Near-infrared light-enhanced colorimetric signal amplification strategy for tumor marker detection based on MoS2/CuO/Au nanocomposite.

A novel signal amplification strategy was developed by combining near-infrared light with MoS2/CuO/Au nanocomposite for building a colorimetric immunoassay. First, MoS2/CuO/Au nanocomposite was synthesized by precipitation and photoreduction methods and characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and X-ray powder diffraction (XRD). MoS2/CuO/Au nanocomposite has oxidase-like activity and can oxidize TMB to form a blue product (TMBox). Further, the catalytic oxidation of TMB was accelerated under near-infrared (NIR) laser radiation. The sandwich-type colorimetric immunoassay was constructed using MoS2/CuO/Au nanocomposite. Under the enhancement of near-infrared light, carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) was sensitively detected in the range 0.1 to 40 ng/mL with the limit of detection of 0.03 ng/mL. Moreover, the immunosensor has excellent selectivity and anti-interference, good repeatability, and stability.

YOLOv8 Model for Weed Detection in Wheat Fields Based on a Visual Converter and Multi-Scale Feature Fusion.

Accurate weed detection is essential for the precise control of weeds in wheat fields, but weeds and wheat are sheltered from each other, and there is no clear size specification, making it difficult to accurately detect weeds in wheat. To achieve the precise identification of weeds, wheat weed datasets were constructed, and a wheat field weed detection model, YOLOv8-MBM, based on improved YOLOv8s, was proposed. In this study, a lightweight visual converter (MobileViTv3) was introduced into the C2f module to enhance the detection accuracy of the model by integrating input, local (CNN), and global (ViT) features. Secondly, a bidirectional feature pyramid network (BiFPN) was introduced to enhance the performance of multi-scale feature fusion. Furthermore, to address the weak generalization and slow convergence speed of the CIoU loss function for detection tasks, the bounding box regression loss function (MPDIOU) was used instead of the CIoU loss function to improve the convergence speed of the model and further enhance the detection performance. Finally, the model performance was tested on the wheat weed datasets. The experiments show that the YOLOv8-MBM proposed in this paper is superior to Fast R-CNN, YOLOv3, YOLOv4-tiny, YOLOv5s, YOLOv7, YOLOv9, and other mainstream models in regards to detection performance. The accuracy of the improved model reaches 92.7%. Compared with the original YOLOv8s model, the precision, recall, mAP1, and mAP2 are increased by 10.6%, 8.9%, 9.7%, and 9.3%, respectively. In summary, the YOLOv8-MBM model successfully meets the requirements for accurate weed detection in wheat fields.

Isoniazide modified Ag nanoparticles triggered photothermal immunoassay for carcinoembryonic antigen detection.

As the most well-known analytical tool, the thermometer has been extended to the field of biological analysis based on the photothermal effect. Herein, isoniazide modified Ag nanoparticles were prepared as nanolabels to build an immunoassay. The nanoparticles were characterized by transmission electron microscope (TEM), dynamic laser scattering (DLS), X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), and Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR). When the target protein was present, the sandwich immunoassay was developed and the photothermal reaction was triggered by isoniazide modified Ag nanoparticles. As a reducing agent, isoniazide is used to transform phosphomolybdic acid hydrate into molybdenum blue solution. And molybdenum blue had good photothermal stability and high photothermal conversion efficiency. The temperature variation of molybdenum blue solution showed a positive correlation with the concentration of carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA). Thus, the target protein of CEA was quantitative detection by thermometer. The linear response range is 0.1 ng mL-1 to 40 ng mL-1, and the detection limit is 0.08 ng mL-1. Moreover, the proposed protocol had satisfactory selectivity, accuracy, and reproducibility.

Development and preliminary validation of the chronic obstructive pulmonary disease scale quality of life instruments for chronic diseases-chronic obstructive pulmonary disease based on classical test theory and generalizability theory.

