Chronic cypermethrin induced toxicity and molecular fate assessment within common carp (Cyprinus carpio) using multiple biomarkers approach and its novel therapeutic detoxification.

Cypermethrin (CYP) is a chemical of emerging concern which has persistent and bioaccumulating impacts as it can be found extensively in freshwater ecosystem and agricultural products. It has exposure risk and toxic effects over human edible fish, as common carp. Four groups were designed for toxicity assessment and detoxification approach: control group (CL), CYP exposure group (CYP), CYP + 10% M. oleifera leaves and 10% M. oleifera seeds (CMO group), 10% M. oleifera leaves and 10% M. oleifera seeds (MO group). Trial period was forty days during which cohort of 240 fish in CYP and CMO group was exposed to 1/5 of 96h LC50 of CYP (0.1612 µg/L). CYP-exposed carp exhibited lower growth parameters, but carp fed with 10% M. oleifera seeds and leaves showed significant improvement in growth rate (SGR, RGR) and weight gain (WG) as compared to the control group. CYP exposure negatively affected haemato-biochemical parameters. Moreover, CYP exposure also led to oxidative stress, damaged immunological parameters, genotoxicity and histopathological damage in liver and intestinal cells. Whereas, M. oleifera supplementation has ameliorated these conditions. Thereby, supplementation with M. oleifera is potential and novel therapeutic detoxication approach for common carp and human health against persistent and bioaccumulating emerging chemicals.

Efficient visible light-driven photodegradation of glyphosate utilizing Bi2WO6 with oxygen vacancies: Performance, mechanism, and toxicity assessment.

Global environmental deterioration poses a major risk to ecological security and human health, and emerging technologies are urgently needed to deal with it. Therefore, the exploitation of photocatalysts with favorable activity for efficient degradation of pesticide contaminants is one of the strategies to achieve environmental remediation. Herein, oxygen vacancy-rich Bi2WO6 (Ov-BWO) was prepared through a solvothermal method utilizing ethylene glycol (EG), which exhibited excellent photocatalytic efficiency in photodegradation of glyphosate. The formation of oxygen vacancies (Ovs) in Ov-BWO was demonstrated utilizing XPS and EPR. PL, TRPL, photocurrent tests, and EIS analyses revealed that Ovs accelerated effective transfer of photogenerated charge, extended lifetime of charge carriers, promoted production of active species and significantly improved the photocatalytic performance. Compared with the low-activity Bi2WO6 (BWO, 59.6%), Ov-BWO showed outstanding photocatalytic activity, achieving a degradation efficiency of 91% for glyphosate at 120 min of visible light irradiation. Moreover, Ov-BWO also displayed outstanding recyclable stability after four repeated uses. Based on the characterization of photoelectric properties, a feasible photocatalytic reaction was put forth, along with glyphosate degradation pathways. Furthermore, the degradation intermediates of glyphosate were analyzed in detail employing HPLC-MS. The toxicity assessment indicated that degraded products had been proven to be non-toxic to the ecological system. This work presents the potential of photocatalysts with Ovs for the photodegradation of pesticides, providing a viable strategy for environmental renovation.

Development, assessment and validation of a novel prediction nomogram model for risk identification of tracheobronchial tuberculosis in patients with pulmonary tuberculosis.

