The impact of health expenditure and economic growth on CO2 in China: a quantile regression model approach.

Based on the environmental Kuznets curve (EKC) hypothesis and using Chinese provincial panel data from 2002 to 2019, this study examines how different types of healthcare expenditure and levels of economic development and energy consumption contribute to carbon emissions regionally. Considering the wide regional differences in the development levels of China, this paper uses quantile regressions and draws the following robust conclusions: (1) The EKC hypothesis was validated by all methods in eastern China. (2) The carbon emission reduction of government, private, and social health expenditure is confirmed. Furthermore, the impact of health expenditure on carbon reduction decreases from East to West. (3) Government, private, and social health expenditure all cause reductions in CO2 emissions, with private health expenditure having the largest negative effect on CO2 emissions, followed by government health expenditure and finally social health expenditure. Overall, the limited empirical work available on the impact of different kinds of health expenditure on carbon emission in the existing literature, this study greatly assists policy makers and researchers to understand the importance of health expenditure in improving environmental performance.

Histone acetylation functions in the wound-induced spore formation in nori.

The red macroalgae Pyropia yezoensis is one of the most economically important marine crops. In the asexual reproduction process, released archeospores could provide secondary seedling resources in nori farming and be used to establish asexual seeding strategies. We previously found that wounds could induce the somatic cells in sectioned Pyropia thalli to develop into large number of asexual wound-induced spores (WIS) in a short time. Many genes involved in signaling pathways, cell division, cell wall remodeling, etc. exhibited transcriptional variation in this cell fate transition process. However, the regulatory mechanisms controlling gene transcription remain elusive. In this study, we found that suberoylanilide hydroxamic acid (SAHA), the inhibitor of histone deacetylase, strongly repressed WIS formation after wounding. The lack of a sharp increase in HDAC activity after wounding, as well as the hyperacetylated status of histone H3 and H4, were observed in SAHA-treated thalli fragments, thus confirming a histone deacetylation-related epigenetic mechanism of wound-induced cell fate reprogramming. Moreover, histone deacetylation is required in the whole process of WIS formation and release. We further compared the genome-wide transcriptional variations after SAHA treatment. SAHA-responsive genes were identified, including some transcriptional factors, chromatin remodeling complex proteins, protein kinases, etc. Transcription of RBOH genes was also altered by SAHA, and moreover, ROS signals in cut fragments were attenuated, both indicating that the ROS systematic signaling pathway is closely associated with histone deacetylation. Our findings provide insights into the biological significance of dynamic histone acetylation states in WIS formation in P. yezoensis.

Exploring Knowledge Domain and Emerging Trends in Climate Change and Environmental Audit: A Scientometric Review.

Environmental audit is inevitably linked to climate change, one immediate target of the auditors is likely to be climate control, and the warming of the Earth and the consequent climatic changes affect us all. What is the link between environmental audit and climate change? What ties together some of these themes between environmental audit and climate change? The interaction between climate change and environmental audit has been one of the most challenging. In this paper, a scientometric analysis of 84 academic publications between 2013 and 2021 related to climate change and environmental audit is presented to characterize the knowledge domain by using the CiteSpace visualization software. First, we present the number of publications, the number of citations, research categories, and journals published through Web of Science database. Secondly, we analyze countries, authors, and journals with outstanding contributions through network analysis. Finally, we use keyword analysis and apply three types of knowledge mapping to our research, cluster view, timeline view, and time zone view, revealing the focus and future directions. We identify the most important topic in the field of climate change and environment audit as represented on the basis of existing literature data which include the Carbon Emissions, Social Capital, Energy Audit, Corporate Governance, Diffusion of Innovation Environmental Management System, and Audit Committee. The results show that climate change and environmental audit publications grew slowly, but the research are widely cited by scholars. Published journals are relatively scattered, but the cited journals are the world's top journals, and most research countries are developed countries. The most productive authors and institutions in this subject area are in UK, Australia, USA, Spain, and Netherlands. There are no leading figures, but the content of their research can be divided into six clusters. Future research content involving city, policy, dynamics, information, biodiversity, conservation and clustering social capital, diffusion of innovation environmental management, and audit committee are the directions for future research. It is worth noting that cities, policies, and adaptability are closely linked to public health.

Comparative Gene Expression and Physiological Analyses Reveal Molecular Mechanisms in Wound-Induced Spore Formation in the Edible Seaweed Nori.

