In Situ Aggregated Nanomanganese Enhances Radiation-Induced Antitumor Immunity.

Radiosensitizers play a pivotal role in enhancing radiotherapy (RT). One of the challenges in RT is the limited accumulation of nanoradiosensitizers and the difficulty in activating antitumor immunity. Herein, a smart strategy was used to achieve in situ aggregation of nanomanganese adjuvants (MnAuNP-C&B) to enhance RT-induced antitumor immunity. The aggregated MnAuNP-C&B system overcomes the shortcomings of small-sized nanoparticles that easily flow back into blood vessels and diffuse into surrounding tissues, and it also prolongs the retention time of nanomanganese within cancer cells and tumors. The MnAuNP-C&B system significantly enhances the radiosensitization effect in RT. Additionally, the pH-responsive disassembly of MnAuNP-C&B triggers the release of Mn2+, further promoting RT-induced activation of the STING pathway and eliciting robust antitumor immunity. Overall, our study presents a smart strategy wherein in situ aggregation of nanomanganese effectively inhibits tumor growth through radiosensitization and the activation of antitumor immunity.

Mpox-AISM: AI-mediated super monitoring for mpox and like-mpox.

Swift and accurate diagnosis for earlier-stage monkeypox (mpox) patients is crucial to avoiding its spread. However, the similarities between common skin disorders and mpox and the need for professional diagnosis unavoidably impaired the diagnosis of earlier-stage mpox patients and contributed to mpox outbreak. To address the challenge, we proposed "Super Monitoring", a real-time visualization technique employing artificial intelligence (AI) and Internet technology to diagnose earlier-stage mpox cheaply, conveniently, and quickly. Concretely, AI-mediated "Super Monitoring" (mpox-AISM) integrates deep learning models, data augmentation, self-supervised learning, and cloud services. According to publicly accessible datasets, mpox-AISM's Precision, Recall, Specificity, and F1-score in diagnosing mpox reach 99.3%, 94.1%, 99.9%, and 96.6%, respectively, and it achieves 94.51% accuracy in diagnosing mpox, six like-mpox skin disorders, and normal skin. With the Internet and communication terminal, mpox-AISM has the potential to perform real-time and accurate diagnosis for earlier-stage mpox in real-world scenarios, thereby preventing mpox outbreak.

Antigen-loaded flagellate bacteria for enhanced adaptive immune response by intradermal injection.

Since the skin limits the distribution of intradermal vaccines, a large number of dendritic cells in the skin cannot be fully utilized to elicit a more effective immune response. Here, we loaded the antigen to the surface of the flagellate bacteria that was modified by cationic polymer, thus creating antigen-loaded flagellate bacteria (denoted as 'FB-Ag') to overcome the skin barrier and perform the active delivery of antigen in the skin. The FB-Ag showed fast speed (∼0.2 µm s-1) and strong dendritic cell activation capabilities in the skin model in vitro. In vivo, the FB-Ag promoted the spread of antigen in the skin through active movement, increased the contact between Intradermal dendritic cells and antigen, and effectively activated the internal dendritic cells in the skin. In a mouse of pulmonary metastatic melanoma and in mice bearing subcutaneous melanoma tumor, the FB-Ag effectively increased antigen-specific therapeutic efficacy and produced long-lasting immune memory. More importantly, the FB-Ag also enhanced the level of COVID-19 specific antibodies in the serum and the number of memory B cells in the spleen of mice. The movement of antigen-loaded flagellate bacteria to overcome intradermal constraints may enhance the activation of intradermal dendritic cells, providing new ideas for developing intradermal vaccines.

Deciphering the role of TNF­α­induced protein 8­like 2 in the pathogenesis of necrotizing enterocolitis in neonatal rats.

