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The demand‐side DC electricity‐using equipment and newly integrated renewables are driving the transformation of power distribution and utilization mode. The building system based on DC technology is emerging as a promising option. In the low‐voltage DC building distribution and utilization system (LVDCBDUS), global energy optimization management and operational control arrangement are key components. To obtain exemplary achievements of those, two different DC building energy management system (DC BEMS) integration schemes are investigated according to the respective features and application‐required functions of various system networking structures. Centralized and decentralized control strategies are presented and discussed for buildings with AC–DC transformation and newly built LVDCBDUSs. On this basis, the centralized DC BEMS and operational control strategy are applied to the first multi‐scenario low‐carbon city‐based future building project—Shenzhen IBR Future Complex. The operation data are recorded and analysed. Problems encountered during the implementation are summarized, and requirements of converter equipment, new technologies and marketization are further discussed to promote the high‐quality development of the LVDCBDUS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to study the effect of green manure return for stabilized spring maize (Zea mays L.) grain yield (GY) we reduced nitrogen fertilizer input by regulation and examined effects on soil nutrients, enzyme activity, and fungal communities. This two-year field experiment was conducted in the North China Plain. The field experiment was undertaken with a split-plot design; the primary plots were winter fallow (WF) and green manure (GM), and the split-plots were five N application rates of 0 (N0), 189 (N189), 216 (N216), 243 (N243), and 270 (N270) kg ha−1. The results showed that, spring maize GY under GM treatments (GYGM) were significantly increased by 5.38–11.68% more than WF treatment (GYWF), and GYWF and GYGM significantly increased by 35.9–91.5% and 80.1–135.5% across all N treatments. By linear-platform model analysis, spring maize under GM treatments obtained higher GY, reaching 1270.5–14,312.2 kg ha−1 with optimized N application rate at 238–265 kg ha−1, which resulted in a GY higher than WF (11,820.0 and 13,654.2 kg ha−1) and N reduced 11.2% (238 vs. 268 kg ha−1). GM treatment significantly increased soil organic carbon by 3.90–12.23% more than WF over all N application rates, and total nitrogen and available nitrogen were significantly increased by 3.79–15.76% and 4.87–17.29%, with total phosphorus and available phosphorus for GM higher than WF by 6.1–13.6% and 9.6–5.3%, respectively. However, there were lesser effects of GM on total potassium and available potassium. Compared to WF, soil catalase, sucrose, urease, and alkaline phosphatase activity were significantly increased by 6.2–16.4%, 5.8–48.1%, 3.3–21.5% and 11.5–82.3%, respectively, over all N application rates under GM over two years. GM increased Zygomycota and Basidiomycota relative abundances significantly, and reduced Thielavia, unclassified fungi, and Podospora relative abundances by 35.35%, 52.92% and 52.77% more than WF treatment, respectively. In summary, due to the GM return into fields, increased soil nutrients were available, which were positively affected by soil enzyme activity and fungal communities, and reduced nutrient requirements, and so the farmers could obtain a spring maize grain yield higher than 14,000 kg ha−1 with a reduced 11.2% N application rate from 268 kg ha−1 to 238 kg ha−1 by sowing winter green manure for a long time period in the North China Plain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Meat quality is largely driven by fat deposition, which is regulated by several genes and signaling pathways. The cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) -regulated transcriptional coactivator 3 (CRTC3) is a coactivator of cAMP response element binding protein (CREB) that mediates the function of protein kinase A (PKA) signaling pathway and is involved in various biological processes including lipid and energy metabolism. However, the effects of CRTC3 on the metabolome and transcriptome of porcine subcutaneous adipocytes have not been studied yet. Here, we tested whether porcine CRTC3 expression would be related to fat deposition in Heigai pigs (a local fatty breed in China) and Duroc×Landrace×Yorkshire (DLY, a lean breed) pigs in vivo. The effects of adenovirus-induced CRTC3 overexpression on the metabolomic and transcriptomic profiles of subcutaneous adipocytes were also determined in vitro by performing mass spectrometry-based metabolomics combined with RNA sequencing (RNA-seq). Results: Porcine CRTC3 expression is associated with fat deposition in vivo. In addition, CRTC3 overexpression increased lipid accumulation and the expression of