Analysis of the results of non-invasive prenatal testing (NIPT) in 545 pregnant women in advanced maternal age.

OBJECTIVE: This research aimed to explore the value of non-invasive prenatal testing (NIPT) as a prenatal screening method for common aneuploidy in pregnant women in advanced maternal age. PATIENTS AND METHODS: A retrospective analysis was conducted on a cohort of 545 mothers with singleton pregnancy who were of advanced age and underwent NIPT testing voluntarily at the Second Affiliated Hospital of Guangxi Medical University between November 2020 and February 2023. In cases where NIPT testing suggested chromosomal abnormalities, amniocentesis was conducted, karyotype analysis or gene copy number variation (CNV) testing was performed, and the pregnancy outcome was tracked. RESULTS: Among 545 pregnant women in advanced maternal age, 11 cases had high risk of NIPT, and the detection rate was 2.02%. Among 11 pregnant women deemed to be at high risk for NIPT, 10 cases underwent amniotic fluid puncture, and one case refused amniocentesis despite a suggestive chromosomal abnormality in NIPT. The overall rate of amniocentesis was 1.83%. Among 11 pregnant women deemed to be at high risk for NIPT, the results suggested that 5 of them had trisomy 21, 1 had trisomy 18, 2 had sex chromosome abnormalities (specifically, 47, XYY), and 3 had other autosomal abnormalities. The positive predictive values of NIPT were 100.00% for the cases of trisomy 21 and trisomy 18, while the values were 0.00% for the cases of sex chromosome abnormalities and other autosomal abnormalities, respectively. After the follow-up, each of the 6 cases that were diagnosed with definite chromosomal abnormalities during prenatal screening opted to induce labor and terminate the pregnancy, including 5 cases that exhibited a high risk of trisomy 21 (47, XN,+21) and 1 case that showed a high risk of trisomy 18 (47, XN,+18). One instance of NIPT indicated a potential abnormality in the sex chromosomes, the individual declined to undergo amniocentesis. Another instance of NIPT suggested a sex chromosome abnormality, amniocentesis revealed a deletion of 0.72 Mb in the 4q22.1 region. They all had normal pregnancies and normal newborns. The remaining three cases had normal prenatal diagnoses (46, XN) and experienced normal pregnancies with healthy neonatal outcomes. CONCLUSIONS: NIPT has demonstrated its efficacy as a screening tool in the face of increasing maternal age. As a result, it can substantially decrease the requirement for invasive prenatal diagnosis. Nonetheless, there are instances of erroneous positive outcomes in NIPT testing, and therefore, interventional prenatal diagnosis remains necessary for individuals with high-risk screening outcomes to prevent false positives or unwarranted labor induction.

Pheochromocytoma in pregnancy: a case report.

BACKGROUND: Pheochromocytoma (PHEO) in pregnancy is a rare disease, and the management of this situation is not well established. The misdiagnosis of the disease often leads to adverse outcomes for both mothers and infants. CASE REPORT: Here, we describe a case of a pregnant woman at 25 weeks' gestation presenting with headache, chest tightness, and shortness of breath, which was found to have a left adrenal mass and hypertensive urgency and diagnosed pregnancy with PHEO in our hospital. The timely diagnosis and proper treatment came with an optimal maternal and fetal outcome. CONCLUSIONS: The case of pheochromocytoma in pregnancy we report demonstrated that early diagnosis and a multidisciplinary approach ensured a favorable prognosis for both maternal and fetal, and we also addressed the importance of individual basis evaluation during the whole journey.

Analysis of the anemia characteristics in early pregnancy and outcomes of pregnant women with hemoglobin H disease.