Quality of life (QOL) in patients with Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a major global concern in respiratory care with the specific instruments used rarely being developed using a modular approach. This paper is aimed to develop the COPD scale of the system of QOL Instruments for Chronic Diseases (QLICD-COPD) by the modular approach based on Classical Test Theory and Generalizability Theory (GT). 114 inpatients with COPD were used to provide the data measuring QOL three times before and after treatments. The psychometric properties of the scale were evaluated with respect to validity, reliability and responsiveness employing correlation analysis, factor analyses, multi-trait scaling analysis, and also GT analysis. The Results showed that Multi-trait scaling analysis, correlation and factor analyses confirmed good construct validity and criterion-related validity with almost all correlation coefficients or factor loadings being above 0.40. The internal consistency α and test-retest reliability coefficients (Pearson r and Intra-class correlations ICC) for all domains except for the social domain were larger than 0.70, ranging between 0.70-0.86 with r = 0.85 for the overall. The overall score and scores for physical and the specific domains had statistically significant changes after treatments with moderate effect size SRM (standardized response mean) ranging from 0.32 to 0.44. All G-coefficients and index of dependability were all greater than 0.80 exception of social domain (0.546 and 0.500 respectively), confirming the reliability of the scale further. It concluded that the QLICD-COPD has good validity, reliability, and moderate responsiveness, and can be used as the QOL instrument for patients with COPD.

Polyaniline@Au organic-inorganic nanohybrids with thermometer readout for photothermal immunoassay of tumor marker.

A photothermal immunoassay using a thermometer as readout based on polyaniline@Au organic-inorganic nanohybrids was built. Temperature output is acquired due to the photothermal effect of the photothermal nanomaterial. Polyaniline@Au organic-inorganic nanohybrids were synthesized by interfacial reactions with high photothermal conversion efficiency. A sandwich structure of the immunocomplex was prepared on a microplate for determination of carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) by polyaniline@Au organic-inorganic nanohybrids as nanolabel. The released heat based on light-to-heat conversion from the photothermal nanolabel under NIR irradiation is detectable using the thermometer. The increased temperature is directly proportional to CEA concentration. The linear range of the photothermal immunoassay is 0.20 to 25 ng mL-1 with determination limit of 0.17 ng mL-1. Polyaniline@Au organic-inorganic nanohybrids with high photothermal conversion efficiency was synthesized as labels to construct photothermal immunosensor. The sandwich-type immunoassay was built on 96 hole plate based on specific binding of antigen and antibody. Carcinoembryonic antigen in sample was detected quantitatively by thermometer readout.

Cysteine-assisted photoelectrochemical immunoassay for the carcinoembryonic antigen by using an ITO electrode modified with C3N4-BiOCl semiconductor and CuO nanoparticles as antibody labels.

A sensitive photoelectrochemical (PEC) immunoassay for the carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) is described that is based on the use of C3N4-BiOCl semiconductor on an ITO electrode. The photocurrent of the modified electrode was measured under visible light illumination. It increased in presence of L-cysteine due to rapid separation of the photoexcited electrons and holes. A sandwich-type immunoassay in a 96-well microtiter plate format used CuO nanoparticles as label for the secondary antibody. The Cu2+ is released from the CuO in the sandwich complex by treatment with acid. The free Cu2+ combined with both the cysteine and the electron receptors of C3N4 and BiOCl. Under optimal conditions, this dual action immensely decreases the photocurrent of the PEC system, and the response is inversely proportional to the CEA concentrations from 0.1 pg mL-1 to 10 ng mL-1 at the working voltage of 0 V (vs. SCE). The detection limit is 0.1 pg mL-1, and the method is exhibited satisfactory selective, repeatable and stable. Graphical abstract Schematic representation of an immunoassay based on cysteine-assisted C3N4-BiOCl photoelectrochemical platform. CuO nanoparticles were utilized as labels in immunocomplex to release Cu2+ in acidic condition. Carcinoembryonic antigen in sample was detected sensitively by dual function of Cu2+ with cysteine and C3N4-BiOCl semiconductor.

