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By changing the anions of zinc salts, three different zinc(II) complexes, [Zn 2 (HL) 2 (NCS) 4 ]·2CH 3 OH ( 1 ), [Zn 2 L( μ 2 - η 1 : η 1 -CH 3 COO) 2 (NCS)] ( 2 ) and [Zn(HL)I 2 ]·CH 3 OH ( 3 ), where L = 5-bromo-2-((2-(diethylamino)ethylimino)methyl)phenolate, HL = 5-bromo-2-((2-(diethylammonio)ethylimino)methyl)phenolate, have been synthesized and characterized by IR and UV-Vis spectroscopy, as well as single-crystal X-ray diffraction. X-ray analysis indicates that the Zn atoms in the complexes are in trigonal bipyramidal, square pyramidal and tetrahedral coordination. The anions of the zinc salts lead to the formation of different structures of the complexes. Antibacterial activity of the complexes against Staphylococcus aureus , Escherichia coli , Klebsielle pneumoniae and Candida albicans strains was studied.

For Bi0.5Na0.5TiO3-based complex oxides, a critical bottleneck is that a higher depolarization temperature Td is often obtained at the cost of sacrificing their piezoelectricity d33 (d33 ∝ 1/Td), which severely restricts the further development of this kind of promising material. Here, by combining compositional materials selection with rapid quenching in liquid nitrogen from ultra-high temperatures, we report an advance in simultaneously achieving a large d33 (232 ± 5 pC N−1) and a high Td (188 °C) in Bi0.5Na0.5TiO3-based complex oxides. In situ characterization indicates that the superior performance (232 pC N−1 < d33 < 281 pC N−1) can be maintained in a wide working temperature range (25 °C < T < 185 °C). A series of quenching treatments and multi-scale structural analyses (ion environment, lattice distortion and domain evolution) reveal that the increased coherence length (the size of unit cells sharing the same ferroelectric symmetry) of the ferroelectric lattice enhances the ferroelectric ordering and leads to the deferred Td. Theoretical simulations and experimental results validate the quenching-induced redistribution of A-site ions. And the resulting enhanced ferroelectric polarization compensates the degenerated dielectric response, accounting for the effectively increased Td without decreasing the superior piezoelectric response. This research provides a paradigm for designing high-performance Bi0.5Na0.5TiO3-based electromechanical materials in a wide working temperature range.

It is an urgency to find capable lead-free piezoelectric ceramics to show effort towards environmental protection. Bi0.5Na0.5TiO3 (BNT)-based piezoelectric ceramics is one of the most promising lead-free systems, for which compositional modification is an efficient way to enhance the piezoelectric performance. In this work, lead-free 0.82(Bi0.5Na0.5)TiO3-(0.18-x)BaTiO3-x(Bi0.5Na0.5)(Mn1/3Nb2/3)O3 ceramics were synthesized by a conventional solid state reaction method. Polarization and strain hysteresis loops implies a phase transition from FE (ferroelectric phase) to ER (ergodic relaxor). An electric field induced high strain of 0.28% occurred at x = 0.0275, which was attributed to the coexistence of FE and ER phases. It is considered that our work can help to understand the complex phenomenon observed in BNT-based lead-free system.

For perovskite ferroelectric oxides, the composition-induced transition from ferroelectrics to relaxors can enhance their electrostrictive coefficient Q33 remarkably, and has been attracting more and more attention in recent years. Achieving a larger electro-strain response is one of the most original driving forces for pursuing higher Q33 values, while the two are often incompatible. Herein, taking the promising relaxor ferroelectric Na0.5Bi0.5TiO3 (NBT) as the research object, we report the excellent electrostriction-like electro-strain behaviors (0.41% ≤ Suni ≤ 0.46%, 25 ≤ T ≤ 125 °C; Suni exhibits only 2.23% decline after 105 cycles) together with a series of enhanced Q33 values (0.029–0.047 m4 C−2). Accompanied by the reconstruction of de-coupled A–O interactions, the electric-field-induced relaxor to ferroelectric state transition contributes to the superior electro-strain behaviors, while the enhanced Q33 will greatly degenerate during this transition process. In contrast to the non-hysteretic electrostriction observed in linear dielectrics, for NBT-based relaxor ferroelectrics, the peculiar coexistence of ferroelectric in-phase a0a0c+ and anti-phase a−a−a− tiltings is suggested to contribute to the enhanced electrostriction-like behaviors observed in this work. These observations indicate that NBT-based systems can be considered as a potential family of peculiar lead-free electrostrictors for application in the field of actuators.

