Using Normalized Carcinoembryonic Antigen and Carbohydrate Antigen 19 to Predict and Monitor the Efficacy of Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy in Locally Advanced Gastric Cancer.

Carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) and carbohydrate antigen 19-9 (CA19-9) are established prognostic biomarkers for patients with gastric cancer. However, their potential as predictive markers for neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NACT) efficacy has not been fully elucidated. METHODS: We conducted a retrospective analysis to determine values of CEA and CA19-9 prior to NACT (pre-NACT) and after NACT (post-NACT) in 399 patients with locally advanced gastric cancer (LAGC) who received intended NACT and surgery. RESULTS: Among the 399 patients who underwent NACT plus surgery, 132 patients (33.1%) had elevated pre-NACT CEA/CA19-9 values. Furthermore, either pre-NACT or post-NACT CEA /CA19-9 levels were significantly associated with prognosis (p = 0.0023) compared to patients with non-elevated levels. Moreover, among the patients, a significant proportion (73/132, 55.3%) achieved normalized CEA/CA19-9 following NACT, which is a strong marker of a favorable treatment response and survival benefits. In addition, the patients with normalized CEA/CA19-9 also had a prolonged survival compared to those who underwent surgery first (p = 0.0140), which may be attributed to the clearance of micro-metastatic foci. Additionally, the magnitude of CEA/CA19-9 changes did not exhibit a statistically significant prognostic value. CONCLUSIONS: Normalization of CEA/CA19-9 is a strong biomarker for the effectiveness of treatment, and can thus be exploited to prolong the long-term survival of patients with LAGC.

Association between maternal thallium exposure and risk of gestational diabetes mellitus: Evidence from a birth cohort study.

BACKGROUND: The adverse effects of TI exposure on pregnant women are still unclear, especially regarding the risk of gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) Objective: We explored the association between maternal urinary Tl burden and the risk of GDM. METHODS: A subsample of 1789 pregnant women were enrolled who provided spot urine samples before the diagnostic 75-g oral glucose tolerance test. Urinary Tl concentration was measured using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. Logistic regression and covariance analysis were carried out to estimate the association between Tl exposure and GDM risk. RESULTS: The median of urinary Tl concentration was 0.382 µg/L or 0.525 µg/g creatinine (CC-Tl). There were 437 (24.4%) participants who were diagnosed with GDM, and the urinary CC-Tl concentrations of pregnant women with GDM were higher than that of pregnant women without GDM [0.548 (0.402, 0.788) vs 0.518 (0.356, 0.724), p = 0.014]. After adjusting for the relevant covariates, an association between urinary Tl concentrations and GDM was found. In comparison to the pregnant women in the lowest quartile of urinary CC-Tl concentration, the pregnant women in the highest quartile had a higher risk of GDM [OR (95% CI) = 1.44 (1.03, 2.02), p-trend = 0.055]. If limited to the pregnant women without family history of diabetes, the results were still robust [OR (95% CI) = 1.59 (1.11, 2.30), p-trend = 0.012]. CONCLUSION: Urinary CC-Tl concentration was associated with GDM among Chinese pregnant women. Our findings provide evidence that moderately high Tl exposure may be a novel risk factor for pregnant women health.

Circadian misalignment alters insulin sensitivity during the light phase and shifts glucose tolerance rhythms in female mice.

Shift work and jet lag, characterized by circadian misalignment, can disrupt several physiological activities, but whether they affect the rhythm of glucose uptake and insulin sensitivity remain unclear. In the present study, female C57BL/6J mice were maintained for four weeks under the condition of 8-hour phase advance and delay every 3-4 days to mimic shift work. Intraperitoneal glucose tolerance test (IPGTT) and intraperitoneal insulin tolerance test (IPITT) were performed repeatedly at Zeitgeber time (ZT) 0, ZT6, ZT12, and ZT18. Glucose-stimulated insulin secretion (GSIS) test was performed at ZT6. We found that the average level of daily glucose tolerance did not decrease but the phase of glucose tolerance advanced by 2.27 hours and the amplitude attenuated by 20.4% in shift work mice. At ZT6, IPITT showed blood glucose at 30 min after insulin injection decreased faster in shift work mice (-3.50±0.74mmol/L, -61.58±7.89%) than that in control mice (-2.11±1.10mmol/L, -33.72±17.24%), but IPGTT and GSIS test showed no significant difference between the two groups. Food intake monitor showed that the feeding time of shift work mice continued to advance. Restricting feed to a fixed 12-hour period alleviated the increase of insulin sensitivity induced by shift-work. We also observed that an increase of blood glucose and liver glycogen at ZT0, as well as a phase advance of liver clock genes and some glucose metabolism-related genes such as forkhead box O1 (Foxo1) and peroxisome proliferator activated receptor alpha (Pparα) in shift work mice. Our results showed that light change-simulated shift work altered insulin sensitivity during the light phase and shifted glucose tolerance rhythms in female mice, suggesting a causal association between long-term shift work and type 2 diabetes.

