How to lead on carbon neutrality through sustainable development: A perspective on renewable energy, Information and Communication Technology (ICT), and logistics networks.

In the face of intensifying climate change-induced environmental problems, understanding the causal relationship between carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions and socioeconomic factors is crucial for achieving sustainable development. This study investigates how the causal relationships between renewable energy, information and communication technology (ICT), logistics networks, economic growth, industrialization, and energy intensity impact sustainable development using a panel dataset drawn from 104 countries and covering 2006 to 2019. Methodologically, panel unit root, panel co-integration, and Granger causality tests are employed as robust econometric techniques. The results of the panel unit root and co-integration tests confirm the stationarity of the variables and reveal significant long-term relationships among them throughout the empirical analysis period. Notably, the panel FMOLS and DOLS estimates indicate a positive effect of RE and ICT on reducing CO2 emissions, whereas GDP and energy intensity have a negative impact on CO2 emissions reduction. Moreover, the pairwise Granger causality test findings indicate bidirectional causal relationships between RE and CO2, IND and CO2, ICT and RE, IND and RE, GDP and ICT, as well as IND and ICT. The study recommends providing policy support, including for technological development and innovation, towards establishing a system that fosters sustainable development.

The dynamic relationship between industrialization, urbanization, CO2 emissions, and transportation modes in Korea: empirical evidence from maritime and air transport.

This study investigates the causal relationship between logistics efficiency and factors affecting the logistics environment, such as industrialization, urbanization, and CO2 emissions. With the expectation that logistics efficiency will contribute to economic growth and enhance country competitiveness in the near future, it is necessary to confirm the impact of each factor on different transportation modes, such as maritime and air transport. To this end, this study identifies causal relationships between the factors affecting the logistics environment and specific modes of transportation using data from 2010 to 2018. We employed the panel unit root test, panel co-integration test, fully modified OLS (FMOLS), panel dynamic OLS (DOLS), and panel VECM Granger causality tests for the estimations. The results revealed that factors affecting the logistics environment have different effects depending on the modes of transportation. For maritime transportation, long-run bidirectional causal associations were found between port volume, total exports, industrialization, and urbanization. This implies that export promotion and the resulting economic and social environment changes can increase port throughput; this increase can, in turn, develop and improve economic growth and factors affecting the logistics environment. In contrast, for air transport, we detected a long-run, unidirectional causal relationship among these variables and air volume changes with growing exports, urbanization, and industrialization. Thus, this study suggests a theoretical framework for analyzing the causal relationship between the factors affecting the logistics environment and each mode of transportation, providing insights for policymakers to promote logistics efficiency.

Donepezil ameliorates Aß pathology but not tau pathology in 5xFAD mice.

The cholinesterase inhibitor donepezil is used to improve Aß pathology and cognitive function in patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD). However, the impact of donepezil on tau pathology is unclear. Thus, we examined the effects of donepezil on Aß and tau pathology in 5xFAD mice (a model of AD) in this study. We found that intraperitoneal injection of donepezil (1 mg/kg, i.p.) exhibited significant reductions in Aß plaque number in the cortex and hippocampal DG region. In addition, donepezil treatment (1 mg/kg, i.p.) reduced Aß-mediated microglial and, to a lesser extent, astrocytic activation in 5xFAD mice. However, neither intraperitoneal/oral injection of donepezil nor oral injection of rivastigmine altered tau phosphorylation at Thr212/Ser214 (AT100), Thr396, and Thr231 in 5xFAD mice. Surprisingly, we observed that intraperitoneal/oral injection of donepezil treatment significantly increased tau phosphorylation at Thr212 in 5xFAD mice. Taken together, these data suggest that intraperitoneal injection of donepezil suppresses Aß pathology but not tau pathology in 5xFAD mice.

Donepezil Regulates LPS and Aß-Stimulated Neuroinflammation through MAPK/NLRP3 Inflammasome/STAT3 Signaling.

