Two-dimensional speckle tracking imaging to assess the hazards of left ventricular function and ventricular wall motion disorders in children with pre-excitation syndrome and the efficacy of radiofrequency ablation treatment.

OBJECTIVE: Our study aimed at analyzing the echocardiographic multi-indicator evaluation of the risk of Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome (WPW) on the left ventricular function and ventricular wall motion disorders, as well as the effect of radiofrequency ablation treatment. PATIENTS AND METHODS: The clinical data of 55 WPW patients treated with radiofrequency (RF) ablation at the Children's Hospital of Nanjing Medical University between January 2018 and December 2022 were retrospectively analyzed and included in the observation group, while other 50 healthy children were included in the control group during the same time. We analyzed the echocardiographic indices of the patients, assessed the effects of the disease on left ventricular myocardial function and ventricular wall motion disorders, and evaluated the effects of radiofrequency ablation treatment on the myocardium of the left ventricle. The echocardiographic parameters were analyzed to assess the effect of the disease on left ventricular myocardial function and ventricular wall dyskinesia. RESULTS: Of the 55 patients with pre-excited syndrome, 20 had type A bypass and 35 had type B bypass. Ten patients had pre-excited dilated cardiomyopathy with significant enlargement of the left ventricular cavity, reduced left ventricular systolic function, and a significant impairment of ventricular wall motion; the other 5 patients had basal segmental septal motion incoordination. Compared to the control group, patients with left ventricular end-diastolic diameter (LVEDD) (42.9±5.0 mm vs. 39.2±3.0 mm), peak strain dispersion (PSD) (38.8±15.3 ms vs. 21.7±2.2 ms), maximum peak time difference (MPTD) (200.2±92.8 ms vs. 89.5±9.8 ms) and interventricular mechanical delay (IVMD) (36.2±13.7 ms vs. 21.2±2.1 ms) before RF ablation were increased. Left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) (57.1±9.1% vs. 65.9±2.6%), E/A (1.1±0.2 vs. 1.8±0.2) and global longitudinal strain (GLS) (-18.7±2.2% vs. -22.4±0.5%) decreased, with statistically significant differences (p<0.05). All 55 patients had a successful procedure, and all postoperative echocardiographic parameters were found to be improved, compared to the preoperative period. The results of the postoperative review after 3 months showed differences in E/A, PSD, MPTD, and IVMD compared to the healthy group, suggesting that left ventricular diastolic function and synchrony had not fully returned to normal. CONCLUSIONS: Echocardiography can better evaluate myocardial motion and function in patients with Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome and monitor the effect and progress of disease treatment, and has high clinical application value.

[Genetic characterization analysis of the whole genome sequence of Coxsackievirus A8 associated with hand, foot and mouth disease in China].

Objective: To study the genomic sequence of Coxsackievirus A8 (CV-A8) associated with hand, foot and mouth disease (HFMD) from 2013 to 2018 in China and to analyze the genetic evolution of each coding region of the full-length genome. Methods: The genome sequences of 11 CV-A8 strains isolated from patients with HFMD in different regions of China from 2013 to 2018 were determined. Sequence alignment and genetic evolution analysis were performed by Sequencher 5.0 and MEGA 7.0 software, etc. Results: Sequence alignment showed that the genome length of 11 CV-A8 strains ranged from 7 393 bp to 7 400 bp. There was no base insertion or deletion in the coding region compared with the prototype strain, but there were individual base insertion or deletion in the non-coding region. The nucleotide and amino acid similarities in the VP1 region of 11 CV-A8 strains were 78.3%-98.6% and 92.6%-99.7%, respectively, and the nucleotide and amino acid sequences identities with the CV-A8 prototype strain were 78.3%-98.2% and 92.6%-99.7%, respectively. Based on the phylogenetic analysis of VP1 region sequences, the CV-A8 can be divided into five genotypes: A, B, C, D and E. The 11 CV-A8 strains in this study belonged to genotypes C (1 strain), D (2 strains) and E (8 strains). The nucleotide and amino acid similarities of 11 CV-A8 full-length genomes were 81.3%-98.8% and 95.9%-99.5%, respectively. The phylogenetic tree of the P2 region showed that the eight E genotypes CV-A8 had the closest evolutionary distance with CV-A4, CV-A14, and CV-A16. The phylogenetic tree of the P3 region showed that the eight E genotypes CV-A8 had a close evolutionary distance with CV-A5, CV-A16, CV-A14 and CV-A4. Conclusions: The 11 CV-A8 stains in this study showed significant intra-genotype diversity in capsid region and recombinant diversity in non-capsid region which indicated that CV-A8 quasispecies were still undergoing dynamics variation. CV-A8 may become an important pathogen of HFMD and the monitoring of CV-A8 needs to be further strengthened.

