Current Status and Prospects of Pediatric Stone Disease: A Bibliometric and Visualization Study.

Pediatric stone disease, once considered rare, has emerged as a significant research area in the past two decades due to a sharp increase in its incidence. Understanding the evolving epidemiology and treatment strategies for pediatric stone disease is crucial for enhancing child health protection. This study aims to summarize the advancements in pediatric stone disease research over the last two decades through bibliometric analysis. We conducted a comprehensive search in the Web of Science Core Collection (WoSCC) for literature on pediatric stone disease from January 1, 2000 to February 20, 2024. Econometric analyses were performed using tools such as VOSviewer, CiteSpace, and the R package "bibliometrix." Our search yielded 1,208 publications, predominantly from the United States and Turkey, showing an annual increase in publications on pediatric stone disease. Leading research institutions include Dicle University, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, and the University of Pennsylvania, with the Journal of Pediatric Urology publishing the highest number of articles. The most prolific authors were C.P. Nelson and B. Hoppe, with Caleb P. Nelson being the most co-cited author. Research themes primarily focused on risk factors and therapeutic approaches for pediatric stone disease. Emerging research hotspots are identified by keywords such as mechanism, mini-percutaneous nephrolithotomy, recurrence, and retrograde intrarenal surgery. The study forecasts a continued upward trend in global research on pediatric stone disease, with future studies likely to delve deeper into risk factors and novel therapeutic methods.

Histopathological observation and comparative transcriptome analysis reveal immune response mechanisms to Aeromonas dhakensis infection in Macrobrachium rosenbergii.

The Macrobrachium rosenbergii industry is threatened by various Aeromonas, resulting in high mortality of adult prawns. However, there are few studies on the immune response of M. rosenbergii infected with Aeromonas dhakensis. In this study, we observed the hepatopancreas and gills histopathologically, performed a comparative transcriptome analysis of the hepatopancreas, and analyzed the candidate gene expression of immune-related genes in the hemolymph, hepatopancreas, and gills of M. rosenbergii that had been infected with A. dhakensis. Histopathology revealed the hepatopancreas was successively inflamed, followed by cellular vacuolation, lumen deformation, and finally tissue erosion; partial and severe inflammation of the gills occurred successively, and eventually the gill tissue atrophy and the gill filaments detached from the gill arch. Transcriptome analysis showed that a total of 77,742 unigenes and 8664 differentially expressed genes (DEGs), and the immune-related DEGs were mainly enriched in lysosome and phagosome pathways. In addition, 4 immune-related candidate genes (RhoA, CASP9, PKC, and DSCIGN) based on KEGG and PPI analysis were monitored at 6, 12, and 24h post injection (hpi) in hepatopancreas, hemolymph and gills. Their spatio-temporal expression results indicated that A. dhakensis have activated the immune system of M. rosenbergii. The present study may provide new information on the complex immune mechanism of M. rosenbergii.

Benthic biofilms in riverine systems: A sink for microplastics and the underlying influences.

Rivers are known as major pathways for transporting microplastics from terrestrial areas to the marine environment. However, the behavior of microplastics in terms of retention and transport within riverine systems remains unclear. While considerable efforts have been made to investigate the water column and sediment, limited attention has been given to understanding the interplay between microplastics and benthic biofilms. Therefore, this study aimed to examine the distribution of biofilm-trapped microplastics along the CaoE River and identify the factors influencing the immobilization of microplastics by benthic biofilms. The findings of this study revealed that benthic biofilms served as a sink of microplastics in the CaoE River, with an average abundance of 575 items/m2 in tributaries and 894 items/m2 in the main stream. The dominant shape of microplastics was fiber, while the primary polymer type was polyethylene terephthalate. The distribution of microplastics exhibited significant spatial heterogeneity, as indicated by their abundance and characteristics. In order to reveal the intriguing phenomenon, variations of influencing factors were estimated, including physicochemical characteristics of water, extracellular polymeric substances of benthic biofilms, and microbial communities of benthic biofilms. A partial least squares path modeling analysis was performed using these variables, revealing that water velocity and microbial diversity of benthic biofilms were the key factors influencing the interaction between microplastics and benthic biofilms. In summary, this study provides substantial evidence confirming the crucial role of benthic biofilms in the immobilization of microplastics, which expands concerns about microplastic pollution in the riverine systems. Furthermore, uncovering the underlying influences of microplastic-biofilm interactions will facilitate the development of effective strategies for the control and management of microplastic pollution.

