Search

The dynamic rheological behavior of polypropylene (PP)/low-density polyethylene (LDPE) blending melts at 210 °C and 230 °C was measured by small-amplitude oscillatory shear mode on a rotational rheometer. The complex viscosity and dynamic modulus of pure PP are higher than those of pure LDPE at low frequency. For the blends with dispersion morphologies, Palierne model is applied to fit the storage modulus data and the model almost underestimates the data since most of the experimental dynamic modulus of the blends lay between that of pure PP and pure LDPE. While Lee and Park model predicts the dynamic storage data well for the PP/LDPE blends 90/10, 10/90 and 70/30 blends. For the 30/70 blend, this model describes the data much closer than Palierne model and a little deviation occurs at low frequency. The comparison between the two models’ fitting results indicates interaction among dispersed droplets should be considered.

Graphical abstract, Chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) is a malignancy that evolves through a multi-step process. Alternative splicing of several genes has been linked to the progression of the disease, but involvement of alternations in splicing profiles has not been reported. RNA-seq of peripheral blood mononuclear cell (PBMC) samples characterized the differentially expressed and spliced transcripts in five CML chronic phase (CP) and five blast phase (BP) patients, and five healthy controls. Global splicing alteration analysis detected 6474 altered splicing events altered between CML and healthy samples, including many of the previously reported splicing variants and showing a more profound altered splicing deregulation in BP samples. Functional clustering of differentially spliced genes in CP revealed a preferred enrichment relating to cell signaling, while the spliceosome pathway was most overrepresented in BP samples. One differentially spliced spliceosome gene hnRNPA1 showed two splice isoforms; the longer isoform contained exon 8 was preferentially expressed in the BP patients, and the short one excluding exon 8 was specific to healthy controls. Our findings suggested that alternative splicing deregulation played a central role during the progression of CML from CP to BP, and the longer isoform of hnRNPA1 might represent a diagnostic marker and therapeutic target for CML.

Accumulated genetic mutations are an important cause for the development of acute myeloid leukemia (AML), but abnormal changes in the inflammatory microenvironment also have regulatory effects on AML. Exploring the relationship between inflammatory response and pathological features of AML has implications for clinical diagnosis, treatment and prognosis evaluation. We analyzed the expression variation landscape of inflammatory response-related genes (IRRGs) and calculated an inflammatory response score for each sample using the gene set variation analysis (GSVA) algorithm. The differences in clinical- and immune-related characteristics between high- and low-inflammatory response groups were further analyzed. We found that most IRRGs were highly expressed in AML samples, and patients with high inflammatory response had poor prognosis and were accompanied with highly activated chemokine-, cytokine- and adhesion molecule-related signaling pathways, higher infiltration ratios of monocytes, neutrophils and M2 macrophages, high activity of type I/II interferon (IFN) response, and higher expression of immune checkpoints. We also used the Genomics of Drug Sensitivity in Cancer (GDSC) database to predict the sensitivity of AML samples with different inflammatory responses to common drugs, and found that AML samples with low inflammatory response were more sensitive to cytarabine, doxorubicin and midostaurin. SubMap algorithm also demonstrated that high-inflammatory response patients are more suitable for anti-PD-1 immunotherapy. Finally, we constructed a prognostic risk score model to predict the overall survival (OS) of AML patients. Patients with higher risk score had significantly shorter OS, which was confirmed in two validation cohorts. The analysis of inflammatory response patterns can help us better understand the differences in tumor microenvironment (TME) of AML patients, and guide clinical medication and prognosis prediction.

The dynamic rheological behaviors are measured by small amplitude oscillatory shear on a rotational rheometer for a polystyrene (PS)/nylon 6 (PA6) blend compatibilized by a polystyrene grafted maleic anhydride (PS-g-MAH). The storage moduli versus angular frequency (G’-ω) data of the blends are fitted by Palierne model. The Palierne model fits the data basically well for the PA6-rich blends and the 70/6/30 (PS/PS-g-MAH/PA6) blend. The fitting results show that the PS-g-MAH has a fine compatibilizing effect on the PS/PA6 blends.

