Results of a Pilot External Quality Assessment Scheme for Genetic Testing of Newborns with Spinal Muscular Atrophy.

BACKGROUND: This study aims to evaluate the ability of laboratories to perform spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) genetic testing in newborns based on dried blood spot (DBS) samples, and to provide reference data and advance preparation for establishing the pilot external quality assessment (EQA) scheme for SMA genetic testing of newborns in China. METHODS: The pilot EQA scheme contents and evaluation principles of this project were designed by National Center for Clinical Laboratories (NCCL), National Health Commission. Two surveys were carried out in 2022, and 5 batches of blood spots were submitted to the participating laboratory each time. All participating laboratories conducted testing upon receiving samples, and test results were submitted to NCCL within the specified date. RESULTS: The return rates were 75.0% (21/28) and 95.2% (20/21) in the first and second surveys, respectively. The total return rate of the two examinations was 83.7% (41/49). Nineteen laboratories (19/21, 90.5%) had a full score passing on the first survey, while in the second survey twenty laboratories (20/20, 100%) scored full. CONCLUSIONS: This pilot EQA survey provides a preliminary understanding of the capability of SMA genetic testing for newborns across laboratories in China. A few laboratories had technical or operational problems in testing. It is, therefore, of importance to strengthen laboratory management and to improve testing capacity for the establishment of a national EQA scheme for newborn SMA genetic testing.

Enhancing Air Traffic Control Communication Systems with Integrated Automatic Speech Recognition: Models, Applications and Performance Evaluation.

In air traffic control (ATC), speech communication with radio transmission is the primary way to exchange information between the controller and the pilot. As a result, the integration of automatic speech recognition (ASR) systems holds immense potential for reducing controllers' workload and plays a crucial role in various ATC scenarios, which is particularly significant for ATC research. This article provides a comprehensive review of ASR technology's applications in the ATC communication system. Firstly, it offers a comprehensive overview of current research, including ATC corpora, ASR models, evaluation measures and application scenarios. A more comprehensive and accurate evaluation methodology tailored for ATC is proposed, considering advancements in communication sensing systems and deep learning techniques. This methodology helps researchers in enhancing ASR systems and improving the overall performance of ATC systems. Finally, future research recommendations are identified based on the primary challenges and issues. The authors sincerely hope this work will serve as a clear technical roadmap for ASR endeavors within the ATC domain and make a valuable contribution to the research community.

Development of an Ultra-Performance Liquid Chromatography-Tandem Mass Spectrometry Method for Hydroxylated Polychlorinated Biphenyls in Animal-Derived Food.

Hydroxylated polychlorinated biphenyls (OH-PCBs) are a group of metabolites biotransformed from polychlorinated biphenyls by animals with higher toxicities than their parent compounds. The present work developed and validated an analytical method for determinating penta-, hexa-, and hepta-chlorine substituted OH-PCBs in animal-derived food based on ultra-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS/MS) with isotope-dilution. The target analytes were extracted with a 50% n-hexane/dichloromethane (v/v), purified by sulfuric acid-silica gel, and separated by 5% hydrated silica gel, achieving a final concentration of 100 times before injection to LC-MS/MS. The limits of detection (LOD) and quantification (LOQ) for target OH-PCBs were within the ranges of 0.003-0.010 µg/kg and 0.009-0.030 µg/kg, respectively. Average recoveries ranged between 76.7% and 116.5%, with relative standard deviations of less than 18.4%. The proposed method is simple, time-saving, sensitive, and accurate, making it a powerful tool for risk monitoring of OH-PCBs in animal-derived food.

Performance Analysis of Single-Well Enhanced Geothermal System for Building Heating.

Deep borehole heat exchanger (DBHE) technology does not depend on the existence of hot water reservoir and can be used in various regions. However, the heat extraction from DBHE can hardly be improved due to poor thermal conductivity of rocks. Here, a single-well enhanced geothermal system (SWEGS) is proposed, which has a larger heat-exchange area of artificial reservoir created by fracturing hydrothermal technology. We find that, due to heat convection between rocks and fluid, the extracted thermal output for SWEGS is 4772.73 kW, which is 10.64 times of that of DBHE. By changing the injection water temperature, volume flow rate, and artificial reservoir volume, it is easy to adjust the extracted thermal output to meet the requirement of building thermal loads varying with outdoor air temperature. Understanding these will enable us to better apply SWEGS technology and solve the fog and haze problem easily and efficiently.

