Efficacy and risk of donor-derived CAR-T treatment of relapsed B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia after hematopoietic stem cell transplantation.

The one-year survival rate for patients experiencing a relapse of B-cell acute lymphocytic leukemia (B-ALL) following hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) is approximately 30%. Patients experiencing a relapse after allogeneic HSCT frequently encounter difficulties in obtaining autologous CAR-T products. We conducted a study involving 14 patients who received donor-derived CAR-T therapy for relapsed B-ALL following HSCT between August 2019 and May 2023 in our center. The results revealed a CR/CRi rate of 78.6% (11/14), a GVHD rate of 21.4% (3/14), and a 1-year overall survival (OS) rate of 56%. Decreased bone marrow donor cell chimerism in 9 patients recovered after CAR-T therapy. The main causes of death were disease progression and infection. Further analysis showed that GVHD (HR 7.224, 95% CI 1.42-36.82, P = 0.017) and platelet recovery at 30 days (HR 6.807, 95% CI 1.61-28.83, P = 0.009) are significantly associated with OS after CAR-T therapy. Based on the findings, we conclude that donor-derived CAR-T cells are effective in treating relapsed B-ALL patients following HSCT. Additionally, GVHD and poor platelet recovery impact OS, but further verification with a larger sample size is needed.

Phase Separation Enhanced PROTAC for Highly Efficient Protein Degradation.

Biomacromolecular condensates formed via phase separation establish compartments for the enrichment of specific compositions, which is also used as a biological tool to enhance molecule condensation, thereby increasing the efficiency of biological processes. Proteolysis-targeting chimeras (PROTACs) have been developed as powerful tools for targeted protein degradation in cells, offering a promising approach for therapies for different diseases. Herein, we introduce an intrinsically disordered region in the PROTAC (denoted PSETAC), which led to the formation of droplets of target proteins in the cells and increased degradation efficiency compared with PROTAC without phase separation. Further, using a nucleus targeting intrinsically disordered domain, the PSETAC was able to target and degrade nuclear-located proteins. Finally, we demonstrated intracellular delivery of PSETAC using lipid nanoparticle-encapsulated mRNA (mRNA-LNP) for the degradation of the endogenous target protein. This study established the PSETAC mRNA-LNP method as a potentially translatable, safe therapeutic strategy for the development of clinical applications based on PROTAC.

Astrocytes Excessively Engulf Synapses in a Mouse Model of Alzheimer's Disease.

Synapse loss is one of the most critical features in Alzheimer's disease (AD) and correlates with cognitive decline. Astrocytes mediate synapse elimination through multiple EGF-like domains 10 (MEGF10) pathways in the developing and adult brain to build the precise neural connectivity. However, whether and how astrocytes mediate synapse loss in AD remains unknown. We here find that the phagocytic receptor MEGF10 of astrocytes is significantly increased in vivo and in vitro, which results in excessive engulfment of synapses by astrocytes in APP/PS1 mice. We also observe that the astrocytic lysosomal-associated membrane protein 1 (LAMP1) is significantly elevated, colocalized with the engulfed synaptic puncta in APP/PS1 mice, and astrocytic lysosomes contain more engulfed synaptic puncta in APP/PS1 mice relative to wild type mice. Together, our data provide evidence that astrocytes excessively engulf synapses in APP/PS1 mice, which is mediated by increased MEGF10 and activated lysosomes. The approach targeting synapse engulfment pathway in astrocytes would be a potent therapy for AD.

Experimental and theoretical elucidation of the luminescence quenching mechanism in highly efficient Hg2+ and sulfadiazine sensing by Ln-MOF.

