Urban environmental and economic performance linked to sustainability: Evidence from big and medium size Chinese cities

This paper is based on research in Chinese cities. It addresses the issues related to urban environmental performance and sustainability in emerging Chinese cities. The result shows that: (1) To basically control the degradation of urban environment the minimum per capita GDP should be about 1000 USD in China. This amount is only one third of that in the developed world; (2) The average share in GDP necessary for environmental investments is 2.9%. Such an amount would help to avoid further urban environmental degradation in Chinese big cities. 1.7% of GDP would be necessary for medium-sized cities. These environmental investments will have a positive impact on local economic growth and social progress; (3) Cities are in different stages from non-sustainability to sustainability, and the major characteristics of cities in these different stages will be presented in this paper; (4) It is obvious that significant differences in urban environmental management exist in cities that were identified and which are at different stages of urban sustainability

Potential of tropical maize populations for improving an elite maize hybrid

Identifying exotic maize (Zea mays L) populations possessing favorable new alleles lacking in local elite hybrids is an important strategy for improving maize hybrids. Selection of an appropriate breeding method will increase the chance of successfully transferring these favorable new alleles into elite inbred lines of local hybrids. The objec¬tives of this study were to: (i) evaluate 14 maize populations from CIMMYT and identify those containing favorable alleles for grain yield, ear length, ear diameter, kernel length, plant height, and ear height that are lacking in a local super hybrid [Jidan261 (W9706 × Ji853)], and to (ii) determine which inbred parent should be improved. These re¬sults showed that the populations Pob43, Pob501, and La Posta had positive and significant numbers of favorable alleles not found in hybrid W9706 × Ji853 that could be used for simultaneous improvement of its grain yield, ear length, and kernel length, and that population QPM-Y was also a good donor for improvement of ear diameter and kernel length in the hybrid. Based on allele frequencies in the two inbred lines and the donor population, when the populations Pob43, La Posta, Pob501, and QPM-Y were used as donors, inbred line W9706 would be improved by selfing the F1 of the cross W9706 × donor population. These results suggested that CIMMYT germplasm has potential to improve temperate elite hybrids. The relationship between GCA and SCA from a previous study and the parameters obtained from the Dudley method are discussed. The results showed that the values of Lplμ’ esti¬mates obtained by applying the Dudley method had the same trend as GCA effects for grain yield but a less clear trend for ear length, while the trends in the relationship value were reversed for SCA between these populations and Lancaster-derived lines

Voluntary agreements to achieve energy efficiency, a comparison between China and The Netherlands

China has gained experience with voluntary agreements. In this paper the experiences in China will be analysed and compared to the factors contributing to the success of this model in the Netherlands. Are voluntary agreements an alternative for the Chinese command and control system? We distinguish different types of voluntary agreements and compare those in China and the Netherlands on a number of dimensions. The hypothesis is tested that voluntary agreements are more effective in achieving pollution control than the traditional command and control approach. It is found that indeed most voluntary agreements score good in China as well as in the Netherlands on a number of chosen indicators. Voluntary agreements are effective in achieving ambitious energy saving targets in a flexible and cost-effective way. Voluntary agreements have the function to mobilise support for energy saving, which is not easily mobilised through the traditional command-and-control approaches. There are however some important differences between the functioning of the system in China and in the Netherlands, where a more bottom-up approach is common. The Netherlands has a tradition of stakeholders' involvement and experience over a longer time of monitoring the effectiveness of the project and adjusting them if necessary

TLR3 Regulated Poly I:C-Induced Neutrophil Extracellular Traps and Acute Lung Injury Partly Through p38 MAP Kinase

Acute lung injury (ALI) is the leading cause of morbidity and mortality in critically ill patients. Neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs) have been well documented in the ALI model of bacterial infection. In the present study, we demonstrated that poly I:C could induce pulmonary NETs. Upon poly I:C intratracheal inoculation, neutrophil infiltration in the bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) was significantly increased. Furthermore, the inflammatory cytokines IL-1β, IL-6, and TNF-α in the lung were also significantly elevated. Neutrophil depletion abolished NETs and decreased both neutrophil infiltration and IL-1β in the lung. As expected, DNase I, an inhibitor of MPO and NADPH, decreased pulmonary inflammation and NETs. Blocking of the poly I:C receptor TLR3 reduced lung inflammation and NETs. The MAPK kinase inhibitor p38 diminished the formation of NETs and restored the expression of the tight junction protein claudin-5 in the mouse lung when challenged with poly I:C. In summary, poly I:C induced the formation of pulmonary NETs and ALI, which may be associated with the activation of p38 MAPK and the decreased expression of claudin-5

