Study of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons accumulation in bioretention facilities and its influence on microbial community structure.

Bioretention facilities are one of the most widely used measures for urban stormwater control and utilization. In this study, the accumulation characteristics of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in bioretention facilities and the effects of PAHs on the structure of microbial communities were explored by combining on-site monitoring and water distribution simulation experiments. The correlation between pollutant accumulation and dominant microorganisms in the bioretention systems was also clarified. The results showed that all 16 priority PAHs were detected in the bioretention facilities in the sponge city pilot area. The PAH concentrations in the soil during the non-rainy season were higher than those in the rainy season and medium- and high-ring PAHs dominated. PAHs in the study area were mainly derived from coal and biomass combustion. The potential carcinogenic risk of PAHs accumulated in the bioretention facilities in the study area was low. The microbial diversity during the non-rainy season was greater than that during the rainy season. Firmicutes, Bacteroidetes, Bacteroides, and Massilia were strongly correlated with naphthalene (NAP), pyrene (PYR), fluoranthene (FLT), and benzo[a]pyrene (BaP). According to the results of the small-scale water distribution test, the addition of PAHs had little effect on the decline in water quantity, and there was no significant regularity in the reduction of water quality including TP, NH4+-N, NO3-N, and TN. The addition of PAHs had a significant effect on the microbial community structure and an inhibitory effect on enzyme activity.

Efficacy and Safety of Levetiracetam vs. Phenobarbital for Neonatal Seizures: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Background: Neonatal seizures are a common neurological emergency in newborns. Phenobarbital (PB) is the first-line antiepileptic drug (AED). However, PB has some side effects, such as hypotension and respiratory depression, and it can accelerate neuronal apoptosis in the immature brain. Levetiracetam (LEV), a new antiepileptic drug, has been used as a second-line drug for the treatment of neonatal seizures. Compared with PB, LEV has many advantages, including a low incidence of side effects and better neurodevelopmental outcomes. However, there are only a few systematic reviews of LEV for the treatment of neonatal seizures. Objective: To evaluate the efficacy and safety of LEV for neonatal seizures and to compare the efficacy, side effects, and neurological outcomes between LEV and PB in the treatment of neonatal seizures. Methods: The keywords LEV, PB, and neonatal seizure were searched in the MEDLINE, Cochrane Library, Web of Science, EMBASE, clinicaltrials.gov, and China National Knowledge Internet (CNKI) databases with a last update in July 2021 to collect high-quality studies. We collected studies studying the efficacy or safety of LEV and PB in the treatment of neonatal seizures applying strict inclusion and exclusion criteria. The data were extracted and outcome measures, including efficacy, side effect rate, neurological score, and mortality rate, were analyzed with RevMan 5.3 software. Results: Ten articles were finally included in the meta-analysis. The meta-analysis showed that there was no difference in efficacy between LEV and PB in the treatment of neonatal seizures. Compared with PB, the incidence of side effects of LEV was lower. The incidence of hypotension and respiratory depression in the LEV group was significantly lower than that in the PB group. In terms of long-term neurodevelopmental outcomes, there was no significant difference in the Bayley Scales of Infant Development (BSID) scores between LEV and PB. Conclusion: PB is still the first-line AED recommended by the WHO for the treatment of neonatal seizures. The new AEDs LEV may not have better efficacy than PB. At the same time, LEV is associated with better neurodevelopment outcomes and a lower risk of adverse effects. In addition, continuous EEG monitoring should be used to diagnose neonatal seizures to evaluate the severity of the seizures, remission, and drug efficacy. Systematic Review Registration: PROSPERO, identifier: CRD42021279029.

Comparative efficacy of anti-epileptic drugs for neonatal seizures: A network meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: Anti-epileptic drugs have different effects on neonatal seizures, and new agents have been widely used in recent years. Meanwhile, significant differences still exist in the treatment for neonatal seizures, whether in choice of drug or in duration of treatment. And with the increase in options for treatment, the best choice of second-line treatment has not been recommended. METHODS: The MEDLINE, the Cochrane Library, Web of Science, Embase and clinicaltrials.gov databases were searched (January 1, 1960 to October 20, 2020). Randomized controlled trials (RCTs) or observational investigations studying anti-epileptic drugs for neonatal seizures were selected. And then we conducted a network meta-analysis and examined comparative efficacy of the first-line and second-line anti-epileptic drugs for neonatal seizures. RESULTS: Data were extracted from 11 included studies by 2 independent investigators. Random effects models were used to estimate odds ratios (ORs). We performed direct meta-analyses with a random effects model and network meta-analyses for first-line and second-line drugs. Five published RCTs and 6 observational investigations with 1333 patients and 6 interventions contributed to the analysis. CONCLUSION: We recommend phenobarbital as the first-line drug for neonatal seizures. In addition, there is a tendency for levetiracetam to be an effective second-line treatment for neonatal seizures after failure of first-line drugs.

