Guangdong province as a case, we established a holistic cost and benefit analysis framework from a stakeholder's perspective. Both the costs and benefits with and without a market price of each stakeholder were evaluated using market price method and contingent valuation method. The analysis result shows that while shifting to reusable takeaway food container, the costs and benefits of all the main stakeholders changed. The net benefit of consumers is positive about 360 thousand yuan during 2020-2025, while the platform company, the university and the restaurants gain negative net benefits ranging from - 20 to - 470 thousand yuan under current operation situation, which may hinder the sustainable development of this new business model. However, the sensitivity analysis shows that all the stakeholders could gain a positive net benefit by adjusting the rental price, cleaning price and packaging price, as well as optimizing the location of recycling cabinets.

Case study of financial leasing model driven by fuzzy logic control for alternative fuel vehicles operation.

Over the past decade, the alternative fuel vehicle industry in the world has sprung up with huge speed. For example, the annual output has increased from less than 2000 vehicles to now 3,500,000 vehicles in China. It enjoys more than 50% of the market share worldwide in the global market. A spurt of progress in the alternative fuel vehicle industry has built a foundation for carbon peaking and carbon neutrality goals. Financial leasing has unique advantages which not only can provide guarantees for this industry in many aspects concerning related equipment, systems and infrastructures but also offer financial support for green projects. Nevertheless, financial leasing firms are encountering a string of problems to solve, such as selecting optimal green projects and cooperative businesses, designing transaction structures, and controlling project risks. This study contains several main sections: connecting the incremental alternative fuel vehicle investment and purchase project of a leading regional enterprise; building the structure of the financial leasing project; and analyzing the project leasing property using a fuzzy logic model, the financial structure and the repayment capacity of the project main company so as to comprehensively evaluate the feasibility of the project. This paper aims to provide a reference for future financing of alternative fuel vehicle operation enterprises with a real case study. The case study results show that our introduced fuzzy logic method can obtain the satisfying performance and traffic allocation.

Can Global Value Chain Participation Drive Green Upgrade in China's Manufacturing Industry?

Engagement in the global division of labor has greatly influenced China's economy and environment. With the multi-regional input-output (MRIO) framework, we calculate the global value chain (GVC) participation index of China's 16 manufacturing sectors. We also measure the green upgrade index of manufacturing sectors based on the super-efficiency epsilon-based measure (SEBM) and the Malmquist-Luenberger (ML) index. In addition, the effect of GVC participation on the green upgrade of manufacturing sectors is empirically tested with a fixed effects regression model for panel data. Results show that: (1) sectors that rank high in the forward linkage-based GVC participation index also tend to rank high in the backward linkage-based GVC participation index; (2) the ML index is greater than 1 in most years, indicating that the green upgrade of China's manufacturing sectors shows an uptrend; (3) for both forward and backward linkage, the rise of the GVC and complex GVC participation indexes significantly promotes the green upgrade of manufacturing sectors. Finally, GVC participation of China's manufacturing sectors promotes green upgrade mainly through green technology progress. The conclusions have empirical evidence and policy implications for the advancement to medium- and high-end GVC participation and the green transition of China's manufacturing sectors.

Integrated assessment of the clinical and biological value of ferroptosis-related genes in multiple myeloma.

BACKGROUND: Ferroptosis is an iron-dependent mode of cell death that could be induced by erastin and exert antitumor effects. However, the clinical and biological roles of ferroptosis-related gene (FRG) signature and the therapeutic value of erastin in multiple myeloma (MM) remained unknown. METHODS: Clinical and gene expression data of MM subjects were extracted from the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) public database. Univariable cox analysis was applied to determine FRGs related to survival and the least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) regression analysis was used to develop a prognostic model. Prediction accuracy of the model was estimated by receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves. Functional pathway enrichments and infiltrating immune status were also analyzed. We conducted in vitro experiments to investigate the combination therapy of erastin and doxorubicin. RESULTS: 17 FRGs were strongly associated with patient survival and 11 genes were identified to construct the prognostic model. ROC curves indicated great predictive sensitivity and specificity of the model in all cohorts. Patients were divided into low- and high-risk groups by median risk score in each cohort and the survival of the low-risk group was significantly superior than that of the high-risk group. We also observed a close relevance between functional pathways and immune infiltration with risk scores. Moreover, we combined erastin and doxorubicin in our in vitro experiments and found synergetic antitumor effects of the two agents, and the underlying mechanism is the overgeneration of intracellular Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS). CONCLUSIONS: We demonstrated the important value of ferroptosis in patient prognosis and as a potential antitumor target for MM.

