Multi-process production occurs in the iron and steel industry, supporting 'dual carbon' target: An in-depth study of CO2 emissions from different processes.

Reducing CO2 emissions of the iron and steel industry, a typical heavy CO2-emitting sector, is the only way that must be passed to achieve the 'dual-carbon' goal, especially in China. In previous studies, however, it is still unknown what is the difference between blast furnace-basic oxygen furnace (BF-BOF), scrap-electric furnace (scrap-EF) and hydrogen metallurgy process. The quantitative research on the key factors affecting CO2 emissions is insufficient. There is also a lack of research on the prediction of CO2 emissions by adjusting industrial structure. Based on material flow analysis, this study establishes carbon flow diagrams of three processes, and then analyze the key factors affecting CO2 emissions. CO2 emissions of the iron and steel industry in the future is predicted by adjusting industrial structure. The results show that: (1) The CO2 emissions of BF-BOF, scrap-EF and hydrogen metallurgy process in a site are 1417.26, 542.93 and 1166.52 kg, respectively. (2) By increasing pellet ratio in blast furnace, scrap ratio in electric furnace, etc., can effectively reduce CO2 emissions. (3) Reducing the crude steel output is the most effective CO2 reduction measure. There is still 5.15 × 108-6.17 × 108 tons of CO2 that needs to be reduced by additional measures.

Muti-objective optimization on energy consumption, CO2 emission and production cost for iron and steel industry.

Due to high material density, high energy consumption density and CO2 emission density, it is not only difficult but significant to clarify the relationship between energy consumption, the CO2 emission and the production cost in different conditions. However, the previous researches rarely refer how to balance the energy consumption, the CO2 emission and the production cost after the fluctuation of material, energy and carbon price as well as what will happen to them if production structure changes. Therefore, based on the conservation law of mass and energy, to study iron and steel manufacturing process (ISMP), this paper, taking carbon price into consideration, establishes a muti-optimization model of energy consumption, CO2 emission and cost. After optimization with different objectives, the production cost per tonne of crude steel is reduced by 192.03 CNY (7.71%), the CO2 emission per tonne of crude steel is reduced by 224.22 kg (13.37%), and the energy consumption per tonne of steel is reduced by 51.20 kgce (9.10%). Moreover, based on the optimization results under different objectives, it is ironmaking process (coal ratio and ore ratio) and steelmaking process (amount of scrap steel) that has more impact on three above as well as ore blending and coal blending have a great influence on production cost but little effect on energy consumption and CO2 emission.

Health-related quality of life in children with congenital heart disease following interventional closure versus minimally invasive closure.

Introduction: The presence of atrial septal defect (ASD) or ventricular septal defect (VSD) significantly affects children's quality of life and, if not treated adequately, can contribute to increased mortality. In this study, we evaluated and compared the health-related quality of life (HRQL) of children who underwent treatment using either minimally invasive closure (MIC) or interventional closure (IC). Materials and methods: In this observational and comparative study 199 children (2 to 4.5 years of age) underwent closure treatment for simple ASD or VSD at the Children's Hospital of Chongqing Medical University between February 2021 and September 2021. Of these, 116 were treated with IC and 83 with MIC. Both preoperative and postoperative HRQL scores were assessed using the PedsQLTM3.0 Cardiac Module and the children were followed up at 3 and 6 months after surgery. Results: The two groups did not differ significantly in terms of demographics, baseline clinical characteristics, or pre-operative data. The duration of anesthesia (45 mins vs. 109 mins), procedures (25 mins vs. 48 mins), and length of postoperative hospital stay (4.32 days vs. 6.87 days) in the IC group were significantly less than in the MIC group (P < 0.001). The incidence of postoperative pneumonia in the VSD patients who underwent MIC was significantly higher than in those who underwent IC treatment (28.9% vs. 0 percent, P < 0.001). The HRQL scores increased significantly in both groups following treatment and follow-up evaluations (P < 0.001). The mean HRQL score of the IC group 3 months after treatment was significantly higher than that of the MIC group (88.9 vs. 85.7, P < 0.001), indicating a significant increase from the baseline score compared with the MIC group (5.4 vs. 2.6, P < 0.001). The IC group also showed higher scores than the MIC group (P < 0.05) in the dimensions of "Heart Problems and Treatment," "Treatment Anxiety," and "Cognitive Problems," with higher scores indicating fewer problems. Conclusion: The health-related quality of life in children with ASD and VSD improved continuously regardless of IC or MIC intervention. However, IC led to better HRQL in the early postoperative stage.

Oxidative Phosphorylation-Mediated E-Selectin Upregulation Is Associated With Endothelia-Monocyte Adhesion in Human Coronary Artery Endothelial Cells Treated With Sera From Patients With Kawasaki Disease.

Background and aims: E-selectin is a cell adhesion molecule of the vascular endothelium that mediates leukocyte rolling in the early inflammatory responses in many diseases including Kawasaki disease (KD). Previous studies have demonstrated that the expression levels of E-selectin was significantly increased in the sera of KD patients and in endothelial cells of KD patient's autopsy. In this study, we aimed to examine E-selectin levels in endothelial cells treated with sera from KD patients and explore the underlying mechanisms. Methods: Human coronary artery endothelial cells (HCAECs) were randomly incubated with sera from either healthy children [healthy control (HC group)] or pediatric KD patients [assigned as KD with coronary artery lesion (KD-CAL+ group) and KD without coronary artery lesion (KD-CAL- group)]. E-selectin levels were determined by RT-qPCR, Western blotting, and immunofluorescence. Cell adhesion assay was performed to quantify the role of E-selectin in intercellular adhesion. High-throughput cell RNA sequencing followed by functional validation was performed to explore the underlying mechanism. Results: E-selectin levels were significantly increased in KD-CAL+ group vs. HC group and KD-CAL- group. Compared with the KD-CAL- group, endothelia-monocyte adhesion was increased in the KD-CAL+ group, while E-selectin-specific siRNA could significantly rescue it. High-throughput cell RNA sequencing analysis also found a significant difference in oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS) levels between KD-CAL+ group and KD-CAL- group. Functional validation results further confirmed that the OXPHOS was upregulated in the KD-CAL+ group and KD-CAL- group compared to that in the HC group, while the KD-CAL+ group exhibited a higher OXPHOS than the KD-CAL- group. We also found that the E-selectin levels and endothelia-monocyte adhesion were significantly decreased by OXPHOS inhibitor oligomycin in the KD-CAL+ group and KD-CAL- group, respectively. Conclusion: Sera from KD patients stimulate OXPHOS levels and enhance E-selectin expression in HCAECs, which may contribute to the development of CAL in KD patients.

An evaluation of greenhouse gas emission efficiency in China's industry based on SFA.

As one of the largest countries with sound industrial systems in the world, China is a major emitter of greenhouse gases. In order to achieve sustainable development, the analysis of greenhouse gas emissions from industry is of great significance. This research evaluates the greenhouse gas emission efficiency (GHG efficiency) at industry level in 26 sectors of China and analyzes the impacts of its determinants using stochastic frontier approach. Furthermore, the correlations for GHG efficiency with its determinants and other proxies are estimated by Kendall's rank analysis. Industry level data from Chinese processing and manufacturing industries spanning over the period 2000-2016 are used for this analysis. Results show that there has little potential to improve GHG efficiency, then technology progress is necessary. The GHG efficiency performance responds both to changes in the proportion of net electricity use and the ratio of electricity price to coal price; meanwhile the technology capacity also has a positive impact. Besides, three main proxies of GHG intensity, energy efficiency and energy intensity have their own significance respectively, but could not represent GHG efficiency.