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Metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD), formerly known as nonalcoholic fatty liver disease, continues to rise with rapid economic development and poses significant challenges to human health. No effective drugs are clinically approved. MASLD is regarded as a multifaceted pathological process encompassing aberrant lipid metabolism, insulin resistance, inflammation, gut microbiota imbalance, apoptosis, fibrosis, and cirrhosis. In recent decades, herbal medicines have gained increasing attention as potential therapeutic agents for the prevention and treatment of MASLD, due to their good tolerance, high efficacy, and low toxicity. In this review, we summarize the pathological mechanisms of MASLD; emphasis is placed on the anti-MASLD mechanisms of Chinese herbal formula (CHF), especially their effects on improving lipid metabolism, inflammation, intestinal flora, and fibrosis. Our goal is to better understand the pharmacological mechanisms of CHF to inform research on the development of new drugs for the treatment of MASLD., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2024 Tao, Lei, Tan, Yang and Xie.)

Pomacea canaliculata is a globally significant invasive species that poses substantial threats to agricultural production, ecosystems, and human health in China. To evaluate its habitat suitability in China, we collected and collated 741 county-level occurrence points of P. canaliculata in China through database query, literature search and news reports, and obtained the five most important climatic factors by variance inflation factor and Pearson correlation coefficient from 19 bioclimatic factors. We investigated the potential suitable distribution areas of P. canaliculata under current and future climate scenarios using the Biomod2 ensemble model, and identified the primary environmental variables influencing their distributions. The results showed that under the current climate, the suitable habitat areas were concentrated in southern provinces or municipalities, such as Zhejiang, Shanghai, Fujian, Jiangxi, Guangdong, Guangxi, Hainan, and Yunnan. Under different climate scenarios in the future, the suitable habitat area would show large-scale expansion in the southern provinces or municipalities, and spread to the northern region. The most two important environmental factors affecting the distribution of suitable habitat areas were precipitation of wettest month and mean temperature of wettest quarter. A combination model to predict the potential distribution of P. canaliculata under current and future climate conditions would help manage the risk of its invasion and spread, and provide a reference for relevant regions and departments to take active measures in advance to prevent the spread, monitor and mitigate its invasion.

Background: Early identification of high-risk groups of children with sepsis is beneficial to reduce sepsis mortality. This article used artificial intelligence (AI) technology to predict the risk of death effectively and quickly in children with sepsis in the pediatric intensive care unit (PICU)., Study Design: This retrospective observational study was conducted in the PICUs of the First Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-sen University from December 2016 to June 2019 and Shenzhen Children's Hospital from January 2019 to July 2020. The children were divided into a death group and a survival group. Different machine language (ML) models were used to predict the risk of death in children with sepsis., Results: A total of 671 children with sepsis were enrolled. The accuracy (ACC) of the artificial neural network model was better than that of support vector machine, logical regression analysis, Bayesian, K nearest neighbor method and decision tree models, with a training set ACC of 0.99 and a test set ACC of 0.96., Conclusions: The AI model can be used to predict the risk of death due to sepsis in children in the PICU, and the artificial neural network model is better than other AI models in predicting mortality risk., Competing Interests: The authors have no conflicts of interest to disclose., (Copyright © 2024 Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. All rights reserved.)

BACKGROUND Hypertriglyceridemia-induced acute pancreatitis (HTG-AP), representing 10% of all acute pancreatitis cases, is characterized by younger onset age and more severe progression, often leading to higher ICU admission rates. This condition poses a significant challenge due to its rapid progression and the potential for severe complications, including multiple organ failure. HTG-AP is distinct from other forms of pancreatitis, such as those caused by cholelithiasis or alcohol, in terms of clinical presentation and outcomes. It's essential to identify early markers that can predict the severity of HTG-AP to improve patient management and outcomes. MATERIAL AND METHODS This study divided 127 HTG-AP patients into mild acute pancreatitis (MAP, n=71) and moderate-to-severe acute pancreatitis (MSAP/SAP, n=56) groups. Blood biological indicators within the first 24 hours of admission were analyzed. Risk factors for HTG-AP progression were determined using binary logistic regression and ROC curves. RESULTS Elevated levels of HCT, NLR, TBI, DBI, AST, Cre, and AMS were noted in the MSAP/SAP group, with lower levels of LYM, Na⁺, Ca²⁺, ApoA, and ApoB compared to the MAP group (p<0.05). NEUT%, Ca²⁺, ApoA, and ApoB were significantly linked with HTG-AP severity. Their combined ROC analysis yielded an area of 0.81, with a sensitivity of 61.8% and specificity of 90%. CONCLUSIONS NEUT%, Ca²⁺, ApoA, and ApoB are significant risk factors for progressing to MSAP/SAP in HTG-AP. Their combined assessment provides a reliable predictive measure for early intervention in patients at risk of severe progression.

