EP300 improves endothelial injury and mitochondrial dysfunction in coronary artery disease by regulating histone acetylation of SOCS1 promoter via inhibiting JAK/STAT pathway.

Endothelial cell injury and mitochondrial dysfunction are crucial events during coronary artery disease (CAD). Suppressor of cytokine signaling-1 (SOCS1) is a negative mediator for inflammation, but there are few reports regarding histone acetylation of SOCS1 in CAD. The aim of the current study is to examine the impact of SOCS1 in CAD patients and human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs). We enrolled patients with CAD and healthy volunteers. HUVECs treated with ox-LDL were used as in vitro model. This study showed that SOCS1 expression was decreased in patients with CAD and ox-LDL-stimulated HUVECs. Overexpressing SOCS1 ameliorated endothelial cell injury and mitochondrial dysfunction induced by ox-LDL in vitro. Moreover, EP300 promoted SOCS1 transcription through increasing the acetylation of SOCS1 and recruiting H3K27ac to the SOCS1 gene promoter in HUVECs induced by ox-LDL. Additionally, SOCS1 repressed JAK/STAT cascade in ox-LDL-stimulated HUVECs. Silencing of EP300 reversed endothelial cell injury and mitochondrial dysfunction ameliorated by overexpression of SOCS1 in ox-LDL-induced HUVECs. In summary, SOCS1 alleviated endothelial injury and mitochondrial dysfunction via enhancing H3K27ac acetylation by recruiting EP300 to promoter region and inhibiting JAK/STAT pathway. These results contribute to discover underlying diagnostic biomarkers and therapeutic targets for CAD.

Identification of antimicrobial peptide genes from transcriptomes in Mandarin fish (Siniperca chuatsi) and their response to infection with Aeromonas hydrophila.

Mandarin fish (Siniperca chuatsi) is a valuable freshwater fish species widely cultured in China. Its aquaculture production is challenged by bacterial septicaemia, which is one of the most common bacterial diseases. Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) play a critical role in the innate immune system of fish, exhibiting defensive and inhibitory effects against a wide range of pathogens. This study aimed to identify the antimicrobial peptide genes in mandarin fish using transcriptomes data obtained from 17 tissue in our laboratory. Through nucleotide sequence alignment and protein structural domain analysis, 15 antimicrobial peptide genes (moronecidin, pleurocidin, lysozyme g, thymosin ß12, hepcidin, leap 2, ß-defensin, galectin 8, galectin 9, apoB, apoD, apoE, apoF, apoM, and nk-lysin) were identified, of which 9 antimicrobial peptide genes were identified for the first time. In addition, 15 AMPs were subjected to sequence characterization and protein structure analysis. After injection with Aeromonas hydrophila, the number of red blood cells, hemoglobin concentration, and platelet counts in mandarin fish showed a decreasing trend, indicating partial hemolysis. The expression change patterns of 15 AMP genes in the intestine after A. hydrophila infection were examined by using qRT-PCR. The results revealed, marked up-regulation (approximately 116.04) of the hepcidin gene, down-regulation of the piscidin family genes expression. Moreover, most AMP genes were responded in the early stages after A. hydrophila challenge. This study provides fundamental information for investigating the role of the different antimicrobial peptide genes in mandarin fish in defense against A. hydrophila infection.

Chromosome-scale genome assembly and insights into the metabolome and gene regulation of leaf color transition in an important oak species, Quercus dentata.

Quercus dentata Thunb., a dominant forest tree species in northern China, has significant ecological and ornamental value due to its adaptability and beautiful autumn coloration, with color changes from green to yellow into red resulting from the autumnal shifts in leaf pigmentation. However, the key genes and molecular regulatory mechanisms for leaf color transition remain to be investigated. First, we presented a high-quality chromosome-scale assembly for Q. dentata. This 893.54 Mb sized genome (contig N50 = 4.21 Mb, scaffold N50 = 75.55 Mb; 2n = 24) harbors 31 584 protein-coding genes. Second, our metabolome analyses uncovered pelargonidin-3-O-glucoside, cyanidin-3-O-arabinoside, and cyanidin-3-O-glucoside as the main pigments involved in leaf color transition. Third, gene co-expression further identified the MYB-bHLH-WD40 (MBW) transcription activation complex as central to anthocyanin biosynthesis regulation. Notably, transcription factor (TF) QdNAC (QD08G038820) was highly co-expressed with this MBW complex and may regulate anthocyanin accumulation and chlorophyll degradation during leaf senescence through direct interaction with another TF, QdMYB (QD01G020890), as revealed by our further protein-protein and DNA-protein interaction assays. Our high-quality genome assembly, metabolome, and transcriptome resources further enrich Quercus genomics and will facilitate upcoming exploration of ornamental values and environmental adaptability in this important genus.

