Exploring the causal link between circulating cytokines and sarcopenia traits: A Mendelian randomization analysis.

BACKGROUND: Previous observational studies have linked circulating cytokines to sarcopenia, but their causal relationship remains unclear. This study employed Mendelian Randomization (MR) to investigate the causal links between circulating cytokines and sarcopenia-related traits using genetic data. METHODS: A two-sample bidirectional MR analysis was conducted using data from individuals of European ancestry, utilizing genome-wide association studies (GWAS) statistics. The study selected instrumental single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) significantly associated with circulating cytokines and applied multiple MR methods, including inverse variance weighted (IVW), Weighted Median, MR-Egger, Weighted Mode, Simple Mode, and MR-PRESSO. The traits analyzed were appendicular lean mass (ALM) and grip strength. Heterogeneity, robustness, and consistency of results were assessed using Cochran's Q statistic, MR-Egger regression, and "leave-one-out" sensitivity analyses. RESULTS: The IVM-MR analysis showed a casual association between genetically predicted circulating levels of interleukin-16 and both ALM and grip strength (ALM: OR = 0.990, 95% CI: 0.980-1.000, p = .049; grip strength: OR = 0.971, 95% CI: 0.948-0.995, p = .020). Additionally, interferon-gamma-induced protein 10 (IP-10), interleukin-1-beta (IL-1ß), and hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) were correlated with ALM and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), interleukin-12 (IL-12), and interleukin-5 (IL-5) with grip strength. Comparable results were confirmed via the MR-Egger, Weighted Median, Weighted Mode, and Simple Mode methods. Sensitivity analysis showed no horizontal pleiotropy to bias the causal estimates. CONCLUSION: The results suggest a significant causal effect of inflammatory cytokines on sarcopenia, offering new avenues for therapeutic target development. However, the study's focus on a European ancestry cohort limits its generalizability to other populations. Future research should aim to include diverse ethnic groups to validate and broaden these findings, thereby enhancing our understanding of sarcopenia's mechanisms in a global context.

Clinical characterization and immunosuppressive regulation of CD161 (KLRB1) in glioma through 916 samples.

BACKGROUND: Glioblastoma is a paradigm of cancer-associated immunosuppression, limiting the effects of immunotherapeutic strategies. Thus, identifying the molecular mechanisms underlying immune surveillance evasion is critical. Recently, the preferential expression of inhibitory natural killer (NK) cell receptor CD161 on glioma-infiltrating cytotoxic T cells was identified. Focusing on the molecularly annotated, large-scale clinical samples from different ethnic origins, the data presented here provide evidence of this immune modulator's essential roles in brain tumor biology. METHODS: Retrospective RNA-seq data analysis was conducted in a cohort of 313 patients with glioma in the Chinese Glioma Genome Atlas (CGGA) database and 603 patients in The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) database. In addition, single-cell sequencing data from seven surgical specimens of glioblastoma patients and a model in which patient-derived glioma stem cells were cocultured with peripheral lymphocytes, were used to analyze the molecular evolution process during gliomagenesis. RESULTS: CD161 was enriched in high-grade gliomas and isocitrate dehydrogenase (IDH)-wildtype glioma. CD161 acted as a potential biomarker for the mesenchymal subtype of glioma and an independent prognostic factor for the overall survival (OS) of patients with glioma. In addition, CD161 played an essential role in inhibiting the cytotoxicity of T cells in glioma patients. During the process of gliomagenesis, the expression of CD161 on different lymphocytes dynamically evolved. CONCLUSION: The expression of CD161 was closely related to the pathology and molecular pathology of glioma. Meanwhile, CD161 promoted the progression and evolution of gliomas through its unique effect on T cell dysfunction. Thus, CD161 is a promising novel target for immunotherapeutic strategies in glioma treatment.

Study on the inversion of doped concentration induced by millisecond pulsed laser irradiation silicon-based avalanche photodiode.

In this paper, an experimental study of silicon-based avalanche photodiode (Si-APD) with millisecond pulse laser irradiation was carried out, and the C-V curve of Si-APD was obtained by using a semiconductor analyzer. Based on the single-side abrupt junction character of n+p, combined with the corresponding theoretical derivation, the doping concentration varying with the axial depth of damaged Si-APD was obtained by inverse computation. The lattice dislocation and junction reduction were the fundamental causes of the reduced doping concentration. The research results provide a new method for the study of the internal doping concentration for detectors with millisecond pulse laser damage.

