Interfacial Engineering of MoS2@CoS2 Heterostructure Electrocatalysts for Effective pH-Universal Hydrogen Evolution Reaction.

The practical utilization of the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) necessitates the creation of electrocatalysts that are both efficient and abundant in earth elements, capable of operating effectively within a wide pH range. However, this objective continues to present itself as an arduous obstacle. In this research, we propose the incorporation of sulfur vacancies in a novel heterojunction formed by MoS2@CoS2, designed to exhibit remarkable catalytic performances. This efficacy is attributed to the advantageous combination of the low work function and space charge zone at the interface between MoS2 and CoS2 in the heterojunction. The MoS2@CoS2 heterojunction manifests outstanding hydrogen evolution activity over an extensive pH range. Remarkably, achieving a current density of 10 mA cm-2 in aqueous solutions 1.0 M KOH, 0.5 M H2SO4, and 1.0 M phosphate-buffered saline (PBS), respectively, requires only an overpotential of 48, 62, and 164 mV. The Tafel slopes for each case are 43, 32, and 62 mV dec-1, respectively. In this study, the synergistic effect of MoS2 and CoS2 is conducive to electron transfer, making the MoS2@CoS2 heterojunction show excellent electrocatalytic performance. The synergistic effects arising from the heterojunction and sulfur vacancy not only contribute to the observed catalytic prowess but also provide a valuable model and reference for the exploration of other efficient electrocatalysts. This research marks a significant stride toward overcoming the challenges associated with developing electrocatalysts for practical hydrogen evolution applications.

Polymorphisms of Placental Iodothyronine Deiodinase Genes in a Rural Area of Northern China with High Prevalence of Neural Tube Defects.

INTRODUCTION: We have reported that high total homocysteine and the coexistence of inadequate thyroid hormones in maternal serum increase the risk of fetal neural tube defects (NTDs). Placental iodothyronine deiodinases (DIOs: DIO1, DIO2, and DIO3) play a role in regulating the conversions between different forms of maternal thyroid hormones. This study hypothesized that single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in placental DIOs genes could be related to NTDs. METHODS: We performed a case-control study from 2007 to 2009 that included pregnant women from Lüliang, Shanxi Province, China. Nine distinct SNPs in DIOs genes were analyzed, and placental samples were obtained from 83 pregnant women with NTD fetuses and 90 pregnant women with normal fetuses. The nine SNPs were analyzed using the Cochran-Armitage test and the Fisher's exact test. RESULTS: There were no statistically significant differences between case and control in the nine SNPs of DIOs (p > 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: The results of this study suggested that SNPs of DIO genes in the placenta among pregnant women have no statistically significant difference between the two groups, suggesting that other factors might be involved in metabolism of maternal thyroid hormone provided to fetuses, such as epigenetic modification of methylation and homocysteinylation and genomic imprinting in the placenta. Further functional studies on placenta samples are necessary.

Characterization of salivary microbiota in elderly patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus: a matched case-control study.

OBJECTIVE: The importance of oral health in type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) is widely recognized; however, oral microbiota characteristics associated with T2DM in the elderly population are not well-understood. This study was conducted to evaluate the characteristics of the salivary microbiota in elderly Japanese patients with T2DM. METHODS: Saliva samples were collected from 42 elderly Japanese patients with T2DM and 42 age- and sex-matched subjects without T2DM (control). 16S ribosomal RNA metagenomic analysis and comparative analysis of both groups were performed. Random forest classification by machine learning was performed to discriminate between the salivary microbiota in the two groups. RESULTS: There were significant differences in the overall salivary microbiota structure between the T2DM and control groups (beta diversity; unweighted UniFrac distances, p = 0.001; weighted UniFrac distances, p = 0.001). The phylum Firmicutes was abundant in patients with T2DM, whereas the phylum Bacteroidetes was abundant in controls. The T2DM prediction model by random forest based on salivary microbiota data was verified with a high predictive potential in five cross-validation tests (area under the curve (AUC) = 0.938 (95% CI, 0.824-1.000)). CONCLUSION: Characterization revealed that the salivary microbiota profile of the elderly patients with T2DM is significantly distinct from that of the controls. CLINICAL RELEVANCE: These data indicate the necessity of oral health management based on the characteristics of the salivary microbiota in elderly patients with T2DM. Our findings will contribute to future research on the development of new diagnostic and therapeutic methods for this purpose.

