Harnessing the runoff reduction potential of urban bioswales as an adaptation response to climate change.

Nature-based solutions (NbS), including China's Sponge City Program (SCP), can address the challenges urban communities face due to surface runoff and flooding. The current capacity of SCP facilities in urban environments falls short of meeting the demands placed on communities by climate change. Bioswales are a form of SCP facility that plays an important role in reducing surface runoff by promoting infiltration. This study assesses the potential of SCP facilities to reduce runoff in urban communities under climate change using the storm water management model. The study site in Ningbo, China, was used to evaluate the potential role of bioswales in reducing runoff risks from climate change. We found that bioswales were most effective in scenarios when rainfall peaks occurred early and were less effective in right-skewed rainfall events. The overall performance of SCP facilities was similar across all climate scenarios. To maintain the current protection level of SCP facilities, bioswales would need to cover at least 4% of the catchment area. These findings from Ningbo provide a useful method for assessing NbS in other regions and indicative values for the increase in the bioswale coverage needed to adapt to climate change.

Prognostic role of urinary ketone body in patients with sepsis-associated encephalopathy without hepatic failure: a retrospective cohort study.

Sepsis-associated encephalopathy (SAE) is defined as a dysfunction of the central nervous system experienced during sepsis with variable clinical features. The study aims to identify the prognostic role of urinary ketone bodies in relation to clinical outcomes in patients with SAE. The Medical Information Mart for Intensive Care III (MIMIC-III) database was used to conduct a retrospective cohort study. We recruited 427 patients with SAE admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU) from the MIMIC-III database. Patients with SAE were divided into a survival group (380 patients) and a non-survival group (47 patients). We used the Wilcoxon signed-rank test and the multivariate logistic regression analysis to analyze the relationship between the level of urinary ketone bodies and the clinical prognosis in patients with SAE. The primary outcome was the relationship between urinary ketone body levels and 28-day mortality of SAE. The secondary outcomes were the relationship between urinary ketone body levels and length of ICU stays, Simplified Acute Physiology Score II, Sequential Organ Failure Assessment (SOFA), Glasgow Coma Scale, mechanical ventilation, renal replacement therapy, and the use of vasopressors. The 28-day mortality of patients with SAE was 11.0%. Urinary ketone body levels were not significantly associated with the 28-day mortality of patients with SAE. Urinary ketone body levels were associated with SOFA score and the use of vasopressors in patients with SAE. The SOFA score was an independent risk factor for the 28-day mortality in patients with SAE. Urinary ketone body levels were significantly associated with SOFA score and the use of vasopressors in patients with SAE. Furthermore, the SOFA score can predict the prognosis of short-term outcomes of patients with SAE. Therefore, we should closely monitor the changes of urinary ketone bodies and SOFA score and intervene in time.

A lack of focus on data sharing, stakeholders, and economic benefits in current global green infrastructure planning.

Green infrastructure (GI) is increasingly popular in solving urban environmental challenges and enhancing ecosystem services. Yet the research status and challenges of GI planning have not been comprehensively benchmarked to date. We explored the GI types, actions, goals, and spatiotemporal characteristics of GI planning cases worldwide based on the available literature. The challenges of GI planning were also investigated by the cases included in this manuscript. Additionally, the urban governance solutions to address these challenges were proposed. We found that multi-type GI planning is the most popular. Data sharing, stakeholder participation, economic benefits and research funding for GI planning research were generally inadequate, although they have improved trend over time. Multiple-goal GI planning frequently has higher levels of data sharing, stakeholder participation and economic benefits than GI planning that just takes into account one purpose. We conclude that the future transformation of GI planning requires efficient data sharing mechanisms, effective co-design among stakeholders, systematic business models, and available research funding.

A Proposal to Modify the 8th IASLC System: Is it Suitable for T4N2M0 Lung Adenocarcinoma to Be Placed in Stage IIIB?

