Does industrial up-gradation, environment regulations, and resource allocation impact on foreign direct investment: Empirical evidence from China.

Because of China's tremendous increase in foreign direct investment (FDI) over the past two decades, this method of internationalization has become increasingly significant for companies worldwide. Heavy industry's dominant role in China's industrial structure must be modernized to ensure the country's long-term growth and prosperity. There are 30 provinces in China covered by this dataset, which dates back from 2005 to 2018. Augmented mean group (AMG) and common correlated effects mean groups (CCE-MG) estimations demonstrate that China's industrial upgrading and resource allocation considerably impact FDI inflows. The findings show that FDI inflows appear to be negatively affected by environmental rules. The results show that industrial upgradation and environmental regulations have not had the expected effect on FDI in China without the participation of other stakeholders. For the selected panel, the results from the control variable show that population aging reduces foreign direct investment inflows, whereas, economic growth increases FDI inflows. According to our findings and those of the empirical study, we make some policy proposals to help Chinese provinces attract more foreign direct investment by encouraging and upgrading the screening of such investments.

Dialect diversity and total factor productivity: Evidence from Chinese listed companies.

Using a sample of Chinese listed companies over the 2007-2019 period, we examined the influence of dialect diversity on a firm's total factor productivity. We found that dialect diversity affects the psychological distance of interpersonal communication and significantly affects the firm's total factor productivity. The results are robust to a battery of tests based on different specifications. The relationship between dialect diversity and a firm's total factor productivity is more pronounced in state-owned enterprises, firms located in southern regions, and more capital-intensive firms. Furthermore, we demonstrated an innovative factor flow mechanism and a human capital accumulation mechanism through which dialect diversity inhibits total factor productivity. Overall, this paper provides new evidence and decision-making reference for coordinating the protection of dialect diversity and high-quality economic development.

Unexpected rise of atmospheric secondary aerosols from biomass burning during the COVID-19 lockdown period in Hangzhou, China.

After the global outbreak of COVID-19, the Chinese government took many measures to control the spread of the virus. The measures led to a reduction in anthropogenic emissions nationwide. Data from a single particle aerosol mass spectrometer in an eastern Chinese megacity (Hangzhou) before, during, and after the COVID-19 lockdown (5 January to February 29, 2020) was used to understand the effect lockdown had on atmospheric particles. The collected single particle mass spectra were clustered into eight categories. Before the lockdown, the proportions of particles ranked in order of: EC (57.9%) < K-SN (13.6%) < Fe-rich (10.2%) < ECOC (6.7%) < K-Na (6.6%) < OC (3.4%) < K-Pb (1.0%) < K-Al (0.7%). During the lockdown period, the EC and Fe-rich particles decreased by 42.8% and 93.2% compared to before lockdown due to reduced vehicle exhaust and industrial activity. By contrast, the K-SN and K-Na particles containing biomass burning tracers increased by 155.2% and 45.2% during the same time, respectively. During the lockdown, the proportions of particles ranked in order of: K-SN (39.7%) < EC (38.1%) < K-Na (11.0%) < ECOC (7.7%) < OC (1.2%) < K-Pb (0.9%) < Fe-rich (0.8%) < K-Al (0.6%). Back trajectory analysis indicated that both inland (Anhui and Shandong provinces) and marine transported air masses may have contributed to the increase in K-SN and K-Na particles during the lockdown, and that increased number of fugitive combustion points (i.e., household fuel, biomass combustion) was a contributing factor. Therefore, the results imply that regional synergistic control measures on fugitive combustion emissions are needed to ensure good air quality.

Diastereoselective construction of tetracyclic chromanes via a triply annulative strategy.

A triple Michael/aldol cascade reaction has been established to construct tetracyclic chromanes in a diastereoselective fashion (≥5 : 1 dr). The polycyclic products were generated in 50-78% isolated yields under mild and metal-free conditions. Five reactive sites of enolate-tethered divinyl ketones were sequentially utilized to form four C-C bonds in a one-pot operation, leading to a construction of three new rings. Up to six consecutive stereocenters, including two quarternary stereogenic centers, were created in this domino process.