High Throughput Isolation and Data Independent Acquisition Mass Spectrometry (DIA-MS) of Urinary Extracellular Vesicles to Improve Prostate Cancer Diagnosis.

Proteomic profiling of extracellular vesicles (EVs) represents a promising approach for early detection and therapeutic monitoring of diseases such as cancer. The focus of this study was to apply robust EV isolation and subsequent data-independent acquisition mass spectrometry (DIA-MS) for urinary EV proteomics of prostate cancer and prostate inflammation patients. Urinary EVs were isolated by functionalized magnetic beads through chemical affinity on an automatic station, and EV proteins were analyzed by integrating three library-base analyses (Direct-DIA, GPF-DIA, and Fractionated DDA-base DIA) to improve the coverage and quantitation. We assessed the levels of urinary EV-associated proteins based on 40 samples consisting of 20 cases and 20 controls, where 18 EV proteins were identified to be differentiated in prostate cancer outcome, of which three (i.e., SERPINA3, LRG1, and SCGB3A1) were shown to be consistently upregulated. We also observed 6 out of the 18 (33%) EV proteins that had been developed as drug targets, while some of them showed protein-protein interactions. Moreover, the potential mechanistic pathways of 18 significantly different EV proteins were enriched in metabolic, immune, and inflammatory activities. These results showed consistency in an independent cohort with 20 participants. Using a random forest algorithm for classification assessment, including the identified EV proteins, we found that SERPINA3, LRG1, or SCGB3A1 add predictable value in addition to age, prostate size, body mass index (BMI), and prostate-specific antigen (PSA). In summary, the current study demonstrates a translational workflow to identify EV proteins as molecular markers to improve the clinical diagnosis of prostate cancer.

Repeatability and Reliability of Home-Based Stool Color Card Screening for Biliary Atresia Based on Results in China and Japan.

Biliary atresia (BA) is the most frequent hepatic cause of death in early childhood. Early referral and timely Kasai portoenterostomy are essential for the improvement of long-term native liver survival rate of BA patients. Screening with stool color card (SCC) has been implemented in Japan since 1994. Recently current digital edition of SCC consisted of seven digitally created images was introduced to China. Our study aimed to evaluate the repeatability and reliability of same edition of SCC used in Beijing, China and Sapporo, Japan. In Beijing from 2013 to 2014, SCCs were distributed to infants' guardians by trained nurses in maternal facilities during information sessions on neonatal screening programs. SCC was used at three checkpoints for each infant after birth for screening. The SCC data were collected from 27,561 infants (92.5%) in Beijing by 42-day health checkup, mobile phone and social network services. In Sapporo from 2012 to 2015, the SCCs with a postcard and guardian instructions were inserted into Maternal and Child Health Handbook and distributed to all pregnant women. The data were collected from a total of 37,478 (94.3%) infants in Sapporo via the postcard during the 1st month infant health checkup. We thus identified two BA patients in Sapporo and two BA patients in Beijing. High rates of sensitivity and specificity in both cities were observed. The frequency distribution of color images on SCC reported in both cities was similar. This study shows excellent repeatability and reliability of the current digital edition of SCC.

Epigallocatechin gallate protects against homocysteine-induced vascular smooth muscle cell proliferation.

Epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG), a bioactive ingredient of green tea, plays a protective role in the cardiovascular system. Homocysteine (Hcy) is a major risk factor for chronic kidney disease and cardiovascular disease. The present study aimed to investigate the role of EGCG in Hcy-induced proliferation of vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMCs) and its underlying mechanism. We also explored the roles of rennin-angiotensin system (RAS), extracellular signal-regulated kinases (ERK1/2), and p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (p38 MAPK) in this process. Human aortic smooth muscle cells (HASMCs) were treated with different drugs for different periods. The proliferation rate of HASMCs was detected using the CCK-8 and BrdU labeling assays. The Western blot assay was used to determine the expression levels of angiotensin II type 1 receptor (AT-1R), ERK1/2, and p38 MAPK. Compared with the control group, the HASMCs treated with Hcy at different doses (100, 200, 500, and 1000 µM) showed significantly increased proliferation. Hcy increased the expression of AT-1R, whereas EGCG decreased the protein expression of AT-1R. Furthermore, we found that Hcy-induced expression of p-ERK1/2 and p-p38MAPK was dependent on AT-1R. Compared with Hcy (500 µM)-treated cells, EGCG (20 µM)-treated cells showed decreased proliferation as well as expression of AT-1R, p-ERK1/2, and p-p38MAPK. In addition, HASMC proliferation was suppressed by the addition of an AT-1R blocker (olmesartan), an ERK1/2 inhibitor (PD98059), and a p38MAPK inhibitor (SB202190). EGCG can inhibit AT-1R and affect ERK1/2 and p38MAPK signaling pathways, resulting in the decrease of VSMC proliferation induced by Hcy.

