Search

In this study, a Long Short-Term Memory (LSTM) network approach is employed to evaluate the prediction performance of PM2.5 in the Beijing–Tianjin–Hebei region (BTH). The proposed method is evaluated using the hourly air quality datasets from the China National Environmental Monitoring Center, European Center for Medium-range Weather Forecasts ERA5 (ECMWF-ERA5), and Multi-resolution Emission Inventory for China (MEIC) for the years 2016 and 2017. The predicted PM2.5 concentrations demonstrate a strong correlation with the observed values (R2 = 0.871–0.940) in the air quality dataset. Furthermore, the model exhibited the best performance in situations of heavy pollution (PM2.5 > 150 μg/m3) and during the winter season, with respective R2 values of 0.689 and 0.915. In addition, the influence of ECMWF-ERA5's hourly meteorological factors was assessed, and the results revealed regional heterogeneity on a large scale. Further evaluation was conducted by analyzing the chemical components of the MEIC inventory on the prediction performance. We concluded that the same temporal profile may not be suitable for addressing emission inventories in a large area with a deep learning method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simultaneously achieving economic development and environmental protection is a shared global challenge. While the positive effect of environmental regulations on protecting the environment has been widely recognized, the attention paid to low-carbon governance and corporate green transformation remains insufficient. Based on the two-stage least square regression model (2SLS) of instrumental variables, this paper utilizes panel data from China to identify the influence mechanism of government low-carbon governance on enterprise green development. It explores the effect of low-carbon governance on enterprise green development from the perspective of fiscal decentralization. The findings show that (1) Low-carbon governance significantly promotes corporate green development, primarily through improving industrial structure and technological innovation; (2) Low-carbon governance notably promotes the green development of private enterprises but has little effect on state-owned enterprises. There are also geographical differences, and the results are better in Eastern China than in the Central and Western parts of China; (3) Fiscal decentralization at both central and local levels inhibits the effect of low-carbon governance on driving corporate green development by causing a mismatch of human resources. Therefore, to promote corporate green development, low-carbon governance must prioritize green development, actively guide industrial structural upgrading and enterprise technological innovation, implement differentiated low-carbon governance measures tailored to different ownership enterprises, and optimize the assessment indicators for fiscal decentralization. This paper helps deepen the understanding of the relationship between government low-carbon governance and enterprise green development in developing countries. It can be used as a reference for government departments to formulate relevant policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Information disclosure is an important way for investors to obtain information, the annual report text carries a lot of information, lazy information disclosure is an important form of information disclosure of the annual report text. This paper takes China's A-share listed companies from 2011 to 2022 as the research sample, takes the annual report text information disclosure form as the entry point, uses the computer text analysis technology to measure the text similarity of the annual report to measure the lazy information disclosure, and explores its impact on stock price crash risk. The results show that there is a positive correlation between the similarity of annual report text and the risk of stock price crash, that is, when the information of annual report text is presented in the form of lazy information disclosure, the risk of stock price crash increases. For companies audited by key auditing institutions, the positive correlation between the similarity of their annual reports and the risk of stock price crash is not significant, indicating that key auditing institutions will weaken the positive correlation between lazy information disclosure and the risk of stock price crash. Further, through external attention and analysis of the time delay of annual report disclosure, it is concluded that the management lacks the opportunity and time to hide the bad news, so it is clear that the lazy information disclosure comes from the business situation "the fact is so". The research conclusion of this paper provides evidence support for the influence of lazy information disclosure on stock price crash risk, and also provides useful reference for regulators to improve information disclosure policies and effectively prevents and resolves stock price crash risk. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Morels are one of the most highly prized edible and medicinal mushrooms worldwide. Therefore, historically, there has been a large international interest in their cultivation. Numerous ecological, physiological, genetic, taxonomic, and mycochemical studies have been previously developed. At the beginning of this century, China finally achieved artificial cultivation and started a high-scale commercial development in 2012. Due to its international interest, its cultivation scale and area expanded rapidly in this country. However, along with the massive industrial scale, a number of challenges, including the maintenance of steady economic profits, arise. In order to contribute to the solution of these challenges, formal research studying selection, species recognition, strain aging, mating type structure, life cycle, nutrient metabolism, growth and development, and multi-omics has recently been boosted. This paper focuses on discussing current morel cultivation technologies, the industrial status of cultivation in China, and the relevance of basic biological research, including, e.g., the study of strain characteristics, species breeding, mating type structure, and microbial interactions. The main challenges related to the morel cultivation industry on a large scale are also analyzed. It is expected that this review will promote a steady global development of the morel industry based on permanent and robust basic scientific knowledge. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Severe air pollution and urban heat islands (UHI) intensity (UHII) are two challenging problems that have attracted wide attention in populated cities. However, previous studies mostly focused on the relationship between fine particulate matter (PM2.5) and UHII, but how UHII responds to the interactions between radiative effects (direct effect (DE), indirect effect (IDE) with slope and shading effects (SSE)) and PM2.5 during heavy pollution is still unclear, especially in the cold region. Therefore, this study explores the synergistic interactions between PM2.5 and radiative effects in influencing UHII during a heavy pollution event in the cold-megacity of Harbin-China. Hence, we designed four scenarios: non-aerosol radiative feedback (NARF), DE, IDE, and combined effects (DE + IDE + SSE) in December 2018 (clear-episode) and December 2019 (heavy-haze-episode) using numerical modeling. The results showed that the radiative effects influenced the spatial distribution of PM2.5 concentration leading to a mean drop in 2-m air-temperature by approximately 0.67 °C (downtown) and 1.48 °C (satellite-town) between the episodes. The diurnal-temporal variations revealed that the daytime and nighttime UHIIs were strengthened in the downtown during the heavy-haze-episode, while a reverse effect was observed in the satellite-town. Interestingly, during the heavy-haze-episode, the considerable difference between excellent and heavily polluted PM2.5 levels showed a decrease in UHIIs (1.32 °C, 1.32 °C, 1.27 °C, and 1.20 °C) due to the radiative effects (NARF, DE, IDE, and (DE + IDE + SSE)), respectively. In assessing other pollutants' interactions with the radiative effects, PM10 and NOx had a considerable impact on the UHII during the heavy-haze episode while O3 and SO2 were discovered to be very low in both episodes. Moreover, the SSE has uniquely influenced UHII, especially during the heavy-haze-episode. Therefore, insight from this study provides an understanding of how UHII responds uniquely in the cold region, which in turn could help to formulate effective policies and co-mitigation strategies for air pollution and UHI problems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Primary Sjogren's syndrome (pSS) is a systemic autoimmune disease involving multiple organ systems. The Janus kinase/signal transduction and activator of transcription (JAK/STAT) signaling pathway is a key pathway involving the pathogenesis of pSS. Baricitinib, a selective JAK1 and JAK2 inhibitor, has been approved for treatment of active rheumatoid arthritis and reported in treatment of some other autoimmune diseases including systemic lupus erythematosus. We have found that baricitinib might be effective and safe in pSS in a pilot study. However, there is no published clinical evidence of baricitinib in pSS. Hence, we conducted this randomized study to further explore the efficacy and safety of baricitinib in pSS. Methods: This is a multi-center, prospective, open-label, randomized study to compare the efficacy of baricitinib + hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) with HCQ alone in pSS patients. We plan to involve 87 active pSS patients with European League Against Rheumatism pSS disease activity index (ESSDAI) ≥ 5 from eight different tertiary centers in China. Patients will be randomized (2:1) to receive baricitinib 4 mg per day + HCQ 400 mg per day or HCQ 400 mg per day alone. We will switch HCQ to baricitinib + HCQ if the patient in the latter group has no ESSDAI response at week 12. The final evaluation will be at week 24. The primary endpoint is the percentage of ESSDAI response, or minimal clinically important improvement (MCII), which was defined as an improvement of ESSDAI at least three points at week 12. The secondary endpoints include EULAR pSS patient-reported index (ESSPRI) response, change of Physician's Global Assessment (PGA) score, serological activity parameters, salivary gland function test, and focus score on labial salivary gland biopsy. Discussion: This is the first randomized controlled study to evaluate the clinical efficacy and safety of baricitinib in pSS. We hope that the result of this study can provide more reliable evidence of the efficacy and safety of baricitinib in pSS. Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT05016297. Registered on 19 Aug 2021. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