Objective: To present clinical experiences regarding surgical treatment of patients with severe cicatricial tracheal stenosis., Patients and Methods: From January 2008 to March 2020, 14 patients underwent tracheal resection and reconstruction under general anesthesia. Nine cases had cervical tracheal stenosis and five cases had thoracic tracheal stenosis. The mean diameter and length of strictured trachea was 0 - 8 mm with a mean of 4.5 ± 2.4 mm and 1 - 3 cm with a mean of 1.67 ± 0.63 cm, respectively. General anesthesia and mechanical ventilation were performed in ten cases and four patients underwent femoral arteriovenous bypass surgery due to severe stenosis. End-to-end anastomosis of trachea was performed in 13 cases and the anastomosis between trachea and cricothyroid membrane was performed in one case. Absorbable and unabsorbable sutures were used for the anterior and posterior anastomoses, respectively. Postoperative neck anteflexion was maintained by a suture between the chin and superior chest wall. The relevant data of the 14 patients were retrospectively reviewed, and the operation time, blood loss, postoperative hospital stay, postoperative complications and follow-up were retrieved., Results: There was no intraoperative death. The length of resected trachea ranged from 1.5 to 4.5 cm with a mean of 1.67 ± 0.63 cm. Operation time ranged from 50 - 450 min with a mean of 142.8 ± 96.6 min and intraoperative hemorrhage ranged from 10 - 300 ml with a mean of 87.8 ± 83.6 ml. Follow-up period ranged from 5 to 43 months with a mean of 17.9 ± 10.6 months. None of the patients had recurrent laryngeal nerve paralysis during postoperative follow-up. Ten cases were discharged uneventfully. Anastomosis stenosis occurred in three cases who received interventional therapies. Bronchopleurocutaneous fistula occurred in one patient after 6 days postoperatively and further treatment was declined., Conclusion: The strategies of anesthesia, mechanical ventilation, identification of stenosis lesion, the "hybrid" sutures and postoperative anteflexion are critical to be optimized for successful postoperative recovery., (© 2023. BioMed Central Ltd., part of Springer Nature.)

Enhancer of zeste homolog 2 (EZH2), a component of polycomb repressive complex 2 (PRC2), is a histone lysine methyltransferase mediating trimethylation of histone H3 at lysine 27 (H3K27me3), which is a repressive marker at the transcriptional level. EZH2 sustains normal renal function and its overexpression has bad properties. Inhibition of EZH2 overexpression exerts protective effect against acute kidney injury (AKI). A small-molecule compound zld1039 has been developed as an efficient and selective EZH2 inhibitor. In this study, we evaluated the efficacy of zld1039 in the treatment of cisplatin-induced AKI in mice. Before injection of cisplatin (20 mg/kg, i.p.), mice were administered zld1039 (100, 200 mg/kg, i.g.) once, then in the following 3 days. We found that cisplatin-treated mice displayed serious AKI symptoms, evidenced by kidney dysfunction and kidney histological injury, accompanied by EZH2 upregulation in the nucleus of renal tubular epithelial cells. Administration of zld1039 dose-dependently alleviated renal dysfunction as well as the histological injury, inflammation and cell apoptosis in cisplatin-treated mice. We revealed that zld1039 administration exerted an anti-inflammatory effect in kidney of cisplatin-treated mice via H3K27me3 inhibition, raf kinase inhibitor protein (RKIP) upregulation and NF-κB p65 repression. In the cisplatin-treated mouse renal tubular epithelial (TCMK-1) cells, silencing of RKIP with siRNA did not abolish the anti-inflammatory effect of EZH2 inhibition, suggesting that RKIP was partially involved in the anti-inflammatory effect of zld1039. Collectively, EZH2 inhibition alleviates inflammation in cisplatin-induced mouse AKI via upregulating RKIP and blocking NF-κB p65 signaling in cisplatin-induced AKI. The potent and selective EZH2 inhibitor zld1039 has the potential as a promising agent for the treatment of AKI., (© 2021. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to CPS and SIMM.)

