Ceramides and metabolic profiles of patients with acute coronary disease: a cross-sectional study

Metabolic Syndrome (MS) is a rapidly growing medical problem worldwide and is characterized by a cluster of age-related metabolic risk factors. The presence of MS increases the likelihood of developing atherosclerosis and significantly raises the morbidity/mortality rate of acute coronary syndrome (ACS) patients. Early detection of MS is crucial, and biomarkers, particularly blood-based, play a vital role in this process. This cross-sectional study focused on the investigation of certain plasma ceramides (Cer14:0, Cer16:0, Cer18:0, Cer20:0, Cer22:0, and Cer24:1) as potential blood biomarkers for MS due to their previously documented dysregulated function in MS patients. A total of 695 ACS patients were enrolled, with 286 diagnosed with MS (ACS-MS) and 409 without MS (ACS-nonMS) serving as the control group. Plasma ceramide concentrations were measured by LC-MS/MS assay and analyzed through various statistical methods. The results revealed that Cer18:0, Cer20:0, Cer22:0, and Cer24:1 were significantly correlated with the presence of MS risk factors. Upon further examination, Cer18:0 emerged as a promising biomarker for early MS detection and risk stratification, as its plasma concentration showed a significant sensitivity to minor changes in MS risk status in participants. This cross-sectional observational study was a secondary analysis of a multicenter prospective observational cohort study (Chinese Clinical Trial Registry, https://www.who.int/clinical-trials-registry-platform/network/primary-registries/chinese-clinical-trial-registry-(chictr), ChiCTR-2200056697), conducted from April 2021 to August 2022

The Adaptive Thermal Comfort Review from the 1920s, the Present, and the Future

The typical method for comfort analysis is the Predicted Mean Vote and Predicted Percentage Dissatisfied (PMV-PPD). However, they present limitations in accommodating the comfort of a disabled and elder group of people, which are the most vulnerable to climate change and energy poverty. The adaptive method can give flexibility and personalisation needed to overcome the problem due to the variability of the people's metabolism, historical and behavioural preferences. Investments to upgrade the indoor environmental quality and building design can then be effectively used and, for the first time, it will be possible to tailor the solutions for these particular groups of people. The adaptive approach uses Artificial Intelligence (AI), where it can introduce the imperfect learning process. Overcoming this, instead of going further for the Explainable AI, the PMV–PPD approach can be used for the learning validation and verification needed for the adaptive setting point and standards

Researches on the Effect of Environmental Policy on Abatement Technology Adoption

To cope with global climate change, a growing number of countries have formulated carbon neutrality schedules. In this context, it is increasingly important for governments to design and implement the policy package to achieve this goal. This paper studies on the economic incentives of environmental policy on firms’ investment in the adoption of new abatement technologies, providing policymakers with more understandings and facilitating the improvement in policy development. The main findings are as follows. First, the economic incentive of environmental policy on abatement technology adoption is ambiguous and it changes with different realistic conditions. Second, the behavior of firms’ investment decisions for different types of abatement technologies under the same environmental policy is distinct. Third, the level of privatization has a positive incentive effect on the level of the abatement technology under taxes regulation. Finally, some key research questions for the future are provided

Market Power and Technology Diffusion in an Energy-Intensive Sector Covered by an Emissions Trading Scheme

The emissions trading scheme (ETS) has been long advocated to address climate change not only because it is cost effective but also because it can provide economic incentives for the adoption of new technologies. The emissions abatement of the energy-intensive sector covered by ETS is of great significance for the whole nation to attain sustainable and low-carbon development, especially for developing countries. This paper investigates the effect of market power in the emissions trading market on the diffusion of a new emissions abatement technology when firms in the energy-intensive sector interact in an imperfectly competitive output market. In the model, each firm needs to determine the optimal time to adopt the new emissions abatement technology, taking into account its benefits and costs, as well as its rival’s strategic behavior. With this framework, the results suggest that firms will delay adoption of the new emissions abatement technology in the presence of market power. Moreover, when the output demand is larger and more elastic, emissions abatement technology diffusion will occur earlier. It implies that the technology diffusion in the weak elastic sector, such as the Chinese iron and steel sector, may have more barriers than that in the strong elastic sector, such as the Chinese nonferrous metals sector

Taxes versus standards in a mixed economy

Governments have recently become increasingly concerned about environmental policy choice in a mixed economy because many countries are mixed economies where public and private firms engage in the output market. This paper provides an analytical framework to compare emission taxes and emission standards in a mixed economy. Through theoretical analysis and numerical example, two main conclusions are drawn. First, the ranking of emission taxes and standards in the aspect of bringing about greater social welfare depends on the policy stringency. More specifically, for high levels of environmental stringency, taxes yield a greater social welfare than the standards regulation does, while the opposite conclusion holds for low levels of environmental stringency. Second, the total production level under emission taxes is always larger than under emission standards. Our findings provide important implications for the policy choice and design in a mixed economy

