[Variation Characteristics and Source Apportionment of Atmospheric VOCs at Multi-sites in Zhengzhou].

From July 2020 to June 2021, monthly offline sampling of atmospheric VOCs was carried out and analyzed at three urban sites and one suburban site in Zhengzhou. Then, the volume fraction levels, composition characteristics, reactivity, and source apportionment of atmospheric VOCs were discussed. The results showed that the volume fraction of atmospheric VOCs in Zhengzhou was (37.50±14.30)×10-9 during the sampling period, and the proportion of components was represented by alkanes (33%)>OVOCs (24%)>halogenated hydrocarbons (23%)>aromatic hydrocarbons (8%)>alkenes (7%)>alkynes (4%)>sulfides (1%). The seasonal variation characteristics were winter>autumn>summer>spring, and the monthly average value of VOCs had the highest value in January and the lowest value in May; the spatial variation characteristics were Zhengzhou University (ZD)>Jiancezhan (JCZ)>Jingkaiqu (JKQ)>Gangli Reservoir (GLR). The average·OH loss rate (L·OH) was 4.24 s-1, and the average ozone formation potential (OFP) was 172.27 µg·m-3; the top ten species of L·OH and OFP at each site and in each season were dominated by alkenes, OVOCs, and aromatic hydrocarbons. The results of positive matrix factorization (PMF) showed that the main sources of VOCs were vehicle emissions (28%), solvent utilization (24%), industrial emissions (24%), and oil and gas volatilization (19%) and plant emissions (5%).

[Trend Changes in Ozone Pollution and Sensitivity Analysis of Ozone in Henan Province].

Based on air quality station data and satellite remote sensing data, the interannual variation characteristics and seasonal variation trends of near-surface ozone (O3) in Henan province were studied, and the variation in O3 sensitivity was analyzed. The results showed that the O3 concentration near the surface of Henan province increased first and then decreased from 2015 to 2020. The highest O3 concentration was found in 2018, and the annual mean of the maximum daily 8 h moving mean (MDA8) of O3 was 110.70 µg·m-3. The difference in MDA8 values among different stations gradually decreased. From 2015 to 2020, the average monthly MDA8 in Henan province showed an upward trend, with a growth rate of 2.46 µg·(m3·a)-1. According to the MK trend test, except for in Luohe, Nanyang, and Pingdingshan, the rising trend in other cities was significant (P<0.05). The concentration of MDA8 in the four seasons also showed an increasing trend during the 6 years as follows:autumn (19.31%)>winter (17.09%)>spring (16.82%)>summer (7.24%). From 2015 to 2019, the high value of tropospheric NO2 was concentrated in the northwest of Henan province, and the concentration showed a decreasing trend with a decreasing rate of 0.34×1015 molecules·(cm2·a)-1, whereas the tropospheric HCHO showed a slow rising trend with an annual growth rate of 0.19×1015 molecules·(cm2·a)-1, with a higher concentration in the northern urban area. The O3 sensitivity control area from 2015 to 2019 showed that most of the eastern part of Henan province belonged to the VOCs limited category.

[Characteristics and Source Apportionment of Vehicular VOCs Emissions in a Tunnel Study].