High Beclin-1 Expression in Human Alveolar Macrophage Significantly Correlate with the Bacteriologic Sterilization in Pulmonary Tuberculosis Patients.

BACKGROUND: Tuberculosis (TB) continues to be a major health problem, and there are few biomarkers for predicting TB progression and anti-TB outcome. Recently, studies suggested that autophagy may link the multistep process of intracellular MTB clearance. So we hypothesized that autophagy level might indicate anti-TB prognostic significance. METHODS: Sixty-five pulmonary tuberculosis (PTB) patients and 15 healthy controls were included in the study. Laboratory examinations were determined in all subjects. Beclin-1 level, which was highly related with autophagy process, was determined using RT-PCR and western blotting assay in human alveolar macrophages. We divided the patients into Beclin-1 high group and Beclin-1 low group and treated them with the same anti-TB regimens. The predictive ability of Beclin-1 on the treatment outcome was further studied. RESULTS: In this study, we found Beclin-1 was markedly increased in alveolar macrophages in PTB patients. Sterilization of the sputum culture was achieved faster in the Beclin-1 high group, as demonstrated either by the percentage of negative smear findings or by the colony-forming unit (CFU) assay. Furthermore, Beclin-1 high group demonstrated faster relief of respiratory symptoms. CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggested the expression of Beclin-1 could be a novel biomarker for predicting anti-TB outcomes.

Clinical pathologies of breast cancer in the elderly and youths and their prognosis.

OBJECTIVE: To explore the correlation between the clinical pathologies of breast cancer in the elderly and youths as well as their prognosis. METHODS: Two hundred and eighty breast cancer patients were divided into a youth group (<60, n=120) and an elderly group (≥60, n=160) according to the age. Their routine clinical pathological indices and immune indices were observed and determined, and the prognosis was observed after effective treatment. RESULTS: The positive expression rates of p63, CK5/6, CK14 and CK17 in the elderly group were significantly higher than those of the youth group (P<0.05). The tumor-free survival rate of the youth group (95.8%) was significantly higher than that of the elderly group (84.4%) (P<0.05). Multivariate Logistic regression analysis showed that the positive expressions of p63 and estrogen receptor, age, and postoperative chemotherapy were the independent risk factors of tumor-free survival rate (P<0.05). CONCLUSION: The immunohistochemical typing characteristics of the elderly and youths were different, and the prognosis of young patients was better, being correlated with the typing.

[Expression of thyroid stimulating hormone receptor in differentiated thyroid carcinoma and its clinical significance].

OBJECTIVE: To explore the expression of thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) receptor in differentiated thyroid carcinoma and its clinical significance. METHODS: Seventy-four patients with differentiated thyroid carcinoma treated in our department from January 2009 to January 2011 were selected as the observation group, and 28 patients with nodular goiter were selected as the control group. Expression of TSH receptor in the two groups were detected by immunohistochemistry. RESULTS: The positive rate of TSH receptor expression in the observation group was 55.4 (41/74), significantly lower than that of the control group (89.3%, 25/28), with a significant difference between the two groups (χ(2) = 10.21, P < 0.05). In the observation group, the positive rate of TSH receptor expression was 75.9% (22/29) in the stage I patients, 47.8% (11/23) in the stage II patients, 38.9%6 (7/18) in the stage III patients, and 25.0% (1/4) in the stage IV patients. Along with the increase of TNM staging, the positive rate of TSH receptor expression was decreased gradually, with a significant difference between them (χ(2) = 8.93, P < 0.05). The positive rate of TSH receptor expression was 53.8% (14/26) in the lymph node metastasis positive group and 56.3% (27/48) in the lymph node metastasis negative groups, with a non-significant difference between them (χ(2) = 0.04, P > 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Expression of TSH receptors in the patients with differentiated thyroid carcinoma is quite low, and along with the increase of TNM staging, its positive rate is decreasing gradually. Testing the expression of TSH receptor may provide a basis for TSH suppression therapy after thyroid cancer surgery. This TSH suppression therapy should be personalized in order to reduce the side effects and improve their quality of life.

[Identification and characterization of Aspergillus aculeatus JMUdb058 for naringinase production].