AimSoil abiotic and biotic conditions are often spatially variable, challenging plants with a heterogeneous environment consisting of favorable and unfavorable patches of soil. Many stoloniferous clonal plants can escape from unfavorable patches by elongating stolon internodes, but aggregate in favorable ones through shortening stolon internodes. However, whether these plants can use their stolons to respond to plant-soil feedbacks (PSFs) is largely unknown. MethodsIn the conditioning phase, we grew either Hydrocotyle vulgaris or Glechoma longituba clonal plants separately in mesocosms to condition bulk soil. In the feedback phase, we grew connected mother and daughter ramets of each species in soil inoculated with the unsterilized or sterilized soil conditioned by conspecifics. We grew the plants for 12 weeks and measured the growth of the mother and daughter ramets separately. ResultsThe daughter ramets of H. vulgaris produced more biomass but shorter stolon internodes when grown in soil with sterilized inocula than with unsterilized inocula. However, no difference was found between the daughter ramets of G. longituba grown in soil with unsterilized and sterilized inocula. For both species, no significant difference was found between the mother ramet or between the daughter ramets when the mother ramet was grown in soil with sterilized and unsterilized inocula. Conclusions The daughter ramets rather than the mother ramet of H. vulgaris experienced negative biotic PSFs. However, PSF had no effects on the daughter or mother ramet of G. longituba. Moreover, physiological integration or plasticity in stolon internode lengths cannot help H. vulgaris alleviate the negative PSFs.

Extracellular vesicles isolation from urine was severely interfered by polymeric Tamm-Harsefall protein due to its ability to entrap exosome. Studies had been reported to optimize the extraction of urine extracellular vesicles by using reducing agents, surfactants, salt precipitation or ultrafiltration, but rarely based on highly specific purification methods. We optimized the density gradient centrifugation method for the isolation of urinary small extracellular vesicles (sEV) and compared seven differential centrifugation protocols to obtain the high-yield and high-purity sEV isolation procedures. Our study showed Tris sucrose gradient centrifugation at 25°C had more concentrated distribution of exosomal marker in the gradient compared to Tris sucrose gradient centrifugation at 4°C and PBS sucrose gradient centrifugation. Dissolving the 16000 g pellet using Tris, Nonidet™ P 40 or Dithiothreitol then pooling the supernatants did not increase the exosomal markers and number of nanoparticles in sEV preparation compared to the control and PBS groups. Differential centrifugation at room temperature without ultrafiltration recovered more exosome-like vesicles, exosomal markers and nanoparticles than that at 4°C or combining ultrafiltration. Differential centrifugation at RT without ultrafiltration and salt precipitation recovered the highest number of nanoparticles than other protocols. However, differential centrifugation at RT combining 100 kd ultrafiltration obtained the highest purity of sEV calculated by Nanoparticle number/Total protein. In conclusion, we had established two urinary sEV isolation procedures that can recovered higher yield of sEV and more pure preparation of sEV. It is not recommended to treating 16000 g pellet with reducing agents or surfactants to increase the yield of sEV.

In order to evaluate the pharmacokinetics of recombinant bovine interferon-alpha (rBoIFN-α) in cattle, which has potential for its antiviral and immunomodulatory activities, 12 animals of 6-month age were classified into 4 groups (n=3) to receive rBoIFN-α through IV, IM or SC routes at a dose of 5.0×103 IU/kg. Serum rBoIFN-α titer was evaluated using cytopathic effect (CPE) inhibition bioassay. Then, the standard pharmacokinetic parameters were calculated using the DAS (Drug and statistics) software. The concentrationtime profiles of serum rBoIFN-α following IM administration, SC administration and IV administration were characteristics of the 1-, 1-, and 2-compartment open models, respectively. After a single dose of IV administration, the drug rapidly dispersed and was rapidly eliminated from the body (T1/2α=0.15±0.02 h, T1/2=6.48±0.49 h). After IM and SC administrations, the drug is rapidly absorbed and slowly eliminated from the body (For IM administration, Tmax=6.12±0.32 h, T1/2=8.19±0.74 h) (For SC administration, Tmax=4.06±0.56 h, T1/2=7.29±0.55 h). The bioavailability of rBoIFN-α after IM administration is 53.74%, which is higher than the bioavailability of SC administration (27.96%). Therefore, the results showed that the drug administration effect can be preferably obtained following a single dose IM injection using the rBoIFN-α aqueous preparation. We hope that this study will provide valuable information for the clinical application of rBoIFN-α as an potential antiviral agent.

Aim: To investigate prognostic value of preoperative inflammatory biomarkers in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Patients & methods: Preoperative circulating fibrinogen, prealbumin, fibrinogen to prealbumin ratio (FPR), neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio, derived neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio, lymphocyte to monocyte ratio, platelet to lymphocyte ratio were detected and calculated in 230 HCC patients. X-tile software, Kaplan–Meier curve, Cox regression, time-dependent receiver-operating characteristic were used to explored prognostic roles of them in HCC. Results: Multivariate Cox regression showed that high FPR was significantly associated with decreased recurrence-free survival (p = 0.034) and overall survival (p

Electrochemical intermolecular C–N formation/cyclization of ketones with 2-aminopyridines using catalytic hydriodic acid as the redox mediator was developed, providing imidazo[1,2-a]pyridines under more environmentally benign conditions. The reaction proceeds in a simple undivided cell, using low toxic ethanol as the solvent, without external oxidants, and exhibits high atom economy. A variety of ketones including acetophenones, unsatruated and alkyl ketones are amenable to this reaction, affording the corresponding products in moderate to excellent yields. A three-component tandem reaction realizing C–N, C–S/C–Se bond formation can also be achieved under standard conditions.