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to analyze the anemia characteristics in early pregnancy of pregnant women with hemoglobin H (Hb H) disease and their pregnancy outcomes, and to provide reference to the pregnancy management and treatment of these women. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Twenty-eight cases of pregnant women who had been diagnosed with Hb H disease in the Second Affiliated Hospital of Guangxi Medical University from August 2018 to March 2022 were retrospectively analyzed. Moreover, 28 cases of normal pregnant women in the same period were randomly enrolled as a control group for comparison. The means and percentages of the anemia characteristics in early pregnancy and the pregnancy outcomes were calculated and the analysis of variance, Chi-square test, and Fisher's exact test were applied for comparison. RESULTS: A total of 13 cases of missing type (46.43%) and 15 cases of non-missing type (53.57%) were observed in the 28 cases of pregnant women with Hb H disease. The genotypes were as follows: 8 cases of -α3.7/--SEA (28.57%), 4 cases of -α4.2/--SEA (14.29%), 1 case of -α4.2/--THAI (3.57%), 9 cases of αCSα/--SEA (32.14%), 5 cases of αWSα/--SEA (17.86%), and 1 case of αQSα/--SEA (3.57%). Twenty-seven patients with Hb H disease (96.43%) were anemic, including 5 cases of mild anemia (17.86%), 18 cases of moderate anemia (64.28%), 4 cases of severe anemia (14.29%), and 1 case of non-anemia (3.57%). Compared with the control group, the Hb H group had significantly higher red blood cell count and significantly lower Hb, mean corpuscular volume, and mean corpuscular hemoglobin, and the differences were statistically significant (p < 0.05). The Hb H group had higher incidence rates of blood transfusion during pregnancy (BTDP), oligohydramnios fetal growth restrictions (FGR), and fetal distress than the control group. The weights of neonates were lower in the Hb H group than in the control group. Statistically significant differences were found between these two groups (p < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: The genotype missing type of pregnant women with Hb H disease was mainly -α3.7/--SEA and the non-missing type was mainly αCSα/--SEA. Hb H disease can easily cause various degrees of anemia (mainly moderate anemia in this study). Moreover, it can increase the incidence rate of pregnancy complications such as BTDP, oligohydramnios, FGR, and fetal distress, which will reduce the weight of neonates and seriously affect maternal and infant safety. Therefore, maternal anemia and fetal growth and development should be monitored during pregnancy and delivery, and transfusion therapy should be used to improve adverse pregnancy outcomes caused by anemia when necessary.

Association of MTHFR gene C677T polymorphism with pregnancy outcome.

OBJECTIVE: The two objectives of the present study were to analyze the correlation between pregnancy outcomes and methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) gene C677T polymorphism, and to provide evidence for clinical improvement of adverse pregnancy outcomes. PATIENTS AND METHODS: 1,995 cases of pregnant women were selected as objects of the study, and underwent MTHFR gene C677T polymorphism detection in the Second Affiliated Hospital of Guangxi Medical University from October 2020 to September 2021, in which 919 cases whose pregnancy outcomes could be tracked. According to the result of MTHFR gene C677T polymorphism detection, 1,995 cases of pregnant women were classified into a wild-type (CC) group, heterozygous (CT) group, or homozygous (TT) group, and the distributions of MTHFR gene C677T polymorphism in pregnant women were analyzed. In addition, according to complications, 919 cases of pregnant women whose pregnancy outcomes could be tracked were divided into the normal pregnancy group (676 cases), GDM group (146 cases), HDP group (47 cases), abnormal fetus group (13 cases), and spontaneous abortion group (37 cases), and the genotype distributions of MTHFR gene C677T in each group were analyzed. Besides, according to genotype, 919 cases of pregnant women whose pregnancy outcome could be tracked were divided into CC group (515 cases), CT group (289 cases), and TT group (115 cases), and the correlation between genotype and pregnancy outcomes, such as fetal distress, postpartum hemorrhage, premature birth, and full-term delivery, was then analyzed. RESULTS: For the C677T locus of MTHFR gene in the 1,995 cases of pregnant women, there are 1,162 (58.25%) cases of CC genotype, 649 (32.53%) cases of CT genotype, 184 (9.22%) cases of TT genotype. The proportion of TT genotype in GDM, HDP, abnormal fetus, and spontaneous abortion groups were respectively 19.86% (29/148), 25.53% (12/47), 46.15% (6/13), 40.54% (15/37), which were significantly higher than that in normal pregnancy group (7.84%, 53/676), and there were statistically significant differences (p < 0.05). The full-term birth rate in TT group (75.65%, 87/115) was lower than those of CC group (91.26%, 470/515) and CT group (89.27%, 258/289), and there were statistically significant differences (p < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: The TT type gene mutation at the C677T site ofMTHFR gene is closely related to conditions that contribute to a decrease in the number of full-term births and increase the risk of adverse pregnancy outcomes, including GDM, HDP, spontaneous abortion, and fetal abnormalities.