OBJECTIVE: A new naringinase-producing strain, JMUdb058 was identified and characterized. METHODS: The strain was identified by morphological observation and 28S rDNA homogeneous analysis. Naringinase was identified by monitoring the hydrolysis of naringin to prunin and naringenin using a reversed phase High Performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC). The regulation of naringinase expression was studied by measuring naringinase activity of 11 different carbon sources and 7 nitrogen sources in shaking cultivation. The naringinase-producing capacity was investigated in both solid-state fermentation and submerged fermentation. RESULTS: The macro-morphology and micro-morphology of JMUdb058 corresponded to the characteristics of Aspergillus section Nigri Gams, and the 28S rDNA sequences showed homogeneity at 100% to Aspergillus aculeatus. Crude enzymes prepared by both submerged fermentation and solid-state fermentation could hydrolyze naringin to prunin and naringenin. In addition, the enzyme could remove naringin from citrus juice effectively. Carbon resources, including hesperidin, naringin, rutin and rhamnose, and organic nitrogen resources, i. e., tryptone, soybean meal, yeast extract and corn syrup were shown to express the naringinase. The strain had an outstanding ability to yield naringinase in the solid-state fermentation, which showed an alpha-L-rhamnosidase activity of 5903 U/gds by HPLC, and the naringinase of 1939U/gds by HPLC and 72232 U/gds by Davis method. CONCLUSION: It is the first time to report a stain of Aspergillus aculeatus can produce naringinase, carbon source containing rhamnose groups are able to induce the enzyme expression. The stain JMUdb058 is a new microorganism source for high yield of naringinase, in particularly by the solid-state fermentation.

WITHDRAWN: Hidrosmin Attenuates Inflammatory Response Induced by IL1ß by Suppressing the Activation of NF-κB Involving Nrf2/HO1 Pathway in Human Osteoarthritis Chondrocytes

Since the authors are not responding to the editor's requests to fulfill the editorial requirement, therefore, the article has been withdrawn from the journal "Current Cancer Drug Targets"Bentham Science apologizes to the readers of the journal for any inconvenience this may have caused.The Bentham Editorial Policy on Article Withdrawal can be found at https://benthamscience.com/editorial-policies-main.php. BENTHAM SCIENCE DISCLAIMER: It is a condition of publication that manuscripts submitted to this journal have not been published and will not be simultaneously submitted or published elsewhere. Furthermore, any data, illustration, structure or table that has been published elsewhere must be reported, and copyright permission for reproduction must be obtained. Plagiarism is strictly forbidden, and by submitting the article for publication the authors agree that the publishers have the legal right to take appropriate action against the authors, if plagiarism or fabricated information is discovered. By submitting a manuscript the authors agree that the copyright of their article is transferred to the publishers if and when the article is accepted for publication.

Rat and mouse bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells can spontaneously express troponin T.

PURPOSE: This study aims to investigate whether the bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells (BMSCs) of rat and mice can spontaneously express troponin T (cTnT) in vitro. METHODS: The BMSCs of rats and mice were cultured in vitro. The expression of cTnT in the BMSCs of rats and mice was detected by immunofluorescence, immunohistochemistry, and Western blot. The detection of cTnT and α-sarcomeric actin coexpression on the surface of BMSCs was determined using immunofluorescence and qRT-PCR. RESULTS: In rats and mice, cTnT expression was detected in a portion of BMSCs. The positive rates of cTnT in rats and mice were approximately 10-52 % and 27-60 %, respectively. According to the results of the Western blot analysis, the gray values of cTnT in rats and mice were 0.64 ± 0.02 and 1.08 ± 0.03, respectively. Additionally, the surface of BMSCs can express cTnT and α-sarcomeric actin, which is a marker for striated muscle. CONCLUSION: The BMSCs of rats and mice can spontaneously express cTnT and automatically differentiate striated muscles in vitro.

Therapy of replenishing and regulating for manic episode in bipolar disorder: study protocol for a prospective, double-blind, randomized controlled trial.

