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Background: In malignant tumours of the female reproductive system, cervical cancer is second only to breast cancer, seriously threatening the health and safety of most women., Objective: To evaluate the clinical value of 3.0 T multimodal nuclear magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in the International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics' (FIGO) staging of cervical cancer., Methods: The clinical data of 30 patients with pathologically diagnosed cervical cancer admitted to our hospital from January 2018 to August 2022 were analysed retrospectively. Before treatment, all patients were examined with conventional MRI, diffusion-weighted imaging and multi-directional contrast-enhanced imaging., Results: The accuracy of multimodal MRI in the FIGO staging of cervical cancer (29/30, 96.7%) was significantly higher than the accuracy obtained in a control group (21/30, 70.0%), with a statistically significant difference (p= 0.013). In addition, there was good agreement between two observers applying multimodal imaging (kappa= 0.881) and moderate agreement between two observers in the control group (kappa= 0.538)., Conclusion: Multimodal MRI can evaluate cervical cancer comprehensively and accurately to enable accurate FIGO staging, providing significant evidence for clinical operation planning and subsequent combined therapy.

Hypoxia inducible factor-1α (HIF-1α), as a hypoxia inducible factor, affects women's reproductive function by regulating the development and excretion of follicles. HIF-1α induces glycolysis and autophagy in the granule cells by promoting oocyte development, regulating the secretion of related angiogenic factors, and improving follicle maturity. In addition, HIF-1α promotes the process of luteinization of follicular vesicles, maintains luteal function, and finally completes physiological luteal atrophy through cumulative oxidative stress. Dysfunction of HIF-1α will cause a series of pathological consequences, such as angiogenesis defect, energy metabolism abnormality, excessive oxidative stress and dysregulated autophagy and apoptosis, resulting in ovulation problem and infertility. This article summarizes the previous studies on the regulation of follicle development and excretion and maintenance of luteal function and structural atrophy by HIF-1α. We also describe the effective intervention mechanism of related drugs or bioactive ingredients on follicular dysplasia and ovulation disorders through HIF-1α, in order to provide a systematic and in-depth insights for solving ovulation disorder infertility.

Statins play an important role in the treatment of diabetic nephropathy. Increasing attention has been given to the relationship between statins and insulin resistance, but many randomized controlled trials confirm that the therapeutic effects of statins on diabetic nephropathy are more beneficial than harmful. However, further confirmation of whether the beneficial effects of chronic statin administration on diabetic nephropathy outweigh the detrimental effects is urgently needed. Here, we find that long-term statin administration may increase insulin resistance, interfere with lipid metabolism, leads to inflammation and fibrosis, and ultimately fuel diabetic nephropathy progression in diabetic mice. Mechanistically, activation of insulin-regulated phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase/protein kinase B/mammalian target of rapamycin signaling pathway leads to increased fatty acid synthesis. Furthermore, statins administration increases lipid uptake and inhibits fatty acid oxidation, leading to lipid deposition. Here we show that long-term statins administration exacerbates diabetic nephropathy via ectopic fat deposition in diabetic mice., (© 2023. The Author(s).)

Growing evidence indicates that testosterone is a conspicuous marker for assessing male bone mineral density (BMD). However, research regarding testosterone levels and BMD is sparse and controversial for females. Hence, we aimed to investigate the association between testosterone levels and BMD among adult females aged 40-60 years in the United States. In this cross-sectional study, all participants were part of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (2011-2016). A weighted general linear model was used to estimate the association between testosterone levels and lumbar BMD. Age, race, income level, education level, body mass index (BMI), blood urea nitrogen (BUN) level, serum uric acid (UA) level, serum calcium (Ca) level, serum phosphorus (P) level, the use of oral contraceptive pills, the use of hormone replacement therapy (HRT), smoking status, drinking status, and the use of corticosteroids were adjusted using a weighted multiple regression model. Subgroup analyses were performed using the same regression model. We included 2198 female participants in the study, and testosterone levels were positively associated with lumbar BMD after adjusting for all the covariates (β = 1.12, 95% CI 0.31, 1.93). In subgroup analyses, the associations in the fourth quartile of testosterone levels were stronger for the participants aged 40-50 years old (quartile 4, β = 42.92, 95% CI 7.53, 78.30 vs. quartile 1) and 50 to 60-year-old (quartile 4, β = 32.41, 95% CI 0.14, 64.69 vs. quartile 1). Similar results were found in other subgroups, including subgroups for race (Non-Hispanic Black, Other), income level (income ≤ 1.3, income > 3.5), education level (college or higher), BMI > 25 kg/m 2 , BUN levels ≤ 20 mg/dL, UA levels ≤ 6 mg/dL, Ca levels ≤ 10.1 mg/dL, P levels ≤ 5 mg/dL, drinking status, never smoker, never taking birth control pills, and HRT user. There was no interaction among the covariates in the association between lumbar BMD and testosterone levels (P for interaction > 0.05). In US adult females aged 40-60 years, the testosterone level was a positive predictor of the lumbar BMD after adjusting for covariates., (© 2022. The Author(s).)

Background: The burden of sepsis remains high in China. The relationship between case volume and hospital mortality among patients with septic shock, the most severe complication of sepsis, is unknown in China., Methods: In this retrospective cohort study, we analyzed surveillance data from a national quality improvement program in intensive care units (ICUs) in China in 2020. Association between septic shock case volume and hospital mortality was analyzed using multivariate linear regression and restricted cubic splines., Results: We enrolled a total of 134,046 septic shock cases in ICUs from 1902 hospitals in China during 2020. In this septic shock cohort, the median septic shock volume per hospital was 33 cases (interquartile range 14-76 cases), 41.4% were female, and more than half of the patients were over 61 years old, with average hospital mortality of 21.2%. An increase in case volume was associated with improved survival among septic shock cases. In the linear regression model, the highest quartile of septic shock volume was associated with lower hospital mortality compared with the lowest quartile (β - 0.86; 95% CI - 0.98, - 0.74; p < 0.001). Similar differences were found in hospitals of respective geographic locations and hospital levels. With case volume modeled as a continuous variable in a restricted cubic spline, a lower volume threshold of 40 cases before which a substantial reduction of the hospital mortality rate was observed., Conclusions: The findings suggest that hospitals with higher septic shock case volume have lower hospital mortality in China. Further research is needed to explain the mechanism of this volume-outcome relationship., (© 2022. The Author(s).)

Purpose: To assess how expansion sphincter pharyngoplasty (ESP) impacts blood pressure (BP) and health-related quality of life (HRQOL) in hypertensive patients with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA)., Methods: Patients were separated into two groups based upon whether or not they adhered to antihypertensive drug regimens. Patients underwent 24-h ambulatory BP monitoring before and at 6 months post-ESP, while clinical BP measurements and HRQOL questionnaires (SF-36) were conducted over the course of 24 months post-surgery., Results: We enrolled 62 patients, with 25 and 37 in the medicated and non-medicated groups, respectively. Mean 24-h BP differed significantly, with systolic and diastolic BP (SBP and DBP) decreases of 5.3 mmHg and 2.5 mmHg, respectively (P <0.01). Mean 24-h SBP and DBP decreases in the medicated group were 10.2 mmHg and 4.6 mmHg, respectively (P < 0.001), with significant decreases during the daytime of 8.6 mmHg, 3.0 mmHg, and nighttime of 12.3 mmHg, 7.7 mmHg (P <0.001). In the non-medicated treatment group, 24-h SBP and DBP decreases were 1.9 mmHg and 1.1 mmHg (P < 0.005) with significant decreases in mean nighttime BP values of 3.2 mmHg and 1.9 mmHg (P < 0.001). While pre- and postoperative SF-36 results differed significantly, no differences were observed between the two groups., Conclusion: ESP decreases BP and improves HRQOL in OSA patients with hypertension, particularly in combination with antihypertensive drugs., (© 2021. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Switzerland AG part of Springer Nature.)

