CCUS technology, digital economy, and carbon emission efficiency: Evidence from China's provincial panel data.

Improving carbon emission efficiency is crucial for realizing carbon neutralization. Many critical influencing factors of carbon emission efficiency were identified by previous studies, but they ignored the impact of carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS) technology, which is considered in this study. By employing the panel fixed effect, the moderating effect, and the panel threshold regression models, this study investigates the influence of CCUS technology on carbon emission efficiency and how that impact fluctuates when digital economy is incorporated. Data for China's 30 provinces from 2011 to 2019 is adopted. The results suggest that improving CCUS technology significantly promotes carbon emission efficiency and the promotion effect is positively moderated by digital economy. Considering the level of CCUS technology or digital economy, the effect of CCUS technology on carbon emission efficiency is nonlinear and has significant double-threshold effects. Only when CCUS technology reaches a certain threshold, can it has a significantly positive impact on carbon emission efficiency and that effect has an increasing trend in marginal utility. Meanwhile, with the deepening of digital economy, the relationship between CCUS technology and carbon emission efficiency shows an S-shaped curve trend. Those findings, first combining CCUS technology, digital economy, and carbon emission efficiency together, reflect the significance of advancing CCUS technology and adjusting the development of digital economy for achieving sustainable low-carbon development.

Increased Carotid Siphon Tortuosity Is a Risk Factor for Paraclinoid Aneurysms.

Background: Geometrical factors associated with the surrounding vasculature can affect the risk of aneurysm formation. The aim of this study was to determine the association between carotid siphon curvature and the formation and development of paraclinoid aneurysms of the internal carotid artery. Methods: Digital subtraction angiography (DSA) data from 42 patients with paraclinoid aneurysms (31 with non-aneurysmal contralateral sides) and 42 age- and gender-matched healthy controls were analyzed, retrospectively. Morphological characteristics of the carotid siphon [the posterior angle (α), anterior angle (ß), and Clinoid@Ophthalmic angle (γ)] were explored via three-dimensional rotational angiography (3D RA) multiplanar reconstruction. The association between carotid siphon morphology and the formation of paraclinoid aneurysms was assessed through univariate analysis. After this, logistic regression analysis was performed to identify independent risk factors for aneurysms. Results: Significantly smaller α, ß, and γ angles were reported in the aneurysmal carotid siphon group when compared with the non-aneurysmal contralateral healthy controls. The ß angle was best for discriminating between aneurysmal and non-aneurysmal carotid siphons, with an optimal threshold of 18.25°. By adjusting for hypertension, smoking habit, hyperlipidemia, and diabetes mellitus, logistic regression analysis demonstrated an independent association between the carotid siphons angles α [odds ratio (OR) 0.953; P < 0.05], ß (OR 0.690; P < 0.001), and γ (OR 0.958; P < 0.01) with the risk of paraclinoid aneurysms. Conclusions: The present findings provide evidence for the importance of morphological carotid siphon variations and the likelihood of paraclinoid aneurysms. These practical morphological parameters specific to paraclinoid aneurysms are easy to assess and may aid in risk assessment in these patients.

Non-invasive assessment of cerebrospinal fluid flow dynamics using phase-contrast magnetic resonance imaging in communicating hydrocephalus.

This work aims to evaluate the changes in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) hydrodynamics in patients diagnosed with communicating hydrocephalus. Besides, we establish the relationship between CSF flow dynamic parameters on the midbrain aqueduct and intracranial pressure (ICP). CSF hydrodynamics analysis was performed using Phase-Contrast Magnetic Resonance Imaging (PC-MRI) techniques on the midbrain aqueduct of 41 patients diagnosed with communicating hydrocephalus and 22 healthy volunteers. The correlation between CSF average flow in the midbrain aqueduct and intracranial pressure measured by Lumbar Puncture (LP) was assessed in patients with hydrocephalus. Pearson correlation coefficient was used to establish the correction between the average CSF flow of midbrain aqueduct and ICP. CSF dynamic parameters of the midbrain aqueduct in hydrocephalus patients, including peak positive velocity (7.348 cm/s), average velocity (0.623 cm/s), average flow (50.799 mm3/s), and regions of interest (ROI) area (9.978 mm2) were significantly higher than in the healthy controls (p < 0.05). This was after adjusting the age, gender, heart rate, systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, and body mass index. However, only the peak negative velocity of the midbrain aqueduct did not significantly differ between the groups (p = 0.209). A positive correlation was noted between the average flow (AF) of the midbrain aqueducts and ICP in hydrocephalus patients (y (AF) = 0.386× (ICP)-33.738, r = 0.787, p < 0.05). Reference data of CSF flow dynamic parameters was obtained through the PC-MRI in middle-aged healthy volunteers and communicating hydrocephalus patients. Although the sample size was constrained, this study has significant contributions. For instance, a significant correlation was noted between the average CSF flow of the aqueduct and ICP. This therefore provides a reference for clinicians to monitor ICP in patients with hydrocephalus.

