Correlation between Abdominal Wall Subcutaneous Fat Thickness and Heart Weight in Southern Chinese Population.

ABSTRACT: Objective To study the correlation between the abdominal wall subcutaneous fat thickness and heart weight, so as to provide reference for prediction methods of normal range of heart weight that is suitable for autopsy in China. Methods The forensic pathology autopsy cases accepted by Center for Medicolegal Expertise of Sun Yat-sen University from 1998 to 2017 were collected. Then the exclusion criteria were determined, and according to them the total case group was selected, and the 6 disease groups and the normal group were further selected from the total case group. The rank sum test was used to compare the heart weight of the normal group and the disease groups to determine the influence of diseases on heart weight. Then the Spearman rank correlation analysis of abdominal wall subcutaneous fat thickness and heart weight in different genders and different ages in the total case group and the normal group was conducted to get the correlation coefficient （rs）. Results In the total case group, correlation between abdominal wall subcutaneous fat thickness and heart weight was shown in males of all ages （P<0.05）; while in females, the correlation had no statistical significance （P>0.05） in 15-<20 age and 50-<60 age, but was statistically significant （P<0.05） in other age groups. For the males in the normal group, rs was respectively 0.411, 0.541 and 0.683 in the 15-<40 age, the 40-<60 age, and the ≥60 age. For the females, rs was respectively 0.249 and 0.317 in the 15-<40 age and the 40-<60 age. The correlation in the ≥60 age had no statistical significance（P>0.05）. Conclusion In the general population and the normal population, abdominal wall subcutaneous fat thickness is correlated with the heart weight of males. It is of significance to include the abdominal wall subcutaneous fat thickness in the prediction of normal range of heart weight for males in China.

Review and Prospects of Pathogen Detection Related to Autopsy of Coronavirus Infectious Diseases.

ABSTRACT: In the past, coronavirus caused two serious human-to-human pandemics in the world, including severe acute respiratory syndrome （SARS） and Middle East respiratory syndrome （MERS）. In late 2019, coronavirus disease 2019 （COVID-19） caused another major global public health event. Due to the strong infectivity of novel coronavirus, it is difficult to carry out the autopsy of related death cases widely. This paper reviews the previous status of the pathogen detection related to the autopsy of coronavirus infection diseases, and introduces the ongoing detection methods of novel coronavirus in clinical practice, in order to provide reference for the pathogen detection and study related to autopsy of COVID-19.

Guide to the Forensic Pathology Practice on Death Cases Related to Corona Virus Disease 2019 （COVID-19） （Trial Draft）.

Abstract: Autopsy is of great significance to the elucidation of the pathological changes, pathogeneses and causes of death of corona virus disease 2019 （COVID-19） and can provide theoretical basis for more scientific and accurate prevention and control of the outbreak. Based on related laws and regulations, such as the Law of the People's Republic of China on Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases, the clinical manifestations and epidemiological characteristics of COVID-19, and the related guidelines on the prevention and control of the outbreak, combined with the practical work of forensic pathology examination, the Guide to the Forensic Pathology Practice on Death Cases Related to Corona Virus Disease 2019 （COVID-19） （Trial Draft） has been developed. This guide includes information on the background investigation of the cases, autopsy room requirements, personal prevention and protections, external examinations, autopsy, auxiliary examinations, and so on. This guide can be used as a reference by forensic and pathological examination institutions, as well as examination staff.

Biological application of multi-component nanowires in hybrid devices powered by F1-ATPase motors.

In this paper, construction of hybrid device by integrating nanowires with F(1)-ATPase motors is described. The nickel nanowires and multi-segment nanowires, including gold and nickel, were fabricated by electrochemical deposition in nanoporous templates. The nickel nanowires functionalized by biotinylated peptide can be assembled directly onto F(1)-ATPase motors to act as the propellers. If the multi-component nanowires, including gold and nickel, were selectively functionalized by the thiol group modified ssDNA and the synthetic peptide, respectively, the biotinylated F(1)-ATPase motors can be attached to the biotinylated peptide on nickel segment of the nanowires. Then, the multi-component nanowires can also be used as the propellers, and one may observe the rotations of the multi-component nanowires driven by F(1)-ATPase motors. Therefore, introduction of multiple segments along the length of a nanowire can lead to a variety of multiple chemical functionalities, which can be selectively bound to cells and special biomolecules. This method provides an insight for the construction of other hybrid devices with its controlling arrangement of different biomolecule on designed nanometer scale structures.

A nonparametric estimator of species overlap.

