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Background To determine the utility of apoptosis inhibitor of macrophage (AIM)/CD5L as a potentially novel biomarker of morbidity and mortality in patients with sepsis who are critically ill. Methods There were 150 adult patients with sepsis studied. Serum AIM levels on day of ICU admission were determined and compared with survival status and organ dysfunction. For validation, 60 adult patients with sepsis from another medical center were studied. Furthermore, the role of AIM as an outcome predictor in 51 pediatric patients with sepsis was investigated. Results In the derivation cohort of adult patients, patients with sepsis had markedly increased admission levels of serum AIM compared with ICU control subjects and healthy control subjects. Higher serum AIM levels at admission were significantly associated with higher Sequential (sepsis-related) Organ Failure Assessment (SOFA) scores. On day of ICU admission, the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) for AIM level association with 28-day mortality was 0.86, higher than the AUC for SOFA (0.77), procalcitonin (0.73), lactate (0.67), IL-27 (0.65), and C-reactive protein (0.55). Patients with sepsis with higher admission levels of AIM (> 543.66 ng/mL) had significantly increased 28-day mortality compared with those with lower AIM levels (≤ 543.66 ng/mL). The association between admission levels of AIM and 28-day mortality was confirmed in the validation cohort of adult patients. In another cohort of pediatric patients with sepsis, the AUC for AIM level association with 28-day mortality was 0.82. Conclusions Circulating AIM levels at admission were markedly increased in patients with sepsis, which can serve as a novel prognostic biomarker for predicting mortality.

A comprehensive and detailed investigation of heavy metal pollution, toxicity and ecological risk assessment was conducted for the surface river sediments of the Haihe Basin in China based on 220 sampling sites selected in 2013. The average concentrations of Cr, Cu, Ni, Pb, and Zn in the sediments were 129, 63.4, 36.6, 50.0, and 202 mg/kg, respectively. As indicated by geo-accumulation index and pollution load index, most surface river sediments of the Haihe Basin were contaminated with the investigated metals, especially in junction region of Zi Ya He and Hei Long Gang watersheds. The five heavy metals in the sediments all had anthropogenic sources, and the enrichment degrees followed the order: Cu > Pb > Zn > Cr > Ni, with a mean enrichment factor value of 3.27, 2.77, 2.58, 1.81, and 1.44, respectively. According to the mean index of comprehensive potential ecological risk (38.9), the studied sediments of the Haihe Basin showed low potential ecological risk, but the sediments were potentially biological toxic based on the mean probable effect concentration quotient (0.547), which may be due to the speciation of the five metals in the sediments. The results indicate that heavy metal pollution should be considered during the development of ecological restoration strategies in the Haihe Basin. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved

With the growing popularity of cell phones, using massive cellular signaling data as probe to track the vehicles movement trajectory and obtain the real-time traffic condition has become one of the most attractive candidate techniques. However, traditional approaches may offer a poor performance in removing noisy data and minimizing deviation of traffic speed in adjacent time intervals. In this paper, a novel approach is proposed to solve these two issues. The authors move noisy data by comparing the cellular signaling data with the trained data set, and adopt a modified Kalman filter algorithm to minimize the deviations. The experiment results show that the accuracy of the approach performs better in comparison to other two traffic speed estimation approaches.

Mill chatter is one of the most common problems in cold rolling. Thus, it is important to investigate the mill chatter phenomenon to ensure a high-speed and stable rolling process. The traditional mill chatter mechanism model cannot meet the monitoring and rapid diagnosis needs of the rolling process in the field. In this paper, a data-driven mill vibration analysis method is proposed. The main objective of this study was to develop a mill vibration monitoring method and an intelligent algorithm for mill chatter early warning. Rolling experiments showed that the proposed monitoring method could be a promising and effective technique for assessing the chatter phenomenon. The mill vibration acceleration amplitude prediction performance of a support vector regression, neural-network-based method, and extreme gradient boosting method were evaluated. The results proved that the prediction performances of the proposed extreme gradient boosting method were highly reliable with the highest determination coefficient value of 0.779, lowest mean absolute percentage error of 9.7%, and better forecast robustness under all of the dataset ratios. Meanwhile, the contribution rates of the variables on the mill vibrations were investigated, and results showed that an effective way to eliminate the mill chatter was to control the rolling speed, cumulative rolling strip length, tension and roll radius.