[Multicenter cross-sectional investigation on the cleaning status and influencing factors of skin cleaning outside the wound in adult trauma patients].

Objective: To investigate the status and influencing factors of skin cleaning outside wound (hereinafter referred to as skin) in adult trauma patients. Methods: A multicenter cross-sectional investigation was conducted. From September 1 to 30, 2020, a total of 952 adult trauma patients who met the inclusion criteria were admitted to wound care clinics or trauma surgery wards of 13 military or local Grade Ⅲ Level A hospitals, including the General Hospital of the Eastern Theater Command of People's Liberation Army and the Army Medical Center, etc. A self-designed questionnaire on cleaning status of skin in trauma patients was released through the "questionnaire star" website to investigate basic information such as gender, age, education level, living status, and self-care ability, trauma information such as cause of injury, wound duration, trauma site, trauma depth, wound pain, wound peculiar smell, and wound cleaning solution, and skin cleaning status after injury such as whether to clean or not, cleaning method, cleaning frequency, cleaning duration in each time, or reasons for not cleaning. The patients who cleaned skin regularly after injury were included in cleaning group, and the other patients were included in no cleaning group. The basic information, trauma information, and skin cleaning status after injury of patients in 2 groups were investigated. Data were statistically analyzed with chi-square test, and binary multivariate logistic regression analysis was performed on indicators with statistically significant differences between the two groups to screen the independent influencing factors of skin cleaning in trauma patients. Results: A total of 952 questionnaires were received, and the recovery rate was 100%. Three invalid questionnaires were eliminated, and 949 valid questionnaires were obtained, with an effective rate of 99.68%. In 949 patients, there were 461 (48.6%) males and 488 (51.4%) females, aged 18-100 (50±18) years. Most patients were less than 60 years old, lived with their families, and could take care of themselves completely. Nearly half of the patients were with junior high school or below education level. The main causes of injury were sharp cutting injury and falling injury, the wound duration was 2-365 days, most of the injured parts were limbs and trunk, the wound depth was mostly full-thickness injury, and most patients had wound-related pain and no peculiar smell and used 5 g/L iodophor to clean the wound. Totally 684 (72.1%) patients cleaned their skin after injury, mainly by scrubbing with warm water, the cleaning frequency was mainly once or twice a week, and the cleaning time was mainly 10 or 15 min for each time. Totally 265 (27.9%) patients didn't clean their skin after injury, and the main causes for not cleaning were following the doctor's advice, followed by worrying about wound infection and loss of self-care ability. There were significantly statistical differences in constituent ratios of education level, self-care ability, cause of injury, wound pain, and wound peculiar smell of patients in 2 groups (χ2=12.365, 24.519, 22.820, 9.572, 92.342, P<0.01). Education level, self-care ability, cause of injury, wound pain, and wound peculiar smell were potential influencing factors of skin cleaning in patients. Binary multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that self-care ability, wound pain, and wound peculiar smell were independent influencing factors of skin cleaning in patients (odds ratio=1.51, 0.52, 3.72, 95% confidence interval=1.08-2.12, 0.42-0.89, 2.66-5.22, P<0.05 or P<0.01). Conclusions: Self-care ability, wound pain, and wound peculiar smell are independent influencing factors of skin cleaning in adult trauma patients.

High-solid digestion from cellulosic ethanol stillage with activated sludge of simultaneous propionate degradation and methanogenesis.

High solid anaerobic digestion (HSAD) was an emerging bioconversion technology which had the advantages of small digester, less digestate and low heating energy. A one-stage anaerobic system in CSTR by inoculating activated sludge of simultaneous propionate degradation and methanogenesis was proposed to improve the high-solid digestion performance and to stabilize the reaction process. Semi-continuous mode was successfully used to perform HSAD from cellulosic ethanol whole stillage at an initial substrate loading of 15.4% (w/w) dry matter content with different OLRs from 1.5 to 5.0 gVS·L-1 d-1 at an HRT of 30 days. The average methane yield during whole digestion reached 349.9 mL⋅gVS-1 with a total VS removal rate of 61.3%. The acclimation mechanism of multifunctional activated sludge was also explored by analyzing the functional property, physiological activity and microbial community structure. The results indicated the feasibility and efficiency of multifunctional activated sludge in a semi-continuous high-solid stirred tank reactor system.