Analysis results of 579 cases of genomic copy number variation sequencing of pregnant women in prenatal diagnosis.

OBJECTIVE: This study explored the usefulness of genomic copy number variation sequencing (CNV-Seq) in the prenatal diagnosis of pregnant women. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Based on prenatal diagnostic indications, CNV-Seq analysis was done in the samples from the 579 pregnant women of the 7 subgroups that included advanced maternal age (group A), high risk noninvasive prenatal test (NIPT) (group B), high risk Down's (Group C), abnormal ultrasound findings (Group D), adverse pregnancy history (Group E), chromosome abnormalities in couples (Group F), and the mixed group (Group G). RESULTS: A total of 57 (9.84%) cases have abnormal CNV-Seq results. Among them, 21 cases were aneuploid chromosomal number abnormalities (3.63%, 21/579), and 36 cases were CNV abnormalities (6.22%, 36/579), including 7 cases of pathogenic copy number alteration (pCNA) (1.21%, 7/579) and 29 cases variants of uncertain significance (VUS) (5.01%, 29/579). The total detection rates of abnormal CNV-Seq in Group G and Group B were 20.27% (15/74) and 15.91% (14/88), which were significantly higher than those in other groups (p < 0.05). Among 36 cases of abnormal CNV-Seq, 7 cases were chromosome fragment deletion or duplication, which were pathogenic CNV, and some rare chromosomal diseases were detected. CONCLUSIONS: Patients with a high risk of NIPT or multiple indications of prenatal diagnosis are highly suspected of chromosomal diseases. CNV-Seq is a useful tool for detecting chromosome abnormalities for prenatal diagnosis of pregnant women more accurately and provides more comprehensive information for prenatal diagnosis to reduce birth defects.

Analysis results of 169 cases of chorionic villus samples of missed abortion using high throughput sequencing.

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to evaluate the use of high-throughput sequencing (HTS) technology to detect chromosomes in chorionic villus samples of missed abortion embryos and investigate its utility in the genetic diagnosis of missed abortion. PATIENTS AND METHODS: HTS was used to assess chorionic villus samples obtained from 169 patients with missed abortions from August 2020 to March 2022, at the Second Affiliated Hospital of Guangxi Medical University. The test results were statistically analyzed. To investigate the impact of advanced age on the incidence of chromosomal abnormalities, the patients were divided into two groups: elderly (≥35 years) and nonelderly pregnant women (<35 years). RESULTS: (1) Among the samples of 169 patients, 100 (59.17%) cases of chromosomal abnormalities were detected. Among these 100, 90 (90%) had chromosomal numerical abnormalities and 10 (10%) had chromosomal structural abnormalities. (2) Chromosomal numerical abnormality was abnormalities mainly included aneuploidy (92.22%, 83/90), with trisomy (62.22%, 56/90) and monosomy (22.22%, 20/90) accounting for the majority. The top three numerical abnormalities included 18 cases of Turner syndrome (monosomy X; 20%, 18/90), 10 cases of trisomy 16 (11.11%, 10/90), and 10 cases of trisomy 22 (11.11%, 10/90). (3) Villous chromosomal abnormalities were found in 48 (70.59%) elderly pregnant women, and 52 (51.48%) nonelderly pregnant women, with statistically significant differences (p < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: (1) Chromosomal abnormality is an important cause of missed abortion, it majorly includes chromosomal numerical abnormality, of which most cases are of aneuploidy. (2) Advanced age may increase the risk of embryonic chromosomal abnormalities. (3) Villus chromosome detection using HTS has a positive value and can be used for analyzing and determining the causes of missed abortion.

