Study on the coordinated development of urban competitiveness and energy-carbon emission reduction in China.

The urban competitiveness (UC) evaluation system is multidimensional and complex. This paper takes the simulated annealing (SA) model as the projection pursuit (PP) optimization to achieve a comprehensive assessment of competitiveness of 277 Chinese cities from 2011 to 2019, accompanied by energy saving and carbon-emission reduction (ESCER) as environmental measurements, to explore whether the two can meet the Porter hypothesis through coupling coordination degree (CCD). Further using spatiotemporal autocorrelation and obstacle degree model to uncover spatiotemporal features and interfering factors of coordinated development. Key findings include: (1) UC and ESCER show a slightly fluctuating upward trend during the research period, with apparent spatial variations. The eastern coastal region has a robust UC, while the less competitive central and western regions benefit from natural conditions, excelling in ESCER. (2) 87% of cities have achieved coordinated development between competitiveness and ESCER. Some coastal areas, often with a high CCD, are improving resource use efficiency and environmental benefits through economic agglomeration. From the perspective of the CCD collaboration network, the positive correlation accounts for about 85%, which reveals that most adjacent regions can cooperate on the road of coordinated development. (3) While differences exist in the coordinated development of UC-ESCER across various regions, social factors predominantly influence the obstacles affecting coordinated development. Specifically, a substantial barrier to the concordant progression of most cities is the number of patent applications, underscoring the pivotal role of innovation in aligning UC with ESCER.

A dual-core system dynamics approach for carbon emission spillover effects analysis and cross-regional policy simulation.

As carbon emission continue to rise and climate issues grow increasingly severe, countries worldwide have taken measures to reduce carbon emission. However, carbon dioxide is continuously flowing in the atmosphere and is easily influenced by neighboring cities' policies. Therefore, how to solve the problem of carbon emission spillover effect has become the key to improve policy efficiency. Cross-regional carbon governance provides a perspective on solving the carbon emission problem by regulating and guiding the cooperative behavior of cross-regional governance actors. Taking Chengdu-Chongqing area as an example, this study used the SDM to analyze the influencing factors and spatial spillover effects of emission. Then we used the system dynamics method to construct a dual-core carbon emission system, and simulated the spillover effect and emission reduction potential of Chengdu and Chongqing emission reduction policies under different policy schemes. The results reveal that the mobility of population and enterprises have a significant impact on carbon emission prediction. Carbon reduction policies exhibit the phenomena of "carbon transfer" and "free-riding." When Chengdu lowers its economic growth rate, it leads to the transfer of high energy-consuming enterprises to Chongqing, increasing carbon emission in Chongqing. The implementation of comprehensive carbon reduction policies in Chongqing has a positive effect on Chengdu. Emission reduction policies exhibit issues related to their temporal efficacy, as the effects of industrial structural policies in Chengdu yield opposite outcomes in the short and long term. Each city's unique circumstances necessitate tailored carbon reduction policies. In order to reduce carbon emissions, Chengdu and Chongqing require opposite population policies.

Study on the coupling coordination development of China's multidimensional digital economy and industrial carbon emission efficiency.

Exploring the coupling coordination between China's digital economy (DE) and industrial carbon emission efficiency (ICEE) is of great significance for achieving sustainable development goals. In the study, a multidimensional indicator system was established to evaluate DE, and spatiotemporal analysis and network analysis methods were used to reveal the dynamic evolution characteristics of DE and ICEE. The coupling coordination model and convergence model were adopted to explore the development trend of coupling coordination between DE and ICEE. The results show that the ICEE and DE in various provinces of China exhibit obvious spatial heterogeneity and spillover effects. Currently, the coupling coordination degree between the development of China's DE and ICEE has reached the level of primary coordination or above. The coupling coordination degree between DE and ICEE in the eastern, central, and northeastern regions has reached an intermediate level or above, with the highest degree in the eastern region. The fluctuation of China's ICEE has consistent σ-convergence and ß-convergence, and the convergence effect is higher with the introduction of the DE than without it. The condition ß-convergence result indicates that underdeveloped regions can narrow the gap between their ICEE and that of developed regions by utilizing their resource endowments, industrial structure, human capital, and other conditions, improving emission reduction measures and policies. This study provides a certain reference for the green and low-carbon development of industry in China and other developing countries in the digital economy era.

Dynamic simulation of carbon emission under different policy scenarios in Pearl River Delta urban agglomeration, China.

Global climate continues to warm; by reducing carbon emission (CE) to cope with climate warming has become a global consensus. The influencing factors of CE exhibit diversification and spatial characteristics, and the complexity of the CE system poses challenges to green and low-carbon development and the realization of China's dual-carbon goals. Taking the Pearl River Delta urban agglomeration as an example, this study explored the influencing factors of CE and designed emission reduction schemes with the help of multi-scale geographically weighted regression (MGWR). Based on this, the system dynamics model was used to construct a CE system framework considering multi-dimensional driving factors, so as to combine the complex CE system with the emission reduction countermeasures considering spatial heterogeneity, and realize the dynamic simulation of CE reduction policies. The results showed that the urban agglomeration as a whole will reach carbon peak by 2025. Shenzhen, Zhuhai, and Dongguan have achieved carbon peak before 2020, while other cities will reach carbon peak by 2025-2030. The government policy constraints can effectively curb CE, but if government constraints were relaxed, CE will rise and individual cities will not reach carbon peak. Comprehensive CE reduction policies are better than a single CE reduction policy. The study found that this model framework provides a systematic analysis of carbon reduction strategies for urban agglomerations, offering decision-makers various combinations of economic development and green low-carbon objectives. This will further contribute to a multi-faceted mitigation of high emission in urban agglomeration and promote regional sustainable development.

