Changes of Carbon Emission in Chinese Regional Economy: A Decomposition Analysis Using Nested Logarithmic Mean Divisia Approach

This paper describes a nested logarithmic mean Divisia approach and analyzes the potential factors influencing the changes in carbon emission in Chinese northwest region for the period 1995-2010. The analysis is performed by decomposing annual carbon emission into components representing changes in economic activity, economic structure, energy mix, and energy intensity, population growth, population structure, as well as changes in per capita energy consumption and emission factor. This paper argues that the vast majority of changes in carbon emissions since 1995 are due to economic activity and energy intensity, where the former is found to be a predominant role in rising carbon emission and the later contributing dominantly to decreasing carbon emission. Moreover, the economic structure, population growth, and population structure effects are all found responsible for carbon emissions in the region, although their effects reverse in different time period. Besides, the decreases in carbon emission, however, are attributable mainly to per capita energy consumption and energy mix. There is no doubt that the current emission profile poses significant challenges to the local government’s policies for emission reduction. It is of vital importance to take into account the regional and stage characteristics of influences on carbon emission for policy making

Hydrodynamic limit for weakly asymmetric simple exclusion processes in crystal lattices

We investigate the hydrodynamic limit for weakly asymmetric simple exclusion processes in crystal lattices. We construct a suitable scaling limit by using a discrete harmonic map. As we shall observe, the quasi-linear parabolic equation in the limit is defined on a flat torus and depends on both the local structure of the crystal lattice and the discrete harmonic map. We formulate the local ergodic theorem on the crystal lattice by introducing the notion of local function bundle, which is a family of local functions on the configuration space. The ideas and methods are taken from the discrete geometric analysis to these problems. Results we obtain are extensions of ones by Kipnis, Olla and Varadhan to crystal lattices.Comment: 41 pages, 7 figure

Early human albumin administration is associated with reduced mortality in septic shock patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome: A retrospective study from the MIMIC-III database

Background: Sepsis-induced acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) was associated with higher mortality. It is unclear whether albumin supplementation early in the course of ARDS can affect the prognostic outcomes of septic shock (SS) patients with ARDS.Methods: The MIMIC-III database was employed to identify SS patients with ARDS. The effect of early application (<24 h after ICU admission) of human albumin on 28-day mortality in SS patients with ARDS was explored. The propensity score matching was used to minimize the bias between the non-albumin and early albumin treatment groups.Results: The analysis for all eligible patients who received human albumin showed significantly lower 28-hospital mortality rates than the non-albumin group (37% versus 47%, p = 0.018). After propensity matching, the difference between the two groups also significantly (34.8% versus 48.1%, p = 0.031). Moreover, we found that the relationship between albumin use and reduced 28-day mortality was inconsistent across SOFA score subgroups (Pinteraction = 0.004, non-adjustment for multiple testing).Conclusion: Early human albumin administration in SS patients with ARDS was independently associated with a reduction of 28-day mortality. Furthermore, the benefit of human albumin treatment appeared to be more pronounced in patients with a SOFA score of ≤ 10

Tak1 is Required for the Survival of Hematopoietic Cells and Hepatocytes in Mice

Transforming growth factor beta-activated kinase 1 (TAK1), a member of the MAPKKK family, is a key mediator of proinflammatory and stress signals. Activation of TAK1 by proinflammatory cytokines and T and B cell receptors induces the nuclear localization of nuclear factor kappaB (NF-kappaB) and the activation of c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK)/AP1 and P38, which play important roles in mediating inflammation, immune responses, T and B cell activation, and epithelial cell survival. Here, we report that TAK1 is critical for the survival of both hematopoietic cells and hepatocytes. Deletion of TAK1 results in bone marrow (BM) and liver failure in mice due to the massive apoptotic death of hematopoietic cells and hepatocytes. Hematopoietic stem cells and progenitors were among those hematopoietic cells affected by TAK1 deletion-induced cell death. This apoptotic cell death is autonomous, as demonstrated by reciprocal BM transplantation. Deletion of TAK1 resulted in the inactivation of both JNK and NF-kappaB signaling, as well as the down-regulation of expression of prosurvival genes

