[Relationship between bioelectrical impedance analysis-derived fluid status and nutritional indicators and the prognosis in patients undergoing maintenance hemodialysis].

Objective: To explore the relationship between bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA)-derived fluid status and nutritional indicators and the prognosis in patients undergoing maintenance hemodialysis (MHD). Methods: A retrospective cohort study was conducted. The clinical data of MHD patients in Jiangsu Province Hospital between January 2014 and December 2016 were analyzed. BIA data of healthy volunteers in Gulou District, Nanjing City, collected between April and October 2022, were used to determine the cut-off value of body cell mass index (BCMI). Referring to previous research, using 0.15 as the cut-off value for the ratio of overhydration and extracellular water (OH/ECW). The data were transformed into binary variables based on these cut-off values to categorize patients into different groups. Kaplan-Meier analysis was used to plot survival curves, and the Cox proportional hazards model was performed to analyze risk factors for all-cause mortality. Results: A total of 706 MHD patients (407 males and 299 females) were included, aged (54±15) years. MHD patients were classified into four groups based on whether BCMI was<5.4 kg/m2 and OH/ECW was≥0.15, which included non-overhydration and non-malnutrition group, overhydration group, malnutrition group, and overhydration and malnutrition group, with 269, 186, 151, and 100 patients, respectively. During a median follow-up of [M(Q1, Q3)] 33 (26, 37) months, 162 patients died. Kaplan-Meier analysis showed that the median survival periods of the four groups were 52 months (95%CI: 41-54 months), 46 months (95%CI: 44-49 months), 37 months (95%CI: 34-40 months), and 34 months (95%CI: 30-38 months), respectively, with a statistically significant difference (P<0.001). The 1-year survival rates were 95.5%, 93.5%, 92.1%, and 88.0% (P<0.001), respectively, and the 2-year mortality rates were 92.6%, 87.1%, 83.4%, and 77.0% (P<0.001), respectively. Multivariate Cox regression analysis showed that compared with non-overhydration and non-malnutrition group, the risk of all-cause mortality increased by 1.18 times in the malnutrition group (HR=2.18, 95%CI: 1.29-3.71, P=0.004), and by 1.59 times in the overhydration and malnutrition group (HR=2.59, 95%CI: 1.48-4.54, P=0.001). Conclusions: BIA-derived fluid status and nutritional indicators are associated with the prognosis of MHD patients. Compared with patients without fluid overload and malnutrition, patients with malnutrition and fluid overload have an increased risk of all-cause mortality.

[Association between cardiometabolic diseases and quality of life and the mediation effect of perceived stress].

Objective: To explore the association between cardiometabolic diseases (CMD) and quality of life, the association between CMD and perceived stress, and the mediation effect of perceived stress on the association between CMD and quality of life, and to provide evidence for the prevention and treatment of CMD and the improvement of quality of life in these patients. Methods: This is a cross-sectional study. Data were collected by the employees' physical examination of a company in Xi'an in 2021. Multiple linear regression models were used to analyze the association between the status of CMD (divided into three categories: no CMD, presence of one kind of CMD, and with≥2 kinds of CMD (≥2 kinds of CMD were defined as cardiometabolic multimorbidity (CMM)), quality of life, and perceived stress. Mediation analysis with a multi-categorical independent variable was conducted to determine the mediation effect of perceived stress on the association between CMD and quality of life. Results: Among all 4 272 participants, 1 457 (34.1%) participants had one kind of CMD and 677 (15.8%) participants had CMM. The average scores for quality of life and perceived stress were (57.5±15.7) and (16.9±7.9), respectively. Compared with participants without CMD, after adjusting for demographic and lifestyle factors, no statistically significant associations were observed between one kind of CMD and perceived stress or quality of life (both P>0.05). Perceived stress did not mediate the association between one kind of CMD and quality of life. However, participants with CMM had lower quality of life and higher perceived stress than participants without CMD. The relative total effect coefficient c (95%CI) and the relative direct effect coefficient c' (95%CI) between CMM and quality of life were -3.71 (-5.04--2.37) and -2.52 (-3.81--1.24) (both P<0.05), respectively. The relative indirect effect coefficient a2b (95%CI) of perceived stress on the association between CMM and quality of life was -1.18 (-1.62--0.77) (P<0.05). The mediation effect size was 31.8%. Conclusions: CMM is negatively associated with quality of life and positively associated with perceived stress. Perceived stress partially mediates the association between CMM and quality of life. Our results suggest that, in addition to preventing and treating CMM actively, efforts should be taken to relieve the perceived stress of people with CMM to improve their quality of life.