True morels (Morchella, Pezizales) are world-renowned edible mushrooms (ascocarps) that are widely demanded in international markets. Morchella has been successfully artificially cultivated since 2012 in China and is rapidly becoming a new edible mushroom industry occupying up to 16,466 hectares in the 2021–2022 season. However, nearly 25% of the total cultivation area has annually suffered from fungal diseases. While a variety of morel pathogenic fungi have been reported their epidemic characteristics are unknown, particularly in regional or national scales. In this paper, ITS amplicon sequencing and microscopic examination were concurrently performed on the morel ascocarp lesions from 32 sites in 18 provinces across China. Results showed that Diploöspora longispora (75.48%), Clonostachys solani (5.04%), Mortierella gamsii (0.83%), Mortierella amoeboidea (0.37%) and Penicillium kongii (0.15%) were the putative pathogenic fungi. The long, oval, septate conidia of D. longispora was observed on all ascocarps. Oval asexual spores and sporogenic structures, such as those of Clonostachys, were also detected in C. solani infected samples with high ITS read abundance. Seven isolates of D. longispora were isolated from seven selected ascocarps lesions. The microscopic characteristics of pure cultures of these isolates were consistent with the morphological characteristics of ascocarps lesions. Diploöspora longispora had the highest amplification abundance in 93.75% of the samples, while C. solani had the highest amplification abundance in six biological samples (6.25%) of the remaining two sampling sites. The results demonstrate that D. longispora is a major culprit of morel fungal diseases. Other low-abundance non-host fungi appear to be saprophytic fungi infecting after D. longispora. This study provides data supporting the morphological and molecular identification and prevention of fungal diseases of morel ascocarps. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

"The prosperity of the population and son, the prosperity of the country" means that the more family members and male offspring, the more stable and prosperous the family foundation of future generations. This concept is deeply engraved in China's traditional culture, and affects the behavior and decision-making of the actual controller as a parent. Chinese family enterprises are facing urgent problems such as power transfer and leader replacement. Although some studies have paid attention to the relationship between children's characteristics and enterprise inheritance, they have not connected this relationship with the internal mechanism of successor selection. The existing theoretical research lacks in-depth analysis of the influence mechanism of children's characteristics on professional manager appointment. Therefore, we attempt to make up for this deficiency. Based on this, we take Chinese family listed companies from 2009 to 2019 as a sample to test the impact of the number and the gender structure of actual controllers' children on family enterprises' professional management. The study found that the number of children, especially the number of sons, will inhibit the professional operation of enterprises. This conclusion is still true after the robustness test. Further research found that compared with daughters, sons have a more significant impact on professional management. At the same time, the greater the ownership proportion of the actual controller, the stronger the correlation between children's characteristics and professional management. We not only studied the influencing factors of enterprise succession from the perspective of children's characteristics, but also enriched the organization theory in the context of family business, which is helpful to promote the benign evolution and healthy and sustainable development of enterprises. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: The Chinese Registry of Rheumatoid Arthritis (CREDIT) is the first nationwide multi‐center prospective rheumatoid arthritis (RA) registration cohort in China. This study aimed at presenting disease activities transition during follow‐ups and identifying predictors to treatment response. Method: Patients who had baseline, 3‐ and 6‐month follow‐up data from November 2016 to April 2018 were recruited. Then, we selected patients who did not reach remission (REM)/low disease activity (LDA) at baseline to investigate the predictors for treatment response. Results: There were 979 patients included (83.00% female, mean age 51.8 and median duration 3.84 years). REM/LDA rate at baseline, 3‐, and 6‐month follow‐up were 34.02%, 59.35% and 68.23%. Additionally, early RA has more chance to achieve targets than established RA (6 months: 59.79% vs 48.13%, P =.002). High baseline Disease Activity Score of 28 joints (DAS28) (early RA: odds ratio [OR] 1.319, P =.019; established RA: OR 1.337, P <.001), biologic disease‐modifying anti‐rheumatic drugs (bDMARD)/targeted synthetic DMARD combined conventional DMARD therapy (early RA: OR 9.023, P =.046) and prednisolone usage (early RA: OR 2.526, P <.001) are positively associated with Clinical Disease Assessment Index (CDAI) decreasing at 3 months. Low baseline DAS28 (REM/LDA: early RA: OR 0.650, P <.001; established RA: OR 0.612, P <.001. REM: early RA: OR 0.743, P =.021; established RA: OR 0.674, P <.001), young age (REM: early RA: OR 0.977, P =.048) and decrease of CDAI at 3 months (REM/LDA: early RA: OR 7.185, P <.001; established RA: OR 8.752, P <.001. REM: early RA: OR 5.602, P <.001; established RA: OR 4.955, P <.001) predict REM/LDA at 6 months. Conclusion: Disease activity decreased during follow‐ups. Disease duration, baseline disease activity, age, treatment strategies, and CDAI decreasing were associated with treatment response. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a systemic inflammatory disease characterized by chronic destructive synovitis and possible multisystem involvement. This study aimed to survey the treatment satisfaction of physicians and patients with RA, and to explore the potential factors. Patients and Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted in 12 centers across China between March 2018 and April 2018. The Treatment Satisfaction Questionnaire for Medication version II was used to assess the treatment satisfaction of patients and physicians. Multivariable regression analysis was used to determine the factors independently associated with treatment satisfaction of patients. Results: The patients' satisfaction (n=335) with biological disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (bDMARDs) was higher than physicians' satisfaction (n=146) regarding the side effects (95.0± 14.3 vs 84.6± 15.7, P< 0.001) and convenience (74.6± 21.2 vs 69.1± 16.5, P=0.002). Among physicians, global satisfaction with bDMARDs was higher than that with conventional synthetic DMARDs (csDMARDs). The multivariable regression analysis showed that age was positively associated with satisfaction of patients, while college or above education and self-assessment of disease severity were inversely associated with satisfaction. Treatment satisfaction was associated positively with the quality of communication with the physician and inversely with treatment costs. Conclusion: For bDMARDs, the treatment satisfaction of patients with RA is generally higher than that of physicians'. Physicians' satisfaction with bDMARDs is higher than with csDMARDs. Age, education, disease severity, communication with the physician, and treatment costs are independently associated with the treatment satisfaction among patients. Physician–patient communication should be improved in clinical practice. Treatment costs should be taken into account when physicians make decisions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The northwestward subduction of the Izanagi Plate beneath the eastern Eurasian Plate during the Late Mesozoic caused a series of compressional deformation events in the Yanshan fold and thrust belt (YFTB), but the tectonic deformation timing, tectonic properties and relationship between tectonic uplift and sediment accumulation in the intermontane basins continue to be debated. For this reason, the sedimentology, sediment provenance, and basin structure of the Qianjiadian Basin (QJB) in the northern Beijing region during the Late Jurassic and Early Cretaceous were studied in detail. The results suggest that a fault-propagation fold-type (FPFT) growth structure and growth strata developed on the western edge of the QJB and that the top part of Member 2 and Member 3 of the Tuchengzi Formation are growth strata controlled by the limb rotation mechanism. In two small thrust faults in the QJB, the Mesoproterozoic Xiamaling Formation is thrust over the Tuchengzi Formation, and these faults may have controlled the development of the fault-bend fold-type growth strata. An analysis of the "source-to-sink" process suggests that the hanging wall succession of the Shangyi-Pingquan fault (SPF) was the main source area of the Late Jurassic to early Early Cretaceous strata in the QJB. A zircon 206Pb/238U age of 140.8±2.4 Ma for the volcanic rocks at the bottom of the FPFT growth strata represents the timing of the initiation of FPFT growth structure development. The discovery of the FPFT growth structure and growth strata in the QJB indicate that the QJB was an intermontane flexural basin controlled by fold and thrust structures during the early Early Cretaceous. Near the E-W-trending SPF, the NE-SW-trending Qianjiadian thrust fault (QJTF) and two small intrabasinal thrust faults may constitute a unified right-lateral strike-slip system that formed in response to the northwestward flat subduction of the Izanagi Plate beneath the East Asian continent during the Jurassic-Early Cretaceous. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To inhibit the COVID-19 (Coronavirus disease 2019) outbreak, unprecedented nationwide lockdowns were implemented in China in early 2020, resulting in a marked reduction of anthropogenic emissions. However, reasons for the insignificant improvement in air quality in megacities of northeast China, including Shenyang, Changchun, Jilin, Harbin, and Daqing, were scarcely reported. We assessed the influences of meteorological conditions and changes in emissions on air quality in the five megacities during the COVID-19 lockdown (February 2020) using the WRF-CMAQ model. Modeling results indicated that meteorology contributed a 14.7% increment in Air Quality Index (AQI) averaged over the five megacities, thus, the local unfavorable meteorology was one of the causes to yield little improved air quality. In terms of emission changes, the increase in residential emissions (+15%) accompanied by declining industry emissions (−15%) and transportation (−90%) emissions resulted in a slight AQI decrease of 3.1%, demonstrating the decrease in emissions associated with the lockdown were largely offset by the increment in residential emissions. Also, residential emissions contributed 42.3% to PM 2.5 concentration on average based on the Integrated Source Apportionment tool. These results demonstrated the key role residential emissions played in determining air quality. The findings of this study provide a scenario that helps make appropriate emission mitigation measures for improving air quality in this part of China. • Unfavorable meteorology is a cause for little improved air quality. • The residential emission increment offsets benefit from emission reductions. • Residential emissions instead of industry emissions determine air quality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China is faced with the contemporaneous needs to improve resource-use efficiency, raise production and enhance environmental stewardship of status quo agrifood production systems. Dual purpose ratoon rice cropping systems comprise a promising innovation for addressing such challenges through production of