Association of oral endothelin receptor antagonists with risks of cardiovascular events and mortality: meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.

BACKGROUND: Endothelin receptor antagonists (ERAs) are widely used in a variety of disorders, including pulmonary artery hypertension, systemic sclerosis, diabetic and kidney diseases, and several tumors. However, reported adverse events, especially increased risks of cardiovascular disease (CVD) morbidity and mortality, have cast doubt on their potential clinical application. Therefore, we conducted this meta-analysis to confirm whether ERAs increased CVD risk and mortality. METHODS: We systematically searched PubMed (1966-2015), EMBASE (1974-2015), ClinicalTrials.gov, and the Cochrane Controlled Clinical Trials Register Database for randomized controlled trials published between Jan 1, 1990 and Mar 18, 2015. Inclusion criteria included a study duration of more than 3 weeks, the use of a randomized control group receiving an oral ERA or placebo, and the availability of outcome data for cardiovascular events and all-cause death. RESULTS: A total of 33 trials met the inclusion criteria. There were 8098 cases in the ERA group and 5074 cases in the placebo group. Compared with the control group, the risk ratio (RR) for all-cause death in the ERA group was 0.983 [95% confidence interval (CI), 0.883 to 1.094, P = 0.754]. The summary RR for cardiovascular events was 1.651 in the ERA group (95% CI, 1.164 to 2.34, P = 0.005). The pooled results showed that ERAs treatment could lead to more edema, anemia, and abnormal transaminase levels. Also, there was an increased proportion of discontinued therapy in the ERA treatment because of side effects (RR = 1.322, 95% CI, 1.036 to 1.686, P = 0.025). There were no significant differences in the experienced episodes of headache and dyspnea between the active therapy and control groups. CONCLUSIONS: ERAs therapy is not significantly associated with increased all-cause death, but there are more cardiovascular events and edema or fluid retention, anemia, and liver enzymes disorder. Large clinical randomized controlled studies are needed to further confirm the safety of the clinical application of ERAs.

Long-term native liver survival in infants with biliary atresia and use of a stool color card: Case-control study.

BACKGROUND: So far, there has been no epidemiological study on whether long-term native liver survival (NLS) in infants with biliary atresia (BA) is associated with use of a stool color card (SCC). METHODS: A case-control study was performed, involving two associations for patients with BA in Japan. Participants were patients with BA who were born and underwent their first open Kasai procedures (KP) between August 1994 and March 2011, and who were also members of either of two associations for patients with BA in Japan. SCC users were classified as cases and SCC non-users as controls. RESULTS: Mean age at the time of the first open KP was 59.7 and 68.2 days in SCC users and non-users, respectively (P < 0.05). According to Kaplan-Meier analysis, the probability of NLS at 12.5 years was 48.5% and 36.6% in SCC users and non-users (P < 0.05), respectively. On Cox proportional hazard modeling, not using an SCC was harmful to long-term NLS (hazard ratio, 2.61; 95% CI: 1.20-5.70; P = 0.016), adjusted for sex, age of timing of KP and type of BA. CONCLUSIONS: Long-term NLS is associated with SCC for early detection, but not associated with age or a threshold of age at KP (<90 days) in patients with BA.

[Rapid Soil Classification with Laser Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy].