The Dynamics of Gene Expression Unraveling the Immune Response of Macrobrachium rosenbergii Infected by Aeromonas veronii.

To further investigate the immune response of Macrobrachium rosenbergii against Aeromonas veronii, comparative transcriptomic analyses of the M. rosenbergii hepatopancreas were conducted on challenge and control groups at 6, 12, and 24 h post-infection (hpi), independently. A total of 51,707 high-quality unigenes were collected from the RNA-seq data, and 8060 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were discovered through paired comparisons. Among the three comparison groups, a KEGG pathway enrichment analysis showed that 173 immune-related DEGs were considerably clustered into 28 immune-related pathways, including the lysosome, the phagosome, etc. Moreover, the expression levels of the four key immune-related genes (TOLL, PAK1, GSK3ß, and IKKα) were evaluated at various stages following post-infection in the hepatopancreas, hemolymph, and gills. Both PAK1 and GSK3ß genes were highly up-regulated in all three tissues at 6 hpi with A. veronii; TOLL was up-regulated in the hepatopancreas and hemolymph but down-regulated in the gill at 6 hpi, and IKKα was up-regulated in hemolymph and gill, but down-regulated in the hepatopancreas at 6 hpi. These findings lay the groundwork for understanding the immune mechanism of M. rosenbergii after contracting A. veronii.

Effects of cold isostatic press pretreatment of rice straw on microstructure and efficiency of anaerobic digestion for methane production.

In this study, rice straw was pretreated using by cold isostatic pressure to disrupt its microstructure and improve the performance of anaerobic digestion, and the optimal process parameters were optimized using the response surface methodology. The results showed that cold isostatic pressure pretreatment under optimal conditions (pressure of 400 MPa and holding time of 9 min) was effective in disrupting the structure of rice straw and improving its biodegradability. The cumulative methane production of the cold isostatic pressure pretreatment group increased by 76% compared to the untreated group. In addition, microbial community analysis showed that the relative abundance of Firmicutes, Halobacterota, DMER64 and Methanosaeta was higher in groups pretreated with cold isostatic pressure than in untreated groups. This study demonstrated the potential of pretreatment of rice straw with cold isostatic pressure to increase methane production during anaerobic digestion.

Alterations of the Gut Microbiota and Metabolomics Associated with the Different Growth Performances of Macrobrachium rosenbergii Families.

To investigate the key gut microbiota and metabolites associated with the growth performance of Macrobrachium rosenbergii families, 16S rRNA sequencing and LC-MS metabolomic methods were used. In this study, 90 M. rosenbergii families were bred to evaluate growth performance. After 92 days of culture, high (H), medium (M), and low (L) experimental groups representing three levels of growth performance, respectively, were collected according to the weight gain and specific growth rate of families. The composition of gut microbiota showed that the relative abundance of Firmicutes, Lachnospiraceae, Lactobacillus, and Blautia were much higher in Group H than those in M and L groups. Meanwhile, compared to the M and L groups, Group H had significantly higher levels of spermidine, adenosine, and creatinine, and lower levels of L-citrulline. Correlation analysis showed that the abundances of Lactobacillus and Blautia were positively correlated with the levels of alpha-ketoglutaric acid and L-arginine. The abundance of Blautia was also positively correlated with the levels of adenosine, taurine, and spermidine. Notably, lots of metabolites related to the metabolism and biosynthesis of arginine, taurine, hypotaurine, and fatty acid were upregulated in Group H. This study contributes to figuring out the landscape of the gut microbiota and metabolites associated with prawn growth performance and provides a basis for selective breeding.

5' Rapid amplification of cDNA ends (5'RACE): A simpler method to analyze immunoglobulin genes and discover the value of the light chain in chronic lymphocytic leukemia.