An Ordered Ni6 -Ring Superstructure Enables a Highly Stable Sodium Oxide Cathode.

Sodium-based layered oxides are among the leading cathode candidates for sodium-ion batteries, toward potential grid energy storage, having large specific capacity, good ionic conductivity, and feasible synthesis. Despite their excellent prospects, the performance of layered intercalation materials is affected by both a phase transition induced by the gliding of the transition metal slabs and air-exposure degradation within the Na layers. Here, this problem is significantly mitigated by selecting two ions with very different MO bond energies to construct a highly ordered Ni6 -ring superstructure within the transition metal layers in a model compound (NaNi2/3 Sb1/3 O2 ). By virtue of substitution of 1/3 nickel with antimony in NaNiO2 , the existence of these ordered Ni6 -rings with super-exchange interaction to form a symmetric atomic configuration and degenerate electronic orbital in layered oxides can not only largely enhance their air stability and thermal stability, but also increase the redox potential and simplify the phase-transition process during battery cycling. The findings reveal that the ordered Ni6 -ring superstructure is beneficial for constructing highly stable layered cathodes and calls for new paradigms for better design of layered materials.

Investigation of A Slow-Light Enhanced Near-Infrared Absorption Spectroscopic Gas Sensor, Based on Hollow-Core Photonic Band-Gap Fiber.

Generic modeling and analysis of a slow-light enhanced absorption spectroscopic gas sensor was proposed, using a mode-tuned, hollow-core, photonic band-gap fiber (HC-PBF) as an absorption gas cell. Mode characteristics of the un-infiltrated and infiltrated HC-PBF and gas absorption enhancement of the infiltrated HC-PBF were analyzed. A general rule of microfluidic parameters for targeting different gas species in the near-infrared was obtained. Ammonia (NH3) was used as an example to explore the effects of slow light on gas detection. The second harmonic (2f) signal and Allan deviation were theoretically investigated based on the derived formulations.

[A Methane Detection System Using Distributed Feedback Laser at 1 654 nm].

A methane (CH4) detection system based on tunable diode laser absorption spectroscopy (TDLAS) technique was experimentally demonstrated. A distributed feedback (DFB) laser around 1 654 nm, an open reflective sensing probe and two InGaAs photodiodes were adopted in the system. The electrical part of the system mainly includes the laser temperature control & modulation module and the orthogonal lock-in amplifier module. Temperature and spectrum tests on the DFB laser indicate that, the laser temperature fluctuation can be limited to the range of -0.02-0.02 degrees C, the laser's emitting wavelength varies linearly with the temperature and injection current, and also good operation stability of the laser was observed through experiments. Under a constant working temperature, the center wavelength of the laser is varied linearly by adjusting the driving current. Meanwhile, a 5 kHz sine wave signal and a 10 Hz saw wave signal were provided by the driving circuit for the harmonic extraction purpose. The developed orthogonal lock-in amplifier can extract the If and 2f harmonic signals with the extraction error of 3.55% and 5% respectively. By using the open optical probe, the effective optical pass length was doubled to 40 cm. Gas detection experiment was performed to derive the relation between the harmonic amplitude and the gas concentration. As the concentration increases from 1% to 5%, the amplitudes of the 1f harmonic and the 2f harmonic signal were obtained, and good linear ration between the concentration and the amplitude ratio was observed, which proves the normal function of the developed detection system. This system is capable to detect other trace gases by using relevant DFB lasers.

[Multi-Pass Absorption Spectroscopy for CO Detection Using a Quantum Cascaded Laser].

According to the fundamental absorption properties of Carbon Monoxide(CO) near 4.7 µm, a novel CO sensor was designed using a Quantum Cascaded Laser (QCL) whose central wavelength is 4.75 µm and Multi-pass Gas Cell (MGC). This sensor uses a QCL with the thermoelectrically cooled function and can work under pulse mode and room temperature, the exiting optical wavelength was located in a strong absorption line (2 103 cm-1)which is in the base band of CO through adjusting the injection current and temperature. Meanwhile, a novel MGC (40 cm long and 800 mL sampling volume) with 16 meters effective optical path length and mercury cadmium telluride mid-infrared detectors was used, thus effectively improved the sensitivity of this system. Additionally, a reference gas cell and a spatial filtering optical structure were occupied, resulting in effective improvement of the beam quality and reduction of the noise caused by the instability of QCL, the sensitivity of this system was improved furtherly. It indicated that the system works stably by means of multiple measurements to the carbon monoxide gas with different concentration, a detection limit of 5 µmol·mol-1 can be obtained when the signal-to-noise ratio equals 1.