Pregnancy outcome analysis of 94 patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension during pregnancy.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of the study was to analyze the pregnancy outcomes of patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension to provide a reference for clinical diagnosis and treatment. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Clinical data of 94 patients with a pregnancy complicated by pulmonary hypertension were retrospectively analyzed. The means and percentages of the pregnancy outcomes were calculated, and the analysis of variance, Chi-square test, and Fisher's exact test were applied for comparison. RESULTS: The pregnancy outcomes were less favorable in the severe pulmonary arterial hypertension group compared to the mild and moderate groups. The more severe the pulmonary arterial hypertension, the worse the heart function. A poorer heart function was associated with a poorer prognosis across different pregnancy outcomes. CONCLUSIONS: A pregnancy with more severe pulmonary arterial hypertension and worse cardiac function has a poorer maternal and infant prognosis and pregnancy outcome. Cesarean section is the preferred delivery method for patients with severe pulmonary arterial hypertension, whereas vaginal delivery is preferred for patients with mild or moderate pulmonary arterial hypertension and good cardiac function.

Spatiotemporal characteristics of neural activity in tibial nerves with carbon nanotube yarn electrodes.

BACKGROUND: Reliable interfacing with peripheral nervous system is essential to extract neural signals. Current implantable peripheral nerve electrodes cannot provide long-term reliable interfaces due to their mechanical mismatch with host nerves. Carbon nanotube (CNT) yarns possess excellent mechanical flexibility and electrical conductivity. It is of great necessity to investigate the selectivity of implantable CNT yarn electrodes. NEW METHOD: Neural interfaces were fabricated with CNT yarn electrodes insulated with Parylene-C. Acute recordings were carried out on tibial nerves of rats, and compound nerve action potentials (CNAPs) were electrically evoked by biphasic current stimulation of four toes. Spatiotemporal characteristics of neural activity and spatial selectivity of the electrodes, denoted by selectivity index (SI), were analyzed in detail. RESULTS: Conduction velocities of sensory afferent fibers recorded by CNT yarn electrodes varied between 4.25 m/s and 37.56 m/s. The SI maxima for specific toes were between 0.55 and 0.99 across seven electrodes. SIs for different CNT yarn electrodes are significantly different among varied toes. COMPARISON WITH EXISTING METHODS: Most single CNT yarn electrode with a ∼ 500 µm exposed length can be sensitive to one or two specific toes in rodent animals. While, it is only possible to discriminate two non-adjacent toes by multisite TIME electrodes. CONCLUSION: Single CNT yarn electrode exposed ∼ 500 µm showed SI values for different toes comparable to a multisite TIME electrode, and had high spatial selectivity for one or two specific toes. The electrodes with cross section exposed could intend to be more sensitive to one specific toe.

[Advance in the research of graphene and its derivatives in wound dressings].

Graphene, as a new two-dimensional nanomaterial, is isolated and prepared for various industries application, which has become a hot research topic at present. It is also used in biomedicine for drug carriers, biological detection, cancer treatment, and tissue engineering. Graphene and its derivatives have great potential in the application of wound dressings attributed to the unique and good properties, including self-antibacterial property and antibacterial property in combination with different substances, excellent mechanical property, biocompatibility, etc. This article reviews the research of graphene and its derivatives in wound dressings.

[Study of iron overload assessment by T2* magnetic resonance imaging in patients with myelodysplastic syndromes].