Fluoxetine and Ketamine Reverse the Depressive but Not Anxiety Behavior Induced by Lesion of Cholinergic Neurons in the Horizontal Limb of the Diagonal Band of Broca in Male Rat.

The basal forebrain cholinergic system is involved in cognitive processes, but the role of the basal forebrain cholinergic system in depression is unknown. We investigated whether a lesion of cholinergic neurons in the horizontal limb of the diagonal band of Broca (HDB) produces depressive-like behavior and whether fluoxetine or ketamine inhibits such depressive-like behaviors. Here, in rats, we used 192 IgG-saporin to eliminate the cholinergic neurons of the HDB and evaluated depressive-like behaviors using a preference test for sucrose solution and the forced swimming test. Fourteen days after the injection of 192 IgG-saporin into the HDB, the rats exhibited a significantly fewer number of choline acetyltransferase positive cell density in HDB, accompanied with neuronal loss in the entire hippocampus. Meanwhile, these rats significantly reduced preference for sucrose solution, increased immobility time in the forced swimming test, reduced locomotor activity, decreased context dependent memory in fear conditioning and the time spent in the open arms of the plus-maze. A single dose of ketamine (10 mg/kg) increased the sucrose solution consumption, reduced the immobility time in the forced swim test (FST), and increased locomotor activity compared to vehicle-treated rats. Moreover, in rats that were continuously treated with fluoxetine (10 mg/kg/day for 11 days), the sucrose solution consumption increased, the immobility time in the FST decreased, and locomotor activity increased compared to vehicle-treated rats. The present results demonstrate that a lesion of HDB cholinergic neurons results in depressive-like and anxiety-like behaviors and that antidepressants such as fluoxetine or ketamine, can reverse these depressive-like behaviors but not anxiety-like behaviors, and suggest that a lesion of HDB cholinergic neurons and followed hippocampus damage may be involved in the pathogenesis of depression.

Surface tension and viscosity measurement of oscillating droplet using rainbow refractometry.

We extend rainbow refractometry to quantify the oscillations of a droplet in its fundamental mode. The oscillation parameters (frequency and amplitude damping), extracted using the time-resolved rainbow angular shift, are utilized to measure surface tension and viscosity of the liquid. Proof-of-concept experiments on an oscillating droplet stream produced by a monodisperse droplet generator are conducted. Results show that the relative measurement errors of surface tension and viscosity are 1.5% and 8.4% for water and 5.3% and 2.5% for ethanol. This approach provides an alternative mean for characterizing liquid surface properties, e.g., dynamic surface tension and viscosity, especially for liquids with a low Ohnesorge number.

Characterization of a new smog chamber for evaluating SAPRC gas-phase chemical mechanism.

A new state-of-the-art indoor smog chamber facility (CAPS-ZJU) has been constructed and characterized at Zhejiang University, which is designed for chemical mechanism evaluation under well-controlled conditions. A series of characterization experiments were performed to validate the well-established experimental protocols, including temperature variation pattern, light spectrum and equivalent intensity (JNO2), injection and mixing performance, as well as gases and particle wall loss. In addition, based on some characterization experiments, the auxiliary wall mechanism has been setup and examined. Fifty chamber experiments were performed across a broad range of experimental scenarios, and we demonstrated the ability to utilize these chamber data for evaluating SAPRC chemical mechanism. It was found that the SAPRC-11 can well predict the O3 formation and NO oxidation for almost all propene runs, with 6 hr Δ(O3 - NO) model error of -3% ± 7%, while the final O3 was underestimated by ~20% for isoprene experiments. As for toluene and p-xylene experiments, it was confirmed that SAPRC-11 has significant improvement on aromatic chemistry than earlier version of SAPRC-07, although the aromatic decay rate was still underestimated to some extent. The model sensitivity test has been carried out, and the most sensitive parameters identified are the initial concentrations of reactants and the light intensity as well as HONO offgasing rate and O3 wall loss rate. All of which demonstrated that CAPS-ZJU smog chamber could derive high quality experimental data, and could provide insights on chamber studies and chemical mechanism development.