forage and grain on the same land parcel. Here, we conducted life cycle assessments of forage-grain ratoon rice (FG-RR), contrasting sustainability indicators associated with FG-RR against those of traditional ratoon rice (productivity, environmental impact and economics) across four provinces in central China. Compared with conventional systems, we show that FG-RR systems had superior energy output (+37%) and energy use efficiency (+37%), but also lower global warming potential (−17%) and eutrophication potential (−13%). Such benefits were attributed to lower methane emissions and ammonia volatilization, together with enhanced nitrogen fertilizer management. We found that FG-RR systems had significantly higher productivity, with yields being 6%–152% greater than traditional production systems, particularly in the climatically challenged areas of Xinyang and Chizhou. We show that biophysical benefits translated to economic dividends, particularly in Chizhou, where net profits were as high as $716 ha−1. We conclude that FG-RR present a sustainable alternative to traditional rice farming methods, with substantial benefits in terms of production efficiency, environmental sustainability, and economic prosperity. We opine that adoption of FG-RR systems helps address challenges associated with suboptimal productivity, particularly in regions prone to environmental degradation and climatic challenges. [Display omitted] • LCA were first used in the forage-grain ratoon rice system (FG-RR). • FG-RR system achieved higher productivity than traditional ratoon rice systems (T-RR). • FG-RR had superior profitability, particularly in climatically challenged areas. • FG-RR achieved higher energy efficiency with low CF and NF. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Insoluble light-absorbing impurities (ILAIs) in surface snow of glacier reduce snow albedo and accelerate glacier melt. In order to assess effects of ILAIs on glacier melt, we present the first results from field measurements of ILAIs, including black carbon (BC) and dust in snowpacks of glacier on Mt. Yulong, southeastern Tibetan Plateau (TP). Amplification factors because of snow melt were calculated for BC and dust concentrations in surface snow, and melt scavenging rates, effects of ILAIs on snow spectral albedo, and associated radiative forcing (RF) were estimated. Melt amplification generally appeared to be confined to the top few centimeters of the snowpack, and our results indicated that BC was more efficiently scavenged with meltwater than the other insoluble light-absorbers (e.g., dust). Absorbing impurities reduced snow spectral albedo more with larger particulate grain radius ( r e ). Spectral albedo reduction was investigated using the SNow ICe Aerosol Radiative (SNICAR) model. Albedo reduction for 1200 ng g − 1 of BC in Mt. Yulong snow was 0.075 for snow with r e = 500 compared with r e = 200 μm. If dust (51.37 ppm) was the only impurity in the snowpack, the spectral albedo reduction would be only 0.03, and the associated RF was 42.76 W m − 2 . For a BC and dust mixed scenario, the spectral albedo was substantially reduced (0.11 ± 0.03), and the associated RF (145.23 W m − 2 ) was more than three times larger than that for the dust-only scenario. BC in snow is an active factor controlling snow albedo and snow-ice RF. Further observational studies are needed to quantify the contribution of BC and dust to albedo reduction and glacier melt and to characterize the variation of glacier RF. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Haze pollution in Harbin has been gradually alleviated in recent years, but it is still far from eliminated. Thus, precise and effective emission abatement of main chemical components like nitrate is urgently needed for further haze pollution control. This study aimed to estimate nitrate formation pathways, and the contributions of the emission sources of nitrogen oxide in urban Harbin, based on the measurement of isotope signatures in nitrate and the utilization of an improved Bayesian mixing model. The results showed that nitrate significantly aggravated particulate pollution in the heating season, and its driving role was enhanced as the pollution level increased. This study suggested that homogeneous reaction and heterogeneous reaction were the dominant conversion pathways of nitrate formation in non-heating season and heating season respectively, and the contribution of heterogeneous reaction increased as pollution levels increased. By considering isotope fractionation value (δ15N), this paper emphasized coal combustion as the dominant contributor of nitrogen oxide in urban Harbin, while biomass burning, mobile sources, and biogenic soil emissions played relatively weak roles in nitrate pollution. This study has critical importance to provide scientific theoretical bases for nitrogen oxide reduction in urban Harbin and air quality improvement reference in other severely polluted regions in China. Image 1 • Considering δ15 N fractionation is necessary for accurate NO x source apportionment. • Heterogeneous reaction played a vital role in nitrate formation in heating season. • Coal combustion was the dominant contributor to nitrate pollution in urban Harbin. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Harbin, a cold metropolis of China, frequently endures fine particles (PM 2.5) pollution during its long heating seasons, which has almost become the main environmental issue. To better understand pollution causes, multifaceted factors including the meteorology conditions, secondary transformation, source apportionment and regional transportation, were analyzed based on the definition of three pollution levels and eight pollution episodes. The results showed that chemical species varied dynamically and followed similar trends to PM 2.5 , and secondary organic carbon and nitrate played more significant driving roles in PM 2.5 as the pollution level increased. Five sources were apportioned using the positive matrix factorization model, and the order of importance for the entire study period was as follows: secondary aerosol, traffic emissions, biomass burning, mineral dust, and coal combustion. The PM 2.5 in Harbin is mainly affected by transportation in the Harbin-Changchun megalopolis and slightly affected by long-distance transmission from the northwestern region of Harbin. A pollution episode in the fall was quite significant, as it was characterized by long duration time and extremely high pollutant levels, and was most likely attributed to extensive emissions from biomass burning and enhanced secondary transformation. The pollution episodes in winter were characterized by enhanced heterogeneous reactions and weakened photochemical reactions, which were especially sensitive to synoptic variations, and most likely induced by high relative humidity (>60%), low wind speed (3 m/s), suppressed planetary boundary layer height (<200 m), and strengthened inversion layer under the control of high-pressure systems. Meanwhile, the episodes in spring were characterized by high proportions of mineral dust, chlorine, and potassium, which was mostly attributed to the prevailing dust events, stronger biomass burning activities, and favorable transportation under low-pressure systems. Image 1 • Multifaceted factors were analyzed to explore the cause of PM 2.5 pollution episodes. • Secondary organic carbon and nitrate were two most abundant chemical components. • Biomass burning and secondary aerosol contributes most to fine particle pollution. • Regional transportation and adverse weather promote pollution formation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: FOXP3 is a transcription factor that regulates the development and function of Treg, playing an essential role in preventing autoimmune diseases. Variation in FOXP3 can impair the function of Treg cells, thus destroying their inhibitory capacity and leading to autoimmune diseases. This paper investigated whether the three SNPs in the FOXP3 gene (-3279 C/A, -924 A/G and -6054 del/ATT) are associated with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) susceptibility in the Han Chinese population., Materials and Methods: The study cohort comprised 122 SLE patients and 268 healthy controls. Genotyping was performed by polymerase chain reaction sequence-specific primer (PCR-SSP). Furthermore, we examined the potential clinical manifestations associated with FOXP3 polymorphisms in SLE patients., Results: The results showed that the -3279 (C > A) was significantly associated with the SLE risk in a homozygote (OR = 3.24, 95% CI = 1.23-8.52, p  = .013, AA vs. CC), dominant (OR = 1.68, 95% CI = 1.07-2.65, p  = .025, AC + AA vs. CC), recessive (OR = 2.90, 95% CI = 1.12-7.55, p  = .023, AA vs. AC + CC) and allelic (OR = 1.72, 95% CI = 1.18-2.53, p  = .005, A vs. C) models. In addition, -924 (A > G) was positively associated with SLE risk in the heterozygote (OR = 1.66, 95% CI = 1.04-2.66, p  = .033, AG vs. AA) and dominant (OR = 1.59, 95% CI = 1.01-2.49, p  = .042, AG + GG vs. AA) models, whereas -6054 (del > ATT) was not associated with SLE. Moreover, the immunological index analysis suggested that decreased complement C4 occurred more frequently in SLE patients carrying the minor allele (A) -3279 (C > A) than those not ( p  = .005)., Conclusions: We demonstrated that -3279 (C > A) and -924 (A > G) were associated with an increased risk of SLE and the immunological index, indicating that the FOXP3 variation is potentially related to the occurrence and development of SLE.

To investigate the dynamical transmission behavior of pollutants and explore the roles played by monitoring stations in regional air pollutants transportation, we constructed a new model for the dynamical transmission index by adopting a statistics model that employs complex network analysis along with terrain data, meteorological variables, and air quality data. The study is conducted in Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region with 70 stations in 13 cities. The findings indicated that the regional dynamical transmission networks were characterized by the participation of 67 out of 70 stations, as determined by node number. Among the model characteristics, the average path length and the average clustering coefficient, within the ranges of 2.08-2.32 and 0.26-0.51, respectively, maintained reasonable small-world characteristic. For the seasonal transmission features, the networks for PM 2.5 , PM 10 in winter, and O 3 in summer shared similar modeling characteristics with those of yearly networks. This suggested that the networks for these two seasons could represent the yearly transmission features. By employing the entropy weight method, the key monitoring stations numbered 1011 A, 1026 A, and 1010 A, which are located in Tianjin, Shijiazhuang, and Beijing, exerted significant impacts on air pollution transmission path in cities. The novel model has demonstrated its soundness and effectiveness in terms of capturing the behavior of transmission as well as the distinguishing roles of these crucial monitoring stations. This methodology could be employed for the construction of additional monitoring stations, identification of possible pollution sources, and prioritization of key pollution areas, thus providing valuable insights for environmental protection and management., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2023. Published by Elsevier Inc.)