Objectives: To analyze the cardiac T2* value, liver iron concentration (LIC) , and related laboratory parameters in myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) with iron overload and evaluate the changes of organ functions after iron chelation therapy. To explore the value of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) T2* in making early diagnosis and assessing organs iron overload. Methods: Retrospective investigation was used to observe the cardiac T2* value, LIC, iron metabolism parameters and related laboratory parameters of 85 MDS patients from Nov 2014 to Jan 2018. Among them, 7 MDS patients with Low/Int-1 have received iron chelation therapy for 6 months during two MRI examinations. The above parameters were collected before and after iron chelation therapy for comparison. Results: Correlations were found between heart T2* value and age (rs=-0.290, P=0.007) and left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) (rs=0.265, P=0.009) . There was a significant negative correlation between heart T2* value and blood transfusion units (rs=-0.701, P<0.001) . There was a significant positive correlation between LIC and serum ferritin (SF) (rs=0.577, P<0.001) . There was also a correlation between LIC and ALT (rs=0.268, P=0.014) and blood transfusion units (rs=0.244, P=0.034) . There was no correlation between heart T2* and pro-BNP, SF (all P>0.05) , and no correlation between LIC and age (P>0.05) . The increase of heart T2* between the normal and abnormal groups was statistically significant (P=0.005) , but the iron overload ratio of the heart T2*<20 ms was not significant between the two groups. There was statistical significance in the proportion of severe liver iron overload (LIC>15 mg/g DW) (P=0.045) . After iron chelation therapy, the values of SF, transferrin saturation, ALT, AST, pro-BNP and LIC of 7 patients were decreased compared with values before iron chelation therapy, and the peripheral blood cell level was increased. However, the changes of LVEF and T2* values after iron chelation were not obvious. Conclusion: MRI T2* may be a predictor of iron overload in patients with MDS in early stage, and may be more valuable compare with LVEF, SF and other laboratory indicators. The safety and repeatability of MRI cardiac T2* examination are recognized, and it can be used as an ideal detection for patients with iron overload.

Dietary supplementation with arginine and glutamic acid enhances key lipogenic gene expression in growing pigs.

Our previous study showed dietary supplementation with Arg and Glu increased intramuscular fat deposition and decreased back fat thickness in pigs, suggesting that the genes involved in lipid metabolism might be regulated differently in muscle and s.c. adipose (SA) tissues. Sixty Duroc × Large White × Landrace pigs with an average initial BW of 77.1 ± 1.3 kg were randomly assigned to 1 of 5 treatment groups (castrated male to female ratio = 1:1). Pigs in the control group were fed a basic diet, and those in experimental groups were fed the basic diet supplemented with 2.05% alanine (isonitrogenous group), 1.00% arginine (Arg group), 1.00% glutamic acid + 1.44% alanine (Glu group), or 1.00% arginine + 1.00% glutamic acid (Arg+Glu group). Fatty acid percentages and mRNA expression levels of the genes involved in lipid metabolism in muscle and SA tissues were examined. The percentages of C14:0 and C16:0 in the SA tissue of Glu group pigs and C14:0 in the longissimus dorsi (LD) muscle of Glu and Arg+Glu groups decreased ( < 0.05) compared to the basic diet group. The Arg+Glu group showed the highest ( < 0.05) hormone-sensitive lipase expression level in SA tissue and higher ( < 0.05) mRNA levels of in the LD muscle than the basic diet and isonitrogenous groups. Additionally, the mRNA level of fatty acid synthase in the Arg+Glu group was more upregulated ( < 0.05) than that of the Arg group. An increase in the mRNA level of in the biceps femoris muscle was also observed in the Arg+Glu group ( < 0.05) compared with the basic diet and isonitrogenous groups. Collectively, these findings suggest that dietary supplementation with Arg and Glu upregulates the expression of genes involved in adipogenesis in muscle tissues and lipolysis in SA tissues.

[miR-202 contributes to sensitizing MM cells to drug significantly via activing JNK/SAPK signaling pathway].