Humic acids alleviate aflatoxin B1-induced hepatic injury by reprogramming gut microbiota and absorbing toxin.

Aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) is a hepatotoxic fungal metabolite that is widely present in food and can cause liver cancer. As a potential detoxifier, naturally occurring humic acids (HAs) may be able to reduce inflammation and restructure the gut microbiota composition; however, little is known about the mechanism of HAs detoxification as applied to liver cells. In this study, HAs treatment alleviated AFB1-induced liver cell swelling and the infiltration of inflammatory cells. HAs treatment also reinstated various enzyme levels in the liver disturbed by AFB1 and substantially alleviated AFB1-caused oxidative stress and inflammatory responses by enhancing immune functions in mice. Moreover, HAs increased the length of the small intestinal and villus height to restore intestinal permeability, which is impaired by AFB1. In addition, HAs reconstructed the gut microbiota, increasing the relative abundance of Desulfovibrio, Odoribacter, and Alistipes. In vitro and in vivo assays demonstrated that HAs could efficiently remove AFB1 by absorbing the toxin. Therefore, HAs treatment can ameliorate AFB1-induced hepatic injury by enhancing gut barrier function, regulating gut microbiota, and adsorbing toxin.

Association between intestinal microbiome and inflammatory bowel disease: Insights from bibliometric analysis.

The gut microbiome is highly linked to inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). A total of 3890 publications related to the two terms from 2000 to 2020 were extracted from the Web of Science Core Collection to study the association from a bibliometric perspective. Publications on this topic have grown rapidly since 2008. The United States and Harvard University are the country and institution with the largest number of publications, respectively. Inflammatory Bowel Diseases is the most productive journal with 211 published articles. The most influential journal in this field is Gut with 13,359 citations. The co-citation analysis of references showed that the IBD-related topics with the highest focus are "gut microbiota," "metagenomics," "bacterial community," "fecal microbiota transplantation," "probiotics," and "colitis-associated colorectal cancer." Keyword cluster and keyword burst analyses showed that "gut microbiota," "metagenomics," and "fecal microbiota transplantation" are currently the most researched topics in the field of IBD. The literature in this field is mainly distributed between alterations of the intestinal microbiota, microbial metabolites, and related host signaling pathways. Probiotic treatment also frequently appears in literature. This bibliometric analysis can guide future research and promote the development of the field of gut microbiome and IBD.

Nitrogen doped porous carbon coated antimony as high performance anode material for sodium-ion batteries.

Sb holds the promise of being a high performance anode for sodium ion batteries(SIBs), while effective preparation of decent antimony(Sb) based anode materials for sodium storage is still under exploration. Herein, we propose a simple approach to achieve a high performance anode, using polyaniline as the carbon source and SbCl3as the metal source. Synergetic polymerization and hydrolysis reactions combined with subsequent thermal reduction endow Sb/C-PANI electrode possessing ultrafine Sb nanoparticles symmetrically distributed in the nitrogen(N) doped porous carbon matrix. The Sb/C-PANI electrode exhibits excellent sodium storage performance, featured for a high reversible capacity of 469.5 mAh g-1after 100 cycles at 100 mA g-1and 336.5 mAh g-1after 300 cycles under 500 mA g-1. Such impressive performance will advance the development of Sb based anode materials for sodium storage. The present approach provides a compatible strategy for preparation of anode materials with high reversible capacity and long lifespan.

PI3K/Akt/FoxO3a signaling mediates cardioprotection of FGF-2 against hydrogen peroxide-induced apoptosis in H9c2 cells.

Cardiovascular disease is a growing major global public health problem. Oxidative stress is regarded as one of the key regulators of pathological physiology, which eventually leads to cardiovascular disease. However, mechanisms by which FGF-2 rescues cells from oxidative stress damage in cardiovascular disease is not fully elucidated. Herein this study was designed to investigate the protective effects of FGF-2 in H2O2-induced apoptosis of H9c2 cardiomyocytes, as well as the possible signaling pathway involved. Apoptosis of H9c2 cardiomyocytes was induced by H2O2 and assessed using methyl thiazolyl tetrazolium assay, Hoechst, and TUNEL staining. Cells were pretreated with PI3K/Akt inhibitor LY294002 to investigate the possible PI3K/Akt pathways involved in the protection of FGF-2. The levels of p-Akt, p-FoxO3a, and Bim were detected by immunoblotting. Stimulation with H2O2 decreased the phosphorylation of Akt and FoxO3a, and induced nuclear localization of FoxO3a and apoptosis of H9c2 cells. These effects of H2O2 were abrogated by pretreatment with FGF-2. Furthermore, the protective effects of FGF-2 were abolished by PI3K/Akt inhibitor LY294002. In conclusion, our data suggest that FGF-2 protects against H2O2-induced apoptosis of H9c2 cardiomyocytes via activation of the PI3K/Akt/FoxO3a pathway.

SIRT1 in cardiovascular aging.

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of death worldwide, with aging as the key independent risk factor. Effective interventions are necessary to delay aging. Sirtuin1 (SIRT1), a NAD(+)-dependent histone deacetylase, is closely related to lifespan extension. SIRT1 exerts beneficial effects on aging and age-related diseases, such as atherosclerosis. In this review, we summarize the current knowledge on the functions of SIRT1 in cardiovascular aging, focusing on the underlying molecular mechanisms, including inhibition of oxidative stress and inflammation, and induction of autophagy. We also demonstrate that moderate up-regulation or activation of SIRT1 in cardiovascular aging and age-related CVD may confer important application values.