OBJECTIVE: Tracheobronchial tuberculosis (TBTB), a specific subtype of pulmonary tuberculosis (PTB), can lead to bronchial stenosis or bronchial occlusion if not identified early. However, there is currently no available means for predicting the risk of associated TBTB in PTB patients. The objective of this study was to establish a risk prediction nomogram model for estimating the associated TBTB risk in every PTB patient. METHODS: A retrospective cohort study was conducted with 2153 PTB patients. Optimised characteristics were selected using least absolute shrinkage and selection operator regression. Multivariate logistic regression was applied to build a predictive nomogram model. Discrimination, calibration and clinical usefulness of the prediction model were assessed using C-statistics, receiver operator characteristic curves, calibration plots and decision analysis. The developed model was validated both internally and externally. RESULTS: Among all PTB patients who underwent bronchoscopies (n=2153), 40.36% (n=869) were diagnosed with TBTB. A nomogram model incorporating 11 predictors was developed and displayed good discrimination with a C-statistics of 0.782, a sensitivity of 0.661 and a specificity of 0.762 and good calibration with a calibration-in-the-large of 0.052 and a calibration slope of 0.957. Model's discrimination was favourable in both internal (C-statistics, 0.782) and external (C-statistics, 0.806) validation. External validation showed satisfactory accuracy (sensitivity, 0.690; specificity, 0.804) in independent cohort. Decision curve analysis showed that the model was clinically useful when intervention was decided on at the exacerbation possibility threshold of 2.3%-99.2%. A clinical impact curve demonstrated that our model predicted high-risk estimates and true positives. CONCLUSION: We developed a novel and convenient risk prediction nomogram model that enhances the risk assessment of associated TBTB in PTB patients. This nomogram can help identify high-risk PTB patients who may benefit from early bronchoscopy and aggressive treatment to prevent disease progression.

Novel Benzothiazole Derivatives as Potential Anti-Quorum Sensing Agents for Managing Plant Bacterial Diseases: Synthesis, Antibacterial Activity Assessment, and SAR Study.

As quorum sensing (QS) regulates bacterial pathogenicity, antiquorum sensing agents have powerful application potential for controlling bacterial infections and overcoming pesticide/drug resistance. Identifying anti-QS agents thus represents a promising approach in agrochemical development. In this study, the anti-QS potency of 53 newly prepared benzothiazole derivatives containing an isopropanolamine moiety was analyzed, and structure-activity relationships were examined. Compound D3 exhibited the strongest antibacterial activity, with an in vitro EC50 of 1.54 µg mL-1 against Xanthomonas oryzae pv oryzae (Xoo). Compound D3 suppressed QS-regulated virulence factors (e.g., biofilm, extracellular polysaccharides, extracellular enzymes, and flagella) to inhibit bacterial infection. In vivo anti-Xoo assays indicated good control efficiency (curative activity, 47.8%; protective activity, 48.7%) at 200 µg mL-1. Greater control efficiency was achieved with addition of 0.1% organic silicone or orange peel essential oil. The remarkable anti-QS potency of these benzothiazole derivatives could facilitate further novel bactericidal compound development.

Using fly larvae to convert food waste for growing Oujiang color common carps: health risk assessment of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons.

The present study used Chrysomya megacephala larvae (CML) to transform food waste into safe and high-quality fish feed to substitute fish meal as a source of protein for growing Oujiang color common carps followed by a human health risk assessment of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). The results showed the ∑PAH concentration in the CML fed with food waste ranged from 50 to 370 µg kg-1, and the most abundant PAH compound in the CML was BaP, contributing 59-84% of ∑PAHs. The Pearson correlation analysis results indicated no correlation between the ∑PAH concentrations and the culture substrate ratio (p > 0.05). Concentrations of BaP in the CML decreased with the increase of breeding density (p < 0.01). The residues as organic fertilizers have no potential ecological risk for PAHs. The biotransformed larva meal was used to partially or completely replace the fish meal as supplementary protein in the experimental feeds (T0, 0%; T50, 50%; T100, 100%). No significant difference (p < 0.05) of survival rate, lipid, and protein content in Oujiang color common carp was noted among T0, T50, and T100 fish feeds. Concentrations of ∑PAHs in Oujiang color common carp fed with the CML fish feeds all met the food safety standards in the European Union (EU). Furthermore, the consumption of Oujiang color common carps fed with the CML feed does not pose any health risks of PAHs for humans.

Global evaluation of carbon neutrality and peak carbon dioxide emissions: current challenges and future outlook.