To investigate comparative short-term outcomes of robotic-assisted surgery (RAS) versus video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS) for older non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients. Patients ≥ 65 years old with stage I-III NSCLC operated with RAS or VATS from 2016 to 2018 were consecutively included. Propensity score-matched (PSM) method was implemented to balance inter-group biases. Totally 376 participants (224 with VATS and 152 with RAS) were included. After PSM, a cohort (144 with VATS and 107 with RAS) was generated with balanced baseline characteristics. RAS was significantly superior over VATS in the majority of perioperative outcomes, such as operating time (120.8 vs. 165.1 min), conversion rate (0.0% vs. 19.4%), and length of stay (8.6 vs. 10.8 days). RAS versus VATS was significantly associated with comparable rates of postoperative complications (OR 0.642, 95% CI 0.311-1.327), except the rate of pneumonia (OR 0.161, 95% CI 0.048-0.544). RAS leads to analogous postoperative complications and seemingly accelerates the recovery time of older NSCLC patients compared with VATS., (© 2021. Italian Society of Surgery (SIC).)

Background: We investigated the roles of breast cancer anti-estrogen resistance 1 (BCAR1/p130Cas) in the formation and immunoevasion of invasive circulating tumor cells (CTCs) in lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD). Methods: Biomarkers of CTCs including BCAR1 and CD274, were evaluated by the CanPatrol method. Proteomics analysis of LUAD cells and exosomes after BCAR1 overexpression (BCAR1-OE) was performed by mass spectrometry. Cell functions and relevant signaling pathways were investigated after BCAR1 knockdown (BCAR1-KO) or BCAR1-OE in LUAD cells. Lastly, in vitro and in vivo experiments were performed to confirm the roles of BCAR1 in the formation and immunoevasion of CTCs. Results : High expression of BCAR1 by CTCs correlated with CD274 expression and epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT). RAC1, together with BCAR1, was found to play an important role in the carcinogenesis of LUAD. RAC1 functioned with BCAR1 to induce EMT and to enhance cell proliferation, colony formation, cell invasion and migration, and anoikis resistance in LUAD cells. BCAR1 up-regulated CD274 expression probably by shuttling the short isoform of BRD4 (BRD4-S) into the nucleus. CTCs, as well as tumor formation, were prohibited in nude mice xenografted with BCAR1-KO cells. The co-expression of BCAR1/RAC1 and BCAR1/CD274 was confirmed in LUAD. BCAR1 expression in LUAD is an indicator of poor prognosis, and it associates with immunoevasion. Conclusion : BCAR1, as a new target for the treatment of LUAD, plays roles in the formation and immunoevasion of invasive CTCs. The mechanism includes triggering EMT via RAC1 signaling and up-regulating CD274 expression by shuttling BRD4-S into the nucleus., Competing Interests: Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interest exists., (© The author(s).)

Background: Circulating tumor cells (CTCs) can be clustered into three subtypes according to epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT) markers: CTCs with epithelial markers (E-CTCs), CTCs with mesenchymal markers (M-CTCs), and CTCs with both markers (E&M-CTCs). CTC detection has clinical implications in the diagnosis of lung cancer (LC)., Aim: To clarify the diagnostic value of CTCs categorized by EMT markers in LC., Methods: The study included 106 patients with lung adenocarcinoma, including 42 ground-glass opacities (GGO) and 64 solid lesions, who underwent surgery between July 2015 and December 2019. Eleven patients with benign tumors and seventeen healthy controls were included. CTCs in peripheral blood and associated EMT markers were detected preoperatively using the CanPatrol TM technique. The diagnostic power of CTCs for discriminating LC cases from controls was analyzed by the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve. The CytoploRare technique was used in 20 cases and 18 controls for validation, and Kappa values were calculated to evaluate consistency between techniques., Results: Of the 106 LC cases, 94 (89.6%) had at least one CTC. CTCs were detectable in 35 (83.3%) of 42 GGO cases. Total CTCs and E&M-CTCs were significantly more frequent in LC cases than in benign or healthy controls. The proportion of M-CTCs plus E&M-CTCs increased gradually from healthy controls, to benign controls, to LC cases. The area under the ROC curve of total CTCs and E&M-CTCs was > 0.8 and > 10.75, respectively. The combined sensitivity of total-CTCs and E&M-CTCs was 85.85% for LC patients (80.95% for GGO patients) and the specificity was 78.57%. The Kappa value was 0.415, indicating relative consistency between CanPatrol TM and CytoploRare., Conclusion: CTC detection is valuable for distinguishing LC from controls, and particularly E&M-CTC detection warrants further study., Competing Interests: Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors declare that they have no financial relationships to disclose., (©The Author(s) 2021. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.)