[A Methane Gas Sensor Based on Mid-Infrared Quantum Cascaded Laser and Multipass Gas Cell].

According to the principle of mid-infrared absorption spectrum, the fundamental absorption characteristics at the wavelength of 7.5 µm of methane (CH4) molecule was used to design a mid-infrared quantum cascaded laser (QCL) and multi-pass gas cell (MPC)-based methane gas sensor. This sensor uses a thermoelectrically cooled, pulse mode QCL whose central wavelength is 7.5 µm. The QCL wavelength was scanned over CH4 absorption line (1 332.8 cm-1)through adjusting the injection current under the condition of room temperature. Meanwhile, a compact MPC (40 cm long and 800 mL sampling volume) was utilized to achieve an effective optical path length of 16 meters. Additionally, a reference gas cell was occupied and joined a spatial filtering optical structure to meet the requirement of MPC in incidence beam, effectively improved the beam quality, reduced the noise which is caused by the fluctuation of QCL and improved the detection sensitivity of this instrument under the guidance of differential optical absorption spectroscopy method. It indicated that the stability of this instrument is good by means of multiple measurements to the methane gas with different concentration, a detection limit of 1 µmol·mol-1 will be obtained when the signal-to-noise ratio equals 1.

[Online Detection System on Acetylene with Tunable Diode Laser Absorption Spectroscopy Method].

Based on tunable diode laser absorption spectroscopy (TDLAS) technique, an acetylene (C2H2) online detection system was developed by using the absorption band at the wavelength of 1.534 µm of C2H2 molecule. The sensing system consists of four modules including a distributed feedback (DFB) laser, a DFB laser driver, a gas cell with single optical path and a data processing module. With the prepared standard C2H2 gas sample, detailed measurements were carried out to study the detection performance of the system. Experimental results reveal that, the limit of the system (LOD) is about 0.02%; a good linear relationship is observed between C2H2 gas concentration and the amplitude of the 2f signal is within the range of 0.02%~1%. A long-term measurement lasting for 20 h on a 0.5% C2H2 gas sample was carried out to test the stability of the system. Compared with the C2H2 detection systems utilizing quantum cascaded lasers (QCLs) and wideband incandescence, this system has great advantage due to the capability of using long-distance and low-loss optical fiber for remote monitoring. With self-developed DFB laser driver and lock-in amplifier, the system has good prospects in industrial field because of its simple structure, low price and capability of easy to be integrated.

[A trace gas sensor using mid-infrared quantum cascaded laser at 4.8 microm to detect carbon monoxide].

Presented in the present paper is a compact instrument developed for rapid, sensitive and continuous monitoring of trace gases in air, with results shown for carbon monoxide concentration. This instrument takes advantage of recent technology in mid-infrared quantum cascaded laser (QCL) operating at 4.8 microm and mercury cadmium telluride (HgCdTe) mid-infrared (MIR) detector, combing MIR multipass herriott cell with 76 m absorption path length to obtain low detection sensitivity down to 50 nmol x mol(-1) level in 4 s acquisition time. Meanwhile, in order to eliminate the instability induced by electrically modulated light source and effectively improve detection limit of the instrument, an optical structure with dual channel path was designed which is based on differential optical absorption spectroscopy method. The experimental results show that the instrument integrated with gas concentration inversion algorithm can be applied to in-situ measurements of trace gases without calibration. Additionally, operator could substitute a QCL operating at a different wavelength to measure other gases.

Effects of biochar on soil microbial biomass after four years of consecutive application in the north China Plain.