Soil classification is an important research content in soil science field. It is the basis of soil survey and resource evaluation which is important to agricultural production. There are many soil classification standards all over the world. China has two kinds of classifications including soil genetic classification and soil system classification. There are great differences between different types of soil elements, so it is feasible for soil classification to use laser induced breakdown spectroscopy. Laser induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) is a new element analysis technology which uses a laser pulse with high energy density to ablate samples. LIBS has been used in many fields including environmental protection and industrial production control. It can directly reflect the difference of element content in different soils. The experimental setup including an Nd: YAG laser, a spectrometer, a computer and a rotating platform. In the experiment 7 kinds of soil (red soil, brick red soil, lateritic red soil, paddy soil, cinnamon, alluvial soil and alpine meadow soil) including 25 samples were used. All soil samples were grinded and sieved before the experiment. Under the same experimental condition, the temperatures of the plasma created by the laser pulses on the surface of the different soil samples have great differences. The lateritic red soil had the highest temperature, and the alpine meadow soil had the lowest. But it was not enough to form the basis for classification. Therefore six constant elements including Si, Fe, Al, Mg, Ca and Ti were selected and their spectral line intensity were treated as classification index. Principal component analysis (PCA) was used to simplify the classification process. The PCA method could simplify the 6 indexes to few independent indexes which could also reflect the spectral information of the 6 elements. The original spectral data was processed by Matlab. The process consisted of spectral background removal, characteristic spectrum identify and extraction. The classification results showed a three--dimensional figure. Except alpine meadow soil which varied in element concentrations 6 kinds of soils achieved good classification. The brick red soil and lateritic red soil varied in PC1, but their PC2s and PC3s were the same. The two kinds of soil overlapped with each other and they couldn't be separated. Back-propagation artificial network was also used to achieve soil classification. The classification results were the same with the PCA. Some brick red soil and lateritic red soil samples were identified inaccurately. When the PC1, 2, 3 were used as the input of the BP-neural network, the classification had much better accuracy because less input improved the performance of the BP-neural network. Only one alpine meadow soil sample was identified to cinnamon soil. When the plasma temperature was also taken into account, all the soil samples could be distinguished. The results showed that LIBS could be used to classify soils based on their element content differences. The PCA, soil plasma temperature and BP-neural network were useful tools to achieve soil classification. The LIBS provides a useful tool for general detailed soil survey and rational utilization of soil.

[Comparative Study on Laser Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy Based on Single Pulse and Re-Heating Orthogonal Dual Pulse].

In order to improve the detection sensitivity and spectral characteristic of laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS), re-heating orthogonal dual-pulse configuration is adopted to analyze Fe, Pb, Ca and Mg contained in the sample and soil sample contained different concentrations of heavy mental Cr. Variation relationship between spectral intensity, signal-to-background(SBR) of four characteristic spectral lines FeⅠ：404.581 nm，PbⅠ：405.78 nm，CaⅠ：422.67 nm and MgⅠ：518.361 nm and time interval of two laser pulses is discussed, the best time interval of two laser pulses is obtained 1.0 µs. In the condition of single pulse and dual-pulse, the enhancement factor of spectral intensity of four characteristic spectral lines FeⅠ：404.581 nm，PbⅠ：405.78 nm，CaⅠ：422.67 nm and MgⅠ：518.361 nm is respectively 2.23，2.31，2.42 and 2.10; The time evolution characteristic of spectral intensity of characteristic spectral lines FeⅠ：404.581 nm and CaⅠ：422.67 nm is considered, and also the variation relationship between spectral acquisition delay time and SBR of four characteristic spectral lines, dual-pulse can prolong decay time of spectral intensity and improve the SBR of characteristic spectral lines; time evolution characteristic of plasma temperature and electron density is compared in the condition of single pulse and dual-pulse, maximum elevation of plasma temperature is found to be 730 K, and the maximum increase of electron density is 1.8×1016 cm-3. The limits of detection of heavy mental Cr are obtained 38 and 20 µg·g-1 respectively in condition of single and double pulse, limit of detection of Cr is reduced approximately 2 times by the condition of re-heating orthogonal dual pulse. Results above indicate that re-heating orthogonal dual-pulse can improve detection sensibility and spectral characteristic of LIBS technique, which provides an effective method for decreasing the limit of detection of elements.

Study on Detection Sensitivity of Heavy Metal in Water Based on LIBS Combined with Electrode Enrichment Method.

