Dissolving Chitin by Novel Deep Eutectic Solvents for Effectively Enzymatic Hydrolysis.

Chitin is the most productive nitrogen-containing polysaccharide in nature with immense potential for transforming into a range of chemicals. However, its dense crystal structure poses a challenge for depolymerization, limiting its applications. To overcome these challenges, a novel series of deep eutectic solvents (DESs) based on benzyltrimethylammonium chloride (TMBAC) as the hydrogen bond acceptor was developed. These TMBAC-based DESs, in combination with lactic acid, oxalic acid, and malic acid as the hydrogen bond donor demonstrated efficient chitin dissolution, achieving a solubility of up to 12% and an 88% recovery rate of regenerated chitin. The regenerated chitin was characterized using XRD, FT-IR, SEM, and 13C CP-MAS NMR, which indicated the preservation of chitin's chemical structure, a significant decrease in crystallinity, and a reduction in the molecular weight. Furthermore, the enzymatic hydrolysis efficiency of chitin was nearly doubled after treatment with TMBAC-based DESs, surpassing the effectiveness of untreated chitin. This approach holds promise for facilitating subsequent transformation and utilization of chitin.

[Prenatal ultrasonographic manifestations and genetic diagnosis of nine fetuses with 7q11.23 duplication syndrome].

OBJECTIVE: To analyze ultrasonographic manifestations and genetic etiology of nine fetuses with 7q11.23 duplication syndrome. METHODS: Ultrasonographic finding, pregnancy outcome and follow-up of nine fetuses detected at the Prenatal Diagnosis Center of the Third Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University from January 2017 to December 2021 were retrospectively analyzed. RESULTS: The fetuses were found to harbor a duplication in the 7q11.23 region by chromosomal microarray analysis (CMA). Among these, five had shown ventriculomegaly, including four syndromic and one non-syndromic. For the remainders, one had ventricular septal defect and mild tricuspid regurgitation, one had echogenic intracardiac focus, whilst another two were normal. Five couples had accepted parental verification, and the results confirmed that the 7q11.23 duplication carried by their fetuses were de novo in origin. Following genetic counseling, seven couples had opted to terminate their pregnancies. Two fetuses were delivered at full term, and follow-up had found no abnormalities. CONCLUSION: Prenatal ultrasonographic manifestations of fetuses with 7q11.23 duplication syndrome are variable. CMA can provide assistance for their diagnosis and genetic counseling.

[Effects of Straw Returning and Biochar Addition on Greenhouse Gas Emissions from High Nitrate Nitrogen Soil After Flooding in Rice-vegetable Rotation System in Tropical China].

In rice-vegetable rotation systems in tropical areas, a large amount of nitrate nitrogen accumulates after fertilization in the melon and vegetable season, which leads to the leaching of nitrate nitrogen and a large amount of N2O emission after the seasonal flooding of rice, which leads to nitrogen loss and intensification of the greenhouse effect. How to improve the utilization rate of nitrate nitrogen and reduce N2O emissions has become an urgent problem to be solved. Six treatments were set up [200 mg·kg-1 KNO3 (CK); 200 mg·kg-1 KNO3 + 2% biochar addition (B); 200 mg·kg-1 KNO3+1% peanut straw addition (P); 200 mg·kg-1 KNO3 + 2% biochar + 1% peanut straw addition (P+B); 200 mg·kg-1 KNO3 + 1% rice straw addition (R); 200 mg·kg-1 KNO3 + 2% biochar+1% rice straw addition (R+B)] and cultured at 25℃ for 114 d to explore the effects of organic material addition on greenhouse gas emissions and nitrogen use after flooding in high nitrate nitrogen soil. The results showed that compared with that in CK, adding straw or combining straw with biochar significantly increased soil pH (P<0.05). The B and P treatments significantly increased the cumulative N2O emissions by 41.6% and 28.5% (P<0.05), and the P+B, R, and R+B treatments significantly decreased the cumulative N2O emissions by 14.1%, 24.7%, and 36.7% (P<0.05), respectively. The addition of straw increased the net warming potential of greenhouse gases (NGWP). The addition of coir biochar significantly reduced the effect of straw on NGWP (P<0.05). The combined application of straw and biochar decreased NGWP, and P+B significantly decreased NGWP, but that with R+B was not significant (P>0.05). Adding straw or biochar significantly increased soil microbial biomass carbon (MBC) (P<0.05), and that of P+B was the highest (502.26 mg·kg-1). The combined application of straw and biochar increased soil microbial biomass nitrogen (MBN), and that of P+B was the highest. The N2O emission flux was negatively correlated with pH (P<0.01) and positively correlated with NH4+-N and NO3--N (P<0.01). The cumulative emission of N2O was negatively correlated with MBN (P<0.05). There was a significant negative correlation between NO3--N and MBN (P<0.01), indicating that the reduction in NO3--N was likely to be held by microorganisms, and the increase in the microbial hold of NO3--N also reduced N2O emission. In conclusion, the combined application of peanut straw and coconut shell biochar could significantly inhibit N2O emission and increase soil MBC and MBN, which is a reasonable measure to make full use of nitrogen fertilizer, reduce nitrogen loss, and slow down N2O emission after the season of Hainan vegetables.

