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Aromatic hydrocarbons (AHs) are both hazardous air pollutants and important precursors to ozone and secondary organic aerosols. Here we investigated 14 C6-C9 AHs at one urban, one suburban and two rural sites in the Pearl River Delta region during November-December 2009. The ratios of individual aromatics to acetylene were compared among these contrasting sites to indicate their difference in source contributions from solvent use and vehicle emissions. Ratios of toluene to benzene (T/B) in urban (1.8) and suburban (1.6) were near that of vehicle emissions. Higher T/B of 2.5 at the rural site downwind the industry zones reflected substantial contribution of solvent use while T/B of 0.8 at the upwind rural site reflected the impact of biomass burning. Source apportionment by positive matrix factorization (PMF) revealed that solvent use, vehicle exhaust and biomass burning altogether accounted for 89-94% of observed AHs. Vehicle exhaust was the major source for benzene with a share of 43-70% and biomass burning in particular contributed 30% to benzene in the upwind rural site; toluene, C8-aromatics and C9-aromatics, however, were mainly from solvent use, with contribution percentages of 47-59%, 52-59% and 41-64%, respectively.

Chemotherapy is a conventional treatment for glioma, but its efficacy is greatly limited due to low blood-brain barrier (BBB) permeability and lack of specificity. Herein, intelligent and tumor microenvironment (TME)-responsive folic acid (FA) derivatives and mitochondria-targeting berberine (BBR) derivatives co-modified liposome coated with Tween 80 loading paclitaxel (PTX-Tween 80-BBR + FA-Lip) was constructed. Specifically speaking, liposomes modified by FA can be effectively target ed to glioma cells. BBR, due to its delocalized positive electricity and lipophilicity, can be attracted by mitochondrial membrane potential and concentrate on mitochondria to achieve mitochondrial targeting and induce cell apoptosis. By simultaneously modifying the liposome with FA and BBR to deliver drugs, leads to a good therapeutic effect of glioma through FA-based glioma targeting and BBR-based mitochondrial targeting. In addition, the surface of the liposome was coated with Tween 80 to further improve BBB penetration. All results exhibited that PTX-Tween 80-BBR + FA-Lip can observably improve the chemotherapy therapeutic efficacy through the highly specific tumor targeting and mitochondrial targeting, which can provide new ideas and methods for the targeted therapy of glioma.

Data collected in a large epidemiologic study were analyzed to examine respiratory health effects of residential coal use in 7058 school children living in the four Chinese cities of Chongqing, Guangzhou, Lanzhou, and Wuhan. A Scenario Evaluation Approach was used to develop two exposure variables, heating coal smoke and cooking coal smoke. Estimated lifetime exposures to heating coal smoke and cooking coal smoke were both classified into four-level ordinal scales, as follows: no reported exposure (control); lightly exposed; moderately exposed; and heavily exposed. Zero-one dummy variables were constructed for each exposure level other than the control level (total six variables). These variables were entered into the analytical model. We tested for exposure-response relationships using logistic regression models, while controlling for other relevant covariates, including an indicator variable of ambient air pollution levels. We observed monotonic and positive exposure-response relationships of exposure to heating coal smoke with modeled odds ratios (ORs) of phlegm, cough with phlegm, and bronchitis. Other health outcomes were not associated with such exposure in a monotonic exposure-response pattern. However, ORs for cough, wheeze, and asthma were all higher in the exposed groups than in the control group. We observed no consistent associations between cooking coal smoke and the examined health outcomes. We conclude that exposure to heating coal smoke could have adverse effects on children's respiratory symptoms and illnesses in these four Chinese cities.

Building facades are under permanent environmental influences, such as sun and acid rain, which age and can ultimately destroy them. Living wall systems can protect facades and offer similar benefits to those gained from installing a green roof. A view back in history shows that vegetated facades are not new technology but can offer multiple benefits as a component of current urban design. In the 19th century, in many European and some North American cities, woody climbers were frequently used as a cover for simple facades. In Central Europe in the 1980s a growing interest in environmental issues resulted in the vision to bring nature into cities. In many German cities incentive programmes were developed, including some that supported tenant initiatives for planting and maintaining climbers in their backyards and facades. Since the 1980s, research has been conducted on issues such as the insulating effects of plants on facades, the ability of plants to mitigate dust, plants’ evaporative cooling effects, and habitat creation for urban wildlife, including birds, spiders and beetles. The aim of this paper is to review research activities on the green wall and facade technology with a focus on Germany. The potential of green facades to improve urban microclimate and buildings’ ecological footprint is high, but they have not developed a widespread presence outside of Germany because they are not as well known as green roofs and there is a lack of implementation guidelines and incentive programs in other countries.