mature adipocyte-related genes in cultured porcine subcutaneous adipocytes. According to the metabolomic analysis, CRTC3 overexpression induced significant changes in adipocyte lipid, amino acid and nucleotide metabolites in vitro. The RNA-seq analysis suggested that CRTC3 overexpression alters the expression of genes and pathways involved in adipogenesis, fatty acid metabolism and glycerophospholipid metabolism in vitro. Conclusions: We identified significant alterations in the metabolite composition and the expression of genes and pathways involved in lipid metabolism in CRTC3-overexpressing adipocytes. Our results suggest that CRTC3 might play an important regulatory role in lipid metabolism and thus affects lipid accumulation in porcine subcutaneous adipocytes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The presence of 17 polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and 15 persistent organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) in surface water of the Yongding River Basin was analyzed through GC/MS/MS during the spring and summer at 46 sampling sites. The goal was to investigate their seasonal distribution, possible sources, and potential risk. Our results showed that the total PAH concentration in surface water of Yongding River Basin ranged from 41.60 to 1482.60 ng/L with a mean value of 137.85 ng/L in the spring, and from 53.53 to 506.53 ng/L with a mean value of 124.43 ng/L in the summer. The total OCP concentration ranged from < 0.08 to 197.71 ng/L with a mean value of 7.69 ng/L in the spring, and from < 0.08 to 93.58 ng/L with a mean value of 7.92 ng/L in the summer. Moreover, the total PAH concentration was slightly lower in the spring than in the summer, whereas the total OCP concentration was similar between seasons. Source analysis indicated that combustion sources and petroleum sources both contributed to the presence of PAHs. Historical environmental residues and long range atmospheric transport were the major sources of HCH and DDT contamination. The concentrations of total PAHs and single PAHs including benz(a)anthracene, benzo(a)pyrene, benz(b)fluoranthene, and benz(k)fluoranthene in surface water at some sampling sites exceeded the water environmental quality standards of China and several other countries or organizations. This indicated a potential threat to human health from the consumption of aquatic organisms due to PAH bioaccumulation. The concentrations of α- HCH, p,p’ -DDE, and p,p’ -DDD at several sampling sites exceeded the limit for human health specified in the ambient water quality criteria developed by the US Environmental Protection Agency , which indicated that these pollutants provide potential hazards to the residents around the sampling sites. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In STEM fields other than biological sciences (math-intensive STEM), there is a greater ratio of males to females (M:F ratio) than that of the general population. The Ability Distribution Hypothesis suggests that this is mainly due to greater male variance in g. Others hypothesize that this is due to sex differences in occupational interests. There has not been an empirical study to evaluate which kind of differences has greater effects on the M:F ratios in math-intensive STEM fields. To fill the gap, we examine the test scores, application for majors and final admissions in a complete dataset of college entrance. We study the M:F ratios of four math-intensive STEM majors: Economics, Engineering, Computer Science and Physical sciences and Math. In summary, we find that greater male variance exists in total test scores; greater male variance partially explains the female underrepresentation in the upper tails of total test scores; men appear to have stronger interests in Engineering and Computer Science than women, while women appear to have stronger interests in Economics and to a lesser extent Physical sciences and Math than men; compared to sex differences in test scores, sex differences in major-choosing appear to have stronger effects on the M:F ratios of math-intensive STEM majors. • The data are the complete dataset generated in an actual college entrance process in China. • The present study uses a counterfactual analysis to evaluate the effect sizes of educational achievement and interest. • The present study uses a symmetry adjustment to correct for greater male variance in the lower end of the distribution. • The present study uses a bootstrapping method to evaluate how significantly model predictions depart from the observations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Themodular multilevel converter-based multiterminal HVDC (MMC-MTDC) technology has been applied to the Nanao project, which was commissioned successfully in China, and has shown many advantages. However, how to connect an offline MMC station into an operating MTDC system smoothly without expensive dc circuit breakers presents