China's Fossil Fuel CO2 Emissions Estimated Using Surface Observations of Coemitted NO2.

Accurate estimates of fossil fuel CO2 (FFCO2) emissions are of great importance for climate prediction and mitigation regulations but remain a significant challenge for accounting methods relying on economic statistics and emission factors. In this study, we employed a regional data assimilation framework to assimilate in situ NO2 observations, allowing us to combine observation-constrained NOx emissions coemitted with FFCO2 and grid-specific CO2-to-NOx emission ratios to infer the daily FFCO2 emissions over China. The estimated national total for 2016 was 11.4 PgCO2·yr-1, with an uncertainty (1σ) of 1.5 PgCO2·yr-1 that accounted for errors associated with atmospheric transport, inversion framework parameters, and CO2-to-NOx emission ratios. Our findings indicated that widely used "bottom-up" emission inventories generally ignore numerous activity level statistics of FFCO2 related to energy industries and power plants in western China, whereas the inventories are significantly overestimated in developed regions and key urban areas owing to exaggerated emission factors and inexact spatial disaggregation. The optimized FFCO2 estimate exhibited more distinct seasonality with a significant increase in emissions in winter. These findings advance our understanding of the spatiotemporal regime of FFCO2 emissions in China.

Identification of key genes in sepsis by WGCNA.

When the body damages its own tissues in response to an infection, sepsis develops. Medical treatments are limited. It's important to understand the molecular mechanism behind sepsis pathogenesis and identify potential molecular treatment targets. We made two modules based on how genes work together by using WGCNA analysis. The light-green GSE131761 module and the blue GSE137342 module had the strongest links to sepsis. A gene ontology (GO) analysis showed that most of the genes in the lightgreen module were involved in the inflammatory response, specific granule, and immune receptor activity. Most of the genes in the blue module were significantly more likely to have the GO terms proteasomal protein catabolic process, ubiquitin ligase complex, and ubiquitin-like protein transferase activity. The KEGG analysis showed that the genes in module lightgreen were mostly involved in the TNF signaling pathway, while the genes in module blue were mostly involved in the Prion disease pathway. There were two hub genes that were found. In the end, ANKRD22 and VNN1 were singled out as crucial genes. This study used WGCNA to investigate sepsis-associated susceptibility modules and genes. Our study identified two modules and two key genes as essential components in sepsis etiology, which may improve our understanding of its molecular mechanisms.

Rapid decline of carbon monoxide emissions in the Fenwei Plain in China during the three-year Action Plan on defending the blue sky.

The Fenwei Plain is one of China's most polluted regions, with poor atmospheric dispersion conditions and an outdated energy structure. After implementing multiple policies in recent years, significant reductions in air pollutant concentrations were observed. In this study, based on the Lagrangian-Bayesian inversion framework FLEXINVERT, we constructed a variable resolution inversion system focusing on the Fenwei Plain and inferred the carbon monoxide (CO) emissions using in-situ atmospheric CO observations from April 2014 to March 2020. We analyzed the spatiotemporal variations of the CO emissions and discussed their causes, especially the effect of the "Three-year Action Plan on Defending the Blue Sky" (TAPDBS). Before the policy, CO emissions temporarily increased, and the overall decrease in CO emissions per unit of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) slowed down. When the policy was implemented, CO emission fluxes declined sharply, with an average drop of 28%, accompanied by an even higher 37% decrease of CO emission per GDP. The reasons for the decline in CO emissions in Shanxi, Shaanxi and Henan are diverse. The decrease in energy intensity is the reason for CO emission reduction in Shannxi and Henan province but not in Shanxi province. This research fills the gap in emission information in recent years and confirms that TAPDBS has brought a breakthrough in both economic development and air quality protection in the Fenwei Plain.

Black Carbon Emission Reduction Due to COVID-19 Lockdown in China.

