Association between ambient temperature and mammalian-related injuries in Guangzhou, China, 2014-2019.

BACKGROUND: Meteorological factors are associated with various health outcomes. However, it remains uncertain whether ambient temperature affects animal aggressive behaviors and causes mammalian-related injuries (MRI) in humans. The study aimed to examine the effect of daily mean temperature on MRI in Guangzhou, China. METHODS: Individual cases of MRI were obtained from Guangzhou Injury Surveillance System during 2014-2019. A combination of a distributed lag nonlinear model and conditional quasi-Poisson regression, implemented within a time-stratified case-crossover design, was employed to evaluate the association between temperature and MRI. Subgroup analyses were conducted by sex, age group, education level, and types of mammals. RESULT: This study included 24,206 MRI cases among which 89.7 % were caused by cats or dogs. We observed a nonlinear relationship between daily mean temperature and MRI. The impact of high temperatures was most pronounced on the current day and remained statistically significant on the next day. Compared with the reference temperature with a minimum risk of injuries (9.3 °C, approximately 2nd percentile of temperature), 75th percentile of temperature (27.4 °C) exerted the greatest relative risk (RR) of injuries (RR = 1.45, 95 % CI: 1.25-1.68) over lag 0-1 days. In subgroup analyses, the effects of high temperatures among males and females were similar. Individuals aged 15-34 years and 35-59 years were more susceptible to MRI at high temperatures compared to other age groups. The risk of injuries caused by cats or dogs consistently increased with high temperatures. We did not find significant impacts of low temperatures. CONCLUSION: Short-term heat exposure plays an important role in the occurrence of MRI. The findings highlight the importance of enhancing public awareness regarding the high temperature-associated hazards posed by mammals. There is a need for enhanced regulations and measures on the management for cats and dogs to mitigate the harm caused in hot seasons.

The Effectiveness of National Expanded Program on Immunization With Hepatitis A Vaccines in the Chinese Mainland: Interrupted Time-Series Analysis.

BACKGROUND: The high prevalence of hepatitis A delivered a blow to public health decades ago. The World Health Organization (WHO) set a goal to eliminate viral hepatitis including hepatitis A by 2030. In 2008, hepatitis A vaccines were integrated into the Expanded Program on Immunization (EPI) in China to alleviate the burden of hepatitis A, although the effectiveness of the EPI has not been well investigated. OBJECTIVE: We aimed to evaluate the intervention effect at both provincial and national levels on the incidence of hepatitis A in the Chinese mainland from 2005 to 2019. METHODS: Based on the monthly reported number of hepatitis A cases from 2005 to 2019 in each provincial-level administrative division, we adopted generalized additive models with an interrupted time-series design to estimate province-specific effects of the EPI on the incidence of hepatitis A among the target population (children aged 2-9 years) from 2005 to 2019. We then pooled province-specific effect estimates using random-effects meta-analyses. We also assessed the effect among the nontarget population and the whole population. RESULTS: A total of 98,275 hepatitis A cases among children aged 2-9 years were reported in the Chinese mainland from 2005 to 2019, with an average annual incidence of 5.33 cases per 100,000 persons. Nationally, the EPI decreased the hepatitis A incidence by 80.77% (excess risk [ER] -80.77%, 95% CI -85.86% to -72.92%) during the study period, guarding an annual average of 28.52 (95% empirical CI [eCI] 27.37-29.00) cases per 100,000 persons among the target children against hepatitis A. Western China saw a more significant effect of the EPI on the decrease in the incidence of hepatitis A among the target children. A greater number of target children were protected from onset in Northwest and Southwest China, with an excess incidence rate of -129.72 (95% eCI -135.67 to -117.86) and -66.61 (95% eCI -67.63 to -64.22) cases per 100,000 persons on average, respectively. Intervention effects among nontarget (ER -32.88%, 95% CI -39.76% to -25.21%) and whole populations (ER -31.97%, 95% CI -39.61% to -23.37%) were relatively small. CONCLUSIONS: The EPI has presented a lasting positive effect on the containment of hepatitis A in the target population in China. The EPI's effect on the target children also provided a degree of indirect protection for unvaccinated individuals. The continuous surveillance of hepatitis A and the maintenance of mass vaccination should shore up the accomplishment in the decline of hepatitis A incidence to ultimately achieve the goal set by the WHO.

Digital economy and industrial energy efficiency performance: evidence from the city of the Yangtze River Delta in China.

