Does green credit really increase green technology innovation?

Considering China's green credit policy (GCP) as a quasi-natural experiment, this study discusses the effect of GCP on enterprise green innovation (GI) using a difference-in-difference method based on data from Chinese listed companies from 2009 to 2020. The results indicate that green credit enhances the strategic GI of heavy polluters while significantly inhibiting essential GI, thus suggesting the nonexistence of the Porter effect. In addition, the inhibition effect is attributed to an increase in financing constraints and a reduction in government subsidies, firm research and development investment, and employment scale. This disincentive effect is particularly pronounced in privately owned firms, small cities, and capital-intensive low-profitability firms. Resource misallocation caused by the GCP fails to stimulate the green transformation of heavily polluting industries through the Porter effect. Hence, governments should establish a diversified green financial system, integrate green venture capital and GI elements, and guide the flow of social capital toward green industries.

Maternal High-Fat Diet Multigenerationally Programs HPA Function and Behaviors in Male Rat Offspring.

Maternal environmental factors have been demonstrated to exert significant influences on the health of offspring. The hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis is an important neuroendocrine stress system that can be influenced by early life challenges. Our previous research has revealed that the consumption of a high-fat diet (HFD) by pregnant and lactating rats leads to the programming of HPA axis activity in male offspring of the first generation (referred to as F1HFD/C). The present study aimed to investigate whether the observed remodeling of the HPA axis could be inherited by second-generation male offspring (referred to as F2HFD/C), following maternal HFD exposure. The results showed that F2HFD/C rats exhibited enhanced basal HPA axis activity, similar to their F1HFD/C ancestors. Moreover, F2HFD/C rats displayed exacerbated corticosterone responses to restraint and lipopolysaccharide-induced stress, but not to insulin-induced hypoglycemia stress. Furthermore, maternal HFD exposure significantly aggravated depression-like behavior in the F2 generation subjected to chronic unpredictable mild stress. To investigate the role of central calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) signaling in maternal diet-induced programming of the HPA axis across generations, we conducted central infusion of αCGRP8-37, a CGRP receptor antagonist, in F2HFD/C rats. The results demonstrated that αCGRP8-37 attenuated depression-like behaviors and reduced the hyperresponsiveness of the HPA axis to restraint stress in these rats. Therefore, central CGRP signaling may contribute to maternal diet-induced programming of HPA axis across generations. In conclusion, our study provides evidence that maternal HFD consumption can lead to multigenerational programming of the HPA axis and behaviors in adult male descendants.

LncRNA GAS5 positively regulates IL-10 expression in patients with generalized myasthenia gravis.

INTRODUCTION: LncRNA growth arrest-specific transcript 5 (GAS5) has been proven to be involved in autoimmune diseases. Rheumatoid arthritis is a type of autoimmune disease that may affect myasthenia gravis (MG) patients. However, its direct role in MG is unknown. METHODS: Our study included 62 generalized MG patients. GAS5 expression was analyzed with real-time quantitative RT-PCR (qRT-PCR). The interaction between GAS5 and interleukin 10 (IL-10) was explored in overexpressed cells using real time quantitative polymerase chain reactions (RT-qPCRs) and western blot. The correlation of GAS5 and IL-10 was analyzed using Pearson's correlation analysis. The diagnostic value of GAS5 for MG was analyzed using receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis. RESULTS: GAS5 and IL-10 mRNA levels in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) were significantly lower in MG patients than healthy controls. Downregulated GAS5 effectively distinguished MG patients from healthy controls. GAS5 expression was positively correlated with IL-10 expression in both MG patients and healthy controls. GAS5 overexpression significantly upregulated IL-10 expression in PBMCs derived from both MG patients and healthy controls. CONCLUSION: LncRNA GAS5 may improve generalized MG by positively regulating IL-10 expression.

CSF TNF-α Levels Were Associated with Longitudinal Change in Brain Glucose Metabolism Among Non-Demented Older People.

