[Multi Scenario Carbon Peak Prediction and Emission Reduction Path Analysis of Xi'an Hi-tech Zone].

The fifth session of the 13th National People's Congress proposed to be committed to promoting carbon peaking and carbon neutrality, promoting the comprehensive green and low-carbon transformation of the economy and society and achieving high-quality development. As an important scientific and technological innovation and industrial cluster in Shaanxi Province, the economic development of the Xi'an Hi-tech Zone largely relies on energy consumption, making the task of carbon reduction particularly challenging. Firstly, taking the Xi'an Hi-tech Zone as the research object, through systematic accounting of carbon emissions within the park, we analyzed the current carbon emission status of enterprises in different energy types and industries. Then, using the Kaya model, multiple independent carbon peak scenarios were set up to predict the total carbon emissions and peak time under different scenarios. Finally, based on the development characteristics of the Xi'an Hi-tech Zone, we scientifically selected corresponding carbon emission reduction paths and provided reasonable emission reduction suggestions. The results showed that the proportion of carbon emissions consumed by electricity was currently the highest, and the share was increasing yearly. Industrial carbon emissions had always been dominant, and the development of the tertiary industry was becoming increasingly prosperous. In the scenario prediction, the carbon emission factor scenario, energy intensity scenario, and economic level scenario could reach the carbon peak by 2030. Among them, the economic development level had the greatest impact on the peak and time of the future carbon peak in the Xi'an Hi-tech Zone, whereas the industrial structure scenario, energy source structure scenario, and population size scenario had no peak before 2030. The future emission reduction path mainly started from decarbonization of the power sector, stable and high-quality economic development, green upgrading of energy and industrial structure, and building a green transportation system. This can reserve more preparation time for achieving carbon neutrality and provide decision-making reference for the low-carbon development of industrial parks in China.

The accuracy and reliability of different midsagittal planes in the symmetry assessment using cone-beam computed tomography.

Symmetry is an essential component of esthetic assessment. Accurate assessment of facial symmetry is critical to the treatment plan of orthognathic surgery and orthodontic treatment. However, there is no internationally accepted midsagittal plane (MSP) for orthodontists and orthognathic surgeons. The purpose of this study was to explore a clinically friendly MSP, which is more accurate and reliable than what is commonly used in symmetry assessment. Forty patients with symmetric craniofacial structures were analyzed on cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) scans. The CBCT data were exported to the Simplant Pro software to build four reference planes that were constructed by nasion (N), basion (Ba), sella (S), odontoid (Dent), or incisive foramen (IF). A total of 31 landmarks were located to determine which reference plane is the most optimal MSP by comparing the asymmetry index (AI). The mean value of AI showed a significant difference (p < 0.05) among four reference planes. Also, the mean value of AI for all landmarks showed that Plane 2 (consisting of N, Ba, and IF) and Plane 4 (consisting of N, IF, and Dent) were more accurate and stable. In conclusion, the MSP consisting of N, Dent, and IF shows more accuracy and reliability than the other planes. Further, it is more clinically friendly because of its significant advantage in landmarking.

Reliability and validity of the Brief Assessment of Impaired Cognition (Chinese version) for stroke patients.

Objective and accurate cognitive assessment scales are essential for guiding cognitive rehabilitation following stroke. The aim of this study was to evaluate the validity and reliability of the Mandarin Chinese version of the Brief Assessment of Impaired Cognition (BASIC) in stroke patients. The English version of the BASIC scale was translated into Mandarin Chinese, and 56 stroke patients at a stroke treatment center were enrolled in the study. The Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) and BASIC scale were used to evaluate the patients' cognitive function, and content validity, structural validity, concurrent validity, internal consistency, interrater consistency and reliability and test-retest reliability were used to evaluate the test results. The correlation coefficients between each item of the BASIC scale and the total score were between 0.416 and 0.804 (p < 0.05). The total score on the BASIC scale was correlated with the total score on the MMSE (r = 0.479, p < 0.05). Four factors were extracted by exploratory factor analysis, and the cumulative variance contribution rate was 74.932%. The factor loading of each item on the corresponding factor was > 0.5, indicating that the scale has good structural validity. Internal consistency was good (Cronbach's α = 0.821), as were interrater (ICC > 0.95) and test-retest reliability (ICC = 0.815-0.941). Therefore, the Chinese version of the BASIC scale has good reliability and validity and can assist in screening for cognitive dysfunction or dementia in stroke patients.

Reusable vs disposable nasopharyngolaryngoscopes: Cost analysis and resident survey.