The effects of humidity and ammonia on the chemical composition of secondary aerosols from toluene/NOx photo-oxidation.

The secondary aerosol formation mechanism in the presence of ammonia (NH3), is poorly understood, especially under high relative humidity (RH) conditions. In this study, a total of seven experiments were conducted from toluene/NOx photo-oxidation in the presence/absence of NH3 under dry (~7% RH) and wet (>60% RH) conditions in a ~3 m3 smog chamber. A series of instruments including gas analysers, scanning mobility particle sizer (SMPS), aerosol mass spectrometry (HR-ToF-AMS) etc. were applied to measure the NOx and O3 concentrations, the mass concentration and chemical composition of secondary aerosol. It was found that NH3 could enhance the mass loading of secondary aerosol, especially under wet condition. However, the presence of NH3 or increasing RH did not have a significant influence on SOA yield. The organic aerosol mass spectrum from AMS showed that the most abundant fragment was at m/z = 44, which was mainly from the fragmentation of carboxylic acids. Compared to the absence of NH3, the fraction of fragment at m/z = 44 and O:C was higher in the presence of NH3, regardless of dry or wet conditions. The highest O:C value of 0.71-0.75 was observed in the presence of NH3 under wet condition, suggesting there could be a synergetic effect between the high RH and the presence of NH3, which jointly contributed to the photochemical aging process of SOA. The N:C increased in the presence of NH3 under both dry and wet conditions, which might be attributed to the carboxylates and organic nitrates formed from the reaction between NH3 and carboxylic acids. The results implied that SOA modelling should consider the role of NH3 and water vapour, which might fill the gap of O:C between laboratory studies and field measurements.

Accurate detection of small particles in digital holography using fully convolutional networks.

Particle detection is a key procedure in particle field characterization with digital holography. Due to various background noises, spurious small particles might be generated and real small particles might be lost during particle detection. Therefore, accurate small particle detection remains a challenge in the research of energy and combustion. A deep learning method based on modified fully convolutional networks is proposed to detect small opaque particles (e.g., coal particles) on extended focus images. The model is tested by several experiments and proved to have good small particle detection accuracy.

Phase critical angle scattering for measurement of transient nanoscale growth rate of a micron-sized bubble.

We developed phase critical angle scattering (PCAS) to simultaneously measure the spherical and transparent bubble size at the micron scale and transient bubble growth at the nanoscale. The theoretical derivation of PCAS reveals that the phase of the fine structure of critical angle scattering caused by reflection and first-order refraction is highly sensitive to and linearly shifts with bubble diameter growth. Experiments on a single growing bubble are implemented with a Fourier imaging system. The results show that the PCAS technique can measure the tiny bubble growth down to tens of nanometers, providing a promising tool for accurate characterization of bubble dynamics.

Meteorological and chemical impacts on PM2.5 during a haze episode in a heavily polluted basin city of eastern China.

Haze formation involves many interacting factors, such as secondary aerosol formation, unfavourable synoptic conditions and regional transport. The interaction between these factors complicates scientific understanding of the mechanism behind haze formation. In this study, we investigated the factors resulting in haze events in Longyou, a city located in a basin in China. Aerosol samples of PM2.5 were collected for subsequent chemical composition analysis between 11 January and 5 February 2018. The impacts of wind on PM2.5, SO2 and NO2 concentrations were analysed. Besides, the origin of air parcels and potential sources of PM2.5 were analysed by backward trajectory, potential source contribution function (PSCF) and concentration-weighted trajectories (CWT). Among the water-soluble ions identified, NO3- had the highest concentration, with further analysis demonstrating the haze evolution was mainly driven by the reactions involving NO3- formation. The dramatic increase of nitrate is mainly due to the homogeneous reaction of nitric acid with ammonia, while sulfate is likely due to heterogeneous reactions of NO2, SO2 and NH3. The average wind speed was less than 2 m/s during the aerosol sampling period, which could be considered as a stagnant state. Pollutants emitted by industrial area located in the northeast Longyou were probably brought to observation sites by continuous wind from northeast and accumulated gradually. Air parcels originating from the northeast of Zhejiang province also had large effects on haze pollution in Longyou. Together, our results showed that rapid secondary aerosol formation and unfavourable synoptic conditions are the main factors resulting in haze pollution in Longyou.

