The China Alzheimer Report 2022

China’s population has rapidly aged over the recent decades of social and economic development as neurodegenerative disorders have proliferated,especially Alzheimer’s disease(AD)and related dementias(ADRD).AD’s incidence rate,morbidity,and mortality have steadily increased to make it presently the fifth leading cause of death among urban and rural residents in China and magnify the resulting financial burdens on individuals,families and society.The‘Healthy China Action’plan of 2019-2030 promotes the transition from disease treatment to health maintenance for this expanding population with ADRD.This report describes related epidemiological trends,evaluates the economic burden of the disease,outlines current clinical diagnosis and treatment status and delineates existing available public health resources.More specifically,it examines the public health impact of ADRD,including prevalence,mortality,costs,usage of care,and the overall effect on caregivers and society.In addition,this special report presents technical guidance and supports for the prevention and treatment of AD,provides expertise to guide relevant governmental healthcare policy development and suggests an information platform for international exchange and cooperation.

Dynamic membrane bioreactor performance enhancement by powdered activated carbon addition:Evaluation of sludge morphological,aggregative and microbial properties

The effects of powdered activated carbon(PAC) addition on sludge morphological, aggregative and microbial properties in a dynamic membrane bioreactor(DMBR) were investigated to explore the enhancement mechanism of pollutants removal and filtration performance. Sludge properties were analyzed through various analytical measurements. The results showed that the improved sludge aggregation ability and the evolution of microbial communities affected sludge morphology in PAC-DMBR, as evidenced by the formation of large, regularly shaped and strengthened sludge flocs. The modifications of sludge characteristics promoted the formation process and filtration flux of the dynamic membrane(DM) layer. Additionally, PAC addition did not exert very significant influence on the propagation of eukaryotes(protists and metazoans)and microbial metabolic activity. High-throughput pyrosequencing results indicated that adding PAC improved the bacterial diversity in activated sludge, as PAC addition brought about additional microenvironment in the form of biological PAC(BPAC), which promoted the enrichment of Acinetobacter(13.9%), Comamonas(2.9%), Flavobacterium(0.31%) and Pseudomonas(0.62%), all contributing to sludge flocs formation and several(such as Acinetobacter) capable of biodegrading relatively complex organics. Therefore, PAC addition could favorably modify sludge properties from various aspects and thus enhance the DMBR performance.

Thermodynamic prediction and experimental investigation of short-term dynamic membrane formation in dynamic membrane bioreactors:Effects of sludge properties

In dynamic membrane bioreactors(DMBRs), a dynamic membrane(DM) forms on a support material to act as the separation membrane for solids and liquids. In this study, batch filtration tests were carried out in a DMBR using nylon mesh(25 μm) as support material to filtrate sludge suspensions of variable properties from three different sources to evaluate the effects on the short-term DM formation process(within 240 min). Furthermore, the extended Derjaguin–Landau–Verwey–Overbeek(XDLVO) theory was applied to analyze the sludge adhesion and cohesion behaviors on the mesh surface to predict quantitative parameters of the short-term DM formation process(including initial formation and maturation stage). The filtration results showed that the order of the initial DM formation time(permeate turbidity <1 NTU as an indicator) was as follows: sludge with poor settleability and dewaterability < normal sludge <sludge with poor flocculability. Moreover, normal sludge(regarding settleability, dewaterability,flocculability, and extracellular polymeric substance) showed a more acceptable DM formation performance(short DM formation time, low permeate turbidity, and high permeate flux) than sludge with poor settleability, dewaterability and flocculability. The influence of sludge properties on the initial DM formation time corroborates the prediction of sludge adhesion behaviors by XDLVO theory. Additionally, the XDLVO calculation results showed that acid–based interaction, energy barrier, and secondary energy minimum were important determinants of the sludge adhesion and cohesion behaviors. Therefore, short-term DM formation process may be enhanced to achieve stable long-term DMBR operation through positive modification of the sludge properties.