Therapeutic potential of natural flavonoids in pulmonary arterial hypertension: A review.

BACKGROUND: Pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) is a fatal disease caused by pulmonary vascular remodeling, with a high incidence and mortality. At present, many clinical drugs for treating PAH mainly exert effects by relaxing the pulmonary artery, with limited therapeutic effects, so the search for viable therapeutic agents continues uninterrupted. In recent years, natural flavonoids have shown promising potential in the treatment of cardiovascular diseases. It is necessary to comprehensively elucidate the potential of natural flavonoids to combat PAH. PURPOSE: To evaluate the potential of natural flavonoids to hinder or slow down the occurrence and development of PAH, and to identify promising drug discovery candidates. METHODS: Literature was collected from PubMed, Science Direct, Web of science, CNKI databases and Google scholar. The search terms used included "pulmonary arterial hypertension", "pulmonary hypertension", "natural products", "natural flavonoids", "traditional chinese medicine", etc., and several combinations of these keywords. RESULTS: The resources, structural characteristics, mechanisms, potential and prospect strategies of natural flavonoids for treating PAH were summarized. Natural flavonoids offer different solutions as possible treatments for PAH. These mechanisms may involve various pathways and molecular targets related to the pathogenesis of PAH, such as inflammation, oxidative stress, vascular remodeling, genetic, ion channels, cell proliferation and autophagy. In addition, prospect strategies of natural flavonoids for anti-PAH including structural modification and nanomaterial delivery systems have been explored. This review suggests that the potential of natural flavonoids as alternative therapeutic agents in the prevention and treatment of PAH holds promise for future research and clinical applications. CONCLUSION: Despite displaying the enormous potential of flavonoids in PAH, some limitations need to be further explored. Firstly, using advanced drug discovery tools, including computer-aided design and high-throughput screening, to further investigate the safety, biological activity, and precise mechanism of action of flavonoids. Secondly, exploring the structural modifications of these compounds is expected to optimize their efficacy. Lastly, it is necessary to conduct well controlled clinical trials and a comprehensive evaluation of potential side effects to determine their effectiveness and safety.

Regulatory effects of natural products on N6-methyladenosine modification: A novel therapeutic strategy for cancer.

N6-methyladenosine (m6A) is considered to be the most common and abundant epigenetics modification in messenger RNA (mRNA) and noncoding RNA. Abnormal modification of m6A is closely related to the occurrence, development, progression, and prognosis of cancer. m6A regulators have been identified as novel targets for anticancer drugs. Natural products, a rich source of traditional anticancer drugs, have been utilized for the development of m6A-targeting drugs. Here, we review the key role of m6A modification in cancer progression and explore the prospects and structural modification mechanisms of natural products as potential drugs targeting m6A modification for cancer treatment.

Acupuncture for cervical dystonia associated with anxiety and depression: A case report.

BACKGROUND: Cervical dystonia (CD) is a type of muscle tone disorder that usually occurs in the neck muscles. Due to the intermittent or continuous involuntary contraction of the neck muscles, the head and neck are twisted and skewed and some postural abnormalities occur. Long-term abnormal posture or pain can cause negative emotions in patients, which can affect their quality of life. CASE SUMMARY: This case report included a 37-year-old woman who was diagnosed with CD associated with anxiety and depression; the accompanying symptoms were head and neck tilt of approximately 90° to the right and mental abnormality. After two courses of acupuncture treatment, the patient's head and neck can be maintained in a normal position, and the negative emotions can be relieved. CONCLUSION: This case indicates that acupuncture can effectively improve CD and the emotional state and quality of life of patients, making it an effective alternative treatment for the condition.

Tumor mutational burden as a predictive biomarker for non-small cell lung cancer treated with immune checkpoint inhibitors of PD-1/PD-L1.