[Using next generation sequencing technology to analyze gene mutations in patients with acute myeloid leukemia and the impact on prognosis].

Objective: To analyze the distribution of gene mutations in newly diagnosed acute myeloid leukemia (AML) patients, based on next generation sequencing technology (NGS) and to evaluate their value in AML risk stratification. Methods: The study analyzed 453 newly diagnosed AML(excluded acute promyelocytic leukemia, APL) patients from seven hospitals in Shanghai, from January 1st 2014 to December 31th 2017. RNA and DNA were extracted from pretreatment bone marrow mononuclear cells and targeted sequencing of AML genes were performed. The data of different groups was compared. Results: A total of 453 newly diagnosed AML patients were enrolled in the study, including 247 males and 206 females with a median age of 49.5 (range,11-85) years. A total of 540 mutations/fusion genes were detected in 289 patients, 29.1% (132/259) of whom with two or more mutations/fusion genes. In all patients, NPM1 was the most common mutation(12.8%), followed by ETO and TET2 mutation (11.92% and 11.04%, respectively) . And WT1 over-expression accounted for 10.6%. Patients over the age of 50 were with a higher frequency of mutations associated with epigenetic modification, 11.93% for ASXL1, 13.99% for DMNT3A, 6.58% for IDH1/IDH2, and 13.17% for TET2. The frequency of DMNT3A mutations was three times higher than that of patients under 50 years of age (P=0.017). In this study, a relatively low proportion of genetic mutations was observed in low-risk karyotype group. In the medium-risk karyotype group, the relatively high mutation frequencies were observed in NPM1, TET2, FLT3-ITD, DNMT3A, ASXL1, and CEBPA genes. In the poor-risk karyotype group, the mutation frequencies of ASXL1, TET2, DNMT3A and PHF6 genes were more than 10%, especially ASXL1 and PHF6 mutation frequencies were significantly higher than other molecular risk stratification groups (P<0.05). Of the 254 patients (56%) with normal karyotype AML (NK-AML), 56 patients were detected to have gene mutations about epigenetic modification. The median OS of this group was worse than that of patients without related mutations, while the median LFS had no significant difference. In patients with NK-AML older than 50 years, the OS and LFS of patients with epigenetic modification related gene mutations was 12 months and 10 months, versus 18 months and 12 months of patients without mutations. Conclusions: The gene mutations frequencies in AML patients with different age and molecular risk stratification groups are different. Epigenetics gene mutation frequencies, such as DNMT3A, ASXL1, IDH1/IDH2 and TET2,are higher in patients older than 50 years. A shorter OS can be observed in older patients(>50 years) with epigenetics gene mutation.

Effect of polydatin on expression of p53 and Notch1 in brain tissue of ischemic cerebrovascular disease.