Background: Bloodstream infection (BSI) has been one of the biggest headaches for clinicians, as it not only aggravates symptoms but also increases the length of stay, the cost of hospitalization, and the side effects caused by antibiotics. It is an urgent need for clinicians to develop timely and accurate methods to find microorganisms. Currently, the gold standard for diagnosing BSI is blood culture, but it takes three to eight days to produce results, and its positive rate is extremely low. Next-generation sequencing (NGS) has emerged as a better technology desperately needed by doctors and patients to diagnose BSI. Objectives: This study compared NGS and blood culture methods in clinical patients with BSI. Methods: In this study, blood culture and NGS were used to analyze the blood of patients with BSI in different departments of the First Affiliated Hospital of Kunming Medical University. Results: Next-generation sequencing detected 60 pathogens in 63 blood samples, while blood culture detected 15 pathogens in 336 blood samples from 63 patients who were clinically considered to be infected. Pathogens detected by NGS included bacteria, fungi, and viruses, while blood culture only found bacteria and fungi. The positive rates of blood culture diagnosis and NGS diagnosis in BSI patients were 23.8% (15/63) (CI: 13.3% - 34.3%) and 95% (60/63) (CI: 90% - 100%), respectively. Conclusions: Our results showed that NGS creates a new diagnostic platform for patients with BSI. Its wide detection range, high positive rate, and characteristics of rapid detection will benefit patients with BSI.

The sterile inflammatory response is one of the key mechanisms leading to hepatic ischemia-reperfusion injury. Melatonin has been shown to prevent organ injuries, but its roles in the inflammatory response after hepatic ischemia-reperfusion injury have not been fully explored, especially in late ischemia-reperfusion injury. The present study aimed to investigate the roles and possible mechanisms of melatonin in the inflammatory response after hepatic ischemia-reperfusion injury.Sixty Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into a sham group, ischemia-reperfusion injury group (I/R group), and melatonin-treated group (M + I/R group). The rats in the I/R group were subjected to 70% hepatic ischemia for 45 min, followed by 5 or 24 h of reperfusion. The rats in the M + I/R group were injected with melatonin (10 mg/kg, intravenous injection) 15 min prior to ischemia and immediately before reperfusion. Serum and samples of ischemic liver lobes were harvested for future analysis, and the 7-day survival rate was assessed after hepatic ischemia-reperfusion surgery.In comparison with the I/R group, the M + I/R group showed markedly decreased expression levels of inflammatory cytokines (IL-6 and TNF-α) and numbers of apoptotic hepatocytes (P 0.05). Immunoblotting showed that the expression levels of IL-6, p-NF-κBp65/t-NF-κBp65 and p-IκB-α/t-IκB-α in the M + I/R group were significantly lower than those in the I/R group, and immunofluorescence staining showed that the expression level of p-NF-κBp65 in the M + I/R group was lower than that in the I/R group (P 0.05). The 7-day survival rates were 20% in the I/R group and 50% in the M + I/R group (P 0.05).Melatonin downregulated the activity of the NF-κB signaling pathway in the early and late stages of hepatic ischemia-reperfusion injury, alleviated the inflammatory response, protected the liver from ischemia-reperfusion injury, and increased the survival rate.

