Enteric methane emissions from dairy and beef cattle: a meta-analysis

Master of ScienceDepartment of Biological and Agricultural EngineeringZifei LiuThis study reviewed state-of-the-art cattle enteric methane (CH4) emissions with three reported measuring units: g/head/d, g/kg DMI (dry matter intake), and %GEI (gross energy intake). Cattle emissions studies included in this meta-analysis were reported from 1995 to 2013. Fifty-five published studies were analyzed with specific objectives: (1) to gain basic information regarding magnitudes and distributions of enteric CH4 emission rates with various units, regions, cattle types and feed situations; (2) to identify and evaluate effects of influence factors or diet mitigation techniques on enteric CH4 emissions; and (3) to evaluate Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) approaches to estimate enteric CH4 emissions. Emissions data (n=165) with the unit of g/head/d had large variances and non-normal distribution, and were not homogeneous across the studies. Emissions data (n=134) with the unit of g/kg DMI were not homogeneous across the studies, while emissions data (n=76) with the unit of %GEI had small variances and normal distribution, and were homogeneous across the studies. Therefore, data with the unit of %GEI may be better for meta-analysis compared to data with the units of g/head/d and g/kg DMI; however, the number of data with the unit of %GEI was small relative to the number of data with the units of g/head/d and g/kg DMI. Enteric CH4 emissions with the unit of g/head/d are significantly influenced by geographic region, cattle classification, sub-classification, humidity, temperature, body weight, and feed intake. Emissions and feed intake had a strong positive linear relationship with R2 of 0.75 (n=148). Emissions with the unit of g/kg DMI are significantly affected by humidity, body weight, and feed intake. The relationship between emissions and feed intake is positive. Emissions with the unit of %GEI are significantly associated with humidity, production stage, and body weight. IPCC Tier 1 and Tier 2 estimated emissions were approximate to most of the measured enteric CH4 emissions; however, the residuals were not normally distributed. Based on results from PRD method and paired t-tests, IPCC Tier 1 overestimated emissions in Asian studies, underestimated emissions in European studies for beef cattle, and underestimated emissions in Oceanian studies for dairy cattle. IPCC Tier 2 underestimated emissions in Asian studies for beef cattle. The underestimated emissions of IPCC Tier 2 in Asian studies might result from no consideration of effects from production stage and body weight

Institutional pressure, ultimate ownership, and corporate carbon reduction engagement: evidence from China

This paper investigates the relationship between institutional pressure and corporate carbon reduction engagement, as well as the moderating effect of ultimate ownership in China. Using a sample of 2511 firms listed on Shanghai and Shenzhen Stock Exchanges over the period of 2014 and 2015, we find that institutional pressure arising from government evaluation has a positive influence on corporate carbon reduction engagement. Moreover, the positive effect is stronger for non-state-owned enterprises (NSOEs) than state-owned enterprises (SOEs). Subsequent analysis shows that carbon reduction engagement in NSOEs is positively associated with firms’ access to state-owned bank loans. We further observe that there is a momentum of carbon reduction engagement under institutional pressure. Our findings shed lights on how institutional pressure influences firms’ decision to engage in carbon reduction and the effectiveness of the carbon reduction policy in China

Geographical distribution and prevalence of mental disorders among healthcare workers in China:A cross-sectional country-wide survey A cross-sectional study to assess mental disorders of healthcare workers in China

Background Reliable and detailed nationwide data on the prevalence and distribution of mental disorders among healthcare workers in China during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak are scarce. Methods We did a cross-sectional online survey from March 2 to 2 April 2020 and a total of 19,379 healthcare workers from 25 provinces participated. Depression, anxiety and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) were assessed by the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9), Generalized Anxiety Disorder Scale (GAD-7) and PTSD Checklist for DSM-5 (PCL-5), respectively. Results The age-standardized prevalence of depression, anxiety and PTSD was 15.5%, 12.7% and 5.2%, respectively. Frontline workers had higher prevalence estimates than non-frontline workers (depression: 18.2% vs. 13.9%; anxiety: 14.7% vs. 11.6%; PTSD: 6.1% vs. 4.6%). Subgroups who were nurses, were married or had dependent children reported higher prevalence of depression, anxiety and PTSD. Despite of the large variations, the prevalence of mental disorders was lowest in East China, followed by Middle China, and highest in West China. Conclusion Healthcare workers faced enormous stress not only from the direct risk presented by the COVID-19 outbreak, but also from the profound changes in their professional practice. Prevalence of adverse psychological outcomes has a significant association with geographically distribution of health resources and regional economic level. Sufficient medical resource may be a protective factor to mental health condition of healthcare personnel when such a public health emergency happened

