Search

Background. Relapsed and refractory small cell lung cancer (SCLC) accounts for about 15% of all lung cancers. The prognosis of patients is poor. The 5-year survival rate is almost 0. The average survival time of patients who refuse to receive treatment is only 2-4 months. For patients with extensive-stage SCLC, the current first-line treatment regimens are mainly platinum-containing double-drug chemotherapy. Poside combined with cisplatin/carboplatin and irinotecan combined with cisplatin/carboplatin are commonly used clinical regimens for the treatment of patients with extensive-stage SCLC. Although SCLC is very sensitive to radiotherapy and chemotherapy, most patients will develop recurrence and metastasis after initial treatment. Therefore, it is necessary to study clinically effective therapeutic drugs for relapsed and refractory SCLC. Objective. To investigate the relationship between programmed death receptor-1 (programmed death receptor-1 (PD-1)) and programmed death receptor-ligand 1 (programmed death-ligand 1 (PD-L1)) inhibitors and Lung Cancer No. 1 efficacy and safety of Lung Cancer Fang No. 1 in the treatment of relapsed and refractory SCLC. Methods. 80 patients with refractory SCLC were selected and randomly divided into control group and treatment group with 40 cases in each group. Among them, the control group received PD-1/PD-L1 inhibitor chemotherapy, and the treatment group received PD-1/PD-L1 inhibitor chemotherapy combined with Lung Cancer Fang No. 1 treatment. The differences in immune and tumor marker levels, clinical efficacy, and prognostic complications between the two groups before and after treatment were observed and compared. Results. Before treatment, there was no significant difference in clinical improvement between the two groups. After treatment, the clinical symptom scores and body weight changes in the treatment group were significantly improved. The clinical symptom scores in the treatment group were lower than those in the control group, but the body weight changes were higher than those in the control group. The difference was statistically significant ( P < 0.05 ). Before treatment, there was no significant difference in the levels of tumor markers between the two groups. After treatment, the levels of CYFRA21-1, CA125, and VGEF in the treatment group were significantly lower than those in the control group, and the difference was statistically significant ( P < 0.05 ). There was no significant difference in the immune level between the two groups before treatment ( P > 0.05 ), while the differences in CD4+, CD3+, and CD4+/CD8+ after treatment were significant, and the treatment group was higher than the control group, with statistical significance ( P < 0.05 ). After treatment, the clinical efficacy of the two groups was significantly improved. The DCR90.00% of the treatment group was significantly higher than that of the control group, 67.50%, and the difference was statistically significant ( P < 0.05 ). The analysis of complications after treatment showed that fatigue, anorexia, hypertension, hand-foot syndrome, diarrhea, leukopenia, thrombocytopenia, and urinary protein in the treatment group were significantly lower than those in the control group, and the difference was statistically significant ( P < 0.05 ). Conclusion. PD-1/PD-L1 inhibitor chemotherapy combined with Lung Cancer Fang No. 1 has a good and safe effect on SCLC patients. It has a good curative effect in improving the clinical symptoms of patients. It can stabilize the tumor, inhibit the development of lung cancer, improve the body’s cellular immune function, adjust the level and expression of tumor markers, improve the body’s material metabolism, and restore the balance of yin and yang in the body.

This resting-state fMRI study investigated thebrain function in patients with borderline personality disorder (BPD) with three data-driven algorithms.Forty BPD patients and thirty-five controls were enrolled and scanned with a 3.0T Philips Ingenia scanner. Rs-fMRI and structural images were preprocessed by DPARSF based on SPM8 on the MATLAB platform. To evaluate BPD related brain function alterations comprehensively, we analyzed the amplitude of low frequency fluctuations (ALFF), regional homogeneity (ReHo), and seed based functional connectivity (seed-based FC), three data-driven algorithms of rs-fMRI. Results were multiply corrected by REST AlphaSim program at the level of p0.05. Meanwhile, the correlation between imaging and psychological data was also performed in BPD patients.Compared with control group, BPD group showed decreased ALFF and ReHo both in the right posterior cingulate cortex (PCC) and adjacent precuneus. With these two areas as seeds, disturbed functional connectivity mainly distributed in the frontotemporal and limbic structure in BPD group. There were no significant correlations found between imaging variables and psychological data.The sample size was relatively small, and no significant correlations were found between imaging variables and psychological data, which might limit the clinical application of these results.Based on data-driven analysis, we discovered that the right PCC and precuneus were altered in resting state function in BPD. Combining with our previous Voxel Based Morphometry (VBM) study which has found increased gray matter volume (GMV) in the right PCC and precuneus, we confirmed that these two areas were core brain regions altered both in structure and function in BPD.