Objective: To investigate the protective effect of recombinant adult serine protease inhibitor from Trichinella spiralis ( Ts adSPI) on sepsis-associated acute kidney injury in mice., Methods: A total of 18 male BALB/c mice were randomly divided into the sham-operation group, the model group, and the Ts adSPI treatment group, of 6 mice in each group. Sepsis-associated acute kidney injury was modeled in the model group and Ts adSPI treatment group by cecal ligation puncture (CLP), while mice in the sham-operation group were only given exploratory laparotomy without ligation or perforation of the cecum. After 30 min of CLP, mice in the sham-operation group and the model group were intraperitoneally injected with PBS (100 μL), and mice in the Ts adSPI treatment group were intraperitoneally injected with PBS (100 μL) containing Ts adSPI (2 μg). At 12 h following modeling, the serum levels of alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), creatinine (Cr) and urea nitrogen (BUN) were measured to assess the liver and kidney functions, and the changes of the mouse kidney structure were observed using HE staining. In addition, the serum levels of tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α, interleukin (IL)-6, IL-10 and transforming growth factor (TGF)-β were measured using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), and the myeloid differentiation factor 88 (MyD88) and nuclear factor kappa-B (NF-κB) p65 expression was determined in kidney tissues using immunohistochemical staining., Results: At 12 h following CLP, there were significant differences in the serum levels of ALT ( F = 41.031, P < 0.001), AST ( F = 54.757, P < 0.001), Cr ( F = 24.142, P < 0.001) and BUN ( F = 214.849, P < 0.001) among the three groups, and higher levels of ALT, AST, Cr and BUN were measured in model group than in the sham-operation group ( P < 0.001), while lower ALT, AST, Cr and BUN levels were found in the Ts adSPI treatment group than in the model group ( P < 0.001). HE staining showed severe mouse kidney injuries following CLP, and Ts adSPI treatment resulted in remarkable alleviation of the injury. ELISA measured significant differences in the TNF-α ( F = 47.502, P < 0.001) and IL-6 levels ( F = 222.061, P < 0.001) among the three groups, and showed a remarkable reduction in the TNF-α and IL-6 levels in the Ts adSPI treatment group as compared to those in the model group ( P < 0.001). In addition, there were significant differences in serum IL-10 ( F = 16.227, P < 0.001) and TGF-β levels ( F = 52.092, P < 0.001) among the three groups, and higher IL-10 and TGF-β levels were seen in the Ts adSPI treatment group than in the model group ( P < 0.001). Immunohistochemical staining showed greater MyD88 expression and a higher nuclear positive rate of NF-κB p65 in kidney tissues in the model group than in the T sadSPI treatment group., Conclusions: Ts adSPI may reduce the MyD88 expression and nuclear positive rate of NF-κB p65 in mouse kidney tissues to up-regulate the expression of immunomodulatory factors and down-regulate the expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines, thereby protecting sepsis-associated acute kidney injury.

A promising new form-stable phase change material (PA/PB) was fabricated using pinecone biochar (PB) as the supporting material of palmitic acid (PA). The biochar of PB with large surface area was produced by forest residue of pinecone, and it was cheap, environment friendly and easy to prepare. The PB was firstly utilized as the supporter of PA and the characterizations of PA/PB were analyzed by the BET, SEM, XRD, DSC, TGA, FT-IR and thermal conductivity tester. The results demonstrated that the PA was physically absorbed by the PB and the crystal structure of the PA was not destroyed. The results of DSC showed that the fusing and crystallization points of the form-stable phase change material with the maximum content of PA (PA/PB-4) were 59.25 °C and 59.13 °C, and its fusing and freezing latent heat were 84.74 kJ/kg and 83.81 kJ/kg, respectively. The results of TGA suggested that the thermal stability of the PA/PB-4 composite was excellent, which could be used for the applications of thermal energy storage. Furthermore, the thermal conductivity of PA/PB-4 was 0.3926 W/(m∙K), which was increased by 43.76% compared with that of the pure PA. Thus, the study results indicated that the PA/PB-4 had great potential for thermal energy storage applications.

We report a hollow-core negative-curvature fiber (HC-NCF) optical signal amplifier fabricated by the filling of the air microchannels of the fiber with all-inorganic CsPbBr 3 perovskite nanocrystals (PNCs). The optimum fabrication conditions were found to enhance the optical gain, up to +3 dB in the best device. Experimental results were approximately reproduced by a gain assisted mechanism based on the nonlinear optical properties of the PNCs, indicating that signal regeneration can be achieved under low pump powers, much below the threshold of stimulated emission. The results can pave the road of new functionalities of the HC-NCF with PNCs, such as optical amplification, nonlinear frequency conversion and gas sensors.

We experimentally report the generation of wavelength-tunable blueshifting soliton in the visible spectral region through a gas-filled single-ring photonic crystal fiber (SR-PCF). In particular, in a He-filled SR-PCF, we observed a sharp narrow-band spectral peak at the first resonant spectral region of the SR-PCF, which results from phase-matched nonlinear processes. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first time investigating the influence of the core-cladding resonance on the blueshifting soliton. In addition, when Ar gas was filled into the SR-PCF, some interference fringes on the blueshifting soliton were observed at high pulse-energy levels due to plasma-induced pulse fission. These two experimental observations are confirmed by numerical simulations. Furthermore, through properly adjusting input pulse energy, we found that the blueshifting soliton can obtain a high conversion efficiency (∼84%) and its wavelength can be tuned over hundreds of nanometers (∼240  nm).

Background: Cutaneous squamous cell carcinoma (CSCC) is a common type of skin malignancy. MicroRNA-221 (miRNA-221) is a critical non-coding RNA in tumor initiation and progression. However, the molecular mechanisms of miRNA-221 in the development of CSCC remain unknown. This study investigated the expression of miRNA-221 in CSCC and its potential tumor biological functions., Methods: MTT assay, colony assay, PCR, and Western blot were adopted., Results: In this study, miRNA-221 expression was significantly higher in CSCC tissues and cell lines than in normal tissues and cells ( P  < 0.05). Further functional experiments indicated that miRNA-221 knockdown inhibited the proliferation and cell cycle, while upregulation of miRNA-221 presented the opposite role. The dual reporter gene assays indicated that PTEN is a direct target gene of miRNA-221. PTEN protein or mRNA levels were decreased after the cells were transfected with miR-221 mimics., Conclusions: Taken together, the obtained results indicated that miR-221 plays an oncogenic function in CSCC by targeting PTEN and further suggest that miR-221 may be a potential target for CSCC diagnosis and treatment., Competing Interests: Tissues were collected from patients. This study was approved by the Medical Ethics Committee of The First People’s Hospital of Nantong. Written informed consent was collected from each patient. The current study has been performed in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki.Not applicable.All the authors declare that they have no competing interests.Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