Background Chronic inflammation is deemed to play a significant effect on initiation and progression of esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC). In current study, we investigated the prognostic and predictive role of albumin (Alb) to fibrinogen (Fib) ratio (AFR) and a novel AFR–Alb-derived neutrophil/lymphocyte ratio (dNLR) score (ADS) in ESCC patients undergoing esophagectomy and compared them with Fib, Alb, neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio (NLR), dNLR, platelet to lymphocyte ratio (PLR) and lymphocyte to monocyte ratio (LMR). Materials and methods A total of 153 clinical confirmed ESCC patients undergoing esophagectomy between January 2011 and December 2013 were included in present study. We detected preoperative Alb, Fib and neutrophil, monocyte, lymphocyte and platelet count, and obtained overall survival (OS) by 3 years’ follow-up in the cases. X-tile software, Kaplan–Meier curve, Cox regression and predicted nomogram were used to evaluate the predictive and prognostic role of them in ESCC patients. Results The optimal cut-off values of Fib, Alb, AFR, NLR, dNLR, PLR and LMR were 3.2 mg/dL, 38.2 g/L, 9.3, 2.1, 4.3, 145.9 and 2.3, respectively. High levels of Fib [(adjusted hazard ratio (HR) = 2.148, 95% confidential interval (CI) (1.229–3.753)], dNLR (adjusted HR = 2.338, 95% CI 1.626–5.308) and PLR (adjusted HR = 1.964, 95% CI 1.129–3.415) as well as low AFR (adjusted HR = 2.381, 95% CI 1.152–4.926) and Alb (adjusted HR = 2.398, 95% CI 1.342–4.273) were significantly associated with decreased OS in ESCC patients. The survival predictive areas under the time-dependent receiver operating characteristics curve of AFR, dNLR and Alb were higher than Fib and PLR, respectively. High ADS score was significantly associated with short 3 years’ OS of ESCC patients (adjusted HR = 2.94, 95% CI 1.70–5.08). Moreover, OS of ESCC patients receiving adjuvant radio-chemotherapy was longer than those without the treatment in high ADS score subgroup (p = 0.001), however, no significant survival difference was observed in the patients with or without treatment radio-chemotherapy (p = 0.297). Additionally, a significant difference was observed in c-index values of the nomograms including or without ADS (0.720 vs. 0.670, p

Fan Sun,1,* Hong-Xin Peng,2,* Qiu-Fang Gao,1 Shu-Qi Li,1 Jing Zhang,1 Qing-Gen Chen,1 Yu-Huan Jiang,1 Lei Zhang,1 Xiao-Zhong Wang,1 Hou-Qun Ying1 1Department of Clinical Laboratory, Jiangxi Province Key Laboratory of Laboratory Medicine, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University, Nanchang 330006, Jiangxi, China; 2Department of Clinical Laboratory, Nanjing First Hospital, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing 210006, Jiangsu, China *These authors contributed equally to this work Introduction: Inflammation and nutrition are considered as two important causes leading to the progression and poor survival of colorectal cancer (CRC). The objective of this study is to investigate the prognostic significance of preoperative albumin-to-fibrinogen ratio (AFR), fibrinogen-to-pre-albumin ratio (FPR), fibrinogen (Fib), albumin (Alb), and pre-albumin (pre-Alb) in CRC individuals. Materials and methods: In this study, 3 years’ follow-up was carried out in 702 stage I–III resected CRC patients diagnosed between January 2008 and December 2013. The optimal cutoff points and prognostic values of AFR, FPR, Fib, Alb, pre-Alb, and a novel carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA)-carbohydrate antigen 19-9 (CA199)-FPR (CCF) score were assessed by X-tile software, Kaplan–Meier curve, and Cox regression model. We established the CRC prognostic nomogram, and its predictive efficacy was determined by Harrell’s concordance index (c-index). Results: Our results showed that high FPR was obviously correlated with poor survival of CRC patients. The prognostic predictive efficacy of CCF score was superior to FPR, CEA, CA199, CEA-CA199 (CCI), and CEA-FPR (CFI) score. Moreover, stage II–III patients harboring high FPR or elevated CCF (score≥1) could benefit from adjuvant chemotherapy, rather than those with low FPR or CCF (score=0). Additionally, the c-index (0.728) of the nomogram containing CCF score was significantly higher than that (0.626) without it (p

