An Effect Analysis of Comprehensive Treatment of Groundwater Over-Exploitation in Cheng’an County, Hebei Province, China

The comprehensive treatment project of groundwater over-exploitation in Hebei Province has been implemented for more than a year, and the effect of exploitation restriction is in urgent need of evaluation. This paper deals with Cheng’an County of Hebei Province as the research subject. Based on collected hydro-meteorological, socioeconomic, groundwater, and other related data, together with typical regional experimental research, this study generates the effective precipitation–groundwater exploitation (P-W) curve and accompanying research methods, and calculates the quantity of groundwater exploitation restriction. It analyzes the target completion status of groundwater exploitation restriction through water conservancy measures and agricultural practices of the groundwater over-exploitation comprehensive treatment project that was implemented in Cheng’an County in 2014. The paper evaluates the treatment effect of groundwater over-exploitation, as well as provides technical support for the effect evaluation of groundwater exploitation restriction of agricultural irrigation in Cheng’an County and relevant areas

Strontium Attenuates Hippocampal Damage via Suppressing Neuroinflammation in High-Fat Diet-Induced NAFLD Mice

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) leads to hippocampal damage and causes a variety of physiopathological responses, including the induction of endoplasmic reticulum stress (ERS), neuroinflammation, and alterations in synaptic plasticity. As an important trace element, strontium (Sr) has been reported to have antioxidant effects, to have anti-inflammatory effects, and to cause the inhibition of adipogenesis. The present study was undertaken to investigate the protective effects of Sr on hippocampal damage in NAFLD mice in order to elucidate the underlying mechanism of Sr in NAFLD. The mouse model of NAFLD was established by feeding mice a high-fat diet (HFD), and the mice were treated with Sr. In the NAFLD mice, we found that treatment with Sr significantly increased the density of c-Fos+ cells in the hippocampus and inhibited the expression of caspase-3 by suppressing ERS. Surprisingly, the induction of neuroinflammation and the increased expression of inflammatory cytokines in the hippocampus following an HFD were attenuated by Sr treatment. Sr significantly attenuated the activation of microglia and astrocytes induced by an HFD. The expression of phospho-p38, ERK, and NF-κB was consistently significantly increased in the HFD group, and treatment with Sr decreased their expression. Moreover, Sr prevented HFD-induced damage to the ultra-structural synaptic architecture. This study implies that Sr has beneficial effects on repairing the damage to the hippocampus induced by an HFD, revealing that Sr could be a potential candidate for protection from neural damage caused by NAFLD

Study on the Countermeasures of Ensuring Drinking Water Security in Shanshan County of Xinjiang Autonomous Region, China

China has paid more attention to improving urban and rural drinking water security in recent years. Ensuring the security of drinking water in urban and rural areas is a fundamental condition for protecting the basic interests of the public, and it is also an important aspect of building a moderately and all-sided prosperous society in China. Taking the Shanshan County in Turpan City of Xinjiang Autonomous Region as an example, this study analyzed the countermeasures of ensuring drinking water security. Firstly, this paper discusses the status quo of drinking water security in Shanshan. In terms of urban drinking water, problems are shown as follows: (1) drinking water sources are polluted to varying degrees; (2) water treatment technologies lag behind when compared to the social development; (3) there is a high leakage rate in the water supply pipe network; and (4) there is low emergency handling capability. In terms of rural drinking water, small-scale drinking water security projects are on low construction standard, which has resulted in low water supply guarantee rates and poor water source protection and water quality supervision. Secondly, based on an analysis of current problems, the quantity of water resources guaranteed is put forward. This paper divides Shanshan County into three units—the Karuqi area, the Ertanggou area, and the Kekeya area—based on urban or rural land use. This paper proposes the optimal distribution of regional water plants and a water supply network for the optimal allocation of regional water resources. Thirdly, for water quality improvement, a corresponding water purification program is developed to solve raw water quality problems, which includes centralized and decentralized water quality treatment, as well as an intelligent water flow control process. At the same time, management measures such as water source conservation and risk control measures are proposed in order to promote the security of drinking water. This paper also puts forward relevant strategic suggestions for ensuring the security of drinking water in Shanshan County, which includes enhancing equipment for the project, modulizing the system of devices, developing instrumentation of the management system, and establishing an intelligent water management platform. This study acts as a reference for solving problems of drinking water security in urban and rural areas in arid regions in Northwest China and similar areas around the world