PURPOSE: The International Association for the Study of Lung Cancer (IASLC) of TNM staging system has been well accepted as a precise model. However, the latest American Joint Committee on Cancer (AJCC) staging system to solve the different survival and prognosis of lung adenocarcinoma in the same period is still controversial. Therefore, it is necessary to thoroughly explore the applicability between the new system and survival prediction in terms of lung adenocarcinoma. METHODS: We recruited 52,517 patients with lung adenocarcinoma from the Surveillence, Epidemiology, and End Results database. Cox regression analysis was performed to determine survival related factors. The mortality rate per 1000 persons per year of the T4N2M0 lung adenocarcinoma stage and other stages were compared. Survival curves were obtained using the Kaplan-Meier analysis and log-rank test. RESULTS: The results of Cox proportional hazards regression analysis showed that age at diagnosis, race, T stage, distant metastasis, extrathoracic extension, radiotherapy, chemotherapy, and surgery are independent factors related to cancer-specific survival (CSS) and all-cause survival. Furthermore, patients with stage IIIA disease (P<0.001) and IIIB disease (P<0.001) excluding stage at T4N2M0 had a significantly lower risk of CSS and all-cause survival than those staged with T4N2M0 disease. The mortality rates per 1000 person-years with patients staged at T4N2M0 lung adenocarcinoma had higher mortality than patients in the same period. The CSS curves of patients with stage T4N2M0 reflected an obvious decline compared with those of stages IIIA disease and IIIB excluding T4N2M0, and there is no significant difference between this curve and stage IIIC patients (P>0.05). CONCLUSION: The survival rate of patients with T4N2M0 stage was significantly lower than that of patients with IIIA and IIIB stages excluding T4N2M0, there was no significant difference between T4N2M0 and IIIC. It was suggested that this group of patients with stage T4N2M0 were upgraded in the 8th IASLC system.

Urban green infrastructure features influence the type and chemical composition of soil dissolved organic matter.

In urban areas, green infrastructure (GI) has been widely developed utilizing different types of engineered soil to enhance ecosystem functions to interact with soil dissolved organic matter (DOM). However, there remains a lack of urban studies that have examined the link between GI features and soil DOM. This study, which was conducted in a typical heavily industrialized and urbanized area (Ningbo City, East China), aimed to characterize the chemical variation and composition of DOM in the engineered soil of four GI types (enhanced tree tips, ETP; street-side infiltration swales, SSIS; vegetated swales, VS; urban forests, UF). The results showed that soil organic carbon varies among the four GI types with significantly lower content in SSIS and ETP compared to VS and UF. Smaller variation was observed in the water-soluble organic carbon (WSOC) content, with UF having significantly higher content than ETP. Three humic-like substances and one protein-like substance were derived using the parallel factor analysis (PARAFAC) model. These fluorescent compositions and their spectral parameters displayed specific distributions among GI features with VS having the highest proportion of humic-like substances (C1) and the lowest proportion of protein-like substances (C4). The distribution of spectral indices indicated terrigenous sources of DOM in these GI engineered soils. Significant positive correlations were found between protein-like substances and the population density and nightlight index, while negative correlations were found between humic-like substances (C1) and these two indices. These results demonstrate significant human disturbance of the chemical composition and characteristics of GI features. Our findings suggest that the overall design and management of GI features have a fundamental influence on soil DOM that is vital for carbon cycling in urban ecosystems.

Statistical approach reveals tidal effect on the antibiotics and environmental relationship with the case study of Yongjiang Estuary, China.

We used statistical approach by coupling redundancy analysis with linear regression analysis, which is useful to understand potential sources of antibiotics in the tide rising and ebbing of surface water in the Yongjiang Estuary, China. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between 29 antibiotics at five sites over four seasons and 13 environmental parameters during the tide rising and ebbing durations. The results found that dissolved organic carbon (DOC), salinity, temperature and chlorophyll a (Chla) were the main factors to impact antibiotics. The concentrations of macrolides were increasing with DOC, suggesting DOC may influence the adsorption capacity of antibiotics. The concentrations of tetracyclines had significant correlation with temperature and Chla during the tide rising period. This study demonstrated a method of exploring the relationship between the concentrations of antibiotics and environmental parameters, which is beneficial to future antibiotics research in estuaries.

The efficacy and safety of high-dose tranexamic acid in adolescent idiopathic scoliosis: a meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: This study aimed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of using high-dose intravenous tranexamic acid (TXA) to reduce blood loss in idiopathic scoliosis surgery. METHODS: This study was a meta-analysis, which consisted of retrospective cohort studies (RCSs) and randomized control trials (RCTs) found by searching electronic databases, namely PubMed, Web of Science, The Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL), and the Google Scholar Database, dating from 1960 to 2019. The points of interest included total blood loss, a need for transfusion and transfusion criteria, surgery time, and the evidence of intraoperative and postoperative complications, such as seizures or thromboembolic events. The weighted mean differences (WMD) and 95% confidence interval (CI) of blood loss in the TXA intervention group compared to the control or placebo group were extracted and combined using the random effects model. RESULTS: In this meta-analysis, there was a total of three RCSs and two RCTs, which involved 334 patients. The results showed that blood loss is significantly reduced, with a weighted mean difference in the TXA group (WMD = - 525.14, P = 0.0000, CI ranged from - 839.83, - 210.44, I2 = 82%). Heterogeneity was assessed using the random effects model. CONCLUSIONS: A high dose of intravenous TXA reduced blood loss during adolescent idiopathic scoliosis surgery and did not lead to any significant thromboembolic event. Therefore, a high dose appears to be effective and safe for adolescent idiopathic scoliosis surgery. However, more high-quality research based on larger randomized controlled trials is still needed.