The acetylcholinesterase inhibitors donepezil and rivastigmine have been used as therapeutic drugs for Alzheimer's disease (AD), but their effects on LPS- and Aß-induced neuroinflammatory responses and the underlying molecular pathways have not been studied in detail in vitro and in vivo. In the present study, we found that 10 or 50 µM donepezil significantly decreased the LPS-induced increases in the mRNA levels of a number of proinflammatory cytokines in BV2 microglial cells, whereas 50 µM rivastigmine significantly diminished only LPS-stimulated IL-6 mRNA levels. In subsequent experiments in primary astrocytes, donepezil suppressed only LPS-stimulated iNOS mRNA levels. To identify the molecular mechanisms by which donepezil regulates LPS-induced neuroinflammation, we examined whether donepezil alters LPS-stimulated proinflammatory responses by modulating LPS-induced downstream signaling and the NLRP3 inflammasome. Importantly, we found that donepezil suppressed LPS-induced AKT/MAPK signaling, the NLRP3 inflammasome, and transcription factor NF-kB/STAT3 phosphorylation to reduce neuroinflammatory responses. In LPS-treated wild-type mice, a model of neuroinflammatory disease, donepezil significantly attenuated LPS-induced microglial activation, microglial density/morphology, and proinflammatory cytokine COX-2 and IL-6 levels. In a mouse model of AD (5xFAD mice), donepezil significantly reduced Aß-induced microglial and astrocytic activation, density, and morphology. Taken together, our findings indicate that donepezil significantly downregulates LPS- and Aß-evoked neuroinflammatory responses in vitro and in vivo and may be a therapeutic agent for neuroinflammation-associated diseases such as AD.

Pharmacokinetic properties and effects of PT302 after repeated oral glucose loading tests in a dose-escalating study.

BACKGROUND: PT302 is a sustained-release exenatide under clinical development for the treatment of type 2 diabetes mellitus. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to evaluate the pharmacokinetic properties, pharmacodynamic properties, and tolerability of PT302 after a single subcutaneous injection in healthy individuals. METHODS: A dose-block randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, dose-escalating study (0.5, 1, 2, and 4 mg) was performed in 34 healthy individuals. The plasma concentrations of exenatide in serial blood samples were quantified for 56 days after dosing with an exendin-4 fluorescent immunoassay kit. Noncompartmental analysis was performed to assess the pharmacokinetic characteristics of PT302. Oral glucose tolerance tests were repeated weekly until day 42; the concentrations of serum glucose, serum C-peptide, plasma insulin, and plasma glucagon were measured for 2 hours to evaluate the pharmacodynamic characteristics of PT302. Clinical laboratory tests, vital signs, physical examinations, 12-lead ECGs, and adverse events were monitored to evaluate the safety profile and tolerability. RESULTS: PT302 exhibits a biphasic pharmacokinetic profile, with the initial peak occurring 2 hours after administration. PT302 was quantifiable in the plasma until days 23, 30, 32, and 55 (median) in the 0.5-mg, 1-mg, 2-mg, and 4-mg dosage groups of PT302, respectively. Systemic exposure increased proportionally to the dose during the entire dose range investigated. The pharmacodynamic effect of PT302 on the postprandial response of insulin and C-peptide was significant on days 21 to 28 at the 4-mg dose and was positively correlated with plasma exenatide concentrations, whereas the correlations with glucose and glucagon were not significant. The fasting levels of these pharmacodynamic biomarkers were not altered by PT302. The most common adverse events were injection site induration and pruritus related to inflammatory foreign body reaction, which were mild and spontaneously resolved within several weeks. CONCLUSION: The pharmacokinetic characteristics of PT302 were biphasic and dose proportional. A single 4-mg dose of PT302 significantly increased the insulin and C-peptide response to oral glucose loading and was well tolerated in healthy individuals.

Long-acting injectable formulations of antipsychotic drugs for the treatment of schizophrenia.

Antipsychotic drugs have been used to treat patients with schizophrenia and other psychotic disorders. Long-acting injectable antipsychotic drugs are useful for improving medication compliance with a better therapeutic option to treat patients who lack insight or adhere poorly to oral medication. Several long-acting injectable antipsychotic drugs are clinically available. Haloperidol decanoate and fluphenazine decanoate are first-generation depot drugs, but the use of these medicines has declined since the advent of second-generation depot agents, such as long-acting risperidone, paliperidone palmitate, and olanzapine pamoate. The second-generation depot drugs are better tolerated and have fewer adverse neurological side effects. Long-acting injectable risperidone, the first depot formulation of an atypical antipsychotic drug, was prepared by encapsulating risperidone into biodegradable microspheres. Paliperidone palmitate is an aqueous suspension of nanocrystal molecules, and olanzapine pamoate is a microcrystalline salt of olanzapine and pamoic acid suspended in aqueous solution. This review summarizes the characteristics and recent research of formulations of each long-acting injectable antipsychotic drug.

Roles of human liver cytochrome P450 3A4 and 1A2 enzymes in the oxidation of myristicin.