Interferon-γ (IFN-γ) is traditionally regarded as a proinflammatory cytokine by virtue of its strong macrophage activating potential and its association with Th1 driven immune responses. NOD1 and NOD2 are cytoplasmic receptors that can initiate the initial immune response by sensing bacterial components or danger signals. In this study, we investigated the immunopathological roles of IFN-γ and NOD1, 2 ligands iE-DAP/MDP on the activation of fibroblast-like synoviocytes (FLS) in RA. FLS constitutively express functional NOD1 and NOD2, and the gene and protein expression of NOD1 and NOD2 could be enhanced by the treatment with IFN-γ. The synergistic effect was observed in the combined treatment of IFN-γ and NOD1 ligand iE-DAP or NOD2 ligand MDP on the release of CCL5, CXCL9 and CXCL10 from FLS, and its effect was in a dose-dependent manner. The co-stimulation which IFN-γ combined with iE-DAP/MDP could abolish the inhibition of CXCL8 level by IFN-γ alone. Further investigations showed that synergistic effects on the production of CCL5, CXCL9 and CXCL10 in FLS stimulated by IFN-γ and iE-DAP/MDP were differentially regulated by intracellular activation of NF-κB, p38MAPK and ERK pathways. In conclusion, our data confirmed the inflammatory effect of IFN-γ and iE-DAP/MDP on human FLS for the first time and therefore provided a new insight into the IFN-γ combined with NOD1 or NOD2 activated immunopathological mechanisms mediated by distinct intracellular signal transduction in joint inflammation of RA.

Progranulin (PGRN) is a multi-functional protein known to be involved in inflammation. Recent studies have found that PGRN has dual roles in inflammation and exerts anti-inflammatory and pro-inflammatory function in different diseases. However, the role of PGRN in psoriasis has not been fully elucidated. Here, we detected preferential expression of PGRN in human psoriatic lesions and serum. Moreover, serum PGRN/tumour necrosis factor-α ratio was negatively correlated with disease severity. To investigate the role of PGRN in the pathogenesis of psoriasis, we used wild-type (WT) and PGRN(-/-) mice in a model of 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol 13-acetate (TPA) -induced psoriasis-like inflammation. We demonstrated that PGRN expression was dramatically enhanced in the psoriasis-like lesions of TPA-treated WT mice, in accordance with human psoriatic lesions. Surprisingly, PGRN(-/-) mice were more sensitive to the development of TPA-induced psoriasis-like inflammation. The mechanism underlying this increased sensitivity of PGRN(-/-) mice to TPA-induced psoriasis-like inflammation was impaired differentiation of regulatory T cells in lymph nodes and decreased recruitment of these cells in the affected skin, which results in more severe inflammation. Hence, in WT mice, PGRN promotes differentiation and recruitment of regulatory T cells at the site of inflammation, which protects the skin from an exaggerated psoriasis-like inflammatory response.

Streptococcus pneumoniae, a major respiratory pathogen, is a leading cause of death among children worldwide. Mucosal vaccination is a recommended method to prevent respiratory infection. However, development of mucosal vaccination is usually hindered due to the lack of safe and effective mucosal adjuvants. Mast cell activator compound 48/80 (C48/80) has been used as a mucosal adjuvant in immunization of adult mice, but its adjuvanticity is not clear in the immunization of young mice. In this study, the adjuvanticity of C48/80 was evaluated when intranasally co-administrated with a pneumococcal vaccine candidate strain SPY1 in a young mice model in comparison with a classical mucosal adjuvant cholera toxin (CT) and a relatively safe mucosal adjuvant Pam2CSK4. All three adjuvants enhanced antibody responses, whereas serum IgG titers were maintained at a stable level during the 3 months after the last immunization only in the SPY1+C48/80 and SPY1+CT groups. Furthermore, both the SPY1+CT group and the SPY1+C48/80 group induced strong Th17 immune response. Notably, C48/80 showed the exceptional ability to promote the clearance of nasal pneumococcal colonization which CT and Pam2CSK4 did not show. We found that C48/80's ability to induce protection against nasal pneumococcal colonization depended on B cells and IL-17A. Additionally, C48/80, as a mucosal adjuvant, showed a greater ability to protect young mice against lethal pneumococcal infection than CT. In comparison with CT, C48/80 also showed a favorable safety. These results reveal a promising perspective for using C48/80 as a mucosal adjuvant to improve protection against pneumococcal diseases early in life.

