[Association between long-term exposure to ambient ozone and sperm quality in Shandong Province].

Objective: To evaluate the association between long-term exposure to ambient ozone (O3) and sperm quality. Methods: From January 1, 2014, to December 31, 2019, healthy sperm donors were recruited through the Human Sperm Bank of Shandong University Affiliated Reproductive Hospital. A total of 37 977 sperm donation data from 2 971 healthy volunteers were analyzed. The average annual O3 concentration (0.01°× 0.01°) was matched according to household address. A multivariate mixed-effect model was used to analyze the exposure-response relationship between the average O3 exposure concentration and sperm quality in the previous year, with each donor as a random intercept. All results were presented as % changes with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for all sperm parameters associated with 10 µg/m3 increases in O3. The effects of individual characteristics on the association between O3 and sperm quality were evaluated by stratified analysis. Results: The average O3 concentration in the year before semen collection was (107.09±7.50) µg/m3. Each 10 µg/m3 increase in O3 was associated with declined sperm concentration (-3.12%, 95%CI:-4.55%, -1.67%), total sperm count (-5.21%, 95%CI:-7.28%, -3.09%), total sperm motility (-1.49%, 95%CI:-2.37%, -0.61%), progressive motility (-2.53%, 95%CI:-3.78%, -1.26%), total motile sperm count (-5.82%, 95%CI:-8.17%, -3.41%), and progressively motile sperm count (-6.22%, 95%CI:-8.73%, -3.64%). Men aged 30 and above, obese, and with lower education levels might be more susceptible to the influence of O3 on sperm quality, but the difference was not statistically significant (P>0.05). Conclusion: Long-term exposure to O3 in Shandong Province is associated with a decrease in sperm quality.

[Molecular epidemiology of Listeria monocytogenes isolated from ready-to-eat food in 2017 in China].

Objective: To analyze the molecular characteristics of Listeria monocytogenes strains from ready-to eat food in China. Methods: A total of 239 Listeria monocytogenes strains isolated from ready-to-eat food in 2017, all strains underwent whole-genome sequencing (WGS) , and comparisons uncovered population structure derived from lineages, clonal complex, serogroups, antimicrobial susceptibility and virulence, which were inferred in silico from the WGS data. Core genome multilocus sequence typing was used to subtype isolates. Results: All strains were categorized into three different lineages, lineage Ⅱ was the predominant types in food, and IIa was the main serogroups. CC8, CC101 and CC87 were the first three prevalent CCs among 23 detected CCs, accounting for 49.4%. Only 4.6% (11 isolates) of tested strains harbored antibiotic resistance genes, which were mostly trimethoprim genes (7 isolates, 2.9%). All strains were positive for LIPI-1, and only a part of strains harbored LIPI-3 and LIPI-4, accounting for 13.8% (33 isolates) and 14.2% (34 isolates), respectively. ST619 carried both LIPI-3 and LIPI-4. 51.5% (123 isolates) of strains carried SSI-1, and all CC121 strains harbored SSI-2. Different lineages, serogroups and CCs can be separated obviously through cgMLST analysis, and 24 sublineages were highly concordant with CCs. Conclusion: Ⅱa was the main serogroups in ready-to-eat food isolates in China; CC8, CC101 and CC87 were the prevalent CCs, and CC87 isolates was hypervirulent isolates, cgMLST method can be adopted for prospective foodborne disease surveillance and outbreaks detection.

The equilibrium and fixed-bed study of malachite green adsorption on chitosan hydrogels.

Chitosan hydrogel beads were prepared by a precipitation process, and were used to investigate the adsorption of malachite green (MG) oxalate under various conditions. It was found that adsorption equilibrium was most sensitive to the pH value at pH <8 while fixed bed breakthrough kinetics presented asymmetric S-shaped profiles which could not be adequately described by conventional models such as Adams-Bohart and Yoon-Nelson. The possible reasons were discussed and an improved Adams-Bohart model was proposed to better describe the changes in mass transfer mechanisms during adsorption.

