Towards sustainable development goals: Assessment of wind and solar potential in northwest China.

The development and utilization of renewable energy (RE) is crucial for achieving the sustainable development goals (SDGs). The northwest China, endowed with abundant RE sources such as wind and solar power, accounts for over 70% of the country's total resources. The assessment and utilization of RE in this region has become a critical means to achieve the SDGs, particularly SDG7. However, lack of knowledge regarding the RE potential poses a barrier to achieving high-quality energy development. Thus, through a Geographical Information System (GIS) based multi-criteria analysis, we assess the solar and wind energy potential in northwest China, quantitatively examine the energy potential and its contribution towards achieving the SDGs. Our results show that a substantial portion of RE can be harnessed in northwest China, with wind energy generation reaching up to 9.84PWh/km2/yr at 110m and 12.43 PWh/km2/yr at 140m. Concurrently, solar energy can contribute up to 15.16 PWh/km2/yr. Xinjiang province has the highest RE potential for it contains a large share of suitable area with good resource quality. The findings illustrate the contribution of northwest China towards achieving SDGs and facilitate the formulation of more targeted resource policies.

Carbon emission reduction effects of renewable energy technological innovation in China: New insights into the intellectual property rights protection.

Renewable energy technological innovation (RETI) is of great significance in reducing carbon emissions. A deeper understanding of the impact of intellectual property rights (IPR) protection on the carbon reduction effect of RETI can provide policymakers with more specific information. Using the dataset from 30 provinces in China during 2007-2018, we provide a detailed analysis of the moderating role of IPR protection in RETI's impact on carbon emissions. The results suggest that RETI has a significant carbon reduction effect, but this effect is not substantial in hydropower technological innovation. Moreover, we find that IPR protection moderates the impact of RETI on carbon emissions; increased levels of IPR protection can enhance RETI's carbon mitigation effect. Specifically, this positive moderating effect is only evidenced in the high energy self-sufficiency ratio and eastern regions, and it diminishes as carbon emissions increase. However, we do not find any evidence that IPR protection moderates the impact of energy storage technological innovation on carbon emissions.

Evaluation of quality of pharmacoeconomic studies involved in traditional Chinese medicine in China.

OBJECTIVES: The pharmacoeconomic studies of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) are still in its infancy. Assessing the quality of pharmacoeconomic studies of TCM to improve the efficiency of health resource allocation and guide the rational use of medicine. METHODS: Four databases were searched from inception to January 2018. The Consolidated Health Economic Evaluation Reporting Standards statement (CHEERS) and the Quality of Health Economic Studies (QHES) were used to assess the reporting quality and methodological quality. STATA 12.0 and Meta analyst 3.13 were used to analyze the related data. RESULTS: A total of 178 studies were included. The methodological evaluation of the study found that the total score of QHES was 47.85 ± 8.09. The report quality evaluation results found that many studies did not report comprehensive information, such as lack of detailed reports on abstracts, study perspectives, time frames, discount rates, model selection, but the titles, study background and location, and health results, resource and cost estimates, analysis methods, and heterogeneity analysis are reported in more detail. Six of the ten stratification factors have statistically significant differences. CONCLUSION: The overall quality of pharmacoeconomic studies of TCM is low, and further standardization and improvement are needed to obtain reliable study results.

The collaboration and reporting quality of social welfare systematic reviews in the Campbell Collaboration online library.

BACKGROUND: To analyze the collaboration and reporting quality of the systematic reviews of social welfare in the Campbell collaboration online library. METHODS: The Campbell collaboration online library was searched for systematic reviews of social welfare and the basic information extracted in order to assess the reporting quality of systematic reviews using a MOOSE checklist. BICOMS-2 and UCINET software were used to produce the social network, and Comprehensive Meta Analysis (Version 2) and STATA 13.0 were used to analyze the related data. RESULTS: Fifty-seven systematic reviews of social welfare were included. Twenty-eight items of the included social welfare systematic reviews were rated as complete (≥70%). There were significant differences between ≤2013 and ≥ 2014 in five items. These differences were as follows: research published by one organization or more than one organization in one item, more than three authors or less than four authors in two items, and one country or more than one country in six items. It's completed about researches with more than one organization, three authors or more than one country. Some items were found to have a low reporting rate of studies published before 2014, by one organization, with less than four authors or one country, respectively. The social network of authors and organizations showed good collaboration. CONCLUSIONS: Some items could be further improved with regard to the rate of reporting systematic reviews of social welfare in the Campbell collaboration online library. This could improve the overall quality of social welfare systematic reviews.

