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Severe air pollution in China and India threatens the health of over one-third of the global population. When it comes to air pollution governance, the two countries have vastly different approaches. China's approach features centralized target-setting and implementation, with policies enforced primarily through top-down administrative lines. While India's approach reflects the division of power among central and state governments and relies substantially on legislative and judiciary systems for accountability. We conduct a detailed review of the trends and sources of six air pollutants in China and India, and make a structured comparison of China and India's air pollution policy frameworks. An extensive literature review is conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of policies in each country. The studies show that China's policy efforts have achieved significant improvements in air quality, while India's policies have been largely ineffective. Nevertheless, both approaches have the potential to lead to effective air pollution governance, if a country can build strong political will and clearly defined accountability systems. We further identify key lessons learned from the two countries for air pollution policymaking in developing countries, including taking good advantage of "post-crisis policy window", and targeting "low-hanging fruits" to make incremental improvements in a cost-effective way. • We systematically reviewed and compared air pollution governance in China and India. • China and India have similar policy frameworks but different implementation approaches. • Strong political will and clearly defined accountability systems are key to success. • We provide insights into effective air pollution control in developing countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Estuaries usually experience the most intense anthropogenic influences among coastal areas due to their geographical and physical attributes, and they represent important parts of marine eco-civilization construction in China. Although assessments of the eco-civilization performance in estuaries are important, few methodologies or case studies related to marine eco-civilization assessments are available. This study aimed to formulate both an index system and an evaluation model for assessing the eco-civilization performance of the Oujiang Estuary. The index system consisted of six subsystems, including society, economy, resources, ecology, culture, and governance, based on the requirements of "marine eco-civilization construction" and the attributes of the estuary area. The evaluation model was developed based on a 3-D space state model. The results showed that the overall performance of marine eco-civilization construction in the Oujiang Estuary was good but that the development of the six subsystems was not balanced. The performance of the culture and ecology subsystems was relatively lower than that of the other four subsystems, indicating that the local government could focus more on developing marine culture and restoring the marine ecological environment in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Seneca Valley virus (SVV), also known as Senecavirus A (SVA), is a non-enveloped and single-strand positive-sense RNA virus, which belongs to the genus of Senecavirus within the family Picornaviridae. Porcine idiopathic vesicular disease (PIVD) caused by SVV has frequently been prevalent in America and Southeast Asia (especially in China) since the end of 2014, and has caused continuing issues. In this study, an SVV strain isolated in China, named SVV LNSY01-2017 (MH064435), was used as the stock virus for the preparation of an SVV-inactivated vaccine. The SVV culture was directly inactivated using binary ethyleneimine (BEI) and β-propiolactone (BPL). BPL showed a better effect as an SVV inactivator, according to the results of pH variation, inactivation kinetics, and the detection of VP1 content during inactivation. Then, SVV inactivated by BPL was subsequently emulsified using different adjuvants, including MONTANIDETM ISA 201 VG (ISA 201) and MONTANIDETM IMG 1313 VG N (IMS 1313). The immunoreactivity and protection efficacy of the inactivated vaccines were then evaluated in finishing pigs. SVV-BPL-1313 showed a better humoral response post-immunization and further challenge tests post-immunization showed that both the SVV-BPL-201 and SVV-BPL-1313 combinations could resist challenge from a virulent SVV strain. The SVV LNSY01-2017-inactivated vaccine candidate developed here represents a promising alternative to prevent and control SVV infection in swine. