5-Sulfanyl­idene-2H,5H-1,3-dithiolo[4,5-d][1,3]dithiol-2-one

The title mol­ecule, C4OS5, is essentially planar, with an r.m.s. deviation of 0.032 (3) Å. All the C—S single bonds are shorter than the standard Csp 3—S single-bond length, showing the π-conjugated nature of the molecule. In the crystal, molecules lie parallel to one another and pack in columns along the a axis. Short inter­molecular S⋯S contacts [3.314 (3), 3.482 (2) and 3.501 (2) Å] are observed between the columns. The angle between the two mol­ecular dipole moments in the unit cell is 39.3 (1)° and the macro-polarization vector is along the [1 0 − 1.41] direction. As a result of the high polarization and π-conjugation of the structure, the crystalline powder exhibits a second harmonic generating intensity, which is as strong as that of the urea standard powder crystals, when irradiated by a 1053 nm laser beam. The diffraction space of the crystal showed a nonmerohedral twinning

Appropriate antivenom doses for six types of envenomations caused by snakes in taiwan

Six of the 15 species of venomous snakes found in Taiwan are responsible for most of the clinically significant envenomations in the country. These species are: Trimeresurus mucrosquamatus, Trimeresurus stejnegeri, Naja atra, Bungarus multicinctus, Deinagkistrodon acutus and Daboia russelii siamensis, which together can be subdivided into three groups based on their venom effects. Primary treatment consists of rapid administration of appropriate antivenoms. The present study aimed to identify a proper dose of antivenom for each snake group as well as to describe hemorrhagic, neurotoxic, and mixed effects of their venoms. A retrospective chart review identified 72 snakebite cases referred to an emergency department. Data on epidemiology, examination findings, snake identification, treatment, antivenom dose and complications were collected. After excluding 14 patients, data from 58 victims were analyzed. Most studied cases were male (86%). Significantly higher doses of antivenom were administered against neurotoxic envenomations (mean dose: three vials) compared with the other two (p < 0.05). Moreover, patients affected by neurotoxic bites were more likely to develop blurred vision and other complications (p < 0.05). Multivariate logistic regression analysis indicated that neurotoxic envenomation was a risk factor for complications (OR: 8.84, 95% CI: 1.06-73.73). Neurotoxic envenomations and complication occurrence were positively correlated with antivenom dosage. In conclusion, patients affected by neurotoxic envenomations received higher doses of antivenom than others whereas incidence of complications was associated with higher antivenom doses

A New Business Model of Electronic Commerce with Innovative Strategies

There are a lot of problems that make the business of electronic stores very difficult, especially for those firms that lack the required expertise and resources for running an electronic business. This study proposes a new business model of electronic commerce (EC), which aims to tackle those problems and help enterprises run electronic stores well. This model applies the franchise system of chain store, a very successful modern business model, to the management of electronic stores to take advantage of the chain’s competitive power by integrating individual affiliate sites as a whole. There are eight components in the model. Implementation strategies of the model, which are quite different from those generic strategies commonly used in implementing business models, are also proposed. The feasibility of the model and its implementation strategies were validated using the Nominal Group Technique (NGT), the case study, and the questionnaire survey approaches. Finally, practical implications for applying the model are discussed, and directions for further study are also suggested

Dexmedetomidine post-treatment attenuates cardiac ischaemia/reperfusion injury by inhibiting apoptosis through HIF-1α signalling.

Hypoxia-inducible factor 1α (HIF-1α) plays a critical role in the apoptotic process during cardiac ischaemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury. This study aimed to investigate whether post-treatment with dexmedetomidine (DEX) could protect against I/R-induced cardiac apoptosis in vivo and in vitro via regulating HIF-1α signalling pathway. Rat myocardial I/R was induced by occluding the left anterior descending artery for 30 minutes followed by 6-hours reperfusion, and cardiomyocyte hypoxia/reoxygenation (H/R) was induced by oxygen-glucose deprivation for 6 hours followed by 3-hours reoxygenation. Dexmedetomidine administration at the beginning of reperfusion or reoxygenation attenuated I/R-induced myocardial injury or H/R-induced cell death, alleviated mitochondrial dysfunction, reduced the number of apoptotic cardiomyocytes, inhibited the activation of HIF-1α and modulated the expressions of apoptosis-related proteins including BCL-2, BAX, BNIP3, cleaved caspase-3 and cleaved PARP. Conversely, the HIF-1α prolyl hydroxylase-2 inhibitor IOX2 partly blocked DEX-mediated cardioprotection both in vivo and in vitro. Mechanistically, DEX down-regulated HIF-1α expression at the post-transcriptional level and inhibited the transcriptional activation of the target gene BNIP3. Post-treatment with DEX protects against cardiac I/R injury in vivo and H/R injury in vitro. These effects are, at least in part, mediated via the inhibition of cell apoptosis by targeting HIF-1α signalling

Hydrogen Generation from Al-NiCl2/NaBH4 Mixture Affected by Lanthanum Metal

The effect of La on Al/NaBH4 hydrolysis was elaborated in the present paper. Hydrogen generation amount increases but hydrogen generation rate decreases with La content increasing. There is an optimized composition that Al-15 wt% La-5 wt% NiCl2/NaBH4 mixture (Al-15 wt% La-5 wt% NiCl2/NaBH4 weight ratio, 1 : 3) has 126 mL g−1 min−1 maximum hydrogen generation rate and 1764 mL g−1 hydrogen generation amount within 60 min. The efficiency is 88%. Combined with NiCl2, La has great effect on NaBH4 hydrolysis but has little effect on Al hydrolysis. Increasing La content is helpful to decrease the particle size of Al-La-NiCl2 in the milling process, which induces that the hydrolysis byproduct Ni2B is highly distributed into Al(OH)3 and the catalytic reactivity of Ni2B/Al(OH)3 is increased therefore. But hydrolysis byproduct La(OH)3 deposits on Al surface and leads to some side effect. The Al-La-NiCl2/NaBH4 mixture has good stability in low temperature and its hydrolytic performance can be improved with increasing global temperature. Therefore, the mixture has good safety and can be applied as on board hydrogen generation material

4-Formyl­phenyl 2,3,4,6-tetra-O-acetyl-β-d-allopyran­oside

The title compound, C21H24O11, crystallizes exclusively as the β-anomer. The substituent of the protected sugar at position C-3 is in the axial position, while all other groups are in equatorial positions. The pyran­oside ring adopts a stable chair conformation