Intertumoral Heterogeneity Based on MRI Radiomic Features Estimates Recurrence in Hepatocellular Carcinoma.

BACKGROUND: Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) heterogeneity impacts prognosis, and imaging is a potential indicator. PURPOSE: To characterize HCC image subtypes in MRI and correlate subtypes with recurrence. STUDY TYPE: Retrospective. POPULATION: A total of 440 patients (training cohort = 213, internal test cohort = 140, external test cohort = 87) from three centers. FIELD STRENGTH/SEQUENCE: 1.5-T/3.0-T, fast/turbo spin-echo T2-weighted, spin-echo echo-planar diffusion-weighted, contrast-enhanced three-dimensional gradient-recalled-echo T1-weighted with extracellular agents (Gd-DTPA, Gd-DTPA-BMA, and Gd-BOPTA). ASSESSMENT: Three-dimensional volume-of-interest of HCC was contoured on portal venous phase, then coregistered with precontrast and late arterial phases. Subtypes were identified using non-negative matrix factorization by analyzing radiomics features from volume-of-interests, and correlated with recurrence. Clinical (demographic and laboratory data), pathological, and radiologic features were compared across subtypes. Among clinical, radiologic features and subtypes, variables with variance inflation factor above 10 were excluded. Variables (P < 0.10) in univariate Cox regression were included in stepwise multivariate analysis. Three recurrence estimation models were built: clinical-radiologic model, subtype model, hybrid model integrating clinical-radiologic characteristics, and subtypes. STATISTICAL TESTS: Mann-Whitney U test, Kruskal-Wallis H test, chi-square test, Fisher's exact test, Kaplan-Meier curves, log-rank test, concordance index (C-index). Significance level: P < 0.05. RESULTS: Two subtypes were identified across three cohorts (subtype 1:subtype 2 of 86:127, 60:80, and 36:51, respectively). Subtype 1 showed higher microvascular invasion (MVI)-positive rates (53%-57% vs. 26%-31%), and worse recurrence-free survival. Hazard ratio (HR) for the subtype is 6.10 in subtype model. Clinical-radiologic model included alpha-fetoprotein (HR: 3.01), macrovascular invasion (HR: 2.32), nonsmooth tumor margin (HR: 1.81), rim enhancement (HR: 3.13), and intratumoral artery (HR: 2.21). Hybrid model included alpha-fetoprotein (HR: 2.70), nonsmooth tumor margin (HR: 1.51), rim enhancement (HR: 3.25), and subtypes (HR: 5.34). Subtype model was comparable to clinical-radiologic model (C-index: 0.71-0.73 vs. 0.71-0.73), but hybrid model outperformed both (C-index: 0.77-0.79). CONCLUSION: MRI radiomics-based clustering identified two HCC subtypes with distinct MVI status and recurrence-free survival. Hybrid model showed superior capability to estimate recurrence. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: 3 TECHNICAL EFFICACY STAGE: 2.

Expression of HORMAD1 in Chronic Rhinosinusitis and Its Correlation with Inflammatory Factors.

OBJECTIVE: To explore the abnormal expression of HORMA domain containing protein 1 (HORMAD1) in chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) patients and its correlation with the expression of inflammatory factors. STUDY DESIGN: Observational study. Place and Duration of the Study: Department of Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery, the Affiliated Huai'an No.1 People's Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, China, from August 2021 to October 2022. METHODOLOGY: Eighty CRS patients and 80 healthy volunteers participated in this study according to the inclusion and exclusion criteria. The plasma samples of the patients were collected and the level of HORMAD1 was determined by RT-qPCR methods. Commercially available ELISA kits were used for the detection of the levels of cytokines, and the correlation between HORMAD1 expression and the level of cytokines was analysed. RESULTS: HORMAD1 expression was significantly increased in CRS patients as compared to the healthy subjects. Moreover, the results of ROC curve suggested AUC for HORMAD1 was 0.9442, 95% confidence interval, 0.9057 to 0.9827. IL-1ß, TNF-α, IL-6 as well as IFN-γ were all markedly elevated in the CRS group. Positive correlations were found between HORMAD1 expression and the cytokines. CONCLUSION: HORMAD1 may trigger an inflammatory response in CRS patients. The results of the current study could be beneficial for improving the therapeutic efficacy of CRS patients. KEY WORDS: HORMAD1, Chronic rhinosinusitis, Expression, Inflammatory factors, DNA damage, Cytokines.