Secondary injury of brain tissue following cerebral infarction exhibits a complicated pathogenesis that is attributed to the induction of apoptosis and inflammatory response. The present study aimed to investigate the polydatin neuroprotective effects and their mode of action in cerebral ischemic injury. A total of 80 healthy adult male Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly divided into a Sham operated group, a permanent middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) group, a Polydatin low dose group and a Polydatin high dose group. A total of 20 rats were used in each group. The right MCAO model of rats was established using the modified Longa suture method. The animals in the intervention group were injected intraperitoneally with 12.5mg/kg and/or 50mg/kg of polydatin following infarction. The expression levels of p53 and Notch 1 were measured by immunohistochemical techniques. The degree of left limb hemiplegia in the MCAO group was different compared with that of the low and high dose group of polydatin. The score for the neurological function in the high-dose group of polydatin was lower than that in the MCAO group (High vs MCAO: 2.4±0.31 vs 3.9±0.23, P less than0.05). The results indicated that high dose polydatin could reduce brain edema following cerebral infarction and improve the behavioral score in rats.

[Forensic Analysis for 54 Cases of Suxamethonium Chloride Poisoning].

OBJECTIVES: To observe and analyze the performance of forensic science in the cases of suxa- methonium chloride poisoning, and to improve the identification of suxamethonium chloride poisoning. METHODS: Fifty-four cases of suxamethonium chloride poisoning were collected. The rules of determination of suxamethonium chloride poisoning were observed by the retrospective analysis of pathological and toxicological changes as well as case features. RESULTS: The pathological features of suxamethonium chloride poisoning were similar to the general changes of sudden death, which mainly included acute pulmonary congestion and edema, and partly showed myocardial disarray and fracture. Suxamethonium chloride could be detected in the heart blood of all cases and in skin tissue of part cases. CONCLUSIONS: Suxa-methonium chloride poisoning has the characteristics with fast death and covert means, which are difficult to rescue and easily miss inspection. For the cases of sudden death or suspicious death, determination of suxamethonium chloride should be taken as a routine detection index to prevent missing inspection.

Distribution and Characteristics of Colletotrichum spp. Associated with Anthracnose of Strawberry in Hubei, China.

Anthracnose caused by Colletotrichum spp. is a serious disease of strawberry. The etiology of anthracnose of strawberry is complex, and several Colletotrichum spp. have been regarded as causal agents. In the present study, multilocus (actin, ß-tubulin, calmodulin, glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase, and chitin synthase) phylogenetic analysis revealed that 100 isolates of Colletotrichum associated with anthracnose of strawberry in central China belong to five species. In total, 97 isolates were identified belonging to the Colletotrichum gloeosporioides species complex, with C. murrayae, C. gloeosporioides, C. fructicola, and C. aenigma accounting for 81, 8, 4, and 4% of the total isolates, respectively. Three isolates belonging to the C. acutatum complex were identified as C. nymphaeae. On inoculated strawberry plants, isolates of C. fructicola and C. murrayae species showed strong pathogenicity to both leaves and petioles of strawberry, with plant mortality 30 days after inoculation of 77.8 and 55.6%, respectively. C. gloeosporioides, C. aenigma, and C. nymphaeae showed strong pathogenicity to leaves but weak pathogenicity to petioles, with plant mortality 30 days after inoculation of 5.6, 16.7, and 11.1%, respectively. The five species were divided into four classes based on their maximum growth temperatures. Isolates of C. murrayae and C. gloeosporioides were more tolerant to high temperature (>34°C) than isolates of other species, followed by C. fructicola and C. aenigma. Isolates of C. nymphaeae, which are only distributed in areas of higher altitude (1,100 m), were highly sensitive to higher temperature. These results indicate that pathogenicity and adaptation to temperature are important factors in the distribution of Colletotrichum spp. on strawberry plants. This research may increase our understanding of how Colletotrichum spp. emerge and spread to geographical regions with different latitudes or elevations.

DNA sequence polymorphism within the bovine adenosine monophosphate deaminase 1 (AMPD1) is associated with production traits in Chinese cattle.

