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Li-Mian Song,1,&ast; Du-Juan Yao,1,&ast; Lin Xia,1 Xu-Ming Wang,2 Tian Liu,2 Qian-Qian Tang,1 Jun Zhou1 1Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, People’s Republic of China; 2Department of Pathology, Affiliated Hospital of Guilin Medical College, Guilin, People’s Republic of China&ast;These authors contributed equally to this workCorrespondence: Jun Zhou, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Union Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, People’s Republic of China, Email bbfat51740@sina.comPurpose: To explore the effect of DSG2 on the growth of cervical cancer cells and its possible regulatory mechanism.Methods: The expression levels and survival prognosis of DSG2 and ADAM17 in cervical squamous cell carcinoma tissues and adjacent normal tissues were analyzed by bioinformatics. CCK-8 assay, colony formation assay and Transwell assay were used to detect the effects of DSG2 on the proliferative activity, colony formation ability and migration ability of SiHa and Hela cells. The effect of DSG 2 on the level of ADAM17 transcription and translation was detected by qPCR and Western blot experiments. The interaction between DSG2 and c-MYC was detected by immunocoprecipitation. c-MYC inhibitors were used in HeLa cells overexpressing DSG2 to analyze the effects of DSG2 and c-MYC on proliferation, colony formation and migration of Hela cells, as well as the regulation of ADAM17 expression.Results: DSG2 was highly expressed in cervical squamous cell carcinoma compared with normal tissues (P< 0.05), and high DSG2 expression suggested poor overall survival (P< 0.05). After DSG2 knockdown, the proliferative activity, colony formation and migration ability of SiHa and Hela cells were significantly decreased (P< 0.05). Compared with adjacent normal tissues, ADAM17 was highly expressed in cervical squamous cell carcinoma (P< 0.05), and high ADAM17 expression suggested poor overall survival in cervical cancer patients (P< 0.05). The results of immunocoprecipitation showed the interaction between DSG2 and c-MYC. Compared with DSG2 overexpression group, DSG2 overexpression combined with c-MYC inhibition group significantly decreased cell proliferation, migration and ADAM17 expression (P < 0.05).Conclusion: DSG2 is highly expressed in cervical cancer, and inhibition of DSG2 expression can reduce the proliferation and migration ability of cervical cancer cells, which may be related to the regulation of ADAM17 expression through c-MYC interaction.Keywords: cervical cancer, proliferation, migration, DSG2, c-MYC, ADAM17

Ying Chen,1,2,&ast; Wen-Xia Li,1,2,&ast; Jia-Hua Wu,1,2 Geng-Hang Chen,2 Chun-Min Yang,1,2 Hai Lu,1,2 Xi Wang,3 Shu-Sen Wang,4 Heng Huang,5 Li Cai,6 Li Zhao,7 Rou-Jun Peng,8 Ying Lin,9 Jun Tang,3 Jian Zeng,10 Le-Hong Zhang,11 Yong-Li Ke,12 Xian-Ming Wang,13 Xin-Mei Liu,14 An-Qin Zhang,15 Fei Xu,4 Xi-Wen Bi,4 Jia-Jia Huang,4 Ji-Bin Li,16 Dan-Mei Pang,17 Cong Xue,4 Yan-Xia Shi,4 Zhen-Yu He,18 Huan-Xin Lin,18 Xin An,4 Wen Xia,4 Ye Cao,16 Ying Guo,16 Ruo-Xi Hong,4 Kui-Kui Jiang,4 Yong-Yi Zhong,4 Ge Zhang,19 Piyawan Tienchaiananda,20 Masahiro Oikawa,21 Zhong-Yu Yuan,4 Qian-Jun Chen22,23 1Department of Breast Surgery, Guangdong Provincial Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou, People’s Republic of China; 2Department of Breast Surgery, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou, People’s Republic of China; 3Department of Breast Oncology, Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center, the State Key Laboratory of Oncology in South China, Collaborative Innovation Center for Cancer Medicine, Guangzhou, People’s Republic of China; 4Department of Medical Oncology, Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center, the State Key Laboratory of Oncology in South China, Collaborative Innovation Center for Cancer Medicine, Guangzhou, People’s Republic of China; 5Department of Breast Oncology, Lianjiang People’s Hospital, Lianjiang, People’s Republic of China; 6Department of Medical Oncology, The Affiliated Tumour Hospital of Harbin Medical University, Harbin, People’s Republic of China; 7Department of Breast Oncology, Guangzhou First People Hospital, Guangzhou, People’s Republic of China; 8Department of Integrated Therapy in Oncology, Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center, the State Key Laboratory of Oncology in South China, Collaborative Innovation Center for Cancer Medicine, Guangzhou, People’s Republic of China; 9Department of Breast Oncology, The First Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, People’s Republic of China; 10Department of Breast Oncology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Guangxi Medical University, Nanning, Guangxi, People’s Republic of China; 11Department of Breast Oncology, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, People’s Republic of China; 12Department of Breast Oncology, General Hospital of PLA Guangzhou Military Area, Guangzhou, People’s Republic of China; 13Department of Breast Oncology, Shenzhen Second People’s Hospital, Shenzhen, People’s Republic of China; 14Department of Breast Oncology, Haikou People’s Hospital, Haikou, People’s Republic of China; 15Department of Breast Oncology, Maternal and Child Health Care Hospital of Guangdong Province, Guangzhou, People’s Republic of China; 16Department of Good Clinical Practice, Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center, the State Key Laboratory of Oncology in South China, Collaborative Innovation Center for Cancer Medicine, Guangzhou, People’s Republic of China; 17Department of Medical Oncology, Foshan First People’s Hospital, Foshan, People’s Republic of China; 18Department of Radiotherapy, Sun Yat-sen University Cancer Center, the State Key Laboratory of Oncology in South China, Collaborative Innovation Center for Cancer Medicine, Guangzhou, People’s Republic of China; 19Law Sau Fai Institute for Advancing Translational Medicine in Bone and Joint Diseases (TMBJ), School of Chinese Medicine, Hong Kong Baptist University, Hong Kong; 20Division of Medical Oncology, Department of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Rangsit University, Rajavithi Hospital, Bangkok, Thailand; 21The Department of Breast Surgery, New-wa-kai Oikawa Hospital, Fukuoka, Japan; 22State Key Laboratory of Traditional Chinese Medicine Syndrome/Departments of Gynecologic Oncology, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou, People’s Republic of China; 23State Key Laboratory of Traditional Chinese Medicine Syndrome, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou University of Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou, People’s Republic of China&ast;These authors contributed equally to this workCorrespondence: Qian-Jun Chen, 55N, Neihuanxi Road, Guangzhou, Guangdong, 510006, People’s Republic of China, Tel +86 1868883505, Email cqj55@163.com Zhong-Yu Yuan, 651 Dongfeng Road, Guangzhou, Guangdong, 510060, People’s Republic of China, Tel +86 13798027658, Email yuanzhy@sysucc.org.cnPurpose: Results from studies of extended capecitabine after the standard adjuvant chemotherapy in early stage triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) were inconsistent, and only low-dose capecitabine from the SYSUCC-001 trial improved disease-free survival (DFS). Adjustment of the conventional adjuvant chemotherapy doses affect the prognosis and may affect the efficacy of subsequent treatments. This study investigated whether the survival benefit of the SYSUCC-001 trial was affected by dose adjustment of the standard adjuvant chemotherapy or not.Patients and Methods: We reviewed the adjuvant chemotherapy regimens before the extended capecitabine in the SYSUCC-001 trial. Patients were classified into “consistent” (standard acceptable dose) and “inconsistent” (doses lower than acceptable dose) dose based on the minimum acceptable dose range in the landmark clinical trials. Cox proportional hazards model was used to investigate the impact of dose on the survival outcomes.Results: All 434 patients in SYSUCC-001 trial were enrolled in this study. Most of patients administered the anthracycline-taxane regimen accounted for 88.94%. Among patients in the “inconsistent” dose, 60.8% and 47% received lower doses of anthracycline and taxane separately. In the observation group, the “inconsistent” dose of anthracycline and taxane did not affect DFS compared with the “consistent” dose. Moreover, in the capecitabine group, the “inconsistent” anthracycline dose did not affect DFS compared with the “consistent” dose. However, patients with “consistent” taxane doses benefited significantly from extended capecitabine (P=0.014). The sufficient dose of adjuvant taxane had a positive effect of extended capecitabine (hazard ratio [HR] 2.04; 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.02 to 4.06).Conclusion: This study found the dose reduction of adjuvant taxane might negatively impact the efficacy of capecitabine. Therefore, the reduction of anthracycline dose over paclitaxel should be given priority during conventional adjuvant chemotherapy, if patients need dose reduction and plan for extended capecitabine.Keywords: adjuvant chemotherapy, capecitabine, SYSUCC-001, triple-negative breast cancer, TNBC