The mutational status of the variable region of the immunoglobulin heavy chain gene (IGHV) is a very important biomarker for chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) patients. However, the routine detection of IGHV mutational status is time-consuming and costly. Therefore, we performed 5' Rapid amplification of cDNA ends (5' RACE) in 81 CLL patients who previously underwent detection using Biomed-2. The agreement rate of these two methods was 93.8 %. Regarding the discordant cases, 5' RACE was more sensitive to identify unproductive and multiple rearrangements. Furthermore, 5' RACE can also be used to simultaneously sequence light chains. In most CLL cases, the mutational statuses of heavy and light chains are concordant, except in IGLV3-21. Most IGLV3-21 (24/25) rearrangement shared a similar LCDR3 (QVWDSSSDHPWV) and harbored a single point mutation, namely, IGLV3-21R110. Compared to mutated-CLL non IGLV3-2R110, IGLV3-21R110-CLL exhibited a shorter overall survival (OS) and time to first treatment (TTFT) (p = 0.05, p < 0.0001, respectively) even though 75 % (18/24) of these patients expressed mutated heavy chains. Altogether, IGLV3-21R110 defines a CLL subgroup with specific biological features and an unfavorable prognosis independent of the IGHV mutational status and emphasizes the important value of the light chain. This study is the first to use 5' RACE to detect the mutational status of IGH in CLL. Here, 5' RACE was a reliable and effective method to test the mutational status of heavy and light chains. In addition, 5' RACE can be combined with other assays in the NGS workflow to obtain more detailed insight into subclonal architecture and intraclonal diversity.

Association Between the Severity of Diabetic Retinopathy and Optical Coherence Tomography Angiography Metrics.

Diabetic retinopathy, the most serious ocular complication of diabetes, imposes a serious economic burden on society. Automatic and objective assessment of vessel changes can effectively manage diabetic retinopathy and prevent blindness. Optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA) metrics have been confirmed to be used to assess vessel changes. The accuracy and reliability of OCTA metrics are restricted by vessel segmentation methods. In this study, a multi-branch retinal vessel segmentation method is proposed, which is comparable to the segmentation results obtained from the manual segmentation, effectively extracting vessels in low contrast areas and improving the integrity of the extracted vessels. OCTA metrics based on the proposed segmentation method were validated to be reliable for further analysis of the relationship between OCTA metrics and diabetes and the severity of diabetic retinopathy. Changes in vessel morphology are influenced by systemic risk factors. However, there is a lack of analysis of the relationship between OCTA metrics and systemic risk factors. We conducted a cross-sectional study that included 362 eyes of 221 diabetic patients and 1,151 eyes of 587 healthy people. Eight systemic risk factors were confirmed to be closely related to diabetes. After controlling these systemic risk factors, significant OCTA metrics (such as vessel complexity index, vessel diameter index, and mean thickness of retinal nerve fiber layer centered in the macular) were found to be related to diabetic retinopathy and severe diabetic retinopathy. This study provides evidence to support the potential value of OCTA metrics as biomarkers of diabetic retinopathy.

Diagnostic performance of convolutional neural network-based Tanner-Whitehouse 3 bone age assessment system.