The objectives of the present study were to detect an 18-bp deletion mutation in the bovine adenosine monophosphate deaminase 1 (AMPD1) gene and analyze its effect on growth traits in 2 Chinese cattle breeds using DNA sequencing and agarose electrophoresis. The five 19-bp polymerase chain reaction products of the AMPD1 gene exhibited 3 genotypes and 2 alleles: WW: homozygote genotype (wild-type); DD: homozygote genotype (mutant-type); WD: heterozygote genotype. Frequencies of the W allele varied from 66.15-70.35%. The associations between the 18-bp deletion mutation in the AMPD1 gene with production traits in 226 Jia-Xian red cattle was analyzed. The animals with genotype WW showed significantly higher heart girth and body weight than those with genotypes WD and DD at 24 months (P < 0.01). Our results indicate that the deletion mutation in the AMPD1 gene is associated with production traits, and may be used for marker-assisted selection in beef cattle breeding programs.

Evaluating environmental performance using new process capability indices for autocorrelated data.

Traditionally, the process capability index is developed by assuming that the process output data are independent and follow normal distribution. However, in most environmental cases, the process data are autocorrelated. The autocorrelated process, if unrecognized as an independent process, can lead to erroneous decision making and unnecessary quality loss. In this paper, three new capability indices with unbiased estimators are proposed to relieve the independence assumption for the-nominal-the-best and the-smaller-the-better cases. Furthermore, we use mean squared error (MSE) and mean absolute percent error (MAPE) to compare the accuracy of our proposed indices to previous autocorrelated indices. The results show that our proposed capability indices outperform the predecessors.

Nano-hydroxyapatite/Polyamide 66 cage in anterior cervical corpectomy and fusion: a comprehensive systematic review and meta-analysis.

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to conduct a meta-analysis to compare the effectiveness and safety between titanium mesh cage (TMC) and nano-hydroxyapatite/polyamide 66 cage (n-HA/PA66) in the surgical treatment of cervical spondylotic myelopathy (CSM) through anterior cervical corpectomy and fusion (ACCF). MATERIALS AND METHODS: We implemented a comprehensive search strategy across multiple databases, including Wanfang, China Knowledge Network, China Biomedical Literature Database, Wipu, PubMed, Cochran, Embase, and Web of Science. To ensure a thorough examination of available literature, the databases were searched from their inception to January 2023. Two independent researchers evaluated the quality of the included studies by using established criteria. We used RevMan 5.4 (Review Manager Web, The Cochrane Collaboration, Copenhagen, Denmark) to facilitate data extraction and analysis. RESULTS: This analysis included seven controlled clinical studies. The meta-analysis results showed no statistically significant differences between the two groups in terms of operating time, intraoperative bleeding, preoperative Japanese Orthopedic Association (JOA) score, preoperative visual analog scale (VAS) score, preoperative and final follow-up C2-7 Cobb angles, and intervertebral fusion rate (p > 0.05). However, a significant difference was observed between the two groups in terms of the final follow-up JOA [MD = 0.77, 95% CI (0.58, 0.97), p < 0.00001], VAS [MD = -0.50, 95% CI (-0.71, -0.30), p < 0.00001], and sedimentation rate [RR = 0.30, 95% CI (0.18, 0.48), p < 0.00001]. CONCLUSIONS: The use of n-HA/PA66 in ACCF for treating CSM is safe and effective treatment with positive clinical efficacy. In addition, n-HA/PA66 has both effective clinical efficacy and significantly lower fusion settling rates compared to TMC.