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Pseudorabies virus (PRV) causes Aujeszky's disease or pseudorabies (PR) in pigs worldwide, which leads to heavy economic losses to the swine industry. Pigs are the natural host, meanwhile, animals such as dogs, cats, foxes, rabbits, cattle and sheep are susceptible to infection. In 2011, the emerging PRV variant led to the outbreak of PR in Bartha-K61 vaccinated pigs. The PR outbreaks demonstrated that the Bartha-K61 vaccine did not provide full protection against the emerging PRV variant. It is widely believed that PRV live attenuated vaccine could control PRV infection. Methods: In this study, we developed a novel PRV live attenuated vaccine by deleting its gI, gE, US9, and US2 genes through CRISPR/Cas9, which was named PRV GDFS-delgI/gE/US9/US2. Results: Safety experiments confirmed that PRV GDFS-delgI/gE/US9/US2 was safe for 5- to 7-day-old suckling piglets. Piglets immunized with the PRV GDFS-delgI/gE/US9/US2 vaccine did not produce PRV gE-specific antibodies but could generate PRV gB-specific antibodies and high neutralizing titers against the PRV GDFS strain (variant PRV strain) or PRV Ea strain (older PRV strain). After challenge with the emerging PRV GDFS variant, none of the piglets immunized with the PRV GDFS-delgI/gE/US9/US2 vaccine showed any clinical signs, and their rectal temperatures were normal. Moreover, the autopsy and histopathological analyses revealed that the piglets in the PRV GDFS-delgI/gE/US9/US2 vaccine group did not show apparent gross or pathological lesions. Furthermore, the piglets in the PRV GDFS-delgI/gE/US9/US2 vaccine groups did not present weight loss. According to the criteria of the OIE terrestrial manual, the results of the experiment confirmed that the PRV GDFS-delgI/gE/US9/US2 vaccine could provide full protection against the emerging PRV variant strain in piglets. Conclusions: The PRV GDFS-delgI/gE/US9/US2 strain is a potential new live attenuated vaccine against emerging PRV variant strain infections in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Chinese Herbal Medicines (CHMs), as an important and integral part of a larger system of medicine practiced in China, called Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), have been used in stroke therapy for centuries. A large body of studies suggest that some Chinese herbs can help reverse cognitive impairment in stroke patients, while whether these herbs also exert therapeutic benefits for Alzheimer's disease remains to be seen.Objective: To address this issue, we selected four types of CHMs that are commonly prescribed for stroke treatment in clinical practice, namely DengZhanXiXin (D1), TongLuoJiuNao (T2), QingKaiLing (Q3), and HuangQinGan (H4), and tested their effects on amyloid-β protein precursor (AβPP) processing in vitro.Methods: AβPP, β-secretase (BACE1), and 99-amino acid C-terminal fragment of AβPP (C99) stably transfected cells were used for the tests of AβPP processing. The production of Aβ, activity of BACE1, neprilysin (NEP), and γ-secretase were assessed by ELISA, RT-PCR, and western blot.Results: By upregulating BACE1 activity, D1 increased Aβ production whereas decreased the ratio of Aβ42/Aβ40; by downregulating BACE1 activity and modulating the expression of γ-secretase, T2 decreased Aβ production and the ratio of Aβ42/Aβ40; by downregulating BACE1 activity, Q3 decreased Aβ production; H4 did not change Aβ production due to the simultaneously downregulation of BACE1 and NEP activity.Conclusion: Our study indicates that these four anti-stroke CHMs regulate AβPP processing through different mechanisms. Particularly, T2 with relatively simple components and prominent effect on AβPP processing may be a promising candidate for the treatment of AD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objective is to compare Multi-detector CT angiography (MDCTA) and digital subtraction angiography (DSA) in diagnosing hemodialysis catheter related-central venous stenosis (CVS). During a period of 6 years, hemodialysis patients with suspected catheter related-CVS who received both MDCTA and DSA were retrospectively enrolled. We analyzed the sensitivity, specificity, accuracy, Cohen's kappa coefficient (κ) and other diagnostic parameters for MDCTA compared to DSA. A total of 1533 vascular segments in 219 patients were analyzed. Among the 280 lesions identified by DSA, 156 were correctly identified by MDCTA. There were 124 false negative and 41 false positive diagnoses. MDCTA had a high specificity (96.73%) but a low sensitivity (55.71%), with a moderate inter-test agreement (κ = 0.5930). In stratified analyses of vascular segments, the specificities of MDCTA were 89.93% (superior vena cava), 98.95% (left brachiocephalic vein), 95.33% (right brachiocephalic vein), 99.53% (left subclavian vein), 97.61% (right subclavian vein), 97.13% (left internal jugular vein), and 95.86% (right internal jugular vein), while the sensitivities were 90.00%, 65.52%, 66.67%, 87.50%, 40.00%, 20.00% and 8.11%, respectively. Good to excellent inter-test agreement was observed for the superior vena cava (κ = 0.7870), left brachiocephalic vein (κ = 0.7300), right brachiocephalic vein (κ = 0.6610), and left subclavian vein (κ = 0.8700) compared with poor to low agreement for the right subclavian vein (κ = 0.3950), left internal jugular vein (κ = 0.1890), and right internal jugular vein (κ = 0.0500). MDCTA had a high specificity in diagnosing hemodialysis catheter related-CVS. Its sensitivity varied by central venous segments, with better performance in superior vena cava and brachiocephalic veins. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Zigui Basin is a major landslide-prone region in the Three Gorges Reservoir region of China, and the stabilizing pile is an effective and widely employed countermeasure to reinforce landslides in this region. However, stabilizing piles are mostly designed using deterministic and stability-oriented methods, which generally ignore the system performance and cost-effectiveness. Using the Majiagou landslide reinforced with stabilizing piles as a case study, a probabilistic multi-objective optimization framework for the design of stabilizing piles is proposed and illustrated. Specifically, performance objectives related to failure probability, system robustness and life-cycle cost of the landslide-stabilizing pile system with feasible designs are evaluated, then the best compromised design is obtained by means of Pareto optimality. Expert knowledge and professional judgment are required to set necessary restrictions and finally determine the optimal design. The results show that there is a better design of stabilizing piles than the existing one, with which acceptable reinforcement effectiveness, compromised life-cycle cost and robust system performance can be realized. The optimal design will also vary with the concerned performance objectives and knowledge-based judgment. Further relationships and interpretations between design parameters and system responses are discussed through parametric analyses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To priority areas for conservation in the coast of Zhejiang, this study attempts to map the spatial patterns of the intra-specific genetic diversity of two intertidal species, Septifer virgatus and Tetraclita japonica, using the sequences of mitochondrial DNA cytochrome oxidase subunit I (COI) and large subunit ribosomal RNA (16S rRNA) genes. In total, 129 and 112 specimens were collected from 12 and 11 populations for S. virgatus and T. japonica, respectively. These two species revealed congruent population historical signals, including (1) high levels of haplotype diversity and low values of nucleotide diversity, (2) post-LGM expansion, (3) the lack of population genetic structure, sharing haplotypes over all sampling populations, (4) gene flow connections, and (5) migration directions. Largely, all results supported that all sampling populations could be divided into two main metapopulations, exhibiting a northern and southern distribution. The north metapopulation could be considered as a marine protected area. The genetic patterns of the two species should be considered in the management and conservation in the islands along the Zhejiang, China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Albedo, which impacts the surface heat budget of a glacier, is a dominant factor governing snow and ice melt variability. We analyzed variations in albedo on the Dongkemadi Glacier (92°4.94'E, 33°05.88'N) using MODIS daily snow albedo products. The results show that the summer albedo over the accumulation zone and the ablation zone all presented a decreasing trend from 2002 to 2012, and both precipitation and summer temperature were critical factors that impacted variations in the albedo of the glacier. We linked the albedo variation with the measured mass balance of the glacier and found that 2006 and 2010 were high-melt years at the Dongkemadi Glacier, with lower albedo and a more negative mass balance. The area around the equilibrium line altitude (ELA) on the glacier was very sensitive to albedo feedback. The albedo change rate reached approximately -34% when the summer average temperature increased about 1 °C and the summer precipitation declined 94.5 mm. We built a linear model between the annual lowest albedo and the annual mass balance of the Xiao Dongkemadi Glacier, one branch of the Dongkemadi Glacier. This model was used to evaluate the annual mass balance of another branch of the Dongkemadi Glacier, the Da Dongkemadi Glacier. The mass balance of the Da Dongkemadi Glacier was significantly negative in 2006 (-768.7 mm w.e.) and 2010 (-696.9 mm w.e.). This work indicates that the glacier surface annual lowest albedo may be a reasonable proxy for evaluating the inter-annual variability of the mass balance of the glacier. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To assess the incidence and risk factors of hypoglycemia in hospitalized neonates in China. Methods: Blood glucose level in hospitalized neonates was monitored routinely. Also, in high-risk newborns and neonates with abnormal blood glucose levels in initial detection, the blood sugar level was monitored daily until it was back to normal and stable. Results: Hypoglycemia was detected in 113 out of 668 hospitalized neonates, and the incidence of hypoglycemia was 16.9%. The statistical analysis also showed that hypoglycemia always occurred within one week after birth, especially within three days after birth. Conclusion: Neonates with premature birth, low birth weight and perinatal asphyxia were susceptible to hypoglycemia. Active and continuous monitoring of blood glucose level should be performed in the early newborns, especially in high-risk children, and attention should be paid to timely feeding for the early diagnosis and treatment of neonatal hypoglycemia to reduce its impact on the newborns. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Apple stem grooving virus ( ASGV) is one of the economically important latent viruses that are distributed in apple production areas worldwide. The presence of ASGV in apple trees was studied by serological assay and molecular biology methods. A total of 550 apple leaf samples from 14 different areas in Shaanxi were tested by DAS- ELISA, and the results revealed an ASGV infection level of 55%. Those samples were also examined by RT- PCR, and an infection level of 67% was found. Fourteen complete coat protein gene sequences of ASGV were obtained; phylogenetic analysis revealed that these 14 sequences separated into two clusters regardless of the geographic origin or host plants. To our knowledge, this is the first report of molecular variability analysis of ASGV in apple trees in China. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Classical swine fever (CSF) caused by classical swine fever virus (CSFV) is a highly contagious and devastating disease. The traditional live attenuated C-strain vaccine is widely used to control disease outbreaks in China. Since 2000, subgenotype 2.1 has become dominant in China. Here, we isolated subgenotype 2.1c and 2.1d strains from CSF-suspected pigs. The genetic variations and pathogenesis of subgenotype 2.1c and 2.1d strains were investigated experimentally. We aimed to evaluate and compare the replication characteristics and clinical signs of subgenotype 2.1c and 2.1d strains with those of the typical highly virulent CSFV SM strain. In PK-15 cells, the three CSFV isolates exhibited similar replication levels but significantly lower replication levels compared with the CSFV SM strain. The experimental animal infection model showed that the pathogenicity of subgenotype 2.1c and 2.1d strains was less than that of the CSFV SM strain. According to the clinical scoring system, subgenotype 2.1c (GDGZ-2019) and 2.1d (HBXY-2019 and GXGG-2019) strains were moderately virulent. This study showed that the pathogenicity of CSFV field strains will aid in the understanding of CSFV biological characteristics and the related epidemiology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Senecavirus A (SVA), an emerging infectious disease, is associated with the porcine idiopathic vesicular disease. Here, the pathogenesis of different strains of SVA was investigated in growing-finishing pigs. We aimed to evaluate the replication characteristics, virus particle morphology, clinical signs, and vesicular lesions in comparison with two different strains of SVA. The animals were infected with SVA HB-CH-2016 or CH/AH-02/2017 by intranasal routes (3 mL, 109TCID50/mL) and monitored daily for 14 days post-inoculation (dpi) for clinical signs and vesicular lesions. Viremia or viral shedding was detected in the blood, fecal swab, and nasal swab samples. Results showed no distinct differences in plaque size, replication ability, and characteristic virions between SVA HB-CH-2016 and CH/AH-02/2017 strains. Animal experimental results showed that both SVA CH/AH-02/2017 and SVA HB-CH-2016 could infect pigs. However, an obvious difference in the pathogenicity and dynamics of infection was observed between SVA HB-CH-2016 and CH/AH-02/2017 strains. The pathogenesis of SVA CH/AH-02/2017 was similar to that of published results of USA strains, whereas the SVA HB-CH-2016 strain had low pathogenicity to pigs. Clinical signs and vesicular lesions were observed in SVA CH/AH-02/2017-infected pigs. Additionally, the different branches of SVA should be capable of inducing broad cross-reactive neutralizing antibodies, which play an important role in clearing the SVA virus. This study of animal models for SVA infection will be beneficial to develop vaccines and antivirals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Co-abatement strategies that can reduce both CO 2 and air pollutants emissions are essential for the green and low-carbon transition of China's iron and steel industry. Most previous studies analyzed CO 2 and air pollutants reduction policies independently, but the synergies and tradeoffs between the two types of policies have rarely been investigated. By establishing a bottom-up simulation model that considers combinations of different policy objectives, crude steel demand and technology development options, this study couples air pollutants reduction into the carbon neutrality pathways to evaluate the synergistic effects of different abatement strategies in China's iron and steel industry. The study also incorporates the indirect CO 2 and air pollutants emissions from the upstream energy production sectors into pathway analysis, in order to avoid cross-sectoral carbon and air pollution leakages. The results show that the current emissions reduction policies in the iron and steel industry are far from achieving the carbon neutrality goals. To achieve synergistic reduction in CO 2 and air pollutants emissions, the short term policies should mainly rely on increasing the share of the scrap-electric arc furnace (EAF), while reducing crude steel demand and promoting breakthrough technologies, particularly hydrogen-based direct reduction, should play a major role in