3-Isopropyl-2-p-tol­yloxy-5,6,7,8-tetra­hydro-1-benzothieno[2,3-d]pyrimidin-4(3H)-one

In the title compound, C20H22N2O2S, the central thieno­pyrimidine ring system is essentially planar, with a maximum displacement of 0.023 (2) Å. The attached cyclo­hexene ring is disordered over two possible conformations, with an occupancy ratio of 0.776 (12):0.224 (12). Neither inter­molecular hydrogen-bonding inter­actions nor π–π stacking inter­actions are present in the crystal structure. The mol­ecular conformation and crystal packing are stabilized by three intra­molecular C—H⋯O hydrogen bonds and two C—H⋯π inter­actions

Ceramides and metabolic profiles of patients with acute coronary disease: a cross-sectional study

Metabolic Syndrome (MS) is a rapidly growing medical problem worldwide and is characterized by a cluster of age-related metabolic risk factors. The presence of MS increases the likelihood of developing atherosclerosis and significantly raises the morbidity/mortality rate of acute coronary syndrome (ACS) patients. Early detection of MS is crucial, and biomarkers, particularly blood-based, play a vital role in this process. This cross-sectional study focused on the investigation of certain plasma ceramides (Cer14:0, Cer16:0, Cer18:0, Cer20:0, Cer22:0, and Cer24:1) as potential blood biomarkers for MS due to their previously documented dysregulated function in MS patients. A total of 695 ACS patients were enrolled, with 286 diagnosed with MS (ACS-MS) and 409 without MS (ACS-nonMS) serving as the control group. Plasma ceramide concentrations were measured by LC-MS/MS assay and analyzed through various statistical methods. The results revealed that Cer18:0, Cer20:0, Cer22:0, and Cer24:1 were significantly correlated with the presence of MS risk factors. Upon further examination, Cer18:0 emerged as a promising biomarker for early MS detection and risk stratification, as its plasma concentration showed a significant sensitivity to minor changes in MS risk status in participants. This cross-sectional observational study was a secondary analysis of a multicenter prospective observational cohort study (Chinese Clinical Trial Registry, https://www.who.int/clinical-trials-registry-platform/network/primary-registries/chinese-clinical-trial-registry-(chictr), ChiCTR-2200056697), conducted from April 2021 to August 2022

Uptake of evidence-based statin therapy among atrial fibrillation patients in China:a report from the CAFR (Chinese Atrial Fibrillation Registry) Study

Background:Atrial fibrillation (AF) is associated with increased incidence of cardiovascular disease, and hence, statin therapy is indicated in majority of AF patients.Methods and results:We analyzed data from the Chinese Atrial Fibrillation Registry (CAFR) involving 11,496 AF patients from 2011 to 2014. Practice patterns of statin therapy and factors associated with statin underuse were analyzed.Based on the 2013 ACC/AHA cholesterol management guidelines, statins should be recommended for 67.4% (7720/11,461) of AF participants in CAFR, but only 43.4% (3352/7720) with appropriate indications were taking statins. Statin underuse in AF patients was independently associated with male sex, tertiary hospital treatment, outpatient attendance, and absence of ‘high risk’ cardiovascular risk factors (overweight, diabetes, coronary heart disease, stroke/transient ischemic attack/peripheral embolism and hypertension).Conclusions:A high proportion of Chinese AF patients had indications for statin therapy. Evidence-based statin prescribing was suboptimal in this population. Greater efforts should be made to improve a holistic approach to cardiovascular risk management in the Chinese AF population

Robust estimation of bacterial cell count from optical density

Optical density (OD) is widely used to estimate the density of cells in liquid culture, but cannot be compared between instruments without a standardized calibration protocol and is challenging to relate to actual cell count. We address this with an interlaboratory study comparing three simple, low-cost, and highly accessible OD calibration protocols across 244 laboratories, applied to eight strains of constitutive GFP-expressing E. coli. Based on our results, we recommend calibrating OD to estimated cell count using serial dilution of silica microspheres, which produces highly precise calibration (95.5% of residuals <1.2-fold), is easily assessed for quality control, also assesses instrument effective linear range, and can be combined with fluorescence calibration to obtain units of Molecules of Equivalent Fluorescein (MEFL) per cell, allowing direct comparison and data fusion with flow cytometry measurements: in our study, fluorescence per cell measurements showed only a 1.07-fold mean difference between plate reader and flow cytometry data

Carbon emissions analysis of producing modified asphalt with natural asphalt

The modification mechanism of modified asphalt with natural asphalt was analyzed through Fourier transform infrared spectrum. The results show that the modification mechanism of both the natural asphalt and petroleum asphalt is mainly a physical blending process. The polar functional groups contained in natural asphalt make modified asphalt with natural asphalt have characteristic good scaling resistance and water stability. Subsequently, the carbon emissions of each link of asphalt production stage were quantified, and the influence of mining, transportation, and processing on the total carbon emissions were all analyzed by establishing the carbon emission calculation model of asphalt production. The calculation results of GREET model showed that the equivalent carbon dioxide emission (CO2e) of rock asphalt mining was only 9.4% of that of crude oil production. At the same time, the CO2e of modified asphalt with natural asphalt processing was 44.7% lower than that of petroleum asphalt, and the carbon emission of rock asphalt transportation accounted for only 1/3 of that of petroleum asphalt transportation. Furthermore, the increased energy consumption caused by petroleum asphalt transportation and modified asphalt with natural asphalt processing will partially offset the contribution of natural asphalt to reducing carbon emissions. Meanwhile, the CO2e of modified asphalt with natural asphalt was lower than that of petroleum asphalt when the content of natural asphalt exceeded 18%. Thereafter, the analytic hierarchy process calculation results showed that petroleum asphalt processing and transportation had the largest weight of carbon emissions in the production stage of modified asphalt with natural asphalt. Ultimately, it is significant to further reduce carbon emissions by increasing the content of natural asphalt, which will then inevitably lead to the reduction in the production and transportation energy consumption of petroleum asphalt