Source Contributions to PM2.5-Related Mortality and Costs: Evidence for Emission Allocation and Compensation Strategies in China.

The emissions from various pollution sources were not proportional to their contributions to ambient PM2.5 concentrations and associated health burdens. That means even with the same total abatement targets, different abatement allocation strategies across emission sources can have distinct health benefits. Insufficient knowledge of various sources' contributions to health burdens in China, the country suffering substantial PM2.5-related deaths, hindered the government from seeking optimized abatement allocation strategies. In this context, we separated the contributions of 155 emission sources (31 provinces × 5 sectors) to PM2.5-related mortality across China in 2017 by coupling the Comprehensive Air Quality Model with Extensions (CAMx), Weather Research and Forecasting model (WRF), and health impact assessment model. We further identified the priority-control emission sources and quantified interprovincial ecological compensation volumes to alleviate inequality induced by emission allocation strategies. Results showed that PM2.5 pollution caused 899,443 excess deaths and around 127 billion USD costs in 2017. Approximately half of the deaths and costs were attributable to emissions from sources outside the boundary of the regions where the deaths occurred. Twenty-five out of 155 emission sources that contributed to the top 60% mortality burdens and had high marginal abatement efficiencies in China shall be the priority-control emission sources. A 1 µg/m3 decrease of PM2.5 concentration in regions where these key emission sources occur shall be compensated by 76-153 million USD in their receptor regions. Our study sheds light on the sources' contributions to mortality burdens and costs and provides scientific evidence for optimizing the emission allocation and compensation strategies in China. It also has wide implications for other countries suffering similar problems.

Evolution of Ozone Pollution in China: What Track Will It Follow?

Increasing surface ozone (O3) concentrations has emerged as a key air pollution problem in many urban regions worldwide in the last decade. A longstanding major issue in tackling ozone pollution is the identification of the O3 formation regime and its sensitivity to precursor emissions. In this work, we propose a new transformed empirical kinetic modeling approach (EKMA) to diagnose the O3 formation regime using regulatory O3 and NO2 observation datasets, which are easily accessible. We demonstrate that mapping of monitored O3 and NO2 data on the modeled regional O3-NO2 relationship diagram can illustrate the ozone formation regime and historical evolution of O3 precursors of the region. By applying this new approach, we show that for most urban regions of China, the O3 formation is currently associated with a volatile organic compound (VOC)-limited regime, which is located within the zone of daytime-produced O3 (DPO3) to an 8h-NO2 concentration ratio below 8.3 ([DPO3]/[8h-NO2] ≤ 8.3). The ozone production and controlling effects of VOCs and NOx in different cities of China were compared according to their historical O3-NO2 evolution routes. The approach developed herein may have broad application potential for evaluating the efficiency of precursor controls and further mitigating O3 pollution, in particular, for regions where comprehensive photochemical studies are unavailable.

Co-drivers of Air Pollutant and CO2 Emissions from On-Road Transportation in China 2010-2020.

Co-controlling the emissions of air pollutants and CO2 from automobiles is crucial for addressing the intertwined challenges of air pollution and climate change in China. Here, we analyze the synergetic characteristics of air pollutant and CO2 emissions from China's on-road transportation and identify the co-drivers influencing these trends. Using detailed emission inventories and employing index decomposition analysis, we found that despite notable progress in pollution control, minimizing on-road CO2 emissions remains a formidable task. Over 2010-2020, the estimated sectoral emissions of VOCs, NOx, PM2.5, and CO declined by 49.9%, 25.9%, 75.2%, and 63.5%, respectively, while CO2 emissions increased by 46.1%. Light-duty passenger vehicles and heavy-duty trucks have been identified as the primary contributors to carbon-pollution co-emissions, highlighting the need for tailored policies. The driver analysis indicates that socioeconomic changes are primary drivers of emission growth, while policy controls, particularly advances in emission efficiency, can facilitate co-reductions. Regional disparities emphasize the need for policy refinement, including reducing dependency on fuel vehicles in the passenger subsector and prioritizing co-reduction strategies in high-emission provinces in the freight subsector. Overall, our study confirms the effectiveness of China's on-road control policies and provides valuable insights for future policy makers in China and other similarly positioned developing countries.