Industry dominates energy consumption and carbon emissions in China, and industrial energy efficiency is critical for the achievement of energy transformation and carbon emission reduction. With the rapid development of the digital economy, its impact on energy efficiency is gradually emerging, and it is necessary to clarify the influencing mechanism on industrial energy efficiency. Based on the panel data of industrial sectors in 41 cities in the Yangtze River Delta from 2011 to 2019, the main objectives of this study are to more accurately measure the industrial total factor energy efficiency in each city by using the Super-Dynamic-SBM model. It analyses the influence mechanism of the digital economy and other influencing factors on industrial total factor energy efficiency with different methods. The research results indicate that, first, the total factor energy efficiency of the industrial sector in the Yangtze River Delta urban agglomeration generally showed a steady upward trend. Second, the digital economy and environmental regulation play a significant role in promoting total factor energy efficiency. In addition, industrial energy efficiency and the digital economy show an inverted "U" shaped relationship. With the improvement of the digital economy, its marginal contribution to total factor energy efficiency gradually weakens. Finally, technological progress is an important transmission channel for the impact of the digital economy on total factor energy efficiency.

Who shapes the embodied carbon dioxide emissions of interconnected power grids in China? A seasonal perspective.

With the rapid development of interregional power transmission, the redistribution of fossil and renewable energy resources has changed sharply, and its complexity poses a challenge to the evaluation of power carbon emission responsibility. This study constructs an interprovincial power transmission framework to measure the seasonal carbon emissions embodied in regional electricity consumption over the period of 2008-2015 based on quarterly data. Then, a structural decomposition approach was developed to identify the influential factors of carbon emissions embodied in provincial electricity consumption from a seasonal perspective. The results show that the assessment for embodied emissions of power consumption based on different levels of data may vary by as much as 20%, and the carbon emissions and carbon intensity of power consumption exhibit significant seasonal characteristics. Furthermore, it is revealed that the economic scale in the fourth quarter makes the most significant contribution to the emissions increment, especially in underdeveloped provinces, while the change in energy efficiency of power generation reduces more carbon emissions in the first and second quarters. In addition, the impact of the power transmission scale is more significant in the third and fourth quarters, and it has been close to or even more than the impact of traditional factors in some quarters. Finally, the impact of economic scale, power generation energy intensity, power generation mix and electricity utilization efficiency on the emissions of regional power grids shows a relatively stable increasing trend, but this trend of directional stability is not reflected in the effect of the power transmission structure and transmission scale. This study contributes to the identification of the impact of the power transmission structure and transmission scale. Moreover, this study highlights the importance of considering seasonal characteristics when estimating the carbon emissions of power consumption and formulating specific emission reduction policies. Additionally, it provides a more accurate evaluation of carbon emissions and proposes several prominent recommendations for policy makers.

High performance low dielectric polybenzocyclobutene nanocomposites with organic-inorganic hybrid silicon nanoparticles.

In this study, benzocyclobutene-functionalized organic-inorganic hybrid spherical silicon nanoparticles (BCBNPs) with controllable size (200-600 nm) and good dispersion were synthesized by a one-step sol-gel method in aqueous solution. The effect of the reaction conditions (time, precursor concentration, pH value and temperature) on the particle size of the BCBNPs and the formation mechanism of the BCBNPs were studied. What is more, homogeneously dispersed BCBNPs/divinyltetramethyldisiloxane-bis(benzocyclobutene) (BCBNPs/PDVSBCB) nanocomposites were prepared and the influence of the incorporation of BCBNPs on the properties of the nanocomposites was investigated. The dielectric constants of the BCBNPs/PDVSBCB nanocomposites were drastically reduced relative to neat PDVSBCB, and were as low as 2.25 (30 MHz). Besides, the thermal and mechanical properties of the BCBNPs/PDVSBCB nanocomposites were significantly improved, evidencing their potential applications in the field of high-performance dielectric materials.

Above room-temperature dielectric switching and semiconducting properties of a layered organic-inorganic hybrid compound: (C6H12N)2Pb(NO3)4.

