Methyl tertiary butyl ether (MTBE)—A well known gasoline additive substituting for lead alkyls—causes lipid disorders and liver dysfunctions in animal models. However, whether MTBE exposure is a risk factor for non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) remains uncertain. We evaluate the possible relationship between MTBE exposure and the prevalence of NAFLD among 71 petrol station attendants in southern China. The personal exposure concentrations of MTBE were analyzed by Head Space Solid Phase Microextraction GC/MS. NAFLD was diagnosed by using abdominal ultrasonography according to the guidelines for the diagnosis and treatment of NAFLD suggested by the Chinese Hepatology Association. Demographic and clinical characteristics potentially associated with NAFLD were investigated. Mutivariate logistic regression analysis was applied to measure odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals (CI). The result showed that the total prevalence of NAFLD was 15.49% (11/71) among the study subjects. The average exposure concentrations of MTBE were 292.98 ± 154.90 μg/m³ and 286.64 ± 122.28 μg/m³ in NAFLD and non-NAFLD groups, respectively, and there was no statistically significant difference between them (p > 0.05). After adjusting for age, gender, physical exercise, body mass index (BMI), systolic blood pressure (SBP), diastolic blood pressure (DBP), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), white blood cell (WBC), total cholesterol (TC), triglycerides (TG), low-density lipoprotein (LDL), and high-density lipoprotein (HDL), the odds ratios were 1.31 (95% CI: 0.85–1.54; p > 0.05), 1.14 (95% CI: 0.81–1.32; p > 0.05), 1.52 (95% CI: 0.93–1.61; p > 0.05) in the groups (including men and women) with exposure concentrations of MTBE of 100–200 μg/m³, 200–300 μg/m³, and ≥300 μg/m³, respectively, as compared to the group (including men and women) ≤100 μg/m³. Our investigation indicates that exposure to MTBE does not seem to be a significant risk factor for the prevalence of NAFLD among petrol station attendants in southern China. Full article

Here, highly transparent, conductive, and stable ZnO/Ag/ZnO electrodes on transparent rigid glass and flexible substrates were prepared by facile, room-temperature magnetron sputtering, in which the continuous Ag layers were obtained by means of oxidization-induced effect under an Ar atmosphere with tiny amounts of O₂. The results showed an appropriate amount of O₂ was beneficial to form continuous Ag films because of the adsorption of oxygen between the ZnO and Ag layers. When the concentration of O₂ in the Ar atmosphere was 2.0%–3.0%, ZnO (40 nm)/Ag (10 nm)/ZnO (40 nm) films on rigid glass showed visible-range transmittance of 94.8% and sheet resistance of 8.58 Ω·sq⁻¹, while the corresponding data on flexible PET substrates were 95.9% and 8.11 Ω·sq⁻¹, respectively. In addition, the outstanding electrodes remained stable for more than six months under air conditioned conditions. The electrodes are fully functional as universal rigid/flexible electrodes for high-performance electronic applications. Full article

Methyl tertiary butyl ether (MTBE), a well known gasoline additive, is used in China nationwide to enhance the octane number of gasoline and reduce harmful exhaust emissions, yet little is known regarding the potential health risk associated with occupational exposure to MTBE in petrol stations. In this study, 97 petrol station attendants (PSAs) in southern China were recruited for an assessment of the health risk associated with inhalation exposure to MTBE. The personal exposure levels of MTBE were analyzed by Head Space Solid Phase Microextraction GC/MS, and the demographic characteristics of the PSAs were investigated. Cancer and non-cancer risks were calculated with the methods recommended by the United States Environmental Protection Agency. The results showed that the exposure levels of MTBE in operating workers were much higher than among support staff (p < 0.01) and both were lower than 50 ppm (an occupational threshold limit value). The calculated cancer risks (CRs) at the investigated petrol stations was 0.170 to 0.240 per 10⁶ for operating workers, and 0.026 to 0.049 per 10⁶ for support staff, which are below the typical target range for risk management of 1 × 10⁻⁶ to 1 × 10⁻⁴; The hazard quotients (HQs) for all subjects were <1. In conclusion, our study indicates that the MTBE exposure of PSAs in southern China is in a low range which does not seem to be a significant health risk. Full article

The Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region (NX region) of Northwestern China is threatened by increased meteorological drought induced by climate change (CC) and constraints on water supply from the Yellow River. Thus, the NX region is representative of attempts to adapt to CC and variability in China’s arid regions. Field visits, a questionnaire and in situ inspections were conducted in 2012–2014 to understand people’s perception and awareness of drought and its impact, particularly with respect to adaptation strategies. We mainly focused on drought adaptation actions and planning implemented at the government level under the double pressures of drought and allocation. We described a suitable adaptation pathway for socio-economic sustainable development and discussed existing adaptation barriers. Construction of modern efficient water-saving agriculture lies at the core of drought adaptation, with socio-economic sustainable development being the ultimate goal. To achieve this, policies and institutional, engineering, technological, structural and social initiatives and measures—classified into macro adaptation strategies and specific coping measures—are implemented. Adaptation often encounters obstacles, e.g., policy issues from household contract responsibility systems, funding difficulties of low-income farmers, traditional behavioral habits and low education and literacy levels among farmers. The adaptation pathway involves the construction of modern efficient water-saving agriculture. Agricultural water savings are then transferred to developed industries, which back-feed socio-economic sustainable development in the NX region. Full article

The Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region of China (Ningxia) is an important food production area in northwest China severely affected by drought. The Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI) and Standardized Precipitation Evapotranspiration Index (SPEI) were calculated based on monthly meteorological data to explore climate change and variation in drought intensity, duration, frequency, and spatial extent in Ningxia during 1972–2011. Results show that the SPEI is more applicable than the SPI for exploring climate change and drought variation in Ningxia. The Ningxia climate experienced a significant drying tendency. Annual SPEI decreased about 0.37 decade⁻¹ during 1972–2011. Drought was exacerbated by this drying tendency. Regional average duration, maximum duration, intensity, and frequency of drought identified by the SPEI increased by one month, three months, 0.15%, and 36.1%, respectively, during 1992–2011 compared to the period of 1972–1991. The spatial extent of drought identified by the SPEI increased about 14.4% decade⁻¹ in the spring during 1972–2011. Spatially, drought frequency increased from north to south. Average intensity (maximum duration) of drought calculated by the SPEI increased (decreased) northward and southward from the central arid area. Full article

It has been reported that Arabidopsis phytochrome (phy) A and phyB are crucial photoreceptors that display synergistic and antagonistic action during seedling de-etiolation in multiple light signaling pathways. However, the functional relationship between phyA and phyB is not fully understood under different kinds of light and in response to different intensities of such light. In this work, we compared hypocotyl elongation of the phyA-211 phyB-9 double mutant with the wild type, the phyA-211 and phyB-9 single mutants under different intensities of far-red (FR), red (R), blue (B) and white (W) light. We confirmed that phyA and phyB synergistically promote seedling de-etiolation in B-, B plus R-, W- and high R-light conditions. The correlation of endogenous ELONGATED HYPOCOTYL 5 (HY5) protein levels with the trend of hypocotyl elongation of all lines indicate that both phyA and phyB promote seedling photomorphogenesis in a synergistic manner in high-irradiance white light. Gene expression analyses of RBCS members and HY5 suggest that phyB and phyA act antagonistically on seedling development under FR light. Full article