To explore the emission characteristics of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from vehicular exhaust sources and evaporative sources with ethanol gasoline (E10) as the main fuel, VOCs sampling campaigns were carried out in the north third ring tunnel of Zhengzhou city for two consecutive weeks in December 2019. In addition, the characteristics of traffic flow and environmental information were also monitored in the tunnel. Firstly, 106 VOCs were quantified using gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS), and then source apportionment of VOCs in the tunnel was carried out using a positive matrix factorization (PMF5.0)-chemical mass balance (CMB8.2) composite model. Finally, the ozone formation potential (OFP) and secondary organic aerosol formation potential (SOAFP) of vehicle exhaust sources and evaporative sources were analyzed using the maximum incremental reactivity (MIR) and fractional aerosol coefficient (FAC). The results showed that ρ(VOCs) in the tunnel was (2794.5±147.4) µg·m-3 during the experiment, among which halogenated hydrocarbons[(32.4±2.0)%] accounted for the highest proportion, followed by aromatic hydrocarbons[(27.5±0.6)%] and alkanes[(23.3±0.8)%]. Source apportionment of vehicular VOCs showed that exhaust emissions (62.5%)>evaporative emissions (37.5%), whereas the contribution of OFP was that exhaust emissions (71.9%)>evaporative emissions (28.1%), and the contribution of SOAFP was that exhaust emissions (75.8%)>evaporative emissions (24.2%). The dominant components of OFP in evaporative sources were m,p-diethylbenzene, isoprene, and trans-2-pentene, whereas m,p-diethylbenzene, m,p-xylene, and 1,2,3-trimethylbenzene were the dominant components of SOAFP. The major components of OFP in exhaust sources were m,p-xylene, 1,2,4-trimethylbenzene, and 1,3,5-trimethylbenzene, whereas m,p-xylene, m,p-diethylbenzene, and 1,3,5-trimethylbenzene were the dominant components of SOAFP. In regions where ethanol gasoline is used, special attention should be paid not only to the exhaust emissions control but also to strengthening the emissions reduction of VOCs from vehicle evaporative sources, especially the high active components such as aromatic hydrocarbons and alkenes.

[Atmospheric NH3 Emission Inventory and Analysis of the Driving Force in Zhengzhou City].

In this study, a 2017-based emission inventory of ammonia(NH3) was established for Zhengzhou by using the emission factor method. The 1 km×1 km gridded emission inventory was mapped using GIS technology. The NH3 emissions between 2007 and 2017 and driving force between 1989 and 2017 were also analyzed. Results showed that the total 2017-based NH3 emission in Zhengzhou was 18143.3 t, and the average emission intensity reached 2.4 t·km-2. The top emission source was from agriculture, accounting for 63.4% of the total emission, followed by fugacity(11.3%). The main contribution sources of livestock were egg poultry, pigs, and cattle. Dengfeng, Xingyang, and Xinmi had the highest emissions, accounting for 19.3%, 16.5%, and 15.6% of the total emission, respectively. The NH3 emission was higher in the southern and central western regions of Zhengzhou and lower in the northeastern region. The NH3 emission in Zhengzhou showed a downward trend from 2007 to 2017. The NH3 emissions from 1987 to 2017 were similar to the environmental Kuznets Curve, i.e., the emissions increased first and then decreased with the increase of per capita gross domestic product(GDP) and urbanization rate.

[Vehicle Air Pollutant Emission Inventory and Characterization in Henan Province from 2016 to 2019].

Based on the collected urban motor vehicle activity ownership and traffic flow of highways, combined with the mileage and source profiles of VOCs, using the emission factor method, we established high-resolution emission inventories from 2016 to 2019 for urban and 2016-based highway motor vehicles, respectively, in Henan Province, China. The results showed that gasoline vehicles, particularly minibuses and ordinary motorcycles, were the main contributors of CO, VOCs, and NH3, whereas heavy-duty and light-duty diesel trucks emitted SO2, NOx, and PM. Vehicles with China 1, China 3, and China 4 emission standards contributed significantly to pollutant emissions in the fleet. The temporal variation in traffic flow was consistent with the changes in freight and passenger traffic, with higher coefficients of variation for highways from August to October and the lowest in November. The weekly and daily changes in urban trunk roads showed distinct weekend effects and clear double-peak features, respectively. High-value emission areas were concentrated in urban centers with dense transport networks and high traffic volumes and on roads radiating outward from urban areas. The Lianhuo Expressway and the Beijing-Hong Kong-Macau Expressway were high-emission roads. Light-duty gasoline vehicles made the largest contribution to the ozone formation potential (OFP) of VOCs from motor vehicles. Five species, such as ethylene and propylene, contributed significantly to VOC emissions and OFP. The average annual growth rate of vehicle ownership from 2016 to 2019 was 5.7%. Compared with 2016, VOC emissions increased by 2.8% in 2019, whereas emissions of other pollutants showed decreasing trends of different degrees, with decreases of 76.3%, 51.7%, 50.3%, 43.1%, 16.7%, and 5.9% for SO2, PM2.5, PM10, NH3, CO, and NOx, respectively. The emission reduction percentage of each pollutant in 2019 under the control policies relative to the baseline scenario ranged from 15.6% to 82.4%.