Genetic reprogramming of differentiated cells is studied broadly in multicellular Viridiplantae as an adaptation to herbivory or damage; however, mechanisms underlying cell development and redifferentiation are largely unknown in red algae, their nearest multicellular relatives. Here we investgate cell reprogramming in the widely cultivated, edible seaweed Neopyropia yezoesis ("nori"), where vegetative cells in wounded blades differentiate and release as large numbers of asexual spores. Based upon physiological changes and transcriptomic dynamics after wound stress in N. yezoensis and its congener Neoporphyra haitanensis, another cultivar that does not differentiate spores after wounding, we propose a three-phase model of wound-induced spore development in N. yezoensis. In Phase I, propagation of ROS by RBOH and SOD elicites systematic transduction of the wound signal, while Ca2+ dependent signaling induces cell reprogramming. In Phase II, a TOR signaling pathway and regulation of cyclin and CDK genes result in cell divisions that spread inward from the wound edge. Once sporangia form, Phase III involves expression of proteins required for spore maturation and cell wall softening. Our analyses not only provide the first model for core molecular processes controlling cellular reprogramming in rhodophytes, but also have practical implications for achieving greater control over seeding in commercial nori farming.

Serum C-Reactive Protein in Patients with Deficit Schizophrenia and the Relationship with Cognitive Function.

BACKGROUND: Serum levels of C-reactive protein (CRP) were measured in patients with deficit schizophrenia (DS) to confirm the association between CRP level and cognitive performance and to determine whether CRP was a new biological indicator with the potential clinical applications in DS patients. METHODS: Three independent samples [41 DS and 50 non-deficit schizophrenia (NDS) and 30 sex- and age-matched healthy controls (HCs)] were recruited in our study. Serum CRP levels were measured by immunofluorescence. The Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) and alternative forms of the Repeatable Battery for the Assessment of Neuropsychological Status (RBANS) were also assessed. And the relationships between serum CRP levels and both PANSS and RBANS scores were finally analyzed. RESULTS: The results of serum CRP level were showed significantly different among the three groups and increased from the HCs to NDS patients to DS patients. There were also significant differences in the cognitive subdomain analyses among the three groups. Serum CRP levels were found positively correlated with total and negative PANSS scores, and showed negatively correlated with overall cognitive test scores in the DS samples. CONCLUSION: Serum C-reactive protein levels and their association with cognitive performance were different between deficit schizophrenia and non-deficit schizophrenia samples, and higher serum CRP level was associated with worse cognitive performance in the DS patients. The results indicated that CRP could be a potential biomarker, and DS could be a distinct subset of schizophrenia.

Pyropia yezoensis genome reveals diverse mechanisms of carbon acquisition in the intertidal environment.

Changes in atmospheric CO2 concentration have played a central role in algal and plant adaptation and evolution. The commercially important red algal genus, Pyropia (Bangiales) appears to have responded to inorganic carbon (Ci) availability by evolving alternating heteromorphic generations that occupy distinct habitats. The leafy gametophyte inhabits the intertidal zone that undergoes frequent emersion, whereas the sporophyte conchocelis bores into mollusk shells. Here, we analyze a high-quality genome assembly of Pyropia yezoensis to elucidate the interplay between Ci availability and life cycle evolution. We find horizontal gene transfers from bacteria and expansion of gene families (e.g. carbonic anhydrase, anti-oxidative related genes), many of which show gametophyte-specific expression or significant up-regulation in gametophyte in response to dehydration. In conchocelis, the release of HCO3- from shell promoted by carbonic anhydrase provides a source of Ci. This hypothesis is supported by the incorporation of 13C isotope by conchocelis when co-cultured with 13C-labeled CaCO3.

Green Supplier Selection Based on Green Practices Evaluated Using Fuzzy Approaches of TOPSIS and ELECTRE with a Case Study in a Chinese Internet Company.

The selection of appropriate green chain suppliers is a very critical decision for effective and efficient green supply chain management in today's increased awareness and significant environmental pressures from various stakeholders. The aim of this paper is to screen appropriate green chain suppliers based on a framework using fuzzy TOPSIS and ELECTRE for a Chinese internet company. The framework is proposed, grounded on a literature review on green supply chain management practices, after which an empirical analysis is made to be applied an integrated suppliers selection, based on green practices incorporating specifically data collected of the 12 criteria from a set of 12 available suppliers. We use a fuzzy TOPSIS and ELECTRE approach to rank the green chain suppliers, and the results of the proposed framework are compared with the ranks obtained by both the outranking degrees and the incomparability among the actions of fuzzy ELECTRE methodology. Finally, sensitivity analysis was conducted to test the feasibility of the best alternative. The results indicated that the best supplier was alternative 9, and there were four dominant criteria: management support for GSCM, used environmentally friendly materials, followed legal environmental requirements and policies, and reduced the use of harmful substances.

A Stochastic Multi-Attribute Method for Measuring Sustainability Performance of a Supplier Based on a Triple Bottom Line Approach in a Dual Hesitant Fuzzy Linguistic Environment.