We demonstrate, for the first time, the application of rare-gas-filled hollow-core photonic crystal fibers (HC-PCFs) as tunable ultraviolet light sources in femtosecond pump-probe spectroscopy. A critical requirement here is excellent output stability over extended periods of data acquisition, and we show this can be readily achieved. The time-resolved photoelectron imaging technique reveals nonadiabatic dynamical processes operating on three distinct time scales in the styrene molecule following excitation over the 242-258 nm region. These include ultrafast (<100 fs) internal conversion between the S 2 (ππ*) and S 1 (ππ*) electronic states and subsequent intramolecular vibrational energy redistribution within S 1 (ππ*). Compact, cost-effective, and highly efficient benchtop HC-PCF sources have huge potential to open up many exciting new avenues for ultrafast spectroscopy in the ultraviolet and vacuum ultraviolet spectral regions. We anticipate that our initial validation of this approach will generate important impetus in this area.

Aims: This study aims to investigate the pathophysiological role and mechanism of pigment epithelium-derived factor (PEDF) deletion in ovarian damage., Methods: Female PEDF-knockout mice and their wild-type littermates were used in this study. Relevant tests were performed at 8-10 weeks or 32 weeks of age., Key Findings: Compared to the wild-type mice, the PEDF-knockout mice showed diminished ovarian reserve (DOR), worse ovum quality after injection to induce controlled ovarian stimulation, increased serum follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) level and an follicle stimulating hormone/luteinizing hormone (FSH/LH) ratio. Moreover, severe ovarian oxidative damage was found in ovaries of PEDF-knockout mice that mainly manifested as an accumulation of reactive oxygen species (ROS), NF‑E2-related factor 2 (Nrf2) pathway activation, significantly upregulated expression of ROS-generating genes. Correspondingly, the PEDF-knockout mice exhibited lipid metabolism disorder and insulin resistance, which mainly manifested as obesity, abdominal fat accumulation, adipocyte enlargement, severe ectopic fat deposition, dyslipidemia, changes in adipokine levels, hyperglycemia, hyperinsulinemia, impaired glucose tolerance, impaired insulin tolerance and significantly declined protein kinase B (Akt) phosphorylation levels., Significance: Loss of PEDF leads to ovarian oxidative damage accompanied by DOR in mice, this is related to PEDF deficiency induced severe insulin resistance and lipid metabolism disorder. Therefore, PEDF may be a potential target for the treatment of diseases related to ovarian oxidative damage., (Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Countering the optical network 'capacity crunch' calls for a radical development in optical fibres that could simultaneously minimize nonlinearity penalties, chromatic dispersion and maximize signal launch power. Hollow-core fibres (HCF) can break the nonlinear Shannon limit of solid-core fibre and fulfil all above requirements, but its optical performance need to be significantly upgraded before they can be considered for high-capacity telecommunication systems. Here, we report a new HCF with conjoined-tubes in the cladding and a negative-curvature core shape. It exhibits a minimum transmission loss of 2 dB km -1 at 1512 nm and a <16 dB km -1 bandwidth spanning across the O, E, S, C, L telecom bands (1302-1637 nm). The debut of this conjoined-tube HCF, with combined merits of ultralow loss, broad bandwidth, low bending loss, high mode quality and simple structure heralds a new opportunity to fully unleash the potential of HCF in telecommunication applications.

People that committed suicide were reported to have enhanced levels of gene transcripts for synaptic proteins in their prefrontal cortex (PFC). Given the close association of suicide with major depressive disorder (MDD), we here assessed whether these changes are related to suicide or rather to depression per se. We used quantitative PCR to determine mRNA levels of 32 genes encoding for proteins directly involved in glutamatergic or GABAergic synaptic transmission in postmortem samples of the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) and the dorsolateral PFC (DLPFC). Seventy-two brain samples from 3 groups of subjects were derived from the Stanley Medical Research Institute (SMRI): i) patients with MDD who committed suicide (MDD-S), ii) MDD patients who died of non-suicidal causes (MDD-NS) and iii) age-matched, non-psychiatric control subjects. In the ACC, a significantly enhanced expression of genes related to glutamatergic or GABAergic synaptic transmission was found only in MDD-S patients, whereas in MDD-NS patients, decreased levels for these transcripts were found. Moreover, in the DLPFC, expression of these genes was decreased in MDD-S, relative to MDD-NS patients, whereas both groups showed increased expression compared to control subjects. In conclusion, our findings indicate that MDD is associated with increases in GABA and glutamate related genes in the DLPFC (irrespective of suicide), while in the ACC, the increase in GABA and glutamate related genes may relate to suicide, rather than to MDD per se., (Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Objective: To observe the effect of Schistosoma japonicum cysteine protease inhibitor (rSjCystatin) for treatment of lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced sepsis in mice., Methods: After a week of adaptive feeding, 54 BALB/c mice were randomly divided into normal control group (group A), sepsis group (group B), and rSjCystatin intervention group (group C). The mice in group A received an intraperitoneal injection of PBS (100 µL), and those in groups B and C were injected with PBS (100 µL) containing LPS (10 mg/kg); the mice in group C were also intraperitoneally injected with 25 µg sjCystatin in 100 µL PBS 30 min after LPS injection. From each group, 10 mice were randomly selected 24 h after PBS or LPS injection for detecting serum levels of TNF-α, IL-6, and IL-10 using ELISA and the levels of ALT, AST, BUN, and Cr using automatic biochemical analyzer; the pathological changes in the liver, lung and kidney were observed with HE staining. The remaining 8 mice in each group were used for observing the changes in the general condition and the 72-h survival., Results: The 72-h survival rates of the mice was 100% in group A, 0 in group B, and 36% in group C, showing a significant difference among the 3 groups (P<0.05). Compared with those in group A, the mice in group B exhibited obvious liver, lung, and renal pathologies with increased levels of ALT, AST, BUN, Cr, IL-6, and TNF-α (P<0.05). Treatment with sjCystatin significantly lessened LPS-induced organ pathologies, lowered the levels of liver and renal functional indexes and the pro-inflammatory cytokines, and increased the serum level of IL-10 in the mice (P<0.05)., Conclusion: SjCystatin can produce a significant therapeutic effect on sepsis induced by LPS in mice.

The effects of Myriophyllum spicatum L. with developed root systems and rootless Ceratophyllum demersum on the concentration and proportion of different phosphorus fractions in the overlying water and the interstitial water were investigated by batch simulation experiments. The effects of different types of submerged macrophytes on the phosphorus fraction in the overlying water and interstitial water were explored. The results indicated a significant influence on the concentration of dissolved phosphorus in the overlying water and interstitial water by the growth of Myriophyllum spicatum L. and Ceratophyllum demersum. ① The absorptivities of DTP, SRP, and DOP by Myriophyllum spicatum L. in the overlying water were 7.0%, 11.7%, and 3.5%, respectively, and in the interstitial water were 20.8%, 12.5%, and 48.4%, respectively. ② The absorptivities of DTP, SRP, and DOP by Ceratophyllum demersum in the overlying water were 30.3%, 54.9%, and 13.2%, respectively, and in the interstitial water were 19.3%, 3.8%, and 30.4%, respectively. ③ The content of SRP in Myriophyllum spicatum L. group, Ceratophyllum demersum group, and the control group decreased 13.0%, 34.0%, and -0.9%, respectively; the PP increased 18.2%, 33.1%, and 4.2%, respectively; and the DOP increased 7.2%, 17.68%, and -4.35%, respectively. The results provide reference for eutrophic lake ecologic restoration.

