Evaluation of the green economic value added index in the game of enterprise capital providers.

This study explores the performance evaluation of steel enterprises, emphasizing the importance of green environmental performance. Based on the review of the current situation of green investment research, economic added value evaluation system, and game analysis of enterprise capital providers, this study discusses the comprehensive evaluation of games among enterprise capital providers from the perspective of green economic added value. It constructs a game model of capital providers from the perspective of green investment. This model is based on the probability of creditors making green bond investments and shareholders pledging equity, deriving game results, and using economic added value returns to measure enterprise performance. The main data in this study are from the CSMAR database, a corporate governance project, and the relevant environmental protection data from Nangang's annual report. The results show that the green economic added value return rate is higher than the traditional economic added value return rate, indicating that environmental investments do not reduce the operational performance of enterprises. The game of capital providers leans towards equity investment and does not enhance enterprise performance at the expense of the environment. The green economic added value index only reflects past operational performance, based on which enterprises can design reasonable performance evaluation mechanisms, encouraging capital providers to favor environmental investments. This study has important theoretical and practical significance, guiding enterprises' strategic choices during green transformation.

Allergen desensitization reduces the severity of relapsed alopecia areata in dust-mite allergic patients.

Atopy may be a facilitating factor in some alopecia areata (AA) patients with early disease onset and more severe/extensive AA. The underlying immune mechanisms are unknown, but allergen responses may support a pro-inflammatory environment that indirectly promotes AA. To investigate the long-term effect of allergen immunotherapy (AIT) against house dust mite (HDM) allergy on disease severity and prognosis for AA patients. An observational comparative effectiveness study was conducted on 69 AA patients with HDM allergy. 34 patients received conventional/traditional AA treatment (TrAA) plus AIT (AIT-TrAA), and 35 patients received TrAA alone. Serum total immunoglobulin E (tIgE), HDM specific IgE (sIgE), HDM specific IgG4 (sIgG4) and cytokines (IL-4, IL-5, IL-10, IL-12, IL-13, IL-33, IFNγ) were quantified in these patients, together with 58 non-allergic AA patients and 40 healthy controls. At the end of the 3-year desensitization course, the AIT-TrAA group presented with lower SALT scores than the TrAA group, especially in non-alopecia totalis/universalis (AT/U) patients and pre-adolescent AT/U patients (age ≤ 14). In patients with elevated tIgE levels before AIT, a decrease in tIgE was correlated to reduced extent of AA on completion of the AIT course. After desensitization, elevation of IL-5 and decrease of IL-33 were observed in HDM allergic-AA patients. Desensitization to HDM in allergic AA patients reduces the severity of relapse-related hair loss over the 3-year AIT treatment course, possibly via opposing Th2 dominance. This adjunctive treatment may help reduce disease severity and curtail the disease process in allergic patients with AA.

China's SMEs Developed Characteristics and Countermeasures in the Post-epidemic Era.

Due to the COVID-19 outbreak, a series of chain reactions, like international trade breakdown, stock market collapse, and crude oil's collapse, have adversely affected the global economy, particularly small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). As a result, the Chinese government issued many fiscal and financial policies to support SMEs. This paper analyzes SMEs' coping methods and conceptual changes affected by the epidemic and distinguishes "victims" and "beneficiaries." Subsequently, based on extensive international experience and local government experience, it provides effective suggestions for the Chinese government to deal with the post-epidemic era's economic changes, policy suggestions, and coping strategies for SMEs' short-term and long-term sustainable development.

Factors associated with progression of different prediabetic status to Diabetes: A Community-based cohort study.