Comorbid depressive symptoms can aggravate the functional changes of the pain matrix in patients with chronic back pain: A resting-state fMRI study

ObjectiveThe purposes of this study are to explore (1) whether comorbid depressive symptoms in patients with chronic back pain (CBP) affect the pain matrix. And (2) whether the interaction of depression and CBP exacerbates impaired brain function.MethodsThirty-two patients with CBP without comorbid depressive symptoms and thirty patients with CBP with comorbid depressive symptoms were recruited. All subjects underwent functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) scans. The graph theory analysis, mediation analysis, and functional connectivity (FC) analysis were included in this study. All subjects received the detection of clinical depressive symptoms and pain-related manifestations.ResultCompared with the CBP group, subjects in the CBP with comorbid depressive symptoms (CBP-D) group had significantly increased FC in the left medial prefrontal cortex and several parietal cortical regions. The results of the graph theory analyses showed that the area under the curve of small-world property (t = −2.175, p = 0.034), gamma (t = −2.332, p = 0.023), and local efficiency (t = −2.461, p = 0.017) in the CBP-D group were significantly lower. The nodal efficiency in the ventral posterior insula (VPI) (t = −3.581, p = 0.0007), and the network efficiency values (t = −2.758, p = 0.008) in the pain matrix were significantly lower in the CBP-D group. Both the topological properties and the FC values of these brain regions were significantly correlated with self-rating depression scale (SDS) scores (all FDR corrected) but not with pain intensity. Further mediation analyses demonstrated that pain intensity had a mediating effect on the relationship between SDS scores and Pain Disability Index scores. Likewise, the SDS scores mediated the relationship between pain intensity and PDI scores.ConclusionOur study found that comorbid depressive symptoms can aggravate the impairment of pain matrix function of CBP, but this impairment cannot directly lead to the increase of pain intensity, which may be because some brain regions of the pain matrix are the common neural basis of depression and CBP

Study on the Interaction of a Peptide Targeting Specific G-Quadruplex Structures Based on Chromatographic Retention Behavior

G-quadruplexes (G4s) are of vital biological significance and G4-specific ligands with conformational selectivity show great application potential in disease treatment and biosensing. RHAU, a RNA helicase associated with AU-rich element, exerts biological functions through the mediation of G4s and has been identified to be a G4 binder. Here, we investigated the interactions between the RHAU peptide and G4s with different secondary structures using size exclusion chromatography (SEC) in association with circular dichroism (CD), ultraviolet-visible (UV-Vis) absorption, and native polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (Native-PAGE). Spectral results demonstrated that the RHAU peptide did not break the main structure of G4s, making it more reliable for G4 structural analysis. The RHAU peptide was found to display a structural selectivity for a preferential binding to parallel G4s as reflected by the distinct chromatographic retention behaviors. In addition, the RHAU peptide exhibited different interactions with intermolecular parallel G4s and intramolecular parallel G4s, providing a novel recognition approach to G4 structures. The findings of this study enriched the insight into the binding of RHAU to G4s with various conformations. It is noteworthy that SEC technology can be easy and reliable for elucidating G4–peptide interactions, especially for a multiple G4 coexisting system, which supplied an alternative strategy to screen novel specific ligands for G4s

Board Independence and Board Size: An Examination of Other Shareholder Constraints