Neonatal necrotizing enterocolitis (NNEC) is a disease characterized by intestinal inflammation and ischemic necrosis. Despite progress having been made during decades of research, details regarding its pathophysiology remain to be elucidated. It is known that abnormal expressions of TNF-α-induced protein 8-like 2 (TIPE2) can be observed in several diseases. However, the expression of TIPE2 in necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) rats has not been examined before. The present study aimed to describe the expression pattern of TIPE2 and its role in NNEC pathogenesis. An NEC rat model was generated and used in the present study. All rats were sacrificed when the phenotype developed and the intestine between the lower end of the duodenum and the ileocecal were collected for further study. Hematoxylin and eosin, and immunohistochemical staining, reverse transcription-quantitative PCR and western blotting analysis were used to examine the expression of TIPE2. The results showed that the average body weight was significantly decreased in the NEC group compared with the control group along with a significant decrease of TIPE2 expression. However, the expressions of phosphatidylinositol-3-kinase (PI3K) and serine/threonine kinase AKT were significantly increased in NEC rats. The correlation analysis showed that the expressions of TIPE2 and PI3K were negatively correlated with a correlation coefficient of -0.797. To further determine the association between TIPE2 and PI3K/AKT pathway, two groups of wild type Sprague Dawley rats were infected with recombinant adenovirus Ad-V and Ad-TIPE2 respectively. The results showed that the expression of TIPE2 was significantly increased among rats in the Ad-TIPE2-infected group (OE group) compared to the ones from the Ad-V-infected group (NC group). However, the mRNA and protein expressions of PI3K and AKT were significantly decreased in Ad-TIPE2-infected rates. The difference of each index between OE and NC groups was statistically significant. The present study showed that the expression of TIPE2 was downregulated in NEC rats. TIPE2 might be involved in the pathogenesis of NEC by activating the PI3K/Akt signaling pathway.

Predictors of Symptomatic Intracranial Hemorrhage after Endovascular Thrombectomy in Acute Ischemic Stroke: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

INTRODUCTION: This meta-analysis assessed the predictors of symptomatic intracranial hemorrhage (sICH) after endovascular thrombectomy (EVT) for patients with acute ischemic stroke. METHODS: PubMed, Embase, the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, and Web of Science were searched for studies published from inception to February 16, 2021. We included studies that evaluated the predictors of sICH after EVT. The random-effect model or fixed-effect model was used to pool the estimates according to the heterogeneity. RESULTS: A total of 25 cohort studies, involving 15,324 patients, were included in this meta-analysis. The total incidence of sICH was 6.72 percent. Age (MD = 2.57, 95% CI: 1.53-3.61; p < 0.00001), higher initial NIHSS score (MD = 1.71, 95% CI: 1.35-2.08, p < 0.00001), higher initial systolic blood pressure (MD = 7.40, 95% CI: 5.11-9.69, p < 0.00001), diabetes mellitus (OR = 1.36, 95% CI: 1.10-1.69, p = 0.005), poor collaterals (OR = 3.26, 95% CI: 2.35-4.51; p < 0.0001), internal carotid artery occlusion (OR = 1.55, 95% CI: 1.26-1.90; p < 0.0001), longer procedure time (MD = 18.92, 95% CI: 11.49-26.35; p < 0.0001), and passes of retriever >3 (OR = 3.39, 95% CI: 2.45-4.71; p < 0.0001) were predictors of sICH, while modified thrombolysis in cerebral infarction score ≥2b (OR = 0.61, 95% CI: 0.46-0.79; p = 0.0002) was associated with a decreased risk of sICH. There were no significant differences in the female gender, initial serum glucose, initial ASPECT score, atrial fibrillation, oral anticoagulants, antiplatelet therapy, intravenous thrombolysis, general anesthesia, neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio, and emergent stenting. CONCLUSIONS: This study identified many predictors of sICH. Some of the results lack robust evidence given the limitations of the study. Therefore, larger cohort studies are needed to confirm these predictors.

The Impact of Urbanization on the Relationship between Carbon Storage Supply and Demand in Mega-Urban Agglomerations and Response Measures: A Case of Yangtze River Delta Region, China.