Bipolar disorder (BD) is a chronic and recurrent disorder characterized by biphasic mood episodes of mania or hypomania and depression. It affects more than 1% of the global population and is a leading cause of disability in young people. Currently available treatments for BD are still fairly limited in terms of efficacy, with high rates of non-adherence, non-response, and undesirable side effects. Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) has a long history and rich experience in stabilizing mania and improving quality of life. Aiming at rebalancing and in BD, therapy of replenishing and regulating (RYRY therapy) has been in clinical use for years in China. The present prospective, double-blind, randomized controlled trial is designed to investigate the efficacy and safety of RYRY therapy for bipolar mania and its possible mechanism from the point of regulating gut microbiota and anti-inflammation. A total of 60 eligible participants will be recruited from Beijing Anding Hospital. They will be randomized to either the study group or the control group in a ratio of 1∶1. Participants allocated to the study group will receive RYRY granule, while placebo granule will be applied in the control group. Participants in both groups will be prescribed conventional therapy for manic episode in BD. Four scheduled visits will be conducted over 4 weeks. Outcome measurements include Young Mania Rating Scale, TCM Symptom Pattern Rating Scale, Treatment Emergent Symptom Scale, levels of C-reactive protein, interleukin-6 and tumor necrosis factor-α and the gut microbial community profile of stool samples. Safety outcomes and adverse events will also be recorded. In this study, we set a number of scientific and objective assessments to evaluate the efficacy of RYRY therapy and study into its possible mechanism, hopefully offering clinicians an alternative approach to BD.

The clinicopathological characteristics and outcomes of IgA nephropathy with predominant lambda or kappa light-chain deposition.

PURPOSE: IgA nephropathy (IgAN) patients with monoclonal light-chain deposition may be at potential risk of hematological progression. However, whether the clinical characteristics of the patients with predominant lambda or kappa light-chain deposition were consistent with monoclonal light-chain deposition is limited to anecdotes. METHODS: We retrospectively studied patients in whom immunofluorescence showed IgA-alone deposits (n = 617) between January 2016 and January 2020. We divided the patients into two groups, the predominant lambda or kappa light-chain deposition group and the control group. Predominant lambda or kappa light-chain deposition was defined as the deposition intensity of kappa or lambda being + - and the other deposition intensity being ≥ 2 + . RESULTS: Nineteen patients had predominant lambda or kappa light-chain deposition. The patients had a median age of 32 years. The median proteinuria was 0.9 g/day. The median eGFR was 79.8 ml/min per 1.73 m2. Two patients had a mildly abnormal FLC ratio, but serum immunofixation electrophoresis showed polyclonal immunoglobulin. Eighteen patients showed lambda light chain-dominated deposition. In electron microscopy, organized structures in dense deposits were not observed in all patients. Nine patients with proteinuria ≥ 1.0 g/day received corticosteroids and immunosuppressants. The median follow-up time was 21 months. The rate of proteinuria remission was 50%. The clinical and pathological characteristics and outcomes were not significantly different between the predominant lambda or kappa light-chain deposition group and the control group. CONCLUSION: The result for IgAN patients with predominant kappa/lambda light-chain deposition seemed to be the same as that of IgAN patients with light-chain codeposition. However, as this was a single-center study with a small size, further multicenter studies and long-term follow-up are needed to confirm our findings.

Canonical WNT pathway inhibition reduces ATP synthesis rates in glioblastoma stem cells.

BACKGROUND: The conserved stem cell signaling network canonical Wingless (WNT) plays important roles in development and disease. Aberrant activation of this pathway has been linked to tumor progression and resistance to therapy. Industry and academia have substantially invested in developing substances, which can efficiently and specifically block the WNT signaling pathway. However, a clear clinical proof of the efficacy of this approach is still missing. Studies on the metabolomics dysregulation of cancer cells have led to innovations in oncological diagnostics. In addition, modulation of cancer cell metabolome is at the base of promising clinical oncology trials currently underway. While onco-protein activation can have profound metabolic outcomes, the involvement of stem cell signals, such as the WNT pathway, in tumor cell metabolomics is yet insufficiently characterized. MATERIAL AND METHODS: We determined live cell metabolism and bioenergetics in pathophysiological relevant, WNT-dependent glioblastoma stem cell (GSC) models. We quantified those parameters in cells with canonical WNT activity and in isogenic cells where WNT activity had been inhibited by short hairpin RNA against ß-catenin. Furthermore, we applied computational analysis of RNA sequencing to verify our functional findings in independent GSCs cohorts. RESULTS: The investigated collection of disease models allows the separation in tumors with low, moderate and high base line metabolic activity. Suppression of canonical WNT signaling led to significant reduction of total, mitochondrial, and glycolytic ATP production rates. Elevated canonical WNT transcription signature in GSCs positively correlated with transcription levels of mitochondrial ATP synthesis, whereas non-canonical WNT gene expression signature did not. CONCLUSION: The applied disease modeling technology allows the recapitulation of inter-tumoral heterogeneous metabolic properties of glioblastoma. Our data show for the first time that inhibition of canonical WNT signaling in alive GSCs functionally correlates with energy inhibition and glucose homeostasis. As this correlation occurs in GSCs from different transcriptional or epigenetic transcriptional subtypes, our results suggest that developing therapies directed against glycolysis/ATP-synthesis may be a promising strategy to overcome therapy resistance due to inter-tumoral heterogeneity and offers starting point to impair downstream signal WNT.