BACKGROUND: The significant clinical benefits of PD-1/PD-L1 immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIP) in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) have been widely recognized, emphasizing the urgent need for a reliable biomarker. In this study, we find the remarkable capacity of tumor mutational burden (TMB) to serve as an accessible and streamlined indicator. PATIENTS AND METHODS: We designed a retrospective cohort study, consisting of 600 NSCLC patients treated with ICIP. Association between TMB and overall survival (OS), progression-free survival (PFS), objective response rate (ORR), and disease control rate (DCR) has been explored. RESULTS: A strong positive correlation between TMB levels and OS, PFS rates, clinical benefit has been found when TMB > = 16(TMB > = 16 mutations/megabase (mut/Mb)). However, when TMB < 16, increasing TMB values did not exhibit a gradual stepwise increase in OS and PFS rates. The median months of OS in the TMB > = 16 and < 16 are 35.58, and 10.71 months respectively with average 12.39 months (p < 0.0001). The median months of PFS in the TMB > = 16 and < 16 are not-obtained, and 2.79 months respectively with an average of 3.32 months (p < 0.0001). The DCR in the TMB > = 16 and < 16 are 71.4% and 44.2% respectively with an average of 47.7% (p < 0.0001). The ORR in the TMB > = 16 and < 16 are 49.4% and 20.8% respectively with an average of 24.5% (p < 0.0001). CONCLUSION: The TMB > = 16 shows significantly associated with optimal ICIP treatment outcomes, including higher patient survival rates, delayed disease progression, and significant clinical benefits. These results present the potential of TMB as a promising biomarker candidate for NSCLC patients undergoing ICIP treatment.

Abnormal expression of miR-331 leads to impaired heart function.

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) play important roles in maintaining normal heart function. Abnormal expression of miR-331 has been observed in the hearts of patients with atrial fibrillation and Marfan syndrome. However, whether miR-331 regulates cardiac function under physiological and pathological conditions still remains unknown. In the present study, we investigated the function and underlying mechanisms of miR-331 in a pressure overload-induced heart failure model and miR-331 transgenic rat model. First, we found that the expression of miR-331-3p exhibited a 1.7-fold increase in hypertrophy compared with that in the sham group (P < 0.01), yet the expression of miR-331-5p remained unchanged. Furthermore, overexpression of miR-331 in cardiomyocytes and defective excitation-contraction (E-C) coupling efficiency were observed. Luciferase assays showed that miR-331-3p suppressed JPH2 expression by binding to the coding region of JPH2 mRNA. Finally, in the miR-331 transgenic rat model, JPH2 expression was suppressed at both the mRNA and protein levels in vivo, which resulted in impairment of both the E-C coupling efficiency of cardiomyocytes and systolic function of the heart. This finding mechanistically linked miR-331 to JPH2 downregulation and suggested an important role for the abnormal expression of miR-331 leading to the dysfunction of E-C coupling in heart failure.

Deciphering the Origin, Evolution, and Physiological Function of the Subtelomeric Aryl-Alcohol Dehydrogenase Gene Family in the Yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

Homology searches indicate that Saccharomyces cerevisiae strain BY4741 contains seven redundant genes that encode putative aryl-alcohol dehydrogenases (AAD). Yeast AAD genes are located in subtelomeric regions of different chromosomes, and their functional role(s) remain enigmatic. Here, we show that two of these genes, AAD4 and AAD14, encode functional enzymes that reduce aliphatic and aryl-aldehydes concomitant with the oxidation of cofactor NADPH, and that Aad4p and Aad14p exhibit different substrate preference patterns. Other yeast AAD genes are undergoing pseudogenization. The 5' sequence of AAD15 has been deleted from the genome. Repair of an AAD3 missense mutation at the catalytically essential Tyr73 residue did not result in a functional enzyme. However, ancestral-state reconstruction by fusing Aad6 with Aad16 and by N-terminal repair of Aad10 restores NADPH-dependent aryl-alcohol dehydrogenase activities. Phylogenetic analysis indicates that AAD genes are narrowly distributed in wood-saprophyte fungi and in yeast that occupy lignocellulosic niches. Because yeast AAD genes exhibit activity on veratraldehyde, cinnamaldehyde, and vanillin, they could serve to detoxify aryl-aldehydes released during lignin degradation. However, none of these compounds induce yeast AAD gene expression, and Aad activities do not relieve aryl-aldehyde growth inhibition. Our data suggest an ancestral role for AAD genes in lignin degradation that is degenerating as a result of yeast's domestication and use in brewing, baking, and other industrial applications.IMPORTANCE Functional characterization of hypothetical genes remains one of the chief tasks of the postgenomic era. Although the first Saccharomyces cerevisiae genome sequence was published over 20 years ago, 22% of its estimated 6,603 open reading frames (ORFs) remain unverified. One outstanding example of this category of genes is the enigmatic seven-member AAD family. Here, we demonstrate that proteins encoded by two members of this family exhibit aliphatic and aryl-aldehyde reductase activity, and further that such activity can be recovered from pseudogenized AAD genes via ancestral-state reconstruction. The phylogeny of yeast AAD genes suggests that these proteins may have played an important ancestral role in detoxifying aromatic aldehydes in ligninolytic fungi. However, in yeast adapted to niches rich in sugars, AAD genes become subject to mutational erosion. Our findings shed new light on the selective pressures and molecular mechanisms by which genes undergo pseudogenization.