a huge challenge. Making full use of the structural characteristics of MMC, the proposed strategy implements the smooth connection by sequential operations of the dc disconnectors (DSs) at the positive and negative polarities, without the need for changing system parameters or hardware. The charging circuits of MMC are studied fully after every operation of DSs, and a four-order state equation is built to explore the potential maximum surge current after closing the DSs. Case study and simulation are performed based on the PSCAD/EMTDC model of the Nanao three-terminal MMC-HVDC system to validate the effectiveness of the proposed strategy. Besides easy operation and high reliability, the strategy neither influences the operating system nor increases any cost. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

China's economic growth is accompanied by air pollution, which has harmed public health. Former scholars have explored the influencing factors of public health from different perspectives with different methods, among which family income and environmental pollution are two important factors. The paper explored the combined effects of economic level and air pollution on public health at the micro and macro level using the multivariate ordered Logit model and panel data regression model. A comparative analysis was also explored between China's eastern and western regions. The results demonstrated that: (1) Both at the micro and macro level, economic level was positively correlated with public health, while air pollution was negatively correlated with it. (2) The improvement of the economic level made public health more susceptible to air pollution at the micro level and at the macro level. (3) The higher the economic level, the lower the effect of economic growth in reducing the adverse effects of air pollution on public health. This paper proposed that sustainable economic growth should be pursued, the emissions of air pollutants should be reduced, regional development should be balanced and the development gap between China's eastern and western regions should be narrowed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Population-wide increase in life expectancy is a source of aggregate longevity risk. Life insurance is a natural instrument to manage the risk. Previous studies used chronological age to examine the relationship between aging and life insurance purchase, which ignored the impact of subjective life expectancy-the real perception of remaining time. Therefore, this study aims to fill the lack in this area and to explore in depth the relationship between subjective life expectancy and purchasing life insurance among middle-aged and older adult at micro perspective. This paper utilizes data from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS) over a period of 4 years to construct both Probit and Tobit models. The findings reveal that subjective life expectancy positively affects the likelihood of participation and the extent of life insurance among the middle-aged and older adult population in China. IV model estimation results show good robustness of the results. Meanwhile, there is also heterogeneity in the effect with respect to gender, hukou, education and wealth. The findings provide new perspective to explain the subjective motivation of purchasing life insurance in China., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest. The reviewer FZ declared a shared affiliation with the author(s) to the handling editor at the time of review., (Copyright © 2024 Chen, Guo, Lu, Wang and Wen.)

This study conducts an ERP experiment to explore the online processing mechanism of Chinese xiehouyu, a subcategory of Chinese idiomatic expressions with a metaphorical two-part allegorical saying, regarded as a non-literal language construct. Using a 2 × 2 design, (high familiarity (HF)/low familiarity (LF)) × (literally-biasing context (LC)/metaphorically-biasing context (MC)), the researchers have obtained the following findings: (1) familiarity plays an important role in Chinese xiehouyu processing, i.e. the metaphorical meaning of a HF Chinese xiehouyu can be directly activated while that of a LF one has to be derived from its literal meaning first; (2) contextual information also weighs in the process, i.e. the metaphorical meaning of a Chinese xiehouyu can be promoted in MC condition but suppressed in LC condition; (3) the interactive effect of familiarity and contextual information can be explained by the career of metaphor hypothesis; and (4) the Standard Pragmatic Model (SPM) of non-literal languages can explain the processing of LF xiehouyu, and the Direct Access Model (DAM) may to some extent account for the mechanism of HF one but fails to explain the case of LF one, while the Graded Salience Hypothesis (GSH) can provide an acceptable explanation for the processing mechanism of Chinese xiehouyus of varied familiarity., (© 2021. The Author(s).)