During the Lunar New Year Holiday of 2020, China implemented an unprecedented lockdown to fight the COVID-19 outbreak, which strongly affected the anthropogenic emissions. We utilized elemental carbon observations (equivalent to black carbon, BC) from 42 sites and performed inverse modeling to determine the impact of the lockdown on the weekly BC emissions and quantify the effect of the stagnant conditions on BC observations in densely populated eastern and northern China. BC emissions declined 70% (eastern China) and 48% (northern China) compared to the first half of January. In northern China, under the stagnant conditions of the first week of the lockdown, the observed BC concentrations rose unexpectedly (29%) even though the BC emissions fell. The emissions declined substantially thereafter until a week after the lockdown ended. On the contrary, in eastern China, BC emissions dropped sharply in the first week and recovered synchronously with the end of the lockdown.

Improved estimation of CO2 emissions from thermal power plants based on OCO-2 XCO2 retrieval using inline plume simulation.

CO2 emissions from power plants are the dominant source of global CO2 emissions, thus in the context of global warming, accurate estimation of CO2 emissions from power plants is essential for the effective control of carbon emissions. Based on the XCO2 retrievals from the Orbiting Carbon Observatory 2 (OCO-2) and the Gaussian Plume Model (GPM), a series of studies have been carried out to estimate CO2 emission from power plants. However, the GPM is an ideal model, and there are a number of assumptions that need to be made when using this model, resulting in large uncertainties in the inverted emissions. Here, based on 6 cases of power plant plumes observed by the OCO-2 satellite over the Yangtze River Delta, China, we use an inline plume rise module coupled in the Community Multi-scale Air Quality model (CMAQ) to simulate the plumes and invert the emissions, and compare the simulated plumes and inverted emissions using the GPM model. We found that CO2 emissions can be significantly overestimated or underestimated based on the GPM simulations, and that the CMAQ inline plume simulation could significantly improve the estimates. However, the simulation bias in wind speed can significantly affect the inversion results. These results indicate that accurate meteorological field and plume simulations are critical for future inversion of point source emissions.

Safflower polysaccharide ameliorates acute ulcerative colitis by regulating STAT3/NF-κB signaling pathways and repairing intestinal barrier function.

This study is to investigate the effect of SPS on the UC model. An animal model of UC induced by DSS was developed using C57BL/6 mice. The body weight was recorded every day, and the symptoms related to UC were detected. H&E staining, AB-PAS staining and PSR staining were used to evaluate the histopathological changes of the colon. Inflammation and mucosal barrier indicators were detected by qRT-PCR, and the 16 S rRNA sequence was used to detect the intestinal flora. SPS can significantly prevent and treat DSS-induced ulcerative colitis in animals. SPS significantly improved clinical symptoms, alleviated pathological damage, inhibited the infiltration of intestinal inflammatory cells. SPS treatment can protect goblet cells, enhance the expression of tight junction proteins and mucins, inhibit the expression of antimicrobial peptides, thereby improving intestinal barrier integrity. The prevention and treatment mechanism of SPS may be related to the inhibition of STAT3/NF-κB signaling pathway to regulate intestinal barrier function. In particular, SPS also significantly adjusted the structure of intestinal flora, significantly increasing the abundance of Akkermansia and Limosilactobacillus and inhibiting the abundance of Bacteroides. Overall, SPS has a significant therapeutic effect on ulcerative colitis mice, and is expected to play its value effectively in clinical treatment.

Effects of hesperidin combined with synephrine on the capture of acrolein in a mouse model, or in humans by citrus consumption.

Acrolein (ACR) is a highly reactive α,ß-unsaturated aldehyde that plays a key role in the pathogenesis of human diseases, such as atherosclerosis and pulmonary, cardiovascular, and neurodegenerative disorders. We investigated the capture capacity of hesperidin (HES) and synephrine (SYN) on ACR by individual and combined means in vitro, in vivo (utilizing a mouse model), and via a human study. After proving that HES and SYN could efficiently capture ACR by generating ACR adducts in vitro, we further detected the adducts of SYN-2ACR, HES-ACR-1, and hesperetin (HESP)-ACR in mouse urine by ultraperformance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. Quantitative assays revealed that adduct formation occurred in a dose-dependent manner, and that there was a synergistic effect of HES and SYN on capturing ACR in vivo. Moreover, quantitative analysis suggested that SYN-2ACR, HES-ACR-1, and HESP-ACR were formed and excreted through the urine of healthy volunteers consuming citrus. The maximum excretions of SYN-2ACR, HES-ACR-1, and HESP-ACR were at 2-4, 8-10, and 10-12 h, respectively, after dosing. Our findings propose a novel strategy for eliminating ACR from the human body via the simultaneous consumption of a flavonoid and an alkaloid.