Synthesis of TiO2/Fly Ash Cenospheres by Sol-Gel Method and Their Photacatalytic Activities Under Visible Light.

Fly ash is a solid waste discharged from thermal power plant. Specific surface area of floating fly ash cenospheres (FACs) would increase after it was modified. The photocatalytic composite of TiO2/FACs was successfully synthesized by sol-gel method using the carrier of modified FACs and tetrabutyl titanate as starting materials. The different influence factors on the photocatalytic performance of TiO2/FACs composites were characterized through SEM, EDS, XRD, UV-vis DRS and BET surface measurements. The UV-vis DRS spectra revealed that the absorption edge of TiO2 is 387 nm while that of TiO2/FACs photocatalysts red-shifts to 500 nm. Photocatalytic activity of TiO2/FACs was evaluated by the photocatalytic depigmentation of methyl orange solution (MO, 20 mg L-1, pH = 6.3) under visible light irradiation. It was found that the specific surface area, surface roughness and activity of FACs were increased by NaOH solution activation. The degradation rate of MO reaches 52% in 180 min under the visible light illumination. But too much FACs could decrease its photocatalytic activity and degradation rate. And the recovery test indicated that TiO2/FACs photocatalyst was rather stable, easy to recover from the treated wastewater.

Persistent Methyl Orange Degradation Ability of MgAl2O4:(Pr3+,Dy3+)/M-TiO2 Luminescent Photocatalyst.

Metal ions (Cr, Ni, Co) doped titania (M-TiO2) coupled with the long after glow phosphor MgAl2O4:(Pr3+, Dy3+) particles were synthesized by the sol-gel method, with the best mass ratio of MgAl2O4:(Pr3+, Dy3+) to M-TiO2 as 4:6. MgAl2O4:(Pr3+, Dy3+)/M-TiO2 had the persistent methyl orange (MO) photocatalytic degradation ability and the photocatalytic degradation went on reacting more than 90 min in dark after turning off the light. MgAl2O4:(Pr3+, Dy3+) emitted the light as a light source in dark which was absorbed by M-TiO2. The differences of MgAl2O4:(Pr3+, Dy3+)/Cr-TiO2, MgAl2O4:(Pr3+, Dy3+)/Ni-TiO2 and MgAl2O4:(Pr3+, Dy3+)/Co-TiO2 might be attributed to the difference in the metal ions doping. The composite MgAl2O4:(Pr3+, Dy3+)/Cr-TiO2 revealed the highest ability of persistent photocatalytic degradation methyl orange. Different metal ions doping made the TiO2 with different band gap.

Dye sensitized photoelectrochemical immunosensor for the tumor marker CEA by using a flower-like 3D architecture prepared from graphene oxide and MoS2.

The authors describe a dye-sensitized photoelectrochemical immunoassay for the tumor marker carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA). The method employs the rhodamine dye Rh123 with red color and absorption maximum at 500 nm for spectral sensitization, and a 3D nanocomposite prepared from graphene oxide and MoS2 acting as the photoelectric conversion layer. The nanocomposite with flower-like 3D architectures was characterized by transmission electron microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, X-ray powder diffraction, and UV-vis diffuse reflectometry. A photoelectrochemical sandwich immunoassay was developed that is based on the use of the nanocomposite and based on the specific binding of antibody and antigen, and by using a secondary antibody labeled with Rh123 and CdS (Ab2-Rh123@CdS). Under optimal conditions and at a typical working voltage of 0 V (vs. Hg/HgCl2), the photocurrent increases linearly 10 pg mL-1 to 80 ng mL-1 CEA concentration range, with a 3.2 pg mL-1 detection limit. Graphical abstract Flower-like GO-MoS2 complex with high efficiency of electron transport was synthesized to construct photoelectrochemical platform. The sandwich-type immunoassay was built on this platform based on specific binding of antigen and antibody. Carcinoembryonic antigen in sample was detected sensitively by using sensitization of rhodamine dye Rh123 as signal amplification strategy.

