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In order to study the distribution characteristics and related parameters of the temperature field in underground coal gasification stope, Laplace transform and inverse Laplace transform were used to determine the analytical solution to temperature propagation in the stope under type one boundary conditions. Additionally, Mathematic software was used to conduct numerical simulation. Results indicate that in an unsteady stage, the temperature field gradually propagated in the coal seam, and that the propagation rate became steady after a gradual increase. The time required for the temperature field in the coal seam undergoing gasification to transform from the unsteady to the steady state was inversely proportional to the advance rate of the flame working face. During the stages of temperature increase and decrease, the temperature field in the roof, floor, and surrounding coal seam gradually moved towards the interior. During the temperature increase stage, the peak of the temperature field occurred on the surface of the surrounding rock and gradually increased; it also moved inward from the surface and gradually decreased during the temperature decrease stage. The temperature decrease stage had greater influence on the temperature field in the roof, floor, and surrounding seam than the temperature increase stage. The influence of the temperature increase stage was related to the advance rate of the flame working face; this influence is negligible when the advance rate of the flame working face exceeded a threshold value. Finally, based on the features of the envelope curves of temperature curve families, the ranges of the surrounding coal seam with no load-bearing capacity and coking cycle were obtained, as were after determination of their respective criteria and temperature threshold values.

Summary To resolve the problem of the insufficient availability of seed cells and to provide seed cells for tissue engineering research, an immortalized human bone marrow stromal stem cell line (MSCxj cells) was established in our department to investigate the ectopic osteogenesis of MSCxj cells. MSCxjs were grown with a heterogeneous bone scaffold for 48 h. Three groups were included: group A: MSCxjs of 35 PDs were maintained with heterogeneous bone; group B: MSCxjs of 128 PDs were maintained with heterogeneous bone; and group C: heterogeneous bone alone. Tetracycline fluorescence staining, H&E staining, and ponceau staining, immunohistochemistry and bone histomorphometry were performed. At the same time, scanning electron microscopy was conducted to detect the growth of MSCxjs and heterogeneous bone. Scanning electron microscopy showed favorable adherence of MSCxjs to heterogeneous bone. A large number of newly generated filamentous extracellular matrix and fine granular materials were found to cover the cells. The results from staining showed that the osteogenesis was not obvious in group A/B 4 weeks after transplantation. Eight weeks after implantation, osteoid matrix deposition was noted in and around the heterogeneous bone in group A/B. Twelve weeks after implantation, osteogenesis was increased in group A/B. There were no significant differences in the time course for bone formation and the amount of newly generated bone between group A/B. Like primary hBMSCs, MSCxj cells have favourable ectopic osteogenesis and can be applied as seeded cells in bone tissue engineering.

We have investigated the changing rule of serum form of GP73 (sGP73) in different hepato-pathologic processes and identified the sGP73 role in inflammation, fibrosis and carcinogenesis since sGP73 has been regarded as a candidate tumor marker. Quantitative enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay detected sGP73 in 535 subjects with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), liver cirrhosis (LC), hepatitis, focal nodular hyperplasia (FNH), angioma, intra-hepatic cholangio-carcinoma (ICC) and metastatic cancer from adenocarcinomas (MC). Median sGP73 in LC was higher than in HCC and hepatitis (p = 0.001), and sGP73 in all three groups were higher than those in healthy individuals (p < 0.001); sGP73 in LC patients with Child-Pugh class A was lower than in class B and C (p = 0.001), no significant difference was found between early and advanced HCC groups (110.4 μg/L vs. 102.8 μg/L). AFP/GP73 had a sensitivity of 75.8% and specificity of 79.7% with an area under the receiver operating curve (AUROC) of 0.844 vs. 0.812 for AFP (p = 0.055) with a sensitivity of 95.2% and specificity of 47.1%; in detecting early HCC, AUROC of AFP/GP73 was 0. 804 vs. 0.766 for AFP (p = 0.086). sGP73 correlated with AST, AST/ALT, ALB, A/G and ALP in LC. The positive rate of sGP73 in angioma, FNH, ICC, and MC was 0, 50, 63.3, 53.3%, respectively; AFP/GP73 was 0.796 with the sensitivity of 81.4% and specificity of 70.0% when differentiating MC from AFP-negative HCC. Increased sGP73 is related to hepatic impairment and chronic fibrosis, and when combined with AFP could improve the differential diagnosis of hepatic diseases.