Elimination of Acrolein by Disodium 5'-Guanylate or Disodium 5'-Inosinate at High Temperature and Its Application in Roasted Pork Patty.

Acrolein (ACR) is a highly active, simple unsaturated aldehyde found in various high-temperature processed foods. Its long-term accumulation in the human body increases the risk of chronic diseases. Animal and plant foodstuffs are rich in disodium 5'-guanylate (GMP) and disodium 5'-inosinate (IMP), which are authorized flavor enhancers. Herein, we used liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry to explore the reaction-active kinetics and pathway of the interaction between GMP/IMP and ACR and validated it in roasted pork patties. Our results suggested that GMP and IMP could efficiently eliminate ACR by forming ACR adducts (GMP-ACR, IMP-ACR). In addition, IMP exhibited a higher reaction rate, whereas GMP had a good trapping capacity at a later stage. As carriers of GMP and IMP, dried mushrooms and shrimp exhibited an effective ACR-trapping ability in the ACR model and roasted pork patty individually and in combination. Adding 10% of dried mushroom or shrimp alone or 5% of dried mushroom and shrimp in combination eliminated up to 53.9%, 55.8%, and 55.2% ACR in a roasted pork patty, respectively. This study proposed a novel strategy to eliminate the generation of ACR in roasted pork patties by adding foodstuffs rich in GMP and IMP.

Modeling the biogenic isoprene emission and its impact on ozone pollution in Zhejiang province, China.

Isoprene is the most abundantly emitted biogenic volatile organic compound (BVOC), which plays an essential role in producing tropospheric ozone (O3). However, the simulations of isoprene emissions have not been sufficiently verified over Yangtze River Delta (YRD), and few studies have specifically addressed its impact on O3 formation. In this study, we simulated the isoprene emissions in Zhejiang Province (ZJ), a region with the largest BVOC emission in YRD, in August 2020 using the Model of Emissions of Gases and Aerosols from Nature (MEGAN) and the latest Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) products, and investigated its contributions to O3 using the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF)-Community Multiscale Air Quality (CMAQ) model. The model has a good performance on isoprene simulations over urban and suburban areas, with mean biases of -0.16-0.12 ppb, but underestimated the concentrations at forest sites (mainly due to bamboo). Regionally, the simulated formaldehyde concentrations over forests agree well with the satellite observations. In August 2020, the total isoprene emission in ZJ was 125.1 GgC, with higher emissions in western ZJ and relatively lower emissions in eastern coastal regions. The spatial pattern of isoprene concentrations is similar to its emissions, and the maximum daytime average concentrations are above 3.5 ppb. The spatial pattern of its contribution to daily maximum 8 h average O3 concentrations is significantly different from the emissions and concentrations, which shows a higher impact in northern ZJ (>6 ppb) and relatively lower impact in southern ZJ (1-3 ppb). The mean contribution over ZJ is 8.9 %, with daily variation in the range of 3.1 % to 13.4 %. For different cities, the monthly mean contribution is in the range of 4.6 % to 14.3 %, and the maximum daily contribution reaches about 25 %. These findings help understand the summertime O3 pollution in ZJ and the YRD region of China.

Food additive octyl gallate eliminates acrolein and inhibits bacterial growth in oil-rich food.

Acrolein (ACR) is predominantly generated from oil-rich food during thermos- processing. Accumulation of ACR in vivo through food consumption has been associated with an increased risk of developing chronic diseases. Here, we investigated the inhibitory effect of octyl gallate (OG), a new food additive tolerant to high-temperature, alkaline and fat-soluble saturations, on the generation of ACR in OG-ACR, oil-Rancimat models, and real-world frying. Our results demonstrate that approximately 80% and 60% of ACR was eliminated by OG in the two models, respectively, and OG-ACR was detected in the deep-frying process using LC-MS/MS. The reaction pathways were clarified by synthesis and OG-ACR and OG-2ACR adduct structural elucidation. Our work reveals that the antibacterial activity of OG-ACR against Escherichia coli (gram-negative) was four times higher than that of OG. Thus, OG can be developed as a promising novel ACR scavenger for high-temperature food processing and an antibacterial agent in food storage.