Qiu-Yu Tang,1,&ast; Yu-Lin Zhong,2,&ast; Xin-Miao Wang,3,&ast; Bing-Lin Huang,1 Wei-Guo Qin,4 Xin Huang2 1College of Clinical Medicine, Jiangxi University of Chinese Medicine, Nanchang City, Jiangxi, 330004, People’s Republic of China; 2Department of Ophthalmology, Jiangxi Provincial People’s Hospital, The First Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang Medical College, Nanchang, Jiangxi, 330006, People’s Republic of China; 3School of Ophthalmology and Optometry, Jiangxi Medical College, Nanchang University, Nanchang, Jiangxi, 330000, People’s Republic of China; 4Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery, The 908th Hospital of Chinese People’s Liberation Army Joint Logistic Support Force’, Nanchang, People’s Republic of China&ast;These authors contributed equally to this workCorrespondence: Xin Huang, Department of ophthalmology, Jiangxi Provincial People’s Hospital, No. 152, Ai Guo Road, Dong Hu District, Nanchang, Jiangxi, 330006, People’s Republic of China, Tel +86 15879215294, Email 334966891@qq.comObjective: Primary angle-closure glaucoma (PACG) is a globally prevalent, irreversible eye disease leading to blindness. Previous neuroimaging studies demonstrated that PACG patients were associated with gray matter function changes. However, whether the white matter(WM) function changes in PACG patients remains unknown. The purpose of the study is to investigate WM function changes in the PACG patients.Methods: In total, 40 PACG patients and 40 well-matched HCs participated in our study and underwent resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI) scans. We compared between-group differences between PACG patients and HC in the WM function using amplitude of low-frequency fluctuations (ALFF). In addition, the SVM method was applied to the construction of the PACG classification model.Results: Compared with the HC group, ALFF was attenuated in right posterior thalamic radiation (include optic radiation), splenium of corpus callosum, and left tapetum in the PACG group, the results are statistically significant (GRF correction, voxel-level P < 0.001, cluster-level P < 0.05). Furthermore, the SVM classification had an accuracy of 80.0% and an area under the curve (AUC) of 0.86 for distinguishing patients with PACG from HC.Conclusion: The findings of our study uncover abnormal WM functional alterations in PACG patients and mainly involves vision-related regions. These findings provide new insights into widespread brain damage in PACG from an alternative WM functional perspective.Keywords: primary angle-closure glaucoma, amplitude of low frequency fluctuations, white matter, support vector machine

Rui-Gui Zhang,1– 3 Yu-Mei Liu,2– 4 Zhi-Ye Yao,2,3 Jing-Xuan Fang,4 Yuan Li,2– 4 Man-Li Zheng,2,3 Xin Sun,2,3 Shu-Sheng Wen,4,5 Xi-Meng Wang,4,6 Jian Zhuang,4 Dan-Dong Luo,4 Shao-Ru He1– 3 1The Second School of Clinical Medicine, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, 510260, People’s Republic of China; 2Department of Neonatal Pediatrics, Guangdong Provincial People’s Hospital (Guangdong Academy of Medical Sciences), Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, 510080, People’s Republic of China; 3Department of Pediatrics, Guangdong Provincial People’s Hospital (Guangdong Academy of Medical Sciences), Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, 510080, People’s Republic of China; 4Guangdong Cardiovascular Institute, Guangdong Provincial People’s Hospital, Guangdong Academy of Medical Sciences, Guangzhou, 510080, People’s Republic of China; 5Department of Cardiovascular Surgery, Guangdong Cardiovascular Institute, Guangdong Provincial People’s Hospital, Guangdong Academy of Medical Sciences, Guangzhou, 510080, People’s Republic of China; 6Global Health Research Center, Guangdong Provincial People’s Hospital, Guangdong Academy of Medical Sciences, Guangzhou, 510080, People’s Republic of ChinaCorrespondence: Shao-Ru He, Department of NICU, Guangdong Provincial People’s Hospital (Guangdong Academy of Medical Sciences, No. 106 of Zhongshan 2nd Road, Yuexiu District, Guangzhou, 510080, People’s Republic of China, Tel +8620-83827812, Email Hshru_rsh@163.comBackground: Studies of chylothorax after congenital heart disease in infants are rare. Chylothorax has a higher incidence in infancy, but its risk factors are not well understood.Objective: The purpose of this study is to investigate the risk factors of chylothorax after congenital heart surgery in infants.Methods: This retrospective study included 176 infants who underwent congenital heart disease surgery at the Guangdong Cardiovascular Institute, China, between 2016 and 2020. According to the occurrence of chylothorax, the patients were divided into a control group (n = 88) and a case group (n = 88). Univariate and multivariate logistic regression were performed to analyse the incidence and influencing factors of chylothorax after congenital heart surgery in infants.Results: Between 2016 and 2020, the annual incidence rate fluctuated between 1.55% and 3.17%, and the total incidence of chylothorax was 2.02%. Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that postoperative albumin (p = 0.041; odds ratio [OR] = 0.095), preoperative mechanical ventilation (p = 0.001; OR = 1.053) and preterm birth (p = 0.002; OR = 5.783) were risk factors for postoperative chylothorax in infants with congenital heart disease.Conclusion: The total incidence of chylothorax was 2.02% and the annual incidence rate fluctuated between 1.55% and 3.17% between 2016 and 2020. Premature infants, longer preoperative mechanical ventilation and lower albumin after congenital heart surgery may be risk factors for chylothorax. In addition, infants with chylothorax are inclined to be infected, need more respiratory support, use a chest drainage tube for longer and remain longer in hospital.Keywords: congenital heart surgery, congenital heart disease, postoperative chylothorax, infant, risk factor

