Can Urban Environmental Problems Be Accurately Identified? A Complaint Text Mining Method

With the popularization of social networks, the abundance of unstructured data regarding environmental complaints is rapidly increasing. This study established a text mining framework for Chinese civil environmental complaints and analyzed the characteristics of environmental complaints, including keywords, sentiment, and semantic networks, with two–year environmental complaints records in Guangzhou city, China. The results show that the keywords of environmental complaints can be effectively extracted, providing an accurate entry point for solving environmental problems; light pollution complaints are the most negative, and electromagnetic radiation complaints have the most fluctuating emotions, which may be due to the diversity of citizens’ perceptions of pollution; the nodes of the semantic network reveal that citizens pay the most attention to pollution sources but the least attention to stakeholders; the edges of the semantic network shows that pollution sources and pollution receptors show the most concerning relationship, and the pollution receptors’ relationships with pollution behaviors, sensory features, stakeholders, and individual health are also highlighted by citizens. Thus, environmental pollution management should not only strengthen the control of pollution sources but also pay attention to these characteristics. This study provides an efficient technical method for unstructured data analysis, which may be helpful for precise and smart environmental management

Recreational Green Space Service in the Guangdong–Hong Kong–Macau Greater Bay Area: A Multiple Travel Modes Perspective

Recreational green space (RGS) offers the most intuitive place for urban residents to get in touch with nature. The service radiation of RGS is related to the travel mode, however, residents’ travel behavior has long been ignored in the study of RGS services. This paper considers the Guangdong–Hong Kong–Macau Greater Bay Area (GBA), uses multi-source data, refines the spatial distribution of residents, extracts and classifies the RGS into three categories (township (TRGS), country (CRGS), and urban (URGS)), and analyzes the spatial distribution of the three types of RGS. Using the travel isochrone, the RGS services coverage (including spatial and population coverage) in 11 cities within the GBA is defined by multiple travel modes. Finally, a comprehensive evaluation of the RGS services in the GBA is conducted based on the residents’ transportation choice willingness and recreational selection. The results showed that: (1) TRGSs are mainly distributed in the suburbs, URGSs are mainly concentrated in the mid-western and southern regions, and CRGSs are mostly concentrated in the center of the GBA. (2) For daily travel (15-min and 30-min travel modes), the coverage of the RGS services is unevenly distributed, while under the 60-min travel mode, the RGS services can almost fully cover the residents in the GBA (SPURGS > 99%). (3) The RGS service of the central cities (Hong Kong, Macau) is better than that of the edge cities (Zhaoqing, Jiangmen), and the different city types should adopt different RGS planning and management strategies. This study provides a reference for RGS refined planning and maintenance in mega-urban agglomerations

UHPLC-MS-Based Serum and Urine Metabolomics Reveals the Anti-Diabetic Mechanism of Ginsenoside Re in Type 2 Diabetic Rats

Panax ginseng was employed in the treatment of “Xiao-Ke” symptom, which nowadays known as diabetes mellitus, in traditional Chinese medicine for more than a thousand years. Ginsenoside Re was the major pharmacologic ingredient found abundantly in ginseng. However, the anti-diabetic of Ginsenoside Re and its underlying mechanism in metabolic level are still unclear. Serum and urine metabolomic method was carried out to investigate the anti-diabetic pharmacological effects and the potential mechanism of Ginsenoside Re on high-fat diet combined streptozotocin-induced type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) rats based on ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with quadrupole exactive orbitrap mass spectrometry (UHPLC-Q-Exactive Orbitrap/MS). Serum and urine samples were collected from the control group (CON), T2DM group, metformin (MET) treatment group, and ginsenoside Re treatment group after intervention. The biochemical parameters of serum were firstly analyzed. The endogenous metabolites in serum and urine were detected by UHPLC-MS. The potential metabolites were screened by multivariate statistical analysis and identified by accurate mass measurement, MS/MS, and metabolite databases. The anti-diabetic-related metabolites were analyzed by KEGG metabolic pathway, and its potential mechanism was discussed. The treatment of ginsenoside Re significantly reduced the blood glucose and serum lipid level improved the oxidative stress caused by T2DM. Biochemical parameters (urea nitrogen, uric acid) showed that ginsenoside Re could improve renal function in T2DM rats. Respective 2 and 6 differential metabolites were found and identified in serum and urine of ginsenoside Re compared with T2DM group and enriched in KEGG pathway. Metabolic pathways analysis indicated that the differential metabolites related to T2DM were mainly involved in arachidonic acid metabolism, Vitamin B6, steroid hormone biosynthesis, and bile secretion metabolic pathways. This study verified the anti-diabetic and anti-oxidation effects of ginsenoside Re, elaborated that ginsenoside Re has a good regulation of the metabolic disorder in T2DM rats, which could promote insulin secretion, stimulated cannabinoid type 1 receptor (CB1), and CaMKK β to activate AMPK signaling pathway, inhibited insulin resistance, and improved blood glucose uptake and diabetic nephropathy, so as to play the role of anti-diabetic

Anti-Aging Effect of Momordica charantia L. on d-Galactose-Induced Subacute Aging in Mice by Activating PI3K/AKT Signaling Pathway

