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The burden of tuberculosis and systemic lupus erythematosus in China ranks among the top three in the world. Therefore, active screening for LTBI and preventive intervention in SLE patients are of great significance in China.

Objective To summarize the clinical features of spontaneous remission in classic fever of unknown origin (FUO). Methods Medical records of 121 patients diagnosed with FUO at admission in Peking Union Medical College Hospital between January 2018 and June 2018 were reviewed retrospectively. Patients who were discharged without etiological diagnoses were followed for 2 years. The clinical features and outcomes of these patients were summarized. Multivariate

Alterations in gut microbiota might contribute to uremic toxicity and immune dysregulation in patients with end-stage renal disease. Hemodialysis patients are prone to infection and higher mortality following sepsis. The virulence factors in the gut metagenome have not been well studied in hemodialysis patients, which could be employed by microorganisms to successfully thrive and flourish in their hosts. In this study, we performed shotgun metagenomics sequencing on fecal DNA collected from 16 control subjects and 24 hemodialysis patients. Our analysis shows that a number of microbial species, metabolic pathways, antibiotic resistance, and virulence factors were significantly altered in hemodialysis patients compared with controls. In particular, erythromycin resistance methylase, pyridoxamine 5-phosphate oxidase, and streptothricin-acetyl-transferase were significantly increased in hemodialysis patients. The findings in our study laid a valuable foundation to further elucidate the causative role of virulence factors in predisposing HD patients to infection and to develop treatment strategies to reduce the genetic capacities of antibiotic resistance and virulence factors in HD patients.

Evidence of active tuberculosis (ATB) in patients with rheumatic diseases are research priorities but limited data from China have been reported. Research targeting patients not taking anti-TNF biologics are especially insufficient. We aimed to investigate the prevalence and risk factors of ATB in this at-risk population. We conducted a tertiary hospital-based, multi-center, cross-sectional study by using stratified multi-stage cluster sampling strategy to screen ATB in patients with rheumatic diseases. We estimated the prevalence of ATB in patients with rheumatic diseases and identified risk factors among those who were not taking anti-TNF biologic. A total of 13,550 patients with rheumatic diseases were enrolled, and the result showed the standardized prevalence of ATB according to the composition ratio of various types of rheumatic disease was 882/100000 (95% confidence interval (CI): 706-1057). Multivariable logistic regression analysis in patients not taking anti-TNF biologics showed that the independent risk factors of ATB were having systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) (OR=2.722, 95% CI: 1.437-5.159, p=0.002), having Behcet's disease (BD) (OR= 5.261, 95% CI: 2.071-13.365, p

Low molecular weight heparins (LMWHs) are heterogeneous mixtures of glycosaminoglycan chains composed of mixture of different lengths and substitution patterns. Structural characterization and quality control of LMWHs have always been challenging. The Chinese drug regulatory authorities have been committed to improve the supervision standards of LMWHs to better regulate the quality and safety of LMWHs in current Chinese market. In the present paper, 80 batches of three types LMWHs (dalteparin, enoxaparin and naldroparin) marketed in China from different manufacturers were studied by

Background To establish the Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) specific IFN-γ/IL-2/TNF-α-FluoroSpot assay, and preliminarily evaluate its accuracy of differential diagnosis of active tuberculosis (ATB) and latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI). Methods Patients with pathologically confirmed and clinically diagnosed ATB in Peking Union Medical College Hospital and Beijing Chest Hospital from April 2020 to May 2021 were enrolled as case group, while patients with LTBI in the same period were enrolled as control group. The FluoroSpot assay was used to simultaneously detect the secretion of IFN-γ, IL-2 and TNF-α in T cells stimulated by the MTB specific antigens ESAT-6 and CFP-10 at the single-cell level. A binary logistic regression model was used to fit the combined diagnostic parameters, and the sensitivity, specificity, predictive value and likelihood ratio of the differential diagnosis of ATB and LTBI were calculated. Figure 1. Schematic diagram of FluoroSpot (IFN-γ/IL-2/TNF-α) detecting cytokine-secreting specific T cells after stimulation with MTB specific antigen. A. The green spots are the total IFN-γ-secreting T cells; B. The red spots are the total IL-2-secreting T cells; C. The blue spots are the total TNF-α-secreting T cells; D. The green spots are the single IFN-γ-secreting T cells; the red spots are the single IL-2-secreting T cells; the blue spots are the single TNF-α-secreting T cells; the yellow spots are the dual IFN-γ/IL-2-secreting T cells; the cyan spots are the dual IFN-γ/TNF-α-secreting T cells; the purple spots are the dual IL-2/TNF-α-secreting T cells; the white spots are the triple IFN-γ/IL-2/TNF-α-secreting T cells. Results 62 patients with ATB (37 pathogen-confirmed ATB, 25 clinical diagnosed ATB), 87 patients with LTBI were included. There was significant correlation of the frequencies of total IFN-γ-secreting T cells detected by IFN-γ/IL-2/TNF-α-FluoroSpot assay compared with T-SPOT.TB after stimulation of MTB-specific antigen (r=0.829 for ESAT-6, P< 0.001, r=0.804 for CFP-10, P< 0.001). ROC curve was drawn for both T-SPOT.TB and Fluorospot. For T-SPOT.TB, the AUROC was 0.669 (95%CI 0.574-0.765), the sensitivity and specificity of differentiating ATB from LTBI were 70.97% (95%CI 58.05%-81.80%) and 56.32% (95CI 45.26%-66.94%) respectively. While for Fluorospot, the AUROC was 0.906 (95 CI 0.856-0.957), the sensitivity and specificity of differentiating ATB from LTBI were 80.65% (95%CI 68.63% - 89.58%) and 88.51% (95%CI 79.88% - 94.35%) respectively. Figure 2. Correlation between the frequencies of total IFN-γ-secreting T cells detected by FluoroSpot assay and those of T-SPOT.TB. (A) Stimulated by EAST-6. (B) Stimulated by CFP-10. Figure 3. ROC curves and the corresponding AUROC for measurement of frequencies of specific T cells in differentiating ATB and LTBI under stimulation of ESAT-6 or CFP-10. The blue line is drawn with the frequency of IFN-γ-secreting T cells detected by T-SPOT.TB, and the AUC is 0.669 (95%CI, 0.574-0.765). The red line is drawn with combination of the frequencies and proportion of single IFN-γ-'single IL-2-'single TNF-α-'dual IFN-γ/IL-2-'dual IFN-γ/ /TNF-α-'dual IL-2/TNF-α-secreting T cells detected by FluoroSpot, and the AUC is 0.906 (95% CI, 0.856-0.957). Table 1. Diagnostic value of T-SPOT.TB and FluoroSpot for differentiating ATB from LTBI Conclusion Compared with T-SPOT.TB, the IFN-γ/IL-2/TNF-α-Fluorospot assay may be helpful to distinguish ATB from LTBI, and the results need to be verified by large sample prospective cohort study. Disclosures All Authors: No reported disclosures