Background ABO-incompatible liver transplantation (ABOi-LT) is increasingly used to overcome donor shortage. Evidence about disadvantage and advantage in comparison with ABO-compatible liver transplantation (ABOc-LT) needs to be performed in the early and late periods. Herein, We compared the short-term and long-term outcomes between ABOi-LT and ABOc-LT cohorts. Methods We performed a meta-analysis based on the observation studies which included outcomes at ≥1 year after ABOi-LT and ABOc-LT procedures, based on the MEDLINE (via Pubmed), the Cochrance Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL), and EMBASE (via Ovid) systems. Two researchers independently screened each study according to the pre-established inclusion and exclusion criteria to assess the quality of each study and extracted data from published studies. The primary outcome indicators were all-cause mortality and graft survival at 1, 3 and 5 years after transplantation. In the meta-analysis, we based on the value of heterogeneity using a fixed-effect and a random-effect. A fixed-effect model was used if the value of I2 was less than or equal 50%; and a random-effect model was used if the value of I2 was greater than 50%. Findings Out of 335 identified records, 29 records with 10,783 patients with liver transplants; 2137 of them were ABOi-LTs and the remaining 8646 were ABOc-LTs. There was no significant difference at 1-year, 3-year, and 5-year in all-cause mortality, death-censored graft survival and complication incidence rate between ABO-incompatible living donor liver transplantation (ABOi-LDLT) group and ABO-compatible living donor liver transplantation (ABOc-LDLT) group. Compared with ABO-compatible deceased donor liver transplantation (ABOc-DDLT), ABO-incompatible deceased donor liver transplantation (ABOi-DDLT) had a higher 1-year all-cause mortality, and the value of totally pooled odds ratio (OR) was 1.89 (1.28,2.80). However, there was no significant difference at 3-year and 5-year all-cause mortality between ABOi-DDLT and ABOc-DDLT groups. ABOi-DDLT group had a lower 1-year and 5-year death-censored graft survival than ABOc-DDLT, as the value of totally pooled OR was 1.91 (1.41,2.60) and 1.52 (1.12,2.05), respectively. No significant difference was detected at 3-year death-censored graft survival between ABOi-DDLT and ABOc-DDLT groups. ABOi-DDLT group had a higher complication incidence rate than ABOc-DDLT, and the value of totally pooled OR was 2.26 (1.53,3.33). We found no obvious bias except for the complication of living donor liver transplantation (LDLT; P = 0.038). In conclusion The short-term and long-term outcomes were worse after ABOi-DDLT than ABOc-DDLT in the all-cause mortality, death-censored graft survival, and complication incidence rate. However, the same outcomes were essentially comparable between ABOi-LDLT vs. ABOc-LDLT cohorts. Considering the current shortage of liver donors, we believe that ABOi-LT from living donor and deceased donors can save lives under emergency situations.

The reaction of CO2 gas with hot metal was investigated based on the thermodynamic analysis and experimental results. It shows that both silicon and carbon in hot metal can be oxidized by CO2 gas in the temperature range of 1300–1500 °C. When using graphite crucible, temperature has little influence on final mass percent of carbon w[c] because of the carburization effect. Decarburization degree rises significantly with increasing gas injection rate and w[c] can be reduced to 3. 2% at most when using MgO crucible. Lower temperature or higher gas injection rate is propitious to promote desilication reaction, but only 5% – 10% of desilication ratio could be obtained in 20 min. The final mass percent of silicon w[si] when using MgO crucible is lower than that when using graphite crucible. Experimental results also demonstrate that CO2 injection has no effect on the concentration of manganese, sulfur and phosphorus in hot metal. In view of the weak oxidation ability and temperature drop of hot metal, CO2 gas is suggested to be used as carrier gas in desilication process rather than oxidizing agent.

Predictions of the strength of solar cycles are important and are necessary for planning long-term missions. A new solar cycle 25 is coming soon, and the amplitude is needed for space weather operators. Some predictions have been made using differentmethods and the values are drastically different. However, since 2015 July 1, the original sunspot number data have been entirely replaced by the Version 2.0 data series, and the sunspot number values have changed greatly. In this paper, using Version 2 smoothed sunspot numbers and aa indices, we verify the predictions for cycles 18–24 based on Ohl’s PrecursorMethod. Then a similar-cycles method is used to evaluate the aa minimum of 9.7 (±1.1) near the start of cycle 25 and based on the linear regression relationship between sunspot maxima and aa minima, our predicted Version 2 maximum sunspot number for cycle 25 is 121.5 (±32.9).

