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Steatorrhea, a sign of severe pancreatic exocrine insufficiency (PEI), is related to consequences caused by pancreatitis. This study aimed to identify predictors and to construct a nomogram for steatorrhea in idiopathic chronic pancreatitis (ICP).ICP patients admitted to our hospital from January 2000 to December 2013 were enrolled in this retrospective-prospective cohort study and randomly assigned to the training and validation cohorts. The cumulative rate of steatorrhea was calculated. A Cox proportional hazard regression model was used to identify predictors for steatorrhea and construct the nomogram. Internal and external validation of the nomogram was then performed.There were 1633 ICP patients enrolled, with a median follow-up duration of 9.8 years and 20.8% (339/1633) of patients developed steatorrhea following onset of ICP. Steatorrhea was observed in 93, 115, and 133 patients at 1, 3, and 5 years following diagnosis of CP, with a cumulative rate of 6.5% (95% confidence interval [CI] 5.1%-7.9%), 8.0% (95% CI 6.2%-9.8%), and 9.3% (95% CI 6.6%-12.0%), respectively. Male sex (hazard ratio [HR] 2.479, P 0.001), diabetes mellitus at/before diagnosis of ICP (HR 2.274, P = 0.003), and aged less than 18 years at onset of ICP (HR 0.095, P 0.001) were identified risk factors for steatorrhea. Initial manifestations were associated with development of steatorrhea. The nomogram was proven to have good concordance indexes.We identified predictors and developed a nomogram for predicting steatorrhea in ICP. It was recommended that high-risk populations be followed up closely, which might contribute to the early diagnosis and treatment of PEI.

Chang-He Liu,1 Na Hua,2 Huai-Yu Yang1 1Department of Cardiology, Affiliated Zhongshan Hospital of Dalian University, Dalian, People’s Republic of China; 2Department of Otolaryngology, Affiliated Zhongshan Hospital of Dalian University, Dalian, People’s Republic of ChinaCorrespondence: Chang-He LiuDepartment of Cardiology, Affiliated Zhong Shan Hospital of Dalian University, 6 Jiefang Street, Zhongshan District, Dalian, People’s Republic of ChinaTel +86-13478661433Fax +86-041162893555Email liuchanghe159951@163.comBackground: Accumulating evidence has shown the important role of the inflammatory process in the pathophysiology of mental disorders. However, the relative levels of inflammatory markers in patients with panic disorder (PD) have rarely been evaluated. The aim of the present study was to conduct a systematic review to determine the correlation of peripheral C-reactive protein (CRP) and inflammatory cytokine profiles with PD.Methods: This study followed the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines. We searched for quantitative research studies published up to July 31, 2021 that measured peripheral levels of CRP and inflammatory cytokines in people with PD compared with controls. Meta-analysis using a random-effects model was performed for the levels of CRP and inflammatory cytokines with data from three or more studies.Results: Fourteen identified studies met the inclusion criteria. In total, 18 cytokines were evaluated. Markers that were reported in more than 3 studies were included in this meta-analysis. The results showed that peripheral levels of CRP, IL-6, IL-2 and TNF-α were significantly higher in PD patients than in healthy controls, while there was no significant difference in peripheral levels of IL-1β, IL-10 and IFN-γ between groups. Notably, the relevant studies involving IL-6, IL-1β, IL-10 and IFN-γ in PD patients were highly heterogeneous. Similar to meta-analyses of other inflammatory factors in mental disorders, our meta-analysis also reflected differences in participant medication use, comorbid anxiety or depression, sampling methods and detection methods. Eight inflammatory cytokines were reported in only one study, and their expression levels were higher, lower, or unchanged compared with those in healthy controls.Conclusion: There is preliminary evidence to suggest a significant inflammatory response in PD patients, but the role of inflammatory markers in PD remains unclear. Studying inflammatory markers in PD will help to clarify the etiology and pathophysiological mechanisms of the disorder.Keywords: CRP, interleukin, TNF-α, IFN-γ, panic disorder

Only few studies have analyzed the global distribution of anesthesia research. This study was designed to reveal the current global research status of anesthesiology. Articles published between 1999 and 2018 in international journals in the field of anesthesiology were retrieved from the PubMed database. The top 20 ranked countries were identified. The gross domestic product (GDP) of each country was also retrieved to reveal the correlation between research outputs and the economy. The total outputs and outputs per 10 million inhabitants in each country were calculated and compared. To analyze the quality of publications among the top 10 ranked countries, the impact factor (IF), article influence score (AIS), and immediacy index (ImI) were calculated and analyzed. In addition, the keywords of publications were retrieved to conduct co-occurrence analysis in order to determine the research focus in anesthesiology. A total of 112,918 articles were published in 30 selected journals from 1999 to 2018. There was a positive correlation between research outputs and GDP of 10 countries (p