Evaluation of a civic engagement approach to catalyze built environment change and promote healthy eating and physical activity among rural residents: a cluster (community) randomized controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: Prior studies demonstrate associations between risk factors for obesity and related chronic diseases (e.g., cardiovascular disease) and features of the built environment. This is particularly true for rural populations, who have higher rates of obesity, cancer, and other chronic diseases than urban residents. There is also evidence linking health behaviors and outcomes to social factors such as social support, opposition, and norms. Thus, overlapping social networks that have a high degree of social capital and community cohesion, such as those found in rural communities, may be effective targets for introducing and maintaining healthy behaviors. METHODS: This study will evaluate the effectiveness of the Change Club (CC) intervention, a civic engagement intervention for built environment change to improve health behaviors and outcomes for residents of rural communities. The CC intervention provides small groups of community residents (approximately 10-14 people) with nutrition and physical activity lessons and stepwise built environment change planning workshops delivered by trained extension educators via in-person, virtual, or hybrid methods. We will conduct process, multilevel outcome, and cost evaluations of implementation of the CC intervention in a cluster randomized controlled trial in 10 communities across two states using a two-arm parallel design. Change in the primary outcome, American Heart Association's Life's Simple 7 composite cardiovascular health score, will be evaluated among CC members, their friends and family members, and other community residents and compared to comparable samples in control communities. We will also evaluate changes at the social/collective level (e.g., social cohesion, social trust) and examine costs as well as barriers and facilitators to implementation. DISCUSSION: Our central hypothesis is the CC intervention will improve health behaviors and outcomes among engaged citizens and their family and friends within 24 months. Furthermore, we hypothesize that positive changes will catalyze critical steps in the pathway to improving longer-term health among community residents through improved healthy eating and physical activity opportunities. This study also represents a unique opportunity to evaluate process and cost-related data, which will provide key insights into the viability of this approach for widespread dissemination. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT05002660 , Registered 12 August 2021.

The economics of sediment quality on barrier shoreline restoration.

This paper depicts a simulation-based assessment of sediment quality on the performance of dedicated dredging projects for barrier island restoration in coastal Louisiana, USA. The research involved the development and integration of two sub-models. In the first, geomorphic modeling was used to simulate sediment transport dynamics within a proxy barrier island template over a 50-year trajectory. The template was assumed to be nourished with one of two sources of dredged material: nearshore (NS) sediments of lower quality (smaller grain diameter, higher organic fines); or higher quality sediments from distal sources located on the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS). In the second model, agency project records and commercial bids were used to estimate project construction costs as a function of dredge material quantity, transport distance, and project target elevation. These sub-models were coupled within a net present value framework from which average annual break-even values for ecosystem services (EBEV) were derived as an efficiency metric for comparing the economic performance of NS- and OCS-sourced projects. Results indicate that in some cases, the physical resiliency afforded by even small increases in sand diameter (+4 µm d50) can translate to greater long-term economic viability (lower EBEV) for OCS-sourced sediment transported over longer distances. Moreover, projects constructed with much higher diameter OCS sediment (+44 µm d50) with low fines and transported over relatively long distances (200 µm, 5% fines, 15-20 miles) were found to be more cost-effective than all comparably-sized projects constructed with lower quality NS sediments obtained from proximal sources (156 µm, 20% fines, 3-5 miles). For some comparisons, this quality advantage yielded a lower EBEV for OCS-sourced projects with transport distances exceeding 30 miles. Under storm-punctuated simulations, these quality advantages were more pronounced, with greater physical and economic implications for earlier (Y5) versus later (Y20) occurring storms. Budgeting for dedicated dredging projects has traditionally centered on the value of sediment as a commodity, with a focus on material placement cost. The findings of this study, however, indicate that a more comprehensive accounting of sediment quality and performance is required to maximize the economic efficiency of coastal restoration spending.