Objective: To explore the role of miR-202 in multiple myeloma (MM) cells, and study the regulation of miR-202 on drug sensitivity of MM cells. Methods: miR-202 and BAFF mRNA levels were detected by real-time PCR. U266 cells were transfected with miR-202-mimics, miR-202-inhibitor, siBAFF and their negative controls. After above treatments, protein levels of Bcl-2 family and MAPK signaling pathway were detected by Western blot analysis, and the proliferation and apoptosis ability of MM cells were examined by WST-1, Annexin V-FLUOS assay, respectively. Results: The results showed that the expression of miR-202 in CD138+ MM cells (0.304±0.354) and U266 cells (0.052± 0.009) were lower than in normal controls (3.550 ± 1.126) (P<0.001, P=0.009), whereas BAFF mRNA levels (5.700 ± 0.734, 9.576 ± 2.887) were higher than in normal controls (1.819 ± 0.853) (P<0.001, P= 0.006). The proliferation ability of U266 cells transfected with miR-202 mimics was significantly inhibited than in control group [(56.04±0.021)% vs (18.89±0.32)%, P=0.002]. The result of Western blot showed that the expression of Bcl-2 decreased by about 24%, and the expression of Bax increased by about 124% in cells transfected with miR-202 mimics. The apoptosis rate in cells transfected with miR-202 mimics was significantly more than in control group [(49.60±4.89)% vs (26.20±1.28)%, P=0.029]. The apoptosis rate in miR-202 mimics combined with Bort group (51.23±5.41)% was higher as compared with Bort treatment alone (31.70±4.40)% or miR-202 mimics control combined with Bort group (27.94±4.04)%, (P=0.047, P= 0.028), whereas the apoptosis rate in miR-202 mimics combined with Thal or Dex had no significant difference compared with miR-202 mimics control [(11.66±1.91)% vs (10.63±1.74)%, P=0.700; (16.35± 1.32)% vs (17.43 ± 1.95)%, P=0.400]. The inhibitory rate of cell growth in miR-202 mimics combined with Bort group was higher as compared with Bort treatment alone [(36.93±5.98)% vs (18.18±4.10)%, P= 0.029]. The expressions of p-JNK protein decreased in U266 cells transfected with miR-202 mimics and treated with Bort. Conclusion: miR-202 mimics combined with Bort could inhibit proliferation and induce apoptosis of U266 cells through negative regulating target gene BAFF, which further inhibited the JNK/SAPK signaling pathway.

[Study of abnormal iron metabolism parameters and iron overload in patients with myelodysplastic syndromes].

Objective: To investigate the abnormalities of iron metabolism parameters, the prevalence and risk factors of iron overload and clinical characteristics of patients with myelodysplastic syndromes(MDS). Methods: Retrospective investigation was used to observe abnormal iron metabolism parameters and clinical characteristics of newly diagnosed 94 MDS patients in our center from June 2015 to March 2016. Results: Of 94 patients, 71(75.53%)had a hemoglobin level of less than 100 g/L at diagnosis. Iron overload was observed in 52(55.32%)of 94 MDS patients, in which a higher prevalence of iron overload was observed in low risk groups(IPSS low/Int-1 risk groups)than higher risk groups(Int-2/high risk groups). Higher levels of serum iron(SI)[36.5(8.5-64.7)mmol/L vs 25.2(3.7-45.3)mmol/L, P<0.01], transferrin saturation(TSAT)[43.5(12.2-77.2)% vs 53.4(14.8-97.5)%, P <0.01]and serum ferritin(SF)were observed in iron overload group. No differences of labile cellular iron(LCI)and reactive oxygen species(ROS)were observed between two groups(P=0.88, P=0.06). As the results of clinical complication of iron overload, alanine aminotransferase(ALT)[25(3-158)U/L vs 16(5-80)U/L, P=0.03]and type B natriuretic peptide precursor(proBNP)[190(6-4281)ng/L vs 84(12-2 275)ng/L, P= 0.05]levels were increased in iron overload group. There was no significant difference in iron metabolism parameters between patients with refractory anemia(RARS)and non RARS patients(P>0.05). Both frequency and volume of RBC transfusion had a significant effect on all iron metabolism parameters(SI, TSAT and SF)(P <0.01)except LCI and ROS. Excluded the patients with history of blood transfusion and SF levels over 1 000 µg/L, higher levels of LCI were mainly observed in dysplastic erythropoiesis and increased bone marrow erythroblasts ratio groups(P<0.01, P<0.05). Conclusion: The main cause of iron overload in MDS is chronic transfusion therapy. Both frequency and intensity of transfusion regimen have a main effect on iron metabolism parameters. LCI levels are mainly increased in newly diagnosed patients with the abnormalities of iron metabolism and have a stronger association with dysplastic erythropoiesis and increased bone marrow erythroblasts ratio. As the toxic fraction of iron and its negative impact on MDS, iron overload monitoring and chelation treatment decision can also be supported by LCI.

