Repair of dysfunctional bone marrow endothelial cells alleviates aplastic anemia.

Aplastic anemia (AA) is a life-threatening disease characterized by bone marrow (BM) failure and pancytopenia. As an important component of the BM microenvironment, endothelial cells (ECs) play a crucial role in supporting hematopoiesis and regulating immunity. However, whether impaired BM ECs are involved in the occurrence of AA and whether repairing BM ECs could improve hematopoiesis and immune status in AA remain unknown. In this study, a classical AA mouse model and VE-cadherin blocking antibody that could antagonize the function of ECs were used to validate the role of BM ECs in the occurrence of AA. N-acetyl-L-cysteine (NAC, a reactive oxygen species scavenger) or exogenous EC infusion was administered to AA mice. Furthermore, the frequency and functions of BM ECs from AA patients and healthy donors were evaluated. BM ECs from AA patients were treated with NAC in vitro, and then the functions of BM ECs were evaluated. We found that BM ECs were significantly decreased and damaged in AA mice. Hematopoietic failure and immune imbalance became more severe when the function of BM ECs was antagonized, whereas NAC or EC infusion improved hematopoietic and immunological status by repairing BM ECs in AA mice. Consistently, BM ECs in AA patients were decreased and dysfunctional. Furthermore, dysfunctional BM ECs in AA patients led to their impaired ability to support hematopoiesis and dysregulate T cell differentiation toward proinflammatory phenotypes, which could be repaired by NAC in vitro. The reactive oxygen species pathway was activated, and hematopoiesis- and immune-related signaling pathways were enriched in BM ECs of AA patients. In conclusion, our data indicate that dysfunctional BM ECs with impaired hematopoiesis-supporting and immunomodulatory abilities are involved in the occurrence of AA, suggesting that repairing dysfunctional BM ECs may be a potential therapeutic approach for AA patients.

Population pharmacokinetic analysis for dabigatran etexilate in Chinese patients with non-valvular atrial fibrillation.

We aimed to develop a pharmacokinetic (PK) and pharmacodynamic (PD) model from healthy Chinese subjects and real-world non-valvular atrial fibrillation (NVAF) patients. We also investigated meaningful intrinsic and extrinsic factors and related biomarkers for bleeding events. We characterized the integrated PK/PD models based on rich PK/PD data [dabigatran concentration, activated partial thromboplastin time (APTT), prothrombin time (PT), and anti-factor IIa (anti-FIIa) activity] from 118 healthy volunteers and sparse PD data [APTT, PT, and anti-FIIa] from 167 patients with NVAF after verifying the model extrapolation performance. We also documented the correlations between PD biomarkers and clinically relevant bleeding events over one year. Next, we used the final integrated PK/PD model (a two-compartment, linear model with first-order absorption) to evaluate the influence of dosage and individual covariates on PD parameters. The age, high-density liptein cholesterol (HDL-C), and creatinine clearance (CrCL) improved the PK model fit. The linear direct-effects PD model described the correlation between APTT, PT, and anti-FIIa and plasma concentration. CrCL improved the PD model fit. Anti-FIIa was more sensitive to the increase in dabigatran exposure than APTT and PT in the PD model. Therefore, fixed dabigatran doses could be prescribed for patients with NVAF without adjusting for age and HDL-C. We observed an elevated bleeding tendency with higher peak and trough values of APTT, PT, and anti-FIIa. Randomized studies should be performed to evaluate the efficacy and safety of low-dose dabigatran in Chinese patients with NVAF.

Addition of Chelators Increased the Stability of Black Rice Anthocyanins against the Metallic Ions in Tap Water and Improved the Coloration of Steamed Cold Noodles.

The anthocyanins in black rice extract (BRA) are sensitive to metallic ions, which restrict its application in the coloration of steamed cold noodles in China that uses tap water as the solvent. Food-grade chelators were added to check if they could increase the stability of BRA. The results indicated that the color decay of BRA in tap water was mainly caused by Fe3+, Cu2+, and Fe2+, and the addition of chelators could effectively antagonize this effect. Coloration with the BRA solution containing the optimized chelator formulation of 0.01% ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid disodium, 0.08% sodium hexametaphosphate, and 0.064% sodium tartrate conferred comparable appearance and chromatic attributes with those of the noodle colored by deionized water-dissolved BRA. The steamed cold noodles colored by the chelators-containing BRA exhibited increased springiness and decreased starch retrogradation, and possessed potential health functions due to its slightly increased resistant starch content and markedly enhanced antioxidant capacity. Hence, the addition of chelators is a feasible way to increase the color stability of BRA in tap water, and the chelators-supplemented BRA could be used to produce steamed cold noodles with attractive color and health benefits.