Rapid urbanization in mega-urban agglomerations disturbs the balance of carbon storage supply and demand (CSD) and constrains the achievement of sustainable development goals. Here, we developed a socio-ecological system (SES) framework coupled with ecosystem services (ES) cascade and DPSIR model to systematically analyze the impacts and responses of urbanization affecting CSD. We quantified urbanization and CSD using multi-source remote sensing data, such as land use and night lighting, together with related socio-economic data, such as total energy consumption, population and GDP. We found that from 2000 to 2020, the urbanization of Yangtze River Delta region (YRD) led to a decrease of 2.75% in carbon storage supply and an increase of 226.45% in carbon storage demand. However, carbon storage supply was still larger than carbon storage demand, and the spatial mismatch of CSD is the most important problem at present. Therefore, it is necessary to explore the response measures from the comprehensive perspective of SES. We identified key ecological conservation areas using a Marxan model to protect the carbon storage capacity in ecological subsystems, and promoted a carbon compensation scheme based on both the grandfather principle and the carbon efficiency principle, reconciling the contradiction between ecological conservation and socio-economic development in the social subsystem. Finally, this study quantified the threshold of urbanization based on the carbon neutrality target at which CSD reaches an equilibrium state. This study proposed a SES framework, and a set of methodologies to quantify the relationship between urbanization and CSD, which will help mega-urban agglomerations to promote harmonious development of urbanization and ecological conservation and to achieve the carbon peak and carbon neutrality targets proposed by the Chinese government.

Outcomes of seromuscular bladder augmentation compared with standard bladder augmentation in the treatment of children with neurogenic bladder.

BACKGROUND: Intestinal seromuscular bladder augmentation (SMBA) surgery has produced no mucosal-related complications, but its outcomes need to be studied. AIM: To evaluate the safety and effectiveness of SMBA in the treatment of children with neurogenic bladder. METHODS: A retrospective analysis of the clinical data of children with SMBA was performed from March 2008 to February 2018, and the data were compared with those of children receiving standard cystoplasty (SC). RESULTS: In a cohort of 67 children who underwent bladder augmentation, the 46 children in the SC group had an average age of 10.6 years and a follow-up time of 36 mo, and the 21 children in the SMBA group had an average age of 7.6 years and a follow-up time of 29.7 mo. The preoperative and postoperative bladder volumes in the SMBA group were 151.7 mL and 200.4 mL, respectively, and those in the SC group were 173.9 mL and 387.0 mL, respectively. No significant difference in preoperative urinary dynamic parameters was found between the two groups, but the difference after operation was statistically significant. The main complications after SMBA were residual ureteral reflux and failed bladder augmentation, with incidences of 33.3% and 28.6%, respectively. In all 6 patients with failed augmentation in the SMBA group, ileum seromuscular patches were used for augmentation, and SC was chosen for reaugmentation. During reoperation, patch contracture and fibrosis were observed. CONCLUSION: The improvement of urinary dynamic parameters in the SMBA group was significantly lower than that in the SC group. Children with SMBA had a higher probability of patch contracture and reaugmentation, which might be related to impaired blood supply and urine stimulation, and the sigmoid colon patch should be the priority.

A nitroreductase responsive and photoactivated fluorescent probe for dual-controlled tumor hypoxia imaging.

Tumor hypoxia has great importance in tumor progression and resistance to antitumor therapies. To precisely monitor tumor hypoxia, a controllable hypoxia imaging method is meaningful but still lacking. Herein, we develop a dual-controlled tumor hypoxia probe (TNB) by introducing a nitrophenol group and methyltetrazine group to the boron-dipyrromethene (BODIPY) dye. The fluorescence-quenching group nitrophenol is reduced to aminophenol by upregulated nitroreductase in hypoxic tumors, and the photocage methyltetrazine is cleaved by light irradiation. Hence the fluorescence of TNB is dual-controlled by hypoxia and photoactivation. We first evaluated TNB's potential for controllable hypoxia imaging in solution and tumor cells. The fluorescence of TNB under nitroreductase incubation and photoactivation increased more than 60 fold over that which was untreated or only treated with nitroreductase. Furthermore, results validate that TNB possesses photo-controllable activation features in tumor sections. We believe that the probe design based on enzyme and photoactivation responsiveness provides potential for spatiotemporal detection of other biomarkers.

Detection and Analysis of Microplastics in Human Sputum.