Ultrasonic bone curette in thoracic spinal decompression: a comprehensive systematic review and meta-analysis.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to compare the efficacy and safety of ultrasonic bone curette (UBC) and conventional surgical instruments in thoracic laminectomy decompression (TLD) for the treatment of thoracic spinal stenosis (TSS) by meta-analysis. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Two authors independently searched Medline via PubMed, Embase, Cochrane Library, Web of Science, Wanfang Database, and China National Knowledge Infrastructure for the period from the establishment of the database until January 2023 to identify the studies on the safety and efficacy of UBC vs. conventional instruments for TSS. Data extraction and quality assessment were performed by two researchers independently. We used RevMan 5.4 software (Review Manager Web, The Cochrane Collaboration, Copenhagen, Denmark) to analyze the data. RESULTS: Eight retrospective studies were included in the present work. This meta-analysis revealed that no significant differences in the preoperative JOA scores, the JOA scores at the last follow-up, the improvement rate of JOA scores, and the incidence of cerebrospinal fluid leakage/dura injury were detected between the two groups (p>0.05). However, there were significant differences in the operative time and intraoperative blood loss during single-level TLD [operative time: MD=-1.47, 95% CI (-1.86, -1.09), p<0.001; intraoperative blood loss: MD=-46.62, 95% CI (-53.83, -39.40), p<0.001], total operative time [MD=-56.88, 95% CI (-69.66, -44.10), p<0.001], total intraoperative blood loss [MD=-143.52, 95% CI (-212.49, -74.54), p<0.001], the incidence of neurological deterioration/nerve root injury [RR= 0.29, 95% CI (0.09, 0.91), p=0.03] between the groups. CONCLUSIONS: The application of UBC in TLD to treat TSS is safe and effective. UBC can significantly shorten operation time and reduce intraoperative blood loss compared to traditional surgical instruments. Moreover, it has the advantage of reducing perioperative nerve injury.

First Report of Pestalotiopsis mangiferae and P. vismiae Causing Twig Dieback of Myrica rubra in China.

Chinese bayberry (Myrica rubra Siebold & Zucc.), an evergreen fruit tree, is widely grown in southern China. In 1999, severe twig dieback was observed on M. rubra in Taizhou and it spread to several major M. Rubra-producing areas of Zhejiang covering more than 6,000 ha by 2011. Symptoms were usually observed from June to November and first appeared as chlorosis of leaves and leaf drop, followed by the formation of dark brown lesions covered with white mycelia surrounding leaf scars. The lesions can extend to the whole twig and tree causing discoloration of the xylem. In most cases, infected trees die within 1 to 4 years. Two distinct fungi totaling 46 isolates were isolated from the surface-disinfested diseased twigs and cultured on potato dextrose agar (PDA) at 28°C. An isolate of each fungus, designated as C1 and B1, was characterized further following 10 days of growth on PDA at 28°C. C1 formed zonate, white colonies and black, acervular conidiomata with the conidia aggregated on acervuli as a creamy mass. Isolate B1 formed nonzonate, white colonies and black, acervular conidiomata with the conidia aggregated on acervuli as droplets. Conidia for each isolate were fusiform with five cells; one hyaline apical cell, one hyaline basal cell, and three, dark brown median cells. Conidia ranged from 17.8 to 25.2 × 6.7 to 9.2 µm for C1 and 21.2 to 27.8 × 4.3 to 7.5 µm for B1. There were two to three hyaline, filamentous appendages (9.8 to 23.5 µm long for C1 and 10.5 to 25.5 µm long for B1) attached to each apical cell, and one hyaline appendage (3.5 to 7.2 µm long for C1 and 3.0 to 6.8 µm long for B1) attached to each basal cell. The cultural and morphological characteristics of C1 (16 isolates) matched the description for Pestalotiopsis mangiferae while B1 (27 isolates) matched the description for P. vismiae (2). The PCR-amplified and sequenced internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region of the ribosomal DNA (ITS1-5.8S-ITS2) for isolate C1 (GenBank Accession No. JQ281542) and B1 (GenBank Accession No. JQ281543) were 99 and 100% homologous to that of the P. mangiferae isolate MM 102 (GenBank Accession No. GU722595) and P. vismiae isolate xsd08116 (GenBank Accession No. FJ481027), respectively. For pathogenicity tests, nine healthy detached leaves and 12 potted plants of M. rubra were wound inoculated with sterile water (control) or conidial suspensions (105 conidia per ml; 20 µl on each site) of C1 and B1, respectively, and maintained with relative humidity of more than 90% under fluorescent light at 28°C. Tests were performed twice. Necrotic lesions, resembling those that occurred in the field, were observed on all inoculated detached leaves and 33.3% of C1 and 25% of B1 inoculated potted plants 10 and 30 days following inoculation, respectively, while the controls remained healthy. Two fungi were reisolated from the lesions with identical morphology to the initial C1 and B1 inoculums. Therefore, P. mangiferae and P. vismiae were determined to be the causal agent for twig dieback of M. rubra in China. Pestalotiopsis spp. were previously reported as pathogens of loquat (4), mango (3), and blueberry (1) causing economic loss. To our knowledge, this is the first report of twig dieback disease of M. rubra caused by P. mangiferae and P. vismiae. References: (1) J. G. Espinoza et al. Plant Dis. 92:1407, 2008. (2) Q. X. Ge et al. Flora Fungorum Sinicorum. Vol. 38, Pestalotiopsis. Science Press, Beijing, 2009. (3). Y. Ko et al. Plant Dis. 91:1684, 2007. (4). A. E. Perelló and S. Larran. Plant Dis. 83:695, 1999.