Harbin-Changchun megalopolis (HCM) is the typical cold urban agglomeration in China, where PM 2.5 pollution is still serious in winter against the backdrop of continuous improvement in annual air quality in China. To further understand interactions of atmospheric pollution among HCM cities, inter-city causality and regional transport of PM 2.5 in the winter in the HCM were comprehensively investigated by using convergent cross mapping (CCM) and CMAQ-BFM methods. CCM analysis results suggest strong bidirectional causal relationships between cities in the HCM, and the causality during polluted episodes were significantly larger than that during clean period. In addition, the influence on local PM 2.5 from the HCM western cities were larger than that from cities in the southeast. Inter-city and regional transport contributions results demonstrated that although local emission were the largest contributors among 14 sub-regions for most HCM cities, interactions among cities were strong. Regional transport (42.8%-77.4%) largely contributes to HCM cities' PM 2.5 concentrations. Among three regions outside the HCM, NMG (including part of inner Mongolia and Baicheng city in Jilin, 9.1%) was the largest contributor to the PM 2.5 concentration in the whole HCM, followed by JLS (including Liaoning Province, Tonghua and Baishan cities in Jilin province, 5.1%) and HLJ (including cities of Heihe, Yichun, Jiamusi, Hegang, Shuangyashan, Jixi, Qitaihe in the Heilongjiang province, 3.8%). Regional transport contribution to the most HCM cities increased significantly from excellent to heavily polluted days. Furthermore, close relationships between transport paths/intensity and wind direction/speed in studied region suggests that we can quantitatively guide the regional joint emergency prevention and control before and during heavily polluted events based on regional weather forecasts in the future., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2023 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

In the Yangtze River Delta region, where the agricultural economy is well developed and agricultural pollution and carbon emissions are significant, a regional study of AEE (Agricultural Eco-Efficiency) is crucial to reducing agricultural environmental pollution, improving the rationalization of agricultural production layout, and promoting the realization of low-carbon goals. The SBM-Tobit model and GIS were employed to analyze AEE based on the carbon emission evaluation system in the spatial and temporal characteristics, as well as the influencing factors and the migration path of the center of gravity in the "low carbon" context. A rational plan of agricultural production was proposed according to the results. The following results were obtained: (1) The level of AEE in the Yangtze River Delta region was high, and the region exhibited a U-shaped curve change from 2000 to 2020, with a fluctuating decrease from 2000 to 2003 and a fluctuating increase from 2004 to 2020. The regional spatial development balance was enhanced, while there was a spatial incongruity in the development process of AEE enhancement, high in the southwest and low in the northeast; (2) AEE generally had a high regionalized agglomeration of low-low in the southwest and high-high in the northeast. Nonetheless, temporal heterogeneity was observed in spatial correlation, and the correlation weakened with time variation; (3) Urbanization level, agricultural production structure, crop cultivation structure, and fertilizer application intensity were the main factors influencing AEE in the Yangtze River Delta region; (4) The center of gravity of AEE in the Yangtze River Delta region shifted to the southwest under the influence of "low-carbon" related policies. Therefore, the improvement of AEE in the Yangtze River Delta region should focus on inter-regional coordination and linkages, rational planning of production factors, and the formulation of measures under relevant carbon policies.

At the local and regional climate scale, one of the most studied environmental issues is urban heat island (UHI). UHI is a thermal anomaly caused by temperature differences between urban and rural settings, which adds heat to the atmosphere and makes people feel uncomfortable. This study explores the influence of new land-cover data on UHI simulations using the high-resolution Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model coupled with the single-layer urban canopy model (SLUCM) in the city of Harbin. A comparison was performed between the new Tsinghua University (TU) land cover dataset with the default United States Geological Survey (USGS) and Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) land cover datasets. The results of this study revealed that the new TU land cover data had better representation and more realistic land cover changes than the default datasets. The diurnal, seasonal, and long-term nighttime UHIs of air and surface temperatures were higher than the daytime UHIs for both downtown Harbin and the satellite towns. We discovered that coal-burning during winter had a significant influence on UHI in Harbin. Moreover, the results from our buffer revealed a rapid increase in the UHIs of satellite towns, thus revealing the need to focus on the effects of UHI in satellite towns in the future. Therefore, the timely updating of land cover datasets in the WRF model and implementing mitigation strategies will help improve the urban climatic comfort., (© 2022. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.)