[Characteristics, Meteorological Influences, and Transport Source of Ozone Pollution in Zhengzhou City].

Based on online monitoring data of air quality and meteorological parameters, the long-term variations, spatial differences, and meteorological influencing factors of ground-level ozone (O3) pollution in Zhengzhou were studied. In addition, the transport pathways and potential source regions of O3 were investigated. The results show that surface O3 concentrations at the city station in Zhengzhou City increased significantly during the period 2014-2018 (P<0.05) with a growth rate of 15.50 µg·(m3·a)-1, and the timespan of exceeding pollutant standards was extended. The monthly O3 variations showed an "M" pattern with the seasonal maximum in summer. The diurnal O3 variations showed a "single-peak" pattern with a diurnal concentrations peak at 15:00-16:00, while the diurnal peak at the rural station was relatively high (130.94 µg·m-3). At the urban station, the exceedance probability of O3 concentrations was relative high when hourly temperature (T) exceeded 23℃, relative humidity (RH) was less than 65%, wind speed (WS) ranged 2.0-4.0 m·s-1, and wind direction was southeast or northeast. Based on the multivariate linear fitting of impact factors on O3, the main controlling factors at the city and industrial sites were also identified as T and RH compared to T and WS at the traffic and suburb sites. Back trajectory analysis and potential sources of O3 during different seasons were significantly different, with the dominant transport trajectories during spring and summer being short-distance and slow-moving airflows from the south and northeast; autumn and winter were characterized by long-distance and quick-moving airflows from the northwest. The high O3 concentrations observed in summer were mainly affected by local photochemical formation and regional transport from Hebei, Shandong, and Anhui Provinces.

[Characteristics and Source Apportionment of VOCs at Different Pollution Levels During the Winter in an Urban Area in Zhengzhou].

In this study, volatile organic compound (VOC) species were measured at an urban site in Zhengzhou from January 3 to 23, 2019, to investigate the composition, variation characteristics, sources, and effects on secondary organic aerosol (SOA) formation of VOCs at different pollution levels. Results showed that oxygenated VOCs and alkanes were the main components of VOCs, while ethyl acetate and acetone were the most abundant species. During the process from clean days to heavy pollution days, the mixing ratio of VOCs approximately doubled, and the mixing ratios of most species continued to increase as the pollution level increased. Based on the positive matrix factorization (PMF) model, during the observation period, VOCs mainly originated from vehicle emissions, industrial emissions, combustion sources, solvent utilization, and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) utilization. There were significant differences in the source contribution at different pollution levels, and the contributions of industrial emissions and solvent utilization during the heavy pollution days increased to 9 times and 3 times that of the clean days, respectively. With respect to the SOA formation potential (SOAp), aromatics were the component that contributed the most, and toluene and m/p-xylene were the species that contributed the most, while solvent utilization was the greatest source contributor. During the heavy pollution period, the total SOAp increased to approximately 2.6 times that of clean days. There is a great need to reduce winter haze pollution in Zhengzhou by strengthening the control of aromatic emissions and related sources such as solvent utilization.

[Evolution and Evaluation of O3 and VOCs in Zhengzhou During the National Traditional Games of Ethnic Minorities Period].

During the National Traditional Games of Ethnic Minorities (NTGEM) 2019, air quality in Zhengzhou was analyzed to evaluate the impact of pollution prevention and control measures on Zhengzhou. Ground-observed meteorological and pollutant data as well as the chemical compositions of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) were investigated. The results showed that the six parameters of pollutants in the safeguard period in 2019 indicated a downward trend as compared with that during the same time in 2018, and the average concentrations of PM2.5 and PM10 were decreased by 16.2% and 25.1%, respectively. However, the average concentration of O3 was only reduced by 3.7%. The daily proportions of primary pollutants of O3 increased to 90% during the NTGEM, and the ozone pollution was severe in this period. Meanwhile, the concentration of total volatile organic compounds (TVOCs) in the safeguard period was 26.21×10-9, which was significantly lower than that during the historical period. Six emission sources of the VOCs were identified using PMF model, including vehicle exhaust (28%), LPG evaporation (21%), combustion source (16%), industrial emissions (15%), solvent utilization (15%), and biogenic VOCs (5%). During the NTGEM period, the control of combustion sources and industrial sources was evident.

