Circular economy strategies in supply chains, enhancing resource efficiency and sustainable development goals.

Eco-industrial parks are the real-world implementation of green supply chain management. There is a growing need to include the circular economy concept into supply chain management as a means of striking a better economic, social, and environmental balance, as the importance of the external sustainability of the supply chain is challenging. Using 357 questionnaires filled out by enterprises in China's eco-industrial parks, we examine the connections and causal relationships between resource efficiency, environmental impact, green supply chain management, and circular economy. To learn how a green supply chain's circular economy affects resource efficiency and environmental performance in the China region, this study makes use of the instrumental variable approach (structure equation model (SEM)). The results of this study indicate that environmentally responsible supply chain management and circular economy have beneficial effects on environmental performance and resource efficiency. The management of the GSC has a negative and small impact on economic performance, although each of the components is a substantial contributor to better performance in the environment. Conclusions from this study will assist those responsible for making decisions within supply chains in developing a plan that is useful for increasing a company's performance along economic and environmental dimensions. This study not only broadens our understanding of the factors that influence green supply chain management but also offers theoretical direction for the implementation of successful green production practices by businesses located in eco-industrial parks.

Simazine perturbs the maturational competency of mouse oocyte through inducing oxidative stress and DNA damage.

Simazine is a triazine pesticides that typically detected in ground water and soil, and can reportedly affect reproductive health in humans and animals. However, the effect of simazine on female germ cell development remains unclear. In the present study, we observed that simazine exposure decreased oocyte maturation competence and embryonic developmental capacity. Importantly, simazine exposure disrupted microtubule stability and actin polymerization, resulting in failure of spindle assembly and migration. In addition, simazine exposure impaired mitochondrial function and cytosolic Ca2+ homeostasis in both oocyte and 2-cell embryos, thus increasing the levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS). Moreover, simazine exposure induced DNA damage and early apoptosis during oocyte maturation. Collectively, our results demonstrate that simazine exposure-induced mitochondrial dysfunction and apoptosis are major causes of poor oocytes quality.

Recombinant adeno-associated virus serotype 1-vascular endothelial growth factor promotes neurogenesis and neuromigration in the subventricular zone and rescues neuronal function in ischemic rats.

OBJECTIVE: Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) enhances neurogenesis in ischemic brains. However, in most circumstances, endogenous VEGF expression is limited and insufficient to prevent brain damage. We transferred the VEGF gene into brain tissue with recombinant adeno-associated virus serotype 1 (rAAV1) vectors and determined the effect of VEGF expression on neurogenesis and recovery of neurological function after brain ischemia. METHODS: Two groups (n = 32) of Sprague Dawley rats received intraventricular injection of AAV1-VEGF or AAV1-lacZ. Twenty-one days after gene transfer, rats underwent transient middle cerebral artery occlusion, and neurological severity score was measured 1, 2, 3, 7, 14, and 21 days later. Immunostaining was used to identify the quantity and distribution of VEGF expression. Double-immunofluorescence for doublecortin and bromodeoxyuridine or neuronal nuclei was performed to detect neurogenesis and the migration of neural progenitor cells. RESULTS: VEGF expression reduced the size of cerebral infarction and improved neurological function. It also enhanced the proliferation of neural progenitor cells in the subventricular zone and promoted their migration to the ischemic lesion. Neural precursors in the subgranular zone of the dentate gyrus were also increased; however, most of these cells did not move to the ischemic lesion and integrated with their region of origin. CONCLUSION: rAAV1-mediated expression of VEGF in the rat brain reduces the size of the infarcted lesion and promotes recovery of neurological function, likely by enhancing neurogenesis in the subventricular zone and promoting neural precursor migration to brain tissue around the core of the ischemic lesion.