Activation of Src tyrosine kinase in esophageal carcinoma cells in different regulatory environments and corresponding occurrence mechanism.

This study aims at observing the expression of activated Src tyrosine kinase in esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC), and exploring the relationship of Src tyrosine kinase with the occurrence and progression of ESCC. Immunohistochemistry, immunofluorescence, and immunoblotting are employed to investigate the expression of Src tyrosine kinase in the ESCC tissue. Cellular immunofluorescence is used to measure the expression of activated Src tyrosine kinase in TE1 and TE9 cell lines of human ESCC tissues and EPC1-htert and EPC2-htert cell lines of esophageal epithelial cells. Src tyrosine kinase is overexpressed in ESCC tissue and underexpressed in normal esophageal mucosa. Furthermore, it is overexpressed in the TE1 and TE9 cell lines of human ESCC tissue and underexpressed in the EPC1-htert and EPC2-htert cell lines of esophageal epithelial cells. Src tyrosine kinase shows a higher expression in human ESCC tissue than in normal esophageal mucosa. The difference is statistically significant (P < 0.05). The activation of Src tyrosine kinase plays an important role in the occurrence and development of ESCC.

Potential role of heat-shock proteins in giant cell tumors.

We investigated the differential expression protein profile of giant cell tumors (GCTs), which can be used to monitor the tumor's recurrence and metastasis, to provide preliminary results for further study. We also explored heat-shock protein (HSP) inhibitor that prevents tumors from recurring and migrating. A stable isotope-labeling strategy using isobaric tags for relative and absolute quantitation coupled with two-dimensional liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry was used to separate and identify differentially expressed proteins. A total of 467 differentially expressed proteins were identified in GCT tissues. Up to 311 proteins were upregulated, whereas 156 proteins were downregulated in GCT tissues. Three of the differentially expressed HSPs, namely HP90A, HSPB1, and HSPB2, were upregulated. The differentially expressed proteins of GCT tissues will provide a scientific foundation for tumor prognosis, and for further studies exploring HSP inhibitor to prevent tumor recurrence and migration.

The evaluation of Lugol's iodine solution staining combined with endoscope for diagnosis of non-erosive reflux disease in clinic.

AIM: To evaluate the value of Lugol's iodine solution staining combined with endoscope on the diagnosis of non-erosive reflux disease (NERD). PATIENTS AND METHODS: A total of 96 gastroesophageal reflux disease patients were selected to participate in this study. The patients were stained on esophageal mucosa by Lugol's iodine solution and examined at routine endoscopy. The shallow staining and/or non-staining group patients were treated with esomeprazole and mosapride citrate, and then the changes in Lugol's iodine staining, Gerd Q (Gerd questionnaire) scoring and histological characters of esophageal mucosa were recorded before and after treatment. RESULTS: As the results, a total of 68 patients were diagnosed as NERD, and 36 of 68 patients were observed with uniform staining and 32 of 68 patients were observed with shallow staining and/or non-staining. After 4 weeks for treatment, 28 of 32 patients with shallow staining and/or non-staining became uniform staining and 4 of 32 patients were still with shallow staining and/or non-staining. Before and after treatment, the Gerd Q scoring of uniform staining groups and shallow staining and/or non-staining groups all had a significant difference (p < 0.05). Compared to the routine endoscopy, the detection rate of abnormal esophageal mucosa was significantly increased by Lugol's iodine solution staining combined with endoscope. CONCLUSIONS: Lugol's iodine solution staining combined with routine endoscopy, Gerd Q scoring and histomorphology can be used to evaluate the diagnosis and therapeutic effect of NERD.

High genetic variation among Aschersonia placenta (Clavicipitaceae) isolates from citrus orchards in China.