Revealing Inter-regional Environmental Inequities Hidden in China's Energy Transition.

Energy transition is an important way to control air pollution, but it may conflict with the economic goal of alleviating regional inequality due to its inherently different cost burdens. As one of the effective measures of energy transition, this paper takes small coal-fired boiler (SCB) upgrading as an example to explore the regional mismatch between upgrading costs and health benefits. Here, we construct a boiler-level inventory of SCB upgrades for the North China Plain (NCP) during 2013-2017 and propose an integrated modeling framework to quantify the spatial contribution of economic costs and health benefits associated with SCB upgrading. We find that although the total health benefits could offset the total costs for the entire region, the developed municipalities (Beijing and Tianjin) are likely to gain more health benefits from less-developed neighboring provinces at lower costs. These developed municipalities contribute only 14% to the total health benefits but gain 21% of the benefits within their territories, 56% of which come from neighboring provinces. Their benefits are approximately 5.6 times their costs, which is much higher than the 1.5 benefit-cost ratio in neighboring provinces. Our findings may be useful in shaping more equitable and sound environmental policies in China or other regions of the world with serious coal-related air pollution.

Developing China's roadmap for air quality improvement: A review on technology development and future prospects.

Air pollution control policies in China have been experiencing profound changes, highlighting a strategic transformation from total pollutant emission control to air quality improvement, along with the shifting targets starting from acid rain and NOx emissions to PM2.5 pollution, and then the emerging O3 challenges. The marvelous achievements have been made with the dramatic decrease of SO2 emission and fundamental improvement of PM2.5 concentration. Despite these achievements, China has proposed Beautiful China target through 2035 and the goal of 2030 carbon peak and 2060 carbon neutrality, which impose stricter requirements on air quality and synergistic mitigation with Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions. Against this background, an integrated multi-objective and multi-benefit roadmap is required to provide decision support for China's long-term air quality improvement strategy. This paper systematically reviews the technical system for developing the air quality improvement roadmap, which was integrated from the research output of China's National Key R&D Program for Research on Atmospheric Pollution Factors and Control Technologies (hereafter Special NKP), covering mid- and long-term air quality target setting techniques, quantitative analysis techniques for emission reduction targets corresponding to air quality targets, and pathway optimization techniques for realizing reduction targets. The experience and lessons derived from the reviews have implications for the reformation of China's air quality improvement roadmap in facing challenges of synergistic mitigation of PM2.5 and O3, and the coupling with climate change mitigation.

Mitigating China's Ozone Pollution with More Balanced Health Benefits.

China is confronting the challenge of opposite health benefits (OHBs) during ambient ozone (O3) mitigation because the same reduction scheme might yield opposite impacts on O3 levels and associated public health across different regions. Here, we used a combination of chemical transport modeling, health benefit assessments, and machine learning to capture such OHBs and optimize O3 mitigation pathways based on 121 control scenarios. We revealed that, for the China mainland, Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei and its surroundings ("2 + 26" cities), Yangtze River Delta, and Pearl River Delta, there could be at most 2897, 920, 1247, and 896 additional O3-related deaths in urban areas, respectively, accompanying 21,512, 3442, 5614, and 642 avoided O3-related deaths in rural areas, respectively, at the same control stage. Additionally, potential disbenefits during O3 mitigation were "pro-wealthy", that is, residents in developed regions are more likely to afford additional health risks. In order to avoid OHBs during O3 abatement, we proposed a two-phase control strategy, whereby the reduction ratio of NOX (nitrogen oxide) to VOCs (volatile organic compounds) was adjusted according to health benefit distribution patterns. Our study provided novel insights into China's O3 attainment and references for other countries facing the dual challenges of environmental pollution and associated inequality issues.

Interaction Patterns between Climate Action and Air Cleaning in China: A Two-Way Evaluation Based on an Ensemble Learning Approach.