Background Interleukin 4 (IL-4) is an important cytokine that may modulate development of secondary bacterial pneumonia during sepsis-induced immunosuppression. Methods We established an experimental model of cecal ligation and puncture (CLP)-induced sublethal polymicrobial sepsis followed by secondary Pseudomonas aeruginosa pulmonary infection, Results IL-4-deficient mice that underwent CLP were resistant to secondary pulmonary P. aeruginosa infection. As compared to wild-type mice, IL-4 knockout (KO) mice displayed improved survival and better bacterial clearance. Furthermore, IL-4 KO mice exhibited enhanced lung inflammation, neutrophil recruitment to airspaces, and elevated pulmonary cytokine production, with significantly increased tumor necrosis factor α (TNF-α) production. Neutralization of TNF-α could reverse the enhanced protection against secondary P. aeruginosa pneumonia in septic IL-4 KO mice, indicating that the resistance of septic IL-4 KO mice to secondary bacterial pneumonia was partially mediated by TNF-α. In addition, IL-4 priming displayed marked impairment of the ability of alveolar macrophages to phagocytose and kill P. aeruginosa in vitro, and this defect was associated with decreased activation of Akt, JNK, p38MAPK, and ERK intracellular signaling pathways by IL-4. Finally, neutralization of IL-4 in septic mice could improve survival and clearance of bacteria from the lungs of septic mice infected with P. aeruginosa. Conclusions Our findings provide new insight for immunopathologic mechanisms of sepsis-induced secondary bacterial pneumonia.

It is important to understand the potential bioavailability of heavy metals in the sediments of land-freshwater interfaces (between terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems). Therefore, we evaluated the pollution of Cr, Ni, Cu, Zn, As, and Cd in land-freshwater interface sediments/soils according to total concentrations, and used sequential extraction method to measure different fractions of Cd. Then, the diffusive gradients in thin films (DGT) technique was employed to study the potential bioavailability of metals. Results showed that the concentrations of exchangeable and weak acid soluble fraction and oxidizable fraction were higher in ecotone area, and the values of reducible fraction and residual fraction were higher in deep water area. There existed significant positive correlations between [Cd]-DGT (concentration of Cd measured by DGT) and EXC-Cd (exchangeable and weak acid soluble fraction of Cd) (r2 = 0.65), but the significant negative correlation was found between [Cd]-DGT and RES-Cd (Residual fraction of Cd) (r2 = 0.52). DGT technique is a feasible method to measure potential bioavailability of heavy metals for risk assessment in the sediments/soils of land-freshwater interfaces.

The diffusive gradients in thin films (DGT) technique is a useful tool for assessing metal bioavailability in sediments. However, the DGT technique has not been used to predict metal bioaccumulation in plants grown in sediments in river systems. In this study, the DGT technique was evaluated for predicting metal bioaccumulation in Phragmites australis growing in contaminated sediments. In sediments with high levels of contamination, release of DGT-labile Cr, Zn, Cu, and Cd occurred, which resulted in high bioaccumulation of these metals in P. australis. Bioaccumulation of Cr, Cu, Zn, and Cd was strongly correlated with the metal concentrations in the sediments measured by the DGT technique. By contrast, the correlation between sediment content and bioaccumulation for As was weak. There were significant negative correlations between the content of Ni in the plant tissues and the contents of the other metals. Overall, the DGT technique provided predictions of metal bioaccumulation similar to those obtained using total metal measurements in multiple polluted sediment samples. Therefore, DGT analysis could be used for assessing heavy metal bioavailability, and metal bioaccumulation in P. australis was not all significantly correlated with the bioavailability concentrations of metals in river sediments.

Evaluating heavy metal pollution status and ecological risk in river sediments is a complex task, requiring consideration of contaminant pollution levels, as well as effects of biological processes within the river system. There are currently no simple or low-cost approaches to heavy metal assessment in river sediments. Here, we introduce a system of assessment for pollution status of heavy metals in river sediments, using measurements of Cd in the Shaocun River sediments as a case study. This system can be used to identify high-risk zones of the river that should be given more attention. First, we evaluated the pollution status of Cd in the river sediments based on their total Cd content, and calculated a risk assessment, using local geochemical background values at various sites along the river. Using both acetic acid and ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid to extracted the fractions of Cd in sediments, and used DGT to evaluate the bioavailability of Cd. Thus, DGT provided a measure of potentially bioavailable concentrations of Cd concentrations in the sediments. Last, we measured Cd contents in plant tissue collected at the same site to compare with our other measures. A Pearson's correlation analysis showed that Cd-Plant correlated significantly with Cd-HAc, (r = 0.788, P < 0.01), Cd-EDTA (r = 0.925, P < 0.01), Cd-DGT (r = 0.976, P < 0.01), and Cd-Total (r = 0.635, P < 0.05). We demonstrate that this system of assessment is a useful means of assessing heavy metal pollution status and ecological risk in river sediments.