The well-studied star compound, CH3NH3PbI3, has attracted plenty of attention because of its remarkable optical and electrical properties. Consequently, new switching multifunctional hybrid compounds can be widely used in many fields such as solar cells, light-emitting diodes, optical data storage and so on. Therefore, switching multifunctional hybrid compounds with dielectric and semiconducting properties simultaneously will also find roles in the next generation of optoelectronic coupling materials. In fact, discovering an effective method to synthesize (multi)functional hybrid materials remains a pressing challenge. Thanks to the "quasi-spherical theory" proposed by Xiong et al., we used 7-azabicyclo[2.2.1]heptane as the quasi-spherical cation to construct molecule-based crystalline materials that exhibit responsive properties. Then, we tried to exploit the knowledge of crystal engineering and coordination chemistry to explain (multi)functional molecular materials. A layered organic-inorganic hybrid compound, (C6H12N)2Pb(NO3)4 (1), was grown and its dielectric switching property and semiconducting behaviour were investigated. Insights from differential scanning calorimetry measurements, variable-temperature X-ray structural studies, and dielectric spectroscopy revealed the origin of the phase transition, which is related to the motion of the organic ammonium and inorganic framework in solid-state crystals. Furthermore, 1 is also a wide bandgap semiconductor with an optical bandgap of 3.53 eV. The realization of switching and semiconducting properties simultaneously in layered Pb-based perovskites has a great significance toward research into hybrid compounds and the development of dielectric-optoelectronic integrated materials.

Large Piezoelectric Response in Hybrid Rare-Earth Double Perovskite Relaxor Ferroelectrics.

Piezoelectric materials are technologically important, and the most used are perovskite ferroelectrics. In recent years, more and more emerging areas have put forward new requirements for piezoelectric materials, such as light weight, low acoustic impedance, good flexibility, and biocompatibility. In this context, hybrid organic-inorganic perovskite ferroelectrics have emerged as promising supplements, because they combine attractive features of inorganic and organic materials. Among them, hybrid double-metal perovskites have recently been found to exhibit excellent ferroelectricity. However, their potential as piezoelectric materials has not been exploited. Here, we describe large piezoelectric response in hybrid rare-earth double perovskite relaxor ferroelectrics (RM3HQ)2RbLa(NO3)6 and (RM3HQ)2NH4La(NO3)6 (RM3HQ = R-N-methyl-3-hydroxylquinuclidinium). They are simultaneously ferroelectric and ferroelastic crystals, with the R3 ferroelectric phase and P213 paraelectric phase. We found that ferroelectric polar microdomains and paraelectric nonpolar regions coexist in a wide temperature range through variable-temperature piezoresponse force microscopy images. The two-phase coexistence reveals low energy barriers of transitions between the two phases and between the polar microdomains with different polarization directions. These lead to the easy polarization rotation of the polar microdomains upon applying a stress and, accordingly, the large piezoelectric response up to 106 pC N-1 for (RM3HQ)2RbLa(NO3)6. This finding represents a significant step toward novel applications of piezoelectric materials based on lead-free hybrid perovskites.

Hybrid Organic-Inorganic Antiperovskites.

Substitution of A-site and/or X-site ions of ABX3 -type perovskites with organic groups can give rise to hybrid perovskites, many of which display intriguing properties beyond their parent compounds. However, this method cannot be extended effectively to hybrid antiperovskites. Now, the design of hybrid antiperovskites under the guidance of the concept of Goldschmidt's tolerance factor is presented. Spherical anions were chosen for the A and B sites and spherical organic cations for the X site, and seven hybrid antiperovskites were obtained, including (F3 (H2 O)x )(AlF6 )(H2 dabco)3 , ((Co(CN)6 )(H2 O)5 )(MF6 )(H2 dabco)3 (M=Al3+ , Cr3+ , or In3+ ), (Co(CN)6 )(MF6 )(H2 pip)3 (M=Al3+ or Cr3+ ), and (SbI6 )(AlF6 )(H2 dabco)3 . These new structures reveal that all ions at A, B, and X sites of inorganic antiperovskites can be replaced by molecular ions to form hybrid antiperovskites. This work will lead to the synthesis of a large family of hybrid antiperovskites.

Two-Dimensional Organic-Inorganic Hybrid Rare-Earth Double Perovskite Ferroelectrics.

As a major branch of hybrid perovskites, two-dimensional (2D) hybrid double perovskites are expected to be ideal systems for exploring novel ferroelectric properties, because they can accommodate a variety of organic cations and allow diverse combinations of different metal elements. However, no 2D hybrid double perovskite ferroelectric has been reported since the discovery of halide double perovskites in the 1930s. Based on trivalent rare-earth ions and chiral organic cations, we have designed a new family of 2D rare-earth double perovskite ferroelectrics, A4MIMIII(NO3)8, where A is the organic cation, MI is the alkaline metal or ammonium ion, and MIII is the rare-earth ion. This is the first time that ferroelectricity is realized in 2D hybrid double perovskite systems. These ferroelectrics have achieved high-temperature ferroelectricity and photoluminescent properties. By varying the rare-earth ion, variable photoluminescent properties can be achieved. The results reveal that the 2D rare-earth double perovskite systems provide a promising platform for achieving multifunctional ferroelectricity.