China will attempt to achieve its simultaneous goals in 2060, whereby carbon neutrality will be accomplished and the PM2.5 (fine particulate matter) level is expected to remain below 10 µg/m3. Identifying interaction patterns between air cleaning and climate action represents an important step to obtain cobenefits. Here, we used a random sampling strategy through the combination of chemical transport modeling and machine learning approach to capture the interaction effects from two perspectives in which the driving forces of both climate action and air cleaning measures were compared. We revealed that climate action where carbon emissions were decreased to 1.9 Bt (billion tons) could lead to a PM2.5 level of 12.4 µg/m3 (95% CI (confidence interval): 10.2-14.6 µg/m3) in 2060, while air cleaning could force carbon emissions to reach 1.93 Bt (95% CI: 0.79-3.19 Bt) to achieve net carbon neutrality based on the potential carbon sinks in 2060. Additional controls targeting primary PM2.5, ammonia, and volatile organic compounds were required as supplements to overcome the partial lack of climate action. Our study provides novel insights into the cobenefits of air-quality improvement and climate change mitigation, indicating that the effect of air cleaning on the simultaneous goals might have been underestimated before.

Gasless, endoscopic trans-axillary thyroid surgery: our series of the first 51 human cases.

BACKGROUND: The safety of gasless endoscopic trans-axillary thyroid surgery is still undetermined. METHODS: Clinical findings and postoperative complications of patients who had undergone trans-axillary thyroid surgery due to thyroid cancer and thyroid nodules were retrospectively studied. The sensory change and paralysis results from this technique and patients' satisfaction with the cosmesis were also studied. RESULTS: Fifty-one patients (49 females and 2 males) received operations by gasless, endoscopic trans-axillary approaches with one patient whose operation was converted to open surgery because of internal jugular vein injury. Only two patients developed temporary vocal cord paralysis and no patients developed other severe complications. The alleviation of the discomfort in the anterior neck area and sternocleidomastoid, and the cosmetic effect of gasless endoscopic trans-axillary thyroid surgery were acceptable. No evidence of recurrence was found during the follow-up period. CONCLUSIONS: Gasless, endoscopic trans-axillary thyroid surgery is a feasible procedure with acceptable safety and better cosmetic results in strictly selected patients.

Provincial analysis and zoning of atmospheric pollution in China from the atmospheric transmission and the trade transfer perspective.

The "Joint Prevention and Control of Regional Air Pollution in China" has been put forward to solve serious regional air pollution. However, there is no geographical division covering the whole country that could reveal the similarities and differences among regions to support implementing this policy. This paper applied an air quality model and a multiregional input-output model to analyze the impacts and patterns of atmospheric transmission and trade transfer of regional air pollution, then compared the differences among typical provinces in the northern, central and southern regions. The social network analysis method was used to analyze the interacting pattern of regional atmospheric transmission and trade transfer, and 31 provinces in mainland China were divided into 5 clusters to reveal the interprovincial relationship of atmospheric transmission; then, the 31 provinces were divided into 3 clusters to reveal the interprovincial relationship of trade transfer. Based on these results, the provincial geographical division of "Nine Atmospheric Environmental Transmission Zones" covering mainland China was carried out. In addition, the key regions linking atmospheric transmission and trade transfer were also found. For example, Inner Mongolia is a typical key linkage region. From an atmospheric transmission perspective, it is linked to the northeast area. However, from a trade transfer perspective, it has a close relationship with the southern provinces. The linkage among provinces provides support for the interregional interaction mechanism of air pollution and the formulation of "Joint Prevention and Control of Regional Air Pollution in China".

High resolution carbon dioxide emission gridded data for China derived from point sources.

A high spatial resolution carbon dioxide (CO2) emission map of China is proving to be essential for China's carbon cycle research and carbon reduction strategies given the current low quality of CO2 emission data and the inconsistencies in data quality between different regions. Ten km resolution CO2 emission gridded data has been built up for China based on point emission sources and other supporting data. The predominance of emissions from industrial point sources (84% of total emissions) in China supports the use of bottom-up methodology. The resultant emission map is informative and proved to be more spatially accurate than the EDGAR data. Spatial distribution of CO2 emissions in China is highly unbalanced and has positive spatial autocorrelation. The spatial pattern is mainly influenced by key cities and key regions, i.e., the Jing-Jin-Ji region, the Yangtze River delta region, and the Pearl River delta region. The emission map indicated that the supervision of 1% of total land could enable the management of about 70% of emissions in China.