[Natural history of colorectal cancer: a Meta-analysis on global prospective cohort studies].

Objective: To acknowledge the availability and rates of annual transition of outcomes during the progression and regression stages of colorectal cancer (CRC) and related diseases, by pooling global follow-up studies on the natural history of CRC. Methods: Till March, 2017, data was collected through systematic literature review over multiple databases, including PubMed, Embase, Cochrane and Chinese Biology Medicine (CBM) disc. Information regarding the characteristics, classification system of health states, related outcomes and incidence rates on CRC or high-risk adenoma for the surveillance cohorts of the studies, were extracted and summarized. Both Meta and sensitivity analyses were performed on those outcomes if they appeared in more than 3 studies, using the random effects model. Annual transition rate with 95%CI was used to estimate each of the outcomes, Quality of the studies was assessed, using the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale. Results: A total of 29 cohort studies were included, with the mean follow-up period as 5.7 years. All studies except one, focused on adenoma-carcinoma pathway and reported the outcome parameters of adenomas by different risk, and some reported the findings on different sizes (n=6) of adenomas. These cohorts were divided into three groups (normal status, with low-risk or high-risk adenoma) according to the status of baseline endoscopic pathologic findings. Their available outcome parameters, corresponding number of involved articles, aggregated sample size and pooled annual transition rates were presented. Six parameters were obtained in the normal cohorts, including those from normal to low-risk adenoma (16 articles, 58 235, 0.030: 0.024-0.037), to high-risk adenoma (17 articles, 62 089, 0.003: 0.002-0.004), to diminutive adenoma (<5 mm, 4 articles, 1 277, 0.021: 0.013-0.029), to small adenoma (6-9 mm, 4 articles, 1 277, 0.006: 0.001-0.010), to large adenoma (≥10 mm, 7 articles, 3 531, 0.002: 0.000-0.003) and to CRC (19 articles, 104 836, 0.000 3: 0.000 2-0.000 5). Three parameters were obtained in low-risk adenoma in cohorts with polypectomy findings, including recurrence (9 articles, 4 788, 0.109: 0.062-0.157) from low-risk adenoma after polypectomy to high-risk adenoma (10 articles, 5 736, 0.009: 0.004-0.013) and to CRC (12 articles, 11 347, 0.000 6: 0.000 4-0.000 8). Three parameters were obtained on high-risk adenoma from cohorts with polypectomy findings, including recurrence (12 articles, 7 030, 0.038: 0.028-0.048) from high-risk adenoma after polypectomy to low-risk adenoma (8 articles, 2 489, 0.133: 0.081-0.185) and CRC (14 articles, 14 899, 0.002: 0.001-0.003). Except for normal to low-risk adenomas, results from the sensitivity analysis for the other parameters showed stable. Of the included studies, two presented incidence rates of CRC in different clinical stages and the another two were focusing on the parameters related to serrated pathway. Conclusions: Globally, follow-up studies reported data on natural history of colorectal cancer is of paucity. Compared to the "adenoma-carcinoma" pathway, transition parameters of the serrated lesion pathway are more limited. This Meta-analysis provided convincing evidence for optimizing the strategies regarding follow-up program on the disease, using the baseline endoscopic findings from global CRC Screening Program. These results also offered strong data-related support for Chinese population- specific interventional model on colorectal cancer.

Novel Heating-Induced Reversion during Crystallization of Al-based Glassy Alloys.

Thermal stability and crystallization of three multicomponent glassy alloys, Al86Y7Ni5Co1Fe0.5Pd0.5, Al85Y8Ni5Co1Fe0.5Pd0.5 and Al84Y9Ni4Co1.5Fe0.5Pd1, were examined to assess the ability to form the mixture of amorphous (am) and fcc-aluminum (α-Al) phases. On heating, the glass transition into the supercooled liquid is shown by the 85Al and 84Al glasses. The crystallization sequences are [am] → [am + α-Al] → [α-Al + compounds] for the 86Al and 85Al alloys, and [am] → [am + α-Al + cubic AlxMy (M = Y, Ni, Co, Fe, Pd)] → [am + α-Al] → [α-Al + Al3Y + Al9(Co, Ni)2 + unknown phase] for the 84Al alloy. The glass transition appears even for the 85Al alloy where the primary phase is α-Al. The heating-induced reversion from [am + α-Al + multicomponent AlxMy] to [am + α-Al] for the 84Al alloy is abnormal, not previously observed in crystallization of glassy alloys, and seems to originate from instability of the metastable AlxMy compound, in which significant inhomogeneous strain is caused by the mixture of solute elements. This novel reversion phenomenon is encouraging for obtaining the [am + α-Al] mixture over a wide range of high temperature effective for the formation of Al-based high-strength nanostructured bulk alloys by warm working.