AIMS: To examine the predictive factors associated with the progression of different prediabetic status to diabetes. METHODS: A two-year retrospective cohort study was conducted on 5741 participants aged 40 years or older. Finally, 1685 participants with prediabetes defined by IFG (impaired fasting glucose), IGT (impaired glucose tolerance) and CGI (combined IFG and IGT) were included. Logistic regression model was used to evaluate the risk of prediabetes progression to diabetes. RESULTS: Of the 1685 subjects with prediabetes at baseline, 212 (12.6%) subjects progressed to diabetes and 1473 (87.4%) subjects did not. Logistic regression analysis demonstrated that people with CGI were associated with an increased risk of progressing to diabetes compared to those with IFG (OR, 95% CI: 3.127, 2.047-4.776). Moreover, males, obese people, people with increased BMI and WHR (Waist/ Hip ratio), and hypertension were positively associated with the progression to diabetes, while HOMA-ß was negatively associated with the progression to diabetes. CONCLUSIONS: Subjects with CGI are prone to progressed to diabetes compared to those with IFG or IGT in middle-aged and older person in China. More attention should be paid to male and obese prediabetic subjects, and measures should be taken to control the increase in their BMI and WHR.

High-Fiber Diet or Combined With Acarbose Alleviates Heterogeneous Phenotypes of Polycystic Ovary Syndrome by Regulating Gut Microbiota.

Objective: Gut microbial dysbiosis is associated with high heterogeneity of polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS); however, studies about gut microbiota targeted clinical intervention in PCOS are limited. Our study aimed to evaluate the effects of high-fiber diet or combined with acarbose on the clinical phenotypes of PCOS, focusing on the possible influence of gut microbiota in this process. Methods: Twenty-five patients with PCOS were recruited and randomly divided into two groups, W group (n = 14) received the WTP diet (a high-fiber diet composed of whole grains, traditional Chinese medicinal foods, and prebiotics), and A group (n = 11) received the WTP diet combined with acarbose. The follow-up time was 12 weeks. The sex hormonal and glycolipid metabolic parameters, inflammatory factors, brain-gut peptides, and alteration of gut microbiota were evaluated. Results: The PCOS clinical phenotypes, inflammatory state, and brain-gut peptides secretion were all alleviated in both groups, while the hyperandrogenism, insulin resistance, and brain-gut peptides secretion were better improved in the A group. Alpha and beta diversities were altered more significantly in the A group. Amplicon sequence variants (ASVs) were clustered into 14 co-abundant groups (CAGs) as potential functional groups that may respond to the intervention. The CAGs predominantly comprised of Bifidobacterium and Lactobacillus were more enriched, while the CAGs predominantly comprised of Bacteroides vulgatus, Alistipes, Blautia, Lachnospira, and Roseburia were more inhibited in the A group than in W group. Moreover, the CAGs enriched in the A group had a stronger negative correlation with the luteinizing hormone (LH)/follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) ratio, testosterone, homeostasis model assessment-insulin resistance (HOMA-IR), α-1-acid glycoprotein (α-AGP), and leptin, and positive correlation with adiponectin and spexin, while the CAGs inhibited showed an opposite trend. Conclusions: High-fiber diet could alleviate the chronic metabolic inflammation, reproductive function, and brain-gut peptides secretion of patients with PCOS, and high-fiber diet combined with acarbose could better improve the PCOS clinical phenotypes. The remodeling of gut microbiota by our intervention may play an important role in these improvements. Clinical Trial Registration: http://www.chictr.org.cn/showproj.aspx?proj=4500, ChiCTR-TRC-14005075.

Sequential cyclic changes of hair roots revealed by dermoscopy demonstrate a progressive mechanism of diffuse alopecia areata over time.

BACKGROUND: Diffuse alopecia areata (DAA) often leads to a complete hair shedding within a few months. OBJECTIVE: To explore features and mechanisms underlying DAA. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Scalp and hair root dermoscopy were conducted on 23 DAA patients throughout the disease process, 20 patchy Alopecia areata patients, 23 acute telogen effluvium (ATE) patients and 10 normal controls. Histopathology was also evaluated. RESULTS: We found almost all hair roots were anagen in early stage DAA in 18 patients (18/23, 78.3%) within the first 4-8 weeks after hair loss onset. Anagen effluvium (~4 weeks) was followed by catagen (~4 weeks) and then telogen/exogen (~8 weeks) effluvium with overlap. Hair root and proximal hair shaft depigmentation was more prominent in later DAA disease stages. Black dots, exclamation mark hairs and inconsistent thickness of hair shafts were found more often in early than later DAA (Ps < 0.01). Early DAA histopathology revealed more prominent inflammation and hair follicle regression than that observed in the later stages. Patchy alopecia areata patients showed mixed anagen, catagen and telogen hair roots while ATE patients showed increased exogen and mildly decreased hair root pigmentation. CONCLUSION: Sequential cyclic staging of shed hairs in DAA indicates the insult may be hair-cycle specific. We suggest that DAA is initially an anagen effluvium disease involving an intense inflammatory insult, later progressing to a brief catagen effluvium, and then to telogen effluvium with premature exogen, in later stages of DAA.