the long term. Meanwhile, China should promote the decarbonization of power generation and hydrogen production to reduce indirect CO 2 and air pollutants emissions from the upstream sectors. [Display omitted] • Explore pathways for CO 2 and air pollutants co-abatement in iron and steel industry. • Evaluate contributions and synergistic effects of different abatement strategies. • Stronger policy measures are needed to achieve carbon neutrality target. • Decarbonization of upstream energy sectors is critical to reduce indirect emissions. • Material efficiency and structural adjustment have greater synergistic effects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Malan loess is anisotropic and it behaves strongly in vertical direction. • Malan loess under in-situ situation tends to fail at high rupture angles. • The anisotropy is in good agreement with the vertiloess structure. • The anisotropy favors deep vertical cracks which mobilize toppling and falling failures. • These failures shape the loess mass into columns and walls. Loess is widely distributed in China, with the Loess Plateau having the largest global bulk accumulation. The micro-scale loess landforms are featured by loess walls and loess columns, which can stand vertically for many years. The main failure modes of loess to form these vertical features are toppling and falling along a rupture surface of high angles. These failure modes are attributed to loess strength behavior, which in turn are dominated by the inner structure of loess soil. Bearing this in mind, we sought to conduct a series of mechanical tests on both vertical and horizontal loess samples. These included tension as well as uniaxial and triaxial compression tests. It is found that Malan loess had strong anisotropy in terms of failure pattern and strength. The vertical specimens possess strengths 1.3 times greater than those of horizontal specimens, and tend to fail at high rupture angles of approximately 85° under uniaxial and triaxial compression conditions. These findings were in good agreement with the vertiloess structure, where the vertically aligned strong units resulting from inter-particle bonding and close compaction make the loess behave strongly in the vertical direction, while the vertically aligned weak segments are responsible for the high rupture angles. These findings explain the formation of deep vertical cracks which mobilize loess toppling and falling and shape the loess mass into columns and walls. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bioassay-guided fractionation of the crude extract of fermentation broth of one symbiotic strain Fusarium oxysporum ZZP-R1 derived from coastal plant Rumex madaio Makino, one traditional Chinese medicine used as a treatment of inflammation and toxication, yielded two novel compounds, fusariumins C (1) and D (2). Chemical structures of 1 and 2 were respectively determined as one meroterpene with cyclohexanone moiety and a sesquiterpene ester with a conjugated triene and an unusual oxetene ring by a combination of spectroscopic methods, including 1D and 2D NMR, mass spectrometry, and optical rotation analysis, as well as by comparison with literature data. Bioassay results indicated that compound 1 displayed potent activity against Staphyloccocus aureus with an MIC value of 6.25 μM, and compound 2 had a moderate inhibitory effect on S. aureus with an MIC value of 25.0 μM. It was the first report that phytochemical investigation of Fusarium strain from R. madaio Makino led to isolation of new antimicrobial agents., (Copyright © 2019 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Objective: Several studies indicated that genetic polymorphisms in the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) gene were associated with glioma risk. However, the relationship between EGFR genetic polymorphisms and glioma remains unclear in the Chinese population., Methods: We designed a case-control study by selecting 300 histologically confirmed adult glioma patients and 300 cancer-free controls to analyze the distribution of EGFR genotype. Two single-nucleotide polymorphisms, rs730437 and rs1468727, were genotyped by using the polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism method., Results: We found that the CC genotype of rs1468727 was more common in the glioma group than in the control group (p=0.021). We also found that the C allele frequency was higher in the glioma group than that in the control group (p=0.005; odds ratio [OR]=1.38, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.101-1.740). For rs730437, we found both the AA genotype (p=0.011) and A allele frequency (p=0.003; OR=0.703; 95% CI: 0.558-0.886) were significantly lower in the glioma patients than in the control subjects, respectively. Haplotype analysis showed that the A T haplotype frequency was higher in the control group than in the glioma group (p=0.005; OR=0.722; 95% CI: 0.575-0.908). However, the CC haplotype frequency was higher in the glioma group than in the control group (p=0.003; OR=1.423; 95% CI: 1.129-1.793)., Conclusion: Our study indicates that polymorphisms in the EGFR gene are associated with glioma susceptibility in the Chinese population.