Room-temperature coherent manipulation of single-spin qubits in silicon carbide with a high readout contrast.

Spin defects in silicon carbide (SiC) with mature wafer-scale fabrication and micro/nano-processing technologies have recently drawn considerable attention. Although room-temperature single-spin manipulation of colour centres in SiC has been demonstrated, the typically detected contrast is less than 2[Formula: see text], and the photon count rate is also low. Here, we present the coherent manipulation of single divacancy spins in 4H-SiC with a high readout contrast ([Formula: see text]) and a high photon count rate (150 kilo counts per second) under ambient conditions, which are competitive with the nitrogen-vacancy centres in diamond. Coupling between a single defect spin and a nearby nuclear spin is also observed. We further provide a theoretical explanation for the high readout contrast by analysing the defect levels and decay paths. Since the high readout contrast is of utmost importance in many applications of quantum technologies, this work might open a new territory for SiC-based quantum devices with many advanced properties of the host material.

[Clinical trials and evaluation of Chinese patent medicine for influenza].

The clinical randomized controlled trial(RCT) of Chinese patent medicine in the treatment of influenza were reviewed and analyzed to provide basic information for clinical decision and related research. On the basis of the collection in the Traditional Chinese Medicine(TCM) Clinical Evidence Database System(EVDS), CNKI, Wanfang, VIP, SinoMed, EMbase, PubMed, and Cochrane Library were searched for RCTs of Chinese patent medicine for influenza published from database inception to July 25, 2021. The publication time, sample size, intervention and control measures, course of treatment, outcome indicators, and methodological quality of the trials were analyzed and evaluated. Ninety-two RCTs of Chinese patent medicine for influenza published between 2005 and 2021, were included, among which 17 RCTs(18.48%) had a sample size higher than 200 and the average sample size was about 145. Twenty-seven Chinese patent medicines were involved, including twenty-one oral medicines and six injections. The Chinese patent medicines in trials reported in more than five papers included Lianhua Qingwen Capsules/Gra-nules, Tanreqing Injection, and Reduning Injection. Fourteen intervention protocols were reported, of which Chinese patent medicine+western medicine+conventional treatment vs western medicine+conventional treatment(20.65%) was the most frequently employed. Additionally, 85.87% of the RCTs reported the course of treatment, and 80.43% of the RCTs determined 3-7 d as the intervention course. Forty-five outcome indicators were extracted, which were used 434 times, including symptoms/signs, physicochemical detection, safety events, TCM symptoms/syndromes, quality of life, long-term prognosis, and economic evaluation. Symptoms/signs(61.52%) exhibited the highest frequency. Methodological problems were prevalent in the included trials. The findings reveal that there are few clinical trials on influenza treatment by Chinese patent medicine, and the methodological problems are prominent, affec-ting the reliability and practicability of the trials. In the future research, the value characteristics of Chinese patent medicine should be highlighted and the quality control in the whole process should be strengthened based on the scientific and rigorous design.

Clinicopathologic and Genomic Features in Triple-Negative Breast Cancer Between Special and No-Special Morphologic Pattern.