This organic-rich shale was analyzed to determine the type, origin, maturity and depositional environment of the organic matter and to evaluate the hydrocarbon generation potential of the shale. This study is based on geochemical (total carbon content, Rock-Eval pyrolysis and the molecular composition of hydrocarbons) and whole-rock petrographic (maceral composition) analyses. The petrographic analyses show that the shale penetrated by the Chaiye 2 well contains large amounts of vitrinite and sapropelinite and that the organic matter within these rocks is type III and highly mature. The geochemical analyses show that these rocks are characterized by high total organic carbon contents and that the organic matter is derived from a mix of terrestrial and marine sources and highly mature. These geochemical characteristics are consistent with the results of the petrographic analyses. The large amounts of organic matter in the Carboniferous shale succession penetrated by the Chaiye 2 well may be due to good preservation under hypersaline lacustrine and anoxic marine conditions. Consequently, the studied shale possesses very good hydrocarbon generation potential because of the presence of large amounts of highly mature type III organic matter.

UV guiding fibers are highly sought after in laser and spectroscopy applications. Recent advances in hollow-core fiber orient a practical approach for proper UV light delivery sustainable to high-power and long-term irradiation. In this Letter, we report two types of hollow-core negative-curvature fibers (NCFs) in a UV spectral range. Their structures consist of one ring of six small (7.9 μm in diameter) and four big (20.8 μm in diameter) tubes, enclosing a hollow core of similar size (∼15  μm in diameter). The six-tube NCF shows an attenuation level of 0.13±0.01  dB/m at 300 nm. It is capable of delivering 20 ps, 160 μJ pulses at 355 nm with no damage to the fiber facet. The novel four-tube NCF exhibits an attenuation level of ∼0.3±0.15  dB/m at 355 nm. Its fundamental core mode is guided in an intentionally designed "cladding mode mismatching" region. This four-tube design possesses a high degree of down-scalability for deep-UV guidance and has the potential in attaining polarization-maintaining performance.

We demonstrate a 2.8 μm gas Raman laser in a methane-filled hollow-core negative-curvature fiber with average power of 113 mW, pulse energy of 113 μJ and estimated peak power of 9.5 MW. Raman quantum efficiency of 40% has been reached from the pump source at 1.064 μm to the 2nd order vibrational Stokes at 2.812 μm using 1.8 MPa methane gas. To our knowledge, this is the first high peak power fiber-based gas Raman laser in mid-infrared region and a range of applications in supercontinuum generation, laser surgery, molecular tracing and gas detection are in prospect.

Tannic acid-templated mesoporous silica (TAMS) was synthesized using a simple nonsurfactant template method and dopamine-functionalized TAMS (Dop-TAMS), which was prepared via a biomimetic coating, was developed as a new support for immobilization of NHase (NHase@Dop-TAMS). The Dop-TAMS was thoroughly characterized by the transmission electron microscopy (TEM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET), and Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) and the results showed that the Dop-TAMS possessed sufficiently large pore size and volume for the accommodation of NHase. Studying the thermal stability, storage, shaking stability, and pH stability of the free and immobilized NHase indicated that the catalytic properties of NHase@Dop-TAMS were significantly enhanced. Moreover, the NHase@Dop-TAMS exhibited good reusability. All the results demonstrated that Dop-TAMS could be used as an excellent matrix for the immobilization of NHase., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

Objective: Transcatheter arterial chemoembolization (TACE) and thalidomide have been used for treating primary hepatocellular carcinoma(HCC). This study aims to evaluate the clinical efficacy and safety of thalidomide and TACE in primary HCC., Methods: Randomized controlled trials(RCTs) about efficacy and safety of thalidomide combined with TACE for primary HCC were identified from the Cochrane Library, Pubmed, Embase, CNKI, and Wan Fang until August, 2016. The retrieved trials were reviewed and the data were extracted by two reviewers, independently. Combined analyses of survival rates, overall response rate(ORR), disease control rate(DCR), changes of KPS, parameters of cellular immunity and vascular endothelial growth factor(VEGF), and adverse events were performed using RevMan 5.3 software., Results: A total of 23 RCTs involving 1836 patients were included. The results showed that thalidomide plus TACE was significantly superior in increasing 6-month survival rate(OR=1.79, 95% CI:1.02-3.15, P=0.04), 1-year survival rate(OR=1.76, 95% CI:1.38-2.24, P<0.0001), 1.5-year survival rate(OR=4.72, 95% CI:2.64-8.43, P<0.001), 2-year survival rate(OR=1.78, 95% CI:1.37-2.30, P<0.001), ORR(OR=1.89, 95% CI:1.48-2.42, P<0.0001), DCR(OR=2.62, 95% CI:1.90-3.63, P<0.001), improvement in cellular immunity(MD=0.63, 95% CI:0.45-0.80, P<0.0001), and reduction of VEGF(MD=-119.71, 95% CI:-135.75-103.68, P<0.0001), when compared with TACE group. The incidences of gastrointestinal reactions, myelosuppression, and liver dysfunction were similar between combination group and TACE group(P>0.05). However, compared to TACE, the combination of thalidomide and TACE had a higher incidence of drug rash(OR=6.35, 95% CI:2.75-14.68, P<0.0001)., Conclusion: Our findings suggest that thalidomide combined with TACE shows better clinical efficacy and tolerable adverse events in patients with primary HCC when compared with TACE alone.

The aim of the present study was to investigate key genes in fibroids based on the multiple affinity propogation-Krzanowski and Lai (mAP-KL) method, which included the maxT multiple hypothesis, Krzanowski and Lai (KL) cluster quality index, affinity propagation (AP) clustering algorithm and mutual information network (MIN) constructed by the context likelihood of relatedness (CLR) algorithm. In order to achieve this goal, mAP-KL was initially implemented to investigate exemplars in fibroid, and the maxT function was employed to rank the genes of training and test sets, and the top 200 genes were obtained for further study. In addition, the KL cluster index was applied to determine the quantity of clusters and the AP clustering algorithm was conducted to identify the clusters and their exemplars. Subsequently, the support vector machine (SVM) model was selected to evaluate the classification performance of mAP-KL. Finally, topological properties (degree, closeness, betweenness and transitivity) of exemplars in MIN constructed according to the CLR algorithm were assessed to investigate key genes in fibroid. The SVM model validated that the classification between normal controls and fibroid patients by mAP-KL had a good performance. A total of 9 clusters and exemplars were identified based on mAP-KL, which were comprised of CALCOCO2 , COL4A2 , COPS8 , SNCG , PA2G4 , C17orf70 , MARK3 , BTNL3 and TBC1D13 . By accessing the topological analysis for exemplars in MIN, SNCG and COL4A2 were identified as the two most significant genes of four types of methods, and they were denoted as key genes in the progress of fibroid. In conclusion, two key genes ( SNCG and COL4A2 ) and 9 exemplars were successfully investigated, and these may be potential biomarkers for the detection and treatment of fibroid.

