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Hai-Feng Liu, Yang Lu, Qing Wang, Yu-Jie Lu, Wei Xing Department of Radiology, Third Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University, Changzhou, Jiangsu, 213000, People’s Republic of ChinaCorrespondence: Wei Xing, Third Affiliated Hospital of Soochow University, 185 Juqian Street, Changzhou City, Jiangsu Province, People’s Republic of China, Email suzhxingwei@suda.edu.cnPurpose: To develop and compare various machine learning (ML) classifiers that employ radiomics extracted from contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance imaging (CEMRI) for diagnosing pathological differentiation of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), and validate the performance of the best model.Methods: A total of 251 patients with HCCs (n = 262) were assigned to a training (n = 200) cohort and a validation (n = 62) cohort. A collection of 5502 radiomics signatures were extracted from the CEMRI images for each HCC nodule. To reduce redundancy and dimensionality, Spearman rank correlation, minimum redundancy maximum relevance (mRMR), and the least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) approach were employed. Eight ML classifiers were trained to obtain the best radiomics model. The performance of each model was evaluated based on the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC). The radiomics model was integrated with liver imaging reporting and data system (LI-RADS) features to design a combined model.Results: The eXtreme Gradient Boosting (XGBoost)-based radiomics model outperformed other ML classifiers in evaluating pHCC, achieving an AUC of 1.00 and accuracy of 1.00 in the training cohort. The LI-RADS model demonstrated an AUC value of 0.77 and 0.82 in the training and validation cohorts. The combined model exhibited best performance in both the training and validation cohorts, with AUCs of 1.00 and 0.86 for evaluating HCC differentiation, respectively.Conclusion: CEMRI radiomics integrating LI-RADS features demonstrated excellent performance in evaluating HCC differentiation, suggesting an optimal clinical decision tool for individualized diagnosis of HCC differentiation.Keywords: machine learning, radiomics, LI-RADS, differentiation, hepatocellular carcinoma, HCC

Ming-Ying Lan,1,2 Yen-Bin Hsu,1,2 Ming-Chin Lan,3,4 Jyh-Ping Chen,5– 8 Yu-Jen Lu9 1Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Taipei Veterans General Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan; 2School of Medicine, National Yang-Ming University, Taipei, Taiwan; 3Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Taipei Tzu Chi Hospital, Buddhist Tzu Chi Medical Foundation, New Taipei City, Taiwan; 4School of Medicine, Tzu Chi University, Hualien, Taiwan; 5Department of Chemical and Materials Engineering, Chang Gung University, Taoyuan, Taiwan; 6Department of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery and Craniofacial Research Center, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Taoyuan, Taiwan; 7Research Center for Food and Cosmetic Safety, Research Center for Chinese Herbal Medicine, College of Human Ecology, Chang Gung University of Science and Technology, Taoyuan, Taiwan; 8Department of Materials Engineering, Ming Chi University of Technology, Taipei, Taiwan; 9Department of Neurosurgery, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital Linkuo Medical Center and College of Medicine, Chang Gung University, Taoyuan, TaiwanCorrespondence: Yu-Jen LuDepartment of Neurosurgery, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital Linkuo Medical Center and College of Medicine, Chang Gung University, Taoyuan, TaiwanEmail alexlu0416@gmail.comJyh-Ping ChenDepartment of Chemical and Materials Engineering, Chang Gung University, Taoyuan, TaiwanEmail jpchen@mail.cgu.edu.twIntroduction: Nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) is a common cancer in southern China and Taiwan, and radiation therapy combined with or without chemotherapy is its mainstay treatment. Although it is highly sensitive to radiotherapy, local recurrence and distant metastasis remain difficult unsolved problems. In recent years, graphene oxide (GO) has been found to be a promising novel anticancer drug carrier. Here, we present our designed functionalized GO, polyethylene glycol-coated GO (GO-PEG), as a drug carrier, which was loaded with erlotinib and showed promising anticancer effects on NPC cells.Methods: The effects of GO-PEG-erlotinib on the proliferation, migration, and invasion of NPC cells were investigated by WST-8 assay, wound healing assay, and invasion assay, respectively. RNA sequencing was conducted and analyzed to determine the molecular mechanisms by which GO-PEG-erlotinib affects NPC cells.Results: Our results showed that GO-PEG-erlotinib reduced NPC cell viability in a dose-dependent manner and also inhibited the migration and invasion of NPC cells. The RNA sequencing revealed several related molecular mechanisms.Conclusion: GO-PEG-erlotinib effectively suppressed NPC cell proliferation, migration, and invasion, likely by several mechanisms. GO-PEG-erlotinib may be a potential therapeutic agent for treating NPC in the future.Keywords: nasopharyngeal carcinoma, anti-cancer, graphene oxide, erlotinib, drug carrier