With the acceleration of urbanization and industrialization, carbon neutrality and peak carbon dioxide emissions have become common sustainability goals worldwide. However, there are few literature statistics and econometric analyses targeting carbon neutrality and peak carbon dioxide emissions, especially the publication trends, geographic distribution, citation literature, and research hotspots. To conduct an in-depth analysis of existing research fields and future perspectives in this research area, 1615 publications from the Web of Science Core Collection, between 2010 and 2020, were evaluated by using three analysis tools, under the framework of the bibliometrics method. These publications are distributed between the start-up (2010-2015) and the stable development (2016-2020) phases. Cluster analysis suggests three areas of ongoing research: energy-related carbon emissions, methane emissions, and energy biomass. Overall, future trends in this field include cumulative carbon emissions, the residential building sector, methane emission measurement, nitrogen fertilization, land degradation neutrality, and sciamachy satellite methane measurement. Finally, this paper further examines the most comprehensive coverage of nitrogen fertilization and the most recent research of the residential building sector. In view of the statistical clusters from 1615 publications, this paper provides new insights and perspectives for climate-environment-related researchers and policymakers. Specifically, countries could apply nitrogen fertilizer to crops according to the conditions of different regions. Additionally, experiences from developed countries could be learned from, including optimizing the energy supply structure of buildings and increasing the use of clean energy to reduce CO2 emissions from buildings.

Quantitative Assessment of Tumor-Infiltrating Lymphocytes Using Machine Learning Predicts Survival in Muscle-Invasive Bladder Cancer.

(1) Purpose: Although assessment of tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) has been acknowledged to have important predictive prognostic value in muscle-invasive bladder cancer (MIBC), it is limited by inter- and intra-observer variability, hampering widespread clinical application. We aimed to evaluate the prognostic value of quantitative TILs score based on a machine learning (ML) algorithm to identify MIBC patients who might benefit from immunotherapy or the de-escalation of therapy. (2) Methods: We constructed an artificial neural network classifier for tumor cells, lymphocytes, stromal cells, and "ignore" cells from hematoxylin-and-eosin-stained slide images using the QuPath open source software. We defined four unique TILs variables based on ML to analyze TILs measurements. Pathological slide images from 133 MIBC patients were retrospectively collected as the discovery set to determine the optimal association of ML-read TILs variables with patient survival outcomes. For validation, we evaluated an independent external validation set consisting of 247 MIBC patients. (3) Results: We found that all four TILs variables had significant prognostic associations with survival outcomes in MIBC patients (p < 0.001 for all comparisons), with higher TILs score being associated with better prognosis. Univariate and multivariate Cox regression analyses demonstrated that electronic TILs (eTILs) variables were independently associated with overall survival after adjustment for clinicopathological factors including age, sex, and pathological stage (p < 0.001 for all analyses). Results analyzed in different subgroups showed that the eTILs variable was a strong prognostic factor that was not redundant with pre-existing clinicopathological features (p < 0.05 for all analyses). (4) Conclusion: ML-driven cell classifier-defined TILs variables were robust and independent prognostic factors in two independent cohorts of MIBC patients. eTILs have the potential to identify a subset of high-risk stage II or stage III-IV MIBC patients who might benefit from adjuvant immunotherapy.

Residual levels and dietary intake risk assessment of 11 pesticides in apricots from different ecological planting regions in China.

The frequent and massive use of pesticides has led to pesticide residues in apricot, threatening food safety and human health. A reliable and simple modified QuEChERS method with ultra-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry was developed for the simultaneous determination of 11 pesticides in apricot. Method validation indicated that satisfied linearity (R2 ≥ 0.9959), accuracy (recoveries of 72-119%), sensitivity (limits of detection, 0.03-0.30 µg/kg; limits of quantification, 0.13-1.00 µg/kg), and precision (relative standard deviations ≤ 11.9%), and matrix effects were 0.89-1.13. Apricot samples from different ecological regions in China were collected and tested using the proposed methods. Monitoring results were used to assess the dietary intake risk of Chinese populations of different ages and genders. Dietary risk assessment revealed that the risk quotients were 0.003-1.184% for different gender and age groups in China, indicating none unacceptable public health risk for general population. This work was thus significant in developing a simpler, more efficient and economical analysis method and food safety risks of the 11 pesticides on apricot and facilitated the establishment of maximum residue limits.

Health risk assessment of mercury in Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) fed housefly maggots.