Transplantation of bFGF-expressing neural stem cells promotes cell migration and functional recovery in rat brain after transient ischemic stroke.

Cerebrovascular disease such as stroke is one of the most common diseases in the aging population, and neural stem cells (NSCs) transplantation may provide an alternative therapy for cerebral ischemia. However, a hostile microenvironment in the ischemic brain offers is challenging for the survival of the transplanted cells. Considering the neuroprotective role of basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF), the present study investigated whether bFGF gene-modified NSCs could improve the neurological function deficit after transient middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) in adult male Sprague-Dawley rats. These rats were intravenously injected with modified NSCs (5×106/200 µL) or vehicle 24 h after MCAO. Histological analysis was performed on days 7 and 28 after tMCAO. The survival, migration, proliferation, and differentiation of the transplanted modified C17.2 cells in the brain were improved. In addition, the intravenous infusion of NSCs and bFGF gene-modified C17.2 cells improved the functional recovery as compared to the control. Furthermore, bFGF promoted the C17.2 cell growth, survival, and differentiation into mature neurons within the infarct region. These data suggested that bFGF gene-modified NSCs have the potential to be a therapeutic agent in brain ischemia.

Insights into the electron-donating and withdrawing effect of the functional groups on mechanochemical dehydrochlorination reactions.

The effect of the withdrawing ability of -CF3 groups in a large and flexible bidentate ligand has been evaluated by monitoring the course of solid-state dehydrochlorination reactions. We demonstrate that the coordination bond formation does not occur by mechanochemical means from a second coordination sphere adduct. Quantum mechanical calculations have shown that frontier molecular orbital energy and net charges at N centers can justify the less reactive nature of the partially fluorinated ligand, corroborating the experimental results.

Mechanism of Glucose Regulates the Fruiting Body Formation in the Beech Culinary-Medicinal Mushroom, Hypsizygus marmoreus (Agaricomycetes).

To understand the fruiting process of Hypsizygus marmoreus, a synthetic liquid medium (SLM) was optimized to induce fruiting body initiation. Dependent on the SLM, the effect of a monofactor (glucose) on the fruiting bodies of H. marmoreus was studied at different concentrations (10 and 40 g/L). Primordia appeared approximately 10 days earlier in low-glucose media (LGM) than in high-glucose media (HGM), whereas mature fruiting bodies formed on mushrooms approximately 7 days earlier and more primordia developed into mature fruiting bodies when cultured in HGM. In addition, the morphogenesis of the primordia was clustered in HGM, which was different than what was observed in LGM. Furthermore, differentially expressed genes (DEGs) that encoded various proteins involved in cell structure, general metabolism, signal transduction, and transcription and translation were analyzed by transcriptome sequencing. Six DEGs were detected by quantitative reverse-transcriptase polymerase chain reaction, and the results were consistent with the altered patterns of gene expression revealed by the transcriptome. This study not only identifies new candidate genes involved in the development of H. marmoreus but also provides a new research platform for studying the development of other edible mushrooms.