Comparative In Vitro and In Vivo Hydroxylation Metabolization of Polychlorinated Biphenyl 101 in Laying Hens: A Pilot Study.

Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) can be metabolized into hydroxylated PCBs (OH-PCBs) that exhibit greater toxicity than their parent compounds. In particular, 2,2',4,5,5'-pentachlorobiphenyl (PCB 101) is commonly found in chicken feeds and breeding environments, although information on the biotransformation of this PCB in chickens is lacking. In this study, the hydroxylation metabolization of PCB 101 was assessed based on in vitro trials with Sanhuang chicken liver microsomes and in vivo experiments with Hy-Line Brown hens. The para-substituted metabolite 4'-OH-PCB 101 is the predominant metabolite of PCB 101. 4'-OH-PCB 101 is preferentially retained in the chicken bloodstream and partly distributed into different tissues of laying hens. The blood-brain barrier can effectively prevent the OH-PCB from entering the brain, and the adipose tissue contains a relatively low residue concentration of the OH-PCB. The laying hen can deplete the OH-PCB via laying eggs and excrement. The ratio of 4'-OH-PCB 101/PCB 101 in egg yolk is about 1:2. These results first provide definite evidence for the previous hypothesis of the PCB 101 metabolism by chickens. They could assist in predicting the environmental fate of PCBs, and in the risk assessment of PCBs and OH-PCBs in chicken-based foodstuffs.

Subchronic toxicity of oral deltamethrin in laying chickens.

Pyrethroid pesticides, with low toxicity to birds and mammals and short persistence in the environment, are widely used now. With the development of intensive poultry farming, pesticide application leads to residues in poultry products and pollution in ecological environment. The aim of the present study was to examine deltamethrin subchronic toxicity in laying chickens. One hundred and twelve laying chickens were randomly assigned to 14 groups including 13 groups medicated with deltamethrin (n = 8) and one unmedicated group used as control (n = 8). Tissue samples were collected during and after administration for weighing and histopathological analysis. A single dose of deltamethrin (20 mg·kg-1·BW·d) was administered orally to laying chickens for 14 days. The results showed that deltamethrin has no significant effect on the relative organ weight of laying chickens (p > 0.05). The activities of aspartate aminotransferase and cholinesterase in the plasma gradually decreased over time in the medicated group (p < 0.05). Plasma concentrations of urea nitrogen, uric acid, cholesterol, triglycerides, and creatinine significantly increased during treatment (p < 0.05), and significant liver damage and loss of intestinal villous epithelium were observed. The intestinal wall thickness, villus height, and crypt depth of laying chickens were altered by deltamethrin treatment. During treatment was withdrawn, the intestinal repair was more extensive than the liver repair.

Downregulation of miR­141 deactivates hepatic stellate cells by targeting the PTEN/AKT/mTOR pathway.

The activation of hepatic stellate cells (HSCs) caused by stimulating factors or fibrogenic cytokines is the critical stage of liver fibrosis. Recent studies have demonstrated the influence of microRNAs (miRNAs or miRs) on HSC activation and transformation; however, the function and underlying mechanisms of miRNAs in HSC activation have not yet been completely clarified. In the present study, transforming growth factor ß1 (TGF­ß1) was used to treat human HSC lines (HSC­T6 and LX2 cells) to simulate the activation of HSCs in vivo and whether the expression of miRNAs in HSCs was affected by TGF­ß1 treatment was examined using a miRNA microarray. It was observed that miR­141 was one of the most upregulated miRNAs during HSC activation. Functional analyses revealed that miR­141 knockdown suppressed the viability of HSCs and inhibited the expression levels of pro­fibrotic markers. In addition, phosphatase and tensin homolog (PTEN), a well­known suppressor of the AKT/mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) pathway, was found to be directly targeted by miR­141 in HSCs. More importantly, the knockdown of PTEN markedly reversed the suppressive effects of miR­141 inhibition on the viability of and the expression levels of pro­fibrotic markers during HSC activation. Finally, it was observed that the downregulation of miR­141 blocked the TGF­ß1­induced activation of the AKT/mTOR pathway in HSCs. On the whole, the findings of the present study indicate that miR­141 inhibition suppresses HSC activation via the AKT/mTOR pathway by targeting PTEN, highlighting that miR­141 may serve as a novel therapeutic target for liver fibrosis.