We theoretically and experimentally characterize a liquid-filled nodeless anti-resonant fiber (LARF) that could find versatile applications in biochemical sensing. When a hollow-core nodeless anti-resonant fiber (HARF) is filled with a low refractive index liquid such as water or aqueous solutions in the whole hollow area, it preserves its anti-resonant reflection waveguiding mechanism with attributes encompassing the broad transmission bandwidth in UV, visible, and near IR; the neglectable confinement loss; and the acceptable single-mode quality. In comparison with other forms of hollow fiber, the moderate core size of our ARF allows both a large analyte-light overlap integral and a fast liquid flow rate. Such a LARF platform offers a promising route for creating compact, integrable and biocompatible all-fiber multifunctional optofluidic devices for in-situ applications. A proof-of-concept experiment of Raman spectroscopy using ethanol is presented, and applications in fluorescence spectroscopy, resonant Raman spectroscopy, noninvasive biochemical analysis, and interferometric sensing are in prospect.

We report on a hollow-core fiber (HCF) whose fundamental transmission band covers almost the whole visible spectral window, starting at 440 nm. This HCF, in the form of a nodeless structure (NL-HCF), exhibits unprecedented optical performance in terms of low transmission attenuation of 80 dB/km at 532 nm, a broad transmission bandwidth from 440 to 1200 nm, a low bending loss of 0.2 dB/m at 532 nm under 8 cm bending radius, and single-mode profile. When launched to high-power picosecond laser systems at 532 nm, the fiber, exposed to ambient air, could easily deliver an 80 ps, 58 MHz, 32 W average power laser pulse with no damage and a 20 ps, 1 kHz high-energy laser pulse with a damage threshold in excess of 144 μJ at a fiber output. A proof-of-concept experiment on Raman spectroscopy in ambient air shows the significance of this broadband visible guiding HCF for interdisciplinary applications in nonlinear optics, ultrafast optics, lasers, spectroscopy, biophotonics, material processing, etc.

CD4 T cells are essential components of adaptive immunity and play a critical role in anti-pathogenic or anti-tumor responses as well as autoimmune and allergic diseases. Naive CD4 T cells differentiate into distinct subsets of T helper (Th) cells by various signals including TCR, costimulatory and cytokine signals. Accumulating evidence suggests that these signaling pathways are critically regulated by ubiquitination and deubiquitination, two reversible posttranslational modifications mediated by E3 ubiquitin ligases and deubiquitinating enzymes (DUBs), respectively. In this review, we briefly introduce the signaling pathways that control the differentiation of Th cells and then focused on the roles of E3s- and DUBs-mediated ubiquitin modification or demodification in regulating Th cell differentiation., (Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

There are indications for changes in glutamate metabolism in relation to depression or suicide. The glutamate-glutamine cycle and neuronal/glial glutamate transporters mediate the uptake of the glutamate and glutamine. The expression of various components of the glutamate-glutamine cycle and the neuronal/glial glutamate transporters was determined by qPCR in postmortem prefrontal cortex. The anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) and the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) were selected from young MDD patients who had committed suicide (MDD-S; n = 17), from MDD patients who died of non-suicide related causes (MDD-NS; n = 7) and from matched control subjects (n = 12). We also compared elderly depressed patients who had not committed suicide (n = 14) with matched control subjects (n = 22). We found that neuronal located components (EAAT3, EAAT4, ASCT1, SNAT1, SNAT2) of the glutamate-glutamine cycle were increased in the ACC while the astroglia located components (EAAT1, EAAT2, GLUL) were decreased in the DLPFC of MDD-S patients. In contrast, most of the components in the cycle were increased in the DLPFC of MDD-NS patients. In conclusion, the glutamate-glutamine cycle - and thus glutamine transmission - is differentially affected in depressed suicide patients and depressed non-suicide patients in an area specific way., (Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

We report high performance nodeless hollow-core anti-resonant fibers (HARFs) with broadband guidance from 850 nm to >1700 nm and transmission attenuation of ~100 dB/km. We systematically investigate their bending loss behaviors using both theoretical and experimental approaches. While a low bending loss value of 0.2 dB/m at 5 cm bending radius is attained in the long wavelength side (LWS) of the spectrum, in this paper, we pursue light guidance in the short wavelength side (SWS) under tight bending, which is yet to be explored. We analytically predict and experimentally verify a sub transmission band in the SWS with a broad bandwidth of 110 THz and an acceptable loss of 4.5 dB/m at 2 cm bending radius, indicating that light can be simultaneously guided in LWS and SWS even under tight bending condition. This provides an unprecedented degree of freedom to tailor the transmission spectrum under a tight bending state and opens new opportunities for HARFs to march into practical applications where broadband guidance under small bending radius is a prerequisite.

Objective: Suicide occurs in some, but not all depressed patients. So far, it remains unknown whether the studied stress-related candidate genes change in depression, suicide or both. The prefrontal cortex (PFC) is involved in, among other things, impulse control and inhibitory behavior and plays an important role in both suicide and depression., Methods: We have employed qPCR to study 124 anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) and dorsolateral PFC (DLPFC) brain samples, obtained from two brain banks, from: i) young depressed patients (average age 43 years) who committed suicide (MDD-S) and depressed patients who died from causes other than suicide (MDD-NS) and from ii) elderly depressed patients (average age 75 years) who did not commit suicide (DEP). Both cohorts were individually matched with non-psychiatric non-suicide control subjects. We determined the transcript levels of hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis-regulating molecules (corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH), CRH receptors, CRH binding protein, mineralocorticoid receptor/glucocorticoid receptor), transcription factors that regulate CRH expression, CRH-stimulating cytokines, chaperone proteins, retinoid signaling, brain-derived neurotrophic factor and tropomyosin-related kinase B, cytochrome proteins, nitric oxide synthase (NOS) and monoamines., Results: In the MDD-S group, expression levels of CRH and neuronal NOS-interacting DHHC domain-containing protein with dendritic mRNA (NIDD) were increased. Other changes were only present in the DEP group, i.e. decreased NIDD, and increased and 5-hydroxytryptamine receptor 1A (5-HT1A) expression levels. Changes were found to be more pronounced in the anterior cingulate cortex than in the dorsolateral PFC., Conclusion: Depressed patients who committed suicide have different gene expression patterns than depressed patients who died of causes other than suicide., (Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Objective: In order to provide scientific basis for micropropagation and cryopreservation of Gentiana straminea,plantlets were regenerated from dormant buds by cluster buds., Methods: Based on MS medium, dormant buds were inoculated in mediums containing different type and concentration of cytokinin and auxin for inducing cluster buds. 1/2MS medium with different concentration of auxin were used for inducing root., Results: The medium of MS with 2.0 mg/L 6-BA, 0.01 mg/L NAA,30 g/L sucrose and 7 g/L agar was suitable for cluster buds' primary culture and subculture. The cluster buds inducing rate was 93. 3%. Multiple shoot clumps multiplication factor was 5.6. The medium of 1/2MS with 2.0 mg/L IAA, 0.5 mg/L IBA, 15 g/L sucrose and 7 g/L agar was suitable for root induction, its inducing rate was 93.5% with plantlets growing well., Conclusion: Plantlets regenerated from dormant buds of Gentiana straminea via cluster buds are established in this study.