[Genetic diagnosis and analysis of eight cases with central 22q11.2 deletion syndrome].

OBJECTIVE: To explore the pregnancy outcome and postpartum clinical phenotype of LCR22B/C~D central 22q11.2 deletion syndrome. METHODS: For fetuses diagnosed with central 22q11.2 deletion by chromosomal microarray analysis (CMA) at the Prenatal Diagnosis Center of the Third Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University from January 2019 to April 2022, their prenatal imaging, parental CMA verification, pregnancy outcomes and postpartum clinical phenotype were analyzed. RESULTS: Eight cases of central 22q11.2 deletion syndrome were included, including six cases with LCR22B~D 22q11.2 deletions and two with LCR22C~D 22q11.2 deletions. Among the six cases with LCR22B~D type 22q11.2 deletions, three had shown cardiovascular malformations (right aortic arch, ventricular septal defect, mild tricuspid regurgitation), one had shown urinary defect (right kidney heterotopia). Two cases with LCR22C~D 22q11.2 deletions showed nonspecific ultrasonographic findings, including oligohydramnios with growth restriction and nuchal skin thickening. The CMA verification showed that six cases were inherited from their parents, and five couples had chosen to continue with the pregnancy. Postpartum follow-up showed that the physical and intellectual development of all children were normal. One couple had opted to terminate the pregnancy considering the ectopic fetal right kidney. Two remaining cases had decided to terminate their pregnancies without parental verification. CONCLUSION: The central 22q11.2 deletion syndrome of the LCR22B/C~D type is different from the classical types. Its genetic information mainly comes from parents. Prenatal imaging has mainly shown cardiovascular and urinary abnormalities. Postnatal growth and intellectual development have been normal. Therefore, the couples should be provided with suffice prenatal genetic counseling.

Effectiveness and safety of interspinous spacer versus decompressive surgery for lumbar spinal stenosis: A meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.

STUDY DESIGN: A meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials. OBJECTIVE: Our meta-analysis was conducted to investigate whether interspinous spacer (IS) results in better performance for patients with lumbar spinal stenosis (LSS) when compared with decompressive surgery (DS). BACKGROUND DATA: DS and IS are common surgeries for the treatment of LSS. However, controversy remains as to whether the IS is superior to DS. METHODS: We comprehensively searched PubMed, EMBASE, and Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials for prospective randomized controlled trials that compared IS versus DS for LSS. The retrieved results were last updated on July 30, 2023. RESULTS: Eight studies involving 852 individuals were included in the meta-analysis. The pooled data indicated that IS was superior to DS considering shorter operation time (P = .003), lower dural violation rate (P = .002), better Zurich Claudication Questionnaire Physical function score (P = .03), and smaller foraminal height decrease (P = .004), but inferior to DS considering the higher rate of reoperation (P < .0001). There was no significant difference between the 2 groups regarding hospital stay (P = .26), blood loss (P = .23), spinous process fracture (P = .09), disc height decrease (P = .87), VAS leg pain score (P = .43), VAS back pain score (P = .26), Oswestry Disability Index score (P = .08), and Zurich Claudication Questionnaire symptom severity (P = .50). CONCLUSIONS: In summary, we considered that IS had similar effects with DS in hospital stay, blood loss, spinous process fracture, disc height decrease, VAS score, Oswestry Disability Index score, and Zurich Claudication Questionnaire Symptom severity, and was better in some indices such as operation time, dural violation, Zurich Claudication Questionnaire Physical function, and foraminal height decrease than DS. However, due to the higher rate of reoperation in the IS group, we considered that both IS and DS were acceptable strategies for treating LSS. As a novel technique, further well-designed studies with longer-term follow-up are needed to evaluate the effectiveness and safety of IS.