We examined the effects of the duration of plastic film mulching on the accumulation of phthalate (PAEs) in soils and tobacco to determine the soil pollution distribution characteristics of PAEs under continuous mulch use and the enrichment status in tobacco leaves. Samples of both soils and tobacco leaves were collected from Lianqian Village and Shawan Village of Zunyi. Gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) was used to determine the contents of six preferentially controlled PAEs in samples. The results showed that the six ΣPAEs in all soil and tobacco samples were (2.66 ±0.60) and (3.58±0.64) mg·kg研究地膜使用年限对土壤和烟叶邻苯二甲酸酯(PAEs)积累的影响,以明确地膜持续使用条件下PAEs的土壤污染分布特征及在烟叶中的富集状况.在遵义市连阡村和沙湾村采集了不同覆膜年限的烟田土壤及相应的烟叶,采用气相色谱仪质谱联用技术(GC-MS),对土壤-烟叶中6种优先控制PAEs含量进行了测定.结果表明: 所有土壤和烟叶样品中6种邻苯二甲酸酯化合物累计(∑PAEs)分别为(2.66±0.60)和(3.58±0.64) mg·kg

To investigate the incidence and risk factors of sclerodermatous chronic graft-versus-host disease (ScGVHD) after allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (allo-HSCT).The clinical data of 259 patients undergoing allo-HSCT in Nanfang Hospital between January, 2012 and December, 2014 were analyzed.Chronic GVHD following allo-HSCT occurred in 134 (51.7%) cases, among whom 22 patients showed sclerodermatous features at a median of 12.5 months (range 4-28 months) after the transplantation. The overall incidence of ScGVHD was 8.49% (22/259) in the recipients and 16.4% (22/134) in those with cGVHD. Univariate analysis showed that the conditioning regimen with total body irradiation (P=0.031), GVHD prophylaxis with MMF (P=0.046), presence of chronic GVHD (P=0.008), and donor lymphocyte infusion (P=0.001) were all closely associated with the occurrence of ScGVHD. Multivariate analysis identified chronic GVHD (RR=3.512, 95%CI: 1.235-9.987, P=0.018) and donor lymphocyte infusion (RR=5.217, 95%CI: 1.698-16.029, P=0.004) as the independent risk factors of ScGVHD.ScGVHD following allo-HSCT is not a common complication, and cGVHD and donor lymphocyte infusion are the independent risk factors for ScGVHD.

We aim to investigate the sonodynamic effect induced by hydroxyl acetylated curcumin (HAC) on THP-1 macrophages.THP-1 derived macrophages (1 x 10(5) per milliliter) were cultured with HAC at a concentration of 5 µg/mL for 4 h and then exposed to pulse ultrasound treatment (0.5 W/cm2) for 5 min. Six hours later, cell viability analysis was performed with CCK-8 assay, apoptosis and necrosis analysis were detected with Annexin V/PI staining by flow cytometery.The cell viability of THP-1 macrophage decreased significantly in the group treated with the combination of HAC and ultrasound (P0.01), and HAC-SDT induced both apoptosis and necrosis in THP-1 macrophages, the apoptotic rate was higher than the necrotic rate with appropriate conditions, the maximum apoptosis/necrosis ratio was detected in sonodynamic therapy (SDT) group (P0.01).hAC-SDT was effective to induce THP-1 macrophages apoptosis.

The objective of this study was to estimate the seroprevalence ofToxoplasma gondiiinfection in 394 patients of intensive care unit (ICU) in a hospital between April 2010 and March 2012 and analyze the association betweenT. gondiiinfection and ICU patients according to the species of disease.Toxoplasmaserology was evaluated by ELISA method using a commercially available kit. Data of patients were obtained from the patients, informants, and medical examination records. Seventy-four (18.78%) of 394 patients were positive for anti-T. gondiiIgG antibodies demonstrating latent infection.Of these, the highestT. gondiiseroprevalence was found in the age group of 31–45 years (27.45%), and the lowest was found in the age group of T. gondiiseroprevalence. The present study represents the first survey ofT. gondiiseroprevalence in ICU patients in China, revealing an 18.78% seropositivity. Considering the particularities of ICU patients, molecular identification, genetic characterization, and diagnosis ofT. gondiishould be considered in future study.