Circulating miRNAs (microRNAs) are emerging as promising biomarkers for several pathological conditions, and the aim of this study was to investigate the feasibility of using serum miRNAs as biomarkers for liver pathologies. Real-time qPCR (quantitative PCR)-based TaqMan MicroRNA arrays were first employed to profile miRNAs in serum pools from patients with HCC (hepatocellular carcinoma) or LC (liver cirrhosis) and from healthy controls. Five miRNAs (i.e. miR-885-5p, miR-574-3p, miR-224, miR-215 and miR-146a) that were up-regulated in the HCC and LC serum pools were selected and further quantified using real-time qPCR in patients with HCC, LC, CHB (chronic hepatitis B) or GC (gastric cancer) and in normal controls. The present study revealed that more than 110 miRNA species in the serum samples and wide distribution ranges of serum miRNAs were observed. The levels of miR-885-5p were significantly higher in sera from patients with HCC, LC and CHB than in healthy controls or GC patients. miR-885-5p yielded an AUC [the area under the ROC (receiver operating characteristic) curve] of 0.904 [95% CI (confidence interval), 0.837–0.951, P

Introduction The aim of the study was to explore the distribution of healthy people with different anti-tumour ability. Material and methods Leukocytes were separated by the Ficoll-Hypaque density gradient centrifugal method. Then they were mixed with A549, MCF-7 and Hela cells at different ratios. The survival rate for target cells was observed and counted by Fluoroskan. Immune function for 200 healthy people was analysed by flow cytometry. Results The results obtained by confocal microscopy revealed that human blood leukocytes possessed direct anti-tumour activity. The survival rate for tumour cells was the lowest in the condition of 20:1 ratio of effector cells to target cells. We speculated that in 200 healthy people the leukocyte capacity for killing MCF-7 cells is stronger than the leukocyte capacity for killing A549 cells and Hela cells. We also found that the distribution for 200 healthy people with different anti-tumour ability was different for different tumour cells. The number of healthy people with the strongest anti-tumour ability was highest when the target cells were MCF-7 cells. Moreover, the survival of A549, MCF-7 and Hela cells was correlated with T, B and NK lymphocytes. Conclusions From the above, we can select healthy individuals with strong anti-tumour ability as anti-tumour donors according to their distribution with different anti-tumour ability, which opened up a new direction for fighting human cancer.

To investigate the spectrum and frequency of phenylalanine hydroxylase (PAH) gene mutations in phenylketonuria (PKU) patients in Xinjiang, China. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR), in combination with single-strand conformation polymorphism (SSCP) and DNA sequencing analyses were performed, to screen potential mutations in the PAH gene in 46 individual PKU patients. Direct DNA sequencing was used to analyze the all of the exons in the PAH gene, including the promoter and flanking intron regions, in another 15 PKU patients. Our results indicated that, 30 different mutation types were identified in all 122 PAH alleles, with the mutation detection rate of 78.7% (96/122). Four novel mutations, i.e., 5’-Flanking -626G>A, 5’-Flanking -480DelACT, S196fsX4, and IVS8+1G>C, were identified for the first time. Similar to other regions in North China, R243Q, EX6-96A>G, IVS4-1A>G, R111X, and Y356X were the most prevalent PAH mutations in PKU patients from Xinjiang. Additionally, common mutations showed different frequencies in Xinjiang, when compared to other areas. Furthermore, sixteen different PAH gene mutation types were identified for the first time in the minorities in Xinjiang. Distinctive mutation spectrum of PAH gene in PKU patients from Xinjiang were characterized, which may promote the construction of PAH gene mutation database and serve as valuable tools for genetic diagnosis and counseling, and prognostic evaluation for PKU cases in the local area.

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are endogenous small noncoding RNAs that negatively regulate gene expression at the posttranscriptional level and play an important role in carcinogenesis. Herein, we characterized the global expression of miRNA in distal gastric adenocarcinomas and determined if circulating miRNAs could be used as biomarkers for distal gastric adenocarcinoma. We used a microarray screening system to detect dysregulated miRNAs in distal gastric adenocarcinoma tissues. The expression of a subset of five aberrantly expressed miRNAs (miR-375, -196b, -204, -18b, and -93) were further quantified in an independent set of clinical samples of distal gastric adenocarcinoma by real-time quantitative RT-PCR (rt-qRT-PCR). We also used rt-qRT-PCR to investigate the expression levels of putative miRNA biomarkers in serum and tumor cell lines. In our study, the expression of a subset of microRNAs was altered in distal gastric adenocarcinoma compared to normal tissue, miR-375 was significantly downregulated in distal gastric adenocarcinoma tissues, to a level that was significantly lower than cardia adenocarcinoma (p < 0.05). The circulating serum levels of miR-375 in patients who had distal gastric adenocarcinoma were also much lower than normal controls (p < 0.001). As a biomarker, miR-375 yielded a receiver operating characteristic area under the curve of 0.835. The specificity and sensitivity was 80% and 85%, respectively, in the discrimination of distal gastric adenocarcinoma from control, at a normalized cutoff of 0.218. The expression of miR-375 was downregulated both in distal gastric adenocarcinoma tissues and serum of patients with distal gastric adenocarcinoma. These data suggest miR-375 is a potential biomarker for distal gastric adenocarcinoma.