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POEMS syndrome is a rare plasma cell dyscrasia characterized by polyneuropathy, organomegaly, endocrinopathy, M protein, and skin changes. This study reviewed the clinical characteristics and long-term outcome of 99 consecutive Chinese patients with newly diagnosed POEMS syndrome in a single institute. The median age of 99 patients was 45 years, and the ratio of men/women was 1.4. The median time from onset of symptoms to diagnosis was 18 months. The typical five features of peripheral neuropathy, organomegaly, endocrinopathy, M protein, and skin change remained to be essential for patients with POEMS syndrome in China. The unusual features like pulmonary hypertension (36%) and renal impairment (37%) were not uncommon in China. Eighty-three percent patients were alive after follow-up time of 25 months, and 10% patients had survived more than 60 months. Melphalan-based therapy (OR, 0.076; 95% CI, 0.02-0.285) and normal renal function (OR, 0.246; 95% CI, 0.076-0.802) were independent prognostic factors for the survival of patients with POEMS syndrome. In conclusion, POEMS syndrome in Chinese patients was a multi-systemic disease with clinical features similar to non-Chinese ones. Active therapy can effectively improve the prognosis of patients with POEMS syndrome. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To evaluate the effects of crude oil water accommodated fraction (WAF) on marine phytoplankton community, natural phytoplankton collected seasonally from the Yueqing bay were exposed to eight groups of crude oil WAF for 15 days under laboratory conditions. Chlorophyll a and cell density were measured, and species of phytoplankton were identified every 24 h to reflect the change of phytoplankton community. The results showed that (1) High concentrations (≥2.28 mg l) of oil pollution would greatly restrain phytoplankton growth ( p < 0.001), decrease chlorophyll a content and cell density, whereas low concentrations (≤1.21 mg l) did not restrain its growth but rather promoted the phytoplankton growth. (2) The biodiversity, evenness, and species number of phytoplankton were all significantly influenced by crude oil WAF in all seasons ( p < 0.001). (3) The dominant species changes were different under different pollutant concentrations in different seasons. Different species had different tolerances to the oil pollution, thus leading to abnormal succession. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this study is to investigate the efficacy and safety of recombinant erythropoietin-beta in the treatment of anemic patients with multiple myeloma (MM), low-grade non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL), and chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL). From December 2005 to November 2006, the patients with MM, low-grade NHL, and CLL were enrolled in this study, male or female, aged > or = 18 years, transfusion-dependant, and receiving anti-neoplasia chemotherapy. Recombinant human erythropoietin-beta was used in this study with the dose initiated at 150 IU/kg, thrice a week, subcutaneously. The total treatment duration was 12 weeks. The primary endpoint of the study is response rate (RR), which is defined as hemoglobin increasing > or = 2 g/dL comparing to baseline level, or returning to normal range, without any transfusion within 6 weeks of evaluation. Fifty out of 82 (64.6%) patients enrolled in this study responded to the treatment and 29 patients had no response. Hypertension (12.2%) is the most common adverse effect; however, all the adverse events were mild, categorized in NCI grade I or II. We conclude that recombinant erythropoietin-beta was effective in the treatment of anemia of the patients with MM, NHL, and CLL, as well as it is well-tolerated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract  A fluorescent assay of Hg2 in neutral aqueous solution was developed using N-[p-(dimethylamino)benzamido]-N′-phenylthiourea (1). 1’s fluorogenic chemodosimetric behaviors towards various metal ions were studied and a high sensitivity as well as selectivity was achieved for Hg2. It was because of a strongly fluorescent 1,3,4-oxadiazoles which was produced by the Hg2 promoted desulfurization reaction. The spectra of ESI mass and IR provided evidences for this reaction. According to fluorescence titration, a good linear relationship ranging from 1.0 � 10−7 to 2.0 � 10−5 mol l−1 was obtained with the limit of detection as 3.1 � 10−8 mol l−1. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]