Insights into the host-microbial virulence factor interaction, especially the immune signaling mechanisms, could provide novel prevention and treatment options for pneumococcal diseases. Streptococcus pneumoniae endopeptidase O (PepO) is a newly discovered and ubiquitously expressed pneumococcal virulence protein. A PepO-mutant strain showed impaired adherence to and invasion of host cells compared with the isogenic wild-type strain. It is still unknown whether PepO is involved in the host defense response to pneumococcal infection. Here, we demonstrated that PepO could enhance phagocytosis of Streptococcus pneumoniae and Staphylococcus aureus by peritoneal exudate macrophages (PEMs). Further studies showed that PepO stimulation upregulated the expression of microRNA-155 (miR-155) in PEMs in a time- and dose-dependent manner. PepO-induced enhanced phagocytosis was decreased in cells transfected with an inhibitor of miR-155, while it was increased in cells transfected with a mimic of miR-155. We also revealed that PepO-induced upregulation of miR-155 in PEMs was mediated by Toll-like receptor 2 (TLR2)–NF-κB signaling and that the increased expression of miR-155 downregulated expression of SHIP1. Taken together, these results indicate that PepO induces upregulation of miR-155 in PEMs, contributing to enhanced phagocytosis and host defense response to pneumococci and Staphylococcus aureus .

Background Progranulin (PGRN) is an important immunomodulatory factor in a variety of inflammatory diseases. However, its role in pulmonary immunity against bacterial infection remains unknown. Methods Pneumonia was induced in PGRN-deficient and normal wild-type mice using Pseudomonas aeruginosa or Staphylococcus aureus, and we assessed the effects of PGRN on survival, bacterial burden, cytokine and chemokine production, and pulmonary leukocyte recruitment after bacterial pneumonia. Results Patients with community-acquired pneumonia displayed elevated PGRN levels. Likewise, mice with Gram-negative and Gram-positive pneumonia had increased PGRN production in the lung and circulation. Progranulin deficiency led to increased bacterial growth and dissemination accompanied by enhanced lung injury and mortality in bacterial pneumonia, which was associated with impaired recruitment of macrophages and neutrophils in the lung. The reduced number of pulmonary macrophages and neutrophils observed in PGRN-deficient mice was related to a reduction of CCL2 and CXCL1 in the lungs after bacterial pneumonia. Importantly, therapeutic administration of PGRN improved mortality in severe bacterial pneumonia. Conclusions This study supports a novel role for PGRN in pulmonary immunity and suggests that treatment with PGRN may be a viable therapy for bacterial pneumonia.

Background Interleukin 27 (IL-27) is an important cytokine regulating host immune responses. However, its role in sepsis-induced immunosuppression remains unclear. Aim To investigate the role of IL-27 in modulating sepsis-induced immunosuppression using a murine model of caecal ligation and puncture (CLP)-induced sepsis followed by secondary challenge with Pseudomonas aeruginosa . Methods CLP or sham surgery was performed in wild-type (WT) and IL-27 receptor (IL-27R)/WSX-1 knockout (KO) mice, and then mice were infected with intratracheal P aeruginosa . Results IL-27 was upregulated in patients with sepsis and septic mice. Following sepsis and secondary intrapulmonary bacterial challenge, IL-27R KO mice had higher survival rates and improved bacterial clearance from lung and blood compared with WT mice, which was associated with early increased pulmonary cytokine/chemokine production, as well as enhanced neutrophil recruitment to airspaces. Neutralisation of IL-27 in septic mice significantly improved survival and clearance of bacteria from the lungs of septic mice infected with P aeruginosa, and direct application of recombinant IL-27 could increase susceptibility to P aeruginosa infection. The resistance of septic IL-27R KO mice to secondary P aeruginosa infection was abrogated by depletion of alveolar macrophages (AMs) and neutrophils. AMs from septic IL-27R KO mice had higher bacterial uptake and killing capacities, enhanced cytokine/chemokine production, and increased expression of costimulatory molecules compared with those from WT mice, while neutrophils from septic IL-27R KO mice had increased bacterial killing ability and higher expression of adhesion molecule Mac-1 compared with WT neutrophils. Conclusions IL-27 is an important mediator of sepsis-induced impairment of lung antibacterial host defence.