Influencing Factors of Investment Scale of Power Grid Enterprises

Investment is the key driving force for the sustainable growth of power grid enterprises. The rationality of investment scale directly determines the investment efficiency, and affects the quality of enterprise growth. The internal and external environment of investment management of power grid enterprises is constantly changing. Scientific judgment of the importance of various influencing factors can provide strong support for the determination of investment scale. In this paper, the factors affecting the investment scale of power grid enterprises are divided into economic and social development, product industry development, enterprise operation and management, and power grid operation and development. Representative indicators are selected for analysis, and the influence degree of various influencing factors is judged by correlation coefficient test and variable importance evaluation method. The empirical results show that the enterprise management and power grid operation and development have greater impacts on the investment scale. The influence of internal factors is greater than that of external factors

Cadmium Depth Separation Method in Polymetallic Sulfate Solution: Flow-Electric Field Enhanced Cementation Combined with M5640 Extraction

An efficient and controllable process for separating copper and cadmium was required to be developed due to the high cost of the long separation process of copper cadmium slag generated from the zinc smelting process. Therefore, a new process for the application and deep separation of copper and cadmium was developed by combining the Circulating Flow Electric (CFE) cadmium cement method and the 2-hydroxy-5-nonyl formaldehyde oxime (M5640) copper extract method. The process firstly removed copper ions utilizing M5640 and obtained a primary purification solution, followed by CFE method to extract cadmium in depth. The effects of extractant volume fraction, pH, Oil phase/Aqueous phase (O/A) ratio and reaction time on the removal of copper ions were investigated. The results showed that the removal of copper was above 97%, while the removal of zinc and cadmium was below 1.6%, respectively, proved that the selectivity of M5640 for copper was significantly higher than that for metals such as cadmium and zinc. The characterization results indicate that the oxygen on the hydroxyl group and the nitrogen on the oxime group co-ligated with the copper ions and subsequently formed chelated extracts. That was the mechanism of the copper ion purification by M5640. Furthermore, the extraction of high purity cadmium was carried out in the extraction residual liquid. A novel method of cadmium removal enhanced by coupling an electric field with a circulating flow field was developed and applied to the cement cadmium from sulfate solutions. The optimal process conditions of the method were explored, which were further fitted into statistical equations and optimized by response surface analysis. Since the fitted theoretical results were close to the experimental results, the optimization was considered as effective. The optimized experimental parameters were 6.23 mL/s of flow rate, 48.14 mA/cm2 of current density, 2.25 of pH, and 0.93 of anode/cathode area ratio, respectively. Next, the extraction electrical efficiency, purity and its weight distribution in the cell of cadmium sponge under different flow fields were calculated and measured. The results were analyzed to prove the existence of an optimal interval for the distribution of cadmium under high-speed flow field

Interference and Mechanism of Dill Seed Essential Oil and Contribution of Carvone and Limonene in Preventing Sclerotinia Rot of Rapeseed

<div><p>This study aimed to evaluate the inhibitory effects of dill (<i>Anethum graveolens</i> L.) seed essential oil against <i>Sclerotinia sclerotiorum</i> and its mechanism of action. The antifungal activities of the two main constituents, namely carvone and limonene, were also measured. Mycelial growth and sclerotial germination were thoroughly inhibited by dill seed essential oil at the 1.00 μL/mL under contact condition and 0.125μL/mL air under vapor condition. Carvone also contributed more than limonene in inhibiting the growth of <i>S</i>. <i>sclerotiorum</i>. Carvone and limonene synergistically inhibited the growth of the fungus. <i>In vivo</i> experiments, the essential oil remarkably suppressed <i>S</i>. <i>sclerotiorum</i>, and considerable morphological alterations were observed in the hyphae and sclerotia. Inhibition of ergosterol synthesis, malate dehydrogenase, succinate dehydrogenase activities, and external medium acidification were investigated to elucidate the antifungal mechanism of the essential oil. The seed essential oil of <i>A</i>. <i>graveolens</i> can be extensively used in agriculture for preventing the oilseed crops fungal disease.</p></div

Effects of the samples at vapor phase on sclerotial germination of <i>S</i>. <i>sclerotiorum</i>.

<p>(A) The oil, (B) mixture of carvone and limonene, (C) limonene, (D) carvone. Significant differences (<i>p</i> <0.05) between means are indicated by the letters above histogram bars. Values are means (<i>n</i> = 3) ± standard deviations.</p

Scanning electron microscopy illustrated effects of the oil on microstructure surface of <i>S</i>. <i>sclerotiorum</i>.

<p>Control (A, B, E, and F). Effects of essential oil on hyphal morphology (C and D). Effects of essential oil on surfaces of sclerotia and rind globular cells inside the sclerotium (G and H).</p