Avian leukosis virus subgroup J triggers caspase-1-mediated inflammatory response in chick livers.

Many pathogens trigger caspase-1-mediated innate immune responses. Avian leukosis virus subgroup J (ALV-J) causes serious immunosuppression and diverse tumors in chicks. The caspase-1 inflammasome mechanism of response to ALV-J invading remains unclear. Here we investigated the expression of caspase-1, the inflammasome adaptor NLRP3, IL-1ß and IL-18 in response to ALV-J infection in the liver of chick. We found caspase-1 mRNA expression was elevated at 5 dpi and peaked at 7 dpi in ALV-J infected animals. Corresponding to this, the expressions of NLRP3 and proinflammatory cytokines IL-1ß and IL-18 were significantly increased at 5 or 7 dpi. In addition, caspase-1 protein expression and inflammatory cell infiltration were induced after virus infection. These results indicated that ALV-J infection could trigger the caspase-1- mediated inflammatory response in chicks. Thus, an understanding of the inflammatory responses can provide a better insight into the pathogenicity of ALV-J and a possible anti-virus target for ALV-J infection.

Effects of improving nitrogen management on nitrogen utilization, nitrogen balance, and reactive nitrogen losses in a Mollisol with maize monoculture in Northeast China.

Traditional fertilization led to higher apparent N surplus, and optimized fertilization can reduce residual nitrogen in soils with keeping high yield. But in continuous spring maize cropping zone in Mollisol in Northeast China, the effect of the optimized N management on N balance and comprehensive environment was not clear. The primary objective of this study was to compare the differences of two fertilizations (traditional farmer N management (FNM) with single basal fertilizer and improvement N management (INM) by soil testing with top-dressing) in gain yield, N uptake and N efficiency, soil N balance, reactive N losses, and environment assessment. The results showed that INM treatment has no remarkable effect on grain yield and N uptake; N partial factor productivity (PFPN) of INM treatment was 19.8 % significantly higher than the FNM treatment. Nmin in soils of INM treatment reached to 111.0 kg ha(-1), which was 27.1 % lower than the FNM treatment after 6 years of continuous maize cropping; the apparent N Losses (ANL) and apparent N surplus (ANS) of INM were only half of FNM by soil N balance analysis. In reactive N losses, comparing with FNM treatment, INM treatment reduced NH3 volatilization, N2O emission, N leaching, and N runoff by 17.8, 35.6, 45, and 38.3 %, respectively, during planting period, and in integrated environment assessment by life cycle assessment (LCA) method, producing 1 t maize grain, energy depletion, acidification, eutrophication, and climate change impacts of INM treatment decreased 26.19, 30.16, 32.61, and 22.75 %, respectively. Therefore, INM treatment is a better N management strategy in comprehensive analysis.

The efficacy of chimeric vaccines constructed with PEP-1 and Ii-Key linking to a hybrid epitope from heterologous viruses.

The heterologous epitope-peptide from different viruses may represent an attractive candidate vaccine. In order to evaluate the role of cell-permeable peptide (PEP-1) and Ii-Key moiety from the invariant chain (Ii) of MHC on the heterologous peptide chimeras, we linked the two vehicles to hybrid epitopes on the VP2 protein (aa197-209) of the infectious bursal disease virus and HN protein (aa345-353) of the Newcastle disease virus. The chimeric vaccines were prepared and injected into mice. The immune effects were measured by indirect ELISA. The results showed that the vehicle(s) could significantly boost immune effects against the heterologous epitope peptide. The Ii-Key-only carrier induced more effective immunological responses, compared with the PEP-1 and Ii-Key hybrid vehicle. The carrier-peptide hybrids all showed strong colocalization with major histocompatibility complex (MHC) class II molecules compared with the epitope-peptide (weakly-binding) after co-transfection into 293T cells. Together, our results lay the groundwork for designing new hybrid vaccines based on Ii-Key and/or PEP-1 peptides.

[Effect of Long-Term Fertilization on Organic Nitrogen Functional Groups in Black Soil as Revealed by Synchrotron-Based X-Ray Absorption Near-Edge Structure Spectroscopy].