Hsin-Ying Wu,1,* Kun-Ju Lin,2,* Ping-Yen Wang,1 Chi-Wen Lin,3 Hong-Wei Yang,3 Chen-Chi M Ma,3 Yu-Jen Lu,4 Tong-Rong Jan1 1Department and Graduate Institute of Veterinary Medicine, School of Veterinary Medicine, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan; 2Animal Molecular Imaging Center and Department of Nuclear Medicine, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Tao-Yuan, Taiwan; 3Department of Chemical Engineering, National Tsing Hua University, Hsin-Chu, Taiwan; 4Department of Neurosurgery, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Tao-Yuan, Taiwan *These authors contributed equally to this work Background: Graphene oxide (GO) is a promising nanomaterial for potential application in the versatile field of biomedicine. Graphene-based nanomaterials have been reported to modulate the functionality of immune cells in culture and to induce pulmonary inflammation in mice. Evidence pertaining to the interaction between graphene-based nanomaterials and the immune system in vivo remains scarce. The present study investigated the effect of polyethylene glycol-coated GO (PEG-GO) on antigen-specific immunity in vivo. Methods: BALB/c mice were intravenously administered with a single dose of PEG-GO (0.5 or 1 mg/kg) 1 hour before ovalbumin (OVA) sensitization, and antigen-specific antibody production and splenocyte reactivity were measured 7 days later. Results: Exposure to PEG-GO significantly attenuated the serum level of OVA-specific immunoglobulin E. The production of interferon-γ and interleukin-4 by splenocytes restimulated with OVA in culture was enhanced by treatment with PEG-GO. In addition, PEG-GO augmented the metabolic activity of splenocytes restimulated with OVA but not with the T-cell mitogen concanavalin A. Conclusion: Collectively, these results demonstrate that systemic exposure to PEG-GO modulates several aspects of antigen-specific immune responses, including the serum production of immunoglobulin E and T-cell functionality. Keywords: graphene oxide, T-cell, antigen-specific, immune, ovalbumin

Jyh-Ping Chen,1 Pei-Ching Yang,1 Yunn-Hwa Ma,2 Su-Ju Tu,3 Yu-Jen Lu1,41Department of Chemical and Materials Engineering, 2Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, 3Department of Medical Imaging and Radiological Sciences, Chang Gung University, Kwei-San, Taoyuan, Taiwan, Republic of China; 4Department of Neurosurgery, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Kwei-San, Taoyuan, Taiwan, Republic of ChinaBackground and methods: Silica-coated magnetic nanoparticle (SiO2-MNP) prepared by the sol-gel method was studied as a nanocarrier for targeted delivery of tissue plasminogen activator (tPA). The nanocarrier consists of a superparamagnetic iron oxide core and an SiO2 shell and is characterized by transmission electron microscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, superconducting quantum interference device, and thermogravimetric analysis. An amine-terminated surface silanizing agent (3-aminopropyltrimethoxysilane) was used to functionalize the SiO2 surface, which provides abundant —NH2 functional groups for conjugating with tPA.Results: The optimum drug loading is reached when 0.5 mg/mL tPA is conjugated with 5 mg SiO2-MNP where 94% tPA is attached to the carrier with 86% retention of amidolytic activity and full retention of fibrinolytic activity. In vitro biocompatibility determined by lactate dehydrogenase release and cell proliferation indicated that SiO2-MNP does not elicit cytotoxicity. Hematological analysis of blood samples withdrawn from mice after venous administration indicates that tPA-conjugated SiO2-MNP (SiO2-MNP-tPA) did not alter blood component concentrations. After conjugating to SiO2-MNP, tPA showed enhanced storage stability in buffer and operation stability in whole blood up to 9.5 and 2.8-fold, respectively. Effective thrombolysis with SiO2-MNP-tPA under magnetic guidance is demonstrated in an ex vivo thrombolysis model where 34% and 40% reductions in blood clot lysis time were observed compared with runs without magnetic targeting and with free tPA, respectively, using the same drug dosage. Enhanced penetration of SiO2-MNP-tPA into blood clots under magnetic guidance was confirmed from microcomputed tomography analysis.Conclusion: Biocompatible SiO2-MNP developed in this study will be useful as a magnetic targeting drug carrier to improve clinical thrombolytic therapy.Keywords: magnetic nanoparticles, drug delivery, thrombolysis, tissue plasminogen activator, silica