China has a huge number of patients with gastrointestinal and liver diseases. To figure out research levels in gastroenterology and hepatology of three major regions of China - Mainland, Hong Kong, and Taiwan the outputs of articles published in international digestive journals from the three regions were compared in this study. Articles published in 80 journals related to digestive originated from Mainland, Hong Kong, and Taiwan from 1999 to 2018 were retrieved from “PubMed” database. The numbers of total articles, clinical trials, RCTs, case reports, articles published in top general medicine journals, impact factors and citation reports were compared for quantity and quality evaluation. The number of articles per capita was also compared. There were 27,612 articles from Mainland (20,501), Hong Kong (2,329) and Taiwan (4,782). Mainland published the most articles (2,416) in 10 highest impacted journals and the most articles (593) of “RCT”, but had the least average impact factor (4.380) and average citation (10.314). Hong Kong had the most number (302.139 per 10 million people) of articles per capita and the most articles (35) published in top general medicine journals among the three regions. Mainland has exceeded Hong Kong and Taiwan in the number of articles published in digestive journals, but there was a huge gap in quality of articles compared with other two regions. More high-quality research outputs from Mainland should be encouraged to be published in international digestive journals.

The aim of the study was to investigate the global research levels in chronic pancreatitis (CP) fields.The term "chronic pancreatitis" was used to retrieve articles published between 2009 and 2018 from the Web of Science database. The 15 highest-output countries' gross domestic product was retrieved to analyze the correlation between output and economic development. The 5 top-ranking countries were compared in quantity and quality. The frequently used terms of all articles were retrieved to conduct co-occurrence analysis to reveal research highlights for CP.There were 6094 articles included and 6007 articles were from 15 highest-output countries. There was a positive correlation between output and gross domestic product (r = 0.928, P0.001). The United States, China, and Japan had increasing trends in total output (P = 0.022, P0.001, and P = 0.021, respectively). China and Japan had increasing trends in output per capita (P0.001 and P = 0.023). However, in average impact factor, all 5 countries did not show increasing trends (all P0.05). For research highlights, mass lesion and autoimmune pancreatitis were the notable aspects.The global output for CP will continue increasing and research quality will be stable.

Acute pancreatitis (AP) is a common digestive disease encountered in Emergency Departments that carries a heavy socioeconomic burden. This study was conducted to determine the global status of AP research. Articles related to AP published in 1999 to 2018 were retrieved from the Web of Science (WOS) database and the 20 highest-output countries or regions were determined based on the total number of publications. Correlation analysis of AP research output and the gross domestic product (GDP) of each country or region was conducted. The quantity and quality of research of these 20 highest-output countries were compared to the total output, outputs per capita, and average impact factor (IF). All annual data were analyzed using time-trend analysis. A keyword co-occurrence analysis was conducted to determine the highlights in AP research. In total, 17,698 publications were retrieved, and 16,461 papers (93.0%) of them were from the 20 highest-output countries. A significantly positive correlation was identified between AP research output and the GDP (R = 0.973, P.001). The 5 highest-output countries were the USA (24.9%), China (12.3%), Germany (7.5%), Japan (6.7%), and the UK (6.1%). Finland ranked 1st in the number of publication per capita, the USA had the highest accumulated IF (25,432.758) and total citations (104,592), Switzerland had the highest average IF (6.723), and Netherland had the highest average citations (51.90). Genetic research and AP-related hyperglycemia were research highlights. Analysis of the global output of research of AP research showed signs of growth. Research output was positively correlated with GDP. For the most productive countries, research quality was stable. Although developing countries lagged behind in output per capita and quality, great progress has been made in the past 2 decades.

Endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) has been used in clinical practice for over 50 years. This study aims to investigate the current state of research in the field of ERCP.Web of Science database was searched using the term "ERCP" for articles published between 1994 and 2018. The total number of articles from the top 20 countries with the most published articles was determined. The top 5 countries were compared in terms of output per capita, number of articles published in top journals, cumulative impact factor (IF), and average IF. All annual data were subjected to time-trend analysis. The frequently used terms in the titles and abstracts of all articles were retrieved to conduct co-occurrence analysis to determine the research focus of ERCP.A total of 9960 articles on ERCP were published between 1994 and 2018, of which 8778 articles were from the top 20 producing countries. There was a significant positive correlation between the output and GDP of each country (R = 0.870, P = .001). The United States of America (USA), Japan, Germany, Italy, and China were the top 5 producing countries with 3190 (32.0%), 868 (8.7%), 658 (6.6%), 512 (5.1%) and 488 (4.9%) articles published, respectively. The USA, Japan, Italy, and China were trending upwards in the total outputs and outputs per capita, while Germany were trending downwards. For average IF, Germany had a downwards trend, while the other 4 countries remained stable. Overall, the USA had the highest output per capita (97.5/10 million) and the highest average IF (6.454). China had the lowest output per capita (3.5/10 million) and average IF (3.125). The ERCP procedures for sphincter of Oddi dysfunction, the combination of ERCP, and laparoscopic cholecystectomy have been the research focus of ERCP.Except for Germany, research on ERCP will continue to increase in the top-producing countries. The outputs per capita and quality of articles from developed countries are higher than those from developing countries.

The lower and middle parts of the 3rd member of the Shahejie Formation (Es3x-Es3z) in the eastern Dongying Sag, southeast of the Bohai Bay Basin, China, are comprised of the turbidite sandstones and typical lacustrine source rocks that show good resource potential for lithologic and shale oil reservoirs. However, their significant calcareous-rich characteristics affect reservoir quality and geophysical prediction. A previous study of aqueous media in modern lakes showed that water salinity has a significant impact on the distribution of chemical sedimentary rocks. Therefore, there is a need to investigate the distribution of calcareous composition through paleosalinity restoration in Es3x-Es3z in the eastern Dongying Sag. In this study, the quantitative relationships between different methods were explored, and a comprehensive method of paleosalinity restoration was established for the study area. The results show that Es3x-Es3z is formed in a brackish-salt environment, and the paleosalinity in Es3x is higher than that in Es3z because the lacustrine type formed by climate and tectonic actions. The plane distribution of paleosalinity has two different variation trends, which can be closely related to paleogeomorphology. The paleosalinity distribution from the basin margin to sag shows a variable trend of low-high-low among different paleogeomorphology units, while that from the Chenjiazhuang Uplift in the north to sag shows a gradually decreasing trend due to the provenance of carbonate rocks. Based on core and thin section observations with mineral composition analysis, three types of calcareous lithofacies were identified. The plane distribution characteristics and vertical stacking patterns of these calcareous lithofacies were found to be significantly influenced by paleosalinity and detrital input. This study provides an insight into the relationship between paleosalinity and calcareous composition and provides a geological method with which to explore the distribution of calcareous composition in the lacustrine basin.

There is huge shortage of ERCP practitioners (ERCPists) in China, and ERCP training is urgently needed. ChangHai Advanced eNdoscopy Courses for ERCP (CHANCE) is a 4-month program for ERCP training since 2004. This study evaluated the efficiency of this short-term training model, and reported on the ERCP careers of the trainees following completion of the CHANCE program.This study was a retrospective investigation included all the CHANCE trainees from Jan 2004 to Dec 2014. Questionnaires were sent to all trainees. The career competence percentage, ERCP careers and predictive factors of career competence were investigated and analyzed.A total of 413 trainees participated in the CHANCE program over 11 years covered by the survey and 258 questionnaires were valid for the study. The mean (SD) age of the trainees was 35.36 (4.17), and the male to female ratio was 4.4:1. The average follow-up time was 7.77 (3.44) years. A total of 173 (67.1%) trainees had achieved career competence. In terms of ERCP careers, the mean annual ERCP volume was 120.60 (96.67), with a complication percentage of 8.2%. Hospital qualification, compliance with follow-up learning guidance, participating academic activity, and practitioner type were identified predictive factors of career competence.As a short-term training program, the CHANCE achieved an acceptable career competence percentage, providing endoscopists more chances to learn ERCP and giving them appropriate training guidance for career competence. This training mode is worth promoting in developing countries with shortage of ERCPists.