The exploration of cancer prognostic factor has received increasing attention in recent years. Traditional indicators such as tumor-node-metastasis system, histological subtype and carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) have been recognized as prognostic indicators. However, invasiveness and high cost of these factors restrict the widespread use in clinic, particularly in economically underdeveloped basic health units. Therefore, economic, simple and effective biomarkers are warranted to manage and improve prognosis of cancer individuals.

Chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) is a malignant disorder of hematopoietic stem/progenitor cells. Majority of patients can be effectively treated with tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs) such as imatinib, but a portion of patients will develop drug resistance. Accumulated evidences have identified exosomes in cancer as promoters of tumor progression. Herein, we found that exosomes derived from imatinib resistant CML cells can be internalized into sensitive CML cells and confer drug-resistance traits. We also demonstrated a significant higher level of miR-365 in exosomes derived from drug-resistant CML cells compared with those from sensitive ones using microarray and qRT-PCR. The imatinib sensitive CML cells transfected with pre-miR-365 displayed lower chemosensitivity and apoptosis rate compared with controls. We further confirmed that exosomal transfer of miR-365 induced drug resistance by inhibiting expression of pro-apoptosis protein in sensitive CML cells. In conclusion, our study reveals that exosomes mediate a horizontal transfer of drug-resistant trait in chronic myeloid leukemia cell by delivering miR-365.

Benzothiazoles and thiazolopyridines are widely prevalent in pharmaceuticals and organic materials. Herein, we report a metal- and reagent-free method for the uniform synthesis of benzothiazoles and thiazolopyridines through 2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperidine-N-oxyl radical (TEMPO)-catalyzed electrolytic C–H thiolation. This dehydrogenative coupling process provides access to a host of benzothiazoles and thiazolopyridines from N-(hetero)arylthioamides. Mechanistic studies suggested that the thioamide substrate was oxidized with the electrochemically generated TEMPO+ through an inner-sphere electron transfer to afford a thioamidyl radical, which undergoes homolytic aromatic substitution to form the key C–S bond.

Previous studies have investigated the association between tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) -308G/A polymorphism and risk of immune thrombocytopenia (ITP), but the reported results have been inconsistent. Thus, a systematic meta-analysis was performed to resolve this discrepancy.Electronic databases and the cited references of the obtained published articles were manually searched. Quality assessment of each study was conducted using the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale (NOS). All case-control studies were used to assess the strength of the association. Statistical analysis was performed using Stata version 12.0.Eight high-quality studies, including 947 patients and 1911 controls, were selected for the final meta-analysis. There was no significant association between TNF-α -308G/A polymorphism and ITP in overall and Asian populations. However, a significant positive association was observed between them in the dominant genetic model (AA+AG versus GG) in the Caucasian population (OR = 1.35, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.07-1.71, POur finding suggested that TNF-α -308G/A might be involved in development of ITP in the Caucasian population, but not in the Asian population. Among Caucasians the A allele (AA+AG) was associated with ITP. However, larger-scale studies are required to confirm our findings.

Immune thrombocytopenia (ITP) is an acquired bleeding disease due to immune-mediated destruction of antilogous platelets and ineffective thrombopoiesis. Although the etiology of ITP remains unknown, genetic variants are thought to predispose individuals to the disease. Several candidate gene analyses have identified several loci that increased ITP susceptibility, but no systematic genetic analysis on a genome-wide scope. To extend the genetic evidence and to identify novel candidates of ITP, we performed a pooling genome-wide association study (GWAS) by IlluminaHumanOmniZhongHua-8 combining pathway analysis in 200 ITP cases and 200 controls from Chinese Han population (CHP). The results revealed that 4 novel loci (rs117503120, rs5998634, rs4483616, and rs16866133) were strongly associated with ITP (P<1.0×10−7). Expect for rs4483616, other three loci were validated by the TaqMan probe genotyping assay (P<0.05) in another cohort including 250 ITP cases and 250 controls. And rs5998634 T allele was more sensitive to glucocorticoids for ITP patients (χ2=7.30, P<0.05). Moreover, we identified three overrepresented signaling pathways including the neuroactive ligand-receptor interaction, pathways in cancer, and the JAK-STAT pathway, which involved in the etiology of ITP. In conclusion, our results revealed four novel loci and three pathways related to ITP and provided new clues to explore the pathogenesis of ITP.