Heavy metal ions and antibiotic contamination have become a major environmental concern worldwide. The development of efficient recognition strategies of these pollutants at ultra-low concentrations in aqueous solutions as well as the elucidation of the intrinsic sensing mechanism are challenging tasks. In this work, unique luminescent Ln-MOF materials (NIIC-3-Ln) were assembled by rational ligand design. Among them, NIIC-3-Tb demonstrated highly selective luminescence quenching response toward Hg2+ and sulfadiazine (SDI) at subnanomolar concentrations in less than 7 s. In addition, a Hg2+ sensing mechanism through chelation was proposed on the basis of single-crystal X-ray diffraction analysis and Hg2+ adsorption study. The interaction mechanism of NIIC-3-Tb with SDI was revealed using a newly developed approach involving a (TD-)DFT based quantification of the charge transfer of a MOF-analyte supramolecular complex model in the ground and excited states. Effect of ultrasonic treatment on the surface morphology important for MOF sensing performance was revealed by gas adsorption experiments. The presented results indicate that NIIC-3-Ln is not only an advanced sensing material for the efficient detection of Hg2+ and SDI at ultra-low concentrations, but also opens up a new approach to study the sensing mechanism at the molecular level at ultra-low concentrations.

Asymmetric Hairpins DNA Encapsulated Silver Nanoclusters for In Situ Fluorescence Imaging of Fusion Gene Isoforms in Bone Marrow.

Rapid and accurate imaging of the BCR/ABL fusion gene isoforms (e.g., e13a2, e14a2 and co-expression type) of chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) is of vital importance to first-line drug selection, but there is no assay that meets clinical needs (e.g., clinical kits > 18 h without isoforms information). Herein, an in situ imaging platform is developed for the rapid and accurate detection of CML fusion gene isoforms using asymmetric sequence-enhanced hairpins DNA encapsulated silver nanoclusters (ADHA) and catalyzed hairpin assembly (CHA). The specific detection of e13a2 and e14a2 fusion gene isoforms with detection limits of 19.2 am (11.558 copies µL-1 ) and 32.56 am (19.601 copies µL-1 ) in one-pot is achieved. The feasibility of the developed assay for real-world applications are demonstrated by one-step fluorescence imaging (40 min) of e13a2, e14a2 and co-expression type in bone marrow quantitatively (International Standard: 15.66%-168.878%) and further validated by cDNA-sequencing. This work suggests that the developed imaging platform holds great potential for rapid identification of the fusion gene isoforms and isoform related treatment monitoring.

Cytokinin-inducible response regulator SlRR6 controls plant height through gibberellin and auxin pathways in tomato.

Plant height is a key agronomic trait regulated by several phytohormones such as gibberellins (GAs) and auxin. However, little is known about how cytokinin (CK) participates in this process. Here, we report that SlRR6, a type-A response regulator in the CK signaling pathway, positively regulates plant height in tomato. SlRR6 was induced by exogenous kinetin and GA3, but inhibited by indole-3-acetic acid (IAA). Knock out of SlRR6 reduced tomato plant height through shortening internode length, while overexpression of SlRR6 caused taller plants due to increased internode number. Cytological observation of longitudinal stems showed that both knock out and overexpression of SlRR6 generated larger cells, but significantly reduced cell numbers in each internode. Further studies demonstrated that overexpression of SlRR6 enhanced GA accumulation and lowered IAA content, along with expression changes in GA- and IAA-related genes. Exogenous paclobutrazol and IAA treatments restored the increased plant height phenotype in SlRR6-overexpressing lines. Yeast two-hybrid, bimolecular fluorescence complementation, and co-immunoprecipitation assays showed that SlRR6 interacts with a small auxin up RNA protein, SlSAUR58. Moreover, SlSAUR58-overexpressing plants were dwarf with decreased internode length. Overall, our findings establish SlRR6 as a vital component in the CK signaling, GA, and IAA regulatory network that controls plant height.

An ensemble forecast system for tracking dynamics of dengue outbreaks and its validation in China.

