The association between serum vitamin A concentrations and virus hepatitis among U.S. adults from the NHANES database: a cross-sectional study

ObjectiveAccording to the present study, the relationship between vitamin A (VA) levels and hepatitis virus carriage has been unclear and controversial. This study aimed to determine the potential relationship between serum VA levels and viral hepatitis and to provide ideas for future clinical treatments.MethodsA cross-sectional study was performed using the 2005–2006 and 2017–2018 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) datasets. Multiple linear regression and logistic regression were adopted to analyze the association between serological hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) or hepatitis C RNA (HCV-RNA) positivity and VA levels. There were 5,351 HBsAg-related responders and 242 HCV-RNA-related responders, including 52 HBsAg (+) and 104 HCV-RNA (+) responders.ResultsCompared with HBsAg (−) and HCV-RNA (−) respondents, HBsAg (+) and HCV-RNA (+) respondents tended to have lower serum VA levels, respectively [1.63 (1.33 ~ 2.01) vs. 1.92 (1.57 ~ 2.34), P < 0.001; 1.54 (1.25 ~ 1.83) vs. 1.78 (1.46 ~ 2.26), P < 0.001]. A greater percentage of responders in the subclinical VA deficiency (SVAD) group were HBsAg (+) and HCV-RNA (+) than were those in the normal VA (VAN) group [2.4% (9/374) vs. 0.9% (43/4977), p = 0.003; 61.5% (16/26) vs. 40.7% (88/215), p = 0.043]. According to the results of the multiple regression analyses of the different models, the serum VA concentration was negatively correlated with HBsAg (+) and HCV-RNA (+) status (β = −0.14, 95% CI = −0.30 to −0.01, p = 0.066; β = −0.29, 95% CI = −0.50 ~ −0.09, p = 0.005, respectively). Compared to those with SVAD, patients with VAN were less likely to be serologically HBsAg (+) or HCV-RNA (+) (OR = 0.53, 95% CI = 0.25 ~ 1.10, p = 0.089; OR = 0.39, 95% CI = 0.18 ~ 0.84, p = 0.016, respectively).ConclusionOur study provides evidence that patients who are HBsAg (+) or HCV-RNA (+) have a high incidence of SVAD. Moreover, HBsAg and HCV-RNA positivity are negatively correlated with VA levels, and patients with SVAD are more likely to carry HBsAg (+) or HCV-RNA (+). These findings suggest that the relationship between hepatitis viruses and vitamin A needs to be validated by more basic studies and clinical large-sample randomized controlled trials to provide ideas for new therapeutic targets

Establishing the carrier scattering phase diagram for ZrNiSn-based half-Heusler thermoelectric materials

Chemical doping is one of the most important strategies for tuning electrical properties of semiconductors, particularly thermoelectric materials. Generally, the main role of chemical doping lies in optimizing the carrier concentration, but there can potentially be other important effects. Here, we show that chemical doping plays multiple roles for both electron and phonon transport properties in half-Heusler thermoelectric materials. With ZrNiSn-based half-Heusler materials as an example, we use high-quality single and polycrystalline crystals, various probes, including electrical transport measurements, inelastic neutron scattering measurement, and first-principles calculations, to investigate the underlying electron-phonon interaction. We find that chemical doping brings strong screening effects to ionized impurities, grain boundary, and polar optical phonon scattering, but has negligible influence on lattice thermal conductivity. Furthermore, it is possible to establish a carrier scattering phase diagram, which can be used to select reasonable strategies for optimization of the thermoelectric performance.Comment: 21 pages, 5 figure

Anthropogenic short-lived halogens increase human exposure to mercury contamination due to enhanced mercury oxidation over continents

8 pags., 3 figs.Mercury (Hg) is a contaminant of global concern, and an accurate understanding of its atmospheric fate is needed to assess its risks to humans and ecosystem health. Atmospheric oxidation of Hg is key to the deposition of this toxic metal to the Earth's surface. Short-lived halogens (SLHs) can provide halogen radicals to directly oxidize Hg and perturb the budget of other Hg oxidants (e.g., OH and O3). In addition to known ocean emissions of halogens, recent observational evidence has revealed abundant anthropogenic emissions of SLHs over continental areas. However, the impacts of anthropogenic SLHs emissions on the atmospheric fate of Hg and human exposure to Hg contamination remain unknown. Here, we show that the inclusion of anthropogenic SLHs substantially increased local Hg oxidation and, consequently, deposition in/near Hg continental source regions by up to 20%, thereby decreasing Hg export from source regions to clean environments. Our modeling results indicated that the inclusion of anthropogenic SLHs can lead to higher Hg exposure in/near Hg source regions than estimated in previous assessments, e.g., with increases of 8.7% and 7.5% in China and India, respectively, consequently leading to higher Hg-related human health risks. These results highlight the urgent need for policymakers to reduce local Hg and SLHs emissions. We conclude that the substantial impacts of anthropogenic SLHs emissions should be included in model assessments of the Hg budget and associated health risks at local and global scales.This research was supported by Municipal Science and Technology Innovation Commission of Shenzhen (JCYJ20220530143007016), Natural Science Foundation of Guangdong Province (2022A1515010705), National Natural Science Foundation of China (22206106), and Scientific Research Start-up Funds from Tsinghua Shenzhen International Graduate School (QD2021015C). The team of Spanish National Research Council is supported by the European Research Council Executive Agency under the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme (Project ERC-2016-COG 726349 CLIMAHAL, awarded to A.S.-L.). Contribution of Oleg Travnikov wasfunded by the Global Mercury Observation System (GMOS)- Train project of the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the Marie Sklodowska-Curie grant agreement no. 860497 and cofunded by the Slovenian Research Agency Research Programme P1-0143 and J1-3033 (IsoCont). Contribution of Shuxiao Wang is supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Project 92044302). The HKPolyU team is supported by the Hong Kong Research Grants Council (Project T24-504/17-N, awarded to T.W.). A.S.M. is supported by the Ministry of Earth Sciences, Government of IndiaPeer reviewe

