A facile generic environmental strategy is employed to prepare hierarchical yolk-shell hybrid NiO@C materials viz. metal-organic frameworks. The intrinsic yolk-shell nature as well as the multi-element characteristics of active components of the unique nanostructures contributes greatly to the outstanding electrochemical performance.

A one-step methodology for the synthesis of multisubstituted quinoline-4-carboxamides was developed by simply refluxing a mixture of isatins 1 and various kinds of 1,1-enediamines 2-4 in a reaction catalyzed by NHSOH. As a result, a series of quinolone-4-carboxamides were produced through a novel cascade reaction mechanism. This reaction involved the formation of the quinoline ring accompanied by the formation of an amide bond in one step. Accordingly, this protocol is suitable for combinatorial and parallel syntheses of quinolone-4-carboxamide drugs or natural products.

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Matrix metalloproteinases-9 (MMP-9) plays important roles in tumor invasion and metastasis by degrading extracellular matrix components. Variations in the DNA sequence in the MMP-9 gene may lead to altered MMP-9 production and/or activity, and so this may modulate an individual's susceptibility to esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC). To test this hypothesis, we investigated the association of the MMP-9 polymorphisms and their haplotypes with the risk of ESCC in a Chinese population. There were significant differences in the genotype and allele distribution of P574R polymorphism of the MMP-9 gene among cases and controls. The P574R GG genotypes were associated with a significantly increased risk of ESCC as compared with the CC genotypes (odds ratio [OR] = 4.08; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.58-10.52; p = 0.00). Compared with 279R-574P haplotype, 279R-574R (OR = 3.52; 95% CI: 1.99-6.25) and 279Q-574P (OR = 2.16; 95% CI: 1.07-4.35) haplotypes can increase the onset risk of ESCC statistically, but the role of 279R-574R haplotype is more obvious. MMP-9 P574R polymorphisms and P574R-R279Q haplotype are significantly associated with the risk of ESCC. Our study shows for the first time that MMP-9 gene P574R polymorphism may contribute to a genetic risk factor for ESCC in a Chinese population.