China is a developing country and with the speeding up of its industrialization, the environmental problems are becoming more serious, environmental pollution is a major environmental health problem in China. In order to have a more effective management and control of the significant growth issues of environment pollution, green supply chain incentives have started, which is kind of market incentive aiming to moderate the adverse effects of environmental pollution. Proper green chain supply selection and evaluation of companies is becoming very essential in sustainable green supply chain management. Generally speaking, decision-makers (DMs) prefer to provide a set of feasible and quantitative information for making performance evaluation, which motivates us to propose a framework using dual hesitant fuzzy linguistic term set (DHFLTS) and hesitant fuzzy linguistic term set (HFLTS) to select green suppliers. In this paper, group satisfaction and the regret theory are adopted for elicitation of preference information. The DHFLTS and HFLTS provide qualitative preferences of the DMs as well as reflect their hesitancy, inconsistency, and vagueness. Further, two new group satisfaction degrees are defined called the group satisfaction of hesitant fuzzy linguistic term set and dual hesitant fuzzy linguistic term set. Some properties of group satisfaction with DHFLST and HFL are also discussed. Unknown attribute weights are obtained to construct a novel Lagrange function optimization model to maximize the group satisfaction degree, which is an extension of general group satisfaction degree. A novel methodological approach based on two group satisfaction degrees framework and regret theory is developed to rank and select green chain suppliers focusing on specific selection objectives. The proposed model and method of this paper allow the DM to execute different fuzzy scenarios by changing importance weights attached to the triple-bottom-line areas. In the final part, the advantage of the proposed group satisfaction degree under DHFL and HFL background over the existing group satisfaction degree using examples have been presented with different computational combinations.

Comparative Quantitative Proteomics Reveals the Desiccation Stress Responses of the Intertidal Seaweed NEOPORPHYRA haitanensis.

Neoporphyra haitanensis is an economically important red seaweed that inhabits upper intertidal zones. The thallus tolerates extreme fluctuating environmental stresses (e.g., surviving more than 80% water loss during low tides). To elucidate the global molecular responses relevant to this outstanding desiccation tolerance, a quantitative proteomics analysis of N. haitanensis under different desiccation treatments as well as rehydration was performed. According to the clustering of expression patterns and the functional interpretation of the 483 significantly differentially expressed proteins, a three-stage cellular response to desiccation stress and subsequent rehydration was proposed. Stage I: at the beginning of water loss, multiple signal transduction pathways were triggered including lipid signaling, protein phosphorylation cascades, and histone acetylation controlling acetate biosynthesis to further modulate downstream hormone signaling. Protein protection by peptidyl-prolyl isomerase and ROS scavenging systems were also immediately switched on. Stage II: with the aggravation of stress, increases in antioxidant systems, the accumulation of LEA proteins, and the temporary biosynthesis of branched starch were observed. Multiple enzymes involved in redox homeostasis, including peroxiredoxin, thioredoxin, ascorbate peroxidase, superoxide dismutase, glutathione peroxidase, and glutathione reductase, were hypothesized to function in specific cellular compartments. Stage III: when the desiccated thalli had rehydrated for 30 mins, photosynthesis and carbon fixation were recovered, and antioxidant activities and protein structure protection were maintained at a high level. This work increases the understanding of the molecular responses to environmental stresses via a proteomic approach in red seaweeds and paves the way for further functional studies and genetic engineering.

Household Solid Fuel Use and Cardiovascular Disease in Rural Areas in Shanxi, China.

BACKGROUND: More than 80 percent of the China's population is located in the rural areas, 95 percent of which use coal, wood etc for cooking and heating. Limited by data availability, the association between household solid fuels and cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) in China's rural areas is ignored in prior studies. METHODS: This cross sectional study was conducted from 2010-2012 and carried out on rural population aging 20-80 yr, comprised of 13877 participants from eighteen villages. Self-report questionnaire data were collected. Each outcome represents whether the participant has a kind of CVDs or not and it is reported in participants' questionnaire. Then the collected data is analyzed by logistic regression models with odds ratios (OR) and 95 percent confidence interval. RESULTS: After adjusting for potential confounders, the use of household solid fuels was significantly associated with an increased risk for hypertension (OR 1.751), CHD (OR 2.251), stroke (OR 1.642), diabetes (OR 1.975) and dyslipidemia (OR 1.185). Residents with the highest tertile of the duration of household solid fuel exposure had an increased odd of hypertension (OR 1.651), stroke (OR 1.812), diabetes (OR 2.891) and dyslipidemia (OR 1.756) compared with those in the lowest tertile of the duration of solid fuel exposure. CONCLUSION: Indoor pollution exposure from household solid fuels combustion may be a positive risk factor for CVDs in the perspectives of China's rural population. Our findings should be corroborated in longitudinal studies.