Outer membrane vesicles (OMVs) are well-characterized virulence factors produced by Gram-negative bacteria. Here, we isolated two clinical Acinetobacter baumannii strains, the multidrug-resistant A. baumannii (MDRAb) A38 and non-MDRAb 5806. Strain A38 produced more abundant OMVs than strain 5806 when cultured to the early stationary phase. The results from cell proliferation assays and real-time PCR analyses indicated that A38 OMVs induced more powerful cytotoxicity and stronger innate immune responses compared with 5806 OMVs. Moreover, SDS-PAGE and LC-MS/MS analyses revealed that A38 OMVs contained more virulence factors, including Omp38, EpsA, Ptk, GroEL, hemagglutinin-like protein, and FilF. Taken together, the results of the present study suggest that MDRAb might produce abundant OMVs with more virulent factors facilitating the worse outcome, a finding that merits further study.

To analyze the centrosome abnormalities in the malignant transformation of human bronchial epithelial cells (BEAS-2B) induced by coal tar pitch smoke extracts and to investigate the role and action mechanism of centrosome in the lung cancer induced by coal tar pitch.Medium-temperature coal tar pitch smoke extracts were used to treat immortalized human bronchial epithelial cells (BEAS-2B) and establish a malignant transformation model. The treated BEAS-2B cells were used as exposure group, and solvent control group and normal control group were also set for passage culture. The changes of centrosome in BEAS-2B cells seeded on coverslips were evaluated by indirect immunofluorescence assay. The mRNA expression of p53, p21, and cyclin E in BEAS-2B cells was measured by real-time quantitative RT-PCR, and their protein levels in BEAS-2B cells seeded on coverslips were measured by semiquantitative immunohistochemical analysis.The overall rate of centrosome abnormalities in BEAS-2B cells at passage 20 was 6.56±1.01% in the exposure group, significantly higher than those in the normal control group (3.40±0.86%) and solvent control group (3.14±0.59%) (P0.05). In addition, the exposure group had a significantly higher overall rate of centrosome abnormalities in BEAS-2B cells at passage 30 compared with the normal control group and solvent control group (22.39±9.5% vs 4.34±1.04%, P0.05; 22.39±9.5% vs 4.33±1.20%, P0.05). Compared with the normal control group and solvent control group, the exposure group had significantly decreased mRNA and protein expression of p53 and significantly increased mRNA and protein expression of cyclin E in BEAS-2B cells at passages 20 and 30 (P0.05).Centrosome abnormalities occur before the malignant transformation in BEAS-2B cells treated with coal tar pitch smoke extracts, and they may be mediated by the p53/p21/cyclin E signaling pathway.

To synthesize three amphiphilic molecules (TEG-R1, TEG-R2, TEG-R3), with branched oligo polyethylene glycol as hydrophilic fractions and aliphatic chains (containing six, eight and twelve carbon atoms respectively) as hydrophobic fractions, and study them as insoluble drug vectors.Three compounds were successfully through acylation, substitution reaction, reduction reaction and esterification. Their structures were verified by NMR analysis; and the critical micelle concentrations (CMC) of TEG-R1, TEG-R2, TEG-R3 were determined by pyrene fluorescence probe spectrometry. Transmission electronic microscopy (TEM) photos displayed the state of the aqueous solution. The self-assembly solution evaporation method was adopted to prepare drug loading podophyllotoxin micelles, and characterize their grain size, in order to detect the hemolysis of the three amphiphilic molecules.Nuclear magnetism showed the successful synthesis of three amphiphilic molecules, with critical micelle concentrations of TEG-R1, TEG-R2, TEG-R3 of 50, 50, 10 mg x L(1), respectively. Transmission electronic microscopy (TEM) photos displayed a spherical-like state, with diameter of 20-50 nm. All of the three amphiphilic molecules could be prepared into drug-loading micelles, with the range of grain sizes between 100-200 nm. Hemdytic experiment showed that, among the amphiphilic molecules of the graft six-carbon aliphatic chain, TEG-R1 could not cause hemolysis.All of the three amphiphilic molecules are micellized in water solution, and can be used as insoluble drug vectors. Among them, TEG-R1 could not cause hemolysis, and is expected to become a new-type drug vector.