The long term effect of biochar application on soil microbial biomass is not well understood. We measured soil microbial biomass carbon (MBC) and nitrogen (MBN) in a field experiment during a winter wheat growing season after four consecutive years of no (CK), 4.5 (B4.5) and 9.0 t biochar ha(-1) yr(-1) (B9.0) applied. For comparison, a treatment with wheat straw residue incorporation (SR) was also included. Results showed that biochar application increased soil MBC significantly compared to the CK treatment, and that the effect size increased with biochar application rate. The B9.0 treatment showed the same effect on MBC as the SR treatment. Treatments effects on soil MBN were less strong than for MBC. The microbial biomass C∶N ratio was significantly increased by biochar. Biochar might decrease the fraction of biomass N mineralized (KN), which would make the soil MBN for biochar treatments underestimated, and microbial biomass C∶N ratios overestimated. Seasonal fluctuation in MBC was less for biochar amended soils than for CK and SR treatments, suggesting that biochar induced a less extreme environment for microorganisms throughout the season. There was a significant positive correlation between MBC and soil water content (SWC), but there was no significant correlation between MBC and soil temperature. Biochar amendments may therefore reduce temporal variability in environmental conditions for microbial growth in this system thereby reducing temporal fluctuations in C and N dynamics.

[Investigation of spectroscopy of ZnCuInS/ZnSe/ZnS quantum dots].

ZnCuInS/ZnSe/ZnS quantum dots were non-toxic and heavy-metal free semiconductor nanocrystals. In the present paper, ZnCuInS/ZnSe/ZnS core/shell/shell quantum dots were prepared with the particle size of 3.3, 2.7 and 2.3 nm. The photoluminescence of ZnCuInS/ZnSe/ZnS quantum dots with different size were measured, and the wavelength of peak was blue-shifted with decreasing the diameter. The wavelength of absorption peaks and photoluminescence peaks were 510 nm, 611 nm (3.3 nm), 483 nm, 583 nm (2.7 nm) and 447 nm and 545 nm(2.3 nm). The obvious size-dependence of ZnCuInS/ZnSe/ZnS quantum dots was shown. The Stokes shifts of ZnCuInS/ZnSe/ZnS quantum dots were 398 meV (3.3 nm), 436 meV (2.7 nm) and 498 meV (2.3 nm). Such large Stokes shifts indicate that the emission should be ascribed to the defect-related recombination. The temperature-dependent photoluminescence of ZnCuInS/ZnSe/ZnS quantum dots with the particle size of 3.3 nm were measured. The wavelength of peaks was red-shifted with increasing temperature and the intensity of photoluminescence spectra was decreased with increasing temperature. Therefore, the emission was concluded to be the transition from the conduction band to defect state.

[Carbon monoxide gas detection system based on mid-infrared spectral absorption technique].

Based on infrared spectral absorption technique, a carbon monoxide (CO) detection system was developed using the fundamental absorption band at the wavelength of 4.6 µm of CO molecule and adopting pulse-modulated wideband incandescence and dual-channel detector. The detection system consists of pulse-modulated wideband incandescence, open ellipsoid light-collec- tor gas-cell, dual-channel detector, main-control and signal-processing module. By optimizing open ellipsoid light-collector gas- cell, the optical path of the gas absorption reaches 40 cm, and the amplitude of the electrical signal from the detector is 2 to 3 times larger than the original signal. Therefore, by using the ellipsoidal condenser, the signal-to-noise ratio of the system will be to some extent increased to improve performance of the system. With the prepared standard CO gas sample, sensing characteris- tics on CO gas were investigated. Experimental results reveal that, the limit of detection (LOD) is about 10 ppm; the relative er- ror at the LOD point is less than 14%, and that is less than 7. 8% within the low concentration range of 20~180 ppm; the maxi- mum absolute error of 50 min long-term measurement concentration on the 0 ppm gas sample is about 3 ppm, and the standard deviation is as small as 0. 18 ppm. Compared with the CO detection systems utilizing quantum cascaded lasers (QCLs) and dis- tributed feedback lasers (DFBLs), the proposed sensor shows potential applications in CO detection under the circumstances of coal-mine and environmental protection, by virtue of high performance-cost ratio, simple optical-path structure, etc.

[Enhancing stimulated Raman scattering of water and heavy water lattice vibration by laser induced plasma].

Stimulated Raman scattering was studied in water and heavy water using pulse laser at the wavelength of 532nm, not only obtaining the stimulated Raman of O-H and O-D stretching vibration, but also obtaining the stimulated Raman lattice vibration. When the laser energy was 130 mJ, the low frequency Stokes and anti-Stokes 313 cm(-1) line of water could be observed; When the laser energy was 160 mJ, the low frequnecy Stokes and anti-Stokes 280 cm(-1) line of heavy water could be observed. The results were explained by physics mechanism of laser induced plasma.

[Investigation of the temperature-dependent spectral characteristics of colloidal PbSe nanocrystals].