Hong-Xia Duan, Xiu-Mei Wang, Yue Guo, Ling Wei, Rui-Xia Hao, Zhen-Shan Guo Department of Surgery, Shanxi Bethune Hospital (Shanxi Academy of Medical Sciences), Taiyuan, Shanxi, People’s Republic of ChinaCorrespondence: Hong-Xia Duan, Department of Surgery, Shanxi Bethune Hospital (Shanxi Academy of Medical Sciences), No. 99 Longcheng Street, Taiyuan, Shanxi, People’s Republic of China, Tel +86-3518379228, Email Duan_hongxia@yeah.netObjective: To investigate the application of a multidisciplinary collaboration model to optimise the configuration management of orthopaedic external device sets in general hospitals.Methods: A pretest–post-test study design was used. Sixty patients who underwent unilateral total knee arthroplasty and 60 patients who underwent posterior lumbar interbody fusion between March and May 2022 were recruited as the control stage. Additionally, a total of 120 patients, 60 of each, who underwent the two procedures between September and November 2022, were recruited as the experimental stage. For the control stage, conventional external equipment management was used, and for the experimental stage, an external device management programme was implemented based on multidisciplinary collaboration with the control stage. Based on the PDSA cycle, the configuration management of orthopaedic external device sets was optimised, and the differences in collating and counting external devices, nurses’ overtime in the external device stage and orthopaedic surgeon satisfaction were compared between the two stages.Results: Compared with the control stage, the collation count took less time (8.65 ± 0.25 min vs 5.37 ± 0.13 min; 13.55 ± 1.10 min vs 7.85 ± 0.82 min), the number of overtime hours was shorter (175.80 ± 12.19 min vs 96.68 ± 13.66 min) and orthopaedic surgeon satisfaction was improved (4.58 ± 0.62 vs 4.10 ± 0.68; 4.33 ± 0.73 vs 3.87 ± 0.77; 4.20 ± 0.71 vs 3.82 ± 0.71; 4.12 ± 0.69 vs 3.87 ± 0.72; 4.05 ± 0.68 vs 3.79 ± 0.68) in the experimental stage (all P < 0.05).Conclusion: Multidisciplinary collaboration offers various benefits for optimising the configuration of external device sets, such as reducing the time taken for the preoperative sorting and counting of external devices, enhancing nurses’ work efficiency and improving surgeons’ job satisfaction; therefore, it is worthy of reference in clinical practice.Keywords: operating theatre, optimisation configuration, external instruments, item counting, scientific management, work efficiency

Yi-Zi Zheng,1,2 Hong-Bin Qin,1 Zi-Zheng Li,1 He-Sheng Jiang,3 Greg Zhang,4 Shi-Wei Yang,5 Xian-Ming Wang,2 Yang-Chun Xu,1 Zhen-Han Deng,6 Guo-Wen Liu2 1Department of Thyroid and Breast Surgery, The People’s Hospital of Hechi, Hechi, Guangxi, People’s Republic of China; 2Department of Thyroid and Breast Surgery, Shenzhen Breast Tumor Research Center for Diagnosis and Treatment, National Standardization Center for Breast Cancer Diagnosis and Treatment, The First Affiliated Hospital of Shenzhen University, Shenzhen Second People’s Hospital, Shenzhen, Guangdong, People’s Republic of China; 3Department of Surgery, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, OR, USA; 4McGovern Medical School, University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, Houston, TX, USA; 5Teaching Office, The First Affiliated Hospital of Shenzhen University, Shenzhen Second People’s Hospital, Shenzhen, Guangdong, People’s Republic of China; 6Department of Sports Medicine, the First Affiliated Hospital of Shenzhen University, Shenzhen Second People’s Hospital, Shenzhen, Guangdong, People’s Republic of ChinaCorrespondence: Yang-Chun XuDepartment of Thyroid and Breast Surgery, The People’s Hospital of Hechi, Middle 455 Jinchengjiang Road, Hechi, 547000, Guangxi, People’s Republic of ChinaTel/Fax +86-778-2293900Email xuyangchun2010@163.comYi-Zi ZhengDepartment of Thyroid and Breast Surgery, Shenzhen Breast Tumor Research Center for Diagnosis and Treatment, National Standardization Center for Breast Cancer Diagnosis and Treatment, The First Affiliated Hospital of Shenzhen University, Shenzhen Second People’s Hospital, 3002 Sungang West Road, Shenzhen, 518035, Guangdong, People’s Republic of ChinaTel/Fax +86-755-83366388Email 14111230029@fudan.edu.cnPurpose: Ductal carcinoma in situ with microinvasion (DCISM) can be challenging to balance the risks of overtreatment versus undertreatment. We aim to identify prognostic factors in patients with DCISM and construct a nomogram to predict breast cancer-specific survival (BCSS).Materials and Methods: A retrospective cohort study of women diagnosed with DCISM from 1988 to 2015 who were identified in the Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results database. Clinical variables and tumor characteristics were evaluated, and Cox proportional-hazards regression was performed. A nomogram was constructed from the multivariate logistic regression to combine all the prognostic factors to predict the prognosis of DCISM patients at 5 years, 10 years, and 15 years.Results: We identified 5438 total eligible breast cancer patients with a median and max survival time of 78 and 227 months, respectively. Here, patients with poorer survival outcomes were those diagnosed between 1988 and 2001, African-American race, under 40 years of age, higher tumor N stage, progesterone receptor-negative tumor, and received no surgery. The nomogram was constructed by the seven variables and passed the calibration and validation steps. The area under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve (AUC) of both the training set and the validating set (5-year AUC: 0.77 and 0.88, 10-year AUC: 0.75 and 0.73, 15-year AUC: 0.72 and 0.65). Receiving chemotherapy was associated with a better BCSS (hazard ratio, HR=0.45, 95% confidence interval, 95% CI = 0.23– 0.89), especially in patients with estrogen receptor (ER) negative, progesterone receptor (PR) negative (HR = 0.35, 95% CI = 0.13– 0.97) and ER+PR-/ER-PR+ DCISM (HR = 0.07, 95% CI = 0.01– 0.59).Conclusion: Our current study is the first to construct nomograms of patients with DCISM which could help physicians identify breast cancer patients that more likely to benefit from more intensive treatment and follow-up. Chemotherapy might benefit patients with ER-PR- and ER+PR-/ER-PR+ DCISM.Keywords: breast cancer, ductal carcinoma in situ, microinvasion, nomogram, survival