[Progress in research of genomic epidemiology of pathogenic fungi].

Genomic epidemiology, based on whole-genome sequencing technology and bioinformatics analysis, can make up for the shortcomings of traditional molecular typing methods and provide a novel insight for the genetic evolution and transmission of pathogenic fungi. The combination of genetic information and epidemiological methods of pathogenic fungi can predict fungi transmission routes and risks, and provide a theoretical basis for the development of public health strategies for fungi infection prevention and control. This paper summarizes the development of molecular epidemiology and genomic epidemiology, as well as the application of genomic epidemiology methods in the analyses of genetic relationship, origin, evolution, drug resistance, virulence, and genome-wide association of pathogenic fungi, and discusses the development of pathogenic fungi genomic epidemiology.

Polymorphism of DLK1 and CLPG gene and their association with phenotypic traits in Chinese cattle.

DLK1 and CLPG were located in DLK1-GTL2 imprinted cluster. They all affected muscle growth and meat tenderness. The functional importance of DLK1 and CLPG imply that the variation of the genes could affect the growth traits of animal. PCR-SSCP and sequencing were used to analyze the four loci of DLK1 gene and CLPG gene in 1109 individuals, which belong to eight breeds/species of bovidae, including cattle, buffalo and yak. A synonymous mutation (C451T) was detected in exon 5 of DLK1 in Qinchuan cattle, but didn't change significantly with phenotypic traits. Three genotypes AA, AB and AC of CLPG were identified in Jiaxian cattle. The associations analyst of different genotypes showed that the individuals with genotypes AA and AC had a greater body weight and longer body length than those with genotype AB (P<0.05 and P<0.01, respectively); the AA individuals were different from those AB (P<0.05) in the circumference of cannon bone. No polymorphism was observed in the other populations at other loci. These results were in agreement with the homology analysis: DLK1 and CLPG genes were in a highly conserved.

[Simulation study on missing data imputation methods for longitudinal data in cohort studies].

Objective: Data being missed is an unavoidable problem in cohort studies. This paper compares the imputation effect of eight common missing data imputation methods involved in cutting longitudinal data through simulation study to provide a valuable reference for the treatment of missing data in longitudinal studies. Methods: The simulation study is based on R language software and generates missing longitudinal data by the Monte Carlo method. By comparing the average absolute deviation, average relative deviation, and TypeⅠerror from the regression analysis of different imputation methods, the imputation effect of varying imputation methods on missing longitudinal data and the influence on subsequent multivariate analysis are evaluated. Results: The mean imputation, k nearest neighbor (KNN), regression imputation, and random forest all have a similar imputation effect, which is also steady. However, the hot deck is inferior to the above imputation methods. K-means clustering and expectation maximization (EM) algorithm are among the worst and unstable. Mean imputation, EM algorithm, random forest, KNN, and regression imputation can control TypeⅠerror. Still, multiple imputations, hot deck, and K-means clustering cannot effectively manage the TypeⅠerror. Conclusions: For missing data in longitudinal studies, mean imputation, KNN, regression imputation, and random forest can be used as better imputation methods under the mechanism of missing at random. When the missing ratio is not too large, multiple imputations and hot deck can also perform well, but K-means clustering and EM algorithm are not recommended.