In this study, combining degree centrality (DC) and fractional amplitude of low frequency fluctuation (fALFF) analyses of resting state (rs)-functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data, we aimed to explore functional connectivity density, local brain spontaneous activity, and their coupling strengths in borderline personality disorder (BPD). Forty-three BPD patients and 39 demographically-matched controls underwent rs-fMRI after completing a series of psychological tests. Two-sample t-tests were performed to compare DC and fALFF between these two groups. Across-voxel correlation analysis was conducted to assess DC-fALFF coupling strengths in each group. Imaging parameters and psychological variables were correlated by Pearson correlation analysis in the BPD group. Altered DC and fALFF values in the BPD group, compared with the control group, were distributed mainly in default mode network (DMN), and DC-fALFF coupling strengths were decreased in the left middle temporal gyrus (MTG) and right precuneus in the BPD group. Additionally, insecure attachment scores correlated positively with left precuneus DC and negatively with fALFF of the right posterior cingulate cortex (PCC) in the BPD group. These altered DC and fALFF findings indicate that the BPD patients had disturbed functional connectivity density and local spontaneous activity in the DMN compared with control subjects. Their decreased connectivity-amplitude coupling suggests that the left MTG and right precuneus may be functional impairment hubs in BPD. Disturbed rs function in the left precuneus and right PCC might underlie insecure attachment in BPD.

The factor loadings and inter-factor correlations of RRS-10, and measurement equivalence tests of RRS-10 for the CESD. (DOC 51 kb)

A facile approach for extracting cellulose nanospheres (SCNCs) was presented through hydrochloric acid hydrolysis of lyocell fibers under hydrothermal condition. The SCNCs showed spherical nanoparticles with an average diameter of 25 nm. Compared to the lyocell fibers, high yield of up to 85.3%, crystallinity of 85.2% and the maximum degradation temperature (Tmax )o f 347.21C for the SCNCs were achieved. Moreover, the morphology, microstructure, and thermal stability of SCNCs and rod-like cellulose nanocrystals (RCNCs) were compared. It was found that the SCNCs was less thermally stable than RCNCs, whereas the better suspension stability of SCNCs was observed due to the particular nanospherical structure and the existence of ammonium groups on the SCNCs, and these ammonium groups could easily be removed through heat treatment. & 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

The present study developed an α-ketoglutaric acid-modified magnetic chitosan (α-KA-Fe 3 O 4 /CS) for highly efficient adsorption of Cd(II) from aqueous solution. Several techniques, including transmission electron microscopy (TEM), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) and vibrating sample magnetometer (VSM), were applied to characterize the adsorbent. Batch tests were conducted to investigate the Cd(II) adsorption performance of α-KA-Fe 3 O 4 /CS. The maximum adsorption efficiency of Cd(II) appeared at pH 6.0 with the value of 93%. The adsorption amount was large and even reached 201.2 mg/g with the initial Cd(II) concentration of 1000 mg/L. The adsorption equilibrium was reached within 30 min and commendably described by pseudo-second-order model, and Langmuir model fitted the adsorption isotherm better. Furthermore, thermodynamic parameters, free energy (Δ G ), enthalpy (Δ H ) and entropy (Δ S ) of Cd(II) adsorption were also calculated and showed that the overall adsorption process was endothermic and spontaneous in nature because of positive Δ H values and negative Δ G values, respectively. Moreover, the Cd(II)-loaded α-KA-Fe 3 O 4 /CS could be regenerated by 0.02 mol/L NaOH solution, and the cadmium removal capacity could still be kept around 89% in the sixth cycle. All the results indicated that α-KA-Fe 3 O 4 /CS was a promising adsorbent in environment pollution cleanup.