Yu-Jen Lu1,2,#, Hung-Wei Yang1,#, Sheng-Che Hung3, Chiung-Yin Huang2, Shin-Ming Li4, Chen-Chi M Ma4, Pin-Yuan Chen2, Hong-Chieh Tsai2, Kuo-Chen Wei2, Jyh-Ping Chen1 1Department of Chemical and Materials Engineering, Chang Gung University, Kwei-San, Taoyuan, Taiwan; 2Department of Neurosurgery, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Kwei-San, Taoyuan, Taiwan; 3Department of Radiology, Taipei Veterans General Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan; 4Department of Chemical Engineering, National Tsing Hua University, Hsinchu, Taiwan#These authors contributed equally to this workBackground: 1,3-bis(2-chloroethyl)-1-nitrosourea (BCNU), a commercial chemotherapeutic drug for treating malignant brain tumors, has poor thermal stability and a short half-life. Immobilization of BCNU on a nanocarrier might increase the thermal stability of BCNU and extend its half-life.Methods: Nanosized graphene oxide (GO) could be modified by polyacrylic acid (PAA) to improve the aqueous solubility and increase the cell penetration efficacy of the nanocarrier. PAA–GO intended as a drug carrier for BCNU was prepared and characterized in this study. The size and thickness of PAA–GO was investigated by transmission electron microscopy and atomic force microscopy, and the presence of PAA functional groups was confirmed by electron spectroscopy for chemical analysis and thermogravimetric analysis. BCNU was conjugated to PAA–GO by covalent binding for specific killing of cancer cells, which could also enhance the thermal stability of the drug.Results: Single layer PAA–GO (about 1.9 nm) with a lateral width as small as 36 nm was successfully prepared. The optimum drug immobilization condition was by reacting 0.5 mg PAA–GO with 0.4 mg BCNU, and the drug-loading capacity and residual drug activity were 198 µg BCNU/mg PAA–GO and 70%, respectively. This nanocarrier significantly prolonged the half-life of bound BCNU from 19 to 43 hours compared with free drug and showed efficient intracellular uptake by GL261 cancer cells. The in vitro anticancer efficacy of PAA–GO–BCNU was demonstrated by a 30% increase in DNA interstrand cross-linking and a 77% decrease in the IC50 value toward GL261 compared with the same dosage of free drug.Conclusion: Nanosized PAA–GO serves as an efficient BCNU nanocarrier by covalent binding. This nanocarrier will be a promising new vehicle for an advanced drug delivery system in cancer therapy.Keywords: graphene oxide, BCNU, glioma cells, drug delivery, thermal stability

We propose a distinguishable-particle glassy model suitable for the molecular dynamics simulation of structural glasses. This model can sensitively tune the kinetic fragility of supercooled liquids in a wide range by simply changing the distribution of particle interactions. In the model liquid, we observe the occurrence of thermodynamic liquid-liquid phase transitions above glass transition. The phase transition is facilitated by lowering fragility. Prior to the liquid-liquid phase transition, our simulations verify the existence of a constant-volume heat capacity maximum varying with fragility. We reveal the characteristics of the equilibrium potential energy landscape in liquids with different fragility. Within the Gaussian excitation model, the liquid-liquid transition as well as the response to fragility is reasonably interpreted in configuration space.

The China Spallation Neutron Source started delivering neutron beams to users in March 2018. To upgrade the beam power to 500 kW and improve the performance of the ion source, an RF-driven negative hydrogen (H - ) ion source is under development. The source has a silicon nitride ceramic plasma chamber surrounded by a 4.5-turn antenna. The plasma is ignited by a pulsed DC spark gap and then driven by a 2 MHz solid-state amplifier with a repetition rate of 25 Hz. The commissioning of the source started in January 2019. When uncesiated, it produced about 20 mA beam at an RF power of 32 kW and pulse width of 450 μs. This paper describes the configuration of the ion source, several peculiar technologies used in it, and the first negative hydrogen (H - ) ion beam extraction.

We develop a ReaxFF reactive force field used for the molecular dynamics simulations of thermophysical properties of liquid Cu and Zr metals. The ReaxFF parameters are optimized by fitting to the first-principles density-functional calculations on the equations of state for bulk crystal structures and surface energies. To validate the force field, we compare the ReaxFF results with those from experiments and embedded-atom-method (EAM) potentials. We demonstrate that the present ReaxFF force field well represents structural characteristics and diffusion behaviors of elemental Cu and Zr up to high-temperature liquid regions. It reasonably reproduces the thermodynamic processes associated with crystal-liquid interface. In particular, the equilibrium melting temperatures show better agreement with experimental measurements than the results from EAM potentials. The ReaxFF reactive force field method exhibits a good transferability to the nonreactive processes of liquid systems.

