NLRP3 inflammasome activation contributes to fungal clearance and lung injury during Talaromyces marneffei infection.

The increased levels of IL-1ß and IL-18 cytokines have been associated with the severity of sepsis and outcomes of patients infected with Talaromyces marneffei. Previous studies have suggested that NLRP3 plays an important role in caspase-1 activated secretion of IL-1ß and IL-18 in fungal-infected macrophages. In the present study, the role of the NLRP3 inflammasome in talaromycosis is investigated in an in vitro assay and in vivo with a mice systemic infection model. We found that the NLRP3 inflammasome pathway in infected mice is activated along with increased production of IL-1ß. Such an activation of the NLRP3 inflammasome is also observed in either mice or human macrophages challenged with T. marneffei conidia. Our results indicate that IL-1ß release by infected macrophages is NLRP3 inflammasome-dependent and NLRP3 contributes to death of mice at the early stage of pulmonary infection. Moreover, a greater number of MPO-positive cells are found in the lungs of infected Nlrp3-/- mice and WT mice with reduced LDH levels, especially at the last stage of infection. Therefore, we conclude that the NLRP3 Inflammasome activation is important for fungal clearance, neutrophil recruitment and lung injury during T. marneffei Infection.

Lethal Effects of Lambda-Cyhalothrin and its Commercial Formulation on Asian Longhorned Beetle (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae): Implications for Population Suppression, Tree Protection, Eradication, and Containment.

We evaluated the 24-h contact toxicity of lambda-cyhalothrin for adult Asian longhorned beetle, Anoplophora glabripennis Motschulsky, by using topical application. Results showed that beetles are sensitive to lambda-cyhalothrin: the LD50 and LD90 were 0.13639 and 0.78461 µg/beetle, respectively. Residual activity of a commercial formulation of lambda-cyhalothrin was evaluated in a walking bioassay: Adult beetles walked across the surface of Denier bands treated with a series of concentrations of the formulation and exposed to the natural environment for 10, 20, 45, 69, and 90 d. Beetle mortality was recorded after 24 h. At the dosages of 150, 300, 450, and 600 mg/liter, residual activity declined slowly over the 90-d test period. All dosages provided 100% mortality up to 20 d posttreatment. No significant differences were detected in mortality among the dosages at each test interval until day 90 posttreatment, when the 450 and 600 mg/liter doses provided 100% mortality, which was significantly greater than percentage mortality provided by the 150 (20%) and 300 mg/liter (50%) doses. The 1200, 1500, and 1800 mg/liter doses provided 100% mortality for 158 d. The formulation may represent a new, alternative and complementary control strategy against A. glabripennis due to its high toxicity to adult A. glabripennis, its long residual activity, its rapid knock-down ability, and its potential use in specialized areas where current control strategies are not desirable or feasible.

[Time-evolution study on the cation exchange in the process of reinforcing slip soil by laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy].

In the present paper, the time evolution study on slip soils treated by different proportions of ionic soil stabilizer (ISS) water solution was conducted by the LIBS system and the relationship between the cation exchange and such engineering properties of reinforcing soil as plasticity index, cohesive force and coefficient of compressibility were analyzed. The results showed that the cation exchange velocity of the proportion of 1:200 ISS reinforcing soil is the fastest among the three proportions (1:100, 1:200 and 1:300) and the modification effect of engineering performance index is quite obvious. These studies provide an experimental basis for the ISS applied to curing project, and monitoring geotechnical engineering performance by LIBS technology also provides a new way of thinking for the curing project monitoring.

Quantitative Detection of the Raw Ore Turquoise Based on Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy Technology.

Turquoise is one of the key ingredients in some magical Tibetan medicines, and its quality and content directly affect the medicine's effectiveness. In this paper, laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) technology was first applied to detect the raw materials of Tibetan medicine. The traditional data analysis methods could not meet the practical requirements of modern Tibetan medicine factories due to matrix effects. The concept of correlation coefficient (ρ) in pattern recognition technique was introduced as an evaluation index, and the model was established based on the intensities of the four characteristic Al and Cu spectral lines of the samples for different contents of turquoise, which was applied to estimate the contents of turquoise in the samples to be tested. We detected the LIBS on 126 samples of raw ore from 42 areas in China and evaluated the turquoise content using self-developed software with an error of <10%. This paper's technical testing process and methods can also be applied to test other mineral compositions and provide technical support for modernizing and standardizing Tibetan medicines.