Imatinib mesylate (IM) resistance has become a major clinical problem for chronic myeloid leukaemia (CML). It is known that Bcl-x splicing is deregulated and is involved in multiple malignant cancer initiation and chemotherapy resistance, including CML. The aim of the present study was to correct the abnormal splicing of Bcl-x in CML and investigate the subsequent malignant phenotype changes, especially response to IM. The aberrant Bcl-x splicing in CML cells was effectively restored using vivo-Morpholino Antisense Oligomer (vMO). CCK-8 cell viability assay and flow cytometry showed that restoring of Bcl-x splicing increases IM-induced growth inhibition and apoptosis of K562 cells. Moreover, a more significant similar phenomenon was observed in imatinib-resistant CML cell lines K562/G01. Finally, establishment of CML xenograft model had also proved that correcting Bcl-x splicing in vivo can also enhance the anti-tumor effect of IM. Our findings suggest that vMO co-operating with IM can effectively increase the sensitivity of CML cells to IM both in vitro and in vivo, and Bcl-x splicing could become good candidates for chemotherapy-sensitized target in IM-resistant CML.

A failure of bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BM-MSCs) to adhere to hematopoietic cells is an essential cause of the progression of chronic myelogenous leukemia and is also a cause of failure of bone marrow (BM) transplantation, but the exact mechanisms of this have not been fully elucidated. Recent studies have indicated that microRNAs (miRNAs) are contained in leukemia-derived exosomes and are involved in modulating the BM microenvironment. In this study, we found that K562 cell-derived exosomes transfer miR-711 to BM-MSCs and suppress the adhesive function of BM-MSCs. Using qRT-PCR, we also confirmed a significantly higher level of miR-711 in exosomes derived from K562 cells than in exosomes derived from parental cells. The BM-MSCs co-cultured with exosomes derived from K562 cells showed a lower adhesion rate than did controls. We further demonstrated that exosomal transfer of miR-711 induced decreased adhesive abilities by inhibiting expression of adhesion molecule CD44 in BM-MSCs. In conclusion, our study reveals that K562 cell-derived exosomal miR-711 can be transferred to BM-MSCs and weaken adhesive abilities by silencing the expression of the adhesion molecule CD44.

Background To investigate the CT manifestations of primary cardiac angiosarcoma. Methods The clinical and CT data for 9 patients with cardiac angiosarcoma were retrospectively analyzed. Results The lesions in all nine cases were located in the right atrium. In two cases, the involved lesion led downward to the tricuspid valve and right ventricle, and the dynamic cine showed that the lesion affected the opening and closing of the tricuspid valve. In three cases, the lesion involvement led to a thickened pericardium, accompanied by pericardial effusions. On CT plain scans, six patients showed homogeneous density, while three showed inhomogeneous density, two of which were associated with bleeding. On enhanced CT scans, seven patients showed heterogeneous centripetal enhancement, and some angiograms showed lesions with tortuous small blood vessels. The remaining two cases showed early stage rapid inhomogeneous enhancement. Five cases showed multiple metastatic nodules in the lungs at the time of initial diagnosis; four of these showed distinct sharp edges in multiple pulmonary nodules. Conclusions Cardiac angiosarcoma has a predilection site and is prone to invading adjacent structures, manifesting as malignant pericardial and pleural effusions. The CT enhancement manifestations are mostly inhomogeneous and centripetal with ground-glass opacity peripheral to the intrapulmonary metastases.

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) have been found to play important regulatory roles in various physiological and pathological processes. MiRNAs also exhibit high stability and are present at high concentrations in human bodily fluids. Consequently, miRNAs may represent attractive and novel diagnostic biomarkers for certain clinical conditions. Recently, the capacity for extracellular vesicles, including microvesicles and exosomes, to carry miRNAs that participate in cell-to-cell communication has been described. In the present study, the miRNA expression patterns for three kinds of pleural effusions that were obtained from patients with pneumonia (group A), pulmonary tuberculosis (group B), and lung cancer (group C) were detected with high-throughput sequencing. When the expression levels of these miRNAs were compared among the three groups, three differentially expressed miRNAs were detected between groups A and B, while 27 differentially expressed miRNAs were detected between groups A and C. Notably, miR-378i was significantly elevated only in group B, while miR-205-5p and miR-200b were markedly increased only in group C (p

A CuCl2-promoted alkene aminochlorination reaction has been developed. A variety of anilides that contain a mono-, di-, or trisubstituted alkenyl moiety readily participated in this reaction to afford structurally diverse vicinal chloroamines. Studies suggest that the process proceeds by a radical-type mechanism and that CuCl2 serves as both the oxidant to generate the amidyl radical as well as the chloride source.