Temporally probing the thermal phonon and charge transfer induced out-of-plane acoustical displacement of monolayer and bi-layer MoS2/GaN heterojunction.

Acoustical behavior of semiconducting transition metal dichalcogenides determines the heat transfer pathway, and thus plays a crucial role in the electronics and optoelectronics design. In this research, van der Waals heterojunctions (vdWHs) consisting of transferred monolayer and bi-layer MoS2 on GaN substrate were studied. We observed an asymmetric bipolar acoustic strain wave with ∼5 ps duration, which describes the surface of substrate undergoing strong compressive deformation after weak tensile deformation in the out-of-plane direction. We developed a theory to explain the mechanisms responsible for the observed strain waveform in the vdWHs elastic system, and obtained the critical parameters of the carrier dynamics by temporal fitting. Our results not only report a coherent acoustic phonon generated in the vdWHs, which will complement our understanding of the thermal transfer at the 2D/substrate interface, but also provide information about the intrinsic properties in the vdWHs, which would benefit the design of the 2D-based devices in the future.

Pathogenic/likely pathogenic copy number variations and regions of homozygosity in fetal central nervous system malformations.

OBJECTIVE: To explore pathogenic/likely pathogenic copy number variations (P/LP CNVs) and regions of homozygosity (ROHs) in fetal central nervous system (CNS) malformations. METHODS: A cohort of 539 fetuses with CNS malformations diagnosed by ultrasound/MRI was retrospectively analyzed between January 2016 and December 2019. All fetuses were analyzed by chromosomal microarray analysis (CMA). Three cases with ROHs detected by CMA were subjected to whole-exome sequencing (WES). The fetuses were divided into two groups according to whether they had other structural abnormalities. The CNS phenotypes of the two groups were further classified as simple (one type) or complicated (≥ 2 types). RESULTS: (1) A total of 35 cases with P/LP CNVs were found. The incidence of P/LP CNVs was higher in the extra-CNS group [18.00% (9/50)] than in the isolated group [5.32% (26/489)] (P < 0.01), while there was no significant difference between the simpletype and complicated-type groups. (2) In the simple-type group, the three most common P/LP CNV phenotypes were holoprosencephaly, Dandy-Walker syndrome, and exencephaly. There were no P/LP CNVs associated with anencephaly, microcephaly, arachnoid cysts, ependymal cysts, or intracranial hemorrhage. (3) Only four cases with ROHs were found, and there were no cases of uniparental disomy or autosomal diseases. CONCLUSION: The P/LP CNV detection rates varied significantly among the different phenotypes of CNS malformations, although simple CNS abnormalities may also be associated with genetic abnormalities.

Analysis of LINC01314 and miR-96 Expression in Colorectal Cancer Patients via Tissue Microarray-Based Fluorescence In Situ Hybridization.

Methods: A tissue microarray (TMA) containing 76 individual colorectal tumor samples and 28 adjacent normal samples was constructed, and the expression levels of LINC01314 and miR-96 were detected by fluorescence in situ hybridization. Results: The expression levels of both LINC01314 and miR-96 were upregulated in CRC tissues and were associated with vascular metastasis (p < 0.05). A significantly positive correlation was observed between LINC01314 and miR-96 expression in tumor tissues (p < 0.001, r = 0.870). Dominant expression of LINC01314 was a risk factor for both blood vessel invasion (p < 0.05) and poor 5-year survival (p = 0.001, hazard ratio = 4.144). The Kaplan-Meier analysis indicated that patients with LINC01314-dominant expression exhibited worse 5-year survival rates than those with miR-96-dominant expression (p < 0.05). Conclusion: The expression patterns of both LINC01314 and miR-96 may be diagnostic of, and prognostic for, CRC. These findings will facilitate further exploration of the molecular mechanism of lncRNAs in CRC.

Van der Waals Epitaxy of Thin Gold Films on 2D Material Surfaces for Transparent Electrodes: All-Solution-Processed Quantum Dot Light-Emitting Diodes on Flexible Substrates.