Mitochondrial DNA evidence of southward migration of Manchus in China.

The Northeast area of China is a cross region between East Asia and Siberia. Although five populations from this area have been studied in maternal lineage, little is known about the genetics of other populations. In this study, forty-seven Manchu individuals were analyzed using a mitochondrial DNA marker, and fourteen mitochondrial DNA haplogroups, the representative haplogroups of east Eurasian, were identified. All analyses showed that Manchu were close to the neighboring populations such as Mongolian, Korean and northern Han Chinese, and were far from the other populations who lived in the cradle of Manchu, suggesting that the Manchu integrated gradually with natives following its southward migration.

[Research progress on B cell surface molecules targeted therapy in rheumatoid arthritis].

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic and systemic autoimmune disease, it's pathogenic mechanism is unknown and there is a lack of safe and effective therapeutic drug on RA. Because of important function of B cells in RA pathogenic mechanism, many therapeutic drugs targeted on different positions of B cells are emerging in RA therapy. These B cell-targeted therapeutic biologic agents include anti-CD20 monoclonal antibody (such as rituximab, ocrelizumab and ofatumumab), biologic agents which targeted B lymphocyte stimulator (BLyS) and their receptors (such as belimumab and atacicept), anti-CD22 monoclonal antibody and CD40/CD40L co-stimulation reaction blocker. Efficacy of above-mentioned targeting agents has confirmed in studies of RA and it's animal models, suggesting that it is a promising therapeutic strategy that B cells are regarded as targeting position in RA therapy.

Successful stereoelectroencephalography-guided radiofrequency thermocoagulation in the treatment of a patient with mesial frontal region-originated mirthful gelastic seizure.

Gelastic seizures (GS), characterized by automatic bouts of unnatural stereotyped laughter and commonly recognized as the hallmark of hypothalamic hamartoma, is rarely associated with cortical epileptogenic focus. Whether there is a dissociation of the motor program of laughter and the experience of mirth and the symptomatogenic zone for ictal laughter with or without mirth are still unclear. We report a patient with drug-resistant mirthful GS who receive a comprehensive investigation of stereoelectroencephalography recording and electrocortical stimulation. Mirthful GS were confirmed to originate from the mesial region of the right superior frontal gyrus, not involving the mesial temporal lobe structures. The patient has been entirely seizure-free after stereoelectroencephalography-guided radiofrequency thermocoagulation. We conclude that the superior frontal gyrus serves as the symptomatogenic zone of ictal laughter and GS with or without mirth share a common neural network.

Adventitial fibroblasts in vascular structure and function: the role of oxidative stress and beyond.

The vascular adventitia, defined as the area between the external elastic lamina and the outermost edge of the blood vessel, is composed primarily of fibroblasts and for years was thought to be merely a passive structural support for the blood vessel. Consequently, studies pertaining to the role of the adventitia in regulating vascular function have been far outnumbered by those regarding the vascular endothelium. However, recent work has begun to reveal the dynamic properties of the adventitia. It was therefore the aim of this review to provide an overview of the existing knowledge demonstrating the role of the adventitia in regulating vessel structure and function. The main topics covered in this review include the cellular composition of the adventitia and the role of the adventitia in vascular oxidative stress, vasomotor responses, extracellular matrix protein expression, growth factor expression, and endothelin-1 (ET-1) expression. Recent evidence suggests that the adventitia is a major producer of vascular reactive oxygen species. It displays a distinct response to injury, hypoxia, and pulmonary hypertension, mediating vascular remodelling, repair, and extracellular matrix deposition. It may also play a role in regulating vascular tone. More recently, it has been reported that adventitial fibroblasts can produce ET-1 after Ang II treatment. Additionally, emerging evidence suggests that the adventitia may be a potent source of vasoactive hormones such as growth factors and ET-1, which may regulate vascular structure and function via autocrine or paracrine signalling mechanisms. Despite these findings, many important questions regarding the role of the vascular adventitia remain unanswered, suggesting the need for further research to determine its exact function in health and disease.

[Application of near infrared spectroscopy in screening Cordyceps militaris mutation strains and optimizing their fermentation process].

