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Abstract Since the adoption of the Kyoto protocol in 1997 and its entry into force in 2005, as well its aftermath such as the Doha amendment and Paris agreement, national policies have become more conscious of the usage of clean energy, mostly the different forms of renewable energy and nuclear energy. Ratifying countries and signatories had committed themselves to binding targets for the reduction of greenhouse emissions by 8% with respect to 1990 levels until 2012, also based on the particular contribution to global emissions from each country. This paper examines the integrational properties of clean energy consumption from eight emerging economies which are also high greenhouse gas emitters. The empirical results show that the clean energy consumption is stationarity for Brazil and Philippines by using a quantile unit root test without smooth breaks (Koenker and Xiao, 2004). However, after capturing the smooth breaks (Bahmani-Oskooee et al., 2018), we find the clean energy consumption of China, Pakistan and Thailand are stationary. The time-varying deterministic trend with smooth breaks is more fitted to the path of clean energy consumption in comparison to the deterministic trend without smooth breaks. The paper suggests economic insights useful for policy making.

Abstract Background Diabetic ulcer is a common complication of diabetes. It is characterized by a long-term disease course and high recurrence rate. Shengji Huayu Formula (SHF) is an effective formula for treating diabetic ulcers. However, the specific effective parts of SHF remain unclear. Clarifying the active polar site of SHF would be helpful to refine research on the components in SHF that promote wound healing. This research aims to focus on evaluating the activity of polar fractions. Methods A diabetic rat model was established by intraperitoneally injecting streptozotocin (STZ) and was adopted to confirm the therapeutic effect of SHF. Four different polarity parts were extracted from SHF and prepared into a cream to evaluate the activity. High-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) was used to detect chemical constituents in chloroform extracts. Results It was discovered that dracorhodin, aloe-emodin, rhein, imperatorin, emodin, isoimperatorin, chrysophanol, physcion, and tanshinone IIA were the main components of the chloroform extract from SHF. The results revealed that chloroform extract could effectively accelerate diabetic wound healing by promoting collagen regeneration and epidermal repair. Chloroform extract of SHF could stimulate the generation of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF). The results are also indicated that the effective active fraction was the chloroform part, and the method of detecting the main chemical constituents in the active part was successfully established. Conclusion SHF could improve diabetic ulcers by promoting granulation tissue synthesis. In this study, four polar parts (petroleum ether, chloroform, ethylacetate, n-butanol) were extracted from a 95% ethanol extract. In contrast, chloroform polar parts showed a higher wound closure rate, stimulated more collagen regeneration and promoted more production of vascular endothelial cells. In conclusion, the chloroform extract of SHF was the effective polar part in ameliorating diabetic wound healing.

The accessibility of hospital facilities is of great importance not only for maintaining social stability, but also for protecting the basic human right to health care. Traditional accessibility research often lacks consideration of the dynamic changes in transport costs and does not reflect the actual travel time of urban residents, which is critical to time-sensitive hospital services. To avoid these defects, this study considered the city of Kaifeng, China, as an empirical case, and directly acquired travel time data for two travel modes to the hospital in different time periods through web mapping API (Application Program Interface). Further, based on travel time calculations, we compared five baseline indicators. For the last indicator, we used the optimal weighted accessibility model to measure hospital accessibility for each residential area. The study discovered significant differences in the frequency and spatial distribution of hospital accessibility using public transit and self-driving modes of transportation. In addition, there is an imbalance between accessibility travel times in the study area and the number of arrivals at hospitals. In particular, different modes of transportation and different travel periods also have a certain impact on accessibility of medical treatment. The research results shed new light on the accessibility of urban public facilities and provide a scientific basis with which local governments can optimize the spatial structure of hospital resources.

Farmland is the most basic material condition for guaranteeing rural livelihoods and national food security, and exploring management strategies that take both stable rural livelihoods and sustainable farmland use into account has vital significance in theory and practice. Farmland is a complex and self-adaptive system that couples human and natural systems, and natural and social factors that are related to its changing process need to be considered when modeling farmland changing processes. This paper uses Qianjingou Town in the Inner Mongolian farming–pastoral zone as a study area. From the perspective of the relationship between household livelihood and farmland use, this study establishes the process mechanism of farmland use change based on questionnaire data, and constructs a multi-agent simulation model of farmland use change using the Eclipse and Repast toolbox. Through simulating the relationship between natural factors (including geographical location) and household behavior, this paper systematically simulates household farmland abandonment and rent behaviors, and accurately describes the dynamic interactions between household livelihoods and the factors related to farmland use change. These factors include natural factors (net primary productivity, road accessibility, slope and relief amplitude) and social factors (household family structures, economic development and government policies). Ultimately, this study scientifically predicts the future farmland use change trend in the next 30 years. The simulation results show that the number of abandoned and sublet farmland plots has a gradually increasing trend, and the number of non-farming households and pure-outworking households has a remarkable increasing trend, whereas the number of part-farming households and pure-farming households has a decreasing trend. Household livelihood sustainability in the study area is confronted with increasing pressure, and household non-farm employment has an increasing trend, while regional appropriate-scale agricultural management is maintained. The research results establish the theoretical foundation and a basic method for developing sustainable farmland use management that can meet the willingness of households and guarantee grain and ecological security.