BACKGROUND: Bone age can reflect the true growth and development status of a child; thus, it plays a critical role in evaluating growth and endocrine disorders. This study established and validated an optimized Tanner-Whitehouse 3 artificial intelligence (TW3-AI) bone age assessment (BAA) system based on a convolutional neural network (CNN). METHODS: A data set of 9,059 clinical radiographs of the left hand was obtained from the picture archives and communication systems (PACS) between January 2012 and December 2016. Among these, 8,005/9,059 (88%) samples were treated as the training set for model implementation, 804/9,059 (9%) samples as the validation set for parameters optimization, and the remaining 250/9,059 (3%) samples were used to verify the accuracy and reliability of the model compared to that of 4 experienced endocrinologists and 2 experienced radiologists. The overall variation of TW3-metacarpophalangeal, radius, ulna and short bones (RUS) and TW3-Carpal bone score, as well as each bone (13 RUS + 7 Carpal) between reviewers and the AI, were compared by Bland-Altman (BA) chart and Kappa test, respectively. Furthermore, the time consumption between the model and reviewers was also compared. RESULTS: The performance of TW3-AI model was highly consistent with the reviewers' overall estimation, and the root mean square (RMS) was 0.50 years. The accuracy of the BAA of the TW3-AI model was better than the estimate of the reviewers. Further analysis revealed that human interpretations of the male capitate, hamate, the first distal and fifth middle phalanx and female capitate, the trapezoid, and the third and fifth middle phalanx, were most inconsistent. The average image processing time was 1.5±0.2 s in the TW3-AI model, which was significantly shorter than manual interpretation. CONCLUSIONS: The diagnostic performance of CNN-based TW3 BAA was accurate and timesaving, and possesses better stability compared to diagnostics made by experienced experts.

One method to establish Epstein-Barr virus-associated NK/T cell lymphoma mouse models.

Novel nude mice model of human NK/T cell lymphoma were established by subcutaneously injecting two NK/T cell lymphoma cell lines into the right axillary region of mice and successful passages were completed by injecting cell suspension which was obtained through a 70-µm cell strainer. These mice models and corresponding cell clones have been successfully developed for more than 8 generations. The survival rates of both resuscitation and transplantation in NKYS and YT models were 90% and 70% correspondingly. Pathologically, the tumour cells in all passages of the lymphoma-bearing mice and cell lines obtained from tumours were parallel to initial cell lines. Immunologically, the tumour cells expressed the characteristics of the primary and essential NK/T lymphomas. The novel mice models maintained the essential features of human NK/T cell lymphoma, and they would be ideal tools in vivo for further research of human NK/T cell lymphoma.

Diagnostic Value of Astograph Airway Responsiveness Measurement in Chest Suffocation Variant Asthma / 中国综合临床

Objective To investigate the diagnostic value of Astograph methacholine provocation test in patients with chest tightness variant asthma ( CTVA)??Methods From January 2011 to February 2017,156 patients with CTVA in outpatient or inpatient department of respiratory medicine of Kailuan General Hospital affiliated to North China University of Science and Technology were selected as case group ( chest tightness variant asthma group )??The control group were 361 non?asthmatic patients including interstitial lung disease ( 23 cases), coronary disease ( 157 cases), hypertensive cardiopathy ( 22 cases), myocardiosis (16 cases),congenital heart disease ( 3 cases),rheumatic valvular heart disease (6 cases), central airway disease (3 cases),thyromegaly (10 cases),mediastinal tumor (5 cases),thoracic or spinal deformity (8 cases),phrenoparalysis (2 cases) and vegetative nerve functional disturbance (106 cases)??All participants received pulmonay ventilation test, average daily and nightly variation rate of PEF ( Peak expiratory flow) or PEF weekly variability, Astograph methacholine provocation test ( forced expirataory volume in one second≥70% expectation),and other relevant examinations??The diagnostic value of Astograph methacholine provocation test on CTVA was assessed by analyzing the sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value,negative predictive value,and Yunden index of Astograph methacholine airway??Results Compared with the control group (( 1??18 ± 0??44)%), theforced expiratory flow from 75% of Forced vital capcacity ( FEF75 ) index of CTVA group (( 1??29 ± 0??50 )%) had significant difference (, t＝ 2??96, P＝0??006)??The sensitivity,specificity,positive predictive value,negative predictive value,Yunden index,and diagnostic accuracy of Astograph methacholine provocation test on CTVA were 0??814,0??695,0??536,0??305, 0??509 and 0??731, respectively??Conclusion The sensitivity, negative predictive value, Yunden index and diagnostic accuracy of Astograph methacholine provocation test on CTVA were higher,whereas the specificity and positive predictive value were relatively lower,suggesting that Astograph methacholine provocation test had a reliable diagnostic value on CTVA,with lower false negative and higher false positive??