Comparative Genomics of Lotus japonicus Reveals Insights into Proanthocyanidin Accumulation and Abiotic Stress Response.

Lotus japonicus, is an important perennial model legume, has been widely used for studying biological processes such as symbiotic nitrogen fixation, proanthocyanidin (PA) biosynthesis, and abiotic stress response. High-quality L. japonicus genomes have been reported recently; however, the genetic basis of genes associated with specific characters including proanthocyanidin distribution in most tissues and tolerance to stress has not been systematically explored yet. Here, based on our previous high-quality L. japonicus genome assembly and annotation, we compared the L. japonicus MG-20 genome with those of other legume species. We revealed the expansive and specific gene families enriched in secondary metabolite biosynthesis and the detection of external stimuli. We suggested that increased copy numbers and transcription of PA-related genes contribute to PA accumulation in the stem, petiole, flower, pod, and seed coat of L. japonicus. Meanwhile, According to shared and unique transcription factors responding to five abiotic stresses, we revealed that MYB and AP2/ERF play more crucial roles in abiotic stresses. Our study provides new insights into the key agricultural traits of L. japonicus including PA biosynthesis and response to abiotic stress. This may provide valuable gene resources for legume forage abiotic stress resistance and nutrient improvement.

[Assessment of haze-related human health risks for four Chinese cities during extreme haze in January 2013].

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the human health risks (premature death risk as an indicator) in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Xi'an during extreme haze in January 2013. METHODS: The daily average particulate matter ≤ 2.5 µm in aerodynamic diameter (PM2.5) concentrations of Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Xi'an in January 2013 were collected and their characteristics explored. The populations and mortality rate of four cities in 2010 were collected from the statistical yearbook, the exposure-response relationships selected from the reference and then the premature death calculated according to the proportion risk model of Poisson regression. RESULTS: In January 2013, the 24 h mean concentrations of PM2.5 in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Xi'an were (240 ± 165) , (83 ± 27), (94 ± 49) and (210 ± 98) µg/m(3) respectively and they were all above the secondary level of Ambient Air Quality Standards (GB 3095-2012). The 24 h mean concentrations of PM2.5 in Beijing and Xi'an were much higher than those in Shanghai and Guangzhou. Approximately 86.4% (19/22) , 58.1% (18/31), 54.8% (17/31) and 93.5% (29/31) of 24 h mean PM2.5 concentrations in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Xi'an respectively exceeded the secondary level of Ambient Air Quality Standards (GB 3095-2012). The number of premature death due to the exposure to haze were 725 (95%CI: 457-977) for Beijing, 296 (95%CI: 96-502) for Shanghai, 310 (95%CI: 189-434) for Guangzhou and 85 (95%CI: 21-141) for Xi'an respectively in January 2013. CONCLUSION: The PM2.5 pollutions of four cities in January 2013 were serious enough to pose elevated risks of human health.

Decoding the role of m6A Regulators in identifying and characterizing molecular subtypes of rosacea.

Rosacea is a common skin disease that predominantly affects individuals aged between 30 and 50 years. While the exact cause of the disease remains unclear, various factors have been shown to trigger or exacerbate its symptoms. N6-methyladenosine (m6A) modification is one of the most abundant epigenetic methylation modification in messenger RNA (mRNA) and non-coding RNA (ncRNA), plays a crucial role in RNA splicing, export, stability, and translation. In this study, we aimed to characterize m6A genes in rosacea, identify molecular subtypes based on m6A gene expression, characterize the immune features among subtypes, explore key molecules based on co-expression analysis, and identify potential targets and drugs. To achieve our objectives, we first compared the expression pattern and immune regulation of m6A genes between healthy and diseased groups. Then, we performed clustering to stratify disease samples into different subtypes and analyzed immune regulation and functional enrichment among the subtypes. Then, we conducted differential analysis between subtypes and applied weighted gene co-expression network analysis (WGCNA) in three subtypes. We found hub differential expression analysis (DEG) genes and their potential drug based on the WGCNA results and the drug-gene interaction database (DGIdb). Finally, in vivo and in vitro studies showed significant differences in m6A methyltransferase METTL3 levels in rosacea mice and control mice, as well as in the skin of rosacea patients and healthy people, while reducing METTL3 significantly inhibited the inflammatory response of human fibroblasts (HDFs) stimulated by LL37, suggesting that METTL3 may be associated with changes in overall m6A levels in rosacea. Taken together, our findings provide valuable insights into therapeutic targets and drug predictions for rosacea.