Amplified photoelectrochemical immunoassay for the tumor marker carbohydrate antigen 724 based on dye sensitization of the semiconductor composite C3N4-MoS2.

The authors describe an amplified photoelectrochemical immunoassay for the tumor marker carbohydrate antigen 724 (CA724). The method employs a C3N4-MoS2 semiconductor as the photoelectric conversion layer. The nanocomposite was characterized by transmission electron microscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, X-ray powder diffraction, and UV-vis diffuse reflectometry. The dye eosin Y was encapsulated into CaCO3 nanospheres which then were used as labels for antibody against CA724. In addition, Fe3O4 nanospheres were employed as magnetic platform for constructing photoelectrochemical sandwich immunoassay. The CaCO3 nanospheres can be dissolved with aid of ethylene diamine tetraacetic acid (EDTA) and the carried eosin Y in CaCO3 is released. The released dyes sensitizes the C3N4-MoS2 semiconductor, which induces photocurrent amplification. Under optimal conditions and at a typical working voltage of 0 V (vs. SCE), the photocurrent increases linearly in the range of 0.05 mU mL-1 to 500 mU mL-1 of CA724, with a 0.02 mU mL-1 detection limit. Graphical abstract The C3N4-MoS2 complex, with high efficiency of electron transport, was synthesized to construct a photoelectrochemical analytical platform. A sandwich-type immunoassay was established on the surface of magnetic beads. Carbohydrate antigen 724 in sample was detected sensitively by using sensitization of released eosin Y as signal amplifiery.

Ag-TON nanospheres coupled with fly ash cenospheres for wastewater treatment under visible light irradiation.

Using tetra-n-butyl titanate as raw material and fly ash cenospheres (FAC) as carrier, the photocatalysts of Ag-TON/FAC were successfully prepared by solvothermal and in-situ hydrolysis method. These visible light photocatalysts were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), fluorescence spectroscopy (FL) and UV-vis diffuse reflectance spectra (DRS). In this study, methyl orange and ciprofloxacin were used as wastewater degradation targets to investigate the effect of the amount of titanium dioxide and the amount of Ag doping on the activity of photocatalysts. On the basis of this, the optimal ratio of TiO2 to FAC was 2:1 and the optimum doping ratio of Ag was determined to be 15 wt.%. The composite photocatalysts dispersed uniformly and were easy to recycle and reuse, which were benefits in fully utilizing the solar energy. The degradation efficiency remained at more than 60% after being renewed five times for MO and ciprofloxacin. The photocatalysts of Ag-TON/FAC can reduce the environmental burden caused by FAC also.

Preparation and Properties of Phenol Imprinted Polymers Based on Silica Modified Multi-Walled Carbon Nanotubes.

A novel molecular imprinted polymers (MIP) based on SiO2-modified multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWNTs@SiO2) was successfully synthesized by combining a surface molecular imprinting technique with a sol­gel method using phenol as a template molecule, 3-aminopropyltriethoxysilane as functional monomer and tetraethoxysilicane as a cross-linker in ethanol solution. Scanning electron microcopy (SEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) were used to characterize and analysis the structure and morphology of the molecular imprinting composite, and then studied the isotherm adsorption experiments, selective experiments and dynamic curve. The isotherm adsorption data were further processed with a Scatchard equation to evaluate the adsorption properties of the MWNTs@SiO2-MIP. The results showed that imprinted polymeric layer was successfully grafted to the surface of MWNTs, the imprinted material had a binding site for the template and apparent maximum amount Q max = 19.902 mg/g, the maximum imprint factor (α) for the template was 3.484 and the maximum selectivity factor (ß) up to 3.440, so the imprinted materials could be applied to the separation of trace phenol.

