[Research progress of PD-L1 in inflammatory lung diseases].

Programmed death-ligand 1 (PD-L1) is important in maintaining central and peripheral immune tolerance in normal tissues, mediating tumor immune escape and keeping the balance between anti- and pro-inflammatory responses. Inflammation plays an important role in inflammatory lung diseases. This article reviews the research progress and potential clinical value of PD-L1 in inflammatory lung diseases, including acute lung injury, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, asthma and idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis.

Cognitive test battery for evaluating elderly Chinese Americans.

ABSTRACTObjectives:This study aimed to determine the diagnostic utility of a Chinese test battery for evaluating cognitive loss in elderly Chinese Americans. METHODS: Data from a pilot study at the Mount Sinai Alzheimer's Disease Research Center was examined. All participants were > 65 years old, primarily Chinese speaking, with adequate sensorimotor capacity to complete cognitive tests. A research diagnosis of normal mild cognitive impairment (MCI) or Alzheimer's disease (AD) was assigned to each participant in consensus conference. Composite scores were created to summarize test performance on overall cognition, memory, attention executive function, and language. Multivariable logistic regression models were used to assess the sensitivity of each cognitive domain for discriminating three diagnostic categories. Adjustment was made for demographic variables (i. e., age, gender, education, primary language, and years living in the USA). RESULTS: The sample included 67 normal, 37 MCI, and 12 AD participants. Performance in overall cognition, memory, and attention executive function was significantly worse in AD than in MCI, and performance in MCI was worse than in normal controls. Language performance followed a similar pattern, but differences did not achieve statistical significance among the three diagnostic groups. CONCLUSIONS: This study highlights the need for cognitive assessment in elderly Chinese immigrants.

Recruiting US Chinese Elders Into Clinical Research for Dementia.

PURPOSE: This study described and evaluated the rapid recruitment of elderly Chinese into clinical research at the Mount Sinai Alzheimer's Disease Research Center (MSADRC). DESIGN AND METHODS: Methods of publicizing the study included lectures to local senior centers/churches and publications in local Chinese newspapers. The amount of time and success of these methods were evaluated. A "go to them" model of evaluation was used to enable participants to complete the study visit at locations where they were comfortable. RESULTS: From January to December 2015, we recruited 98 participants aged 65 years or older who primarily speak Mandarin/Cantonese and reside in New York. The mean age and years of education was 73.93±6.34 and 12.79±4.58, respectively. The majority of participants were female (65.3%) and primarily Mandarin speaking (53.1%). Of all enrollees, 54.1% were recruited from community lectures, 29.6% through newspapers, 10.2% through word of mouth, and 6.1% from our clinical services. About 40.8% of participants underwent evaluations at the MSADRC, 44.9% at local senior centers/churches, and 14.3% at home. IMPLICATIONS: Given that the majority of our participants had low English proficiency, the use of bilingual recruiters probably allowed us to overcome the language barrier, facilitating recruitment. Our "go to them" model of evaluation is another important factor contributing to our successful recruitment.

A Nomogram for Predicting Cancer-Specific Survival in Young Patients With Advanced Lung Cancer Based on Competing Risk Model.

BACKGROUND: Young lung cancer is a rare subgroup accounting for 5% of lung cancer. The aim of this study was to compare the causes of death (COD) among lung cancer patients of different age groups and construct a nomogram to predict cancer-specific survival (CSS) in young patients with advanced stage. METHODS: Lung cancer patients diagnosed between 2004 and 2015 were extracted from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database and stratified into the young (18-45 years) and old (> 45 years) groups to compare their COD. Young patients diagnosed with advanced stage (IVa and IVb) from 2010 to 2015 were reselected and divided into training and validation cohorts (7:3). Independent prognostic factors were identified through the Fine-Gray's test and further integrated to the competing risk model. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC), consistency index (C-index), and calibration curve were applied for validation. RESULTS: The proportion of cancer-specific death (CSD) in young patients was higher than that in old patients with early-stage lung cancer (p < 0.001), while there was no difference in the advanced stage (p = 0.999). Through univariate and multivariate analysis, 10 variables were identified as independent prognostic factors for CSS. The AUC of the 1-, 3-, and 5-year prediction of CSS was 0.688, 0.706, and 0.791 in the training cohort and 0.747, 0.752, and 0.719 in the validation cohort. The calibration curves demonstrated great accuracy. The C-index of the competing risk model was 0.692 (95% CI: 0.636-0.747) in the young patient cohort. CONCLUSION: Young lung cancer is a distinct entity with a different spectrum of competing risk events. The construction of our nomogram can provide new insights into the management of young patients with lung cancer.

Effect of bamboo biochar on reducing grain cadmium content in two contrasting wheat genotypes.

Wheat is the second most important food crop worldwide, which is prone to accumulate cadmium (Cd). Accumulation of Cd in wheat grains depends not only on wheat genotype, but also largely on the availability of soil Cd and its internal distribution. In this study, several experiments were used to achieve low-grain Cd content: a field trial for wheat genotype screening, a soil incubation experiment to test passivation effect of bamboo biochar on soil Cd, and a soil pot experiment to examine bamboo biochar effect on wheat grain accumulation. The results showed that of the 243 wheat cultivars tested, the variation range of grain Cd content was 0.365-1.243 mg/kg, in a field with soil Cd of 3 mg/kg. The application of bamboo biochar reduced soil Cd availability, among which 5.0% bamboo biochar treatment had the greatest effect. The content of available Cd in soil treated with 5.0% bamboo biochar decreased by 0.32 mg/kg compared with the control in a 120-day incubation experiment. Effect of bamboo biochar (0, 0.1%, 1.0%, and 5.0%) on reducing grain Cd content in two wheat genotypes (Mianyou-1 and 1279-9) was investigated. The application of bamboo biochar decreased Cd uptake by plants, while distribution of Cd in different wheat plant parts was more controlled by the plant genetic characteristics. Compared with the control, Cd content in roots, straw, and grains was decreased by 34.06% (P < 0.05), 21.57%, and 23.33%, respectively, in low-grain Cd wheat cultivar 1279-9 by 5% bamboo biochar application. Overall, the combination of low-grain Cd accumulation wheat and bamboo biochar may be a feasible strategy to lessen grain Cd accumulation in Cd-contaminated soils.

Bioavailability of heavy metals in contaminated soil as affected by different mass ratios of biochars.

The biochars are efficient adsorbent of heavy metals. However, the type of biochar species determines the effectiveness of biochars for immobilization of heavy metals. In this experiment, we mixed different biochars in variable mass ratios and evaluated their effects on plant growth and bioavailability of heavy metals. The results revealed that amendment of single and mixed biochars has increased pH, EC, available P and K of soil. The straw block biochar with maize straw biochar at a mass ratio of 1:2 (SDM) has significantly decreased Pb and Cu concentration in soil. The straw block biochar with maize straw biochar at a mass ratio of 2:1 (DSM) has highly increased the dry biomass of Chinese cabbage than single biochar or control, whereas plant physiological properties were mostly not affected. It is concluded that peanut shell biochar with maize straw biochar at a mass ratio of 2:1 (DPS) and DSM have significantly decreased Pb, Zn and Cu concentration in plants. The single peanut shell biochar has significantly decreased the plant Cd concentration. The ability of transport of heavy metals in Chinese cabbage was in the sequence of Cd > Zn > Cu > Pb. The mixing of different biochars has decreased the concentration of heavy metals in plants more effectively than single biochar.