The bioaccumulation of total mercury (THg) and methylmercury (MeHg) by housefly maggots (HM) during the conversion of food waste (vegetables and meat (VM) and rice waste) under various waste feed ratios were investigated. Subsequently, Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) were fed with the commercial feed, commercial dried HM, dried HM, and fresh HM, followed by a human health risk assessment of Hg via fish consumption. The THg concentrations of HM fed with food waste ranged from 39.5 to 100 µg kg-1 ww. Concentrations of MeHg in the maggots fed with 100 % vegetables and meat (VM) waste (13.7 ± 1.12 µg kg-1 ww) was significantly higher than that fed with other mixed ratios of rice waste and VM waste (p<0.05). Concentrations of MeHg were positively correlated with the weight and lipid content of houseflies (p<0.05). THg and MeHg concentrations in tilapia fed with the converted HM (dried and fresh HM) were 22.5 ± 6.50 µg kg-1 ww and 2.43 ± 0.36 µg kg-1 ww, respectively. There was no significant difference in MeHg between tilapia fed the four experiment diets (p>0.05). Health risk assessment results indicated that mercury in tilapia fed the food waste-grown HM did not pose potential health risks to humans (target hazard quotient < 1). In conclusion, HM could convert food waste into high-quality and safe fish feeds for cultivating tilapia.

Are private equity and venture capital helping small and medium-sized enterprises during the COVID-19 pandemic? Evidence from China.

The rapid spread of COVID-19 worldwide since 2020 has, undeniably, negatively influenced the global economy and environment. Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are among the worst-hit victims of COVID-19, particularly in developing countries. As primary channels financing SMEs, what roles have private equity and venture capital (PE/VC) played in this crisis? Using the 2010-2021 data of 4462 listed companies, we aimed to assess the impact of PE/VC on financial risk among Chinese SMEs. We constructed a capital structure selection model to assess the risk preference of PE/VC and explored the roles of PE/VC in the financial risk management of enterprises during COVID-19. Based on both theory and empirical evidence, PE/VC negatively impacts the financial risk of enterprises, implying that intervention by the management of PE/VC can aggravate the financial risk. However, in reality, PE/VC positively impacted enterprise financial risk during COVID-19. Thus, the government should implement some easing policies to stimulate access and investment policies of PE/VC as well as provide more practical policies to support investment institutions in China and other counties.

1,3,4-Oxadiazole Derivatives as Plant Activators for Controlling Plant Viral Diseases: Preparation and Assessment of the Effect of Auxiliaries.

Plant viral diseases cause the loss of millions of dollars to agriculture around the world annually. Therefore, the development of highly efficient, ultra-low-dosage agrochemicals is desirable for protecting the health of crops and ensuring food security. Herein, a series of 1,3,4-oxadiazole derivatives bearing an isopropanol amine moiety was prepared, and the inhibitory activity against tobacco mosaic virus (TMV) was assessed. Notably, compound A14 exhibited excellent anti-TMV protective activity with an EC50 value of 137.7 mg L-1, which was superior to that of ribavirin (590.0 mg L-1) and ningnanmycin (248.2 mg L-1). Moreover, the anti-TMV activity of some compounds could be further enhanced (by up to 5-30%) through supplementation with 0.1% auxiliaries. Biochemical assays suggested that compound A14 could suppress the biosynthesis of TMV and induce the plant's defense response. Given these merits, designed compounds had outstanding bioactivities and unusual action mechanisms and were promising candidates for controlling plant viral diseases.

Gender Specificity and Local Socioeconomic Influence on Association of GHR fl/d3 Polymorphism With Growth and Metabolism in Children and Adolescents.

