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Azoxystrobin belongs to a kind of new strobilurin fungicides and its widely application to soils has become a common practice. However, little is known about the effect of azoxystrobin on soil microbial population and enzymatic activities. The impacts of azoxystrobin on cultivable soil microbial population, enzymatic activities and soil respiration were investigated under laboratory conditions. The fungicide was applied in 0.1, 1.0 and 10.0 mg kg-1 dry soil during the incubation period. For all treatments, microbial properties in soil were measured on days 7, 14, 21 and 28. The results showed that azoxystrobin applications reduced soil viable microbial numbers, soil respiration, and dehydrogenase and protease activities. However, the fungicide had no significantly adverse effect on urease activity. Azoxystrobin had strong positive effects on catalase in initial 21 days, but at the end of the experiment, catalase was recovered close to that of the control. Among the four enzymes, dehydrogenase was most sensitive to azoxystrobin. The authors suggest that azoxystrobin had an adverse effect on soil microorganisms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background. Primary small cell carcinoma of the esophagus (SCCE) is characterized as highly aggressive with a poor prognosis. To identify potential prognostic factors and to assess the role of surgical procedures, chemotherapy, and radiotherapy for SCCE, we retrospectively analyzed patients with SCCE from three large institutions in China. Methods. All of the SCCE patients between 1998 and 2012 were identified from three clinical databases of the Sun Yat-Sen University Cancer Center, Peking Union Cancer Hospital and Shantou Cancer Hospital. Potential prognostic factors were analyzed with univariate analysis and a Cox regression model. Subgroup analysis based on the 2002 American Joint Committee on Cancer staging system for esophageal cancer was applied to examine the effect of treatment on survival. Results. In patients with stage I/II SCCE, 85% underwent operations and showed improved survival (median survival time [MST] 29 vs 17.4 months, p = 0.082). However, chemotherapy did not further improve survival. In patients with stage IIB/III SCCE, chemotherapy, instead of operation, improved survival (MST 13.0 vs 6.1 months, p = 0.003), and radiotherapy resulted in improved survival. In stage IV patients, chemotherapy improved survival (MST 12.5 vs 4.0 months, p < 0.001), and chemotherapy combined with radiotherapy was superior to chemotherapy alone (MST 13.2 vs 8.9 months, p = 0.014). Conclusions. Surgical procedures alone can be recommended for stage I/IIA patients. In patients with stage IIB disease or above, chemotherapy should be the main treatment approach, and chemotherapy combined with radiotherapy tended to improve survival. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: There exist different energy mixes, different fuel use patterns, and different consumption trends between developed and developing countries. Will causal relationship between coal consumption and economic growth different? This paper uses the granger causality test procedure to examine the differences of causal relationships between coal consumption and GDP in major developed and developing countries based on data during the period from 1980 to 2005. Although no similar causal relationship between coal consumption and GDP in major developed and developing countries has been discovered, they all should examine how coal use is linked with economic development and make a scientific policy for coal energy to cut carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions to meet the standards stipulated in the Kyoto Protocol. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]