Objective: To establish ISSR-PCR system of cryopreservation regeneration plant of Gentiana straminea, and to select appropriate primers and analyze the genetic stability., Methods: DNA was extracted by CTAB, the optimal ISSR-PCR system was established by orthogonal experiment,and genetic stability was analyzed., Results: The optimal ISSR-PCR system (25 μL) was established: dNTPs 0.50 μL, Mg2+ 1.00 μL, 10 x PCR Buffer 2.00 μL, primer 0.60 μL, Taq DNA polymerase 1.25 μL, template DNA 1.30 μL, and ddH2O 18.35 μL. The amplification program was devised: 94 degrees C for 5 min, denaturing at 94 degrees C for 30 s, annealing of 1 min due to denaturing temperature of different primer,extension at 72 degrees C for 1.5 min, 35 cycles, last extension at 72 degrees C for 7 min, conservation at 4 degrees C . The DNA mutation rate of cryopreservation regeneration plant of Gentiana straminea was 1.05%., Conclusion: The cryopreservation regeneration plant of Gentiana straminea retains very good genetic stability, there is little variation between each plant, so the cryopreservation can be used as a feasible method for resource protection of Gentiana straminea.

Nitric oxide (NO) and NO synthase-1 (NOS1) are involved in the stress response and in depression. We compared NOS-NO alterations in rats exposed to chronic unpredictable stress (CUS) with alterations in major depressive disorder (MDD) in humans. In the hypothalamus of male CUS rats we determined NOS activity, and in the paraventricular nucleus (PVN) we determined NOS1-immunoreactive (ir) cell densities and co-localization of NOS1 with stress-related neuropeptides corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH), vasopressin (AVP) or oxytocin (OXT). We measured plasma NO levels and cortisol in male medicine-naïve MDD patients and plasma NO and corticosterone (CORT) in CUS rats. In the CUS rat total NOS activity in the hypothalamus (P=0.018) and NOS1-ir cell density in the PVN were both significantly decreased (P=0.018), while NOS1 staining was mainly expressed in OXT-ir neurons in this nucleus. Interestingly, plasma NO levels were significantly increased both in male CUS rats (P=0.001) and in male MDD patients (P<0.001). Plasma CORT levels were increased in male CUS rats (P=0.001), while male MDD patients did not show a significant change in cortisol levels. In conclusion, the changes in plasma and hypothalamic NOS-NO of CUS rats and MDD were similar. The male CUS rat model may thus help us with our investigation of the mechanism underlying NOS-NO alterations in depression., (Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Decreased function of the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) is crucially involved in the pathogenesis of depression. A key role of nitric oxide (NO) has also been proposed. We aimed to determine the NO content in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and the expression of NO synthase (NOS) isoforms, that is, NOS1, NOS2, and NOS3 in the ACC in depression. In depressive patients, CSF-NOx levels (the levels of the NO metabolites nitrite and nitrate) were significantly decreased (P = 0.007), indicating a more general decrease of NO production in this disorder. This agreed with a trend toward lower NOS1-mRNA levels (P = 0.083) and a significant decrease of NOS1-immunoreactivity (ir) (P = 0.043) in ACC. In controls, there was a significant positive correlation between ACC-NOS1-ir cell densities and their CSF-NOx levels. Furthermore, both localization of NOS1 in pyramidal neurons that are known to be glutamatergic and co-localization between NOS1 and GABAergic neurons were observed in human ACC. The diminished ACC-NOS1 expression and decreased CSF-NOx levels may be involved in the alterations of ACC activity in depression, possibly by affecting glutamatergic and GABAergic neurotransmission.

Objective: To explore the possible angiogenesis mechanism of Huazhuo Jiedu Hewei Recipe (HJHR) in preventing and treating precancerous lesions of gastric cancer (PLGC)., Methods: Totally 66 Wistar rats were randomly divided into 6 groups, i.e., the normal control group, the model group, the retinoic acid (RA) group, the high dose HJHR group, the middle dose HJHR group, the low dose HJHR group, 11 in each group. PLGC model was duplicated by inserting a spring with Helicobacter. Corresponding medicines were administered to rats in each medicated group once daily by gastrogavage, 2 mL each time for 12 successive weeks. The effect of HJHR on hypoxia induced factor (HIF-1alpha) and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) of PLGC in chronic atrophic gastritis (CAG) rats' gastric mucosa was observed by immunohistochemical assay and Western blot method., Results: Compared with the normal control group, the expression of VEGF and HIF-1alpha increased in the model group (P < 0.05). Compared with the model group, the expression of VEGF and HIF-1alpha decreased in each medicated group (P < 0.05). Besides, they were lower in the high and middle dose HJHR groups than in the RA group and the low dose HJHR group (P < 0. 05). There was no statistical difference between the low dose HJHR group and the RA group (P > 0.05)., Conclusion: HJHR could prevent and treat PLGC of CAG rats possibly through decreasing the expression of HIF-1alpha and VEGF in a dose-dependent manner.

Background: Gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) is a major inhibitory neurotransmitter. It diminishes the activity of the hypothalamo-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis, which plays an important role in the pathogenesis of depression. The present study aimed at determining GABAergic input in the hypothalamic paraventricular nucleus (PVN) in depression and its correlation with the activity of corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH) neurons., Methods: The density of glutamic acid decarboxylase (GAD)(65/67)-immunoreactivity (ir) was quantified in the postmortem hypothalamic PVN of 9 major depressive (MDD) and 5 bipolar depressive (BD) patients, together with 12 matched controls, whose CRH-expressing neuron numbers had been determined in a previous study., Results: There was a 43% significant reduction of the density of GAD(65/67)-ir in the PVN in MDD (P=0.028) and a 20% non-significant decrease in BD patients. In addition, there was a significant negative correlation between the density of GAD(65/67)-ir and the number of CRH-ir neurons in the PVN in the depression group (Rho=-0.527, P=0.032), but not in the control group., Limitations: The samples were relatively small and the depression group had used antidepressants., Conclusion: A diminished GABAergic input to the PVN may contribute to the activation of CRH-ir neurons in depression, most prominently in MDD, which provides a rationale for prescribing GABAergic agonists for these patients., (Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Objective: To establish and optimize the technology of taking root and promoting seedlings of white flower Scutellaria baicalensis test tube plantlet, and provide the theory and technology base for efficient factorization production system of white flower Scutellaria baicalensis., Methods: Stem segments with axillary bud were cultured onto the different basic medium with different kinds and concentration of cytokinin and auxins to take root and produce strong seedling., Results: The suitable culture medium for taking root of white flower Scutellaria baicalensis was 1/2 MS (all substance reduced half) + IBA 0.02 mg/L + sucrose 2%, the induction rate of root was 100%; The best medium for promoting seedling was 1/2 MS (all substance reduced half) + PP333 0.2 mg/L + IBA 0.02 mg/L + sucrose 2%, the seedling was green, the internode was normal, and its growth was vigorous and healthy., Conclusion: 1/2 MS (all substance reduced half) culture medium and relatively low concentration of sucrose is beneficial to inducing roots; Media adding appropriate concentration of IBA can significantly increase the root induction rate, the seedling has many stout roots; PP333 has dwarfing effect on seedlings and suitable concentration of PP333 can significantly improve the quality of the plantlets. A good technology of taking root and producing strong test tube plantlets is established.