[Evaluation of estimation of prevalence ratio using bayesian log-binomial regression model].

To evaluate the estimation of prevalence ratio (PR) by using bayesian log-binomial regression model and its application, we estimated the PR of medical care-seeking prevalence to caregivers' recognition of risk signs of diarrhea in their infants by using bayesian log-binomial regression model in Openbugs software. The results showed that caregivers' recognition of infant' s risk signs of diarrhea was associated significantly with a 13% increase of medical care-seeking. Meanwhile, we compared the differences in PR's point estimation and its interval estimation of medical care-seeking prevalence to caregivers' recognition of risk signs of diarrhea and convergence of three models (model 1: not adjusting for the covariates; model 2: adjusting for duration of caregivers' education, model 3: adjusting for distance between village and township and child month-age based on model 2) between bayesian log-binomial regression model and conventional log-binomial regression model. The results showed that all three bayesian log-binomial regression models were convergence and the estimated PRs were 1.130(95%CI: 1.005-1.265), 1.128(95%CI: 1.001-1.264) and 1.132(95%CI: 1.004-1.267), respectively. Conventional log-binomial regression model 1 and model 2 were convergence and their PRs were 1.130(95% CI: 1.055-1.206) and 1.126(95% CI: 1.051-1.203), respectively, but the model 3 was misconvergence, so COPY method was used to estimate PR, which was 1.125 (95%CI: 1.051-1.200). In addition, the point estimation and interval estimation of PRs from three bayesian log-binomial regression models differed slightly from those of PRs from conventional log-binomial regression model, but they had a good consistency in estimating PR. Therefore, bayesian log-binomial regression model can effectively estimate PR with less misconvergence and have more advantages in application compared with conventional log-binomial regression model.

[A systematic review of worldwide natural history models of colorectal cancer: classification, transition rate and a recommendation for developing Chinese population-specific model].

Objective: To review the worldwide studies on natural history models among colorectal cancer (CRC), and to inform building a Chinese population-specific CRC model and developing a platform for further evaluation of CRC screening and other interventions in population in China. Methods: A structured literature search process was conducted in PubMed and the target publication dates were from January 1995 to December 2014. Information about classification systems on both colorectal cancer and precancer on corresponding transition rate, were extracted and summarized. Indicators were mainly expressed by the medians and ranges of annual progression or regression rate. Results: A total of 24 studies were extracted from 1 022 studies, most were from America (n=9), but 2 from China including 1 from the mainland area, mainly based on Markov model (n=22). Classification systems for adenomas included progression risk (n=9) and the sizes of adenoma (n=13, divided into two ways) as follows: 1) Based on studies where adenoma was risk-dependent, the median annual transition rates, from ' normal status' to ' non-advanced adenoma', 'non-advanced' to ' advanced' and ' advanced adenoma' to CRC were 0.016 0 (range: 0.002 2-0.020 0), 0.020 (range: 0.002-0.177) and 0.044 (range: 0.005-0.063), respectively. 2) Median annual transition rates, based on studies where adenoma were classified by sizes, into <10 mm and ≥10 mm (n=7), from ' normal' to adenoma <10 mm, from adenoma <10 mm to adenoma ≥10 mm and adenoma ≥ 10 mm to CRC, were 0.016 7 (range: 0.015 0-0.037 0), 0.020 (range: 0.015-0.035) and 0.040 0 (range: 0.008 5-0.050 0), respectively. 3) Median annual transition rates, based on studies where adenoma, were classified by sizes into diminutive (≤5 mm), small (6-9 mm) and large adenoma (≥10 mm) (n=6), from ' normal' to diminutive adenoma,'diminutive' to ' small','small' to ' large', and large adenoma to CRC were 0.013 (range: 0.009-0.019), 0.043 (range: 0.020-0.085), 0.044 (range: 0.020-0.125) and 0.033 5 (range: 0.030-0.040), respectively. Staging system of CRC mainly included LRD (localized/regional/distant, n=10), Dukes' (n=7) and TNM (n=3). When using the LRD classification, the median annual transition rates from ' localized' to ' regional' and ' regional' to 'distant' were 0.28 (range: 0.20-0.33) and 0.40 (range: 0.24-0.63), respectively. Under the Dukes' classification, the median annual transition rates appeared as 0.583 (range: 0.050-0.910), 0.656 (range: 0.280-0.720) and 0.830 (range: 0.630-0.865) from Dukes' A to B, B to C and C to Dukes' D, respectively. Again, when using the TNM classification, very limited transition rate was reported. Serrated pathway was only described in one study. Conclusions: Studies on the natural history model of colorectal cancer was still limited worldwide. Adenoma seemed the most common status setting for precancer model, and the risk-dependent classification for adenoma was consistent with the most commonly used system in clinical practice as well as major cancer screening programs in China. Since the staging systems of cancers varied, and shortage of transition rates based on TNM classification (commonly used in China), there will be a challenge for building Chinese population-specific natural history model of colorectal cancer, information from other classification systems could be conditionally applied.