Complete plastome sequence from a cultivar of Diospyros nigra (J.F.Gmel.) M.R. Almeida (Ebenaceae): a nutritious fruit tree with high economic value cultivated in Hainan province, China.

Diospyros nigra (J.F.Gmel.) M.R.Almeida is a rare tree in the family Ebenaceae. The species is native to South America, while having been introduced to Florida and Texas (USA), India, Java and Madagascar. Additionally, this species is distributed in Guangdong Province and the southwest portion of Hainan Province, China. Here, we report and characterize the complete plastome of a cultivar of D. nigra. The length of the complete plastome is 157,168 bp, including 131 genes consisting of 84 protein-coding genes, 37 tRNA genes and 8 rRNA genes. The plastome has the typical structure and gene content of angiosperms, including two inverted repeat (IR) regions of 26,095 bp, a large single copy (LSC) region of 86,610 bp and a small single-copy (SSC) region of 18,386 bp. The total G/C content of the plastome in D. nigra is 37.4%. The complete plastome sequence of D. nigra will make contributions to the conservation genetics of the species, as well as to phylogenetic studies in Ebenaceae.

Study on the Economic Burden of Neurodevelopmental Diseases on Patients With Genetic Diagnosis.

Objective: To study the burden of neurodevelopmental diseases (NDDs) via cost-of-illness analysis of Chinese patients with genetic diagnosis. Methods: We recruited NDD patients (0-18 years old) with genetic diagnosis (GD) from September 1, 2020 to January 30, 2021. We gathered basic information on the details of diagnosis, as well as the direct medical cost, direct non-healthcare cost and indirect cost before and after receiving GD. We corrected the cost for time biases by calculating the cost per day for each patient. Results: For the 502 patients with NDDs, the mean age was 4.08 ± 3.47. The household income was 0.6 (0.4, 1.0) 10,000 CNY per-month on average. The direct medical cost, direct non-healthcare cost and indirect cost were 12.27 (7.36, 22.23) 10,000 CNY, 1.45 (0.73, 2.69)10,000 CNY and 14.14(4.80, 28.25) 10,000 CNY per patient, respectively. Every patient received 1.20 (0.34, 3.60) 10,000 CNY on average (15.91%) from insurance. The daily total cost after receiving GD were ~62.48% lower than those before GD (191.59 CNY vs. 71.45 CNY). The descend range of lab cost (95.77%, P < 0.05) was the largest, followed by drugs (91.39%, P < 0.05), hospitalization (90.85%, P < 0.05), and consultation (57.41%, P < 0.05). The cost of rehabilitation kept slightly increasing but there were no significant differences (P > 0.05). The daily direct medical cost of each patient fell by 75.26% (P < 0.05) from 311.79 CNY to 77.14 CNY when the diagnostic age was younger than 1, and declined by 49.30% (P < 0.05) and 8.97% (P > 0.05) when the diagnostic age was 1-3 and older than 3, respectively. Conclusions: Early genetic diagnosis is crucial for to reducing the burden of disease because of the amount of money spent was lower when they are diagnosed at younger age. Patients with NDDs can incur a heavy economic burden, especially in rehabilitation cost and indirect cost, because the insurance coverage for patients is low, so it is urgent for governments to pay more attention to these issues.

Economic synthesis of sub-micron brick-like Al-MOF with designed pore distribution for lithium-ion battery anodes with high initial Coulombic efficiency and cycle stability.

Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) have exhibited great potential for lithium-ion batteries (LIBs). However, to date, it is difficult to fabricate MOF electrode materials with regular shape and rational pore distribution by an economic approach, and the currently achieved MOF electrode materials usually have a relatively low initial Coulombic efficiency and poor cycle stability, which is not satisfactory for practical application. In this study, by using the recycled AlCl3 solution after dealloying treatment of Al-Si alloy, an evenly distributed brick-like Al-MOF with sub-micron size and rational pore distribution was synthesized for the first time. Because of the larger size and more macropores, the as-prepared Al-MOF electrode exhibits superior initial Coulombic efficiency as high as 96.6% for LIB anodes. Moreover, on account of the irregular crystal defects at the edge of the designed macropores, which result from unstable connection between the inorganic nodes (AlO6 octahedral cluster) and the organic linkers (PTA) and result in the formation of spherical nano-sized particles with better structural stability, the electrode materials show excellent cycle stability with discharge attenuation rate of 0.051%. The electrochemical performance considerably outperforms that of reported Al-MOF anodes and some representative MOF anodes in other studies. The robust realization of high initial Coulombic efficiency and cycle stability defines a critical step to capturing the full potential of MOF electrode materials in practical LIBs.

Prevalence and associated factors for stunting, underweight and wasting among children under 6 years of age in rural Hunan Province, China: a community-based cross-sectional study.

BACKGROUND: The existing epidemiological data cannot represent the situation of undernutrition among Chinese children, particularly those in rural China. Hence, in this community-based cross-sectional study, the prevalence and associated factors of stunting, underweight and wasting among children (age < 6 years) from rural Hunan Province were analyzed. METHODS: Totally 5529 children aged 0 to 71 months and their caregivers were randomly chosen by multistage stratified cluster sampling from 72 villages from rural Hunan, which were distributed in 24 towns of 12 counties. Data about the children and their mothers, caregivers and family conditions was acquired using unified questionnaire, and the length/height and weight of each child were measured using unified instruments. The prevalence of undernutrition among children was evaluated using the length/height for age, weight for age, weight for length/height, and body mass index for age z scores, which were computed according to the 2006 and 2007 WHO Child Growth Standards. RESULTS: The prevalence of stunting, underweight, and wasting among the 5529 children were 4.4% (241), 3.9% (217), and 4.0% (221), respectively. The significant associated factors on higher risks of undernutrition in the children were low birth weight, maternal gestational weight gain <10 kg (stunting); low birth weight, maternal gestational weight gain <10 kg, ethnicity of caregivers being minority, large family size (underweight); low birth weight, ethnicity of caregivers being minority, large family size (wasting). High education level of caregivers and high family food expenditure were common protective factors for all three types of undernutrition, except that high family food expenditure was not protective against wasting. CONCLUSIONS: The prevalence of stunting, underweight and wasting is low among rural children under age of 6 years in Hunan. As for the measures, the gestational care and reasonable diet of mothers should be strengthened, and nutritional deficiency during pregnancy be avoided, which will prevent low birth weight. The local economic development and the education level of caregivers need to be further improved, especially for minorities.

[Pollution Characterization and Comprehensive Water Quality Assessment of Rain-source River: A Case Study of the Longgang River in Shenzhen].