Carbon-Reduction, Green Finance, and High-Quality Economic Development: A Case of China

Development that is eco-friendly, coordinated, sustainable, and of the highest caliber is crucial to China’s modernization. Based on the Cobb–Douglas production function and environmental Kuznets curve analysis, this paper investigates the link between green finance and the reduction of carbon emissions and high-quality economic development, then puts forward the hypothesis that green finance promotes high-quality economic development, and carbon emission reduction effect is its important transmission mechanism. This paper applies the bidirectional fixed effect model to a panel dataset of 30 Chinese provinces, cities, and autonomous regions from 2008 to 2019 to conduct an empirical test. The empirical results show that: (1) Green finance has a significant role in promoting high-quality economic development, which has passed the robustness test and has regional heterogeneity. (2) The growth of green financing reduces carbon emissions, which encourages high-quality development. (3) A positive spatial spillover effect results from the promotion of green finance to high-quality economic development. Given the aforementioned findings, this paper makes policy recommendations regarding how green financing, carbon emission reduction, and high-quality economic development might work together to support green development

Ionic Liquid-Mediated Interfacial Polymerization for Fabrication of Reverse Osmosis Membranes

This study revealed the effects of incorporating ionic liquid (IL) molecules: 1-ethyl, 1-butyl, and 1-octyl-3-methyl-imidazolium chlorides with different alkyl chain lengths, in interfacial polymerization (IP) on the structure and property (i.e., permeate-flux and salt rejection ratio) relationships of resulting RO membranes. The IL additive was added in the aqueous meta-phenylene diamine (MPD; 0.1% w/v) phase, which was subsequently reacted with trimesoyl chloride (TMC; 0.004% w/v) in the hexane phase to produce polyamide (PA) barrier layer. The structure of resulting free-standing PA thin films was characterized by grazing incidence wide-angle X-rays scattering (GIWAXS), which results were correlated with the performance of thin-film composite RO membranes having PA barrier layers prepared under the same IP conditions. Additionally, the membrane surface properties were characterized by zeta potential and water contact angle measurements. It was found that the membrane prepared by the longer chain IL molecule generally showed lower salt rejection ratio and higher permeation flux, possibly due to the inclusion of IL molecules in the PA scaffold. This hypothesis was supported by the GIWAXS results, where a self-assembled surfactant-like structure formed by IL with the longest aliphatic chain length was detected

Potential Effect of Halogens on Atmospheric Oxidation and Air Quality in China

21 pags.,11 figs, 1 tab.Air pollution has been a hazard in China over recent decades threatening the health of half a billion people. Much effort has been devoted to mitigating air pollution in China leading to a significant reduction in primary pollutants emissions from 2013 to 2017, while a continuously worsening trend of surface ozone (O3, a secondary pollutant and greenhouse gas) was observed over the same period. Atmospheric oxidation, dominated by daytime reactions involving hydroxyl radicals (OH), is the critical process to convert freshly‐emitted compounds into secondary pollutants, and is underestimated in current models of China's air pollution. Halogens (chlorine, bromine, and iodine) are known to profoundly influence oxidation chemistry in the marine environment; however, their impact on atmospheric oxidation and air pollution in China is unknown. In the present study, we report for the first time that halogens substantially enhance the total atmospheric oxidation capacity in polluted areas of China, typically 10% to 20% (up to 87% in winter) and mainly by significantly increasing OH level. The enhanced oxidation along the coast is driven by oceanic emissions, and that over the inland areas by anthropogenic emission. The extent and seasonality of halogen impact are largely explained by the dynamics of Asian monsoon, location and intensity of halogen emissions, and O3 formation regime. The omission of halogen emissions and chemistry may lead to significant errors in historical re‐assessments and future projections of the evolution of atmospheric oxidation in polluted regions.This study received funding from the European Research Council Executive Agency under the European Union's Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme (Project ERC‐2016‐ COG 726349 CLIMAHAL), and was supported by the Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC) of Spain, and The Program for Professor of Special Appointment (Eastern Scholar) at Shanghai Institutions of Higher Learning and Shanghai Thousand Talents Program. The development and maintenance of the WRF‐Chem model are conducted by NOAA/ESRL/GSD in active collaboration with other institutes. Computing resources, support, and data storage were provided by the Climate Simulation Laboratory at NCAR's Computational and Information Systems Laboratory (CISL), sponsored by the NSF. The Fudan team acknowledges the financial support from National Natural Science Foundation of China (41775113). The HKPU team acknowledges financial support from the Hong Kong Research Grants Council (A‐PolyU502/16, T24‐504/17‐N). Data that support the finding of this study can be found at DOI: 10.17632/whz6yk79m4.1 (Li et al., 2020)Peer reviewe