To fast screen high-yield Cordyceps militaris mutations strains and optimize their fermentation process, near infrared (NIR) spectroscopy technology combined with chemometrics has been applied to establishing models for simultaneous determination of adenosine, protein, polysaccharide and Cordyceps militaris acid contents in Cordyceps militaris powder samples. Fermentations were implemented in Erlenmeyer flask with 468 Cordyceps militaris mutations strains under various fermentation conditions and Cordyceps militaris powder samples were collected. Then their NIR spectra were obtained using UV-VIS-NIR spectrometer and their adenosine, protein, polysaccharide and Cordyceps militaris acid contents were determined using reference methods. Partial least squares (PLS) method was employed to model the relationships between NIR spectra and the above mentioned components' contents in Cordyceps militaris powder samples. Monte Carlo partial least square (MCPLS) was applied to identify the outliers and select suitable number of calibration samples. Moving window partial least square (MWPLS) was applied to select the characteristic wavelength of the components. The degree of the approaching (Da) was employed as criterion for selecting effective pretreatment methods investigated. The optimum models for determination of adenosine, protein, polysaccharide and Cordyceps militaris acid contents in Cordyceps militaris powder samples were obtained with the above mentioned optimization. Their correlation between actual and predictive values of calibration samples (Re) was 0.92943, 0.98479, 0.90785, and 0.85131, respectively. Their root mean square error of prediction set (RMSEP) was 0.66714, 0.02065, 0.01131, and 0.01159, respectively. The obtained results demonstrated that the fitting and the predictive accuracy were satisfactory. It is feasible to apply this method to screen the high yield Cordyceps militaris mutation strains and optimize their fermentation process.

Bilateral Primary Renal Lymphoma Presented As Homogenous Renal Enlargement And Acute Interstitial Nephritis.

Primary renal lymphoma(PRL) is an extremely rare form of extranodal lymphoma andexhibitsas single (10-20%), multifocal nodules (60%), renal invasion from contiguous retroperitoneal disease (25-30%), diffuse infiltration (20%) or perirenal involvement (10%)[1] .Here we report a case of bilateral primary renal lymphoma in a 13 year-old boy who presented with homogenous nephromegaly and acute interstitial nephritis(AIN).The renal biopsy revealed primary renal T lymphoblastic lymphoma. Hyper-CVAD regimen was initiated and the renal function had been recovered after the first round of chemotherapy. To our knowledge, there have only been three reports of primary renal T lymphoblastic lymphoma including ours so far. All the three patients were young and showed as AIN and bilateral renal enlargement. We also reviewed 16 cases of PRL presenting with AIN and enlarged kidneys that have been reported since 1997. Although PRL is quite rare, it must be taken into account when making a differential diagnosis of AIN. Renal biopsy is the gold standard and intensive chemotherapy can preserve the renal function.

Triglyceride Can Predict the Discordance between QCT and DXA Screening for BMD in Old Female Patients.

PURPOSE: This study is aimed at exploring which indicator can predict the discordance between DXA and QCT. METHODS: 192 female patients who took BMD screening tests by QCT and DXA were recruited, and the biomarkers were analyzed to study the relationship between the biomarkers and the discordance of two BMD screening methods. RESULTS: There are 42, 78, and 72 female patients in the normal, osteopenia, and osteoporosis groups defined by DXA and 6, 54, and 132 female patients in the corresponding group defined by QCT. DXA was less sensitive than QCT. Cholesterol (CHO) and triglyceride (TG) were all negatively correlated with the discordance between these two methods. When TG > 0.89 mmol/L, the QCT result would be the same as the DXA's; otherwise, there should be discordance between QCT and DXA. CONCLUSIONS: Triglyceride can be used to predict the discordance between QCT and DXA, and clinicians can evaluate patients' DXA results based on patient triglyceride or cholesterol results as a supplement to QCT results.

[Development of X-ray excited fluorescence spectrometer].

An X-ray excited fluorescence spectrometer was developed with an X-ray tube and a spectrometer. The X-ray tube, spectrometer, autocontrol method and data processing selected were roundly evaluated. The wavelength and detecting efficiency of the apparatus were calibrated with the mercury and tungsten bromine standard lamps, and the X-ray excited emission spectra of BaF2, Cs I (Tl) crystals were measured. The results indicate that the apparatus has advantages of good wavelength resolution, high stability, easy to operation and good radioprotection. It is a wery effective tool for exploration of new scintillation materials.