Rain-source urban rivers are an important part of the urban ecosystem. Due to the small water environment capacity and the rapid development of the regional economy and society, they are vulnerable to serious pollution. The goal of this study was to identify the main pollution characteristics of river water quality and to carry out a scientific comprehensive water quality assessment. Water samples from 12 sampling locations of the Longgang River in Shenzhen, a typical rain-source urban river, were collected from January to December in 2018. According to the Environmental Quality Standard for Surface Water (GB 3838-2002), 22 water quality indicators were analyzed, and the water quality of Longgang River was comprehensively evaluated using the single-factor assessment method, comprehensive pollution index method, and principal component analysis method. The results of the single-factor assessment method showed that water quality of all sampling sites of the Longgang River met the Class V of the Environmental Quality Standard for Surface Water (GB 3838-2002), and the Tiaojiao Shui and Longxi River met the Class Ⅳ and Class Ⅲ of the Environmental Quality Standard for Surface Water (GB 3838-2002), respectively. The results of the comprehensive pollution index method showed that the water quality of 12 sampling sites was clean or relatively clean. Both the results of the comprehensive pollution index and principal component comprehensive score showed that the water quality of Longxi River, Nanyue River, and Tianjiao Shui were the best among all sampling sites. There is still room for improvement in the Wutongshan River, Dakang River, Ailian River, Dingshan River, and Huangsha River, and significant consideration should be given to parameters such as nutrients (TN, TP, and NH4+-N), organic matter (COD and BOD5), fecal coliform, and anionic surfactants. The three methods were a combination of qualitative and quantitative evaluation. The results of each method were not identical. Thus, it is very necessary to explore the comprehensive water quality assessment using various methods for making scientific and reasonable water pollution control strategies.

Manufacturers' product line strategies and environmental impacts under carbon cap and trade policies.

This paper explores the impact of carbon cap-and-trade policies and consumer low-carbon preferences on the choice of manufacturers' product lines. We further investigate the optimal decisions of manufacturers under different product line strategies. Moreover, we analyze consumer surplus, environmental impact, and social welfare under different product line strategies. The results show that producing low-carbon and ordinary products is the optimal product line strategy for manufacturers. In addition, we demonstrate that when considering carbon cap-and-trade policies and consumers' low-carbon preferences, the consumer surplus, environmental impact, and social welfare when manufacturers produce low-carbon products are always better than in other scenarios. Furthermore, our research results also show that with the increase of carbon trading prices, the consumer surplus and social welfare when manufacturers choose to produce low-carbon products are always better than in other scenarios. However, we find that the environmental impact is not always outperforming when manufacturers choose a product line that produces low-carbon products than other scenarios.

Chinese Consensus Report on Family-Based Helicobacter pylori Infection Control and Management (2021 Edition).

OBJECTIVE: Helicobacter pylori infection is mostly a family-based infectious disease. To facilitate its prevention and management, a national consensus meeting was held to review current evidence and propose strategies for population-wide and family-based H. pylori infection control and management to reduce the related disease burden. METHODS: Fifty-seven experts from 41 major universities and institutions in 20 provinces/regions of mainland China were invited to review evidence and modify statements using Delphi process and grading of recommendations assessment, development and evaluation system. The consensus level was defined as ≥80% for agreement on the proposed statements. RESULTS: Experts discussed and modified the original 23 statements on family-based H. pylori infection transmission, control and management, and reached consensus on 16 statements. The final report consists of three parts: (1) H. pylori infection and transmission among family members, (2) prevention and management of H. pylori infection in children and elderly people within households, and (3) strategies for prevention and management of H. pylori infection for family members. In addition to the 'test-and-treat' and 'screen-and-treat' strategies, this consensus also introduced a novel third 'family-based H. pylori infection control and management' strategy to prevent its intrafamilial transmission and development of related diseases. CONCLUSION: H. pylori is transmissible from person to person, and among family members. A family-based H. pylori prevention and eradication strategy would be a suitable approach to prevent its intra-familial transmission and related diseases. The notion and practice would be beneficial not only for Chinese residents but also valuable as a reference for other highly infected areas.

Analysis of Heavy Metal Pollution in Cultivated Land of Different Quality Grades in Yangtze River Delta of China.