In order to improve the detection sensitivity of laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) and lower the limit of the detection of elements, LIBS combined with Aluminum electrode enrichment method is adopted to analyze heavy metals such as Pb,Cdand Ni in the water. The relationship between the characteristic spectral intensity and the key parameters-voltage of electrode method is discussed, the spectral intensity increases first and then decreases with the increase of voltage. The spectral intensity reaches the maximum value when the enrichment voltage is 1.2 V while the optimal enrichment voltage value is 1.2 V. The stability of characteristic spectral lines of heavy metals is studied, and the relative standard deviation(RSD) of spectral intensity of Pb, Cd and Ni is 5.98％，4.25 ％ and 5.27％ respectively, the result shows that the spectral line obtained by this method has high stability. A series of samples in the range of 0~0.13 mg·L-1 are prepared and quantitatively analyzed, the limit of detection of Pb, Cd and Ni is obtained 1.2，3.1 and 1.7 ppb respectively. The above result shows that LIBS combined with aluminum electrode enrichment method can effectively improve the stability of characteristic spectral lines and lower the limit of detection of Pb,Cd and Ni. This research also provides a method to further improve detection sensitivity of LIBS and analysis ability of heavy metal in the water.

[LIBS Quantitative Analysis of Cr and Ni in Iron Alloys with Support Vector Machine (SVM)].

For the prediction of the contents of Cr and Ni in alloy steel samples, multivariate quantitative analysis model was established by optimizing the input variables of support vector machine (SVM) model, which could solve the problem of complex matrix effect of steel alloy samples. The results achieved by the integral intensity of characteristic spectral lines as the different inputs of SVM were found better than the intensity, because integral intensity contains more information of spectral line, spectral width and spectral shape; The multiple characteristic spectral lines of the elements as the inputs of SVM were better than using single element characteristic spectral information, because the influence of matrix effect could be corrected by inputting multivariate spectral information. By combining internal calibration with multivariate calibration, the experiment errors can be reduced and the matrix effect can be calibrated, and the repetition rate and accuracy could be improved. With the introduction of the normalized variable as the support vector machine (SVM) model of input variables, the relative errors of the content prediction of Cr in sample S1 and S2 are 6.58% and 1.12% respectively; and the relative errors of the content prediction of Ni in sample S1 and S2 are 13.4% and 4.71% respectively. The experiment results show that the SVM algorithm can be effectively used for LIBS quantitative analysis by combining internal calibration with multivariate calibration.

[Quantitative Analysis of Cr in Soil with Laser Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy Combined With Multivariate Calibration].

Laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) was used to calibrate the concentration of Cr in soils combined with Support Vector Machine. The Nd:YAG pulse laser with the wavelength of 1 064 nm was used as the excitation source. The grating spectrometer and the charge couple device were used as spectral separation device and the spectral detection device. The multiple linear regression and support vector machine were adopted to make quantitative analysis on Cr in soils respectively. The result indicate that the multiple linear regression can get more accurate informination of the spectral lines: the correlation coefficient is increased from 0.689 to 0.980 compared with conventional quantitative method. Thereofre, the the accuracy of quantitative analysis is increased. The slope about calibration curve with support vector machine of test set is nearly about 1 and the correlation coefficient is 0.998, the relative errors for the test set all are lower than 2.57%, the quantitative analysis results about support vector machine are better than the results combined with the conventional quantitative method and the multiple linear regression. The support vector machine can correct the matrix effect and improve the accuracy of prediction on the concentration of Cr in soil.

Stool color card screening for early detection of biliary atresia and long-term native liver survival: a 19-year cohort study in Japan.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the sensitivity and specificity of a stool color card used for a mass screening of biliary atresia conducted over 19 years. In addition, the age at Kasai procedure and the long-term probabilities of native liver survival were investigated. STUDY DESIGN: From 1994 to 2011, the stool color card was distributed to all pregnant women in Tochigi Prefecture, Japan. Before or during the postnatal 1-month health checkup, the mothers returned the completed stool color card to the attending pediatrician or obstetrician. All suspected cases of biliary atresia were referred for further examination. Diagnosis was confirmed by laparotomy or operative cholangiography for high-risk cases before the Kasai procedure. Patients with biliary atresia were followed from the date of their Kasai procedure until liver transplantation, death, or October 31, 2013, whichever comes sooner. RESULTS: A total of 313,230 live born infants were screened; 34 patients with biliary atresia were diagnosed. The sensitivity and specificity of stool color card screening at the 1-month check-up was 76.5% (95% CI 62.2-90.7) and 99.9% (95% CI 99.9-100.0), respectively. Mean age at the time of Kasai procedure was 59.7 days. According to Kaplan-Meier analysis, the native liver survival probability at 5, 10, and 15 years was 87.6%, 76.9%, and 48.5%, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: The sensitivity and specificity of the stool color card have been demonstrated by our 19-year cohort study. We found that the timing of Kasai procedure and long-term native liver survival probabilities were improved, suggesting the beneficial effect of stool color card screening.