Healthy lifestyle in late-life, longevity genes, and life expectancy among older adults: a 20-year, population-based, prospective cohort study.

BACKGROUND: Lifestyle and longevity genes have different and important roles in the human lifespan; however, the association between a healthy lifestyle in late-life and life expectancy mediated by genetic risk is yet to be elucidated. We aimed to investigate the associations of healthy lifestyle in late-life and genetic risk with life expectancy among older adults. METHODS: A weighted healthy lifestyle score was constructed from the following variables: current non-smoking, non-harmful alcohol consumption, regular physical activity, and a healthy diet. Participants were recruited from the Chinese Longitudinal Healthy Longevity Survey, a prospective community-based cohort study that took place between 1998 and 2018. Eligible participants were aged 65 years and older with available information on lifestyle factors at baseline, and then were categorised into unhealthy (bottom tertile of the weighted healthy lifestyle score), intermediate (middle tertile), and healthy (top tertile) lifestyle groups. A genetic risk score was constructed based on 11 lifespan loci among 9633 participants, divided by the median and classified into low and high genetic risk groups. Stratified Cox proportional hazard regression was used to estimate the interaction between genetic and lifestyle factors on all-cause mortality risk. FINDINGS: Between Jan 13, 1998, and Dec 31, 2018, 36 164 adults aged 65 years and older were recruited, among whom a total of 27 462 deaths were documented during a median follow-up of 3·12 years (IQR 1·62-5·94) and included in the lifestyle association analysis. Compared with the unhealthy lifestyle category, participants in the healthy lifestyle group had a lower all-cause mortality risk (hazard ratio [HR] 0·56 [95% CI 0·54-0·57]; p<0·0001). The highest mortality risk was observed in individuals in the high genetic risk and unhealthy lifestyle group (HR 1·80 [95% CI 1·63-1·98]; p<0·0001). The absolute risk reduction was greater for participants in the high genetic risk group. A healthy lifestyle was associated with a gain of 3·84 years (95% CI 3·05-4·64) at the age of 65 years in the low genetic risk group, and 4·35 years (3·70-5·06) in the high genetic risk group. INTERPRETATION: A healthy lifestyle, even in late-life, was associated with lower mortality risk and longer life expectancy among Chinese older adults, highlighting the importance of a healthy lifestyle in extending the lifespan, especially for individuals with high genetic risk. FUNDING: National Natural Science Foundation of China. TRANSLATION: For the Mandarin translation of the abstract see Supplementary Materials section.

Dual-Energy CT Deep Learning Radiomics to Predict Macrotrabecular-Massive Hepatocellular Carcinoma.

Background It is unknown whether the additional information provided by multiparametric dual-energy CT (DECT) could improve the noninvasive diagnosis of the aggressive macrotrabecular-massive (MTM) subtype of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). Purpose To evaluate the diagnostic performance of dual-phase contrast-enhanced multiparametric DECT for predicting MTM HCC. Materials and Methods Patients with histopathologic examination-confirmed HCC who underwent contrast-enhanced DECT between June 2019 and June 2022 were retrospectively recruited from three independent centers (center 1, training and internal test data set; centers 2 and 3, external test data set). Radiologic features were visually analyzed and combined with clinical information to establish a clinical-radiologic model. Deep learning (DL) radiomics models were based on DL features and handcrafted features extracted from virtual monoenergetic images and material composition images on dual phase using binary least absolute shrinkage and selection operators. A DL radiomics nomogram was developed using multivariable logistic regression analysis. Model performance was evaluated with the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC), and the log-rank test was used to analyze recurrence-free survival. Results A total of 262 patients were included (mean age, 54 years ± 12 [SD]; 225 men [86%]; training data set, n = 146 [56%]; internal test data set, n = 35 [13%]; external test data set, n = 81 [31%]). The DL radiomics nomogram better predicted MTM than the clinical-radiologic model (AUC = 0.91 vs 0.77, respectively, for the training set [P < .001], 0.87 vs 0.72 for the internal test data set [P = .04], and 0.89 vs 0.79 for the external test data set [P = .02]), with similar sensitivity (80% vs 87%, respectively; P = .63) and higher specificity (90% vs 63%; P < .001) in the external test data set. The predicted positive MTM groups based on the DL radiomics nomogram had shorter recurrence-free survival than predicted negative MTM groups in all three data sets (training data set, P = .04; internal test data set, P = .01; and external test data set, P = .03). Conclusion A DL radiomics nomogram derived from multiparametric DECT accurately predicted the MTM subtype in patients with HCC. © RSNA, 2023 Supplemental material is available for this article. See also the editorial by Chu and Fishman in this issue.