[Analysis of Characteristics and Meteorological Influence Factors of Ozone Pollution in Henan Province].

The spatio-temporal characteristics of ozone (O3) pollution in the Henan Province in 2017 and its relationship with particulate matter, precursors, and meteorological factors were studied using the data obtained from the air quality monitoring station and national baseline ground climate station. Results showed that the annual mean O3 concentration of a maximum daily 8-h average (MDA8) was 108 µg·m-3 in the Henan Province with the trend of summer > spring > autumn > winter. Different levels of O3 were observed in various cities. The number of days exceeding the standard was up to 88 days in Anyang, while the lowest was found in Xinyang with 17 days. The most severe of O3 pollution occurred during late spring and early summer. During this period, the average monthly concentration of O3 MDA8 was above 140 µg·m-3, and peaked in June. The qualitative and quantitative analysis showed that the monthly average concentration of O3 MDA8 was negatively correlated with particulate matter, and the O3 hourly concentration was also negatively correlated with CO and NO2. The O3 MDA8 concentration and meteorological factors (sunshine duration, temperature, rainfall, visibility, humidity, and wind speed) had different correlations during different seasons and various cities.

[Ambient VOCs Characteristics, Ozone Formation Potential, and Source Apportionment of Air Pollution in Spring in Zhengzhou].

Ambient volatile organic compounds (VOCs) were determined by GC 5000 online gas chromatography in the urban site of Zhengzhou from April 15 to May 15, 2018. Based on chemical composition analysis, in this study, the concentrations, ozone formation potential (OFP), and source apportionment were studied. The results show that the averaged volume fraction of VOCs in Zhengzhou during spring was 40.26×10-9, which was 23% higher on polluted days (44.12×10-9) than on non-polluted days (35.82×10-9). The contribution of VOC species to OFP was in the order: alkenes > aromatics > alkanes > alkyne. The five factors identified by the PMF model were liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) volatilization sources (66.05%), motor vehicle exhaust sources (47.39%), industrial solvent sources (37.51%), fuel combustion sources (37.80%), and biogenic sources (11.25%). The contributions of LPG volatilization sources and biogenic sources on polluted days were higher by 22.92% and 68.50% than on non-polluted days, respectively.

[Characteristic of Surface Ozone and Meteorological Parameters Analysis in Anyang City].

This study uses the national ambient air quality station data of Anyang City from 2014 to 2017 to analyze the characteristics and variation rules of ozone (O3) in different functional zones (urban, suburban, and industrial), and also studies meteorological influencing factors and potential source distributions of O3 pollution. The results showed that the O3 concentration in Anyang increased significantly between 2014 and 2017, whereby pollution started to advance from 2015 and the earliest occurrence of an O3 pollution episode was in April 2017. The 90th percentile and average concentrations of O3 in the industrial zone increased at faster rates (average annual growth of 16.0 µg·m-3 and 13.0 µg·m-3, respectively) than of those in the urban and suburban zones. The O3 concentrations at the suburban site showed the fastest increase of all zones at the 5th percentile (average annual growth of 13.2 µg·m-3). The monthly variation in O3 concentrations in Anyang showed an "M" pattern that varied spatially depending on the zone. Temperature played a leading role in O3 concentrations; air temperatures >23℃, relative humidity <58%, and a wind speed of 5 m·s-1 in a south-southwesterly direction were closely related to the occurrence of high O3 concentrations. Potential sources of O3 in different seasons were significantly different, and mainly distributed in southern Hebei, northern Hubei, and northern Shenyang in summer. The first heavy O3 pollution day in the studied period was in May 2017, at which time the highest O3 concentration was found in the industrial zone (up to 405 µg·m-3). This heavy O3 pollution episode was related to the continuous high temperature that was caused by the transfer of a dry, hot air mass in western China.