Clinical Efficacy of Modified Xiao Wuweizitang Combined with Massage Manipulation on Chronic Post-infection Cough / 中国实验方剂学杂志

Objective: To observe the effect of modified Xiao Wuweizitang combined with massage manipulation on chronic post-infection cough (syndrome of wind-pathogenic pulmonary embedding), and immunity and inflammatory factors. Method: One hundred and thirty-five patients were randomly divided into control group and observation group by random number table. Patients (59 cases) in control group got Suhuang Zhike capsules, 1 granule/time for 3 to 6-year-old children, 2 granules/time, 3 times/days for 6 to 12-year-old children, and massage manipulation, 1 time/day. Patients (63 cases) in observation group got modified Xiao Wuweizitang combined with massage manipulation. A course of treatment was 10 days. Before treatment, and at the 5th and 10th day after treatment, visual analogue score of cough (VAS), cough symptom, syndrome of wind-pathogenic pulmonary embedding and leicester cough questionnaire (LCQ) were scored. And levels of CD3+, CD4+, CD8+, CD4+/CD8+, interleukin-8, IL-4, tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), substance P (SP) and calcitonin gene related peptide (CGRP) were detected. Result: At the 5th and 10th day after treatment, scores of VAS, cough symptom and syndrome of wind-pathogenic pulmonary embedding in observation group were lower than those in control group (Pχ2=7.513,Pχ2=4.356, PPPα, IL-8, IL-4, CGRP and SP were lower than those in control group (PConclusion: Modified Xiao Wuweizitang combined with massage manipulation can relieve cough symptom, shorten the cough course, increase rate of the disappearance of cough, improve the quality of life of children, regulate immune function of children, reduce airway inflammation, airway hyperresponsiveness and cough reflex sensitivity.

Analysis of clinical characteristics and prognosis factors of 71 cases with HIV-negative Castleman's disease: hypoproteinemia is an unfavorable prognostic factor which should be treated appropriately.

PURPOSE: HIV negative Castleman's disease has been reported as a group of poorly understood lymphoproliferative disorder, and we want to explore the clinical feature and prognosis factors of CD. METHODS: We retrospectively collected the clinical information of 71 CD patients without HIV infection diagnosed in the first affiliated hospital of Zhengzhou university. RESULTS: Different clinical classifications, including 35 patients (49.30%) with unicentric Castleman disease and 36 (50.7%) with multicentric Castleman disease, has their specific features compared with each other and unfavorable risk factors calculated by the univariate analysis. As for all of CD patients without HIV infection, there were 7 significant risk factors identified by the results of log-rank test, including clinical complaint, edema (hydrothorax, ascites, pelvic effusion), fatigue, anemia, hypoproteinemia and elevated serum ß2-MG. Then, we created a Cox regression model of these clinical and statistic significant factors which indicated hypoproteinemia was an independent poor prognosis factors of CD in both univariate and multivariate analysis. CONCLUSIONS: Our study emphasized the distinction of clinical characteristics between UCD and MCD and the importance of different poor risk factors of different clinical classifications which may directed more precise and appropriate treatment strategy.

microRNA-219-5p inhibits epithelial-mesenchymal transition and metastasis of colorectal cancer by targeting lymphoid enhancer-binding factor 1.

Aberrant expression of microRNAs (miRs) has been shown to play a critical role in the pathogenesis and progression of tumors. microRNA-219-5p (miR-219-5p) has been reported to be abnormally expressed in some types of human tumors. However, the mechanism between miR-219-5p and colorectal cancer (CRC) metastasis remains unclear. In the present study, miR-219-5p was found to be downregulated in CRC tissue compared with matched normal tissue. Through luciferase reporter assay, we demonstrated lymphoid enhancer-binding factor 1 (LEF1) as a direct target of miR-219-5p. Overexpression of miR-219-5p could inhibit motility, migration and invasion of CRC cells, and inhibit epithelial-mesenchymal transition (EMT). Furthermore, silencing LEF1 phenocopied this metastasis-suppressive function. The recovery experiment showed that re-expression of LEF1 rescued this suppressive effect on tumor metastasis and reversed the expression of EMT markers caused by miR-219-5p. Additionally, we demonstrated that miR-219-5p exerted this tumor-suppressive function by blocking activation of the AKT and ERK pathways. Finally, a nude mice experiment showed that miR-219-5p reduced the lung metastasis ability of CRC cells. Taken together, our findings indicate that miR-219-5p inhibits metastasis and EMT of CRC by targeting LEF1 and suppressing the AKT and ERK pathways, which may provide a new antitumor strategy to delay CRC metastasis.