[Evaluation of demand of resources for laboratory testing and prevention and control of COVID-19 in the context of global pandemic].

Objective: To rapidly evaluate the level of healthcare resource demand for laboratory testing and prevention and control of corona virus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in different epidemic situation, and prepare for the capacity planning, stockpile distribution, and funding raising for infectious disease epidemic response. Methods: An susceptible, exposed, infectious, removed infectious disease dynamics model with confirmed asymptomatic infection cases and symptomatic hospitalized patients was introduced to simulate different COVID-19 epidemic situation and predict the numbers of hospitalized or isolated patients, and based on the current COVID-19 prevention and control measures in China, the demands of resources for laboratory testing and prevention and control of COVID-19 were evaluated. Results: When community or local transmission or outbreaks occur and total population nucleic acid testing is implemented, the need for human resources is 3.3-89.1 times higher than the reserved, and the current resources of medical personal protective equipment and instruments can meet the need. The surge in asymptomatic infections can also increase the human resource demand for laboratory testing and pose challenge to the prevention and control of the disease. When vaccine protection coverage reach ≥50%, appropriate adjustment of the prevention and control measures can reduce the need for laboratory and human resources. Conclusions: There is a great need in our country to reserve the human resources for laboratory testing and disease prevention and control for the response of the possible epidemic of COVID-19. Challenges to human resources resulted from total population nucleic acid testing and its necessity need to be considered. Conducting non-pharmaceutical interventions and encouraging more people to be vaccinated can mitigate the shock on healthcare resource demand in COVID-19 prevention and control.

Residual stresses of sputtering titanium thin films at various substrate temperatures.

This work seeks to characterize the residual stresses of titanium thin films as they are affected by various substrate temperatures during the sputtering process. The titanium thin films are deposited on silicon wafers by a RF magnetron sputter while different substrate temperatures are considered. The residual stresses are measured by both X-ray diffraction and a substrate curvature method, and consistent results are obtained by both methods. The results show that the residual stress decreases as the substrate temperature increases, in which the stress changes from tensile to compressive when the substrate temperature increases from 25 to 50 degrees C. Furthermore, the elastic modulus and hardness of the titanium thin films are tested with a nanoindenter using a standard Berkovich probe. Correlations between the residual stresses and mechanical properties measured by nanoindentation are also discussed.

Avian leukosis virus p27 inhibits tumor necrosis factor alpha expression in RAW264.7 macrophages after stimulation with lipopolysaccharide.

UNLABELLED: Avian leukosis is a widely distributed disease caused by Avian leukosis virus (ALV). ALV p27 is a capsid protein and group specific antigen, whose role in host immune response is poorly understood. To explore ALV p27, we developed a RAW264.7 macrophage cell line stably expressing p27-GFP fusion protein. The cells of this line and control cell line expressing GFP protein only were compared in production of tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-alpha), interleukins IL-1beta, IL-6, IL-12, and in proliferative activity stimulated by the lipopolysaccharide (LPS). It was found that the ALV p27 expression markedly reduced the production of TNF-alpha, but did not affect the production of IL-1beta, IL-6, and 12, and cell proliferative activity. These results demonstrate that ALV p27 specifically inhibits TNF-alpha expression in the macrophages stimulated by LPS, suggesting a possible contribution of ALV p27 to immunosuppression detected in ALV-infected hosts. KEYWORDS: Avian leukosis virus; p27; tumor necrosis factor alpha; interleukins; macrophages; lipopolysaccharide.