With the assistance of van der Waals (vdW) epitaxy, nanometer-thick and highly conductive gold films are deposited onto MoS2 surfaces for use as transparent anode electrodes in quantum dot light-emitting diodes (QLEDs) on poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) substrates. After transferring wafer-scale and monolayer MoS2 to PET substrates, 10 nm thick gold (Au) films are deposited onto the two-dimensional (2D) material surfaces as anode electrodes. Bounded only by weak vdW forces on 2D material surfaces, the diffusive Au adatoms tend to facilitate lateral growth and lead to the formation of continuous and highly conductive thin metal films in the nanometer regime. The Au film exhibits excellent tensile bending stability for its sheet resistance, which is superior to that of rigid indium-tin oxide (ITO) films on PET substrates. Thermally stable CdSe@CdZnS/ZnS QLEDs are fabricated on the PET substrate. Compared with devices fabricated on sapphire substrates, the phenomenon of sub-bandgap turn-on is observed for the flexible device. Based on our demonstrations, the high conductivity and robust durability toward substrate bending make the nanometer-thick Au film grown on 2D material surfaces a promising candidate to replace current ITO anode electrodes for flexible device applications.

Macrophage polarization in placenta accreta and macrophage-trophoblast interactions.

PROBLEM: Placenta accreta (PA) is defined by an abnormal invasion of placental trophoblasts into the myometrium, which can lead to serious postpartum complications. Macrophages play an important role in the regulation of trophoblast function. Both granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) and its receptor (granulocyte colony-stimulating factor receptor, G-CSFR) have effects on trophoblast invasion. However, the current understanding of G-CSF secretion, G-CSFR expression, abnormal polarization of decidual macrophages (dMϕ) in PA and the abnormal invasion of placental trophoblasts into the myometrium are limited. METHOD OF STUDY: The polarization of dMϕ in PA was analyzed by flow cytometry (FCM), and the expression of G-CSFR in placental trophoblasts in PA was evaluated by immunohistochemistry. In an in vitro co-culture model, we investigated the effects of HTR-8/SVneo trophoblasts cell line (HTR-8) on macrophage human monocyte cell line (THP-1) polarization and G-CSF secretion, and we also analyzed the effects of THP-1 cells, especially M2-like subtype, on primary trophoblasts and HTR-8 proliferation, invasion, and adhesion. FCM, transwell assays, adhesion assays, and proliferation assays were used in the above model. RESULTS: Compared with controls (n = 9), dMϕ showed significantly lower levels of M1 markers CD80 and CD86 and higher levels of the M2 markers CD163 and CD206, and G-CSFR expression of placental trophoblasts was increased in PA (n = 5). In vitro experiments showed that the trophoblast HTR-8 cell line induced polarization of THP-1 cells to an M2-like subtype and increased their secretion of G-CSF. Furthermore, IL-4/IL-13-induced M2-like THP-1 macrophages were able to increase the expression of G-CSFR, proliferation, invasion and adhesion of both primary trophoblasts and HTR-8 trophoblasts. CONCLUSIONS: There is an altered immune imbalance at the maternal-fetal interface in PA, which further may lead to abnormal trophoblast function. G-CSF and its receptors may play important roles in abnormal polarization of macrophages and abnormal invasion of trophoblasts.

Layered Graphene Growth Directly on Sapphire Substrates for Applications.

Layer-by-layer graphene growth is demonstrated by repeating CVD growth cycles directly on sapphire substrates. Improved field-effect mobility values are observed for the bottom-gate transistors fabricated by using the bilayer graphene channel, which indicates an improved crystallinity is obtained after the second CVD growth cycle. Despite the poor wettability of copper on graphene surfaces, graphene may act as a thin and effective diffusion barrier for copper atoms. The low resistivity values of thin copper films deposited on thin monolayer MoS2/monolayer graphene heterostructures have demonstrated its potential to replace current thick liner/barrier stacks in back-end interconnects. The unique van der Waals epitaxy growth mode will be helpful for both homo- and heteroepitaxy on 2D material surfaces.

Application of engineered yeast strain fermentation for oligogalacturonides production from pectin-rich waste biomass.