Background: Triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) is refractory and heterogeneous, comprising various entities with divergent phenotype, biology, and clinical presentation. As an aggressive subtype, Chinese TNBC patients with special morphologic patterns (STs) were restricted to its incidence of 10-15% in total TNBC population. Methods: We recruited 89 patients with TNBC at Guangdong Provincial People's Hospital (GDPH) from October 2014 to May 2021, comprising 72 cases of invasive ductal carcinoma of no-special type (NSTs) and 17 cases of STs. The clinical data of these patients was collected and statistically analyzed. Formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded (FFPE) tumor tissues and matched blood samples were collected for targeted next-generation sequencing (NGS) with cancer-related, 520- or 33-gene assay. Immunohistochemical analysis of FFPE tissue sections was performed using anti-programmed cell death-ligand 1(PD-L1) and anti-androgen receptor antibodies. Results: Cases with NSTs presented with higher histologic grade and Ki-67 index rate than ST patients (NSTs to STs: grade I/II/III 1.4%, 16.7%,81.9% vs 0%, 29.4%, 58.8%; p<0.05; Ki-67 ≥30%: 83.3% vs. 58.8%, p<0.05), while androgen receptor (AR) and PD-L1 positive (combined positive score≥10) rates were lower than of STs cases (AR: 11.1% vs. 47.1%; PD-L1: 9.6% vs. 33.3%, p<0.05). The most commonly altered genes were TP53 (88.7%), PIK3CA (26.8%), MYC (18.3%) in NSTs, and TP53 (68.8%), PIK3CA (50%), JAK3 (18.8%), KMT2C (18.8%) in STs respectively. Compared with NSTs, PIK3CA and TP53 mutation frequency showed difference in STs (47.1% vs 19.4%, p=0.039; 64.7% vs 87.5%, p=0.035). Conclusions: In TNBC patients with STs, decrease in histologic grade and ki-67 index, as well as increase in PD-L1 and AR expression were observed when compared to those with NSTs, suggesting that TNBC patients with STs may better benefit from immune checkpoint inhibitors and/or AR inhibitors. Additionally, lower TP53 and higher PIK3CA mutation rates were also found in STs patients, providing genetic evidence for deciphering at least partly potential mechanism of action.

Fabrication of lipase-loaded particles by coacervation with chitosan.

Coacervation of the lipase from Aspergillus oryzae (AOL) with chitosan was a feasible way to fabricate lipase-loaded particles and the optimum conditions were phase separation pH 5.5, chitosan to AOL mass ratio 1:5, and temperature 25 °C in the absence of NaCl, which conferred an AOL loading efficiency of up to 95.48% and activity recovery of 69.60%. The AOL-chitosan coacervates were highly porous and more susceptible to weight loss upon heating. Coacervation with chitosan increased the activity of AOL and shifted its optimum pH from 7.0 to 6.0, but exerted no effect on its optimum temperature (45 °C). Thermal deactivation kinetics analysis revealed that the coacervated AOL was more thermal stable, while the Michaelis-Menten kinetics analysis indicated that coacervation with chitosan increased the Vmax of AOL by 2.4 folds, but decreased its substrate affinity by 3.6 folds. Hence, the AOL-chitosan coacervates are potential in the construction of Pickering emulsion-based lipase catalysis systems.

[Analysis of outcome indexes in randomized controlled trials of traditional Chinese medicine for rheumatic heart disease].

The present study analyzed the efficacy evaluation indexes of the randomized controlled trials(RCTs) of Chinese medi-cine in the treatment of rheumatic heart disease to lay the foundation for the construction of the corresponding core outcome index set. Clinical RCTs with a definite diagnosis of rheumatic heart disease were retrieved from CNKI, Wanfang, VIP, Sino Med, Pub Med, EMbase, and Cochrane Library from January 1, 2010, to December 31, 2020. Thirty-five RCTs were included, involving 3 314 patients and 41 efficacy evaluation indexes, which covered seven domains [traditional Chinese medicine(TCM) symptoms/syndromes, symp-toms/signs, physical and chemical examination, quality of life, long-term prognosis, economic evaluation, and safety events]. Physi-cal and chemical examination(56. 91%) and symptoms/signs(29. 27%) were the more frequently applied. The number of indexes used in a single trial ranged from 1 to 15, with an average of 4. The measurement time points of the top five indexes in the frequency of use were as follows: total response rate was reported at five measurement time points, ranging from 14 days to 6 months; left ventri-cular ejection fraction was measured at eight time points ranging from 5 days to 6 months; left ventricular end systolic diameter was measured at six time points, ranging from 5 days to 6 months; interleukin-2(IL-2) and tumor necrosis factor-α(TNF-α) were repor-ted 28 days after treatment. At present, there are many problems in the efficacy outcome indexes of RCTs in the treatment of rheumatic heart disease with TCM, such as large difference in quantity, unclear primary and secondary indexes, unreasonable selection of " surro-gate indexes", insufficient attention to long-term prognostic indexes and safety event indexes, non-standard application of composite in-dexes, long measurement period, and lack of TCM characteristics. It is urgent to establish the core outcome set for TCM treatment of rheumatic heart disease.

Study on the relationship between SLCO1B1 and ApoE gene polymorphisms and the risk of coronary heart disease in the Mongolian population.