Enhancing the performance of blue quantum-dot light-emitting diodes through the incorporation of polyethylene glycol to passivate ZnO as an electron transport layer.

The balance between charge transport and charge injection is always a key factor in enhancing the performance of quantum-dot light-emitting diodes (QD-LEDs), particularly for the blue QDs due to their large optical band gap and relatively low valence band level compared with their green and red counterparts. High performance blue QD-LEDs have been demonstrated by blending polyethylene glycol (PEG) into solution-processed ZnO nanocrystals as the electron transport layer. PEG can effectively tune the electron mobility of ZnO and simultaneously passivate its surface defect states. As a result, the maximum current efficiency (CE) and external quantum efficiency (EQE) of the blue QD-LEDs increased from 4.33 cd A-1 and 9.98% for pure ZnO to 8.03 cd A-1 and 14.84% for 4% PEG blended into ZnO, respectively. Furthermore, operational lifetime of the device is also significantly improved from 8.95 h to 25.06 h. This result indicates that PEG is a promising material for regulating the charge balance of the blue QD-LEDs.

Poly[[hemi-µ(4)-oxalato-hemi-µ(2)-oxalato-bis-(µ(3)-pyrazine-2-carboxyl-ato)erbium(III)silver(I)] monohydrate].

The asymmetric unit of the title complex, {[AgEr(C(5)H(3)N(2)O(2))(2)(C(2)O(4))]·H(2)O}(n), contains one Er(III) atom, one Ag(I) atom, two pyrazine-2-carboxyl-ate (pyc) ligands, two half oxalate ligands (each lying on an inversion center) and one uncoordinated water mol-ecule. The Er(III) atom is coordinated by two O atoms and two N atoms from two pyc ligands, one O atom from a third pyc ligand and four O atoms from two oxalate ligands in a distorted monocapped square-anti-prismatic geometry. The Ag(I) atom is coordinated by two N atoms from two pyc ligands, one O atom from a third pyc ligand and one O atom from one oxalate ligand. The crystal structure exhibits a three-dimensional heterometallic polymeric network. O-H⋯O hydrogen bonding between the uncoordinated water mol-ecule and carboxyl-ate O atoms is observed.

[Synergetic effect of B7-1 and CD40L in the immunotherapy for lymphoma].

The aim of study was to investigate the synergetic effect of B7-1 and CD40L co-stimulating pathway in the immunotherapy for lymphoma and to explore the effective manner of tumor vaccine for treating lymphoma. The lymphoma cell line A20 cells were inoculated into BALB/c mice as to establish A20-bearing mice model, the B7-1 and CD40L expression vector were alone or in combination directly injected into lymphoma of mice model, the PBS, vector pcDM8 and pcDNA3.1 were selected as controls so as to observe tumor growth. The pathological section and HE staining of tumor tissue were performed to observe the histological characteristics and the cell infiltration of lymphoma, the CCK-8 detection kit was used to analysis the splenic CTL cytotoxicity. The results showed that the intratumor injection of B7-1 and CD40L resulted in reduction of tumor size. Morphological observation of tumor revealed inflammatory cell infiltration in the tumors, massive necrosis and localization of tumor. CCK-8 kit detection indicated significant enhancement of splenic CTL cytotoxicity, the effect of B7-1 combined with CD40L was stronger than that of B7-1 or CD40L alone. It is concluded that B7-1 and CD40L show immunotherapeutic effect on lymphoma, and the effect becomes stronger when they are combined in treating lymphoma. Meanwhile, the intratumor injection may be considered as a safe and effective way for tumor vaccine.

[Clinical characteristics, cell origin and prognosis of primary gastrointestinal diffuse large B-cell lymphoma: a report of 40 cases].

