Clean energy consumption and CO2 emissions: does China reduce some pollution burdens through environmental regulation?

Environmental regulations are considered a prerequisite for environmental performance. However, very limited studies have explored the asymmetric relationship between clean energy consumption, environmental regulation, and CO2 emissions. This study scrutinizes the asymmetry phenomenon in environmental regulation-clean energy consumption and environmental quality nexus in China by using the time series nonlinear ARDL approach by covering the period 1993-2019. The result reveals that the impact of environmental regulation on clean energy consumption and CO2 emissions is asymmetric. A positive change in environmental regulation has a positive effect on clean energy consumption but a negative impact on CO2 emissions in the long run. While a negative change in environmental regulation has insignificant effects on clean energy consumption and CO2 emissions in the long run. The study suggests that China should need to revisit environmental regulation policies that could help in improving environmental quality.

Adult Henoch-Schönlein purpura: Clinical and histopathological predictors of systemic disease and profound renal disease.

BACKGROUND: A major challenge in the management of adult Henoch-Schönlein purpura is the difficulty in assessing the risk of systemic involvement. There is currently a paucity of data in this area. AIMS: This study sought to determine specific clinical and histopathological features associated with systemic involvement in adult Henoch-Schönlein purpura. METHODS: We reviewed the records of 99 adult Henoch-Schönlein purpura patients who presented at the National Skin Centre, Singapore, between January 2008 and May 2015. RESULTS: Renal involvement was found in 56 (56.6%) patients, joint involvement in 21 (21.2%) and gastrointestinal involvement in 13 (13.1%). Age > 30 years was an independent predictor of renal involvement with an adjusted odds ratio of 2.97 (95% confidence interval, 1.08-8.16; P = 0.04). Risk factors for significant renal involvement necessitating nephrology referral were further evaluated: the odds were approximately 60% higher for every 10-year increase in age (95% confidence interval, 1.02-2.57; P = 0.04) and patients with cutaneous bullae and/or necrosis had an almost six times higher risk (95% confidence interval, 1.43-25.00; P = 0.01). LIMITATIONS: This study was limited by its retrospective design. We also lacked long-term data to examine how clinical and histopathological characteristics correlated with long-term disease outcomes. CONCLUSIONS: Adult Henoch-Schönlein purpura patients older than 30 years have a threefold increased risk of renal involvement. The risk of profound renal disease necessitating nephrology referral rose significantly with age and the presence of cutaneous bullae and/or necrosis.

Andrographolide sensitizes cisplatin-induced apoptosis via suppression of autophagosome-lysosome fusion in human cancer cells.

Suppression of autophagy has been increasingly recognized as a novel cancer therapeutic approach. Andrographolide (Andro), a diterpenoid lactone isolated from an herbal plant Andrographis paniculata, is known to possess anti-inflammatory and anticancer activity. In this study, we sought to examine the effect of Andro on autophagy, and to evaluate whether such effect is relevant to the sensitization effect of Andro on apoptosis induced by DNA damage agents in cancer cells. First, we found that Andro is able to significantly enhance autophagic markers in various cancer cell lines, including GFP-LC3 puncta and LC3-II level. Interestingly, Andro treatment also led to marked increase of p62 protein level and addition of chloroquine (CQ) failed to further enhance either LC3-II or p62 level, indicating that Andro is likely to suppress autophagic flux at the maturation and degradation stage. Next, we provided evidence that Andro inhibits autophagosome maturation not by affecting the lysosomal function, but by impairing autophagosome-lysosome fusion. Lastly, we demonstrated that treatment with cisplatin, a DNA damage agent, induces autophagy in cancer cells. Importantly, Andro is capable of sensitizing cisplatin-induced cell killing determined with both short-term apoptosis assays and long-term clonogenic test, via suppression of autophagy, a process independent of p53. In summary, these observations collectively suggest that Andro could be a promising anti-cancer agent in combination therapy via its potent inhibitory effect on autophagy by disrupting autophagosome-lysosome fusion.