The notion that the conservation of wetlands in the world is too limited has gained a universal consensus because of the conflicts between their great value and the drastic decline in their quantity and quality. To mitigate these conflicts, ecological networks have integrated the hydrologic and biological connectivity of ecosystems. The basic elements of ecological networks, patches, and corridors, have been extracted to reflect the attributes of the hydrologic and biological connectivity of ecosystems. This paper reviews recent applications of network approaches to ecological conservation, focusing on their application in wetland ecosystems, and proposing a new perspective for wetland conservation. This review is limited to four aspects: first, the linkages between wetlands and ecological networks are determined by reviewing the development both of them; second, the two types of connectivity and their application that can be obtained from graphs or network models are discussed; third, common network analysis approaches, which can provide a theoretical basis to explore the optimal relationship between network structure and function, are summarized; finally, this paper presents the configuration and convergence characteristics of different types of wetland networks at multiple spatial scales. At the conclusion, suggestions for further work are presented.

In an estuary, large numbers of riparian wetlands have high conservation values, and it is essential for the conservation of these wetlands to assess their ecological conditions. A wetland zooplankton index ( WZI ) was modified to assess the ecological conditions of the riparian wetlands (both natural and constructed) of the Pearl River Estuary (PRE), including water quality, presence/absence of macrophytes, soil texture, wetland origin, wetland location and zooplankton distribution. A water quality index ( WQI ) is established to compare the accuracy of the WZI to conventional community indices. The results show that although some conventional community indices show no significant differences between natural and constructed riparian wetlands, significantly higher scores of WZI and WQI are found in the constructed riparian wetlands compared to the natural riparian wetlands. The results of a regression analysis with Pearson's correlations show that WZI was significantly correlated with the WQI compared with the conventional community indices. The results of this study indicate that the WZI can more accurately reflect the ecological conditions of wetlands than the conventional community indices. Although a better water quality (lower WQI value) is found in natural riparian wetlands than in the constructed riparian wetlands, the ecological conditions of natural riparian wetlands are significantly worse than those of constructed riparian wetlands, based on the scores of the WZI ; these data suggest that the origin of the wetland may cause a deterioration in the water quality but is unlikely to cause a degradation of the wetlands. This study shows that the WZI is an effective tool to assess the ecological condition of the riparian wetlands and that it can be used to guide programs for the conservation, restoration and the construction of wetland networks in the estuary.

A novel magnetically separable laccase immobilized system was constructed by adsorbing laccase into bimodal carbon-based mesoporous magnetic composites (CMMC). A large adsorption capacity (491.7 mg g � 1 ), excellent activity recovery (91.0%) and broader pH and temperature profiles than free laccase have been exhibited by the immobilized laccase. Thermal stability was enhanced to a great extent and operational stability was increased to a certain extent. The shift of kinetic parameters indicated affinity change between enzyme and substrate. Application of the immobilized system in phenol and p-chlorophenol removal was investigated in a batch system. Adsorption effects of the support were responsible for the quick removal rate in the first hour, and up to 78% and 84% of phenol and p-chlorophenol were removed in the end of the reaction, respectively, indicating that the magnetic bimodal mesoporous carbon is a promising carrier for both immobilization of laccase and further application in phenol removal.

Pseudomonas aeruginosa (P. aeruginosa) was immobilized with polyvinyl alcohol (PVA), sodium alginate and multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MCNTs). After immobilization, the beads were subjected to freeze-thawing to enhance mechanical strength. When exposed to 80 mg/L Cr(VI), the immobilized bacteria were able to reduce 50% of them in 84 h, however the free cells were deactivated at this concentration. The beads were used to reduce 50 mg/L Cr(VI) for nine times, with the reduction efficiency above 90% in the first five times and 65% in the end.