Background: T-cell immunity is important for the control of cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection. The frequency of IFN-γ secreting T cells after stimulation with CMV-specific protein-1 (IE-1) and phosphoprotein 65 (pp65) antigen can help predict the risk of active CMV infection. Patients with autoimmune diseases have a high incidence of active CMV infection, but the CMV antigen-specific T cell immune response of this population is still blank in the world. This study aimed to use T-SPOT.CMV to investigate CMV antigen-specific T cell immune response in patients with autoimmune diseases under different CMV infection conditions.Methods: Patients with autoimmune diseases in the Peking Union Medical College Hospital from March, 2017 to October, 2020 were continuously selected. According to the definition, the subjects were divided into latent CMV infection group and active CMV infection group. T-SPOT.CMV was used to evaluate CMV antigen-specific T cell immune response under different CMV infection status, and the possible influential factors of CMV antigen-specific T cell immune response were further analyzed.Results: Fifty patients with latent CMV infection and fifty patients with active CMV infection were enrolled. After stimulated by immediate early IE-1 and pp65 antigen, the median frequency of IFN-γ secreting T cells in active CMV infection group were all significantly lower than that in latent CMV infection group (pConclusions: In patients with autoimmune diseases, the CMV antigen-specific T-cell immune response in patients with active CMV infection was significantly lower than that with latent CMV infection. IE-1 was considered as a more stable antigen with better effect than pp65. Lymphocyte, CD4+T cell and CD8+T cell count might affect CMV antigen-specific T cell immune response.

Low molecular weight heparins (LMWHs) are heterogeneous mixtures of glycosaminoglycan chains composed of mixture of different lengths and substitution patterns. Structural characterization and quality control of LMWHs have always been challenging. The Chinese drug regulatory authorities have been committed to improve the supervision standards of LMWHs to better regulate the quality and safety of LMWHs in current Chinese market. In the present paper, 80 batches of three types LMWHs (dalteparin, enoxaparin and naldroparin) marketed in China from different manufacturers were studied by 1H NMR experiments and chemometric analysis. The method can be used not only to monitor impurities and contaminants, but also to check the batch-to-batch consistency of each manufacture. Moreover, for the biosimilar LMWHs from different manufactures, they can be differentiated and clustered according to their slightly different structural compositions originated from production process. By using this method, the quality and safety of LMWHs marketed in China were initially assessed.

Sir,Diagnosis of tuberculous pleurisy is a challenge. In a study published in this journal, a combination of pleural fluid adenosine deaminase assay and use of T-cell-based ELISPOT was found promis...

A medium floating shock platform was selected as an object, and the shock response affected by underwater explosions was investigated using theoretical and experimental methods. First, the shock response of the platform was tested using experimental methods, such as underwater explosive load, platform shock environment, and structure damage stress. Experimental results were obtained using experimental methods. Second, based on the test results, the platform characteristics were analyzed using theoretical methods, such as the damage status of the platform structure, the environmental acceleration distribution, and the vibration reduction effect of the cushion system. Signification phenomena were obtained by analyzing experimental data and comparing it with the theoretical results. The damage level of the platform belongs to the gradation of light. The maximum shock wave, acceleration, and structural stress to the front-explosion surface are more prominent than those to the back-explosion surface. The maximum structural stress is at the bottom center of the platform. Platform equipment has perfect cushioning effects. Damping efficiency is more than 95%. The results show that the standard strength of the floating shock platform is sufficient, and the mitigation effects of the cushioning system are very effective. The theoretical analysis results are based on simulation calculations in determining the damage level of the platform.