HSP70-Hrd1 axis precludes the oncorepressor potential of N-terminal misfolded Blimp-1s in lymphoma cells.

B lymphocyte-induced maturation protein-1 (Blimp-1) ensures B-cell differentiation into the plasma cell stage, and its instability constitutes a crucial oncogenic element in certain aggressive cases of activated B cell-like diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (ABC-DLBCL). However, the underlying degradation mechanisms and their possible therapeutic relevance remain unexplored. Here, we show that N-terminal misfolding mutations in ABC-DLBCL render Blimp-1 protein susceptible to proteasome-mediated degradation but spare its transcription-regulating activity. Mechanistically, whereas wild-type Blimp-1 metabolism is triggered in the nucleus through PML-mediated sumoylation, the degradation of lymphoma-associated mutants is accelerated by subversion of this pathway to Hrd1-mediated cytoplasmic sequestration and ubiquitination. Screening experiments identifies the heat shock protein 70 (HSP70) that selects Blimp-1 mutants for Hrd1 association, and HSP70 inhibition restores their nuclear accumulation and oncorepressor activities without disrupting normal B-cell maturation. Therefore, HSP70-Hrd1 axis represents a potential therapeutic target for restoring the oncorepressor activity of unstable lymphoma-associated Blimp-1 mutants.The transcriptional repressor Blimp-1 has an important role in B-cell differentiation. Here the authors show that lymphoma-associated Blimp-1 mutants are selectively recognized by HSP70-Hrd1, which leads to their accelerated degradation and propose HSP70 inhibition as a therapeutic approach for certain lymphomas.

Polycomb complex protein BMI-1 promotes invasion and metastasis of pancreatic cancer stem cells by activating PI3K/AKT signaling, an ex vivo, in vitro, and in vivo study.

Cancer stem cell theory indicates cancer stem cells are the key to promote tumor invasion and metastasis. Studies showed that BMI-1 could promote self-renew, differentiation and tumor formation of CSCs and invasion/metastasis of human cancer. However, whether BMI-1 could regulate invasion and metastasis ability of CSCs is still unclear. In our study, we found that up-regulated expression of BMI-1 was associated with tumor invasion, metastasis and poor survival of pancreatic cancer patients. CD133+ cells were obtained by using magnetic cell sorting and identified of CSCs properties such as self-renew, multi-differentiation and tumor formation ability. Then, we found that BMI-1 expression was up-regulated in pancreatic cancer stem cells. Knockdown of BMI-1 expression attenuated invasion ability of pancreatic cancer stem cells in Transwell system and liver metastasis capacity in nude mice which were injected CSCs through the caudal vein. We are the first to reveal that BMI-1 could promote invasion and metastasis ability of pancreatic cancer stem cells. Finally, we identified that BMI-1 expression activating PI3K/AKT singing pathway by negative regulating PTEN was the main mechanism of promoting invasion and metastasis ability of pancreatic CSCs. In summary, our findings indicate that BMI-1 could be used as the therapeutic target to inhibiting CSCs-mediated pancreatic cancer metastasis.

Colorimetric detection of melamine based on methanobactin-mediated synthesis of gold nanoparticles.

A simple and rapid field-portable colorimetric method for the detection of melamine in liquid milk was reported. Methanobactin (Mb) could reduce Au (III) to Au (0) and mediate the synthesis of gold nanoparticles (Au-NPs). Upon the addition of melamine, melamine interacted with oxazolone ring of Mb, which interrupted the formation of Au-NPs. Melamine could also stimulate the aggregation of formed Au-NPs. In this paper, these characteristics have been used to detect melamine in liquid milk by naked eyes observation with a detection limit of 5.56 × 10(-6)M (0.7 mg/kg). Further, the plasmon absorbance of the formed Au-NPs allowed the quantitative detection of melamine by UV-vis spectrometer. A linear correlation was existed between the absorbance and the melamine concentration ranging from 3.90 × 10(-7)M to 3.97 × 10(-6)M with a correlation coefficient of 0.9685. The detection limit (3σ) obtained by UV-vis spectrum was as low as 2.38 × 10(-7)M (i.e., 0.03 mg/kg).

