The acute toxicity of cypermethrin, emamectin benzoate and imidacloprid on red swamp crayfish (<em>Procambarus clarkia</em>)

Pesticide contamination is commonly found as a mixture of different pesticides rather than individual compounds. However, the regulatory risk evaluation is mostly based on the effects of individual pesticides. In the present study, we aimed to investigate the individual and combined toxicities of cypermethrin (CYP) with emamectin benzoate (EMB) and imidacloprid (IMI) to crayfish using acute indices and various sub-lethal endpoints. Semi-static bioassay procedures were followed in the experiment. The 24, 48, and 72 h LC~50~ values (with 95% confidence limits) of CYP for crayfish were calculated as 0.141, 0.137, and 0.135 ug/ml, respectively, which were higher than those of IMI (75.813, 72.345, 70.568 ug/ml) and EMB (34.581, 27.930, 22.298 ug/ml). Pesticide mixtures of CYP and EMB displayed a synergistic response to crayfish; the LC50 was 0.053, 0.050, and 0.048 ug/ml, which was lower than when only CYP was present. Pesticide mixtures of CYP and EMB were found to be highly toxic to crayfish. At the physiological level, both individuals and mixtures of pesticides caused severe injury to the internal organs of crayfish. Taken together, the synergistic effects indicated that it was highly important to include joint toxicity studies when assessing the risk of pesticides

Budd-Chiari Syndrome in China: A Systematic Analysis of Epidemiological Features Based on the Chinese Literature Survey

Background. Thousands of Budd-Chiari syndrome (BCS) studies have been published in China, and yet no one has explored its incidence or prevalence in the whole country. Methods. Three most commonly used Chinese language electronic databases were searched, and epidemiological data were extracted from the selected articles. Results. By the end of 2013, 20191 BCS cases were reported in China. The mean age of BCS patients was 36.29 ± 1.28 years, and ratio of male to female was 150/100. About 80% BCS patients were distributed in Henan, Shandong, Beijing, Jiangsu, and Anhui, and all of them except for Beijing were located in the downstream areas of Yellow River and the whole Huai River basin. The incidence and prevalence of BCS in China with and without the top 5 high-prevalence areas were estimated to be 0.88/million per year and 7.69/million and 0.28/million per year and 2.21/million, respectively. Conclusions. Most BCS patients in China are distributed in the downstream areas of Yellow River and the whole Huai River basin. The incidence and prevalence are comparable to those of Western countries without taking into account the top 5 high-prevalence areas

A Linear Tetranuclear Dysprosium(III) Compound Showing Single-Molecule Magnet Behavior

Although magnetic measurements reveal a single-relaxation time for a linear tetranuclear Dy(III) compound, the wide distribution of the relaxation time observed clearly suggests the presence of two slightly different anisotropic centres, therefore opening new avenues for investigating the relaxation dynamics of lanthanide aggregates

A Linear Tetranuclear Dysprosium(III) Compound Showing Single-Molecule Magnet Behavior

Although magnetic measurements reveal a single-relaxation time for a linear tetranuclear Dy(III) compound, the wide distribution of the relaxation time observed clearly suggests the presence of two slightly different anisotropic centres, therefore opening new avenues for investigating the relaxation dynamics of lanthanide aggregates

Curse or blessing: how does natural resource dependence affect city-level economic development in China?

Based on the ‘resource curse’ theory, this study uses panel data for 256 prefecture-level cities in China from 2003 to 2016 to test the relationship and mechanism between natural resource dependence and economic development. The panel model and instrumental variable regression results show that natural resources generally promote economic development, but for 109 resource-based cities, the influence of natural resources on economic development seems quite different. The panel threshold model shows that in the resource-based cities, (i) resources have a ‘blessing effect’ on economic development during economic prosperity (GDP growth rate is greater than 12.1 per cent); (ii) the relationship is not statistically significant when the GDP growth rate is between 5 per cent and 12.1 per cent; and (iii) when the GDP growth rate is lower than 5 per cent, natural resources have a ‘curse effect’ on economic development. Furthermore, the results of the mediation effect model show that the mediation effect of industrial diversification on the relationship between resource dependence and economic development suppresses the promotion of natural resource on economy. An excessive concentration of resource industries has a crowding-out effect on non-resource industries in resource-based cities, which reduces the level of industrial diversification and is not conducive to economic development

Curse or blessing: how does natural resource dependence affect city-level economic development in China?

Based on the ‘resource curse’ theory, this study uses panel data for 256 prefecture-level cities in China from 2003 to 2016 to test the relationship and mechanism between natural resource dependence and economic development. The panel model and instrumental variable regression results show that natural resources generally promote economic development, but for 109 resource-based cities, the influence of natural resources on economic development seems quite different. The panel threshold model shows that in the resource-based cities, (i) resources have a ‘blessing effect’ on economic development during economic prosperity (GDP growth rate is greater than 12.1 per cent); (ii) the relationship is not statistically significant when the GDP growth rate is between 5 per cent and 12.1 per cent; and (iii) when the GDP growth rate is lower than 5 per cent, natural resources have a ‘curse effect’ on economic development. Furthermore, the results of the mediation effect model show that the mediation effect of industrial diversification on the relationship between resource dependence and economic development suppresses the promotion of natural resource on economy. An excessive concentration of resource industries has a crowding-out effect on non-resource industries in resource-based cities, which reduces the level of industrial diversification and is not conducive to economic development

Thymosin beta 10 Prompted the VEGF-C Expression in Lung Cancer Cell

Background and objective Our previous study found that thymosin β10 overexpressed in lung cancer and positively correlated with differentiation, lymph node metastasis and stage of lung cancer. In this reasearch we aim to study the effects and mechanism of exogenous human recombinant Tβ10 on the expression of VEGF-C on non-small cell lung cancer. Methods After SPC, A549 and LK2 cells were treated with 100 ng/mL recombinant human Tβ10, the mRNA level of VEGF-C were detected by RT-PCR. The mean while the protein expression of VEGF-C, P-AKT and AKT were determined by Western blot assay. Results Exogenous recombinant human Tβ10 were significantly promote the expression levels of VEGF-C mRNA and protein while promoting the phosphorylation of AKT. Exogenous Tβ10 can promote the expression of VEGF-C mRNA and protein in lung cancer cell lines A549 and LK2 (P<0.05), and this effect can be inhibited by use AKT inhibitor LY294002 (P<0.05). Conclusion Tβ10 human recombinant proteins can promote the expression of VEGF-C by activating AKT phosphorylation in lung cancer cell lines

Modelling technological bias and productivity growth: a case study of China’s three urban agglomerations

The technological progress in favor of energy conservation and emission reduction will help increase green total factor productivity and thus mitigate China’s environmental problems. This study adopts the data envelopment analysis (DEA) to measure the total factor productivity (TFP) index of the Chinese three urban agglomerations from 2005 to 2014, and the reasons for its changes are also analyzed. Furthermore, the biases of technological progress from two perspectives of inputs and outputs (including the undersirable output, measured by &nbsp;emissions) are estimated. Main results are: (i) During the sample period, the TFP of the three urban agglomerations continues to increase, and the main driving force is technological change. (ii) From the perspective of inputs, the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei prefers to use electricity, whereas the Pearl River Delta and the Yangtze River Delta urban agglomerations tend to use capital and save labor. (iii) From the perspective of outputs, the technological progress of the three major urban agglomerations is significantly biased toward GDP with a slight difference among the three urban agglomerations, which means its technological progress is conducive to reduce &nbsp;intensity, symbolizing low carbon development. From this point of view, their economic growth shows a low-carbon trend