Nonlinear effects of socio-economic factors on urban haze in China: Evidence from spatial econometric smooth transition autoregressive regression approach.

In recent years, China has achieved numerous economic miracles but it has also been plagued by severe air pollution. The frequent hazy weather has severely restricted China's sustainable development. To investigate the nonlinear threshold effect of socio-economic factors on urban haze in China, this study constructs a spatial econometric Smooth Transition Autoregressive Regression (STAR) model based on the STIRPAT theory by using the remote sensing inversion PM2.5 data of 223 prefecture-level and above cities in China mainland during 2004-2016. In this study, the ARAR-STAR model is estimated by quasi-maximum likelihood estimation, and the accuracy of parameter estimation is verified by Monte Carlo simulation, which proves that the ARAR-STAR model constructed in this study is robust. It is concluded that: there is a complex spatial nonlinear relationship between socio-economic factors such as economic development level, population density, advanced industrial structure, energy consumption, opening-up, and haze pollution. The effect of socio-economic factors on haze emission reduction under the spatial influence has complex heterogeneity with the smooth transition between high and low regimes with economic development. The ARAR-STAR model constructed in this paper, which has both individual fixed effects and time fixed effects, expands the form of existing spatial panel nonlinear models and enriches and implements the application of spatial panel smooth transfer threshold models in the environmental field. Not only can it provide policy recommendations for China to achieve "coordinated efficiency in pollution reduction and carbon reduction" as soon as possible, but it also contributes to China's plan to address global climate change and promote global sustainable development.

Identification of miRNAs and their target genes in Larix olgensis and verified of differential expression miRNAs.

BACKGROUND: MiRNAs (microRNA) are 18-24 nt endogenous noncoding RNAs that regulate gene expression at the post-transcriptional level, including tissue-specific, developmental timing and evolutionary conservation gene expression. RESULTS: This study used high-throughput sequencing technology for the first time in Larix olgensis, predicted 78 miRNAs, including 12,229,003 reads sRNA, screened differentially expressed miRNAs. Predicting target genes was helpful for understanding the miRNA regulation function and obtained 333 corresponding target genes. Gene Ontology (GO) and Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) functional annotation were analysed, mostly including nucleic acid binding, plant hormone signal transduction, pantothenate and CoA biosynthesis, and cellulose synthase. This study will lay the foundation for clarifying the complex miRNA-mediated regulatory network for growth and development. In view of this, spatio-temporal expression of miR396, miR950, miR164, miR166 and miR160 were analysed in Larix olgensis during the growth stages of not lignified, beginning of lignification, and completely lignified in different tissues (root, stem, and leaf) by quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR). There were differences in the expression of miRNAs in roots, stems and leaves in the same growth period. At 60 days, miR160, miR166 and miR396-2 exhibited the highest expression in leaves. At 120 days, most miRNAs in roots and stems decreased significantly. At 180 days, miRNAs were abundantly expressed in roots and stems. Meanwhile, analysis of the expression of miRNAs in leaves revealed that miR396-2 was reduced as time went on, whereas other miRNAs increased initially and then decreased. On the other hand, in the stems, miR166-1 was increase, whereas other miRNAs, especially miR160, miR164, miR396 and miR950-1, first decreased and then increased. Similarly, in the roots, miR950-2 first decreased and then increased, whereas other miRNAs exhibited a trend of continuous increase. CONCLUSIONS: The present investigation included rapid isolation and identification of miRNAs in Larix olgensis through construction of a sRNA library using Solexa and predicted 78 novel miRNAs, which showed differential expression levels in different tissues and stages. These results provided a theoretical basis for further revealing the genetic regulation mechanism of miRNA in the growth and development of conifers and the verification of function in target genes.

Is redox zonation an appropriate method for determining the stage of natural remediation in deep contaminated groundwater?

Groundwater contamination resulting from petroleum development poses a significant threat to drinking water sources, especially in developing countries. In situ natural remediation methods, including microbiological processes, have gained popularity for the reduction of groundwater contaminants. However, assessing the stage of remediation in deep contaminated groundwater is challenging and costly due to the complexity of diverse geological conditions and unknown initial concentrations of contaminants. This research proposes that redox zonation may be a more convenient and comprehensive indicator than the concentration of contaminants for determining the stage of natural remediation in deep groundwater. The combination of sequencing microbial composition using the high-throughput 16S rRNA gene and function predicted by FAPROTAX is a useful approach to determining the redox conditions of different contaminated groundwater. The sulfate-reducing environment, represented by Desulfobacteraceae, Peptococcaceae, Desulfovibrionaceae, and Desulfohalobiaceae could be used as characteristic early stages of remediation for produced water contamination in wells with high concentrations of SO42-, benzene, and salinity. The nitrate-reducing environment, enriched with microorganisms related to denitrification, sulfur-oxidizing, and methanophilic microorganisms could be indicative of the mid stages of in situ bioremediation. The oxygen reduction environment, enriched with oligotrophic and pathogenic Sphingomonadaceae, Caulobacteraceae, Syntrophaceae, Legionellales, Moraxellaceae, and Coxiellaceae, could be indicative of the late stages of remediation. This comprehensive approach could provide valuable insights into the process of natural remediation and facilitate improved environmental management in areas of deep contaminated groundwater.

Function of MYB8 in larch under PEG simulated drought stress.