Tregitopes (T regulatory epitopes) are IgG-derived peptides with high affinity to major histocompatibility complex class II (MHCII), that are known to promote tolerance by activating T regulatory cell (Treg) activity. Here we characterized the effect of IgG Tregitopes in a well-established murine model of allergic asthma, demonstrating in vivo antigen-specific tolerance via adoptive transfer of Tregitope-and-allergen-activated Tregs. Asthma is a heterogeneous chronic inflammatory condition affecting the airways and impacting over 300 million individuals worldwide. Treatment is suppressive, and no current therapy addresses immune regulation in severely affected asthmatics. Although high dose intra-venous immunoglobulin (IVIg) is not commonly used in the asthma clinic setting, it has been shown to improve severe asthma in children and in adults. In our laboratory, we previously demonstrated that IVIg abrogates airway hyperresponsiveness (AHR) in a murine model of asthma and induces suppressive antigen-specific T-regulatory cells. We hypothesized that IgG-derived Tregitopes would modulate allergic airway disease by inducing highly suppressive antigen-specific Tregs capable of diminishing T effector cell responses and establishing antigen-specific tolerance. Using ovalbumin (OVA-) and ragweed-driven murine models of allergic airway disease, we characterized the immunoregulatory properties of Tregitopes and performed Treg adoptive transfer to OVA- and ragweed-allergic mice to test for allergen specificity. Treatment with Tregitopes attenuated allergen-induced airway hyperresponsiveness and lung inflammation. We demonstrated that Tregitopes induce highly suppressive allergen-specific Tregs. The tolerogenic action of IgG Tregitopes in our model is very similar to that of IVIg, so we foresee that IgG Tregitopes could potentially replace steroid-based treatment and can offer a synthetic alternative to IVIg in a range of inflammatory and allergic conditions., Competing Interests: AG is a senior officer and shareholder, and SM and SL are employees of EpiVax, Inc., a company specializing in immunoinformatic analysis. EpiVax, Inc. own patents to technologies utilized by associated authors in the research reported here. BM holds research funds from Canadian Institutes for Health Research, National Sciences Engineering and Research Council, The McGill University Health Center Foundation and The Montreal Children’s Hospital Foundation. The remaining authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2021 Dembele, Tao, Massoud, Miah, Lelias, De Groot and Mazer.)

Aptamers are short, single-stranded RNA or DNA sequences, which can bind to protein ligands with high affinity and specificity. Applications of aptamers are broad, ranging from drugs and drug delivery vehicles to biosensors. Tumor necrosis factor (TNF) is an inflammatory cytokine that plays a critical role in the pathogenesis of several autoimmune inflammatory diseases. Blocking TNF activity by monoclonal antibodies or TNF receptor fusion protein has been tremendously successful in treating these diseases. However, manufacturing these biological TNF inhibitors is expensive and a significant proportion of patients do not respond to TNF blockade. Here we describe selection of single-stranded DNA aptamers for TNF blockage, and their bioactivity in blocking TNF-mediated cytotoxicity in vitro. These TNF-binding aptamers have the potential to serve as alternatives to biological TNF inhibitors and to be used as in vivo probes for TNF detection.

Type-1 reactions (T1R) are pathological inflammatory episodes and main contributors to nerve damage in leprosy. Here, we evaluate the genewise enrichment of rare protein-altering variants in 7 genes where common variants were previously associated with T1R. We selected 474 Vietnamese leprosy patients of which 237 were T1R-affected and 237 were T1R-free matched controls. Genewise enrichment of nonsynonymous variants was tested with both kernel-based (sequence kernel association test [SKAT]) and burden methods. Of the 7 genes tested 2 showed statistical evidence of association with T1R. For the LRRK2 gene an enrichment of nonsynonymous variants was observed in T1R-free controls ( P SKAT-O = 1.6 × 10 -4 ). This genewise association was driven almost entirely by the gain-of-function variant R1628P ( P = 0.004; odds ratio = 0.29). The second genewise association was found for the Parkin coding gene PRKN (formerly PARK2 ) where 7 rare variants were enriched in T1R-affected cases ( P SKAT-O = 7.4 × 10 -5 ). Mutations in both PRKN and LRRK2 are known causes of Parkinson's disease (PD). Hence, we evaluated to what extent such rare amino acid changes observed in T1R are shared with PD. We observed that amino acids in Parkin targeted by nonsynonymous T1R-risk mutations were also enriched for mutations implicated in PD ( P = 1.5 × 10 -4 ). Hence, neuroinflammation in PD and peripheral nerve damage due to inflammation in T1R share overlapping genetic control of pathogenicity., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2019 the Author(s). Published by PNAS.)