As a common vector-borne disease, dengue fever remains challenging to predict due to large variations in epidemic size across seasons driven by a number of factors including population susceptibility, mosquito density, meteorological conditions, geographical factors, and human mobility. An ensemble forecast system for dengue fever is first proposed that addresses the difficulty of predicting outbreaks with drastically different scales. The ensemble forecast system based on a susceptible-infected-recovered (SIR) type of compartmental model coupled with a data assimilation method called the ensemble adjusted Kalman filter (EAKF) is constructed to generate real-time forecasts of dengue fever spread dynamics. The model was informed by meteorological and mosquito density information to depict the transmission of dengue virus among human and mosquito populations, and generate predictions. To account for the dramatic variations of outbreak size in different seasons, the effective population size parameter that is sequentially updated to adjust the predicted outbreak scale is introduced into the model. Before optimizing the transmission model, we update the effective population size using the most recent observations and historical records so that the predicted outbreak size is dynamically adjusted. In the retrospective forecast of dengue outbreaks in Guangzhou, China during the 2011-2017 seasons, the proposed forecast model generates accurate projections of peak timing, peak intensity, and total incidence, outperforming a generalized additive model approach. The ensemble forecast system can be operated in real-time and inform control planning to reduce the burden of dengue fever.

Epidemiological characteristics and spatio-temporal analysis of brucellosis in Shandong province, 2015-2021.

BACKGROUND: Brucellosis is one of the major public health problems in China, it not only causes huge economic losses to the society, but also threatens the human's physical and mental health. The reported cases of brucellosis in Shandong province were at a high level, therefore, it is necessary for us to understand the epidemic characteristics and distribution trend of Brucellosis in Shandong province. This study aims to describe the epidemiological characteristics and spatial clustering characteristics of brucellosis in Shandong Province, provide a reference for the scientific prevention and control. METHODS: Human brucellosis data in Shandong province from 2015 to 2021 were obtained from the China Information System for Disease Control and Prevention, the data were analyzed by descriptive epidemiological methods, spatial autocorrelation analysis and spatial-temporal cluster analysis methods use ArcGIS and SaTScan software, the results were presented in ArcMap. RESULTS: A total of 22,251 human cases of brucellosis were reported, the annual incidence ranged between 2.41/100,000 and 4.07/100,000 from 2015 to 2021 in Shandong province, incidence has been decreasing year by year, while there was a significant increase in 2021. The distribution of brucellosis was of a seasonal trend, mainly concentrating during March to August. The age of the cases was mainly concentrated in the 30-74 age ranges, the average annual incidence rate was significantly higher in males than in females. The spatial analysis showed that the epidemics were mainly concentrated in the north and southwest. For the spatial autocorrelation analysis, a high global autocorrelation was observed at the county level, and the high-high clusters mainly distributed in the north and southwest region. For the spatio-temporal scanning, the most likely cluster areas mainly distributed in the north area, and then gradually moved southward, and the radius of clustered narrowed. CONCLUSIONS: Human brucellosis remains a common challenge, particularly in northern region in spring and summer. More disease prevention and control measures should be taken in high-risk populations, and such higher-risk susceptible areas to reduce the incidence of brucellosis and ensure the health of the people.

Exposure to Fine Particulate Matter Constituents and Human Semen Quality Decline: A Multicenter Study.

Exposure to fine particulate matter (PM < 2.5 µm in diameter [PM2.5]) may accelerate human sperm quality decline, although research on this association is limited. Our objective was to investigate the relationship between exposure to the chemical constituents of PM2.5 air pollution and decreased sperm quality and to further explore the exposure-response relationship. We conducted a multicenter population-based cohort study including 78,952 semen samples from 33,234 donors at 6 provincial human sperm banks (covering central, northern, southern, eastern, and southwestern parts of China) between 2014 and 2020. Daily exposure to PM2.5 chemical composition was estimated using a deep learning model integrating a density ground-based measure network at a 1 km resolution. Linear mixed models with subject- and center-specific intercepts were used to quantify the harmful impacts of PM2.5 constituents on semen quality and explore their exposure-response relationships. Per interquartile range (IQR) increase in PM2.5 exposure levels during spermatogenesis was significantly associated with decreased sperm concentration, progressive motility, and total motility. For PM2.5 constituents, per IQR increment in Cl- (ß: -0.02, 95% CI: [-0.03, -0.00]) and NO3- (ß: -0.05, 95% CI: [-0.08, -0.02]) exposure was negatively associated with sperm count, while NH4+ (ß: -0.03, 95% CI: [-0.06, -0.00]) was significantly linked to decreased progressive motility. These results suggest that exposure to PM2.5 chemical constituents may adversely affect human sperm quality, highlighting the urgent need to reduce PM2.5 exposure.