Based on outcrop, well logging, and mud logging data, this study investigates the sedimentary environment, the distribution patterns and the depositional environment of the Late Paleozoic coal-measure source rocks in the Bohai Bay Basin region. Coal-measure source rocks are mainly developed in the Taiyuan and Shanxi formations, consisting of coal and dark mudstone. Affected by frequent fluctuations of sea level, individual coal-measure source rock beds in the eastern region are relatively thin while the layers are numerous. Coal seams in the western region are relatively thick, but the cumulative thickness of dark mudstone is thinner than that in the eastern region. According to the characteristics of coal-measure source rocks, the depositional environments include tidal flat, lagoon, peat swamp, and subaqueous distributary bay. The Late Paleozoic coal-measure source rocks in the Bohai Bay Basin region has a large residual thickness and distributes widely. Under the influence of the Mesozoic and Cenozoic tectonic movement, some areas suffered from severe denudation. The residual coal-measure source rocks are mainly distributed in the Huanghua, Jizhong, and Linqing depressions.

Only few studies have analyzed the global distribution of anesthesia research. This study was designed to reveal the current global research status of anesthesiology.Articles published between 1999 and 2018 in international journals in the field of anesthesiology were retrieved from the PubMed database. The top 20 ranked countries were identified. The gross domestic product (GDP) of each country was also retrieved to reveal the correlation between research outputs and the economy. The total outputs and outputs per 10 million inhabitants in each country were calculated and compared. To analyze the quality of publications among the top 10 ranked countries, the impact factor (IF), article influence score (AIS), and immediacy index (ImI) were calculated and analyzed. In addition, the keywords of publications were retrieved to conduct co-occurrence analysis in order to determine the research focus in anesthesiology.A total of 112,918 articles were published in 30 selected journals from 1999 to 2018. There was a positive correlation between research outputs and GDP of 10 countries (p 0.001, r = 0.825). The USA ranked 1st with 21,703 articles, followed by the UK (8393 articles) and Germany (6504 articles). Canada had the highest number of publications per 10 million inhabitants in 2018. The UK had the highest average IF (4.70), average AIS (1.16), and average ImI (1.64) among the 10 countries. The research highlights in the field of anesthesiology included "mechanism and management of pain", "cardiac anesthesia", "pediatric anesthesia and airway management", "analgesia" and "anesthetic agents".Regarding quantity trend, the output of global production in anesthesiology increased continuously as the number of articles from the high-output countries showed an increasing trend; however, there was still a gap between developing and developed countries in research quality. High-quality research should be encouraged in developing countries.ZWECK: Nur wenige Studien haben die globale Verteilung der Anästhesieforschungen analysiert. Diese Studie soll den aktuellen globalen Forschungsstand der Anästhesiologie aufzeigen.Artikel, die zwischen 1999 und 2018 in internationalen Zeitschriften auf dem Gebiet der Anästhesiologie veröffentlicht wurden, wurden aus der Datenbank PubMed abgerufen. Zwanzig Länder mit höchsten Zahlen wurden identifiziert. Das Bruttoinlandsprodukt (BIP) jedes Landes wurde ebenfalls abgerufen, um die Korrelation zwischen Forschungsprodukten („research outputs“) und der Wirtschaft aufzuzeigen. Die gesamten Forschungsprodukte sowie Produkte pro 10 Mio. Einwohner in jedem Land wurden berechnet und verglichen. Um die Qualität der Publikationen in den Top-10-Ländern zu analysieren, wurden Impact Factor (IF), Article Influence Score (AIS) und Immediacy Index (ImI) berechnet und ausgewertet. Zusätzlich wurden die Schlüsselwörter der Publikationen abgerufen, anhand deren eine Co-Occurrence-Analyse durchgeführt wurde, um den Forschungsschwerpunkt in der Anästhesiologie zu bestimmen.Insgesamt wurden 112.918 Artikel in 30 ausgewählten Journalen von 1999 bis 2018 veröffentlicht. Es gab eine positive Korrelation zwischen Forschungsprodukten und BIP von 10 Ländern (p 0,001, r = 0,825). Auf Platz 1 lagen die USA mit 21.703 Artikeln, gefolgt von Großbritannien (8393 Artikel) und Deutschland (6504 Artikel). Kanada hatte im Jahr 2018 die höchste Anzahl an Publikationen pro 10 Mio. Einwohner. Großbritannien hatte die höchste durchschnittliche IF (4,70), durchschnittliche AIS (1,16) und durchschnittliche ImI (1,64) unter den 10 Ländern. Zu den Forschungsschwerpunkten im Bereich der Anästhesiologie gehörten „Mechanismus und Management von Schmerzen“, „Herzanästhesie“, „Pädiatrische Anästhesie und Atemwegsmanagement“, „Analgesie“ und „Anästhesie“.Hinsichtlich des Quantitätstrends stieg weltweit die Anzahl der Forschungsprodukte in der Anästhesiologie kontinuierlich an, da die Anzahl der Artikel aus den Top-Ländern eine steigende Tendenz zeigte. Es gab jedoch immer noch eine Lücke zwischen Entwicklungsländern und Industrieländern in der Forschungsqualität. Hochwertige Forschung sollte in Entwicklungsländern gefördert werden.