Hai-Yan Ma,1,2 Xue-Mei Wang,1,2 Xiao-Jie Huang,2 Cheng-Jia Yang,2 Dong-Fang Sheng,2 Jing-Jing Yang,2 Ming-Zhi Xu2 1The Second School of Clinical Medicine, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, People’s Republic of China; 2Guangdong Mental Health Center, Guangdong Provincial People’s Hospital, Guangdong Academy of Medical Sciences, Guangzhou, Guangdong, People’s Republic of ChinaCorrespondence: Ming-Zhi XuGuangdong Mental Health Center, Guangdong Provincial People’s Hospital, Guangdong Academy of Medical Sciences, No. 123 Huifu West Road, Guangzhou, 510120, Guangdong, People’s Republic of ChinaTel +86 81888553Fax +86 81862664Email mingzhixu@126.comObjective: This study aimed to evaluate the psychometric properties of the Chinese version of the Clinically Useful Depression Outcome Scale (CUDOS).Methods: One hundred ninety patients with major depressive disorder (MDD) according to Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM-5) criteria were recruited to the study. The English version of the CUDOS was translated into Chinese using a forward and backward translation method, which was according to the guidelines of adaptation and validation of instruments in cross-cultural health care research. The Chinese version of the CUDOS, the 17-item Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression (HRSD) and the improved Clinical Global Impression-Severity Scale (iCGI-S) were used to evaluate depressive symptoms in one hundred ninety patients with MDD. One week after the first evaluation, sixteen patients were selected randomly for a second assessment. Reliability and validity tests and receiver operating characteristic curves were performed.Results: The internal consistency of the CUDOS was 0.95, and the split-half reliability coefficient of the CUDOS was 0.92. The correlation coefficient of the retest in sixteen patients was 0.77 (P < 0.01). There was a significant difference in the total score of the Chinese version of the CUDOS between the different levels of depression severity groups (P < 0.01). The ability of the CUDOS to identify patients in remission was high (area under ROC curve= 0.97). A cut-off score of 14/15 yielded 90.20% sensitivity and 93.60% specificity when iCGI-S=1.Conclusion: The Chinese version of the CUDOS is valuable as a brief and reliable instrument to assess depressive symptoms and clinical outcome. The findings suggest that the optimal cut-off score to identify patients in remission was 14/15.Keywords: MDD, the Chinese version of CUDOS, validity, reliability, cut-off score

Photochemical smog, characterized by high concentrations of ozone (O3) and fine particles (PM2.5) in the atmosphere, has become one of the top environmental concerns in China. Volatile organic compounds (VOCs), one of the key precursors of O3 and secondary organic aerosol (SOA) (an important component of PM2.5), have a critical influence on atmospheric chemistry and subsequently affect regional and global climate. Thus, VOCs have been extensively studied in many cities and regions in China, especially in the North China Plain, the Yangtze River Delta and the Pearl River Delta regions where photochemical smog pollution has become increasingly worse over recent decades. This paper reviews the main studies conducted in China on the characteristics and sources of VOCs, their relationship with O3 and SOA, and their removal technology. This paper also provides an integrated literature review on the formulation and implementation of effective control strategies of VOCs and photochemical smog, as well as suggestions for future directions of VOCs study in China.

The α decay rate of Po210 was measured in a film sample (Po210@Bi2O3) and a slice sample (Po210@Bimetal), respectively. The former was used as a reference sample. The half-lives of Po210@Bi2O3 and Po210@Bi metal environments were observed to be (138.40±0.21d) and (138.87±0.87d) at room temperature, respectively. It was found that the half-life of Po210 is consistent with international recommendations within the uncertainty limits, and we did not find any deviation of the α decay rate of Po210 between film sample (Po210@Bi2O3) and slice sample (Po210@Bimetal).

The α decay rate of Po210 was measured in a film sample (Po210@Bi2O3) and a slice sample (Po210@Bimetal), respectively. The former was used as a reference sample. The half-lives of Po210@Bi2O3 and Po210@Bi metal environments were observed to be (138.40±0.21d) and (138.87±0.87d) at room temperature, respectively. It was found that the half-life of Po210 is consistent with international recommendations within the uncertainty limits, and we did not find any deviation of the α decay rate of Po210 between film sample (Po210@Bi2O3) and slice sample (Po210@Bimetal).

The accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) is an effective method for the determination of the half-life of long-lived radionuclides. In this paper, we report a method for measurement of the half-life of 79Se. The number of 79Se atoms was determined from measured 79Se/Se absolute ratios with the AMS system at the China Institute of Atomic Energy and the decay rate of 79Se was determined by counting the emitted β-rays with a liquid scintillation spectrometer. The major improvements of our measurements include using the high abundance of an 79Se sample which was cooled for many years to exclude the interference of short-lived nuclides, the extraction of SeO2- molecular ions, that results in a suppression of the 79Br background by as much as about five orders of magnitude. Also, an AMS measurement of the absolute ratio of 79Se/Se was developed to avoid systematic errors. The results show that 79Se/Se is (2.35±0.12)×10-7 in the reference sample and the radioactivity of 79Se is (1.24±0.05) Bq/g, so the half-life of 79Se is (2.78±0.18)×105 a.

A photochemical trajectory model (PTM), coupled with the Master Chemical Mechanism (MCM) describing the degradation of 139 volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in the troposphere, was developed and used for the first time to simulate the formation of photochemical pollutants at Wangqingsha (WQS), Guangzhou during photochemical pollution episodes between 12 and 17 November, 2007. The simulated diurnal variations and mixing ratios of ozone were in good agreement with observed data (R2=0.80, P