Correlation between pulmonary vascular performance and hemodynamics in patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension.

OBJECTIVE: To explore the correlation between pulmonary vascular performance and hemodynamics in patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH), using right heart catheterization (RHC) and intravascular ultrasound (IVUS). METHOD: A total of 60 patients underwent RHC and IVUS examinations. Of these, 27 patients were diagnosed with PAH associated with connective tissue diseases (PAH-CTD group), 18 patients were diagnosed with other types of PAH (other-types-PAH group), and 15 patients were without PAH (control group). The hemodynamics and morphological parameters of pulmonary vessels in PAH patients were assessed using RHC and IVUS. RESULTS: There were statistically significant differences in right atrial pressure (RAP), pulmonary artery systolic pressure (sPAP), pulmonary artery diastolic pressure (dPAP), mean pulmonary artery pressure (mPAP) and pulmonary vascular resistance (PVR) values between the PAH-CTD group, other-types-PAH group, and the control group (P < .05). No statistically significant difference was noticed in pulmonary artery wedge pressure (PAWP) and cardiac output (CO) values between these three groups (P > .05). The mean wall thickness (MWT), wall thickness percentage (WTP), pulmonary vascular compliance, dilation, elasticity modulus, stiffness index ß, and other indicators were significantly different between these three groups (P < .05). Pairwise comparison showed that the average levels of pulmonary vascular compliance and dilation in PAH-CTD group and other-types-PAH group were lower than those in control group, while the average levels of elastic modulus and stiffness index ß were higher than those in control group. CONCLUSION: Pulmonary vascular performance deteriorates in PAH patients, and the performance is better in PAH-CTD patients than in other types of PAH.

5-Hydroxymethylfurfural Ameliorates Allergic Inflammation in HMC-1 Cells by Inactivating NF-κB and MAPK Signaling Pathways.

Allergic inflammation is the foundation of multiple allergic disorders, such as allergic rhinitis and asthma. Mast cells are effector cells that initiate inflammatory response. 5-hydroxymethylfurfural (5-HMF), a furfural compound, is the heat-processed product of various fruit, foods, drinks, as well as some Chinese herbal medicines. 5-HMF was previously reported to inhibit mast cell activation. Our study aimed to explore the functions of 5-HMF in both phorbol 12-mystate 13-acetate (PMA) plus calcium ionophore (A23187)-induced allergic inflammation in human mast cell line HMC-1 and ovalbumin (OVA)-induced asthma mouse models. HMC-1 cells were pretreated with 5-HMF and then stimulated by PMA+A23187. The cytotoxicity of 5-HMF on HMC-1 cells was evaluated by MTT assay. Histamine content in cell supernatants was measured by the o-phthaldialdehyde spectrofluorometric procedure. Intracellular calcium was determined using the fluorescent dye Fura-2AM. The production and expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines were detected by ELISA and RT-qPCR. Caspase-1 colorimetric assay was employed to examine the enzymatic activity of caspase-1. Asthma mouse models were induced by OVA sensitization. The bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) and blood samples were collected for the detection of total and differential cell count as well as aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), OVA-immunoglobulin E (OVA-IgE), OVA-immunoglobulin G1 (OVA-IgG1), and pro-inflammatory cytokine levels. The left lung of mouse was dissected for histopathological examination by hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) staining. The protein expression of pro-caspase-1 and the phosphorylation of NF-κB and MAPK pathway-associated molecules were assessed by Western blotting. Our findings revealed that 5-HMF efficiently suppressed the PMA+A23187-induced enhancement in histamine production and intracellular calcium in HMC-1 cells. Pro-inflammatory cytokine production and expression in HMC-1 cells were elevated after PMA plus A23187 stimulation, which, however, were inhibited by pretreatment of 5-HMF. Additionally, 5-HMF suppressed the activity of caspase-1 and the phosphorylation of NF-κB and MAPK-associated molecules including p65 NF-κB, p38 MAPK, ERK, and JNK in HMC-1 cells. In vivo experiments demonstrated that 5-HMF treatment reduced the lung/body weight index and total and differential (macrophages, neutrophils, lymphocytes, and eosinophils) cell counts in BALF of asthmatic mice, but exerted no influence on serum AST and ALT levels. Besides, 5-HMF reduced serum OVA-IgE and OVA-IgG1 levels, mitigated lung inflammation, and inhibited the NF-κB and MAPK signaling pathways in asthma mouse models. 5-HMF mitigates allergic inflammation in asthma by inactivating caspase-1 and NF-κB and MAPK signaling pathways.