Aschersonia placenta had been recognized as an important fungal pathogen of whiteflies. In recent years, natural occurrence of Aschersonia in whitefly populations was observed in many citrus orchards in the southern regions of China. We analyzed 60 A. placenta isolates obtained from Chinese citrus orchards, using inter-simple sequence repeats to examine the genetic diversity and to determine whether intraspecific variation is correlated with geographic origin. One hundred and fourteen fragments were generated from these isolates; 97% were polymorphic. The Nei's gene diversity (H) was estimated to be 0.1748 within the populations (range 0.0974-0.2179) and 0.3057 at the species level. Analysis of molecular variance showed that the genetic variation was found mainly within populations (74.9%). The coefficient of gene differentiation (GST = 0.4315) indicated that 56.85% of the genetic diversity resided within populations. The Mantel test revealed no significant correlation between the genetic distance and the corresponding geographical distance (r = 0.142 and P = 0.887); the unweighted pair-group method using arithmetic average clustering gave similar results.

HOXA13 upregulation in gastric cancer is associated with enhanced cancer cell invasion and epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition.

The article "HOXA13 upregulation in gastric cancer is associated with enhanced cancer cell invasion and epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition, by Y.-X. He, X.-H. Song, Z.-Y. Zhao, H. Zhao, published in Eur Rev Med Pharmacol Sci 2017; 21 (2): 258-265-PMID: 28165563" has been retracted by the authors due to controversial issues with author contributions. The Publisher apologizes for any inconvenience this may cause. https://www.europeanreview.org/article/12092.

Low temperature thermocompression bonding between aligned carbon nanotubes and metallized substrate.

Vertically aligned carbon nanotube (VACNT) turf is proposed for use as an electrical and thermal contact material. For these applications, one route for circumventing the high temperatures required for VACNT growth using chemical vapor deposition (CVD) is used to grow firstly VACNTs on one substrate and then transfer them to other substrates. In this work, a nano thermocompression bonding technique between VACNTs and a metallized substrate is developed to allow dry mechanical transfer of the VACNTs. Unlike the diffusion bonding between two bulk materials, nano metal clusters have a high surface energy and the atoms are very active to form alloy with the contacted bulk metal material even at much lower temperatures, so nano thermocompression bonding can decrease the bonding temperature (150 °C) and pressure (1 MPa) and greatly shorten the bonding time from hours to 20 min. A debonding experiment shows that the bonding strength between VACNTs and the metallized layer is so high that a break is less likely to occur at the bonding interface.

[Establishment and application of a clustered management plan for pulmonary care of massive burn casualties].

Objective: To establish a clustered management plan for pulmonary care of massive burn casualties (hereinafter referred to as the clustered management plan for pulmonary care), and to explore its application effects. Methods: (1) A clustered care intervention group was established, including the medical and nursing staff from the Department of Burns and Plastic Surgery, Department of Respiratory Medicine, and Department of Infection Control at the Fourth Medical Center of PLA General Hospital (hereinafter referred to as our hospital). Four major links, including pulmonary care assessment, chest and lung physical therapy, artificial airway management, and specialized infection control were sorted out according to the key points and difficulties in pulmonary care for massive burn casualties. Evidence-based nursing methods were employed to retrieve articles related to the above-mentioned four links from PubMed, Chinese Journal Full-Text Database, VIP Database and Wanfang Data using terms of " mass burn, respiratory management and airway management" and terms of ",," , and the clustered management plan for pulmonary care was established based on reading and discussion in combination with clinical practice and experience. (2) In this non-randomized controlled study, the clustered management plan for pulmonary care was applied to 73 massive burn patients (48 males and 25 females, aged 32 (25, 38) years) who were admitted to our hospital from January 2016 to December 2019 and met the inclusion criteria, and they were included into the clustered care group; 43 massive burn patients (25 males and 18 females, aged 35 (17, 45) years) who were admitted to our hospital from January 2013 to December 2015, received routine care and met the inclusion criteria were retrospectively included into routine care group. The pulmonary infection rate and mortality of patients in the two groups were recorded during the hospital stay. Data were statistically analyzed with chi-square test, Mann-Whitney U test, and independent sample t test. Results: (1) The clustered management plan for pulmonary care included a total of 12 specific measures covering four aspects of pulmonary care. The contents in pulmonary care assessment clearly stated to include the previous medical history, history of injury, respiratory status, hoarseness, pulmonary auscultation, etc. Chest and lung physical therapy included how to guide patients to effectively cough and do pursed lip breathing and abdominal breathing exercise, etc. Artificial airway management specified the preparation for the establishment of artificial airway at clinical reception, the observation index and frequency after tracheotomy, the method of humidification, the method and frequency of sputum suction, and the management of mechanical ventilation, etc. Specialized infection control required to strengthen hand hygiene and ventilator management. (2) The pulmonary infection rate and mortality of patients in the clustered care group were 2.74% (2/73) and 4.11% (3/73), respectively, significantly lower than 25.58% (11/43) and 18.60% (8/43) in routine care group (χ(2)=11.986, 5.043, P<0.05 or P<0.01). Conclusions: The clustered management plan for pulmonary care developed for massive burn casualties focuses on the major links and key points. The measures are systemic and comprehensive, simple but precise, and highly operable, covering the entire process of massive burn care, hereby reducing the pulmonary infection rate significantly and improving the success rate of treatment.

