Does Forest Industries in China Become Cleaner? A Prospective of Embodied Carbon Emission

Forests and the forest products industry contribute to climate change mitigation by sequestering carbon from the atmosphere and storing it in biomass, and by fabricating products that substitute other, more greenhouse-gas-emission-intensive materials and energy. This study investigates primary wood-working industries (panel, furniture, pulp and paper) in order to determine the development of carbon emissions in China during the last two decades. The input–output approach is used and the factors driving the changes in CO2 emissions are analyzed by Index Decomposition Analysis–Log Mean Divisia Index (LMDI). The results show that carbon emissions in forest product industries have been declining during the last twenty years and that the driving factor of this change is the energy intensity of production and economic input, which have changed dramatically

Does Forest Industries in China Become Cleaner? A Prospective of Embodied Carbon Emission

Forests and the forest products industry contribute to climate change mitigation by sequestering carbon from the atmosphere and storing it in biomass, and by fabricating products that substitute other, more greenhouse-gas-emission-intensive materials and energy. This study investigates primary wood-working industries (panel, furniture, pulp and paper) in order to determine the development of carbon emissions in China during the last two decades. The input–output approach is used and the factors driving the changes in CO2 emissions are analyzed by Index Decomposition Analysis–Log Mean Divisia Index (LMDI). The results show that carbon emissions in forest product industries have been declining during the last twenty years and that the driving factor of this change is the energy intensity of production and economic input, which have changed dramatically

Metabonomic Evaluation of ZHENG Differentiation and Treatment by Fuzhenghuayu Tablet in Hepatitis-B-Caused Cirrhosis

In Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), treatment based on ZHENG (also called TCM syndrome and pattern) differentiation has been applied for about 3 thousand years, while there are some difficulties to communicate with western medicine. In the present work, metabonomic methods were utilized to differentiate ZHENG types and evaluate the therapeutic efficiency of Fuzhenghuayu (FZHY) tablet in hepatitis-B-caused cirrhosis (HBC). Urine samples of 12 healthy volunteers (control group, CG) and 31 HBC patients (HBCG) were analyzed by gas chromatography mass spectrometry (GC/MS) and multivariate statistical analysis. The significantly changed metabolites between CG and HBCG were selected by PLS-DA loading plot analysis. Moreover, 4 ZHENGs were differentiated mutually, suggesting that there was urine metabolic material basis in ZHENG differentiation. The efficiency of FZHY tablet on subjects with spleen deficiency with dampness encumbrance syndrome (SDDES) and liver-kidney yin deficiency syndrome (LKYDS) was better than that of other syndromes. The efficiency of FZHY treatment based on ZHENG differentiation indicated that accurately ZHENG differentiating could guide the appropriate TCM treatment in HBC

Applications of New Technologies and New Methods in ZHENG Differentiation

With the hope to provide an effective approach for personalized diagnosis and treatment clinically, Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) is being paid increasing attention as a complementary and alternative medicine. It performs treatment based on ZHENG (TCM syndrome) differentiation, which could be identified as clinical special phenotypes by symptoms and signs of patients. However, it caused skepticism and criticism because ZHENG classification only depends on observation, knowledge, and clinical experience of TCM practitioners, which is lack of objectivity and repeatability. Scientists have done fruitful researches for its objectivity and standardization. Compared with traditional four diagnostic methods (looking, listening and smelling, asking, and touching), in this paper, the applications of new technologies and new methods on the ZHENG differentiation were systemically reviewed, including acquisition, analysis, and integration of clinical data or information. Furthermore, the characteristics and application range of these technologies and methods were summarized. It will provide reference for further researches

Exploration of Macro-Micro Biomarkers for Dampness-Heat Syndrome Differentiation in Different Diseases