Objective Systemic autoinflammatory diseases (SAIDs) are a group of disorders characterized by a dysregulation of innate immune system leading to multi-systemic inflammation. We aim to assess the neurological manifestations of Chinese adult patients with SAIDs. Methods Eighty adult patients (≥16 years) were diagnosed as SAIDs from April 2015 to June 2019, at the center of adult autoinflammatory diseases, Department of Rheumatology, Peking Union Medical College Hospital. Clinical and genetic features of these patients were collected. All patients underwent neurologic, ophthalmologic and otolaryngologic evaluation. Results Totally 31 out of 80 (38.8%) patients had neurological manifestations, including 14 familial Mediterranean fever (45.2%), 6 NLRP3-associated autoinflammatory disease (19.4%), 5 tumor necrosis factor receptor-associated periodic fever syndrome (16.1%), 5 NLRP12-associated autoinflammatory disease (16.1%), and 1 Yao syndrome (3.2%). Twenty patients (64.5%) were adult-onset. The median time of diagnosis delay was 11.7 years (0.5–50 years). The common neurological damage included headache (28 patients, 90.3%), sensorineural hearing loss (6, 19.4%), dizziness (4, 12.9%), cerebral infarction/hemorrhage (4, 12.9%), chronic aseptic meningitis (3, 9.7%), intracranial hypertension (3, 9.7%), papilledema (3, 9.7%), optic neuritis (2, 6.5%), and hydrocephalus (1, 3.2%). Severe neurological damage was observed in 8 patients (25.8%), including brain atrophy, hydrocephalus, complete hearing loss, chronic aseptic meningitis and optic neuritis. Conclusion Neurological damage was diverse in SAIDs patients. Neurological symptoms should be fully realized by physicians, in not only pediatric but also adult patients with SAIDs. CSF analysis and brain images should be performed promptly. Early diagnosis and appropriate treatment are essential to avoid irreversible neurological complications.

Background In clinical practice, discrimination between central nervous system (CNS) infections in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) and neuropsychiatric lupus erythematosus (NPSLE) could be urgent and critical yet extremely challenging. Given this, this study aimed to investigate the clinical features and outcomes of infections in the CNS in patients with SLE and to establish a simplified scoring system for guiding the discrimination of CNS infections from NPSLE. Methods A total of 95 patients who were identified as having CNS infections among 8491 SLE patients between January 1992 and January 2018 were included in this retrospective study. NPSLE patients admitted at the same period were randomly selected for comparison. Key factors either clinically valuable or statistically significant for discriminating CNS infections from NPSLE were integrated to build a simplified scoring system. Another group of 22 SLE patients complicated with suspected newly onset of CNS infections or NPSLE admitted after January 2018 was enrolled to verify the utility of the scoring system. Results Sixty-three positive pathogens were identified in 59 patients of the total 95 CNS infection cases. Compared with the NPSLE group, the CNS infections group had a longer disease duration (21.0 [3.0–50.0] vs. 1.0 [0–22.0] months, P

Currently available Interferon-γ release assay cannot reliably differentiate active TB (ATB) from non-active TB (non-ATB). This study aimed to evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of the IFN-γ/IL-2 FluoroSpot assay, which can simultaneously detect IFN-γ and IL-2 secretion, for differentiating ATB from non-ATB. 191 suspected ATB patients with positive T-SPOT.TB results were consecutively recruited. 64 (33.5%) participants had ATB, including 22 (34.4%) microbiologically or histologically confirmed TB and 42 (65.6%) clinically diagnosed TB. 119 (62.3%) cases were non-ATB and 8 (4.2%) were clinically indeterminate. After being stimulated with ESAT-6 and CFP-10 antigens, the median frequency and proportion of IFN-γ+IL-2− T cells were significantly higher in the ATB group than the non-ATB group (P

The prevalence rate of CNS infections with SLE vs. NPSLE. (PDF 278 kb)

The change of etiology of 59 SLE patients with CNS infections with a 5-year interval frame. (PDF 350 kb)

CNS infections in SLE patients with different etiology findings. (PDF 66 kb)

Flowchart of screening of SLE patients with CNS infections and NPSLE. (PDF 91 kb)

Base on the characteristics of high-speed and heavy-load locomotive traction gear, a pre-grinding hob was designed which increased the thickness of the dangerous tooth root section as much as possible. The deformation and stress of the traction gears were calculated through the parameterized model established by finite element method. The tooth profile modification was implemented considering three locomotive working conditions including starting, sustain, and rapid operation. Finally, the related tests verified that the optimized transmission gear was in accordance the design requirements, the effect was good.