The density layering phenomenon originating from a free surface gives rise to the layerlike dynamics and stress heterogeneity in ultrathin Cu-Zr glassy films, which facilitates the occurrence of multistep relaxations in the timescale of computer simulations. Taking advantage of this condition, we trace the relaxation decoupling and evolution with temperature simply via the intermediate scattering function. We show that the β relaxation hierarchically follows fast and slow modes in films, and there is a β-relaxation transition as the film is cooled close to the glass transition. We provide the direct observation of particle motions responsible for the β relaxation and reveal the dominant mechanism varying from the thermal activated to the cooperative jumps across the transition.

Liquids attain a metastable state without crystallizing by cooling rapidly to a given temperature below the melting point. With increasing supercooling, the nucleation rate would show an increase based on the prediction of the classical nucleation theory. It is generally thought that the nucleation rate will reach the maximum upon approaching the glass transition temperature, T g , for glass-forming liquids. We report that there exists a supercooled region above T g in which the crystallization has actually been severely suppressed. Our molecular dynamics simulations show that the growth of embryos in the supercooled Cu 60 Zr 40 melt is subjected to a strong anisotropic stress associated with the dynamic heterogeneity. Its long-range effect drives the embryo to grow into a ramified morphology so that the interface energy dominates over the embryo growth, leading to the suppression of nucleation.

The single-particle dynamics of the glass-forming Cu_{50}Zr_{50} alloy, from the supercooled liquid well above the glass-transition temperature, T_{g} to the glassy state, is studied by using the molecular dynamics simulations. When the liquid is cooled below 1.2T_{g}, the dynamics heterogeneity characterized by the cage-jump motion becomes increasingly pronounced. The analyses based on the continuous time random walk method indicate that the liquid falls out of equilibrium in the present simulation time scale when it is cooled into the regime below 1.02T_{g}. However, we find that the jump length and the jump rate do not display the non-equilibrium behaviors even in the glassy state below T_{g}, which allows us to study the intrinsic dynamic characteristics through T_{g}. The mean waiting time between two successive jumps has a rapid growth following the Vogel-Fulcher-Tammann law as the non-equilibrium regime is approached, in analogy with the temperature behaviors of transport properties for fragile supercooled liquids. In contrast, the jump rate maintains the Arrhenius decay and the jump length has even a weaker temperature dependence when the liquid is cooled into glassy state. We find that a pronounced enhancement of the spatial correlation of jumps occurs accompanied by the glass transition: the string-like cooperative jumps dominate the fast motion instead of the uncorrelated and individual jumps. Our work offers an insight into the equilibrium effect of the single-particle dynamics in glass transition.

Objective: To verify the reliability and feasibility of Hoffmann method in establishing pediatric reference intervals (RI) of erythrocyte count., Methods: Three hundreds and ninty-two thousands of hospital-based data for erythrocyte count of children aged in 1 to 17, measured by the Sysmex Xs-800i, was collected from Beijing Children's Hospital during January to December 2014. Outliers were removed using the Dixon method, then Hoffmann method was conducted to establish the gender and age stratified pediatric RIs of erythrocyte count. The erythrocyte count of 2 217 healthy children, recruited from Beijing Children's Hospital and Liaocheng Children's Hospital in Shandong province, was conducted as normal reference to verify the reliability of Hoffmann method in establishing RIs and to compare with existing RIs., Results: In 4 subgroups as following, male aging 1 to 12 years, male aging 13 to 17 years, female aging 1 to 12 years, female aging 13 to 17 years, the RIs of erythrocyte count established using Hoffmann method were (4.1-5.4)×10(12)/L, (4.4-5.7)×10(12)/L, (4.0-5.3)×10(12)/L, (4.0-5.3)×10(12)/L, respectively. The verification results in 2 217 healthy children showed that the proportions of out of range in four subgroups were 6.17%, 8.81%, 6.22%, 7.78%, respectively., Conclusion: Hoffmann method produce reliable RIs according with the actual situation in healthy children, which is also convenient and is worth popularizing in clinical practice.