Objective This study aimed to analyze the influence of SLCO1B1 and APOE gene polymorphisms on coronary heart disease in Mongolian population who living in Ordos area. Methods From January 2019 to June 2020, 200 Mongolian patients with coronary heart disease admitted to our hospital and other banner hospitals were selected as the case group. At the same time, 150 randomly selected healthy Mongolian people from medical examination centers comprised the control group. The polymorphisms of SLCO1B1 (388A>G, 521 T > C) and ApoE (388 T > C, 526 C > t) were detected by real-time polymerase chain reaction. Combined with environmental data, the effect of gene polymorphism on coronary heart disease was explored. Results Both SLCO1B1 and ApoE polymorphisms satisfied Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium. The SLCO1B1 genotype *1a/*1b showed the highest frequency in the case group, accounting for 35.0%, while The SLCO1B1 genotype *1b/*1b showed the highest frequency in the control group, accounting for 32.0%. Allele *1b was the most commonly seen allele in both the case group and control group (57.8% and 53.7%, respectively). Meanwhile, The difference in the distribution of SLCO1B1 *1a/*15 genotype between the two groups was statistically significant (P < .05). Conclusion The results showed that the SLCO1B *1a/*15 genotype, ApoE ε3 /ε3 genotype, and ε3 allele reduced the risk of coronary disease in the Mongolian population, making them protective genes against this disease, while the ApoE ε4 allele increased the risk of coronary disease, making it a coronary disease risk factor.

The Efficacy and Safety of Carbon Ion Radiotherapy for Meningiomas: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this systematic review and meta-analysis is to evaluate the efficacy and safety of carbon ion radiotherapy (CI-RT) in improving meningioma by comparing photon and protons radiotherapy. METHODS: A comprehensive search for relevant studies published until March 17, 2021, was conducted in PubMed, the Cochrane Library, Chinese Biomedical Literature Database and EMBASE. Statistical analyses were performed with R 4.0.3. RESULTS: We identified 396 studies, of which 18 studies involving 985 participants were included. Except for one low quality study, the quality of the included studies was found to be either moderate or high quality. The analyses conducted according random effects model indicated that the 1-year overall survival rate (OS) of benign and non-benign meningiomas after the CI-RT treatment was 99% (95%CL=.91-1.00, I 2 = 0%). The overall average 5-year OS for meningiomas was 72% (95%CL=0.52-0.86, I 2 = 35%), not as effective as proton radiotherapy (PR-RT) 85% (95%CL=.72-.93, I 2 = 73, Q=4.17, df=2, p=.12). Additionally, 5-year OS of atypical meningiomas (81%) was found to be significantly higher than anaplastic meningiomas (52%). The 10-year OS after CI-RT of patients with mixed grade meningioma was 91% (95%CL=.75-.97, I 2 = 73%). The 15-year OS after CI-RT 87% (95%CL=.11-1.00) or PR-RT 87% (95%CL=.23-.99, I 2 = 79%) were the same (Q=0, df=1, p=.99). After undergoing CI-RT for 3 and 5 years, the LC for benign meningioma was 100% and 88%, respectively, while the 2-year LC of non-benign meningiomas (atypical/anaplastic) was 33%. Headache, sensory impairment, cognitive impairment, and hearing impairment were found to be the most common adverse reactions, with individual incidences of 19.4%, 23.7%, 9.1%, and 9.1%, respectively. CONCLUSION: CI-RT is a rapidly developing technique that has been proven to be an effective treatment against meningioma. The efficacy and safety of CI-RT for meningiomas were similar to those of PR-RT, better than photon radiotherapy (PH-RT). However, there is a need for more prospective trials in the future that can help provide more supportive evidence.

Coherent Control of Nitrogen-Vacancy Center Spins in Silicon Carbide at Room Temperature.

Solid-state color centers with manipulatable spin qubits and telecom-ranged fluorescence are ideal platforms for quantum communications and distributed quantum computations. In this work, we coherently control the nitrogen-vacancy (NV) center spins in silicon carbide at room temperature, in which telecom-wavelength emission is detected. We increase the NV concentration sixfold through optimization of implantation conditions. Hence, coherent control of NV center spins is achieved at room temperature, and the coherence time T_{2} can be reached to around 17.1 µs. Furthermore, an investigation of fluorescence properties of single NV centers shows that they are room-temperature photostable single-photon sources at telecom range. Taking advantage of technologically mature materials, the experiment demonstrates that the NV centers in silicon carbide are promising platforms for large-scale integrated quantum photonics and long-distance quantum networks.