Atmospheric ammonium and ammonia have brought negative environmental impacts and adverse health effects. However, ammonia emissions are generally less regulated worldwide. This study analyzed ammonium pollution character, quantified the dominant ammonia emission sources, and assessed ammonia reduction potential in urban Harbin (China). The results showed that ammonium recorded low concentration in the non-heating season (1.34 ± 1.57 μg/m 3 ), and recorded sharply increased concentration (6.50 ± 7.02 μg/m 3 ) and relative abundance in the heating season. It was closely correlated with vehicle-related pollutants (CO) in non-heating season, while with biomass burning-related pollutants (K + , Cl - ) in the heating season. Bayesian Mixing Model emphasized the increasing contribution of biomass burning and decreasing contribution of fertilizer as the pollution levels escalate. The results from the thermodynamic equilibrium model showed that a 50%-60% ammonium decrease could bring marketable decrements of the aerosol pH, aerosol water content, ammonium nitrate concentration, and inorganic ion mass. The results of this study would provide scientific bases for ammonia emission reduction and haze pollution control in urban Harbin., (Copyright © 2021 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Objectives: To introduce the Chinese Registry of rhEumatoiD arthrITis (CREDIT), which is the first nationwide, multicentre, online rheumatoid arthritis (RA) registry in China, and to depict major cross-sectional data and treatment strategies of Chinese RA patients., Methods: RA patients who fulfilled the 2010 ACR/EULAR classification criteria for rheumatoid arthritis were recruited into the registry by their rheumatologists from 144 clinical centres in China. Data, including demographics, disease characteristics, co-morbidities, treatment, and adverse reactions, were collected and documented through the predefined protocol., Results: 8071 registered patients (F:M = 4.03:1) were registered up to May 2017. Mean age at symptom onset and at diagnosis was 46.15±14.72y and 48.68±14.54y, respectively. Point prevalence of remission (95% CIs) was 14.88% (14.10-15.66%), 4.23% (3.79-4.66%), 4.25% (3.81-4.69%), and 4.27% (3.83-4.72%) according to DAS28-CRP, CDAI, SDAI, and the 2011 ACR/EULAR remission criteria, respectively. 38.84% and 38.11% of treatment-naïve patients (n=3262) were in moderate (3.25.1) disease activity, respectively. Among treatment-naïve patients, those who were initiated on treatment with bDMARDs had higher disease activity than those who were treated with csDMARDs (p<0.05). Three months after initiating bDMARDs, 19.29% (n=38) of patients achieved remission (DAS28-CRP<2.6)., Conclusions: The CREDIT registry is an effective tool for real-world study of RA patients in China. By providing information for diagnosis and treatment regimen, the CREDIT registry can enhance the application of treat-to-target (T2T) strategy and improve patient outcomes in China.

Background: Rheumatoid arthritis patients are at higher risk of developing comorbidities. The main objective of this study was to evaluate the prevalence of major comorbidities in Chinese rheumatoid arthritis patients. We also aimed to identify factors associated with these comorbidities., Methods: Baseline demographic, clinical characteristics and comorbidity data from RA patients enrolled in the Chinese Registry of rhEumatoiD arthrITis (CREDIT) from Nov 2016 to August 2017 were presented and compared with those from five other registries across the world. Possible factors related to three major comorbidities (cardiovascular disease, fragility fracture and malignancy) were identified using multivariate logistic regression analyses., Results: A total of 13,210 RA patients were included (80.6% female, mean age 52.9 years and median RA duration 4.0 years). Baseline prevalence rates of major comorbidities were calculated: CVD, 2.2% (95% CI 2.0-2.5%); fragility fracture, 1.7% (95% CI 1.5-1.9%); malignancy, 0.6% (95% CI 0.5-0.7%); overall major comorbidities, 4.2% (95% CI 3.9-4.6%). Advanced age was associated with all comorbidities. Male gender and disease duration were positively related to CVD. Female sex and longer disease duration were potential risk factors for fragility fractures. Ever use of methotrexate (MTX) was negatively related to baseline comorbidities., Conclusions: Patients with rheumatoid arthritis in China have similar prevalence of comorbidities with other Asian countries. Advanced age and long disease duration are possible risk factors for comorbidities. On the contrary, MTX may protect RA patients from several major comorbidities, supporting its central role in the management of rheumatoid arthritis.