In contrast to other glass formers, silicon exhibits a thermodynamic discontinuity between its liquid and amorphous solid states. Some researchers have conjectured that a first-order phase transition occurs between two forms of liquid silicon: the high-density liquid (HDL) and the low-density liquid (LDL). Despite the fact that several computer simulations have supported a liquid-liquid phase transition (LLPT) in silicon, recent work based on surface free energy calculations contradicts its existence and the authors of this work have argued that the proposed LLPT has been mistakenly interpreted [J. Chem. Phys., 2013, 138, 214504]. A similar controversy has also arisen in the case of water because of discrepancies in the calculation of its free energy surface [Nature, 2014, 510, 385; J. Chem. Phys., 2013, 138, 214504]. Current evidence supporting or not supporting the LLPT is mostly derived from the thermodynamic stability of the LDL phase. Provided that the HDL-LDL transition is a first-order transition, the formation of LDL silicon should be an activated process. Following this idea, the nature of the LLPT should be clarified by tracing the kinetic path toward LDL silicon. In this work, we focus on the transformation process from HDL to LDL phases and use the mean first passage time (MFPT) method to examine thermodynamic and dynamic trajectories. The MFPT results show that the presumed HDL-LDL transition is not characterized by a thermodynamic activated process but by a continuous dynamic transformation. LDL silicon is actually a mixture of the high-density liquid and a low-density tetrahedral network. We show that the five-membered Si-Si rings in the LDL network play a critical role in stabilizing the low-density network and suppressing the crystallization.

Crystal growth of the glass-forming CuZr alloy is shown to be abnormally slow, which suggests a new method to identify the good glass-forming alloys. The crystal growth of elemental Cu, Pd and binary NiAl, CuZr alloys is systematically studied with the aid of molecular dynamics simulations. The temperature dependence of the growth velocity indicates the different growth mechanisms between the elemental and the alloy systems. The high-speed growth featuring the elemental metals is dominated by the non-activated collision between liquid-like atoms and interface, and the low-speed growth for NiAl and CuZr is determined by the diffusion across the interface. We find that, in contrast to Cu, Pd, and NiAl, a strong stress layering arisen from the density and the local order layering forms in front of the liquid-crystal interface of CuZr alloy, which causes a slow diffusion zone. The formation of the slow diffusion zone suppresses the interface moving, resulting in much small growth velocity of CuZr alloy. We provide a direct evidence of this explanation by applying the compressive stress normal to the interface. The compression is shown to boost the stress layering in CuZr significantly, correspondingly enhancing the slow diffusion zone, and eventually slowing down the crystal growth of CuZr alloy immediately. In contrast, the growth of Cu, Pd, and NiAl is increased by the compression because the low diffusion zones in them are never well developed.

Cardiovascular disease, with high morbidity and mortality, has been threatening the health of human beings. Therefore, expecting to find a more effective therapeutic method, a plenty of researchers devote themselves to the study of the cardiovascular disease all the time. Since discovered on the heart, M3 receptor of muscarinic acetylcholine receptor (mAchR, M receptor) became a new starting point of the research of the cardiovascular disease. With more and more investigation, many people found that M3 receptor could protect the heart from kinds of cardiovascular disease, which may make it a new hopeful therapeutic point. So, expecting to give support to the reference and encouragement for the study of disease related to M3 receptor in future, this review expounds M3 receptor on the heart from the main following aspects: the effect on the heart, the influence on the cardiovascular disease and the mechanism of M3 receptor involved.

The effect of feed residues on release law of nitrogen and phosphorus in water-sediment interface was studied under the simulated condition in laboratory. Two sets of conditions were applied in this study, static condition (A group) and feed add condition (B group). The results show that DO in A group is higher than that in B group (P < 0.05). The pH value is neutral in A group, but pH value of B group became weak acidic. After adding the feed, nitrate nitrogen concentration in A group is higher than that in B group (P < 0.05), but orthophosphate concentration in A group is lower than that in B group (P < 0.05). At the 2-14th day of experiment, ammonia concentration in A group is higher than that in B group (P < 0.05), but since then the ammonia concentration in B group begins to rise. At the end of the test, ammonia concentration in B group is higher than that in A group (P < 0.05). At the beginning of the experiment, ammonia and nitrate nitrogen release restrained in B group. Nitrogen increases first, and then decreases in A group, but the changing regulation is completely opposite in B group. Feed decomposition can produce a large amount of phosphorus in B group, at the same time, orthophosphate changing regulation increases first and then decreases.

