Synergizing economic growth and carbon emission reduction in China: A path to coupling the MFLP and PLUS models for optimizing the territorial spatial functional pattern.

Carbon emissions caused by economic growth are the main cause of global warming, but controlling economic growth to reduce carbon emissions does not meet China's conditions. Therefore, how to synergize economic growth and carbon emission reduction is not only a sustainable development issue for China, but also significant for mitigating global warming. The territorial spatial functional pattern (TSFP) is the spatial carrier for coordinating economic development and carbon emissions, but how to establish the TSFP of synergizing economic growth and carbon emission reduction remains unresolved. We propose a decision framework for optimizing TSFP coupled with the multi-objective fuzzy linear programming and the patch-generating land use simulation model, to provide a new path to synergize economic growth and carbon emission reduction in China. To confirm the reliability, we took Qionglai City as the demonstration. The results found a significant spatiotemporal coupling between TSFP and the synergistic states between economic growth and carbon emission reduction (q ≥ 0.8220), which resolves the theoretical uncertainty about synergizing economic growth and carbon emission reduction through the path of TSFP optimization. The urban space of Qionglai City in 2025 and 2030 obtained by the decision framework was 6497.57 hm2 and 6628.72 hm2 respectively, distributed in the central and eastern regions; the rural space was 60,132.92 hm2 and 56,084.97 hm2, concentrated in the east, with a few located in the west; and the ecological space was 71,072.52 hm2 and 74,998.31 hm2, mainly located in the western and southeastern areas. Compared with the TSFP in 2020, the carbon emission intensity of the TSFP obtained by the decision framework was reduced by 0.7 and 4.7 tons/million yuan, respectively, and realized the synergy between economic growth and carbon emission reduction (decoupling index was 0.25 and 0.21). Further confirming that TSFP optimization is an effective way to synergize economic growth and carbon emission reduction, which can provide policy implications for coordinating economic growth and carbon emissions for China and even similar developing countries.

Spectral CT - a new supplementary method for preoperative assessment of pathological grades of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma.

BACKGROUND: Spectral CT imaging parameters have been reported to be useful in the differentiation of pathological grades in different malignancies. This study aims to investigate the value of spectral CT in the quantitative assessment of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) with different degrees of differentiation. METHODS: There were 191 patients with proven ESCC who underwent enhanced spectral CT from June 2018 to March 2020 retrospectively enrolled. These patients were divided into three groups based on pathological results: well differentiated ESCC, moderately differentiated ESCC, and poorly differentiated ESCC. Virtual monoenergetic 40 keV-equivalent image (VMI40keV), iodine concentration (IC), water concentration (WC), effective atomic number (Eff-Z), and the slope of the spectral curve(λHU) of the arterial phase (AP) and venous phase (VP) were measured or calculated. The quantitative parameters of the three groups were compared by using one-way ANOVA and pairwise comparisons were performed with LSD. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis was used to evaluate the diagnostic performance of these parameters in poorly differentiated groups and non-poorly differentiated groups. RESULTS: There were significant differences in VMI40keV, IC, Eff-Z, and λHU in AP and VP among the three groups (all p < 0.05) except for WC (p > 0.05). The VMI40keV, IC, Eff-Z, and λHU in the poorly differentiated group were significantly higher than those in the other groups both in AP and VP (all p < 0.05). In the ROC analysis, IC performed the best in the identification of the poorly differentiated group and non-poorly differentiated group in VP (AUC = 0.729, Sensitivity = 0.829, and Specificity = 0.569 under the threshold of 21.08 mg/ml). CONCLUSIONS: Quantitative parameters of spectral CT could offer supplemental information for the preoperative differential diagnosis of ESCC with different degrees of differentiation.

Development and Initial Testing of EcoToxChip, a Novel Toxicogenomics Tool for Environmental Management and Chemical Risk Assessment.