A stable magnetic nanoparticle with a shell core structure of γ-Fe2O3@Fe3O4 was developed. Water soluble Polyethylenimine (PEI) was grafted to the nanoparticle to prepare a positive charged adsorbent, which was characterized by XRD, FTIR and SEM. The adsorbent was able to effectively remove anionic Cr(VI) in the pH range of 2–3 due to the large amount of protonated imine groups on its surface, and could be magnetically separated from liquid quickly. Adsorption equilibrium was reached within 30 min and independent of initial Cr(VI) concentration. The Cr(VI) maximum sorption capacity at a temperature range of 35–15 °C was obtained using the Langmuir adsorption isotherm. The calculated thermodynamic parameters (ΔG, ΔH, and ΔS) indicated that adsorption of Cr(VI) was spontaneous and exothermic in nature. Competition from coexisting ions (K+, Na+, Ca2+, Cu2+, Cl−, and NO3−) was found insignificant. The adsorbent had satisfying acid–alkali stability and could be regenerated by 0.02 mol L−1 NaOH solution. The results suggested the potential application of the PEI-modified magnetic nanoparticles in selective removal of Cr(VI) from wastewater.

The aim of this study is to develop a polyethylenimine (PEI) grafted magnetic porous adsorbent for highly effective adsorption of heavy metals. The process of grafting PEI was confirmed by Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) analysis. Batch tests were carried out to investigate the adsorption performance. Adsorption of Cu2+, Zn2+ and Cd2+ was dependent on pH and increasing the pH was favorable to metal ions removal. The adsorption equilibrium was reached within 10 min and well described by pseudo-second-order model. The sorption isotherms of the adsorbent for these metals fitted well with Langmuir model, with maximum adsorption capacities of 157.8, 138.8 and 105.2 mg/g for Cu2+, Zn2+ and Cd2+, respectively. Competitive adsorption among the three metal ions showed a preferential adsorption of Cu2+ > Zn2+ > Cd2+. The magnetic adsorbent exhibited excellent acid–alkali stability. In addition, the exhausted adsorbent can be regenerated by 0.02 mol/L EDTA solution without significant adsorption capacity loss.

An electrochemical sensor based on gold nanoparticles (GNPs)/multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs)/poly (1,5-naphthalenediamine) films modified glassy carbon electrode (GCE) was fabricated. The effectiveness of the sensor was confirmed by sensitive detection of cellobiose dehydrogenase (CDH) gene which was extracted from Phanerochaete chrysosporium using polymerase chain reaction (PCR). The monomer of 1,5-naphthalenediamine was electropolymerized on the GCE surface with abundant free amino groups which enhanced the stability of MWCNTs modified electrode. Congo red (CR)-functionalized MWCNTs possess excellent conductivity as well as high solubility in water which enabled to form the uniform and stable network nanostructures easily and created a large number of binding sites for electrodeposition of GNPs. The continuous GNPs together with MWCNTs greatly increased the surface area, conductivity and electrocatalytic activity. This electrode structure significantly improved the sensitivity of sensor and enhanced the DNA immobilization and hybridization. The thiol modified capture probes were immobilized onto the composite films-modified GCE by a direct formation of thiol–Au bond and horseradish peroxidase–streptavidin (HRP–SA) conjugates were labeled to the biotinylated detection probes through biotin–streptavidin bond. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) and cyclic voltammetry (CV) were used to investigate the film assembly and DNA hybridization processes. The amperometric current response to HRP-catalyzed reaction was linearly related to the common logarithm of the target nucleic acid concentration in the range of 1.0 × 10 −15 –1.0 × 10 −10 M, with the detection limit of 1.2 × 10 −16 M. In addition, the electrochemical biosensor exhibited high sensitivity, selectivity, stability and reproducibility.