[Invasive Ductal Carcinoma within a Borderline Malignancy Phyllodes Tumor-A Case Report].

Phyllodes tumors are uncommon breast neoplasms that constitute 1-2% of breast malignancies. Invasive ductal carcinoma in the epithelial component of phyllodes tumor is very rare. When carcinoma is detected within the specimen, the management of treatment changes completely. We report a rare case of invasive ductal carcinoma arising in a giant borderline malignancy phyllodes tumor in a 51-year-old female patient. A painful 20 cm mass was found in her right breast, and a needle biopsy revealed fibroadenoma or benign phyllodes tumor, and a total mastectomy was performed. Pathological results showed that a borderline malignant phyllodes tumor coexisted with invasive ductal carcinoma. We explained that axillary surgery was necessary because invasive cancer was diagnosed after surgery, but the patient requested follow-up using images. Endocrine therapy was performed as postoperative adjuvant therapy, and the follow-up is underway without recurrence.

[A Case of Early Pancreatic Cancer Diagnosed from the Finding of Partial Pancreatic Parenchymal Atrophy].

A man in his 80s was referred to our hospital for further examination of partial pancreatic atrophy that was detected incidentally. Various imaging examinations including CT, MRI, and EUS did not reveal any obvious abnormal findings other than the partial pancreatic atrophy. However, cytological examination of serial pancreatic juice aspiration showed atypical cells. The presence of pancreatic intraepithelial carcinoma in the atrophy site was considered, and the patient underwent laparoscopic distal pancreatectomy. Pathological examination of the excised specimen confirmed the presence of high-grade pancreatic intraepithelial neoplasia consistent with the atrophy site, and the patient was diagnosed with pTisN0M0, Stage 0 pancreatic cancer. For the detection of early pancreatic cancer, it is important to be aware of partial pancreatic atrophy on imaging studies.

Highly Luminescent Lanthanide Metal-Organic Frameworks with Tunable Color for Nanomolar Detection of Iron(III), Ofloxacin and Gossypol and Anti-counterfeiting Applications.

Solvothermal reaction of 5,5'-(pyridine-2,6-diylbis(oxy))diisophthalic acid (H4 L) with europium(III) or terbium(III) nitrates in acetonitrile-water (1 : 1) at 120 °C gave rise to isostructural 2D coordination polymers, [Ln(HL)(H2 O)3 ]∞ (NIIC-1-Eu and NIIC-1-Tb), the layers of which are composed by eight-coordinated lanthanide(III) ions interconnected by triply deprotonated ligands HL3- . The layers are packed in the crystal without any specific intermolecular interactions between them, allowing the facile preparation of stable water suspensions, in which NIIC-1-Tb exhibited top-performing sensing properties through luminescence quenching effect with exceptionally low detection limits towards Fe3+ (LOD 8.62 nM), ofloxacin (OFX) antibiotic (LOD 3.91 nM) and cotton phytotoxicant gossypol (LOD 2.27 nM). In addition to low detection limit and high selectivity, NIIC-1-Tb features fast sensing response (within 60-90 seconds), making it superior to other MOF-based sensors for metal cations and organic toxicants. The photoluminescence quantum yield of NIIC-1-Tb was 93 %, one of the highest among lanthanide MOFs. Mixed-metal coordination polymers NIIC-1-Eux Tb1-x demonstrated efficient photoluminescence, the color of which could be modulated by the excitation wavelength and time delay for emission monitoring (within 1 millisecond). Furthermore, an original 2D QR-coding scheme was designed for anti-counterfeiting labeling of goods based on unique and tunable emission spectra of NIIC-1-Ln coordination polymers.