[Efficacy and safety analysis of different dose idarubicin plus cytarabine regimen as induction chemotherapy for young patients with de-novo acute myeloid leukemia].

OBJECTIVE: To compare the efficacy, safety and long-term prognosis between different dose idarubicin (IDA) combined with cytarabine (IA) as induction chemotherapy in newly diagnosed young patients of acute myeloid leukemia (AML). METHODS: A total of 149 newly diagnosed young AML patients (APL excluded) between January 2009 to July 2014 was enrolled. According to the dose of IDA, the patients were divided into three groups, high standard- dose IA group (10- 12 mg · m (- 2) · d(- 1)), low standard-dose IA group (8-9 mg·m(-2)·d(-1)) and low-dose IA group (<8 mg·m(-2)·d(-1)). The efficacy, adverse effects and long- term prognosis among the three groups were compared. RESULTS: Of them, 34 patients were in high standard-dose IA group, 53 in low standard-dose IA group and 62 in low-dose IA group. After one cycle of induction chemotherapy, the complete remission (CR) rate was 79.4%, 75.5% and 46.8%, the overall response (OR) rate was 97.1%, 94.3% and 64.5%, and the overall CR rate was 85.3%, 81.1% and 54.8%, respectively. Compared with low- dose IA group, high standard- dose IA group and low standard-dose IA group had significantly better result (P<0.05), but there was no significant difference between the latter two groups (P>0.05). Multivariate analysis also showed that standard-dose IA was favorable factor for induction chemotherapy (P<0.05). The adverse effects were similar in the three group, other than the lowest count of WBC (P=0.002). Low standard-dose IA can improve the OS compared to the low-dose IA (P=0.003), but EFS, RFS was similar in the three groups. CONCLUSIONS: For the newly diagnosed young(<55) AML patients, the standard-dose IA has better CR rate. The adverse effects were similar in the three groups. High-dose IA may improve the OS compared to the low-dose IA.

[Role of PI3K/AKT signaling pathway in clonogenicity and tumorigenicity of CD90+ stem-like cells of the hepatocellular carcinoma cell line MHCC-97H].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the influence of the PI3K/AKT signaling pathway on the proportion and characteristics of the stem-like CD90(+) subpopulation of the human hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) cell line MHCC-97. METHODS: MHCC-97H cultures were treated with the PI3K/AKT pathway inhibitor LY294002. The proportion of the CD90(+) subpopulation was determined by flow cytometry, and the expression of related proteins was measured by Western blot. The clonogenicity of CD90(+) and CD90(-) cells was measured by plate colony formation assay. The tumorigenicity was compared between CD90(+) and CD90(-) subpopulations (with different concentrations) in xenograft experiments in nude mice, and the changes in tumorigenicity after the addition of LY294002 were evaluated. The changes in the expression of CD90, SHP2, P-AKT, and AKT in CD90(+) and CD90(-) cell xenografts after the addition of LY294002 were examined. Data were analyzed using t test. RESULTS: LY294002 was capable of reducing the proportion of CD90(+) HCC stem cells from 2.98%±0.08% to 0.78%±0.08% (t = 32.400, P < 0.01) and reducing the clonogenicity of CD90(+) subpopulation from 95.13%±3.78% to 61.82%±7.23% (t = 7.617, P < 0.01). However, it showed no significant effect on the clonogenicity of CD90(-) subpopulation. LY294002 also reduced the tumorigenicity of CD90(+) subpopulation and the expression of CD90, SHP2, and P-AKT in related HCC stem cells, but it did not significantly affect the expression of AKT. LY294002 had no significant inhibitory effect on the tumorigenicity of CD90(-) cells. CONCLUSION: The CD90(+) subpopulation of MHCC-97H cells has the characteristics of stem cells and is dependent on the PI3K/AKT signaling pathway.