DPP4 Inhibitor Sitagliptin Reduces Inflammatory Responses and Mast Cell Activation in Allergic Rhinitis.

INTRODUCTION: DPP4 is thought to be involved in certain immune processes and plays an important role in allergic reactions in the lungs. The effect of the DPP4 inhibitor sitagliptin on the effector phase of allergic rhinitis (AR) in ovalbumin (OVA)-sensitized mice and on mast cell degranulation in vitro was assessed. METHODS: The AR mouse model was established by intraperitoneal injection combined with OVA intranasal method. OVA was injected intraperitoneally 3 times for the first 2 weeks, and the mice were subsequently given DPP4 inhibitors by oral gavage, accompanied by an OVA intranasal challenge. The impacts of DPP4 inhibitors on DPP4 levels in mouse model were determined. Nasal mucosa tissue was collected for H&E staining and toluidine blue staining. Immunoglobulin E (IgE) levels and histamine levels were analyzed, and IL-4, IL-5, and IL-12 as well as IFN-γ levels were assessed. Following the treatment of dinitrophenol (DNP)-IgE or DNP-IgE plus sitagliptin in RBL-2H3 cells, ß-hexosaminidase activity was analyzed and toluidine blue staining was performed. RESULTS: DPP4 level was reduced in AR patients, as well as in AR mouse models. Nasal allergic symptoms such as sneezing and nose-scratching showed high frequency in OVA-induced mice. Sitagliptin treatment during the intranasal challenge of OVA decreased DPP4 levels, suppressed allergic symptoms, eosinophil infiltration, IgE levels, mast cell infiltration, as well as the levels of inflammatory cytokines. We further found that sitagliptin inhibited mast cell activation and histamine levels in vitro. CONCLUSION: Sitagliptin suppresses the effector phase of AR, and this mechanism is partly attributed to the suppression of inflammatory response and mast cell degranulation.

Association of low cadmium and mercury exposure with chronic kidney disease among Chinese adults aged ≥80 years: A cross-sectional study.

BACKGROUND: The heavy metals cadmium (Cd) and mercury (Hg) are known to be widespread environmental contaminants and high occupational exposure adversely affects the risk of chronic kidney disease (CKD). However, evidence from epidemiological studies linking low Cd and Hg exposure (or non-industrial) to the risk of progression to CKD are conflicting. This study aimed to explore the association of low Cd and Hg exposure with the risk of CKD in Chinese adults aged ≥80 years. METHODS: The participants were recruited for the Healthy Aging and Biomarkers Cohort Study in 2017, an ongoing perspective survey conducted in longevity areas in China initially involving 3016 older adults. We used logistic regression models to estimate odds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence intervals of CKD setting Cd and Hg as categorical variables. Logistic regression with restricted cubic spline was used to characterize a dose-response relationships between Cd or Hg concentrations and the risk of CKD in the study population. RESULTS: The ORs for the risk of CKD comparing the fourth to the first quartile of blood Cd, blood Hg, urine Cd, and urine Hg were 1.77, 1.57, 2.03, and 1.50, respectively. Restricted cubic spline models showed that blood Cd and urine Hg were significantly linearly correlated with the risk of CKD, while blood Hg and urine Cd were non-linearly correlated with the risk of CKD with a steeper slope at concentrations <2.30 µg/L and 3.30 µg/g creatinine. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings suggest that even low Cd and Hg exposure (or non-industrial) were associated with increased risk of CKD in Chinese oldest old, although we did not find a significant multiplicative and additive interaction between Cd and Hg levels in relation to the risk of CKD.

Cullin 4A/protein arginine methyltransferase 5 (CUL4A/PRMT5) promotes cell malignant phenotypes and tumor growth in nasopharyngeal carcinoma.

