Review of Empirical Studies on Climate Risk—Effects and Activism

This review focuses on major contemporary empirical studies that examine both the physical and regulatory sides of climate risk. These studies explore how climate risk affects firms’ operating performance and leverage, stock and bond valuation, cost of capital, and managerial behavior. We also discuss how the effect of climate risk on real estate markets depends on individuals’ beliefs about climate change. Furthermore, we summarize papers on climate risk activism and how firms can employ financial devices and technology to mitigate their climate risk. Finally, we make some recommendations for further research areas.

Evaluation of bacterial pathogen diversity,abundance and health risks in urban recreational water by amplicon next-generation sequencing and quantitative PCR

The microbial quality of urban recreational water is of great concern to public health.The monitoring of indicator organisms and several pathogens alone is not sufficient to accurately and comprehensively identify microbial risks.To assess the levels of bacterial pathogens and health risks in urban recreational water,we analyzed pathogen diversity and quantified four pathogens in 46 water samples collected from waterbodies in Beijing Olympic Forest Park in one year.The pathogen diversity revealed by 16 S r RNA gene targeted next-generation sequencing（NGS） showed that 16 of 40 genera and 13 of 76 reference species were present.The most abundant species were Acinetobacter johnsonii,Mycobacterium avium and Aeromonas spp.Quantitative polymerase chain reaction（q PCR） of Escherichia coli（uid A）,Aeromonas（aer A）,M.avium（16S r RNA）,Pseudomonas aeruginosa（oaa） and Salmonella（inv A） showed that the aer A genes were the most abundant,occurring in all samples with concentrations of 10^（4–6） genome copies/100 m L,followed by oaa,inv A and M.avium.In total,34.8% of the samples harbored all genes,indicating the prevalence of these pathogens in this recreational waterbody.Based on the q PCR results,a quantitative microbial risk assessment（QMRA） showed that the annual infection risks of Salmonella,M.avium and P.aeruginosa in five activities were mostly greater than the U.S.EPA risk limit for recreational contacts,and children playing with water may be exposed to the greatest infection risk.Our findings provide a comprehensive understanding of bacterial pathogen diversity and pathogen abundance in urban recreational water by applying both NGS and q PCR.

Factors Associated with Thrombolysis Outcome in Ischemic Stroke Patients with Atrial Fibrillation

The outcome of early intravenous thrombolysis for ischemic stroke in patients with atrial fibrillation（AF）is worse than that without thrombosis. How to increase the efficacy of intravenous thrombolysis for AF-related ischemic stroke remains largely unknown. In this study, we investigated factors that influence the effect of intravenous thrombolysis in these patients. Our results showed that thrombolysis was independently associated with a favorable outcome（P ／ 0.001） and did not influence the mortality of AF-related ischemic stroke, although it increased the risk of hemorrhage within 24 h after treatment. Risk factors for a poor outcome at admission were：heart failure（P = 0.045）; high systolic pressure（P = 0.039）; high blood glucose（P = 0.030）; and a high National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale（NIHSS） score（P ／ 0.001）. Moreover, high systolic pressure at admission（P = 0.007）, high blood glucose（P = 0.027）, and a high NIHSS score（P ／ 0.001） were independent risk factors for mortality at 3 months. Besides thrombolysis, a high NIHSS score（P = 0.006） and warfarin taken within 48 h before stroke onset（P = 0.032） were also independent risk factors for symptomatic hemorrhage within 24 h after treatment. Ischemic stroke patients with AF benefited from intravenous thrombolysis with recombinant tissue plasminogen activator within 4.5 h after stroke.

Integration of Chemical Methods and Biomarkers for Assessment of Chlorimuron-Ethyl Bioavailability in Soil

Bioavailability is a critical factor for assessing the environmental risk of organic pollutants in soil. In this study, extractions with 3 different solvents, including 2 aqueous solutions, calcium chloride(CaCl_2) and a phosphate buffer solution(PBS), and a mixture of aqueous solution and organic solvent, a PBS-methanol(8:2,volume/volume) mixture(PBS-M), were performed to assess the bioavailability of chlorimuron-ethyl in soil in comparison to a battery of toxicity tests in wheat seedlings. The results indicated that the peroxidase(POD) activity in wheat leaves after 7 d of exposure was one of the sensitive biomarkers of chlorimuron-ethyl in soil.The extractability of chlorimuron-ethyl by all the 3 solvents decreased with exposure time, and the rate of decrease of the PBS-M extraction between 1 and 7 d of exposure was substantially higher than those of the aqueous solution extractions. Chlorimuron-ethyl gradually changed from a water-soluble form into a soil organic matter(SOM)-bound form in the soil. The PBS extraction correlated best with the POD activity in the leaves after 7 d of exposure.