OBJECTIVE The study concerns identifying risk factors and developing nomogram for pancreatic pseudocyst (PPC) in idiopathic chronic pancreatitis (ICP) to facilitate early diagnosis. METHODS From January 2000 to December 2013, ICP patients admitted to our center were enrolled. Cumulative incidence of PPC was determined by Kaplan-Meier method. Patients were randomized into training group and validation group in a 2:1 ratio. Risk factors of PPC were determined through Cox proportional hazards regression model based on training cohort. The nomogram was constructed according to risk factors. RESULTS Totally, 1633 ICP patients were included with a median follow-up duration of 9.8 years. Pancreatic pseudocyst was observed in 14.7% (240/1633) of patients after ICP onset. The cumulative incidences of PPC were 8.2%, 10.4%, and 12.9% at 3, 5, and 10 years after ICP onset, respectively. Male sex, smoking history, history of severe acute pancreatitis, and chronic pain at/before diagnosis of ICP and complex pathologic changes in main pancreatic duct were recognized as risk factors of PPC development. The nomogram constructed with these risk factors achieved good concordance indexes. CONCLUSIONS Risk for PPC could be estimated through the nomogram. High-risk patients were suggested to be followed up closely to help early diagnosis of PPC.

Bimodal classification of idiopathic chronic pancreatitis (ICP) into early-onset (35 years) ICP was proposed in 1994 based on a study of 66 patients. However, bimodal distribution wasn’t sufficiently demonstrated. Our objective was to examine the validity and relevance of the age-based bimodal classification of ICP. We analyzed the distribution of age at onset of ICP in our cohort of 1633 patients admitted to our center from January 2000 to December 2013. Classify ICP patients into early-onset ICP(a) and late-onset ICP(a) according to different cut-off values (cut-off value, a = 15, 25, 35, 45, 55, 65 years old) for age at onset. Compare clinical characteristics of early-onset ICP(a) and late-onset ICP(a). We found slightly right skewed distribution of age at onset for ICP in our cohort. There were differences between early-onset and late-onset ICP with respect to basic clinical characteristics and development of key clinical events regardless of the cut off age at onset i.e. 15, 25, 35, 45 or even higher. The validity of the bimodal classification of early-onset and late-onset ICP could not be established in our large patient cohort and therefore such a classification needs to be reconsidered.

Background and aim Diabetes mellitus (DM) is a common complication of idiopathic chronic pancreatitis (ICP), which impairs the quality of life for patients. This study aimed to identify risk factors and develop nomogram for DM in ICP to help early diagnosis. Methods Idiopathic chronic pancreatitis patients admitted to our center from January 2000 to December 2013 were included. Cumulative rates of DM were calculated by Kaplan-Meier method. Patients were randomly assigned, in a 2:1 ratio, to the training and validation cohort. Based on training cohort, risk factors for DM were identified through Cox proportional hazards regression model, and nomogram was developed. Internal and external validations were performed based on the training and validation cohort, respectively. Results Totally, 1633 patients with ICP were finally enrolled. The median follow-up duration was 9.8 years. DM was found in 26.3% (430/1633) of patients after the onset of CP. Adult at onset of ICP, biliary stricture at/before diagnosis of CP, steatorrhea at/before diagnosis of CP, and complex pathologic changes in main pancreatic duct were identified risk factors for DM development. The nomogram achieved good concordance indexes in the training and validation cohorts, respectively, with well-fitted calibration curves. Conclusions Risk factors were identified, and nomogram was developed to determine the risk of DM in ICP patients. Patients with one or more of the risk factors including adult at onset of ICP, biliary stricture at/before diagnosis of CP, steatorrhea at/before diagnosis of CP, and complex pathologic changes in main pancreatic duct have higher incidence of DM.