Microplastic pollution is an emerging environmental problem, and little research has focused on its impact on the human body. Based on retrospective case series, the study required participants to fill out a questionnaire and provide sputum samples in order to investigate the presence of microplastics in human sputum and determine whether humans involuntarily inhale them. A total of 22 patients suffering from different respiratory diseases were recruited. We used an Agilent 8700 laser infrared imaging spectrometer and Fourier-transform infrared microscope to analyze sputum samples and evaluate microplastics in the respiratory tract. Remarkably, the size range of the method for detecting microplastics in our study is 20-500 µm. The results showed that 21 types of microplastics were identified, and polyurethane was dominant, followed by polyester, chlorinated polyethylene, and alkyd varnish, accounting for 78.36% of the total microplastics. Most of the aspirated microplastics detected are smaller than 500 µm in size (median: 75.43 µm; interquartile range: 44.67-210.64 µm). Microplastics are ubiquitous in all sputum, indicating that inhalation is a potential way for plastics to enter the human body. Additionally, the quantities of microplastic types in the respiratory tract are related to smoking, invasive examination, etc. (P < 0.05). This study sheds new light on microplastic exposure, which provides basic data for the risk assessment of microplastics to human health.

Cell count-based parameters and algorithms for thalassaemia trait screening in the southern Chinese population.

INTRODUCTION: Thalassaemia trait (TT) is potential to be missed clinically, especially normocytic thalassaemia. We aimed to establish discriminant functions (DFs) and an algorithm for detecting microcytic or normocytic TT in epidemiological screening. METHODS: The receiver operating characteristics (ROC) curve analysis was used to determine the diagnostic performance of the proposed formulas in differentiating TT and nonthalassaemia (non-TT). DFs combined the two blood count parameters with the highest performance, based on the area under the curve (AUC) value, into mathematical formulas, using logistic regression. The diagnostic efficacy of DFs was subsequently evaluated in 761 participants, and reliability (including adjusted agreement [AA] and Kappa values) and validity (including sensitivity, specificity, likelihood ratio and Youden's Index) were calculated. RESULTS: Among microcytic participants, the proposed DFs showed good diagnostic performance (in females: AUC = 0.892 [DF1 = 0.015 × RDW-CV/RBC - 0.096 × RDW-SD/RBC + 1.29], in males: AUC = 0.861 [DF2=-0.025 × RDW-SD/RBC - 0.035 × MCV/RBC + 1.415]). Youden's Index, AA and Kappa values for microcytic TT detection were 0.72, 0.86, and 0.72 and 0.63, 0.81 and 0.63 for females and males, respectively. In normocytic participants with RDW-CV/RBC ≤ 3.54, DF3=-0.38 × MCH-0.02 × MCHC+17.37 achieved AUC = 0.857 in females, whereas DF4 = 0.007 × MCV-0.113 × MCH+2.829 achieved AUC = 0.969 in males. The Youden's Index, AA and Kappa values for the proposed DFs for thalassaemia detection were 0.69, 0.84 and 0.67 in females, 0.76, 0.91 and 0.71 in males, respectively. CONCLUSION: The proposed DFs performed well in the detection of TT among participants with microcytic and normocytic parameters and could be utilized in epidemiological study for TT.

Surgical outcomes of bladder augmentation: A comparison of three different augmentation procedures.