Gut bacteria selectively promoted by dietary fibers alleviate type 2 diabetes.

The gut microbiota benefits humans via short-chain fatty acid (SCFA) production from carbohydrate fermentation, and deficiency in SCFA production is associated with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). We conducted a randomized clinical study of specifically designed isoenergetic diets, together with fecal shotgun metagenomics, to show that a select group of SCFA-producing strains was promoted by dietary fibers and that most other potential producers were either diminished or unchanged in patients with T2DM. When the fiber-promoted SCFA producers were present in greater diversity and abundance, participants had better improvement in hemoglobin A1c levels, partly via increased glucagon-like peptide-1 production. Promotion of these positive responders diminished producers of metabolically detrimental compounds such as indole and hydrogen sulfide. Targeted restoration of these SCFA producers may present a novel ecological approach for managing T2DM.

Increased Serum ANGPTL8 Concentrations in Patients with Prediabetes and Type 2 Diabetes.

The objectives of the study were to investigate serum ANGPTL8 concentrations in different glucose metabolic statuses and to explore the correlations between serum ANGPTL8 levels and various metabolic parameters. Serum ANGPTL8 levels were determined using ELISA in 22 subjects with NGT (normal glucose tolerance), 74 subjects with IGR (impaired glucose regulation), and 33 subjects with T2DM (type 2 diabetes mellitus). Subjects with IFG, IGT, CGI, and T2DM had higher levels of serum ANGPTL8 than subjects with NGT. Serum ANGPTL8 was positively correlated with FPG, fasting C-peptide, and postprandial C-peptide and negatively correlated with BETA/IR when adjusted for age and BMI. Multivariate analysis suggested FPG and fasting C-peptide as independent factors associated with serum ANGPTL8 levels. Serum ANGPTL8 concentrations were significantly increased in IGR and T2DM. Serum ANGPTL8 might play a role in the pathological mechanism of glucose intolerance.

Dysbiosis of Gut Microbiota Associated with Clinical Parameters in Polycystic Ovary Syndrome.

Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is a common endocrine and metabolic disorder in women. Gut microbiota has been implicated to play a critical role in metabolic diseases and may modulate the secretion of mediators of the brain-gut axis. Interaction between gut microbiota and the endocrine and biochemical disturbances in PCOS still remains elusive. Here, we showed an altered gut microbiota significantly correlated with PCOS phenotype. There were 33 patients with PCOS (non-obese PCOS individuals, PN, n = 12; obese PCOS individuals, PO, n = 21) as well as 15 control subjects (non-obese control individuals, CN, n = 9; obese control individuals, CO, n = 6) enrolled in our study. The plasma levels of serotonin, ghrelin, and peptide YY (PYY) were significantly decreased in patients with PCOS compared with controls, and have a significantly negative correlation with waist circumference and testosterone. Sequencing of the V3-V4 region of the 16S rRNA gene in fecal samples revealed the substantial differences of gut microbial species between the PCOS and non-obese controls. Bacterial species were clustered into 23 co-abundance groups (CAGs) based on the SparCC correlation coefficients of their relative abundance. The CAGs increased in PCOS, including the bacteria belonging to Bacteroides, Escherichia/Shigella and Streptococcus, were negatively correlated with ghrelin, and positively correlated with testosterone and BMI. Furthermore, the CAGs that were decreased in PCOS, including the bacteria from Akkermansia and Ruminococcaceae, showed opposite relationship with body-weight, sex-hormone, and brain-gut peptides. In conclusion, gut microbial dysbiosis in women with PCOS is associated with the disease phenotypes.