Targeted therapy is an important therapeutic strategy currently, however, the development of targeted therapy for nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) is relatively lagging. Cullin 4A (CUL4A) was reported to be overexpressed in NPC; nevertheless, the specific role of CUL4A remains unrevealed. NPC cells and tumor-bearing mice were cultivated to explore the role and mechanism of CUL4A in NPC. After evaluating CUL4A levels in NPC cells, functional experiments were carried out to investigate the effects of CUL4A knockdown and overexpression on cell proliferative, invasive and migratory aptitude as well as NF-κB signaling. Following the GeneMANIA database predicted that protein arginine methyltransferase 5 (PRMT5) was downstream of CUL4A, the mediated role of PRMT5 in the regulation of CUL4A on cells was then determined. Moreover, the tumor volumes and weights of tumor-bearing mice were recorded, and the levels of proliferation-, migration-, and NF-κB signaling-related proteins in the tumor were determined. Herein, CUL4A was enhanced in NPC cells, and its knockdown and overexpression separately suppressed and promoted cell proliferative, invasive, and migratory aptitude as well as NF-κB signal activation. Novelty, PRMT5 knockdown reversed the influences of CUL4A overexpression on these aspects. In addition, its knockdown likewise reversed the facilitating impact of CUL4A expression on tumor growth and declined the expression levels of proliferation-, migration-, and NF-κB signaling-related protein in the tumor. Together, this paper indicated that CUL4A promoted the proliferative, invasive, and migratory aptitude of NPC cells as well as tumor growth by promoting PRMT5 to activate NF-κB signaling.

A novel calibration strategy based on isotopic distribution for high-throughput quantitative analysis of pesticides and veterinary drugs using LC-HRMS.

Preparation of calibration curves is a critical step for large-scale quantification. However, this procedure is time-consuming, labor intensive. Herein, a novel isotopologue multipoint calibration (IMC) strategy, was proposed and demonstrated for the simultaneous quantitation of 120 pesticides and 83 veterinary drugs in surface water samples using Liquid Chromatography-High Resolution Mass Spectrometry (LC-HRMS). In this strategy, the natural isotopic distribution was used to generate external calibration curves, eliminating the need of analyst's adjustment and many sets of chemical standard solutions required in external calibration curves. Additionally, this strategy was comprehensively validated, and the results indicated this strategy had better performance in both accuracy and precision, fully meeting the requirements for the quantitative analysis. Interestingly, for the samples with high concentration beyond the upper limit of quantitation, the IMC strategy could avoid samples dilution by monitoring the less abundant isotopic channels. Furthermore, the IMC method was successfully applied in the surface water samples collected from Anhui province, China. Among which, sulfamethoxazole and imidacoprid were the main contributors. In conclusion, we present a promising LC-HRMS strategy for the accurate quantitation of small molecules, which has a potential application in food and environmental analysis.

Short-chain fatty acid butyrate: A novel shield against chronic gastric ulcer.

Butyrate is one of the most abundant short-chain fatty acids produced by intestinal bacteria. In the present study, the action of butyrate on chronic gastric mucosa lesions was investigated, as well as its underlying mechanism in mice. Male mice from the Institute of Cancer Research were randomly divided into three groups: Sham, model and butyrate groups. Butyrate was administered intragastrically for 7 days to butyrate group mice following the establishment of a gastric ulcer model. Hematoxylin and eosin staining, immunohistochemical analysis, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and quantitative polymerase chain reaction were used to determine the therapeutic effects and molecular mechanism of butyrate treatment. The findings demonstrated that butyrate induced a marked shift in superoxide dismutase and catalase activities, along with a decrease in malondialdehyde levels, thereby attenuating oxidative stress. Furthermore, butyrate decreased the levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines interleukin-1ß, tumour necrosis factor-α and leukotriene B4, which helped combat inflammatory responses. Moreover, butyrate treatment exerted remarkable positive influences that mediate an increase in 6-keto-PGF-1α (a degradation product of prostacyclin), trefoil factor 2, MUC5AC and fibroblast growth factor-7 levels to promote gastric mucosal repair. The expression of specific receptor GPR109A for butyrate was upregulated, with no significant difference noted in the expression of GPR43 or GPR41. Overall, the present findings revealed that butyrate exerted therapeutic effects by upregulating mucosal repair factors and stimulating protective responses against oxidation and inflammation. GPR109A may be the key receptor for butyrate therapy.

Smoking cessation in late life is associated with increased risk of all-cause mortality amongst oldest old people: a community-based prospective cohort study.

