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The transition metals Fe, Cu and Zn are the key elements for life, and their isotope compositions are expected to be a new index to estimate the trophic level of organisms and diagnose human diseases. Therefore, it is important to analyse these isotopes precisely and accurately in biological samples with low Fe, Cu and Zn abundances. In this study, we modify the one-column method to purify Cu–Fe–Zn for isotope analysis. The parameters that could affect the accuracy and precision of isotopic measurement were evaluated. The Fe, Cu and Zn isotope values of nine biological reference materials are reported, including plants, marine and terrestrial animals, human hair and serum. The isotope compositions of plant and marine animal organs are different from terrestrial animals and human organs. The variation ranges of δ56Fe, δ65Cu and δ66Zn from plant and marine animals are −1.23‰ to 0.11‰, 0.39‰ to 0.53‰ and 0.28‰ to 0.87‰, respectively, while those from terrestrial animals and human tissues are −2.40‰ to 0.06‰, −0.33‰ to 2.76‰ and −0.65‰ to 0.24‰, respectively. This one-column method is important to provide comprehensive isotope information for biological individuals and efficient study Fe, Cu and Zn isotope distribution in paleontology and biomedicine fields. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copper sulfide ore is one of the most important sources of Cu in nature. In situ Cu isotope analysis of sulfides is critical for providing useful information on the sources of Cu and tracking the process of sulfide precipitation. The accuracy of in situ Cu isotope analysis relies heavily on matrix-matched reference materials to correct the instrumental mass bias. In this study, a natural chalcopyrite (TQ-Ccp) from the Tianqiao Pb–Zn deposit (Guizhou Province, China) was evaluated as a potential reference material for Cu isotope microanalysis. Major element mapping and determination by electron probe microanalysis (EPMA) demonstrated that there was no internal growth or zonation within the TQ-Ccp chalcopyrite grains. The Cu isotope homogeneity of the chalcopyrite sample was tested by micro-drill sampling and solution multi-collector inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (MC-ICP-MS) as well as by laser ablation MC-ICP-MS (LA-MC-ICP-MS). Thirty-two chalcopyrite powders were micro-drilled randomly from the whole hand specimen and from four fragments of chalcopyrite prepared in an epoxy mount, and measured by solution MC-ICP-MS. The dissolved chalcopyrite solutions processed with and without column chromatography yielded a mean δ65CuNIST976 of 0.05 ± 0.03‰ (2SD, n = 20) and 0.04 ± 0.03‰ (2SD, n = 32), respectively, suggesting Cu isotope homogeneity at the whole specimen scale. The Cu isotope homogeneity at the micro-scale was further verified by LA-MC-ICP-MS analyses of the four chalcopyrite fragments in the epoxy mount. In summary, TQ-Ccp chalcopyrite is potentially a suitable reference material for in situ Cu isotope microanalysis, whose recommended δ65CuNIST976 value is 0.04 ± 0.03‰ (2SD, n = 52), as determined by solution MC-ICP-MS analyses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To the Editor, Group 2 innate lymphoid cells (ILC2s) produce the canonical type 2 cytokines interleukin (IL)-5 and IL-13 in response to epithelial cytokines IL-25, IL-33, and thymic stromal lymphopoietin (TSLP).[1] ILC2s have been to be involved in the pathogenesis of asthma, allergic rhinitis (AR) and atopic dermatitis (AD).[2] We have reported the higher ILC2 levels in patients with asthma and patients with AR.[[3]] Recently, the cysteinyl leukotriene (CysLT) D4 (LTD4) and LTE4 were reported to induce Th2 cytokine production from ILC2s.[[5]] LTE4 is the stable and dominant CysLT in the pathogenesis of allergic conditions. We found higher prevalence of ILC2s (Lin SP - sp CRTH2 SP + sp CD127 SP + sp cells, Figure A) and the higher expression of CysLT1R in ILC2s (Figure B-C B ) b from patients with AR compared to healthy controls. It suggests that the activation of ILC2s to LTC4, LTD4 but not LTE4 in AR is related to the increased expression of CysLT1R in AR, at least in our study. [Extracted from the article]

Background: Chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) is defined as a condition of inflammation in the paranasal sinus mucosa persisting for more than 12 weeks. We previously reported that the prevalence of CRS was about 8 % in China. Here, we aim to investigate the occupational and environmental risk factors associated with CRS.Methods: Data were collected from seven Chinese cities: Urumqi, Changchun, Beijing, Wuhan, Chengdu, Huaian and Guangzhou. CRS was diagnosed according to the European Position Paper on Rhinosinusitis and Nasal Polyps (EP(3)OS) document. Participants were asked to complete a standardized questionnaire, which was developed by the Global Allergy and Asthma European Network (GA(2)LEN) project and covered sociodemographic characteristics, CRS-related symptoms and occupational and environmental exposures. We evaluated the association between CRS and various occupational and environmental factors using odds ratios (ORs) and 95 % confidence intervals (95 % CIs).Results: The total study population consisted of 10,633 subjects, 850 (7.99 %) of whom were defined as having CRS according to the EP(3)OS criteria. We found that there were significant associations between occupational and environmental factors and CRS. Specifically, having a clearance-related job, occupational exposure to dust, occupational exposure to poisonous gas, a pet at home or carpet at home or at the workplace were risk factors for CRS. Additionally, the method used to keep warm in winter, the duration of time spent using air conditioning in summer and the frequency of exposure to mouldy or damp environments were significantly different in subjects with and without CRS.Conclusions: Our data showed that some occupational and environmental exposures are strongly associated with CRS, which aids in understanding the epidemiology of CRS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: To summarize systematically our ten-year experience in non-surgical treatment of postoperative bile leakage, and explore its methods and indications., Methods: The clinical data of 57 patients with postoperative bile leakage treated non-surgically from January 1991 to December 2000 were reviewed retrospectively., Results: The site of the leakage was mainly the disrupted or damaged fistulous tracts of T tube in 25 patients (43.9 %), the fossae of gallbladder in 14 cases (24.6 %), the cut surface of liver in 7 cases(12.3 %), and it was undetectable in the other 2 cases. Besides bile leakage, the wrong ligation of bile ducts was found in 3 patients, residual stones of the distal bile duct in 5 patients, benign papillary strictures in 3, and biloma resulting from bile collections in 2. The diagnoses were made according to the history of surgery, clinical situation, abdominal paracentesis, ultrasonography, ERCP, PTC, MRI/MRCP, gastroscopy and percutaneous fistulography. All 57 patients were treated non-surgically at the beginning of bile leakage. The non-surgical methods included keeping original drainage unobstructed, percutaneous abdominal paracentesis or drainage, percutaneous transhepatic cholangial/biliary drainage (PTCD/PTBD),endoscopic management, traditional Chinese medicine and so on. Of the 57 patients,2 patients died,5 were converted to reoperation later, the other 50 were directly cured by non-surgical methods without any complication. The cure rate of the non-surgery was 82.5 %(50/57)., Conclusion: Many nonoperative methods are available to treat postoperative bile leakage. Non-surgical treatment may serve as the first choice for the treatment of bile leakage for its advantages in higher cure rate, convenience and safety in practice. It is important to choose the specific non-surgical method according to the volume, site of bile leakage and patient's condition.