In the present paper colloidal PbSe nanocrystals were prepared with the particle size of 3.8 and 5.8 nm, and the temperature- dependent optical properties of colloidal PbSe nanocrystals were investigated. The experimental data show that the band gap, photoluminescence peak wavelength, photoluminescence intensity and full width at half-maximum of colloidal PbSe nanocrystals will change with variations in temperature and size at room temperature. The band gap of colloidal PbSe nanocrystals with the particle size of 3.8 nm shifts towards red when the temperature increases. However, the blue shift occurs when the particle size is 5.8 nm. The photoluminescence intensity of colloidal PbSe nanocrystals drops and the full width at half-maximum will increases with the increase in temperature.

[Investigation of spectroscopy of ZnCuInS/ZnS quantum dots and poly-TPD].

In the present paper ZnCuInS/ZnS core/shell quantum dots were prepared with the particle size of 3.2 nm. Its radiation is based on the donoracceptor pair transitions, not the band edge emission. According to the measurement of photoluminescence spectrum emitted by ZnCuInS/ZnS core/shell quantum dots, the emitting peak of 620 nm and the full width at half-maximum of 95 nm were achieved as red emitter; meanwhile, organic poly(N, N'-bis(4-butylphenyl)-N, N'-bis(phenyl) benzidine) (Poly-TPD) film was deposited and used as cyan-emitter with the peak of 480 nm. Two structures of Poly-TPD were analyzed and discussed according to the photoluminescence spectrum. Two wavelengths are complementary color. Therefore, two films were deposited one by one as bilayer emitter to obtain the complementary emission. After the suitable bias was applied on the films, the white emission was achieved with the Commission Internationale de l' Eclairage (CIE) chromaticity coordinates of (0.336, 0.339) and color rendering index of 92. Therefore, the bilayer-structure is a promising candidate for white light emitting diodes fabrication.

[Study of ice VII structure influenced by high pressure using Raman spectrum].

Raman spectra of ice VII phase were obtained at room temperature when the pressure was from 2.5 to 23 GPa. The experimental results indicate that the oxygen atoms distance do-o of ice decreased with pressure increasing,which results in that hydrogen bond is shortened, O--H bond is lengthened,force constant is reduced, and Raman spectra are red shifted. The orientation order of proton (hydrogen atom) is first increased and then decreased with varying the pressure, which leads to the Raman intensity increasing and then decreasing, and Raman linewidth is decreased and then increased, and the linewidth is the least when the pressure is 13 GPa.

[A trace methane gas sensor using mid-infrared quantum cascaded laser at 7.5 microm].

Presented is a compact instrument developed for in situ high-stable and sensitive continuous measurement of trace gases in air, with results shown for ambient methane (CH4) concentration accurate, real-time and in-situ. This instrument takes advantage of recent technology in thermoelectrically cooling (TEC) pulsed Fabry-Perot (FP) quantum cascaded laser (QCL) driving in a pulse mode operating at 7.5 microm ambient temperature to cover a fundamental spectral absorption band near v4 of CH4. A high quality Liquid Nitrogen (LN) cooled Mercury Cadmium Telluride (HgCdTe) mid-infrared (MIR) detector is used along with a total reflection coated gold ellipsoid mirror offering 20 cm single pass optical absorption in an open-path cell to achieve stability of 5.2 x 10(-3) under experimental condition of 200 micromol x mol(-1) measured ambient CH4. The instrument integrated software via time discriminating electronics technology to control QCL provides continuous quantitative trace gas measurements without calibration. The results show that the instrument can be applied to field measurements of gases of environmental concern. Additional, operator could substitute a QCL operating at a different wavelength to measure other gases.

[Study of biological molecules in water by using the resonance raman spectra in liquid-core optical fiber].

Raman spectrum is an important and effective method for the study of biological molecules in water. Measuring the Raman spectra for biological molecules in water, however, is very difficult because of the small Raman scattering cross section and the high electronic excitation energy of water molecules. In the present paper, the authors applied both technologies of liquid-core optical fiber and the resonance Raman spectra, then the intensity of Raman spectra was enhanced to a great extent. In this experiment, we chose the laser wavelength 514.5 of Ar+ ion laser as excitation laser, because we could obtain the maximal intensity of resonance Raman spectra at this wavelength. The experiment results show that, for the trace inspecting study of beta-carotene biological molecules in water, the concentration in the range of 10(-7)-10(-9) mol x L(-1) can be detected by quartz liquid-core optical fiber and the concentration in the range of 10(-9)-10(-10) mol x L(-1) by Teflon liquid-core optical fiber. The detecting utmost will be further reduced if improving the quality of optical fiber.