BACKGROUND: Augmentation cystoplasty is indispensable in many pediatric diseases, especially neurogenic bladder. Various methods and materials are used to augment the bladder, and these methods are associated with different shortcomings and complications. AIM: The present study reported the mid-term outcomes of patients undergoing various bladder augmentation procedures in a single institution, and assessed whether seromuscular cystoplasty lined with urothelium (SCLU) provided better urodynamic results than auto-augmentation (AA). METHODS: A retrospective review of 96 patients undergoing various augmentation methods between 2003 and 2018 was performed. The patients were divided into three groups according to the type of augmentation, and their outcomes were compared. All patients developed neurogenic bladder due to myelomeningocele or sacrococcygeal teratoma. The clinical data of all patients were collected. RESULTS: The mean ages at surgery in the three groups (standard cystoplasty [SC], SCLU, AA) were 10.8, 7.5, and 4.8 years, respectively, with mean follow-ups of 36, 61, and 36 mo, respectively. The mean preoperative and postoperative bladder capacities of the SC, SCLU, and AA groups were 174 ± 11.7 vs. 387 ± 13.7 (P < 0.0001), 165 ± 12.2 vs. 240 ± 14.7 (P = 0.0002), and 138 ± 16.7 vs. 181 ± 9.9 (P = 0.0360), respectively. Compared with the AA group, the SCLU procedure did not have better postoperative urodynamic parameters. Incontinence was reduced in most patients. The mean times of clean intermittent catheterization per day in the SC, SCLU, and AA groups were 5.6, 7.8, and 8.2, respectively. The main complications of the SC group were recurrent urinary tract infections (8%) and bladder calculi (6%). Re-augmentation was done in patients in the SCLU (8) and AA (3) groups. CONCLUSION: SC provided sufficient bladder capacity and improved compliance with acceptable complications. After AA and SCLU, the patients acquired limited increases in bladder capacity and compliance with a high rate of re-augmentation. Compared with AA, SCLU did not yield better postoperative urodynamic parameters.

Identification of and solution for false D-dimer results.

BACKGROUND: Clinically, D-dimer (DD) levels are mainly used to exclude diseases such as deep venous thrombosis (DVT). In clinical testing, DD assays can be subjected to interference that may cause false results, which directly affect the clinical diagnosis. Our hypothesis was that the 95% confidence intervals (CIs) of the fibrin degradation product (FDP)/DD and fibrinogen (Fib)/DD ratios were used to identify these false results and corrected via multiple dilutions. METHODS: In total, 16 776 samples were divided into three groups according to the DD levels detected by Sysmex CS5100 and CA7000: Group A, DD ≥ 2.0 µg/mL fibrinogen equivalent unit (FEU); group B, 0.5 < DD < 2.0 µg/mL FEU; and group C, DD ≤ 0.5 µg/mL FEU. The 95% CIs of the FDP/DD and Fib/DD ratios were calculated. Six abnormal DD results were found according to the 95% CIs. For verification, we performed multiple dilutions, compared the results with those of other instruments, and tested the addition of heterophilic blocking reagent (HBR). RESULTS: The median and 95% CI of the FDP/DD ratio were 3.76 and 2.25-8.15 in group A, 5.63 and 2.86-10.58 in group B, 10.23 and 0.91-47.71 in groups C, respectively. For the Fib/DD ratio, the 95% CIs was 0.02-2.21 in group A, 0.68-8.15 in group B, and 3.82-55.27 in groups C. Six abnormal results were identified after multiple dilutions, by comparison with other detection systems, and after HBR addition. CONCLUSIONS: The FDP/DD ratio is more reliable for identifying false results. If the FDP/DD ratio falls outside the 95% CI, it should be verified by different methods.

Optimizing critical parameters for the directly measurement of particle flow with PF-SIBS.

A novel measurement technology named as particle flow-spark induced breakdown spectroscopy (PF-SIBS) was reported for real-time measurement of solid materials. Critical measurement parameters of PF-SIBS were optimized and a set of fly ashes with different carbon content were measured for evaluation of measurement performance. Four electrode materials, tungsten, copper, molybdenum and platinum, were compared in the aspects of signal stability, line interference and electrode durability. Less line interference and better signal stability were obtained with W and Cu electrode, while W electrode has better durability. Quartz sand with diameters from 48 µm to 180 µm were tested to investigate the influence of particle size. As the particle diameter increased, the intensity of Si 288.16 nm line decreased while that of ambient air constituents increased. To reduce the particle effect, the sum intensity from sample and ambient air were introduced to correct. The RSD of line intensity between the five diameters were reduced from 67.30% to 16.59% with Cu electrodes and from 63.21% to 13.64% with W electrodes. With the optimal measurement parameters and correction, fly ash samples with different carbon content were tested and the correlation coefficients R2 of multivariate calibration achieved 0.987.

miR-506 suppresses neuroblastoma metastasis by targeting ROCK1.

