Beschreibung: In this paper, we investigated the willingness of metropolitan residents to pay for low-carbon agricultural products. By developing low-carbon agricultural products, carbon emission would be reduced significantly. Using the contingent valuation method, this paper explored Shanghai residents’ willingness to pay for vegetables with carbon labeling. The results of multiple regression model and logistic regression model are as follows: while 91% of respondents were willing to buy vegetables with carbon labels, they were only willing to pay an additional fee of 6% for low-carbon vegetables. Secondly, gender, education level, awareness of carbon labeling, habits to buy vegetables in a traditional market, large supermarket chains, and community supermarket would significantly affect the respondent’s willingness to buy low-carbon vegetables. Thirdly, family structure, household disposable income, awareness of carbon labeling and habits to buy vegetable in large supermarket chains would ...

Beschreibung: To study the movement characteristics of crustal deformation around the epicenter before the M s 6.6 earthquake in Minxian-Zhangxian in 2013, the paper analyzes the GPS velocity field, the baseline time series between stations and the time series of the epicentral region strain, and then discusses the characteristics of the crustal deformation before the earthquake. It is shown from the results that the Lintan-Tanchang fault and the Northern Xiqinling fault are in the inner circle of the clockwise vortex, which have obvious stress accumulation. Among the two velocity fields in 2004-2007 and 2009-2011, there are significant differences in the direction and amplitude of the movement around the Lintan-Tanchang fault, which may cause the risk of earthquake events. The baseline time series reflect the strain accumulation in NE side of Lintan-Tanchang thrust fault with NE-trending was quite high before the earthquake, and the velocity of the SW side was accelerating, ...

Beschreibung: In order to standardize the related procedures and quality control requirements for the construction and quality acceptance of utility tunnel in Shaanxi province. The relevant departments of Shaanxi province have compiled Specification for Construction and Quality Acceptance for Urban Utility Tunnel of Shaanxi Province (The following is referred as Specification). This paper first systematically summarizes the history and present situation of the construction of utility tunnel at home and abroad. Then it is pointed that the main problems in the construction of the utility tunnel in China are the lack of the basis for the construction. Introduced the establishment background, guidelines, framework, for 3 issues were discussed. These 3 problems are that processing and construction method of foundation is still using the housing construction is reasonable or not, whether the configuration of steel bar of top and bottom panels of utility tunnel can be optimized and it is possible fo...

Beschreibung: Oxidative stress is acknowledged to play a role in kidney disease progression. Genetic variants that affect the capacity to handle oxidative stress may therefore influence the outcome of kidney disease. We examined whether genetic variants of the GSTM1 gene, a member of a superfamily of glutathione S -transferases, influence the course of kidney disease progression in participants of the African American Study of Kidney Disease (AASK) trial. Groups with and without the common GSTM1 null allele, GSTM1(0) , differed significantly in the time to a glomerular filtration rate (GFR) event or dialysis ( P = 0.04) and in the time to GFR event, dialysis, or death ( P = 0.02). The hazard ratios (HR) for the time to a GFR event or dialysis in those with two or one null allele relative to those possessing none were 1.88 [95% confidence interval (CI), 1.07 to 3.30, P = 0.03] and 1.68 (95% CI, 1.00 to 2.84, P 〈 0.05), respectively. For the time to GFR event, dialysis, or death, the HR for two null alleles was 2.06 (95% CI, 1.20 to 3.55, P = 0.01) and for one null allele 1.70 (95% CI, 1.02 to 2.81, P = 0.04). We demonstrated that GSTM1 directly regulates intracellular levels of 4-hydroxynonenal (4-HNE) in vascular smooth muscle cells. Furthermore, we showed that renal 4-HNE levels and GSTM1 are both increased after reduction of renal mass (RRM) in the mouse. We conclude that GSTM1 is normally upregulated in chronic kidney disease (CKD) in a protective response to increased oxidative stress. A genetic variant that results in loss of GSTM1 activity may be deleterious in CKD.