Nitrogen (N) is a common limiting nutrient in crop production. The N content of soil has been used as an important soil fertility index. Organic N is the major form of N in soil. In most agricultural surface soils, more than 90% of total N occurs in organic forms. Therefore, understanding the compositional characteristics of soil organic N functional groups can provide the scientific basis for formulating the reasonable farmland management strategies. Synchrotron radiation soft X-ray absorption near-edge structure (N K-edge XANES) spectroscopy is the most powerful tool to characterize in situ organic N functional groups compositions in soil. However, to our most knowledge, no studies have been conducted to examine the organic N functional groups compositions of soil using N K-edge XANES spectroscopy under long-term fertilization practices. Based on a long-term field experiment (started in 1990) in a black soil (Gongzhuling, Northeast China), we investigated the differences in organic N functional groups compositions in bulk soil and clay-size soil fraction among fertilization patterns using synchrotron-based N K- edge XANES spectroscopy. Composite soil samples (0-20 cm) were collected in 2008. The present study included six treatments: farmland fallow (FALL), no-fertilization control (CK), chemical nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium fertilization (NPK), NPK in combination with organic manure (NPKM), 1.5 times of NPKM (1.5 NPKM), and NPK in combination with maize straw (NPKS). The results showed that N K-edge XANES spectra of all the treatments under study exhibited characteristic absorption peaks in the ranges of 401.2-401.6 and 402.7-403.1 eV, which were assigned as amides/amine-N and pyrrole-N, respectively. These characteristic absorption peaks were more obvious in clay-size soil fraction than in bulk soil. The results obtained from the semi-quantitative analysis of N K-edge XANES spectra indicated that the relative proportion of amides/amine-N was the highest in both bulk soil and clay-size soil fraction, and it was the most major forms in soil organic nitrogen functional groups. Compared with the FALL treatment, the relative proportion of amide/amine-N was lower whereas that of Pyrrole-N was higher in the CK treatment. In the treatments with combined chemical fertilizers and organic manure, the relative proportion of amide/amine-N decreased with increasing application rates of organic manure, while that of Pyrrole-N had an opposite trend. In bulk soil, the relative proportion of amide/amine-N was the highest for the NPKS treatment than for the other treatments. On the other hand, the relative proportion of nitrile/aromatic-N was the highest for the Fallow treatment than for the other treatments in clay-size soil fraction. It is feasible to use N K-edge XANES spectroscopy for characterizing in situ the changes of organic N functional groups in soil under different fertilization practices.

An efficient Agrobacterium-mediated transformation method for the edible mushroom Hypsizygus marmoreus.

Hypsizygus marmoreus is one of the major edible mushrooms in East Asia. As no efficient transformation method, the molecular and genetics studies were hindered. The glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase (GPD) gene of H. marmoreus was isolated and its promoter was used to drive the hygromycin B phosphotransferase (HPH) and enhanced green fluorescent protein (EGFP) in H. marmoreus. Agrobacterium tumefaciens-mediated transformation (ATMT) was successfully applied in H. marmoreus. The transformation parameters were optimized, and it was found that co-cultivation of bacteria with protoplast at a ratio of 1000:1 at a temperature of 26 °C in medium containing 0.3 mM acetosyringone resulted in the highest transformation efficiency for Agrobacterium strain. Besides, three plasmids, each carrying a different promoter (from H. marmoreus, Ganoderma lucidum and Lentinula edodes) driving the expression of an antibiotic resistance marker, were also tested. The construct carrying the H. marmoreus gpd promoter produced more transformants than other constructs. Our analysis showed that over 85% of the transformants tested remained mitotically stable even after five successive rounds of subculturing. Putative transformants were analyzed for the presence of hph gene by PCR and Southern blot. Meanwhile, the expression of EGFP in H. marmoreus transformants was detected by fluorescence imaging. This ATMT system increases the transformation efficiency of H. marmoreus and may represent a useful tool for molecular genetic studies in this mushroom species.

[Effects of long-term fertilization on organic carbon functional groups in black soil as revealed by synchrotron radiation soft X-ray near-edge absorption spectroscopy].