Seasonal and regional distributions of 17 polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in surface waters from four different main water functional regions of the Baiyangdian Lake were analyzed through GC/MS/MS during spring and summer season. The aim was to identify their possible pollution sources and evaluate their health risk for human and ecotoxicological risk for aquatic organisms. Results showed that the range of total PAH concentration is 35.38-88.06 ng/L (average 46.57 ng/L) in spring and 25.64-301.41 ng/L (average 76.23 ng/L) in summer. PAH contamination was observed slightly lower in the summer season from the pollution characteristics of water bodies in most areas of the Baiyangdian Lake, and the levels of PAH pollution in the water body of urban residential regions and rural residential regions were relatively higher than those in tourist regions and low human disturbance regions. Source analysis based on diagnostic ratios confirmed that combustion sources and petroleum sources were two main sources for PAHs entering into the waters of the Baiyangdian Lake. Human health risk assessment showed that PAHs in surface waters from the Baiyangdian Lake will not cause a potential non-carcinogenic risk to local residents and the carcinogenic risk could mostly be accepted, but the potential lifetime carcinogenic risk for infants in rural residential regions should be concerned about. Urban residential regions and rural residential regions were subject to higher cumulative non-carcinogenic and carcinogenic risk when compared to the other functional regions. Ecotoxicological risk assessment found a moderate risk to aquatic organisms presented by individual PAH and a low risk by total PAHs, and PAHs in the water body of urban residential regions and rural residential regions also have relatively higher harm effects to aquatic organisms compared with the other two functional regions. This study revealed the pollution characteristics of PAHs and their possible sources in waters of the Baiyangdian Lake, clarified its correlation to regional anthropogenic activities, and provided corresponding risk management strategies for human and aquatic organisms.

TP53 is a tumor suppressor gene that regulates cell growth, apoptosis and DNA repair. Previous studies have reported the contribution of TP53 Arg72Pro (rs1042522 C>G) polymorphism to pathogenesis of multiple tumors. Hence, we evaluated the association between this polymorphism and neuroblastoma susceptibility in eastern Chinese children. The Taqman genotyping assay was performed in 373 patients and 762 controls. Odds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated to assess the strength of the association. No significant association was found between the TP53 gene rs1042522 C>G polymorphism and neuroblastoma susceptibility in the overall analysis (CG vs. CC: adjusted OR = 0.92, 95% CI = 0.70-1.22, P=0.567; GG vs. CC: adjusted OR = 0.99, 95% CI = 0.69-1.42, P=0.947; CG/GG vs. CC: adjusted OR = 0.94, 95% CI = 0.72-1.23, P=0.639; or GG vs. CC/CG: adjusted OR = 1.04, 95% CI = 0.75-1.43, P=0.814) and stratified analysis by age, gender, sites of origin, and clinical stages. The TP53 gene rs1042522 C>G polymorphism may not be a risk factor for neuroblastoma in eastern Chinese children. Future studies are needed to confirm this negative result and to reveal additional functional TP53 variants predisposing to neuroblastoma., (© 2020 The Author(s).)

Adipose triglyceride lipase (ATGL) was recently identified as a triglyceride (TG)-specific lipase. In this study, we first obtained from large yellow croaker fish a 1,820-bp (GenBank ID: HQ916211) ATGL cDNA fragment with a 141-bp 5'UTR, a 1,485-bp open reading frame, and a 194-bp 3'UTR. The predicted fish ATGL had 494 amino acids (GenBank ID: ADY89608) and a calculated molecular weight of 55.1 kDa. ATGL was highly expressed in liver and, to a lesser degree, in heart, muscle, and abdominal fat. ATGL gene expression was high at 4.5 g and then decreased at 157.9 g and increased again at 474.2 g. The effects of lipid levels and lipid sources on ATGL expression in vivo were also investigated. A high-lipid diet decreased ATGL expression in fish significantly (P < 0.01). Fish in soybean oil group exhibited significantly lower ATGL expression than fish in the fish oil and beef tallow groups (P < 0.01). These data enhance our understanding of ATGL in fish lipid metabolism.