Beschreibung: The pathogenesis of gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) remains elusive, but recent evidence suggests that early secretion of inflammatory cytokines and chemokines by the mucosa leads to influx of immune cells followed by tissue damage. We previously showed that exposure of esophageal mucosa to HCl causes ATP release, resulting in activation of acetyl-CoA:1- O -alkyl- sn -glycero-3-phosphocholine acetyltransferase (lyso-PAF AT), the enzyme responsible for the production of platelet-activating factor (PAF). In addition, HCl causes release of IL-8 from the esophageal mucosa. We demonstrate that esophageal epithelial cells secrete proinflammatory mediators in response to HCl and that this response is mediated by ATP. Monolayers of the human esophageal epithelial cell line HET-1A were exposed to acidified cell culture medium (pH 5) for 12 min, a total of seven times over 48 h, to simulate the recurrent acid exposure clinically occurring in GERD. HCl upregulated mRNA and protein expression for the acid-sensing transient receptor potential cation channel, subfamily vanilloid member 1 (TRPV1), lyso-PAF AT, IL-8, eotaxin-1, -2, and -3, macrophage inflammatory protein-1α, and monocyte chemoattractant protein-1. The chemokine profile secreted by HET-1A cells in response to repeated HCl exposure parallels similar findings in erosive esophagitis patients. In HET-1A cells, the TRPV1 agonist capsaicin reproduced these findings for mRNA of the inflammatory mediators lyso-PAF AT, IL-8, and eotaxin-1. These effects were blocked by the TRPV1 antagonists iodoresiniferatoxin and JNJ-17203212. These effects were imitated by direct application of ATP and blocked by the nonselective ATP antagonist suramin. We conclude that HCl/TRPV-induced ATP release upregulated secretion of various chemoattractants by esophageal epithelial cells. These chemoattractants are selective for leukocyte subsets involved in acute inflammatory responses and allergic inflammation. The data support the validity of HET-1A cells as a model of the response of the human esophageal mucosa in GERD.

Beschreibung: Background— The cardiac cytoskeleton plays key roles in maintaining myocyte structural integrity in health and disease. In fact, human mutations in cardiac cytoskeletal elements are tightly linked to cardiac pathologies, including myopathies, aortopathies, and dystrophies. Conversely, the link between cytoskeletal protein dysfunction and cardiac electric activity is not well understood and often overlooked in the cardiac arrhythmia field. Methods and Results— Here, we uncover a new mechanism for the regulation of cardiac membrane excitability. We report that βII spectrin, an actin-associated molecule, is essential for the posttranslational targeting and localization of critical membrane proteins in heart. βII spectrin recruits ankyrin-B to the cardiac dyad, and a novel human mutation in the ankyrin-B gene disrupts the ankyrin-B/βII spectrin interaction, leading to severe human arrhythmia phenotypes. Mice lacking cardiac βII spectrin display lethal arrhythmias, aberrant electric and calcium handling phenotypes, and abnormal expression/localization of cardiac membrane proteins. Mechanistically, βII spectrin regulates the localization of cytoskeletal and plasma membrane/sarcoplasmic reticulum protein complexes, including the Na/Ca exchanger, ryanodine receptor 2, ankyrin-B, actin, and αII spectrin. Finally, we observe accelerated heart failure phenotypes in βII spectrin–deficient mice. Conclusions— Our findings identify βII spectrin as critical for normal myocyte electric activity, link this molecule to human disease, and provide new insight into the mechanisms underlying cardiac myocyte biology.

