Under the background of carbon peaking and carbon neutrality goals, the Ministry of Ecology and Environment, together with 15 national ministries and commissions, has formulated the Implementation Plan on Establishing a Carbon Footprint Management System, and it is urgent for traditional Chinese medicine(TCM) pharmaceutical enterprises to carry out research on carbon footprint accounting methods of related products. Based on the life cycle assessment(LCA) theory, taking mulberry leaf extract produced by a certain enterprise as an example, this study analyzed the carbon footprint of TCM extracts during the life cycle. The results show that for every 1 kg of product produced, the carbon emissions from the stages of raw material acquisition, transportation, and extract production are-20.569, 1.205, and 173.577 kgCO_2eq(CO_2 equivalent), respectively. The carbon footprint of the product is 154.213 kgCO_2eq·kg~(-1). In addition, the carbon emission is the highest in the production stage, in which the consumption of ethanol solvents makes the greatest contribution to the carbon footprint, accounting for 25.71%, more than one-fourth of the total carbon footprint. The second contribution was from the treatment process of TCM residues, accounting for 19.67%, closely followed by wastewater treatment(17.71%), the consumption of hot steam(17.43%), and drinking water(16.90%). The consumption of electric power and packaging materials has a smaller carbon emission of 2.58%. In particular, the carbon emission caused by the consumption of packaging materials is only 0.04%, which is negligible. The results of the study are expected to provide a reference for TCM enterprises to carry out research on the carbon footprint of products, offer ideas for collaborative innovation in reducing pollution and carbon emissions throughout the entire industry chain of TCM, and develop new quality productivity of modern TCM industry based on green and low-carbon manufacturing.
Morus/chemistry* ; Plant Leaves/chemistry* ; Carbon Footprint ; Drugs, Chinese Herbal/chemistry* ; Plant Extracts/analysis* ; Medicine, Chinese Traditional

BACKGROUND: The anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is an extremely important static structure that stabilizes the structure of the knee joint. Many scholars have found that an insufficient understanding of normal anatomical structure and biological characteristics of the ACL results in poor outcomes in the ACL reconstruction. OBJECTIVE: To compare the clinical effects of single-bundle and double-bundle single-tunnel techniques in ACL reconstruction with allogeneic tendon. METHODS: (1) Anatomy research: Six fresh knee joints were used for the experiments, and X-ray, CT and MRI were taken for each sample to confirm no osteoclasia, tumor and collapse of ACL. Then the ACL was stripped from the tibial bone and used to run hematoxylin-eosin staining and observe the fiber distribution of each piece of the ACL. (2) Clinical research: A total of 40 cases of ACL arthroscopic reconstruction were involved in this study, including 19 single-bundle ones and 21 double-bundle ones. The International Knee Documentation Committee 2000 subjective knee form (IKDC2000), Tegner and Lysholm evaluations were performed in all the patients. Paired t-test was used to analyze the IKDC, Tegner and Lysholm scores before operation and at follow-up time. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: Anatomy research: From the view of anatomy, there was no evidence to support the double beams of the ACL at the tibial end by hematoxylin-eosin staining. Clinical research: Forty patients (40 knee joints) were successfully followed for over 12 months, and their joint range of motion was normal. The IKDC, Tegner and Lysholm scores were all improved in both two groups after the surgery, while the Larson scores were significantly higher in the double-bundle group than the single-bundle group. To conclude, the single-tunnel double-bundle ACL reconstruction is better to restore the knee stability than the single-bundle ACL reconstruction. This is an easy operation that has the merits of operating conveniently, restoring the normal anatomy of the tibial end, and exhibiting excellent short-term therapeutic effects. However, its long-term effects are uncertain.

BACKGROUNDMucus hypersecretion in the respiratory tract and goblet cell metaplasia in the airway epithelium contribute to the morbidity and mortality associated with airway inflammatory diseases. This study aimed to examine the effect and mechanisms of simvastatin on airway mucus hypersecretion in rats treated with lipopolysaccharide (LPS).

METHODSMucus hypersecretion in rat airways was induced by intra-tracheal instillation of LPS. Rats treated with or without LPS were administered intra-peritoneally simvastatin (5 and 20 mg/kg) for 4 days. Expression of Muc5ac, RhoA and mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPK) p38 in lung were detected by real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR), immunohistochemistry or Western blotting. Tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha and IL-8 in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) were assayed by an enzyme-linked lectin assay and enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA).

RESULTSSimvastatin attenuated LPS-induced goblet cell hyperplasia in bronchial epithelium and Muc5ac hypersecretion at both the gene and protein levels in lung (P <0.05). Moreover, simvastatin inhibited neutrophil accumulation and the increased concentration of TNF-alpha and IL-8 in BALF follows LPS stimulation (P < 0.05). The higher dose of simvastatin was associated with a more significant reduction in Muc5ac mRNA expression, neutrophil accumulation and inflammatory cytokine release. Simultaneously, the increased expression of RhoA and p38 MAPK were observed in LPS-treated lung (P <0.05). Simvastatin inhibited the expression of RhoA and p38 phosphorylation in lung following LPS stimulation (P < 0.05). However, the increased expression of p38 protein in LPS-treated lung was not affected by simvastatin administration.

CONCLUSIONSSimvastatin attenuates airway mucus hypersecretion and pulmonary inflammatory damage induced by LPS. The inhibitory effect of simvastatin on airway mucus hypersecretion may be through, at least in part, the suppression of neutrophil accumulation and inflammatory cytokine release via inactivation of RhoA and p38 signaling pathway.

Animals ; Hydroxymethylglutaryl-CoA Reductase Inhibitors ; pharmacology ; Lipopolysaccharides ; toxicity ; Male ; Mucin 5AC ; secretion ; Rats ; Rats, Sprague-Dawley ; Respiratory Mucosa ; drug effects ; secretion ; Simvastatin ; pharmacology ; p38 Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinases ; antagonists & inhibitors ; rhoA GTP-Binding Protein ; antagonists & inhibitors

Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Cervical Vertebrae ; abnormalities ; Esophagus ; Foreign Bodies ; complications ; Humans ; Male

Adult ; Aged ; Female ; Fluorodeoxyglucose F18 ; Head and Neck Neoplasms ; diagnostic imaging ; secondary ; Humans ; Lymphatic Metastasis ; diagnostic imaging ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Positron-Emission Tomography ; Retrospective Studies

Adult ; Endoscopy ; Female ; Humans ; Mucocele ; surgery ; Paranasal Sinus Diseases ; complications ; surgery ; Pituitary Apoplexy ; complications ; surgery ; Sphenoid Sinus

Adult ; Cerebrospinal Fluid Rhinorrhea ; etiology ; Female ; Humans

Abscess ; etiology ; surgery ; Drainage ; methods ; Endoscopy ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Nose ; surgery ; Orbital Diseases ; etiology ; surgery

Humans ; Laryngeal Neoplasms ; pathology ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Neurilemmoma ; pathology