Oral Administration of Alkylglycerols Differentially Modulates High-Fat Diet-Induced Obesity and Insulin Resistance in Mice

Alkylglycerols (AKGs) from shark liver oil (SLO) were demonstrated to have strong potency to stimulate immune response. However, no study has been conducted on the effects of AKGs on diet-induced obesity and metabolic inflammatory disorder. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the effect of two AKGs isoforms on obesity and insulin resistance in mice fed high-fat (HF) diet. Forty-eight C57BL/6 mice were divided into normal, HF, HF+20 mg/kg selachyl alcohol (SA), HF+200 mg/kg SA, HF+20 mg/kg batyl alcohol (BA), and HF+200 mg/kg BA groups. Body weight, fasting glucose, lipids, insulin and leptin levels, serum IL-1β, and TNF-α levels were compared among different groups. Our results showed that high-dose SA decreased body weight, serum triglyceride, cholesterol, fasting glucose level, insulin level, and serum leptin level of the HF fed mice, while high-dose BA increased fasting insulin level of the HF fed mice. Pretreatment of primary adipocytes with 10 μM SA or BA differentially modulates LPS-mediated MAPK and NF-κB signaling. Our study demonstrated that oral administration of AKGs has differential effects on HF-induced obesity and metabolic inflammatory disorder in mice

Genetic characterization and linkage disequilibrium mapping of resistance to gray leaf spot in maize (Zea mays L.)

AbstractGray leaf spot (GLS), caused by Cercospora zeae-maydis, is an important foliar disease of maize (Zea mays L.) worldwide, resistance to which is controlled by multiple quantitative trait loci (QTL). To gain insights into the genetic architecture underlying the resistance to this disease, an association mapping population consisting of 161 inbred lines was evaluated for resistance to GLS in a plant pathology nursery at Shenyang in 2010 and 2011. Subsequently, a genome-wide association study, using 41,101 single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), identified 51 SNPs significantly (P<0.001) associated with GLS resistance, which could be converted into 31 QTL. In addition, three candidate genes related to plant defense were identified, including nucleotide-binding-site/leucine-rich repeat, receptor-like kinase genes similar to those involved in basal defense. Two genic SNPs, PZE-103142893 and PZE-109119001, associated with GLS resistance in chromosome bins 3.07 and 9.07, can be used for marker-assisted selection (MAS) of GLS resistance. These results provide an important resource for developing molecular markers closely linked with the target trait, enhancing breeding efficiency

Measuring urban resilience to climate change in three chinese cities

Building an urban resilience index results in developing an increasingly popular tool for monitoring progress towards climate-proof cities. This paper develops an urban resilience index in the context of urban China, which helps planners and policy-makers

Vitamin D and IL-10 Deficiency in Preterm Neonates With Bronchopulmonary Dysplasia

Introduction: Vitamin D deficiency and inflammation are involved with bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) in preterm neonates; however, the clinical evidence still remains scarce. We hypothesized that vitamin D and inflammatory cytokines may be risk factors for BPD in infants.Methods: Preterm infants born between 28 and 31 weeks' gestation were recruited between January 2016 and 2017. Blood samples were all collected at corresponding time points. Vitamin D was measured using an automatic biochemical analyzer, and inflammatory cytokines (TNF-α, IL-1β, IL-6, and IL-10) were measured using ELISA.Results: The baseline characteristics for preterm infants without BPD (non-BPD control, n = 20) or with BPD (n = 19) were similar. In the blood samples collected 24-h post birth, vitamin D was significantly reduced in the BPD neonates (non-BPD vs. BPD, 28.96 ± 3.404 vs. 17.99 ± 2.233 nmol/l, p = 0.0134). Inflammatory cytokines TNF-α, IL-1β, and IL-6 were comparable in both groups. The anti-inflammatory cytokine IL-10, however, was significantly decreased in 24-h blood samples from BPD preterm infants (non-BPD vs. BPD, 44.61 ± 10.48 vs. 11.64 ± 2.351 pg/ml, p = 0.0054). In the BPD infants with mild or moderate disease, vitamin D deficiency was quite similar. IL-10 deficiency, however, was more aggravated in the BPD infants with moderate disease. No changes in Vitamin D or cytokines (TNF-α, IL-1β, IL-6, and IL-10) were observed for blood samples collected 2 or 4 weeks after birth.Conclusion: In our pilot study, Vitamin D and IL-10 levels at 24-h of life were risk factors for the development of BPD in very preterm infants