A 20 years (1984-2004) stationary field experiment was conducted to evaluate the effects of long-term application of chemical fertilizers (N or NPK) alone or in combination with low (0.125 kg x hm(-2)) or high dose of corn stalk (0.25 kg x hm(-2)) on organic carbon functional groups in black soil using synchrotron radiation soft X-ray near-edge absorption spectroscopy (C-1s NEXAFS). Compared with the control (CK) treatment, the aromatic C and the carboxyl C of soil increased, whereas the aliphatic C, the carbonyl C and the aliphatic C/aromatic C ratio decreased after the application of chemical fertilizer alone. After the application of chemical fertilizations in combined with corn stalk, the aromatic C decreased while the aliphatic C and the aliphatic C/aromatic C ratio increased as compared to N or NPK fertilizer treatment. And the change tendency was more obvious with the increase in the dose of corn stalk applied. Regardless of corn stalk application, the aromatic C, the aliphatic C, and the aliphatic C/aromatic C ratio were all higher for NPK than for N fertilizer treatment. The above results indicated that, compared with the no-fertilizer control treatment, the application of chemical fertilizers alone resulted in the relative proportion of aromatic compounds increased whereas that of aliphatic hydrocarbon compounds decreased. On the other hand, the relative proportion of the aliphatic hydrocarbon compounds was higher after the application of chemical fertilizers with than without corn stalk, with high than with low dose of corn stalk, and with NPK than with N fertilization. C-1s NEXAFS spectroscopy could characterize in situ the changes of organic carbon functional groups in soil under long-term stationary fertilization.

[FTIR spectroscopic analysis of Cu2+ adsorption on hematite and bayerite].

The changes in surface hydroxyl structures and their absorption peaks after the adsorption of Cu2+ on the hematite and bayerite were studied by FTIR spectroscopy under the different pH values and Cu2+ concentrations. The result indicated that: (1) with the increase of Cu2+ concentrations, the H-O-H and OH deformation vibration of the hematite participated in the adsorption and Cu2+ combined with the Fe-O structure strongly, then Fe-O-(Cu) had been formed on the hematite surface. (2) In acid conditions, H+ in the solution destroyed the O-H structure of hematite surface and the existence of NO3- prompted the production of a new peak (1 131 cm(-1)). With pH value increasing, the hydroxy structure of hematite surface changed gradually from stretching vibration to deformation vibration, then the structures of Fe-OH and Fe(3+) -O(2-) constantly changed. (3) The adsorption of Cu2+ on the bayerite happened in the high wave position. With the Cu2+ concentration increasing, the free OH bending vibration, the OH- stretching vibration and its H-O-H bending vibration were all involved in the adsorption, and at the same time, Al3+ of Al-O was gradually replaced by Cu2+, which enhanced the vibration intensity of the low waves position. (4) With the increase in pH, the Al-OH bending vibration and Al-O stretching vibration changed gradually, which indicated that AlOCu+ and AlOCuOH structure had been formed on the bayerite surface after the adsorption.

[Three-dimensional model analysis of the gingival sulcus width from different retraction time].

OBJECTIVE: To explore the effect of gingival retraction time on the gingival sulcus width in different gingival areas, using three-dimensional (3D) model analysis. METHODS: Forty-six premolars from 10 volunteers were included, gingival retraction cords were applied on the buccal sulcus for three times, and the retraction time was 5, 10 and 15 minutes respectively. The least interval between two retraction procedures was 2 weeks. Impressions and stone models were made before and after gingival retraction. 3D data of the models were acquired by a 3D line laser scanner. Models were superimposed and tooth coordinate was set up with special software. Sulcus widths from different retraction time and different gingival areas were measured and compared. RESULTS: Sulcus widths between retraction of 5 and 10 minutes were significantly different at midbuccal and transitional line angle (TLA) gingival areas. At TLA areas, sulcus widths between retraction of 10 and 15 minutes were also statistically different, but the difference was not significant when compared with that of 5 and 10 minutes. Sulcus widths at midbuccal areas were significantly greater than that at TLA areas for all three retraction time. CONCLUSION: Before making impressions, gingival retraction time of single-cord mechanical technique should be at least 10 minutes. For different gingival areas, the enlargement of gingival sulcus from gingival retraction and the optimal retraction time were different. 3D model analysis could be used as a new objective method to evaluate gingival retraction effect from different retraction time.