Targeting specific T cell subtypes and intervening in their function are emerging a critical strategy for treatment of autoimmune diseases. Here we report that an RNA CD30 aptamer was utilized to deliver short hairpin RNA (shRNA) to CD30 + T cells to target retinoic acid receptor-related orphan receptor gamma t (RORγt), leading to impaired expression of RORγt and suppression of IL-17A and IL-17F. A DNA template consisting of CD30 aptamer and RORγt shRNA sequences was synthesized and was transcribed CD30 aptamer-RORγt shRNA chimera (CD30-AshR-RORγt). Insertion of 2'-F-dCTP and 2'-FdUTP was incorporated during CD30-AshR-RORγt transcription to increase its resistance to RNase. CD30-AshR-RORγt was specifically up-taken by CD30 + Karpas 299 cells, but not by Jurkat cells which lack CD30. It was also up-taken by activated, CD30 expressing human CD4 + T cells, but not by resting CD4 + T cells. The RORγt shRNA moiety of CD30-AshR-RORγt chimera was cleaved and released by Dicers. Then, CD30-AshR-RORγt suppressed RORγt gene expression in Karpas 299 cells and activated human CD4 + T cells. Consistently, silence of Th17 cell differentiation and IL-17A and IL-17F synthesis with CD30-AshR-RORγt was demonstrated in activated human CD4 + T cells from healthy donors and RA patients. CD30-AshR-negative control chimera and prostate specific membrane antigen (PSMA)-AshR-RORγt had no significant impact on the expression of RORγt or IL-17A and IL-17F. These data present a novel strategy for shRNA delivery using CD30 RNA aptamers to down-regulate CD30 + Th17 cells and can be developed as a targeted therapy for treating Th17 cell mediated conditions.

The absorptance spectrum of a gas is the basis for the qualitative and quantitative analysis of the gas by the law of the Lambert-Beer. The integral value of the absorptance spectrum is an important parameter to describe the characteristics of the gas absorption. Based on the measured absorptance spectrum of a gas, we collected the required data from the database of HIT-RAN, and chose one of the spectral lines and calculated the integral value of the absorptance spectrum in the frequency domain, and then substituted the integral value into Lambert-Beer's law to obtain the concentration of the detected gas. By calculating the integral value of the absorptance spectrum we can avoid the more complicated calculation of the spectral line function and a series of standard gases for calibration, so the gas concentration measurement will be simpler and faster. We studied the changing trends of the integral values of the absorptance spectrums versus temperature. Since temperature variation would cause the corresponding variation in pressure, we studied the changing trends of the integral values of the absorptance spectrums versus both the pressure not changed with temperature and changed with the temperature variation. Based on the two cases, we found that the integral values of the absorptance spectrums both would firstly increase, then decrease, and finally stabilize with temperature increasing, but the ranges of specific changing trend were different in the two cases. In the experiments, we found that the relative errors of the integrated values of the absorptance spectrum were much higher than 1% and still increased with temperature when we only considered the change of temperature and completely ignored the pressure affected by the temperature variation, and the relative errors of the integrated values of the absorptance spectrum were almost constant at about only 1% when we considered that the pressure were affected by the temperature variation. As the integral value of the absorptance spectrum varied with temperature and the calculating error for the integral value fluctuates with ranges of temperature, in the gas measurement when we usd integral values of the absoptance spectrum, we should select a suitable temperature variation and obtain a more accurate measurement result.

Objective: To preliminarily investigate the long-term structural and functional injuries of mitochondria in rat brain caused by sepsis., Methods: Wistar rats were randomly assigned into sepsis and control groups. A rat model of sepsis was prepared by an intraperitoneal injection of 10 mg/kg lipopolysaccharide (LPS) of gram-negative bacteria, and the survival assay was performed. Eight rats in the sepsis group were sacrificed at 12, 24, 48, or 72 hours after LPS injection, while rats in the control group were sacrificed after an intraperitoneal injection of an equal volume of normal saline. Mitochondria were extracted from rat brain tissue. Mitochondrial membrane potential (MMP) and mitochondrial swelling level were determined by flow cytometry, and the activities of electron transport chain complexes (I-V) were measured using enzyme assay kits. Hematoxylin-eosin (HE) staining and electron microscopy were used to observe morphological changes in brain tissue and mitochondria., Results: The sepsis group had a significantly lower survival rate than the control group (P<0.01). The MMP and activities of electron transport chain complexes (I-V) in the sepsis group, which were significantly lower than those in the control group (P<0.05), were reduced to the lowest levels at 48 hours and partially recovered at 72 hours. The mitochondrial swelling level in the sepsis group, which was significantly higher than that in the control group (P<0.05), increased to the peak level at 48 hours and partially recovered at 72 hours. Hematoxylin and Eosin staining revealed substantial damages in the structure of brain tissue, and electron microscopy showed mitochondrial swelling, and vacuolization in a few mitochondria., Conclusions: In the rat model of LPS-induced sepsis, both structural and functional injuries are found in cerebral mitochondria, and achieve the peak levels probably at around 48 hours.