Climate change impacts on the potential distribution of Eogystia hippophaecolus in China.

BACKGROUND: Seabuckthorn carpenter moth, Eogystia hippophaecolus (Hua, Chou, Fang, & Chen, 1990), is the most important boring pest of sea buckthorn (Hippophae rhamnoides L.) in the northwest of China. It is responsible for the death of large areas of H. rhamnoides forest, seriously affecting the ecological environment and economic development in north-western China. To clarify the potential distribution of E. hippophaecolus in China, the present study used the CLIMEX 4.0.0 model to project the potential distribution of the pest using historical climate data (1981-2010) and simulated future climate data (2011-2100) for China. RESULTS: Under historical climate condition, E. hippophaecolus would be found to be distributed mainly between 27° N-51° N and 74° E-134° E, with favorable and highly favorable habitats accounting for 35.2% of the total potential distribution. Under future climate conditions, E. hippophaecolus would be distributed mainly between 27° N-53° N and 74° E-134° E, with the possibility of moving in a northwest direction. Under these conditions, the proportion of the total area providing a favorable and highly favorable habitat may decrease to about 33%. CONCLUSION: These results will help to identify the impact of climate change on the potential distribution of E. hippophaecolus, thereby providing a theoretical basis for monitoring and early forecasting of pest outbreaks. © 2018 Society of Chemical Industry.

Smog chamber study of the role of NH3 in new particle formation from photo-oxidation of aromatic hydrocarbons.

Ammonia (NH3) is a major contributor to secondary aerosol in the atmosphere and can alter the kinetics of their formation. However, systematic studies related to the role of NH3 in aerosol nucleation processes and further particle size growth under complex scenarios are lacking. In this study, we conducted 16 experiments in the CSIRO smog chamber under dry conditions using aromatic hydrocarbons (toluene, o-/m-/p-xylene) and different concentrations of NH3. The presence of NH3 did not change the gas-phase chemistry or nucleation onset time, but slowed the nucleation rate (5%-94%) once it began. From the response of nitrogen oxides (NOx) measurement and mechanism modeling results, we hypothesised that the surface reaction between NH3 and nitric acid played a central role in aerosol nucleation and further growth. After nucleation, the subsequently formed ammonium nitrate and organic condensation vapours may partition together into the initial growth process of new particles, thus increasing the aerosol initial growth rate (8%-90%) and size growth potentials (7%-108%), and leading to high aerosol mass formation. Further investigation implied that the initial growth and further growth rate determine the aerosol mass concentration, rather than the nucleation rate. We conclude that both the initial NOx concentration and volatile organic compound (VOC)/NOx ratio are crucial for the initial and further growth, and aerosol mass of new particles, when NH3 levels are high. Our results provide crucial insights into the complex chemistry of VOC/NOx/NH3 in the atmosphere, and highlight the importance of NH3 reduction for particulate matter control.

Energy consumption and energy-saving potential analysis of pollutant abatement systems in a 1000-MW coal-fired power plant.

Pollutant abatement systems are widely applied in the coal-fired power sector, and the energy consumption is considered an important part of the auxiliary power. An energy consumption analysis and assessment model of pollutant abatement systems in a power unit was developed based on the dynamic parameters and technology. The energy consumption of pollutant abatement systems in a 1000-MW coal-fired power unit that meets the ultra-low emission limits and the factors of operating parameters, including unit load and inlet concentration of pollutants, on the operating power were analyzed. The results show that the total power consumption of the pollutant abatement systems accounted for 1.27% of the gross power generation during the monitoring period. The wet flue gas desulfurization (WFGD) system consumed 67% of the rate, whereas the selective catalytic reduction (SCR) and electrostatic precipitator (ESP) systems consumed 8.9% and 24.1%, respectively. The power consumption rate of pollutant abatement systems decreased with the increase of unit load and increased with the increase of the inlet concentration of pollutants. The operation adjustment was also an effective method to increase the energy efficiency. For example, the operation adjustment of slurry circulation pumps could promote the energy-saving operation of the WFGD system. IMPLICATIONS: The application of pollutant abatement technologies increases the internal energy consumption of the power plant, which will lead to an increase of power generation costs. The real-time energy consumption of the different pollutant abatement systems in a typical power unit is analyzed based on the dynamic operating data. Further, the influence of different operating parameters on the operating power of the system and the possible energy-saving potential are analyzed.