Objective: Growth hormone receptor (GHR) mediates most GH biological actions. This study is aimed to evaluate whether GHR fl/d3 polymorphism contributes to the inter-individual variability of growth and metabolism in healthy children and adolescents. Methods: A total of 4,730 students aged 6-16 years from Yixing and Suqian City in China were included in this cross-sectional study. Height and body mass index (BMI) were transformed into the form of z-score corresponding to age and gender. Logistic regression was used to evaluate the associations of GHR fl/d3 polymorphism with height, BMI, metabolic traits, and hypertension by estimating the odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs). Results: GHR d3 allele was inversely associated with overweight, total cholesterol (TC) and triglyceride (TG) levels (OR [95% CI] for overweight: 0.754 [0.593-0.959], P = 0.021; OR [95% CI] for TC: 0.744 [0.614-0.902], P = 0.003; OR [95% CI] for TG: 0.812 [0.654-0.998], P = 0.047). GHR d3 allele was associated with decreased odds of pre-hypertension in boys (OR [95% CI]: 0.791 [0.645-0.971], P = 0.025), but associated with increased odds of pre-hypertension and hypertension in girls (ORs [95% CIs]: 1.379 [1.106-1.719], P = 0.004; OR [95% CI]: 1.240 [1.013-1.519], P = 0.037). Interaction of GHR fl/d3 polymorphism with gender contributed to increased odds of pre-hypertension and hypertension (interactive ORs [95% CIs]: 1.735 [1.214-2.481], P = 0.003; OR [95% CI]: 1.509 [1.092-2.086], P = 0.013). Stratification analysis showed that the correlation tendencies of GHR fl/d3 polymorphism and BMI with age were different between two cities with discrepant economic development levels. Conclusion: GHR fl/d3 polymorphism is associated with growth, metabolism, and hypertension in children and adolescents with the gender specificity, and the genetic effect of GHR fl/d3 may be modified by the local socioeconomic levels.

The spillover of tourism development on CO2 emissions: a spatial econometric analysis.

Climate change and tourism's interaction and vulnerability have been among the most hotly debated topics recently. In this context, the study focuses on how CO2 emissions, the primary cause of global warming and climate change, respond to changes in tourism development. In order to do so, the impact of tourism development on CO2 emissions in the most visited countries is investigated. A panel data from 2000 to 2017 for top 70 tourist countries are analysed using a spatial econometric method to investigate the spatial effect of tourism on environmental pollution. The direct, indirect, and overall impact of tourism on CO2 emissions are estimated using the most appropriate generalized nested spatial econometric (GNS) method. The findings reveal that tourism has a positive direct effect and a negative indirect effect; both are significant at the 1% level. The negative indirect effect of tourism is greater than its direct positive effect, implying an overall significantly negative impact. Further, the outcome of financial development and CO2 emissions have an inverted U-shaped and U-shaped relationship in direct and indirect impacts. Population density, trade openness, and economic growth significantly influence environmental pollution. In addition, education expenditure and infrastructure play a significant moderating role among tourism and environmental pollution. The results have important policy implications as they establish an inverted-U-shaped relationship among tourism and CO2 emissions and indicate that while a country's emissions initially rise with the tourism industry's growth, it begins declining after a limit.

Sustainable development and health assessment model of higher education in India: A mathematical modeling approach.

The Coronavirus Disease 2019 has resulted in a transition from physical education to online learning, leading to a collapse of the established educational order and a wisdom test for the education governance system. As a country seriously affected by the pandemic, the health of the Indian higher education system urgently requires assessment to achieve sustainable development and maximize educational externalities. This research systematically proposes a health assessment model from four perspectives, including educational volume, efficiency, equality, and sustainability, by employing the Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to an Ideal Solution Model, Principal Component Analysis, DEA-Tobit Model, and Augmented Solow Model. Empirical results demonstrate that India has high efficiency and an absolute health score in the higher education system through multiple comparisons between India and the other selected countries while having certain deficiencies in equality and sustainability. Additionally, single-target and multiple-target path are simultaneously proposed to enhance the Indian current education system. The multiple-target approach of the India-China-Japan-Europe-USA process is more feasible to achieve sustainable development, which would improve the overall health score from .351 to .716. This finding also reveals that the changes are relatively complex and would take 91.5 years considering the relationship between economic growth rates and crucial indicators. Four targeted policies are suggested for each catching-up period, including expanding and increasing the social funding sources, striving for government expenditure support to improve infrastructures, imposing gender equality in education, and accelerating the construction of high-quality teachers.

Investigation on stability and controller design for singular bio-economic systems with stochastic fluctuations.