As one of the systemic autoinflammatory diseases (SAIDs), the nucleotide-binding oligomerization domain-like receptor protein (NLRP)12 autoinflammatory disease (NLRP12-AD) is an autosomal dominant disorder associated with NLRP12 mutation. SAIDs have been hardly reported in the Chinese population, and NLRP12-AD has been reported only in Caucasians. We report the first case series of NLRP12-AD in the Chinese population coupled with literature review. Three Han Chinese adult patients with clinical phenotype suggestive of NLRP12-AD carrying NLRP12 variants were treated by the authors in 2015. Their phenotype and genotype were carefully studied. A PubMed search for SAIDs was conducted between January, 1990 and January, 2016, and we focused on NLRP12-AD. All three adult patients developed periodic disease in adulthood. They presented with recurrent fever (n = 3), polyarthralgia (n = 3), myalgia (n = 3), urticaria (n = 2), lymphadenopathy (n = 2), and erythema nodosa (n = 1). All patients carry the NLRP12 mutation F402L. Based upon our analysis of a total of 26 patients with NLRP12-AD in the literature, both familial and sporadic cases were equally reported and late-onset cases accounted for 28 %. NLRP12-AD patients typically present with periodic fever, urticaria-like rash, arthralgia/arthritis, myalgia, and lymphadenopathy. Genotyping identifies the NLRP12 gene mutations, notably F402L (55 %). Relative to the literature reports, our patients had the similar phenotypic and genotypic features. Patients with NLRP12-AD usually respond to glucocorticoid therapy. Our report is the first to confirm the presence of NLRP12-AD in the Chinese population. It highlights the importance of screening NLRP12 in patients with unexplained periodic fever syndrome.

Background Few studies have reported the long-term clinical outcome of patients discharged with undiagnosed fever of unknown origin (FUO). In this study, the clinical features and outcomes of patients with unexplained fever were explored to improve our understanding of FUO. Method Patients diagnosed with FUO at admission and discharged without final diagnoses after systematic examination in the department of infectious diseases at Peking Union Medical College Hospital between 2004 and 2010 were followed up by telephone. Medical records were reviewed, and the clinical features and outcomes of patients for whom follow-up data were available were summarized. Results Between 2004 and 2010, 58 patients with follow-up data, who were diagnosed with FUO at admission and did not have a final diagnosis at discharge, were enrolled in this study. The median duration of follow-up was 518 (0.4–830) weeks, and the fever duration was 24.6 (6.7–763.2) weeks. Final diagnoses were established in 11 cases (19%), and the diagnostic methods included clinical diagnosis, diagnostic therapy, genetic screening and biopsy pathology. The fever in 35 patients (60%) subsided during hospitalization or after discharge. Their condition was stable and self-limited after long-term follow-up, and they were ultimately thought to be cured. Two patients had periodic fever during prolonged observation: one patient needed intermittent use of nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs (NSAIDs), and the other needed intermittent use of NSAIDs and a steroid. Ten patients died during follow-up, with 9 deaths being caused by severe and worsening conditions related to the febrile illness. Conclusions Long-term follow-up should be performed for patients with undiagnosed FUO. Some patients can obtain a definitive diagnosis by repeated multiple invasive examinations and diagnostic treatment. Most patients have a self-limited illness, and their prognosis is good.

Currently available Interferon-γ release assay (IGRA) cannot reliably differentiate active TB (ATB) from non-active TB (non-ATB). A study was performed to evaluate the value of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) specific Th1 cell immune responses which test IFN-γ and IL-2 simultaneous for differentiating ATB from non-ATB. Forty-nine newly diagnosed inpatients with ATB (26 pulmonary TB and 23 extrapulmonary TB) were enrolled as the ATB group. Forty-five volunteers with latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI) and twenty with evidence of previous TB were enrolled during the same period as the non-ATB group. Clinical examination and MTB specific Th1 cell immune responses were performed for all participants. After being stimulated with ESAT-6 and CFP-10, the median frequencies of single IL-2-, single IFN-γ-, and dual IFN-γ/IL-2-secreting T-cells were all higher in the ATB group than in the non-ATB group (20(8-45) vs. 7(3-13), P

Diagnosis of female genital tuberculosis (FGTB) remains a challenge. The aim of this study was to evaluate the diagnostic value of T-SPOT.TB on peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) for diagnosing FGTB in an area with high TB burden. Patients with suspected FGTB were enrolled consecutively between August 2010 and August 2015. T-SPOT.TB on PBMCs and histopathology were performed in all patients. T-SPOT.TB results were evaluated against patients’ final diagnosis of FGTB which was made based on clinical manifestations, radiology, microbiological and histopathological evaluation, and response to anti-TB treatment. The sensitivity, specificity, predictive value, and likelihood ratio of T-SPOT.TB were analyzed. Among the 66 patients enrolled, 32 were diagnosed with confirmed FGTB, 33 with non-TB including ovarian tumor in 10 patients (30%), pelvic inflammatory diseases in 8 patients (24%), endometriosis in 7 patients (21%), endometrial polyps in 3 patients (9%), abscess of fallopian tube in 2 patients (6%), cyst of fallopian tube in 2 patients (6%), and endometrial carcinoma in 1 patient (3%). One patient with clinically indeterminate diagnosis was not included in the final analysis. The sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV), negative predictive value (NPV), positive likelihood ratio, and negative likelihood ratio of T-SPOT.TB on PBMCs for diagnosis of FGTB were 94%, 70%, 75%, 92%, 3.09, and 0.09, respectively. Frequencies of spot forming cells (SFCs) of T-SPOT.TB were 430 (interquartile range [IQR] 155-706) SFCs/106 PBMCs and 124 (IQR 61–313) SFCs/106 PBMCs in FGTB and non-TB patients, respectively, and the difference was statistically significant (P = 2.14 × 10−8). By receiver operating characteristic curve analysis, a cutoff value of 40 SFCs/106 PBMCs of T-SPOT.TB had a sensitivity of 94% and specificity of 76% for the diagnosis of FGTB. T-SPOT.TB on PBMCs appeared to be a valuable and rapid diagnostic method for FGTB in TB endemic settings with high sensitivity and NPV.