Larch, a prominent afforestation, and timber species in northeastern China, faces growth limitations due to drought. To further investigate the mechanism of larch's drought resistance, we conducted full-length sequencing on embryonic callus subjected to PEG-simulated drought stress. The sequencing results revealed that the differentially expressed genes (DEGs) primarily played roles in cellular activities and cell components, with molecular functions such as binding, catalytic activity, and transport activity. Furthermore, the DEGs showed significant enrichment in pathways related to protein processing, starch and sucrose metabolism, benzose-glucuronic acid interconversion, phenylpropyl biology, flavonoid biosynthesis, as well as nitrogen metabolism and alanine, aspartic acid, and glutamic acid metabolism. Consequently, the transcription factor T_transcript_77027, which is involved in multiple pathways, was selected as a candidate gene for subsequent drought stress resistance tests. Under PEG-simulated drought stress, the LoMYB8 gene was induced and showed significantly upregulated expression compared to the control. Physiological indices demonstrated an improved drought resistance in the transgenic plants. After 48 h of PEG stress, the transcriptome sequencing results of the transiently transformed LoMYB8 plants and control plants exhibited that genes were significantly enriched in biological process, cellular component and molecular function. Function analyses indicated for the enrichment of multiple KEGG pathways, including energy synthesis, metabolic pathways, antioxidant pathways, and other relevant processes. The pathways annotated by the differential metabolites mainly encompassed signal transduction, carbohydrate metabolism, amino acid metabolism, and flavonoid metabolism.

Research on the Duality of China's Marine Fishery Carbon Emissions and Its Coordination with Economic Development.

Through the Tapio model, this paper measures the "decoupling and coupling" relationship between carbon emissions, carbon sinks, and economic growth of marine fisheries in nine coastal provinces of China in 2009-2019, objectively evaluates the economic benefits of carbon emissions and low-carbon development potential, and then discusses the economic development models of marine fisheries in detail. The results showed that the total carbon sink and carbon emission of China's marine fisheries are increasing. Guangdong is dominated by "double low" economic benefits and low-carbon potential, and "double high" provinces have better resource endowment conditions; China's marine fishery economic development is still dominated by conventional types. To further promote the sustainable development of China's marine fisheries, all provinces should define the development orientation of marine fisheries, improve the production methods of marine fisheries according to local conditions, and adjust the industrial structure of marine fisheries in a timely manner, to achieve the low-carbon fishery goal of reducing carbon emissions and growing the economy.

Exploring the relationship between unemployment perception and health during COVID-19: a comparative study of rural and urban adults in China.

Introduction: The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly impacted global economies and individual health. This study uses data from the China Family Panel Data (CFPS) in 2018 (before the pandemic) and 2020 (during the pandemic) to a) estimate the relationships between the perceived risk of unemployment and individuals' mental health, physical health, and health behaviors; and b) explore the variations of these relationships between rural and urban adults in China. Methods: Ordinary linear regression models or Logit models are employed, depending on the nature (continuous vs. discrete) of the dependent variables. Results: We find that the perceived risk of unemployment was statistically and positively associated with the risk of depression, and the association was greater for rural adults than for urban adults. Rural-urban variations were observed in various dimensions. For rural adults, the perceived risk of unemployment was statistically and negatively associated with life satisfaction, the probability of gaining weight and becoming obese, the probability of having adequate sleep, and computer-based screen time. These associations were statistically insignificant for urban adults. On the other hand, the perceived risk of unemployment was statistically and negatively associated with self-rated very-good-to-excellent health condition and health-compromising behaviors (e.g., smoking and drinking) for urban adults; but such associations were statistically insignificant for rural adults. Discussion: These findings suggest that rural and urban adults exhibited different psychological and behavioral responses to the unemployment risk during the COVID-19 pandemic. Public policies aiming to improve health and employment should be strategically designed to address the unique needs of urban and rural populations.

[Effect on Muc2 gene knockdown in Ht29 cells by CRISPR/Cas9 on probiotics-mediated inhibition of E.coli K1 adhesion and invasion].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effects of Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG (LGG) for inhibiting E.coli K1 (E44) adhesion and invasion of an intestinal epithelial cell model with Muc2 gene knockdown established using CRISPR-Cas9 system. METHODS: Two 20-25 bp sgRNAs targeting Muc2 were chemically synthesized to construct CRISPR expression vectors for transfection in wild-type human colonic cancer cell line Ht29. The efficiency of Muc2 knockdown was determined using Western blotting. After assessment of the viability and proliferation of the transfected cells with MTT assay, we evaluated the effects of the probiotics against E44 adhesion and invasion of the cells through a competitive exclusion assay. RESULTS: Transfection of the cells with Lenticrisprv2 plasmid vectors resulted in a cell line with stable Muc2 knockdown by 81%. The inhibitory effects of probiotics against E44 adhesion and invasion of the transfected cells were markedly attenuated, and the relative adhesion and invasion rates of E44 were 72.23% (P<0.05) and 81.49% (P<0.05), respectively. CONCLUSION: Muc2 knockdown causes attenuation of the inhibitory effects of probiotics against E44 adhesion and invasion of the intestinal epithelial cells, suggesting that up-regulation of Muc2 may serve as an important mechanism for the probiotics to reinforce the intestinal barrier and antagonize the pathogenic bacteria, which sheds light on a new strategy for prevention and treatment of bacterial intestinal infections.