Strategies and Countermeasures for Ensuring Energy Security in China

Energy security is important for the security system of a country. Affected by global geopolitics and the COVID-19 pandemic, China’s energy security is currently facing severe challenges. Reducing the import scale of oil and gas based on the comprehensive and efficient utilization of domestic energy to ensure energy security remains a topic that requires research for promoting China’s high-quality and sustainable development. This study first reviews the evolution of the energy security concept and summarizes the energy security strategies of typical countries. Then the energy security in China is defined from five dimensions: sustainable development, guaranteed supply, scientific support, economic affordability, and guaranteed system. Moreover, the situation faced by China’s energy security is studied and corresponding strategies are proposed. We propose that China should make efforts to stabilize the production of traditional energies, ensure the supply of imported oil and gas, promote renewable energy consumption to complement the current energy mix, encourage cooperative innovation of energy science and technology, and improve the energy development mechanism. Furthermore, we propose several policy suggestions to ensure China’s energy security from the aspects of top-level plan, integrated development of gas and renewable energies, scientific innovation of renewable energies, and international cooperation

Integrated Network and Experimental Pharmacology for Deciphering the Medicinal Substances and Multiple Mechanisms of Duhuo Jisheng Decoction in Osteoarthritis Therapy

Osteoarthritis (OA) is currently the most common joint disorder worldwide. In last decades, herbal remedies have achieved a significant advancement in the treatment of OA. Duhuo Jisheng Decoction (DHJS), an herbal formula consisting of 15 medicinal herbs, has a long-time practice in OA therapy in China. However, its therapeutic mechanisms have not been comprehensively elucidated. In the present work, integrated network and experimental pharmacology were performed for investigating the therapeutic substances and mechanisms of DHJS. Based on network analysis, the contribution of each herb to OA therapy was evaluated. Furthermore, a series of potential targets and signaling pathways were enriched, which could be involved in the therapeutic effects and mechanisms of DHJS. Further experimental results indicated that DHJS attenuated TNFα, IL-6, MMP-1, MMP-9, MMP-13, and ADAMTs-5 expression, inhibited NF-κB and p38 MAPK signaling pathway, activated AMPK-SIRT1 signaling pathway, and suppressed chondrocyte apoptosis, which synergistically contributed to OA therapy. Our work demonstrated that DHJS could be very promising for OA therapy through synergistically acting on multitargets and multipathways