[Study on the electron density distribution of laser-induced air plasmas].

An 1. 06 microm Nd : YAG laser beam (energy: -500 mJ/pulse, pulse width: 10 ns, repetition rate: 30 Hz) was focused by a conical lens, and a column of laser-induced air plasmas (LIAP) came into being. The LIAP column, about 8 cm of long and 5 cm in maximal diameter, was studied by spectra measurement. The spectra of the LIAP column at different position were measured in the directions both perpendicular and parallel to the laser propagation respectively. From these data, the electron densities of the LIAP were evaluated. The experimental results indicate that the LIAP formed in an olivary shape, i. e. , symmetrical in the vertical direction but unsymmetrical in the horizontal direction, and the maximal electron density is about 10(18) cm(-3). The spatial distributions of atoms, molecules and ions in different states in the LIAP were also discussed, and provide clues for discovering the microstructure of LIAP.

[The time-evolution study on the laser-induced oxygen plasmas spectra].

The present paper reports the results of spectroscopic study on the oxygen plasma induced by a pulsed laser with a wavelength of 1.06 microm. The gas samples were pure oxygen (99.9999%) and the spectral range was from 300 to 900 nm. The temporal behavior of the spectra was measured. The experiment results showed that the spectra could be divided into continuous spectra and line spectra. Each component of the spectra attenuated according to the disparate mode along temporal development. The microcosmic physical processes and mechanisms were analyzed. The reason for the longer plasma spectral lifetime was discussed. These works were helpful to better understanding of the microscopic mechanisms during the decay of the laser-induced air plasmas, and also provide more experimental evidences for prolonging the decay time of plasmas in some technical applications.

[Preliminary application of absorbable fixation system on cranial bone flap reposition and fixation after craniotomy].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effectiveness and adverse effect of the absorbable fixation system on cranial bone flap reposition and fixation after craniotomy. METHODS: Between July 2010 and December 2011, 67 cases underwent cranial bone flap reposition and fixation with absorbable fixation system after craniotomy and resection of intracranial lesions. There were 38 males and 29 females with a median age of 32 years (range, 5 months to 73 years). The disease duration ranged from 3 months to 6 years (median, 25 months). Forty-one lesions were located at supratentorial and 26 at subtentorial, including at the frontotemporal site in 13 cases, at the frontoparietal site in 12 cases, at the temporal oprietal site in 8 cases, at the temporooccipital site in 5 cases, at the occipitoparietal site in 4 cases, and at the posterior cranial fossa in 25 cases. The diagnosis results were glioma in 15 cases, cerebral vascular diseases (aneurysm, arteriovenous malformation, and cavemous angioma) in 8 cases, meningioma in 7 cases, arachnoid cyst in 7 cases, acoustic neurinoma in 5 cases, cholesteatoma in 3 cases, primary trigeminal neuralgia in 5 cases, cerebral abscess in 3 cases, hypophysoma in 2 cases, craniopharyngioma in 2 cases, metastatic tumor in 2 cases, radiation encephalopathy in 2 cases, medulloblastoma in 1 case, ependymocytoma in 1 case, germinoma in 1 case, atypical teratoma/rhabdoid tumor in 1 case, facial spasm in 1 case, and subdural hematoma in 1 case. Intracranial lesion size ranged from 3 cm x 2 cm to 7 cm x 5 cm. The changes of local incision and general condition were observed. RESULTS: Subcutaneous effusion occurred in 2 supratentorial lesions and 3 subtentorial lesions, which was cured at 2 weeks after puncture and aspiration. All incisions healed primarily and no redness or swelling occurred. CT scans showed good reposition of the cranial bone flap and smooth inner and outer surfaces of the skull at 2 weeks after operation. All 67 patients were followed up 3-20 months (mean, 10.3 months). During follow-up, the skull had satisfactory appearance without discomfort, local depression, or effusion. Moreover, regular CT and MRI scans showed no subside, or displacement of the cranial bone flap or artifacts. CONCLUSION: Absorbable fixation system for reposition and fixation of the cranial bone flap not only is simple, safe, and reliable, but also can eliminate the postoperative CT or MRI artifact caused by metals fixation system.