The methods that can rapidly and precisely measure concentrations of various gases have extensive applications in the fields such as air quality analysis, environmental pollution detection, and so on. The gas detection method based on the tunable laser absorption spectroscopy is considered a promising technique. For the infrared spectrum detection techniques, the line shape function of an absorption spectrum of a gas is an important parameter in qualitative and quantitative analysis of a gas. Specifically, how to obtain the line shape function of an absorption spectrum of a gas quickly and accurately is a key problem in the gas detection fields. In this paper we analyzed several existing line shape functions and proposed a method to calculate precisely the line shape function of a gas, and investigated the relation between the gas concentration and the peak value of a line shape function. Then we experimentally measured the absorption spectra of an acetylene gas in the wavelength range of 1,515-1,545 nm with a tunable laser source and a built-in spectrometer. With Lambert-Beer law we calculated the peak values of the line shape function of the gas at the given frequencies, and obtained a fitting curve for the line shape function in the whole waveband by using a computer program. Comparing the measured results with the calculated results of the Voigt function, we found that there was a deviation-between the experimental results and the calculated results. And we found that the measured concentration of the acetylene gas by using the fitting curve of the line shape function was more accurate and compatible with the actual situation. Hence, the empirical formula for the line shape function obtained from the experimental results would be more suitable for the concentration measurement of a gas. As the fitting curve for the line shape function of the acetylene gas has been deduced from the experiment, the corresponding peak values of the spectral lines can be immediately calculated out from the curve and used for the measurements of different concentrations of acetylene gases. Therefore, the calculation for the line shape function values is greatly simplified. The obtained data of the line shape function of the acetylene gas can be used for remote sensing of the gas, and the proposed method can also be applied for the measurements of line shape functions of other gases.

Accurate calculation of spectral line profiles of a gas is very important for gas sensing. As we know, a variation in pressure (temperature) of a gas will result in the corresponding variation in temperature (pressure) of the gas. In the present paper we calculated spectral line profiles of a gas by considering the changes in both temperature and pressure. The authors found that in our case the Lorentzian profile has broader applicable ranges of pressure and temperature, and the Gaussian profile is only applicable in some extreme conditions. Furthermore, the authors found that the influence of variations in pressure and temperature has to be considered in calculating the peak values of the spectral line profiles such as Gaussian, Lorentzian, and Voigt; otherwise the resultant relative errors of the calculated peak values can exceed 0.1. The similar observations were also found for other gases such as CH4, CO2, CO, and NO, although the parameters such as wavelength, coefficient of pressure-broadening, relative molecular mass, and temperature were different.

Objective: To study the differential in vitro motor and invasion capacities of methotrexate (MTX) enantiomer-resistant tumor cells., Methods: The incremental concentrations and successive low-dose induction were employed to acquire the cell series resistant to 15 µmol/L MTX enantiomer, namely L-(+)-MTX/A549 and D-(-)-MTX/A549. Their drug-resistant indices were determined by MTT assay and their migration capacities by wound healing assay. Double soft-agar clone formation was used to detect the colony efficiency and size. And Transwell was employed to detect the in vitro movement and invasion capacity of three cell types., Results: The resistance indices of L-(+)-MTX/A549 and D-(-)-MTX/A549 were (6.1 ± 1.0) and (20.3 ± 1.8) respectively. At 72 hours after wound healing assay, the number of L-(+)-MTX/A549 entering scratch zone was fewer than that of D-(-)-MTX/A549; The numbers of colony formation in D-(-)-MTX/A549, L-(+)-MTX/A549 and parental cells were (50 ± 7), (44 ± 6), (52 ± 7) and the rates of colony formation (1.68% ± 0.23%), (1.49% ± 0.18%), (1.73% ± 0.23%) respectively. And there was no significant significance among three groups (P > 0.05). But the size of D-(-)-MTX/A549 was larger than that of L-(+)-MTX/A549. Transwell detected infiltration and invasion through artificial basement membrane Matrigel. The numbers of D-(-)-MTX/A549, L-(+)-MTX/A549 and parent cells were (267 ± 30), (106 ± 16) and (134 ± 16) respectively. The data were significant between D-(-)-MTX/A549 cells and L-(+)-MTX/A549 or parent cells (P < 0.05) but not significant between L-(+)-MTX/A549 and parent cells (P > 0.05)., Conclusion: The D-(-)-MTX-induced NSCLC A549 cells have greater motor and invasion capacities than those of L-(+)-MTX-induced ones. It suggests that MTX enantiomer has different capacities of tumor invasion and metastasis after acquiring resistance.