In the title complex, [Cu(4)Cl(4)(C(58)H(52)N(2)P(4))](n), four Cu(II) atoms are held together via two doubly bridging and two triply bridging chlorides, forming a stair-like Cu(4)Cl(4) core having crystallographically imposed inversion symmetry, while the benzene-1,4-diamine ligand (with a crystallographic inversion center at the centroid) acts in a tetra-dentate coordination mode, bridging two adjacent Cu(4)Cl(4) cores, resulting in a chain along the a-axis direction. One Cu atom has a distorted tetra-hedral geometry, coordinated by one P atom, one μ(2)-Cl and two μ(3)-Cl atoms, while the second Cu atom adopts a trigonal geometry, coordinated by one P atom, one μ(2)-Cl and one μ(3)-Cl atoms.

Objective: To investigate the indications, safety and efficacy of catheter directed thrombolysis for early left lower extremity deep venous thrombosis (DVT) without vena cava filters protection., Methods: Clinical data of 54 cases of early left lower extremity DVT received catheter directed thrombolysis without vena cava filters from July 2008 to June 2010 were retrospectively analyzed. The thrombosis was entire without free floating clots and no thrombosis in vena cava detected with ultrasound scan. Twenty-five patients were male and 29 were female with the average age of 52.8 years. Fifty-one of which were iliofemoral and popliteal, the other 3 were iliofemoral. The course were ≤ 7 d in 45 cases and these were 8 to 30 d in 9 cases. Urokinase of 300 000 U was infused through catheters per 2 h twice a day. Meanwhile 4000 U of low weight heparin was administered subcutaneously per 12 h, or heparin infusion at dosage of 18 U×kg(-1)×h(-1)., Results: The procedure technically succeeded in all patients. In total cases venous score decreased to 4.6 ± 2.1 post 6 to 10 d of thrombolysis from 10.8 ± 1.0 with thrombolysis rate of 58% ± 18% which was not significantly different between groups of ≤ 7 d and 8 to 30 d (t = 1.02, P = 0.34). On 14(th) day, 11 patients (20.4%) completely recovered, 35 cases (64.8%) experienced large improvement, 8 patients (14.8%) had mild improvement and nobody was failed, resulting in total efficacy of 100%. No patient developed clinical symptomatic pulmonary embolism. SpO2 did not alter markedly post thrombolysis [(91.0 ± 2.6)% vs. (90.8 ± 2.4)%, t = 2.03, P = 0.05]. No patients suffered from cerebral hemorrhage and haemoturia, and catheter induced inflammation occurred in 4 cases (7.41%). There was mild bleeding in puncture sites in 11 patients (20.4%) during the course. There were 36 patients (66.7%) had been followed up with the time of 6 to 21 months. In which 31 cases had no lower extremity edema or had mild edema after activities. Two patients developed serious edema after activities for deep venous insufficiency. Three cases combined with malignant tumor or renal failure recurred., Conclusions: For early left extremity DVT which is entire without free floating clots and no thrombosis in vena cava, catheter directed thrombolysis without filter protection maybe administered with safety, efficiency and lower expense.

Objective: To construct a recombinant adenovirus of survivin vector and provid valuable reference for gene therapy of laryngeal cancer., Methods: The survivin gene was cloned by PCR. After confirmation by enzyme restriction analysis and sequencing, the gene and the adenovirus vector were recombined together to construct the recombinant adenovirus vector. The recombinant adenovirus vector was confirmed via both sequencing and digestion restriction analysis, and then linearized and transfected into the HEK 293 cell line to generate recombinant adenovirus., Results: The sequence analysis demonstrated that the survivin gene sequence was the same as published in the literature, suggesting that a recombinant adenovirus vector has been successfully constructed., Conclusions: A survivin recombinant adenovirus has been successfully constructed.

microRNAs are one kind of endogenous no-encoding RNA with about 22 nucleotides in length, and inhibited the translation of mRNAs by partially complementary binding to the 3' UTR of target mRNAs in the post-transcriptional level. Recent research shows that miRNAs function in the physiological and pathological processes of heart, especially involved in the occurrence and progress of arrhythmias. Abnormal miRNAs alters the protein expression of ion channels, causes the cardiac dysfunction, and triggers heart arrhythmias. The article summarized recent advances about roles of miRNA in arrhythmias and related cardiomyopathy, and discussed the therapeutic potential of miRNAs for heart diseases.

The interdiffusion processes in liquid Al-Cu and Ni-Cu alloys are studied by using molecular dynamics simulation method. The Maxwell-Stefan (MS) diffusivities are calculated over a wide composition range with both the Green-Kubo method and the Darken relation. Comparisons show that the Darken relation predicts well the MS diffusivity for Ni-Cu alloy, while overestimates the value for Al-Cu alloy, especially in the medium concentration region. Based on the calculated MS diffusivities and the activities of the alloys, the Fickian interdiffusivities are predicted. The results show strong dependences on the compositions of the alloys. In addition, the Fickian interdiffusivities of Al(60)Cu(40) and Ni(50)Cu(50) melts as a function of undercooling are estimated, which is proved to be beneficial in improving the quantitative predictions of dendrite growth velocity in solidification.