In this paper, the finite-time stability and control of a kind of singular bio-economic systems with stochastic fluctuations are investigated. When economic profit is no longer a constant but a variable, the system shows distinct dynamic behavior. First, a singular system is proposed to describe the bio-economic system with stochastic fluctuation. Then a singular stochastic T-S fuzzy model is established based on T-S fuzzy system theory. Second, a sufficient condition is proposed to satisfy finite-time stochastic stability of bio-economic system. On this basis, a fuzzy state feedback controller is designed which can make corresponding closed-loop singular stochastic bio-economic system admissible in finite-time, and the states of the system can be driven to a bounded range through the management of the open resource. Finally, the validity of the results is verified through the numerical simulation.

Toxicity, residue and risk assessment of tetraniliprole in soil-earthworm microcosms.

Maize seed treatment with chemicals to control underground pests is a common agricultural practice, but inappropriate use of insecticides poses a considerable threat to plant development and soil nontarget organisms. In this study, the availability of tetraniliprole seed dressing to control the black cutworm Agrotis ipsilon (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) in the maize seeding stage and its safety to earthworms (Eisenia fetida) were investigated. The selective toxicity (ST) of tetraniliprole between E. fetida and A. ipsilon was greater than 4000. No significant adverse effect of tetraniliprole seed treatment on the germination of maize seeds was observed at concentrations of 2.4-9.6 g a.i. /kg seed. Compared with the untreated control, seed treatment with tetraniliprole at 9.6 g a.i. /kg seed greatly reduced the percentage of damaged plants from 88.73% to 26.67%, and achieved the highest control effect of 69.91%. Tetraniliprole of 2.4 g a.i. /kg seed can effectively inhibit A. ipsilon until 14 days after seed germination, with the lowest mortality rate of 44.44%. During the entire exposure period, the maximum residual concentration of tetraniliprole detected in the soil (5.86 mg/kg) was considerably lower than the LC50 value of tetraniliprole to E. fetida (>4000 mg/kg). According to the low-tier risk assessment, the highest risk quotient (RQ) of tetraniliprole seed treatment to earthworms at test concentrations was 2.8 × 10-3, which was evaluated as acceptable. This study provided data support for tetraniliprole seed treatment to control underground pests in maize fields.

Decadal evolution of the surface energy budget during the fast warming and global warming hiatus periods in the ERA-interim.

The global-mean surface temperature has experienced a rapid warming from the 1980s to early-2000s but a muted warming since, referred to as the global warming hiatus in the literature. Decadal changes in deep ocean heat uptake are thought to primarily account for the rapid warming and subsequent slowdown. Here, we examine the role of ocean heat uptake in establishing the fast warming and warming hiatus periods in the ERA-interim through a decomposition of the global-mean surface energy budget. We find the increase of carbon dioxide alone yields a nearly steady increase of the downward longwave radiation at the surface from the 1980s to the present, but neither accounts for the fast warming nor warming hiatus periods. During the global warming hiatus period, the transfer of latent heat energy from the ocean to atmosphere increases and the total downward radiative energy flux to the surface decreases due to a reduction of solar absorption caused primarily by an increase of clouds. The reduction of radiative energy into the ocean and the surface latent heat flux increase cause the ocean heat uptake to decrease and thus contribute to the slowdown of the global-mean surface warming. Our analysis also finds that in addition to a reduction of deep ocean heat uptake, the fast warming period is also driven by enhanced solar absorption due predominantly to a decrease of clouds and by enhanced longwave absorption mainly attributed to the air temperature feedback.

Decision tree model for predicting in-hospital cardiac arrest among patients admitted with acute coronary syndrome.