Objective: To explore the association between the gene mutation of transcription factor Nkx2.5 and Chinese patients with congenital heart disease (CHD)., Methods: Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and DNA sequencing were used to check 99 CHD patients and 90 normal control subjects from the Zhong Da Hospital of Southeast University. After amplifying the exons 1 of the Nkx2.5 gene by PCR, we purified the PCR products and conducted the sequencing reaction, analyzed the mutation screening of the exon 1 of the Nkx2.5, investigated whether or not the Nkx2.5 is related with the CHD in Chinese population., Results: A mutation (A239G) in the exon 1 of the Nkx2.5 was identified in 3 of 90 normal control subjects and 12 of 99 CHD patients, including 3 of 24 with VSD, 7 of 35 with ASD, 1 of 13 with PS and 1 of 21 with PDA., Conclusion: There are some associations between the Nkx2.5 gene mutation and occurrence of congenital heart disease in Chinese people.

Objective: To study the chiral selectivity in vascular endothelial differentiation in drug resistant lung cancer cells induced by high-dose L- or D-methotrexate (MTX) enantiomer., Methods: Human lung cancer cells of the line A549 were co-cultured with high-dose (15 micromol/L) L- or D-MTX enantiomer so as to develop cancer cells resistant to MTX. MTT method was used to detect the drug resistant index. Flow cytometry was used to detect the expression of CD44, a transmembrane glycoprotein reflecting the migration ability of cells, CD31, a marker of vascular endothelium, and P-170 protein. Fifteen BALB/c nude mice were inoculated with the parent A549 cells, L-MTX-resistant A549 cells induced by L-MTX enantiomer, and D-MTX-resistant A549 cells induced by D-MTX enantiomer. Four weeks later the mice were killed to take out the tumor masses. Immunohistochemistry with CD34 staining was used to detect the microvascular density (MVD)., Results: The drug resistant index of the D-MTX induced drug resistant A549 cells was 20.1 +/- 2.3, significantly higher than that of the L-MTX-induced cells (12.4 +/- 1.2, P = 0.000). The CD44 positive rate of the D-MTX induced A549 cells was 97.0% +/- 0.9%, not significantly different from that of the L-MTX-induced A549 cells (96.7% +/- 1.4%, P = 0.544). The CD31 positive rate of the D-MTX induced A549 cells was 91.9% +/- 3.2%, significantly higher than that of the L-MTX-induced A549 cells (32.9% +/- 8.0%, P = 0.000). The P-170 protein positive rate of the parent cells was 85.5% +/- 4.6%, and the P-170 protein positive rate of the D-MTX-induced A549 cells was 87.0% +/- 8.9%, significantly higher than that of the L-MTX-induced cells (71.5% +/- 8.2%, P = 0.002). The MVD of the D-MTX-induced cells was 55.9 +/- 11.9, significantly higher than that of the L-MTX-induced cells (7.2 +/- 1.7, P = 0.000). MVD was significantly positively correlated with the CD31 level (r = 0.462, P = 0.007), and not correlated with P-170 protein and CD34 levels., Conclusion: The MTX enantiomers have different chiral selectivity on human lung cancer cell, D-MTX resistant cells shows a potential of differentiation from cancer cells to vascular endothelial cells. D-MTX is not be regarded just as a pollutant in the drug MTX, MTX with single enantiomer (L-MTX) should be selected clinically so as to decrease the side effects of D-MTX.

Objective: To detect angiotensin II (ANG II) in the maternal blood, umbilical cord blood, and at the maternal-fetal interface in women with pregnancy-induced hypertension (PIH) and explore the etiology of PIH and pathophysiologic mechanism of intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR)., Methods: Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was used to detect the concentration of ANG II in the maternal blood, cord blood, and maternal and fetal placental tissues in 30 women with PIH and 30 with normal pregnancy, and the results were analyzed with independent-sample t test and Pearson correlation analysis., Results: ANG II level in the maternal placental tissue homogenate showed no significant difference between women with PIH and normal pregnant women (8.51+/- 4.01 vs 7.76+/-3.47 pg/ml, P>0.05), but women with PIH had significantly higher ANG II in the fetal placental tissue (11.82+/-3.92 vs 9.64+/-2.63 pg/ml, P<0.05). ANG II level was significantly higher in the maternal blood of women with PIH than in normal pregnant women (46.44+/-8.48 vs 32.43+/-5.87 pg/ml, P<0.001), but similar in the cord blood (68.83+/-8.68 vs 72.47+/-8.51 pg/ml; P>0.05). A positive correlation was indicated between the cord blood and maternal peripheral blood ANG II levels in women with PIH (r=0.7379, P<0.05)., Conclusion: ANG II in the fetal placental tissue is elevated, and the cord blood and maternal peripheral blood ANG II levels are positively correlated in women with PIH.

