Estimating the marginal abatement cost curve of CO2 emissions in China: Provincial panel data analysis

This paper estimates the Marginal Abatement Cost Curve (MACC) of CO2 emissions in China based on a provincial panel for the period of 2001-2010. The provincial marginal abatement cost (MAC) of CO2 emissions is estimated using a parameterized directional output distance function. Four types of model specifications are applied to fit the MAC-carbon intensity pairs. The optimal specification controlling for various covariates is identified econometrically. A scenario simulation of China's 40-45 percent carbon intensity reduction based on our MACC is illustrated. Our simulation results show that China would incur a 559-623 Yuan/ton (roughly 51-57 percent) increase in marginal abatement cost to achieve a corresponding 40-45 percent reduction in carbon intensity compared to its 2005 level

Estimating the marginal abatement costs of carbon dioxide emissions in China: A parametric analysis

This paper investigates the technical inefficiency, shadow price and substitution elasticity of CO2 emissions of China based on a provincial panel for 2001-2010. Using linear programming to calculate a quadratic parameterized directional output distance function, we show that China's technical inefficiency increases over the period implying further scope for CO2 emissions reduction in the medium and longer term at best by 4.5% and 4.9% respectively. Our results (notwithstanding regional differences) highlight increases in the shadow price of CO2 abatement (1000 Yuan/ton in 2001 to 2100 Yuan/ton in 2010). Additionally, increasingly steep substitution elasticity highlights the difficult reality of reducing China's CO2 emissions

Revealing the Political Decision Toward Chinese Carbon Abatement: Based on Equity and Efficiency Criteria

China\u27s economic reform over the past 30 years has allowed the free market to drive economic development. However, government still plays a key role in the energy sector by allocating energy conservation and emissions abatement. How does the government make an equity decision as a tradeoff to market efficiency? This is an unanswered question. The purpose of this paper is to illustrate the government\u27s preference toward equity and efficiency. Using the provincial level CO2 intensity allocation data, we investigate the political decision that the government made based on the equity and efficiency criteria. We find that the equity index plays a more important role than the efficiency index in determining the CO2 intensity target. In addition, political factors such as social stability are found to be important factors

Regional allocation of carbon dioxide abatement in China

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chieco.2011.06.00

Plant diversity is closely related to the density of zokor mounds in three alpine rangelands on the Tibetan Plateau

Background Plateau zokor (Myospalax baileyi) is a subterranean rodent endemic to the Tibetan Plateau. This species has been generally viewed as a pest in China due to the competition for food with livestock and also causing soil erosion. As a result, plateau zokor has been the target of widespread poisoning or trapping campaigns designed to control or eliminate it since 1970s. But there is little research on the effect of plateau zokor on plant diversity in alpine rangelands. Therefore, objectively evaluating the positive effects of the plateau zokors disturbance on their living environment and plant communities is of great significance to understand the function of plateau zokor in alpine ecosystem. Methods Here, we selected three rangelands (alpine meadow, alpine steppe and alpine shrub meadow) in which plateau zokors are typically distributed on the Tibetan Plateau, and five zokor mound density gradients were selected in each rangeland type to study the effects of the mounds on soil moisture and temperature related to plant species diversity. Results The results showed that, with the mound density increasing, the soil temperature decreased significantly in all three rangeland types, and the soil moisture significantly increased in all three rangeland types. In the alpine meadow, both the plant diversity and cumulative species richness increased significantly with increasing mound density. The increase in broad-leaved forbs is the main reason for the increase of plant diversity in the alpine meadow disturbed by zokor mounds. In the alpine steppe, the plant diversity decreased significantly with increasing mound density, while the cumulative species richness initially decreased and then increased. In the alpine shrub meadow, the plant diversity first increased and then decreased with increasing mound density as did the cumulative species richness. In conclusion, plateau zokor mounds dominated the distribution of soil moisture and temperature and significantly affected plant diversity in these three rangelands on Tibetan Plateau; the results further deepen our understanding toward a co-evolved process

Altered Levels of Histone Deacetylase OsHDT1 Affect Differential Gene Expression Patterns in Hybrid Rice

Hybrids between different inbred varieties display novel patterns of gene expression resulted from parental variation in allelic nucleotide sequences. To study the function of chromatin regulators in hybrid gene expression, the histone deacetylase gene OsHDT1 whose expression displayed a circadian rhythm was over-expressed or inactivated by RNAi in an elite rice parent. Increased OsHDT1 expression did not affect plant growth in the parent but led to early flowering in the hybrid. Nonadditive up-regulation of key flowering time genes was found to be related to flowering time of the hybrid. Over-expression of OsHDT1 repressed the nonadditive expression of the key flowering repressors in the hybrid (i.e. OsGI and Hd1) inducing early flowering. Analysis of histone acetylation suggested that OsHDT1 over-expression might promote deacetylation on OsGI and Hd1 chromatin during the peak expression phase. High throughput differential gene expression analysis revealed that altered OsHDT1 levels affected nonadditive expression of many genes in the hybrid. These data demonstrate that nonadditive gene expression was involved in flowering time control in the hybrid rice and that OsHDT1 level was important for nonadditive or differential expression of many genes including the flowering time genes, suggesting that OsHDT1 may be involved in epigenetic control of parental genome interaction for differential gene expression