[Relationship between mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase mRNA expression and maternal inheritance of asthma].

OBJECTIVE: To explore the relationship between the mRNA expression level of mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase and the maternal inheritance of asthma. METHODS: From January to December 2009, 220 asthma patients, 162 patient kins and 260 healthy subjects were recruited from Departments of Respiratory Critical Care Medicine and Pediatric Medicine at First Affiliated Hospital, Kunming Medical College. Lung function tests were performed and serum IgE level measured. The polymorphism of mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase gene polymorphisms was detected by direct sequencing. And the peripheral level of COX mRNA was measured by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). RESULTS: No significant difference existed in age, gender among 3 groups. For 3 groups, the first second forced expiratory volume (FEV1)/forced vital capacity (FVC) were 90.6 ± 6.2, 92.3 ± 2.3, 102.3 ± 2.3 and FEV1 percentage of expected value (FEV1%) were (82.9 ± 10.8)%, (94.8 ± 5.4)% and (98.3 ± 8.6)% respectively. The lung function was not significant difference among three groups. The mRNA expression level of mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase in peripheral blood were 0.357 ± 0.217, 0.637 ± 0.473 and 0.975 ± 0.260 in the asthma, kin and control groups respectively. No significant difference existed in the expression level of COX3 mRNA among 3 groups (F = 21.45, P = 0.012). The serum level of lgE was the highest for the asthma patients. And it was significantly higher in the asthma group than that in the control group ((283.6 ± 62.4) vs (52.3 ± 13.7) µg/L, F = 48.31, P < 0.05). Moreover, the serum level of IgE was significantly higher in the kin group than that in the control group ((116.4 ± 57.5) vs (52.3 ± 13.7) µg/L, F = 20.45, P < 0.05). However, there was a negative correlation between the mRNA expression level of mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase and the serum level of IgE among 3 groups. CONCLUSIONS: The down-regulated mRNA expressin of mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase may participate in allergic inflammation by regulating the level of IgE. And the maternal inheritance of asthma is in effect.

Effect of Nano Nd2O3 on the Microstructure and High-Temperature Resistance of G@Ni Laser Alloying Coatings on Ti-6Al-4V Alloy.

Titanium and its alloys are widely used in high-end manufacturing fields. However, their low high-temperature oxidation resistance has limited their further application. Recently, laser alloying processing has attracted researchers to improve the surface properties of Ti, for which Ni coated graphite system is an excellent prospect due to its outstanding properties and metallurgical bonding between coating and substrate. In this paper, nanoscaled rare earth oxide Nd2O3 addition was added to Ni coated graphite laser alloying materials to research its influence on the microstructure and high-temperature oxidation resistance of the coating. The results proved that nano-Nd2O3 has an outstanding effect on refining coating microstructures, thus the high-temperature oxidation resistance was improved. Furthermore, with the addition of 1. 5 wt.% nano-Nd2O3, more NiO formed in the oxide film, which effectively strengthened the protective effect of the film. After 100 h of 800 °C oxidation, the oxidation weight gain per unit area of the normal coating was 14.571 mg/cm2, while that of the coating with nano-Nd2O3 addition was 6.244 mg/cm2, further proving that the addition of nano-Nd2O3 substantially improved the high-temperature oxidation properties of the coating.

NiCrBSi Coatings Fabricated on 45 Steel Using Large Spot Laser Cladding.

Ni35 coatings were fabricated on 45 steel using a CO2 laser at various parameters. A relatively large spot (10 mm diameter) was adopted, which was beneficial to the coating quality and the cladding efficiency. The cross-sectional geometry, phase constituent, and microstructure of the coatings were investigated. With a lower specific energy, coating height increased, while coating width, melted depth, dilution rate, width to height ratio and contact angle decreased. Ni35 coating primarily consisted of γ-Ni, FeNi3, Ni3B, Cr23C6, and Cr5B3. Dendrites with flower-like, fishbone-like, pearl-like, and column-like morphologies were observed. The fraction of flower-like dendrites increased gradually with the decrease in scanning velocity due to the dendrite growth direction evolution. With the decrease in scanning velocity, the microstructure of the heat-affected zone transformed from martensite to martensite + sorbite and finally sorbite. The maximum microhardness of the Ni35 coating reached 451.8 HV0.2, which was about double that of the substrate (220 HV0.2).