New approach methods (NAMs) are increasingly important to help accelerate the pace of ecological risk assessment and offer more ethical, affordable, and efficient alternatives to traditional toxicity tests. In the present study, we describe the development, technical characterization, and initial testing of a toxicogenomics tool, EcoToxChip (384-well quantitative polymerase chain reaction [qPCR] array), to support chemical management and environmental monitoring for three laboratory model species-fathead minnow (Pimephales promelas), African clawed frog (Xenopus laevis), and Japanese quail (Coturnix japonica). Chip design, including gene selection, was informed by a diverse end-user group and quality control metrics (e.g., primer assay, reverse transcription, and PCR efficiency) performed well based on a priori established criteria. Correlation with RNA sequencing (seq) data provided additional confidence in this novel toxicogenomics tool. Although the present study represents an initial testing of only 24 EcoToxChips for each of the model species, the results provide increased confidence in the robustness/reproducibility of EcoToxChips for evaluating perturbations in gene expression associated with chemical exposure and thus, this NAM, combined with early-life stage toxicity testing, could augment current efforts for chemical prioritization and environmental management. Environ Toxicol Chem 2023;42:1763-1771. © 2023 SETAC.

Surgical outcomes for gastric cancer of a single institute in southeast China.

BACKGROUND: In recent years, with social and economic development and lifestyle changes, the incidence of gastric cancer as well as the surgical results and prognoses of patients with gastric cancer have changed significantly in southeast China. METHODS: A total of 1,451 patients were divided into 2 groups according to admission time periods. Trends in clinicopathologic characteristics and operative outcomes of these patients were analyzed retrospectively. RESULTS: The numbers of old and young patients were significantly increased in period 2 compared with period 1. Tumors located in the proximal stomach increased from 20.26% to 36.83%. The incidence of early gastric cancer was significantly increased from period 1 to period 2. Lymph node metastasis was seen more prevalently in period 2 than in period 1. The rate of operation-related major complications decreased from 5.23% to 1.43%. Operative mortality was .49% in period 1 and .24% in period 2. The 5-year survival rate increased from 38.40% to 53.99%. CONCLUSIONS: Early diagnosis, standardized surgical treatment including pertinent lymph node dissection, and better perioperative care notably improve the outcomes of patients with gastric cancer.

Correlation of real-time gray scale contrast-enhanced ultrasonography with microvessel density and vascular endothelial growth factor expression for assessment of angiogenesis in breast lesions.

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to determine the correlation of real-time gray scale contrast-enhanced ultrasonographic (CEUS) patterns and parameters with microvessel density (MVD) and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) expression for assessment of angiogenesis in breast lesions. METHODS: Real-time gray scale CEUS was performed in 53 women with breast lesions. Contrast-enhanced ultrasonographic patterns and quantitative parameters were analyzed. Mean MVD and VEGF expression in breast lesions were measured by immunohistochemical analysis. RESULTS: Surgical pathologic analysis showed 25 benign and 28 malignant lesions. Different CEUS patterns were observed in the high- and low-MVD and -VEGF groups. Microvessel density and VEGF expression were significantly associated with heterogeneous enhancement with or without perfusion defects and radial or penetrating vessels surrounding the lesions (P< .05). The enhancement order and degree were significantly related to MVD (P< .01) but not correlated with VEGF expression (P> .05). Malignant and benign lesions did not differ significantly in time-intensity parameters (P> .05). The peak intensity, rise in intensity, maximum rise slope of the curve, wash-out slope of the curve, and area under the time-intensity curve (area) were statistically correlated with MVD (P< .05). The highest correlation (r=0.56; P< .001), however, was between the area and MVD. No significant association was found between any CEUS parameters and VEGF expression (P> .05). CONCLUSIONS: Contrast-enhanced ultrasonographic patterns and parameters of breast lesions are more closely correlated with MVD than VEGF expression. Real-time gray scale CEUS has a potential role in evaluating angiogenesis in breast lesions, but CEUS parameters are not correlated with the malignancy or benignity of breast tumors.