The upsurge in higher education is considered a key determinant for enhancing green growth. Moreover, ICT development is also the main catalyst of green growth. This research explores the role of higher education and ICT on green growth for China from 1995 to 2020. The study employs auto-regressive distributive lag (ARDL) approach for short-run and long-run estimates of green growth. The effect of higher education and ICT on green growth is significantly positive in the long run and short run. The outcomes of the empirical models reveal that financial inclusion is positively associated with green growth in both long run and short run. Moreover, renewable energy consumption is found to have a positive impact on green growth. The findings thus point to the need for policies that promote human capital and ICT infrastructure as a way of accelerating green growth.

Abstract The assessment of the time and frequency connectedness between cryptocurrencies and renewable energy stock markets is of key interest for portfolio diversification. In this paper, we utilize weekly data from 07 August 2015 to 26 March 2021 to document the dynamics and portfolio diversification from a fresh cryptocurrencies-renewable energy perspective. Our time-frequency domain spillovers results reveal that renewable energy stocks are the main spillover contributors in the connectedness system and the short-run spillovers dominate their long-run counterparts. Furthermore, investors can gain more profits through short-run transactions in our portfolio design and we can optimize portfolios by investing a large portion in cryptocurrencies. A fascinating fact is that the COVID-19 pandemic can reverse the effectiveness of our hedging strategy.

Uncontrolled inflammation causes health problems. Extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) phosphorylates signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) at Ser727, resulting in inflammation. The leaf of Vernonia amygdalina (VA) is a medicinal herb for managing inflammation-associated diseases. Oral administration or topical application of VA leaf extract exerts anti-inflammatory effects in rat models. However, the anti-inflammatory mechanisms of the herb are not fully understood.In this study, we aimed to investigate the involvement of ERK/STAT3 (Ser727) signaling in the anti-inflammatory effects of an ethanolic extract of VA leaves.Extracts of VA leaves were prepared with different concentrations of ethanol. A LPS-stimulated RAW264.7 cell model was used for in vitro assays, and a TPA (12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate)-induced ear edema mouse model was employed for in vivo assays. The 95% ethanol extract of VA leaves (VAE) exerted the strongest inhibitory effect on nitric oxide (NO) production in LPS-stimulated macrophages; thus it was selected for use in this study. Hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) staining was used to examine pathological conditions of mouse ear tissues. Griess reagent was employed to examine NO generation in cell cultures. Immunoblotting and ELISA were used to examine protein levels, and RT-qPCR was employed to examine mRNA levels.Topical application of VAE ameliorated mouse ear edema induced by TPA. VAE suppressed the phosphorylation of ERK (Thr202/Tyr204) and STAT3 (Ser727); and decreased protein levels of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS), cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2), interleukin (IL)-6, IL-1β and tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) in the mouse ear tissues and in LPS-stimulated RAW 264.7 cells. VAE also inhibited NO production, and lowered mRNA levels of IL-6, IL-1β and TNF-α in the macrophages.VAE ameliorates TPA-induced mouse ear edema. Suppression of ERK/STAT3 (Ser727) signaling is involved in VAE's anti-inflammatory effects. These novel data provide further pharmacological justifications for the medicinal use of VA in treating inflammation-associated diseases, and lay the groundwork for developing VAE into a new anti-inflammatory agent.

The atmospheric pollutants and greenhouse gases emitted by ships have a significant impact on the air quality of the cities around the port and the physical and mental health of the residents. In order to promote the low-carbon, green, and sustainable development of the region, it is urgent to conduct comprehensive research and control the air pollution emissions from ships in the region. In this paper, the traditional power-based emission inventory calculation model is improved through field tests, and the engine propeller matching coefficient is proposed. Combined with the actual situation of local ships, the parameters suitable for the air pollution emission inventory of ships in the region are comprehensively selected. In the case of statistical comparison of the air pollutant emissions of the main and auxiliary engines under different navigation conditions, the uncertainty analysis was carried out, and the AIS (Automatic Identification System) combined with the power method was used to obtain the air pollution emission inventory of ships in the main urban area of Chongqing. The research in this paper can improve the calculation model of the power method emission inventory according to the situation of ships in the inland river area, which provides a reference for the development and improvement of the emission inventory in the inland river area, and also provides suggestions and thinking for the government to formulate energy saving and emission reduction measures in the inland river area.