To compare the effects of laparoscopic inguinal hernia repair (LIHR) and Lichtenstein tension-free inguinal hernia repair and to explore the safety and feasibility of LIHR as well as the advantages and disadvantages of these procedures.In total, 252 patients with inguinal hernia were equally randomized into the transabdominal preperitoneal (TAPP) repair, totally extraperitoneal (TEP) repair, and Lichtenstein tension-free hernia repair groups (n=84 each). Operating time, postoperative pain scores, postoperative scrotal seroma, postoperative local esthesiodermia, postoperative chronic pains, postoperative long-term hernia relapse, and costs of hospitalization were compared among the three groups.All laparoscopic operations were performed smoothly without intraoperative conversion to open surgery. The LIHR groups showed significantly better effects on postoperative pains and hernia recurrence than the Lichtenstein tension-free herniorrhaphy group (P.05), but with a significantly higher hospitalization cost (P.05). The occurrence rate of postoperative scrotal seroma or hydrops in the TAPP, TEP, and Lichtenstein groups was 11 (13.10%), 13 (15.48%), and 6 (7.14%), respectively. No significant differences among the operating time, postoperative local esthesiodermia, or postoperative chronic pains of the groups were observed (P.05).LIHR is a safe and feasible procedure. It has significantly better effects on postoperative pains and hernia relapse than Lichtenstein tension-free hernia repair.

For electronic image stabilization process of the image sequence, the target scenes in different depth of image field have different motion vectors. There is not a compensation amount can stable both close-range and long-range target scene. This article from the optical imaging model analysis the reasons, aimed at greater depth of field distribution within the scope of the video sequence, using Harris corner algorithm detection in different depth of field goal of characteristic points, and feature matching, Calculation of different depth to the target motion vector validation previous theoretical derivation. Proposed a motion vector compensation method based on electronic image stabilization image quality assessment. Compensate the image after adjust the distribution of motion vector on the assessment feedback of the image inter-frame differential map. Results show that the motion vector compensation effect in the optimization of the value is better than the global motion vector compensation.

By testing the changes of telomere binding protein in malignant transformation BEAS-2B cells induced by coal tar pitch smoke extracts, to study the role of protection of telomeres 1 (POT1), telomeric repeat binding factor 1 (TRF1) and TRF2 in tumorgenesis that contact with coal tar pitch.The BEAS-2B cells were induced by coal tar pitch smoke extracts to form malignant transformation cell model in vitro. The gene expression levels of mRNA were assessed by real-time quantitative RT-PCR, the protein expression variations were determined by cell culture overslip of immunohistochemical methods.In malignant transformation cells, the mRNA expression level (POT1: 0.63 ± 0.04, TRF1: 0.36 ± 0.01) and the protein expression level (POT1: 0.36 ± 0.05, TRF1: 0.09 ± 0.03) of POT1 and TRF1 was statistically significant decreased compared to that of BEAS-2B group (mRNA: POT1: 1.00 ± 0.04, TRF1: 1.01 ± 0.16; protein: POT1: 0.55 ± 0.07, TRF1: 0.27 ± 0.07) and DMSO group (mRNA: POT1: 0.89 ± 0.12, TRF1: 0.90 ± 0.08; protein: POT1: 0.55 ± 0.10, TRF1: 0.26 ± 0.04) (P0.05); mRNA expression level (1.45 ± 0.07) and the protein expression level (0.88 ± 0.06) of TRF2 was increased compared to that of BEAS-2B group (mRNA: 1.00 ± 0.07, protein: 0.48 ± 0.06) and DMSO group (mRNA: 1.00 ± 0.06, protein: 0.50 ± 0.06) (P0.05).The change of gene and protein expression level in POT1, TRF1, and TRF2 involved in the process that evolved into malignant transformation in bronchial epithelial cells BEAS-2B induced by coal tar pitch smoke extracts.