Hard Carbon Nanosheets with Uniform Ultramicropores and Accessible Functional Groups Showing High Realistic Capacity and Superior Rate Performance for Sodium-Ion Storage.

Hard carbon attracts considerable attention as an anode material for sodium-ion batteries; however, their poor rate capability and low realistic capacity have motivated intense research effort toward exploiting nanostructured carbons in order to boost their comprehensive performance. Ultramicropores are considered essential for attaining high-rate capacity as well as initial Coulombic efficiency by allowing the rapid diffusion of Na+ and inhibiting the contact of the electrolyte with the inner carbon surfaces. Herein, hard carbon nanosheets with centralized ultramicropores (≈0.5 nm) and easily accessible carbonyl groups (CO)/hydroxy groups (OH) are synthesized via interfacial assembly and carbonization strategies, delivering a large capacity (318 mA h g-1 at 0.02 A g-1 ), superior rate capability (145 mA h g-1 at 5.00 A g-1 ), and approximately 95% of reversible capacity below 1.00 V. Notably, a new charge model favoring fast capacitive sodium storage with dual potential plateaus is proposed. That is, the deintercalation of Na+ from graphitic layers is manifested as the low-potential plateau region (0.01-0.10 V), contributing to stable insertion capacity; meanwhile, the surface desodiation process of the CO and OH groups corresponds to the high-potential plateau region (0.40-0.70 V), contributing to a fast capacitive storage.

Nanoscale depth control of implanted shallow silicon vacancies in silicon carbide.

Color centers in silicon carbide have recently attracted broad interest as high bright single photon sources and defect spins with long coherence time at room temperature. There have been several methods to generate silicon vacancy defects with excellent spin properties in silicon carbide, such as electron irradiation and ion implantation. However, little is known about the depth distribution and nanoscale depth control of the shallow defects. Here, a method is presented to precisely control the depths of the ion implantation induced shallow silicon vacancy defects in silicon carbide by using reactive ion etching with little surface damage. After optimizing the major etching parameters, a slow and stable etching rate of about 5.5 ± 0.5 nm min-1 can be obtained. By successive nanoscale plasma etching, the shallow defects are brought close to the surface step by step. The photoluminescence spectrum and optically detected magnetic resonance spectra are measured, which confirm that there were no plasma-induced optical and spin property changes of the defects. By tracing the mean counts of the remaining defects after each etching process, the depth distribution of the defects can be obtained for various implantation conditions. Moreover, the spin coherence time T2* of the generated VSi defects is detected at different etch depths, which greatly decreases when the depth is less than 25 nm. The method of nanoscale depth control of silicon vacancies would pave the way for investigating the surface spin properties and the applications in nanoscale sensing and quantum photonics.

Genomic identification and characterization of MYC family genes in wheat (Triticum aestivum L.).

BACKGROUND: MYC transcriptional factors are members of the bHLH (basic helix-loop-helix) superfamily, and play important roles in plant growth and development. Recent studies have revealed that some MYCs are involved in the crosstalk between Jasmonic acid regulatory pathway and light signaling in Arabidopsis, but such kinds of studies are rare in wheat, especially in photo-thermo-sensitive genic male sterile (PTGMS) wheat line. RESULTS: 27 non-redundant MYC gene copies, which belonged to 11 TaMYC genes, were identified in the whole genome of wheat (Chinese Spring). These gene copies were distributed on 13 different chromosomes, respectively. Based on the results of phylogenetic analysis, 27 TaMYC gene copies were clustered into group I, group III, and group IV. The identified TaMYC genes copies contained different numbers of light, stress, and hormone-responsive regulatory elements in their 1500 base pair promoter regions. Besides, we found that TaMYC3 was expressed highly in stem, TaMYC5 and TaMYC9 were expressed specially in glume, and the rest of TaMYC genes were expressed in all tissues (root, stem, leaf, pistil, stamen, and glume) of the PTGMS line BS366. Moreover, we found that TaMYC3, TaMYC7, TaMYC9, and TaMYC10 were highly sensitive to methyl jasmonate (MeJA), and other TaMYC genes responded at different levels. Furthermore, we confirmed the expression profiles of TaMYC family members under different light quality and plant hormone stimuli, and abiotic stresses. Finally, we predicted the wheat microRNAs that could interact with TaMYC family members, and built up a network to show their integrative relationships. CONCLUSIONS: This study analyzed the size and composition of the MYC gene family in wheat, and investigated stress-responsive and light quality induced expression profiles of each TaMYC gene in the PTGMS wheat line BS366. In conclusion, we obtained lots of important information of TaMYC family, and the results of this study was supposed to contribute novel insights and gene and microRNA resources for wheat breeding, especially for the improvement of PTGMS wheat lines.