Neuroblastoma is a complex form of cancer with highly heterogeneous clinical behavior that arises during childhood from precursor cells of the sympathetic nervous system. In patients with neuroblastoma, mortality often occurs as a result of metastasis. The disease predominantly spreads to bone marrow, with a survival rate of ~40%. The current study demonstrates that microRNA (miR)-506 directly targets and downregulates Rho-associated, coiled-coil containing protein kinase 1 (ROCK1) in transforming growth factor (TGF)-ß non-canonical pathways. It may be concluded that ROCK1 contributes to the invasion and migration of neuroblastoma cells by directly downregulating miR-506; thus, leading to the upregulation of ROCK1, which promotes cell invasion and migration. The present results provide a novel understanding of how miR-506 directly regulates TGF-ß non-canonical signaling.

Evaluation of Rex Shunt on Cavernous Transformation of the Portal Vein in Children.

BACKGROUND: Children with cavernous transformation of the portal vein (CTPV) develop severe complications from prehepatic portal hypertension, such as recurrent variceal bleeding and thrombocytopenia. In this study, we reported the results of 30 children with symptomatic CTPV that were treated by a Rex shunt. The effectiveness of this surgical approach was evaluated. METHODS: A retrospective review was performed of 30 children aged between 3 and 18 years with CTPV, who underwent a Rex shunt between 2008 and 2015. All children were evaluated based on symptoms, complete blood count, portal system color-flow Doppler ultrasound or computed tomography angiography portography and gastroscopy for gastroesophageal varices pre- and postoperatively. Children were also evaluated during follow-up. Intraoperative evaluations included liver biopsy, portography and portal pressure. RESULTS: Twenty-one patients demonstrated intermittent bleeding from gastroesophageal varices, 3 patients showed hypersplenism with varying degrees of leucopenia, anemia and thrombocytopenia, and in 6 patients both bleeding and hypersplenism were observed. Rex was successful in 28 patients (93.3%). The portal pressure immediately decreased significantly after placing of the shunt (P < 0.01). During the clinical follow-up period within 2-82 months, transaminase levels were maintained in the normal range. Blood flow velocity and diameter of the left portal vein significantly increased after surgery (P < 0.01). In addition, leukocyte and platelet counts increased postoperatively and anemia improved significantly (P < 0.01). Gastroscopy results indicated that the degree of gastroesophageal varices significantly alleviated postoperatively within 3 months and 1 year (P < 0.01). In 2 patients who demonstrated nodular cirrhosis and chronic active hepatitis, success of the Rex shunt was not achieved after operation. We found that for Rex effectiveness hepatic pathology and patient age were major determinants. CONCLUSION: Rex shunt is an effective approach for the treatment of children suffering from CTPV at an early stage that do not show additional liver lesions.

Targeted Photodynamic Killing of Breast Cancer Cells Employing Heptamannosylated ß-Cyclodextrin-Mediated Nanoparticle Formation of an Adamantane-Functionalized BODIPY Photosensitizer.

The targeted delivery of a photosensitizer (PS) into specific cancer cells is an effective way to enhance the efficacy and minimize the side effects of photodynamic therapy. Herein, heptamannosylated ß-cyclodextrin (ß-CD) was used to mediate the formation of an adamantane (Ad)-functionalized BODIPY PS nanoparticle via strong ß-CD/Ad complexation. The mannose-functionalized PS nanoparticles are selectively internalized by mannose-receptor-rich MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cells via receptor-mediated endocytosis, facilitating singlet oxygen generation to trigger apoptosis in cancer cells upon red-light irradiation. These nanoparticles exhibit excellent targeted delivery of the PS, leading to cancer cell death after irradiation both in vitro and in vivo.

AIE-active tetraphenylethene functionalized metal-organic framework for selective detection of nitroaromatic explosives and organic photocatalysis.

AIE-active luminogen tetraphenylethene (TPE) was incorporated into a UiO-isoreticular zirconium metal-organic framework via the strategy of mixed dicarboxylate struts, and the resulting functionalized MOF shows a strong blue-green emission and selective sensing of nitroaromatic explosives 2,4,6-trinitrophenol (TNP) and 2,4-dinitrophenol (DNP) through fluorescence quenching. Moreover, the luminescent MOF exhibits efficient photocatalytic activity for aerobic cross-dehydrogenative coupling reactions mediated by visible light.