Bone hydatid disease.

Bone hydatid disease lacks a typical clinical appearance and image characteristics on x ray or CT are similar to those of tuberculosis, metastases and giant cell tumour or bone cysts. However, MRI does show distinctive diagnostic features of bone hydatid disease, especially in the spine. Until recently, treatment of osseous hydatid disease has been entirely surgical. Effective chemotherapy using benzimidazoles, particularly mebendazole, albendazole and combination treatments, has now been achieved in experimental studies and clinical practice. However, most of these drugs are still in the experimental stage or are in the early stages of clinical use.

HOXA13 upregulation in gastric cancer is associated with enhanced cancer cell invasion and epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition.

OBJECTIVE: In this study, we investigated the association between HOXA13 dysregulation and gastric cancer progression. We also explored the functional role of HOXA13 in invasion and epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) of gastric cancer cells and the possible signaling pathway it might involve in. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The microarray (E-GEOD-19826) examined the transcription profiles of 12 adjacent normal/tumor-matched gastric tissues was downloaded from the ArrayExpress and reanalyzed. Immunohistochemistry (IHC) staining was performed to assess HOXA13 expression in 23 stage I and 69 stage II/III/IV gastric cancer tissues. The human gastric cancer cell line AGS and SGC-7901 cells were transfected with HOXA13 siRNA and then were subjected to detection of epithelial and mesenchymal markers and cell invasion. The involvement of HOXA13 in TGF-ß signaling was further studied. RESULTS: HOXA13 is one of the most upregulated genes in gastric cancer tissues compared to adjacent normal tissues. Also, HOXA13 is further upregulated in the higher stage tumors. HOXA13 staining was significantly stronger in stage II/III/IV tumors than in stage I tumors. HOXA13 siRNA significantly restored the epithelial property and reduced the mesenchymal property of the cancer cells. Transwell assay showed that HOXA13 siRNA impaired the invasion capability of the cancer cells. The gastric cancer cells with HOXA13 knockdown had decreased expression of p-SMAD2 and p-SMAD3. CONCLUSIONS: This study provides additional evidence about the association between HOXA13 upregulation and gastric cancer progression. Also, we showed that HOXA13 contributes to invasion and EMT of gastric cancer cells via the TGF-b signaling pathway.

Crosslinked collagen/chitosan matrix for artificial livers.

Matrices composed of collagen and chitosan may create an appropriate environment for the regeneration of livers. In this study, we have prepared, characterized and evaluated a new collagen/chitosan matrix (CCM). The CCM was made by using crosslinking agent 1-ethyl-3-(3-dimethylaminopropyl)-carbodiimide (EDC) in N-hydroxysuccinimide (NHS) and a 2-morpholinoethane sulfonic acid (MES) buffer system. The chemical characteristics were evaluated by Fourier-transformed infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The mechanical strength was measured by tensile tests. The platelet deposition and hepatocyte culture experiments show that CCM has excellent blood and cell compatibility. The results suggest that the CCM is a promising candidate matrix for implantable bioartificial livers.

