A potentially general and green approach based on Claisen condensation that enabled low-migrating aliphatic ester-derived PVC plasticizers as sustainable alternatives to DEHP was reported.

The paper assesses sex-age-specific mortality rates of the four groups of people in China, the country, cities, towns, and counties, based on the mortality data from the China Population Statistics Yearbooks (1988Á2009) using a newly proposed modified LeeÁCarter model. The results show that in general, the expected age-specific mortality rates decrease over the years, and the decreasing speed increased in the past decade. During 2000Á2008, the expected mortality rates decreased over the years for females of all ages and groups and males in cities, remained with no changes for males ages 13Á36 in the country and towns, but increased for males ages 13Á43 in counties. Predictions for 2009 are made based on the 2000Á2008 data, and comparisons to the observed rates from an annual survey show that they match each other well except for males ages 13Á43 in counties, whose mortality rates reached record highs around 2005, and bounced back to the level of 2000 in 2008 and was reduced a little further in 2009, benefiting from the promulgations and enforcements of some safety regulations by the government on construction and mining sites where most labors are from counties. The predicted age-specific mortality rates from the model are compared to the assumed rates in the China Life Insurance Mortality Table (2000Á2003) promulgated by the China Insurance Regulatory Commission, and they show a great deal of similarity in terms of changing trends over the ages.

No abstract

A light-responsive, non-persistent 2D supramolecular polymer sheet with a potentially diminished environmental impact was reported.