[Characteristics and Source Apportionment of Ambient VOCs in Spring in Zhengzhou].

Ambient volatile organic compounds (VOCs) samples were collected at five sites in Zhengzhou during the spring of 2018. VOCs concentrations, the ozone formation potential (OFP), the aerosol formation potential (AFP), and source apportionment using a positive matrix factorization (PMF) model were studied based on chemical composition analysis. The results showed that the averaged concentration of VOCs in Zhengzhou during spring was (30.66±13.60)×10-9, of which the proportion of alkanes was the highest (35.3%) followed by oxygenated VOCs (OVOCs, 25.3%), halocarbons (24.1%), aromatics (10.0%), and alkenes (5.2%). The total OFP was 195.53 µg·m-3 and the contributions of alkanes, alkenes, aromatics, halocarbons, and OVOCs were 25.6%, 17.8%, 38.9%, 5.8%, and 11.9%, respectively. The total AFP was 0.95 µg·m-3 with an 87.6% contribution from aromatics and 12.4% from alkanes. The correlation between major species showed that pentane, isopentane, benzene, and toluene in Qinlinglu (QLL) site and Jingkaiqu (JKQ) site were greatly influenced by motor vehicles, but these were mainly influenced by combustion sources in Zhengzhou University (ZZU) site. The five factors that were identified by the PMF model were vehicle and liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) volatilization source (30.5%), solvent coating source (27.3%), industrial process source (22.1%), aging air mass (14.4%), and biogenic source (5.7%).

[A 2013-based Atmospheric Ammonia Emission Inventory and Its Characteristic of Spatial Distribution in Henan Province].

Based on the best available activity data at a city level from top down and bottom up methods, a 2013-based emission inventory of NH3 was established for the Henan Province using an emission factors method. The 3 km×3 km spatial gridded distribution was carried out by using GIS technology. The results showed that the total amount of atmospheric NH3 emission in Henan Province in 2013 was 1035.3 kt, and the average emission intensity reached levels of 6.4 t/km2. Livestock and nitrogen fertilizer applications were the top two emission sources, accounting for 52.71% and 31.53% of the total emissions, respectively. Beef, laying hen, and goats were the main contributors in the livestock category, accounting for 34.98%, 16.63%, and 14.02% of the total emissions, respectively. There were different characteristics between emission source contributions and emission intensities in each city. Nanyang, Zhoukou, Shangqiu, and Zhumadian were the prefecture-level cities with large emissions, accounting for 11.53%, 9.84%, 9.62%, and 9.57% of the total amount in Henan Province, respectively. The NH3 emission intensities of Puyang and Louhe were larger than those of other cities, reaching up to 10.7 t·km-2 and 10.2 t·km-2, respectively. The spatial distribution revealed that emissions in the middle eastern region were relatively higher; whereas, the western region emissions were relatively low. The areas with high emissions were concentrated in the plains and densely populated areas.

Association of Mycoplasma pneumoniae infection with increased risk of asthma in children.

The present study was conducted to investigate the relationship between Mycoplasma pneumoniae (MP) infection and the risk of asthma among children by detecting the rate of MP immunoglobulin M (MP-IgM) and the eosinophil (EOS) count. A total of 139 asthmatic children were enrolled as the case group and assigned into three groups: Group A (aged <3 years, n=42), group B (aged 3-8 years, n=45) and group C (aged >8 years, n=52). Additionally, 115 healthy children were enrolled in the control group. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay was used to measure the MP-IgM-positive rate. EOS count was detected in the experimental and control groups by using a hemocytometer analyzer. A meta-analysis was performed by using the Comprehensive Meta-Analysis version 2.0 software. The positive rates of the MP-IgM and EOS count in the experimental group were significantly higher than those in control group (both P<0.001). Furthermore, the asthmatic children in group C had a higher MP-IgM-positive rate and EOS count as compared to those in groups A and B, respectively (all P<0.05). Results from groups A and B were not statistically significant (all P>0.05). The meta-analysis further confirmed that asthmatic children had a higher MP-IgM-positive rate as compared to the healthy controls (P<0.001). Age-stratified analysis revealed that the MP-IgM-positive rate in asthmatic children aged ≥8 and <8 years was significantly higher than that in the healthy controls (P=0.003 and P<0.001). Asthmatic children had a higher MP-IgM-positive rate and EOS count as compared with controls, suggesting that the MP infection may be closely associated with the risk of asthma. Additionally, the positive rate of MP-IgM may indicate an important biological marker in predicting the development of asthma.