Characterization of the complete chloroplast genome of Taxus wallichiana as the medicinal plant from China.

Taxus wallichiana is a member of the family Taxaceae, which is a unique and endangered species in China and is widely used for ornamental, material and medicinal purposes. The complete chloroplast genome of T. wallichiana was found to possess a total size of 128,168 bp. The GC content of T. wallichiana chloroplast genome sequence is 37.3%, the overall nucleotide composition of chloroplast genome sequence is: A of 30.7%, T of 32.0%, C of 19.0% and G of 18.3%. The total of 116 genes were successfully annotated, which contained 83 protein-coding genes, 29 transfer RNA genes, and 4 ribosomal RNA genes. The ML phylogenetic analysis result showed that T. wallichiana was closely related to Taxus baccata in the phylogenetic relationship using the neighbour-joining (NJ) method in this study.

Phylogenetic analysis of the chloroplast genome for Magnolia liliflora (Magnoliaceae), an endemic species to China.

Magnolia liliflora is commonly called lily magnolia and its buds are used as the herbal medicine; it is an endemic species to China. In this study, the complete chloroplast genome of M. liliflora has been presented and annotated. The whole chloroplast (cp) genome is 158,177 bp in size, which exhibits a large single-copy region (LSC) of 88,134 bp, a small single-copy region (SSC) of 19,876 bp and two inverted-repeat regions (IRs) 25,706 bp in each one. The overall nucleotide composition is: 30.0% of A, 30.9% of T, 19.9% C, and 19.2% G, with the GC content of the chloroplast genome 39.1%. The cp genome of M. liliflora contains 129 genes, which includes 86 protein-coding genes (PCGs), 35 transfer RNA (tRNAs), and 8 ribosome RNA (rRNAs). The maximum-likelihood (ML) tree result showed that M. liliflora is closely related to two Magnoliaceae family species of M. dealbata and M. glaucifolia in phylogenetic relationship. This complete chloroplast genomes will be useful for medicinal study in the future.

Design parameters and treatment efficiency of a retrofit bioretention system on runoff nitrogen removal.

Mixed media design is key factor that affects the operation of bioretention systems. In this study, four types of modifiers, namely, water treatment residual (WTR), green zeolite, fly ash, and coconut bran, were mixed with traditional bioretention soil (65% sand + 30% soil + 5% sawdust, by mass). Consequently, four kinds of modified media were obtained. Ten pilot-scale bioretention basins were constructed by setting different configurations. The steady infiltration rates of the modified packing bioretention systems were 3.25~62.78 times that of plant soil, which was 2.88~55.75 m/day. Results showed that the average concentration removal (ACR) of both mixed and layered fly ash and WTR were better than those of the other media, and the effects could reach over 61.92%. In the bioretention basins with WTR as the modifier, the treatment efficiency of nitrogen under the submerged zone height of 150 mm was relatively optimal, and ACR could reach 65.46%. Outflow total nitrogen (TN) load was most influenced by inflow load, and the correlation coefficient was above 0.765. Relative to the change of inflow concentration (IC), the change of recurrence interval (RI) and discharge ratio (DR) was more sensitive to TN load reduction. The reduction rate of TN load decreased by approximately 15% when the recurrence interval increased from 0.5 to 3 years. It decreased by approximately 12% when the discharge ratio increased from 10 to 20. This study will provide additional insights into the treatment performance of retrofit bioretention systems, and thus, can guide media and configuration design, effect evaluation, and related processes.

Design, synthesis and biological activity of flavonoid derivatives as selective agonists for neuromedin U 2 receptor.

Central neuromedin U 2 receptor (NMU2R) plays important roles in the regulation of food intake and body weight. Identification of NMU2R agonists may lead to the development of pharmaceutical agents to treat obesity. Based on the structure of rutin, a typical flavonoid and one of the NMU2R agonists we previously identified from an in-house made natural product library, 30 flavonoid derivatives have been synthesized and screened on a cell-based reporter gene assay. A number of compounds were found to be selective and highly potent to NMU2R. For example, the EC50 value of compound NRA 4 is very close to that of NMU, the endogenous peptide ligand of NMU2R. Structure-activity relationship analysis revealed that a 3-hydroxyl group in ring C and a 2'-fluoride group in ring B were essential for this class of compounds to be active against NMU2R.