Impact of fertilization on ammonia volatilization and N2O emissions in an open vegetable field.

A field experiment with different nitrogen fertilization rates and mitigation measures was conducted in an open-ground vegetable field on the North China Plain to investigate the effects of nitrogen application level and management practices on ammonia volatilization and N2O emission. Reducing the nitrogen fertilization rate by 20% and by 50% decreased ammonia volatilization by 25.7% and 48.0%, respectively, during the spring-sowed cucumber growth period. Amendment with combined inhibitors and biochar decreased ammonia volatilization loss by 10.0% and 6.1%, respectively. Reducing nitrogen fertilization rate by 20% and 50% decreased N2O emission by 28.8% and 61.0% during the spring-sowed cucumber growth period. Addition of combined inhibitors decreased N2O emission by 58.9%, while it was increased by 14.1% with biochar addition. Under the same application method of banding application, replacing 30% nitrogen fertili-zer with organic manure did not show any significant mitigation for ammonia volatilization and N2O emission. For the intensively managed vegetable fields, reducing the nitrogen application rate appropriately was the most effective measure to reduce ammonia volatilization and N2O emission.

Hard@Soft Integrated Morning Glory Like Porous Carbon as a Cathode for a High-Energy Lithium Ion Capacitor.

A lithium ion capacitor (LIC) is a hybrid energy storage device that combines the energy storage mechanism of lithium ion batteries and supercapacitors and presents their complementary features. However, imbalances of the capacity and kinetics between cathode and anode still remain challenges. Herein, to address the issue of low capacity in the cathode, we constructed a morning glory like porous material crimped from an opening sandwich structure consisting of a hard carbon inner layer and soft carbon outer layer, by coating graphene oxide containing flaky phenolic resin with coal tar pitch followed by carbonization and activation. Both the hard@soft carbon integrated design and the reduced graphene oxide network cocontributed to a favorable electrical conductivity and a developed microporosity. To deal with the sluggish kinetics limitation of the anode, a structure-optimized MnO@C electrode prepared by pore creation of CO2 from an MnCO3@polydopamine precursor was chosen due to its excellent rate performance. The LIC with this configuration can deliver a maximum energy density of 117.6 Wh kg-1 and an favorable capacity retention of 76% after 3000 cycles at 2050 W kg-1. Furthermore, the energy density of 27.8 Wh kg-1 can still be delivered even at a high power density of 10250 W kg-1. In general, this well-designed hybrid capacitor has a potential to make up the gap between lithium ion batteries and supercapacitors.

First assessment of interferon gamma release assay results among healthcare workers at a general hospital in China.

INTRODUCTION: China has a very high tuberculosis (TB) burden. The interferon-gamma release assay (IGRA) is more specific for the diagnosis of latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI) than the tuberculin skin test, especially among populations with a high degree of coverage by the BCG vaccine. OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the first screening of healthcare workers (HCW) for LTBI using the IGRA at a general hospital in Beijing. METHODS: A pilot screening program for LTBI was triggered by accidental contact between HCW and two patients with active TB in the emergency department (ED). Given the necessity of estimating the overall LTBI prevalence in the institution, a sample of 518 HCW was enrolled in our cross-sectional study. The second IGRA was repeated with 43 of the 121 HCW in the ED after exposure to index TB cases. Data on putative risk factors were collected with a self-administered questionnaire. RESULTS: The prevalence of LTBI in the targeted population was 21.8%. Differences in the prevalence of LTBI were significantly related to age, employment duration, and history of occupational exposure. A lack of childhood BCG vaccination was independently associated with the prevalence of LTBI (adjusted OR: 1.686, 95% CI: 1.045-2.723, P = .0325). No new LTBI was diagnosed 12 weeks postexposure. No HCW adopted the preventive treatment for LTBI. CONCLUSIONS: Considering the high morbidity of LTBI among HCW even in general hospitals, it is essential to formulate government policies and institutional operation protocols for the systematic screening, registration, and administration of prophylaxes for the control of LTBI.

Polyacrylonitrile-Derived Sponge-Like Micro/Macroporous Carbon for Selective CO2 Separation.