Xi Lin,1 Cai Chang,2,3 Changjun Wu,4 Qin Chen,5 Yulan Peng,6 Baoming Luo,7 Lina Tang,8 Jing Li,9 Jihui Zheng,10 Ruhai Zhou,11 Guanghe Cui,12 Ao Li,13 Xuemei Wang,14 Linxue Qian,15 Jianxing Zhang,16 Chaoyang Wen,17 Joel Gay,18 Huili Zhang,18 Anhua Li,1 Yaling Chen2,3 1State Key Laboratory of Oncology in Southern China, Department of Ultrasound, Sun Yat-Sen University Cancer Center, Guangzhou 510060, P. R. China; 2Department of Ultrasound, Fudan University Shanghai Cancer Center, Shanghai 200032, P. R. China; 3Department of Oncology, Shanghai Medical College, Fudan University, Shanghai 200032, P. R. China; 4Department of Ultrasound, First Affiliated Hospital of Harbin Medical University, Harbin 150001, P. R. China; 5Department of Ultrasound, Sichuan Academy of Medical Sciences, Sichuan Provincial People’s Hospital, Chengdu 610072, P. R. China; 6Department of Ultrasound, West China Hospital of Sichuan University, Chengdu 610041, P. R. China; 7Department of Ultrasound, Sun Yat-Sen Memorial Hospital, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou 510235, P. R. China; 8Department of Ultrasound, Fujian Provincial Cancer Hospital, Fuzhou 350014, P. R. China; 9Department of Ultrasound, Shengjing Hospital of China Medical University, Shenyang 110004, P. R. China; 10Department of Ultrasound, The Fourth Affiliated Hospital of China Medical University, Shenyang 110032, P. R. China; 11Department of Ultrasound, Yinzhou Hospital Affiliated to Medical School of Ningbo University, Ningbo 315040, P. R. China; 12Department of Ultrasound, Binzhou Medical University Hospital, Binzhou 256603, P. R. China; 13Department of Ultrasound, Jiangsu Province Hospital, Nanjing 210029, P. R. China; 14Department of Ultrasound, The First Hospital of China Medical University, Shenyang 110001, P. R. China; 15Department of Ultrasound, Beijing Friendship Hospital of Capital Medical University, Beijing 100050, P. R. China; 16Department of Ultrasound, Guangdong Provincial Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Guangzhou 510120, P. R. China; 17Department of Ultrasound, First Affiliated Hospital of PLA General Hospital, Beijing 100037, P. R. China; 18Supersonic Imagine, Aix-en-Provence, France Purpose: This study aimed to investigate the value of shear wave elastography (SWE) for characterization of breast masses in a Chinese population. Patients and methods: Two thousand two hundred seventy-three women consented to be prospectively enrolled for the characterization of breast masses with ultrasound and SWE. Breast masses were known from symptoms, palpability, and/or previous imaging screening with mammography and/or ultrasound. Correlation of SWE qualitative and quantitative features with malignancy risk and impact on diagnostic performance of combining SWE features were assessed, and the Breast Imaging Reporting and Data System (BI-RADS) scoring was calculated using histopathology as reference. Results: Data of 2,262 masses (median size: 13 mm; range: 1.3–50) from 2,262 patients (median age: 43 years; range: 18–91) were investigated, of which 752 (33.3%) were malignant. Sensitivity and specificity of BI-RADS diagnosis were 97.5% (733/752) and 54.8% (827/1,510), respectively. By logistic regression, the combination of maximum elasticity (Emax) measurements with BI-RADS assessments increased the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve from 0.908 (95% CI: 0.896–0.920) to 0.954 (95% CI: 0.944–0.962). Using Emax of 30 kPa or lower to selectively downgrade BI-RADS 4a masses to follow-up, and Emax of 160 kPa or higher to selectively upgrade BI-RADS 3 lesions to biopsy, specificity significantly increased from 54.8% (827/1,510) to 66.1% (998/1,510) (P

Shenglian Yao,1,2 Shukui Yu,3 Zheng Cao,2 Yongdong Yang,2,4 Xing Yu,4 Hai-Quan Mao,5 Lu-Ning Wang,1 Xiaodan Sun,2 Lingyun Zhao,2 Xiumei Wang2 1School of Materials Science and Engineering, University of Science and Technology Beijing, Beijing, China; 2Key Laboratory of Advanced Materials of Ministry of Education, School of Materials Science and Engineering, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China; 3Department of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery, Beijing Friendship Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China; 4Department of Orthopedics, Dongzhimen Hospital, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing, China; 5Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA Background: Designing novel biomaterials that incorporate or mimic the functions of extracellular matrix to deliver precise regulatory signals for tissue regeneration is the focus of current intensive research efforts in tissue engineering and regenerative medicine. Methods and results: To mimic the natural environment of the spinal cord tissue, a three-dimensional hierarchically aligned fibrin hydrogel (AFG) with oriented topography and soft stiffness has been fabricated by electrospinning and a concurrent molecular self-assembling process. In this study, the AFG was implanted into a rat dorsal hemisected spinal cord injury model to bridge the lesion site. Host cells invaded promptly along the aligned fibrin hydrogels to form aligned tissue cables in the first week, and then were followed by axonal regrowth. At 4 weeks after the surgery, neurofilament (NF)-positive staining fibers were detected near the rostral end as well as the middle site of defect, which aligned along the tissue cables. Abundant NF- and GAP-43-positive staining indicated new axon regrowth in the oriented tissue cables, which penetrated throughout the lesion site in 8 weeks. Additionally, the abundant blood vessels marked with RECA-1 had reconstructed within the lesion site at 4 weeks after surgery. Basso-Beattie-Bresnahan scoring showed that the locomotor performance of the AFG group recovered much faster than that of blank control group or the random fibrin hydrogel (RFG) group from 2 weeks after surgery. Furthermore, diffusion tensor imaging tractography of MRI confirmed the optimal axon fiber reconstruction compared with the RFG and control groups. Conclusion: Taken together, our results suggested that the AFG scaffold provided an inductive matrix for accelerating directional host cell invasion, vascular system reconstruction, and axonal regrowth, which could promote and support extensive aligned axonal regrowth and locomotor function recovery. Keywords: spinal cord injury, nerve regrowth, fibrin hydrogel, aligned structure, soft stiffness

On 8 selected days between 25 October and 1 December 2007, 198 whole air samples were simultaneously collected at two sites in the greater Pearl River Delta (PRD), namely, Wan Qing Sha (WQS) in inland PRD and Tung Chung (TC) in Hong Kong, for the evaluation of halocarbons including chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs) and other chlorinated compounds. The mean mixing ratios of CFC-12, CH3CCl3, CH3Br, C2HCl3, and C2Cl4 at WQS were much higher than those at TC (p < 0.001), while HCFC-22 was higher at TC (p < 0.01). Long-lived species such as CFC-11, CFC-12, and CFC-113 showed similar temporal patterns on most sampling days with small daily variation, whereas the main species used as solvents such as C2HCl3 and C 2Cl4 presented large daily variations though with consistent temporal patterns. Source profile analysis revealed that although there was no remarkable change in emission sources between 2001-2002 and 2007, the emissions of CFCs and CCl4 from the production of refrigeration in 2007 were 1.4-2.0 times those in 2001-2002, and the use of HCFC-22 has significantly increased in these years while the use of C2HCl 3 and C2Cl4 in the electronics industry showed a remarkable reduction. By comparing the halocarbon data collected in this study with those observed by other research teams in recent years, we found that the levels of CFCs have declined since 2001, while their substitute HCFC-22 has increased in emissions in recent years, especially in Hong Kong. The annual trends are consistent with the implementation of the Montreal Protocol. The results obtained in this study provide useful information to local government on effective control of halocarbon emissions in this region. Copyright 2010 by the American Geophysical Union.

