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Environmental regulation is a crucial mechanism for attaining both environmental preservation and sustainable development. So, how does the changes in regulatory costs affect the development of green economy? We use Difference-in-Differences model to test the impact of environmental tax implementation on the level of green economy in 30 provinces, municipalities, and autonomous regions of China from 2011 to 2020.Our research find that the implementation of environmental protection tax effectively improve the level of green economy in the areas where the tax burden was raised, that is, the increase in the cost of environmental regulation would promote the growth of the level of green economy. Through a series of robustness tests such as outlier test, placebo test, reduced sample test, lagging independent variable, and control variable, the conclusions of this paper are still robust. Further analysis reveals that the implementation of environmental protection taxes has significantly improved the level of green innovation, industrial structure, and energy use efficiency in tax bearing areas. Heterogeneity analysis find that the impact of environmental protection tax implementation on regional green economy mainly occurs in the tax burden increase areas in the central and western regions. In places characterized by elevated levels of green credit and tax burden, the introduction of environmental protection levies exhibits a more pronounced impact on fostering green economic growth. Hence, it is recommended to further augment environmental rules, broaden the ambit of environmental tax collection, and strengthen regional green credit support in order to facilitate the advancement of the green economy towards high-quality development.

Background. The role of C‐reactive protein (CRP), an inflammatory marker, in the development of sarcopenia remains uncertain. Methods. This cross‐sectional research involved the enrollment of 207 patients, classified into two groups: 74 patients with sarcopenia and 133 patients without sarcopenia. Clinical data of the participants, including hand grip strength, walking speed, appendicular lean mass (ALM), and calf circumference, were collected and recorded. We evaluated the extent to which CRP levels are associated with the risk of sarcopenia using both univariate and multivariate logistic regression models. Besides, the correlation between CRP levels, hand grip strength, ALM, and walking speed was examined using the Spearman rank correlation test. Moreover, we have employed the Mendelian randomization (MR) analysis technique to explore the causal relationship between CRP levels and the occurrence of sarcopenia. Results. The sarcopenia group showed a higher proportion of older women, with significant differences in anemia prevalence, calf circumference, gait speed, ALM, hand grip strength, and elevated CRP levels compared to the control group. Logistic regression analyses identified CRP as an independent risk factor for sarcopenia (OR: 1.151, 95% CI:1.070−1.238, and P < 0.001). Correlation analysis results revealed a noteworthy inverse association with hand grip strength (R = −0.454 and P < 0.001), ALM (R = −0.426 and P < 0.001), and walking speed (R = −0.431 and P < 0.001). MR analysis provided further evidence of a significant detrimental link between genetically predicted CRP levels and essential sarcopenia characteristics, with consistent results across various statistical models. Conclusions. Our study uncovered strong evidence supporting a noteworthy inverse association and causality between CRP concentrations and sarcopenia, indicating that CRP has the potential to serve as a biomarker for sarcopenia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Localized arc filament plasma actuators (LAFPAs) have shown the capability to alter the entrainment of freestream air into a jet. This paper presents an investigation into the effects of LAFPAs on the air jet and methane/air premixed Bunsen flames at different Reynolds numbers. The flow disturbance covering the laminar to turbulent transient conditions was generated by a high voltage plasma discharge system of LAFPAs. The high speed Z-type Schlieren technique was applied to visualize the instantaneous flow and flame structures, and an optical flow algorithm was used to estimate the velocity distribution and further analyze the turbulent effect induced by the plasma. The results illustrate that, in the presence of LAFPA operation, the turbulence jet was accelerated and the jet mixing enhanced. Meanwhile, with the help of LAFPAs, the global consumption burning velocity increased significantly by the area enhancement via plasma–flame interaction. The flame front response to the flow disturbance consists of more surface stretch and flame separation. Furthermore, turbulence spectra analysis of the images reveals a considerable increase in turbulent fluctuations in both cold flow and reacting flow. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: In order to improve survival outcomes in resectable non‐small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), strategies for neoadjuvant therapy need to be revisited. We evaluated and compared the efficacy of different neoadjuvant therapeutic modalities in a real‐world setting. Methods: A total of 258 patients with clinical stage IIA to IIIB NSCLC was included. All the patients underwent surgical resection after one to four cycles of neoadjuvant treatment consisting of chemotherapy (83), immunotherapy (23), and immunotherapy plus chemotherapy (152). Results: The radiologic response rate in the combined immunochemotherapy group was 67.8%, higher than that of 48.2% in the chemotherapy group and 4.3% in the immunotherapy group (p < 0.001). An improved major pathological response (MPR) was also achieved in the combined therapy group compared with the chemotherapy group and the immunotherapy group (53.9% vs. 10.8% vs. 8.7%, p < 0.001). Patients in the combined therapy group had a significant trend toward longer disease‐free survival than those in the chemotherapy alone group (3‐year disease‐free survival [DFS] of 68.79% vs. 50.81%; hazard ratio [HR] for progression or death, 0.477; p = 0.003). Multivariate Cox analysis identified radical surgery (HR, 0.328; p = 0.033), ypN0–1 stage (HR, 0.591; p = 0.038) and MPR result (HR, 0.362; p = 0.007) to be independent prognostic factors for DFS. Conclusions: Neoadjuvant treatment with a combination of immunotherapy plus chemotherapy appears to achieve higher radiological and pathological responses than monotherapy for IIA‐IIIB NSCLC. Log‐rank analysis showed that a better outcome could be expected in patients with the addition of immunotherapy to neoadjuvant chemotherapy if compared with patients with chemotherapy alone in terms of DFS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective To explore the role of transient receptor potential canonical 6 (TRPC6) on conditioning and extinction in contextual fear memory. Methods A total of 32 male C57BL/6J mice (6~8 weeks old) were randomized into fear conditioning (Cond group, n=16) and fear extinction (Ext group, n=16). Both groups were further divided into sh-TRPC6 subgroup (n=8) and GFP subgroup (n=8). Stereotaxic injection of adeno-associated virus (AAV)-TRPC6 or AAV-green fluorescent protein (AAV-GFP) was performed into the hippocampus of the corresponding mice bilaterally for intervention of fear. Immunofluorescence assay and Western blotting were used to detect the expression of TRPC6 in hippocampus of each sub-group in 20 d after stereotaxic injection. On day 21, fear conditioning was established though inescapable foot shock (footshock of 0.7 mA for 2 s and intertrial interval for 58 s, totally 5 cycles), and fear test was carried out on day 22. For the mice from the Ext group, fear conditioning begun in 4 d after stereotaxic injection, fear extinction training started on day 21, and fear test was also carried out on day 22. Results At 20 d after injection, massive GFP-positive cells were observed in the pyramidal layer of hippocampal CA1 region, and Western blotting showed AAV-TRPC6 injection significantly reduced the hippocampal TRPC6 expression in the sh-TRPC6 subgroup than the GFP subgroup (P < 0.01). In the experiment of fear conditioning, the upward trend of the Freezing% levels in sh-TRPC6 subgroup was obviously slower (P < 0.05), and its Freezing% levels were notably lower in fear test when compared with the GFP subgroup (P < 0.05). In the experiment of fear extinction, the downward trend of the Freezing% levels in sh-TRPC6 subgroup was significantly slower (P < 0.05) and its Freezing% levels were significantly higher in fear test when compared with the GFP subgroup (P < 0.05). Conclusion Hippocampal TRPC6 participates in the conditioning and extinction in contextual fear memory, and suppression of its expression can destroy the processes.