Objective: To investigate the effect of maternal deprivation on the activity of hypothalamo-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis, acute stress response and the sex hormone receptors expression in hypothalamic paraventricular nucleus (PVN) in female rats., Methods: Maternal deprivation model was induced in female Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats. Foot shock was given at different stages of estrus cycle during the adulthood. Plasma estradiol, testosterone and adrenocorticotropin (ACTH) levels were determined by radioimmunoassay; and plasma corticosterone level was measured by enzyme linked immunosorbent assay. The expression of androgen receptor (AR) and estrogen receptor (ER-β) in the hypothalamic PVN was detected by immunohistochemistry., Results: Decreased plasma ACTH and corticosterone levels were found in the proestrus of female rats with maternal deprivation (P=0.012 and P=0.019, respectively). A significant down-regulation (P=0.008) of PVN-AR, but not PVN-ER-β expression was found in female rats with maternal deprivation., Conclusion: Maternal deprivation may reduce the HPA axis activity in female SD rats, which is closely correlated with the fluctuation of the circulating sex hormones. The androgen in the hypothalamus seems to play a more important role than the estrogen in this procedure.

Background and Objective: Vaccination during periods of lymphopenia may facilitate immune responses to weak self-antigens and enhance antitumor immunity. The objective of this study was to determine the effectiveness of tumor vaccine immunotherapy combined with immune reconstruction using tumor-bearing host immune cells in lymphopenia, and to investigate the role of tumor-bearing host T cells activated in vitro during immunotherapy., Design and Setting: Animal study conducted in the First Affiliated Hospital of Xi'an Jiaotong University from January 2009 to January 2010., Patients and Methods: Lymphopenia was induced by cyclophosphamide. A reconstituted immune system with different syngeneic lymphocytes was employed, including lymphocytes from naïve rats (unsensitized group), tumor-bearing rats (tumor-bearing group), and tumor-bearing rats activated in vitro (activated group). All rats were immunized with granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF)-modified NuTu-19 ovarian cancer (GM-CSF/NuTu-19) cells. Tumor vaccine-draining lymph nodes (TVDLNs) were harvested, and then stimulated to induce effector T cells (T(E)). T(E) were then adoptively transferred to rats bearing a 3-day pre-established abdominal tumor (NuTu-19), and the survival rate was calculated., Results: Compared with the unsensitized group, the levels of interleukin-2 (IL-2) were significantly lower in the tumor-bearing group, whereas that of IL-4 were significantly higher (P<.05). The number of CD4+ T cells secreting interferon-γ and the specific cytotoxicity of CD8+ cytotoxic T lymphocytes were significantly lower (P<.05). The survival was significantly higher in the activated group compared with the other groups., Conclusions: Lymphocytes from tumor-bearing rats activated in vitro can effectively reverse the immunosuppressive effects of tumor-bearing hosts.

In the present study, we report the identification of a new gene from the Bacillus subtilis B3 strain (aatB3), which comprises 1308 bp encoding a 436 amino acid protein with a monomer molecular weight of 49.1 kDa. Phylogenetic analyses suggested that this enzyme is a member of the Ib subgroup of aspartate aminotransferases (AATs; EC 2.6.1.1), although it also has conserved active residues and thermostability characteristic of Ia-type AATs. The Asp232, Lys270 and Arg403 residues of AATB3 play a key role in transamination. The enzyme showed maximal activity at pH 8.0 and 45 °C, had relatively high activity over an alkaline pH range (pH 7.0-9.0) and was stable up to 50 °C. AATB3 catalyzed the transamination of five amino acids, with L-aspartate being the optimal substrate. The K(m) values were determined to be 6.7 mM for L-aspartate, 0.3 mM for α-ketoglutarate, 8.0 mM for L-glutamate and 0.6 mM for oxaloacetate. A 32-residue N-terminal amino acid sequence of this enzyme has 53% identity with that of Bacillus circulans AAT, although it is absent in all other AATs from different organisms. Further studies on AATB3 may confirm that it is potentially beneficial in basic research as well as various industrial applications., (© 2011 The Authors Journal compilation © 2011 FEBS.)

Stress response and depression have a significant impact on modern society. Although the symptoms are well characterized, the molecular mechanisms underlying depression are largely unknown. The monoamine hypothesis, which postulates dysfunctional noradrenergic and serotonergic systems as the underlying primary cause of depression, has been valuable for the development of conventional antidepressants, which can reverse these dysfunctional states to some degree. However, recent data from various neuroscience disciplines have questioned the major role of amines in the pathogenesis of depression. A considerable amount of evidence has accumulated that suggests that normalization of the hypothalamo-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) system might be the final step necessary for a remission of depression. In addition, an increasing body of clinical and postmortem evidence is pointing to a role played by γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) and glutamate in the etiology of depression. This review examines the evidence, mainly obtained from clinical studies or from postmortem brain material, for a major role of the HPA axis, glutamatergic, and GABAergic systems in the pathogenesis of major and bipolar depression. The authors hope that these insights will stimulate further studies with the final aim of developing new types of antidepressants that combine increased efficacy with a shorter delay of the onset of action and reduced side-effect profiles.

Aim: To evaluate the reconstituted immune system with in vitro-activated T cells from tumor-bearing rats coupled with ovarian cancer vaccination., Methods: Fischer 344 female rats were injected with cyclophosphamide (CY) as a lymphopenia (LP) model. The immune systems of the rats were reconstituted with in vitro-activated T cells from the same individuals. GM-CSF-modified ovarian cancer cells lines (NuTu-19) were injected within 24 h after immune reconstitution. The tumor vaccine draining lymph nodes (TVDLN) were harvested 8-10 days after vaccination and analyzed by FACS. The proliferative capacity of dendritic cells (DCs) was measured by the levels of MHC-II and CD86 molecules. The activation of T cells was monitored by the percentage of FITC-CD4 and PE-CD8 cells. The biological function of DCs such as processing and presenting antigens was assayed by immature DCs' phagocytosis of FITC-Dextran., Results: Immune reconstitution with in vitro-activated T cells produced significantly more DCs, T cells and functionally enhanced immature DCs out of TVDLN., Conclusion: Reconstituting immune system with in vitro-activated T cells from a tumor-bearing host coupled with ovarian cancer vaccination during lymphocytopenia may selectively expand and activate particular T cells and DCs, leading to augmentation of anti-tumor immunity.