The dynamics of N(2) molecules blocked in open single-walled carbon nanotubes is investigated using molecular dynamics simulations. It is found that periodic axial and radial oscillations with extremely high frequency exist widely among these molecules. Between the two nanotube ends, N(2) molecules oscillate along or parallel to the nanotube axis, and their frequencies show an inverse length dependence in the range of 22 to 64 GHz. Accompanying the axial oscillation, the molecules oscillate radially with small amplitudes in the lateral potential well. The corresponding frequencies have a magnitude of several hundred gigahertz, and the maximum exceeds 1800 GHz. These periodic oscillations contribute to the molecular blockage in nanotubes.

A rapid quantitative polymerase chain reaction (QPCR) analysis method with universal primers was developed to detect cell densities of the enteric pathogenic bacteria from 5 surface water of Xi'an City for 4 months continuously. And the detection results by QPCR method were compared with counts of coliforms colony-forming units (CFU) determined by membrane filter (MF) analysis. The results showed that QPCR method had an estimated 94% confidence, and detection limit was 2.7 Escherichia coli cells per sample in undiluted DNA extracts. For five surface waters (N = 60), the geometric mean of pathogenic bacteria concentration determined by QPCR was 2.2-5 times of corresponding coliform CFU determined by MF analysis. Using QPCR analysis, these geometric means of pathogenic bacteria concentration ranged from 25 CCE/100 mL to 67 000 CCE/100 mL. Using MF culture analysis, coliforms ranged from 3 CFU/100 mL to 45 000 CFU/100 mL. Regression analysis showed that there was a significant positive correlation between pathogenic bacteria determined by QPCR method and coliforms determined by MF method, the correlation coefficient (r) was 0.983.

Human ether-a-go-go-related gene (HERG) encodes the rapid component of the cardiac delayed rectifier K+ current, which has an important effect on both proarrhythmia and antiarrhythmia. To investigate the effect of sophocarpine (SC) on HERG channel stably expressing in human embryonic kidney-293 (HEK293) cells, whole-cell patch-clamp technique was used to record HERG current and kinetic curves. As the result, it was found that SC inhibited HERG current in a concentration-dependent manner (10, 30, 100, and 300 micromol x L(-1)). At 0 mV, 10, 30, 100, and 300 micromol x L(-1) SC respectively inhibited IHERG by Istep ( 10.7 +/- 2.8)% , (11.3 +/- 5.5)% , (47.0 +/- 2.3)% and (53.7 +/- 2.5)% , and Itail (1.1 +/- 3.0)%, (17.1 +/- 3.3)%, (32.7 +/- 1.9)% (P < 0.05, n = 12) and (56.0 +/- 2.4)% (P < 0.05, n = 13). The time constants of inactivation, recovery from inactivation and onset of inactivation were accelerated. SC did not change other channel kinetics (activation and deactivation). It is concluded that SC inhibited the transfected HERG channels by influencing the inactivation state, which is the probable anti-arrhythmic mechanism.

This study is to explore whether the protective effect of resveratrol on ischemia-reperfusion injury is correlated with the structural and functional association between M3 receptor (M3 subtype of muscarinic acetylcholine receptor) and Cx43 (connexin 43 gap junction proteins). Immunoprecipitation, immunoblotting and immunofluorescence were applied to investigate whether resveratrol has an effect on structural and functional association between M3 and Cx43. The effect of resveratrol on electrocardiogram Lead II ex vivo in rats, SOD (superoxide dismutase) activity and MDA (malondialdehyde) content was also observed in order to evaluate the protective effect of resveratrol on ischemia-reperfusion injury. Resveratrol could restore the structural and functional association between M3 receptor and Cx43 gap junction proteins that was partially destroyed under ischemia-reperfusion injury. The phosphorylation and spatial distribution disturbances in Cx43 expression caused by ischemia-reperfusion injury were also restored. Also, the QRS duration, SOD activity and MDA content were restored. Resveratrol could restore the structural and functional association between M3 receptor and Cx43 gap junction proteins.