Diphenyl Difluoroketone: A Potent Chemotherapy Candidate for Human Hepatocellular Carcinoma

Diphenyl difluoroketone (EF24), a molecule having structural similarity to curcumin, was recently reported to inhibit proliferation of various cancer cells significantly. Here we try to determine the effect and mechanism of EF24 on hepatocellular carcinoma. 2 µM EF24 was found to inhibit the proliferation of PLC/PRF/5, Hep3B, HepG2, SK-HEP-1 and Huh 7 cell lines. However, even 8 µM EF24 treatment did not affect the proliferation of normal liver LO2 cells. Accordingly, 20 mg/kg/d EF24 inhibited the growth of the tumor xenografts conspicuously while causing no apparent change in liver, spleen or body weight. In addition, significant apoptosis and G2/M phase cell cycle arrest were found using flow cytometry. Besides, caspases and PARP activation and features typical of apoptosis including fragmented nuclei with condensed chromatin were also observed. Furthermore, the mechanism was targeted at the reduction of nuclear factor kappa b (NF-κB) pathway and the NF-κB–regulated gene products Bcl-2, COX-2, Cyclin B1. Our study has offered a strategy that EF24 being a therapeutic agent for hepatocellular carcinoma

Activating Transcription Factor 4 Confers a Multidrug Resistance Phenotype to Gastric Cancer Cells through Transactivation of SIRT1 Expression

BACKGROUND: Multidrug resistance (MDR) in gastric cancer remains a major challenge to clinical treatment. Activating transcription factor 4 (ATF4) is a stress response gene involved in homeostasis and cellular protection. However, the expression and function of ATF4 in gastric cancer MDR remains unknown. In this study, we investigate whether ATF4 play a role in gastric cancer MDR and its potential mechanisms. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: We demonstrated that ATF4 overexpression confered the MDR phenotype to gastric cancer cells, while knockdown of ATF4 in the MDR variants induced re-sensitization. In this study we also showed that the NAD(+)-dependent histone deacetylase SIRT1 was required for ATF4-induced MDR effect in gastric cancer cells. We demonstrated that ATF4 facilitated MDR in gastric cancer cells through direct binding to the SIRT1 promoter, resulting in SIRT1 up-regulation. Significantly, inhibition of SIRT1 by small interfering RNA (siRNA) or a specific inhibitor (EX-527) reintroduced therapeutic sensitivity. Also, an increased Bcl-2/Bax ratio and MDR1 expression level were found in ATF4-overexpressing cells. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: We showed that ATF4 had a key role in the regulation of MDR in gastric cancer cells in response to chemotherapy and these findings suggest that targeting ATF4 could relieve therapeutic resistance in gastric cancer

Roadmap on label-free super-resolution imaging

Label-free super-resolution (LFSR) imaging relies on light-scattering processes in nanoscale objects without a need for fluorescent (FL) staining required in super-resolved FL microscopy. The objectives of this Roadmap are to present a comprehensive vision of the developments, the state-of-the-art in this field, and to discuss the resolution boundaries and hurdles that need to be overcome to break the classical diffraction limit of the label-free imaging. The scope of this Roadmap spans from the advanced interference detection techniques, where the diffraction-limited lateral resolution is combined with unsurpassed axial and temporal resolution, to techniques with true lateral super-resolution capability that are based on understanding resolution as an information science problem, on using novel structured illumination, near-field scanning, and nonlinear optics approaches, and on designing superlenses based on nanoplasmonics, metamaterials, transformation optics, and microsphere-assisted approaches. To this end, this Roadmap brings under the same umbrella researchers from the physics and biomedical optics communities in which such studies have often been developing separately. The ultimate intent of this paper is to create a vision for the current and future developments of LFSR imaging based on its physical mechanisms and to create a great opening for the series of articles in this field

Roadmap on Label-Free Super-resolution Imaging

Label-free super-resolution (LFSR) imaging relies on light-scattering processes in nanoscale objects without a need for fluorescent (FL) staining required in super-resolved FL microscopy. The objectives of this Roadmap are to present a comprehensive vision of the developments, the state-of-the-art in this field, and to discuss the resolution boundaries and hurdles that need to be overcome to break the classical diffraction limit of the label-free imaging. The scope of this Roadmap spans from the advanced interference detection techniques, where the diffraction-limited lateral resolution is combined with unsurpassed axial and temporal resolution, to techniques with true lateral super-resolution capability that are based on understanding resolution as an information science problem, on using novel structured illumination, near-field scanning, and nonlinear optics approaches, and on designing superlenses based on nanoplasmonics, metamaterials, transformation optics, and microsphere-assisted approaches. To this end, this Roadmap brings under the same umbrella researchers from the physics and biomedical optics communities in which such studies have often been developing separately. The ultimate intent of this paper is to create a vision for the current and future developments of LFSR imaging based on its physical mechanisms and to create a great opening for the series of articles in this field.Peer reviewe