Ethnopharmacological relevance Phaseaoli pericarpium (bean pods) is a pharmacopeial plant material traditionally used as a diuretic and antidiabetic agents. Diuretic activity of pod extracts was reported first in 1608. Since then Phaseoli pericarpium tea figures in many textbooks as medicinal plant material used by patients. Aim of the study Despite the traditional use of extracts from Phaseolium vulgaris pericarp, limited information is available on bioactivity, chemical composition, and bioavailability of such preparations. The following study aimed to investigate the phytochemical composition, the in vitro permeability of selected extract's constituents over the Caco-2 permeation system, and potential antivirulence activity against uropathogenic Escherichia coli of a hydroalcoholic Phaseoli pericarpium extract (PPX) in vitro to support its traditional use as a remedy used in urinary tract infections. Material and methods The chemical composition of the extract PPX [ethanol:water 7:3 (v/v)] investigated by using UHPLC-DAD-MSn and subsequent dereplication. The permeability of compounds present in PPX was evaluated using the Caco-2 monolayer permeation system. The influence of PPX on uropathogenic E. coli (UPEC) strain NU14 proliferation and against the bacterial adhesion to T24 epithelial cells was determined by turbidimetric assay and flow cytometry, respectively. The influence of the extract on the mitochondrial activity of T24 host cells was monitored by MTT assay. Results LC-MSn investigation and dereplication, indicated PPX extract to be dominated by a variety of flavonoids, with rutin as a major compound, and soyasaponin derivatives. Rutin, selected soyasaponins and fatty acids were shown to permeate the Caco-2 monolayer system, indicating potential bioavailability following oral intake. The extract did not influence the viability of T24 cells after 1.5h incubation at 2 mg/mL and UPEC. PPX significantly reduced the bacterial adhesion of UPEC to human bladder cells in a concentration-dependent manner (0.5–2 mg/mL). Detailed investigations by different incubation protocols indicated that PPX seems to interact with T24 cells, which subsequently leads to reduced recognition and adhesion of UPEC to the host cell membrane. Conclusions PPX is characterised by the presence of flavonoids (e.g. rutin) and saponins, from which selected compounds might be bioavailable after oral application, as indicated by the Caco-2 permeation experiments. Rutin and some saponins can be considered as potentially bioavailable after the oral intake. The concentration-dependent inhibition of bacterial adhesion of UPEC to T24 cells justifies the traditional use of Phaseoli pericarpium in the prevention and treatment of urinary tract infections.

Phytochemical investigation on the rhizomes of Homalomena occulta resulted in the isolation of five new sesquiterpenoids, namely cadinane-4β,5α,10α-triol (1), 5(11)-epoxycadinane-4β,5β,10β,11-tetraol (2), bullatantiol-1β-methyl malate (3), 1β,4β,7α-trihydroxyeudesmane-1β-methyl malate (6), and 1β,4α,7-trihydroxyeudes-mane (7), together with five known sesquiterpenoids, bullatantriol (4), acetylbullatantriol (5), 1β,4β,7α-trihydroxyeudesmane (8), 1β,4β,7β-trihydroxyeude-smane (9), and pterodontriol (10). Their structures were elucidated on the basis of spectroscopic evidences, including various 1D and 2D NMR and HR-ESI-MS. The structure of 1 was further confirmed by single-crystal X-ray diffraction analysis.

In the early 21st century, societies and their governments around the world have been meeting unprecedented challenges, many of which surpass the capacities, capabilities, and reaches of their traditional institutions and their classical processes of governing. Among these challenges are the need for an accelerated transition of the global economy from its current fossil fuel basis to renewable energies, the so-called post-carbon era also known as the third industrial revolution, the containment and reduction of government spending and debt financing, the increasing rapidity of market changes, and the expanding lag of timely interventions via traditional lawmaking and government action. While upholding the proven principles of Western democracy, democratic self-governance in 21st century market economies apparently needs to develop new institutional formats and novel mechanisms for staying abreast with the systemic dynamics of a tightly interconnected global society. We claim that actionable and omnipresent information along with its underlying technologies are substantial prerequisites and backbones for developing models of smart (democratic) governance, which foster smart, open, and agile governmental institutions as well as stakeholder participation and collaboration on all levels and in all branches of the governing process. We present and discuss an agenda for research and practice, which advances the concept of smart, open, and participatory government of the 21st century.

The effect of extreme temperature has become an increasing public health concern. Evaluating the impact of ambient temperature on morbidity has received less attention than its impact on mortality.We performed a systematic literature review and extracted quantitative estimates of the effects of hot temperatures on cardiorespiratory morbidity. There were too few studies on effects of cold temperatures to warrant a summary. Pooled estimates of effects of heat were calculated using a Bayesian hierarchical approach that allowed multiple results to be included from the same study, particularly results at different latitudes and with varying lagged effects.Twenty-one studies were included in the final meta-analysis. The pooled results suggest an increase of 3.2% (95% posterior interval = -3.2% to 10.1%) in respiratory morbidity with 1°C increase on hot days. No apparent association was observed for cardiovascular morbidity (-0.5% [-3.0% to 2.1%]). The length of lags had inconsistent effects on the risk of respiratory and cardiovascular morbidity, whereas latitude had little effect on either.The effects of temperature on cardiorespiratory morbidity seemed to be smaller and more variable than previous findings related to mortality.