Enhanced Capacitance of TiO2 Single Crystals Through Chemically Deposited Graphene Films.

Single-crystals of titanium oxide (TiO2) were wrapped in a graphene (G) film by chemical deposition. The morphology, composition and structure of the resulting composite were subsequently characterized by SEM, TEM, XRD and FT-IR analysis. The electrochemical properties of the composites were studied by cyclic voltammetry, which showed that the introduction of graphene enhances the electrode conductivity, thereby improving the supercapacitive behavior of TiO2. Galvanostatic charge-discharge tests demonstrated that a supercapacitor device fabricated from TiO2 crystals wrapped in graphene (G-TiO2) exhibits a good cycle life, with 94% stability even after 1000 cycles.

MoO2-CoO coupled with a macroporous carbon hybrid electrocatalyst for highly efficient oxygen evolution.

Cost-effective electrocatalysts for oxygen evolution reactions are attractive for energy conversion and storage processes. A high-performance oxygen evolution reaction (OER) electrocatalyst composed of 3D ordered microporous carbon and a MoO2 skeleton modified by cobalt oxide nanoparticles (MoO2-CoO-Carbon) is produced through a template method. This unique 3DOM structure finely combines the larger surface area of the 3D carbon skeleton and MoO2 as well as stablizes anchoring sites for CoO nanocrystals on the skeleton. The synergistic effect between the catalytic activity between MoO2 and CoO as well as the enhanced electron transport arising from the carbon skeleton contributed to superior electrocatalytic OER properties of MoO2-CoO-Carbon. The M200-C-Carbon hybrid with an overpotential as low as 0.24 V is among the best reported Mo-based OER catalysts. Moreover, the turnover frequency at an overpotential of 0.35 V is 6 times as high as that of commercial RuO2.

KL-6 regulated the expression of HGF, collagen and myofibroblast differentiation.

OBJECTIVES: KL-6 is a pulmonary epithelial-derived mucin which is secreted mainly by type II alveolar epithelial cells. The level of KL-6 in serum is closely correlated to the clinical activity of various interstitial lung diseases (ILD) and acts as a prognostic factor for ILD patients. Previous studies have showed that KL-6 promoted chemotaxis, proliferation and inhibited the apoptosis of human lung fibroblasts. However, the underlying mechanism remains unknown. In this study, we investigated the function of KL-6 on the expression of hepatocyte growth factor (HGF), transforming growth factor-ß1 (TGF-ß1), collagen and α-smooth muscle actin(α-SMA) in human embryonic lung fibroblasts cell line MRC-5. METHODS: Human embryonic lung fibroblasts were cultured in Eagle's minimum essential medium. The cells plated in 6-well plates was cultured in serum-free medium at 37°C in 5% CO2 and challenged with recombinant KL-6 at a final concentration of 0, 10, 20, 40 ng/mL. Five micrograms of total RNA template were transcripted to cDNA by using AMV (Avian Myeloblastosis Virus) reverse transcriptase and random 9 mers as the first-strand primer. Synthesized cDNA was used in PCR experiments. The expression of TGF-ß1 and HGF in cell culture supernatants was measured using ELISA kit. Cells incubated with KL-6 for 72h were collected for flow-cytometry analysis. The analysis was done using a Beckman counter device. RESULTS: It was found that KL-6 up-regulated the expression of collagen type I and III in a dose-dependent manner. However, the addition of KL-6 significantly inhibited the production of HGF. As regard to the biological function, KL-6 induced myofibroblast differentiation confirmed by the elevated expression of a-SMA. CONCLUSIONS: KL-6 is one of the key molecules involved in epithelial-mesenchymal interactions and might contribute to the fibrosis in ILD.