Tissue distribution and functional analysis of vitellogenin-6 of Toxocara canis.

Toxocara canis is an common intestinal nematode of canids and the principal causative agent of human toxocariasis. Vitellogenin (Vg), a source of amino acids and lipids in the eggs, are considered to play an important role in embryo development of a wide range of organisms. In the present study, the transcriptional levels of Tc-vit-6 gene in male and female adult T. canis were determined by quantitative real-time PCR, which indicated high transcription of Tc-vit-6 in the intestine, reproductive tract and body wall of male and female adult T. canis. The fragment of Tc-vit-6 encoding a vWD domain, was cloned and expressed to produce a rabbit anti-TcvWD polyclonal antibody. Tissue distribution of TcVg6 was detected by immunohistochemical assays, which showed predominant distribution of TcVg6 in the tissues of intestine, as well as reproductive tract (including some of the germ cells) and musculature of male and female adult worms. Collectively, these results indicated multiple biological roles of TcVg6 apart from that in the reproduction of T. canis.

Elevated fractional exhaled nitric oxide (FeNO) is a clinical indicator of uncontrolled asthma in children receiving inhaled corticosteroids.


Objective: Our study aims to explore the correlation between fractional exhaled nitric oxide (FeNO) and inhaled corticosteroids (ICS) efficacy in childhood bronchial asthma (BA). METHODS: 247 pediatric BA patients were selected and divided into 3 treatment groups based on drug therapy: treatment group 1 (seretide, n = 86), treatment group 2 (budesonide, n = 79), and treatment group 3 (salbutamol, n = 82). Another 90 healthy children were recruited as control group. FeNO, FEV1%pred, FEV1/FVC, MEF25%, MEF50% and PEF%, total serum IgE, EOS%, induced sputum EOS% and supernatant inflammatory indexes (ECP, IL-8, and TNF-α) of sputum, ECP, IL-8 and TNF-α were detected. RESULTS: Compared with pretreatment, 6 months posttreatment, FeNO, induced sputum EOS%, supernatant inflammatory indexes decreased (all p < 0.05), but pulmonary function indexes and childhood asthma control test (C-ACT) increased in treatment groups (all p < 0.05). FeNO, induced sputum EOS%, and supernatant inflammatory indexes in treatment group 1 were lower than those in treatment group 2 and 3 (all p < 0.05); total serum IgE and peripheral blood EOS% in treatment group 1 and 2 were lower but pulmonary function indexes were higher than those in treatment group 3 (all p < 0.05); according to Pearson correlation analysis, in both ICS and non-ICS groups, FeNO was positively correlated to ECP but negatively to C-ACT. CONCLUSION: ICS is effective in BA treatment, and FeNO associated with ICS efficacy is an indicator for BA intervention. FeNO combing with pulmonary function indexes had a predictive value in BA response.

Characterization and differential expression analysis of Toxocara canis aquaporin-1 gene.

Toxocara canis is an intestinal nematode of canids with a worldwide distribution, causing an important but neglected parasitic zoonosis in humans. Aquaporins (AQP) are a family of water channel proteins, which function as membrane channels to regulate water homeostasis. In this study, the coding sequence of aquaporin-1 gene of T. canis (Tc-aqp-1) was cloned and characterized. The obtained Tc-aqp-1 coding sequence was 933 bp in length, which predicted to encode 311 amino acids. Two conserved asparagine-proline-alanine (NPA) motifs were identified in the multiple sequence alignments. Phylogenetic analysis revealed the closest relationship between T. canis and Opisthorchis viverrini based on aquaporin-1 amino acid sequence. A structure was predicted with ligand binding sites predicted at H93, N95, N226, L94, I79, and I210 and with active sites predicted at I256 and G207. Gene Ontology (GO) annotations predicted its cellular component term of integral component of plasma membrane (GO: 0005887), molecular function term of channel activity (GO: 0015250), and biological process term of water transport (GO: 0006833). Tissue expression analysis revealed that the Tc-aqp-1 was highly expressed in the intestine of adult male. The findings of the present study provide the basis for further functional studies of T. canis aquaporin-1.