OBJECTIVE: we aimed to investigate the association of smoking cessation with risk of all-cause mortality amongst oldest old people (aged ≥ 80 years). DESIGN: this was a prospective cohort study. SETTING: the Chinese Longitudinal Healthy Longevity Survey, implemented in 23 provinces of China. PARTICIPANTS: a total of 28,643 community-dwelling oldest old people (mean age, 92.9 ± 7.5 years) were included. METHODS: in this community-based cohort study, Cox proportional hazards models were used to examine the association of smoking cessation with risk of all-cause mortality. RESULTS: during 136,585 person-years of follow-up from baseline to 1 September 2014, compared with never smokers, hazard ratios and 95% confidence intervals for all-cause mortality were 1.06 (1.02-1.10) for current smokers, 1.23 (1.09-1.39) for transient quitters (≤1 consecutive years since smoking cessation), 1.22 (1.12-1.32) for recent quitters (2-6 consecutive years since smoking cessation) and 1.11 (1.02-1.22) for long-term quitters (>6 consecutive years since smoking cessation). Cox models with penalised splines revealed an increased risk of all-cause mortality after smoking cessation; the highest mortality risk was observed within 2-4 years after smoking cessation and the risk gradually decreased with duration of smoking cessation. We further conducted subgroup analyses and sensitivity analyses to reduce the impact of reverse causation. CONCLUSIONS: smoking is harmful to health in all populations. Our study findings indicated smoking cessation in late life to be associated with increased risk of all-cause mortality amongst oldest old people who have smoked for a long time.

Identification of a 3-miRNA Signature Associated With the Prediction of Prognosis in Nasopharyngeal Carcinoma.

Nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) is a malignant tumor caused by an infection of the epithelial cells of the nasopharynx, which is highly metastatic and aggressive. Due to the deep anatomical site and atypical early symptoms, the majority of NPC patients are diagnosed at terminal stages. There is growing evidence that microRNAs offer options for early detection, accurate diagnosis, and prediction of malignancy treatment response. Therefore, the purpose of this article was to identify microRNAs that predict the prognosis of patients with NPC by integrating biological information analysis. In this study, we utilized the GSE36682 dataset rooted in the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO) data bank, including 62 cases of NPC tissues and six cases of non-cancerous tissues. The miRNAs were subjected to weighted gene co-expression network analysis, and hub miRNAs were screened for differentially upregulated miRNAs from modules highly correlated with tumor progression. We took a lot of time to calculate the risk scores of miRNA markers for 62 NPC patients, and incidentally combined the clinical survival information of patients to finally identify the three key miRNAs, and then divided the patients into low- and high-risk groups. Kaplan-Meier curve analysis revealed that the overall survival of patients in the high-risk group was obviously shorter than that of the low-risk group. Subsequently, the target genes of the three miRNAs were predicted and analyzed for functional enrichment. In summary, a prognostic predictive risk model based on three miRNA profiles may increase prognostic predictive value and provide reference information for the precise treatment of nasopharyngeal carcinoma.

Polyphenol-Rich Extracts from Brown Macroalgae Lessonia trabeculate Attenuate Hyperglycemia and Modulate Gut Microbiota in High-Fat Diet and Streptozotocin-Induced Diabetic Rats.

Brown macroalgae are an important source of polyphenols with multiple health functions. In this work, polyphenol extracts from Lessonia trabeculate were purified and investigated for the antidiabetic activity in vitro and in vivo. The purified polyphenol extracts exhibited good antioxidant activities, α-glucosidase and lipase inhibition activities (IC50 < 0.25 mg/mL). The HPLC-DAD-ESI-MS/MS analysis indicated that the compounds in polyphenol extracts were mainly phlorotannin derivatives, phenolic acid derivatives, and gallocatechin derivatives. In vivo, C57BL/6J rats treated with polyphenol extracts for 4 weeks had lower fasting blood glucose levels, insulin levels, as well as better serum lipid profiles and antioxidant stress parameters, compared with the diabetic control (DC) group. Histopathology revealed that polyphenol extracts preserved the architecture and function of the liver. Short-chain fatty acid contents in rats' fecal samples with polyphenols administration were significantly recovered as compared with the DC group. Furthermore, the gut microflora of rats was investigated with high-throughput 16S rRNA gene sequencing and results indicated that polyphenol extracts had a positive effect on regulating the dysbiosis of the microbial ecology in diabetic rats. All of the results from the study provided a scientific reference of the potentially beneficial effects of L. trabeculate polyphenols on diabetes management.