Quantitative determination of PEG-hirudin in human plasma using a competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay.

Polyethylene glycol (PEG) coupled r-hirudin mutein is determined by biological methods-the coagulation system. In the present study, a competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) is described that permits the measurement of PEG r-hirudin. The ELISA system adopts a rabbit IgG antibody to quantitatively detect PEG-hirudin in human plasma. A PEG-hirudin calibration curve ranged from 50 to 7000 ng/mL. The limit of detection was 87 ng/mL. The intraassay coefficients of variation (CV) ranged between 16 and 21%, and interassay CV between 8 and 22% for low and high PEG-hirudin concentrations, respectively. The recovery of the compound in plasma was between 96 and 111.5%. The interindividual differences between 100 and 5000 ng/mL PEG-hirudin were between 12 and 22%. The correlation of the concentration of PEG-hirudin determined with the ELISA and the ecarin clotting time was r = 0.902. No interactions between unfractionated heparin, low molecular-weight heparin, or phenprocoumon and PEG-hirudin were observed in the ELISA. Deficiencies of thrombin or antithrombin as well as low, normal, and high fibrinogen levels did not interfere with the assay. It is concluded that the ELISA determines the concentration of PEG-hirudin and is not influenced by other major anticoagulants or by plasma levels of some coagulation proteins.

Okadaic acid induces marked shape change of human platelets.

Okadaic acid (OA) induced marked shape changes of human platelets but neither granule secretion nor increase in [Ca2+]i occurred. Morphological changes induced by OA were unique and different from those observed with thrombin mainly in two respects. One is that the pseudopods formed by OA treatment were longer and straighter than those by thrombin. The other is that no granule centralization was observed with OA-treatment, although central condensation of cytofilaments was observed as was with thrombin. The immunocytochemical analysis employing anti-myosin antibody revealed that myosin was distributed in the elongated pseudopods. Since OA induced phosphorylation of the 20-kDa myosin light chain (MLC20) corresponding to the change in shape of platelets but did not induce phosphorylation of the 47-kDa protein (pleckstrin) (Higashihara M. et al. FEBS Lett. 307:206-210, 1992), these results suggest that phosphorylation of MLC20 plays an important role in OA-induced unique morphological changes of platelets.

Covalent immobilization of chitosan and heparin on PLGA surface.

Chitosan and heparin were covalently immobilized onto a poly(lactic acid-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) surface using N-(3-dimethylaminopropyl)-N'-ethylcarbodiimide (EDC), N-hydroxysuccinimide (NHS) in a 2-morpholinoethane sulfonic acid (MES) buffer system. The properties of the modified PLGA surface and the control were investigated by water contact angle measurement and electron spectroscopy for chemical analysis (ESCA). The water contact angle of the modified film was greatly decreased and the element content on the surface of the films changed correspondingly. Platelet adhesion assay showed that blood compatibility of the chitosan/heparin modified film was improved while hepatocyte culture indicated that the cell compatibility of the modified film was enhanced.

Organ-association phenomena during sepsis. TNF and IL-6 in different macrophages.

Sepsis was induced in rats by cecal ligation and perforation (CLP). Five and 15 hours post CLP, alveolar macrophage (AM), Kupffer cell (KC), and peritoneal macrophage (PM) were isolated and cultured for 18 hours. Culture supernatant was examined for bioactivity of tumor necrosis factor (TNF) and interleukin 6 (IL-6) and response to lipoplysaccharide (LPS) stimulation in vitro. Results showed that AM produced more TNF during sepsis as compared with KC and PM. Stimulation with LPS in vitro was responded only by AM at 15 hr after CLP. Pattern of IL-6 production was different from TNF while KC produced the highest level of IL-6 after induction of sepsis.