In the fall of 2007 concurrent air sampling field measurements were conducted for the first time in Guangzhou (at Wan Qing Sha (WQS)) and Hong Kong (at Tung Chung (TC)), two cities in the rapidly developing Pearl River Delta region of China that are only 62 km apart. This region is known to suffer from poor air quality, especially during the autumn and winter months, when the prevailing meteorological conditions bring an outflow of continental air to the region. An interesting multiday O3 pollution event (daily maximum O3 > 122 ppbv) was captured during 9-17 November at WQS, while only one O3 episode day (10 November) was observed at TC during this time. The mean O3 mixing ratios at TC and WQS during the episode were 38 3 (mean 95% confidence interval) and 51 7 ppbv, respectively, with a mean difference of 13 ppbv and a maximum hourly difference of 150 ppbv. We further divided this event into two periods: 9-11 November as Period 1 and 12-17 November as Period 2. The mixing ratios of O3 and its precursors (NOx and CO) showed significant differences between the two periods at TC. By contrast, no obvious difference was found at WQS, indicating that different air masses arrived at TC for the two periods, as opposed to similar air masses at WQS for both periods. The analysis of VOC ratios and their relationship with O3 revealed strong O3 production at WQS during Period 2, in contrast to relatively weak photochemical O3 formation at TC. The weather conditions implied regional transport of O 3 pollution during Period 1 at both sites. Furthermore, a comprehensive air quality model system (Weather Research and Forecasting-Community Multiscale Air Quality model (WRF-CMAQ)) was used to simulate this O3 pollution event. The model system generally reproduced the variations of weather conditions, simulated well the continuous high O3 episode event at WQS, and captured fairly well the elevated O3 mixing ratios in Period 1 and low O3 levels in Period 2 at TC. The modeled surface O3 distributions and flow structures clearly illustrated the occurrence of O3 formation and the impact of regional transport on O3 levels in Period 1 in the Pearl River Delta. Further analysis of O3 formation indicated that horizontal transport was the main contributor to the O3 increase at TC during Period 1, while at WQS O3 levels were dominated by photochemical production during both periods. The low O3 levels at TC during Period 2 were attributable to lower temperatures and the arrival of fresh maritime air masses brought in by strong easterly winds. This study highlights how contrasting precursor concentrations and photochemical conditions can occur over a very small distance, and it provides a rare opportunity to better understand ozone production and precursor source origins on a finer scale in this region. © 2010 by the American Geophysical Union.

Jiyang Han,1 Yan Li,2 Xumei Wang1 1Department of Psychiatry, Shengjing Hospital of China Medical University, Shenyang, Liaoning, China; 2Department of Cell Biology, Key Laboratory of Cell Biology, Ministry of Public Health, China Medical University, Shenyang, Liaoning, China Objective: The current study aimed to explore the association of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) within catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) and dopamine receptors with schizophrenia and genetic association with risperidone treatment response.Methods: A total of 690 schizophrenic patients (case group) were selected and 430 healthy people were included as the controls. All patients received risperidone treatment continuously for 8 weeks. Next, peripheral venous blood samples were collected and were subjected to polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism to amplify and genotype the SNPs within COMT and dopamine receptors. Then, correlation analysis was conducted between Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale improvement rates and SNPs within COMT and the dopamine receptor gene.Results: The allele of DRD1 rs11749676 (A) emerged as a key element in reducing schizophrenia risk with statistical significance (P

Guangzhou (GZ) is one of the highly industrialized and economically vibrant cities in China, yet it remains relatively understudied in terms of its air quality, which has become severely degraded. In this study, extensive air sampling campaigns had been conducted at GZ urban sites and in Dinghu Mountain (DM), a rural site, in the Pearl River Delta (PRD) during the spring of 2001 and 2005. Additionally, roadside and tunnel samples were collected in GZ in 2000 and 2005. Later, exhaust samples from liquefied petroleum gas (LPG)- and gasoline-fueled taxis were collected in 2006. All samples were analyzed for C2-C10 non-methane hydrocarbons (NMHCs). NMHC profiles showed significant differences in the exhaust samples between gasoline- and LPG-fueled taxis. Propane (47%) was the dominant hydrocarbon in the exhaust of the LPG-fueled taxis, while ethene (35%) was the dominant one in that of gasoline-fueled taxis. The use of LPG-fueled buses and taxis since 2003 and the leakage from these LPG-fueled vehicles were the major factors for the much higher level of propane in GZ urban area in 2005 compared to 2001. The mixing ratios of toluene, ethylbenzene, m/p-xylene and o-xylene decreased at the GZ and DM sites between 2001 and 2005, especially for toluene in GZ, despite the sharp increase in the number of registered motor vehicles in GZ. This phenomenon was driven in part by the closure of polluting industries as well as the upgrading of the road network in urban GZ and in part by the implementation of more stringent emission standards for polluting industries and motor vehicles in the PRD region. © 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

In a study conducted in late summer 2000, a wide range of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) were measured throughout five target cities in the Pearl River Delta (PRD) region of south China. Twenty-eight nonmethane hydrocarbons (NMHCs; 13 saturated, 9 unsaturated, and 6 aromatic) are discussed. The effect of rapid industrialization was studied for three categories of landuse in the PRD: Industrial, industrial-urban, and industrial-suburban. The highest VOC mixing ratios were observed in industrial areas. Despite its relatively short atmospheric lifetime (2-3 days), toluene, which is largely emitted from industrial solvent use and vehicular emissions, was the most abundant NMHC quantified. Ethane, ethene, ethyne, propane, n-butane, i-pentane, benzene, and m-xylene were the next most abundant VOCs. Direct emissions from industrial activities were found to greatly impact the air quality in nearby neighborhoods. These emissions lead to large concentration variations for many VOCs in the five PRD study cities. Good correlations between isoprene and several short-lived combustion products were found in industrial areas, suggesting that in addition to biogenic sources, anthropogenic emissions may contribute to urban isoprene levels. This study provides a snapshot of industrial, industrial-urban, and industrial-suburban NMHCs in the five most industrially developed cities of the PRD. Increased impact of industrial activities on PRD air quality due to the rapid spread of industry from urban to suburban and rural areas, and the decrease of farmland, is expected to continue until effective emission standards are implemented. Copyright 2006 by the American Geophysical Union.