Increased attention is being paid to traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) as a complementary and alternative medicine to provide an effective approach for personalized diagnosis and clinical treatment. TMC performs treatment based on differentiation of TCM syndrome (ZHENG), which may identify special phenotypes by symptoms and signs of patients even if they are in different diseases. There has, however, been skepticism and criticism because syndrome classification only depends on observation, knowledge, and clinical experience of TCM practitioners, which lacks objectivity and repeatability. In order to transform syndrome classification into mainstream medicine, we introduce a macro-micro approach that combines symptoms, clinical indicators, and metabolites. The present paper explores the macro-micro biomarkers of dampness-heat syndrome in chronic hepatitis B and nonalcoholic fatty liver patients, which could provide the basis for developing a possible population-screening tool for selecting target individuals and creating an evaluation index for personalized treatment

ZHENG-Omics Application in ZHENG Classification and Treatment: Chinese Personalized Medicine

With the hope to provide an effective approach for personalized diagnosis and treatment clinically, traditional chinese medicine (TCM) is being paid increasing attention as a complementary and alternative medicine. It performs treatment based on ZHENG (TCM syndrome) classification, which could be identified clinical special phenotypes by symptoms and signs of patients even if they have a different disease. However, it caused controversy because ZHENG classification only depends on observation, knowledge, and clinical experience of TCM practitioners, which lacks objectivity and repeatability. Although researchers and scientists of TCM have done some work with a lot of beneficial methods, the results could not reach satisfactory with the shortcomings of generalizing the entire state of the body or ignoring the patients' feelings. By total summary, mining, and integration of existing researches, the present paper attempts to introduce a novel macro-microconcept of ZHENG-omics, with the prospect of bright future in providing an objective and repeatable approach for Chinese personalized medicine in an effective way. In this paper, we give the brief introduction and preliminary validation, and discuss strategies and system-oriented technologies for achieving this goal

Similar Connotation in Chronic Hepatitis B and Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Patients with Dampness-Heat Syndrome

The phenomenon that the same syndrome turns up in different diseases appears in the sight of people around the world, which raises the thought for possibility of “Same Treatment for Different Diseases.” Actually, treatment based on ZHENG classification in Traditional Chinese Medicine could bring revelation for the former finding. The dampness-heat syndrome in chronic hepatitis B and nonalcoholic fatty liver is regarded as the breakthrough point. We discussed the molecular mechanism of similar connotation that exists in chronic hepatitis B and nonalcoholic fatty liver by metabonomics to give the modern understanding of dampness-heat syndrome. Both urine and serum metabolic profiling revealed that obvious differences existed between dampness-heat syndrome and non-dampness-heat syndrome but the commonality was proved to appear in chronic hepatitis B and nonalcoholic fatty liver patients with dampness-heat syndrome. Furthermore, disorder of body fluid metabolism, decline in digestive capacity, and imbalance of intestinal flora were found to be the new guiding for treatment, with the hope to provide the basis for Chinese personalized medicine

Human tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha-induced protein 8-like 2 suppresses hepatocellular carcinoma metastasis through inhibiting Rac1

Abstract Background Tumor invasion and metastasis are the major reasons for leading death of patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Therefore, to identify molecules that can suppress invasion and metastasis of tumor will provide novel targets for HCC therapies. Tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha-induced protein 8-like 2, TIPE2, is a novel immune negative molecule and an inhibitor of the oncogenic Ras in mice but its function in human is unclear. Our previous research has shown that TIPE2 is downregulated in human primary HCC compared with the paired adjacent non-tumor tissues. Results In present study, we provide evidence that TIPE2 inhibits effectively human hepatocellular carcinoma metastasis. The forced expression of TIPE2 in HCC-derived cell lines markedly inhibits tumor cell growth, migration and invasion in vitro and suppresses growth and metastasis of HCC in vivo. Clinical information from a cohort of 112 patients reveals that loss or reduced expression of TIPE2 in primary HCC tissues is significantly associated with tumor metastasis. Mechanically, TIPE2 inhibits the migration and invasion through targeting Rac1 and then reduces F-actin polymerization and expression of matrix metallopeptidase 9 (MMP9) and urokinase plasminogen activator (uPA). Conclusion Our results indicate that human TIPE2 is endogenous inhibitor of Rac1 in HCC by which it attenuates invasion and metastasis of HCC. The data suggest that TIPE2 will be a new target for HCC therapy. </jats:sec