OBJECTIVE: Assess the quality of a new disposable nasopharyngolaryngoscope (NPL) through resident feedback at multiple academic institutions and provide a cost analysis of reusable and disposable NPLs at a single academic center. STUDY DESIGN: An online survey was distributed to residents at institutions throughout the United States that have implemented use of a disposable NPL (Ambu aScope 4 Rhinolaryngo). SETTING: Cost analysis performed at a single academic center. Resident survey distributed to multiple residency programs throughout the United States. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: The survey collected demographic information and asked residents to rate the new disposable NPL and other reusable NPLs using a 5-point Likert scale. A cost analysis was performed of both reusable and disposable NPLs using information obtained at a single academic center. RESULTS: The survey was distributed to 109 residents throughout the country and 37 were completed for a response rate of 33.9%. The disposable NPL was comparable to reusable NPLs based on ergonomics and maneuverability, inferior in imaging quality (P < .001), and superior in setup (P < .001), convenience (P < .001), and rated better overall (P < .04). The disposable NPL was found to be cheaper per use than reusable NPLs at $171.82 and $170.36 compared to $238.17 and $197.88 per use for the reusable NPL if the life span is 1 year and 5 years respectively. CONCLUSION: Disposable NPLs may offer an alternative option and initial feedback obtained from resident physicians is favorable. Cost analysis favors disposable NPLs as the cost-effective option. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: NA.

Research on the relationship between Urban economic development level and urban spatial structure-A case study of two Chinese cities.

The characteristics of urban spatial structure and the objective evaluation of the development level of urban economy have always been the concern of urban researchers, However, the spatial relationship between urban spatial structure and urban economic development level is often deliberately ignored. Through the point of interest (POI), the identification framework is constructed, the spatial structure of the city is identified and evaluated, and the Geographically Weighted Regression analysis is carried out with the distribution of unit GDP (Gross Domestic Product) in this study. The research shows that Kunming and Guiyang are polycentric spatial structures and Kunming's structure is more significant. Kunming's economic level is generally higher than Guiyang, but the unit area cannot be compared. The city center will promote the development of the central area in this city, and the more urban centers are distributed within the geographical and spatial range, the greater contribution would have to economic development. In addition, the results of this study will have a positive impact on urban planning and construction, and will also provide a new perspective for the study of cities and related disciplines.

Predictors of phthalate metabolites in urine and follicular fluid and correlations between urine and follicular fluid phthalate metabolite concentrations among women undergoing in vitro fertilization.

BACKGROUND: Phthalate metabolites in follicular fluid (FF) may negatively affect normal folliculogenesis; however, the predictors of phthalate metabolite concentrations in urine and FF and relationships between urine and FF phthalate metabolite concentrations among women undergoing in vitro fertilization (IVF) are poorly understood. OBJECTIVE: To investigate predictors of phthalate metabolites in urine and FF and correlations between urine and FF phthalate metabolite concentrations among women undergoing IVF. METHOD: We recruited 305 women seeking infertility treatment at a reproductive center in Wuhan, China, from October to November 2016. Information regarding demographic characteristics, personal care product use and plastic material contact was obtained through direct interviews. Concentrations of 8 phthalate metabolites in urine and FF samples were measured using high-performance liquid chromatography and tandem mass spectrometry. Associations regarding metabolite concentrations in urine and FF samples were analysed by Spearman's correlation and linear regression. Generalized linear regression was used to examine potential predictors of phthalate metabolite concentrations in urine and FF. RESULTS: Weak to moderate associations between urine and FF samples were found for monoethyl phthalate (MEP) and mono(2-ethyl-5-oxohexyl) phthalate (MEOHP) (correlation coefficient: MEP, 0.350; MEOHP, 0.377); no associations were observed for other metabolites. The predictive powers of urinary metabolite concentrations in determining FF metabolite concentrations were uniformly low, with R2 ≤ 0.113. Body mass index (BMI) and educational level were inversely associated with the urinary concentrations of certain metabolites. Higher household income, intake of bottled drinks within 48 h, and use of shower gel and soap were frequently associated with higher urinary metabolite concentrations. BMI, higher household income and use of disposable plastic cups within 48 h were associated with higher metabolite concentrations in FF. CONCLUSION: Phthalate metabolite concentrations in urine and FF vary according to sociodemographic characteristics and lifestyle factors. Phthalate metabolite concentrations in urine may not be appropriate for estimating ovary phthalate exposure.

Scenario simulation of the EU carbon price and its enlightenment to China.

Through exploring price characteristics of carbon futures products in EU ET, this paper aims to provide China's policy makers with meaningful materials and references for understanding how a carbon trading market can be established and well regulated. Based on the dataset comprising of multiple sources including Euro stoxx600 index, coal and crude oil prices, natural gas prices and European clean energy company stock prices, etc., this paper uses BP neural network model to simulate the long-term trends of carbon futures prices in six scenarios that represent the typical features of a carbon trading market. The results show that: (1) the magnitude of economic development's effect on carbon price is the largest among other factors, with the shortest duration; (2) in comparison, the effect of black energy consumption is weaker, but its lasting duration is the longest; (3) the impact of clean energy development on carbon price is similar to that of black energy, but the effect magnitude and lasting duration are relatively smaller. These findings suggest three viable directions for the development of China's carbon trading market in future i.e. adjusting total quotas in accordance with economic development, establishing market price stabilization mechanism, and developing clean energy. The novelty of this paper is to simulate the long-term trend of carbon prices by constructing a carbon price prediction system.

Tungsten Carbide Encapsulated in Grape-Like N-Doped Carbon Nanospheres: One-Step Facile Synthesis for Low-Cost and Highly Active Electrocatalysts in Proton Exchange Membrane Water Electrolyzers.