Background: Nontuberculous Mycobacterium (NTM) bloodstream infection (BSI) is relatively rare. We aimed in this study to evaluate the clinical characteristics, laboratory evaluation, and outcomes of patients with NTM BSI. Methods: We retrospectively reviewed the clinical records of inpatients with NTM BSI at our institution between January 2008 and January 2015 and recorded clinical parameters including age, gender, underlying disease, clinical manifestation, organs involved with NTM disease, species of NTM, laboratory data, treatment and outcome of these patients. We also reviewed the reported cases and case series of NTM BSI by searching PubMed, EMBASE, and Wanfang databases. Data of normal distribution were expressed by mean ± standard deviation (SD). Data of nonnormal distribution were expressed by median and interquartile range (IQR). Results: Among the ten patients with NTM BSI, the median age was 51 years (IQR 29–57 years) and three patients were males. Eight patients were immunocompromised, with underlying diseases including human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection (one patient), rheumatic diseases (two patients), breast cancer (one patient), myelodysplastic syndrome (two patients), and aplastic anemia (two patients). Other organ(s) involved were lung (two patients), endocardium (two patients), brain, spinal cord, and soft tissue (one each patient). The median lymphocyte was 0.66 × 10 9 /L (IQR 0.24–1.93 × 10 9 /L). The median cluster of differentiation 4 (CD4) cell count was 179/mm 3 (IQR 82–619/mm 3 ). Five patients died (three with hematological diseases, one with breast cancer, and one with rheumatic disease), three recovered, and two were lost to follow-up. Conclusions: We reported all cases in our hospital diagnosed with bloodstream NTM infection that was rarely reported. In this group of patients, patients usually had a high fever and could have multiple organ involvements. All patients with poor prognosis had underlying diseases.

The comparison of the effect of fibrinolytic activity of recombinant human prourokinase (rhpro-UK) and urokinase(UK) with rabbits indicated rhpro-UK and UK all decreased resolution time of globular proteins, and the affect of rhpro-UK on parameter of fibrinolysis of rabbits was less than UK. The solution of thrombin of rhpro-UK in vitro was increased with dosage of rhpro-UK, and when rhpro-UK was compared with isodose UK, the difference is significant. Both rhpro-UK and UK all was marked solution of thrombin from Chinese piglets, and it were not evident effect on fibrinogen, plasminogen, and a2-antiplasmin of the piglets. The affect of rhpro-UK on bleeding time, clotting time, bleeding amount of unit time was less than UK. It indicated that the side effect of rhpro-UK was distinguished less than UK. The investigation of pharmacology of ileums of mice, rats, dogs, and guinea pigs indicated that rhpro-UK was not marked affect on behavior, state, central nervous system, cardiovascular system, respiratory system, and digestive system of the tested animals. But tested dogs were bleeding at location of operation, and the blood of the animal was heparinized. The studis of toxicology of rhpro-UK indicated that rhpro-UK was median lethal dose of 97.5 mg/kg in mice. When The Beagle dogs was administed rhpro-UK of 2, 8, 28 mg/kg, the toxic reaction was not observed, except for temporal hyperemia of gum, extend of clotting time, increasing of total cholerythrin, total proteins, albumin of the dogs, the direct damage of organs for the medicine was not observed in examination of pathology in the dosages of 8 and 28 mg/kg, any toxic reaction was not observed in dosage of 2 mg/kg. The special toxic experiments proved that rhpro-UK was not of mutagenesis and teratogenesis.

Serotonin-1A receptors may play a role in the pathophysiology of depression and suicide. In postmortem brain tissue, agonist binding to serotonin-1A receptors is reportedly increased or unchanged in depression or suicide, while neuroimaging studies report a decrease in antagonist binding to these receptors in subjects with depression. In this study, both agonist and antagonist radioligand binding to serotonin-1A receptors were examined in postmortem orbitofrontal cortex from subjects with major depressive disorder (MDD). Brain tissue was collected at autopsy from 11 subjects with MDD and 11 age- and gender-matched normal control subjects. Two depressed subjects had a recent psychoactive substance use disorder. Six subjects with MDD had a prescription for an antidepressant drug in the last month of life, and, of these six, postmortem bloods from only two subjects tested positive for an antidepressant drug. There was no significant difference between cohorts for age, postmortem interval or tissue pH. The receptor agonist [3H]8-OH-DPAT or the antagonist [3H]MPPF were used to autoradiographically label serotonin-1A receptors in frozen sections from cytoarchitectonically-defined left rostral orbitofrontal cortex (area 47). There was no significant difference between depressed and control subjects in agonist binding to serotonin-1A receptors. However, antagonist binding was significantly decreased in outer layers of orbitofrontal cortex in MDD. This observation in postmortem tissue confirms reports using an antagonist radioligand in living subjects with depression. Decreased antagonist binding to serotonin-1A receptors in outer layers of orbitofrontal cortex suggests diminished receptor signaling and may be linked to corresponding neuronal changes detected previously in these depressed subjects.