Groundwater is a valuable natural resource providing a primary source of water for agriculture, domestic and industrial purposes. To Jinan, it is more significant because of the famous springs. But springs have drained off for several years because of groundwater over-extraction. Surface water and groundwater is an integrated system and the environment is a whole. Integrated management is essential. So this paper gives an integrated act for groundwater protection. Considering the surface water, groundwater, water quantity and quality, ecology, socio-economics of Jinan, especially the connection between surface water and groundwater, this integrated act consists of increasing groundwater recharge, restricting groundwater exploitation, jointly regulating and integrated management. These projects aims to balance groundwater exploitation and recharge, guarantee the springs against draining off, achieve a good ecological status. The environment as a whole will be improved. Different water users will benefit and the economy will be prosperous. So this act will promote the sustainable development.

Based on landscape data produced from integrated Landsat MSS/TM/ETM+ images and spatial metrics, this paper presented a synthesis of wetland landscape changes in the Pearl River estuary from 1979 to 2009, and explored the spatio-temporal characteristics of wetland change. The classified images were used to generate maps of wetland degradation, and spatial metrics were calculated and analyzed across class level every five years. Results indicated that (1) the main wetland types in study area were shallow marine water and irrigated land. The total area of wetlands in the study region decreased by a quarter (4598km2), and the area of irrigated wetlands decreased more than that of other wetland types. (2) Artificial wetland had higher fragmentation than natural wetland, coming from the increasing patch density, and a decreasing of edge density. (3) Most of natural wetlands changed to artificial wetland, and artificial wetland changed to urban land and other land. More than 50% of urban land came from changed wetland. Urban development, as a main reason, caused the reverse succession of wetland landscape in the Pearl River Estuary.

A novel biosensor was developed based on tyrosinase immobilization with ordered mesoporous carbon-Au (OMC-Au), L-lysine membrane and Au nanoparticles on a glassy carbon electrode (GCE). It was applied for the simultaneous determination of dihydroxybenzene isomers using differential pulse voltammetry (DPV). The tyrosinase/OMC-Au/L-lysine/Au film was characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and impedance spectra. Under optimized conditions, the DPV study results for two isomers, hydroquinone (HQ, 1,4-dihydroxybenzene) and catechol (CC, 1,2-dihydroxybenzene) showed low peak potentials, and the peak-to-peak difference was about 135.85 mV, which ensured the anti-interference ability of the biosensor and made simultaneous detection of dihydroxybenzene isomers possible in real samples. DPV peak currents increased linearly with concentration over the range of 4.0 × 10(-7) to 8.0 × 10(-5) M, and the detection limits of hydroquinone and catechol were 5 × 10(-8) M and 2.5 × 10(-8) M (S/N = 3), respectively. The tyrosinase biosensor exhibited good repeatability and stability. In addition, the response mechanism of enzyme catalysed redox on the OMC-Au/L-lysine/Au film modified electrode based on electrochemical study was discussed. The proposed method could be extended for the development of other enzyme-based biosensors.

A magnetic separation and detection method for a target sequence of a gene encoding cellulase using biocompatible core–shell nanoparticle probes was developed. An aminated capture probe was conjugated with biocompatible Fe3O4–SiO2–Au core–shell nanoparticles. The target probe and signal probe were hybridized with the capture probe on the surface of the inorganic DNA carrier, which resulted in core–shell nanoparticle probes. In the presence of an external magnetic field, it is convenient and time-saving to realize the detection of the cellulase gene in Trichoderma reesei (T. reesei) by liquid fermentation and subsequent magnetic separation. Quantitative PCR (Q-PCR) was performed to give absolute quantification of the concentration of the target nucleic acid, and the Q-PCR result was compared to that of the electrochemical method. The optimized experimental conditions were studied to maximize the hybridization efficiency and detection sensitivity. The amperometric current response was linearly related to the common logarithm of the target nucleic acid concentration in the range of 1.0 × 10−13 to 1.0 × 10−9 M, with a detection limit of 1.2 × 10−14 M.