Study of oxygen-deficient W18O49-based drug delivery system readily absorbed through cellular internalization pathways in tumor-targeted chemo-/photothermal therapy.

W18O49-mediated photothermal therapy (PTT) is affected by the easily oxidized property and its direct exposure to physiological environment can cause biological events, which limit its development in the biomedical field. Herein, a composite nanoparticle PVP-W18O49@C (PW@C), with significant antioxidant and excellent biocompatibility, was constructed to overcome the limitations of W18O49 in the medical field. Oxygen-deficient W18O49, with irregular defect structure, was combined with hollow carbon nanospheres treated by reflux to obtain W18O49@C (W@C) similar to sea urchins. Compared with W18O49, W@C shows stronger antioxidant properties, and it still has the ability to convert light energy to heat energy after 6 months. In addition, polyvinyl pyrrolidone is coated on the surface of W@C to construct PW@C, which significantly improves biocompatibility of W@C. The photothermal conversion efficiency of PW@C was 42.9 ± 1.3. PWD (PW@C loaded with DOX·HCl) showed controllable drug release behavior under pH and NIR stimulation, and the drug release rate reached 69.1 ± 1.6% at pH = 5.0. Notably, PWD was readily absorbed by cells through clathrin/caveolae-mediated internalization channels, and the viability of HeLa cells treated with PWD + NIR was only 21.5 ± 1.0%. Through photothermal, drug delivery/release and cytotoxicity evaluation, PWD was proved to be an effective platform for chemo-/photothermal combinational tumor therapy.

Engineering Bio-MOF/polydopamine as a biocompatible targeted theranostic system for synergistic multi-drug chemo-photothermal therapy.

In this study, a biodegradable multifunctional photothermal drug delivery nanoparticles (MPH NPs) using curcumin (Cur) as the ligand coated with hyaluronic acid (HA) was successfully prepared, which could simultaneously deliver Cur and doxorubicin hydrochloride (DOX·HCl) to overcome the common drug resistance in cancer cells. Polydopamine (PDA) as a protective shell prevents premature degradation of Cur in physiological environment and enables it to play effective medicinal value. MPH NPs can specifically recognize CD44 receptors on the surface of cancer cells for tumor targeting, with the damage of the partially released DOX to the superficial tumor cells, and then the positively charged Cur released may gradually penetrate into the cells through electron interaction to improve the problem of low permeability. In vitro cell experiments showed that hydrophobic/hydrophilic drugs co-loaded MPDH (MPH loaded with DOX·HCl) could enter the cancer cells through the endocytosis mediated by clathrin / caveolin, and the inhibition rate of MPDH on HeLa cells reached 79.28 % irradiation under 808 nm laser. MPH were composed of safe materials that have been proven to be biodegradable in human body, which avoided the disadvantages that NPs were difficult to discharge and caused damage to normal organs during long-term use.

Molybdenum blue mediated photothermal immunoassay for CEA detection based on Ag4P2O7@Ag nanocomposites.

A photothermal immunoassay was built for tumor marker detection based on Ag4P2O7@Ag nanocomposites. Ag4P2O7@Ag nanomaterials were synthesized by precipitation-photoreduction reaction, and characterized by transmission electron microscope (TEM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), atomic force microscopy (AFM), X-ray photoelectron spectra (XPS) and X-ray powder diffraction (XRD). Come about PO43- derived from Ag4P2O7@Ag under acidic conditions react with ammonium molybdate in the action of reductant generating molybdenum blue. The photothermal change is due to molybdenum blue solution depending on the concentration of carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) in immunoassay. Under optimal conditions, there is a linear relation between ΔT and CEA concentration in the range of 1 pg mL-1-40 ng mL-1 with the detection limit of 0.33 pg mL-1. Meanwhile, the developed photothermal immunoassay displays preferable selectivity, repeatability, and stability.