Paphiopedilum armeniacum is an endangered orchid species, endemic to China. During the period of April 2000 to October 2005, 66 observation sites were selected in Luoshapo of Nushan Mountains in Yunnan, China, to carry out the conservation ecological research on P. armeniacum. A total of 443 genets (1302 ramets in total) of P. armeniacum were sampled, their biological characteristics such as reproductive pattern, phenology, and life cycle were observed, and the ecological habits of the species such as the habitat and the structure of communities were studied. Experiments on ex-situ conservation were conducted, and the cloned ramets were replanted to their original habitat after ex-situ reproduction in Shenzhen, Guangdong, China. The relationships between P. armeniacum and climate, vegetation, other environmental factors in the original habitat, and the biological characteristics of asexual offsprings of P. armeniacum, which were replanted to the original habitat after ex-situ cultivation and reproduction, were investigated. The studies show that P. armeniacum in Luoshapo grows very well in secondary shrub boskets or in tussocks on limestone hills. It has both sexual and asexual reproduction. Asexual reproduction serves to complete the sexual reproduction and to extend the lifetime of genets, while it does not reduce sexual reproduction. There are two modes of asexual reproduction-by tillering or by producing rhizomes. The litter of shrub boskets or tussocks provides P. armeniacum with humus, and the rhizome reproduction of P. armeniacum is an adaptation to the litter-covered condition, i.e. to escape from the unfavorable environment. Blooming rate of ramets is 7.39% ± 1.02%, and fruit set rate from the blooming ramets is 32.23% ± 12.08%. P. armeniacum is able to invade the moderately destroyed forests and those in early restoring but is unable to grow in large dense forests. P. armeniacum also grows very well in artificial spare woods in Shenzhen and can reproduce many cloned ramets, which can normally bloom and yield fruits after being replanted to the original habitat. The results of this study show that P. armeniacum can be conserved by ex-situ conservation and by replanting the ex-situ reproduced ramets to original habitat. On the basis of the analysis of endangered mechanisms of P. armeniacum, it can be concluded that P. armeniacum has strong capability of both asexual and sexual reproductions, and an emergency mechanism consisted of massive production of rhizomes to cope with damage. Because highly effective pollinating insects that facilitate pollination in P. armeniacum are present in the habitat, flowering ramets produce fruits with large quantity of seeds, many of which in turn grow into new genets that can reproduce many cloned ramets. P. armeniacum makes very effective use of its environment and has distinct characteristics of enduring harsh environmental conditions; therefore, rather than its own inherent biological defects, the main threats facing this species are the destruction of its survival space and the wipe-out collecting of the plants as a result of trading. Based on the analysis mentioned above, certain appropriate strategies have been proposed for the conservation of P. armeniacum.

To simplify the calculation, some assumptions are considered in the current work. The preequilibrium emission in the first step in the equilibrium process, which is characterized by exciton n = 3 a...

Chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection can affect multiple organ systems and cause a variety of extrahepatic manifestations (EMs). We sought to assess the constituent ratio of EMs in Chinese patients with chronic HCV infection and identify the clinical and biological factors associated with EM.The medical records of 297 patients with chronic HCV infection were analyzed and demographic and epidemiological information was collected. The diagnosis of chronic HCV infection was based on positive anti-HCV combined with a positive HCV-RNA or at least two times of elevated aminotransferases attributable to HCV infection. Patients with HBV and/or HIV coinfection, autoimmune hepatitis, and history of alcohol abuse were excluded.Sixty-two percent (184/297) of the patients had at least one EM, including fatigue (29.4%), type 2 diabetes mellitus (28.2%), renal involvement (12.5%), lymphadenopathy (9.6%), fever (9.4%), thyroid dysfunction (8.1%), and arthralgia (7.4%). Neuropathy, sicca syndrome, B-cell lymphoma, Raynaud's phenomenon, and lichen planus were rare. The mean age of patients with EM was older compared with those without EM.EMs were common in Chinese patients with chronic HCV infection, particularly fatigue, type 2 diabetes, renal impairment, lymphadenophy, fever, and thyroid dysfunction. Older age was associated with EMs.