The Nord Stream pipeline gas leaks released approximately 220,000 tonnes of methane into the atmosphere.

Sudden mega natural gas leaks of two Nord Stream pipelines in the Baltic Sea (Denmark) occurred from late September to early October 2022, releasing large amounts of methane into the atmosphere. We inferred the methane emissions of this event based on surface in situ observations using two inversion methods and two meteorological reanalysis datasets, supplemented with satellite-based observations. We conclude that approximately 220 ± 30 Gg of methane was released from September 26 to October 1, 2022.

Novel inhibitor of OCT1 enhances the sensitivity of human esophageal squamous cell carcinoma cells to antitumor agents.

Esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) is one of the most fatal malignancies of the digestive system, and shows an especially high incidence in some regions of China. Octamer transcription factors are a family of transcription factors whose DNA-binding domain is a POU domain. OCT transcription factors (OCT-TFs) mediate maintenance of the pluripotency of embryonic stem cells. We measured expression of OCT-TFs in ESCC clinical specimens. Among the OCTs tested, OCT1 showed the highest expression in ESCC tissues. Using molecular docking, we discovered a small-molecule inhibitor, which we named "novel inhibitor of OCT1" (NIO-1), for OCT1. Treatment with NIO-1 inhibited recruitment of OCT1 to the promoter region of its downstream genes and, consequently, repressed OCT1 activation. Treatment with NIO-1 enhanced the susceptibility of ESCC cells to chemotherapeutic agents. Therefore, OCT1 may be a valuable target for ESCC treatment, and NIO-1 could be a promising therapeutic agent.

Smoking Is Positively Associated with Antithyroperoxidase Antibodies and Antithyroglobulin Antibodies in Populations with Mildly Deficient Iodine Intake.

To evaluate the relationship between smoking and both antithyroperoxidase antibody (TPOAb) and antithyroglobulin antibody (TgAb) positivity in subjects from Panshan, Zhangwu, and Huanghua with mildly deficient, more than adequate, and excessive iodine intake, respectively. Smoking-related data were collected by questionnaire, and laboratory measurements of TPOAb, TgAb, and thyrotropin (TSH) were determined at baseline and follow-up. (1) A 1.48-fold increased risk of TPOAb positivity was found in smokers than in non-smokers after adjusting for confounders (age, sex, and areas) (OR[95% CI] = 1.48[1.12-1.95], p = 0.01). (2) Among female subjects, the prevalence of thyroid autoantibodies in smokers was increased than that in non-smokers in Panshan, Zhangwu, and Huanghua (TPOAb): 16.79 vs. 8.89%, 14.14 vs. 11.09%, 19.53 vs. 9.57%; TgAb 15.32 vs. 9.29%, 12.79 vs. 11.94%, 17.19 vs. 10.55%, respectively). The difference was significant in Panshan after adjusting for age. (3) Female long-term smokers (> 20 years) had an increased frequency of thyroid autoantibody positivity than non-smokers after adjusting for confounders (TPOAb OR[95% CI] = 1.60[1.10-2.34]; TgAb OR[95% CI] = 1.31[0.88-1.94]). (4) There was no difference in the incidence of thyroid autoantibodies among non-smokers, new smokers, and long-term smokers at follow-up. (5) TSH was greater in TPOAb-positive subjects than in seronegative smokers (1.56 vs. 1.20 mU/L, p < 0.001) and non-smokers (1.97 vs. 1.58 mU/L, p < 0.001). However, TSH was also greater in non-smokers than in smokers, regardless of whether subjects were positive (1.97 vs. 1.56 mU/L, p = 0.04) or negative (1.58 vs. 1.20 mU/L, p < 0.001) for TPOAb. Long-term smoking could increase the prevalence of thyroid autoantibodies in a population with mildly deficient iodine intake. TSH levels were lesser in smokers than in non-smokers and greater in subjects with thyroid autoantibody positivity than in seronegative subjects. The influence of smoking on TSH levels was independent of thyroid autoantibody levels.