Association of chronic inflammation, primary tumor sidedness, adjuvant therapy and survival of metastatic colorectal cancer (mCRC) remains unclear. Circulating inflammatory cell, fibrinogen (Fib), albumin (Alb), pre-albumin (pAlb), Alb/Fib (AFR) and Fib/pAlb (FPR) were detected, and clinical outcome was obtained to determine the predictive, prognostic and monitoring roles of them in discovery and validation cohort. We found that elevated FPR, low AFR and poor survival was observed in right-sided mCRC comparing to the left-sided disease, elevated FPR harbored the highest areas under curve to independently predict poor progression-free survival and overall survival in overall and left-sided mCRC case in two cohorts. No survival difference was examined between the two-sided patients in subgroups stratified by FPR. Radiochemoresistance was observed in high FPR case. However, the patient could benefit from bevacizumab plus radiochemotherapy. Low FPR patient showed the best survival with treatment of palliative resection plus radiochemotherapy. Moreover, circulating FPR was significantly increased ahead imaging confirmed progression and it reached up to the highest value within three months before death. Additionally, c-indexes of the prognostic nomograms including FPR were significantly higher than those without it. These findings indicated that FPR was an effective and independent factor to predict progression, prognosis and to precisely identify the patient to receive optimal therapeutic regimen.

The drumstick tree has traditionally been used as foodstuff and fodder in several countries. Due to its high nutritional value and good biomass production, interest in this plant has increased in recent years. It has therefore become important to rapidly and accurately evaluate drumstick quality. In this study, we addressed the optimization of Near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) to analyze crude protein, crude fat, crude fiber, iron (Fe), and potassium (K) in a variety of drumstick accessions (N = 111) representing different populations, cultivation programs, and climates. Partial least-squares regression with internal cross-validation was used to evaluate the models and identify possible spectral outliers. The calibration statistics for these fodder-related chemical components suggest that NIRS can predict these parameters in a wide range of drumstick types with high accuracy. The NIRS calibration models developed in this study will be useful in predicting drumstick forage quality for these five quality parameters.

Herein, we report an on-line two-dimensional system constructed by counter-current chromatography (CCC) coupling with preparative high-performance liquid chromatography (prep-HPLC) for the separation and purification of polar natural products. The CCC was used as the first dimensional isolation column, where an environmental friendly polar two-phase solvent system of isopropanol and 16% sodium chloride aqueous solution (1:1.2, v/v) was introduced for low toxicity and favorable resolution. In addition, by applying the stop-and-go flow technique, effluents pre-fractionated by CCC was further purified by a preparative column packed with octadecyl silane (ODS) as the second dimension. The interface between the two dimensions was comprised of a 6-port switching valve and an electronically controlled 2-position 10-port switching valve connected with two equivalent holding columns. To be highlighted here, this rationally designed interface for the purpose of smooth desalination, absorption and desorption, successfully solved the solvent compatibility problem between the two dimensional separation systems. The present integrated system was successfully applied in a one-step preparative separation and identification of 10 pure compounds from the water extracts of Tieguanyin tea (Chinese oolong tea). In short, all the results demonstrated that the on-line 2D CCC × LC method is an efficient and green approach for harvesting polar targets in a single step, which showed great promise in drug discovery.

Supplemental Digital Content is available in the text, Pleural effusion (PE) is a common clinical complication of many pulmonary and systemic diseases, including lung cancer and tuberculosis. Nevertheless, there is no clinical effective biomarker to identify the cause of PE. We attempted to investigate differential expressed exosomal miRNAs in PEs of lung adenocarcinoma (APE), tuberculous (TPE), and other benign lesions (NPE) by using deep sequencing and quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). As a result, 171 differentiated miRNAs were observed in 3 groups of PEs, and 11 significantly differentiated exosomal miRNAs were validated by qRT-PCR. We identified 9 miRNAs, including miR-205-5p, miR-483-5p, miR-375, miR-200c-3p, miR-429, miR-200b-3p, miR-200a-3p, miR-203a-3p, and miR-141-3p which were preferentially represented in exosomes derived from APE when compared with TPE or NPE, while 3 miRNAs, including miR-148a-3p, miR-451a, and miR-150-5p, were differentially expressed between TPE and NPE. These different miRNAs profiles may hold promise as biomarkers for differential diagnosis of PEs with more validation based on larger cohorts.