PURPOSE: Emerging studies have suggested that tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) is implicated in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease (AD), and that cerebral glucose hypometabolism is a key feature of AD. However, the association of CSF TNF-α levels with changes in cerebral glucose metabolism has not been studied among non-demented older people. PATIENTS AND METHODS: At baseline, there were a total of 214 non-demented older people from Alzheimer's Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI) study. We examined the cross-sectional and longitudinal associations of CSF TNF-α with global cognition (as assessed by mini-mental state examination), verbal memory (as assessed by Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test-total learning score), and cerebral glucose metabolism (as measured by FDF-PET). Linear mixed-effects models were used to examine the longitudinal association of CSF TNF- α with change in each outcome over time with adjustment of age, educational level, gender, and APOE4 status. RESULTS: In the cross-sectional study, CSF TNF-α was negatively associated with MMSE scores, but not verbal memory or FDG-PET. In the longitudinal study, higher CSF TNF- α at baseline was associated with a faster decline in cerebral glucose metabolism, but not MMSE scores or RAVLT total learning scores. CONCLUSION: Higher CSF TNF-α levels were associated with a steeper decline in cerebral glucose metabolism among non-demented older people.

CSF VEGF Was Positively Associated with Neurogranin Independent of ß-Amyloid Pathology.

PURPOSE: Increasing evidence suggests that both vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and synaptic failure have been involved in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease (AD). However, it is not clear whether CSF VEGF levels are associated with synaptic function in living human. PATIENTS AND METHODS: In the present study, we included a total of 291 older individuals, including 83 individuals with normal cognition (NC), 143 individuals with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and 65 patients with AD. Several linear regression models were conducted to examine the associations of CSF VEGF with CSF neurogranin levels (NG, reflecting synaptic degeneration) when controlling for other potential confounding factors, including age, gender, years of education, clinical diagnosis, APOE4 genotype and CSF ß-amyloid 42 (Aß 42) levels. RESULTS: There was no significant difference in VEGF levels between the three diagnostic groups. In the pooled sample, females had significantly lower levels of VEGF than males. Aß-positive (CSF Aß 42 < 192 pg/mL) individuals had lower levels of VEGF than Aß-negative individuals. However, the relationships between VEGF and NG levels were not modified by disease stage. Finally, we found that CSF VEGF levels were associated with NG levels with adjustment of age, gender, years of education, clinical diagnosis, APOE4 genotype and CSF Aß 42 levels. CONCLUSION: CSF VEGF levels were associated with NG independent of AD pathology and disease stage.

Effect of soluble soybean polysaccharides on freeze-denaturation and structure of myofibrillar protein of bighead carp surimi with liquid nitrogen freezing.

This paper investigated the synergistic effect of 3% soluble soybean polysaccharides (SSPS) and liquid nitrogen freezing (-80 °C) on the freezing process and protein denaturation of bighead carp surimi. Freezing curve showed that liquid nitrogen freezing could significantly minimize the elapsed time of maximum-ice-crystal formation zone. Both liquid nitrogen freezing and SSPS were useful in preventing protein denaturation of surimi during 12-week frozen storage. Protein denaturation results indicated that SSPS-LNfreezing surimi1 had the highest protein solubility, Ca2+-ATPase activity and total sulfhydryl content. SDS-PAGE indicated that SSPS and liquid nitrogen freezing could effectively inhibit the decrease of myosin heavy chain concentration after 12 weeks of frozen storage. Raman spectra showed that tryptophan and tyrosine were exposed to polar microenvironment, the ɑ-helix and ß-sheet turned into random coil and ß-turn, and the conformation of disulfide bond changed from trans-gauche-trans (t-g-t) to gauche-gauche-trans (g-g-t). Either SSPS or liquid nitrogen freezing could mitigate these changes during frozen storage and a synergistic effect emerged on preventing myofibrillar protein denaturation and protein structure change. The combination of SSPS with liquid nitrogen freezing could be applied to freeze bighead carp surimi.

Synthesis and characterization of a new soluble soybean polysaccharide-iron(III) complex using ion exchange column.

A new ion exchange column method was investigated to synthesize the soluble soybean polysaccharide-iron(III) complex (SSPS-FeIII1) using soluble soybean polysaccharides (SSPS). The feasibility of ion exchange column reaction was explored firstly. Results indicated the D730 anion macroporous adsorption resin could effectively absorb SSPS and the static adsorption saturation time was 20h. The iron content of the complex reached up to 15.07% when trisodium citrate concentration was 2mg/mL. The structure of SSPS-FeIII complex synthesized by this method (SSPS-FeIII12) was compared with that prepared by trisodium citrate - ferric chloride method (SSPS-FeIII23). UV-vis absorption spectra, FI-IR spectra and XRD patterns confirmed that both hydroxyl groups and carboxyl groups in SSPS were involved in the coordination reaction and the iron core of SSPS-FeIII1 was a polymerized ß- FeOOH structure. Those results indicated that the ion exchange column method could effectively prepare the SSPS-FeIII complex.