Previous studies have shown that work stressors and social support influence job strain. However, few studies have examined the impact of individual differences on job strain. In Xinjiang, there are a large number of petroleum workers in arid deserts. The present study investigated the effects of work stressors, social support, and 5-hydroxytryptamine receptor (5-HTR2A) genotype on the etiology of job strain among petroleum workers in Xinjiang. A cross-sectional study was carried out between January and August 2013. A total of 700 workers were selected by a three-stage stratified sampling method. 5-HTR2A genotypes were determined with the SNaPshot single nucleotide polymorphism assay. Work stressors and job strain were evaluated with the Occupational Stress Inventory-Revised questionnaire. Social support was assessed with the Chinese Social Support Rating Scale. Work overload and responsibility were significantly associated with job strain. Low social support was associated with severe vocational and interpersonal strain. High social support was a protective factor against job strain (odds ratio (OR) = 0.32, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.14-0.76). The CC genotype of rs6313 and the AA genotype of rs2070040 were linked to severe vocational strain. Ordinal logistic regression analysis revealed that the CC genotype of rs6313 was linked to higher risk of job strain than the TT genotype (OR = 1.88, 95% CI: 1.10-3.23). These data provide evidence that work stressors, low social support, and 5-HTR2A gene polymorphism contributes to the risk of job strain.

A comprehensive and detailed investigation of heavy metal pollution, toxicity, and ecological risk assessment was conducted for the surface river sediments of the Haihe Basin in China based on 220 sampling sites selected in 2013. The average concentrations of Cr, Cu, Ni, Pb, and Zn in the sediments were 129 mg/kg, 63.4 mg/kg, 36.6 mg/kg, 50.0 mg/kg, and 202 mg/kg, respectively. As indicated by the geoaccumulation and pollution load indices, most surface river sediments of the Haihe Basin were contaminated with the investigated metals, especially in the junction region of the Zi Ya He and Hei Long Gang watersheds. The 5 heavy metals in the sediments all had anthropogenic sources, and the enrichment degrees followed the order Cu PbZn Cr Ni, with mean enrichment factors of 3.27, 2.77, 2.58, 1.81, and 1.44, respectively. According to the mean index of comprehensive potential ecological risk (38.9), the studied sediments of the Haihe Basin showed low potential ecological risk, but the sediments were potentially biologically toxic based on the mean probable effect concentration quotient (0.547), which may be the result of speciation of the 5 metals in the sediments. The results indicate that heavy metal pollution should be considered during the development of ecological restoration strategies in the Haihe Basin. Environ Toxicol Chem 2017;36:1149-1155. © 2016 SETAC.

Progranulin, a widely expressed protein, has multiple physiological functions. The functional role of progranulin in the host response to sepsis remains unknown.To assess the role of progranulin in the host response to sepsis.Effects of progranulin on host response to sepsis were determined.Progranulin concentrations were significantly elevated in adult (n = 74) and pediatric (n = 26) patients with sepsis relative to corresponding healthy adult (n = 36) and pediatric (n = 17) control subjects, respectively. By using a low-lethality model of nonsevere sepsis, we observed that progranulin deficiency not only increased mortality but also decreased bacterial clearance during sepsis. The decreased host defense to sepsis in progranulin-deficient mice was associated with reduced macrophage recruitment, with correspondingly impaired chemokine CC receptor ligand 2 (CCL2) production in peritoneal lavages during the early phase of sepsis. Progranulin derived from hematopoietic cells contributed to host defense in sepsis. Therapeutic administration of recombinant progranulin not only rescued impaired host defense in progranulin-deficient mice after nonsevere sepsis but also protected wild-type mice against a high-lethality model of severe sepsis. Progranulin-mediated protection against sepsis was closely linked to improved peritoneal macrophage recruitment. In addition, CCL2 treatment of progranulin-deficient mice improved survival and decreased peritoneal bacterial loads during sepsis, at least in part through promotion of peritoneal macrophage recruitment.This proof-of-concept study supports a central role of progranulin-dependent macrophage recruitment in host defense to sepsis, opening new opportunities to host-directed therapeutic strategy that manipulate host immune response in the treatment of sepsis.