Chronic inflammation is one of the critical causes to promote the initiation and metastasis of solid malignancies including lung cancer (LC). Here, we aimed to investigate the prognostic roles of albumin (Alb)‐to‐fibrinogen (Fib) ratio (AFR), Fib and Alb in LC and to establish a novel effective nomogram combined with AFR. Four hundred twelve LC patients diagnosed between February 2005 and December 2014 were recruited in this prospective study. The prognostic roles of AFR, Fib, Alb, neutrophil‐to‐lymphocyte ratio (NLR), platelet‐to‐lymphocyte ratio (PLR) and monocyte‐to‐lymphocyte ratio (MLR) were identified by X‐tile software, Kaplan–Meier curve, Cox regression model, and time‐dependent ROC. Pretreatment high circulating Fib, low AFR, and Alb were significantly associated with increased risk of death for LC patients, especially for non‐small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients in all stages. The area under curves (AUCs) of AFR, Fib, and NLR were higher than them within Alb and PLR for predicting the survival of NSCLC patients. Moreover, we found that clinical outcome of high AFR patient with chemo‐radiotherapy was superior to low AFR patient; overall survival rate of stage II‐III NSCLC patients undergoing chemo‐radiotherapy was significantly lower than the surgical patients with treatment of adjuvant chemo‐radiotherapy(P = 0.001) in low AFR subgroup. On the contrary, clinical outcome of the patients receiving chemo‐radiotherapy was the same to the patients undergoing surgery and adjuvant chemo‐radiotherapy (P = 0.405) in high AFR subgroup. In addition, c‐index of predicted nomogram including AFR (0.717) for NSCLC patients with treatment of chemo‐radiotherapy was higher than that without AFR (0.707). Our findings demonstrated that circulating pretreatment AFR might be a potential biomarker to predict clinical efficacy of surgical resection and adjuvant chemo‐radiotherapy and be a prognostic biomarker for NSCLC individuals.

// Jing Zhang 1, * , Shu-Qi Li 1, * , Zhi-Hua Liao 2, * , Yu-Huan Jiang 1 , Qing-Gen Chen 1 , Bo Huang 1 , Jing Liu 1 , Yan-Mei Xu 1 , Jin Lin 1 , Hou-Qun Ying 1 and Xiao-Zhong Wang 1 1 Jiangxi Province Key Laboratory of Laboratory Medicine, Department of Clinical Laboratory, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University, Nanchang, 330006, China 2 Department of Clinical Laboratory, Jiangxi Provincial Maternal and Child Health Hospital, Nanchang, 330006, China * Authors contributed equally to this work Correspondence to: Xiao-Zhong Wang, email: wangxiaozhong@ncu.edu.cn Hou-Qun Ying, email: yinghouqun2013@163.com Keywords: inflammation, gastric cancer, prognosis, nomogram Received: March 07, 2017 Accepted: July 25, 2017 Published: September 06, 2017 ABSTRACT Background: Inflammation and nutrition are two main causes contributing to progression of gastric cancer (GC), and inflammatory biomarker may be presented as its valuable prognostic factor. Thus, this study was carried out to investigate the prognostic significance of preoperative circulating albumin/fibrinogen ratio (AFR), fibrinogen/pre-Albumin ratio (FPR), fibrinogen (Fib), albumin (Alb) and pre-Albumin (pAlb) in surgical GC. Materials and Methods: Three hundred and sixty surgical stage II and III GC patients from June 2011 to December 2013 were enrolled in this retrospective study. X-tile software, Kaplan–Meier curve and Cox regression model were used to evaluate the prognostic role of them. A predictive nomogram was established to predict prognosis of overall survival (OS), and its accuracy was assessed by concordance index (c-index). Results: Decreased Alb, pAlb, AFR and elevated FPR were significantly associated with shorter OS. FPR was identified as the most effective prognostic factor to predict 3-year’s OS by time-dependent ROC analysis. A long survival was observed in patients with low level of FPR and the prognosis of stage III FPR-low GC patients undergoing chemotherapy was significantly superior to the patients without the treatment ( P =0.002). However, no difference of survival was examined in stage II subgroups stratified by FPR and high FRP of stage III patients with or not the treatment of chemotherapy. C-index of nomogram containing FPR (c-index=0.756) was high in comparison with the nomogram without FPR (c-index =0.748). Conclusion: Preoperative FPR might be a feasible prognostic biomarker in surgical stage II and III GC and it could precisely distinguish stage III patients who appeared to obviously benefit from adjuvant chemotherapy. Meanwhile established nomogram based on clinical parameters and FPR could improve its predictive efficacy.