Lunar phases, myocardial infarction and hemorrheological character. A Western medical study combined with appraisal of the related traditional Chinese medical theory.

Lunar phases and their connections with acute myocardial infarction (AMI) and hemorrheological character (HCh) are studied with the lunar calendar (LC) instead of the solar calendar. AMI onset is maximal on the 1st day of the LC month, decreasing with an obvious trough around the 15th day. After the 15th day, occurrence increases gradually. The end and beginning of the lunar months show sharp peaks of AMI incidence. This study shows also that HCh variations have similar LC monthly rhythms. Our investigation demonstrates the correctness of traditional Chinese medical theory. This monthly rhythm forecasts the onset of AMI peaks and contributes to the secondary prevention of coronary heart disease (CHD).

The role of Kupffer cells in the development of hepatic dysfunction during sepsis.

The effect of Kupffer cell blockade on hepatic function during sepsis was evaluated in this study. Methyl palmitate suspension 100 mg/100 g administered intravenously suppressed the phagocytic activity as the phagocytic index K decreased from 0.0493 +/- 0.0089 to 0.0150 +/- 0.0035 in rats. Sepsis was produced by the method of cecal ligation and needling perforation (CLP). At the end of 15 hours after CLP the hepatic adenosine triphosphate (ATP) level and ketone body ratio decreased significantly. But in rats pretreated with methyl palmitate 24 hours prior to CLP, the ATP level returned to the normal control level (1.6906 +/- 0.06-2.2323 +/- 0.13 mumol/g) and ketone body ratio remained at significantly higher values (0.26 to 0.68). After CLP, the liver lipoperoxide (LPO) concentration increased and glutathione (GSH) contents decreased significantly. When the septic rats were pretreated with methyl palmitate, both the LPO and GSH returned to the normal control level (62.69 +/- 1.7 to 44.62 +/- 2.12 and 159.85 +/- 9.7 to 222.27 +/- 11.34). It is concluded that the hepatic dysfunction is modulated at least to a greater extent by many of the toxic mediators released by the activated Kupffer cells during sepsis.

Identification of sources of Phoenix aerosol by positive matrix factorization.

Chemical composition data for fine and coarse particles collected in Phoenix, AZ, were analyzed using positive matrix factorization (PMF). The objective was to identify the possible aerosol sources at the sampling site. PMF uses estimates of the error in the data to provide optimum data point scaling and permits a better treatment of missing and below-detection-limit values. It also applies nonnegativity constraints to the factors. Two sets of fine particle samples were collected by different samplers. Each of the resulting fine particle data sets was analyzed separately. For each fine particle data set, eight factors were obtained, identified as (1) biomass burning characterized by high concentrations of organic carbon (OC), elemental carbon (EC), and K; (2) wood burning with high concentrations of Na, K, OC, and EC; (3) motor vehicles with high concentrations of OC and EC; (4) nonferrous smelting process characterized by Cu, Zn, As, and Pb; (5) heavy-duty diesel characterized by high EC, OC, and Mn; (6) sea-salt factor dominated by Na and Cl; (7) soil with high values for Al, Si, Ca, Ti, and Fe; and (8) secondary aerosol with SO4(-2) and OC that may represent coal-fired power plant emissions. For the coarse particle samples, a five-factor model gave source profiles that are attributed to be (1) sea salt, (2) soil, (3) Fe source/motor vehicle, (4) construction (high Ca), and (5) coal-fired power plant. Regression of the PM mass against the factor scores was performed to estimate the mass contributions of the resolved sources. The major sources for the fine particles were motor vehicles, vegetation burning factors (biomass and wood burning), and coal-fired power plants. These sources contributed most of the fine aerosol mass by emitting carbonaceous particles, and they have higher contributions in winter. For the coarse particles, the major source contributions were soil and construction (high Ca). These sources also peaked in winter.