Chitosan modification persimmon tannin bioadsorbent for highly efficient removal of Pb(II) from aqueous environment: the adsorption equilibrium, kinetics and thermodynamics.

Lead (Pb) pollution has triggered a great threat to ecological system as well as public health due to its highly toxic and mutagenic properties. In this study, chitosan surface modified persimmon tannin (PT-CS) biomass composite as an environmental-friendly bioadsorbent for highly efficient removal of Pb(II) from aqueous solutions was investigated. Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscope, Brunauer-Emmett-Teller, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and Zeta potential were used to elucidate the adsorption mechanism. Combining oxidation reaction, electrostatic interaction and chelation reaction, PT-CS exhibited fine adsorption to Pb(II). The maximum adsorption capacity was 179.3 mg/g. Equilibrium isotherm for the adsorption of Pb(II) was analyzed by the Langmuir, Freundlich and Temkin models, and the Langmuir isotherm (R2 > 0.99) was the best. The pseudo-first-order, pseudo-second-order and intraparticle diffusion equations were used to analyze the kinetic data of the adsorption process and the pseudo-second-order kinetic (Rs2 > 0.98) model was fitted well. Moreover, thermodynamic parameters including ΔG0 < 0, ΔH0 (150.57 KJ/mol) > 0 and ΔS0 (456.13 J/mol K) > 0 showed that the process of Pb(II) adsorption by PT-CS was spontaneous and endothermic. All these results illustrated that PT-CS would be a promising and low-cost alternative bioadsorbent of Pb(II) in wastewater treatment.

Equilibrium, kinetics and mechanism of Au3+, Pd2+ and Ag+ ions adsorption from aqueous solutions by graphene oxide functionalized persimmon tannin.

In this study, a novel bio-adsorbent (PT-GO) was prepared by functionalization persimmon tannin (PT) with graphene oxide (GO) and the effective adsorption behaviors of Au3+, Pd2+ and Ag+ ions from aqueous solution was investigated. The PT-GO was characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectrometer (FTIR), scanning electronic microscope (SEM), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) and Zeta potential. Many influence factors such as pH value, bio-adsorbent dosage, initial concentration of metal ions and contact time were optimized. The maximum adsorption capacity for Au3+, Pd2+ and Ag+ was 1325.09mg/g, 797.66mg/g and 421.01mg/g, respectively. The equilibrium isotherm for the adsorption of Au3+ and Ag+ on PT-GO were found to obey the Langmuir model, while the Freundlich model fitted better for Pd2+. The adsorption process of Au3+, Pd2+ presented relatively fast adsorption kinetics with pseudo-second-order equation as the best fitting model, while the pseudo-first-order kinetic model was suitable for describing the adsorption of Ag+. Combination of ion exchange, electrostatic interaction and physical adsorption was the mechanism for adsorption of Au3+, Pd2+ and Ag+ onto PT-GO bio-adsorbent. Therefore, the PT-GO bio-adsorbent would be an ideal adsorbent for removal of precious metal ions and broaden the potential applications of persimmon tannin in environmental research.

Discovery and mechanism of action of Novel Baicalein modified derivatives as potent antihepatitis agent.

Anti-hepatitis B virus (HBV) activity was evaluated in HepG2 2.2.15 cells by novel Baicalein derivatives. The result showed that compounds 4k and 4h was found to be effective anti-HBV agent. Further, the effect of compounds 4k and 4h showed dose-dependent inhibition of HBV-DNA as compared to control together with significant inhibition of HbeAG and HbsAG expression in the tested dose. Both compounds showed considerable affinity against the HepG2.2.15 cells. Moreover, the docking study of compound 4k was carried out with HLA molecule showing excellent intermolecular interactions with the receptor via creation of numerous bonds with Ser5, Thr27, Asp29 and Phe8. The compound 4k showed significant effect on the HO-1 expression in HepG2.2.15 cells together with excellent anti-HBV activity in transgenic mouse confirmed by biochemical and histopathological parameters. Compound 4k also showed excellent pharmacokinetic profile in experimental animal and thus, provide a novel class of potent anti-HBV agents.