The study of perceived stress, coping strategy and self-efficacy of Chinese undergraduate nursing students in clinical practice.

The aim of the study was to explore the coping strategy and the effects of self-efficacy of Chinese undergraduate nursing students when they face the stress in clinical practice. Convenience sampling was used to recruit undergraduate nursing students in Mainland China who have practiced 3 months in hospitals in their final college year. Self-report questionnaires including demographics, Perceived Stress Scale, coping behaviour inventory and Generalized Self-Efficacy Scale were collected. The results showed that during clinical practice, assignments and workload were the most common stress to students; transference was the most frequently used coping strategy by students. Self-efficacy not only had a positive main effect in predicting the frequency of use of staying optimistic and problem solving strategies but also moderated the effects of stress from taking care of patients on transference strategy, as well as stress from assignments and workload on problem solving strategy. It is essential to bolster the students' self-efficacy to reduce stress and adopt positively the coping strategies during clinical practice.

[Research on the Quantitative Analysis for In-Situ Detection of Acid Radical Ions Using Laser Raman Spectroscopy].

Laser Raman spectroscopy as an in situ analytical technology can enable detailed investigation of the ocean environment. It is necessary to set up a quantitative analysis method based on laser Raman spectroscopy to understand the marine status in situ. In the laboratory investigations, varied concentration of HCO3(-), SO4(2-) and coastal waters of Qingdao are taken as the samples, operating 532 nm of laser, using fiber optic probes to simulate detection mode in situ. Raman spectra are analyzed using the method of internal standard normalization, multiple linear regression (MLR), general Partial Least Squares (PLS) and PLS based on dominant factor respectively in data processing. It was found that correlation coefficients of calibration curves are not high in internal standard normalization method and predicted relative errors on the prepared samples are much high, so internal standard normalization method cannot be effectively used in the quantitative analysis of HCO3(-), SO4(2-) in the water. And with the multiple linear regression, the analysis accuracy was improved effectively. The calibration curve of PLS based on dominant factor showed that the SO4(2-) and HCO3(-) of pre-made solution with correlation coefficient R2 of 0.990 and 0.916 respectively. The 30 mmol · L(-1) of SO4(2-) and 20 mmol · L(-1) of HCO3(-) in two target samples were determined with the relative errors lower than 3.262% and 5.267% respectively. SO4(2-) in the coastal waters as the research object was analyzed by above-mentioned methods, comparing with 28.01 mmol · L(-1) by ion chromatography. It was demonstrated that PLS based on dominant factor method is superior to the rest of the three analysis methods, which can be used in situ calibration, with the mean relative error about 1.128%. All the results show that analysis accuracy would be improved by the PLS based on dominant factor method to predict concentration of acid radical ions.

Lactate and pyruvate levels in blood and cerebrospinal fluid in patients with Menkes disease.

OBJECTIVE: To examine levels of lactate (LA) and pyruvate (PA) in both blood and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) in patients with Menkes disease (MNK). STUDY DESIGN: A nationwide survey involving a retrospective review of medical records or medical record summaries of 42 male patients with MNK born between 1993 and 2008 were performed, and the genetic analysis of their ATP7A gene was reviewed. RESULTS: In these patients, LA and PA levels and the lactate vs pyruvate ratio (L/P ratio) at diagnosis in both blood and CSF were abnormally high. There were no significant differences in LA levels, PA levels, and the L/P ratio between blood and CSF at diagnosis (P > .05). There was also no correlation between LA levels, PA levels, and the L/P ratio, and age at measurement (P > .05). There was no or slight metabolic acidosis, as analyzed by blood gas analysis, in 7 patients. During treatment with subcutaneous injections of copper-histidine, LA and PA levels and the L/P ratio in both the blood and CSF decreased. CONCLUSION: Our findings suggest that LA and PA levels, and in particular, the L/P ratio, and blood gas analysis can be used to guide the diagnosis and management of MNK.

[Study on the multivariate quantitative analysis method for steel alloy elements using LIBS].