Objective: To conduct an epidemiological survey of the prevalence of neonatal apnoea and and identify its risk factors in Guangdong Province., Methods: The epidemiological data of neonatal apnea were collected by means of cluster sampling from 10 representative regions of Guangdong Province, and the risk factors for this condition were analyzed with logistic regression., Results: In the representative regions chosen for this survey, the incidence of neonatal apnea was 9.85% in the newborn infants, suggesting a generally similar picture of its prevalence in Guangdong Province. Maternal heart disease and anaemia, number of miscarriages, fetal position and present, oxytocin application, vacuum extraction, prolonged second stage of labor, and number of cesarean delivery were identified as the risk factors for neonatal apnoea, whereas number of pregnancies, the last antenatal examination prior to delivery, high-level antenatal examination hospital, antenatal examination times, and number of normal deliveries were the protective factors. Abnormal amniotic fluid, premature birth, and cord around the neck were the most important risk factors for neonatal apnoea, and adequate amniotic fluid volume is the protective factors for neonatal apnoea., Conclusion: Rigorous control of the risk factors and enhancement of the protective factors can reduce or even prevent the incidence of neonatal apnoea.

Objective: To investigate the efficacy of continuous blood purification (CBP) and to explore its mechanism in the treatment of pediatric septic shock., Methods: Nine children weighted 3.1 kg - 14.0 kg with septic shock were treated with continuous veno-venous hemofiltration (CVVH) which is also referred to as CBP with blood access of double-lumen hemodialysis catheter of 6.5 to 8Fr inserted via central vein, hemofilters of Minifilter plus (for children with body weight < 5 kg) or AV400s (for children with body weight > or = 5 kg), child's type extracorporeal circuit vessel and heparin anticoagulation. The replacement solution was delivered pre-dilution after 3 to 4 hours' post-dilution. The blood gas, clinical biochemical items, medium molecule substance (MMS) concentration in blood as well as capillary refill time (CRT), BP, urine output, vasopressors dosage were examined at a set of time points from the beginning to the end of the CVVH., Results: Of the 9 children, 6 had acute renal failure (ARF), 3 had acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), 5 were blood culture positive and all the 9 needed vasopressors to keep BP before CVVH. The blood pH was 7.14 +/- 0.23, base excess (BE) was -11.3 +/- 4.25 mmol/L, MMS was 3532 +/- 519 U/L, PO2/FiO2 was 188 +/- 33, CRT > 5 s, urine output was 0.85 +/- 0.52 ml/(kg.hr) and the adrenalin dosage 1.36 +/- 0.48 microg/(kg.min), and dopamine 16.35 +/- 3.27 microg/(kg.min) before CVVH. The patients' condition was improved much as demonstrated by pH 7.38 +/- 0.16, BE -0.28 +/- 1.37 mmol/L, MMS 2576 +/- 375 U/L, PO2/FiO2 285 +/- 63, CRT < 2 s, and the adrenalin dosage 0.08 +/- 0.04 microg/(kg.min) and dopamine 8.53 +/- 6.72 microg/(kg.min), urine output 2.9 +/- 1.6 ml/(kg.hr) after 24 hour treatment with CVVH. Of the 9 children, 2 died of MODS (1 intussusception complicated with intestine necrosis, 1 severe scald) and 1 was given up because of severe intestinal fistula, the other 6 children recovered at the end., Conclusion: CBP was effective in treatment of pediatric septic shock by improving the oxygenation, correcting metabolic acidosis, stabilizing BP, increasing the tissue perfusion and eliminating the medium molecule substances.

Objective: To investigate the expression and distribution of telomerase reverse transcriptase (hTERT) and its significance during the development of epithelial stem cells in human fatal lungs., Methods: Human lung tissues were obtained at abortion from 37 fetuses 10-34 weeks of gestational age with parental consent, and the expression of hTERT in these tissues was examined by immunohistochemistry., Results: In fetuses of 10 weeks old, hTERT was detected mainly in the epithelial cells of the proximal bronchi in the fetal lung, and migrated gradually to the distal bronchi as the lung developed. The hTERT expression level peaked at 17-20 weeks of gestation and then decreased over the period of alveolarization that occurred at about 25-26 weeks. In the later gestation period, strongly positive epithelial cells became concentrated in discrete patches near the basal membrane of the airway and scattered in only a few of the pulmonary alveoli. Morphologically, these cells resembled the basal cells and type II alveolar epithelial cells (AEC) or their progenitor cells., Conclusions: Telomerase expression and activity are hallmarks of the pulmonary stem or progenitor cells that maintain undifferentiated state and self-renewal capacity, and it plays a crucial role in the normal differentiation and regeneration of the bronchial and alveolar epithelial cells to maintain the epithelial integrity.