Author Correction: Predicting the potential distribution in China of Euwallacea fornicatus (Eichhoff) under current and future climate conditions.

A correction to this article has been published and is linked from the HTML and PDF versions of this paper. The error has been fixed in the paper.

The timing of azithromycin treatment is not associated with the clinical prognosis of childhood Mycoplasma pneumoniae pneumonia in high macrolide-resistant prevalence settings.

BACKGROUND: Mycoplasma pneumoniae infection is a major cause of community-acquired pneumonia in children. We performed a retrospective study to evaluate the clinical impact of the timing of azithromycin treatment in children with Mycoplasma pneumoniae pneumonia in high macrolide-resistant prevalence settings. METHODS AND FINDINGS: A total of 623 patients were enrolled in this study and were divided into 2 groups according to the timing of azithromycin therapy. Children who received azithromycin within 3 days (72 hours) after the onset of Mycoplasma pneumoniae pneumonia were classified into the early azithromycin treatment group (n = 174), whereas the late azithromycin treatment group (n = 449) comprised children treated with azithromycin more than 72 hours after symptom onset. We evaluated clinical prognosis according to demographic, clinical and laboratory characteristics. Although the early azithromycin treatment group exhibited a longer fever duration after azithromycin administration (7.17±4.12 versus 4.82±3.99 days, P<0.01), the total fever duration exhibited no significant difference (9.02±4.58 versus 9.57±4.91 days, P = 0.212). After azithromycin therapy, the two groups exhibited no significant differences with respect to improvements in the laboratory and radiological findings (all P>0.05). CONCLUSION: The timing of azithromycin treatment is not associated with the clinical prognosis of Mycoplasma pneumoniae pneumonia in children in high macrolide-resistant Mycoplasma pneumoniae prevalence settings.

Chemical characteristics and sources of PM1 during the 2016 summer in Hangzhou.

During the 2016 Hangzhou G20 Summit, the chemical composition of submicron particles (PM1) was measured by a High-Resolution Time-of-Flight Aerosol Mass Spectrometer (HR-ToF-AMS) along with a suite of collocated instruments. The campaign was undertaken between August 5 and September 23, 2016. The impacts of emission controls and meteorological conditions on PM1 chemical composition, diurnal cycles, organic aerosol (OA) source apportionment, size distribution and elemental ratios were characterized in detail. Excluding rainy days, the mean PM1 mass concentration during G20 was 30.3 µg/m3, similar to that observed before G20 (28.6 µg/m3), but much lower than that after G20 (42.7 µg/m3). The aerosol chemistry during the three periods was substantially different. Before G20, high PM1 loading mostly occurred at daytime, with OA accounting for 60.1% of PM1, followed by sulfate (15.6%) and ammonium (9.1%). During G20, the OA fraction decreased from 60.1% to 44.6%, whereas secondary inorganic aerosol (SIA) increased from 31.8% to 49.5%. After G20, SIA dominated high PM1 loading, especially at nighttime. Further analysis showed that the nighttime regional transport might play an unfavorable role in the slight increase of secondary PM1 during G20, while the strict emissions controls were implemented. The OA (O/C = 0.58) during G20 was more aged, 48.7% and 13.7% higher than that before and after G20 respectively. Our study highlighted that the emission controls during G20 were of great success in lowering locally produced aerosol and pollutants, despite of co-existence of nighttime regional transport containing aerosol high in low-volatile organics and sulfate. It was implied that not only are emissions controls on both local and regional scale important, but that the transport of pollutants needs to be sufficiently well accounted for, to ensure the successful implementation of air pollution mitigation campaigns in China.

Predicting the potential distribution in China of Euwallacea fornicates (Eichhoff) under current and future climate conditions.