Qin-lan Chen,1 Xiao-ying Zhao,2 Xiao-mi Wang,1 Na Lv,2 Ling-ling Zhu,3 Hui-min Xu,4 Quan Zhou4 1Radiology Nursing Unit, Division of Nursing, 2Department of Quality Management, 3Geriatric VIP Care Ward, Division of Nursing, 4Department of Pharmacy, The Second Affiliated Hospital, School of Medicine, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, Zhejiang, People’s Republic of China Abstract: The authors retrospectively analyzed the pattern and characteristics of non-laboratory-based adverse drug reactions (ADRs) induced by intravenous radiocontrast agents in a large-scale hospital in China during 2014–2015. There were 314 ADR cases among 118,208 patients receiving enhanced CT or MRI examinations. The frequency of moderate/severe ADRs defined by Chinese Society of Radiology (ie, severe vomiting, systematic urticaria, facial swelling, dyspnea, vasovagal reaction, laryngeal edema, seizure, trembling, convulsions, unconsciousness, shock, death, and other unexpected adverse reactions) was rare (0.0431%), whereas the mild ADRs were uncommon (0.2225%) and accounted for 83.76% of ADRs. Frequency of ADRs induced by iodinated contrast agents was related with examination site, sex, and type of patient settings (P

Weijun Liu,1,* Ling Hu,2,* Junwen Wang,1 Ming Liu,1 Xiaomei Wang3 1Department of Orthopedics, Pu Ai Hospital, Affiliated to Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, 2Department of Anesthesiology, Tianyou Hospital, Affiliated to Wuhan University of Science and Technology, 3Department of Biological Science and Technology, Wuhan Bioengineering Institute, Wuhan, People’s Republic of China *These authors contributed equally to this work Purpose: Meta-analysis was conducted to evaluate whether zero-profile anchored spacer (Zero-P) could reduce complication rates, while maintaining similar clinical outcomes compared to plate-cage construct (PCC) in the treatment of cervical spondylosis. Methods: All prospective and retrospective comparative studies published up to May 2015 that compared the clinical outcomes of Zero-P versus PCC in the treatment of cervical spondylosis were acquired by a comprehensive search in PubMed and EMBASE. Exclusion criteria were non-English studies, noncomparative studies, hybrid surgeries, revision surgeries, and surgeries with less than a 12-month follow-up period. The main end points including Japanese Orthopedic Association (JOA) and Neck Disability Index (NDI) scores, cervical lordosis, fusion rate, subsidence, and dysphagia were analyzed. All studies were analyzed with the RevMan 5.2.0 software. Publication biases of main results were examined using Stata 12.0. Results: A total of 12 studies were included in the meta-analysis. No statistical difference was observed with regard to preoperative or postoperative JOA and NDI scores, cervical lordosis, and fusion rate. The Zero-P group had a higher subsidence rate than the PCC group (P

Qingyuan Meng,1–3 Chunsheng Tao,1,4 Zhiye Qiu,1 Toshihiro Akaike,3 Fuzhai Cui,1 Xiumei Wang11School of Materials Science and Engineering, Tsinghua University, Beijing, People’s Republic of China; 2State Key Laboratory of Molecular Developmental Biology, Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, People’s Republic of China; 3Biomaterials Center for Regenerative Medical Engineering, Ibaraki, Japan; 4The 401 Hospital of Chinese People’s Liberation Army, Qingdao, People’s Republic of ChinaAbstract: Cell culture systems have proven to be crucial for the in vitro maintenance of primary hepatocytes and the preservation of hepatic functional expression at a high level. A poly-(N-p-vinylbenzyl-4-O-β-D-galactopyranosyl-D-gluconamide) matrix can recognize cells and promote liver function in a spheroid structure because of a specific galactose–asialoglycoprotein receptor interaction. Meanwhile, a fusion protein, E-cadherin-Fc, when incubated with various cells, has shown an enhancing effect on cellular viability and metabolism. Therefore, a hybrid substratum was developed for biomedical applications by using both of these materials to combine their advantages for primary hepatocyte cultures. The isolated cells showed a monolayer aggregate morphology on the coimmobilized surface and displayed higher functional expression than cells on traditional matrices. Furthermore, the hybrid system, in which the highest levels of cell adhesion and hepatocellular metabolism were achieved with the addition of 1% fetal bovine serum, showed a lower serum dependency than the collagen/gelatin-coated surface. Accordingly, this substrate may attenuate the negative effects of serum and further contribute to establishing a defined culture system for primary hepatocytes.Keywords: mouse primary hepatocytes, E-cadherin-Fc, PVLA, serum dependency, hybrid system

Chao Yuan,1,* Xue-Min Wang,1,* Alexandre Guichard,2 Yi-Mei Tan,1 Chun-Yan Qian,1 Li-Jie Yang,1 Philippe Humbert2 1Department of Skin and Cosmetic Research, Shanghai Skin Disease Hospital, Shanghai, People’s Republic of China; 2Research and Studies Center on the Integument, Department of Dermatology, Besançon University Hospital, University of Franche-Comté, Franche-Comté, France *These authors contributed equally to this work Background: Asteatotic eczema (AE) is characterized by itchy, dry, rough, and scaling skin. The treatments for AE are mainly emollients, usually containing urea, lactic acid, or a lactate salt. N-palmitoylethanolamine (PEA) and N-acetylethanolamine (AEA) are both endogenous lipids used as novel therapeutic tools in the treatment of many skin diseases. The purpose of this study was to compare a PEA/AEA emollient with a traditional emollient in the treatment of AE. Methods: A monocentric, randomized, double-blind, comparative trial was conducted in 60 AE patients to evaluate and compare the efficacy of the two emollients. The level of skin dryness among the subjects ranged from mild to moderate. The subjects’ skin barrier function and the current perception threshold were tested for 28 days by clinical scoring and bioengineering technology. Results: The results showed that, although some aspects were improved in both groups, the group using the emollient containing PEA/AEA presented a better skin surface change in capacitance. However, the most impressive finding was the ability of the PEA/AEA emollient to increase the 5 Hz current perception threshold to a normal level after 7 days, with a significant difference between values at baseline and after 14 days. A current perception threshold of 5 Hz was positively and significantly correlated with skin surface hydration and negatively correlated with transepidermal water loss in the PEA/AEA emollient group. Conclusion: Compared with traditional emollients, regular application of a topical PEA/AEA emollient could improve both passive and active skin functions simultaneously. Keywords: N-palmitoylethanolamine, N-acetylethanolamine, current perception threshold, skin barrier, pruritus, asteatotic eczema