Interaction between virulence factors of streptococcus pneumoniae and innate immune receptors elicits host responses through specific signaling pathways during infection. Insights into the signaling events may provide a better knowledge of the starting events for host-pathogen interaction. Here we demonstrated a significant induction of innate immune response elicited by recombinant streptococcus pneumoniae endopeptidase O (rPepO), a newer pneumococcal virulence protein, both in vivo and in vitro. Intratracheal instillation of rPepO protein resulted in significant increase of cytokines production and neutrophils infiltration in mouse lungs. TLR2 or TLR4 deficient mice subjected to rPepO treatment showed decreased cytokines production, reduced neutrophils infiltration and intensified tissue injury as compared with WT mice. Upon stimulation, cytokines TNF-α, IL-6, CXCL1 and CXCL10 were produced by peritoneal exudate macrophages (PEMs) in a TLR2 and TLR4 dependent manner. rPepO- induced cytokines production was markedly decreased in TLR2 or TLR4 deficient PEMs. Further study revealed that cytokines induction relied on the rapid phosphorylation of p38, Akt and p65, not the activation of ERK or JNK. While in TLR2 or TLR4 deficient PEMs the activation of p65 was undetectable. Taken together, these results indicate for the first time that the newer pneumococcal virulence protein PepO activates host innate immune response partially through TLR2 and TLR4 signaling pathways.

Streptococcus pneumoniae is one of the causative agent of pneumonia, meningitis, otitis media and sepsis. Vaccination is an effective strategy to combat S. pneumoniae invasion. We previously reported that SPY1, a novel attenuated vaccine candidate against S. pneumoniae, induces a protective immune response against pneumococcal infection in mice. However, underlying mechanisms have yet to be fully illustrated. To explore the mechanism of innate and adaptive immunities induced by SPY1. In this study, bone marrow-derived dendritic cells (DCs) of mice were infected with SPY1 and its parental wild-type strain D39, SPY1-infected DCs were co-cultured with homologous CD4+T cells or adoptive transfer to C57BL/6 mice. Results showed that SPY1 promoted DCs maturation with increased levels of surface molecules such as CD40, CD86, and MHC II, and upregulated the expression of proinflammatory cytokines, including TNF-α, IL-6, IL-12p40, IL-12p70 and IL-23. By contrast, D39 did not efficiently induce DCs activation and maturation. SPY1 could also activate MAPK and NF-κB signaling pathways in DC, but D39 unlikely affected this pathways. SPY1 treated DCs also induced Th1 and Th17 responses in vitro and in vivo. Our results supported the potential of SPY1 as a novel attenuated pneumococcus vaccine, because SPY1-activated DCs exhibit fully matured phenotype, initiated an adaptive immune response, and orchestrated Th1 and Th17 responses.

The purpose of this study was to explore the relationship between job burnout and neuroendocrine indicators in soldiers living in a harsh environment. Three hundred soldiers stationed in the arid desert and 600 in an urban area were recruited. They filled in the Chinese Maslach Burnout Inventory questionnaire. One hundred soldiers were randomly selected from each group to measure their levels of noradrenaline, serotonin, heat shock protein (HSP)-70, adrenocorticotropic hormone, and serum cortisol. Job burnout was more common in soldiers from urban areas than those from rural areas. Job burnout was significantly higher among soldiers stationed in the arid desert than those in urban areas. For soldiers in the arid desert, the levels of HSP-70, serum cortisol, and adrenocorticotropic hormone were significantly higher than in soldiers in urban areas. Correlation analyses showed that the degree of job burnout was weakly negatively correlated with the level of HSP-70. Being an only child, HSP-70 levels, cortisol levels, and ACTH levels were independently associated with job burnout in soldiers stationed in the arid desert. A higher level of job burnout in soldiers stationed in arid desert and a corresponding change in neuroendocrine indicators indicated a correlation between occupational stress and neurotransmitters.