Euwallacea fornicatus (Eichhoff) is an important forest pest that has caused serious damage in America and Vietnam. In 2014, it attacked forests of Acer trialatum in the Yunnan province of China, creating concern in China's Forestry Bureau. We used the CLIMEX model to predict and compare the potential distribution for E. fornicates in China under current (1981-2010) and projected climate conditions (2011-2040) using one scenario (RCP8.5) and one global climate model (GCM), CSIRO-Mk3-6-0. Under both current and future climate conditions, the model predicted E. fornicates to be mainly distributed in the south of China. Comparing distributions under both climate conditions showed that the area of potential distribution was projected to increase (mainly because of an increase in favourable habitat) and shift to the north. Our results help clarify the potential effect of climate change on the range of this forest pest and provide a reference and guide to facilitate its control in China.

A phase II study of biweekly S-1 and paclitaxel (SPA) as first-line chemotherapy in patients with metastatic or advanced gastric cancer.

PURPOSE: Paclitaxel and S-1 are both effective antitumor chemotherapeutic agents for advanced gastric cancer. However, the continuous administration of S-1 for 3 weeks or more can result in unacceptable toxicities, particularly hematological toxicities. Therefore, an alternative treatment schedule (1-week administration followed by 1-week rest) is warrant for testing in order to allow continuation of the therapy. We evaluate the efficacy and safety of biweekly S-1 and paclitaxel (SPA) as first-line chemotherapy in patients with metastatic or advanced gastric cancer. METHODS: Patients with previously untreated advanced or relapsed gastric cancer who had measurable lesion(s) were enrolled. Paclitaxel was administered intravenously at a dose of 120 mg/m(2) on day 1 and oral S-1 was given twice daily (BSA < 1.25 m(2), 80 mg/day; 1.25 ≤ BSA < 1.50 m(2), 100 mg/day; 1.50 m(2) ≤ BSA, 120 mg/day) on days 1-7 followed by a drug-free interval of 1 week every 14-day cycle. RESULTS: Forty-four patients (M/F = 33/11) were enrolled. A total of 277 chemotherapy cycles were administered, with a median of six cycles per patient (range 1-12), and 19 (43.2 %) patients received up to seven cycles. The assessed overall response rate was 38.6 with 38.6 % partial response in 17 patients, 45.4 % stable disease in 20 patients, and 13.6 % progressive disease in six patients. Thirty-four patients (77.3 %) received second-line chemotherapy. The estimated median progression-free survival and median overall survival times were, respectively, 5.2 months (95 % CI 4.08-6.39 months) and 12.2 months (95 % CI 8.81-15.60 months). The major hematological toxicities were included grade 3 leucocytopenia in two patients (4.5 %), grade 3 neutropenia in 14 patients (40.9 %), and grade 4 neutropenia in four patients (9.0 %). Two patients (4.5 %) suffered grade 1 febrile neutropenia. All grade of the non-hematological toxicities, such as nausea, vomiting, alopecia, and diarrhea, held the proportion of 54.5 % (grade 3/4, 4.5 %), 31.8, 95.4, and 18.1 % (grade 3/4, 2.2 %), respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Biweekly S-1 and paclitaxel (SPA regimen) combination therapy had promising activity with acceptable adverse toxicities. SPA regimen was easily implemented, and more patients received second-line chemotherapy. It deserved to conduct a well-designed randomized phase III study to compare this regimen with S-1-based combination treatment.

Characterization of atomization and breakup of acoustically levitated drops with digital holography.

A digital holographic particle tracking velocimetry system is applied to quantitatively study the drop atomization induced by capillary waves, and the breakup caused by increased sound pressure levels. A wavelet-based algorithm is used for particle detection and autofocusing with a wide size range of 20 µm-2 mm. To eliminate the influence of large particles on small particles, a two-step detection method is adopted. Large drops are first characterized and simulated by a diffraction-based model. Then the contributions of the drops are subtracted from the original hologram followed by the detection of small droplets. Finally, the velocity and size distribution of the secondary droplets are obtained from the experimental holograms. The results demonstrate the validity of the digital in-line holographic technique for the atomization and breakup study of acoustically levitated drops.