Identification and Analysis of Crucial Genes in H. pylori-Associated Gastric Cancer Using an Integrated Bioinformatics Approach.

Background: The relationship between H. pylori infection and gastric cancer (GC) has been widely studied, and H. pylori is considered as the main factor. Utilizing bioinformatics analysis, this study examined gene signatures related to progressing H. pylori-associated GC. Materials and Methods: The dataset GSE13195 was chosen to search for abnormally expressed genes in H. pylori-associated GC and normal tissues. The TCGA-STAD database was chosen to verify the expression of key genes in GC and normal tissues. Results: In GSE13195, a total of 332 differential expression genes (DEGs) were screened. The results of weighted gene co-expression network analysis showed that the light cyan, plum2, black, and magenta4 modules were associated with stages (T3, T2, and T4), while the orangered4, salmon2, pink, and navajowhite2 modules were correlated with lymph node metastasis (N3, N2, and N0). Based on the results of DEGs and hub genes, a total of 7 key genes (ADAM28, FCER1G, MRPL14, SOSTDC1, TYROBP, C1QC, and C3) were screened out. These gene mRNA levels were able to distinguish between normal and H. pylori-associated GC tissue using receiver operating characteristic curves. After transcriptional level verification and survival analysis, ADAM28 and C1QC were excluded. An immune infiltration study revealed that key genes were involved in regulating the infiltration levels of cells associated with innate immune response, antigen presentation process, humoral immune response, or Tcell-mediated immune response. In addition, drugs targeting FCER1G and TYROBP have been approved and are under investigation. Conclusion: Our study identified five key genes involved in H. pylori-associated GC tumorigenesis. Patients with higher levels of C3 expression had a poorer prognosis than those with lower levels. In addition, these key genes may serve as biomarkers and therapeutic targets for H. pylori-associated GC diagnosis, targeted therapy, and immunotherapy in the future.

Health impacts under different ozone mitigation pathways in Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei and its surroundings.

To evaluate the effects of the various ozone (O3) control approaches on environmental health and health inequalities, 121 reduction scenarios for nitrogen oxides (NOx) and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) were developed, and their environmental health impacts were calculated. With the target of achieving the 90th percentile of the daily maximum 8 h mean O3 concentration (MDA8-90th) of 160 µg/m3 in Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei and its surroundings ("2 + 26" cities), three typical scenarios namely, High-NOx reduction ratio (HN, NOx/VOCs = 6:1), High-VOCs reduction ratio (HV, NOx/VOCs = 3:7), and Balanced reduction ratio (Balanced, NOx/VOCs = 1:1) were investigated. The results show that O3 formation is currently NOx-limited at the regional scale, while some developed cities are VOC-limited, indicating that NOx mitigation should be the core for achieving the targeted concentration (160 µg/m3) at the regional scale, whereas cities such as Beijing in the short term should focus on VOCs mitigation. The population-weighted O3 concentrations in the HN, Balanced, and HV scenarios were 159.19, 159.19, and 158.44 µg/m3, respectively. In addition, the O3-related premature mortality was 41,320 in "2 + 26" cities; control measures under HN, Balanced, and HV could potentially decrease O3-related premature deaths by 59.94 %, 60.25 %, and 71.48 %, respectively. The HV scenario has been found to be more advantageous in lowering the O3-related environmental health impacts than the HN and Balanced scenarios. It was further found that premature deaths avoided by the HN scenario were mainly concentrated in economically unadvanced regions, whereas those prevented by the HV scenario were mainly concentrated in developed cities. This may lead to geographical inequities in environmental health. As ozone pollution in large cities with high population density is primarily VOC-limited, decrease in VOCs should be focused on in the short term to avoid more O3-related premature deaths, whereas NOx control may be more important in decreasing ozone concentrations and ozone-related mortality in the future.

Synergistic assessment of air pollution and carbon emissions from the economic perspective in China.