Beschreibung: Background— In the general population, blacks experience higher mortality than their white peers, attributed in part to their lower socioeconomic status, reduced access to care, and possibly intrinsic biological factors. Patients with kidney disease are a notable exception, among whom blacks experience lower mortality. It is unclear if similar differences affecting outcomes exist in patients with no kidney disease but with equal or similar access to health care. Methods and Results— We compared all-cause mortality, incident coronary heart disease, and incident ischemic stroke using multivariable-adjusted Cox models in a nationwide cohort of 547 441 black and 2 525 525 white patients with baseline estimated glomerular filtration rate ≥60 mL·min –1 ·1.73 m –2 receiving care from the US Veterans Health Administration. In parallel analyses, we compared outcomes in black versus white individuals in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 1999 to 2004. After multivariable adjustments in veterans, black race was associated with 24% lower all-cause mortality (adjusted hazard ratio, 0.76; 95% confidence interval, 0.75–0.77; P 〈0.001) and 37% lower incidence of coronary heart disease (adjusted hazard ratio, 0.63; 95% confidence interval, 0.62–0.65; P 〈0.001) but a similar incidence of ischemic stroke (adjusted hazard ratio, 0.99; 95% confidence interval, 0.97–1.01; P =0.3). Black race was associated with a 42% higher adjusted mortality among individuals with estimated glomerular filtration rate ≥60 mL·min –1 ·1.73 m –2 in NHANES (adjusted hazard ratio, 1.42; 95% confidence interval, 1.09–1.87). Conclusions— Black veterans with normal estimated glomerular filtration rate and equal access to healthcare have lower all-cause mortality and incidence of coronary heart disease and a similar incidence of ischemic stroke. These associations are in contrast to the higher mortality experienced by black individuals in the general US population.

Beschreibung: We have recently shown that in vivo inhibition of histone deacetylase (HDAC) stimulates endogenous myocardial regeneration in infarcted hearts (Zhang L et al. J Pharmacol Exp Ther 341: 285–293, 2012). Furthermore, our observation demonstrates that HDAC inhibition promotes cardiogenesis, which is associated with HDAC4 reduction. However, it remains unknown as to whether specific inhibition of HDAC4 modulates cardiac stem cells (CSCs) to facilitate myocardial repair and to preserve cardiac performance. c-kit + CSCs were isolated from adult mouse hearts and were transfected with HDAC4 siRNA to knockdown HDAC4 of c-kit + CSCs. The transfection of HDAC4 siRNA caused a marked reduction of HDAC4 mRNA and proteins in c-kit + CSCs. Mouse myocardial infarction (MI) was created to assess the effect of HDAC4 inhibition in c-kit + CSCs on myocardial regeneration in vivo when cells were introduced into MI hearts. Transplantation of HDAC4 siRNA-treated c-kit + CSCs into MI hearts improved ventricular function, attenuated ventricular remodeling, and promoted CSC-derived regeneration and neovascularization. Furthermore, Ki67 and BrdU positively proliferative myocytes increased in MI hearts receiving HDAC4 siRNA-treated c-kit + CSCs compared with MI hearts engrafted with control siRNA-treated c-kit + CSCs. In addition, compared with MI hearts engrafted with control adenoviral GFP-infected c-kit + CSCs, MI hearts receiving adenoviral HDAC4-infected c-kit + CSCs exhibited attenuated cardiac functional recovery, CSC-derived regeneration, and neovascularization, which was accompanied with adverse ventricular remodeling and decrease in Ki67 and BrdU positively proliferative myocytes. HDAC4 inhibition facilitated c-kit + CSCs into the differentiation into cardiac lineage commitments in vitro, while HDAC4 overexpression attenuated c-kit + CSC-derived cardiogenesis. Our results indicate that HDAC4 inhibition promotes CSC-derived cardiac regeneration and improves the restoration of cardiac function.

Beschreibung: Taking several recent successful technological transformation cases as technical reference, technical transformation plans are purposefully reviewed, pointing at questions at high temperature, for example, high back-pressure and high coal consumption for power generation. The peak cooling system distributes part of steam turbine exhaust and the air-cooling condenser thermal load reduces with the fixed cooling capacity of air cooling system. Or the capacity-increasing improves the cooling capacity with the fixed heat load of cold end system. The chosen of technical plan of direct air-cooling unit should be made on the base of its real situation.