ICESat's Geoscience Laser Altimeter System (GLAS)emits 3.4 million laser pulses per day. Typically one third of ICESat's laser pulses occur over land and ice, and about half of the ocean surface is obstructed by opaque cloud cover, yielding 1 million valid ocean elevations per day, ICESat bring a new perspective for marine altimetry. It given ICESat determined the sea surface height and the mesoscale sea surface anomalies through ICESAT comparison with the TOPEX in this paper. Major global ocean sea level anomaly and mesoscale ocean features can be detected with the TOPEX United ICESat. ICESat GLA15_026 sea surface height accuracy can be tested, the data obtained through the use of marine ICESat high compared with the TOPEX found, We found height difference of about 10.0cm between sea surface height ICESat identified with sea surface height TOPEX identified relative to the same mean sea surface height through the ICESat altimeter data comparison with the TOPEX altimeter data the deviation along the track mean is − 4.4cm by Comparison of binary stars. Although the initial value of this deviation may be closely related to sea conditions, although ICESat GLA15_026 has improved due to the difference between day and night temperature variation, difference in the size of about 1 ∼ 2cm.

Studying establish one method of Natural Disaster statistics based on stratified random sampling, designed a two-stage stratified random sampling framework to estimate the overall disaster of the provincial disaster process, given stratified random sampling calculation method, and estimated county samples by the village samples, and then estimated the provincial overall disaster situation by the county samples, given the calculation steps and procedures, and calculated the overall disaster of one flood disaster process which happened in 2011.

Kademila is the P2P overlay Network Communications Protocol designed by Petar Maymounkov and David Mazieres, which structures the distributed P2Pcomputer network. It is the P2Pinformation system based on the XOR, lays down the network structure and specify the node communication and the mode of mail exchanger. Kademila is the third generation of P2P Peer-to-Peer technology and a network mechanism of Structured P2P. It is based on the DHT (Distributed Hash Table) and XOR, and achieves Overlay Network structure , node instant allocation and the explicit search of resource, which is used widely in the new generated P2P software, such as BitTorrent and OverNet.

Differential Radar Interferometry (DInSAR) is capable of all-weather and all time observation. It is an unprecedented and profound developing potential space technology with the superiority of continuous space coverage compared to other discrete measurements. The Envisat images from ESA were used in this paper to derive the co-seismic deformation interferograms caused by the Zhongba Ms6.7 earthquake on July 12, 2004 and Ms6.5 earthquake on April 8, 2005 occurred in Tibet. The results indicate that two earthquake events caused the deformation in an area of 20 km with a maximum LOS change about 19.0 cm and 30.5 cm respectively. Adopting isotropic elastic half-space dislocation model, we estimated that two earthquakes epicenter locate at E 83.71°, N 30.70° with a seismic moment tensor Mw6.1 and E 83.72°, N 30.52° with a seismic moment tensor Mw6.2, dominated by normal fault fracture with maximum slip 1 m and 1.4 m, located at the intersection of NW Brahmaputra fault zone and the near side NNE Palongcuo-Cangmucuo fault zone.

CORS/GMS integration can be used to monitor displacement of surface deformation in geological disasters at the mm accuracy level. In order to detect the distinct geological disaster-related displacement deformation automatically and extract the temporal and spatial characteristics in the process of deformation, an algorithm DDExM (Deformation Detection & Exaction Method) for deformation parameter estimation is presented in this paper. The algorithm DDExM includes four steps: outlier detection, adaptive threshold classification, deformation evaluation, and deformation parameters auto-detection. The hypothesis and test, and threshold classification tools are used, based on Kalman filter, to realize the auto-detection of uniform deformation parameters applicable to multi-scale accuracy demand from decimeter to millimeter level. Experimental data from both the slope at Tiansan stone pit and the Guangdong Continuously Operating Reference Stations (GDCORS) based geological disaster dynamic monitoring are used to evaluate the performance of the DDExM. The DDExM leads to the application of CORS/GMS integration based geological disasters dynamic monitoring in provincial region automatically and continually with high temporal and spatial resolution.

Two methods of pattern recognition are introduced in this paper: Unsupervised learning algorithm - fuzzy clustering method and supervised learning algorithm - neural network. The pattern recognition becomes failure pattern recognition if it is used in the fault diagnosis of the machine. Both merits and shortages of these two methods are discussed through a specific example in the mechanical faults diagnosis.

Treatment with an antagonist at the neurokinin-I (NK-I) receptor may alleviate depression, however the brain region(s) in which the NK-I receptor antagonist exerts its therapeutic effect is unknown. [ 125 I]BH-Substance P was used to measure NK-I receptors postmortem in cytoarchitectonically defined areas of rostral orbito-frontal cortex (Brodmann's area 47) of subjects with major depressive disorder (n = 12, six females) and psychiatrically normal subjects (n = II, five females). Six subjects with depression died by suicide. Subjects with depression showed decreased binding to NK-I receptors across all cortical layers (p = 0.024).The pathophysiology of depression, and the reported therapeutic benefit of NK-I receptor antagonists, may thus involve NK-I receptors in prefrontal cortex.