Genome-Wide Analyses of the NAC Transcription Factor Gene Family in Pepper (\u3cem\u3eCapsicum annuum\u3c/em\u3e L.): Chromosome Location, Phylogeny, Structure, Expression Patterns, \u3cem\u3eCis\u3c/em\u3e-Elements in the Promoter, and Interaction Network

The NAM, ATAF1/2, and CUC2 (NAC) transcription factors form a large plant-specific gene family, which is involved in the regulation of tissue development in response to biotic and abiotic stress. To date, there have been no comprehensive studies investigating chromosomal location, gene structure, gene phylogeny, conserved motifs, or gene expression of NAC in pepper (Capsicum annuum L.). The recent release of the complete genome sequence of pepper allowed us to perform a genome-wide investigation of Capsicum annuum L. NAC (CaNAC) proteins. In the present study, a comprehensive analysis of the CaNAC gene family in pepper was performed, and a total of 104 CaNAC genes were identified. Genome mapping analysis revealed that CaNAC genes were enriched on four chromosomes (chromosomes 1, 2, 3, and 6). In addition, phylogenetic analysis of the NAC domains from pepper, potato, Arabidopsis, and rice showed that CaNAC genes could be clustered into three groups (I, II, and III). Group III, which contained 24 CaNAC genes, was exclusive to the Solanaceae plant family. Gene structure and protein motif analyses showed that these genes were relatively conserved within each subgroup. The number of introns in CaNAC genes varied from 0 to 8, with 83 (78.9%) of CaNAC genes containing two or less introns. Promoter analysis confirmed that CaNAC genes are involved in pepper growth, development, and biotic or abiotic stress responses. Further, the expression of 22 selected CaNAC genes in response to seven different biotic and abiotic stresses [salt, heat shock, drought, Phytophthora capsici, abscisic acid, salicylic acid (SA), and methyl jasmonate (MeJA)] was evaluated by quantitative RT-PCR to determine their stress-related expression patterns. Several putative stress-responsive CaNAC genes, including CaNAC72 and CaNAC27, which are orthologs of the known stress-responsive Arabidopsis gene ANAC055 and potato gene StNAC30, respectively, were highly regulated by treatment with different types of stress. Our results also showed that CaNAC36 plays an important role in the interaction network, interacting with 48 genes. Most of these genes are in the mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) family. Taken together, our results provide a platform for further studies to identify the biological functions of CaNAC genes

Long-term antiplatelet therapy in medically managed non-ST-segment elevation acute coronary syndromes: The EPICOR Asia study

OBJECTIVES: To describe long-term antithrombotic management patterns (AMPs) in medically managed Asian patients with non-ST-segment myocardial infarction (NSTEMI) or unstable angina (UA). BACKGROUND: Current guidelines support an early invasive strategy in NSTEMI and UA patients, but many are medically managed, and data are limited on long-term AMPs in Asia. METHODS: Data were analyzed from medically managed NSTEMI and UA patients included in the prospective, observational EPICOR Asia study (NCT01361386). Survivors to hospital discharge were enrolled (June 2011 to May 2012) from 8 countries/regions across Asia. Baseline characteristics and AMP use up to 2 years post-discharge were collected. Outcomes were major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE: myocardial infarction, ischemic stroke, and death) and bleeding. RESULTS: Among 2289 medically managed patients, dual antiplatelet therapy (DAPT) use at discharge was greater in NSTEMI than in UA patients (81.8% vs 65.3%), and was significantly associated with male sex, positive cardiac markers, and prior cardiovascular medications (p < 0.0001). By 2 years, 57.9% and 42.6% of NSTEMI and UA patients, respectively, were on DAPT. On multivariable Cox regression analysis, risk of MACE at 2 years was most significantly associated with older age (HR [95% CI] 1.85 [1.36, 2.50]), diagnosis of NSTEMI vs UA (1.96 [1.47, 2.61]), and chronic renal failure (2.14 [1.34, 3.41]), all p ≤ 0.001. Risk of bleeding was most significantly associated with region (East Asia vs Southeast/South Asia) and diabetes. CONCLUSIONS: Approximately half of all patients were on DAPT at 2 years. MACE were more frequent in NSTEMI than UA patients during follow-up