Canonical correlation analysis of factors that influence quality of life among patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease based on QLICD-COPD (V2.0).

BACKGROUND: The Quality of Life Instrument for Chronic Diseases (QLICD)-COPD (V2.0) was designed to assess the health condition of patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). The objective of this study was to evaluate the quality of life (QOL) of patients, the influential clinical factors and the relationships between QOL and clinical objective indicators. METHODS: Two hundred and sixty-one inpatients with COPD in the acute exacerbation stage were evaluated using the QLICD-COPD (V2.0) and data on clinical objective indicators were collected. The relationships between QOL and the clinical objective indicators were determined using canonical correlation analysis. RESULTS: The standardised scores for the patients in four domains, namely, physical function, psychological function, social function and a disease-specific module, were 49.00±12.91, 59.89±13.51, 68.59±11.94 and 51.84±13.58, respectively. The total score for the QOL of patients was 57.17±10.26. Two pairs of canonical variables were statistically significant (r1=0.35, p<0.0001; r2=0.26, p<0.05). These variables accounted for 45.8% and 33.8% of the variance, respectively. The levels of total protein, albumin, serum sodium and alkaline phosphatase and the percentages of neutrophils and lymphocytes were correlated with the QOL, with correlation coefficients ranging from -0.435 to 0.675. CONCLUSION: Clinicians should pay close attention to the levels of total protein, albumin, serum sodium and alkaline phosphatase and the percentages of neutrophils and lymphocytes to improve the QOL of patients.

Relationship between polymorphisms in the 5' leader cistron, positions 16 and 27 of the adrenergic ß2 receptor gene and asthma in a Han population from southwest China.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Adrenergic ß2 receptors (ADRB2) play an important role in regulating pulmonary function. Many previous studies have investigated possible associations between polymorphisms in the ADRB2 gene and asthma, but have yielded conflicting results. Furthermore, little is known regarding the possible role of the Arg19Cys polymorphism in susceptibility to asthma among Chinese. METHODS: This case-control association study involved 238 patients with asthma and 265 healthy subjects from a Han population in southwest China. For all subjects, the 5' leader cistron Arg19Cys, Arg16Gly and Gln27Glu polymorphisms in the ADRB2 gene were characterized by direct sequencing. Genotype, allele and haplotype frequencies were determined. In addition, to evaluate the association between the ADRB2 polymorphisms and lung function, bronchodilator response to inhaled ß2 agonists (400 µg of albuterol) was assessed in the asthmatic patients. RESULTS: There were no significant differences in genotype or allele frequencies for the three ADRB2 polymorphisms between the two cohorts. The Arg19/Arg16/Gln27 haplotype was more frequent among asthmatic patients than control subjects (odds ratio 2.24, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.05-4.73, P=0.04). Moreover, the Arg19/Cys19 genotype was associated with a lower FEV1% (mean difference -4.5, 95% CI: -12.5 to 3.6, P=0.02) and FEV1/FVC (mean difference 8.9, 95% CI: 8.5-9.4, P=0.01). The bronchodilator response to albuterol was also marginally lower in individuals who were homozygous for the Arg19 genotype (mean difference 4.2, 95% CI: 3.7-4.8, P=0.03). CONCLUSIONS: The Arg19/Cys19 genotype was an independent risk factor for lower FEV1% and FEV1/FVC. Asthmatic patients with the Arg19/Arg19 genotype showed decreased responsiveness to albuterol. Furthermore, the Arg19/Arg16/Gln27 haplotype may contribute to increased susceptibility to asthma in the Chinese population.