The synergistic evaluation integrating air quality, human health, climate impact, and socioeconomic development is significant for green and low-carbon transition. Here, we quantified the contribution of pollutant emissions in 30 provinces (source) to PM2.5 concentration and related premature mortality in each 20 km grid (receptor) of China in 2020 by an integrated model for the first time. Further, we established a cross-province contribution matrix of health impact intensity (HII, PM2.5-related deaths per GDP). According to HII and CEI (carbon emission intensity, defined as CO2 emission per GDP) levels, 30 provinces were divided into 4 regions including LL, HL, LH and HH. In order to assess the synergy in air pollution and carbon emission, we established an index system consisting of ISEC-AC (index for synergistic assessment) and its two sub index: IHI (index for HII assessment), and ICE (index for CEI assessment). Results showed that the ISEC-AC was more easily influenced by IHI as the variance of IHI was much higher than that of ICE. Influenced by various factors, e.g., economic structure, population density, pollution transport, ISEC-AC exhibited substantial spatial heterogeneity. In general, the ISEC-AC of southeast provinces was higher than that of central and western, indicating the environmental and climate impact per GDP was relatively lower in southeast China. For provinces, ISEC-AC of SH and GD were ~ 16 times higher than NX. For regions, due to low carbon emission intensity and health impact intensity, ISEC-AC of LL was the highest with 176; followed by HL (128), LH (126) and HH (77). Further, we figured out the main control problems and then put forward targeted synergetic control suggestions for air pollution and carbon emission from the perspective of energy structure, industry structure and industry layout, which can provide insights into future green and low-carbon policy making in China and other countries.

The economy-employment-environmental health transfer and embedded inequities of China's capital metropolitan area: a mixed-methods study.

BACKGROUND: Metropolitan areas have complex trade linkages internally and externally. This complexity stimulates the unequal spatial transfer of environmental health consequences, economy, and employment embodied in internal trade or trade with the outside regions, resulting in unequal exchange. Existing research has rarely discussed this issue at a refined scale, hindering targeted inequity alleviation policies. METHODS: We conducted a mixed-methods study, focusing on the most polluted metropolitan area in the world, the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region of China, and developed an integrated modelling framework to downscale the analysis of the trade-driven unequal transfer of PM2·5- related premature deaths, value added, and job opportunities to the city scale within Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei. The study couples a nested Multi-Regional Input-Output model table containing data from 13 Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei cities and 28 outer provinces in 2017 with a bottom-up emission inventory, value added and employment statistical data, the Weather Research and Forecasting-Comprehensive Air Quality Model with Extensions, the Global Exposure Mortality Model, and human capital methods. We also constructed two indices measuring unequal exchanges between PM2·5-related deaths and economic and employment gains embodied in trades between cities in Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei and trades with outside regions. FINDINGS: The Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region as a single entity shifted 14 985 (95% CI 12 800-16 948) net deaths to regions outside the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei through trade, most of which occurred in the central region of China. The industrial-based peripheral Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei cities suffered the most serious inequities when trading with other Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei cities and outside regions. While gaining equivalent local jobs, these industrial-based peripheral cities had 250% higher PM2·5-related deaths (10·2 PM2·5-related deaths for obtaining 1000 local jobs) than core cities (2·9 PM2·5-related deaths for obtaining 1000 local jobs) and 57·7% higher PM2·5-related deaths than agricultural-based peripheral cities (6·5 PM2·5-related deaths for obtaining 1000 local jobs). While gaining equivalent value added, industrial-based peripheral cities had 50·6% higher PM2·5-related deaths (¥13·9 of reduced human capital due to PM2·5-related premature deaths to obtain ¥1000 local value added) than core cities (¥9·2 of reduced human capital due to PM2·5-related premature deaths to obtain ¥1000 local value added) and 67·4% higher PM2·5-related deaths than agricultural-based peripheral cities (¥8·3 of reduced human capital due to PM2·5-related premature deaths to obtain ¥1000 local value added). INTERPRETATION: Treating metropolitan areas as a single entity obscured internal heterogeneity, potentially misleading policy makers into imposing strict regulations on the whole metropolitan area to alleviate the inequities it posed on outside regions. However, several peripheral Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei cities were disadvantaged in their trade with core Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei cities and outside regions. Therefore, policies should be tailored for particular cities within metropolitan areas. Future targeted policies should include, but not be limited to, making ecological compensations and incorporating the environment and health costs into the price of pollution-intensive goods and services. FUNDING: National Key Research and Devlopment Program of China, National Natural Science Foundation of China, and Jiangsu Natural Science Foundation.