Welded components of low alloy steels are widely used in various applications. Stress reliving is very important to these welded structures. Vibration stress relief (VSR) is an relatively new method for this purpose. In this study, Q235 and Q345 steel plates were welded. Then they were treated by VSR. The microstructure of the welded lines were investigated and the residual stresses in two directions in these welded structures were measured. The difference of the efficiency of VSR on the two materials were investigate. It is found that, the decreasing amplitude of the residual stress in the Q235 welded structures significantly exceeded that in the Q345 welded structures. The grain size in the area near the weld lines is the main factor that affects the efficiency of the VSR treatment.

Stress relief on thick and large welded components is greatly needed in various applications, such as large oil transporting pipes and offshore oil platforms. Vibration stress relief (VSR) is an relatively new method for this purpose. The efficiency of this method is a key subject, especially when the components are extremely large and it is difficult to trigger sufficient vibration amplitude in the structures. In this study, additional heating on the area near the weld line was used to promote the efficiency of VSR. Both VSR and thermal-vibration compound stress relief (TVCSR) were used to 50mm thick DH 36 steel welded plates. The Longitudinal and transverse stresses near the weld lines before and after the treatments were investigated. Comparing to VSR, the TVCSR was more effective in decreasing the residual stress. Effects of additional heating was discussed.

Welded components of DH36 low alloy high strength steel are widely used in offshore oil platforms and ships building. Stress reliving treatments to these welded components is of great importance. Vibration stress relief (VSR) method is an novel technology to release stress in welded components. In this study, 10×200×1000mm DH 36 steel plates were welded and then treated by VSR for about 1 hour. After the treatment, the residual stress was decreased by 29-72% at the welded toe, where the highest residual stress occurs. The metallographic microstructure of the joint was not changed by VSR. Investigation by transmission electron microscope (TEM) revealed that the amount of dislocations was increased at the welded toe. We hope this study can provide theoretical and practical fundamentals for widespread application of VSR on welded offshore engineering components.

This paper introduces the design and realization of the Multi-function Tower Crane Black Box, completes the main hardware module design and type selection. With ZigBee, it constructing wireless sensor network to collect the communication among nodes and the communication between nodes and the gateway, the lower PC adopts the IAR to complete the chip CC2430 programming. The application development tool for the upper PC is C51RF - WSN - DA300, and it gives part of the source code. The system parameters acquisition is accurate, the operation is stable, and the actual application effect is good.

Chaihu-Shu-Gan-San (CSGS), a traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) formula containing seven herbal medicines, has been used in the clinical treatment of gastritis, peptic ulcer, irritable bowel syndrome and depression in China. In order to explore the interaction between naringin and other constituents in CSGS, the pharmacokinetic difference of naringin in rats after oral administration of CSGS aqueous extract and naringin alone was investigated. The pharmacokinetic parameters of naringin in rats were achieved by quantification of its aglycone, naringenin by LC-MS/MS method. The double peaks phenomenon was observed in both serum profiles of rats after orally administered CSGS aqueous extract and naringin alone. However, the T1/2b was significantly decreased in rats given CSGS aqueous extract compared with naringin alone, and the mean residence time (MRT) and the area under the serum concentration–time curve (AUC0-τ) were higher than those of naringin, which indicated that naringin in CSGS had higher bioavailability, longer term efficacy and somewhat faster metabolism and excretion than those of naringin. The results suggested that certain ingredients co-exist in CSGS could influence pharmacokinetic behavior of naringin. This also provides a reference for human studies.

Herein, we reported an Escherichia coli-based expression and purification method of recombinant porcine interferon alpha (rPoIFN-α). PoIFN-α coding sequence was cloned into pMD18-T vector and then subcloned into pET-32a (+) vector using standard recombinant DNA techniques and the resulting plasmid was transformed into BL21(DE3) competent cells. After induction with isopropyl-β-D-1-thiogalactopyranoside (IPTG), rPoIFN-α was purified from the supernatant of the bacteria lysate using a simple two-step chromatography process consisting of a Ni2+ affinity chromatography and a DEAE anion exchange chromatography. rPoIFN-α was purified to >95% homogeneity with a yield of 48 mg/L of culture. It has isoelectic point of 6.09 and bacterial endotoxin was less than 1 EU/mg. N-terminal amino acid sequence and the peptide map digested by trypsin provided additional evidence for the authenticity of rPoIFN-α. The biological activity of rPoIFN-α was 1.1×106 IU/ mL in HEp-2/ Vesicular Stomatitis Virus (VSV) titration system and its specific activity reached to 1.0×106 IU/mg. In conclusion, we obtained high-level expression of a soluble form of bioactive rPoIFN-α by using pET-32a (+) prokaryotic expression system.