Design of a highly sensitive ethanol sensor using a nano-coaxial p-Co3O4/n-TiO2 heterojunction synthesized at low temperature.

In this paper, we describe the design, fabrication and gas-sensing tests of nano-coaxial p-Co3O4/n-TiO2 heterojunction. Specifically, uniform TiO2 nanotubular arrays have been assembled by anodization and used as templates for generation of the Co3O4 one-dimensional nanorods. The structure morphology and composition of as-prepared products have been characterized by SEM, XRD, TEM, and XPS. A possible growth mechanism governing the formation of such nano-coaxial heterojunctions is proposed. The TiO2 nanotube sensor shows a normal n-type response to reducing ethanol gas, whereas TiO2-Co3O4 exhibits p-type response with excellent sensing performances. This conversion of sensing behavior can be explained by the formation of p-n heterojunction structures. A possible sensing mechanism is also illustrated, which can provide theoretical guidance for the further development of advanced gas-sensitive materials with p-n heterojunction.

Inheritance and fine mapping of a restorer-of-fertility (Rf) gene for the cytoplasmic male sterility in soybean.

The cytoplasmic male sterility (CMS) line FuCMS5A and its restorer line FuHui9 were crossed to produce a segregating F(2) population for pollen fertility assay and the genetic mapping of restorer-of-fertility (Rf) gene. Results showed that the individual F(2) plants were fertile or semi-fertile based on their pollen fertility characteristics. The average ratios of viable pollen were 96.90% and 50.00% for each class of individuals. The segregation of F(2) plants showed a good fit to a 1:1 ratio, which reflects a typical heredity pattern of gametophytic CMS with fertility restorer being controlled by a single dominant gene. Using bulk segregation analysis (BSA) and genetic mapping, the Rf gene was mapped on molecular linkage group J (chromosome 16), between the simple sequence repeat (SSR) makers BARCSOYSSR-16-1064 and BARCSOYSSR-16-1082 with the distances of 0.59 and 0.83 cM, respectively. Four SSR markers (BARCSOYSSR-16-1070, Sctt011, BARCSOYSSR-16-1076 and BARCSOYSSR-16-1077) were cosegregating with this Rf gene in the mapping population. These makers will greatly facilitate the maker assisted selection procedures in CMS breeding programs and it lays a foundation for further map-base cloning of the Rf gene.

Characterization of self-organized TiO2 nanotubes on Ti-4Zr-22Nb-2Sn alloys and the application in drug delivery system.

In this study, the self-organized TiO(2) nanotubes grown by anodization of Ti-4Zr-22Nb-2Sn at different potentials, concentration of NH(4)F and anodization time was investigated. The morphology of nanotubes was observed by FE-SEM. The drug-loaded nanotubes were also fabricated in aqueous media containing minocycline hydrochloride. They were characterized by SEM, XPS and FT-IR. The results showed that the drug of minocycline hydrochloride (MH) was loaded in the nanotubes. The release effects were studied in phosphate buffer solution (PBS). The release rate of MH from TiO(2) nanotubes with shorter tube length in PBS was lower than the one of MH from longer nanotubes. The sustaining release time could last at least 150 h. Hence, it is a promising method to eliminate the harmful reactions by carrying drug in the tubes when the titanium alloys were used as biomedical implants.

Shock wave interaction with laser-generated single bubbles.

The interaction of a lithotripter shock wave (LSW) with laser-generated single vapor bubbles in water is investigated using high-speed photography and pressure measurement via a fiber-optic probe hydrophone. The interaction leads to nonspherical collapse of the bubble with secondary shock wave emission and microjet formation along the LSW propagation direction. The maximum pressure amplification is produced during the collapse phase of the bubble oscillation when the compressive pulse duration of the LSW matches with the forced collapse time of the bubble.

Parity-violating photoproduction of pi(+/-) on the delta resonance.

We analyze the real-photon asymmetry A(gamma)(+/-) for the parity-violating (PV) pi(+/-) production on the Delta resonance via the reactions (-->)gamma + p --> Delta(+) --> pi(+) + n and (-->)gamma + d --> Delta(0) + p --> pi(-) + p + p. This asymmetry is nonvanishing due to a PV gamma N Delta coupling constant, d(Delta)(+/-). We argue that an experimental determination of this coupling would be of interest for hadron dynamics, possibly shedding light on the S-wave/ P-wave puzzle in the hyperon nonleptonic decays and the violation of Hara's theorem in weak radiative hyperon decays.