Relations between different components of rejection sensitivity and adjustment in Chinese children

The goal of the present study was to examine the relations between the cognitive (i.e., expectations) and emotional (i.e., anxiety, anger) components of rejection sensitivity and adjustment among Chinese children. Participants were N = 654 children (grades four to seven) in Shanghai, China. Measures of rejection sensitivity, socio-emotional functioning, and academic achievement were collected via multi-source assessment. Among the results, the anxiety component was associated with psychological problems (e.g., social anxiety, lower self-worth), whereas the anger component was associated with social and behavioral problems (e.g., peer victimization, lower peer preference, total difficulties). Rejection expectations were associated with the widest range of adjustment difficulties. The current findings suggest that rejection sensitivity poses considerable risk for Chinese youth, and that the emotional and cognitive components of rejection sensitivity should be viewed as distinct vulnerabilities for risk. Results are discussed in terms of the unique implications of rejection sensitivity in Chinese culture

The complete mitochondrial genome sequence and phylogenetic analysis of Maiwa Yak(Bos Grunniens)

Maiwa yak is a unique local strain of yak breed resource in China. The complete mitochondrial genome was identified in this work. The mitochondrial DNA is a circular molecule with 16,324 bp in length, including 13 protein-coding genes, 2 rRNA genes, 22 tRNA genes, and a non-coding control region(D-loop). The overall nucleotide ratio is A (33.70%), G (13.22%), T (27.26%), C (25.82%) with a C + G content of 39.04%. Phylogenetic analysis of mitochondrial genomes of 17 close species using MEGA7.0 showed that Maiwa yak is most related to Pali yak and polled yak

Characterization of the complete mitochondrial genome sequence of Jialuo sheep (Ovis aries)

Jialuo sheep is one of the important production materials of herdsmen in the pastoral areas of northwestern Sichuan in China. We reported the complete mitogenome of Jialuo sheep for the first time. It is 16,617 bp in length, containing 13 protein-coding genes, 2 ribosomal RNA genes, 22 transfer RNA genes, and a control region (D-loop). In the evolutionary relationship, the mitogenome of Jialuo sheep is closer to Texel sheep. This report will help the further studies of sheep species classification and resource protection

Potential Effect of Halogens on Atmospheric Oxidation in China

EGU General Assembly 2020 in the online format, 4-8 May 2020Air pollution has been a hazard in China over recent decades threatening the health of half a billion people. Much effort has been devoted to mitigating air pollution in China leading to a tremendous reduction in primary pollutants emissions from 2013 to 2017, while a continuously worsening trend of surface ozone (O3, a secondary pollutant and greenhouse gas) was observed over the same period. Atmospheric oxidation, dominated by daytime reactions involving hydroxyl radicals (OH), is the critical process to convert freshly-emitted compounds into secondary pollutants, and is underestimated in current models of China¿s air pollution. Halogens (chlorine, bromine, and iodine) are known to profoundly influence oxidation chemistry in the marine environment; however, their impact on atmospheric oxidation and air pollution in China is unknown. In the present study, we report for the first time that halogens substantially enhance the total atmospheric oxidation capacity in polluted areas of China, typically 10% to 20% (up to 87% in winter) and mainly by significantly increasing OH level. The enhanced oxidation along the coast is driven by oceanic emissions of bromine and iodine, and that over the inland areas by anthropogenic emission of chlorine. The extent and seasonality of halogen impact are largely explained by the dynamics of Asian monsoon, location and intensity of halogen emissions, and O3 formation regime. The omission of halogen emissions and chemistry may lead to significant errors in historical re-assessments and future projections of the evolution of atmospheric oxidation in polluted regions.European Research Council Executive Agency under the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme (Project ERC-2016- COG 726349 CLIMAHAL). ü Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC) of Spain. ü The Program for Professor of Special Appointment (Eastern Scholar) at Shanghai Institutions of Higher Learning and Shanghai Thousand Talents Program. ü National Natural Science Foundation of China (41775113) - Fudan team. ü Hong Kong Research Grants Council (A-PolyU502/16, T24-504/17-N) - HKPU te