We examine whether large shareholders (other than the largest shareholder) could constrain the influence of the largest shareholder by electing more independent directors to the board. Moreover, we assess whether this constraining ability is related to the size of other large shareholders\u27 ownership position relative to the largest shareholder. Using a sample of 13,951 firm-year observations from the unique Chinese capital market between 2004 and 2014, our empirical results indicate that other large shareholders can elect a larger number of independent directors to the board when their share ownership increases. However, these other large shareholders have increased voting power on the board (through a larger percentage of independent directors) only if the largest shareholder owns less than 30% of the company\u27s shares. When the largest shareholder owns less than 30% of the shares, we find that other shareholder constraints are associated with a larger number of independent directors, a larger percentage of independent directors on the board and a larger board size. In addition, board size partially mediates the relationship between other shareholder constraints and the percentage of independent directors. For companies in which the largest shareholder owns at least 30% of the shares, our results indicate that other shareholder constraints are associated with a higher number of independent directors and larger boards, but are not associated with the percentage of independent directors. Moreover, the increased board size fully mediates the relationship between other shareholder constrains and the percentage of independent directors. A larger number of independent directors, without an increase in the percentage of independent directors, suggests that the relationship between other shareholder constraints and the percentage of independent directors is mainly driven by the other shareholder constraints/board size relationship, rather than by an increased percentage of independent directors. Our results indicate that minority shareholders may have a voice on the board, but greater board voting power is more difficult for the minority shareholder to obtain

Effects of Livestock Grazing on Spatio-Temporal Patterns and Behaviour of Reeves’s Pheasant Syrmaticus reevesii

Protected areas are seeing an increase in anthropogenic disturbances in the world. Previous studies have demonstrated the impact of livestock grazing and human presence on the habitat use of birds, whereas little is known about the effect of free-ranging livestock on bird behaviour. Reeves’s Pheasant (Syrmaticus reevesii) is endemic to China and has been threatened by habitat loss and fragmentation, illegal logging, and human disturbance over the past 20 years. Based on camera trapping in the Liankangshan National Nature Reserve (LKS) and the Zhonghuashan Birds Provincial Nature Reserve (ZHS), we explore the effects of livestock grazing and human activities on the spatio-temporal distribution and behavioural patterns of Reeves’s Pheasant. Livestock does not appear to affect habitat use by the pheasant but changes its behavioural patterns. In addition, pheasants in areas with livestock foraged mostly during the early morning, while in areas without livestock, they foraged at dusk. Therefore, the study concludes that livestock intensity in nature reserves may have reduced pheasant suitability through altered patterns of vigilance and foraging behaviour

Wenshen Yangxue decoction improves endometrial receptivity recovery and promotes endometrial angiogenesis in a rat model

Context: Wenshen Yangxue decoction (WSYXD) is a famous traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) formula and has been used in infertility treatment, but the exact mechanism is still unknown. Objectives: To determine if WSYXD improves endometrial receptivity recovery and promotes endometrial angiogenesis in a rat model. Materials and methods: A total of 100 proestrus female SPF Wistar rats were randomly assigned into five groups: control (saline), model (saline and hydroxyurea solution), high (5.2/100 g), middle (2.6/100 g) and low (1.3/100 g) WSYXD dose groups for 10 d. The microvessel densities, endometrial microstructure, as well as blastocysts number, were observed, followed by detection of angiogenesis-related gene/protein expression by immunohistochemistry, western blot and quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), respectively. Results: Compared with the model group, the blastocyst number in WSYXD middle and high groups were significantly increased (4.50 ± 3.11 vs. 13.00 ± 2.12, 14.00 ± 1.83, p < 0.01). Lower MVD can be found in the model group (4.7) when compared with the normal control (13.7), middle (8.4) and high (9.7) dose groups. Additionally, significant differences were observed in VEGF, HIF-1α, p-AKT, p-PI3K, Ang1 and Ang2 (all p < 0.01) among different groups. Discussion and conclusions: In conclusion, WSYXD could help endometrial receptivity recovery and promote endometrial angiogenesis through PI3K, HIF-1α signalling and VEGF expression regulation. This study provides molecular evidence for application of WSYXD in the clinic and promotes new drug development from TCM