Microwave-assisted hydrothermal extraction of non-structural carbohydrates and hemicelluloses from tobacco biomass.

Microwave-assisted hydrothermal extraction of non-structural carbohydrates and hemicelluloses from tobacco biomass was investigated. Non-structural carbohydrates extraction was optimized by an Optimal design. The maximum yields for the leaf and stem were 118.57 mg/g and 120.33 mg/g biomass, respectively. The extracted stem residue was further treated for hemicelluloses extraction. A temperature of 200 °C without holding was proved to be the most efficient condition to produce a hemicelluloses yield of 105.15 mg/g. GPC results showed that the Mw values of precipitated hemicelluloses decreased from 143.5 kDa to 13.25 kDa with increasing temperature and holding time, while the un-precipitated fraction were ranging from 11.83 to 4.88 kDa. Monosaccharide analysis revealed that hemicelluloses extracted at lower temperature are heterogeneous compositional type, including xylan, glucuronoxylan and xylanglucan, while the ratio of xylose increased significantly (up to 72.64%) with increasing temperature. The developed microwave-assisted hydrothermal extraction process opens new avenues for a sustainable tobacco-based biorefinery.

A green triple-locked strategy based on volatile-compound imaging, chemometrics, and markers to discriminate winter honey and sapium honey using headspace gas chromatography-ion mobility spectrometry.

A simple and environmentally approach using untargeted imaging of volatile substances combined with chemometrics and markers response was proposed for discriminating different species of honey with headspace gas-chromatography-ion-mobility (HS-GC-IMS). The 3D HS-GC-IMS imaging and their response differences enabled the clear discrimination between winter honey and sapium honey. Principal component analysis (PCA) and partial least-squares discrimination analysis (PLS-DA) were employed to discriminate different honey. Markers of two kinds of honey were identified and confirmed with a user-built imaging database combined with multivariate analysis. Benzaldehyde dimer and phenylacetaldehyde dimer were found to be reliable markers of winter honey, and phenylethyl acetate dimer was of sapium honey. Adulteration identification of the honey samples with different adulteration ratios were subjected to this triple-locked strategy analysis. The results demonstrate that HS-GC-IMS imaging coupled with chemometrics and marker identification is a useful triple-locked strategy to discriminate honey from different floral origins and adulterated honey.

Discrimination of geographical origins of Chinese acacia honey using complex 13C/12C, oligosaccharides and polyphenols.

The aim of this study was to predict the geographical origin of acacia honey of China through analysis of physicochemical parameters combination with chemometrics. Samples from six different origins were investigated on parameters of δ13C value, oligosaccharides and polyphenols, using EA-IRMS/LC-IRMS, GC-MS and HPLC-MS, respectively. The results indicated that the δ13C value of honey from Gansu region were lower than those of other regions. Oligosaccharides of honey from Shanxi and Shaanxi regions were both higher than other four regions. Polyphenols of honey from Shandong region was the highest and were better parameters than both δ13C and oligosaccharides in discrimination of geographical origins. Partial Least Square Discriminant Analysis (PLS-DA) showed that when all 31 different parameters were combined, a correct classification rate of 94.12% could be achieved using external cross validation method. In conclusion, the method in discrimination of geographical can be used to provide reliable and useful reference information.

[Related factor analysis of the degree of tinnitus in sudden sensorineural hearing loss patients].

OBJECTIVE: To provide the theory basis for clinical diagnosis, treatment and prognosis of sudden deafness patients, we detected the relative factors of degree of tinnitus of the patients with sudden deafness. METHOD: Prospective analysis was used to compare degree of tinnitus with sex, ears, age, degree of hearing lose, hearing curve type and curative effect of tinnitus and sudden deafness. RESULT: Tinnitus was detected in 87.2% in the 70 patients who with sudden deafness, and the most and least degree of tinnitus patients was the degree 3 (32.9%) and the degree 5 and 6 (0). The total effective rate of sudden deafness and tinnitus was 66.2% and 74.3%, respectively. The statistical analysis shown the degree of tinnitus was not related to sex, ears, age, degree of hearing lose, auditory curve type and curative effect of tinnitus and sudden deafness (P > 0.05). CONCLUSION: There was a high rate of tinnitus occurrence in sudden deafness patients, and the moderate degree predominated. The curative effect of tinnitus was better than sudden deafness. There was no relationship between the degree of tinnitus and sex, ears, age, degree of hearing lose, auditory curve type and curative effect of tinnitus and sudden deafness.