The aim of this work was to identify the form(s) of human liver cytochrome P450 (CYP) involved in the hepatic transformation of myristicin to its major metabolite, 5-allyl-1-methoxy-2,3-dihydroxybenzene. When microsomes prepared from different human liver samples were compared, the activity of 5-allyl-1-methoxy-2,3-dihydroxybenzene formation was well correlated (r(2)=0.87) with nifedipine oxidation (a marker of CYP3A4). With a microsomal sample having high CYP3A4 activity, microsomal oxidation of myristicin to the major metabolite (5-allyl-1-methoxy-2,3-dihydroxybenzene) was markedly inhibited by gestodene and ketoconazole, selective inhibitors of CYP3A enzymes, but not by any of several other P450 inhibitors. Antibodies raised against CYPs 3A4 and 1A2 could also inhibit the oxidation of myristicin, but antibodies recognizing other CYPs had no effect. The oxidation of myristicin to 5-allyl-1-methoxy-2,3-dihydroxybenzene was catalyzed by purified bacterial recombinant CYPs 3A4 and 1A2. These results provide evidence that CYP3A4 (and possibly other CYP3A enzymes) and CYP1A2 play roles in the formation of the major metabolite, 5-allyl-1-methoxy-2,3-dihydroxybenzene.

In vitro metabolism of a novel phosphodiesterase-5 inhibitor DA-8159 in rat liver preparations using liquid chromatography/electrospray mass spectrometry.

The in vitro metabolism of a new erectogenic, DA-8159, has been studied by LC with UV detection and on-line LC-electrospray mass spectrometry using rat hepatic microsomal incubation and rat liver perfusion. Both rat liver microsomal incubation of DA-8159 in the presence of NADPH and single-pass liver perfusion of DA-8159 resulted in the formation of three metabolites (M1-3). M1 was tentatively identified as hydroxy-DA-8159. M2 and M3 were identified as N-demethyl-DA-8159 and 5-(2-propyloxy-5-aminosulphonylphenyl)-1-methyl-3-propyl-1,6-dihydro-7H-pyrazolo(4,3-d)pyrimidin-7-one (DA-8164), respectively, on the basis of LC-MS/MS analysis with authentic standards. Rat CYP2D1 was a major isozyme for the formation of hydroxy-DA-8159 and N-demethyl-DA-8159. CYP2C12 and CYP1A1 catalysed the oxidation of DA-8159 to DA-8164.

LC-MS/MS identification of in vitro metabolites of a new H+/K+ ATPase inhibitor, KR-60436 produced by rat and human liver microsomes.

The metabolism of a new H+/K+ ATPase inhibitor, KR-60436 [1-(4-methoxy-2-methyl-phenyl)-4-[(2-hydroxyethyl)amino]-6-trifluoromethoxy-2,3-dihydropyrrolo[3,2-c]quinoline] has been studied by LC-electrospray mass spectrometry. In vitro incubation of KR-60436 with rat and human liver microsomes in the presence of NADPH produced seven metabolites (M1-M7). M3-M6 were identified as O-demethyl-KR-60436, O-demethyl-pyrrole-KR-60436, N-dehydroxyethyl-KR-60436 and pyrrole-KR-60436, respectively, based on LC/MS/MS analysis with authentic standards. M1, M2 and M7 were tentatively identified as monohydroxylated-KR-60436, monohydroxylated-pyrrole-KR-60436 and N-dehydroxyethyl-pyrrole-KR-60436, respectively. The four principal metabolic pathways are characterized in KR-60436 metabolism: oxidation of dihydropyrrole ring to pyrrole, O-demethylation of methoxy group, hydroxylation of quinoline moiety and N-dealkylation of hydroxyethylamino group.

Analysis of tofisopam in human serum by column-switching semi-micro high-performance liquid chromatography and evaluation of tofisopam bioequivalency.

A rapid and sensitive column-switching semi-micro HPLC method is described for the direct analysis of tofisopam in human serum. The sample (100 microL) was directly injected onto the precolumn (Capcell Pak MF Ph-1), where unretained proteins were eluted to waste. Tofisopam was then eluted into an enrichment column using 13% acetonitrile in 50 mM phosphate buffer (pH 7.0) containing 5 mM sodium octanesulfonate and subsequently into the analytical column using 43% acetonitrile in 0.1% phosphoric acid containing 5 mM sodium octanesulfonate. The detection limit (2 ng/mL), good precision (CV < or = 4.2%) and speed (total analysis time 24 min) of the present method were sufficient for drug monitoring. This method was successfully applied to a bioequivalence test of two commercial tofisopam tablets.