1-Hydroxypyrene (1-HP) is a carcinogenic and slightly water-soluble polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon. Ecotoxicity and mutagenicity of 1-HP and its photoproducts, and the effect of Mn2+ and Cu2+ on their mutagenicity were measured with microbial assay in this study. The assay includes spread plate counting, direct counting, microbial mineralization of 14C-UL-D-glucose and Mutatox Test. At the concentration examined (0.8 microM), the photoproducts (after 1.5 h solar irradiation) of 1-HP inhibited microbial glucose mineralization activity (by 64%) after microbial assemblages of a local reservoir site were exposed for 1 day. However, heterotrophic bacteria were able to utilize 1-HP photoproducts as the growth substrates and increase viability counts by up to 4.75-folds. 1-HP exhibited positive response to Mutatox Test in both direct medium and S-9 medium, with the lowest observable effective concentration of 0.625 microM in the test with direct medium. After photolysis, 1-HP decreased its mutagenicity. Mn2+ (312.5 microM-5 mM) and Cu2+ (6.25-100 microM) themselves are not mutagenic. However, addition of the metal ions before or after photolysis modifies the light readings of 1-HP during the test. Therefore, presence of metal ions could affect the genotoxicity of 1-HP in aquatic environments, depending on timing of the addition.

1-Hydroxypyrene (HOP), a metabolite found in the urine of humans and laboratory animals exposed to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), is known to be both acutely toxic and genotoxic. It has been widely used as a biomarker for studying PAH exposure. In this research, we have found that, upon UVA irradiation, HOP causes DNA single-strand cleavages and forms HOP-DNA covalent adducts. The UVA-induced cleavage of supercoiled plasmid PhiX174 DNA is dependent upon both HOP concentration and UVA dosage. A longer irradiation time or higher HOP concentration induces more DNA cleavage. Results of the photocleavage experiments carried out in the presence of reactive oxygen species scavengers, histidine, sodium azide, mannitol, SOD, and desferal indicate that both the superoxide free radical and singlet oxygen are likely involved in causing DNA single-strand cleavage. The photocleavage is inhibited by the presence of an excited singlet-state quencher, KI, indicating that it is an excited-state reaction. Along with light-induced DNA cleavage, HOP also forms DNA covalent adducts while being degraded upon light irradiation. Light-induced degradation of 20 microM HOP follows first-order reaction kinetics in a 10% methanolic buffer (10 mM phosphate) solution in the absence or presence of 40 microM calf thymus DNA, with degradation half-lives of 20 or 15 min, respectively. The shorter degradation half-life in the presence of DNA is due to the formation of the HOP-DNA covalent adduct. The formation of the HOP-DNA covalent adduct is evidenced by comparing the UV-vis absorption and fluorescence emission spectra of the pure HOP with those of the HOP-DNA adduct. The covalent HOP-DNA adduct produced due to irradiation was purified by either extensive dialysis (3 x 500 mL buffer solutions), phenol and chloroform extraction followed by ethanol precipitation, or chloroform extraction alone. The isolated HOP-DNA adduct has an absorption peak at 353 nm, which is 8 nm red-shifted compared to that of free HOP. The fluorescence emission for HOP-DNA is at least 70 times weaker than that for free HOP in solution. In summary, the findings with HOP reveal that, in addition to metabolic activation that eventually leads to the formation of alkylated DNA adducts or other forms of DNA damage, HOP may be activated by light to produce DNA single-strand cleavage and covalent DNA adducts. These DNA lesions can be sources of toxicity.

1-Aminopyrene (1-AP) is an environmental mutagen and a metabolite of 1-nitropyrene (1-NO2P). On light irradiation, 1-AP transforms into oxidation products with a half-life of 7.1 min in 10% methanolic buffer. The presence of DNA or free-radical/ singlet oxygen scavengers 1,4-dithiothreitol, histidine, or NaN3 slows down 1-AP photochemical reaction. The photoproducts identified include 1-hydroxyaminopyrene, 1-nitrosopyrene, 1-NO2P, 1-amino-x-hydroxypyrene, and three covalent dimers. Since it is known that 1-NO2P and 1-nitrosopyrene are genotoxic and 1-hydroxyaminopyrnene can react with DNA to form covalent adducts, we used the Mutatox test to assess the toxicity of 1-AP and its photoproducts. It was found that the lowest-observed-effect concentrations for 1-AP, 1-AP photoproducts, and 1-NO2P are 1.25 microM, 10 microM, and NA (no mutagenic response was seen at this concentration range) in direct medium (no S-9) and NA, 5 microM, and 0.625 microM in S-9 medium, respectively. Therefore, 1-AP photoproducts are more genotoxic than 1-AP itself in the S-9 medium and more mutagenic than 1-NO2P in the direct medium. Thus, 1-NO2P alone cannot account for all the mutagenicity of the photoproducts. Irradiation of 1-AP together with DNA leads to covalent DNA adduct formation possibly via the 1-hydroxyaminopyrene intermediate. In this study, ultraviolet-A (UVA) was used at approximately the same magnitude as the outdoor UVA irradiance. Considering the half-life of 1-AP in the test solutions in this study, the aquatic biota (including humans) near the surface layer of a static water body are most likely subjected to the photoinduced toxicity of the study compound. The biota at the lower depths will also be affected if turbulence becomes a significant factor in enhancing the exposure risk for aquatic organisms.