The distribution of heavy metal pollution in cultivated land is closely related to the quality of the cultivated land. In this study, 533 soil samples were collected from cultivated land in the Yangtze River delta region in China for Cd, Pb, and Hg analyses. Spatial statistical analysis was used to study the heavy metal pollution in the cultivated land, and the driving forces of heavy metal distribution in different cultivated land quality subdivisions were analyzed with GeogDetector. The conclusions are as follows: (1) Among the three heavy metals in the study area, the coefficient of variation of Cd is the largest, and that of Pb is the smallest. The proportion of Cd and Hg exceeding the standard value (the standard of level two in GB 15618-2018) is relatively large, both of which are 5%; (2) From the perspective of the spatial distribution of soil heavy metal pollution, only four counties (CX, HN, WY, and LH) were free of heavy metal pollution. Soil heavy metal pollution in AJ, SY, QJ, and DS counties is relatively serious, and the pollution may come from agricultural activities, manufacturing, and prevalent coastal shipping industries in these counties; (3) The heavy metal pollution levels of cultivated land with different quality levels are different. The high-quality cultivated land has no high contamination, while the medium and the general cultivated land both have high contamination. High contamination is related to Cd for medium and general cultivated lands, and to Hg in only general cultivated land; (4) The main driving factors of heavy metal concentration in cultivated soil were GDP, followed by soil organic matter, and pH. These results indicate that the spatial distribution of heavy metal concentration in cultivated soil was affected by the level of economic development, followed by the ecological environment, indicating that human activities had a critical impact on the ecological environment of cultivated land.

How Does Income Inequality Influence Environmental Regulation in the Context of Corruption? A Panel Threshold Analysis Based on Chinese Provincial Data.

The question of how the income inequality of residents affects the level of environmental regulation in the context of official corruption was the core research issue of this study. We analyzed this problem using the panel threshold regression model from 26 provinces in China from 1995 to 2017. We found that when there is no official corruption, the widening of the residents' income inequality promotes stricter environmental regulations; when the corruption problem is serious, the expansion of the residents' income inequality leads to the decline in environmental standards; that is, the impact of residents' income inequality on environmental regulation has a threshold effect due to corruption. In addition, the threshold effect due to corruption of all residents' income inequality on environmental regulation is mainly generated by the urban residents' income inequality and the urban-rural income inequality. This paper contributes to the literature that concentrates on the relationship between income inequality and environmental regulation, and shows that corruption is a key factor that can deeply influence that relationship. The research conclusion shows that increasing anti-corruption efforts can not only maintain national political stability, social fairness, and justice, but also be a powerful measure for environmental pollution governance.

Comparability of thyroid-stimulating hormone immunoassays using fresh frozen human sera and external quality assessment data.

BACKGROUND: This study aimed to assess the comparability among assays using freshly frozen human sera and external quality assessment (EQA) data in China. METHODS: Twenty-nine serum samples and two commercial EQA materials, obtained from the National Center for Clinical Laboratories (NCCL), were analyzed in triplicate using eight routine TSH assays. The commutability of commercial EQA materials (NCCL materials) was evaluated in accordance with the CLSI EP30-A and IFCC bias analysis. Median values obtained for the NCCL EQA materials were used to determine the systematic and commutability-related biases among immunoassays through back-calculation. The comparability of TSH measurements from a panel of clinical samples and NCCL EQA data was determined on the basis of Passing-Bablok regression. Furthermore, human serum pools were used to perform commutable EQA. RESULTS: NCCL EQA materials displayed commutability among three or five of seven assay combinations according CLSI or IFCC approach, respectively. The mean of systematic bias ranged from -13.78% to 9.85% for the eight routine TSH assays. After correcting for systematic bias, averaged commutability-related biases ranged between -42.26% and 12.19%. After correction for systematic and commutability -related biases, the slopes indicating interassay relatedness ranged from 0.801 to 1.299 using individual human sera, from 0.735 to 1.254 using NCCL EQA data, and from 0.729 to 1.115 using pooled human serum EQA(the commutable EQA). CONCLUSIONS: The harmonization of TSH measurement is challenging; hence, systematic and commutability-related biases should be determined and corrected for accurate comparisons among assays when using human individual serum and the commercial EQA materials.