BACKGROUND: In-hospital cardiac arrest (IHCA) may be preventable, with patients often showing signs of physiological deterioration before an event. Our objective was to develop and validate a simple clinical prediction model to identify the IHCA risk among cardiac arrest (CA) patients hospitalized with acute coronary syndrome (ACS). HYPOTHESIS: A predicting model could help to identify the risk of IHCA among patients admitted with ACS. METHODS: We conducted a case-control study and analyzed 21 337 adult ACS patients, of whom 164 had experienced CA. Vital signs, demographic, and laboratory data were extracted from the electronic health record. Decision tree analysis was applied with 10-fold cross-validation to predict the risk of IHCA. RESULTS: The decision tree analysis detected seven explanatory variables, and the variables' importance is as follows: VitalPAC Early Warning Score (ViEWS), fatal arrhythmia, Killip class, cardiac troponin I, blood urea nitrogen, age, and diabetes. The development decision tree model demonstrated a sensitivity of 0.762, a specificity of 0.882, and an area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) of 0.844 (95% CI, 0.805 to 0.849). A 10-fold cross-validated risk estimate was 0.198, while the optimism-corrected AUC was 0.823 (95% CI, 0.786 to 0.860). CONCLUSIONS: We have developed and internally validated a good discrimination decision tree model to predict the risk of IHCA. This simple prediction model may provide healthcare workers with a practical bedside tool and could positively impact decision-making with regard to deteriorating patients with ACS.

Heterogeneous Prolinamide-Catalyzed Atom-Economical Synthesis of ß-Thioketones from Bio-Based Enones.

Sulfur-containing compounds are a class of important motifs extensively applied in pharmaceutical and pesticidal industries as well as in electrochemistry, toxicant separation, and organic syntheses. Herein, we describe a novel and efficient metal-free catalytic strategy for the rapid synthesis of ß-thioketones from sustainable enone derivatives and thiols via thia-Michael addition enabled by heterogeneous prolinamide. At room temperature, up to 98% yield of ß-thioketones could be obtained over the solid UiO-66-NH-proline catalyst facilely prepared by the covalent immobilization of proline onto UiO-66-NH2 (a well-known metal-organic framework) via a stable amido linkage. A cooperative effect of proline (amino group) and UiO-66-NH2 (in situ-derived amide species) was observed to play a promotional role in the proceeding of thia-Michael addition, resulting in a high TOF value of 1124.3 h-1. A three-component "iminium" intermediate was illustrated to the key species approaching the product ß-thioketone. Moreover, the UiO-66-NH-proline could be easily recovered from the reaction mixture and recycled for at least five times with a slight loss of activity.

Assessment of tumor promoting effects of amniotic and umbilical cord mesenchymal stem cells in vitro and in vivo.

PURPOSE: Human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs) have been applied in a variety of therapies recently. However, the role of MSCs in tumor progression remains largely elusive. Some studies demonstrated that MSCs can promote tumor growth, while others had opposite results. Therefore, the lack of evidence about the effect of MSCs on tumor cells impedes its further use. METHODS: In the current study, hMSCs from amniotic membrane (hAMSCs) and umbilical cord (hUCMSCs) were used to evaluate the effects of MSCs on tumor development in vitro and in vivo. Two different animal models based on subcutaneous xenograft bearing nude mice and a murine experimental metastatic model were established for in vivo study. Moreover, cytokines regulated by MSCs co-cultured with cancer cells SPC-A-1 were also analyzed by cytokine array. RESULTS: Our results indicated that hUCMSCs not only did not promote proliferation in cancer cells, but also inhibited migration. In addition, they inhibited tube formation in human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs). Although hAMSCs also showed inhibitory effects on cancer cell motility, the proliferation of cancer cells was indeed enhanced. The in vivo data revealed that hUCMSCs did not promote tumor progression in lung adenocarcinoma and gastric carcinoma xenografts. Nevertheless, hAMSCs could do. The results from murine experimental metastatic model also demonstrated that neither hUCMSCs nor hAMSCs significantly enhanced the lung metastasis. The data from cytokine array showed that 11 inflammatory factors, 8 growth factors and 11 chemokines were remarkably secreted and changed. CONCLUSIONS: In view of the data from in vitro and in vivo studies, the exploitation of hUCMSCs in new therapeutic strategies should be safe compared to hAMSCs under malignant conditions. Moreover, this is the first report to systematically elucidate the possible molecular mechanisms involved in UCMSC- and AMSC-affected tumor growth and metastasis.