For two communities, species overlap has been defined by Smith, Solow, and Preston (1996, Biometrics 52, 1472-1477) as the probability that a randomly selected species is present in both communities given that it is present in at least one community. Species overlap can thus be used to describe the similarity of two communities. In contrast with the parametric estimator of Smith et al., we propose a nonparametric maximum likelihood estimator (NPMLE). We prove that the NPMLE is consistent and asymptotically normally distributed and show that computation of the NPMLE and its standard error is straightforward. We also compare the NPMLE and the estimator of Smith et al. for a variety of situations.

Fluorescence characterization of type I collagen from normal and silicotic rats and its quenching dynamics induced by hypocrellin B.

In this paper, we studied the quenching mechanism of intrinsic fluorescence of type I collagen by a new type photosensitizer and fluorescence quencher, hypocrellin B (HB). It was indicated that type I collagen can emit Tyr-intrinsic fluorescence with the excitation wavelength of Tyr (lambda(ex) = 269 nm). Its fluorescence decay conform to the triexponential rule of the fluorescence lifetime. The intrinsic fluorescence of type I collagen can be effectively quenched by HB through a process of charge and energy transference, which is involved in the collisional quenching, the dipolar inducement, and the formation of exciplex between HB and excited fluorophores of collagen. The fluorescence quenching would be weakened by higher ionic environments. The fluorescence emission and its quenching rate of abnormal silicotic collagen show falling trends, implying its much weakened potential of charge and energy transference, and its lessen bioelectric activities. In conclusion, the bioelectric properties of collagen depends on the perfect order of its molecular structure and orderly intramolecular and intermolecular interactions, which is important in its performing normal physiological functions. It is also demonstrated that the fluorescence quenching technique, using HB as a quencher, is truly an effectively method for biomolecular studies.

[Hypocrellin B-ethanolamine (HB-E) sensitized photodamage on rat mitochondria].

The Hypocrellin B-Ethanolamine (HB-E) sensitized photodamage on lipid peroxidation, sulfhydryl oxidation and ATPase inactivation of rat liver mitochondria was studied under illumination of 640 nm, The HB-E sensitized photodamage of lipid peroxidation is less than sulfhydryl photooxidation, when HB-E concentration is 50 mumol/L. To elucidate the mechanism of photodamage of HB-E, antioxidant: BHT, Vit E, oxygen radical quencher: L-His, beta-Cart, were investigated. The results showed that HB photodamage of mitochondria is not only by oxygen radical, but also by HB-E radical as well. From compared tests among HB, HA, Hp, MB and HB-E, we found that HB-E had higher ability to photodamage lipid peroxidation, sulfhydryl oxidation and tryptophan than other photosensitizers. The experiments showed that the superoxide generated may be by HB-E radical.

[Hypocrellin B photosensitization effected a change of cytoplasmic free calcium concentration in ascitic hepatoma cells].

The Hypocrellin B (HB) is a new photosensitizer. HB-induced photodynamic changes of cytoplasmic free Ca2+ in ascitic hepatoma (HA) cells were observed using fluorescent calcium indicator Quin 2/AM. It was found that the increase in HB concentrations and exposure time followed by the increase in cytoplasmic free Ca2+. The singlet oxygen and hydroxyl radical generated by HB photosensitization were examined. The lipid peroxidation can be protected by Vit E; the relationship between the plasmic membrane depolarization and cytoplasmic free Ca2+ concentration by HB photodynamic action was investigated.

[Hypocrellin B-sensitized photodamage on Na(+)-K+ ATPase and sodium permeability of human erythrocytes].

The hypocrellin B (HB)-sensitized photodamage on Na(+)-K+ ATPase and sodium permeability of human erythrocytes by means of NMR and biochemical techniques was studied in this paper. The decrease of the enzyme activity and increase of intracellular sodium concentration were usually observed simultaneously. The evidences suggested that the integrality of membrane phospholipid played an important role in maintaining the physiological sodium content of erythrocytes. The loss of the enzyme activity was a sensitive index compared with the increase of intracellular Na+ concentration during the photosensitization. From the comparison tests among HB, HA, protoporphyrin and bilirubin, we found that HB had more ability to increasing intracellular Na+ concentration than the other photosensitization even though the photodamage on the enzyme activity caused by HB, HA, and protoporphyrin were nearly the same. Besides the photoinactivation of Na(+)-K+ ATPase induced by HB and light, the enzyme was also inactivated in the medium containing HB in absence of light. The active oxygen radicals generated though HB mediated redox-cycling might be involved in the dark inactivation of the enzyme.