Shan Liu,1,2 Wei Huang,1,2 Ming-Ji Jin,1,2 Qi-Ming Wang,1,2 Gan-Lin Zhang,3 Xiao-Min Wang,3 Shuai Shao,1,2 Zhong-Gao Gao1,2 1State Key Laboratory of Bioactive Substance and Function of Natural Medicines, 2Department of Pharmaceutics, Institute of Materia Medica, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, People’s Republic of China; 3Beijing Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine affiliated to Capital Medical University, Beijing, People’s Republic of China Abstract: To our knowledge, the mechanism underlying the high transfection efficiency of ­alkylated low-molecular-weight polyethylenimine (PEI) is not yet well understood. In this work, we grafted branched PEI (molecular weight of 1,800 Da; bPEI1800) with lauryl chains (C12), and found that bPEI1800-C12 was structurally similar to gemini surfactant and could similarly assemble into micelle-like particles. Stability, cellular uptake, and lysosome escape ability of bPEI1800-C12/DNA polyplexes were all greatly enhanced after C12 grafting. bPEI1800-C12/DNA polyplexes exhibited significantly higher transfection efficiency than Lipofectamine™ 2000 in the presence of serum. Bioluminescence imaging showed that systemic injection of bPEI1800-C12/DNA polyplexes resulted in intensive luciferase expression in vivo and bioluminescence signals that could be detected even in the head. Altogether, the high transfection efficacy of bPEI1800-C12 was because bPEI1800-C12, being an analog of gemini surfactant, facilitated lysosome escape and induced the coil–globule transition of DNA to assemble into a highly organized micelle-like structure that showed high stability. Keywords: self-organization, alkylation, luciferase, bioluminescence imaging

Ying Hu,1,2 Hai Bo Tan,1 Xin Mei Wang,3 Hua Rong,1 Hong Ping Cui,1 Hao Cui2 Departments of Ophthalmology, 1Shanghai East Hospital of Tongji University, Shanghai, 2First Affiliated Hospital, 3Fourth Affiliated Hospital, Harbin Medical University, Harbin, People's Republic of China Abstract: Glaucoma is a common eye disease in the aged population and has severe consequences. The present study examined the therapeutic effects of bone marrow mesenchymal stem cell (BMSC) transplantation in preventing loss of visual function in aged rats with glaucoma caused by laser-induced ocular hypertension. We found that BMSCs promoted survival of retinal ganglion cells in the transplanted eye as compared with the control eye. Further, in swimming tests guided by visual cues, the rats with a BMSC transplant performed significantly better. We believe that BMSC transplantation therapy is effective in treating aged rats with glaucoma. Keywords: glaucoma, stem cell, transplantation, cell therapy, aging

Lei Wang1,2,*, Haijun Zhang1,2,*, Baoan Chen1,2, Guohua Xia1,2, Shuai Wang1,2, Jian Cheng1,2, Zeye Shao1,2, Chong Gao1,2, Wen Bao1,2, Liang Tian1,2, Yanyan Ren1,2, Peipei Xu1,2, Xiaohui Cai1,2, Ran Liu1,2, Xuemei Wang3 1Department of Hematology and Oncology, Zhongda Hospital, Medical School, 2Faculty of Oncology, Medical School, 3State Key Laboratory of Bioelectronics (Chien-Shiung Wu Laboratory), Southeast University, Nanjing, China*These authors contributed equally to this workAbstract: Traditional Chinese medicine is gradually becoming a new source of anticancer drugs. One such example is wogonin, which is cytotoxic to various cancer cell lines in vitro. However, due to its low water solubility, wogonin is restricted to clinical administration. Recently, the application of drug-coated magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) to increase water solubility of the drug and to enhance its chemotherapeutic efficiency has attracted much attention. In this study, wogonin was conjugated with the drug delivery system of MNPs by mechanical absorption polymerization to fabricate wogonin-loaded MNPs. It was demonstrated that MNPs could strengthen wogonin-induced cell inhibition, apoptosis, and cell cycle arrest in Raji cells by methylthiazol tetrazolium assay, flow cytometer assay, and nuclear 4',6-diamidino-2-phenylindole staining. Furthermore, the molecular mechanisms of these phenomena were explored by western blot, in which the protein levels of caspase 8 and caspase 3 were increased significantly while those of survivin and cyclin E were decreased significantly in wogonin-MNPs group. These findings suggest that the combination of wogonin and MNPs provides a promising strategy for lymphoma therapy.Keywords: wogonin, magnetic nanoparticles, Raji cell, apoptosis, cell cycle, caspase 8, caspase 3, survivin, cyclin E

Jian Cheng1*, Jun Wang2*, Baoan Chen1, Guohua Xia1, Xiaohui Cai1, Ran Liu1, Yanyan Ren1, Wen Bao1, Xuemei Wang31Department of Hematology, Zhongda Hospital, Medical School, Southeast University, Nanjing, People's Republic of China; 2Department of Hematology and Oncology, Nanjing Children's Hospital, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, People's Republic of China; 3National Key Laboratory of Bioelectronics (Chien-Shiung Wu Laboratory), Southeast University, Nanjing, People's Republic of China *These authors have contributed equally to this work Abstract: To overcome both the dose-limiting side effects of conventional chemotherapeutic agents and the therapeutic failure resulting from multidrug resistance (MDR) and minimize adverse effects of chemotherapy agents, a novel chemotherapy formulation of magnetic nanoparticles co-loaded with daunorubicin and 5-bromotetrandrin (DNR/BrTet-MNPs) was developed, and its effect on MDR leukemic cells was explored. After the DNR and Br were co-loaded onto a pluronic-stabilized and oleic acid-modified magnetic nanosystem, the physical characteristic and drug-loading capacity were evaluated. The cell toxicity of the self-prepared DNR/BrTet-MNPs formulation was then determined by MTT (3-[4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl]-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide) assay; the cellular uptake of drug was demonstrated by fluorescent microscope. Lastly, the transcription of mdr1 and the expression of P-glycoprotein (P-gp) were detected by the reverse transcription reaction and western blotting assay, respectively. The results showed that the self-prepared DNR/BrTet-MNPs formulation possessed a sustained release of drug and displayed a dose-dependent antiproliferative activity on MDR leukemia K562/A02 cells. It also enhanced the accumulation of intracellular DNR in K562/A02 cells and downregulated the transcription of the mdr1 gene and the expression of P-gp. These findings suggest that the remarkable effect of the novel DNR/BrTet-MNPs formulation, acting as a drug depot system for the sustained release of the loaded DNR and BrTet, on multidrug resistance leukemia K562/A02 cells would be a promising strategy for overcoming MDR. Keywords: multidrug resistance, targeting drug delivery system, leukemia

Abstract Ni nanocrystals (NCs) were embedded in BaTiO3 epitaxial films using the laser molecular beam epitaxy. The processes involving the self-organization of Ni NCs and the epitaxial growth of BaTiO3 were discussed. With the in situ monitoring of reflection high-energy electron diffraction, the nanocomposite films were engineered controllably by the fine alternation of the self-organization of Ni NCs and the epitaxial growth of BaTiO3. The transmission electron microscopy and the X-ray diffraction characterization confirmed that the composite film consists of the Ni NCs layers alternating with the (001)/(100)-oriented epitaxial BaTiO3 separation layers.