Thalamocortical structural connectivity abnormalities in drug-resistant generalized epilepsy: A diffusion tensor imaging study.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Epilepsy is one of the most common diseases of the nervous system. Approximately one-third of epilepsy cases are drug-resistant, among which generalized-onset seizures are very common. The present study aimed to analyze abnormalities of the thalamocortical fiber pathways in each hemisphere of the brains of patients with drug-resistant generalized epilepsy. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The thalamocortical structural pathways were identified by diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) in 15 patients with drug-resistant generalized epilepsy and 16 gender/age-matched controls. The thalami of both groups were parcellated into subregions according to the local thalamocortical connectivity pattern. DTI measures of thalamocortical connections were compared between the two groups. RESULTS: Probabilistic tractography analyses showed that fractional anisotropy of thalamocortical pathways in patients with epilepsy decreased significantly, and the radial diffusivity of the left thalamus pathways with homolateral motor and parietal-occipital cortical regions in the drug-resistant epilepsy group increased significantly. In addition to the right thalamus pathway and prefrontal cortical region, fractional anisotropy of all other pathways was inversely correlated with disease duration. CONCLUSION: The results provide evidence indicating widespread bilateral abnormalities in the thalamocortical pathways in epilepsy patients and imply that the degree of abnormality in the pathway increases with the disease duration.

Altered attention networks and DMN in refractory epilepsy: A resting-state functional and causal connectivity study.

PURPOSE: Epilepsy is considered a disorder of neural networks. Patients diagnosed with refractory epilepsy frequently experience attention impairments. Seizure activity in epilepsy may disturb brain networks and damage the brain function of attention. The aims of this study were to assess functional and causal connectivities of the attention networks and default mode network using resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). METHOD: Resting-state fMRI data were gathered from 19 patients with refractory epilepsy (mixed localization and aetiologies) and 21 healthy people. The fMRI data were analyzed by group independent component analysis (ICA) fMRI toolbox to extract dorsal attention network (DAN), ventral attention network (VAN), and default mode network (DMN). The components of the selected networks were compared between patients and healthy controls to explore the change in functional connectivity (FC). Granger causality analysis was performed by taking the aforementioned significant brain areas as regions of interest (ROIs) to calculate autoregression coefficients of each pair of ROIs. Comparisons were done to find the significantly different causal connectivity when FC was changed between patients and healthy controls. RESULTS: In DAN, the FC values of the bilateral frontal eye field (FEF) and left intraparietal sulcus (IPS) were decreased. In VAN, the FC values of the double-side ventral prefrontal cortex (vPFC) and the temporoparietal junction (TPJ) were reduced. As for DMN, the FC values of the bilateral medial prefrontal cortices (mPFC) were decreased whereas those for the bilateral precuneus (PCUN) were increased. Granger causal connectivity values were correlated: causal influence was decreased significantly from the left IPS (in DAN) to the double side of the vPFC but remained the same for the right FEF (in DAN) to the right TPJ. The value was decreased from the left PCUN (in DMN) to the right TPJ and FEF, and the causal flow from the right PCUN to the right TPJ and bilateral vPFC was also significantly inhibited (p < 0.05). CONCLUSION: Frequent seizures in patients with refractory epilepsy may damage the cortex and disturb DAN, VAN, and DMN, leading to functional and causal connectivity alteration. In addition, epileptic activity may disrupt network interactions and further influence information communication.

CBP-dependent Wnt/ß-catenin signaling is crucial in regulation of MDR1 transcription.

Aberrant expression of the MDR1-encoded P-glycoprotein (P-gp) is often associated with clinical multi-drug resistance (MDR) leading to poor prognosis and failure of chemotherapy. However, the precise and cooperative molecular mechanism responsible for MDR1 transcription and expression in acquired MDR remains elusive. We, herein, demonstrate that Wnt/ß-catenin signal pathway is constitutively activated in Doxorubicin-induced MDR cancer cells, in which nuclear ß -catenin specifically interacts with the transcriptional coactivator CBP in a MEK(1/2)/ERK(1/2) signal-dependent manner. Specific knockdown of both ß-catenin and CBP by RNAi-mediated depletion abrogates MDR1 transcription and expression resulting in a complete reversal of P-gp-dependent efflux function and restoration of sensitivity to the Doxorubincin-induced cytotoxicity. Moreover, following pharmacological disruption of CBP and ß - catenin interaction through inhibition of the MEK(1/2)/ERK(1/2) signal by the specific inhibitor PD98059, MDR1 transcription and its encoded P-gp-dependent function are abolished. These findings conclude that the CBP/ß-catenin complex is a core component of the MDR1 transcriptional "enhancesome".