High plasma neopterin levels in Chinese children with autism spectrum disorders.

BACKGROUND: Neopterin, a pteridine mainly synthesized by activated macrophages, is a marker of inflammation, immune system activation and an active participant in Autism spectrum disorders (ASD). The aim of this study was to assess the clinical significance of plasma neopterin levels in ASD. METHODS: Eighty patients diagnosed with ASD and 80 sex and age matched typically developing children were assessed for plasma levels of neopterin at admission. Plasma neopterin levels were measured using a human ELISA kit and severity of ASD were evaluated with the Childhood Autism Rating Scale (CARS) score. RESULTS: We found that the mean plasma neopterin level was significantly (P<0.0001) higher in children with ASD as compared to controls. Plasma neopterin increased with increasing severity of ASD as defined by the CARS score. Based on the ROC curve, the optimal cutoff value of plasma neopterin level as an indicator for auxiliary diagnosis of ASD was projected to be 8.5nmol/L, which yielded a sensitivity of 84.2% and a specificity of 80.1%, with the area under the curve at 0.876 (95% CI, 0.825-0.928). Elevated neopterin (≥8.5nmol/L) was an independent diagnosis indicator of ASD with an adjusted OR of 12.11 (95% CI: 5.48-28.11; P<0.0001). CONCLUSIONS: These results indicated that autistic children had higher plasma levels of neopterin, and elevated plasma neopterin levels may be associated with severity of ASD among Chinese children.

[Anthropogenic ammonia emission inventory and characteristics in the Pearl River Delta Region].

Based on the collected activity data and emission factors of anthropogenic ammonia sources, a 2006-based anthropogenic ammonia emission inventory was developed for the Pearl River Delta (PRD) region by source categories and cities with the use of appropriate estimation methods. The results show: (1) the total NH3 emission from anthropogenic sources in the PRD region was 194. 8 kt; (2) the agriculture sources were major contributors of anthropogenic ammonia sources, in which livestock sources shared 62.1% of total NH3 emission and the contribution of application of nitrogen fertilizers was 21.7%; (3) the broiler was the largest contributor among the livestock sources, accounting for 43.4% of the livestock emissions, followed by the hog with a contribution of 32.1%; (4) Guangzhou was the largest ammonia emission city in the PRD region, and then Jiangmen, accounting for 23.4% and 19.1% of total NH3 emission in the PRD region respectively, with major sources as livestock sources and application of nitrogen fertilizers.

[Development of non-road mobile source emission inventory for the Pearl River Delta region].

Based on the collected activity data and emission factors, the Pearl River Delta (PRD) regional non-road mobile source emission inventory was developed by categories with the use of appropriate estimation methods for different non-road mobile sources. The results show that the total emissions of SO2, NOx,VOC, CO and PM10 from non-road mobile sources in the PRD region were about 6.52 x 10(4) t, 1.24 x 10(5) t, 4.54 x 10(3) t, 2.67 x 10(4) and 4.51 x 10(3) t, respectively. The marine source is the largest non-road mobile source contributor to SO2, NOx, CO and PM10 emissions, accounting for 96.4%, 73.8%, 39.4% and 50.5%, respectively; Freighter and dry bulk carrier are important marine emission contributors, sharing 89.8%, 81.8%, 77.3%, 79.5% and 81.7% of the total marine SO2, NOx, VOC, CO and PM10 emissions. The non-road mobile source has become the third largest SO2 and NOx contributor in the PRD region, accounting for about 8.6% and 13.5% of the regional total SO2 and NOx emissions.