Anti-aging is a challenging and necessary research topic. Momordica charantia L. is a common edible medicinal plant that has various pharmacological activities and is often employed in daily health care. However, its anti-aging effect on mice and the underlying mechanism thereof remain unclear. Our current study mainly focused on the effect of Momordica charantia L. on d-galactose-induced subacute aging in mice and explored the underlying mechanism. UHPLC-Q-Exactive Orbitrap MS was applied to qualitatively analyze the chemical components of Momordica charantia L. ethanol extract (MCE). A subacute aging mice model induced by d-galactose (d-gal) was established to investigate the anti-aging effect and potential mechanism of MCE. The learning and memory ability of aging mice was evaluated using behavioral tests. The biochemical parameters, including antioxidant enzyme activity and the accumulation of lipid peroxides in serum, were measured to explore the effect of MCE on the redox imbalance caused by aging. Pathological changes in the hippocampus were observed using hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) staining, and the levels of aging-related proteins in the PI3K/AKT signaling pathway were assessed using Western blotting. The experimental results demonstrated that a total of 14 triterpenoids were simultaneously identified in MCE. The behavioral assessments results showed that MCE can improve the learning and memory ability of subacute mice. The biochemical parameters determination results showed that MCE can improve the activity of antioxidant enzymes and decrease the accumulation of lipid peroxides in aging mice significantly. Furthermore, aging and injury in the hippocampus were ameliorated. Mechanistically, the results showed a significant upregulation in the protein expression of P-PI3K/PI3K and P-AKT/AKT (p < 0.01), as well as a significant reduction in cleaved caspase-3/caspase-3, Bax and P-mTOR/mTOR (p < 0.01). Our results confirm that MCE could restore the antioxidant status and improve cognitive impairment in aging mice, inhibit d-gal-induced apoptosis by regulating the PI3K/AKT signaling pathway, and rescue the impaired autophagy caused by mTOR overexpression, thereby exerting an anti-aging effect

Recreational Green Space Service in the Guangdong–Hong Kong–Macau Greater Bay Area: A Multiple Travel Modes Perspective

Recreational green space (RGS) offers the most intuitive place for urban residents to get in touch with nature. The service radiation of RGS is related to the travel mode, however, residents’ travel behavior has long been ignored in the study of RGS services. This paper considers the Guangdong–Hong Kong–Macau Greater Bay Area (GBA), uses multi-source data, refines the spatial distribution of residents, extracts and classifies the RGS into three categories (township (TRGS), country (CRGS), and urban (URGS)), and analyzes the spatial distribution of the three types of RGS. Using the travel isochrone, the RGS services coverage (including spatial and population coverage) in 11 cities within the GBA is defined by multiple travel modes. Finally, a comprehensive evaluation of the RGS services in the GBA is conducted based on the residents’ transportation choice willingness and recreational selection. The results showed that: (1) TRGSs are mainly distributed in the suburbs, URGSs are mainly concentrated in the mid-western and southern regions, and CRGSs are mostly concentrated in the center of the GBA. (2) For daily travel (15-min and 30-min travel modes), the coverage of the RGS services is unevenly distributed, while under the 60-min travel mode, the RGS services can almost fully cover the residents in the GBA (SPURGS > 99%). (3) The RGS service of the central cities (Hong Kong, Macau) is better than that of the edge cities (Zhaoqing, Jiangmen), and the different city types should adopt different RGS planning and management strategies. This study provides a reference for RGS refined planning and maintenance in mega-urban agglomerations

Efficient Removal and Recovery of Ag from Wastewater Using Charged Polystyrene-Polydopamine Nanocoatings and Their Sustainable Catalytic Application in 4‑Nitrophenol Reduction

This study addresses the long-standing challenges of removing and recovering trace silver (Ag) ions from wastewater while promoting their sustainable catalysis utilization. We innovatively developed a composite material by combining charged sulfonated polystyrene (PS) with a PDA coating. This composite serves a dual purpose: effectively removing and recovering trace Ag+ from wastewater and enabling reused Ag for sustainable applications, particularly in the catalytic reduction of 4-nitrophenol (4-NP) to 4-aminophenol (4-AP). The PS–PDA demonstrated exceptional selectivity to trace Ag+ recycling, which is equal to 14 times greater than the commercial ion exchanger. We emphasize the distinct roles of different charged functional groups in Ag+ removal and catalytic reduction performance. The negatively charged SO3H groups exhibited the remarkable ability to rapidly enrich trace Ag ions from wastewater, with a capacity 2–3 times higher than that of positively-N+(CH3)3Cl and netural-CH2Cl-modified composites; this resulted in an impressive 96% conversion of 4-NP to 4-AP within just 25 min. The fixed-bed application further confirmed the effective treatment capacity of approximately 4400 L of water per kilogram of adsorbent, while maintaining an extremely low effluent Ag+ concentration of less than 0.1 mg/L. XPS investigations provided valuable insights into the conversion of Ag+ ions into metallic Ag through the enticement of negatively charged SO3H groups and the in situ reduction facilitated by PDA. This breakthrough not only facilitates the efficient extraction of Ag from wastewater but also paves the way for its environmentally responsible utilization in catalytic reactions