The supercooling capability of aqueous NaCl and KCl solutions is investigated at containerless state by using acoustic levitation method. The supercooling of water is obviously enhanced by the alkali metal ions and increases linearly with the augmentation of concentrations. Furthermore, the supercooling depends on the nature of ions and is 2-3 K larger for NaCl solution than that for KCl solution in the present concentration range: Molecular dynamics simulations are performed to reveal the intrinsic correlation between supercoolability and microstructure. The translational and orientational order parameters are applied to quantitatively demonstrate the effect of ionic concentration on the hydrogen-bond network and ice melting point. The disrupted hydrogen-bond structure determines essentially the concentration dependence of supercooling. On the other hand, the introduced acoustic pressure suppresses the increase of supercooling by promoting the growth and coalescence of microbubbles, the effective nucleation catalysts, in water. However, the dissolved ions can weaken this effect, and moreover the degree varies with the ion type. This results in the different supercoolability for NaCl and KCl solutions under the acoustic levitation conditions.

Aim: To optimize the method of investigating structural integration between proteins and study the integration between arrhythmia related proteins in molecular level., Methods: Immunostaining the normal ventricular myocytes was used to observe the distribution of connexin 43 and muscarinic acetylcholine receptor (mAChR). The five mAChR subtypes were precipitated using immunoprecipitation. Then, SDS-PAGE and Western blotting with the anti-connexin 43 antibody were performed to observe whether they were structurally integrated. Further, different concentrations of detergent were used to observe whether this relationship could be broken., Results: The five subtypes of mAChR existed in the cardiac myocyte of the rat, and all the five mAChR subtypes combined with connexin 43. In the normal rat ventricular myocyte membrane, connexin 43 and M3 receptor are co-located. When adding certain concentration of detergent to the membrane protein, the integration between M3 receptor and connexin 43 was broken, and the phosphorylated form of connexin 43 integrated with M3 receptor., Conclusion: The results indicated that the structural integration between mAChR and phosphorylation of connexin 43 existed in rat ventricular myocardium, and this integration could be broken by certain concentration of detergent.

Objective: To distinguish patients with hypertensive disorder complicating pregnancy from healthy pregnant women by examining serum protein fingerprinting., Methods: Eight patients with hypertensive disorder complicating pregnancy and eight healthy pregnant women were tested by surface-enhanced laser desorption/ionization-time of flight-mass spectrometry (SELDI-TOF-MS)., Results: At the molecular mass/charge (M/Z) value range from 1300-14,000, the content of three proteins with different M/Z values was obviously different. In spectrometry of patients with hypertensive disorder complicating pregnancy, proteins with M/Z 1325, 13,749 were significantly higher than that in healthy pregnant women (P < 0.05), that with M/Z 3245 was significantly lower than in healthy pregnant women (P < 0.05)., Conclusions: There is difference in serum protein fingerprinting between healthy pregnant women and patients with hypertensive disorder complicating pregnancy.

Samples of Pb-Sn eutectic alloy with a high density of 8.5 x 10(3) kg/m(3) are levitated with a single-axis acoustic levitator, and containerlessly melted and then solidified in argon atmosphere. High undercoolings up to 38 K are obtained, which results in a microstructural transition of "lamellas-broken lamellas-dendrites." This transition is further investigated in the light of the coupled zone for eutectic growth and the effects of ultrasound. The breaking of regular eutectic lamellas and suppression of gravity-induced macrosegregation of (Pb) and (Sn) dendrites are explained by the complicated internal flow inside the levitated drop, which is jointly induced by the shape oscillation, bulk vibration and rotation of the levitated drop. The ultrasonic field is also found to drive forced surface vibration, which subsequently excites capillary ripples and catalyzes nucleation on the sample surface.

Single-axis acoustic levitation of the heaviest solid (iridium, rho=22.6 g cm(-3)) and liquid (mercury, rho=13.6 g cm(-3) on the Earth is achieved by greatly enhancing both the levitation force and stability through optimizing the geometric parameters of the levitator. The acoustically levitated Pb-Sn eutectic alloy melt (rho=8.5 g cm(-3)) is highly undercooled by up to 38 K, which results in a microstructural transition of "lamellae-broken lamellae-dendrites." The drastic enhancement of levitation capability indicates a broader application range of single-axis acoustic levitation.

The nucleotide sequence of the gene encoding the fusion protein of phocine distemper virus has been determined. The mRNA is 2206 nucleotides in length and contains one major open reading frame (ORF) of 1893 nucleotides encoding a potential protein of 631 amino acid residues. However, analogy with canine distemper virus (CDV) suggests that translation of the F protein starts at the sixth AUG codon in the mRNA sequence which is located at position 461, resulting in an F0 protein of exactly the same size (537 aa) as that of CDV. The overall homology at nucleotide level between the CDV and PDV F genes is 66%. The homology between the two F proteins of these respective viruses is 83%.