Fabrication of Ag-Decorated CaTiO3 Nanoparticles and Their Enhanced Photocatalytic Activity for Dye Degradation.

CaTiO3nanoparticles of 30-40 nm in size were synthesized via a polyacrylamide gel route. Ag nanoparticles with size of 8-16 nm were deposited onto CaTiO3particles by a photochemical reduction method to yield CaTiO3@Ag composites. The photocatalytic activity of prepared samples was evaluated by degrading methyl orange under ultraviolet irradiation. It is demonstrated that Ag-decorated CaTiO3 particles exhibit an enhanced photocatalytic activity compared to bare CaTiO3 particles. After 60 min of photocatalysis, the degradation percentage of MO increases from 54% for bare CaTiO3particles to 72% for CaTiO3@Ag composites. This can be explained by the fact that photogenerated electrons are captured by Ag nanoparticles and photogenerated holes are therefore increasingly available to react with OH⁻/H2O to generate hydroxyl (·OH) radicals. ·OH radicals were detected by fluorimetry using terephthalic acid as a probe molecule, revealing an enhanced yield on the irradiated CaTiO3@Ag composites. In addition, it is found that the addition of ethanol, which acts as an ·OH scavenger, leads to a quenching of ·OH radicals and simultaneous decrease in the photocatalytic efficiency. This suggests that ·OH radicals are the dominant active species responsible for the dye degradation.

Comparison of the clinical and radiological outcomes of three minimally invasive techniques for total knee replacement at two years.

Minimally invasive total knee replacement (MIS-TKR) has been reported to have better early recovery than conventional TKR. Quadriceps-sparing (QS) TKR is the least invasive MIS procedure, but it is technically demanding with higher reported rates of complications and outliers. This study was designed to compare the early clinical and radiological outcomes of TKR performed by an experienced surgeon using the QS approach with or without navigational assistance (NA), or using a mini-medial parapatellar (MP) approach. In all, 100 patients completed a minimum two-year follow-up: 30 in the NA-QS group, 35 in the QS group, and 35 in the MP group. There were no significant differences in clinical outcome in terms of ability to perform a straight-leg raise at 24 hours (p = 0.700), knee score (p = 0.952), functional score (p = 0.229) and range of movement (p = 0.732) among the groups. The number of outliers for all three radiological parameters of mechanical axis, frontal femoral component alignment and frontal tibial component alignment was significantly lower in the NA-QS group than in the QS group (p = 0.008), but no outlier was found in the MP group. In conclusion, even after the surgeon completed a substantial number of cases before the commencement of this study, the supplementary intra-operative use of computer-assisted navigation with QS-TKR still gave inferior radiological results and longer operating time, with a similar outcome at two years when compared with a MP approach.

HIV testing rate in the top end of the Northern Territory of Australia: room for improvement.

The Northern Territory of Australia has an exceptionally high prevalence of sexually transmitted infections (STIs), particularly in remote areas. In contrast there are few notified cases of HIV at present. This study describes HIV testing rates in both primary care and sexual health clinics in the Top End region. In 2010, medical records were reviewed for a random sample of patients from a sexual health clinic and three remote primary care clinics. Among sexual health clinic patients 51.4% overall, and 59.7% of those with an STI, were tested for HIV. In people diagnosed with an STI in remote primary care clinics 19.1% were tested for HIV. HIV testing rates in the Top End of the Northern Territory do not meet the standard of national and international guidelines, with implications both for the early initiation of therapy and the accuracy of surveillance in a region with very high rates of STIs.

The effect of guest molecular architecture and host crystallinity upon the mechanism of the intercalation reaction.