A novel nanoscale organic-inorganic hybrid system with significantly enhanced AIE in aqueous media.

We report the design and fluorescence properties of a novel aggregation-induced emission (AIE) system obtained by grafting carboxyl group conjugated AIE molecules onto monodispersed colloidal GaOOH nanocubes. Compared with nanoaggregates formed in mixed solvents, as-formed nanohybrids avoid contact with a "good" solvent, restrict the molecular motions more efficiently and show a significantly enhanced AIE.

[Rapid Measurement of Carbon Dioxide with Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy Based on Atomic and Molecular Spectrum].

With the rapid development of economy and industrialization, global warming is becoming the most serious sensitive global climate issues, which causes the rising of sea level and many other negative effects. The cause of global warming is the emission of greenhouse gases and carbon dioxide is the main component of greenhouse gases. The control of CO2 emssion is beneficial to addressing gobal climate change and environmental degradation. Therefore, it's important to develop a rapid detection of CO2 for accurate control. There are amounts of methods to detect CO2 at present, including titration, electrochemical method, gas chromatography, infrared absorption spectroscopy and so on, however, t they still have the deficiency for online monitoring in industrial field. laser induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS), which is developing rapidly in recent few decades, is a detecting technology with characteristics of time-saving and synchronous measuring of multicomponent. What's more, there is no need for sample pretreating. To develop the online monitoring technique of CO2 emission in the industrial field, LIBS was employed to measure CO2 in this study. The mass flow controller was used to adjust the flow of high purity CO2 and N2 to obtain mixed gas with different CO2 concentrations. The mixed gas was firstly mixed in an air mixing chamber for thorough mixing and then sent to the sample cell for LIBS measurement. The evolution of C atomic spectral line and CN molecular band with different delay times were being studied, which demonstrated parts of CO2 react with air ambient to form CN molecular during the plasma generation, the CN molecular band should be taken into consideration for quantitative analysis, and the parameters were optimized for synchronous measurement of C line and CN band: 800 ns was the optimal delay time. During the plasma generation, many factors in the plasma may interact with others, the analysis index had close relationship wih serval measuring parameters. With the consideration of the effect of C, CN and the self-absorption in high concentration, multivariate calibration method was employed to establish calibration models of CO2. The results showed that the correlation coefficients R2 and the slope were 0.978 and 0.981, respectively. Compared with calibrated with single factor, the multivariate method improved the reliability of the model. What's more, the feasibility of the application of LIBS to measure CO2 rapidly was proved.

Association of the macrophage migration inhibitory factor gene--173G/C polymorphism with inflammatory bowel disease: a meta-analysis of 4296 subjects.

A variety of epidemiologic studies have focused on the association between macrophage migration inhibitory factor (MIF) gene--173G/C polymorphism and inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). However, results in different studies have been inconsistent. In order to derive a more precise estimation of the associations, we performed this meta-analysis and systematic searches of electronic databases PubMed and Web of Science (up to April 30, 2013). Based on our search criteria, a total of seven eligible studies concerning the MIF--173G/C polymorphism and IBD risk were included in the final meta-analysis, comprising 2162 IBD cases and 2134 controls. Significant association was found between MIF--173G/C polymorphism and the risk of IBD when all studies were pooled into the meta-analysis (for C allele vs. G allele: OR=1.25, 95% CI=1.12-1.41, p=0.000; for C/C vs. G/G: OR=1.71, 95% CI=1.23-2.39, p=0.002; for C/C+G/C vs. G/G: OR=1.24, 95% CI=1.09-1.42, p=0.002; for C/C vs. G/C+G/G: OR=1.67, 95% CI=1.20-2.33, p=0.002). Heterogeneity and publication bias did not exist in the overall comparisons. The present meta-analysis suggests an association between the MIF--173G/C polymorphism and IBD risk. However, due to few studies and the selection bias existed in some studies, the results should be interpreted with caution.