Methanobactin-mediated one-step synthesis of gold nanoparticles.

Preparation of gold nanoparticles with a narrow size distribution has enormous importance in nanotechnology. Methanobactin (Mb) is a copper-binding small peptide that appears to function as an agent for copper sequestration and uptake in methanotrophs. Mb can also bind and catalytically reduce Au (III) to Au (0). In this study, we demonstrate a facile Mb-mediated one-step synthetic route to prepare monodispersed gold nanoparticles. Continuous reduction of Au (III) by Mb can be achieved by using hydroquinone as the reducing agent. The gold nanoparticles have been characterized by UV-visible spectroscopy. The formation and the surface plasmon resonance properties of the gold nanoparticles are highly dependent on the ratio of Au (III) to Mb in solution. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), fluorescence spectra and Fourier transform-infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) spectra suggest that Mb molecules catalytically reduce Au (III) to Au (0) with the concomitant production of gold nanoparticles, and then, Mb statically adsorbed onto the surface of gold nanoparticles to form an Mb-gold nanoparticles assembly. This avoids secondary nucleation. The formed gold nanoparticles have been demonstrated to be monodispersed and uniform by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) images. Analysis of these particles shows an average size of 14.9 nm with a standard deviation of 1.1 nm. The gold nanoparticles are extremely stable and can resist aggregation, even after several months.

[Value of tumor markers series of hydrothorax in differential diagnosis of pleural effusion].

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the clinical value of pleural effusion lung ProGRP, neuron specific enolase (NSE), cytokeratin fragment 19 (CYFRA21-1), carcino-embryonic antigen (CEA), carbohydrate antigen 153 (CA153), carbohydrate antigen 19 - 9 (CA19-9) in differential diagnosis and histological typing of malignant pleural effusion caused by lung cancer. METHODS: All the 171 patients with malignant hydrothorax caused by lung cancer were from coal-mine area of Kailuan. They were divided into the small cell lung cancer (SCLC) group (n = 39), the adenocarcinoma group (n = 99) and the squamous cell carcinoma group (n = 37). The patients with benign pleural effusion served as the controls (n = 30). The diagnostic value of pleural effusion ProGRP, NSE, CYFRA21-1, CEA, CA153 and CA19-9 was compared for each group. RESULTS: Youden index and the accurate rate of pleural effusion ProGRP + NSE (sequence test) were the highest in the diagnosis of malignant hydrothorax caused by SCLC. CEA + CA153 + CA19-9 (sequence test) was the highest in the diagnosis of malignant hydrothorax caused by adenocarcinoma. CYFRA21-1 + CEA + CA153 (on parallel test) were the highest in the diagnosis of malignant hydrothorax caused by squamous cell carcinoma. The Yonden index and the accurate rate were the highest by the single detection of CYFRA21 (0.5514 and 0.6878), and by the combined detection of ProGRP + CYFRA21-1 + CEA (on parallel test) (0.7029 and 0.8878). CONCLUSION: The first pleural effusion tumor markers of malignant hydrothorax caused by the SCLC, adenocarcinoma of lung, and lung squamous cell carcinoma are ProGRP, CEA and CYFRA21-1, respectively. The best combinations of pleural effusion tumor marker in diagnosis of malignant hydrothorax caused by the SCLC, adenocarcinoma of lung, lung squamous cell carcinoma and lung cancer are the combined detection of ProGRP + NSE (sequence test), combined detection of CEA + CA153 + CA19-9 (sequence test), the combined detection of CYFRA21-1 + CEA + CA153 (on parallel test) and ProGRP + CYFRA21-1 + CEA (on parallel test), respectively.