Rectal Indomethacin and Spraying of Duodenal Papilla With Epinephrine Increases Risk of Pancreatitis Following Endoscopic Retrograde Cholangiopancreatography.

BACKGROUND & AIMS: Rectal indomethacin and spraying of the duodenal papilla with epinephrine might reduce the incidence of pancreatitis after endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP). We performed a randomized trial to compare the effects of the combination of indomethacin and epinephrine (IE) vs indomethacin plus saline (IS) in prophylaxis of post-ERCP pancreatitis (PEP). METHODS: We performed a double-blind trial at 10 centers in China, from February 2017 to October 2017, of 1158 patients with native papilla undergoing ERCP. The patients were assigned randomly to groups given IE (n = 576) or IS (n = 582). All patients received a single dose of rectal indomethacin within 30 minutes before ERCP; 20 mL of dilute epinephrine (IE group) or saline (IS group) then was sprayed on the duodenal papilla at the end of ERCP. The primary outcome was the incidence of overall PEP. Data were analyzed on an intention-to-treat principle. RESULTS: The study was terminated at the interim analysis for safety concerns and futility. The groups had similar baseline characteristics. PEP developed in 49 patients in the IE group (8.5%) and in 31 patients in the IS group (5.3%) (relative risk, 1.60, 95% CI, 1.03-2.47; P = .033). There were no significant differences between groups in proportions of patients with postsphincterotomy bleeding (2.1% in the IE group and 1.5% in the IS group) and biliary infection (1.2% in the IE group and 2.2% in the IS group). CONCLUSIONS: In a randomized trial, we found the combination of rectal indomethacin with papillary epinephrine spraying increased the risk of PEP compared with indomethacin alone. Spray epinephrine should not be used with rectal indomethacin for prevention of post-ERCP pancreatitis. ClincialTrials.gov no: NCT03057769.

ALDOB acts as a novel HBsAg-binding protein and its coexistence inhibits cisplatin-induced HepG2 cell apoptosis.

Chronic infection with hepatitis B virus is a cause of end-stage liver disease and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). We previously screened fructose-bisphosphate aldolase B (ALDOB) as a candidate binding protein of hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) using a yeast 2-hybrid assay. In this study we aimed to confirm ALDOB as a binding protein of the S region of the HbsAg (HBs) and to investigate the function and involved mechanism between its interactions during HCC development. Our results demonstrated that both of exogenous and endogenous ALDOB proteins bind to HBs and colocalize in the cytoplasm in vitro. The coexistence of HBs and ALDOB inhibit apoptosis of cisplatin-induced HepG2 cells. Furthermore, western blot analysis showed the coexistence of HBs and ALDOB enhance the phosphorylations of AKT and its downstream of GSK-3ß (phosphorylation); decreased expression of the pro-apoptotic proteins Bax, Bid, Bim, and Puma; and increased expression of the prosurvival proteins Bcl-2, Bcl-xl, and Mcl-1 in HepG2 cells. These findings suggest that interaction between HBs and ALDOB might be applied as a potential therapeutic target during the treatment of HBV-related hepatitis or HCC.

Inhibitory effect of ARHI on pancreatic cancer cells and NF-κB activity.

The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of aplasia ras homolog member I (ARHI) on proliferation, apoptosis and the cell cycle in the pancreatic cancer cell line PANC-1. The study also aimed to examine the effect of ARHI on the activity of the nuclear factor (NF)-κB and to determine whether ARHI acts as a tumor suppressor in the development of pancreatic cancer by inhibiting the activity of NF-κB. A pIRES2­EGFP­ARHI vector, constructed by reverse transcrition (RT)­PCR, was transiently transfected into the PANC-1 cells and analyzed for the expression of the ARHI protein by western blotting. A MTT assay was used to quantify cell proliferation, and apoptosis was analyzed by flow cytometry. The NF­κB signaling pathway, specifically the pathway using the nuclear phosphorylated p65 isoform, was analyzed by western blotting. Expression of the ARHI protein was detected by western blotting subsequent to the PANC-1 cells being transiently transfected with the pIRES2­EGFP­ARHI construct. Cell proliferation was strongly inhibited in the PANC-1 cells transfected with pIRES2­EGFP­ARHI. The cell cycle assays indicated an increase in the number of cells at the G0/G1 phase and a decrease in the cells at the S phase, but the difference was not significant (P>0.05). Time course studies also indicated a marked increase in the apoptotic index following transient transfection, as well as a gradual decrease in the expression of the nuclear phosphorylated p65 protein. ARHI acts as a tumor suppressor by downregulating the NF­κB signaling pathway, which results in the inhibition of cell proliferation, apoptosis and the cell cycle in the pancreatic tumor PANC-1 cell line.