The intercalation process of alpha-zirconium phosphate (alpha-ZrP) was investigated by using two alpha-ZrP samples with different levels of crystallinity and two structurally different intercalating molecules, i.e., linear hexylamine and non-planar cyclohexylamine. The results show that the intercalation energy barrier, which is affected by both host alpha-ZrP and guest intercalating molecules, has a significant effect on the intercalation process. When the intercalation energy barrier is relatively low, the interlayer distance of alpha-ZrP expands continuously with increasing amount of intercalating molecules. When the energy barrier reaches a certain level, the interlayer distance expansion becomes stepwise. The observed differences in the intercalation process correspond well with the geometric arrangement of the intercalated molecules inside the gallery of alpha-ZrP.

Antimicrobial efficacy of zinc oxide quantum dots against Listeria monocytogenes, Salmonella Enteritidis, and Escherichia coli O157:H7.

Zinc oxide quantum dots (ZnO QDs) are nanoparticles of purified powdered ZnO. These were evaluated for antimicrobial activity against Listeria monocytogenes, Salmonella Enteritidis, and Escherichia coli O157:H7. The ZnO QDs were utilized as a powder, bound in a polystyrene film (ZnO-PS), or suspended in a polyvinylprolidone gel (ZnO-PVP). Bacteria cultures were inoculated into culture media or liquid egg white (LEW) and incubated at 22 degrees C. The inhibitory efficacies of ZnO QDs against 3 pathogens were concentration dependent and also related to type of application. The ZnO-PVP (3.2 mg ZnO/mL) treatment resulted in 5.3 log reduction of L. monocytogenes and 6.0 log reduction of E. coli O157:H7 in growth media after 48 h incubation, as compared to the controls. Listeria cells in the LEW control increased from 3.8 to 7.2 log CFU/mL during 8 d incubation, while the cells in the samples treated with 1.12 and 0.28 mg ZnO/mL were reduced to 1.4 and 3.0 log CFU/mL, respectively. After 8 d incubation, the cell populations of Salmonella in LEW in the presence of 1.12 and 0.28 mg ZnO/mL were reduced by 6.1 and 4.1 log CFU/mL over that of controls, respectively. ZnO powder and ZnO-PVP showed significant antimicrobial activities against all 3 pathogens in growth media and LEW. ZnO-PVP coating had less inhibitory effect than the direct addition of ZnO-PVP. No antimicrobial activities of ZnO-PS film were observed. This study suggested that the application of ZnO nanoparticles in food systems may be effective at inhibiting certain pathogens.

The validity of in vivo ultrasonographic grading of osteoarthritic femoral condylar cartilage: a comparison with in vitro ultrasonographic and histologic gradings.

OBJECTIVES: To establish an ultrasonographic (US) grading for semiquantitative evaluation of the femoral condylar cartilage of knee osteoarthritis (OA), in vivo, and compare the in vivo US grading with the in vitro US and histologic gradings. DESIGN: Ninety-five patients going to receive total knee arthroplasty because of OA of the knee were recruited. US examination was performed in vivo in the day before operation using a grading system including parameters of margin sharpness, clarity and thickness. Specimens of the medial and lateral distal femoral condyles taken during the operation were graded with in vitro US and histologic evaluation. The correlation between the in vivo US and in vitro US as well as between the in vivo US and histologic gradings was analyzed. RESULTS: In 172 femoral condyles (including medial and lateral ones), the distribution of grading ranged from Grade 1 to 6 in in vivo US and from Grade 1 to 4 in histologic examination. The in vivo US grading was significantly correlated to in vitro US grading over anterior and middle areas (p<0.001, Rho=0.35 and 0.45, respectively) and histologic grading over these two areas (p<0.001, Rho=0.40 and 0.36, respectively). When the cases with maximal angle of knee flexion less than 120 degree were excluded, the correlation was better. CONCLUSIONS: The significant correlation between in vivo US and histologic gradings might permit semi-quantitative in vivo US assessment of osteoarthritic femoral condylar cartilage.

New tetraterpenoid from the soft coral Sarcophyton tortuosum.

A novel tetraterpenoid named methyl tortuoate C (1) has been isolated from the soft coral Sarcophyton tortuosum Tix.-Dur. The structure of 1 was determined on the basis of spectroscopic methods.