The experience of college students with pulmonary tuberculosis in Shaanxi, China: a qualitative study.

BACKGROUND: The prevalence of pulmonary tuberculosis among college students in Shaanxi is high. Although tuberculosis leaves much psychological and social impact on patients, little is known about its impact on college students. The objective of this study is to explore the experiences and psychological process of college students with pulmonary tuberculosis in Shaanxi, China. METHODS: 17 college students with pulmonary tuberculosis were recruited purposively from 9 colleges in Shaanxi. In-depth interviews were conducted to collect data and a thematic framework analysis was used. RESULTS: The participants reported that pulmonary tuberculosis deeply influenced their mental health. They were fearful to the nature of pulmonary tuberculosis at the stage of diagnosis, anxious about the illness before the period of diagnosis and the early week of the treatment, excessive worry immediately before the first recheck. They expected an early full recovery, bored on tedious treatment life and worried about future heath and prospects during the whole treatment phase. Their daily life was also influenced, namely discontinued studies, isolation and increased financial burden. They also reported that they could get strong supports from family members, while little supports from healthcare workers and their friends. CONCLUSIONS: The participants' psychological pressure was significant during the treatment. In addition, there was serious conflict between treatment and study; social support provided for them was insufficient. Healthcare workers should provide psychological support for college students with pulmonary tuberculosis according to the psychological characteristics and offer social support through strengthening communication with them. Colleges should follow governmental policies on TB exactly and provide opportunities for the patients to continue their studies.

[Structural characteristics of humic acids from a long-term petroleum contaminated soil].

Petroleum contamination in soil decreases with the increase in the distance of soil to the drilling well. Accordingly, an abandoned petroleum well which had been exploited for about twenty years in Songyuan city of Jilin Province, China, was selected to investigate the structural characteristics of soil humic acids (HAs) under different petroleum contamination levels. Surface (0-20 cm) soil samples were collected at 0.5, 1.5, 3.5, 5.5 and 7.5 m deep from well head, and the petroleum contents were respectively 153.3, 148.4, 129.2, 50.5 and 5.62 g x kg(-1). HAs were extracted with 0.1 mol x L(-) NaOH and 0.1 mol x L(-1) Na4 P2O7 and were characterized with elemental analysis, Fourier transformed infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy and solid-state 13C cross polarization magic angle spinning nuclear magnetic resonance (13C CPMAS NMR) spectroscopy. Results showed that the atomic C/H, O/C and (N+O) /C ratios of HAs increased from 0.74, 0.41 and 0.45 for 7.5 m to 0.80, 0.83 and 0.88 for 0.5 m, respectively. The relative intensity of the peaks assigned to aliphatic carbon (2 921, 2 851 and 1 454 cm(-1)) in the FTIR spectra gradually decreased with increasing contamination levels, while that of the peak assigned to aromatic C(1 600 cm(-1)) increased, and the calculated absorption intensity ratio of 2 921 to 1 600 cm(-1) (2 921/1 600) declined from 0.22 for 7.5 m to 0.11 for 0.5 m. The solid-state 13C NMR data suggested that the relative content of alkyl C(0-50 ppm ) decreased from 49.9% for 7.5m to 30.9% for 0.5 m, while that of O-alkyl C(50-110 ppm), aromatic C(110-160 ppm) and carboxyl C(160-190 ppm) increased respectively from 20.1%, 13.1% and 14.3% to 28.0%, 18.8% and 19.3%. These results showed substantial chemical, structural, and molecular differences among these HAs. The aliphaticity and hydrophobicity of HAs decreased while aromaticity and polarity increased with the increase in petroleum content. Namely, HAs tended to become aged in molecular structure. Therefore, it is imperative to renew and activate the aged HAs by adopting appropriate measures for the remediation of petroleum contaminated soil.