LATE MERISTEM IDENTITY1 regulates leaf margin development via the auxin transporter gene SMOOTH LEAF MARGIN1.

Plant leaves have evolved into diverse shapes and LATE MERISTEM IDENTITY1 (LMI1) and its putative paralogous genes encode homeodomain leucine zipper transcription factors that are proposed evolutionary hotspots for the regulation of leaf development in plants. However, the LMI1-mediated regulatory mechanism underlying leaf shape formation is largely unknown. MtLMI1a and MtLMI1b are putative orthologs of LMI1 in the model legume barrelclover (Medicago truncatula). Here, we investigated the role of MtLMI1a and MtLMI1b in leaf margin morphogenesis by characterizing loss-of-function mutants. MtLMI1a and MtLMI1b are expressed along leaf margin in a near-complementary pattern, and they redundantly promote development of leaf margin serrations, as revealed by the relatively smooth leaf margin in their double mutants. Moreover, MtLMI1s directly activate expression of SMOOTH LEAF MARGIN1 (SLM1), which encodes an auxin efflux carrier, thereby regulating auxin distribution along the leaf margin. Further analysis indicates that MtLMI1s genetically interact with NO APICAL MERISTEM (MtNAM) and the ARGONAUTE7 (MtAGO7)-mediated trans-acting short interfering RNA3 (TAS3 ta-siRNA) pathway to develop the final leaf margin shape. The participation of MtLMI1s in auxin-dependent leaf margin formation is interesting in the context of functional conservation. Furthermore, the diverse expression patterns of LMI1s and their putative paralogs within key domains are important drivers for functional specialization, despite their functional equivalency among species.

Brassinosteroid homeostasis is critical for the functionality of the Medicago truncatula pulvinus.

Many plant species open their leaves during the daytime and close them at night as if sleeping. This leaf movement is known as nyctinasty, a unique and intriguing phenomenon that been of great interest to scientists for centuries. Nyctinastic leaf movement occurs widely in leguminous plants, and is generated by a specialized motor organ, the pulvinus. Although a key determinant of pulvinus development, PETIOLULE-LIKE PULVINUS (PLP), has been identified, the molecular genetic basis for pulvinus function is largely unknown. Here, through an analysis of knockout mutants in barrelclover (Medicago truncatula), we showed that neither altering brassinosteroid (BR) content nor blocking BR signal perception affected pulvinus determination. However, BR homeostasis did influence nyctinastic leaf movement. BR activity in the pulvinus is regulated by a BR-inactivating gene PHYB ACTIVATION TAGGED SUPPRESSOR1 (BAS1), which is directly activated by PLP. A comparative analysis between M. truncatula and the non-pulvinus forming species Arabidopsis and tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) revealed that PLP may act as a factor that associates with unknown regulators in pulvinus determination in M. truncatula. Apart from exposing the involvement of BR in the functionality of the pulvinus, these results have provided insights into whether gene functions among species are general or specialized.

Ferroelectricity induced double-direction conductance modulation in HfxZr1-xO2capacitors.

The artificial synapses are basic units in the hardware implementation of neuromorphic computing, whose performances should be gradually modulated under external stimuli. The underlying mechanism of the increasing and decreasing device conductance is still unclear in the Hf0.5Zr0.5O2based synapses. In this study, the Hf0.5Zr0.5O2capacitors with different stack orders are fabricated in atomic layer deposition, whose ferroelectric properties are investigated by analyzing the capacitance-voltage and polarization-voltage curves. The enhanced ferroelectricity is found after the rapid thermal annealing treatment for all the TiN/Hf0.5Zr0.5O2/TiN, TiN/HfO2-ZrO2/TiN and TiN/ZrO2-HfO2/TiN devices. In the device with poor ferroelectricity, the conductance gradually decreases under both positive and negative identical pulse schemes, which corresponds to the gradual dissolution process of the conductive filaments established in the initial pulse. For the capacitors with strong ferroelectricity, dual-direction conductance modulation can be observed due to the partial domain switching process, which can emulate the potentiation and depression process of biological synapses.