BACKGROUND & OBJECTIVE: Primary gastrointestinal diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (PGI-DLBCL) is difficult to be distinguished from other gastrointestinal tumors because of its onset sites and clinical features, which results in frequent misdiagnoses. The standard chemotherapy regimen for PGI-DLBCL is uncertain. This study was to analyze the clinical characteristics, cell origin, and prognosis of PGI-DLBCL, and explore effective combined chemotherapy for PGI-DLBCL. METHODS: Clinical data of 40 PGI-DLBCL patients, diagnosed and treated in Peking University Third Hospital from 1998 to 2007, were analyzed by Kaplan-Meier method, log-rank test, and Cox regression model. The cell origins of PGI-DLBCL in 34 patients were analyzed by immunohistochemistry. The patients were treated with combined chemotherapy, surgery plus combined chemotherapy and/or radiotherapy, or surgery alone. The combined chemotherapy included CHOP and CHOP-like regimens. RESULTS: The median age of the 40 patients was 56.5 years. The ratio of sex (male:female) was 1.86:1. The ratio of onset sites (gastric versus intestinal) was 1.05:1. Among the 38 patients who had been followed up, 12 (31.6%) died, both the 3-and 5-year overall survival rates were 64.7%. Of the 9 patients with multiple sites involvement, 8 (88.9%) died within 3 years after diagnosis. Of the 34 patients received immunohistochemical examination, 9 (26.5%) had lymphomas of germinal center origin, and 25 (73.5%) had non-germinal center origin. Log-rank test revealed that International Prognostic Index (IPI) score and B symptom were important prognostic factors of PGI-DLBCL. Cox multivariable analysis showed that the death risk of the patients with high level of LDH was 2.87 times higher than that of the patients with normal level of LDH. CONCLUSIONS: PGI-DLBCL is often seen in male patients at middle ages. Multiple sites involvement is an important death cause of these patients. Tumor cell origin, IPI score and B symptom are important prognostic factors of PGI-DLBCL. The serum level of LDH at diagnosis is an independent prognostic factor.

[Analysis of prognostic factors in 74 cases of diffuse large B-cell lymphoma].

OBJECTIVE: To explore the relationship of clinic features, lab findings, the origin of tumor cell as well as prognosis in Chinese patients with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma( DLBCL). METHODS: Seventy four cases of primarily diagnosed DLBCL were analyzed. Immunohistochemistry stain was used to check the expressions of Bcl-6,CD10 and MUM1. RESULTS: Among the 74 patients, the average age was 58.5 years, the ratio of male to female was 1.64:1. 23.2% (16/69) cases developed in lymph node, 15.9% (11/ 69) in the extra node area. Among 55 follow-up cases, 13 (23.6%) died, and 12 (92.3%) died in the first year after diagnosis. The prognosis analysis showed that diagnosed at age > 65 years (P = 0.036), and the international prognostic index (IPI) (P = 0.009) were independent prognostic factors; origin of tumor cell had a trend to be a prognostic factor, but no statistic difference (P = 0.086). beta2-MG and Bcl-6 expression had no relation with the prognosis. CONCLUSION: The middle and old-aged male patients are the most common in DLBCL and the first-year mortality rate is higher. The age at diagnosis and IPI can predict the clinical outcome. The origin of tumor cell might suggest the prognosis.

Activation of c-Jun and suppression of phospho-p44/42 were involved in diphenylhydantoin-induced apoptosis of cultured rat cerebellar granule neurons.

AIM: To investigate possible intracellular signal molecules involved in diphenylhydantoin (DPH)-mediated apoptosis of cerebellar granule neurons (CGN) and explore possible molecular mechanisms of neurotoxicity of DPH. METHODS: Fluorescein diacetate (FDA) stain, hochest 33258 stain, and agar gel electrophoresis were used to test morphological and biological characters of primary CGN and cortical neurons (CN) in the presence or absence of 100 micromol/L DPH; Western blot and RT-PCR were employed to further investigate apoptotic/survival signal moleculars involved in the neuronal apoptotic signal transdution. RESULTS: DPH 100 micromol/L induced a typical apoptosis of CGN but had no toxicity on CN. Cerebellar granule neural apoptosis induced by 100 micromol/L DPH was significantly inhibited by pre-treatment with SB203580 (10 micromol/L) or CEP-11004 (1 micromol/L) for 1 h. DPH markedly upregulated the levels of phospho-c-Jun (active c-Jun), total c-Jun protein and c-jun mRNA in CGN. The levels of phospho-c-Jun dramatically elevated by DPH at 8 h were significantly inhibited by SB203580 (10 micromol/L) or CEP-11004 (1 micromol/L). Moreover, the activities of p44/42 (ERK1/ERK2), other members of MAP kinases and generally believed to be important survival effetors in CGN, were markedly suppressed. However, the activities of both JNK and p38 were little affected in the process of apoptosis of CGN induced by 100 micromol/L DPH. CONCLUSION: The selective toxicity of DPH on CGN is likely due to its ability to induce apoptosis of CGN, it is a process involved activation of c-Jun and suppression of the activity of p44/42.