Bioinformatics analysis of carotid vulnerable plaques associated with the SARS-CoV-2 pattern.

The rupture of carotid artery vulnerable plaque plays a critical role in ischemic stroke, and the widely spread new coronavirus in recent years plays a certain role in the development of human carotid artery vulnerable plaque, we screened out 27 differential expression genes (DEGs) of stable plaque and vulnerable plaque associated with the new coronavirus. Through the construction of the protein-protein interaction (PPI) network, the Cathepsin B (CTSB) and Niemann-Pick Disease Type 2 (NPC2) were identified as crucial expression genes, and further, we confirmed the validity of core gene expression in two validation sets. Additionally, we discovered a significant connection between CTSB, NPC2 and 28 different kinds of immune cells in carotid plaque tissue. We screened out 65 target interacting drugs based on 10 differentially expressed genes through online tools and finally verified the high expression of 2 core genes in fragile plaques through clinical sample experiments. These findings imply that two core genes may be novel targets for molecular diagnostics and immunotherapy of vulnerable plaques.

How China's digital technology development affects the environmental costs related to global value chains? Evidence from regional manufacturing sectors.

China needs to address the environmental costs to participate in global value chains (GVCs) more sustainably. Digitalization presents a potential solution to overcome information barriers and improve energy efficiency in global production networks. However, the impact of digital technology on GVC-related carbon intensity has not been systematically studied. This paper utilizes embedded multi-regional input-output (EMRIO) tables to analyze the relationship between digital technology and GVC-related carbon intensity in China's 28 regions and 11 manufacturing sectors. The study calculates three indexes: digital technology development, the openness degree of digital technology, and the carbon intensity related to GVCs for the years 2002, 2007, 2010, and 2012. Through a fixed-effect model, the paper examines how digital technology can reduce domestic embodied carbon intensity related to GVCs in China. The findings indicate that: (1) digital technology development has a negative impact on GVC-related domestic embodied carbon intensity; (2) digital technology development indirectly reduces domestic embodied carbon intensity by decreasing energy consumption intensity and increasing foreign services' input intensity; (3) enhancing the openness of digital technology in China can strengthen the reduction effect of digital technology development on the environmental cost related to GVCs.