Quantitative analysis of steel alloys was carried out using laser induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) taking into account the complex matrix effects in steel alloy samples. The laser induced plasma was generated by a Q-switched Nd:YAG laser operating at 1064 nm with pulse width of 10 ns and repeated frequency of 10 Hz. The LIBS signal was coupled to the echelle spectrometer and recorded by a high sensitive ICCD detector. To get the best experimental conditions, some parameters, such as the detection delay, the CCDs integral gate width and the detecting position from the sample surface, were optimized. The experimental results showed that the optimum detection delay time was 1.5 micros, the optimal CCDs integral gate width was 2 micros and the best detecting position was 1.5 mm below the alloy sample's surface. The samples used in the experiments are ten standard steel alloy samples and two unknown steel alloy samples. The quantitative analysis was investigated with the optimum experimental parameters. Elements Cr and Ni in steel alloy samples were taken as the detection targets. The analysis was carried out with the methods based on conditional univariate quantitative analysis, multiple linear regression and partial least squares (PLS) respectively. It turned out that the correlation coefficients of calibration curves are not very high in the conditional univariate calibration method. The analysis results were obtained with the unsatisfied relative errors for the two predicted samples. So the con- ditional univariate quantitative analysis method can't effectively serve the quantitative analysis purpose for multi-components and complex matrix steel alloy samples. And with multiple linear regression method, the analysis accuracy was improved effectively. The method based on partial least squares (PLS) turned out to be the best method among all the three quantitative analysis methods applied. Based on PLS, the correlation coefficient of calibration curve for Cr is 0.981 and that for Ni is 0.995. The concentrations of Cr and Ni in two target samples were determined using PLS calibration method, and the relative errors for the two unknown steel alloy samples are lower than 6.62% and 1.49% respectively. The obtained results showed that in the quantitative analysis of steel alloys, the matrix effect would be reduced effectively and the quantitative analysis accuracy would be improved by the PLS calibration method.

Plant cyclopeptide RA-V kills human breast cancer cells by inducing mitochondria-mediated apoptosis through blocking PDK1-AKT interaction.

In the present paper, we examined the effects of a natural cyclopeptide RA-V on human breast cancer cells and the underlying mechanisms. RA-V significantly inhibited the growth of human breast cancer MCF-7, MDA-MB-231 cells and murine breast cancer 4T1 cells. In addition, RA-V triggered mitochondrial apoptotic pathway which was indicated by the loss of mitochondrial membrane potential, the release of cytochrome c, and the activation of caspase cascade. Further study showed that RA-V dramatically inhibited phosphorylation of AKT and 3-phosphoinositide dependent protein kinase 1 (PDK1) in MCF-7 cells. Moreover, RA-V disrupted the interaction between PDK1 and AKT in MCF-7 cells. Furthermore, RA-V-induced apoptosis could be enhanced by phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase inhibitor or attenuated by over-expression of AKT in all the three kinds of breast cancer cells. Taken together, this study shows that RA-V, which can induce mitochondria-mediated apoptosis, exerts strong anti-tumor activity against human breast cancer. The underlying anti-cancer mechanism of RA-V is related to the blockage of the interaction between PDK1 and AKT.

Clinical evaluation of a multitarget fecal immunochemical test-sDNA test for colorectal cancer screening in a high-risk population: a prospective, multicenter clinical study.

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is a major malignancy threatening the health of people in China and screening could be effective for preventing the occurrence and reducing the mortality of CRC. We conducted a multicenter, prospective clinical study which recruited 4,245 high-risk CRC individuals defined as having positive risk-adapted scores or fecal immunochemical test (FIT) results, to evaluate the clinical performance of the multitarget fecal immunochemical and stool DNA (FIT-sDNA) test for CRC screening. Each participant was asked to provide a stool sample prior to bowel preparation, and FIT-sDNA test and FIT were performed independently of colonoscopy. We found that 186 (4.4%) were confirmed to have CRC, and 375 (8.8%) had advanced precancerous neoplasia among the high CRC risk individuals. The sensitivity of detecting CRC for FIT-sDNA test was 91.9% (95% CI, 86.8-95.3), compared with 62.4% (95% CI, 54.9-69.3) for FIT (P < 0.001). The sensitivity for detecting advanced precancerous neoplasia was 63.5% (95% CI, 58.3-68.3) for FIT-sDNA test, compared with 30.9% (95% CI, 26.3-35.6) for FIT (P < 0.001). Multitarget FIT-sDNA test detected more colorectal advanced neoplasia than FIT. Overall, these findings indicated that in areas with limited colonoscopy resources, FIT-sDNA test could be a promising further risk triaging modality to select patients for colonoscopy in CRC screening.