BACKGROUND There are no reports on global research status of gastroenterology and hepatology (GI). This study was conducted to reveal the current global research status and trends in GI. METHODS Articles published during 2009 to 2018 in international GI journals were retrieved from the PubMed database. The top 20 countries by output were determined. The gross domestic product (GDP) of each country was also retrieved to figure out the correlation between outputs in GI and economy. The 5 highest-ranking countries were compared in the number of total articles, articles per capita, articles published in top journals, the accumulated impact factor (IF), and average IF. Total articles and articles per capita of the 5 countries were conducted time-trend analysis. The frequently-used terms in titles and abstracts of articles published in 2009 and 2018 were retrieved to conduct co-occurrence analysis to figure out the change of research highlights in GI. RESULTS A total of 120,267 articles were included, of which 116,485 articles were from 20 highest-output countries. There was a positive correlation between output and GDP (r = 0.921, P

The long. term effects of four kinds of amine. alcohol based inhibitors on the corrosion behavior of steel rebar inside mortar specimens immersed in saturated NaCl solution were studied by electrochemical impendence spectroscopy (EIS), half cell corrosion potential (E(corr)), and macrocell corrosion current density (I(corr)) measurements. We found that the E(corr) and the impedance modulus were higher than those in the control specimen after inhibitor addition. Additionally, I(corr) decreased over the initial 100 d of immersion revealing that the steel rebar electrodes are kept in passive state and the inhibitors showed good inhibition effects. With an increase in the immersion time, E(corr) and the impedance modulus for all the inhibited mortar specimens decreased while I(corr) increased. After immersion for 125 d there were no obvious differences between E(corr) and I(corr) for the inhibited systems by comparison to those in the blank sample, except for the specimen containing CI-4. This suggests that the surface of the electrode changes from passive state to active state. The best inhibition was obtained in the presence of the CI-4 inhibitor. We briefly discuss the inhibition mechanism based on the competitive adsorption of the inhibitor molecules with Cl(-) on the steel rebar surface.

Our previous experiment revealed that apex-removed plants have larger root systems but a lower K+-uptake rates than intact tobacco plants. Since the apex is not only a center of growth and metabolism, but also an important place of auxin synthesis and export, the aims of this study were to distinguish whether the apex demand or auxin synthesized in the apex regulates assimilate and nutrients partitioning within plant, and to explain the reason for the lower K+-uptake rate of the apex-removed plant. In comparison with the control plant, covering the shoot apex with a black transparent plastic bag reduced net increases in dry matter and nutrients; however, the distribution of the dry matter and nutrients between shoot and roots and nutrient-uptake rates were not changed. Removal of the shoot apex shifted the dry mass and nutrients distributions to roots, and reduced the rate of nutrient uptake. Application of 1-naphthylacetic acid (NAA) could partly replace the role of the removed apex, stimulated assimilate and nutrient deposition into the treated tissue, and enhanced the reduced plasma membrane ATPase activity of roots to the control level. However, treatment of the apex-removed plants with NAA could not rescue the reduced nutrient uptake rate and the shifted assimilates and nutrients partitioning caused by excision of the apex. Higher nutrient uptake rate of the intact plants could not be explained by root growth parameters, such as total root surface area and number of root tips. The results from the present study indicate that strong apex demand determined assimilates and nutrients partitioning and nutrient-uptake rate in tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum) plants.

Excess molar enthalpies H E measured at 298.15 K with a Picker flow microcalorimeter are reported for methanol+, ethanol+, n -propanol+, n -butanol+, n -pentanol +, n -hexanol +, iso-propanol +, iso-butanol +, sec -butanol+ and tert -butanol + N,N -dimethylethanolamine. The experimental results have shown that for the binary mixtures containing one of the n -alkanols (C 1 –C 6 ), excess molar enthalpies are all negative over the entire composition range and increase with lengthening of the alkyl chain of the alkanol. For the mixtures containing an isomeric alkanol, excess molar enthalpies for each isomeric butanol are negative, but for iso-propanol H E values are positive except for the mixtures approaching the pure alkanol. Based on our experimental results, a brief discussion is given in terms of molecular interactions.

Arsenic on the Fingers Arsenic, an ancient drug used in traditional Chinese medicine, has attracted wide interest because it has therapeutic activity in patients with acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL). The drug acts by promoting degradation of an oncogenic protein, PML-RARα, a fusion protein containing sequences from the PML zinc finger protein and retinoic acid receptor α, which is found specifically in APL cells and helps drive their growth. Zhang et al. (p. 240 ; see the Perspective by Kogan ) now explain how arsenic initiates the molecular events leading to PML-RARα degradation. Arsenic was found to bind directly to cysteine residues within zinc finger domains of PML. Arsenic binding then induced oligomerization of PML, which in turn enhanced its association with an enzyme that helps catalyze SUMOylation, a posttranslational modification that can target proteins for degradation.