Residential solid fuel combustion is a major source of many pollutants, resulting in significant impacts on air quality and human health. Improved stoves, especially some modern gasifier biomass models, are being deployed to alleviate household and ambient air pollution. Pollutant emissions from coal burning in improved metal stoves (n = 11) and wood combustion in modern gasifier stoves (n = 8) were measured in field in Hubei, China. The emissions of CO, TSP, OC, EC, and PAHs from coal burning in the improved iron stoves were generally lower than previously reported results for coal in traditional stoves. For pollutants from wood combustion in the gasifier stoves, the emissions were less than literature-reported values for wood burned in traditional stoves, comparable to those in improved stoves, but appeared to be higher than those for pellets in gasifier stoves in laboratory tests. The limitations of scarce data and large variances result in statistical insignificance. Daily emissions of targeted pollutants per household were found to be higher for wood burners, compared with households relying on coal. The gasifier stove had relatively high thermal efficiencies, but emissions of most air pollutants per delivered energy were not significantly different from those from the coal burning in improved iron stoves. Moreover, higher emissions of OC, EC, and PAHs were observed, indicating that caution and additional testing will be needed while designing future clean cookstove intervention programs.

Nanocrystals (NCs) usually suffer from weak electrogenerated chemiluminescence (ECL) emissions compared with conventional luminescent reagents like Ru(bpy)3(2+). In this work, we proposed a simple in situ activation approach by dipping CdS NCs film on glass carbon electrode (CdS NCs/GCE) in an activation solution containing H2O2 and citric acid, resulting in a ~58-fold enhancement of ECL intensity in the presence of coreactant H2O2. During activation, CdS NCs were oxidized by H2O2 to smaller ones which resulted in more surface S vacancies; meanwhile, citric acid played an important role in stabilizing NCs. The ECL enhancing mechanism was investigated in detail, and the coordination of H2O2 to surface excess Cd(2+) ions (S vacancies) on the CdS NCs surface formed in activation was the main factor which could stabilize the electrogenerated radicals, resulting in an enhanced ECL. ECL from the activated CdS NCs/GCE could be quenched in Na2S solution due to the bonding of S(II) to excess Cd(2+) ions on the surface of CdS NCs. On the basis of this, we then used the activated CdS NCs/GCE as an ECL probe for the detection of Na2S which showed good performance including a wide linear range of 5 nM to 20 μM and good anti-interference ability. Moreover, this ECL probe was successfully applied for hydrogen sulfide (H2S) detection in a biological system.

BackgroundAtherosclerosis is a complex pathological condition caused by a number of mechanisms including the accelerated proliferation of vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs). Diabetes is likely to be an important risk factor for atherosclerosis, as hyperglycemia induces vascular smooth muscle cell (VSMC) proliferation and migration and may thus contribute to the formation of atherosclerotic lesions. This study was performed to investigate whether PGC-1α, a PPARγ coactivator and metabolic master regulator, plays a role in regulating VSMC proliferation and migration induced by high glucose.Methodology/Principal FindingsPGC-1α mRNA levels are decreased in blood vessel media of STZ-treated diabetic rats. In cultured rat VSMCs, high glucose dose-dependently inhibits PGC-1α mRNA expression. Overexpression of PGC-1α either by infection with adenovirus, or by stimulation with palmitic acid, significantly reduces high glucose-induced VSMC proliferation and migration. In contrast, suppression of PGC-1α by siRNA mimics the effects of glucose on VSMCs. Finally, mechanistic studies suggest that PGC-1α-mediated inhibition of VSMC proliferation and migration is regulated through preventing ERK1/2 phosphorylation.Conclusions/SignificanceThese results indicate that PGC-1α is a key regulator of high glucose-induced proliferation and migration in VSMCs, and suggest that elevation of PGC-1α in VSMC could be a useful strategy in preventing the development of diabetic atherosclerosis.

Anthropogenic heat emissions (AHEs) are a contributor to global climate change and may affect the climate and air quality in many ways. To gain a complete picture of AHEs in mainland China and to lay the groundwork for modelling of regional climate and the environment, AHEs from energy consumption and human metabolism were estimated, and an inventory was established with gridded distributions and profiles of temporal variations. This was based on the top–down inventory approach by using officially published statistical data. Results indicated that total AHE of the mainland was 1.2 × 1020 J·a−1, of which industry, transportation, buildings and human metabolism contributed 73.0, 11.6, 10.6 and 4.8%, respectively. Coal and electricity accounted for approximately 74% of the total emissions from energy consumption. The annual average heat flux of the mainland was 0.4 W·m−2, with a sharp difference between the eastern and western regions. Fluxes in the eastern regions were mostly between 0.5 and 20 W·m−2, and they were between 0 and 0.05 W·m−2 in the western regions. In urban or built‐up areas of typical cities, the heat fluxes may be much higher than the average for larger areas, typically ranging from 20 to 100 W·m−2. Region‐specific profiles of temporal variations will improve the inventory in the future, which can be applied to climatic and environmental models to obtain in‐depth knowledge of the effects of AHEs.