to study the role of structural maintenance of chromosome (SMC)1, SMC3, Separase and Securin in tumorgenesis that contact with coal tar pitch.the BEAS-2B cells was induced by coal tar pitch smoke extracts to form malignant transformation cell model in vitro. The gene expression levels of mRNA were assessed by real-time quantitative RT-PCR, and the protein expression variation were determined by cell culture overslip of immunohistochemical methods.in malignant transformation cells, the mRNA and the protein expression level of SMC1 gene was not statistically significantly different compared with the BEAS-2B group and DMSO group (P0.05); SMC3 and Separase was increased and Securin was decreased (P0.05), while the difference between other two control groups was not significant (P0.05).the up expression level of SMC3 and Separase and the down expression level of Securin are involved in the process that evolves into malignant transformation in bronchial epithelial cells BEAS-2B induced by coal tar pitch smoke extracts.

To observe the dynamic changes of CD3+, CD4+, and CD8+ T lymphocytes in the peripheral blood of patients with sepsis and discuss the clinical significance.Sixty-four patients admitted in the Emergency Center and Emergency Intensive Care Unit of the Second Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University between August, 2007 and July, 2009 were enrolled in this study. CD3+, CD4+, and CD8+ T lymphocytes in the peripheral blood were detected by flow cytometry on days 1, 7 and 14 after admission, and the results were compared between the patients with improvement of the condition and those without improvement, with 20 healthy subjects as the control group.On day 1 after admission, CD3+ and CD4+ T lymphocytes and CD4+/CD8+ T cell ratio were obviously lower in the 2 groups of patients with sepsis than in the control group (P0.05), but no significant difference was found in CD8+ T lymphocytes. The sepsis patients with clinical improvement showed significant higher CD3+ and CD4+ T lymphocyte percentages and CD4+/CD8+ T cell ratio than those without improvement on day 1. In the patients with clinical improvement, CD3+ and CD4+T lymphocytes and CD4+/CD8+ T cell ratio increased gradually with time and till day 14, they were comparable with the control levels; in the patients without improvement, CD3+ and CD4+ T lymphocytes and CD4+/CD8+ T cell ratio showed no obvious alterations in the course of observation.Immune imbalance occurs in patients with sepsis represented by lowered CD3+ and CD4+T lymphocyte percentages and CD4+/CD8+ T cell ratio in relation to the severity of the condition. CD3+ and CD4+ T lymphocytes and CD4+/CD8+ T cell ratio can be used as the indicators for assessing the severity of sepsis.

To explore the association between hyperbilirubinemia and apnea in premature infants.Premature infants with apnea and birth weight1500 g were tested for the heart rate, serum level of bilirubin, saturation of blood oxygen (SO₂) and partial pressure of oxygen (PO₂) before and after treatment, with term infants serving as the control. A comparative analyses of the serum level of bilirubin, SO₂ and PO₂ were carried out in the premature infants with birth weight1500 g suffering apneic syndrome or not on the first and third days after birth.Of the premature and term infants with apnea and birth weight1500 g, 92.5% and 70.00% showed increased serum level of indirect bilirubin (IBIL), respectively. The infants with birth weight1500 g who presented the syndrome of apnea on the first day after birth had significantly higher levels of IBIL than those without an apparent syndrome of apnea. A three-day conventional therapy resulted in an obvious improvement of apneic syndrome and lowered bilirubin level.Increased bilirubin level can be one of the reasons for the development of apnea in premature infants, and therapies for reducing bilirubin level can ameliorate the syndrome of apnea.