Boosting Toluene Combustion by Tuning Electronic Metal-Support Interactions in In Situ Grown Pt@Co3O4 Catalysts.

Electronic metal-support interaction (EMSI) has attracted great attention in volatile organic compound (VOC) abatement. Herein, Pt@Co3O4 catalysts were prepared via a metal-organic framework (MOF) in situ growth approach to boost toluene degradation. The partial electron transfer from Co3O4 to Pt species was induced by the EMSI effect to generate the electron-rich Pt and Co3+ species. The electrophilic O2 molecules could be activated by picking up the electrons from electron-rich Pt species to form nucleophilic oxygen species, which is conducive to attack C-H bonds in toluene. The redox ability and surface oxygen species activity of catalysts were improved due to strong EMSI. As expected, the excellent toluene activity was achieved, meanwhile exhibiting satisfactory water resistance and long-term stability for toluene combustion. In situ diffuse reflectance infrared Fourier transform spectroscopy results elucidated that surface lattice oxygen species should deeply participate in toluene degradation, which could be efficiently replenished by gaseous oxygen. This work may provide a new idea for exploring the relationship between the electron transfer effect and efficient catalytic performance of VOCs.

Investigation on an outbreak of cutaneous anthrax in a county of Shandong Province, China, 2021.

BACKGROUND: In order to verify the existence of an anthrax outbreak, determine its scope, grasp the epidemiological characteristics and find out the cause of the outbreak and recommend preventive and control measures. METHODS: Etiological hypothesis was developed through descriptive epidemiological methods. Hypotheses were tested by analyzing epidemiological methods by comparing the differences in the incidence of different exposure types. Nucleic acid detection and bacterial isolation and culture in the BSL-2 laboratories. SPSS 21 was used to conduct statistical analysis. RESULTS: A total of 126 family, workshop, shop environment samples and meat samples were collected, and 6 samples were collected from skin lesions of suspected cutaneous anthrax cases. 41 samples were positive by rPCR and 8 strains of Bacillus anthracis were cultivated. Participated in slaughtering, cutting beef of sick cattles was significantly associated with cutaneous anthrax (RR 3.75, 95% CI 1.08-13.07), this behavior is extremely dangerous. CONCLUSIONS: Comprehensive analysis of laboratory results and epidemiological survey results and environmental assessments, we judge this epidemic to be an outbreak of cutaneous anthrax, associated with slaughtering and other processes from infected cattle imported from other province.

Detection and Analysis of Microplastics in Human Sputum.

Microplastic pollution is an emerging environmental problem, and little research has focused on its impact on the human body. Based on retrospective case series, the study required participants to fill out a questionnaire and provide sputum samples in order to investigate the presence of microplastics in human sputum and determine whether humans involuntarily inhale them. A total of 22 patients suffering from different respiratory diseases were recruited. We used an Agilent 8700 laser infrared imaging spectrometer and Fourier-transform infrared microscope to analyze sputum samples and evaluate microplastics in the respiratory tract. Remarkably, the size range of the method for detecting microplastics in our study is 20-500 µm. The results showed that 21 types of microplastics were identified, and polyurethane was dominant, followed by polyester, chlorinated polyethylene, and alkyd varnish, accounting for 78.36% of the total microplastics. Most of the aspirated microplastics detected are smaller than 500 µm in size (median: 75.43 µm; interquartile range: 44.67-210.64 µm). Microplastics are ubiquitous in all sputum, indicating that inhalation is a potential way for plastics to enter the human body. Additionally, the quantities of microplastic types in the respiratory tract are related to smoking, invasive examination, etc. (P < 0.05). This study sheds new light on microplastic exposure, which provides basic data for the risk assessment of microplastics to human health.