Citrus wastes disposal is a problem faced by many juice plants due to high disposal costs. However, the citrus peel wastes (CPW) biomass, as bulk bioresources from the agro-industrial waste, is a good source of pectin. Present study aimed to utilize these CPW biomass by engineered yeast strain fermentation with an inexpensive method to produce oligogalacturonides (OGs). The results showed that the engineered yeast strain fermentation can produce significant amounts of OGs with the degree of polymerization ranged from 2 to 7 from the CPW bioresources. Under the optimized conditions using the response surface methodology, the best OGs yield were 26.1%. The present work is the first to use the engineered yeast strain for direct CPW biomass fermentation produced the OGs. We thereby paved a new way to utilize the pectin-rich bioresources.

PEAK1, acting as a tumor promoter in colorectal cancer, is regulated by the EGFR/KRas signaling axis and miR-181d.

PEAK1 is upregulated in multiple human malignancies and has been associated with tumor invasion and metastasis, but little is known about the role of PEAK1 in colorectal cancer (CRC) progression. We investigated the expression pattern, function and regulatory mechanisms of PEAK1 in CRC. Here, we found that PEAK1 is overexpressed in CRC tissues and that high PEAK1 expression predicts poor survival in colon cancer but not rectal cancer. Functionally, silencing PEAK1 inhibits cell proliferation, migration, and invasion in vitro and inhibits the growth of tumor xenografts in nude mice. Mechanistic studies revealed that PEAK1 is induced by epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) signaling and that PEAK1 is required for KRas-induced CRC cell growth and metastasis. Furthermore, we demonstrated that miR-181d directly targets PEAK1. Ectopic expression of miR-181d reduces the expression of PEAK1 and inhibits the growth and metastasis of CRC cells in vitro. Clinically, miR-181d is downregulated in CRC samples, and low miR-181d is correlated with poor patient survival. Our study demonstrates the importance of PEAK1 in CRC progression and suggests a potential mechanism by which increasing PEAK1 expression in CRC might be the result of EGFR/KRas signal activation and consequent miR-181d repression.

Thymidine phosphorylase expression and prognosis in colorectal cancer treated with 5-fluorouracil-based chemotherapy: A meta-analysis.

In the past decades, various studies have suggested a possible link between thymidine phosphorylase (TP) level and colorectal cancer (CRC) treated with 5-fluorouracil (5-FU)-based chemotherapy; however, they have arrived at inconsistent results. Therefore, the present meta-analysis aimed to disclose a more comprehensive evaluation of this relationship. PubMed, the Cochrane Library, Ovid MEDLINE, Embase and China National Knowledge Infrastructure were systematically searched for studies that evaluated the prognostic value of TP in CRC. Stata 12.0 software was used to test the heterogeneity and evaluate the overall test performance. A total of 15 studies, including 1,225 patients, were included. The summary estimates of TP for CRC treated with 5-FU-based chemotherapy indicated a moderately positive prognosis with a hazard ratio (HR) of 0.76 (P=0.031) for overall survival and a HR of 0.711 (P=0.022) for relapse-free survival. On the basis of the present meta-analysis, TP could be promising and meaningful in the prognosis of CRC treated with 5-FU-based chemotherapy.

Primary tracheal schwannoma treated by surgical resection: a case report.

The rarity and non-specific symptoms of benign primary tracheal tumors always leaded to misdiagnosis and delayed treatment, and also undefined the optimal treatment. In this case, a 45-year-old woman had a history of progressive shortness of breath and dry cough for several years, CT scan revealed an intra-luminal tracheal mass invaded the left side of tracheal wall. After being located by bronchoscope preoperatively, the tumor was removed by surgical resection. The tumor was 1.5 cm in diameter with intact capsule. The pathological result confirmed the diagnosis of schwannoma.

Pseudolaric acid B induces mitotic arrest and apoptosis in both 5-fluorouracil-sensitive and -resistant colorectal cancer cells.