Surface soil samples were collected from a wastewater-irrigated agricultural area near a smelter in the Xinluo District of Longyan City, Pujian Province, and their basic physical and chemical properties, activities of urease, cellulase, alkaline phosphomonoesterase, polyphenol oxidase and catalase, and contents of Cu, Cd, Pb and Zn were determined, aimed to approach the effects of heavy metals pollution and soil properties on the activities of soil enzymes. Correlation analysis showed that the total and available contents of soil Cu, Cd, Pb and Zn had significant positive correlations with the activities of soil urease, cellulase, alkaline phosphomonoesterase and polyphenol oxidase, but significant negative correlation with the activity of soil catalase. Soil pH had significant positive correlation with the activity of soil alkaline phosphomonoesterase, and soil silt content had significant negative correlation with the activity of soil catalase. Path analysis showed that Cu, Cd, Pb and Zn pollution promoted the activities of soil urease, cellulase and polyphenol oxidase, but had less effects on the activity of soil alkaline phosphomonoesterase. Soil available Cu, Cd, Pb and Zn didn't directly affect the activity of soil catalase, but indirectly inhibited it significantly. Soil physical and chemical properties had greater effects on soil enzyme activities, e.g., alkaline-hydrolyzable N directly inhibited the activity of soil urease, total P directly stimulated the activities of soil alkaline phosphomonoesterase and catalase and indirectly stimulated the activity of soil cellulase via available P, available P directly promoted the activity of soil cellulase but inhibited the activities of soil alkaline phosphomonoesterase and catalase, total K directly inhibited the activities of soil alkaline phosphomonoesterase and polyphenol oxidase, available K stimulated the activity of soil catalase via available P, and particle composition had significant effects on the activities of soil polyphenol oxidase and catalase. The above results demonstrated that because of the complicated and uncertain relationships between the contents of soil Cd, Pb, Zn and Cu and the activities of the five soil enzymes, it should be cautious to use the test enzyme activities to indicate soil heavy metals pollution.

Objective: To explore the mechanisms and effects of adoptive immunotherapy with ovarian cancer vaccine modified by GM-CSF gene which was used after immunologic reconstitution during lymphopenia induced by chemotherapy., Methods: Lymphopenia was induced by chemotherapy with cyclophosphamide. The immune reconstituted model was built in rats. The tumor vaccine draining lymph nodes were harvested after the ovarian cancer cells NUTU-19 modified by GM-CSF gene were injected. The effector T cells (T(E)) were got after being stimulated and amplified. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay was used to detect the level of interleukin (IL)-2 and IL-4 secreted by T(E). Intracellular cytokine staining was used to determine frequency of tumor-specific T(E). Fluorescence-activated cell sorting (FACS) was used to detect the special cytotoxicity of T(E) killing target cells. The survival period of rats bearing pre-established abdominal ovariam carcinoma after being adoptively transferred by T(E) was observed., Results: Compared with those in control group, the significant higher levels IL-2 [(65.7 +/- 4.0) pg/ml] and lower levels IL-4 [(277 +/- 49) pg/ml] were observed in chemotherapy-immune reconstitution-vaccine immunization group. The amount of CD(4)(+) T cells secreting interferon-gamma (13.0 +/- 2.1)% were also significantly increased. The rate of the special cytotoxicity of killing T cells (86.5 +/- 1.1)% was markedly improved. The survival period of rats (110 +/- 16) days was increased in chemotherapy-immune reconstitution-vaccine immunization group., Conclusions: The combined immunotherapy of chemotherapy-immune reconstitution-tumor vaccine immunotherapy may increase the frequency and function of specific tumor T(E). The specific cytotoxicity is increased and the weak reaction of T(E) to tumor is improved, which showed that this therapy can enhance immune reaction.

S phase kinase-associated protein 2 (Skp2), an F-box protein, is required for the ubiquitination and consequent degradation of p27(kip1). Previous reports have showed that p27(kip1 )played important roles in cell cycle regulation and neurogenesis in the developing central nervous system. But the distribution and function of p27(kip1 )and Skp2 in nervous system lesion and regeneration remains unclear. In this study, we observed that they were expressed mainly in both Schwann cells and axons in adult rat sciatic nerve. Sciatic nerve crush and transection resulted in a significant up-regulation of Skp2 and a down-regulation of p27(kip1). By immunochemistry, we found that in the distal stumps of transected nerve from the end to the edge, the appearance of Skp2 in the edge is coincided with the decrease in p27(kip1) levels. Changes of them were inversely correlated. Results obtained by coimmunoprecipitation and double labeling further showed their interaction in the regenerating process. Thus, these results indicate that p27(kip1 )and Skp2 likely play an important role in peripheral nerve injury and regeneration.

Nitric oxide and nitric oxide synthases are key players in synaptic plasticity events in spinal cord (SC), which underlies the chronic pain states. To date, little is known about the molecular mechanisms regulating the activity of nitric oxide synthases in nociceptive systems. The present study was aimed at the determination of the gene expression of nNOS-interacting DHHC domain-containing protein with dendritic mRNA (NIDD), a recently identified protein regulating nNOS enzyme activity, in rat SC and dorsal root ganglia (DRG) and studying its regulation in states of nociceptive hypersensitivity in a rat model of neuropathic or inflammatory pain. It was found that NIDD mRNA was predominantly expressed in nociceptive primary neurons and in neurons of the spinal dorsal horn (DH) and the number of NIDD-positive neurons in the corresponding DRG or SC increased significantly following induction of chronic hyperalgesia. Meanwhile, remarkable changes of nNOS were detected under such pain conditions. Our data suggest a potential role for NIDD in the maintenance of thermal pain hypersensitivity possibly via regulating the nNOS activity.

The transfer characteristics of Cd and Pb from soils to the edible parts of six vegetable species were calculated from plant and corresponding surface soil samples collected from the fields in Fujian Province, southeastern China. The soil-to-plant transfer factors (TF) calculated from both total and DTPA-extractable Cd and Pb in the soils decreased with increasing total or DTPA-extractable Cd and Pb, indicating that the TF values of Cd and Pb depend on the soil metal content. For most plants studied, there was a significant relation between the TF values and the corresponding soil metal concentrations (total or DTPA-extractable) that was best described by an exponential equation (y=axb). We recommend that the representative TF value for a given crop-metal system should be estimated from the regression models between the transfer factors and the corresponding soil metal concentrations and at a given soil metal concentration.

The bioavailability, soil-to-plant transfer and associated health risks of arsenic in soils collected from paddy rice fields and vegetable fields in suburban areas of some major cities of Fujian Province were investigated. The total soil concentrations of arsenic ranged from 1.29 to 25.28 mg kg(-)(1) with a mean of 6.09 mg kg(-)(1). Available (NaH(2)PO(4)-extractable) arsenic content accounted for 0.7-38.2% of total soil arsenic and was significantly correlated with total soil arsenic content. For the vegetable soils, the available fraction (ratio of available As to total As) of arsenic decreased with decreasing silt (particle size 0.02-0.002 mm) and free iron (DCB extractable) contents and with increasing soil pH and organic matter content. The available fraction of arsenic in the paddy rice soils increased with increasing free iron and organic matter contents and decreasing soil pH and silt content. The correlation of NaH(2)PO(4)-extractable arsenic with the arsenic concentration of the vegetables was much better than that of total As. The transfer factor based on the soil available arsenic (TF(avail)) was chosen to compare the accumulation ability of the various crops. The TF(avail) values of rice grains (air-dried weight basis) ranged between 0.068 and 0.44 and were higher than those of the vegetables, ranging from 0.001 to 0.12. The accumulation ability of the crops decreased in the order of rice>radish>water spinach>celery>onion>taro>leaf mustard>fragrant-flowered garlic>pakchoi>Chinese cabbage>lettuce>garlic>cowpea>cauliflower>bottle gourd>towel gourd>eggplant. Daily consumption of rice and other As-rich vegetables could result in an excessive intake of arsenic, based on the provisional tolerable intake for adults for arsenic recommended by WHO.