Selaginella Herba is the dried, aerial part of Selaginella tamariscina (P.Beauv.) Spring and has been used to treat amenorrhea, abdominal pain, headaches, and hematuria in Korea. However, scientific evidence regarding the anti-inflammatory activity and action mechanism of Selaginella tamariscina is lacking. Thus, the present study was performed to investigate the anti-inflammatory and antioxidant activities of Selaginella tamariscina ethanol extract (STE) against lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced inflammatory responses and identify the molecular mechanism responsible. STE was prepared by heating in 70% ethanol and its quality was confirmed by HPLC. STE dose-dependently inhibited the productions of inflammatory mediators (NO and PGE2) and proinflammatory cytokines (IL-1β and IL-6) in LPS-stimulated RAW 264.7 cells. STE markedly suppressed the phosphorylations of MAPKs, IκB-α, and NF-κB and the nuclear translocation of NF-κB induced by LPS stimulation. In addition, STE exhibited good free radical scavenging activity and prevented ROS generation by LPS. STE also upregulated the expression of Nrf2 and HO-1 and promoted the nuclear translocation of Nrf2. Taken together, STE was found to have anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects on RAW 264.7 macrophages and the mechanism appeared to involve the MAPK, NF-κB, and Nrf2/HO-1 signaling pathways. These results suggest that STE might be useful for preventing or treating inflammatory diseases and provide scientific evidence that supports the developments of herbal prescriptions or novel natural products.
The energy consumption for water heating accounts for approximately 30% of the energy required by the residential sector in FY 2007. Despite the high expectation of low CO2 emission, energy-efficient (EE) water heaters are not yet widely used. In this report, we aim to analyze and discuss the market of water heaters on the basis of a questionnaire survey. Firstly, the result shows that the adoption rate of EE water heaters is higher in the market of new custom-built detached houses than in that of new ready-made detached houses. However, the high initial cost of EE water heaters is likely a financial barrier, and also, customer preferences tend to be affected by builders' product lineup to some extent even in the case of custom-built detached houses. Secondly, the adoption rate is relatively high in the case of newly built apartments for sale, probably due to stiff market competition. Thirdly, concerning the replacement of water heaters in detached houses, the adoption rate of EE water heaters is relatively high, although there still remain barriers such as the high initial cost and influences of the lineup of products that sales channels deal. Finally, the replacement of water heaters in newly built apartments was difficult to change energy sources and types of water heater because of space and structure problems.
The water heating is an important target for energy efficiency policy, comprising 30% of the energy consumption in Japanese housings. However, facts about replacement patterns of water heaters and their determinants have not been well studied. We conducted a questionnaire survey concerning the existing housings that replaced water heaters in 2010. We found that the share of energy-efficient water heaters varies much around an average of 30%, depending on the type of housing and its ownership. In the single-family, owned housings sector, factors such as defects and ages of, and resident's interest in, water heaters, can result in different choices.
The purpose of this study is to secure a social safety net such as the prevention of loneliness by targeting the elderly and single households for the vulnerable class in this study. In this regard, elements that are essential in basic life were defined as life-responsive information, and methods for data collection and linkage with the welfare system were sought. Life responsive data was defined as indoor motion detection and door open detection sensors based on the energy consumption data required by home appliances used on a daily basis. In addition, public data such as electric power companies were linked in order to link with the energy welfare system. As a result, various life-response information was collected according to the characteristics of each household, and the characteristics of an elderly single household were derived. In the future, in order to secure energy welfare and social safety net at the same time, it is thought that it will be possible to collect data accumulated over the four seasons and use it to secure a safety net for the elderly.
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