Coal tar pitch and its smoke are considered hazardous by-products and common pollutant generated from coal industry processing. In this study, coal tar pitch and its smoke extracts were characterized by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS) with dimethylsulfoxide. We identified only 0.3025% of components in the total coal tar pitch using GC/MS. Among 18 identified compounds, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) has the highest relative abundance (0.19%). The remaining components were composed of monocyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, heterocyclic compounds and alkenes. In contrast, among 38 coal tar pitch smoke extract constituents that have been profiled, 87.91% were PAHs, and the remaining 12.09% were composed of monocyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, heterocyclic compounds and alkenes. The cytotoxic effect of coal tar pitch and its smoke extracts on BEAS-2B cells were also evaluated by MTT assay. BEAS-2B cells exposed to coal tar pitch showed a non dose-dependent U-shaped cytotoxicity with a dosage for maximal inhibitory of 3.75 mg/L. In contrast, BEAS-2B cells exposed to coal tar pitch smoke extracts showed a dose dependent cytotoxicity with a LC(50) of 8.64 mg/L. Our study demonstrated the significant different composition and cytotoxicity of coal tar pitch and its extracts, suggesting two different underlying mechanisms that are pending future investigation.

To clone the sequence of human Angiostatin cDNA and obtain the protein of recombinant angiostatin for further development.Fresh human liver tissue was used for the extraction of total RNA and amplified the Angiostatin cDNA through RT-PCR method . After the recombinant plasmid pET30a-Angiostatin was constructed and confirmed, it was transduced into Rosetta (DE3). Then the transformation was used for fermentation and induced expression. The protein was identified by Western Blot and purified by Ni-NTA affinity chromatography.The sequence of human Angiostatin cDNA was identical with genebank. Angiostatin (K1-3) was expressed and purified. The target protein made up 30% of the total bacterial protein. The purity is above 90%.Angiostatin K (1-3) can be reached using fusion vector pET30a. The product have the biological activity.

Establish the fluorescent quantitative RT-PCR detection method for rabies virus (RV) and construct RNase-resistant virus-like particles as positive controls.Analyze the database in GenBank, the probe and the primers were designed in the conservative region of N gene of rabies virus and the method of real-time fluorescent quantitative PCR was obtained; On the basis of MS2 phage, with the technology of gene recombination, prepare the RNase-resistant virus-like particles for RV positive controls;RNase-resistant virus-like particles were obtained after prokaryotic expression in E. coli. The designed primers and probe were confirmed to be very specific and conservative, and be sensitive to-concentration of 15 copies/microl.Established the method of detecting rabies virus by reverse transcription real-time quantitative PCR,obtained the RNase-resistant and no infectivity virus-like particles as positive controls of rabies virus.

To detect and verify activator protein-1 (AP-1) binding to p53 gene promoter region in A549 cell lines in vitro.AP-1 binding to p53 gene promoter region was detected by chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) assay using c-jun specific antibody, and PCR amplified its gene specific DNA fragment.The p53 gene specific fragment was found in the DNA fragment immunoprecipitated by c-jun antibody.AP-1 binds to p53 gene promoter region in A549 cells, and regulates its expression.

To establish a simple rapid and sensitive nested RT-PCR method for detection of SARS coronavirus RNA by designing the specific primers for SARS and optimizing the parameters for PCR.Primers and fluorescent probes were designed according to the sequences of SARS coronavirus genes available from GenBank. The optimization of the parameters for PCR was performed in PE 7700 thermal cycle. The 36 serum samples and 40 mouthwash of SARS patients and 80 samples of healthy people were tested.The positive rate of patient serum and mouthwash was 33.6%, (12/36) and 67.5%, (27/40), respectively, while the positive rate of healthy people was zero (0/160).The simple nested RT-PCR method was a rapid, efficient and sensitive one for SARS early diagnosis.

To develop a method for detection of coxsackie B virus type 1-6 by RT-PCR.A pair of primers were designed to amplify all types of coxsackie B virus 1-6 efficiently. The PCR product was hybridized in micro-wells in which 6 type specific oligonucleotide probes had been coated respectively, colorimetric detection was performed to discriminate the types of coxsackie B virus.This method was shown to be concordant with the IgM ELISA, 71.7% of anti-coxsackie B positive cases could be detected by RT-PCR.The RT-PCR method can type coxsackie B virus efficiently and provides a tool for clinical diagnosis and epidemiological investigation.