Tungsten carbide (WC) is an alternative to the costly and resource-constrained Pt-based catalysts. Herein, a one-step facile and easily scalable approach is reported to synthesize ultrafine WC nanocrystals encapsulated in porous N-doped carbon nanospheres (NC) by simple self-polymerization, drying, and annealing. It is worth mentioning that this developed method has four novel features: (1) the synthesis process, without any hard template or hydrocarbon gas feeding, is, notably, very facile and efficient with low cost; (2) the carbon coating on WC nanocrystals not only restrains coarsening of particles but also creates strong coupling interactions between the nanocrystallines and the conductive carbonaceous matrix; (3) uniform grape-like WC@NC nanospheres with high specific surface area can be obtained in a large scale; and (4) single-phase WC can be achieved. As a result, WC@NC demonstrates remarkable hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) electrocatalytic performance with overpotentials of 127 and 141 mV at a current density of 10 mA cm-2 and Tafel slopes of 56.3 and 78.7 mV dec-1 in acid and alkaline media, respectively. Our density functional theory calculations manifest that the strong synergistic electronic effect between WC and its intimately bonded carbon shell vastly boosts the HER electrocatalytic activity. WC@NC catalysts as a cathode are further tested in a home-made electrolyzer with 0.78 A cm-2 achieved at a cell voltage of 2 V at 80 °C and operated stably at 200 mA cm-2 for more than 20 h.

Histological and Pathological Assessment of miR-204 and SOX4 Levels in Gastric Cancer Patients.

Gastric cancer is one of the most common cancers and the efficient therapeutic methods are limited. Further study of the exact molecular mechanism of gastric cancer to develop novel targeted therapies is necessary and urgent. We herein systematically examined that miR-204 suppressed both proliferation and metastasis of gastric cancer AGS cells. miR-204 directly targeted SOX4. In clinical tissue research, we determined that miR-204 was expressed much lower and SOX4 expressed much higher in gastric cancer tissues compared with normal gastric tissues. Associated analysis with clinicopathological parameters in gastric cancer patients showed miR-204 was associated with no lymph node metastasis and early tumor stages whereas SOX4 was associated with lymph node metastasis and advanced tumor stages. In addition, miR-204 and SOX4 were negatively correlated in tissues from gastric cancer patients. Our findings examined the important role of miR-204 and SOX4 played in gastric cancer, and they could be used as candidate therapeutic targets for gastric cancer therapy.

Need for mental health services and service use among high school students in China.

OBJECTIVE: Rapid economic growth and social change in China in recent years have been accompanied by increased rates of mental health problems among the country's adolescents. This study examined rates of mental health service use and associated factors among Chinese adolescents. METHODS: A survey of 1,891 high school students in grades ten through 12 from three high schools in Shantou, China, was conducted in 2009. Measures of mental health status, service need (perceived and objective), mental health service use, and informal help seeking were obtained. RESULTS: Twenty-five percent of the adolescents reported a perceived need for the services of a mental health professional. Only 5% of the sample had used school-based mental health services and only 4% had used non-school-based services. Three factors emerged as independently associated with adolescent use of both school-based and non-school-based services: perceiving a need for mental health services, having turned to a teacher for help, and having turned to a relative other than one's parents for help. Male gender, being a 12th grader, and being an only child were independently associated with use of school-based services only, whereas a suicide attempt and having turned to one's parents for help were independently associated with use of non-school-based services. CONCLUSIONS: Findings indicate a high level of unmet need for mental health services among Chinese adolescents and highlight the need to improve the mental health knowledge of parents, teachers, and other significant individuals in adolescents' lives to facilitate adolescents' access to the mental health services that they need.

[Index system and fuzzy synthetic assessment in landscape evaluation of ornamental grasses].

A composite index system for landscape evaluation of ornamental grasses was built from the aspects of ecological constraints, resources requirement and aesthetic values, and the ornamental grass landscapes in Beijing Botanical Garden and in Nanzhongzhou public green spaces were evaluated by fuzzy synthetic assessment (FSA) method. The results showed that the scores of "very apt" for the ornamental grasses in Beijing Botanical Garden and in Nanzhongzhou public green spaces were 0.459 and 0.413, respectively, while those of "apt" for the two landscapes were 0.302 and 0.301, respectively. The evaluation results were consistent with the public feedbacks, suggesting that the composite index system and FSA method were applicable for the landscape evaluation of ornamental grasses.

Cost-effective fabrication of microlenses on hybrid sol-gel glass with a high-energy beam-sensitive gray-scale mask.

A negative-tone inorganic-organic hybrid SiO(2):TiO(2) glass is investigated for fabrication of refractive microlenses. This sol-gel material enjoys an advantage over materials used in conventional photoresist-based fabrication techniques in that it lends itself to a single-step etching-free process. The application of a high-energy beam-sensitive (HEBS) mask provides a reliable and simple method for fabrication of three-dimensional micro-optical elements with a single UV exposure. The technique of using the sol-gel material with the HEBS gray-scale mask has considerable potential for low-cost mass production of continuous-phase-level diffractive optical elements and micro-optical structures.