BACKGROUND: The level of glycated hemoglobin (HbA(1c)) has been recognized as an important indicator of long‐term glycemic control. However, the HbA(1c) measurement is not currently included as a diagnostic determinant in China. Current study aims to assess a candidate modified International Federation of Clinical Chemistry reference method for the forthcoming standardization of HbA(1c) measurements in China. METHODS: The HbA(1c) concentration was measured using a modified high‐performance liquid chromatography–electrospray ionization–mass spectrometry (HPLC–ESI–MS) method. The modified method replaces the propylcyanide column with a C18 reversed‐phase column, which has a lower cost and is more commonly used in China, and uses 0.1% (26.5 mmol/l) formic acid instead of trifluoroacetic acid. Moreover, in order to minimize matrix interference and reduce the running time, a solid‐phase extraction was employed. The discrepancies between HbA(1c) measurements using conventional methods and the HPLC–ESI–MS method were clarified in clinical samples from healthy people and diabetic patients. Corresponding samples were distributed to 89 hospitals in Beijing for external quality assessment. RESULTS: The linearity, reliability, and accuracy of the modified HPLC–ESI–MS method with a shortened running time of 6 min were successfully validated. Out of 89 hospitals evaluated, the relative biases of HbA(1c) concentrations were < 8% for 74 hospitals and < 5% for 60 hospitals. Compared with other conventional methods, HbA(1c) concentrations determined by HPLC methods were similar to the values obtained from the current HPLC–ESI–MS method. CONCLUSION: The HPLC–ESI–MS method represents an improvement over existing methods and provides a simple, stable, and rapid HbA(1c) measurement with strong signal intensities and reduced ion suppression.

For Internet based real-time teleoperation systems, the exact prediction of round trip timedelay (RTT) can have great importance on teleoperation systems performance. In order to solve Internet delay prediction problem, this paper proposes an improved radial basis function (RBF) neural network prediction model. In this model, which is different from other traditional prediction models, is that local particle swarm optimization algorithm is used to adjust RBF network parameters and binary particle swarm optimization algorithm is used to adjust structure of RBF model. Based on this idea, we propose the improved RBF neural network prediction model, and we use this model to make prediction of Internet delay. The experiment result shows that this model is effective.

Traffic speed is one of the most essential parameters representing traffic conditions in intelligent traffic system (ITS). In recent years, there have been several approaches estimating traffic speed based on cellular network signaling data. However, the accuracy of these approaches is unsatisfactory because they have a poor performance in filtering out noisy data and minimizing deviations of traffic speed values' trend in adjacent time intervals. In this paper, a new approach is proposed to solve the two problems above. The approach filters out noisy data according to educated judgment, and adopts a modified Kalman filter algorithm to minimize the deviations. The performance study on real data sets of Beijing shows that the accuracy of the proposed approach is higher when compared with existing two notable estimation approaches. Further the approach will contribute to developing intelligent navigation systems and pursuing artificial intelligence applications.

Previous research has revealed that agricultural intensification in the Chao Lake Valley since the 1980s has led to significant heavy metal and phosphorus (P) contamination of estuarine sediments in this region. However, the pore water plays a more important role than do sediments in the cycling of nutrients and metals in estuarine ecosystems. Average concentrations of Cd, Cr, Ni, Pb, and P in the pore water of estuarine sediments were 0.634, 3.11, 4.98, 3.98, and 49.9 μg L(-1), respectively. Average diffusive fluxes of these elements from the pore water to overlying water were -0.015, 0.058, 0.768, -0.238, and 20.0 μg m(-2) d(-1), respectively. Compared with similar studies, the values of heavy metal fluxes were low, indicating minimal diffusion between sediments and overlying waters; however, P diffusion from the sediment pore water to overlying water was high, indicating that the sediments may be a direct source of P to overlying water. Since P is a major cause of algal blooming in agricultural estuaries of Chao Lake, the obtained results could be useful in developing effective management strategies to control pollution in the Chao Lake Valley.

Pneumolysin (Ply) and its variants are protective against pneumococcal infections in animal models, and as a Toll-like receptor 4 agonist, pneumolysin has been reported to be a mucosal adjuvant. DnaJ has been approved as a useful candidate vaccine protein; we therefore designed novel fusion proteins of DnaJ with a form of Ply that has a deletion of A146 (ΔA146Ply-DnaJ [the C terminus of ΔA146Ply connected with the N terminus of DnaJ] and DnaJ-ΔA146Ply [the C terminus of DnaJ connected with the N terminus of ΔA146Ply]) to test whether they are protective against focal and lethal pneumococcal infections and their potential protective mechanisms. The purified proteins were used to intranasally immunize the animals without additional adjuvant. Immunization with DnaJ-ΔA146Ply or DnaJ plus ΔA146Ply (Ply with a single deletion of A146) could significantly reduce S. pneumoniae colonization in the nasopharynx and lung relative with DnaJ alone. Additionally, we observed the best protection for DnaJ-ΔA146Ply-immunized mice after challenge with lethal doses of S. pneumoniae strains, which was comparable to that achieved by PPV23. Mice immunized with DnaJ-ΔA146Ply produced significantly higher levels of anti-DnaJ IgG in serum and secretory IgA (sIgA) in saliva than those immunized with DnaJ alone. The production of IL-17A was also striking in DnaJ-ΔA146Ply-immunized mice. IL-17A knockout (KO) mice did not benefit from DnaJ-ΔA146Ply immunization in colonization experiments, and sIgA production was impaired in IL-17A KO mice. Collectively, our results indicate a mucosal adjuvant potential for ΔA146Ply and that, without additional adjuvant, DnaJ-ΔA146Ply fusion protein exhibits extensive immune stimulation and is effective against pneumococcal challenges, properties which are partially attributed to the IL-17A-mediated immune responses.