CO2 capture under a dynamical flow situation requires adsorbents possessing balanced proportion of macropores as diffusion path and micropores as adsorption reservoir. However, the construction of interconnected micro-/macropores structure coupled with abundant nitrogen species into one carbon skeleton remains a challenge. Here, we report a new approach to prepare sponge-like carbon with a well-developed micro-/macroporous structure and enriched nitrogen species through aqueous phase polymerization of acrylonitrile in the presence of graphene oxide. The tension stress caused by the uniform thermal shrinkage of polyacrylonitrile during the pyrolysis together with the favorable flexibility of graphene oxide sheets are responsible for the formation of the sponge-like morphology. The synergistic effect of micro-/macroporous framework and rich CO2 -philic site enables such carbon to decrease resistance to mass transfer and show high CO2 dynamic selectivity over N2 (454) and CH4 (11), as well as good CO2 capacity at 298 K under low CO2 partial pressure (0.17 bar, a typical CO2 partial pressure in flue gas). The above attributes make this porous carbon a promising candidate for CO2 capture from flue gas, methane sources and other relevant applications.

Morphological and molecular divergence of Rhipicephalus turanicus tick from Albania and China.

Rhipicephalus turanicus is an important tick species potentially carrying tick-borne pathogens. Several tick species have obvious subspecies divergence. However few studies aimed to examine the existence of divergence within R. turanicus. Therefore, a detailed morphological and molecular analysis was conducted for comparing R. turanicus from the Mediterranean Basin (represented by Albania) and Central Asia (Northwestern China). Altogether 315 adult ticks of R. turanicus (103 from Albania and 212 from China) were morphologically and molecularly analysed. DNA samples were used for mitochondrial 16S rRNA and cox1 gene sequences analysis. In addition, as potentially genetic markers, three fragments including partial nad1-16S rRNA, nad2-cox1, cox1-tRNA-Lys, were designed and then phylogenetically analyzed. Based on detailed morphological observations, only basis capituli length:width ratio (females), the length, the width and the length:width ratio of the scutum (males) had differences between R. turanicus from China and Albania. Gene divergences of 16S rRNA, cox1, partial nad1-16S rRNA, nad2-cox1 and cox1-tRNA-Lys from China and Albania ticks were 3.53-4.84, 3.57-4.92, 3.57-4.07, 3.57-4.39 and 3.18-4.69%, respectively. The evaluated five genetic markers revealed two phylogenetic branches in R. turanicus. Obvious differences exist within R. turanicus based on morphological and genetic analysis. Three newly designed genetic markers (partial nad1-16S rRNA, nad2-cox1 and cox1-tRNA-Lys) in this study may be suitable genetic tools for identification and analysis in R. turanicus. Subspecies analysis of R. turanicus from other regions of the world should be initiated in the future.

[Huoxiang Zhengqi formulas for treatment of gastrointestinal type cold：a systematic review and Meta-analysis].

This systematic review aims to evaluate the efficacy and safety of Huoxiang Zhengqi formulas in treating gastrointestinal type cold. Seven electronic databases,including CNKI, WanFang Data, Vip, SinoMed, PubMed, Cochrane Library, Embase will be searched from the inception of the study until March 2017.All randomized controlled trials that evaluate the treatment of Huoxiang Zhengqi formulas for gastrointestinal type cold will be eligible. The methodological quality will be assessed using the Cochrane risk of bias tool for randomized clinical trials and Review Manager 5.3 software is used for analyzing the data.The results are： eight RCTs and 680 patients are included .Meta-analysis are performed according to the stratification of the treatment strategy. Eight studies report clinical efficacy, among them four studies show Huoxiang Zhengqi formulas are better than western medicine(RR and 95%,1.2[1.08, 1.33]), another four studies showHuoxiang Zhengqi formulas in conjunction with conventional treatment are better than conventional treatment(RR and 95%, 1.32[1.20,1.46]).About symptom remission rate, one study shows the treatment group effect is better than the control group from the following clinical symptoms：chills,fever,bowel diarrhea,the effect of treating sore throat itchy is same with western medicine treatment.No adverse reactions are found about Huoxiang Zhengqi formulas in this study.Current evidence shows that Huoxiangzhengqi formulas are better than Western medicine group and western medicine routine treatment group from clinical efficacy. Limited by the quantity and quality of studies, more large-scale and rigorously designed randomised controlled trials with large sample size are warranted to clarify the conclusions.