Cardioprotective effect of cedrol in an inflammation systemic model induced by lipopolysaccharide: Biochemical and histological verification.

Introduction: Evidence declared lipopolysaccharide (LPS) initiates inflammatory responses by stimulating the abandon of cytokines, which may perturb organ function. On the other side, it has been suggested Cedrol has potential properties, including anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidative activities. Herein, this study was done to assess the protective effect of Cedrol against LPS-associated heart damage. Methods: Thirty-five rats (200-250 g) were sorted into five groups, including control, LPS, LPS-Cedrol 7.5 mg/kg, LPS-Cedrol 15 mg/kg, and LPS-Cedrol 30 mg/kg groups. Cedrol was administrated through injected intra-peritoneally for two weeks. The heart tissues were removed and malondialdehyde (MDA) as a lipid peroxidation marker, superoxide dismutase (SOD), and catalase (CAT) as antioxidant markers were assessed. Furthermore, the interleukin (IL)-6 level in cardiac tissue was measured and Masson's trichrome methods were employed to appraise cardiac inflammation and fibrosis, respectively. Results: Inflammation induced by LPS was significantly accompanied by myocardial fibrosis which was shown by Masson's trichrome staining (P<0.001). In addition, LPS administration enhanced the MDA level while it diminished the activity of anti-oxidant markers such as CAT and SOD (P<0.001 for all cases). In the histological results, Cedrol improved LPS-induced inflammation and cardiac fibrosis (P<0.01 to P<0.001). Cedrol also enhanced CAT and SOD activities, whereas declined MDA level in the cardiac tissue (P<0.01 to P<0.001). Conclusion: The current findings proposed that the administration of Cedrol exerted a protective role in LPS-associated heart damage by reducing inflammation, cardiac fibrosis, and oxidative stress.

Provincial and regional analysis of carbon neutrality policy and the environmental Kuznets curve: examining their effect on CO2 emissions in China.

China is making a challenging effort to achieve its ambitious goal of becoming carbon-neutral by 2060. Therefore, the Chinese government should develop effective policy tools to improve its carbon neutrality plan. Due to this importance, an empirical study is required to examine the comprehensive effect of the carbon neutrality policy on CO2 emissions in China. Also, the role of economic development on the environment, the environmental Kuznets curve (EKC) hypothesis in the carbon neutrality-CO2 emissions nexus, has yet to be examined. Considering this gap, the present study investigates the impacts of carbon neutrality policy and the economy on CO2 emissions at China's provincial and regional levels from 2006 to 2017. We use a comprehensive approach to measure the carbon neutrality policy through the source control and sink increase perspectives. This study performs the panel-corrected standard errors (PCSE) and the feasible generalised least squares (FGLS) regression techniques to control the heteroscedasticity and cross-sectional correlation issues. The results show that an improvement in energy efficiency and renewable energy power generation decreases the per capita CO2 emissions at the provincial level from the source control perspective. From the sink increase perspective, only green space development affects CO2 emissions reduction; the development of carbon capture, utilisation, and storage (CCUS) does not. Also, this study shows that the EKC hypothesis holds true in China nationally and in the central region. Due to differing regional development patterns, the impact of carbon neutrality policy on CO2 emissions varies across regions. This study suggests specific policy implications such as increasing R&D investment per unit of GDP to support CCUS technologies at provincial and regional levels.

Environmental policy innovation in China and examining its dynamic relations with air pollution and economic growth using SEM panel data.

Along with monitoring air pollution level and rapid economic growth in China, the government has paid attention to the environmental policy innovation (EPI) capacity of local governments. However, scholarly research has not yet clarified the ability of local governments in EPI and its related drivers and impacts. This study explores the dynamic relations between EPI, air pollution, and the economy for the first time, using the simultaneous equation model (SEM) in China during 2006-2015 across 30 provinces. To calculate EPI, this study introduces the comprehensive concept of policy innovation, consisting of invention, diffusion, and evaluation. The results show that EPI is strongly promoted by air pollution; however, promoting EPI alone cannot decrease air pollution. These results would vary among eastern and western provinces. Economic growth has a significant positive effect on EPI and can significantly reduce air pollution. This study suggests policymakers strengthen EPI in order to achieve a balance between air pollution and economic growth.

Air pollution inequality and health inequality in China: An empirical study.

China's residents experience unequal exposure to air pollution in different regions, and the corresponding health consequences have increased remarkably. To ensure sustainable development, China should monitor health inequality and its potential determinants. This study empirically examines the health inequalities (represented by perinatal and tuberculosis mortalities) caused by air pollution inequalities (represented by SO2 and NOx emissions) from 31 Chinese provinces in the period 2006 to 2015, using the generalized method of moments (GMM) and quantile regression (QR). The GMM results reveal a strong positive relationship between SO2/NOx emission inequality and tuberculosis mortality inequality. In contrast, the QR results show that perinatal mortality inequality is closely related to emission inequality across all percentiles for SO2 emission and at the 75th percentile for NOx emission. Our findings help policymakers to identify health disparities and be mindful of air pollution inequality as a factor in the elimination of health inequality.