Fast determination of adenosine 5'-triphosphate (ATP) and its catabolites in royal jelly using ultraperformance liquid chromatography.

To obtain insight into the metabolic regulation of adenosine 5'-triphosphate (ATP) in royal jelly and to determine whether ATP and its catabolites can be used as objective parameters to evaluate the freshness and quality of royal jelly (RJ), a rapid ultraperformance liquid chromatography (UPLC) method has been developed for feasible separation and quantitation of ATP and its catabolites in RJ, namely, adenosine 5'-diphosphate (ADP), adenosine 5'-monophosphate (AMP), inosine monophosphate (IMP), inosine (HxR), and hypoxanthine (Hx). The analytes in the sample were extracted using 5% precooled perchloric acid. Chromatographic separation was performed on a Waters Acquity UPLC system with a Waters BEH Shield RP18 column and gradient elution based on a mixture of two solvents: solvent A, 50 mM phosphate buffer (pH 6.5); and solvent B, acetonitrile. The recoveries were in the range of 86.0-102.3% with RSD of no more than 3.6%. The correlation coefficients of six analytes were high (r(2) ≥ 0.9988) and within the test ranges. The limits of detection and quantification for the investigated compounds were lower, at 0.36-0.68 and 1.22-2.30 mg/kg, respectively. The overall intra- and interday RSDs were no more than 1.8%. The developed method was successfully applied to the analysis of the analytes in samples. The results showed that ATP in RJ sequentially degrades to ADP, AMP, IMP, HxR, and Hx during storage.

Online cleanup of accelerated solvent extractions for determination of adenosine 5'-triphosphate (ATP), adenosine 5'-diphosphate (ADP), and adenosine 5'-monophosphate (AMP) in royal jelly using high-performance liquid chromatography.

Determination of the levels of adenosine 5'-triphosphate (ATP), adenosine 5'-diphosphate (ADP), and adenosine 5'-monophosphate (AMP) in royal jelly is important for the study of its pharmacological activities, health benefits, and adenosine phosphate degradation. In this study was developed a novel method to determine ATP, ADP, and AMP levels in royal jelly using accelerated solvent extraction (ASE) followed by online cleanup and high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) with diode array detection (DAD). The optimum extraction conditions were obtained using an 11 mL ASE cell, ethanol/water (5:5 v/v) as the extraction solvent, 1500 psi, 80 degrees C, a 5 min static time, and a 60% flush volume. Optimum separation of the three compounds was achieved in <25 min using a Waters XBridge Shield RP18 column with 0.05 mol L(-1) NH(4)H(2)PO(4) (pH 5.70) and acetonitrile as the mobile phase. Detection was performed at 257 nm. The method was sensitive (LOD

Determination of organochlorine pesticides in propolis by gas chromatography-electron capture detection using double column series solid-phase extraction.

A rapid and reliable method was developed and applied for the simultaneous determination of 17 organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) in propolis. After extraction with hexane and acetone (1:1, v/v), four sorbents (florisil, silica, graphitized carbon, and tandem graphitized carbon plus florisil) were assayed for the clean-up step. The elution solvents hexane and ethyl acetate (1:1, v/v), hexane and dichloromethane (3:7, v/v), and ethyl acetate and hexane (2:8, v/v) were studied. The results showed that the combination of the tandem graphitized carbon and florisil cartridge with the elution solvent of 6 mL of ethyl acetate and hexane (2:8, v/v), which was capable of eliminating matrix interference and providing colorless eluates, was the most efficient clean-up procedure for propolis extracts when testing for OCPs. The analytical technique employed was gas chromatography with electron capture detection (GC-ECD). The correlation coefficients from linear regression for the analyzed concentrations (5 approximately 100 microg/kg) were >0.9961. The limits of detection (LODs) varied between 0.8 microg/kg for 4,4'-DDE and 11.4 microg/kg for endosulfan II, and the limits of quantitation (LOQs) ranged from 2.6 to 38.1 microg/kg. The average recoveries varied between 62.6 and 109.6%. Relative standard deviations (RSD%) ranged from 0.8 to 9.4%. Sample analysis indicated that 4,4'-DDE was detected more often in propolis than other pesticides, such as beta-HCH, delta-HCH and heptachlor.