Background Sepsis is newly defined as life-threatening organ dysfunction caused by a dysregulated host response to infection with a high mortality rate and limited effective treatments. The role of interleukin 36α (IL-36α) in host response during sepsis remains unknown. Methods An experimental sepsis model of cecal ligation and puncture was established to investigate the effects of IL-36α on host response to sepsis. Results IL-36α production was significantly up-regulated during sepsis. IL-36α treatment reduced the mortality rate in mice with severe sepsis by cecal ligation and puncture. IL-36α-treated mice had more efficient bacterial clearance, inhibited tissue inflammation, improved organ injury, and reduced immune cell apoptosis. The therapeutic implication of these observations was also highlighted by the finding that specific blockade of IL-36α led to an increased mortality rate in mice with nonsevere sepsis. Furthermore, we found that IL-36α enhanced bacterial phagocytosis and killing by macrophages, thereby allowing local and systemic bacterial clearance. Importantly, macrophage depletion before the onset of sepsis eliminated IL-36α-mediated protection against sepsis. Conclusions Our results demonstrate that IL-36α plays an important role in the host defense response to sepsis and suggest a potential therapeutic role for IL-36α in sepsis.

The [(99m)TcN(PNP5)(DMCHDTC)](+)(DMCHDTC: 2,3-dimethyl cyclohexyl dithiocarbamate, PNP5:bis(dimethoxypropylphosphinoethyl)ethoxyethylamine) complex was synthesized through a ligand-exchange reaction. The two-step procedure involved the initial reaction of (99m)TcO(4)(-) with succinic dihydrazide (SDH) as a donor of nitride nitrogen atom (N(3-)) in the presence of stannous chloride dihydrate as reducing agent and propylenediamine tetraacetic acid (PDTA) as complexant, followed by the addition of the PNP5 ligand and the DMCHDTC ligand. The radiochemical purity (RCP) of the product was over 90% as measured by thin layer chromatography (TLC). No decomposition of the complex at room temperature was observed over a period of 6 h. Its partition coefficient indicated that it was a lipophilic complex. The electrophoresis results showed the complex was cationic. The biodistribution results in mice indicated that [(99m)TcN(PNP5)(DMCHDTC)](+) was significantly retained into the heart. The heart uptake (ID%/g) was 14.47, 12.23 and 8.76 at 5, 30 and 60 min post-injection, respectively. The heart/liver, heart/lung and heart/blood ratios of the complex were 1.24, 3.62 and 23.05 at 60 min post-injection, suggesting it will be a potential myocardial imaging agent.

The (99m)TcN(DMCHDTC)(2) complex, where DMCHDTC is 2,3-dimethylcyclohexyl dithiocarbamato, has been synthesized through a ligand-exchange reaction. The two-step procedure involved the initial reaction of (99m)TcO(4)(-) with succinic dihydrazide in the presence of stannous chloride as reducing agent and propylenediamine tetraacetic acid as complexant, followed by the addition of 2,3-dimethylcyclohexyl dithiocarbamate. The radiochemical purity of the complex was over 90%, as measured by thin layer chromatography, without any notable decomposition at room temperature over a period of 6h. The partition coefficient and electrophoresis results indicated that this complex was lipophilic and neutral. Biodistribution in mice showed that the complex accumulated in the heart with high uptake and good retention, the heart uptakes being 12.82, 11.37 and 10.64%ID/g at 5, 30 and 60 min post-injection, respectively. The heart/lung, heart/liver and heart/blood ratios of the complex were 1.06, 0.25 and 8.06 at 60 min post-injection, suggesting it has potential for use as a myocardial imaging agent.