5-fluorouracil (5-FU)-based chemotherapy is the main chemotherapeutic approach for colorectal cancer (CRC) treatment. Because chemoresistance occurs frequently and significantly limits CRC therapies, a novel agent is needed. Pseudolaric acid B (PAB), a small molecule derived from the Chinese medicinal herb ''Tujinpi'', exhibits strong cytotoxic effects on a variety of cancers. However, the detailed mechanisms by which PAB inhibits CRC cell growth and its potential role in overcoming 5-FU resistance have not been well studied. In this study, we showed that PAB significantly inhibited the viability of various CRC cell lines but induced minor cytotoxicity in normal cells. Both the in vitro and in vivo results showed that PAB induced proliferation inhibition, mitotic arrest and subsequently caspase-dependent apoptosis in both 5-FU-sensitive and -resistant CRC cells. Moreover, PAB was shown to interfere with CRC cell mitotic spindle apparatus and activate the spindle assembly checkpoint. Finally, CDK1 activity was involved in PAB-induced mitotic arrest and apoptosis in CRC cells. Taken together, these data reveal that PAB induces CRC cell mitotic arrest followed by apoptosis and overcomes 5-FU resistance in vitro and in vivo, suggesting that PAB may be a potential agent for CRC treatment, particularly for 5-FU-resistant CRC.

Proteome identification of the silkworm middle silk gland.

To investigate the functional differentiation among the anterior (A), middle (M), and posterior (P) regions of silkworm middle silk gland (MSG), their proteomes were characterized by shotgun LC-MS/MS analysis with a LTQ-Orbitrap mass spectrometer. To get better proteome identification and quantification, triplicate replicates of mass spectrometry analysis were performed for each sample. The mass spectrometry proteomics data have been deposited to the ProteomeXchange Consortium (Vizcaíno et al., 2014) [1] via the PRIDE partner repository (Vizcaino, 2013) [2] with the dataset identifier PXD003371. The peptide identifications that were further processed by PeptideProphet program in Trans-Proteomic Pipeline (TPP) after database search with Mascot software were also available in .XML format files. Data presented here are related to a research article published in Journal of Proteomics by Li et al. (2015) [3].

MiR-25 is up-regulated in non-small cell lung cancer and promotes cell proliferation and motility by targeting FBXW7.

Increasing evidence showed that miR-25 is involved in the carcinogenesis and progression of various human cancers, while its role in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is still unclear. Here, we found that miR-25 is significantly up-regulated in NSCLC tissue samples and cell lines. Inhibition of miR-25 remarkably suppressed cell proliferation, migration and invasion in NSCLC cells, whereas enforced expression of miR-25 significantly increased NSCLC cells proliferation, migration and invasion. Moreover, we identified F-box and WD repeat domain-containing 7 (FBXW7) as a direct target of miR-25 and overexpression of FBXW7 partially attenuates the oncogenic effect of miR-25 on NSCLC cells. In conclusion, miR-25 is up-regulated in NSCLC and promotes NSCLC cells proliferation and motility partially by targeting FBXW7. Our data suggest that miR-25 might serve as a potential therapeutic target for NSCLC treatment in the future.

Comparative proteomic analysis of the silkworm middle silk gland reveals the importance of ribosome biogenesis in silk protein production.

The silkworm middle silk gland (MSG) is the sericin synthesis and secretion unique sub-organ. The molecular mechanisms of regulating MSG protein synthesis are largely unknown. Here, we performed shotgun proteomic analysis on the three MSG subsections: the anterior (MSG-A), middle (MSG-M), and posterior (MSG-P) regions. The results showed that more strongly expressed proteins in the MSG-A were involved in multiple processes, such as silk gland development and silk protein protection. The proteins that were highly expressed in the MSG-M were enriched in the ribosome pathway. MSG-P proteins with stronger expression were mainly involved in the oxidative phosphorylation and citrate cycle pathways. These results suggest that the MSG-M is the most active region in the sericin synthesis. Furthermore, comparing the proteome of the MSG with the posterior silk gland (PSG) revealed that the specific and highly expressed proteins in the MSG were primarily involved in the ribosome and aminoacyl-tRNA biosynthesis pathways. These results indicate that silk protein synthesis is much more active as a result of the enhancement of translation-related pathways in the MSG. These results also suggest that enhancing ribosome biogenesis is important to the efficient synthesis of silk proteins.

End-of-life vehicle recycling and international cooperation between Japan, China and Korea: Present and future scenario analysis.

In the area of end-of-life vehicle (ELV) recycling, Japan passed the Automobile Recycling Law in January 2005, the first in Asia. Korea followed suit with the passage of the resource circulation method in 2009. China is expected make a new recycling law in 2011. In contribution to these initiatives, Tohoku University made a comparative analysis of ELV recycling laws, advance dismantling experiments and scenario analysis to promote international cooperation. This is envisioned to introduce ELV recycling system in Japan, China and Korea and in developing countries as well.